Sermon for the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord - 1 Cor 1:26-31

 

          Baptism of Our Lord

                                                                                                1 Cor 1:26-31

                                                                                                1/12/25

 

            “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” That’s what Paul has just said prior to our text.  He says that the message of the cross – of Christ crucified – is folly to those who are perishing.  It is mornoic.

            How could it be otherwise?  Paul and the apostles proclaimed that a Jew who had been crucified is Lord of all.  They said that a man who had died as a criminal in the most humiliating form of death possible is the Lord who is to be worshipped.

            The apostle said that this was God negating the wisdom of the world – making it foolish. Paul wrote, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” Then he added, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

            God had acted in Christ in what seemed to be foolishness and weakness. And in our text the apostle goes on to point out that the Corinthians themselves were examples of God working in this way.  He says, “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.”  It was true that most of the Corinthian believers were of low status – they were poor, women, and slaves.

            However, God had called them. And this choice revealed the way God worked. Paul says, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

            Paul tells us that God works in ways that appear foolish.  He acts in ways that appear weak.  We see this truth on display today in the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.  You see it in John the Baptist’s response to Jesus.  Jesus came to John who was baptizing in the Jordan River.  John’s ministry was calling Israel to repentance.  His baptism was a baptism of repentance – by submitting to John’s baptism people showed they repented of their sin and were looking for Yahweh’s salvation.  

            When John saw Jesus he responded, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  In fact John wanted to prevent it from happening. But Jesus said, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  We learn that when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

            Jesus submitted to a baptism of repentance – a baptism that was for sinners. At that event the Spirit descended on Jesus and God the Father spoke words that drew upon Isaiah chapter 42 as the prophet said, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him.”  Jesus is identified as the Servant of the Lord.  And the Servant is the One about whom Isaiah wrote: “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

            The cross may be foolishness to the world, but Jesus’ baptism was all about the cross.  At his baptism, Jesus stepped into your shoes – a sinner who deserves God’s judgment.  You do because you don’t always obey your parents.  You do because you don’t always carry out your vocation as parent – your calling to teach your children the Christian faith by what you say and do.  You do because in your jobs you don’t always work as unto the Lord and not unto men.

            From the moment of Jesus’ baptism, his entire ministry was directed towards one goal- it was directed towards the cross.  Jesus repeatedly declared that he would die.  But he also said each time that he would rise from the dead.  Jesus’ words found their fulfillment as he was crucified on Good Friday.  He was the Suffering Servant who received the judgment of God in our place.  But then on Easter, God raised Jesus from the dead.  He vindicated Jesus by showing that what appeared foolish and weak had in fact been God’s powerful and wise action to save us.

            After his resurrection, Jesus instituted Holy Baptism. He took the baptism administered by John the Baptist and transformed it into his own as he commanded his Church to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

            The Corinthians had received baptism when they became Christians. They had been baptized into Christ.  Paul says in our text, “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”  Baptized into Christ, the Corinthians now lived in Christ.  They shared in the saving benefits that Christ had won for them.

            What Paul says about the Corinthians is also true for you.  Through baptism you now live in Christ. You have been joined to the Lord and his saving work.  Christ is the wisdom from God. What appeared to be the foolishness of the cross is the wisdom of God that brings salvation. 

            Christ is the righteousness from God.  He is the saving work of God that puts all things right.  In particular on account of Christ God has justified you.  He has declared you to be righteous – to be not guilty.  You already know the verdict of the Last Day.

            Christ is our sanctification.  Because of Christ we are now considered holy by God.  In ourselves we are people who continue to struggle with sin.  But as those who have been baptized into Christ – as those who are in Christ – God does not see us as sinners.  Instead, he sees us as those who are holy because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.  It is for this reason that Paul could begin the letter to Corinth by saying: “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.”

            And Christ is our redemption.  We were enslaved to sin.  We were held in its power.  But Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to free us from this slavery.  Baptized into Christ, you now live in Christ.  You receive Christ’s saving work, and so you are redeemed.

            Baptized into Christ we have this new status before God.  But this doesn’t mean that we are free to continue living in any way that we want.  Paul says in this letter, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

            Paul lists these sins. But then he goes on to say, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”  Through baptism the Corinthians had been made holy and had been declared righteous by God.  But of course the implication for them – and for us who have been baptized – is that we can’t return to living in these sinful ways.

            Paul teaches us that Holy Baptism is the means God uses to assist us in this struggle. He told the Romans, “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.”

            Baptized into Christ, we have shared in his death.  But Christ did not remain dead.  Instead, God raised him from the dead.  The apostle says later in Romans, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

            In baptism you received the “washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who raised Christ from the dead.  This means that the resurrection power of the Spirit is already at work in you.  The Spirit is the One who helps you to walk in newness of life – life that is true to God’s will.

When we fail in our ongoing struggle with sin, we repent.  We repent and turn in faith to our baptism.  In repentance we drown the old Adam.  And by turning to our baptism in faith we are directing ourselves toward the source of the Spirit’s continuing work in our life.  It is the Spirit who helps the new man to arise in live in ways that please God.

Paul said that the preaching of Christ crucified was a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.  Why did Paul and the apostles suffer and die in order to proclaim a message that they knew many would reject as moronic and absurd?  They did so because Jesus Christ had risen from the dead.

Your baptism is God’s promise that you too will share in Christ’s resurrection on the Last Day.  You have been baptized into the death of Jesus, who is the risen Lord.  Paul told the Romans about baptism, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

God acted in Christ in a way that appeared foolish and weak – he acted in the way of the cross.  The Baptism of Our Lord was the moment when Jesus took on the role of being the suffering Servant – the One who would die on the cross in our place. Now in delivering the blessings of Jesus’ work, God continues to act in ways that appear foolish and weak to many.  He uses water applied in his Triune name.  He uses water and the Word in Holy Baptism.  But because this is God’s gift, it is powerful and saving.  Baptized into Christ we live as those who are in Christ who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funeral sermon for Stephen Newton - 1 Th 4:13-18

 

        Stephen Newton funeral

                                                                                    1 Th 4:13-18

                                                                                    1/11/25

 

 

            When Steve and Lori Newton arrived at Good Shepherd and became members, I began to learn about their background. Before very much time had passed, I learned something about Steve that I thought was really cool: he had flown the Cobra helicopter gunship while he was in the U.S. Army.  At the height of the Cold War in the 1980’s he was stationed in Germany along with NATO forces facing off against the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.

            As someone who has always been interested in military aviation, I found this to be fascinating. But Steve’s arrival coincided with events in my own life that made this relevant for another reason.  My son Timothy is in the Army ROTC program at Illinois State. Although his original intention was to be an infantry officer, he was now hoping to be branched to Army Aviation so that he could fly helicopters. When Steve learned of this he engaged in conversation with Timothy on a number of occasions about this topic.  He was a helpful encourager for my son as he pursued this goal.

            Of course, flying the Cobra was not the only thing that Steve did while he was in Germany.  It was there that Steve and Lori met and were married.  They were married for thirty seven years, as they had children and grandchildren in the life they shared together. And of course, during his years at Good Shepherd we have known Steve to be an active member, attending the Divine Service and Bible class; singing in the choir; serving on the Safety Committee; and serving as congregational president.

            Steve’s death was completely unexpected. We have suddenly been deprived of a husband, father, and grandfather; of a son and family member; of a friend and brother in Christ. There is grief as we experience this.  Yet in our text this morning, the apostle Paul addresses our situation.  He gives us encouragement and hope in the face of death.

            Paul begins by saying, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”  The apostle had preached the Gospel in Thessalonica, but we learn from the Book of Acts that his time there had been cut short by Jewish opposition.  He had not been able to do as much teaching as he would have liked. And the concept of the resurrection was foreign to Greco-Roman thought.  They viewed the body as a kind of prison that the soul needed to escape.

            Paul had preached that the risen Lord Jesus will return in glory.  But in the time since Paul had been there, some of the Thessalonian Christians had died.  This had raised questions about what would happen to the Christians who had died before Christ’s return.

            Steve too has died before Christ’s return. The medical report will say that he died of a heart attack.  But that’s not why he died.  Steve died because of sin.  Sin entered into our world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God.  It brought death to them as God said, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” It has continued to bring death to all people.  Paul told the Romans, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

            Steve was conceived and born as a sinner.  And then he lived as a sinner.  He did not love and trust in God above all things.  He did not love his neighbor as himself at all times.  We know that Steve was a sinner with absolute certainty because we are here at his funeral.  Paul told the Romans, “The wages of sin is death.”

            Yet sin does not merely bring death. Every sin of thought, word, and deed is committed against the holy God.  Sin evokes God’s wrath and judgment. Paul says, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.” God’s condemnation of sin brings the eternal judgment of damnation and hell.

            However, we have just celebrated during Christmas that God did not leave Steve and all of us with no hope in the face of our sin and God’s judgement. Instead, in the fullness of time he sent his Son into the world as Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.

            God sent his Son into the world in order to die on the cross for us.  The sinless One took our sin, and received God’s judgment. Paul told the Corinthians: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

            God judged Steve’s sin in Christ as he died on the cross.  But death was not the end, for Christ was the means by which God defeated death.  On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead.  The resurrection of the Last Day began when God raised Jesus with a body transformed so that it can never die again.

            Through his Spirit, God called Steve to faith in Jesus Christ.  By this faith in Christ, Steve received justification before God.  He lived knowing that had been declared innocent by God on account of Christ.

            Steve had the assurance of this forgiveness because of his baptism into Christ.  Paul told the Romans, “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.”  Steve knew that through baptism he had shared in Christ’s saving death.

            Baptized into Christ, Steve lived his life in Christ.  He was united with his Lord as he received Christ’s saving benefits. That was true during his life, and it is still true now. Death has not separated Steve from Christ.  When Paul contemplated the possibility of his own death he told the Philippians, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”  Steve is with Christ, and for that we give thanks.  No longer does he face the struggle against sin, or experience the hardships of this fallen world.

            This is better.  But in our text, Paul shows us that God has something more complete and final in store.  He says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”  Death is a source of grief because God created us for bodily life.  Death does not reflect God’s created intention for us.

            But we do not grieve as those who have no hope.  Instead, we have the living hope of Christ’s resurrection.  Paul says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” 

The resurrection of Jesus was the beginning of the resurrection of the Last Day.  Paul told the Corinthians, “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”

In our text Paul describes Christ’s coming.  He emphasizes the fact that those who are alive at the Lord’s return will not precede those have already died.  He says, “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.”

We learn that the return of Christ will be a dramatic event that all will witness.  The apostle says, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

Next he adds, “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” Paul emphasizes that all Christians will always be with the Lord.

The word “meet” used here describes the procedure by which the residents of a city went out to greet a visiting governor and then escorted him back into the city.  It points us in the direction of what Paul says later in Romans chapter 8 when he describes how “creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”  Christ will raise Steve and all who have died in the faith.  He will transform those who are still living. And together we will live in God’s creation that will be very good once again.

Paul concludes our text by saying, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.”  We encourage one another with the knowledge that Steve was a baptized saint who is now with Christ.  We rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus Christ is the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord who will return in glory on the Last Day. 

We find encouragement in the knowledge that when he does he will raise up Steve and all the saints who have died. Scripture uses the metaphor of “sleep” for death, because it is temporary. People who are asleep wake up.  Christ will raise the dead and give them resurrection bodies like his own.  He will transform the bodies of those who are alive so that they can never die again.  And so Steve, and all who believe in Jesus, will always be with the Lord.    

 

 

 

 

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Christmas - Mt 2:13-23

 

         Christmas 2

                                                                                                Mt 2:13-23

                                                                                                1/5/25

 

            After eighteen years as your pastor, you are now well aware that the Magi – the “wise men” – will not show up at Good Shepherd during Christmastide – the season of Christmas that lasts for twelve days.  Despite the fact that the Magi appear on innumerable Christmas cards, and are found in manger scenes displayed in homes, they are not part of the Christmas event.

            Instead, the visit by the Magi marks the beginning of the season of Epiphany as we celebrate that Christ’s saving glory appeared in the world. It is only then that we bring out the Magi for display behind the altar.

            Now this creates a rather puzzling state affairs this morning.  Our text begins with the words: “When [the wise men] had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’”  Everything in our text occurs after the magi have visited, and then left. 

            However, we won’t celebrate the visit of the magi until tomorrow – the Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord. Clearly, we have things out of order here. The explanation for this is that in these first two Sundays after Christmas the lectionary has provided us with the two earliest events that we learn about in our Lord’s life after his birth.  Last week we heard about his presentation at the temple as Simeon took the child in his arms. This week we hear about the flight to Egypt.

            We learn that after the magi had left – having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod – Joseph had his own dream. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

            The magi had come to Jerusalem looking for the King of the Jews.  Instead, they found Herod the Great who ruled the land of the Jews.  Herod had displayed remarkable tenacity and ruthlessness in establishing his kingdom.  He eliminated potential threats – including killing one of his wives, and three of his sons.  Caesar August is reported to have quipped: “It is better to be Herod’s pig than his son,” since Jews didn’t eat pork.

            Herod learned from the scribes that according to the prophet Micah, the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. So he sent the magi to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.’”

            Herod had no intention of worshipping the child. As the angel told Joseph in the dream, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”  Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God was in this world.  And almost immediately his life is threatened with death by evil.

            Joseph took Jesus and Mary in the middle of the night, and fled to Egypt and stayed there until Herod died.  It was a fearful trek that turned their life upside down.  Yet Matthew tells us that this threat by Herod did not negate God’s work in Christ.  Instead, this hardship was included in God’s plan.  Matthew tells us, “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’”

            Matthew quotes the first verse of Hosea chapter 11.  Hosea’s statement recounts Israel’s history.  He says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.”  God had brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt, but the nation had been unfaithful.

            Yahweh had said to Pharaoh through Moses: “Israel is my firstborn son.”  Then he had said to Kind David about his descendant: “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.”  The Davidic king would be Israel reduced to one.  Jesus was the Son of David – he was the Christ.  And so he was Israel reduced to One – he stood in the place of the nation.

            God was working through Israel to bring salvation to all people.  He had told Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Israel was to be a light to the nations.  But the people had been unfaithful to God and brought dishonor to his name.  Now God was doing something new. He was acting in his Son Jesus Christ to fulfill all that Israel was meant to be.  God was bringing Jesus his Son out of Egypt just has he had done with the nation.  Next week we will learn about how Jesus passed through the water of his baptism just as Israel passed through the Red Sea.

            God was at work in Christ as he went to Egypt in preparation to be the fulfillment of Israel’s role in the plan of salvation.  But that didn’t mean there was an absence of evil and suffering.  Herod soon realized that he had been tricked by the magi.  Furious, he had all the male children two years old and younger in the area of Bethlehem killed.  Matthew explains:

“Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’”

            Matthew quotes Jeremiah chapter 31.  The chapter is a word of hope to Judah that though destruction and exile were coming at the hand of the Babylonians, God would yet restore them.  God says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel!”  In fact, at the end of the chapter Yahweh promises the day when he will make a new covenant with them.

            The words of Jeremiah 31 quoted by Matthew are in fact the only sad statement in the whole chapter.  The Holy Spirit teaches us through the evangelist’s words that the world’s evil cannot deny God’s saving plan.  In fact, our Gospel text shows us that God’s plan occurs in the midst of sorrow.  Ultimately it will be accomplished through sorrow.

            We learn in our text that when Herod died, and angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.”  Joseph took Jesus and Mary back to Israel.  But because Herod the Great’s son, Archelaus was reigning in Judea, Joseph was warned in a dream and he went to live in Nazareth in the region of Galilee.  Matthew tells us this occurred so that “what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: ‘He shall be called a Nazarene.’”

            For Joseph, the conception of Jesus seemed to be the very worst news.  Before they had been married, Mary was found to be pregnant.  It was apparent that Mary had already been unfaithful and broken the Sixth Commandment. Joseph was preparing to divorce her and end the betrothal when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

            Joseph learned that the unique status of this child was tied to the unique role that he would play – he would save his people from their sins.  Jesus Christ the Son of God entered this world to provide us with forgiveness.  He came to provide us pardon before the holy God for all our lustful thoughts and actions; for our angry words; for our jealousy and coveting.

            We see in our text this morning that God acted in Christ as he brought him to Egypt so that he could accomplish what Israel had failed to do.  Yet this took place because Herod the Great sought to kill Jesus.  It meant that Jesus and his family experienced the fear of fleeing at night to a foreign land.  It meant the little boys around Bethlehem were murdered by Herod.

            We learn in our text that God’s saving action in Christ occurs in the midst of sorrow and hardship.  This continues during our Lord’s ministry as the Pharisees and religious leaders continually oppose him.  They accuse him of being in league with the devil.  They conspire together about how to kill Jesus.

            Jesus said that it would be this way. After Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, Matthew tells us, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

            Our Lord entered this world to win forgiveness.  But he came to accomplish this through his death on the cross.  The cross – the instrument of brutality and humiliation – would be the means by which he offered himself as a ransom for many.  From the cross he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” as he received God’s wrath against your sin.

            The Jewish religious leaders meant the cross to be the end of Jesus.  On Good Friday, when his dead body was taken down and placed in a tomb, it looked like it was.  But on the third day God raised Jesus from the dead.  Jesus was vindicated as the One through whom God had been working to give us forgiveness and resurrection life. He appeared to his disciples on a mountain in Galilee and declared, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.”

            Jesus’ death and resurrection underscores what we find in our text today.  It tells us that the world’s evil cannot negate God’s plan. It tells us that God’s plan occurs in the midst of suffering and hardship.

            We all want our life to go well.  We want our plans to work out.  We want to have success and comfort. When this is not the case, we are tempted to doubt God.  We feel the desire to question his love and care.

            The death and resurrection of Jesus provide us with the assurance that God continues to love and care for us no matter what is happening.  Jesus himself passed through rejection, suffering, and death.  This was not the absence of God, but instead was the presence of God working to give us forgiveness and everlasting life.  His suffering and death led to resurrection and exaltation.

            You have now been baptized into Christ.  Paul told the Colossians you have “been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”  Through baptism you already share in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This provides us with the ability to trust in God’s love and care no matter what is happening.  In the midst of tragedies and hardships we cling in faith to Jesus Christ, for in Christ God has revealed that his love is present no matter what things may look like.  Through his Means of Grace, Christ sustains us in this faith – a faith that knows that the risen Lord will return on the Last Day to raise us up as we live with him forever.