Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

On the same night when He was betrayed, on the night in which He left to His disciples the long-lasting legacy of unity with Himself in the Sacrament of the Altar, Jesus also prepared them for His departure with the promise of His return and of joy. They were puzzled by it and so Our Lord explains further and He provides us an illustration: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come; but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now; but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

He is speaking of the specific sorrow that the disciples will have during His crucifixion, and immediately following His death. But you would do well to apply this to yourselves and to the sorrows you endure in this life while you await His imminent return. For the Church on this side of glory is very much like a woman in labor. For a woman in labor, and I’ll take the Bible’s Word on it since I can’t identify with it for myself, she bears the brunt and consequence of the Law. Remember the curse that was pronounced upon Eve and her children: “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” [Genesis 3] All consequences of the law right there.

Consider that bloody, dangerous passage, for both mother and child, that we call birth (especially with Mother’s Day just last week!). In the process of birthing, the mother is in great pain, she’s just about out of her mind, but she’s clearly focused upon, and caring about nothing but, getting that baby out. So also we still bear the burden of the Law in this earthly life. We are forgiven, like Eve in the garden clinging desperately to that Promise of the coming Christ, but we are still waiting for His Second Coming, waiting for the consummation, the full experience, of our joy. Its fullness is still in the future. And the Law of the present brings pain and sorrow into our lives.

For the present is full of our transgressions. By our sins we have burnt bridges with family and friends, employers and neighbors. With a moment’s foolishness or with a moment of selfish indulgence, whether that be giving in to our rage and frustration and lashing out or whether it be a quiet nurturing of our lust, greed, and malice, either way, we’ve succumbed to temptation, and hurt the ones we love the most. Our words have been spiteful, sarcastic, and unkind. We have served spouse and parent, neighbor and friend, but that service has often been done grudgingly, under duress and with great show of how good we are while we’re doing it. We have needlessly complicated our lives, caved-in, given up, ran away. We have been weak. Sometimes it is as though we are two or more people at the same time. In the back of our minds we watch helplessly, ashamed of what we are doing, but yet we refrain from stepping out and stopping ourselves. And so the Lord calls you to repent. Repent, that is, turn away from your fleshly desires. Remember that this earth is not your home. Let the pain, the sorrow, focus you upon Jesus and the coming joy that He promises to you.

A woman in labor, for all her trouble, is a woman uniquely focused upon the joy, or at least, a moment of relief, to come. She is not distracted by the petty things of this life. She doesn’t care if the doctors, nurses, or passers-by see her exposed, unshaven legs or hear her cries, let alone whether or not her hair is mussed up or her shirt a little wrinkled. She is having a baby, and for a little while, that is all that matters. For a little while, she has sorrow, but then she holds the baby and her sorrow is not only complete, but surprisingly forgotten. It cannot compare to the wonder and joy of the life of her crying little baby now out in the world.

So it is also for you. This life is temporary. It seems long, but in retrospect you will see that it was brief. It is transitory, in fact, because it leads you to a greater, permanent place. Your joy will be complete and no one will take it from you. Hang on. Be as focused as the mother in the delivery room. Jesus Christ did not die and rise in vain. It will end soon. And when the going gets really tough, in the waning hours of darkness, in the midst of your watch, know that you will mount up on wings like eagles and soar. Soon, you will leave all this pettiness, this sweltering sin, these open sewers of false morality and half-hearted tries behind. You shall be totally free! No more pain, no more suffering, no more shame or regret, no more past, no more sin, and as Easter proclaims, no more death. The vision in Revelation that we read today unfolds more joy that lies ahead. You will be free of your sinful self and you’ll finally get to know the real you as God had originally intended for you to be. This is the horizon that rises before you. God’s Grace cuts those cords which had bound you to this awful, dark place.

The payment for your selfishness has been fully paid. There is no more to be done, yet there’s the waiting. Why must I wait, sometimes I’m asked. God loves you in Jesus Christ and He will bring you to Himself when the time is right according to Him, not you. In your travail, ponder this profound and simple truth: that is, for His own reasons, by His almighty will, out of His own goodness, without any merit or worthiness in you, He loves you. He calls you by name. The inheritance of the righteous is rightfully yours, for you are His. In Christ, you are free. You are free from worrying about yourself. You need not defend yourself, or look after your rights and honors, or be insulted by the frustrating behavior of sinners around you. Patience is learned in the cross, for there we see with near-maternal clarity that nothing else really matters. You are free from those who hurt you, free from the devil’s accusations, free from death. Jesus Christ Himself is your Defender, your Advocate, your Friend. He never sleeps or grows faint. Let Him worry about you. For who would dare to stand against you? You are the King’s own chaste Bride. These labor pains are not your punishment, as painful as they seem. Rather, they are the proof of His love.

And while you wait, knowing that your time is coming, be determined for yourself as a confessional Lutheran that nothing else matters but Jesus, whose Joyous Feast is offered at this table. Be strengthened, encouraged, and refreshed for your labor.

Eat His Body and drink His Blood for your sustenance. Your sins are there forgiven and the Church Militant, that is you, joins its worship to the worship of the Church Triumphant, the Church that is at rest in glory, which has already been delivered. For you are truly one Church in Jesus Christ.

Here is your strength to carry on. Here is hope for the future, peace for the tired, troubled heart. Here is unity with Christ crucified and raised, and therein, unity with your fellow confessing pilgrims on earth. You are diverse strangers no more, but now you are brothers and sisters in Him, for faith is thicker than blood, a greater bond than color of skin, language, or economics. And there is unity with the confessing cloud of witnesses that even now surrounds you and prays for you, cheering you on. This is not some sort of epidural anesthetic, a narcotic to numb you and drug you out of your mind. It is a promise of joy to come, and it’s delivered to you now, so that you would endure in confident Hope and Faith. So, relax, Jesus says. Fear not. In a little while you will see Him and your joy will be complete, your travails forgotten. No one will take it away from you.

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings
Acts 11:1–18 Rise, Peter, kill and eat! … What God has cleansed you must not call common
Psalm 148 praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted
Rev. 21:1–7 Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men
John 16:12–22 when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth
or John 13:31–35 love one another; as I have loved you, …

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

How do you “make a name for yourself?” That is, get yourself distinguished so that you stand out from all those others who have done your job first. How do you try to compete for mother of the year, when you see there are so many good contenders? Or are you going to make a name for yourself, take a risk and make an impression that no one will ever forget?

Jesus causes quite a stir as John reports his conversation with the Jews in the Jerusalem Temple. The Evangelist specifically says that it’s the winter Feast of Dedication—they’re celebrating Hanukkah. Several decades before, brave Judas Maccabeus and his rag-tag family militia overcame the mighty occupying army and recaptured, and rededicated, the Temple—the very land on which Jesus and His hearers were standing at that moment. There was a real hero. Judas Maccabeus started humble and ended victorious and powerful. Anyone who walked in his shoes would have to be a great and noble leader, the only true hope of making Israel a dominant political power ever again.

So here it is, Hanukkah in Jerusalem, and Jesus is strolling through the courts of the temple. He is well-known by now. His teaching is repeated, His miracles are recounted again and again, and multitudes follow Him wherever He goes. Lots of eyes are on Him, because Judea finds herself in need of another hero, another deliverer. Could Jesus be the Messiah, the Christ they’ve been waiting for? He has potential-He can heal the sick and even raise the dead. But at the same time, He lacks the political zeal of a Judas Maccabeus, and shows no military aspirations against the Romans. Is He the Messiah, or isn’t He?

The suspense is overwhelming, so finally the Jews confront Him: “How long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Please note Jesus’ response, for He says so much as He speaks to them.

“I told you, and you did not believe,” says Jesus. He points to the works, the miracles that He does in God the Father’s name, works which the Old Testament said would identify the Messiah. He points to the Word that He speaks with His voice, the Word that gives eternal life to His sheep. He tells them that He has such power and authority that no one can snatch His people out of His hand. He tells them that He and the Father are one.

So, this man Jesus is also fully God who fulfills the Word, works miracles and gives eternal life to all who hear His voice and believe. Is He the Christ? Without a doubt, yes; and He’s made it very clear to them by all that He has said and done. It is not that He is keeping them in doubt, but that they are keeping themselves in doubt by refusing to believe. It’s not that He hasn’t told them plainly, but that they’re looking for a different answer. They want another warrior and conqueror like Judas Maccabeus; this Jesus doesn’t call Himself a warrior, but a shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.

But if Jesus has made it so clear-and if it makes so much sense and He’s confirmed by the Word, why don’t they believe in Him? It is certainly plain to you and me that He is the Christ, so what’s the difference? It’s because they don’t have faith. The Savior stands before them, speaking His faith-giving Word, but they refuse to believe in Him. The Shepherd calls them, but they don’t want to be His sheep. To them, Jesus is no good because He’s no Judas Maccabeus. It’s true: He’s not like anyone who came before Him. In fact, He’s far superior, as superior as God is to man. Judas fought and died, and whatever freedom he won was eventually lost. Jesus will suffer and die; but then He will rise again from the dead. He gives His people eternal life, and no one will snatch them out of His hand.

Our Savior is far beyond imagination and intellect. Jesus is beyond comparison with anything this world has known. It is our joy and privilege as Christians to proclaim Jesus Christ, yet it is at the same time, our challenge to proclaim Him faithfully. We rejoice, therefore, to declare the facts that come so naturally to us. We have big celebrations here in church, year in and year out, because the Son of God took on human flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. The holy and righteous Christ, purer than any dedicated temple building could ever be, who lived a perfectly sinless life, also suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world. We also joyfully confess that He rose again from the dead on the third day, that He lives and reigns to all eternity, and that He continues to minister to us through His Holy Spirit, providing all that we need for this life and for eternal life.

We believe this to be true because the Lord declares it true in His Word. However, all of this is beyond man’s imagination, intellect and comprehension. It’s so good, that human reason thinks of it as out of reach. A perfect God who becomes flesh may be nice as an abstract concept; but in this world where nothing is flawless, it sounds too perfect. A God who is holy and demands obedience, that is logical; but the same God offering His Son as the Sacrifice for the sins of the world just does not make sense. The human mind wants a god that it can grasp and fully comprehend. A God who is greater than that is too unbelievable in our so-called real world.

Now, let’s be clear. The problem is not that Jesus is too great to be believed in, too good to be true; people often use that conclusion as a cop-out, but the problem does not lie with the Lord. Neither is the problem with the limited powers of our human mind- even if it were true that we simply weren’t created in such a way that we can comprehend all things, for we are the creature, not the Creator. The true problem is sin. It’s that original sin that blinds us to God’s Word. It’s that Old Adam in us that has no intention of letting us believe in a God who is greater than that which we can grasp or control.

The problem does not lie with Jesus and who He is. The problem lies with us; and the problem is sin and lack of faith. It is not merely a matter of misunderstanding, nor is it that the Gospel is just too complex for people. The problem with us sinners is that sin prevents us from believing. We want a personal Savior, a Judas Maccabeus hero to come to our rescue and help us out of our everyday jams. It’s easy to find preachers who will portray our Lord as the one to satisfy all our needs; He’s that good buddy

who can scratch all our itches. We’re all too willing to fit Jesus into the mold of our favorite hero. It may draw people into church if we should identify needs that people think they have and then meet them with a modified, more attractive Gospel package. But in our Godly urge and push to save the lost for Christ, have we drowned out the one thing that truly will save them? For that is the still, small voice of our Good Shepherd.

Hear the words of Jesus, your Good Shepherd, He says: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Our Christian task, our evangelism is centered on hearing that voice of our Lord, the Good Shepherd. God in our daily life in this world calls us to faithfulness: Faithfully preserving the Word of God in its truth and purity, and faithfully proclaiming that Word to all who will hear. And remember most especially, the Good Shepherd’s voice is not just comfort and salvation for people who are out there. He is your comfort and salvation, too. Sometimes, a church can become so wrapped up in missions fervor that as she seeks to evangelize others, she fails to evangelize, that is, preach the Gospel to, herself.

Because this is true: Gathered here as the people of God, you are constantly in need of His grace and presence, too. The joyful truth that God has made you His own in Christ does not mean that you do not face all sorts of trial and difficulty. You may be plagued with guilt. You may be frustrated with where your life seems to be headed. Motherhood is not as easy as you imagined. You may face unfair oppression on the job or at school. You may be sick. You may be dying. And with such troubles, you don’t need a Judas Maccabaeus to set you free for only a little while. In this place, and from this pulpit, you don’t need to hear of a moral example or a counselor or a crusader for social justice. You need a Savior, the likes of which have never been in this world, nor ever will be; a Savior who actually saves you for all eternity. So as we have the privilege of proclaiming Jesus Christ to others, so I proclaim Him to you now. He is your Good Shepherd, who has laid down His life on the cross to redeem you, and who has taken up His life again for you. He has suffered the guilt of your sin, and so He declares you forgiven. He preserves you despite the plots of others and the setbacks, for He has promised faithfully to deliver you to heaven. He has borne your infirmities to the cross so that He might deliver you from spiritual illness.

And where no one else can deliver you from death, He declares to you, His sheep, “I give you eternal life, and you will never perish; neither shall anyone snatch you out of My hand.” The promise is sure, for your Good Shepherd is no less than the risen Son of God who speaks to you in the Scriptures today. Therefore, we rejoice this day to hear the Word of our Shepherd, for by that Word He gives us faith to believe in Him. We proudly confess Christ with one another. We give thanks for the privilege of proclaiming His Word to others, for by that Word He freely gives faith so that they might believe. Jesus our Lord made a name for Himself, so He could place that name upon you forever.

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings:
Acts 20:17–35 I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.
Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd
Rev. 7:9–17 a great multitude which no one could number
John 10:22–30 My sheep hear My voice…I and My Father are one.

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Peter must have done it for most of his life, but from this point on, fishing was just never going to be the same for him. What an experience that he and all the disciples and other followers of Jesus had gone through! Betrayal, mob-arrest, illegal trial, the crowd shouting for crucifixion, Pilate complaining but going along with it, the bloody moments, the darkness, the earthquakes, the running back to an empty tomb, the bewilderment, the sudden appearance of the Lord and then He’s gone again. The Gospel accounts of what happened after Jesus’ resurrection all tell the story of disciples constantly in shock, which confirms these documents’ historical authenticity even more. Of course these ordinary men were not making up a new religion, patterned after a fantasy in their minds! But it’s also true in this time following Easter, but not yet Pentecost, that these disciples have to recover a bit. And so, probably for only a handful of times after that first Easter, Jesus appeared in His human body, but He fully used His majestic glory in what is termed His state of exaltation. He always could do anything, and after the greatest miracle of the Resurrection, what other miracle could ever top that? But whatever Jesus does, it’s always for the benefit of His disciples, and for you listening to His Word today, it is a benefit to you as well. Put yourself in the skin of one of those seven disciples sitting in the fishing boat for a few moments…

Here we are in Galilee. Jesus said to meet here. Soon enough we’ll go back up to Jerusalem, but now, Peter says to us, it’s time to go fishing. It was what we’ve done all our lives. But this time, it was pretty hard to talk about anything all night. And it wasn’t getting any easier to pass the time away because we were catching nothing. All we thought we knew what to do, we tried, but it still isn’t getting us anywhere. Then as light was beginning to grow at daybreak we were able to catch a glimpse of the shore about a hundred yards off. We could barely see a figure walking among the rocks, but crystal-clear His voice rang out over the still water: Hey boys, you caught nothin’, did ya? He was expecting the answer to be No! How was He so sure? What did He know that we didn’t? “Cast out the other way, on the right side, and you’ll find some.” Now things were clicking off in our minds. This all is starting to sound familiar to us. He’s no random shore-spotter giving us a suggestion. We haul in a big load, and we’ll know for certain Who He is.

You might have thought we hit a rock or threw our anchor! The fish themselves were keeping us from getting ashore. And, splash! There goes Peter again! The last time this great catch of fish happened, Peter implored Jesus, Go away! For I am a sinful man. But this time it happened differently. He who took a step on these same waters during that one storm and started sinking down, crying out to Jesus, he now puts all his clothes back on, then dives into the water to swim to land! John must have told him who He was, because he was really excited. It is the Lord! You see, He’s no longer just Jesus to us, but rather our Lord and God who by His death on the cross paid for our sins and rose again to fulfill His promise to us of everlasting life. We’ve got to get this boat to shore, because we don’t know how many times we’ll get to sit down and talk to Him. Maybe He has some more things to teach us. Back in Jerusalem we saw Him twice, and He just appeared there in the room! He proved to us He wasn’t a ghost, but rather He had real flesh and blood.

Now that we got our boat to the shores of Galilee, we notice that we’re back at the place where He first called disciples to follow Him. The nets are bulging and swarming with fish, but not one of them is lost and we get to our work. I wonder how many we’ll bring in this morning. The fire is already set. Some fish already prepared, and bread ready for a long-awaited meal after an even longer night. It turns out there were 153 fish in one net, and it didn’t break! Breakfast winds down, but still no further teaching from Jesus. Could He have thought we now know all we need to be His sent Apostles? Now that He is risen from the dead, we’re finally catching on! We’re actually ready to learn now, and boy, it seems like there’s so much to learn!

Now Jesus and Peter are walking off together to talk. John is going to follow after them, just a little ways back. Three times Jesus asks him, calling him by his full family name each time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? The third time it chokes him up. Could it be all that horrible night coming back, and that early morning when Peter denied Him, also three times? Each time, Jesus answers Peter back saying, Feed my sheep, tend my flock, feed my lambs. He told us before that we would be fishing for and catching men; now, instead of teaching us anything more, our Lord has in mind to make us shepherds. I can hear the words still ringing in my ears: Follow Me! …

And so, the first words those disciples heard when they originally met Jesus years before, are the same words they hear from Him now, in this final scene before the Gospel of John comes to a close. The Evangelist writes the account precisely to bring you into the story! He wanted you to walk in the skin of these eyewitnesses for these poignant moments. You could almost smell the fish cooking and the squawking birds flying overhead trying to get a quick peck at anything left in the nets. But most of all, you hear the comforting words of the risen Lord Jesus. He is ever-patient with these overcome followers of His. When He was walking unrecognized with those disciples to Emmaus, He played dumb for a while and asked them, What happened? Little suspecting it was a pop-quiz, those two men recalled perfectly all the vital facts of the Gospel, including the news of the Resurrection. The problem was what Jesus pointed out to them right there on the road: How foolish and slow of heart you are! You don’t believe that’s what needed to happen to the promised Messiah? Here it is, laid out in the Scriptures that you already know…

You have all of the facts. You have heard the Gospel message of salvation. What you are tempted to do is turn it all into just a moral lesson for your life. You make it all about how you need to do something for Jesus. And all along, it has all been about what Jesus came to do for you, to give to you the true, lasting blessings that sin and death can never take away. And your Lord is patient, just like He was with those fishing disciples, and just like He was with dripping-wet, weak hearted Peter. He may soon be ascending into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, filling heaven and earth with full use of His divine glory, but He will not back away from His lasting promise: Lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.

Here we are. Not in Galilee, but in Yucaipa. Here we are in Church. Jesus told us to meet Him here. Soon enough we’ll see Him face-to-face in eternal glory, but for now, we have our Christian calling, we have our vocation. It’s time to go fishing. Or go to school, or go to the office, or workplace, or to our multi-faceted vocation called retirement, and to our families, however your calling works out in particular for you. It doesn’t seem to be easy these days. The disappointment we sometimes face makes it hard to think about anything else. Sure in Church services or other bright moments of our week we see a faint glimmer of our Lord, but what comes across crystal-clear is His Voice. That voice is unmistakable because it comes to us from His Word, the Bible, and it travels over the waters of Baptism to reach our ears and invigorate our faith.

Instead of a miraculous catch of fish and a lakeside breakfast, Christ’s miracle with you is a meal of His own Body and Blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. (The table is already set.) You don’t need to wonder or ask, is it really Jesus? You know He’s here, because He has promised to be here. Wherever two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I. Now things should be clicking off in your minds. For to be sure, He has nothing new to teach you, but there is within His Holy Word the same old story that unfolds ever-new in your heart by faith. Some days, the way your Lord works in your life will shock you. But at all times, He is no longer just Jesus to you, but He is your Savior, your kind, wise, heavenly Friend, your Lord and King, your Redeemer who lives and will never die again. Washed by water and the Spirit you come, dripping-wet in your Baptism, and He has a simple question for you: Do you love Him? He has already forgiven all the times when you acted as though you didn’t, so don’t let that sway or discourage you anymore. You are His sheep, His beloved lambs who have been fed by the Apostles and the Apostolic doctrine that has founded the Church and enriches you with life everlasting. Your sin and the fear of death that lies ahead of you have lost their grip and you are free. The Christian journey will still not always be easy, but there is nothing to fear when you have none other than your Savior giving you comfort and saying, “Follow Me.”

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings:
Acts 9:1–22 “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
Psalm 30 Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Rev. 5:1–14 the voice of many angels…Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
John 21:1–19 Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

You all may be familiar with this story. Thomas wasn’t there the first time. Thomas demanded proof before he would believe. But don’t you think it strange that the physical signs that Thomas asked for were not specifically proof of Jesus’ resurrection, but rather proof that He was crucified? Think about it. This absent disciple declared that unless he saw the nail marks in the Lord’s hands, the gash in His side where the spear went in and he actually touched these wounds, he would not believe what he heard. Of course, Jesus did not get these wounds when He rose from the dead that first Easter Sunday. These wounds are the signs that He was crucified. They were already there after Good Friday. Granted, it would be quite a feat, a real miracle for these same horrible wounds to be found on a living, breathing body, and that’s part of it, but all the same for Thomas the most convincing proof of Jesus’ resurrection and life would be His wounds that came from His crucifixion and death.

But there is more to those wounds of Christ than just mere evidence. Thomas knowingly or unknowingly put his finger on a greater value that these signs on Jesus’ body have. Had he thought real hard about the resurrection of the body, what would have told him that Jesus would still have those scars from the crucifixion in the first place? Now, you believe and confess that at the last and final Judgment Day that your body will rise from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Himself confirms this your hope as true and certain. You also believe that your body will be raised imperishable, without any defect or sign of death caused by sin. So why did Jesus still have those wounds from His crucifixion, if it is true that all bodies will be raised from the dead perfect? You see, Thomas may have known more than we give him credit for.

It was like his mind was focused on those wounds of His Lord Christ and nothing else mattered. The wounds of Jesus, along with the whipping, the beating, the spitting and the dying—these were still seared into Thomas’ memory. Remember, this whole ordeal had only happened a few days ago! But for all those disciples, especially Peter who denied Jesus, the memory was even more vivid that reminded them of their sin. They deserted Him, so He had to suffer all those things and receive those terrible wounds because of them. Nothing could possibly make these disciples forget that they were the cause of those five gaping holes in the hands, feet and side of their Savior.

These wounds stand as a reminder for you as well. For not only the disciples caused the suffering and death of Jesus, but the sinful condition into which you were born, this also was brought down on the innocent head of the Son of God. And that sinful condition in your heart has lived itself out in your life as well. You have wounded Jesus just as much as Peter and Thomas, the Jews and the Roman Soldiers did. Your love of speaking lies and straining to listen for half-truths; your hurtful words to your family, friends, and co-workers; your readiness to complain and think the worst of people and your unwillingness to do your part in making things right. These sins of yours have wounded your Savior. When you overreact in anger, when you entertain a lustful thought, when you set a bad example for others, it caused extreme pain for the God who loves you with an everlasting love. It is from your sins and mine that Jesus has His wounds.

But never forget that from those holy wounds, you have your healing. Those gashes in the resurrected human body of Christ are no mere battle-scars. They do not remain so that Jesus wants you to make sure you feel sorry for Him. They are rather the blood-colored trophies of victory, “crimson trophies” as the hymn puts it, they are rich wounds that are yet visible above in heavenly glory. They are so bright with the Divine triumph of Easter that the angels themselves have to “downward bend their burning eyes.” [LW 278] They are so much a part of who He is that to say the name of Jesus in sign-language, you point to… His wounds on each hand! For much more than a reminder of your sin, the wounds of Jesus are an everlasting assurance that your sins are forgiven. When Jesus died and was buried in the grave, your sins were buried with His Body. When He rose from the dead, your sins stayed in that tomb, dead and buried. The wounds that were full of excruciating pain and the burden of sin upon your Lord, now they are the source of your life and peace.

For you do not worship a Jesus that you have to imagine. Since His conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary, He has been a flesh-and-blood Jesus with a real body, not some far-off God who just sits up in heaven and tells you what you’ve gotta do to please Him. That’s how false gods act. The one true God is your heavenly Father, who sent His only Son to clothe Himself in your human flesh so that with His human lungs He could breathe the Holy Spirit into you to give you forgiveness and new life. You believe in and worship a risen-from-the-dead Jesus who has been seen, heard and touched by His disciples and the other people of so long ago. And though you have not seen, yet have you heard the Divine word that these eyewitnesses preached and wrote down for you in the Bible and because of this, you have believed.

Blessed are you! Jesus says. For from those blessed, glorious wounds that Jesus extended forth to Thomas and the other apostles, you have attained your victory over sin and death. From the hands of your minister, who is a true successor to those first preachers of the New Testament, you eat and drink the Body and Blood of the Risen Savior who came even to Doubting Thomas, that he too may believe. And thanks rightfully goes to Thomas also, who called for those glorious wounds of Christ, because now you know the true source of your healing. It is not from your prayers to God or your thinking positive thoughts or doing any such thing that you receive a blessing, but rather it is the richness of your Almighty, heavenly Father that comes pouring through the mysterious wounds of God the Son to fill the cup of blessing that sits on this holy altar each week.

And at the Last Day when you are raised from the dead and you are rid of all your body’s ailments and all the other fruit of sin and death, then you shall see your blessed Lord in all His glory. You will also see His holy wounds, just as the apostles did, for they are signs of victory for Jesus and signs of the sureness of eternal joy for you. Though for now you may bear some part of His suffering, as St. Paul says he bears in his body the wounds of Jesus, yet you know the risen Lord’s promises to you. Blessed are you, not that you have yet seen, but you have heard and tasted that the Lord is good, and blessed are the works of His hands, the salvation that is yours because of the wounds of Jesus.

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings:
Acts 5:12–32 We ought to obey God rather than men
Psalm 148 He commanded and they were created
Rev. 1:4–18 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last
John 20:19–31 Unless I see in His hands…I will not believe.

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

This is the Day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Today is the day of great celebration! Today is the day of completion. The two great festivals of the Church’s year go hand-in-hand as they both commemorate Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done. Christmas celebrates our Lord’s coming to this sinful world in human flesh. Easter rejoices that Christ’s crucified flesh is alive and will never die again! Because of today, the Apostle Paul can be so bold as to wag his finger and talk to two of our most fearful enemies as though they were nothing but squashed insects. For he says, O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who has given us the Victory in our Lord Jesus Christ! You could almost imagine him dropping the pen on the table for a moment here and raising his arms high like he’s the first runner to cross the finish line. Yeah! We won! That kind of boldness is also yours, courtesy of Easter Day.

There is another boldness that God bestows upon you, thanks to our Lord’s Easter triumph. That boldness is none other than the privilege to call upon your heavenly Father in prayer. The Resurrection makes that possible, too. Every part of the holy prayer that Jesus taught to His disciples, the prayer that we are blessed to say every Sunday, indeed, every day of our lives, all the gifts contained in the Lord’s Prayer become our own directly from the crucified Savior, who is dead no more! All through Lent we turned our attention to every petition of the Lord’s Prayer, so now at Easter we can see the Lord’s gracious answer to each request.

Think about how it begins: Our Father who art in heaven. We have access not to a god of our making or choosing, but to the One true God, the Eternal Father who raised His Son on the third day. Since He fulfilled His unchanging promise to Jesus, whom He gave up for the sins of all people, there’s nothing to keep Him from honoring His promise to you to hear your prayer, that is simultaneously prayed along with Jesus and all who believe in Him. How are you sure of that? You’ve been baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I know that my Redeemer lives, says Job. Surely the same living Redeemer who restored Job from all his misery and pain can listen to you when you pray.

Then there’s Hallowed be Thy name. Easter proclaims the mighty name of the Lord in no uncertain way. Because Jesus triumphed in His saving mission, He urges you to call upon His name in every trouble, pray, praise and give thanks. Sinners such as you and I are warned in the commandments not to take the name of the Lord our God in vain. But if we’re told not to misuse His name, then there must be a proper way to use it and keep it holy. The power of the Resurrection is granted to you to hear and believe the Word of God that is taught in its truth and purity, and then to lead a holy life according to it. Without this power, you were lost in sin, but because of Christ’s forgiveness setting you free and continuing to work in your life, God’s name is kept holy for you also.

When you say, Thy Kingdom Come, then rejoice especially on this Holy Day because the promised Holy Spirit comes straight to you from the comforting breath of the Risen Savior! All Jesus had to say there in the garden that early morning was “Mary,” and the weeping woman exulted and embraced her Teacher. When He likewise lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you peace, then you can know for certain that you will never be left forsaken. He lives to wipe away your tears and calm your troubled heart. You have the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, as the guarantee of membership in His heavenly kingdom, the kingdom that has come among us now and will endure to all eternity.

During Lent, we recalled how difficult it is sometimes to pray in all truth and honesty, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It often seems like such an impossible task for a sinful Christian to live up to, when you get down to it. Our selfish will so frequently each day gets in the way of allowing God’s will to take over. The world around us entices our weakness by what only looks good and sometimes it frightens us to look at the blowing wind and pounding waves rather than our glorious risen Redeemer right in front of us, walking on the water. What about in your life? Where have you let your will take over in thought, word or deed, instead of making your will subordinate to God’s? Those ten commandments teach you your Father’s perfect will, but they also condemn you for rejecting Him and His way. Sin and death was all your lot until you got to this Day, because the Savior you witnessed on Good Friday suffering and dying for you, is on the third day risen and breathing the breath of life back into you, His perfectly renewed creation! In your forgiveness on this Day, God’s Will is most certainly done, even here on our sinful earth, when you hear the absolution from the Lord’s servant, the pastor.

Most of the time, when we think of asking for something in prayer, we are likely thinking of something that falls within the Catechism’s category of Daily Bread. And when the Lord’s Prayer turns to, Give Us this Day our Daily Bread, you can think of Easter as well! Jesus Christ, who is risen today, is indeed the Son of God who has always granted you your Daily Bread, even when you weren’t praying for it! He has granted you the support and needs of your body because He has granted you physical life. You are not a wandering soul trapped in a body. There are a lot of versions of ignorant human religion that is built on that very shaky foundation. No, God the Holy Trinity created you unique, body and soul and He will provide out of His richness every blessing that you have today at hand. He will also at the last day raise up your sin-destroyed body (think again of Job’s words, 19:26). You will be changed incorruptible, and the body you once knew with all its warts will be rather like unto His glorious Body, the Body in which He appeared to the women and the Apostles. It is this Body that serves you as the highest and most important Daily Bread, the Body and Blood of the Lord’s Supper, which is also the greatest seal of His promise to the whole of you, that is, body and soul.

Forgive us our Trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Even if we had to do without some of those items of Daily Bread from time to time, we couldn’t live a day or even a moment of our lives without Forgiveness. We heard from the Apostle Paul again in his “Resurrection Chapter,” 1 Corinthians chapter 15, “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins. …If for this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Because we daily sin much and daily deserve only punishment, our prayer, including the Lord’s Prayer, would have been simply impossible for us without the assurance that our Heavenly Father would grant all He gives to us solely by grace. But what is even more of an Easter miracle is that now we have the ability to perform our own impossible task, and that is to forgive our neighbor who trespasses against us. Peace with God, won for us by our Savior Jesus Christ, also brings us peace with one another.

Soon, the euphoria of Easter’s jubilation will fade. The lilies will start drooping. The eggs will crack and the chocolate bunnies will get to their work of putting on those pounds. Honestly, even worse attacks than these will come your way sooner rather than later, and you are going to feel that all this talk of triumph has been just empty talk. Maybe sitting here (whether you are a regular church-goer or not) still isn’t exactly what you feel like doing every Sunday morning, possibly because you just don’t see the Lord living up to what you thought He promised you. I’ve been there, too, and we pastors have to be here and tell you differently! What is there for you when you don’t “feel” Easter anymore? You have the real promise granted to you in the petition, Lead us not into Temptation. See, you are not alone, there’s an “us” in that prayer, just like in “Our Father.” While some days you simply have to take it on faith that God actually tempts no one, you can certainly rely on the Word of the Resurrected Lord that He will guard and keep you from the temptation that you do face.

Finally, as the sum of all, you pray Deliver us from Evil. Though the Evil One, Satan, has been crushed in the head by the cross and his dominion over you is demolished, you’re still going to need rescue from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, property and honor. If Jesus’ glorious return does not happen to take place before your death, you will have to face your own end on this earth. And whether it’s sudden or painful and drawn-out, what better way to go than with the Living Lord Christ standing by your side? And that’s Who you have, in the flesh, not only here as you worship Him, but He’s constantly with you, breathing into you His Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Every time you go to sleep, think of this: whether you wake to the natural light of a new day, or to the brilliant light of heavenly Paradise, the blessing is all the same, all because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, ahead of you!

What a gift and treasure is here in the prayer that He taught His disciples, and that He has granted also to you! It is too much to believe, and yet by a faith that has been planted in your heart by the Holy Spirit, you can believe it! And that God-given faith is ready to claim even more blessings than these whenever you pray. Why in the Lord’s name does somebody neglect prayer? We all do it. And we’re still not saving any time, either! But with God’s Word showering us today with joyous news of Easter victory, we can see that proclamation in a new way, with renewed eyes of faith, brimming over with our Father’s love and grace and forgiveness. You are bold once again before the Lord, with not a self-centered confidence but Christ-centered, because as a child of God, washed clean in baptismal water every day, you can live and pray the Lord’s Prayer, and all prayer for that matter, knowing year-round that there is in Him the Easter answer. The kingdom, power and glory belong to Him alone!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings:
Is. 65:17–25 I create new heavens and a new earth…the wolf and the lamb shall feed together
Psalm 16 You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption
1 Cor. 15:19–26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
Luke 24:1–12 The women at the tomb

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

You know the words: He “was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,… suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.” That is quite a skip through Jesus’ visible, earthly life, right? When you come to think about it, there’s nothing in between as the Creed confesses our Lord and Savior. You only take a single step and you’ve gone directly from Christmas to Good Friday, do not pass Go. What about the teaching of Jesus? What about His miracles? His Baptism even?

Though it may look odd when you ask those kinds of questions, you should rest assured that simply because these ancient confessions omitted those key events in Christ’s life, it doesn’t mean at all that their saintly authors did not value them. They knew and they rejoiced that our Lord showed compassion and taught the truth. But the creeds intend to make a point when they move directly from Jesus’ birth to His Passion, that is, His suffering mixed together with love. They point to the fact that the Son of God who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary came specifically to suffer and to die.

There is a lot to observe this week! But when we observe these holy events, we don’t make note of them as a sad conclusion to an otherwise triumphant and well-lived life. Don’t be sorry for Jesus that His ministry came to this kind of end. The cross always was intended to be the very heart of who Jesus is and what He came to do in order to reconcile the entire sin-sick world to God the Father. There is no tragedy, no defeat here. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was a Lutheran imprisoned and killed under Hitler’s rule, wrote, “It is no small matter, that God allowed Himself to be pushed out of the world on a cross.” To take his statement further, it is no small matter that the Son of God came into the world that He had made, and that world rejected Him. It is no small matter that Jesus rode triumphantly into the holy city of Jerusalem for the specific purpose to suffer and die as the Passover Lamb whose blood brings forgiveness into the world. Reflect and pray over all that takes place this week, because the Son of God did it all for you and for your salvation.

Today we notice that Jesus is at the head of a parade—well, everybody loves a parade, right? It goes without saying. The Romans didn’t love this parade, though. In fact, this parade looked more like the beginnings of a riot. With a hint of nervousness the Roman troops look on as the crowds chant something or other about a King of Israel, and He’s fulfilling a prophecy about riding a donkey’s colt. Whatever could that mean? they wonder. Was this humble-looking man some revolutionary like Mr. Judas Maccabeus, who stirred up the people a century or two before? It’s already bad enough that all these visitors are filling the city beyond capacity for their annual Passover. Will they start forming themselves into a restless mob? They’re already worked up when they conjure those ancient memories about slavery in Egypt. There already was a rebellion recently in Jerusalem, and among one of the arrests was a nasty murderer named Barabbas. The Romans however were not going to witness the rebellion they were bracing for. Jesus is not that kind of king.

There’s somebody else who doesn’t love this parade, either. The Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem—they had already learned that Jesus was not the Messiah they had in mind. He was not some weak-spined rabbi that they could control with their works-oriented teachings. Jesus was a threat to their deceitful power games, since His popularity was ever-growing. If He were allowed to go on doing those things He did, and teaching those doctrines He was teaching, then their version of religion would be ruined. No wonder they stand by looking at this parade and say: “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the whole world has gone out after Him!”

Satan really did not like this parade, at all! In fact, this is a parade that Satan had tried to prevent. Three years before, He had tried to offer Jesus another way when he tempted the baptized Lord to bow down and worship him. All these kingdoms I will give to you, but Christ wouldn’t fall for it. The cross is up ahead, and the devil knows it. The cross would mean suffering and shame for Jesus, but for Satan it would spell his own eternal defeat. The cross would spoil the spoiler of his prey, as the hymn sings. Christ crucified would judge Satan forever condemned and stripped of his power. No wonder Satan attempted to dissuade Jesus by speaking through Simon Peter, “Never Lord! This suffering and death shall never happen to you!” Satan hated the sight of this parade as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the late afternoon humbly ascends the hill of Jerusalem, getting ever closer to the place of sacrifice.

I’ll tell you who loves this parade! Jesus does! Yes, the people who shout Hosanna today will change their tune on Friday and cry out, Crucify Him! He all-too-well knows that their fickle lips will scream for His execution. And His own disciples, even, they too will run away from Him, one will deny Him, and one is already preparing to betray Him. Jesus loves this parade not because of a momentary boost in His popularity ratings, but because He is getting closer to the cross, to the completion of His holy mission. He is fulfilling Zechariah’s prediction of long ago on the one hand, and predicting His own final glorious coming at the end of the world on the other hand. Here is the King parading to ascend His throne, a Bridegroom about to be united to His radiant Bride, clothed in the wedding clothes of His forgiveness. For this joy that is set before Him, Christ endured the cross, scorning its shame.

What do we want in our lives? We try so hard to avoid suffering! Our culture even stoops so low as to suggest that it would be better to destroy the life of someone who is suffering if it doesn’t seem expedient to end that suffering in any other way. To those who think that the supreme good in life is to avoid pain at all costs, the image of our Lord, our Suffering Servant, is an embarrassment—totally ludicrous!

Buddhism claims that suffering was a feature built-in to life, so we best train ourselves to be detached and distant from the pains we encounter in our existence. Even though pain is unavoidable as a force in the world, a devout Buddhist hopes to come to the point where he or she no longer feels, weeps, or grieves. Other similar viewpoints attempted to live one’s life as an other-worldly hero, serenely detached from both good and bad in this world. You can’t blame these people for trying. Don’t attach yourself to anything in this world—you’re just going to be disappointed, hurt, grieved. Cut yourself off from anything that would bring you pain. But that is not the way of Jesus.

Jesus is not a hero who detaches Himself from suffering. If He were, He would be running away from Jerusalem! He took a path very different from the Buddha. Jesus rode toward Calvary; He walked the way to the cross. Even when He was abandoned, deserted, betrayed and denied, He held to the holy work that was His alone to accomplish. He drank down the cup of suffering. When the parade was over and the cheering crowds fell silent, and the palm branches wilted in the dust, the Lamb of God kept up His march that would end in pain, shame and death.

This week, you will see Him as He goes from the upper room to Gethsemane’s garden, from Pilate’s judgment hall to the cross. He is not detached like some Zen master floating above the earth; He’s driven by the Passion, the love and pain together, for you to be with Him in His kingdom for all eternity. His pain is real, it’s raw and unabridged. The death He dies is dark and cold. And He does it all for you. It is no small thing that God allows Himself to be pushed out of the world on a cross.

It is also no small thing that the same God who went the way of the cross still comes to you today. He does not come to let you in on some secret of success or to show you the way out of suffering, or to find a cheat to get you around suffering. He leads you on the way through suffering. He wants you to follow Him on His parade! He skips all the other stuff in His life and heads straight to the suffering, like the Creed proclaims. It is the way of His cross and resurrection, and it becomes a pattern for your Christian life. It is the way of His Gospel. It’s how He gives salvation to you into your hurt-filled life. It is the way of His Body and Blood that He gives you to eat and drink for forgiveness and life from this altar. Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!

Now you are in the parade, too! Don’t you love a parade?

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings:
Deut. 32:36–39 I am He, and there is no God besides me
Psalm 118:19–29 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
or Psalm 31:9–16 Do not let me be ashamed, O LORD, for I have called upon You
Phil. 2:5–11 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus
Luke 22:1—23:56 The Last Supper
or Luke 23:1–56 The crucifixion and burial
or John 12:20–43 We wish to see Jesus

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

It’s unfair! The rich, the powerful, the privileged. They use their advantage to get ahead of the second-class, the unfortunate, the victims. College administrators bribed. Businesses in their lust for profits cut corners that cost lives. By now you have probably heard plenty about this ongoing story in many forms, including the outsiders versus the establishment. It’s a constant drama that feeds on lots of energy, outrage, roaring crowds and tricky questions from journalists. It’s the height of unfairness, as anyone can plainly see, when the elite few take control by means of force and deceit away from the will of the many. The power-brokers meet secretly in smoke-filled rooms, while the mobs mobilize on behalf of the “little guy” who never receives the square deal. Well, now that’s going to change! Those know-it-alls, elites and big-wigs are going to be turned out on their ears when justice knocks on their door! Fairness will be restored!

The whole politics of the in-crowd looking down in scorn and disgust upon those ignorant masses can be seen in many playgrounds, families and corporate offices. It’s downright shameful when it happens in a church. It happens nonetheless, and every time it does, it retells the story of the greatest act of unfairness of the world’s history, and that was the rejection of God’s Son the Savior. He was rejected by the very religious teachers and leaders who were commanded to proclaim Him. Instead, this religious elite establishment preferred to solidify their miserable power cabal and remove the threat from His adoring, cheering crowds before He ruined their political future.

All the images that Jesus used in His version of the story had a connection to the one and only Divine plan of salvation. The vineyard is the church, the spiritual and unseen kingdom of God that truly exists in the form of faith—that is, all those who trust and believe in Christ the Savior of sinners are members of the universal, whole, catholic church. All who repent of their sins and receive the nourishment of our Lord’s gifts then bear fruit for Him, like vines produce grapes in a vineyard. As Jesus continues, this vineyard is leased out to tenants, who stand for the Old Testament kings and religious leaders, who with only a handful of exceptions, were responsible for a nation that rebelled against the Lord, who was their true owner and ruler. The three servants sent to the vineyard to gather in the harvest fruits of repentance were not three specific prophets, but they stand for all the prophets and preachers who had urged the people over centuries of history to stop their idolatrous ways, get rid of the false gods and beliefs of the other nations, and stay faithful and ready for the advent of the Messiah to arrive. Those prophets were despised, humiliated, persecuted, and several were martyred at the hands of the religious establishment. Time to call for some term limits, right?

Instead, the owner in the story, who stands for God the Father, acts totally contrary to the accepted conventional wisdom. Who would in their right mind send his beloved son into a situation which can only end in certain death for him? But forgoing every right He had to punish and destroy His wicked servants, God sent His Son anyway, as John 3:17 says: God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “Perhaps they will respect him.” You know, that sounds so naïve to us hearing it. We almost try to reach out our hands and shout out at Jesus—no, don’t do it! Just like the crowds themselves, who were so wrapped up in the story, we’re exclaiming with them “Surely not!” But you can’t shake the unbroken, determined gaze of Jesus looking right at you. He affirms this trip to the cross absolutely must happen, rejection, pain, suffering and all, for it has been God’s plan from the very beginning. It’s exactly how the psalm’s words will come true: The Stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. Jesus is the only Way: either He will welcome you, broken and then restored, into the everlasting kingdom of the Father, or He will send you away crushed into pieces, saying, “I never knew you.” But first, before any of that could have happened for you, He must be rejected.

A week from now, we will unfold here once again the Great Story of which this parable of Jesus was a foreshadow. Judas will cross the aisle into the opposing party and betray the Lord, not with a tweet, a wild Facebook rant, or an annoying political commercial, but with a kiss outside the garden. The powerful few will get their way over against the many, under the cover of night, and evil will seem to triumph. A murderer they save, the Prince of Life they slay. This religious establishment knows the Scriptures very well; what they cannot stomach is that their way of trust in self, their way of unrepentance is doomed. Their fathers rejected the prophets, as Jesus said before, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You who kill the prophets and stone those sent to it. They are going to reject Jesus, so in this way, Jesus is like the prophets, but in another way, He is unlike them. His rejection will lead to something different than their rejection did.

The wall of the Old Testament side of the building is going to meet up with the New Testament side, which is the wall that you and I are part of in God’s church. At this critical meeting point of the two walls, there is Jesus Christ the chief Cornerstone. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that was set before Him for all time and history, He endured the cross, willingly took up the punishment you and I deserved, and drank the cup of God’s grapes of wrath. He poured out His lifeblood like wine on the ground, so that His very rejection and defeat on the cross would be ultimate victory for the entire church. For all believers before Him and for you now living after this momentous occasion, Christ the Cornerstone is exalted above all as our One Savior who fully completed His salvation mission. This coming Holy Week, we will hear the details yet again of that victory, it is marvelous in our eyes. We need to hear it, as often as we can, because this is not just the story of Jesus showing up those nasty enemies of His who plotted His death. It’s not going to be about darlings of the media getting away with outright crimes or a corrupt politician getting caught. This is the story of your very rescue from everything that holds you down, from Satan who attacks you with temptations, from your own human nature that loves to follow your own path. The truth that you hear from Palm Sunday to Easter, that is the very truth that sets you free. This is the only truth that matters for your life now and forevermore.

Jesus’ question remains, and it’s meant for you, for your family, for this congregation at Good Shepherd, too: “What shall the owner do about His vineyard?” How will your heart respond to this grand story that is about to be retold at Holy Week? Will you ignore your Savior’s pleas to renew your heart and plant a good vine that produces good fruit of faith in your life? Or will you prefer to make your faith into an excuse to get your way and impose your version of judgment against others whom you should have forgiven? Jesus told this parable toward the end of His ministry because the time was getting close and soon the opportunity window to repent and believe in Jesus would shut. Will you allow instead for Christ the Cornerstone to break your sinful will and shatter your sinful, self-centered urges? Will you resist the temptation to shy away from your Lord simply because you see that there will be nothing else but rejection, persecution, and humiliation ahead of you as you hold to the true Christian faith? Everyone around you is scorning God’s design of marriage. The scientific establishment says a Creator couldn’t have spoken this world into existence. Misguided Christians say your pastor is too legalistic because certain songs aren’t sung in worship or visitors who aren’t currently under the care of a true Lutheran pastor need to wait before they’re allowed to participate in Communion at this altar.

What will your vineyard owner do about you? Will He see your fruits of faith and love extend out to benefit your neighbor? Without Christ your Cornerstone, that will be impossible. On your own, you will seek to serve only yourself, and Jesus warns in that case, you will be crushed. His judgment in the case of the faithless will be decisive, and devastating. But with Him, with His Holy Spirit cleansing your heart, pruning your vines to be faithful to Him, and mobilizing you to be energetically fruitful in good works, you will prevail even through those times of suffering you will endure. Count those temporary, fleeting earthly things as rubbish and as loss, because with what you have to gain in Christ, beginning with forgiveness and ending with your own resurrection from the dead, you have every reason instead to strain forward as you run the Christian race. Break that tape away in triumph and claim the prize that Jesus won for you. He stood up to the evil establishment, and though they killed Him for the inheritance, He became the Cornerstone anyway. Don’t be distracted when establishments of evil play their tricks on you. Press on to that upward call of God that was given you when you were baptized. Jesus has reserved His inheritance for you, not to lease, but to own, and sealed it in His Body and Blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. May His life, death and resurrection be and forever continue as the Cornerstone and foundation of your life until the Day He calls you forth from the grave to enjoy with utter glory the blessed vineyard of your God.

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings:
Is. 43:16–21 I am the LORD, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret
Psalm 126 When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream
Phil. 3:4b–14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call
Luke 20:9–20 A certain man planted a vineyard … leased … and went into a far country

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

There are some outsiders who from time to time look in on all of you gathered here this morning, and all they can say is that you’re just a bunch of sinners. Is that a big surprise? Anyway, if they ever bring this up to me, I think my response to them should be something like this: “I know. They are a terrible bunch. Their sins include the most heinous and disgusting known to man. And their pastor is no better.” Sometimes others might make an accusation like this: “Those people act good on Sunday morning, but they don’t act ‘Christian’ during the rest of the week.” And now we see what people like that really mean and what they really believe. They follow the misconception that Christianity is about good works, about being nice.

Dearly Beloved, as you may already know, Christianity is not centered on good works. To be a Christian is not to be good all the time, to seem nice, or never to sin. After all, Jesus received and ate with sinners. If He was to eat with men, he had no choice. The Pharisees who stood off at a distance and were shocked by the terrible sinners that make up Jesus’ congregation, they were sinners too. It is just that those sick men, in their vanity and to their peril, mistook their illness for health. They thought that they did not need a physician. They thought that they did not need to hear God’s Word. They thought they already knew it. But, they were sinners, too, and they were really on their deathbeds. But there was no rejoicing in heaven over them. Angels do not rejoice over good works. They do not even rejoice over men keeping the Law. What causes angels to rejoice is repentance.

To be a Christian – and not simply to act like one for the sake of reputation – is to be gathered by Our Lord to Himself. It is to bask in His forgiving presence, in His gracious Words and the holy Sacrament. It is to listen as He speaks, and to eat and drink as He gives nourishment and peace in His Body and Blood. It’s all about being undeservedly welcomed back like the younger son, and not to stay defiantly outside like the elder son, trusting in your own works. To be a Christian is not necessarily to be a pillar of the community. For one thing, that may not be your vocation. It is not to have perfect children who never get in trouble. Or to be always and perfectly above reproach. Nor does it mean you get a free pass to keep sinning, either. To be a Christian is to hear the Shepherd’s voice. Being a Christian means being forgiven, living humbly in that confidence. Christians reside in the presence of Christ at the Meal He provides.

In short, to be a Christian is to listen to, and eat with, Jesus. And it is in just such a context, that is, a Meal with Jesus teaching sinners, under attack from the Pharisees, that Our Lord tells three parables: one of a lost sheep, one of a lost coin, and one of a lost son. The last one – popularly known as the prodigal son – is what makes up today’s Gospel. The purpose of all three parables is the same: To show forgiven sinners and unbelievers alike how precious you are in God’s sight. You are the sheep, the coin, and the son, all of which were lost and which God found.

Now, why would God bother to save such as us? Why suffer as He did? Simply because He loves us. He did not need us. And yet, He has created us for this: His Love. He loves to love us. He will not be thwarted from this. He came for no other reason than to seek and to save sinners, that is, you. And every time you bow your head and whisper heartfelt sorrow over your sin, confessing your sincere desire to not do it again, and place all your hope and trust in His Grace and Mercy – what I’m saying is, every time you repent – the angels in heaven rejoice! Because then you are a Christian, doing what Christians do.

Do not be fooled by Satanic delusions. Death is all around you. Your growling stomach, your hunger pangs – those are marks of death. They signal that you must eat or you will die. Without hunger men waste away. In hospitals all across this country, sick people who have lost their appetite are fed intravenously or gently convinced that they must eat. Outside of the hospitals, they would die. The prodigal son got so hungry that he longed to eat the slop of pigs, and pigs were something that Jews couldn’t have anything to do with in the first place. Likewise, your hunger for righteousness, a gnawing in your empty soul that longs to be filled and to know peace, a regret over your selfish actions and mean-spirited behavior, a desire for goodness, is a mark of death and is not pleasant. But without it, men simply waste away, either in ignorance, or, like the Pharisees, in obstinate defiance.

A gnawing pain that can double men over, a bother to enjoying our sins, a burning of the conscience, an emptiness that if not filled can lead to despair, this is the hunger for righteousness, the beginning of repentance. So that Jesus says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” To be here this morning is to come as a sinner, as a hungry one, to eat with Jesus – to be filled by Him. If not, if you are here for any other purpose, then you have come for nothing. Thank God for the hunger that has driven you to your knees where God awaits with a cool, refreshing drink and good, nutritious food! This is the banquet that your loving Father has set in order to welcome you back home! The Holy Scriptures clearly state that the Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, that He desires all men to turn and be saved, even cocky Pharisees, jealous older brothers, or militant scoffers. But for this saving you need the food of forgiveness and life. You need sustenance for the pilgrimage. And here it is. The satisfaction for your hunger, the fulfillment of your longing desire is here. Look no further. Jesus receives and eats with sinners! You need this heavenly food, this banquet of salvation, and He has provided it for you.

Turn from those wicked ways of yours, repent, and in Christ your soul will be satisfied. As you kneel at Jesus’ table, hear the words: “Given and shed.” See that His Body and Blood are given and shed “for you!” Join in with your fellow outcasts and sinners, with those of ill-repute and shaky dealings, with hurting and broken people, and with terrible and notorious sinners like you, who come together unified in confession and faith, returning to Jesus for forgiveness! You have been found. You have been restored to your Father’s house. The angels rejoice. By the loving and complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection from the dead, you live.

As He abides in you – no matter what your horrid actions this past week, no matter how sinful you were, or how loud those modern day Pharisees, the scoffers and skeptics, might mock your weaknesses and appearance- as He abides in you through His Word and Sacrament you abide in Him. And you will never die. You are declared righteous by God’s royal decree and made an heir of His Kingdom. Thank God for the hunger pangs! Thank God for the struggle He has given us. And praise God for the Food that satisfies and soothes our souls. All this He provides out of His mercy and steadfast kindness! He receives and eats with sinners – and thank the Lord, that means you!

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings:
Is. 12 with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation
Psalm 32 I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”
2 Cor. 5:16–21 if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation
Luke 15:1–3, 11–32 This Man receives sinners and eats with them … prodigal son

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

The Church right now is in an extremely critical time. Any day could possibly be your last. The judgment of God is ever nearer. Don’t think that you’ve got plenty of time, because the return of Christ and the end of the world could happen at any time now. John the Baptist has already told you that the ax is aimed at the root of the trees, but you look at his crazy clothes and diet, so who wants to take him seriously? “That’s my Sunday morning make-believe life, not the real world I live in.” You don’t say it, but you do act like it, as do I. You fall to the temptations of your sinful nature. If you don’t lie and deceive your family and loved ones or lash out in frustration against them, you still at least think improper and sinful thoughts about them. Jesus goes one step further than John and says God is about to cut you down because as a rotten sinful tree, you have not borne for Him any fruit. If it weren’t for Christ pleading to spare you just a while longer, you would have been thrown a long time ago into the everlasting fire and burned.

It is not a pleasant thought, but you must realize that, on your own, standing before God’s judgment throne, you are destined for certain punishment. None of the good works that you have done, none of the fruit you say you have produced, even if you’ve been a real help to others, none of it would be pleasing to the Father in heaven. It’s all tainted with the sin disease that you had in you ever since you were conceived in your mother’s womb. In your heart you find yourself opposed to God, doubting His mercy, relying on yourself instead, and only you know the specific ways that you do this. Because you are a sinner, like a dead tree you have cut yourself off from your Lord’s nourishment.

Sure enough, you could say that you could repent of your sins at any time and you would be forgiven and everything would be right. Of course, that is the Gospel, the Good News that Christ has given you new life and freed you from bondage. But were you to say that it’s OK to continue sinning because you could repent of your sins at any time, you would then be sucked right into the devil’s lie that it is better to stay in bondage than to walk in the freedom that is your gift from Jesus. I saw a bumper sticker that said, “Those who think they can become a believer at the eleventh hour are the ones who die at 10:30!” Our Lord’s parable of the landowner and the tree drives the point home that your time is precious. It would be dangerous for you to play with the fire of hell when the opportunity to repent and be forgiven is only for a limited time.

Which is why your Savior pleads so sincerely in two different directions. First He pleads to the Father. Like the caretaker who pleads to the owner to spare the tree, the blood of Jesus, who was sacrificed for you, pleads to the Father in your place. The punishment of eternal death and separation from God was aimed at you, but Jesus got Himself in the way and took that severe punishment for you on the cross. In the parable, the servant agrees to do all the hard work for yet another year, just so he could spare that fig tree. In the same way Jesus committed Himself to doing all the hard work of living a perfect life in your place, suffering for your sins, and dying the death of your punishment, just so He could save you. And you already know that He has followed through on His commitment for your sake. He has pleaded successfully to his—and your—heavenly Father.

Secondly, Jesus pleads to you. You hear His voice through His chosen watchman. Every pastor is in the same position that Ezekiel was (in our Old Testament reading) when he was called to sound forth the call to repentance to the people of Israel. Every pastor has to answer to God whether or not he has been faithful in delivering that message to his people and in delivering the Divine gifts of forgiveness that he has been sent to deliver. So hear the voice of Jesus pleading: Repent. Take stock of your life as the Ten Commandments measure you and come clean honestly before the Lord for your disobedience. The time is short. Take God’s warning seriously. Do not refuse the grace of Christ that makes you God’s own beloved child. Allow your Lord to dig around your roots and prune your branches in the sufferings you endure in this life, so that you are no longer a dead tree. Be reconciled to those you have hurt and forgive those who have hurt you, before it’s too late.

Now, it should be said that Jesus’ call to you is not like one of those sign-holders or apocalyptic survival bloggers endlessly chattering on the Internet that “the end is near.” To be perfectly honest, that kind of preaching is useless. It does nothing for you to remedy your heart because you still cannot do anything by yourself to get yourself right with God. Instead, Jesus, the Son of God who did all the work in order to save you, He gives you something more than just a simple warning about the end of the world.

For not only does your Lord continually plead for you to the Father, not only does He strengthen you in the trials that you face, but most importantly, He grafts Himself right into you. He who said, “I am the Vine, you are the branches,” desires to enter right into your body, because the Life that He is, can and does destroy the death and doubt that afflicts your body and soul every day. This close connection you have with Jesus is not just something you feel emotionally or try to imagine. It actually and really happens; it began when you were baptized. It is renewed every time you hear the word of absolution from your pastor: Your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ. He gives you His own Body and Blood, which was nailed to the tree of the cross for you, and is now raised from the dead in full glory, and (this very day/often) it is right here sitting on this altar, waiting to enter into your mouth so that you would be joined intimately with God your Savior. If you don’t believe this, then don’t eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ to your judgment, for then Holy Communion will kill you. If you do believe and have publicly confessed that this is true, then this Sacrament is life itself entering into you.

With this living, Divine Vine nourishing and energizing you, then you can be sure that you are no longer a dead tree destined for the fire of hell. Jesus your vineyard caretaker has saved you. All His hard work has paid off. There’s no doubt any longer as to where you will be going. As far as you’re concerned, the judgment at the end of the world has already happened, in fact, it’s already happening every week right here. God’s innocent verdict of “I forgive you all your sins…” has been spoken into your ears and placed into your mouth from this holy altar. No need to remain in fear of that ax of God’s Law. Your debt to Him has already been paid.

With the life of the crucified and risen Jesus grafted into you and growing in your renewed heart, you are able to bear fruit. God the Father, who is pleased with you because of Jesus, is especially pleased with you as you live out your calling in life. Whether you are a full-time church worker, a devoted volunteer, a parent, a student, a professional, a spouse, a toddler, self-employed or unemployed, you are serving God, not just because you are doing certain helpful things, but because the Christ who gave Himself for you, is the same Christ who is living within you by faith. His forgiveness can repair the damage that sin brought between you and your family and friends. And it is something you now consider a privilege to sacrifice yourself in order to help others. You pray for each other, give offerings, share with those in need not because you have to but because you were created to do those things in the first place, just like a fig tree was planted to produce figs.

The Church remains in a critical time. But the Church is not alone. You don’t have to fend for yourself. In spite of all the temptations and attacks that you may still have to endure, you have Jesus always with you, the Jesus who did all the work in order to save you, the Jesus who makes Himself one with you and you are one with Him. And though all this is taking place right now in a way that is hidden to your eyes, God is nevertheless preparing you for the eternal life that you have already inherited. At the Last Day, at the end of the world, your resurrected eyes will see the tree of life that your Lord has brought to you concealed here in bread and wine, and your mouth will finally taste its fruit forever.

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings:
Ezek. 33:7–20 you son of man: I have made you a watchman
Psalm 85 Show us Your mercy, LORD, and grant us Your salvation.
1 Cor. 10:1–13 our fathers…were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea
Luke 13:1–9 a fig tree in a vineyard

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Sometimes even the smallest, most insignificant words can carry the most weight. That’s especially true when Jesus speaks those words and they’re recorded in Scripture. Some Pharisees had come to Jesus to warn Him that Herod was seeking His life. We’re never told why they came to tell Jesus these things, but whatever the reason, it only matters to see how Jesus answered them. He said: “Go tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish [or perfect] my course.’

“Nevertheless,” then says Jesus, “I must” continue my journey onward to Jerusalem – a journey whose end would spell a hideous, horrific death by whipping, scourging and crucifixion. This little word, “must,” means that ultimately even King Herod, with all his scary power and might, would not be able to turn Jesus away from His chosen path. Even Jesus’ own devoted followers – who cringed with fright at the very thought of what Jesus had told them was about to happen – would not be able to deter or sway Him, just think of Peter who heard Jesus rebuke Satan who was standing behind him as it were. And, as you may recall from last week’s Gospel lesson, not even forty days of starvation in the wilderness followed by more of Satan’s trickery and wiles, could get in the way of what Jesus knew He “must” do.

Jesus alone is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” And this Lamb cannot be sacrificed just anywhere. It was necessary that He travel up to Jerusalem to present Himself for this sacrifice. It was necessary, and so He had no choice but to continue on toward that ancient, notorious city, the city of sacrifice and worship – the city that “kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her” by God. This journey is a Divine necessity for Jesus, and the reason He gives? “It cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.” It was necessary. And because it was necessary, it all had to come to pass exactly as it had been written about Him in Holy Scripture!

Remember that word, “must,” dear friends. Contemplate the depth of its meaning, and meditate on it throughout this coming week – for as hard as it might seem, this one little word tells the entire story of our relationship with God. It speaks of who we are, what we’ve done, and of course, what we’ve failed to do. It tells of God’s love and compassion even in the face of our dismal failures – and it directs our gaze to the amazingly high price Jesus willingly and gladly paid on the cross to redeem us from our sinful condition. To be sure, all of salvation history is bound up quite simply in this tiny, divinely-inspired word “must.”

Just consider for a moment how easy it is for us to abuse and twist the meaning of this word on account of our own sin. You children, whatever your age, doesn’t it aggravate you to think that God wants you to honor and obey your father and mother? When they speak, you must listen to it as though God Himself is speaking! But no matter how much it goes against what you want, even when you know that sometimes they sin and misuse their authority to exasperate you, the truth of the matter is that you have no other option! You must obey because God demands it in His Law – and because a Godly punishment awaits you if you refuse to do it.

You wives, how often have you failed to fully comprehend what it means when the Scriptures speak of how you must submit yourself to your husband? You’re tempted to condemn those Bible verses as obsolete that refer to a woman as the “weaker vessel.” Life in a self-centered, pagan American culture would like to teach you that you’re answerable to no one – and thanks to the sinful nature, you’d like to believe it. The word “must” at times has to be a heavy vocational burden for you to carry.

But we husbands haven’t escaped the weight of God’s Law either. Perhaps we’re the most miserable, and self-centered of all, for God tells us for our vocation that we must love our wives and families in the very same way Christ loved the Church – even to the point of giving up His own life to save Her! This means that we husbands are to spend every moment of our lives in the service of another, that is, our wife and our family, that we must be willing to sacrifice our entire self – our selfish desires, hopes, dreams and ambitions, all for the sake of the family which God has seen fit to give us, and this we must do, even if no one takes notice – or much less, shows us in return their undying love and devotion. No wonder so many men are tempted to take the easy way out of this weighty and apparently thankless responsibility.

You see, according to the Law, each of us must live our life with complete, undivided devotion to our Lord. We’re to love no one and no thing more than we love Him. We must be content with the life, the income, and the position God has given us. And woe to him who casts the green eye of envy at their neighbor’s possessions! We must speak well of our neighbor, no matter how badly he speaks about us! We must defend him against slander and gossip, no matter what kind of low-life he might really be! We must forgive him and do good to him, no matter what he’s done, or hasn’t done, for us. Under the scourge and rod of the Ten Commandments, the list of what we must do goes on and on, and each requirement God throws upon us preaches an entire sermon about how miserably we’ve failed to do what God has said we must do. But like children, we have no other option! We must obey because God demands it, and because punishment awaits all who refuse. In all this the word “must” becomes for us a saddle which cannot be shaken off – a bit in our mouths that can’t be spit out.

But what you also need to know is that precisely because you cannot do what God has said you must do, Christ, then, “must” do it for you. That’s why Jesus said: “I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.” Our Lord Christ “must” go up to Jerusalem because you and I need Him to go there. Everything Jesus does, from the moment of His birth, He does it out of necessity – our necessity. Do not be mistaken, dear children of God, Christ came, and still comes, to save you for one reason and one reason only – because He loves you. And it’s due to the fact that He loves you that the Scriptures can then ascribe to Him great joy as He busies Himself with the terrible work of crucifixion. And this He must do of necessity. He must do it because we are not able – and because there is no one else in all of heaven and earth who can do it!

Jesus had no choice other than to keep going because it was necessary for the Son of God to draw our humanity into Himself, to make us one with Him, and to take our place. We separated ourselves from Him, and have continued doing so right up to this very moment. It was necessary for Jesus to suffer the temptations of the devil in the wilderness, He must be tempted in all ways even as we are, because we so easily and willingly give in to temptation. Unlike us, however, Jesus remained without sin through it all. And this, too, was of greatest necessity, because He was living life in our place. He had to live a life of perfect obedience to the Father because our lives are so riddled through and through with imperfection and willful disobedience.

And so, in today’s Gospel you see Jesus enduring yet one more temptation for your sake. He’s tempted to turn from His course and abandon the work the Father had sent Him to do. Some Pharisees came to Him, saying: “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.’ Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.” Jesus is tempted, but He doesn’t fall or falter. In all of this He remains faithful and flint-faced as He continues His journey toward the goal of the cross. Jesus is again preaching to us, saying, “Do not fear those who can destroy the body, but fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Make it your concern to obey God above all things – to fear Him more than you do the threats and plots of man.” Saint Patrick was captured and enslaved as a young Englishman. He escaped, then went back as a missionary to the Irish people who had captured him. Why would he risk his life for people who treated him like that? Because he was convinced that’s what he must do.

“I must keep going,” says Jesus, and that’s exactly what He did. He did everything necessary to procure your salvation. Reaching the goal at Golgotha, He willingly paid the price to redeem you from your sin. With His very own body and blood Christ fully and completely appeased the wrath of God in our place. So, as a Christian, when someone asks you if you have hope of being saved, you can and must give a positive answer. You can and you must say, “Yes, I am saved! Yes, I am an heir of heaven! Yes, I belong to God through the life and work of my Savior – who knew that if I was to be saved He must be the One to do it.” And do it He did – because He knew. He must do it for you!

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Readings:
Jer. 26:8–15 amend your ways … obey the voice of the LORD … then the LORD will relent
Psalm 4 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD
Phil. 3:17—4:1 our citizenship is in heaven
Luke 13:31–35 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem