Month: April 2007

Text: John 16:16-22
Date: Easter IV + 4/29/07

      During our midweek, Wednesday Lenten services this year we sat (and stood) with the first disciples in the Upper Room of Maundy Thursday and heard all the words of Jesus He spoke that night in which He was betrayed, recorded for us in five chapters of Saint John’s Gospel, chapters 13-17. If you were not with us during those weeks of Holy Lent you should know that now, like the first disciples, we can say, we’ve heard these words before, this text from John 16. Now in the joy and glow of Easter we, with those first disciples, recall those words and begin, only now, to understand what we formerly didn’t understand, to comprehend the depth of what He said to us then before it all happened—before His betrayal, suffering, cruel death and burial. Then, we didn’t understand what He meant when He said, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me." Now, after His resurrection from only three days in a tomb, we see how little that “little while” was and, more than that, how it is that He said our sorrow has been turned into joy. What’s at issue here, however, is more than that initial experience of the first disciples. For the resurrection and ascension of Christ and this promise before us today is to give us patience and lift us out of all our “little whiles” of suffering or mourning, of fear and frustration, to an inner and real joy, as our Lord says, that no one will be able to take away. These words of our risen Lord mean to give us hope today in the face of any and all trials we may be enduring because the promise is, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” [Romans 8:18]. Continue reading “The Promise of "The Little While"”

Text: John 16:16-22
Date: Easter IV + 4/29/07

      During our midweek, Wednesday Lenten services this year we sat (and stood) with the first disciples in the Upper Room of Maundy Thursday and heard all the words of Jesus He spoke that night in which He was betrayed, recorded for us in five chapters of Saint John’s Gospel, chapters 13-17. If you were not with us during those weeks of Holy Lent you should know that now, like the first disciples, we can say, we’ve heard these words before, this text from John 16. Now in the joy and glow of Easter we, with those first disciples, recall those words and begin, only now, to understand what we formerly didn’t understand, to comprehend the depth of what He said to us then before it all happened—before His betrayal, suffering, cruel death and burial. Then, we didn’t understand what He meant when He said, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me." Now, after His resurrection from only three days in a tomb, we see how little that “little while” was and, more than that, how it is that He said our sorrow has been turned into joy. What’s at issue here, however, is more than that initial experience of the first disciples. For the resurrection and ascension of Christ and this promise before us today is to give us patience and lift us out of all our “little whiles” of suffering or mourning, of fear and frustration, to an inner and real joy, as our Lord says, that no one will be able to take away. These words of our risen Lord mean to give us hope today in the face of any and all trials we may be enduring because the promise is, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” [Romans 8:18]. Continue reading “The Promise of "The Little While"”

     Strip away all our pretenses, our safeguards, our securities, our defenses, our illusions of safety and life and most all people are revealed for what they are: trembling, helpless, defenseless sheep. There are those employed and in positions to guard and protect us and our children including the armed forces, police, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel, teachers and parents. For there are wolves out there who seem driven to only one thing, attacking, killing and eating the sheep.

     On an otherwise secular university campus a wolf appeared, attacked and killed 32 defenseless individuals and traumatized the rest of the flock. Why? The only “reason” we can come up with is because that’s just what wolves do. People were quick to criticize. “If only wolves did not have teeth they couldn’t hurt anyone.” Others criticized the “shepherds” that they didn’t adequately protect the sheep. But when the remaining sheep gathered in the pen they gave their shepherds a standing ovation for they knew it wasn’t the shepherds’ fault! It was the wolf. The shepherd-in-chief of this flock we call America was even there to console and comfort and project healing and hope.

     Now I know that I have stretched the metaphor of today’s scripture readings a bit. For the promises of God and comfort of the Gospel do not apply directly to all people and circumstances but specifically to people who belong to God, the people to whom God has come and made solemn covenant promises, in other words, Christians. At the same time we note that the words of our Lord in today’s Gospel were addressed to those who were rejecting Him, namely, the Pharisees. The problem is not just the wolves that can be easily identified wreaking havoc, destruction and murder at every turn, but also the wolves that sneak in among the flock in sheep’s clothing. When our Lord Jesus Christ says, “I am the good shepherd, I know my own and my own know me,” he means to teach that we his followers, his believers, his disciples, his sheep, are to listen for his voice, to believe and rely and live on his word. At the same time He also warns us against false teachers and teachings, voices other than that of our Good Shepherd that have the effect of abandoning and scattering the sheep.
Continue reading “Sheep, Shepherds and Wolves”

Text: Mark 16:9-13
Date: Wednesday of Easter II + 4/18/07

     For those who doubt and do not believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, very Word of God but prefer to think it is only a human book of religious propaganda written to promote a fantasy, probably the most convincing argument is this: that the first disciples, the principal proponents of the faith, are not portrayed in the Bible as bold heroes of faith but as quite the opposite. They are found mourning and weeping and when Mary Magdalene tries to tell them that the risen Lord was alive and had appeared to her, “they would not believe it.” Even when two more witnesses reported their encounter with the risen Lord, “they did not believe them.” After Jesus had appeared, here and there, now and then to all of them, as St. Luke tells it, “they still disbelieved” (Luke 24:41). All these reports would have been suppressed if the Gospel writers were merely trying to convince people of a falsehood.

     There are many today, too, who simply reject the Christian faith as bunk and refuse to believe. At least these unbelievers are honest. The tougher nut to crack today, however, seems to be not those who refuse to believe. The more common response, it seems today, to the claim and proclamation of the Christian Church, “The Lord is risen!” is, “So what?” That is, even if everything the Bible says about the crucified and risen Savior is historical fact and true, still, what difference does it make? And maybe especially this week in the shadow of the great tragedy that happened Monday at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, this question begs in a more insistent way to be answered.

     What difference does it make—the Lord is risen—for you who say you believe it? There are some who would answer that question by claiming the supposed “benefits” of their faith in terms of some dramatic changes in their life; healed bodies or restored relationships. They may even list financial blessings or other successes in their life as evidence of the benefits of believing. Yet, is this not propaganda? And what about the ancient and eternal question in times of tragedy, “Why?” “Why did God let this happen?” Certainly the Bible does not make the claim that faith will result in success in worldly terms, or in deliverance from random violence. Rather, the benefit of faith in a risen Lord is, first and foremost of all, a restored relationship with God and deliverance from sin, death and hell. The benefit of this saving faith is justification before God through the forgiveness of all your sins. In point of fact, when it comes to worldly terms, believers for the most part do not populate the lists of the world’s 100 richest men or the most likely to succeed. Jesus gave a list of characteristics of the saints in His sermon on the mount. He said,

      “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:3-12).

     The first disciples remained unbelievers until the Lord opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. In that Spirit-given understanding is revealed a world and a life much bigger than can be calculated by bank accounts and earthly honors or benefits. For it is a world and a life that is not destroyed by setbacks, suffering or even by death. It is a world and a life like God Who created each of us intended things to be in the first place, only now, in Christ, even better. It is eternal life marked by things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) even in times of suffering, pain, doubt and fear. It is the hope of the resurrection and the life of the world to come.

     Therefore, we do not deal in propaganda. But as the Apostle Paul said it, “we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery…nor with a pretext for greed…nor did we seek glory from people” (1 Thess. 2:3-6). The only thing that can make believers out of unbelievers is God Himself, the Holy Spirit opening minds through the Holy Scriptures, not in listing any supposed “benefits.” For once a person discovers the love of God, faith is created in the heart and God, not anything else in this world or in self or in all creation, becomes your total life and value. Even then, in this life we continue to struggle, to “see in a mirror dimly,” but faith is assured that there is coming a day when we shall see face to face the risen Lord in the new heavens and new earth.

          So we proclaim, “The Lord is risen!” So what? So believe, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself" (Acts 2:38-39). For everyone who believes and is baptized shall be saved.

Text: John 20:19-31
Date: Quasi Modo Geniti + Easter II + 4/15/07

     A Christian writer once wrote, “When God raised Jesus from the dead, he intended to begin a revolution that would turn the world right side up again, but all that he got out of it was ‘the church.’” That was written 23 years ago. This statement was meant, obviously, as a criticism implying that “the church” had lost its way, its Spirit, its focus and reason for being.

     Forty years ago this month my pastor made this observation in a lecture he gave at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He said, “In this post Christian era the obituary of the church…has been printed by self-styled professional mourners, and now and then and here and there this creaking, time-worn institution has already been committed, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust with little hope of resurrection. It is considered a has-been institution, as stagnant as a pool of water left behind when suddenly the river changed its course.”

     Nearly 75 years ago a pastor-author of a little book of Lenten sermons wrote about a paper mill he visited in Wisconsin, where each day thousands of logs were transformed from raw material into finished paper products of all kinds. The noise of flying knives and throbbing motors and the men attending them was almost deafening. But suddenly the wheels slowed down, the belts relaxed, the noise was silenced. Something had gone wrong. Somewhere between the power generators and the factory, the production line, equipped with all the latest tools, manned by well-trained workmen, was immobilized. And the writer likened that to what was wrong about the church in his day—well-organized, with well schooled workmen, huddled in the glorious specimens of architecture just like this one, but contact with the source of power broke somewhere, a church that had neglected to stretch up her arms to Him who is the source of power.

     Those three observations of 23, 40 and 75 years ago echo the waxing and waning of both the Church and human society and the voices of Reformation and Enlightenment back through Luther and Augustine, indeed, even the whole history of Israel to Moses and Abraham to Adam himself when the Voice of God came in the garden calling, “Where are you?” It is the same today. On the one hand many have made the observation that we live in a time of great interest in things spiritual. On the other hand it is obvious that people generally do not believe that the Christian Church is the answer, but that the church has become petrified and fossilized, more fit for display in a museum case as a reminder of the good old days than for anything good to be expected of it now. And even for those of us who still tenaciously darken the doors of 4305 North Military in Detroit, we admit that even we aren’t what we used to be. The muscles ache, the bones creak, the golf swing is gone. Our shrinking church body urges us to be Ablaze® but we find it nearly impossible to whip up the enthusiasm anymore for more programs or methods aimed at spiritual global warming. Continue reading “Unlock the Doors!”

Text: Mark 16:1-8
Date: Easter + 4/8/07

     It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Was it? Here comes the Messiah, the promised deliverer, and we gave him an appropriate welcome when he arrived with cheers of “Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Now was supposed to be a time of celebration as the prophet Isaiah had foretold it: “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples…. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples…. The mighty LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces.” And then that important prophecy, “he will swallow up death forever.” But what happened? What do we see? There is no feasting, and there is nothing but tears on all faces. It seems that He who was to swallow up death has been swallowed up by it Himself. The Messiah, dead? It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

     For three days that seemed like an eternity, the shock had hardly even begun to settle in. We had so much hope. And then everything went wrong. Maybe we shouldn’t have even come to the Passover in Jerusalem in the first place, at least not this year. But now, it’s too late. He’s dead. He’s really dead and buried…. We might as well be dead. There is no more hope.

     It took guts, or more appropriately, a deep, mournful love, for the women—Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome—to get up the energy to return to the tomb with their burial spices to finish the hasty burial of Friday afternoon; to at least give Jesus a decent burial. The only words we hear them speak on their way: “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Then: they saw, they entered, they heard. They saw the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. They entered the tomb. They saw a young man sitting there, and they were alarmed. They heard him say, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” They came, they saw, they entered, they heard…and then they fled the tomb trembling and bewildered. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. And that’s it. That’s all we have to go on.

     So we gather today expecting good news, great news. “Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!” we hear it said, and that’s it. That’s all we have to go on. There is no careful theory or calculation we can use to prove it, no scientific data to support it. No one saw it actually happen when it happened. There is nothing but the resurrection sermon of the angel, “Don’t be alarmed. He has risen!” There is nothing but faith—the witness of the faithful hearts through twenty centuries whose echo of the angel’s sermon brings us to this celebration where we blend our witness into theirs. We have nothing but the word, the promise, Christ himself. He is risen!
Continue reading “He Has Swallowed Up Death”

Text: Matthew 28:1-7
Date: Easter Vigil + 4/8/07

      To the women who went to the tomb of Jesus “after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week,” the angel said, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.” The angel invited them to check it out for themselves, saying, “Come, see the place where he lay.” When they did they saw that the place where he lay was empty, vacant. How long would the women have stayed there wondering and looking, looking and wondering? But they were not to linger there. For the angel commanded them and immediately sent them with the task, “go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.”

     Saint Peter wrote of you who call yourselves Christians, “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [Christ’s] own possession, for the purpose that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Like those women that first Easter morning, like all the apostles, and like all who have believed and followed the risen Christ Jesus to this day, the first impact of the Gospel, the Good News of the resurrection, is personal faith and a change in status. “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10). But then, immediately, you are called upon to “go quickly and tell,” to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light,” to witness, to bear testimony, to preach Jesus Christ to the world.

     This morning you have literally come out of darkness as we followed the Light of Christ into this place. The ancient acts of creation and the deliverance of God’s people through the Exodus and the sea brought us to the waters of Holy Baptism. And now amid the eternal songs of the angels, “Glory be to God on high,” “Then the holy holy holy Celebration jubilee” [LSB 680:5] we have come to this moment when the angel invites us, saying, “Do not be afraid, come, see the place where he lay,” and “go quickly and tell.”
Continue reading “I Know that You Seek Jesus”