Sermon for 7/14/24: Eighth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 10b)

I have to admit that the beheading of John the Baptist is not the easiest text for me to preach. I've posted about John before, how I am almost jealous of him for knowing from his earliest days what his role was to be. But this is a difficult text for me because John's persecution and death remind me of my brother pastors who have been removed from their Calls by congregations who, as Paul would say, have itching ears, sending away their faithful preachers because they don't like their faithful preaching. But it was the text I needed to preach today. Please continue to pray for your pastor and for all the ordained men without congregations who desire to serve.

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Losing Your Head
Mark 6:14-29

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

         

Today we encounter three people who are losing their heads. One of them, John the Baptist, had spent his life preparing the way for Christ. He had preached the message of repentance, a message which is never popular. He was finally imprisoned for preaching that message to what the world would consider the wrong people. Those wrong people were Herod and his mistress, Herodias. Herod had set aside his own wife and separated Herodias from her husband, his own half-brother, Philip. It was bad enough that Herodias had married her own uncle in Philip. But then both Herodias and Herod left their legal spouses to come together. There was no way John could overlook such sinfulness, not even for someone in a position of great authority—not even for the sake of his own freedom or even his very life.

          Rather than heeding John’s message of repentance, Herod had John arrested at the request of Herodias. But she wanted John dead for daring to speak against her. She had lost her head. Despite his sinfulness in this relationship, Herod apparently had enough of a conscience to deter him. Besides, he found John to be amusing. So he was content to keep John imprisoned.

          Herodias had already lost her head regarding John and his message. But she needed Herod to lose his, as well. Herodias needed him to let go of the scruples which kept him from killing John. And when her own asking would not do, she devised a plan. She sent her daughter out to dance for Herod and his company. Influenced by his libido and desiring to impress his guests, Herod offered to give the girl whatever she wanted. At the urging of Herodias, the daughter asked for John’s head on a platter.

What his wife’s pleading could not do, his step-daughter’s dancing finally achieved. Herod lost his head, too. Herod knew that he’d made a promise he shouldn’t keep, but he didn’t want to back down in front of his powerful guests. He caved. He ordered that John should be beheaded. So finally John lost his head, too.

Herod refused to heed the Word of God which John preached to him. Herodias refused to heed the Word of God, so much so that she wanted the messenger killed. We can look with disdain at Herod and Herodias, but we’re just as guilty. You see, it’s easy to heed the Word when it comes to matters of which we approve. “You shall not murder.” Of course it’s wrong to murder a man. We all know that. But what about a fetus? What about embryonic stem cells? What about that guy who cuts you off in traffic when you’re already having a bad day? “You shall not commit adultery.” Fair enough, Lord. But what if she’s gorgeous? After all, Lord, You’re the one who gave me these hormones that affect me this way, so if You didn’t want me to be attracted to her, You shouldn’t have made her so attractive. And what if I’m not married; it wouldn’t apply to me, would it? “Remember the Sabbath day.” I guess I can come to church every Sunday. Well, most of them, anyway. But surely You didn’t mean for us to believe everything You teach in the Bible; after all, a lot of that is so out of place with how things are in society today. Do You really expect me to agree that my druid cousin and Pentecostal aunt can’t receive the Lord’s Supper in the Lutheran Church? Are You telling me that babies need forgiveness as much as everyone else? And surely You don’t mean for us to hold to the Word if it means persecution or even death, right?

The Word of God causes people to lose their heads. Some, like Herod, hear the Word of God and find it a mere amusement; others, like Herodias, seek to destroy those who bring that faithful Word to them because they don’t like the message. No one likes to have their sins pointed out to them, and some even react with violence. But even in the midst of his imprisonment, John didn’t step down, knowing that a whim could—and eventually did—send him to his death. God strengthened him for this service.

He does the same for you. We live in a sinful world, and we are sinful people. It is never easy to live according to the Word of God. That’s what makes it so easy for non-believers to think of us as hypocrites; it’s easy not to be a hypocrite when you don’t believe in anything. Our Lord knows how hard it is to remain faithful, especially when we face trials and persecutions. Who could understand that better than Jesus? He was put to death for preaching that He was the promised Messiah and the Son of God. But He rose again as well, so that you would have forgiveness for your failure to live according to His Word. When you confess your sins, God is faithful to forgive your sin.

Our Lord understands all too well. He knows that you may be called upon to suffer, and maybe even die, for your faith. After all, they treated Him that way. He prayed that the cup of suffering could be removed from Him, though He drank it to its bitter dregs on your behalf. And knowing that you may be asked to suffer for the sake of His holy name, Christ gives you a cup to drink as well, a cup filled with His precious blood which, along with His holy body, forgives you all your sins and strengthens you for this life and even unto life everlasting.

John the Baptist lost his head. Some would think of this as a bad thing; and to be sure, none of us desires to be beheaded or to face any other kind of gruesome death or persecution for the sake of Christ. But we thank God for John the Baptist and for the death which he died, because John died in faith. More than that, we thank God for Jesus and for the death that He died, because He died for you. God grant that you, too, may be faithful even in the face of death; for the crown of life awaits you. 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.

Sermon for 6/30/24: Sixth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 8b)

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Faith in the Midst of Suffering

Mark 5:21-43

 

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

 

 

Both Jairus and the woman who tried to get close to Jesus were in need. They were desperate. There was nothing they or anyone else could do for them. So they put themselves at the mercy of Jesus. They put their situation completely in His hands. They put their faith in Him. The faith of Jairus leads him to seek Jesus out of fatherly love for his daughter. There was nothing he could do for his precious child, so he put all his faith in Jesus. There was no way he could do anything to prevent his daughter from dying. So he left the matter completely in the hands of his God. And notice what leaving it completely in the Lord’s hands looks like: Jairus goes to God as He has made Himself known to us—namely, in Immanuel, God with us in human flesh, our Lord Jesus.

How could Jairus have possibly known that this Man, this Person who seems just like himself, could bring his dying daughter back to health? Well, the word that had gotten around that Jesus had performed many miracles and that He was a great teacher. But there’s a difference between hearing about miraculous things happening to others and believing they could happen for you. As hard as such a thing could be to imagine, the man went to Jesus with exactly that request.

What Jairus did is what we must do. We are in need. We are desperate. Illnesses and injuries ravage our lives, and we very much want deliverance from those things. But these are only symptoms of a greater disease. Whether you are struggling with severe illness or are in good health or you are anywhere between, you are wasting away in the disease that infects us all: original sin. And for this disease there is no human cure.

But there are no crowds thronging around Jesus anymore when we look to Him. He is all alone; everyone—even each one of us—has deserted him. When we look to Him in our need and our desperate state, we look to Him as He hung all alone on the cross. It’s what He has done that provides for us what we need. In the Collect of the Day we prayed, “Heavenly Father, during His earthly ministry Your Son Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. By the healing medicine of the Word and Sacraments pour into our hearts such love toward You that we may live eternally.” That takes us back to our Introit from Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” This is where we find our hope in the midst of hardship, our joy in the midst of suffering. This is where both Jairus and the woman who touched our Lord’s garment received their hope and joy.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. Here we are two thousand years later, facing the very same illnesses, unable to keep ourselves from death. That’s why our Lord worked for an even greater healing, even greater than temporarily raising the little girl from the dead. Jesus walked alone to the cross, and He was nailed to it. And nailed with Him to the cross was all the sins and illnesses, all the guilt and shame of humanity. It’s why the sinless Son of God died Himself. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” That’s what Jairus and the woman ended up coming to see in Jesus: the One who had given healing they had sought was the One who delivered them of all their sin. It’s why, as the language of our Collect says, He comes to us by the healing medicine of the Word and Sacraments and pours into our hearts such love toward Him that we may live eternally. Faith is hard. It is not easy to fully trust Him to do for you what you truly need.

The prayer we prayed in the Collect of the Day is a prayer of faith, asking our Father to give us what we need in the healing medicine of the Word and Sacraments and pour into our hearts such love toward Him that we may live eternally. We may want to be delivered from the pain we’re experiencing. We may want to be removed from the trials we are going through. What will your prayer be? Will it be the prayer of seeking what you want, or will it be what the prayer seeking you truly need? Will it be the prayer of your sinful nature, or will it be the prayer of faith? Will you trust your Lord enough to pray, “Thy will be done,” and then trust that His will is infinitely better than yours, even if His answer is not the answer you would choose? The patriarch Job prayed, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Can we pray that way?

Our Lord delivered these, His daughters, from earthly death for a time. That kind of power and love is truly amazing. But it gets even better, for this power and love points to the greater things Jesus did for them and for us. Our gracious Lord delivered them from their sins. He went to death Himself so that these daughters would be raised from death, so that Jairus would be raised from the dead, so that you would be raised from the dead—not merely for a time, but for all eternity. In the healing medicine of our Lord’s Word and gifts, He displays and exercises for you His great power and love: power over sin and death and love which gives you life in body and soul both 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.

Sermon for 6/9/24: Third Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 5b)

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The Stronger Man
Mark 3:20-35

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

 

It was early in our Lord’s public ministry. He had been traveling from place to place, proclaiming the Gospel, and miraculous signs accompanied His teaching. The news about Him had gone before Him, and He had become quite popular. But with popularity came criticism. The religious powers sent their representatives to keep an eye on Jesus. They wanted to know if He was going to be a problem. It didn’t take long for them to figure out that Jesus wasn’t their ally. Last week we heard that the Pharisees held counsel with the Herodians, seeking to destroy Him.

Today it’s the scribes who opposed Jesus. They claimed, “He is possessed by Beelzebul;” “by the prince of demons He casts out the demons.” The miracles of Jesus are so public, so well known, that His enemies cannot deny them. Instead, they try to discredit these wonders. They accuse Jesus of working His miracles in league with demons. They claim that Jesus is able to cast out demons because He Himself is demon possessed. But their accusations make no sense. Demons are surely evil, but they are not stupid. Why would they fight against themselves? Jesus said as much: “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.”

Jesus went on to teach about what it takes to defeat Satan. “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.” Satan is, indeed, very strong. Only the One who is stronger than Satan can plunder Satan’s household and rescue those held captive by him and his demons. That One is Jesus.

The plundering of Satan’s stronghold is important to each of us. As we hear in the rite of Holy Baptism: “The Word of God teaches that we are all conceived and born sinful and are under the power of the devil until Christ claims us as His own. We would be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation.” Sinners by nature belong to Satan. But the rite goes on: “But the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sin of the whole world that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus Himself is the stronger One who binds Satan and delivers us from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation.

But how were we already under God’s condemnation even at conception? This morning we heard about Adam and Eve, about the results of their fall into sin. In tempting Eve to doubt God’s Word, Satan made sin look pleasurable. And then after the sin, he had laid on the burden of guilt. Adam and Eve now saw God differently. Before, God had been their beloved Creator. Now, He was the terrifying Judge. Adam and Eve had not merely cursed themselves with their sin; they had cursed all of creation.

Nevertheless, even as God announced the result of sin on the serpent, He also announced the hope of salvation. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” With these words, God promised a Savior: a strong Man who would bind Satan and free us from our captivity. This promise of the head-crushing Seed was passed on from generation to generation: from Adam and Eve to Seth, down through the generations for thousands of years. And when the time was exactly right, God kept His promise by taking on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the One who bruised the serpent’s head, a prophecy our Savior fulfilled on the cross. It seemed that Satan had the victory. When Jesus died, it appeared that the tempter had defeated the promised Seed. But then Jesus rose from the dead, proving that He won the victory, that He has crushed Satan forever. Jesus is the stronger Man who binds Satan in order to set us free. Jesus now plunders Satan’s stronghold in order to carry off those who belonged to God the first place, His own creatures. These sinners—you and me and all people of all times and places—He once again claims us as His own.

Sadly, there are slaves in the house of Satan who do not want to leave. They reject our Lord’s gift of eternal freedom. When Jesus binds Satan and offers to carry them to safety and freedom, they turn away from Him. For reasons that we cannot understand, they reject the work of the Holy Spirit. They reject the forgiveness that Jesus won for them. Some people wonder, “How can a loving God send people to hell?” But that’s the wrong question. The question should be, “Why would anyone reject God’s gift of eternal life? Why would anyone choose eternity in hell rather than eternity with a God who loves them?” The Bible does not tell us why some people reject God’s love, why some people reject God’s forgiveness, why some people choose eternal death when the Holy Spirit wants to give them eternal life.

But that condemnation is not for you. When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, He bound Satan for you. Now He plunders Satan’s stronghold in order to free you, to release all those who were enslaved to sin. He sends the Holy Spirit to work faith and to give you the forgiveness of sins. With the forgiveness of sins comes salvation and eternal life. You are redeemed! You belong to God in Christ. Our Lord Jesus has conquered Satan, and He freely shares His victory with you. 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.

Sermon for 5/19/21: The Feast of Pentecost (series B)

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The Miracle of Hearing
Acts 2:1-21

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

“I have spoken; I will do it,” says the Lord. What a wonderful promise from the Lord. It points us to the Gospel text, where our Lord promises that He will send the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. And that promise leads us to Pentecost. Pentecost was accompanied by marvelous signs: the sound from heaven like a powerful wind; the tongues of fire that came to rest on the apostles; and, of course, the apostles speaking the languages of the world as the Holy Spirit gave that ability. Those signs were the indication that God was at work. Too often, however, the signs have gathered more attention than the thing to which they were pointing: the Word of God spoken and heard. Jesus often told His disciples to not speak of the signs they had seen Him do. Jesus didn’t want people to come to Him merely because of signs, but by the Word to which those signs pointed. This is the heart of Pentecost: the Word is meant to be heard and believed. The great miracle in all of this is the miracle of hearing, because it is hearing that receives saving faith.

Apart from receiving the Ten Commandments, what we likely remember most about Moses is signs God worked through him in Egypt, the plagues that eventually moved Pharaoh to let Israel go. But those signs pointed to the Word which Moses was given by God to speak. When God called Moses from the burning bush and told Him to go to Egypt, He gave Moses this promise: “I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall say.” The all-important thing was what Moses would say to the people and what they would hear. The signs that accompanied the Word could only bear witness to the judgment God would bring to bear on Egypt. It was the Word that would bear the promise of God to save and care for His people. Yes, signs and wonders were often part of prophetic work, but the signs did not save Israel. The signs confirmed the prophetic Word. God’s Word was to be heard, and from the Word comes life and salvation. Pentecost gathers all of this together. The marvelous signs were surely there. But they were there to bear witness to the message of salvation. The real miracle of Pentecost is that the people heard the Word.

Ever since that first Pentecost, many have tried to claim that salvation is something of their own doing. Even some who heard the Gospel preached in their own language that day sought an answer apart from the work of God: they claimed the disciples were drunk. But Peter’s sermon turned away any such explanation. He boldly proclaimed that everything that had been done to Jesus, all that He had endured, was God’s doing, and all of it done for the salvation of the world. And when Peter’s sermon was ended, many were so moved by his words that they asked in desperation what could be done. Peter answered: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” It was all due to hearing the Word of God.

The miracle of salvation is that it is God who speaks; it is God who makes us able to hear; it is God who saves us. The signs and wonders only confirm that it is God who speaks and saves! You may remember these words from Luther: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel...” The miracle of Pentecost, the miracle of hearing, is that it is God who speaks and saves. It is God who offered up His Son as the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It is God who sent His Holy Spirit to preach this Word through men so that those who hear would be saved from sin, death, and hell.

This miracle of hearing continues even today. Immediately after Peter urged those believers to be baptized, Luke tells us: “They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” The miracle of hearing continues today in the Church’s worship: in the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word, in the faithful administration of the Sacraments, and in the prayers of the Church.

If you carefully examine the Acts of the Apostles, the growth of the Church was always initiated and fed by worship and prayer, a work always ascribed to the Holy Spirit, and never merely to the efforts of men. “I planted,” St. Paul says, “Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” We can’t know how or when God will make a congregation grow, but you can be sure that, without faithful preaching and hearing of the Word, a congregation will die in sin, even if it grows in numbers. If we believe that God answers prayer, then we can surely trust that He will provide opportunities to hear His Word. He will surely provide opportunities to confess Jesus and His saving Word in our various callings in life. Whether it is in our families, among friends, in the workplace—wherever it might be, God has placed us there so that the miracle of hearing the Word would occur. He will give you chances to “...give an answer to everyone who asks the reason for the hope that is in you.”

God will continue to bless His Word as it enters our ears. God will continue to bless His Word as He speaks forgiveness to us and as He feeds it to us in Christ’s body and blood for the remission of sins. His Word will not return to Him empty; it will do exactly what He sends it to do. This is truly a miraculous Word: a Word to lead us from the death and despair of this world to life and salvation in the world to come. “I have spoken; I will do it,” says the Lord. Indeed, He has spoken; truly He has done it. 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.   

Sermon for 5/12/24: Ascension of Our Lord (observed) (series B)

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Not Alone

Acts 1:1-11

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

As Jesus was received into the clouds, it was clear to the disciples that they had seen Him for the last time on this side of eternity. This was the end of His appearing among them, speaking to them, keeping company with them. It seems they were left alone, and it was apparent from the way they were gazing up into the heavens that they knew He was gone from their sight for good. Scripture rarely gives us psychological insight into those who inhabit its pages, but surely they must have felt an almost indescribable loneliness. And haven’t we all had moments like that?—moments when we felt alone, bereft of comfort, with no understanding company to reassure us. Moments like that can come upon us at unexpected times and places. Who among His disciples gathered that day expected Jesus to be taken from them suddenly?

Their loneliness, however, was compounded by a question that must have risen in their minds once they had taken their eyes off the clouds: “What do we do now?” It was bad enough to be left alone, but to be left alone without any true understanding of what Jesus had in store for them or any real sense of purpose had to be a startling experience. Jesus had spoken many times about the things of the kingdom of God, but what their task was in relationship to that kingdom was not clear to them. So what now?

It was true, of course, that Jesus had promised them that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” But what did that mean?

And then, just as suddenly, eleven became thirteen as “two men stood by them in white robes,” asking them why they were looking into heaven, as though the disciples could bring Jesus back into their midst again. And the implication of their words was this: “Do what He told you to do. Don’t leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father to be fulfilled. Just wait.”

Waiting is hard, though, isn’t it? There is an almost inescapable sense among Christians in our day that we must do something if the Kingdom of God is to be established among us. And that is what is so hard about waiting: waiting is so terribly passive! We wait for the action of another, and our own actions do nothing to end the waiting. In fact, our actions may get in the way. We can become so intent on “building the Kingdom” that we fervently devote ourselves to our own human devices at the expense of those means by which the Holy Spirit actually builds the Kingdom. The faithful proclamation of the Word of the Lord, the water poured, and the bread and wine distributed: these are the means by which the Holy Spirit moves. We can be so eager to prod the Kingdom into being through our worldly ways, through programs and pamphlets and schemes, convincing ourselves that numerical success and faithfulness must be the same thing.

So what do we do as we wait for the Holy Spirit to do His thing? In other words, how do we overcome the loneliness of feeling left alone and waiting for something to happen? We gather as those who believe and trust in this mighty Lord who subjected Himself to suffering and death, and who ascended to the right hand of the Father, to His power and glory. Through Him, forgiveness of sins is offered and given—forgiveness that bridges the gap between the Father and our lives. Through this we are comforted and assured, in spite of appearances, that we are not really alone, even when we feel so alone.

And so we are to wait…but not as people who are alone. In His own mysterious way, our Lord’s absence actually became the mode of His presence everywhere and for all time. Wherever His people are present, He is present in their midst: present in the Word proclaimed; present in the water of Baptism administered; present in the bread and wine, the body and blood, distributed and received. He is present in these powerful means: present in and through you and me and the whole Church on earth.

At times we feel so terribly alone, for this world presses in on us at every turn. At times we feel as though we have been left like orphans in a world that beats at us with messages and opportunities that are considerably different than the message and opportunity the Holy Spirit would have us seize upon. In that very moment, two men in white robes stand by us in spirit, saying: “Why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come...” And we, like those disciples, “worship Him with great joy, continually being in the temple, blessing God.” Here, gathered together, gathered in the presence of God, we hear Him say to us: “Behold, I am with you to the end of the age.” And we realize that what has been given us to do is to continue all that Jesus had begun to do and teach.

Alone is never really alone when we are accompanied by the ascended Lord. He is both a marvelous Comforter walking beside us in the midst of the turmoil of this life, and the One who bids us be His voice, His hands, His heart, into the world around us. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Sermon for 5/5/24: Sixth Sunday of Easter (series B)

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True Love in Obedience

John 15:9-17

 

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

 

Is there any word more misused and more confused than the word “love?” “Love” is used to describe everything from promiscuous bed-hopping, to those first emotional stirrings in the adolescent heart, to the same sex relationships which Scripture describe as abomination. And what often characterizes this “love” is that it is selfish and self-centered; it is more interested in what it can get than in what it will give.

There is, however, no confusion about how Jesus defines love. To love is to keep the commandments of God. Jesus showed His love for the heavenly Father by keeping His commandments, and His disciples will show their love for Him by doing the same: especially by keeping the commandment to love one another. Love is obedient action: taking responsibility for the way you care for others. You may have heard love defined this way: “Love means never having to say you are sorry.” This displays the worldly attitude that love is all about me. But true love is all about others.

There is some confusion, even among Christians, about where we can find the strength and power to love one another in this way. Genuine love is not something we can stir up in our minds or emotions. It is, like grace, a gift of God, a gift that first comes to us that we might also love one another. Of course, God is love. It is not just that God loves; He is love. Love is His nature, and everything He says and does is an expression of that nature.

The world teaches that anything done in the name of love is okay—even things God, who Himself is love, calls sin. Love is never free to do what it pleases. Love means obedience; it means commitment. And here, in the love of the Son for the Father, is perfect love. The commandment of the Father to the Son is found in these words of Jesus: “I know that His commandment is eternal life...” The commandment of the Father to His Son meant humiliation and the cross; it meant affliction and suffering; it meant physical and emotional pain beyond anything we can understand. This love had a terrible price, but the obedient love of Christ means salvation for us all.

And now, the love that the Son has for His Father is turned toward His disciples. To them Jesus said: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” Jesus, of course, lives this greater love. He is the One who determines how the relationship between them will go. The disciples did not and could not choose Him; He chose them. This relationship to Him was one of pure grace; without Him they could do nothing. And yet, He calls them friends. By calling His disciples “friends,” Jesus does not remove that distinction between them. He is still their Master, and they His disciples. He simply means that He is prepared to favor them with His gifts of grace, to which they are to remain faithful. And then He does what no one would reasonably expect the Son of God to do: He chooses to serve them rather than be served by them. There is no greater or finer love than this: Jesus lays down His life for them.

We said earlier that love is obedient action; it is taking responsibility for the way you care for others. And that is just what Jesus did. He purposely and deliberately laid down His life and then, just as purposely and deliberately, took up His life again in the resurrection, all for the sake of redeeming His world. Jesus serves those who, under all normal circumstances, should be serving Him. He serves them—and us—with the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, with joy and hope, with peace and certainty. And through this service to us, His friends, He makes us able to faithfully love Him and our friends.

How will we love the Master and the “friends” He has given us to love? We will do so by abiding in His love. To do that, we need to acknowledge our need for that love and then acknowledge that Jesus has met this need for us. There is no greater love than what He has done for us: giving His life for those who should rightly give our lives for Him. That is a love of such compelling power that it draws us deeper and deeper into its joy and peace.

Where is the fruit of this love to be found? It is found in the gifts of life and salvation Jesus has given to His Church. It is found in the Word of the Gospel that is preached through our ears and into our hearts, creating and sustaining faith in Jesus Christ. It is found in the water and Word of Holy Baptism and its cleansing from sin and death. It is found in the Word of Holy Absolution that answers our repentance with the promise of the forgiveness of sins, life, and eternal salvation. It is found, as it will be offered and received again this day, in the holy body and blood of our Savior, served by Him in His Holy Supper for the remission of our sins.

Fed with this love from God to us, we can, and truly will, love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. And then will come to pass the words of the Savior: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

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

HYMN: As Incense Let My Prayer Before You Rise

Once again I find myself being productive at an official Synodical event, this time the Spring Professional Church Workers’ Conference of the Iowa East District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Our presenter, the Reverend Mark Braden of Zion Lutheran Church in Detroit, Michigan, has been a compelling speaker on the divine liturgy. Nevertheless, a hymn text idea popped into my head, and it wouldn’t leave me alone. 

After completing the Phos Hilaron text, my mind moved on to the Psalm 141:1-4, 8 canticle in the Evening Prayer service. I will need a new tune for this text, though my brain already has a sort of a tune idea going. Anyway, here it is. Feedback is love.

As Incense Let My Prayer Before You Rise

(Refrain) As incense let my prayer before You rise,

Hands lifted as the evening sacrifice.

1. I call to You, O Lord; make haste to me!

Give ear unto my voice and hear my plea,

Oh, set a guard before my mouth, O Lord,

And keep upon my lips Your holy Word. (Refrain)

2. Keep me from evil deeds and guide my heart,

And from the wicked set Your child apart.

My eyes, O Lord my God, to You are turned.

I seek Your refuge; let me not be spurned. (Refrain)

10 10 10 10 Refrain

Working on a tune

Psalm 141; Evening Prayer; liturgical canticle

HYMN: O Glory of the Father’s Light

One of my favorite liturgies in Lutheran Service Book is the service of Evening Prayer (p.243 in LSB). I don’t think I really discovered it until seminary. I might have heard it in the college chapel at some point, though we didn’t have regular evening services at Bronxville. It’s a beautiful liturgy, beginning with what is called the Service of Light. In my practice, I walk down the aisle, carrying a lit candle, as the congregation and I chant responsively:

Leader: Jesus Christ is the Light of the world,
Congregation: The light no darkness can overcome.
L: Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening,
C: And the day is almost over.
L: Let Your light scatter the darkness
C: And illumine Your Church.

And then, once the lit candle is placed before the altar, we chant a beautiful canticle called the Phos Hilaron, perhaps the oldest song sung by the Church which does not appear in the Bible. It’s a beautiful text:

L: Joyous light of glory
C: Of the immortal Father,

Heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
And we look to the evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy of being praised with pure voices forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
The universe proclaims your glory.

If you get the chance to see this service in person, do so. Here is a link to the Evening Prayer service as it appeared at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Marion, Iowa. There are some differences from what is in the hymnal, and you can’t see the whole of the candlelit procession, but you’ll get the idea.

It is a great desire of mine to write a hymn text for the many canticles contained in LSB. I’ve done a few, but I had not yet gotten to the Phos Hilaron. That has now changed. I don’t think it will ever replace the beautiful setting in Evening Prayer—it certainly won’t for me—but I certainly wasn’t going to pass up making the attempt. As always, feedback is love.

O Glory of the Father’s Light

1. O glory of the Father’s light

Eternal, joyous, holy, bright:

O holy Jesus, radiant Son,

The sun is set and day is done.

2. The light of evening now we see.

O blessèd holy Trinity,

Your praise we sing, for praise is due,

Dear Father, Son, and Ghost to You.

3. Lord Jesus Christ, our Life, our Light,

As we progress from day to night, 

We sing, O Lord, with cheerful voice,

And in your glory we rejoice.

LM (88 88)

O HEILIGE DRESFALTIGKEIT (LSB 876)

Evening (Phos Hilaron), Liturgical Music

Sermon for 4/21/24: Fourth Sunday of Easter (series B)

CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

CLICK HERE for the service video.

Hear and Follow

John 10:11-18

 

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

 

On this side of glory, our faith lives alongside of doubt. The devil doesn’t need to plant it in us. He just needs to water it. Jesus says, “My sheep know My voice. They follow Me.” But it doesn’t take much to get us thinking: “Do I really know His voice? Am I really following Him?” Doubt wants proof. How much have we done? Can we be recognized in this world by our love? The truth is, we can’t. Sinners that we are, we have blended all too well into the ways of the world. After all, it seems much easier to get forgiveness from a seemingly distant God rather than deal with the mockery and hatred of the world around you. You have not been good enough. Your life does not show your faith so much as it shows your sin. So repent. Turn away from your sin.

Yes, repent…but then tell doubt and the devil to shut up. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He lays downs His life for His sheep. He has met His Father’s wrath. He pays for your sins, your doubts. There is no one left to accuse you. You are righteous because Jesus has declared you to be so. He has substituted His life for yours. He has risen from the dead for your justification. He is the Good Shepherd. He didn’t only defeat death by His death; He also rose again to usher you into the green pastures of heaven, to bring you home. He loves you. You know His voice. You hear it now. You love it.

It seems strange to us, but doubt is actually evidence of faith. Your doubts are the pinpricks of conscience. As your faith in Christ grows, you become ever more aware of your sins and the weakness of your faith. Doubt is evidence that the state of your soul means something to you. Doubt is evidence that you are engaging the enemy inside yourself. If you were not engaging the enemy, you would not care. You would feel no worry about it.

If this is a hard word for lay people to hear, it is torture for pastors. No faithful pastor in Christendom can hear our Lord’s words about hirelings and not squirm. Every faithful pastor knows he does not live up to his own preaching. Every pastor has counted the cost. Every pastor has considered how we might package the message to be successful and make the people like us. The spirit indeed is willing. But the flesh? The flesh knows who writes the checks, and the pastor likes to be able to feed his family. As a pastor who has been forced to leave a congregation, I can tell you that it can be a challenge for me to say the things that are hard for you to hear; even so, that is what I am Called to do—both by God, and by you. It is no easy task, and it is only by the grace of God that any sinful man can serve in this overwhelming office.

But of course, this doesn’t hard saying apply only to the clergy. You have all stood up here at the front of the sanctuary and have made promises you haven’t kept. You have promised to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from the one true faith. Imagine that! You’ve made huge, impossible promises at Confirmation, at your weddings, at the baptism of your children. This hireling bit applies in the first place to pastors, to be sure, but it doesn’t stop there. When the wolf comes, baring his teeth at terrified sheep, the hirelings also run away from their wives, children, and neighbors, and the Church. It’s not just the pastors who squirm at these hard words.

But when we recognize that our faith is challenged and tested; when we recognize that Satan is seeking to devour us like the sheep we are; when we recognize that we have failed to live and believe as we should; it is especially then that we cling to the powerful grace of God. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. The promises of God are not dependent on perfect sheep, but a Good Shepherd who is faithful, a Good Shepherd who has made a promise that cannot and will not be broken, a Good Shepherd who cleanses you in Himself. Nothing can separate you from the love of God—not your sins, your failures, your imperfect faith, your broken vows, nor even your doubts. He has placed His promise upon you, baptizing you into His Name, placing that name on your forehead and your heart. He would have you be part of His flock. Death has no claim upon you. Hell has no way to hold you. You are His sheep, clean and pure by grace. He loves you. He laid down His life you. He comes to you in His Holy Supper. He feeds you with Bread from heaven in His very Body; He washes you anew in His Blood, which He pours out for you.

You are His sheep. You hear His Voice. You love it. You love Him. You desire to be with Him. Even in the midst of your doubts, amidst your struggles against the fallen flesh, you love Jesus. You rejoice in this forgiveness because you know your Shepherd and He knows you. That is why you are here. You are His sheep. And you need fear no evil, for He is Your Good Shepherd. ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

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