St. John's and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Parish

Merciful Like Our Father

Text: Luke 6:36-42

In the Lutheran Church, nearly every confirmation class follows – more or less – the same course. Using Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, we first learn the Ten Commandments, which are God’s will for our lives as His people. Then, we learn the Apostles’ Creed – which is what God would have us believe – and the Lord’s Prayer, where our Lord teaches us to pray by putting His Words in our mouths. After these three come the Means of Grace: Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. Every confirmation class in the Lutheran Church learns these things. But, there’s one part in particular that goes well with the Gospel this week, and I want to see if you remember it.

In your mind (or in the hymnal) see if you can find the Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer. (It’s the part that goes, “Our Father who art in heaven.”) Martin Luther writes that, “With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.” In the Our Father, Jesus teaches us to pray to God the Father as our Father; our true father. He is our Father and we are His children through Baptism and by faith. Just as in human families there is such a thing as a “family resemblance,” so also in the family of faith. In the family of faith the resemblance is this: that our heavenly Father calls us, His children, to lives of mercy and forgiveness.

These are the words that begin our text. Our Lord said, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36, English Standard Version) You see, He’s already calling to mind the family relationship that God has brought us into through the washing of Holy Baptism. A couple weeks back I brought up the idea of “clobber passages,” which, I said, are those passages that people pull out during theological conversations which are meant to end said conversations. Sometimes our text today is turned into one of those, particularly the part where it says, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” (v. 37) That part is used by many as an excuse to either allow others to continue living in unrepentant sin, or else to comfort themselves in their own. By others, this passage is used as a condition for being a child of God. As in, if you want to be a Christian, you must first not judge. But then, that is to make our relationship with Christ one based on our works and not His – when the Scriptures clearly teach that He chose us.

Our text today comes from a part of the Gospel we know as “The Sermon on the Mount.” These words are teaching that Jesus gave to those who already had been brought to believe in Him by the work of the Holy Spirit. If we back up just a little bit, St. Luke tells us that, “ [Jesus] came down with [His Apostles] and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of His disciples…and He lifted up His eyes…and said…” (vv. 17, 20) The words here are not conditions of becoming a disciple of Jesus, but descriptions of what the life of a child of God looks like. He’s describing the family resemblance, and He starts with mercy. And this word that our Lord uses for mercy means to be concerned about someone else’s sorry state, their misery. Such has our Father had toward us.

In the service today, together we confessed that we are all sinners. And though we said it in only a few words, the impact is profound. You see, as sinners, we deserve nothing but death and punishment. We have all disobeyed God’s Commandments. We have sinned not just by accident, but on purpose. We have spoken and lived contrary to God’s good will, and acted as if we know and want what is best. This is what sinning is, and it’s what we have done, and we deserve the full and just punishment of our evil deeds. But, God, rather than pouring out His righteous wrath on us, instead, offered up His own Son, our Lord. He saw us in our sinful state and had mercy. Our Lord, as well, had compassion on us by willingly bearing our sins on the cross. Our God saw our sorry state and had mercy so that we might be saved eternally. This salvation He gives to us by grace – as a gift – through faith. He makes us to be members of His own family.

II.

Just as our earthly families have a family resemblance, whether it’s eye color, nose, jawline or whatever, so does the family which God has brought us into. This is what it looks like. Jesus said, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.” (vv. 36-38) Yes, it’s true, as I said: many take this passage and use it as a clobber passage or else to teach works-righteousness (that these are conditions to be met in order to be saved). To do these things, however, is to destroy the context and miss the point. God our heavenly Father saw us in our sorry and sinful state, without hope and only on the path to eternal punishment. He saw us in our misery, and had mercy on us by sending us His Son. He purchased for us the forgiveness of our sins and brought us into His family by grace through the washing of Baptism. We are His children now. How do God’s children act? With love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and generosity. These are the things He works in us by the Holy Spirit.

In our lives of faith, we do often fall into sin. We remain simul justus et peccator. That is, simultaneously saint and sinner. We often sin against others, and they sin against us. How should we react when someone sins against us? With harsh comments and anger? Or, with forgiveness? If someone hates us or speaks against us, should we do the same? Of course not. We have all behaved in hatred toward God (that is what sinning is), imagine if He acted so toward us? Instead, our God has called us, His children, to lives of mercy and forgiveness. He even produces these things (mercy and forgiveness) in our lives when we are regularly hearing His Word and receiving the Sacrament. Should we find ourselves lacking in generosity, love, or willingness to forgive there is a solution: come and receive the Supper. We confess in the Post-Communion Collect that our Lord gives us this meal to strengthen us in the faith and in “fervent love toward one another.”

Now, sometimes showing mercy and compassion to another is making known their sin to them – this is what our Lord brings up near the end of the text. Is it loving to allow another Christian, who may be unaware of a sin they’re committing, to continue in sin when the end result very well might be a loss of faith? It is not. When it is within our place to have mercy on a brother or sister in Christ by showing them their sin, we do it with a humble awareness of our own sin. We do not set out to condemn our neighbor and justify ourselves, but to remind them of the mercy we have all received, first, from God our heavenly Father. He stands ready to forgive all who repent, and to forgive to a greater extent than we could ever need.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray to our heavenly Father as dear children ask their dear fathers on earth. We can pray this way because our God has had mercy on us: forgiving us our sins, bringing us into His family and, even, seating us at His table. Just as earthly families resemble each other, so we as God’s children resemble Him: in lives of mercy and compassion. May God the Holy Spirit work these fruits of faith in us all. Amen.

To Seek and to Save the Lost

Text: Luke 15:1-10

In Luke 19, just before the Triumphal Entry, our Lord passed through the town of Jericho. Now, in the town of Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Or, rather, he was a “chief tax collector,” and he was quite wealthy. (Luke 19:2, English Standard Version) In Bible times, tax collectors were sort of the prototypical sinner. When the Romans took over a land they, of course, imposed taxes. Tax collectors would bid on opportunities to collect these taxes for a certain region or town. The way that they would make money back was by deception (telling people they owed the Romans more than they really did), or extortion of various kinds. For this reason, many felt that tax collectors were irredeemable. They were “unsaveable.”

Yet, when the Lord came to town, Zaccheus rushed up a tree so that he could see Him. Then, Jesus came right up to him and called him down, “for,” Jesus said, “I must stay at your house today.” (Lk. 19:6) Of course, at this, the rest of the people grumbled. How could such a man be part of God’s chosen? How could Zaccheus, a chief tax collector and great sinner, be forgiven? Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Lk. 19:10) We see this beautifully illustrated in our text this week.

The setting of our text this week is the same as it was last week. Our Lord was invited one Sabbath to break bread in the home of a ruler of the Pharisees. St. Luke’s account of this meal includes our Lord, first, healing a man right there. Of course, since this was the Sabbath, the Pharisees began to grumble. Then, our Lord gave the parable we heard last week, the Parable of the Great Banquet. In that parable those who first received the invitation to the banquet were, in the end, excluded, while the outcasts and outsiders were brought in to the heavenly feast. Many of the Pharisees were probably offended by this, but many others were encouraged by it. St. Luke tells us at the start, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus].” (15:1) They were encouraged by the reports and teachings of Jesus, of His promises of forgiveness and life for all who believe.

Some, however, were unhappy that Jesus should be in the proximity of sinful men and women. St. Luke writes, “The Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” (15:2) Our Lord responded with beautiful words explaining who He is, who we are, and why He became flesh. This is the parable of the Lost Sheep:

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
Luke 15:4-6

II.

Our Lord often uses agricultural illustrations, and here is no exception. Shepherding was a common profession in His time. It is the shepherd’s job to take care of the sheep. In the morning, he leads them out to pasture; in the evening, guides them back to the fold. But this isn’t as simple as it sounds. For one thing, sheep wander. Although I myself have never worked with sheep, I’m told that that they will. They will wander and get lost. Then, when a sheep realizes it’s lost, it’ll sit down and not move. It will likely stay there, even at its own peril. The only solution is for the shepherd to come and save it. This is how the parable starts. A sheep wanders off from the flock and its shepherd.

Now, the shepherd notices this. He leaves the rest of the flock in the care of the other shepherds, and goes to seek the sheep that wandered off. Like a woman searching for a lost coin, the shepherd searches diligently until he finds that lost sheep. When he does find that sheep, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. He carries it home and then calls together his friends to celebrate with him, because the lost sheep is found. In the parable, Jesus is the shepherd. And the thing that made the Pharisees grumble – that Jesus should associate with sinners – is exactly what He came to do.

Back on Trinity Sunday, we gladly confessed our faith – that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. He, along with the Father and the Spirit, is the creator of all that exists – our own selves, included. In Hebrews it says, “He upholds the universe by the word of His power.” (1:3) In the Psalms it says, “We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” (95:7) Jesus is the shepherd, and we are the sheep. Only, we aren’t the sheep that stay put. We’re the one that wanders. All of us and each of us.

III.

The word for sin in the Greek means – more or less – “to miss the mark.” Imagine firing an arrow at a target and missing. One might also say, to go off course or to wander. That’s what sinning is, it’s wandering away from our Lord’s good Commandments. “Wandering,” doesn’t quite describe it, though, because it’s wandering while also despising the boundaries the Lord has set for our good and the good of others. And, like a sheep sitting down and refusing to move when it’s lost, we hunker down when we’re lost in sin. But Lord comes and finds us. He does this through His Word.

First, through the Law, He points out that we are in fact lost. And, by lost, we mean, sinners. He shows us by the Law how far we have strayed from His will. We have not loved Him with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors like we love ourselves. He has revealed to us what is good, right and true, and we have preferred to create our own truths. By the Law, Jesus shows us our sin, but by the Gospel He places us on His shoulders. And, by the Gospel, we mean this: all the evil things that you have done, the wicked thoughts, the unclean words and harmful actions – against other people, yourself and God – those are paid for. By His death, Jesus paid the debt you owe. Not because you deserve it, but because “God is love.” (1 Jn. 4:8) By the Gospel, Jesus places us on His own shoulders and carries us to His home rejoicing.

That is His mission, “to seek and to save the lost.” Should you feel today that you are lost, know that you are found in Christ. The sins you’ve committed and the debt you owe were paid for by Christ. You are forgiven, and He carries you now. You are His little lamb. In fact, in a way, He has already brought you home. In just a little while, we will gather at His table to receive the food of eternal life. In the Gospel reading, the people grumbled that Jesus should associate and eat with sinners. Well, He rejoices to do so and even does it again today. For, He came to seek and save the lost. Even you. Even me. Amen.

Living in the Mansion of the Lord

Text: John 14:1-6

Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. May the peace of Christ’s resurrection be especially of comfort to you, [family names] and all family and friends of Name. Because Christ lives, Name yet lives; and we will, too.

We have a wonderful and very comforting set of readings for our hearing this morning. In the Old Testament, the ministry of our Lord Christ was foretold centuries before it came to pass. He opened the eyes of the blind, unstopped the ears of the deaf, caused the lame to go leaping like deer, and the tongues of the mute to shout for joy. In the Epistle, St. Paul encourages us that those who have gone before us in the Christian faith are not dead, but will be raised together with us at Christ’s return and – together – we “will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 English Standard Version) In the Gospel, Jesus comforted the Disciples by assuring them that He was going to the cross to prepare a place for them in heaven, and would also take them there Himself. There is a thread which runs through these that I’d like us to consider this morning. Christ has prepared a place for all Christians in His heavenly home. He has gathered Name to His side, and will return for us, as well, that where He is, we shall be, also.

This is the comforting word which our Lord gave His Disciples that Thursday night. The Gospel reading this morning comes from Holy Thursday, shortly after the institution of the Lord’s Supper. In just a short while, Jesus would be betrayed into the hands of sinful men. The disciples would be scattered, He would be flogged and beaten, and, eventually, crucified. Nothing like all this had ever faced the Disciples before. They followed the Lord for three years. They were three years of miracles and teaching; no one ever touched them, so long as they were with Jesus. That would change. Their Lord would be parted from them, they would be filled with fear, and they would suffer. This much, Jesus was telling them that Thursday evening. But, then He said,

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.
John 14:1-3

Jesus was allowing Himself to be parted from the Disciples so that He might secure for them a place which they had lost. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed the Lord’s Commandment in the Garden of Eden. They doubted and distrusted His Word, and caused all human beings born from them to have the same sinful heart by nature. The punishment for this is death. But, Christ allowed Himself to be parted from the Disciples so that He might also submit Himself to death – our death, in fact. Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered and died as the full atonement for all human sin. By His death, He secured for us what we by nature lost: room in the Father’s house, a place in heaven.

Heaven is that place Isaiah prophesied, where blind eyes are opened, weak hands are strengthened and feeble knees made firm. This is the place where there is only everlasting joy, gladness, and singing. For in heaven, in the presence of Christ, there is no sin. There is no sadness. There is no death. There, all sorrow and sighing flee away. And, there, Arlene is.

II.

Name was born [date]. She was reborn through the washing of Holy Baptism on [date] that same year. She received the gift of faith through that sacred bath, and Christ claimed her as His own. Having prepared a place for her by His own death and resurrection, our Lord sustained Name in the faith throughout her life. She publicly confessed her faith in [year], and received Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of her sins for over 80 years. The Lord blessed her with a husband, Name, on Easter Sunday [year]. From their union came two children: [Names]. The Lord bestowed many blessings upon Name throughout her earthly life and, through her, has given many blessings to others, as well. Now, He has gathered her to the place prepared for her from before the foundation of the world.

Name is now in the presence of Christ and rejoicing with all the company of heaven. The promise that He made to her in Baptism, He has kept. He secured for her a place in heaven and has taken her there. She awaits with joy our reunion, and the Resurrection at Christ’s return. This is how St. Paul encouraged the Thessalonians and us to comfort each other. Those who precede us in the faith are not dead. They are with Christ, in the place He prepared for them by His own death and resurrection. Someday soon, He will return – just as He also promised. We will see Him coming on the clouds. Then, our bodies will be raised and renewed. Should we be alive at His coming, we will be caught up together with Name, and with our Lord. And we will be with Him forever.

This is a thread that connects our readings, a thread which gives us comfort so that, though we grieve, we grieve in hope. Our lives now are filled with trials and tribulations, with sin and the sorrow it brings. Yet, the Lord has prepared for us, for Name, and for all who love Him, a place in His Father’s house. There, there is no sorrow, pain, weakness, sin or death. For He makes all things new. By His death, Jesus paid for our sins and secured the place which we lost. He has brought Name to the place He prepared for her. Soon, He will return to take us Christians there, too. Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me.”

The Heavenly Banquet

Text: Luke 14:15-24

The psalmist speaks prophetically by the Holy Spirit in Psalm 118, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:22-23, English Standard Version) That verse is familiar to us because it comes up all over the New Testament. It is brought up by Sts. Peter and Paul in their epistles; it comes out of our Lord’s mouth on more than one occasion. The sense of the text on each hearing is that a stone cast away by some becomes the foundation of a house for others. Christ is that cornerstone.

We see this play out in our Lord’s parable this week, the one about the heavenly banquet. We’ll hear this parable again toward the end of the year from St. Matthew’s Gospel, where the focus will be on faith as the key to entrance into heaven. Today, the emphasis is how some of those who were previously invited to the feast were, in the end, excluded, while those who were not initially included are, in the end, the ones who celebrate. Our gracious Lord invites to His heavenly banquet those who were once far off, even us. St. Paul said, “Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Eph. 2:13)

The Gospel today is a portion of our Lord’s teaching which He gave at meal in a pharisee’s house. This happens a few times in the Gospel. Pharisees would invite Jesus to supper, and He’d go. He always used the opportunity to teach and preach both Law and Gospel. At this particular meal, our Lord healed a man, He gives the parables of the Prodigal Son, the Rich Man and Lazarus, our text in a few weeks (the Dishonest Manager), and also ours today. If you get the feeling that this meal is kind of a big deal, you wouldn’t be alone. In fact, that’s how the text starts. “One of those who reclined at table with [Jesus] heard these things, he said to Him, ‘Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.’” (Lk. 14:15) This is where the parable starts.

Our Lord tells of a man who gave a great banquet, “[who] invited many.” (Lk. 14:16) This man is, perhaps, a king and the word here used for “banquet” or “feast,” is elsewhere used in Scripture for a wedding feast. Now, it was the custom at the time to send out invitations, as we would. Then, when the time for the party came, you would send a servant to summon the guests. To decline an invitation was quite rude, especially so at the summons – when the servant came to collect you. But, that’s exactly what happened. “At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.” (Lk. 14:17-18) One had bought a field and was going to see it. Another was quite wealthy and had bought five yoke of oxen (a typical farm only had one yoke). He needed to go examine them. Another had recently married. He couldn’t come.

The master of the house grew angry. It’s not that fields, oxen, and marriage are bad. It’s that they all knew about this feast, but were choosing to honor other things above it. So, the master sent out his servant again. This time, “to the streets and lanes of the city, [to] bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” (Lk. 14:21) These were the outcast types, the sort you wouldn’t invite to a party – but they did come. Yet the hall wasn’t filled. One final time, the master sent out his servant, saying, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.” (Lk. 14:23-24) That wedding hall was filled, but not with those initially invited. It was the outcasts and outsiders who received the master’s summons.

II.

Remember Psalm 118, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This helps us to understand what our Lord is teaching here. In some ways, He’s teaching what was going on in His ministry. Who was it that was receiving His Gospel? It was the tax collectors and sinners, the outcasts, right? They received the promise of the forgiveness of sins, while many others – the high society types – rejected it. The wedding feast, properly understood, is the heavenly banquet; but that heavenly banquet was already begun in the ministry of Jesus. That’s why we say in the Proper Preface, “with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven.” In the Lord’s Supper, we are participating now in that feast we will fully enjoy in the life to come. But, let’s go back to the text.

Those who rejected the summons to the feast are those members of the house of Israel who had formerly received the invitation through the prophets. This began all the way back with Adam. But then, when Christ was sent to summon all to the banquet (he’s the servant in the parable), they all rejected it. Therefore, others were brought in. These were those who knew and lamented their sins, looking to Christ for forgiveness. They were brought in to the feast. But, so were others, those on the highways and hedges outside the city. Here, Jesus speaks of the Gentiles. If Jerusalem is the city and those in it are those descended from Abraham, those outside the city are everyone else – even us.

We’re outsiders on two accounts. First, we’re outsiders because we were not among those to whom the promise was first given. I am not, at least as far as I’m aware, descended from Abraham according to the flesh. Second, we’re outsiders because of our sin. St. Paul spoke nicely in the Epistle by saying that we were once “far off.” Earlier in chapter 2, he said it like it is – that we are, by nature, “children of wrath.” (v. 3) Everything that we are, everything that we do, everything we want to do is either fully sinful or corrupted by sin. In us there is no good thing. Those excuses that the people made in the parable, we’ve made, too. We have put our possessions above Christ in our hearts; we’ve done it with money and family. Whenever we put anything above Christ, we are guilty of the First Commandment and fully deserve the punishment due.

St. Paul did say in the Epistle, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace…through the cross.” (Eph. 2:13-14, 16) Though we were once far off, being by nature children of wrath and without the right to eat bread in – or even see – the kingdom of God, this has all been done away with by the blood of Christ. By His coming, He brought us the invitation to the heavenly feast and by His death and resurrection has secured for us entrance into the same – which we receive by faith. He is the cornerstone, the door, and the key, as the Scriptures say in other places.

Our Lord teaches us a lot of things with this parable. It teaches why some enter His eternal gates and others don’t. It teaches us about the danger valuing the gift over the Giver – as in those who were invited but then excluded from the feast. But, it also teaches us about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He didn’t cancel the feast when some rejected His invitation, but He opened it up to even more – even to us. Today, He continues to cause His Word to preached throughout the world, so that His heavenly hall will be filled. And that invitation has come to us, we who by nature are sinful and unclean. In Christ we have the free and full forgiveness of our sins. We have been brought near and into His heavenly banquet. Thanks be to God. Amen.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Text: Luke 16:19-31

James, the brother of our Lord, wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the second chapter of his epistle, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him… Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:14, 17 English Standard Version) As Lutherans, many of us are familiar with that verse; some of us have had it spoken against us. This is one of those verses that gets turned into a clobber passage. A clobber passage is what happens when you’re in a theological argument and someone pulls out a verse that is intended to immediately end the conversation. No more questions. With this passage, usually the intent is to quiet us Lutherans who hold, with Scripture, that good works do not contribute to our salvation. But, just because good works do not contribute to our salvation, we do not therefore cast them out. Rather, we agree with St. James. Faith without works is dead.

What James teaches is what is taught throughout Scripture: that a living faith created by the Holy Spirit through the Word results in good works in the life of a believer. St. Paul, for example, right after saying that we are saved by God’s grace through faith, then says, “we are…created in Christ Jesus for good works.” (Eph. 2:10) We don’t do them to earn anything. Instead, good works are produced in our lives by the Holy Spirit through faith. Where good works are entirely absent, that’s where we run into problems. If good works give proof of a living faith, what implication does an absence give? This is one thing we learn from the parable today. A true faith formed by God through the Word causes us to love our neighbor.

Our Lord’s teaching today is one where it’s easier to understand it if we start at the end and work backwards. The two men in the parable, the rich man and Lazarus, die. Lazarus goes to heaven, the rich man to Hades. The rich man, being in torment, asked Abraham near the end, “I beg you, father…send [Lazarus] to my father’s house – for I have five brothers – that he might bear witness to them.” (Lk. 16:27-28, my translation) Abraham responded, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.” (16:29) With this interaction, we can see why it is the rich man ended up in torment. The primary cause of his damnation was not his lack of good works; it was his lack of faith. The rich man recognized that and begged Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead – for then they would listen. Abraham rightly said, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (16:31)

The rich man hoped that a miracle would create faith in his unbelieving brothers, but what did Abraham point him to instead? The Word. Abraham pointed him back to the Scriptures, which he neglected, as the source of saving faith. St. Paul teaches the same in the words we know, “Faith comes by hearing.” (Rom. 10:17) The Holy Scriptures are the instrument, the tool, with which the Holy Spirit creates faith. We see this on Pentecost, for example, when many who heard Peter’s sermon were brought to faith. The Ethiopean eunuch, as well, was brought to the faith when Philip preached to him about Jesus from Isaiah 53. The jailer in Philippi, and his whole family with him, was brought to faith and baptized through preaching of Paul and Silas. We are saved by God’s grace through faith, not by our works. Faith is created in our hearts by the Spirit through the Word, and faith takes hold of the forgiveness Christ won for us.

II.

Our Augsburg Confession then says this, “Our churches teach that this faith is bound to bring forth good fruit. It is necessary to do good works commanded by God, because of God’s will. We should not rely on those works to merit justification before God.” (AC VI, 1) Later, it continues, “We teach that it is necessary to do good works. This does not mean that we merit grace by doing good works, but because it is God’s will. It is only by faith, and nothing else, that forgiveness of sins is apprehended. The Holy Spirit is received through faith, hearts are renewed and given new affections, and then they are able to bring forth good works.” (AC XX, 27-29) We saved by God’s grace through faith. Faith is produced in us by the Holy Spirit, and then the Holy Spirit then leads us through faith unto good works. Now, not all good works are the same or even visible to others – but they are present in the life of believers.

Jesus said, “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.” (16:19-22) When faced with such a situation, what should have the rich man done? Something. Anything. Here is this poor man, sick, lying at your door; what does it say if you do nothing? That’s what the rich man did. He feasted every day, he dressed in fine clothing; but for Lazarus – whose name he evidently knew – the rich man cared nothing. By his lack of love, the rich man showed his lack of faith.

III.

Of the two men in the parable, there’s one that we mirror more often than the other. It’s not Lazarus, whose name means, “The Lord is my helper;” it’s the rich man. St. Paul said we are created in Christ Jesus for the good works God has prepared for us to do. Our Lord Himself said that He is the vine and we are the branches. What do branches do? They bear fruit. If we take stock of our lives though, what do we find? Often, a lacking. Now, just as not all good works are the same – as each has been given different abilities and gifts by the Lord – so, also, we don’t all lack in the same way. Some of us have failed in regular church attendance at points in our lives. Some of us have failed to live in devotion to God’s Word. Some of us have failed to diligently encourage our families in their growth in the faith. And, together, we have all failed to love our neighbors as ourselves. For our lack, for our sins and times we act as if we were unbelievers, we deserve the rich man’s fate.

In Bible study on Tuesday we were in Matthew 14. There’s a spot there that says, “When [Jesus] went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them.” (Mt. 14:14) Compassion is what our Lord has had on us. He saw us in our wretched state, knowing us even before we were born. He saw our sin and our lack of love, and He took it in Himself. Then He showed us a love of which there is no greater. He laid down His life for us. Last week we heard this, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The truth of God’s Word is clear. Good works do not contribute to our salvation. We do not merit anything by them. But, that does not mean that we cast them out. Rather, good works (and love) are produced in the lives of believers through faith. And faith comes from hearing. May the Lord grant that we, who are sinners and by ourselves can do no good thing, would continue to hear and believe His Word. May the Holy Spirit grant us His grace that, His Word taking root in our hearts, would also lead us bear fruit in our lives – in faith toward God, in love for Him, and in love for each other. Amen.

Thrice Holy God

Text: Isaiah 6:1-7

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3, English Standard Version) These were the words of the angels in the throne room as they called out back and forth, giving praise to the eternal one God in three persons. They say, “holy,” not once but three times; once for each divine person. And yet, they say, “the whole earth is full of His glory.” The true God is the triune God: the one God who exists in three eternal, divine persons. Neither is greater or lesser than another, none is before or after another. This much is revealed to us in Scripture.

Today is Trinity Sunday. This week marks the shift in celebration from events in our Lord’s life to His teaching, and our growth in it as Christians. Holy Trinity is the only Church holiday devoted to a teaching of the Church. But, it’s not just a teaching; it is the divinely-revealed truth. There is no God but the God of the Bible, and He is triune. Rather than this teaching being a burden, as some would have us believe, the doctrine of the Trinity is a blessing – for by this teaching we learn to know our God, and ourselves, aright.

Before we go further, let’s talk about the text from Isaiah. As to his person, we don’t know much about Isaiah beyond his father’s name and the timeframe in which his ministry was conducted. Isaiah himself said that he prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. These were kings of Judah, who reigned in Jerusalem during a height of its power. During Isaiah’s ministry, which ran from about 740 to 680 B.C., Jerusalem’s influence was second only to the reigns of David and Solomon. While we don’t know much about Isaiah as a person, we know his doctrine. Isaiah, at times, has been called the fifth Gospel writer, for the promises of the Messiah – of His suffering, death, and resurrection, and the forgiveness we receive through the same – are sung all throughout his writing. Isaiah is also known for preaching of the Law against the decadent unbelief of Jerusalem. Our text today is the Lord’s calling of Isaiah to be a prophet.

Isaiah says, “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple.” (Is. 6:1) Above the Lord stood the seraphim, who called to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” The foundations of the temple were shaking from the voice of God, which reminds us of how Mt. Sinai rumbled while God spoke to Moses. The people of Israel were terrified at that, and wished they would die. So did Isaiah. Having seen all this, he knew he was done for. Isaiah said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips…for my eyes have seen the King.” (6:5) The Lord granted Isaiah to see His full majesty, the glory of the holy Trinity with unfiltered lenses. Isaiah saw the Triune God and was terrified, for he knew that he was a sinner.

The revelation of the Triune God terrified Isaiah, but it turned out to be a blessing. While he was standing there preparing to be turned into goo, an angel flew to him. He had, “in his hand a burning coal that he had taken from the altar.” (6:6) He touched Isaiah’s lips with that burning coal and said to him, “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (6:7) Though the revelation of the Triune God was initially terrifying to Isaiah, it turned out to be a blessing for him. Now, he knew God (and himself) correctly. Isaiah was right when he confessed himself a sinner; and the conclusion he reached about what he deserved from God was also right. But, the almighty and eternal, glorious Trinity revealed Himself to Isaiah not to destroy him but to forgive him. And Isaiah had that forgiveness, which he would go on to preach about for many years.

II.

In our text, the prophet Isaiah received a vision of the heavenly throne room, where he got to behold the glory of the holy Trinity with his own eyes. To him that was a terrifying thing – and he wasn’t totally wrong; the sinner in the presence of almighty God can be a scary thing. Sometimes we treat the doctrine of the Trinity as if it’s just as terrifying. But, you know what? I think we should embrace it and hold it fast, especially in these dark and latter days, where no one seems to know what’s going on in the world. According to the goodness of His mercy, our Lord has revealed Himself to us and has granted us to know Him in truth. But, to embrace the doctrine of the Trinity, we must first know what it is.

It’s true, you won’t find the word “Trinity” in the Bible; neither will you find the word “Lutheran.” Just because a word doesn’t occur, doesn’t mean the teaching implied by it or the sense isn’t there. For example, David says in Psalm 16, “You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let Your Holy One see corruption.” (16:10) Nowhere in that verse does David say the specific words “Jesus” or “Resurrection,” and yet that is in fact what the verse is about. The word Trinity is the word the Church uses to describe the way God reveals Himself to us throughout the Scriptures. He reveals Himself to us as three persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Scriptures are also clear that there is only one God. That’s the way Jesus speaks. He speaks about the Father as God, Himself as God, and the Spirit as God – all three are together one God. No amount of mental gymnastics is going to find a way to understand this. It must simply be believed.

I said the doctrine of the Trinity isn’t a burden, it’s a blessing, because by it we know God correctly. We know the greatness of His love for us when we confess God the Father, who made us, provides for us, and defends us against all evil. We see this love put into action when we confess our faith in God in the Son, the one who, before the foundation of the world, elected to take on our same human flesh and die so that we might be forgiven. We see this love extended to us when God the Holy Spirit comes to us through the Word. He comes to us in our lost and sinful state, He brings us to repentance and creates faith in our hearts. This is a daily process, by which the Holy Spirit makes and keeps us holy in Christ and in the forgiveness of sins.

Sometimes we act like Isaiah in the throne room when it comes to the Trinity. We buckle at the knees and close our eyes. This would be a right reaction except for the fact that we are baptized Christians. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered for us in the flesh and then rose again for us. We have the forgiveness of our sins. Beyond that, we have been given the blessing of knowing and being able to call upon God as He truly is. The Almighty God, the creator of all that exists has revealed Himself to you and me. And though we will not understand it this side of Eden, yet this teaching is a great blessing. God has revealed Himself as the One God in Three Persons: The Father who creates, the Son who redeems, and the Spirit who sanctifies and comforts. To Him alone be all glory, honor, and worship. Amen.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

Text: John 16:5-15

Every Sunday that we follow the Divine Service, there’s a portion of the service dedicated to the confession of our Christian faith in the Triune God. Either before the sermon or after, depending on the Setting, we rise to confess our faith using the words of the Apostles’ or Nicene Creeds. On Trinity Sunday, we’ll use the third Ecumenical Creed, the Athanasian Creed. Of the three, the Athanasian is the longest and spends the most time speaking specifically about the Trinity. Whether we use the Apostles’, Nicene, or Athanasian Creeds, each Sunday we are blessed to confess our faith in the God who loves and redeems us. Our God is the one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Though all three persons are equally God and together are involved in all their works, to help us humans understand all the things God does for us, we usually speak about God the Father as the one who creates and sustains the world. God the Son, of course, is Christ. Our redemption is His work. But, the Third Person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit – what does He do? That is a question we can cover today. In short, it’s the Holy Spirit’s work to make us Christians. Jesus taught the Disciples in our text about this work. The Holy Spirit works through the preaching of the Law to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; He works through the Gospel to take what is Christ’s and give it to us: namely, the forgiveness of our sins.

The setting of our text this week is, as with last week’s Gospel, the night our Lord was betrayed. On Holy Thursday, our Lord celebrated the Passover with His disciples one last time and instituted the Lord’s Supper. He also spent time preparing the disciples for His departure and what would come after that by teaching them. Last week, we heard our Lord speak about how the disciples’ (and our) sorrow will turn to joy. This week, we receive our Lord’s teaching about the Holy Spirit. He started by saying to the disciples, “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.” (John 16:7, English Standard Version) Jesus’ disciples were sorrowing over the fact that our Lord was leaving them. But, it’s actually a good thing, Jesus said. Because, first of all, His departure means our salvation. Secondly, and more pertinent to this text, after Jesus goes to the cross, then the Holy Spirit gets to do His Work. But, what is His work?

Jesus said, “When He comes, He [the Holy Spirit] will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” (Jn. 16:8) The word “convict” here maybe doesn’t give the full sense of what Jesus said. Rather, He said that the Holy Spirit would prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment. “Concerning sin,” Jesus said, “because they do not believe in Me.” (16:9) There are certain things that the world does recognize as sins, in a general sense. Murder, for example; theft. These things are recognized all throughout the world as being wrong because, as St. Paul says, God has written His Law in our hearts. But, there are also sinful things that the world doesn’t recognize, such as sex outside of marriage. And then, there are yet things that aren’t actually sin that the world calls sin, such as recognizing differences in doctrine. Part of the Holy Spirit’s work is to show that the world is altogether wrong. The fact is, that all sin at its core is unbelief. Sin is no mere lapse in judgment or mistake. All sin has as its headwaters unbelief – a lack of fear, love, and trust in God.

Because sin is unbelief by another name, the world is also wrong when it comes to righteousness. We consider someone righteous when it appears to the outward observer that nothing bad can be said about a person. But, because all sin stems from unbelief – which is something on the inside – no one is righteous. St. Paul came to the same conclusion as he quoted from the Psalms, “None is righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10). It is the Holy Spirit’s job to point all this out, and He does it through the preaching of God’s Law. He uses the Ten Commandments to put everything and everyone in its proper place. Even us. We said earlier that it is the Holy Spirit’s job to make us Christians. One cannot be a Christian, however, who has not been brought to repentance over sin. So, the Spirit works through the preaching of the Law even in our lives, to convict us of sin, also. Because we are in the flesh, we all have blind spots when it comes to sin. We all have things that we’d much rather not talk about. There’s a phrase, “light is the best disinfectant.” It is the Holy Spirit’s job to shine the through the light of the Law and reveal the true state of things.

II.

Jesus said, “When [the Helper] comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” This He does through the preaching of the Law. The Holy Spirit shows through the Commandments that all that the world thinks about sin and righteousness and judgment should be balled up and thrown away. He also does this work among us. When the pastor preaches a Word of Law from Scripture and applies that to our lives to show that we, too, are sinners worthy of condemnation – in that moment the Holy Spirit is at work. When we hear the preaching of the Commandments and realize from it that we are sinners and when we sorrow over our sins – that is worked in us by the Holy Spirit. Repentance and sorrow over sin isn’t something we create; the Holy Spirit does it. He produces repentance in us so that He can also do something else.

As our Lord continued teaching His disciples, He 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.” (16:13-14) Here Jesus promised the Disciples not a new revelation or teaching, but that the Holy Spirit would produce in them a deeper understanding of what the Lord had already taught them. This is one reason we trust the New Testament, since these writings were produced by men who had received this gift of the Holy Spirit. But, here, Jesus also touches upon a second work of the Holy Spirit, His proper work. He works through the preaching of the Law to convict the world and us of sin and our (lack of) righteousness. Then, He works through the Gospel to give to us what belongs to Christ: the forgiveness of sins.

While our text translates Jesus’ word as “Helper,” many of us learned it as children, “Comforter,” or Paraclete. When Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, He promised that the Spirit would produce in His people comfort. Now, we’re not talking about a worldly comfort – hot chocolate in front of fire – that sort of thing, but a true and Godly comfort in the forgiveness of sins. We learn from the Scriptures that Jesus Christ bore in Himself the guilt of all the world’s sin and made payment for it by His death on the cross. The Holy Spirit works through the preaching of Christ’s cross to create faith in our hearts. When we hear that Jesus died for us and believe it, that is because the Holy Spirit is at work in our hearts. We who are here now, are here because of the Holy Spirit. Just as He produces repentance through the Law, He produces faith through the Gospel. Along with faith, He brings to us the forgiveness of our sins. He takes what Christ earned and gives it to us.

Every Sunday we confess our faith in the Triune God. We believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All three are God. Yet, there are not three gods, but one God in three persons. We’ll talk more about this next month. Usually, we have a pretty good grasp on God the Father and our Lord; but what does the Holy Spirit do? In short, it’s the Holy Spirit’s work that we are Christians. He works through the Law to convict us of our sins and bring us to repentance. Then, He declares to us through the preaching of the Gospel that by Christ’s death, our sins are forgiven. Now, since this sermon has been a little on longer side, let’s end it on a high note. Jesus Christ died for you. His death atoned for your sin. You are reconciled to God and He to you. Because Christ lives, you will, too.

Just a Little While

Text: John 16:16-22

“Just a little while.” That’s what we say to ourselves or to others when we’re caught up in doing something that, maybe, well, we don’t really want to be doing. We say that it’ll just be for “a little while.” Or, if it’s already happening, we might say it’s just for “a little while longer.” We tell ourselves this, or we say it to others to offer some form of comfort. The unpleasant situation we’re in – whatever it might be – will end. We’ll move on to greener pastures, as we might also say, in just a little while. Jesus said to the disciples in our text, “A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” (John 16:16, English Standard Version)

With these words, Jesus was preparing His disciples for the time where He would be parted from them by death. The world would rejoice at this – its seeming victory. But they, His faithful, would be filled with sorrow. They would weep and lament, but only for “a little while.” Then Christ would see them again, and they would rejoice with an unending joy. Jesus teaches this week that, as He suffered cross and affliction, so, too, will His followers. But, this will only be for a little while, and soon afterward our sorrow will turn to eternal joy.

Our text this week comes from John 16, which takes place the night our Lord was betrayed. Everything from John 13-17 happens that evening. We’ll be in and around this chapter for a few weeks. The Lectionary does this to gradually shift our minds from our Lord’s Resurrection to His Ascension, which we’ll be celebrating the last Thursday of this month. Jesus wanted His Disciples to be focused and prepared as well, so He continued teaching them in our text what was about to happen. He said the words which we’ve already heard, “A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” He’s telling them by these words that it would be soon – in just “a little while” – that He’d be taken away from them. In just a little while He’d be betrayed and crucified. In just a little while, they’d see the Son of Man suffer for the sins of the world. After another little while, though, they’d see Him again – say, after His three day rest in the tomb.

The Disciples, however, didn’t understand what Jesus was saying to them. At this point, their minds had not yet been opened to fully understand the Scriptures. That would come after the Resurrection. This is why they were wondering among themselves what Jesus meant by both, “a little while,” and “because I am going to the Father.” (16:17-18) Sure, there were little glimmers of a true knowledge about Jesus’ work here and there throughout those three years, but even Peter said just a little bit earlier that same evening, “Lord, where are You going?” (Jn. 13:36) They had been thinking that Jesus would remain with them always – in the very same way He had been with them so far. Jesus responded that that was not meant to be, for He was going to the Father – He means, He was going to die.

At Jesus’ death, the disciples would be filled with sorrow. Jesus said. “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” (16:20) How proud the chief priests and elders must have been to see our Lord on the cross. Think about how St. Paul – before he was converted – was fired up by St. Stephen’s execution. The Holy Spirit says that after Stephen fell asleep, “there arose…a great persecution against the church.” (Acts 8:1) What we see in the Book of Acts as a whole, though, is that the rage of Satan cannot stop the spread of the Gospel or tear down the Church of Christ. He may scowl fierce as he will, but Jesus said that it would be just for a little while, then the disciples would see Him again. In history this happened Easter Evening. For a little while the Disciples didn’t see Jesus, then they did. There, Jesus gave to them the peace the world cannot give, the peace which surpasses all understanding. He forgave them their sins, and proclaimed to them that, because He lives, they shall live. This truth turned their sorrow to joy, a joy which never ends.

II.

When Jesus said to the Disciples that they wouldn’t see Him for a little while, He meant a “little while.” From the time of His death on Friday afternoon to His appearing in their midst – that was the little while. Of course, there would be suffering and sorrow for them in the future – but, that, too, would turn to joy. To take things in a little different direction, our whole lives are like the “little while” Jesus speaks of. This is what St. Paul preached, too. One time he was in a city called Lystra. Some of the Jews didn’t like him there, so they stoned him. They thought they had killed him, so they dragged him out of town. Instead, he got up, went back into the same town, and continued preaching the forgiveness of sins which is in Christ. In his preaching he said, “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22) Experience proves this to be true in our own lives, as well.

Our whole lives we live in this “little while” which is filled with sorrow and during which the world rages and tears. Every day the world rejoices when it seems as if Christ’s Church is growing smaller and weaker. The devil dances a jig whenever someone forsakes their faith, and he continually tempts us to do the same. As Christ’s beloved flock we do suffer the hatred of the world – and if not us, then our brothers and sisters around the world. When one part of the body suffers, the whole suffers with it. In addition to the rage of the world and its prince, we also suffer the various afflictions which are the results of the fall: illnesses, economic hardships, and such. But, remember what Christ said, “A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me.” (16:19)

We tell ourselves, “just a little while,” to comfort ourselves when something we don’t like is happening. But, there is true comfort in the fact that the sufferings which we endure now are truly just for “a little while.” This is what our Lord says. Someday soon He will return and all evils will finally be put far away from us. Our temporal sorrows will give way to an eternal joy. The sufferings we endure now are but for a little while, and our Lord remains with us through them all. He Himself said, “I am with you always.” Moreover, He uses them to discipline and teach us. But, they will only be for a little while, and then the morning will come.

This is another way of saying what Jesus taught the Disciples in our text. He would be parted from them, but only for a time. They would be filled with sorrow, but just for a little while. Then, they would see Him again and rejoice. Soon, we, too, will see our Lord face to face. Then, we will have joy that no one or nothing will ever take from us.

I Know My Own, They Know Me

Text: John 10:11-16

This last week was Call Week at our seminaries in Fort Wayne and St. Louis. Call Day is the day where our fourth-year seminarians find out where the Lord is sending them to tend His flock. Five years ago, I myself was in that position. We give thanks to God for raising up servants for His Church, and we pray that He would continue to do so more and more even as we currently face a shortage of pastors. And, not just pastors, but Lutheran school teachers and principals, as well. The topic of Call Day has caused me to reflect back on my time at seminary, and there’s something to comes to mind this week. In the Gospel text, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father know Me and I know the Father.” (John 10:14-15, ESV)

At seminary we had daily chapel services. They were held throughout the day, but the main service was at 10 a.m. On Wednesdays, and on Feasts Days, we received the Lord’s Supper. The distribution took place in continuous fashion; you would come and kneel, receive the Sacrament, and then return to your seat with the dismissal being after all had communed. The professors were the communion assistants. As they served, they would speak the words we normally hear: “The body of Christ, the blood of Christ.” One particular professor, when he assisted would always say, “the body of Christ for you, the blood of Christ for you.” He would emphasize that Christ’s body was broken and His blood was shed not just for the world in general, but also for you in particular. His body and blood were given for you, for the forgiveness of your sins; you are known to Christ. That’s what Jesus says this week. He is the Good Shepherd who knows us each by name, and He makes Himself known to each of us in His Word and Sacrament.

This Sunday, the Third Sunday of Easter, is the one commonly called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” This idea is brought out very clearly by the readings. In the Gospel text we hear our Lord describing Himself to us as a good or noble shepherd, a contrast to the hired hand who flees at the sign of a wolf. This idea would’ve been familiar to our Lord’s initial audience as shepherding was a very common profession at that time in that part of the world. But still, the image of a shepherd is one we can bring up in our minds. It’s the job of a shepherd to care for his sheep. During the day, it’s his job to lead the sheep to good pasture. Then, at night his is to guide them back to their pen – which, in Jesus’ time, was often a cave. Once they were all in, the shepherd would then lay at the entrance. Nothing could go in our out without his say so.

One aspect of shepherding in Jesus’ time, and maybe now, was that the shepherd had a name for each sheep. Each of his sheep he knew by name. They weren’t just a flock of nameless animals, but each had a name and was precious to the shepherd. This is where Jesus is going when He said, “I am the good shepherd. I know My own…just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father.” Scripture often describes the Church, God’s people – us – as a flock. Just as a shepherd knows the name of each of his sheep, so also are we known to our Lord. When He looks upon us, He doesn’t just see us as just a mass of nameless people, but each of us, individually, as a beloved little lamb. We are each precious lambs of the Good Shepherd.

As a good shepherd, Jesus said, He lays down His life for the sake of His sheep. He is not like a hired hand who, “sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees.” (Jn 10:12) The hired flees because the sheep aren’t his and he doesn’t care if they die. We are Jesus’ sheep and He does care if we die, if we die eternally. Therefore, being our Good Shepherd, He did what only He could do – He laid down His life in our place. Because Jesus is God, His death is able to atone for the sins of the world, and even ours. This is why the one professor at seminary would say “for you,” during the distribution. Jesus says He knows His sheep. We are His sheep. Therefore, He knows us, and laid down His life for us – not just for the world, but for you and for me.

II.

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me.” This is another comforting word for us today. As you know, the New Testament was originally delivered to us by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles not in English, but in Greek. And, though the translation we’re using for the readings is generally speaking very good and accurate, every now and then there are spots that could be tightened up. Here is one of them. We all know this passage as it is in the bulletin, but it could also be rendered: “I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My own, and I am known by My own.” Translating it this way – though a little more wonky to say – keeps the focus on the Good Shepherd who not only lays down His life for each of us, but also makes Himself known to each of us.

How does He do that? That is Judas’ question in John 14 – not Iscariot, the other Judas. He asked Jesus, “‘Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’” (Jn. 14:22-23) This is to say, Jesus makes Himself known to us – He reveals Himself to us, His sheep – through His Word. The Holy Spirit works through the Sacred Scriptures to reveal Christ to us and draws us to Him through the same. Christ makes Himself known to us through the written Scriptures and through His visible Word in the Sacraments. In Holy Baptism, He unites us to His own death and resurrection. In the Lord’s Supper, He makes Himself known to us by giving us His true body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, knows each of us by name. He laid down His life for us. He makes Himself known to us, His sheep, by His Word and Sacrament.

Let this by our encouragement this Sunday. The Latin title for this Sunday comes from Psalm 33, where it says, “the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.” (33:5) The Lord is our Good Shepherd who knows us each by name. As our Shepherd, He gave His own life into death so that we might be forgiven. Now, He continues to make Himself known to us in His Word and Sacrament – even in just a few moments. Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me.” Amen.

Peace the World Cannot Give

Text: John 20:19-31

These last Advent and Lenten seasons we continued our normal practice of midweek services. During those times in the Church year, we pause to focus on the mercy and love of our God toward us. In both seasons we used a service called “Evening Prayer.” It’s a beautiful service, as most would agree. In it, we sing a canticle after the sermon. After that, come the prayers. These include the Litany, the Lord’s Prayer and, sometimes, the Collect of the Day or other intercessions. Included among all this is what traditionally was always the last prayer of the service: the Collect for Peace. I’d like to invite you to open to page 251, and we’ll take a look at it.

The Collect for Peace is a very old prayer. It comes from a prayer book dating back to the fifth century. It has survived this long and is used frequently not just by us, but by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches as well, because of its wisdom. The prayer begins, “O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works.” This is called the address. After the address to God the Father comes the petition, the part where we ask for something, “give to us, Your servants, that peace which the world cannot give.” (Both citations from Lutheran Service Book, pg. 251) This is the phrase that comes to mind this week, “peace which the world cannot give.” By rising from the dead, Christ won for us a peace the world cannot give – the peace of sins forgiven – and He gives it in a different way than the world does, too.

Our text this week takes place on Easter Evening, the same day that Jesus rose from the dead. The Holy Spirit tells us by St. John that, although the women were initially alarmed at the absence of Jesus, they did eventually tell the disciples what they saw – including that Mary Magdalene had seen the Lord. But, when they told this to Jesus’ disciples, it all seemed to them to be idle tales. “Foolishness,” St. Luke wrote (Lk. 24:11) Instead of joyously believing what the women told because it matched with what Jesus had said to them before, the disciples were locked away, St. John wrote. They locked themselves up for fear of the Jews. They were afraid that the wrath poured out on their master would overflow onto them. In addition, think of the shame they must have felt. They had all vowed never to fall away from Jesus. Sure, Peter denied Jesus with his words, but they all ran when the soldiers came for the Lord. Think, also, of the despair and loneliness they felt over His death.

“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” (Jn. 20:19, English Standard Version) Then, He showed them His hands and side. Remember how Jesus rode into Jerusalem not on a warhorse, but on a donkey? By that, He demonstrated His great humility and love for us. Here, Jesus came and stood in the midst of His cowering disciples and His first words to them weren’t, “I told you so,” but, “Peace be with you.” He didn’t speak to them a word of condemnation, a word of Law, but Gospel. “Peace be with you.” And, with this, Jesus spoke of peace the world cannot give.

That peace, which the world cannot give, is the forgiveness of sins. This is the whole reason Jesus died, the reason why He became flesh – to win for us the forgiveness of sins. When He said, “peace,” to the disciples, it’s as if He said to them, “you are forgiven.” He did what He came to do. They are forgiven. They need not fear, not fear neither sin, death, nor hell. Instead, they can be at peace. Their Lord, and our Lord, has risen from the dead. As proof, He showed them His hands and side. He is the same Jesus they saw crucified, not a ghost or other such thing. Then, having received the peace the world can’t give, St. John writes, “the disciples were glad.” (Jn. 20:20)

II.

The peace that the world can’t give, which God alone gives through Christ, is the assurance and confidence that our sins are forgiven. Every sin that we have committed – and which we have yet to commit – finds its atonement in Christ’s passion. By His wounds we are healed. By His wounds, and by His rising again, we have peace. And that’s something the world can’t give us. We have the glad confidence of the forgiveness of sins and the joyful hope of the resurrection to eternal life. And, not only does Christ give us a peace which the world cannot, He also gives it in a different way than the world gives its sort of peace.

St. John writes,

“Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
John 20:21-23

With these words Jesus instituted the Office of the Holy Ministry and entrusted to it the responsibility of speaking publicly, in His stead, the forgiveness of sins. The Apostles and our pastors today, who follow in their train, speak forth the forgiveness of Christ. When they speak within their office, such as in the Divine Service or in private confession and absolution, that our sins are forgiven and that we may depart in peace – they truly are, and we truly can. This is totally different than how the world works. In the world, if we want peace, we have to make it. Christ won us a peace the world can’t and He gives it in a way the world won’t: freely. He gives forgiveness to us freely through His Sacraments, through the Means of Grace, and He constantly reassures us by sending us pastors to speak His forgiveness in His stead.

This authority to forgive sins in the stead of Christ, what we know from the Catechism as the Office of the Keys, isn’t the sole property of the pastoral office, but it is given by Christ to His Church. Jesus teaches us this in Matthew 18, where the authority to bind and loose sins is given to the congregation as a whole. The pastor is called to speak publicly in the stead of Christ and on behalf of the congregation. In our personal lives, however, when our neighbor sins against us – or we, them – and the words of Christ’s forgiveness are spoken, in that moment sins are truly forgiven. When we forgive our Christian friend because Christ forgives us or they assure us that we are forgiven because of Christ, that is true and valid in heaven. And, that gives us peace, too. This means that God is not up in the sky looking to smite us, but looks down upon us in love and smiles upon us.

When Martin Luther preached on this text he made a good observation. He said the Lord gives us peace, not by taking away danger or sadness but by soothing our hearts, calming us and making us unafraid. This is true. By His resurrection, Christ brings us peace the world cannot give. In Him, the sins which formerly would’ve seen us eternally condemned in hell are forgiven. By Him our bodies will be raised anew and we will live in eternal joy – and that is something the world can’t give.