Quasimodo Geniti (Easter 1)

 Quasimodo Geniti (Easter 1) – April 27, 2025

Psalm 8; Ezekiel 37:1-14; 1 John 5:4-10

St. John 20:19-31

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

On Easter evening, the 10 apostles were assembled behind a locked door for fear of the Jews. The 10 apostles are the 12 minus Judas, who killed himself, and Thomas, who is conspicuously absent. Christ our Lord has already appeared to Mary and the other women, to Cleopas and the other disciple on the road to Emmaus. Peter and John have seen the burial clothes folded and laid in the tomb and yet the apostles gathered in fear. They did not fully comprehend the resurrection of Christ.

Then Christ appears in their midst and judges their sin. He judges their sin to be atoned for. He proclaims peace to the apostles. The judgment is innocence – innocence won in the crucified hands and pierced side of Jesus. There is a theme throughout St. John’s gospel – seeing is believing. St. John wants to emphasize the physicality of Christ and His presence with His people.

We sometimes mistake John as being the “spiritual” or “other-worldly” gospel and yet right from the beginning, “and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld” we saw, “His glory.”^[1] “No one has seen God at any time. The only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”^[2] It is in the presence of the flesh of Jesus that God the Father is made known. In the presence of the crucified flesh of Jesus our salvation is made known.

There is a doctrinal point in this account which we must address. Jesus Christ came to stand in the midst of the apostles according to both His human and divine natures. In the resurrection, the attributes of the divine nature are fully communicated to the human nature. This means that He makes full use of His divine attributes in and with His human nature. He is all knowing, all present, and all powerful according to both natures, now that He is exalted. During the time of His humiliation, Christ denied Himself the full use of His divine attributes. Now that He is exalted, He makes full use of them.

Why is this important? John Calvin, the father of the reformed churches, and many other modern evangelical teachers, will deny that Christ communicates His divine attributes to His human nature. They will claim that Jesus climbed through a window because it would be impossible for His human nature to pass through a locked door. At the same time, do not think that Jesus passed through the door as a ghost in a Hollywood movie. The text says He appeared in their midst. Christ is present in all places, at all times, in His human flesh. Thus, He revealed Himself to be in their midst even as He is already in all places at all times.

Christ’s ability to be present with the apostles according to His human nature, despite the locked door, is directly related to the ability of Christ’s flesh to be present on altars all over the world. His humanity is not chained up in heaven, awaiting a divinely appointed appearance. He is physically present with His people, even if He has not revealed Himself in His full glory to us. He is reserving the revelation of His fullness for the last day, when He will return just as He departed at the ascension.

It is precisely because our Lord knows He must ascend to the right hand of the Father that He desires to institute the Office of the Holy Ministry. No one can forgive his own sins. He must hear the words of absolution from outside himself. Thus, in the crucified flesh which won our salvation, Jesus breathes on the apostles, gives the Holy Spirit to the church, and sends them to preach this word of forgiveness to the church. As He was sent into the flesh to atone for our sins, now pastors are sent to deliver this forgiveness to the world.

Which brings us to Thomas. Thomas is portrayed in St. John’s Gospel as being zealous for the Lord. He demonstrates his faith in encouraging the disciples to follow Christ, even when he went into Jerusalem to die. In John 11, Thomas boldly proclaims “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”^[3] Why then was this bold disciple not with the other ten?

Scripture is not clear on this point, but the words of Jesus tell us that Thomas was unbelieving. What did he not believe? The evidence of St. John tells us that Thomas was zealous for the Lord and believed in His word. It could be that Thomas was ashamed of his actions on Good Friday and so he also had hidden himself. This seems like a poor choice, since he soon rejoins the apostles but refuses to believe their words about the resurrected Christ.

In fact, his confession that unless he touches the wounds in Christ’s hands and puts his hand into Christ’s side, he would never believe is quite profound. He is confessing that only in the wounds of Christ will he find salvation. He has taken the words of Jesus seriously and insists on seeing the wounds by which his salvation is won.

His denial to believe without visual proof is consistent with St. John’s Gospel. His absolute denial to believe is blasphemy. “I will NEVER believe unless I see the wounds.”[4] This is where Thomas begins to get into trouble. He is obstinate. He refuses to believe the words of those sent by Jesus to proclaim the forgiveness of sins. He refuses to believe his brother pastors.

Putting this evidence together, we can see that Thomas believed he could do it himself. He was not gathered with the others because he knew better than them. Thomas is the man who can recite the catechism from heart, so he doesn’t think he needs to come to church. He is the man who daily reads the portals of prayer so that he doesn’t need to read the bible. Thomas is the man who doesn’t like the personality of the pastor, so he chooses to disagree with his teaching, avoid Bible Study, and nod off during the sermon. Thomas willingly stays away from the church because he thinks he knows better than those who gather.

Christ promised the apostles, “Where two or three are gathered, there I am in their midst.”[5] The apostles had gathered, albeit in fear, but they had gathered. They did not neglect the coming together of the saints, even if they did so with imperfect motives. Thomas refused. He believed he could make it on his own without the support of the brethren.

Eight days after Easter, the following Sunday, the apostles made sure Thomas was with them. Why eight days? Because it was the following Sunday. They were gathered to pray, read Scripture, sing hymns, worship Christ, and even to commune with Him. They knew Jesus would come back because He promised to be where His people are gathered to hear His word and receive His gifts. This is the definition of the church – the gathering of the saints to hears God’s word and receive His gifts. And the apostles made sure Thomas wouldn’t miss it this time.

Today is called “Quasimodo Geniti” after the antiphon of the introit, “As newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word.”[6] It is eight days after Easter. The apostles recognize not only are all people as newborn babes, but Thomas especially is a newborn babe. He doesn’t know what is best for him. For all we know, Thomas was dragged kicking and screaming into the room that day. But because the other apostles love him, they do what is good for him. They are being good pastors by not giving him what he wants (solitude) but giving him what he needs – the pure spiritual milk, the pure doctrine of the of the Word.

Thanks be to God the apostles loved Thomas enough to do what was good for him. They brought him to church, where Jesus would be found. Then Jesus commands Thomas to touch His wounds and Thomas cries out, “My Lord and my God!”[7] He is convicted by the word of Christ and his heart is converted. He repented of his sins against the First and Third commandments and his sins against his brothers.

It is in this context that Jesus proclaims a divine blessing upon all who have not seen and yet believe. He is speaking of you and me. Thomas blasphemed Christ by denying to believe anything without seeing. You are blessed for believing without sight. This marks the transition in St. John’s Gospel between Jesus’ earthly ministry, when He could be seen walking through the door, and His exalted ministry, when He is present without sight on every altar throughout the world.

Do not follow Thomas’s example of unbelief. Do not cut yourself off from the physical presence of Christ and the church. The other apostles knew to gather together, and Christ would be present. Thomas sought Jesus in his own heart and faith rather than in holy mother church.

Do follow Thomas’s example in zeal and confession. Repent of your sins and boldly cry out, “My Lord and my God!” Seek the Lord in His flesh, given for you. Seek Him in His blood, shed for you. Seek Him in the public proclamation of God’s word. Finally, seek Him in the words breathed out by His apostles: pastors. To them He has given the authority to preach and teach you concerning the Word of God. You may not always like what you hear, even as Thomas thought he knew better, but it is the duty of the Pastor, as a loving father, to guide you as a newborn babe to that which is good for you.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. John 1:14

[2] St. John 1:18

[3] St. John 11:16

[4] St. John 20:25.

[5] St. Matthew 18:20.

[6] St. Luke 24:5-6.

[7] St. John 20:28.

Vespers - Advent 2

 Vespers on the Wednesday of Populus Zion – December 11, 2024

Psalm 1; Song of Solomon 2:8b-14

St. Matthew 11:11-15

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Song of Solomon, or Song of Songs as it is sometimes called, is a love poem, written by King Solomon for his bride, the Shulamite woman. It is written almost like a play or opera, with some parts spoken by the Shulamite, some by her Beloved, and even some by two choruses, one of the Shulamite’s brothers and one of the daughters of Jerusalem.

In the text before us this evening, the Shulamite stands in the house of her parents and gazes out the window. She sees her beloved, her fiancé, leaping upon the mountains and skipping over the hills as he comes for her. He is coming to get her for their wedding, to receive her from her father’s hand and take her into his own household. She compares him to a gazelle or young stag, animals known for their beauty and dexterity. He is gentle yet full of strength. He is swift and sure of foot as he bounds through mountains and hills to come to her.

Her beloved stands outside the walls of the house and peers in through the window, through the lattice and speaks to her, assuring her that the winter has passed and it is time to come with him. Complimenting her with beautiful, poetic language, the bridegroom calls her his love, his fair one, his dove who is resting safely in the clefts of the rock of her father’s home. He bids her to reveal her face and speak to him, for her voice is sweet and her face is lovely.

In a literal sense, we have a description of both an ideal man and an ideal woman. The man seems singularly focused on her, bounding great distances while only having eyes for his beloved bride. He is gentle with her, never presumptuous. He is dexterous, knowing how to navigate the world and the pitfalls therein. He has great strength, shown in the horns of a gazelle or the antlers of a stag, but combat is not their first use. He is capable of violence but does not turn to it hastily. He showers her with praise and poetry, complimenting her on her femininity and reassuring her that he has made her new home a safe refuge. He is promising to care for her, to provide for her, and, in the imagery of new birth in the spring, give her children.

She too, only has eyes for her beloved. She patiently but eagerly awaits her groom. She watches for him and awaits his coming. She has remained in the household of her father, as is proper, but longs for a new home with her beloved. She pays careful attention to his words, as most of our text is taken up by her recounting what he has said. She finds comfort in him and his words, trusting that he will do as he has promised: provide, protect, and produce children.

Now if this poem was only written to express the love of the Shulamite and Solomon, it might retain its beauty, but it would be little different from the thousands of love poems of the ancient world. Rather, as St. Paul says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.”[1] Again, St. John writes, “These things are written,” that is, the Scriptures, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”[2] As such, it is the purpose of the Holy Spirit that we understand the Song to have a spiritual meaning to serve faith.

We, the church, the Bride of Christ, are the Shulamite woman. Our Beloved is Christ Himself. He comes leaping from the mountains, that is, He comes down to us from the Father. He comes to us in the Incarnation. He becomes man, coming down from His everlasting throne in heaven that He would bring us into His own home.

He comes also to us this very day, though He is standing by the wall, that is, we cannot see Him. He speaks through the window, the Words of Holy Scripture. He speaks through the lattice, the lips of the Pastor. His presence is real, spiritual and physical, even though our eyes do not see Him. In fact, Christ sees us through the window and lattice, but our eyes are not as keen as His. He comes to us and gazes upon us; upon our bodies and souls. Even as we wait for Him with both patience and expectation, He comes to us and delivers the consolation of His Word.

In His voice, we hear the call to come to Him, to come with Him. Rise above the cares of this world. Rise above the sins of the flesh. Rise above and come away with Him as His beloved. The winter of our sins, the rule of the Law on our hearts, the death of this world is past. See now that the flowers appear on the earth, the Holy Sacraments as visible signs of the presence of Christ and the forgiveness of sins. The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land, that is the voice of Christians singing the praises of Christ and extolling His wonderful works as a symphony in the doldrums of the world that is passing away.

The blooming of the fig tree is a sign of the coming of Christ and the fruits of faith as they spring forth from the renewed soul of the Christian. Even as the sinful flesh clings to the Christian, the Holy Spirit is at work, creating a new will and desire to fulfill the Law of God and seeks to serve God and neighbor. And as we serve our neighbor, we in fact, serve Christ.[3] These tender grapes give a good smell, pleasing to God.

Even now, we are safe in the clefts of the rock, the secret places of the cliff. On the one hand, this safe place is the Church. She is the rock which Christ has built for the safe keeping of His beloved Christians. On the other hand, the rock and cliff are also Christ Himself. The Church is born from the side of Christ, and we are kept safe within Him, within His body. This is what it means when the Church is called ‘the body of Christ.’ As Moses and Elijah both stand safe in a cleft in the rock when God speaks to them, so too do we stand safe in the rock of the Church, even as we are within the Body Christ, receiving from Him the call to His side in glory.

Truly, your voices are sweet, and your faces are lovely in the eyes of Christ.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] 2 Timothy 3:16.

[2] St. John 20:31.

[3] St. Matthew 25:35-36.

Quasimodo Geniti (Easter 2)

Quasimodo Geniti (Easter 2) – April 16, 2023

Psalm 8; Ezekiel 37:1-14; 1 John 5:4-10

St. John 20:19-31

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thomas knows and understands that the forgiveness of sins flows from the wounds of Jesus. He desires to put his fingers in the wounds of the Risen Jesus and his hand into Christ’s riven side because he knows that without these wounds, the Resurrection would mean nothing. If Jesus hadn’t died on the cross, Thomas would still be in his sins and accountable to God. He would be under the Law and knows that he would face eternal damnation. In this way, Thomas is a skilled theologian.

But like many skilled theologians, Thomas misses the forest for the trees. There were many sins committed that first Easter. All the disciples failed to trust the teachings of Jesus. Our Lord was very clear, teaching multiple times that He would be betrayed, executed, and then rise again.^[1] He taught this was necessary for the salvation of the world. He even commanded the disciples to meet Him in Galilee after He is raised from the dead.^[2]

Despite these teachings, the disciples act very confusedly when the tomb is found to be empty. They gather in the upper room behind locked doors. They fear the Jewish leadership will come for them next, forgetting that Jesus promised them that all who believe in Him shall never die, and at the same time, if the Master is persecuted, so shall the disciples be.^[3] The disciples did not go to Galilee. They did not expect the Word of God to be fulfilled.

The difference between the high theology of Thomas and the simple theology of the disciples is the remembrance of another of our Lord’s teachings. “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them.”^[4] The other disciples continued together. They may not have gone to Galilee, but they remained united with the Church. Thomas may be looking for the sign of the atonement, namely the wounds of Jesus, but he has abandoned the church while on his quest.

It is inevitable that there are fewer people in attendance today than last week. Thanks be to God so many gathered last week to hear of the Crucified Lord who has won their victory over sin and death. Where are they now? Thanks be to God you are here this week. Where will you be next week? It was not just a coincidence that Thomas missed the appearance of Jesus. He did not just happen to be on a snack run to the corner store and miss his Lord by a few minutes. Thomas specifically chose not to gather with the other disciples.

By not gathering with the disciples, Thomas missed our Lord’s Institution of the Office of the Holy Ministry. On that first night of the Resurrection, Jesus breathed on the Apostles and explained the chief duty of the church on this side of glory, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”[5]

Certainly, the Scriptures contain many commands for those born again of water and the Spirit – we are to care for the orphaned and the widowed, submit to our rulers, pray diligently, attend the gathering of the saints in worship, tell others about Jesus, and so on. But the chief duty of the Church is the forgiveness of sins. We are the people who are to be abhorred by our own sins. We are to point out the sins of the world not for the sake of derision, but so that the world would repent of idolatry, blasphemy, and other forms of degeneracy. The purpose of God’s commands is always to point us toward the forgiveness of sins.

When the disciples confronted Thomas about his absence, he made it clear that if Jesus did not prove His resurrection on Thomas’s terms and according to Thomas’s timeline, he would never believe. This is a blasphemous statement. Who is Thomas to give such orders to his Lord and God? Who are you to demand that God obey your wants and desires, giving Him boundaries in which to work or else you will not be satisfied? Thomas clearly says that if God doesn’t do what Thomas demands, he will never believe in the resurrection.

Thomas is tempting God exactly as Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. He is pretending to have the authority that belongs to God alone. Thomas is tempting God exactly as Satan tempted Adam and Eve. ‘Did God really show you His wounds? I didn’t see it, so I don’t believe.’ Thomas is tempting God just as the Jews tempted Jesus on the cross. ‘If He really is the Son of God, let Him show me by doing as I command.’

The other ten Apostles loved Thomas such that they would show him his sin. They were worried about his eternal salvation. When he responded defensively, as one might have expected, they did not give up on him. They did not exclude him from the gathering of the saints. Instead, they kept a place at the table for him. Thanks be to God, Thomas returned to the church with the Apostles, eight days later.

The written word does not always effectively communicate tone. When Jesus appears in the midst of the Apostles the second time, the tone of His comments is not recorded. I cannot say with certainty but let me offer a suggestion.

Perhaps our Lord’s words to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing,” were not as kindly sounding as most of us would like to think. Perhaps, these words were spoken harshly. Perhaps they are not an invitation so much as a rebuke.

Jesus is certainly not giving Thomas what he wanted. When the rich man cries out from hell that Father Abraham would send someone back from the dead to warn his living brothers, Abraham responds, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”[6] In other words, the rich man’s brothers have the words of Scripture, the commandments and the promises, but if those will not turn their hearts, nothing they might see will grant them faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

Therefore, it is not fitting that Jesus would be giving Thomas exactly what he wanted. In that case, Jesus would be rewarding the blasphemy of Thomas. Rather, it seems almost like Jesus is intimidating Thomas. “You think you know how to strengthen faith? You think you know what you need? I’ll tell you what you need. You need faith. You need to trust Me for I am your Lord and God!”

It is also for this reason that I don’t think Thomas ever touches Christ’s wounds. I think the rebuke of our Lord is sufficient to crush his prideful heart. Thomas wants forgiveness according to his terms and on his timeline. Jesus rebukes his pride and calls him to repentance. Thanks be to God, the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God and turns Thomas’s heart. He immediately falls to his knees and repents. “My Lord and my God!”

The same is true in the Church today. When Jesus instituted the Office of the Holy Ministry, He did so for the sake of the forgiveness of sins. The called and ordained ministers of Christ are called chiefly to bear the keys of the kingdom of God. These two keys, the binding key and the loosing key, are closely related. They both pertain to the forgiveness of sins.

On the one hand, he who is penitent, recognizes his sin, knows his sin is worthy of the wrath of God, is disgusted by his own sin, and desires to be free from it, it is the duty of the called and ordained ministers of Christ to loose this man from his sins. It is not a judgment to be made by the Pastor. He does not forgive sins according to his own will or his desires. He forgives sins according to the Word of God. Just as whosoever’s sins he forgives on earth are forgiven in heaven, so too is it his duty to forgive those sins which the Father in heaven would forgive.

On the other hand, he who is impenitent, who refuses to acknowledge his sin as sin, who denies God’s ability to judge him, or who recognizes his sin but desires to remain in that sin, it is the solemn duty of the called and ordained ministers of Christ to bind him in his sin. The gates to the kingdom of heaven are to be closed to this man. The blood of Christ was still shed for him and forgiveness flows from this blood, but he has chosen to ignore this grace and mercy of God. He is bound in his sin not because of the nature or severity of his sin, but because of impenitence.

Do not overlook that last point. The nature or severity of sin is not the grounds for excommunication or church discipline. The only grounds for the use of the binding key is impenitence. One sad example is those who are impenitent regarding their violation of the Third Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.” Thomas failed to gather with the Apostles on Easter evening. When our Lord sees him, He commands Thomas to stop unbelieving, but be believing. This tells us that while he was absent from the gathering of the Church, Thomas was in a state of unbelief. He was impenitent concerning his breaking of the Third Commandment.

Those who are physically able to attend the gathering of the saints but refuse to are breaking the Third Commandment. They might be otherwise pious people. They might be very kind and loving. They might read their Bibles every day. They may even send money to the church. But they are still breaking a commandment of God. What is worse, if the Church is able to reach out to these people and they still do not return to the gathering of the saints, they are bearing the fruits of impenitence. If they continue in impenitence, then it is the duty of the church to excommunicate them.  

Do not fear the word, “excommunicate.” The purpose of excommunication is never punishment. The purpose of excommunication is to show someone his sin. It is to bring his sin to the forefront of his mind so that he would know the consequences thereof. If a man does not know that he is sinning but continues in that sin, he is still liable to judgment. The loving thing to do is to call his sin to his attention so that he might repent and be welcomed back into the Church.

Such was the case with Thomas. Had he died during that week between Easter and the following Sunday, Thomas would certainly have found himself in hell. He was an unbeliever. Jesus stood before him and showed him his sin. What’s more, Jesus showed him the consequences of his sin. Jesus also showed him the God who was willing to take on his sin and die for it. Jesus showed Thomas His wounds so that Thomas would receive the forgiveness which flows from them.

Jesus showed Thomas the way of salvation and in so doing, pronounced a blessing upon you. Jesus said, “Thomas, it took me appearing a second time and forcing your eyes upon the bloody wounds caused by your sins for you to repent. Blessed are those who come after you, who receive My Word upon your lips, because they have not seen and yet have believed.”

Blessed are you today for in hearing the Word of God, you have received the forgiveness of your sins. Blessed are you who hear the Word of God, and your heart is turned away from sin and toward the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Jesus. Blessed are you who hear the Word of God and believe it without seeing.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Matthew 16:21-23; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; 26:1-2; St. Mark 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34; St. Luke 9:21-22; 9:43-45; 18:31-34. See also the “lifted up” statements according to St. John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32.

[2] St. Matthew 26:32.

[3] St. John 11:26; 15:20.

[4] St. Matthew 18:20.

[5] St. John 20:23.

[6] St. Luke 16:31.

The Second Last Sunday in the Church Year

The Second Last Sunday in the Church Year – November 13, 2022

Psalm 54; Daniel 7:9-14; 2 Peter 3:3-14

St. Matthew 25:31-46

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”[1] Faith is born in you, is created in you, by the hearing of the Word of God. This is not your own doing; it is the work and the will of the Holy Spirit. The act of hearing itself is not your work. Hearing is a passive, or receptive, activity. You hear when someone else speaks. You receive their words into your ears.

The reception of faith is then always connected with another person. We might call this the incarnational aspect of faith. Faith comes by hearing when the Word of God issues forth from the mouth of another human being. In this way, the Word of God becomes wrapped in flesh. Whether it is your mother singing to you in your nursery, your father reading the Scriptures to the family at night, or the public reading of the Holy Gospel by the ministers of God in the Divine Service, your faith was brought to you in the Word of God wrapped in the lips of another person.

The Bible is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error. Yet in writing the Word of God, in its transmission, God saw fit to inspire holy men. God works through means. There is not an “Epistle of the Holy Spirit to the Church in Missouri.” Words did not miraculously appear on pages. The Son of God took on flesh, became incarnate, that He would physically die the death you deserve. After His physical resurrection but before His physical ascent into heaven, our Lord, Jesus Christ, breathed on His apostles.[2] He breathed the Holy Spirit upon them so that whoever hears them would hear Christ.[3] This is the Apostolic Doctrine once delivered to the saints.[4] This is the one faith into which we are all baptized.[5] It is the Word of God, and it is the Word of God delivered by means of fleshly mouths.

The propagation of the faith by the mouth of Christians to the ears of new Christians is how the Sheep are created. The Sheep are those who have received the Word of God in faith. Yet receiving the Word of God is not quite enough. The Word must take root. The Word must change the stony heart of the Goat into a fleshly heart of a Sheep. In fact, the Goats are surprised to be called such. They are surprised because they thought themselves to be Sheep. They thought their actions had proven the wool of their Sheep coats.

The difference between these two animals in the parable is the presence of faith. The Sheep and the Goats are separated based on what they are. One is a new creation, having received the Word of God in faith and growing into that Word accordingly. The other is the Old Creation. The Goats may have heard the Word of God, but it took no root in their hearts. The Goats may outwardly appear to be sheep but are little more than Goats in wool coats.

What does it mean, then, that faith take root in your heart? In this parable, it is presented as the works born of faith. The blossoming of faith is described as feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, housing the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned. Associating the hungry, thirsty, stranger, etc., with Christ, Himself, tells us that the object of these good deeds is those who have brought the faith to you. It is the way in which the Sheep have treated their brothers and sisters in Christ. In a general sense, we can say the division of the Sheep and the Goats is based on the reaction each has shown to the hearing of the Word of God.

However, the Scriptures get more specific in this parable. Christ says, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”[6] When our Lord speaks of “His brethren,” it is a reference to the Apostles. More specifically, it is a reference to the Apostles when they are acting in the stead of Christ. So, while it is true that the division of the Sheep and the Goats speaks to your reaction to and treatment of the Church, this parable speaks specifically of your reaction to and treatment of the ministers of the Church.

Some of the actions listed are necessities. It is necessary that the ministers of the Church have food, drink, and clothing. It is not necessary for this life, that he be taken in when he is a stranger. It is not necessary that he be visited when he is sick. What this tells us is that Christ is speaking of more than meeting the basic needs of His ministers. He is speaking also of hospitality shown toward them.

In this light, we can see that the Sheep recognize the Office of the Holy Ministry to be the vocation of highest honor on this side of glory. They recognize the difficulties of the Office and that a man of flesh and blood must fill this Office. The Sheep also recognize that it is the ministers of Christ who bring to them the one thing needful – Jesus. The Office is honorable, difficult, to be respected, and mentioned in this parable not because of the men who fill it. The Office is honorable, difficult, and respectable because of who instituted this Office – Jesus.

On this side of glory, men are placed into the Office of Christ so that His Word would continue to work faith in the hearts of man. Men are placed into the Office of Christ so that His Body and Blood would continue to feed and sustain His church. Men are placed into the Office of Christ so that your sins would be forgiven through the Words of a human mouth—a human mouth in poor imitation of the lips of the One who died for your forgiveness.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Romans 10:17.

[2] St. John 20:21-23.

[3] St. Luke 10:16.

[4] Jude 1:3.

[5] Ephesians 4:4-6.

[6] St. Matthew 25:40. Emphasis added.

The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

 The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity – September 19, 2021

Psalm 86; 1 Kings 17:17-24; Ephesians 3:13-21

St. Luke 7:11-17

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The day after preaching on the plain and healing a centurion’s beloved servant, Jesus went to a town called Nain. He was followed by his disciples and a large crowd, for word of his teaching and miracles was beginning to spread. As he approached the gate of the town, our Lord is met by a funeral procession. The only-begotten son of a widow has tragically died. The boy was barely old enough to be called a man. The widow wept loudly and a large crowd followed in her sorrow. The mourners close at hand, the pallbearers marched slowly out of the town to bury the boy.

Upon seeing the woman, Christ has compassion upon her and tells her to stop weeping. Upon touching the funeral bier, the open coffin, everyone stops. The pallbearers freeze, almost as though they are dead where they stand. Christ then utters his second command, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” Immediately the boy sits up and begins to speak, presumably speaking glory of God and blessing the name of the Messiah. In one of the most tender gestures in all of Scripture, Jesus takes the boy by the hand, helps him down, and presents the now living boy to his mother.

Then everyone in the crowd was seized by fear and began to glorify God saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us,” and “God has visited His people.” The report of this resurrection then spread throughout all Judea and the surrounding lands.[1]

Three times our Lord is recorded to have raised someone visibly from the dead. It is possible he raised many more that were not recorded. It is also entirely possible that this boy, Jairus’s daughter, and Lazarus were the only three souls to be reunited with their bodies during the ministry of the Christ. The important question is not how many, but why these three? St. John tells us “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”[2]

These three were raised to teach you something about Jesus – that he is the Christ, the Son of God – and that by believing you may have life in his Name. How then does this resurrection teach us about the Christ?

First, this miracle is a prophecy of Christ’s own death and resurrection. The boy is carried outside the city in death, just as Christ himself will be given over to death and crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem.

The boy is the only-begotten son of a widowed mother. Jesus is the Christ, the only-begotten Son of God the Father and the son of a widowed mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Upon seeing the widow of Nain, Jesus has compassion on her. At his own death, Jesus looks with compassion upon his own widowed mother, commending her into the care of St. John.

The boy is carried upon an open casket, a funeral bier, for all to see his lifeless body. Christ our Lord would hang upon a cross in full view, for all to see his body as he breathed his last.

When the miracle is performed, the pall bearers, the guardians of the body in a funeral procession, are made to stand perfectly still, almost as corpses themselves. On Easter morning, as the women arrive at the tomb, the guards stationed by the Pharisees shake for fear and fall down as dead men.[3]

Then there is an important difference. The boy’s funeral procession is stopped, and Christ touches the bier. Speaking to the boy, he is raised from the dead and Christ presents the now living boy to his mother. In Christ’s own death, he is taken down from the cross and presented to his mother a lifeless corpse. This is the most important comparison between these resurrections.

In touching the funeral bier, Jesus made himself unclean. He touched the death of the boy and took it upon himself. The clean white robe of Christ wiped the filth of death from the boy’s forehead – cleaning the boy and soiling Christ. We can see very clearly that Christ gave his life to the boy and took the boy’s death upon himself. Jesus took the place of the boy in the grave so that the boy could take his place in the arms of his mother.

The second teaching of this miracle concerns a false understanding of death and resurrection. When Jesus traveled to Bethany to mourn the death of Lazarus, he is met outside the city by Martha, one of Lazarus’s sisters. Martha confesses that had Jesus been there, Lazarus would not have died, and yet she retains faith that the Father will do whatever Jesus asks. Jesus responds, “Your brother will rise again,” to which Marth confesses, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus gently corrects her, “I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”[4]

When someone we love falls asleep in death, we are tempted to think like Martha. We know our beloved, our friend, our father will rise on the last day and that is our only comfort. But that is not true of the Baptized. Those who believe in Christ shall never die. Our death was in the waters of Holy Baptism. We were drowned in that saving flood. We come to the waters of Holy Baptism as sinful creatures, less than human, turned away from God. In judgment, the Lord drowns us, just as he drowned the unbelieving multitudes in Noah’s day and swallowed hard-hearted Pharaoh and all his mighty host in the Red Sea. Sinful man has no hope of escaping the waters of Holy Baptism. He is drowned to the depths and cannot recover. His funeral procession will stop for nothing.

Thanks be to God our funeral processions are stopped by the Light of Christ. The Only-Begotten Son of God reaches out and pulls us forth from the water. Our filth of death is left behind and we are raised to a new life in Christ. Death no longer has a claim to us. Those who fall asleep in Christ have already died – on the day of their Holy Baptism.[5] Baptism now saves you.[6] It makes you a child of the Heavenly Father and heir of heaven with Christ. You are fully human, restored to a right relationship with Christ and presented to your mother, the Church.

When we bring a child to the font, the procession is interrupted by the waters of Holy Baptism, just as a funeral procession is interrupted by the Paschal Candle. Both stand in the place of Christ, who freezes the funeral procession of Nain, stopping death in its tracks.

Why then must the Christian suffer temporal death? Sin is still at work in our members. The wages of sin must still be paid by our flesh and yet, as Jesus says, “even though he dies, he shall live. Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” Those who die in Christ are still living, for our God is the God of the living, not the dead. All who believe and are baptized died in the waters of baptism. Temporal death is now the victory over sin. Even as sin must finish its course of decay in the flesh, the Christian is alive and free from the chains of sin. He now enjoys eternal, sinless life.

Do not weep inconsolably over the death of a Christian. Weep with tears of joy and sadness for the separation you must endure. But know that Christ has compassion on you. When Jesus came to Nain, he did not resurrect the boy out of compassion for him. Jesus had compassion on the mother, the bereaved. The miracle of the resurrection was for the sake of the comfort of the widowed mother.

Tears at the temporal death of a Christian are a confession of sorrow over sin and a longing for eternal life. Christ himself cried at the death of Lazarus. Yet weeping and wailing are a confession of death, the end of life, something unknown to the Christian. We know that the body of the departed will rest in peaceful sleep, even as it awaits the resurrection, to be reunited with the already living soul for all eternity.

Finally, know that this resurrection of the boy at Nain is consolation for the living, as well as the bereaved. If Christ took on the death of the boy, he has certainly taken on your death. Jesus took the sins of the world upon his shoulders, standing in the place of mankind from Adam to the last baby born. His death swallowed the death of all, including you.

You were conceived in sin and born in iniquity. Since Adam, all mankind has been carried out of the heavenly Jerusalem to be buried outside the gates. The pallbearers of sin, temptation, Satan, and our flesh have processed to the grave every hour of our lives. But the Son of God would not have it. He halts the procession and reaches out to touch our sinful filth. He drowns our sin and washes us clean. Even then, he does not leave us alone. He presents us to our mother, the Church, who will continue to care for us even as we grow in the faith. As we age in knowledge and wisdom of Christ, we too come to care for the Church.

There came a day when the widow’s son once again fell asleep in Christ. He presently enjoys the nearer company of Christ, awaiting the day when he will be reunited with his body. So too, we who enjoy life in the Church await the return of Christ look forward not to our rest in the grave, but the coming of our Lord. We, who are held in the arms of Mother Church, look for the triumphal return of Christ, who will lead us into the heavenly Jerusalem through the gate of pearl.

In + Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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[1] A summary of St. Luke 7:11-17.

[2] St. John 20:30-31.

[3] St. Matthew 28:4.

[4] A summary of St. John 11:17-27.

[5] Romans 6:3-4.

[6] 1 Peter 3:21.