Sermon for 1st Sunday in Advent: "Hosanna! Lord, Save Us!"

 + 1^st Sunday in Advent – November 29^th, 2020 +

Series B: Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 11:1-10

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

 

Hosanna is the Palm Sunday word. But it’s also an Advent word. Hosanna. It means “Lord, save us.” A perfect word for our prayers this year. A perfect word for Advent. Hosanna. Lord, save us. This is what Advent is all about. The Lord Jesus coming to save us.

 

Prepare the royal highway, the King of kings is near. The kingly blue paraments are up. The Advent wreath is out. And we hear about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. No, that’s no accident. 

 

The key lies in the word “advent,” from the Latin “adventus,” meaning arrival or coming of a dignitary. It’s the Latin word chosen to translate the Greek word “parousia” which usually refers to the coming of Christ in glory on the Last Day. And that’s the connection. The One who came in humility, riding atop a borrowed donkey, is coming soon. Jesus’ second His advent is near. And in order to rightly understand Jesus’ final advent in glory, we need to understand Jesus’ other advents, including His advent in humility.

 

Surprisingly, a borrowed donkey is the main one of the main characters in this story. It didn’t belong to Jesus or to His disciples. It was just there, just as Jesus said it would be. So, Jesus tells His disciples to untie it and bring it to him. And if anyone should ask, and who wouldn’t ask, especially if you were the owner of the donkey, they were to just say, “The Lord needs it.” So the disciples brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.

 

Here’s yet another surprise in this story. Jesus rides into Jerusalem as a beggar King on a borrowed donkey. You’d think a horse would be more fitting for the occasion. Proper kings rode horses. Egyptian horses were the best. King Solomon loved to collect Egyptian horses almost as much as he loved collecting wives and concubines. But his father, King David, preferred the steady, stable ride of a donkey to that of a horse. So does David’s son and David’s Lord.

 

The crowd picks upon on it. “Hosanna! (Lord, save us!) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” They recognized and hailed Jesus as the Davidic king who was to come, the promised Son of David who would establish David’s throne and kingdom forever. 

There was just one problem, however. Their minds were fixed on an earthly kingdom; on liberation from Roman rule, on reestablishing the proper throne of David, on reviving the glory of Israel and bringing the kingdom of God to the earth. But Jesus’ declares that his kingdom is not of this world. His is no earthly kingdom, but an eternal kingdom that transcends all kingdoms of this earth. He was riding into Jerusalem to die and rise, and in dying and rising to conquer Sin and Death for the world.

No wonder He wasn’t the sort of King people were expected. His advent wasn’t the sort of coming they were looking for: A virgin mother. A manger. A child growing up in Nazareth. A King for a day riding into Jerusalem on a donkey he didn’t own. A cross. A tomb. Not the sort of stuff that kings are made of. Kings have crowns of gold not of thorns. Kings live in palaces and have places to lay their heads. Kings have thrones not crosses. Kings have armies that fight for them. This King comes from above to conquer from below. His victory is His own death and resurrection. He does the fighting and His subjects receive the blessing.

 

That was Jesus’ first Advent. And while we await his final advent, his second coming, still he comes. Jesus advents himself among us. The same Jesus who rode atop a borrowed donkey to make His advent in Jerusalem, makes His advent among us now by way of Word and sacrament. Like his first Advent, it’s hidden and humble one. Jesus borrows our words to speak to us. Jesus borrows our water to baptize us. Jesus borrows our bread and wine to feed us His body and blood. “The Lord has need of them.” Jesus humbly uses the stuff of this creation to bring us a taste of eternity.

 

This is Jesus’ second advent, in which He comes to us to make us His own, to baptize us into His own death and life, to feed us with His death and life, and so to give us a portion and share of what He won for all on the cross. Just like His first advent, this second advent is humble and rejectable. Jesus forces His presence on no one. You can reject it. You can close your ears to the Word preached to you. You can close your mouths to the Supper offered to you. You can live as though you weren’t baptized. That’s your old Adam, who wants to be king over all and subject to no one. That’s the “sinner” at work in you who wants a power king rather than a crucified one, a king who will solve your problems, do you favors on demand, make your life easy.

 

But that’s not why Jesus came. And it’s not why he comes now. Jesus comes to forgive you. To cover your sin with His own sacrificial blood and righteousness. To justify you. He comes to free you from captivity to Sin and Death so that Sin will no longer have dominion over you and Death will not swallow you up. He comes in the power of His victory over Sin and Death, the power of His own Death and Resurrection, to break the chains that hold you down, to liberate you from fear and dread and terror of judgment, to show you God’s mercy and kindness.

 

Hosanna. Lord, save us. That’s what Advent is all about. Jesus comes to save you. Jesus comes to you in the most creaturely and humble of ways. Words spoken into ears, water splashed on your head, than bread and wine given into our mouths. Once He came by way of manger and borrowed donkey. Now He comes to you in borrowed words, water, bread and wine to hear your Hosanna cries and to save you.

 

There’s also a third advent of Jesus. When, instead of a borrowed donkey, Jesus will ride the clouds of heaven. Instead of hidden humility, He will come in glory. Instead of a cross, there will be a throne. For your sin, there will be forgiveness. For your death, there will be life. For your loss, there will be gain and a kingdom that has no end.

 

That is why on this first Sunday in Advent we hear Jesus’ Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. 

That is why it is good to pray, Hosanna. Lord, save us!

A blessed Advent season to each of you…

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

Sermon for Thanksgiving Day: "Thanksgiving in the Wilderness"

 + Thanksgiving Day – November 26^th, 2020 +

Deuteronomy 8:1-10; Philippians 4:6-20; Luke 17:11-19

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

One of the great blessings in reading and hearing the Old Testament is that the more we read the Scriptures the more we discover that, despite living thousands of years apart in a different culture and place, with different languages, we are not all that different from Old Testament Israel. God’s words through His servant Moses reveals just how much we in the new Israel of God’s church have in common with Israel.

 

Remember all that took place in the lives of God’s people leading up to these words in Deuteronomy 8. God’s people suffered 400 years in bondage and slavery in Egypt. God’s people witnessed the 10 plagues that YHWH sent against the Egyptians. God’s people wandered 40 years in the wilderness. Hungry. Thirsty. Anxious. Afraid. Angry. At times so much so that they preferred slavery in Egypt to freedom in YHWH’s promises.

 

I’m sure it was tempting for Israel to think that God had abandoned them just as they feared all along. That he had brought them out into the wilderness to die.

 

Tempting for us to think the same thing as we sit here in 2020, a year that (and this is the PG version) has a dumpster fire for a mascot. Thankfully, 2020 hasn’t lasted anywhere near 400 years, although it sure has felt long, and hard. We’ve watched the news as this dreadful pandemic has swept across our nation, and the world, separating us from those we love most when we want to be near them most. We’ve talked on the phone or waved through a window to friends and family we long to hug and hold close. Many people we know have fallen ill, others have died. We’ve let arguments over politics, masks, and social distancing dominate our hearts and minds and conversations with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ instead of Christ’s love for one another. 

 

To be sure, all these things are far different than what Israel experienced. And yet it’s tempting to think that God has abandoned us, just as Israel feared God had abandoned them. We find ourselves hungering and thirsting, longing for something better. Like Israel we are anxious. Afraid. Perhaps even angry. What could we possibly have to give thanks for this year? 

 

Here again, we have something in common with Old Testament Israel. YHWH sent Moses to tell His people.

 

you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.  And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 

 

In spite of themselves, God loved His people Israel. God never abandoned Israel. God’s people marked their doorposts with the blood of the Passover Lamb. God’s people were released from slavery in Egypt. God’s people God’s people walked through the Red Sea on dry ground and saw the destruction of Pharaoh’s army. God’s people received His commandments and covenant. God fed his people. God gave them water to drink. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 

 

You see, God wasn’t leading Israel aimlessly through the wilderness, he was leading them to himself. To His promised land where one day he would bring about His promised Savior in Jesus. Yes, there was testing and humility and repentance along the way. But more importantly, there was forgiveness, promise, and redemption. Finally, after 40 years in the wilderness God led them to the borders of the promised land. 

 

a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

 

In spite of ourselves, God loves us as well. God has not abandoned you. You are his beloved, blood-bought, baptized people. His new Israel. His holy people. His treasured possession. A kingdom of priests clothed in the holiness and righteousness of Jesus our great high priest. For you have been released from bondage to sin and death forever. The blood of Jesus your Passover Lamb atones for all your sin. You have crossed through the Red Sea of the font. Satan’s chariots lie vanquished. Jesus feeds you not with manna or quail, but with his holy body and blood – the bread of life; the true bread from heaven. 

 

For all the commandments we’ve broken, Jesus was broken in death on the cross for you. For all the times we’ve been anxious, afraid, and angry Jesus stood in the breach of God’s wrath for you. To surround you with his peace. To fill you with his joy. To give you His life. 

 

Yes, there is testing in this life too. In many ways we are still in the wilderness this Thanksgiving, as we await the true and eternal promised land. But the new creation is on the horizon. We’re on the very borders of the new heavens and the new earth. God’s eternal country is in view and even today in 2020, there is much for which we are thankful, just as there was for Israel in Deuteronomy 8.

 

Clothing on our backs. Shoes on our feet. A roof over our heads. Food on our table, in the fridge, and freezer. Family. Friends. And more blessings than we could possibly number.

 

The same is true here in our Lord’s house. We’re surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re gathering into Jesus’ church, a holy ark around us. We have Jesus’ Word, our lamp and light. Jesus’ baptism, our Exodus. Jesus’ body and blood, the true and greater Passover. An everlasting thanksgiving meal. 

 

It’s true; this Thanksgiving day, and every day, we have a lot in common with Old Testament Israel. Especially in Jesus. 

 

In Jesus we receive God’s good and gracious gifts. In Jesus we thank and praise God for his gifts. In Jesus, we lack nothing.

 

A blessed Thanksgiving to each of you…

 

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

Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year: "Son of Man, Shepherd, King"

 + Last Sunday of the Church Year – November 22^nd, 2020 +

Series A: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 2024; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Matthew 25:31-46

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

When the End Times come up in conversations, movies, or stories, it’s depicted as a frightening event. Zombie apocalypse. Alien invasions. Doom and gloom. Death and destruction. Or like the Allstate commercial says…mayhem.

 

And at first, it might sound like Jesus’ teaching of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 is no different. But it is. Matthew 25 is all about Jesus. And if it’s all about Jesus, it’s meant to bring you comfort as we live in the End Times; as we come to this Last Sunday of the Church Year.

 

If we get our End Times theology from the world around us, all we’ll have is despair, dread, and death.

But, if when Jesus gives us His End Times theology, he fills us with joy, hope, and life. On the Last Day, as today, everything depends on Jesus.

 

To be sure, Jesus’ teaching on the sheep and the goats features the same two important ingredients all of his end times teaching: warning and promise. But don’t lose sight of Jesus promise. You are His righteous, beloved sheep. You have inherited a kingdom that God prepared for you from before the foundation of the world.

 

As we hear Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25, he calls us to be like a driver, keep our eyes on the road; like a hiker eyes on the trail ahead; like Luke Skywalker in his x-wing fighter…stay on target. In Matthew 25, Jesus keeps our ears, eyes, hearts, and minds fixed on him and his promises.

 

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 

 

Right away Jesus reveals something important here. Notice that Jesus the Shepherd King doesn’t separate the sheep and goats on the basis of works, on what they’ve done, but rather who they are. Their identity and relationship to the Shepherd. The good works aren’t mentioned until later. 

 

Jesus’ end times teaching always reveal something important. Last week, Jesus revealed himself as the good and gracious master. This week he reveals himself in three Old Testament images. Jesus is the Son of Man of Daniel 7, the promised Messiah who receives an everlasting dominion through his death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus is the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34 who lays down his life for the sheep. Jesus is the King who is crowned with thorns and enthroned on the cross and then rose and ascended to bring you into his kingdom, his good and gracious reign. 

 

Matthew 25 reveals who Jesus is for you. Son of Man. Shepherd. King. And just as important as who Jesus is, is what he does for you. As my English teacher used to say, look at the verbs and the subject.

 

And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 

 

Did you hear the verbs Jesus is doing? Jesus gathers. Separates. Speaks. Blesses. And gives. inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. You don’t work for it. You don’t earn it. It’s a gift. A free gift of life and salvation prepared for you from before the foundation of the world. 

 

Remarkable if you think about it. All the way back in Genesis 1, God had one eye on creation and another fixed on the new creation he is giving you in Jesus. So that when Jesus comes again on the Last Day the judgment will already have happened on the cross. And it did. Jesus was judged in your place. Jesus died the death we had coming. Endured the punishment we deserved. Was separated from the Father as the scape goat for our sin. You are sheep of the good Shepherd-King Jesus- baptized, forgiven, fed, and free. 

 

But what about all that talk about works that the sheep had done and the goats left undone? Notice how Jesus reveals the sheep. For I was hungry, thirsty, naked, and imprisoned and you fed, gave me drink, clothed and visited me. “For” is the key word there. It’s not a cause and effect, as in you did X so God will do Y. But a description of who you are as a member of God’s family, as a sheep in his flock. As a good tree that is rooted in Christ’s tree of life, and so bears good fruit. 

 

Remember, Matthew 25 is all about Jesus. So when we focus on our works, we tend to lose sight of the work of Christ for us. When we focus on the work of Christ, however, the good works will follow. Jesus promises that. 

 

That’s the fundamental difference between the sheep and the goats. That’s why there’s a separation. It’s not about behavior, but belief and unbelief. Whether or not there is faith in Jesus’ promises or rejection. 

 

And that’s where Jesus’ warning comes in. To the goats on his left, Jesus says Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. You see, hell was never meant for people, only for Satan and his angels. God never wanted hell and judgment, which is why he sent Jesus. Sadly, however, some will reject Jesus. Refuse to receive his inheritance. As C.S. Lewis said, there are those who say to God thy will be done, and those to whom God says, “Thy will be done.” He gives the goats what they wanted. A life without him as their shepherd. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

 

Jesus quickly follows up his warning with the promise. You, his righteous, beloved sheep, will enter into eternal life. 

 

On the Last Day, just as today, everything depends on Jesus. In Jesus you are his beloved, righteous sheep. In Jesus there is no condemnation for you, only blessing, life, and salvation. In Jesus you receive the inheritance prepared for you before the foundation of the world, won for you on the cross, and given to you in water, word, body and blood. In Jesus you also do good works prepared by the Good Shepherd. In Jesus we long and pray for his second coming. In Jesus we receive the King’s promise: Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 

 

Come, eat, drink, and be forgiven. Come, pray, praise, and give thanks. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

 

A blessed Last Sunday of the Church Year to each of you…

 

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

 

Sermon for Pentecost 24: "The Good and Gracious Master"

 + 24^th Sunday after Pentecost – November 15^th, 2020 +

Series A: Zephaniah 1:7-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:14-30

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

As I read Jesus’ Parable of the Talents this week, my grade school principal, Mr. Reidl at Trinity Lutheran. Every week he would pick a couple of students from 8^th grade to join him for lunch. That lunchtime invitation – even if you ended up in his office again under less jovial circumstances - gave us a chance to see and know him rightly.

 

Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents that we may see and know Jesus our Master rightly. That Jesus is our good and gracious Master. And that our good and gracious Master calls us to live as His good and gracious servants. 

 

For the reign of heaven will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 

 

One thing is clear from the start of this parable. Jesus isn’t sitting there like Scrooge counting our talents and demanding more, more! No. Jesus’ point is that the Master is good and gracious. Generous. He entrusts 5 talents. Two talents. One. All out of his own pocket. One talent alone was worth roughly 6,000 days’ wages, or 20 years’ salary. What's more, the master is personal in how he gives, and personal in what he gives. Not onerous or burdensome. He gives, “To each according to his ability”. And then he went away.

 

While the master is away, The servant who received 5 talents trades and makes 5 more. The servant who received 2 talents also doubled his master’s money. But the third servant takes his master’s talent and buries it in the ground. Rather strange, don’t you think? Why does the third servant act so differently from the first two servants? Jesus doesn’t reveal the answer just yet. That comes later.

 

After much time the master came to settle his accounts. This is the hinge upon which the story turns. The first two servants bring the master’s talents, along with the extra income they had earned. And the master commends them. Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ The good and gracious master invites them to receive even more of his gifts and joy.

 

Then came the third servant who had received the one talent. ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’

 

At this point, Jesus’ parable sounds like a judgment of works. As if the point of this story was “Work faithfully with what God has given you… or else.” But that’s not it at all. Remember, it’s about the good and gracious master.

 

So, why didn’t this third servant turn a profit? Or do business? After all, he had nothing to lose. It was his Master’s money, not his. And his Master gave no instructions, made no demands, set no profit margin goals. He simply sent out his servants to do business with his property and went away for a while. So why didn’t the third servant that shiny talent and bury it?

The tragedy of this parable is not the servant’s failure to serve. It’s not that he wasn’t faithful enough. It’s that he did not know the master rightly. He thought his master was harsh, cruel, and demanding, when in fact the master is good, gracious, and generous. Jesus’ point is this: to know Jesus our Master and Savior as good and gracious. That he is not a God who demands and takes, but who gives.

 

This is why he is cast out from the master’s presence. A picture of final judgment. Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

 

The master’s words reveal that this third servant feared and rejected his master whereas the first two servants did not fear and loath their master. They knew him rightly. And so, the servant is spurned because he has spurned his master. 

 

Now we begin to see the answer to the question from the first part of this parable. Why the difference between the two kinds of servants? The third servant distrusted and did not know his master. So he refused to do anything at all. He was unfaithful to his identity as a servant, and to his master. I knew you to be a hard man, so I was afraid. 

 

We have this in common with this third servant. Not just our fears, but our failure to see and know Jesus our Master rightly. How often have we looked at what the happens in the world, or what politicians say and do, or the uncertainty of life in a pandemic, or economic worries, or anything else in creation – and think that our Master is cruel and hard and has forgotten us and that we havefailed to see our Master rightly, when in truth, he is good and gracious?

 

Now, if this parable, if the reign of heaven in Jesus, is all about our faithfulness and working for the master, then this would be a sad, miserable story indeed.

 

Thankfully, though, Jesus’ parable of the talents isn’t about our faithfulness or our failures, but about our Master Jesus, who is good and gracious. It’s about the gracious reign of heaven in Jesus.

 

Jesus tells this parable that we might see and know him rightly. Not as a taskmaster, but as our Savior. Not harsh and cruel but good and gracious. That we might see Jesus rightly. 

 

As the Master of all who became the Servant of all, for you. Jesus our perfect Master who was held captive in our sin that we might be his servants. Jesus our Master who was crucified for you so that we his servants are Reckoned. Accounted. Credited as righteous. The books are settled. The debt is paid. It is Finished. We live, just as the first two servants in the parable do – all by God’s generous, abundant grace and favor in Jesus crucified and risen for you.

 

In Jesus we have good and gracious Master who takes all of our fears, failures, and faithlessness and trades places with you on the cross that you receive his peace, love, and faithfulness.

 

In Jesus we have a good and gracious Master who entrusts his own gifts to you that you, like those the first two servants, would live in his love and service to others.

 

In Jesus we have a good and gracious Master who speaks not a word of condemnation, but commends you to the Father. ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 

 

In Jesus we see God rightly as our good and gracious Master. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.

 

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

 

Sermon for Pentecost 23: "Here Comes the Bridegroom"

 + 23^rd Sunday after Pentecost – November 8^th, 2020 +

Series A: Amos 5:18-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

In WW II British soldiers had a saying, “Proper prior planning prevents poor performance.” In other words…be prepared. Good advice in wartime. Or any time, really. Especially as we hear Jesus’ end times parables these last three Sundays of the church year. 

 

“Watch therefore,” Jesus says at the end of this parable, “for you know neither the day nor the hour.” In other words, be prepared. 

 

Here in Matthew 25, in this parable, Jesus is preparing us for his arrival on the Last Day. Everything in this parable – the wise and foolish virgins, the oil, the lamps, the bridegroom, the wedding feast – it all points to this: be ready for Jesus our Bridegroom. He will come. 

 

Unlike Jesus’ other parables, this story begins not in the present, but the future. The reign of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Will be. Future tense. 

 

Jesus is revealing that his kingdom – or rather his reign – is a verb, an action. The reign of God is all of God’s royal deeds, his reigning work seen most clearly in Jesus birth, life, death, resurrection, and his coming again to call us into the wedding feast, the eternal marriage supper of the Lamb.

Jesus is revealing that when he comes to reign in all his fullness on the Last Day, that it will be like this story. The Bridegroom will arrive. Jesus will come again. He may delay. But he’ll be there. And when he does arrive, some will be prepared, and sadly, some will not.

 

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  Wise and foolish is the Old Testament way of saying “believing” and ‘unbelieving.” The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” The wise in Proverbs live in and follow YHWH’s word and ways. The fool does not. The wise live in the wisdom of faith that trusts in the foolishness of God in Christ crucified. The fool lives in the wisdom of the world. The wise lives in the present with an eye to the future. The fool only looks myopically, foolishly at the now.

 

These 10 virgins – sort of like bridesmaids – had one job. To honor and accompany the bridegroom to the wedding feast with light and joy and celebration. to wait. Watch. And be prepared for anything.

 

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 

 

Like good girl scouts, the five wise virgins were prepared. And it’s a good thing too. Because the bridegroom was delayed. No, he didn’t have cold feet. You see, God is never in a rush to judgment. In the days of Noah, God waited over 100 years before sending the flood. In Egypt God sent 10 plagues before the death of the firstborn. In Israel God sent prophet after prophet to his people warning them of their coming exile. The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God desires not the death of the wicked but that they turn and live. God is compassionate. Longsuffering. Desiring repentance and forgiveness. So, the bridegroom delays. 

 

But one day, the Bridegroom will come. The door of the ark was shut. The firstborn of Egypt died. Israel went into exile. 

 

At midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’  Get your lamps. Trim the wicks. Pour some oil. Here comes the Bridegroom! And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 

 

Now, don’t think those five wise gals were being rude. Remember their job. Honor the bridegroom on his way to the wedding feast. Nothing was more important. The five wise virgins were prepared. The foolish ones were not. By the time they could buy oil, if they found any at all, it was too late. The bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the foolish virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 

 

The sad thing about these foolish virgins is that they were invited to the wedding feast. They had a place at the table with their name on it. But they were not ready for the bridegroom’s coming. They failed to know the bridegroom and prepare for him rightly. He invited them, but now He does not know them. ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 

 

Jesus’ parable is a warning. Like those 10 virgins, we find ourselves living in the delay. Jesus the Bridegroom is delayed. This time of delay is a time of preparation. Waiting. Watching. Living in and receiving God’s gifts of repentance. Forgiveness. Faith in Christ. Love for others. We don’t know when Jesus will return, but the Bridegroom will come. And, as in the days of Noah, the door will be shut. 

 

Keep watch, Jesus says, for we know neither the day nor the hour of His coming. In other words, be prepared. To be prepared, in Jesus’ parable, is to be wise. And to be wise is to be in Christ who lived, died, rose, ascended, and reigns for you. 

 

To be wise is to trust in the foolishness of God which is wiser than the wisdom of men: Jesus Christ crucified for you. 

 

To be wise is to live in the grace of the Bridegroom who loves you and gave himself up for you to make you holy, to cleanse you, to present you to the Father as his pure, holy faithful bride. 

 

To be wise is to hear Jesus’ words which are a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. To be wise is to receive His Holy Spirit who anoints you by water and the word. 

 

To be wise is come to the wedding feast God prepares for you in Jesus’ body and blood. Here comes the Bridegroom, in bread and wine, body and blood, for you. In these gifts, we are prepared, or rather, God is preparing us for Jesus our Bridegroom. 

 

Yes, Jesus’s parable is a warning; but it’s also a promise. Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again. And when the Bridegroom comes again it’ll be a party. A wedding feast of joy, light, and life. Jesus our Bridegroom lived and died and rose so that we will be inside those doors, inside his the hall, enjoying his banqueting table. Blessed are you who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

 

Until that day, then, tend to the work of your vocations. Hear God’s Word. Live in your Baptism. Receive Jesus’ Body and Blood. Pray. Praise. And give thanks. Be watchful, be sober, be ready. Here comes the Bridegroom!

 

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

Sermon for the Feast of All Saints: "What is Heard and What is Seen"

+ All Saints’ Day – November 1^st, 2020 +

Series A: Revelation 7:9-17; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

When you read the Scriptures you’ll often notice a difference between what is heard and what is seen.

 

The servants at the wedding at Cana heard Jesus say, “Fill the jars with water…draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” The master saw and tasted good wine made by the Bridegroom himself. The disciples heard Jesus ask Philip where they were going to buy bread for the crowds to eat; they saw more than five thousand people fed from a Jewish boy’s Lunchable. 

 

The same thing is happening in the heavenly vision Jesus gives John in Revelation. In Revelation 7, John hears a number - 144,000. Now, don’t get hung up on the numbers for too long. Like everything in Revelation, they’re symbolic. Twelve times twelve times a thousand. A perfected Israel. A new Israel. Absolute completion. None are missed. None left out. The full number are sealed for salvation. That’s what John hears.

 

What John sees, however, is far different, and far better. A great multitude which no one could number, and not just from Israel, but from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues…

 

What John hears is the promise. What he sees is the fulfillment. What John hears is the preview – a new, completed, restored, perfected Israel. What John sees is the full length-feature film, the Church, God’s new Israel, gathered around the throne of Jesus the crucified yet victorious Lamb. God gives John this vision to reveal. To reveal Jesus’ love and comfort for us who live in a lawless, chaotic world. Jesus’ joy and hope when life is so often full of grief and despair. Jesus’ victory for us who are surrounded on all sides by sin, death, and the devil. 

 

John is given to hear and see the joy and peace and victory that are already ours in Christ, right now, even though we do not yet see this glorious vision. John is given to hear and see this vision that even now we could hear and have hope in what we will one day see when Christ returns. A great multitude standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,  and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

 

This was good news for John’s hearers in the 1^st century. They were fellow believers, many of whom died confessing Jesus to be Christ and Lord. Members of the seven congregations of Asia Minor who were suffering persecution, hardship, even death for the Name of Jesus. The vision is intended for comfort. They faced suffering, fear, persecution, and turmoil. They died in great tribulation, but they are fine. Safe. Sheltered by God Himself, shepherded by the Lamb whose blood cleanses them. Every sadness and sorrow is ended for them. Every tear has been wiped away by the hand of God.

 

We remember them today on All Saints’ Day. We also remember our own dear brothers and sisters in Christ as we read the names of those we love who have died in the Lord. They are there in that host arrayed in white….“these are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

 

This is good news for you too. For like the saints of old, what we see in this life is often far different than what we hear in God’s Word. For us, as for John’s readers, the time of tribulation continues. Think for a moment about this year 2020; a year so many of us looked forward to with longing and hope, and instead it’s turned out more like that nightmare that we can’t wake up from. A pandemic of COVID. A pandemic of fear and uncertainty and despair. Division. Suffering. Persecution. Turmoil. Unrest. Economic worries. Employment concerns. Since 2020 hasn’t been crazy enough, why not throw in a contentious election. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

 

Revelation was written for days like these. To give us peace in Jesus who conquered sin and death and the devil for you. Revelation 7 comforts us so that no matter what this fallen world throws at you – pandemic, pain, persecution, or one bad news story after another – You have God’s word. You have his promise. You have Jesus. And he holds you. And he’s not letting go. Revelation 7 reassures you that no matter who’s in power – be it an emperor or a president – no matter who sits in the oval, the Lamb is on his throne. Revelation reminds us not to let the donkeys or elephants or COVID, or anything in all creation take your eyes and ears off the Lamb. For Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”  Rest assured that 2020 is no match for the crucified, risen, victorious, and reigning Lamb of God. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. 

 

And even though you may not see or feel it right now…you are a part of holy assembly John saw in Revelation. You are clothed in white robes. You are washed in the blood of the Lamb. You are his saints. And one day your eyes will see what your ears hear today. Yes, for now, we still live in the great tribulation, but you are fine. Safe. Sheltered by God Himself. Shepherded by the Lamb who feeds you and heals you in his body and blood. Who covers, clothes, and shields you in water and Word in his robe of righteousness. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of ^[a]God! And so you are.

 

On this All Saints’ Day we remember God’s promises spoken to the saints of old, and the promises he still speaks to you today. You are forgiven all your sins. Take eat, take drink. This is my body. This is my blood given and shed for you. 

 

On this All Saints’ Day we give thanks to God for the life and faith of the faithful departed, and for the life and faith he has sealed upon you and daily works in you in Holy Baptism. 

 

On this All Saints’ Day we rejoice with John and all the saints. “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

 

For the day is coming when our ears and eyes will hear and see the Lamb on the throne and we’ll join the saints in their endless hymn – free of pain, sorrow, tears, and yes, free of masks and social distancing. The former things will be forgotten and death will be no more. 

 

The day is coming when all our mourning and weeping in this life will be gone, and all we’ll hear and see instead will be the roar of joy and mirth as a multitude of guests gather like a great family reunion at the wedding feast of the Lamb. 

 

The day is coming when we will hear and see what John heard and saw, and with all the saints we shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 

 

And yours. 

 

A blessed All Saints’ Day to each of you…

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