I Know My Faith is Founded

“I Know My Faith is Founded” (LSB 587) was written by Lutheran pastor Erdmann Neumeister (1671-1756). Neumeister is best known for his Lutheran orthodoxy and his prolific writing of hymns, as well as a detailed explanation of Luther’s Small Catechism.

Stanza one confesses that faith rests only on Jesus, true God and true man. Yet, saving faith is created by the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Without the Holy Spirit working through the Word, “our reason cannot fathom the truth of God profound.” What matters is the object of that faith: because it is possible that some could sincerely trust in error and not receive their salvation, it is not sincerity that is most important (although saving faith is certainly sincere). God’s Word is efficacious and “all-sufficient; it makes divinely sure.” Therefore, the stanza voices the certainty of faith when it says, “unmoved I stand on His sure Word.”

Satan’s kingdom is threatened when people trust in Christ. So “Satan seeks by night and day to rob me of this treasure and take my hope of bliss away” (stanza two; 1 Peter 5:8). Similarly, the Large Catechism confesses that Satan “is an enemy who never lets up or becomes weary; when one attack ceases, new ones always arise.”

Because of this, stanza two begins with a petition to increase faith in Christ. According to the Gospel, Satan cannot take God’s grace away when God’s hand remains with the believer. The result is a firmer confidence in God’s mercy, according to HIs Word. Because God’s Word of grace is certain, He makes faith in Christ firmer. This strengthens the believer confidently to “bid defiance to every evil foe.”

Stanza three is a petition for faith to endure the afflictions of “persecution, grief, and pain.” There is no escape from suffering in this life as a Christian (2 Corinthians 1:7; 2 Timothy 2:12). Yet God uses afflictions to drive believers deeper into God’s Word, that they may be more certain of His merciful promises. Therefore, even in affliction, God preserves His people in Christ and enables them to retain “a steadfast trust.”

After this life is over, the believer confidently looks to be taken home to heaven to inherit the riches God’s Word has long promised. By God’s grace, believers are safely brought through this vale of tears so they might attain “the end of faith,” or eternal life.

1 I know my faith is founded
    On Jesus Christ, my God and Lord;
And this my faith confessing,
    Unmoved I stand on His sure Word.
Our reason cannot fathom
    The truth of God profound;
Who trusts in human wisdom
    Relies on shifting ground.
God’s Word is all-sufficient,
    It makes divinely sure;
And trusting in its wisdom,
    My faith shall rest secure.

2 Increase my faith, dear Savior,
    For Satan seeks by night and day
To rob me of this treasure
    And take my hope of bliss away.
But, Lord, with You beside me,
    I shall be undismayed;
And led by Your good Spirit,
    I shall be unafraid.
Abide with me, O Savior,
    A firmer faith bestow;
Then I shall bid defiance
    To ev’ry evil foe.

3 In faith, Lord, let me serve You;
    Though persecution, grief, and pain
Should seek to overwhelm me,
    Let me a steadfast trust retain;
And then at my departure,
    Lord, take me home to You,
Your riches to inherit
    As all You said holds true.
In life and death, Lord, keep me
    Until Your heav’n I gain,
Where I by Your great mercy
    The end of faith attain.

Text: Public domain

It's About the Care of Body and Soul

(To be published in the June 2020 First Ev. Lutheran Church Newsletter)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

As human beings, we are both body and soul. First Ev. Lutheran Church’s last corporate worship service was on Wednesday, March 18. Following that Lenten midweek service, no person rushed from their pew to go home. Everyone sat quietly and wondered “What’s next?” First Ev. Lutheran never wanted to close, but we did out of care for our neighbor.

We closed because as Christ’s Church, we honor His commandments. In the Fourth Commandment, we are to “honor your father and mother.” This means that we are to fear and love God so that we honor our authorities. The authorities wanted to flatten the COVID-19 curve and we followed their advice. In the Fifth Commandment, we are to “not murder.” This means that we are to fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need. We closed so we would not hurt or harm our neighbor.

As the Apostle Paul writes: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1). At the same time, there comes a time when the government can go too far. When that happens: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

On the Ascension of Our Lord (May 21), the Church Council voted unanimously to resume Divine Services on Pentecost Sunday (May 31). This was such great news for Pastor Welch and myself!

As the news of resuming Divine Services made its way around Facebook that Thursday night into Friday morning, some onlookers may have thought: “It’s too early! People will die!” If you are worried about this, you may continue to watch the Divine Services from home. But, remember, even before COVID-19 people died. Death isn’t new. Death is the result of sin.

Our society and culture is focused on the body, but Jesus is focused on both body and soul. He tells us: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Through this COVID-19 pandemic, we have all become frustrated. For me, I am frustrated that I cannot visit sick members in the hospital. And, I cannot visit members in long-term care facilities. Yes, I am only a phone call away, but it’s much more than that, it’s about being there. Even if I don’t say a word, by being there, God provides comfort.

I have also become frustrated with the governor’s executive orders. From the start, big box stores could be open, but not small businesses. Then, casinos, restaurants and bars were allowed to open, but not the church. All the while, the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod was urging the governor for a plan for churches to re-open. The District never heard back from the governor.

So in the absence of a timeline or any other assurances that churches would soon be able to reopen, the Minnesota South District and its sister district the Minnesota North District, along with the Minnesota District of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) and the Roman Catholic dioceses of Minnesota decided to move forward with opening churches against the governor’s order.

Why would we do this? It’s about salvation for the body and the soul.

This is why Pastor Welch and I never turned away anyone on these past Sunday mornings. You may have noticed that more and more people have attended our live streamed Divine Services.

This is why we offered small group services with Holy Communion each Sunday morning and on Maundy Thursday.

Throughout all of this, I pray that this pandemic has exposed the true churches from the false churches. Yes, many LCMS congregations completely closed, but they all wanted to be open. They all closed out of fear from the government.

While that happened, many other Christian denominations wish to remain closed. And, frankly, I pray that many remain closed, since again, this is all about salvation for both body and soul. Most of the denominations that wish to remain closed preach the false doctrine of social justice in the place of Christ crucified and risen and His unchanging Word. I pray that this has been further exposed during this pandemic.

At the beginning of May, I began asking the shut-ins if they would like for me to physically stop in and give them the gifts bestowed in Holy Communion. I received a resounding “Yes!” Again, this is about salvation of both body and soul.

So, why can’t we just continue with Divine Services on Facebook only? Luke tells us: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). And Paul tells us: “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with you heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:18b-21).

In other words, as Christians we are not to worship God by ourselves, but we are to worship God together in order to strengthen one another and build each other up. Even better than that, the Triune God comes to us in the Divine Service! He is there in the Means of Grace: Baptism, God’s Word, and the Lord’s Supper. So, we thank and praise Him together as we hear His Word and sing His praise!

For Lutherans, we are an incarnational church. Not every church is like us. We know that Christ comes to us as we hear the invocation “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” for which we remember that we are baptized into Christ. He comes to us as we hear His Word and it rightly taught. He comes to us as we receive His very Body and His very Blood in the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of our sins and for strength in our weak faith!

This is why First Ev. Lutheran Church is resuming Divine Services! It is all about the care of both our body and our soul. It is all about the battle between eternal damnation and eternal life. For me, and I pray for you, I would rather live with Jesus and all the saints in the Church Triumphant, than face God’s wrath.

The Lord be with you always! To God be the glory! Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Adelsen

Homily for Ascension Day: "The Ascending King"

To watch, click here.

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:

“And when [Jesus] had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:9-11).

Alleluia! Christ is ascended! He is ascended, indeed! Alleluia!

Today is Ascension Day! In fact, we confess this festival day in our creeds:

• The Nicene Creed puts it this way: “And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.”
• The Apostles’ Creed puts it this way: “He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.”

Luke tells us that Christ ascended 40 days after His bodily resurrection from the dead. Both Christ’s resurrection and His ascension show His exaltation, or His Divineness, His true-Godness. 

Now, Christ’s ascension is not the first time He vanishes from His disciples. Remember, throughout the 40 days since His bodily resurrection, Christ vanished from His companions’ sight. One such example was when Christ made Himself known in the breaking of the bread to the two He walked with to Emmaus (Luke 24:31).

So, during the 40 days, Christ visited many and He vanished from many. But, what happened on the 40^th day was different.

As the disciples were on the Mount of Olives, a short distance east of Jerusalem, they witnessed Jesus being taken up into heaven. They saw with their own eyes Jesus ascending into the clouds.

They stood staring up into the sky in amazement. I’m sure we would have done the same!

So, here they are staring into the sky and with good reason. They are straining their eyes to see Jesus after the cloud hid Him from their sight.

Then, suddenly, two men in white robes speak to them saying: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

You see, Jesus is coming back! But in the meantime, we are not left to fend for ourselves. He is with us offering us comfort in the Means of Grace: In Holy Baptism, in hearing His Word, and in the Lord’s Supper!

But, He promises to return and when He does no person will be left wondering: Is this really Jesus? “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

On that day, there will be no doubting! For every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Every person will see Jesus descend from heaven the same way the disciples saw Jesus ascend into heaven. Some will bow in awe and thanksgiving to the King, others will bow in fear and trembling to the King.

Until that day, remember Jesus has not deserted us. He is involved in our lives! He is here always giving us comfort through His unchanging Word that gives us peace! Amen.

Up Through Endless Ranks of Angels

“Up Through Endless Ranks of Angels” (LSB 491), written by LCMS pastor Jaroslav Vajda (1919-2018), is the Hymn of the Day for the Ascension of Our Lord (tomorrow, May 21, 2020). This hymn tells of the account of the earthly eyewitnesses to our Lord’s ascension as found in Acts 1:9-11. The two angels who appeared were but a small part of the “endless ranks” of angels who welcomed Christ “ to His heavenly throne,” the invisible creation of “thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities” (Colossians 1:16; Revelation 12:12).

While on earth, Jesus “vanquished” the power of death and the power of the devil, and now “looks down upon His faithful” as the shepherd and guardian of their souls.

As a result of His victorious earthly ministry, stanza two looks to Jesus as our intercessor and advocate at the right hand of God the Father.

Stanza three is a prayer for guidance by the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18; 16:13) through the Word of God (Matthew 28:20) and for comfort in our trials until He returns to receive us to Himself (John 14:3).

Stanza four tells of the longing to be in the very presence of God, where we shall “breathe,” “see,” and “feel” God in new, resurrected bodies.

1       Up through endless ranks of angels,
    Cries of triumph in His ears,
To His heav’nly throne ascending,
    Having vanquished all their fears,
Christ looks down upon His faithful,
    Leaving them in happy tears.

2       Death-destroying, life-restoring,
    Proven equal to our need,
Now for us before the Father
    As our brother intercede;
Flesh that for our world was wounded,
    Living, for the wounded plead!

3       To our lives of wanton wand’ring
    Send Your Spirit, promised guide;
Through our lives of fear and failure
    With Your pow’r and love abide;
Welcome us, as You were welcomed,
    To an endless Eastertide.

D  4       Alleluia, alleluia!
    Oh, to breathe the Spirit’s grace!
Alleluia, alleluia!
    Oh, to see the Father’s face!
Alleluia, alleluia!
    Oh, to feel the Son’s embrace!

Text: © 1974 Augsburg Publishing House. Used by permission: CPH Limited Promotional License no. 119000000

Behind the Hymn: A Look at John of Damascus

Episode Four of "Behind the Hymn: Stories of the Hymns that We Love to Sing: John of Damascus." Today's episode featured John of Damascus' hymns "The Day of Resurrection" (LSB 478) and "Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain" (LSB 487). _____________________ The theme for the hymn "The Day of Resurrection" (LSB 478) is its repeated exhortation for all creation to join in praising the Lord. In stanza one, "the passover of gladness" and "the passover of God" refers to the Greek word 'pascha,' which means both "Passover" and "Easter." This connection is especially meaningful when this hymn is sung during the Easter Vigil with the connections between a host of Old Testament passages and Jesus' resurrection on the third day. To listen to the hymn, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO3PP... 1 The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad, The passover of gladness, The passover of God. From death to life eternal, From sin’s dominion free, Our Christ has brought us over With hymns of victory. 2 Let hearts be purged of evil That we may see aright The Lord in rays eternal Of resurrection light And, list’ning to His accents, May hear, so calm and plain, His own “All hail!” and, hearing, May raise the victor strain. 3 Now let the heav’ns be joyful, Let earth its song begin, Let all the world keep triumph And all that is therein. Let all things, seen and unseen, Their notes of gladness blend; For Christ the Lord has risen, Our joy that has no end! 4 All praise to God the Father, All praise to God the Son, All praise to God the Spirit, Eternal Three in One! Let all the ransomed number Fall down before the throne And honor, pow’r, and glory Ascribe to God alone! Text: Public domain _____________________ "Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain" (LSB 487) has been sung in the Church since the middle of the 8th century. In the hymn, the truths of Jesus' resurrection crescendo until the Church of all time joins in praising the immortal King for her deliverance. The first stanza, based on the song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-18, connects Easter with Israel's deliverance from Pharaoh. Stanza two, recalls the true bondage of humanity to sin and death and how Christ has burst this prison. Stanza three tells of the joy brought by the "feast of feasts" that makes glad the hearts of the faithful, for nothing can ever dampen their strains of praise to God. The fourth stanza tells of that first Easter evening, when the resurrected Jesus appeared in the locked upper room. The final stanza tells how God has triumphed and the Church continues to sing alleluias to the King immortal! To listen to the hymn, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch… 1 Come, you faithful, raise the strain Of triumphant gladness! God has brought His Israel Into joy from sadness, Loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke Jacob’s sons and daughters, Led them with unmoistened foot Through the Red Sea waters. 2 ’Tis the spring of souls today: Christ has burst His prison And from three days’ sleep in death As a sun has risen; All the winter of our sins, Long and dark, is flying From His light, to whom is giv’n Laud and praise undying. 3 Now the queen of seasons, bright With the day of splendor, With the royal feast of feasts Comes its joy to render; Comes to gladden faithful hearts Which with true affection Welcome in unwearied strain Jesus’ resurrection! 4 For today among His own Christ appeared, bestowing His deep peace, which evermore Passes human knowing. Neither could the gates of death Nor the tomb’s dark portal Nor the watchers nor the seal Hold Him as a mortal. 5 Alleluia! Now we cry To our King immortal, Who, triumphant, burst the bars Of the tomb’s dark portal. Come, you faithful, raise the strain Of triumphant gladness! God has brought His Israel Into joy from sadness! Text: Public domain The following hymns in the Lutheran Service Book were written by John of Damascus: 478 - The Day of Resurrection 487 - Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain

Because Christ Lives, We Also Live!

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Let us never forget that since Christ rose from the dead, we, who believe in Him will rise! Because He lives, we also live!

No one would have predicted what we have gone through so far in 2020. The only One who knew was God Himself. That is the good news! 

Although, we do not know what tomorrow brings, God already knows. But we do know one thing: all who believe in Jesus as Lord have received eternal life!

To catch everyone up on the Easter season, below is a “Cliff’s Notes-style” version of the Easter season:

• April 12 (The Resurrection of Our Lord): Easter morning. Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and the other women. Peter and John arrive at the empty tomb.
  
  
• April 19 (Second Sunday of Easter): Easter evening and following Sunday. Jesus appears to the apostles and later to Thomas.
  
  
• April 26 (Third Sunday of Easter): Easter afternoon. Jesus appears to two of His followers on the road to Emmaus.
  
  
• May 3 (Fourth Sunday of Easter): Jesus reveals that He is the Good Shepherd who has laid His life for the sheep, so that He may take up His life again. Jesus also reveals that He is the Door to everlasting life.
  
  
• May 10 (Fifth Sunday of Easter): Jesus reveals that He alone is the way, and the truth, and the life. He says that no person comes to the Father, except through Him. Christ alone is the way to everlasting life.
  
  
• May 17 (Sixth Sunday of Easter): Jesus reveals to His disciples – you and me – that He will give us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, so we can love Him and keep His commandments.
  
  
• May 24 (Seventh Sunday of Easter): Jesus prays for His disciples – you and me – that we would faithfully continue to follow Jesus even after He ascends into heaven.

Two other major holidays are on the way: The Ascension of Our Lord (May 21) and the Day of Pentecost (May 31).

On Ascension Day, we look forward to Christ’s return. We are told that when Christ returns, He will return in the same way He was taken up into heaven. So, there will be no doubting when Christ returns, for every knee shall bow when He is seen descending from the clouds!

On Pentecost Day, we remember how the mighty works of God were revealed to the visiting Jews in Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival, since the promised Holy Spirit came upon the apostles.

On the Sixth Sunday of Easter, the closing hymn is “Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me.” This hymn is by Lutheran pastor Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676). Gerhardt lived through the Thirty Years’ War that ravaged Europe (1618-1648). (This war began as a conflict between Lutheran, Calvinist [Presbyterian] and Roman Catholic states in the Holy Roman Empire, but eventually it became less about religion and more about politics.) More than eight million people died, but not all because of military engagements. Millions of people died due to the plague.

Despite all these hardships, Gerhardt remained positive and his Christian faith was never shaken. During those deadly thirty years, he wrote many hymns of comfort. One of those hymns was “Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me.”

The Lord bless you and keep you always!

In Christ,
Pastor Adelsen

683 Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me

1 Jesus, Thy boundless love to me
    No thought can reach, no tongue declare;
Unite my thankful heart to Thee,
    And reign without a rival there!
Thine wholly, Thine alone I am;
Be Thou alone my constant flame.

2 O grant that nothing in my soul
    May dwell, but Thy pure love alone;
Oh, may Thy love possess me whole,
    My joy, my treasure, and my crown!
All coldness from my heart remove;
My ev’ry act, word, thought be love.

3 This love unwearied I pursue
    And dauntlessly to Thee aspire.
Oh, may Thy love my hope renew,
    Burn in my soul like heav’nly fire!
And day and night, be all my care
To guard this sacred treasure there.

4 In suff’ring be Thy love my peace,
    In weakness be Thy love my pow’r;
And when the storms of life shall cease,
    O Jesus, in that final hour,
Be Thou my rod and staff and guide,
And draw me safely to Thy side!

Text: Public domain

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter: "Not Left Empty Handed"

(To watch the sermon, click here)

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]

Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

A young woman who purchased a book and read a few pages laid it aside as not interesting. But some time later, she became acquainted with the author. Soon, tender friendship sprang up. Then the book was no longer dull. Every sentence had a charm for her heart. Love was the interpreter.

So, why is the Bible – for many people – uninteresting and even distasteful to the human heart? Because it knows not the Author.

But when by the Spirit of God the heart learns to know and love Him who gave the Bible and who reveals Himself in the Scriptures, then the pages of this Book become most interesting, and every sentence is interpreted by the Spirit of love.

[If You Love Me…]

This morning’s Gospel lesson is all about love. But, you may have noticed that Jesus speaks a lot about the Law. Does this shock you?

He says: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Then He says: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me” (John 14:21a).

Where is love with the Law?

The world around us says that Jesus hung out with sinners.

The world sees Jesus reclining at the table surrounded by tax collectors and prostitutes partying with sinners. The world sees Jesus watching people sin.

The world never says that Jesus tells us to follow the Commandments! This sounds so Old Testament! Aren’t we New Testament people?! Isn’t God always loving?

Yes, Jesus was around sinners. Afterall, He was around people like you and me. But, Jesus wasn’t passive just kicking back and saying, “Sin all the more!” No! He was calling sinners to repentance!

Again, we hear Jesus saying: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

The sinful world may question these words from Jesus. But this is the true Jesus. It all depends on how you are taught about Jesus. Are you taught by the world, or are you taught by His Word?

For us – God fearing people – we are taught by His Word.

By saying “If you love me…”, Jesus is speaking to us saying that He expects our love. This is agape love, or the love of purpose. The grammar tense here is present. You see, Jesus desires that we love Him constantly.

We show that we love Him by keeping His Commandments by fearing, loving and trusting in Him above all things (The First Commandment). And, as the Apostle Paul writes: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2)

Paul continues saying: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life” (Romans 6:12-13a).

Now, none of us are perfect at keeping the Law, but we know one Person who has: Jesus Christ.

So, how can we show our love to Jesus? It’s actually rather easy. We do our best to follow and keep His Commandments. And when we fail, we repent to God and ask for His forgiveness. Instantly, we are forgiven, not by our sake, but by Jesus’ sake.

The idea of loving Jesus is all about obedience. Afterall, Jesus was obedient to His Father to the point of death – His death for us! You see, Christ’s earthly life was a life of obedience. The question for us is this: Who are you obedient to? And: Who do you trust?

As Martin Luther wrote: “For [Jesus] does not mean to be a Moses to drive and to plague you to threats and terrors, but to give us commandments as you can and will keep without commanding, if you, indeed love Him.”

The idea here is to give watchful care, to cherish and to hold as a treasure, to take all pains not to lose, or to let others violate Christ’s Commandments. We are to hold ourselves to God’s moral standard.

Thus, whoever cherishes the Commandments will “keep” or “obey” them. This is not by force, but by love.

[Idols]

Again, who are you obedient to? Who do you trust?

During this COVID-19 Pandemic, have you trusted in God, or have you trusted in the government?

In the past, plagues and pandemics would have been understood as either sent by God or allowed by Him for a purpose. In a general sense, the affliction would be a call to repentance.

Not so much today. We are people of science and reason and we try our hardest to remove God from our life. Today, plagues and pandemics have causes that can be explained. God is removed from the equation.

As one governor put it:

“Our behavior has stopped the spread of the virus. God did not stop the spread of the virus. The number is down because we brought the number down. God did not do that. Fate did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that.”[1]

So, did we cause COVID-19? This governor is leaving that for us to decide. But, it is more likely that this pandemic is a call to repentance and a call to trust and love in the one true God.

You see, everyday we are tempted to replace the one true God with feeble idols that promise us safety, but these idols never fulfill what they promise.

In our First Reading from Acts 17, the Apostle Paul noticed that Athens was a city full of idols. The Greeks were curious about Paul for some said: “What does this babbler wish to say?” (Acts 17:18)

You see, many Greeks enjoyed spending their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new (Acts 17:21).

So, Paul took this opportunity to preach about the crucified and risen Jesus. He said: “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 unknown god is actually the one True God who has revealed Himself as the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is the Creator of all and He has redeemed us all through the obedience of the Son by dying and rising for us.

God accomplished salvation for us. We didn’t do it. He did it for you and me.

This is portrayed in stanza five of Luther’s hymn “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice”:

      God said to His belovèd Son:
    “It’s time to have compassion.
Then go, bright jewel of My crown,
    And bring to all salvation.
From sin and sorrow set them free;
Slay bitter death for them that they
    May live with You forever.”

(LSB 556, stanza 5)

Text: Public domain

[Orphans?]

Returning to the Gospel lesson, Jesus also gave the disciples a sure and certain hope that they would never be alone. He says to them: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16).

This Helper is the Holy Spirit. Although Jesus would soon leave them, He would not leave them empty handed for He says, “I will come to you” (John 14:18b).

You see, the Holy Spirit is not a substitute for Jesus, because Jesus says, “I will come to you.”

It will only be a little while that the disciples will be orphaned. You see, the death of Jesus will not be like that of a father whose little children are then left orphans. Instead, His death means His return!

Yes, for three days, the disciples would be alone. But He would return! And He did! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

But, what about Christ’s upcoming Ascension into heaven? Did He leave them and us as orphans? No! For Christ says, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19b).

We are never alone, because Christ is living! He lives! With Jesus living then and now, anyone who loves and trusts in Him will never fall into eternal death! Instead, we receive eternal life!

What Jesus is saying is that He lives although He dies. He is saying that He is very Life itself. He swallows up death, so that those who trust in Him shall live!

With Jesus saying “I live,” we can also speak those words in the face of our death!

In fact, we actually sang those words in our opening hymn:

      Jesus lives! And now is death
    But the gate of life immortal;
This shall calm my trembling breath
    When I pass its gloomy portal.
Faith shall cry, as fails each sense:
Jesus is my confidence!

(Jesus Lives! The Victory’s Won, LSB 490, stanza 5)

[We are Not Alone]

Again, Jesus says: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).

Here we are again. The test of love is always obvious and simple: a true disciple is one who really loves Jesus. The true disciple does more than just say it. The true disciple cherishes and guards every command of Jesus by holding it to their heart and living by it.

Yes, our Gospel text has a lot of Law, but there is also love. You see, we are not alone. We are not left to fend for ourselves.

The opening verse of our text sounds as if our keeping Jesus’ commandments is the proof of our love for Jesus – and it is saying that. The closing verse repeats that same point, but then it introduces Jesus and the Father’s love for us as the Gospel power to energize our keeping of the Commandments.

Here, in the Divine Service, God does not leave us alone. He is here! He is here leading us to eternal life! Remember, none of us are perfect at keeping the Law, but we know one Person who has: Jesus Christ.

By grace through faith in Christ alone, He makes us perfect! Through Baptism, Confession and Absolution, hearing His Word proclaimed and in receiving the very Body and very Blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, the Triune God sustains us through our life with His boundless love!

It is God the Father who does not leave us empty handed. He gives us all we need through His Son Jesus Christ, who with the Holy Spirit, continue to guide us through His Word to eternal life! Amen.

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

 T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

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[1] https://www.christianpost.com/news/ny-gov-cuomo-on-plateauing-of-covid-19-cases-god-did-not-do-that.html