More Than Meets the Eye: A Homily on Hebrews 9:11-14

Hebrews 9:11-14

Thursday Vespers

Higher Things: Te Deum Conference

30 July 2015

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

There is more than meets the eye.  And you don't want to see it.  You hide your eyes from the blood and gore, finding the sight of Christ crucified distasteful,violent, and scary.  "Lord, I love you, but working through blood?!  Really?!  Yuck!" 

There is more than meets the eye.  To the naked eye, the wormhole is confusing, looking like a dreadfully violent storm, the likes of which you've never seen.  After a while people could actually see the Chitauri coming out of it, bringing death and destruction to New York. 

The Avengers know what needs to happen.  The people need to be rescued.  They need to be saved.  And to top it all, a nuclear missile is headed for Manhattan, which will bring inescapable death to all.

Tony Stark steps up.  He goes beyond what can be seen, and enters the veiled reality of the wormhole.  He enters, knowing he may very well be sacrificing himself, giving up his life.  He enters the unseen in order to destroy the forces bringing death and destruction.

There is more than meets the eye.  To the naked eye, the crucifixion was confusing, looking like a dreadfully violent execution, the likes of which you've never seen.   Onlookers did not comprehend that this was a result of the crafty Evil one who once overcame by a tree now being overcome on this tree, even while seeming to bring only death and destruction to Jesus.

Our Lord knew what needed to happen.  The people needed to be rescued.  They needed to be saved.  Ever since Satan had deceived Adam and Eve, their rebellion had brought inescapable death to all.

Our dear Lord Jesus steps up.  He goes beyond what can be seen, and enters the veiled reality of the heavenly temple.  He enters, knowing that He is indeed sacrificing Himself, giving up His life.

There is more than meets the eye.  Tony Stark enters the wormhole with an overwhelming task.  And while he is in the clutches of certain death, his friends start giving up.  They wait, but gradually lose hope that he will be successful, and they know they need to protect others.  So in unbelief that Tony could succeed in getting rid of the missile and returning safely, the wormhole is closed.

You are like Natasha Romanov and the other Avengers.  You fall into the same unbelief all the time.  You show disbelief that Jesus could really complete His task, as He hung on the cross and simultaneously entered the heavenly temple, splashing His blood in the Holy of holies.  You doubt He completed the task, and like Natasha closing the wormhole, you carry on. 

You're not crass enough to say it, or maybe even to think it through, but you have thoughts and urges that you need to keep your end of the deal--to be good and please God, or even crying out "faith alone," but trying to please God by being sorry enough for your sins and believing sincerely enough, and so on. 

Dear friends, the once-and-for-all sacrifice is complete!  You don't need to add anything or be anything "enough!"

And "too much blood!" you say.  Can't we talk about Jesus as Teacher.  Can't we just focus on Jesus loving everyone?  Can't we just stop and look at the nice things?  Blood?!

Blood is everywhere.  It was gruesome enough with over 200,000 lambs every year for Passover and all the sacrifices on the Day of Atonement.  The innocent creatures were led to the Temple, and had their throats slit, pouring out their blood.  It is said that so much blood flowed down the mountainside from the Temple that the water of the Kidron Brook ran pink.  On the Day of Atonement, the high priest was clothed in his vestments and entered the Holy of holies, splattering blood all over the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant, with his feet shackled, so that he could be pulled out of there if the wrath of God struck him and the high priest died.  The lifeblood he splashed over everything was quenching the wrath of the Father.

You look at this and say, why the blood?  It's so messy.  Gross!  The location of God's mercy, covered in blood!  Forgiveness, rescue , and salvation, welling up from His blood that issues from the waters of the font; sprinkling you from the mouths of His preachers; pouring forth from His chalice.

There is more than meets the eye.  [pointing to altar] There is where the Lord assembles you to Himself.  There is the perfect and holy "wormhole," if you will, through which the same Jesus who entered the Holy of holies and splattered His blood now comes to you, pouring His blood into your mouth, along with His holy body that He gives you to eat.  Behold, the altar of the Lord -- it's more than meets the eye. It's the location of God's mercy, covered in the blood of the Lamb.  Amen.

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

Ashes, Death, and Cleansing: A Homily for Ash Wednesday

Matthew6:1-6, 16-21

Ash Wednesday

18 February 2015

St. John's, Chicago, IL

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

In October of 1913 a crowd of thousands gathered together on 40 acres in River Forest to dedicate Concordia Teachers College.  Almsgiving, you might say, gifts above and beyond tithes and offerings, had been gathered and helped construct the campus.  The Word of the Lord was preached.  The faithful responded in prayer.  It was a great day.

Just five months later, tragedy struck, as President William Kohn was making his night rounds and discovered a fire.  The frustrating things was the fire hoses were discovered to be too short to reach from the hydrants to the administration building.  The building was gutted. 

Yet from the midst of ashes, the Lord raised up the school.  Immediately they decided to rebuild, undeterred by the fire and ashes.  The destruction of the college -- the "death" of the building, if you will, would not crush them.  Life and hope came from Christ.

We often see ashes simply as the remains of death and destruction.  But they are also reminders of a fresh start.  A new birth and rising, such as that of the mythical Phoenix.  Ashes can be signs of cleansing too, as throughout history they have often been an ingredient in the making of soaps and cleansers.

You are like the ashes; sad, charred, used up remains of what you were created to be.  Death has laid its grip on you.  Yes, no matter how young or healthy you are, you are dying.

So he we are, a bunch of defiant dead people.  Here we are; ones who like our stuff, and would rather not give too much away.  Here we are, people who are happy to spend hours each night in front of a TV or on the Internet, but are simply too busy for prayer.  Here we are, ready to gorge ourselves on Fat Tuesday, to make up for anything we might resentfully "give up" for the next 40 days.  Here we are, warm, dry, and comfortable, trying not to even think on the unpleasantness and sheer evil of this fallen world -- like the struggle of Christians who are persecuted elsewhere. In repentance and grief, we remember 21 Egyptian Christian martyrs this week, calling on Jesus as the unbelieving agents of the devil did their wicked work.

How do you think you stand before God, with all of this baggage?  You were right; each one of you is a "poor, miserable sinner." The value of your wretched, rebellious, commandment-breaking, human self is less than that smudge of ash on your forehead.

But our dear Lord does not want you to be "ashes to ashes and dust to dust." He is heartbroken that He ever had to tell our Father Adam, "Dust you are, and to dust you shall return."  He knows it is a dreadful reminder of mortality for anyone to see the 90-year-old grandma, the 40-something cancer survivor, or even the toddler with ashes on their foreheads, reminding them all of their mortality.  His heart goes out to you, as the Law crushes you into realizing you damning sin, and the death you face.

But our sweet Savior also gives forgiveness.  He climbed the hill of Calvary and laid down His life for you.  He gave to you in your need as He allowed His body to be broken and His blood shed to remove your sin.  Jesus prayed for His persecutors, executioners, indeed for you and me as He hung there, dying.  And He fasted from the wealth and splendor of His heavenly, divine power, permitting Himself to be sacrificed for you.

And now, He gives cleansing.  He did it at the font.  And He renews that cleansing with Holy Absolution.  Ashes are a common ingredient in simple and ancient soap recipes.  The charred cross on your forehead is a reminder not only of your mortality, deserved at that, but also a reminder that our Lord Jesus cleanses you!  He washes away the guilt of breaking His Ten Commandments.  He purifies you from all unrighteousness.

He thoroughly cleanses you as His own, so that with boldness and confidence, you also may have precious words like, "My Lord, Jesus," "Jesus, help me!" on your lips when you face your mortality on this earth and breathe your last.  He will take and keep your dust and ashes until the day that He gathers you together in perfection and glory, to be resurrected and live with Him forever.  In the mean time, Jesus Christ lifts you up, cleanses you, and makes you His holy and righteous disciple.  And He bids you to come and feast on the Body broken and Blood shed, which are the very gifts that cleanse you from within.  Amen.

Love One Another: A Homily for Holy Thursday

John13:1-15, 34-35

Holy Thursday

28 March 2013

St. John's, Chicago, IL

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

Pastor Matthew Harrison, our Synod President would say, "Show mercy."  It means, "Love one another."  Francis, the new bishop of Rome is known for encouraging works of charity; "Love one another."  Such love naturally flows from faith in Christ.  It is expected by Him; yet it is given by Him.

Think back to first-century Ephesus.  The congregation has their beloved pastor who had seemed to be there forever, coming out of retirement to preach -- THE Pastor of Ephesus -- "the Elder" as he had come to be known.  The door opened, and everyone turned to see him.  A little old man, frail, bald, with a long, white beard, was being carried in on a litter.  He was over 100 years old.  He summoned his strength, and  preached the Word of God: "Little children, love one another." And as quickly as it began, the sermon ended.  One little sentence.  St. John the Apostle and Evangelist did not seem to have the strength to say more, and yet, what more needed to be said?

"Little children, love one another." At first, that is Law.  "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another." When St. John heard Jesus speak those words, decades earlier, they stuck with him.  Profound.  With authority.  Jesus, who loved everyone perfectly, now commanded His disciples to do the same.  And He tells you to do it too!

"Love one another."  But you don't.  You are not constantly thinking about the actions to do and the words to say to serve your neighbor.  You really don't perfectly keep your spouse or parents or children above yourself, much less friends, acquaintances or even strangers.  You constantly fail this simple command from Christ.  Many times every hour, simply by what you omit or avoid, you do not "love one another."

And then there is the fact that you actively break this command.  You gossip and hurt reputations, defiling the eighth commandment.  You fool yourself into thinking that God does not detest your sins as much as those of your neighbor, and refuse to love him, because for whatever reason, you find his sin more repulsive.  You show a lack of love as you steal from others, whether time, or effort, attention, or things.  You refuse love to those who suffer or have no voice when you keep silent regarding the unborn, the downtrodden, the sick and the poor.  In these and many ways, you are selfish and put your own wants and needs first, loving yourself rather than others in your life.  Sadly, little children, you do not love one another.  And that is a damning situation for you.

But St. John also tells you, "God is love."  The Lord Jesus is Love incarnate.  He took on flesh to perfectly love you and every other human being.  Yes!  Your loving God became Man in order to be perfect love in life, in death, and in His resurrection.    He loved you perfectly as He kept God's Law in your place.  He loved you perfectly as He bore your sin of failing to love, as He suffered and died in your place.  He loved you perfectly as He rose to new life for you!  He loves you perfectly even now, as He lives and reigns to all eternity.

Perhaps the clearest and most direct way that He gives this love to you is the very gift He instituted on this night: the Holy Supper of our Lord!  In this gift of His very Body and Blood, Jesus is loving you completely.  Here He unites His Body and Blood with bread and wine, giving you the thrilling gift of seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting the love of God!  The ultimate in loving others -- laying down one's life for them -- that is what Jesus did on that next day, Good Friday.  He blesses you with that gift of love!

So really, even though it was Law for those Ephesian Christians, they were also hearing Gospel.  Not Gospel in the command to love.  But when they heard the very word, "love," their thoughts were turned to Jesus Christ, who is the very embodiment of God's Love.  In hearing, "Love one another," the Lord led them to focus on Christ who is the One of whom we say, "God is love."  Yes, He is.  God is love.  He is the perfect Love who gives His life as the ransom for the many.  He is the Love that has redeemed and saved you.  He is the Love that has rescued you from sin, death, and the devil, gifting you with forgiveness, life, and salvation in this Blessed Sacrament of Love.

And having been given His love in such a pure and profound and holy way, He fills you with it.  He loves you and now loves through you, showing mercy and compassion and holy love to those around.  You are not loving on your own, but as His redeemed and baptized creatures, Jesus shares His love through works He has prepared in advance for you to do.

So you do love.  And when you fail, you have the calm and sweet assurance that Jesus Christ loves you perfectly, and mercifully forgives you, that you may forever abide in His love.  "Little children, love one another."  Amen.

The Kept Word: A Homily on John 8:46-59

John8:46-59

Judica: the 5th Sunday in Lent

17 March 2013

St. John's, Chicago, IL

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

"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

What about Abraham?!  Ha! Gotcha, Jesus.  Abraham was a good and righteous man.  Everyone knows he kept God's Word.  But he died, just like everyone else.  Jesus, are You trying to say that You are more important than Abraham?! 

Why, Abraham was definitely the greatest man ever!  He did not spare his only son, but offered him up when God commanded it.  And God blessed him with so much wealth, he had to be doing something right!

What about the prophets?!  Yeah, Jesus!  They died too.  Are you saying that the men whom God sent to preach His Word did not keep it?

You know that these Jewish leaders were wrong in trying to lie about Jesus, and twist His words.  You know the irony of them sticking up for the prophets, when many of their people persecuted and even killed the prophets of the Lord.

What about Jesus!?  He obviously, and perfectly kept His Word.  And yet He never was blessed with tremendous wealth or exercised great earthly power.  And He died!  Well, yes.  He died in the physical, bodily way.  The temporal way, here in space and time.  But it was not an eternal spiritual death.  It was not being permanently and eternally cut off from God, as one who has rejected Him. 

"Never seeing death," here, is talking about not going to hell.  Not enduring eternal death and separation from God, on account of rejecting Jesus Christ.

What about you?!  Have you rejected Jesus?  Do you keep His Word?  Careful, now.  Be honest.  Every single day you mess things up.  You fail to do what He commands.  You might do a good job in other people's eyes, but when judged on a scale of perfection, you come up short. 

You are in the same situation as these men testing Jesus.  Deep down, if you are honest, you hear Jesus talking and saying that you will die if you do not keep His Word, and you want Him to stop talking.  "Be quiet, Jesus.  Those are not the words we want to hear.  Stop it.  You are being too exclusive, Jesus.  There are a lot of really nice people who do good things, even if they don't believe in You."

Really?  No.  They may seem to be nice, and their actions and words may look good, but if not done in faith in Christ, they are empty and still lead to death and separation from the Lord.  And your defending them means that you are straying from Jesus and His Word, as well.  And so you are drifting from life in Christ, to death.

Beware.  You are joining Jesus' antagonists and refusing to hear what He says.  Saint John, who records this exchange, would beg you at this point, "Little children, love one another," yes,  in the love of Christ alone, which comes through faith in Him.

Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."  Christ Jesus is indeed greater than Abraham; He is the Lord God Himself, I AM.  He created Abraham.  He called Abraham to faith, and led Him to Canaan.  He spoke His promises to Abraham, and blessed him to believe them.  "And it was credited to him as righteousness."

But there you are.  There is the difference between Abraham and the Jewish leaders challenging Jesus.  Abraham heard the Word of the Lord and received it in faith.  These men in the Gospel reading do not have faith.  They reject the Lord and His Word.  They would have more trust in any of their self-sacrifice, than in Jesus Himself.

And now here you are. The Lord has not tested you, telling you to sacrifice your only son.  He has not miraculously provided a baby when you were a hundred years old.  But He has poured out His Holy Spirit, that you may have the same faith as His servant Abraham.

Jesus has made you a child of God in Holy Baptism, and it was credited to you as righteousness.  He speaks His Gospel week after week, and you receive it in faith, and it is credited to you as righteousness.  He nourishes you with His Holy Eucharist, and the Bread of Life is credited to you as righteousness.

Through these Means of Grace, the Lord, I AM, makes you His own, that you may keep His Word and never see death. He removes all guilt of trusting in yourself, and closing your ears to the God of Abraham.  He cleanses you from the iniquity of thinking Jesus is inferior, to Abraham, the prophets, or anyone, for that matter!  He gifts you with faith, and credits it to you as righteousness.

Yet even as you are sure and certain of what Christ Jesus has done for you, He is veiled in this world.  Veiled in Word and Sacrament, Christ comes to you with forgiveness and life.  Veiled, the glory of God renews and restores you.

There is an old Lutheran tradition to veil works of art, including crosses, statues, and paintings during the last two weeks of Lent.  A cloth covers these images of Jesus, reminding us of how God comes to us, veiled in human flesh and blood, to save us.

Christ Jesus is God, veiled in the flesh, for you. He reminds you today, "Before Abraham was, I AM." And He has endured all suffering and death for you, so that you may never die.  Amen.