Sermon -- 5th Sunday of Easter (May 3, 2026)

JESUS REVEALS A LOVING FATHER TO YOU.

JOHN 14:1-11

In the name + of Jesus.

M:       Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C:        He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

      When St. Paul preached to the philosophers in Athens, he said, “From one man, [God] made every nation of mankind to live over the entire face of the earth.  He determined the appointed times and the boundaries where they would live.  He did this so they would seek God and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27).  In other words, everyone is religious.  Everyone has an innate desire to know who God is.  The atheist is the exception, not the rule.

     You can travel all over the world and find people who practice many different religions.  They all have the same goal—to get on God’s good side.  The way that people try to get on God’s good side is through some act of obedience.  The specific acts of obedience vary from religion to religion, but they all focus on being good and doing something to appease God for the evils they have done.  This is why people insist that all religions are the same.  Do good.  Appease God for your sins.  And hope that you have been able to make God happy enough with you that you can enjoy a good life after death.

     Everyone has this innate desire to know who God is and what he wants.  But how can anyone know he is right?  On what do they base their hopes and their beliefs?  If an eternity hangs in the balance, this is no time to guess. 

     The Lord Jesus makes a bold claim.  Jesus declared, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6).  Some may say that all religions are just different paths to heaven, Jesus rejects that completely.  Jesus states emphatically that the only way into that kingdom is through him.  Jesus rejects every other religion on earth. 

     Jesus said, “‘No one comes to the Father, except through me.  If you know me, you would also know my Father.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.’  ‘Lord,’ said Philip, ‘show us the Father, and that is enough for us’” (John 14:6-8).  Philip’s request resonates with all mankind.  Of course, the problem is that we don’t see God.  As a result, people end up trying to reach up into heaven to envision what God wants, what God likes, and what God does.  Often, the result is that we craft a god who is just like we are.  God likes what I like.  God hates what I hate.  If I despise someone, God must hate him too.  If I like that person, she must be going to heaven.  This god is nothing but a mirror.  It is also a great deception because it leads people to believe that they stand on a good footing with God even though they do not know what God says or wants.  It comes down to, “I’m okay with me, so God must be okay with me.”  This is idolatry and blasphemy.

     “Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough for us” (John 14:8).  Our conscience gives us some idea what God is like.  There is fairly common agreement on what is evil and what is good.  But what about appeasing God when you have failed to live up to the dictates of your conscience?  What would be acceptable?  Sacrifice?  And if so, what kind of sacrifice?  And how often?  And how do you know that it would actually appease God?  This is where people are left groping for hope and for comfort.  There is no comfort in guessing.

     Rather that remain hidden, God the Father has chosen to make himself known.  He revealed his words in the past through Moses and the Prophets.  But to give us the most vivid and accurate depiction of himself, God the Father sent his Son into the world.  If you consider what Jesus said, what he did, and how he interacted with other people, then you can see what God the Father is like.  Jesus said it: “If you know me, you would also know my Father.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.  The one who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:7,9).  Jesus reveals a loving Father to you. 

     What evidence does Jesus present?  He said, “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.  Or else believe because of the works themselves” (John 14:11).  Jesus performed many miraculous signs.  They are called signs because signs point you to something.  They point you to the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh.  Nicodemus recognized this when he told Jesus, “No one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is with him” (John 3:2).  But the signs point to more than Jesus doing what only God can do.  Through these signs Jesus reveals a loving Father.

     God the Father Almighty is the Maker of heaven and earth.  He created a perfect world filled with beauty.  He crafted holy people to dwell in it.  And even though sin has sullied this world and produced many handicaps in people, God the Father still creates people with sound bodies, with sight, with hearing, with speech, and various abilities as he sees fit.  Does the fact that some are born blind, deaf, or with birth defects negate the Father’s goodness?  Hardly!  Most are not blind, deaf, or crippled.  Even though sin corrupts us, the Father still produces new lives with sound bodies.

     When Jesus encountered people with these handicaps and hardships, they appealed to him for mercy.  And just as your Father in heaven is good and merciful, so was Jesus.  He brought healing to the diseased and relief for the oppressed.  The Father sent Jesus to do this work because the Father loves his creation.  He does not discard this world or its people in disgust; he redeems it in love.  The miraculous signs that Jesus performed also point us to a greater future.  When all things are restored, the blind will see, the lame will walk, and the deaf will hear.  Bodies will be whole and spirits will be refreshed.  Jesus reveals that you have a loving Father; for Jesus does what the Father sent him to do.

     We can also see the Father in the way that Jesus dealt with sinners.  One example: Jesus had been invited to feast at the home of a Pharisee named Simon.  Being a Pharisee, he was a devout and religious man.  He would have been moral and decent and knew how to keep polite company.  Jesus reclined at the table in his home, laying with his left arm on a pillow with his body stretched away from the table.  While he was there, a sinful woman came up to him.  We don’t know what particular sins she was guilty of, but she apparently had developed quite a reputation for herself.  She wept over Jesus’ feet as they extended away from the table.  She washed them with her tears.  She dried his feet with her hair.  She kissed his feet and anointed them with perfume. 

     Simon’s reaction was disgust.  He questioned Jesus’ credibility as a prophet of God.  Simon said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would realize who is touching him and what kind of woman she is, because she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39).  Simon wasn’t wrong in labeling her.  Her reputation seems to have been earned, and he judged her according to her sins.  For Simon, the way to make God happy was by obedience.  Simon believed he had done this; the woman had not.  Simon expected each to be judged by their own merits.  For Simon, sadly, he was.  Jesus, on the other hand, did not kick this woman away.  Rather, Jesus may have been the first person to not treat her like a sinner.  While Jesus does not excuse sins, neither does he treat us as our sins deserve.  And rather than rub her face in her sins like Simon did, Jesus came to scrub her clean of all her sins. 

     Jesus reveals a loving Father to you.  For, the Father has compassion on sinners.  He longs for us to be freed from them—free from the shame of our past, free from the weight of our guilt, free from the fear of punishment and death.  In fact, the Father wants us to be free from the fear of him!  And to bring such consolation to us, the Father sent his Son into the world to rescue us from all our sin and to reconcile us to himself. 

     To do that, Jesus had to be treated as our sins deserve.  The Father does not excuse our sins anymore than Jesus does.  Sins bring consequences.  “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), St. Paul reminds us.  Sin produces a curse, as the Lord had decreed to Adam and Eve when they first brought sin into the world.  Sin brings consequences to everyone—whether jail time, fines, a broken home, a loss of trust or friendship or a job.  But even if you think you are getting away with your sins because they are done in secret, your own conscience afflicts you.  It testifies to the one consequence that all people face—God’s wrath and judgment.  All religions know it.  We have not done good.  We cannot appease God.  Does he even have a good side to get on?

     Jesus reveals a loving Father to us.  In love for sinners, the Father sent his Son to take on all the judgment, the punishment, the curse, and the death for our sins.  God the Son did this on behalf of all sinners, so there is no need for different nations to have different religions.  St. John wrote in his first epistle, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2).  Jesus’ sacrifice has appeased his Father.  Jesus’ sacrifice atones for all sins.  Jesus has done what no other religion can do or promise.  This is why Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6).  Only Jesus brings a full pardon for all sin.  Only Jesus has overcome death.  Therefore, only Jesus will reveal to a loving Father to you.

     Some get the idea that God the Father is an angry Lord who is eager to strike people down, but that God the Son stepped in to calm him down.  If that were the case, then God the Father and God the Son would be of two different minds.  But they are not.  Jesus made that clear: “If you know me, you would also know my Father.  … The one who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:7,9).  If our threat was God the Father and our hope was in Jesus, Jesus would have promised to take us far away from the Father.

     Instead, Jesus promises that we will be taken to the Father.  This is his promise: “In my Father’s house are many mansions.  If it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am” (John 14:2-3).  Jesus has ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us there.  For, God the Father wants us to be with him permanently—without terror, without troubles, and without end.  Jesus promises to take us to his Father’s house.  And, thanks to Jesus, he is your Father too.  Jesus reveals a loving Father to you.  He has made you his blessed children.  And he is eager to have you home.

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

YouTube -- 5th Sunday after Easter (May 18, 2025)

Here is the Divine Service from Sunday, May 18, 2025.

Sermon -- 5th Sunday of Easter (May 18, 2025)

1 CORINTHIANS 13:1-13

WITHOUT LOVE, IT’S ALL FOR NOTHING.

In the name + of Jesus.

M: Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C:  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!

      The early church experienced many miraculous gifts.  Through the laying on of hands by the apostles, people received such gifts as “healing gifts, …miracles, …prophecy, …evaluating of spirits, …different kinds of tongues, and …the interpretation of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).  St. Mark concluded his Gospel by stating the purpose of these gifts: “Those who went out preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it” (Mark 16:20).  The early church had not yet received the New Testament Scriptures in their entirety, so the miraculous gifts confirmed the message.  We do have the full New Testament, so we point to chapters and verses to teach and to defend the Christian faith.

     The congregation in Corinth was exceptionally gifted.  The Holy Spirit had supplied them with all sorts of abilities.  You would think that this congregation would have been a model of peace, joy, and love.  Unfortunately, the gifts the Holy Spirit had given to be a blessing for the whole congregation became a cause for pride, jealousy, and division.  They knew what the love of God was, but they were not good at putting it into practice.  St. Paul told them, without love, it’s all for nothing.

     St. Paul referred to those spiritual gifts and ramped them up to extreme levels.  “If I speak in the tongues … of angels….  If I have the gift of prophecy and know all the mysteries….  If I give away everything I own, and if I give up my body that I may be burned but do not have love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).  In other words, if my life blazes with astounding signs of faith but I do not have love, what good is it?  What good is it if God is not honored?  What good is it if my neighbor is ignored or belittled?  Without love, it’s all for nothing.

     Jesus commanded us, “Love one another” (John 13:34).  I could preach that anywhere in the world and no one would disagree with me.  But ask people to define what that means, you will get many different answers.  So, let me ask you: What do you love, and why?  What probably comes to mind are things that make you happy or give you pleasure.  “I love pizza.”  Why?  Because it’s tasty.  I like it.  It brings me pleasure.  But if that is how I measure love, then it is all about me.  It is utterly self-centered.  If my focus is on what I can get out of people and things, that is not love at all.  Love looks outward, not inward.

     If you want to know what love is, then turn to the Lord.  St. John declared, “God is love” (1 John 4:16).  Not, “God is loving,” which he is.  But “God is love.”  God=love.  God’s love is demonstrated in giving gifts and working for the good of others.  Love is God’s policy, his commitment, his conviction. 

     This love is confessed by us in the Apostles’ Creed.  There we acknowledge what God does for his creation.  Regarding God the Father: “I believe that God has made me and all that exists, that he gave me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my mind and all my abilities.  And I believe that God still preserves me by richly and daily providing clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land cattle and all that I own, and all that I need for body and life.  And God preserves me by defending me from all danger and guarding and protecting me from all evil.  All this God does because he is my good and merciful Father in heaven, and not because I have earned or deserved it.  For all this I ought to thank and praise, serve and obey him” (Luther’s Small Catechism; Apostles’ Creed: First Article).  Our Lord does this for all people, including those who despise him and deny him.  Such generous love is God’s policy, his commitment, his conviction.

     The Lord has blessed us richly with all that we need.  He desires that we respond to him with thanks and praise, service and obedience, but we have not given it.  Not everything in God’s word gives us pleasure.  God’s word does not allow us to do whatever pleases us.  The Corinthians took pleasure in their spiritual gifts but not in the people who were supposed to benefit from them.  This was worship and love of themselves.  Likewise, the reason we return to our sins is because we like them.  We believe we stand something to gain in them.  They make us happy even if they hurt others and dishonor the Lord.  Repent.

     While we have earned God’s wrath for worship and love of ourselves, God did not send his wrath.  He sent his Son.  That’s because God’s policy, God’s conviction, God’s commitment is love.  That love is personified in Jesus Christ—“who has redeemed me a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and by his innocent sufferings and death.  All this he did that I should be his own and live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness” (Luther’s Small Catechism; Apostles’ Creed: Second Article). 

     Without love, it’s all for nothing.  But God’s love has done everything to work salvation for you.  Jesus went to the cross for sinners and rebels.  He did not wait for us to improve before he suffered and died for us.  He found us in our sinful condition—ungrateful for his gifts, yearning for cheap thrills, willing to be seduced by Satan who promises to give us whatever we want.  Rather than let us get the judgment we deserve, Jesus rescued us from it.  He even did this for people who despise and deny him because his love does not hinge on how people respond to it.  Love is the policy, the conviction, and the commitment.  Those who prefer their sins over Jesus’ love will be judged according to their preference.  The penitent will receive pardon and peace from our Lord.  Without love, it’s all for nothing.

     God’s love has been manifested for you because he has delivered his gifts to you and thereby delivered you into his kingdom.  The Holy Spirit’s love accomplished this.  For “I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him.  But the Holy Spirit has called me through 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 fully forgives all sins to me and all believers.  On the Last Day, he will raise up me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.  This is most certainly true” (Luther’s Small Catechism; Apostles’ Creed: Third Article).  And it is most certainly a pure and perfect love.  “It is not selfish.  It is not irritable.  It does not keep a record of wrongs.  It does not rejoice over unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:5-6).

     If we don’t have a love for God and his word, it doesn’t matter if the whole world tells us how nice we are.  Without love for God and his word, it’s all for nothing.  But the Lord pours this love upon us and into us.  This produces love for God, for his word, and for others.  God’s love and God’s gifts prove to us that he is good and merciful.  We recognize that his word is good and right. 

     Likewise, God’s love teaches us how to love our fellow man.  Just as God does not grant us permission to pursue any desire we have, so also love for our fellow man does not allow us to give blanket approval of every desire or idea they have.  After all, “(Love) does not behave indecently.  …(Love) does not rejoice over unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:5,6).  We cannot bless what God does not bless.  Love compels us to seek repentance from those who sin against God.  Although many will call this hate, it is not.  It is seeking their good which is what love does.  Now, you could judge and condemn people who have embraced sin.  While you would not be wrong, you need to be careful that your words are not haughty or self-righteous.  That’s because “Love is patient.  Love is kind.  …It is not arrogant” (1 Corinthians 13:4).  Without love, it’s all for nothing.  Our Lord does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked.  Neither do we.  The goal is not to flaunt how right we are; it is to seek the eternal good of others.  Love desires the salvation of all.

     The Corinthians proved that Christians struggle with these things.  We prove it, too.  We do not love purely.  Our faith has not been perfected yet.  That will not happen until we enter everlasting glory.  Then our love will be pure.  For, “when that which is complete has come, that which is partial will be done away with” (1 Corinthian 13:10).  Our longing for heaven is not just that our bodies will be made whole and our world will be made perfect, it is also that our minds and hearts and mouths will have and will show pure love for one another.  After all, without love, it’s all for nothing.

     The spiritual gifts among the Corinthian congregation did not make them a perfect congregation.  They still struggled to love one another.  Eventually, those spiritual passed away.  But do not think that we have been robbed of anything.  St. Paul had said that these gifts would fade out.  But the God who loves us still gives us what we need.  The miraculous gifts did not remain, but “these three remain: faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). 

     Faith is the trust in God and his word.  It is the commitment to live according to God’s word even when it is hard to do.  Faith will persist in godly living and trust that God knows what he is doing even when we don’t.  Hope is the confidence that we have a place awaiting us in the heavenly kingdom.  We have not received it yet, but we will.  When we are received into glory, even faith and hope will pass away.  In the heavenly kingdom, we will not live by faith, but by sight.  We will not hope for glory because we will have it.  But “Love never comes to an end” (1 Corinthians 13:8).  The God who is love is eternal.  His love is eternal.  And thanks be to God, we will dwell eternally with him—in his pure love for us, in our perfect love for him, and in peace and love for one another and all the people of God.

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

YouTube -- 5th Sunday of Easter (April 28, 2024)

Here is the service from Sunday, April 28, 2024.

Sermon -- 5th Sunday of Easter (April 28, 2024)

JOHN 15:1-8

ONLY JESUS PRODUCES FRUITFUL LIVES.

In the name + of Jesus.

M:       Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C:        He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

     Lutheran preaching puts a strong emphasis on what we have been set free from.  You have been set free from sin.  Your sin no longer condemns you.  Jesus Christ has endured condemnation for you in his death on the cross.  You are set free.  You are also set free from the devil.  Jesus Christ has destroyed the devil’s work and has crushed the serpent underfoot.  The devil cannot snatch you away from Jesus.  You are set free.  You have even been set free from death.  Now, it is true that we will go to a grave one day.  These bodies of ours have been corrupted by sin, and nothing sinful can dwell together with God.  But when Jesus comes again on the Last Day, he will raise you up from the grave with a glorified, holy body.  In the end, the grave gets nothing.  You have been set free.

     This heavy emphasis on what we are set free from is on purpose.  This is where we find our comfort and our hope.  But if we are set free from something, it stands to reason that we are set free for something.  The Christian faith is more than: “We are set apart as God’s people.”  It is also, “We are set apart to be godly people.”  The apostles made this clear in their preaching to the Church.  For example, St. Paul wrote, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor….  For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4,7).  You have been set apart for a godly life and for good works.  Only Jesus produces this fruitful life in us.

     Jesus said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8).  We do not get to opt out of producing fruit, that is, good works.  Nor do we get to tell God which good works we will do and which we will not.  Fruitful lives are evidence that our faith is genuine.  Faith cannot just sit there; it is active and productive.  If we confess faith in God’s word but our lives contradict it, then our confession is empty and faith is dead.  If we believe that God’s word is true, then we will also strive to live according to it. 

     Jesus assures us that we will produce the fruitful lives the Father seeks.  He says, “Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit” (John 15:4-5).  If our faith rests in Jesus, the good works will flow forth.  It is Jesus who works in us to will and to act according to God’s purpose.  Only Jesus produces fruitful lives.

     Now, you may compare yourself with people who have no use for Jesus at all, and conclude that their works are just as good as yours.  If they look like they are doing the same works that you are, you might wonder if even matters.  But Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  Scripture also says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please [God]” (Hebrews 11:6).  Those who do not believe in Jesus are still in their sin.  No matter how good their works appear, no matter how much they are praised for them, they are still covered in sin.  God cannot delight in that.  But Jesus tells you, “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3).  God is not pleased with your works because they are more holy or spectacular than that of others; God is pleased with your works because he is pleased with you.  Jesus has taken away your sin.  He presents you to his Father as holy and blameless.  And Jesus produces in you the works that delight God.  Only Jesus produces fruitful lives.

     Another problem you might struggle with is that you recognize that your works are flawed.  Your sin rears its ugly head even in your good works.  For example, if you give a charitable gift to a noble cause, your gift is done out of love.  But it may also stir up your pride as you think, “That was wonderful of me.  Surely God will reward me for that.”  So, your good work is done for your sake as much as for the good of another.  Sin infests everything.

     But remember Jesus’ promise: “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3).  Through faith in Jesus, you have become God’s children.  Through holy baptism, you have been purified in Christ.  Even though your works are flawed, God the Father sees you as pure.  If the Father sees you as pure, then he sees all your works as pure.  It is like a kindergartener who wants to draw a picture for her mother for Mothers’ Day.  She pulls out her box of crayons and draws on a sheet.  She goes to her mother and says, “Here, Mommy!  I made this for you!”  No mother in the world would squawk, “Well, this certainly isn’t a Rembrandt, is it?”  No, she will gush over it.  “This is a beautiful drawing.  I am going to put this on the refrigerator so we can see it all the time.”  She loves it because it came from her daughter whom she loves, a daughter who loves her and wants to please her.  Since you are children of God, the Father does not sniff in contempt at your less-than-perfect works.  He delights in you and in the fruit you bear.  Only Jesus produces fruitful lives.

     Now let’s consider one of Jesus’ words which sounds unsettling.  He said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2).  When the master gardener comes, he prunes and hacks away at the grapevine.  If a grapevine could speak, it would protest, “Why are you coming to do such harm to me?  You are cutting away branches that have already begun to bud.  You are taking away good fruit.  Why would you inflict such pain on me?”  But the master gardener knows what he’s doing.  He removes some of the sprouts and buds so that the remaining branches get more nutrients.  That makes the remaining branches even more fruitful.

     This is what the heavenly Father does to us.  The Father does not prune only dead branches.  Jesus says, “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2).  So, he prunes away things that are good in order to have us produce even more good.  But since it is a pruning, it seems painful, cruel, and unnecessary to us.  All we know is that it hurts as God strips blessings from us or allows us to suffer.  But he is the master gardener.  He knows what he is doing.  What you and I think is cruel the Father knows is for our good.  The pruning makes us more fruitful.  Jesus produces that fruitful life in us even in suffering.

     Consider how this worked out in Jesus’ own life.  Without a doubt, Jesus had a fruitful life, overflowing with good works.  He had compassion on the outcasts.  He welcomed the crowds even when they were infringing on his private time.  He drove out demons and cured the sick.  But this was not his most fruitful labor.  That happened when he was most cruelly oppressed, vilified, beaten, and killed.  The injustice that was heaped upon Jesus was done by the hands of wicked men, but it was also according to the will of his heavenly Father.  St. Peter wrote, “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.  He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:21-23).  Jesus endured unjust suffering patiently both to glorify his Father and to win our salvation.  You are the fruit which Jesus has borne.

     So, when the heavenly Father starts to prune blessings from you—and this happens more as you get older—he is teaching you to trust him all the more.  If he takes away your family or friends, he is saying, “Well, you can’t trust in these anymore.  But you can trust in me.”  If your eyesight fades or your balance and mobility grow weak, he is saying, “Well, you can’t trust in your abilities anymore, but you can still trust in me.”  If you lose your money, your reputation, or your memory, he is teaching you, “Well, you can’t trust in those anymore.  But you can still trust in me.” 

     If the Father prunes you this way, what else can you do but call on him for mercy?  What else can you do but endure your sufferings with patience?  What else can you hope for but a better future in the heavenly kingdom?  What else can you do but acknowledge that everything in this world is passing away and is, therefore, untrustworthy?  But the word of the Lord will never pass away.  His mercy endures forever.  And Jesus still abides in you.  He still produces the fruitful life that shows you are his disciple and the faithful confession that glorifies God.  Besides, what makes a better confession before the world—praising God for abundance and comfort, or praising God in the midst of suffering and loss?  Rejoicing in good times is easy.  Rejoicing despite one’s suffering shows a faith that leans upon God for everything that is truly good.  In the end, if all you have is Jesus, you have everything that matters.

     One final promise we will consider because it is often misunderstood.  Jesus declared, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).  This sounds like Jesus is issuing a blank check—that you should be able to get anything you want just by asking for it.  But what happens when you pray for healing and a loved one dies anyway?  What happens when you pray for that new job but the company hires someone else?  Did Jesus lie? 

     Pay careful attention to the promise.  Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).  In other words, if your prayers are in line with God’s word, it will be done for you.  God will always say, “Yes,” to his own word.  Now, you can pray for anything you want.  But you don’t know if all your requests are in line with God’s will.  He may provide relief from suffering.  He may put an end to suffering by bringing you to your heavenly home.  He may have your suffering linger to teach you patience and increase your prayers.  Even if you don’t understand why the Father prunes as he does, you know that he is your good and merciful Father.  And you know Jesus will abide in you to preserve you in the faith.  Jesus will abide in you to sustain you through suffering and loss.  Jesus will abide in you so that you will and act according to God’s good pleasure.  Only Jesus produces a fruitful life, and only Jesus bestows everlasting life.

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

YouTube -- 5th Sunday of Easter (May 7, 2023)

Here is the Divine Service from Sunday, May 7, 2023.

Sermon -- 5th Sunday of Easter

ACTS 4:1-12

SALVATION IS FOUND IN NO ONE ELSE.

In the name + of Jesus.

M:    Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C:    He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

     One of the frustrations people have about God is why he acts the way he acts and allows the things he allows.  Why doesn’t God put a stop to all of the wickedness and woe that we see in this world?  You might think of that on a global scale.  Why does God allow war to go on in Ukraine and in Sudan?  You might think of that on a community level.  Why doesn’t God put a stop to mass shootings or poverty?  Or it might hit you on a personal level.  Why doesn’t God alleviate my pain, remove my anxiety, or make my family get along?  Certainly, God could do any of that.  But God lets a world cursed by sin prove to be a world cursed by sin.  God lets bodies corrupted by sin be affected by sin.  God lets sinful people do sinful things.  After all, when you are about to say something unkind or untrue, God doesn’t make your throat swell shut so you can’t say it.  God lets a sinful world remain a sinful world. 

     That explanation is probably less than satisfying.  We recognize that a sinful world and a sinful life are evil.  We want to be delivered from them.  We pray to be delivered from them.  And so, the cry goes out: “Why doesn’t God do something about that?!” 

     Dear Christians, he has!  The Lord Jesus came to deliver you from a world cursed by sin, to free you from a body corrupted by sin, and to rescue you from hearts and minds and mouths that are prone to sin.  Jesus has taken away the curse of your sin by his innocent life and his sacrificial death.  Jesus’ innocent life is credited to you and is applied to you through your baptism.  You do not have to invent arguments to convince God that you are good.  Through Jesus, you are blameless.  And Jesus’ sacrificial death takes away any mark of guilt against you.  Jesus suffered what sinners deserve to set you free from condemnation.  The curse has been removed.  God’s wrath has been appeased.  Salvation is found in no one else.

     While the curse of sin has been removed from you, we live in a world which still bears the curse.  The effects of sin are everywhere, and we suffer under them.  What does Jesus do about that?  He gave us a glimpse of the glory to come through his ministry.  The Bible sums up Jesus’ ministry this way: “(Jesus) went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (Matthew 4:23).  Those healings show what is to come.  At the resurrection, Jesus will free us from every ache and affliction, from every disorder and disease, from all violence and villainy, and from every pain, every prescription, and every problem.  Full salvation comes at the resurrection.  Then, we will be forever free from every curse and every effect of sin.  This salvation is found in no one else than Jesus.

     Jesus called his apostles and gave them the same authority.  “He called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction” (Matthew 10:1).  In other words, the apostles were given the task of preaching the words of Jesus, and their message was confirmed by them doing the works of Jesus. 

      All of that brings us to today’s reading.  Peter and John had met a beggar at the temple gate.  He was a beggar because he was lame.  He could not hold a job, so he sat at the temple gate and appealed to worshipers for alms.  Peter and John came to the temple for the hour of prayer.  They saw him and had pity on him.  They acted in the stead and by the command of Jesus to restore his legs to their proper function.  This miraculous healing, once again, is a glimpse of the perfect healing we will all receive when Jesus comes again.

     Naturally, this miracle caused quite a stir.  When the crowds gathered to look at it, Peter and John preached about Jesus’ resurrection.  Jesus’ resurrection proves that he is the promised Messiah.  It proves that Jesus takes away the sins of the world.  It proves that Jesus delivers us all from death.  It proves that Jesus reconciles us to God.  Jesus will restore all things to perfection at the resurrection of the dead on the Last Day.  This salvation is found in no one else.  Therefore, we cling to Jesus.  We trust in his promises and align our lives with his instructions.

     The religious leaders were greatly annoyed that Peter and John proclaimed in Jesus’ name the resurrection from the dead.  They had Peter and John imprisoned.  Since it was late in the day, they would figure out what to do with them in the morning.  These leaders had orchestrated Jesus’ crucifixion.  They had hoped that the death of Jesus was the end of Jesus.  But Jesus is risen from the dead.  His apostles bore witness that Jesus is the Savior, and that salvation is found in no one else.

     These religious leaders remained stubborn in their unbelief.  And their unbelief made them stupid.  They began interrogating Peter and John: “By what power or by what name did you do this” (Acts 4:7)?  They did not deny the miracle; they couldn’t.  So, they asked about the power behind the miracle.  What kind of answer were they looking for?  What answer would have satisfied them?  And why would they have a problem with the miracle, anyway?  Wasn’t the healing of a crippled man a good thing? 

     In our sinful stubbornness, we are no better.  Rarely are our sins done in ignorance.  We know what the Commandments say.  God has revealed his will—what is good and what is evil.  That word has been given to us plainly.  But how often do we neglect his word, ignore his word, or find ways that it does not apply to us?  Yes, others are wrong to do this, but I have a good reason for it.  I have a right to hold my grudge.  I refuse to make other people’s problems my problems.  I am too busy to pray or have devotions with my family.  God’s word just doesn’t work in 2023.  If we are not persuaded by words from God, what on earth would do it?  We cannot restrain ourselves from our sins.  This shows us the depth of our sinful condition.  Our problem is not that we don’t know what is good; our problem is that we don’t do what is good.  We confess and lament with St. Paul: “I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  …For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  …Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Romans 7:15,19,24)

     Salvation from all of our wretchedness is found in no one else than Jesus Christ.  If Jesus brings salvation, then we should consider: Saved from what?  First of all, we are saved from our sin.  Jesus has saved us not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent sufferings and death.  Jesus saves us from being condemned by being condemned for our sins for us.

     Jesus saves us from death.  Yes, the grave might hold us for a little while, and we will sleep in the dust of death.  But Jesus has conquered death.  Death and the grave are subject to Jesus.  When he returns on the Last Day, he will awaken us from death and raise us up from the grave to live in glory.  We have no need to fear death, for death is not the victor.  Jesus is.  Salvation is found in no one else.

     We are also saved from the devil.  The devil relentlessly torments us over the sins of the past.  The name Satan means ‘Accuser.’  That is what he does.  He accuses you of your sins and inflicts guilt upon you.  But the devil is a liar.  You may, indeed, have done what the devil accuses you of.  But your sins have been taken away by Jesus.  They do not stand against you.  The devil has no claim on you.  His kingdom has been destroyed, and you are free from him.

     And there is even more.  Peter and John restored strength to the legs of the crippled man by the authority of Jesus.  The day will come when we will all be delivered to a perfect existence.  Jesus not only saves you from the curse of sin, but also the effects of sin.  You will know it with your body.  Heaven does not have blind, deaf, or lame people.  Heaven does not know broken bones, pulled muscles, or birth defects.  Heaven is free from anxiety, stress, and depression.  All those things find perfect healing in Jesus.  You will also know it with the community of saints.  There will be no acts of violence or villainy.  There will be no jealousy or rivalry.  There will be no harsh words or hateful thoughts—not in you and not in anyone else.  We will all be completely free from sin.  We will never again experience frustration with ourselves or aggravation from others. 

     This salvation is found in no one else than Jesus.  Whatever other religions or gods there are will tell you that you must do better and be better to be saved.  I won’t argue that we don’t need to do better or be better.  But that is the very problem.  We don’t do better.  We are sinners.  Jesus does not threaten or bully us into better behavior.  Jesus delivers us out of our sins.  He makes us a new creation that simply wants to love and to serve and to honor God—not to be saved, but because we are saved.  That is why he is the cornerstone of our faith and the basis of our salvation.  Apart from Jesus, there is no hope.  With Jesus, all of God’s promises stand firm.

     If you get frustrated in this world because of all the evils you see in it, you are not alone.  Everyone sees the problems.  We are all victims on one level or another.  The problems only prove that the world remains under the curse of sin.  It proves that people are wicked.  It shows that we still bear the effects of sin—in our faulty hearts and minds and in bodies that suffer diseases, disorders, and are dying.  As these problems all pile up, we cry out to God: Lord, why don’t you do something about this?!

     We are right to call upon God in our distress.  But then listen to God’s reply in his word.  The Lord has done everything to rescue you from this cursed world, this crooked generation, and these corrupt bodies.  Jesus is your salvation.  He lets you live in this troubled existence so that you can connect with your friends to assure them that there is hope.  Like Peter and John, you get to confess the very promises that comfort you.  You get to talk about the resurrection which comes through Jesus.  It is the only hope for sinners, but it is the guarantee of everlasting peace and glory.  Salvation is found in no one else, but it is given completely in Jesus. 

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

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

 Here is the service from Sunday, May 15, 2022.

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.

YouTube -- 5th Sunday of Easter (May 10, 2020)

Here is the service for the 5th Sunday of Easter.  If the first few minutes are missing, it is because the power went out about 10 minutes before church.  As a result, it took a few minutes before the computer which records the service to fire back up.

What is it with power outages that mess with church?  First Easter Sunday, and then today.....

Sermon -- 5th Sunday of Easter (May 10, 2020)

1 PETER 2:4-10

NOW YOU ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD.

M: Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C: He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

In the name + of Jesus.

      It almost seems that the best way to understand the depth of St. Peter's words in our epistle is to work backwards.  In order to appreciate what God has given you, you should understand what you have been delivered from.  St. Peter mentions that at the end of the reading.  “Once you had not received mercy...  Once you were not a people...  The Lord called you out of darkness....” (1 Peter 2:10,9)  That is what you were.
     For most of us, we have never known what it is to be outside the kingdom of God.  So, in some respects, those words from St. Peter might not feel like they apply.  If you were baptized as an infant and raised in the church, then thank God that you have always known his grace and that you have always had the peace of knowing you are a child of God.  But when you have grown up this way, you are in danger of drawing conclusions that are not right or fair.  First, you may think that your place in God's kingdom was somehow deserved.  Secondly, you may not have much compassion for others who still live in darkness, who don't know God's mercy, and who are not his people.  It is easy to look upon others and assume that they are not in the kingdom of God for good reason—they are too wicked, too stubborn, or too different.  But it may very well be that they are outside the kingdom of God because no one ever invited them to come and see.  Or when they did come and see, the family of God did not make them feel very welcome.  And if that has ever been the case with us, let us repent in shame.
     Every person on earth has a longing to be loved, to be desired, and to be accepted.  That is one of the reasons that Mothers' Day is such an endearing holiday.  Even if no one else loves you, your mother does.  She will listen to your stories, kiss your boo-boos, and tell you that your crayon drawing is wonderful and put it on the fridge.  Even when you were naughty, she still gave you a nice meal and provided clean clothes in the morning.  Even battle-hardened soldiers who have been wounded will long for their mothers.  The enemy may shoot at you; your sergeant may yell at you; but your mother will still love you.  She gave you life, and she loves the life that came through her.  She does not withdraw her love, even if you break her heart.
     But the rest of the world does not love you that way.  No matter what the group, they have standards which you must meet before you are welcomed in.  You need to dress the right way, like the same music, and have the same enemies.  If you are different, you might be tolerated.  If you are too different, you will be excluded or even mocked.  And because we all have a longing to be accepted, we wonder, “Why are they so mean to me?  What did I ever do to them?”
     Now, consider Peter's words again: “Once you had not received mercy...  Once you were not a people...” (1 Peter 2:10)  People who live in the darkness of sin and unbelief can only hope that God will accept them.  They can never know.  But even Christians sometimes wonder.  Like any unbeliever, we are also guilty of being wicked and stubborn and despising those who are different.  God has good reason for not being merciful to us.  We have given God a valid excuse for saying, “Those are not my people.  My people don't think, speak, or act like that!”  How can God accept what he has forbidden?  How can God lay claim to what he condemns?
     God lays claim to us because he loves what he has created.  All life came from the Father, and he loves the life that came from him.  Therefore, he was not willing to discard humanity because we have become wicked and stubborn and mean to those who are different.  Rather than withhold his mercy, he poured out mercy upon us—even before we asked for it!  Rather than forsake us, he became one of us and took up our cause.  Now you are the people of God because of Jesus.  For Jesus “called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)  
     Now you are the people of God.  The Father does not merely tolerate you; he loves you.  He took great pains to make you his own.  He sent his one and only Son who did everything in order to make you children of the heavenly Father.  Rather than condemn you because you have been wicked or stubborn, he condemned his Son who bore the guilt of every wicked deed and stubborn heart.  Rather than withhold mercy from you because you have refused mercy to those who are different, he withheld his mercy from Jesus who truly is different; for he is without sin and full of compassion.  Jesus was cast into darkness at his crucifixion to bring you into God's wonderful light.  Nor did our Lord wait for you to clean yourself up before he bestowed mercy upon you.  Rather, in his mercy, he cleansed you of your guilt through Holy Baptism.  And there in Holy Baptism, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit put his name on you to mark you as his own.  Now you are the people of God—redeemed, restored, and forgiven through Jesus' precious blood.
     You have been set apart from everything that is cursed, and you are loved, desired, and accepted by God.  Just listen to the status you have been raised to: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) 
     Now you are the people of God.  You have been brought into a kingdom that is not known for its borders, language, or ethnic background.  You are known by the Lord as those who are his chosen—set apart from eternity to be God's redeemed.  You are royals—sons and daughters of the King.  As priests, you are people who bear God's name and serve him in whatever vocation he gives to you.  Your service to God is not limited to what you do for church.  You are the people of God wherever you go and in whatever task you do.  Whether you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or mopping the floors of that company, God views your work as holy—for it is done by his holy people for the good of your neighbors.  Just as you have been sanctified in the blood of Jesus, so also your labors are sanctified in the sight of God and pleasing as service to him.  This is how you are his priests—serving as God's people, bearing God's name, and being God's hands to the world.
     Now you are the people of God.  Now you have been shown mercy.  Now you are enlightened to know and cherish God's love for the wicked, stubborn, and different.  And that is why we ought to love others, too.  We do not demand that people match some criteria before we love them.  Since that is now how God loves, neither do we.  Like God, we also strive to love the wicked, stubborn, and different.  For, love and mercy are never based on someone else's worthiness, morality, or friendliness.  It is simply given because it is needed.  And we never want to give the impression that God loves, desires, and accepts only the right kind of people.  Rather, God has mercy upon sinners, cleanses them, and makes them his people—just as he has done for us.
     That is why St. Peter's picture of the church is not a building, but people.  “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5)  As living stones, you have been called to be like Christ who is the rock on which the whole Church is built and survives.  Even if access to a church building is restricted, God's people and promises are not limited in any way.  God's mercy still is bestowed through his word whether it is proclaimed online, spoken around the family table, or confessed to a neighbor.  God's love is demonstrated by godly lives that seek the good of others.  No one can bind these things, and there are no restrictions on them.
     So now, you are the living stones built on Christ.  Now you are the people of God.  Since you belong to Christ who has overcome death to live and reign forever, so also you shall overcome death to live and reign with him.  For God loves what he has created.  He has acted to redeem you and reclaim you; and through you he will act to redeem and reclaim others.  To him, you are chosen and holy.  To him, you are loved, desired, and accepted.  To him, you are family.  So, for him and in his name, we live and serve and proclaim and praise.

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

Sermon -- 5th Sunday of Easter (May 14, 2017)

JOHN 14:1-12

JESUS SHOWS US THE FATHER.

M: Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

Cong: He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

In the name + of Jesus.

     Although today is Mothers' Day, the Gospel lesson focuses on God the Father.  There is a slight connection to be made.  Fathers and mothers are a dim reflection of the way God the Father loves and cares for us.  God gave you your life through your father and mother.  When you were born, you were God's gift to them.  Likewise, your parents were God's gifts to you.  Fathers and mothers are the means by which God provides and protects, cares for and corrects children.  To honor your father and mother is to honor God the Father who has given them to you.  And to love and obey your father and mother is to be thankful for them.
     Still, no father or mother is perfect.  Parents may be proud of their children, but they also may shed tears over times they wish they had done things better.  Parents sin against their children, losing patience or becoming embittered as the children go off to play while parents fill out tax forms or fold laundry.  Children sin against their parents by not rolling their eyes when they are told to do chores or by thinking the mark of becoming an independent adult is to be sarcastic to one's parents.  God intends family relationships to be a joy.  Sin turns them into a battle of wills; and there are often casualties.  But what sin rips apart, God is able to restore.  Jesus first forgives mothers and fathers, sons and daughters for their sins.  Then he teaches each to forgive one another and so that families are reconciled, so that rifts can be restored, and so that wounds can be healed.
     The vocation of father and mother is but a dim reflection of the way our Father in heaven serves us.  Jesus shows us the Father.  Unlike the love of earthly parents, the Father's love for you is perfect.  His love is constant and immeasurable.  And he does not play favorites.  Day after day, our Father in heaven provides daily bread to all mankind whether they love him or despise him, whether they honor him or ignore him.
     Even though the Father loves what he has created, people are often afraid of God.  God the Father has given us life, and he has given us commandments for how he wants us to live our life.  But we do not obey his commandments.  We are often annoyed by them.  And we dismiss God's threats, almost daring God to call us to account.  We have acted the same way toward our own parents.  They set the rules of the house, but in our younger years, we thought they were stupid.  So, we defied the rules, almost daring our parents to punish us.  But when we defied those rules, we did not want to see our parents.  We knew how angry they were going to be, and we knew we deserved the punishment we had coming.  Just as our parents are a dim reflection of God's care for us, so also their justified anger is a dim reflection of God's wrath.  We are right to be afraid of God when we rebel against his word.  No matter how much we pretend not to care about God's commandments or his threats, we have our quiet moments when we are terrified of God.  That's because we know we deserve punishment for our disobedience.
     Jesus shows us the Father so that we do not remain afraid of him.  Jesus said..., “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. … 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.” (John 14:9-11)  Jesus shows us the Father.  Jesus does not do or say anything that differs from the thoughts and desires of God the Father.  The Father loves what he has created.  But that means so much more than providing clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, spouse and children, etc....  The Father's love is demonstrated by this: God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)  
     God the Father has been pleased to redeem sinners so that they would not be forever cut off from him.  While the Father's wrath does indeed stand against those who have sinned against him, the Father sent his Son to stand in the place of sinners.  Jesus suffered  God's wrath, take our punishment, and died a cursed death for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins and received back into God's family.  This is the way that God loved the world.  This is the way that the Father loves you.  If you have seen Jesus at work, if you have heard Jesus' words of mercy, and if you have known and believed in Jesus' work of salvation, then you have seen the Father.  Jesus shows us the Father.  He loves and redeems what he has created.
     Our Lord Jesus Christ on the night he was betrayed spoke to his disciples about returning to his Father in heaven.  Jesus assured them that he was not abandoning them.  Rather, he was going to prepare a place for them in his Father's house so that they could dwell together forever.  Then Jesus assured them, “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.” (John 14:4-6)  Jesus is the way to the Father, and there is no other.
     Jesus shows us the Father.  He shows us that the Father is most merciful and loving.  He is the one who rejoices when the prodigal son comes home.  He does not hold a grudge against us, but gives us an honored position as a child in his family.  He does not withhold blessings from us, but restores us to full heirs of his kingdom.  He accepts Jesus' innocent sufferings and death as a guilt offering.  That sacrifice satisfies God's anger and is the full payment for all our sins.  There is no more payment that needs to be made.  Nothing else delivers from death and hell, and nothing more delivers you, either.
     Jesus shows us the Father.  Jesus shows us that we are his children.  As his children, you will strive to honor your Father with the godly lives he desires,  But you do not need to live in constant suspense, wondering if your life is good enough to make God happy with you.  You are his beloved and redeemed child.  He wants you to dwell with him for all eternity.  Of course he is pleased with you!  Jesus, who cleanses you of all sin and presents you holy and blameless to his Father, shows you that your Father loves you.
     Therefore, Jesus says, “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.” (John 14:1-3)  The Father who created you wants you to dwell with him forever.   The Father sent his Son to deliver you from sin and death, and the Son will come again to deliver you to the glories of heaven.  The Father wants you to dwell in his house so that he will always give you his gifts, comfort you with his mercy, bestow his peace, and restore all things to you forever.
     Jesus shows us the Father.  That love is dimly reflected in the love that mothers and fathers show their children.  And while it is true that no parent is perfect, it is also true that God blesses children through the care and concern of their parents.  By father and mother, we are shown love, disciplined, fed, encouraged, and comforted.  You receive this and more from your Father in heaven.  From the Father, you receive these things perfectly and permanently.  Jesus shows us how great the Father's love for us is.  He has made us his children, and he has marked us for heaven.

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