Sermon for the Ascension of Our Lord: "The Never-Ending Story"

+ Ascension of Our Lord – May 30, 2019 +

Beautiful Savior Lutheran, Milton

Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I finish a good book, movie, or TV show, I don’t want it to end. We might even be a little sad when it’s over. We want the good story to continue on. 

I imagine the disciples felt a little like this too…as Jesus led them out of Jerusalem and journeyed to Bethany. As Jesus lifted up his hands and blessed them – those hands they had seen heal the sick, give the blind their sight, and welcome sinners; hands they had seen pierced, died, and alive again. As Jesus parted from them and the cloud took him out of their sight. 

It might seem, from the disciples’ point of view, that this was an ending to the story. For a moment they stood there. Gazing into the heavens. 

And then the angel reminded them that this was not the end. 

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

For the disciples, and for us, Jesus ascension is not the end of the story but rather in Jesus’ ascension, the story of his saving work continues on. Jesus ascension is part of the one, true, never-ending story. The good news of Jesus to save us, rescue us, redeem us, and make us his own.

This is what St. Luke tells Theophilus at the beginning of the Book of Acts – part 2 of the Gospel of Luke. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He resented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

In the Book of Acts, St. Luke tells us, the story continues. Jesus’ saving work goes on. It’s not the end, but rather a new chapter, the next leg of the journey until our Lord returns. Jesus’ ascension tells us the story of how our Lord’s work, word, and promise go on, now in his church, through his people – just as he promised.

As Paul declares in Ephesians, Jesus now fills the church. As the Glory of the Lord appeared in the burning bush to Moses, as He dwelled in the smoke and fire of the tabernacle, as He sat between the winged cherubim on the ark of covenant, so too, the Glory of the Lord in human flesh now dwells in, fills, and is present with his bride the church. 

So, if you think of it that way, our Lord’s Church is never empty. There could only be one or two of us here tonight and yet whenever and wherever Jesus’ word, water, body and blood are given for us, the church is always full. Full of Jesus’ Word of promise, peace, and comfort. Full of Jesus’ crucified, risen, and ascended body and blood given for our forgiveness. Full of water and word where the Holy Spirit descends to us that one day we might rise in the flesh as Jesus did and ascend with him.

This is the same story Jesus sent his disciples to declare. 

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance forthe forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Repentance and forgiveness of sins. That’s the work of the church summed up in two words. That’s what our Lord calls us to hear again and again and again. 

The Law that shows us our sin. The Gospel that shows us our Savior. God’s judgment that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And the verdict: that we are justified freely by God’s grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 

Our Lord called his disciples to be part of this grand story. To receive his promises. Hear his teaching. Witness his death and resurrection. And then to be sent out again, as the old song goes, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love. 

By God’s grace and promise we are a part of this story too. Our story that once began with sin and sorrow has been rewritten. You are redeemed. Rescued. Restored. 

Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension has secured for us a new ending, a new creation. The old ending of death and judgment has been torn out and thrown into Jesus’ tomb, and in its place a new story has been written – not with pen and ink – but with Jesus’ holy precious blood and his innocent suffering and death for you. Our names written in the Lamb’s book of life.

And the same Lord Jesus who called his disciples and sent them out as apostles, also calls us his own. Calls us his people. Calls us to receive his gifts of repentance and forgiveness. Calls us receive his Holy Spirit. Calls us to be present with him as he is present with us and for us in his body and blood of the Holy Supper.

Calls us to be his witnesses, to tell others this great story of good news. 

In Jesus’ ascension, the story of His salvation for us continues.

A blessed Ascension day to each of you…

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Sermon for Easter 6: "Overcome"

+ Easter 6 – May 26, 2019 + 

Beautiful Savior Lutheran, Milton

Series C: Acts 16:9-15; Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27; John 16:23-33

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It’s graduation season, and that means we’re bound to hear at least a few farewell speeches. Farewell speeches, whether from valedictorians or presidents, usually include a parting word of wit and wisdom, or instruction and inspiration.

As we heard last week, in John 16, Jesus is speaking to his disciples the Thursday night before Good Friday. Perhaps it helps to think of Jesus’ words like his farewell speech where he prepares, instructs, and comforts his disciples for his coming death and resurrection, for their calling as apostles, and their work of spreading the Gospel. He also prepares, instructs, and comforts us for our life in this world. For our calling as his children as we share the Gospel with our neighbors.

In Jesus’ farewell speech here Jesus has two promises for his disciples and us. 

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation.

You will have tribulation.

How’s that for a promise?!

Put yourselves in the disciples’ sandals. That’s probably not the sort of thing we would expect to hear from Jesus. Not the kind of promise we want to hear even. It is, however, the truth. In this world you will have tribulation.It was true of the apostles. James was beheaded. Peter crucified upside down. Andrew was scourged and hung on an x shaped cross. Every one of them, except John, died a martyr’s death. 

In the world you will have tribulation.

And it’s true of us too. The word tribulation is a physical pressure – like a pressure cooker, to be squeezed and squished. Or like a snake who constricts around its prey. That’s a pretty good description life in this fallen world. So often life seems to press, or weigh down on us. Our own sin, death, disease, sorrow, guilt –squeeze and constrict us. 

We, God’s beloved baptized people, his holy bride the Church live in days of tribulation. Churches in the west decline as American Christianity delivers a Gospel of entertainment rather than the Gospel of Jesus crucified. Churches in Europe, the Middle-East, and Asia are bombed or set afire for the sake of Christ’s name. The world around us is like a thistle head, pointing its prickling daggers at us in every direction. Marriage. Family. The value and care of life from conception to death.

  

In the world you will have tribulation. 

So, what are we Christians to do? Give up? After all, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em? Despair and give up hope? Do we make like King Arthur in Monty Python and run away? 

No. There’s only one option. Cling all the more to Jesus’ promises. For the same Lord who promised “In the world you will have tribulation” also promises:

Take heart (be of good cheer); I have overcome the world.”

Jesus himself was no stranger to tribulation. Jesus spoke these very words to his disciples the day before enduring the greatest tribulation of all – his crucifixion – for his disciples. For the world. For you. 

he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,    and with his wounds we are healed.

On the cross, Jesus let the great serpent constrict and crucify him, so that no one will ever snatch you out of his hands. On the cross, Jesus is defeated by death, so that in his death and resurrection you win the victory. On the cross, Jesus is overcome by our sin, guilt, and shame so that in him you might never be overcome.

Take heart (be of good cheer); I have overcome the world.”

Jesus’ death and resurrection is stronger than anything the devil, the world, or our sinful flesh could throw his way. As Martin Luther once wrote, the “I” in Jesus’ promise to overcome and conquer the world is greater than the “you” that suffers tribulation. 

And just as Jesus came out of the great tribulation of his suffering and death, so too, he will lead us (as he did his apostles) through the tribulation of this life to himself. 

You see, Jesus’ second promise to his disciples, and to you, is greater than the first. It’s true, we will suffer tribulation. And yet, no matter how weak, overwhelmed, or downtrodden we feel, Jesus is victorious in his death and resurrection for you. Jesus is triumphant over sin, death, and the devil for you. Jesus’ promise to his disciples is his promise to you:

Take heart (be of good cheer); I have overcome the world.”

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for Easter 5: "Easter Turns Sorrow Into Joy"

+ 5^thSunday of Easter – May 19, 2019 +

Beautiful Savior Lutheran, Milton

Series C: Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-7; John 16:12-22

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

When you’re buying a house or moving to a new area, you look at the location of the house, the neighborhood it’s in, the surrounding community, the city or town itself, and so on. Your real estate agent will tell you location is everything.

Reading Scripture is no different. Context is everything. When reading and hearing our Lord’s Words it’s helpful to look at the passage(s), the surrounding verses, chapter, book, and so on.

Today’s Gospel reading, and the next two Sundays as well, are all good examples of why context is important. 

Jesus’ words in John 16 were spoken to his disciples in the upper room on Thursday of Holy Week. Before his trial before Pilate. Before his crucifixion. Before his resurrection.

Think of these next three Sundays of Easter like flashbacks in a movie. We’re in the season of Easter, afterJesus’ death and resurrection. We know the end of the story. The disciples in John 16, however, did not expect the story to turn out the way it did. They heard Jesus’ words beforehis death and resurrection.

So, when Jesus told his disciples, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me,” he was talking about his death and resurrection. For a little while, Jesus was betrayed, killed, dead, and buried in the tomb and they did not see him. And again a little while – 3 days to be precise – they saw him raised from the dead and alive again as he promised.

This is also why Jesus tells his disciples, “you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” If Jesus only dies, and the disciples didn’t see him alive again, and Jesus didn’t rise, then there is no joy, no hope, no gift of the Holy Spirit to guide the Jesus’ apostles into proclaiming the faith that we receive today. If Jesus only dies, then sin and Satan win because death has defeated Jesus just as it has been defeating people since Genesis 3. 

But Jesus does not only die. He lays down his life in order that he may take it up again

It’s true, the disciples and the women wept at Jesus’ death while the world rejoiced that the Son of God was crucified, dead, and buried. But it’s also true that the disciples saw Jesus’ hands, and side, and heard his voice speaking “Peace be with you”, and they rejoiced.

For the disciples, joy wasn’t found within themselves, but without, outside. In Jesus’ dying and rising. Easter turns sorrow into joy.

“Well, that’s great for them,” you might be thinking. “But what about us?” “What do Jesus’ words to his disciples then have to say to us today?”

“You will be sorrowful,” Jesus told his disciples. We get that, don’t we?

There’s plenty of sorrow to go around. Plenty of days we don’t feel joyful. Plenty of things to lament and weep over. We live in a world that hates God and opposes his Christ. We live in a world that rejoices more in celebrity, wealth, and power than compassion, mercy, and love. That rejoices when Christians suffer persecution and death. That rejoices when love for our neighbor grows cold. That rejoices when we look for joy within ourselves, or in anything or anyone other than Jesus crucified and risen. 

The world rejoices and we weep. We weep for the world we live in. We weep with worry and uncertainty for the future. We weep for family or friends who have fallen or drifted away from the faith. For family or friends who suffer inexplicably, and seemingly without end. 

And if all that’s not bad enough, we have our own sinful selves to struggle, wrestle, and live with.

So, where’s the joy? 

Easter.

Easter turns our sorrow into joy.

To be sure, in many ways our situation is entirely different from the disciples. We’re in the season of Easter. We live some 2,000 years afterJesus’ death and resurrection. We have different sorrows, worries, and fears.

And yet in many ways it’s the same. We wait. The final Easter has not come. Not yet, anyhow. We find ourselves living in “a little while” for the day when we will see with our own eyes Christ’s return in glory. When we will join Job in seeing our Redeemer in our resurrected flesh. When our joy will be made full, and no one will take our joy away from us.

You see, Easter turns sorrow into joy.

You can go looking for your sins but you won’t find them. Jesus has taken them all – every sorrow, suffering, and sin; all weariness, worry, and wickedness – Jesus has taken it all into his tomb and left them there.

And there is joy. Jesus crucified and risen for you. The joy of Easter is that death cannot hold Jesus, and neither will it hold you. The joy of Easter is that God’s enemies did not win, the world will not win. Sin and death do not get the last word. Jesus does. Does it mean that all our sorrows will instantly turn into joy? No. Not in this life. But one day they will. Easter turns our sorrow to joy.

The joy of Easter is that the same Holy Spirit Jesus sent to his apostles to strengthen and guide them in their calling, he has also sent to dwell with you, poured out upon you, to lead and guide you through the sorrows of this life to true joy in Jesus crucified and risen for you. The joy of Easter is that our Lord who was with his disciples on the night he was betrayed, took bread and wine and gave it to them saying, “this is my body; this is my blood” comes to you today with his crucified and risen body to heal, forgive, and strengthen you in body and soul to life everlasting.

Today and always, Easter turns our sorrow into joy. 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Sermon for Easter 4: "The Good Shepherd's Voice"

+ 4^th Sunday of Easter – May 12^th, 2019 +

Beautiful Savior Lutheran, Milton

Series C: Acts 20:17-35; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:22-30

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There’s a fantastic children’s book we read regularly at our house. Maybe you’ve read it before too, called Are You My Mother?

The story follows a baby bird looking for his mother. Along the way he asks a cat, a hen, a dog, and a cow, a boat, a plane, and a snort, “Are you my mother?” Finally, placed back in the nest by the snort (excavator), the mother bird returns and says, “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, I know who you are. You are not a cat, a dog, a cow, a boat, or a snort. You are a bird. You are my mother.”

The baby bird knows its mother by her voice. Her voice is comforting. Soothing. Nurturing.

The same is true of us, Jesus’ own beloved, baptized children, his little flock.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

The voice of Jesus is the voice of our Good Shepherd, who declares:

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

The Good Shepherd who has washed our robes and made them white in his blood, the blood of the Lamb shed for you.

The Good Shepherd who will guide you to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from your eyes.

The Good Shepherd who declares to you, his flock, I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

As comforting as the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd is, it reveals the uncomfortable truth about us. My sheep hear my voice. Yet we don’t always want to listen, do we?

We’re sheep. And while little lambs are cute, they grow up. They grow stubborn. They wander. They get lost. And they can be downright ornery. “All we like sheep have gone astray”, Isaiah reminds us.

Not a pretty picture, is it? Without a shepherd, sheep scatter, get lost, and are devoured by the wolf. Sheep need protection. Sheep need to be fed and tended. Sheep need a shepherd.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Jesus’ words remind us that the church isn’t a 24-hour fitness for our weekly spiritual weight-lifting; nor is it an auto-body shop to kick out the spiritual dents. The church is a flock of blood-bought sheep who hear the voice of their Lamb and Shepherd calling to them from out of their Baptism.

“And they follow me.” Here, in his sheepfold, we follow Him. We hear His Word. He gives us eternal life, and they will never perish. Death cannot harm you. The devil is no threat to you. Sin and the Law cannot touch you. Though we go through the dark valley of this world, we hear the voice of Jesus calling and leading us. He’s gone ahead of us through death and the grave. He’s risen from the dead, and now like a shepherd calling his sheep to follow him through the valley, He leads us from death to life.

That’s what it means to follow Jesus: to die and rise together with Him, something already declared done to you in your Baptism. It means to walk through the darkness, despair, and danger of this present age fearing no evil knowing that Christ, your Lamb and Shepherd is with you.

The miraculous, outrageously good news is that the Good Shepherd who knows us – knows all our sins, our doubts, disbeliefs, and times we’ve not listened to his Word. - and yet… He loves us anyway. He loves us to death. Jesus the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. For you. And here, in his sheepfold, we hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”      The Good Shepherd calls you his own... “I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” 

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

The Good Shepherd cries out again and again: “I forgive you all your sin, in the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.” And you are absolved – the sin is gone; you are freed from it!  

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Every week we hear the voice and promise of our Good Shepherd: “This is My Body, given for you.  This is My Blood, shed for you.” Jesus gives everything to protect and nourish and nurture His sheep.  He gives Himself! When you hear these blessed words, you are embraced by them, wrapped up in the ultimate and boundless love of Jesus.  You hear His voice – the voice of God’s mercy – the voice of our Good Shepherd who knows you perfectly – better than you know yourself! And He brings you to follow Him!

Other voices may clamor for your attention.  Others may claim to know you. But your loving Savior is your Good Shepherd.  And now and always, He causes you to hear His voice, and He knows you, and you follow Him.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.