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.

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.

Palm Sunday [Matthew 21:1-11] (25-Mar-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.

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

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 in the church year, we’re celebrating Palm Sunday, which is a particularly special day in the church calendar, where we remember the event where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

If we follow the events in the Gospels carefully from Palm Sunday to Easter, particularly in Mark, it gives us the timing that Jesus entered into Jerusalem exactly one week before Easter Sunday. After Palm Sunday, it says: On the following day [which is Monday], they came to Bethany and Jesus cursed the fig tree, and drove out the traders from the temple. Then Mark writes: As they passed by in the morning [which is Tuesday morning], they saw that the fig tree that Jesus had cursed the day before was now withered. And we read that Jesus went into the temple and was teaching. After he was finished talking, we read that it was two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Passover was held on Thursday, which was the day when Jesus was arrested and betrayed, and then follows Good Friday, when Jesus died, the Saturday when he was in the tomb, and then Easter Sunday when they found Jesus’ empty tomb. So altogether it is exactly a week, which is why we celebrate this event today. It is the beginning of a particularly holy week, when Jesus made atonement and sacrificed his life for the sin of the world.

We read in Matthew: Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once. All throughout the Gospels, we see many different glimpses that Jesus is not just any normal person. We see his supernatural power on every page, showing us that he is not just a man, but also true God.

Today we see Jesus’ special foresight, and his divine insight into the future. Jesus knows exactly what is going to happen, and how everything will work out. He tells his disciples exactly how things will be: where the donkey will be, what kind of donkey, that there will be a colt too, and what to say if someone asks them about it. Earlier this year, we read some other examples of this divine knowledge of Jesus. Remember when Jesus said that he saw Nathanael under the fig tree, even though Nathanael hadn’t seen him. From this Nathanael praises Jesus as the King of Israel. Also, a few weeks ago we read where Jesus says that in three days he would raise his body up again.

In Mark and Luke, we read this is a donkey, on which no one has ever sat. Isn’t this amazing, that Jesus didn’t only know that a donkey was there, but he even knew the life-history of this particular donkey. Jesus said: Not one [sparrow] will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Jesus, together with his Father, knows the life of each animal in the world, and who has sat on them. Just think that if Jesus cares so much for a donkey, how much more then for you? Also, Jesus will ride this donkey, without anyone having broken it in for him and trained it. This donkey knows that this Jesus is his Master and Creator.

Matthew writes: This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” It is amazing how this wonderful prophecy from the book of Zechariah is fulfilled in this reading today. But also, Jesus fulfils it with such a minimum of fuss. He goes about everything very quietly. The crowd makes the noise, not him. The prophecy says that your king is coming to you, humble. Jesus is coming in a humble way, with no pomp and flair and white horses and elephants. No – he just has a donkey.

Jesus is humble and gentle. Many times in history, people have put their trust in a revolution where all the good guys win and all the bad guys are crushed. People have wanted things to happen by force, and with dynamic leadership. Many year ago, Hitler entered Austria, and the people celebrated it. They welcomed the German army and Hitler as the passionate dynamic leader, who could give rousing speeches. But we know how that story ended. Jesus here does nothing of the sort. He doesn’t come with violence, with an army, with force, with tanks, with bombs, with machine guns, to sort Jerusalem’s problems out once and for all. No—he comes on a donkey, humble and gentle.

Jesus has nothing to prove here, and so there’s no need for a show. Often God does things in the humblest way. Think about Mary. When she was pregnant, she travelled to visit her relative Elizabeth, maybe for afternoon tea and a friendly holiday. And Elizabeth’s baby did a little backflip in honour of the unborn Jesus. Mary then said that God has look on the humble estate of his servant. The humble estate. What a humble affair it was! Think of the Roman Caesar and his legions and armies, and all the world’s kings and rulers. Yet the most important thing in the world at that moment was two pregnant women having afternoon tea. And with all the world’s gold and wealth, all the mighty stallions, all the elephants and the lions, the most important animal in the world on Palm Sunday was a humble donkey on which no one had ever sat.

In Mark and Luke, we also read in great detail how the disciples did exactly what Jesus said. Those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” There is no argument, no fight, no stealing. Jesus promises that the owners will give permission, and it happens exactly as he says.

Then we read: They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. John says: They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. When Jesus comes to a place, he is the one who makes the occasion wonderful. There is nothing special about the donkey, there is nothing special about these ordinary people, and their ordinary clothes, and their ordinary palm branches. Even in our church today, there is nothing particularly special about us, with all our sins and problems and worries. And yet, we come to meet Jesus, and he transforms everything.

And so we read in Luke: As he was drawing near—already on the way down from the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began the rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” We read in Matthew: The crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Today we remember this wonderful occasion where the people join together in praising Jesus. It is a regular part of our church services to sing praise and thanks to Jesus, and to welcome him with singing and with our voices. Every Sunday is a kind of Palm Sunday. In Ephesians, Paul encourages Christians to be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. We see a wonderful example of that in today’s reading. What a joy and a privilege it is to praise Jesus, and what a mighty weapon against the evil one, who can’t stand to hear our songs and our praises!

The word, “Hosanna” is a Hebrew word meaning “Please save us” This word comes from Psalm 118, where it says: Save us, O Lord! Give us success! Actually, the name Jesus is related to this word. The name of Jesus means: Saviour, or he saves. The angel says to Joseph in his dream: You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. So singing Hosanna to Jesus is a way of acknowledging our own sin and our weaknesses and failures, and welcoming him as our Saviour and our Redeemer.

The people call on Jesus in the reading as the Son of David. Right at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, it says: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Then it gives Jesus’ family tree, tracing his descendants from Abraham and through David. Many times in the Gospels Jesus is called the Son of David, not just because he was descended from David, but because he is the rightful king. Even Pontius Pilate recognised this when he wrote above the cross: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Jesus is a king, and people had been waiting for him to come right back from the time of King David.

The people also sing: Hosanna in the highest. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Our songs of praise don’t simply remain on earth, but they rise and stretch all the way to the heights of heaven, so that we join in with the angels. These words are just like the songs of the angels at Christmas time who sang: Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth! Here on Palm Sunday, the people sing: Hosanna in the highest! Peace in heaven!

The people also shout out the words: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Jesus comes into Jerusalem in complete agreement with his Father’s will. God the Father allowed it, and sent him. Jesus comes in the name of the Lord, and he is the source of all blessing, and so the people say: Blessed is he.

These words of praise are the basis of our praise that we sing together today. The people sing, Hosanna in the highest! meaning that in singing Hosanna they are joining in with the angels. Every Sunday, when we celebrate the communion service, we often sing the words: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. With these words, we acknowledge that we are joining in with the angels. When we prepare to enter into the sanctuary to taste Jesus’ own body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins, we sing just like the crowd did on Palm Sunday: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! We even make a special point of this by saying: Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, we adore and magnify your glorious name. In our church service, we join in with the angels and the angels join in with us. Heaven and earth overlap and Jesus comes right into our midst and speaks to us and feeds us.

Now there’s a couple of little warnings in the Gospels about this event on Palm Sunday. First, we read in Luke: And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” The Pharisees recognise the weight and the depth of what the crowd are saying to Jesus. But they think: Jesus is not a Saviour, or a Messiah, or a King. They think that the crowd are completely wrong. But Jesus says: If these were silent, the very stones would cry out. The whole of creation recognises Jesus—it’s the whole reason for your existence—it’s a real shame if you don’t join in!

In John it says that even his disciples did not understand these things at first. Isn’t this strange? The disciples praised Jesus, and yet they didn’t understand what was fully going on. Sometimes this is the same for us. We can come to church Sunday after Sunday and we sometimes don’t know entirely what’s going on. People can get bored and fall away. Sometimes Christians start to think if we want more people in church we have to entertain them. But the real problem is that people often think they know everything there is to know. And they refuse to learn anything new. As we learn more and more about Jesus, and who he is, and just what it means to come into his presence and hear his word and receive his gifts, the more we begin to realise how much before we didn’t understand. And then there will be so much more to praise Jesus for!

Today there are some churches that put a great emphasis on praise. And sometimes there are songs that say very little, and just repeat and repeat praise to God. But this by itself is not enough. Many churches like this can have very large numbers, but also large numbers of people who fall away. Today we see a very large crowd. On Good Friday, we also see a very large crowd, but this time they are calling for Jesus’ blood and his crucifixion.

John tells us that many of the people who were there on Palm Sunday had heard about how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. They were impressed with Jesus. But on Good Friday, there were many people who hated him and despised him. We must also be careful that we are not simply impressed with Jesus, but that we also stay with him and remain with him when we don’t understand what’s going on. Otherwise, we can so easily fall away. At one time, many disciples walked away from Jesus, and there were only a few remaining. And Jesus said to them, Do you want to go away as well?” Peter answered: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.

So, let’s welcome our Jesus also today. He has the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that he is the Holy One of God. He comes to Jerusalem at the beginning of this week to suffer and die for the sin of the world and to rise again from the dead. Even today, and every time we join together with our fellow Christians, he comes to meet us as our gentle and humble king. We welcome him as sinners, with all our weaknesses and troubles and problems. Many times we don’t even fully understand why we are coming to him and what a wonderful Saviour he is! But he comes to us, not to punish us, but comes gently and humbly, with words of forgiveness and grace and rest and refreshment. And so we sing to him: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! Amen.

Dear Lord Jesus, we welcome you today as our king and our Saviour. Save us and forgive us and bless us with your Holy Spirit, and lead us as citizens of your kingdom. Amen.

Sermon for All Saints (5-Nov-2017)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, 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.

May you be strengthened with his power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

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

When you hear the word “saint”, what do you normally think of? I think most people probably think of particularly significant Christian people who lived a wonderful life on this earth, who have now died.

Now the word “saint” actually means a “holy person”. When we talk about saints, it can mean two different things: it can mean those Christian people who have now died, but it can also mean Christian people who are still living, and who are wrestling in this life, and struggling with their sin and their problems. The first kind of saint—a saint who has left this earthly life—is a person who is now free of sin, but the second kind of saint—a Christian person who is still alive—is a person who is still wrestling with their sin. The second kind of saint is also a sinner at the same time as being a saint, whereas the first kind is not a sinner anymore because they have been set free from sin having passed through death. But we’ll come back to this in a minute.

Let’s talk about the communion of saints. In the Apostle’s Creed, we say that we believe in the “communion of saints”. And this is actually another name for the church itself. Now how does a person become a saint, and become part of this communion of saints? Well—Jesus sends out his workers with his Holy Spirit to gather a church to Himself, using the word of God, and the Sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. So Jesus himself actually calls us to be part of his kingdom, to be part of his fellowship, to be part of his communion, through his living word, which is spoken on earth. That’s what the church is here for: to make sure that God’s word is spoken here on earth, so that sinners may come to Jesus and be made part of his kingdom. Sinners—like you and me—enter into the kingdom of Jesus by being baptised, by being born again by water and the Spirit, or as St Paul says, being washed with water and the word. Holy Baptism is that wonderful event where Jesus gathers us to himself and brings us into his kingdom, and gives us his Holy Spirit. And Jesus doesn’t just set us out on the road to heaven, but he also feeds us along the way, and gives us his body and blood to eat and drink in the Lord’s Supper. And so, Jesus continually gathers us together and strengthens us on the road.

Now, the word of God, and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are not given to the church on earth as some kind of magic charm. Jesus doesn’t want us to look at his word and at baptism or at the Lord’s Supper as if we’re some cow in a paddock, starting at a new blade of grass in the field. No—the word of God—which is also the thing that empowers baptism and the Lord’s Supper—calls us to faith. The reason why God speaks his word, and baptises us and gives us the Lord’s Supper, is so that we believe in it! In fact, through God’s word, the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts. God gives us his word of law—to call us to repent, and to change our lives, and live differently. This word shows us that we are sinners. But then he also gives us sinners his word of Gospel—which points us to Christ, and what he has done for us in his death and resurrection from the dead. And it is the Gospel that makes us saints, that makes us holy people—not because we are already perfect or because we had made such an good effort, but because of Christ and his holiness. Christ then takes his righteousness and his holiness and he completely covers over all of our sin with it. Our whole lives as Christians is then learning to recognise our sin, to put it behind us, and to receive the forgiveness of sins. A Christian person, or a holy person, or a saint, is not someone who has achieved perfection in this life, because that is impossible. The only person who has lived a completely sinless life is Jesus. But when we trust in Jesus, and his sinlessness, and his holiness, then God takes your account and adds all of your sin to Jesus’ account. He charges the bill to Jesus, and Jesus paid it in full with his blood. And then God takes all of the righteousness, and holiness, and perfection that belongs to Jesus, and he adds it to your account. This is what it means in Genesis 15, where we read that Abraham believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Because of Jesus, God has counted his righteousness to your account. This means that are now free to begin a Christian life, a saintly, holy life. You will never achieve perfection in this life, but you will only begin it, one step and one day at a time, with Jesus your Saviour guiding you along the way, and forgiving all your new sins and mess-ups along the way.

Now, even though God calls us through his word and his sacraments, it is only the Holy Spirit who creates faith in people. There are some people who hear and are baptised, and who come to the Lord’s Supper, but don’t believe in them. They people are not saints, but are hypocrites. They are only part of the church in an outward, external way. This is a communion which includes believers and non-believers, saints and non-saints. But there is also an internal, hidden, spiritual communion of saints, which exists only among those who believe the promises of God in His word, and believe in God’s work in their baptism, and believe in Jesus’ work and presence and gifts in the Lord’s Supper.

But then, the bible uses the word “saints” in two ways, as we mentioned before. The first way is to mean those who trust in Jesus in this life and are still fighting against sin and the devil, and are still living their Christian life under the cross. But the second way the bible uses the word “saints” is to mean those people who have endured their hardship but are now in heaven, praising God. So for example, in Acts we read that Peter came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. This is the first meaning, referring to people like us, who are both saints and sinners at the same time. Many of the letters of Paul are addressed to the saints who are at Corinth, or at Rome, or wherever. But then we also have examples of the second meaning, such as when after Jesus died there was an earthquake, and it says: many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. Here “saints” means those who were no longer sinners, but had died.

So, when we say that we believe in the “communion of saints”, what are we talking about? Are we talking about a communion of people on this earth who are both saints and sinners like us, or are we talking about a communion of people in heaven who have finished their struggle with sin and who are now perfect? The answer is that both we Christians who are alive and those Christians who are dead are together one communion of saints. St Paul says that we Christians are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. So when we call the church “the communion of saints”, we mean not just the members of the church that are still doing battle in this life, and fighting the good fight of faith, and wrestling against their sin, but also the church in heaven that is now perfect and glorious. We are altogether one church, one communion of saints. There are not two communions, but only one communion. There are not two churches, but one church. Sometimes we call the church on earth the “church militant” and the church in heaven the “church triumphant”. We are all one church, we are just on different sides of the grave. We are still struggling, but their struggle is completely over now.

In Hebrews chapter 12, the writer reveals to us something that is very special about what it is that we are part of when we gather here as the church. We read: You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; and to the multitude of many thousands of angels and to the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven; and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Now, we could talk about those verses all day, but listen to those words that we have come to the multitude of many thousands of angels, to the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven…to the spirits of the righteous made perfect. Those who have died in the Christian faith are with Jesus, and we also in this life on earth come to meet the same Jesus. We Christians don’t just share all kinds of wonderful blessings of the Holy Spirit with each other here on this earth in the church, but we also belong to the same fellowship, the same communion of those holy people and saints who are already in heaven. In Ephesians 2, it says that God raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. In Colossians, we read that our heavenly Father has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. To be transferred out of darkness into Jesus’ kingdom means to enjoy now the fellowship not just with other Christians on this earth, but also to be one fellowship with all those who have already died and are now in Paradise with Jesus.

In our order of service that we use week after week, we say some words before the Lord’s Supper which reflect this teaching. When we have the Lord’s Supper, we sing a song called the “Holy, holy, holy”, or in Latin, it is called the “Sanctus”. This song is sung by angels in the bible. We read about the angels singing these words in the book of Isaiah and also in Revelation. But before we sing this, the pastor says that we are singing “with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven”. Not only are the angels singing with us but also those who have died in the faith, the company of heaven. This is a wonderful confession of faith, and it shows us just what the church on earth is. But it’s not as if the church in heaven are simply joining in with us—the worship of God is going on constantly in heaven, and when we join together as Christians to worship him, we are simply joining in with them. They add their voices to ours, and we add our voices to theirs.

But before we finish this sermon today, I’d like to mention one more thing. When it comes to understanding what it means to live a holy life and to share in God’s holiness, let’s go back to the Garden of Eden. When the first people, Adam and Eve, were created, they were perfect, holy, and pure. God had created them in his image. This is the first state or condition of the human race. And what a wonderful thing it must have been to live like that and to have been there!

But then, after that, things changed: there was the fall. Adam and Eve sinned, and since that time, every single human being (except Jesus himself) was conceived and born in sin. Before the fall, there was no sin. But after the fall, then there was sin, and the human race came under the judgment of God.

But then, later, something else changed: there came a Saviour. Jesus died for us on the cross, and he won for us the forgiveness of sins, and he sends us the Holy Spirit. Now, as Christians in this life, it’s not as though we now live without sin, but our sin is forgiven, and is not charged to our account anymore. So we live then as people who are both holy, and saints, but who also live struggling and wrestling against our sin.

So what happens when we die? Well, our bodies and our souls are separated, and for the first time, we will be completely free of our sin. On one hand, we will depart to be with Christ, as it says in Philippians 1. Just like Jesus promised to the thief on the cross, on the day of his death, Today you will be with me in Paradise. But this is not the end. Because God didn’t simply create us as spirits, or souls, but he created us with bodies. In Genesis 2, it says: then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. So what’s going to happen to our bodies? Are they just empty shells, empty husks? No—the Scripture also promises a resurrection of the dead. St Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15: Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must on immortality.

Now, when we go the shop and buy a packet of chips, we throw away the packet in the bin. But God does not treat our bodies like an empty chip packet! He created our bodies, and so in a glorious way, at the end of the world, he promises to glorify our earthly bodies in a new way, and to reunite and redeem our bodies from the dust and the ashes and the ground, and raise them up, and reunite them with our spirits and souls. On one hand, when we die, our souls go to be with Jesus in heaven. On the other hand, our bodies will be buried in the ground. But there will also be a time when body and soul is reunited in a glorious and wonderful way, and our bodies will be raised from the dead. How we will go through this after we have died, we don’t know. At least, we know that we won’t be waiting for all this out in some sort of corridor, or in purgatory, but in heaven with Jesus. But remember, that when that time comes, we will enter not into a life with minutes and days and hours, but as the bible says, eternal life. God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.  St Paul also 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, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Do you see the wonderful victory of the resurrection of the dead in this passage? Even in 1 Corinthians 15, St Paul says that Christ is the firstborn to rise from the dead. This means that the reason Christ rose from the dead was so that he would be the first, and to point your eyes forward to the day when you also will be risen from the dead. This is what we say in the creed when we say: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Now, on the other hand, there is another way in which people look at these things, which is not correct. Instead of seeing Adam and Eve created in the “image of God”, people see humans as having been created as “little gods”. Then when the fall happened, they believe that the problem is that people forget that were created as little gods, and their sin is not that they disobey God, but that they just don’t live up their potential. Then instead of treating Jesus as their Saviour, they see him just as their teacher, who came to remind us humans of the knowledge that we forgot that we really were created as “little gods” after all. And then, when we die, what happens? Instead of believing that they then become free from their sin, they believe that that as “little gods” they are now free from their bodies. This means that they think the body is a bad thing, and just an empty chip packet to be thrown away. But if the body is a bad thing, why did Jesus have one? Why did he choose to have nails and spears put through it? God created us human beings with both body and soul, and he has his Son to redeem us in body and soul, and he will also make us holy in body and soul. And so, this is why, after the Lord’s Supper, we say: The body of our Lord Jesus Christ and his holy precious blood strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life eternal.

So let’s praise our God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, for drawing us together in faith into one communion of saints, with all believing Christians throughout the world and all those who have died in Christ. And let’s also praise him for the promise that he has made to us to raise us up with him on the last day together with all those who have died in the faith, who are alive with him. Amen.

Dear Jesus, once again today we come to you to sing our “Holy, holy, holy” with the angels, the archangels and all the company of heaven. Strengthen our faith by the power of your Holy Spirit, until that time when we depart to be with you, and enjoy life together with you in Paradise with all your saints. Amen.