Sermon for Lent 4: "The Cross Is A Must" (John 3:14-21)

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:

[Jesus said:] “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

 

Where do you look when you have a problem? Where do you go to find a solution? Do you fixate on your troubles, your mistakes, the mistakes of others, or do you look elsewhere for help? 

 

Satan wants us to live in darkness and disease, buried in remorse, anger, guilt, grudge, or condemnation. But today’s Gospel lesson announces a reason to look up. In Christ Jesus alone, there is everlasting light and life that overpowers all darkness and all disease. Jesus says, “The Cross is a must!” He says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

 

Jesus was cursed so that we might live. God states in Deuteronomy 21: “If a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23a).

 

We like to blame others for our problems. It sure beats the work of self-assessment. Grumbling at God for our predicament comes more naturally than asking Him for help. How quickly we become discouraged and impatient toward our gracious God, as did the Israelites in the desert.

 

God is patient. He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, but He will not forever put up with those who spurn His love. So, He sent fiery serpents to punish the grumbling Israelites. When bitten by these serpents, the people died. But some of those who haven’t been bitten, repented of their sin, and appealed to Moses saying, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that He take away the serpents from us” (Numbers 21:7).

 

So, Moses interceded for them to God. By God’s command, Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. It looked like the source of death, but by God’s power, whoever was bitten by a fiery serpent, should he look on the lifted-up snake, would live. 

 

The Son of Man was also lifted up. He hung on a criminal’s cross, from all outward appearances, He looked like a sinful person, but He was truly righteous. He took upon yours and my sins to take upon Himself the curse of sin.

 

Again, do you have troubles? Do you fixate on your mistakes? Sin has a way on taking over our lives – as St. James writes, “Desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:15). Sin brings forth more sin, and sin leads to death. Sin shrivels faith. Sin reduces us to anger and unhappiness. So, what can we do? 

 

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

 

We look up to Jesus and His cross! We look up to Jesus, the sinless One who became sin for you in order to remove the curse and give you new life.

 

Again, Jesus says that His going to the cross is a must. It is a must that the Son of Man be lifted up because as the lifting up of the serpent was a must for the healing of a sinful people, so too, the lifting up of the Son of Man is a must for the salvation for the world.

 

God’s promise of healing and life was given to all who looked upon the bronze serpent lifted upon the pole, so also the promise of eternal life to all who cling to Him in the lifting up of the Son of Man.

 

Eternal life is only found in the crucified Son of Man. Apart from the bronze serpent on the pole, the fatally snake bitten Israelite had no possibility of healing. Likewise, apart from the Crucified, there is no salvation or eternal life. 

 

But Satan does not quit. He still hisses accusations at us. Satan says, “You still feel wretched. And you deserve to feel wretched.”

 

So, just as that bronze serpent made a sport of the fiery serpents, so too, Christ was lifted high upon the cross to silence our accuser.

Thus, we boast in Christ the Crucified. The Son of Man was lifted up on the cross to mock the old serpent, Satan. He made a public spectacle of the defeated devil. “[Jesus] disarmed the demonic rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him” (Colossians 2:15). Upon that cross, it was as if Satan was nailed to the cross, since through Christ’s death, He defeated Satan’s power to accuse us.

 

Not only does Jesus remove the curse of sin and silence the evil foe, He also heals our hurts and pain. By God’s command and promise, those who looked up at the bronze serpent were healed. Just imagine how those Israelites felt.

 

That bronze serpent’s power was not in itself, but to the reality that it pointed toward: Christ the Crucified. The lifted-up Son of Man heals all who cling to Him from the deadly bite of our evil foes: sin, eternal death and the devil.

 

Between the events of the wilderness and the crucifixion, we have an act of seeing – the bronze serpent – and an act of believing – the Son of Man lifted up; we have physical life and eternal life; and we have the way to the land of promise and Jesus, who is the Way.

 

In Word and Sacrament, look to Jesus in faith. As we read and hear His Scripture, know that those words are His Words. It is Jesus who is speaking. It is Jesus who is speaking Law and speaking Gospel. In Baptism, the Holy Spirit points us to Christ the Crucified. In the Lord’s Supper, we receive the victorious Crucified and Risen Christ’s body and blood under bread and wine, which forgives our sins and heals our faith.

 

In faith, look up to the crucified Christ, now raised and forever glorified! In Him is life everlasting, which overpowers all darkness and disease. For it is “by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8a). We are saved by the act of believing, believing in the Son of Man, who was lifted up, so that we, by His grace, would have forgiveness of our sins and life everlasting.

 

In this fallen world, we will still face our evil foes. We will still face many bites, but their venom will not poison those who look up to Christ the Crucified.

 

So, come and let us fix our eyes on Jesus, who endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. “For 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). For Jesus, the cross was a must for us and for our salvation. 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 Advent Midweek 2: "Peace to All, Near and Far" (Ephesians 2:12-18)

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:

The weeks before Christmas can be busy. The first days of December bring us closer to more people than perhaps any other time. The stores are full, and the lines are long. Your office Christmas celebration next week puts you into the same room with people you might see only once a year. Your family gets together the week before Christmas, and this year, your cousin with the smallest house is hosting. It’s going to be tight! Advent and Christmas bring us shoulder to shoulder with strangers, neighbors, family, and friends.

 

Is that your definition of peace? A long checkout line, a crowded party, and sharing a couch with one person too many? That’s no one’s picture of peace. Peace is the opposite image. Peace is open space, quiet, and calm. If only we could find it. That’s our picture tonight as we continue to see how the star of peace comes to us. This evening, we will look at the two middle points of the star. These points stretch out and say, “Peace is getting away!” If we can get far enough away, we’ll find peace. It’s a natural idea, and we can spend a great deal of time pursuing it. But once again, God knows the limits of our pursuit, spares us from a disappointing chase, and gives us more than we would have found for ourselves.

 

Let’s start with imagining that peace can be found in a place far away from where we are right now. What is your picture of that perfect place? Is it a cabin in the far north woods set on a quiet lake? You have the lake to yourself. There are no other cabins to spoil the view and no motors waking you up. The only sounds are the waves gently breaking on the shore and the geese calling one another. There’s no wind or waves, just the perfect reflection of the trees on the far shore. That’s peace. There are no phone calls, messages, or emails to be returned and no 24-hour cable news to remind you of the problems in the world. There is nothing but peace. Make some coffee, sit on the porch, and soak it all in.

 

That sounds wonderful, and if you can escape to that place and stay there, it sounds perfect. But what if you know that that’s never going to happen? You can’t leave your work and live in the woods. You can’t leave the people who depend on you. 

 

You need peace that fits life here and now. That’s the other dimension of peace that we often seek. It’s living here and now. But even here you can seek peace. That dimension of peace happens when we rearrange our past. Our past could use some change and distance. That’s because the past doesn’t stay in the past where it should be—silent and out of sight. 

 

Instead, the past intrudes into our present and threatens our future. The past has those people, those events, those harsh words, and those tears that never fully went away. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could erase that past and move its dusty memory as far from us as that cabin in the far north woods? What if we could deny the darkest parts of our past and retell our story with the best parts out in front? Let the worst parts be hidden under a mumbled sentence that no one can really hear. Pick up the past and move it out of sight. Then we’ve found our peace.

 

These are wonderful ways to escape our crowded, stressful world. Take either direction and go as far as you can. Deny your dark past and escape your overcrowded present. God stops us from going in either direction and brings us peace in the present. Jesus is our peace here and now, not in our separation from one another but in Himself. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul writes, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace” (Ephesians 2:13–15). Amid hostility and tension, Christ brings us peace.

 

Do you remember the disciples sailing in the boat while Jesus slept? The storm came on them, and they rowed furiously while Jesus was sleeping. Finally, they woke Him and asked, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). Jesus rose, rebuked the wind and waves, and there was calm. And He asked them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

 

Where is our peace? Is it on a perfectly calm lake, or is it found in the middle of a storm? The lake may be calm now, but do you remember the storms of your past? Who knows what storms might still come? So, our peace is found in the One who is with us even in the middle of the stormy lake. He who creates calm within us even when the wind and waves roar is our peace.

 

He is our peace by reconciling us to one another. We try to bring peace to the conflicts of our past by retelling our story. We want to distance ourselves from those people and events. But Christ brings peace by bringing together all people through His birth, life, and death. From His birth in the stable to the gathering around His cross, His coming brought together those who otherwise would remain distant. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote, “And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:17–19).

 

Peace doesn’t come when we retell our story. Peace comes at the brokenness of Jesus at the moment of His death. Peace comes when we are completely forgiven. In His peace, He gathers us from far and near, regardless of who we are. We find peace in Jesus’ death and resurrection. In Christ, we don’t merely come out better. We come out forgiven and at peace.

 

So, dream if you wish of that perfect cabin by the always-calm lake. I’m not sure that it exists anywhere like it does in our dreams. But that’s all right. We don’t need to escape to the lake, and we don’t need to escape by a retelling of our past. In Christ alone, we find peace this Advent through Christ’s words of power and His words of calm. In Him, there’s forgiveness for the past and power to overcome the storms of today and the storms of tomorrow. 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 Advent 2: "Double Your Comfort" (Isaiah 40:1-11)

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:

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-2).

 

This is a text that God Himself desires you to hear. In fact, He demands that you hear His words: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.”

 

When Isaiah first uttered those words from God, God’s people were in desperate need of comfort. They were in need of hope. They were in need of peace.

 

You see, in 587 BC, Babylon unleashed an attack against Jerusalem. This attack included the destruction of the Temple. When Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Judah, it looked to the Jews that the Babylonian gods had triumphed over the God of Israel. It appeared as though Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, was no match for these foreign gods.

 

For many of the Jews, they thought the situation could be even worse. Could it be that Yahweh did not defend His people, because they had spurned Him too many times. Maybe Yahweh chose not to defend His people because they had by and large rejected Him? Worst of all, what if Yahweh did not even exist? What if their trust in Yahweh had all been in vain?

 

Whichever way the Jews were thinking, they saw the same future. They saw a future without any hope. They saw a future without any comfort. The only thing reasonable was to face the facts. Jerusalem was destroyed and they were now exiles. It was time to forget about Yahweh and just move on without Him.

 

After the fall of Jerusalem, the Prophet Jeremiah lamented, “She – Jerusalem – weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; … she has none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:2). “She has no comforter” (Lamentations 1:9). “For a comforter is far from me” (Lamentations 1:16). “Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:17). “There is no one to comfort me” (Lamentations 1:21).

Israel was alone. Israel was in utter darkness.

 

Then, just as all hope was lost, Yahweh, their God, speaks: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). Yahweh was not done with His people! To the pain, He commands His heavenly messengers to “comfort, comfort My people.” It was time for Israel to step out of darkness and into Yahweh’s marvelous light! (1 Peter 2:9).

 

Israel’s hurt was deep, but Yahweh’s comfort was deeper. The people were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). So, Yahweh, the Lord their God, “being rich in mercy, because of His great love” (Ephesians 2:4), takes the initiative and speaks the Gospel. This comforting Gospel comes before Israel responds in repentance and faith. This comforting Gospel comes before Israel makes any effort to repent and return to God. This comforting Gospel comes only when Yahweh turns back to Israel. This comforting Gospel comes when God promises His coming!

 

Yahweh, the Lord of Hosts, is coming! And why is that good news? Why is that comforting? God appeared to have left His people before. What could stop Him from abandoning His people again?

 

But something is different. Yahweh is announcing that He is coming back not to faithful people, but to a weak, unfaithful, failing, and failed people. They are, as Isaiah proclaims: “a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly” (Isaiah 1:4). Yahweh is coming back to a people who have forsaken Him. He is coming back to a people who have despised Him.

 

Due to their rebellion against God, Israel was struck by the Assyrians. Did they learn their lesson? Nope. They continued to rebel against God. Their “whole head [was] sick, and [their] whole heart faint” (Isaiah 1:5).

 

So, due to their evils against God, warfare would engulf them. And God Himself pronounced their doom. So, why is this good news?

 

It is good news because God is coming to a weak and sinful people, such as them. He is coming to a weak and sinful people, such as us – you and me. He will never abandon us. This is the greatest comfort. God is coming because of His amazing love and mercy. He is coming because we are His people.

 

And we have seen who this God is in His coming: in His manger, in His preaching, in His miracles and healing, in His sin-atoning cross, in His mighty resurrection, and in His reign at the Right Hand of God the Father.

 

In Isaiah 40, God demands that His coming be heralded as comfort upon comfort. He is doubling your comfort. He is calling sinners, like you and me as “My people.” To poor and miserable sinners, He is describing Himself as “Your God.”

 

Yahweh speaks of “making straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3). He says, “every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain” (Isaiah 40:4).

 

So, there will be no mountain high enough and no valley low enough to keep Him from coming to you. Yahweh is coming to bring double comfort. He is coming to bring an end to warfare. He is coming to bring an end to suffering. He is coming to provide atonement for your sin. He is coming to reveal His glory to theirs and your own eyes. You will see it.

 

When Isaiah first spoke of God’s double comfort, he was pointing to the end of their exile and to their return from Babylon. But in the fullness of time, these words of Isaiah speak of the coming of Yahweh in human flesh as Emmanuel – God with us. In “the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

 

In the fullness of time, we received double our comfort in Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins through His suffering and death. The “glory of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:5) was revealed in the Advent of Jesus. By His atoning suffering and death, Jesus brought you back to Him. He paid the price for yours and my sin. Your iniquity is pardoned. And now, through Christ, you have received from God’s hand double your comfort. At the cross, Jesus was pierced for your transgressions. He was crushed for your iniquities. You have peace with God. Through Christ’s death alone, you are healed.

 

Remember, God chose the Hebrew people as His chosen people. Abraham didn’t choose Yahweh. Yahweh chose Him. He didn’t choose Abraham by his merit. He chose him out of His love, so that through him and his descendants, the Hebrew people, others would see God’s love in them. 

 

Likewise, God chose you. He chose you not by your merit. He chose you who are too weak and too helpless to save yourself. Jesus said to the His disciples: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). No one chooses God, God chooses you. And this is double comfort knowing that God’s love is for you. And to show how certain God’s love is, He shows His love when He chose you as His own in the waters of Holy Baptism. And if you ever doubt His love for you, remember your baptism by saying, “I am God’s own child, I gladly say it: I am baptized into Christ! He, because I could not pay it, gave my full redemption price. So, there is nothing worth comparing to this lifelong comfort sure!” (God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It, LSB 594)

 

God doubles this comfort again, as He forgives us through confession and absolution. God doubles this comfort even more as He gives us forgiveness and strength through Christ’s Body and Blood under the bread and wine.

 

So, be comforted! Through Christ alone, your sins are forgiven, and since they are wiped away, there is nothing that could separate you from Him and His love for you in Jesus Christ. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). He is with you forever to give you comfort upon comfort.

 

Since we have been doubled our comfort through Christ’s coming, God calls us to speak of this comfort of God’s forgiveness to those around you. God’s comfort is for everyone, so speak of His comfort saying, “God has come in Jesus Christ!” Christ alone has fulfilled your comfort in His first coming. The consummation of His comfort will come at His final coming. And He continues to double your comfort now in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacrament – as we look to the future. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Epiphany 7: "The Resurrection Body" (1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 30-42)

 

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:

[Intro]

Last week, we heard of the “Resurrection Connection” as the Apostle Paul connected the dots between Christ’s bodily resurrection and ours. The issue at hand was that many in Corinth could not fathom the idea of a bodily resurrection.

Instead of holding onto faith, many of the Corinthians were holding on to logic and reason. And since they did not see people being bodily resurrected from the dead in their daily life, many thought the resurrection was bunk.

God certainly gives us logic and reason, but since the fall of Adam, our logic and reason is often flawed, due to sin. So, when we attempt to follow our logic and reason, we are to always remember to test it using God’s Word as He reveals to us in Scripture. Remember, God is God and we are not, so when we end up trusting our logic and reason over God’s Word, we are then putting ourselves in the place of God. We are making ourselves gods.

So, as we heard last week, Paul, through the Holy Spirit, wrote of the eternal benefits of Christ rising from the dead, saying: “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Corinthians 15:16-18).

So, without Christ’s bodily resurrection, the Christian faith is pointless. We are dead in our sins. But since Christ has been raised, the Christian faith is sure and certain. Since, Christ is risen, we shall also rise!

Now that Paul has encouraged the Corinthian church and us of the benefits of Christ’s resurrection, the next question is what does our bodily resurrection look like? Today on this Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, Paul gives us the most complete commentary on the Christian’s resurrection body.

[The Final Enemy: Death]

Louis XV, the king of France (1710-1774), ordered that no one should speak about death in his presence. He tried to avoid any visible sign or symbol or place that would remind him of the mortal nature of life in this world. Yet, just like us, the king could never escape this last great enemy anymore than a cat can escape its enemy by concealing its body, but leaving its tail exposed.

The reality of death is difficult to deny or ignore. God does not deny death, conceal it, or sugarcoat it like we tend to do today. We all die because we are sinners. Every human body will undergo decay in the grave. But the good news is that the sting of death – its curse and punishment – has been removed through Jesus Christ. “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:21).

Since Christ has been raised from the dead, He has defeated the power of sin, death, and hell. Death has lost its sting! The grave for the Christian becomes the gate to heaven.

So, just as Adam’s sin and death affected not only himself but all of humanity, so the Corinthians needed to appreciate that Christ’s resurrection was not only for His own benefit; through Jesus the resurrection from the dead had become the destiny for all believers. For just as Adam was the head of the old humanity, so that his fall left a legacy of sin and death to all, so Christ stands as the head of the new humanity to be made alive in Him.

It is only through Holy Baptism that we belong to Christ. Through baptism, God gives us faith, so we can receive the gift of resurrection to eternal life. But first things first. The end is not yet, so our loved ones must rest in the grave for a time. But everything will happen in its proper order. Christ’s resurrection is the great first step, the firstfruits hold the promise of everything else. Then His resurrection leaven – all the faithful in Christ – will be raised when He descends from heaven “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet” as He descends through the clouds on that Last Day. (1 Corinthians 15:52)

At no point here does Paul refer to the fate of unbelievers. Paul’s concern here is to bring comfort and hope to the believers. So, at the appointed time, Christ will usher in the consummation of the age through His reign in putting all His enemies under His feet, including the final enemy: death. (1 Corinthians 15:24-26)

The fact that death is our enemy has immense significance at Christian funerals. Sometimes at funerals, one may hear comments like: “Don’t be sad, we should rejoice. This is a victory celebration!” Now, there is a sense that this is true, but death – the last enemy and the sign of sin’s universal dominion over fallen humanity, will not be swallowed up until the Last Day (1 Corinthians 15:54), so Christians are free to grieve the death of their loved ones. But Christians ought not to mourn at funerals as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Christians certainly mourn, but our morning is mixed with hope. Our tears are mixed with faith. Our sadness is mixed with joy.

Christ’s bodily resurrection proves that God the Father has subjected all things, even death, to Him.

[How are the Dead Raised?]

From here, Paul asks in effect, “What’s the point? If the dead are not raised, what good does it to me to live in daily fear of my life” (1 Corinthians 15:30-32). It would make much more sense to get the most out of this life, so “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32; Isaiah 22:13). So, if Christ has not been bodily raised from the dead, let us die “without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).

The world we live in is without hope and without God. Without God, nothing matters. It is a world of nihilism. It is a world of chaos. It is a world of no objective truth. Right is wrong. Wrong is right. Up is down. Down is up. Men are women. Women are men. This is the world we find ourselves in today. It is a world without hope and without God.

But Paul goes deeper into the logic and reason that the Corinthians crave. He speaks of one of their favorite poets Menander, for this man said: “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). This is profoundly true. False doctrine fosters loose morals. Here, Paul is urging them and us to not be deceived as we live in the world without hope and without God, that we don’t become like the world. He says this to their shame – and our shame – because although they are Christians, they do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.

So, don’t lean on your own understanding, but trust in God and the sure promise revealed in His Word. We cannot reason the resurrection. We can only have faith in the resurrection.

“But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’” (1 Corinthians 15:35) Or they may ask it this way: “How can a corpse which has been reduced to dust or ashes be raised to life again?” For the Greeks then, and the unbelieving world today, the concept of a decomposed person coming back to life was a sheer impossibility. Like the Greeks then and the unbelieving world today, they were inclined to scoff.

But from these questions, the Holy Spirit leads Paul into giving us the most complete commentary on our bodily resurrection! He says: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies” (1 Corinthians 15:36).

Essentially, you will find the answer to our bodily resurrection by observing your own garden, or for many, your own farm field. Paul is saying: “From your everyday experience in horticulture you can observe the necessary cycle that a seed must first die before it is made alive.”

Martin Luther puts it this way: “The cemetery or burial ground does not indicate a heap of the dead, but a field full of kernels, known as God’s kernels, which will verdantly blossom forth and grow more beautifully than can be imagined.”[1]

So, at His Coming, Christ will raise us up, just as flowers, corn, and beans are grown from dead seeds. So, when death occurs a person is buried – or planted – like a seed in the cemetery. The body awaits the new life that will burst forth in the resurrection!

Oddly enough, the English word “cemetery” comes from a Greek word meaning “sleeping room.” So, the risen Christ is now the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

[Our Resurrection Body]

Then the next question is “What will our resurrection body look like?” Well, the resurrection body will be the same, yet gloriously different. We will be as God created us, but better!

The Lord who created our physical bodies will give us glorious, spiritual bodies. Our bodies in their present condition will be changed in a flash: no longer full of lusts, no longer sinful, no longer limited by hunger, thirst, pain, or mortality. We will have real bodies free from sin!

In the meantime, unless Christ comes first, we will all die, due to sin. But when we die, we die in hope knowing that we are God’s seeds sown only to rise again at the coming of Christ, because He lived, died, and rose again from the dead for us! The fear of death may cause us to deny death or even try to ignore it. But Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though He dies” (John 11:25), so we can face death with peace and confidence.

We know that there is more to come! Our bodies will be placed in a grave, but one day – “in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:52) – that grave will be as empty as the grave of Jesus! Our mortal bodies buried will be the immortal body raised just as it was for Jesus! Amen!

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

---

[1] Martin Luther. Luther’s Works 28:178.

Funeral Sermon: "Immeasurable Riches of God's Grace" (Ephesians 2:1-10)

 

Kristin and Kelly, family and friends of JoLene:

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

[Intro]

JoLene was certainly blessed by God all throughout her life. You see, the Triune God – the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – always provided for all of JoLene’s needs of her body and soul. The Lord gave her faith at the waters of Holy Baptism, and it was the Lord who sustained that faith.

Today, JoLene is resting from her labors as she has been led by the Good Shepherd to the house of the Lord.

Throughout her earthly life, God blessed JoLene with various vocations. She was a mother to Kristin and Kelly. She was a grandmother and great-grandmother. She certainly cherished the time she had with her family and friends. God also blessed JoLene through her employment at Tonka Toys, 3M, Telex-Bosch and as a bartender.

She also enjoyed the company of others. She bowled league. She also enjoyed baking chocolate chip cookies and brownies and sharing them with her neighbors.

All throughout her life, God’s steadfast love for JoLene never ceased.

But for us here this afternoon, we are all experiencing loss. Any separation is a time of mourning. After all, death is not natural. Humanity was not created to die. But due to our first parents – Adam and Eve – we all die, because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). And, so we mourn. But, mourning is a good and godly work. You see, Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. Jesus wept because He loved His friend, so weeping and mourning the death of any loved one is a good work.

We Christians mourn because of the reality of death. We mourn because we were never intended to die and should live forever. But, we do not mourn as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We mourn, but our mourning is mixed with hope. Our tears are mixed with faith. Our sadness is mixed with joy.

[Amazing Grace]

We just sang what many call America’s national hymn. “Amazing Grace” has been recorded by pop and country stars such as Aretha Franklin, Alan Jackson, and one of JoLene’s favorite artists Elvis Presley. We often hear bagpipes playing the tune with a military band. This hymn most definitely has had an impact on people’s lives. In fact, there are entire books based on the history of this hymn.

Its writer, John Newton, experienced God’s grace during a storm at sea in 1748, as he converted to Christianity. His turnaround was certainly amazing, as he later became an Anglican pastor.

Then on January 1, 1773, the hymn was first sung to accompany his sermon. For several years, this hymn was not known to anyone outside that parish. Then in 1779 – six years later – “Amazing Grace” was published in a hymnbook known as the Olney Hymns, which was named after the town of his parish Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.

In just some short years later, “Amazing Grace” would enter American folk tradition and become a staple among American hymnals.

The hymn itself is a reflection on the overwhelming, undeserved grace of God that saved John Newton despite his sinfulness. You see, while he was out at sea that day, he was a slave trader. But through that storm, God brought him to faith. He was a “wretch,” and yet God saved him. Like the prodigal son, he was lost, but now has been found (Luke 15). Like the man to whom Jesus restored his sight, he was blind, but now he can see (John 9:25).

[Saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus]

This is us, too! Through the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked … But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:1, 4-5).

Despite our trespasses and sins, God gives us grace! Through His suffering and death upon the cross, Jesus put upon Himself our sins, in order to save us from what we truly deserve, that is, eternal death in hell. There, Christ underwent the Great Exchange as He took our sins and in return gave us God’s grace unto those who trust in Him. So, through Christ alone “by grace [we] have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

This is truly amazing grace! Jesus affirms this grace as He said: “For 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).

The hymn “Amazing Grace” celebrates the grace, mercy, and love of God. But there is something oddly missing in the lyrics, even though it is likely that our minds import it. Oddly enough, the hymn never explains the “amazing grace” and never says how God bestows His saving grace. Did you ever notice that? I know that it took me years to even notice that.

Thanks be to God that we have that answer in today’s Scripture readings! You see, “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:5). God bestows this saving grace through His Means of Grace: Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and in hearing God’s Word. Through these Means, God bestows His grace as He nourishes our faith. This is what God does for us throughout our life here on earth.

But what is JoLene experiencing now? Paul tells of that, too! Since, we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, all who trust in Christ are “raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6-7).

For JoLene, she received faith in Christ through the waters of Holy Baptism as the Triune God adopted her as His own. At this washing, JoLene received God’s amazing grace – the forgiveness of sins achieved by Jesus on the cross for all mankind!

For all the faithful, upon death they enter the Church Triumphant in heaven. There, they sing because they are free from all pain and sorrow, since they are in the presence of the Good Shepherd. There, Jesus wipes away ever tear from their eyes as they hunger no more, neither thirst anymore (Revelation 7:15-17). For everyone in the Church Triumphant, they are completely satisfied!

But heaven is not the end. There is more to come! Although, JoLene’s body will be placed in a grave, one day, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:52) – that grave will be as empty as the grave of Jesus! This body buried will be the body raised on that glorious resurrection day!

So, in this life, the heavenly life, and our resurrection life, God continues to show us immeasurable riches of His grace and all by faith that He nourishes through His Son Jesus Christ. Amen!

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

JoLene Horton's Obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/jolene-l-horton/

Sermon for Pentecost 15: "Show Me Your Faith" (James 2:1-10, 14-18)

 

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:

[Intro]

Too many of us are partial Christians. As “partial” Christians, our Christian convictions only apply to a small part of our life – and for many, that portion is shrinking.

We see this often in our personal and public lives. We may say – or hear fellow Christians – say things like:

• “Due to my faith, I am personally opposed to abortion, but I think women should have the right to choose.”
• “Religion and politics must be kept separate.”
• “I can believe in evolution and still be a Christian.”
• “My religious faith should have nothing to do with how I vote.”
• “I know Jesus is the only way to salvation, but I don’t want to offend people by talking about Jesus.”

Our modern world tears us apart. The modern world separates our lives into independent sectors: Education is education, politics is politics, science is science, and so on.

Our history has been a long story of each sector declaring its independence from the control and presence of religion. There certainly has been some good through secularization, but this process has had its costs: we are no longer whole. We often are forced to become partial Christians.

Our modern world also breaks us apart as we no longer trust in the mystery of God’s presence and His action. Instead, we live our lives reduced to a series of causes and effects that science can describe and predict. Thus, our lives become increasingly this-worldly. We focus on today, but not eternity.

Religion, itself, has become increasingly individualistic, as well. Instead of attending a Confessional and Christ-centered church, many people choose churches that adhere to their personal thoughts and feelings, instead of a church that adheres to God’s Law and Gospel. We see this within our own family and friends.

If anything, many people would rather have a “god” who fills in the gaps. So, whatever cannot be understood by science and human reason, then “god” fills in those parts of our life.

Partial Christians believe Christianity only applies to only small parts of their lives. In doing so, they are succumbing to the compartmentalized secular world.

Today on this 15^th Sunday after Pentecost, the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – teaches us that we ought to live out the whole Christian faith in our daily lives.

[Sin of Partiality]

Due to our sinful nature, we are a partial people. For good or bad, we care how people look, dress, and speak. We even tend to divide people by age and skin color. Through the Holy Spirit, James teaches us that partiality has no place in God’s Kingdom.

James writes: “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1).

James then cuts to the core. You see, our sinful nature likes shiny things, rather than dull things. Our very eyes catch the costly gold ring and fine clothing, and we think, “This man must have money. Come on in. You are welcome here.”

Some time ago, I experienced this at a department store. Now, I never dress shabby, but I noticed a change. After eating at a nice restaurant, I walked around a fancy department store wearing a suit, tie, and dress shoes. While there, I was certainly noticed by the staff. They wanted to assist me everywhere I went. On other times, when I wore only a polo, I was not even noticed. When it appeared, I had money to spend, I received all the help a man could ever want. But when it appeared I didn’t, I was ignored.

Through the Holy Spirit, James is saying that showing partiality is indeed a sin. To the rich man in fine clothing, we may say “‘You sit here in a good place,” while [we may] say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet’” (James 2:3).

The fine dressed man receives all the attention, while no respect whatsoever is shown to the poor man. The poor man is just told to sit over there, as far from us, on the floor. No one would ever think of treating the rich visitor in this way. This is the point James makes. Instead of respecting people as equals, James’ hearers were only following evil worldly ideas.

James’ point is that his readers should have shown courtesy to every visitor without making distinctions. He says: “Have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:4)

Is the soul of the one worth more than the soul of the other? Are not all men, rich and poor, equal in the house of God? Something is really wrong here with the faith of these people. They are fine attending church services – sitting in the pew, singing hymns, and going through the motions – meanwhile, they are judging each person around them. They are hearers only and not doers of the Word (James 1:22).

So, James reminds them about fulfilling the royal law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8b). If the Christian is doing this, they are doing well. “But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:9-10).

[Faith Without Works is Dead]

James then cuts deeper into the core. This sin of partiality is a faith issue.

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14)

Typically, “faith” usually means trust – a dependence upon something. But that is not what James is saying here. When James says: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” he is referring to “faith” as a mere knowledge of a subject.

Satan and his demons most definitely believe in Jesus. But they do not trust in Jesus. Or if you ask a random person, “Do you believe in Jesus?” A “yes” to this question only answers the fact that they have knowledge in Jesus. This is not the same as trust.

This is what James is saying. He is discussing a false understanding of faith: faith that is just mere knowledge that has no effect on the person who has it.

Faith itself cannot be seen. Faith makes its presence known by a proper confession and through natural works.

This is exactly what Jesus taught! He said: “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16-20).

So, if there is a man who declares that he has “faith,” but everyone sees, that his “works” do not belong to such a faith, this man has no such true faith. So, if a man says, “My Christian faith has nothing to do with how I live my life” or he says, “Due to my Christian faith, I am opposed to this or that, but I will not withhold your right to do what you want” then this man may not be a Christian. There are no fruits falling from his supposed faith. Or, what if a person devoutly attends Sunday church services, but acts like a heathen the rest of the week?

The question James issues is this: “Is that faith able to save?” That answer is: No. True faith in Jesus Christ certainly saves, but a fruitless faith does not save. To this, through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, James says to us: Show me your faith!

Now, you may be thinking, does this align with our favorite Lutheran verse from the Apostle Paul: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9)? That answer is: Yes. Sometimes we forget what follows those verses: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

James and Paul have exactly the same conception of saving faith. We are indeed justified by faith without works of the Law: a true and living trust in the Savior Jesus Christ.

You see, Paul does not have in mind one kind of faith when he says that faith without works saves, while James has in mind another kind of faith when he says that without works faith does not save. Both Paul and James refer identically to the same kind of a faith, and they both attribute to it regeneration, justification, and salvation.

Now, Paul and James do deal with different kinds of works. Paul deals with works of Law with having nothing to do with true faith, which are the boast of all the Pharisees and all works-righteous people, who think they are able to save themselves by such works. Now, trust in works of the Law is the direct opposite of faith in Christ alone. Works alone in order to earn salvation do not save.

James, here, deals with gospel works – the fruits of our faith – which is the evidence of the presence of true faith.

Both James and Paul attribute salvation to a living faith. Paul roots out what destroys and excludes faith. James stimulates sluggish faith. These two are in perfect agreement! They both call for the fruits of faith!

“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).

What good is a dead tree? What good is a dead branch? What good is a tree that does not bear fruit? They are worthless. They are thrown into the fire and burned.

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18).

So, the absence of good works that flow from faith in Christ show that this “faith” is not genuine. This person has a false faith. He has the same faith as that of a demon, who certainly believes in Jesus, but will not trust in Jesus and follow Him. 

[The Whole Christian]

So, how do we protect ourselves from being a partial Christian? How do we become a whole Christian? God gives us the answer!

True faith is the product of God through His Means of Grace. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Therefore, if we have no constant life in God’s Word, we cannot have true faith. Jesus 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, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). But when we are in His Word by hearing His Word, receiving God’s forgiveness through Absolution and the Sacrament of the Altar, God strengthens our saving faith. We also grow in true faith when we have an active life in Bible Studies. You see, God strengthens our faith through Word and Sacrament! The Triune God does all the hard work! True faith receives salvation.

True faith is also always productive. Good works are those which the Word of God commands, describes, and effects through us. If we claim to have faith, but have no good works, that claim is a lie. Good works are loving our neighbor. Good works are living out the Christian life.

True faith is what draws us to the Triune God: redemption.

We are all poor, miserable sinners. But God did not leave us in this state. God the Father showed His steadfast love to you and me by sending His Son Jesus Christ to take on all of our sin and replace it with His righteousness. This Christ accomplished through His atoning suffering and death, so that by grace through faith in Christ alone, we would receive forgiveness of sins, which leads to eternal life and salvation.

Christ has come to redeem, forgive, regenerate, and fulfill all His promises. So, trust in Christ and cling to Him! Show your faith in Him! It is only through clinging to Christ and His love for us that we live the whole Christian life as we love God and serve our neighbor in repentance and true faith. Amen!

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

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T