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Repent, For the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand

Isaiah 40:1-8; Matthew 3:1-12
Advent 3

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

We fallen human beings instinctively go at life backwards. We listen to those who preach that we should believe in ourselves, when in truth we should believe only in God. We fear crime, loss of income and benefits, illness, or some big tragedy, when we should really fear nothing except the Lord and losing life with Him. And we focus on the things this world gives—things that easily break or get used up, pleasures that quickly fade away, experiences whose glory and benefit are fleeting—when we should really focus on nothing other than attaining the kingdom of heaven.

So during the four weeks of Advent, through prophets and apostles and preachers and hymns and prayers and liturgy, God pleads with us to get our thinking straight. And not just our thinking, but also our believing. And not just our believing, but also our behaving. And not just our behaving, but also our entire being. A change of mind, a change of heart, a change of how we see ourselves and the world, a change of all we are and all we hope to be—that is the Church’s plea; and her prayer; and her heartfelt invitation. And that invitation is summed up in one word: Repent.

St. John the Baptizer prepares the way of the Lord by preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  “The kingdom is near, for Jesus the King is near.  So turn away from your worldly loves, the things that keep you from devoting yourself to His Word, the stuff and the activities that you let take precedence over His divine service.  No longer live for yourself.  No longer live controlled by your fears or your appetites.  No longer live pushing your agenda, making things happen, and acting as if it all depends on you.  Instead, live for the kingdom of heaven.  Live within the Life of God, and the Life that God wants to live in you and through you.  Live for unending communion with God.  For nothing else matters.  Everything else is expendable.  So discipline your body, reform your habits, put to death your inborn tendencies, change your hopes and prayers, and stop obsessing about the things you think matter so much.  For you don’t want to miss this.  You don’t want to miss out on the kingdom of God, which is so close you can taste it.”

And yet, even in this, we sometimes hear things backwards.  We hear St John say, “Repent,” and we say, “I can’t” or “that’s not realistic” or “I’ll think about it.”  Or we hear St John say, “Repent,” and we say, “Alright, let’s roll.” “I’ll do that right now”—and then get frustrated when things don’t change overnight.  What we forget is what fuels St John’s preaching, what it is that gives legs to true repentance.

And that is Mercy, the Lord’s mercy, the Lord’s never-ending, constantly renewing, life-preserving mercy.  That’s what’s imbedded in the word “Repent.”  It is the mercy that moves the Lord to say, “You are worth redeeming, worth saving, worth loving, worth transforming.”  Mercy that transfigures you so that you no longer live your old life, but now live the Life of the Lord Jesus, the Life that He freely gives to you.  Mercy that pulls you out of the pits you have dug, away from the messes you’ve made of life.  Mercy that calls you from death to life.

So behind and within St John’s “Repent,” is Our Lord Jesus saying, “Come.  Come, live life not on your terms, but the way I give it.  Come, not with conditions attached, but trusting that my promise is good, that my kingdom is yours.  Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

That is how John’s ultimate message is summarized in the OT reading: “Comfort, yes comfort My people!”  Speak tenderly and lovingly to the Church, speak to the heart of my bride, and preach kind words to her.  Tell her that she is forgiven.  Your exile is nearly over.  The end of all things is close at hand.  The Day of the Lord is coming soon. The Law no longer condemns you. Your iniquity is paid for and pardoned.  For you have received from the Lord’s hand double for all your sins.  John consoles you by always pointing to Christ and saying, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Notice that our Lord’s mercy doesn’t provide just enough forgiveness, but double forgiveness.  That’s how it is with the Gospel–the Lord lavishes on you more forgiveness than you have sins to forgive.  It’s not as if the Lord is miserly with His mercy, giving you just barely enough to cover your need.  No, the Lord is marvelously redundant and wonderfully excessive in His grace, so that you may know that there is no sin so great that Jesus didn’t atone for it on the cross, no life so messed-up that He could not redeem it.  You have been given twice as much forgiveness as you need.  Your cup runs over.  No matter what is there in your past, or in your present, there is more than enough mercy in Jesus to restore you and save you.  Your debt has been paid.  You have been set free.  How can you be certain of this?  Because it is written, “the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”  And what He speaks is done and delivered for sure.

That is real peace that will not pass away, even when Christmas is long over with.  All that burdens you, all that saddens you, all that dries the life out of your bodies and souls, Jesus took upon Himself and suffered to death.  Through the risen Christ you are now released from the power of the grave; you are restored to God the Father in Him who is the Prince of Peace.  Trusting in the merits of Christ alone, being baptized into Him who is fully human and fully divine, you are brought into communion and fellowship with God.  

At this time of year, you know that there are all sorts of folks in the media giving their version of the “real meaning” of Christmas.  They talk about togetherness and family, giving and sharing and love–all good things.  But Christmas is about a whole lot more than that.  It’s ultimately about the fact that the Word became flesh, God became man.  The Lord literally became one of us in order to restore us to the image of God and make us holy.  He came down to rescue us and raise us up to everlasting life.  That’s what Christmas is all about.  Christ took on our flesh and blood in order that He might die in the flesh as our substitute and shed His blood as our ransom price.  The true wonder and mystery that we should meditate on is this: that the baby in the manger is the Lord of the universe, that He created the mother who gave Him birth, that He redeemed your humanity by sharing in it fully.  All the other stuff is just withering grass compared to Christ.

“All flesh is grass, and all it’s loveliness is like the flower of the field. . .  The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”  What Jesus says and promises endures.  And His Word has been spoken and applied to you, so that now, as I Peter says, “You have been born anew, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”  By His words and sacraments Christ has planted new and everlasting life in you.  So even though you are nothing but withering grass by nature, just a fleeting mist, in Christ the Scriptures now call you “oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified”  (Isaiah 61:3).  Though all flesh must die because of sin, yet through faith in Jesus you have the resurrection and the restoration of the body.  He has poured out on your dry bones the living water of His Spirit, so that you may have real life, the abundant life of Christ that never ends.

The spirit of Christmas, then, is the spirit of humble penitence before God which acknowledges our lost condition.  And it is the spirit of confident faith in Christ who seeks us out and saves us.  It is the same spirit that we shall again give voice to in preparation for Holy Communion, as we echo the words of John the Baptist, “O Christ the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. . . grant us your peace.”  That prayer finds a rich answer in His very body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

So, enjoy all the stuff of this season; but don’t let it distract you from the heart of the Christ-mass or keep you from your Advent preparations for it.  Instead, let the evergreen of the Christmas trees remind you of the everlasting love of God for you.  Let the lights draw your attention to the true Light who conquers all the darkness of this world.  Let the presents be symbols of Him who is the perfect gift wrapped in swaddling clothes.  And remember, as always, that the only way to be close to the child in the manger is on your knees.

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

(With thanks to John Fenton)

Adorning the Doctrine of God our Savior

Titus 2
Advent Midweek 2

✠ In the name of Jesus ✠

At Christmas we celebrate the fact that the Word became flesh, God the Son took on our body and soul, true God became true man in our Savior Jesus Christ.  We know that this doctrine is at the very heart of our faith.  For apart from this incarnation of our Lord, He could not have taken our place under the Law; He could not have been our substitute in death to rescue us from our sins.

But even so, some might still fail to see how Christmas connects with their lives “out there” in the world.  You might ask, “What does Christ’s coming in the flesh mean for my day to day living?”  Titus 2 helps us to make that connection.  For it joins how we are given to conduct ourselves with the birth of Jesus.  St. Paul says, “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”

You see, the Word became flesh in order to redeem our lives in the flesh.  If our bodily, physical lives were not spiritually significant, if the material world was not good, then Jesus would not have spent nine months in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, nor slept in a dirty cattle feeder, nor suffered in the flesh on the cross, nor been bodily raised from the dead.  But the same God who pronounced the material creation “good” in the beginning confirmed that pronouncement at Christmas in the true humanity of Jesus.  Jesus came to restore our humanity that was lost in the fall, to lift us up again to what it means to be truly human.  He came to renew us–not just our spirits, but our entire beings–in His own sinless body.  Christmas tells us that our lives in the flesh matter.

That’s why Paul gives several specific instructions about how our life in Christ is to be conducted in the flesh.  First of all, he gives directions to the older men.  They are to be sober, ones who show restraint in indulging their desires.  The older men are also to be reverent and dignified in their conduct.  They are to be “sound in the faith.”  The word “sound” here literally means healthy.  It’s the same word that was used just the verse before in referring to “sound doctrine,” “healthy doctrine.”  In other words the older men are to hold firmly to the truth of God’s Word, not accepting even the smallest virus of false teaching, but holding to the true doctrine that brings eternal health in both body and soul.  Being mature in years, they are to be mature in faith and in understanding of the Scriptures, showing patience and love as an example to the whole congregation.

To the older women Paul gives these instructions.  They are likewise to be reverent in their behavior.  But the word that is used here for “reverent” is a special word meaning literally “temple-like.”  In other words, the older women are always to be conducting themselves in a manner suitable for a temple, worthy of holiness.  Their daily duties are to be carried out as a matter of sacred service towards God and towards those whom God has given them to serve.  Their entire life has been made like a holy temple by the sanctifying presence of Christ.  Therefore, they are not to be slanderers–gossips, rumor-mongers, back-biters.  Nor are they to be ones who drink too much.  Rather, they are to be ones who teach good things to others, both by their words and by their actions.

Specifically they are to be ones who direct and counsel the younger women in godly ways, whether they are daughters or granddaughters or simply another believer.  According to Titus 2 these younger women are to be taught to love their husbands and their children–that is, to be devoted and committed to their spouse and family as that which God has graciously given them, and not to neglect them for the sake of something they think will be better for themselves.  It is in that context of husband and children above all that they are to live out their life of Christian service.  This is emphasized by the fact that the young women are here directed to be homemakers–literally, ones working at home, tending to the many and varied needs of the household.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a sin for them to work outside the home.  But by God’s design their first calling is to be wives and mothers, exercising discretion, purity, goodness, and faithfulness to their husbands.  

So also, Paul directs Titus to exhort the young men to be sober-minded.  Like the younger women, they too are to practice discretion and sound-mindedness and self-control, not recklessly indulging every whim but showing sensibility in their behavior.  And Paul applies all of this especially to Titus.  For Titus himself was a young man–or at least young for his position as bishop of Crete–probably around 30 or so.  This may be why Paul tells him at the end of chapter 2, “Let no one despise you.”  Rather in all things, Titus was to be a pattern of good works to the church, showing integrity in his doctrine and teaching, not being corrupted by desire for worldly gain or respect, but conducting himself in such a way that his opponents are put to shame, because they have nothing evil to say of him.

Finally, the Apostle teaches that bond-servants are to be obedient to their own masters.  In the first century in the Roman empire, slavery was still a very common practice.  But Paul does not encourage such bond-servants to assert their so-called “rights” and rebel against their masters and throw off their servitude.  For that is not the way of Christ, who has established earthly authorities to be honored, even the authority of a master over a servant, or in our case an employer over an employee. No, the way of the cross is patient endurance and a willingness to serve and to suffer if needs be until the deliverance of the Lord comes.  Therefore, bond-servants were exhorted to be well-pleasing to their masters in all things, not talking back to them, not stealing from them secretly, but being faithful to them.

Now, why does Paul give all these specific guidelines for how Christians are to live?  Why does he want believers to be zealous for good works?  Is it so that we can merit something from God by our goodness?  Is it so that we can earn for ourselves a special spot in heaven?  No, the Scriptures say the only wages we’ve earned for ourselves is death.  So why are we to conduct ourselves in this way?  Paul gives two answers: first, so that the word of God may not be blasphemed; and second, to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.  Do you see?  The motivation, the reason for good works in God’s sight is not to draw attention to ourselves or to win something for ourselves, but rather to draw attention to the Gospel by which all things have already been won for us in Christ, to decorate and ornament that saving doctrine of God.  We are to live this way in the flesh in order to bring glory to Christ, the Word made flesh. The way we live in the body bears witness to what Jesus did for us in His body and blood by His birth and death and resurrection.  For we have been baptized into His body.  It is as the Small Catechism confesses in the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “How is God’s name kept holy?  God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it.  Help us to do this dear Father in heaven!”  

This second chapter of Titus proclaims to you that Christ came into this world and gave Himself for you to redeem you from every lawless deed.  He bought you with the price of His precious blood to release you from the bondage of unholy living.  He has ransomed you by His holy cross and purified you by His Word and Spirit to be His own special people, set apart by His gracious forgiveness and mercy, called out of darkness into His marvelous light.  You belong to the Lord; you are holy in His sight.  God grant you to live in that holiness as you look for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ on the Last Day.

✠ In the name of Jesus ✠

God Has Manifested His Word Through Preaching

Titus 1
Advent 1 Midweek

✠ In the name of Jesus ✠

It is written, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. . .  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”  Jesus is the Word of God.  Just as words are spoken to reveal and to communicate something, even so Christ is the One who reveals God to us, for He Himself is God the Son.  He is the One who communicates and gives to us the Father’s love.

In many and various ways God spoke in the Old Testament by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His eternal Son.  God the Father spoke His final Word into the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary.  The Word became flesh and blood, body and soul.

Jesus is the Father’s message to the world, a Word of divine grace, an expression of  how great His mercy is towards us–that He would humble Himself to literally become one of us, that He would sacrifice His flesh and shed His blood to set us free from our sins, that He would rise from the dead to raise us up to everlasting life.  God has manifested His Word in the coming of Jesus.

However, there is still more to the Gospel.  For even though Christ has won our salvation completely, from beginning to end, if that salvation were not revealed and given to us specifically, it would never benefit us.  We would still perish forever in our sins.  Therefore St. Paul says to Titus, “God has in due time manifested His word through preaching.”  What was promised by God before time began, what Jesus, the Word attained for us in time and history, is now manifested and bestowed to us through the preaching of the Word.  Even as God came into the world very concretely as a true man, so now He comes to us very concretely through men proclaiming Him with living mouths and tongues and speech.  The same God who revealed Himself in the flesh reveals Himself to us now in the fleshly speaking and the fleshly hearing of His Word.  Through preaching, the truth of Christmas remains an ongoing, living reality.  Jesus still manifests Himself tangibly and physically; for His own voice is still heard out loud in the Church.

We must always remember that there are two aspects to the Gospel: the first is that Jesus has won for us forgiveness of sins and everlasting life; the second is that the Holy Spirit now gives us those gifts through the Word.  Martin Luther put it this way in the Large Catechism: “Neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel.  The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, and resurrection.  But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost.  That this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which he gives the Holy Spirit to bring this treasure home and appropriate it to us.”  This is what St. Paul is getting at when he says in Titus 1, “God has in due time manifested His word through preaching.”

So it is that Paul reminds Titus why he left him there in Crete–namely, to appoint pastors and preachers in all the cities where the church had been established.  For then the saving Word of Christ would sound forth to save sinners and to sustain believers in the one true faith. It is written in Romans, “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”  Paul indicates here that the task of preaching was committed to him according to the commandment of God our Savior.  He was sent by Christ, even as Christ was sent by His Father in heaven.  And so it is for all who follow in the apostolic ministry.  For in commanding Titus to appoint preachers, Paul says that in so doing, Titus would be setting in order the things that were currently lacking.  This office of preaching, therefore, is not merely a human arrangement but a divine institution and mandate so that the Word of Christ might be made manifest.

To assist Titus in his task, Paul gives a series of qualifications for those to be selected as ministers.  These qualifications are given not to exalt the man but rather to be as sure as possible that nothing about the man draws attention away from the Gospel of Christ which he preaches.  Later in this Epistle Paul instructs the laity to adorn the Gospel with good works so that others might be drawn to believe it.  So also here he gives instructions for pastors so that nothing in their personal life will get in the way of the Gospel they proclaim.  They are to have an orderly household.  As stewards and managers of the mysteries of God, they must not be hot-headed, drunkards, violent, or greedy, but sober, hospitable, self-controlled, just, and lovers of what is good–all of this so that the man may not be a negative focus, but so that he may fade into the background and Christ may be all in all, as John the Baptizer said of Jesus, “He must increase, I must decrease.”

Finally, Paul describes to Titus what the preacher must do in his preaching.  He must hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, as it has been handed down to him.  He is not in the business of coming up with new doctrines to proclaim to tickle the ears of the crowds, but must faithfully preach the sound doctrine that He has been given by God to preach.  With that Word of God the preacher must “convict those who contradict sound doctrine,” exposing and rejecting the false teaching of those who add man-made requirements to the faith, opposing those who advocate practices that draw attention away from Christ and His all-sufficient sacrifice on the cross.  Paul told Titus, “Rebuke such people sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.”

But above all, the preacher must set forth the Word of the Gospel in all its clarity and beauty and purity for our salvation.  Christ must be preached and made manifest in all His glory as our merciful Savior and Lord–He who did battle with the devil for us and emerged victorious, He who shared in our humanity in order that we might share forever in His divinity, He who descended to the womb of a Virgin in order that we might be raised to the heights of heaven.  

Since we have been given to know and believe this truth, let us not be like the defiled and unbelieving, who profess to know God but deny Him with their works.  For Titus 1 calls those who believe this Gospel pure.  You have been purified by Him who alone is pure, Jesus, the Holy One of God.  Believe that this is so for you.  You have truly been made clean and holy in God’s sight by the forgiving love of Christ.  Give thanks to God during this Advent season that He has manifested to you His Word, our Savior Jesus.

✠ In the name of Jesus ✠

Why Do You Want to Go to Heaven?

Matthew 25:1-13

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

Why do you want to go to heaven?  Seriously.  You might say, “Well, obviously, I don’t want to go to hell, so heaven is clearly the better option.”  But what is it about heaven that makes you want to go there and to be there?  Far too many aren’t really sure about how to answer that.  There is this notion that it will be good and happy.  So that’s nice.  On the other hand, there’s also this notion that it may not be as exciting as some of the things we enjoy on this earth.  Heaven is all holy and stuff, so you better have your fun now while you’re still here.  Such foolish notions actually provide a helpful way to do a little spiritual self-diagnosis.  Whatever it is that makes you want to put off heaven or especially the second coming of Jesus, whatever it is that you think you’d enjoy more or that would make you want to tell God to hold off for a little bit–that’s an idol in your heart and a false god in your life.

But still, what’s going to make heaven so great?  Actually, the Bible never really talks about “going to heaven” as the primary goal of the Christian.  To be sure, God’s Word clearly teaches that the souls of those who die in the faith go to be with the Lord.  But there is still much more that God has prepared and planned.  The truth of Scripture is expressed in the Creed, when we say that we look for the “resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come.”  Our real hope is tangible, fleshly, and focused on the Last Day.  On that final day, we won’t be going to heaven, heaven will be coming to us.  With the return of Christ, heaven and earth will be rejoined and all creation will be made new through Him.  What we set our hearts on is bodily resurrection.

It is as the Old Testament reading said, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth  . . .  No more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. . .  The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox.”  Notice there that eternity is described in physical terms, a new creation.  It will be a world where no family is ever gathered around a coffin again, a world where even in the animal kingdom there will be no more blood-red teeth or claws.  God’s plan for this creation will not be delayed forever.  It will become what He intended it to be in the beginning: a world without fear, without sin, without death.

But is even that really our ultimate goal, simply to have a pleasant place to exist for eternity?  No, what truly makes the life of the world to come so good–and this is what we often forget–is that there we will be in communion with God Himself, living forever in the overflow of His lovingkindness.   It is written in Revelation, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. . .  God Himself will be with them and be their God.”  Why do we want to have our share in the resurrection of the body to eternal life?  To be with Jesus, that’s why.  Being together with Him, sharing in the life of our Redeemer makes all the difference.  Only through Him is anything truly good and right.  Just beholding the glory of God face to face will far surpass any earthly experience.  In Him is perfect peace and contentment and gladness.  If your idea of heaven isn’t centered in life with Christ, if it’s primarily about a place that fulfills all your own personal pleasures and dreams, you’re missing the point.  What makes eternal life to be real life is the presence of your Creator and Savior and Lord.

  So it’s no wonder, then, that the final prayer in the Bible and the constant prayer of the church is “Come, Lord Jesus!”  That is our faith’s greatest desire, to be with Him, in an even greater way than we desire to be with loved ones for the holidays that we haven’t seen for a long time, or even to see loved ones who have died and are with Christ.  When the sorrows and the fears of this world press hard against us, and we don’t know if we can hold up much longer, we pray: “Come, Lord Jesus!” When change and decay in all around we see, and it seems as if the very foundations are being shaken, we pray: “Come, Lord Jesus!” When we feel the devastating effects of our own sinful flesh, we pray: “Come, Lord Jesus!  Come quickly to deliver us!”  Or as the Psalmist prayed, “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (Psalm 84:2)

By faith we long for that Day, but we know from Scripture that it will not be a day of joy for everyone. There are those who are unprepared for it, who really don’t welcome it.  Many would see Jesus’ return as an unwelcome disturbance of their plans, who love this world and don’t want to let go of it.  For them that Day will come like a thief in the night bringing sudden destruction, and there will be no escape. To meet that day without faith in the Savior and love for being with Him is to meet it as the Day of Doom.

What makes the wise virgins truly wise in this parable is that nothing was more important to them than being with the Bridegroom.  Everything else was secondary.  It was all about Him.  For the foolish, being with the Bridegroom was just another thing to squeeze in with the other priorities of life, if possible.  And so the wise were well prepared, while the foolish were unprepared.

Having faith in the Savior and wanting to be with Him is the main point of today’s Gospel parable.  Those who were wise staked everything on Him.  The lamp’s flame represents faith.  The lamp itself is the Word of God, as Psalm 119 says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet.”  The oil in the lamp is the Holy Spirit who works through the Word and the Sacraments to create faith in Christ and keep the flame of faith burning brightly.  Because the foolish virgins gave little attention to the Word of God and the Sacraments, their flames went out.  And they ended up being shut of the wedding feast, shut out of life in the new creation forever, even hearing the Lord say those awful words, “I do not know you.”  That’s a description of hell right there–hearing Jesus say that He doesn’t know you and that you can’t be with Him; all that’s left is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The five foolish ones did not endure in the faith to the end. They thought the bare minimum was enough; but tragically, it wasn’t.  It’s not God’s fault.  The doors are open.  And God eagerly and gladly supplies everything necessary–oil in abundance, free of charge, no strings attached, all paid for and provided by Christ.  There is not one soul for whom God’s Son did not shed His blood.  There is not one human life whose sins were not atoned for on Golgotha’s wood.  There is not one human being whose death wasn’t destroyed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All of you are forgiven and redeemed entirely for the sake of Christ.  All of you are on the invitation list for the wedding feast.

Your heavenly Father longs to be with you.  Much more than our desire for God is His desire for us.  That’s really the whole point of being at church, isn’t it?–to be with God and He with you, concretely, tangibly, in the flesh.  He delights in you through Jesus and wants you to be with Him.  Christ shares in your humanity so that you may share in His divine glory.  By His external, preached Word, God keeps you in the faith, lamps burning brightly all the way through to the end.

To the foolish all the church stuff may seem unnecessary.  What's the point of having so much oil?  But in other matters this is exactly how the world would expect you to behave.  When taking an SAT test--at least the old fashioned way--you bring extra pencils just in case.  When going on a big cruise or a trip, you make sure that you arrive at the airport early.  Young brides-to-be will often spend countless hours shopping for dresses, trying on make-up, consulting with their hairstylist, deciding on menus and flowers preparing for a wedding.  Doesn’t it make perfect sense then to be even better prepared for the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom?  

The extra oil of the wise is a reminder that faith never thinks in the way of having the bare minimum, any more than you would want to spend the least amount of time possible with someone you love.  Why wouldn’t you want to receive communion every week?  Being with Christ in divine service and being with Christ in eternity go together, and the cause of joy is the same in both cases–His presence, His mercy.  This is what makes the wise so single-minded:  You know that the One who is coming is the true, heavenly Groom who is perfect love in the flesh, the One who “gave Himself up for His beloved church, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water and the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, . . . holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:26-27).  

We eagerly watch for the Last Day, for when St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he told them that God did not destine them 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.  That holds true for you too who believe and are baptized.  You are not destined for wrath, but for life with Christ.  The Introit proclaims, “The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads . . . and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”  And Christ declares in the Old Testament reading, “I will joy in My people.”  That’s heaven, the Lord rejoicing in you.  Anyone who thinks that’s going to be boring, or that something else might be more important or exciting simply doesn’t have a clue.  The Lord’s passion and desire for you is that you may live with Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

“Behold the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet Him!”  Go out with the brightly burning lamps of faith in the present darkness of this world.  Be filled by the Holy Spirit with Jesus’ words and body and blood.  Possess these life-giving gifts in abundance from the Lord.  And as you go out to meet Jesus here in divine service week by week, then it will be no surprise at all but a most natural and joyous thing when you go out to meet Him on the Last Day.

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

The Least of These My Brethren

Matthew 25:31-46
 

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

When we hear the Gospel reading for today, the natural reaction of our Old Adam is to take it as a set of guidelines for what we should be doing so that Jesus will allow us into heaven.  On one side of the judgment seat you’ve got those who did charitable works toward Jesus, even though they didn’t know they were doing it for Him.  And on the other side you’ve got those who didn’t do charitable works toward Jesus, and they likewise were unaware of Jesus’ presence in these brethren who were hungry or sick or naked or imprisoned.  The first group is called the righteous and goes into everlasting life.  The second group is called the cursed and goes away into everlasting punishment.

And so our fallen human nature logically concludes that we’ve got to get doing more charitable deeds.  We’ve got to get on the ball and do more to help the poor and the needy so that we can be counted worthy to enter heaven.  It is a constant temptation for us to take the Word of God and turn it into a list of requirements that we can fulfill so that we can make ourselves right with God.  Inherent within us is this false opinion of the Law that we can save ourselves by our own goodness and acts of love.  And so we keep looking for spiritual checklists that we can fulfill: feed the hungry–check; clothe the naked–check; visit the sick–check.  There, I’ve done my part; I’ve made myself a true Christian now.  

But that isn’t putting your faith in Christ; that’s putting your faith in yourself.  That’s not relying on God’s goodness and love, that’s relying on your own goodness and love.  And to do that is contrary to the Christian faith.  Now let me be clear: we should be helping the poor and needy and doing charitable works toward our neighbor.  The Fifth Commandment requires that we help our neighbor in every bodily need.  We should do better about tending to the needs of others and not being so self-absorbed.  But the key point here is that we shouldn’t rely on how well we’ve done that to save us, for the Law always brings judgment.  We never keep it perfectly as we should.  Even your best efforts to show love to your neighbor fall short.  That’s not what’s going to get you into heaven.

In our attempts to keep the Law, we often forget the first and most important commandment:  that we are to have no other gods, that we are to fear, love and trust in God above all things.  If you are doing good works in order to gain eternal life for yourself, is that really loving God?  If you do deeds of charity so that you can feel good about having fulfilled your responsibility, is that really trusting in God?  Or, under a cloak of goodness is there, in reality, a lack of faith in God, an attempt to manipulate God to get what you want?  Don’t take today’s Gospel reading as a listing of the things you’ve got to do to earn your spot at Jesus’ right hand.  For that is precisely the attitude of those on His left.


This Gospel is not so much about good works as it is about faith in Christ.  The focus is on Him and what He has done.  For notice what Jesus says, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”  Jesus isn’t just talking about any old charitable deeds here, but ones done toward His brethren.  So just who are the brothers of Jesus that are referred to here?  St. Matthew would have us understand that these brethren are in fact the preachers of the Gospel.  And the difference between the sheep and the goats is whether or not they received Jesus’ brethren and believed the Gospel that these men proclaimed.

In Matthew’s account of the resurrection of Jesus, the angel at the tomb said to the women, “Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”  “My brethren” there refers to the 11 apostles, the 12 minus Judas.  At Galilee, Jesus gave the command to these 11 brothers of His, “Go and make disciples of all the nations . . .”  They were to do this by baptizing and by teaching His words.  Matthew 24 states that this Gospel of Jesus will be preached to all the nations, and then the end will come.  In today’s Gospel reading the end is described as “all the nations” gathered before Christ. “The brethren,” then, that Jesus refers to are clearly the apostles whom Jesus sent, and also all those after them who are in the apostolic office of the ministry, those whom Christ has given to baptize and preach the Gospel in His name in all the nations until the close of the age.

Already in Matthew 10 Jesus said to the disciples whom He sent out to preach, “He who receives you receives Me.”  Jesus had bound Himself to them so that their words were His words.  To welcome them was to welcome Christ Himself.  In fact, Jesus said, “Whoever gives one of these little ones [the least of these My brethren] only a cup of cold water because he is My disciple, I tell you the truth, he certainly will never lose his reward.”  That act of giving a cup of cold water was noteworthy not because it was a good work that merited anything but because it was a sign of faith, that the hearer believed the Gospel of Jesus which His brothers, the apostles, had spoken.

Jesus’ still says to His preachers and His missionaries, “He who receives you receives Me.”  For such men are called and ordained by Christ to be His representatives and ambassadors.  You know that when a pastor says, “I forgive you all your sins . . .” he is not speaking for himself but in the stead and by the command of Christ.  When he says, “This is My body,” that is not his voice but Christ’s.  The same thing is true of holy baptism.  Martin Luther said, “To be baptized in God’s name is to be baptized not by men but by God Himself.  Although it is performed by men’s hands, it is nevertheless truly God’s own act.”  The fellow whom Jesus uses to do that is really secondary; he’s covered up in robes to show that he represents not himself but the Lord.  To receive a brother of Jesus, then, a preacher of Christ, is to receive Christ Himself–not because of the merits of the minister but because Christ is truly present in the ministry of His words and sacraments for your salvation.

So let us consider again the scene in today’s Gospel: Jesus is seated on the throne of His glory for the final judgment.  All the nations are gathered before Him, all the nations to whom He sent His apostles and preachers to make disciples.  Jesus says, “I have sent to you My brethren, the messengers of the Gospel.  I have given them to be My mouth and hands, to speak My words and to shower on you My mercy and forgiveness and righteousness.  You on My right have received them and their message.  You have believed the Gospel, which was made known by your care for those who proclaimed it to you.  You may not have been aware of it, but whatever you did for these My brethren who acted in My stead, even the least of them, you did for Me.  But you on My left did not receive my preachers or their message.  You trusted in your own wisdom and works.  You did not believe the Gospel, which was made known by your failure to show any regard for those who proclaimed it.  You may not have been aware of it, but whatever you didn’t do for these My brethren who were acting faithfully on My behalf, you didn’t do for Me.”

That the brethren would be sick or hungry or naked or in prison was a very real possibility, particularly in the days of the apostles, though it certainly remains the case in every generation of this fallen and rebellious world.  Jesus told the 12, “I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.”  The Apostle Paul ended up in jail several times for his preaching.  He spoke of sometimes having plenty and sometimes being in want.  But He also gave thanks to God for those who received the Gospel and believed it faithfully, churches like the congregation in Philippi who on more than one occasion sent material aid to provide for his necessities.

So, you see, this passage is chiefly about those who embrace and those who reject the Gospel of Christ.  It’s not primarily a call to do works of mercy, though we very much need that reminder, too.  It’s ultimately about faith in the Gospel of Christ and the concrete signs of that faith, be it in a missionary or a congregational setting.  This faith is brought to perfection on the Last Day, when the sheep seem blissfully unaware of the things they have done.  For faith focuses not on one’s own deeds, but on the deeds of Christ.  “When did we do all these things?  All we did was believe the Gospel!”  Faith forgets itself that it may forever remember and retain Christ and His eternal gifts.

Our Lord Jesus won those gifts for you by becoming needy in your place.  He was weak and hungry in the wilderness.  On the cross He said, “I thirst.”  He Himself took your infirmities and bore your sicknesses in His own body on the tree.  He was treated like a stranger amongst His own people.  He put Himself into the bondage of your hellish prison so that He might burst the bars of your captivity from the inside out by His mighty resurrection.  Through Christ you are set free from death and the devil; you are released from your sins; you are cleansed and forgiven in Him.  He made Himself to be the least of the brethren so that you might receive the greatest of His mercies.  It is He who showed the truest and highest charity, paying with His own blood to redeem you, that you might live in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.  For Christ is risen from the dead; He lives and reigns to all eternity as your King and your Savior.

On the Last Day Jesus will certainly say these very words to you who believe, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  The Father has indeed blessed you by giving you the new birth of water and the Spirit into His heavenly family.  You are now His sons and daughters in Christ.  All that He has is yours.  Christ has given you to share in His everlasting inheritance.  And like any inheritance, it’s not yours because you’ve worked for it, but simply because you’ve been adopted into the family.  In fact, this inheritance was being prepared for you from the beginning of creation, before you were even around.  It’s all a gift, given to you through the merits of Christ.  Believe that Gospel.  Trust in that promise.  For just as Jesus will come on the Last Day with all His holy angels, so also He is here even now with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven to bring you His kingdom in the Sacrament of His body and blood.  Come, you blessed of the Father, receive the kingdom; receive the King.

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

Asleep in Jesus

I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Third Last Sunday in the Church Year

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

The Apostle Paul says to the Christians in Thessalonica, “I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep.”  In other words, Paul doesn’t want them to be unaware about what the future holds for the Christians there who have died.  The Thessalonians were eagerly expecting the return of Christ.  These converts, who had been turned away from their pagan idols to the true and living God, were taught by Paul to wait and look for God’s Son from heaven, the second coming of Jesus to save them from the final judgment.  In fact, so great was their anticipation of the Last Day that some of these Thessalonians were even forsaking their jobs and their daily work, expecting the return of Jesus to be at any moment.  In the verses right before today’s epistle, Paul had to remind the Christians in Thessalonica, “work with your own hands, as we commanded you.”  And again, “if a man is not willing to work, neither shall he eat.”

And along with this, another problem developed.  Some Thessalonians were unsure of what would happen to those Christians who died before the Last Day.  They saw Christ’s second coming as being right around the corner, and they wondered what would happen to their fellow believers who had passed away before that time.  Were they going to miss out on the blessings of Christ’s return if they weren’t alive in the body?  Many pagans of that time believed that once you died, that was the end of it for your body.  And so Paul says to them, “I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep.”  

But before we consider the teaching of Paul on this subject, we must first ask ourselves, how do we compare to these Thessalonian Christians?  What can we learn from them about ourselves?  We might be tempted to scoff at them a little bit.  “Those extremists, leaving their jobs to wait for the end.  How ridiculous!”  And yet, it seems to me that we can be guilty of the opposite error.  They may have forsaken their work to focus on Christ’s second coming, but we tend to forsake Christ’s second coming to focus on our work and the things of this world.  When is the last time you thought about Jesus’ return in a serious way?  The Scriptures command us to be prepared for it, to watch for it daily.  But we tend more eagerly to watch what’s happening with our money, or to watch our favorite shows and celebrities, or to set our eyes on politics or sports–my goodness, the never-ending sports.  While the Thessalonians did indeed carry things to an extreme, the fundamental point they had right:  we are always to be watching and preparing for the return of our Lord Jesus.  As we carry out the callings that God has given us, we are to lift our eyes and await the coming of the Son of God from heaven.  For each day could indeed be the Last Day of this world.

In the same way, we might be tempted to look down upon the Thessalonians’ lack of knowledge regarding those who have died in the faith–especially those who may have thought that you had to be alive in the body at Jesus’ return to experience His salvation.  And yet, again, we often make the opposite error.  We tend to give all our attention to the soul or the spirit while neglecting the fact that God also redeemed our bodies in Christ. We forget that the soul of a believer going to heaven is really only a temporary circumstance as we await the Last Day.  Our true and full hope regarding everlasting life is the resurrection of the body, the undoing of the curse of sin and death, the conquering of the grave.  The Word became flesh to save us in the flesh.

Paul speaks these words of God so that we will not grieve or sorrow as those who have no hope.  Most face death without any real hope, only uncertainty.  With no sure foundation they are left only with fear as life ebbs away.  Some may try to comfort themselves with all sorts of false hopes.  Some, for instance, believe in reincarnation, that once we depart these bodies in death, we will be reborn into new bodies in this world.  But that belief in reincarnation is simply a lie and an illusion.  For it says plainly in Hebrews 9, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”  The soul is the life of a particular body, a particular flesh-and-blood person, and it cannot simply hop around from one body to the next, regardless of what you see in the movies.  Soul and body are a unit, belonging uniquely to each other.  The only thing that rips them apart is death.

Others try to comfort themselves with the false hope that everyone goes to heaven, or to something like it, after death.  They deny the reality of hell for those who reject or ignore Christ or who keep Him at arms length and go their own way.  But the Scriptures are very clear on this.  Hell is real, and it is the destiny of every sinner who has not sought refuge in Christ, in His holy cross, in His words, His body and blood.  For only in Jesus is there deliverance from everlasting judgment.

So it is that Paul focuses our attention squarely on Christ.  The Epistle says, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”  Our hope is built surely and solely on what Christ has done for us.  He died and rose again.  Therefore, we who have been baptized into His body also die, for the sinful nature must finally be put to death, but we too will rise again to new life through the power of Christ’s resurrection.  For Christ is the head of the body, the Church.  Where the head goes the body must follow.

That’s why Paul refers to those Christians who have died as those who are asleep.  Believers who sleep in death will eventually awaken in the resurrection on the Last Day.  Therefore, it is quite fitting that places of burial are called “cemeteries,”  which comes from the Greek word, “to sleep.”  Many older and rural churches, you may know, had their cemeteries right next door, right on the property.  And for Easter, theses churches would often begin their services at the cemetery, the place where their fellow believers were asleep in Christ, and then process to the place of worship to celebrate the sure hope of the resurrection in Christ, the awakening to everlasting life.

Now this sleep refers only to the body and not to the soul.  The Bible makes it very clear that the spirits of the faithful who have died go to be with Christ in heaven.  Jesus said to the repentant thief on the cross, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise.”  The soul does not sleep but is comforted in the presence of God as it awaits the Last Day and the fulfillment of all things.  Then at the close of the age, God will bring with Him the souls of His people to be raised from the dead in bodies that are new and immortal and imperishable.  In the resurrection, God’s people will share in the glory of Christ so that we will no longer experience sickness or sorrow or pain or death, but only the perfection of life that the Lord Jesus won for us.  It is written in 1 Corinthians, “The perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality . . .  Then the saying that is written will come true, ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’  Where, O death, is your victory; where, O death, is your sting? . . .  Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This is why Christians throughout history never engaged in the practice of cremation.  While God can certainly resurrect even from our ashes, we never want to give the impression, especially to our unchurched family and friends, that God is done with the body, as if our only hope is for the soul, as if the resurrection of the body isn’t something real. Rather than speeding along the breakdown of the body with fire, we commend the body into God’s hands, the God who conquered the power of death for us.  The same God who created us from the dust in the beginning can certainly also resurrect and recreate us from the dirt into which our casket has been planted and raise our renewed bodies to live in the awesomeness of His very presence.  Since we believe in creation, we also believe in our recreation and resurrection through Christ, who “will change our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”

It is on this basis of the certainty of the resurrection that Paul offers comfort to the Thessalonians regarding their brethren who died.  He says, “This we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.”  In other words, those Christians who are alive at Christ’s second coming will not be the first to experience the effects of His return; rather those who have gone before us in the faith will.  Departed Christians are not at a disadvantage when it comes to the Last Day, and therefore, Paul says, you need not sorrow over them as if they’ll miss out on something when Christ comes again.  First, the dead will be raised, then the living will be changed and made new, though this will all happen with instantaneous speed.  It is written in I Corinthians, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed–in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”  That is the hope which Christ has given you in the face of death.

“The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”  Some have tried to say that this refers to some sort of rapture that will occur before the Last Day, where some are caught up and others are left behind.  But that is a false teaching.  Being caught up to meet the Lord in the air is a reference to our sharing in Jesus’ victory over the devil, who Scripture refers to as the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2).   This is the visible, final return of our Lord at the close of the age, when Satan will be cast down forever and we shall bodily be raised up forever.  And we shall always be with the Lord, sharing in and reflecting God’s perfect goodness and beauty and truth, all to His glory and honor and praise.

Until then, do not become impatient, like those who engaged in the idolatry of the golden calf.  But rather wait on the Lord Jesus and His timing.  And do not become complacent like those in the days of Noah and Lot, but rather devote yourself to the Lord’s Word and His Supper.  Comfort one another at times of death not simply with generic hopes of “a better place,” but with the concrete truth that the resurrection of the body is coming.  For the day is near when Jesus will be visibly revealed like the lightning that lights up the heavens, and He will bring your salvation to its fulfillment.

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

Paralyzed No More

“Paralyzed No More”
Mark 2:1-12

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

The man on the mat was paralyzed.  His legs didn’t work at all; perhaps his arms didn’t work so well, either.  He couldn’t move or get Himself anywhere.  He was stuck.  He’s a picture of all of us in one way or another, sooner or later.  To one degree or another we feel the paralyzing effects of sin’s curse in our physical health.  Our bodies are wearing down.  The legs don’t work like they used to.  We will all know the full effects of paralysis in death.  

And there are other aspects to it beside the physical ones.  Many people whose bodies are just fine still find themselves paralyzed and immobilized–by fear and uncertainty, by hopelessness and despair of God’s help.  They’re stuck and can barely move.  Sin can paralyze us that way, too.  Instead of boldly confessing our faith and loving our neighbor, we fear what’s going to happen to us or what others will think of us, and so we just do nothing and stay in our safe zones.  Or we’re trapped in bad habits and addictions that enslave us, that keep us in bondage, turned in on ourselves instead of outward, leading lives of faith and love.  We must all confess that we are like that man on the mat needing Jesus’ help.

The paralytic was carried by four of his friends to Jesus.  In the same way, we can’t we move one step toward God by our own power or reason or strength; we’re immobilized by sin and death.  We must be carried, like babies brought to baptism, or like the people you might invite and bring to church or to adult instruction class to hear the healing and life-giving Word of Christ.  You wouldn’t say to a paralyzed man lying on the ground, “You need to get yourself to a doctor, son.”  Neither should you say to a fallen sinner, “You need to find your own way to Jesus. You need to give your heart to the Lord and decide to follow Him.”  No, we all need help from outside of us.  That’s why it’s so important for you to provide that help by speaking the words of Christ and getting people to Jesus who are paralyzed and immobilized in sin.

The four men who help the paralytic picture for us the four evangelists, the four Gospel writers–Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John–who carry us to Christ through their accounts of His life and words.  It is only through the preached Gospel of Christ that we receive the help that we truly need.

And we see here that what we need is often different than what we think it is.  It is written that Jesus sees their faith, their determined trust in Him that ignored the crowd and that was literally willing to go through the roof to get to Him, and He does a rather surprising thing.  He says to the man on the mat, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  He absolves him.  Do you think that’s what the four friends had in mind when they took such great risks to get their friend to Jesus?  An absolution?  Not very likely.  They were expecting a healing, a miracle.  They were hoping Jesus would lay His hands on their friend and say the healing word and their friend was going to walk home.  I wonder if, at this point, they were feeling a little bewildered and disappointed.  And besides, isn’t Jesus embarrassing the paralytic by implying that He needs forgiveness, making an example of him in front of everyone, blaming the victim?  Some people might say that Jesus’ words were almost cruel.

I think that’s why many people today are a little bit bewildered and disappointed and maybe even a bit offended with what happens in church and in the liturgy.  People are looking for advice, for something practical that can help them out right now and make their life better in this world, for spiritual and emotional excitement, for something out of the ordinary and supernatural.  But what’s the main thing that happens here each week?  Well, for one thing, we start off the service with the confession of sins–there’s a great way to welcome people–you poor, miserable sinners.  And then Jesus comes to you and says to you–not just once but several times in several ways–“I forgive you all of your sins.”  

“But I have problems,” we say.  “I know that. Your sins are forgiven.”  “But I need answers.”  “No you don’t. Just ask Job. You need mercy.. Your sins are forgiven.”  “My life’s a mess. Don’t you have a program or something?”  “I don’t deal in programs. Just death and resurrection. Your sins are forgiven.”  “How about a miracle? I could sure use a miracle!” “You already have it. Your sins are forgiven.” (Cwirla)  Though we don’t always see it, forgiveness is the best and most practical gift our Lord can give.  For it addresses not just our perceived needs, but our real and deeper needs.

We don’t often recognize that Jesus performed His greatest miracle first in this story, when he absolved the paralytic.  The healing was marvelous and wonderful.  But the forgiveness went right to the heart of the matter and gave the paralyzed man an eternal blessing.  Jesus asked the question, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say ‘Arise, take up your bed, and walk’?”  Though it may not seem like it, it’s actually harder to forgive sins (in the fullest sense of the word the way Jesus does), because forgiveness involves both soul and body.  It’s possible to cure the body but not the soul.  Doctors can restore the body temporarily while the inward curse of death remains.  We still haven’t gotten to the root of the problem.  But forgiveness does.

Forgiveness is harder because it requires the cross.  There is a price to be paid to purchase this healing, the price of our Lord's body sacrificed in your place and His blood shed to redeem you and His soul tormented that you might be set free from death and hell.  Jesus became paralyzed with your sin, helpless, immobile as He was nailed to the cross.  He was then carried and lowered into the depths of the grave on your behalf to break its power over you.  But He also would arise and walk so that you would rise with Him in the body to life that is free from disease and paralysis and heartache and pain.  It is all of this and more that Jesus is declaring to you when He says, “Your sins are forgiven.”  You are loosed from them, released, set free.  They’re not your burden anymore.  Jesus took them and answered for them, and that’s the end of the story.  Let your conscience be clear.  Jesus’ words to the paralytic and to you aren’t cruel.  They may be humbling when He speaks real, life-giving forgiveness to your real, deadly sins.  But this is in fact the greatest gift that He can give to you and the only source of lasting comfort.  God is not angry with you.  You need not be angry with Him for whatever it is you have to endure.  Be at peace.  All is well in Jesus.

In order to show that His absolution was real, Jesus does go on to perform the more visibly obvious miracle.  He looks down at the paralyzed man lying there on his stretcher and says, “Arise, take your bed, and go to your house.”  Jesus’ words do what they say.  The man arose, and immediately he took his pallet within sight of a whole house full of people walked out.  And the people were astonished and glorified God.  “We’ve never seen anything like this.”  It was just a small foretaste of the astonishment that the disciples would have at the resurrection of Jesus Himself, when people like Thomas, who had never seen anything like it before, would kneel and say of the risen Jesus, “My Lord and My God!”  That’s how the world knows for certain that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.  He got up and walked out of His tomb three days after He died to pay for your sins.

Our Lord Jesus is still alive to bring you His healing forgiveness at His table.  Here is the remedy that heals you, the medicine of immortality, the living body and blood of Jesus given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins, to enliven you and make you whole.  Here is the gate of heaven, where you commune with God.  Surely God is in this place, and like Jacob, you have been given to know it.  Here you partake of Him who is the Life in the flesh, who incorporates your bodies into His own, and who will therefore raise you from the grave just as He was raised.

So be of good cheer.  You are paralyzed no more.  Christ has spoken to you His words of life. You are forever free.  Your sins are forgiven you.  And where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation and the resurrection of the body.

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

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