The Lamb Is the Shepherd
Text: John 10:22-30
Date: Easter IV + St. Mark, Evangelist + 4/25/10
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI
Someone once pictured the great multitude of St. John’s vision standing before the throne of God in heaven from a unique point of view. It was the view from behind the great multitude and all you can see is the back of their heads as their attention is on the throne of Christ. Can you tell who is sitting in front of you from seeing just the back of their head? A friend remembered that his parents would always sit in the back of church “so that,” they said, “they could see who was there.” Well, again, that’s fine, if you can recognize someone from the back of their head! Continue reading “The Lamb Is the Shepherd”
Peace Be With You
Text: John 20:19-31
Date: Easter II + 4/11/10
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI
When our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples on that first Easter evening, He could have, maybe even should have, reprimanded them for their unbelief, their disloyalty, their fear and failure; and even more so when He appeared the next Sunday to doubting, unbelieving Thomas. But what were His words of resurrection greeting? “Peace be with you.” A common enough greeting of the day, some would be tempted to translate it, “Howdy” or “Good Day” or (as too many say today) “Ha’ya’doin’?” But the risen Lord’s greeting was not meant to be a “common enough” greeting. Those who attempt to clothe peoples’ encounter with Christ in worship today as being as common and comfortable as your own living room are further away, not the closer to the dynamic, inspiring, faith-instilling Gospel greeting of Jesus that first Easter Day. For “Peace be with you” is the first word and the last word. The peace He wishes He actually brings and bestows just by saying it, though this peace is not just a wish or a word but a completed accomplishment and gift of the God who not only created all things but has more gloriously restored all things and won us back from the tyranny of sin, death and the devil. Our Lord’s innocent, humble, vicarious suffering and death, and His mighty, glorious, incomparable, astounding awakening from the cold, dead tomb, has changed everything; it has changed the entire history of the world and its destiny. And it will change even your history and destiny when the mighty word of the Gospel is grasped by your heart: “Peace Be With You.” Continue reading “Peace Be With You”
Easter Facts and Easter Faith
Text: Luke 24:1-12
Date: Resurrection / Easter Day + 4/4/10
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI
There was a time when people actually believed that the world was flat and that the sun and the stars all revolved around the earth. It only made sense according to our perception, our limited perspective. Of course, science has proven beyond a doubt that the world is an orb and that the changing alignment of sun and stars in the sky is a much more complicated issue as the earth revolves around the sun. On the one hand are the facts and on the other is our ability to perceive, to know and to agree with or believe the facts. Continue reading “Easter Facts and Easter Faith”
Good Friday Triduum
Text: John 19:17-30
Date: Good Friday Triduum II + 4/2/10
From a harmony of the four Gospels we have seven words or statements from the cross. Matthew and Mark report only the one, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” There are three from Luke’s Gospel, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do;” “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise;” and “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” Each account has its own character and purpose. St. Luke’s is the most catechetical, proclaiming the faithful Son of God who came to release all mankind from the grip of the bondage of sin. The Good Friday portion of the Triduum, however, is reserved, always, for Saint John. He reports the words from the cross, “Woman, behold, your son,” “I thirst,” and “It is finished.” In addition to those words, however, are two more important details: the soldiers gambling for his tunic, and the piercing of Jesus’ side with a spear and the flow of blood and water. Taken together, St. John’s account of the crucifixion emphasizes the triumph and victory of the Son of God, the Word made flesh Who came to conquer death and give life to all who believe. In John the Passion is victorious. Jesus’ death is referred to as his glorification, and by his cross he is lifted up like the healing serpent in the wilderness. Even his final word is a cry of victory, “It is finished.” He is not overcome. He has overcome. Continue reading “Good Friday Triduum”
Confessional Address
Text: 1 Corinthians 11:29
Date: Maundy Thursday + 4/1/10
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI
“For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”
Dear Christian Friends,
We begin these three holy days, the sacred Triduum, in an unusual way, beginning with a “Confessional Address.” It is to remember that we began the holy season of Lent forty days ago with an extended confession of sins, committing ourselves to the Lenten discipline of fasting, prayer and alms-giving. Therefore this night, as the forty Lenten days of preparation come to an end, it is good, right and salutary that we should hear an extended absolution, the forgiveness of our sins that we may enter the celebration of the Lord’s Passover in sincerity and truth. Continue reading “Confessional Address”