Homily for the Day of Pentecost - 2020

"Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled"
John 14:23-31

Listen here.

Let’s be honest with ourselves and with each other. Five full months into the year 2020, fear has come to be our friend; panic has become our companion. I’m not referring only to the current pandemic. It’s just the most recent proof positive. Since hindsight is 20/20, let’s quickly look back over the past 20 years.

Who remembers good old “Y2K”? The fear was that as the year 1999 turned into the year 2000, at the very stroke of midnight, all manner of chaos would erupt. Why? Many feared—and the media hyped the fear—that time-keeping and computing devices around the world would not be able to turn all four digits from 1999 to 2000. Yet, here we are—20 years later, still alive and kicking.

Who can forget September 11, 2001? We who lived through it remember where we were and the fear we felt that day terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 innocent Americans. We were under attack on our own soil! People rushed to stock up on groceries for their cupboards and put gas in their cars. The stock market took a nosedive. We would be going to war. We were very afraid for a time!

Soon after that, there was that little white powder scare. Remember Anthrax? Envelopes containing a contagious white powder thought to be a biological weapon were sent to certain government leaders. Soon after that we all were fearful of what might arrive in our own mail boxes. Could that letter or bill be deadly? And then the plastic and the duct tape. Government leaders spoke often of how easily weaponized pathogens can spread through the air. So we were advised to seal up our windows with that plastic and duct tape.

In 2007-08, we endured the “Great Recession.” Fears abounded over the subprime mortgage crisis, the falling stock market, bailouts of banks and companies “too big to fail,” and what would happen to our own retirement investments.

The SARS epidemic sparked fears in 2002-2004. The MERS epidemic struck around 2012-2015. In 2014 we in St. Louis endured—and feared—the mess in Ferguson. We can certainly relate to what’s happened in Minneapolis, and we’re even joining in—fearful of injustice and fearful of needless destruction at the same time.

As a society and as individuals living in this society—even as blood-bought sinners redeemed by Jesus who live in this society—fear has become our familiar friend and panic our constant companion. The media either thrives on our fears or stirs our fears or—most likely—both. What does it do to us mentally, emotionally and spiritually when we keep hearing, over and over again, at least every commercial break, phrases such as “uncertain times,” “unprecedented times,” or “new normal”?

And I had to chuckle when I came across a couple of headlines this past week. No, these were not in the Babylon Bee or some other satire site; they’re from actual news sites. One headline said: “Half of Americans fear [Notice that?] they won’t get their pre-coronavirus body back, survey shows.” Evidently, with gyms closed, it’s not so easy to burn off all of the junk food, alcohol, and other carbohydrates we’re turning to these days. The other headline said: “Monkeys attack lab worker, steal COVID-19 samples as 2020 continues to use critters to try to kill us all.” Evidently, the lockdowns in India have emboldened the monkeys to take charge in Planet of the Apes style.

Fear has become our familiar friend. But he’s not a healthy friend. It’s a rather toxic relationship. It might even be something like Stockholm syndrome. That’s when a captive develops emotional and psychological bonds with and for their captor. The victim may even defend the captor.

But if we keep fear as our friend, we’re also likely to welcome pride as another close buddy. It’s what happened at the Tower of Babel. We usually focus on their pride of making a name for themselves. But what laid the foundation for that pride? What sparked the fire of that pride? Look behind the pride, and you can see fear calling the shots. They were afraid they would be nobodies, irrelevant, even forgotten. Our friendship with fear leads us to rely on ourselves to fix our fearful circumstances.

What does all of this have to do with Pentecost Day and the coming of the Holy Spirit? Did you hear what your Lord Jesus said as He promised to send the Helper, the Holy Spirit? Did His words get into your ears, your mind and your heart, or has fear plugged your ears and numbed your heart and mind? Listen again. After all, it’s your Lord Jesus talking—no camera, no microphone, no viral tweet or video. But His words have endured the test of time. His words bring solace to troubled souls. What did He say? “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

When your Lord tells you, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” He’s saying, “Don’t let all those other things disturb you, upset you, terrify you, or frighten you.” This verb for “be troubled” gives the picture of a body of water being stirred up. The sediment and dirt at the bottom gunk up the water and take away its clarity. And when Jesus says, “…neither let them be afraid,” He’s using a unique word for “be afraid.” We could also render it: “Neither let your hearts be cowardly or timid.”

You see, Jesus can say these things because He has lived life in your flesh and walked in your shoes in this fallen world. He knows the multitudes of things that bring fear, from plagues to terrorist attacks to riots to aggressive monkeys. And He has suffered, bled, and died to overcome the fears, to conquer the cowardice, and to clear up the water of your heart and soul. His resurrection proves that death itself has been trampled down. So what are all those other things that stir us up or make us tremble inside? They cannot take away Jesus’ victory over sin and death; they cannot take away Jesus’ peace.

It was the night before He would go to the cross when Jesus told His fearful disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.” His cross and resurrection would bring them peace. They also bring you peace, as long as you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith. He is your true friend who loves you and has laid down His life for you. When you make fear your friend, you will only be abused over and over again. But Jesus is your true Friend who gives healing and peace—peace with God, peace with one another, and peace within when the world rages.

And your best Friend, Jesus, gives you another Helper: the Spirit of truth. This Third Person of the Trinity who appeared in tongues of fire and enabled Gospel preaching on the first Pentecost comes to dwell with you and be in you. He comes to teach you the things of Jesus, not the things of fear. He comes to comfort and sustain and give courage. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11). He is “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might” (Is. 11:2).

Just as He rested on Jesus, coming down on Him in His Baptism, so He rests on you through your Baptism into Christ. Just as He sustained and nourished Jesus in the wilderness, so He sustains and nourishes you in the wilderness of this fallen, sick, riotous world—especially as you hear the words of Jesus and feast on His Body and  Blood.

Let the Holy Spirit remind you of something Jesus said. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). Then couple that with something Jesus says throughout His written word: “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). Saved not only from pandemics and riots and other frightful things; but saved from fear itself. After all, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18), and “this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Amen.

Homily for Easter 7 (Exaudi) - 2020

"The Spirit, Your Comforter"
John 15:26-16:4

Listen here.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

We come to the end of the “week of Sundays.” It’s now the seventh week of celebrating the joys of Christ’s victory over the grave, over every deadly thing that separates us from our God who loves us. We’ve been enjoying the life that He gives as He restores us to life with God. But now we need comfort, just as the disciples did.

Jesus’ words in our Gospel reading come from the night before He would die. He told His disciples that He must leave them. He said that where He was about to go, they could not follow. Jesus leave them? What were they supposed to do? How would they carry on without Him? Since we celebrated Jesus’ Ascension on Thursday, we might be tempted to think and feel that Jesus has left us too. But Jesus promised: “When the Helper/Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.” Just as Jesus comforted His disciples with the promised Holy Spirit, He also comforts you by sending His Spirit.

My, how we need comfort these days! Not just “some comfort”—A LOT of comfort! Reports of Christians being persecuted in far off lands continue to confront us—and rightly so. After all, our brothers and sisters in Christ are teaching us to remain faithful even in the midst of suffering. In our own land, we Christians are seen more and more as the problem to be remedied and the enemy to be vanquished. And certain governors are going out of their way to make sure churches stay closed at this time. The hour is coming, and is now here, when many think ostracizing and marginalizing Christians is actually offering service to God. Well, not to the true God, but it is offering service—praise and worship—to false gods such as immediate gratification, self-chosen pleasures, and raw power grabs. As Jesus warns: “they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”

Jesus does not tell us these things to frighten us or to lead us to anxious hand-wringing. No, Jesus says “all these things to keep you from falling away.” After all, He said, if they hated Him, they’ll hate His Christians. If they persecuted Him, they’ll also persecute His Christians. If they executed Him, they’ll also execute His Christians. And, no, I don’t mention these things to frighten you or lead you to anxious hand-wringing either. This is all about how our Lord would comfort us. Peter said it well as he echoed our Lord: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Pet. 4:12-14). It’s all about how our Lord comforts us with His Spirit—“the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father.”

When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He was preparing them for that little “in-between time”—that time when He would leave them to go the cross. But He would return to them in the resurrection on the third day. And then He would leave them again—for “a little while”—when He would ascend to God’s right hand. And with those first twelve disciples, we’re still in that “in-between time” after our Lord ascended and before He comes again. The difference is, we have the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. His cross and His shed blood forgive all our doubts and apprehensions. His victory over the grave gives us confidence and hope and comfort.

That comfort comes not in the form of a cozy, warm blanket that you put on your bed. It does not feel like a comfy chair in which you relax to watch TV. It does not taste like “comfort food,” whether chocolate or something called “Southern Comfort.” No, the comfort that Jesus gives is very mighty and very fortifying. “When the [Comforter] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.”

Our word “comfort” comes from two Latin words. When spliced together those two Latin words literally mean “strengthen together” or “fortify together.” Instead of cozy warm blankets or soothing chocolates that melt in your mouth, think body builder’s muscle. Or, better yet, think of a towering castle wall, as in “a mighty fortress.” Our Lord’s “comfort” comes through His Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

How does the Spirit of Truth, the divine Comforter—the divine Fortifier—strengthen you together as Jesus’ disciples? He bears witness about Jesus. He teaches you all things that Jesus has said and brings to your remembrance all that He has done for you. He gives you the peace of sins forgiven that the world cannot give (John 14:26-27). He convicts you and the world of sin. He convinces you that Jesus has come from the Father, has won your salvation, and has returned to the Father. And He convinces you that the ruler of this world—the old evil foe himself—has been judged and awaits his sentence (John 16:8-11). That’s what strengthens, fortifies, and gives comfort.

The Holy Spirit helps and comforts you by fortifying you, by nourishing you, by transforming you, and by renewing your strength. In your Baptism, you have received new life by being joined to Christ in His death and resurrection. You have been reborn, born anew into life with God. In your Baptism, your Lord says to you: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you” (Ezek. 36:25).

But you cannot live that new life without constant care or sustenance. Just as no infant can rely upon himself/herself to survive, no child of God can rely upon himself/herself. The Holy Spirit comes to give you the love, nurture and food of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but He also protects you from things you may not know or understand. Not only do you need protection from the obvious problems in life, but you also need protection from the spiritual assaults that you cannot see coming. So the Holy Spirit feeds and nourishes you, protects and defends you as God’s holy and dearly loved children. He gives you a new heart. He puts a new spirit within you. He removes your heart of stone, and He gives you a heart of flesh—flesh that lives with God and from His Word.

The Holy Spirit feeds and protects you in ways that you cannot see but can only believe. When the Holy Spirit feeds you on Holy Communion, you cannot see that you are actually receiving Christ’s life-giving Body and Blood. But you believe His words, and so you receive the nourishment and immortality that the Spirit gives there. When the Holy Spirit protects you with the word of forgiveness, you cannot see Jesus speaking that word to you. Yet you believe that the pastor’s forgiveness is Christ’s forgiveness, and thus you receive the Spirit’s defense and protection given there.

Our Lord Jesus says, “the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.” This testifying does not take place in a courtroom, nor in a congressional hearing, nor in a baseball stadium or a movie theater. It takes place right here, in the Church, right here where the Gospel and Sacraments are delivered to you. This is what makes being in church in-person essential for every Christian. Here you have the Spirit’s comforting, strengthening, fortifying testimony. No, He does not necessarily give you a warm fuzzy in your bosom. But He does testify that you have received and still receive the life of your Lord Jesus. He does testify that Jesus’ life shapes you and renews you in the life that you have from birth. And by this testimony, the Spirit feeds and fortifies the Lord’s life in you so that you may continue to grow and mature until the day when your renewal is complete.

Just as Jesus comforted His disciples with the promised Holy Spirit, He also comforts you by sending His Spirit. With the Holy Spirit not only working for you, but also working in you, you can be bold and say with sure and certain confidence: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1). Amen.

Homily for Reformation Day (Observed) - 2019

"Pressing Forward Forcefully"
Matthew 11:12-19

When God sent His only-begotten Son into the world, it was like a commander-in-chief ordering the Navy Seals to make a first strike. When that first strike comes, you can be sure of two things. First, the battle is engaged. Second, the enemy will fight back.

Perhaps this mental picture can help us grasp Jesus’ perplexing words in our Gospel: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”

Jesus has just selected His twelve apostles. He has given them “authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction” (Mt. 10:1). Then Jesus sent those twelve apostles out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Their mission? “Proclaim…, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons’” (Mt. 10:7-8). Their promise from the Lord? “Everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 10:32). Jesus even tied their mission to His divine incursion: “Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent me” (Mt. 10:40). Now, you know the enemy—Satan and his minions—doesn’t much like such incursions into its tyrannical domain.

After instructing His twelve disciples, Jesus Himself went on preaching and teaching. He was continuing His divine first strike of invading enemy-held territory. After all, He came to rescue and restore it. Then comes the question from John the Baptist. It’s the story we hear in Advent. As John sits in prison and awaits his execution, he wonders if Jesus is in fact the Coming One—the Divine Invader—who comes to rescue all humanity, or if we should look for another. Keep your ears, your heart, and your mind focused on Jesus’ answer: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Mt. 11:4-6). And you know the enemy doesn’t much like that!

Jesus then asks the crowds about John. What did they go out to see? Someone who swayed with the shifting winds of public opinion? Nope. Some softie dressed in nice clothes walking the halls of power? Nope. Instead, when John came, they saw none other than God’s own messenger sent to prepare the way for the Lord—for the Divine First-Strike Team in the flesh. “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than [John]” (Mt. 11:11).

This is what leads us to Jesus’ perplexing words about the kingdom “suffering violence.” What in the world is He talking about?!

When Jesus comes into the world, the world, the devil, and even our sinful flesh don’t like it much. Yet He still comes. And when He comes, the kingdom comes. Jesus, the kingdom of heaven incarnate, presses forward forcefully into this world—a world enslaved by sin, death, and devil. When He does, you know the battle is engaged…and you know the enemy fights back.

John the Baptist experienced violence for preparing the way of the Lord. Arrest. Prison. Even execution by losing his head. Jesus Himself experienced violent opposition. Repeated challenges to His preaching, teaching, and healing. False accusations. Kangaroo courts. Beatings and flogging. Betrayals by friends. Even the worst kind of capital punishment—being nailed to a tree and suffocating to death. And Jesus’ disciples could also expect violent opposition. How many of them later faced prisons and beatings and various forms of execution simply for preaching salvation by Christ alone?

But God’s kingdom—enfleshed in Jesus the Christ—keeps pressing forward forcefully. You see, Jesus Himself not only suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, but He also descended into hell in victory. Then the third day He rose again from the dead. Then He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He came to redeem us lost and condemned persons, purchased and won us from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with silver and gold, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. To what end? That you and I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

Mission accomplished! First strike successful!

Ever since the New Testament and through all these centuries, the kingdom continues pressing forward forcefully. And the enemy keeps on fighting against it. Now we come to the part about the violent taking it by force. Those violently opposed to Jesus and His saving, forgiving ways do indeed attack the Church. But this line can also be translated, “and forceful people snatch it.” (cf. Lenski)

It’s why the Church must always be reformed. She must always be called back to the saving work of Jesus. You see, the Church is really a heavenly city invading the earthly city. Conflict is inevitable. The earthly city always seeks to re-make the Church in its own image. “Don’t call out sin. Don’t judge. Don’t live by God’s Word. Instead, seek power. Instead, go along to get along.” It’s what Luther faced in his day. A Church that needed to be brought back to the saving work of Jesus. It’s what we face in our day. It’s what the Church faces in every age.

Here’s what we joyfully celebrate this Reformation Day. Jesus rescues us from sin and death by His grace alone. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (Jn. 8:36). We receive this forgiveness of sins and new life through faith alone. “We hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom. 3:28). The source of this emancipation proclamation is Scripture alone. “If you abide in My word,” Jesus said, “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:31-32).

So how will you embrace—how will you snatch up—this Good News of your liberation from sin, death, and devil? Will it be with apathy and indifference? Or will it be with zest and eagerness? You see, Jesus—kingdom in the flesh—presses forward forcefully for and in you. He confronts you with your sin so that He may liberate you with His forgiveness. When you think you are the one who matters most, He disabuses you of that notion through repentance. When you are dead in your trespasses and sins, He gives you rebirth and new life in your Baptism. When you sin in thought, word, and deed, He powerfully grants you His cross-won Absolution through humble words. When you are weak and faint, He strengthens you with His very Body and Blood actually, truly and really present under bread and wine, actually, truly and really delivering His forgiveness and life to you.

That’s how forcefully your Lord presses forward to claim you and keep you as His own. He overcomes whatever doubts you may have. He liberates you from whatever mental, rational reservations you may have about His washing, His absolving, and His Meal. His kingdom with all its gifts, all its blessings and all its treasures gives you power and courage to snatch it, grab it, and cling to it all—to all the forgiveness, life, and salvation that He has achieved for you. You may zealously hold on for dear life. You may powerfully bear witness to this same Jesus who has freed you from sin, death and devil.

In 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated for holding onto the powerful Gospel of Jesus Christ, rather than submitting to the violent opposition against it. Later that same year he appeared before the Diet of Worms and refused to recant his position of standing on Scripture alone. Then he was whisked away into hiding at the Wartburg Castle. When troubles arose in Wittenberg in early 1522, Luther came out of hiding to preach a series of sermons at the beginning of Lent. They’re called the “Invocavit Sermons.” In the second of these sermons Luther spoke of the power of God’s Word. What he said illustrates how the kingdom of Jesus powerfully presses forward:

“In short, I will preach it, teach it, write it, but I will constrain no man by force, for faith must come freely without compulsion. Take myself as an example. I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything. (Second Invocavit Sermon, 1522; AE 51:77)

The kingdom of heaven presses forward forcefully, and those liberated and enlivened by Him eagerly snatch up His treasures. Amen.

Homily for Holy Trinity Sunday - 2017

"What Is Faith?"
John 3:1-17

Listen here.

Trying to understand the Holy Trinity is a lot like using a fire hose to fill a tea cup and not spilling a drop. It’s a good thing that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit does not call us to understand Him! Rather, He calls us to believe in Him, have faith in Him, and so worship Him. As we will confess shortly, “Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith”—not understanding. “And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity….”

In John 1:12, the Apostle John writes: “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” What is this believing? What does faith involve?

Just before Jesus conversed with Nicodemus, St. John also tells us: “Many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man” (Jn. 2:23-25). This little commentary by John raises the question, “What is faith?” Our Gospel today—Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus—answers that question.

What is faith? First of all, faith is not just seeing miracles and being drawn to the One who performs them. You see, miracles can often be misunderstood. Remember the story of the Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-15)? The crowd saw and realized the miracle Jesus had done, and so they wanted to make Him king. But they only wanted a “bread king”—a king who would satisfy their earthly wants and desires. So Jesus preached a sermon to them. He told them that He is the true Bread from heaven. He told them that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood would live forever. That’s what the miracle pointed to. But they would not believe that. So John tells us that many of them “turned back and no longer walked with him” (Jn. 6:66).

Also, faith is not just an interest in Jesus as a great Teacher. He certainly is a great Teacher, to be sure. That’s how Nicodemus first approached Jesus: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Many others said the same thing. There was the rich man who came to Jesus and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk. 10:17). But then Jesus told him to sell all his possessions, and the man “went away sorrowful” (Mk. 10:22). Even the scribes and Pharisees recognized Jesus as a Teacher. One day one of them came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Mt. 22:36). But they were not really interested in His answer; they were just trying to trip Him up and trap Him.

So faith is not merely hanging on to Jesus as a miracle-worker or recognizing Him as a great Teacher. What, then, is faith? In our Gospel reading, Jesus tells Nicodemus that faith is a matter of being reborn. “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” Jesus says. Nicodemus misunderstands. So Jesus says: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” In other words, faith is the work of God the Holy Spirit in us. Poor Nicodemus is still confused. So he asks, “How can these things be?” But a how question is not the right question. So Jesus points him—and us—to the what.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Faith is holding on to and trusting in the love of God, the love that gave His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to the world. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Faith is hanging on to and clinging to that love, no matter how strange or difficult things in our lives may seem.

So Jesus gives Nicodemus an example from their own history: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Remember the story? The Israelites were on their way through the wilderness to the Promised Land. As they were accustomed to do, they were rebelling against God and complaining about the bleak wilderness they were in. So God sent poisonous snakes among them. When the snakes bit the people, the people started to die. Then they came to their senses and repented. So God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it up on a pole. That serpent on the pole would be their deliverance and healing. Whoever was bitten and looked at that serpent would live.

Now God could have simply gotten rid of the snakes. But He wanted to save His people through faith. He wanted them to believe Him and take Him at His word that if they looked up to that serpent on the pole, they would live.

Now, of course, that serpent on the pole was a sign that pointed ahead to something much greater. It pointed to the love that God showed to a rebellious world. It pointed to the Son of Man who was lifted up on the Cross. And whoever looks to this Cross will see God’s love wrapped up in flesh and blood—our very deliverance and healing from sin and death. Whoever believes in Him—holding on to Him, clinging to Him—should not perish but have eternal life.

Now God could have simply snapped His fingers and rid the world of sin and death. But He wanted to save us through faith. He wanted—and still wants—us to believe Him and take Him at His word that when we look to His only-begotten Son, we will live.

So, what is faith? Faith is believing the greatest miracle and teaching of all—that God loved the world in such a way that He sent His Son to suffer and die for all, so that we can have life in Him. It’s a life we were given when we were born anew and born from above by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism. It’s a life that He puts into us every time we eat our Lord’s flesh and drink His blood in the Holy Supper. It’s a life that will keep and preserve us, no matter how difficult or trying our lives may be. It’s eternal life even now, life that will continue into the eternal kingdom that He has prepared for us.

Nicodemus may not have received all the answers he was looking for. We may not receive all the answers we look for either. That’s why faith is not chiefly about understanding. So we simply believe, hold on to, and cling to the love of God that He has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord—a love lifted up on the Cross and raised from the dead. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!” That’s why faith simply cries out: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

Homily for the Day of Pentecost - 2017

"Speaking the Wonderful Works of God"
Acts 2:1-21, with 2:22-39

Listen here.

First, we heard how the Holy Spirit came with the visible signs of a rushing mighty wind and divided tongues as of fire. But these were not the main miracles of Pentecost. Then, we heard about the apostles speaking in other tongues [languages], as the Spirit gave them utterance, and each one was hearing them speak in his own language. What were they speaking and hearing? The amazed congregation gives the answer. They said, “We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” That's the real miracle of Pentecost.

Now, to Peter’s sermon. This is the Peter who once acted like a bull in a china shop when he wanted to protect Jesus from suffering and dying. After that Peter acted like a cowardly lion when he denied knowing Jesus not just once, not just twice, but three times. Now, on Pentecost Day, we see him turned into a confident prophet of God, boldly speaking the mighty works of God. What changed him? Jesus’ forgiveness and the Holy Spirit! He tells the congregation that, no, the apostles are not drunk. After all, 9:00 in the morning is a bit too early for “happy hour”! Then he quotes his sermon text from the prophet Joel.

Peter proclaims that Joel’s prophecy is now fulfilled. God promised to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. That He did on Pentecost. What a miracle! Joel said that sons and daughters, young and old, would proclaim God’s Word. Christians have been faithfully proclaiming the Gospel for nearly 2000 years now. What a miracle! Joel said, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The Holy Spirit has been working that faith for centuries. That’s the miracle of Pentecost—speaking and hearing the mighty works of God and being saved by them!

But Peter knew it would be a travesty and a tragedy to give a sermon without preaching Jesus. Peter knew that his congregation on that famous Pentecost Day needed to hear the mighty works that God had done through His Son Jesus Christ. You see, Peter paid attention to Jesus. On the night when He was betrayed, Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn. 14:26). Peter knew that a sermon that does not give you Jesus and what He says and does is not a sermon from the Holy Spirit. It’s not a Christian sermon if it does not have Christ at the center for you.

Here’s how Peter preached Jesus, on the first Pentecost Day and for you here today: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it” (Acts 2:22-24). After Peter showed from the Old Testament Psalms how Jesus would rise again from the dead, he boldly proclaimed, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32).

Through Peter’s sermon, God the Holy Spirit performs two great miracles. First, He cuts like a knife as He shows you your sin, and second, He gives you the healing medicine of Jesus and His forgiveness. Peter concluded his Pentecost sermon with these words: “God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).

So, what does all of this mean for you? You might think or say, “We were not there when they crucified the Lord.” Ah, but you were! You may not have been there physically, in space and time, but it was your sins that put Jesus on the cross. Your every ill thought of another person, your every hurtful action, and your every word meant to get even--they all put Jesus on the cross. Your every excuse for missing out on hearing God’s Word in church put Jesus on the bloody tree. Your every neglect of calling on God in time of need, of praying, praising, and giving thanks—they pierced His hands and feet. Your every worry and mistrust of God, even all the times you don’t even think about God--they all led to the perfect Son of God shedding His blood and dying in your place. And yet “God has made Him…this Jesus whom you crucified—yes, you sitting right here today, listening to these words of God in your own language—God has made [this Jesus] both Lord and Christ.”

Here is the miracle of Pentecost. “When they heard this, they were cut to the heart.”  After all, God’s Word is sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12), sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37) Notice how the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God as it’s proclaimed. Peter preaches, and his hearers come to repentance. The Holy Spirit still works that way. When you hear the Word of God, the Holy Spirit brings you to repentance. The Holy Spirit leads you to say, “Oh, no! Look what I’ve done! I’ve sinned against God Himself! What shall I do?” It’s a wonderful work of God!

Peter does not leave the congregation in the throes of despair. He does not tell them to shape up or ship out. He does not even tell them, “Just try harder.” Listen to what Peter says, and, yes, take comfort from it: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness your of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). This is the mighty work of God! This is the chief miracle of Pentecost! The Holy Spirit comes to you through God’s Word proclaimed to you and through the waters of your Baptism. Yes, your Baptism is your personal Pentecost. In your Baptism, the Holy Spirit gives you a new life. He gives you a new way of thinking about God, about yourself, and about your sin. Because Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose the third day, you are now pure and perfect and holy. Now you are forgiven and free. The Holy Spirit brings you that message. Through that Good News the Holy Spirit makes you alive. That’s the mighty work of God for you!

In his Large Catechism Dr. Martin Luther explained the Holy Spirit’s work this way: “Neither you nor I could ever know anything about Christ, or believe on Him, and have Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel. The work of redemption is done and accomplished. Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by his suffering, death, resurrection, and so on. But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew about it, then it would be useless and lost. So that this treasure might not stay buried, but be received and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed. In the Word He has the Holy Spirit bring this treasure home and make it our own” (II:38; Concordia, 403).

The Holy Spirit enables your pastor to proclaim the life-giving, soul-sustaining Word to you. The Holy Spirit enables you to hear in your own language the wonderful works of God forgiving you in Christ. What a wonderful miracle that you can hear these words from your Lord Jesus: “I forgive you all your sins.”

And the Holy Spirit enables you to speak these same wonderful, mighty works of God to people around you. We have an easy enough time talking about how the Cardinals are doing or the recent rains and flooding or even the latest terror attack in London. Well, what do you say we take just as much pride and ease—perhaps even more—in talking about and remembering the sacrifice our Lord Jesus made for us on the cross? What do you say we remember how easy it is to talk about Christ and His mighty works of saving us from sin and death? After all, you have received the Holy Spirit. Now, you too can speak the mighty works of God in your language and with your very own tongue! Amen.

Homily for Easter 5 (Cantate) - 2017

"The Next Big Thing"
John 16:5-15

Listen here.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In 2007, Apple came out with a really big thing—the iPhone. People stood in line—camped in line—for hours just to buy the very first smart phone. The first iPhone was so big that Apple sold 270,000 iPhones in the first 30 hours of sales. Four years later, came “the next big thing”—Samsung’s marketing campaign for its smart phones. And so big are all of these “next big things” that smart phones are, well, almost omni-present in our lives and culture today.

Today on the church’s calendar, we turn our attention to a “next big thing” of a completely different sort—a much more meaningful “next big thing,” a truly eternal “next big thing.” Back on the Third Sunday of Advent we had the joyous anticipation of Christmas—God the Father sending His only-begotten Son into the world. Back on the Fourth Sunday in Lent we had the joyous anticipation of Easter—the Son of God sacrificing Himself for us in His crucifixion and bringing life and immortality to light through His resurrection. Today, on this Fifth Sunday of Easter, we get the joyous anticipation of “the next big thing”—the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Teller and Teacher of Truth. In fact, He is the best and most perfect “next big thing,” the best and most perfect gift that comes from above, “coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

This is what Jesus is telling His disciples in our Gospel reading. These words are part of His last conversation with them before the final ordeal of His suffering and death for the sins of the world. Before those dark hours of His departure, Jesus promised them that the Helper would come. The Helper, the Holy Spirit, would come only after Jesus completed His work of saving the world from sin, death, and the devil. Once Jesus removed the curse on the world, once He forgave the sins of all, then “the next big thing”—the Holy Spirit—would come. He would come to help Jesus’ followers and to provide the answer to the world’s greatest need.

Now, you would think that the people of the world would be glad to receive the offered help and deliverance. But, alas, not so! As Jesus told His disciples and still tells us: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you…. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God” (John 15:18, 20; 16:2).

And how did the disciples react when Jesus warned them of these things? They were disappointed. They were sad. They were despondent. They wanted to retreat. They were no longer concerned about Jesus’ future. So Jesus said, “Now I am going to Him who sent me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’” (John 16:5). The disciples were concerned only about themselves. And so sorrow filled their hearts.

It’s not so different with us, is it? As Jesus’ followers today, we’ve been given a work that goes beyond just our everyday lives, a work that goes beyond just our service to other people. We actually have the privilege of helping other people become followers of Jesus too. But we often lose interest in that task. Often we are not concerned about it. We often lack the courage to speak up. We often find it much easier to talk about anything else—the weather, the flooding, the news, the Blues, the Cardinals—rather than talk about the hope and faith that fills us. So we need Someone to inspire us, Someone to help us, Someone to speak for us.

You see, going against the opposition of the world and the powers of darkness is a lot like soldiers equipped with bows and arrows marching against an army that has jets, tanks, and machine guns. It seems like such an impossible task. But Jesus says we have Someone to help us. That Someone is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Helper. He is the One who counsels and assists us. He is the One who intervenes and supports us. He is the One who is able to overcome the world.

This is why Jesus says, “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). You see, once Jesus finished His work of suffering and dying for the world’s sins, He had to rise from the dead to bring life. He also had to return to His heavenly glory in order to share and distribute the gifts of His work with all people. It would be the work of the Holy Spirit to carry out the sharing and distribution of the Jesus gifts. That’s the real, life-changing, always-meaningful “next big thing.”

And yet, the devil would be allowed to continue his work of promoting unbelief and persuading people to do and live in all sorts of evil and wickedness—for that “little while” that we heard about last week. But the Helper, the Spirit, would be sent forth to work faith and the fruit of faith—things like “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). This is what Jesus promised His disciples. This is still Jesus’ promise to all His followers, including you and me, today.

So Jesus also tells us what to expect from this best and perfect gift—this “next big thing”—of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “when [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). The Spirit’s first work is to “convict the world…concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.” Why is that? Because the world thinks lightly of sin…if they think about it at all. What else do you call killing unborn babies, or committing acts of terrorism, or turning blind eyes to criminal activity, or—most of all—thinking and acting and living like there’s no God, or if there is, like He’s an absentee landlord? But through God’s Word the Holy Spirit shows what sin really is: rebellion against God, not believing in Him. And He shows what lies at the bottom of all sins: unbelief, that is, rejection of what Jesus has done to save us, and that continuing in unbelief eventually leads to eternal doom.

The Spirit’s second work, Jesus says, is to “convict the world…concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.” This work is most necessary. You see, the world’s idea of “righteousness” is a false one. The world sees people who appear good and charitable and respectable, and says, “That’s righteousness!” But that’s not all that God wants of people. In fact, because of sin, any and all of these outward achievements falls far short of what God seeks. God wants righteousness before Him. And righteousness before Him is possibly only through Jesus, who suffered and died to take away our sin and make us right before God once again. That right relationship—that righteousness—is a gift from God when the Holy Spirit creates and sustains faith in Jesus.

The third work of the Holy Spirit is to “convict the world…concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” It really is most distressing to see so much of the devil’s work in the world—the murders, the immorality, the conflicts, and many other evils. But “the ruler of this world is judged.” Our Lord Jesus conquered him when He died on the cross. Our Lord Jesus conquered him and the power of death when He rose from the grave.  The devil may try his hardest to rant and rave and sow his chaos. But he is like a mean Rottweiler on a chain. He and his evil minions are restricted until the Day of Judgment. At that time Satan and all who belong to him will be rejected forever from God’s presence.

This is the work of the Spirit of Truth—to convict and convince the world and bring the message of Truth to all people. It’s a message of sin and judgment. But it’s also the answer to sin and judgment. It’s the Good News of forgiveness and life through faith in Jesus Christ.

And the Spirit doesn’t just bring the message of Truth to us. He also strengthens us in the Truth. He also nurtures us in the life of love. He gives us the new birth in the waters of Baptism. He comforts, sustains, and strengthens us by feeding us the nourishing food of Jesus’ Body and Blood.

Our Father in heaven has indeed given us every good and perfect gift for body and soul, for faith and life. But the best “next big thing” and the most perfect gift of all is the Holy Spirit. He comforts us by bringing us to Jesus, by filling us with His Truth and Life, by inspiring us to share that Truth and Life with others until the Last Day. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.” Amen.

Homily for Lent 4 Evening Prayer

"Re-creation--Third Article"
Apostles' Creed, Third Article
(fifth in a catechetical series)

The art of living by faith starts to see a certain modus operandi—way of operating—on God’s part. God’s way of operating opens our eyes to see Him at work in our world and within our lives. This art of living by faith then leads us to receive and embrace God’s gifts as our very own.

We’ve seen this over the past couple of weeks. We’ve seen how our God and Creator remains present and active in His creation. Despite our ongoing misuse and abuse of it, He keeps His creation going. We’ve also seen how God comes into the world to be active and present in a very unique way—as an embodied human being. He does this in order to rid His creation of the sin and evil that Satan and we humans brought into it. Now, God comes to be present and active in another way. Now, He brings His creation to fulfillment as the result of Jesus’ saving work. This time, God sends His Holy Spirit into us, into our bodies. He does this to renew and remake us for the new age and the new world to come. It’s the re-creation taught the Third Article.

This week we come to the divine breath that breathes the life of God into His creation. As we saw with our Lord Jesus, this is not the first time that the Spirit has been present and active in the world. The Holy Spirit was there in the beginning, hovering over the waters of creation like the wings of a mother bird spread out over her chicks and gathering them to herself. The Spirit was there piling up the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites might pass through. The Spirit was there appointing, guiding, and equipping Israel’s prophets, priests, and kings as God’s plan of redemption unfolded. The Spirit was there at Jesus’ baptism anointing, appointing, and identifying Jesus as God’s prophet, priest, and king for all time—all wrapped up in one person. And now the Spirit of God’s Son (Gal. 4:6) brings God’s gifts to us and gives us life. “For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation” (SC, Sac. of Altar).

The Old Testament word for Spirit is ruach, which means breath, wind, or spirit. The New Testament word for Spirit is pneuma, which also means breath, wind, or spirit. This Greek word gives us English words such as “pneumatic gun,” which simply means “air gun.” And in Latin the term is spiritus. When medical people say that someone has “expired”—that is, they have died—it simply means that the breath has left them. So, it’s not surprising, then, that God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is identified in the Nicene Creed as “the Lord of Life.”

That’s what breath does. It enlivens. It animates. It creates movement. When God breathed into Adam, he “became a living creature” (Gen. 2:7), a living, moving being. In the Bible, to be living means to be moving. If you are not moving, you are dead. One time, an x-ray technician x-rayed a woman in her nineties who was vibrant and alive. The technician asked, “What is your secret to life?” The woman answered, “Keep moving!” Think about it. If you stop moving, you’re dead. And nothing animates us like our breath.

So how does the Spirit give us new and eternal life? By speaking words carried on the breath of others. When we speak, we breathe, and we utter words within the breath. God is present and active by speaking with us. This is not new; God has been speaking from the beginning. Dr. Robert Kolb even describes the God of the Bible as a “chatterbox.” God begins talking and does not stop talking. And His speaking does what it says. Think about it. God speaks and a blue planet appears. God speaks and trees and flowers appear. God speaks and fish, birds, and animals appear. God speaks and His creation bursts forth with abundant life. God speaks and His Son enters the world as the Word of God made flesh.

And now God speaks yet again—as the Holy Spirit. He speaks life-giving, re-creating words to us. What are these words? They are words that say, “You are forgiven. God has justified you. God has welcomed you home. You are a new creation of God!” These words are promises of God for us now and into eternity. God speaks them. God stands behind them.

These promises seek to engender and strengthen faith. They seek to arouse faith that embraces God’s gifts and does a happy dance for them. Consider this: why do we make promises to other people? What do we hope to accomplish by making a promise or giving our word? I suspect that we are trying to give other people confidence and faith that we will do as we say. Think of the best known example: promises made at the wedding altar. The bride and groom speak their vows, their promises, to each other. They promise to be there for each other “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” The purpose of the promise is to give the spouse confidence and joy. So it is with God. He promises to engender faith. Promise and faith go hand in hand. This is the relationship God establishes with us—speaking and hearing, promising and believing.

What does this mean for the art of living by faith? It means we get to live by those words of promise that God makes to us. We cling to those words. We cherish them in our hearts. Our faith is not directed inward, toward our feelings or emotions. No, our faith is directed outward, outside of ourselves. It clings to a word that is spoken from outside of us, a word that breaks into our lives. Do you remember the first time a high school or college sweetheart uttered the words, “I love you”? Did you repeat them over and over to yourself? Did it give you a new outlook or new lease on the future? That and so much more is what happens as faith receives and clings to the promises of God. Faith is the new life, the re-creation, that the Spirit breathes into our bodies and into our cold, lifeless hearts.

Where do we find these life-giving words and promises of God? We find them on the lips and tongues of fellow Christians—our parents, our spouses, our pastors, our teachers. Just as God works through His creatures to bestow the gifts of food and water upon us, and just as God worked through the human body of Jesus to accomplish salvation for us, so the Spirit does His speaking through human creatures. Yes, they are the very creatures who once rejected God’s words, but they now become His mouthpieces. We are the people who have heard God’s promises. We have been gathered by those promises. Now we speak those promises to others. Pastors do so as their full-time calling. Others do it as part of their vocation in the world as parents, citizens, employers, or employees. It’s why Luther can speak of the church as both a creature of the Word, gathered by the Word, and as a “mouth-house” where the Word of God is spoken.

But aren’t these plain, ordinary people? How can ordinary people do the extra-ordinary thing of bringing the life-bestowing Word of God to others? This is how God works. Plants are ordinary, but by God’s blessing they convert the sun’s energy through photosynthesis into food that we can eat—an extraordinary process and gift. So also with people.

The art of living by faith sees the pastor speaking words of forgiveness and hope. It perceives the parent speaking words of forgiveness and hope. It hears the Christian friend speaking a word of forgiveness and comfort. All of this as God Himself speaking to us. As Jesus said, “The one who hears you hears Me” (Luke 10:16). In these words faith perceives the voice of the Holy Spirit. Faith perceives the Word of God making the water of Baptism into a life-giving water rich in God’s grace. Faith perceives Jesus’ words bestowing His Body and Blood in, with, and under the bread and wine.

God’s commitment and faithfulness to us, His rebellious people, is truly remarkable. Just as the Spirit hovered over the waters of creation (Genesis 1), He now hovers over the waters of Baptism, creating and gathering a new people to Himself. God breathed the creating breath of life into us when He first created us, making us living creatures (Genesis 2). Now the Holy Spirit has breathed and continues breathing into us not just the breath of life, but also the breath of eternal life. Amen.

Homily for the Day of Pentecost

"What Does This Mean?"
Genesis. 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21; John 14:23-31

Listen here.

“‘We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.’ And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’” It’s that famous question we Lutherans have learned to love so well, especially as we’ve learned the Catechism. “What does this mean?” It’s an excellent question. It’s what the Christian faith is all about. You see, faith in Christ is not a matter of knowing about Jesus. No, faith is a matter of receiving what Jesus says and does for you. It’s one thing to know about medication. It’s quite another to receive the dose of medicine that the doctor gives.

And that’s what Pentecost Day is all about too. It’s one thing to know the story of and about Jesus and His dying and rising. It’s quite another thing to have that good news given to you so that you trust it and cling to it. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. He teaches you to say, “What does this mean?” to the wonders of God’s salvation in Jesus.

The Tower of Babel: What Does This Mean?
If we want to get a handle on Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, we need to go back in time. It happened about 100 years after Noah navigated the Flood, after the water had receded and the dry land appeared once again. Off in a plain called Shinar, a region called Babylon—today we call it Iraq—they built a tower. Who is “they”? Ambitious people; people trying to find purpose and meaning in life; people just like us. They had great technology; they had great man-power; they had great ingenuity. They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens.” A skyscraper into the heavens. A temple shrine for a top floor suite. An architect’s dream. A contractor’s masterpiece.

But there was one problem. Why did they build it? They said with their own lips: “let us make a name for ourselves.” Just like you and I, they wanted to protect their reputations. Just like you and I, they wanted to be known for their accomplishments. Just like you and I, they thought they knew best how to be their own gods or how best to get to God. But, you see, they could never get to God. No tower can go high enough. No person can get religious enough. But God came down to them! “Look what they can do,” God said. “They can use all their technology, all of their modern ways, to make a name for themselves. They like to rely on themselves. They like to crowd Me out of their lives and their daily activities.” Just like you and I! So, God confused their language and scattered them. For the people of Babel, talking turned to babble. They went their different ways. They talked their different tongues.

What does this mean? Their self-seeking sin separated them from God and from each other. They refused to trust God. Now how would He talk to them? What language would He use? Now they couldn’t even talk to—let alone trust—each other. Just like you and I!

Jesus’ Words on the Spirit: What Does This Mean?
Many centuries later, God would come down yet again to deal with the people of planet earth. This time He would come for a different purpose: to rescue them from their self-seeking sin, to bring them back to Himself, to reunite them with each other. God came down in Jesus, first a baby, then a toddler, then a teenager, then an adult—just like you and me. The night before He would die on the bloody cross, Jesus consoled His grieving disciples: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

What does this mean? Jesus was about to leave. Someone else would come. That Someone Else would be the Holy Spirit. What would He do? He would comfort Jesus’ disciples by reminding them of everything Jesus said and did. Jesus also said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.” Jesus gives and delivers His cross-won peace through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Martin Luther proclaimed it this way in 1532: “This is surely a most excellent comfort, so that no Christian need ever wonder—whether he’s from Jerusalem, Rome, or wherever on earth, outside in the field or in the house—how he will ascend into heaven, for it will be so. God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit desires to be with him and make their abode with him. This promise we have here on earth in the Word and experience it in our hearts through faith; but in the life to come it will also finally be fulfilled.” (II:38-39) And what does this mean for your day-to-day life now? Luther continues: “Now, to have God dwelling with us here on earth means nothing else than that all we do, speak, think, and endure will be God pleasing, whether we eat, drink, work, rise up, go to bed, or pray, study, sing, or read; it will all be pleasing to him…. When God dwells with a person, that individual becomes mightier than death, devil, hell, thunder and lightning, and all evil. That is not only a precious comfort but also a wondrous delight and glory” (House Postils, 2:180-81).

Pentecost Day: What Does This Mean?
Now, all this leads up to Pentecost Day. The Lord Jesus had left His Eleven apostles 10 days earlier. In those ten days they had chosen a replacement for Judas. Matthias got their number back to Twelve. Then came the big day: Pentecost—the Fiftieth Day. A loud wind sounded. In the Scriptures “wind” and “Spirit” are the same word. And then came the tongues, tongues of fire. But tongues don’t belong on top of the head. Tongues belong in the mouth. Tongues are for speaking. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Many nationalities and many languages were there. But “each one was hearing them speak in his own language.” Holy Spirit and speaking and hearing—they all go hand in hand.

What does this mean? Blessed Pentecost reverses the curse of Babel. They exclaimed, “‘We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.’” No matter what tongue they spoke, they heard the universal language. What universal language is that? The wonders of God, the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. The languages coming from the Babel curse would now be used for Gospel blessings! Blessed Pentecost also fulfills the promise of the coming Holy Spirit. God promised it centuries earlier through the prophet Joel (2:28): “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy.” Jesus promised the Spirit to His disciples before He went to the cross: “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about Me” (Jn. 15:26).

What does this mean? The Holy Spirit has come and still comes for you. Don’t look for the spectacular, spooky “Holy Ghost” that the Charismatics and Pentecostals portray. And don’t look for the speaking in strange-sounding tongues that the Charismatics and Pentecostals preach so loudly. If anything, that sounds more like Babel that disunites, rather than Pentecost that unites. No, look for the testimony of Jesus. That’s what unites us. He’s your Savior. The wonders of God are Jesus’ perfect life, His innocent suffering, His cruel death, His glorious resurrection and His victorious ascension. God’s wonders in Jesus are your wonderful confidence.

An unknown African preacher in the 6th century gives us a good way to receive the “speaking in tongues”:

Now the love of God was to gather together the Church all over the world. Consequently, while a single man, if he received the Holy Spirit, could speak in every tongue, now the one Church in its unity, which is established by the Holy Spirit, speaks in every tongue.

And so if anyone says to one of us: “You have received the Holy Spirit; why do you not speak in tongues?” he should reply: “I do speak in every tongue. For I am in the body of Christ, the Church, which speaks in every tongue. For what did God signify by the presence of the Holy Spirit if it was not that his Church would speak in every tongue?” (For All the Saints, vol. II, p. 187)

The Holy Spirit has a simple and singular job: He delivers Christ Jesus to you. When Christ is preached for your forgiveness, the Holy Spirit is doing His job. When you are baptized, the Holy Spirit washes you into Christ’s death and resurrection. When you confess your sins and hear spoken forgiveness, the Holy Spirit enlivens you with the Word. When you eat and drink Christ’s Body and Blood, the Holy Spirit sanctifies your mouth and body with Jesus’ perfect life and soothing forgiveness. When the Holy Spirit is doing His work, you won’t focus on Him, but on Savior Jesus.

What does all of this mean? “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” Amen.
 

Homily for the Day of Pentecost

"The Pentecost Harvest"
Acts 2:1-21 & John 14:23-31

Listen here.

If you want to know who the Holy Spirit is and what He does, don’t listen to the Pentecostals or the Charismatics. They get it all wrong. They insist that the Holy Spirit is somehow in business for Himself, making a name for Himself, doing His own thing, making us ooh and aah over unusual things like hearing unknown, babbling languages. Instead, if you truly want to know who the Holy Spirit is and what He does, listen to Jesus. He says, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” No “Lone-Ranger” Holy Spirit there! With Father and Son, He is God, and He works in concert with the Father and the Son. And His number one work is to point you to Jesus.

Jesus also says, “When the Helper comes, who I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me” (Jn. 15:26). The Holy Spirit is God, comes from God, and testifies about our Lord Jesus and His salvation. Jesus also says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you” (Jn. 16:13-14). Nope, no “Lone-Ranger,” independent contractor work for the Holy Spirit! Instead, He comes to guide you into the Truth—and Truth has a name; His name is Jesus. The Spirit takes the things of Jesus—His forgiveness, His life, and His salvation—and He declares them to you.

If you want to know what this Day of Pentecost is all about, again, don’t listen to the Pentecostals or the Charismatics. They focus on the out-of-the-ordinary “mighty rushing wind” and the “divided tongues as of fire”—as if we should expect those same spectacular things actually to benefit us in our normal, non-spectacular lives today. They miss the point! If you truly want to know what this Day of Pentecost is all about, listen to God in His Word.

This “Day of Pentecost” is also called “The Feast of Pentecost.” It comes straight from the Old Testament, and it reminds us of a festival, or feast, God gave for a fiftieth day (The word “pentecost” means fifty.). St. Paul speaks of questions of festivals and Sabbaths and then says, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Col. 2:17). Just as the Holy Spirit does, those Old Testament feasts and festivals—including Pentecost—point us to Christ Jesus Himself.

Let’s start with the biggie of Old Testament feasts—the Feast of Passover. About 1500 years before Jesus, God was about to lead His people out of Egyptian slavery. He told Moses how to celebrate a feast for this deliverance. Take a lamb. Slit its throat. Paint the blood on the doorposts, so that the Angel of Death would pass over the homes and the people could live. Roast the lamb. Eat it, all of it, with a meal that rehearses the Lord’s mighty acts of rescuing His people from slavery. And celebrate this feast every year.

When Jesus comes to deliver us from our slavery to sin and death, He actually comes as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). He is slain when He is nailed to the cross. And that happens on Passover. His blood covers us so that we may live and not see eternal death. And, on the night when He is betrayed, when He celebrates the Passover meal with His disciples, He even gives us His Body and His Blood for us to eat and to drink and thus live in His mighty acts of rescuing us from sin, death, and the devil. And we get to celebrate this new, Christian “passover meal,” not just once a year, but every Lord’s Day and at other times. Jesus fulfills the Old Testament Passover feast for us. “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7).

Close on the heels of Passover came another ancient feast: the Feast of Firstfruits. At the same time of the year as Passover—late March or early April—during the same week as Passover, God’s people living in God’s Promised Land would see the first fruits in their wheat and barley fields. God told Moses to tell the people: “You shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted” (Lev. 23:10-11). Along with this ritual action of waving the sheaves that God had given, God’s people would offer sacrifices of thanksgiving—lambs and grain and wine—and would feast on the Lord’s goodness. After this Feast of Firstfruits, every household in Israel could enjoy the new harvest. It joined together their “eating of ordinary meals at home with sacred meals at the sanctuary” (Kleinig, Leviticus, 502).

Jesus fulfills the Passover Feast in His death on the cross. He also fulfills the Feast of Firstfruits in His resurrection, at the same time of year, in the same week, on the third day. For several weeks now, we’ve been celebrating what St. Paul boldly proclaimed: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). The first fruits of the wheat field give hope and promise that more fruits, more heads of grain, will soon follow. Christ Jesus is the first fruits of all of us who are bound to fall asleep into death. But High Priest Jesus waves the first fruits of His resurrection for all to see—you, me, all people, even God the Father. More resurrections are sure to come—for you, for me, for all who trust Jesus for forgiveness, life, and salvation. “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (1 Cor. 15:21-23). “Jesus’ resurrection marked the beginning of the harvest time that will not end until the close of the age” (Kleinig, Leviticus, 509).

Now we’re ready for the Feast called Pentecost—the feast of day fifty, also called the feast of weeks. In the Old Testament—fifty days after Passover; that is, seven weeks after Passover—the people would once again bring their sheaves of wheat for the priest to wave as an offering. These sheaves now came from the full harvest. God had made the fields fruitful. God had provided for them from His land. God had caused the harvest. Now His people could enjoy God’s mighty works of providing for them.

How does our Lord Jesus fulfill the Feast of Pentecost? He keeps His promise to send the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit manifests Himself on Pentecost, Jesus’ disciples begin speaking in various normal and down-to-earth languages. And what do they speak? “The mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11)--His works of saving and forgiving us sinners through the death and resurrection of Jesus. When the Holy Spirit manifests Himself on Pentecost, God is causing a harvest—a harvest of people who hear the mighty, saving works of God in Christ Jesus in their own languages, a harvest of people who rejoice in Jesus’ death and resurrection for them, a harvest of people who live in the new life of Jesus. That harvest is YOU and all Christians. “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). Welcome to the Pentecost harvest! “At Pentecost God the Father poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Christ. He did not give them the blessings of a bountiful harvest from the land, but conveyed the firstfruits of the Spirit to them as his priests through the risen Lord Jesus” (Kleinig, Leviticus, 509).

You, and I, and all who hear and receive the Gospel of Jesus ARE the harvest. “God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). And God the Holy Spirit—along with the Father and the Son—will bring in the full harvest on the Last Day. You, and I, and all who hear and receive the Gospel of Jesus “have been redeemed from mankind” and are “firstfruits for God and the Lamb” (Rev. 14:4). That’s what Pentecost is all about, and that’s who the Holy Spirit is and what He does FOR YOU. Amen.

Homily for Easter 7 - Exaudi

"The Spirit, Your Comforter"
John 15:26-16:4

Listen here.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Today we come to the end of the “week of Sundays." This is now the seventh week of celebrating the joys of Christ’s victory over the grave, over every deadly thing that separates us from our God who loves us. We’ve been enjoying the life that He gives as He restores us to life with God. But now we need comfort, just as the disciples did.

Jesus’ words in our Gospel reading actually come from the night before He would die. He told His disciples that He must leave them. He said that where He was about to go, they could not follow. Jesus leave them? What were they supposed to do? How would they carry on without Him? Since we celebrated Jesus’ Ascension on Thursday, we might be tempted to think that Jesus has left us too. Jesus’ answer is simple: “When the Helper/Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.” Just as Jesus comforted His disciples with the promised Holy Spirit, He also comforts you by sending His Spirit.

How we need some comfort these days! No, not just “some comfort”—A LOT of comfort! News reports of Christians being persecuted in far off lands continue to confront us—and rightly so. After all, our brothers and sisters in Christ are teaching us to remain faithful even in the midst of suffering. In our own land, we Christians are seen more and more as the problem to be remedied and the enemy to be vanquished. The hour is coming, and is now here, when many think ostracizing and marginalizing Christians is actually offering service to God. Well, not to the true God, but it is offering service—praise and worship—to false gods such as immediate gratification and self-chosen pleasures. As Jesus warns: “they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”

But Jesus does not tell us these things to frighten us or to lead us to constant hand-wringing. No, Jesus says “all these things to keep you from falling away.” After all, as He said, if they hated Him, they’ll hate His Christians. If they persecuted Him, they’ll also persecute His Christians. If they executed Him, they’ll also execute His Christians. And, no, I don’t mention these things to frighten you or lead you to constant hand-wringing either. No, this is all about how our Lord would comfort us. Peter said it well as he echoed our Lord’s words: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Pet. 4:12-14). It’s all about how our Lord comforts us with His Spirit—“the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father.”

When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He was preparing them for that little “in-between time”—that time when He would leave them to go the cross. But He would come back to them in the resurrection on the third day. And then He would leave them again—for “a little while”—when He would ascend to God’s right hand. And with those first twelve disciples, we’re still in that “in-between time” before our Lord comes again. The difference is, we have the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. His cross and His shed blood forgive all our doubts and apprehensions. His victory over the grave gives us confidence and hope—and comfort.

That comfort comes not in the form of a cozy, warm blanket that you put on your bed. It does not come in the form of a comfy chair in which you relax to watch TV. It does not come in the form of “comfort food,” whether chocolate or something called “Southern Comfort.” No, the comfort that Jesus gives is very mighty and very fortifying. “When the [Comforter] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.”

Our word “comfort” actually comes from two Latin words. Put together those two Latin words literally mean “strengthen together” or “fortify together.” Instead of cozy warm blankets or soothing chocolates that melt in your mouth, think body builder’s muscle. Or, better yet, think of a towering castle wall, as in “a mighty fortress.” Our Lord’s “comfort” comes through His Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

And how does the Spirit of Truth, the divine Comforter—the divine Fortifier—strengthen you together as Jesus’ disciples? He bears witness about Jesus. He teaches you all things and brings to your remembrance all that Jesus has said and done for you. He gives you the peace of sins forgiven that the world cannot give (see John 14:26-27). He also convicts you and the world of sin. He convinces you that Jesus has come from the Father, has won your salvation, and has returned to the Father. And He convinces you that the ruler of this world—the old evil foe himself—has been judged and awaits his sentence (see John 16:8-11). Now that strengthens. That fortifies. That gives comfort.

The Holy Spirit helps and comforts you by fortifying you, by nourishing you, by transforming you, and by renewing your strength. In your Baptism, you have received new life by being joined to Christ in His death and resurrection. You have been reborn, born anew into life with God. In your Baptism, your Lord says to you: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you” (Ezek. 36:25).

But you cannot live that new life without constant care or sustenance. Just as no infant can care for himself/herself, no child of God can care for himself/herself. The Holy Spirit comes to give you the love and food of Jesus Christ. And not only that, but He also protects you from things that you may not know or understand. Not only do you need protection from the obvious problems in life, but you also need it from the spiritual assaults that you cannot see coming. So the Holy Spirit feeds and nourishes you, protects and defends you as God’s holy and dearly loved children. He gives you a new heart. He puts a new spirit within you. He removes your heart of stone, and He gives you a heart of flesh—flesh that lives with God and from His Word.

The Holy Spirit feeds and protects you in ways that you cannot see but can only believe. When the Holy Spirit feeds you on Holy Communion, you cannot see that you are actually receiving Christ’s life-giving Body and Blood. But you believe it, and so you receive the nourishment and immortality that the Spirit gives there. When the Holy Spirit protects you with the word of forgiveness, you cannot see Jesus speaking that word to you. Yet you believe that the pastor’s forgiveness is Christ’s forgiveness, and thus you receive the Spirit’s defense and protection given there.

Our Lord Jesus says, “the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.” Where does this testifying take place? Not in a courtroom. Not in a congressional hearing. Not in a baseball stadium or a movie theater. But right here, in the Church, right here where the Gospel and Sacraments are delivered to you. Here you have the Spirit’s comforting, strengthening, fortifying testimony. No, He does not necessarily give you a warm feeling in your heart. But He certainly does testify that you have received and still receive the life of the Lord Jesus. He does testify that Jesus’ life shapes you and renews you in the life that you have from birth. And by this testimony, the Spirit feeds and fortifies the Lord’s life in you so that you may continue to grow and mature until the day when your renewal is complete.

Just as Jesus comforted His disciples with the promised Holy Spirit, He also comforts you by sending His Spirit. So, with the Holy Spirit not only working for you, but also working in you, you can be bold and say with certain confidence: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1). Amen.

Homily for Easter 5 - Cantate

"The Truth, the Spirit, and You"
John 16:5-15

Listen here.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Remember what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit: “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.” (Jn. 16:13-14)

We’re still celebrating the Easter season and our Lord’s Resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. By His own death He has conquered death. He gives life to all in the tomb, and all heading toward the tomb. Our Lord brings forgiveness for sins and life in the face of death. He has defeated our worst enemies—sin, death, and Satan. So how do you live with such good news? How do you live in such glorious comfort and hope? How do you walk through life as God’s holy people? Here’s why Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches you the Truth, who is Christ, to comfort and sustain you.

I. What is Truth?
Just before he sentenced Jesus to be crucified, Pontius Pilate asked the question: “What is truth?” Little did he know that Truth—Truth Incarnate, the Son of God in the flesh—was standing right there in front of him. And we enlightened 21st century Americans are not that much different from Pilate. Our society teaches us to ask “What is truth?”—and in the same skeptical way that Pilate asked. We think that truth is in the eye of the beholder. You have your truth, and I have my truth, as they say. But this is a big lie.

Sadly, we in the Church start believing this lie. We might say it this way: “You believe what you want, and I’ll believe what I want.” Or we might say it this way: “That’s your interpretation of the Bible. My interpretation is this….” Or when the pastor gives us God’s Truth from the pulpit, and we don’t like it, we might say, “Well, that’s just his opinion.” We really should be ashamed of ourselves for believing and promoting lies like this. My, how we love to exchange God’s Truth for society’s lies!

The Truth of God is very simple. The Truth of God says, “All mankind are liars” (Ps. 116:11)--yes, that includes men and women, girls and boys. The Truth of God also says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Yes, that means all of us. The Truth of God also says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks after God” (Rom. 3:10-11). Yes, that includes you and me. The Truth of God tells us to “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness” (Jas. 1:21), because that filthiness and wickedness comes from us…and that’s the truth!

But the Truth of God is very simple in another way too. The Truth of God is Jesus Christ Himself—Truth in the Flesh. What does Jesus, very Truth in the Flesh tell us? He tells us to be comforted. He tells us that we are “justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). The Truth of God tells us that “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). Truth also tells us this: “If while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:10). What wonderful and glorious Truth we have in our Lord Jesus Christ! That’s what Truth is.

II. What does the Spirit do?
God cares for His Truth very much. He wants you and me to embrace His Truth. You see, people’s lives – your lives and my life – depend on God’s Truth. So God wants us to hear His Truth correctly. He knows that all of the personal, private interpretations so popular today only confuse. That’s why our Lord Jesus sends the Holy Spirit. As Jesus told His disciples, He also tells us: “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth….” The Holy Spirit’s “job” is to guide His people, His Church, into God’s Truth. He doesn’t just float around and give some kind of warm-fuzzy, spine-tingling, feel-good experiences. He doesn’t just sit around waiting to zap us with a language that no one else understands. The Spirit’s “job” is this: to direct our minds and hearts to Jesus, the Truth of God. When we focus on Jesus and trust Him, the Spirit is doing His work. And when we have life in the Risen Lord, we get to see that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17). How did Jesus say it? “He [the Spirit] will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.”

Jesus tells us how the Spirit guides us into all Truth. He convicts and convinces “the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” First, the Spirit must show us our sin. He must convict us of our own unbelief, our own ways of thumbing our nose at God and living by our own sinful desires. Second, the Spirit convinces us that Jesus died to forgive our sins, and He lives to give us life with God. You don’t need to make God like you. He already loves you, and He sent His Son to show the great depths of His love. Third, the Spirit keeps reminding us that Satan is defeated. He may tempt us; he may trouble us; but our Lord has conquered the old evil foe. The Truth of God always shields us from Satan’s attacks.

III. What does this mean for you?
The most important thing this means for you is that the Holy Spirit is always doing His “job.” He is always leading the Church as a whole and all Christians individually into the Truth, that is, into Christ. Remember how you learn to say it from the Small Catechism: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, and sanctified me in the true faith.” When someone says, “I gave my heart to Jesus,” or “I let Jesus into my heart,” it’s not really accurate. To tell the truth: the Holy Spirit brings you to faith and enlivens you and keeps you in the faith.

The Small Catechism goes on: “In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps [her] with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.” Yes, the Spirit brings you into the Church, and she is your Mother in the Truth. Just as an earthly mother gives birth to her children, the Church gives birth to you and your brothers and sisters in Christ as she proclaims the Truth of Jesus and His mercy and salvation. Just as an earthly mother clothes and feeds her children, your spiritual Mother, the Church, clothes you in the robe of Christ’s righteousness when you are baptized. Then she feeds you on the food of Christ’s Body and Blood to sustain your soul and strengthen your faith. And just as an earthly mother corrects and comforts her children, your spiritual Mother, the Church, the Bride of Christ, corrects you by showing you your sin, and she comforts you by giving you the mercies of God in Christ.

This is why today is called “Cantate,” or “Sing! Sunday.” As we live together in the Truth—the Truth who is Jesus and the life that the Spirit gives—we can’t help but sing. As Colossians 3(:16) says: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Here’s why the Spirit gathers us together in God’s house. When you sing the liturgy and hymns, you sing not just for yourself, but also for those in the pews with you. So, sing the liturgy and those hymns with joy! Sing them with mouths wide open, with throats full of gratitude and praise! The people around you need to hear the Truth Who is Christ. When you say your “Amen” throughout the service, say it like you mean it! “Amen” is your word, your joyous participation in God’s service. Shout out your “Amens”; God loves to hear them! And your neighbor needs to hear them too.

The Spirit of Truth leads us into all Truth—into the crucified and risen Christ. Amen. This is most certainly true.