Tuesday in Holy Week

Today is Tuesday in Holy Week as we prepare to observe our Lord’s death and resurrection for us.  The season of Lent will conclude on Maundy Thursday as the Triduum begins – the one service that runs over the course of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.  On Tuesday in Holy Week, the Gospel reading is the Passion of Our Lord according to St. Mark (Mark 14:1-15:47).

Scripture reading:

            It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”

            And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

            Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

            And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

            And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

            And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

            And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

            And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

            And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” And they all left him and fled.

            And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

            And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.

            And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

            And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

            Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

            And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

            And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

            And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

            There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

            And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

(Mark 14:1-15:47)

Collect of the Day:

Almighty and Everlasting God, grant us by Your grace so to pass through this holy time of our Lord’s passion that we may obtain the forgiveness of sins; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Monday in Holy Week

Today is Monday in Holy Week as we prepare to observe our Lord’s death and resurrection for us.  The season of Lent will conclude on Maundy Thursday as the Triduum begins – the one service that runs over the course of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.  On Monday in Holy Week, the Gospel reading is John 12:1-36.

Scripture reading:

            Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

            When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

            The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

            “Fear not, daughter of Zion;

            behold, your king is coming,

                        sitting on a donkey's colt!”

            His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

            Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

            “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

            When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.  (John 12:1-36)

Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, grant that in the midst of our failures and weaknesses we may be restored through the passion and intercession of Your only-begotten Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one  God, now and forever.

Sermon for Sunday of the Passion - Phil 2:5-11

                                                                   Sunday of the Passion

                                                                           Phil 2:5-11

                                                                           3/20/16
“Self esteem” is a great watchword of modern western culture. You see it everywhere when people talk about the well being of individuals, and especially of children and youth. The idea that people need to feel good about themselves in order to be healthy and function well is taken for granted.

Now certainly, there is truth to this. A person who thinks they have nothing to offer and can’t succeed is unlikely to attempt anything. Or if they do, they are likely to fail. After all, if you think you are going to fail, you probably will.

However, the desire to produce good self esteem yields some rather silly outcomes. Some youth sports programs don’t keep score because they don’t want there to be winners or losers. After all, losing is not good for self esteem. Or in a similar manner, it is common today that everyone gets a trophy, or as they are called, a “participation award,” for much the same reason.

The problem is that in our narcissistic world the focus on developing self esteem often ends up producing selfish people. When a culture spends so much effort making me think that I am special and important, I may really take that message to heart. And clearly if I am special and important I need to get what I want. I need to be the focus of my own world.

I recently saw a great quote from C.S. Lewis related to this topic. Writing from a Christian perspective he stated that we don’t try to think less of ourselves. Instead, we try to think of ourselves less. We attempt to think of others. We do this because that is what Jesus Christ has done for us.

Today marks the beginning of Holy Week. The whole of the Church year has been driving towards this moment. During Advent and Christmas we rejoiced in the fact that God the Father sent his Son into the world in the incarnation. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. During Epiphany we rejoiced in how the saving glory of Jesus Christ was revealed in the world through his teaching and miracles. During Lent we began preparations for this week.

And now we have arrived. In the events of the Passion of Our Lord which was just read, we hear how Jesus has served us. Sent by the Father to be the sacrifice for our sin, he willingly stayed the course that led to death on a cross for you and for me. The apostle Paul describes this in our epistle lesson this morning. He begins by saying, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
 

Paul begins by referring to what we celebrated during Advent and Christmas. For our sake, the Son of God emptied himself and took on the form of a servant. The creator of the cosmos took his place as a baby in a manger. Though never ceasing to be God, he took humanity into himself and became the incarnate One – true God and true man.
In his baptism Jesus took on the role of the suffering Servant. He identified himself with us. He stepped into our shoes so that he could die in our place. The temptations in the wilderness that we heard about during the first Sunday in Lent were the devil trying to get Jesus to serve himself. They were the devil trying to get Jesus to abandon the role of a servant.
 

But Jesus remained true to the Father’s will. He was obedient out of love for the Father and love for us. That is what we see in our Gospel lesson today. The Son of God who had emptied himself and taken the form of a servant, humbled himself as he submitted to taunting and torture. He humbled himself in a way in a way that amazes. St. Paul says in our text, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
 

Jesus humbled himself to the point of death on a cross. He took on our sin – he became sin in our place – and died by crucifixion as he received God’s judgment against our sin. Because he did this for you, you are now forgiven. Because Jesus sought to serve you, you are now a saint.
 

In the development of Christian theology, Philippians 2 has received much attention because of what it tells us about the incarnation of Jesus Christ. But the interesting thing is that this is not really Paul’s intention. Certainly this text does teach us about Christ. It appears that Paul is taking up a something that already existed in the Church. It was perhaps something that was sung about Christ.
 

But Paul is using that text about Christ in order to teach the Philippians about how they are to live. Immediately before our text Paul wrote, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Paul says that we are to be concerned about other people. We are even to put their needs ahead of our own in order to serve and care for them.
 

The reason we are to approach things in this way is Jesus Christ. More literally, the first verse in our text says, “Think this in yourselves which also was in Christ Jesus.” The apostle is saying that what Jesus has done for us is now to characterize the way that we live. Like Jesus we are to in humility count others more significant than ourselves. We are not only to look out for our own interests, but also to the interests of others.
 

I don’t need to tell you that our lives don’t always look this way. The old man is a selfish jerk. He only cares about himself and will do anything to get his way. He will do anything to look out for himself. And when we act this way, we have to call it what it is: sin.
 

Because of what Jesus did for us during Holy Week, we know that there is forgiveness. Yet the power of Jesus Christ’s saving action extends beyond the fact that we have forgiveness for this and every other sin. It has also defeated the result of sin – death. Paul goes on to say, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus 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.”
 

In compressed form Paul expresses what was not included in our Gospel lesson … in spite of how long it was. Jesus was buried in the tomb. But on the third day God the Father raised him from the dead through the work of the Holy Spirit. He defeated death through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 

And then the One who humbled himself in service for our sake was exalted by God the Father in his ascension as he was seated at the Father’s right hand. Jesus is Lord and every knee will have to bow before him and confess this fact when he returns in glory on the Last Day.
 

In the Gospel lesson today we hear about how Jesus humbled himself to the point of death on a cross in order to serve us and give us salvation. Certainly, Jesus is an example, and Paul is using him as such. But if that was all that was going on, it wouldn’t be much help. It would be like showing a video of Michael Jordan scoring fifty points in a basketball game, and then telling a person, “There’s your example to follow. Now go do that.”
 

But instead, Paul says that the work of the Spirit in the resurrection of Jesus has meaning for you now. In Holy Baptism you received the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. You have been made a new creation in Christ. It is the Spirit of Jesus who leads and strengthens you to follow Jesus in serving others.
 

Paul says in Romans chapter 6, “How can we who died to sin still live in it? 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.” Just as the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, so the Spirit now enables you to walk in newness of life – life that serves others.

Admittedly, you won’t be able to do this perfectly. The devil, the world and your sinful nature will trip you up. They are very tough, determined and resourceful opponents. And so when this happens, we admit it. We confess it. And we return in faith to our baptism. As Luther says in the Small Catechism, such baptizing with water “indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” The new man who emerges and arises daily is the new man created by the Spirit. He arises to live again in the world because it is the Holy Spirit who gives this new life.

And this is not the only rising that the Spirit will bring about. The Spirit present and working in you to help you follow Jesus’ example in serving others is also the first fruits of your resurrection. Paul told the 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.”

As we hear in our epistle lesson Jesus Christ humbled himself to the point of death – even death on a cross – in order to win forgiveness and salvation for you. Already now the Spirit who raised Jesus has given you new life and enables you to serve others, just as Jesus served you. And because the Spirit raised Jesus, he will raise you too. But I am getting ahead of myself…. If you want to hear more about that, come back after we have walked with our Lord through Holy Week.

Commemoration of Patrick, Missionary to Ireland

Today we remember and give thanks for Patrick, Missionary to Ireland.  Patrick is one of the best-known of the missionary saints. Born to a Christian family in Britain around the year 389, he was captured as a teenager by raiders, taken to Ireland, and forced to serve as a herdsman. After six years he escaped and found his way to a monastery community in France. Ordained a bishop in 432, he made his way back to Ireland, where he spent the rest of his long life spreading the Gospel and organizing Christian communities. He strongly defended the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in a time when it was not popular to do so. His literary legacy includes his autobiography, Confessio, and several prayers and hymns still used in the church today. Patrick died around the year 466.

Collect of the Day:

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant Patrick, whom you called to preach the Gospel to the people of Ireland. Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns you You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.