The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity – June 15, 2025

Psalm 8; Isaiah 6:1-7; Romans 11:33-36

St. John 3:1-17

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

The three creeds of the Christian Church state the fundamental doctrines of what it means to be a Christian. At a bare minimum, all three creeds affirm the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the two natures in Christ. These two doctrines then form the basis for the doctrines of creation, redemption, and sanctification. And then, built on these, are the doctrines of the Holy Sacraments – Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Although the three creeds all state these fundamental doctrines, each creed takes a unique place in the life of the Christian. The Apostles’ Creed is the Baptismal Creed. It is the daily food needed by our faith and should be confessed at least once a day by every baptized child of God. It is also the catechetical creed, the one used for bringing new believers into an understanding of the fundamental teachings of the Scriptures. It is the catechetical creed precisely because it is the Baptismal Creed. It stands as the front door to the house of God, entered into repeated and daily as the Christian returns daily to his baptism.

The Nicene Creed is the creed of the feast; the creed most closely associated with the Lord’s Supper. It is more robust than the Apostles’ Creed even as the meat given to the mature is more robust than the milk given to infants. It is confessed every time the Lord’s Supper is received as an indication of the maturity of those gathered to receive the Holy Supper. If the Apostles’ Creed is daily food, then the Nicene Creed is the feast, enjoyed on special occasions.

The Athanasian Creed, undoubtably the one you are least familiar with, is the poetry to which the Christian life is set. It is written in the style of wisdom literature, with repetition and layered meaning, intended to be enjoyed and contemplated over time. In some traditions, it is confessed monthly (or even weekly) in the weekday prayer offices. In others, such as ours, it is reserved for today’s great feast, the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. It is distinguished as the clearest confession of all the Scriptures have to say concerning the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and it even expands on the confession of Christ’s two natures. If the Apostles’ Creed is daily food and the Nicene Creed a feast, then the Athanasian Creed is a precious spice, to be considered throughout the year, discerning its flavors and subtleties so that when you have the opportunity to confess it, your knowledge and understanding may grow.

It is obvious through experience that Christians take the doctrine of the Holy Trinity for granted. We know that it is a necessary doctrine and we know that we believe it, but we give very little thought to it. Maybe the repetition of the Athanasian Creed lulls our mind into blind recitation. Maybe the incomprehensible nature of the mystery of the Trinity frightens us and so we let our fear corner us into saying, “I believe in the Trinity,” and nothing more. Whatever the reason, we are content to know the word “Trinity” and nothing more…which is to our shame.

It is our shame because the Scriptures are full of Trinitarian language. In the very beginning, the Father speaks the Word of the Son and the Spirit hovers over the waters of Creation.[1] We are given glimpses into the inner conversations of the Holy Trinity when God considers the Tower of Babel.[2] We’ve spent the last five weeks hearing Christ speak of His ascent to the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit, that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to speak the words of the Son.[3] The very name into which you are baptized—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—is Trinitarian; the very name which seals you as a child of God, one who stands to inherit eternal life.

And this is where diving into the mystery of the Holy Trinity becomes personal, even practical for you. The Holy Trinity is by definition personal. In the One Godhead, the One Substance of God, there are three divine Persons. These Persons are defined by their relationships – the Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten of the Father alone, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. As the baptized children of God, you are made temples of the Holy Spirit, sons of the Father, and stand as co-inheritors with the Son. The mystery and activities of the Holy Spirit are why you are here this morning.

So, then, let us take a moment to consider the Holy Trinity first in Its essence and then according to Its will.

When thinking about the essence of the Holy Trinity, our forefathers in the faith have done us a great service in composing the Athanasian Creed. What is said of the unity of the Trinity is true of each Person within the Trinity. God is uncreated, infinite, and eternal. There was never a time before God nor a time without God, a time when God wasn’t. He has no beginning and no end. God is almighty and the Lord of heaven and earth. He lacks nothing and has dominion over all things. There is nothing outside of His sight nor beyond His reach. As the Lord of all, He is owed loyalty, reverence, worship, and praise by all things beneath Him, which is to say, by everything.

At the same time, we cannot confuse the Persons. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord—individually each Person is Lord and yet there are not three Lords but one Lord. The Father is neither created nor begotten. The Son is neither made nor created but begotten by the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from both the Father and the Son. There are not three Fathers, three Sons, or three Holy Spirits, but one Father, one Son, and one Holy Spirit.

And though it is tempting, none in this Trinity is before or after another. The Father is not the chief member of the Holy Trinity, just as the Holy Spirit is not the least. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are coequal, meaning they are of equal majesty, power, and might. Our typical formula for prayer is to the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit. That phrasing might be misunderstood as giving some kind of “hierarchy” to the Trinity but that is a mistake. The three Persons are coequal and coeternal.

When Christ says, “My Father is greater than I,”[4] He is speaking with regard to His humanity. When the Son descended into the flesh of man, He made Himself lower than the Father. He is less than the Father with respect to His humanity, but He is equal to the Father with respect to His divinity. That is why Christ also says, “I and My Father are one.”[5]

So too with the Holy Spirit. Though He proceeds from the Father and the Son, He is not “less than” or subordinate to the Father and the Son. He proceeds in the same power and authority as the Father and the Son. Scripture ascribes to the Holy Spirit the same divine names, attributes, works, honor, and glory due to the Father and the Son. When Ananias is caught lying to the Holy Spirit, St. Peter said, “You have not lied to men, but to God,”[6] granting the fullness of the Godhead to the Holy Spirit.

Now when we consider the will of God, we must remember that the Holy Trinity never acts apart from Itself, that is, when the Father acts, the Son and the Holy Spirit are acting as well. The Trinity is of one will and that will is primarily concerned with your salvation; insofar as that will has been revealed to us. We cannot know God’s will outside of that which has been revealed in His Holy Word. What the prophets and apostles have revealed to us is that God is singularly focused on the salvation of man. It is for this reason that Christ says that all the Scriptures testify to Him.[7] Your salvation is in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. “For God loved the world in this way, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”[8]

What then of the Law? Is it not the eternal will of God? Are we not to be concerned with keeping God’s law whole and undefiled? Most certainly! Just as there is no division between the will of the Trinity, there is no division within God’s will itself. The Law is God’s will for the man of salvation. It is the fruit of salvation, the fruit of repentance, the manner in which God has ordered the life of His beloved creation. We do no evil, not that we should appear approved by God or man, but so that we do what is honorable in the sight of God, lest we become disqualified of the salvation to which God has called us.[9] You did nothing to be born of your father and mother but an evil life can certainly disqualify you from any inheritance.

For the sake of brevity, we must leave off our discussion of the Holy Trinity for today. However, I would challenge all of us to spend more time in the coming year devoting attention to this core doctrine of the Scriptures. Specifically, I would challenge us all to spend more time considering the Athanasian Creed. This summer, over the next three months, take time to recite the Athanasian Creed at least once a week, and consider a small portion of it each day. As you do your daily bible reading, note those passages that are referenced in this great creed; those that speak of His Unity, of the distinction of Persons, of God’s attributes, and of His will. Ask questions of the text and ask questions of the creed. May the Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity, bless you in this endeavor, now and forevermore.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Genesis 1:1-3.

[2] Genesis 11:7.

[3] St. John 14-16, the Gospel texts for the last four Sundays after Easter and Pentecost.

[4] St. John 14:28.

[5] St. John 10:30.

[6] Acts 5:3-4.

[7] St. John 5:39.

[8] St. John 3:16.

[9] 2 Corinthians 13:7.

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.

The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord (Easter)

 The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord – April 20, 2025

Psalm 8; Job 19:23-27; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

St. Mark 16:1-20

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.[1]

The fast is over, and the feast has begun. Christ the Lord, who was slain, is risen from the dead. Alleluia! Christ has conquered sin and death, buried them in the grave, never to rise again. Alleluia! Our hope, our faith, rests on the historic reality of the resurrection of Christ. “Had Christ, who once was slain, not burst His three-day prison, our faith had been in vain: But now has Christ arisen!”[2] Alleluia!

By all measures of how we understand history, the events of the past, there can be no objection to the reality of the resurrection. Only the logic of fallen man can insist Christ did not rise. Only the sin-stained conscience can claim, “I’ve never seen someone rise from the dead, therefore Christ couldn’t have risen.”

And yet the consolation of souls does not end with the historic reality of Christ’s resurrection. We mustn’t hear the story of the resurrection in the same way we hear and understand Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, Washington crossing the Delaware, or Gordon’s last stand at Khartoum. Christ did not just rise from the dead. He rose for you. His resurrection is your resurrection. There is a great gulf of difference between “Christ is a Savior and King” and “Christ is my Savior and King.”

Yet even the Christian conscience, still assaulted by sin, struggles with this notion. Christ’s own disciples scarcely believed that He had risen from the dead. We stand separated from the historic event by 2,000 years, making it even harder to accept. Yet Christ said, “Go and tell my brothers.”[3] Brothers and sisters in Christ, He was speaking of you.

“You have heard in the Passion how Christ let Himself be crucified and buried and how sin and death trampled Him underfoot. Satan and the sins of the world lie on Him in the tomb. Sin, death, and the devil are His lord. Therefore you must look into His tomb and realize that my sins and my death tear Him apart and oppress Him. There the devil regards himself as secure, and the chief priests boast and rejoice: He is gone and will not return.

“But in the instant when they believe Him destroyed, the Lion tears Himself away from sin, death, hell, and the jaws of the devil and rips them to shreds with His teeth. This is our comfort, that Christ comes forth: Death, sin, and the devil cannot hold Him. The sin of the entire world is powerless. When He appears to Mary Magdalene, one sees in Him neither death nor sin nor sadness, but sheer life and joy. There I see that the Lor is mine and treads on the devil. Then I find my sins, torment, and devil where I ought to find them. There is the seed of the woman, who has struck the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15), and says, ‘Death, you shall die; Hell, you shall be defeated!’ Here is the victor.”[4]

It is a Christian art to regard Christ as the One alone whose business it is to deal with our sins. Malformed by sin, our conscience wants to believe that either we can manage sin on our own or that nothing can be done about our sin. In the first case, if we could manage sin on our own, then we have no need for Christ. His death would be in vain, and salvation would be according to your own ability to prove yourself righteous before the Almighty God. You must be perfect as God is perfect. What a silly, self-righteous notion that we could approach God in our filth and demand salvation.

In the second case, despair over your sin, there is nothing you can do. Faced with sin, temptation, plague, and assaults of the devil, you have no recourse…except to abandon what your conscience says and turn to Christ. Look to what He has said and what He has done. Christ did not die and rise for Himself. He gained nothing for Himself. He died and rose again for you, to give you everything that already belonged to Him. He is the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”[5] He took your sins into death and the grave, and there they remain. He rose the spotless lamb, no longer bearing your sins because they remained in the grave. The devil will try to convince you otherwise, but you know the truth – Christ has arisen for you! The deadly power of death is gone for Christ has destroyed it.

When your sins lie on Christ, you can see what they’ve done. They crushed Him on the cross and drove Him deep into the ground. “But because today He comes forth from the grave and remains in honor and glory, everything that the devil, sin, and death have done is destroyed.”[6] This idea is foreign and contrary to human reason, yet the Scriptures still stand. The Scriptures do not lie when they say your sins lie on Christ and if they are on Him, they are not accounted to you. The Christian has no sin and is a lord over sin. This is most certainly true.

And satan cannot stand this. He has a tremendous labor to fight against the resurrection and accuse Christians. We can stare into the very pits of hell and proclaim, “You who have tortured and killed Christ, now you get what you deserve! You thought you had won the victory but your coup de gras did nothing but ensure your defeat. Christ is risen and you are defeated!”

The devil works hard to tear this truth from our hearts. That is why we stand on the truth of the resurrection apart from the thoughts of our hearts. The witness of the God-breathed Scriptures and the objective testimony of history cannot be overthrown. It is true this day just as it was true that first Easter morning. Christ is risen! Alleluia!

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] This sermon is inspired by Martin Luther, “Easter Sunday Morning, March 28, 1529: The Resurrection of Christ and Its Meaning,” The 1529 Holy Week and Easter Sermons of Dr. Martin Luther, Translated by Irving L. Sandberg (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1998), 119-127.

[2] This Joyful Eastertide, refrain, LSB 482; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:14, 20.

[3] St. Matthew 28:10.

[4] Luther, “Easter Sunday Morning,” 124.

[5] St. John 1:29.

[6] Luther, “Easter Sunday Morning,” 125.

The Feast of the Resurrection

The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord – March 31, 2024

Psalm 8; Job 19:23-27; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

St. Mark 16:1-20

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

Very early in the morning, just about sunrise, three women made their way to the tomb of Jesus. They brought spices to anoint His body, showing how much they loved their Lord. Perhaps it was the grief, sorrow over the death of Jesus, that distracted them from the fact that a large stone had been placed over the entrance to the tomb. Along the way, they realized this problem and grew concerned over how they would get into the tomb to tend to Jesus’ body.

But when they arrived at the tomb, they discovered the stone had been rolled away. The door to the tomb stood open. Inside the tomb, the women did not see the body of Jesus. They saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting where they expected to see Jesus. This man was an angel, sent by God, to inform the women of Jesus’ resurrection.

The women were afraid of the man, but he quickly gave them the reassurance commonly heard from holy angels, “Be not afraid.” The angel knows they are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One, and he boldly proclaims, “He is risen! He is not here.” The angel then gives them a job—go tell the disciples, including Peter, to seek the Lord in Galilee as He told you before His death.”

These women quickly fled from the tomb, trembling and afraid. It is somewhat suspicious that our text tells us the women were afraid but not what they are afraid of. We know the Apostles will gather that first Easter evening behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. Perhaps the women are also afraid to tell anyone about the resurrection for fear of the Jews. Or, perhaps they are afraid of the angel. This particular angel appeared in the form of a young man, so his appearance would not have been supernaturally frightening. Maybe he spoke with such authority that the women were afraid of his confidence.

Or maybe, the women were afraid of Jesus. Jesus had taught all His disciples very clearly about the necessity of the crucifixion and the resurrection. He even told them that they would scatter. These women, like almost all the disciples, didn’t really understand or truly believe what Jesus had said. Again, maybe their grief was blinding them to reality. So maybe they were afraid that Jesus really had risen and here they are, carrying spices to anoint His dead body—evidence of their lack of faith in Jesus’ words. Whatever the reason, these women choose to disobey the word of the angel by telling no one what they had seen.

But Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb and encountered our Lord. She was the first person to whom Jesus revealed Himself in His resurrected and glorified state. After seeing Jesus, she ran quickly to tell the disciples what she had seen.

Then our Lord appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, walking with them until evening. They did not recognize Him until He agreed to stay with them for a meal. When He took bread, gave thanks, and broke it before them, the eyes of these disciples were opened and they saw the glorified Lord. Immediately, Jesus departed from them. These two disciples then ran quickly to tell the others that they had seen Jesus.

Forty days later and after revealing Himself to many disciples, Jesus gathered with the Eleven on the Mount of the Ascension. He offered to His disciples His final teachings before being received into heaven and sitting at the right hand of the Father:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”[1]

What wonderful words to hear from our risen Savior! Imagine if you truly believed them. Because there are many in error who have taken to dancing with venomous snakes and drinking poison, we are quick to dismiss these words. Those who do such foolish things are tempting God—something Satan tried to get Jesus to do but Jesus refused. Rather than take these things as necessary requirements for faith, something to test out to see if you really have faith, we should see them as flowing naturally from faith.

I said, “Imagine if you truly believed these words.” What I mean is, imagine what it would be like not to be afraid of the Jews, the harsh words of Jesus, your neighbors, your coworkers, your children? What if you believed the words of Scripture to say exactly what they say and lived according to them? What if the next time somebody asked, “Any plans this weekend?” you responded, “Yeah, I’m going to go to church and learn more about Jesus”? They might look at you like you’re crazy. They might laugh at you. So what? It’s true. It should be true.

The Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Almighty Word by which creation came to be, took your sins upon Himself; died the death you deserve so that your sins would be buried deep in the earth; and then rose again to new life so that you would receive eternal life with Him in heaven. Why be ashamed of that? Why be afraid to tell someone about that? Doesn’t make much sense, does it?

Rather, revel in the resurrection of Christ. Enjoy the feast of the resurrection. Celebrate the death of Jesus for you, knowing that because of it, you will see Him with your own two eyes, just as Job proclaimed.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Mark 16:15-18.

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.