Sermon for Pentecost/Confirmation: "Stay Thirsty" (John 7:37-39)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Imagine yourself walking through a desert. You have been in the middle of nowhere for several days and your water supply has run out. You begin to search desperately for an oasis. As you search, you spot something, but you hope that it doesn’t prove to be a mirage.

 

Imagine a family on a road trip. It’s a long-awaited vacation to the Rocky Mountains. As they drive, they begin to realize that the water they packed was left home. And right when everyone was beginning to get thirsty. As they are in western Kansas, they begin to search intently for an exit sign with a gas station or restaurant.

 

Imagine yourself in school. You are needing your thirst quenched. So, between periods, you walk to the water fountain. Soon, a line forms behind you. You know you need more water to drink, but you also know that those behind you are also thirsty. Even as you walk away, you know that the water fountain would never fully quench your thirst.

 

Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). As Jesus spoke those words, He did something that was not customary of a Jewish teacher. He stood up. When rabbis taught, they taught while sitting down. Here, Jesus stands up to make a point. He stood up so His words would not be missed as He said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”

 

To us, these are comforting, friendly, and charming words. Jesus is saying that He will provide quenching to the thirsty. These words refresh and strengthen those who are thirsty.

 

When Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of living water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). This intrigued this woman, since she was thirsty.

 

But not everyone is thirsty. How could that be? Don’t we all thirst for refreshment? Well, what Jesus is referring to here on both occasions is not a physical thirst, such as felt for water, pop, or beer, but a thirst of the soul, a spiritual thirst, a heartfelt desire. A desire which longs to know on what terms they are with God. This thirst feels sin. It fears God and sees only His Law, His wrath, and His judgment. This is what Jesus means by thirst.

 

We all live in fear of something, and we all face temptation and distress.

 

Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”

 

Proper thirst is desiring your sins forgiven. But what is the forgiveness of sins dependent on? Are they dependent on something you do? Like performing random tasks to merit forgiveness?

 

As Martin Luther says, “If man is not directed away from himself and toward God, he will never be sure of forgiveness.”

 

If you admit that you are, indeed, a poor, miserable sinner, you are thirsty for forgiveness. If not, you are not thirsty. And where there is no spiritual thirst, the Lord is not received.

 

Back during the Reformation, Luther got a little angry from time to time. When the Gospel was fully revealed again, there was much rejoicing that it was no longer necessary to plague oneself with good works to inherit salvation. The people were thirsty, and the Gospel tasted oh, so good to them. They drank it, for it was a precious teaching. But over time, many of those who thirsted for forgiveness got tired of hearing the gospel: the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Christ crucified and risen for them. They wanted something more. They lost their thirst. Don’t lose your thirst.

 

The Law created a thirst and if that thirst is not quenched, the only destination for you is hell. The Gospel, however, satisfies the thirst and leads to heaven. The Law states what we must do and that we have fallen short of doing it, no matter how holy we may think we are. The Law produces uncertainty and produces thirst.

 

As the Confirmands and all of us know and understand, we fail each day in adhering to God’s Ten Commandments. 

 

God says, “You shall have no other gods.” But we don’t always “fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” We misuse the name of God. We don’t always hold God’s holy day and His Word sacred. We often anger our parents and despise our authorities. We don’t always support our neighbor in every physical need. Instead of protecting our neighbor, we steal his time or take his possessions in a dishonest way. Instead of defending our neighbor, we slander him and his reputation. And we scheme in getting what we don’t have. 

 

When you examine your life, you find that you do not love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, as you should. We confess: “Oh, dear God, I have not kept your Law. For I do not love You with all my heart today, nor will I love You with all my heart tomorrow. Day after day, I make the same confession. How can I be certain of Your divine grace?”

 

Where will your conscience come to rest and find a sure footing? Where will it find assurance of a good relationship to God? With the Law, there is no assurance. For the Law always remains in force. “You must love God and your neighbor with all your heart.” We all admit that we fail at this. But the Law replies, “You must do it.”

 

The Law terrifies us. The Law makes us thirsty for forgiveness. With fear and trembling, we ask God, “What must I do to gain Your favor? I must obtain Your grace. But how? I can’t keep Your Commandments. What must I do?”

 

Jesus says, “Come to Me. Believe in Me. Hear My words. I will give you drink and refresh you.”

 

But that is too easy! “I have lied to You more times than I can remember. I promised to You that I would be more pious. I promised to You that I would be a better Christian. I have never kept those promises.”

 

To that Jesus says, “Come to Me. Accept this from Me. You may lack piety, but I have kept the Law for you. Your sins are forgiven.”

 

You see, the Law serves no other purpose than to create a thirst and to frighten the heart. The Gospel alone satisfies this thirst, makes us cheerful, and revives and consoles the conscience.

 

You are likely familiar with this ad slogan, “Stay Thirsty, My Friends.” After declining sales, Dos Equis launched a new ad campaign dubbed “the most interesting man in the world.” Unlike other beer ads, these ads featured a man that customers could aspire to be. Each commercial concluded with “Stay Thirsty, My Friends.”

 

So, for Luke, Lily, and Gabe, Jesus says to you today: stay thirsty. Thirst for righteousness. Thirst for peace. Thirst for God’s forgiveness. Satan, the prince of this fallen world, would rather you not be concerned for your soul. Satan would rather you follow his fallen world by removing the triune God from your life. Satan wants you to focus on your wants and your desires, rather than caring for your neighbor. He desires that you despise Jesus and His Word. His goal is to remove any desire for what you really need, which is Christ’s forgiveness for your sins.

 

Every one of us here today is a sinner. We thirst. Christ says to us all, “Come to Me! I will not let you die of thirst, but I will give you drink.”

 

It is only here in the Divine Service that our quench is fully satisfied. This is the place where our thirst is quenched.

 

Jesus quenches our thirst first through the waters of Holy Baptism. He quenches our thirst as we confess our sins to Him and receive His absolution.

 

For the confirmands, today you will receive your first communion of Christ’s body and blood under the bread and the wine. Christ’s words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament of the Altar forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation are given to us through those words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also eternal life and salvation.

 

We all thirst for our sins forgiven. This thirst for forgiveness ought not ever go away. 

 

For everyone here today, stay thirsty, my friends. Stay thirsty in receiving Christ’s forgiveness that He won for you and that He freely gives to all who thirst in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Easter 7: "Unified, Restored, and Sent" (Acts 1:12-26)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from our risen and ascended Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). With those words, Jesus encouraged His apostles as He was bodily ascending triumphantly into heaven as Emmanuel – God with us.

 

Today on this Seventh Sunday of Easter, these witnesses are no longer hiding behind locked doors for the fear of the Jewish authorities. No, this joyous assurance of the Ascension of our Lord knowing that He will return again filled their hearts and drove out all fear. From the moment they left the Mount of Olives, they worshiped the Father and His Son, Jesus, in full public view.

 

But as how unified the Eleven were as they were with one accord devoting themselves to prayer, they were not complete. Jesus called Twelve men, not eleven. The outward appearance of unity and completeness might be maintained, but what was broken cannot make itself whole again. Sin cannot be undone, except if God Himself should do it. So, how shall the apostles be made one again?

 

During the days that followed the ascension of Jesus, the Eleven and the other disciples, about 120 in number, awaited the coming of the promised Holy Spirit by devoting themselves to prayer. Their prayer arose out of their study together of the prophets – who had pointed to the incarnation of Christ, His ministry, sufferings, death, and resurrection – and of the Psalms, the prayer book of the twelve tribes of Israel, of the whole people of God, of Christ Jesus, and of the Church in all ages.

 

In the course of their prayers from God’s Word, Psalm 69 and Psalm 109 came to Peter’s attention. Here, was the Word from the Lord to direct their action. As the de facto leader, Peter took the initiative in doing something. Since Jesus had chosen Twelve men, Peter and the others believed that a replacement for Judas should be selected. As Israel had been broken and scattered because of sin, so, too, the apostolic circle had been broken by the sin of Judas Iscariot. The Twelve were now only the Eleven. The full number of the Twelve must be restored.

 

After citing Scripture, Peter concludes that someone must be chosen to take Judas’ place. But who? Well, it would be a man who has the same qualifications as the other apostles. That is, he must have been with Jesus from the beginning of the Savior’s ministry – His righteous fulfilling Baptism by John – to the day of His ascension. Like the others, the man who is chosen must be one who had seen and heard and touched and eaten and been instructed by the risen Christ.

 

So, the group of believers nominated two men who met these qualifications: Joseph called Barsabbas who was also called Justus – and Matthias. But why one witness more? Why not both? Well, if this were simply a matter of adding witnesses, certainly 13 would be better than 12. And in the coming years, the number of those who proclaim the resurrection would swell, as Barnabas, Paul, and Apollos joined in.

 

But remember, at the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry, He chose 12 men – the living picture of Israel made one in Him and in their call to follow Him faithfully. Their unity, too, was broken by unfaithfulness by Judas Iscariot. This time there is no possibility of maintaining the illusion of fullness. The fellowship has been broken. This is what sin does. It drives us away from God and away from one another.

 

The restoration of the Twelve is the very picture of the Lord’s saving work. His death breaks the power of sin and His resurrection proclaims healing for the broken and reconciliation of those driven apart by sin. You see, filling the place that Judas deserted and restoring the full number of the Twelve not only brought an additional witness to the resurrection, but it was also a witness to the power of Christ’s resurrection to reconcile the estranged and make His people, His new Israel, whole.

 

The man who would complete the number of the Twelve would be like the Eleven with respect to His faithful following of the Lord, a witness to all He said and did in the days of His earthly ministry. As with the Eleven, this man would have followed the Lord, not by chance, or by his own decision, or by his own act of commitment, but by the calling of His Lord.

 

Again, two men met these qualifications: Joseph called Barsabbas who was also called Justus – and Matthias. So, the group of about 120 prayed to Jesus saying: “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place” (Acts 1:24-25).

 

Through prayer, they were confident that Jesus had made His choice and that He would indicate His choice. They trusted that Jesus would name the new apostle through them. So, as it was custom when there was a tie, they cast lots, where they would write names on pebbles or pieces of broken pottery, shake the container with the lots, and the name that flew out first would be the choice. The lot fell on Matthias.

 

The Eleven and the nearly 120 disciples were confident that the Lord made His choice, since this was in accord with Proverbs 16:33: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.”

 

Sometimes it still happens when two men are equally qualified for a position in leadership in the church. When an election results in a tie, it is proper to draw lots in some way to determine the Lord’s choice.

 

But you can’t help but feel bad for Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus. Every one of us is at times the “unchosen one.” Unchosen ones exist everywhere. The ones who didn’t make the team, get the promotion, get the job. Even though the lot did not fall upon him, he would still be a witness.

 

It is likely that this man continued his discipleship to His Lord Jesus, likewise to the nearly 120 that day.

 

Jesus said: “You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Jesus, here, is not commanding them to be His witnesses, but He promises that, as a result of receiving the Holy Spirit, they would just naturally be His witnesses. They would feel no outward compulsion to bring their testimony of the redemption won by their Lord through His death on the cross and sealed and ratified by His resurrection and His ascension. They would do it with great joy and zeal that would never tire. The Holy Spirit would make them witnesses who say: “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

 

With the Apostles now unified as Twelve, plus the other disciples, the events of the Ascension and the upcoming events at Pentecost give them the encouragement to spread the good news of Christ to all nations. This they did through the exalted Lord who gave the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit continues to operate with power through His Word. The Word of the Lord proved its creative power: how it was preached, brought forth faith and sustained it in the hearts of many, was embattled, and went on from victory to victory.

 

Due to the Ascension, the Twelve were content to be witnesses. Gone were their dreams of power connected with personal prestige. No one would argue who would be the greatest (Luke 22:24) or sit at Christ’s right or left hand (Mark 10:37). No one again would speak about an earthly kingdom.

 

But how would they be able to proclaim the divine truth of salvation in Jesus Christ without making a mistake? Well, the Holy Spirit would empower them to bring testimony that would be in perfect accord. The promise Jesus had made would come true: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

 

And so, it would be. At Pentecost, the Apostles would be filled with the Holy Spirit so they would remember all that Jesus had taught them. Peter would preach nothing but the purest divine truth with no human additions, such as hopes and dreams that Jesus would bring in a glorious earthly kingdom, or promote social justice, or approval of sins. Paul and the other apostles would do the same. The apostles were plainly inspired by the Holy Spirit. So, to accomplish Jesus’ prophecy of “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8), Jesus gave His Holy Spirit to endow the apostles with the gift of divine inspiration. Through the inspired Gospels and the Epistles, the eternally true, infallible testimony their Lord entrusted them was spread to the very ends of the earth. Through the Scriptures, the apostles to this day bring the glorious gospel witness to the end of time.

 

But what was the response the apostles received when they witnessed to a hostile world? They were mocked and ridiculed. They suffered. They died a martyr’s death. But they were never intimidated by any opposition, by danger as the price for telling the truth. You see, the Holy Spirit filled the apostles with a great boldness and courage, so that under persecution they not only remained steadfast and unflinching, but considered the sufferings they often received from their witnessing to Christ to be badges of honor. They could not help but tell of the good news of Christ.

 

This Good News of salvation would be proclaimed for all nations and peoples as the Twelve and all disciples would go into all the world, inviting all to the Baptism that incorporates us into Christ and makes us members of His Body the Church, announcing forgiveness to the penitent and unbelieving, and calling us to oneness in Him and with all believers, through our eating His Body and drinking His Blood in His Supper. 

 

Since, we too, have seen, heard, tasted, and touched Jesus in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacrament – we are also His witnesses. By grace through faith in Christ alone, we are all unified and restored and sent to proclaim the good news of salvation in Christ alone! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for the Ascension of Our Lord: "Jesus is Still with Us" (Luke 24:44-53)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

For four days in October 1529, the reformers Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli met at Marburg Castle in order to bring theological unity to the fledgling churches of the Reformation. After agreeing on every other theological position, Luther and Zwingli came to a stalemate on a major theological issue. This stalemate is what divides the Lutherans and the Reformed to this day: the “real presence” of Christ’s body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar.

 

Zwingli, employing human reason, insisted that the Lord’s Supper was only a symbolic remembrance. Luther, holding fast to God’s Word, maintained that Christ gives His body and blood for us Christians to eat and to drink and thereby receive forgiveness. You may think, how could these two men who were ordained in the Roman Church be so different? Well, when the Reformation got going, many of the Reformers desired to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, by starting over apart from God’s Word.

 

Zwingli was no different from many today who believe that they are smarter than all those who preceded them, including the apostles and Church Fathers. Zwingli believed that he was enlightened. So, he was “woke” before the term “woke” existed.  Zwingli believed he knew better than the Scriptures. 

 

From the very beginning of the New Testament Church, outsiders accused Christians of being cannibals, because they heard that Christians ate flesh and drank blood. These outsiders didn’t understand that the body and blood eaten and drank were outwardly bread and wine. This Zwingli ignored. Despite the Bible and centuries of church practice, Zwingli believed that he was right and everyone before him was wrong.

 

At the heart of this dispute between Luther and Zwingli is a dispute that remains today. It is understanding who Jesus is and what His ascension into heaven means for us.

 

For 40 days after His bodily resurrection, the risen Lord Jesus met with His apostles – that is, the 11 and those who were gathered with them in order to bring unity of witness to a fledgling New Testament Church. Jesus passes through locked doors. He speaks peace upon them. He displays His pierced wrists and feet, allowing them to touch Him and see that He is really present and not a spirit, or a product of their own imagination. He eats a piece of broiled fish before them. He teaches them, showing how everything in the Scriptures was written about Him and is fulfilled in Him.

 

Jesus taught them nothing new. Indeed, Jesus says, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you” (Luke 24:44). Wait. Isn’t Jesus with them during these moments as He calms their fears, eats with them, and teaches them? Yes, but in a new way. Before, Jesus walked among them in humility as His divine nature was hidden. Now He is exalted, having been raised by God the Father. No longer does He refer to Himself as the Son of Man. Now, Jesus openly calls Himself the Christ – the Messiah. No more what ifs. He is, indeed, God in human flesh.

 

As the exalted Christ, His visible presence becomes an exceptional presence. Just as He kindly spoke to Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, Jesus must ascend to the Father (John 20:17). And so that’s what He now does: “Then He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50-51).

 

But doesn’t this mean that Jesus is now far away? In our reading from Acts 1, Luke records that the apostles and other disciples stood gazing up into heaven as they saw Jesus ascend. We can picture them straining their eyes to see Him. They gaze after Him until they cannot see Him.

 

Aren’t they being left alone, at least until Jesus returns from those clouds to judge the world? Aren’t we being left alone now that Jesus has become this distant God, way far away up there in heaven?

 

Don’t you have times when you wish that Jesus wasn’t so far away? Oh, Jesus, why won’t you return now to make all this worldly corruption disappear? Why do you just sit in heaven and allow all this evil to happen? Well, that’s what our human reason – our human understanding – tells us. If we can’t see Jesus, He must be far away, a God who isn’t here for us when we need Him.

 

This is what Zwingli thought. He believed that Jesus was far away. Zwingli saw Christ’s ascension as His great escape from earth to be seated at God the Father’s right hand at some faraway place at the edge of the universe. For Zwingli, Jesus went far away, and He’ll only come back to us on the Last Day.

 

Luther thought much differently. He trusted in Christ’s words, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Luther understood that Jesus has established a new way in which He visits His people and redeem them.

 

During the course of this debate at Marburg, Luther came to realize that Zwingli was of a different spirit than the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures can only be spiritually understood, and this is something that only God can do for us. Zwingli rejected this working of God’s Spirit and leaned upon his own understanding. He thought that if he can’t understand it, it must not be true. If he hasn’t seen it happen, it could not happen. Luther however, through the working of the Holy Spirit received the proper understanding to have his “mind and heart opened to understand the Scriptures and to listen to the Word” (FC SD II 26).

 

Listen to the Word and have your minds and hearts opened to understand the Scriptures today. Jesus doesn’t abandon us in His ascension. Rather, He continues to be truly present with His people by new means. He is still with us, for Christ is truly present in His gifts, or what the Church calls the Means of Grace.

 

By His ascension, Jesus is put “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named” and “all things are put under His feet … as head over all things to the Church” (Ephesians 1:21-22). In His ascension, the Crucified and Risen Lord has risen even higher! Christ sits on His holy throne as the Great King over all the earth (Psalm 47), reigning His death and resurrection over us, distributing His sacrificial gifts to His people. 

 

These gifts are no mere symbols or simple remembrances of what He’s accomplished on our behalf. Rather, they are the means by which Christ gives Himself, His Word, and His work to us. These means rest upon Christ’s own name; that is, on the basis of everything that the name of Christ represents: His revelation, chiefly in the cross and resurrection! Resting upon Christ’s name, these gifts have both authority and power, right and might to accomplish that for which God has purposed them.

 

Repentance and forgiveness of sins is accomplished first through the Gospel’s preaching: “that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead” (Luke 24:46). The Gospel creates faith where there is none and strengthens the believer. 

 

We are joined to this very same crucifixion and resurrection in the waters of Holy Baptism. It is a Baptism in which we live as God’s holy people.

 

The cross is placed upon us in Holy Absolution, wherein repentant hearts receive forgiveness.

 

Christ feeds us His very body and blood, given to us Christians to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of our sins, in the Sacrament of the Altar.

 

Being thus forgiven, we mutually forgive one another, as we pray, “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And our brother or sister receives Christ through that word.

 

Each of us wish to see Jesus. He isn’t in some far away place. Because of His ascension, He sits now at God’s right hand with all power and dominion over all things. He is no longer restricted to time and space. He has full control over time and space. With this power and authority, Jesus is present at each church service around the world.

 

While Christ parted from His apostles’ and disciples’ sight, being carried up into heaven, He raised His hands in blessing. His hands remain lifted to bless us, to bless our witness and our worship. Just as He blessed Luther, granting Him a bold confession at Marburg, Christ opens our minds to understand and our hearts to believe He is truly present with us today in His Word and Sacraments. And so we are made bold to witness Christ’s suffering, atoning death, bodily resurrection and ascension as we worship Him who is still with us! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Easter 6: "I Perceive You are Very Religious" (Acts 17:16-31)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

America is very religious. Yes, you heard that right: America is very religious. But what about all those studies that say that the United States is becoming less religious?

 

What about this 2022 Gallup survey that found that those who believe in God in America has dropped from 98 percent in the 1950s to 81 percent today? What about the Gallup survey of Americans under 30 that found only 68 percent believe in God? What about the 2021 Gallup survey that found that fewer than half of Americans – 47 percent – were members of a church, a synagogue, or a mosque?

 

Still not budging. America is very religious.

 

America is so religious that we even build temples with tax dollars. What?! What happened to the “so-called” separation of church and state? Good question! Well, it doesn’t exist in the U.S. Constitution. You have likely heard it said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” This lie has been repeated so much that it is appearing as fact in textbooks.

 

Now, that I have caught your attention, where exactly are these temples being built by tax dollars? With likely the lone exception being Lambeau Field, every NFL stadium is taxpayer funded. In the recent years, each newly constructed stadium was built to make a statement. The Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium was built to be the largest domed structure in North America. The Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium was built to showcase a retractable roof and retractable windows. Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium was built to be the first stadium with a retractable playing field. The Vikings’ US Bank Stadium was built in the style of a Nordic temple. The Rams’ and Chargers’ SoFi Field was built to have the first “Infinity Screen” that is an ovular, double-sided video board that is suspended from the roof over the field. Each NFL stadium built is more impressive than the last. The game field hasn’t changed, but the amenities have changed. The same goes with baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer, but to a lesser extent than the NFL.

Along with the stadiums comes the liturgy within these temples. For example, the Vikings bang a war drum, fans clap their hands over their heads as they yell, “Skol!” It’s as expected as the Kyrie, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer in the Church. Attending a game in these temples, for many, is a religious event.

 

Now, I’m not here to turn you away from professional sports, but they can become an issue of idolatry when they become more important than the one true God. But, stadiums are not the only temples. Public schools from elementary to post-graduate schools are also places of religion. Instead of worshipping the true God, there are many false gods, including the earth with doom’s day prophecies, as well as gender confusion.

 

In our reading from Acts, St. Paul is walking about Athens. It appears that he had some sort of righteous indignation to what he saw, but he did his best on keeping it to himself. He noticed that the Athenians were highly cultured and sophisticated people who were deeply steeped in idolatry. Paul saw statues, altars, and shrines dedicated to a great number of deities. In fact, it had been said of Athens, that in that city there were more gods than men. It was customary to dedicate an altar to unknown gods so that they would not offend some deity by omitting it.

 

After Paul worked among the Jews and many devout Greeks in the synagogue and the marketplace, he began to strike up the conversation on many subjects, and eventually on Jesus and His resurrection. Notice that Paul didn’t begin by evangelizing. He began by gaining friendship and trust. He spoke in ways that would get the crowd around him interested enough to ask him questions. Now, some hearing Paul speak about Jesus and His resurrection just dismissed him as a mere babbler. Although most Greeks wanted to tell or hear of something new, some did not. But most did. They were intrigued because Paul was talking about a God that they had never heard about.

 

These Athenians were intrigued, so they soon escorted Paul to a meeting of their High Council called the Areopagus. There, they asked Paul to tell them more about the strange new ideas he had advanced, so that they would know what to make of them.

 

So, Paul begins saying, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-23).

 

This is intriguing to the Greeks. They thought, “Tell me more about this unknown god!”

 

Notice what Paul says, “what therefore you worship” rather than “whom you worship.” This altar was dedicated to an unknown, impersonal “something.” Paul would make this unknown, impersonal “something” into the known: the living, personal God, the Creator of the universe and the judge of every human being.

 

By trying not to offend a forgotten god, the one true God used the Athenians’ pride to His advantage. Nothing happens by chance. This all led to this moment. Finally, after all this time, the triune God would use Paul to proclaim the one true God. No longer would they have to build state of the art temples to appease the false gods. For on this day, Paul speaks of the one true God, the one they ignorantly worshipped as “the unknown god” who is in reality the only true God. He, the Creator of the heavens and the earth and the preserver of all men and all things, cannot be confined to man-made temples, nor is He dependent on man’s worship.

 

Through the creation of one man, Adam, God created all the descendants of Adam. The nations who cover the earth in all their variety descended from a single ancestor, Adam. Each migration and accomplishment are in God’s hands. Empires rise and empires fall according to His will. Civilizations and cultures and the geography and history of nations are ordered by Him.

 

The triune God demonstrated His power and intelligence in creation and in the history of nations so that people would realize that an intelligent and powerful being is in charge of the universe. It is God’s intention that people should seek Him, reach for Him, and find Him. The Athenians built an altar to this God.

 

For the Athenians, this would take some time to sink in. For in Pagan religions, they confuse the Creator with His creation by teaching that everything is god. As America has become more Pagan, we see this with the worship of creation, instead of the Creator. Paul used their mistaken beliefs as a starting point from which to go on and to preach the gospel of the one true God.

 

Being then God’s offspring, how can a god come from us? So, if we build a temple with gold or silver or stone, it is just a structure formed by the imagination of man. Nothing more.

 

But what is most important is to know this unknown God, who is the one true God, is the judge and He calls everyone to repent of their idolatry. In the past, God had tolerated ignorance, but ignorance is not innocence. He chose not to destroy them. Now, God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, and He calls on all people to turn from idols and to Him. The times of ignorance are over, God is calling His hearers to repentance.

 

Now is the time to turn from every false god to the living God and to His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

The question for us this morning is how does Paul’s speech talk to us today? Our text is from Paul’s second missionary journey. But we are not from Athens, and we don’t worship some nondescript god. Or do we? We know who we are. We have the assurance that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. Aren’t these words just for those other “religious people” out there? You know, the ones who aren’t worshipping here.

 

Like the very religiously Pagan world around us, we too, can find ourselves caught up in false idols – money, sports, celebrities. The list goes on and on. Like the Athenians of Paul’s day, we too need to repent of our sins. But unlike the unbelieving world, we have the Holy Spirit as our guide. With the Holy Spirit as our guide, we acknowledge our Savior from sin, Jesus Christ, who is the known God. He leaves an assurance in our heart and a peace that the world and its temples could never offer. 

 

We are never left alone and we don’t have to search for the proper God. Just as Jesus says, He does not leave us as orphans. He has given us His Means of Grace. These Means of Grace is how Jesus reveals Himself now in Word and Sacrament.

 

Like Athens then, America today is very religious. It’s all a matter of who or what is our trust. What is the most important to you? What earthly thing can you not live without? Jesus knows that we may not always be loyal to Him, but He doesn’t hold that against us. All He says is “Repent and believe.” Jesus lovingly obeyed His Father for you. He lovingly obeyed all the way to the cross – since He knew that we needed saving. His resurrection appearances are proof to that. Salvation has been won and is freely given to all who believe in Jesus. In Christ alone, we have forgiveness, life, and salvation. We have the peace that those other “very religious” people need. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Easter 5: "The Way, the Truth, the Life" (John 14:1-14)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

With nowhere to go, the Children of Israel saw no path. Behind them, they see and hear Pharaoh and his armies drawing near. The Children of Israel were terrified. Death appears to be imminent. Here they are standing on the shore of the Red Sea and there is no way to safety. They see Pharaoh’s armies on one side and the sea on the other side. They are trapped. There is no way out. They need a way out, and they cannot provide a way out by themselves.

 

So, the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they cried out to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:11-12).

 

Moses said to the Children of Israel, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:13-14).

 

There, upon the shore, the Children of Israel believed all was lost. They believed they were about to experience their demise. When it all appeared desperate, God tells Moses to lift up his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Children of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. Moses did as God commanded.

 

Suddenly, there was a way. God provides for them the way. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind and made the sea dry ground, and the waters were divided.

 

Even as the Children of Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, doubts did not cease. Many thought, “Could the sea close over us and drown us all in a moment?”

 

Even when they have the way, doubts still haunt them. Doubts haunt us, too. There must be another way, but every other way is a wrong way, a way that leads to only death. They needed certainty. They needed the truth.

And before long, the Children of Israel noticed that Pharaoh’s armies appeared behind them. The same peril they had before the Red Sea divided has returned. Doubts and fears increase. The army is nearing them.

 

But as soon as the last Israelite reaches the shore, following God’s command, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the sea fell upon the Egyptians and swallowed them up. The Children of Israel have life.

 

God provided the Children of Israel the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

 

In today’s Gospel lesson, we return to Maundy Thursday. This is Jesus’ farewell speech to His disciples. Knowing this, Jesus is determined to comfort His disciples knowing full well what is about to happen within the next 24 hours: He is going to be arrested, tried, beaten, spit upon, given the crown of thorns, crucified, dead, and buried. 

 

Jesus knows that His disciples will be frustrated, confused, and scared. They have seen Jesus perform miracles and signs – even showing His power over sin and death. But what they are about to witness is going to test them. So, to calm them, Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1a), since He is going to prepare a place for them. He also says that they know the way to where He is going. This way is as the Lamb of God who will die for the sins of the world. But they don’t understand.

 

Thomas says to Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5)

 

Like the Children of Israel trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea, Thomas and his fellow apostles are lost. They don’t know what to do and where to go.

 

So, Jesus says, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

 

Notice what Jesus says here. He doesn’t say, “I will show you the way,” like a second Moses; but “I am the Way.” Nor “I have the truth,” like another Elijah; but “I am the Truth.” Not only, “I lead to life,” but, “I am the Life.”

 

Jesus is the Way that bridges a chasm. If a bridge lacks as little as an inch of reaching across, it plunges down and becomes rubble. It may have intended to be a bridge, but all it serves as is rubble.

Just as the Children of Israel passed through the Red Sea physically, dry-footed, and unhindered they had no other way. They had no other way to salvation. Jesus provided them the way.

 

Like the Israelites then, we too, need salvation. We may not have Pharaoh’s army chasing us, but we have sin, eternal death, and Satan coming right at us – and from all sides. We need the way to go. Without a Savior from sin, death, and Satan, we are trapped.

 

Satan has convinced the fallen world that there are many ways, and many truths, and that when we die, life is over, so that our only fate is that we will all become worm food.

 

For some people, they hear Jesus’ words – “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” – as condemnation. That is unfortunate, since Jesus’ purpose is salvation, not condemnation. For He says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17).

 

For many, Jesus’ claim strikes them as unfair. I recall one episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah was discussing salvation and heaven when she went on to say, “One of the mistakes that human beings make is that there is only one way to live, and that we don’t accept that there are diverse ways of being in the world, that there are millions of ways to be a human being, and many paths to what you call God.”[1]

 

This soon led into a discussion with her audience. One lady challenged Oprah by saying that there is only one way to heaven and that way is Jesus. To that, Oprah said, “There couldn’t be just possibly one way. If you are somewhere on the planet and you never hear the name of Jesus, but you live with a loving heart, you live as Jesus would have had you to live, but you are in some remote part of the earth and you have never heard the name of Jesus, you can’t get to heaven? Does God care about your heart, or does He care if you call His Son Jesus?”

 

Well, what about Oprah’s questions? Did God the Father suddenly change the rules and limit salvation to only Christians? When Jesus announced Himself as the Way, was He shrinking the path of salvation? 

No, He was opening the door to heaven. Without Christ, the number saved is zero, since “no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12). But with Christ, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

 

These words of Christ are an invitation. He’s inviting all to trust in Him and find life in Him.

 

But what about those who lived before the coming of Christ? What about those Old Testament believers? Are they doomed? Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). These words apply to us now. We haven’t seen Jesus with our eyes, yet we believe and are blessed by faith. The same goes with the faithful of the Old Testament times, since they also did not see Jesus with their own eyes, but they had faith in the promise of a Savior.

 

Satan does his best to lead us away from the one way of salvation. He tries to convince us that there must have been another way for the Israelites beside the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. Satan wants us all to compromise our way to salvation.

 

Now, there are many issues that we can compromise. We can compromise on the style and color of carpeting. We can compromise on the shade of paint on the walls. We can always compromise on the things that do not particularly matter. There, we can meet in the middle. But some issues, we cannot compromise.

 

There is one area where we can never compromise, and this is truth. Truth is fact. Facts don’t change. Two plus two equals four. The sky is blue.

 

But where is the source of truth? God’s written Word is the sole source of the knowledge of truth. Again, Jesus says, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life." He also says, "If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

 

Sometimes compromising becomes the worst outcome. One day two women came up to King Solomon, both women gave birth to a child, but one child later died (1 Kings 3:16-28). To the surprise of one of the women, the other woman placed her deceased child with her that night while she was sleeping, and the other woman took the living child to live with her. When morning came, the other woman noticed that the child was dead, but she also realized that this child was not her offspring. 

So, the two came to Solomon for his wisdom. Solomon said, “Bring me a sword.” So, a sword was brought before the king. And Solomon said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”

 

Then the woman whose son was alive said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” Solomon answered, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.”

 

Satan deceives the world into thinking that we can compromise on truth. He says we can compromise on the Word of God, but if we did compromise, whose word is it? God’s Word or man’s word? 

 

So, everyone who imagines that they have found the truth apart from Jesus and His Word is deluding himself. Without God, there is no truth. 

 

Last Sunday as I was driving back home from church, my radio was set to WIZM. To my surprise NBC’s Meet the Press was on. The host Chuck Todd asked his guest, “Are you confident that gender is not a spectrum? There is a lot of scientific research that says that gender is a spectrum.”[2]

 

As those were the first words I heard on my radio, I thought, “Would this have even been a question five years ago? We have certainly come a long way in so short of time. Just stating that there is scientific research doesn’t make it fact. Tell me more about this ‘scientific research.’ Prove it!”

 

Also last week, I saw a clip from ABC’s The View where co-host Whoopi Goldberg argued that God would be in favor of gender reassignment surgeries. She said, “What Bible are [they] reading? Because God was really clear!”[3] Just stating that the Bible approves what you want doesn’t make it fact. Prove it. Show me the chapter and the verse!

 

In Scripture, God reveals that He knitted us together in our mother’s womb as male and female (Psalm 139:13, Genesis 1). Jesus, God in human flesh, also affirmed this truth (Matthew 19:4).

We can’t compromise on truth. It’s either a baby or it isn’t. Men cannot become women. Women cannot become men.

 

If a society is no longer based on truth, then what do we have? We have lies and Satan is the Father of Lies.

 

We cannot live by lies. We can only live by Jesus, who is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. Living by lies can only lead to eternal death. But sometimes, we can get caught up in lies, since lies are so attractive. And when we come to the realization that we have been fooled, we repent and ask God for His forgiveness for which He always forgives.

 

Living only in God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, we have life. Jesus alone provides the assurance of eternal life. Every other “way” leads to eternal death. Jesus assures us of eternal life through His Means of Grace: Word and Sacrament.

 

Here, in this place, Jesus leads us, He teaches us, and He gives us eternal life. Jesus is the only way to true joy and true life. His death on the cross changed everything. His resurrection from the dead is what secures for us the joys that transcend all the changes of this fallen, sinful world.

 

So, when we cling to Jesus and His Word, we cling to none other than God Himself. In Christ, we are certain and secure in a changing world. This is why He continually comforts us and reassures us that He is in still in control as we receive His forgiveness, hear His unchanging Word, and receive His medicine of immortality at the Lord’s Table. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life of salvation through God the Father. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

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[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noO_dCWtB1E

[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/april-30-sec-mayorkas-vivek-ramaswamy-and-luke-russert-171913797525

[3] https://www.christianpost.com/news/whoopi-goldberg-appeals-to-bible-in-debate-on-trans-surgeries.html