Easter 5 – 2 May 2021 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from God our father and our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for our meditation is written in the 15^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St John: Verses 1 – 8:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ² He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³ You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

 

In the Gospel reading for today from John 15, Jesus tells us, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Abide in me, and you will bear much fruit. Do not abide in me, and you will not bear fruit. Then you will be like a dead branch that is thrown into the fire and burned.” Obviously, then, it becomes vitally important that we give our attention to this matter of “Abiding in the Vine.” 

Abiding in the vine. It’s the vital Jesus connection. And as we look at our text, we will see that it involves three things: becoming a branch; abiding in the vine; and bearing fruit.

First, becoming a branch. Now on the surface of the thing, this sounds ridiculous. How do you “become” a branch? Either you are or you aren’t. And that’s the point. You can’t make yourself into a branch. By our fallen sinful nature, we are not capable of becoming branches. There is no living connection to the vine. We cut ourselves off from God by our sin, and we can’t glue ourselves back on; there is no living connection.

I’m not an expert on horticulture, but as I understand it, if you try to graft a branch onto a vine or tree, there has to be some sort of match, like to like, a genetic similarity. Some diversity is possible, yes, but there needs to be a certain amount of relatedness, and of course you need to have a living branch to graft. Otherwise, it will not “take.” Likewise with an organ transplant, if there isn’t a relatedness of like to like, the body will reject the tissue.

So this is the problem for us. How can we sinners, and dead sinners at that, get ourselves connected to a holy God? We can’t do it, the graft wouldn’t take. The Lord would reject us outright, and rightfully so.

No, to become a branch, a living branch, God himself must do the connecting, He has to perform a miracle to make us compatible. The core of our unsuitability, our sins, have to be dealt with, so that we are not rejected. This Christ accomplished just a few hours after he spoke the words of our text. It was on the night he was betrayed that Jesus spoke these vine-and-branches words to his disciples. Then they went out to the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and brought to trial. That next day, Good Friday, Jesus paid for all of our sins, and the sins of the whole world, by being nailed to the cross and dying there in our place. Jesus, the holy Son of God, was taking the due punishment for sinners, shedding his holy blood to cleanse us from our sins. His perfect righteousness is accounted to us, and that is what makes us compatible, clean, acceptable to God, and not rejected. It is because of Christ. The gospel of Christ declares it, and we believe it. Jesus tells his disciples “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.”. Christ’s gospel word is powerful to do what it says, and that is, to cleanse us and to make us alive. 

At the font of life, in Holy Baptism, God has connected us to Christ. We have been joined to Jesus in his death and resurrection. Now we are living branches, connected to the vine, Jesus Christ, by God’s gracious action. It’s the Jesus connection, a vital vine-and-branches connection, by which we have become living branches.

Now that we are branches, the main thing for branches is simply to remain connected to the vine. The branches draw their life from the vine, so it is vital, absolutely vital, that they abide in the vine. “Abide in me,”Christ says, “as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”

There is no life or fruitfulness in us unless we remain connected to Christ. Apart from him, we can do nothing. If we do not abide in him, if we let ourselves get disconnected, our life is forfeit, and we are doomed to hell. That’s what Jesus says: “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

How do people get disconnected from Christ? Well, we’ve got the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh tugging at us, trying to cut us off from our Jesus connection. Damage our faith, chop away at that connection, and pretty soon we’re in danger of coming detached. When people distance themselves from church, when they stop coming to church regularly, they are in grave danger, serious danger, of the faith connection being weakened. When people let the devil whisper in their ear, saying you don’t need God, you can be your own God. That’s the story of Adam and Eve, that’s how our first parents got into trouble, wasn’t it. When we let the world around us tempt us away from God, away from Christ and his church, we can lose our faith. The branch loses its connection to the vine, it stops bearing fruit, and it dies. All that is left for the dead branches is to be tossed into the fire of hell, a dreadful prospect.

No, God does not want that for us, He repeatedly demonstrates His gracious love for us. That is why Jesus is speaking these words to us today. Abide in him. Abide in the vine. This is God’s good and gracious will for us.

How do we abide in the vine? By staying connected. Be where the life source is, and that is wherever the Word of God is preached in its truth and purity and the Sacraments are administered according to Christ’s institution. This is how we draw your life from the vine. Christ feeds and nourishes us, supplies us with the life-giving vitality we need to sustain our faith and make us productive. He does this through–He does this only through–his gospel, the means of grace. Sermons, Bible study, preaching and teaching, the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood – here in these means, Christ the vine is supplying us the branches with the grace we need to keep going and growing and being fruitful.

This leads us to our third point, bearing fruit. First was becoming branches. Second was abiding in the vine. Third now is bearing fruit.

“Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit,” our Lord tells us. “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”  How does a branch on a fruit tree bear fruit? Does it do so by trying really hard and resolving to really do a better job of producing fruit from now on? Not at all, all the branch needs to do is to stay connected to the vine, and it will naturally produce fruit.

Now to be sure, from time to time the vinedresser will come around and prune the branch, so that the deadness is trimmed away, so as not to interfere, and the branch thus becomes even more fruitful. This is describing how God works repentance in our life, which may be painful at the time, but it does keep the deadness from setting in and taking over.

Now the thing about a branch bearing fruit is that it doesn’t have to do anything strange or extra in order to bear fruit. It just comes naturally when the branch is drawing its life and its fruitfulness from the vine. There’s that Jesus connection again, which is the key to our being fruitful. Abide in the vine, and you will bear fruit.

What kind of fruit are we talking about? The big thing Jesus has been emphasising in this discourse with his disciples is that they love one another. This is the kind of fruit Jesus’ disciples will produce, that they love one another. This is talking about you and me and it commences right in our congregation, that we love one another. How we speak to one another, how we care for one another, how we look out for the brother or sister who is hurting, physically or emotionally, how we reach out to the one who is missing from our fellowship, or who is weighed down with sin or guilt or depression or distress–this is how love moves into action. Where is the brother or sister who is in need? What are his or her needs? How can I help? How can we help? 

Our congregation, our fellowship of worshippers is where this love grows and matures, and whilst we grow in love there, we are called by Jesus to move out of our comfort zone and take this love our into the world ^{(Luke 5:31) “}Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” This is what it means to love one another.

Again, as always, it is the Jesus connection that is key. We are connected to the vine, and the vine is Jesus. His love flows into us, and then flows out through us to others. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. . . . In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. . . . Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Yes, this is the fruit that living branches, connected to Christ the vine, will bear. We are those living branches, you and I are, and our fruitfulness comes from abiding in the vine. It’s the vital Jesus connection, begun in our baptism, nurtured in God’s Word and the Sacraments, blossoming in love, producing much good fruit, and giving all glory to God. Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

  

ANZAC Day – 25 Apr 2021 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 13th Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans; Verses 1—10:

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. ⁴For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. ⁶This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour. 

    ⁸Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. ⁹The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbour as yourself." ¹⁰Love does no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law. 

 

Let us pray: Father guide the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts that we hear your message to us and serve you according to your will. Amen

 

This very day, ANZAC Day, has its’ origins on the beaches and rugged unforgiving mountainous terrain of Gallipoli in far off Turkey. This was a military campaign that was dammed by poor strategic planning, incompetent leadership at the highest level and an obsessive determination by those allied leaders in power to ‘win at all costs’. This was a military campaign that cost the lives of 7,954 young men and inflicted 26,000 causalities among the original force of 60,000 Australian and New Zealand troops. In short 56% ANZAC causalities and not an inch of territory gained. In fact, a futile action which ended in the only way it could, with an allied tactical withdrawal.

Within the Christian churches in Australia, and indeed across the world, it is common Biblical terminology to proclaim Jesus as the ‘Prince of Peace’. In light of that, there are a number of more fundamental biblical scholars who subsequently contend that Christians should be ‘Peacemakers’ who reject battlefield solutions when facing aggressive oppression. It is true that Jesus teaches us “to pray for and love our enemies and even those who persecute us”, which, as in all Bible passages, must be read in the context of the occasion. But armed with such ‘one liners’, and fuelled by such statistics as those of the Gallipoli Campaign, there are those who challenge the legitimacy of a ‘just war’. That is a war that can be fought in good Christian conscience.  

In theological forums this has been, and still is, an issue of intense debate with little ground given. Whilst I respect the individual’s right to hold an opinion, I also observe the dissenters of military conflict enjoying the great benefits our democratic way of life. 

So where do we stand as Christians on ANZAC Day, do we feel some guilt, are we paying homage to the gods of war, feeling a little proud that “After all we were the winners?”. Are we hero worshipping our conquering gladiators?

It is important here that we get some context as to the Australian and New Zealand involvement in military conflicts over the 20^th and 21^st Centuries. Our involvement in the first and second world wars was initiated by an announcement by the Prime Ministers of the day that as a result of military invasion of allied territory by warring countries ‘we are at war with the aggressors’. In other conflicts such as Korea, Malaya, South Vietnam, The Solomon Islands, Timor, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Australia’s and New Zealand’s role have been that of ‘peacekeepers’ defending poor and ill equipped allied nations and territories from the onslaught of aggressive armies seeking to conquer territory and in so doing presenting as a threat to world stability and peace. We were, and are, indeed at war, but under no circumstances were we the one’s who ‘declared war or initiated it’.

Right from the fall of mankind in the Garden, as humans left to our own devices, we were void of principle. We read in Books 2 to 5 in the Old testament, God handed down laws, beginning with the Ten Commandments, that clearly laid out the rule of ethical, moral and disciplinary standards that He required of us if we were to be His people. In short God, the ultimate authority, had spoken and He had put in place a hierarchy for world order. In Paul’s words, ^{Romans (13: 1–2)  “}Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves”. 

In my opinion, probably one of the greatest theologians of all time was St Augustine of the 5^th century AD. He had great influence in the development of Western Christianity as we know it. St Augustine believed that the only just reason to go to war was the desire for peace. We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace. He went on to write “Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace”.

It follows then if we, as a peaceful, God ordered democracy, come under threat from potentially invading nations or forces; a threat that if successful would destroy the peace and good order as established by God’s command, then we, as a nation have the authority established by God to become ^{(Rom 13-4)} “God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer”. In good Christian conscience, we go to war that we may eventually be at peace.

This day is unique, in Australia and New Zealand it can be said for the majority of the population that ANZAC Day is sacred, it holds a special place in people’s hearts and minds. 

This is demonstrated by the large attendance at public parades and ceremonies. But, last year, 2020, ANZAC Day public celebrations were cancelled due to COVID19 – but the honour and respect and the need to pay homage spilled into the streets of each suburb of each town and city in each state. People stood in their driveways, flags were flown, the last post was sounded. You see, there is, as in public ceremonies and parades, a realisation that a huge debt had been paid for the democratic freedom that we enjoy, and in all genuineness the people of Australia want to acknowledge that with heartfelt sincerity.

Here in Australia, across our modern history, we have been confronted with times when we were obligated to take up arms and defend our democracy, our way of life, our right to worship as we choose, our right to reasonable freedom. In these times our Government had the authority of our Great triune God to form a defence force proportionate to the task at hand. History demonstrates that the call to arms fell on very willing ears. Men and women of all ages willingly came forward to defend their country, their families, their way of life. I am sure you have heard of the marathon recruitment marches where men in the country walked to the enlistment centres picking up more and more volunteers in each town through which they passed.

During the time of the Vietnam war, the Government of the day felt the need to introduce conscription. I personally consider this an unnecessary action that displayed a lack of faith in the people of our nation. I have served on active service with many, many National Servicemen, and each and every one were keen professional soldiers who were willing and proud to fight under the Australian flag. They were proud then and to this day still wear their combat medals with pride.

History pays tribute to the Australian and New Zealand forces. A visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra will reveal just how effective the Australian and new Zealand forces were in the field of combat. The charge of the Light Horse Brigade, the Battle of Tobruk, the battle of Kapyong in Korea, the Battle of Long tan; The incredible number of Victoria Crosses awarded. All these and much,  much more, are testimony to the devotion to duty and tenacity of the Australian serviceman. 

But, you see, to me this day, ANZAC Day, is not really about leaders, battles, honours and awards, winning or losing. Today we pay tribute to the men and women who served selflessly that others may live and enjoy freedom. What is it that drives men over the top of a trench into certain death? what is it that keeps men flying in slow moving bomber aircraft on missions with a 50% chance of being shot down? What is it that drives people out into the ocean in ships that are vulnerable to air and sea attacks. What was it driving the 39^thBattalion, a poorly trained group of Citizen Military Force soldiers from Victoria, that gave them the courage, strength and tenacity to repel the advancing Japanese Army on the Kokoda Trail, thereby saving Australia from invasion? What is it that leads women such as Nancy Wake (The White Mouse), a New Zealand born nurse to cause such havoc to the Nazi Forces whilst working in the French underground movement, that she became the most wanted on the Nazi list? ……..It’s the compelling, deeply cultural, Spirit of ANZAC, the love of country, the love of family, the deep seated cultural commitment to do your best to help out your mates in times of trouble. ^{(John 15:13)} “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”. 

To this day, during national disasters, this spirit lives on right here in the county and cities alike.

When I went to South Vietnam, I proudly served in an Infantry unit 6^th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment / New Zealand ANZAC (6 RAR/NZ ANZAC). I was sent over in the advance party, and our task was to work with the battalion we were replacing and so understand the ‘on ground procedure’ thereby allowing a smooth transition when the main body arrived. Up to that time, I had trained for two years with my unit and they were my ‘brothers in arms’. My other family…… Within 18 hours of arriving at my base camp, I was instructed to “saddle up” (equip for action) and join the ‘Ready Reaction Platoon’ in the back of Armoured Personnel Carriers. Our task was to seek out and repel a group of some 50 Viet Cong moving through the rubber toward our position. 20 hours after I arrived in South Vietnam I was jumping out of the back of a moving APC in a rubber plantation ready to engage in combat.

The point of the story is that up until that time I was a member of 6 RAR/NZ and these were the brothers I was dedicated to. Suddenly, I realised that these men I was with in the rubber plantation with were also my brothers in arms. I did not know them, I had never trained with them, but now I was shoulder to shoulder with them and that we, as a group, were each other’s keepers, locked in a common bond of purpose under the Australian flag. This is the mantra of ANZAC Day; a nation standing shoulder to shoulder against all odds, paying homage to those who served. And in so doing making a personal commitment to carry this tradition into the future regardless of cost.

Often, especially on ANZAC Day, I hear the word ‘heroes’ being used. For the majority of veterans from all fields of conflict, this word does not sit well. You see it gives the connotation of being without fear. It is true, that many remarkably heroic feats were performed, but may I say that in most cases, they were instinctive actions driven by fear and the will to survive and protect. ….I can honestly say that good training, experience, teamwork and instinct keeps a combatant alive; …but it’s the love of family, friends and country and the desire for peace that keeps him going.

It can be said then of all whom we commemorate today; those who have paid the supreme sacrifice, or those who continue to suffer as a result of their service in conflict, that they are the ones who have acted out either wittingly or unwittingly, ^{(Romans 10: 8-10)} “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. ⁹The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbour as yourself." ¹⁰Love does no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law”. Lest we forget. Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

 

Easter 3 – 18 April 2021 – Year B

Grace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

 

The text for this meditation is written in the 24^thChapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 36 – 48

³⁶ As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” ³⁷ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. ³⁸ And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹ And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate before them. 

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

 

 

The appearances of Christ after His resurrection are so full of meaning.  Not only is the obvious teaching that Jesus rose from the dead, but there are many other teachings concerning the life of the Church.  Last week, we learned that Jesus rose from the dead, and also learned that in addition, Jesus established the office of the Holy Ministry and gave it the authority to forgive sins.  Today’s Gospel once again shows us that Jesus rose from the dead, and it also teaches us how to interpret the Bible and what the church is supposed to proclaim.

 

Today’s reading from the Gospel account of Luke once again has Jesus showing Himself to the disciples.  Once again, Jesus invited the disciples to examine the wounds of the crucifixion. ^{(Luke 24:38–39)}He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” Jesus very much wants the disciples to realise that He is no mere spirit.  They are not just seeing things.  He is the real flesh and blood Jesus risen from the dead.

 

Then, when they still seemed to struggle with idea that Jesus was a real flesh and blood person, He asked them,^{(Luke 24:41–43)}“Have you anything here to eat?”⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate before them”. Jesus really wants them to understand that He is truly risen from the dead in His own flesh and blood body.

 

After Jesus demonstrated His resurrection, He taught the disciples a very important principle for the proper understanding of the Bible.  ⁴⁴Then he said to them, ^{(Luke 24:44)}“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. ”Here Jesus instructs the disciples and us that the correct way to understand the Bible is to find Jesus in every passage.  The Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms is what we call the Old Testament.  Jesus basically showed the disciples that the entire Old Testament is about Him.

 

Jesus then gave the disciples the precise meaning of the Scriptures.  He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶and said to them,^{(Luke 24:45–47)}“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” When Jesus says, “Thus it is written,” He is saying that this is what the Bible says. Since Jesus is the Christ, He Himself has accomplished the suffering and the rising from the dead.  He also proclaimed repentance and the forgiveness of sins until He ascended into heaven.  In today’s Gospel, He passed that proclamation on to His disciples.  Each generation has passed that mission on to the next.  This is the mission statement that Jesus gave to the church … proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ.  

 

This is an ongoing mission that will last until the Lord returns on the Last Day. Christ’s instructions guarantee that when the Apostles write the books of the New Testament, those books will proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ.  This means that the New Testament will also be about Jesus since He is the source of forgiveness.

 

What does it mean to proclaim repentance?  As the prominent 16^thcentury theologian Philipp Melanchthon so aptly wrote “Repentance consists of two parts.  One part is contrition, that is, terrors striking the conscience through the knowledge of sin.  The other part is faith, which is born of the Gospel [Romans 10:17] or the Absolution and believes that for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven.” So step one in the proclamation of repentance is the proclamation of sin in such a way that the punishment we deserve for our sin strikes terror in us.  The second step in the proclamation of repentance is to point us to Christ and His work to save us from that terrifying punishment.

 

What does it mean to proclaim forgiveness?  Even though we are guilty and deserve punishment here on earth and forever in hell, God, for Christ’s sake, declares us righteous.  The proclamation of forgiveness begins with the proclamation of Jesus earning forgiveness for us on the cross.  It also includes the proclamation of the Holy Spirit delivering forgiveness to us by Word and Sacrament. It includes the proclamation of the Holy Spirit working faith in us so that we receive the benefits of forgiveness.  It includes describing the benefits of salvation and eternal life that come with forgiveness.

Peter gives an excellent example of the proclamation of repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Acts 3: 13 - 20.  The Holy Spirit had just worked through Peter in order to heal a lame man.  After Peter healed the lame man, he went into the temple area.  The man who had been lame went with Peter.  The man who had been lame was now hopping, and skipping, and jumping for joy as he went up to the temple.  This drew the attention of the crowds.  

 

As the crowd gathered, Peter began proclaiming the terror of sin: ^{(Acts 3:13–15)}“The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. ¹⁴But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses”. Peter flat out told the crowd that they were guilty of crucifying Jesus who was not only innocent, but is also the Son of God.

 

Now listen to his proclamation of the second part of repentance along with the proclamation of forgiveness:^{(Acts 3:19–21)} “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, ²⁰that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, ²¹whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago”. See how Peter points the crowd to Jesus.  He describes forgiveness with the words, “that your sins may be blotted out.” Blotting out sins is another way of talking about forgiveness.

 

The interesting thing about Peter’s sermon is that not everyone who heard his sermon participated in the actual conspiracy to kill Jesus.  In fact, when you study Peter’s other sermons, you discover that he regularly accused his hearers of killing Jesus even if they weren’t even in Jerusalem on Good Friday.  After a while you begin to realise that when Peter accuses people of killing Jesus, he is not just talking about the people who conspired to crucify Jesus on Good Friday, but he is talking about all our sin that caused God’s wrath to pour out on Jesus as He hung on the cross.  If Peter were here today, he would accuse us of killing the Lord of Life.  How?  With our sins.

 

With what sins have we crucified the Lord of Life.  Have we listened to gossip without checking the facts?  Do we stubbornly defend our own opinion rather than stubbornly defending the teachings of God that we find in His Word? Are we arrogant enough to believe that we don’t need to join our fellow Christians in Bible study?  Who is number one in our life, us or God?  Jesus said the church should proclaim repentance and that repentance should terrify us by revealing the punishment we have earned with our sin.  The proclamation of repentance should be frightening.  Do we really understand that if God were 100% fair, we would go to hell?  If not, we have not fully repented.

 

Thank the Lord that He is not fair.  Instead, Jesus did the most unfair thing possible.  Even though He was perfectly innocent, He exchanged His holy righteousness for our sin.  He earned forgiveness for us with His innocent suffering and death on the cross and the shedding of His holy, precious blood. ^{(2 Corinthians 5:21)}“For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”. The great exchange that Jesus made with us as He died on the cross is the most unfair thing that has ever happened.  It is also the source of the forgiveness of our sins.

 

Although the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins begins in terror, the end result is the greatest comfort … the comfort that our sins are forgiven … the comfort that eternal life is already ours.  This is the comfort that the Apostle John gives in the beginning of the epistle ^{(1 John 3:1)}: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are”. 

 

Christ has instructed His church to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sin in His name.  Our order of service in worship should proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sin in His name.  Our preaching and teaching should proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sin in His name.  Our responses and singing should proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sin in His name.  Anything that says nothing about repentance and the forgiveness of sin in the name of Christ does not belong in our service.

 

Christ has risen.  He teaches His church to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sin in the name of Christ.  The proclamation of repentance produces honest terror with the law and then points us to Christ.  The proclamation of the forgiveness of sins gives the greatest comfort for it assures us that our sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ on the cross.  That forgiveness assures us that we are a child of God and will live with Him in eternal joy.  Amen

 

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

 

Easter 2 – 11 April 2021 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for our meditation is written in the 20^th chapter of the Gospel according to St John: Verses 19–31:

¹⁹ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

²⁴ Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

 

Christ has risen!  He has risen, indeed!  Alleluia!  Our Saviour who once was dead now lives.

The Gospel that we just heard begins with a time marker, ^{(John 20:19)} “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week.” We need to look at the context to see what John means when he says, “That day.”  The previous verses give the account of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene near the empty tomb.  So, today’s reading is an account of something that happened on the evening of the day of the Resurrection.  By this time, the disciples knew that the body was gone.  Some of the women even claimed to have seen and talked with Jesus.  The fact is though, they weren’t sure what it all meant.  They were confused.

 

The text goes on to say, ^{(John 20:19)} “The doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.”The one thing they did know was that the Jewish leaders went to a lot of trouble to wipe out their leader.  Now that He was out of the way, there was the possibility that they would try to destroy the entire movement.  So, not only were they confused, but they were terrified.

 

This is another one of those moments that supports the credibility of the Biblical text.  If you are making up a history to support your own man made religion, you do not portray the leaders of your religion as confused, frightened, and helpless men cowering in a locked room.

 

The other thing we learn from this account is that, at the beginning of this account, there was not a single Christian in the room.  They had heard reports of the Resurrection, but they did not believe them.  If you do not believe in the Resurrection, then you are not a Christian.  This was a room full of unbelievers.

 

Now this is annual “Pick on Thomas Day.”  You heard in the reading how Thomas was missing, and he made his assertion of unbelief before he saw Jesus, but the fact is that all the disciples were total pagans before Jesus showed Himself to them on that evening.

 

Now here is where we see how gracious and merciful Jesus truly is.  He had every right to show up and rip into these disciples.  He had every right to condemn them for their unbelief.  After all, He had told them that after He died, He would rise again.  If they had been listening, they should have expected Him to rise on the third day.  But they didn’t.  They deserved condemnation.

 

Instead, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ^{(John 20:19)} “Peace be with you.” What a marvellous greeting this is.  Instead of getting what they deserve, Jesus gave them His peace.  This peace is greater than any other peace for it comes from the very Son of God Himself.  This is the peace that Jesus earned with His perfect life and His suffering and death on the cross.  This is the peace that Jesus earned while He hung on the cross and endured the wrath of God for the sin of the world.  This is the peace we have with God because Jesus took away the sins of the world.

 

^{(John 20:20)} “When [Jesus] had said this, he showed them his hands and his side”. Jesus verified His identity and certified His peace by inviting the disciples to examine the wounds of the cross that still showed on His body.  This was a real bodily resurrection … a resurrection that the disciples could touch and see.  Jesus is real and so is His peace.

 

As the disciples began to realise that their friend and teacher was alive, Jesus gave them even more gifts.  ^{(John 20:21)} “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” This is nothing other than Jesus installing these men as apostles.  The very word apostle comes from a Greek word that means to send.  Jesus said that He is God the Father’s apostle, the one sent from the Father. Now He is commissioning these disciples to be His apostles, ones who are sent directly by Him.  These apostles will take the very peace that Jesus has given to them and proclaim it to the world.

 

Do you realise how crazy this is?  These are the men who often quarrelled about who is the greatest among them.  These are the same men who abandoned Jesus in His greatest need.  These are the men who thought the stories of the resurrection were idle tales.  These are the men who drew a total blank every time Jesus told them He was going to suffer, die, and rise from the dead.  These are culturally influenced men, and even though they had greatest teacher of all,  and every good intention, they repeatedly prove themselves to be not the brightest bulbs in the box.

 

Regardless of all this, they are the ones whom Jesus sent.  They are the ones the Apostle Paul wrote about to the church in Ephesus: ^{(Ephesians 2:19–20)}  “You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone”. The Apostle Paul states that these men are the foundation of the household of God.  Paul is talking about men who were cowardly unbelievers until Jesus showed Himself to them.  Now Jesus is sending them.  Now they are Jesus’ Apostles.

 

But wait, there’s more. ^{(John 20:22–23)} “When [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Here is Jesus giving the authority to forgive sins to His church.  This authority carries with it the authority to administer His peace as well.

 

I would like you to consider the question in regard to our public confession and absolution in worship services. “Do you believe that the forgiveness as pronounced by the priest is not his forgiveness but God’s?”  You see, this question is based on the words we just heard from Jesus in today’s Gospel.  He has given the church the actual authority to forgive sins with the forgiveness that He earned with His perfect life and suffering and death.  That means that when the priest responds to a public (or private) confession with words to the effect, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” that is Jesus forgiving your sins.

 

The wonderful thing is that it doesn’t depend on how wonderful your priest is.  He could be popular or unpopular, upright or failing.  The very words he speaks under the authority of Jesus Christ, ensures that the forgiveness is sure and complete.  It is sure because it does not depend on the character of your priest, but on the promise of Jesus Christ … the same Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose from the dead.  The one who kept His promise to rise from the dead, will most certainly keep His promise to forgive all our sins.

 

This forgiveness not only comes with the actual word forgive, but it also comes with other words … words like peace. During each worship service, the priest announces the ‘peace’.  That is not just the priest giving out good wishes, but placing the very same peace that Jesus gave to His disciples on all present.  This also happens in the benediction.  This is also the very same peace that Jesus gave to His disciples in today’s Gospel.  It is another way of placing His forgiveness on us with all its gifts.

 

We need the gifts of Christ’s forgiveness.  We live in a sin-filled world that tempts us continually.  Satan continually attacks us with the poisonous darts of His temptations.  When we examine our lives in light of the Ten Commandments, we become aware of our many failings … our many sins.  Our only hope is the forgiveness that Jesus gives to us.  With that forgiveness, we receive His mercy, His grace, and His peace.  In His love, He has given His church the authority to administer all these gifts and give them out freely.  That is what we do when the Holy Spirit calls us together by the Gospel.  In this place and in all the other places His believers gather around the world, He gives us His gifts through His servants in His congregation.

 

God continues to work in grace and mercy today.  At birth, every one of us is a selfish, enemy of God.  Never the less, the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sin of the whole world that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  Jesus gives His peace to us.  The Holy Spirit still works in us by the power of the very Word that Jesus sent His apostles to proclaim.  In all of these ways and more, Jesus still comes to us and says, “Peace be with you.”  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

  

Easter Sunday – 4 April 2021 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 16^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 1–8:

 

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ² And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³ And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. ⁵ And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. ⁶ And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” ⁸ And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Christ has risen!  He has risen indeed, Alleluia!

 

Most faithful translations of the Bible have a strange note right after today’s reading from the Gospel according to Mark.  This note will read something like this: “Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20”.  There is a lot of evidence that Mark stops at verse 8.  Some commentators suggest that Mark’s account of the resurrection was so unsatisfying that later scribes added some notes to the text to help explain the ending.  A generation or so later, other scribes took these notes to be part of the text of the original Gospel account.

 

You can see why this is, when you consider what this short version of Mark’s resurrection account actually says.  A few women purchased some spices after sunset on Saturday.  By the time the sun came up the next day, they were on their way to the tomb and wondering how to get past the stone over the entrance.  Then they discovered that the stone was already rolled away.  When they looked for Jesus body, there was an angel instead.  The angel explained that Jesus was no longer in the tomb because He had risen.  The women fled the tomb in terror and, for the time being, said nothing to anyone.  That’s it.  That’s all that we learn about the resurrection from the short ending of Mark.

 

At least in the other Gospels, the disciples see Jesus.  They talk with Him.  They eat with Him.  They touch the wounds of the cross in Jesus’ body.  The other Gospels record the words of Jesus for us to consider.  Not so, the short ending of Mark.  The stone is rolled away.  The tomb is empty.  There is a scary angel.  The women run away in fear.  I can understand a scribe wanting the reader to get the rest of the story.  He could at least add a note: See the Gospel according to Matthew or Luke for more information on the resurrection.

 

When you hear Mark’s short ending, you hear the announcement of the resurrection from the angel in the empty tomb.  Although Mark does not give you a whole lot, there is something special right at the end of the angel’s announcement.  Listen to the account again and pay special attention to the last few words that the angel says.  ^{(Mark 16:5–7)} “Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” Did you notice the last few words from the angel: “Just as He told you?”

 

The angel finished by reminding the people in the empty tomb that Jesus was keeping a promise.  Jesus was acting just as He said He would act.  All of the writers of the Gospel accounts record Jesus promising to rise from the dead.  Listen to these passages from Mark:

 

^{(Mark 8:31)} “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again”. 

 

^{(Mark 9:9)} “And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead”. 

 

^{(Mark 9:31)} “For he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 

 

^{(Mark 10:32–34)} “And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” 

 

The disciples heard these promises, but they didn’t understand them.  It wasn’t until after Jesus actually suffered, died, and rose that the disciples began to understand what Jesus was trying to tell them.  It is almost as if the angel is giving his hearers a mild rebuke.  “You know, He told you about all this stuff beforehand.  He kept His promise to die and then rise.  You really need to think back on His other promises and expect Him to fulfill those as well.”

 

This is the opposite of the serpent’s words to the woman in Eden.  ^{(Genesis 3:1)} “He said to the woman, “Did God actually say …?”  The angels who rebelled against God want us to question God’s Word.  They want us to believe that it doesn’t always turn out the way God said.  They want us to doubt God’s promises.  They want us to look away from the source of God’s promises, the Word of God.  They want us to believe that it is NOTjust as He told you.  They want to lead us away from the truth and so lead us away from salvation.

 

Here we see the difference between the faithful angels and the angels that rebelled.  The rebel angels question God’s Word.  The faithful angels point to the fulfillment of God’s Word.

 

Don’t be surprised, then, when you have a hard time believing all His promises.  Don’t be surprised when doubts arise.  This is a sign of the battle that continues in every Christian.  The disciples struggled and they saw Jesus face-to-face.  He had them in His seminary for three years.  They were still terrified when He died and shocked when He rose.  The promises that Jesus made to you may seem too good to be true.  You may struggle to believe them, but the resurrection of Jesus assures that He will keep every promise that He has made to you.

 

Jesus promised to rise from the dead, and then He kept that promise.  If He can keep a promise like that, we shouldn’t be too worried that He will keep the other promises that He made, not only to the disciples, but also to you and me.  Here is where we need to listen to the angel in the empty tomb.  Jesus does things just as He says He will.

 

Jesus made some amazing promises.  For example He said, ^{(John 6:40)} “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Just before He raised Lazarus from the dead, He said, ^{(John 11:25–26)} “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” In the upper room, He taught His disciples and said, ^{(John 14:1–3)} “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also”. With these words Jesus promised that a day will come when the universe as we know it will come to an end.  Jesus has promised to return on that day and raise all the dead.  He has promised to take us and all believers into eternal life.

 

Jesus’ promises are not just for the sweet by-and-by, but they are also for the here and now.  Matthew closed his Gospel account with the promise, ^{(Matthew 28:20)}  “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

 

Jesus has given us special ways to know that He is with us.  ^{(1 Corinthians 11:23–25)} “On the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”. While we wait for the final day, Jesus has promised to give His body and blood along with the bread and wine of the sacrament.  He has promised that when the bread and the wine enters our mouth, that His body and blood are also entering our mouth along with the bread and wine.

 

The Holy Supper is not the only way He promises His forgiveness.  Listen to another promise that He made to His disciples.  ^{(John 20:21–23)} “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” These words promise the authority to forgive sins.  Even though your priest is just as sinful as you are, when he forgives your sins, Jesus Himself has forgiven them.

 

Listen to another promise Jesus made concerning His Word.  He said, ^{(John 8:31–32)} “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” When you hear the words of the prophets and apostles from the Bible, He sends the Holy Spirit to work in you through those words”.  It is as the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write: ^{(Romans 10:17)} “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”. 

 

Jesus has even given us a way to give us God’s name.  He said, ^{(Matthew 28:18–20)} “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” He has promised to pour the Holy Spirit out on us as His Word works with the water of Holy Baptism.

 

Jesus has made some amazing promises to us.  We would have no reason to trust His promises if it weren’t for one thing.  He promised to rise from the dead and He kept that promise.  The words of the angel remind us that Jesus will keep all of His promises just as He told you.

Christ has risen!  He has risen indeed, Alleluia!  Amen

The love and peace of our Great triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen