Palm Sunday [Philippians 2:5-11] (1-April-2012)

This sermon was preached at St Paul's Lutheran Church, Darnum (9am), Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Traralgon (7pm) and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Bairnsdale (3pm). 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Text: (Philippians 2:5-11)

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

One of the greatest gifts that we share together each Sunday as we come to church is the gift of the music and singing. Our epistle reading is a well-known reading, and every Sunday during Lent we have been singing a sentence from it in preparation to hear the reading of the holy Gospel: Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

It is often said by biblical scholars that our reading today is actually a hymn—some people think that St Paul might actually be quoting a song that Christians already used to sing in the early times of the church. He may of course wrote it himself—all sorts of people in the New Testament were inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak and write poetry, like Mary when she met Elizabeth, and the baby John the Baptist leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb, sang “My soul magnifies the Lord, my Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”. This song is often called the Song of Mary or the Magnificat. And when Zechariah’s mouth was opened at the birth of John, he also sang a song: “Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, for he has come and redeemed his people…” This song is often called the Song of Zechariah or the Benedictus. Or what about the angels who came and sang Glory to God in the highest with the shepherds in the field, or what about the Song of Simeon—“Now Lord let your servant depart in peace”—which we sing after the Lord’s Supper every Sunday?

We can take it for granted that there is so much singing in the bible—what happened when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea? They sang a song. What did King David do when he was saved from his enemies? He sang. What did King Hezekiah do when he became well again after he was sick? He sang.

No wonder St Paul says in Ephesians: “Be filled with the Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” No wonder St Paul says that “we rejoice in our sufferings”. Even Jesus Christ, after he has set before his disciples the first Lord’s Supper, and just before he headed out to the Mount Olives, what does it say that Jesus and his disciples did together? They sang! “After they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

In Acts chapter 16, we read about Paul and Silas locked up in prison in Philippi. We read: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken.”

I have often thought that maybe Paul and Silas were singing this song from our reading today from the book of Philippians, being such a powerful text, a hymn of such conviction and strength. And so here is this text that we read today:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

These are indeed such beautiful words! But their structure and the rhythm and the sound of the words is not what makes them beautiful. What gives this hymn, this song its spiritual strength is its truth. Psalm 118 says: “I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.” What gives this passage its power is not that it sounds nice, but that it recounts the deeds of the Lord.

To recount the deeds of the Lord means that we are singing God’s history back to him. We are praising him for the great things that he has done in history, in time, among us, in front of our eyes.

As we gather here today on Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus entering into Jerusalem on a donkey, and we read about his suffering and death on the cross. We read about the history in our gospel readings today, and St Paul sings about it in our epistle reading. That Jesus Christ took upon himself the sins of the world and died for it, is one of the greatest events of history, together with his resurrection—so we really should sing about it. If we want to really understand what St Paul is talking about we have to think about it not in terms of ideas and concepts, but in terms of facts, realities, events.

And so St Paul says to us today:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.

St Paul is not telling you to think a certain way, but he is telling you that your mind should work in a certain way before it even emanates any thoughts. And this mind belongs to you through your baptism. He is telling you how you should lead your life as a Christian, and give to you the example of Jesus Christ—he is the basis for our life. And we don’t simply follow his example from outside, but he comes and lives his life within us and through us. “It is no longer I who live,” says St Paul, “but Christ who lives in me.”

So have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

St Paul says: Jesus was in the form of God.

Jesus was truly God, as Thomas confesses after the resurrection: My Lord and my God! But when we talk about the form of God, think of Jesus at his transfiguration—there is such brilliant, beautiful, radiant light shining from his body. This loveliness, this brightness, this beauty is the form of God. John says in chapter 1: We have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. This is what it means when St Paul says the form of God.

Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

St Paul says that Jesus is equal to God. He is the Son of God—and he is equal to God. In the Nicene Creed, we say that he is one substance with the Father. They share the same divine nature—they share the same spiritual being. But the fact that he was equal to God, doesn’t mean that he just grabs any chance to show off and use his power. If we had some wonderful privilege, or honour, or benefit given to us, we might be the first to use it to our own advantage. Not Jesus, though. He has the greatest advantage anyone could have—he is true God, he is in the form of God, and is equal to God. But he doesn’t use this for his own benefit. Instead, he does everything for our benefit. Think about Jesus on his hands and feet, washing his disciples feet on the night of Maundy Thursday, on the night of the Lord’s Supper. He is equal to God, and yet he serves his disciples in the most humble way. Jesus says: The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.

St Paul says: but Jesus made himself nothing, literally, he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

St Paul says in Colossians that the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus bodily. You want to find God, look to Jesus. He’s the only place you can find God. St John says: He was full of grace and truth. And Jesus carries on as if he is empty. You see when the soldiers come to arrest Jesus, and they say, “We want Jesus of Nazareth”, when Jesus says “I am”, they fall over onto the ground. The power of Jesus words knocks them over like flies. Nevertheless, when they come to arrest Jesus, he empties himself—he gives them his arms and the bind them up with chains, and he willingly goes with them on the way to the cross. When Peter wanted to defend Jesus with violence and cuts off the servant’s ear, Jesus says: “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more that twelve legions of angels?” Jesus commands the angels to remain still—it is time for him to empty himself, to give up his privileges and his rights, and to die for you.

St Paul says, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. On one hand, he empties himself, on the other hand, he takes. He takes the form of a servant. Being in the form a servant is part of what it means that Jesus is truly human. But not only was he a true man, but he was a particular type of man: he took the form a servant, not a master. He was not only born of a woman, but he was born into a poor family. His mother was not a princess, but through her pregnancy, she became the most blessed among women, more blessed than the greatest queens that ever lived.

And so, Jesus took the form a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Before we think about Jesus suffering and death, we have to know who he is: true God and true man. Begotten of the Father from eternity, and also born of the Virgin Mary.

And then St Paul says:

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

And being found in human form. Jesus shared all the characteristics of being human—any thing that you endure, he knows what its like. Hebrews says: “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with us in our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

And so as we think about all these things, who Jesus is, St Paul comes and preaches to us in his song the heard of the gospel:

He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Remember Jesus here in the Garden of Gethsemane, crying out to the Father: “If it be possible, take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” See Jesus obedience here. See him humbling himself under the weight of all the world’s sin—under your sin. See him preparing himself to drink the cup and to drink it to the dregs, all for you, and because he loves you.

And every step of the way, from Gethsemane, to the high priest’s house, to Pontius Pilate judgment seat, to the weary road with Simon of Cyrene, to Golgotha, the place of the Skull, he humbles himself, and is obedient to the point of death—and not just any sort of death, says St Paul: even death on a cross. The most cruel and painful death that the world could dish out. A death with is equal to the severity of our sin, but most importantly, a death which fulfils God’s righteousness in every way, and wins for us the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

At this time of Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Good Friday, and finally Easter, we should give thanks to Jesus Christ for the great perfect sacrifice that he made for us on the cross. In baptism, he still washes people in his blood and makes them pure and clean from all sin. He still brings his gracious and forgiving words right into our ears through the preaching of his word in the church. And the same body and blood which was given for us and was shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins is still today given to us and applied to us in the Lord’s Supper.

We are all here—everything is made possible—through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Everything we stand for, everything we are and do as Christians has been made possible, simply because Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

And so St Paul says: Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ my Lord and my God, we confess that you are our Lord, and we thank you that you suffered for us under Pontius Pilate, were crucified, dead and buried. Keep your suffering and death always before our eyes, and give to us grateful and thankful hearts, and open our lips to sing your praises both here on earth and together with all the saints and angels in eternity. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Mid-week Lent Service 5: Audio Sermon (28-March-2012)

Click title for link

Mid-week Lent Service 5 [John 18:12-18] (28-March-2012)

This sermon was preached at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Traralgon, 7pm.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Text: (John 18:12-18)

So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

In the book of Acts chapter 4 we read about the early Christians gathered together to pray for boldness and confidence in the face of persecution. Their prayer went like this: “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your work with all boldness, while you stretch out your power to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And we read: And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

You hear in this prayer that the people quoted Psalm 2: Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain? And here in our reading tonight we see this all taking place: the Jewish leaders used the Roman soldiers to come and arrest Jesus. All these people come together to conspire against Jesus to arrest him. The lengths that people go to get rid of Jesus!

But particularly notice in our reading tonight what is says here: So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.

Notice those words there: … and bound him.

Only just a few moment earlier, they had fallen to the ground when Jesus said the words “I am.” They fell over like pieces on a chess-board. And now, Jesus is arrested by them and he is bound by them.

See here Jesus’ willingness to endure his sufferings.

But there is something very special that is signified when Jesus is bound.

You see, we are also bound. St Paul says in Romans 7: “I am of the flesh, sold under sin.” Sold under sin – we are slaves. Just as when Adam and Eve sold themselves into this slavery, so also all their children for centuries and millennia to come are also born as slaves.

“I am of the flesh, sold under sin.”

And St Paul explains exactly what he means.

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Many of you will know what St Paul is talking about here from your own experience. You see, so often we really want to do what is right, and for some reason we always seem to let ourselves down. Right from early childhood, we know something is forbidden, we know something is wrong, and yet we still go and do it anyway. And all the way along we know that we are doing what is wrong. And then when the job is done, we regret it.

This is what it means to be in bondage to sin. And it’s not something that we recognise by ourselves – we only learn this from the Scripture. The Scripture itself has to enlighten us to this truth.

So many people will know this experience in such a superficial manner—and so when a person finds themselves in this situation, and realise that they are stuck in a rut where they find themselves disappointing themselves all the time, the advice that is so often given is, “Cheer up! We’re only human!”

And they are partly right—we are only human. But God didn’t creat human beings like this—this bondage to sin, and the bondage of our human will, comes through the fall into sin. What they don’t realise is that this bondage deserves the punishment of God.

In 2 Peter 2 we read that “God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.” And Jude verse 6, “The angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.”

The devil and all the demons, the fallen angels, are subjected to all the power and wrath of hell. They are chained up.

We are not angels though. And neither is Jesus. Hebrews 2 says: For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Human beings: human flesh—that’s what we are, and that’s what Jesus is.

The devil is in chains. Hell was made for the devil—it wasn’t made for us. Why would we want to be somewhere where we don’t belong, and isn’t for us?

But you see, this bondage to sin means that we are chained to the devil, and we deserve punishment. So yes, it’s one thing to say, “we’re only human”, but that doesn’t mean that we are not responsible for our own sin, and it doesn’t mean that we will not be called to account for it.

And in our reading tonight, Jesus is bound. We read on Sunday that when he was conceived, that it happened through the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High God. He was the only human being since Adam and Eve to be born without this bondage, and yet he is bound.

So when we feel this bondage, we can say: Jesus, you are bound with chains too. The devil put his handcuffs on you too, and chained your arms and put shackles on your feet. When I am bound in sin, come and let yourself be chained and bound to me too. Come, Lord Jesus, share my prison cell, share my chains—and set me free. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This bondage to sin is particularly felt by those who suffer with addictions, whether it be alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography, or whatever. Many people have a bad temper, are violent, sexually perverse, or open their mouths when they shouldn’t. And then comes the despair. And then comes the riddle of predestination and people start to think: Maybe God has actually already consigned me to hell ahead of time, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Maybe I was born this way, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it—so I might as well give up now, and resign myself to an eternity of flames. This lie is so terrible—and so many people find themselves trapped by it. And of course, what leads people even more deeply into despair is that every time they fall into their bad habit they are doing more damage, either to their health, their body, or their loved ones.

But it’s precisely for these people—all of us who are born in bondage to sin—it’s exactly for people like us with bad habits, addictions, despair that Jesus came and let himself be chained up.

He puts out his hands that made the world, and ropes and chains are tied around them. And he says: “Let me chain myself to your sin. Let me submit to your bondage. I have given up all my freedom for your servitude, your slavery.”

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, says Jesus, to speak the good news to the poor, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are in prison.

You see, freedom in Christianity means being chained to Christ. It means being chained to his forgiveness and having Jesus’ holy body and his holy hands chained to us. You see that’s exactly what the word absolution means: set loose. In German the word for Absolution was Lossprechung: to speak a person free. Every Sunday we come to church to receive this freedom of the gospel, and to have ourselves chained to the atoning blood of Christ.

And in private absolution, this is such a wonderful holy place, where our Lord comes and speaks his liberty and his freedom to each individual prisoner. And private confession is not just a place for private absolution but also for private encouragement from our Lord through a brother in Christ. We are strengthened not just through the words of absolution but also through the mutual consolation of brethren, as Luther called it: one prisoner reminding another prisoner that the door of the prison will be opened soon. Think of Joseph in Egypt encouraging the other prisoners, preaching freedom to one person, judgment to another, forgiveness to the cup-bearer, warning to the baker. Jesus knows what it’s like to be bound like we are, he knows what it’s like to be imprisoned in our flesh, and he chains himself to us, and says: I forgive you all your sins.

So, remember this precious gift for you that Jesus was arrested and bound.

And so in our reading we read: So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

Something that may strike you here is that Peter had fled from Jesus but was now following him. And not only Peter, but also another disciple. But in order to follow Jesus, they had to pretend to be on the other side of the fence. They pretend to be Jesus’ enemies.

You see, it says that the “other disciple”, whoever he was, maybe John, was known to the high priest. And it also says that he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest.

Now, hang on a moment, we all knew about Judas betraying Jesus, but how many more of the disciples were in on it? We don’t say that the other disciples were part of the conspiracy to arrest and betray Jesus, but now, this disciple, this unnamed disciple, uses his connections, and the fact that he has friends in high places to go and see what was happening to Jesus. And not only that, but he puts in a word for Peter so that he can come in too.

It was assumed that none of Jesus’ friends were there though. But there’s a girl on the door who says to Peter as he comes in, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

It’s almost to say: You’re welcome to come into this party, but if you want to come in, you need to give the secret password—you need to say that you hate Jesus. And so Peter and the other disciple are inside, saying nothing more, pretending to be part of the crowd of the other Jesus-haters.

And also, Peter goes and warms himself up by the fire. His heart too was getting colder by the moment, after having run away, denied Jesus the first time – you would think that things would be pretty cold. And so he throws in his lot with the world, the world in which Jesus was born but which did not know him, and makes friends with them, and shares a nice campfire with them.

It’s all pretty sinister to say the least.

It’s so easy for people to use their friends and influence against Jesus. Sometimes the simplest servant girls at doors are sent to test our words whether we are happy to be with Jesus or not.

But all these false friends, false deals, false pretences that happen here is nothing in comparison with the church that Jesus is building. You see, we know that the church is a communion of saints, baptised, absolved, forgiven, fed with the body and blood of Christ. It is a fellowship where the Holy Spirit comes and builds each person up in love, joy and peace.

But that same love, joy and peace can also be an idol in itself. We can be a church that is friendly, loving, warm, supportive, but we better make sure that we are not a church that requires Peter’s password at the door. We are called to confess our Lord Jesus Christ around every corner, we are called to remain faithful to our Lord around every corner, and sometimes the silliest of little traps are waiting for us right at the front door. But we see, that when Jesus is risen from the dead, there is a great gathering of his precious sheep into his arms again, and a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. At the resurrection, each denial is forgiven by Jesus and treated almost as if they never happened.

So we should always be careful that the church is not a club for like-minded men and women, because then we start to require dodgy passwords at the door. Rather, we are chained to Christ—branches on the vine—we are forgiven by him, atoned for with his death and his blood, when all the world is gathered around to hate him.

In Psalm 109, it says: Be not silent, O God of my praise! Speak, Lord, your servants are listening. Help us to hear the word of God and to keep it. Don’t be silent, Lord God, so that the intimidation of young girls standing at doors will not drown out your voice in our minds and hearts.

You see, there are two churches in the world: one that is gathered around him to interrogate him as he writhes in his chains, and one that is gathered around him to be forgiven through his wounds.

Let yourself be chained to him! When you come into the church doors, clamp you shackle on your foot, and limp your way in, and let Jesus be your strength. He loves you, and has been bound and interrogated just for you.

He will give himself as your great friend, he will be such a wonderful friend in high places for you, he will lead you in the door not in secret but publicly in victory, and he himself will warm you with the fire of his own Holy Spirit of love, joy and peace.

He is bound and we are free.

And so in our spiritual bondage we cry out to him, “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will tell of your praise.”

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us! Amen.

And the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Lent 5 (Annunciation): Audio Sermon (25-March-2012)

Click title for link

Lent 5 (Annunciation) [Luke 1:26-38] (25-March-2012)

This sermon was preached at St Paul's Lutheran Church, Darnum (9am, lay reading), Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Traralgon (10am), Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yarram (2pm) and St John's Lutheran Church, Sale (4pm).

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Text: (Luke 1:26-38)

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Today is a church festival that is called the “Annunciation”, which commemorates Jesus’ conception in his mother’s womb, celebrated exactly 9 months before Christmas, on the 25th March. Normally this day would fall during the week, but this year it happens to fall on a Sunday.

But this event in biblical history is so incredibly important. First of all, it teaches us that life begins at conception. And not only that, but Jesus life began with a conception. Jesus didn’t fall from the sky at age 6 – bringing a body and a soul with him from heaven. But the miracle of his conception is that Jesus took on human flesh from his mother. Often in the history of theology, it was said that Jesus assumed human flesh. He was implanted on the wall of his mother’s womb and he grew just like everyone else, and his hands and feet, toes and fingers were all formed gradually. As it says in Psalm 139: “You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”

And so when Jesus begins his life at conception, he blessed conception, and blessed our conception, and shares it with us. We are conceived in sin—he is conceived without sin. He gives to us his purity and his holiness and his forgiveness—and he take on our sin right from the time of his conception.

And so when we celebrate the conception of Jesus, we should also remember all those children who have died in the womb, and all the mothers and fathers who have endured the suffering that comes with this. Because in the eyes of God, every child and every human life is precious. As Mother Teresa said: “How can you say that there are too many children in the world? It’s like saying there are too many flowers.”

It should be mentioned here, then, that not everyone in the world shares this opinion and not everyone loves children. If you don’t love children, ask yourself: why not? Jesus himself tells you to take the example of your faith from them: “The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” And in Matthew 18 Jesus says about children: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

Whenever a Christian has an opinion about politics, they are always told to shut up and told some trite nothing like this: “The church should keep out of politics.”

Not true. Christians are citizens of this country like anyone else, and have every right to involve themselves in politics. Since the 1970s and such like, there has been considerable pressure to legalise abortion, that is, the killing of unborn children. Victoria has some of the worst laws in the world with regard to abortion, in that doctors who are against abortion are required by law to refer on a person who asks for one to a doctor who is in favour of it. This is certainly dark times, and Christians should never give up praying against this silent massacre that goes on day after day. Many Christians are weary and tired from this topic, and say that the horse has bolted. But just because this happens so much, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a need for people to defend and pray for the most vulnerable people in our society.

Nevertheless, Jesus Christ knows the danger of the womb—he too lived there for 9 months. He knew about the dangers of unjust laws, when all the 2 year old boys in Bethlehem were killed at the command of King Herod.

But to our text today:

We read: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!”

In the Nicene Creed, we confess that we believe that God created everything that is “seen and unseen”, “visible and invisible.” Conception is really something that is invisible – nobody ever sees it because it always happens in a mother’s womb. A mother only knows that conception has taken place by noticing what happens on the outside of her body. Maybe she gets morning sickness, or something like that. Some women have only realised that they are pregnant when the baby starts to show! (In some Aboriginal cultures, the place where the mother first becomes aware her unborn child move is extremely significant.)

But it happens secretly, invisibly. No human eye captures this moment.

But at the same time, science can still observe conception, and record it. So when we say “seen and unseen” in the creed, this is not what we’re talking about.

Rather, we’re talking about all the things that God created that can’t be observed by the human eye, and can’t be measured by science, like angels, for example. So here we see an angel, a particular angel named Gabriel, who comes to the Virgin Mary in a visible way, from the invisible realm of heaven, from God’s invisible, unseen kingdom.

In a sense, this is the only conception where the exact moment is known—because the angel comes and tells Mary that she will become pregnant.

It is also said twice here that Mary is a “virgin”. She has not had intimate relations, and probably still lived with her parents. She was also engaged to Joseph, betrothed, which is a very important fact, because if she would have been punished severely if she became pregnant outside of wedlock, possibly even stoned to death. So her engagement to Joseph protects her from this.

And so the angel says: “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” But [Mary] was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

The angel says that she has found favour with God. She hasn’t done anything to earn God’s favour—that’s not what’s being said here. God simply has chosen her to be blessed with this great honour. He has looked on her in her low estate. He has taken notice of a simple nobody of a young girl in Nazareth, and has made her the most blessed among women. God has simply regarded her, looked upon her, smiled at her and chosen her for this special task.

Also, the angel quotes here from Isaiah 7: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall be called Immanuel.”

And so the angel says: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”

You might wonder why the angel doesn’t instruct her to call the child “Immanuel”. Immanuel isn’t simply a name, but it is a reality, a description of who Jesus is. Immanuel means: God with us. And when Jesus is conceived, God is with us in a way that he has never been with us before. He becomes one person with a human body. God unites himself to the person of Jesus so intimately, so that when Jesus the man touches a person, it is God himself who touches them. When Jesus is in his mother’s womb, it is not simply a human child who is there, but God in all his fullness, confined in such a tiny space. In the history of the church, Mary has often been called “the Mother of God”—and this is a right thing to call her, because Jesus is true God. Of course, she didn’t give birth from eternity to God the Father—that’s not what “Mother of God” means. But she gave birth to Jesus, who as a tiny baby was also truly God.

And so the angel says: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Even though, Mary is a poor, insignificant girl, Jesus will be great, the angel says. And also, even though he will be Mary’s son, her son, the angel says: He will be called the Son of the Most High God. There are not too Jesuses here. There is not one Jesus who is Mary’s son, and another one who is God’s son. They are one and the same person. Mary’s Son is God’s Son. And God’s Son is Mary’s Son.

But as we prepare for Easter in the next couple of weeks, think about what it means that Jesus will be called great. We recognise that he is great not because we see his greatness, but because we believe that he is great with the eyes of faith. When we see him weak, naked, and helpless, dying on the cross, we still say that he is great, and that he is doing a great thing, just as it is a great thing when on Easter Sunday morning he stands up and rises from the dead. In the same way, Jesus is great and wonderful even when he is not even the size of a 5 cent piece, still enclosed in the darkness of his mother’s womb.

But lastly, we read: And May said to the angel, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” [Literally: since I do not know a man?] And the angel answered here, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who is called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

This is the great miracle of this occasion, which we need to come to terms with and need to impress on our minds. Jesus was conceived without the cooperation of a man. There was no act of intercourse. There was no artificial insemination. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

The Holy Spirit is always works in a secret way, in an unseen way. And the Holy Spirit works in a real, substantial way—he can even make a virgin pregnant. Here the Holy Spirit comes upon Mary is such a way that God and man come together in one person, and that his human flesh is made holy in such a way that that human being himself, that little child with real skin and bones is called God’s Son. This is one of the foundations of Christianity: that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. This isn’t just pious clap-trap that church people invented. This is a reality, a reality that is outside of our experience, but that doesn’t make it untrue.

And so Mary says: “Behold I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

The angel speaks about the Holy Spirit. Mary speaks about the angel’s word. That’s because the Holy Spirit always works through the Word of God. And by submitting to the word of God, she submits to the work of the Holy Spirit.

In the church today, we also submit to the Holy Spirit when we say Amen to God’s Word.

The pastor says: “I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And we say: Amen. Let it be to me according to your Word.

“I forgive you all your sins”. And we say: Amen. Let it be to me according to your Word.

“Take and eat, this is my body given for you. Take and drink, this is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” And we say: Amen. Let it be to me according to your Word.

Yes, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I believe that you are God and man in one person, God with us, Immanuel. I believe that you were conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. I believe that nothing will be impossible with God.

I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your Word. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for your conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Send us the Holy Spirit according to your Word, and let your power come and overshadow us, so that we may walk as children of light and citizens of heaven. Amen. 

Mid-week Lent Service 4: Audio Sermon (21-March-2012)

Click title for link

Mid-week Lent Service 4 [Matthew 26:51-56] (21-March-2012)

This sermon was preached at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Traralgon, 7pm.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Text: (Matthew 26:50b-56)

Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

In Genesis 49, just as the patriarch Jacob is about to die, he gathers all his children together to give each of them a blessing.

About the two brothers Simeon and Levi he says:

“Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their wilfulness they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”

This passage is a particular reference to that time when their sister Dinah was captured and humiliated by Shechem, the son of Hamor, the Hivite. This young woman Dinah was defiled and disgraced, and Simeon and Levi wanted to defend her. So the sons of Jacob pretended to make an agreement with Shechem that he and all his men be circumcised according to God’s law, and then he could have her as his wife. So Shechem did what they said, but then Simeon and Levi, we read, “took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the field.”

So Jacob says: “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords… Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel!”

Later on, in the book of Exodus, we read about someone else who is born into this hot-headed family. “Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she was that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.” This child is none other than Moses. Moses was from family, the tribe of Levi, this fierce family, this angry family. And as soon as Moses had grown up the first thing we read about him is this: “One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.”

So Moses fled to Midian. We read in Acts chapter 7, that Moses stayed there 40 years before the Lord appeared to him in the burning bush and sent him back to lead the people Israel out of Egypt.

Isn’t it amazing, how despite this violence, despite this hot-headedness, God still uses Moses, and calls him for a great purpose? God even calls the entire tribe of Levi to be the priests in the tabernacle and later in the temple.

In the same way, we see an eruption of violence in our reading tonight: “And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.”

In the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, this particular disciple isn’t named, but in John, we are told that it was Peter who did this.

In so many different parts of the bible, we see people with all different types of character. And in both Moses and Peter, we see a certain anger that flares up here and there: Moses kills the Egyptian man, he smashes the first tablets of the 10 commandments. Peter also here lashes out against the servant of the high priest and cuts of his ear.

It is probably likely that Peter was trying to do a lot more damage than he actually managed to do.

But all throughout the gospels, we see a certain character in the person of Peter. He is described so vividly by the evangelists, that sometimes it almost feels as though we have met him personally. Many people say that Peter is one of their favourite people in the New Testament.

There’s always something about Peter that’s a little bit over the top. All of us know people like this: they’re never lukewarm, they’re only either hot or cold, they’ve either got their switch turned up on high or it’s off.

And so, when Jesus walks on the water, we see Peter say to him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” We see great faith in Peter, but also when he falls, the fall is great. One moment, Jesus says to Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church”, and the next moment, only a few verses later when Peter rebukes Jesus for prophesying about his death, Jesus says to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.”

And so, here, at the time of Jesus suffering, we see Peter dedicate himself to Jesus in such a bold and daring way. He says: “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!” “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”

And like all brave men, Peter is a man who doesn’t forget his words quickly, and is not about to let Jesus down.

So when he sees the soldiers come up and seize Jesus, Peter is ready to lead the charge, and pulls out his sword. Maybe he thought he was doing a great act of faith. All of the gospels tell us that the group that came with Judas was no little group: this was a great crowd. We don’t know exactly how many people were there, but it is enough for us to know that the disciples were well and truly outnumbered.

And so Peter taking the lead, draws out his sword and cuts of a man’s ear – and not just any man’s ear, but the high priest’s servant. In the gospel of John, we are even told his name: Malchus. And in the gospel of Luke, we are even told that Jesus touched his ear and healed him.

We know that Peter would have known the Old Testament very well, with passages about scrawny little David defeating the tall muscle-man of a hulk Goliath, and Gideon’s defeat of Midian with just 300 men. Peter probably thought he was part of the next glorious victory in the history of God’s people. If David and Gideon could win their victories, so could Peter. So let’s go! With Jesus on our side, we can easily defeat these people.

Jesus has other ideas. He says: Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?

Here’s the problem. Who has commanded Peter to attack? No-one. In fact, the fifth commandment says, “You shall not murder.”

Peter isn’t a soldier. It isn’t his vocation and calling to use the sword. His calling is simply to preach the gospel. There are certain people in our society who are called to use weapons, like soldiers who have to defend our country in war. But not individual citizens. Later on in his first letter, St Peter would write: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” St Paul writes in Romans 13: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”

You can see that God appoint people in our society who are permitted to use bodily violence: soldiers, police, and such like. But Peter is not permitted as a private citizen to use his sword, except perhaps for gutting fish.

People who are against religion often criticise it for starting wars. Some religions might start wars, but Christianity cannot be used as pretext for war, as is seen by the words of Jesus in our reading tonight. He says: “Put your sword back into its place. For those who take the sword will perish by the sword.” If you use the sword, it will be your fault when you are punished for it.

But wars do not exist between religions. Wars are carried out between nations. There have been many nations which have been primarily of one religion, but that does not mean that Christianity starts wars. Hitler didn’t invade Poland because of religion, the Japanese didn’t invade Pearl Harbour because of religion, the Hutus didn’t kill the Tutsis because of religion, Korea wasn’t about religion, Vietnam wasn’t about religion, neither was the Faulklands war, neither did the conflicts in recent years in Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan and Afghanistan about religion. And if anyone wants to assert that any of these wars were started on religious pretexts, they are drawing pretty long bows. I have often heard people say about WWII that both sides thought that God was on their side. But Christianity is always compromised when people talk like this – it weakens the Gospel, and turns it into some sort of lucky charm. In 1 Samuel the Israelites tried to do this when they wrongly took the Ark of the Covenant into battle – and they lost the war.

Ask the people of Papua New Guinea (and other countries) what changed when Christianity came to their shores: they stopped fighting. Remember when Jesus was born, the angel said: “Peace on earth.” If Jesus Christ is taken out of nations, there will be much more war than there has ever been before. And when the atrocities of World War I and World War II are no longer in the living memories of the people of Europe, Japan, America and Australia, then there will probably be even more wars and even worse ones. But they won’t be about religion: they will happen between nations and they will take place between nations alone.

In the meantime, Jesus says to the citizens of his kingdom: Put your sword back into its place. There’s no room for your private vendettas, your petty revenge, and there is certainly no room for revolution. If Christians want to change things, it can only be done by prayer and through the preaching of the gospel. Those are the weapons that God has given to you: the word of God is the sword of the Holy Spirit – use that.

And so, Jesus here shows that he too is going to put himself under the governing authorities, even if they are doing the wrong thing, even if they are corrupt. He submits to this yoke and bears it, because it is sent by God and it is God’s will that Jesus bear the sin of the world.

And so Jesus shows to his disciples that he goes to his death willingly. He says: “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?”

Jesus holds back his own disciples from fighting, but he also holds back all the powers of heaven, the heavenly armies from fighting too. The angels are restrained, held back. Every Sunday we call God “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts”. He is the Lord of Sabaoth, in Hebrew. He is in charge of armies, his armies of angels and archangels. And he is also holy – wonderful, glorious, and dangerous. And it is a dangerous thing here that we see happen, when God doesn’t send his angels to fight on Jesus Christ’s behalf.

Jesus has every right to call on them, but he doesn’t. He is arrested willingly. We saw in our text last week that at the word “I am” the soldiers fell to the ground. But he still submits to their corruption, he bears all of this for our sake, because he wants us to be forgiven: he wants Peter to be forgiven and all his of disciples, and all Christians throughout history.

But then, Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the crowd. He says: “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

The conspiracy against Jesus doesn’t happen in public. It happens in the middle of the night, behind closed doors, in secret places. Those who listen to Jesus, and hear him out, cannot fault him. Psalm 2 says: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain against the Lord and his anointed?” Here we see the result of this raging and this plotting.

To slander and arrest the God who made you can only ever be done with a bad conscience. It isn’t the sort of thing that can be done in broad daylight. It is always done in darkness, behind closed doors.

Jesus is completely innocent. There is no charge brought against him that is worthy of his crucifixion. And if Jesus were to be arrested in broad daylight, it would have been obvious to everyone that he had said and done nothing wrong. So they come in the middle of the night with swords and clubs.

And so, with the disciples disarmed, and the crowd ready to arrest Jesus, we read: Then all the disciples left him and fled.

All the disciples. Not a single one was left. Jesus was alone now, and he would go to die for the sins of the whole world by himself.

In the Gospel of Mark, we read about an extra detail. It says: “And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.”

This passage shows us a couple of things. Part of the reason why the disciples ran away is because the soldiers probably had no intention of listening to Jesus’ words to let the disciples go free. They probably intended to arrest all of the disciples of Jesus with him. We read about this young man that they seized him.

Now why is this particular event mentioned? Some say that this young man may in actual fact be the evangelist Mark himself, who wrote this in his gospel to tell all the readers that he was there, as a kind of signature.

But no-one except Jesus was willing to be taken captive, and no-one except Jesus was capable of dying for the sins of the world.

In the meantime, examine yourself. Who do you think you are? Well, if you think you are Jesus, repent, because then you are a false prophet. So if you are not Jesus, then you are a person for whom Jesus is going to die. You are either running away from him or you are taking him captive and making every attempt to get rid of him. Either you are pushing him down or running away. This is what it means to be a sinner. You can’t have any other option. If you don’t want to be a sinner, and a sinner of such a kind as we find in our reading tonight, then you are not with Jesus. Because Jesus wants to be a sinner. Jesus isn’t a sinner, but he takes on our sin and feels it. He carries our griefs and bears our sorrow. St Paul says: He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus wants to be a sinner – and he willing goes to be punished with all God’s might as a sinner.

So run to him, stand under his cross and let his blood drop down upon you, let his prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane be your strength, and be a sinner with him. He has died for those who run away from him, and he has died for those who go out to arrest him with swords and clubs.

In his suffering, in his death, in his burial, Jesus is made into a sinner – in our baptism, we are made into a true saint, because we are covered with his blood, and we are forgiven by him.

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Amen.

And the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.