The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord - April 24, 2011

The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord
Easter Morning,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (April 24, 2011)
One Year Series

Readings:  
    Psalm 118, verses 1 to 29       
    Job 19:23-27   
    1 Corinthians 15:51-57   
    Mark 16:1-8

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 16th chapter of St. Mark, especially the following verses.

Mark 16:1-8 (NIV)

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” 8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

It is the miracle proclaimed to the ages!  An angel in a white robe sits atop the tomb and proclaims to the Mary the mother of Christ that “He has risen” and that “He is not here.”(v. 6)  And there with Mary the mother of Jesus was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome.  And the first words that they hear as they approached the tomb are words which are often first said by the angels when speaking to humans, “Do not be afraid.”  At the news of Christ’s impending birth, Mary ponders the words of an Angel who said, “Do not be afraid”(Luke 1:30)  Now she stands pondering the perceived death of her son and again she is told, “Do not be afraid...for He has risen.”

    And so today as we rejoice in amazement just as Mary did in the fact that the tomb of Christ was indeed empty.  And today we repeat the words of the angel of God, proclaiming “He has risen!”  The Prophet Job had said it would be so, “I know my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth.”(Job 19:23-24)  Those ancient words of Job, “I know that my Redeemer lives” we love to sing as we rejoice.

We rejoice for in Christ’s resurrection from the dead, He wins for us our resurrection. We who have been made perishable by the sin of Adam and Eve, and in our own sin, will one day be raised from the dead, “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.” 

But sadly and all too often, our hearts and minds are stuck in the things of this world, the things of the here and now.  We convince ourselves that these things like Christ’s resurrection, like our baptism, like Holy Communion don’t really effect our lives.  For we have all experienced too much pain and too much misery in the paths which we have walked and in world we see before us.  And so we trudge along seeking for something different, something new and something better.  Something which appears to us to have some sort of substance.  Something real.  We ask questions which demand answers.  Like... How can you possibly offer any type of comfort to a mother who has lost a child? He is Risen.  How can you comfort a wife or husband who has lost their spouse? He is risen.  How can you comfort the seriously sick or those who are faced with dying?  He is risen.  How can you console the walking wounded, the down-trodden? He is risen. 

    Listen closely, the answer to all your concerns and cares are in those very words.      Alleluia, that Christ IS risen.  The resurrection is not a onetime event like when we look somewhere back in time, somewhere in the depths of our minds to fondly recall a special memory of a meal, or toy, or of special place.  No these days, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday, especially remind us Christ is much more than all of that.  For He IS risen, and He promised to be “with us always, even to the very end of the age.”

Jesus Christ is risen!

“He lives to silence all my fears;
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives all blessings to impart.”(LSB 461:3)

    Though beaten, scourged, bloodied, and crucified on the cross..He is Risen, to impart His blessings to us, not somewhere back in time.  He gives us His blessing each and every day.  He gives us our daily bread, He forgives us our trespasses, and by His death and resurrection He delivers us from the evil one.  He gives us His blessings in the waters of our Holy baptism.  Wherever there is the Word of God there Christ is.  Whenever Christ is there, there His church is.  Christ’s church does not depend on the action or inaction of us humans, it is not people who make or break the church, it is Christ who makes the church, and it is Christ who makes the sinners of this world into the saints of His eternal world.

Whatever you expected to find on this day, know that Christ is risen, Christ IS risen, indeed. You can be as confident of your resurrection as Jesus is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. Our preaching is not in vain. Your faith is not in vain. Your sins are forgiven. There is hope in this life, hope in your death, hope for eternal life with God, hope for a new creation. And it all hangs on this little sentence: He is risen!

Jesus Christ comes to you this very day, for He is Risen.  He comes to you in your baptism, for He is Risen.  He comes to you in the Holy Supper of our Lord, for He is Risen.  Alleluiah means to you, “Praise ye the Lord,” and because of Christ’s death and Christs resurrection you are given the promise of spending eternity doing just this, praising the Lord!   Thanks be to God!  

He is Risen! He is risen indeed!  Alleluiah and Amen!
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

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Easter Vigil - April 23, 2011

The Church Season of Lent,
Easter Vigil – The Service of Light
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (April 23, 2011)

Sermon Form:    St. John Chrysostom, Homily 89 
    “Spiritual Gems from the Gospel of St. Matthew

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Matthew 28:1-9 (NIV)

1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

“The [women] had seen an astonishing thing that was unheard of, an empty tomb, where they had previously seen [Jesus] placed.  The reason He also brought them to have sight of Him was that they might become witnesses to both, the tomb and the Resurrection:  they did not entertain the idea that someone had taken Him, with so many soldiers on duty – only raising Himself.  Hence they both rejoice and are astonished, and they receive the reward of so much attendance on Him, being the firs to see and bring the good news, not only of what was said but also of what was seen.  So when they left in fear and trembling, “Lo, Jesus met them and said, Greetings.  They clasped His feet,” running to Him with surpassing joy, and receiving by that touch a sign and assurance of the Resurrection.  Perhaps one of you would like to be in their place and lay hold of the feet of Jesus?  You can even now if you want to, laying hold not only of feet and hands but also of that sacred head by receiving the awesome sacrament of the Eucharist with a clear conscience.  Not here only, though: you will also see Him on that day when He comes in that indescribable glory and with the ranks of angels, provided you are ready to be merciful.  You will also hear not only that word, “Greetings,” but as well those others, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world.”(Mt. 25:33) Be merciful, then, so as to hear these words.” 

    You are blessed in your Baptism.  Your inheritance of indescribable riches now await you.  These riches are not hidden in a tomb, you will not find them there.  The tomb is empty.  The bounty of Christ seeks you, it can not constrained by the darkness of a grave.  Early in the morning He greets you.  He draws you not to a cave, but to His table.  Christ’s body and His blood greet you with eternal riches here in time.  His sacrifice once for all bring you eternally to Himself, there in eternity.  Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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Good Friday - April 22, 2011

The Church Season of Lent,
Good Friday Tenebrae
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (April 22, 2011)

Readings:      
        Psalm 22
        Luke 23:32-34
        Luke 23:39-43
        John 19:25-27
        Matthew 27:45-46
        John 19:28-29
        John 19:30
        Luke 23:44-46

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Isaiah 53:1-6

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

This is the day of Christ’s crucifixion.  Crosses and crucifixes make us uncomfortable—and well they should. We do not like to look at them and should we be forced to look at see that big cross before us we squirm more than little bit. It is simply too painful to look upon our Lord’s suffering.  It is too painful to know the reason for His suffering is us.  Therefore, we shudder as we sing these words:

Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Thine the deadly pain. (LSB 450:3)

For in the darkness of that first Good Friday, the totality of human sin—from the first sin of our first parents to the last sin of the last human being who will ever live—all of it was gathered up, pressed together, and then off-loaded onto this Man Jesus. He bore the whole weight of it and owned it as His own. Thus He also bore its penalty—both temporal and eternal death.

Look upon the cross of Christ. See His wounds, the nails impaling His hands and feet causing them to stick to the beams of death. See the blood running down His face from the thorns. Behold the quivering mass of His mutilated back as He is forced to rub it against the tree, pushing up against the nails in a death and life struggle to take in a breath of sinful air, to stop breathing so that we may breath life. Look, seek, realize: this wounded Man, the God-Man Jesus Christ is dying in agony, and He is not suffering for a single solitary wrong that He has done. Jesus Christ’s whole life was only love for you. He was the only human being who completely loved the Father with all His soul, with all His might, and His neighbor as Himself. Yet it is because Jesus is love that He is now pinned upon that tree. This man, this love incarnate will not leave the sinner in his sin. Love takes that sin upon Himself. Love is wounded to grant us healing. He is offering atonement for all the wrongs that we have done.

Yes, it is still so hard to look a crucifix in the face, for it is hard to accept the truth we sing:

Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
’Tis I deserve Thy place. (LSB 450:3)

Yet we look—we fall on our knees before His bleeding image and we ponder it. It is good that this sad image is imprinted on our hearts and in our minds, so that we may carry it with us wherever we go.  So that we may have that image before our closing eyes, in the moment of our death. For when the moment of your death comes to you, Satan will press you hard. In that moment above all, he will seek his last chance to snatch you away from God forever, and he has a powerful weapon to use. The cunning serpent minimizes sin when he would lure you into it with temptations, but then he maximizes your sins in your memory in the last hours of despair. When death is coming for you, satan will happily replay in your mind your many sins.  The sins you have forgotten and the sins you have denied committing.  Satan will taunt you causing you to doubt that you are a Christian. He will declare you unfit for the kingdom of God. He will tell you that you are his and that you willed to be his with every sin you committed. And all those sins will be playing all the while in vivid detail and color before your eyes as you are struggling for your last breath to avoid your death.

And that is why it is so important to train yourself now in this life to look upon the crucifix.  It is why St. Paul said, “we preach Christ and Him crucified.”(1 Cor 1:23)  For to gaze upon the cross is to behold your Savior’s wounds, and to hold them close to your heart, counting them as your most precious treasure. In the hour of your death, they will be your only weapon against the despair invoked by the enemy.  In the agony of Christ you will be able to look at all of your sins as the accuser brings them before your eyes, and you will be able to acknowledge their hideous nature as an irrefutable testimony to your countless failures. But against them all you will set another image: the image Isaiah holds forth for us today—the image of the Crucified One. And it is this image that will shatter the devil’s attempts to draw you into despair the moment before your death. And so we sing:

Hold Thou thy Cross before my closing eyes
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies
Heav’n morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. (LSB 78:6)

The image you want before your eyes as they are closing in death is the image of the Son of God in His last agonies, fully owning and answering for your every one of your sins, pouring out His blood to blot out the accusations of the Law that Satan would use against you. For awful as your sins are, each one has been accounted for, covered over in innocent blood, the blood of your Lamb, your Jesus. It was said, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”(Revelation 12:11). In that hour, you will say with boldness: “Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, just as I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and have given to me what is ours. You have taken upon yourself what you were not and have given to me what I was not” (AE 48:12).

Thus you indeed will be prepared for death when the image of the Crucified One hangs before your eyes and you know that His life is now your righteousness; His death, your forgiveness; His wounds, your healing; His sufferings, your crown and glory.  You have been, you are loved by God. God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, He is your dearest Friend, and He would make you His forever. Look upon His cross boldly, confidently, continually, and you will see, that He is yours, and you are His.  Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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Maundy Thursday - April 21, 2011

Holy Week - Maundy Thursday
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (April 21, 2011)
One Year Series

1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (ESV)

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.  27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

“On the night when He was betrayed.”(1 Cor 11:23)  That night, is this night. The Passover was at hand, 14 were in the room that night, the 12 disciples and Christ.  But who was the fourteenth?  St. John gives us the answer, “During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,”(John 13:2) Satan lurks about, even in the upper room at the institution of the most Holy meal.

Just a bit of irony there, that in the beginning God gave the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, “every tree and seed in its fruit...to have them for food.”(Gen 1:29)  Then Satan came lurking about to offer a seed of doubt regarding the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Now on this night a meal is served again and in the presence of the Son of God, Satan is back, lurking about to tempt and lead Judas to betray his master.

St. Peter, one of the twelve, who sat at that same table listening to the institution of the Lord’s supper, yet he would later write, “8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith,”(1 Peter 5:8) Again ironic, for Peter wrote those words only after he himself had not resisted and he deceived himself and was devoured.  For shortly after that last supper on the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, Peter too would fall to the guile of the devil, a rooster only need wait a short time to crow before Peter would be deny his lord and master.

This night was the night when there would be a new and better paschal meal.  For on this night a meal was forever set aside, the remembrance of that meal of the hard, unleavened bread, the bitter herbs, the lamb roasted to dry toughness, and the lamb’s blood painted on the doorposts.  That meal was done in remembrance of the night of judgment and death as God sought out the blood for under the blood of the lamb, you we’re always safe. Death passed over. And without the blood of the lamb you were dead. It was neither safe nor salutary to deal with God apart from that blood of the lamb.  Satan was escorted from the meal when the blood of the lamb was spilled.

Now, Jesus the Lamb of God reclines at the head of a table with His disciples, His Twelve, His Israel, plus the odd evil one who was again sent out. It is now a new feast, the Lord’s Passover. It is the same meal in which we eat this night.  All too soon the blood of the lamb would be spilled and the body of the lamb of God would have mercy on us as He intervened to rescue us from slavery to sin, death and the evil one.  And to conquer the unwanted guest of sin and temptation, Jesus was made a curse for us.  He died upon His cross, giving His body and shedding His blood for the remission of our sins.  This Lamb was without blemish or defect.  He had no sins of His own, but borrowed ours so that He could die to bring down the ancient curse of death and to end the Father’s wrath against all sin and every sinner.  That body of Christ was the sin-offering for you and for me.  And Christ’s blood is the sign and seal of our redemption.  

And when we eat the bread and drink the cup of this supper, we do not do this lightly.  For here in this supper we are to be in communion with the body and blood of Christ, the Lamb.  satan is not welcome here.  It is for this reason we hold Holy Communion sacred, as St. Paul warned, “27Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (v. 27-30)  satan still prowls and lurks about, wooing to decieve those who would not receive the Lord’s Supper rightly.

And rightly understood, Jesus serves you in this Holy meal, not by the way of example but the way of sacrifice. He takes the bread of the Passover meal, that meal of the hard, unleavened bread of affliction that the Israelites ate on the fateful night of freedom. Jesus He gives thanks, and breaks it into pieces, and hands a piece to each of His disciples. The morsel grants them admittance, acceptance. “This is My body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19). His words tell what we could not know for ourselves neither by the science of our reason nor from any of our senses. This bread is Jesus’ sacrificial body, which He would later that day give unto death on the cross.

Jesus then takes the cup of wine after supper. He lifts it up, He gives thanks, and gives each of His disciples to drink. “This is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). The blood of the new covenant is given to drink as wine. Here the wine finds its ultimate purpose, Jesus delivering His blood to the disciples’ lips, and binding all those who drink of His cup in a blood covenant. That covenant includes you as you drink His blood of life for, “The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). Where the blood of the Lamb flows, death passes over.  Satan is not invited in, in fact He is cast out. This is the food of immortality in the eating and drinking, of this Holy meal we live forever.

He gives His all to you, to save all of you. Nothing stands outside His forgiveness. Nothing can separate you from this self-giving, self-sacrificing love. No greater love is there than this servant love that lays down His life for another. In His Supper, at His table, He lays before you the gifts of His cross and says, “These are here for you. Do this for My remembrance.”

And from this food and drink you arise refreshed, renewed, restored—in faith toward Him and in fervent love toward one another. Faith trusts in Christ alone; love bends down in service of the neighbor—both friend and stranger. Faith receives Jesus’ service; love seeks to serve Him in the least, the lost, and the lowly of this world. Faith receives the washing of sin; love washes the feet of a fellow sinner. Faith remembers His love; love remembers His service, even to death, for you. 

So take heart this night.  The death and destruction, gloom and doom of the devil may loom and lurk on every side, but everything that troubles you and all that robs you of your joy is eclipsed tonight in this banquet feast of love.  Satan has coerced and cajoled you to be comfortable in your sin, He whispers in your ear that it is much better to be comfortable in your sin than to be invited to the Lord’s Supper.  And indeed we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.  Of our own merit we could not sit in the presence of our Lord, we could not taste the fruit of the vine, nor the bread of life.  And  truthfully we sin all the more when we think we live lives good enough to deserve the Lord’s Supper.

Repent, for the invitation to the Lord’s Supper is not based on your merit, rather it is an invitation inked with the blood of Jesus Christ.  Eat and drink here not because of you goodness and grace, but humbly receive this life giving meal because God loves even the undeserving, and that would be you and me.

Rejoice that Christ came into this world and gave His life so that you may receive forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life.  You are invited in because you have received the free gift of faith.  You are invited in as you have been made one of Christ’s own in the waters of Holy Baptism.  In the institution of this meal the betrayer was at hand, but was bid by Christ to leave His presence.  Tonight you are invited to this meal, in remembrance of that night as Christ invited you to stay with Him.  Come eat.  Come drink.  This invitation is in Christ’s own Words, “given and shed for you.”  Whether here in time, or there in eternity, in the end, there will be no satanic party crashers, just the promise of eternal life and a heavenly banquet feast prepared by Jesus Christ just for you.  Amen.

Palm Sunday - April 17, 2011

Holy Week – Palm Sunday Procession - Palmarum
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (April 17, 2011)
One Year Series

Readings:   
    John 12:12-19
    Psalm 118:19-29
    Zechariah 9:9-12   
    Philippians 2:5-11           
    Matthew 26:1 – 27:66

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is from the Gospel lesson from St. Matthew the 26th chapter.

‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

It’s Palm Sunday how wonderful to wave those Palms again!  How great to see the cross process into the church how wonderful to think of that crowd so happy to see Christ the Messiah come into Jerusalem.  “Hosanna”, they shouted meaning, “Save us please!.” Hosanna is an exclamation aimed toward a ruler who has the power to save.  And of that day of Christ’s triumphant entry it has been said, “from Galilee and Capernaum Jesus traversed the land up to Jerusalem, and on this day rode into the city on a donkey.  Jesus wanted to be in Jerusalem for the Passover, and there take over His kingdom, even as kings and princes make their entries so that the whole country may pay them homage and swear allegiance.” 

The thoughts of kingdoms, allegiances, Kings and princes are all but foreign to our ears except from our hazy memories of our history classes reminding us of our British forefathers.  But, of course, more recently we have begun to entertain the thought of a royal wedding as we watch the celebration unfold on T.V.  But, all the prim and proper eloquence, the bowing and allegiance to a queen or king is no longer part of any special event for us here in America.  Yet with the memories of kingdoms slowly fading away like the dew on the morning grass, we still gladly every day still pray, “For Thine is the Kingdom.” 

Over and over we say those words, so much so that at times it comes off our lips without even engaging our minds as to what we are saying.  “For Thine is the Kingdom.”  What exactly are praying for or do we even know what we mean by what we say?  But today is different, times have changed, while the word “thine” is mostly only used in the “Lord’s Prayer” we still know internally that means “yours is the kingdom”. 

But enough grammar, today is Palm Sunday.  This day of celebration does indeed resound with our history, tradition, and our memories from the past.  Some of you, many of you, will remember the waving of the Palms from the time when you were little children.  And you’ll also remember that after the service those palms made their way home, some to be laid upon a dresser, or laid across a top of a picture, or on the mantle all as a reminder, that Palm Sunday was the day of Christ’s arrival into Jerusalem.  And to Christ we say, “Yours is the Kingdom.”

Yes, so many years ago, Christ did lead that procession into Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest.”  That day it did look, sound, and feel like the Kingdom was Christ’s.  The crowd was already assembled for the Passover feast, the palm branches in their hands and shouts of praise on their lips.  But, where does this journey go?  Where will the Messiah lead us?  Is Your kingdom through those gates leading into the streets of Jerusalem?

Looking back, it was foretold by Zechariah of this triumphant parade, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”(Zech. 9:9)

Oh but what a difference there is in that kingdom of Christ from the ones our eyes see today.  Rather than pomp and circumstance, banners, and royal chariots surrounded by guards with tall hats, this Christ-King is quite different.  For in the Christ-king we see a humble servant, riding on a donkey.  We see a “ruler who does not rule a realm where men gather wealth and property, nor conducts wars, nor does this ruler become rich and powerful in this world.  and  All those things are the marks of worldly kings”(Luther Palm Sunday 1534) But is this the kingdom of Christ?

Well, we know, “Worldly kings are concerned with people managing their house and home, governing lands and subjects, acquiring money and property, becoming rich and powerful, and all of this is for the present time.  But, the Christ-king, on the other hand, wants us to know how to inherit the kingdom of heaven, how to be saved and become eternally rich, so that we may finally enter a better life.”  This king who comes to us, lowly and riding on a donkey gives us greater riches than can ever be found in the world.  Our bodies will be beautifully restored, there will be no sadness, nor weakness, nor sickness, but only everlasting health and happiness.

How wonderful the thought of a king who would rule in justice and righteousness, not serving himself but rather serving His servants.  But this is not the kind of king that the people wanted to process through the gates of the old Jerusalem.  Those cheers would soon fade, the Hosannas and the palm branches once cheerful, fresh and green would become dry and fade.  The Christ-king before them was not like they thought he should be.  No, this was not the worldly king that they had created in their minds.  No handsome stead, no golden saddle, no flags, no trumpets sounding, nor entourage to make way for the king.  And the sad truth of the matter for this crowd is that the flashy king for whom they wait will never come.  Some in that crowd died waiting for their political savior, and even sadder still is that some today still wait for that kind of Messiah.  At the gates of Jerusalem the words in Proverbs are left forgotten, words which advise, “Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.” (Pvb. 8:34-36)  The Kingdom of the Christ-King does not appear to the eyes of the world as a strategic military maneuver, rather this Kingdom is established in stark contrast of the one who rides into Jerusalem to praise and adulation this one is willing to be crucified.  Christ’s Kingdom is His only as the one who dies, who is raised from the dead, and then He ascends to occupy His kingdom. 

Repent, for this Christ-king overcame sin, death, and the devil for you.  And by His body and His blood, He sweeps us clean of all our filth, so that all who believe in Him are made righteous and blessed.  All of us are but lowly dregs and beggars of the world, we are all sinners who defile ourselves and all those around us with our words, our actions, and our deeds whether done or undone.  It is for these, it is for us, that God’s Kingdom is established.  This Christ who came for you is not like worldly rulers.  He did not come to amass treasure and property to flaunt before the world.  He did not come to make public appearances, nor to flaunt treasure troves of silver and gold.  No, Christ came as our beggar-King, riding on a donkey, just as foretold by the prophets just as promised by God to Adam and Eve.  And His Kingdom is won for you at the high cost of God’s only Son, who died for your sin.

And His kingdom, Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world, His treasures and riches won for you are not here on this earth.  But what He gives you here does bring you to eternal life.  By the power of His Holy Word, by the Sacraments, by faith, His kingdom has come for you, yesterday, today, and forever.  And to reach that kingdom one does not look within themselves, rather they look to Christ to see that they are baptized into His Name and through Him they have attained eternal life.  In your baptism you may proclaim in the face of all that faces you, “I am a baptized Christian.  I am blessed with the riches of eternal life by my King who serves me, even unto His own death.”

We pray those words over and over, “for Thine is the Kingdom,” but unlike the palms of last year or yesteryear this kingdom never fades nor crumbles.  Christ told the disciples how to pray, to say, “Our Father who art in heaven.  Christ also told us as we meet to receive His blessings to “do this.”   Meaning receive the Lords true body and blood each time you gather.  You must never grow weary of praying the “Our Father” every day.  You must never grow weary of often receiving the forgiveness of sins in Holy Communion.  For if we see that prayer, or if we see God’s gift of His body and blood as something to be done as a matter of rote ceremony.  Then indeed we have joined the crowd in that Jerusalem of old, who at best just came out for a parade, and at worst came for a ruler who would conquer the troublesome governments of this world.  That kind of kingdom would have all the pomp but fails in every circumstance.

Rather rejoice in your prayer, “for Thine is the Kingdom.”  For in that Christ-king we may reach forward, palms in hand, and be lifted upward into Christ’s everlasting kingdom.  It is for that future for which you were baptized, it is for that future for which you receive His forgiveness, it is for that future for which you receive His Word, it is for that future for which you receive His body and blood.  It is for that future that we pray  “for Thine is the kingdom” for we pray that we may stand on the streets of the new Jerusalem, with new restored bodies, rejoicing and waving palm branches, and evermore shouting for the true Christ-king, “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest.” Amen. 

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

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The Fifth Sunday in Lent - Judica - April 10, 2011

The Church Season of Lent,
Judica,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (April 10, 2011)
One Year Series

Readings: 
    Psalm 43   
    Gen. 22:1-14   
    Hebrews 9:11-15           
    John 8:42-59

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 8th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses.

John 8:42-59 (ESV)
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” 48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit

    The Pharisees were looking for the glory of God in all the wrong places.  God in Christ Jesus was in their midst, hidden right in front of their noses all the time. He was with them but they decided they did not want to believe with faith. The very Son of God, in whom the Father was revealing His glory in a way that would not consume them, but give them life, and they didn’t believe it.

But just like it is with them  is to the unbelieving people of the world today, religious as they might be, hearing the Word of God that came to die for them and forgive them, just wasn't glorious enough for the Pharisees. Jesus, the Son of God was there in front of them and to them this was just an unbelievable truth.

The glory of God was hidden in the man standing before the Pharisees and speaking to them, this Jesus of Nazareth, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, dead, and buried. Today the glory of God is hidden and is before you in the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins.

As the Israelites rejected God's glory manifested in the miracle of manna, so the Pharisees rejected the glory of God manifested in Jesus Christ the very bread of life.  Even today the majority of what is known as Christianity rejects the glory of God manifested in the forgiveness of sins in Word & Sacrament today. It's just not glorious enough. Like the Pharisees, people today want to activate the glory of God and make it real by their own righteous deeds rather than to receive and abide in it by hearing the Word and letting the Word live and bear fruit as it most assuredly always has, does, and will do. Indeed, the Word of God can do nothing else but give life and bear fruit.

In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus is giving us a catechism lesson on the Third Commandment and the Third article of the Creed, which are all about the Word of God, how we receive Him, and how He abides in us to give us life and bear fruit as He with His glory is hidden among us. “Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. . . .Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

Do you see now why God gave us the The Third Commandment?  Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy, [which means] “we should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.” But to our ears it is unbelievable truth.  We say, ‘Where is Christ?’  ‘Where are His gifts?’  ‘Right here with me? I don’t think so,  at least I just don’t see it....’

In the Third Commandment God reveals that His glory in the preaching and hearing of His Holy Word.  Yet God hides His glory from those who refuse to hear His Word, or having heard refuse to take it to heart and abide in it. He reveals it to those who hear it, and abide in it by holding it sacred and gladly continuing to hear and learn it.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. . . . 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”(John 15:5, 8) 

Again, Jesus said, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. . .Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." Where does God keep His Word? Where is it heard. and where does He keep us in His Word so that we never see death but in His Church?

The Third Article. I believe in the Holy Ghost; one holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

What does this mean?  “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.“

The glory of God will remain hidden in His Church, Christ the Bridegroom and His precious and beloved bride that is now flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone and thus the very body of Christ here on earth until He comes again in all His visible glory with all the hosts of heaven--His company of angels, and the resurrected believers gathered with Him in the clouds. Yet the world says “unbelievable truth.”  Where are the angels when I am sick?  Where is the host of heaven when I need it?

Repent, for the unbelievable truth is before your very eyes.  As we move ever closer to Good Friday, the truth is revealed in the cross, and the true glory of God—the crucified Son of God. The truth is confirmed in your Baptism where we are buried into His death, and so we share in His hidden glory. In receiving absolution for our sins, we receive the glory of God that was won for us on Good Friday's cross. In the Lord's Supper we remember His suffering and death as we receive His body and blood in bread and wine and thereby receive the Word of God made flesh, again sharing in His hidden glory.

That God loved you so much He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for you is the way, the Truth, and the life.  It was not hidden that the glory of God was for His Son to die for us. Today it remains the glory of God to forgive us and give Himself to us to abide with us in our sinful dying flesh and blood with His very body and blood to strengthen and preserve us to eternal life with Him.

Jesus remained hidden in the glory of God and remained untouched by those who picked up stones to throw at Him until it was time for Him to be glorified in His death and resurrection.  Yet today Jesus is revealed for you, His glory now touches you in the Holy Supper of our Lord, God guards and protects you, there He comforts you and strengthens your faith.  Abraham saw it and believed it, for all those who believe in Jesus they see it too, God saw to it in Jesus Christ and that is the eternal truth for you.  Amen

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
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Midland Circuit Winkel - April 5, 2011

The Church Season of Easter,
Lent 4, Circuit Winkel
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (April 6, 2010)

Readings:   
        Psalm 33
        Ezekiel 37:1-14
        1 John 5:4-10
        John 20:19-31

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

Ezekiel 37:1-14

“1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

In this season of Lent, in this time of reflection, repentance, and prayer, it would seem that our dinner prayer from Psalm 145 has now become, “the eyes of most look to themselves as Lord, and how can I get my food in the shortest time.”  It is a lost and fallen, topsy, turvey world in which we live.  A world in which neither a biblical perspective nor the outward appearances of things remain important, rather it is only important how we see to it to justify ourselves.  

God asked Ezekiel what he saw, that is if Ezekiel thought all those bones could live, and Ezekiel responded, “Lord, YHWH, you know.”(v. 3)  And to Ezekiel God said, “breath and blow into these slain that they may come back to life,”(v.9) and in that vision that is exactly what happened.  Ezekiel believed what he had heard God say, and Ezekiel believed what he saw.

Oh that we as pastors could see with eyes of faith like the end of Ezekiel’s vision.  Our hearts want that reality, that every person would hear the Gospel and be enlivened by His gift of faith given through the Holy Spirit.  But, no matter how many we see come to faith, there are always so many more dry bones.  More Gospel to proclaim, it is an overwhelming challenge for you and for me.  How can we ever win?

We know and we are taught that the answer is we cannot do that which only the Holy Spirit can do through the Word and the Sacraments.  But we see our reason as our only strength and so we question, “what difference can a little water, and a piece of bread, and a sip of wine make?” We cry, "it’s just not enough." How can we use these simple fool hearty means against a most crafty and evil opponent who sees to it that the sinful flesh is stripped from the bones. 

The means to win the battle and the war upon satan are given and won by Christ.  Yet, who are the means of delivering God’s means?  Well it has been said that, “Century after century Christians have continued to take men from their communities, to set them apart, and to say, “We want you [pastor] to be responsible for saying, acting among us, to direct us, from the Scriptures, what we believe about the gifts of God and [His] kingdom and [His] Gospel.”  That Christian community has called each of you and called me too.  And so hearing this call we spend some time reading, learning, and inwardly digesting God’s Word, so that we may accurately and with great precision proclaim God’s gifts, with the hope that all may one day see God and live. 

And we are to proclaim God’s Word with vigor, in the face of a world who would rather scoff at God, like those amusing atheist’s who are so angry at a god they say doesn’t exist.  We as pastors are called to proclaim that, “We believe that God is not a far away spectator.”  God has not made a cuckoo clock world wound it up and stepped away.  God does not sit feet up in His heavenly bark-o-lounger chair saving His favor for only the baseball or football player or pastor who will or will not cross himself.  Nor does God expect that this wrecked world will be corrected by pastors with their machinations, inventions, or programs.

No, we are called to proclaim God’s Word, and to administer His Sacraments.  We as pastors are to say that, “We believe that everything, especially everything, that looks like human wreckage in this world, is material that God would sacrifice His only Son to give them life.”  To “breath and blow into these slain that they may come back to life.”  To help all to see that we are to return thanks for what He has done for us.  And we as pastors are called to, “believe all this” with all our hearts and with all our minds and with all our souls and with all our strength.  And you know, at times I’m not sure we believe it, and I’m pretty sure “we don’t always see it.” 

Rather, “we see like Ezekiel in the beginning of his vision.  We see only a multitude of dismembered skeletons whitened under a pitiless Babylonian sun.“ We see with sorrow in our eyes a world filled with a dwindling number of Christian bones. We see in our community disconnected and disjointed people who, “once were laughing and dancing.  We see out in the world adults who once made love and made plans bound in Christians ideals.”  With dim faithless eyes we see a dwindling number of believers who once brought their doubts, sung their praises, and who not only admitted that they had sin, but they confessed those sins in church.  We see no hope, we see no way for God to connect this overwhelming randomness back together, and if we look only in despair that’s all that we ever see.  We see dry bones. 

“But what we’re failing to see is sin and the judgment of sin.”  Oh, we see the result of sin, the fallen church attendance, the fallen relationships, the challenged budget, the church wars and rumors of wars.  Because that’s what sin looks like it looks like dry bones.  It looked that way to Ezekiel too, it looks that way to any pastor with eyes to see.  And a skeptical world looks right back at us and sees idle misinformed, misdirected pastoral, bones.  Bone, bones everywhere but no pastors with brains to preach. 

Repent.  For as pastors we are called to proclaim with all the heavenly assurance we know exists, that we, “believe something else, something other than what we see.”  As it has been recently said, “we in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod are in a unique opportunity of time, because we have been given and have kept what other churches have given away, and that is the belief in and the proclamation of the Bible, the inerrant Word of God.”  We are not called to have faith in our own reason or strength but rather that we believe that this sinful world will come together, dry bone to dry bone, tendons, muscles, organs, and skin upon human beings who will speak, and sing, and laugh, and work, and will believe and will one day see the face of God.  All these things not by our actions, nor by their actions, but rather by the grace of God.

Therefore, rejoice!  Dry bones are restored by the ministry of God’s Word and by His Sacraments.  By proclaiming God’s grace to His beloved children, to their parents, to children at their birth, and to all God’s saints at the hour of their death and everything in between. 

To be a Pastor is to stand in awe of what God does in Christ Jesus through the ministry of His Word.  To be honored to bow down and to serve God’s people in their celebrations and in their sorrows, to bring His comforting Word in their days of sunshine, and when the phone rings in the deepest, drizzling, coldest, darkest, and clammy nights. My brothers, this is the honor to which we have been called.  We are called to witness and to proclaim to all who would hear what God has done for us through His Son Jesus Christ.  And not only that, we are called to believe it ourselves too.  To see that we also receive a renewal of faith in the Sacraments and that God’s Word gives our weary disconnected and disjointed bones renewed strength.  We are called and honored to witness to the countless number of dry bones in this world and to point them to see what God does in hanging His Son Jesus Christ upon the cross where there was no separated or broken bones to be found.  The eyes of Ezekiel, the eyes of God’s saints, the eyes of all look to you O Lord and in the grace Your Son Jesus Christ You take our dry bones and renew and restore our flesh at the proper time.  No bones about it, just pure grace. Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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The Fourth Sunday in Lent - Laetare - April 3, 2011

The Church Season of Lent
The Fourth Sunday in Lent - Laetare (April 3, 2011)
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI
One Year Series

Readings:           
Psalm    132
OT    Exodus 2:-21                     
Epistle    Galatians 4:21-31
Gospel    John 6:1-15       

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

The text for today’s message is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 6th chapter of St. John.

John 6:1-15 (NIV)

1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Today’s lesson is of Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5000 men + women and children.  But why should we really be surprised that our Lord could perform such a miracle? Think about it, the grain for the Barley loaves in Jesus’ hands and the fish themselves were created by the hands that are holding them and that same hand multiplies them.

Maybe a better question is that which we experience in our every day lives any less miraculous? Several weeks ago we discussed if miracles, that is unexpected events attributed to divine intervention, do they still occur?

For that we only have to say, look around you. Look in the mirror. Just what about your life isn't miraculous? How about the miracle of your life—we talk about the point when life becomes viable out of the womb. i.e., when one can live without the aid of the mother. But think about it, when does life really become viable without the aid of a mother, or at least other people that God has also miraculously created? Is any life possible without outside intervention and aid? And we question if God in Christ Jesus could feed 5000?

It is a miracle that there are about 7 Billion living souls today, yet the Bible has clearly stated, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. . ."(Gen 1:28)  There is the miracle of the everyday sustenance of your life. It is a miracle that one seed bearing countless fruit, all from one tree created in the first garden. It is a miracle that the very same water that flowed from the rivers in Eden, flooded the earth, rescued the Israelites, baptized our Lord, turned into wine, and quenched the thirst of the Son of God at Jacob's well is the very same water we have today, the very same water that quenches our thirst, is turned into our wine, baptizes our children, rescues people from buildings set ablaze, floods our reservoirs, and flows in our rivers. 5000 ate and they were satisfied and there was leftover bread and fish.  God provided more than they needed.

There is nothing about life in this world that is anything less than miraculous. You acknowledge that you believe in that miracle each time you confess in The First Article of the Creed—“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, which meaning:  I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true.” (SC)

You know that there is nothing about life in this world that is anything less than miraculous is also why we pray The Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer--Give us this day our daily bread, which means: “God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving. What is meant by daily bread?-- Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.”(SC)

Yet in the face of all the miracles we still whine and cry that there is not enough.  Or we don’t have enough for this or for that.  We always want more of something we can’t have, or that which someone else has.  We hurt, we fear, we are stressed, and all these are from things of this world that attack us.  Some real, some self imposed, but sin is sin and all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  We have looked miracles in the face and not seen them. We see the face of miracles, that is Jesus Christ and we don’t believe Him or His Word.

Repent, for the truth of the matter is that there is nothing about life, about your life, that is not miraculous, that is not an act of the divine intervention of God the Father spoken through the Word of God the Son, by the power of God the Holy Spirit. And what is true of your physical existence, this thing called life, is even more true of your eternal existence, your forever life in heaven.

Your eternal life begins with your being born again from above, by the Holy Spirit in the miracle that is Baptism—Divine intervention by water and the Word. And that eternal life that is not viable before Baptism, is no more viable for those of us who are born again without the aid of a mother and the others that make up the body of Christ on earth, His holy Christian Church, your heavenly mother on earth. Is your eternal life possible without outside intervention and aid?

Is what we have here set before us any less a miracle of the Word? All the saints are gathered with Christ and you and I today around the altar that is the very table of God the Father, from which we receive the very body and blood of Christ in the most miraculous feeding of all.  The table set before you is a miraculous feeding of not just 5000 men with their women and children, but of countless souls from all nations, throughout time. It is a miraculous feeding at which the saints in heaven who have preceded us are present with us, out of sight, but rejoicing that we who were lost and wandering about trying to fend for ourselves are now gathered here with them before God's heavenly throne.

So as we continue our Lenten journey with Christ to be crucified, buried, and raised with Him to heavenly life, repent of any of your sinful ideas or feelings or doubts that anything about this world, that anything about life in this world, that anything about your daily life, that anything about your Baptismal life is anything less than miraculous.

And pray God you never forget or take for granted that you are the recipient of miracle beyond this world: that you and I are here today to be given life and remain viable by God’s Word proclaimed by which we are born into heaven, that the Holy Spirit has penetrated our hard heads; softened our hearts of stone; and drawn us here to receive  Holy Communion, to partake of the cup of the New Testament in His blood, receive the forgiveness of our sins, and have eternal life. That is truly a miraculous feeding.  In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

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