Sunday, June 26, 2011

Proper 8A Sermon -- Matthew 10:34-42 (LSB Proper 8A)

June 26, 2011 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA


[Jesus said:] “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”


A sword-wielding Jesus: it isn’t the typical depiction of the Lord that will be found hanging on a church hallway wall or in a living room. The local Zondervan Christian bookstore probably doesn’t have a picture of Jesus with sword-in-hand. Yet, this is what Jesus says He bears: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.” Jesus refers to Himself as a person who brings division, strife, and war. A battle will be waged, and Jesus is the principal actor in it.


Why has Jesus come bringing a sword to the earth? Because of what is found here. This is the place where sin and rebellion are located. Here on earth are the enemies of the Lord and the victims that they hold captive. So Jesus comes to deliver and redeem. The sword of Jesus is pointed at those who oppose the Lord’s good and gracious will: “the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come.” Jesus’ work of redemption takes the battle to the serpent and his seed, those who are at enmity with Eve and her descendants.


For those who are delivered by these actions of Jesus, a new life is given. There is a renunciation of Satan, and all his works, and all his ways. Allegiance is given to Jesus. Pledges are made to abide in His way of life. Devotion is shown to the One who delivers and ransoms. He has set people free, set you free: “You also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.” And what Jesus—the Crucified and Risen Lord—expects of you is fear, love, and trust in Him above all things.


Yet, there are hurdles to this devotion. You live week-to-week with many things that attract and demand your attention and love. These include matters that stand in opposition to Jesus and His way of life. There is a plethora of other gods who seek devotees. But these other gods, other objects of devotion, are not Jesus. They have not saved you. They have not acted on your behalf, striving to win salvation for you. In his Large Catechism, Luther mentions what God demands: “Look, here, you have the true honor and worship that please God, which God also commands under penalty of eternal wrath, namely, that the heart should know no other consolation or confidence than in Him, nor let itself be torn from Him, but for His sake should risk everything and disregard everything else on earth.”


This is what Jesus lays out when He says: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” Think on those words. Jesus goes to the very heart of human devotion. He speaks of the closest relationships that people have. He even dares to speak about life that is held dear. Yet, even these can be objects of devotion that stand in opposition to Jesus and His way of life. Love of family and love of oneself can demand more from the heart, mind, and soul than love of Jesus.


So Jesus says about Himself: “I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” Enemies in the familial structure? Yes, indeed. So it is when family members are not united in allegiance to Jesus. Jesus’ sword sets these units asunder. He is a divisive figure. The division is over the confession of faith and the life of discipleship: What do you think about Jesus? What do you believe about Jesus? Will you follow what Jesus establishes as your way of life? Where opposing answers are given, the promised division comes.


Such was the situation in the 1st Century Ancient Near East. Belief that Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah, led to divisions in familial households and in the synagogues, the households of faith. Jesus’ sword was present. The phenomenon is also found in 21st Century America. Divisions over Jesus identity, work, and teachings are present in communities and in families. It is what you in the pews endure. And when those differing allegiances conflict, the suffering and sorrow is great. No one wants to love parents or children less. No one wants to be set against kin. Yet, Jesus’ words remain: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”


Jesus also says: “And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” For some of you, division in the household is the cross that you bear in this world. But Jesus’ words also speak about devotion to personal life: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Those who will love privilege or wealth or well-being or anything in this world more than leading the new life that Jesus has established will lose what they have. That loss may not come in the present day, but it will be so at the Last Day. But those who die with Jesus, those who lose and abandon their life for His sake, those who are devoted to Him, will find everlasting life at the end. What they gave up in the here and now will be superseded by the reward that Jesus will give.


Jesus’ teaching that you heard this morning spoke about the divisions that come because of faith and devotion to Him. But Jesus also spoke about what is given to those who are devoted to Him. The sword that Jesus brings to this earth does cause divisions in relationships here. But He has also used it to save and deliver. He has gone on a path of conquest, overturning the tyranny of Satan, removing the guilt of sin, changing the mindset of you and others. Through His death and resurrection, this battle has been won. The sword has been victoriously wielded on your behalf.


So Jesus can speak about reward to His people: “Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Jesus can give out reward to those who receive Him, who believe in Him, who are devoted to Him.


Receiving, believing, devotion: these are all faith terms. They are actions that stem from acknowledgment and recognition of who Jesus is and what He has done. They are what His disciples do. Fear, love, and trust in God above all things cannot be given by anyone, except those who have been called to faith and belief in Jesus. But that is what has happened for you. You have already lost your life, dying with Jesus. You have made the confession that Jesus is Lord. You have received the divine words of His prophetic teaching. You see the obedience and life of righteousness that He has given for you. Those whom Jesus has sent to speak to you and declare all that He has achieved have been given welcome in this place. So you will have the prophet’s reward and righteous person’s reward. You will not lose it.


But what has been promised to you is not fully received now. It is given at the end of all things. So you will have to endure in this world, dealing with all the hurdles and barriers that arise in opposition to Jesus and His way of life. The crosses are laid out for you to pick up and bear. That is the way of life you have been called to follow. But you do so always knowing that the One who redeemed you has already walked that way and has been victorious over your opponents. What has been established for you is certain and sure. You also know that the One who redeemed you has not left you alone. He is present with you as you follow in His way.


So in the midst of opposition and division and cross-bearing, you ask the same thing as the psalmist did centuries ago—another of those who had been helped by the Lord: “Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget Your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to Your promise.” Your vow is the same: “Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from Your testimonies. I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep Your commandments.” The plea and vow are made in faith. They stem from belief in the Lord and His way. Desire to be allied with the Lord and to receive His blessing and reward shines through the statements: “Consider how I love Your precepts! Give me life according to Your steadfast love. The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever.”


Your belief is exhibited, even faith in what Jesus says about division: “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” You believe that. You experience that. But you know that what has brought division to this world has actually brought salvation to you. So you will endure the uncomfortable divisions in relationships, trusting in the blessing that Jesus has earned for you. You will take up the crosses laid on you, knowing that death is not the end. You will forfeit your life now, so that you may find it forever in the Last Day. But this is all done with one key belief in your heart, soul, and mind: the sword of division that Jesus has brought to this earth is also the sword of victory that He has wielded for you against your great opponents. His promise of blessing has been made and is being fulfilled. So you will cling to Him, devoted to the way of life that He has given to you. And on the day when Jesus appears with sword and scepter in hand, you shall surely have your reward.


T In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Holy Trinity Sunday (A) Sermon -- Matthew 28:16-20 [LSB Trinity Sunday A]

June 19, 2011 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA


Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”


Since the beginning of Advent last November until Pentecost last Sunday, you have heard about “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.” That definite plan and foreknowledge began all the way back at creation. It was the Lord’s will to create the world, including you. His desire was to have a cosmos upon which He would pour out His blessing. As you listened to the Creation Narrative this morning, you heard how the Lord’s will was carried out. “And God said, ‘Let there be . . . light . . . an expanse between the waters . . . waters gathered together in one place and dry land appear . . . lights in the expanse of the heavens . . . waters swarm with swarms of living creatures . . . birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens . . . the earth bring forth living creatures. . . .’” This was His will. And as God said, “’Let there be’ . . . It was so.” The Lord’s will was declared in His words, and those words were enacted.


At the pinnacle of the Lord’s creation was mankind. This is seen in the words that He spoke concerning the creation of man: “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the seas and over the birds of the heavens and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” And again, His will-expressing words were enacted: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” The Lord speaks and His will is carried out. To mankind, God gave great blessing, the provision of all that they would need to support the body and life: “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”


But from that time, the Lord’s words went beyond giving creating commands. For the Lord’s definite plan and foreknowledge included the understanding of what mankind would do in the creation that He put under their dominion. The fall into sin was known. But the way that the Lord would rectify sin was also known. And from the moment that Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and Adam refused to act as a faithful regent over creation, the Lord’s words would reveal His definite plan and foreknowledge of salvation: a Redeemer would be sent, God Himself who would take on human nature to deliver mankind from condemnation. “God created man in His own image;” to save mankind, God would become man to restore that image.


This was “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.” It was fulfilled in the work of Jesus, as the Church confesses on this day: “He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages; and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age: perfect God and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and human flesh; . . . by the assumption of the humanity into God . . .” This Jesus and His work is what you have heard about every Sunday, from the beginning of Advent unto now. You have heard how He was incarnate, how He performed great deeds, how He taught the way of life, and how He gave Himself into death for your sake and was raised for your justification. Such was the “definite plan and foreknowledge of God”: “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.”


God desired to save you and all who have sinned. His will is to restore creation to the way it was when He first caused it to exist: “very good.” And that will was expressed in His words, statements that told of what the Lord was going to do. Those words prophesied and foretold the actions to be done for your benefit. Such words are what the Scriptures record, including prophecies about a Holy One being sent who would die and be raised again: “For You will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.” The words were spoken, and it was so.


This is what Peter declares to the people in Jerusalem and to you who hear his words centuries later: “Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to [David] that He would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.” That was “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.” The Lord promised, and it was so. And from these actions that Jesus did and were done to Him, the conclusion can be made: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” The Lord and Christ has come, acting for your benefit, just as the word of God declared: “Let there be a Redeemer . . . and it was so.”


As the redemptive works of God were accomplished, Jesus was raised: “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.” Raised and exalted, this Jesus has dominion over all things. The exact image and likeness of God has restored mankind to its rightful place. And He rules over all things: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” But this time, man does not abuse his authority. He does not rebel against his Creator. He does not assume or usurp any status that is not rightfully his. Instead, Jesus uses the authority that He has been given to bring the Lord’s will, His will, to fulfillment for you.


So you hear in the words of Jesus: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” The Lord desires you to be in fellowship with Him, to have the relationship that mankind first had when all was “very good.” So Jesus sends out authorized apostles to extend His kingdom and rule, marking people with His name and giving them a new identity. It is for people of all nations; all the descendants of Adam are eligible.


But note how this is given, how the blessing of sanctification, of being made holy, is done: the Lord speaks, and it is so. It is just like at the creation. The Lord speaks His words that authorize and empower: “Go and baptize. Put My Name on people by combining My word with water. This will make them My people. It will create new life in them. It will give them the gift of the Holy Spirit. I declare that all who believe this and are baptized will be saved.” The Lord speaks, and it is so.


But the speaking doesn’t end at baptism. No, it continues as the sent ones perform another vocal act: teaching. Again, the Lord speaks through those whom He sends: “Go and teach. Recount the works and wonders and signs that I have done. Tell the nations what I have said. Teach them the way of life that I have declared. Discuss the definite plan that I have revealed to you in the Scriptures. It will make them wise to salvation.” The Lord’s words have been spoken and they declare what He has done for you and the way of righteousness that He desires you to follow.


Even then, the Lord is still acting for you. Listen to what He says: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” He is present with you, fulfilling promises. The Holy Spirit works in you, assisting you to lead the life of discipleship. Jesus comes to you in a particular way, as His words bring about His presence. One of the things that He commands, that you observe, is His presence in the Sacrament of the Altar. Just like with Holy Baptism, divine words cause something to be so: “This bread is My Body . . . This wine is My Blood . . . Eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins.” The Lord wills it; His words declare it; it is so.


Hearing God’s words and believing His will that they reveal and fulfill, you receive His benefits. It is a cause for wonder and amazement and to simply receive what God desires to give. The psalmist expresses the humility that comes from realizing that: “What is man that You are mindful of Him, and the son of man that You care for him?” Without your having any merit or worthiness, God wills to create, redeem, and sanctify you. Mercy and steadfast love shown through the death and resurrection of Jesus is His definite plan for you, even though He knows all your faults and sins. It is a matter of grace and love. All the mighty works that He has done for you are simply because He wanted to do so.


Divine authority is used for you. You benefit from it. It is meant for you, according to “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God”. Working in concert, all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity enact their plan for you. Through their work, you have been made. Through their work, you have been delivered from sin, death, and the power of Satan. And through their work, you are made holy and righteous. Your destiny is not to be abandoned to Hades or to suffer eternal, irreversible corruption. No, it is to be raised and lifted up, to have the image and likeness of God restored to you for eternity. He desires to bestow His blessing upon you. That is the will of God for you. He reveals that will through His words. He speaks His command—the command to create, to redeem, and to sanctify—and fulfills it. He says: “Let there be My people here in this place.” And it is so. So on this Holy Trinity Sunday, repeat what Christians have said for centuries after hearing the merciful will of God for them: ”Blessed be the Holy Trinity and undivided Unity. Let us give Him glory because He has shown mercy to us.”


T In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Pentecost A Sermon (Confirmation Day) -- John 7:37-39 (LSB Pentecost A)

June 12, 2011 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA


On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.


The Festival of Pentecost has a special place in the Church’s calendar. It is one of the three high festival days of the Church Year, the festival dedicated to the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. This year, its significance is heightened in our parish, as five of our members will receive the Rite of Confirmation. That rite also concerns the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, who has brought these youths to belief in Jesus, calling them by the Gospel, enlightening them with His gifts, sanctifying them, and keeping them in the one true faith.


Pentecost marks the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ apostles. You heard the narrative of the events that took place fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection: “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Jesus’ promise to His apostles was fulfilled: “I will ask the Father, and He will send you another Helper, even the Spirit of truth.” Now they had the Holy Spirit, the Helper needed to keep them in the true faith and to perform the duties that Jesus had assigned to them.


You heard what these apostles were empowered to do: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” They could speak in other languages. But what did they speak? What were they given to say? That is answered by the reaction of the people who were present in Jerusalem that day: “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying: ‘Are not these who are speaking Galileans? . . . We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” The people heard the apostles declare in their own language the mighty works of God. That is what the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.


This is what Holy Spirit accomplishes in you. Knowledge of God, belief in His mighty works, trust in His care: these are not innate. You aren’t born with such faith. It is given to you, as you are brought into the fellowship of God’s people. Much like a person is ignorant of history, literature, science, and mathematics until those subjects are taught, so it is with God. Fear, love, and trust in God are not possible until He is made known to a person. But that is what the Holy Spirit brings to people, including you. That faith has been created in you, as the Spirit gave the apostles utterance to speak the mighty works of God in language for you to hear.


The Holy Spirit has made intelligible to you who God is and what He does. That is His role. He fulfills the promise that Jesus made: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” As you have heard the mighty works of God, you desire what He is able to provide. You have your guilt and sinfulness revealed to you, but you also hear of what has been done to forgive and absolve them. You hear of Jesus’ death and resurrection done for you, and so you desire what those actions of Jesus provide. So you come to Him, you come as you are drawn by the Holy Spirit’s work through the telling of these mighty works of God. The Spirit pours into you forgiveness, life, and salvation. Then out of your hearts flow the rivers of living water: faith, love, hope, and all virtues. You are given to utter the mighty works that God has done for you. And you are able to perform what the prophecy declared: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”


This is work of the Holy Spirit done in you, so that you may share in the salvation that Jesus has earned for mankind. It is the same work that He has done in our five confirmands. It began in their baptisms, as they first received the Gospel of Jesus, the promise based on what He accomplished: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” The Spirit brought them the invitation that Jesus extends to the world: “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.” Jesus’ death atoned for their sins. His resurrection established a place for them in His kingdom. The Spirit intoned the call to faith, leading them to be believers in Jesus’ work for their salvation. So it has been from the days of the apostles to now for all who have become disciples of Jesus. Hearing the mighty works of God, individuals are led to call upon His name and be saved. That is the gift that the Spirit gave in your baptisms.


That work of the Holy Spirit only began at baptism, but it is not finished there. Certainly, the inheritance of everlasting life was fully given. But the Holy Spirit does more. The rivers of living water continually flow out of the believer’s heart. The Spirit’s work encompasses the entirety of the believer’s life. He teaches the way of righteousness and leads the believer to follow it. This is the answer to the believer’s desire, as the psalmist expressed: “Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long.” The Lord acts for you as He described: “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way.”


The Holy Spirit’s work also includes the deliverance of forgiveness, life, and salvation throughout the believer’s life. The rivers of living water wash away the sins that are committed and cleanse those who are soiled and stained by the guilt they bring upon themselves. This was first done in baptism, but it is repeated again and again as you confess your sins and receive absolution. In that act, you again call on the name of the Lord to be saved: “For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.” And the Lord answers your plea, remembering His mercy and steadfast love for you.


In the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Spirit works again, recalling to you the mighty works of God. In that meal, you eat and drink, but that eating and drinking is not done mindlessly. No, it is done in the remembrance of what has been done for you for the forgiveness of sins: that Jesus sacrificially gave His body into death and shed His blood to atone for your guilt. Proclaiming Jesus’ death until He comes, you receive the salvation that He achieved for you by His sacrifice. Again, the Lord acts as described: “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant.” That covenant is established in the mighty works that He has done for your salvation. The Holy Spirit has made you believers in those mighty works.


And the Holy Spirit’s work includes what you profess and affirm about the Lord. Out of your hearts and through your mouths comes the confession of faith. For you are given to speak in your own language the mighty works of God. You speak in other tongues as the Spirit gives you utterance. That language is the dialect of heaven, the ability to speak divine words, to know and confess the truth of the Lord’s identity and what He has done. Moses declared: “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit on them!” So He has, fulfilling the promise made through the Prophet Joel and confirmed by Jesus Himself. That Spirit has been put in you. The rivers of living water do flow out of your hearts.


So on this Pentecost Day, you particularly remember what the Holy Spirit has done for you. You remember as past disciples have done. The confirmands will remember in a matter of moments. But even more than remembering, you and all believers live with the present actions of the Holy Spirit taking place in the Church, the gathering of the Lord’s people. You pray for those actions of the Holy Spirit to continue: “Teach us to know the Father, Son, / and You, from both, as Three in One / That we Your name may ever bless / And in our lives the truth confess.” The Spirit’s actions bring forgiveness, life, and salvation to you now. And they establish in you the final promise of what the Spirit will do: on the Last Day, He will raise up you and all the dead and give to you and all believers in Jesus everlasting life. That is the end result of the mighty works that God has done for you.


The Holy Spirit has made known those mighty works to you. As the Spirit has called you with the Gospel of Jesus, you hear what your Savior has done for you. As the Spirit has enlightened you with His gifts, you believe in those mighty works. As the Spirit’s rivers of living water flow out of your hearts, sanctifying and keeping you in the faith, you may speak of those mighty works in your own language and the language that others know. And calling on the name of the Lord whom the Spirit has revealed, you will be saved.


T In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Easter 7A Sermon -- John 17:1-11 (LSB Easter 7A)

June 5, 2011 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA


“[Jesus] lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You, since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’”


On this final Sunday of Easter, the Church hears her Lord pray for His disciples. He had said that He would do so: I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.That same evening, Jesus offers another petition for His followers: I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one.” Jesus’ prayer is a continuation of what He had promised, as you heard last Sunday: “I will not leave you as orphans.” His words show how He cares for His disciples here on earth.


But the prayer does more than express a feeling that Jesus has for close friends. Jesus’ words testify about who He is and what He has done for them. It speaks of the purpose for which Jesus was sent, the purpose given by His Father and completed by Jesus’ actions here on earth. The Church sees in these words of Jesus a summary of His identity and work. The summary of Jesus’ identity and work is given just as He goes to die and rise again to bring salvation to sinners condemned by the Divine Law.


The summary of Jesus’ identity is seen in the beginning of His prayer. Note how He begins: “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You. . . .” Jesus makes a claim in those words: the One whom He addresses is His Father and that He is that Father’s Son. It echoes what was said all the way back at Jesus’ birth, when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary who her Child would be: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Jesus makes explicit the close relationship that He has with God the Father: Jesus is the eternally begotten Son of the Father; He tells His Father that He looks forward to be given again “the glory that I had with You before the world existed.”


But Jesus speaks about more than the relationship that He has with the Father. Jesus’ words tell what the Father has charged Him to do. That is also seen in the beginning of His prayer: “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You, since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.” The Father has given His Son authority over all people. That authority is more than simply the ability to rule or govern the world. This divinely-given authority grants Jesus a pardoning power greater than any President or Governor possesses. Jesus has the ability to give life, but not just the extension of earthly days. Jesus can give eternal life. That eternal life is granted to those who receive the benefits of Jesus’ work: “And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”


In His prayer, Jesus testifies that He has fulfilled this purpose that the Father had given Him. He has done what His Father sent Him to do, exercising His authority and power for the benefit of others. Jesus’ work was to make known the true God, the Father who had sent Him. That work was done very well. Jesus reminds the Father about what He has done on earth: “I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they know that everything that You have given Me is from You. For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.”


The way that Jesus made known the Father is by speaking what the Father had given Him to say. As you heard on the Sunday after Easter, Jesus says to the Eleven: “As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.” Jesus Himself had been a faithful apostle, one who was sent. The purpose of His sending was fulfilled: “I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.” Jesus’ disciples were enlightened, given to know the identity of the true God and what that true God thought about them: “Now they know that everything that You have given Me is from You. For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” Those words included many teachings. The Father’s words spoken by the Son made known moral demands. The words described the fallen state of creation, the world that does not meet those demands. But most importantly, they included the prophecies about the Promised Messiah dying to atone for the sins of the world and rising again to give eternal life. All of these were the words that Jesus gave to His disciples and the words that He fulfilled. Receiving them, the disciples came to know the truth about Jesus’ identity: He is the Son of the Living God who gives life to those who believe in Him and His work.


That is what you have come to know. It has happened in the same way that it did for those Eleven in the Upper Room, those for whom Jesus prayed. How can you make the statement: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”? Why do you say: “And [I believe] in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.”? What leads you to say: “Lord, have mercy on us.”? These are all statements of faith, creedal words. They are spoken because of what the Holy Spirit has done for you through the words of Christ. He has called you by the Gospel, enlightened you with His gifts, sanctified and kept you in the one true faith. And this means that you have eternal life, what Jesus’ prayer defined: “This is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”


What happened for the Eleven has happened for you and for generations of Jesus’ disciples before you. You know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. This knowledge comes because of what Jesus first did: “I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” You have received the Father’s words spoken by Jesus to His disciples because of what those first disciples did—testifying about what they saw Jesus do and heard Jesus say. You have heard the testimony of the faithful apostles, the ones whom Jesus sent, the men who accompanied Jesus “during all the time that [He] went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when He was taken up from us.” So you know the identity and work of Jesus done for your salvation. Receiving those words, you know that it was by dying and rising again from death that Jesus did what He said to the Father: “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.”


This is how you know that the true God is more than just a Supreme Being that lives somewhere in a far dimension, separated from creation. Through the words and works of Jesus, you know that the true God is an active, sentient being who shows compassion to His fallen creation. You see the way that this true God has considered you and what He has done for your benefit. But that knowledge is given only through the way that Jesus mentioned in His prayer for His followers: “I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.” The knowledge of the true God is given by receiving the Father’s words spoken by Jesus. You recognize Him as your Benefactor. So you can heed the apostle’s instructions: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” Knowing that the Father cares for you, you can turn to Him in times of need. You know He cares for you, because you understand what He has done for you through His Son.


But note what Jesus said about His disciples. They received the Father’s words spoken by Him, but they did one thing more: “Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.” That verb “have kept” is significant. The original Greek word tethrhkan has a multi-faceted definition: “to keep, observe, pay attention to, guard, obey, hold, maintain.” And it is a tense that means something has happened and continues to happen. Jesus’ disciples have first received the Father’s words that Jesus spoke to them. But they have also kept, observed, paid attention to, guarded, obeyed, held, and maintained them. It isn’t a one-time deal. No, it is an ongoing thing. And that is true for you, also. You don’t just have all of Jesus’ words deposited into you once. Instead, they are given and given and given over and over again. And you are to recognize them as special for you. Or as Luther put it about the Third Commandment: “hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”


It must be an ongoing thing for you, because you are always needful of hearing about the true God and what He has done for you. Jesus’ followers always need to hear it, because of what He says: “I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world.” You are in the world, the domain of sin and evil: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” He prowls around. He’s bitten you and me more than once or twice. Your adversary doesn’t have an offseason or take a summer vacation. Even now, you need to receive and keep Jesus’ words that make known to you the salvation that He has accomplished for you because His Father willed it.


So you have the opportunities to hear and keep Jesus’ word. They bring the same message, because the truth about the Father and His Son does not change: “You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Guard and keep that word of truth, for in it is your salvation. Your adversary is out there, but the true God is greater: “God shall arise, His enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate Him shall flee before Him! As smoke is driven away, so You shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!”


You have the ability to exult and rejoice even in the face of opposition from your adversaries in this world. Why? Because the Father’s desire for you is to benefit from what His Son has done and said for you. You have the witness of His Son’s resurrection and ascension that opened heaven for you. You are not left without consolation, but have the Spirit of Truth that was promised. The Father’s will remains for you who receive, believe, and keep His words spoken through His Son and handed down through His Son’s apostles: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”


T In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

June 2011 Parish Letter

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

[Collect for Ascension Day]


With the late date of Easter, the calendar sees the rare occurrence of the Festival of the Ascension being held in June. This year, this important date in the Church Year falls on June 2. The Church celebrates the day when her Lord bodily entered heaven, forty days after He bodily rose from the tomb. The festive nature of this day is seen in the opening verse of the appointed Psalm that the Church prays: “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”(Ps 47:1) As one expects at a celebration, people are invited to sing songs of joy. The reason for the joy is found in the meaning of this festival day.


Why does the Church rejoice at Ascension Day? One reason is that the entrance of the God-Man Jesus Christ into Paradise shows that mankind can again dwell in the unveiled presence of the perfect Deity. Mankind is no longer doomed to separation from the Lord. Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father. But from His mouth come no statements of unworthiness or dread. Jesus does not have the problem that plagued Isaiah when he beheld the Lord’s glory.(Is 6:1-8) Instead, He stands in His own perfection and is exalted to the right hand of the Father. The psalmist rightly describes what is happening at Jesus’ ascension: “God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.”(Ps 47:5) It is a truth that is only possible because of the incarnation: God assumed to Himself a human nature; Jesus is truly God and truly man.


A second reason for the Church’s joy at Ascension Day is found in what this event confirms about Jesus. His ascension displays the results of His work. Jesus has triumphed over sin, death, and Satan. Jesus’ ascension shows His dominion over all things. Speaking of God, the psalmist describes Jesus’ dominion: “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted!”(Ps 47:6-9) Jesus sits on His throne. He reigns over all nations. He is highly exalted. Nothing is outside of His rule. This Jesus is the Church’s Lord.


At His ascension, Jesus is exalted by God the Father. This exaltation comes only after He was first humiliated in crucifixion. When Jesus had completed His work of accomplishing salvation for sinful humanity, He was put in authority over all things. In this way, a man once again stands as the pinnacle of creation. It is a greater return to the position that man had at the beginning. At Creation, Adam was put in dominion over the flora and fauna, but he forsook that with his sin of rebellion. Now, after Jesus perfectly obeyed the Father’s will, lived sinlessly, gave Himself sacrificially, and was raised to life gloriously, He has governance over the entire cosmos. Man is restored. He stands in the Lord’s perfection without fear.


Jesus’ ascension into Paradise is the truly Triumphal Entrance for Jesus. He receives more than the praise of crowds waving palms. He rides no lowly beast of burden. Instead, “He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight.”(Ac 1:9b) And yet, this exalting is the result of what Jesus did during that week in Jerusalem when He entered the city to shouts of “Hosanna!” This is what the Apostle Paul outlines in the Epistle Reading for Ascension Day. Speaking of God the Father, Paul tells of what He was doing at Jesus’ ascension: “the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”(Ep 1:19b-23)


So the Church obeys the psalmist’s command: “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”(Ps 47:1) The songs of joy include lyrics that reflect the two reasons for rejoicing: mankind once again standing in the Lord’s perfect presence and the exaltation that confirms Jesus’ work. Confessing the restoration of mankind to perfection, the Church sings:

“He has raised our human nature

On the clouds to God’s right hand;

There we sit in heavn’ly places,

There with Him in glory stand.

Jesus reigns, adored by angels;

Man with God is on the throne.

By our mighty Lord’s ascension

We by faith behold our own.”

[Lutheran Service Book 494:5]


Speaking of her humiliated, but now exalted Lord, the Church sings:

“The Head that once was crowned with thorns

Is crowned in glory now;

A royal diadem adorns

The mighty Victor’s brow.”

[Lutheran Service Book 532:1]


There is one more reason for joyful singing on Ascension Day: the promise that the two angels made at Jesus’ ascension. As part of the First Reading for the day, the Church hears the angels’ statement: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”(Ac 1:10-11) This return will mean that not only one Man will stand in the Lord’s perfect presence. This return will mean that Jesus’ dominion is more than just an arm’s-length divine rule over creation. Jesus’ return is the fulfillment of His salvific work: redeemed sinners will be resurrected and live eternally in a new heaven and new earth with the Lord.


So the Church sings with joy about what happened at Jesus’ ascension. But she also sings about what she awaits from her Ascended Lord:

“Be now our joy on earth, O Lord,

And be our future great reward.

Then, throned with You forever, we

Shall praise Your name eternally.”

[Lutheran Service Book 493:5]


This you sing because you believe what Jesus has done for you by His death, resurrection, and ascension. So you rightly pray in faith to receive what God the Father will give: “Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him.” That is your promised inheritance. As the Church repeats her celebration of Ascension Day this year on June 2, this promised result is again made known to you. It truly is a reason for you to sing with joy!

Easter 6A Sermon -- John 14:15-21 (LSB Easter 6A)

May 29, 2011 at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA


[Jesus said]: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.


This Sunday, as the Church enters the week that commemorates the Ascension of Jesus, she hears what her Lord promises to do for His disciples. Last week, you heard Jesus’ words concerning His departure and return: “I go to prepare a place for you . . . and I will come back to take you to Myself.” This morning, you heard your Lord’s words about what He will do to help you, His disciples, while He is physically absent from them.


Jesus was leaving His disciples. But because Jesus leaves this world, not to abandon His followers, but to accomplish things for their benefit, He doesn’t want them to be afraid. So He continues the statements that began as you heard last Sunday: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.” That statement of comfort is extended when Jesus says to His disciples: “I will not leave you as orphans.” An orphaned child is left helpless, with no one around to care for him. The Twelve disciples could think that they were being abandoned by Jesus, becoming like orphans. Their Teacher, their Leader was going away from them. No longer would He walk the gravelly roads of Palestine with them. They would no longer be able to see Jesus with their eyes, hear Him with their ears, or touch Him with their hands.


Though Jesus does depart from His disciples, He doesn’t leave them helpless or fatherless. They won’t be left without anyone to care for them. Jesus knows what they need to survive in this world, to live in the midst of sin and all of Satan’s wiles, when He isn’t physically present with them. So Jesus makes this promise: I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.” Jesus will depart, but His Father will send a Helper to His disciples.

The promised Spirit—the Spirit whom the Father will send—will keep the disciples from being orphaned. They have a Father in heaven who cares for them through the Spirit. And this Spirit is none other than God Himself, God who “dwells with and will be in” the disciples. It is the Spirit of Truth, that is, the Spirit who confesses the Truth of Christ and makes it known to His followers. It is the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit who confirms the words and works of the Father that Jesus has said and done. Jesus does more than not just abandoning the disciples, He has the Father send them a powerful Helper.


This Helper whom the Father sends, the Spirit of Truth and Power, lets the disciples accomplish their purpose here on earth. For just as Jesus doesn’t abandon His disciples, neither does He leave them directionless or without purpose. No, the disciples have a reason for existence, a mission for life. Jesus gives them a glimpse of this purpose, a summary of their mission: “If you love Me, then you will keep My commands.” Those who follow Jesus, who love Him as Lord will obey what He sets down for them. This might seem obvious, but that is what Christ tells His disciples they are to do. And as obvious as it might be, it is not insignificant.


But to keep the commands of Jesus, the disciples need to have the Spirit of Truth within them. This Spirit separates them from the world: the world that neither knows nor receives God. This Spirit changes the hearts of men from hatred and animosity to God to a life of devotion and discipleship to Him. This Spirit brings the will of God and the will of His people into unity, and enables them to act according to it. By His holy inspiration, they think those things that are right; by His merciful guiding, they accomplish them.


As the disciples are guided by this Helper whom the Father sends, they are able to keep their Lord’s commands. Their Lord tells them: “Love one another as I have loved you.” The Spirit that dwells within them binds their hearts together to do so. Their Lord tells them: “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 that I have commanded you.” The Spirit that guides them drives them to the ends of the earth to do so. Their Lord tells them: “Leave your life behind; take up your cross and follow Me.” The Spirit that calls them gives them this new life. Their Lord tells them: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” The Spirit empowers them to absolve even the gravest of sins, so that the penitent may have salvation. Their Lord tells them: “Take; eat. This is My Body. Do this in remembrance of Me. . . . Drink of this all of you. This cup is the New Testament in My Blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me.” The Spirit opens their eyes to see recognize their Lord in the breaking of the bread. And in all of this, Jesus’ statement is fulfilled: “Yet a little while and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”


This same Helper, the same Spirit of Truth promised by Jesus and sent by the Father, is what you also have been given. For Jesus’ promise is not limited to the disciples in the Upper Room. No, it extends to all who are His disciples, who have been made His people. You also have been called out of the world that doesn’t know or receive Jesus and the Spirit of Truth. Out of that world of sin, death, and unbelief, you have been brought to love and faith in Jesus. This is what the Helper has done: “[Him] the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”


That Helper, that Spirit of Truth, has been given to you in your baptisms. As you have received Him, you have become those who love Jesus and keep His commandments. Through the washing of water and the word, Jesus has made good on His promise to you, His disciples. By fulfilling this promise, He has brought you into union with Him. United to Him, you share in His resurrection, as He says: Because I live, you also will live.” Made His disciples, you are gathered into the community of faith, a people marked by love of Jesus and the keeping of His commands, even what He has instituted to bring you forgiveness, life, and salvation.


Such is what the chief Apostle Peter has written in his letter to the Church. During the past few weeks, you have heard Peter’s words to those who love Jesus and keep His commandments. This morning, you heard: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God. . . . Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to Him.”


This change, this calling has been given to you by God Himself. It has made you alive, as Jesus Himself lives. It has made you His people, set apart from others. It has given you the Spirit of Truth, so that you may rightly love Jesus as Lord. And as you live this new life for God, as you love God, you also keep His commands. It is what Luther’s explanation of the Creed says: “Christ redeemed me . . . that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”


The Spirit of Truth gives you this new life: the life of faith, love, and service toward God and each other. It is not just a feeling or an idea. It is a very powerful reality, a reality that you experience as you live out the new life God has given us. Enabled by the Helper that your Lord promised, lead the life of discipleship that He desires: “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me.” Called out of the world and gathered into the communion of saints, be the new people that Jesus has made you, striving for righteous living: “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.” Living in the midst of sin and death and disaster, boldly confess your faith: “In your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”


Jesus’ words are true: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” But He also makes a further promise to you: “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Your Lord shows Himself to you in the things He has commanded and that you treasure and keep: His Word, His Baptism, and His Supper. It is what you are able to recognize while you live here in this world, as Jesus promises: “Yet a little while and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.”


But you also have one more thing to look forward to. Your Lord will manifest Himself to you on the Last Day, when He calls you to Himself to dwell where He lives and reigns to all eternity. So He has promised: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” That promise is sure: “Of this the Father has given assurance to all by raising Jesus from the dead.” This the Spirit of Truth has made known to you. Receiving this truth and believing the promises, may you all see your Lord whom you love and whose commands you keep.


T In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.