The Ascension of our Lord

The Ascension of our Lord – May 9, 2024

Psalm 47; 2 Kings 2:8-15; Acts 1:1-11

St. Mark 16:14-20

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

Forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus gathered the Apostles on a mountain near Bethany and taught them directly, one last time. He said many things to them, important things. He spoke to them about how the Old Testament testified of Him, foretelling His coming, life, death, resurrection, and ascension; that all of this was done for your salvation. He “opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.”[1]

He commanded them to preach the Good News about His life, death, resurrection, and ascension to all the ends of the earth[2] but first to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit had descended upon them.[3] Then, He instructed them to begin in Jerusalem before going into Samaria and all the ends of the earth.[4]

How is it that the Apostles are to accomplish this? How are they to bring this saving Gospel to all people? By baptizing and teaching, for, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”[5] After saying these things, Jesus was received into heaven, being lifted up into the sky until a cloud covered Him and removed Him from the sight of the Apostles.

It would be tempting to think that Jesus went away at the ascension. Afterall, when Elijah was carried up into the sky on a flaming chariot, he was no longer present with his dear student, Elisha. If I walked away and went out of your sight, I wouldn’t be with you anymore. I would be somewhere else, with other people. The difference between me, Elijah, and Jesus is that Elijah and I are not God. Jesus is God. He is true God and true Man.

When Jesus ascends to the Father, He sits down at the Father’s right hand. The right hand of the Father is not a golden throne floating somewhere in the sky. The Father’s “right hand” is a phrase that means Jesus is the Father’s power, the one through whom and in whom the Father works. It means Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords, who rules the entire universe not by being away from it but by being present within all of it. And Jesus does this ruling as both true God and true Man.

A truly great theologian of our church, Martin Chemnitz, says it this way,

There are many clear statements in Scripture regarding the presence of Christ in the church, which is His kingdom. And not the least part of the work of Christ as our Mediator and Savior is that as Head He is present with His members, gathering, ruling, defending, preserving, and saving His church. For in all our afflictions and temptations—in the depraved infirmity of our nature, among the various offenses and the many pitfalls under the powerful tyranny and the rage of Satan, the world, and all the enemies of the church—our greatest and only comfort is our knowledge that Christ is present as our King, our High Priest, our Head, and the pastor of us who are His sheep in the midst of ravening wolves. He does not place the burdens of governing in His kingdom on the shoulders of others through delegated work, as the custom of our kings is, for the government is always on His shoulders (Is. 9:6), but when He Himself is present He cares for us, governs, defends, preserves, and saves us, as His peculiar people whom He has bought with His own blood. As John says, ‘He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world’ [1 John 4:4]. And Ezekiel 34:24 says, ‘My Servant David is prince in the midst of them.’[6]

Christ is present with all of Creation because He is God, but He has especially promised to be with His Church through the means of grace. The means of grace are those things through which God works to bring you the forgiveness of sins. These are the Word of God, Holy Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the Absolution.

When it comes to the Word of God, Jesus is always working through His Word. That means when you hear the Bible read in Church, when you attend Sunday School, when you read the Bible together as a family, and when you read the bible on your own, Jesus is speaking to you. He is working through His Word. But Jesus has also established the Office of the Holy Ministry to give voice to that Word. He has established preaching so that His Word would be brought especially to you in this time and place.

With the other means of grace, those that we call the Sacraments, Jesus has combined His Word with physical elements—water in the case of Holy Baptism; bread and wine in the case of the Lord’s Supper; and the voice and hands of the pastor in the Holy Absolution. He is doing this not because Pastors have special powers but so that you would know that Jesus is true God and true Man. He has established His Office—into which He places men—such that when a human being, a man, baptizes, gives you the Lord’s Supper, or absolves your sins, you would know that Jesus Christ, in His human body and in His divinity, is present delivering it to you. It is easy to remember that Jesus is God. It is difficult to remember that He is man. So, He has set His means of grace into the hands of men as a reminder that God became man to forgive your sins.

Now, we mustn’t forget that immediately before and immediately after His ascension, the Apostles are rebuked for their lack of faith. Before the ascension, they are rebuked because “they did not believe those who had seen [Jesus] after He had risen.”[7] Even though the Apostles themselves had seen the risen Christ, they questioned others who had seen the same. Perhaps they still didn’t believe the resurrection themselves. Perhaps they thought it necessary for an Apostle to be present to make it a true appearance of Christ. Or perhaps they thought themselves to be above the “normal” disciples so that only their word could stand. It was probably a little of everything.

Then after the ascension, two angels rebuke the Apostles for staring up into the sky. This is the same rebuke Jesus gives to Mary Magdelene on the day of the Resurrection, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”[8] Mary and the Apostles have a job to do and standing on a mountain, staring into heaven is not it. They are to go and tell others about Jesus. They are to live in this world, even if they are citizens of heaven. In fact, because they are citizens of heaven. They are to live in this world as citizens of Christ’s Church, as subjects of the Almighty God who has ascended to His throne, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under His feet.”[9]

For you, that means being in the place that Jesus has promised to give you His means of grace, that is, most especially His Church. That means receiving those means of grace—His Word, Holy Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the Holy Absolution. It also means to carry this grace with you as you go about your station in life. Be the best mother that you can be, changing diapers and teaching your children to pray. Be the best husband and father you can be, working hard to provide and teaching your children the catechism. Be the best child you can be by obeying your parents, paying attention to your studies, learning about the world around you, and paying attention in church.

Do all of this because Jesus is with you. He is with you as true God and true Man. He is not absent in anyway, but He is present in many ways. Do these things because your King reigns from the right hand of the Father, where you will be with Him for all eternity.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Luke 24:45.

[2] St. Mark 16:15.

[3] Acts 1:8.

[4] Acts 1:8.

[5] St. Mark 16:16.

[6] Martin Chemnitz, The Two Natures in Christ, translated by J.A.O. Preus (1971; repr., St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2007), 423.

[7] St. Mark 16:14.

[8] St. Luke 20:17.

[9] Ephesians 1:20-23.

The Seventh Sunday after Trinity

The Seventh Sunday after Trinity – July 31, 2022

Psalm 47; Genesis 2:7-17; Romans 6:19-23

St. Mark 8:1-9

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

The disciples hear of the compassion of Christ and are aghast. Rational thought denies the possibility of providing food to 4,000 men plus women and children, probably 12,000, or so, in all. So much for using reason to determine the actions of God. Reason itself is a good gift of God but when set against the clear Word of God it becomes the worst of blasphemies. Forcing the Word of God to fit into our rational mind has led to many, if not most, of the worst heresies of the Church.

It doesn’t make sense that Jesus’ has two natures, human and divine, in one person. It doesn’t make sense that a Virgin would conceive and bear the Son of God. It doesn’t make sense that the Incarnate Body and Blood of Jesus is present on altars throughout the world. It doesn’t make sense that God inspired human men to write the words of Scripture without allowing sin to corrupt the words.[1] It doesn’t even make sense that Christ has forgiven your sin and yet you still suffer the effects of sin on this side of heaven.

Thanks be to God we are not called to make sense of these things. Our rational minds react to these mysteries like the disciples, “No one could do that! That’s not possible!” The eyes of faith, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, the heart of flesh which has replaced our hearts of stone—these react like the multitude, “I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord.[2] I will sit at the feet of my Lord and receive all He will give me. If he should appoint me to die this day, I know it is good for me because He has promised to give me all good things.” Even those sitting in the second and third row must’ve seen the paltry loaves and fish Christ was blessing, yet they react in faith, trusting that Christ would provide for each of them.

Here you might ask, “If Christ is such a gracious provider to His beloved Church, why are there Christians who suffer lack? Why does God allow Christians throughout the world to suffer poverty and hunger?” This is a fair question, and the answer is in three parts.

First, the Kingdom of Christ to which He has called you and in which you have citizenship, is not a temporal kingdom. A temporal kingdom is composed of the things of this world: house and home, wife and children, land, animals, governments of man, and all we have. A spiritual kingdom is founded composed of that which is eternal: God and man in both body and soul.

Christ has founded a spiritual kingdom, in which we seek and find eternal and divine possessions. This Kingdom is provided for by the Word of God, the Sacraments, the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit. This Kingdom lacks nothing. A Christian, baptized into the Triune Name of God, has the entire Trinity at his disposal. He may call God his Father, Jesus his Lord and brother, and the Holy Spirit his Counselor and Comforter. If you have God, you lack nothing.

Even if the building is destroyed; even if you cannot receive the Sacrament because all Pastors have been rounded up and killed by the government; even if they take your life, goods, fame, child, and wife, though these all be gone, you have God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As such, you lack nothing. You have everything.

Christ would have us long for the eternal gifts of His Kingdom rather than pine for the things of this world. Temporal governments, rulers, fathers, and neighbors may provide or steal temporal goods, but they can never take away the eternal provisions of God.

Secondly, Christ would have all Christians exercise faith in all matters, temporal and eternal, in seeing that all things, temporal and eternal, are provided by Him. See the hands of Christ in your paycheck; in the calloused hands of the farmer providing your food; in the hands of the workman who builds your house; and even in your own hands when you change diapers, share a cup of coffee, or clean a neighbor’s house.

It is necessary that Christ provide not only for the Spiritual Kingdom of His salvation, but also for the temporal kingdom. The world continues to exist only because God provides for her. The world and all who dwell in her, exist for the support of the Church. If all Christians suddenly died, the world would end because there would be no reason for God to sustain it. Of course, this is not a concern for us since Christ has promised to return and gather the faithful to His breast.[3]

“But since the devil rules in the world and he is the enemy of Christ and of His Church, and since [the Church does not] seek the things of this world, they must suffer [temporal possessions] to be taken out of their mouths, and [to be] robbed of [that] which belongs to them. Here now Christ must help His Church and give where she suffers need and want, that she may continue to exist, that it may be called miraculous giving; and the Christians acknowledge that it is given by Him and that He shows forth continually in His [Church] such special miracles [of daily bread], so that they will have something to eat, drink, etc., even if the world gives nothing and grants no favors; but takes from her, and is jealous and hateful because of what God gives her.”[4]

So, when Christians are lacking, they know that what they can never lose is eternal life. No matter how impoverished a Christian is, he holds the entire world in his hand because Christ is with him. And should his stomach growl for lack of food, it is to remind him of things eternal.

Thirdly, Christians suffer lack in this world so that others might show them love. The multitudes suffered lack of food and the disciples were appointed to distribute the miraculous bread to them. Sometimes the vocation of a Christian requires him to be the one who is served, to be the object of another’s affection. This is a holy calling in life: to be the one to receive the good works of others. We are called to share all good things, holding all things in common. To serve one another, even when we believe the resources to be lacking, is a blessed work of God and a loving service to our neighbor.

Finally, we must see the Feeding of the Four Thousand as a blessed picture of the life of the Church. You walk through those doors every week, after seven long days of journeying in the wilderness. You are tired from the cares of this world; from your own sin, the sins of others, and temptation to sin. If you should continue on your journey alone, you would surely faint.

Yet Christ has compassion upon you. He has called you to follow Him, to hear His voice. Each Sunday, He teaches you in His Holy Word – the Introit, the Old Testament, the Gradual, the Epistle, and especially in the Holy Gospel. He is speaking to you now in the words of this sermon, through the lips of an imperfect vessel. When the teaching for the day is done, He calls you to gather before Him. He takes bread, blesses it and gives thanks, then breaks it and calls His servant to distribute it to you. Your body and soul are then satisfied with the Living Bread from Heaven. On the strength of this bread, you return to the way, the path of life in this world, until that day when your journey on this side of heaven is complete and you enter eternal life, where the feast will never end.

‘What Jesus does for the multitude, He does today. At that time, He acted visibly while today He acts invisibly. Then, He fed the body. Today, He feeds body and soul. At that time, He gave men perishable bread. Today He gives you the Eternal, Living Bread from Heaven. We, the Baptized, need the nourishment of Christ’s own Body and Blood to support us on the journey through the wilderness of this life toward our heavenly fatherland.’[5]

O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; and His mercy endureth forever.[6]

In + Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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[1] This is a reference to the autographs of the original human authors of Scripture. I recognize there have been errors in the transmission of the written texts, however the Word of God is infallible and communicates the entire truth of Scripture, even if minor errors have been made in transmission of the text.

[2] Psalm 116:13.

[3] The section regarding the question of why Christ allows Christians to suffer lack is based on Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, Vol 4, translated and edited by John Nicholas Lenker (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1983), 220-222.

[4] Luther, Sermons, 221-222.

[5] Pius Parsch, The Church’s Year of Grace, Vol 4 (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1964), 76-77.

[6] The Benedicamus.

Vespers on the Eve of the Commemoration of the Reformation

 Our congregation held a Reformation Celebration (or Oktoberfest) on October 30. A presentation was given, which focused on the teachings of Luther's opponents in the Sacramentarian Controversy, especially Ulrich Zwingli. This sermon was then preached at the Vespers service.

Vespers on the Eve of the Commemoration of the Reformation – October 30, 2021

Psalm 46; Galatians 3:26-4:7

St. Matthew 26:17-30

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

Ulrich Zwingli was right to confess with our Lord, “The flesh profits nothing.”[1] Our flesh profits nothing before the Lord. The Law of God, his will for creation, offers righteousness, eternal life, and salvation, but this offer comes with a condition. The Law offers these wonderful gifts to all who keep the whole of God’s Law without error. “Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” You may try to earn salvation by keeping the Law, but it is a great gamble. Stumble in one point, fail in a tiny way, forget one jot, tittle, or iota, and you have transgressed the entire law and are guilty of all sin.

“But what of good works? If we transgress a little but work much good, doesn’t that make up for it?” By no means! Did you not hear that to transgress a little is to be guilty of all the Law? This is the very definition of “redeem.” To redeem is to give one thing in exchange for another. Maybe you have a gift card to Walmart that you redeem for groceries. Maybe you have a paycheck that you redeem for cash. Your good works cannot be redeemed for your righteousness for two reasons.

First, your good works do not have enough value to meet your guilt. No amount of human works will be enough to match the debt incurred by your sin. Remember, to be guilty in one point, makes you guilty of the whole Law. Your debt to God is greater than you could ever imagine. In the parable of the unforgiving servant, the servant owes the master ten thousand talents.[2] That is the equivalent to something between $250 million and $20 billion dollars. The point is that salvation comes at an astronomical cost. Since all the works of man are as filthy rags before the Lord, you simply can never earn enough in works to match the value of your soul.[3]

Second, your good works are not of the correct currency. You cannot walk into Walmart down the road and pay in Euros. Your currency must match what is acceptable to the one holding your debt. The price is in blood. The price is your life, your soul. The original sin of Adam and Eve severed the relationship between man and God. Good works do not heal that rift. Buying your wife a new car does not cancel your adultery. The currency is unacceptable. Good works cannot avert your doom. It is a false, misleading dream that you can keep the Law in its fullness.[4]

Not only do good works not atone for your sins, they also do not retain or strengthen your faith. If your works are responsible for strengthening your faith, if your works are the reason you retain your faith, then salvation is due to your works. Natural man will always fight against God. Every Christian will struggle against sin in this world. If that struggle is overcome by your good works which keep you faithful, then your salvation is again, won by works.

The act of a diligent prayer life, the act of coming to church, the act of forgiving your neighbor, even the act of reading the bible does not, in itself, retain your faith. The life of the Christian is not complete through a checklist of holy living. The Word of God is not a self-help book by which you attain righteousness, salvation, and eternal life.

This is most pointed when we suffer. When the terminal diagnosis comes, we are tempted to pray harder, believing that more diligent prayer will cause God to perform a miracle. The danger in relying on our efforts in prayer is when the prayer is not answered according to our desire. If God does not give us the outcome we’ve prayed for, we’ve worked for, then he must’ve either not heard our prayer, or far worse, denied it. And yet it is God himself who commands us to pray in the 2^nd Commandment and promises to answer our prayers. “God must be unjust. God must be cruel. God must not care.”

Repent of this blasphemy. Repent of relying upon your own works for salvation. Repent of turning a beautiful gift of God, prayer, into a work of your own choosing, by which you hope to persuade the creator of the universe, who has promised to love you, care for you, and deliver to you eternal life. Your flesh cannot abstain from sinning. Keeping the Law for the purpose of salvation, even by good intentions, is a useless task and in vain. None can remove sin’s poisoned dart or purify your own sinful heart, so deep is your corruption.[5]

God is just. God is merciful. God is gracious. The Law must be fulfilled, or else we must die despairing.[6] The Son of God, Second Person of the Holy Trinity, descended from the heavenly throne room into our flesh. He took on the form of a servant. At “the fullness of time, [the Father] sent his Son to be born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”[7]

True God, Second Person of the Holy Trinity, united himself to human flesh. He became True Man. This God-Man united himself to our flesh such that we can say “God hungered; God thirsted; God was born of a woman; God suffered; God died.” The two natures of Christ must be distinguished for it was by his divinity that Christ was able to keep the Law perfectly and atone for our sins in eternal currency. The divinity of Christ ensured his redemption was of the proper quantity and currency such that his redemption would suffice for all mankind, from Adam to the last baby born.

It was by his humanity that Christ could die. It was by uniting his divinity to his humanity that the Son of God could share this salvation with mankind. It was by uniting human flesh to his divinity that when Christ ascended to the Right Hand of the Father, he could prepare a mansion for all who believe.

These two natures of Christ, divine and human, are forever united in one person. This one person, Jesus Christ, acted for your salvation. His works are good. His works are holy. His works are perfect and eternal. This one person, the God-Man, has united the hiddenness of the divine God within the revealed flesh of creation. This one person has redeemed you through his blood and then guaranteed your eternal life by rising from the grave. His blood is more precious than $20 billion and matches the currency of your salvation.

It is no wonder then, that this God-Man, on the night when he was betrayed, took physical elements, and united them to his body and blood. The very same Body that would die upon the cross for your salvation and the Blood that was shed to redeem your soul are sacramentally united to physical elements – bread and wine. Two elements but one Sacrament. This is a reflection of the unity of God and Man within the person of Christ. Two Natures but one Person.

From the very beginning, God has given himself to man through means. God walked in the Garden and spoke with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. They could see him, hear him, smell him, touch him. These are the means by which he revealed himself to Adam and Eve. These were not illusions. They were and are truth. So too does his grace come to man through means. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”[8] This Word of God comes to us through means – the preaching of men called into the Office of the Holy Ministry and the printed word in the Bible you read, hopefully aloud.

But since man is a physical being and would be tempted to ignore something as ephemeral as the spoken Word, God has united his word to physical means as well. The Word in and with the water, given by the command of Christ and for the purpose of the forgiveness of sin, constitutes Holy Baptism. It is truly a washing, not a symbol of cleansing. The Word of God in, with, and under the Bread and the Wine, given by the command of Christ and given for the forgiveness of sin, constitutes the Holy Communion.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”[9] The Eternal Word of God is united to human flesh. This same flesh, he has united to bread and the blood which flows through that flesh he has united to wine. In this Holy Body and Precious Blood is found the salvation of the world. The very same Body which hung on the cross and the very same Blood poured out on the earth are given to Christians for the bestowing and strengthening of faith. They are the victory feast of the Church who celebrates with the Victorious Christ who has defeated death and the grave.

What then of our good works? Our flesh profits nothing for salvation. Christ has won salvation for us. Coming to Church, reading the Scriptures, receiving the Holy Sacraments, and fervent prayer are not good works which you do. They are the means of grace by which God delivers himself to you. You do these things not to earn salvation but to receive what God has to give you – righteousness, salvation, and eternal life. These things do retain and strengthen your faith but not because of what you do, its because of what God delivers through them.

Our good works are then also a reflection of what has been done in us. Has God forgiven your sins? Has God delivered to you the righteousness of Christ? Has God given you a clean conscience through the waters of Holy Baptism?[10] Has the very Body and Blood of Christ wrought faith within you, capable of moving mountains? Have you been declared a child and heir of God, no longer a slave to your passions, to sin, to death, and to the Law?

Then you are free to serve God with a joyful heart! No longer are your works that of a slave hoping to earn freedom. You are a son, an heir, whose inheritance is certain. You are now free to pray because you know that your Father in heaven hears and will answer your prayer. You are now free to come to Church, regularly and often, because there you will receive your salvation in Christ. You are free to give to the poor because eternity has been given to you. You are free to raise your children in the way of the Lord because He died for them too.[11] You are free to daily read the Scriptures because there you find your Savior.

The flesh of man profits nothing for our salvation. The flesh of Christ has won our salvation. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world…Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”[12]

In T Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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[1] St. John 6:63.

[2] St. Matthew 18:21-35.

[3] Isaiah 64:6.

[4] Salvation Unto Us Has Come, LSB 555:1. Public Domain.

[5] Salvation Unto Us Has Come, LSB 555:4. Public Domain

[6] Salvation Unto Us Has Come, LSB 555:5. Public Domain

[7] Galatians 4:4-5.

[8] Romans 10:17.

[9] St. John 1:1, 14.

[10] 1 Peter 3:18-22.

[11] Proverbs 22:6; Matthew 19:13-15.

[12] John 6:51, 53-56.