The Seventh Sunday of Easter - Exaudi - June 5, 2011

The Church Season of Easter
The Seventh Sunday of Easter  - Exaudi
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (June 5, 2011)
One Year Series

Readings:   
        Ezekiel 36:22-28           
        Psalm 51:1-12       
        1 Peter 4:7-14       
        John 15:26 – 16:4

+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 15th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses.

John 15:26-16:4 (ESV)

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. 1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.

Alleluia!  Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

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

Last Thursday we celebrated the Day of Ascension.  When Jesus ascends into heaven, the disciples were full of joy. It is not the reaction we expect. Jesus is gone. He won’t appear among His children the way He appeared those thirty-some years that we read about in the Holy Gospels. The disciples should be sad. All they have are His Words and their memories.

So it is with us when it comes to our Lord’s Ascension. Ascension Day is one of the principal high feasts of Christ. It’s a feast full of joy and anticipation. There is joy because Christ will come again the same way He left us. There is anticipation because the promised Paraclete as it is written in Greek, or translated Helper, or Comforter, He will soon come to kindle the fire of Christ’s love in His bride, the Church.

Yet we treat our Lord’s Ascension as if it’s nothing special. Jesus is gone. Everybody look busy. Now that he’s gone, we can go on living our lives as if He were never here with us. Our Lord promises the Helper. But sometimes we fail to see much help in the Church today. Saint Peter says in the Epistle, be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Peter pictures a Christian congregation that loves one another. God’s children take care of each other, using the talents He gives them to bear one another’s burdens. Nevertheless, hospitality without grumbling and ministering to each other as good stewards sometimes does not happen. We know when someone isn’t speaking to someone else. We could be helping each other with the talents God gives us, but there’s always the chance that our talents will go unnoticed. On the other hand, perhaps someone will take advantage of our gifts, expecting someone else to bear a burden for good.

The reality is in God’s Holy Church, there is no need of large bank accounts, fancy cars, and continuous revival meetings to see faith in action. This is a Spirit-filled congregation. The Holy Spirit here witnesses not of Himself, but of Jesus Christ. Consider the Helper as one pointing back to our Lord. The Paraclete, the helper, the comforter, does not want to separate “true” Christians from “false” Christians through some sort of miraculous sights and sounds. The Paraclete comes to call us by the Gospel, enlighten us with His Gifts, make us holy and keep us holy in the Christian Church to life everlasting.

There is no better comfort than Jesus Christ. Jesus wins the victory over sin, death, and hell for you. His blood covers your sin, giving you His righteousness. Jesus ascends into heaven so you too might ascend with Him in body and soul on Judgment Day. As Christ reigns in heavenly joy, so shall you live and reign with Him. This joy is yours now through faith. This joy in its fullness is yet to come, when Jesus descends as He ascends. Jesus gives you forgiveness, life, and salvation in His Holy Supper. Jesus goes on your tongue, into your body, and into the world as you live according to your calling in life. He loves us with an undeserved and everlasting love. You show your neighbor this love through works of mercy as evidence that faith lives in you.

But we see that left to their own devices, the disciples were bound to fail. With the Spirit of Truth Who proceeds from the Father, the disciples will witness everything they saw and heard concerning Jesus Christ. They saw everything our Lord did. Their eyewitness account makes them true apostles of Christ. What they saw and what they heard, they will proclaim to the ends of the earth. We walk in their footsteps. None of us, unlike the Apostles, witnessed our Lord doing marvelous signs. We have the sure and certain Word of God that proclaims Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and hell. The Christian Church preaches Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is the comforting witness the Holy Spirit sends us.

We pray that Christ’s ascension is not a time of worry, doubt, anger, and frustration. Christ’s ascension is a time of expectant joy. As we hear in Psalm 27: “Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud. Your face, Lord do I seek; hide not Your face from me.” The Lord does not hide.  He shows Himself in Word, water, bread, and wine. When you see these Holy Things, you know and believe the Holy One of God is present not in an “I’ll be here for you” way. He is truly, bodily, certainly present. Jesus is here today to take away your sin and doubt, replacing them with everlasting life. Jesus is here to give you the sure and certain hope of comfort that comes only from the Spirit of Truth.

We pray that the King of Glory would not to leave us without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth Whom he promised from the Father. The promise of the Holy Spirit’s coming on Pentecost is the coming of consolation among the Christian Church. The Spirit’s consolation is Jesus Christ, truly present in preaching, in Baptism, in Absolution, and in His Holy Supper. Instead of sadness, the Church rejoices because Jesus abides with us in the simplest of ways. With His simplicity there is profound joy; the joy of forgiveness and new life, and we hear that through the Holy Spirit who conveys the promise won by Jesus Christ.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

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

The Ascension of Our Lord - June 2, 2011

The Church Season of Easter,
The Ascension of Our Lord, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (June 2, 2011)

Readings:   
        Psalm 110
        2 Kings 2:5-15
        Acts 1:1-11
        Luke 24:44-53

+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 will be from the Gospel lesson as recorded in the 24th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verses:

Luke 24:44-53 (ESV)

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” 50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 3 and were continually in the temple blessing God.

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

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen! 
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

The paschal candle has been lit these forty days since Easter, but today we extinguish it for the rest of the year.  Now this candle will stand next to the Baptismal Font, it will be lit for each Baptism and it will be placed next to a casket for each burial.  All this reminds us that we are baptized and buried into Christ our risen Lord.  Paschal means ”pertaining to the Passover” or “Easter” therefore it is a symbol of the Resurrection, that our Lord has ascended into heaven to bless us from there.

Today we celebrate Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven.  On that Ascension day Christ led His apostles to Bethany, He blessed them and then He ascended into heaven.  We can only imagine what the apostles were thinking.  We know that good byes are always hard when the person you love is going away.  We have all shed tears when we say farewell to someone we won't be seeing for a while. 

We all recall the loss of a loved one, a mother, father, or other close relative who has passed away.  We can recall the pain of the loss.  We are overcome with tears for the loss of that person, at the same time we rejoice for what God has done for our loved one.  So in those times we are sometimes sad and afraid.

It was surprising for the disciples when Jesus' last days on earth came.  Yes, he had told them ahead of time that was going to be delivered into the hands of rulers, crucified, die, and rise on the third day.  But when it happened they were still surprised and afraid.  Emotions got the best of them, and even the brave ones, like Peter, ran away and denied knowing the Lord. 

Yet, when those same apostles saw Jesus alive, their faith was restored.  Scripture tells us that Jesus, "showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.  He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."  (Acts 1:3) During all these appearances the apostles put their trust in Jesus again and He forgave all their doubts and unbelief. 

Even on the day Jesus ascended to heaven, He was still teaching his followers.  Our text says "he opened their minds so they could understand the Holy Scriptures" (Luke 24:45).  Jesus gave them the ability to understand the Bible, and that He had fulfilled all that was written about the Messiah.  Nothing more needed to be accomplished.  Salvation for the world was complete.  From then on, any person who asked God for forgiveness in the Name of Jesus would get it.  Nothing more can be added to what Jesus had done.

And while Jesus' work was finished, the disciples work was just about to begin.  They were to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came to them.  Then they were called upon to preach the message of repentance and forgiveness in his Name to all nations.

And Christ's commission to his disciples continues today.  We must continue to repent of our sin and believe the good news that Jesus forgives and restores us to God the Father.  There is no area of our life that we can allow to be off limits to God's Word.  God's Word cannot be altered, we much preach it just as we receive it from the printed page.

Jesus has ascended to heaven, but He is not distant from us.  He sends us the Holy Spirit through the church's preaching and administering His sacraments.  We ask Jesus to open our minds to understand the Holy Scriptures as He did for the first disciples.  In them we find the meaning we need to guide our lives as servants of God.

At the Ascension of Jesus, the church said goodbye to the face to face contact with Jesus. Now, through the preaching and sacraments which He instituted, the Holy Spirit brings Christ to us in means that are hidden, yet powerful.  We are to use this time God has given us to prepare for Jesus' return.  There are so many souls to be reached, and there is so little time.  While we may weep that Jesus has ascended, His incarnation has won for us joy beyond all understanding.  While we are here we bask in the joy of salvation won, yet that does not mean we should rest and do nothing.  Christ has won salvation for all and graciously we are called to proclaim that salvation to the ends of the earth.  There are no sad goodbyes today.  Yet we still may ask, ‘what of those tears we shed for those family and friends who have gone before us in the faith?’  The answer is that when we join Jesus Christ in His heavenly home He, “will wipe away every tear from [your] eyes.”(Rev 21:4)  No pain of loss or separation will remain.  In fact, there is no separation, for even in Christ’s ascension, He has told us that He will still be “with us even to the end of the ages.”(Mt. 28:20)

So when you see the unlit Christ candle here at the altar, remember that Jesus has indeed ascended to heaven, and there Jesus is our heavenly high priest who brings our prayers to the Father, and He rules over His church with grace and forgiveness.  And for us that grace and forgiveness is the knowledge that Christ’s victory over death is won and He gives to us the promise of eternal life. Amen.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen! 
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

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

The Sixth Sunday of Easter - Rogate - May 29, 2011

The Church Season of Easter,
Easter 6, Rogate, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 29, 2011)

Readings: 
        Psalm 107
        Numbers 21:4-9
        1 Timothy 2:1-6
        John 16:23-33

+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 will be from the Epistle lesson as recorded in the 16th chapter of John, especially the following verses:

John 16:23-33 (NIV)

23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

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

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen! 
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

The words from our text are spoken by Jesus on Maundy Thursday, before He went out to the Garden to pray and to be betrayed.  After the Supper, and after Judas had fled to do His dirty work, Jesus had a sort of farewell speech, then He prayed all of John chapter seventeen (called Jesus' High Priestly Prayer), and then they went out to the Garden of Gethsemane.  And so what we hear today is just before Jesus went to pray and He tells His disciples to start praying in His Name, and promises that God the Father will hear and answer their prayers.

The hard part of this text is to remember that Jesus was speaking to His disciples.  While we now also hear these promises, we are not the original audience.  Those disciples were accustomed to Jesus being there with them in the flesh.  This text comes in the middle of Jesus warning them that He was going away, and they would not see Him, and their hearts would know sorrow on account of that.  These disciples were accustomed to asking things of their Lord Jesus Christ and receiving something in response.  They were not accustomed to asking for video games, toys, new cars, or candy bars, but when they asked Jesus a question, He answered.  When they wanted to eat, they ate, sometimes that happened in a miraculous way by the Words of Christ and at His command.

Jesus was telling them that when He left them, they were going to have the same relationship with the Father that they had with Jesus.  They would not be praying to Jesus, but to God, and He would deal with them just as they might expect Jesus would.  He would answer.  Whatever it was that they needed, God the Father would provide.  Jesus even made the point that He wasn't going to have to intercede with the Father for them, in order to get what they needed, but the Father Himself would listen and answer their prayers because He loved them!

But now Jesus was about to go away from them. They weren't understanding that too well, but Jesus knew that they would need to know what He was telling them, and very soon.  So, Jesus tells them to start praying, and He promises them that God will listen and answer, “ask, and you will receive.”

That promise is for you, too.  And, you can pray about anything.  There are times in our lives when things go so well we forget to pray.  Or maybe we remember to pray, but we pray about really "spiritual̓ things because life is going okay.  You can pray.  You need to pray - and not just pious little phrases, but heartfelt cries to God about life and about sin and about all of the things that matter to you, even if they are going just great for the moment.  But let's face it, things almost never go that well, and certainly not for all that long, in this world we have sin and tears.  For those times when things aren't going well, God has given you the divine right of prayer.

But most of you may not have thought of it but you’ve been free to pray all of your life, so perhaps you don't understand how big a deal this is.  You’ve lived in a country where you’re allowed to pray, allowed to worship.  On this day we honor those people who fought for your right to pray.  For those who served our country and gave their life so that we could pray.  Jesus said, “13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”(John 16:13)  The men and women who are honored this day, did not know you as a friend, yet they still gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country and we thank God that He gave us those people.  And though too us nothing could seem to be greater than our fellow men and women giving their life, even greater still is that Jesus laid down His life for you, so that you may live.

And so the door for prayer has been opened for you because Jesus died for you, taking your sin from between you and God and opening up the channels of love and blessings and communication.  The cross is the sign that God loves you, and the empty tomb of Easter is your assurance that God will hear you and answer every prayer, and bless you.  That is what praying in Jesus' name means.  It is a result of the Gospel.  By raising Jesus from the dead, God declared that what Jesus had done was sufficient, and even more, and now nothing stands between you the believer and God, so you pray.

We have been given the right of prayer because Jesus died for us.  God will hear us because our sins no longer stand in the way.  God will answer for the sake of the suffering and death of His own Son.  That is at least part of what we mean when we say that we pray in the name of Jesus.  It isn't just saying the words, "and this I pray in Jesus' name", as though they were some sort of magic words.  No, prayer in the name of Jesus is acting on faith, specifically acting on our faith, and the doctrine of our faith — which is to say on the truth of our faith.

But then, Jesus tells us that God doesn't respond just because of what Jesus did, but because of His great love for us.  Jesus doesn't have to intercept our prayers and bring them to His Father, acting as the mediator for the petitioner.  The Father listens to our prayers, and He answers them because He loves us — and He loves us in particular because we have believed in Jesus.

And for those of us who believe, we have God's promise to hear and answer!  We have His invitation to bring all of our troubles to Him.  The words of Psalm 50 remind us to, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you!” And St. Peter reminds us, “Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7.  These words are God's invitation to you, along with the words of Jesus in our text, to come to Him in prayer in times of trouble; to call upon Him for strength and endurance in times of fear; to give your worries to God and let them go; to pray for help when you are feeling helpless, and to ask God to help you unwind and relax in times of stress. 

In every need, you have the gift of prayer, and you can be utterly certain that God the Father listens to you with compassion and concern because He loves you!  And we know that love is genuine, because of Jesus, because of the cross, where He died for sins we committed, to take the death that we deserve off of our shoulders; and because of the empty tomb which proclaims that God has accepted the sacrifice of His Son in our place.

So, in times of worry, pray.  When it doesn't seem that there is any way out of your troubles or even the greatest predicament of the moment, you can pray.  When sorrow seems as though it will swallow you alive, you can pray.  In every time and in every situation, remember the love of God for you, and the words of Jesus in our Gospel, and, Pray!

Therefore, pray.  Pray often.  Pray with confidence.  Never give up on prayer.  Take advantage of the love of God for you - because that is precisely what He wants you to do. And know that God hears your every prayer, and He has answered your prayer in giving His Son Jesus Christ who delivers you to eternal life.  Amen.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen! 
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

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

The Fifth Sunday of Easter - Cantate - May 22, 2011

The Church Season of Easter,
Easter 5, Cantate, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 22, 2011)

Readings:   
        Psalm 66, v. 1-8
        Isaiah 12:1-6   
        James 1:16-21
        John 16:5-15

+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 will be from the Gospel lesson as recorded in the 16th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses:

John 16:5-15 (NIV)

[Jesus said] 5 “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

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

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen! 
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

Today's Gospel comes from the upper room where Jesus and His disciples ate the last Passover.  In a few hours they would be in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Jesus would soon be arrested and taken before Annas and then Caiaphas, the high priest.  The next morning, Jesus would stand before Pontius Pilate.  He would spend much of the next day on a cross and in less than twenty-four hours, Jesus would be dead and buried in a borrowed tomb.  Then on the first day of the next week, Jesus would bodily rise from the dead.

We, with our 20 /20 historical perspective, know that all these things will soon happen to Jesus.  Jesus … knew that they would happen.  The disciples … DID NOT.  Jesus had told His disciples that these things would happen, but the disciples weren't ready to understand what Jesus told them.  There is a tension and a drama that arises from the fact that Jesus must prepare His disciples for events that they can't understand until after they have happened.

The Gospel of John brings out this drama and tension as John gives an account of Jesus' words in that upper room.  John the Evangelist dedicates five whole chapters of his Gospel to those words.  Jesus, in His great love for His disciples, is giving them preparation and comfort for the upcoming ordeal.  Even though the disciples don't understand - even though the disciples will endure terror and sorrow during these events - even though the events of the next few days will overwhelm them - the words of Jesus will sustain them through this ordeal.

Today's Gospel begins at an unusual place in those dramatic and comforting words.  Jesus took a few moments to look out beyond the next few days.  He was looking forward to a time when this frightened little band of disciples would be the Apostles of His church.  They would be the ones who transmitted His teachings to the next generation with their speech and, out into the ages, with their writings.  He also knows that they will not be prepared to do this until after they have witnessed His crucifixion and resurrection.  Jesus was looking at the work that the Holy Spirit would do among these disciples. 

Jesus said, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now."  It wasn't that Jesus' teaching had been incomplete.  He had taught them everything that they needed to know.  It was just that they couldn't receive the full benefit of that teaching until after they had witnessed His death and resurrection.

Jesus then told the disciples that by the power of the Holy Spirit they would understand the things that Jesus had taught them.  He said, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth."  With these words, Jesus assured His disciples that the Holy Spirit will cause them to remember everything that Jesus had taught them.  They would remember and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, they would finally understand.  The Holy Spirit would amplify and deepen the things that Jesus had already taught them.

In just a few weeks, we will celebrate that special day of Pentecost, that is the day when the Holy Spirit revealed Himself with miraculous signs.  The words of Jesus we hear today point forward to the day when Jesus began to teach through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is easy to understand why these words were so important to the disciples, but why are these words important to us?  How does it help us to know that the Holy Spirit deepened their understanding?  How does it help us to know that the faith of these disciples matured under the guidance of the Holy Spirit?

The fact of the matter is that we too must acknowledge the work performed for us in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Just as the disciples doubted, denied, and abandoned their savior, we too, fail to live up to God's commands as we live out our lives.  Just as the disciples repeatedly failed and needed forgiveness, we too, need forgiveness for all our sins.  Jesus earned that forgiveness for us with His perfect life and His suffering and death on the cross.  We have the assurance of that forgiveness through the resurrection of that same Jesus.  We have the comfort of Jesus with us through His ascension.  We have all these things, but they do us no good if we do not know about them.  That is where today's Gospel gives us such comfort.

Jesus has promised that the Holy Spirit will help the disciples, not only for their benefit, but also for our benefit.  We are the recipients of the teachings of those disciples as we read their writings.  Jesus' words in today's Gospel tell us that the teachings of those disciples are the very teachings of Jesus Christ Himself.  They are the teachings of Christ because Jesus Himself tells them, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth."  This promise of Jesus to the disciples assures us that their teachings are the truth.

That means that, through their words, we can learn about the holy life that Jesus lived for us.  We can learn about the torture that Jesus suffered for us.  We can learn about His death for us.  We can learn about His resurrection for us.  We can learn about all that God's love accomplished through Jesus Christ for us.  We learn that, although we sin much every day, it is all forgiven for Jesus' sake.

That means that the entire Bible is the Word of Jesus.  Since Jesus is both God and man - that means that the Bible is the Word of God.  Since God is perfect, His Word is without error.  We can trust it.

What is the main message of this Holy Word of God?  Peter said it well at a time when many were abandoning Jesus. Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" (John 6:67-69)  Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."  The Bible is God's love letter to us in which He gives us the words of eternal life.  The Bible does not say, "God so loved the world, that he gave us the Ten Commandments."  The Bible does not say, "God so loved the world, that he showed us how to live."  The Bible does say, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

The words of today's Gospel tell us that these words of love and eternal life through the Holy Spirit's gift of faith in Jesus Christ are absolutely trustworthy and true.  We can participate in Jesus Christ and live with Him forever. Amen.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen! 
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

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

The Fourth Sunday of Easter - Jubilate - May 15, 2011

The Church Season of Easter,
Easter 4, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 15, 2011)

Readings:   
        Psalm 147:1-11   
        Isaiah 40:25-31   
        1 Peter 2:11-20
        John 16:16-22

+INI+

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

The text for today’s message will be from the Gospel lesson as recorded in the 10th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses:

John 16:16-22 (NIV)

16 “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17 Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Just how long is 'a little while'?  Do you ever remember when you were young asking your parents a question of great importance?  Like...Mom, Dad, when can we go?  In a little while.  How long before we get home?  Just a little while.  When can I eat my candy, when will we stop for ice cream, when will it stop raining, can I ride my bicycle now?  The answer always seemed to be, "in a little while." But no matter how many times you asked and no matter how many times your parents answered, “a little while” always seemed to feel like an eternity.  But, you know, we are not the only ones who have had trouble with that answer “in a little while.”  The disciples did not understand it either.  In fact they admitted to each other that they didn’t know what Jesus was talking about. 

We all know that that little phrase, "A little while" can be and usually is, a deliberately ambiguous term used to refer to an unknown period of time.  It could be minutes, hours, days, months, or even years long.  And usually it also means that we’re going to have to suffer a bit before the coming time of great joy.  

When Jesus used this phrase, He was indeed speaking about the life of the Christian.  He expected, His disciples would understand that He was pointing to His death and resurrection.  So the words certainly fit.  The joy, the sorrow, the new joy that describes what they went through in that short period.  But the message was also about the life of every Christian. 

The life of every Christian has assorted sorrows.  Sorrow over sin, sorrow over being caught in sin, sorrow over the corruption of the world around us, sorrow due to the persecution, sorrow over loss, pain, conflicts, and just over the flat out evilness in the world.  At the same time every one of you also knows that this life is not a life of never ending sorrow.  We know there are common joys of life.  We have families and friends, good times, and the pleasures of life. But with every pleasure there also comes the potential for a sorrow.  There are times we feel only the joys, and we rejoice and thank God easily.  Then there are other times when we feel the sorrow and that’s when we want to blame God or wonder why we think He is absent from us.

Some of our sorrows are because of what we have done, and some of them come to us for what we have not done.  Perhaps we did something that, upon reflection, we regret.  Perhaps we did something enjoyable and realized later that we did something other that we ought to have done - or merely could have done.  These are the "guilty" pleasures.  Everyone feels them, to some extent. 

And sometimes our sorrow leads us to repentance.  That is the will of God, that we should know that we should not feel smug in our sin.  Reflection upon our lives brings sorrow for what we have done.  Such sorrow is the purpose of the preaching of the Law.  The Law always accuses, so that we may know our sins, repent, and eagerly look for a Savior who forgives us from our sins.  The goal is that we may realize we have the Savior that we need in Jesus Christ, who on the cross, paid for our sins and redeemed us. 

There is also sorrow of persecution even though we know there has always persecution, it doesn’t make it any easier.  But remember Jesus said, "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."  The people of this world persecuted Jesus, so why should we expect anything less? The only ones excepted from this hatred and persecution are hypocrites - you know, unbelievers who parade about as Christians but who are not.  True believers will suffer tribulation and persecution, that is to say, sorrow for being the disciple of Jesus Christ.

And when that persecution comes for you it will manifest itself into your lives in many forms.  Some will face social discrimination, some mocking, some will face gossip, and some will face vicious attacks for standing firmly on the Truth.  You may face criticism for speaking about morality and for an unwillingness to compromise the Word of God.  Some Christians have and will face physical assault, beatings, and even death.  Others may face financial ruin, and many face hardship in every phase of their daily lives.  Some of these tribulations you have experienced some you have not.  But when any of it happens it is painful. 

All these are examples are the sorrows of which Jesus spoke about, the ones that we would have for "a little while" in our lives.  That "little while" is our life here on earth.  While we live in this world of sin and pain and sorrow, we will have sorrows. 

But that little child in us still wants to ask the question, how long must we sorrow?  I don’t know, “just a little while.”  Some people have short lives, some live long lives.  But what I do know is what follows our sorrows and that is joy.

For Jesus died and lived that “little while.”  In His “little while” in our midst He preached and taught, He healed, He cried, He suffered on the cross died and was buried and rose again on the third day.  Our sins have the consequence of punishment and death, but Jesus has paid the price to erase our sorrows.  He died our death, the death that the Law of God demands for sin.  Now we are given the everlasting life that His holy life earned for us.  In Jesus Christ, we are given a life beyond pain and sorrow, without any further sickness or trouble, a life with no end and no death.  It is the gift of God in the Gospel, received and possessed by those that know about it, and take God at His Word and trust in Him with all their heart, and all their strength, and all their mind, and all their life.  In other words, it is freely given to those who believe.

This life in glory with Christ this is the joy of which Jesus spoke.  This is the joy that your present sorrow will be turned into.  You will close your eyes in death and open them in the presence of Jesus Christ with great joy!  It will be the joy of the transformation from death into life, and from this world into the world of glory with Jesus and life - and even resurrection of our old, tired bones - except in that resurrection they will no longer be old - or tired, but renewed and refreshed and transformed and outfitted for eternal life.

We cannot defeat these sorrows by our own works or efforts, and for that we rejoice for they have already been conquered.  The victory is ours, through Jesus Christ.  We cannot stop their present destructiveness, although we can refuse to participate in it or help it along.  We are called to bear the cross, faithfully and hopefully.  We are called to trust in Jesus Christ, that all that He has promised is true, and that He will not allow us to bear more than we are able to endure. 

One day, everything will be clear and plain and obvious to us.  On that day we will have and will understand the great joy of salvation.  Then all of this joy combined with sadness, happiness with challenge, will all make sense and be worth it!  That is the day of great joy toward which we look forward.

On that day, we will look back and see that it was just a little sorrow and a lot of joy!  In just a little while, we will see Jesus.  Jesus promised His disciples that their sorrow would turn to joy.  Like them, we too shall taste tears.  Because Jesus promises us that our tears in the end will become joy.  Jesus said, "Therefore you too now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you."  Therefore, do not sorrow for whatever makes you anxious about any “little while” that you must face.  Know that Jesus Christ gave up His life for you that His grace may endure in you for much, much more than a little while, in fact it won’t seem like an eternity, it will be an eternity, for you.  Amen.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
 

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

+SDG+

The Third Sunday of Easter - Misericordis Domini - May 8, 2011

The Church Season of Easter,
Easter 3, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 8, 2011)

Readings:  
        Psalm 23   
        Ezekiel 34:11-16   
        1 Peter 2:21-25
        John 10:11-16

+INI+

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

The text for today’s message will be from the Gospel lesson as recorded in the 10th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses:

John 10:11-16 (ESV)

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The love of Jesus Christ for us, is not like a good shepherd, He is the good shepherd.  Jesus tells us of His love from the very first sentence of the reading, “I am”, with those very words God spoke to Moses from a burning bush, even as His people were still held captive in Egypt.  God called Moses from his vocation as a shepherd of sheep, to a shepherd of God’s people.  You’ll remember how that worked out for Moses, what could be called a rag-tag band of Israelites were led from captivity in Egypt to the promised land via a very winding path.  At times it was not the path they wanted nor they would have predicted. But the shepherd led them according to His way, not their way.  God would remind His people of His way through the words of the prophet Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”(Is. 55:8)

But just how far will this shepherd The Shepherd of God go to protect His flock?  As it turns out, more than humanly possible.  A lot has been said about shepherds, you’ve heard most of it before.  The good shepherd,  “knows His own, and His own know Him”(v. 14)  He knows that left to their own devices, His flock would wander according to their own desires.  Oh look over there, something better to eat, oh look over there something better to drink, oh look over there greener pastures, it looks like the shepherd has His head turned now I can cross over to the other field.  And all that leading by ones own thoughts invariably leads to, oh wait a minute I’m lost, confused, I’m being attacked, where is that shepherd when you need Him, oh please come get me out of this mess, how in the world did this all happen to me.  We are all that lone sheep, we are indeed all the ones who have strayed.  We are the ones who have cast ourselves headlong into the challenges that attack and tear our lives apart.  And we did inflict this wound upon ourselves in looking for something better, in looking beyond what the Good Shepherd would have for us.

It was indeed Adam and Eve that looked beyond the wisdom of God in the garden.  While God had given them all the best more than they could ever imagine, they still somehow imagined that they wanted more, something different from what God had given them.  So they wandered away from God’s Word, and willingly trudged along the path of their own desires.  A new and better fruit, yes that’s what the serpent offered, so what if I try the fruit?  What does anyone care what I do?  It’s not hurting anybody so why can’t I make up my own mind?  No matter what the thought process was, the result was not good, straying from God’s Word by the first couple has given the world the result of death.  And to this day, the straying from God’s Word results in death for every person in the world.  For everyone who dies, dies because of sin, whether young or old, whether pious or perverse, whether dainty or diabolical, whether loving or lascivious, there is only one way to receive payment for sin, and that is, “the wages of sin is death.”(Rom. 6:23)  So then, who is this they who are the sheep who wander from Gods flock?  It is everyone of those who receive their wages, and since all die, it means we all have sinned in what we have done, and by what we have left undone.  Each and every one of us is a sheep who has gone astray, who has stretched their neck through the fence for the wild oats on the other side.  Each and every one of us is the sheep who has gone astray who has looked to the left and to the right, to sneak through the hole in the fence just to get a taste of something that looks better than what we think is given us.

Don’t see any fence, enclosure, or sheep pen?  It is indeed there, and you do know that it is there too.  For that boundary was given to you, and actually it is given into your memory whether you would heed it or not.  For that boundary is given to you by God and it is the Ten Commandments.  God has given you a seamless barrier in the words, “You shall have no other gods”, yet you strain through that fence by making trying to make yourself a god, thinking you are cute, wise, and knowledgeable.  And invariably you start out by creating an elusion of a gap in that fence by saying, “did God really say” or “I don’t know what the Bible says, but I think”  or “God didn’t really mean that” or “A loving god wouldn’t be so judgmental, therefore I think.”  And if all that weren’t bad enough, there are those sheep, who have fake shepherds who would not only cast a blind eye to those kinds of thoughts and words, but they would jump right through that hoop right ahead of their sheep.

And who are these fake shepherds of whom Jesus Christ speaks, these hired hands?  Well come on, it must be those Pharisee’s or Sadducee’s that were always attacking Christ, those so called Israel’s leaders who were motivated more by their own self-interest than the care for the sheep.  But Jesus said, “He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.” (v. 12)  The hired hand does not guard flock, but rather in times of trouble instead flees from them to save himself.  These actions too become reality by various means.  The hired hand can abandon the flock by not defending God’s Words.  The shepherd flees his flock by allowing the ideas and whims of the world to form his ideas.  The hired hand shepherd leaves the flock when they allow those to criticize God’s Word by calling it doctrine, by giving in so that we can all just get along.  The hired hand does not, “Preach the Word; [and is not] prepared in season and out of season; [to] correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”(2 Timothy 4:2) The hired hand casts a blind eye to sin, by not calling that which is evil, evil, by not calling that which is sin, sin.  By snickering at that off color joke.  By the use and misuse of God’s Name in vain.  By evil thoughts about those who are deemed not like us or with us.  By not preaching the full council of God.  By saying homosexuality is okay because it hurts no one.  By saying abortion is a woman’s choice, not against God’s choice.  By allowing some to say the Bible is not inerrant.  By not defending a six day creation.  By allowing the idea of evolution to seep into the creation account.  By defending the action of the world based in the idea of democracy rather than from the very Word of God.  And all these are given away by the hired hand Shepherd, whether by saying nothing, or by nodding in silence, or whether by actively agreeing. The hired hand flees his flock by His activity and inactivity and in the end, everywhere that evil shepherd went the sheep were sure to go.

Repent, for we are those sheep who would go astray and who would rather be led by likes of life’s hired hand shepherds.  Our own way always seems to be the best way, our reason seeks to justify the path through the fence of God’s commandments.  And once we have rejected the capstone in the fence’s gate left to our own devices, we do not look back.  We do not gauge our actions against scripture, we do not seek the Good Shepherd, we seek the wide path, and we seek the easy path.  That way no one is offended especially us.  But that path leads to destruction, both for the hired hand and those lost sheep.

But do no despair.  “There will be one flock, one shepherd.”(v. 16)  This flock will know their shepherd by Name and by His voice.  And the sheep hear the Good Shepherd, each time the scriptures are read.  The sheep know the Good Shepherd because they feast on His true body and His true blood.  The sheep know the Shepherd because He is with them in their baptism.  The Good Shepherd does not change His banner, nor His mission statement, nor His ideas of right and wrong because a breeze has turned the weather sock.  Nor does the Good Shepherd follow the flock by leading them by the latest fad to make Himself more like His fellow men, or just because that is the easiest path with the least resistance.

Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who feeds His flock not by opinion, but by His forgiveness.  Jesus lays down His life so that all who would wound you His sheep, may be healed by the promise of everlasting life.  Jesus Christ will never leave you.  Jesus Christ will not be shaken, lost, shattered, nor will He allow you to be scattered by the forces of this world.  This Good Shepherd did not take the easy path, nor the popular path.  The Good Shepherd took the path to the Cross, where He was brutally crucified, He died, and on the third day He rose again, for you so that you would not be led by the ways of the world to everlasting death.  Rather Jesus  Christ, the Good Shepherd, lays down His life so that you will not be of this world, but rather have the promise of living eternally with Him in His heavenly kingdom, forever and ever.  Amen.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

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

The Second Sunday of Easter - Quasimodo Geniti - May 1, 2011

Pastor away on vacation.  The Rev. Russell Zimmerman proclaimed the Word of God to the Congregation in pastor's absence.