St. Luke 7:11-17
June 10, 2007
Pentecost 2C
As Jesus drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. . . . And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~
In all of life, there are few moments more mournful than a funeral procession. In those moments of movement to the cemetery, the sting of death is felt with acute pain. As we bear the lifeless body of a loved one to its resting place—then and there we truly find ourselves in the hour of deepest need, as we just sang in the Hymn of the Day.
In today’s Holy Gospel we encounter just such a mournful moment. At the village of Nain, a funeral procession was making its way out of the village gates. It was a sad scene, as funeral processions always are. But this one was even more tragic. The dead person being carried to the tomb was a young man. His life had been cut short. In the prime of life, death had claimed another victim.
But this tragedy was intensified by the fact that the dead man was the only son of his mother. A mournful mother was leading this funeral procession. And to make matters even more mournful, she was a widow. Now she was all alone in the world. She had no husband to support her, and her only son was dead. Her husband and son were dead, but if the truth be told, this mourning mother was herself as good as dead.
But as the widow wept over the death of her only son, St. Luke tells us that she was met by another only son—the only begotten Son of God. I want you to imagine that you are standing at the gates of the village of Nain that day. Had you been there, you would have witnessed first the funeral procession—a large group of mourners leaving the village, bearing the body of the widow’s only son. There would have been sounds of weeping and wailing, loud laments of mourning and pain. But as the large crowd of mourners was leaving the village, they encountered another large crowd on their way into the village. Coming into the village was Jesus with His disciples and a large crowd of followers. There at the village gates the power of death was confronted head-on by the Lord of life, Jesus Christ.
When the Lord saw the mourning widow, St. Luke tells us, “he had compassion on her.” That doesn’t just mean that the Savior felt sorry for her. It means that He literally felt her pain. He felt her fear. He felt her helplessness. He knew in His body her loneliness and grief. You see, the Savior is not immune to our suffering. Whatever your pain, whatever your fear, whatever your helplessness and grief—you don’t bear it alone. There is One who knows—and feels—the depth of your pain. This is what it means that Jesus had “compassion” on her.
“Do not weep,” He told the widow. Now, on the surface, that doesn’t sound very compassionate—at least in the way you and I carry out compassion. What pastor or counselor or chaplain would ever tell a grieving widow whose only son was being carried to his tomb, “Don’t cry?” If there was ever an occasion to shed tears, this was it! An absence of tears would actually be alarming under these circumstances. It’s God who gives us the ability to cry. Our tears help us cope. Our tears bring strength and healing. Why would Jesus say, “Don’t cry?” Because on that day, at that moment, at the city gates of Nain, Jesus would supply the strength. Jesus would give the healing. Jesus would transform life’s most mournful moment with resurrection joy. Tears were simply not necessary!
At that moment Jesus strode right up to the bier—the burial cot on which the corpse was resting—and He reached out and touched it. This was against the OT ceremonial law (Lev. 21:1-4, 11-12). Coming into contact with the dead made a person unclean. But rather than the dead man making Jesus unclean, the Savior’s touch brought purity and life to what was dirty and dead. And with that, Jesus spoke: “Young man I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
It was no coincidence that Jesus met the funeral procession that day. For as today’s Old Testament reading makes clear, Jesus was following the model of the prophet Elijah. There again, a widow’s only son had died. There again, a great prophet of God stepped into life’s most mournful moment, bringing a dead son back to life again. But in the OT reading, the widow speaks. And I think her words are instructive for all of us. At the moment of her son’s death, she lashed out at Elijah with these words: “What have you against me? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”
There, in the words of a grieving widow, is great wisdom regarding life’s most mournful moments. She makes a connection—a connection between sin and death. It’s a connection that few people make nowadays. But it’s a connection made by the Scriptures over and over again: “The soul that sins shall die.” That’s the terrible, tearful truth behind all of life’s most mournful moments. “The wages of sin is death.” and no one, not even you dear hearer, ever misses payday. This is the silent sermon cackled by every coffin, painfully played out in every funeral procession. As sinners, you and I are not immune. It’s all a crying shame.
It was no coincidence that Jesus met the funeral procession that day. No, that day the Savior intended to give a paschal preview—a glimmering glimpse of death’s demise. His compassion is stronger than your sin, deeper than your death. His crucifixion cross is the sure sign that your sins have been taken away, your guilt atoned for. By the blood of Jesus, your wickedness is forgiven, and God Himself remembers your sins no more. His empty tomb testifies that Jesus has destroyed death. In His death you already died. In His resurrection Jesus opened the kingdom of heaven for you and all believers.
When Jesus walked into the life of this widow at Nain, God Himself came calling. It was no coincidence. And neither is it a coincidence when the living Christ meets you in your most mournful moments too. For when Jesus walks in on your life, things begin to change. In the mess and muddle of your sin, Jesus gets results. With His divine compassion He reaches out to touch you—even in the uncleanness of your sin and its wages. “Don’t cry,” He says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
Whatever the source of your mourning today, whatever triggers your tears, Jesus can help and heal. No matter how hopeless things may appear, there is no mournful place where the Savior’s compassion cannot reach. There’s no place in your life so dark that His light and love cannot lift you up again.
Beloved in the Lord, this is place where Jesus reaches out to lifeless corpses every week. For that’s what we are apart from Him. Here in the Divine Service Jesus puts His Words in our ears (much as He told the dead man, “I say to you, arise.”). Here today He places His very body and blood into our mouths—the same body and blood once nailed to the cross to secure your forgiveness. The Lord’s Supper is a matter of life and death. As one pastor put it, “We go to the Lord’s Supper as though going to our death, so that we may go to our death as though going to the Lord’s Supper.” Think on that as you kneel at the altar this morning.
We don’t see these things with our eyes, nor do we always feel the Savior’s touch. But we have His Word on it. And that’s enough for us. In His Word is the power of healing and hope. In life’s most mournful moments, the Savior always comes calling, bringing His life, His love, His compassion. To every repentant heart He says, “Do not weep.” And on the Last Day you will be glad to hear again His powerful words ringing in your ears: “I say to you, arise.” Amen.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monday, June 4, 2007
The Holy Trinity . . . For Dummies
St. John 8:48-59
June 3, 2007
The Holy Trinity C
[Jesus said to the Jews:] “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~
I’ll admit it if you will. I’m a dummy. There’s even a book in my library to prove it. Several years ago when my wife and I were faced with buying our first home, we were overwhelmed. So I bought a book—a book entitled, “Home-Buying . . . for Dummies.” It was a book that took the very complex concepts of real estate and home mortgages, and then made them understandable and simple—so simple, in fact, that even I, a Lutheran pastor, could understand them.
So, I admit it. I’m a dummy. But I suspect you are too. Today it’s hard to find even one topic that hasn’t been addressed in a “For Dummies” book: Houseplants for dummies, wine, weddings, massage, Boston Terriers, tattoos, you name it. Unfortunately there are two important topics not addressed in this “for dummies” series. You will not find a book entitled “Pipe Organs for Dummies.” (I checked.) Nor will you find a volume entitled, “The Holy Trinity for Dummies.”
We do have the Athanasian Creed, which we confessed together a few moments ago—together with Christians around the world on this Holy Trinity Sunday. But let’s be honest, the Athanasian Creed isn’t for dummies. It’s not easygoing, that Athanasian Creed. It’s tough sledding for even the sharpest knives in the drawer. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. Toss in a few “uncreateds” and “coeternals” and things start to get a little burry. But remember this: When it comes to confessing the fine doctrinal details of God the Holy Trinity, you can hardly expect to get your tiny brain wrapped around all of that. We’re simply not smart enough. If we could grasp all there was to the Holy Trinity—and understand Him completely and fully—well, then, the Holy Trinity wouldn’t be much of a God.
Let’s review: Three divine persons, one divine being called God. In all honesty, if we decided to invent our own religion and our own god, we wouldn’t do it this way—according to the Trinitarian model. We’d keep things simple and straight forward. Religion is hard enough in this secular, post-modern world. Why make things more difficult than they have to be? The trouble is, you and I don’t “make up” and “invent” our ideas about God. God the Holy Trinity tells us who He is. You and I simply believe it and tell it to the whole world.
Talking truthfully about the Trinity isn’t easy today; but then again, it’s never been easy. Just look at the kind of abuse Jesus endured from the religious folks of His day. There’s a lot of nasty stuff dished out at the Savior in today’s Holy Gospel. Jesus, I think, gives us a model for how to confess the truth of the Trinity in the face of all kinds of opposition. Jesus endures the abuse, but defends the doctrine.
First, the abuse. The Jews called Him a “Samaritan,” which was the supreme insult. It implied that Jesus wasn’t a true son of Abraham—that He was just a half-breed religious wanna-be. When Jesus defended the doctrinal truth that whoever keeps His word will never see death, the Jews said, “Now we know that you have a demon.” Not only wasn’t He the Messiah in their estimation, they said He was demonized. And when Jesus defended the doctrinal truth that He was the eternal Son of the Father—that before Abraham ever even existed, Jesus existed—that, in fact, there never was a time when He did not exist—well, at that point the Jews started looking for throwable stones to hurl at Him. Notice how Jesus defends the teaching—doesn’t back down from the doctrine—even while enduring insults and abuse. That’s how it is for anyone who dares to defend the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
Martin Luther put it this way in one of his sermons: “What does Christ do here? He suffers His life to be covered with shame and He endures it in silence; but He defends the teaching, for the teaching is not ours but God’s. . . . There patience ceases and I must venture all that I have and suffer all that they inflict upon me, in order that . . . God and His Word shall not suffer. For that I perish matters little, but if I let God’s Word perish and remain silent, I do harm to God and all the world” (Day by Day, p.383).
Why bother with all the doctrinal details about the Trinity? Why stand firm on all of those doctrinal details, even though it means abuse and ridicule or worse? Because the doctrine isn’t ours. The teaching isn’t ours. It’s God’s. And He has entrusted it to you—to believe it and learn it and share it with others.
Doctrine isn’t a popular topic these days, even (and especially) among Christians. It’s regarded as nothing more than a lot of theological hair-splitting. Can’t we just all believe in Jesus and let it go at that? Doctrine is too divisive. Even among Bible believing Christians this attitude is rampant. Even among us. When was the last time you yourself attended a Bible Study? When was the last time you read your Bible? Had a home devotion? Confessed the Catechism or a creed? All this is a sure sign that the church of Jesus Christ has grown lazy and distracted and, yes, downright dumb. And I’m here to tell you that in the long history of the church, doctrinal dumbness has never strengthened the church, but weakened it. When you no longer believe anything faithfully and firmly, the fine points of doctrine are no longer worth fighting for.
The truth is that we’re all doctrinal dummies. In fact, we’re as dumb as grasshoppers. The prophet Isaiah described earth’s inhabitants as little grasshoppers compared to God (40:22). Imagine if you were holding a grasshopper in your hand. How much about you do you think the grasshopper would understand? The grasshopper might know that you have the power to destroy him, but that’s probably about it. How could that dumb grasshopper ever come to know anything about you and your nature? The only way that could happen would be for you to become a grasshopper. Then the grasshopper could come to know you on his terms.
So it is for us doctrinal dummies and our great God. He became one of us grasshoppers—became a fellow human being named Jesus, from a little town called Nazareth. Or, in the words of the Athanasian Creed, “It is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Jesus God expressed Himself fully for us men and for our salvation. They said He was a blasphemer. They called Him a Samaritan. Said He had a demon. But in truth Jesus was the Word made flesh, God become man, dwelling among dying sinners like us.
In Jesus, God was seen. In Jesus, God was heard. In Jesus, God was touched. Here’s the bottom line on this Trinity Sunday: To know Jesus is to know God. For every doctrinal dummy out there—for every careless Christian who “cares-less” about God’s Word than almost everything else in life—Jesus Himself comes to teach us His eternal truth. That truth is that God became a man, went to the cross, endured the agony of sin’s torturous punishment. He died for all sinners: old and young, rich and poor, dumb . . . and dumber.
There’s just no greater love imaginable. And that’s what God the Holy Trinity is like. In the words and deeds of Jesus you have your own personal edition of “The Holy Trinity for Dummies.” To know Jesus is to know our loving God. There’s nothing lovable in you and me as sinners. Yet God loved us so much that He died so our sin might be set aside and forgiven—so that you and I will never see death. Yes, we will die, but not even death can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And if you believe that, well, you’re no dummy.
In Jesus, God has made Himself accessible to you. In Jesus, God isn’t out of reach or unknowable. He makes Himself available to you through ordinary things which we readily understand. In His Word, in the water of Holy Baptism, in the bread that is His body and the wine that is His blood. Even the simplest among us understand words from a book, washing with water, and eating and drinking. In these simple ways, God the Holy Trinity makes Himself known to you—makes doctrinal dummies wise unto salvation.
Jesus tells us, “Before Abraham was, I am.” That means that Jesus is uncreated, infinite, and eternal. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. He is just and holy. He is all of that and more. But most importantly, He loves you. All of that infinite, eternal power is being used today, for your good, for your salvation, for your resurrection, for your eternal life, all for Jesus’ sake. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit—God in three persons, the blessed Trinity. Amen.
June 3, 2007
The Holy Trinity C
[Jesus said to the Jews:] “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~
I’ll admit it if you will. I’m a dummy. There’s even a book in my library to prove it. Several years ago when my wife and I were faced with buying our first home, we were overwhelmed. So I bought a book—a book entitled, “Home-Buying . . . for Dummies.” It was a book that took the very complex concepts of real estate and home mortgages, and then made them understandable and simple—so simple, in fact, that even I, a Lutheran pastor, could understand them.
So, I admit it. I’m a dummy. But I suspect you are too. Today it’s hard to find even one topic that hasn’t been addressed in a “For Dummies” book: Houseplants for dummies, wine, weddings, massage, Boston Terriers, tattoos, you name it. Unfortunately there are two important topics not addressed in this “for dummies” series. You will not find a book entitled “Pipe Organs for Dummies.” (I checked.) Nor will you find a volume entitled, “The Holy Trinity for Dummies.”
We do have the Athanasian Creed, which we confessed together a few moments ago—together with Christians around the world on this Holy Trinity Sunday. But let’s be honest, the Athanasian Creed isn’t for dummies. It’s not easygoing, that Athanasian Creed. It’s tough sledding for even the sharpest knives in the drawer. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. Toss in a few “uncreateds” and “coeternals” and things start to get a little burry. But remember this: When it comes to confessing the fine doctrinal details of God the Holy Trinity, you can hardly expect to get your tiny brain wrapped around all of that. We’re simply not smart enough. If we could grasp all there was to the Holy Trinity—and understand Him completely and fully—well, then, the Holy Trinity wouldn’t be much of a God.
Let’s review: Three divine persons, one divine being called God. In all honesty, if we decided to invent our own religion and our own god, we wouldn’t do it this way—according to the Trinitarian model. We’d keep things simple and straight forward. Religion is hard enough in this secular, post-modern world. Why make things more difficult than they have to be? The trouble is, you and I don’t “make up” and “invent” our ideas about God. God the Holy Trinity tells us who He is. You and I simply believe it and tell it to the whole world.
Talking truthfully about the Trinity isn’t easy today; but then again, it’s never been easy. Just look at the kind of abuse Jesus endured from the religious folks of His day. There’s a lot of nasty stuff dished out at the Savior in today’s Holy Gospel. Jesus, I think, gives us a model for how to confess the truth of the Trinity in the face of all kinds of opposition. Jesus endures the abuse, but defends the doctrine.
First, the abuse. The Jews called Him a “Samaritan,” which was the supreme insult. It implied that Jesus wasn’t a true son of Abraham—that He was just a half-breed religious wanna-be. When Jesus defended the doctrinal truth that whoever keeps His word will never see death, the Jews said, “Now we know that you have a demon.” Not only wasn’t He the Messiah in their estimation, they said He was demonized. And when Jesus defended the doctrinal truth that He was the eternal Son of the Father—that before Abraham ever even existed, Jesus existed—that, in fact, there never was a time when He did not exist—well, at that point the Jews started looking for throwable stones to hurl at Him. Notice how Jesus defends the teaching—doesn’t back down from the doctrine—even while enduring insults and abuse. That’s how it is for anyone who dares to defend the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
Martin Luther put it this way in one of his sermons: “What does Christ do here? He suffers His life to be covered with shame and He endures it in silence; but He defends the teaching, for the teaching is not ours but God’s. . . . There patience ceases and I must venture all that I have and suffer all that they inflict upon me, in order that . . . God and His Word shall not suffer. For that I perish matters little, but if I let God’s Word perish and remain silent, I do harm to God and all the world” (Day by Day, p.383).
Why bother with all the doctrinal details about the Trinity? Why stand firm on all of those doctrinal details, even though it means abuse and ridicule or worse? Because the doctrine isn’t ours. The teaching isn’t ours. It’s God’s. And He has entrusted it to you—to believe it and learn it and share it with others.
Doctrine isn’t a popular topic these days, even (and especially) among Christians. It’s regarded as nothing more than a lot of theological hair-splitting. Can’t we just all believe in Jesus and let it go at that? Doctrine is too divisive. Even among Bible believing Christians this attitude is rampant. Even among us. When was the last time you yourself attended a Bible Study? When was the last time you read your Bible? Had a home devotion? Confessed the Catechism or a creed? All this is a sure sign that the church of Jesus Christ has grown lazy and distracted and, yes, downright dumb. And I’m here to tell you that in the long history of the church, doctrinal dumbness has never strengthened the church, but weakened it. When you no longer believe anything faithfully and firmly, the fine points of doctrine are no longer worth fighting for.
The truth is that we’re all doctrinal dummies. In fact, we’re as dumb as grasshoppers. The prophet Isaiah described earth’s inhabitants as little grasshoppers compared to God (40:22). Imagine if you were holding a grasshopper in your hand. How much about you do you think the grasshopper would understand? The grasshopper might know that you have the power to destroy him, but that’s probably about it. How could that dumb grasshopper ever come to know anything about you and your nature? The only way that could happen would be for you to become a grasshopper. Then the grasshopper could come to know you on his terms.
So it is for us doctrinal dummies and our great God. He became one of us grasshoppers—became a fellow human being named Jesus, from a little town called Nazareth. Or, in the words of the Athanasian Creed, “It is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Jesus God expressed Himself fully for us men and for our salvation. They said He was a blasphemer. They called Him a Samaritan. Said He had a demon. But in truth Jesus was the Word made flesh, God become man, dwelling among dying sinners like us.
In Jesus, God was seen. In Jesus, God was heard. In Jesus, God was touched. Here’s the bottom line on this Trinity Sunday: To know Jesus is to know God. For every doctrinal dummy out there—for every careless Christian who “cares-less” about God’s Word than almost everything else in life—Jesus Himself comes to teach us His eternal truth. That truth is that God became a man, went to the cross, endured the agony of sin’s torturous punishment. He died for all sinners: old and young, rich and poor, dumb . . . and dumber.
There’s just no greater love imaginable. And that’s what God the Holy Trinity is like. In the words and deeds of Jesus you have your own personal edition of “The Holy Trinity for Dummies.” To know Jesus is to know our loving God. There’s nothing lovable in you and me as sinners. Yet God loved us so much that He died so our sin might be set aside and forgiven—so that you and I will never see death. Yes, we will die, but not even death can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And if you believe that, well, you’re no dummy.
In Jesus, God has made Himself accessible to you. In Jesus, God isn’t out of reach or unknowable. He makes Himself available to you through ordinary things which we readily understand. In His Word, in the water of Holy Baptism, in the bread that is His body and the wine that is His blood. Even the simplest among us understand words from a book, washing with water, and eating and drinking. In these simple ways, God the Holy Trinity makes Himself known to you—makes doctrinal dummies wise unto salvation.
Jesus tells us, “Before Abraham was, I am.” That means that Jesus is uncreated, infinite, and eternal. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. He is just and holy. He is all of that and more. But most importantly, He loves you. All of that infinite, eternal power is being used today, for your good, for your salvation, for your resurrection, for your eternal life, all for Jesus’ sake. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit—God in three persons, the blessed Trinity. Amen.
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