Hope denied, hope given [Trinity 5; St. Luke 5:1-11]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

In the Hymn of the Day, sung today, you hear Jesus speaking to you saying,

“Nor think amid the fiery trial

That God hath cast thee off unheard,

That he whose hopes meet no denial

Must surely be of God preferred.”

What we will be doing today is keeping the words of our hymn of the day in the front of our brains as we ponder the Gospel reading in which the Disciples haul in a great catch of fish. It is because the words ring very close to what is happening, as it should if its the Hymn of the Day. In singing, “He whose hopes meet no denial must surely be of God preferred”, we see these hopes come to pass in the great catch of fish. Perhaps...

Surely you can agree. The disciples spent all night hoping to catch fish. This grand hope was not to make them rich or gain them any fame or notoriety, but simply to care for and feed their family. It is a hope that Creation will work like it is supposed to and provide sustenance and product for these business owners, in the form of fish in water. Or in this case, out of water.

I’m sure St. Peter would have been singing our Hymn of the Day afterwards, but probably not before. However, I am absolutely positive that those Jews who were well off, not dependent on fickle bodies of water and weather, and not living from paycheck to paycheck would be singing this stanza over and over again. Indeed, we have already heard the cry from those people, when they said, “Blessed are those who will eat bread in the kingdom of heaven.” Suggesting that we can know who will be eating in heaven by what they are eating on earth.

What we don’t like about this part of God’s Word is that St. Peter did NOT catch anything. He was all out of hope. He had no doubt that there was no longer any God in Zion watching out for His people, because St. Peter’s nets, and the rest of his company’s, were empty after struggling all night. Thus, he and his employees sang a different tune from their own history during the time of Elijah, “The deeps afford no water and the rivers are exhausted.” In other words, God has forsaken us.

Fast forward to the time of the creation of our Hymn of the Day. Mister Georg Neumark, at 20 years old and fresh from his higher education in Germany, makes a journey of 152 miles only to be completely cleaned out by bandits. Unable to find work, he goes another 172 miles north, in December, to the city of Kiel, because the friends he had made brushed him off.

Yet, it was there that he found a friend in the local Lutheran pastor and, hope against hope, Neumark was given a top position as family tutor of a rich judge at the recommendation from the pastor. Upon receiving this appointment, Neumark’s relief was palpable and like St. Peter, burst out in a new song, praising God instead of cursing Him.

If this seems just about right to you, I’ve got some bad news. Its not right. There are two things wrong here. One, that people are cursing God and two, that there is a reason to curse God. It is sinful to only turn to God when things are going well, as St. Peter and Mr. Neumark have done. To be sure, you must give thanks to God for all things, but even evil people receive income to survive, no matter if it comes in the form of a job or a catch of fish.

Even though Neumark wrote thusly of his hymn: “Which good fortune coming suddenly, and as if fallen from heaven, greatly rejoiced me and on the very day I composed to the honor of my beloved Lord the here and there well known hymn; and had certainly cause enough to thank the divine compassion for such unlooked for grace shown to me”, like all good prophets, he did not know the greater importance to his words.

In this case, the line, “he whose hopes meet no denial must surely be of God preferred” are not simply pointing to earthly, temporal hopes. For, these we know are just as fickle as water, weather, and bandits and change with any passing season or fad. St. Peter and Mr. Neumark had many hopes in their lives lost and destroyed before one stuck, but what is the one that stuck?

For both, it was the same hope, but we’ll get to that afterwards. For now, it is St. Peter that teaches us and in the beginning, he calls Jesus master. And it is only in the Gospel according to St. Luke that Jesus is ever referred to as such. So we look to the Old Testament and find that this word is invariably linked to someone who is set over laborers or slaves to ensure work is accomplished. In Exodus 1:11, the Egyptians were “masters” set over the Hebrews to afflict them with burdens.

What does this mean? This means that Jesus is being looked at as one who creates burdens and we would agree. Life is hard work and there doesn’t seem to be any relief for us in sight either. So even though St. Peter has heard Jesus call Himself God, he still thinks that God only gives hard work, especially right after a failed 24-hours of fishing.

In our sin, God is our master. He is there to speak and we to obey. He is there to call out and we are there to follow orders. He is there to make life whatever it will be and we are there to plod along like good lemmings. This would certainly invoke curses from anybody, even a true believer.

And yet, Mr. Neumark sings about hope and we know from Ps. 71:5 that God is our hope. But how can God be our “master” and our hope. It sounds counter-intuitive and it is, but only as counter-intuitive as the resurrection.

Because here it is, in Psalm 22, that we find God praised as the hope of the Psalmist and yet the entire psalm begins with lambasting God for forsaking him. God is our master, demanding impossible tasks of us and yet declares to be the easy yoke. But this contradiction is only possible because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

You see, our hope is not just built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness, our hope is Jesus’ blood and righteousness. It is Jesus Himself. St. Peter and Mr. Neumark were not just hoping for a favorable outcome to the lives they were living. They were hoping and praying for a Savior to rescue them from such a life that inflicts such hardships upon people.

St. Paul clarifies this in Romans 5 saying: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame” (v.1-5)

He also says in Chapter 8: “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (v.24-25)

St. Peter rejoices at the catch of fish, not because he can now keep his doors open for another day, but because a man, Who is standing in front of him, has just commanded the dried up sea to produce in abundance. A man that looks like him, smells like him, and talks like him has spoken but one word and made all the fruitless labor of St. Peter’s hand an overflowing cup of salvation.

Christians don’t really rejoice in moments of God’s seeming intervention of joy and comfort in life simply for the sake of joy and comfort. We rejoice in the fact that there is a God Who was made man that covers all our sin and gives us the hope of a better eternity by His side.

A master is not a master because he does the work of keeping his own law. A preposterous proposition. A master is a master because he orders others around. The fact that God Himself comes down as a man, born under the law, in order to fulfill it, is very backwards. Yet in the case of the one, true God of all things, we see this is true. Jesus has come not to be served, but to serve and offer His life as a ransom for many.

“Our hope for you is unshaken,” says St. Paul, “ for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Cor 1:7). Jesus Christ shows that hope is alive on Easter, because Easter means resurrection for all flesh, not just those who are well off and well-to-do. The death of Jesus Christ our Lord we celebrate with one accord; it is our comfort in distress, our heart’s sweet joy and happiness” which we sing in LSB 634 written by Mr. Spegel, alive around the same time as our Mr. Neumark. 

Thus we find that our hope is the God-man Jesus Christ, Who suffered and died for us to show us He cares for and loves us. Now the master who demands perfection, is the same master Who purchases and wins that perfection for us, on the cross. Now the master who overloads our workload, is the Master to bare all our burdens, on the cross. 

So that when we return to our Hymn of the Day, we find a much truer meaning to Mr. Neumark’s words. For instead of “hope for a good life”, we sing for “hope for an eternal life”. Instead of “hope for easy street”, we sing for “hope for streets covered by the Blood of the Lamb”. It is in this Jesus-centered hope to which God will not deny us anything, even up to His entire Kingdom!

So how do we know we have this hope and are preferred by God? It is in your baptismal date, engraved in stone, when Christ entered your life and gave you faith to hear and believe that the hope He reveals on Easter, is now very much your own hope. And this hope, God will never deny you.

Body of comfort [Trinity 4; St. Luke 6:36-42]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

Jesus speaks to you today in the Gospel, saying,

“Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.”

The joke goes: I used to think the greatest organ in the body was the brain. Then I realized who it was telling me this. For some of us, the brain is the most wonderful. It can think, it can rationalize, it can do wonders. Mind over matter, for example.

For most of us, the opposite is true and we find the mind to be one hidden trap after another. Leading us towards the inevitable dementia, Alzheimer’s, or any number of other mental diseases that would disqualify us from owning a gun.

There are four words that no one wants to hear, especially from their own brain: “please let me die”. We don’t want to hear them because they are a sure sign that the person uttering them has given up. They are confessing that the struggle is too much for them, battle has drawn on too long. 

We don’t want to hear them because they hurt us, especially if its from our own mind. “Us” who are still able to move around and do things. “Us” who are still energetic enough to work and drive and sit comfortably for more than five minutes at a time. For us who are able, giving up is not an option.

We would rather that they are having trouble not judging others or not condemning others or forgiving others. This is because we can recommend a book for each one. There is a class for learning how not to judge. There are feelings to be sought out in not condemning others and there are Bible lessons on how to forgive. 

Are you blind? Just as good! We can get you a seeing eye dog, a cane, and make it so that you can safely walk around the city with noise-making crosswalk signs. I can see so I can help you. Life will be grand with both of us and everything will be ok. The seeing will lead the blind and we will not fall into a pit.

But the words “please let me die” do not have any manual, or class, or sympathy to recommend fixing the problem. No amount of not-judging, or not-condemning, or forgiving, or being able to see will solve the problem that these 4 words present.

When our Lord commands us in His Gospel heard today, our response is immediately: “Point me towards my judgement, Lord, that I may eradicate it” or “where do I condemn and not forgive enough, that I remedy such error on my part” or “just tell me how to see again and I will do whatever you ask”. 

We rush to the sector we think is bringing down our Lord’s judgement upon us and start shoring up the defense. Jesus says, “here” and we move there. “Here” “Here” “Here”. We’re tiring but Jesus doesn’t slow down. “Here” “Here” “Here”. If we could just take a break. Here here here. Just a second to catch our breath. Here here here here here here.

Instead, Jesus shifts into higher gears: “Blessed are the poor”, Jesus says. That doesn’t make any sense. I’m not poor. I thought I was doing ok. Blessed are the hungry. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the hated. Just when we think we are getting ahead of Jesus’ commands, He turns a corner and demands that instead of accomplishing, we should be languishing and regretting even thinking that our hard work could stave off dying.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” (2 Tim. 4:3). Our own itching ears don’t want to hear that our bodies will eventually betray us and disable us. They don’t want to hear that no amount of “not judging” will get us out free, neither do we want to hear that Jesus is the One who judges.

Church history teaches us this lesson. For, in our study of the first 500 years of the church, the bishop’s have done nothing but battle over the two natures of Christ and how they relate to us. The fight was over whether or not Jesus was God, man, a mix, or something different.

It turns out that our beloved Nicene Creed was the thing to save us. For in it we learn that Jesus is of the same substance with the Father and yet was made man. No mixing or mingling, just the mystery of the God-man, Jesus Christ.

This is important because God has a body just like ours, but without sin. And He made our bodies for us, not so they could fall into sin, decay, and death, but so that they could live with Him forever.  

By becoming man, He takes all our sin upon Himself, even the sin we feel there is no escape from or even sin that we think is unforgivable. For it is these bodies that will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The mortal shall become immortal. The perishable, imperishable. 

Thus, the main idea in today’s Gospel is mercy and forgiveness, but since we cannot even restrain our judgement, this mercy and forgiveness must come from somewhere apart from our failure. For what is the measure we want to be measured with when we come in front of the Judge? Not ourselves, but The cross.

It is the suffering and dying of Jesus that shows us what true mercy is: forgiveness. It is the judgement of Jesus in front of the world that shows us what true judgement is: forgiveness. You get the picture. We want the cross and nothing else to judge our deeds.

Jesus shows us this is two instances. The first is Mary Magdalene washing Jesus’ feet with her tears and her hair. The Pharisees are grumbling and denying Jesus’ divinity, but Jesus turns to St/ Peter and says: “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” (Lk. 7:41-42) 

It is in life where, when we examine ourselves according to God’s Word, we find an enormous ineptitude in following Him. And since that ineptitude is so enormous, it is that exact proportion with which we love our Redeemer in return. Our debt piles up, but our moneylender in heaven is full of forgiveness. 

Thus even if our minds betray us and lie to us, forgiveness is greater than that lie. Even if our life is failure at doing good and success at doing evil, there is forgiveness for that. Life is a series of events in which we become like our teacher, who is Jesus. 

And that Teacher suffered, but was brought into glory; everlasting glory. That compared with temporal suffering is insignificant. For, “...not only does creation groan, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Rom 8:23) We wait, but we wait in hope. The hope that our groaning will only last a short while.

But we must wait with Jesus, Who shares our humanity. We must bear our cross to be found a good and faithful servant. And we must bear it in these bodies that get tired, get hungry, and get worn out. Though our bodies betray us, our Savior does not. He keeps His promises and His Word is true. 

So even though the devil, the world, and our sinful nature mean nothing but evil for us in our bodies, God means it for our good. He will provide for us and our little ones, in His Church, that many will be saved and brought to new life.

Forgiveness, not condemnation [Trinity 1; St. Luke 16:19-31]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

Jesus says,

“Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.”

Even our bulletin cover betrays us today, as we contemplate the Gospel according to St. Luke. For on it, we see fear and fear leads us to focus on the rich man going to hell: what sent him there, how he got there, and what we can do to not go there. Thus, even Christians will present their belief as simply, “well, you don’t want to go to hell, right?”

This is no witness to the Christian faith. This line of thinking only leads us to the life of the rich man and neglect of our neighbor. If our only mode of accessing the Christian faith is “how not to go to hell”, then our worldview turns very black and white and all we see are those going to heaven and those going to hell. And of course, those going to hell aren’t worth our time, right Lazarus?

And it is not just that we take time out and care for the poor and those who need our help in our community. Those should be things that are our default positions. No one should lead a luxurious life, nor live in worldly pleasures and perpetual feastings, nor should he be a slave of his lusts and forget God (Against Heresies, p. 464). For, as Isaiah says, “They [drink wine with] lyre and harp, tambourine and flute ...at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.” (Isa 5:12)

Again, here is godly fear that the Lord employs in order that we not be like these men, showing that if they had simply obeyed Moses and the prophets, they would believe in Him whom these had preached, the Son of God, Who rose from the dead, and bestows life on us.

But what are the deeds of the Lord and the works of His hands? The prophets and the Psalms are quick to praise the Lord for creating all things. Those are the easy things, although not many people believe that these days.

And even though these things were continually in front of their noses, I mean what on earth isn’t, God still says, “But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel...but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did...Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds.” (Ps. 106:13, 35, 39)

We have learned from the nations, from the unbelievers, to do their works. Their works of unchurch. Their works of unworship, unprayer, and unthanksgiving. So it is that we find condemnation from Jesus, not because of works, but because of unbelief. “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (Jn 3:19)

So the rich mans works and deeds were evil enough to land him in hell, but Lazarus’ deeds were sufficient enough to bring upon him the furnace of poverty, hunger, and distress. So it is with the sinner. His works, by their very sinful nature, take him away from the Lord’s work. Simply acknowledging God’s handiwork in creation is not enough.

The works and deeds of the Lord are for Jesus to accomplish as He says (Jn. 4:34). And we already heard last week that the works of the Lord are far above us and our ways. In light of this, we must wait for God to show us His works. He must be the one to reveal them and tell us that these are His works and no one else’s.

So we wait on Jesus and see what He does, since the works of God are His alone. Miracles are not enough. His work is to suffer and die for us which is the only true work of God.

In our Epistle, St. John tells us that we have come to know and believe that God loves us and that He is love itself. That perfect love is given to us, for free, and in this perfect love we can have confidence for the day of judgment. Meaning, Christ has taken that judgment upon Himself already in His suffering and dying.

Abraham feared that the Lord would not be able to keep His promise to give him a son, in the OT reading. The Lord basically said to Abraham that Abraham will not be the heir, neither will his relative, because Abraham feared and did not believe. Instead a son that is not afraid, shall be heir. Not Isaac, but a son of Abraham none the less.

That son, the true Son of the Father, is one Who will not only create numerous offspring of Abraham, but also count our belief as righteousness. In fact, the Lord is in the business of belief and confession (Ps. 111:3). Which finally are His works for us.

In fact, you may ask Him directly if you don’t believe me. Ask what must you be doing to be doing the works of God. Jesus answers you, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

Belief. Belief is the work of God. The work that God gives you to do on this earth, in this life. Belief that there is a true Son Who is heir to an eternal throne. Belief that God created all things. Belief that there is a perfect love given to you, for free. Belief that there is a spot at Abraham’s bosom reserved just for you.

Here is the real Gospel. That you are Lazarus, just as Christ was Lazarus on earth for you. Despised, forsaken, rejected. In the furnace of God’s wrath because of sin. But, because of Jesus’ belief and Jesus’ faith, Lazarus’ sins are not counted against him. They are removed from him as far as the east is from the west and because of that hidden grace that does not look upon outward appearances, but on the heart, Lazarus is carried to eternal peace.

The Christian does good to all, because all good has been done to him. The Christian should not be so quick to point out hell, as he should be to point out forgiveness and heaven to those who do not yet believe, because forgiveness and heaven have been given to him for free.

In the resurrection, because of your belief, you will receive good things many times over the amount of bad things you had in this life. Because of Jesus, you will not only receive eternal peace, but such a great chasm has been erected so that there will be no danger of you losing it. This is the Good News.

Not my words [Trinity; St. John 3:1-15]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

Who speaks to you all today saying,

“If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”

If anyone were to come up to you, uninformed, or even you have doubts yourself, as to whether or not the Divine Service is a work of men instead of a work of God, I submit for your approval the Call of Isaiah, in chapter 6 of his book. This Divine Service Isaiah has been made a part of is the work of angels.

The similarities are that the Lord fills the space, He is with angels and archangels, the song is the Sanctus, holy holy holy, there is the Lord’s house, there is confession and absolution, there is an Altar, and there is communion.

But all that doesn’t matter, does it? I mean, just listen to St. Paul’s words in the Epistle reading. No one can know God. He is unsearchable. He shows up on no intellectual radars. His mind is a closed book. His needs are all hidden and He has no lack of anything. How can you be so uppity as to pretend that you have a handle on what the Lord is doing in Isaiah?

All we need is God’s holiness. All we need is His majesty. All we need is His omnipotence. And you know why that’s all you think you need? Its because then you are right and are called by God on your very own holy crusade. Yes, because your God is the one in charge and you are His faithful hound, then whatever you do is justified and forgiven, no matter who you steamroll.

This is what we all mean when we say, “Its God’s will”. This is what we mean when we say, “God is in charge”. Nothing bad will happen to us and our plans and even if we encounter sadness on the way, that is just God’s way of showing that we are the chosen one to carry out His will. Too bad for those of you with little faith.

And what does this kind of attitude lead to? Who are the types of people that spout this type of nonsense? We call them fanatics. We call them zealots, bigots, and hypocrites. If this is all we are garnering from Isaiah 6, then we are no better than them. Worse, we use this “favor” from God to justify interpreting the Bible however we want, completely removing Jesus from Isaiah 6.

You do not have to take my word for it. Neither do you even have to take any Lutheran’s word for it. Even before there was a “lutheran”, Isaiah 6 had been nothing but Isaiah meeting Christ and offering the Divine Service. Beginning immediately in the New Testament, St. John tells us that Isaiah saw the Lord’s glory here (Jn. 12:41), just as we have seen His glory as of the only-begotten of the Father (1:14) in other words: Jesus.

Even before this, Zechariah likens the burning coals to Jesus saying, “Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?” (3:2). Moving ahead to the 4th century AD, St. Cyril comments that when the angels say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord”, they are referring to the Trinity. The three, holy holy holy, in One, the Lord.

St. Chrysostom says that God does not sit, so what or who was Isaiah looking at on the throne? St. John already answers that question in Revelation saying that the creatures of heaven never stop singing the Sanctus to Him Who sits on the throne, Who of course is the Lamb that was slain (rev. 4:6-9, 5:13).

Finally, St. John of Damascus speaking from the 7th century, says, “Wherefore with all fear and pure conscience and certain faith let us draw near and it will assuredly be to us as we believe. Doubting nothing. Let us pay homage to it in all purity both of soul and body: for it is twofold. Let us draw near to it with an ardent desire and with our hands held in the form of a cross let us receive the body of the Crucified One: and let us apply our eyes and lips and brows and partake of the divine coal, in order that the fire of longing, that is in us, with the additional heat derived from the coal may utterly consume our sins and illumine our hearts, and that we may be inflamed and deified by the participation in the divine fire. Isaiah saw the coal. But the coal is not plain wood but wood united with fire: in like manner also the bread of communion is not plain bread but bread united with divinity. But a body which is united with divinity is not one nature, but has one nature belonging to the body and another belonging to the divinity that is united to it, so that the compound is not one nature, but two.” (Exposition of the Orthodox faith, Bk IV, Ch XIII).

So now what do we do? We have not only the Old Testament, but the New Testament, and the Church teachings from the first 800 or so years after the Apostles all telling us that something more is going on in this event with Isaiah. In fact, you may rightly conclude that Isaiah has been taken up into the Divine Service that goes on in heaven for all eternity.

I don’t make any of this stuff up folks. I don’t sit in my study and think of how to sell my make-believe stories about what the Apostle’s doctrine is. I’m not buying into the “gifts of the spirit for home use” self-help books, and we don’t take spiritual gift inventories for this reason: You don’t find any of that in the Bible or history.

Thus, as a called and ordained servant of the Word of God I am constrained by that Word to preach and teach. Meaning, only what is found in there. And as we have just discovered, what is in there is God’s glory of His crucified Son and the Spirit’s glory of the one, true Church. That’s it.

So we either accept and believe that the history of the Church has been kept holy by the Holy Ghost Himself or we can reject it and find ourselves opposing God. St. Cyprian also says, “There is no salvation outside the Church”. Likewise, “He can no longer have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother.”

In this way, very conveniently, we find gathered all that is necessary for our salvation, as we talked about at Pentecost. We find knowledge, understanding, counsel, piety, fortitude, fear, and wisdom. We find the Word Incarnate, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, sins forgiven and sins reproved, pastors called and ordained, public and intelligible prayer, praise and thanksgiving, and the cross.

The gifts of the Spirit are the gifts of Jesus. The gifts of Jesus are the gifts of the Father. The vision of Isaiah is the vision of the Church. No higher and greater calling does a Christian have than to receive the good things the Lord of hosts comes to give.

Jesus is born of the flesh and the Spirit. He is high and lifted up on the cross. So now the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God has been made man. His judgments and His ways are the way of the cross. His mind and His counsel are set on forgiving sins through means.

Truly, God is with Jesus. Truly, truly the rebirth of water, fire, and Spirit is purchased and won on the cross and given freely in the Church. We can’t help but be caught up in the times and history that we live in and we did not choose the Way, the Way chose us. But the One Who put us on this path and the One Who keeps us on this path is none other than the one God in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity.

The King goes back [Palm Sunday; The Passion according to St. Matthew]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

Thus, Jesus speaks today, saying:

"When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples,'You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.'”

Palm Sunday. The Sunday where our children dance through the church and bright green palm branches fill our hands. The Sunday where Jesus rides in triumph. The Sunday where all of Jerusalem finally acknowledges all the work Jesus has been doing, rightly. The Sunday where every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Everyone is so excited, even non-Christians get Palm Sunday. Pomp and circumstance, joy, and a parade. The victory is won. The after-party starts tonight. Throw out your cloaks. Throw out your palm branches. We are on our way to the Promised land, boys. Don’t count on anything you’re carrying. Dump it with no thought of tomorrow. Today is the day.

Rejoice, rejoice greatly! Shout aloud! The King! The King has returned! We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days,

    in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted;

you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land,

    nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.

You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob [this day]!

Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.

But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us.

In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever.

Thus far from Psalm 44 (v.1-8), King David sings out with us on this Palm Sunday and we rejoice with him. We have seen and heard what God did in the past and can’t wait for what He’s going to do this time. But what David did not yet know, or what he knew backwards, was that defeat comes before victory. The cross before the empty grave. Suffering before glory.

David knew it backwards, because in his experience, you don’t win battles by losing them. You don’t gain victory by dying. St. Peter also knew this and wanted glory instead of suffering when he told Jesus that Jesus would not be dying on his watch (Mt 16:21-22). Jesus will not be going to Jerusalem, he said, will not suffer many things from the elders, chief priests and scribes, will not be killed and will not be raised on the third day. God forbid it!

Little did Zechariah know just what it would mean for his King to be humble and mounted on a donkey. Little did he think that cutting off Ephraim’s chariots and Jerusalem’s warhorses would mean cutting off His God from the land of the living. Little did he think that the peace of God would be the destruction of the Son.

Repent! Little did you know that being a Christian meant managing a budget, or making friends in your community, or attending Bible class. Little did you know the humility required. Little did you know how much of the world you would not be able to be a part of. Little did you know that the power that the Holy Spirit gives is something as small as simply believing.

How does Jerusalem acknowledge her King? She crucifies Him. How does she shout all day “Hosannas” to her king? She scourges Him and crowns Him with thorns.

Do not be fooled! The meekness of Christ is not seen in riding on a donkey. He is meek without the donkey. The donkey is the beast of the king as is proven by 1 Kings: “And the king said to them, ‘Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel. Then blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’” (1 Ki. 1:33-34)

Because we are fooled, the kingdom of God comes even without our prayer, even without our say-so, and even without our understanding. Jesus WILL be going to Jerusalem, WILL suffer many things from the elders, chief priests and scribes, WILL be killed and WILL be raised on the third day. This is the Road of the King. This is the King of Salvation and the crucifixion is the Way.

David the king and prophet has already turned the mood in the Divine Service. He preaches from Psalm 22 in the Introit and Gradual, telling us Jesus’ own lamentations, on this historic occasion. Even the Jews teach this psalm as having only to do with the Messiah and His suffering. David had to have witnessed the cross in a vision otherwise his words would not make sense: “they pierced my hands and my feet...They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” (Ps. 22:17-18)

St. Paul the great preacher of the cross, summarizes Zechariah’s prophesy, in saying that the chariot and warhorse from Ephraim and Jerusalem will be cut off by Jesus becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

St. Matthew, who best describes our Lord’s humanity, portrays the beginning of the Messiah’s utter abandonment, rehearsing, as it were, our own death march towards Jerusalem on the Last Day. Yet, today, it is Jesus Who advances to suffer and die for our sakes; to win our resurrection by His terrible passion and death.

Your salvation depends on this moment of Jesus’. We must follow Him and we must die with Him if we are to ever rise with Him. At the end of church, we take our palms and place them behind our crucifixes to continually remind ourselves of all of this, that Christ’s grace rests wherever these branches are brought and with His right hand He has defeated every evil for us and grants us His protection, whom He has redeemed with His holy, precious, innocent Blood.

These palms are not instruments of magic. They, like the crucifix, are a visible sign to us of what has transpired this Holy Week. That our King of kings, humble and riding a donkey, has accomplished salvation for us, cutting off the chariots of sin, death, and the devil for us, setting us free from the waterless pits and taking us to the New Jerusalem, restoring 100-fold of what sin and this world has taken away.

Make no mistake. The King rides today. But His victory is in suffering and the cross, the exact opposite of how the world sees victory.

Abraham's Day [Lent 5; St. John 8:46-59]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

Jesus speaks to you today, saying:

“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

Today, Passion Sunday, we begin to feel the imminent approach of Jesus crucifixion more intensely as our Gospel displays the world’s reaction to Jesus, that is to put Him to death. It doesn’t matter how much He talks about love and peace, it doesn’t matter how many people He heals, and it doesn’t matter how many miracles He performs. The mass media outlets of His day have labeled Him a liar and they repeat that story until everyone believes it.

This is because, now that His hour is fast approaching to suffer and die for the whole world, Jesus is desperately trying to convince everyone of the need for repentance. Unfortunately, He must first convince everyone that they are sinners, which is never easy. So we see Him spend the entirety of chapter 8 of John’s gospel explaining this point to the Jews.

Chapter 8 opens with the woman caught in adultery. Eager to prove to God their worth, the Jews have shoved the Law in Jesus’ face giving Him two choices: either He agree with them and murder her or disagree with them and call Moses, and therefore God, a liar.

There is a curious verse in the Old Testament that explains what is going on. It comes in the beginning of Moses’ second book, Exodus, 300 years after Joseph saved Egypt from famine and died. Verses 8-10 says, “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.”

The people of Israel were made slaves, then. In that environment they were severely oppressed and yet they multiplied the more they were mistreated. They may have been making bricks out of mud and straw, forced into ghettos, and unable to vote, assemble in peace, or speak their peace, but they were alive and strong.

They began to love their tormentors in a twisted way. They loved the abundance of their masters and the plenty of the land. They had shelter, they had food, they had routine. Sure, freedom would be nice, but at what cost to our stability?

Thus, out of this exile, this slavery, arose a new people that did not know God. God said, “He who is without sin cast the first stone” and they hated Him. He said, “I AM the light of the world” and they covered Him with grave dirt. He says, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” and they declare Abraham their father and Caesar their king.

Repent. We have forgotten God. You never had a chance in the first place. All of the events in the Bible took place 2000 years ago, at the earliest. How can you be expected to know what’s what? You don’t need Church to study history and the Bible and other devotionals. Your sins are not as bad as the Jews, I mean, at least you had nothing to do with crucifying Jesus, right?

Do you know why Jesus hid Himself and why we covered our cross after the Gospel reading today? Jesus did not run away, afraid to face His aggressors. He hid Himself because a stoning is too little of a punishment. A simple stoning, though barbaric, is only for idolaters (Deut. 13:7) and sexual deviants (Deut. 22:13ff) and Jesus was not going to go down as one of those only. He needs to heap on some more sins, before He is satisfied.

The image we veiled today is the image of the invisible God. The God that only chooses to reveal Himself in the self-sacrifice of His Son on the cross. There is no other way to the Father except through the cross of Christ. The Jews, not believing this, had come to not know their own God.

How did Abraham know and not his descendents, the Jews? You heard from the Old Testament this morning how Abraham saw Jesus’ day and rejoiced in it. On that day, Abraham encountered two things: an undying son and a substitute lamb.

Oh yes, it says ram, but a ram is a male sheep. Chief among them, to be exact. Thus what we see in Isaac and the ram are the two natures of Christ. His divine nature hidden in Isaac which cannot die and His human nature hidden in the ram which suffers and dies for the whole world. Abraham rejoiced that his son did not have to die, but would be substituted out instead.

Oh yes, Abraham saw His Redeemer’s day. He saw the promise given by God, written in his son and written in the lamb. There was no mistaking it. Abraham’s descendents will hear about this for the rest of history that the most treasured image of God is not that of Father, but that of substitutionary atonement. In other words, the cross.

Even though Abraham didn’t know about Roman crosses, he knew the substitution that the Lord made with that ram, so no matter what form the death took, it would be redemptive. In this way, we, the true descendents of Abraham keep his story alive, for in the crucifix, the cross with Jesus on it, we beautifully and artfully proclaim exactly what Christ did for Abraham, for Isaac, and for us.

The Lord has provided. He has provided Christ’s crucifixion for the sins of the world and it remains the center of His entire work of history and salvation. Even after Jesus was taken off the cross and raised to the right hand of God, still the Apostles say things like:

“We preach Christ crucified” and “I determined to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified” and “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” and “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of Christ” and “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).

Jesus would not finish His work until He was more than a liar, more than an idolater, and more than a sexual deviant. He would become all sin to all people in order that through Him they would be saved. He hides Himself under the weight of sin, death, and the devil to free us from those very things.

The only way we are “of God” is the way of the crucifix. The only way we “keep Jesus’ word” is by always speaking the word of the cross. The only way to know the Father, is through the Son, Who sends His Holy Ghost to call you by the Gospel, enlighten you with His gifts, and sanctifies you and does the keeping for you.

Eating Business [Lent 4; St. John 6:1-15]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

Jesus speaks to you today, saying:

“He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.”

First off, folks, it is important for the comfort of your soul that every time you hear about eating in the Bible, you think of the Lord’s Supper. Not because everywhere Jesus is creating it or instituting it and not because every time you eat bread and wine it is the Sacrament, but because everywhere Faith sees a meal it is reminded of the meal offered to you in the Divine Service and you are reminded of the forgiveness found in it.

For today, Jesus is feeding the people. He stands on the heights, elevating Himself in order to observe the masses. A bit condescending here, but He has earned it, having just finished performing all those miracles on the weak and the sick, as the Gospel said. We might add that He had no help in the matter, as His disciples had no such power.

It is in knowing all this that St. Phillip answers Jesus, desperately with all the disciples, trying to understand what God’s expectations and requirements of them are, here. Will Jesus send the masses away, as pompously suggested, or will He let them suffer for their zeal? Will He overturn tables or cuddle children? Will Jesus talk about death again, or peace this time? Will Jesus deal with the physical needs of these people or is He solely concerned with their spiritual needs?

Perhaps unfortunately for us and the disciples, it is none of our business. St. Paul writes, “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” (Rom. 9:18) which is simply echoing Moses’ encounter with the Lord when the Lord says, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” (Ex. 33:19)

Do we show such little respect for our Creator that we need Him to run things by us first? Is it our business how He runs things or what He gives to whom? St. Philip thinks so. He knows Jesus has been working by Himself, though He has been surrounded by seemingly competent men. He knows that Jesus is moved to compassion for these people and that’s good enough.

“Send them away Jesus”, Philip might say, “They will find food and if they are interested in You they will come back later. We know You are concerned with feeding their spirit, but not whether their belly has anything to eat. Just let them go.” Even though Jesus has already upbraided St. Peter and run out the devil, who both used the same denial of Jesus’ ability to not only grasp the entire situation, but His ability to do anything about it.

Though, we should not be judging Philip and the disciples, for we are in the same boat. We and they should know the right answer to Jesus’ question of where to find bread. They should already be convinced of God’s loving-kindness from the Old Testament and know what Jesus will do. Jesus should not have to test us only to fail us.

Repent. Though you know that Jesus paid the full price for your sins, you are terrified to believe it, because somehow you still feel as if it is a mistake and you simply didn’t hear God rightly. Intellectually you know that your salvation isn’t dependent on showing love to your neighbor, but you would definitely show that kind of love IF you were saved.

What if you weren’t able to show that kind of love, even if you were saved? Be truthful. Your love is definitely not the kind of love that Jesus shows you. You need to grit your teeth, you need to fall back on “just do your duty”, and you need to people-please so people will think you are doing it right and like you.

Here’s what you, Philip, Peter, and the devil must come to admit: that your spiritual growth is none of your business. What God does with His Creation and with His salvation is none of your concern, but Jesus includes you none the less, testing you so that when you see your failure, and you will, you would also see your Savior.

Jesus says that if you abide in His love you will bear much fruit. He is the vine, after all, and you are just a branch. This is not a conditional challenge to see who can bear the most fruit. This is a promise! Abiding simply means believing; believing that what Jesus does is enough for you. God does not need your conscious effort to produce fruit in you, He just does it, regardless of what that looks like in your life.

Jesus does not want you or Philip to see progress. He wants you humble, content, but most of all He wants you repentant, admitting that you are not doing things, but He is. You already reflect God’s love, but you don’t recognize it because its so natural. Philip, though he was being tested, did exactly what faith demanded of Him: turned to Jesus and let Him do what He wills.

The light you shine before men is the Good news of Christ and Him crucified. The good works people see you do and for which they give glory to God, are invisible to you. Your continual anxiety about works and your painful awareness of your sin and imperfection are tender mercies from God, reminding you that you also need a Savior.

Thus, the grace and mercy from our crucified and risen Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, is such that it continually and constantly drives you to Christ’s presence where you will always find more love, more forgiveness, and more assurance. Assurance that even though there is only a small bit of bread and a tiny bit to drink, this will be Jesus’ great work of salvation in your life.

Now that the Lord has accomplished the perfect life for you, suffering, dying, and rising again and now that the Lord has made His presence to dwell with you in such a way that you literally eat and drink with Him, you not only find love, forgiveness, and assurance in your soul, but also in your belly.

God does the impossible by making a promise of forgiveness to your ears and then making that same promise edible. Jesus accomplishes the impossible business of doing the work no one wants to do, that is saving every one, and makes it presentable in such a simple way that you either accept it in faith or reject it.

Regardless of your doubts, the Lord is secretly working out your salvation in plain sight, in His Supper and your anxiety about your works, your growth, and your façade melt away. For at His Table, you simply hear and believe, just as Scripture says, and there is no room for argument.

The attachment to the true Vine is here. The infusion of grace you so desperately seek to find is here. The Lord Who is strong to save and merciful at His say-so, is doing so here for you today. For, as Jesus has commanded, you have sat down in this place, heard the Lord’s Word in this place, and have received salvation distributed to you.