The fact of the matter is, the disciples just weren't sure what had happened. They didn't believe it. They didn't get it. When Jesus appeared to them, they thought they were looking at a ghost. So what better way to prove that He is still a man even though He was dead and is now alive, than having something to eat. The disciples are amazed, confused, bewildered, frightened and there's Jesus: “You got anything to eat?” Then they realized that this was the same Jesus in the flesh, with flesh and bone, who was alive even though he had been dead. Then He opens their hearts so that they would understand as He explained to them how everything that went down was according to the Scriptures. Then it all came together and they understood that Jesus' death and resurrection were all foretold in the Old Testament. They Jesus sent them into the world as His witnesses to preach and teach that He suffered and died and rose for sinners and that repentance and the forgiveness of sins are given in His name. In other words, salvation comes from the One who died and who was alive on the third day—Jesus!
Now we need to understand something. There are teachings in the Bible that are important, but if you didn't know them, you can still be saved. For example, in the book of Genesis, we learn that Nimrod was a mighty hunter. Now, you can be saved without knowing anything about Nimrod. But there are teachings which are central to the faith and without knowing them, we cannot have eternal life. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is one of these. If someone denies that Jesus rose bodily from the dead, they are no Christian. Christ was and is truly alive on Easter and ever since. In fact, the resurrection stands at the heart of the Christian faith. If Jesus didn't really rise from the dead, we're all just fools in a silly religion. But Jesus DID rise from the dead and that means that sin and death have been taken care of for you. It means death cannot hold you down. You will rise too. Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross but it is by His resurrection that He demonstrates that death and the power of sin are truly overthrown. Without the resurrection, we have nothing. With the resurrection, we have salvation and everlasting life.
Now it's all well that the disciples can see Jesus enjoying his broiled fish and can see his nail holes to believe that He is really and truly alive. But what about us? We haven't seen Him like they did? That's why Jesus tells them, “You're my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” The apostles don't just tell others what they've seen and heard, they tell future generations by writing it down. By reading it in the Scriptures, it's as if we're hearing it from them ourselves. Think about it. How many of you knew your great-great-great-grandmothers? But you believe in THEM don't you? Isn't it funny how people in the world can talk about Henry VIII or Julius Caesar or Genghis Khan or any other person in history as if they really lived, but when it comes to Jesus they want to argue that it's all made up or just stories! No! We have EYE-WITNESSES. And because they saw and wrote it down, the Spirit uses that Word to teach us that Jesus died for us and rose again too. By that Word, that preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name, the Spirit creates faith and trust in us which clings to Christ even though we haven't seen Him with our eyes as the disciples did. Such faith and trust is a gift which believes that Jesus has taken away all our sins and gives us everlasting life. After all, if he rose from the dead, our bodies will rise from the dead too, for that's what our Baptism promises to us because of that same forgiveness of sins!
Jesus doesn't just die on the cross and rise again and let a few people know it! He shows Himself to His apostles so that they will show Him to us by the Word. Jesus doesn't leave us guess but shows us plainly and clearly by His Word that He is alive. By water and the word and also in His Supper, the risen Christ comes to us and lets us see Him with the eyes of faith. While it may not be with our eyes, we have the eyes of the witnesses who have written it down for us so that there can be no doubt. And having that word, we have what it says: repentance and the forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus who died and rose; who ate fish and fulfilled the Scriptures; who is even today alive and will come again. That's why when we say the Easter greeting we add that great big INDEED! Christ is risen! He is risen INDEED! Alleluia! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Showing posts with label easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label easter. Show all posts
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
April 24, 2011 - Easter Day - St. Mark 16:1-8
“Location, location, location!” That, they say, is what's most important for a business to do well. Well, our Easter Gospel is about, location, location, location. All too often, when we get into a discussion about God, we leave location behind. God is just “out there” or “up there” somewhere. You can't see Him. You just assume He's there and doing something or other. That's how the world thinks of God and the devil loves to trap Christians into thinking that way too. But through all that abstract, “out there” God talk and clutter, the Easter Gospel shines brightly, reminding us that God is really a location, location, location God. He tells us where He is and what He's doing. And Easter is really all about that.
Location: Nazareth. The angel says to the women, “You're looking for Jesus of Nazareth.” That's a location. A specific person from a specific place. It's a reminder to us that God became man. He was in Mary's womb and born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. Our Lord isn't just “out there somewhere.” He was in Nazareth. He lived there. Grew up there. Played there. Ate there. Worked there. And when He began His work of salvation in earnest, He preached there too. The point is this: God is located in the flesh. He went places and did stuff. When we speak about God, especially to unbelievers, we don't need to get caught in their trap of “abstract God somewhere.” Talk to them about Jesus, the God who grew up in and was from Nazareth. You can still go there today. It's a real place. And He's a real person that was there.
Location: The cross and tomb. The angel goes on: “Jesus...who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him!” Now Jesus went lots of places but the most important place He was, was the cross and tomb. On that cross, God died. On that cross, God took away our sins. On that cross, Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave Himself as the sacrifice for sins. It happened there on a hill called Calvary. And that hill is still there today. And then there is a garden tomb. He was there too, resting in the tomb until He rose on Easter. The women knew where that tomb was and they and the disciples saw clearly that it was empty. But there in a particular place, our Lord hung on the tree. There, God was. He didn't look like God, all bloody and dead, but you can't get a more specific location than that. It's where, in the midst of all our suffering and asking that question, “Where's God?” we can point to Calvary and the cross and say, “Right there, pierced for you!”
Location: Galilee. “Tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going to Galilee. There you will see Him just as He told you.” Because He's risen! He's alive! He WAS on the cross. And He WAS in the tomb but now He is alive. And He is where His Word said He would be: In Galilee. Eventually He would appear to all His disciples, where they were, in His Body. He is no ghost or spirit. No vision or dream or delusion. He's alive and He can prove it by showing His disciples the LOCATION of those nail and spear holes. The God who walked around Galilee and Judea before He died is the same God who walked around Galilee and Judea when He was alive again. Once more, God is not an “out there” kind of God, but the God who is in the flesh, who suffered for our sins, rose again and was seen by all of those eyewitnesses.
Location: Christ's church today. Just as our risen Lord had told His disciples where He would be (in Galilee), so He tells us where He will be. After He had conquered sin and death, died and risen, before His Ascension, Jesus told His disciples to go and preach and baptize and that He would be with them always to the end of the age. So now, today, where is the Lord? Where do we find Him? Sure, He's everywhere because He's God, but remember: Location, location, location. He tells us where He is going to be located for our salvation. For our comfort and strength. And where is that? Right here in His church. Where water is put upon you at the location of the font. Where your pastor is located to preach and teach Christ's Word to you and absolve you of your sins. Where Christ Himself is located in His Body and Blood on the altar in the meal of salvation. In these locations, these specific, concrete, actual places, we don't get caught up in the “somewhere out there” God but the God-with-us in the flesh who is still with us in His church. If you want to know who God is, He is there in Christ. And if you want to know where Christ is, He's right here in His church. Therefore we are rescued from useless arguments about a God “out there somewhere” because we have a God who has come in the flesh and still comes in His flesh through His Word and Sacraments in His church.
So Easter is about location, location, location! God has a location! He's not just everywhere and anywhere. He's somewhere. And He's somewhere FOR YOU. That location, that somewhere is His holy Christian church on earth where His gifts are given for forgiveness, life and salvation. His church whereby the forgiveness of sins He won by His death and resurrection, sin and death and the devil and hell are all defeated. His church in which we are nourished in the faith and kept in that faith til the day our Lord comes back and raises US from the dead, just as He rose from the dead on Easter. Therefore don't seek Him in there, in your feelings, “out there,” in nature, our “up there” in the sky somewhere, or anywhere else. He is right HERE for you. For to say that Christ is risen is to confess that He is right here in this location for you. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Location: Nazareth. The angel says to the women, “You're looking for Jesus of Nazareth.” That's a location. A specific person from a specific place. It's a reminder to us that God became man. He was in Mary's womb and born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. Our Lord isn't just “out there somewhere.” He was in Nazareth. He lived there. Grew up there. Played there. Ate there. Worked there. And when He began His work of salvation in earnest, He preached there too. The point is this: God is located in the flesh. He went places and did stuff. When we speak about God, especially to unbelievers, we don't need to get caught in their trap of “abstract God somewhere.” Talk to them about Jesus, the God who grew up in and was from Nazareth. You can still go there today. It's a real place. And He's a real person that was there.
Location: The cross and tomb. The angel goes on: “Jesus...who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him!” Now Jesus went lots of places but the most important place He was, was the cross and tomb. On that cross, God died. On that cross, God took away our sins. On that cross, Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave Himself as the sacrifice for sins. It happened there on a hill called Calvary. And that hill is still there today. And then there is a garden tomb. He was there too, resting in the tomb until He rose on Easter. The women knew where that tomb was and they and the disciples saw clearly that it was empty. But there in a particular place, our Lord hung on the tree. There, God was. He didn't look like God, all bloody and dead, but you can't get a more specific location than that. It's where, in the midst of all our suffering and asking that question, “Where's God?” we can point to Calvary and the cross and say, “Right there, pierced for you!”
Location: Galilee. “Tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going to Galilee. There you will see Him just as He told you.” Because He's risen! He's alive! He WAS on the cross. And He WAS in the tomb but now He is alive. And He is where His Word said He would be: In Galilee. Eventually He would appear to all His disciples, where they were, in His Body. He is no ghost or spirit. No vision or dream or delusion. He's alive and He can prove it by showing His disciples the LOCATION of those nail and spear holes. The God who walked around Galilee and Judea before He died is the same God who walked around Galilee and Judea when He was alive again. Once more, God is not an “out there” kind of God, but the God who is in the flesh, who suffered for our sins, rose again and was seen by all of those eyewitnesses.
Location: Christ's church today. Just as our risen Lord had told His disciples where He would be (in Galilee), so He tells us where He will be. After He had conquered sin and death, died and risen, before His Ascension, Jesus told His disciples to go and preach and baptize and that He would be with them always to the end of the age. So now, today, where is the Lord? Where do we find Him? Sure, He's everywhere because He's God, but remember: Location, location, location. He tells us where He is going to be located for our salvation. For our comfort and strength. And where is that? Right here in His church. Where water is put upon you at the location of the font. Where your pastor is located to preach and teach Christ's Word to you and absolve you of your sins. Where Christ Himself is located in His Body and Blood on the altar in the meal of salvation. In these locations, these specific, concrete, actual places, we don't get caught up in the “somewhere out there” God but the God-with-us in the flesh who is still with us in His church. If you want to know who God is, He is there in Christ. And if you want to know where Christ is, He's right here in His church. Therefore we are rescued from useless arguments about a God “out there somewhere” because we have a God who has come in the flesh and still comes in His flesh through His Word and Sacraments in His church.
So Easter is about location, location, location! God has a location! He's not just everywhere and anywhere. He's somewhere. And He's somewhere FOR YOU. That location, that somewhere is His holy Christian church on earth where His gifts are given for forgiveness, life and salvation. His church whereby the forgiveness of sins He won by His death and resurrection, sin and death and the devil and hell are all defeated. His church in which we are nourished in the faith and kept in that faith til the day our Lord comes back and raises US from the dead, just as He rose from the dead on Easter. Therefore don't seek Him in there, in your feelings, “out there,” in nature, our “up there” in the sky somewhere, or anywhere else. He is right HERE for you. For to say that Christ is risen is to confess that He is right here in this location for you. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
April 23, 2011 - Easter Vigil - St. John 20:1-18
Easter morning was something of a mess! Mary doesn't know where they've taken Jesus. Peter and John run to the tomb and they believe and yet still don't know the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. Jesus speaks to Mary and it is only that which opens her eyes to recognize that it is Him. The other Gospels tell us about the angels announcing He is risen and the disciples on the road to Emmaus who don't believe what has happened. Then, of course, there's Thomas, too. Everything seems to confused and up in the air. But what straightens it all out is the Word. The Word that Jesus speaks. The Word of the Scriptures that He has fulfilled. Easter is more than just about the fact of the resurrection, though that's the big part of it. The fact of Jesus being alive the third day and the tomb being empty can only matter if the Word declares it. After all, you and I weren't there. We can only hear and believe from the Word. And so it is the Word that tells us that Jesus was going to rise. It is Jesus' own words that tell His disciples He's going to rise. And it is the Word that the apostles, who were eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus wrote, it is that Word which tells us Christ has indeed risen.
This is also why Jesus tells Mary, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father.” Now, after the resurrection, we aren't to find Jesus by hanging on to Him outside the garden tomb. Now, He will ascend to the Father and will go all over the world through the preaching of His death and resurrection, that is, by His Word. Jesus tells Mary not to cling to Him but to go to where the disciples are. Where the church is gathered. There is where you'll find Jesus. Now, after His resurrection, Jesus is alive and until He comes back, He lives and reigns in His holy church, where His Word is given. Here we are forbidden to find Jesus anywhere else than where His Word is. To look for Jesus in some other place like our feelings or some physical location like the tomb in Jerusalem (and which one is it?) is to seek Him where He hasn't promised to be found. To try to have God apart from His Word is what our Easter repentance confesses.
So what about that Word? It's there in the Scriptures. In the Old Testament which foretold all that Jesus would do, including His resurrection. In the New Testament in which the eyewitness testimony of His life and words and suffering, death and resurrection are told and expounded. In the preaching of that Word today by which Jesus Himself is among us. In the speaking of that Word with the water that washes us and makes us children of God. In the speaking of that Word which declares our sins are forgiven. Where that Word is that delivers Christ's Body and Blood with the bread and wine in the Supper. Our whole life as Christians, worshiping a crucified and risen Lord is all about His Word. It is that Word by which the Father shows us His Son, by which the Son reveals Himself and dwells among us, and by which the Spirit calls and preserves us in the holy Christian church. Without the Word, we perish, we wither and die. And with that Word that brings us Jesus, the Jesus who died for our sins and rose again, that Word brings us life now and life everlasting. The Scriptures told it. We shouldn't be surprised. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
This is also why Jesus tells Mary, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father.” Now, after the resurrection, we aren't to find Jesus by hanging on to Him outside the garden tomb. Now, He will ascend to the Father and will go all over the world through the preaching of His death and resurrection, that is, by His Word. Jesus tells Mary not to cling to Him but to go to where the disciples are. Where the church is gathered. There is where you'll find Jesus. Now, after His resurrection, Jesus is alive and until He comes back, He lives and reigns in His holy church, where His Word is given. Here we are forbidden to find Jesus anywhere else than where His Word is. To look for Jesus in some other place like our feelings or some physical location like the tomb in Jerusalem (and which one is it?) is to seek Him where He hasn't promised to be found. To try to have God apart from His Word is what our Easter repentance confesses.
So what about that Word? It's there in the Scriptures. In the Old Testament which foretold all that Jesus would do, including His resurrection. In the New Testament in which the eyewitness testimony of His life and words and suffering, death and resurrection are told and expounded. In the preaching of that Word today by which Jesus Himself is among us. In the speaking of that Word with the water that washes us and makes us children of God. In the speaking of that Word which declares our sins are forgiven. Where that Word is that delivers Christ's Body and Blood with the bread and wine in the Supper. Our whole life as Christians, worshiping a crucified and risen Lord is all about His Word. It is that Word by which the Father shows us His Son, by which the Son reveals Himself and dwells among us, and by which the Spirit calls and preserves us in the holy Christian church. Without the Word, we perish, we wither and die. And with that Word that brings us Jesus, the Jesus who died for our sins and rose again, that Word brings us life now and life everlasting. The Scriptures told it. We shouldn't be surprised. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
April 11, 2010 - The Second Sunday of Easter - St. John 20:19-31
The most wonderful good news about God is that He has holes in Him. Jesus is our Savior because He's got holes in Him. Nail holes. A spear hole. The wounds of Christ are our joy and blessing because they save us. In getting those wounds, Jesus saved us from our sins. In keeping those wounds, He showed His disciples that He was the same Jesus who was dead on the cross and now is alive. It is those wounds that Jesus shows to the Father to still His wrath against our sins. And it is those wounds that He shows to us to comfort us against all sin and death. Pay attention! Three times in today's Gospel, the Lord's hands and feet are mentioned. Anything that gets mentioned that many times in a Gospel reading is something to pay attention to!
Jesus shows His wounds to His disciples. He shows them His hands and His side. The hands where the nails were driven to pin Him to the cross. The side that was pierced to prove that He was indeed dead. If there were no nail and spear holes, if there were no wounds, how could the disciples know that this was really the Jesus who had died? So when Jesus appears He makes sure to show them where the nails and the spear were. And they rejoiced. They rejoiced because this was proof that the man standing in front of them was no impostor but the real Jesus who had indeed been nailed to the cross and died there. Thomas wasn't there the first time but when he hears about it he won't believe until he see the wounds for himself and puts his fingers and hands there just to be sure! So here comes the Lord again, showing His wounds, this time for Thomas to see. It is the wounds that Thomas sees and it is Christ's Word that tells Him to be believing, to trust that He is indeed the risen Christ who was wounded for our sins. But those wounds don't just convince the disciples!
Jesus also shows His wounds to the Father. If the Father's wrath and anger should ever be kindled because of your sins, it is the wounds of His Son that remind Him you are spared. Forgiven. Saved. Paid for. Redeemed. Justified. The wounds of Christ are the Lord's eternal reminder to the Father that you are no longer a target for punishment but a child of God. As long as Jesus has those wounds, the Father can never condemn you for your sins! After all, the wounds He suffered, the death He underwent, the scars He now bears, are for your sake. Jesus has those holes in Him for you. Jesus was pierced for your sins so that your sins will never pierce you. Jesus carries wounds because He carried your sins so that you won't have to bear them. Jesus, because He is God's Son, can do this. Our sins would kill us. They killed Jesus. But He is alive. And the proof is that the risen Christ who stands among His disciples bears those marks of His suffering death as glorious trophies of His triumph.
Jesus shows His wounds to you. He shows them to you by faith. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” You have not seen those wounds with your eyes but with the eyes of faith. But John who was an eyewitness writes that we have victory over the world because of Jesus. You need this victory! Because this world and your own sins weigh you down. Everyone carries wounds and scars. Sometimes we still have the hurt from what others have done to us. Sometimes we bear the scars of guilt because of what we've done to others. Sometimes are scars are emotional. Sometimes they are physical, reminders of pain and suffering we've had. Either way, our wounds and scars are reminders of our sin and the death that is in this world. But against such things, Christ gives the victory! His wounds of life defeat the power of our wounds and scars of death. His wounds are our refuge, a place to hide against the world. What can the world do to you? What can the devil say against you? What can your own scars and wounds do? Nothing! Because the holes in Jesus' feet and hands and side stand as the eternal witness that Christ has victory over the world and so do you because You are hidden in His wounds! His wounds are the marks of His triumph and yours!
Christ shows us His wounds by His gifts. We don't see the wounds like Thomas did, but we are shown them by His Word and Sacraments. When God's people complained that they had no hope, Ezekiel was given the vision of the dry bones which were brought back to life by the Spirit of God that was breathed into them. In the same way, when Jesus, the scar-showing risen Savior breathes on His disciples, He is giving them life. It is the Jesus who has scars who breathes that Spirit onto His disciples so that they would deliver the blessings of those wounds to you. First in Baptism, when the water that flowed from His side washed you clean. Then in absolution and preaching, the words that the risen Jesus with the holes in Him sent His disciples to preach to the world in His church. Then, of course, in the Holy Supper of Christ, in which the body that was wounded for you and the blood that poured from those wounds is given you to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins. By these gifts, victory is yours! Death is overcome and you have hope and comfort in all affliction.
Dear Christians, the wounds of Christ are a cause for our rejoicing and celebration! They are the holes which prove to Thomas and the disciples that the Jesus who stands before them is the same one they saw crucified. The wounds of Jesus are our protection against the guilt and punishment of our sins. Christ's holy wounds are our comfort against all sin and death. They are the source of His holy gifts which are given to us in the church. When your sins trouble you, hide there in His wounds! When death frightens you, look to the wounds of Jesus to know that death is defeated. When the devil stalks you, point him to the wounds which will send him packing! The Christ who is risen is risen with hands and feet and side that show that He is the Conqueror of sin and death. By His wounds, YOU are conquerors of sin and death. By His wounds you will rise on the Last Day. By His wounds, you will always recognize the victorious Lamb of God who was slain and reigns now for all eternity. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Jesus shows His wounds to His disciples. He shows them His hands and His side. The hands where the nails were driven to pin Him to the cross. The side that was pierced to prove that He was indeed dead. If there were no nail and spear holes, if there were no wounds, how could the disciples know that this was really the Jesus who had died? So when Jesus appears He makes sure to show them where the nails and the spear were. And they rejoiced. They rejoiced because this was proof that the man standing in front of them was no impostor but the real Jesus who had indeed been nailed to the cross and died there. Thomas wasn't there the first time but when he hears about it he won't believe until he see the wounds for himself and puts his fingers and hands there just to be sure! So here comes the Lord again, showing His wounds, this time for Thomas to see. It is the wounds that Thomas sees and it is Christ's Word that tells Him to be believing, to trust that He is indeed the risen Christ who was wounded for our sins. But those wounds don't just convince the disciples!
Jesus also shows His wounds to the Father. If the Father's wrath and anger should ever be kindled because of your sins, it is the wounds of His Son that remind Him you are spared. Forgiven. Saved. Paid for. Redeemed. Justified. The wounds of Christ are the Lord's eternal reminder to the Father that you are no longer a target for punishment but a child of God. As long as Jesus has those wounds, the Father can never condemn you for your sins! After all, the wounds He suffered, the death He underwent, the scars He now bears, are for your sake. Jesus has those holes in Him for you. Jesus was pierced for your sins so that your sins will never pierce you. Jesus carries wounds because He carried your sins so that you won't have to bear them. Jesus, because He is God's Son, can do this. Our sins would kill us. They killed Jesus. But He is alive. And the proof is that the risen Christ who stands among His disciples bears those marks of His suffering death as glorious trophies of His triumph.
Jesus shows His wounds to you. He shows them to you by faith. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” You have not seen those wounds with your eyes but with the eyes of faith. But John who was an eyewitness writes that we have victory over the world because of Jesus. You need this victory! Because this world and your own sins weigh you down. Everyone carries wounds and scars. Sometimes we still have the hurt from what others have done to us. Sometimes we bear the scars of guilt because of what we've done to others. Sometimes are scars are emotional. Sometimes they are physical, reminders of pain and suffering we've had. Either way, our wounds and scars are reminders of our sin and the death that is in this world. But against such things, Christ gives the victory! His wounds of life defeat the power of our wounds and scars of death. His wounds are our refuge, a place to hide against the world. What can the world do to you? What can the devil say against you? What can your own scars and wounds do? Nothing! Because the holes in Jesus' feet and hands and side stand as the eternal witness that Christ has victory over the world and so do you because You are hidden in His wounds! His wounds are the marks of His triumph and yours!
Christ shows us His wounds by His gifts. We don't see the wounds like Thomas did, but we are shown them by His Word and Sacraments. When God's people complained that they had no hope, Ezekiel was given the vision of the dry bones which were brought back to life by the Spirit of God that was breathed into them. In the same way, when Jesus, the scar-showing risen Savior breathes on His disciples, He is giving them life. It is the Jesus who has scars who breathes that Spirit onto His disciples so that they would deliver the blessings of those wounds to you. First in Baptism, when the water that flowed from His side washed you clean. Then in absolution and preaching, the words that the risen Jesus with the holes in Him sent His disciples to preach to the world in His church. Then, of course, in the Holy Supper of Christ, in which the body that was wounded for you and the blood that poured from those wounds is given you to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins. By these gifts, victory is yours! Death is overcome and you have hope and comfort in all affliction.
Dear Christians, the wounds of Christ are a cause for our rejoicing and celebration! They are the holes which prove to Thomas and the disciples that the Jesus who stands before them is the same one they saw crucified. The wounds of Jesus are our protection against the guilt and punishment of our sins. Christ's holy wounds are our comfort against all sin and death. They are the source of His holy gifts which are given to us in the church. When your sins trouble you, hide there in His wounds! When death frightens you, look to the wounds of Jesus to know that death is defeated. When the devil stalks you, point him to the wounds which will send him packing! The Christ who is risen is risen with hands and feet and side that show that He is the Conqueror of sin and death. By His wounds, YOU are conquerors of sin and death. By His wounds you will rise on the Last Day. By His wounds, you will always recognize the victorious Lamb of God who was slain and reigns now for all eternity. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
April 4, 2010 - The Resurrection of Our Lord: Easter Day - St. Mark 16:1-8
Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ has overturned death! This is huge! This is salvation! That's because death is something we can't defeat on our own and yet we spend our time and money trying to prepare for it or else avoid it. Think how death tries to rule our lives! We need to make wills. Pick out caskets and put money down on our plots. We hear a doctor tell us that it won't be long. We call hospice to help us prepare. There is so much to do to get ready for death. And yet we also try to avoid it. When we're young, we just ignore it, thinking it can never happen to us. As we get older, we put off those wills and funeral packages in the hopes we won't have to think about it. We try to exercise, eat right, take the right medicines, and on and on, hoping we can squeeze out just a few more years. Death is funny like that. We either get gloomy preparing for it or we try to falsely ignore it. But that's us. That's our approach to death. Our Lord's approach to death is to face it head on at the cross and then on Easter to rise from the dead and by doing that, throw it down, stomp all over it and kick it out of the way!
Christ has overturned death on Easter! Those poor women! They went to the tomb expecting death. Sadness. A corpse. A stone they couldn't move. But the Lord's already taken care of all that! Jesus alive! Stone rolled out of the way! And angel ready with the Good News that He is alive. The angel lays it all out: “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here!” On the cross, Jesus suffered with our sins. Our sins killed Him. But now He is alive! What does that say about our sins? They are gone. Forgiven. Paid for. Left buried in the tomb. And if our sins are gone, then death has no more power. Death comes because of sins. So if our sins are gone, death's power is destroyed. Death can't hold Jesus. Therefore death is defeated. Done for. It's lost its sting.
Christ has overturned death for your life now! St. Paul says that now that Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, we can put away the old leaven and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Christ's resurrection isn't just for death. It comes rippling into our lives as the antidote to death that surrounds us every day. See how often we live as if we're dead. No hope. No joy. Grumbling against others. Living like death is the end so we have to grab all we can in this life no matter how it hurts others. You only pass this way once, so you better do all you can to make yourself happy. That's death talk! That's old leaven! Treating others like we can dispose of them, as if we'll never see them again. Worrying about our illnesses and problems as if they can ruin us forever. That's living as if death is in charge! But Paul reminds us that death has been thrown down! Christ has been sacrificed. His death gives us life and His resurrection overcomes death. Christ has risen for you! No more living like death has any power! No more living like you have no Savior! Away with that life! Life now is in Christ, and Christ is life. That's life and love for you and for your neighbor in Christ.
Christ has overturned your death! Even Job knew this. Job says that he's going to die and his body will rot but EVEN SO he will stand in his flesh and see God. Job knows that there is a resurrection of the body. We say so in the Creed too. Why? Because they put Jesus' body in the tomb and He came back out on the third day! That means that you will be laid to rest, but when the Lord comes back, you will be out! Up! Alive! Your body is back. Changed. Glorified. Risen! Christians don't believe that we just spend eternity as ghostly spirits! We believe in the resurrection of the BODY and everlasting life in our BODIES. Sure, you might get sick. It might be terminal. You might die early in a tragic accident. You might live a long life and die in your sleep. But one way or another, death will come. But now that Christ has risen, we can laugh at death! Despise it! Scorn it! Slap it in the face and say, “You can't hold me! I'm going to be raised and then what will you have, Death? Nothing! Where is your victory, Death? Where is your sting! Jesus is alive, Death! Neener, neener, neener!” Oh, the devil hates nothing more than to be reminded that you aren't scared of death. For the same Lord who threw down death has thrown down Satan's power too.
Now what is it that overturns death for those women? Yes, Jesus is alive, but what turns them from sadness to joy? It is the preaching of the young man in the white stole. That's right. Now I may not be so young but I've got a white robe and a stole and so I'm telling you: Christ is risen! He is risen for you. Remember how the angel told the women, “Go tell His disciples AND Peter?” Remember what Peter did? He denied His Lord. Three times! But the the Lord wants to make sure that even Peter knows his denial has been overcome by Jesus' resurrection. That's my job. It's why you come to church. Because out there in the world, death keeps taking swipes at you, sin keeps stabbing at you, Satan keeps attacking you. And I'm here to tell you, with my white stole on, that Christ has risen FOR YOU. His death has taken away your sins, no matter how big or small, no matter if everyone's seen them or no one has. Whatever your sins, they are wiped out by the death of the Son of God and the proof that they are wiped out is that He is risen! When you come to church, that's what's in it for you: a risen Christ bestowing upon you the power of His resurrection. By Baptism, snatching you from the jaws of death. By Absolution and preaching, proclaiming that His death and resurrection are even for someone as sinful as Peter and you! By His body and blood, telling death, “If you want this one, you've got to come through Me, and you're already failed at that, Death!” Yes indeed, Christ has overturned death and has overturned your death!
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the resurrection of Jesus is what cinches the deal. The cross is the center of our faith, but the resurrection is what proves to the world that Christ, as true God and man, has truly beaten sin and death. If Christ is not raised from the dead, it's all a bad joke and a waste of time. But Christ IS risen. He was seen by His disciples. That means that Christ has overturned death. Thrown it down. Stolen its power. Removed its sting. His death was for you. His resurrection was for you. His gifts of forgiveness and life are for you. For your life now. And for the eternal life that is yet to come. Alleluia! Christ is risen! Amen.
Christ has overturned death on Easter! Those poor women! They went to the tomb expecting death. Sadness. A corpse. A stone they couldn't move. But the Lord's already taken care of all that! Jesus alive! Stone rolled out of the way! And angel ready with the Good News that He is alive. The angel lays it all out: “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here!” On the cross, Jesus suffered with our sins. Our sins killed Him. But now He is alive! What does that say about our sins? They are gone. Forgiven. Paid for. Left buried in the tomb. And if our sins are gone, then death has no more power. Death comes because of sins. So if our sins are gone, death's power is destroyed. Death can't hold Jesus. Therefore death is defeated. Done for. It's lost its sting.
Christ has overturned death for your life now! St. Paul says that now that Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, we can put away the old leaven and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Christ's resurrection isn't just for death. It comes rippling into our lives as the antidote to death that surrounds us every day. See how often we live as if we're dead. No hope. No joy. Grumbling against others. Living like death is the end so we have to grab all we can in this life no matter how it hurts others. You only pass this way once, so you better do all you can to make yourself happy. That's death talk! That's old leaven! Treating others like we can dispose of them, as if we'll never see them again. Worrying about our illnesses and problems as if they can ruin us forever. That's living as if death is in charge! But Paul reminds us that death has been thrown down! Christ has been sacrificed. His death gives us life and His resurrection overcomes death. Christ has risen for you! No more living like death has any power! No more living like you have no Savior! Away with that life! Life now is in Christ, and Christ is life. That's life and love for you and for your neighbor in Christ.
Christ has overturned your death! Even Job knew this. Job says that he's going to die and his body will rot but EVEN SO he will stand in his flesh and see God. Job knows that there is a resurrection of the body. We say so in the Creed too. Why? Because they put Jesus' body in the tomb and He came back out on the third day! That means that you will be laid to rest, but when the Lord comes back, you will be out! Up! Alive! Your body is back. Changed. Glorified. Risen! Christians don't believe that we just spend eternity as ghostly spirits! We believe in the resurrection of the BODY and everlasting life in our BODIES. Sure, you might get sick. It might be terminal. You might die early in a tragic accident. You might live a long life and die in your sleep. But one way or another, death will come. But now that Christ has risen, we can laugh at death! Despise it! Scorn it! Slap it in the face and say, “You can't hold me! I'm going to be raised and then what will you have, Death? Nothing! Where is your victory, Death? Where is your sting! Jesus is alive, Death! Neener, neener, neener!” Oh, the devil hates nothing more than to be reminded that you aren't scared of death. For the same Lord who threw down death has thrown down Satan's power too.
Now what is it that overturns death for those women? Yes, Jesus is alive, but what turns them from sadness to joy? It is the preaching of the young man in the white stole. That's right. Now I may not be so young but I've got a white robe and a stole and so I'm telling you: Christ is risen! He is risen for you. Remember how the angel told the women, “Go tell His disciples AND Peter?” Remember what Peter did? He denied His Lord. Three times! But the the Lord wants to make sure that even Peter knows his denial has been overcome by Jesus' resurrection. That's my job. It's why you come to church. Because out there in the world, death keeps taking swipes at you, sin keeps stabbing at you, Satan keeps attacking you. And I'm here to tell you, with my white stole on, that Christ has risen FOR YOU. His death has taken away your sins, no matter how big or small, no matter if everyone's seen them or no one has. Whatever your sins, they are wiped out by the death of the Son of God and the proof that they are wiped out is that He is risen! When you come to church, that's what's in it for you: a risen Christ bestowing upon you the power of His resurrection. By Baptism, snatching you from the jaws of death. By Absolution and preaching, proclaiming that His death and resurrection are even for someone as sinful as Peter and you! By His body and blood, telling death, “If you want this one, you've got to come through Me, and you're already failed at that, Death!” Yes indeed, Christ has overturned death and has overturned your death!
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the resurrection of Jesus is what cinches the deal. The cross is the center of our faith, but the resurrection is what proves to the world that Christ, as true God and man, has truly beaten sin and death. If Christ is not raised from the dead, it's all a bad joke and a waste of time. But Christ IS risen. He was seen by His disciples. That means that Christ has overturned death. Thrown it down. Stolen its power. Removed its sting. His death was for you. His resurrection was for you. His gifts of forgiveness and life are for you. For your life now. And for the eternal life that is yet to come. Alleluia! Christ is risen! Amen.
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