Tag Archives: Joy

Coming Joy – Sermon on Matthew 11:2-11 for the Third Sunday of Advent

Matthew 11:2–11

2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, 
who will prepare your way before you.’

11 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

What do you do when it appears as though God isn’t interested in what’s happening in the world? What do you do when God doesn’t act the way you expect Him to or just doesn’t seem to care? Today’s Gospel text helps us in the midst of those kinds of questions.

John the Baptizer – that camel hair wearing, locust eating, outspoken prophet in the wilderness – is a combination of a biker gang member, wilderness survivalist, and street-corner preacher. Even before he was born, John was excited about Jesus, leaping in his mother’s womb (Lk. 1:39-44). From the time of his birth, John’s parents knew that he was the one who would prepare the way of the Messiah (Lk. 1:76), and that’s what he did. He pointed people to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He baptized hordes from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan (Mt. 3:5). John comforted with the Gospel, but he also boldly called people to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mt. 3:5). He rightly called the religious leaders of his day a brood of vipers (Mt. 3:7). Like a good preacher of God’s Word, John rebuked political leaders like Herod who had married his brother’s wife (Lk. 3:19-20). And that is why John is in prison when we meet him here. For his whole life, John had been a faithful steward of the mysteries of God’s Word (1 Cor. 4:1-2).

In our Gospel reading (Mt. 11:2-22), John will soon be executed. He sits in a dank, dark prison cell. In that solitary, lonely dungeon, the devil does to John what he often does to those in isolation. He whispers lies and tries to cast doubt. John’s mind begins to wonder if his whole life’s work had been a sham. John knew the Scriptures taught that the Messiah would give sight to the blind, mobility to the lame, cleansing to the lepers, hearing to the deaf, and life to the dead, and Jesus certainly was doing that. But John also knew that the Messiah would bring prisoners out from the dungeon (Is. 42:7), that bonds would be loosed (Is. 52:2), that captives would be set free (Is. 49:9).

Because of the devil’s whispering and his current situation John starts to question: “Jesus, You’re checking all of the boxes except the one that matters most to me right now. What gives? Why am I here, stuck in this prison? Do You even know I’m in this situation?” No matter how many times God proves faithful in keeping His promises, it can feel as though God has abandoned you when some of His promises to you still lie in the future.

Instead of letting those questions fester and cause more and more doubt, John does exactly the right thing. He goes to God’s Word. John sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus, who is the Word made flesh (Jn. 1:14). “Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for another?” And Jesus, in typical Jesus fashion, doesn’t give a simple, “Yes,” or, “No.” Instead, Jesus responds: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”

It’s easy for us to fall into the temptation of thinking that God isn’t active in creation when we experience trials and tribulations like John is. Even when God is making good on all of His other promises, if only one of our own boxes is still unchecked, we start to think that something is off. In those moments, it is easy to forget that God is active in and through our suffering. It’s easy to forget that even your suffering has a holy purpose (2 Cor. 1:8-9).

All the evil that the devil and the world tries to throw at you is turned into good by God. You are not at the whim of a god who may or may not care about you. You do not face a devil who is equal in power with God leaving your outcome in question. Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, told his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God used it for good” (Gen. 50:19-20). Just as lifting weights is good exercise and builds up the muscles of your body, the suffering you endure in this world is good for your soul and faith, making it stronger.

The fact that Jesus suffered, died, and rose again is proof that God uses even the wickedness of this world and the suffering caused by evil men for your salvation. I’m not saying that it is an easy thing to believe. What I am saying is that Scripture is clear that suffering is not opposed to the Gospel. When God became a creature, He endured suffering so you can live with Him forever. Jesus saved you through His suffering, and He can and does use your suffering to bring about good because God is still active in His creation.

Jesus is the head of the Church, and you, believer, are His body (Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18). Among other things, that means whatever you do in this world, Christ, the Head, is acting through you, His body. When you do what your boss tells you, you are God’s body being active in creation, and God blesses what you do. Kids, when you do your homework, you are God’s body being active in creation and preparing for the tasks God has for you in your future. As you are faithful in the things God puts in front of you to do, God is acting in you and through you to benefit your neighbor and creation. Be faithful in those things. Our Epistle lesson (1 Cor. 4:1-5) is an important reminder that the most important measure of what we do isn’t success or numbers that can be measured by others. We stewards shouldn’t care what others think. We shouldn’t even try to judge our own success. We are simply called to be faithful (1 Cor. 4:2-3).

But even as you are faithful, you will face suffering like John did. So, instead of falling into despair when you face suffering, God would have you rejoice in your suffering because suffering produces endurance, which produces character, which produces hope (Ro. 5:3-5). When you suffer, go back to God’s Word. Hear His promises. Hold on to those because God has not and will not fail in delivering you from suffering in this fallen and broken world.

Jesus is coming. He is not just coming sometime in the future. He is the constantly coming One. He has come once, He is coming still, and He will come again in the future. So, be bold and confident that the coming One is still active in His creation. Believer, you can have joy because Jesus has come and saved you.

Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness and sadness cannot coexist, but joy and sadness can. Joy is not the absence of sadness. Instead, joy is confidence and contentment that God is in control and is taking care of things. Even when everything in this world seems dark and fading, God is in control. He has come. He is coming again. And He comes now to give you His Body and Blood which He gave and shed for the forgiveness of all your sins.

Christian, rejoice in the Lord always. Your Lord is coming. In fact, He is at hand now. Amen.

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

Eager Waiting – Sermon on Romans 8:18-23 for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity

Romans 8:18–23

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Christian, the Bible never says that you will escape suffering. In fact, Jesus promises that you will suffer. Jesus says that everyone who follows Him will take up a cross (Mt. 16:24). Jesus says that since the world persecuted Him, it will persecute you (Jn. 15:20). Jesus says that in this world you will have tribulation (Jn. 16:33). Jesus even says that the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God (Jn. 16:2). 

Christian, you should expect to encounter suffering in this world. 1 Peter 4:12 tells us to not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. Whether or not we will experience suffering is not the question. Instead, our text here would have us consider how we endure the suffering because our typical response to suffering is not what Scripture would have us do.

Often, your initial response to suffering is to look to the time when your suffering will be over. Your kids keep getting up at night, so you look forward to when they finally stay asleep, and you can rest. Your checking account gets low, so you look to your next payday. You get sick, so you look forward to when you will feel better. Even though all of those things are welcome pauses to your suffering, they are only temporary moments of slight relief. And if that is all you hope for, you are setting your sights way too low. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 15:19, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

Christian, this text is telling you that there is something even better in store for you than the end of your suffering. When you suffer, look past the end of your suffering and raise your eyes to the glory that is to be revealed to you (Rom. 8:18). It is a glory that you have even now, but a glory that you cannot see right now.

Look carefully at v. 19-21 of our text. “The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

Paul here is inviting us to look at our present suffering from the perspective of the rest of God’s creation, so let’s do that. Jesus helps us get that perspective In Matthew 5:45 where He says that God, “Makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good.” Imagine the suffering that the sun has had to endure since the Fall.

Because of God’s mercy, He has commanded the sun to serve idolators, adulterers, thieves, liars, and murderers. The sun was created to shine on the righteous, but God has commanded it to keep shining on both the evil and the good. God has called the sun to serve all people – including the unrighteous. The sun’s work of shining on the evil is wasted, but the sun does it gladly because it is obeying God’s merciful command. The same could be said about the clouds with their rain, the crops with their fruit, and the water with its nourishment. All creation would much rather only serve only you, Christian. As the sun and the rest of creation serves the evil and the good, the righteous and the unrighteous, it waits with eager longing for you to be revealed as the sons of God (Ro. 8:19).

Catch that. Creation longs for “the revealing” of the sons of God. It will take a “revealing” for creation to recognize you as the sons of God.

Some of you have told me that you don’t recognize how loved and valued you are by God. You don’t see yourselves as God’s children. But listen to what 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” 

Here’s the truth. God sees you as His beloved child – holy, blameless, and righteous. Even though you can’t see that, and even though the rest of creation can’t see that, it’s true. But the day will come when you will be revealed as God’s children. All of creation will see it, and you will also see it.

Until then, live like the sun. Shine the light of Christ upon the righteous and the unrighteous as you eagerly wait for the time when you will be revealed before all creation as a beloved, holy, righteous child of God. Sure, you don’t see the glory God has given you yet. That’s fine. That day will come. God has promised. Jesus will return. Your body will be redeemed. You will rise, and all your suffering will fade away.

Dear saints, all suffering in this world is temporary. That doesn’t mean that your suffering doesn’t matter. Suffering can cause deep wounds that leave painful scars. Even though that is very true, the sufferings of this present time are all – every one of them – temporary. In fact, there is only one type of suffering that is nottemporary, and that is the eternal torment of hell. But that is not your destiny, Christian.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, you have God’s promise that the sufferings of this present time are not even worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to you. And as you eagerly wait for your adoption as sons, as you eagerly await the redemption of your bodies, come to God’s table. Receive Jesus’ resurrected Body and Blood given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins. Be fed with His mercy and grace which strengthens you to serve the rest of creation as you eagerly await His return. Amen.

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

Micro Sorrow, Macro Rejoicing – Sermon on John 16:16-22 for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

John 16:16–22

16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today, Jesus teaches us about sorrow and joy, and it is only through Jesus’ teaching that we can properly understand the sorrows we face in this world.

Jesus tells the disciples, “A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” They are confused, but they don’t tell Jesus they are confused. Instead, they whisper to each other, “What’s He talking about?” You can almost picture it. Matthew asks Thomas, but Thomas doesn’t know. So, Matthew leans over a little further to ask Andrew while Thomas whispers to Nathaniel, but they don’t know. Maybe Peter, James, and John know since they get to go on special trips up mountains with Jesus (Mt. 17:1-9), but they don’t know either. The disciples are all asking each other, but notice whom they are not asking – Jesus! They are looking for the answer in all the wrong places. Maybe they are embarrassed about their ignorance.

But their ignorance isn’t hidden from Jesus, so He tells them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” Catch that because it’s really important. Jesus does not say, “Your sorrow will go away and then you will be happy later.” No! “Your sorrow will turn into joy.” To get this across, our Lord uses the analogy of a woman giving birth. I’ll be honest with you, I always get a little nervous preaching on these words. I am a man, so I have not, will not, and cannot give birth – no matter what politicians or celebrities say. But the analogy comes from the mouth of our Lord who created women and is the One who said women would have great pain in giving birth (Gen. 3:16), so He knows what He’s talking about. Deep breath, here we go.

To understand the analogy, we have to understand the most basic thing about it. When a woman is in labor, what is the cause of her pain, her anguish, and (to use the word Jesus uses here) her sorrow? The baby. The baby is causing the sorrow and pain. But once she has given birth, what is the cause of the mother’s joy? The baby. The pain caused by the baby gets transformed and converted into the joy of the newborn baby, but you could not have the joy without that initial sorrow.

This is why, when Jesus is teaching the disciples that their sorrow will turn into joy, He uses the analogy of a woman giving birth. Our Lord doesn’t use the analogy of passing a kidney stone. Now, I’ve never passed a kidney stone, but I’ve read and heard that the pain is similar. (Please don’t feel obligated to tell me your kidney stone stories after the service. I worked for a group of 16 urologists, so I’ve heard the stories.) If a person has a kidney stone, they are glad once it’s passed. They have joy, but that joy is only because the pain is gone. Their joy is because they have relief from the pain. The person who has the most joy is the one who passed the stone. Probably, those who are caring for the person rejoice too, but that’s it. You don’t bring a kidney stone into work and show it off. Your coworkers don’t throw you a party for passing a kidney stone. But you do bring a baby into work for a baby shower or party. I think I’m done talking about kidney stones now, so let’s get back to the text.

When Jesus is talking about the sorrow that the disciples will have, He’s talking about His death. But their Good Friday sorrow will turn into Easter joy. Easter turns sorrow into joy. Imagine if Jesus’ death and resurrection happened this way. Imagine Jesus told the disciples, “I’m going to go away for a few days, but then I’ll come back.” And imagine that is all that happened. Jesus was gone, He returned, and He told the disciples, “I’m back. While I was gone, I died for you. I suffered God’s wrath in your place, and I paid for all your sins.” Do you suppose the disciples would have had the same joy? Probably not. Their Easter joy is greater, deeper, and fuller because they endured the arrest, the trial, the beating, the cross, the suffering, the blood, and the tomb of Good Friday (Jn. 19:35). For the disciples to have the joy of Easter, they had to go through the sorrow of Good Friday.

Now, these words of Jesus aren’t only for the disciples. These words were recorded for you and for your comfort when you endure pain and sorrow (Jn. 20:30-31). To help us latch on to what Jesus says, we’re going to get a little philosophical. And I want to make something clear: Philosophy is a fine discipline and area of study. But philosophy is most helpful when it is guided by good theology. That’s what we’re going to do today because this will be beneficial when you face times of sorrow and help you navigate those feelings of sorrow in a good, godly way.

To understand what sorrow is, we have to start with an understanding of what evil is. At its most basic level, evil is a lack, it’s when something is missing, when the fullness of God’s good creation is disrupted leaving a hole or vacancy. So, death is evil on several levels because it causes a lack of life, a lack of a relationship, a loss that is horrible. When there is a death because of murder, it gets even more evil because there is also a lack of justice. Stealing is evil because it causes a lack of someone’s property that God had given them. With every evil, there is some sort of lack; something that should be there is missing. Poverty is a lack of resources. Hunger is a lack of nourishment. You get the picture?

Sorrow, then, is a recognition of evil and an awareness of that lack. I should add this: Something is still evil even if there is no sorrow or awareness of the evil. This is important today because so many people will say we shouldn’t care about many of the evils that exist in our culture. They will say, “It doesn’t affect you, so why do you care?” Evil does not have to directly affect us for it to be evil. Ultimately, all evil has ripple effects throughout creation. If someone steals an apple in Cairo that is evil, but you probably won’t have sorrow about it here in East Grand Forks. That evil, because it disrupts creation, still does affect you because that evil ripples through creation. There is a lot to explore there, but it falls outside the scope of this sermon.

Proper, legitimate sorrow will include, most importantly, sorrow over our sins. When we recognize our lack of righteousness it is good, right, and proper to have sorrow, but don’t only have sorrow. Keep going to repentance of those sins and faith that God forgives those sins for the sake of Jesus.

Sorrow over our sins isn’t the only proper sorrow. It is right to have sorrow in the face of death. Jesus had sorrow and wept when His friend, Lazarus, died (Jn. 11:35). The pain you have whenever you are sinned against is good, right, and proper. Also, it is proper to have sorrow when you see another person experiencing evil and lack. That is the sorrow of pity.

But you can also have improper, misplaced sorrow. Envy is a misplaced sorrow because envy is when we wrongly think it is evil for someone else to have something we don’t have. Anxiety and worry ends up being a misplaced sorrow because we think something evil will happen in the future even though it has not, and may not, happen. When you have a misplaced sorrow, recognize it as sin. Then, have genuine sorrow because of your lack of righteousness. And be filled with the righteousness Christ has won, purchased, and freely gives to you.

Dear saints, Jesus promises that the sorrows you face in this life will be transformed and converted into joy. Another pastor gave a great illustration about this, and the example he uses is boot camp. When a Marine is in the middle of boot camp, he doesn’t like it. It isn’t fun. He wants it to be over. He doesn’t lie in his bed at night and hope that the next day will be harder. He wants the drill sergeant to give them a day off. When he’s in the middle of it, he wants to quit. But once he graduates, he brags about how hard it was. The fact that he made it through is a great honor and joy. And afterward, he’s glad it was hard. It has made him a better soldier. He didn’t think that as he was going through it. The joy he has after making it through is built on the very hardship and sorrow he didn’t want to have while he was in the middle of it.

Dear saints, we live in the little while between Jesus’ ascension and His return on the last day. We are in boot camp that is filled with difficulties, hardship, and sorrow. We might want to know why God allows the sufferings we endure in this life. And we might search for answers in all the wrong places. But there are times when the only answer Jesus gives us is His promise to transform our sorrow into joy.

We want our sorrows to be over and be delivered from them. We might pray – and we should pray – that God would remove the sufferings and sorrows we face in this life. God could do that. God doesn’t always tell us why we have to go through the sorrows of this life, but Jesus teaches us that our sorrows are critical to our long-term, eternal joy in heaven.

If it would be to our benefit to remove the sorrows we endure, God would do it. He would do it. But if God doesn’t, it will be to your ultimate, eternal benefit. God works all things, even your sorrows, together for your good (Ro. 8:28). Dear saints, Romans 8 says that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Ro. 8:18). 

Your sorrows and sufferings in this life are not trivial, but neither are they eternal. Jesus says, “You have sorrow, but your sorrow will turn into joy. And you will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (Jn. 16:20, 22). That’s His promise. 

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

Amen.

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

Rejoice – Sermon on Matthew 28:1-10 for the Resurrection of Our Lord

Matthew 28:1–10

1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Dear saints, rejoice. Rejoice because God will not allow what is His to be stolen. You’re going to get a little Christmas on Easter because the two go together. The Son of God has taken on flesh. God has a Body. He was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger so He could die and be laid in a tomb for you and in your place. But even though Jesus died, God did not allow death and the grave to claim, take possession of, or keep His Body (Ps. 16:10). That Body belongs to Him. He will not let it be stolen. Christ is risen. Rejoice!

The morning of the Resurrection, the Marys who had watched Jesus’ crucifixion (Mt. 27:55-56) and burial (Mt. 27:59-61) get up before dawn, and Matthew tells us that they are going to see the tomb. That statement is so ominous. The other Gospels let us know that they were returning to finish the work of embalming Jesus’ Body (Lk. 24:1; Mk. 16:1), but Matthew gives us a little insight into their mindset. They are going to the cemetery to see the tomb, the place of the dead.

But when they get there, their eyes are drawn away from the tomb to the angel sitting triumphantly on top of the stone. His appearance was like lightening, and he was wearing clothes white as snow. We don’t know his name, but this angel is quite the character. Most of the time angels pop on the scene in Scripture, they are there to declare something. Only a few times in Scripture do angels actually do things. After the Fall, a cherub guards the way to the Tree of Life with a flaming sword (Gen. 3:24). An angel takes Lot by the hand to save him from a mob (Gen. 19:9-11). And a seraph touched Isaiah’s unclean lips with a burning coal (Is. 6:6-7). But this angel outdoes all of those. This angel puts on a show.

It’s clearer in the Greek than it is in our translation, but this angel descends and causes the earthquake. He then rolls away the stone from the entrance of the tomb – not to let Jesus out. The resurrected Jesus can pop up anywhere anytime (Jn. 20:19, 26). The angel rolls away the stone to show all creation  that Jesus is risen. And then the angel sits on the stone to dance on the grave of death. This angel is playful, rambunctious, and full of rejoicing.

After all of that, the angel settles down a bit and does things we are more used to angels doing throughout Scripture. He starts talking, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus the Crucified One (which is a more literal translation). He is not here, for He has risen.” In other words, the Living One is not found in the place of the dead (Lk. 24:5). The angel then invites the women to see something better than what they had come to see. They had come to see a tomb, but it’s no longer a tomb. The angel directs their attention to the empty, vacated place where Jesus lay while He was dead (Mt. 28:6). What was supposed to be the tomb of Jesus ended up being nothing more than a temporary bed. Death had not won. Death was defeated because, again, God will not be stolen from.

Then, this dazzling, electric angel has some instructions for these women. They are given a task, a job. They are to report, but notice, please, to whom they are to give this report. “Go quickly and tell His disciplesthat He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you [disciples] to Galilee; there you [disciples] will see Him” (Mt. 28:7). So, the women quickly leave the tomb to tell the disciples as they were instructed. But their announcement gets delayed because the Crucified, Risen, and Living Jesus meets them.

Christ greets them with one word, “Rejoice.” Even though that one word was a common way to greet people, the word means ‘rejoice.’ Hawaiians greet people with, “Aloha,” which means, “Love,” Jewish people will greet others with, “Shalom,” which means “Peace,” and the common greeting in Jesus’ day was “Rejoice.” (Editorial comment here: Our common greetings stink. Hi, Hey, and ’Sup? are lame.) Anyway, even though this was the common greeting, it’s hard to imagine that Jesus, on the morning of His resurrection, was simply saying to the women, “Hey; how’s it going?” No. Our Lord joyfully greets them and invites them to rejoice.

Then, Jesus gives these women the exact same task that the angel had given them, but with an important difference. Jesus tells the women, “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Unlike the angel, Jesus doesn’t call the eleven, “My disciples.” Jesus calls them “My brothers.” And there was no confusion for the women here. It wasn’t that they were to go tell the disciples about the resurrection and then go to find another, second group of people who are Jesus’ brothers. No. The disciples are Jesus’ brothers. And this one little change from the lips of Jesus is astounding and should fill our hearts with joy.

When someone upsets or disappoints you, you might try to create distance between that person and yourself by changing how you address them. Imagine that your best, closest friend did something truly horrible, evil, and disgusting, and this thing is known. It’s on the news, in the papers, plastered on social media, everyone knows about it. Someone might come to you and say, “Aren’t you friends with Vinny?” (I’m trying to use a name that isn’t represented here.) “Wasn’t Vinny in your wedding? Don’t you hang out with him a lot?” You don’t want your reputation to be harmed because of Vinny’s bad reputation, so you distance yourself from Vinny by changing how you refer to him. “Ugh, yeah. That guy did an awful thing.”

But look at what Jesus does here. Jesus brings the disciples closer to Himself by calling them, “My brothers.” This is remarkable. The disciples had all failed at being disciples. Just a few hours before Jesus was arrested, He clearly told the disciples, “You will all fall away because of Me this night” (Mt. 26:31). When the crowd came with clubs and swords to arrest Jesus, the disciples fled with their tails between their legs (Mt. 26:55-56). All of them were an embarrassment but think especially of Peter. Three times, Peter denied even knowing Jesus when a couple young servant girls and a stranger asked him if he knew Jesus. Peter even calls down a curse on himself, “God condemn me if I know this Jesus.” And he used more foul, colorful language than that (Mt. 26:69-74). All of the disciples had failed Jesus and fallen away, but the resurrected Jesus still calls them, “My brothers.”

When Jesus calls these eleven failures, “My brothers,” before He sees them, it shows that He has done more than reconciled them. Jesus wants to make sure that the eleven know that they are more to Jesus now, after He is raised, than they were before He died because those eleven are now forgiven, righteous, and given a better status than being followers and disciples. They now have the glory of being children of God. They are His brothers. And the same is true for you. You, like the disciples, are part of the purchased, redeemed, and adopted family of God because Jesus has died and risen to make you His own.

Dear saints, rejoice. Jesus has cleansed you of all your sins. He has made you His holy, redeemed brothers and sisters. He is not ashamed to claim you as part of His family – not at all.

I put two verses on the back of your bulletin that are worth pondering every day of your life. Hebrews 2:10-11. “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.”

Because He is holy, Jesus is the one who sanctifies you, who makes you holy. He is not ashamed of you. He isn’t embarrassed about your past sins – either known or hidden. Those sins have been dealt with. They have been paid for by the precious blood of Jesus. Christ has sanctified you, made you holy by His death and resurrection. He is your God, and from Him you can expect every good thing. While you were a sinner, Christ died for you. Now that He has made you Hid child, He won’t hold back any good thing from you (Ro. 8:32).

Rejoice! The Crucified and Living One is your Brother and He is not ashamed to have you as part of His family. Not now, not ever.

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

Amen.

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

Gentle, Reasonable Rejoicing – Sermon on Philippians 4:4-7 for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

Philippians 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Before I share a quote with you, I want to be clear on something: I am a Vikings fan, through and through. Have been and will be all my life. I feel like I need to say that because the quote comes from the former Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi. In 1967, the Packers’ kick returner, Travis Williams, scored a touchdown and danced in the endzone to celebrate. As he returned to the sideline, Lombardi told his excited rookie, “Travis, the next time you make it to the endzone, act like you’ve been there before.”

Now, I share that quote to help us get to the meaning of one particular word in this text; it’s in v. 5, “Let your reasonableness (the Greek word there is pronounced epieikēs) be known to everyone.” There really isn’t a good English equivalent for epieikēs, which is utterly unfortunate. Other translations will use words like gentleness, graciousness, and moderation, but each of those only convey one part of the word’s meaning. Epieikēs – refers to a strength that doesn’t need to prove anything to other people because that strength is accompanied with gentleness, meekness, and humility. We could compare it to scoring a touchdown, calmly handing the ball to the ref, and heading to the sidelines to get ready for the next play. A player who does that is confident enough to know that he has the strength and ability to find his way into the endzone again so he can be humble.

Now, all of that was to simply convey the meaning of epieikēs. When Paul wrote Philippians, he wasn’t writing to a football team, so let’s get to what this means for us Christians.

Dear saints, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” The life of a Christian is a life of rejoicing. Why can you be joyful always? Because you are a sinner who deserves nothing but God’s punishment, but that is not what God has given you. Instead, you have a Savior. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, has come in the flesh. He has taken your place. He lived a perfect, sinless life for you. He is the Lamb of God who takes away your sin (Jn. 1:29) and brings it to the cross where He endured the punishment that you deserved because of your sin (2 Cor. 5:21).

And in place of your sin, Jesus has fully forgiven you and has given you His perfect righteousness. When God looks at you, He sees His holy, beloved Son (Gal. 3:27). Nothing can take that away from you – not sickness, not financial troubles, not pesky relatives, not greedy politicians. Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus your Lord (Ro. 8:38-39). Now, that is reason to rejoice.

In your rejoicing, let that epieikēs – that confident, humble, gentle strength – be evident to everyone you encounter because Jesus, your Savior, is at hand. Christian, Jesus is coming back, and He will bring justice and righteousness. You don’t have to prove or assert yourself. You don’t have to make everything right in a fallen world. Jesus will come and do that. Just a few verses before our text, we are told that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from [heaven] we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Php. 3:20). So, when you face any type of adversity in this world, you can have a moderated, calm kindness and gentleness because you stand in the strength of Jesus who is going to fix everything that is broken and make everything right.

Yes, this world is going to throw all sorts of trials, tribulations, and adversities at you that will make you worried and anxious. But this text tells us what to do with those worries so our humble, gentle strength – our epieikēs – continues to be known to everyone. Turn those anxieties into your prayers. Whatever makes you worried and anxious, doesn’t need to dictate how you act. Instead, hand that thing over to God in prayer. God promises to take care of that thing in the way that is best for you and for those around you (Ro. 8:28).

Christian, the almighty, all-powerful God and Creator of all things is also your Redeemer. Rejoice! He freely gives you His salvation. In Isaiah 30:15, God makes a promise to you that explains why you can have this epieikēs; He says, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

Dear saints, in Jesus you are sons and daughters of God and have the victory over every evil because His death on the cross has delivered you (1 Cor. 15:57). “Christ’s resurrection guarantees the victory of [you,] His brothers and sisters. Christ’s second coming brings the final fulfillment. And Christ, [your] Lord, is at hand.”[1] Amen.

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

Today’s sermon was abbreviated due to our Sunday School Christmas program.

[1] Rev. Dr. Normal Nagel. Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel. Concordia Publishing House, 2004. p. 27

The Child Who Is the Lord – Sermon on Luke 2:1-20 for Christmas Eve 2021

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Dear saints, merry Christmas!

The first few verses recording Jesus’ birth are nothing spectacular quite honestly. It begins with a government that wanted more taxes. So, Joseph and the very pregnant Mary travel to Bethlehem, Joseph’s hometown, to be numbered and provide a list of their property so Rome would know how much they owed. While they are there, Mary gives birth to her Son and wraps Him is swaddling clothes. Again, nothing extraordinary there.

The only thing that is peculiar is that Mary lays her Newborn in a manger, a feeding trough, because there wasn’t a more hospitable place for the infant Jesus. Quite honestly, if v. 1-7 was all that was recorded concerning Jesus’ birth, there wouldn’t be much to say. Sure, for Joseph and Mary it would have been a very anxious, fretful time, but even today all over the world poor women give birth in unusual and unsanitary conditions.

So, a baby Boy is born and laid in a manger. The only ones to notice in those first seven verses are His father and mother. The people of Bethlehem continue to sleep, and the night would have remained silent and undisturbed, but then comes the rest of the text, and v. 8-20 tell us very clearly that something extraordinary has happened.

The birth of this Child has ushered in a cosmic shift and is the most significant thing that has ever happened. The host of angels suddenly appear to shepherds. The glory of God shines, not in the Most Holy Place in the Temple, but out in the fields surrounding the little town of Bethlehem. All of it reveals that what happened that night was God joining heaven to earth.

The host of holy angels mingle with lowly shepherds. The music of heaven is now heard by men, and they are invited to join in the song. At first, the shepherds are too stunned and afraid to speak. But the angel quiets their fear saying, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

In other words, the eternal God who created heaven and earth has been born on earth as a Child to be your Savior. God is powerful enough that His voice breaks the mighty cedar trees (Ps. 29:5), and now He softly coos in His mother’s arms. The Child is the same God who appeared to the shepherd Moses in the burning bush warning Moses to not come close because His presence was too holy (Ex. 3:1-6). But now He invites shepherds to come in as close as possible and see Him lying in a manger as a helpless Child.

The incarnation and birth of Jesus isn’t about God becoming small; instead, it is about mankind becoming big. God made mankind in His own image, but here God becomes what you are – a Child of a woman – in order to make you what He is – a child of the heavenly Father. Even though the people of Bethlehem don’t take notice, heaven itself does. With one foot in heaven and another foot on earth, the company of angels sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”

The angels are happy because the Savior of mankind has been born, and we are going to be reconciled to them. There is an interesting verse in 1 Peter 1:12 that says the Gospel, the fact that God comes to save us, is something into which angels long to look. I heard a thought this week about the joy that the angels have because of Christ’s birth that I think is really insightful and deeply rooted in Scripture. The thought is that when the angels see how God forgives, redeems, and saves mankind in Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection, the angels get to witness what love is.

You see, the angels never fell into sin or were corrupted, so they are not redeemed because they don’t need to be. They constantly experience God’s perfect love. So, when the angels see how God loves us in Christ, they see the love God has for them in action. They know how far we have fallen, and in Christ, they see the lengths to which God goes to save us. So the birth of Christ gives the angels a fuller picture of how much God loves them, and it brings them great joy.

Beloved of God, Jesus is born, and He is born to save you. God almighty sucks His thumb. His arms were tucked tightly into that manger as an infant so those same arms could be stretched out upon the cross. His head is surrounded by hay in a feeding trough so it can later be crowned with thorns. His body is swaddled and laid in a manger, so that same body could eventually be wrapped in linen cloths and laid in a tomb. And just as He did not remain the manger, neither did He remain in the grave.

In the birth of Jesus, the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people. That includes you. We sinners cannot be in the presence of a holy God, but God has become a man to welcome and forgive sinners. For those willing to receive it, peace has arrived. The war is over. There is now peace between God and man. Because of what Christ has done, God is well pleased with you.

If you have ever wondered how far God would go to make you His own, first look down into the manger then look up to the cross. There is your answer.

Our next hymn asks, “What Child is this?” Well, we have the answer. This Child is Christ the King. This Child is the Word made flesh. This Child is the Christ. This Child is the Lord God Almighty who comes to forgive you, to save you, to rescue you, to deliver you, and to give you eternal life with Him.

Dear saints, Jesus is born, and He brings you His eternal peace. So, again, merry Christmas. Unto you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Amen.

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

The Child Who Is John’s Joy – Sermon on 2 Samuel 6:12-23 and Luke 1:39-45 for Midweek Advent 3

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

We expect kings to behave differently than we do. Kings don’t walk; they strut. Kings don’t just throw on some clothes; they are robed. And kings don’t eat; they dine. Kings are dignified and distinguished. That’s why David’s wife, Michal, was so disgusted by her husband’s behavior in our Old Testament reading (2 Sam. 6:12-23). He wasn’t acting very kingly.

The Ark of the Covenant had been stolen by the Philistines and had been held for about seven months (1 Sam. 6:1). When the Israelites initially recovered the Ark, things didn’t go so well. Hundreds of years before, when God had given instructions on how to build the Ark, He commanded that the Ark have golden rings on its corners so that poles overlaid with gold could be placed through those rings (Ex. 25:12-15). The priests were instructed to carry the Ark by those poles on their shoulders (Nu. 7:9). But a guy named Uzzah and those with him put the Ark on a cart. When one of the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, Uzzah reached out to stabilize the Ark and was killed when he touched it. This made David afraid to move the Ark any further. So, the Ark stayed at the house of Obed-edom for three months (2 Sam. 6:11) while he and his whole household were blessed. That is where our Old Testament lesson picks up.

David hears how Obed-edom was blessed and decides to finish the job of bringing the Ark back to Jerusalem. This time, the proper procedure for carrying the Ark was followed to the letter (1 Ch. 15:13-15). The “proper” behavior for a king, however, was thrown out the window. King David is part of the procession, but he doesn’t wear his royal robes. Instead, David puts on a linen ephod which was a humble garment for a priest. David doesn’t stride like a king before the Ark; instead, David leaped and danced like nobody was watching.

But David’s wife, Michal, was watching, and she wasn’t at all impressed by her husband’s behavior. Instead, she sarcastically nags him for it. But God was watching David too, and God judged David’s celebration and joy to be very befitting for His king. So, God made Michal barren for the rest of her life because she mocked David’s joy.

At the beginning of our service this past Sunday, the first words of Scripture you heard in our Call to Worship were the same words from our Epistle lesson tonight (Php. 4:4-7), “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (And, in fact, you’ll hear those verses again in this coming Sunday’s epistle lesson.) The reason for so much rejoicing this week is, according to the text, that “the Lord is at hand.” Rejoice. You don’t have to climb up to heaven to the presence of God. No. He comes to you. He comes to bring His love, mercy, forgiveness, and grace. And this good news should make us throw away any sense pride or dignity we might think we possess in ourselves and cause our hearts to leap for joy like David.

Our problem is that we are too much like Michal and not enough like King David. Our hearts are pulled from the joy of God’s presence. Like Adam and Eve in the garden after they ate the forbidden fruit, we avoid God’s presence. Usually, it isn’t because we are afraid of punishment but because we are too busy running after worldly things that we imagine will bring joy. But when we attain those things, we don’t find joy or even fulfillment. At best, we are amused for a while and then get bored. Even though God knows this about us, He still graciously desires to dwell with us.

That is why Christ came. He draws near to save a world that is in love with sin instead of Him. God comes to remove our hearts of stone and give us new hearts of flesh so that we can truly rejoice in His presence with us.

We can learn a lot both from King David and from the pre-born John the Baptizer in our Gospel text (Lk. 1:39-45). King David was so overcome with joy that he dropped all sense of decorum a king should have and danced and leapt for joy at the return of the Ark because the Ark of the Covenant was where God promised to dwell with His people. In other words, when David brought the Ark back to Jerusalem, God was returning to His people. And in a more important way, when Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, visited her older relative (Lk. 1:36) Elizabeth, unborn John leapt when he heard the voice of the woman carrying the world’s Savior. John leapt because something even more wonderful than the Ark had arrived at his house. Mary was, in a very real way, the new Ark of the Covenant because she carried in her womb God in human flesh.

It is absolutely true that our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ say way more about Mary than what Scripture does. But we overreact and push back against the false Roman Catholic teaching harder than we should. That isn’t good either because it ends up diminishing what Scripture says about Jesus. And if we say anything less about Jesus, our salvation is in doubt. Now, if you have any questions regarding what I’m about to say here, please let me know. I’m happy to answer them. Trust me; I’m not starting to lean toward Rome.

To have a proper understanding of Mary and her place in the story of God saving mankind, it is good to start with a Scriptural understanding of who we are and who Jesus is. So, Adam was created by God without a man or woman. Eve was created by God from a man without a woman. We are created by God from both a man and a woman. But Jesus, the God-man, is the only one who comes into human flesh solely from a woman, and that woman is Mary.

The Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, existed from all eternity. But when He took on flesh, He did so through Mary. That means every bit of Jesus’ human nature comes from Mary. She was chosen by God to carry out a unique role in the salvation of mankind. According to our Gospel text, she is the mother of Elizabeth’s Lord and your Lord as well. God chose her to be Jesus’ earthly mother.

Now, in no way does that mean that Mary was sinless herself. We have at least one example from Scripture where Mary sins (and possibly others [Mk. 3:21, 31; Jn. 2:3-4, 7:5]). The easiest example is when Mary wrongly chides twelve-year-old Jesus when He stays in Jerusalem (Lk. 2:48). Mary sins at least twice there. First, she neglected her responsibility as a parent to protect her Son, and second, she blames Jesus for her sin, which is the same thing Adam did when he blamed God for giving him a wife who gave him the forbidden fruit. Also, no, we don’t and shouldn’t worship Mary or pray to her. But, again, we shouldn’t diminish her unique part in the story of salvation. Doing so robs us of the wonder and joy of our salvation. God became man to save us.

In our Gospel text tonight, God was drawing near not just to Jerusalem, but to the whole world through the pre-born Jesus in Mary’s womb. And that is why the unborn John the Baptizer leaps in Elizabeth’s womb. God had come to earth in order to redeem sinful mankind.

This good news brought joy to John even before he was born, but it also brought joy to Jesus Himself. Hebrews 12:2 says that enduring the cross to save mankind was the joy that was set before Jesus. God had come born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem you who were under the Law, so that you might receive adoption as sons (Gal. 4:4-5).

So, when the hymn we sang earlier asks, “What Child is This?” the answer is enough to make our hearts leap just like King David and John the Baptizer. The Child is Christ the King, God in the flesh come to save us. The eternal Son of God comes brings forgiveness, eternal life, and joy to the world.

And right now, through His Word, He comes even nearer to you than He came to John in this Gospel text (Mt. 18:20). He comes and takes up residence in your heart. His love fills you and that love spills over to others. Jesus comes near and makes you a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). And the day is coming soon when Jesus will come to dwell with you again. He will come from His eternal throne one final time to bring you out of this world of sin and sorrow to His eternal joys.

So, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. The Lord is at hand.” He has come, and He is coming again. Amen.[1]The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] The idea for connecting David’s joy at the return of the Ark to the leaping of John the Baptizer was adapted from a sermon by Pr. Ralph Tausz.

Unseen, but Not Away – Sermon on John 16:16-22 for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Listen here.

John 16:16-22

16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 

19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

We’re still in Easter season. We’re still celebrating the resurrection. But this text takes us back to the night Jesus was betrayed. And these words from Jesus in our Gospel text are important for us Resurrection folk to remember – especially in times of suffering. To get at this, we are going to weave back and forth through this text because Jesus weaves back and forth talking about suffering and joy.

Christ tells His disciples that in “a little while” they are going to endure suffering, but that suffering will only last a second “little while.” Then, they will have joy that no one will be able to take from them. So, recognize that Jesus tells the disciples about two distinct “little whiles.”

The first “a little while” refers to the short amount of time that takes place between the time Jesus speaks these words to the time when they will no longer see Jesus. For most of them, they no longer see Jesus once He is arrested. For Peter and John, it’s a little after that. After this first “little while,” comes the second “little while” when the disciples won’t see Jesus anymore because He is dead, buried, and sealed behind the stone in the tomb. And during this second “little while” they have sorrow, weep, and lament.

Now, we need to recognize just how profound and unique the disciples’ suffering was. While Jesus was away from them between Good Friday and Easter, their suffering was quite unique. A major reason the disciples’ sorrow was so pointed and painful is not only did they lose Jesus, their leader and friend, even more importantly, they lost hope that salvation was even a possibility.

Remember the two disciples that Jesus meets on the road to Emmaus Easter afternoon (see Lk. 24:13-35)? Jesus meets them and asks them what they are talking about, but they don’t recognize Him. They’re surprised this stranger hasn’t heard about everything going on in Jerusalem. So, ironically, they tell Jesus about Jesus. How He was mighty in deeds and words before God and all the people, but the chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to be crucified. Then, they say something very important, and what they say reveals how painfully sorrowful they are. They say, “We had hoped,” (and the grammar suggests that their hope is now gone), “We had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel.” In other words, their hope was that Jesus would save them, but they don’t hope for salvation anymore because, in their minds, He is dead and is in the tomb for good. They thought that Jesus’ death was the end of salvation rather than the thing which accomplished their salvation. So, do you see the sorrow they were enduring?

Now, back to our text here from John, Jesus tells the disciples, “You will weep and lament and be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.”

Jesus compares this sorrow the disciples experienced to a woman in labor. There is no denying the pain and anguish of a woman in labor. And, you mothers, Jesus knows the pain you have in labor because He is the one who said that a woman’s pain in childbirth would be greatly increased after the Fall (Gen. 3:16). But Jesus compares the suffering of the disciples to a woman in labor because of what comes after that suffering. After a mother has delivered the baby – and remember this is according to Jesus – she no longer remembers the anguish because that pain is replaced and swallowed up by joy. Joy that a child has been born into the world.

Jesus doesn’t say that a mother’s memory is erased, and she totally forgets the pain she just experienced. Jesus doesn’t say that she doesn’t have any pain while she recovers – that is not what Jesus says. Instead, her anguish is swallowed up and replaced by the joy that she now has a child to love and cherish.

Jesus compares the disciples’ suffering to the suffering of a mother in labor because of what comes at the end of that suffering. In other words, the sorrow and complete loss of hope that the disciples had while Jesus was in the tomb was painful and real. But that sorrow was swallowed up in joy when they see Jesus after the Resurrection. And the sorrow and lamenting and weeping they had during those days wasn’t worth comparing to the joy that the Resurrection brings them.

This is the main thing Jesus is teaching us in this text. Sorrow and suffering is temporary for you, Christian. 

What Jesus says in these verses applies first to the disciples and the sorrow they had between Good Friday and Easter. But these words of our Lord are also written for us Christians whenever we have sorrow. That little while of sorrow that the disciples experienced mirrors the sorrow that we experience. Our sorrows are a microcosm of theirs. 

The major difference between the disciples’ sorrow and our sorrow is that they endured their sorrow without any hope. That is not our experience. Even though we have real, painful sorrow in this world, we have sorrow with hope that the sorrow will end and turn to joy just as theirs did.

Notice very specifically what Jesus tells the disciples. First, the period of time of sorrow will be only “a little while.” Now, I don’t want in any way to minimize the suffering of the disciples while Jesus was in the tomb. In fact, I don’t think we can compare any suffering we have to what they went through. But we also know that their sorrow, as profound as it was, only lasted a couple days. Jesus was buried just before sunset on Friday and was seen by the disciples Easter evening.

The same is true for us. Jesus has been unseen for a long time. Since His ascension, Christians have endured all kinds of suffering, persecution, pain, and distress. But the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Ro. 8:18).

Again, note specifically that Jesus says their sorrow is that they won’t see Jesus because He is, “going to the Father.” He doesn’t tell them that He is going away; He just tells them that they won’t see Him because He is going to the Father. The same is true for us now.

Jesus has now ascended to the Father and is where the God the Father is. In other words, He’s everywhere. Remember what Jesus says at the end of Matthew’s gospel (Mt. 28:18-20), “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me…. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” So, yes, He is unseen, but He hasn’t left us. Jesus isn’t gone from us. In fact, Jesus is nearer to us than we can possibly know. 

So, let’s try to bring this all together. There is no denying that Christians suffer in this life, but we can be comforted even in the midst of suffering because of what Jesus says in this text.

First of all, when you suffer, you don’t have to put on a brave face and say things like, “I know other people have it worse than I do.” No. No matter how great or small, call suffering what it is – suffering. In the midst of sorrow, pain, and anguish, we can call all of that what it is – it is suffering and not something that God ever intended you to experience.

And yet, God promises that He will use that suffering for your good because God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Ro. 8:28). 1 Cor. 10:13says that we do not suffer any “temptation that is not common to man. But God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” So, even though our suffering is unpleasant at the time, it is through that suffering that God chastens us, keeps on track, draws us to Himself, and teaches us to be dependent on Him.

Christian, God sent Jesus to die and rise again for you, and He counts every hair on your head. God cares about the details. He knows your sorrow and suffering, and He is paying attention to it. And Christ is with you even in that suffering. Jesus promises that He is with you with all authority to the end of the age. He will bring you through it. And when He returns, that suffering will be eternally replaced with joy.

So, in the midst of your suffering, know that those around you are suffering too. Don’t think that some people are suffering more or less than you. We don’t know what kind of suffering others are going through, but we do know that they are suffering what is common to man (1 Cor. 10:13).

So, have some sympathy for others. Life is hard on everyone. Maybe that person is being a jerk because his mother just died or she is fighting with her husband or their parents are neglecting them. A little sympathy for others and a willingness to make excuses for someone else’s bad behavior can go a long way toward a more peaceful and loving world.

Ultimately, dear saints, whenever you suffer, know that Jesus is with you. He is crucified and risen for you. Though you do not see Him, He is with you in every trial and tribulation. He will bring you through it. You are God’s children now. He has not abandoned you. And when He appears you shall be like Him. Your suffering will end and be replaced with joy that no one will be able to take from you.

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

Amen.

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

Manifest Glory – Sermon on John 2:1-11 for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

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John 2:1-11

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have become drunk, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

If you ask a woman about a wedding, you are going to hear about the colors of the bridesmaids’ dresses. You’ll hear the flowers described as only a botanist or florist could. She’ll tell you about the style of the bride’s dress – A-line, mermaid, trumpet, column, bell gown. (Yes, I had to look those up.) Then, she’ll go on to describe the more specific details of the gown. She’ll tell you about the décor of the reception and the menu of the meal. You’ll probably even get a lot of details about the wedding cake. Finally, you’ll hear about the dance and the DJ. If you ask a man about a wedding, he’s likely to say, “It was good.” Or, if you ask me, I’ll probably say, “It was successful.” I have yet to attend an unsuccessful wedding.

The Apostle John tells us about a wedding, and he does it as a man would. He mainly tells us about these six stone water jars that are there for the Jewish rites of purification. To our ears, that detail is brief and mundane. But these stone jars tell us more about the wedding and the miracle than we might expect.

Stone jars were especially desirable for the purification rites because they did not become unclean when they came into contact with things that were unclean. When clay jars, which were more common, when clay jars were used for purification, they became unclean and, according to God’s command, had to be broken afterward (Lev. 11:33). But stone jars didn’t become unclean, which meant they were great for the purification rites, but it also meant they were expensive. The fact that this wedding had stone jars indicates that either the couple or their relatives were somewhat wealthy. But even with their wealth, this couple has a problem because they run out of wine during the feast.

Mary lets Jesus know about the lack of wine. And based on Jesus’ response, it doesn’t sound like He’s going to do anything about it. Of course, He does. He provides 120-180 gallons of the finest wine to people who have already had enough wine that they cannot appreciate the goodness of the wine Jesus provides. In fact, the master of the feast figures it’s a mistake. When he tastes it, He assumes someone messed up. You’re supposed to serve the top-shelf stuff first, only later do you break out the boxes of wine. Our English translations soften the master’s words, but he literally says, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have become drunk” (same word that is repeatedly condemned in the New Testament [Ro 13:13; 1 Co. 5:11, 6:10; Gal. 5:21; Rev. 17:2, 6, etc.]), “when people have become drunk, then the poor wine.” In short, Jesus is giving people what they do not deserve and cannot fully appreciate.

Dear saints, this Is the definition and nature of grace and mercy.

Can you imagine John the disciple, who was there at that wedding, later in life? John, by the way, was the only disciple to die of old age. He became the bishop of Ephesus. Pastor John would have been the guest at many dinners in many houses. But at every meal, he would taste the wine, remember this wedding in Cana, and smile and say, “Not as good.”

The amazing thing is how few people at the feast actually know the Source of this fine vintage. The bride and the groom didn’t know. The master of the feast didn’t know. The guests didn’t know. Only the disciples and the servants know. The humble and the lowly see the work of Jesus.

Yet John tells us that this is how Jesus manifested (lit. “epiphanied”) His glory. That is the main point John wants us to take from this text. He wants us to see Christ’s glory, but we have a problem with that. We don’t see the big deal. Turning water into wine seems like a nice party trick, but nothing compared to walking on water, feeding the hungry, cleansing lepers, making the lame walk, causing the blind to see the deaf to hear, or raising the dead. In our minds, those are the “real” miracles. What’s the big deal about turning water into wine? That is something God does all the time. Every drop of wine across the world in all of history was once water inside a grape. All Jesus does here is speed things up a bit.

Dear saints, this is a call for us to open our eyes to the everyday, manifest glory of your God. Every moment, you are surrounded by the glory of our God. We notice it, at times, when we see a beautiful sunset, a pristine meadow covered in fresh snow, beautiful sun dogs, etc. But don’t miss the more regular manifestations of the glory of God. Don’t let the regularity of glorious things you see every day cause you to think they are mundane. See the glory of God in how a mom feeds her infant, how our food comes up from the ground, and how a child learns to read. If we would just open our eyes we would see the wonders of God all around us, and we would be surprised at every turn.

Especially, don’t let the manifest glory of God pass by you when you are here in church. When you hear the Scriptures read, the Holy Spirit is working on you in a miraculous way. When you hear the absolution, God is actually removing your sins from you. When you come to the altar today, Jesus is actually feeding you with His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sins. Every week throughout the entire service, God is visiting you with His mercy and grace to give you what you could not earn or deserve. He is purifying you, cleansing you, and strengthening you to live holy lives because no amount of your own efforts to cleanse yourself will ever work.

Which brings us back to those stone water jars. The sad thing with the stone water jars is that we see how far from the Gospel God’s people had fallen. Their religion had declined to a cold set of laws and rituals. When God had given the purification laws in Leviticus, it was to remind His people of their uncleanness and that true purity and holiness comes only from God. But the rabbis had added to God’s laws all sorts of unnecessary ceremonies and rituals. You remember when the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of eating with unwashed hands (Mk. 7:1-8). They had certain ritual washings that you had to do in order to interact with others socially. You had to pour the water a certain number of times over each hand. And each of pouring had to be in a prescribed direction. These were invented regulations from the Pharisees to be spiritually clean. All of these things were works to make yourself right.

But now what happens once those jars are no longer filled with water and instead are filled with wine? That ritual washing is no longer possible. We are invited to imagine another woman go to the stone jars and find that they aren’t filled with water, so she goes to her Pharisee son and says, “They have no water.”

These jars had been set apart for self-purification, and Jesus uses them to bring the joy of wine (Ps. 104:15) to a wedding feast. Jesus overtakes the works and efforts of man and brings them into submission to Him. Whenever Jesus comes, all human efforts to become righteous and holy are taken away and only joy is left in its place.

When Jesus comes to forgive your sins, He takes away all your works and efforts to make yourself holy or righteous. In their place, Jesus brings His eternal joy. This sign is not just pointing to Jesus’ power, this sign is pointing to what Christ has come to do. He has come to bring the best, to overflow your cup, and to bring you to His eternal kingdom.

Dear saints, our Lord manifests His glory with His first sign at a wedding in Cana because Jesus has come to end the divorce. Jesus came to end the divorce between men and women, between Jews and Gentiles (Gal. 3:28), and most importantly between God and man. Because of what Christ has done, we will be reunited with God just as we were meant to be. And this same God now welcomes you to His altar to have a foretaste of the great wedding feast to come. Amen.

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

Rejoice in Peace – Sermon on Philippians 4:4-7 for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

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Philippians 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In a year that has brought sickness, hardship, loneliness, isolation, frustration, and disappointment, this is a wonderful, beautiful reminder from God’s Word to rejoice. We are usually quick to rejoice and don’t need a reminder when things are light and easy. Instead, we need to be reminded to rejoice precisely when we do not feel like rejoicing and when we feel the pain and injustices of this world. And, please know, this call to rejoice isn’t a legal requirement. It is a Gospel invitation. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.”

Now, when Paul calls us to rejoice, it is not some shallow cliché. This isn’t a, “Don’t worry; be happy” or a “Hakuna Matata.” And it isn’t as though Scripture is saying, “Well, you should be happy because things could be a lot worse.” Instead, there is real cause for rejoicing. Rejoice because the Lord, your God, your Savior, and your Redeemer is at hand. He’s right here with you now, and He is with you always bringing His mercy and love.

Yahweh, the great “I am” (Ex. 3:14); the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; your Creator who is a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6) – this very God has come for you, born of a woman born under the Law to redeem you who were under the Law (Gal. 4:4-5). Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for you while you were still His enemy (Ro. 5:10).

Dear saints, there is enough there for an eternity of rejoicing.

Now, when Paul wrote this call to rejoice always, he was sitting in prison, yet rejoicing. Paul knew pain and injustice – from both sides of the coin. Paul was a persecutor of the Church, and after Jesus met him, Paul was a persecuted member of the church. Paul knew what it was to throw people in prison and what it was to eat prison food. And even in his low moments, he reminds us that there is reason to rejoice, and that reason is, that no matter if things are going well or not, God is on your side.

As you rejoice in the faith and confidence that God is favorable toward you, our translation says, “let your reasonableness be known to everyone.” Other translations, instead of ‘reasonableness,’ will use ‘gentleness,’ or ‘moderation.’ Unfortunately, we don’t have a good English word for it. The idea of the word there is to have nobility and authority but acting in meekness and kindness while not using your position for yourself but for the sake of serving others. The word carries the idea of having every right to demand justice for yourself but using that right to bring mercy to anyone in need. Let that kind of noble, gentleness be known to all people.

And then – it is so interesting – as we rejoice and let our noble gentleness be known to people, we are to make our requests be made known to God. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God.”

Being a Christian does not mean that you never have any worries. But one of the reasons you can rejoice is that you can cast all your anxieties and cares upon God (1 Pet. 5:7) by turning those worries into prayers. In other words, whenever you are worried, turn those worries into prayers, leave them at God’s feet, and let God worry about them.

One of the best examples we have of this in Scripture is how King Hezekiah responds when Jerusalem is surrounded by the army of Assyria (see Is. 36-37 and 2 Kgs. 18:13-37). The king of Assyria is marching against Jerusalem is boasting that he is going to destroy the city. He continually mocks God saying that there is no one who can save Jerusalem from his army. King Hezekiah is terrified and anxious when he hears all of this. He tears his clothes and covers himself is sackcloth and takes a letter repeating all these threats, goes to the Temple, spreads out the letter before God, and prays.

And God answers. That night, God went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrian army. God’s people went to bed thinking that they were about to be destroyed, but when they woke up, they found themselves delivered.

Now, this is not mean that God will instantly deliver you from any and every trouble. But He will and, in fact, He already has rescued you. Christ will bring you and His entire Church into the glories of heaven where none of the troubles of this life can enter. That day will come as surely as if it had already arrived. This is why we rejoice.

We can rejoice in the Lord because we know that He rules and reigns over all things, and, in His mercy, He uses His power for our benefit. We rejoice in the Lord because Christ has buried our sins in the emptiness of His tomb. Your sins cannot accuse you anymore; they are gone.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Not just when you’re feeling religious or pious or healthy or happy. Rejoice in whatever condition you find yourself because when you’ve had a rotten day, or when your health is in jeopardy, or when your friend has turned against you, and when your finances are upside down, in any bad situation, you are no less a citizen of heaven than when everything is going your way.

Hudson, God be praised, today you are Baptized. Through the waters of your Baptism, God has joined you to Himself. You have been joined to Jesus’ death and resurrection (Ro. 6:3-6). You have been clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27). Just as the heavens opened above Jesus when He was baptized, heaven’s gates are now open to you. That means everything Jesus was born to do and has done is now credited to your account.

All of this is to say – Hudson, Luke, Sarah, Maddie, Brayden, and all you saints – that today is a day to rejoice just as every day is to rejoice. God’s steadfast love toward you will never cease. His mercies will never come to an and. They are new each and every morning (Lam. 3:22-23).

Hudson, and all you saints, rejoice. The Lord is at hand, and you know why He comes. He comes to be your Savior. The Jesus who is coming again is the Christ of Calvary and the Christ Child born in Bethlehem. He is the only one who can bring you peace, and that peace is so great that it surpasses all understanding.

Hudson and all you saints, the Prince of Peace is coming to pour His righteousness upon you and make you His own. Know everything else through the fact that Jesus loves you. And His love for you will never fade or fail. Amen.

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