Sermon -- 5th Sunday of Easter (May 15, 2022)

LUKE 13:31-35

SEE HOW GOD IS GLORIFIED.

M:                   Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

Cong:              He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

In the name + of Jesus.

     Our Epistle lessons throughout the Easter season have come from St. John’s Revelation.  At the very beginning of Revelation, St. John is shown a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ in his exalted state.  He is no longer a man of sorrows.  Instead, John saw “one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.  The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters” (Revelation 1:13-15).  John saw the glory of the Lord and tried to describe it in terms we could understand.  John was the beloved disciple of Jesus.  For years, they were close friends.  But when John saw Jesus in his bare glory, they did not embrace in a joyful reunion.  John, still in his humble, fallen state, fell on his face in fear. 

     We often think of God’s glory as John saw it.  We know that God is holy—pure and without a trace of evil.  That goes beyond anything we know in this world.  It is glorious.  We know that God is almighty.  He can do whatever he pleases, and no one can prevent it.  That is glorious.  We also know that God is present everywhere and knows all things.  He knows the plans being discussed in the Kremlin, the conversations in coffee shops in Australia, and even the secrets of your heart.  That is glorious too.  But none of that is comforting.  Trying to understand it makes our heads spin, and it makes our hearts weak.  God knows everything.  He holds us accountable for everything.  Since he is holy, his judgment is perfect.  Since he is our almighty Creator, he has the right and authority and ability to do with us what he pleases and to give us what we deserve.  If we assess ourselves honestly, we know we deserve his punishment, and we cannot prevent it.

     Jesus told his disciples, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.  If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once” (John 13:31-32).  Although Jesus is true God—holy, almighty, all-knowing, and so forth—his glory is not revealed to terrorize.  We get a hint of how God is glorified from the first phrase of our Gospel lesson: “When he had gone out” (John 13:31).  The “he” is Judas Iscariot, and he went out to set in motion the betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion of Jesus.  That is where God is rightly glorified.  The glory of the Lord is that he loves and saves sinners.  Jesus’ glory is revealed in the saving and in consoling sinners.  See how God is glorified!

     Jesus declared, “God is glorified in him” (John 13:31).  In other words, God the Father’s glory is made known through Jesus.  God is glorified because he loves his creation.  Even when the whole world fell under God’s curse because sin corrupted it, God did not remove his love from his creation.  Everyone comes into this sin-broken world bearing the image of sinful Adam.  We cannot do the good as God demands—freely, gladly, willingly, constantly.  Nevertheless, God has not withdrawn his love from us.  God reveals his glory as a merciful redeemer by sending his Son to pay for the sins of the world. 

     Jesus declared, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him” (John 13:31).  In less than 24 hours after saying this, Jesus was nailed to a cross.  It was on that cross that the sacrificial death of the innocent Son of God was given for the guilty.  It is there that we see God the Father so loved the world.  It is there that we see the love God the Son has for his Father, that he would willingly fulfill the mission he was given.  Jesus was sent to suffer a punishment that he did not deserve and die a cursed death that he had not earned.  In doing that, the Son of God took away every trace of wickedness that had stood against us—from the selfish schemes we have concocted to the unkind conversations we have had to our innermost thoughts of jealousy and revenge.  God knows all these things, but he does not condemn us for them; for he has condemned his Son in our place so that we could have pardon and peace.  See how God is glorified!  He has redeemed sinners and reconciled us to himself by the sufferings and death of Jesus.

     Jesus was further glorified after his crucifixion.  When Jesus rose from the dead, he did not shed his humanity.  To this day, Jesus Christ is both true God and true man.  Jesus never stopped being true God when he lived in his humble state as a Jewish peasant.  Although Jesus retained all the attributes of God, for the most part Jesus chose not to use them.  After Jesus rose from the dead, he resumed the full use of these divine attributes.  What’s more, those divine attributes now have been granted to his humanity.  So, when St. John saw the revelation of the glorified Jesus, he was still the Son of Man.  But now this man appears in divine glory. 

     See how God is glorified.  Rather than dispose of his humanity, Jesus exalted his humanity.  This man lives and reigns with all authority over all things—and he does this for your good.  His word of forgiveness is supreme.  His judgment for your salvation is indisputable.  He assures you of glory, not that you will become divine, but that your humanity will be exalted and perfected forever.  See how God is glorified.

     Although Jesus spent three years instructing his apostles to teach and preach about the kingdom of God, Jesus would not remain with them forever.  Jesus was preparing his disciples for this change on the night he was betrayed.  He told them, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you.  You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’” (John 13:33).  Jesus has ascended into heaven where he lives and reigns hidden from our sight.  We will see his glory when he comes again to judge the living and the dead.  Or perhaps you will see it when you close your eyes in death and open them in heavenly glory.  But we are not there yet.  For now, we dwell on earth, and our Lord gives us work to do.

     See how Jesus is glorified.  He is glorified in you!  You are his redeemed.  His death purchased and won you for himself.  He put his name upon you in Holy Baptism.  And just as he has made you children of God, now he calls upon you to live up to that.  He told his disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also 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). 

     See how God is glorified in his redeemed!  He lives and works in you to live according to his word and to act according to his will.  Therefore, we strive to love one another as Jesus himself has loved us.  That is made evident in many ways.  We come to each other’s aid when someone is suffering loss or hardship.  We offer words of consolation to those who are mourning, and we weep with them.  We offer words of encouragement to those who are struggling and support them with our prayers.  We rejoice with those who are blessed with no need to be jealous of them.  We speak to one another honestly and lovingly.  We deal with one another in patience and kindness.  We continually strive to do what is good for one another.  And even when we have different opinions, we recognize this as evidence that God creates wonderful, diverse personalities and we get to enjoy them as such—assuming our opinions do not stand in opposition to God’s word.

     See how our God is glorified in you.  The most significant way this glory is known is that we freely forgive one another as Jesus forgives us.  We are God’s children, but we are still sinners.  We can still get petty and snippy.  We can mistake each other’s motives or wrongly interpret someone’s words as criticism or condemnation.  The devil attempts to drive wedges between us when these things happen.

     When you get closer to people, it can be harder to love them.  It is often easier to love strangers.  You only have to deal with a stranger for a few minutes.  Anyone can be polite for that long.  But the longer you know someone, each person gets a little more comfortable with the other, and one’s true character begins to show.  You get to discover darker attitudes, arrogant opinions, and annoying characteristics.  It is harder to love someone when you see all their faults and are subject to their failings. 

     But see how God is glorified.  He knows all our faults, weaknesses, and wickedness.  Yet, he does not disown us.  He continues to love us, have mercy upon us, and forgive us.  Our place in his kingdom is not so fragile that one misstep will get us expelled.  The Lord is patient, kind, and compassionate—even when we struggle and fall. 

     Since you know what it is to be shown mercy, you get to show mercy to one another.  Since you know what it is to be forgiven, you get to forgive one another freely.  Since you know how hard it can be to fight off temptations and sins, you can be patient with others who have their own struggles and bear a different cross.  And since you know how unfair it is when people assume the worst about you, you get to be gracious and put the best construction on what others say and do.  When people see that you love one another as Jesus loves you, they will see God glorified among you.

     Jesus concluded, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).  Our desire is that people will know about the promises of God which have been confirmed in Jesus.  Those promises are known only when you confess them.  Not everyone will get to hear your confession of faith, but everyone does see your words and actions.  The love you show to others reflects the love that Jesus has shown to you.  When people see that, they may become interested in knowing why you are patient, kind, and merciful in a world that seldom sees that kind of love.  Faith in God’s word is not only what we believe, it is also what we put into action.  This is how they will know that you are one of Jesus’ disciples, and it is how God is glorified in your life. 

     See how God is glorified.  God the Father is glorified by sending a Savior to redeem sinners.  God the Son is glorified by taking away your sin and granting you eternal life.  God the Holy Spirit is glorified by working in your mind and heart so that you are merciful as the Lord your God is merciful.  This is what makes you a disciple of Jesus, and this is your glory.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.