HYMN: O Lord, You Made the Waters

 For about a year and a half now, I’ve been working on writing a hymn text for each reading in the Easter Vigil. I’ve turned each reading into a metrical text, and for most of them I have included a stanza for an introduction and/or a conclusion. Now that I’ve completed the first draft of a text for every reading, I want to write a stanza of introduction and/or conclusion for any text that is missing one. That way, if someone wants to read the Biblical readings and sing just the introductory and concluding stanzas, it’s not a full repeat of every reading.

Here’s the last first draft, a text covering the Flood in Genesis 7-9. Feedback is love.

O Lord, You Made the Waters

for the Easter Vigil

The Flood—Genesis 7, 8, and 9

1. O Lord, You made the waters

And sent them to the earth.

Though water brings destruction,

It also gives new birth.

Oh, pour on us a wellspring,

A great baptismal flood,

To drown old wretched Adam

In Christ’s own watered blood.

2. The Lord said unto Noah,

“My faithful servant, heed:

Go, you and all your household,

The creatures I have made.

Now board the ark of gopher

And seal yourself inside,

For I will drown creation;

You only will abide.”

3. So Noah, as commanded,

With all his family

Did board with all the creatures,

Obeying God’s decree.

The heavens then were opened

With fountains from the deep.

God drowned His fouled creation,

But Noah did He keep.

4. The rain to earth descended.

For forty days it fell.

The ark, it rose and floated

Upon the mighty swell.

But Noah and his household

Were safe amidst the gale.

The boat which God commanded

By grace would never fail.

5. Then Noah sent a raven

To wing into the blue.

It rose into the heavens;

Above the deep it flew.

A dove he sent to flutter;

Of ground it found no trace.

On Noah’s hand it settled:

Its only resting place.

6. For seven days he waited,

Then sent the dove again.

An olive leaf she brought him;

The flood began to wane.

Once more, then, Noah waited,

And let the dove take flight.

She left, no more returning,

To Noah’s great delight.

7. Then Noah moved the cover,

The ark bared to the sky.

The water had subsided. 

He saw the ground was dry.

“Go forth,” God said to Noah.

“Bring out your sons and wife;

Bring out the living creatures

That they may bear new life.

8. “Now hear My word of promise;

Oh, hear My sure decree:

With you and all creation

My covenant shall be.

All flesh shall never perish

Nor floods the earth will raze.

Behold this sign, the rainbow:

My vow through endless days.”

9. Oh, grant us faith, dear Father,

Through this baptismal tide,

To trust Your Word of promise

And in Your grace abide.

Protect Your chosen children

Who shelter in Your nave,

Who bear Your name forever,

Who trust Your might to save.

Sermon for 10/16/22: Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

No sermon video. My apologies.

Grace and Peace
I Corinthians 1:(1-3) 4-9

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

 Christians hear those words a lot. Many pastors begin their sermons, newsletter articles, and other correspondence with their congregations with those words. After all, if it’s good enough for the Apostle Paul, it certainly must be a salutary greeting between Christians, especially when a pastor communicates with the people he has been Called to serve. There’s nothing wrong with starting a sermon without those words, of course.

But there is something a little deeper behind this greeting. In our text, Paul lauds the church in Corinth for its faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But the church in Corinth is not without its problems. They have become complacent and even arrogant in their faithfulness. The church itself has divisions and factions. If you read on through the rest of this epistle, Paul takes the congregation in Corinth to task for a number of things: a laxity in church discipline, tolerance of sexual immorality, the tendency of congregation members to bring civil law suits against each other, and even a tendency to practice open communion, inviting the uncatechized and the unreprentant to receive the body and blood of Christ to their judgment.

With all these problems, you might expect Paul to open his letter with a scathing rebuke of the people. But Paul is their pastor. Yes, it’s his job to lead God’s people to the truth of the Word, and he would do them no favor by letting them remain in their sin. However, he is also Called to preach the Gospel to them. He is Called as their pastor to love them with Christ’s love. And he does precisely that. Even with all the problems this congregation is struggling with, Paul says, “I thank my God always concerning you.” And he does this in quite a few of the Epistles we have recorded in the New Testament. We should always be thankful to God for the brothers and sisters we have in Christ.

This is not always the easiest example to follow. We in the Missouri Synod should understand that very well. We are a body divided. We don’t agree on what hymns should be in our hymnals, how we should interact with those Christians around us with whom we have doctrinal differences, where our mission money and efforts should be focused. Even at the congregational level, the fight can be fierce. Every congregation has its disagreements. And when we Christians fight, we tend to “lose our religion.” Disagreements between Christians often turn ugly. The Eighth Commandment? Throw it out the window! Matthew 18? Why would I speak to my brother who I feel is sinning against me when I can tell fifty of my closest friends? We call each other hypocrites. We assume the very worst about the people with whom we disagree. And then we threaten to stop coming to worship altogether or leave the congregation entirely if our way isn’t found to be the “right” way. Even in the most faithful of congregations, we allow disagreements to divide us, distract us, and turn us away from what our Lord Jesus calls “the one thing needful.”

Paul calls the congregation at Corinth—and us—back to this one needful thing, reminding us of what unites us. He names us “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ....” This brings us back to the Apostles’ Creed, where we confess, “I believe in the holy Christian Church, [which is] the Communion of saints.” We first confess who God is and what He has done, and then we confess what we are through Christ: the communion of saints, the body of Christ, God’s holy people.

As we see in how Paul greets the congregation in Corinth, it begins with grace. It begins with God giving us life, with Christ giving us new life, with the Spirit granting us faith as we live that new life. Without these gifts, without this grace, we have nothing and we are nothing. The grace of God is not something we have earned or were born with or have made for ourselves. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died in our place, and He rose again so that we would rise with Him and so that we would receive all the blessings and benefits God has for us.

Once that grace has been applied to us, peace follows it. In Baptism we are made children of God. When we speak of ourselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, this is no hyperbole, no metaphor. We truly are brothers and sisters in Christ. And because we are family, we should treat each other as family. The people in the pews around you and in the Church at large are not enemies to be overcome, no matter how much we may disagree with them. They are brothers and sisters in Christ, family to be loved fiercely, forgiven freely, and, yes, sometimes endured patiently. We bring our Christian siblings before the Lord in prayer, thanking God for them, no matter how much we may disagree with them. We thank God that He has loved our brothers and sisters in Christ, that He has died for them, that He has made them His own through Holy Baptism, that He forgives their sins with the Word of Holy Absolution, that He feeds them in the Holy Supper.

That grace from God is the source of the peace we share with each other. Because Christ has brought us to reconciliation with the Father, we are now also reconciled to each other. And now, because it begins with grace, let us live our lives sharing that grace, and let us rejoice at what follows behind. 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.

GUEST POST—Sermon: Funeral of Michael Kornacki

We buried Buggy a week ago today. It was a difficult day, a day of tears and memories. It’s a truism: No parents should have to bury their children. And yet, it happens. Sin has brought death into the world, and death comes for all people, even for children, and some parents are given that burden to bear. I never thought Faith and I would be among them, but everyone—including every member of every congregation I’ve ever served—knows I was absent the day they taught omniscience in seminary. 

It was a difficult day, but it was not without its blessings. Our families were able to be here, to share our mutual grief. Two of our best friends were able to come from distant places to add the comfort of their presence. It was a day of singing, with at least a dozen pastors joining their voices to the congregation’s song, And it was a day where the Word of God clamored forth to kick Satan and death in the teeth, as the Reverend Timothy Scharr, President of the Southern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, brought it with authority. After the committal—“O death, where is your sting?!”—the saints of my parish provided an excellent meal. So it was a difficult day, but life does go on as we await the resurrection on the Last Day. 

I would like to speak a public word of thanksgiving to and for Pastor Scharr for faithfully serving my family through this experience. He was a soothing presence when it felt like the world was a screaming tornado of despair. His calm application of the Word was a gift of life in the midst of death.

Here is the sermon Pastor Scharr preached for Michael’s funeral. I only wish I had remembered to hit the record button.

____________________

All Things New

Revelation 21:2-7

 

Dear Alan and Faith, Alexis, Molly; Deborah, Kathleen, family, friends, and fellow pastors; “Peace be to you and grace from Him who freed us from our sins. Who loved us all and shed His blood that we might saved be,” our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Today we gather for one of the more difficult tasks that parents and grandparents go through. It is painful, tragic, and unnatural to bury a child or a grandchild ahead of our own death. No doubt you would have volunteered to die in Michael’s place than to see him pass from earth at the age of 16. We know from Holy Scripture that the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is everlasting life in Jesus Christ. Moses reminds us “You return man to dust and say, ‘Return, O children of man!” You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For all our days pass away under Your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh” (Psalm 90:3,5,9).

 

We cry out with the psalmist. “So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord, how long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you afflicted us, and for as man years as we have seen evil” (Psalm 90:12-15).

 

The Lord hears your sighs. He responds to your prayers. You loved Michael. Jesus loved Michael even more. It was impossible for any of you to give your life in place of Michael. Jesus did. Not for Michael only but for everyone gathered this morning. The Lord saw humanity’s rebellion against Him. Rather than destroy His creation, He acted to save it. God the Father sent His beloved Son into human flesh to take the sins of the world onto Himself. This burden includes all of Michael’s sins, all, your sins, my sins, and the sins of all time, past, present, and future. Jesus exchanges our iniquities for His forgiveness. His forgiveness blots out all our transgression. He atones for all our trespasses.

 

In the water of Holy Baptism, Michael and you are joined into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. His death becomes your death, and His resurrection becomes your new life. You are born from above by the work of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through the washing of the water and the Word. This is all a gift from God. The Lord declares in our reading from Revelation. “Behold, I am making all things new.” He also said, “Write this down for these words are trustworthy and true.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning, and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The One who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be His God and he will be My son” (Revelation 21:5-7). This has been the promise of God and the hope of His people from the beginning.

 

Michael had autism. This presented a challenge for him and the family. It can be very frustrating to work with a son or brother who has autism. Their learning and development are different. It’s not an issue of intelligence. People with autism can be extremely bright and talented. Michael was. Other things we take for granted can be difficult. Communication is one. Speech is another. Physical development yet another. Coping with emotions and reacting to disappointments may be particularly challenging. None of this means they are less loved or less capable of loving. Quite the contrary. God uses their uniqueness to open our eyes and appreciate life and love from a different perspective. We are the richer for it.

 

The patriarch Job had his challenges. A prosperous man of the ancient near east. He enjoyed many good things and especially devotion to the Lord. Satan seeks permission to test Job. The Lord allows it. In quick order Job loses all his livestock. His ten children are killed when a roof collapses on them. Shaken, but not broken, Job declared that the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. His body is afflicted next with painful boils from head to toe and everywhere in between. Friends try to console Job and chastise him for some great evil he will not acknowledge. Pushed to the edge Job confesses his faith. “I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end He will take His stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God. I, myself, will see Him with my own eyes. I and not another. How my heart yearns within me” (Job 19:25-27). Job confesses the same resurrection of the body to life everlasting when Jesus returns on the Last Day.

 

Meanwhile, there is mourning and grieving like there was in Bethany when Jesus’ friend Lazarus died. Sisters Mary and Martha hoped that Jesus would come quickly and heal their sick brother. He did not. Jesus was moved by the deep grief of these sisters. He wept as they went to the cemetery. There Jesus show His power over death and the grave. He calls Lazarus out of the tomb. He is alive by the Word and promise of God.

 

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Who believes in Him, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in him shall never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:26-27) Jesus is coming back. He will bring with Him the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. This is the church, a bride adorned for her husband. There is more. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, no crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new. Write this down for these Words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:2-5).

 

Family and friends of Michael Kornacki, you loved Michael and miss him. Jesus, who gave His own life into death, came to bring Michael into His nearer presence. He is with the Lord. No more autism, mourning, crying or pain. These former things have passed away. Together, with Michael, we await the resurrection of the body when Jesus returns. Then we shall behold all things new as the Father intended from eternity. This, too, is your inheritance in Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

And now may the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now and forever, Amen.

 

Rev. Timothy J. Scharr, President

Southern Illinois District - LCMS

GUEST POST: Sermon for 10/2/22--Sixteenth Sunday After Trinity

Our guest preacher at St. Peter and Bethel this morning was the Reverend Raymond Holman. He brought the Word, including a great deal of comfort to me and the congregations who mourn with me and my family. Thank you, Pastor Holman!

CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

CLICK HERE for the sermon video.

God Hears

1 Kings 17:17–24

In the midst of a sin-stricken world, God listens to the painful cries. / God hears weeping words. / And God speaks the promises in His Word of Truth. / This is God’s pattern: He listens. He hears. He speaks. He promises. //

The prophet Elijah had just begun his ministry. Called by God, Elijah preached in an evil and faithless generation. God’s anger for such sinfulness caused a drought. / No water. / No food. / Sinners helplessly crying out. “Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper” (Psalm 30:10)!

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah. “Go to Zarephath, a region of heathens and idol worshipers. Speak to a widow. A helpless woman. A hopeless woman. A woman questioning the point of life. In her distress, bring her good news.” 

And Elijah did. Right before our Old Testament Lesson, Elijah promised that a small jar of flour and little jug of oil would never be empty for the length of the drought. And it was so. That’s God’s goodness. That’s his loving nature. Hopelessness turned to faith for that widow.

——

But then disaster struck. / The widow’s hope quickly shattered. The consequences of sin were no longer just an “out there” issue. It was no longer just a drought. The consequences of sin now struck her own life. Now her son is dead. 

You can imagine what that widow felt:

“What am I living for,” would become, “Why am I even alive? / 

“Why did I even have hope in the first place?” / 

“Why do I have to face calamity after calamity?” /

“What good is this so-called all-loving God??” //

But we don’t have to put words into her mouth. We heard it firsthand. She blamed the prophet Elijah for all her problems. Lashing out, the widow cried, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son” (1 Kings 17:18).

——

Personally, I can imagine the hurt that Elijah must have felt. That great and faithful prophet didn’t just have a simple knowledge that God existed. He trusted in God. He believed in God’s promises. The words, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7a), were a reality to Him.

In that moment Elijah was confronted with a harsh reality. The consequences of sin weren’t  just “out there.” Now sin’s effects were hitting close to home for him specifically. They literally attacked the person closest to him at that moment. Now Elijah had to face a woman’s questions about the validity of Elijah’s words, about the efficacy of Elijah’s ministry, about the reality of God’s existence.

In the midst of his hurt, didn’t try to explain away God. He didn’t try to put the best construction on a bad situation. Instead Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son? …O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again” (1 Kings 17:20, 21b).

——

In the midst of such a sin-stricken world, God listened. God heard. God spoke. God promised. //

God listened to the painful cries of the widow and Elijah. He heard their weeping words. And at that moment, when all hope seemed to be lost, God spoke the word of Truth. God promised new life in the midst of death. //

——

This pattern we saw in our Old Testament Lesson is still a reality today. This is just what God does. / We too live in a sin-stricken world. Yes, sin is an “out there” problem. There are hurricanes and heatwaves. There are droughts and wildfires. There are wars and the threats of war. There is poverty and extortion. And God calls the church to go forth like Elijah into the midst of a sinful world proclaiming the good news (just like Jesus said in Luke 4:43, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose”).

And that’s what the church does. We are like Elijah to the widow in Zarephath. The church bring the Good News of God to those around us. The church shares God’s love to those who feel unloveable. The church proclaim forgiveness to those who believe they are unforgivable. The church helps other’s know of God’s sanctifying works. Simply put, the church’s mission is to bring hope to the hopeless and and help to the hurting. //

——

But then, sometimes sin’s effects hit closer to home. Just when things start to look up, that’s when everything crashes in around us. The person you shared the Gospel with loses their job. The family you shared immeasurable forgiveness with experiences failed crop. That family member who has just learned of the joy of eternity finds out that their spouse has cheated on them. Or even the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one. // That’s a moment of disaster. You’re confronted with the reality of sins effects. It’s not just “out there.” It’s right in front of you.

Like the widow at Zarephath, we can lash out at the church who preaches the Gospel. But Elijah points to a better way. Remember what Elijah did when the widow cried out at the death of her son? Elijah didn’t explain it away. Elijah didn’t try and put the best construction on a bad situation. He went to the one who listens. To the one who hears. To the one who speaks. To the one who promises. He went to God.

——

And this is what our call is as well. When faced with inexplicable situations and circumstances we go to the one who listens, who hears, who speaks, and who promises. We go to Jesus. 

Why do we go to Jesus? Because Jesus is the greater Elijah. We can be confident that when he speaks to God on our behalf that God will listen to him him. God will hear him. God will speak through Him. And God will provide us promises through Him. In fact, that’s exactly what Hebrews 5:7 states, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” 

Jesus comes to this sin-stricken world, bringing hope to hopeless sinners like you and me.

On the cross He takes our sorrows and in its place speaks us His salvation. 

On the cross He takes our hurts and in its place promises us healing in His body and blood.

This is why the record of Scripture is so clear: 

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). 

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down my life for the sheep…. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:14, 28). 

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).

“For I am sure that [even] death…will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38a, 39b).

In Jesus God listens. God hears. God speaks. God promises.

——

Look, I am not going to beat around the bush here. In this church you have experienced the inexplicable. Unexpected loss. Death without warning. This is a hard day for me to preach. And this has to be a hard day to come here and actually listen to me. But here I want to leave you with one single exhortation, along with its corresponding promise:

Cry out to God.

Plead to God. 

Entreat God’s mercy.

But more than simply doing that, remember this even more. When we cry out, God continues listen today. God continues to hear. God continues to speak. And God continues to promise salvation in Jesus Christ.

In the name of the father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.