John.14.15-21 Sixth Sunday of Easter. April 27, 2008

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“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:15-21, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I know it sounds like a silly question, especially in light of the words of Jesus we just heard, but I’m going to ask it anyway. “Does Jesus really want us to keep the commandments?” You know it’s easy to go “all Lutheran” here and say, “Ya God wants us to keep the commandments, but we can’t so we should feel bad and turn to God for forgiveness.” And that’s true, the commandments are the law that show us our sin, they show us very clearly that we don’t live up to God’s perfect standards. Especially the way Jesus defines them. “If you are angry at your brother you are guilty of killing him.”; “If you call your brother a fool you deserve to burn in hell.” (Matt 5:21-22) Those are pretty harsh words, and if that’s what Jesus really means when he says he wants us to keep the commandments we’re all in trouble. After all, he says right here “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” So doesn’t that mean that if we get angry at someone we don’t love him? If Jesus really wants us to keep his commandments, we’re all in trouble. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been angry this week.

Maybe we should look into what Jesus is saying here just a little deeper. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Are we really talking about the Ten Commandments? Or is there some other commandment that Jesus is talking about? It wasn’t that long ago we heard Jesus say something about a “new commandment.” Remember back to Maunday Thursday (that’s what Maunday means: command). He washed the feet of the disciples and then said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have love you, you are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) Does that really let us off the hook? Well actually it doesn’t. The commandment isn’t anything new in the sense of something completely different. A confirmation student could tell you that the commandments are divided into two parts. The first three are about our relationship to God. The last seven are about our relationship to other people.

Jesus was asked this very question once by Pharisees who wanted to see if Jesus really knew the law. They wanted to catch him in some hypocrisy. “Teacher,” one asked Jesus, “which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus answered by dividing the Ten into the two parts, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV) So when Jesus is talking about keeping his commandments, when he says to love one another, he’s talking about the same, The Commandments. And at first, we might think that that’s not a very good thing at all. But notice how Jesus defines them. Look at the word that he uses most in his definition: According to Jesus, keeping the commandments, all of them, is to love.

It starts with Commandment one: “You shall have no other Gods” or “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.” If we could just do that one we’d also be able to do the “Love your neighbor as yourself” too. Sounds a lot like what Jesus says too, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

But our inability to completely love God isn’t our only problem. We also have a problem with understanding the commandments as love because have been affected by the definition of love that’s been floating around our culture. At the prompting of the world around us we tend to think that love is a feeling. We think it’s something that happens here… in our hearts. God makes it clear that it’s not… with all your heart, soul and mind, that’s not just an emotion that much more than that. We connect love with the euphoria that comes from personal contact with a person we want to be with. But according to Jesus, love isn’t something that’s only found here (heart) it’s something that’s found here (hands)… keep my commandments. In other words, love isn’t just a feeling. Real love is much more than emotions, real love is a promise and a choice to keep a promise.

The best example I can think of is something that you’ve all heard:

Bridegroom, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony as God ordained it? Will you nourish and cherish her as Christ loved His body the Church, giving Himself up for her? Will you love, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others remain united to her alone, as long as you both shall live? [Eph. 5:29]

Bride, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony as God ordained it? Will you submit to him as the Church submits to Christ? Will you love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others remain united to him alone, as long as you both shall live? [Eph. 5:24]

Marriage vows from Lutheran Service Book Agenda, (CPH, 2006)

Our picture of love comes from romantic movies. There’s always that heartfelt scene between parent and child… “I know you’re going to get married, but do you really love him?” Did you notice that’s not the question we ask at the wedding? That’s not what God asks a newly weds. The vows don’t say “do” you love, they say “will” you love. Love is stated here as an act of the will, a promise, a decision. There’s nothing there about a burning feeling in the bride and grooms heart. Love isn’t just here (heart) love is here (hands). Any long married couple will tell you that. If marriage is based just on feelings found in the heart, there’ll be trouble: feelings and emotions don’t last, they change frequently. In fact, this misunderstanding of love and marriage is probably why one in four marriages end in divorce (even among Christians!). Marriage that is built on feelings that are thought to be love will always falter. God wants more than good feelings between a man and his wife. He wants them committed to each other in sickness and health, good times and bad, wealth and poverty, anger and calm. The world says that lack of loving feelings is a reason for divorce. In God’s eyes divorce never acceptable and is always sinful. (Mal 2:16; Matt 5:32; Mark 10:9, 11; Luke 16:18; 1 Cor 7:10 etc.) True love keeps its promise. The love that Jesus commands us to do in marriage and in every day of our lives isn’t just found in here (heart), it is found here (hands). Ask any wife, she’ll tell you doing the dishes can be one of the most loving things a husband can do.

Well marriage is one thing. But there are other commandments than the one talking about marriage (6^th). Our wife/husband might be our closest neighbor but what about all the rest. Jesus wants us to love them, too. Right? Well, yea.

There was this man traveling on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho… he got beat up robbers and left for dead. The people who were expected to help him didn’t. The priest and the bible teacher just walked by because they had better things to do. The Samaritan is the only one who stops and helps. The story tells us that this unlikely person had compassion on him. That compassion isn’t a just a feeling, it’s an action. The priest and Levite undoubtedly felt bad for the beat up man, but they didn’t do a thing for him. But the Samaritan’s compassion shows in his actions. He bound up the wounds and took the man to the inn. That’s what Jesus means. According to Jesus, that is loving your neighbor. He’s saying, love isn’t only found here (heart) but here (hands). And what’s more, love found here (hands), acts even if there’s no feeling here (heart). It takes away the idea that’s often in our heads that we’ve got to have good feelings for someone to love them. We can show love in our actions even if we don’t feel it in our heart.

Well, if that’s love, then we are going to need some help. It’s hard to put that kind of thing into practice. It’s hard to do things for people who don’t seem to appreciate it, or even abuse the help. It’s hard to do things for people who are different from us. We want people to earn our help, and deserve our help. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition wouldn’t be a very popular program if they were dealing with undeserving families. “Joe’s been on Welfare because he’d rather sit on his butt all day watching cable and sucking down beer. Good Morning Joe! We’re here to tear down the cockroach infested shack you live in and build you a multi-million dollar house! We’re here to fulfill all your consumerist fantasies.” Well, I admit that’s a little extreme but that’s how we feel on a smaller scale. We aren’t able to love that way.

But Jesus does. Jesus’ love is a perfect love. It has feelings, he wept over the people who would kill him (Matt 23:37), and Lazarus his friend who died (John 11). But he really shows his love in action. He healed, taught, fed, and forgave undeserving people who gathered around him. Remember he ate with tax collectors and sinners. (Matt 9:10-13) He got his hands dirty serving dirty people. He shows us love that’s here in his hands. In fact, Jesus’ love is shown right here (hands) most clearly when he allowed nails to be driven right through them. He took our sins into his own hands and carried them to the cross. He served us. Like the Samaritan on the road, he helped us when we were helpless. There isn’t any better description of God’s love than John 3:16.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17, ESV)

And remember the word “so” at the beginning means “in this way.” “God loved the world in this way that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for your sins and mine.”

We certainly don’t deserve the forgiveness Jesus works for us on the cross. But he didn’t die for deserving families (there are no deserving families, we are all sinful from the time we are born) he died for sinners and tax collectors. He died for people who don’t feel like giving a hand to other people, especially when they are different or dirty. Jesus death on the cross forgives your sin and mine, even the sin wanting to pass by the helpless man on roadside.

Jesus knows you need help. He puts his love into action. He knows you can’t get rid of sin in your life, so he dies on the cross to remove it. He also knows that you don’t always feel like helping other people, so he gives you another Helper. That’s the very next thing he says after he says, “keep my commandments.” “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” (John 14:16, ESV) Just as he promised, Jesus gives you and me the Holy Spirit as a Helper. I really like the choice of translation in this text (ESV). “Comforter” in some of the other translations makes the Holy Spirit sound like someone whose been sent to make us “feel better.” But he’s so much more than that. He puts God’s love in action in our lives. He makes the love of Jesus flow from here (heart) to here (hands). In fact, the word there (helper, comforter, paraclete) can even be translated “the one who kneels beside.” Think of the Good Samaritan kneeling beside the man on the road. That’s Jesus working through the Holy Spirit in you; helping you when you need help, and helping other people through you. Jesus makes it very clear, where the Holy Spirit is He is too. He doesn’t leave us as orphans. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19, ESV) He’s right there with you when you help your neighbor who’s behind on his planting. He right there beside you when you give a can of food to the food bank. He’s there when you slap a pork and bacon patty on a bun for a biker.

You see, if you love Jesus, and every Christian does love Jesus, because they know that Jesus loves them first, with his life, death and resurrection… if you love Jesus, you will keep the commandments. Jesus makes sure of it. That’s love here (heart) and here (hands). Amen.

The peace of god that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 13, 2008, John 10:11-18

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I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 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. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 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. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:11-18, ESV)

(A Homily by Pr. Will Weedon, Hamil, IL)

Once upon a time (a real time, mind you, not an imagined one), there was a wolf. He was a fat old thing. You see, he had it pretty easy. Whenever he wanted to eat, he only had to walk his door of his cave and look at the sheep that fed right outside. He’d eye this one or that one. And then he’d go after it and with a pretty minimal struggle, he’d bring the sheep down and eat away. And the more that he ate, the bigger he got, and the bigger he grew, the hungrier he got. He was a wicked old thing; sometimes he’d just poke his head out the door and howl. All the sheep began to shiver at the very sound of him. He’d chuckle to himself. “Yes, you better be afraid, you stupid sheep because one of these days I am going to eat you, and it won’t be pleasant, oh no it won’t. Ha! Ha!” This big, bad wolf, you see, had a name. A name of fear. The sheep had only to think of his name and they’d get wobbly on their knees and some would faint outright. His name, you see, was Death. And Death was always hungry and never satisfied. Always eating sheep and always wanting more. And he stank. The very smell of him was worse than his name or his howl. He was altogether dreadful, let me tell you! He was in charge and all the sheep knew it.

There came a day when he was feeling hungrier than usual. He poked his head out the cave door to roar and he couldn’t believe his eyes. Why, right there in front of his door, on his very door-step almost was the fattest, juiciest sheep he’d ever laid his eyes on. The effrontery of it! He drew in the air to fill his vast lungs and then he let out a stone-splitting howl. All the other sheep in the vicinity turned tail and ran. They were afraid. All but the sheep that grazed still just outside his cave. That sheep paid him no heed at all. Kept on eating, just like it hadn’t even heard him. He was getting mad now. He came bounding out the door and right up to that impertinent animal. Again he sucked the air into his lungs and this time he breathed out right in the sheep’s face. The sheep looked up and blinked as the hideous odor of decay was blasted in its face. Totally unconcerned the sheep blinked and then stared.

Now the wolf was getting himself into quite a tizzy. “Don’t you know who I am?” he snarled. The sheep looked at him and said: “Yes. I know.” Calm, at peace even. The other sheep began to creep back at a distance to watch. They couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. “Well,” snarled the Wolf, “aren’t you afraid?” The sheep looked Death, that old wolf, right in the eyes and said: “Of you? You have got to be kidding!” Now the wolf was so livid with anger that he spoke low and menacing: “You’re for it, lamb chops. You are not going to have it easy. I’m going to take you out slow and painfully.” There was a moment of silence and then the sheep said: “I know.”

The other sheep had all been watching because they’d never heard anything like this before. But the moment that the wolf pounced they turned away. A great sadness filled them. They had thought, well, they had scarcely dared to hope, but it was just possible that, this once, the wolf wasn’t going to get his way. But their hopes were dashed. It was an awful and an ugly sight. The wolf chowed down. It was slow and it was painful, just like he said. And in the end, there was nothing left. He turned his rude face, red with blood to the other sheep, and he belched. They turned tail and ran, knowing that he’d be back for them one day soon.

As the wolf went back to his cave, he took out a tooth pick and cleaned his teeth and he thought that he’d never tasted a sheep that was quite so good before. Nothing tough about that meat. It was tender and rich and really altogether satisfying. The thought hit him with surprise. It was almost as though his insatiable hunger had actually been quenched for once. The thought was a little disturbing. Well, no matter, he thought. And off he went to bed.

When the morning came the wolf wasn’t feeling quite himself. It was almost as though he were getting a bit of tummy ache. Such a thing never happened. He always woke up ravenous and went off to start eating first thing in the morning. At least a dozen or so sheep before the dew was off the grass. But not this morning. His tummy WAS grumbling. By noon he was feeling more than discomfort. He was feeling positively ill. He who had brought such pain on those poor sheep, he was getting a taste of pain himself and it was most unpleasant. He kept thinking back to that impertinent sheep he had eaten yesterday afternoon, the one that had tasted so strangely good. Could it have actually been poisoned or something? It wasn’t long before he stopped thinking altogether. The pain was just too great. He rolled around on the floor of his den and his howled and yammered.

The sheep heard the sound and didn’t quite know what to make of it all. They crept cautiously nearer and nearer to the door of his house and turned their heads listening. What could it mean?

It was sometime in the dark of the night that the wolf let out a shuddering howl. Something was alive and moving inside its own gullet. Something that pushed and poked and prodded until with a sudden burst, the gullet was punctured and hole ripped open. And something, rather, someone stepped right out through the hole, right out of the massive stinking stomach. The wolf felt like he was dying. And I suppose in a way he was.

The figure that stepped out of the wolf’s belly was totally unknown to the wolf. Why, it looked like a shepherd. He’d heard of such a critter, but had never actually met one. With a staff in his hand he walked around and stood facing the wolf. And he began to laugh. He laughed and his laugher burst open the door of the wolf’s house. He laughed and the sheep were filled with bewilderment wondering what was going on in there. He laughed and he looked the wolf right in the eye.
“So, you don’t recognize me, old foe? It was I who ate outside your house three days ago. ‘Twas I that you promised would die horribly and how you kept your promise. But what do you propose to do about me now?”

“You? The wolf gasped. The voice was the same; he recognized it. This shepherd was indeed the sheep whom he had swallowed down. “You. But how? Oh, the pain!” The shepherd smiled and said: “Well, I think you’re pretty harmless now, my friend. Go on and try to eat some of my sheep. I promise you that as fast as you swallow them down I will lead right out through the hole I made in your stomach. And then you’ll never be able to touch them again! Ta!”

The wolf howled in fear and anger and rage, but there was nothing he could do. The Shepherd had tricked him, fooled him good! And the Shepherd then stepped outside the door and called the sheep together. They knew his voice too. They’d heard it before. They stood before the Lamb who had become the Shepherd and they listened as he told them what would happen to them. “You’ll die too. He’ll come out in a few days and be hungrier than ever. He’ll swallow you down. But don’t worry. I punched a hole right through his belly and I promise you I’ll bring you out again.”

Once upon a time, and the time was 2,000 years ago. But the promise still holds: “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.” It is the comfort of the Resurrection that Christ reaches us today in his Supper. Here we may taste the body and blood that went into the wolf’s mouth, but which the wolf could not hold. As you eat and drink you have the same promise: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life!” Let the old wolf howl and snarl all he will. We know about the hole in his tummy. We know about the Sheep who is the Shepherd. Our Good Shepherd. Amen!

Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 20, 2007, John 17:20-26

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²⁰“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:20-26 (ESV)

Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Here in this text Jesus prays for unity. I’ve been thinking a lot about unity. Maybe you have, too. What exactly does it mean to be “united?” It’s a tricky word for us, isn’t it? Do you think that we here at St. John’s are united? I’m not so sure. Actually, I think that unity is something the whole world is looking for. In some sense lots of the violence of the Middle East is about unity. And closer to home more and more, every day we hear again and again about the false unity of men who want to marry other men, women who want to marry women. Make no mistake; God is not pleased with such arrangement. It is wrong to pretend that it is ok. It is wrong not to tell our children that that behavior is sinful and against God’s commands. On the other hand, it should also be noted that we shouldn’t threaten people who desire these things badly either. God isn’t pleased with violence against anyone. But it isn’t wrong to clearly, out of love tell someone that a lifestyle they have chosen is against God’s plan for their life. There are other attempts at unity, too. It’s nothing new for a man and a woman to live together without being united in marriage. They believe that marriage isn’t necessary, and yet the statistics show couples who live together before they are married will most likely divorce. But more than that, this arrangement, too, is against God’s will. When we don’t stand up and say so, when we don’t encourage unmarried couples to change their sinful situation we are participating in the sin. God holds us accountable for what we don’t say and don’t do, especially for those who are in the church. Political correctness tells us that if we just say things the right way we can create unity by not causing offense. And I don’t know if you feel the pressure (but I certainly do) to say that Muslims worship the same god that we do, or to say that all religions are the really the same and each leads to God, each in its own way. Or even that it’s ok for our brothers and sisters in Christ in other denominations to believe false things about God’s Word and His Sacraments. We don’t have to look very hard at these attempts at unity to see that they really don’t work. They collapse under their own weight, because they are unity that is based on things that are not true. They are based on misunderstandings of the way that God had made things.

The church as a whole isn’t doing any better. It is very ironic that in a year that Hollywood gave us a great movie like “The Passion of the Christ,” the Christian church in American gave us the first openly gay bishop, “in the hope that the church can be more inclusive.” And the desire to be a united church, in spite of the differences that exist, in spite of the false teaching about many things, grows every day. But the kind of unity that is sought is the kind that simply ignores the reality of the differences in the teachings of the different church bodies. There are real significant differences in understanding who God is, even more importantly what He has done in Jesus Christ, and how He works in peoples lives. This kind of unity that is based on ignoring difference is not true unity at all. It is a unity that ignores the truth of God’s Word for the sake of an external coming together. This is the kind of kind of unity that promotes communion tables that are open to all comers without regard to what they believe or even the kind of teaching they support. It is the kind of unity where adultery, divorce, homosexuality and other sins are outright ignored; “for the sake of unity.” Even when those sins are present in those serve as the Church’s pastors. The Church, just like the world around it, is seeking unity. But it is a false unity that isn’t the unity the Jesus prayed for. It isn’t unity based on the truth of God’s Word.

And yet, Jesus prayed for the unity of the church; that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Are we to believe that Jesus’ prayer went un-answered? I hardly think so. We can trust that what Jesus prays is true. He is the One to whom the God the Father said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” So when Jesus prays that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. We can know that it is true. The Christian church through out the whole world is united, just as Jesus said. It really isn’t a choice is it? What Jesus says is always true. He said of himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

Someone said to me once that when we became Christians we gave up the right to choose who we would love. We are united because of Christ. According to Christ we are to love one another, even to the point of giving up our very lives for each other. It is true. You only have to look around you and know how the church is united. Sitting in the pews around are people who have helped you when you needed help. God has given us brothers and sisters in Christ who are here for us when we need them. We are united when we hear about God’s great love that sent Jesus to live and die and rise again for us. We are united when we gather at the altar and confess our common faith, and have the gift of salvation poured down our throats. We are united as we speak the words “in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” that were spoken, when Jesus united us to Himself in Baptism. We are united because we have been claimed from the jaws of death, rescued from sin, and saved from our own sinful desires. Our unity comes only from the work that God does and what God has done, not from anything we have done or could possibly even do. Martin Luther said it very clearly in his explanation of the third article. (p. 301 in LW)

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

Because we are united, we have a responsibility to love one another. We have the responsibly to correct one another, and accept each other’s correction, and even to hold one another accountable. It doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor, well dressed or poorly dressed, from the “right” family or the “wrong” family. We are united by the blood of Jesus Christ.

But we also know that we don’t always act very much like we are united. That’s because we are sinful people. That’s because the very nature of sin is separation. Sinful people are separated from God. Sinful people are separated from one another. Sin is divisive. That’s the problem with all human attempts at unity; they are filled with, and driven by sin. Sin calls evil good and good evil. For an example just look at so called “homosexual-marriage.” It is no real marriage at all. It is a false unity that is based on a lie, a lie that two men can have the same kind of unity that God has created for men and women. The sinful heart, your sinful heart and mine, think that we can say that this kind of unity is good as long as the people love each other. It isn’t that way according to God’s Word. When we say and believe such things we are calling evil good. Or even the example of live-in couples, claiming to have unity when there is none. Because the unity that God puts into marriage is based on a commitment to love, honor and cherish in spite of what trouble may come. It is the sinful heart, your sinful heart and mine that says it’s good for a couple to test the waters first to see if they are compatible, to see if they can get along. When we do this we call “good” what God calls “evil.”

True unity doesn’t come from sinful people. It can’t come from sinful people. It comes only from and through Jesus Christ. Jesus brings unity to a divided world. He brings restoration to a separated world. Through God’s Word made Flesh, we find peace, healing and wholeness; first, in restoration of our relationship with God; and then in our relationships to other people. It’s the Ten Commandments. The first three “You shall have no other Gods; You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; Remember the sabbath day by keeping it holy;” talk about our relationship to God, the rest “you shall not steal, you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery; all talk about our relationship with other people. Jesus keeps these commandments perfectly in our place. That is how in Jesus Christ we have true unity. He is the one who has knit us together into one body. That’s what Jesus is talking about when He prays that they may be in us. We are united to God and to one another through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

It works like this: When human beings were separated from God because of sin, God united himself to the human race by becoming a human being. Jesus was conceived by an act of God, a miracle in which God took on human flesh and became a full and complete person. He grew like any person, was born like any person, and was fed by his mother like any person. And although he was a complete human being he wasn’t like any other person, because He was without sin. Jesus is God and Man perfectly united together, completely God and completely human. In order to bring an end to the separation between God and man that is caused by sin, Jesus lived a substitute life for sinful people. He was a perfect “stand in” for us, because we can’t stand for ourselves. To better understand what I’m talking about, imagine that you are the star player of a basketball team. But, in the first few seconds of the game you foul out. You can no longer play in the game but your substitute comes in and plays for you. All the points that he scores still count, just as if you made them yourself. The other teams coach can’t contest those points because they were made by a substitute. Jesus whole life was lived perfectly, as our substitute, in perfect unity with God, the Father. So that, as Jesus prayed, they may be one even as we are one. And Jesus our substitute goes even further. Jesus doesn’t just do the good things we should do; He doesn’t just live the life we should live; He suffers the punishment we need to suffer. Jesus on the cross suffers and dies as the greatest sinner that has ever lived. Not because He was sinful, but because He substitutes Himself for sinful people. All of God’s anger at our sinfulness is re-directed to our substitute. All of God’s punishment for our sin is put on our substitute instead of us. Jesus became sin for us, and the very thing that prevents our unity with God is put to death. Sin is sent to the grave with Jesus. Jesus, our substitute, is made to be guilty and we are declared not guilty. With sin done away with, with its punishment paid in full, Jesus was raised to life again. Again He rises in our place, a complete human being dead and buried, raised again to live. You see, all that Jesus did He did for you, and you are united with Him through Baptism in it all, through faith in what He has done. It’s all Jesus. It’s all His work. It’s all for you.

Now look around you. It’s all Jesus. It’s all His work. It’s all for them, the young ones and the old ones, the brother in Christ sitting next to you, the sister in Christ sitting behind you. It’s for the person here that you don’t particularly like. It’s for the person here that you love more than any other. It’s for the person here who has hurt you deeply and even the one you have hurt deeply. That’s the unity that binds us. That’s the unity that is found in the true nature of Jesus Christ. It can’t be found or seen in any way other than in the truth about what Jesus has done, and for whom He did it.

And He did it for other people, too. Many don’t even know or care about what He has done for them. They aren’t united to Him, because they don’t trust that what He has done is for them. Jesus talks about that, too. …so that the world may believe that you have sent me. He’s talking about taking the message of what He has done to people who don’t know Him. He’s talking about taking the message of what He has done to those who have been away from hearing the message for a long time. This Good News about true unity in the world isn’t just for you, and the people sitting right here. It’s for folks you know out there. It’s for the members who have neglected joining us. It’s for those out there who belong to other churches. It’s for those who don’t belong to any church. In our relationships here we share the unity that Jesus Christ has given us. In our relationships in the community we share the unity that Jesus Christ brings to all people through faith in what He has done. Jesus uses you to show what He has done to bring forgiveness of sins to the whole world.

The church will not find unity by ignoring sin. Unity is found in repentance and forgiveness that only Jesus gives. It will not find unity by setting aside real differences that take away from the truth about what Jesus has done for us. There is no “piece”, nor “part” of the Gospel that is unimportant. The world won’t find unity by wallowing in its own misguided sense of morality. It won’t find unity in speaking so as not to offend. The unity the world is looking for is found only in a relationship with the True God. There is no relationship with the True God outside of faith in Jesus Christ. He is God’s only way of uniting human beings with Himself once again. Amen.

The Peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Confirmation, May 13, 2007, John 14:6

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

Allissa, Thomas, and Jeremy; It is an exciting day for you. Confirmation day is the day you publicly stand up before the congregation and promise to remain faithful to what you have been taught, and that you would rather die than give up your faith. Over the past couple of years we’ve talked a lot about Jesus, about who he is and what he has done for you. You’ve learned all about it and you’ve learned it pretty well. You are ready to make this step toward Christ’s altar and receive his body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins. But first…

I want your confirmation to be a memorable one so let’s talk about today’s Gospel lesson just a little bit. Especially verse 6.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV)

Now this text is one of the most beautiful statements of the Good News of Jesus that there is. And what’s more these words come from Jesus himself. He’s packed a lot in those two little sentences. Unfortunately, these words have been very often misused by Christians.

Like I said I want your confirmation to be memorable so listen carefully: [droning voice] in his 26^th evening on May 1^st, 1885 Rev. Dr. C. F. W. Walther stated in Thesis XV: "In the eleventh place, the Word of God is not rightly divided when the Gospel is turned into a preaching of repentance." Now it should be noted that this thesis rightly follows Thesis V which was part of his 9^th evening lecture of November 21, 1884 during which Dr. Walther stated that the grossest confounding of Law and Gospel occurs when Christ is represented as a new Lawgiver and the Gospel is turned into a doctrine of meritorious works. Got it? Yes? No?

Ok maybe not. Let’s try it another way. Imagine that I have stick… no let’s not imagine lets look at this stick. This stick is a John 14:6 stick. What does it look like? A sword. See it has a handle, that’s called the hilt, and a blade, and on the blade is written the reference to the bible passage “I am the way the truth and the life…”

Now how would you use this sword? Well, let’s imagine now that you have a whole pen full of chickens, hundreds of them. You job is to get the chickens into the chicken house through a small opening in the side. So you take this sword here and you wave it around at them and try to get them to go in. You can swing the thing at them, and shout the words of John 14:6 at them. You can even beat them with it. Of course, you know what’s going to happen. Chick Run! Mayhem and panic. You’ll chase those chickens around that pen all day with your sword and you’ll never get them to go trough the door.

Now this is church, and you know that in church we aren’t really worried about chickens. What we’re really talking about is people. We’re not trying to get people into a chicken house, but into the place that God has prepared, an eternal home with God forever. God’s desire is for all people to be with him now and forever. God wants you and me and all those billons of people scattered across our planet to be with Him now in His church, and forever in heaven.

That’s what Jesus is talking about in the text. He says that he is the way to God. He is the way that people like you and me, and all people everywhere can get from here in this sinful, broken world into God’s eternal and prefect world. Our problem is (everyone’s problem is) that we when we are born our relationship with God isn’t a very good one. In fact, according to the bible we are God’s enemies. We are born in the sin of our parents. It’s called original sin. Do you remember how we talked about that in class? Original sin is “not living in a perfect relationship with God.” That’s how we are born. Sinful people apart from a relationship with God. Jesus came to earth as a human being to restore our relationship with God. He came to be the Way to God. He was…

…conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

In the Gospel reading for today he talks about it, too. “And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the Way were I am going" (John 14:3-4).

You know the way. You have known it for many years. It’s been taught to you over and over again. You confessed “the Way” last Wednesday night. Jesus has been the way for you ever since your parents brought you to baptism here at this font. God gave you the gift of faith through the work of the Holy Spirit at this font or at another one. And he works through the Word spoken here to keep you in the way. But I want to be very frank with you. God has promised never to leave you. But you can walk away from him very easily. The place where your faith grows is here, in worship. You’re going to promise that you’d rather die than give up the faith. For most of us it’s not dramatic choice between giving up the faith and facing a martyr’s death. Like the British reporters who were abducted a few months ago, and chose to deny Christianity instead having their heads cut off. But we face that very issue every Sunday morning. If this is where your faith grows, you need to be here, every Sunday. It’s hard to get it done. You’ve so much against you; Transportation issues; Parents who can’t or won’t come with you; Other Sunday morning activities that seem to be much more important; friends that laugh at you; Every Sunday you miss, is easier to miss the next. God wants you to be here every Sunday, I want you to be here every Sunday. The voices that tell you not to be here every Sunday, or the voices that tell you that you don’t belong here, are speaking from Satan. He’s the one who wants you in Hell. The Good News is the news you’ve already heard. It’s what you’ve been taught, that Jesus is the only way to the Father, that there is no way to heaven except through Jesus. It’s Good News. Good News for you and for me because we don’t have to worry about what we have to do to get right with God. We don’t have to worry about what we have to do to restore our relationship with Him. God has done it all for us in Jesus. He’s made the way for us already. And through baptism he made it our way.

Now think about this sword again. You haven’t been chased with this sword, poked and prodded, or forced to believe in Jesus. The way to heaven isn’t through the sword of John 14:6 it isn’t the law to beat you over the head. The way to heaven is the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus. You see if you turn the sword upside down, You’ll see that it’s also a cross. Jesus made the way for you to get to heaven and be with God forever through his death on the cross.

The thing is it’s very easy to get it all turned around again. That’s because there’s a whole world out there that’s trying to tell you exactly the opposite. The minute you step outside these walls you’re bombarded with the idea that there are many paths to God and that any one is as good as any other. You’ll be told that if you’ll just allow for the idea that there are many valid expressions of faith you can believe anything you want. If you don’t you are unloving and intolerant. And what’s more, you’ll even hear the same thing said in the name of God in churches that claim to be part of the Christian church. “We’ve got to be careful not to offend people.”

The reason is that people don’t want God’s way of salvation. They want to make their own way. One of my Seminary professors once said that the essence of sin is that we want to kill God and take his place. We want to be in control and take the credit for our own achievements. Really, it makes the most sense to us. Our way of thinking about God is the same way we think about every other part of our life. Every day we have to earn our way along in life. It only makes sense that we should have to earn our way to God, too.

God’s Way of salvation goes against everything we think and feel. God’s Way of salvation takes our efforts completely out of the picture. And that’s why it’s such Good News because God’s Way of salvation is the only way that we can be sure of because it’s not found in our weak will and our imperfect good works. The Way to God is through Jesus. He had a perfect will. He always did what God the Father asked of Him, even when it meant death on the cross. Jesus whole life was full of perfect good works, too. His relationship with God is perfect, so when he died to take away our sins, He was raised to life again. Because you are a Baptized Child of God, Jesus perfect life, death and resurrection are yours. In other words, you have a perfect relationship with God through Jesus. Did you hear how it’s all God’s work in Jesus? Did you hear how you and I don’t have any part in our salvation? That’s the Good News. That’s the wonderful gift of faith. And that’s the hardest thing for us to accept, and why it’s so important that we hear the Good News over and over again. It goes against our nature.

That’s why God has given us this place to gather. He knows how hard it is for us to hold on. That’s exactly why he gives us his Word that he promise will work in our hearts. That’s why he attaches His Word to water in baptism. So that we can see what it means to have our sins washed away. That’s why Jesus comes to us in his very body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. He connects to us through the forgiveness that comes though the same body and blood that hung on the cross for you.

That’s what you’ll promise today. To hold on to Jesus and all that he did for you in faith. It’s just a promise to open up your arms and mouth and heart and receive the gifts that he gives here. Jesus has already done everything you need. Hold on to him in faith. Amen.

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

Third Sunday of Easter 3, April 22, 2007, John 21:1-14

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. (John 21:1-14, ESV)

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

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

You know, lot’s of times when I read about the disciples in these accounts, I get to feeling sorry for them. I mean, often in these lessons they come off pretty much like failures. How many times have we heard of how they didn’t do what Jesus wanted? How often have we heard about how they didn’t understand what Jesus was saying or what he was doing? Like when they misunderstood what Jesus meant when he said that Lazarus had “fallen asleep.” (John 11:1ff) They were walking along the road and they received word that Lazarus was sick. Jesus waited three after hearing before going to him. “It’s time to go, Lazarus, our friend, has fallen asleep.”

“Lord, if he sleeps he’ll get better!” the disciples answered.

“No guys,” Jesus answered, “you’ve missed the point again. When I said he was sleeping, I meant that he is dead.” I have this image in my mind of the twelve standing around with a puzzled look on their faces. “Lazarus is dead.” Jesus finally says in response.

“Oh!” they answer, “I guess we missed that.” Oops, another mistake.

It has always amazed me that the gospels, even though they were mostly written by the disciples, they often aren’t very flattering for the authors. They failed often and they failed big, especially when Jesus was in the most danger. As Jesus waits in the garden for the betrayer, they fail to stay awake. When the guards show up to arrest him, they fail again. All Peter can do is cut off the servant’s ear. (John 18:10) Not only has he failed to protect his master, he’s a failure at wielding a sword, too! He didn’t do what he should have done and what he does is all wrong. “Put away your sword.” Jesus says. All the disciples run away in fear, and let Jesus be taken.

And again in the court yard outside of Jesus trial Peter fails when he is accused of being Jesus disciple. “I told you before, curse you, I don’t know that man! He’s nothing to me! Now leave me alone!” And then faced with that failure he ran out and wept bitterly. (John 18:15-18; 25-27)

Now later after Jesus has been crucified, they gather together in a darkened room, huddled together afraid, for three days. And even when Jesus appeared to them, they had their doubts. Thomas speaks for all of them when he says, “Unless I see him, and touch him. I refuse to believe!” They had all failed to remember what Jesus said to them, they had all failed to believe in Jesus.

And that brings us to the account for today. After so many failures… so many misunderstandings, and now they are about to fail again. We’ve heard about their failures as disciples, now we hear how they can’t even seem to go back to their old lives, “that night they caught nothing.” Looks like failure again. There they are in the boat, even after Jesus has risen from the dead, failing again. They couldn’t do what Jesus wanted, and they couldn’t go back to their old life. There they sat early in the morning looking at their empty nets wondering if they ever would ever again be successful at anything.

“Boys,” came a voice from the shore, “Have you tried the other side of the boat?” Now, I don’t know of many professional fishermen who will take instructions from a stranger on how to fish. But the disciples did on that morning. Maybe it was the sense of failure that led them. Maybe they didn’t have the energy to dispute it, but they took the criticism. And when they did… 153 large fish jumped into the net. John was the first to realize that it was Jesus. “It’s the Lord!” he said. Peter put John’s words into action, and leapt into the water to make the hundred yard swim to shore. Jesus had turned their failure into success. He gives them what they needed. Fish in their nets, and once they get to shore he feeds them breakfast.

Are we failures too? We don’t like to think of ourselves that way. But I think that if we look honestly at ourselves we can see that we are. Actually, we can’t help but be failures. That’s our sinful human nature. We try to make progress against it but no matter how hard we try we fail again. For instance we know the resurrected Jesus, but there are many times in our life that what we know about Jesus just doesn’t seem to make any difference in how we live. Jesus says, “Love your neighbor” There are many times when we don’t even seem to love our family. How easy is it to hurt our parents, or our children, or even our spouse? Our hurtful words aren’t often blasted over the news, but we often take out our frustrations on those who are closest to us. And just sometimes we do it because we mean to do it. We are just like the twelve we fail, we fail to love.

How often have we stood in Peter’s sandals, denying Jesus? Maybe we don’t outright say that we don’t know him, but what about when we act as if being a Christian doesn’t mean anything, or when we make light of our faith. What about speaking up against those things we know the God’s Word tells us are wrong. What about being tolerant of open sin? When ever we pretend that sin isn’t sin, or try to carve out exceptions for ourselves and others we are participating in that sin ourselves. When we participate in open sin either directly or in a failure to confront our brothers and sisters who are in it, we deny Jesus’ sacrifice for sin. We know the failure of Peter very well.

And as far as being successful fishermen… we fail there too. We know who the absent members of our church are, and yet we let year after year go by without a word, without an invitation. We know there are folks who don’t go to any church and we do nothing. We know friends and family who out right deny the faith and we say nothing. We think that the church is only a place for those who have their lives straightened out, those who have money to give, and those who have good reputations. Jesus died for sinners. We are to be about giving that message to everyone.

The truth of the matter is, the disciples were failures, and we are failures, poor miserable failures… poor miserable sinners. That’s the real problem isn’t it? Our sins threatened to separate us from the God who created us. Our sins are the real problem. In the eyes of a God who demands perfection, we are utter failures because we aren’t perfect. No matter how hard we try we can’t be perfect.

But, Jesus is perfect. It is perfect Jesus that gives us success. When the disciples listened to advice from the shore they knew it was Jesus because they had success. They ended up with a net so full that it should have broken; it was too large to fit in the boat. It wasn’t only success it was SUCCESS! It wasn’t just a good day fishing; it was an amazing day fishing. Imagine the best fishing story you’ve ever heard. And it was because of Jesus. They couldn’t wait to get to shore. And Jesus was there waiting to feed them.

That’s what Jesus does. He forgives failures. I’m not talking about a plastic Jesus on the dashboard to bring good luck. He’s not the kind of God that helps you to win the lottery. He’s the kind of God that lives in you through his Holy Spirit and show you how to do the right thing. He prompts you to show the love of Jesus in the community through what you do and say. He makes a success out of you, even when you fail.

What Jesus Christ has done makes a difference for your failures. In his great love he paid the ultimate price for your failures. He suffered pain and death. He hung on the cross and endured the punishment that we failures deserved. Even though he was treated as a failure, he changed that awful event into success. On Easter morning some 2000 years ago, he turned what seemed like the failure of his death in to the success of life. The tomb was opened and he breathed again. He lived and walked, smiled and laughed again. He met with his disciple, he met them on the road, he met them in the darkened room, and he met them on the shore of the lake. He was alive. Death had failed! Jesus succeeded!

But, the most important thing to remember is that Jesus success wasn’t just his success. Everything Jesus did, his whole life, his whole horrible death, he whole glorious, successful, resurrection; everything he did, he did for you! He gives that success to you in Holy Baptism. There he washed you clean of your sin and your failures. There he gave you his success; His perfect life, His self-giving death, and even His glorious resurrection. He covered you with the perfect robe of his perfect life. Now when God looks at you He sees Jesus. In God’s eyes you are a perfect success.

We really do know all this. Most of us have been hearing it all our lives. It is rather funny though that as much as we know it to be true we don’t really fell that much like a success. There are those days when we just can’t seem to get it right. There are those days when the love we should have just isn’t there. There are days when we don’t really want to risk exposing ourselves as a Christian. There are days when we just want people we think don’t who don’t fit here in this church just to stay out. That’s the sinful nature, dragging us to failure again. That’s the failure in us trying to take control again. That’s when it’s important to remember the success that Jesus has won for us. That’s when it’s important to remember when our heads got wet. That’s when we turn to Jesus and say, “You have forgiven me. I am yours. Jesus, help me!” And our loving and gracious Lord says, “I’ve died for your failure already. I took them all to the cross. You don’t have to live with it any more. My success is yours.” And then sometimes we can love as Jesus would have us love, even when the people around us aren’t very lovable. Then we can set aside our prejudice, even when I don’t feel like it. And sometimes we even find ourselves speaking words about Jesus, even when we’re afraid. And sometimes we can even ask people to come to church that we really don’t even want to sit by. It isn’t because of us, because our failure only gets us empty nets, just like the disciples. It’s all because of Jesus. It’s the Holy Spirit working in our hearts to bring success as only He can do.

The disciples enjoyed breakfast that early morning. Jesus brought them success in their fishing. For them there would be many more failures. But Jesus would turn them also into successes. Through His Word preached, through His Sacraments, Baptism and Holy Communion, given, Jesus used those fishing failures to build His church. There were bigger nets to drag ashore, more fish to count. They weren’t fish from the sea; they were people that God, in Jesus, died to save. They were failures like you and me that Jesus died to save. Amen.

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

Second Sunday of Easter, April 15, 2007, John 20:19-31

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¹⁹On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." ²⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." ²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld." ²⁴Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." ²⁶Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." ²⁸Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" ²⁹Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:19-3,ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It's a week after Easter. We are still joyful, basking in the glow of that wonderful day. The lilies aren’t here, but they are still bright. We're still singing Easter hymns (and we will for several more weeks!). Joy is still the overriding theme of our worship. But is very clear from our text that that is not the mood of the disciples on that first Easter (at least not yet). It was third day after Jesus had been crucified. Mary had run to them saying that she had "seen the Lord." But, instead of being joyful, they were afraid, they don’t believe what Mary says, “You are speaking like a crazy woman!” The news was too much to believe. Suddenly, unexplainably, miraculously Jesus passed through the walls and the locked doors stood among them. "Peace be with you. Shalom 'Alekem." (v. 26) The simple and common greeting may have gone over the Disciples heads, if Jesus was just your normal, everyday visitor. But it was anything but a simple and common greeting coming from the risen Jesus Christ. After all, before his suffering and death, "peace" is what he said he would bring them.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' (John 14:27-28a, ESV)

And maybe they didn't quite see it just yet. But the peace that Jesus brings them was the direct result of the "It is finished" he spoke on the cross. The peace Jesus brings, he brings through his suffering and death. It is the peace that passes all understanding. It is the peace that comes from sins forgiven. It is the peace that comes from sinful people being reconciled to God. "God and sinners reconciled." (The Lutheran Hymnal, 94)We sing in the well know Christmas hymn, but it would be a good hymn for today, too.

The disciples had their doubts. They didn’t believe what Mary Magdalene had told them. But now Jesus stood among them. He relieves their fear and doubt and ends their unbelief by showing them the wounds from his crucifixion. Only he would have those specific wounds in his hands and side. See, don't doubt that it is me! Don’t doubt that I am alive. I'm the very same one whom you saw crucified, dead and buried. This translation says they were glad (v. 20) when they saw him. Maybe that's a little understating it. They were overjoyed. Just as Jesus promised, their sorrow was turned into joy. Their fear and unbelief was turned to belief. His love for them, and for us, is unmistakable. It's proved by the nail marks. It's proved by the spear that pierced his heart. It was proved by his death. It is proved by his victory over death and the grave. This is the way that God shows his love for the world; that he gave his one and only son to die in our place, and to rise again from death, for us.

That is the joy that the ancient church celebrated. It was tradition in worship to say the words Maranatha! It means Come Lord now. You can almost see them saying it even many years later with a pregnant pause in the expectation of Jesus appearing again, just as he did that day. That joy is also our joy as we gather in his name, and in the shadow of his promise. Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am with you. (Matt 18:20) Right here in the midst of our doubts (yes we do have them!) Right here in the midst of our sorrow and pain. Right here in the midst of our illness and fear. Right here in the midst of our despair and guilt. Right here in the midst of our insecurity and worry. He comes here, sight unseen, to bring us the peace of sins forgiven. He comes to bring us the joy of God and sinners reconciled. Did I say, "Sight unseen?" Well, that's not exactly right is it? When we gather together in his name, we are the Body of Christ. As I was sent, so I am sending you. (John 20:21, ESV) In our sorrow and our pain we bring Jesus message of peace to each other. In the midst of our illness and fear, we bring Jesus message of peace. In the midst of our guild and despair we bring Jesus message of peace. And it is a message that we have not just for those gathered in this room, but a message of peace for the whole world.

The disciples didn’t believe Jesus rose from the dead at first. Thomas didn’t believe either. He wasn’t there to witness Jesus appearance. We don’t know why he wasn’t there, but when the others tell him what they had seen, he refuses to believe, without proof. Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. (John 20:25, ESV) It would be easy to get down on Thomas. But really he was only asking for what the others had already seen. They had disbelieved just as much as he did. Jesus changed their unbelief to belief by an appearance, and he does the same for Thomas. A week later, on Sunday again, Jesus appeared to the disciples in that same locked room. Peace be with you! he said to them. And then specifically to Thomas, Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbeliever, but believe! (John 20:27, ESV) These amazing words of Jesus show us that even though he wasn’t there, Jesus knew what Thomas had said. He provides the proof that Thomas demands. We don’t know if Thomas actually took Jesus up on his challenge, but it seems that the sight of Jesus alone was enough for him. My Lord and My God! (John 20:28, ESV) He says. It is a personal confession of faith that comes from the lips of the most skeptical disciple. They are directed to Jesus in such a way that they confess exactly what Thomas now believes. Jesus has indeed risen from the dead. Jesus is God. Jesus is his Savior.

You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. (John 20:29, ESV) Jesus confirms Thomas’ strong statement of faith. His unbelief is swept away by the reality of the presence of the risen Lord.

It is easy to have doubts about our faith. Just look at the disciples. They just didn’t believe that Jesus could have possibly risen from the dead. They were afraid and locked themselves behind closed doors. Thomas was separated from them when Jesus came. He just wanted to see for himself. He wanted the big miracle. Even after they had seen Jesus they had doubts about what they were to do, and how they were to do it.

We are tempted to think that we would have a stronger faith if Jesus would just appear right here in front of us, just as he did for them. And even if he doesn’t appear in person what if he would just appear in other big ways. When we are sick and suffering we just want him to heal us. I once heard about a woman at the funeral of a strong Christian friend who died of cancer. “Wouldn’t it have been a powerful witness if God would have just healed her cancer?” Forgetting what a powerful witness the woman was in her acceptance of God’s will and her coming death. It is doubt that makes us want God to work the way we want him to work. It is doubt that says that we shouldn’t have to struggle in life. It is doubt that says we shouldn’t have to suffer. Doubt is the opposite of trust.

And that’s why we gather here in this place. Not because we trust perfectly, but because we don’t trust perfectly; because sometimes we just don’t believe what Jesus says. It’s the Risen Christ who sets aside our unbelief by coming to us. He shows himself to us in his Word. The whole bible is about Jesus. That’s what St. John means when he says, These things are written that you may believe. (John 20:31, ESV) When we hear it spoken to us Christ comes to us and strengthens our faith. When you hear the wonderful words of Jesus, “Peace be with you!” you know that your sins are forgiven, and your doubt is chased away by Jesus presence in His Word.

Jesus also shows himself to us in bread and wine. In some churches the communion wafers have an imprint of Jesus on the cross right on them. Ours have a little cross. That reminds us that Jesus comes to us in his very body and very blood, right there in the palm of our hand. It’s the same Christ there that stood before Thomas and said touch me and see. Right there in Holy Communion Jesus says to you touch me and see; take and eat this is my body; take and drink this is my blood. (Matt 26:26-29, ESV) He shows himself to us in another way; the Body of Christ is seated all around you in your brothers and sisters in Christ. We are a brothers and sisters confessing a common faith. That’s what it means that we’ve joined this church. We believe, teach and confess the truths of scripture according to the Lutheran Confessions and that other churches don’t have the whole truth. Just as the father sent me, so I am sending you. Jesus sends us to each other. He sends us to our neighbors to confess the truth about who Jesus is and what he has done. Look and see Jesus in the concern and love that he shows you through your friends, neighbors and relatives here. As we live and work and play together we show that Christ is indeed among us.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. (John 20:29, ESV) That’s me and you. We don’t have the benefit of seeing the Risen Lord in his glorified body like Thomas did, standing before us. But He is here none-the-less, and we are blessed. We are blessed because we have all that we need, in His Word and Sacraments. We have a way that we can be sure that he is with us and all that he has done is for us individually. All that we need is provided by God himself and that is what makes it sure. After all if it were dependent on anything in us it would only be full of doubt.

But this text is about faith that cancels doubt. These are written that you may believe, he says, that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing in him you may have life in his name. (John 20:31, ESV) That’s the Peace that Jesus brings to us. Peace that cancels our unbelief and our doubt. Amen.

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

2nd Sunday after the Epiphany, John 2:1-11, Jan 14, 2007

John 2.1-11

Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 14, 2007

St. John’s Lutheran Church, Howard, SD

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:1-11, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

“Dad, you’ll never guess what we found in the yard!”

That’s the first thing Miciah said to me when I saw her at the end of one of the work days on our Mission Trip to New Orleans. We had been divided into different work groups.

“We were hauling out a pile of debris out of the back yard, and at the bottom was a stop sign.” She popped up a picture on her digital camera. The picture showed the classic white and red sign with a few dings and scratches. When the hurricane blew it must have come loose of its post. When the levy broke and the flood waters raced down the streets it dumped the sign and all that debris in a big pile right there in that back yard. Now that stop sign was more than just a piece of trash. That sign was a sign of something powerful that had happened. It was a sign that pointed to the power of Katrina that happened over 14 months ago; wind so strong it can tear a sign from a post; water flowing at such a rate that it carries bricks, cinderblocks, branches, glass, mud and a stop sign, and deposits them in a big pile in a back yard with the stop sign at the very bottom. Now, you can go over to the youth room at Divine Shepherd, Blackhawk, SD and see that sign tacked up on the all. As it hangs there it’s a sign of something very powerful. Actually, two things; one the awesome power of a hurricane and a flood; and the even more awesome power of the Holy Spirit that moved a Youth Group from South Dakota to give the hope of God’s love in Jesus to people still living in the wake Katrina’s destruction. Kind of like God giving a hug of reassurance to people who really need it. (Miciah will tell you more about the Mission trip in a few weeks).

Now here in the Gospel lesson for today St. John tells us about a sign, kind of like that stop sign. He says, that Jesus turning water into wine was, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. We just heard his account and we know it well. Jesus, his disciples and Mary his mother are quietly enjoying the wedding feast. The unthinkable happens, the wine runs out. Mary asks Jesus to do something about it. Jesus says “not yet.” Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus says. Jesus tells them to fill these very large water jars used for ceremonial washing with water “to the brim” and take it out and take it to the steward. Water goes in the jars, wine comes out. And really good wine, “you’ve saved the best for last!” the person in charge of the feast says.

Jesus changes water into wine. We’ve probably heard many explanations of exactly what this miracle is all about, from Jesus blessing marriage, to Jesus showing that drinking alcohol isn’t in and of itself a sin (after all he made nearly 200 gallons!). Now John tells us exactly why he put this account in his book. By this sign, St. John tells us Jesus manifested his glory. Manifested is one of those fancy church words that means: to shine the light on, to show, to make clear. In this miracle sign Jesus tells us who he is. In this miracles sign Jesus tells us why God was born in human flesh. If you have any doubts about that just listen to what John tells us at the end of his Gospel:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31, ESV)

And that’s exactly what happened at the wedding of Cana. The last thing John tells us about it all is that his disciples believed in him. Now John tells you and me this story so that we too can have our faith in Jesus strengthened, so that we can believe that he is our Savior from sin, and that we poor sinners gathered in his name more than 2000 years later… can have life in his name.