Pentecost XXII (Proper 24 B) [Mark 10:35-45] (21-Oct-2018)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 8.15am, and Grace Lutheran Church, Childers, 10.30am.

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

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Prayer: May 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 we read that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to [Jesus] and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Imagine someone comes to you and says, “Could you do me a really big favour?” You would probably be a bit suspicious, and say, “Well, it depends what it is!” You might remember how King Herod really put himself in a corner when he promised his wife’s daughter whatever she wanted—she ended up asking for John the Baptist’s head to be cut off!

This is what happens in our reading, with James and John coming to Jesus. They ask him: Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. Was it wrong of them to come to Jesus and say this? I think they are also embarrassed about what they are asking too. They ask him: Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory. They want a promotion, they want honour, they want esteem, they want something special, something glorious. And maybe they know that what they are asking for is a bit rude or presumptuous.

But also, isn’t this often how we want to pray to Jesus? We go to him, and we say: Jesus, I want you to do for me whatever I ask of you. And after all, Jesus says: Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Don’t you wish that you had such a strong and firm faith that just goes to Jesus whenever you need something and tells him exactly what you need or want? 

Let’s read what happens. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised?” And they said to him, “We are able.”

When we read about Jesus and his disciples, we notice that the 12 apostles were given a particularly privileged position. Also, on a number of occasions, Jesus singles out Peter, James and John: for example, when he went up on the mountain and was transfigured and started shining with heavenly light. Also, sometimes Peter was singled out, and often stepped forward and spoke on behalf of the other apostles. Peter also preached the first Christian sermon on the day of Pentecost. And so, here are these two others, James and John, two brothers, and know that Jesus has given them special privileges. They are two of the twelve apostles. They have often been invited by Jesus to be part of his inner circle together with Peter. But perhaps they are also a little bit jealous of Peter, and don’t want to be outdone by him.

And so they ask Jesus for a special privilege of their own choosing. They ask him: Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. There are a few things that they don’t really understand. They haven’t gone up to Jerusalem yet. Palm Sunday hasn’t happened yet. Jesus hasn’t sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane yet. He hasn’t been betrayed by Judas yet. He hasn’t been crucified yet. And so perhaps James and John think that Jesus is going to take his throne in Jerusalem as a political figure, as the rightful king of the Jews, and overthrow Herod and the Roman—just like we have seen our Australian prime-ministers continually overthrown. And when it all happens in this glorious way, as they imagine it, they would like a special part in it. They want to be part of Jesus’ cabinet—they want to walk down the red carpet with him, and to flank him on either side at all his press conferences. But that’s not the way it’s going to be.

This passage also teaches us something very special about prayer. We see in the Gospels that Jesus often teaches his disciples to ask for whatever they want. And here, we see an exact example of two disciples going to Jesus and asking him for whatever they want. But what we have to realise is that when we do this, we should also be prepared for Jesus to teach us something that we never expected and that we didn’t know before. You see, Jesus is not a genie in a magic lamp, who just pops out and gives us three wishes. We are not his masters, and he is not our slave. The kingdom of God is a wonderful, glorious thing, and Jesus is the king, but this kingdom and this king work in ways that are often completely beyond our expectations or comprehension.

And so, later on when the other ten disciples hear about what James and John asked of Jesus, we read: When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. They were angry, and thought: Who do they think they are, asking such a thing? But Jesus doesn’t go about things like that. He doesn’t get angry with them, but he gently explains things to them, and shows them their mistake. He says to them: You do not know what you are asking. So often when we pray to Jesus and ask him for things, we don’t really know what we’re asking. We make all kinds of mistakes in prayer, and we blubber and stammer around. But when we pray, remember that we always pray in the name of Jesus. This means that when we speak to our heavenly Father, everything goes through Jesus, like a master newspaper editor. He’s like a school-teacher who takes out his red pen, a red pen that is filled with his blood, and he edits everything, so that all our prayers are cleaned up and tidied up like rough drafts, and washed completely clean by Jesus. Jesus always knows what he is asking, he always knows what we need, even if we don’t know what we’re asking. When Jesus teaches his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, he says: Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

And so Jesus says to James and John: You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised? And they said, “We are able”. What is Jesus talking about here? In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus prays in bitter agony just before he is arrested, he prays a prayer: Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will. Jesus prays: Remove this cup from me. Here in our reading today, Jesus asks James and John: Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? What do you think Jesus is talking about when he talks about this cup? He’s talking about his cross, his bitter suffering, his death, his floggings, his whippings, his outward suffering, his internal suffering, everything that Jesus undergoes on Good Friday. That’s the glory of Jesus—that’s the wonderful glory that Jesus undergoes and makes atonement for every single sin that ever even been imagined for even a split second in the entire history of the world. James and John want to sit at his right hand and at his left. But when Jesus goes to the cross, who is at his right and at his left? Two criminals who are also being crucified. Is this what the two disciples are prepared for? Jesus says: Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?

Jesus also says: Or are you able to be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised? Jesus, we know, was baptised in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. And when he went to John, John wanted to be baptised by Jesus instead. But Jesus said to him: Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness. John was baptising sinners, and the only people who are sinners can be baptised. So why was Jesus being baptised? He was baptised not because he was a sinner, but because in all of his sinlessness, he took upon himself all of our sin so that he could die for it. And at that very moment, where Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit came upon him in the form of a dove and God the Father spoke from heaven: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. And so what Jesus begins at his baptism, is finished on the cross. Before Jesus died, he said: It is finished. It’s as if he said, “my baptism is finished”. My anointing by the Holy Spirit in the Jordan was all for this purpose. In Luke 12, we read: I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how great is my distressed until it is accomplished! Jesus once again is speaking of his cross, and his suffering. And so Jesus says to James and John: Are you able to be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised?

Yes, it’s true. James and John didn’t really know what they were asking. We often don’t know what we’re asking, and so we don’t often understand the answers to our prayers when Jesus actually does answer them. When Jesus washes his disciples’ feet he says to them: What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. This is such a wonderful word of comfort when we don’t understand why Jesus doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want. But also, we read in Romans: The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Just as Jesus edits our prayers with the red pen of his blood, so also the Holy Spirit takes over in our prayers, and asks the prayers through our groans and sighs of which God alone understands the meaning, even if we don’t. All this shows us what a great mystery prayer is—St Paul says: For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. Our heavenly Father knows what is best for us so much better than we could ever imagine. It’s the same as when Jesus says in John 16: You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. There’s a wonderful hymn on prayer which says: More is lavished by Thy bounteous hand That I can ask or seek or understand.

And so, back to our reading: Jesus asks the disciples this profound question. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? Are you able to be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised? And they say: We are able. Wow! What a thing to say? Do they even understand what they are committing themselves to?

But Jesus then says: The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptised, you will be baptised, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Jesus says to James and John that they will drink the cup and they will receive his baptism. We also receive the wonderful gift of Holy Baptism as Christians, and in the Lord’s Supper, we drink the wonderful cup of blessing, the blood of Christ. The baptism of Jesus and the cup of Jesus are wonderful blessings that are given to us from heaven. All our sins have been poured out on Jesus in baptism, and when he drank that cup of the cross right down to the dregs. But all of his righteousness and purity and forgiveness is given back to us in baptism, and in the cup of the Lord’s Supper. He takes what didn’t belong to him, and he gives to us what didn’t belong to us. And so we have this wonderful exchange—he takes our sin, and he gives us his forgiveness and righteousness. All Christians receive this baptism and this cup. But these gifts also point us to a reality that we Christians are citizens of heaven in such a way that the world doesn’t recognise us anymore. And so just as Jesus was spat out by the world, we Christians are also spat out. Each of us have a special measure of suffering that Jesus puts upon us, not to curse us, but for our blessing, to take us away from the things of this world, and to point us to the kingdom of heaven. James was beheaded in Jerusalem, and John was tortured in Rome and then exiled to one of the Greek islands, called Patmos. This was the cross they were called to bear for the sake of Jesus’ kingdom. We should also not be afraid to bear whatever Jesus would have us bear. Sometimes, we pray that Jesus would take some suffering away from us. St Paul writes: To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So be encouraged, be strengthened by Jesus, our Lord, and let him make his power perfect in you, even if you are struggling, and feel so weak. Remember Jesus’ words: What I am doing now you do not understand, but afterwards you will understand.

Jesus says: The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptised, you will be baptised, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. What does Jesus mean here, when he says, “it is not mine to grant”? Can’t Jesus do anything he wants? Well, yes and no. We say: Nothing is impossible with God. But is it possible for God to sin? No, because it would be completely against his nature and his character. Can God make 1 + 1 = 3? No, because 1 + 1 = 2. That’s the way it is. Jesus is not saying that he can’t do something—it’s just that what they ask for is not for them.

And so, we read: When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

In some sense, James and John wanted to establish a kind of hierarchy. They weren’t content with being apostles, they wanted to be super-apostles. And this then begs the question? Should we have any order or hierarchy in the church? Should we have pastors, for example? Well, of course, we should have pastors, because the bible actually speaks about them. In 1 Peter, Peter speaks about all Christians as being members of a royal priesthood. But also, in the same letter, he tells pastors to shepherd the flock of God that is among you. But pastors are not to rule like a king. They are to serve people, and not simply to serve people’s whims, but to serve them with the word of God. But there is no place in the church for the kind of leadership that says: I’m in charge, therefore you need to shut up and do what I say. Peter says: Exercise oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

Sometimes, in the church, some people think that all the problems would be solved if we had more people to exercise authority, more bishops, or even a pope. But this isn’t the way Jesus rules. He says: But it shall not be so among you. He rules through his word alone, not through human authority. He rules, not by setting himself up on an earthly throne, but by sacrificing his life. He says: Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. And this wonderful way in which Jesus gave his life as a priceless ransom, and continually serves his people as our Good Shepherd with his word and sacraments is the heart and centre of Christianity. So let’s thank him for this! Amen.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for coming to serve your people as our wonderful host today, and for giving your life as a ransom for many. Send us the Holy Spirit, and teach us to be bold in prayer, and not to be afraid to learn from you whatever you would teach us. Amen.

Pentecost XVII (Lord's Supper) (16-Sep-2018)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 8.15am, and Grace Lutheran Church, Childers, 10.30am.

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

Take and eat; this is My Body, which is given for you. Drink of it, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

Prayer: May 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 we have the joy of welcoming some young people in our parish to receive the Lord’s Supper for the first time. So I thought it would be a good idea to give a sermon today about the Lord’s Supper.

So for our sermon today, I’m going to base it on the four main questions in Luther’s Small Catechism, where he writes: What is the Sacrament of the Altar? What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things? Who receives this sacrament worthily? I’m going to take this from Luther, not because I want to preach on the words of a man, but because this is not just Luther’s words, but it is our confession of faith as Lutherans. We believe that what Luther says here is a true summary of what the bible says on the matter.

But first, how do we know anything at all about the Lord’s Supper? We read in the Gospels, and in 1 Corinthians 11 that our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them and said, “Drink of it all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.”

Do these words sounds familiar? They should—because I recite them every Sunday during the communion service. On one hand, we call them the words of institution—they are the words which teach us and tell us what happened, and how Jesus set the Lord’s Supper up, and what it was all about. On the other hand, we call them the words of consecration—we recite the words over the bread and wine, in order that Christ’s body and blood should now enter into this place in this particular bread and this particular wine, so that they become his body and blood, so that we can eat and drink them.

But almost everything we know about the Lord’s Supper, comes back to these words. It is the foundational passage. And so, everything that we believe about the Lord’s Supper comes back to this passage.

So let’s look at Luther’s first question and his first answer.

What is the Sacrament of the Altar? Answer: It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink.

Luther writes a really great summary of things here. And it’s a very helpful thing to go through each of these words, and ask the question: what difference does it make if I change them? So it says: It is the true body and blood. What if I change the word “is” and instead make it “represents” or “symbolises”? Well, it means that it’s not really the body and blood anymore, it’s just a picture, or a representation. The Australian flag might represent Australia, but the flag isn’t the same thing as the country. When we see a picture of a kangaroo, we might think that it symbolises Australia, but it’s not actually the same thing as Australia. So, why is it that we believe that the Lord’s Supper “is” the body and blood of Christ? Because Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed…said, “Take and eat, this is my body.”

Now Luther writes: It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. So why does he say “true”? What if I change the word “true” and instead make it “fake”? You might remember in the Nicene Creed in church on Sundays, where we say about Jesus: God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God. This also comes up in the Christmas carol, “O Come, All Ye Faithful”: God of God, Light of Light, Lo, he abhors not the Virgin’s womb: Very God, begotten not created. So why do we say that Jesus is true God, or very God? The reason is that there are people around, both in the early times and also today, who don’t believe that Jesus really God at all. They believe that he might be the next best thing, or almost God, or close enough, but not actually God—so it’s important to say it. So also, Luther makes an extra special point to say that the Lord’s Supper is the true body and blood of Christ. It’s so say: At the Last Supper, Jesus says: This is my body, and he meant exactly what he said, not represents, not symbolises, but “is”.

Luther says: It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. What if we change the words “body and blood” and instead say that it is the fingernail, or the arm, or the leg, of Jesus Christ? Jesus doesn’t say this is my arm, or my fingernail, or my leg, but he says, “This is my body”, “This is my blood”. Now, I’m not trying to be disrespectful or sacrilegious by putting it like this. But some people think that when we Lutherans says that the Lord’s Supper is the body and blood of Christ, that we’re a bit like cannibals, as if we’re eating a piece or a chunk of Jesus body. And this is a pretty disgusting thing to think about.

Jesus gives us his body and blood in a completely supernatural way that is completely beyond our understanding and comprehension. When we speak these words of consecration, Jesus enters into this place in a completely amazing way. Remember that when Jesus rose from the dead, his body had to pass through rock. They didn’t empty the tomb to let him out, he was already out. They rolled away the stone so that they could see that he wasn’t there. Also, Jesus walked on water. He entered through closed doors to visit his disciples. Something like this happens in the Lord’s Supper too.

But also, this is not the dead flesh and dead blood of a dead Jesus. This is the living body and blood of our living Lord, who is risen from the dead, which brings life. There’s not a single speck of death and decay in Jesus—only life.

Now, back to our quote from Luther, where he writes: It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine. Now what if we change the words “bread and wine” to something else, like “coke and chips”? Does it make any difference? It makes a difference because on the night he was betrayed, Jesus didn’t take coke and chips, he took bread and wine, and so if we want to receive his body and blood, we should use the things that he chose to use.

So, this first question of Luther in the Small Catechism talks about what the Lord’s Supper is. And this is such an important question, because “is” means “is”. These are the words that our Lord Jesus spoke on the night when he was betrayed. He gathered his twelve disciples together to farewell them before he was going to the cross—it’s like him giving his disciples his last will and testament. If you were writing your will, you’d want things to be carried out exactly as you wanted it, wouldn’t it? The same with Jesus.

Now, we come Luther’s second question and answer. What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? Answer: These words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

This is a real comfort for us. It’s not enough for us to simply say that the Lord’s Supper is Christ’s body and blood. That doesn’t give us any comfort yet. Because Christ’s body and blood are completely and totally holy and sinless and perfect. And our bodies and hearts and minds are completely and totally unholy and sinful and imperfect. So we’ve got a problem. How is it going to be solved? Is the body and blood of Christ going to destroy us? Well, Christ does have that power, but he doesn’t say that. He says: This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus wants to connect his body and blood to his forgiveness, and he wants us to trust in that word of forgiveness.

Now it’s so important for us to teach this, because this is the reason why we should come. If we didn’t know that this body and blood were for the forgiveness of sins we wouldn’t want to come. We would say: why would I want that? What use is it to me?

For example, I once a met a Catholic priest who told me that when he trains young people for first communion, he teaches them the difference between ordinary bread which is not consecrated, and consecrated bread which is the body of Christ. Now, he’s not wrong in teaching this. Bread that we eat at home is just bread, but when we come to eat the bread in the Lord’s Supper, this is the body of Christ. But this isn’t enough. We need also to tell people why Jesus wanted to give people his body and blood. It’s for you, and it’s for the forgiveness of sins.

If all we do is say, “This is the body and blood of Christ”, but without telling them about the forgiveness which is connected to it, then nobody will want to come. Instead, we’ll just have to force them, and make up rules to make them come. And in church history, this is exactly what happened in the year 1215 in the mediaeval church. The church said that if you don’t come to the Lord’s Supper at least twice a year, we won’t give you a Christian funeral! And so, what did this achieve? A whole lot of Christians who only came to church at Christmas and Easter, but then when they came, they came like a bunch of cows to the trough not knowing what they were doing. So this is why it’s so important for us to say: This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

So Luther writes: These words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins”, show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. Now where does Luther get this idea: “Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation”?

In 1 Corinthians 11, St Paul says: Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Paul here mentions that there is unworthy way in which we can eat the body and blood of the Lord. Now: let’s get something right here. Nobody is worthy to receive the Lord’s Supper, because we’re all sinners. But Jesus allows us to receive the Lord’s Supper in a worthy way. Jesus lets unworthy people receive these gifts in a worthy manner. And there is also an unworthy manner, which we need to be careful of.

So St Paul goes on: Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. He says: Let a person examine himself. In other words, don’t just come and eat like a bunch of animals at feeding time at the zoo. Come, examining yourself. If Jesus gives you this for the forgiveness of sins, then you should realise that you are a sinner who sins every day, and needs help, and who needs this Supper. Also, Paul says if you eat and drink without discerning the body [you] eat and drink judgment on [yourself]. So, we learn from this passage, that if we don’t recognise that this bread and wine is the body and blood of Christ, then we eat and drink a judgment on ourselves. And Paul teaches us to examine ourselves: to recognise our sin. This is why we have the confession of sins in every service, to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.

So, how does a person receive the sacrament in a worthy manner? By discerning the body, by recognising the presence of Christ’s body and blood in the supper, and examining ourselves, recognising our sin, and that this supper is for the forgiveness of sins. We’ll talk about this a little bit later.

But remember Luther said: Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

Back to 1 Corinthians. Paul says about people who received the sacrament unworthily: That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. Paul is saying to these Corinthian Christians that they even became weak, and ill and died, because they ate and drank unworthily.

So if Paul says that eating and drinking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner brings judgment, weakness, illness, and death, what do you think that receiving the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner brings? Instead of judgment, salvation and forgiveness, instead of weakness strength, instead of illness health and healing, and instead of death, life. In other words, as Luther says, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. So when we come to the Lord’s Supper, we bring Jesus our sins, we bring him our weaknesses, our illnesses, our dying bodies, and let him give us his forgiveness, and whatever other gift he wants as it benefits his kingdom. This is why when a Christian is burdened by the sins and fears judgment and condemnation, where do we send them? To the Lord’s Supper. When Christians are suffering and weak, where do we send them? To the Lord’s Supper. And when Christians are ill or dying, we have a long tradition in the church of bringing people the Lord’s Supper in their homes or in hospital.

When God forgives you, he doesn’t just forgive you, but he opens the door to his house, he opens the door to heaven. Just imagine if you have a friend, but then you have a fight. When you forgive them, then you let them in your house again and enjoy your company and your friendship and your things. So also, where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. God opens up the doors to his house, and lets you come in and enjoy his presence and his company and his gifts.

Let’s come to Luther’s third question, where he says: How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things? Answer: Certainly not just eating and drinking do these things, but the words written here: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” These words, along with the bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: “forgiveness of sins.”

Here, Luther wants to reiterate just how important the promise of the forgives of sins is. We don’t come to the Lord’s Supper, like we’re eating dinner at home without thinking about it. We come to the Lord’s Supper, trusting that this is Christ’s body and blood and that it is given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. We don’t get forgiveness just by eating and drinking, but we receive it by faith, trusting in the living words of Jesus. If we trust the words of Jesus, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins, then the forgiveness is ours.

Luther’s last question is: Who receives this sacrament worthily? Answer: Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words “for you” require all hearts to believe.

Now, we’ve already talked about this a little bit. But this is a big issue in some parts of the world. For example, in churches where people think they are saved by works, they can often think that they only become worthy to come to the Lord’s Supper by doing some work. No: we’re saved by faith, and so it’s Christ’s words that make us worthy to come to the Lord’s Supper, not our works.

Luther writes: Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. Now there’s an old tradition where many people skipped breakfast and fasted on Sunday morning, so that the first thing that they would eat for the day and for the week was the body and blood of Christ. And this is a nice tradition, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Also, Luther talks about bodily preparation. People might put on their Sunday clothes, and comb their hair, and make themselves look nice. That’s all good. Luther says that this is all fine outward training. But none of this makes us worthy of the Lord’s Supper. We can do these things, it’s all good—but it’s up to you. Luther writes: But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Now there are many more things we could say about the Lord’s Supper, but we’ll save them for another day.

As we come to the Lord’s Supper today, let’s confess with our mouths and hearts that this supper is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s examine ourselves and recognise our sin, and trust that in this supper, Christ promises to us the forgiveness of sins. Let’s bring to him our sins, our worries, our anxieties, our weakness, our illnesses, and even prepare for our deaths, and receive from Jesus this wonderful food for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We have nothing in ourselves that makes us worthy to eat and drink this supper. We are completely unworthy of it. But through faith, we trust that this body and blood of Christ is for us and for the forgiveness of sins. Amen.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the wonderful gift of the Lord’s Supper, the wonderful gift of your body and blood given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. Send us the Holy Spirit so that we may learn to be in awe of this wonderful miracle that you constantly perform in our church. Amen.

Holy Trinity [Isaiah 6:1-8] (27-May-2018)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 8.15am, and Grace Lutheran Church, Childers, 10.30am.

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

Text (Isaiah 6:1-13):

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, send to us all your Holy Spirit, to me that I may preach well and to all of us that we may hear well; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Today we’re celebrating the festival of the Holy Trinity, where we remember the particular teaching about God, that he is one true God, in perfect unity, but also reveals himself to us as three persons, or three individuals, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Today, for our sermon we’re going to meditate on the words from the Prophet Isaiah, chapter 6. And there’s a number of things that happen in this chapter:

I.                   Isaiah sees a wonderful vision of God.

II.                 He recognises his sin, and he receives forgiveness.

III.              Isaiah is called to be a prophet, and is given a word from God to speak.

So first, what did Isaiah actually see? First, Isaiah gives the time: he says that all this happened in the year that King Uzziah died. We learn here that kings comes and go; rulers die, leaders perish – but God does not. He is the living God.

And Isaiah says he saw him. And actually, Isaiah says very little about what he saw—he could have said much more, but he says just enough for us. He says: I saw the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Can you imagine? The Lord is so far above our comprehension that the edge, the hem of his robe filled the temple. Imagine – Isaiah saw the Lord, and yet he says nothing about what he looked like, only that he was sitting on a throne and the hem of his robe filled the temple. What you think Isaiah is trying to tell us about God?

But then, Isaiah tells us about the living creatures, the holy angels, the seraphim who were there. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew.

Throughout the bible, we read about all kinds of angels and heavenly creatures that God has created. Right in the beginning of the book of Genesis, we read about when Adam and Eve fell into sin, that God appointed angels called cherubim to guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden, with a flaming sword flashing back and forth. –We read later about Jacob and his dream where he saw angels going up and down a ladder to heaven. – Ezekiel saw some wonderful living creatures of God.

Here Isaiah calls the angels he saw: seraphim. And we Christians sometimes talk about cherubim and seraphim, angels and archangels. There is not just one kind of angel, but all different kinds. “Seraphim” means a spirit of fire, an angel of burning fire. In Psalm 104, it says that God’s ministers are a flaming fire. This is what we’re talking about here, who are standing in the presence of someone so wonderful, so magnificent, so glorious, so holy that with two wings they cover their faces and feet in reverence to him.

And we read that there is no silence in this vision. Not only does Isaiah see something wonderful, he also hears what this wonderful thing is. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

You probably recognise these words from when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, when we sing these words: Holy, holy, holy, together with these wonderful living creatures. Notice also there that there are three holies: holy, holy, holy, just as we say in the blessing: the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lordmake his face shine on you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favour and give you peace. The LORD, the LORD, the LORD – holy, holy, holy – just as in baptism we say in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

And so then we read: And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. Can you imagine if the words of the angel causes the foundations to shake, how much more the voice of God himself? These things are so holy that a cloud of smoke protects Isaiah from seeing anything further.

So what’s going on here? In the Gospel of John, chapter 12, we read a little explanation of what Isaiah saw. John says that it was Jesus whom Isaiah saw. And yet this same Jesus who had existed together with the Father and the Holy Spirit right from the beginning of the world is so holy that the angels can’t even look at him, and Isaiah says that the hem of his robe filled the temple.

And yet, this wonderful Jesus has descended from heaven and become a true human being just like us, a real man with real flesh and blood. Angels knew how wonderful this was that at his birth, they came tearing out of heaven to sing with the shepherds in the fields: Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth among those with whom he is pleased.

And now, this same Jesus has died. His blood has been shed, and his hands, feet and side have been pierced. As we read later in Isaiah: This Jesus has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. By his stripes we are healed. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. And this Jesus that Isaiah saw has now risen from the dead and has ascended into heaven. This same Jesus that Isaiah saw has descended and has sat back down on his throne, but now with a difference: sitting there with real human flesh and real human blood.

And yet, can you imagine—this same Jesus whose robe just barely scraped the temple, had people come up to him during his life and touch the hem of his robe. We read about a woman with a bleeding problem who said to herself: If I only touch his garment, I will be made well. Here today Jesus lets us touch the hem of his garment as he descends in all his majesty to baptise a child. What about when we hear the absolution? Jesus lets us touch his garment, by giving us his word and speaking his gospel – his free forgiveness of all our sins. And we touch this garment, his word, and like the lady, we are made well. What about the Lord’s Supper? He clothes himself in bread and wine—we touch these things and eat and drink them, and power goes out from them through the living and active words: This is my body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

But then here in the church, we are gathered with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven. Jesus is the LORD of hosts, the king of the heavenly armies. Remember “O come, all ye faithful” at Christmas time when we sing, “Come and behold him, born the king of angels.”

And these wonderful angels are singing the praises still of this same Jesus, the Lamb of God who was slain to take away the sin of the world. They sing the words: Holy is the Father of this Jesus, Holy is this Jesus himself, and Holy is the Spirit that is breathed out of the mouth of Jesus.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts.

But then remember that Isaiah said that when the voice called out, the thresholds shook. Do you realise that we would know nothing about Jesus at all if it weren’t for the word? It is the voice, the speaking, the word that makes the threshold, the foundations shake.

A church without the word of God is no church.

A sermon without the word of God is no sermon.

Baptism without the word of God is no baptism.

The Lord’s Supper without the word of God is a supper, a very light supper, but it not the Lord’s.

God had willed that his word be spoken here on the earth and it is this word that makes the threshold shake.

But then if we are going to hear God’s word here and enter into the presence of Jesus, how are we going to do it? What should we say? How would we be prepared?

Isaiah tells us: I said: Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!

Woe is me! This is the word of a man who knows his sin, and that he is totally unworthy to be in the presence of God. What about you? Can you say, “Woe is me” – or would you rather say, “Yay for me!” Be careful what you say—when you stand before God, you must know which one of you is the holy God and which one of you is the sinner. Isaiah knows who he is. And he says: I am lost. I am a man of unclean lips. Has God lost his way, or have you? Is God unclean, or are you? – Know who you are. If you are not lost, your Good Shepehrd cannot find you. If you are not unclean, then the blood of the Lamb cannot cleanse you. As St John says: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

But there is something else, something new that God also wants to speak to us. We read: Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

What a wonderful gift the angel gives to Isaiah! Isaiah says: Woe is me! and yet the angel gives God’s blessing, his forgives, his atonement. His guilt is taken away, and his sin atoned for. Isaiah says: I am lost, and yet the angel finds him. Isaiah says: I am a man of unclean lips, and yet those same lips are prepared and purified by the burning coal.

Jesus is very much like this burning coal. Here is a coal but it is also red hot with fire. Jesus is a true man, and yet he glows red hot with his divine nature. He is true man and true God in one person, just like this burning coal is both coal and fire together. And it is this Jesus who finds you, whose angels present him to you, who touches your lips. And he sets this water of baptism on fire with his word so that this baptism saves you. And the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper he sets on fire with his true body and blood. Why? Purely so that when these things touch your lips, that your guilt will be taken away and your sin atoned for. This is also the whole reason why we have preaching, and sermons, and readings, and pastors, and a church at all – so that the wonderful forgiveness of sins in all of its simplicity and in all of its richness can come to you. What a wonderful loving Saviour we have who still comes to forgive us even today, even now through his words and his own promises!

There’s something I’d like to mention just before we finish. God actually calls Isaiah after this to be a prophet. He says: Here I am, send me! And then God sends him, but with a frightening message, and this is a message very much for our church today. God says: Go and say to this people: Keep hearing but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive; make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their hears and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.

There are so many wonderful things that Isaiah has seen and heard, and yet many people will not hear, and yet he must preach, he must speak what God has told him to speak.

Many people are looking for a quick fix in the church today to all kinds of problems, especially in mission! What’s the one thing that could let the floodgates open up so that people could come flowing into the church again?

If only we realise what a wonderful Saviour we meet every Sunday when we sing his praises! If only we knew what a precious gift we have in the word of God and the sacraments! If only we knew that when we have the forgiveness of sins, we have everything and when we don’t have forgiveness we have nothing. And yet Jesus promises forgiveness to you and his word never lies.

But there will be many people who will simply be uninterested in this living Jesus, in the holy Triune God, in the holy Trinity. And yet, whether they believe or not, it is not us who converts them, but the Holy Spirit. We must stick to the word, and speak it in truth and hold to it with all our strength.

It is a great sorrow to many pastors of our church when people are just too lazy to read the bible, too uninterested in God’s word, bored with forgiveness—and yet God’s word is still powerful and his Spirit is living and active.

Many people have given up on God’s word and many pastors don’t preach it, because nobody expects God to call. God calls Isaiah here – and he calls him to speak a specific word. God has called me to be a pastor – and if it is him who calls, then his word is the only thing I can preach. God has baptised you, and if it is him who has called you as his own, then it is his word and nothing less and nothing more than his word that you are called to hear, to believe, and to help bring to the nations however and wherever God uses you.

Of course, when we have given up on God’s call, then the only thing we have left is dodgy church politics, we just intimidate others with the devil’s own power and use people to build up our own personal kingdom.

No—it is God who calls. And if it is He who calls, then it is His word which must be spoken, and no matter how many of how few people will hear it, Christ crucified must be preached, because it is this living Jesus and this living Jesus alone who finds our sinful lips and who speaks the living voice of His Holy Spirit into your ears to forgive each and every single one of your sins! Jesus says: Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.

Holy, holy, holy, LORD God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! Amen.

Dear Jesus, open our ears so that they hear, and our eyes so that they see. Give understanding to our hearts so that we may turn and be healed by your holy and powerful word, Lamb of God, Good Shepherd, thank you for taking away our guilt, and atoning for our sin. Take us, and use us, and send us as you will. Amen.

Pentecost [Acts 2] (20-May-2018)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 8.15am, and Grace Lutheran Church, Childers, 10.30am (lay-reading).

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

Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, breathe out upon us all your Holy Spirit, to me that I may preach well, and to all of us that we may hear well. Amen.

Today we’re celebrating the Day of Pentecost. So what happened on this day? We read about these wonderful miracles that happened: first of all, we read about something that everyone could hear—the sound of a mighty rushing wind that filled the place where they were sitting. And we read that this sound came from heaven. Secondly, we read about something that that everyone could see—divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And then we read about something that everyone could both see and hear—They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now on this particular occasion, we also have described for us exactly what this speaking in other tongues means. It says: There were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

Can you imagine this? Here are a group of people who happen to be there in Jerusalem, and they all come from different countries, and they all speak different languages, but when they listen to Jesus’ disciples, they can hear them speaking in their own languages. And we might think: What an amazing thing! Is this really what happened?

Just to make sure that you fully understand that, yes, this is exactly what happened, we are also given some of the conversations that people were having on that day. We read: And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia,(these people were from the area that is now Iraq and Iran), Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphilia (except for Judea which is in modern-day Israel, all these places are in modern-day Turkey), Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, (we still have the countries of Egypt and Libya today in North Africa), and visitors from Rome, (all the way from Italy), Jews and proselytes (this means not just people who were born as Jews, but also people who were converting and preparing to become Jews), Cretans and Arabians (Cretans were from the Greek Island of Crete, and the Arabians were from the area anywhere on the Arabian peninsula, where today we find countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen)—you can see there are so many different people from all kinds of areas who in those days had travelled very long distances to be in Jerusalem. We read that they said: We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.

So what’s actually going on? What’s the point of all of this? Well, before Jesus had ascended into heaven, he already promised that this would happen. In the beginning of the book of Acts, we read that Jesus while staying with them ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” And at the end of the Gospel of Luke we read: Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

Can you see? Jesus promises to baptise them with the Holy Spirit, and to clothe them with power from on high. But why?

Because Jesus wants them to be witnesses, and to tell the nations that Jesus had died and risen from the dead, and they had seen these things with their own eyes. Jesus says: You are witnesses of these things. In Acts we read where Jesus says: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

And so, between this time, we read about only one thing happening, that the eleven apostles elected one more person to replace Judas, who had betrayed Jesus. And we read that they put forward two men, one called Joseph or Barsabbas, who also called Justus, and another man called Matthias. And read that the disciples cast lots, and prayed that God would choose one of them, and the lot fell on Matthias.

So now, on the day of Pentecost, we read that there is a full number twelve again. And then we read about these wonderful miracles that happen: the wind, the fire and the speaking in the different languages.

But why does all this happen? Firstly, God simply wanted to send the Holy Spirit to the new Christians, and to demonstrate this publicly. But also, because God wants to demonstrate that these apostles are the ones that are sent by Jesus, and now there is a new era of history, where all people everywhere are commanded to listen to these twelve apostles. And what do they have to say? They saw the risen Lord Jesus with their own eyes, and they have come to preach forgiveness of sins in the name of the risen Lord Jesus.

Now, so what does this mean for us today?

It means that these words that the apostles have to speak to us are powerful words, and that these words come with all the power of the Holy Spirit. We see on the day of Pentecost, that as soon as all of these wonderful miracles happen, the people ask questions about what is going on. And so Peter gets up and he preaches the first Christian sermon. And from there, Peter, James and John and all the other apostles were gradually sent out to preach in all kinds of different places. The part of the bible which we call the New Testament is actually the collected writings of the apostles that were also there on that day. Later in the history of the church, Christians understood very clearly that if they want to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit they have to learn and study and listen and preach what the apostles themselves said about Jesus, because Jesus had sent them out with the living power of the Holy Spirit.

So what this means for us today is that whenever we preach and learn and study the words of these apostles we are hearing the living voice of the Holy Spirit, with all the power of God. Here we come together week after week here in our little church, in our little corner of the world. And we listen to the word of God, read out loud, and preached. And when we hear these words that the apostles testify about Jesus, then we know that these words are the living voice of the Holy Spirit and have all the power and might of the Holy Spirit.

You can see what happens today on the day of Pentecost all happens because of the word of God. And we might think, is it really about God’s word? Is that really it? Isn’t it about something more than that?

Well, let’s have a look what actually happens on the Day of Pentecost. First of all, Peter gets up and he preaches the gospel. He preaches the facts about Jesus life, who he was and what he did. And he shows to the people that this was already prophesied by the same Holy Spirit long ago in the prophets. So Peter quotes three passages, one from Joel. In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. And then he preaches from Psalm 16, teaching them that it was impossible for Jesus to remain still dead in the grave. And then he preaches from Psalm 110 that Jesus has ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, and now he is pouring out the Holy Spirit, just as they can all see.

Can you see? Peter is preaching God’s word. It’s the first Christian sermon. Now today, we are not called to listen to any old sermon. We are called to listen to the preaching of Christ’s death and resurrection, and the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. The twelve apostles were called in a special way, by God directly. But they weren’t called to do nothing—they were called to preach. They had a particular calling to speak God’s word and witness to Jesus. Also in the New Testament, we read about people who were called to preach, who weren’t called directly, but were called indirectly. They were trained to preach, and tested, and then hands were laid on them, and they were sent to preach somewhere. These people are called pastors. And so, even today, in the church, pastors are trained and tested, and then they are ordained and sent out. And this also is the work of the Holy Spirit. But we have to stick absolutely to the message that the apostles also taught. If we don’t stick to these words, we won’t be teaching the words of the Holy Spirit.

We pastors are only called to preach God’s word, because this is the only thing that pastors are called to preach. Do you see? God’s word and God’s call go together. And this is also what happens with the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Peter and the other apostles are called by God and this call is demonstrated by the wonderful power of the Holy Spirit, and they are called to preach and to speak what they have been given to speak. And they are called to preach the death and resurrection of Jesus from God’s word, and to call people to repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

And so, what happens then after Peter finishes his sermon? It says: Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Here we can see another work of the Holy Spirit, where he cuts to the heart. The Holy Spirit comes to these people and shows them their sin and awakens them to their need for Jesus.

And then Peter says: Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

Isn’t this amazing? Here we have these miracles about the Day of Pentecost at the beginning of the chapter, but then, how does Peter say that they should receive the Holy Spirit? He says they should repent and be baptised for the forgiveness of sins.

And this shows us something that is highly offensive to our culture today. We can’t believe that the Holy Spirit would make such a fuss just so that a whole group of people should be baptised. Yes, yes, people say, we know we’re baptised. We know Jesus died for us. We know he rose from the dead. But we want something more… His word is not enough, people say.

And yet, it was enough for Peter. He simply got up and preached the word of God, showed the people their sin, and told them to come and be baptised. Even today in the church, we still preach God’s word, we still preach Christ crucified, we still preach the resurrection of Jesus, we still preach about sin and our need for Jesus, we still preach the forgiveness of sins, we still baptise people. And all this happens in the church today because it was done just like this on the Day of Pentecost, and when we continue these things today, we know that this comes with all the power of the Holy Spirit just like it did on the first Day of Pentecost, when the room was filled with wind and tongues of fire.

Later, we read: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Here we see the beginning of Christian worship—listening to the teaching of the apostles, and dedicating themselves to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. We still dedicate ourselves to these things in the church, because this is what happened on and after the Day of Pentecost. I would like us to think how we can dedicate ourselves to true Christian fellowship though – and I don’t mean just holding social events and such like, but how can we build each other up in Christian love and unity, in the true fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Notice there that there is also the prayers. The disciple dedicated themselves to prayers. And also the breaking of the bread. This is the Lord’s Supper. And the Lord’s Supper is that wonderful place where we come to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. And as we come to the Lord’s Supper, it’s almost like a bicycle wheel—as the spokes come to the middle, they all come closer to each other. Also, as we come to learn more about the Lord’s Supper, and we draw near to receive these wonderful gifts, we draw closer to each other. This is true Christian fellowship at work, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Now, the world still needs these things. We still need to hear God’s word, and forgiveness of sins that comes from Jesus and his death and resurrection. We still need baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This is what we read took place on the Day on Pentecost. And when we still hear God’s word, and we still hear the preaching of the forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus, and we still come and receive Holy Baptism and we still come and receive the Lord’s Supper, we know that all these things come to us with all the power and might of the Holy Spirit.

But do you need them? If not, why not? Jesus says that you do. And if you reject these things you reject the only way in which Jesus is going to speak to you. Our problem so often is that we look for the Holy Spirit in the wrong places. We look for him in our emotional highs, we look for him in a crowd of sweaty human bodies as if the church is nothing more than attending a Christian football match, we look for him in our plans and visions for the future rather than words of Jesus, we look for him in personalities and cult figures, we look for him in glitz and glamour and novelty, when all the way along the Holy Spirit was always to be found in the word and in the sacraments, in baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

God is doing something in our world—we must simply recognise this. Just see what has been happening within Islam during the previous few years. On one hand, many Muslims are becoming militant and engaging in terrorist acts. On the other hand, many others are becoming increasingly embarrassed at the religion they held for generations and are beginning to question it. Now, it’s not just Muslims, but all kinds of people—even here in our local area—of rethinking things, and asking what they should do with their lives. And yet, we Christians in Australia will be no use to them or to anyone as long as we think that God’s word and the preaching of God’s word is boring. We will be no use to anyone if we teach our children that God’s word is boring and increase in them a hatred for listening, a hatred for forgiveness, and increase in them a love for whatever the latest fad happens to be. As long as we think baptism and the Lord’s Supper are useless, we are no use. As long as we think prayer is a waste of time, we are of no use. We so often want to fly off and chase whatever new fad comes along, chasing false miracles and false prophets, quick fixes and emotional rushes.

And yet, all the way along, the Holy Spirit has been quietly working through the preaching of God’s word, and in the wonderful miracle of Holy Baptism, and in the wonderful miracle of the Lord’s Supper. Don’t you know how wonderful these things are? Learn these things. Learn God’s word. Learn what it means to be a baptised child of God. Learn what it means to enter into the presence of Jesus and to eat his body and his blood. Come and drink deeply from the wells of the Holy Spirit.

And this word of God does two things: Peter preaches to the people: repent. He says: Save yourselves from this crooked generation. He cuts the people to the heart. But once he has cut them to the heart, then there is a word of healing, of peace, of forgiveness for them. Peter also preaches that Jesus has died and risen again, and has won the completely and totally free forgiveness of every single one of their sins. And that message doesn’t just apply to those people all the way back then, but that same forgiveness is for you even today. And with that forgiveness comes the joy of entering into God’s presence, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the promise of eternal life.

Let’s rejoice in the wonderful gifts that the Holy Spirit so generously pours out on us today—the gifts of his word, the gift of Jesus here in our midst today, the gift of the free forgiveness of all our sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit himself poured out on us and our children in Holy Baptism, and the gift of the body and blood of Christ given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. Come Holy Spirit! Amen.

Lord Jesus, we ask that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon us today as you have promised, and that you would equip us with everything that we need to be useful in service to you. Forgive us for our many failings, and encourage us. Teach us to hear your word, and strengthen us in the calling of our baptism. Lead us and guide us, dear Jesus, wherever and however you will. Amen.

Maundy Thursday [1 Corinthians 11:23-26] (29-Mar-2018)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 7.30pm, and Grace Lutheran Church, Childers, on Wed 28 March, 7pm.

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

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus 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.”

Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

At the end of the book of Genesis, we read about where the old man, Jacob, goes down to Egypt. He has been reunited with his long-lost son, Joseph, who was sold by his brothers as a slave, and now became a prince in Egypt. But then comes to time for Jacob to die—and in Genesis 49, we read about how he gathers all his sons together, and blesses them one by one. And not long after this wonderful blessing, we read: When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

And as we come to celebrate Maundy Thursday tonight, we also see a similar thing – Jesus knows he’s about to die, and so just like Jacob gathering his twelve sons, he gathers his twelve disciples and he blesses them. But Jesus’ blessing is quite a different kind of blessing—Jacob gives all his sons individual blessings which are suitable to each one, but Jesus gives them the same blessing. Jesus blesses each of the disciples with the words: Take and eat, this is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me. And instead of resting his hands on each of the disciples, like we might imagine Jacob doing with each of his sons, Jesus by means of simple bread puts his body in their mouths, and by means of simple wine puts his blood upon their lips. What a wonderful blessing Jesus gives them! This reminds me of those wonderful words of John, who often called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved, who was actually there at the Last Supper: Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

We come to church to hear the words of Jesus, and each word he speaks to us is such a wonderful, loving word. And what Jesus says is not just talk, but it does things: Jesus loves us in deed and in truth. And at the Last Supper, he says: This is my body, and he actually gives the disciples his body to eat. He says: This is my blood, and he actually gives the disciples his blood to drink. It’s just like when Jesus, together with his Father and the Holy Spirit, said at the beginning of creation: Let there be light, and there was light. And just as we still have light in the world today because of those words, so also in the church, we still have Christ’s body and blood to eat and drink, because his words and still powerful. And so Jesus fulfils those words: Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Let us love. At the beginning of our Gospel reading tonight we read the words: Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of the world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Do you see how Maundy Thursday is a night that is stamped with love? Not just some lovey-dovey soppy love, like in some Hollywood movie. This is pure love, divine love, love which we can’t begin to comprehend, and we will never completely understand in our lifetime. But Jesus shows us this love, and demonstrates it to us in his words and actions. This is what Maundy Thursday is about. And so Jesus washes his disciples’ feet to show them what sort of a love he has for them.

Peter doesn’t fully understand. He says: You will never wash my feet. Jesus says: What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. We can never fully understand the depth and the power of the love which Jesus is showing to us at any given time. So often we look back on our lives and realise that Jesus was with us powerfully in times when we thought he might have given up on us. But what a wonderful love it is that Jesus shows us! We read in Romans: I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, not height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And so Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. And he says: For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Jesus is not giving his disciples a sacrament of foot-washing. We will have a foot-washing ceremony later in our service, but this is a re-enactment, not a sacrament. But through this foot-washing, Jesus wants to teach the disciples: I’m going to send you out into the world to bring the gospel to all nations. And you need to know that you are not to go out and get people to serve and wait on you, and to rub oil on your bunions, and pour you refreshments. You are to go and wait on those I have called out of the world, you are to serve them, to wash their feet just like a household slave. This is the kind of love that Jesus teaches the disciples on Maundy Thursday night.

And so he says to them: A new commandment I give to you that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Jesus says: I am going to be with you always until the end of the age. I’m going to walk with you, and work with you, and I’m going to breathe my Holy Spirit on you to comfort you. But that’s not to say that Jesus will work through us whatever we do. I read recently where someone said that Jesus does his mission in us and sends the Holy Spirit through us wherever we go and whatever we do. That’s not true – when we sin, when we hurt people, when we hate people, when we let our temper get the better of us, when we curse them instead of blessing them, no—Jesus is not working through us in whatever we do. It’s not in doing whatever we like that people will know that we are his disciples, but it’s by this[that] people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

And then we go to Jesus, and we say: Look, Jesus, I’m just not as loving as I know I should be. I’m always giving you a bad name. I get frustrated with people, and I don’t love them. I get to that crazy intersection of Gawler Street and Hutchinson Street, and some nincompoop turns right in front of me when he shouldn’t have, so I honk my horn and give him the finger. And to top it off I’ve got this fish sticker on the back of my car advertising that I’m a Christian. Well, so much for the line: By this all people will know that you are my disciples.

So, Jesus, what do I do? How do I learn this love? How do I get this love?

Jesus knows very well that you need this love, that you need to study it, that you need to receive it constantly from him.

In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther, in his Questions and Answers for those who intend to go to the Sacrament, writes this question:

Finally, why do you wish to go to the sacrament, [the Lord’s Supper]?

Answer: That I may learn to believe that Christ, out of great love, (did you hear that word?) died for my sin, and also learn from Him to love (there it is again!) God and my neighbour.

The Lord’s Supper is a Supper of Christian love. Even the apostle Jude, in his letter, the second last book in the bible, calls the Lord’s Supper, a love feast. A feast of love. (Actually, the love feast probably also included not just the Lord’s Supper but also a further meal together.)

But when St Paul writes to the Corinthians, the Lord’s Supper is not one of love at all. He says: When you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. He even says: When you come together it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not!

Those are very strong words from the apostle Paul. And we can see that even the early churches didn’t get everything right, as if this was some kind of golden era, where all these happy smiling Christians were all sitting around in a circle, holding hands and singing, Kumbaya.

No – they also, just like us, had to learn how to love.

And so St Paul says: Let me teach you how to love. I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night 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.”

So Jesus loves his disciples by speaking his word. He says: This is my body, given for you. This is my blood of the new covenant, the new testament in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.Jesus through the power of his clear and pure word, makes the bread and wine something that it wasn’t before. Jesus had done this kind of miracle before, where he took a sick person, spoke his word, and made them well. So, it’s no ordinary bread and wine anymore: it’s the body and blood of Christ. It’s still bread and it’s still wine—but the bread is united to the body of Christ and the wine to this blood. This is what we call the consecration. So that if someone were to ask us: what is that food on the table there? We would say: It’s the body and blood of Christ. And Jesus doesn’t tell lies. Every word of God proves true. St Paul says: The blessing cup that we bless, is it not a participation of the blood of Christ?

But it’s not enough for Jesus simply to consecrate his body and blood. He loves his disciples by giving his body and blood to them. We read in Mark: After blessing it, he broke it and gave it to them. He broke the bread so that they could all have a piece. This is what we call the distribution. Even in the New Testament, the Lord’s Supper is called the breaking of the bread. This means, not that Jesus broke it as some great symbolic ritual, but he broke it so that they could have some.

But it’s not enough for Jesus simply to give it to them to do whatever they like with it. He doesn’t want them to put his body in their pockets and take it home. Jesus loves his disciples by telling them to eat it and drink it. This is what we call the reception of the Lord’s Supper. He wants to put his body in their mouths, and he wants to put his blood on their lips.

And all of this, Jesus says: Do this in remembrance of me. Remembrance doesn’t mean that it’s not his body, and that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial meal of bread and wine without his body. Otherwise, Jesus didn’t mean what he said, when he said: This is my body. No – the Lord’s Supper is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ himself for us Christians to eat and to drink. He says: I want you to eat my body and drink my blood in remembrance of me. That’s what I want you to do, when I say: do this.

What wonderful love Jesus shows to us! Not only does he die on the cross, and rise again from the dead, but he stays with his church and feeds his own church himself, with himself, with his body and blood, all throughout Christian history!

So this Supper that we are going to share together, is the supper where Jesus teaches us his great divine love. It is here, on our knees, around the altar of God, where Jesus shapes and forms us in his character, in his mind, in his heart and works in us that pure love, the love which he shows completely undeserved to us. It’s especially here in the Lord’s Supper where these words are taught and begin to come true and take shape: By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. All this he does by giving us such a precious gift: His body and his blood.

May God bless you with his Holy Spirit as we come to receive this gift tonight, and to be comforted and strengthened with his precious words!

Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, we can’t begin to imagine how you bring about this great miracle in the Lord’s Supper. But we trust in your words in all their truth and purity: This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for your for the forgiveness of sins. Amen, amen, it shall be so!