The Last Sunday of the Church Year / Sunday of the Fulfillment (Trinity 27)

(Audio)

Matthew 25:1-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Isaiah 65:17-25

 

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

The coming of God’s kingdom and the kingly reign of God in and through His Son Jesus the Christ are central themes in Matthew’s Gospel. In fact, Matthew uses the phrase “the kingdom of God” four times, “the kingdom of heaven” thirty-three times, and “the kingdom” an additional seventeen times – that’s a minimum of fifty-four references to the kingdom of God in Matthew’s Gospel alone! What Matthew is trying to communicate, however, is that God’s kingdom is not a thing or a place so much as it is an action – God’s kinging or reigning activity through the person of His Son Jesus Christ. Because our minds, reason, and wisdom are so very ensnared in sin and our own conceptions of what is glorious, powerful, and good, and because we all but insist on making the abstract to be concrete, our Lord teaches His disciples and all believers about His kingdom by making use of parables, analogies, and metaphors saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like….”

Today, on this Last Sunday of the Church Year, which is also known as the Sunday of the Fulfillment, our Lord teaches us what it will be like when He returns on the Last Day, and what we should be doing and how we should live our lives now as we watch and wait for His coming in hopeful expectation each and every day until that fulfillment arrives. Our Lord says, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 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.”

Immediately we are struck by Jesus’ use of an unexpected analogy. How, we must ask, is the kingdom of heaven in any way like ten virgins? Well, most likely the virgins themselves and their number, ten, is a figure. Virginity too is likely a figure for purity, innocence, and cleanness. The number ten is a figure for wholeness, or the complete number of those who have been cleansed and made holy in the blood of Jesus – which is everyone. Thus, the ten virgins represent all humanity, redeemed in Jesus’ blood. What makes five of them to be wise and five of them to be foolish is not more or less virginity (indeed, that figure excludes such thinking; either one is a virgin, or one is not – there are no degrees of virginity!), but rather it is the oil that they carry in their lamps – do they have enough oil to last through the bridegroom’s delay. Therefore, since it is ultimately the lack of oil that makes five of the virgins to be foolish, we must turn our minds to the question, “What does the oil represent?”

First, the oil is essential. It is absolutely necessary if the virgin is to see where she is going in the darkness and, therefore, to see her bridegroom coming to her when He arrives. Without oil, there is no light, but only ignorance and groping around in the darkness. St. Paul uses some terrific imagery about light and darkness in his epistle to the Thessalonians, which you heard this morning, saying “But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day.” And Paul says elsewhere, in his epistle to the Ephesians: “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk, therefore, as children of light.” The meaning here is clear: Once you were in darkness, but now that has changed and you are something different; you are children of light now, walking in light. Therefore, do not return to the darkness. And what is it that has brought about this change? It is the same thing that brings the light – the oil, that is faith.

What made five of the virgins to be wise and five to be foolish was ultimately faith, in figure, the amount of oil that they had with them. Now, I know that we don’t tend to think of faith as something quantifiable and measurable; in fact, I regularly preach and teach against such an understanding of faith. Even in this parable, I maintain that it is not the amount of faith that matters at all, but simply that you have it. What made the five wise virgins wise was that they cared enough to bring extra oil. In contrast, the five foolish virgins did not have enough for the oil to wait and to watch through the bridegroom’s delay. When he finally arrived they were not even near the wedding hall, but were desperately out searching for a way to rekindle their faith.

To drive this point even further, Jesus says that both the wise and the foolish virgins, all ten of them, fell asleep as they waited. This point is marvelous, for here Jesus levels our reason and our wisdom, our pride and our self-righteousness, our insistence that we cooperate with God in our salvation by our works of piety and charity – for you can do nothing if you are sleeping: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” No, it’s not about what you do, but it’s about what you have, what you have received – faith. This is the Lord’s work by the Holy Spirit, not of your flesh or your will, your reason or wisdom. And this is really the heart and the root of Jesus’ teaching today about the kingdom of heaven: The kingdom of heaven comes now through Jesus. It is received through faith which He has created in you and which He sustains in you through His Word and Holy Sacraments that you might be wise and prepared, whether you are awake or asleep, when He returns on the Last Day. It is all His work, all the time. The wise receive, keep, and treasure this gift as they watch and wait.

And yet, there is still more to Jesus’ parable. Indeed, there is always more with Jesus. The kingdom of heaven, He teaches, is also like a bridegroom coming to marry his virgin bride. How is the kingdom of heaven like a marriage? This is a common image throughout the Holy Scriptures. Following the creation of our First Parents, Adam and Eve, God joined them in marriage and blessed them that they would be fruitful. God gave us the institution of marriage in the beginning so that, through this selfless and sacrificial union in which a man and a woman become one flesh, we would have a glimpse, a foretaste, and an experience of the kind of love He has for all humanity. God doesn’t want only to be our God, but He wants to be our Husband, and we, the Church, His holy Bride. This truth St. Paul expounds upon in Ephesians chapter five: “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery [marriage] is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.” Our Lord and Husband Jesus laid down His life in selfless, sacrificial death upon the cross for us, His Bride, the Church. When a Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, the Church sprang forth in Holy Blood and Water as a New Eve taken from the side of a New Adam and presented to Him as His Wife and Bride. Now the Church has become the fruitful Mother from which the children of God are born again by the life-giving Seed of the Word and the watery womb of the font. But I digress ;-).

Why is it then, that when the bridegroom finally arrives and the five foolish virgins return and beg to be let in to the feast, the bridegroom answers them saying, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you?” He does not know them because He does not recognize their fruits. They bear, not the fruit of His Vine, but other fruit, bad fruit. Their faith was not sufficient to see them through the time in which He was delayed. They were no longer watching and waiting for His coming in hopeful expectation. They had let their faith grow week and diminish as it was choked out and replaced by cares and anxieties and idolatries of the world and the flesh. They may have thought they were keeping their faith aflame by patronizing other faith dealers – self-help preachers and new-age sorcerers – but they were not feeding their faith, they were not buying oil, and it could not keep them and preserve them in faith over the long haul. Therefore, when the Bridegroom arrived, He did not recognize or know them as His Bride. For, there is only one kind of oil that will preserve you and keep you until He comes; there is only one faith, and only one source of feeding that faith which is recognized by our Lord and Husband – God’s Word and His Holy Sacraments. Remain in these, and He will remain in you, and you will bear much, and the correct and proper fruit.

This is what the kingdom of heaven is like. All is prepared for you, the Bride of Christ. Though He may tarry, your Bridegroom is coming at a day and an hour you do not know. He says to you, “You believe in God; believe also in Me.” “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year (Trinity 26)

(Audio)

Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Peter 3:3-14; Daniel 7:9-14

 

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

The scene described in our Old Testament lesson from the Prophet Daniel depicts the coronation of “one like a son of man”. At first Daniel describes the Ancient of Days, who is God the Father, sitting upon His throne in judgment, surrounded by the heavenly host as the royal record books are opened. The scene is descriptive of a king’s courtroom where he is about to pronounce a binding legal judgment. A little horn is speaking, bringing charges and making boastful and proud accusations as a prosecuting attorney. In the verses preceding today’s pericope, Daniel describes four great beasts come up out of the sea. This blasphemous little horn is but one of ten horns upon the head of the fourth beast in Daniel’s vision, which Daniel describes as having eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth.

It is enough to understand the little horn as the activity of Satan in the world through men. And, though his charges and his accusations are against men, they are truly against God Himself. Thus, he is a blasphemer. Likewise, though men are the instruments of Satan to do evil, and are guilty of their own sins and transgressions, it is truly God Himself who is on trial. This is consistent with God’s answer to Job’s pleading question, “Why my suffering?” God’s answer: “That the righteousness of God might be revealed.” When Satan asked to test Job, he wasn’t concerned about Job’s faith and righteousness at all, but he wanted to put God to the test; he wanted to pit God’s justice and righteousness against His goodness, love, and mercy. Thus, it is true that no man is your enemy, for only Satan is your enemy; and Satan is only your enemy because He is God’s enemy first.

As the little horn was speaking, however, Daniel tells us that the beast upon whose head the horn was planted was destroyed. Who was that beast but Satan himself? And what was the cause of his destruction? That is revealed in the coronation of one like a son of man. He was presented before the Ancient of Days and to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominions is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. What Daniel foresaw in prophetic vision was fulfilled in the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. When Satan hurled his charges, his accusations, and his blasphemies against God’s Son on the cross, Jesus took it all upon Himself and He died in your place, in my place, in Job’s place, in Adam’s place, that we might live. And, because of His perfect selflessness, sacrifice, and obedience, God the Father crowned Him and has given Him dominion and authority over heaven and earth and all things in them, so that the same description of the Ancient of Days is used to describe the Son of Man, Jesus, in the Revelation to St. John which closes the canon of Holy Scripture.

For, the Revelation much less reveals something new, that is yet to come, than it unveils something that is already accomplished: The Lamb of God Jesus Christ has died, and yet He lives – He stands as the lamb that is slain. He reigns and He rules with the Father, the Ancient of Days, and together with Him receives blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power forever and ever. It is accomplished. It is finished. Thus, what Daniel foresaw in prophetic vision was already a done deal. God had determined it. Therefore, no matter what life lays before you, no matter what challenge or fear or frustration you may face, the end of the story is written, and Jesus has us for all eternity – we win! And, since His dominion is everlasting, those who are in it are also eternal. That means that we are not merely looking forward to eternal life, but we already possess it. Scripture calls it a hope because we do not experience its reality fully at this point in time. But we have it already, by virtue of our Baptism, and by the gift of the Medicine of Immortality which we receive in the Holy Supper. Jesus had accomplished it all for us already, it is pure gift. "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved."

The Apostle Peter expounds upon the ramifications of this reality by answering the question, “How then shall we live?” That is to say, if God created all things that exist, if Satan plunged all things into sin and death, if God redeemed all things through the victorious death and resurrection of His Son, and if Jesus is returning in glory and judgment on a day to come when all created things will burn and dissolve away, then what kind of people ought you to be? You are to live lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, being diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace. Of course, this is impossible for man, but it is a reality through baptism and faith in Jesus Christ. You are to take comfort and strength in the victory and eternal life that is already yours in Jesus and wait for His return in patient vigilance, in humility and repentance, in service to your brother and neighbor, persevering to the end.

In this regard, Jesus prophesied of that day, that He will come in glory and will sit upon His throne in judgment. Then He will separate the sheep from the goats. Yet, the clear indication is that the judgment will have already occurred, for the sheep are already sheep and the goats are already goats – all that is left is to separate them, a task easily accomplished by the outward appearance of each species. Still, Jesus does describe the behaviors of those He recognizes as sheep as compared to those He recognizes as goats. The sheep, Jesus says, gave food to Him when He was hungry and drink when He was thirsty, they welcomed Him as a stranger, clothed His nakedness, and visited Him when sick and in prison. In contrast, Jesus says, the goats did not do these things. Then, lest we make of His words a mere moralism, Jesus adds that the sheep did not realize that they had done these things to Him, nor did the goats realize that they had not. Thus, Jesus’ words are not a prescription for what you must do to be a sheep of His flock, but rather they are indicative that Christ is in those who trust in Him so that He counts them as His brothers. Therefore, to serve one of Jesus’ brothers is serve Jesus, and to refuse them and to reject them is to reject Him. It is much less about your deeds than it is your faith in, or rejection of, Jesus that makes you either a sheep or a goat. Yet, the truth remains that sheep will do sheepy things (love, compassion, mercy, charity, kindness, and forgiveness), while goats will be goats. The undone works are only a symptom of the real problem: lack of faith. If they had called on the Lord in faith, He would have forgiven them, prepared them, and completed good works in them.

The Judgment has already happened. Judgment Day was Good Friday. That was the day that our sins were judged and punished. It is not a day ahead of us, but the day Jesus died on the cross. So, we look to the cross for comfort and hope, and we gladly bear the cross appointed for us, that we may share in the victory which Christ, the Son of Man, won for us, and was given, with us included, in Daniel's Vision of the End.

Life hurts. Dangers threaten. Illness frightens us. We often feel overwhelmed, and out of control. But God tells us that we should not trust our senses here but listen to His Word. Already in the time of Daniel, five centuries before the time of Christ, it was a settled plan, and He locked it up in Jesus. God doesn't want us fearing what the world throws at us. He desires that we trust Him and find daily peace and comfort in Him. Your sins are forgiven because Jesus died for you. God gives you eternal life for Christ's sake – or, as Daniel saw it, God gives you to Jesus for an eternal dominion. Either way, it is not what it may feel like at the moment that is important, but what we see in this apocalyptic vision of the end.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Third-Last Sunday of the Church Year (Trinity 25)

(Audio)

Matthew 24:15-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Exodus 32:1-20

 

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

Matthew chapter 24 is part of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, His fifth, final, and most extensive discourse in The Gospel According to St. Matthew. Jesus’ topic is the End Times and being prepared for Christ’s Second Advent which will come on a day and hour that no one will know. Jesus had spoken to the Pharisees concerning judgment in chapter 23 issuing seven “Woes” upon the scribes and the Pharisees. At the beginning of chapter 24 Jesus and His disciples are leaving the temple and Jerusalem heading down across the Kidron Valley and up the slopes of Mount Olivet (the Mount of Olives), likely to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus often rested, prayed, and taught His disciples more intimately. Looking back upon the temple from Olivet the disciples began to point out the majesty of the temple and the city. Jesus answered them saying, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” This prophecy was literally fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. The temple was burned. The gold in the temple melted in the fire and ran down into the cracks between the stones. As people later searched for the gold, they toppled every stone from its place. This destruction of Jerusalem was but a foreshadowing of what is yet to come.

Jesus’ prophecy of doom got the disciples curious, and probably more than a little concerned. When they were alone with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, they asked Him, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered them with the rest of Matthew chapter 24 and 25 which has come to be known as the Olivet Discourse. Jesus warns His disciple of false Christs and false prophets, false teachers claiming to tell the truth in order to lead the faithful astray. He also speaks of tribulation, wars, famines, earthquakes, and persecution. Jesus warns, “See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. […] All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Again, pretty much all of this was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. And yet, some of it is true of every generation and is even now being fulfilled. And then there are a few things that are yet to be fulfilled which will come to pass in the days immediately preceding the Lord’s Second Advent. Regardless of the time, the advice is the same, “Stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

The Kingdom of God is coming, but not with signs to be observed. You must use your ears and not your eyes, for God’s Kingdom in this world is one of faith, and faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ. But men demand signs, not faith. They want to walk not by faith but by sight. After their Exodus out of Egypt, when Moses was delayed on the mountain holding discourse with God, the people demanded a visible image and made a golden calf, a god unto themselves. So, the people of Jesus’ times were looking for God’s Kingdom to come in power and glory as sinful men count such things. They could not accept a royal city in ruins and a king crowned with thorns reigning from a Roman cross. They rejected God’s Word which prophesied and promised such things and were left in dismay, open to any other explanation than the truth. Upon such faithless and false worshippers God’s judgment comes. Only on the Last Day will our faith be turned to sight.

Which brings us to today’s Gospel pericope Matthew 24:15-28. Jesus begins by saying, “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), …”. This enigmatic saying raises a couple of obvious questions at once: Who or what is the “abomination of desolation”, and what is “the holy place”? Let us begin with the latter question, what is “the holy place”? Well, this really isn’t all that difficult to decipher, the holy place in the minds of most first century Jews would be the Temple, and particularly the space within known as “The Holy Place”. Jesus references an event that occurred long ago prophesied by Prophet Daniel when the Greek King Antiochus IV Epiphanes defiled the temple in B.C. 167 by sacrificing a pig upon its altar to the Greek god Zeus. This desecration of the temple was known as the “abomination of desolation” and served to ignite the Maccabean revolt amongst the Jews. As Jesus and the disciples had just left Jerusalem, and considering Jesus’ remarks concerning the temple, it seems clear that Jesus is prophesying of another such desecration of the temple. As I mentioned earlier that desecration did occur less than forty years later when Emperor Titus laid siege to Jerusalem for four years before leveling and burning the city, destroying its walls and the temple so that no stone was left standing upon another. The Jews were scattered, worship and sacrifices ceased, and there was despair and desolation continuing to this very day. This was the LORD’s judgment upon apostate Israel who played the whore with false gods, stoned and killed the Prophets the LORD sent to Her, and ultimately murdered the LORD’s Son believing the kingdom would be theirs.

The truth, however, was that there was nothing in the Holy Place within the temple. The Shekinah Glory of God was no longer there but had vacated the temple at least thirty-three years earlier when it took up residence within the womb of a young Jewish virgin named Mary. Jesus referred to His body as the temple saying, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” And throughout His ministry Jesus was fond of saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is near,” and “The Kingdom of Heaven is in your midst,” referring to his own bodily presence. While it may be an allegorical reading, it seems reasonable, faithful, and likely that the Abomination of Desolation of which Jesus refers is His own bodily crucifixion and death. Surely there is nothing more abominable than the murder of the Son of God. Surely there is nothing more desolating than our God dead upon the cross by our own hands, heart, will, and betrayal.

The Kingdom of God may not come with signs to be observed, but that does not mean that there are not signs that its coming is near. There are wars and rumors of war. There are false teachers who lead astray. There are earthquakes and famines, and natural disasters of all sorts. And there is the death of the Son of God, the abomination of abominations. Each day we are nearer to the day of His return than we were before. He is coming at a day and hour we cannot know, but He is coming. What should we be doing as we wait? What will we be found doing when He comes? The last three Sunday of the Church Year help us to answer these questions, and they prepare us for a similar, though different, meditation on the same in Advent. The simple answer is that we must read the signs with our ears and not with our eyes; that is, we must hearken to the Word of the Lord and gather together to hear it and receive the Sacraments until He comes.

The advice and counsel are simple enough: Don’t get distracted. Don’t take your eyes off the prize. Don’t let yourself be deceived. Though their logic might appeal to human reason, human reason is fallen, sinful, and corrupt; let the Word of the LORD be your light and guide. Do not cling to worldly possessions, wealth, reputation, or anything that will not last. You can’t take it with you. But one thing is needful and that is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of the LORD points to Jesus, reveals Jesus, is about Jesus, and is fulfilled in Jesus; it will not steer you wrong. Gather with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Receive Jesus’ gifts with them. Pray for each other. Support each other. Be strengthened by each other.

The Kingdom of God may not come with signs to be observed, but it will be no secret when the Son of God returns. For “the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” Then every eye will see Him, every knee will bow before Him, and every tongue will confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord,” and God the Father will be glorified. “As the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” It will be like when you see vultures circling high above an area of ground, field, or forest, you know there is a corpse there of dead beast. Likewise, when you see these things happening you know that the end is near. “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

And so, we gather here, where the resurrected and glorified body and blood of Jesus are present for us to eat and drink, where God’s Word is proclaimed in its truth and purity and the Sacraments are administered in accordance, where the flock and family of our Lord comfort each other with these words.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Feast of All Saints (observed)

(Audio)

Matthew 5:1-12; 1 John 3:1-3; Revelation 7:2-17

 

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

Revelation chapter seven describes the Church of Jesus Christ in heaven. Matthew chapter five describes the Church of Jesus Christ on earth. What we celebrate on the Feast of All Saints is the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, both in heaven and on earth, gathered around the throne of God and the Lamb in ceaseless worship, peace, and joy.

In the Revelation, the Church of Jesus Christ in heaven is unveiled for us. The 144,000 are sealed in Holy Baptism. They are identified as the twelve tribes of Israel, though their number 144,000 is a symbolic representation of all of God’s children who share the faith of Abraham – Jews and Gentiles grafted into the True Vine Jesus Christ – the entire Church of all times and all places. This point is clarified when John then sees next “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” When an elder asked John, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” he proceeded to explain, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.”

These are the saints of Christ, made to be holy in the blood of the Lamb. Their white robes are Christ’s righteousness, bestowed upon them in Holy Baptism, which covers all their sins. They have come out of the great tribulation which is this life and world wrecked by sin and death. They are the living proof of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and Satan. They are the living proof of God’s promise to you kept in, through, and because of the sacrificial, substitutionary, and atoning death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. “They are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence,” or, more literally, He will spread His tabernacle over them.

How do the saints in heaven serve the Lord? They worship and they pray the liturgy with angels, and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, singing, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!” “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

But, what about you? What about Christ’s Church on earth? What about the saints of God here, still in this great tribulation? Be comforted and be strengthened, and stand firm in your faith, for you are a part of the Church of Jesus Christ in heaven as well as on earth. You too have been clothed in Christ’s righteousness in Holy Baptism. You too have been sealed in His holy, cleansing, and purifying blood. You too serve God in His temple and are sheltered under His tabernacle, which is Jesus’ body and blood. You gather with the heavenly saints at this altar, where heaven meets earth, until we come out of the great tribulation and join the heavenly host before the throne of God and the Lamb.

Yes, I know that you don’t see what they see, the radiance and the glory of God and the Lamb. But what you see are the Church’s scars and bruises. What you see are Her faults and imperfections. What you see is the Church and Her members, Her Christians, in meekness and poverty, in mourning, and in hunger and thirst. This is not the Church in glory, but this is the Church under the cross. She is no more glorious to the eyes of men or in the eyes of the world than Her Lord appeared on His glorious cross. Her glory is hidden, just as Christ’s glory was hidden in His suffering and death. It is hidden under weakness and sin and death.

Jesus looked upon His Church upon the mountaintop and he opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Jesus’ Beatitudes are not prescriptive, they are descriptive. They do not tell you what you must do, but they unveil before you what you are. You are blessed. You are blessed, not because you are so very meek; but you are blessed because Jesus is perfectly meek. You are blessed, not because you are poor; but you are blessed because Jesus is perfectly poor. You are blessed, not because you are merciful and mourning, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, persecuted or peacemakers; but you are blessed because Jesus is all those things perfectly for you. Jesus is your salvation, and when you actually experience and practice these selfless qualities in your life, then you are empty of your self sufficiency that you may be filled with Christ. But if you insist on bringing your own thoughts, words, and deeds to God, then you will stand with them alone, and you will be judged by them alone – not blessed, but guilty, sinful, meriting death and eternal punishment. Nevertheless, you are not blessed because you do and practice these selfless works, but you are blessed in and through them. Jesus does not teach that you will be blessed in doing them, but he teaches that you are blessed in and through them. You are blessed because you participate in Christ, and He works in and through you.

Again, the world does not count such selflessness as glory, but weakness. The world mocks and shakes its head at the Church filled with sinners and hypocrites. The temptation is for you to do the same. The temptation is for you to despair at the church rent asunder by schism and heresy, by infighting, lethargy, and worse. The temptation is for you to join with the chorus of Satan and mock Christ and His Bride. Do not give in to temptation. Today is a reminder of the victory of the Church of Jesus Christ over sin, death, and Satan through the victorious death and resurrection of Her Lord and Head. The saints in heaven are living proof of this victory and of your own victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Martin Luther wrote about the hidden glory of Christ’s Church saying, “While worms and rottenness are before our eyes, we cannot be unmindful of them, nevertheless there will be a time when God will wipe away every tear, as is stated in Rev. 7:17. Therefore faith should begin to forget tears and dishonor which it does not see. Although the eyes see the rottenness, the ears hear the complaints and sobs, and the noses smell the stench of the corpses, nevertheless it is the part of faith to say: ‘I do not know this. I see nothing. Indeed, I see a multiplication and a brightness surpassing the sun itself and the stars.’ Therefore, such examples are set before us in order that we may learn that God is the Creator of all things, restores the dead to life and glorifies worms and the foulest rottenness. And He wants this to be acknowledged and celebrated by us in this life in faith. Later, however, in the future life, we shall experience it in actual fact.”

Today we are reminded of the great cloud of witnesses that are the prophets, apostles, evangelists, and saints who have gone before us. They are the living proof of our victory over death and the grave through Jesus, the founder and perfecter of faith.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.