Sermon - Easter 3 - Luke 24:36-49

 

The Risen Christ’s Agenda

Christ is risen!  (He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!)

In this Easter season, we of course celebrate Christ’s victory over sin, devil and death.  That Jesus died and Jesus rose is of paramount importance for us, for our faith, and for our future.

But simply being alive isn’t all.  Our risen Lord has quite an agenda, and our reading from Luke’s Gospel today shows us a risen Christ who is still very busy doing things for his people, making promises and giving gifts.  Let’s take a closer look.

For starters, if today’s reading reminds you of last week’s Gospel reading from John 20, that’s because it seems to be telling us about the same event.  John, of course, emphasized certain aspects of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on that Easter evening.  But here Luke shares other details.  Just prior, Luke tells the account of the 2 disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  After he appeared to them in the breaking of the bread, they turned around and ran back to Jerusalem to report all this to the 12.  Now, Jesus appears to the whole lot of them, even though the doors are locked. 

Luke isn’t concerned with Thomas being absent.  He doesn’t mention the breathing on them or the charge to forgive sins.

But he does also mention Jesus showing them his hands and feet.  These wounds, these scars, they both prove he is the crucified one and testify to that most precious work he had just completed.  By his wounds, we are healed.

And Luke tells us that they are conflicted, confused and afraid.

They thought he was a ghost!  Their superstitions got the better of them with the risen Jesus himself standing before them.  But they couldn’t believe their eyes, and fell back on their homespun spiritual misconceptions.  And if he’s a ghost, maybe he’s an angry ghost, a vengeance spirit here to punish us for deserting him in his hour of need! 

But Jesus dispels their superstition and shows them what is real – and it’s him!  He is no ghost.  He’s a resurrected man, with very tangible hands and feet.  He even eats some fish in their presence to further prove it.  “See and touch!” he says.  And they do.

Superstition isn’t there only problem.  They find themselves in disbelief.  Thomas wasn’t the only doubter, it seems.  But Jesus chases away doubt by his peaceful presence, and his wonderful words.

Their emotions, too, got the better of them.  Fear and joy all mixed up and leading them in so many directions.  But Jesus’ calm presence cuts through it all.  He is there for them.  It’s all going to be ok.

Those dear disciples are just like us.  We, too, have spent our time with Jesus, learned from Jesus, trusted in Jesus.  And yet our fears and doubts can get the better of us, too.  Our emotions can lead us astray, our hearts chase after assurance in all the wrong places.  Sometimes, free and full forgiveness seems “too good to be true” and we doubt Jesus.  But he always sets us straight, too.

My friends, the risen Christ is here, for you, too.  Not visibly, but just as present.  Not to see and touch, but certainly to hear.  He comes to you today, not in vengeance but forgiveness.  He comes with peace.  And he shares a meal with you, too.  Giving you his own body and blood in the Sacrament.  Just another proof of his grace, a pledge of his sure and certain forgiveness for you.

But the risen Jesus still has more business with the disciples, and with us.  First he sets them straight about his resurrection, and proves he is alive.  Next he opens the disciples’ minds to understand the Scriptures.

They surely knew the Scriptures.  They probably knew them, in many ways, better than we do.  They would have sung the Psalms, and perhaps known those words as well as we know so many pop-song lyrics.  They would have known the stories and genealogies of the Old Testament, and likely so much of its prophecies.  They would have also known it in the Hebrew, which most of us have never learned. 

But Jesus must still open their closed minds to understand.  And here we are in the same boat.  Natural man, apart from Christ and his Spirit, cannot understand the Scriptures.  Our mind closed, and our heart darkened, sure we can read the words on the page.  Sure we can make sense of the vocabulary and grammar.  But we do not receive the Scriptures properly, understand them as they are meant to be, until our minds are opened.  Christ did it for the disciples directly, and he does it for us through his Spirit.

Apart from Christ, the Scriptures are a closed book of contradictions and moralisms and esoteric ancient history.  For most of the world, it remains this way.  But only in Christ can we see the Scriptures rightly, and that the Scriptures testify to him!  And in him is life!

From the beginning to the end, Jesus Christ is the heart of Holy Scripture.  First, the promise of his coming, then the unfolding of his birth, life, death and resurrection.  Then the promise of his return in glory and the life of his body, the church, until that day.  The Bible is all about Jesus Christ, Son of Man and Son of God, and all that he is and does for you!  Jesus himself says so, both here in Luke, and even more tersely in John 5:39  “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me”

His appearance proves he is alive.  Check.

He dispels their doubts and fears, confusion and superstition.  Check.

He opens their minds to understand the Scriptures.  Check.

And yet there remains some unfinished business on the risen Christ’s agenda.

He commissions his witnesses to go and proclaim this good news!

“…repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

Repentance and forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus – that’s the message of the Christian faith, that’s the Gospel in the wide sense.  That’s the very thing that Peter preached in our reading from Acts, and that the disciples preached as they went forth into the world.  It’s the same message of law and gospel that sounds forth from faithful Christian pulpits around the world today.  Repent, sinner, turn away from your sins, and turn to Jesus Christ in faith for the forgiveness of your sins.  And just as surely as Christ has come, has died, has risen, and will come again, so also as surely are your sins forgiven in him and your life, even to eternity, is just as secure.

The disciples are witnesses of everything Christ had done.  And it was given, first, to them, to proclaim that witness.  But the witness carried on, as churches were founded all around the Roman empire, and then all around the world, and down through history’s twists and turns, and even up to this day, the witness of the disciples echoes on and on.  We have it written in Holy Scripture, the full testimony to Christ.  And we preach it and teach it faithfully, and take it to heart fervently.

This is the ongoing agenda of the risen Christ – that repentance and forgiveness continue to be proclaimed in his name.  Thanks be to God.

The risen Christ is a busy Christ.  He has much to say to his church, much to promise, and much to give.  He spoke to appeared to those disciples, set them straight, opened their minds, and gave them a mission. So also he shows us himself today, in the Scriptures and in the breaking of the bread.  He calls us to repent of our sins, and receive the forgiveness that he won by his death.  For Christ is risen, and still doing amazing, wonderful, blessed things for you.

Sermon - Easter 2 - John 20:19-31

 

The Spiritual, The Material, and Jesus

Every year, right after Easter, we have the reading that is often called, “Doubting Thomas”.  For whatever reason Thomas missed the first appearance of Jesus in the locked room, and only a week later did he get his wish – to see and touch Jesus and even put his hand’s in Jesus’ side where the spear had pierced him.  Thomas confesses his faith, “My Lord, and my God!” and Jesus commends him for seeing and believing, but even more those who do not see and yet believe.

You’ve maybe heard some treatment of this text which sort of downplays the importance of seeing – and suggests that all we need is the word!  And there’s some truth to that.  But a closer look at today’s reading shows that Jesus is concerned about both the seeing and the hearing, both the spirit and the material.  For he is the Savior of all people and the Savior of the whole person.

Bear with me today as I get a little bit more into the weeds of philosophy than we usually do.  We have two errors to avoid when it comes to the resurrection of Jesus:  materialism and spiritualism.  Both have a long pedigree and both lead us away from the fullness of Christ’s work for us.  What do I mean by these?

Well, Thomas, it seems, was somewhat of a materialist.  He disregarded the word of the disciples, and doubted the miracle of the resurrection.  All that mattered to him, at least, at first, was what he could see and touch.  The material world.  He needed concrete proof, firsthand experience, he needed something physical and real. 

We have a hymn, a more recently written hymn in our hymnal, that expresses this well: “These Things Did Thomas Count as Real”:

These things did Thomas count as real:  The warmth of blood, the chill of steel, the grain of wood, the heft of stone, the last frail twitch of flesh and bone.

The vision of his skeptic mind was keen enough to make him blind to any unexpected act too large for his small world of fact.

His reasoned certainties denied that one could live when one had ded, until his fingers read like braille the markings of the spear and nail.

May we, O God, by grace believe and thus the risen Christ receive, whose raw imprinted palms reached out and beckoned Thomas from his doubt.

This skeptical posture of Thomas is really quite similar to many today who doubt or disbelieve the resurrection.  Mainstream science has largely hitched its wagon to a materialistic worldview that also considers only what is physical, real, provable, and most importantly- doesn’t need God.    Science has to do with observation and evidence, hypothesis and theory, testing and proving.  The very word “science” comes from the word for “knowledge”, and the great temptation of the scientist is to overestimate his own knowledge, and the ability of humans to know and learn all things that can be known. 

And many Christians fall prey to this modern version of materialistic skepticism, at least in part.  Many, for example, deny the bible’s teaching of creation in favor of a Darwinistic evolution.  They simply can’t take God at his word that he created everything from nothing by his word.  It’s the same foolishness of Thomas that doubts the truth of God on any subject matter, which idolizes reason and senses over and against divine revelation.

Somewhat in reaction to materialism, we have, today, a growing movement of spiritualism.  Reaching all the way back to the philosopher Plato, this is an elevation of the spiritual over and over against the material world.  For Plato the idea of a thing is far better than any example of the thing itself.  For Plato, the body isn’t nearly so important as the spirit.  This leads to a denial of the physical blessings of God, the blessings of creation.

We see examples of this influence today in the New Age Movement, in all manner of people who declare themselves, “Spiritual but not religious”, and even in the Christian church where the spiritual aspect of life pushes out almost entirely the theology of the body.  But We confess a God who is the creator of heaven and earth, and that the stuff, the physical stuff of creation is good.  That the body that he has given me is just as much a part of who I am as the soul or spirit.  And Jesus died for the whole person and saves the whole person, not just the spirit.

We see this neo-platonic influence, sadly, in many Christian funeral services, when the preacher may wax eloquently about the promise that our loved ones are with the Lord, that they rest in peace, and that their spirit is in heaven with Jesus.  But they neglect to preach the resurrection of the body, that is the resurrection of OUR bodies on the last day.  That’s our final and ultimate hope as believers, to share in a resurrection like his.

Sin always twists the truth, and so we have a constant need to return to the touchstone of God’s word to correct and set us straight.

Notice how Jesus regards both the physical and the spiritual in this text:

He breathes on his disciples.  A very physical action, something they can feel.  But as he does so, he bestows on them the Holy Spirit.  A presence just as real, but not something to be seen or felt.

What charge does he give them, but the authority to forgive sins!  Here is certainly a spiritual matter – for sins aren’t things that you can typically touch and see.  The corruption of our nature is a darkness to us that we cannot fully comprehend, but can only confess.  And yet, sin does bring with it a very real and tangible consequence – the wages of sin – is death.

Jesus has forgiven our sins, in the water of baptism, in the word of absolution, in the sacrament of the altar – thus taking away the sting of death.  And though we still die, like Jesus, death will not be the last word on us.  Christ will return in glory and raise his faithful dead, to a very real, very material, very physical body once more.  But now, body and soul will be glorified and incorruptible, just as Christ’s resurrected body is glorified and incorruptible.  “We will be like him for we shall see him as he is.”

Take note, Jesus showed his disciples – he appeared to his disciples – he even made Thomas stick his finger in the wounds.  He doesn’t despise the material evidence, but gave “many convincing proofs” that he was alive.  Those early disciples were eyewitnesses of the resurrection, and Paul tells us that once Jesus even appeared to a group of over 500 of them at the same time!  If seeing and touching and physical proof meant nothing – why would he bother?

And yet, still he knows that not all who believe in him will have had such an occasion.  Like you and me.  We rely on the word of the apostles, the testimony of the church, the teachings of scripture that have been handed down to us.  And Jesus says we are even more blessed for such.

Only in Jesus, then, do we see the right and proper tension, the true and eternal realities of both things spiritual and things material.  In him, we have it all.  He is the transcendent God who becomes human in time and space for his people.  He is the Lord of Life who gives up his life to redeem his people.  He is the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world, but also in bloody sweat on a Roman cross on a certain hill named Golgotha, on a certain date in human history. 

What is left for us but, like Thomas, to stop doubting and believe!  Believe in all of God’s word.  Believe in Jesus who lives.  And believe especially in his word, proclaimed through his pastors, that your sins forgiven on earth are forgiven in heaven.  And confess, like Thomas, my Lord and my God, Jesus Christ, who lives and grants me daily breath, who lives and I shall conquer death.

Meditations - Good Friday - The Seven Words from the Cross

The First Word:  Luke 23:34

33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”[b] And they cast lots to divide his garments.

The first word out of his mouth was a prayer.  A prayer to the Father, not for himself, but for his enemies, his oppressors, the perpetrators of his demise.  Yes, for the Romans, the Jews, the bloodthirsty crowds Jesus prayed.  But also for you and me, whose sins put him on that cross just the same.

We know not what we do.  Who can know his errors?  Who can know the depth of his sin?  We see only a small sliver of the true measure of the evil within us.  But on the cross we can surely see the price.  We can see the consequence.  We can see what our sins have wrought:  death, in all its ugliness.

But even as he goes to death, Jesus brings forgiveness.  That’s the whole point of this bloody, gruesome business.  To destroy death by death, his death, and to win for us forgiveness.  Jesus, by dying thus, answers his own prayer to the Father.  In Christ, and only in Christ, do we have the forgiveness of the Father.

The Second Word:  Luke 23:43

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,[d] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Just as his first word prayed for forgiveness for the wicked who put him here, his second word offers a promise to another wicked sinner under the same sentence of death.  Who knows what this man had done – they are called thieves and robbers, he confesses he’s receiving the just reward of his deeds.  Really it could be any sin, for all sin deserves death, temporal and eternal.  That cross next to Jesus could just as well be yours or mine.

That other thief was with Jesus – but he wasn’t with Jesus.  He was with him in time and space, under the sentence of death, but he couldn’t be farther away in his heart.  But the second thief, was with Jesus already by faith, and that meant Jesus had a word of hope for him in this dark hour.

But Jesus speaks a beautiful word of comfort here.  He answers this poor sinner’s prayer, directly, profoundly. Today you will be with me in paradise.

Death is not the end of us.  Paradise awaits.  Those who are with Christ now, in faith, will be with him even in death.  But even paradise isn’t the end of the story.  For that thief, and for all scoundrels who find our hope in Christ, paradise for the soul gives way to a resurrection of the body and a life in the world to come.  

 

The Third Word:  John 19:26-27

26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

He cares for his enemies.  He cares for condemned thieves. Of course he cares also for his mother and his beloved disciple.  There is no time for self-pity, or crying victim.  Jesus is always, even at his lowest, concerned for others.

He provides for Mary.  Take care of her, John.  You’re family now.  But isn’t that the way of the church?  Our connection to Christ connects us to each other, and it all starts at the foot of the cross.

Today there are many Marys who bear griefs and sorrows, and many Beloved disciples who bear all manner of sins and hurts. We all need Jesus and his cross.  But we also need each other.  And so the Christ who dies for his people also gives us each other – the Church – in which to proclaim and hear his gospel, to forgive and be forgiven, and to bear one another’s burdens – even as he has borne the sins of all.

The Fourth Word:  Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The word of ultimate suffering.  The thorns, the nails, the flogging, the mockery, the nakedness, the despair of death – none of it compares to this.  Being forsaken by the Father.  We can’t even imagine.  The Son of God, in perfect communion with the Father from eternity, sharing a unity that we cannot comprehend and can only barely confess, somehow experiences separation from his Father  This is hell.  This is the pinnacle of his suffering.  The wrath and punishment of a Father who turns his back on his Son, because the Son has become sin, the very thing the Father hates.

This is for you, dear Christian.  This is so you will never, ever, have to fear such a fate.  The Father will never forsake you, because Jesus was forsaken for you.  The Father’s anger is turned away from you, because it was all spent upon Jesus.  Thanks be to God.

The Fifth Word:  John 19:28

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”

And now, a very human word.  A very human thing: thirst.  We could explain it scientifically, clinically, noting all the blood and sweat that he had lost.  We could see it as yet another aspect of his suffering, that after all of this, now also thirst.  But we can also see it as John tells it, this fulfills prophecy.

That same Psalm 22 Jesus had already quoted, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” foretells this part too:  

my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

    and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

    you lay me in the dust of death.

And so we see that even in his death, in the final moments of suffering, Jesus does what needs to be done.  He fulfills prophecy, he completes his mission, down to the last little detail.  He has done all things well.

And maybe one last reason for the thirst, and the last sip.  To prepare his dry mouth for the great declaration that is to follow in the next word:

 

The Sixth Word:  John 19:30

30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

In the Greek, one word, “Tetelestai”.  In English 3 little words, “it is finished”.  With this word Jesus puts a giant bow on the gift of his work for us.  He declares his work for us complete.  

But it’s not just an exhausted exclamation, like a runner who’s huffing and puffing after finishing a long race.  This is an official decree.  A pronouncement.  Like when the jury reads the verdict, “not guilty” or the pastor says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife” or, “I forgive you your sins”.  These words, or this word, makes it official.  It is finished.

And finished not just in the sense of done and over with, but also fulfilled.  It’s complete. It’s perfect.  His work of salvation for you has left no sone unturned, not loose end untied, like a masterpiece painting and the artist adds that final magical brush-stroke.  It is finished.  With the flourish of a single word, Jesus declares it, and it is so.

Your sins are finished.  Guilt and shame are finished. The devil and all his works are finished.  Even death itself is finished.  Jesus suffering is complete, and now as he dies, there is nothing left to do.

We cannot add anything to his work.  No merit or worthiness of our own counts a whit, can add a thing to his perfect, completed, all-sufficient work of salvation.  Jesus died for you.  Let the period at the end of that sentence stand forever.

The Seventh Word:  Luke 23:46

46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

Jesus’ work of suffering now complete, all that is left is to die.  He commits his spirit to the Father.  And he shows us by this word that we also may die in peace, committing our spirits to the Father.

His final word, like his first word, is a prayer to the Father.  It is a prayer of trust, knowing that his work complete, the Father will receive him joyfully.  Indeed, the Father will soon show just how please he is with his beloved Son and his work of salvation – for after his brief rest in the tomb, the Father will raise the Son to life again.  

Until then, Jesus rests secure in the Father’s hands.  Just so, when we die, we rest secure in the Father’s hands until our own resurrection.  After all, “It is finished”, the Father has forgiven us, and we will be with Jesus in paradise.

Jesus’ last word on the cross is no word of despair, but of hope, and trust and faith.  It stands as an example of the same for all who die in Christ, that we too can depart in peace, secure in the care of the Father, because of the precious death of the Son.  

Sermon - Maundy Thursday - 1 Corinthians 11:23–32

 

1 Corinthians 11:23–32

There is no higher blessing on earth that we may receive than the Holy Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood. It is a most precious gift.

Christ’s final gift to his church, apart from his very death on the cross, is given that Holy Thursday evening.  In fact, we can’t really separate the Sacrament from Christ’s death – because it is the same Body and Blood given and shed for us at the cross, the same Body resurrected in victory over death on the third day.

To meditate upon this precious gift this evening, let us consider Paul’s words to the Corinthians, which in some ways really form the foundation of Christian teaching about the Sacrament.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the Words of Institution – but Paul’s version in 1 Corinthians 11 really is the most expansive and includes some important commentary.

Paul begins, “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you…” and let’s not pass by this little phrase too quickly.

Paul received this – as a gift – passively.  What is this?  The entirety of the Lord’s Supper, but especially the words of Christ which he is about to reiterate to the church in Corinth.  And I say re-iterate, because it’s clear that he already taught them these words.  He had already established this practice among them, for that is one of the very basic and clear marks of any Christian church – the receiving of his gifts.

What Paul has received, Paul delivers to his people.  It’s no different today with pastors and congregations.  We pastors receive what his handed to us by the Lord, and we distribute it to you, his people. 

We aren’t to make things up, concoct our own doctrines and ideas.  Egads, who would want such a thing as I have to offer of myself?  Rather, we feed the sheep with his word.  We care for the lambs of his flock by leading them to the green pastures of his word, and the living water of Holy Baptism, and the food of his Holy Supper.  We, ourselves, need these gifts, these means of grace.  And then God calls us also to steward these mysteries for the benefit of his people.

Therefore the pastor is most pastor when he is preaching and teaching, baptizing and administering the Lord’s Supper.  The gifts of God for the people of God, all received and given freely.

Paul then focuses us on the words themselves, Christ’s words of institution.  A last will and testament of sorts.  A holy and precious paragraph chocked full of blessings for Christians of all time.  Let’s note some of them:

He gave thanks.  What a powerful example for Christians that Jesus gave thanks as he instituted this meal.  Thanks to whom?  The Father, of course.  The giver of all good things.  But more than just setting a pattern for us to pray before meals (which is of course a good thing to do), Jesus rightly gives thanks to God for the bread, and for all that he too gives us in this meal.  These are good gifts!  And good gifts are to be appreciated with thanksgiving.

And then these simple words:  This is my body.

This.  This real thing here, this loaf of bread.  In real time and local space, Jesus institutes a meal of blessing.

IS.  Is means is.  He doesn’t say symbolizes, or serves as a metaphor.  This is no figure of speech.  Something real is happening.  The “is” confesses the reality of it.  And we should take Jesus as his simple word.

My.  Only Jesus’ body and blood could do the trick.  Only the incarnate Son of God could die and rise and give his body sacramentally, for the forgiveness of your sins.  And as it is his, it’s his to give to whom he chooses.  And that’s you, dear Christian.

Body.  Jesus took on human flesh for many reasons.  To live a perfect life in our place.  To sympathize with us in our weakness.  To offer that body up in death, and likewise to shed his very real blood as a sacrifice and payment for sin.  But I submit another reason… to give his body to us in this sacrament.  To unite himself with us in the flesh, and then also to give that very body to us to eat, along with his blood to drink.  Without the incarnation of Christ there is no Sacrament.  And so it all goes together.

For you.  Yes, these little words matter, too.  The whole point of Jesus giving his body and blood in the sacrament, and of everything that Jesus does and is – is that it is for you.  And not just for those disciples long ago, but the words, “in remembrance of me” teach us that the “for you” was meant to go forward, and be for all his people.  Again, “for you” emphasizes this is a gift, not a ritual of obeisance or some offering up to God for payment or placation.  Our God gives, he gives of himself, he gives us his Son.  Christ gives and gives, and even his very life for you. 

So why is it so difficult to receive God’s gifts like the Lord’s Supper on his own terms?  Why must we tinker with the simple, straightforward words of Christ?  It’s as old as the question, “Did God really say…?”

And I’m not just talking about those church bodies whose theology denies Christ’s presence in the meal, or who teach it is only a symbol.  Even we Lutherans can misuse and abuse this precious gift of God, just like we are prone to do with all his gifts.  Perhaps we simply take this gift too lightly, and fail to esteem it as the great treasure it is.  Perhaps we neglect it, if only in our hearts.  Or else we consider it a right, or entitlement.  Or a reward for good behavior or attaining a certain status. 

Yes, we sin, even when it comes to the Holy Sacrament of God.  Paul warns us about this, too.  In fact the hole last paragraph of this reading is a warning against abuse of the Sacrament. 

In Corinth, it took several forms.  The people were divided, the rich wouldn’t share with the poor.  And some even drank to excess and became drunk from the communion wine!  They treated this precious gift, it seems, like any other common feast – or even a revelry of sin.  A very serious abuse.  Paul indicates that this even led some of the Corinthian Christians to get sick and die, as a judgment of God for abusing the Sacrament!

But his warnings are wider.  Let a man examine himself.  That is to say, let us be sure that we are well-prepared and ready. What does that mean?  Examine yourself.  See that you are a sinner.  For this medicine is only for the sick.  If Jesus says it’s for the forgiveness of sins, and you say you have no sin – then it’s not for you. 

Secondly, see that you believe Christ’s words concerning this meal.  That it really is what he says it is – his body and blood – and that it’s really for what he says it’s for – the forgiveness of your sins.  Paul calls this, “discerning the body”.  Seeing that yes, truly yes, this is the body and blood of Christ, for me, a sinner.

You see, true preparation to receive this gift doesn’t mean doing a bunch of good works in order to deserve it.  It doesn’t mean attaining a level of holiness that qualifies you.  Rather the opposite.  Seeing the truth that you are a beggar who comes to Jesus only with need, and with an open hand.  This is judging ourselves truly.

Luther’s Small Catechism puts it another way:  “Who receives this Sacrament worth?”  Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training.  But he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words:  given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  For the words, “for you”, require all hearts to believe.

No, it’s not good works, holy living, or even right understanding that qualify you for his table.  It’s faith.  A humble, repentant faith.  A recognition of our sins, and a discernment of his body.  Or in other words, simply taking Jesus at his simple words. 

It’s not complicated.  Jesus says, This is my body.  This is my blood.  Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins”  And my friends, that is far, far more than enough.

Dear Christian, come again on this Holy Thursday and receive what Jesus gives:  a rich feast, a holy meal, lavish and overflowing with blessings, for he feeds you with himself.  And he forgives you freely and fully.

Sermon - Palm/Passion Sunday - Philippians 2:5–11

 

Paul writes to the Philippians that they should have the same mind or attitude as Christ.  And that attitude or mindset is:  humility.

On this Palm and Passion Sunday, let us consider that Christian value and quality of humility.  It is a characteristic we see most prominently in Christ our Lord, and most especially in his obedience unto death on the cross.  But it is also a quality that is reflected in his people by the power of His Spirit.

Like so many things with the Christian faith, we see in the concept of humility a deep and subtle mystery, a paradox, and are constantly led away from ourselves and again to the foot of the cross.  But especially as this Holy Week begins, there really is no better place to be, than at the cross, with Jesus.

Paul begins, “let this mind be among you, which is yours in Christ”.  It’s a bit of a strange statement.  He’s telling them to be something, but in the same breath admitting they already are, telling them to have something they already have.

Be humble, as you already are.  We are humble, ah, but the problem is, we are not.

What, in fact, is the opposite of humility, but pride?  Sinful pride.  In many ways pride is the root of all sin.  What tempted Adam and Eve, but pride?  “You will be like God.  Don’t you want to be like God?  Be all that you can be.  Who is he to tell you what not to do?  Go on, you’re worth it.  You know best.  Be your own boss. Run your own life.  Be true to yourself.  Look out for number one.”  And so they ate.  And so we sin.

Our pride is so easily offended.  Don’t you know who I am?  We become indignant so easily.  Oh, does she think she’s better than I am?  Pride is like a suit of glass armor we build around ourselves, the first pebble of offense someone casts at us, and the whole thing can shatter like a windshield.  It can even lead us to other sins, rage, violence, slander.  Nothing good comes of it.

Pride, sinful pride, really, is based on a lie.  And the lie is this: that I am good.  But our sinful reaction to even the slightest of slights should demonstrate otherwise.  Perhaps it’s the insecurity we feel deep down that sparks such a reaction – that no, I’m not that great.  No, I’m not so special.  No, I really don’t deserve anything but temporal and eternal punishment.

An honest encounter with God’s law should disabuse us of all pride.  There is no escape.  We can’t even push back against God, like we can against a human accuser, “Well you’re no better than I am!”  God’s perfect law always, always accuses us.  And if we are honest, it demolishes our pride.  It cuts us down and brings us low.  It crushes us with its weight.  Truly the letter kills.

This is our experience of spiritual humility.  An honest rendering of our spiritual state before God. 

But take Christ’s humility.  It’s different.  Though he was in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God worth grasping or clinging onto.  But rather, he gave up his rightful place on the throne of heaven, and condescended to us.  He emptied himself.  He took on the form of a servant, not a master.  He lowered himself to be creature, not exercising his rights as Creator.  He humbled himself.  He entered a state humility.  Putting aside, for the most part at least, his divine rights and privileges, his power and glory, to walk the dusty roads of Galilee as a humble human man, in poverty and obscurity, nothing special about that life he lived. 

Except that it was without sin.  When we are humiliated or brought low, it’s just showing forth the truth of our lowliness.  When he is humiliated, it is of his own will.  He who remained spotless and without blemish is the only one among us humans with the right to have pride.  But he put even that aside, and continually humbled himself for us. 

Paul shows the extent of it.  Not only did he humble himself in the incarnation, and in a life lived under the law, he was perfectly obedient to God under that law.  But even more, he was obedient even unto death (though, of course, unlike us he didn’t deserve death).  And not just any death mind you, but he even died on a cross. 

And we might add:  not just any cross, but his death on the cross, taking the entirety of our sin upon himself, yes, even our false and sinful pride – Jesus destroys sin and death and wins us the victory.

Paul reasons, rightly, of course, “therefore…”  Therefore God exalted him.  Because of his great humility even unto death.  Because of he made himself the lowest of the low to save lowly us….  God raised him up.  He exalted him.  He exalted him to life again in a glorious resurrection.  He exalted his human nature into a glorious exalted state.  And he even raised Jesus up again to heaven, to the very right hand of the Father, to his rightful throne on high.  Therefore every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

But that Christ was and is and remains ever exalted is good news for you and me.  For we are in Christ.  And in Christ, we, too, are exalted.  In Christ, we too will have a resurrection.  In Christ, by our baptism, we are already dead and buried and raised.  In Christ we are, already, a new creation.  And in Christ, we already have that attitude of humility and service that we see most perfectly in him.

Here’s the great paradox and mystery.  Though we are prideful sinners, in Christ, we are humble saints.  The mind of Christ is ours – we have it – the humility of Christ, so says the Holy Spirit through St. Paul.  Now, of course we don’t always show it.  And we pray with the same desire as St. Paul, that God would prompt us ever more to the mindset of Christ.  We pray that we would be, and remain humble.

I’m coming up on 25 years as a pastor this summer.  And nothing in those years has impressed me more than when I see the humility of Christians.  What great humility God creates in us when our faith is nurtured and grows.  The true mark of Christian maturity is not intellectual understanding, or even outward good works of great love and service.  It is humility.  It is an attitude that is formed in us over and over again by God’s Spirit working through his word.

Consider the repetition of our confession of sins.  I am a poor miserable sinner.  We say it, over and over, and we learn to believe it more and more.  We can never really know how true it is, how deep and low the fissures of our sinful nature.  But we confess what God says about us.  And that is enough. 

But the more we believe it, as we grow in the humble recognition of our sins, the more God forms the mind of Christ in us.  And the more we appreciate how much he has forgiven us, and how great is his mercy in Christ, the more and more we grow in humility and faith.

It’s an old joke among us when someone says, “see how humble I am!”  By claiming to be humble you prove that you are not.  But not so for Jesus, who also says this, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29 NIV)

It is precisely Jesus’ humble service that gives us rest and hope and peace.  It is his humble suffering and obedient death on the cross that empties us of sin and fills us with his righteousness, and forms in us the mind of Christ himself.  May we ever grow in such humility, and learn true humility from him. 

Sermon - Midweek Lent - Matthew 27:50-54

 

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

The Centurion—Matthew 27:50-54

Today we come to our final minor character of the Passion account. 

As with most of these, we know little about this man – not his name, not his origin, really only his job and a statement he made when he observed how Jesus died – “Truly this man was the Son of God”  It’s a notable comment, to say the least!  Certainly, something we can agree with.  And we will unpack this beautiful statement of faith in just a few moments.

But first, let us consider the role of the Roman Centurion.  From the same word that we get the term, “century”, a centurion was a sort of mid-level Roman officer, in charge, officially, of 100 soldiers.  Roughly equivalent to a Captain in today’s military terms.  He would usually be a man of some experience and skill, perhaps even a veteran of battle.  He is a man who both gives and takes orders, to those below and above him, respectively.  And the Roman military was nothing if not orderly.  That was part of what made them such a force to be reckoned with.

Scripture presents us with a total of 7 different centurions.  And with each one there is something to admire.  Consider in chronological order:

The centurion of  Luke 7:1-10, who came to seek the aid of Christ for his slave who had fallen ill.  Jesus says of him, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

Next we have the centurion who had charge of Jesus at the cross, who we especially consider this evening.  He is mentioned here in Matthew 27 and also in Mark 15.

Then in Acts 10 we have a centurion that is named for us, Cornelius, a convert to Christianity through the ministry of St. Peter.  He was a devout man, the first Gentile believer to be baptized by the church.  “He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.”

Later in Acts, another centurion is seen taking St. Paul into custody.  Paul tells them he is a Roman citizen, “and when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”  Another centurion who had regard for good order and the law.

In Acts 23:23 we see two centurions taking Paul to Felix and protecting him from the threatened hostility of the crowd.

And in Acts 27:1-28:16 we meet Julius, the centurion responsible for taking Paul to Rome.  He enacted the mission capably and humanely and became interested in Paul, so much so that he saved him from death at the hands of the soldiers in the hour of threatened shipwreck.

Verses 42-43:  The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.  But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan.

So the centurion at the cross is in fairly good company, as his fellow officers mentioned in Scripture are either men of honor and duty, righteous in a worldly sense, or in some cases even converted or seemed to convert to the Christian faith.

But this one at the cross.  What an interesting little anecdote he gives us. Would you say he is a Christian?  A believer?  A God-fearer?

Certainly his witness, short as it is, could indicate the beginnings of faith.  After all, the early Christian creed, “Jesus is Lord” is an even shorter statement of faith.  And Paul says in 1 Corinthains 12, “no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.”

And so something more than a casual observation seems to be going on with this man. 

He had surely seen more than his share of crucifixions.  Dozens, maybe hundreds of criminals hung on Roman crosses for various offences.  Like a soldier in war becomes numb to the killing, for this man to crucify three more poor souls must have been just another day at the office.  Until.. it wasn’t.

Jesus’ death was different.  We notice some of the details:

The curtain of the temple was torn in two (and from top to bottom no less).  Did the centurion hear word of this?  Did the news spread?  We wonder.  We can clearly understand the significance of it, though.  That in the death of Christ, we, his people now have access to the very Holy of Holies, for Christ reconciles us to the Father by his blood.  The separation between God and man is no longer, and hence the curtain is torn in two.

Then, what the centurion would certainly have seen, and heard, and felt – the earth shook.  The rocks split.  But this was no ordinary tremor, caused by some Faultline or geographical phenomenon.  This was creation itself reacting and convulsing to the death of the Son of God.  This doesn’t happen every day.

So also for us, who have become numb to sin and death.  Sin is so much a part of us and our lives that we often pay it no mind, it’s just part of the background.  Why doesn’t it shock us, disgust us, drive us to our knees?  Why doesn’t sin, our own sin, rock our world?  Shake our foundations?  What does God have to do to get our attention?

We are dulled, perhaps even to the cross.  We see crosses everywhere, perhaps even with a corpus, a body of Christ depicted upon them.  We wear them as jewelry, we decorate our homes with them.  And perhaps we also pass them by too quickly, without recalling even a little, what these symbols represent to us.  That here, on a Roman cross, the Son of God truly died. For us!

The centurion saw the sun darken, he felt the earthquake and perhaps heard about the torn curtain, and maybe even some holy people rising from death.  These events of nature and miraculous happenings Perhaps he also observed the grace with which Christ died – praying forgiveness for his tormentors, promising paradise to a condemned thief, caring for his mother and friend, and committing his spirit to the Father.  And through all these things the Holy Spirit worked to bring this man to a simple confession – a profound declaration, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

The same Spirit brings you to faith in Christ.  The same Spirit the brings your heart to believe gives you lips to confess the Son of God.  It may also be a simple creed, “I believe in Jesus”, or “I’m a Christian”.  It may be a more thorough confession of our own sin and of God’s forgiveness.  It may be a formal creed or an informal conversation.  But the Spirit inspires and awakens faith, and that faith speaks.

And sometimes just a little confession goes a long way.  After all, the centurion’s simple confession, one little sentence, still speaks to us today through the words of Scripture.  He joins his voice to ours in that great chorus of the faithful who recognize the Son of God in the Son of Man, Jesus, the Christ.

We don’t know what became of the centurion.  Maybe he continued in that confession and was baptized and believed.  Certainly many Romans and Greeks, Jews and Gentiles, priests and solders became Christians.   Or maybe he went back to business as usual, another day at the office. 

But we do know that the cross changes everything for us.  For Christians, Good Friday is never just another day.  Oh, and by the way, there is another day….  Soon, there would be another earthquake, and the Roman soldiers keeping watch over the tomb would faint like feathers.  Angelic power will roll the stone away, and the one who died will live again.  And the church will confess that the Christ who died is the Christ who lives, and his resurrection will prove even more, truly this man was, and is, the Son of God.

As this Lenten season comes to a close:  Thanks be to God for his word, and especially for the account of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Thanks be to God for every little detail, every little facet of the story, by which his word continues to draw us in.  For in these minor characters, we can see even ourselves, and appreciate ever more the Christ who died for us, and who has made us a part of his story.  Glory be to Jesus!  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

Sermon - Lent 5 - Mark 10:35-45

Sometimes people will say, “Pastor, I want to tell you something but you have to promise not to tell anyone.”  Or maybe your kids will say to you, “Dad, I want to ask you for something but you have to say yes”.  Another like it is, “I want to tell you something but you have to promise not to be mad.”

Well it’s hard to make such a promise before you know what you’re agreeing to.  The asker maybe is trying to soften the blow a bit, or prime the pump to test how generous or patient you are feeling.  In any case, that’s what James and John seem to do with the request they bring to Jesus. There’s the request before the request, the question before the question, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever it is we ask of you.”

This suggests that they knew their request was at least somewhat out of line.  These disciples, after all, were prone to their own little petty squabbles and contests.  We know for certain they would argue which one of them was the greatest.  They would no doubt jockey for position amongst themselves in various other ways.  Who gets to sit closest to Jesus.  Who gets to have this honor or that privilege.  I’m sure there was no small bit of jealously amongst the 9 that the 3, Peter, James and John, seemed to have closer access to Jesus in certain situations.

Maybe that’s what prompted James and John to come forward with such an audacious request.  Something like, “hey Jesus, obviously you seem to have a fondness for us – you took us up the mount to meet Moses and Elijah.  We’re some of the first to follow you, and after all, look at all we gave up to do so.  We could have been working for dad on the fishing boat.  But we know, you said we’d be fishers of men.  So here we are, Jesus, asking you to really just make it official.  We just want a little assurance, that we really are at the top of the heap.  So, when you come into your kingdom, give us the places of honor, the right and left hand, ya know?  We’re on your team and we deserve to be in that inner circle, and really, you should just let everyone else know right now so there’s no big fight about it later.  We’re looking out for you after all, Jesus.  What do you think?”

And what must he have thought!  At your right hand and your left hand in your glory.  They were thinking thrones!  Jesus was thinking crosses.  They were thinking glory as the world knows glory – with pomp and circumstance, power and privilege, honor and might.  Jesus knows his true glory is in suffering.  His honor is in dishonor.  His throne is a cross, his crown:  thorns, his royal robes a naked shame, and his kingly work is to die.

You don’t know what you’re asking, fellas.  Do you really want to die with me?  Jesus knows the disciples will scatter when he is stricken.  Jesus knows that they won’t be joining him in this task, this phase of his ministry.  They followed him from Galilee, they learned at his feet, they even went out on his behalf preaching and healing, casting out demons.  But this task – suffer and die for the sins of the world – this cup, he alone could drink.  This baptism of suffering and death for the redemption of all – only the God-man could undergo. This sacrifice, only he would, only he could make.

And not only that, Jesus knew this was all planned out.  It was all prepared.  Indeed, the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world.  So the spots of honor, if you could call them that, on his right or left, were reserved for two thieves who would die at his sides.  One mocking, the other repentant, but that’s a story for another day.  Let’s stay with James and John for now.

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” Jesus says.  And here we are so often like James and John.  

We think we’re up to the task.  We think we have the strength, the capacity, the wherewithal, to do what needs to be done – whatever it is in his kingdom.  But we forget that he’s the one with the plan.  He’s the one to do what is needed.  And we are the passive recipients of his glorious salvation.

Sin gets it wrong both ways.  We underestimate our evil and overestimate our good.  We are blind to how blind we are, and our proud heart thinks too much of itself.  One look at the cross should foil all of that mischief.  There at the cross we see the price, the true price of our sins.  The perfect, spotless Lamb of God despised by men and forsaken by God.  There we see the impotence of our own devices as Christ does it all, and far better and more than we ever could, he gives everything for us, down to the last drop of his holy, precious, blood.  How can our pride stand before the cross?  How can we hope to offer anything so valuable, so precious, so divine?

No, you don’t know what you’re asking.  But Jesus does know.  And he’s got the plan.  This is his divine purpose, his holy mission, his death, his cross, for your salvation.

But there’s another sense in which Jesus answers their request positively.  There’s another way in which they will share his cup of suffering, and will be baptized with his baptism.  A pastor friend of mine put it this way:

Are you able to be baptized in a baptism like his? Yes. And I tell you, you were. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3–4 ESV). You have been baptized into Jesus’ blood. His blood cleanses you from all unrighteousness. His blood covers all of your sin. His death has paid your ransom. You are free from sin and death. 

 The death he suffered you have participated in. You received his death. You died to sin with him. You drank the cup he drank. His death is now your death. In baptism you have been put to death to sin. Likewise, you have been raised to life in him. His death is your death, which means his life is now your life. You have eternal life!

There’s a little epilogue to this, and it begins when the other disciples hear about James and John’s request.  They become indignant.  They are offended, bent out of shape we might say.  Their own pride is disturbed.  “How dare they!  Who do they think they are!” And each of the others must have had in mind why he, instead, deserved great honors even more.

So Jesus sets them straight, and us, also.  Here’s the proper way to think.  This is how my people desire to be:  servants.  True greatness consists not in being served, but in serving.  A true Christian is far more concerned about serving and loving his neighbor, even the least of them, rather than worrying about our own station and status, our own honor and privilege.  

Indeed, whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  Hard words for our sinful nature to swallow.  Words that run afoul of our pride.  But a joyful description of the redeemed child of God in Christ!

Christ, the greatest among us, has already become the servant of all.  If you want to be like Jesus, then be like Jesus. Not in receiving honor, but in showing it to others.  Not in being served, but in serving.  If you want to be at his right and left hand, then be his hands of service.  

No, the Gentiles are concerned with place and position, power and status.  The Gentiles want to lord it over each other whatever little shred of power they can.  Not so the Christian.  The Christian lives to sere, just as Jesus lived to serve, even to death, to give his life as a ransom for many.

In fact it is precisely this good news itself that motivates and spurs our works of service.  It is the ransom he paid that calls us to pay it forward.  Only in Christ, in faith, by his Spirit, do we imitate and follow in his steps of service and love and humility.  

And here’s a little something you may not have noticed.  Even in the midst of instructing them “how to be” is a promise:  “But it shall not be so among you.”  The difference between believer and unbeliever, when it comes to works of service, lies first in the promise of Christ.  You will be different from the world, because of who Christ has made you to be, and promised you will be.

So when James and John came to Jesus with “the big ask”, looking for power, privilege and position – he rather points them to his own position of service, and to his baptism and cup, that is to say, his cross.  One day, they would come to understand what they were asking.  And one day, they would even come to share in that suffering and death in a new way they had never imagined.  They would suffer for his sake, bear all manner of persecution, and die as his martyrs, not for honor and glory for themselves, but in humble faith and service.  

God grant such an end to us all.  A faithful end, a peaceful end, trusting in Christ.  And until then a life full of service to others, all for the sake of him, the Ransom, the servant of all.