Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord

Today is The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and was exalted as our incarnate Lord He took His place at the right hand of God.

Scripture reading:

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.  And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:1-11).

Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter - Rogate - Num 21:4-9

                                                                                                Easter 6

                                                                                                Num 21:4-9

                                                                                                5/17/20

            Do you remember March 21?  It’s understandable if you don’t.  It was, after all, an eternity ago.  On that day Illinois Governor Prizker’s stay at home order went into effect.  It began on that day and was set to go through April 7.  At that time, the nation lived in fear that scenes we had viewed from Italy would play out here.

            We had learned that Covid-19 was extremely contagious. We knew that it compromised the respiratory system of its victims.  There were models that predicted hundreds of thousands of deaths. And the great fear was that the virus would overwhelm the critical care infrastructure.  There are only so many ICU beds, and only so many respirators.  A massive rise in the need for these would swamp the system and force terrible decisions about who would live and who would die.

            We were told that there was a need to “flatten the curve” – to contain the spread of the virus and the rate at which it was infecting people so that the critical care system would not be overwhelmed.  Based on everything we knew at the time, it made sense.  Once things had been explained in this way, I think most people were willing to accept that this temporary inconvenience in life was a necessary adjustment.

            The problem is that it is no longer March 21 or April 7.  It’s May 17.  We’ve been living with these restrictions for two months now. Some things have been loosened a little – at least we are now allowed to gather as ten people in church. Some things are even more restrictive – we all now have to wear masks when we go in contained public areas.

            On March 21 were told it was about “flattening the curve.”  But in the governor’s announcement of the plan to “open up” Illinois, we have learned now that the requirements for the lifting of restrictions – including the masks that make us all look so silly – is a vaccine or treatment for the virus. The goal seems to be now that we live with restrictions until no can die from Covid-19. And that means we really don’t know when this will come to an end.

            As a result of this, many people are just fed up with the whole thing. We are tired of living this way. The economic devastation mounts by the day.  Our understanding of the virus has grown, and while there is much that is no yet understood, it has become clear that the virus is not as deadly as initial models predicted.  We’ve learned that those who are most at risk of death live in nursing homes and care facilities.  And there is growing body of scientists – legitimate experts - who argue that the lock down approach is in fact counterproductive at this point.  There is rising frustration and anger about the fact that we are being forced to live this way and have no say in the matter.

            In our Old Testament lesson this morning, there is also frustration and anger.  The Israelites too were living in the midst of challenging circumstances and they were tired of it.  The difference is that while in our situation there is the possibility of disagreement about the best course of action to take, in the case of Israel there was no room for varied opinions.  To complain and grumble about how things were being handled was to complain against Yahweh himself. It was to sin against God.

            Our text begins by telling us, “From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way.”  Yahweh had delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt with a mighty hand.  He had sent nine devastating plagues on the Egyptians. And in the tenth plague, the Passover, he had killed the first born of the Egyptians while sparing the Israelites.  Pharaoh had sent them out of the land, only to change his mind and send the Egyptian army after them.  At the Red Sea God had dramatically saved Israel as they walked through the sea on dry ground, while the water crashed back in and drowned the Egyptians.

            At Mt. Sinai, Yahweh had entered into a covenant with Israel.  He had taken them as his choice possession and given them the Torah to live in this covenant.  He had brought them to the border of Canaan – the land flowing with milk and honey he had promised to give them.  Yet there they had rebelled against God. They had refused to enter Canaan, and so God said that they would wander in the wilderness for forty years.  All those twenty years and older would die during that time and would never enter the promised land.

            Feeding a huge group of people on the move takes a feat of logistics.  But Yahweh had no problem doing so.  He fed the people with manna, a substance they gathered from the ground each morning except the Sabbath. And he sent quail upon the camp to give them meat.

            In spite of this we learn in our text: “And the people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.’”  Now where do you begin in analyzing this statement?  There are three facts that the Israelites conveniently ignored.  First, Yahweh had freed them from slavery in Egypt when he brought them out. Second, they were wandering in the wilderness because they had rebelled against God when he wanted to bring them into the promised land.  And third, God was providing them with food, and also with water. They lacked for nothing to keep them alive.

            Like the Israelites, we sometimes complain about the circumstances of life. We blame God for the difficulties he has allowed.  Yet, like the Israelites, we too conveniently ignore that often it is our own actions that have caused the circumstances in the first place.  God has given us the Ten Commandments because they describe how he has ordered his world to work.  If you try to do things your own way – if you ignore his ordering – the outcome is predictable. Things will not turn out well.  You will hurt yourself.  You will hurt others.  And you have don’t get to blame God when it was you who rejected his direction; when it was you who sinned.

            Or like the Israelites we find that God is providing, but he isn’t providing according to the standards we think he should.  His provision just doesn’t measure up to what we expect. An you know what? God doesn’t care.  He has promised you food and clothing and nothing else.  He has promised you daily bread, not filet mignon.  And our grumbling and complaining; our coveting what others have because they have it “better” is sin against God.

            The people had spoken against God and Moses. And we learn in our text that God responded by punishing the people.  He sent fiery serpents among them, and they bit the people, so that many died.  The people knew that they had brought this upon themselves. They came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.”

            So Moses prayed for the people. And in this action we see one of several ways that Moses is an Old Testament figure who points to the fulfillment found in Jesus Christ. St. Paul told the Romans, “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”  The exalted Lord Jesus – whose ascension we will celebrate this week – is at the God the Father’s right hand and intercedes for us.  He speaks on our behalf, and the next event in our text reveals why his words have force – why they are honored by the Father.

            Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 

Moses did so – he made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And just as God had promised, if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

            Jesus tells us that this bronze serpent was a type of his own cross.  It was something in the Old Testament that pointed forward to how Jesus Christ would win forgiveness for us.  Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter 3, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”  Jesus was lifted up on the cross in order to win forgiveness for us by his sacrificial death.

            Yet a death that ended in death would not be a source of hope for us. And so on the third day – on Easter – God raised Jesus from the dead.  He vindicated Jesus and his sacrifice.  He showed us that all who believe in Jesus have forgiveness and eternal life because Jesus lives.  He has defeated death for us.  We already enjoy eternal life with God that death cannot end. And Jesus will give us a share in his resurrection on the Last Day when he returns in glory and raises our bodies.

            In our text God says, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”  God attaches his promise to an object – to something right there in the midst of the people.  He says, “everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

            We see here that God works in a sacramental way – he works through located means.  Because we are physical people who lead a bodily existence, he identifies things in our midst that he uses – means whereby his gives forgiveness.  He attaches his promise to these things that are located in our midst.  We do not have to wonder about where God is present giving us forgiveness.  He has given us the object for our faith, because as Luther reminds us, faith needs something to believe in.

            That is what Christ has given us in the Sacrament of the Altar, and that is one of the main reasons have been so eager to return to services at church – to return to the Divine Service.  Here Jesus has added his word of promise to bread and wine.  He had told you that this bread is his body given for you; that this wine is his blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.  Faith receives something tangible to believe in, because Jesus is still the incarnate Lord who is true God and true man.  He deals with us as people who are body and soul. And in so doing he shows what awaits us for our Lord has said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

            Forgiven and fed in this way, the Holy Spirit then leads and strengthens us to receive our Lord’s other gifts with thanksgiving.  We receive our daily bread as a gift from God, and seek to assist others with their needs. We give thanks for the blessings God gives to us – blessings that support our body and life.  We live as those who trust God’s promise of forgiveness and eternal life because Jesus who was lifted up on the cross has risen from the dead.     

           

           

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter - Cantate - Isa 12:1-6

                                                                                                Easter 5

                                                                                                Isa 12:1-6

                                                                                                5/10/17

            Almost everything that I have done and sought to accomplish here at Good Shepherd as pastor has been built upon a foundation that was already in place. Many of these things would not have been possible – or at least not possible as easily and as quickly as they were done – without the foundation that was laid by Pastor Schmidt’s sixteen years of ministry that proceeded my time as pastor here.

            I am thankful that on several occasions before he “died to the Lord” as pastor liked to say using the words of Romans chapter 14, I was able to say this to him and express my deep appreciation for what he had done here and the way it has been a great blessing for my work.  And in the same way, Pastor Schmidt shared how gratifying it was to see that his work was not only being retained, but advanced in ways that pleased him greatly.  He shared with me that when he talked to other retired pastors they often lamented about how successors had destroyed much of the practice that had been established – often by throwing away the liturgy and hymnody of the Lutheran church for other forms of worship.  Yet in those conversations he was able to say that not only had his successor kept what Pastor Schmidt had been doing, he was even doing more with it.

            No place can this been seen more clearly than in Catechesis at Good Shepherd.  Because of Pastor Schmidt I found that woven into the congregation was the expectation that parents would attend with their youth on Wednesday night for a catechetical time called “Learn by Heart.”  This was just how things worked, and no one questioned it. A component of Learn by Heart was that every week those present spoke the six foundational texts of the Catechism.

            In 2006 the new hymnal, Lutheran Service Book, came out.  Included in it was a Service of Prayer and Preaching that was intended for use in catechesis. This was an improvement on what we had been doing. And so, for the last decade or so, we have used this at Learn by Heart, and also for the Catechumenate.

            During those ten years, many of you have used this service.  And because of this, your mind may have been filling in music in the background as you heard our Old Testament lesson read.  I know that I can hardly read it without thinking of the music. The text of Isaiah 12 is the Old Testament canticle at the beginning of that service, and after singing it almost every week during nine months in catechesis year after year it is firmly imprinted in the mind.

            Isaiah chapter 12 is a song of praise and thanksgiving to Yahweh.  But it immediately makes clear that things had not always been so good. The prophet writes, “You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.”

            Right from the start in the first chapter, Isaiah had spoken about the people’s sin.  He wrote, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: ‘Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. 

The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.’”  He went on to add: “Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.”

            The people were guilty of idolatry as they worshipped the false gods of the surrounding peoples. They were going through the motions of offering sacrifices at the temple, but their heart was not in it.  And so in chapter five Yahweh said, “They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands. Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst.”

            The northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. and the people were taken in to exile.  The southern kingdom of Judah suffered terribly as its fortified cities were taken one by one.  Finally, the Assyrians laid siege to Jerusalem.  Only the miraculous intervention of Yahweh saved them.  But they didn’t learn. They continued in the same sinful ways, and later in this prophecy Isaiah speaks about the exile the will happen to Judah.

            The root problem in Israel and Judah was idolatry.  They worshipped false gods and violated the covenant God had made with them.  In doing so, they also ignored God’s Torah which described how they were to treat the weak and helpless.

            Idolatry – the breaking of the First Commandment – continues to be our root problem as well.  We of course do not worship Baal or Asherah.  But recently God has exposed some of our false gods in very painful ways.  The pandemic has cancelled every kind of sport activity. The result has been a huge hole in the lives of many people.  Our big fear now is whether college football and the NFL season will be cancelled. The amount of time, energy and attention we have directed towards sports – now made impossible – reveals the status of a false god it often holds.

            Or in the same way, the pandemic has seen the stock market tank, damaging investments. We cringe when we look at the numbers.  People have lost jobs or seen income cut.  We feel secure and confident when the financial numbers are good. We feel nervous and vulnerable when they are not.  And the thing that gives you a sense of security and well being is a god.

            Like Israel and Judah, God takes away our false gods.  He breaks them – and sometimes us – in order to reveal our sin.  He does this to reveal our need for him.  That’s what Yahweh did to his people.  Through defeat and exile he stripped them of everything in order to lead them to repentance.

            God takes away our false gods and leads us to repentance because he wants to forgive.  Already in the first chapter he said, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

            Yahweh promised a return from exile for his people. And this act of deliverance would point forward to something even bigger.  Already in the chapters leading up to our text, Yahweh has spoken about what he is doing to do through the Messiah – the descendant of David.  He spoke of how a virgin would conceive and bear and son.  He said of this son, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

            In the previous chapter he had just said of this descendant of David: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”

            And so in our text, which brings this first section of Isaiah to a close, the prophet writes: “You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.”  What is “that day”?  Well, it was deliverance from the Assyrians for Judah.  It was the Edict of Cyrus in 538 B.C. that allowed Judah to return from exile.  Yet each of those pointed forward to what the virgin born son, the child, the root of Jesse would do.

            That day is the day of salvation that has arrived for us because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  God’s anger has turned away. It has because he unleashed all of it against his Son on the cross.  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. 

            But then on Easter, God raised Jesus from the dead.  He vindicated Christ as the Servant of the Lord who had been faithful unto death, by making him the firstborn of the dead.  In our Lord Jesus, God has defeated death and begun the resurrection that will be ours.  We now live as those who are forgiven and have in Jesus the living hope of the resurrection.

            And so with Isaiah we say, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”  God is our salvation.  Because of him – because of what he has done in Jesus Christ – we can trust and not be afraid.  We can trust in the midst of a pandemic with all its disruption and uncertainty.  We can know that there is no reason to be afraid because God loves us and death itself has been defeated.  Covid-19 is powerless against the risen Lord.  It cannot win because Jesus has risen from the dead and has already won.

            And so with joy we draw water from the wells of salvation.  In the water of Holy Baptism we have shared in Jesus’ saving death and so are forgiven.  And because of baptism we know that we will also share in his resurrection. As St 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.”  We turn in faith to the blessing that God has given us in our baptism, and there we find a source of comfort and joy.

            Indeed, Isaiah’s words are true for us as he says, “And you will say in that day: ‘Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.’”  We give thanks to the Lord and sing his praises. And we make known his deeds among the peoples. We tell others about what God has done for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

            In a world paralyzed by fear that they will come into contact with a virus that will kill them, we declare that for us who are baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection, the virus is a defeated enemy because death has been defeated by Christ.  We have no need for fear.

            We can say on this day, “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.” We can sing on this day, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” And because the risen and ascended Lord will return in glory to raise us from the dead for eternal life in the new creation, we will be able to say on that day: “Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

           

             

Commemoration of C.F.W. Walther, Theologian

Today we remember and give thanks for C.F.W. Walther, Theologian.  Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther (1811-87), the father of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, served as its first president from 1847 to 1850 and then again from 1864 to 1878. In 1839 he emigrated from Saxony, Germany, with other Lutherans, who settled in Missouri. He served as pastor of several congregations in St. Louis, founded Concordia Seminary, and in 1847 was instrumental in the formation of the LCMS (then called the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States). Walther worked tirelessly to promote confessional Lutheran teaching and doctrinal agreement among all Lutherans in the United States. He was a prolific writer and speaker. Among his most influential works are Church and Ministry and The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel.

Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, you give the gift of teachers to your Church.  We praise you for the gifts of grace manifested in your servant Carl Ferdinand, and we pray that your Church may never be destitute of such gifts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Commemoration of Frederick the Wise, Christian Ruler

Today we remember and give thanks for Frederick the Wise, Christian Ruler.  Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, was Martin Luther's sovereign in the early years of the Reformation. Were it not for Frederick, there might not have been a Lutheran Reformation. Born in Torgau in 1463, he became so well known for his skill in political diplomacy and his sense of justice and fairness that he was called "the Wise" by his subjects. Though he never met Luther, Frederick repeatedly protected and provided for him. In all likelihood he saved the reformer from a martyr's fate. Frederick refused the pope's demand to extradite Luther to Rome for a heresy trial in 1518. When Emperor Charles V declared Luther an outlaw in 1521 at the Diet of Worms, Frederick provided sanctuary for Luther at the Wartburg castle. On his deathbed, Frederick received the Lord's Supper in both kinds--a clear confession of the evangelical faith.

Collect of the Day:

Together with Fredrick and all your saints who now rest from their labors, we look forward to your future coming to usher in your new creation--a place free from sin and death, a place where all our voices will praise You without end for Your great glory. Until that appointed time, continue to sustain us in this certain hope throughout all our earthly days; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter - Jubilate - Jn 16:16-22

                                                                                                Easter 4

                                                                                                Jn 16:16-22

                                                                                                5/3/20

            Think about what it must have been like for the disciples during these days.  In the Book of Acts, Luke tells us, “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” The risen Lord was with his disciples during the course of forty days.

            Jesus didn’t only appear to his disciples in Jerusalem.  They also saw the Lord in the north, in Galilee on a mountain and at the Sea of Galilee.  It is likely that the appearance to five hundred believers at one time reported by Paul in First Corinthians chapter fifteen occurred here as well.

            The thing about the resurrection accounts in the New Testament is that they leave no room for the notion that somehow the disciples were mistaken about what they had experienced.  They leave no possibility that they had encountered something other than Jesus Christ, crucified and now risen from the dead. As Peter told Cornelius, the disciples were witnesses who “ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”

            Jesus was teaching them about the kingdom of God. And there was a lot to learn.  In light of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the whole of the Old Testament opened up in a new way.  Jesus said, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then we learn that “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

            It was an exciting time as they rejoiced being with their risen Lord and learned from him.  In Acts, Luke tells us that the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  This has often been seen as an indication of the disciples’ lack of understanding.  But actually, if you know the Old Testament prophecies it is exactly the right question.  It is precisely what one would expect.  It just turns out that the fulfillment of those prophecies is even bigger than the disciples can imagine.

            Caught up in this wonderful time with the risen Lord, we don’t get any indication that they expected him to be leaving.  But our text this morning shows us that Jesus’ ascension should not have been a surprise.  Speaking on the night he was betrayed, our Lord says that his departure will cause grief. But he assures the disciples, and us, that his return will bring a joy that will never be taken from us.

            In our text this morning Jesus begins by saying, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”  That statement does not just drop in out of nowhere.  Our Lord had said earlier in this chapter, “But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.”

            Jesus had announced that he was returning to the Father.  On Maundy Thursday, the disciples were not yet capable of understanding what Jesus meant. We are told that some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'; and, 'because I am going to the Father'?”  In a moment of complete honesty they were saying:  “What does he mean by 'a little while'? We do not know what he is talking about.” 

            Our Lord knew their confusion and what they wanted to ask.  So he said, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.”

            Jesus said that he was going away.  His absence would be a source of sorrow for those who believe in him.  By contrast, it would be a source of joy for the world. Jesus declared about himself: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

            Our Lord came as the light who gives life.  However, the world does not want his light.  John’s Gospel tells us, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

            The question is whether we really want Jesus’ light.  His light – his word – reveals all of the darkness that is in our lives.  It reveals all of the sin that we want to keep as our own.  We want to gossip about other people because we enjoy it and it makes us feel good.  We want to seek payback against others because we it is satisfying. We want to avoid work and have others do it because it makes our life easier..

            The world wants to do things its own way.  It wants to ignore God. But you cannot ignore the way the Creator has ordered his creation and expect everything to turn out fine.  One need look no further than the way our world treats God’s gift of sexuality.  Its misuse has lead to the destruction of the family in our culture and all of the dysfunction this creates in the lives of children and adults.

            Yet for us who know Jesus Christ, the light of his Word has revealed our sin.  It has shown that we have sinned against God in thought, word and deed. But it has also shown us that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world.  It has shown us that through faith in Christ we have forgiveness and eternal life. We have eternal life already now, and we will live with resurrection eternal life when Jesus returns in glory.  Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” 

            Because of Jesus we have forgiveness and life. We are those who have been born again of water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism. Jesus has called us to be his own.  And that sets us in opposition to a sinful world.  Earlier Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

            Jesus has ascended into heaven.  This is not the way we would have wanted things to work.  But our Lord has said that on this it is we who are mistaken.  Earlier Jesus had said, “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”

            Jesus’ ascension has allowed for the sending of the Holy Spirit.  We are not told why things work this way – only that they do. But we have been told what the Holy Spirit now does.  Just before our text Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”  The Holy Spirit makes known Jesus’ saving work to us and keeps us in the faith as the children of God.

            Our Lord acknowledges the challenge of this time when he is not visibly present with us. But as the risen Lord he assures us that this time will come to an end.  And he uses a powerful human experience as a metaphor to help us understand what this means for us.  Jesus says, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

            The moment of birth is a defining event.  When the moment has arrived, either because a mother’s water has broken or because the c-section is starting, there is no turning back.  It is a time that is filled with stress and anxiety, and often pain. But when the baby has been delivered there is joy and exhilaration because this tiny little life is now out in the world. The difficulties of delivery are pushed out of mind because after nine months of waiting, there is now a baby to hold and love.

            Jesus compares the challenges of this time in which we live to that time in which a mother is giving birth.  He does not deny the challenges we face. At the end of this chapter our Lord asserts, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

            We live by faith in the risen Lord who has overcome the world. Already now he gives us eternal life. And he has promised that he will return in glory on the Last Day.  He assures us in our text: “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

              

             

Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles

Today is the Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles.  Philip was from Bethsaida and was one of the first apostles called after Peter and Andrew.  He was instrumental in bringing Nathanael to Jesus (John 1:43-51).  During Holy Week, he helped to bring inquiring Greeks to see Jesus (John 12:20-22).  According to tradition, Philip preached the Gospel in Phrygia (modern day Turkey) and died a martyr.

James was the son of Alphaeus and was also called “the Younger” (to distinguish him from James, the son of Zebedee).  His mother Mary was one of the women who stood at the cross of Jesus (Matthew 27:56).  There is no other mention of him in the New Testament and we do not know anything about his later work or death.

Scripture reading:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:1-14 ESV)

Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, your Son revealed Himself to Philip and James and gave them the knowledge of everlasting life.  Grant us perfectly to know Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the way, the truth, and the life, and steadfastly to walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.