Author: Sonya

Apr 30, 2017 – 3^rd Easter ‘Turned Upside Down’

Let me ask – do you speak English? Can you carry on a conversation in English? Sermons are supposed to help you think about how your faith and life interact. So let me tell you about something that combines your speaking English with your faith.

Right now missionaries are needed in, among other places, China, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Indonesia and Macau to teach English as a foreign language. The LC-MS is looking for church members to go to these places for anywhere from 1 to 6 months and teach English.

Now you might think doing something like that sounds admirable… for someone else. Or maybe you even think, hey, ‘I can speak English perhaps I should go?’ But then you stop and start to ponder some of the realities. You think, ‘what if I get sick over there, and need real help, I’m no spring chicken and that could happen. Besides, could I get my medicine? Or what if I get there and I just don’t like the food, I have a sensitive stomach sometimes – could I get Maalox?’

Or maybe for you it’s ‘What if I get there and I just can’t stand the odor?’ Or ‘What if I just don’t like the people? What if I get lonely or scared? Those are things to carefully consider and are important in making a decision of this magnitude, but… those aren’t the main thing are they. The bottom line question is, we all think it’s important for others to know the Lord, but is that of greater value to me than what I have that makes me feel secure?’

After all that’s the end-game in going to Hong Kong to teach English – yes learning English will help them in a real-world, here and now, sense of things. But it’s the gospel that’ll save them and that’s what building relationships through teaching English could lead to. So, are the current certainties of my safety and security here and now worth tossing over for the gospel to reach another person?’

Those are questions our missionaries have to ask themselves. That’s what they consider. The point is not that you should necessarily go to China or Korea and teach English, though I think that’d be great. No, the point is, to think in real-world terms of truly sharing the certainty of faith.

You know in the gospel lesson today there were things that the disciples on the road to Emmaus were certain of. They were secure in their knowledge that Jesus was dead and buried. They knew without a doubt that the future they’d hoped for in Jesus had died three days ago on that hated roman cross. Of that these disciples, walking to Emmaus, were certain.

And now… well now, as they walked that road to Emmaus, three days after burying Jesus in the tomb, they knew that hope… was gone. Jesus was dead, buried and sealed up behind a huge tombstone. Their hope had died when He had died.

As they walked they might have been thinking, ‘It doesn’t matter that some of our women friends today went to the tomb and found it open and talked with some stranger they said was an angel. Yeah, I’d like to believe that, but in my world, a dead guy is a dead guy. These women even said they saw Jesus alive. Yeah, right. Of course, Peter and John went and found the tomb open but who knows, that could have just been the Romans doing some trick. At any rate, I’m sacred and I’m tired and what I knew, what I trusted in … it’s all blown apart.’

And so, they walked. And they walked. It was seven miles to Emmaus. And they walked with others who were leaving Jerusalem after the Passover feast. And now here comes this one Guy asking them questions, seemingly oblivious to reality. Was He really unaware of the uproar with the Jewish leaders and the roman governor; the crowds and the army? And that with the death of Jesus on the cross, did this guy walking along not know that that death meant the death of hope as they knew it?

So this Guy starts to talk with them. And He talks for most of the seven miles, some two-plus hours. And as He talks, what He says burns strangely in their hearts, they later report. These words had a familiar ring to them, but yet different somehow. And this Guy… this Guy too is familiar, but different.

And so it goes till they got to Emmaus and they insist that the Stranger stay with them, share a meal and then maybe; in the morning, things will be clearer. And when the meal happens, then their world is now radically changed. It comes so out-of-the-blue for them that they are simply rocked-to-the-core of their being. Now nothing else matters because what the women had told them was all true, Christ is risen/ He is risen indeed… and here He is giving them bread in front of their very eyes!

They simply now have no choice… they’ve got to go back to Jerusalem. This new truth, this certainty, is just too big, too important! And so off they went. They traveled at night, which no one did, all the way back to Jerusalem those same 7 miles and when they got there they confirmed what the women had said earlier in the day! And while they’re talking about it … Hey, Who’s that standing there inside the door? He wasn’t here before when we closed and locked those doors. How did He get in! Wait, it can’t be….’

We leave off speculating about what played out that night in their thoughts and excitement. And now we have to ask ourselves, why didn’t the guys going to Emmaus understand that it was Jesus walking them on the road? One thought is that grief is a very powerful thing. Grief is shocking. As we said last week we’re not created for death. We never get too familiar with it. Grief breaks us and leaves us shattered.

All of us are broken – by sin and we all, every one of us, need help to see Jesus. We need to have our eyes opened for us just as they did in Emmaus. And the gospel does exactly that. The gospel comes to  us just like Jesus came to the women and just like He came to those on the Emmaus road. It comes by Jesus opening our eyes, to Him, in faith. That’s the faith that He delivers to us by His grace alone.

In living out our faith in this world, like we talked about at the opening, we, like those disciples in Emmaus, leave the comfort and security we’ve made for ourselves, and head out into the night with only the light of the good news of the gospel. The world around us is dark without the light of Christ. We know from our own hurts and anxieties – like the disciples felt before Jesus appeared to them – we know what it is to be in the dark, to be hurting and broken.

And now, with the compassion that Christ has shown to us in coming to us, like He did with those on the Emmaus road and in the upper room, we take that out to others. Others who, like us, will benefit from knowing what we know, hearing what we’ve heard, and seeing what we’ve seen.

We’ve had our lives transformed by the good news of Jesus death and knowing that; Christ is risen… . What was broken and shattered in us and in our relationship with God has been mended and made right, made new again. We’re actually free of our sins and sorrow, and free from the obligations and stigma of our past. The power of Christ’s resurrection is ours and that power frees us from thinking we have any obligation to sin. The gospel does that and it does that for those around us, they just don’t realize it. Like the Emmaus road disciples, their hearts might be burning strangely, but they don’t recognize why.

So, what does this have to do with teaching English in Macau? Just this; the resurrection of Jesus changed the world for these Emmaus road guys in a matter of moments. Their whole frame of reference was re-framed for them. What they’d known before was not reality now. They’d been changed because of Jesus coming to life again and coming to them.

Now Jesus’ friend’s hope could not be shaken ever again, either, though they probably couldn’t have said so at the time. But they’d had their world so totally changed that now anything seemed possible. And that’s what this has to do with teaching English in China. Anything is possible because the gospel changes you, changes your world. Are there still smells that you won’t like, yes, but so what? Is it possible you’ll get sick and die over there? Yes, but that’ll happen here eventually anyway. The gospel needs telling because It has changed the world.

The hope and certainty of life with the God of creation is what Jesus’ resurrection means for all people. And people learning that is more important than whether or not I can get Maalox in Beijing. And here’s the rest of the story. This isn’t just about going to China; it’s about what goes on here as well. It’s about Hearing, Sharing and Living the Gospel.

The point is, that if you really imagined how turned upside-down your world would be if you really did go to China to teach English, if you really can dream of how that would change your life, you can begin to grasp just how turned-upside your world really and truly is right now because of Jesus Christ rising from the grave.

Imagining that, gives us a clue as to how the disciples’ world was rocked by that reality. And how, in fact our world has been rocked by that same reality. You live and speak English in the same world Jesus entered. And the world that He died on the cross to redeem. It’s the same world as the disciples’ world and you and I are not the same, any longer, because Christ is risen… He’s risen indeed, alleluia! Amen.

Sermon #889 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

First Reading                                                             Acts 2:14a, 36-41
14^ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.

36^ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37^ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40^ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41^ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Second Reading                                                              1 Peter 1:17-25
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,

“All people are like grass,     and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25     but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

Holy Gospel                                                                       Luke 24:13-35
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.  28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

 

Apr 23, 2017 – 2nd Easter Sunday – Reunited!

Christ is risen… He’s risen indeed, Alleluia! At last we’ve arrived in the Easter season. During this time, we’ll see and hear about how Christ lived among His friends and followers and gave them hope and assurance through the reality that; Christ is risen! … He’s risen indeed, alleluia!

One of the ways that we see Jesus giving assurance to His friends was simply through being reunited with them. In the gospel lesson today we see Jesus reunited on the night of His resurrection with His friends in the upper room where, just 4 days before He’d shared the last supper with them and then left to be betrayed by one of those friends.

That betrayal sent Jesus to the cross to die. And that death separated Him from them and from the world. Jesus was separated from the living, as He lay dead in the tomb for 3 days; having suffered the punishment of guilt for sin that God’s justice and holiness required.

But now, ‘today’ in the gospel lesson, He’s reunited with His friends having risen victorious over sin, death, and the devil. In this upper room, the disciples express fear, excitement, and joy. Their joy comes from again seeing and being able to touch Jesus, their friend and rabbi.

When I was on vacation a few years back, I got to go in the space shuttle full fuselage trainer at the museum of flight in Seattle. One of the shuttles, Endeavor, did one of the longest-ever missions to the international space station; it was 15 days. The crew performed a record setting 5 space walks during that time. I watched some of the video from that mission. It was fun to watch as the crews opened the hatches when the shuttle had docked. It struck me as I watched it that here these people are floating out in space, 220 miles above the earth, going about 17,000 miles an hour and what do they do when they first see each other? They embrace! They hug. They take each other up in bear hugs and smiles. They are simply happy to be together. Here they are floating weightless in space and all they want to do is make human contact and be reunited with each other. That’s the way God created us. We’re meant to be in relationship with one another; and with God.

God created us for togetherness. When we’re reunited with someone after having been apart from them all we want is to be with them; to embrace them to our hearts and hold them. God created us for relationship. With Ron Selvey’s funeral on Friday, we were reminded that death is still an intruder. We’re not created for death; we’re not created for separation. We’re created for life and relationships.

We were created to be – with, to be – together, to – relate; with God and with others. That’s why God created us, for a relationship with Him. He loves us and that’s why Jesus had to come and die; to restore the separation, the brokenness, and the grief over the loss of relationship that happened when sin entered this world.

Of course, sin, our rebellion against God, broke the relationship we were created for. That was our doing and God did what was necessary to undo our gross and insubordinate acts so that we could be reunited with Him. That’s why Jesus came to earth as a human, to die and rise again.

And so, because Christ died and rose again in the flesh, we get to be reunited with God through the righteousness of Christ alone. Through His blood and sacrifice, we are restored. And our relationship with God is made whole. And after His three days in the tomb, His resurrection was proof of God’s acceptance of His sacrifice. And now on the night when He was raised up, Jesus was reunited with His friends. The joy I witnessed between the shuttle and space station crews reflects the joy that God desires for all of His creation. He desires to be reunited with us.

When Jesus was reunited with His friends though, Thomas was not among them. Today we read Thomas story. We read how Thomas wasn’t there and that he refused to believe the others when they spoke of Jesus being alive again. Though the disciples’ relationship with Jesus had been restored, Thomas’ relationship was still cold and distant… from Thomas’ perspective. That’s because he’d seen the dead Jesus and knew only that. He didn’t yet have that relationship restored in the same way the others had.

And so, he was just as skeptical as we would be. This is Thomas who, when Jesus went to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead, said let us go to Jerusalem with Him that we may die with Him. Thomas knew Jesus was dead, period! And though he had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead just weeks before, he would not believe the words of his friends that they had been reunited with Jesus because Jesus too had come out from a grave.

So, Thomas stands in for us. He had not seen what his friends had seen and he would not put his trust in a man he knew to be dead. There could be no reuniting with a dead man. Despite all his friends’ firm testimony, Thomas would not believe. And so, Jesus does what’s needed for Thomas and for you and I. Jesus came and showed Himself alive to him.

Jesus acted on what Thomas needed so that Thomas could be reunited with Jesus. And more than that, Jesus did on the cross what Thomas needed, to be reunited with the Father in heaven. Jesus took Thomas’ sin and guilt, He took Thomas’ fear and doubt He took all that and nailed it to the cross in His own body. Then Jesus came and showed Himself to Thomas. And, more than that even He had Thomas touch Him. He gave Himself to Thomas for inspection, required it even. Thomas, standing in for us, has seen and touched the risen Savior, Jesus.

Thomas asks our questions. Thomas expressed our doubt about a dead man coming to life again. And we have heard how Jesus restored the relationship with Thomas after restoring His relationship with His other friends. Do we believe that or not? That’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it? Do we believe these words written for us? Listen again to what John says today after telling Thomas’ story.

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Those words of John are also rightly applied to all of scripture. That’s the purpose and goal of scripture, of God’s written word to us. To draw us back, through Jesus Christ, into a right and correct living relationship with Him who created us. God choose to use the written word to allow us to hear the words of those who’ve witnessed the events God brought about so we would know and understand His passionate love for us.

As John said these words are written so that we may have life, have a living relationship, based on the person, the name of Jesus Christ alone. Our life is tied to that name. The name of the One the angel last week identified as the Crucified One. The One who bodily died on the cross. And the One who bodily rose again from the dead. Remember that the tomb was opened so we could see in and know the joy of Jesus resurrection. And know that His resurrection is our resurrection.

That’s what the words of scripture are here for. For us to know that life is ours in Jesus name. Do we believe that? Do we trust that? And if we do, then what are we to do with that? How do we live with that? When we hear, and know Thomas’s relationship has been restored, that means our relationship too has been restored with God the Father through Jesus Christ. And Thomas’ story now becomes our story.

We’re called to share that story with each other and with those who, like Thomas, need to know that the Lord has done all that’s necessary for them to live in the joy of His presence right now. That’s what we, the church do!

Because we are the body of Christ here on earth. We’re about telling the words of what Jesus has done. We do this to strengthen and uplift each other. We’re to carry out our relationships with each other as a reflection of Christ’s relationship with us.

Being in the church changes us because the words we preach teach us that we’re not alone, like Thomas first felt in the gospel today. We understand Thomas’ feelings. And the words John recorded for us give us a way to identify with him. And then we also, as he did, through the words and actions of Jesus understand that Jesus is our Lord and God.

Kenneth Carder, retired bishop of the United Methodist church, told of friends losing their son in an automobile accident. This terrible tragedy stretched their faith to its limits. They desperately needed the support of their church family. The grieving mother said: “I was too hurt to sing the hymns, and I couldn’t say the creed with confidence. But when I couldn’t sing or affirm my faith, the church did it for me. When it seemed that life had fallen apart, the church reminded me that the foundation stands firm.”

Being in a restored relationship with God is for real life here and now, and we, the church are the ones who make that real. That grieving mother realized that the firm foundations of her faith rested on the word of God alone. And that word was spoken for her by the church. We recognize that’s true for us also, as we need it in our lives. And you’ve been called and chosen to take God’s words and tell of His deeds of restoration and joy to others who need them. We do that by our words and our deeds. The Word of Christ lives in us and that is what shows through us.

We say we at Zion are about sharing the gospel. Are those just nice words or do we mean it? Jesus did what Thomas needed for him to do, to understand the truth of restoration through the resurrection. That’s what we, as Christ’s body here on earth get to do. We get to embrace others joyfully with those same words of truth. The words that tell us that through the resurrection from the dead by Jesus Christ we have been given the gift of being reunited in the living relationship we were created for, with our Creator who so passionately loves us. In Jesus name we go to serve, amen.

Sermon #888 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

First Reading                                                                          Acts 5:29-42
29^ Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30^ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31^ God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32^ We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35^ Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38^ Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

41^ The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42^ Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

Second Reading                                                                                     1 Peter 1:3-9 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Holy Gospel                                                                     John 20:19-31

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

 

Apr 21, 2017 – Ron Selvey Funeral

Dear Donna, Rhonda, Roger, Peggy, Cammie and all the gathered family and friends and colleagues, grace mercy and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is a difficult day; it’s an unwanted day; it’s certainly a day unlike any other. While each of our days has its own sorrows and troubles, along with joys and delights, this particular day among days is unique for its grief as we mark the passing from this life of your husband, your father and our friend.

When I learned that there was to be a highway patrol honor guard today, I thought about how good that would be. It seemed fitting and proper to do. To have these people in uniform paying respect to a fellow officer, one who was beloved and esteemed by all who knew him for the type of man he was, both in his unit and in his community.  It put me in mind of another officer, of another man in uniform. Listen to the words from Luke 7: ^2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. ^3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. ^4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, ^5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”

Those remarkable words of the elders to Jesus – He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he is the one who built us our synagogue, these words would fit Ron as well. We know Ron loved the Christian church, as the centurion loved the Jewish nation. And like the centurion, Ron helped to build our place of worship at Zion Lutheran Church. Heavens, he hosted the church in his own home in the early days, while he helped to literally build our sanctuary.

I know the family has vivid memories of those days, of that time in Ron’s life. I’ve heard some wonderful stories and I encourage you all to continue to tell those stories together. Please share your memories of Ron with his family in the days to come. And at the close of the service we will hear from particular members of his family. Today, however, my task is not to recall stories of Ron, but to point us to the Savior that Ron trusted in and whom he loved.

As I said Ron helped to found and build Zion Lutheran Church. He did that as a witness and a testimony to the Lord who has redeemed him. In his baptism, Ron was made a child of our heavenly father, by the great exchange of the righteousness of Jesus Christ for Ron’s own unrighteousness. Ron had seen and experienced the effects of sin in this world and in his own life. Ron knew and understood that we’re all in need of mercy, we all need to be made whole and renewed in our relationship with God.

And the only way that happens is by the gift of God in sending His Son to die on the cross and to rise again to new life. Having just come through Lent and Easter, we’re all the more mindful of the death that Jesus stepped into in our place, and Ron’s place, and took on Himself the punishment we all deserved for our own sin and rebellion. And in doing that and rising again from the dead to His glorious resurrection, Christ has made Ron’s freedom, and our hope on this day, sure and certain.

Today also is unique in that it’s a day none of us wanted to see come this soon. Today’s a day of saying goodbye to a loved one. And saying a final goodbye is not what we’re created for is it? We were created for life, not death and death is an unwelcome intruder into the relationships we’ve been created for.

Because of the resurrection of Christ, death, while real and does separate us from our loved ones, death has lost its eternal sting for us through that assurance of the resurrection. By the grace of His Holy Spirit, Jesus comes and brings that assurance to us. As the reading from the book of Job today told us,

“after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”  That promise of the resurrection, which Job declared from ancient times, is as real and sure for us now as it was for him then. That promise is ours through the strong Word of God alone. Today we have that hope that supports us in our grief and loss. And it assures both that Ron is at rest from his suffering and pain in the arms of his Lord, and that we will be reunited with him in the coming resurrection that Jesus promises is ours.

You know I mentioned that Ron helped to build our sanctuary, and in the reading from 2^nd Corinthians we’re told that, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built with human hands. That house is built for us by Jesus.

In the reading from John’s gospel, Christ tells us, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. That is where Ron is now. And that is where we will be, in the Lord’s time. That is Jesus’ promise to us. Jesus has taken the initiative and He gathers us to Himself, where we’re set free from the power of sin, Satan, suffering, and death. Jesus has overcome death by His blood on the cross. And by His word and promise we’ve received His total assurance of forgiveness of all our sin. We receive that, not because we’ve done anything to deserve it, but because Jesus chose to do that in our place.

The fact is, that He has set us free, and with that freedom comes hope. That resurrection life in Christ is what Ron put his hope in while he was here with us. He demonstrated that hope. But now he is beyond the need for hope. Instead he has the reality of Who he hoped in! Ron is beyond hope, beyond faith, beyond pain, beyond suffering. Ron now has possession of Jesus’ promise to him that He would come and take Ron to be with Himself.

Ron no longer has need for faith or hope, he has Jesus’ promise in the presence of His Lord. In Jesus coming to earth as an infant to be born, grow, die and rise again, in all this we see, we see the unfailing love of God. And that, the love of God, is what gives us hope in this day of tears.

Again, this is not a day we wanted to see come because of the sorrow we must endure, but it is day of hope nonetheless. It is a day of triumph nonetheless. And it is that because we know to a certainty that Ron now has heaven as his inheritance and we are sure of that because we are sure of God’s word of promise to us.

Yes, this day has its sorrow, as it should. But it is also a day to be reminded that all who put their trust, as Ron did, in the saving work of Jesus on the cross, share in Christ’s eternal life. May you know and be reminded this day, of the total forgiveness of all your sins and of God’s love and care for you. As Jesus tells us today that He is, the way, the truth and the life, Ron now has that eternal life, by the power of Jesus’ blood. Ron, now lives in the ‘eternal now’ with the Lord, which is the fulfillment of the promise that comes by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Christ has taken the sting of death and replaced it with the assurance of everlasting salvation. May you be comforted and consoled this day, in the hope of Jesus Christ, which is yours by grace through faith alone. In Jesus name, amen.

Sermon #887 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Pastor: Psalm 23

¹Â Â Â Â Â The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²Â Â Â Â Â He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

³Â Â Â Â Â He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

⁴     Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵     You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

⁶     Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

 

Reading from Philippians 1:20-21

 

Pastor: It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

 Reading from Job 19:23-27

Pastor: 23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,

that they were written on a scroll,

24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,

or engraved in rock forever!

25 I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.

26 And after my skin has been destroyed,

yet in my flesh I will see God;

27 I myself will see him

with my own eyes—I, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!

Reading from 2^nd Corinthians 5:1-10

Pastor: For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ We live by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

 Reading from the Gospel of John

Pastor: John 14: 1-6

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.  2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.  3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Apr 16, 2017 – Easter Sunday – Come and See and Go and Tell

Christ is risen… (He is risen indeed!) That’s right, the day after the Sabbath day, Christ arose from the grave in victory and triumph over sin, death and the devil. We all know that because that’s what we’ve been taught to understand Christ’s resurrection to mean. But on that first Easter, the first time someone heard that… Christ is risen… was after what must have been a very sad Sabbath day.

The Sabbath was meant as a day of refreshment and contemplating God’s goodness to Israel. But the Sabbath day of these women and the followers of Jesus would likely have been a Sabbath of mourning and sadness. It was more a day of death than of thinking of God’s goodness, I’m sure. And that same feeling seems to follow the women as they come to the tomb.

They came prepared for death but what they got was… an earthquake, an angel and a message that simply stunned them. The earthquake would have surely reminded them of three days earlier when the earth shook at Jesus’ death. And would have again brought fresh fear to their hearts and minds. And on top of that earthquake they see an angel.

Now that in itself would be enough to shake your world without an earthquake. But all of that together is not yet the most shocking thing to this day after their sad Sabbath day. It’s the message they all hear from this angel, when he says, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen from the dead.” They’re told Jesus/ is/ not/ dead but He’s alive.

That message is what simply stunned these women – more even than an angel alone! This was too good to be true. This was not what they knew to be true from their own experience or understanding of events that had taken place 3 days before. When you took a body down from a cross as they had and put it in the grave for 3 days, death is certain. Life is gone.

But their understanding of life and death is all about to change – they don’t know it yet – but out of death is about to come life. And in the midst of this it’s interesting to me that, in light of the fact that the angel is there to announce the good news that Jesus has been raised to new life, the guards ‘became like dead men’! That contrast of death and life is carried on in the other readings from today also and we’ll come back to that before we close. But that contrast, of life and death, is what we have lived with everyday since our baptism.

Now, we’ve talked so far about the angel who opened the tomb, and the first part of what he said, but we’ve not talked about why. Why did he open the tomb? Some have said and still teach that it was to let Jesus out. But that doesn’t fit with the whole message this angel has given. Listen again to verse 6 ‘He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come see the place where He lay.’ There it is, there’s the reason for the angel to open the tomb. To/ invite/ them/ in.

The only purpose of rolling the stone from the door of the tomb was to exhibit the empty tomb to the women and to give them evidence, by this very fact, that Christ has risen… Christ rose before the coming of the angel, He rose while the tomb was still closed and the stone was still sealed. The angel, however, rolled the stone from the door of the tomb only after coming down from heaven. And this the angel did for the women and for us, the whole world. That’s why the angel says of Jesus, He has risen, not ‘he is gone’. The stone was rolled away by the angel only to reveal that the resurrection had already taken place.

The angel had two pairs of commands for these women, ‘come and see’ then ‘go and tell’. Come and see the place where he lay was the first pair of commands. As we said, that command was in keeping with the reason for rolling the stone away. So that they could see the evidence for themselves that Christ is risen…

But the second pair of commands was to go and tell. These women were to be the first humans to tell the Good News to others that Jesus had in fact risen just as He said He would. The angel gave them instructions as to who tell and what words to use to tell them. Listen again to verse 8, ‘so they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.”

And as they go, Jesus Himself meets them. The resurrected Christ comes to them. His joy can’t wait. Just like the joy of heaven bursting into the night sky when Jesus came to earth as a baby 33 years earlier.

Also remember a few weeks back I said that Jesus broke up every funeral that we know He went to, including His own. And here we see Him doing just that by coming to the women, alive! Jesus simply must comfort them and strengthen them for the doubt He knows they’ll face in a few moments when they return to the disciples to tell them the Good News.

He knows when they tell the disciples this amazingly unexpected news, the women will face doubt. These first evangelists will be confronted by doubt from the very people who Jesus here calls His brothers. Listen again to verse 10, ‘Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me.”

Take note that Jesus didn’t interfere with the task the angel had given them. Jesus reassured them and repeated the command the angel had told them. Though they’d just seen and worshipped Jesus, they were still to go and deliver this news. Jesus didn’t take over their task. They were still the ones sent to tell the disciples the same good news the angel had given them charge to do.

The stone was rolled away not by human hands, but by divine direction. Just as the stone is rolled away for these women and the men who later come to the grave, so also our hearts of stone are rolled away for us. We don’t do that for ourselves. Our hard-hearted guilt is rolled away by the grace and mercy of God the Father alone in sending Jesus to do this very work of salvation by His crucifixion and resurrection.

Remember I said that before we close we’d come back to the theme of life and death in our other readings today. For us Colossians 3 speaks of this same work of Jesus for us in giving us new life in our baptism. That new life is what Jesus accomplished by His gift of faith and grace to each of us. According to Paul’s words we “have died” with Christ and “have been raised with Christ” and now our “life is hidden with Christ in God”. That’s what baptism does for us.

Our sinful self is drowned and we arise to new life in Christ. According to what we read in Acts today, as “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” and “raised Him on the third day”, so He also raises us up and pours out His Spirit upon us through the Gospel.

There was a time in church history that baptisms were only done at Easter. Various practices of preparation have been recorded lasting from weeks to years. But the 40 days of Lent were often used as the final preparation time for new believers to make ready to come to the baptismal font and receive the Holy Spirit and the new life in Christ that is promised to all who trust in Jesus for His righteousness.

So for us on this Easter morning we take a moment now to remember our baptism. To remember that what we celebrate today, the message of the angel telling us of Jesus’ resurrection, we remember that that is also our resurrection. Jesus has promised. His new life is our new life. And we now ‘come and see’ and ‘go and tell’ what has happened for us. He has made it ours by His obedience to death for our sin and then rising to new life again for our salvation. Christ’s new life is what has been ours from the moment our old self was drowned in the life-giving waters of baptism. Because Christ is risen… He is risen indeed…we too shall rise. We stand now turning in the bulletin to page …

Sermon #886 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

First Reading                                                                            Acts 10:34-43

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

 

Second Reading                                                      Colossians 3:1-4

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Gospel                                                                 Matthew 28:1-10

P  Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women,

C  “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said!”

P  The angel said to the women,

C  “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay.  Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.”

P  So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to go  to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

 

Apr 14, 2017 – I Am the Good Shepherd

John 10:11-18. ^11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ^12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ^13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. ^14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ^15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ^16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ^17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ^18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

In the midst of this most somber of days we take time to hear Jesus say, ‘I Am the Good Shepherd’. As we close out our look at the scandalous “I Am” statements that Jesus makes in the gospel of John, Jesus’ ‘I Am’ statement today, as much as anything else, leads to this most somber of days. This day, on which Jesus was crucified for the life of the world as we spoke of last night, comes about in no small part because Jesus says, ‘I am the Good Shepherd’. It’s the seeming arrogance of Jesus saying, “I Am, ego emi, Yahweh”, that, in the eyes of the Jewish leadership, deserves death.

They thought that by simply putting Jesus to death they would destroy Him and that His followers, like sheep without a shepherd, would scatter and so solve their problem of keeping the status quo intact. But they were wrong. They were wrong because this was not arrogance on Jesus’ part, it was simply fact. Jesus is God. Jesus is the ‘I Am’ that spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. He is the manna sent down to feed the world.

In the reading from John 10 today Jesus says, “I Am the Good Shepherd”. And He says it not once but twice. If you recall a few Wednesdays ago, we said we’d come back to this role of Jesus as the Good Shepherd when we heard Him say, ‘I Am the gate to the sheepfold’. And at a later Wednesday we spoke about Jesus saying, ‘I am the true vine’ and that He had added that distinction of ‘true’ to His ‘I Am’ statement. And He does that same sort of thing again tonight. And this time, like then, this distinction is aimed clearly at the leadership of the Jews. Tonight, Jesus is making it clear that He is the one and only ‘Good Shepherd’.

Let’s take the context of the second ‘I Am the Good Shepherd’ into account first. Jesus says, 14 “I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. This second ‘I Am’ tells us the Good Shepherd has sheep from another sheep pens.

This strikes at the Jewish understanding of salvation being only for Jews. This would have angered not only the leaders, but all good Jews. The sheep not of this Jewish flock that Jesus speaks of are the hated Gentiles. Because of their understanding of the Jewish imagery of sheep and the sheepfold being under the chief shepherd, Yahweh, they would have heard Jesus words as clearly outside the box of who they understood salvation to be for.

In fact, this Jewish misunderstanding of who salvation is for, has been a problem all along in God’s relationship with the Jewish nation. They thought it was for them exclusively, when in Genesis 12, God makes clear that He always wanted to the show the world through, through the Jewish nation, that He  loved all people. He had chosen the Jewish nation for this very reason.

Because they were weak, small, and insignificant, God chose them; gave them land that wasn’t theirs, put them into a relationship with Him that they did not deserve – all this to show the world that God’s loved is not earned, merited, or acquired by bribe or barter or any work of man on his own behalf. Rather, salvation rests on God’s grace alone. It was God in His grace that chose the Jews, not the Jews that chose God. And their relationship as the chosen people was so that they could lead others to understand, that God loves them also.

So, when Jesus says today, ‘ego emi the Good Shepherd’ and ‘I have sheep not of this fold’ He was opening their eyes to this true understanding of God’s love. That God’s love was to be for all people of the world. And that it was by the messiah of the Jews through whom that salvation was to be paid in full. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, bore our sins on that tree of crucifixion so that we, the sheep of this ‘other sheep pen’ might be protected by the Good Shepherd.

But let’s go back to the first ‘I Am the Good Shepherd’ in tonight’s reading. It says: “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

Here we see Jesus setting up as we said earlier, Himself as the singular or one unique shepherd who is not a mere hired hand. A hired hand, Jesus is saying, such as the Pharisees and the other leaders are, they see the sheep only as a means to selfish gain. The Good Shepherd on the other hand will not run from danger but rather protects and guards His sheep in the face of any and all threats.

The Good Shepherd will even go to death rather than let the sheep be harmed. And that is what Jesus is doing on this day. On this Good Friday Jesus hangs dying between the wrath of God and the sinful people who deserve that wrath. And He, the Good Shepherd, takes that punishment, that injury, that terrible and all consuming anger on Himself. All this He does so that the sheep, those who trust in Him, may be spared, protected, and set free from the punishment we deserved for our sin.

In John 19:30, at His crucifixion, we’re told, When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. When Jesus said, ‘it is finished’ this punishment for sin is what He was talking about. The wrath of God was poured out on Him so that that wrath would have an ending – in death. On Jesus that ending, that death, took place.

Also in John’s gospel, we read the account of the soldiers piercing the side of Jesus to discover if indeed He was dead or if they needed to break His legs. If He wasn’t dead then they would have broken His legs and so forced Him to die quicker through not being able to push Himself up to breathe.

While they weren’t doctors, they knew their craft of torture well enough to know that when you pierced a man’s side in the correct place and blood and water flowed you knew that person was dead. Otherwise the lungs, still working in a live person would have held in the pericardial fluid that looked like water. The point is that Jesus, true God and true man, was dead.

Jesus had to die there on that cross, as my Good Shepherd, because I am not sufficient to lay down my own life. Rather He has chosen to do so in my place. Only the Good Shepherd chooses to lay down His life for His flock.

As He says in today’s reading: The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.

Jesus the Good Shepherd, has been faithful in His protecting His flock, faithful unto death, even death on the cross. And as we heard He has authority to take up His life again. And that is our gospel hope. For while our sins are washed away in His blood, His coming resurrection is what guarantees that we have life eternal in Him.

Tonight, we leave here under the protection of His blood. And that is what makes this Friday “good”. And we know that it is by that blood which flowed from His head, His feet, His hands, and His side, that we, and the world, have been given life. “‘I AM’ the Good Shepherd” has seen to that. Amen.

Sermon #885 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Apr 13, 2017 – I Am the Bread of Life

I love the bread at Black Angus restaurants. One time when we went there, we sat down and were very hungry. They brought us some of that good bread and we started right in on it. We could dig in and not worry about how it would get paid for. You see somebody else had already paid our bill. We’d been given a gift certificate and so the bill, even before we sat down to eat, had been paid in full. We came hungry and left satisfied enjoying it fully because we knew it was paid in full already. That’s what’s happened for all of us tonight also.

We’ve come here hungry for the renewing of our spirits and we are leaving having been satisfied by the bread of life that Jesus Himself has given to us in Holy Communion.

When Jesus says in the gospel lesson tonight, I Am… the bread of life, he who comes to me will never go hungry, Jesus is saying that He is the only source of nourishment for life. He makes the ‘I am’ statement to tell the disciples and all who follow them, that there is no other source for life. To go anywhere else, to go to anyone else, is to be left with only ashes to feed on, not the true Bread of Life. To choose anything else than what God gives us in sending His Son to us, is to choose death and hunger. We need and long for that which God alone can give to fill us with. Everything else is just dust in our mouth.

You know, we never just eat one meal in our lives and then never have to eat again. We need nourishment constantly. And constant nourishment is what Christ gives us in His body. That’s why He can say to all who come to Him for the bread of life that they will never hunger again.

Remember this event happens early in Jesus ministry, and that just before Jesus says this ego emi tonight, on the other side of the lake the day before, Jesus feeds the 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. He gave thanks / and gave them / bread. And He didn’t give them just enough so they wouldn’t go hungry, but He gave them more than enough; He provided an abundance of bread. His supply overflowed what they could consume and He gave them so much that they had to carry off the excess in 12 basketfuls!

5000 people stuffed themselves full and still God, through Jesus Christ, supplied more than they could consume. That’s what Jesus is talking about when He says tonight, that anyone that comes to him will never hunger again. Those 12 basketfuls represent to the world the abundance of life that God gives us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We know He will give His life into death on the cross tomorrow for the life of the world – so that the world may know the abundance of God’s love for them.

The bread in the 12 baskets speaks loudly to us of God’s abundance for us. But our only source of the bread of life is Jesus Christ. He is the One, the I Am, the ego emi, who gives His life to be broken on the cross just as He broke the bread and distributed it to the 5000. And that same thing is what He does on this night in the upper room at the Last Supper; where He says those words that fill our desperate need for the nourishment for our lives when He instituted holy communion with, take and eat, this is my body given for you.

Don’t miss also that the people by the sea-shore in today’s reading said to Jesus that their forefathers ate manna in the wilderness. And what does Jesus say in reply to being reminded of the manna from heaven? He says, I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. It was by the abundant grace of God that they were fed. Jesus says I Am the manna, ego emi the bread – Yahweh is the life of the world.

The abundance of God to the world is given to us in the man Jesus Christ. In His flesh, is the life of the world. And that flesh is what He has given to us here tonight to feed on, to be nourished on and to receive the abundance of God through.

We have consumed the forgiveness of God in the flesh of Christ through His body and blood in the bread and wine. Ps 34 tell us that we have, tasted and seen that Lord is good. He is good to us, He is goodness to me and to you. He has given His flesh for the life of the world; He has given Himself into death that we may taste life. And that life cannot be taken from us.

That is why Christ says, He who comes to me will never go hungry. Jesus when He says, I Am the bread of life is making clear that He is Yahweh, the One who fed the forefathers in the wilderness. He is that manna that comes down from above.

And He has come down tonight and fed us also. We go from here, filled with the abundance of God. We also go knowing that when Jesus left the table on the night when He was betrayed, He left that table to go and ‘pay the bill’; ‘in full’ on the cross. Because the great I Am died and rose again, we’ve had all our hunger for the righteousness of God satisfied for us.

The huge cost of our bill; the enormous amount that was required to purchase the righteousness of God / has / been / paid. We’ve been given, by grace through faith alone, eternal life in Christ. So, we live life now, grateful for the abundance of God to us. That abundance has been purchased for you and I by the One who said, I Am the bread of life, he who comes to me will never, never go hungry. Amen.

Sermon #884 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

First Reading                                                                           Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “The time is coming,” declares the LORD,        “when I will make a new covenant        with the house of Israel        and with the house of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenant        I made with their forefathers        when I took them by the hand        to lead them out of Egypt,        because they broke my covenant,        though I was a husband to them,”        declares the LORD.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel        after that time,” declares the LORD.        “I will put my law in their minds        and write it on their hearts.        I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,        or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’        because they will all know me,        from the least of them to the greatest,”        declares the LORD.        “For I will forgive their wickedness        and will remember their sins no more.”

Second Reading                                                 Hebrews 10:15-22

 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.    I will put my laws in their hearts,  and I will write them on their minds.”

17 Then he adds:  “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18 And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Holy Gospel                                                                            John 6:25-40

25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

30 So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

32 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

 

 

Apr 9, 2017 – The Need for the Blood of Jesus

Among the unique things from Matthew’s account of the passion of Christ is, it’s Pilate, the priests and the people that together proclaim the need for the blood – the death – of Jesus. They all clamor for His death. But not as we do; not as an affirmation of the God of heaven keeping His promise to take away the sin of the world through His Messiah.

No, they each and together make it clear that this man Jesus is to die. For them, He needs to be dead and gone. That’s important to remember on this day of praise and passion. Without that fact, without their testimony to the fact of the need for Jesus’ death, we have no earthly reason to be here in church. If Jesus didn’t in fact die– we have no hope of life.

You know the saying, ‘a mind is a terrible thing to waste’. But when it comes to a mob mindset perhaps that idea should be rethought. In fact, a mob mentality is one of those things that weakens a person’s mind and to draws them into doing something they wouldn’t otherwise do on their own.

But we have to face the facts that in the gospel reading we are faced with the mob crying not just for Jesus to die, but that His blood be on… them. That’s a huge thing for them to say. They want His blood, they want the life of Jesus to be taken and they will gladly take the responsibility for putting Him to death.

They were literally crying out to be guilty of the death of Jesus Christ. They knew what calling for His blood to be on them meant when they said these words. Some Old Testament passages they would’ve known make this clear, like Leviticus 17:11 that says For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. And verse14 says – because the life of every creature is its blood.

The idea of being accountable for the blood – for the life – of another person, was well understood and there was no uncertainty in what the crowd, stirred-up by the leaders, was calling for. They were telling Pilate, ‘We will be accountable. Put on us and on our children the guilt for taking the life, for taking the blood, of Jesus’.

That’s what that phrase, let His blood be on us and on our children, means. They’re saying that they will swear on the life of their offspring that they take responsibility for putting Jesus to death. Consider the irony of that statement; they are willing to sacrifice their children’s future of standing before God as guilty of the death of the only Child of God Himself  And yet such a sacrifice by the mob would only bring death to their children, whereas the sacrifice of God’s Child brings life to all. But today the mob speaks, and the mob demands and the mob is satisfied… by Pilate.

But first, Pilate makes them another offer. He offers up a ‘notorious prisoner’, Barabbas, in Jesus place so he can set Jesus free. That was his custom at the feast. After all Pilate, has judged this Man innocent. And Pilate, in this gospel account, has been hounded by his wife to have nothing to do with, as she said, that innocent man. Pilate had to go home after facing the crowd and face his wife. But rather than listen to her, he gives in to the mob.

And yet Pilate has the gall to try and proclaim his own innocence regarding Jesus when he washes his hands in front of the crowd. Like I said, he has to go home and face his wife. This way he can tell her that he washed his hands of the guilt of Jesus’ death when giving in to the crowd… but by-jiminy, dear, they knew I didn’t like what they wanted because I agree with you sweetheart, he was innocent so that’s why I washed my hands… Hogwash. He simply refused to do what his own conscience told him was right to do.

I am no different than Pilate. And neither are you. You are no different than that crowd. And neither am I. We all want Jesus gone. We all want Jesus dead.

And we all get what we want. The proof of Jesus being dead comes from, among other sources, a little-known man from Arimathea, named Joseph. Joseph is described as a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin and he’s able to address Pilate personally. Interesting that Joseph has the courage to go to Pilate.

After all we’re told that Joseph dissented from condemning Jesus and yet he goes to the man who allowed the Sanhedrin and other leaders to manipulate him into allowing Jesus to be killed. At any rate, Joseph goes and asks for the body of Jesus because Pilate is still the one with the power to dispose of the bodies on Roman crosses. By Joseph asking this, he relives Pilate and the Jews of a difficult situation – what with the Sabbath day beginning at 6 pm, sunset. To have dead bodies hanging on crosses after that was not something that was tolerated.

So, everyone has gotten what they want – Jesus is dead. He’s dead according to Pilate and a member of Sanhedrin. And also, according to the rulers of the Jews, the Pharisees. Vs 63 says, “the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while He was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’”

Interesting that the word they used about Jesus here is most often translated, ‘deceiver’. And to have the Pharisees use that word to speak of Jesus when it’s they themselves who deceived the people is bitter irony. Also in that same bitter cup is the fact that they speak to Pilate, who ordered Jesus’ execution, though he’d declared Jesus to be innocent. Again, a great and bitter irony on a day filled with bitterness and sorrow.

But by their coming to Pilate and securing a guard to put on the tomb, the Pharisees are testifying to the fact the Jesus is indeed dead and now buried. They had people watching everything that happened with Jesus all along just so that they could be certain … He was gone. And this request makes it clear that they’re satisfied that, at last, Jesus is dead.

Everybody has now gotten what they wanted. Pilate is through with this particularly troublesome Jew; the crowd has done their part and even more by demanding that they take the blame for the death; which pleases both Pilate and the Jewish leaders as it supposedly, takes them off the hook for getting exactly what they wanted since this backwater preacher named Jesus came along and began upsetting everything. With His teachings, His miracles – healing the sick, deaf, blind, lame and even raising Lazarus – Jesus has been nothing but a thorn in everyone’s side. Now at last everyone is happy! Because Jesus is dead.

Never let anyone try and tell you otherwise. Never let any of the theories that ‘Jesus just swooned on the cross’ carry weight with you. Never let those who deny that Jesus lived and died convince you of such lies. We have the testimony of too many people who hated Jesus standing against such deceit.

But… but their testimony is not the end of the story as we know. … because … We do boast in the death of Jesus Christ. Remember Leviticus 17, it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

The sacrifices of the Old Testament were done to teach us that very truth. To teach us that we cannot make atonement for ourselves. That another must die to pay for our sin. That the blood is what testifies to the life taken to pay for sin.

That is what the crowd asked for to be upon them isn’t it? The blood of Jesus is what they and we cry for and that’s what Jesus gives us. It’s His blood that He gives us, which we need for atonement of our sins and the sins of the world.

A motorist was arrested for speeding while driving through town. The judge told him that he had the option of paying for his ticket with cash or by giving a pint of blood at the local blood bank. The motorist chose the blood bank. When he brought the receipt for the blood to the judge, the judge stamped his ticket “Paid with blood,” and was released. We, who by God’s grace are children of God, also have had our debt marked ‘paid with blood’ – the blood of Jesus – which, as Leviticus teaches us, “blood… makes atonement for one’s life.”

People sometimes ask, is it fair that Jesus had to die for others? No, of course it isn’t fair, but it is just. It is right. Blood is what’s needed to pay for sin. Innocent blood. And that is what we have in Jesus. We have the innocent blood of Jesus Christ who we know, and have testimony to the fact that He, died. And so, He paid our debt with His blood. That is what this Sunday of the atonement teaches us.

And next week, next week we get to rejoice in the resurrection of Christ over death, which is our guarantee of freedom. Next week we will, with full hearts and voices shout aloud the victory of Christ that is ours.

But for now, we will remember that we, with the crowd, called for Jesus blood to be upon us. We will remember that our sin put Jesus to death. We will do that knowing that, for the sake of His love for us, He willingly died so that we may know that full atonement has been made for us. In this we give humble and hearty thanks. In the name of the crucified Jesus. Amen.

Sermon #883 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

The Holy Gospel: Passion of Our Lord     Matthew 27:11- 66

P    Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked Him,

C   “Are You the King of the Jews?”

P   Jesus said, “You have said so.”  But when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.  Then Pilate said to Him,

C   “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 

P   But He gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.  And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them,

C   “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Christ?” 

P   For he knew it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up.  Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of Him today in a dream.”  Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor again said to them,

C   “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” 

P    And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them,

C   “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”

 P   “Let Him be crucified!”

C   “Why, what evil has He done?” 

P    But they shouted all the more, “Let Him be crucified!” So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying,

C   “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 

P   And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head and put a reed in His right hand.  And kneeling before Him, they mocked Him, saying,

C   “Hail, King of the Jews!”

P   As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.  They compelled this man to carry His cross.  And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when He tasted it, He would not drink it.  (The congregation stands at the direction of the Pastor.)  And when they had crucified Him, they divided His garments among them by casting lots.  Then they sat down and kept watch over Him there.  And over His head they put the charge against Him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”   Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one of the left.  And those who passed by derided Him, wagging their heads and saying:

C   “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

P   So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying,

C   “He saved others; He cannot save Himself.  He is the King of Israel; let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him.  He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He desires Him.  For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”

P   Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said,

C   “This Man is calling Elijah.”

P   And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to Him to drink.  But the others said,

C   “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.”

P   And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit.

(A moment of silence)

P   And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened.  And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  When the centurion and those who were with Him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said,

C   “Truly this was the Son of God!”

P   There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.  He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.  And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock.  And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.  Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
Next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while He was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’  Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples go and steal Him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”

C   “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.”

P   So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

 

 

Apr 5, 2017 –I am the True Vine

Tonight, Jesus’ I Am statement comes not once but twice. It’s in both verses 1 and 5. But there’s a slight distinction in these two. In verse 1 Jesus adds the word ‘true’, I Am the true vine. This is something new for us in our series.

Up to this point Jesus has declared His ‘ego emi’ plainly, without embellishment. But now He adds the idea of ‘true’. There’s something to be learned from this. Jesus is giving us here a distinctive note that we will see come up again when we hear Him speak of being the ‘good’ shepherd.

But tonight, He’s making a clear distinction about being the true vine. It’s to contrast Himself with those ‘vines’ that are false – with those who deceive and dissemble regarding life and truth. In so doing Jesus is making it even clearer to His being Yahweh. Remember that that term came when Moses, on God’s holy mountain, began the journey that God sent him on to redeem Israel out of Egypt. That journey was a significant part of the ever-expanding redemption history that God has been bringing about since He made His declaration to Moses of; tell them I am, Yahweh, has sent you.

Redemption is the only path that God has marked out for all people as the true path of life. And that is what Jesus is driving at by saying, I Am the true vine. He is making clear that all other so-called ‘paths to life’ or ‘paths to God’ are false. In saying this, He’s making a claim that commands His listener’s attention. By declaring He is the exclusive and only way to connect with God, Jesus forces all of us to be confronted with that scandalous truth. There is no other connection, no other vine that gives life as God gives life through Jesus Christ alone.

When God took Israel out of Egypt He was freeing them to live under His care and His guidance. He’d heard their cries for release from captivity and so sent Moses to guide them into life with Himself. But they misunderstood – to be generous – in truth they rebelled against God’s leadership and guidance, even within days and weeks of being set free from Egypt.

But that’s the way we all think. We tend to think that it’s better to be ‘in’ control than to be ‘under’ self-control and allow God to be God. When you are ‘in control’, the responsibility for your care and protection falls to you – not such a good idea seeing how we mess things up.

Rather it’s a good thing to be under the protection of the God of life. In saying to His disciples today, ‘I Am the true vine’ and ‘remain in me and I in you’ Jesus is saying that, connection with God is the only way to life, as it has been since the time of Moses. Remaining in Christ is like what the Israelites were called to do as well. Live connected with God.

But Jesus makes yet a further statement about that, He says that ‘you are clean’, that is – you are good branches, because of the word I have spoken to you. Our connection, our remaining in connection with God comes by the word that Jesus gives to us. And He is that word. He is the connection; He is the true vine that gives us life by His word and so makes us fruitful.

There is a reciprocity in that connection when Jesus says remain in me and I remain in you. That idea of remaining in Him as He remains in us, gives to us the self-control to live under His guidance. By the power of His word that lives in us and keeps us connected to Him, He gives us the guidance to live as His self-controlled, fruitful branches.

In verse 5 He again repeats, I Am, when He says, I Am the vine and you are the branches. And He repeats that admonition with the reciprocal meaning, if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If only the Israelites had remained in their covenant with God… but then they simply were doing what we all try and do with our relationship with God. We want to be ‘in control’ of it and in control of God, and not under the self-control that allows us to remain as branches connected to the vine. That connection, through Jesus, the word of God, is what gives us purpose, life and fruitfulness.

Only as a branch remains connected to the vine can it be fruitful. Only as we live under the protection of God through the Word and the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross, do we remain in Christ and He in us. Jesus is that one and only, the true vine, that gives us a life connected to God.

In again claiming to be the true path of all of redemptive history, does Jesus set Himself against all that is false. That is the truth we and the disciples are confronted today when Jesus says, ego emi, I Am the true vine. In His name, amen.

Sermon #882 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Holy Gospel                                                                               John 15:1-8

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

 

 

Apr 2, 2017 – “Compassion” 

I love the story from the Old Testament lesson today of the dry bones and Ezekiel and how, through the words of prophecy that God gives Ezekiel, the bones are restored to life. The description of bones and sinew and flesh are all rather graphic. You can picture it as Ezekiel describes it. It’s even a bit on the gruesome side, talking about the muscle and flesh and all. But life doesn’t happen just because the bones are brought together and flesh is put on them.

No, the wind is commanded by the Word of God to come  and breathe life into the bones. The breath of God, the Word of God gives life. This event in Ezekiel talks about the compassion of God towards Israel. About how the dead, dry, lifeless bones of the nation of Israel come back to life by the command of God’s word. Life happens by the word of God.

And then in the gospel lesson we have the incarnate Word of God, Jesus, putting life back into yet another dead body. And again, this was God’s compassion through Christ that gave this dead brother of Mary and Martha, life again. Jesus simply calls to Lazarus and gives him life again, by His word, saying, Lazarus come out! And what choice did Lazarus make that ‘made’ Jesus come and do that? Nothing! Lazarus made no choice. God! chooses life for us.

That’s a huge thing for us to remember. Jesus gives us life in the Spirit the same way He gave life in the flesh to Lazarus, it’s by the word and work of Himself alone. He alone calls forth life from death. What Paul says in Romans today, reminds us that it is Christ alone who calls us to life when he says, “through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death

Christ sets us free from death, from the consequences of our sin, and instead Christ gives us life. And He does it without our input, aid, or help. That’s pure grace, love, and compassion. We all know that sin is persistent. It nags and hangs on, it claws and clamors for our death.

But Christ will not put up with that, God will not put up with that. He never has and He never will. We’re given life because God wants it that way! Period! We’re free from trying to make life for ourselves because it just can’t be done. Life comes from the breath, will, and work of God. That’s what Ezekiel shows us, that’s what Paul tells us and that’s what Jesus demonstrates with Lazarus.

And there’s an important irony attached to the raising of Lazarus. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, it was from that time on that the leaders of the Jews decided to seek the death of Jesus in no uncertain terms. The irony of raising Lazarus from the dead is found in the Jewish plot that arises to kill Jesus because of His giving life to Lazarus again. This just points out the way of this world. This world, the ruler of this present darkness, Satan, always opposes life and seeks death. Jesus came to snatch life from death. He came as light in our darkness. He came to give life, to give life eternal.

You heard me say this just recently; Jesus broke-up every funeral that we know of that He attended. And as we’ll celebrate in two weeks, He even breaks up His own funeral! Between then and now though, we walk with Jesus as He goes to His death on the Cross. Jesus’ death is what’s necessary to defeat the power of death forever. Hebrews 9:22 tells us, “In fact,… without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” And on Easter we’ll see death’s defeat in Jesus’ triumphant resurrection which grants forgiveness and life to all who believe in Him.

But today there’s something else for us to take away from the gospel lesson. Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus is sick and rather than run to his side and cure him, Jesus stays away. He stays away so long that by the time Jesus gets there, Lazarus is in the tomb for 4 days. We hear the words of Mary and Martha that speak of faith and trust and… sadness. There’s even a trace of rebuke aimed at Jesus, but not in an unkind or unloving way. Martha says to Him, if you had been here my brother would not have died.

And we also hear the sisters’ trust that, in the resurrection, Lazarus will live again. And then those wonderful words of Jesus, where He uses the ‘ego emi’ we’ve been looking at on Wednesdays this Lenten season, when He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;” And what does Jesus do after He says these words about life and resurrection? Does He restore Lazarus right then? No, we then have the shortest verse in the Bible. Jesus wept.

Why? Why did Jesus weep? Why for that matter did Jesus take the time to even comfort the sisters? I mean He knows He is going to raise Lazarus, right? Why not just simply raise him and skip the part with the sisters and the weeping?

One reason, I think may be this; it shows compassion. It shows again that God is deeply compassionate! And that God cares and feels and loves and is passionate for His creation, His people. For all people that He came to redeem.

The ancient Rabbis had a legend that conveyed the compassion of God’s love very well. The setting is when the Hebrew people were fleeing Egypt, and they were being pursued by the powerful Egyptian army. The rabbi’s legend says that angels were perched on the edge of heaven watching the miraculous parting of the Red Sea. Then, after the Hebrews were safely across, when the waters came crashing in on the pursuing Egyptian army and killed them all, all those angels watching shouted and cheered in victory.

But God stopped the jubilant celebration with a wave of His hand. With tears in His eyes, God rebuked the angels for their view on this tragedy. He said: “I love them too! My heart breaks that I have had to destroy them and yet you cheer?”

That’s a good story to speak of the compassion of God. And this, I think, is one reason why Jesus weeps. He weeps along with the sisters because His heart breaks over the loss of any life. God did not create us to condemn us to die. Remember John 3:17 – where Jesus says to Nicodemus, “For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him”. And as Jesus takes the time to be with the sisters in their grief He demonstrates God’s compassion for His creation.

Compassion is something we can copy; raising people from the dead, we leave that to Jesus. But there is something life-giving in the showing of compassion. And compassion is not a weak or wimpy thing. It requires strength, Godly strength, to show Godly compassion.

Compassion is a trait of God is and it’s also what He’s given us to copy from Him. So how do we do that; how do we show compassion? Tell me, what are some ways you’ve seen compassion shown?

All of those things require a choice, a decision, an action. Compassion is not a spectator sport. There is no complacency in compassion. Compassion is not docile, shrinking or passive. Let me give you another story to demonstrate this.

With the NBA gearing up for the playoffs, this story comes from the playoffs in 2003 at a game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks. 13 year-old Natalie Grant was singing the national anthem before 20,000 fans when she suddenly forgot the words. The look of panic and grief on her face was heart-breaking. But then Maurice Cheeks, coach of the Blazers, quickly walked over to her side, put his arm around her, and began to sing with her. People in the crowd joined in to help her finish the national anthem. This may not have been a life-saving event, but you can bet that little girl will never forget Maurice Cheeks’ compassion for her. And neither will all the fans that joined in, following his compassionate lead.

Compassion can do that; one person showing compassion can lead others into doing more of it. That’s something that begins with God. And it’s something we can then follow God’s leading in. We can be compassionate because God has first been compassionate with us.

God knows how much we needed Him. We needed Him to give us life because in our sin and rebellion we know only death. God knows only He can give life. Again, that’s what the crucifixion and resurrection of are, the giving of life through the shedding of Jesus blood – God showing us compassion in His choice of sending Jesus to die and rise again.

And, like that coach choose to show compassion to the singer, God has called us to share His love and compassion with those around us. Think of our congregation as a train, a train headed for the Promised Land, our heavenly home. In God’s compassion we want others to board this train and make the journey with us. Now if we want others to board this train, we should stop where they are and invite them to join us. Like the coach with the little girl, we go to where they are and meet them there. We can’t just steam full speed ahead and say, if they want to join us, they’ll have to run and catch up and jump on board.

It takes real sacrifices, not just easy inconveniences, to reach the lost that need the life Jesus died to give. As we give sacrificially and go sacrificially to where the unbelievers are, we can then show them compassion just as Jesus went to Mary and Martha in compassion.

As we reach out to others with real compassion and concern and share with them the good news of Jesus Christ we do so, where they are. Hearing, Sharing and Living the Gospel is what we’re about. We want this “train” to do that.

We know that in His compassion God wants all people to know Him. In the Old Testament today God shows His compassion by showing Israel that He keeps His promises in spite of their unfaithfulness. He breathed the breath of life into the ‘dead bones’. God remained compassionate because that’s His nature. In the epistle lesson St. Paul reminds us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because we’ve been set free from the law of sin and death. That is God’s compassion to us.

And in the gospel lesson, God in Christ showed His compassion by going to the sisters. He chose to weep with them rather than steam ahead and leave them behind because of their lack of understanding. That’s the same compassion we’re called to show to those who’ve yet to hear of the life that God has given us and that He desires everyone to know and have for themselves. That, after all, is what the coming Easter season is all about. That is the breath of God that fills our lungs with the air of heaven. May we so breath in God’s life and compassion, that it comes out of us with our every word and breath. In Jesus name, amen.

Sermon #881 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Old Testament Reading                                                     Ezekiel 37:1-14

37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3^ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

4^ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5^ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6^ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7^ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8^ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10^ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12^ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14^ I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

 Epistle Reading                                                  Romans 8:1-11

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3^ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4^ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5^ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8^ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10^ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of  his Spirit who lives in you.

Holy Gospel                                                                            John 11:1-45

11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2^ (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3^ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4^ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5^ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6^ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ^7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

8^ “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10^ It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”                                                                                                        12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13^ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.                                                                14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15^ and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”                                                                          16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”                                                                                                                        17^ On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18^ Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19^ and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20^ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.                                                                    21^ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22^ But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”                                                      23^ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”                                                                24^ Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”                             25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26^ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”                  27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”                                                                                                                           28^ After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30^ Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31^ When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.  32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”                                                          33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.                       “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.                                                                                          35^ Jesus wept.                                                                                                                             36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”                                                                         37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”                                                                                                                              38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39^ “Take away the stone,” he said.                                                                                “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”                                                                                                                 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”        41^ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42^ I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”                                                                         43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44^ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.              Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”                                               45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

 

Mar 29, 2017 –I am the Way the Truth and the Life…

Thomas asks the question in the gospel lesson that sets up the ‘I am’ statement that we’re focusing on tonight. Thomas asks… ‘How can we know the way?’ And Jesus replies, I Am – Yahweh – ego emi – I Am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. Here is perhaps the most scandalous use of I Am that Jesus uses.

You see, the ‘I am’ statement we’re looking at today is maybe the one to which we should pay the most careful attention. More than one commentator has said, with good reason, that this one verse, verse 6 is ‘the core statement of the entire book of John’.

Even more than John 3:16, this verse imparts to us the central teaching of John’s gospel. To look at this another way is to say that it takes reading and studying the entire book of John to unpack the depth of meaning of this one single I Am statement of Jesus.

John 3:16 can be understood as the application to our life, and for the life of the world, of what we’re pondering tonight. I might even go so far as to say that this, ego emi, is also the central teaching of the entirety of Holy Scripture. Without this verse and all that it encompasses, we’d be left in our sin and darkness. And without a savior.

That’s what holy writ is about after all, God telling us who He is; who we are – lost in sin – and what He has done about it. What He’s done is made a way, the way for reconciliation. And Jesus is the only source of truth for that. As the truth of Jesus being Who He is, the Son of God and bringer of life, He is therefore the way to reconciliation with our Creator God.

And thus, through reconciliation by Jesus’ death on the cross, we have life. Without Jesus as the great I am, the ego emi, Yahweh – then we’re left without a path to being restored to a relationship with God. So, the words of Jesus tonight are what give His journey to the cross… substance for us.

The content of that substance then is Jesus Himself. About Jesus as The Way, one person has said, ‘the Lord is a straight road with no confusing forks or turns, He leads us straight to the Father.’ Another comment I read said that Jesus being the way is ‘the boundary of faith.’ I like that idea.

Our faith finds its perimeter defined by the person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus says, I am, the way, we understand that the relationship that He speaks of with the disciples, and through them and the Holy Spirit, His relationship with us, is the way to the Father. In Jesus, the boundaries of our faith are realized. The knowing of Him is receiving the reality of Him being God in the flesh. That’s both the limit and the content of gaining access to the Father above.

As to Jesus being truth; this phrase takes us back the beginning of John’s gospel where Jesus is said to be the ‘true light’ of God in v 9. And then twice in vs 14 &16, He’s referred to as the one through whom ‘grace and truth’ came to the world. Jesus bears the truth of God into the world because He is God and cannot and does not lie. Again, the perimeter of our faith is defined by Jesus as The One who puts the truth of God into flesh. He never speaks falsely or deceptively. We also hold that, as He is the content of scripture, being Himself its Author, all truth, therefore, is bound up in Him. So, by Him saying ‘ego emi, the truth’, He goes beyond mere statements of fact to expressing the reality of truth located in His person. Again truth, like the Way, comes to us through His relationship with us. We know the truth, because we know Him, by grace, through faith.

As to Jesus being the life. One of the ancient church fathers put it beautifully this way, “What the soul is to the body, is what Christ is to the soul. Without the soul, the body does not live. The soul does not live without Christ.” I love that expression as it makes clear that in the here and now we have life as Christians only because Jesus inhabits our souls, giving us assurance of eternal life, now.

And then there’s the idea that Jesus is ‘the life’ because not even death could hold Him. He overcomes death to the point that death cannot even keep us from coming to Him. Death has no grip on us because Jesus is Life. You’ve heard me say it before; Jesus broke up every funeral we have record of Him attending, because death cannot win in the face of life. Jesus is the life of all.

But the scandal tonight lies not only in Jesus claims to being the I Am of life, and truth, but also as being the way, the one and only way to God the Father. And He says it plainly. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” There is no ambiguity in this clear statement of truth. Even Phillip who had been with Jesus from the beginning questions Jesus. But Jesus does not back away from what He has claimed. Phillip along with the rest of world, along with you and I, are confronted with one and only one path to God – Jesus; who said so emphatically tonight, Ego Emi, Yahweh, I am the way the truth and the life. Amen.

Sermon #880 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Holy Gospel                                                                              John 14:1-10
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.
From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.