Sunday, March 25, 2018

Sermon for 3/25/18: Palmarum--The Passion of Our Lord

RIGHT-CLICK HERE and save the audio file.



Blood and Life


Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 


The unbelief and pride and rage of the Jews blinded them. They could not see—indeed, they refused to see. The man they killed was their Messiah, their King, their Lord and God. They would not believe. They did not even believe their own words when they attempted to convince Pilate to kill Jesus: His blood be on us and on our children.” With those words, they called down upon themselves a curse. They were blinded by their unbelief and rage. If only they could put away their pride and confess their sin. If only their unbelief did not veil their hearts.
When we decorate this sanctuary for Good Friday, we veil the processional crucifix. We veil the body of Christ our Lord, extended and suspended on the cross, to remind ourselves that we have much in common with that angry mob. We all so often are blinded by our unbelief, blinded by the desires of our flesh. We are blinded by our will to choose death of our souls. We choose death by living for ourselves, by living against our neighbor, by living against the Lord’s will, by living as if we matter most.
We veil the Christ who hangs before us because we are ashamed and afraid. We are ashamed of what our sins have done. We are afraid of our own selves—what our hands will do, what our mouths will say. We are ashamed that, by our words and deeds, we have plotted against the Lord. We are afraid that our lust for everything but the Kingdom of God has nailed the Son of God to the cross. And so we veil the Christ who hangs before us.
That fear and shame, the sight of what our evil has done, the knowledge of our unworthiness to stand here in this place where the sacrifice is available—let that drive us to our knees so that we cry out in true faith saying, “His blood be on us and on our children.” For that is precisely what Our Lord Jesus wants for us. He wants to bathe us in His holy blood, to revive and refresh and nourish us with His precious and life-giving blood. And when His watered blood has hit your forehead, when you’ve drunk from His holy chalice—then, as St. Paul writes, “Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus.” He does not see this as your undoing, but as your life. He does not see this as the reason to damn you, but the way to save you. He does not see this as the justification for punishing you, but the reason for reconciling you to Himself, renewing you in Him, and restoring in you the Life He is—and the Life He desires to live in and through you.
Our Lord Jesus does not feel cheated as you look at Him on the cross. And even though He is humiliated, He will not humiliate you for what you’ve done to Him. Instead, He uses His cross to lift you up and exalt you. He lifts up your heart and presents to you His broken body so that you might give Him thanks. And His spilled blood now becomes the promise and the blessing for you and your children.
What a wonderful exchange occurs. The Jews meant this as the death of a blasphemer. But He converted it into the way of Life for those who had rejected Him. You see the Son of God suspended on a tree. But He tells you to believe that it is your life and salvation. We veil His cross because of the shame and fear we feel. But He calls it His triumphant day, the day He is glorified. You look and are repulsed. But He uses the repulsive cross to draw all men to Himself. The world calls it the curse of a fool. But we have come to believe that this crucifixion is the wisdom and power of God. Let us boast in the cross of Christ our Lord. To Him be all glory, honor, and worship, now and forever. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.        

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.   

No comments: