Don't Fear Those Who Kill the Body

Don’t fear those who kill the body

Matthew 10:5a, 21-33 5Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, 21“Brother will hand over his brother to death, and a father will do the same with his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22You will be hated by all people because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. 23And when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Amen I tell you: You will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If the master of the house was called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

26“So do not be afraid of them, because there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. 27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. 28Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29“Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

32“Everyone who confesses me before others, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. 33But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.

St. Paul charges both Pastor Timothy and us with these instructions: “Preach the word. Be ready whether it is convenient or not. Correct, rebuke, and encourage, with all patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). Amen.

This week I was getting my yard ready for today’s get-together with our church’s Christian Friends group. I was using what my wife calls my “redneck burn barrel.” I was burning some brush in the barrel when I received a nasty burn on my arm from one of the branches. My daughter, Belle saw the burn and said, “Dad, that’s going to leave a scar.” I assured her, “Go ask your Mom. Ladies dig scars.”

The burn on my arm and the heat from the barrel reminded me of the story of Polycarp. Polycarp was an 86-year-old Bishop of Smyrna. In A.D. 156, Polycarp was taken custody for refusing to bow and call Caesar “lord.” City officials asked him to recant, reasoning, “What harm could it do to say Caesar is lord and save your life?” It was simple – all Polycarp had to do was say “kaiser kurios” that is, “Caesar is Lord,” and his life would have been spared. But according to early church writings, Polycarp proclaimed, “For eighty-six years I have been Christ’s slave, and He has done me no wrong; how can I blaspheme my King who saved me.” And so, Polycarp bravely went to his death in the Coliseum – he was a slave of Christ but more free than any Roman citizen watching him burn at the stake.

During times of persecution, Polycarp and other early Christians took seriously Jesus’ words: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously said in his first inaugural speech in March of 1933: “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is … fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” FDR was speaking the truth. Fear is one of the great tools of the devil. Fear leads to instability, unhappiness, and a lack of contentment. It saps spiritual vitality, and it paralyzes the soul. Fear is the great enemy of faith.

As Jesus is sending his disciples out into the mission field, he addresses several of their fears – the fear of persecution, the fear of death, and the fear of poverty. He taught, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

Jesus knows that fear can lead us to pray timidly where others can see us and make us too terrified to talk about Jesus publicly. We worry way too much about what other people say or think and far too little about what God says and what God thinks of us. We are afraid of rejection, afraid of failure, afraid of being made fun of, afraid of offending someone. All fears freeze us into inaction, into silence, and into feeling all alone. Fear is one of the strongest of human emotions.

Fear comes from a lack of faith. Fear comes from worry and doubts. It is a failure to trust that God is in control. It is a failure to see that God has a plan. Basically, it is a failure to see that God is standing right beside you, walking with you through this worlds’ dark valley of the shadow of death.

Three times in his instructions to his disciples, Jesus tells them not to be afraid. Do not be afraid to speak his Word. Do not be afraid to live his Word before those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. And do not be afraid, because as difficult as it may seem, your heavenly Father promises that you are not forgotten, but that you are very important to him. He values you even more than he values sparrows and hairs. He knows if a single sparrow falls. He knows how many hairs you have on your head (although some of you make it easier on him than others). If he knows and cares about those little things, he cares and knows even more about the crown of creation whom he sent the King of creation to save.

“Stop being afraid” is the force of Jesus’ verbs in the Greek. Stop being afraid – not just once, but always.

Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid.” Yet, the forces we face are terrifying! We are going against Beelzebul and the members of his household. Beelzebul is Satan, the ruler of demons. Satan is also called in Scripture a roaring lion, the Ancient Serpent, and the seven-headed dragon. These are all terrifying images! The devil and his demonic forces desire to terrify us into submission and surrender. They want us to look at all the evil they have fostered in our world and all the wickedness they have cultivated into our culture and give up.  

We may not fear being burned at the stake, thrown to the lions, or beheaded like Christians in centuries past or Christians suffering presently around the world. We don’t fear a den of lions like Daniel or a fiery furnace like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, or being thrown into a well like Jeremiah, but persecution abounds when we’re faithful to the Word. We lose relationships because of a biblical belief that honors the sanctity of marriage. We lose promotions because of worship priorities. We lose friendships because we won’t join in sinful behavior.

We are called “old-fashioned” for our insistence marriage being a lifetime commitment of love between one man and one woman. We are ridiculed as “backward” for our persistence that the Bible is our rule and norm for life. We are criticized as “unenlightened” for our insistence that salvation is in Christ alone. Whether it is in the college classroom or the business boardroom, the high school hallways or network news, we know we will face criticism, corruption, ridicule, and resistance.

Jesus predicts that our love for our heavenly Father and our brotherly Savior may even cause conflicts with our family. “Brother will hand over his brother to death, and a father will do the same with his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.”

Satan will use these emotional familial attachments to silence our confessions. He slows the spread of the gospel as we cower in fear. Our sinful nature doesn’t want ridicule but craves acceptance. We mistakenly imagine the world is filled with cute kitties and darling dogs, whereas, in reality, they are really ravenous wolves, red dragons, and terrifying beasts.

So, we cower, give up, and give in. We join the crowd. We don’t stand up and stand out, but sit down and blend in. We shut our mouths, keep our money in our homes instead of using it to expand God’s kingdom, and focus on ourselves instead of doing God’s mission work.

Who could blame us if we renounce our faith, ignore our commitments, compromise our loyalties, shirk our responsibilities, and take the easy way out? ... God could blame us. And he does blame us. “Whoever denies me before others, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

Fellow saints, don’t be fooled into faintheartedness. Don’t be coerced into cowardice. Don’t be intimidated into isolation.

Do not be afraid because as a student and servant of Christ you are like your Teacher and Master, Jesus Christ. Jesus has given you what you need to face the opposition of Beelzebul and the members of his household. He has given you his strength to support you, his promises to sustain you, and his Word which will not return to him empty.  Jesus instructed, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

Persecution of Christians in America is coming. But we don’t have to feel like ill-fated redshirts in a Star Trek episode. Don’t be afraid of persecution. Welcome it. Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will give us the right words to say. He promises that the gospel will be preached to all the nations before he comes. If the government or culture or Big Tech shut down one avenue of sharing the gospel, we just find another avenue. Jesus promises that his gospel cannot be stopped.

Don’t be afraid of the Ancient Serpent. Christ has crushed the Serpent’s head under his divine foot. Don’t be afraid of the roaring lion. Christ has shut the lion’s mouth with his redemptive victory on the cross. Don’t be afraid of Satan. Christ has silenced Satan’s accusations with his blood-bought release for his followers. Don’t be afraid of the seven-headed red dragon. Christ has conquered the dragon and chained him to the pits of hell.

Rather, only “fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Only fear God, the Judge of all creation. But, when you believe in God’s Son as your Savior from hell, then you don’t even need to fear God anymore.

Throughout history we see that when Christians are persecuted … the Christian Church grows. Christians stop cowering. They proudly stand up to persecution. The pagans witness their neighbors being persecuted and feel the need to check out Christianity. The Holy Spirit creates more converts. The Church grows through persecution.

It's funny how tyrannical leaders never seem to understand – the more the Church is harassed, the more the Church grows.

As we see persecution coming upon our nation, we pray that God is using this coming persecution to wake us, move us, grow us, and revive the dying Christian Church in America.

This needs to be the confession of the Christian: “You can take away my home, my stuff, my family, my freedom, my health … but you can’t take away my faith.” Once you make that clear to yourself and to those whom are persecuting you, you and they know you are truly free. Nothing they do to you can really harm you. Like the apostle Paul, if you live, you live to the Lord, but if you die, you die to the Lord. Either way, you’ll be with the Lord.

I don’t know if it’s true or not that ladies really do dig scars. I do know, though, that Christ digs bold confessions of faith in the face of persecution. “Everyone who confesses me before others, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven.”

In the face of oncoming persecution, we need to be reminded of the worst that can be done to us. Imprisonment? Jesus is there. Suffering? We desire to be counted worthy to suffer in Jesus’ name. Hatred? We need only the love of God. Loss of property? Our treasures are in heaven. Death? We die in Christ so that we are with Christ for eternity! What a comfort it is when Jesus promises, “You will be hated by all people because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved”. Amen.

May St. Paul’s confession be our own: “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.” (2 Timothy 4:7, 8). Amen.

Every day filled with God’s threefold blessings

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 Finally, brothers, good-bye. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints send their greetings. 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Amen.

It’s not easy going to work in the morning knowing that if you make the slightest mistake, your boss is going to berate you in front of the other employees. It’s no fun waking up in the morning dreading another day of boredom in the classroom and teasing in the hallways. It’s not pleasant going through the day concerned whether you’ll have enough money for groceries, gas, and mortgage.

It’s not easy going to sleep at night knowing that your body will be wracked with pain from arthritis and old age when you get up the next morning. It’s no fun going home to another lonely evening of binge-watching Netflix and doom-scrolling through social media. It’s not pleasant going through another sleepless night concerned about your myriad of health, marriage, and family issues.

It may not be easy to get up in the morning or go to sleep at night if you’re only relying on yourself and what you see and feel. But your Triune God gives you every reason to wake up cheerful and every reason to go to sleep content. St. Paul gives you the reasons with the Apostolic blessing written at the end of his second letter to the Christians in the city of Corinth. “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Those words “grace”, “love”, and “fellowship” may appear small, but they are really powerful and magnificent.

St. Paul was writing to Christians in Corinth who had all kinds of issues within their congregation. They were slow in forgiving their offending brother. They were disorderly in their worship. They had been consumed with the sexual sins of their culture. They were fellowshipping with pagan unbelievers. They refused to use their spiritual gifts for the edification of the body of Christ. They had a tendency to fracture in factions instead of holding together in loving unity around the gospel.

The Corinthian congregation had a lot of issues! Paul very well could have written a letter that said, “To the Church in Corinth, God has written you off! The end.”

But he didn’t. Instead, he wrote, “The grace of our Lord Jesus … be with you all.” They desired this grace. They needed this grace. They cherished this grace.

We, too, need this grace. Are we 21st century Christians really any different from those 1st century Christians? The times and locations have changed … but the sin and sinners have not changed. We still deal with sexual sins in our culture and in our own bodies. We are slow to confront sin and equally slow to offer forgiveness. We support companies and celebrities who hate us and what we believe, so we compromise our beliefs. We are lazy with our spiritual gifts for the benefit of our church. We easily and quickly splint into factions and cliques at home, at work, in school, and even in church.

We need to repent of all these sins. We desire grace. We need grace. We cherish grace.

What is grace? Grace is God’s undeserved love. Perhaps you noticed this week when we’ve finally had some nice, warm weather that we seemed to have gone pretty quickly from the cold of winter to the mosquitoes of summer. And, what to you do with a mosquito? You squash it under your hand. If the mosquito has been active, there is a bit of blood left on your arm.

God has every right to squash us like mosquitoes under his righteous right hand. We are just as guilty of drawing blood from Jesus Pontius Pilate, the Roman soldiers, and the Jewish religious leaders. The blood of Jesus is on us and on our children. It was us and our sins that drew blood when we slapped Jesus with the high priest’s hand, when we tore his back with our scourge, when we nailed his perfect hands and feet to the cross, and when we pierced his side with our spear. We are worse than bloodsucking insects for we know better. We are worse than bloodsucking insects for we have drawn blood and killed the Son of God.

But God doesn’t squash us. He forgives us! He covers us with the innocent blood of his Son, Jesus Christ to pay for our sins and remove them from us. Instead of turning his righteous anger on us, Jesus absorbed his Father’s anger. Instead of squashing us, God nailed his Son to the cross. That’s grace! That’s powerful! That’s magnificent!

Now you can wake up every morning excited for another day of experiencing God’s grace. Now you can sleep soundly every evening comforted by the Triune God’s grace that’s yours through Jesus Christ.

Paul continues with his blessing, “The love of God … be with you.” Our love is often fickle and convenient. We love if it suits our needs. We love if we have the time. We love as long it fits into our schedule.

We may have difficulty waking up in the morning feeling like we are in a loveless marriage. We may have difficulty at night checking on social media and reading all the loveless comments from our so-called friends. And we often respond with less than charitable words and actions of love. We need to repent of our lack of love toward God and absence of love toward those around us.

On February 10, 1970 John Baca led his army unit through intense fire to rescue a platoon in South Vietnam. After they were successful in setting up a protected firing position, Baca and his pals started to fight back. That was when a fragmentation grenade was thrown into the middle of him and his pals. Baca covered the grenade with his helmet and then he covered the helmet with his body. … Then the grenade exploded.

That was love. Not the smoochy-smoochy type of love people celebrate on Valentine’s Day. Instead, it’s the type of love we remember on Memorial Day. It’s the type of love, which John Baca receiving the Medal of Honor on June 15, 1971.

It’s also the kind of love that St. Paul mentions in “the love of God.” It’s agape love – a self-sacrificing kind of love. The kind of love that is willing to die for friends.

That’s the kind of love John Baca had for his pals. That’s the kind of love Jesus has for us.

Well, that’s not quite right. Jesus has a love far greater than that of John Baca. You see, while Baca was ready to die for his friends, he was also willing to shoot at his enemies. Jesus, though, allowed his enemies to crucify him. These are the enemies who hated him, mocked him, spat on him, whipped him, crucified him, and sinned against him. Jesus died for his enemies. Scripture says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners [enemies], Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

That’s love. That’s agape love. The love God the Father has through Jesus Christ, his Son.

We need this love. We desire this love. We cherish this love.

Now you can wake up every morning excited to experience another day of God’s love. Now you can go to sleep at night comforted by the knowledge that no matter how bad your day was, the God of the universe loves you.

Paul completes his threefold blessing by saying, “The fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.” Fellowship involves sharing, partnership, and enjoying things in common.

The Corinthian Christians certainly need that blessing of fellowship. One of their bigger problems was factions within the congregation – separate cliques standing around in holy huddles, only speaking with those they were comfortable with. God’s work was not getting done. That’s why Paul urged them, “Finally, brothers, good-bye. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” Paul even encouraged them to make use of the common public expression of unity, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”

We need to repent of our lack of fellowship – when we separate into cliques, holy huddles, factions within the church. Then God’s work is not getting done.

Because of the grace of Jesus Christ and the love of God, now we have fellowship with our Triune God. Because of our sin, we are separated from God because a three-time holy God cannot be in the presence of sinners. But through the sacrifice and resurrection of the second person of the Trinity, we now have fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have the name of the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – placed on our heads at our Baptism.

Now that we have fellowship with God, we have fellowship with each other as God’s children. We enjoy the blessings of this fellowship – a new life in Christ, answered prayers, the comfort of forgiveness, the assurance of a life that never ends, and unity with our fellow believers.

What a blessing it is for us to enjoy fellowship from the Holy Spirit. The Greek word is koinonia – communion, what we have in common. Celebrate the fellowship we have together whether it’s Christian Friends going miniature golfing this week, Lutheran Voyagers kayaking and canoeing yesterday, or the pastor mountain biking with our teens on Friday.

It’s sharing Kringle, cookies, and coffee in the Friendship Room or the narthex. It’s talking to each other at a WLS basketball game or a Shoreland concert. It’s receiving the Lord’s Supper together. It’s praying with and for one another. It’s prayerfully and financially supporting the ministries of Water of Life and the WELS.

We need this fellowship. We desire this fellowship. We cherish this fellowship.

Now we can wake up in the morning to look forward to another day of worshiping our Triune God together with our family of believers. Now we can go to bed at night comforted that our family of believers are praying with and for us.

That’s the reality of the Trinity. Every day filled with God’s threefold blessings. Amen.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

From Feast to Feast...

From Feast to Feast …

John 7:37-39 37On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and called out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! 38As the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.” 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive. For the Holy Spirit had not yet come, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Peter preached, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.’” (Acts 2:17) Amen.

The weekends in May and June are filled with feasts. There are a lot of high school and college graduation parties on weekends this time of the year. We enjoy hot dogs, brats, hamburgers, and taco bars at these feasts. We enjoy lemonade, iced tea, soda, adult beverages, and water at these feasts. We are celebrating a big day in the life of our friend or family member.

In John chapter 7, the Jews are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles or also called the Feast of Shelters. The Feast of Shelters commemorates 40 years of big days where the Lord took care of the children of Israel while they wandered in the Sinai wilderness. During that time, the Israelites lived in temporary shelters or tabernacles on their way to the Promised Land of Canaan. During these years of wilderness wandering, the Lord graciously provided for his people by giving them food and drink, even in a dry and desolate desert. God miraculously supplied them with bread from heaven and water from a rock.

The Feast of Shelters was a pilgrimage festival where Jews would travel from wherever they lived to Jerusalem to celebrate. For this festival, the Jews would live in shelters outside the city for a week. Each morning, water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam and carried in a golden pitcher to the temple. The water was poured out, the trumpet would sound, the people would sing the words of Isaiah, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).

Jesus is in the temple courtyard on the last day of the Feast of Shelters. John records for us, “On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and called out, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! As the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.’” This is not just a prayer for the outpouring of water. This is a prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The Jews in the crowd probably didn’t understand what Jesus was referring to. By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, St. John enlightens us to the meaning of Jesus words. “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive. For the Holy Spirit had not yet come, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

The Holy Spirit was certainly active throughout the Old and New Testaments bringing people to faith in the coming Savior. But the special outward gifts of the Holy Spirit that St. Paul mentions in our Epistle lesson from 1 Corinthians 12 were not poured out on people until after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.

Jesus promised the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit after his ascension. Pentecost was another pilgrim festival to celebrate the harvest. Pentecost was celebrated seven weeks after Passover or 50 days. Pentecost means 50. It was a celebration of the abundance of blessing the Lord gave to Israel when they settled in the Promised Land. It was a land flowing with milk and honey. Jewish people who had been spread out over the world made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. They were “Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, and of Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya around Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Cretans and Arabs” (Acts 2:9-11). At the Feast of Pentecost, the people brought the firstfruits of their crops as an offering to the Lord.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised took place at this Feast of Pentecost. There was the sound of rushing wind, tongues of fire on the heads of the apostles, and the apostles preached to the people in their own various languages.

This Feast was the firstfruit offering from among the nations. The harvest of 3000 who were baptized that day were brought to the Lord.

You are a part of the harvest. You are an offering to the Lord. You are a reason for the angels and saints to celebrate. You come to the Feast of the altar with your Lutheran brothers and sisters. You drink deeply from the Water of Life. You celebrate that you are living in temporary shelters here knowing that God will soon be bringing you into the Promised Land of heaven.

But do you always feel like celebrating? Do you always cherish receiving the living waters of Baptism? Do you cherish having your faith fed regularly at the Feast of the Lord’s Supper? Do you cherish feeling the wind of the Holy Spirit blowing through the voices of pastor and people, blowing through spoken and sung words entering your ears, heart, and head?

Do you remain spiritually hungry at times? Do you feel parched and dry? Do you feel bored by worship? Are you uninterested in the repetition of these feasts and festivals of the Christian Church Year? Do you go elsewhere looking for excitement and refreshment? Are you restless, not knowing what you’re looking for?

The African bishop, St. Augustine wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you” (Confession Book 1). God has put a thirst for him in our hearts, and we will never be happy, never truly be at rest, until we come to God, and he satisfies us. We will never have our thirst quenched unless we are drinking deeply and continually from Christ’s living waters. We will not have our spiritual hunger satisfied unless we are partaking of Christ’s body and blood at his sacramental feast.

So Jesus calls to us, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! As the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.” If you think about it, if Jesus was a mere man, this is an extraordinary promise. How can Jesus meet all my needs and desires if he is nothing more than a man. How can Jesus be enough to quench my thirst and satiate my hunger. … He can’t. Unless … unless Jesus is more than a mere man. Unless Jesus is true man and true God – God who came in human flesh, born among us, living, and suffering, and dying on a cross for us. And then rising from the grave and ascending to the Father’s right hand.

Because Jesus is more than a mere man – but God and man together to be our Savior – he is enough for us. Jesus has been through the worst of what this world has to offer … and he still stands before us, holding out joy and jubilation, satisfaction and salvation, to us with both nail-scarred hands. “Come to me,” he says, and we come forward. “Trust in me,” he says, and we learn to rest the weight of our hopes and fears on him – a little bit more each day. He can handle us, all of us, even the darkest and most broken parts of us. He knows what you need. He knows whom you need. He gives you himself. He gives you his Holy Spirit. “I will quench your thirst,” he says. “I will make my Spirit a river of living water flowing from my heart into and then out of your heart. You will never be thirsty again. And I will use you to share the water of life with those around you.”

God takes his people from Feast to Feast to Feast. This week, we learned that God has graciously granted us the opportunity to feast one more time. On Thursday, the Lord of the Church blessed us with Nate Klusmeyer, who will be ordained and installed on July 9 as our Inreach Pastor. After calling 16 times over 2 ½ years, we will feast. We will feast together on God’s Word in the worship service, feast on the food at the celebration meal afterwards, and then the pastors and their wives will feast at the after-party at the Zarling Jedi Temple.

Nate’s ordination and installation give us even more reason to continue to feast. I’ve told every pastor who has held our call that I feel the Lord will bless our efforts with growth in his Kingdom gathered here at Water of Life. We have every confidence that the Holy Spirit will use the spiritual gifts of Nate and me and all of you to bring our members here for the feast of Word and Sacraments. He will use and bless all of us to invite the families at WLS, Shoreland, and in the neighborhoods and communities around our two campuses. He will bring forth a harvest of souls like he began to do at the Feast of Pentecost with the apostles. He will use us to bring more people to the feasts of Word and Sacraments, the feasts of the Water of Life and the Bread from Heaven, in our two sanctuaries.

The Feast of Shelters to the Feast of Pentecost to the installation feast to the feast of Word and Sacrament to the banquet feast of salvation. That’s a lot of feasts!

Celebrate. Cherish. Come. Eat. Drink. Get excited. Be refreshed. Then invite others to come to celebrate with you. To eat, drink, get excited, and be refreshed with you. To come to the feasts with you.

From feast to feast to feast to feast … Amen.

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Acts 2:21) Amen.

God's Controversial Plans for You- WLS Graduation Sermon

God’s “controversial” plans for you

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future.

I told the 8th graders in our class last week that I would say some “controversial” things in tonight’s sermon.

One of our last classes together was a lesson on marriage. As part of our discussion, I encouraged them to date, finish high school, get married, wait to enjoy sleeping together until their wedding night, have lots of children, and stay married until God parts them through death.

Following this sequence will statistically bring about “success.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that of the Millennial families who followed the steps in this order, only 3% were in poverty. A staggering 97% were receiving physical blessings above the poverty line.

By contrast, a troubling 53% of those who did not follow the sequence were living in poverty.

God has a plan for your lives. He lays it out clearly in Scripture.

“Marriage is to be held in honor by all, and the marriage bed is to be kept undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4).

“For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will remain united with his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

“The man who finds a wife finds a good thing, and he obtains favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 18:22).

“Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).

“What God has joined together, man must not separate” (Matthew 19:6).

God may not always bless us with a marriage or with children. But, if we find a spouse and have children, there is a specific order God wants us to receive those in. This is a sequence, a series of steps, a plan that God has for you. But these are also so-called “controversial” plans. What makes them “controversial”? Our culture. Our friends. Our family. Us. Our sinful natures.

We hear God’s Word, his will, his plans, and we tense up. Our brow furrows and our neck stiffens. We think we know better than God. We are like the Burger King of old where we want to “have it your way.” We don’t like anyone – even God – restricting our fun, limiting our sin, or curbing our sinful desires. We want what we want … and we want it now.

So, we do things out of order and we still expect God to bless us.

But is that how it works in your house? You expect your kids to listen, behave, and do what you tell them. But they stomp and cry. They fight and defy. When they act that way, do you still bless them? Or do you chasten and correct them?

There are some more plans God has for you. The 8th graders and I discussed numerous times in our classes about the roles God gives for men and women in their relationships. God desires men to serve as leaders, providers, and protectors. They are to serve as the Christ-figure for their wife and family. “Husbands, love your wives, in the same way as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

God desires women to serve as nurturers, loving and caring for those in her family. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him” (Genesis 2:18). The wife serves as a helper to her husband and a strength for her family, much like God the Father helps and strengthens those within his family. “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who can always be found in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

These are more plans that God has for us, but we often prefer to go along with our culture that tries to imagine how there are no differences between men and women. Our culture then enforces the notion that we can get along just fine on our own without the benefits of the other sex.

The Bible verse the 8th graders chose for their graduation is Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future.”

This is a verse of comfort to people who had done so many things out of order. The children of Israel had cheated on the Lord and worshiped false gods. They refused to follow God’s will and God’s way. They had perverted themselves with all kinds of physical and spiritual filth. Still, they expected God to bless them simply because they were his chosen children.

God the Father’s children had continually refused to listen and behave, to trust and believe. They stomped and cried. They fought and defied.

God chastised them by allowing them to be carried into captivity by the Babylonian empire.

Jeremiah 29, from where we receive our sermon text, contains a letter the prophet Jeremiah gives to the children of Israel now living in exile in Babylon. Jeremiah encourages them to accept the Lord’s judgment patiently and believe God’s Word that it would be several generations before they would return to their homeland.

He writes, “This is what the Lord says. After seventy years have passed in Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious word to bring you back to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10). God had set the limit of their exile to 70 years. Jeremiah reminded them that they were in exile only because God chose to lead them there. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon served merely as God’s instrument of chastisement. When the Lord chose, he would bring them back.

To those whose vision would be blurry with tears, whose hearts would be torn by grief, whose bodies would be racked with pain, whose hopes would be shattered by disappointment, and whose loss would leave them empty, God promised, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future.”

This is God’s promise – not just to those children of Israel – but to all of you – students, graduates, parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors, and more. As Christians, we desire to follow our theme this school year and walk in God’s wisdom, to be imitators of God as his dearly loved children, and keep all of his statutes. But we don’t. And we won’t. That’s because we are stubborn in our sin and relentless in our rebellion.

Yet, God gives us another “controversial” plan for us. It isn’t disaster for our sin and rebellion. It’s forgiveness of our sin. It’s redemption from our rebellion. It’s the righteousness of Christ to cover our unrighteousness. This is all foolishness to the world, but it is the wisdom of the Lord. It’s Jesus. Jesus says of himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). This is “controversial” in our culture that despises Christ and his Christianity. Yet, Jesus is what WLS, Shoreland, First Evan, Water of Life and the churches and schools within the Wisconsin Synod are all about.

You may or may not follow God’s sequence for marriage and children. You may or may not fulfill God’s roles for men and women. You may or may not walk in God’s wisdom. You may seem to do things right or do things totally wrong. And, no matter what you do or don’t do, you may face difficulties, suffering, and sorrow in your lives. You may lose your college career, lose a job, lose your health, lose a parent, lose a spouse, or lose a child. And as you struggle, the world may look at you as a loser.

But, you are always a winner. No matter what you face. No matter what you do or don’t do. No matter how stubborn you are in your sin or how relentless you are in your rebellion, God still helps you in times of trouble. Jesus still loves you and gave himself up for you. The Holy Spirit still brings you out of the darkness into the marvelous light of the Lord. As long as you walk in God’s wisdom – which means that you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior – you are a winner in God’s eyes. You are a baptized saint. You are a blood-bought child of God. You will graduate from this world to his heavenly Kingdom.

Nothing happens in this world that God does not see. Nothing happens in your life that God does not have a plan for. Everything – even the times of loss – have God’s stamp of approval. Everything has his divine purposes in mind. What are those purposes? His purpose is to prosper you and give you peace. His purpose is to give you hope and a future. Far beyond worldly wealth and earthly prosperity and a future here, our Lord works for your spiritual prosperity, heavenly wealth, and the sure hope of an eternal future in heaven. Everything he plans and does works with this purpose in mind: through faith in the Son, you will one day end up in the Father’s mansions in heaven.

What comfort that is when we are not always able to connect the dots of life. What security that gives us when we cannot see the specifics of the future. What peace that provides when we just don’t know which way to go.

The Lord knows. The Lord cares. The Lord plans. The Lord controls. All of it, with your soul’s best interests in mind.

If you ever have any doubts about that, then just look at Bethlehem’s manger, Calvary’s cross, and Jerusalem’s empty tomb. In these places we see God’s plan to give us peace, hope, and a future.

These are some of God’s “controversial” plans for your life. They are all about Jesus and your relationship with Jesus. Trust them. Love them. Live them. Be blessed by them. … And never, ever graduate from them. Amen.

Be Ready to Confess your Hope

1 Peter 3:15                                The Sixth Sunday of Easter                     May 14 & 21, 2023

Water of Life Lutheran Church             Racine, WI                               Rev. Terry L. Laabs

Prayer:   Lord of the Church, you not only give us the faith to believe in God’s forgiving love, but also the courage to confess our faith to the world around us.  Help us trust the gifts of your Holy Spirit so we can with boldness and confidence stand up for you and tell the world why we do.  Guide us today through your Word of truth into that bold confession, for your holy name’s sake.  Amen.

In today’s lessons, on the Sixth Sunday of Easter, we hear a strong encouragement to live out our Christian confession in word and action, just as many of us promised to do in our confirmation vows however many years ago. That’s no coincidence.  God doesn’t prepare us for things he knows we’ll never need to do.  If God has given us the faith to believe in and confess his powerful, rescuing love for us, he will also put us into situations where we will be called on to stand up for that faith.

That truth seems especially clear in our second lesson for today, as St. Peter writes to Christians facing persecution and danger on account of their faith in Jesus.  He writes to encourage them to hold firm to their Christian confession, even if it should prove painful in their present human circumstances. And the reason why he wants them to stand firm in their confession is because in this way they would bring glory to their Lord Jesus Christ and lead others to see his greatness.  St. Peter in this lesson encourages all of us Christians to prepare ourselves to tell others why we believe in Jesus.  He says to us:

Be Ready to Confess your Hope

How does Peter say we can do that? 

1.  First confess your sins

2.  Then confess your faith in Jesus

3.  In that way you will prepare to confess your hope

1.  First confess your sins

St. Peter understands that feeling hopeful about the future isn’t something that comes natural for us, let alone talking about the hope we have in Jesus.  Being happy and positive and hopeful is a gift.  Naturally, we’re much more likely to whine and moan, to complain about what’s going on in our lives now and to expect that it’ll only get worse in the future.  One thing you have to give to pessimists: they’re realistic about seeing the effects of sin in our lives.

Peter reminds us here that apart from Christ we would have no hope for the future.  Each of us was born into this world sinful and dirty and evil.  We may not have looked that way at first; we were no doubt new little bundles of joy all cute and cuddly.  In the first days—perhaps weeks—of our lives, it seemed we could do no wrong.  But eventually the sinful heart in us began to show.  I’ve never yet met parents who have worked hard to teach their little ones to be selfish.  We try to teach our kids just the opposite. Yet every child is hard-wired for selfishness.  Every toddler knows the concept of “mine,” and soon learns to fight to keep others away from what is “mine.”  Very early in our lives it becomes clear that, if we hope to have a future relationship with a Holy God, we need to be washed clean of our selfishness and sin.

That’s why Jesus gave us Holy Baptism.  The water of Baptism isn’t there to wash away dirt from our bodies but rather to purge away sinful guilt from our consciences. Through the Gospel in the spoken Word and the Sacraments God is happy to offer us forgiveness of sins, but only if we admit we need it.  God freely offers the cure if only we admit we’re sick and desperately need his help.  That’s why the first part of confessing our hope in Christ is confessing our sin and asking for His forgiveness.

To a world of sinners feeling the weight of their sins Jesus came to take our place.  He joined us as a human being, living under the same laws of God we struggle with on a daily basis.  Only Jesus never gave in to selfishness and sin.  He never once let what he wanted overwhelm what God wanted him to do.  And then he took his perfect, sinless human life and laid it on the line for us.  He stepped into God’s courtroom as our defense attorney and offered to take the punishment each of us had coming.  He served our sentence by letting the insults and the blows and the torture fall on him, so it didn’t have to fall on us.  He let himself be sentenced to death, to give us a shot at life.

St. Peter put it this way, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.  He was put to death in the flesh but made alive [three days later] in the spirit, in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago.”  St. Peter there is referring to that event we call Christ’s descent into hell, when Jesus early on Easter morning went with his resurrected body to make a victory proclamation in Satan’s own back yard, proving that death couldn’t hold him.  There is resurrection symbolism in the gift of Baptism Jesus gave us to call us to faith in his shed blood.  “Baptism now saves you,” says the Apostle Peter—”not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.  It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand.”  When you and I were baptized, we were given the faith to believe in Jesus as our Savior from sin.  So that throughout our lives we could every day confess not only our sins but also our faith in the blood of Jesus to freely forgive those sins and, because of his resurrection from the dead, make us sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.  The water of baptism only seals that covenant.

3. Prepare to confess your hope

In light of the work of Christ and the power of Holy Baptism, St. Peter can encourage every Christian to “set apart Christ as Lord” in our hearts.  What does it mean to “set apart Christ in our hearts”?  I think it means what Jesus meant when he said, “My sheep listen to my voice.”  When we set apart a place in our hearts only for Jesus, we are committing ourselves to listen to his voice and set that voice apart, above all the other competing voices we hear in this sinful world.  After we have set apart a place in our heart for Jesus, St. Peter encourages us to be ready to tell people why.  “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  The only way we’ll ever be ready to confess our hope in Jesus is if we have been sitting down with him regularly to hear the clear voice of his Gospel teaching, and to receive his gifts of bread and wine, of his own body and blood, to assure us our sins no longer keep us from God.

The best way to be ready to confess our hope in Jesus Christ is to walk with him and listen to his Word on a regular basis.  That means to gather each week with God’s people in his house for feeding and leading in Word and sacrament, and to read and study the Bible privately and with others, at home and at church.  Because that’s where Jesus’ sheep listen to his voice.  That’s where our hope is strengthened and we are prepared to confess that hope.

You know, once we have made the commitment to listen to Jesus’ voice above all the other noise in this world, and to follow where he leads us, we’ll find ourselves standing alone often enough, apart from the crowd.  We won’t easily be able to take part in things that are out of sync with Christ’s plan for our lives, even if it’s what “everybody else is doing.”  At that point, perhaps the most difficult part of being ready to confess your hope in Jesus is being able to explain to the people around you why you do the things you do, why you don’t do the things you don’t do, and why you believe the things you believe.  But that’s also the key opportunity for God’s kingdom to advance, as his people share with others why God’s way—the way of forgiveness and faith—is also the way of peace and freedom and happiness and fulfillment and everlasting joy.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  That’s St. Peter’s inspired advice to Christians.  When people notice that you’re not taking part in what everybody else is doing, when they see you handle the trials and difficulties of life with calm and confident trust that God is good and will care for his people no matter what—that’s when you need to be ready to explain yourself.  That’s when you have a chance to say, Look, it’s not me. It’s not that I’m so strong or so calm and collected, or that I’m so good.  It’s the God I serve, the God who accepts me for what I am.  He forgives my shortcomings and is hard at work re-making me in the perfect image of his Son Jesus.  That’s why I follow his will.  And you know what?  My God wants to do that for you, too.  That’s all it takes for us to share the reason for our hope in Christ.  And that small confession, that simple testimony is all the Holy Spirit needs to begin his saving work on yet another sinful heart.

As we think about St. Peter’s encouragement to be ready to confess our hope in Jesus,  let us give thanks to God for the faith he has given us. Let us give thanks that God has already led many of us to “set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts,” and to listen every day and every week to his voice leading us. And let us pray that we will be ready to confess our hope in Jesus every day of our lives, always ready to share with the people around us the reason for our hope.  It’s the forgiveness we have through the shed blood of Christ.  It’s the washing away of our sins we received in Holy Baptism.  It’s the body and blood of Jesus we receive again and again at God’s altar to remind us of Christ’s gifts to us.  That’s why we have sure and certain hope—because of Christ.  May he make you ready to confess that hope every day.  Amen.

The Protection Provided By Prayer

John 17:1-11a After Jesus had spoken these things, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you. 2For you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. 4I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5Now, Father, glorify me at your own side with the glory I had at your side before the world existed.

6“I revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have held on to your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8For I gave them the words you gave me, and they received them. They learned the truth that I came from you. They believed that you sent me.

9“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, because they are yours. 10All that is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine. And I am glorified in them. 11I am no longer going to be in the world, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.

If you are insulted in connection with the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Peter 4:14). Amen.

“Fight the Good Fight.” “Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense.” “Rise! To Arms! With Prayer Employ You.” “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.” Those are four of the hymns we are singing today. Do you notice the common theme with these hymns?

They all share the imagery of going into battle. One of the key weapons Jesus gives us when we enter the battlefield is the weapon of prayer.

What is prayer? Prayer is conversing with your Creator. It is pouring out your heart to your Best Friend, Jesus. It is asking for comfort from the Comforter of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer can be giving God the adoration he deserves. It can be confessing your sins and baring your soul. It will then be followed by going into the Scripture to hear your Savior’s words of absolution. It will include thanksgiving for all the physical and spiritual gifts the Triune God has given you. It will include petitions for your church, school, high school, synod, pastor, teachers, family, health, income, nation, and more.

But, honestly, how often do you take up the weapon of prayer? How often do you avail yourself of God’s almighty power that is yours for the asking in prayer? Do you kneel beside your bed in the morning to ask for God’s blessing on your day? Do you pray with and for your children that God would send his angels to protect them and keep temptations away from them? Do you ask that your words will match God’s will and words throughout the day? Do you say a quick prayer of thanksgiving for narrowly missing an accident on the freeway and a brief prayer of safety for those injured in the accident?

German theologian Johann Gerhardt had these wise words about prayer: “The benefit of prayer is so great that it cannot be expressed! Prayer is the dove which, when sent out, returns again, bringing with it the olive leave, namely peace of heart. Prayer is the golden chain which God holds fast and lets not go until he blesses. Prayer is Moses’ rod, which brings forth the water of consolation out of the rock of salvation. Prayer is Samson’s jawbone, which smites down our enemies. Prayer is David’s harp, before which the evil spirit flies. Prayer is the key to heaven’s treasures.”

Prayer is a powerful weapon in our battle against Satan. There is protection provided by prayer.

But why do we need this protection? Jesus Christ waged war against Satan with his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. Jesus Christ defeated the evil angel of the Devil. Christ has now established his dominion over all things.

Yet, though the war is over, the battle rages on. The Great Dragon of Satan has been hurled down from heaven. He has turned his rage against the earth. And in particular, you!

Why you? Because you have been set free. You are a baptized child of God. Once you were in darkness, but now you are in the Light of Christ. Once you were not a people, but now you are a people who are holy and blameless in God’s sight. Once you belonged to Satan. But now you belong to the Lord.

You are different. You are weird. You are in the world, but not of the world. You now have a Christian, spiritual worldview instead of an anti-Christian, purely political worldview. You are intent on actively influencing the culture instead of passively allowing the culture to influence you. You hear all the news, but you only believe God’s Truth. You are strangers here and citizens of heaven.

And Satan hates you for all of it!

Satan is going to come at you! He’s going to come at you hard! So, prepare yourself with prayer.

One of the ways Native Americans prepared their young braves for battle was on the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods … and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was his father. He had been there all night long.

You may not be able to see your heavenly Father protecting you, but he is with you. Yes, as a Christian, you are a foreigner living in enemy territory. Satan will do everything he can to bring you down. But God guarantees that he will protect you from all the attacks of Satan.

Jesus teaches you to pray for God’s providence and protection in prayer. On Thursday night of Holy Week, in the Upper Room with his disciples, Jesus is also praying for your protection.

Jesus prayed “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you. For you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to all those you have given him. This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me at your own side with the glory I had at your side before the world existed.” Jesus revealed his greatest glory through his greatest humility – his death on the cross. There, Jesus also finished the work his Father had given him to do.

What was that work? The battle for your eternal freedom was not fought against flesh and blood with swords and bullets, but “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12).

When Jesus was conceived, the Prince of Darkness coiled for attack. When Jesus was baptized, legions of demons assembled and were sent out. When temptation failed to snare the Son of God, the devil desired to attack the disciples, to sift them like wheat. Whenever Jesus came into town, the demons fell at his feet. Wherever Jesus preached, the demons fled in terror, their ears pierced by the power of the One who brought all things into being, the One who undoes the work of Satan and makes all things new.

Before Jesus goes into battle against the forces of darkness, he prays. He doesn’t pray for himself. He prays for Peter, Thomas, and Andrew. He prays for all his followers. He prays for you.

Jesus prays for you because he has left you – left you in this world but not as part of this world. “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, because they are yours. All that is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine. And I am glorified in them. I am no longer going to be in the world, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.”

Jesus is leaving. He is leaving his followers behind. We are in this world, but Jesus prays for us to be different from the world. Basically, Jesus is praying that the Father makes us “weird.”

We are seen as “weird” in our world. Weird for wanting to go to church to worship. Weird for giving money to support ministry work. Weird for waiting to have sex until marriage. Weird for not watching certain shows or talking certain ways. Weird for spending so much time in prayer.

Since we are so weird, people will notice. We are Christ’s soldiers living in Enemy territory. We live and eat and drink and speak and act differently from those who belong to the Enemy. We are trying to win them over to our side, to Christ’s side. Why has Jesus left us in this spiritually hostile world? He doesn’t pray to the heavenly Father that he take us out of the world. “I am not asking that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the Evil One” (John 17:15).

Jesus has left you here for a distinct mission. Not a super-secret mission. But a well-publicized and visible mission. “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you. For you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to all those you have given him. This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me at your own side with the glory I had at your side before the world existed.”

Your mission is to receive and believe in the eternal life Jesus has won for you. Your mission is to believe in God’s words and then share those words. Jesus prayed, “I revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have held on to your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me, and they received them. They learned the truth that I came from you. They believed that you sent me.”

When we baptize our children, we place the sign of the cross on their foreheads, marking them as redeemed and reclaimed children of God. Martin Luther teaches us to begin and end each day in prayer – saying Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Apostles’ Creed, and also making the sign of the cross over our head and heart.

Some parents make the sign of the cross over their children as the last thing they do at night. It is a prayer for safety, a prayer marking that child belongs to Jesus, so the devil can just go away.

One family has the custom of making the sign of the cross on the forehead of their children when they leave the house. One day, their teenage son was in a rush to leave for school, ran up to his dad and said, “Do me quick and then I can go!”

The son came to expect prayer and wanted it for his busy day.

If we are serious about protecting ourselves and our children, let us begin and end each day with prayer. Let us pray continually throughout the day. Always praying with confidence that Jesus also prayed and continues to pray for us, too. This the protection provided in prayer. Amen.

If you suffer for being a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God in connection with this name. (1 Peter 4:16). Amen.

Sermon 4-30-2023

Sermon WoL                                    1 Peter 2:19-25                                04-30-2023

Intro:  Suffering screams aloud the biggest question of faith – WHY?  While suffering was never God’s planned mission, he never-the-less gives it his permission – as in He allows it to take place. Back in 1940, C.S Lewis wrote a very challenging book called ‘The problem of pain’, in which he wrote ‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.’  As he did with Jesus so he may do with us – draw attention to the sufferer and his message.

God Calls Us into Christ’s Suffering

1.  It was an Undeserved Suffering.

1.1  Unjust suffering mirrors the pathway and purpose of Christ.  (v. 19) ILL.- Adoniram Judson, the renowned missionary to Burma, endured untold hardships trying to reach the lost for Christ. For 7 heartbreaking years he suffered hunger and privation. During this time he was thrown into Ava Prison, and for 17 months was subjected to almost incredible mistreatment. As a result, for the rest of his life he carried the ugly marks made by the chains and iron shackles which had cruelly bound him.  Undaunted, upon his release he asked for permission to enter another province where he might resume preaching the Gospel.  The godless ruler indignantly denied his request, saying, “My people are not fools enough to listen to anything a missionary might SAY, but I fear they might be impressed by your SCARS and turn to your religion!” That is true, Christ-like suffering! And it’s something that we American Christians know nothing about! We have definitely not suffered for Christ while witnessing for Him.  Perhaps if we’d do more, preach more, witness more, we’d suffer more for His sake!  Galatians 6:17 "For I carry on my body the scars of the whippings and wounds from Jesus’ enemies that mark me as His slave." The finest marks anyone can carry on their body are the marks of Jesus. Unjust suffering is Christ-like.

ILL.- Once when Bob Hope received a major award he responded, "I don’t deserve this, but then I have arthritis and I don’t deserve that either."

1.2  He was sinless in his life and thoughts.  (v. 21b-22)

For us, he suffered – our Substitute  What this verse says is that two things--not just one thing, but two things--were happening when Jesus suffered. One is found in the words, "Christ suffered FOR YOU." When Christ suffered--more than any of us have suffered--he was standing in your place. The word "for" (huper) is a simple word with profound meaning when used with the death of Christ. It proclaims the most wonderful truth known to man. Note this striking truth: it does not mean that Christ died only as an example for us, showing us how we should be willing to die for the truth or for some great cause. What it means is that Christ died in our place, in our stead, in our room, as our substitute. This meaning is unquestionably clear.  The idea of sacrifice to the Jewish and pagan mind of that day was the idea of a life given in another’s place. It was a substitutionary sacrifice. The idea of sacrifice is often in the very context of the words, "Christ gave Himself for us" (Ephes. 5:2). 

He was bearing your sins so that your condemnation became his and he took it away from you. The sufferings of your life in Christ are NOT condemnation for sin, they are discipline for holiness (1 Peter 1:6-7; Hebrews 12:3-11). The sufferings of Christians are not divine condemnation. That is precisely what Christ bore "for us" (1 Peter 2:24; Gal. 3:13). And that's why our sufferings come just as often from doing what's right as from doing what's wrong. It is not divine condemnation; it is divine CALLING!

For us, he suffered – our Example.  = Note the word example. Christ has left us an "example" (hupogrammon). The word means the pattern of some picture or letter that a teacher gives to the pupil. The pattern is to be copied or reproduced. The idea is that an exact copy is to be made; every detail of the pattern is to be reproduced. The exhortation is that we are to be an exact copy of Christ; we are to follow the pattern of Christ in every detail.
epakolouthçsçte = The word "follow"is the picture of a guide leading us along a most difficult and rocky path, so difficult that we must actually put our feet in his footprints. We are to follow Christ step by step, moment by moment, and day by day. The whole of this letter from Peter is addressed to a church, which is being subjected to a constant pattern of suffering, injustice and social exclusion. Yet this whole letter is encouraging the church to submit, to be living sacrifices, live humbly and live for the purposes of God. Rejoice that you participate in sufferings and be commendable to bear the pain of unjust sufferings.

Has there ever been a time when this is further from the way of the world? A world when we are expected to put rights of the individual before duty, or service to others. A world where people chase ambulances to ensure accident victims claim large compensations. A world where doctors live in the threat of being sued as they try to heal and save lives. A world where the church is often seen as an irrelevant, hypocritical, homophobic institution.

Peter invites us to live under the pain of unjust suffering for one reason. It is the way of God.  ‘To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.’  God IS involved in our suffering.

1.3  He did not sin in his words. (v. 22b)

App:  The influence of Christ’s life on us means that we will not shirk the responsibility to speak the truth – even if it draws us into the line of fire.  We may have to take “suffering” as a part of the testimony, but see how it leads us alongside him? Believers are called to suffer for Christ. What does this mean?

= Any person who follows Christ—who lives a pure and righteous life—is going to be rejected by the world. The world wants little to do with these. People want to live like they want and to do their own thing. Therefore, they ridicule, mock, ignore, abuse, bypass, ignore, and persecute anyone who lives a strict life of purity and righteousness.

= Any person who lives a self-denying life—who sacrifices all he is and has to meet the needs of a lost and dying world—is going to be rejected by the world. People are not willing to live unselfish and sacrificial lives to meet the needs of the poor, starving, diseased, and lost masses of the world. People want more and more comfort and recognition, possessions and pleasure, money and property. Therefore, they want little to do with a person who sacrifices and proclaims a message of sacrifice.

Remember the point: Christ has given us a great call—to follow Him and to suffer for Him and His cause even as He suffered for us. What is His cause? To love God supremely by living a holy life and to love the lost and dying of the world by meeting their desperate needs.

2.  It was a Unique Suffering

2.1  Calm response in the face of cruelty proves his love.  (v. 23a)

First, He was reviled, but He did not rail back at the attackers. The picture is that He was cursed, blasphemed, ridiculed, mocked, and railed at; but He bore it all willingly and voluntarily. He did not have to bear it. He was the Son of God, and He could have stopped everyone in their tracks. But He had come to save them, not to condemn them.

2.2  Compassionate comprehension of sin’s effect confirms his complete control. (23b)  Second, He suffered, was abused, beaten, pushed around, and crowned with a crown of thorns; but He suffered it willingly. He did not even threaten the unbelievers and persecutors.   Jesus had a choice to make, as he turned his face towards Jerusalem and chose to suffer unto death on the cross at Calvary.  Peter had a choice to make, as he followed in the footsteps of Jesus and chose the path of suffering, right up until he died, reputedly also on a cross.   I am so conscious that there is so much more that could be said about suffering, and from those that are so better qualified than I to talk about it.

2.3  Committed steps led him to the cross. (v. 23c)  Third, He committed Himself to God knowing that God would vindicate Him. He knew that God judges righteously and fairly; therefore, He committed His life into the hands of God. The word "committed" (paredidou) means to hand over; to deliver into the hands of. Jesus Christ handed over His life to God; He delivered His life into the hands and keeping of God. Again, He did not have to suffer death, for He had the power to stop it all. But He had come to save men; therefore he willingly suffered, committing His death and cause into the hands of God. He knew that God would raise Him up and prove His claim to be the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Perhaps this insight is the most important for us to grasp hold of. John Stott, once said "I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross" God is not a god who is immune from suffering. Through the cross, Jesus is reconciling the world to himself.

 App:  Only one human being could carry the cross with this care and concern.  He was not fighting a cause, he was conquering sin like a king.   Jesus suffered in all the ways we suffer. He doesn’t just know about suffering – in modern street-language ‘Jesus does suffering.’   Knowing that God is there with us in suffering helps. If you like, in the words of the theologian, Moltmann, "it removes the suffering in suffering." We are not alone in pain.

Those who nailed Jesus to the cross intended it for evil – to take a life; but God intended it for good – the saving of many lives. God IS involved in our suffering. Do we believe that? So we too are called to embrace suffering in the way that Jesus did. Including the most difficult form of suffering – that which is unjust, not fair and wrong.

But like the art of cross carrying, Peter is not just talking about normal suffering here (if there is such a thing), or suffering in which we have to endure because there is no way out of it. He is actually inviting us to take a positive step by accepting unjust suffering, presumably a type of suffering where we can decide not to accept it, or to complain about it, or be resentful concerning it.  I wonder in what circumstances today I might choose to suffer, or endure, for doing good?

3.  It was an Unselfish Suffering

3.1  Jesus didn’t seek to spare his own life, but ours.  (v. 24) 

ILL.- Someone asked C.S. Lewis, "Why do the righteous suffer?" "Why not?" he replied. "They’re the only ones who can take it."  Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." 2Cor. 4:16-18 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory thatfar outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 1 Cor. 2:9 "However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."

3.2  Jesus has become our security.  (v. 25)

So this is our calling, Peter says. Not to hurt back, not to plan to hurt back. And not to seethe with bitterness because you're not allowed to hurt back. So you can see this is not a simple rule to keep. This is a miracle to be experienced. It's a grace to be received. And it is the only way that many marriages can survive and flourish. Spouses can hurt each other worse than anybody else. And how many are consumed day and night with indignation and "justified" self-pity and numbing frustration that they are doing RIGHT and all they get is pain.

So where does this miracle come from? The overarching answer is found in verse 19: For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. The miracle happens--the grace comes--when we are conscious of God. It comes by reckoning with God. Including God in the equation of your relationship. What are we to think when we think of God in such situations of unjust hurt? The answer is given in verse 23: he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

That is, he handed over to God the whole situation including himself and those abusing him and the hurt done and all the factors that made it a horrendous outrage of injustice that the most innocent man who ever lived should suffer so much. He trusted it all into God's hands as the one who would settle the matter justly someday. He said, "I will not carry the burden of revenge, I will not carry the burden of sorting out motives, I will not carry the burden of self-pity; I will not carry the burden of bitterness; I will hand all that over to God who will settle it all in a perfectly just way and I will pray, "Father, forgive them they don't know what they do" (Luke 23:34).

Conclusion:  God uses suffering to draw us to Christ, and then to lend authority and authenticity to our “faith story.”  Through suffering he uses us for his good purposes.

Do you believe, do you trust, that God sees every wrong done to you, that he knows every hurt, that he assesses motives and circumstances with perfect accuracy, that he is impeccably righteous and takes no bribes, and that he will settle all accounts with perfect justice. This is what it means to be "conscious of God" in the midst of unjust pain. If you believe this--if God is this real to you--then you will hand it over to God, and though nobody in the world may understand where your peace and joy and freedom to love is coming from, you know. The answer is God. And sooner or later they will know.

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

John 14:1-4 “Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am. 4You know where I am going, and you know the way.”

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Amen. (1 Peter 2:9)

Jesus tells us, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” I asked our homebound members what troubles them. Here are some of the things they listed. They are lonely, often with no family around. They have health problems – they are hard of hearing, have difficulty breathing, are afraid of going senile, or are living with constant pain.

They have to get used to slowing down; not being able to do much anymore; not being able to go to church; and not being able to leave the house without help.

They are troubled that their children aren’t believers and haven’t baptized their grandchildren.

They miss their house. They miss their spouse. And one that hit home to me – one homebound member said she misses riding her bike.

Our older saints definitely have troubles. I also asked our younger saints - our 8th grade Catechism students - what troubles them. Here are some of the serious and not so serious things they listed.

They answered: My schedule. Missing the bus. Struggles with my family. When the bathroom at home is full.

What my peers think of me. Feeling like I don’t fit in. If I leave the faith someday. Standing by tall people.

Bad grades. Not learning important stuff in school like how to pay taxes. Not being able to find a job after school. People. Mr. M. (That’s their 8th grade teacher.)

My grandma, who isn’t talking to me. Losing a loved one. Not knowing what my future holds. Moving. Waking up early just to come to school. Anxiety. Pastor Zarling being short.

Jesus knows his disciples of all ages will have troubles. You may share some of the same troubles as the teenagers or the senior citizens. Or you may have your own unique troubles that are somewhere in between those two age groups. Whatever your troubles are, Jesus is teaching us not to allow our troubles to trouble our hearts.

The setting of our sermon text is Thursday evening. Jesus has entered Jerusalem with a Palm Sunday procession. On Monday, Jesus chased the money changers, sacrificial animals, and animal merchants out of the temple courtyard. Then Monday and Tuesday, Jesus taught in the recently vacated temple courtyard. It seems that Jesus took Wednesday off.

On Thursday evening, Jesus is in the Upper Room with his disciples. He washes their feet. The Passover Meal is just about ready to be eaten. But before they sit down to eat, Jesus teaches his disciples covering five chapters in John’s Gospel. Part of that teaching are these words: “Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am. You know where I am going, and you know the way.”

Jesus is like a young mother dropping off her four-year-old daughter for the first day of Preschool. The little girl is apprehensive, scared, clingy. She has tears welling up in her eyes.

Mom is comforting her daughter by showing her how nice the Preschool teacher is, all her friends she knows from church who are in her class, and all the toys she gets to play with during the day. Mom reassures her daughter that she’ll be back at the end of the day to pick her up and bring her home.

Jesus is also like an older dad who is saying goodbye to his sixteen-year-old son. The dad is in the Marines and is going to war. He’s telling his son that he’s going to be the man of the house now. The son is trying to man up, but he’s still apprehensive, scared, clingy. He has tears welling up in his eyes. The Dad reassures his son that when the war is won, he’ll be home.

Jesus is reassuring his disciples - his spiritual children – that he is going away for a while. He is about to die, to leave this world, and go to his Father in heaven. As he speaks, Judas is on his way to get the temple guard to arrest Jesus. By Friday evening, the disciples will be terrified and grieving, thinking Jesus is gone forever.

Jesus comforts their troubled hearts by reminding them that though he is going away, he’ll come back on the Last Day to take them home with him.

Jesus is reminding his disciples – his spiritual children – that he is going off to war. He is going into battle against the ancient serpent of the Devil. He is waging war on sin. It will be a fight to the death – his death. He will be struck in his heel by the serpent’s fangs. He will have the sins of humanity on his godly shoulders. He will fight death … and die. He will look like a criminal. He will appear like a victim. He will seem like a loser.

But looks are deceiving. Through his death, Jesus defeats death. By allowing himself to be bitten by the serpent, he will crush the serpent’s head. By allowing sin to kill him, he will pay for humanity’s sins, once and for all. He is not a criminal. He is the Holy One of God. He is not a victim. He is the Victor. He is not a loser. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

So, like any loving parent, Jesus reassures his apprehensive, clingy children. He speaks to them as simply as you speak to a child. “I am going away, but don’t be afraid,” he says. “Trust in God. Trust also in me. I am going to get things ready for you. Then I will be back. You will be with me again.”

The disciples didn’t get it. They are like a little child being apart from her parents; like a teenager separated by war from his father; like us during troubling times. But during the terrifying days to come, they would have the memory of Jesus’ words to comfort them. We, too, have Jesus’ words to comfort us. Jesus has promised his troubled disciples of all ages that he will come back. And we know that Jesus always keeps his promises.

We are troubled, present-day disciples. Sometimes, other people bring trouble upon us. Sometimes, we bring trouble upon ourselves. The rest of the time, the trouble is because we are sinful people living in a sinful world.

And when trouble comes – whether the trouble finds us or we find the trouble – what happens to our hearts? Our hearts are anxious, worried, sad, angry, and confused. … Our hearts are troubled.

Jesus speaks to his troubled disciples of all ages, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” Jesus tells us to stop being troubled. The Greek word for “trouble” has the picture of water that is churning or seething, as in a rough surf on Lake Michigan. The news of the betrayal, denial, and departure of Jesus has caused the disciples’ hearts to churn with fear and apprehension.

When our hearts are churning with fear and apprehension. Jesus tells us, “Stop letting your hearts be churned up.”

Jesus doesn’t simply pat his disciples on the head and say, “There, there, everything will be all right.” He tells why they have no reason to be troubled. He tells us to keep doing what we are doing. “Keep believing in God. Keep believing in me.”

What do we do when trouble comes on us? We pray for Jesus to remove our troubles. Yet, Scripture says that God uses trouble so he can comfort us and we can then comfort others in their trouble (2 Corinthians 1:3,4), so God can refine and purify us with troubles (Isaiah 48:10), so he can teach us patience and train us in perseverance (Romans 5:3-5), and so we are prepared for eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Jesus doesn’t promise to remove our troubles. Instead, he promises to give us forgiveness to give to those who have brought trouble on us. He promises to give us forgiveness to apply to ourselves and offer to others that we have brought trouble upon.

Jesus doesn’t promise to remove our troubles from us. Rather, he promises to remove our troubles eventually and eternally in heaven. “In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am.”

What Jesus means is, “I’m going to prepare a place for you … tonight and tomorrow.” Through Jesus’ betrayal, denial, conviction and crucifixion, Jesus prepared a room for all those in that upper room and all of you in your living rooms. He prepared a place for you through his innocent suffering and substitutionary death. Jesus prepared a place for you by being shut into the enclosed room of the tomb for three days and then bursting forth on Easter dawn. He prepared a room for you through his ascension to his Father’s right hand in heaven.

Whether Jesus is preparing a “room” for you like in the NIV or a whole “mansion” like in the EHV, the Greek word means “a permanent home.” You have a place of permanence waiting for you after the shifting and changing of earthly life.

What troubles you? Is it aches and pains? Jesus promises that one day you will have an imperishable, glorious, spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:43, 44).

Is it loneliness or fear of what your peers think of you? Jesus brings us into a family of baptized believers who will strengthen and encourage you.

Is it heart-breaking news in our world or the heartaches within your own home? Is it past mistakes that haunt you or present financial struggles that scare you or future health problems that concern you?

Whatever it is, Jesus promises that, although, we cannot follow where he has gone, he has not abandoned us. He will come again to take us to be with him. Peter, the one who had to keep saying something that Thursday evening, says something about this eventual and eternal comfort. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance that is undying, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3,4).

Pray that Jesus calms your trouble heart. Jesus may or may not calm your troubled heart by removing your troubles. But he does promise that he will remove you from your troubles. So, believe that, and do not let your heart be troubled. Amen.

At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy. Amen. (1 Peter 2:10)

The Road of Hope

Luke 24:13-35 13Now, on that same day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about all of these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing this, Jesus himself approached and began to walk along with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?” Saddened, they stopped.

18One of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

19“What things?” he asked them.

They replied, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be condemned to death. And they crucified him. 21But we were hoping that he was going to redeem Israel. Not only that, but besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22Also some women of our group amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning. 23When they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb. They found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.”

25He said to them, “How foolish you are and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter his glory?” 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

28As they approached the village where they were going, he acted as if he were going to travel farther. 29But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, since it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.”

So he went in to stay with them. 30When he reclined at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and began giving it to them. 31Suddenly their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. Then he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us along the road and while he was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33They got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those who were with them assembled together. 34They were saying, “The Lord really has been raised! He has appeared to Simon.” 35They themselves described what had happened along the road, and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.

You were redeemed from your empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, not with things that pass away, such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like a lamb without blemish or spot. (1 Peter 1:18, 19) Amen.

Ms. Jones was a teacher who was working in the children’s hospital. One day, she was asked to visit a boy named Charlie who was in a burn unit. Charlie’s school teacher told her, “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in his class now. I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework, so he doesn’t fall too far behind the others.”

Ms. Jones went to the Charlie’s room in the hospital. He was in a clean room. He was wrapped in bandages and in incredible pain. As gently as she could, Ms. Jones introduced herself and the purpose of her visit this way: “I’m the hospital teacher. Your teacher at school asked me to help you with your nouns and adverbs.”

The next day a nurse asked Ms. Jones, “What did you do to Charlie?” Ms. Jones had no idea what she was talking about. The nurse continued, “We were worried about Charlie. But ever since you visited him yesterday, his entire outlook has changed. For the first time since he came here, he’s fighting. He’s responding. He’s got a new lease on life.”

What had happened? Charlie eventually admitted to his parents that he had given up. He felt hopeless and helpless. But when he thought about the teacher who had come to see him, he realized the school wouldn’t waste its time and money by sending someone to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy.

Pretty perceptive, don’t you think?

Two disciples are walking down the dusty road to the village of Emmaus, a 7-mile journey from Jerusalem. Their talk concerns the crucified Jesus. They have a dirge-like pace to their feet. Their attitude is like they’ve just come from a funeral – and in essence, they have – Jesus’ funeral.

They walk as if they’ve lost all hope.

The disciples had staked their lives on this Jesus from Nazareth. Everything they had. They thought he was the One. A prophet powerful in word and deed. He made blind men see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the demon-possessed to be dispossessed. He even raised the dead. They hoped he was the Messiah, the promised One who would redeem Israel. And then in one weekend their hopes and their world came crashing down around them. Jesus was dead, buried, and now nowhere to be seen. The rumor by the women of a resurrection didn’t provide any comfort. The words of Peter and John about the empty tomb were too confusing.

It all seemed so hopeless.

These two disciples were hoping for a golden throne. Jesus gave them a bloody cross. They were hoping for honor. Jesus bowed his thorn-crowned head in humility. They were hoping for glorious triumph. Jesus gave them a dark tomb. They were hoping for the answers to all their prayers. But they were praying for the wrong results. They were praying for their kingdom to come, but Jesus suffered, died, and was laid in the grave so his Kingdom would come.

How foolish they were, and how slow of heart to believe.

Their walk is slow, but their questions come quickly. “How could Judas do that?” “Why wasn’t Peter stronger?” “Why did the high priest hate Jesus so much?” “Why couldn’t Pontius Pilate have been more forceful?” “How could Jesus let this happen to himself?” “What do we do now?”

Just then a stranger comes up from behind and says, “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing you. Who are you discussing?” They stop and turn. Other travelers make their way around them as the three stand in silence. Finally, the one named Cleopas asks, “Where have you been the last few days? Haven’t you heard about Jesus of Nazareth?” And he continues to tell what happened.

This is a fascinating scene – two sincere disciples telling how the last nail was driven into Israel’s coffin. God, in disguise, listens patiently, his wounded hands buried deeply in his robe. He must have been touched by the faithfulness of this pair of disciples. Yet he must also have been a bit hurt. He had just gone to hell and back to give heaven to earth, and these two were worried about the political situation in Israel.

“But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”

But we had hoped. … How often have you heard a phrase like that?

“We’re hoping to get pregnant soon.”

“I was hoping I’d feel better by now.”

“I’m hoping to get back to work.”

“I hope he asks me to the prom.”

“We had hoped the chemo would get all of the tumor.”

“We were hoping to go on vacation, but we can’t afford it now.”

“We were hoping Mom would come home from the hospital, but God had other plans.”

Words painted gray with disappointment. What we wanted didn’t come. What came, we didn’t want. The result? Shattered hope. Disappointment. Despair. The foundation of our world trembles. When hopes are crushed, the pilot light goes out in our eyes. There is no more deadening feeling than to feel hopeless.

We trudge down the long road to Emmaus dragging our sandals in the dust, heads down, shoulders stooped in defeat. We’re wondering what we did to deserve such a plight. “What kind of God would let me down like this? I had hoped it would be better than this.” Our eyes are so tear-filled and our perspective so limited that God could be the fellow walking next to us and we wouldn’t know it.

You see, the problem with our two heavy-hearted friends was not a lack of faith, but a lack of vision. It wasn’t a lack of hope, but a hope in the wrong destination.

Those two disciples, walking to Emmaus that Easter night, had one thing on their minds – the cross. They looked at what happened and compared that to what they had been hoping for, and they came to this conclusion – the cross ruined everything! If it hadn’t been for the cross, things would have been great.

We’re not much different than those weak and heavy-laden travelers, are we? We do things out of order and wonder why we struggle in our marriage. We piously ask for God’s will to be done and then have the audacity to pout when things go according to God’s will and not ours. We take all week off from God and then wonder why our faith is so weak. We cut ourselves off from God’s Word and Sacrament, and then we wonder why our children misbehave and disbelieve the way they do.

We want to be followers of Christ, but without the cross. We want to be faithful to Christ, as long as we don’t have to suffer. We want the glory, without the humility. We want the blessings without the burdens. Everything would be great … if God would just remove those bothersome crosses.

But God won’t do that. He simply loves you too much to pamper your sin, indulge your idolatry, and raise spoiled children. And so, Jesus came to those two doubting and disappointed disciples and showed them how the cross was not a surprise and was not life spinning out of control – but that the cross was necessary. His death was necessary. Not for ruin, but for good. Not to shatter hope, but to give hope. The cross was not the defeat that it appeared but was part of God’s plan of victory over sin, death, and the devil. The plan revealed from the very beginning. The plan that he had been speaking of and accomplishing all through the Old Testament. The plan taught about often to his disciples and was rebuked by Peter for it. The plan and victory sealed and accomplished in his resurrection that very morning.

They listened. Their hearts were burning within them. But they didn’t quite get it. They were thick-headed and slow-hearted, just like we often are. Because when you’re on that road without hope, when you’re in the thick of the struggle, it’s easy to hear the words, but hard to believe.

Our problem is not so much that God doesn’t give us what we hope for as it is that we don’t know the right thing for which to hope. (It’s good to hear that sentence again.)

Hope is not what you expect. Hope is not what you would ever dream. Hope is not a Disney princess movie ending. It is Jesus unpacking the Word of God for you, like he did for those disciples, so your heart may burn within you, warming you up, melting your cold heart, putting you on fire for the Lord.

You find this improbable, unbelievable hope when you dig through Scripture and find the centennial Abraham sitting with his infant son on his lap; Moses standing between two walls of Red Sea water; Joshua walking over the ruined walls of Jericho; David rocking the giant Goliath to sleep; Samson bringing the house down on the Philistines; Daniel petting a pride of purring lions; four men walking in a fiery furnace; and a teenage virgin pregnant with the Son of God.

Hope is the two Emmaus-bound pilgrims reaching out to take a piece of bread only to see candlelight shining through the holes in the stranger’s hands.

“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” And even though he vanished, they were not sad. For they now knew Jesus was not gone. Their faith was no longer in glory, but in the cross. Their faith was no longer downcast because of the corpse in the grave, but it was now joyful because of the empty tomb. They had found Jesus’ promises in his Word. So, they rushed to Jerusalem. No longer confused, but certain. No longer sad, but joyful. No longer struggling, but on the firm foundation. No longer hopeless, but burning with hope.

And we are, too. For the Good Shepherd has come and found each of us lost and wandering sheep, and has invited us here, to his house, a refuge for weary pilgrims. And he stays with us. He is here, opening the Scriptures, so we may hear and believe. Inviting us to his altar where he is both the priest and the sacrifice. Inviting us to stay and eat at his Table, where he is both host and food. Giving you bread that is his body and wine that is his blood. Opening your eyes to see your sin, but even greater that your eyes see your Savior from sin.

So, we come to this place weary, and we leave refreshed. We come scared and depressed, and we leave with our hearts burning with faith. We come without hope, questioning if God really cares and we leave with the hope and assurance that our God is unfettered by time and space, so he comes to sit, dine, teach, and care for us. 

The road to Emmaus is a fascinating story. It’s a road of hope. Jesus wouldn’t waste his time walking with us along this road if there was no hope. We now have a new lease on life. Pretty perceptive, don’t you think? Amen.

Through [Christ] you are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:21) Amen.

Easter Shows up Every Sunday

Josh Koelpin

Sermon based on John 20:19-31 Preached at Water of Life Lutheran Church, Caledonia WI on 4.23.23

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe x that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

In the name of Jesus, Peace be with you!

Many of the Easter decorations are packed away already, some of the flowers are fading, the church might not be as full as it was a week ago. The choir isn’t singing a special anthem. The cries of “he is risen, he is risen indeed” are a little quieter than they were. Extended families have gone back to their homes. We continue with our lives and daily routines. The ham dinner is gone. The weeks after Easter is just not, well, Easter. I’m sure I could continue with this somewhat sad list, and I’d probably make you say, “Wow Josh is such a downer this week,” but that is not my point. In fact, my point is the opposite. I actually come to you with good news this morning. News that makes us sing our “Alleluias” with all the joy of a week ago. That news is this: Easter shows up every Sunday. We will focus on that, and what it means for us as Christians to live with the reality of the resurrected Lord Jesus and what He has done for us on our minds. Not just today, but every day.

How do you think the disciples felt as they sat behind those locked doors the first Easter evening? Well, John tells us that they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. They were together, at least 10 of them (Judas and Thomas were not there), behind locked doors. Yes, it is true, the women had told them about what they had seen at the empty tomb. Yes, Peter and John raced to the tomb and the body was no longer there. Yes, the disciples from Emmaus had come and told them that they talked with him on the way, and he opened the Scriptures to them, and they knew it was the Lord. But there the disciples sat. Afraid. And I think if we think about it, it makes sense. It wasn’t just Peter who had denied Jesus, all of them had also denied Jesus and run away from Him. They saw their teacher die at the hands of Roman soldiers. It wasn’t just any death, but death on a cross. A brutal and public execution. And to add to it, now they didn’t know where His body was. They felt like they had no real purpose, and as I mentioned earlier, they were afraid of the leaders of Judaism. It is at this moment that Jesus comes through the locked doors and said to them words of tremendous comfort. “Peace be with you.” As Jesus showed them his hands and side those words must’ve been ringing in their ears. This Jesus they had run away from, came to them, and didn’t come at them with words of rebuke and condemnation as we might expect, but gave them the peace that they desperately craved.

A small point, but perhaps worthy of note. The text says that the disciples were overjoyed. What is the difference between joy and overjoyed? Well, joy is to be filled with happiness, whereas overjoyed is to be filled with so much happiness that it overflows. When someone feels overjoyed, they can’t help but tell people about the joy they are feeling.

And perhaps that feeling of being overjoyed prepared them for what Jesus was going to share with them next. Jesus hit them with information that admittedly was also probably quite terrifying. Jesus told them that he was going to be sending them into the world, just like He had been sent by the Father. Wait what? They may have thought. Now we must go out to the world that hated you and tell them the message about you? They are going to hate us, too. Are you crazy, Jesus? Jesus told them, though, that they wouldn’t be alone. He would send them with the Holy Spirit, and his peace. The peace of the resurrection would be theirs as well. As they would go out and proclaim the forgiveness of sins, the joys of Easter would be with them every step of the way. They would not need to fear. Not even death. Because Jesus, their Savior had risen from the dead and defeated death.

Pretty much the same story you just heard was going to happen the very next Sunday. The disciples were gathered again (in a locked room out of fear again, by the way), and Jesus would do the same thing with Thomas. Thomas doubted that Jesus’ resurrection happened. He said he would not believe it unless he saw it with his own eyes. Jesus came to him, too. Jesus took on his doubt and his fear, too. He came to Thomas and even told him to put his hands into the spots the nail marks had been and to plunge is hand into his side where the spear had been. And he spoke the same words that he spoke to the disciples the week before, “Peace be with you.” The text doesn’t tell us this explicitly, but we can guess that Jesus also told Thomas that he would also be part of the mission to tell people about the forgiveness of sins. Finally, this is the mission of the Christian church. The mission of the Christian church is to go and tell people about what Jesus has done for them and to announce to them the forgiveness of their sins.

This account of Easter eve and the week after Easter, puts a “human face” on Easter. Yes, there is joy, but I must ask a couple of questions: Have you ever felt like the disciples or like Thomas? Do you identify more with them than anyone else in the Easter story? Have you ever felt scared of what being a witness of the Gospel might bring into your life, or even doubted that the resurrection is for you altogether? When we were singing and praising God together on Easter in the church building it seemed easy to proclaim the Risen Savior. But after you left did you huddle behind closed-locked doors like the disciples did on that first Easter eve? What types of security systems have you set up in your life so that you don’t have to talk about the resurrected Savior with others?

·         Perhaps we have a fear of what other people are going to think about us if we share the message of Jesus. And so, we convince ourselves it is better not to at all.

·         Maybe we are afraid that we are going to lose friends because of our confession of faith or cause a disagreement at the lunch table. And we tell ourselves that Jesus would rather have us preserve the peace than say something. So, we don’t say anything at all.

·         Possibly our security system is to say, “I don’t have the talent.” God can’t use me.

·         Maybe our security system is to doubt, like Thomas did.

But the thing about all these security systems that we set up is that they are not secure at all. While they may preserve our self-image from a worldly standpoint, they ultimately fail. More than that they are sinful. And if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that these things don’t make us leave the situations we are in in our lives feeling very good at all. Our sinfulness and the barriers of self-interest that we have established in the end make us feel like Peter and the disciples who denied Jesus.

Perhaps the barriers we put up look a little more like this: you feel like you’ve majorly messed everything up since Easter Sunday a week ago, and your sins sins of this week are weighing you down. Those sins are making you say, “I can’t be a witness of the resurrected Lord.”

Whatever the case may be, Jesus comes to us in the midst our barriers of self-interest and self-preservation, knocks them down, and says, “Peace be with you.” He shows us his hands and his side and says look at my hands and my side I went to the cross and suffered for the forgiveness of your sins. He appears to us resurrected and says look, I am really risen, and I have defeated death so that you will live, too. Share in the joy of my resurrection Jesus says. And he also comes and tells us what that means for us. He tells us that he is sending us. He is sending you and is sending me into the world to forgive sins. He isn’t sending us alone, though. He is sending us with the Holy Spirit to proclaim a message of his peace.

Jesus used the disciples, who were just as human and sinful as we are to spread the message about Him, and to forgive people of their sins. Jesus uses us, too. So go out today joyfully proclaiming Easter. Tell people about the victory Jesus has won for our sins and for their sins. And forgive people. When someone has wronged you, forgive them. You may even use it as a chance to tell them about what Jesus has done for them on the cross. That is something you can do every day.

Easter shows up each Sunday. But for us, living as Christians, we should say, Easter shows up every day. Easter shows up and fills our hearts with faith as we read God’s word, Easter shows up every week as we confess our sins and receive the forgiveness of sins, Easter shows up as we go and be witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, and Easter shows up when we hear Jesus say to us, “Peace be with you.” Amen.

May this peace of God which surpasses all our human wisdom and understanding, guard and keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.