Exaudi - The Seventh Sunday of Easter

(Audio)

John 15:26 – 16:4; 1 Peter 4:7-14; Ezekiel 36:22-28

 

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

This past Thursday marked forty days since the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord, a day the Church commemorates as the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. The Feast of the Ascension is no minor festival. Indeed, it is as key and crucial to our faith, life, and salvation as is the incarnation, death, and resurrection of our Lord. Jesus’ Ascension has serious meaning and implications for us.

First and foremost, Jesus’ Ascension is His coronation as King of the universe. Jesus is not merely King of the Jews, as the sentence against Him proclaimed as He hung on the cross, but Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Moreover, Jesus shares His kingship with you for whom He died. For, it is your fleshthat He has assumed and redeemed, and it is your flesh that He raised from death and which has ascended. Indeed, it is a man, the True Man, who sits at the right hand of God the Father, in the fullness of His glorious and holy presence, interceding for you, as flesh of your flesh and bone of your bone. Therefore, the Ascension of Our Lord is the Ascension of Man; it is your ascension – the sign, guarantee, and living proof that you have been redeemed, forgiven, justified, and restored to sonship and communion with God.

And yet, the Ascension of Our Lord means even more than that. For, to where, and to whom, has He ascended, but to the right hand of the Father in heaven? However, the right hand of the Father is no more a physical location in space and time than does our spiritual Father have a physical right hand, but the right hand of the Father is a designation of favored status given to Jesus, who has done all things well, who has now ascended beyond space and time, that He might fill all things. Thus, you have something which the Apostles and disciples, who ate and drank with Jesus and listened to His teachings from His own mouth with their own ears, could only dream of – you have Jesus present with you, in communion with you, all the time! For, you are baptized into His death and resurrection, and you eat and drink His flesh and blood so that you may remain in Him, and He in you, that you may bear much fruit.

For, it is not that Jesus is there and therefore cannot be here, but it is that He is there, and here, and everywhere. However, He is not present as a disembodied spirit, as a ghost, or as energy, as many believe, but He is present in His resurrected and glorified flesh and blood body and soul, as True God and True Man. He is present incarnationally and sacramentally, in His Word and in His Sacraments, that you may hear, see, touch, taste, wear, eat, drink, and commune with and in flesh and blood and bone. How? By the power that enables Him to subdue all things unto Himself. Why should you believe this? Because it is the Word and the promise of God. This Word is Truth, beyond all reason, wisdom, and understanding of men. If it is difficult to understand, it is none the less True. If it confounds or conflicts your reason, it is none the less True. If it is a mystery too bright to behold, too deep to plumb, it is none the less True. For, Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, and Jesus is the Truth and the only path to God.

Therefore, after His Ascension, He poured out upon His Church the Holy Spirit of God, just as He promised, to help and counsel and comfort you, and to guide you to the Truth, to Jesus. The Holy Spirit bears witness about Jesus. He creates faith in you, and sustains and keeps you in the True Faith. The Holy Spirit makes you to be witnesses to Jesus, that is, martyrs for Jesus, holding to and professing God’s Truth even amidst the scorn, disdain, and persecution of the world. For, a witness is a martyr – literally, that’s what the Greek word translated as witness in the Scriptures means. And, you are martyrs for and because of Jesus when you die to yourself and live for others and for Him. You die to yourself by placing the needs of others before your own. You die to yourself by putting away selfishness, jealousy, and greed, anger and thoughts of revenge. You die to yourself when, instead of acting selfishly, you are self-controlled and sober-minded, loving one another earnestly, showing hospitality to one another without grumbling, serving one another and using the gifts and blessings God has given you for the benefit of others to the glory of God. And, when the fiery trial comes upon you, receive it as a test and find your strength in Jesus, whose sufferings you share in, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.

And, since it is Mother’s Day, permit me to use motherhood as an object-lesson of the selfless, self-sacrificial love that you are all called to through faith in Jesus Christ. It goes without saying that mothers are both receivers and givers of life. For, a woman only becomes a mother when she receives a living seed that comes from outside of her. However, when that seed is received, in accordance with the Lord’s will, she conceives and is made to be a partner in giving life – she is made to be fruitful, and her own body and life is given in selfless service to the nourishment, protection, and development of that new life. In this way, motherhood is an object and an example of Christian faith and love which is expressed outward, not inward, for the sake of others, to the glory of God. Indeed, this is why the Church reveres and holds Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, in veneration, for she selflessly received the gift of life in God’s Word, believing it, even though she did not fully understand it, and kept it in accordance with God’s Will.

Yet, motherhood is but one object and example out of many. For, as not all women are or will become mothers, you Christians will not all witness, serve, and glorify God in Christ Jesus in the same way. There are as many ways to serve others and to suffer with Christ as there are brothers, sisters, neighbors, and enemies to lay down your life for in selfless, sacrificial love and service. Therefore, today we give thanks to God for the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ and for the promised sending of His Holy Spirit to call, enlighten, sanctify, and keep us in faith in Jesus Christ, even as we give thanks to Him for the gift of motherhood through which He gives us life and blesses us with His rich gifts, providing us an example of the selfless, sacrificial love He calls us to in Jesus. And, we give thanks for God’s Word, which is Truth and Life, and for His gifts of the Holy Sacraments, through which we are brought to faith, are sanctified and kept in faith, are nourished and strengthened in faith, and are richly and daily forgiven our sins that we may love, as we have been loved, laying down our lives for any and all whom God sets before us, to the glory of His Name.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord

(Audio)

Mark 16:14-20; Acts 1:1-11; 2 Kings 2:5-15

 

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

Today is the fortieth day of Easter, the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. Sadly, Ascension is a day in the church year that doesn’t get a lot of attention, most likely because Ascension will never have the good fortune of falling on a Sunday. It always falls on a Thursday. It’s just math, the way the calendar works. As a result, many Christians don’t really know or understand what the Ascension is all about, what its significance is. Therefore, it is meet, right, and salutary that we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord on its proper day and seek to discover what it means that Jesus ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

First most, the Ascension should not be understood as the departure of our Lord, as if our Lord is gone from us and is in another place. The Ascension must not be understood as a spatial event, where Jesus is simply traveling from one location to another. Years ago, an atheist Russian cosmonaut who was orbiting the earth said, “I don’t see Jesus up here anywhere. God must not exist.” We know, however, that heaven is not simply a spatial location above the stratosphere, but heaven is that unseen realm where God is, an eternal and infinite realm that is not limited to space or time.

We know from the Scriptures that God is present everywhere and at all times, and, therefore, so is His right hand present everywhere and at all times. So, when we confess that Jesus ascended bodily to the right hand of the Father as true God and true man, we are not saying that He has left us, but rather that He has entered into the unseen glory of His heavenly Father and is no longer visible to our eyes. So it is that St. Paul writes in Ephesians, Jesus “ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things” in heaven and on earth. The Ascension of Our Lord, then, emphasizes not Jesus’ absence, but rather His presence, His presence especially for the Church and in the Church.

Jesus ascended to be with us always. And don’t gloss over the fact that Jesus ascended in the flesh. For that’s the key thing here. It’s not just that Jesus fills all things as true God. He also fills all things as true man. Jesus is present, not just spiritually, but bodily as well. So, if you want to come into the presence of Christ, you must seek Him according to His human nature, in those concrete places where He makes Himself tangibly present for you. Although you can’t see Christ, you can hear Him whenever His Word is preached and taught in its truth and purity. Although you can’t behold Christ visibly, you can come into contact with Him wherever His Sacraments are rightly administered. It is through these real, physical, visible means that the hidden Jesus is perceived and grasped by the faithful.

So, the question that must be asked is, “Do we properly recognize this reality of Christ’s presence? Especially when we’re gathered for the Divine Service, do our actions confess this truth of our faith?” Very often the answer is “No.” When a person comes into the real presence of the King of kings and the Lord of lords, clearly the appropriate attitude would be one of reverence and holy awe. And yet people often come into church without bowing to the altar of the Lord or honoring Him in any way. They plop down in the pew with no sense of humility for where they are and even begin to carry on conversations as if they were at a social gathering or a party.

And many services themselves are conducted as if Christ is not really here, but away in heaven somewhere while we’re doing our own things down here on earth. Why else would it be that the sacred liturgy of Christ would be treated so indifferently, sometimes being discarded altogether in favor of services that focus not on what Christ is doing for us but on what we are doing for Him? Why else would it be that the real proclamation of Christ’s living words is sometimes replaced with so-called “drama ministry,” which by definition is pretend and not the real voice of Christ? Why else would it be that churches so readily accept this kind of “spiritual” entertainment and musical performing that is more fitting for a theater than for a house of the living God? It’s even gotten to the point where clowns are being used in worship; there are blues services and rap liturgies! Tell me, is that how people conduct themselves when they truly believe they’re in the presence of royalty, standing before the very King of creation?

Ultimately all of this betrays our unbelief in the truth of the Ascension, our disregard for the real presence of Christ in His preaching and in His Supper. Therefore, let us repent of our lack of faith. And let us learn again of the marvelously comforting reality of the Ascension, a reality that is still in effect for us today. For, just as the watery cloud received Jesus, so also Jesus is truly present in the waters of Holy Baptism to cleanse you by His Spirit and make you a child of God. Just as the two men in white spoke the words of God to the disciples as they looked up, so also ministers are sent by the Lord precisely for the purpose of being His mouth and His voice, to speak the Gospel of forgiveness right into your ears in His stead and by His command. And just as it was the body of Christ that ascended, so also does He give His very Body and Blood into your mouth in, with, and under the bread and wine, that you may be partakers of His life. Christ Jesus, who fills all things, is literally present in the flesh in His Church to fill you with His mercy.

The risen Lord comes to you in this way in order that you might share with Him in His Ascension and in His divine majesty. In fact, Jesus took on your human nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary precisely so that you would be raised with Him from the depths of sin and death to the heights of the life and glory of God.

And your ascension with Christ is not just a future thing; it’s a present reality. Just as Jesus is with us on earth, so also we are with Him in heaven even now. After all, do not the Scriptures say that the Church is the body of Christ? Is not the Body of Christ at the right hand of the Father? Therefore, you are at the right hand of the Father. Heaven is already yours in Christ.

Ephesians Chapter 2 says, “Even when we were dead in trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ… and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Is that not an awesome truth? You’re already there, because Jesus is already there, and you are in Him. Colossians Chapter 3 puts it this way: “Your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Your very existence, your eternal well-being is kept secure in the ascended Jesus.

I know of nothing that can make you more certain of your salvation than this. When you begin to waver in your Christian hope, when Satan tempts you to doubt whether or not you’re truly saved, remember Christ’s Ascension; Remember that you are a member of Christ’s Body. And He is at the right hand of God as the victorious Ruler of all; nothing can conquer this Conqueror, this Redeemer of yours. It is as Romans Chapter 8 puts it:

“[Nothing] in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. Therefore, He is truly able to work all things together for the good of those who love Him, for you who have been called according to His purpose. Even in the midst of the ups and downs of your life, the Lord, who has begun His good work in you, will bring it to completion in the Day of His return.

So then, brothers and sisters of Christ, take comfort in the Ascension of our Lord. Know that He is Lord over all things for the sake of the Church. Believe that He is with you always by His words and His Sacraments. And have confidence that just as Christ shares fully in your humanity, so also in Him you share forever in the life of God Himself.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Rogate - The Sixth Sunday of Easter

(Audio)

John 16:23-33; James 1:22-27; Numbers 21:4-9

 

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

There is power in prayer, but from whence does that power come? Is there power in the one who prays; is there power in you? Is there power in the words that you pray? Is there power in your faith as you pray? Or, is there power in the One to whom you pray, power in the Name in which you pray? Surely, it is the latter. Indeed, there is power in prayer, just as there is power in absolution. And, as the power of absolution does not lie in you – in the words of your confession, or in your faith, or in your piety – but, the power of absolution lies in the One to whom you confess, so too does the power of prayer lie in the Words, the promise, the faithfulness, and the righteousness of your LORD, to whom you pray, who alone is righteous, and who has promised both to hear and to answer your prayers in Jesus’ Name.

St. James has written, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Unfortunately, St. James has commonly been misunderstood to mean that it is your righteousness and the fervency of your faith that makes your prayers to be efficacious and powerful. This creates at least two serious problems. First, if the efficacy of your prayer depends upon your righteousness, then there is no hope that your prayers will ever be heard, let alone that they will be effective. Second, if the efficacy of your prayers depends upon the fervency of your faith, then you will either despair that you have not believed fervently enough, or, perhaps worse, you will come to believe that your faith is indeed fervent and strong, so that your faith will be in your faith and not in Christ who alone is righteous. But, the efficacy of your prayer does not depend upon your righteousness – except that you are declared to be righteous by the LORD because of your faith in Jesus Christ His Son. And, likewise, the efficacy of your prayer does not depend upon your faith – except that you have the gift of faith created in you by the Holy Spirit of God.

Moses was a righteous man. Well, he was not righteous in himself, but the LORD declared Him to be righteous because he trusted in Him, his faith and his trust were a work and gift of the Holy Spirit. Thus, when the people were bitten by poisonous serpents, they cried out to righteous Moses to pray to the LORD on their behalf, that He would remove the snakes. And so, Moses prayed, and his prayer was effective – it was heard and it was answered. Moses’ prayer was heard and answered by the LORD because the LORD counted Moses as righteous. And, perhaps, so that the people, and even Moses himself, did not get the idea that it was their righteousness or their faith that made their prayers efficacious, the LORD did not give them what they prayed for – the LORD did not take the snakes away. In fact, people continued to get bit and to die from the poisonous serpents! However, the LORD did answer Moses’ prayer, though in a different way. The LORD instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and to raise it up on a pole. Then, whoever had been bitten by a poisonous serpent, when they looked upon the bronze serpent raised up on the pole, would not die from the snakebite.

You see, the LORD did not give them what they wanted, but He gave them what they needed. The people wanted physical safety and relief from suffering, but the LORD knew that they needed faith and trust in Him and in His Word. The reason the LORD sent the serpents in the first place was because the people did not trust in the LORD to care for them. They even accused the LORD of intentionally leading them out of slavery in Egypt to starve to death in the wilderness! Remember what they said, “There is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” They grumbled against the LORD. They did not fear, love, and trust in the LORD above all things. They even despised His providence and accused the LORD of evil. Therefore, it was out of mercy that the LORD sent the fiery serpents to bite them. It was loving and merciful discipline so that the people would see their sin and repent. And, they did! But, still, all they cared about was a release from the poisonous serpents. Though they repented, they did not understand that what they lacked was faith and trust in the LORD and in His Word. That is why the LORD did not take the serpents away, but He did give them a way out so that, though they might still be bitten and suffer, they would live if they trusted in the LORD and in His Word and looked upon the bronze serpent raised up on the pole.

The LORD fixed His Word of promise to a physical object, even the emblem of their suffering, a bronze serpent, with the promise that, if they looked upon the bronze serpent, they would live. Similarly, you and I have been bitten by the poisonous serpent Satan. We each have been conceived and born with the corruption of original sin – sin that is real sin and personal sin, sin that leads only and always to death. However, the LORD has provided for you and for me, and for all the people who will ever live, a way that we can, despite our sin, live and never die. No, He did not take our sin away – that is to say, we still sin, daily, and much, in thought, word, and in deed – but, the LORD has given us a way to escape the penalty of sin, which is death. This time, the LORD did not command a bronze serpent to be raised up on a pole, but, instead, the LORD gave His only-begotten Son, Jesus, to be crucified and hanged upon the cross for our sins and for the sins of the entire world, that anyone and everyone who looks to Him in faith and trust may live, even though they die, and have their sins forgiven.

Thus, Jesus, before His crucifixion and death, taught His disciples, His Church, you and me, about prayer. Jesus said, “In that day,” that is, the day of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, “you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my Name, He will give it to you. […] Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” “In Jesus’ Name” is not some magical incantation that manipulates the LORD to answer your prayer; beware that you never think or believe such a thing! But “in Jesus’ Name” means that you should pray for all and only those things that Jesus would pray for and would have you pray for, all things that are in accord with the LORD’s Word and will. Thus, it should be obvious that this precludes prayers for new Cadillacs and winning lottery tickets, right? Additionally, however, all material and worldly things must take a lesser status in your prayers, for Jesus drew His sustenance, not from bread alone, but from every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God, and Jesus had no home or place to lay His head, knowing that His true home was with His Father in heaven. This is what Jesus means when He says that you should ask that your “joy may be full.” What is the source of true joy? Is it worldly, material possessions? Is it comforts and pleasures of the flesh? Is it reputation and esteem among men? Is it health and well-being? No. Even if you are blessed to have these things, you know that they are fleeting. To strive and struggle to obtain, keep, and maintain them is a losing battle that only brings suffering for you and for others. Rather, you should receive them as gifts from the LORD and give thanks for them. But, beware not to make these things idols and false gods. For, true joy is the forgiveness of sins, the washing away of the guilt of your sin, reconciliation with the Father, and life that never ends. That is what Jesus would have you pray for, that your joy may be full – that you may be full of true joy, not all manner of cheap, imitation, false, and fleeting joy.

Therefore, St. James also wrote, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before, God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Truly, St. James says quite a lot here. First, though it is popular today to say, “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual,” St. James suggests that there is a religion that is “pure and undefiled before God,” and that is a religion of selflessness and service, visiting orphans and widows in their affliction and remaining unstained from the world. Second, the practitioner of this “pure and undefiled” religion will bridle their tongues. Clearly, this is wise counsel of the highest degree. It is St. James, after all who speaks at length of the evils of the tongue. However, this counsel has a relation to the topic of prayer today as well. The prayers of the righteous man will not consist of “meaningless repetition” and “many words,” but they will consist of the righteous Words of our righteous Lord and God. Therefore, the best possible prayer is the prayer that our Lord Jesus has taught us. First, learn this prayer and all that it encompasses, and then, learn from it how, and for what, to pray.

Yes, there is power in prayer, for there is power in the One who has commanded you to pray and has promised to hear and to answer your prayers. And, yes, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” For, Jesus is the righteous man, and His Words are effective, His faith is fervent. These He shares with you who are baptized into Him, and who trust in Him for forgiveness, life, and salvation. Look to Jesus in your time of trouble and distress, and give Him thanks and praise for His providence, goodness, grace, and mercy. Let your prayer be like that of the tax collector in the temple, “Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner.” For, that man, and not the Pharisee, went down to his home righteous and justified. In this way, you are the righteous man, when you trust not in your own providence, faith, and righteousness, but in the LORD and His Word alone. Then will you be a practitioner of the “pure and undefiled” religion, and your joy will be full. Even now, He who was lifted up for you is present with His Words and with His Wounds to fill you to overflowing. Come, eat and live. Come, drink and be forgiven. Be fulfilled. Be joyful in the Lord who has done all things well, who has made all things new, even you.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.