Sermon for Pentecost 4: "A Sword That Brings Peace"

+ 4^th Sunday after Pentecost – June 28^th, 2020 +

Series A: Jeremiah 28:5-9; Romans 7:1-13; Matthew 10:34-42

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

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

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.” Matthew 10:34-42

Jesus’ words are full of seeming contradiction. Jesus, the Prince of Peace who promises “Peace, I leave you, my peace I give to you” says to His disciples, “I have not come to bring peace to the earth but a sword.” This is not what we expect Jesus to sound like. 

And if that isn’t shocking enough, Jesus turns up the heat. He goes on…

³⁵ For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[c]

³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

What does all of this mean? Remember the context here. Jesus is sending out his disciples, his apostles. Jesus has warned them of the persecution that is coming. He’s taught them they need not fear because they are of more value than many sparrows. He’s promised to be with them. And now he is teaching his disciples – then and now - that nothing can come between us and Him, because without Him we will lose everything, including our own lives. Jesus places Himself over every human relationship. So, to love another more than Christ is to make that person, whether  they are father, mother, son, or daughter into an idol. Idols always crumble under the pressure of being our gods. They will disappoint us; they will fail to live up to our expectations; and ultimately they cannot save us.

But the sword of Jesus isn’t quite done yet. The sword that brings division must divide us even from ourselves. “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Crosses kill. They stand for our death. The cross is not simply the little bumps, bruises, and inconveniences of this life. The cross is our death. Jesus is telling His disciples and all who would follow Him that to follow Him means losing all in order to gain it all. Everything we are, and everything we have in this life, must be nailed to the cross with Christ. We must literally become nothing so that Christ might be everything. 

“Whoever finds life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This is the key and the heart of faith. Where do you find your life? In yourself, your achievements, your abilities, your riches? You will lose it. To find our life in the things of this world is to find a life doomed to die with the things of this world. But to lose your life in the world for the sake of Christ, to die with Him and be joined to His cross, is to find the one real life who is the Life.

Christ must be at the center. Not somewhere in our top ten list – but at the top, the heart, the center. Christ must get between father and son, mother and daughter, between each and every one of us. Christ must stand in the breach or there will be no true and lasting peace. 

These last few months, especially these past few weeks have revealed our longing for peace. A true and lasting peace. We want peace in our world, in our communities, in our families. The trouble is we want peace in our terms, according to our agenda. We seek peace in the security of wealth, thinking that if only we had enough for tomorrow and the next day and the next year, we could have a measure of peace today. But there never is enough, and each new acquisition brings with it new anxiety.

We seek peace in solitude, in isolation from others, thinking that if we could just insulate ourselves from the negative impact and energy of others, then we could have some measure of peace within ourselves. So, we wall ourselves behind little glowing screens, ignoring the real world around us with its real people in favor of a virtual world we think we can control.

We seek peace within ourselves, urged on by the notion that peace means “feeling good about ourselves.” And wherever we turn, no matter how loudly the prophets of peace shout “Peace, peace” there is no peace. 

The only way to peace is the shed blood of Jesus. This is no cheap or temporary peace that Jesus is speaking of here. No half-hearted, comfortably complacent peace worked out by compromise. This is peace that comes with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, a sharp two-edged sword of Law and Gospel that both kills and makes alive, that opens the wound and heals it. 

The sword Jesus brings is a sword that touched Him as well. His cross comes first, then your cross. His death comes first, then your death. It was for the sake of our sin and our salvation that He came under the Law, that He refused the easy peace of compromise with this world. The sword divided Father from Son. The sword put His mother Mary at the foot of His cross and pierced her soul with grief. The sword caused Jesus to experience the God-forsakenness of our humanity, the darkness of God’s wrath, the suffering of our sin. He took up His cross to lead humanity through death to life. It’s the only way for a sinner to live before God and that is to die with Jesus. Not simply to die. Everyone does that sooner or later. But to die with Jesus. To take up your cross, your death, and follow Jesus in the way He goes, namely through death to eternal life.

This is what he gives you in your Baptism. You are the body of Christ. Your life is not your own. You belong to Christ, wholly and completely.  

And only in Christ can there be peace in the family, peace in the world, peace in your hearts and minds. He didn’t come to bring the world’s notion of peace. He came to bring a sword, the sword of His cross. And by that sword, you have a peace the surpasses your understanding, a peace the world cannot give, a peace the goes on forever.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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

Sermon for Pentecost 3: "Have No Fear"

+ Pentecost 3 – June 21^st, 2020 +

Series A: Jeremiah 20:7-13; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:5, 21-33

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

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

The year was 1933. Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office on March 4^th. And in his first inaugural speech he said those most famous words, that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. 

Admittedly, the quote sounds a bit odd at first. But President Roosevelt said those words because in 1933 people were face to face with very real fears. A massive, global economic crisis. The Great Depression. The National Socialist Party rose from the ashes of the so called war to end all wars. Given all that was going on the world then, fear is understandable. It’s not hard to imagine why many people were afraid.

The year was roughly 30 A.D. Jesus has begun to teach his disciples. He has prepared them to be laborers in his harvest. Called them as heralds of his gracious rule and reign. Jesus sends them out at first to the lost sheep of Israel, and then to the ends of the earth. And yet Jesus sugarcoats nothing for his disciples. He sends them out not only to sheep but as sheep in the midst of wolves. The very fact that Jesus tells his disciples – then and today – to “have no fear” is a very real and sobering reminder that there will be much to fear. 

Jesus’ disciples – then and now – will be hated.  Ridiculed. Mocked. Persecuted. Betrayed. Martyred. There will be suffering. Tribulation. Take up your cross and follow me. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

And yet, Jesus says, “Have no fear.” It’s so important that Jesus says, “have no fear” not once, but three times. 

Jesus says to his disciples – then and now - Have no fear of those who oppose Christ. For one day all men’s hidden sin and rebellion will be made known. Seen for what it is. 

Jesus says to his disciples – then and now - Have no fear for even the worst persecution cannot destroy your relationship with the Father.

Jesus says to his disciples – then and now - Have no fear in the midst of persecution or suffering because if our heavenly Father knows and cares for creatures as small and insignificant as sparrows, how much more will he care for you.

The year, is 2020. And once again there is much to fear. Political rancor and turmoil. A pandemic and all the disease and isolation and destruction that has come along with it. Economic uncertainty. Injustice and unrest across our country. And each of us could probably name a whole host of other fears to add to our list

And yet, as great as our fears may be, Jesus crucified and risen is greater than our fears. That’s Jesus’ word of comfort in Matthew 10 for his disciples then and now. 

²⁶ “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 

Jesus reveals one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith. That though the reign and rule of God is here and present in Jesus, only the eyes of faith can see it. Like Hebrews 11 and all the Old Testament saints who have gone before us – by faith in what was promised in Jesus, even when it wasn’t seen. It’s true for us too. The eyes of faith are in your ears. For though we see what looks like the world falling apart around us. Faith hears the word and promise of Christ. Have no fear. You have Jesus’ Word. Have no fear. For you are not under the law but under grace. Have no fear for if you suffer cross and trial, know that Christ has already suffered for you in your place. And suffers with you still. 

This is the good news that Jesus calls his disciples – then and now – to proclaim on the housetops, on the internet, in your life with your friends, family, and neighbors.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

At first this doesn’t sound very comforting, but it is meant to be. For Jesus’ disciples, especially in the first century, the fear of persecution and death was very real. But even the worst persecution, says Jesus, cannot snatch his disciples out of the Father’s hands. The enemies of Christ’s church can physically kill his disciples. They cannot, however, go any farther. do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. You belong – soul and body – to Christ. And not even death can separate you from his love. As we confess in the small catechism, we fear, love, and trust in God above all things. But even that is based on God’s love for us. Like Jeremiah, we rejoice that the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me.” 

Whatever our fears may be – Christ has overcome them all by being overcome by them on the cross, along with our greatest fears of sin and death. as great as our fears may be, the death and resurrection of Jesus are far greater than our fears. 

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[i] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 

Jesus’ third “have no fear” is just as comforting as the previous two. Two sparrows could be bought for 1/16^th of a denarious – a day’s wage. About a half an hour’s work today. Jesus’ point is that sparrows are cheap. And yet none of them fall to the earth without the Father knowing about it. And if you think that’s good news, even the hairs your head are numbered.

Does this mean Jesus’ disciples – then and now – will never suffer evil or persecution? No. Far from it. It means, rather, that when suffering and persecution come our way that you are always under the Father’s loving, gracious care. That no matter how dark the world looks, Jesus Christ is light of the world. That no matter how grim the valley of the shadow death grows around you, your good shepherd leads the way. That no matter what it is you fear, Jesus will not leave you alone, abandon you, nor forsake you

Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. You are of such great value that God took on human flesh to save you. To suffer with you and for you. To bear in his body on the cross all your fears. To bury in his tomb all our sin and death. To rise again, ascend, and rule and reign so that today, tomorrow, and the day after that he would say to you. “Have no fear.” 

In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen. 

Sermon for Pentecost 2: "Seen, Loved, Gathered, Sent"

+ Pentecost 2 – June 14^th, 2020 +

Series A: Exodus 19:2-8; Romans 5:6-15; Matthew 9:35-10:8

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

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

A sprint runner spends hours perfecting her starting position. A chess player starts a match with a particular strategy in mind. A wise man builds his house on a rock instead of sinking sand. 

How you start something is often just as important as how it is finished. 

It’s no different in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 9. There’s an episodic movement in this section of Matthew’s Gospel as he begins a new discourse on Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus sees the crowds. Jesus has compassion on the people. Jesus gathers the Twelve. Jesus sends out his apostles. And it all begins with God’s graciousness revealed in Jesus. 

Before Jesus sends he gathers. Before Jesus gathers he has compassion. Before Jesus’ compassion her sees the people. Before Jesus sees, he is gracious. It all begins with God’s graciousness in Jesus.

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ³⁶ And he saw the crowds, 

This may sound like an insignificant detail, but it’s not. Jesus saw the crowds. He noticed. Acknowledged them. So many people go through life wondering if anyone ever really notices them or cares about them, if anyone sees them. Jesus sees the crowds. 

Matthew says that the crowds were harassed and helpless – or more literally, whipped and flayed or thrown and tossed about. He noticed they were like sheep without a shepherd. No protection. No provider. No true peace. 

Matthew’s description of the crowds could’ve been ripped right from today’s headlines. Some are tossed about by injustice, grief, and abuse of authority. Others are flayed by disease, economic strain, and isolation. All of us are harassed and tossed about and beaten down by our own sinful inclinations to respond in anger, fear, and self-righteousness. And the problem with our sin, of course, is that all we prefer to see is our own reflection. To gaze inward on ourselves instead of outward to the neighbor. 

Such a difference from how Jesus sees. Jesus sees the crowds. Sees their helplessness. And Jesus does not turn his face away. As helpless as we are and as ugly as our sin is, Jesus sees us and saves us by his grace.

And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Having seen the crowds, Jesus has compassion on them. Our Lord’s compassion is more than an emotion. It is a gut-wrenching movement to action. Compassion literally means to suffer with someone. And that’s what Jesus does. Even before his suffering on the cross for us, Jesus suffers with the crowds. Jesus suffers with you. Jesus’ compassion isn’t just a past event, when he suffered on the cross for you. Jesus’ compassion is present tense. Jesus suffers with you even now. 

Jesus sees the crowds. Jesus has compassion. Then Jesus gathers. Jesus gathers the Twelve. 

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.

Notice that Jesus gathers and prepares to send out the Twelve apostles not with their own authority, but with his authority. Where they go, Jesus goes. When they speak, Jesus speaks. When they care and heal and teach, Jesus is caring, healing, and teaching. It’s a preview of what Jesus will say and give his whole church at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, as we heard last week. Jesus’ authority and gifts and presence. Jesus’ holy Word, holy Absolution, holy Baptism, and holy Supper. All given to us by his authority, and full of his graciousness towards us. 

This is what Jesus did for the Twelve and what he does for us too. Jesus gathers. Jesus gathers us to hear his Word. Jesus gathers us into his body the church. Jesus gathers us into the family of God in Baptism. Jesus gathers us in communion with his body and blood. Jesus gathers to give, and he gathers to send us out as well. 

Jesus sent out the Twelve. 

“Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’^[c]8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,^[d] cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

Jesus sent the Apostles to do what he had come to do: To see, to have compassion, to gather, and to send.That’s the pattern. And we see that throughout the Gospels and into the book of Acts. And though the apostles’ calling was unique and though our vocations are quite different, there is still a similar pattern. 

Jesus calls us to see others around us as fellow creatures of a loving, gracious God who saw our need and sent Jesus to save us. Jesus calls us to have compassion on those we know who are helpless. To bear one another’s burdens as so many of you have been doing these past several months. To speak Jesus’ word of life and grace in his compassionate death for us. Jesus calls us to gather around his Word, and to receive his gifts in water, word, body and blood. And Jesus continues to send us by his grace to proclaim his grace that God shows his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

From beginning to end and every day in between, your life is surrounded by God’s graciousness in Jesus. 

In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.

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

Sermon for Trinity Sunday: "Jesus' Authority, Gifts, and Presence"

+ Trinity Sunday – June 7^th, 2020 +

Series A: Genesis 1:1-2:4; Acts 2:14, 22-36; Matthew 28:16-20

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

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

It was the summer of 1961. The Green Bay Packers had lost the 1960 NFL championship to the Philadelphia Eagles. A new season was on the horizon. And Vince Lombardi began their training camp with five memorable words. “Gentlemen, this is a football.”

The message was simple, clear, and effective. To win, the Packers had to go back to the basics. To the essentials. To the core. To the fundamentals.

Trinity Sunday is one of those kinds of days for the Christian Church. A day of fundamentals.

It is a day where we confess one of the fundamental mysteries of the Christian faith, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity. It is a day where we rejoice in God’s saving name placed upon us and in us as we are baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It is a day when Jesus calls us, as he called his 11 disciples in Galilea, to continually go back to the basics, to the essence, the core, the fundamentals of the Christian faith. 

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

And yet before Jesus does anything, before he says anything to his disciples, notice how he finds them in Galilea. They worshiped him, but some doubted. Now, Matthew doesn’t tell us what they were doubting. And maybe that’s intentional. Left open ended for our sakes. Whatever their doubts were – whatever our doubts are – Jesus comes all the same. Jesus came to his disciples to keep them grounded in what is fundamental: Jesus’ authority, Jesus’ gifts, and Jesus’ presence.

It is the same for the church today. Jesus comes and joins us in our doubt-filled minds, our despair clouded hearts, our diseased bodies, our broken world, and he grounds us in what is fundamental, what is the heart and life of our life in Christ: Jesus’ authority, Jesus’ gifts, Jesus’ presence.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned these past several months it’s how little control we actually have in life. And this is a painful lesson to learn. After all, we like to be in control. In charge. Like Frank Sinatra sang, we like to do it my way.” We’re no different than our first parents, Adam and Eve, foolishly thinking we have some kind of rule and authority and wisdom that is our own, apart from God. And yet Scripture reveals that so-called human authority and control is one painful, sad episode after another. Cain murders Abel. Abraham passes off his wife Sarah as his sister. Jacob steals the birthright from his brother. Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery. Israel fashions a golden calf for an idol. David kills Uriah and takes his wife for his own.

What’s truly remarkable in all of this, however, is not the depths of sin to which our sinful use of authority has fallen, but the far greater depths of God’s mercy in Jesus. While we use our authority selfishly, Jesus – the one who has all authority in heaven and on earth - uses it not for his own sake, but for ours. Jesus teaches and forgives sin with his authoritative, life-giving word. Jesus places himself under the earthly authority of Pontius Pilate to take on our punishment, sin, and death. Jesus is given the authority to lay down his life and take it up again, not for himself, but for you. Jesus exercises his authority in his love for you. 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

Jesus’ authority gives way to Jesus’ gifts. Baptism. Teaching. Holy Water. Holy Words. His holy gifts for his disciples, for his church, for you. Jesus’ gifts are fundamental to who we are as his people. We are baptized into the holy name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is of course a profound mystery – that the eternal God, the Holy Trinity, would work for and save and promise to dwell with us in a very personal way in baptism. And yet that’s precisely what he does. When you are baptized in that holy name, you are baptized into everything that God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – has done for you. The Father’s merciful creation and sending of his Son Jesus. Jesus’ birth. Jesus’ perfect life. Obedience to the Father. His life laid down for you. His rising from the dead for you. His ascending and ruling at the right hand of God for you. His sending of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s life-giving breath that fills you and makes you a new creation. It’s all there in that holy name into which you are baptized. 

This is also why we take time to confess the Athanasian Creed today. For the life of the baptized is a life of being taught our Lord’s words, receiving and confessing his words. Living in his words that we would love others has he has loved us.

I’m sure when the disciples heard Jesus’ words they wondered…how are we going to do all this? It all sounds so overwhelming

And yet Jesus’ promises: I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus promises his presence along with his gracious authority and his life-giving gifts. As the disciples went from Galilea to Jerusalem to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. As they faced persecution, imprisonment, and martyrdom. Jesus’ words remained. I am with you. Always.

Jesus promises the to us as well. I am with you. In the face of a pandemic and lockdowns. In the face of racial injustice and civil unrest. In fear and uncertainty. In doubt and despair. In sin and death. I am with you always.

Despite all appearances to the contrary, the risen Christ is Lord over all. You have his authority. His gifts. His presence. His promise. I am with you always.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon for Pentecost Sunday: "The God Who Speaks"

+ The Day of Pentecost – May 31^st, 2020 +

Series A: Numbers 11:24-30; Acts 2:1-21; John 7:37-39

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

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

From the beginning of Scripture God reveals himself to us as the God who speaks. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 

God spoke to Adam in the Garden giving them life, and promising their rescue from their fall into sin. God spoke to Noah and saved him and his family through the flood waters, safe in the ark. God spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob delivering His holy covenant to bless all nations. God spoke to Moses in the burning bush about the His deliverance to come in the exodus. God spoke to his people Israel from Mt. Sinai, thundering the Law yet also declaring his covenant with them. God spoke to Moses again, in Numbers 11, as he poured out his Spirit on the 70 elders of Israel – a foretaste of the Pentecost feast to come in Acts 2. 

God reveals himself to us as the God who speaks. And when God speaks something extraordinary happens. God’s word creates. God’s Word does what he says. God’s Word is an event. When he speaks things happen. Creation is made. Lame men walk. Blind men see. Dead men rise. 

All of this forms a verbal backdrop for the day and festival of Pentecost we celebrate today. A day when the good news of salvation in Jesus goes out to all nations, people, and languages. A day when Jesus sends the promised Holy Spirit to fill the Church with his promise and peace. A day when the sin of Babel, and the scattering of God’s people is reversed – each person hearing the good news in their own language. 

A day when God reveals himself to us as the God who speaks. God’s people were gathered together. They heard a sound like a mighty rushing wind. They saw the tongues of fire. The Holy Spirit filled their mouths and they spoke.  

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? —we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

On that first Pentecost, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit just as He promised. As the disciples spoke, God’s word was spoken. As it always is in Scripture, God spoke his Law that cut the hearers to the heart. The same is true for us as well.

For if God’s speaking reveals his desire for mercy, when we speak, all too often we reveal our sinfulness. Like Adam we war and rebel against and disobey God’s word. Like the world in Noah’s day, our words are full of wickedness and evil. Like Moses we doubt God’s word. Israel we follow our own will and words and desires rather than God’s word. We find ourselves in good company with the Pentecost crowds. They had crucified Jesus – not just physically, but spiritually as well. It was their sin, just as it was our sin, that nailed him to the cross. This painful reality cuts us to the heart too. 

Thankfully, this is not God’s only word for us on Pentecost. Yes, when God speaks, he reveals and exposes our sin. But he also does much more. Something greater. Something that our words simply cannot do. When God speaks God creates. God saves. God rescues, redeems, and restores us. God speaks and simple water becomes a river of life in Holy Baptism. God speaks and ordinary bread and wine become a holy meal of Jesus’ body and blood. God speaks and in the promise of Absolution, all our sin is forgiven.

When our Lord speaks something extraordinary happens. Jesus’ words create life out of death. Jesus words bring peace into our strife. Jesus’ words bring comfort to our sorrows. Jesus’ words bring us the truth that answers our doubts. Jesus pours out his Spirit to fill us with life and light and love. This is what our Lord was doing that first Pentecost: pouring out his Spirit, his Word, his life – his speaking. And in his speaking, doing and giving what he promises.

For when God speaks, he is pouring out upon you his grace and mercy to you won for you by Jesus on the cross and delivered to you by the Holy Spirit. 

You are like Adam, only better – a new creation baptized into Christ Jesus as God spoke his word of promise over you: I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

You are like Noah, only better, saved from the wicked world around by a lavish flood of forgiveness and washing of the Holy Spirit that places you in the safety of Christ’s holy ark, the Church.

You are like Moses and Israel, delivered and redeemed in a greater exodus that Jesus accomplished for you in his death and resurrection. God speaks to you – not in a burning bush or a pillar of fire and smoke – but in his holy Word that you read, hear, and sing. 

You are like those attending the very first Pentecost hearing God speak in his promises this day, as we declare the mighty works of God. The mighty works his Word – his speaking accomplishes. 

Today on Pentecost, and always, our Lord is the God who speaks. And when he speaks he saves you.

A blessed Pentecost to each of you…

In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.