I was the guest preacher today at St. John Lutheran Church in Chester, Illinois. Every year during Holy Week, St. John welcomes LCMS pastors from the area to preach a brief sermon for a short service during the noon hour, and I've been one of the guest preachers for at least the past three years. I enjoy the opportunity, and not just because the ladies of the congregation provide lunch for the guest preacher after the service. As always, RIGHT CLICK HERE to save the audio file.
Daring to Die
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
My brothers and sisters in Christ,
the world seems to be upside down right now. The evils of this world—things
like abortion, homosexual marriage, living together outside of marriage, and a
whole host of other sinful and evil things—the world calls them “good” and
“just” and “loving.” Even some who call themselves “Christian” have given in to
this. At the same time, the world condemns the life of faith in Jesus Christ.
In some places it is capital crime to confess that Jesus is Lord, and those who
act as judge and jury and executioner are quick to carry out that death
sentence, often in the most gruesome ways. One theologian wrote, “When Christ calls a man, He bids that man
come and die.”
In the recent shooting spree in the
school in Parkland, Florida, in the middle of a horrible act of
murder and terror, stories emerged of teachers, coaches, and students who put
the lives of their fellow human beings ahead of their own lives. Some of these
heroes died; others survived. St. Paul
wrote, “Scarcely
for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even
dare to die.” Seeing so many heroes in this
tragedy does not disprove Paul’s words; it testifies to their truth. We would
not consider them heroes if this was the normal way of things. We all value the
lives of children—the ones who make it to birth, at least—so we can understand
why these heroes would take the extraordinary measures they did. For a good
man, and yes, for children, some might dare to die. But would someone step in
to take the place of the Parkland shooter?
That makes
what our Lord Jesus has done for us so astounding. Our Lord was born into a
fallen world. He did not come for good people. He came to people who hated him,
who wanted Him dead. And He gave them what they wanted. He gave Himself
willingly to hang on the cross. He gave Himself as a blood sacrifice for the
very people who killed him. He offered Himself, dying for His enemies—for poor
miserable sinners who deserved to die in our sins. His willing substitution as
the Sacrifice to pay the price for our sin has reconciled us to God, made us
right with Him. The watered blood He shed has poured out on us in Holy Baptism.
That blood washed us clean of that sin and made us children of the heavenly
Father. Our Lord Jesus dared to die in our place. He died to give us life with
Him 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.
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