Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: April 2012

Thursday, April 26, 2012

1. Peter 5,1-4. Misericordias Domini Sunday

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

1. Peter 5,1-4 2712

Miserikordias Domini (2. Sonntag nach Ostern) 037 weiß

Soter and Caius, Bishops and Martyrs at Rome 177 and 296

22. April 2012

1. O Almighty God, who has given Your only Son to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace so that we may always most thankfully receive that His inestimable benefit, and also daily endeavor ourselves to follow the blessed steps of His most holy life (The Book of Common Prayer). Amen.

2. So I exhort the pastors [πρεσβυτέρους] among you, as a fellow pastor and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight [ἐπισκοποῦντες], not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

3. As the apostles proclaimed the resurrection of Christ, by the work of the Holy Spirit, people believed this gospel. Churches were established, and the apostles ordained pastors to carry on the work of the gospel in those congregations. The Apostle Peter, whose pastoral work bore much fruit in Rome, and whose preaching was the material from which Mark the Evangelist wrote his Gospel, exhorts pastors to exercise oversight over their churches. He uses the verb ἐπισκοποῦντες (episkopountes) from which we get the noun ἐπισκοπος (bishop). Thus the Lutheran Confessions argued from Holy Scripture that all pastors are bishops and all bishops are pastors (Treatise §60-64).

4. The apostles charge pastors to exercise oversight in the churches so as to lead the people unto eternal life. This episcopal task involves several aspects. First, it means to ensure that the Holy Scriptures are read and preached at the Divine Service, for the Apostle Paul proclaims: »So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word (ῥήματος, rhematos) of Christ« (Romans 10,17). Second, it means that the Sacraments are administered in and to the church, for in baptizing, administering and absolving the forgiveness of sin is given to the people. Third, it means that the liturgy of the Divine Service is followed. Such liturgy should be doctrinally pure and faithful to the traditions handed down since the apostles. Fourth, it means that the law and gospel should be proclaimed. Sinners should be lead to the confession of their sins by examination under the law, and then they should be absolved by the promise of the gospel.

5. The apostles exhort pastors to preach Christ, for Jesus says: »I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep« (John 10,11). This vicarious sacrifice is the gospel that the Word and Sacraments deliver to you. When Christ is preached, then forgiveness and eternal life is preached, for Jesus says: »My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand« (John 10,27-28).

6. If Christ did not protect us, then this life would be most perilous. The devil prowls and stalks you. He desires to snatch you from Christ’s hand and rob you of the certainty (Gewißheit) of your eternal life and to cast doubt on your forgiveness. The devil is extremely crafty. The world and our sinful flesh assist him and make us easier prey. Trials, tribulations, persecutions, sicknesses, violence, warfare, death, famine and recession are all effects of Adam’s fall into sin, and as such, they all afflict us in various degrees, but the promise of Christ gives us the certainty (Gewißheit) of Divine protection unto everlasting life.

7. The Apostle Paul describes this certainty (Gewißheit) in his Epistle to the Romans: »Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification (holy living or good works) and its end, which is eternal life« (Romans 6,22). Jesus the Good Shepherd has freed you from the tyranny of the law and your enslavement to it. This liberation began in your Holy Baptism whereupon you have been united with Jesus in a death like His and united with Jesus in a resurrection like His. In Holy Baptism, your old self was crucified with Jesus so that your body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that you would no longer be enslaved to sin. You have died with Christ, and you will also live with Him (Romans 6,5-6.8).

8. Therefore you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6,11). The law once enslaved you, and by the law sin was exposed but then sin ran amok. Death awaited you as your legal payment for works rendered in your body of sin. God’s law is holy, just and good, but it is powerless to make you righteous before God the Father. The Apostle Paul thus declares that you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to Christ who has been raised from the dead, so that you may bear fruit for God. For while you were living in the flesh, your sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in you to bear fruit for death. But now you are released from the law, having died to that which held you captive, so that you serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the law’s written code (Romans 7,4-6).

9. Dear church, this is why Jesus diligently and patiently searches for those who have gone astray! Corrupt human nature chaffs at the law’s demands for holiness and Godly living. Sometimes convicted sinners run and flee the angry God, forgetting that He is also merciful and forgiving. So Jesus goes out to find those frightened by the law and terrified by their sins and comforts them with the soothing gospel that promises grace and forgiveness.

10. The law devastatingly reveals that the wages of sin is death, but the gospel mercifully proclaims that now the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6,23). The law says you have rightly earned your wages, and that is death. The gospel says you have been given a gift, and you have not earned this gift, but God freely and lovingly gives you the gift of eternal salvation by the merits of Christ alone (solus Christus).

11. For the believer, the law does not only condemn but by the working of the Holy Spirit the law is now also a delight. By faith, you desire to live a God-pleasing life that conforms to the letter of the law. For the Christian, the law is a delight to perform. All this comes from the Holy Spirit, who by the gospel enables you to delight in, and do, the law of God (Romans 7:22.24).

12. With the psalmist you now joyously acclaim: »Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law (torah) of Yahweh! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in His ways! You have commanded Your precepts to be kept diligently. O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping Your statutes! Then I am not put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all Your commandments. I will praise You with an upright heart, when I learn Your righteous rules. I keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!« (Psalm 119,1-8).

13. In Christ you are justified, and through the Holy Spirit He works out your sanctification (holy living) from justification. It is all by Christ and His merits that are applied to you. You are now dead to sin, alive in Christ and the bearer of holy living all through the gospel that ends in eternal life with its unfading crown of glory. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, our Good Shepherd, send for the Holy Spirit to our church and in our lives so that we know we are Your sheep and follow You in both faith and sanctified living. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

A Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Colossians 2,12-15. Quasimodogeniti (1. Sunday after Easter)

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Colossians 2,12-15 2612

Quasimodogeniti 036 weiß

Anastasia and Basilissa, Martyrs under Nero 66 or 68

15. April 2012

1. Almighty and Everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery has established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith (The Book of Common Prayer). O Risen Christ, eight days after Your resurrection, You had to give the Apostle Thomas convincing proof that You were indeed alive and well. Help us, O Holy Spirit, to use convincing words when we speak to neighbors about Christ and His resurrection, so that they may hear the gospel and believe unto salvation. Amen.

2. having been buried with Christ in Baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Christ from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Christ.

3. The Apostle Paul proclaims that in Christ, and on account of Christ, God the Father has forgiven all your trespasses and has canceled the entire debt of sin you have against Him. Paul had received this promise and this authority from Christ Himself as His apostle. Today’s Gospel Reading recounts how Jesus appeared before His disciples on the evening of Easter where He said to them: »„Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them: „Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.“« The proclamation of forgiveness is the powerful gospel message of Easter.

4. The Apostle Paul declares that by the cross all trespasses have been forgiven and the entire debt of mankind has been paid in full. Christ Jesus died for the sin of the world; He has redeemed every man, woman and child. Yahweh’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history) has been completed in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

5. Nevertheless, many do not believe in God’s redemption. Such people lack faith. They are like the apostles on Easter Sunday: they have heard the gospel of Jesus but they think talk of His resurrection from the dead is foolishness. They are like the Apostle Thomas, who when hearing the gospel from his fellow apostles, adamantly refuses to believe their eyewitness testimony. Unbelief refuses to receive Yahweh’s promise of salvation and forgiveness.

6. It is common to hear the cry of people: Why does a loving God send people to hell? A loving God does not send people to hell. A loving God has done everything necessary to close hell’s gates to men and women. A loving God has sent His only Son to suffer, die and rise again in order to redeem mankind. The only ones who should be in hell are the devil and his angels, but the Holy Scriptures are clear: many men and women will be condemned in hell. God does not damn people; unbelief damns a person. If someone refuses to believe and receive Christ as his or her Savior from sin, death and the devil, if someone refuses the Loving God’s gift of eternal life by the merit of Christ, then a loving God has no choice but to affirm such a person’s stubborn refusal of His love and grace and give them exactly what they truly want: eternal separation from a loving God who has spared no expense to save him or her.

7 The Apostle Paul describes it this way: »Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them.« The Lord Jesus appears to His apostles and shows them His hands and His side. He appears to Thomas, and declares: »Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.« (John 20,27). It is as if Jesus says: „Behold, My hands and side. See where the nails and spear pierced My body. Behold, My risen and resurrected body!“ All the apostles beheld the risen Lord with their eyes and they proclaimed Him throughout the world.

8. »Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed« (John 20,29). Blessed are those who have heard the gospel that Christ rose on Easter and have believed. Blessed are those who receive Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper and believe that they are forgiven. Blessed are you for your faith in the risen Jesus!

9. Your Christian faith does not exist in a vacuum. You and I are merely the latest generation of believers that stretches back to the apostles to the prophets to Abraham and to Adam and Eve. Our church is one of many that exists around the world from Europe to Africa and Asia. Thomas and the other apostles preached the risen Christ and set the foundation for the New Testament Church with their proclamation and their martyrdom. The apostles saw and touched the risen Christ and they preached Him in lands far and wide.

10. The catholic and apostolic gospel that was preached disarmed rulers and authorities, both temporal and spiritual, so that the Church triumphed in land after land. This marvelous gospel changed people’s lives, altered the course of nations and influenced cultures. The Holy Spirit works where the forgiveness of sin is preached and salvation is proclaimed in the Name of Christ, His vicarious death and His glorious resurrection. Therefore, the apostles preached, baptized, administered the Lord’s Supper and absolved in the Name of Christ and by His command and institution. Pastors and bishops continue to perform these apostolic acts in, and for, the Church today.

11. You are now a new creation. Jesus triumphed over death and the grave to become the first to receive a resurrected body. Death is no longer a defeat nor is it the end. Eternal life follows physical death. Again, Christ is the first and all humanity will follow. First, the disciples who went to Christ’s tomb on Easter: Mary Magdalene was the very first human being to behold and to hold the risen Jesus. Thomas and the other apostles saw Jesus’ hands and side that still bore the marks of His crucifixion. You have been raised up a new creation in your Holy Baptism. You now bear the royal and mighty Name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Today you bear testimony to the gospel of Christ and His resurrection. Tomorrow you have the opportunity to be a part of God’s restoration of His creation every time you give witness to the world and your neighbors that in Christ you are a new creation that is forgiven, holy and saved. Do not let the world rob you of this wonderful joy. Do not let the devil cast doubt upon the love that Yahweh has for you. Remain steadfast in your Baptism, and hold true to the gospel that marks you as one redeemed by Christ. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You have done great things for us, and we are glad. You are risen, You are risen indeed. We have heard the gospel of Your resurrection, and we believe, even though we have not seen You with our very eyes. Keep us grounded in this saving faith when the world and our sinful flesh seek to draw us back to the darkness and misery of unbelief, so that we may soar high in the heavens certain and overjoyed at Your resurrection and its power in our lives, namely, that as You are risen and live forever, so too will we. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

1. Samuel 2,1-2.6-8a. The Feast of Christ's Resurrection

✠ Jesus Christ, Gottessohn ✠

1. Samuel 2,1-2.6-8a 2512

Ostersonntag 034 weiß

Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, † 170

8. April 2012

1. O Lord Jesus Christ, grant that the festival of Your glorious and gracious resurrection which we celebrate this day may indeed be for all of us a true Easter festival, a festival of resurrection, of life, of liberty, of grace, of forgiveness, of righteousness and joy. And grant that today no one of us may leave this church, dedicated to Your glory, without recognizing, believing and therefore rejoicing in the fact that also each one of us has long ago been truly reconciled through You to our Heavenly Father, and that in You all our sins have long ago been forgiven (Walther 229). Amen.

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

3. On the first day of the week, Mark the Evangelist tells us that the women went to Jesus’ tomb. These noble women were prominent disciples of Jesus. Mary Magdalene (who is the only lady mentioned by name in all Four Gospel accounts of Easter Sunday) was a woman from whom Jesus had exorcised seven demons. She was a wealthy woman who supported Jesus’ ministry out of her means. Salome was the wife of Zebedee, the mother of the apostles James and John, and (according to Christian tradition) the sister of the Virgin Mary. The other Mary mentioned here was the mother of James, and this James was also an apostle of Jesus. These women traveled with the twelve apostles. They saw the miracles Jesus performed. They heard the teachings and parables. They ate and fellowshipped with Jesus. They supported the ministry of Jesus. Mary, Salome and the others believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of Man and the King of Israel. These women nobly awakened early on Sunday morning to apply spices to Jesus’ corpse so as to complete the Jewish burial rite.

4. These women expected to find the corpse of Jesus in the grave where He had been placed on late Friday afternoon. The women went in mourning to finish burying their Lord and friend. When they arrive at the tomb, they see a sight that no one wants to see when visiting the grave of a loved one: the tomb is open and the body is gone. Who has broken into the tomb, and why have they taken the body of Jesus? were probably the initial questions that ran through their minds.

5. What exactly did these blessed women see? They saw the large stone that safely secured the tomb had been rolled clear away. They saw a stranger at the tomb: a certain young man dressed in white. The corpse of Jesus was not in the opened tomb. It becomes clear soon enough that what these women beheld was angels’ work, for this young man dressed in white is indeed an angel who is given the glorious task to proclaim the Easter gospel: »Jesus was crucified, but He has risen. He is not here. Go to Galilee and tell His disciples« (Mark 16,6-7).

6. In the Gospel according to Mark, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome were the first human beings to see the empty grave of Jesus. They were following the Biblical tradition of women confessing the resurrection. Hannah, the mother of the Prophet Samuel, confessed her Jewish faith, saying: »Yahweh kills and brings to life; He brings down to the grave and raises up« (1. Samuel 2,6). The people of God consistently confess that God will raise people up from the grave.

7. Such confession, however, looked for the resurrection at some distant, future time when on the last day Yahweh raises up all the dead back to life with a physical body. The Prophet Hosea described that last day, writing: »Yahweh declares: „I will redeem them from the grave and rescue them from death. O Death, I am going to be a pestilence to you. O Grave, I am going to be a sting to you“« (Hosea 13,14). Mary Magdalene and Salome all believed that on the last day Yahweh would raise them and all people back to new resurrected life. Remember also the discussion Jesus had with His dear friends Mary and Martha at Lazarus’ tomb, how the sisters knew that on the last day their beloved brother would be raised from his grave. The women, however, in Mark 16 behold that last day inaugurated with their very own eyes. They saw Jesus redeemed from the grave. They saw Jesus recused from death. The risen Jesus slays death and kills the grave. „In His suffering, these enemies confidently gripped Christ; in the resurrection, He came back again from the slaughter and showed Himself as the Victorious Prince“ (Gerhard 317). The last day resurrection victory had been brought forward in time, to the present, and impacted the lives of these faithful women.

8. Mark the Evangelist describes the women’s reaction to this miraculous sight: »And the women went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid« (Mark 16,8). Why might these godly, faithful women be afraid? „The crucified Christ is risen. We want to consider two points written in our Scripture reading. 1. The resurrection of the crucified leaves us frightened of God’s power. 2. The resurrection of the crucified Christ gives new hope to those who are frightened and lets them participate in the eternal life“

(Wenz §3).

9. „Dear congregation! The women’s terror comes from God. The angel is God’s messenger. As a messenger of God, he rushes into the women’s terror, he disrupts their grief, … so that they are beside themselves with fear. This is the one necessary aspect of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, because the resurrection is only possible if the Living, Holy God Himself was at work here. Terror, fear and trembling seize people in the Bible whenever they come close to this Living, Holy God“ (Wenz §11-12). The women experienced the aftermath of something miraculous and Divine. They were in the presence of God’s almighty power, and they rightly were afraid of His Divine might. Dead people do not rise up to new life. Such is our human experience. But on Easter Sunday Jesus’ grave is empty. His body is gone.

10. An empty tomb, however, is not resurrection faith nor faith in the resurrection of Jesus. An empty grave is merely an empty grave. There are any number of reasons why and how Jesus’ grave could be empty. Therefore the angel tells the women why the grave is empty: he proclaims that Jesus has risen, just as He taught and promised (Mark 8,31). Jesus has the power to lay down His life, and the power to take up His life again (John 10,17). His grave is empty because Jesus has risen from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection gives new hope to those who are afraid of God’s mighty power. Jesus’ resurrection lets us participate in eternal life. The Apostle Paul beautifully explained the participation in everlasting life by saying: »Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as a man brought death, so also a man has brought the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first-fruits, then at His advent those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when Christ delivers the reign to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.« (1. Corinthians 15,20-24), and also: »Our Lord Jesus Christ will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory« (Philippians 3,20-21).

11. Mark ends his Easter Gospel with: »And the women went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid« (Mark 16,8). At this point they have not seen the risen Jesus, but they have only seen that His grave is empty and heard that He has risen. Mark leaves us with the glorious anticipation of the women yet to tell the disciples the gospel and the joy of seeing Jesus risen with their own eyes. At verse 8 the women merely have the spoken word to create faith, and thus they are in the same state that we ourselves are in. We only have the proclaimed gospel that Jesus has risen, but soon we will behold the presence of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper when His body and blood are given out to us in the Sacrament. Behold, Christ is risen; He is risen indeed! Your sin is forgiven. Jesus will raise you up on the last day and give you eternal life in His Divine presence. Go, and proclaim this gospel to your neighbors. Amen.

13. Let us pray. O Lord, Most Merciful and Gracious God! The power of Your resurrection makes it clear to us that we are redeemed from the fear of death, and that we are no longer shaken and horrified by our life on this sinful earth. O Lord, make us joyful of Your resurrection and fill us with delightful hope so that we whether we live or are awaiting death we are nevertheless assured of the resurrection of the dead. O Lord Jesus, You were once dead but have become alive again so that You have the keys of Death and the Grave so that we sing our Hosannas and our Hallelujahs for You are our propitiation both in the hour of our parting and in our resurrection! By Your death and Your resurrection, we live! Amen. (Löhe 6 §7).

Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden.

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Hebrews 9,15.26b-28. Good Friday

✠ We preach Christ and Him crucified ✠

Iesus Nazarenus rex Iudaeorum

Hebrews 9,15.26b-28 2412

Karfreitag 031 schwarz

Coelestine, Bishop of Rome, † 432.

Lucas Cranach, † 1553, Albrecht Dürer, † 1528, and Michelangelo, † 1564, Artists

6. April 2012

1. O Almighty, Eternal God, who for us has caused Your Son to suffer the pains of the cross, so that You put away the power of the enemy from us, grant us to observe the memory of His suffering so that we may attain the forgiveness of sin, and the certain release from eternal death, to serve You in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness (Löhe). Furthermore, we beseech You graciously to behold this Your family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was content to be betrayed, given up into the hands of sinners and to suffer death upon the cross (The Book of Common Prayer) so that by His holy and righteous merit we, by virtue of His penal substitution, His vicarious atonement and the blessed exchange, receive, by faith in the gospel, the promise of everlasting salvation. Amen.

2. Therefore Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. But as it is, Jesus has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of all, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

3. The old covenant, instituted by Yahweh through Moses on Mt. Sinai, was bloody and deadly. Every morning and evening priests slaughtered hundreds of lambs for countless Jewish families longing for their forgiveness. These lambs were pure, spotless and holy. Their innocent blood paid for men and women’s forgiveness. Day after day, year after year, for two millennia, Yahweh endured this brutal and bloody slaughter of innocents; it was the only way His holy wrath and righteousness could be sated against vile, sinful human beings.

4. This old covenant was only a temporary solution. Dead lambs could not fully and finally satisfy mankind’s sin. This old covenant was meant to prepare Israel for a new and better covenant. This new covenant was foreshadowed even before the first was Divinely instituted, for Yahweh commanded Abraham to sacrifice His one and only son, Isaac, one an altar upon Mt. Zion. Abraham and Isaac were a type for God the Father and Jesus. When John the Baptizer saw Jesus, he declared: »Behold, the Lamb of God who is taking away the sin of the world!« (John 1,29). Three years later this new covenant was established when Jesus was crucified.

5. The new covenant, instituted by Jesus on Mt. Zion, was more bloody and even deadlier than the old covenant: God Himself suffered and died for the sins of the world.

6. The Romans took their crucifixions seriously. It began when Jesus was beaten to a bloody pulp: twenty lashes from a cat-of-nine tails formed deep cuts in an „x“ pattern across His back, and then nineteen more lashes across His chest. We’re not talking about a bullwhip here, for Roman whips were fashioned with broken pottery, bits of metal and even nails to tear into the condemned’s flesh. A crown with 6-inch long thorns cut deep lacerations into Jesus head. Then Jesus was forced to carry an 100 pound cross beam out to Calvary where He would be crucified naked. There was the smell of sweat mingled with fear, along with urine, and other bodily releases. The body was caked with blood. Groans and cries for mercy were uttered by the crucified and the onlookers.

7. The Romans stretched out Jesus arms and nailed each wrist to the cross beam. Then His feet were nailed together on the vertical pole so that His body formed a T. „As the crucified slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. As he pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he placed his full weight on the nail through his feet. Again, there was searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of his feet. Hanging by the arms, the pectoral muscles were paralyzed and the small muscles between the ribs were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. The crucified fought to raise himself in order to get even one short breath. He suffered hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain as tissue was torn from his lacerated back from his movement up and down against the rough timbers of the cross. Another agony was a deep crushing pain in the chest as the sac surrounding the heart slowly filled with serum and began to compress the heart. The compressed heart struggled to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood to the tissues, and the tortured lungs were making a frantic effort to inhale small gulps of air“ (Dr. C. Truman Davis). Jesus suffered this way for six grueling hours. The way to end this horror was when the crucified could not or would not push up on his legs to breathe, or if the fluid pooling around the heart caused congestive heart failure – asphyxiation would occur in seconds.

8. Behold, the Son of God crucified, and the Lamb of God sacrificed for the sin of the world, yes, for all your sins! „The cross of Jesus grieves us not only because we are sorry for Him in His suffering but also because of what it says to us. To each sinner the cross shows, „This is what your sin means.“ We cannot dodge that accusation“ (Nagel 116). The cross reveals the deadly seriousness of our sinful nature. Christ crucified is the costly ransom that pays in full all our sinfulness. Behold, there is Jesus, the King of the Jews!

9. There can be no doubt that God loves each and every fallen, sinful man and woman. Three years before He was crucified, Jesus told Nicodemus: »For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.« (John 3,16). God desired to save the world from sin, death and hell so He sent His one and only Son to redeem the world as a vicarious sacrifice. God did not spare Himself, but rather He sent His very best for you and your salvation.

10. The law, with all its unrelenting condemnation upon the sinner, is fulfilled. The law reveals every person to be a wicked sinner and thus renders its guilty verdict that everyone deserves death, damnation and eternal torment apart from God’s Divine fellowship. God’s own law demands punishment, and so God Himself paid the law’s sentence. Behold, the Son of Man, the King of the Jews, hangs lifeless on the cross. Jesus suffered and died for you. Your sins, all of them, are forgiven. Eternal life is now yours. Salvation is given unto you. On the cross, Jesus reconciled you back to God the Father. Jesus has made peace between God and us. Behold, Christ crucified for you.

11. »And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of all, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him« (Hebrews 9,27-28). Jesus is the Lord over Death and the Lord of Life. He proclaims: »I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though that person dies, yet shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die« (John 11,25-26). Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, who desires all people to be saved, on this night we remember the great gospel proclamation: »For God has loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not be lost, but have eternal life« (John 3,16). Jesus Christ our Savior is the gift of salvation that You have given Your fallen creation. On the cross we see the law in all its fierceness as it condemns Jesus as the Chief of Sinners and He was therefore rightly and justly punished. We also see on the cross the gospel in all its loving-kindness as it shows us the great love of Christ Jesus who willing and gladly took upon Himself our sin, bore our punishment in our place, suffered and died so that we may now have forgiveness and life everlasting in His glorious fellowship. May the loving sacrifice of Your Beloved Son instruct our minds and impassion our hearts so that we daily remain confident of our forgiveness and joyful in our right standing before You, O Lord. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

1. Corinthians 10,19-17. Maundy Thursday

† Take, this is My body and My blood of the new testament †

1. Corinthians 10,16-17 2312

Gründonnerstag 030 weiß

The Martyrs killed in the church on Easter by King Genseric of the Vandals & Alans, 459

5. April 2012

1. O Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us the joy of Your bread to eat and Your cup to drink in remembrance of Your sufferings, we pray, enlighten us so that by true self-examination we may worthily receive that Sacrament, in true discernment of Your presence. Amen.

2. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

3. Tonight, on Maundy Thursday, we begin the pinnacle of the Church Year and remember die große Heilsgeschichte (the great salvation history) of our Lord Jesus Christ. The final three days of Holy Week (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Saturday) constitute what the Church calls the Triduum, and take us through the final hours of Jesus’ precious life, His humiliation, suffering and death on the cross.

4. On the night before His death, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and celebrated it with His apostles. This Abendmahl (evening meal) is the first Sacrament delivered unto Christ’s Church. Jesus tells us that this bread is His body and this wine is His blood. Which body and blood is this? The very body of Christ that would be crucified tomorrow, and the very blood of Christ that He would shed on the cross. Thus the Church teaches the Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament of the Altar. This (bread) is the body of Christ; this (cup) is the blood of Christ. When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, the Apostle Paul teaches that we participate in the body and blood of Jesus. Thus we participate in Christ’s death. »For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He arrives« (1. Corinthians 11,26).

5. Holy Communion thus links us to the crucifixion of Jesus. The Holy Gospels take us to the foot of the cross, and the Mass unites us to the crucified Christ with the Effect that the forgiveness Jesus purchased on the cross is given out to you tonight, and every time, when you receive the Lord’s Supper. Christ has achieved the forgiveness of sins on the cross, but this forgiveness is not distributed or given out on the cross (Luther 213). Christ distributes the forgiveness won on the cross through the Word and the Sacraments (Luther 213). „If you now seek the forgiveness of sins, you do not run to the cross, for you will not find it given there. Nor must you hold to the suffering of Christ ... in knowledge or remembrance, for you will not find it there either. But you will find in the Sacrament or the gospel the word which distributes, presents, offers and gives to you that forgiveness which was won on the cross“ (Luther 214).

6. If you desire the forgiveness of your sins, then come to the Lord’s Supper and receive the absolution that Jesus paid for with His very own body and blood. Receive Him in this Sacrament in faith and believe that in this Sacrament Jesus gives you what He has promised, what He has merited for you on the cross, namely, the forgiveness of all your sins.

7. This is why the Apostle Paul proclaims that there is only one bread and only one body (1. Corinthians 10,17). There is only one Savior from sin, death and hell; and that Savior is Christ Jesus. There is only one people of God; and that is the Church. There is one Christ and one Church. There is one gospel: that of Christ crucified, and one bearer of that precious gospel: the Church.

8. To the Church alone has Christ instituted His Holy Sacrament. Only the Church administers the gospel of forgiveness through her pastors and bishops. In doing so, Jesus has intimately united His Church, yes, each one of you, to His salvific crucifixion. You are united to Christ’s death, and since you are united to His death then you are united to His life everlasting. The gospel proclaims your forgiveness: »For the death Jesus died He died to sin, once for all, but the life Jesus lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus« (Romans 6,10-11). This is what it means to be united to Christ and to participate with Him in the Lord’s Supper.

9. Beloved in the Lord, it is our intention to receive the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ, in which He strengthens our faith by giving us His body to eat and His blood to drink. Therefore, it is proper that we diligently examine ourselves, as St. Paul urges us to do, for this Holy Sacrament has been instituted for the special comfort of those who are troubled because of their sin and who humbly confess their sins, fear God’s wrath and hunger and thirst for righteousness.

10. But when we earlier examined our hearts and consciences, and confessed our sinfulness, we found nothing in us but sin and death, from which we are incapable of delivering ourselves. Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ has had mercy on us and has established the Pastoral Office to absolve all your sins. For your benefit Jesus became man so that He might fulfill for you the whole will and law of God and, to deliver you, took upon Himself your sin and the punishment you deserve.

11. So that you may more confidently believe this and be strengthened in the faith and in holy living, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, broke it and gave it to His disciples and said: „Take, eat; this is My Body, which is given for you“. It is as if He said: „I became man, and all that I do and suffer is for your good. As a pledge of this, I give you My Body under the Bread to eat“.

12. In the same way also He took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them, saying: „Drink of it, all of you; this Cup is the new testament in My Blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins“. Again, it is as if He said: „I have had mercy on you by taking into Myself all your iniquities. I give Myself unto death, shedding My blood to obtain grace and forgiveness of sins, and to comfort and establish the new testament, which gives forgiveness and everlasting salvation. As a pledge of this, I give you My True Blood under the Wine to drink“.

13. Therefore, whoever eats this Bread and drinks this Cup, confidently believing this word and promise of Christ, dwells in Christ and Christ in him and has eternal life. For these words „Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,“ show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are given to you through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: „forgiveness of sins“. You should do this in remembrance of Him, showing His death – that He was delivered for your offenses and raised for your justification. Giving Him your most heartfelt thanks, you take up your cross and follow Him and, according to His Commandment, love and serve one another as He has loved and served you. For we, the Church, are all one bread and body, even as we are all partakers of this one Bread and drink from this one Cup.

14. For just as the one Cup is filled with wine of many grapes and one Bread made from countless grains, so also you, being many are one body in Christ. Because of Him, you love and serve one another, not only in word, but in deed and in truth.

15. May the Almighty and Merciful God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, accomplish this in you and me. You have been invited by Christ Jesus Himself to His Heavenly Father’s glorious banquet of eternal life. This Lord’s Supper of Christ’s Body under the bread and His Blood under the wine are a foretaste of that heavenly feast to come. Do not excuse yourself from Christ’s invitation and Supper, but receive His invitation with joy and thanksgiving for He has established and instituted this Supper for your blessing. The Supper has been set; join me in receiving it for your salvation and forgiveness. Amen.

16. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, You have caused Your wonders to be remembered; You are gracious and merciful. In this Sacrament of the Altar You give us Your true body and blood in the true bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins. Help us to rightly remember all You have done for us in Your life and crucifixion whereby You merited the forgiveness of each and every sin we have or will commit, for Your forgiveness is properly given to us through this new testament Passover meal we call Holy Communion, so that we may always know and believe that we are at peace with You on account of Your holy merit that has been applied to us as our own merit. Amen.

Which is poured out for everyone.

†

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Isaiah 50,4-9. Palmarum Sunday

In the Name of Jesus

Isaiah 50,4-9 2212

Palmarum (6. Sonntag der Passionszeit) 029

Hugo, Bishop of Grenoble, France. † 1132

1. April 2012

1. O Almighty and Everlasting God, who of Your tender love towards mankind, has sent Your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, so that all mankind should be redeemed by His great humility; mercifully grant, so that we may both look to His cross where salvation was purchased, and also be made partakers of His resurrection (Book of Common Prayer 36). Amen.

2. John the Apostle and Evangelist describes Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem during the Feast of Passover this way: »The next day the large crowd that had come to the Feast of Passover heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, crying out: „Hosanna! Blessed is He who arrives in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!“ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on him, just as it is written: „Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is arriving, seated on a donkey’s colt!“ [Zechariah 9,9] Jesus’ disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about Him and had been done to Him« (John 12,12-16).

3. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday begins the events of Holy Week. His disciples hail Jesus as Israel’s King and the world’s Christ. The Apostle John proclaims that Jesus has fulfilled the Prophet Zechariah, who wrote in 519 B.C.: »Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is justifying and saving, He is humble and mounted on a colt, the foal of a donkey« (Zechariah 9,9). Yahweh’s salvation was close at hand.

4. This salvation was not all pomp and circumstance like Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem seems to indicate. There were other prophesies to be fulfilled, like the Prophet Isaiah: »The Lord who is the Lord has given Me the tongue of those who are taught, so that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning He awakens; He awakens My ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord who is the Lord has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn backward. I gave My back to those who strike, and My cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I did not hide My face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord who is the Lord helps Me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates Me is near. Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near to Me. Behold, the Lord who is the Lord helps Me; who will declare Me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up« (Isaiah 50,4-9).

5. Palm Sunday begins the week in glorious triumph. Jesus has publicly and prominently manifested Himself as the Christ. The Jewish religious leaders are flabbergasted: »Behold, the world has gone after him!« (John 12,19). Yet by the end of the week, the world has gone against Him. The high priest, along with many Pharisees, priests and Sadducees (the Sanhedrin) convict Jesus of blasphemy. They then bring their case before Pontius Pilate and argue that Jesus deserves to die. The Jewish crowd that has gathered to celebrate the Passover shouts for Jesus’ conviction. Pilate attempted to set Jesus free, but fear of a massive riot forced his hand; he handed Jesus over for crucifixion as a seditious criminal of the Roman Empire. Holy Week closes with Jesus dead on the cross and His burial in the grave.

6. What a sad, pathetic end for Israel’s Messiah! The hopes and dreams of Jesus’ disciples have been dashed. Where are the seats of glory at Jesus’ left and right that James and John had sought after in last week’s Gospel Reading? Where is the glorious reign of heaven that Jesus was supposed to usher in with the apostles as 12 mighty princes? Where are the heavenly hosts that were expected to descend from heaven and sweep the mighty Roman legions into the Mediterranean Sea? Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt as the Messianic King, but He leaves Jerusalem bearing the cross of a condemned insurrectionist. All human hopes have been dashed.

7. »Jesus’ disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about Him and had been done to Him« (John 12,12-16). First century Israel expected a militant, political Messiah who would rout the Romans and re-establish the Davidic Kingdom in Palestine. This, however, was not Jesus’ intention. God the Father had better, grander plans for His Son. Well, surely the twenty-first century must be different, right? Soon Jesus will work in human history and return to the nation of Israel all that has been taken from them, right? Surely it is God’s will to boot out the Muslims from Jerusalem, demolish the Dome of the Rock and rebuild the Jewish temple of the old covenant, right?

8. Such zionistic notions do not factor into Jesus’ ministry, Palm Sunday, Christ’s Passion or the proclamation of the apostles in the New Testament. Jesus’ notion of the Christ does not coincide with many of his countrymen in the first century nor with some Evangelicals in the twenty-first. Jesus knew how many people would misinterpret His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. This is why He deliberately taught His disciples about His messiahship by a using a title that had not become associated with errant baggage.

9. Jesus never referred to Himself with the titles Messiah or Christ, although others confessed Him as such, particularly His apostles and disciples. Jesus’ preferred term was Son of Man. »Jesus answered Nicodemus: „And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up“« (John 3,14). »And Jesus answered His apostles: „The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified“« (John 12,23). »When Judas Iscariot had gone out, Jesus said to His apostles: „Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him“« (John 13,31). We see from Jesus’ use of the phrase Son of Man that as the Christ: Jesus did not arrive to restore the Jewish political kingdom, but He arrived to save Israel and the world from sin.

10. So Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to inaugurate the heavenly reign, a reign that is firmly centered upon the suffering, crucified and dying Messiah and Christ. Jesus brings you salvation, and He brings it with power and glory. Jesus enters Jerusalem as Israel’s King and Christ. His disciples and the Jewish crowd acclaim Him as such. Time and again in the Holy Gospels Jesus boldly proclaims that the Son of Man, the Christ, goes up to Jerusalem to suffer and die in order to redeem the fallen world back into God the Father’s loving fellowship. Jesus describes His crucifixion as His glory and glorification (John 12,23).

11. Thus Jesus humbly rides into Jerusalem upon a young male donkey. On that first Palm Sunday, this colt, the son of a donkey, is blessed to bear upon his young back the Son of Man. This colt receives, and rejoices in, Jesus by simply being a colt and doing what a colt does, namely, he is a steadfast beast of burden upon which Jesus can ride. Although Jesus is being lauded with great pomp and glory, His faithful donkey bears Him to His Divine throne in majestic humility. Like the young colt, Jesus is more a Suffering Servant than a King. Jesus takes His seat upon the throne of the cross instead of a lordly chair. Jesus wore a crown of thorns instead of a golden diadem. Jesus is a Messiah and a Christ who is humbled and afflicted upon the cross.

12. „Both those who went before Christ and those who followed Him with a loud voice simultaneously petitioned God the Lord so that He would increase and strengthen the reign of the Christ. They did not allow themselves to be offended at the humble appearance of His reign. Nor did they allow themselves to be frightened off by the threats of the Pharisees, Luke 19,39: »And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus: „Teacher, rebuke your disciples!“«. ... You should confess Christ and His reign without regard to any offenses and threats. You should thank God the Lord from the bottom of your hearts for the fact that Christ has also initiated His reign of grace among you, and you should pray from the heart for it to be upheld and spread“ (Gerhard 293).

13. So with the disciples we acclaim: »Hosanna! Blessed is He who arrives in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!« (John 12,13). And with the Psalmist we affirm: »But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever« (Psalm 52,8). »The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God« (Psalm 92,12-13). You flourish because Christ Jesus faithfully entered Jerusalem upon a donkey to make you righteous. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, the Son of Man who was lifted up on the cross, pour out upon us in Your Word and Sacraments grace and mercy so that we who believe in You will have eternal life. Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Thursday, April 26, 2012

1. Peter 5,1-4. Misericordias Domini Sunday

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Colossians 2,12-15. Quasimodogeniti (1. Sunday after Easter)

1. Samuel 2,1-2.6-8a. The Feast of Christ's Resurrection

Hebrews 9,15.26b-28. Good Friday

1. Corinthians 10,19-17. Maundy Thursday

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Isaiah 50,4-9. Palmarum Sunday