Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The text is the Gospel reading from Matthew 1.  

Ever have a bowl of corn flakes? They are about as plain as plain can get. Nothing fancy in that bowl of flaky, yellow crunchiness. That’s part of the problem. How do you market plain? Compared to the some of their multi-textured, suger-crusted, cinnamon-dusted, flavor-enhanced neighbors on the cereal shelves, corn flakes are simple, ordinary, and, well, plain. We say something plain is “vanilla,” but what if it’s not even vanilla? So, some time ago, one of the cereal companies tried rebranding with the clever notion, “Taste it again for the first time.” Remarkably, sales soared as people did just that.

Today, I invite you to do the same with the Christmas narrative. It’s helpful that it’s from Matthew, because most of us are more familiar with the Luke 2 version. Because we’re less accustomed to Matthew’s rendition, it makes it easier for us to “taste the Nativity again for the first time.”

I love this sentence: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.” Consider what those eleven words are saying. Immanuel, God-with-us, was birthed. God takes on flesh to dwell among us. For those keeping score, that is the first miracle that is recorded in this reading. Jesus - who was with the Father since the beginning, remember, along with the Holy Spirit; He’s not showing up fashionably late to the party…He’s always been there! – Jesus physically enters time and space so that He can live like you and me. God is born. Don’t miss that. God is born. Yes, there is a mystery there – how does the infinite take on the finite – but don’t lose sight of the blessing of God. Jesus comes to us; He takes on flesh so that He can be born, so He can be a human, so He can know life this side of heaven with all that entails, including its joys, sorrows, and temptations.

I love the Nativity of Jesus. I also love looking at the various artistic renditions of the holy night. You can quite literally spend hours on-line, scrolling through paintings, sketches, and drawings of the artists’ impression of what may have transpired in that Bethlehem stable. While they range from the incredibly ornate to the surprisingly simple, artists try to capture that sacred moment. Each, in their own way, lend another view of that holy night with the Holy Family, the Infant Babe, the shepherds, and whatever livestock may, or may not, have been present, all paying homage to Immanuel.

But, I submit, none of them get it quite right. They all miss one incredibly important detail, one that lends a deeper understanding to the birth of Jesus. Allow me to explain what I mean.

I was present in the birthing suite for all three of our children. There was blood, and crying, and pain and agony and then, the cry of the baby over and against the tears of Laura and me. I have yet to see an artist who has captured that in the birth of Jesus. All of the paintings present a clean, sanitary, sterile picture for us as if Mary were pregnant one minute and then – POOF! – Jesus appears, wrapped in swaddling blankets with Mary kneeling humbly at the side of the manger, fully dressed without a hair out of place. Joseph is nearby in prayerful pose, also the perfect example of cool, calm and collected. Please understand: I am not making fun, nor being sacrilegious. My point is this: the birth of Jesus was a bloody, messy, and probably loud arrival, just like any other child. When Matthew writes, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place this way,” you must understand this: birth is through blood and water.

That blood was a foreshadowing of His life. That bloody, Bethlehem birth foretold His death on the Jerusalem hillside some 30 years later when blood and water would flow from his pierced side. Matthew could just as well have written, “Now, the death of Jesus Christ came about this way,” and he would have been perfectly on track. That’s where the rest of the Gospel is leading: to the cross. The cross is the place where Jesus will atone for our sins. He was born so that He could die as the perfect sacrifice after living the perfect life under the Law of God. In that manger, the cross was already on the horizon, unseen and unknown by anyone else.

The Christmas songs, hymns, and carols we love to sing miss this. Only a few set the stage for us, reminding us that the cross was already on the horizon, unseen and unknown by Mary, Joseph, or anyone else that holy night.

            Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?
            Good Christian, fear; for sinners, here, the silent Word is sleeping.
            Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the cross be born for me, for you;
            Hail, hail the Word made flesh, the babe, the Son of Mary.

That is the first miracle: Jesus is born. There is one other miracle, described in another amazing sentence that Matthew records. Bear with me for a second; we’ll get there.

I have often wondered how the conversation went with Mary and Joseph. “Hey, Joe? I need to tell you something. There was this angel, see? And – well, you’re going to be a step-father, Joe. Hey…what do you think I am? No, Joe…there isn’t anyone else – I promise! No…Joe!!! Don’t say that! Joe! Please….please, listen…I believe the angel…please, believe me!” I’ve never seen that scene in a painting. Have you? But I can imagine a sad look on his face as Joseph turns and walks, slowly, out the door intending to never return.

Back then, marriages were legally binding from the beginning of the betrothal, well before the “I now pronounce you,” that we recognize today. I can’t say I would have blamed Joseph for assuming the worst. “Mary, I’m no doctor – I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express, once – but I know enough to know about birds, bees, flowers, trees and the moon up above.” I don’t blame him for checking in with a lawyer about the process of a divorce before their marriage was sanctified. To his credit, he was going to do things as gently and privately as he could – no public scandal, here – so to cause her no shame.

Then, the angel of the Lord intervened through a dream: “Don’t be afraid.” If you prefer a literal understanding: “Stop; discontinue being afraid, Joseph.” It’s as if the angel tells Joseph, “As Mary believes, you believe, also!” When he wakes up, I imagine he swallowed hard a few times, took a few deep breaths, and said the Hebrew equivalent of “Here we go.” That’s the second miracle. Against all human wisdom and expectation, Joseph believes the promise and call of God to faithfully be the earthly father to Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Mary.

Again, it speaks to the humanity of the story. It wasn’t all those neat, Norman Rockwell-esque “peace on earth, goodwill to men” paintings and sketches we see on our Christmas cards. There were real feelings, emotions, decisions. God gave Joseph both the faith to believe the angel and then to live with the wonderfully strange vocation of (what we would today call) being stepfather to the Son of God.

It’s all there in Matthew’s tight, condensed narrative: Mary, Joseph, virgin mother, prophecy completed, an angelic messenger, and finally the birth of her son, named Jesus.

Joseph appears only a handful of times after this. In fact, after Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus flee to Egypt (Matthew 2), he shows up only once more time – when Jesus was 12 (the end of Luke 2), and Mary and Joseph find Him in the temple, holding confirmation class. Then Joseph disappears. If we were writing this as a movie script, he would be “supporting cast.” That’s OK. He had his role; he had his vocation and he did it faithfully.

How do I know that? Simple: “And he called His name Jesus.”

It’s good that we are hearing these words again today. With everything going on, it’s easy to lose sight of what Christmas is all about. That special item that you ordered hasn’t shown up yet. Going to the store is practically an exercise in close combat. You promised to bake cookies with your grandkids, the lights died on the tree yesterday, you’re not feeling all that well, and there are Amazon orders, still in their boxes, that need to be wrapped stealthily when no one is around. Add to that the medical tests and appointments you’re trying to squeeze in under this year’s deductible and making sure everyone has the perfect outfit for Christmas Eve or Day… Well, it's almost enough to put the bah-humbug back into Christmas.

So, here’s what I want to do with you. For a few minutes, we’re going to tune all that out. I’m going to re-read Matthew’s Christmas narrative. I want you to sit with those words, and listen to the words tell the story of the birth of Jesus, your Savior. “Taste it again for the first time” in this moment. Close your eyes, and listen to what the Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to record for us.

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 

²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Amid everything else to do this week, remember this: Jesus is for you, dear friend. The Nativity is for you. This gift of God is for you. The gift…the gift of Jesus and His grace, mercy, and love endures. God bless you this crazy, hectic, bonkers week.

The Baptizer Prepares the Way for Jesus - Matthew 3: 1-12

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The text is the Gospel lesson, from Matthew 3.

Boy, howdy. Talk about old-school fire and brimstone. Apparently, the Baptizer didn’t read Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People when he was at prophet school. I don’t think he followed Simon Sinak on Instagram or Brene’ Brown on YouTube for leadership techniques. He apparently was never evaluated for his ability to understand EQ and how to read a room. I highly doubt he ever attended a church growth seminar. And his preaching technique? “You brood of vipers!” is hardly an acceptable introduction. Let me be a little more pointed: which of you who were on St. Paul’s call committee would advance John past the initial list from the district president? Who would want the Baptizer to be their regular pastor?

Yet, Isaiah foretold some seven hundred years earlier that God would send this voice in the wilderness to proclaim, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” And to make sure no one would misunderstand who he was and what it was John was called to do, Matthew plainly says, “This is he.” It’s as plain as his preaching: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

We speak of repentance as having two parts. The Catechism teaches that there is sorrow for sin and a desire to change that behavior, called contrition. That’s common among anyone who gets caught, though, when doing something wrong. Anyone can feel bad; anyone can say “I want to do better.” What makes repentance Christian repentance is faith that trusts that Jesus’ death pays for those very sins for which I am sorry and from which I wish to turn. Christian repentance says, “Yes = I am a poor, miserable sinner, and I am sorry to be so, but I have an even greater Savior who rescues me from what my sins deserve.” 

Do not think of John’s preaching of repentance in this way. John would have a much more radical, severe changing of heart. A better way to understand the Baptizer’s call is “Be converted!” It’s the equivalent of Shakespeare’s Hamlet saying, “there is something rotten in the state of Denmark.”

Imagine, sitting on the hillside in the Baptizer’s congregation and hearing a sermon like this:

“Both Israel and Jerusalem are corrupt, spiritually rotten from top to bottom, and that includes you, Pharisees, and you, Sadducees, and all who are following after you thinking you are good enough, holy enough, and righteous enough to march into the Kingdom of God on your own merits. Want to play the “son of Abraham card”? That’s not going to get you there. Remember, Abraham lived by faith in the promises of God; you, you all are placing your faith in your own way of living.  You are lost – so lost, you are in danger of eternal separation from God in the fires of hell. Change your life, change your thinking, change where you place your trust and faith.

You have forgotten the commands of God and, more important, you have forgotten the promises of God and unless you repent, unless you are completely changed in your hearts, minds, and lives by the Spirit of God, you too shall likewise perish. Prepare the way of the Lord, you brood of vipers; make His paths straight, you slithering snakes in the grass, because the Kingdom is at hand and He is coming with a vengeance, with fire and pitchforks and wrath that knows no limits. You need to get yourself out to the Jordan. Repent and be baptized. You need to redo the Red Sea. You need to redo the Jordan. You need to redo the return from Babylon. You need to re-turn to the Lord your God and prepare because the reign of God stands near in the work of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.”

St. Matthew does not tell us know the message was received. Did John succeed, that is, were there conversions? Did the Holy Spirit drive the words of his preaching, penetrating their hearts and minds, to re-turn them to faithfulness? Did they listen? Did they repent? The text does not say. We are left wondering – wondering why Matthew doesn’t tell us this piece of information, but also wondering what of the faithfulness of these being-lost ones. Others were coming; others were repenting; others were being baptized; others were believing. But these – these, there is no story and no happy ending. So, the question remains: did they repent?  We don’t know.

There is another question here, one that lays below the surface. Do you hear the voice of the Prophets that echoes through the centuries. John and his fore-runner Isaiah continue to call to God’s people of every epoch, age, eon and generation: “Prepare the way of the Lord: make His paths straight.” To be sure, unlike Isaiah, we know that Christ has come. Unlike John, we know that Christ came, not as an axe-wielding, pitchfork-bearing fire-breathing bringer of damnation. Instead, He bore the sins of the world into His own body, receiving the wrath of God Himself, reconciling the world to God with His own death. He was numbered with the sinners, broke bread with transgressors, touched lepers, forgave prostitutes, called tax collectors to follow. He even absolved those who killed Him, and the one who mocked and then confessed faith while hanging next to Him.

But, the words still call us to prepare. So, if the camel-haired, leather-strapped, wild-haired Son of Zechariah suddenly appeared, striding down the aisle while picking a grasshopper’s leg from between his teeth with a dirty fingernail and with honey glistening from his bushy beard, then ascending the pulpit, and call out to the wilderness of the 1600 block of East Broadway, Enid, Oklahoma, “Prepare the way of the Lord: make His paths straight,” what would he mean?

Why, repent, of course. In Advent, there is plenty to repent of: the materialism of the world around us, our desire for always more, for not being content with what we have, for being jealous of what some have, for a bit of arrogance in having more than what others have. Repent for being too busy to find time with Jesus in His Word, for being too tired to be present when He invites us to His table. Repent of being Lutheran, as if that would save, or holding our Baptismal or Confirmation certificate aloft, as if that would redeem. Repent of pretending to be strong instead of humble and meek and lowly.  Make no mistake: both our repentance and our being baptized are grounded in the fullness of our salvation by grace through faith. Because you are forgiven, because you are redeemed, because you are united with Christ, because you are sanctified, because you declared holy by the Father, I dare not call you broods of vipers, nor do I call you snakes, Pharisees or Sadducees. That is, at best unfair; at worst, it is completely inaccurate. You are God's children - beloved, redeemed, baptized. Yet, the message is still quite similar for you - albeit less viperous than it was for that Judean hillside 2000 years ago. 

So, if John were here, what would his message mean? It would mean this: strip away anything that would get in the way of Christ’s coming to you right now. Prepare the way; make the paths straight. Knock down mountains of busy-ness that prevent you from welcoming the Christ today. Fill in the potholes of foolishness, thinking there’s always time to prepare. Straighten the curves of arrogance, “He’s waited this long…why the fuss now?” Get rid of the boulders that trip you up with distractions. Instead, with faith, with longing, with anticipation, with prayerful mindedness and with Advent anticipation, know that the Kingdom is here. He is at Hand. Repent. Come to the Table. Christ is here, Sacramentally present in bread and wine, in body and blood, to strengthen you on this Advent journey as you await the day He comes, not merely in bread and wine, but in His risen Glory and you see Him as He is. 

Enriched with that spiritually-strengthening food and drink, empowered by the Spirit of God, enlivened by His word, every day prepare that Jesus comes today – not tomorrow, not next week, month, year, or decade – He comes today. Knock down the mountains and fill in the potholes that get in the way of you welcoming Him with faith, hope and love. Amen.

 

"Who is This Who Advents to Us?" - Matthew 3: 1-12

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The text is Matthew 21:1-11, especially this sentence: “And when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up saying, ‘Who is this?’”

Who is this? Fair question, isn’t it? It’s as fair today, on the first Sunday of Advent as it was on that first Palm Sunday in Jerusalem. Who is this One who is coming, the One who is adventing, into the City of David? Who is this whom the Church remembers coming in history as a humble baby and who also pledged to come again in glory and power and might? Who is it?

Let’s be fair and charitable towards those who were asking that Palm Sunday morning. I suspect that many had a genuine curiosity, a real desire to know what the fuss was all about. Who is this, in the sense of “What’s going on? I don’t know, I don’t understand – someone help me figure this out.”

Who, indeed? Who is this who looks so plain but speaks so powerfully?  Who is the one whom even the wind and the waves obey? Who is this in our boat? Who is this who claims to forgive sins? Who is this who heals with spit and mud? Who is this who touches the dead and brings them back to life? Who is this who says to a lame man, “Take up your bed,” and he can walk? Who is this who has a ragtag group of fishermen and women following Him, who eats with sinners and tax collectors, who stops to care for the weakest and most meek, who dares to challenge the social and religious leaders, who performs miracles in the way of Elijah?

But for others, it was not so much about information, about an inquisitiveness into the person who is arriving, but it is more of a challenge, rich in sarcasm, loaded with demands and expectations that someone explain what this guy is doing. Who is this who speaks about being lifted up and drawing all peoples to Himself? Who is this who says if He is destroyed, He will be raised three days later? Who is this, in the sense of, “Who is this guy who thinks he can ride into the city like He is a modern-day King David?” Who is this?

Who is this? It is a primal question, one that is asked by many, and is at the heart of each and every person and each and every people of all time…including us. Who is this?

Jesus comes to Jerusalem amidst crowds that a politician, or a hometown hero, or a victorious sports team could only imagine. Crowds lined the city streets, shouting “Hosheanna! Hosanna!” Some stripped off their outer cloaks, others tore off palm branches, laying garments and leaves together on the road, paving the path before Him. The excitement was palpable, the air charged with the energy of the people’s expectation. But this wasn’t a football team. It wasn’t a warrior, or a government official, or anyone who oozed power and authority.

So, who is this? What’s all the fuss? They get the name right, the crowds, when they call Him, “The prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” Yet, there’s a twist, foreshadowing Jesus’ own words five days later: they know not what they do, nor understand whom they welcome.

The question betrays the paradox, the dilemma that characterizes Jesus’ walk through life and His arrival, not only that spring day into Jerusalem, but all through His life and ministry. He slips into the world, hardly noticed, in a backwater town, in an unknown stable of an unknown inn-keeper. He is welcomed by shepherds, a rather rough-around the edges group of men, both in image and in smell, and then soon after by strange men from foreign lands, yet an indicator of what His ministry is about and who He comes for. He slips into His Father’s house where he teaches with authority already as a 12 year old. He slips into Jerusalem, with all of the hubbub, where He seems to stumble into a secret plot to be murdered. Finally, after a terrible, torturous trial and crucifixion he slips into death.

Lots of slipping and sliding, if I may; and yet, part of that gentle and unobtrusive life. Who is this one, who is gentle and unobtrusive, hardly worth a second look? The One who comes to make a claim on this world in a different way – very different from the style of those whom most parades are arranged around.

This is the One who slipped from the grave, from the very grasp of death itself. He slips into the upper room, unnoticed at first, to deliver peace to those who were stuck in fear. He slips into bread and wine, into water, and into the Words of a Book. He slips into the lives of transformed people, all the while deepening and widening and expanding and expounding on this question, this haunting question, “Who is this?”

Who is this who we’ve got here? Who is this who is among us?

Why, He still does this. He slips into us in Word and Sacrament, and through us in our vocations, to those around us. He slips into the lives of peoples whom these people in the New Testament had never heard of. He slips into our daily lives in Enid and daily walks in Wakomis and Breckenridge and Lahoma. Through us, He brings life to people, to waiting people, all around us at work, at play, at doctor’s offices and fast food restaurants. This is the one who brings life in the face of, and life out of death.

Who is this?

Will we ever fully know the answer? Will we ever know the rich fullness of Him, He Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is to Come? Probably, no – at least, not this side of heaven. We will never completely understand all that has been revealed of Him, He who is the Word made flesh. Its a paradox: the more we live with Him, the more we walk with Him, the more we know Him, but at the same time, the deeper the mystery becomes. And, in a very real sense, this is a good thing. I don’t want a God that I completely understand. The mystery – and, here I don’t mean as if it’s something to discover, like a whodunit murder mystery, but rather, a mystery which is beyond our full understanding – the mystery of His grace, and His love, and His ability to take broken lives and heal and transform them, and the mystery deepens the more we know.

Yet, this is why He came in human form because otherwise, He would be too baffling, too incomprehensible, even more than He already is. He came to live among us, to warm us, to warn us, to enliven us, to rescue us, to save us. None of this at the expense of the mystery – even those who closely followed, literally in his footsteps of the Galillean countryside, didn’t get it always.

So, Who is this? The crowds had it right, that Palm Sunday afternoon. They turned back to the Scriptures and found the answer before their question was ever asked. The Prophet Zechariah of Old Testament minor fame speaks through the New Testament Jerusalem crowd: “Behold: He is the coming you’re your coming King. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

This, this time of adventing, this time of arrival, drives the season. Think of it: the Church sets aside roughly a full month, approximately one twelfth of the year, to get ourselves ready for the mystery of the incarnation, the mystery of the One who pulls us, invites us, calls us, captivates us, and incorporates us into Him; the mystery of the One who pledges to return to save us into eternity.

Who is this? He is the Advent One, the Coming One. The one who came, gentle and humble. He comes, to you in Word and Sacrament, and through you, in word and action to those around you. He has a coming to come to.

Who is this? If He is the Coming One, who are you?  You are the one whom He comes to. You are His, who welcomes the One who comes. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Amen. Come Lord Jesus. Come. Amen.

The Last Sunday of the Church Year: Christ Crucified - Luke 23: 27-43

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Yes, this is the correct Gospel reading for today, the Last Sunday of the Church Year, also called Christ the King Sunday. It is a bit ironic, I think. We call this “The Last Sunday of the Church year.” It’s a bit of a misnomer. It’s not the last Sunday, at all – unless, of course, Jesus returns between now and Saturday, midnight. It’s another Sunday, another Easter, where we celebrate Christ for us.

Still, anyone else feel that it’s very strange to read this Good Friday narrative at the end of November? All around us, the rest of the world around us is hip-deep in pre-Christmas. Trees are up, inflatable Santas and Rudolphs fight in front yards, and T-Swizzle, Chris Stapleton, and Bruce Springsteen join Mariah Carey singing that all she wants for Christmas is youuuuuuu... Kids are making virtual wish lists while parents virtually gasp at this year’s prices.

Over and against this worldview, Luke gives us what is succinctly labeled as “The Crucifixion.”

Why would we read about Jesus’ crucifixion on the last week of the church year? Aren’t we supposed to be focusing on Jesus’ return, setting the stage for the season of Advent? What do you think? Why does the Church pause our (worldly) holiday preparations with such a stark reading?

The reading actually does keep us leaning into the promise of Jesus’ return on the last day, but it does it in a back-handed sort of way. The narrative of the crucifixion reminds us that until Jesus does return, the struggle of life in a sinful, fallen world continues. Yes, Christ died; yes, Christ rose. Yet, as we wait in this fallen world for its redemption and the consummation of our salvation, this reading stands as a reminder of how much we need Jesus – not just at Easter or Christmas, but now, and every day, as we wait for His return.

And, it does set the stage for Advent. Christmas and Easter go together. The reason Jesus was born, remember, was to “save His people from their sins,” (Matthew 1:21). The crucifixion was the climactic high point of His perfect life, to be the perfect sacrifice. In short, He was born to die. He was Christmassed to be Crucified. He could be die because He was God in flesh. Immanuel; God with us.

Yes, that is a solemn reading for the last Sunday of the church year, but it is also a reading that is filled with joy – the joy of the cross, where Jesus died for us.

James Tissot
"The Pardon of the Good Thief"
tissot-pardon-of-the-good-thief.jpg (426×749)

I want to focus on one sentence, for a moment, verse 34: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Given the circumstances, that Jesus was being nailed to one of the most horrific instruments of death ever devised by man, humanly speaking, it is remarkable that He speaks a word of absolution. Who of us could – would – do such a thing if we were in His place? Yes, this was His purpose – to be the atoning price; yes, this was the Father’s will; yes, this sacrifice was necessary. In His Divine nature, what else could He have done except do what He, as God, could do: show perfect love. Even so, the prayer for mercy catches us with a bit of surprise.

Consider those three words, “Father, forgive them.” Who is “them”? Them is a pronoun, third person, neuter plural, if you want to be particular. Because it’s a pronoun, we need to define its antecedent - the person, place, thing, or idea to which a pronoun refers. From the immediate context, the antecedent of “them” is the soldiers, those who drove the nails into the hands of our Lord. I think you could also argue Jesus is speaking of those who condemned Him as well – the Sanhedrin, Pilate, and Herod, all who gave consent to murder an innocent man. Broaden it again - who else could it speak of? How about the crowd that demanded His life? The soldiers that arrested Him in the garden (assuming that the posse wasn’t the same as those that actually drove the nails)? I think that those are all solid contextual guesses.

Go back to the sentence for a moment: “Father, forgive them…” Contextually, yes, those words were spoken for those in that moment who sinned against Christ in their murderous actions. But, those words also apply for you as well. His prayer of forgiveness wasn’t just for that double-handful of rulers and soldiers, or even for the crowd that would gather at the foot of the cross and mock and laugh. It is for all who sinned against God and man. It is as if Jesus is praying, “Father, forgive them all, for in their weakness, they don’t even realize how often they are sinning against each other and against Us.”

I suspect that, as the calendar year comes to its frantic, frenzied conclusion, you have a litany of sins you carry. The person you get frustrated with, just by seeing his face or hearing her voice. The colleague whose incessant emails and texts send you into paroxysms of hand-clenching and teeth-grinding, as you carefully reply with what you have to say and not what you want to say. There are even moments when you have a few choice thoughts about a son or daughter, a husband or wife, a brother or sister. You know you’re guilty of sinning against these people: Lord, have mercy. Jesus’ words speak for you as well: “Father, forgive him….forgive her…” For Christ’s sake, God does exactly that.

And, remarkably, those same words are spoken for those who have sinned against you – the colleague, the child, the spouse, the sibling, co-worker, the guy driving the pickup that cut you off on the way to church this morning. Their sins are also paid, reconciled by God’s grace through Christ – even those who do not recognize Him, Jesus died for them, too – although they do not receive the gift because of an absence of faith.

One of the gifts God gives to His church is the rite of absolution. The public, corporate act of confession and absolution that takes place on Sundays in the Divine Service is a wonderful, powerful moment of forgiveness. But, sometimes, there is a particularly troubling sin that weighs on the conscience. Satan loves to hold that over your head with the question, “But that one…did Jesus really forgive that one, too?” If you are troubled, speak with your pastor. It is his responsibility and privilege to hear your confession and speak that promise of God to you: “You are forgiven for the sake of Christ.” As to whether he will tell someone else, the pastor is bound by his ordination vows to never tell a soul – not his wife, not his best friend, not even his goldfish. It is as if your confessed sin is buried in the tomb of Jesus and never raised to life in word or memory.

As the church year draws to its close, those words of absolution echo through the millennia. God continues to forgive for the sake of His Son’s perfect atonement.

In five short days, the secular world will celebrate one of the most secular of all holidays. For those who bemoan the commercialization of Christmas, this holiday puts that to shame. It’s called simply, “Black Friday.”  I have no idea where the term came from, what its etymology might be. All I know is that it is supposed to be a day filled with high-stress shopping, wrestling crowds, and budget-busting, all in the name of “finding a good deal.”

Luke tells the narrative of the original Black Friday. You have to add a couple of verses to the Gospel reading to find it. “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed,” (v. 44-45a). Creation was responding to the Light of the World dying. The One who spoke all things into existence, the One in whom is life and light, is dying to redeem even the world. Last week, Psalm 148 called all aspects of creation to praise the Lord. When Jesus dies, all aspects of creation reverse course. What’s the opposite of praise? Perhaps lament is the best word. Creation, especially the sun, laments the Son’s death. Darkness, that once hovered over the face of the deep (Genesis 1:1), again encroaches.

We traditionally call this day that Luke describes, “Good Friday.” I do know the etymology of “Good.” It comes from “God.” So, for example, “Goodbye” is actually derived from the blessing “God be with ye.” Good Friday, then, becomes God’s Friday. It was the day God surrendered His Son for the world to redeem it from the eternal darkness of hell.

Thanks be to God, the darkness did not last. When the sun rose on Easter morning, bringing light to the new day, so also the Son also rose, living, breathing, resurrected, shining His light against the darkness of sin, satan, and death. The Light who is the Light of Life was restored, raised from the dead, evidence that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice.

While the secular world fights for Black Friday deals and saving a few bucks, we remember and give thanks to God who saved the world through Christ’s death on Good Friday, God’s Friday.

We, of course, know the rest of the story. Jesus, though He died, also rose, conquering sin’s stranglehold on man, the grave’s terror over death, and satan’s lies toward the Christian conscience. When Christ rose Easter morning, there was no doubt that this Jesus, whom the world mocked saying, “Hail, King of the Jews,” is in fact the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who ruled before the world began and who will rule when the heavens and earth will be renewed and restored, creation returned to the wholeness it had before the separation of the fall.

We’re not there, yet. We see Him, now, in His glory, with eyes of faith – albeit dimly. Because He died, we shall live. Because He rose, we shall rise. On that great day of our own resurrection, we will see Him fully resplendent with our own resurrected and whole and holy eyes.

Next Sunday, the season of Advent begins. There is a bit of a handshake between the last Sundays of the church year and Advent. Both are anticipating Christ’s return in judgement, both look forward to the day He advents, He comes, in glory.

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.
And as we wait, thy Name, we confess. Amen.

The Gospel For Henny Penny and You - Luke 21: 5-28

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The text is the Gospel lesson, Luke 21.

This is a Gospel reading where “This is the Gospel of the Lord” makes us want to add a question mark behind “Thanks be to God,” and instead of departing in peace and serving the Lord, it feels like a better idea to hunker down in the safety of our homes. At first glance, this Gospel lesson is overwhelming, leaving us with anything but peace and comfort. In fact, it is very easy to draw parallels to our own time in these words of Jesus.

They say “ignorance is bliss.” It’s almost to the point where you do not want to know what is going on anymore.  Turn on the television, open your favorite news website, flip open the paper, or even scan the magazine rack while you’re standing in line at the grocery store and, unless you’re a defense contractor or a futures investor, the news does not seem to be good.  You name it - politically, economically, socially, geologically, meteorologically it seems there is nothing but bad news. There is government unrest all across the globe from the not-so-cleverly-disguised worldly war in Eastern Europe to the threats made by China and North Korea. In our own country, different groups try to shout down their opponent while spewing their own vile words and vitriolic rhetoric. I have rights, yes I do, you can’t tell me what to do! Politicians act like donkeys and elephants rolling around in verbal manure. From the Carolinas into the Southern Appalachians, they continue to struggle from last summer’s hurricane. Meanwhile, the Carribbean is trying to recover from the worst storm ever recorded. Whether local, state-wide, across the state, the nation, or the world, the news is such that it makes you want to find an ostrich with its head in the sand and ask it to scoot over and make room for you. 

Some time back, Fritz told me that news like was really weighing on him. Literally, these stories were starting to cause him physical problems. He was growing anxious. His stomach hurt. He was losing sleep. I told him while he cannot control what goes on outside of his home, he can control what happens inside it. Turn the TV off. Change the station on the radio. Read the comics instead of the front page. But he needs to know what is all going on, he said. Then, limit the news content, I said. Do it in small bites. There is no rule that says you have to watch the entire news hour, or read the entire paper. It’s not just adults. Kids are anxious about exams, friendships, social media standing, and things happening in the world. A friend told me his teen age daughter started keeping track of the votes taken during the government shutdown and the days that had passed. He told her to stop watching and reading the stories. “But I need to know,” she said. Fine, her parents said, then come watch the news with us it in the living room so we can help you digest this. 

I empathized with this father. It’s easy to look at these things and get wrapped up in the moment, the event, the news, and develop a sense of lost-ness, listlessness, and even hopelessness. Spiritually, it’s the direct result of placing our hopes and trust in these monuments of men - governments, society, the economy, and even the local weather prognostications. It’s the inverse of hope in Christ. If hope in Christ is the exclamation point that declares “this is most certainly true,” when these things become our gods - lower case g – and they fail, like houses built on shifting sand, then hope quickly crumbles as well. And when things fail us, and they always do, it is easy to sound like Henny Penny and proclaim the sky is falling. 

But these are the very reasons these words of Jesus are so necessary today. As the world around us sees all of these things without any hope, without any great reason, Jesus gives us a small glimpse of a promise. It’s interesting in the way He does it. There isn’t a long list of terrors all countered by a list of contra-terror. Instead, Jesus offers a word of promise, a word of sure, certain hope, a bright beacon of light against the darkness that rages around us.

Jesus gives us, and the disciples, a powerful example when he points us to the walls of the Temple. They were massive stones, making up the massive walls of the massive temple. It was one of the wonders of the ancient world, almost on par with the architecture of Greece and Rome. White stone, gold, beautifully polished hardwoods, and jewels all made it a place of wonder. In fact, it was easy to forget it was supposed to be a place of worship, it was so opulent. King Herod the Great had rebuilt it as both a way to appease the Jews which also appeased the Roman Emperor and as a way to show the world of his own socio-political skill, a way of saying “Look what I accomplished.” 

So, when the disciples passed through and gawked in awe and amazement at the sights of the magnificent temple, they were stunned when Jesus said the day is coming when those massive, quarried stones - as big as a school bus - would no longer be standing on top of one another. It stopped them in their tracks to think of the improbability - the impossibility - and the size, scope and magnitude of what it would take to make that massive and beautiful structure crumble. It just couldn’t happen. Their question was both sincere curiosity and laced with fear: tell us, when will this be? We need to prepare for such a tragedy and travesty as this. But Jesus wasn’t done. He adds layer to layer of coming loss and tragedy. I can imagine the disciples reeling as He added to the list of coming terror: wars, pestilence – we would call it a plague - earthquake, famine. Even the heavens join in, He continues, with there even being signs from the heavens. Jerusalem, this beautiful city of David, this city of God, it will be surrounded, cut off, and it will fall. Then some of you faithful -  I imagine He looks one-by-one to Peter, James, John, and the rest of His friends – some of you faithful will be hauled before the authorities and put to death and the rest hated because of Me.  

Jesus offers the faithful, glimpses of His remarkable protection even in the midst of this vision of what is to come. So, when He speaks of their persecution, Jesus takes away their trusting in their own clever words and repartee. He says don’t worry about what you will say, the Spirit will fill your mouths with words of wisdom so you might bear testimony of God’s powerful grace. When He speaks of their betrayal and martyrdom, He takes away their strength and ability to bear up under it. Instead, He promises that not a hair of your heads will perish and by your endurance you will gain your lives. And, when He strips away trust in creation’s order, depicting the heavens being rent asunder, or trust in massive buildings that will fail the test of time, Jesus says look to the Creator: straighten up and raise your head, because your redemption is drawing near.

This takes place during Holy Week. Jesus has ridden into Jerusalem, welcomed as the Son of David by the crowds. But, behind the scenes, the Jewish leaders are working to have Him arrested and put to death, turning the crowds against the One whom they welcomed. It’s probably Tuesday or Wednesday. His arrest is hours away and the cross looms large on the horizon. Jesus knows He must suffer and die. He will do so for your salvation. He will stand under the curse of death and die the sinner’s death, taking your place, paying the life-price you owe. He will die, and He will rise to reveal that He has overcome sin, death, and the grave for you. There is nothing, then, in this life – not wars, rumors of wars, pestilence, famine, earthquakes – that can tear you from His strong and saving hand.

This is how faith works. It sees what our eyes cannot see. It grasps hope in the promises of Jesus where all around us we see failing and falling things of this world. This is how the life of faith works. Notice this: Jesus doesn’t tell the disciples, now y’all don’t worry…I’m going to zap you right out of here so you don’t have to experience this. Instead, He promises that in the midst of these things, His Word, His promises will endure and that through faith in Him, they will endure into eternity. Christ does not move us from a world of destruction – snap – to a land of milk and honey. Instead, we are tested and tried with times of suffering so that we grow spiritually wiser and stronger in faith. When everything else is stripped away, we are left with Jesus and His Word. So, we cling all the more tightly to God’s work for us in Christ – even when it comes to us in the midst of trials and tribulations and even in the loss of those things that we hold so dear in this world.

It's easy to fall into the temptation of the disciples, to look to the wrong places and talk about the wrong things. It’s tempting for our mouths to be filled with admiration for all of the things around us and, then, to place our trust and hope in these failing things. Jesus turns our attention to something more beautiful: the work of God in the midst of suffering, and the promises of God that sustain us now and into eternity. And, it’s easy to get caught up in the news cycles. What, with wars and rumors of wars, fires and floods and drought, mass shootings and civil unrest, and paychecks that just don’t last like they did a few months ago, it sometimes feels like the end is near. Luther thought that was true, 500 years ago, that Jesus had to return soon to spare the Church from greater suffering, and he preached as if Jesus was returning by the following Sunday. We don’t know the day or the hour. So, Jesus turns us to what is certain. This may or may not be the end. I know we are closer than ever before. But what we do know for certain is the One who holds us in His nail-pierced hands is forevermore near.

When you see folks around you wringing their hands, acting like Henny Penny, lamenting that the sky is falling, that they have lost all hope, speak of Jesus. Tell them where your hope rests. Then, straighten up, stand firm, raise your heads, and have faith in Jesus because your redemption, won for you at the cross, is drawing nigh.

Resurrection Questions for Jesus - Luke 20:27-40

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The text is the Gospel reading from Luke 20.

If you’re not careful, you can let a lot of things get in the way of the message of Jesus.

You’ve had questions like this before, I suspect. Someone comes up to you and asks a rather innocent and fun question: “God is all-powerful, right?” You wisely and correctly nod your head. “So, He can do anything, right?” Your nose twitches a little bit, suggesting that this conversation is starting to take a turn. Still, it seems rather innocuous, so you agree: Yes, God can do anything. A greasy smile spreads across the face of the suddenly not-so-innocent questioner: “So, if God is all powerful and He can do anything, can He make a rock so big He cannot lift it?” It's a classic misdirect, trying to draw you into the argument about the perceived inconsistency of God.

The basic problem is the premise itself is incorrect. There are some things God cannot do. For example, He cannot lie. He cannot do unholy things. He cannot be unholy. He cannot be unfaithful to His promises.

But, if you want a simple answer to the question, it’s this: God does not waste time or energy on such foolish things as appeasing the simple minds of men filled with idle curiosity.

The Sadducees were coming to Jesus with such a trivial question. It seems the question is about marriage. A brother married a woman and died. According to Deuteronomy 25:5, if a man dies before he has a son, it is the responsibility of his brother to marry the woman. It was called “Levitical marriage,” the idea being that the brother acts as a surrogate husband, sort of, to sire a son so that there will be an heir to carry on his brother’s name, “so his name shall not be blotted out of Isarel,” Moses wrote (v. 6). They take this Law and create an unlikely scenario: a man dies without leaving a son. Each of his six brothers, then, marries the widow, all who die. So, whose husband will she be in the resurrection - # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7? It sounds like a question about marriage and relationships after death – ridiculous, to be sure, but it does present an interesting ethical question, doesn’t it, almost as interesting as who she should be buried next to when she dies?

You notice, I said “it seems the question is about marriage.” The Sadducees are doing a misdirect. It wasn’t about marriage at all. It was about resurrection. For the Sadducees, the discussion about the resurrection – specifically whether there would be such a thing or not – was a core value. By way of explanation, the Sadducees and the Pharisees were the two political parties in the Jewish faith at the time of Jesus. The Pharisees were more theologians; they held that the entire Scripture (the Law, the Prophets and the Writings) was God’s Word, that angels existed, and that there would be a resurrection some day. The Sadducees were more political; they only held the Torah, the first five book of the Old Testament were God’s Word, and they denied anything spiritual, including the resurrection. That last point is key: they denied the resurrection. (This is a terrible play on their name, but if you need a way to keep them separate, just remember that because the Sadducees denied the resurrection, they were “sad you see.”). So the question about marriage after the resurrection was misdirect: they wanted to corner Jesus about life-after-death, not which “I do” counts more.

Jesus, of course, knows exactly what they are wanting to do. Jesus doesn’t waste time with foolishness. He cuts to the heart, the issue behind the façade. Marriage in this lifetime is an image of Christ and His bride the church, but it is a relationship for this lifetime. We even say it in the marriage rite: “Til death do us part.” Unless Jesus returns first, marriage begins with “I do,” and it ends with the last breath of the dying spouse. Marriage is God’s gift, the building block of society, the foundation of the home and family, the closest and most intimate of all relationships in this lifetime. But, in the resurrection, Jesus says, they “neither marry nor are given in marriage.”

Jesus does say, “they [that is, the faithful who die] are like the angels,” and I suspect that causes a lot of confusion. Jesus doesn’t mean we become angels. Angels are a different part of creation. People are people – even in the resurrection – and angels are angels. Just as apple trees do not become frogs, people do not become angels when we die. What Jesus means is that, like the angels, we rise never to die again. Don’t get worked up about the angel part. Know this: we will rise so that our whole life now, with all its toils and troubles will somehow be raised up and re-created, if you will, in Christ.

So, here’s what that means for that poor woman in the Sadducees story: because God is in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, making good out of all things in the death of His Son, then that poor hypothetical woman with her seven hypothetical brothers for husbands will rise up on resurrection morning to a whole real, actual, factual life worked out for actual good by the real, actual, factual cross and death of Jesus that reconciles all things to God. And the hypothetical question of “Whose wife will she be” will be becomes one, big non-starter in the marriage supper of the Lamb in His kingdom where the only marriage that counts is the marriage of Christ and His Church.

Remember, the Sadducees only trust the Torah, so Jesus goes back to the work of Moses. You heard it in this morning’s Old Testament lesson. Moses records God saying that He is “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”  Present tense reality – not past tense. Its as if God is saying, I am the God of the living, not the dead. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob – they are as alive to me as I am to them.

Why is this so important to us, to the church militant, in the year 2025? Why is this debate between Jesus and the Sadducees over resurrection and marriage worth talking about, worth you listening to, this Sunday morning?

The resurrection is never mere hollow discussion, a mere curiosity, a topic of scholarly debate, and a one-off phrase that we solemnly murmur each week about “the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” Likewise, it’s not just a future event. The resurrection is our very livelihood right now. You are already raised in Christ in your baptism. Your old Adam and old Eve drowned, dying with Christ; your new Adam and new Eve were raised with Christ. You are already raised. That means everything you are now and everything you will be, where you are now and where you will be are all connected to Christ’s death and resurrection.

I know…we have questions about what the resurrection will be like. Truthfully, most of the answers we do not know yet. We wonder about things like what will our bodies be like, what will our “lives” be like, what age will we be, what we be like? Will we know our loved ones, and if so, how? Long-married and newlyweds share the same question: what about my husband, what about my wife? Parents want to know about their children. Even the language about “new heavens and new earth” raises questions.  Without being flippant, the answers to those questions are important to us but they are questions of curiosity. Ask them, play with them a little bit, but don’t obsess over them. You’ll know soon enough – and you’ll know firsthand. Until then, you have work to do in your vocation as husband and wife, mother and father, son and daughter, neighbor and child of God. In that vocation, you are guided by who you are, the resurrected people of God. As such, you know this: sin, death and the grave are already conquered, but this side of heaven, this side of the eternal resurrection, death remains the great enemy of this life. The resurrection, that great day when Jesus returns bringing the complete consummation of Easter, the resurrection will be the death of death.

And, in what sounds to be like a game of words, that end will actually be the beginning of the beginning. Christ is the firstfruits, remember, and we follow after Him. His resurrection becomes ours. It is the prelude to the eternal fullness and joy of the full presence of the Lamb and God who sits on the throne.

If the Sadducees had believed Jesus, they wouldn’t have looked for ways to trap him in his own words and ensnare him with hypothetical questions about some fictitious women married to seven brothers. Instead, they would have asked how they might be found worthy to attain the age to come and the resurrection of the righteous. They might have repented of their actual lives that fell far short of the glory of God rather than construct hypothetical lives to see what Jesus would say.

If anyone is in Christ, and you are in Christ through baptismal faith, you are already a new creation. The old has gone, as far as God and faith are concerned. The new has already come. Now you are a new creature in Christ. Soon you will be a new creature in yourself, with a body fit for eternity, as surely as Jesus is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity.

In the end, there will be no questions, hypothetical or otherwise. Only Amens and Alleluias.

In the name of Jesus,
Amen

 

 

 

Blessed All Saints Day - Matthew 5: 4; Revelation 7: 9-17

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. 

“You have turned my mourning into dancing for me; You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever…” Psalm 30: 11-12

Blessed All Saints Day to you all. A distinctly Christian day, I am glad this is one that hasn’t been stripped from us by the secular world. Christmas and Easter have been corrupted by secularism. Secularism gets close to All Saints with Halloween and, to a degree, Dia de los Muertos, but even there, they miss the message. All Saints Day belongs to the Church. That is fitting because the Saints belong to Jesus - all of them, all of us - the saints, the people of God, living and dead, made holy by God’s declaration of justification through faith in Christ. Last week was red - the color of blood, the color of battle, to remember the battle for the free Gospel and the freedom of the Gospel. This week, the liturgical color is white, the color of holiness, the color of the saints. This is how God sees us through Jesus, holy, precious, and redeemed. It’s the picture from Revelation, the innumerable saints of God who are washed white in the blood of the lamb.  

All of the saints, both living and asleep in Christ, all who are waiting or who waited faithfully for Christ’s return, all the saints belong to Jesus.  

https://tinyurl.com/bde95et5

But I do have to admit it is an odd festival day. It doesn’t have lights and decorations like Christmas, or the same joie de vivre of Easter. It’s odd, too, in it being a generic day for all saints. While many saints canonized in either the Western or Eastern tradition have a day set apart particularly for them, the early church wanted a day to remember all the faithful men and women, all saints of God, even the unknown, who died confessing Christ as Lord. So, while St. Andrew will always have November 30 as his day of commemoration – Advent always begins on the Sunday closest to his day. April 25 will always be the Feast of St. Mark; for me, it’s the day my Dad died.  My Dad, Saint Walt of Walburg, will never have his own day. Neither will you or your loved ones. Thus, All Saints Day allows the church a time to remember and thank God for the innumerable faithful who have gone before us. We remember their lives of faithful love and service to friends and neighbors and the Church. We consider them as models of Christian living and we strive to model that in our own sanctified lives as children of God.  

Thus, while we thank God for our loved ones, All Saints Day often feels less joyful than the great festival days because of the memories and the recollection of our loss. There are no two ways around it: losing a loved one hurts.  If that’s you today, especially if those tears are shed in memory of a father or mother, a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife, or a dear, close friend; or even if you are saddened by the thought of someone who died alone and anonymous known only to God, whether a battleground in Ukraine or an abortion clinic on some city corner, it’s OK. Jesus Himself wept while He stood outside the tomb of His dear friend Lazarus. This is Jesus, who only moments before, when talking to Lazarus’ sister, Martha, declared Himself the resurrection and the life and that those who believe in Him, though they die, yet they shall live; Jesus, who deliberately delayed after getting the message of Lazarus imminent dying; Jesus, who was there with the Father and the Spirit when Adam received his first breath and will soon draw His own final breath, this same Jesus stood outside the tomb and wept. Real tears, real sadness, real sorrow because death robbed Lazarus of life.  

If Jesus can weep, then it is perfectly fair to weep today. It is appropriate to have a flurry of emotions today: sadness for those not with us, joy for the gifts of God in Christ, hope for what is to come. Tears flow freely for all these reasons and more. 

I have to admit, All Saints Day is probably my second favorite church day, sandwiched between Easter and Christmas. The Scripture texts set the stage. In his first Epistle, St. John tells us that we are all children of God - not just called His children, but we are His. You are adopted into sonship and daughtership. He surrendered His only-begotten Son to pay the adoption price. Paid in full, completely through the merits of Jesus, God sees you as little Christs, Christian. The Revelation - it’s truly a wonderful book, so misunderstood by so many. They think it’s a roadmap filled with secret truths to deduce and hidden messages to try to get you to the end, sort-of the BIble’s version of Candyland. It’s not. It’s the Revelation, the revealing, a glimpse of what eternity will be like in the resurrection of all flesh, as God sits on His throne, and the Lamb, Jesus Christ. And then there’s the Church.  The word used in the Greek New Testament for “church” literally means “the called-out ones.” John says that the Church is called out from everywhere - all peoples, tribes, nations, languages, backgrounds, family histories and genealogies. They’re in white - there it is again - waiving palm branches. Palm Sunday is reversed: Jesus isn’t entering in humility to die, surrounded by misunderstanding people waiving palm branches; this time, He enters in resplendent glory surrounded by those who rejoice that sin, satan and death are destroyed and they no longer need to fear, or weep, or mourn, or shed tears because those they love are suffering and dying. Revelation paints this magnificent picture of what awaits us on that great and glorious Easter of Easters when Jesus returns and renews creation. 

But, we’re not there yet. Now, we’re still on this side of heaven. And we want to see Jesus. Ralph got it. He had been battling cancer for at least a decade. I don’t remember where it started, but by the end, it was everywhere. He had fought the fight, mentally, physically, spiritually. And, he was tired. Someone had given him a little hand-held wood cross, for those difficult days when he needed a physical reminder that even if He was too weak to cling to Jesus, Jesus clung to Him with His entire life. He was dying. His wife called me; it was late. If you can come, Ralph would appreciate it…and so would I. So, with a lump in my throat, I drove to Ralph and Ethel’s house, was greeted by the family, and then was ushered into his room. Ethel said, I’ll let you two talk and she shut off the monitor. He had his cross in his hand. He said, “I’m tired, Pastor. I’m so tired. I just want to touch His robe.” I prayed the commendation of the dying. “Now may God the Father, who created you; may God the Son who redeemed you with His blood, and may God the Holy Spirit who sanctified you in the waters of Holy Baptism, bless and keep you until the day of the resurrection of all flesh.” And, with me, he said “Amen.” St. Ralph of Sheldon died a few short hours later, confident in the promise of Jesus that there will be a day when he won’t need to touch Jesus’ robe any longer. 

That night, though, that night was heavy with mourning for Ethel and her kids and grandkids and great-grandkids. And me. Oh, they knew those promises of God in Christ and they were clinging to them with empty-yet-full hands, empty of anything they had to offer, but filled with faith in Jesus. When everything is stripped away, there is Jesus and they were hanging onto Him. 

That’s what it means when Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” He was speaking prophetically, early in His ministry, but already pointing ahead to the purpose for which He came. The comfort is in the death and resurrection of Jesus because His resurrection guarantees our own resurrection. For the church, this side of heaven, we have that promise of a day of comfort that will be complete when Jesus returns. You know this: you will say it in just a moment. “I look for the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come.”  But, I want you to notice, Jesus doesn’t scold: shame on those who mourn, for you should know better; there is no need to mourn because your feelings aren’t valid. No, He says, Blessed are those who mourn. 

So, today, if you mourn the death of fellow saints of God, mourn in faith knowing that they are already experiencing the peace of God which truly passes all understanding. Their body is at rest but their soul is already experiencing the beginning of the fulness of eternity. Jesus calls it “being asleep.” That’s a good way to think of it.  Mourn in hope - remember, hope with a capitol H that is Jesus - in the sure and certain hope that you, too, will have your resurrection day. Mourn and give thanks to God for those whom you love who have died in the faith that they shared with you. Mourn knowing you will see them again. 

When we conclude this morning’s service, the last verses of the hymn will sing of that day. The hymn is titled in English, "For All The Saints," but I prefer the Latin: Sine Nomine, "Without Number." As you sing it, envision what that day will be like - the saints, without number, surrounding the throne of the Lamb. Sing it loud, sing it bold – I don’t care if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket, today, belt it out. It’s our confession, it’s our hope, it’s Christ’s promise put to music. And, if like me, the tears get in the way and your throat gets tight and you can’t sing, it’s OK. Every year, it gets harder for me to finish the hymn as I remember those whom I have buried and transferred from the church militant to the church triumphant. And I remember those whom I love who have fallen asleep in Jesus. But, even as I wipe the tears from my eyes, I see what is to come. 

But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day:
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
Thye King of Glory passes on His way,
Alleluia, Alleluia.

And, on that day, we will fully receive the fullness of the Beatitude as our mourning becomes dancing. Amen.