Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: April 2015

Monday, April 27, 2015

John 15,1-8. Jubilate

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

John 15,1-8 2515

Jubilate (3. Sonntag nach Ostern) 038 weiß

Cletus, Bishop of Rome 89

26. April 2015

1. O God our Creator, by Your will life springs forth from the earth by the power of Your Divine Providence. The budding trees, the green grass and the singing of the birds all bear witness to You and that everything is now renewed. Amen. (VELKD, Prayer for Jubilate § 1)

2. »Jesus said to His disciples: „I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch of Mine that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.“

3. The Holy Scriptures divide all people into one of two categories: believers or unbelievers. Believers abide in Christ, but unbelievers are separated from Christ. The difference between these two groups is faith in Christ. The Apostle Paul proclaims: »Faith comes by/from hearing the Word of Christ, so that everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord will be saved« (Romans 10,17.13). This Word of Christ is that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried and rose on the third day to redeem the world from sin. The Holy Spirit creates faith in this Word when it is preached, but a person can reject this Word and refuse to believe in Jesus. Jesus used the image of the Vine and the branches to exhort us to remain faithful. We should and must highly treasure this gift of faith, allow our faith to be nurtured and watered by regularly hearing the preached law and gospel of God, by regularly receiving the Holy Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and by appropriating the Absolution that declares all sins forgiven as our very own forgiveness merited by Christ and freely given to us.

4. Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. Those who abide in Jesus and Jesus in them bear much fruit. The Apostle Paul lists nine fruits: »The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control« (Galatians 5,22-23). Paul could have listed more, but we get the point. Faith in Christ leads to fruits of Christ. Jesus lists some specific examples of love, joy and peace in His Beatitudes: »You have heard that it was said: „An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.“ [Leviticus 24,19-21] But I say to you: „Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone laps you on the right cheek, then turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, then let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, then go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said: „You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.“ [Leviticus 19,18] But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you« (Matthew 5,38-44). Jesus exhorts us to such actions regardless of whether the person is our friend or our adversary.

5. This fruit that is born from faith in Christ we call good works. The Holy Scriptures use the phrase „works of mercy“ (διακονια) to describe these good works. From this we get the English word „deacon“ and „deaconess“ which generically mean „one who waits on a table“ but in the New Testament is used to describe an act of service or ministry to another.

6. Jesus performed such an act of mercy on Maundy Thursday, where John records for us in his Gospel: »Jesus rose from supper. He set aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.« (John 13,4-5). Jesus then explained His action, saying: »I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you« (John 13,15). Jesus did acts of mercy to His disciples and He wants us to do acts of mercy for others.

7. Works of mercy are for others, because God does not need these works. Our neighbors, however, desperately need works of mercy performed for them. Just as the fruit of the vine is used to make wine for mankind’s enjoyment, so too the works of mercy born from Christian faith are meant to assist our neighbors who are burdened by the cares and worries of this world. Our works of mercy uplift our neighbors who are distraught and depressed by the world around them. Wherever our neighbor is in need, there our merciful actions are given out to lift our neighbor out of their dilemma. Jesus does not differentiate between friend and foe. He says both our friends and our enemies need our works of mercy. Jesus teaches: »Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, for your Heavenly Father makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous« (Matthew 5,44-45).

8. Last week ISIS broadcast a video where they martyred 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya because of their Christian faith; two months earlier they had released a video showing how they had martyred 21 Egyptian Christians. ISIS derisively calls these Christians „the People of the Cross“. A media company called Mighty (mighty.la) recently responded to these ISIS videos by releasing a video on Aleteia (a Roman Catholic website) to exemplify Christ’s exhortation to do works of mercy for one’s enemies. It is entitled A Letter from the People of the Cross to ISIS, and in it they say: „Love is chasing after you, brother. An army goes forth, with no tanks or soldiers, but an army of martyrs faithful unto death carrying a message of life. The People of the Cross go to die at your gates. For every throat you slit, for every man you burn alive, there is blood on your hands, brother, but draw near with your bloodstained hands. Though your sins are like scarlet, they can be washed white as snow. You die for your god, but our God died for us. Christ has been crucified once and for all, to make sinners like you and me into brothers. Even you. Even now“ (http://youtu.be/uSv4vBcFyvo).

9. Jesus proclaimed: »Greater love has no one than this: that someone lay down his life for his friends« (John 15,13). Jesus laid down His life for both His friends and His enemies, yes, Jesus died for the whole world, for those who would believe in Him and for those who would reject Him. He then became the first fruits of those of the resurrection, for by His resurrection we will also be resurrected on the last day. His love, His forgiveness, is for you, for all believers and also for all who reject Him. Jesus exhorts us to testify of His love and forgiveness with words and works of mercy. The world may hate us, but the world hated Jesus before it hated us (John 15,18). If they persecuted Jesus, then they will persecute us; if they keep His Word, then they will keep ours too (John 15,20). Whoever hates Jesus also hates God the Father; but whoever loves Jesus also loves the Father (John 15,23). Beloved in Jesus, our friends love us, but our enemies hate us; nevertheless, Jesus wants us to do works of mercy for both friends and foes alike so that they may see the love of Christ, and in seeing that love may believe the gospel when they hear it: that Jesus loves them and died for them in order to forgive them and save them. Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou preserve the lives of Your Christian people. Give us Your life and strength so that we live and move and have our being in You alone. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

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

aleteia.org/en

http://youtu.be/uSv4vBcFyvo

mighty.la

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

John 10,11-16.27-30. Misericordias Domini

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

John 10,11-16.27-30 2415

Miserikordias Domini (2. Sonntag nach Ostern) 37 weiß

Timon, one of the 7 deacons at Jerusalem. Acts 6,5.

Olavus Petri, Pastor and Reformer in Sweden, ✠ 1552

19. April 2015

1. O Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd, watch over us and protect us so that we may endure this fallen world with its suffering and violence, for in Your Providence we remain safe unto life eternal (VELKD, Prayer for Miserikordias Domini § 1). Amen.

2. »I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 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. My Father, who has given them to Me,is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.«

3. Jesus, our Good Shepherd gives us this promise: »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. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.« Truly, this is Misericordia Domini, the mercy of the Lord, for by His death and resurrection we have the mercy of God the Father as the 23. Psalm reminds us: »Surly goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever« (Psalm 23,6).

4. Jesus gives us a glimpse of whom this Lord is. Our Creeds teach that the Lord is a Divine Trinity of Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In John 10, Jesus focuses on the Persons of Father and Son. The Persons of God are at the same time One God and still Three Distinct Persons. The Triune God is not some Buddhist or Hindu nirvana where one is merely a drop in an ocean of peaceful existence devoid of individuality. Jesus says He is One with the Father and yet He is a distinct Person apart from the Father.

5. What Jesus teaches seems like a paradox to us: He is One with the Father and thus completely omnipotent but He is also under the Father’s authority. The Church historically understands this as God the Father is the First among Equals. As Divine Equals, both the Son and the Holy Spirit freely submit themselves to the Father’s authority. Thus there is complete agreement in will and thought between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So great is this agreement that Jesus says: »If you have seen Me, then you have seen the Father« (John 14,9), for the Father’s will is the Son’s will and the Son’s will is the Father’s will.

6. Jesus thus shows us the Father’s heart. Luther spoke of the Divine heart this way: „If we truly believe that Christ is our Savior, then we have a God of love, and to see God in faith is to look upon His friendly heart. For we know One who suffered and made satisfaction in our behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God. Where He is, there we shall be also“ [1] (Luther).

7. It has been God’s desire from time eternal for men and women to dwell with Him in fellowship. His dwelling in heaven is filled with angels whom He created to be in eternal fellowship with Him. When He created the Earth He set aside a particular space for mankind to dwell with Him in everlasting fellowship. God created men and women in His Divine Image and Likeness and gave them the Garden of Eden to be Paradise and an physical manifestation of heaven on earth. Each evening He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Adam and Eve were the crown of God’s earthly creation and Lucifer was the crown of God’s angelic creation. At some point Lucifer rebelled against the Lord and his fall had universal ramifications. He convinced one-third of the angels to rebel with him against the Lord. He then deceived Adam and Eve to rebel against the Lord too. Divine fellowship between angels and men had been sundered.

8. We see in both Lucifer’s fall and Adam’s fall the merciful heart of God the Father. He could have in both cases consigned the rebels to capital punishment and destroyed them unto oblivion, but God had a more fatherly plan. He created an abode for Lucifer and the other rebellious angels where they could exist in their own presence apart from His Divine presence. The angels who had remained loyal to God He then confirmed their fidelity by securing their abode eternally with Him. Adam and Eve were not struck down, but were evicted from Eden and denied access to the tree of life. God provided for their salvation by promising Eve a Son who would undo their rebellion, defeat the devil and restore mankind’s fellowship with the Divine.

9. God the Father planned to send His Only-begotten Son to redeem fallen men and women. The Apostle Paul tells us: »When the fullness of time had arrived, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because we are sons, we are heirs through God« (Galatians 4,4-7). Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection were the fulfillment of God’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history).

10. Jesus has redeemed all people back to His Father. The sin of the fallen world has been forgiven. The gates of hades have been shut to us and the gates of heaven have been opened wide for us. But God does not force heaven and salvation upon His creation. Satan and the demons freely desired to exist apart from God’s presence, and God gave them what they wanted; He even created a place for them to live out this Divine separation. God does not force men and women to believe the gospel of salvation. His forgiveness and salvation can be rejected. Free will can choose to remain separated from God. It is not what God wants, but He has done everything to redeem mankind and if individuals decide to reject His grace then they choose to reject living in His presence. There is an abode where such dwell who oppose living in the midst of God’s presence. Hades is that abode and people who reject God’s grace will live there with the demons who have rejected God too.

11. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He has redeemed us, purchased our forgiveness and opened up heaven to us. He gives us this promise: »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. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.« Jesus is the living personification of His Father’s merciful heart. Rightly does John the Apostle and Evangelist call Jesus the Word who is God and who is of God and who has been made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1,1.14). Jesus is the Misericordia Domini, the Mercy of the Lord, for by His death and resurrection we have the mercy of God the Father.

12. The words of the Psalmist speak of the merciful, loving heart of God shown to us in Christ Jesus: »The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever« (Psalm 23). Amen.

13. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, Thou Good Shepherd, speak to us through Your Word so that in the Holy Scriptures we hear Your Voice and follow You unto eternal life. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

[1] „Anyone who regards Him as angry is not seeing Him correctly, but has pulled down a curtain and cover, more, a dark cloud over His face. But in Scriptural language „to see His face“ means to recognize Him correctly as a gracious and faithful Father, on whom you can depend for every good thing. This happens only through faith in Christ“ (Luther 21,37).

Monday, April 13, 2015

John 20,19-31. Quasimodogeniti

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

John 20,19-29 [30-31] 2315

Quasimodogeniti (1. Sonntag nach Ostern) 036 weiß

Julius, Bishop of Rome, ✠ 352. Sabas the Goth, Martyr 372

12. Apil 2015

1. O Lord Jesus Christ, our resurrected Lord and God. You are the Peace, the Truth and the Life. We pray: Draw near and comfort us, so that our disbelief turns to belief in Your resurrected life, and ours. Amen. (VELKD, Prayer for Quasimodogeniti § 1)

2. »On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them: „Peace be with you.“ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again: „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.“ Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin,was not with them when Jesus arrived. So the other disciples told him: „We have seen the Lord.“ But he said to them: „Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.“ Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus arrived and stood among them and said: „Peace be with you.“ Then He said to Thomas: „Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.“ Thomas answered Him: „My Lord and my God!“ ²⁹Jesus said to him: „Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.“ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.«

3. The Apostle John tells us why he wrote his Gospel: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name (20,30-31). The greatest sign Jesus performed was rising from the dead, and the evidence for this great sign of the resurrection is Jesus’ many appearances to His disciples and even unbelievers during a 40-day period of time. Our Gospel pericope for today tells us about Thomas’ first experience with the risen Jesus.

4. Thomas had heard the proclamation from his fellow apostles that Jesus is risen from the dead and that they had seen Him with their own eyes. Thomas has become infamous with his reply: »Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.« Eight days later Jesus gave Thomas the proof he had asked for. Thomas saw the mark of the nails and the side that had been pierced by the legionnaires’ spear, but John does not tell us whether Thomas actually put his finger into the mark and his hand into Jesus side. But John recorded another of Thomas’ infamous phrases: »My Lord and my God!« Thomas moved from adamant unbelief in the resurrection to adoring faith in the risen Jesus. Jesus wants all people to have this same faith. His apostles and disciples wrote the Gospels and the Epistles to proclaim the gospel of Easter and in hearing this gospel faith would be created by the working of the Holy Spirit.

5. The apostles went forth throughout the world proclaiming the risen Jesus of Easter Sunday so that people may have faith. This faith is faith in Jesus Christ who was crucified for us and our sins; on the third day He rose in victory over hades, death and the grave. The 27 books of the New Testament bear eyewitness testimony to the risen Jesus. He is not a ghost or a spirit, but a real flesh and blood body risen from the dead. The historical records admit that the tomb was empty on Easter morning. We believe and confess what the apostles taught and passed down: Jesus rose from the dead. In turn, we pass this gospel on to the succeeding generation of Christians. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Hallelujah! Faith believes it, and the historical records attest to its truth.

6. Faith in Jesus’ resurrection is based on the testimony of the Holy Scripture. Historical evidence, furthermore, supports the Biblical and apostolic claims of Jesus’ resurrection. The Biblical and historic testimonies account for more information surviving about Jesus Christ than almost any other person who has lived. In fact, if somehow the entire Bible was lost or destroyed we could replicate every verse in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation using other books in any given library.

7. There are several historians who record Jesus, His death and resurrection. Flavius Josephus (ad 37-97), 1. century court historian for Emperor Vespasian wrote: „Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call Him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works – a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the Divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day“ (Josephus 480 §§ 63-64). Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman historian in the early 2. century ad, writes: „Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular“ (Annals 15,44).

8. Over 39 extra-biblical sources attest to more than 100 facts regarding the life and teachings of Jesus (reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2011/04/evidence-for-the-resurrection-in-a-nutshell). There are numerous 1. and 2. century extra-biblical writings that witness to the fact that Christians believed that Christ did extraordinary things, died on a cross and rose from the grave, including: Josephus, Clement, Papias, the Didache, Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, (reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2011/04/evidence-for-the-resurrection-in-a-nutshell) the Talmud, Plinius Secoundus, Gaius Seutonius Tranquillas, and Lucian. Even the earliest Jewish arguments against Christianity admit the empty tomb. The Toledoth Yeshu, a 5. century compilation of early Jewish writings, acknowledges this historical fact and posit the theory the gardener took body of Jesus from His tomb and buried it somewhere else in the cemetery garden (Toledoth Yeshu ¶ 24). The Gospel according to Matthew records another Jewish theory: The Jewish elders told their temple guards who had watched over Jesus’ tomb to tell people hat His disciples had stolen the body from the tomb while they slept (Mathew 28,11-15). The Jewish and Roman sources admit that Jesus’ tomb was empty.

9. Our Lord’s resurrection created faith in James the brother of Jesus and Paul of Tarsus, both enemies of Jesus and the gospel before Jesus appeared to them. James became the first Bishop of Jerusalem, wrote the New Testament epistle that bears his name and he was later martyred at Jerusalem in ad 62. Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles, was an evangelical missionary who traversed the Roman Empire four times, was a prolific writer who penned 13 of the 27 New Testament books of the Bible and his traveling companion Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name and the Book of Acts. In ad 68 Paul was beheaded at Rome by Emperor Nero’s order.

10. Peter was an apostle to the Jews, the author of two New Testament epistles. He eventually preached in Rome, and Mark the Evangelist wrote the Gospel that bears his name based on Peter’s sermons. In ad 68 Peter was crucified by Emperor Nero’s order. Andrew was severely whipped and tied by ropes on an x-shaped cross where he hung 2 days to expire in Edessa or Patras, Greece, in the mid to late 1. century. James bar-Zebedee was the first apostle to be martyred when King Herod ordered him beheaded with a sword at Jerusalem in ad 44 (Acts 12,1-2). Philip was crucified at Hierapolis, Turkey in ad 80. Nathanael/Bartholomew was beaten, flayed and crucified head down in Albania, Armenia, India or Persia in the 1. century. Thomas, who first did not believe but a week later did believe that Jesus rose from the tomb, preached the gospel in southern India. Indian Christians from the west coast Kerala area claim they were evangelized by Thomas. Later he was speared to death near Madras, India on the east coast in ad 72. Matthew wrote the Gospel that bears his name; he was later axed to death with a halberd in Nadabah, Ethiopia in ad 60. James Alphaeus was thrown down from the temple and clubbed to death with a fullers club at age 94 at Jerusalem in ad 66. Jude/Thaddaeus was crucified in Edessa, Greece or Persia in ad 72. Simon the Cananaean was crucified in Brittainnia, Europe. Matthias was stoned and then beheaded at Jerusalem in ad 80.

11. John bar-Zebedee wrote the Gospel that bears his name, the book of Revelation and three New Testament epistles. He miraculously survived being boiled with oil before the Latin Gate at Rome in ad 95 and was summarily exiled to the Turkish island of Patmos for a couple of years. He died of natural causes in Ephesus, Turkey in 98 or 100; he was the last of the apostles to enter Paradise. Important Early Church disciples of John the Apostle are Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, Turkey (Martyr 108), Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Turkey (Martyr 155) and Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon, France (Martyr 202); Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp.

12. The apostles and the historical records attest to Jesus crucifixion and the empty tomb. The apostles proclaimed that the tomb is empty because Jesus rose from the dead. They all saw the risen Jesus. Thomas beheld the nail marks and His side. Several women saw Jesus on Easter morning (28,9), and Mary Magdalene is mentioned by name in all four Gospel accounts of Easter and she even held the risen Jesus (John 20, 17). Paul lists others who saw Jesus during the 40 days before His ascension: »For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures and that He appeared to Peter, then to the apostles. Then He appeared to more than five hundred Christians at one time. Then he appeared to James, the brother of Jesus, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me, Paul« (1. Corinthians 15,3-8).

13. If we are honest with ourselves, then we will admit that there may have been a time at some point in our Christian life where we questioned the validity of Jesus’ resurrection. Perhaps we could not comprehend the event when reading it in the Bible. Perhaps someone raised some questions about the event that made us wonder if we were wrong in believing the truth. The event does defy all reason and experience, and we are in good company for all the apostles and disciples of Jesus did not believe He rose from the dead at first. All the women, Mary Magdalene, Peter, John and all the apostles did not believe at first. Thomas was not unique among them for his disbelief, but all of them, including Thomas, believed when Jesus appeared to them in His risen, physical body.

13. Yet the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection abounds in the Bible and numerous other historical documents. The Holy Spirit has given us more than enough testimony to prove the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus’ statement to Thomas refers to us: »Thomas, have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen Me and yet have believed.« Jesus is talking about you, me and all Christians for the past 1900 years. John and the other Gospel evangelists wrote their Gospels so that we could read their testimony and believe in the risen Jesus. We believe even when the world refuses to believe the gospel. We believe in spite of the persecution and mockery the world heaps upon us for having faith in the risen Jesus. We believe as Thomas believes, and we confess as he confesses: Jesus, You are my Lord and my God! Amen and Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou has done great things for us, particularly rising from the grave, so that believing in Your resurrection from the dead we hope in our own resurrection by Your hand on the last day. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Annals_(Tacitus)/Book_15#44. Translation based on Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876).

Monday, April 6, 2015

Devotional thoughts for Easter Monday

Easter Monday

Monday 6. April 2015

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1. Corinthians 15,20-22

The 15th chapter of this Pauline epistle is so wonderfully and powerfully written that one could spend months commenting upon its verses. Paul draws out in great detail the effects of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday.

His primary example here is the two Adams. The first Adam sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He passed original sin onto every one of his descendants: that means you, me and the entire world. The tree of life was now barred to him. He was banished from paradise.

The second Adam redeemed fallen men and women by being crucified. Jesus hung on a tree, and this tree became a tree of life. What was lost has been regained. Jesus has opened up paradise to all mankind. This is why He told the repentant their: Today, you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23,43).

The same with the empty tomb. Jesus rose from the dead . He overcame death, hell and the grave. His resurrection means our resurrection, and He has promised to raise up our dead bodies on the last day, restore us and bring us into Paradise with a perfect body and soul.

Prayer: O Almighty God, who through Thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech Thee that, as by Thy special grace preventing us Thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by Thy continual help be may bring the same to good effect. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, 1789)

Sunday, April 5, 2015

He is risen!

Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

그리스도는 부활합니다! 그는 실제로 증가하고 있습니다!

Cristo ha resucitado! Él ha resucitado!

»"Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?" The sting of Death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!« (1. Corinthians 15,54-56)

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Easter Vigil

Beloved in the Lord, on this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, we are gathered here in vigil and prayer. This is the Passover of the Lord in which, by hearing His Word and celebrating His Sacraments, we share in His victory over death.

In this most holy night our Savior, Christ, the Lord, broke the power of death and by His Resurrection brought life and salvation to all creation. Let us praise the Lord, for He truly keeps His Word. The sun of righteousness has dawned upon us who have sat in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Rejoice now, all you heavenly choirs of angels; rejoice now, all creation; sound forth, trumpet of salvation, and proclaim the triumph of our King. Rejoice too, all the earth, in the radiance of the light now poured upon you and made brilliant by the brightness of the Everlasting King; know that the ancient darkness has been forever banished. Rejoice, O Church of Christ, clothed in the brightness of this light; let all this house of God ring out with rejoicing, with the praises of all God’s faithful people.

On this holiest of nights the whole Church of our Lord Jesus Christ recalls His death and burial, rejoicing with great joy in the Gospel of His glorious and mighty resurrection from the dead. The Apostle Paul says:

»Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through Baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.« Romans 6,3-11

Prayer: O God, for our redemption You gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross and by His glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of the enemy. Grant that all our sin may be drowned through daily repentance and that day by day we may arise to live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Friday, April 3, 2015

John 19,16-30. Good Friday

✠ We preach Christ and Him crucified ✠

Iesus Nazarenus rex Iudaeorum

John 19,16-30 2115

Karfreitag 031 schwarz

Agape, Chionia, Irene, Virgins, Martyrs at Thessalonia, 304 ✠

3. April 2015

1. O Silent, blessed Good Friday! O Evening after a hard day’s work, O Lovely Evening Star after darkness filled the day! O Divine Rest for sinners! O Hope of eternal life, O Blessed End of suffering, passion and tears! O Lord, have mercy on us in Your reign and keep us in Your great peace from which all joy and hope grow. O Lord Jesus, have mercy on us and grant us Your peace (Löhe 157). Amen.

2. »So Pontius Pilate delivered Jesus over to the chief priests to be crucified. Then they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read: „Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.“«

3. Jesus’ preaching was fulfilled on Karfreitag. The Synoptic Gospels record on four different occasions where Jesus said He would suffer, be crucified and die (Matthew 16,21; 17,22-23; 20,17-19; 26,1). Tonight, as we remember our Lords crucifixion, His final words from the cross „It is finished“ reveal two truths:

1. The crucified Jesus is proclaimed as the King of the Jews throughout all the world.

2. The Scriptures are fulfilled in His suffering.

3. Jesus provides for and begins to build His Church while He hangs on the cross (Wenz ¶ 3).

4. It is obvious from even a cursory reading of the New Testament Scriptures that Jesus truly is the King of the Jews. His words and actions showed that He is the Son of God sent from heaven who human ancestry descends from the royal line of King David. But Pilate made the claim official when he had an inscription (titulum) written and placed above Jesus’ head when He was crucified. It was common for the Romans to place the criminal’s crime upon his cross so that passers by would know why the person was being executed by the Roman State. Jesus’ criminal offense was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek: מנצרת, מלך היהודים ישו, Iesus Nazarenus rex Iudaeorum, Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων, thus in English: „Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews“, and as it is commonly rendered today upon crosses and crucifixes with the abbreviation „INRI“.

5. „Jesus is the King of Israel, in who all the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled: the prophecy of the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His people, the prophecy of the King who establishes God’s law, the prophecy of the water by which the sinner is sprinkled for the remission of sins. The king of Israel, hung on the cross and saved His people and all the world through the sacrifice of His life“ (Wenz ¶ 17).

6. „The world has never seen such a king. He was sent from God the Father and enthroned as the King of kingss. His reign is His love; His power is His sacrifice, His judgment is His mercy, His fruit of eternal life is for all who believe in Him“ (Wenz ¶ 18).

7. „Jesus was proclaimed as the King of Israel in fulfillment of the promises of salvation spoken by the Prophets“ (Wenz ¶ 19).

8. The Gospel according to John records four specific Scriptures that Jesus fulfilled during His crucifixion. The Roman soldiers cast lots for His seamless tunic; this was prophesied in Psalm 22: »They divide My clothes among them and cast lots for my garment« (Psalm 22,18). Jesus said: »I thirst«; this was prophesied in Psalm 69: »They put gall in My good and gave Me vinegar for My thirst« (Psalm 22,15; 69,21). The Romans did not break His legs or any other bones in His body; this was prophesied in Psalm 34: » God protects all His bones, and not one of them will be broken« (Psalm 34,20). Finally, the Romans pierced His side; this was prophesied in Zechariah 12: »I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the one they have pierce, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son« (Zechariah 12,10).

9. While Jesus suffered on the cross, He made sure His mother was provided for after His death and departure. Jesus commends His mother into the care of young John the Apostle; John took care of Mary until she died and years later he wrote the Holy Gospel that bears his name. What Jesus does for Mary, He does for His Church. Jesus provides for His Christians. The apostles were scattered, hiding and in fear on Karfreitag, but days later they were gathered together, sent to proclaim the gospel and they travelled throughout the earth preaching the gospel of the crucified and risen Christ.

10. Beloved John tells us: »When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said: „It is finished!“, and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.« This final statement from Jesus is not a cry of defeat, but a simple and powerful proclamation of victory. Jesus’ suffering and humiliation under the law is over. The sin of the entire world has been purchased. The ransom price has been paid, and the Heavenly Father’s wrath and anger against sin and the sinner has been sated. The gospel leaves sinners in overwhelming joy. The gospel brings us to the foot of the cross and shows us Jesus, the Lamb of God, the King of the Jews, who has redeemed us back to God.

11. 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 reconciles you back to God the Father. Jesus has made peace between God and us. Behold, Christ crucified for you.

12. Karfreitag draws to a close with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus asking Pilate for the body of Jesus so they might bury Him before the day of Preparation arrives at 6 p.m. Friday evening. Pilate consented, and they placed Jesus in a new tomb that was in the garden near Calvary (John 19,38-42). Sometime between His death and resurrection Jesus descended into hades. John Chrysostom describes Jesus’ harrowing of hades:

Let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free.

He has destroyed it by enduring it.

He destroyed hades when He descended into it.

He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said:

‘You, O hades, have been troubled by encountering Him below.’

Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.

It was in an uproar because it is mocked.

It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.

It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.

It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God.

It took earth, and encountered Heaven.

It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting?

O hades, where is thy victory? (Chrysostom in an Easter sermon preached in 400).

13. Beloved John tells us in his Apocalypse why Christ’s descent into hades is important: »When I saw Jesus, I fell a His feet like a dead man. And He placed His hand on me, saying: „Do no be afraid; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and hades!“« (Revelation 1,18).

14. May the Christ was crucified, died, was buried and descended into hades. Karfreitag ends in darkness and shadows, but behold Light is dawning and the Bright Morning Star is about to arise and shine upon all the earth!

15. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, Who loved the world so much that You gave Yourself up for us all, we remember this day Your suffering and sacrifice for Your fallen creation, so that by Your death none should perish, but everyone who believes on You has eternal life. Amen.

Which is poured out for everyone.

✠

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.

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

John 13,1-15. Maundy Thursday

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

John 13,1-15 [34-35] 2015

Gründonnerstag 030 weiß

Theodosia, Virgin on Tyre, Martyr at Caesarea Palestine, ✠ 308

2. April 2015

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. »Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had arrived to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had arrived from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He put aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.«

3. Now, 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 they take us through the final hours of Jesus’ precious life, His humiliation, suffering and death on the cross.

4. The washing of the disciples’ feet shows us that what Jesus is doing in His Church is: 1. necessary for salvation, 2. sufficient for salvation and 3. effective for salvation.

5. The Gospel according to John does not record the institution of the Lord’s Supper, but rather gives us additional accounts of what Jesus said and did on Maundy Thursday that the Synoptic Gospels do not record. First, John tells us that Jesus washed the feet of His apostles and told them: »The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean.« Jesus used a physical example to explain a spiritual example. The apostles were spiritually clean. Their sins were forgiven, and how were their sins forgiven? Jesus had instituted the Lord’s Supper and they had partaken of it that night.

6. Jesus and His apostles were celebrating the Passover with a meal together. During this Seder, Jesus gives His Church the new testament that is founded not on the blood of lambs but rather on the the blood of the Lamb, yes, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Isaiah 53,7; John 1,29). On the night before His death, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and celebrated it with His apostles. He took bread and wine, that were used throughout the Passover meal, and instituted a new meal. 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 and our redemption. Jesus proclaims: »This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins« (Matthew 26,28). Paul comments on this, saying: »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). This Sacrament of the Altar is one way Jesus cleanses us from all our sins.

7. The Holy Gospels proclaim that Jesus’ Passion is necessary for salvation, for He is the only one who can cleanse us from our sin. If Jesus does not wash us clean, then we can never be cleansed from our sin. This is the point He is making to the apostles by washing their feet. We need Jesus if we want salvation.

8. Jesus is necessary for salvation, and He is sufficient for salvation. Jesus took unto His Divine Nature our very human flesh and blood. He undertook this incarnation in order to partake of life as we do. He was without original sin, but nevertheless He suffered and died like any other man or woman. But Jesus suffered and died to destroy death, the devil and hades itself. The Epistle to the Hebrews explains it this way: »Jesus had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people« (Hebrews 2,17). A propitiation is when one appeases God and atones for sin by sacrificing Himself (Luke 18,13; Hebrews 2,17). Christ proclaims Himself to be the world’s Propitiator when He institutes the Lord’s Supper and says: »This is My body given for you; this is My blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.« Forgiveness has been propitiated on the cross, but we don’t receive that forgiveness from the cross. Jesus gives us the forgiveness He propitiated in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and this is why He tells us to eat and drink at this altar for in doing so we are eating and drinking our forgiveness. This is why He tells us to celebrate this Sacrament often. Jesus assures us through this Holy Meal that God the Father has a friendly heart toward us, a heart that if full of compassion, love, mercy and forgiveness upon His fallen creation and sinful mankind. Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a worthy manner will be found to revere the body and blood of the Lord. Anyone who eats and drinks with discerning the body eats and drinks justification on himself (1. Corinthians 11,27.29). We have this justification through Jesus alone.

9. Jesus is necessary for salvation, He is sufficient for salvation and He is effective to salvation. God’s Word does what He says, and Jesus accomplishes what He promises. Jesus promised to make us clean, and He has done so through His Passion on the cross. Jesus gives this cleansing through the Lord’s Supper.

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

11. „ Dearly beloved, in God’s behalf, ... according to mine Office, to administer to all such as shall be religiously and devoutly disposed the most comfortable Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ; to be by them received in remembrance of His meritorious Cross and Passion, whereby alone we obtain remission of our sins, and are made partakers of the reign of heaven. Wherefore it is our duty to render most humble and hearty thanks to Almighty God our Heavenly Father, for that He has given His Son our Savior Jesus Christ, not only to die for us, but also to be our spiritual food and sustenance in that Holy Sacrament. Which being so Divine and comfortable a thing to them who receive it worthily, and so dangerous to them who will presume to receive it unworthily; my duty is to exhort you in the mean time to consider the dignity of that holy mystery, and the great peril of the unworthy receiving thereof; and so to search and examine your own consciences, and that not lightly, and after the manner of dissemblers with God: but so that you may come holy and clean to such a heavenly Feast, in the marriage-garment required by God in Holy Scripture, and be received as worthy partakers of that holy Table“ (The Book of Common Prayer 245-6). Amen.

12. 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 our salvation and forgiveness. Amen.

13. 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 Passion 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 and we thus receive it by faith in You. Amen.

Which is poured out for everyone.

✠

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Monday, April 27, 2015

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Monday, April 13, 2015

Monday, April 6, 2015

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Friday, April 3, 2015