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Feb 17, 2016 – Nicodemus and Caiaphas

Tonight as we continue through the shadow and light of our Lenten season we turn now to 2 masters in Israel, Nicodemus and Caiaphas. Both of these men were of high standing and in important leadership positions within Israel. These two men are most famous for what they have done in the shadow of night. Though in the case of Nicodemus what he did in the night has lead to the light of life in Jesus Christ for many people.

We first meet Nicodemus in John chapter 3 when he comes to Jesus at night to ask questions. As a Pharisee and a member of the ruling council of the Jews, Nicodemus knows what it means to learn by the asking and answering of questions. Jesus refers to Nicodemus as a ‘teacher of Israel’.

Without Nicodemus’ questions to Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” we would not have John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. This one verse alone has led many to a clearer understanding of who Jesus is and why He came. And the next verse, though not a famous, is just as important and says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world though Him.”

Nicodemus had asked Jesus to explain what it means to be “born again”. So we have Nicodemus to thank for asking the question we all need the answer to. Because of that question we know that only by the name of Jesus Christ do we have the light of salvation.

And then we have the other master, the high priest, Caiaphas. And again his action in the gospels takes place mostly at night. The exception is the verse that we read in scripture today from John. That verse is important because it shows that Caiaphas is squarely behind the plot to kill Jesus. It also shows that God still honored Caiaphas’ role as high priest because of the prophecy that comes from his mouth.

The fulfillment of that prophecy, that one man should die for the nation, and indeed for the world, is what God would use to bring the light of hope and salvation to everyone who, as John 3:16 & 17 tells us, believes in Jesus Christ. We all know that Caiaphas meant one dark and selfish thing by his words, but God used those same words for the greater purpose of revealing Jesus Who is the Light of the world: The one whom God sent to save the world and not condemn it.

We know that both Nicodemus and Caiaphas were fearful. But one was fearful for his power and prestige while the other was in fear of losing his soul. Nicodemus, yes came at night in the beginning because he was, perhaps, afraid to be seen with Jesus. But then because of the love he had for Jesus; at Jesus’ death he publically came to the Roman governor to ask for Jesus’ body. This would not have gone unnoticed by Caiaphas or the other Jewish leaders. Nicodemus had become not just curious about Jesus teachings, but a true devoted follower of Jesus.

Caiaphas also had been curious about Jesus’ teachings and he understood very well their meaning and implications. He knew that if what Jesus was teaching and saying were to be believed and trusted in by the people, then all that Caiaphas understood of his relationship with God, with his position of leadership and his status in the community would all radically change. Caiaphas knew that Jesus’ teachings meant a complete change of identity for the Jewish nation. It also meant a complete change of every individual’s heart and soul, and mind.

If Jesus, this itinerant teacher kept going, then Caiaphas would lose his status and more. He wanted to keep things ‘status quo’ so he could keep his dearly held position of power and leadership. It’s curious that even after Jesus’ resurrection Caiaphas maintained his position as we read in Acts. He and most of the Jews in that time, carried on as though Easter never happened.

And we see the same thing in our world today don’t we? People still carry on in the darkness of their lost condition as though the light of Easter sunrise has never happened. Yet for Nicodemus Easter sunrise brought to naught all the work that he’d done to give Jesus a proper Jewish burial. I’m quite sure that he was not disappointed about that though.

Nicodemus had come through both shadow and light with Jesus Christ. So also had Caiaphas though, as far as we know, he remained unchanged. For Nicodemus however, and for us as well, the prophecy of Caiaphas has come true. In the light of the gospel of the death of one man, Jesus, the nation and the world has, indeed, been saved. And been saved in Jesus name alone, amen.

 

Sermon #811 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Holy Gospel                John 11:47-53, Matthew 26:57 & John 19:38-40

47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled.

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.

 

Feb 21, 2016 – Temptation Protection

Most of you know that our only child, Matthew, is in the Navy. I remember when he was in his final training class in Groton CT. He’d already passed both boot camp and basic submarine school. He’d also passed two technical electronics schools – all in preparation for his chosen specialty of sonar technician. Well they had a big test, called test 2. This test was very important. In fact he told me before going into the test that they needed to pass this in order to continue with the class at all.

There we’re only 10 guys in his class and after they’d taken the test Matthew called me the next day. He’d waited a day to call because… he’d failed the test. He along with two others had not passed this most important test. When he called he made no excuses but expressed his frustration at himself and his bitter disappointment. He said that this was the first academic test in the Navy that he’d failed. He then told me that of the seven who did pass, the best score was only a 73 and the minimum was a 70. So this was not something easy for any of them.

But then he said the three who failed were going to get a chance to retake the test and that no matter what their actual score was, the best that could be put on their record was a 70 – that basic passing score. He told me he was going to do his best, no matter what, because he really wanted to succeed so he could complete his sonar training.

So, I told him a lot of things that night and tried to give him a lot of encouragement. There was so much I wanted to do for him but he’s the one who had to make this work. I couldn’t do for him what only he could for himself. I wanted him to succeed – to experience facing such a life-changing hardship and then to come out successful.

I also wanted to put my arms around him, protect him, and let him know that everything would work out. But I simply couldn’t do that being on the other side of the country. I had to confine myself to telling him I was pulling for him and praying for him and that I had confidence he could do it.

I tell you this because in going through the experience of wanting protect him and to do for Matthew what was needed, in the gospel lesson for today I couldn’t help but hear there in Jesus’ words, something of what I felt. He says “O Jerusalem how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings”.

Those words reflected to me how I was feeling about Matthew. And while the context of Jesus speech was of a magnitude quite different than what Matthew was going through, I still heard God’s desire for His people to succeed at following Him come through. I heard Jerusalem, many times, faced a life changing experience of the prophets coming to them and they failed. I heard God wanting to protect them and to do for them what needed to be done, but they rejected what God called them to.

As Jesus was lamenting Jerusalem’s rejection of God’s word, expressed to her through the prophets that God had sent to her over the centuries, He also was pointing to what God was going to do in order to give them the protection they truly needed. Unlike my limitations, that prevented me from helping Matthew, God was in fact doing what was required. He was sending Jesus to them, Jesus as the Blessed One, the Promised One, the One who would do for them what they could not do for themselves. Jesus was coming to die and take away their guilt and sins and thereby grant them the needed obedience through His perfect life.

Jerusalem represents the world in all this. In Jerusalem’s rejection of the prophets’ word we see a reflection of what the world does with the Word of God – what all people have done with God’s longing and desire for them. Jerusalem sets the standard, low though it is, so to speak, for how God’s creation has treated her Creator.

But God does not give up and God has given us what we need to succeed – He’s given us the answer to our ‘test’ in sending Christ to overcome sin, death and darkness. Jesus has come and is the answer to our need for restoration with and forgiveness from, God.

In Paul’s letter today we’re made aware, that though God has done all this, that God has given the world, by grace through faith alone, the righteousness of Christ for our covering for sin, there are yet those who, in Paul’s words ‘live as enemies of the cross’.

Do we realize that, like I was pulling for Matthew to succeed, that God is pulling for us?         Do we realize that He’s calling us to stand on His provision and protection alone that He made for us in Christ? But here’s the thing that Paul’s words point out for us, God can’t do that for us. God cannot resist temptation for us. God can and does give us faith and He has given us His answer to our rebellion, in the cross of Christ. We’re called to trust in Him and what He’s done for us, God can’t do that in our place. Yes, He alone gives us the power to trust in His provision when temptation comes our way and His power is all we need to succeed against it. And yet so often, we refuse that when temptation arises and instead we hide our face from God.

Just like in the Old Testament lesson today. The people rejected – outright rejected – the prophecy of God because it threatened their earthly view of Jerusalem. They didn’t want to face the reality of God’s judgment – they didn’t like the message so they simply wanted to ‘shoot the messenger’. And that’s what Jesus laments over in the gospel lesson today. Hear again His words that speak His sorrow and the longing of God. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but / you / were / not / willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”

Like Jerusalem then, people today hide from God and turn away from His protection and care. We are, as Jesus said, unwilling. When we choose sin and we give in to temptation what we’re doing, like Jerusalem, is rejecting God’s protection.Think for a moment – What is it that draws you away from being ‘willing’ to be gathered under God’s care? I know some of what tempts me to want to hide from God, but what is it that tempts you? In the epistle lesson today Paul speaks of having our minds on earthly things, of putting earthly appetites ahead of God, of making those appetites, in fact, God for us, and so we break the first commandment, to have no other gods.

And yet, and yet Jesus comes to us, as He did to Jerusalem, and brings with Him the salvation prophesied long ago. And that truth is what we have to tell of. That’s what we have to prophecy to the world. It isn’t about us and our goodness, which is nothing but filth and muck anyway. But rather what we tell is that good news, that God’s messiah, Jesus Christ has come to us and sets us free by the power of His blood shed on the cross and He alone releases us from our bondage to sin.

That’s what the prophets said of the messiah, that He would come with healing and peace with God for sinners. And the reference that Jesus makes to completing His goal on the third day speaks of the final fulfillment of His work, when He rises victorious over sin, death and the grave. That day, that 3rd day, Jesus’ goal of deliverance for sinners will be complete in His victory.

That’s what we trust in for protection from temptation and that is all we have to tell others. Jesus is the Blessed One who comes in the name of the Lord. By the way, I’m happy to report that Matthew did pass his test. I know that when we find ourselves up against the tests that come our way this week, we will find in God’s salvation all we need to overcome them. Trusting in God’s messiah is what He’s given us by the gift of faith poured out on us through His Word, in our baptisms and in the true body and blood of Jesus Christ we partake of in Holy Communion.  God has provided all we need for us, in the cross and resurrection of Christ; in His name amen.

Sermon #812 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Old Testament Reading                                                         Jeremiah 26:8-15

8 But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! 9 Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

10 When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. 11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!”

12 Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. 13 Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. 15 Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

Epistle Reading                                                                Philippians 3:17-4:1

17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

Holy Gospel                                                                      Luke 13:31-35

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Feb 24, 2016 – Barabbas and Jesus

Tonight as we continue in the shadow and light of our Lenten season we turn to 2 prisoners in a Roman jail in Palestine. Both are held under the same guard, both are equally condemned (though we might like to think only one is truly guilty) and both have a shot at being set free by the Roman Governor if only the people will ask for him as they come to the feast of Passover.

When we read such passages we tend, well I tend, to identify myself with the wrongdoer, in this case Barabbas. However in this case that’s sort of hard to do as I’ve never murdered anyone. Still it’s more reasonable for me to do that rather than identify with Jesus just because I know Jesus to be perfect, good, holy, righteous and the Son of God. So that leaves me out.

So what is interesting for me in today’s reading is that both Jesus and Barabbas – me – are in jail together. We’re incarcerated and awaiting punishment, together. We’re under guard so that we cannot escape, hurt others or evade our respective punishments of death. There is no difference between Jesus and Barabbas – you and I – in that jail.

And there is where I get caught-up short – Jesus is in that same circumstance as we are – under guard, in jail and awaiting execution. This is the perfect, holy, innocent, righteous Son of God in my circumstance. The key for me at this point is to realize that it’s not for me to identify with Jesus, but rather that Jesus has chosen to identify with me, Barabbas. Jesus has given Himself into my circumstance – that’s the miracle for me. I am in the shadow of a jail cell, under guard and Jesus, the light of the world, is there too.

For us looking back on this it is astounding. But for Barabbas, well this is just ‘another day at the office.’ He’s there because he was guilty of murder in an insurrection against the Roman authority. And so he knows what his fate is going to be. And he knows that, though the roman governor can set him free if the people ask for him, Barabbas knows that that isn’t going to happen. Why should it?

Yes, his cause may have been popular, the removing of the Roman legions from the land of the Jews, but his actions of murder would have made it hard to live with him. So he had no expectation of hope or leniency in that dark shadowy jail cell, under the guard of the hated Romans.

But he is suddenly led out by his guards into the light of day. And they let him go! From shadow to light in the blink of an eye. And he is free. The Roman governor has called his name to be released because the people have called his name.

And again, think of identifying with Barabbas. That is our fate as well. We have no expectation of freedom, why? Because we are guilty and we know it. We know our sin and our wrongdoings deserve the punishment that is just. We have no expectation that our name will be called for us to be released.

But suddenly it is. Suddenly we are taken from the shadow of our dark cell of fear and self-hatred and set free in the light. And why? Why has that happened. Because the Other Prisoner remained. The Other Prisoner was not called to be set free, and we have been. And for no reason of our own. We know, we know that we are guilty. And we know that He is innocent, at least as far as we’re concerned. We know that He has done nothing deserving what we deserve. And yet He remains in that cell and we are free. Remember I said that only one of us is truly guilty.

We might want to think of that guilty one as Barabbas or us, but in fact it is Jesus who is truly guilty. If we don’t believe that, if we don’t trust that, then we are still locked away in the shadow of our prison. I say that because that is how God sees Jesus in that cell. Jesus has taken on Himself our guilt. And so He is indeed the only one truly guilty in the shadow of that jail cell. If He was not guilty then, then I’m not free now! The only way it works is for my guilt to be truly taken away and for Him to truly bear that dark curse.

In comparing Jesus and Barabbas it’s important to remember that one committed murder and the other was there to kill death. So in one sense Jesus also is guilty of murder – He has come to defeat death. And while we won’t see that in our Lenten journey till Good Friday and Easter, we know that the light of Easter is coming.

But for today as we continue our Lenten journey we recall the shadow of the jail cell that Jesus waited in with Barabbas. We see in these two men both the shadow of our guilt and the light of our freedom that’s given to us by the One who came to take our punishment for us, Jesus. In His name, amen.

Sermon #813 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Holy Gospel                                                                                              Mark 15:6-13

6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.

 

 

Feb 28, 2016 – The Talons of Repentance

Here’s a quote I read in the Navy Times. It says “The important thing is to be able to sacrifice what we are… for what we could be.” I mention this quote because it put me in mind of how our lives are undergoing a constant process of change whether or not we like it. This quote reminds us to embrace that idea of change in our lives.

Luther also thought that life included change and in his first of the 95 theses posted on the castle church door in Wittenberg in 1517, he talked about how one particular change affects the whole of a person’s life. That first theses states, “When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said “Repent”, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

In today’s gospel lesson twice we hear Jesus say, But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

Repentance is to be the believers ‘lifestyle’. Repentance keeps us focused on the cross of Christ and in that way alone we are given strength in the face of temptation and the path to forgiveness when we fail. Repentance, with its two parts; sorrow for sin and and trust in God’s forgiveness through Jesus’ death and resurrection, points to what Paul spoke in the epistle lesson today. He said, No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 

The way that God has provided for our way out of temptation is through the cross of Christ. Living with our face aimed toward the cross is the way that God has provided for us to ‘stand up under’ temptation when it comes our way. And temptation will come our way; it simply doesn’t give up on us when we become Christians, in fact that’s when temptation puts us squarely in its sights.

But there are some things to bear in mind when it comes to temptation and these things are very important so listen carefully:

1. Temptation is not sin. (x3)
2. Temptation is not a toy! It isn’t something we can play at or play with. We’re not the master of temptation. It’s not something we can invite in and think we’re in control of it. Like playing with fire, those who play with fire – treat it with disrespect – get burned. Jesus treated temptation with the respect of answering it with Holy Scripture.
3. Temptation however is also nothing for which we need to be ashamed; we are not the cause of temptation that comes to us. Therefore, temptation is nothing we need to hide from God. This one is vital in our struggle against sin, listen again. Temptation is nothing we need to hide from God

Remember that Jesus was tempted and did not sin. We however, are not Jesus and for us temptation can quickly lead to sin. The way to bear up under it is to turn our face toward God with the temptations that come our way. Again temptation is not something we need to seek to hide from God. Only when we seek His face do we focus on His grace and that helps to put up an obstacle to temptation’s repeated attacks. So we turn to Him when temptation comes.

The cross of Christ is the barrier that stands between us and sin, not between us and temptation.3 And yet we often go around the safety of that barrier, by our own choice as we spoke of last week. We often choose sin when temptation comes. And when we do choose sin God, through repentance, offers us a way to return to Him. And He gives us time to be repentant as Jesus pointed out in the parable of the fig tree in the gospel lesson today.

Recall what the gardener, who can be understood to be Jesus, says to the owner. ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’

God has long-suffered mans rebellion and sin. In telling this parable Jesus makes it clear that God is giving us time to become fruit-bearing for Him. And by the work of Christ that is what we become. He gives us time to repent and return to Him and listen to His promises, as He says in Psalm 85:8. I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints – but let them not return to folly.

It’s that part about ‘not returning to folly’ that trips us up. When we do return to folly, to sin, He gives us time to repent. So why do we often turn from His compassion and waste our time in fear? We’re given all that we need, through a life of repentance to return to Him and His ways of peace.

His peace stays with us… through the cross. Like the rock that provided water for the Israelites in the desert that Paul referred to in the epistle, that rock, which was Christ, followed Israel in their desert wanderings. So also the cross of Christ follows us wherever we go, calling us back to God’s mercy and grace paid for on that Holy Tree. By living in repentance, as Luther reminded us, living in repentance makes us aware that God’s mercy follows us each day of our lives as that rock of refreshment did for the wandering children of Israel.

Remember the Navy Times quote? “The important thing is to be able to sacrifice what we are… for what we could be.” This quote can help us understand what’s at stake in repentance. We are giving up our old ways in order to gain the way God would have us go. And besides what is it that we are really sacrificing in giving up our old ways? It’s nothing but dung and rot anyway.

To give up our selfish, childish and sinful ways and to live under the grace of the cross of Christ is God’s gracious call to us. What we ‘could be’, giving up our sinful selves, is what God has guaranteed to us in the cross. We’re made children of God and co-heirs with Christ of eternal life. That is what we ‘could be’ and indeed what we are, and what we have, by grace through faith alone.

Remember that repentance isn’t a one-time act of initiation for God’s people. It’s how we live every day of our lives. That’s because we live in a sinful world and daily we must struggle against our sinful flesh. Repentance is the posture that we take for life.

Have you ever seen a bird sleeping on a perch? Ever wondered what keeps it from falling off the branch it’s sleeping on? The secret is the tendons in the bird’s legs. They’re constructed in such a way that when the leg is bent at the knee, the talons on the birds feet contract and grip the branch like a steel trap. The talons will not let go until the knees are unbent again. Bended knees give birds the ability to hold onto their perch tightly and not fall off, even while resting and sleeping.

The person who daily, humbly bends their knee before the Lord, confessing their sin and, receiving by faith God’s forgiveness and grace, will rest secure in the gift of eternal life that God grants to us.

By God’s grace alone, repentance is our lifestyle. The bended knee is our lifestyle. Recall that repentance always has two parts; sorrow for sin and trust in God’s forgiveness through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Remember also when temptation comes our way, it is not sin! But also temptation is not a toy.

We need not fear it nor be shamed by it, but turn to the Lord with it and let His cross deal with it. As the quote we started with this morning reminds us, sacrificing what we are for what we could be has been done for us in the sacrifice of Christ’s death and resurrection in our place. In His name, amen.

Sermon #814 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

First Reading                                                                                  Ezekiel 33:7-20

7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’ 13 If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. 14 And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right— 15 if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die. 16 None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.

17 “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. 18 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. 19 And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. 20 Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.”

Epistle                                                                                        1 Corinthians 10:1-13

10 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Holy Gospel                                                                                                  Luke 13:1-9

13 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

 

12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’ 13 If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. 14 And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right— 15 if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die. 16 None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.

17 “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. 18 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. 19 And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. 20 Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.”

 

Mar 2, 2016 – 2 kinds of grief Lent mid 4

Tonight’s look at the contrast of shadow and light of our Lenten season brings us to grief. And we’re reminded tonight that grief is of two kinds. Like in the hymn(437) in vs 5. There is a godly grief and a grief that is only for show or pretend.

Many of us are aware that mourners, paid mourners, were once a part of many cultures in Jesus day. In the Egyptian cults of the day, mourners were paid to cry over the deaths of certain gods and goddess during festivals for them.

In the Greek worship of their gods a similar thing was done although there the practice extended into dramas as well as public rituals. Elsewhere in the near east paid mourners were used as a means to help the grieving understand that they are not alone in their grief. However mourners were also paid to engender sympathy in large groups and to agitate or stir up sentiment for a cause for which someone had died.

There were many reasons for mourners to be paid. In the Jewish tradition of the day mourners were hired to play music, cry and wail during the procession to burial. And then according to custom on the way back from the burial they were to lament quietly along side the family.

So in the gospel reading tonight what we see are those mourners who are wailing for Jesus as He goes to crucifixion. These may be sincere however it seems, by what Jesus says that they are wailing for the sake of custom and for show. The may be trying to put forward a display perhaps to whip up sentiment against the roman occupation.

Jesus seems to know that they are not weeping over the reason He goes to the cross, which is to die for their sins and for the sins of the world. Even as He walks to Calvary He is teaching. He says to weep for themselves and not for Him. To weep over the fact that if they kill the Son of Man living among them, what will happen to those who follow the son of man after He has ascended to heaven?

Then there are the other mourners the women at the cross of Jesus. We’re reminded when we see Jesus mother Mary that she was told, by Simeon in the temple shortly after Jesus was born, that a sword would pierce her own soul as well. Here at Jesus’ cross we can only imagine the piercing grief she was lamenting over.

And along with her were close friends and relatives. They together were grieving over this death. This family grief was of the raw and personal kind. There was no pretense or paid tears at the cross. This sorrow was that of true loss and personal grief. These women, perhaps better than anyone else that day, had a clue as to what they we’re crying over.

Mary certainly understood that from the time of the first visit of the angel to her that this Child of hers was not like any other child. And that His death was not like any other death. She knew that her son was also the Son of God and that His death meant more too the world than the world could grasp at that time.

Lets take note as we move toward the shadow and light of the cross this Lenten season, that as we mourn and lament our sins and the price Jesus paid, let us indeed be godly in our grief. That we too keep it personal. That it be the grief of family.

Our brother has gone to the cross in our place to sacrifice Himself for us, for me, for you, for each one of you. Our grief is over what we have caused the Son of God to die for. It is a grief that leads to repentance not despair. To hope and trust that what Jesus died for He accomplished, the forgiveness of our sins.

Yes, we do lament and join the women at the cross with our tears, but we do so with the sure and certain knowledge that Jesus has died to bring us through grief to joy. From mourning to laughter. Because He has triumphed over the shadow of our fears of being forever parted from God the Father. That is the light that Godly grief brings to us.

In Jesus name amen.

Sermon #815 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Holy Gospel                                                 Luke 23:27-31 & John 19:25

27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
31 For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

 

 

Mar 9, 2016 – 2 Romans

The pairing that we’re dealing with tonight is one of the reasons this series is so important for Lent. It’s always striking to see the contrast of these two Romans, Pilate and the centurion, these Gentiles, these people whose race and culture are closest to our own. They have such stark encounters with Jesus and they provide us a way into the narrative of Jesus’ life that touches our own encounter with the Christ.

We’re Greek thinkers, like these 2 Romans were. We’re analytical and evidentiary. That’s a fancy way to say we like proof. We like the evidence to stand up to the facts. In the first reading we read that the Jews brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pilate. They had no choice in this because they wanted to put Jesus to death and they had no power to inflict such a punishment. They could flog, beat and mock Him, but only the secular government could put someone to death. And so the Jews bring this Jesus to Pilate to do for them what only Pilate had the power to do.

And when they bring Him, they bring their ‘evidence’, or at least their version of it. They bring their so-called evidence that Jesus should be put to death according to both the Jewish law and the Roman law. No matter that both are trumped up charges.

They forge ahead and press their case and convince Pilate, through fear, that he needed to put Jesus to death. Fear can be a powerful motivator. And in this case they used the fear of a greater power to intimidate Pilate. They threatened to go over his head to Caesar.

Of course in tonight’s reading we only see the beginning of that encounter between the Jews and Pilate when Pilate comes out to them to ask what charges they bring against Jesus. And from that time on Pilate, the Roman governor, is responsible for the disposition of this case.

Pilate now bears the responsibility for what will become of Jesus. And Pilate knows that the Jewish leadership is jealous of Jesus. But Pilate is a politician and knows that he must balance many competing priorities under his control. But the most important priority he has is, of course, keeping his power. And in the end, it’s the fear of losing that power that drives him to give some sort of credence to the illegitimate evidence. He even states that he finds no evidence against Jesus but uses a legal loophole to try and escape his responsibility by offering to release one prisoner.

And as we talked about a few weeks ago that prisoner was Barabbas. By using this loophole, Pilate can simply ignore the light of his own finding of Jesus being innocent of the charges and yet still put Him to death. Pilate tries to slink into the shadow of the law, all to keep his power intact. So the evidence does not convict Jesus nor does it convince Pilate to give justice to Jesus.

Of course for us, we needed to have Jesus unfairly convicted. We needed Him to be punished unjustly. We needed Him to be denied the protection of the law that He deserved.

We needed that because we are the ones that are in fact guilty. The evidence against us, in our sin, is overwhelming. We are damned justly by God’s holiness and righteousness. For us, the guilty, we needed the Innocent to take our punishment. The evidence is against us and Jesus takes our place even though the evidence shows Him guiltless.

But there is yet one more bit of evidence for us Roman-types to consider tonight. And that’s the evidence that confronts the Roman centurion who oversees the punishment, the crucifixion, of Jesus. And the physical evidence he encounters is overwhelming. In the middle of the day the sky goes black. The earth quakes. Rocks are split in two. And though he can’t see it, the temple curtain is torn apart. Dead people rise to life! Talk about the contrast of shadow and light!

This centurion is facing evidence of a power far beyond anything he has experienced in battle before. This is evidence of a power far greater than he’s ever encountered. And unlike Pilate, this Roman does not seek a way around it. This Roman soldier sees what has taken place and rather than try and wiggle out of it, admits to the world that he is convinced of the truth that Jesus was the Son of God.

And that testimony, in fact, seals his own fate. For him to call anyone other than Caesar god is to put himself under the condemnation of the state. His testimony of Jesus as the Son of God could have effect of placing himself under the same punishment as he has just handed out to Jesus. Rather than ignore that evidence however, this Roman acknowledges that Jesus, died, and that in His death has revealed Himself to be the Son of God. We all dearly hope to meet that man in heaven one day.

Tonight’s look at the shadow and light of our Lenten journey has brought us two Romans, two men not unlike us. And like us they have been confronted by the evidence of who Jesus is. One was false evidence the other was undeniable reality. The evidence was both physical and verbal. The one Roman condemned Jesus to death the other Roman testified of Him to be the Son of God, the Light of Life, and the hope of all Romans, of all people, of even you and I.

In Jesus name, amen.

Sermon #816 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Holy Gospel                                        John 18:28-29 & Matthew 27:51-54

28 Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

 

Mar 16, 2016 – 2 ‘Sinners’ Dismas and Testas (no audio: mid-Lent 6)

Tonight in our last look at the contrast of Lenten shadow and light we come to 2 ‘sinners’. One, whom church tradition names Dismas, and the other is known as Testas – again this is according to tradition and not scripture. These are the names given to the 2 thieves that Jesus dies between. It’s a good idea, having names to put with these 2 people. Like shadow and light, realizing they each really had names helps us to compare and contrast them so that they can teach us.

Dismas is the one we all dearly love and lean on for hope. We love this man because of what he was so bold to ask Jesus for as they both hung dying together. He asked “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” He says this without craftiness or deception – he simply asks. And notice when he asks. He asks after he’s made clear that he is guilty and that Jesus is innocent. Dismas is shadow and Jesus is light.

Now looking at the other thief on a cross who was condemning Jesus, the one known as Testas. He was the one that was hurling insults at Jesus though he and Jesus and Dismas were all in the same situation. But rather than admit his guilt Testas tried to insult Jesus in order to get out of his own punishment for his own wrongdoing. Dismas, on the other hand, is the one that reveals to us, by his words, that confession is the mark of true faith. Without the straightforward confession of guilt there can be no forgiveness.

The light of hope in the forgiveness of Christ that Dismas points us to is the reflected light of Jesus. It’s the light of the gospel which he has grasped by Jesus’ words and works. By this, Dismas, though under the shadow of death as he hung on the cross, shows us that the light of hope shines in even our darkest places. He reflects to us the healing light of life in Christ. Dismas shows us that confession is, indeed, good for the soul.

If we try and conceal our dark sin, or hem-and-haw and try to put the blame for our sin on others or try to say it was ‘only a little sin’ a ‘little wrong’, if we try and take the way of Testas and say, ‘just get me out of this’ without admitting we were wrong; if we do any of that, then we have no claim on the cross of Christ. That cross and punishment that Jesus bears is what we deserved.

That cross is what Dismas admits is our just punishment. And yet it is Jesus who pays that punishment for us. And Dismas, after making his confession, simply falls on Jesus’ mercy and says the words, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” His words are our words too. Like that thief we speak those words from our place in the shadow of our shame and guilt.

We said at the start that this man is one we all love, but we also have to admit our difficulty in understanding him. That’s because he represents us all so well and that make us uncomfortable. And that’s because he’s a thief, a bad guy, and a guy convicted of doing the wrong thing and that’s not how we like to see ourselves. Yet Dismas professes to trust in Jesus, the holy One, the One this thief himself has said is innocent. He claims to trust and believe in Jesus, just as we do.

Even though he’s a convicted thief he claims faith just as we do, and that is what makes him most understandable to us. As we said, we’re as guilty as he was. We are convicted of our dark wrong doing, and yet, like that thief, we also claim to trust in that same Holy One, Jesus Christ. We profess no merit or worthiness of our own, and just like Dismas we are guilty, and we too ask along with him, we ask for mercy only, because we deserve only death.

Our look at the shadow and light of the cross this Lenten season has been helpful in revealing the true light of hope that Dismas trusted in as he died on his cross. Like the centurion last week, we’ve recognized that Jesus is truly the Son of God, the light of the world. Like Barabbas set free from the shadow of his prison, we’ve been brought into the light of freedom by the sacrifice of Christ.

As Jesus was making that sacrifice He spoke to Dismas these words “today you will be with me in paradise.” Those words of Jesus to our brother-thief are Jesus’ words to us also.

Accepting that we are like that thief, if we recognize our identity in him, then we also hear the words of Christ spoken to him as spoken to us. We also have the light of the promise of Christ as our own as we bear our crosses through this dark world. We must take Jesus at His word, not only for our guilt, but for the light of our pardon in His blood as well. “Today, He tells each of us, you will be with me in paradise.” In the light of Jesus name we pray, amen.

 

Sermon #817 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

 

Holy Gospel                                                                                                               Luke 23:39-43

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Mar 16, 2016 – 2 ‘Sinners’ Dismas and Testas

Tonight in our last look at the contrast of Lenten shadow and light we come to 2 ‘sinners’. One, whom church tradition names Dismas, and the other is known as Testas – again this is according to tradition and not scripture. These are the names given to the 2 thieves that Jesus dies between. It’s a good idea, having names to put with these 2 people. Like shadow and light, realizing they each really had names helps us to compare and contrast them so that they can teach us.

Dismas is the one we all dearly love and lean on for hope. We love this man because of what he was so bold to ask Jesus for as they both hung dying together. He asked “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” He says this without craftiness or deception – he simply asks. And notice when he asks. He asks after he’s made clear that he is guilty and that Jesus is innocent. Dismas is shadow and Jesus is light.

Now looking at the other thief on a cross who was condemning Jesus, the one known as Testas. He was the one that was hurling insults at Jesus though he and Jesus and Dismas were all in the same situation. But rather than admit his guilt Testas tried to insult Jesus in order to get out of his own punishment for his own wrongdoing. Dismas, on the other hand, is the one that reveals to us, by his words, that confession is the mark of true faith. Without the straightforward confession of guilt there can be no forgiveness.

The light of hope in the forgiveness of Christ that Dismas points us to is the reflected light of Jesus. It’s the light of the gospel which he has grasped by Jesus’ words and works. By this, Dismas, though under the shadow of death as he hung on the cross, shows us that the light of hope shines in even our darkest places. He reflects to us the healing light of life in Christ. Dismas shows us that confession is, indeed, good for the soul.

If we try and conceal our dark sin, or hem-and-haw and try to put the blame for our sin on others or try to say it was ‘only a little sin’ a ‘little wrong’, if we try and take the way of Testas and say, ‘just get me out of this’ without admitting we were wrong; if we do any of that, then we have no claim on the cross of Christ. That cross and punishment that Jesus bears is what we deserved.

That cross is what Dismas admits is our just punishment. And yet it is Jesus who pays that punishment for us. And Dismas, after making his confession, simply falls on Jesus’ mercy and says the words, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” His words are our words too. Like that thief we speak those words from our place in the shadow of our shame and guilt.

We said at the start that this man is one we all love, but we also have to admit our difficulty in understanding him. That’s because he represents us all so well and that make us uncomfortable. And that’s because he’s a thief, a bad guy, and a guy convicted of doing the wrong thing and that’s not how we like to see ourselves. Yet Dismas professes to trust in Jesus, the holy One, the One this thief himself has said is innocent. He claims to trust and believe in Jesus, just as we do.

Even though he’s a convicted thief he claims faith just as we do, and that is what makes him most understandable to us. As we said, we’re as guilty as he was. We are convicted of our dark wrong doing, and yet, like that thief, we also claim to trust in that same Holy One, Jesus Christ. We profess no merit or worthiness of our own, and just like Dismas we are guilty, and we too ask along with him, we ask for mercy only, because we deserve only death.

Our look at the shadow and light of the cross this Lenten season has been helpful in revealing the true light of hope that Dismas trusted in as he died on his cross. Like the centurion last week, we’ve recognized that Jesus is truly the Son of God, the light of the world. Like Barabbas set free from the shadow of his prison, we’ve been brought into the light of freedom by the sacrifice of Christ.

As Jesus was making that sacrifice He spoke to Dismas these words “today you will be with me in paradise.” Those words of Jesus to our brother-thief are Jesus’ words to us also.

Accepting that we are like that thief, if we recognize our identity in him, then we also hear the words of Christ spoken to him as spoken to us. We also have the light of the promise of Christ as our own as we bear our crosses through this dark world. We must take Jesus at His word, not only for our guilt, but for the light of our pardon in His blood as well. “Today, He tells each of us, you will be with me in paradise.” In the light of Jesus name we pray, amen.

Sermon #817 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Holy Gospel                                                                                       Luke 23:39-43

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Mar 24, 2016 – Maundy Thurs   “You, Me & Pete”

In the gospel lesson from Mark, you have to love Peter for his good intentions. Peter professes his intention to remain faithful to Jesus no matter what. That may sound familiar to many of us. How many times have I said, ‘I’ll never do this or that’ again with every intention of remaining faithful I can’t begin to count. But like me, Peter’s intention was not enough to prevent him from betraying his Lord, our savior Jesus Christ. It’s not our intentions or choices that we trust in. It’s the power of God alone that establishes our certain hope.

It’s the power of God alone that raised Jesus our shepherd after being killed on the cross that gives us the surety of hope eternal. We become His sheep by the shed blood of the Shepherd and under His care we’ll never be scattered again. We will never again be scattered or lost and not because of our good intentions like Peter, but because of the power of God in raising up the Good Shepherd after His having been struck down.

Jesus quotes, Zechariah, when He says, “for it is written… strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.” Since this is true, perhaps we should consider whether the opposite may also be true. Put it this way, ‘raise up the shepherd and the sheep will be drawn to Him’.

We have been drawn, by God’s Holy Spirit, to the Risen Shepherd. After Jesus, the good shepherd was struck down, as Zechariah prophesied, all the sheep, including dear Peter, did in fact scatter. That striking down of the Shepherd is what we’re remembering this Holy Week. Lent, the time of preparation, is now behind us. We have now moved into the time of the Lord’s passion, death and time in the grave. The Shepherd is in the process of being struck down and tomorrow night the deed will be done. We remember it and we celebrate it in a solemn fashion. The price for our restoration to God is to be paid on the cross that brings down the shepherd.

And we hear in Peter’s words an echo of the truth of what Jesus actually does for us in paying for our reconciliation to God. Peter says in 31, “if I must die with you, I will never deny you!” There is a truth about the Lord’s work in those words. On this night we celebrate Jesus establishing Holy Communion and in His doing that He makes promises to us; He promises to truly be in the bread and wine. But He also promises that He’s establishing a new covenant in His blood. His blood, the red mark of our salvation is shed in His death, in His being struck down. And there is the echo of Peter’s words; but it’s Jesus, not Peter, who does have to die so that we are never disowned.

Jesus’ promises are what we take into ourselves as we take Holy Communion. Our souls are feeding on the promise of Christ to never disown us, as He said in Matthew 10:32, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.” In His body and blood at communion, we acknowledge before the world that He strengthens the faith He’s given us by grace alone. And that strength comes from His promise never to disown us before the Father in heaven.

Through the words of Peter then, we’re given insight into two things. First, that we do fail, just as he did when he in truth disowned Christ, and so we’re in the same state as Peter and we too need rescuing from our failure of faith. But that second insight is that Jesus dies so that we will never be disowned. In His death, our failure is covered because Jesus does keep His word, His promise. That is mercy, that is comfort for us. That promise is what we were fed as we took communion.

Jesus has given His body and blood as the covenant, as the guarantee of our place before our heavenly Father’s throne. Our falseness and failures, like Peter’s false promise, is a mirror that shows us all the broken promises that we’ve left in our path behind us. Our hope for the future is not based on that path of broken promises in our past, but rather on the path to the cross that Jesus walked. His path to Calvary is the path that leads to our brokenness being healed and our falseness being traded for His truth. That is our one and only, true and certain hope.

One other thing to catch about Peter’s words here; they miss what Jesus has just said. Yes, Jesus said that He would be struck down. The good shepherd will be murdered and the sheep will scatter. But then Jesus says in verse 28 that ‘when I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee’. Now yes we’re not in the midst of that conversation between Peter and Jesus, and we all know that in a conversation details can be missed. Also we have the advantage of this being written down and having repeatedly read this. But this is a big detail. Jesus is saying that He will die and that He will be raised up and that He will go before them and meet them in Galilee, after He has died!! Peter, God love him, seems to miss that point, just as we would’ve and he’s quick to reject Jesus going to death to be struck down.

Granted, his denial comes out of loyalty and love for Jesus, but he denies that Jesus should die nonetheless. When we come to communion, we’re staking our claim only on Jesus’ death. We proclaim His death by our taking of communion. Jesus has said that we partake of the covenant in His body and blood. The covenant is a will; it’s a testimony of death. So, though we understand Peter’s denial and have shared in it, we know that later Peter also will proclaim the death of Jesus as the source of his own redemption and the redemption of the whole world.

Tonight in Holy Communion, we’ve joined Peter in this proclamation; the proclamation of Jesus’ death and that our hope is in His work on the cross. In the end, that is all we have. We will all come to the end of life one day and we will face that day as the gathered sheep of the Shepherd who died for us. Remember that the words of Peter’s echo the truth of Christ’s promise to us. Though others deny you I will not. Jesus, our Good Shepherd will not deny us. This promise is what we feed on when we partake of communion. Our certain hope on the day of our death is that Jesus has promised not to deny us. We truly cling for dear life to Christ and His promise of life eternal with Him paid by Him on the cross and guaranteed to us by His resurrection! In His name, amen.

Sermon #818 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Holy Gospel                                                                                  Mark 14:27-31
27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 29 Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” 30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31 But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

Old Testament Reading                                                Exodus 12:1-14, selected
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt… 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are… 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast… 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

Second Reading                                                                   1 Corinthians 11:23-26
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

 

Mar 25, 2016 – Good Friday “Crucifixion and Victory”

We’ve heard today from Isaiah, John and Psalms. We’ve heard them each and together tell us of Jesus’ death. In Isaiah, His death was foretold, in John, His death was recorded and in Psalms, His words from the cross are heard. His death, Jesus death is what we are buried with Him in, in our baptism.

We remember that baptism is given its power to exchange our sinfulness for Christ’s righteousness by His shed blood from the cross. And that as we have died with Christ in our baptism, our life is now hidden with Christ in God. And further that Christ’s resurrection, in our baptism, has become our resurrection. It’s important to have heard again on this day the retelling of how Jesus died from John.

His gospel account makes clear to us how absolutely unfathomable is Jesus love for us that He would die such a death in our place so that we may not have to endure such agony. I’ve read the Journal of the American Medical Association report on the forensic review of Jesus death on the cross. It is unstinting in its analytical review. Keeping in mind the words of John’s gospel – So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified Him – I’d like to read the portion called The Medical Aspects of Crucifixion with the technical terms either removed or put into language I can understand. It says this:

With a knowledge of both anatomy and ancient crucifixion practices, one may reconstruct the probable medical aspects of this form of slow execution. Each wound apparently was intended to produce intense agony, and the contributing causes of death were numerous.

The scourging prior to crucifixion served to weaken the condemned man and, if blood loss was considerable, to produce more than one form of shock. When the victim was thrown to the ground on his back, in preparation for the nailing of his hands, his scourging wounds most likely would become torn open again and contaminated with dirt. Furthermore, with each respiration, the painful scourging wounds would be scraped against the rough wood of the cross. As a result, blood loss from the back probably would continue throughout the crucifixion ordeal.

With arms outstretched but not taut, the wrists were nailed to the cross bar. It has been shown that the ligaments and bones of the wrist can support the weight of a body hanging from them, but the palms cannot. Accordingly, the iron spikes probably were driven between the radius and the carpals or between the two rows of carpal bones… and the various… ligaments.

Although a nail in either location in the wrist might pass between the bony elements and thereby produce no fractures, the likelihood of painful… injury would seem great. Furthermore, the driven nail would crush or sever the rather large… median nerve. The stimulated nerve would produce excruciating bolts of fiery pain in both arms. Although the severed median nerve would result in paralysis of a portion of the hand… impalement of various ligaments by the iron spike might produce a claw–like grasp.

Most commonly, the feet were fixed to the front of the cross by means of an iron spike driven through the… spaces below the ankle joint. It is likely that the deep… plantar nerves would have been injured by the nails.

The major bodily effect of crucifixion, beyond the excruciating pain, was a marked interference with normal respiration, particularly exhaling. The weight of the body, pulling down on the outstretched arms and shoulders, would tend to fix the lung and chest muscles in an inhalation state and thereby hinder normal exhalation. Accordingly breathing was shallow. It is likely that a build up of carbon dioxide in the lungs would soon result. The onset of muscle cramps or… contractions, due to fatigue and the build up of carbon dioxide, would hinder respiration even further.

Adequate exhalation required lifting the body by pushing up on the feet and by flexing the elbows and contracting the shoulders. However, this maneuver would place the entire weight of the body on the ankles and would produce searing pain. Furthermore, the bending in of the elbows would cause rotation of the wrists about the iron nails and cause fiery pain along the damaged median nerves. Lifting of the body would also painfully scrape the scourged back against the rough wood of the cross. Muscle cramps and an abnormal burning sensation of the outstretched and uplifted arms would add to the discomfort. As a result, each respiratory effort would become agonizing and tiring and lead eventually to asphyxia.

The actual cause of death by crucifixion had many factors and varied somewhat with each case. Death by crucifixion was, in every sense of the word, excruciating – the Latin, excruciatus means “out of the cross”.

All of what I just read is what’s contained in the words of John that we read, So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified Him.

But there is yet one more author, Ed Rickard of the web site The Moorings, I wish you to hear from on the death of Jesus, as he puts it so very well. He says, “Jesus’ death cannot be attributed to any physical cause, however. He taught His disciples, in John 10:17-18 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 authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father. In other words, Mr. Rickert goes on to say, He could live or die as He willed. Even when His body reached a condition that would have been fatal to other men, He had the power to go on living. The Gospel accounts show clearly that He died only when He chose to die… It was impossible that God Incarnate should die apart from His own consent. Yet when His body could no longer function without supernatural help, He did not cling to life. Instead, He willingly commended His spirit to the Father and breathed no more.”

I didn’t want you to miss that on this day.  This is the day that Jesus indeed gave up His life for us. He willed to die in your place and mine. This He did out of love for the Father and for you and I. But today, we join with the others at the cross that first Good Friday knowing that Jesus has truly died. And that certainty fills our hearts with sadness.

As we leave today, we go knowing that His painful suffering and death paid completely for what we owed for our sin. And we also go knowing that His story does not end with His laying down His life but, as He told His disciples, He has power to both lay down His life and to take it up again. We gather again on the third day from now to celebrate His victory. In His name, amen.

Sermon #819 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Psalm 22:1-8, 14-18

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?                                                                                                                                                          Why are you so far from saving me,        so far from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,        by night, and am not silent.

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;        you are the praise of Israel.

4 In you our fathers put their trust;        they trusted and you delivered them.

5 They cried to you and were saved;        in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,        scorned by men and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;        they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

8 “He trusts in the LORD;        let the LORD rescue him.        Let him deliver him,        since he delights in him.”

14 I am poured out like water,        and all my bones are out of joint.        My heart has turned to wax;        it has melted away within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,        and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;        you lay me in the dust of death.

16 Dogs have surrounded me;        a band of evil men has encircled me,        they have pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I can count all my bones;        people stare and gloat over me.

18 They divide my garments among them        and cast lots for my clothing.  …

 

Isaiah 53:1-12

Who has believed our message                                                                                            and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,        and like a root out of dry ground.        He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,        nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,        a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.        Like one from whom men hide their faces        he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities        and carried our sorrows,        yet we considered him stricken by God,        smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,        he was crushed for our iniquities;        the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,        and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,        each of us has turned to his own way;        and the LORD has laid on him        the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,        yet he did not open his mouth;        he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,        and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,        so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.        And who can speak of his descendants?        For he was cut off from the land of the living;        for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,        and with the rich in his death,        though he had done no violence,        nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,        and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,        he will see his offspring and prolong his days,        and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After the suffering of his soul,        he will see the light of life and be satisfied;        by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,        and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,        and he will divide the spoils with the strong,        because he poured out his life unto death,        and was numbered with the transgressors.        For he bore the sin of many,        and made intercession for the transgressors.

The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. John, the 19th chapter.

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face.4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”  7 The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.       “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”       “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.       “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”       This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,    “They divided my garments among them       and cast lots for my clothing.” So this is what the soldiers did.25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”  37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Mar 27, 2016 (Easter) – Remembered No More

There’s a church in Germany that has the image of a lamb carved in the stone over the entrance. It’s there because of an incident that happened during the building of the church. The workers were putting up the steeple of the church when one of them lost his footing and fell to the churchyard below. But he wasn’t seriously hurt. He fell on a lamb that was grazing on the grass in the churchyard.

In thankfulness, the image of a lamb was carved into the stone above the door as a constant reminder that not only was that workman saved by a lamb, but also that all of us are saved by the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

That carving is a good device to remind the churchgoers of this truth about Christ. But there are other things that work as reminders about Christ’s truth as well. We all use reminders every day for things that are important for us.

Having a plan to remember things is useful isn’t it? But sometimes there are things we wish we could forget; or that we wish others could forget about us. That reminds me of a story about a woman visiting a church. For weeks she would come to church but not sign a guest book or give her name. Finally she called the pastor and asked to see him. This is what she said:

“When I was 15 I got a strange illness. No one knows what it was. The doctors said I would die. An elder from my church came to pray for me. He told me to promise God that if I lived through the illness I would never sin again. I prayed that way and I got well. So… I never went back to church. For years I didn’t pray. I didn’t want God to be reminded that I existed. I was afraid He would remember the promise that I broke. But now I know my prayer was wrong. I know Christ has forgiven me. It’s a joy to go to church again and to pray again.”

She realized that she had wrongly thought that making herself a better person was the price she had to pay. She’d thought she owed God the cost of being a person without sin; and if you want to be a better person that’s all fine, well and good.  But being a better person won’t restore your broken relationship with God. Our sin is not something we can deal with on our own. You can’t accomplish a restored relationship with God no matter how good you are, how self-empowered you become or how far you’ve raised your consciousness! You can do nothing to restore your broken relationship to God. Only because, Christ is risen… He is risen indeed is that restoration accomplished.

Yes, a person can reject the gift of His victory if they wish. But doing that leaves a person still dead in their own sin, which is another way of saying, leaving them in their broken relationship with God. Like the woman in the story, her relationship with God had been broken because she thought she needed to make herself a better person. It is only by grace through faith in Jesus’ victory that His offer of a new life in Him became her new life. And that same victory is what gives all of us new life and gives us freedom from sin and a restored and a true relationship with God the Father in heaven.

She learned that while she had hoped that God had forgotten about her He hadn’t. He had only forgotten / about / her / sin. That’s what the cross of Christ does; it lets God forget our sins. The Old Testament lesson from Isaiah today refers to that.  Read verse 17 with me, it says, Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

The former things not remembered those are our sins. In the new thing that God has done in Jesus Christ He’s made it possible for Him to remember us, without remembering our sins. (X2)

For us humans however, remembering often times requires some help, like we talked about. Let me ask you something, Why are you here today? Why did you come? What did you come here to remember?

I think one of the main things about coming to church on Easter and every Sunday for that matter, is to be reminded of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. You came today because / Christ is risen… He is risen indeed.

It’s important to be reminded of the Lord’s word and work. Like we said, God will not remember the former things; He will not remember our sin. But what we’re to remember is the Lord’s word to us. We are to remember His words. They are to be remembered and to be lived in by us. It’s the word of Christ and believing that word that gives us new life.

It’s important to be reminded of Christ’s words, that’s why we gather together. And in hearing His words we’re reminded we have new life in Christ, and a restored relationship with the holy God, who is our Father in heaven.

It’s like the reminder in the gospel lesson today; the women came to the tomb and found it open. They went inside and instead of finding the body of Jesus as they had expected to, instead there were two angels. I love the question they ask the women, … Why do you seek the living among the dead?

That’s a great question!  It’s as though the angels don’t expect the women to be in the place where the dead reside. But these women had seen Jesus die and be put in this very tomb. The angel’s question has the feel of something my dad would say to me.  I can still hear his voice, ‘don’t you remember what I said?’ And when he’d ask that, I was stuck. I was stuck because if I answered, that I didn’t remember, then I was informed that was because I wasn’t paying attention. So, I goofed up that way. But then, if I did remember I was in trouble because I didn’t act on what I had remembered I’d been told. Either way I was stuck.

Well, this question from the angels to these women has that same kind of feel doesn’t it? Being stuck. But in the gospel lesson the angels ask the question and then mercifully tell them the only logical answer; He is not here, because Christ has risen… He has risen indeed.

And then the angels remind the women of both Jesus’ words and where He said them. In Galilee before heading to Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus made it clear that He would come to Jerusalem, be persecuted and killed and then rise again after three days. Jesus had said this and when the angels reminded the women of it, then, then they too remembered.

It was after / being / reminded that they remembered Jesus words. In the midst of their grief and loneliness at being separated from Jesus, they’d forgotten what Jesus had told them. After all, He’d just died three days before, on Friday, and here it was Sunday, the first day of the week and they’d begun to settle into the reality that – Jesus / was / dead. They’d put out of mind what Jesus had said. Which, since He was dead, would only be a natural thing to do.

And that is the point to remember today; what Jesus did was not merely natural. He’d been careful to tell them what was coming. But not having any experience with someone bringing themselves to life again after death, they simply missed the reality of what Jesus meant when He told them all this in Galilee. As St. Paul said in the epistle lesson, For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. They’d only had the experience of Adam, which is all people die. But Christ brings the new thing, new life.

Jesus really meant exactly what His words said; He would rise again after being persecuted and dying. And He’d even made it clear that His death would be in such a manner that His body would be lifted up for all to see, and that’s what happened on the cross. Jesus meant what He said about His death / and He meant what He said about rising to life again.

And that’s why we have the question from the angels – why do you seek the living among the dead; don’t you remember what He said? I think one of the things to take away from this is – that being reminded of the truth of Jesus Christ is a good thing. Like that lamb over the door of the church in Germany, coming together for worship is a reminder of the truth that is ours in Christ Jesus, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Today, coming here helps us to be reminded of the reality of what Christ has done for us in dying and rising to life again.

So given that we are together on this glorious day, be reminded of this; Christ is risen! … He is risen indeed! And, be reminded of what’s true in our own lives because of Easter.  Be reminded of what of Jesus’ Easter triumph frees us from.  Jesus frees me so that I’m no longer bound to my sinful ways. Easter means that I will never be all alone in this world.

Jesus victory over sin, death and the devil means that those things / sin / death and / the devil, can never, can never again cut me off from God. Like St. Paul said in the last line of the epistle lesson, the last enemy to be destroyed is death. In Christ and His Easter victory over death I am never alone again. Like the woman in our earlier story, she finally came to understand that she wasn’t alone, because she knew Christ had indeed forgiven her of all her sins even as He remembered her!

Let me close by giving you a suggestion from Martin Luther that might be helpful in remembering that. Luther once suggested that on the wall at the foot of the believer’s bed should hang, side by side, a cross and a person’s baptismal certificate. As the Christian goes to bed at night the last thing they see is the cross of their savior and the baptismal certificate by which they’ve been made a part of the body of Christ.

And, as they awake in the morning, they are again reminded that they have all they need in Christ’s Easter victory to go and live before God in the righteousness and purity that is theirs, that is yours, by Jesus’ gift of faith to you.

Remember you are never again alone and your sins are remembered no more. But you, you are remembered before God’s throne of grace because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Go now and live in that remembrance because / Christ is risen… He is risen indeed, alleluia!

Sermon #820 Rev. Thomas A. Rhodes, Pastor – Zion Lutheran Church, Bolivar, MO

Old Testament Reading                                  portions from Isaiah 65:17-25 17 “Behold, I will create        new heavens and a new earth.        The former things will not be remembered,        nor will they come to mind.

18 But be glad and rejoice forever        in what I will create,        for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight        and its people a joy.

19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem        and take delight in my people;        the sound of weeping and of crying        will be heard in it no more. …

21 They will build houses and dwell in them;        they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. …

24 Before they call I will answer;        while they are still speaking I will hear.

25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,        and the lion will eat straw like the ox,        but dust will be the serpent’s food.        They will neither harm nor destroy        on all my holy mountain,”        says the LORD.

 

Epistle                                                                                                   1 Corinthians 15:19-26

19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

 

Holy Gospel                                                 Luke 24:1-12

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.