"The Paradox: The Word of the Cross" (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

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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 Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:22-25).

 

Throughout this Epiphany season, Jesus is revealing His glory. Through inspiration, Peter said of Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus turned a persecutor of the faith into the greatest defender of the faith. And Christ’s ultimate glory is Him crucified onto a cross as He died for our sins. This is what Lutheran pastors preach. We preach the Word of the Cross: Christ crucified for sinners. It is by this Word of the Cross is how God saves.

 

Now, back in October, Kurt, Willie and I were working on how to get a portion of our church parking lot lit. As you know, it tends to get dark at night, and when it is October, it gets darker earlier each night until the winter solstice each December 21^st. 

 

So, here we are, trying to figure out how to make the parking lot brighter until we noticed something off the end of the church’s canopy. It was a light! But the light didn’t work and hasn’t worked for years. So, we all tried to learn more about this light. Then Willie climbed the ladder and found out that the power to that dead light was still live. The next question was how to replace that light with a new light and not shock Willie in the process. So, Kurt and myself made our way to the circuit breaker boxes and began flipping switches: Canopy – nope; Emergency Lights – nope; Entry/office – nope; Narthex – nope; Barn – nope. We were at whit’s end. We were puzzled.

 

We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. You know that phrase “Christ crucified,” that phrase too, sounds like utter nonsense. How is that a good thing? That sounds more like defeat than a victory!

 

“Christ crucified” is a paradox. That seems so contrary to anything good! That word “Christ” also means “Messiah” and a messiah is someone who is of royal dignity. And the word “crucified” tells of an executed criminal, who has lost any and all claims to human dignity or any positive status at all!

 

But “Christ crucified” is what we preach. “Christ crucified” is certainly a stumbling block.

 

To Jews, a crucified Messiah was certainly an obstacle in coming to faith in Jesus. In fact, as Deuteronomy 21 tells us, anyone who has been crucified was seen as repugnant, unacceptable, and cursed by God. So, for Jews, crucifixion on a cross was the most shameful death imaginable.

 

To Greeks, who are entangled in a culture enamored by power and success, “Christ crucified” also made no sense. How could a crucified criminal ever be considered as the Savior of the world? Now, Greeks were known for their worldly wisdom, but they were not alone. Romans, too, also thought any worship of a crucified Messiah as ridiculous. In fact, Romans spoke of Christians as “worshipping a dead man” – which was utterly absurd!

 

For all nonbelievers, mankind is the measure of all things. For nonbelievers, they demand evidence that falls within the parameters of their own lived experience. 

 

Even with the differences between Jews and Greeks of yesteryear, St. Paul says that they are very much alike. He says that both Jews and Greeks have much in common. For they both have a common quest for impressive signs of outward success, whether that be a display of power, such as the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, or ejecting the Romans from Palestine, to today’s modern demands for health and wealth. 

 

The Jews demanded signs. They demanded Jesus give them a powerful sign to prove His Messianic claims. And Jesus gave them many signs. He healed the sick; He opened the eyes of the blind; He raised the dead; He preached good news to the poor in spirit. But they wanted different signs.

 

These Jews of Jesus’ earthly ministry demanded Jesus to do signs according to their own demands. You see, they wanted to be in control. They wanted Jesus to do their bidding. They wanted a Disney Genie-kind of Jesus who just grants their wishes.

 

So, in response to their demands, Jesus said: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:39-40).

 

In other words, if you really want a sign, look to what will soon happen. He says, “Look to My death and resurrection!” Look to the word of the cross!

 

For the Greeks, they have demands too. Now, not signs, but they demand wisdom. They wish to hear from a great teacher. They wish to learn pithy sayings. But, what wisdom is there from a dead Messiah? Again, “Christ crucified” is just foolishness. “Christ crucified” is just silly. “Christ crucified” is just a waste of time.

 

On top of this, the Greeks weren’t that interested in learning from a dead man about the problems of sin and guilt. You see, the Greeks and Romans believed they had sin and guilt all figured out. They believed they had all the answers.

 

The Word of the Cross is certainly foolishness to the worldly wise who are perishing, but to us, who are being saved, it is the power of God.

 

For the Jews and Greeks of yesteryear, they were seeking what is known today as the Theology of Glory. This Theology of Glory emphasizes human achievement and worldly success as paths to God’s favor and His glory. It’s all about personal glory, easy answers, self-improvement, wealth and comfort. It downplays sin and suffering. In John 14, Philip spoke to Jesus with this Theology of Glory saying: “Show us the Father” (John 14:8). Jesus then set Philip aside and said, “How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?”(John 14:9b-10). Philip was looking for signs and wisdom, but Jesus said to just look to Him saying, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). What Jesus is saying to Philip and us is that God can only be found through suffering and the cross.

 

We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. We preach the Theology of the Cross. True signs and true wisdom is only found in Christ the crucified.

 

For sure, the power of God through the Theology of Glory is certainly visible in creation, but the Theology of the Cross, which is the grace of God is only found through His cross and His Means of Grace: His Word and Sacraments. For, the grace of God certainly appears weak and foolish to unbelievers. But for us, it is the true power of God.

 

Jesus preached the Theology of the Cross. He preached that suffering is central to understanding God and the human condition. He preached that He must die to atone for the sins of the world – yours and my sins of all of human history. Jesus preached that through His atoning death that He would put an end to eternal death. He preached that through His death and bodily resurrection He would give us forgiveness, life, and salvation. So, it is only through the Word of the Cross that we receive the forgiveness of yours and my sins.

 

By the Word of the Cross, God outsmarted and overpowered all human wisdom and all human power. And it was from those Jews and Greeks of yesteryear that God would grow His Church as a new race, a royal priesthood. He made us all one in Christ Jesus!

 

So, if you are looking for signs and wonders as a display of God’s power, you will find that power displayed in Christ the crucified. And if you are on a quest for wisdom, you will find God’s wisdom perfectly revealed in the Word of the Cross.

 

For as God’s Word proclaims in Isaiah 55: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

 

So, did we ever figure out which circuit breaker switch was connected to that canopy light? Well, after flipping the breakers for the canopy, the emergency lights, the narthex, the barn, we came to another switch, a switch that just seemed that it couldn’t possibly work, it said “Cross.” So, we flipped it. It was the one. Always look to the cross. It seemed like folly, but it was the wisdom of God. We have light and salvation through the Word of the Cross! We preach Christ crucified and risen for sinners, because for us who are being saved, it is the power of God! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Sir, We Wish to See Jesus" (John 12:20-33)

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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:

“Now among those who went to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’” (John 12:20-21).

 

Today, the one holy Christian and apostolic Church observes Holy Cross Day. What is Holy Cross Day? What is the origin of Holy Cross Day? Why are we observing Holy Cross Day?

 

Well, it is not very often that we can observe a church festival day and speak with certainty as to the precise origin of that observance. Today, is one of those days. 

 

Holy Cross Day commemorates what was considered the discovery of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was in the early fourth century when Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, discovered some pieces of wood that she believed was originally a cross. And she believed it to be the cross of Christ when it effected a miraculous healing. 

 

In time, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was constructed on the site where this cross was found. The building was dedicated on September 13, 335, but it wasn’t until that next day, September 14, when the Holy Cross was exposed for public veneration for the first time. Hence the festival of the Holy Cross, or Holy Cross Day.

 

Wait. What? This sounds too Roman Catholic! Miracles and veneration? Didn’t Martin Luther say he was no fan of feasts dedicated to superstitions and relics? Yes, he even once said, “If all the alleged pieces of the true cross were gathered together, dozens of crosses could be constructed from them!”So, why are we observing Holy Cross Day?

 

Well, just look around you. The cross is a hugely significant part of Christianity. The cross is our symbol. When you see a cross, you think of Jesus, you think of Christianity, you think of Christians. The cross is our symbol. The cross is something that we connect with. The cross is very important to us.

 

Today, the cross is everywhere. It’s jewelry. It’s art. We hang crosses on our walls. Just look around and count all the crosses at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church: we have a lit cross hanging behind the altar; an altar cross; a processional cross; we have banners with crosses. Just to name a handful of places.

 

The cross is certainly significant. The cross is our symbol. But let us not forget what the cross was really about. The cross was a means of capital punishment. And often, we forget that. We wear the cross as beautiful jewelry. We make the cross look so beautiful at Easter. But the cross wasn’t meant to look beautiful. The cross was the place of brutality. The cross was a means of capital punishment. If Jesus would have died by electrocution on the electric chair, we would not be processing with a cross, but an electric chair. The same is true about a noose, or if Jesus was killed by firing squad or lethal injection. So, we cannot forget that the cross was a means of capital punishment.

 

Jesus could have been put to death in so many other ways, but instead He chose to endure one of the worst brutal ways to die by crucifixion upon a holy cross that wasn’t holy in itself. The cross only became holy because Jesus sanctified it through His shed blood.

 

So, why do we, as Lutherans, observe Holy Cross Day? Well, it’s not to observe a relic attested by miracles. Rather, we celebrate Holy Cross Day because of the triumph of our Lord upon the real cross that once stood on Golgotha. There, Christ’s blood blotted out the sin of the world. There, His death proved death’s destruction. We observe Holy Cross Day because of the way the triune God used and uses suffering to bring blessing. We observe this day, because of the way He worked and works so contrary to anything human reason could or would ever conceive or anticipate.

 

We observe this day, because with the Greeks in today’s Gospel lesson, we, too, “Wish to see Jesus”(John 12:21).

 

As it was custom, thousands of people would ascend to Jerusalem each year to celebrate the Passover Festival. Yet, this year, was a little different as many in the crowd came for an additional reason. They came to see Jesus. You see, the word was spreading that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. The crowd took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13).

 

Now among those who went up to worship at the Passover Feast were some Greeks who came up to Philip and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (John 12:21). These Greeks were strange fellows to come to this feast. They were Gentiles, not Jews. And it is odd that these men went to Philip and not straight to Jesus. We don’t know why, but it could be that they felt comfortable with Philip, because “Philip” was a Greek name. So, why were these Greek men there? Our Epistle has some clues. The Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to write: “For the Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:22). They were likely seeking wisdom.

 

You and I have also come to see Jesus. And we are not too different from the Jews and Greeks of two thousand years ago. We also demand signs and seek wisdom. We wish Jesus would cure us of our health issues of body and mind. We wish Jesus would multiply our bread, our money, so that we would not have to worry. We wish Jesus would cast out our demons of fear and anxiety. We wish Jesus would pull our loved ones out of their slumber of unbelief. We wish to see Jesus. But we also demand signs. So, where is the sign?

 

You and I have come to see Jesus. But we also seek wisdom. We wish to hear from a great teacher. We wish to learn some short, pithy sayings, so we would have the words to say when people ask us about our faith, the one true Christian faith. We wish we could always have every answer to the doubts that arise in our own hearts. We wish we could have the wisdom to combat the fallen world around us. We are like the Greeks. We wish to see Jesus. We want to behold God’s glory in wisdom.

 

To our demands of signs and wisdom, God says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart” (1 Corinthians 1:19).

 

God says the word of the cross is certainly folly to those who are perishing.

 

Like the Jews and the Greeks of yesteryear, we don’t get what we expect. We likely won’t see any great sign. Our health issues may not miraculously go away. You may not receive a miraculous feeding or receive money out of thin air. We still struggle.

 

But we get to see Jesus. So, what did Jesus say to the request of these Greeks? He said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). He said, “You Jews and you Greeks demand signs and wisdom, but I will show you the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

 

For the worldly wise, the cross is utter foolishness. People, by their nature, expect something else from what God offers them. Jews demand miraculous signs. They say, “Show us a sign!” (Matthew 12:38). 

 

Jesus, indeed, gave them signs. He healed the sick; He opened the eyes of the blind; He raised the dead; He preached good news to the poor in spirit. But they wanted a different sign. 

 

The Greeks demand wisdom. God still frustrates human wisdom. The greatest scholars today will never find God or understand Him if he depends on his own intellect. God has said so. Again, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart” (1 Corinthians 1:19). By means of this stumbling block, God brings salvation. By the powerful means of the word of the cross – the theology of the cross, Jesus says, “When I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all people to Myself” (John 12:32).

 

There, hanging on the cross, Jesus calls us to forsake the glory you think you have. He calls you to abandon the glory of human wisdom, logic, and reason. Instead, He calls you to Himself, because there on the cross He puts to shame all the glory of this fallen world, including all it’s “supposed”strength and it’s “supposed” wisdom. There, on the cross, He gave us the only way to salvation. And that is the significance of the cross. There is no other way to salvation without Christ’s atoning death on that holy cross where He put an end to eternal death by the means of which He gives us forgiveness, life, and salvation. There, Jesus won for you what all the strength of this fallen world could never ever muster. There, He accomplished for you what the wisdom of this fallen world could never fathom: the forgiveness of your sins.

 

Now, as Lutherans we cannot deny the possibility that the cross of Christ was discovered by Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine. The same is true about the Shroud of Turin, which is a linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man that many believe to be that of Jesus Christ Himself. I am even inclined to believe that the Shroud of Turin is Christ’s burial cloth. Could they both be real – the Holy Cross and Shroud? Possibly. 

 

But for us, whether those relics are authentic or not is not of prime importance. What does matter is that Jesus was “lifted up” just as He said. And that through His act of divine love, He still draws all people to Himself through the redemption that is in His blood, the forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of His grace. 

And better than any relic is the real presence of Jesus, who suffered, died, rose and ascended, who we receive by faith under simple bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper, which forgives our sins and strengthens our faith.

 

So, we observe Holy Cross Day because we want to see Jesus, because it is by His wounds that we have been healed. 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 Festival of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus & Martyr: "Brother in Christ" (Matthew 13:54-58)

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:

[Without Honor]

 

Jesus said: “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household”(Matthew 13:57). Today on this day, we remember one in the household of Jesus known as James of Jerusalem, the Brother of Jesus and Martyr.

 

But what kind of brother was James? The Holy Spirit tells us through Scripture that Jesus’ own family thought He was “crazy.” On one occasion, His family tried to seize Him as they said of Jesus: “He is out of his mind” (Mark 3:21).

 

Well, what would you think if your brother leaves home and then starts marching around the countryside? What would you think if you heard your brother called a dozen men to follow Him as their Lord? What would you think if he denied you as family, but instead said His new friends were His true family? In fact, this happened. While Jesus was speaking to the people, His mother and His brothers stood outside, asking to speak to Him. But Jesus says of His earthly family: “Who are my mother, and who are my brothers?” (Matthew 12:48). Then Jesus stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:49-50).

 

Beyond those dozen men, Jesus attracts a huge following – thousands of people follow Him out into the middle of nowhere. You hear that your brother is performing miracles of healing. The next thing you hear is that your brother claims to be the Son of God.

 

Then in today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus says, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household” (Matthew 13:57), to which we also learn that Jesus “did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58).

 

[Too Familiar]

 

“Familiarity breeds contempt,” the proverb says. Indeed, familiarity with Jesus growing up did breed the contempt of unbelief among His siblings and with the population of His hometown. 

You see, they all remember Jesus. Yes, He was different as a child. The people of Nazareth have no stories of Him arguing with His parents, or TP-ing the neighbor’s trees with His friends, or making false accusations. He never misbehaved. Ever. But Jesus was a child. They remember Him as a child. They also remember Him as He grew up. Yes, He was a bit different than other teens and young men, but He was still the Jesus they remembered. They were all familiar with Jesus, but now Jesus was more different than He was then.

 

Now, the people of Nazareth hear of miracles performed by Jesus. From the various reports they heard, these miracles are true. No one ever accuses Him of being a charlatan, a fake, a fraud. There is no drama, no smoke and mirrors. He just heals. He restores creation in front of them and there is no argument about it. His miracles are undeniable.

 

On top of this, no one can dispute what Jesus says. His teaching is obviously true. He speaks with clarity and power and not even the most-clever of Jewish lawyers can find a mistake. There are no contradictions. His Words perfectly match the Divine revelation of the Old Testament.

 

But this is the problem. Despite His righteous life and His divine miracles, despite everything He says, the people of Nazareth refuse to believe that He is God. Now, they have no reason to reject it. But they don’t need reason. They have sin. This truth of Jesus’ divinity shocks and scandalizes them. They can’t argue against it. They just reject it.

 

They cannot dispute His miracles. They cannot find a failure in His life. They can’t criticize His teaching. So, they just cling to the fact that Jesus is just a man. They say: “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:54-55). They say: “He is no better than us. He is just a man.” Well, the irony of it all is that they are correct. Jesus is one of them. As the Second Person of the Trinity, He took on our human flesh to suffer and die for all sinners.

 

I’m sure we understand the people of Nazareth. But what about those closest to Him? Scripture tells us that His closest relatives refused to believe that Jesus is God. One of them was James. James is like us. We too easily take for granted those God has placed closest to us – our family, our spouse. We, too, can speak ill of them and sometimes despise the ones closest to us. 

 

We, too, can be like James. We ought to ask the same question about ourselves. What’s our problem with Jesus? How is it that we often fail to honor Jesus in our hometown, in our jobs and various vocations, and in our households? Do we recognize His wisdom and His mighty works? Has familiarity with Jesus bred contempt of Him? Do you take Him for granted?

James didn’t initially embrace his brother’s divinity and messiahship. We often don’t either. James didn’t embrace Jesus’ call to repentance. Often, we are so very slow to repent. James also didn’t embrace Jesus’ own proclamation that the Christ must suffer, be lifted up on the cross, and rest in the tomb, and rise to life on the third day. We, too, don’t want to hear about the seriousness of our sin on why our Savior had to die so that believers would be forgiven of their sins.

 

In fact, we don’t hear about James as a witness of the crucifixion. We know he was not with Mary as she watches her Son and her Savior die. While nailed on the cross, Jesus entrusted His mother to John as He said, “Behold, your mother!” (John 19:27). Where was James? Where were the others of His earthly household? They were ashamed. They were scandalized knowing their brother died claiming to be the Son of God, the promised Messiah.

 

James certainly rejected Jesus. He didn’t believe Jesus could be the Messiah, much less God. He gave up on Jesus. He became estranged from Jesus.

 

[Jesus Never Gives Up on Us]

 

But did Jesus give up on James? Does Jesus give up on anybody? And so, after His death on the cross, a resurrection appearance seems to have been a life-altering moment for James: “Then [Jesus] appeared to more than 500 men. … Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:6, 7). 

 

And how did James react? Through the Holy Spirit, James made his good confession. He embraced Jesus in faith and who Jesus revealed Himself to be: God, Lord, and Christ. James believed. Through faith, James also was a forgiven sinner.

 

James became Jesus’ brother in the truest sense. Not by birth or blood or human will, but by following the will of God the Father. You see, faith is thicker than blood.

 

The effect of this resurrection appearance on James becomes immediately evident because, after years of rejection, the brothers of Jesus, including James, suddenly appear in the upper room with Mary, the other faithful women, and the eleven disciples devoted in prayer as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:13-14).

 

For a man, who for most of his life was offended by Jesus, James received Christ’s forgiveness and became a leader of early Christianity. He knew the long-suffering mercy and generous salvation of his brother Jesus. Jesus never gave up on him, so he used Jesus’ example to encourage fellow believers.

And, although being from Nazareth, James would soon be known as “James of Jerusalem,” because he served as the first bishop of the church, seated in Jerusalem. And as bishop, the Apostle Paul wrote of James as being one of the three “pillars” of the Church along with Peter and John (Galatians 2:9).

 

As the bishop of Jerusalem, James taught that righteousness comes only by faith in Christ and not by Jewish ceremonial Law. He taught that righteousness is not found in ourselves, but only by faith in Jesus, who alone is righteous.

 

Through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, James was a man of faith as he penned the Book of James, which in all likelihood is the oldest book of the New Testament. But as years went by, High Priest Ananus was seeking a way to depose of James and other Christian leaders. Then in AD 62, Ananus assembled the Sanhedrin and brought up trumped-up charges, falsely accusing James of breaking the Jewish Law in order to execute him. In this pre-determined show trial, James was found guilty and was stoned to death.

 

But what happened the very moment James died? Due to his faith in Jesus as his Lord and Savior, James inherited eternal life – just as we do! This, James inherited because of the mighty work of Jesus dying on the cross so all sinners – by faith – would be reconciled to God. When he was younger, he thought of this as foolish – as did his fellow Nazarenes – but this is the wisdom of God. And, this is our hope, too! You see, because of your faith in the crucified and risen Messiah, you have eternal life, too! We have good reason to hope, since our hope is sure and certain. We have the same hope that James came to realize. 

 

Like James, who when he saw his resurrected brother and was called to believe in Him as his Messiah and Lord, we too, have been called to believe in Jesus. Now, it is not Jesus who personally calls us to believe in Him, but it is the Holy Spirit who has called us and enlightened us by the Gospel. 

 

You see, apart from the Holy Spirit, our own reason or strength could not believe in Jesus as our Lord, or come to Him. We naturally reject Him, like James before the resurrection. It is only through the Holy Spirit, working mightily through the Word and Sacraments that can change hearts. Only the Holy Spirit mightily working through the Word and Sacraments can perform the strange act of making one a brother in Christ, just as we are – not by blood, but by grace through faith in Jesus 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 +