Pentecost XVI (Proper 21 C) [Luke 16:19-31] (29-Sep-2019)

This sermon was preached at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Semaphore, 8.45am, and Good News Lutheran Church, Albert Park, 10.30am. 

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

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.

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.

This passage from the Gospel of Luke that we have as our Gospel reading today is just such an incredible reading, and it is such an amazing story that Jesus tells us. It has so many amazing things and incredible lessons for us to learn – it puts eternity before us in a very stark way which, actually, for our sinful hearts, for our sinful flesh, is very unpleasant. But it also puts before us an incredibly powerful comfort about what it means to be a Christian and to be saved.

So in our sermon today, I’m going to pick out of this text a few different topics. Firstly, let’s talk about poverty and wealth, and what it means as a Christian to be rich or to be poor.

In our Gospel reading, we read: There was a rich man who was clothed with purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. Later, we read that this particular rich man went to hell, but this particular poor man, Lazarus, went to heaven. And Abraham says to the rich man: Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

Now, we can sometimes make the wrong conclusion from the passage, as if Jesus is teaching us that rich people are bad, poor people are good, rich people are all going to hell, poor people are all going to heaven. But that’s not quite true. When Lazarus went to heaven, we are told that he went to be with Abraham. Now, in this earthly life, was Abraham rich or poor? Let me read you from the beginning of Genesis 13: Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. Interesting—it turns out that not all rich people automatically go to hell. If all rich people were in hell, why is Abraham in heaven?

So let’s read about the good things that this rich man had. We read first of all, that he was a rich man—he had lots of money and possessions. We would assume—as well—that he had a very nice house. But what he also had was earthly comforts—he had nice clothes, and he was able to eat nice food every day. We often think about wealth simply in terms of a person’s money—but Jesus wants to draw our attention especially to his clothes and food: He was clothed in purple and fine linen and he feasted sumptuously every day.

Now, let’s read about the bad things that Lazarus had. We don’t read at all about Lazarus’s clothes. We read that he was poor—he didn’t have any money, or a home, because he was laid at the rich man’s gate. We read that, instead of being clothed with fine linen and purple cloth, he was covered in sores. He was sick, and infected with some kind of terrible skin disease, that must have caused him no end of itching and annoyance. The only comfort he received was the dogs who came and licked his sores. And what did he eat? Well, not much—but we read that he desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table.

Now, what is Jesus trying to teach us here? Well, first of all, we should realise that in this life, money, a home, good health, clothes and food are all good things, good gifts from God. Actually, Jesus even teaches us to pray for these things, when he says: Give us today our daily bread. When we have these things, we should thank God for it—because they are good things.

And when we see someone—and especially one of our fellow believers, our fellow Christians—who is particularly in need, and doesn’t have the things that they need, and is going hungry, or is sick, or homeless, or doesn’t have enough clothes to wear, our hearts should go out them in compassion, and we should do what we can to help them. Think here about the parable of the Good Samaritan, where he comes and sees the half-dead man on the street, and helps him. And Jesus says: Go and do likewise.

Now, I often think that sometimes (maybe, particularly in our country) in the church, we don’t see enough of this Christian charity at work. Now why is this? Sometimes, I think there are many of us who think we’re a lot poorer than we really are, and so we don’t thank God for what we have, and we don’t think to share it, because we think someone else should be sharing with us. Or, maybe we think because of Centrelink and government welfare, that there really isn’t anyone who really needs our help. If someone needs something, people think, they’ve probably brought it on themselves. Sometimes, we know, it isn’t easy to help people—for example, you can’t just give a drug addict money, if you know they’re just going to go and buy more drugs. They need a different kind of help, and sometimes the kind of help they don’t want. But the fact is with Lazarus: he was in need, and the rich man who was able to help him, didn’t help him. And so, Jesus teaches us here, very simply, if we see someone in need, we should help them.

In fact, this is how Jesus views us—he saw us from heaven in our need, and in all our sin, and in all our helplessness, and he came down from heaven, to share his riches with us. Now, these are heavenly riches—the forgiveness of sins, the promise of everlasting life—but he shares them with us, like a rich man, and let’s us not just eat the scraps off his table, but to feast with him. And so, Jesus wants to create in us a compassionate heart, a heart which reaches out to other people, to share what we have with them. When someone is burdened by guilt and has sinned, we can share the forgiveness of sins with them, and the message of everlasting life with them. And also, when we see someone in some kind of physical need of the body—if they are poor, sick, homeless, hungry—we can also reach out to them and share with them what we have.

Now, let’s leave this topic about being poor or rich, and what it means to be charitable, and let’s come to another topic that this reading talks about, which is the Scripture. When the rich man is in hell, he asks Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers. Instead, Abraham says: They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. And he said, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”

So we learn that on the one hand, we have a rich man and a poor man—from our earthly point of view, from the point of view of physical eyes, it looks like the rich man is blessed, and the poor man Lazarus is cursed. The rich man has money, health, house, expensive clothes and expensive food. The poor man has nothing. But there is something much more important that the poor man has, that the rich man doesn’t have. The poor man heard the Scripture—he listened to the words of Moses and the Prophets—and when he heard this message, and he trusted that there was going a Saviour who would die for his sins, the Holy Spirit went into his ears and created a living faith in him. And as he sat at the rich man’s gate, he knew that even though he had nothing in the eyes of the world, he had a God and a Saviour who loved him.

The rich man, on the other hand, also had the Scripture—he had Moses and the Prophets—but he didn’t listen to them. Why would he need to listen to them, when he already has everything that he needs? Instead, the rich man pushed the voice of God away from his heart, and hardened his heart to God, so much so that he couldn’t even have compassion on the man covered with sores at his gate.

And so, it’s just like what God said to the prophet Samuel when he went to choose the young King David to anoint him as the king. He said: The Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

So, in the end, Lazarus has nothing except the word of God. The rich man has everything except the word of God. In eternity, what this means, is that is Lazarus who has everything, and the rich man who has nothing.

Now, why did the Word of God—why did Moses and the Prophets—give so much to Lazarus? Because, this is the same Word of God that brought the entire universe out of nothing—and so it is more powerful than any money, houses, clothes and food in the entire world. This is simply the most important thing that we could learn in this life—it is so simple, and yet so many people—like this rich man—miss it, and harden their hearts to it, because it doesn’t look like much. It doesn’t look like the wealth, the spectacle, the glamour, that the rich man has. And so just as the rich man treated it all like nothing, so many people treat it like nothing.

Even in the church, this can also be the case. The Lutheran Church is here not simply because of Martin Luther, but because we claim to be a church of the word. Now, many churches can claim to have all kinds of things, but if they don’t have the word of God, they have nothing, and they are leading people on the wrong path. And it’s not like we Lutherans are immune—in fact, the devil is constantly at work trying to take the word of God away from us. And replace it with what? Well, sometimes the word of God can be replaced by traditions, by wealth, by spectacle. Sometimes, the word of God can be replaced by our own reason, our own intellect, our own thinking. Sometimes, the word of God can be replaced by experiences, visions, miracles, ghosts, spirits, and feelings.

Even this happens in our reading. Abraham tells the rich man in hell that if his five brothers have Moses and the Prophets, they have everything they need. What does the rich man say? He says: No—father Abraham—but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. The rich man knows full well that his brothers are all a bit bored with the word of God. It would really shake them up if the ghost of Lazarus gave them a talking to. No—it doesn’t work like that. And so, we have an incredible warning in this reading. When we have the word of God, we have everything. When we don’t have it, we have nothing. So—don’t be bored with it. Savour every opportunity to hear it, and to read it, and to think about it. We have Moses and the Prophets, and we have the apostles, and we actually do have Jesus physically risen from the dead. What excuse do we have? The day of salvation is now, and Jesus is calling you. Don’t reject him when he walks by.

Now, I’d like come to another topic in our reading—and that is the whole question of salvation, about heaven and hell. Now, a lot of us pastors don’t like to preach too much about hell, and there’s probably a good reason for it. Sometimes, people talk about the old days, like the only thing any pastor every talked about was “hellfire and brimstone”! You can go and read books of sermons from all kinds of times and you can see that that isn’t true.

However, when topics comes up in our readings, we should talk about them. And this passage today is one of the most vivid descriptions that Jesus gives about hell. The rich man lifts up his eyes and sees Lazarus far away and out of his reach. He says: I am in anguish in this flame. He wants his tongue to be cooled by a drop of water. He calls it a place of torment. Abraham says: Now, you are in anguish.

If there’s one thing that seems to be destroying the Christian faith everywhere today, is this whole idea that at the end of the day, “everyone’s going to be alright, Jack.” Many Christians today think that there really isn’t a hell, and that there’s nothing really wrong with anyone, and so, we’re all going to be saved anyway. We might think this for good reasons—we might see other people we know and love who care nothing for Jesus and his word, and we don’t want to have to think about them in eternal torment. It’s a thing that should make us incredibly sad and worried for them. So people sometimes fall into a trap, called “universalism”. “Universalism” means that in the end, everyone is going to be saved anyway, no matter what.

Now, this is not what the bible teaches, it’s not what Jesus taught, and it’s not what he says in our reading today. And it’s a teaching which dries up our love for people, and which makes our zeal for mission dry up—it even makes our thirst and our love for Jesus himself dry up.

At the time of Martin Luther, this was a very important issue, because many Christians believed in purgatory. Purgatory was basically half-way between heaven and hell, and if you paid off your sins in purgatory, or if your loved ones on earth helped pay them off for you, you could eventually go to heaven. But this reading today, teaches us that purgatory doesn’t exist. Abraham says to the rich man: Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner, bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.

Do you see this? Once our life is ended—we either go to heaven or to hell. There’s no half-way. Either we are saved by the blood of Jesus, or we’re not. Now, when Jesus teaches us this, it might grate at us a bit, it makes us very uncomfortable. But you see, Jesus wants us totally for himself. He doesn’t want us to be half-hearted, or half-baked in our trust and love for him. And when we die, he wants to welcome us into his kingdom, with Abraham and Lazarus, and all those who have died believing in him. And so, when we think about eternity, we shouldn’t be lazy in our thinking, we shouldn’t be apathetic or blasé about it. We should be black and white about it—and set very clearly before our eyes only two options: heaven and hell. And Jesus promises that all who believe in him have eternal life. And we set our eyes and our hearts and our minds very clearly in the direction of heaven.

Now, the last thing to talk about today is the Gospel. In the Scripture, we have two teachings—the law and the Gospel. The Law shows us our sin, and shows us the threat of God’s judgment. There are many things in our reading today that put God’s law and his judgment very seriously before our eyes—and some of what Jesus teaches here is quite frightening.

However, at the same time, we also have the Scripture a completely different teaching, which doesn’t show us our sin, but which shows to troubled sinners their wonderful Saviour. This teaching is what we call the Gospel. Now, we know that Jesus entered into this world to take upon himself all of our sin, and he died for it on the cross, made a perfect sacrifice and atonement for you, and he rose again from the dead on Easter day. And now, he gives to you the forgiveness of sins here in the church, through your baptism, through the absolution spoken by the pastor, through the preaching, and through the body and blood of Christ given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. And these things are then given to you as a kind of down-payment of the wonderful promise of everlasting life, eternal salvation, and at the end of this world, a resurrection from the dead, where your body and soul will be so completely transformed and transfigured, that you will be glorified to be like the angels and even Jesus himself.

Now, what’s this got to do with our reading? Who was saved? It was Lazarus who was saved. It didn’t look like he had anything, but in the end, the angels themselves carried him to Abraham’s bosom, placed him on Abraham’s lap, and he was received into eternal life. Why Abraham? Because Abraham believed the Lord, and it was counted to him as righteous. Abraham is the father of faith—Jesus says, that even God can raise up stones to be children of Abraham. And if we believe in Jesus, and trust in his blood and his death, we also are children of Abraham, and will be carried from this life by the angels.

But then the devil wants to tempt us. He wants to say: But look: that rich guy doesn’t believe in Jesus—look at the house he’s living in compared to you, look at the food he’s eating compared to you, look at the happiness he has compared to you. You’re not a real Christian.

Well, it’s at times like this, you can tell the devil to “tick off”, because you have the word of God, you have Jesus risen from the dead, therefore you have everything. You might not have the perfect house, you might not have lots of money, you might be sick all the time, you might have lots of troubles and worries, you might have lots of sadness, you might be lonely, you might be cold, you might be hungry. When we’re struggling like this, we start to think God has abandoned us, and there’s something wrong with our faith. Rubbish! What do you have? You have a Jesus who died for you, a heavenly Father who loves you, and a Holy Spirit who encourages you. You have the word of God—you have Moses and the Prophets, the apostles, you have Jesus. And if you have these things, then you have everything, and you have more than all the gold and the treasures in the whole world. So be like Lazarus—sit at God’s gate, and trust in him. Jesus will never let you down, and finally he will raise you up from the dead to be like him. Amen.

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

Ascension [Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:9-11]

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 8.15am (lay-reading), and Grace Lutheran Church, Childers, 9am.

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

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. (Acts 1:9)

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.

Today we’re celebrating one of the most significant festivals of the church year, which is Ascension. Today we commemorate that event which is summarised in the Apostles’ Creed: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. In the New Testament, Matthew and John don’t mention the Ascension. But Mark tells us about it at the end of his gospel, Luke tells us about it at the end of his, and also Luke writes about it again at the beginning of the Book of Acts. Today, we’re going to focus on the event of Jesus’ ascension into heaven, and we’re going to look at all three of these passages, from Mark, Luke and Acts.

 First, let’s look at Luke 24, where it says that Jesus led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. This gives us a wonderful picture. Here Jesus has come to the end of this period of forty days after he rose from the dead, and now he is about the ascend into heaven. And just before he does so, he raises his hands into the air, and he blesses them. We are so used to this gesture, since in the church, a pastor will do the same thing, and lift up his hands and bless the congregation. In fact, this is the place where our custom of doing this comes from. Many people have said to me over the years that the blessing at the end of the service is one of their favourite parts of the service.

But one of the most important things about the blessing is that we’re not simply copying Jesus, but we do this because we believe that it’s not just a pastor who gives us a blessing at the end of our service, but Jesus himself. In fact, there’s a sense in which the whole service is here for one purpose: to receive the blessing of Jesus. There’s a kind of sense here too in which Jesus raises his hands to bless his disciples, and as he ascends into heaven he doesn’t put his hands down, but continues to bless them and all of his disciples right up to the very end of the world, when he will bless us forever and ever.

So now we read about the actual ascension itself. Mark writes: So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Luke says: While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And in Acts we read: When they had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. We see so many similar but different ways of saying the same thing: he was taken up, carried up, lifted up.

In being taken up, carried up, lifted up, Jesus reveals to the disciples the great power of his natural human body. You see, Jesus is not just any human being, like you and me. He is both true man and true God, and he can allow his human body to do whatever he wants it to do, and to be and to go wherever he wants it to go and to be. With you and I, we might imagine travelling overseas or to a faraway place, but our desires alone won’t be able to take us there. But with Jesus, it is different. His human body is transformed and glorified and transfigured by his divinity, by the fact that he is true God. And so, if he wants his body to ascend, then it can.

Many people think for example that the Ascension of Jesus, and the presence of his body and blood in the Lord’s Supper are two mutually exclusive things. People think that he can’t be here in the church on the altar in the Lord’s Supper, because he is in heaven at God’s right hand. But God himself is everywhere, and his right hand is everywhere. And if Jesus says that this is his body and blood, he has the power and the ability to make it happen just as he says, and to be in the place where he has promised to be. Just as when Jesus was on the mountain and was transfigured and his body shone with divine light, so also in the Ascension Jesus’ body is alive and active with all the fulness of divine power.

Now Luke also says: [Jesus] parted from them. And in Acts, Luke writes: a cloud took him out of their sight. It is such a wonderful mystery that occurs when Jesus ascends into heaven, that there comes a point when we can’t imagine it anymore, and the disciples can’t watch it anymore. The whole event is too great, too mysterious, too high and lofty, that Jesus is hidden in a cloud. You see, on one hand, Jesus is removed from them. But on the other hand, Jesus does not leave them. Beforehand, the twelve apostles had all had to continuously gather altogether wherever Jesus was. But soon, Jesus is going to send these twelve apostles out to all the nations to speak the good news. And so Jesus ascends into heaven, not so that everyone will need to travel and come to meet him in Israel, but so that he can go out with the twelve apostles and his missionary church, and lead them and be with them wherever he sends them.

So we read in Mark a very special detail about this whole event. It says: So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he didn’t simply go to heaven, just as we look forward to going to heaven. For example, Jesus promised to the thief on the cross: Today, you will be with me in Paradise. St Paul says: My desire is to depart and be with Christ. The old man Simeon says: Now, Lord, let your servant depart in peace. All these people have a great desire to go to heaven. But what happens to Jesus is different; the thief, Paul and Simeon never sat down at the right hand of God.

In the book of Ezekiel, we read about Ezekiel’s vision where he saw the angels, the cherubim, these wonderful living heavenly creatures. But then above these living creatures is an expanse, with the throne of God on top of the expanse. This expanse is a kind of dividing line in heaven between the realm of the angels and God’s own throne. In Ezekiel’s vision, God sits above the expanse and the angels are below the expanse. When Jesus ascends into heaven, he doesn’t go there to be equal to the angels or the saints. He doesn’t enter heaven and dwell below the expanse together with all the angels. He enters heaven and sits above the expanse, at the right hand of God, ruling heaven and earth, not as God’s servant, but as God’s equal. Jesus is both true man and true God.

In Philippians chapter 2, we read a well-known passage which mentions the Ascension: 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 emptied himself, by 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. 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. Here we see the great humiliation that Jesus went through in dying on the cross. But in the Ascension, we see this wonderful way in which God has highly exalted Jesus.

And so now, we’re going to look at these three passages, from Mark, Luke and Acts, and see what happens now. Mark, Luke and Acts tell us about three different things that happened after Jesus ascended into heaven. Mark, Luke and Acts don’t tell us about the same thing that happens after Jesus ascended. Instead, the three different books tell us about three completely different things that happened, and yet none of these three things contradict. Acts tells us what happened immediately after Jesus ascended into heaven—within seconds of the event. The Gospel of Luke tells us what the apostles were then doing after Jesus ascended over the next few days. But then in Mark, we read about what the apostles were doing for the rest of their lives.

So let’s first of all look at the Book of Acts. We read: And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Here we see two men in white clothes, two angels, come and speak to the apostles. The angels appear at all the major events in Jesus’ life: at his conception, his birth, his temptation in the wilderness, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and at Easter.

So they say to the apostles here: Why do you stand looking into heaven? Now is the beginning of the end times, when the Holy Spirit will be poured out, and there will be a holy Christian church on earth. Jesus has ascended into heaven, and now we will wait for him to return. This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Just as Jesus ascended into heaven in a cloud, so also he will return at the end of the world on a cloud. Even when Jesus was on trial, he said to the high priest, You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. So here were learn that the Ascension teaches us to eagerly and joyfully wait for that time when Jesus will appear and bring this sad world to an end.

But now, let’s look at what is recorded in Luke, which tells us what the apostles were doing in the days that followed. It says: And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. In this passage, we read about the great joy of the apostles, and about worship. When Jesus ascends into heaven, there is not a single drop of sadness. This is because Jesus doesn’t actually leave his disciples. The Ascension doesn’t mean that Jesus is now stuck up in heaven and is no longer here. Jesus says: Behold, I am with you always to the very end of the age. Jesus isn’t with them like a ghost, or simply spiritually. Jesus is physically with them, because he is both true God and true man, and he is actively working with them and leading them.

But then we also read that the disciples worshipped him, that they returned to Jerusalem, and were continually in the temple blessing God. Because Jesus is now seated at God’s right hand, it means that when they worship God, they worship Jesus. Wherever God is, Jesus is there too. Where God hears their prayers, Jesus also hears their prayers. And so when we come to church, we come here to worship Jesus, and we come to meet together in the presence of Jesus. When we hear the words of the Scripture, Jesus comes to speak these words himself. And Jesus gives us his own body and blood to eat in the Lord’s Supper. All this is possible because of the ascension, and so the apostles worship Jesus with great joy.

But the third thing we read about after the Ascension, is from Mark, where he tells us about what the apostles were basically doing for the rest of their lives. It says: And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. Jesus did not command the apostles to preach, and then abandon them. Jesus is not like a CEO of a large company, who sets his employees to work, and then leaves them to it. Jesus sends his apostles to preach, and then Jesus works with them. He promises them: He who hears you hears me. He who receives you receives me. He says: As the Father sent me, even so I am sending you. And so, on the day of Pentecost, the disciples dedicate themselves to the apostles’ teaching.

And so even today in the church, we confess in the creed that we believe in one holy Christian and apostolic church. The word “apostolic” means that we stick to the teaching of the apostles, because where we have the teaching of the apostles, there we have the teaching of Jesus. Jesus himself never wrote anything, but he commanded the apostles to bring the message of the Gospel to the world. And so even today, we Christians dedicate ourselves to the apostles’ teaching, just like the first Christians. And where we have the apostles’ teaching, then we know, from our reading that the Lord will work with them and confirm the message by accompanying signs. Amazing things will happen when we remain to this heritage, this legacy, this doctrine, this Gospel, that the apostles have given to the church.

Today in the church, we have the wonderful gift of the word of God, and the Sacraments. And Jesus promises to speak to us personally himself when we read and preach his word. When pastors speak the absolution, this is not the pastor’s word of forgiveness, but Jesus’ word of forgiveness. When we baptise people, Jesus himself comes into our midst and baptises them. In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus feeds us with his very own body and blood. Jesus is ascended into heaven and he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Many people think that the Jesus abandoned the church, or that he is isn’t working, or that he isn’t here. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus’ ascension means the exact opposite of these things: he hasn’t abandoned us, but is right here every day with us. He is here, and he is living and active. He is our risen and ascended Lord, and he is the Lord who works with us and confirms his apostolic word by accompanying signs.

So we see in Acts the wonderful promise of Jesus return as the king of heaven on the clouds of heaven. In the Gospel of Luke, we see the great joy that Jesus gives to his church through his presence, so that they worship him, and continually bless and praise him in the temple. And in the Gospel of Mark, we see the wonderful way in which Jesus works with the apostles and confirms and strengthens their preaching. Even today, as we live in a world that seems to be getting worse, the message of Jesus’ return at the end of the world fills us with hope. The fact that Jesus is present in his church to bless us fills us with great joy. And the fact that Jesus works and strengthens the preaching of the word strengthens and encourages our faith. So let’s thank Jesus for the amazing and wonderful way in which he has ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of the throne of God. Amen.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for the wonderful miracle of your ascension. Strengthen us while we walk here on this earth, until that time when you will take us to yourself, and transform our lowly bodies to be like your glorious body. Amen.

Transfiguration B [Mark 9:2-9] (11-Feb-2018)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 8.15am (lay-reading), and Grace Lutheran Church, Childers, 9am.

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

And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

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.

Today we are celebrating an event recorded in the Gospels which we call the Transfiguration. In this reading we read about how Jesus appeared to Peter, James and John in a particularly amazing way, where his face and clothes became to shine with bright white light. We also read about how Peter, James and John also saw Moses and Elijah, two well-known figures from the Old Testament who have lived long ago, talking with Jesus. And then, we also read about how a cloud covered them, and God the Father spoke, declaring Jesus to be his Son, and giving the command that we should listen to him. And so, we’re going to look at these three things in our sermon:

I.                Firstly, the amazing light that came across Jesus and changed his appearance.

II.                 Secondly, the fact that Moses and Elijah appeared, and

III.              Thirdly, the words that God the Father spoke from the cloud.

So let’s come to the first part of our reading, where we read about

I.                   The amazing light that came across Jesus and changed his appearance.

We read in our Gospel reading today: Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and let them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. This is how the evangelist Mark describes it in his gospel which we read today. He makes a particular emphasis about Jesus and his clothes. Matthew also tells us that his face shone like the sun. And also Luke, says that Jesus was praying, and that the appearance of his face was altered.

This is an amazing thing that happened. John also makes mention of this event, when he says the well-known words at the beginning of his gospel: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory… Here in our reading today, we get a little picture of that glory that John saw, together with Peter and James. Peter, who was also there on this occasion, wrote about this event in his second letter, where is says: We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honour and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. Do you see what kind of an impression this event made on John and Peter? You can almost sense that their amazement hadn’t worn off even by the time they wrote it.

This event in our reading teaches us something wonderful about Jesus. It teaches us that Jesus is a human being whom we can see and touch, but that also he is true God. He is the light of the world, who existed right from the beginning of time together with his Father. The Book of Hebrews calls Jesus the radiance of the glory of God. Jesus is 100% man and 100% God 100% of the time, but he most of the time, he hides his glory and his majesty and his brightness under the humble form of a human being like us. It’s almost like a burning coal, or a hot piece of iron that a blacksmith uses. Jesus is true God, and this divinity of Jesus shines out through his human body, just like fire and heat make a charcoal or a piece of iron glow red hot.

But the miracle of the Transfiguration is not this happened to Jesus. The miracle is that the disciples were allowed to see it. Everything that Jesus did or said glows and radiates and shines with all of his wonderful divine power and energy. Here in our reading, Jesus makes it clear to the disciples exactly who he is. Like a true man, made in the image of God, he prays, he has a face, a body, clothes. But as true God, shining with brilliant light, he glows and shines and sends out his rays. When Jesus asked Peter who the Son of Man is, Peter replied: You are the Son of the living God. The Son of Man is the Son of God—this is who Jesus is. When Thomas after Easter saw Jesus standing in front of him, with the wounds in his hands and his side, what did he say? He said: You are my Lord and my God.

We learn here just who this Jesus is that we worship. He came down from heaven to live a life among us. This is the Jesus who lives with us each day, who baptised you personally, and who gives you the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. You are his bride, and he is your bridegroom. And all of this wonderful glory and power he shares with you, he uses this power to die and cancel your sin, he unites himself with you, and he shows you a little taste of what he will be like when you see him in heaven. But we might think: but I am so ordinary, so sinful. I carry a lifetime of burdens, and shame, and sadness, and worries and guilt. Does this Jesus with all of that brilliant heavenly light want to enter into my life? Yes—he has died for you, he has shed his blood for you, that body shining with light was nailed and pierced and whipped and crucified for you, and now he is risen from the dead. He gives you his forgiveness and his promise of eternal life and his victory as a wonderful robe and clothing of righteousness and holiness, so that you can stand before God, and wrap yourself up completely in that robe. You can stand before God the Father, not because you are so holy and perfect. Far from it—you are not holy and perfect. But this Jesus is—and let’s you wrap yourself up in his robe of righteousness, that righteousness, that holiness, that purity, that brilliance and radiance that belongs to him.

But also, we get a little taste of what our bodies will be like when Jesus raises us from the dead. In the Apostles’ Creed it says: I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Sometime after we have died and gone to be with Jesus in heaven, he will gather up all of the dust and ashes of our bodies and transform them and glorify them. Paul says in Philippians: Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. Just think about that for a moment—the wonderful glory that we see in our reading today of Christ’s body, he won’t only keep to himself, but he will share that glory with you, and transform your body at the end of the world.

The other thing that happens in our reading today is that it’s not just Jesus’ face that shines with brilliant light, it’s not just his body, but it’s also his clothes. Our reading today says: His clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. Now the wonderful thing about Jesus is that, now that he has ascended into heaven, he still wants to meet us and speak to us and be with us even now, here in this lifetime, on this side of the grave. And so he clothes himself. He hides himself here on earth, in such a way that you would only know he were there if he told you. Do you know what these things are, where Jesus clothes himself? First of all, he clothes himself in the words of the bible, the Holy Scripture—not just in the printed words on paper, but also when we read it aloud, and preach it, and sing it, and pray it, and think about it. Jesus clothes himself in the words of the Scripture, and these clothes of his shine with all the brilliance of his divine light. We read: Your word is a lamp—a bright, shining lamp!—to my feet, and a light—a brilliant light!—to my feet.

Also, he clothes himself in the words and the water of Holy Baptism. To us, it looks like just a bit of water in a bowl. But this water and the words of Jesus that we speak—I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—this baptism is full of wonderful divine light and energy and power, because your baptism gave to you the forgiveness of sins, rescued you from death and the devil, and gave you eternal life. You can put your trust in this solid rock, because Jesus himself has promised that he will clothe himself there, and hide himself there. Also, on Sundays, we hear those wonderful words of absolution spoken by the pastor: I forgive you all your sins. Jesus had said to his apostles: Receive the Holy Spirit! If you forgive anyone their sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness, they are withheld. And so, Jesus has promised to hide and clothe himself in these words of forgiveness, so that when we hear them we know that this is not the words of a mere man standing on earth, but the words of the Lord of heaven and earth himself, our Lord Jesus Christ. And if he has clothed himself with these things, we know that his clothes shine with brilliant divine light.

But then also, he has promised to give us his body and blood to eat and to drink. He clothes himself in this bread and wine, and this bread and wine shines and glows in such a way that they are connected and united to the body and blood of Christ himself, so that when we eat this bread, we are eating Christ’s true transformed, glorified and life-giving body and when we drink this wine, we are drinking Christ’s true, transformed, glorified, and life-giving blood. And Jesus knows that if we came on our own, we would die and be completely overwhelmed by his holiness. Jesus knows our sin and our weakness, so he says to us not just, This is my body, but that it is given for you. He says not just, This is my blood, but that it is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. And so we can trust him and his words and joyfully receive the wonderful gifts that he gives to us.

So there are so many wonderful things that we learn in our reading today from the fact that Jesus was transfigured, that his face shone like the sun, and that even his clothes become radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.

Let’s come to the second part of our reading where we read about where

II.                 Moses and Elijah appear.

Moses and Elijah were two historical figures which we read about in the Old Testament. Moses lived about 1500 or 1600 years before this event, and led the Jewish people out of Egypt through the Red Sea. Elijah was a prophet who lived many years later about 800 or 900 years before this event, during the years of one of the worst kings in Israel’s history, King Ahab. And in our reading today, they show up, and they are standing there on the mountain with Jesus.

One of the very strange things about Moses and Elijah is that nobody knew where Moses was buried. His bones were never found. Also, Elijah didn’t die in the normal way, but was carried into heaven with chariots and horses of fire. We also read about another figure in the Old Testament, Enoch, who also didn’t die in the normal way. It simply says: Enoch walked with God, and he was not found, for God took him.

In our reading today, we get a little glimpse of two saints of the Old Testament, who enjoy being in the presence of Jesus and talking with him. This gives us also a little picture of the way in which we who believe in Jesus will one day enjoy being in the presence of Jesus and talk with him.

Peter at this point, just goes a bit crazy for a while. He is completely overwhelmed and dithers around and doesn’t know what he’s doing. He says to Jesus: Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. Mark also tells us: For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Of course, they were terrified! Here was Moses and Elijah! Did Peter, James and John think that maybe they were even entering into heaven itself?

But there is one thing that Peter’s ramblings teach us. Peter recognised Moses and Elijah—he had never met them before, but when they were there, he recognised them. And this is a wonderful comfort to us about when we enter heaven is that we will recognise people: we will recognise all those people we loved who died with Jesus and that we now miss, and we will recognise all the saints and all the apostles and the martyrs and the prophets, and everyone. It will be a wonderful family reunion, where we won’t need to wear nametags!

But also there is something else that is special about Moses and Elijah. Moses is the person who wrote down God’s law in the Old Testament. Elijah is considered to be one of the most important prophets. And often we read about the Law and the Prophets. In Romans 3, Paul says that Law and the Prophets bear witness to the righteousness of faith in Jesus Christ. Here we see Moses (who represents the law) and Elijah (who represents the prophets) pointing to Jesus. After Jesus rose from the dead, we read in Luke: Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. What this shows us is that the whole of human history, and all of God’s people, were all looking forward to this moment, and this person, Jesus Christ. And even today, he is our wonderful Saviour, our King, our Lord, our Mediator, our Advocate, and our Redeemer. When we look to Jesus and point to him, we even have Elijah and Moses on our side.

But let’s come to the last part of our reading, about where:

III.              God the Father speaks from the cloud.

We read: And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

Here is God the Father’s voice: and he points to his Son, and tells us not simply to look at him, or to touch him, but to listen to him. All the power is in Jesus’ words. John calls Jesus the Word of God. He says: The word became flesh. But Jesus is not the word of God who keeps his mouth shut. He is the word of God who continually opens his mouth. He was speaking even through Moses, and Elijah, and throughout the Old Testament. And when he rose from the dead, he sent out his apostles to give an eyewitness of him. He says: He who hears you hears me. And this Jesus calls takes every that Moses said and everything that Elijah said, all of God’s law and all the cries of the prophets, and preaches it right into the very centre of our hearts, and calls us to repent, to completely change our lives, and our whole way of thinking. But God the Father also points to his Son, and says: Listen to him, because of a new word that will be spoken. This word is the Gospel, and this word shows us Jesus as our Saviour, as the one who has fulfilled the whole law for us, and now gives forgiveness and eternal life as a gift completely and totally freely to everyone who believes in him.

And so, when God spoke to Moses, he gave him the Ten Commandments. The First Commandment says: You shall have no other Gods before me. And now the same God who spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai now speaks from the cloud and says: Listen to him. If you want to have me as your God, you must listen to my Son. You will get to me and come to me in no other way! This is my beloved Son. Jesus says: I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. Peter said: There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

And so, the disciples look up and see Jesus by himself, alone. They see his kind face, and a gentle hand on their shoulder of a friend. But more importantly, they have a word from the Father: Listen to him. And Jesus says: Rise, and have no fear. Have no fear, for I will suffer and die for you, I will rise for you, and I will forgive you, and lead you, and strengthen you, and bless you, and be with you always to the end of the age. This is Jesus, our wonderful Saviour! Amen.

Dear Jesus, how good it is to be here with you today, together with all the angels and saints of heaven, in your glorious presence. Speak to us in your word, and fill us with your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Epiphany V B [Mark 1:29-39] (4-Feb-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 form our Lord Jesus Christ.

That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door.

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.

In our reading today, we follow on from where we left off last week, where we read about Jesus preaching in a synagogue in Capernaum and then he cast out an unclean spirit from a man. And we read at the end of our reading from last week that as soon as he had this, at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. This sounds like this was something that might have happened over days or weeks, but we read later in our reading, that news must have spread among many people within only a few hours.

We read in our reading today about very specific times when things happened in the day which followed this event. We read at the beginning of our Gospel reading today: And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. After having gone to the synagogue, we read that Jesus went around to Peter’s house, probably for a meal. Then later in the reading we read: That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. So let’s say Jesus went to Peter’s house in the afternoon, now we read about what was happening in the evening, where Jesus was healing people. Then later again in the reading it says: And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. So here we read about what Jesus was doing in the very early hours of the morning of the next day. And that really summarises what’s going on in our reading today. So we’re going to look at three things in our reading today:

I.                   What Jesus did on Saturday afternoon.

II.                 What Jesus did on Saturday evening.

III.              What Jesus did on Sunday morning.

So let’s come to our first part, where we read about

I.                   What Jesus did on Saturday afternoon.

We read: Immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. And what does Jesus find at their house when they get there? Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay in bed with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.

Here we find a wonderful encouragement about how we should deal with our family and relatives as Christians. Many Australians have all kinds of troubles with their families. There are many families who have people who don’t speak to them. Sometimes people are easily offended, and they blame their parents for all kinds of problems. Sometimes people just don’t know how to solve their problems without yelling in each other’s faces. It’s a great thing if people are able simply to sit down and talk about difficult issues without being personal, without attacking, without yelling.

But families are a gift, and we have all kinds of people in our families, and people with all kinds of different opinions about religion and politics, and all kinds of things. But also, even though our families can be people who are quite different from us, we find ourselves connected to them in a particularly special way, even if there’s some kind of estrangement and people are not really talking to each other much anymore. In our reading, Peter’s mother-in-law is in trouble: she is particularly sick. She is laying ill with a fever. And what does he do? He and the other disciples with him simply tell Jesus about her.

This gives us such a wonderful example, because when our relatives, our parents, our children, our spouse, our parent-in-law, our grandparents, our grandchildren, our aunties and uncles and our cousins are in some kind of trouble, what should we do about it? First, simply tell Jesus about them. We often don’t have any power to help them, but Jesus does.

And so we read in our reading: And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. These words are so simply, it almost sounds like this was just so normal and natural for Jesus, the kind of thing he could easily do every day with no fuss or bother.

Now, we pastors often go around visiting people, and praying for people. And it’s very common if we ask people what they’d like us to pray for that they say to pray for good health. Now, good health is a good thing. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray: Give us today our daily bread. And good health is part of what we need to do our daily tasks for each day. But sometimes we can make a bit of an idol out of health, and we can carry on as if it’s the most important thing in our life. It’s not. It’s a wonderful gift, but it’s not the most important thing. Even more important that the health of our body is the health of our soul. At the beginning of John’s third letter, he writes: Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

And so what are the things that are good for our soul? Sometimes people say a good walk or a good cup of coffee is good for the soul. That’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the word of God. In order for our souls to survive, we need the word of God. The word of God is that thing that we put our trust in, that when we hear it and believe in the gospel, that we have a saving faith created in us, and God looks at us and sees not us and all our sins but he sees his Son Jesus and his righteousness completely covering us over. God sees our faith in the word of God—that word of God which never lies, and that word of God which shows us our Saviour—God see that faith and he counts it to us as righteousness. Even if our lives are completely full of sin, it is the word of God in the Scripture preached in its truth and purity that has all the power in it to create a new heart and a living faith in us, because this is the word from God’s own mouth himself.

And so we should pray for the Holy Spirit for ourselves that we would hear the word of God and understand it, we should pray for our pastors that they would also preach the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit, and we should also pray for the members of our church to receive the Holy Spirit and believe the word so that we may also be drawn together. We should also pray for unbelievers that their hearts would be converted by the power of that same word and the Holy Spirit.

All these things are more important than physical health, because even if we ever find ourselves in hospital, or having chemotherapy, or coughing up blood and phlegm, or hooked up to a dialysis machine, or generally be “as sick as a dog”, we can always continue this holy Christian work of bringing the needs of our friends and our fellow Christians and the world to Jesus.

However, even though the things of Christ’s kingdom are more important than physical health, it’s not as if physical health is not important. Christ healed many people, who would go on to die. Even when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus died again someday. So what was the point?

But when Jesus heals people, he shows a wonderful truth and a wonderful reality. Our bodies are his creation. He formed us in our mother’s womb, and our bodies were shaped and formed with his hands. But then after we die and we go to be with Jesus in heaven, we also have the promise in the Scripture that at the end of the world there will be a resurrection of the dead. Just as Jesus takes this woman who is burning up with fever by the hand and cools her down, so also he will gather all the dust and ashes of our rotted and decayed bones and bodies and he will raise them up with the same effortlessness as he does with the woman with the fever in the reading. And it won’t be as if he simply resuscitates us, so that we’re still the same ugly mob that we were on earth, but we will be completely transformed to be like Jesus. In Philippians, St Paul writes that Jesus will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. In 1 Corinthians it says: Behold! I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

So when we die, we believe that our soul will go to be with Jesus. Jesus said to the thief on the cross: Today you will be with me in Paradise. And St Paul says: My desire is to depart and to be with Christ. But also, our bodies are not simply the leftover bits. Sometime later there will be a resurrection of the dead, and those who believe in Christ will experience a complete and total healing of our bodies and a glorification and transformation of our bodies so that we will be like Jesus. Our bodies were created by God, and he will also redeem them. How we will experience the timing of these things once we die, we have no idea, and the bible doesn’t tell us these things. We leave that up to God.

So let’s come back to our reading. It says: The fever left her, and she began to serve them. When we or someone we know is sick, we should pray for healing. Even in James, we are told that we should call the elders of the church, and let them pray over us, and even have them anoint us with oil, as a special marker for committing the sick person to God, in the name of the Lord, and pray for us. Also, in the church, pastors also speak God’s word and bring the Lord’s Supper to people in their times of sickness. Whatever happens, whether we are healed now or not, we know that there will always be a miracle. At least we know that on the last day Jesus will completely heal and transform our bodies, because he has died on the cross and risen from the dead and forgives us all of our sins. There will always be a miracle. But whether or not we experience a miracle of healing in this life, on this side of the grave, is not promised to us. We should ask for it, but if we don’t receive it, that’s OK. We will wait for a more glorious time in the next life. What we read in our reading is that Peter’s mother-in-law began to serve them. If we do receive a great miracle of healing, the purpose is so that we can serve, and particularly to serve Christ and his disciples, his church, in his kingdom. But if we remain sick, the question is still: how has Christ called me to serve his kingdom here in my condition? How is God’s name glorified through this, whether I am healthy or sick? That’s the wonderful thing we learn from this event so very simply told to us in our reading.

So let’s come to the second part of our reading today, about

II.                 What Jesus did on Saturday evening.

After Jesus had cast out an unclean spirit from a man in the synagogue, the news spread fast all around the place. We read: That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Last week, I spoke in detail about unclean spirits, and demons, and what exactly they are and how Jesus went about casting one out from a man. I won’t say it all again, but I’d like to make a couple of comments about our reading here. Two things are mentioned: diseases and demons. Jesus heals people with diseases, and the demons he casts out. There are two categories here—not everyone who is sick is demonised, and not everyone who is demonised is sick. Jesus deals with both situations.

But the reading tells us something specific about the demons. It says: He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. The demons here have personalities, and they speak. And it’s a strange thing that at the same time as Jesus is revealed as the Holy One of God, and at the same time as Jesus begins his ministry, all these demons are revealed. All of a sudden there are all kinds of people with demons.

And the thing about demonic powers, and unclean spirits, is that because they are supernatural creatures and belong to the devil, they have some access to certain knowledge that normal people like us wouldn’t otherwise know. This is, for example, where psychic power comes from. And so, sometimes, the people with demons know something that people otherwise wouldn’t know, and sometimes these things are true. But in the reading, it says: [Jesus] would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. The demons knew him, but Jesus doesn’t allow them to share their secret, hidden knowledge. Even though they know the truth, they are not allowed to speak. The reason for this is that once the devil leads people along with something true, he starts to take the truth away by mixing in errors with it. The only thing that can silence the evil spirit is the word of God, which is the living words of Jesus. And we need to be so careful that we don’t mix in half-truths with God’s word. But this is what the devil does: he feeds on the word, and adds things in, but then ultimately he takes the truth away, and people are left with nothing but emptiness and lies. Proverbs 30 says: Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

So it’s a wonderful demonstration of Jesus’ love for us and his power that he comes into the world, and he deals with evil and silences it in its tracks.

Let’s come now to the third part of the reading about

III.              What Jesus was doing on Sunday morning.

We read: And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you”. And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogue and casting out demons.

Jesus gives us a wonderful example here. He has had a busy day the day before, and he has a busy time ahead of him. And so in between, he spends some time alone and prays. He debriefs with God, and he prepares himself with God. When something wonderful happens in our life, we should remember to spend some time to tell God about it and commend it to him. When we are about to do some difficult work, we should also ask him for the strength to carry it out with his blessing and power.

Isn’t it funny how Jesus prays? He created the world together with his Father and the Holy Spirit. Why would he need to pray? Because he is a true man, a true human being like this, and this is what humans were created for: to talk to God and to live in fellowship with him.

But then also when Peter finds him, Jesus tells him that he’s eager to go and do some more preaching, and says: for that is why I came out. What does he mean by this? Where was he coming from? Jesus is talking about the fact that he came down from his eternal glory with his Father and entered into this world as a tiny baby born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus had existed right from before the beginning of time, in eternity with the Father. And he came forth into, he came out from heaven into the world, took human flesh, for what purpose, that he could go out and preach. And we see how the kingdom of Jesus goes from one town to the next town, with Jesus preaching his word all the way. And this Jesus came down from heaven just for this purpose, and he is true God. And as a true man, he prays to his Father, drawing all his strength from him. We see here the wonderful mystery of the fact that Jesus is both true man and true God in one person. He is the same Saviour who has suffered and died for us, and risen from the dead for us. And even today he comes to meet us, to preach his word to us, to come to our home in the afternoon, to help in all our troubles and to look after us in all our sicknesses, to spend the evening with us, and even before we have even woken up and thought about him, he has already gotten out of bed before us and has committed us and our day to the Father. What a faithful Saviour we have! Amen.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for the wonderful way in which you look after us each day and at each part of the day. Teach us to bring our needs to you, and bless us so that we may serve you each day for your kingdom. Amen.