1 Peter 3:18-22; The Sixth Sunday of Easter; May 25, 2014;

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston & Mount Ayr, Iowa;

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. 1 Peter 3:18-22 (ESV)

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

“Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That’s a saying we’ve probably all learned in school. And we probably all would agree. We’ve seen people in power. We know how they get there. And is seems that the more power someone has the more they want. Worst of all the longer someone stays “in power” the more likely they are to be corrupted by it. The more likely they are to do something self-centered and self-indulgent. We all want power don’t we? Whether it is power to tell our boss that the project that is being done is stupid, or the power to make it rain on our own beans. We’d like the power to change the way our children act, or even the power to bring ‘peace’ to the world. But we know how we use power when we do get it. As someone once said, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Today we are going to look at God’s power; especially God’s power in Jesus Christ. God’s power is different from the power we are used to. In fact, God’s power looks like weakness to the world.

If there is one thing that we can say about Americans, it’s that we really appreciate power. Just look at our army. It is the most powerful military force ever assembled. We are proud of the men and women who make it what it is. We are proud of their ability to do whatever is needed for our safety. We also appreciate financial power (maybe even more that military power!). Every year we look over the top ten richest people in the world and envy those who are there (probably wanting just a tiny fraction of their wealth!) And there is power in numbers…

King David was a powerful man also. Even though he was surrounded by hostile nations, he became a very powerful king. Even if you don’t remember much about the stories of the bible, you probably remember King David. We usually remember him for his power. The truth of the matter is that David wasn’t chosen to be the king of Israel because he was a powerful man. In fact, he was a lowly shepherd boy. He was the youngest son in a large family with a bunch of stronger older brothers. When the brothers of Jesse lined up to be considered by Samuel, David wasn’t even a contender. God had already chosen David. He was the very unlikely choice, the one no one else would consider. David was the king of Jesse’s Stem.

Jesus Christ is called the “rod of Jesse.” That’s a reminder that He too wasn’t the obvious choice for the Messiah. He wasn’t born the way kings should be born. His family didn’t have any power. Joseph, Jesus stepfather, was a regular blue-collar worker. He didn’t rule with an iron hand from a jewel-encrusted throne. Instead, His reign is from a cross. Instead of the kind of power people expect in a king, Jesus power is shown to us by His suffering and death. Jesus was selected by God for a specific task, just as David was. That’s why we call him the rod of Jesse, instead of the rod of David. Clement of Rome, one of the churches early preachers said it this way:

The scepter of the majesty of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, appeared not with pomp of pride or arrogance, though well he might, but in humility (Clement of Rome, 16.2).

God’s power doesn’t work the way we expect power to work. It doesn’t even work the way we experience power, armies, money, or prestige. God’s power does something the world’s power can never do; it destroyed our greatest enemy, Death.

Worldly power, in reality, doesn’t get us too much that is of any real value. Think about the rogue nations of the world. They strut around showing force trying to project power. What has their show of power really do? Threats of war; People starving because the rulers of the country spend so much on the military. Greater division among the countries of the world. All that show of power doesn’t really gain anything. Worldly power rarely makes things better.

King David learned that lesson the hard way. He let his power go to his head. He thought he was above the law. Even though God said that David was a “man after God’s own heart” David let the temptation of power control him. He used his position to sleep with another man’s wife and then had her husband killed to cover up his sin. David’s heart was stained with sin, just like you and me. There was lots of good that he did as king; he worshipped God faithfully; and built a strong kingdom for his people. But just like any human, power corrupts. Really, in David’s case, just as it would be for any of us, power goes to our hearts when we are able to act on the sin that lives there. David misused even the power given to him by God’s choice, the power given to him for God’s purposes.

Is there anyone who could really use God’s power for only good? It is only God who can do it selflessly. Jesus Christ is the true Key of David. He succeeds where David fails. If we had God’s power, what would we have done with it? There’s a movie called “Bruce Almighty” with Jim Carey. That’s exactly what Bruce finds out when he gets to play God for a time. The power corrupts him. You and I would do the same. We’d take revenge on our enemies. We’d work out things to benefit only ourselves. But that is not Jesus. He even allowed himself to be put to death. We would have called down the angels to save us. But Jesus did not.

He used God’s power perfectly. He used God’s power in peace. He used God’s power in love. That’s why He has now “gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God” according to St. Peter. And he goes on to write “angels, authorities, and powers [have] been subjected to Him.” That means that heaven is now open to Him and it is open to us. Every one of us! Jesus is the perfect key of David. He used God’s power to open heaven to us and undo the power of death for us. In his cross, Jesus Christ brings to us the forgiveness we need for sinful use of power.

So we thank God for Jesus Christ; the Rod of Jesse and the Key of David. He used God’s power for us. He defeated death for us and opened up for heaven’s door. Amen.

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

John 14:1-14; Fifth Sunday of Easter; May 18, 2014;

 

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston & Mount Ayr, Iowa;

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if 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 to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:1–14, ESV)

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

In this congregation, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston & Mount Ayr, we talk about Jesus. Some folks may accuse us of being a little bit narrow minded, or narrow focused, that’s okay because we know why we are here. It really is summed up in what Jesus says in our text for today, especially verse six.

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.

The Lutheran Church is always been about, [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 let’s 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 through the door.

Now this is church, and you know that in church we aren’t 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 (Romans 5:10). 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 Jesus 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. Our Confirmation students confessed “the Way” publically just last week. Jesus has been the way for you ever since you came to faith in Jesus. 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 actually 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. You wouldn’t have to get up early on Sunday of the church. There is an increasing number of Sunday morning activities that seem to be much more important. Society laughs at you for making church important, especially when it’s an “old-fashioned church” like ours. One that tells you what’s right and wrong that contradicts what is being taught in school. 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. God’s Way of salvation is the only way that we can be sure. 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. He does it 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, 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.

John.10.1-10; The Fourth Sunday of Easter; May 11, 2014;

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston & Mount Ayr, Iowa;

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:1–10, ESV)

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

Who’s your shepherd? Maybe that seems like an odd question. But I think it’s a fair one. Who’s your shepherd? We have after all designated a whole Sunday service to the “Good Shepherd.” So when I ask, “who’s your Shepherd,” you may quickly reply, “Well Pastor, that’s obvious, The Lord is my Shepherd! Just end the sermon right now and let’s all go home.” The Lord is my Shepherd, is indeed the answer to the question, but maybe we should think about it just a little bit more before we go home to lunch in the oven.

Who’s your Shepherd? It is an important question. It’s important because the Lord isn’t the only shepherd out there. The Lord seems to have lots of competition, especially these days, especially these very busy days. Maybe even though you say The Lord is my Shepherd, you are really listening to one of the others. Maybe you’re straying from the Good Shepherd’s flock. Maybe one of these competing shepherds, maybe one of those false shepherds, is leading you. In fact, it would be surprising if they didn’t have some influence over your life, because there are a great many false shepherds vying for your attention. They are out there, calling to you, wanting you to follow them. And what’s more they don’t “come through the gate” Jesus says, they climb in some other way. We may not even recognize that they are there.

There is o command ne “shepherd” that is calling out for us to follow, one that’s obvious and overt. He calls out to us 24 hours a day. We, in fact, have invited him in to our homes and our pockets and given him a place of prominence. No other “shepherd” has more influence on us than the daily bombardment of the screen. There’s Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Amazon prime video, over the air television, and cable TV. It isn’t that the technology is evil. It isn’t that we become vegetables by sitting in front of the tube (although that is a real problem). The problem we are talking about this morning is the constant repetition of themes and images that come to fill our thoughts and minds. So many of those messages are in direct contrast to the “paths of righteousness” that the Good Shepherd would lead us on. So much of what this “shepherd” has to say is hidden in and among messages that seem to be so good. No “shepherd” is better at playing on our sympathy than this one. But he comes in the back way. We take him out of our pocket and put him in front of our eyes whenever we have nothing else to do. He deceives us by telling us that what the whole world thinks is more important than what God, the creator of the world, thinks. This shepherd comes to steal away, and to kill you, and you, are a captive audience.

The “Good Shepherd” isn’t like that. As Jesus says, he comes in the gate. He calls out to his sheep, by name. They know him and follow him. The “Good Shepherd” can be trusted and followed. He knows the right way. He leads his sheep on the well-worn paths of righteousness. The path of righteousness is the good way to go. It leads to a fullness of life; a way of life that preserves and protects, instead of kills and destroys. Other “shepherds” don’t lead that way.

There are many “shepherds” also who tell us that the way is wide and easy. They tell us that many roads lead to the same place. It really doesn’t matter which way you choose, as long as you are sincere. Religion, says this “shepherd,” is for personal comfort; for personal growth in times of trouble; or even for personal wealth and happiness. It’s easy to follow this “shepherd,” too. When he calls out to be followed, he only asks that you recognize that “the truth relative” and “what’s true for you isn’t true for everyone.”

But, the “Good Shepherd” isn’t like that. He says there is only one ‘right’ path to follow. “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except by me.” (John 14:6 NIV) There is only one way. The “Good Shepherd” leads in that way. His way leads through the green pastures, and beside the quiet waters, and only the way that he leads ends at the banquet table in the House of God.

There is another shepherd that calls out to you to follow him… and that shepherd has more influence over you than all the others do. He is the shepherd that lurks in your very own heart. He’s the part of you that wants nothing to do with God or the Good Shepherd. He wants to be his own shepherd. He wants to be in control of his own life, and live it his own way. “I can make that decision on my own. I don’t need God’s guidance. God can’t really mean that this thing that feels so good is sinful. I can do what ever I want; the commandments don’t apply to me. Doesn’t God want me to be happy?” Unfortunately, this shepherd can’t be separated from us. He’s a part of our being. And none of us, who are alive, lives without him. It’s perfectly natural for us to want follow him. We call it “looking out for number one,” or “Taking care of myself, first.” But, you see, the sheep can’t lead themselves. The sheep don’t know which way to go. Every sheep is right in his own thinking and the flock gets scattered, then none of them make the journey safely. When we follow ourselves as our shepherd, again the way leads to death.

Again, that isn’t the way of the Good Shepherd. He gathers his sheep together and leads them. He knows the sheep want to go their own way, but he corrects them. He calls out to them to keep the flock together. He walks in front of them to show the way.

There is no picture, no image, which is burned into our minds that is stronger than that of Jesus the Good Shepherd. It’s there in the stained glass window. We find it in countless paintings and multitudes of art. I’ll bet most of you have it somewhere in your home. We can understand this image. That’s probably why the 23^rd Psalm is the favorite bible passage of so many people. When Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd we know what he means.

Who’s your shepherd? It isn’t the shepherd that calls to you from your computer screen your pocket, calling you to believe lies. It isn’t the shepherd that tells you there are many paths that all lead to the same place. It isn’t even the shepherd you harbor in your own heart. No, none of these are the Good Shepherd. Your shepherd is the Good Shepherd.

The Lord, Jesus Christ, is your shepherd. You are his sheep. He knows you very well. He calls you by name. He has marked you as his own with the very still waters of baptism.

You shall not want. He supplies you with all that you need for the journey through life. He guides you. He leads you. He protects you.

He makes you lie down in green pastures. He leads you beside still waters. He restores your soul. Sometimes you need to be made to rest. The Good Shepherd knows that too. The pastures that he leads you to are full of green, green grass. There are restful and there are quiet waters there. You are well rested when it’s time for the journey to continue.

He guides you in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. He guides you in the way of truth. That’s the best way to go. It is the way that makes life full and complete. He does it, not because you are a special sheep, but because he is the “Good Shepherd.”

Even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil, for he is with you; the journey is a very dangerous journey. Danger is all around. But there is no reason to fear. The Good Shepherd is with you. In fact, the Good Shepherd has already died for you. Jesus has already walked through the shadow of death, he was crucified, died, and was buried. But, he didn’t stay in the shadow; he walked out the other side and was raised from death to life. He promises to walk with you, to lead you through death, too. You don’t need to be afraid because you will also walk from death to life.

His rod and his staff, they comfort you. Even if you begin stray, even when you begin listen to other shepherds, Your Good Shepherd is there to bring you back. He uses his rod to drive the other shepherds away. He uses his staff to hook you and keep you close to himself, close at hand, where you can listen to him, see him, and follow him.

He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies. He anoints your head with oil; your cup overflows. You are his honored guest. Your enemies, those false shepherds, are not able to influence you. The blessings of Your Good Shepherd overflow.

Surely goodness and love will follow you all the days of your life, On this journey, with your Good Shepherd, His goodness and love follow you. They pursue you and make the journey rich and full of wonder.

and you will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. When the journey is over, when the destination is reached, it is only the beginning; because your Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, is leading you home, to the place that he has prepared for you. There everything you experienced on the journey, the goodness and mercy, the overflowing banquet, the comfort, his presence, and the abundance of his blessings, will never end.

So we come back to the question that we began with, who’s your shepherd? He’s the one you listen to. He’s the one who leads you. He’s Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

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

Luke.24.13-35; The Third Sunday of Easter; May 4, 2014;

 

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston & Mount Ayr, Iowa;

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:13–35, ESV)

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

This last week for preschool chapel we talked about this account of Jesus and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The teachers put a path of footprints from the back of the church winding around all the way up to the front. The whole class followed the footprints and we stopped at several points to talk about Jesus along the way. I think it’s wonderfully amazing how Jesus is so much at the heart and center of this particular text. These two disciples have left Jerusalem, the very place Jesus said he would meet them, and were walking away to Emmaus. They were talking about, “all these things that happened.” That means Jesus death, and the rumors of his resurrection. And Jesus appeared to them. But they didn’t know who he was, because that’s the way Jesus wanted it to be. “What are you talking about? As you’re walking away from Jerusalem.” And the two disciples were dumbfounded that someone would not know what was going on. “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know these things that have happened in these days?” The truth is Jesus knows more about what has happened than these disciples. But they are about to find out. “What things?” says Jesus. It’s about one of the most ironic statements in the Bible. “We had high hopes for Jesus of Nazareth. But, he was crucified dead and buried. Some women we know told us that he has risen from the dead. But none of this makes any sense to us.” “Don’t you know your Bible?” Jesus chides. “Doesn’t it say in the prophets that these things are necessary to happen? Doesn’t it say that the Christ should suffer all these things?” Then Jesus conducts a Bible class on the road. Jesus walks through the Bible with his disciples as he walks with them on the road to Emmaus. From beginning to end, he shows them how the Scriptures are all about him. He interprets the texts of God’s word for them, showing how he is the center of it all. They invite him to eat with them. And he reveals to them who he is in the breaking of bread. Just as they see it, Jesus in the Scriptures, Jesus seated with them in their meal, Jesus teaching them on the road to Emmaus, he leaves them that thought. They later told the other disciples that their hearts burned within them while Jesus talked to them on the road. When Jesus told them that he was the center of Scripture the meaning and purpose of the Bible was “opened to them.”

I want to go back to the path of footprints winding around the sanctuary. It was a little journey with Jesus. We would walk for a way, pick up one of the footprints and read about what Jesus was doing or saying. Then move a little further and do it again. Jesus was the center of our little journey. We got up to the front of the church. It was the upper room. We talked about Jesus being the most important thing. We talked about Jesus dying on the cross to forgive our sins.

The Emmaus disciples ran back to the upper room. They couldn’t wait to tell the other disciples that they had seen Jesus risen from the dead. They wanted to explain how Jesus opened Scriptures to them. They couldn’t wait to explain how Jesus resurrection proves that the main thing Jesus had come to do through his life, death, and resurrection is bring the forgiveness of sins. After all, it was all there in the Scriptures. Just as Jesus appeared to them in the breaking of bread, just as his presence was made clear at the end of their walk to Emmaus, Jesus was made clear to them as the center of the Bible.

So what does this mean for you and me? It means it whenever we read or study the Scriptures we ought to be looking for Jesus. The whole Bible is about him. Our sinful tendency is to look at the Bible and make it about us. We read the Bible stories and we want the application to be what were supposed to do, who we are supposed to be, how we are to make ourselves right with God. And although we can get helpful insight on living from God’s word, as Jesus told the disciples on the Emmaus Road, the Scriptures are opened to us when we see Jesus in the text. We understand Scripture clearly only when we see the main purpose. Jesus Christ crucified and risen for sinful people.

Our journey through life is to be a journey with Jesus, footprints from here, through death, to life forever with him. The only way for us to walk with Jesus is to see him in the place that he comes to us. That is the Holy Scriptures. His Word is Jesus at work. And, just so you know, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion are simply God’s Word connected to physical elements, water and bread and wine. There is no place else to find Jesus working. We should not look for him in feelings in our hearts, or the dreams of little children. It is in Word and Sacrament where Jesus comes to us.

So the Bible is always about Jesus. And maybe we should have a few examples of looking for him there. What about Philippians 4:13. This could be an important verse for someone here today.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13, ESV)

Now you might think that St. Paul is giving some great advice. That he’s giving hope to someone who might be getting confirmed, about how their whole future is opened to them. That they can do anything that they set their minds to doing. But that’s not exactly what he’s saying. He is in fact talking about his life of suffering. What he means is that when our minds are focused on who Jesus is and what he has done for us in his life, death, and resurrection, we can live through the trials of life knowing that we have life forever with him. Knowing that nothing that happens to us, that seems evil, is punishment from God but rather a way for God to remind us how much we need Jesus.

Or how about Isaiah 43:1?

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1b, ESV)

There is indeed great reason to fear in this world that we live in. Christian persecution is greater now than it has ever been. If you care to look, every day brings news of our brothers and sisters in faith who die rather than deny their Savior. Christians in Africa are being crucified. In the Middle East, they are regularly beheaded. The culture all around us is increasingly hostile to the message of Jesus. When we dare to say what is right and wrong according to God’s Word we are held up for ridicule. In fact, to stand firm on what God says is a dangerous place to stand. But we stand there because it is the only place for us to stand. God gives us his name in Holy Baptism. It is the name of Jesus, and it carries everything that Jesus did. The name of Jesus placed on you, gives you the forgiveness he won on the cross. All of this makes you God’s very own child. Persecution, trouble, hardship, and even death are only things that will bring you closer to Jesus. There is no reason to fear you have God’s faithful promise of life forever.

And finally Joshua 24:15.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15b, ESV)

Now this one certainly sounds like something we do, serving the Lord. We ought to understand what serving the Lord means. First of all Joshua is confessing faith in God who saved them from slavery in Egypt. He says, even if other families turn to other gods he will remain true to the one who saved him. Joshua’s response is to God’s salvation. As for me and my house, we will serve the God who saves us. The word Lord in this passage is all capital letters. And it really is God’s name, Yahweh. And it is the name that means, “I AM.” “I AM” is the name that God gave the Israelites to know who was saving them from slavery. This same God sends Jesus to save us from our slavery to sin. He is the God who comes in human flesh in Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our forgiveness. To serve this God is to recognize first what he has done for us on the cross. In service of the Lord in a family first begins with bringing that family to hear God’s word. And therefore teaching them of God salvation through Jesus Christ.

So on the road to Emmaus; we learn how to keep Jesus at the center of our lives. God gives to us Holy Scripture that points us to Jesus. That’s what our faith journey is. A life lived in the forgiveness won by Jesus on the cross. Amen.

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

1 Peter 1:3-9; The Second Sunday of Easter; April 27, 2014;

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston & Mount Ayr, Iowa;

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9, ESV)

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

St. Peter tells us that we have a living hope that is founded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And indeed, it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that makes all the difference for Christianity. St. Paul agrees:

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:14, ESV)

It is impossible to overestimate the value of the resurrection to your life of faith. The resurrection is the proof that what Jesus offers, all of his work, and chiefly forgiveness of sins that he won on the cross, is real. Like one of my professors once said. If Jesus had gone around making hair grow and billiard balls, it would’ve indeed been a miracle. But it is a miracle that would’ve meant nothing, except to bald billiard balls. (Dr. John Warwick Montgomery) But Jesus most important miracle, his resurrection from the dead, attacks the real problem of the human condition. The celebration of Easter is all in recognition of the fact that Jesus has risen from the dead. Jesus resurrection is the key to everything that plagues human beings. It’s the key because the resurrection is the defeat of death. Not just death in general, but your death! This is why St. Peter calls it a living hope. It’s not just a living hope because it’s based on Jesus passing through death to life, but it is a sure hope founded in the promises of the one who is living and was dead. It is the resurrection of Jesus that makes all of his promises true.

In the book of Hebrews the author writes,

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV)

It is the assurance of our hope that St. Peter is talking about. We have assurance and all that Jesus has done because he was stone cold dead on the cross but walked again out of the tomb on Easter morning. His death is our forgiveness and his resurrected life is our assurance that is forgiveness is true. St. Clement of Alexandria wrote, “Christ rises again in us according to our faith, just as earlier he died in us because of our unbelief.” (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, volume X I, page 69) and again, St. Paul,

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, ESV)

The idea firstfruits is the very first fruit of the harvest. It’s the promise of everything that is yet to come. And so Jesus resurrection is the promise of our resurrection. The promise of your resurrection!

But the resurrection is nothing without Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, because the life of Jesus after the resurrection is the life of Jesus that was sacrificed into death because of our sin. The resurrection without forgiveness is a resurrection to eternal hell, not “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading kept in heaven for you.” And it is indeed an inheritance. One earned by Christ, not earned by you. It is given to you, “according to [God’s] great mercy.” To quote St. Paul once again in his letter to Pastor Titus,

[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5, ESV)

God in his mercy sent Jesus Christ to the cross to suffer the punishment of our sin. With that punishment satisfied there is forgiveness for all sin. And as St. Peter and St. Paul both state, “he has caused us to be born again to a living hope” and “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” “Born again” and “washing and regeneration” are the very same thing. St. Peter even makes it more clear in chapter 3 verse 21 of this very same letter.

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” (1 Peter 3:21, ESV)

The appeal for a good conscience is forgiveness applied to you and me in faith through Holy Baptism. Baptism means that God forgives you, saves you. That Jesus death and resurrection are your death and resurrection. His death is your forgiveness and his resurrection is your life forever.

St. Peter applies the meaning of the resurrection directly to you. He says that since Jesus has suffered your punishment, God does not need to punish you. Therefore, nothing of your life in this world is punishment from God. St. Peter says that as you wait for the resurrection you rejoice. That is, you take joy in the fact of your resurrection promised in Jesus. Even though, at times, in this life we are “grieved by various trials.” Because of God’s promises made to you through Holy Baptism, these various trials are not punishment but testing. Because Holy Baptism is your personal promise, that Jesus is connected to you. His death is your death. His punishment on the cross for sin is your punishment on the cross for sin. And his resurrection from death is your resurrection.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3–5, ESV)

This wonderful verse is what we read at the beginning of a funeral service. That’s because the promise of Jesus death and resurrection, your death and resurrection, stands there in the face of your death.

So, this means, that as hard as life gets you have the promise of the resurrection. So the hardness of life is nothing but a test to push you closer to Jesus. When sickness is a trial for you and reminds you of your death, you know that the resurrection is at hand. The sickness may kill you, but you will rise again. When work is hard and unsatisfying, you look forward to the resurrection when work will all be joyful in the presence of Christ. When your friends and family let you down, when your relationships with them are shattered because of sin, you look forward to the resurrection. After the resurrection, human relationships will be perfect, unspoiled by sin. When your body is less than it once was, you look forward to the resurrection when your soul will be rejoined to your body and you will be perfect and perfectly human in every way. And when you suffer the separation of death, you look forward to the resurrection, when all those who have died in faith will rise to new life together with Christ.

It is all there in the “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” It’s the power of the dead made alive. It’s the promise of the one who was dead and is alive, who can make you alive again after death. Amen.

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

Philippians 2:5-11; Sunday of the Passion; April 13, 2014;

 

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston & Mount Ayr;

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5–11, ESV)

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

How could you do it Jesus? How could you stoop so low? It starts out so well with your entry into Jerusalem. You riding on the donkey, the people waving their tree branches in the air and laying their cloths on the ground to keep the donkey's feet clean. Shouts of "hosanna" which is to say, "the King is here!" It's hard to imagine how a few short days later you stoop to hanging on the cross, rejected, despised, beaten, and bloody. How could you do it Jesus?

But then, that very question could be asked of other people, also. How could you disciples of Jesus and religious leaders of the day stoop so low? Judas was a thief. He pretended that he was concerned about poor people, but he was helping himself to the disciples treasury. And for a fistful of dollars betrayed Jesus and brought his enemies to him. Jesus lowers himself to be counted among the trespassers.

Peter too, adds to Jesus' humiliation. His denial is born out of pride in contending that he would never forsake Jesus. But when push comes to shove, standing in the presence of those accusing him of being Jesus friend, he flat-out denies it. Jesus himself hangs abandoned on the cross for the sake of sinners who deny him.

The religious leaders, who should've been on Jesus side, instead were his enemies. They use false witnesses to condemn innocent Jesus as a liar and blasphemer. Jesus accepts their condemnation in silence. Innocent Jesus takes the accusation of being a sinner.

Ah, but we don't have to stop there, maybe as we wrap up Lent and prepare for holy week it's a good question for us to ask ourselves. How could you stoop so low? I'm speaking to you sitting here today. How could you stoop so low as to cause Jesus humiliation? It's easy for us to look at other people, those in the Bible who betray, deny, and hate Jesus, and those around us who we think are low down and no good. It's easy to condemn them and say they had their part. It's easy to blame our neighbors who hurt us, in our family we can't get along with, for their sin. But Lent is a time when we look at ourselves in our true light. We look at ourselves to see our own sin. It's the beginning of repentance and faith.

Jesus says, "Why do you see the spec that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3) We constantly do the opposite of what Jesus says. Others are to blame. Others hurt us. And we fail to see that we are the other who hurts our neighbor. We are the other who is to blame. And we justify our selfishness by holding our needs over the needs of our neighbors. And we cling to our things. We make what we have more important than the people God has put into our lives. Our pride and selfishness are the cause of Jesus being made low. He lowers himself, and suffers the just punishment for our selfishness. Jesus puts himself on the cross, counting you and I more important than himself.

How could you, Jesus, stoop so low? How could you allow your humiliation? Because you are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The one who was slain from the foundation of the world, for the sake of sinful human beings. Because in the beginning God created the world through you, the word. So you are the Creator and Redeemer of the world.

How could you, Jesus, stoop so low? Because God is love. You are God. Love of your creation and your created human beings drives you to the cross. Love is that which would set us free from our slavery to sin. Love does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

How could you, Jesus, stoop so low? Because only you can save us. Only you, God who became man. Your death on the cross is enough to forgive our sins because you are God. Your death is our death because you are a man. You who knew no sin became my sin for us. You took my sin into death on the cross. You suffered our, oh so well deserved, punishment. You were forsaken by your friends, by us, and even by God himself. That is the punishment that our sin deserves, to be ignored and rejected by God. And yet you stoop so low as to do it for us. And you do it because we would not, and cannot. And if it were not for you we would be lost forever. You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of us. Amen.

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

Ezekiel 37:1-14; The Fifth Sunday in Lent; April 6, 2014;

 

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston & Mount Ayr;

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”” (Ezekiel 37:1–14, ESV)

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

The Resurrection is coming! And I'm not just talking about our celebration of Easter in two weeks. I'm talking about THE Resurrection. The Resurrection the Jesus talked about in the gospel of John:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:25–29, ESV)

And the Resurrection that was Job's hope:

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:25–27, ESV)

And Ezekiel, standing in the valley of the dry bones, saw this vision of The Resurrection. He was led there by the Hand of the Lord and in the Spirit of the Lord. God himself, Yahweh, brought him out to the valley to show him how he would restore hope to dead and dying people.

First of all, for Ezekiel, and the people of Israel, his vision was about their hope in God restoring them to the land he had promised. They were in exile. Their sin had caused God to send the Assyrians and the Babylonians to remove them from the land. They had done exactly what God told them not to do. They worshiped the gods of the Canaanites. And now in exile, God seemingly so far away, they had lost hope. And so God gave Ezekiel this vision to restore their hope. If God can restore life to the dis-articulated bones of slain soldiers left to rot in a valley, they could indeed trust that he would restore them to the land that he promised them.

They would be restored to the promised land. The Messiah would come. He would save his people from their hopelessness. There would be a resurrection of the dead. God's people would live again with God forever. This has always been the hope of God's people.

A physical, fleshly, real bodily resurrection, is the hope. You and I, and all of our loved ones who have gone before us, will be resurrected as in the vision of Ezekiel. The hope and focus of God's people, the holy Christian church, the Communion of Saints, is in God's promise of the resurrection of the body. We speak it in the creeds. "I believe in… the resurrection of the body." It is a return to what God created human beings to be. Flesh and blood, living breathing, walking talking, touching holding, eating sleeping, bodily human beings. And restoration of creation for created human beings.

In the meantime, we live in an exile. As we live every day in the valley of the shadow of death, death knocking at our door, threatening everything that we are and have, it's easy to lose hope. Hospitals care for the sick, and yet the sick still die. Automobile accidents loom around every moment behind the wheel. Our bodies age and we are unable to do all that we used to do. We struggle with the loss of independence. That loss is a sign of coming death. And all the technology in the world cannot prevent the disappearance of even a single airplane full of people. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). And the wages count heavily against us. My death, your death is a matter only of time.

But the resurrection is coming! That is our goal. That is our hope. The resurrection brings hope to hopeless people. People facing death. But it is not just life after death. It is the resurrection after death. And first there must be death. You cannot be raised from the dead, until you are dead. Just when death will seem to have its victory over you, your joy, your hope, is in the promise of the resurrection.

Next week, as we will hear on Palm/Passion Sunday, Jesus will ride the donkey into Jerusalem hailed as the King. He will ride in, clear the Temple, eat the Passover, pray in the garden, be arrested, betrayed, beaten, mocked, denied, and nailed to the cross. Crucified, dead and buried, Jesus will lie in the stone cold tomb. And then, on Easter, the breath enters him, and he breaths again. God raises him from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Jesus' death is the wages of your sin paid in full. God's death on the cross for you. His resurrection is the promise of your resurrection. No matter how death comes to you, on the day of resurrection, your dead body will hear the voice of God and you will rise to life again, sinews, flesh and skin.

This is the promise of hope restored. The resurrection of the flesh, the body. An end for pain and suffering, forever. An end for sin, forever. An end for death, forever. The beginning for new life, forever.

Ezekiel proclaimed the good news that God's people would return to the Promised Land. They would know the God who delivered them from Egypt was still their God. And what was true for them is true for you and me. It is even a fuller and richer promise for us.

And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” The word of the Lord came to me:” (Ezekiel 37:13–15, ESV)

And so, it is in the promise of THE resurrection, we face death. Amen.

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