“But God Meant It for Good” This is what Joseph said in the Old Testament text for today. “But God meant it for good…”

This is one of the toughest lessons to get straight. It flies in the face of our emotions, our natural reactions, and our reason. Yet it is the lesson of God’s care and providence working through the difficulties that we encounter in this life. In our society, the devil uses the comforts of wealth, ease, free time, and good health to tempt us to expect only these physical comforts in this life. In this way, the devil tempts us to be complacent in our faith in God, to grow in our hearts a sense of entitlement. That we are “entitled” to only good things here in this life. Because of that sense of entitlement, when anything goes wrong, or we don’t get what we feel that we deserve (which are, of course, only good things) we blame God and our faith is challenged more than we feel that we can bare. 

We Americans have been blessed in many ways. Our basic minimum tolerable condition standards are far higher than most other countries in the world. Our standards by which we judge our happiness is far higher than most of mankind has ever known throughout history. So, it doesn’t take much to make us feel really miserable. Yet because we live in a sin-filled world, and as Christians we are attacked and besieged by the devil, the world, and our flesh misery must come, hardships, betrayal, and bitterness do come upon us. When those miseries arise, though it is difficult, let us keep the message of the Old Testament lesson and the Epistle in mind. “God meant it for good.”

Joseph is one of the true heroes of the faith. Through various terrible trials, Joseph did not curse God nor did he despair but acted with dignity, morality, and faith. 

Overtaken by his older brothers when he was just 17, tossed into a dry pit to die, then sold into slavery. It is interesting to note that Joseph was from a rich family in comfortable conditions for that day and age – and he was favored by his father. The transition he faced was incredibly abrupt and extreme. Taken to Egypt and sold in the slave market, he was brought very low. However, in whatever circumstances he found himself, he simply did the work appointed to him without complaint in faithfulness to God. Because of that faith, God was with him and blessed everything he did. He worked his way up to head of his master’s house, second only to Potiphar himself.

Then Potiphar’s wife was attracted to him, tried to seduce him, Joseph did what was right and good, uttering those faithful words, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” When he failed to join in that sin, she avenged herself by accusing Joseph of rape and so His faithfulness was rewarded with punishment and prison. One day, after several years of imprisonment, he interprets dreams for some of the more important prisoners, only to be forgotten when the cupbearer was returned to his original post.  He languishes in prison for another two years.

Finally, Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharaoh, and is made the highest ranking officer in the court of Pharaoh, second only to the Pharaoh himself. And you know the story of how he saved the food and rescued his family, and brought them to Egypt. His goodness and holiness cost him just as dearly at times as it brought him success.

In our OT text today, Jacob, Joseph’s father, had died and his brothers are faced with the reality of what they did, and what they deserve, and what Joseph has the power to do to them. They came to Joseph pleading for their lives – dishonestly even at this point. Joseph, on the other hand, deals with them in mercy.
Joseph teaches his brothers, and us, the truth that whatever we may face, whatever God allows for us, our heavenly Father is far more merciful than we deserve, and God will mean it for good! Joseph said, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place?  And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to preserve many people alive.” Joseph knew that God’s hand was behind it all. The evil they did was still evil. They were still accountable for their actions, but Joseph understood God can take the evils we do or have experienced and turn them for good, using our wickedness to accomplish His holy will!!  And so, Joseph forgave them instead of punishing them.

The same thing is still true today. God never changes. If He worked good out of evil back then, He will do it today.

So when people turn on us, and do evil to us, and events conspire against us and cause us frustrations, pains, fears, and troubles, we may take comfort and be confident in the truth that God is at work none-the-less. God sometimes pushes us to do things we don’t want to do, and He takes us to places that we don’t necessarily want to go. He works through events and people – even the wickedness and evil of people around us – to put us in places and situations where He will use us for His purposes. To bless us with spiritual growth, to cling to Him all the more, even as people are then blessed through the witness God uses within us.
The sin and wickedness of others is not created by God, nor does His use of them to accomplish His holy will change their evil to good or give them or us some excuse for being wicked. They must face their wickedness, and answer for what they have done or said. Even as we must face our wickedness and repent. But God is still so wonderful and wise that He can take evil and use it for good, just as He did with Joseph. Most of the time God’s use of our circumstances is not as noteworthy to the world, we may not even know what God is doing, but He is there to call us to Himself, bless us, and to protect us, and to work His good will in all things — even things that are not good or pleasant.  And what is the will of God for us?
Our salvation.

Like Joseph, we are to be holy. We are to repent for the evil we have done knowing that we don’t deserve mercy. We are to see the will and hand of God by faith, and trust Him, and show mercy to forgive those who sin against us. We have the example of Joseph. We have the example of Jesus. By the will and hand of God we are shown the power to forgive as He forgave us and laid down His life for us. In fact, He takes the evil that we have done and He places it upon someone who only did what was right and good: His only son, Jesus Christ. He took the evil that was done to Him in His betrayal by Judas, His rejection and false accusations levied by the Jewish leaders, the scourging, binding, and being crucified. The conspirators meant evil for Jesus but God meant it all for good. In His innocence, Jesus took all the unrighteousness of the world’s sin including yours and mine upon His innocent flesh. He took all this evil, and worked it out for the good of our salvation and all those who have and will believe in Him. Our entitlement should be for punishment, but instead of being punished like we deserve, He shows us mercy by the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. He takes our sin and washes it away in baptism and absolution. He rebukes our sin but makes us stronger in repentance and faith in that renewal of His forgiveness in Christ. He feeds us in the midst of a spiritual famine and drought in the world: here with His body and blood in the bread and wine so that we are blessed with His mercy and strength. He does not reject us, but rather gathers us to himself and embraces us with His love and rejoices over us and the faith that He gives, works, and uses for our eternal good.

Your sins, whatever they may be, have been paid for. You have been redeemed at the price of the suffering and death of the only-begotten Son of God.  You are forgiven! He that believes and is baptized shall be saved!!

So, now, you are free to imitate Joseph, and imitate Jesus. You can trust God, that in all things He means it for good. You can forgive those whose wickedness and evil have caused your troubles and pains, but which God has used for His holy will. You don’t have to know what it is that God is doing. Joseph didn’t until the very end. 

The lesson is to do what is right and holy – to live out our faith, and trust God to do what He has so often promised He will do – bless us, protect us, and bring us to eternal life. 

In all things, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”. God’s good for you. Make use of His good gifts of mercy and love in His Word and Sacraments. Rejoice in these comforts which are far more than material comforts. Show mercy as our heavenly Father has shown us mercy. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” In all things, give thanks knowing that God is blessing you and working all things in this life for your good and your eternal salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Recklessness is not often considered a positive attribute. One who is reckless does not seem to care about the consequences of their actions; one who throws caution to the wind seems to have no care for the future and how their actions affect others. The Gospel text for today speaks of a son who spends his inheritance recklessly. Many would call him “the prodigal son”. In truth, this text which happens to have been heard on “Father’s Day”, is about a reckless and prodigal father, reckless with His love and forgiveness for not just one but two wayward sons. It is a parable about dying and living again by the love of that father who loves and seeks and restores.

Luke 15 opens by telling us that there were tax collectors and other sinners drawing near to Jesus. Jesus had not rejected them and so the Pharisees grumbled about this. So, Jesus told them this parable… Except that He didn’t just tell one parable, He told 4 of them in quick succession, the parable for today is actually the third of the four following the parable of the lost and found coin which followed the parable of the lost and found sheep.

Well in the parable, there was a man who was apparently wealthy. He had two sons and the younger son asked for his inheritance early. This is basically saying, “Dad, I need some money, I wish you were dead, I can’t wait, so give it to me now, because I am done with you.” The Father did not have to give it to him, he could have rejected his son right there in response to his son’s rejection of him, yet he did not. Instead, he divided his property between his two sons. The younger son not only rejected his father, but then rejected his country by journeying to another country far away where he squandered his property in reckless living. Penniless and broke a famine then strikes. He is fortunate enough to get employed, however his employment is with a pig farmer working with the pigs, in their pens, in their muck and feces which to the Jews would have been the ultimate in shame, filth, degradation, and unclean faithlessness. He is so hungry that he even covets the food of the pigs! Yet no one gave him anything! He was about as low as he could get! Starving and alone in a far away country we hear in vs. 17, “He finally came to himself”. He begins talking to himself, realizing, finally, the extent of his sin and that he has made his own trouble. He thinks back to better days, days of luxury as a son in his father’s house where he was not starving, and he remembers the servants and slaves. He remembers that they always had enough bread. He remembers his father’s generosity and thinks to himself, “Yet, here I am from hunger, dying!” Near death, in anguish, he is finally contrite and repentant and resolves to get up and go to his father admit his sin and beg not to be received as a son for knew he did not deserve it. He knew he was no longer worthy, but perhaps, just maybe he could be treated as a servant and at least have a full stomach.

Here in the Greek text we have a marvelous flow of words that we miss in English. Verse 17 when the son realizes he is dying from hunger actually ends with the word “dying” “apollumai”. The very next word is “anastos”. This is a word of resurrection. “Rising up”. The son from his dying in his repentance, rises up.

The son arose and traveled back toward his father, but while he is far off, before he sees his father, his father sees him. Was this chance? Did his father just happen to be looking out that way at the right time? No, the father had been watching the roads, watching, waiting, praying. So, the father, knowing the very act of returning home is repentance from his son, had compassion for him. The Greek is that his guts were turned outward for him, he hurt on behalf of his son. The father ran to the son, embraced him and kissed him. Meanwhile the son tried to express his repentance; to confess his sin to his father, but the father is already calling the servants to restore this son not to servant’s clothes but to full sonship represented by the best robe, the ring, and shoes. Then to end the son’s fast the father proclaims a feast because as the father declared: “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”

The other son who had not left the country was in the field working heard the sound of celebration, was curious as to why. When told it was because his brother had returned, he became angry and he pouted. No doubt he had anticipated the possibility that his brother would return and feared that his father might be gracious to he who was so unworthy. The brother felt it wasn’t fair and refused to go in to the celebration. The father noticed that his other son was not there, and the father who was reckless with his love in running to the younger son now also goes out in love to the older son wanting to reconcile him not only to his own brother but to himself. This older son vents his frustration: he never gets his own parties, that he has always worked hard, but now this other son who not only hasn’t contributed anything to the family but actually has stolen from the family and been shameful with the family’s property, consorting with prostitutes, is now welcomed back with the fattened calf and given full rights again. “Where is your love and gratitude to me?” implies this brother. The father said to him, “son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive, he was lost and is found.” In other words, this son has had the benefit of His father’s grace all along and had forgotten the benefits of living in that household. Momentarily though he was in body living with the father, he was in mind also rebelling against and rejecting his father’s love trusting instead in his works.

Both sons were in a sense lost, one more obviously than the other, both had to be sought out and restored by the father. The younger son had rebelled in body and spirit, the older had also rebelled in body and spirit by remaining outside the house, angry and jealous of his returned brother, yet both are sought out to be reconciled by the gracious loving father and are restored.

This parable of the father with the reckless and abundant love is really telling the story of God and His love for the world but especially for members of His church, those who are His sons and daughters.

Though this parable can be expanded to include God’s love for the world, this really can and should be applied to us and our dynamic of living together here on earth in the church as we have been repentant and returned to the Lord in faith. In many ways Jesus is pointing out two things, one is a rebuke of those who think that sinners shouldn’t be received back into the Church. This is hypocrisy at its worst, because nobody is not a sinner except Jesus Christ. Therefore, if God’s kingdom were so exclusive as to exclude sinners none would be saved. Therefore, this is a reminder that even life-long church members are sinners and in constant need of grace and mercy. However, many interpret this text and even the ministry of Jesus incorrectly saying that Jesus received sinners and therefore He was ok and is ok with people continuing in their sins so that grace may abound. This too is incorrect. Jesus came to heal sinners from their infirmities, to take the dead and dying in their sin and unbelief and raise them to life, by changing and restoring them so that sinners might be freed from their old sins and habits of wallowing in the mud, muck, filth, and feces of sin, not to return to that filth but to be cleansed and turned from sin to His glory and for their good.

Even before we realized our sin, while we were yet dead in our trespasses and sin, wallowing in the muck of our own filth, we, who by our rebellion and sin, basically had told our creator and father, that we had no use for Him. Yet, our heavenly Father sent Jesus His Son from heaven to a far land to rescue us reckless and prodigal children. So, the Son of God, the good and perfect Son, came to earth, to save sons and daughters who like Adam and Eve were in desperate need of rescue, spiritually starving, and dead. Jesus was sent to rescue and live with the unclean, the filthy piggish people, the ungrateful idolatrous harlots, to live a perfect life while showing a perfect love, even going to the cross to make payment for our sin by His sacrificial death. For this dying world, He suffered and died on the cross taking the punishment and rejection that we deserved. Jesus Christ rose from the dead and has been received by the Father as a full payment for our sin. All this so that our Heavenly Father who has sent forth His Word, may restore His people by causing them to die to sin, repenting as the Law kills our old flesh, washing the filth of our sin, so that we may be “anastos” that is, be raised up in Jesus Christ.

He runs to us and covers us in royal robes in Holy Baptism as we have Christ’s righteousness put upon us. He is forgiving us even while we are yet confessing our sins restoring us to Himself and then He welcomes us to the feast where we celebrate the victory which Jesus Christ has accomplished for us in the Sacrament of the Altar. Here we receive the forgiveness of our sins, the bread of life aplenty where we are filled so that we never go spiritually hungry. And we, likewise, desire for others around us to turn and live by repentance pointing ever and always to the love of the father, who restores from death to life by His only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Then the heavenly host rejoices because all those in the banquet feast were lost but now have been found and rescued in and through the love of God our Father. Rejoice. Rejoice for yourselves. Rejoice for each other. Give thanks and praise to our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. We were dead in our trespasses and sins but have now been made alive in Christ. Let us ever look to the cross and see the place where by faith we are saved. May we never forget that while we were yet sinners God sent His Son to die for us to reconcile us to Himself. Let us rejoice in His Grace and His reckless love for us shown in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Lord Jesus Christ, the Church’s head,
You are her one foundation;
In You she trusts, before you bows,
And waits for Your salvation.
Built on this Rock secure, Your church shall endure
Though all the world decay and all things pass away,
O hear, O hear us, Jesus

The hymn that we sang before our sermon was drawing on the imagery of our text today, the Epistle reading from Ephesians 2, specifically, from verses 19-22: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” In other words, the Church is “God’s Building Project.”

The fact that the Church is God’s building project–that makes a big difference. The Church is not some manmade creation. Rather, it is a divine institution, founded by Christ Himself and central to God’s plan for the ages. God will not abandon His church. He will not abandon us. He will not abandon you.

This is good to hear, because the devil, the prince of this world wants to destroy the Church. He wants to drag every last believer back into the sin and false wisdom of this world. It is easy to get discouraged in our daily struggles individually, but even as a congregation, or even looking at the various congregations within our own synod or throughout the world as there seems to be so many congregations and church bodies leaving the path of God’s Word and doing their own thing, following the ways of the world, abandoning Christ for an ungodly/worldly message with only the trimmings of Christianity and “holy speak” using Jesus’ name in vain. It is easy to get caught up in negativity, a questioning hopelessness as to our future and the future of the Church at large when looking at these things. We definitely need encouragement.

And that’s what God’s word gives us today. Encouragement. Encouragement for us in the Church, at a time when anxiety, apathy, and aggression are swirling all about us. It’s good to know we are God’s building project.

Paul wrote this text to the church at Ephesus. Ephesus was located on the west side of Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, and it was one the largest cities in the first-century world. The church there at Ephesus was made up mostly of Gentiles, people who had come out of pagan idolatry. So Paul reminds them of what they had come out of when they had come into the church: “Remember…that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

Friends, this describes where we would be apart from Christ and outside of the Church. You and I would be aliens and strangers with regard to God and His people. We would be outside the kingdom of God, not knowing the precious promises of salvation. That’s a terrible place to be. Think of it. To have no hope–no hope for the future, no hope for what lies beyond this life. To be without God in the world. That’s pretty scary and sad. But most people in our world, the unbelievers–they don’t even realize what a terrible situation they are in.

We were that way. We too were dead in our trespasses and sins. Ours sins alienated us from God. We were far off. We have at times drifted away, turned away, run away from God. You and I should be included in that sorry lot. We too have sinned. It comes easy to us: natural to us, according to our sinful nature. We do things, we think things, we say things, that go against God’s commandments. We are not eager and zealous to do God’s will. We mainly just want to do our own will, and who cares what God says? Other people are there to please us and do things for us–that’s the world we create in our minds. That’s the sinful nature alive in us and producing such bad fruit in our lives. This sin separates us again from God, and it puts up walls between us and other people. That’s where we would be on our own, apart from what God has done for us in Christ.

That is what is so profound about God and His love for us. Why would He think to build anything with such weak, frail, rotten material as me, you, or any human in their spiritual fallenness? Because that is what He does. That is who He is. Though there was righteous hostility between God and us because of our sin, and hostility on our part because of our wanting to remain in our sins… God has taken what is from our body of sin and breaks it and crushes it and places it upon Jesus Christ and His flesh who then, in turn has broken that hostility and that separation by the unity of His Divinity and humanity in His body taking our sin to the cross, receiving the punishment for sin, which we deserve. This is how we are brought near to God: through the sacrificial blood of Christ. By His shed blood poured out for us at His crucifixion.

That is the, if you will, “the liquid cement”, for covering over our sin and weakness, binding and bonding us to God and the structure of His Holy temple with the prophets, apostles, the saints of old and the saints, yet to come. Molded, fitted, shaped, by the Holy Spirit upon Jesus Christ where the blood of Jesus Christ is applied to us.

Where is it applied? His blood is applied to us in Holy Baptism when in the water, the invisible blood of Christ is applied to us by the power of God’s name and His Word of promise. There we were taken outside of time and our old spirit of flesh was crucified with Christ, buried, and we were raised with the Holy Spirit, and now the spirit of God dwells within us by faith. That is what St. Paul means when he said: “In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” You are indeed the temple of the Holy Spirit as an individual who is part of the whole temple as a member of the Church. God indeed dwells in you, so far as you have faith.

Does that mean the project is finished? No. As Paul said, “you are being built”. Even as I spoke of earlier, we are constantly being battered like buildings by the winds and waves of the spirit of the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh which continues to surface. We wear down from this onslaught, our eyes become downcast toward the grind and disappointments and taunts of this world. We sin and parts of us crumble, the concrete bonds that we should have to the holiness of the Lord, we often knock off ourselves because of our selfishness and pride. We wander back into the dark and temporary priorities of this life as our main focus and eternal hope begins to dim.

So the Lord calls us, even now in this sermon, this liturgy, in His Word of Holy Scripture through the witness of our fellow believers, by His voice to come back from afar, to come again by His peace, to Himself. Sometimes almost dragging us reluctantly He brings us back to His workshop, back to the place where we must again be broken down, to be reshaped and reformed into and by Christ. We hear the Law which shows us our sin, we repent and are sorrowful for what we have done and not done, but with hope, we turn. And we plead for mercy for the sake of the blood of Jesus Christ. And God forgives us and renews us in our baptism in Absolution. We hear once more that because Jesus has died upon the cross for our sins, God will not forsake the humble, but serves us not only a proclamation of forgiveness for those sins, but gives us once more a full measure of His Holy Spirit where He gives us the blood of Jesus Christ. In the great feast of the Sacrament of the Altar we are drawn ever nearer to the place where we will be permanently a “completed building project” to the place of rest and fullest assembly in the heavenly places. We eat and drink Christ’s body and blood in the bread and wine. Christ comes to us, and we celebrate with the whole church, the victory of Jesus Christ and His marriage and promise to the Church completed in Him. Though we do not perceive with our earthly eyes or tongues, we are bound to the Lord and to the fellowship of all the saints in the household of God through the blood of Christ here given.

So be encouraged. The Lord is not done working with you and on you and me. He will not abandon you. Remember where you came from. Remember in humble and repentant joy, your own weakness, but remember God’s strength for you in Jesus Christ. Remember whose you are and all the promises and grace that come with it. Pray for strength and remember where you are going: to be with Christ your Savior in God’s glory for eternity.

As we sang:
O Lord, let this Your little flock, Your name alone confessing,
Continue in Your loving care, True unity possessing,
Your sacraments, O Lord, and Your saving Word
To us Lord pure retain. Grant that they may remain
our only strength and comfort.

And for your Gospel let us dare to sacrifice all treasure,
Teach us to bear Your blessed cross, To find in You all pleasure,
O grant us steadfastness in joy and distress,
Lest we Lord You forsake. Let us by grace partake
of endless joy and gladness,
for Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Last Sunday was Trinity Sunday in which we proclaimed the Triune God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in whom we trust and believe in. This God is truly rich in mercy and love. As we trust in Him, and lean not upon our own understanding, but rather allow mysteries to be mysteries, we recognize that the Lord’s will is for our salvation, to receive His true riches of forgiveness, love, and mercy, now and for eternity. In this life we are to trust in the Lord, not upon our own possessions, and the things of this earth. He has taught us to crave the true riches now He offers in His Means of Grace, and in turn be rich in mercy and love to our neighbor. 

Today we heard of a man who was rich in earthly wealth and money but was not rich in mercy. By way of the story of Lazarus and the rich man, our Lord is teaching us that we can only get into heaven by hoping and trusting in God by faith, and faith comes from hearing and heeding the Word of God. Our text shows us the importance of hearing the Word of God and keeping it.

Our Lord speaks of a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, such as those who lived in luxury and were in king’s courts. This rich man “fared sumptuously every day” (v. 19); that means he had a feast every day, not just on special occasions. When would we normally enjoy a feast? We tend to eat feasts at Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving dinners, perhaps when we celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, Independence Day or some other holiday. In Scripture, there is nothing wrong with celebrating special events and occasions. Not only do we have in Scripture the image of the marriage feast, but in Luke’s Gospel just prior to this text, we heard of several feasts. In the Lord’s parable of the “prodigal” or lost son, the father threw a feast because his son who once was lost had been found. The shepherd whose sheep had been lost invited his friends to rejoice with him once he found it. The woman did likewise when she found her lost coin. Such times of rejoicing could involve an extravagant feast. However, the rich man did not wait for a special occasion to have a feast, he rejoiced in his riches, his friends, and in himself and his pride, glorifying and worshipping these earthly things in the meantime. He gorged himself every day while a poor beggar lay at his gate, a man named Lazarus. This poor man would have been happy to eat merely the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. However, he did not get even the crumbs. He was also so weak that he could not fend off the dogs that licked his sores or it could mean that the dogs were the only ones showing care. Regardless, day after day Lazarus lay at the rich man’s gate, hungry and sore, no doubt dying. Day after day the rich man passed through his gate, aware of Lazarus but not lifting even his little finger or giving the tiniest charity to help his neighbor in desperate need. The rich man had not the love of God in his heart, nor the love for his neighbor…only the love of self.

And it came to pass that both men died. Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. That is to say, Lazarus died and is brought to heaven. The rich man, however, was in torment in the fires of hell. Such a notion was contrary to many a Jewish thought: not the concept of hell and judgment, but the concept that the rich man would be in punishment. You see, the Scribes, Pharisees and many others of that time were the prosperity Gospel preachers of their day, they believed that you get what you deserve here on earth, therefore if Lazarus was poor, hungry, and diseased; he must have been a sinner and afflicted by God. The rich man may well have been considered righteous or at least favored by God. However, the opposite was true. No doubt the Lord spoke this parable to point out the evil and the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The rich man was in hell, although he was Jewish, He was in name or in blood only. He may have been a physical descendant of Abraham, but he certainly was no spiritual descendant. The spiritual descendants of Abraham in those days placed their trust in the Messianic promises, the promises uttered by the Prophets, speaking of the coming of the Messiah. In these days they (spiritual descendants of Abraham, that is, Christians) place their trust in the Messiah who has come and will come again. If the rich man had been a faithful believer, he would have heard Moses and the Prophets and believed the Word of the Lord and repented in life and been rich and mercy understanding his own need for mercy and forgiveness. Yet there he was—in hell—unrepentant…and still arrogant. He still thought of Lazarus as little more than an errand boy, a slave. From hell, the rich man cried out, “Father Abraham!” He wanted Abraham to send Lazarus down to hell and comfort him. But the sainted patriarch reminded him that there was a gulf fixed between heaven and hell, a gulf no one could cross; one would either be in heaven or in hell forever after death. There was and could be no crossing over between the two.

The rich man then asked Abraham to send Lazarus to the rich man’s brothers to warn them of what was awaiting them in hell. Abraham responded, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (v. 29). They needed to hear the Word of God and believe it, for, as we hear in Romans 10, faith comes from hearing. The place to hear the Word of God had been in the liturgy of the synagogue and temple, just as the place to hear the Word today is here in the Lord’s house, for He comes to us in His Word. The rich man thought little of God’s Word in his life, it was no priority; he didn’t need it. The Word was not enough for the rich man or his brothers, maybe if something spectacular happened, like someone coming back from the dead, maybe then they would be moved to repent. But Abraham rightly said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (v. 31).

It is Moses and the prophets that testify of the resurrection that is promised to those who live a life of repentance and faith, glorifying and trusting in God and His promises, feasting on His Word, waiting for the Messiah and showing love and mercy to one’s neighbor. Faith only comes by hearing God’s Word as it is proclaimed in God’s Word, in its preaching, teaching, and application in the sacraments which announce God’s righteous Law to work repentance and then the Gospel announces the fulfillment of God’s messianic promises in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Many people of this day and any age miss this message, they feast and celebrate at the altar and table fellowship of selfish pride. Whether they seek after the physical treasures of this life for their own enjoyment and glory, or they deny the pleasures of this life and try to fulfill the law in order to earn salvation, they are united by their false worship of self. They miss out on that which is necessary for salvation, the message of our and all people’s unworthiness. The fact is all people in the eyes of God’s Law are more miserable and in more poverty than Lazarus because of our sin. The sores of our sin, fester, yet quite often we, like the world, wear them as badges of honor and glory in our shame.

But it is the Word of God’s Law that like Lazarus causes us to see our sinful condition, turning to God, begging for His mercy for Christ’s sake to be healed.

Unlike the rich man in the story who had no mercy, God is rich in mercy and love, so He sent His Son down from heaven, Jesus Christ, to take our sins and the sins of the world upon Himself. Jesus, the Son of God, fulfilled the Law, yet became despised and destitute of earthly glory, wearing the wretched rags of our sin upon His flesh, being crucified to pay the demands of the Law. He is the One testified about by Moses and the prophets, the One who did rise from the dead as a testimony of God’s justice and love. So we have Moses, the Prophets, and He who has been risen for the dead, yet sadly many refuse to turn while there is time.

How do we obtain this faith which can save us from ending up like the rich man? How is faith restored when we have sinned? How is it strengthened and renewed? Only by hearing His Word, repenting, receiving His Grace, and living by the wealth of those treasures as they are outpoured in His Divine Service and in the study of Scripture. These are they that testify of Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and ascended for the forgiveness of sin.
Here, we who are beggars, come and receive that forgiveness for Christ’s sake and are renewed in our baptismal grace and received again into the bosom of the Church, the place of shelter and rest in Jesus Christ. Here the Lord rejoices over us with all the saints who have gone before us, with all the angelic host, that we who were lost have been found and redeemed again! Here Jesus comes to serve and welcome us, to forgive us our sins, too bind up our wounds, and make us whole. Here He makes a feast in His body given for you and His blood shed for you, to strengthen you as we rejoice. Responding with shouts of Alleluia, that is Praise the Lord! Confessing that faith that He has given us. Then having received such uncountable and profound riches of grace and mercy, we in turn, strengthen each other, serving, admonishing, and exhorting one another to faithful unity in the confession of Christ’s teachings, and in loving service to each other here and then of course, also in the community. Respecting life but not worshipping the things of this earth and its priorities and neglecting the proclamation of repentance and life in Christ.

Let us ever return here for comfort and hope, for our hope where we meet the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to be in His presence and hear His Word. Let us feast and rejoice this day and in this grace until the day that we are brought by His angels, to eternally bask in the joy of our Lord to evermore rest at the side and bosom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

One of the greatest mysteries of God has been confessed to be true by us today in the Athanasian Creed. God reveals these mysteries about Himself in Scripture, yet we cannot rationally understand it. God is singular. He is One God, yet there are three distinct persons within this Trinity. The persons of the Trinity are all eternal, uncreated, infinite, almighty and God. They are each distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet they cannot be divided nor are they blended together as though it were the same person acting as different characters. The Father begets the Son, the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from Father and Son.

Even if we cannot fully comprehend the ins and outs of what God is as He has revealed Himself, even if the Athanasian creed is long and is difficult to keep our attention. It is good for us. The Nicene creed and the Apostles Creed are also good for us to read, learn, and recite. A creed is a statement of belief. It helps summarize and verbalize from Scripture who God is and who we are. But it also teaches us who God is and His nature regarding us and His creation. As we speak it, and repeat it, the creed teaches as we listen, so that the reciting of the creed strengthens that very faith which is being confessed.

The mystery of God we confess in the creeds reminds us how finite our minds are and how vast the separation that remains between us and God because of our sin here on earth. Yet the creeds remind us how God does not discard us due to our weakness, ignorance, unbelief, or sin. Again and again throughout Scripture and from generation, and even now God continues to stoop down. To create, to redeem, to call to faith, and reconcile sinners to Himself, into the Church, receiving His gifts. And the creeds reflect this. “Who for us men and for our Salvation came down from heaven” as we say in the Nicene Creed or as we said in the Athanasian creed today: “For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man; so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation…”

Why does God do this? God does this because of another attribute of God: an attribute which helps us to begin to understand the mystery of the Trinity and its unity and that is of love. For God is love. A giving love, a selfless love. That is why He created the heavens and the earth. He created out of love, to have the world but specifically Man and Woman as objects of His Love.

God the Father almighty is the maker of heaven and earth. He designed and created and made all things good, because of His love. Yet He knew that sin would arise and that is why the Father had already begotten, that is set aside His Son, the Word, to be born in human flesh in the fullness of time.

This brings us to the verse which we heard in today’s Gospel lesson. The verse that is a favorite of many. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God is also the Son, Jesus Christ. He who came to redeem the world from sin, by coming into human flesh and receiving the sin of the world including yours and mine. These sins He took to the cross to satisfy God’s righteous wrath upon sin. He came not to condemn but to save us and all people from condemnation. However, as the Gospel of John chapter 3 continues we hear that there are those who will be and are condemned because they refuse to believe. They refuse to humble themselves before God and receive the gift of His love.

How does one believe? Well that brings us to the specific work of the Holy Spirit, the comforter, the helper. Without His work, we could never know God as Father or Son: as creator or redeemer. We cannot come to faith on our own as St. Paul declares in Ephesians 2:3-8
“We were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith.”

That is what Jesus was trying to explain to Nicodemus in John 3. To believe, to be born again, or as the Greek says to be born from above. It is not a choice of our own, but passive on our part. It is the work of the Holy Spirit through water and the Word. It is He who gives understanding and as Jesus later said leads into all Truth. It is the Holy Spirit who caused Scripture to be written so that in the hearing of God’s Word, faith can be worked, sins can be confessed, understanding can be given, mysteries can be accepted, and hearts may be changed.

It is the Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, and enlightens you, me, and all the host of believers into the Church by His Word as it is preached, taught, and heard. As that Word is attached to the fellowship of Holy things in the Sacraments, so that the whole Christian church can receive forgiveness of sins. How and Why?

Because the Holy Spirit points people back to the cross of Jesus Christ, and through Jesus Christ, to the Father. So that in all things God works together so that we might see His love for us as it is revealed in His saving work at the cross of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Then as we continue to confess, as we continue to ponder the mysteries of God’s Word, studying it through the lens of the cross and God’s love, as we continue to come where He promises to be: hearing His Word, remembering our baptisms, confessing our sins, receiving Christ’s body and blood in the bread and wine, we are given greater understanding by faith. By these mysteries we are given the clarity of God’s peace: peace with God, peace in our hearts, and peace by His Truth and love for us. We are made strong to confess God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to unbelievers around us so they too may hear and believe. We are built upon Jesus Christ and surrounded by the company of heaven to boldly rebuke by Word and deed our flesh, the world, and Satan’s accusations which would separate us again from God’s love. We cannot do this by our strength. No, but by God’s strength. So come, receive God’s strength. Be made one in Him and with the Church on earth and in heaven.

God did not create you for death but for life: eternal life with Him. So that on the last day, even as Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead your body shall also be raised unto life everlasting. Therefore, live in Him, receive of Him, confess Him, and in that confessing and receiving, be made strong in faith, hope, and love, unified in the powerful name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

“They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.”

Jesus in today’s Gospel text talked to the disciples about a time of coming persecution. St. Peter in his epistle speaks of it as the fiery trial. In fact, many Christians throughout the ages were martyred by a literal fiery death having been put to death at the stake and burned for the sake of confessing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke about the bitter irony that there would even be many who would think that they were doing a service to God by betraying Christian believers and killing them because of their confession.

Why did Jesus tell them this? Why did Jesus spend this time talking to His disciples about coming difficulties, that following Him would not be easy? Was He trying to scare them away? What about success, admiration, happiness? That’s usually how we try to sell something.

But you see that is the point. Jesus wasn’t going to tell them a lie. He was telling them the Truth. The truth is that the devil, the world, and the flesh do not just naturally lie down and go away once the Law and Gospel are preached. It doesn’t always work that a person’s heart and mind is immediately converted. But there is definitely a reaction. Perhaps it’s interest, or it’s dismissal, or it’s anger and rejection, perhaps even violent rejection. The evil and the darkness of this world fight against the truth of God in Jesus Christ because it convicts them. Evil is always trying to find a way to hide, to mask, to drown out, or kill the voice of God, even to the point of killing those who hold to it, with the hope that they can discourage others from believing it. They hope to silence the voice and testimony of those who hold to God’s Word revealed in Jesus Christ, if they can stamp it out. The devil knows that it is this Word of God through which His Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, convicts, convinces, and testifies concerning Jesus Christ, in order to turn hearts and minds from rebellion and unbelief, from sin and condemnation, to obedience and faith, to holiness and salvation in the life and grace of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit given in His Word and Sacraments.

You see, to the world, the Gospel and Word of God is like a virus or a bacteria. As long as it is contained within the walls of a “sanctuary”, and people do not speak about it elsewhere, and/or begin to live and act as the world, and doesn’t challenge them, they are not worried. But as soon as Christians leave their church gatherings, changed by the Gospel, empowered by the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and begin speaking, and living, and proclaiming the Truth of Jesus Christ as the only truth, well then, it must be dealt with. That is why we have seen in history the persecution of prophets, apostles, pastors, and the laity: men, women, and children. Because the Word of God is powerful. It challenges hearts and minds because it is the Truth and there is no lasting hope or salvation outside of faith in this Truth in Jesus Christ and it exposes and reveals that the message, the philosophy, and idolatry of the world, flesh, and the devil to all be variations of hopeless lies.

This is scary to people. It is scary even for you and me when we really think about it. Faith involves dying. Not the dying of our bodies that the world and our flesh is afraid of. No, the dying of our will, the dying of our sin, and the dying of the old sinful Adam within us along with its sinful fleshly desires.

There can only be one truth, only one way, only one eternal life, not many truths, not many ways. As I have preached many times before: In this world when it comes to the message of salvation there is only one truth but many, many lies.

As they are convicted/convinced by the Spirit through the Truth of God’s Word, quite often they react with fear. Sadly, I am not talking about the “fear” of faith which is that of awe and respect. No, this fear is one of selfish panic. A desire to save one’s lifestyle, one’s pride, one’s excuses, one’s idols. With this fear comes anger, indignation, self-righteousness, and with anger comes the desire to destroy, to threaten, to silence. This is the reaction of the flesh and the world to God’s Word.

As we have seen throughout our lives, but particularly in the last few years, fear can cause people to do all sorts of crazy things. The devil likes to use this fear, and He weaponizes this fear against the Church and God’s Word in order to attack the frailty of our fallen human nature which still clings to us all. The devil will threaten the believer through employers, through governments, families and co-workers. “Don’t you bring your faith, beliefs, and morals into the workplace, at the family table, or elsewhere. Don’t you use this phrase, that phrase. Do not say that ‘Jesus is Lord or King’ or ‘the only way to salvation’. Or else. Or else, I will disown you as father, mother, son, daughter, relative of any kind…I will report you, hate you and betray you in another way in order to fire you, fight you, destroy you and your life and the lives of those whom you hold dear. Yes, perhaps even soon to imprisonment, to trial, to death. Or as in many places, the trial is skipped and the angered party passes judgements and sentences in ways mentioned already or by taking one’s life from them.

“the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God”…or their “god”.

Why did Jesus tell them this? Why is it important to be open and honest: that to be Christian is to be hated by the world? So that you know upfront. So that you are not giving a false hope for peace in this world. It may happen, but it is not a testimony to how much or how little you have been faithful or God loves you. Making such a false karmic statement as: “if you believe hard enough, if you are good enough, you will receive earthly blessings and riches of money and prosperity” that is a devils’ lie. No. The truth is this: Since the time Christ has been crucified, the Devil knows that He has no more hope. Since you have been baptized into Christ and sealed in the blood of Christ with and by the Holy Spirit, the world has also marked you with suspicion and fear. Not of you, personally, but for the sake of Christ Jesus who has overcome the power of the prince of this world, and therefore also the world. Take heart therefore, beforehand. Jesus said: “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” So that you would not be afraid.

There is only one antidote to fear. The antidote to fear is Christ. You defeat fear with more Christ, more preparation by the Spirit by the study of His Word, , more confessing and absolving, more Divine Service, more remembrance of God’s baptismal promise, more gathering as possible and prudent, more receiving of the Lord’s Supper, not less. Why? Because it is through these that Jesus sends His Spirit, His Spirit of Truth, God our Helper, our comforter, our convictor and convincer.

Jesus Christ has died on the cross for your sins. He does send His Holy Spirit to you, so that you are forgiven, so that you may die to sin, and as baptized children of God who have been crucified with Christ are raised to new life by His resurrection. Be filled with His Holy Spirit, a spirit of boldness and confidence in Him. For Jesus Christ has overcome the devil, the world, the flesh, sin, and death for you. So that you may also overcome all your weakness, your sin, your troubles and sorrows and fears, by putting them on Christ. You need more Christ. We all need more Jesus Christ!

Know, oh Christian that the Devil will try to distract you and discourage you. As St. Peter said: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”

God has set a limit to the threats of the devil. He gives us many material blessings here in this life, but that is not where true joy and peace comes from. This world does not and cannot bring true peace. Repent of sins, cast your cares, weaknesses, and insecurities upon Christ and He will set you free by the forgiveness of your sins. Rejoice in Him. He is your Redeemer and conqueror over sin, death, and the power the devil. They no longer have power over Him and they no longer have ultimate power over you by faith in Christ. As we sang just before this sermon:

Ascended to His throne on high,
Hid from our sight, yet always nigh,
He rules and reigns at God’s right hand
And has all pow’r at His command.
Hallelujah!

3 The man who trusts in Him is blest
And finds in Him eternal rest;
This world’s allurements we despise
And fix on Christ alone our eyes.
Hallelujah!

4 We therefore heartily rejoice
And sing His praise with cheerful voice;
He captive led captivity,
From bitter death He set us free.
Hallelujah!

5 Through Him we heirs of heaven are made;
O Brother, Christ, extend Thine aid
That we may firmly trust in Thee
And through Thee live eternally.
Hallelujah!

Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

In today’s Gospel text, Jesus teaches us to address the Father as our Father. Even as He has taught us to begin the Lord’s Prayer this way: “Our Father who art in heaven.” What does this mean? With these words, God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.

A child speaks boldly to his or her father when they say that they are hungry. The child cries out boldly when they are in trouble, expecting their father and mother to help him. Even before they are able to speak, they boldly ask for what they need, and they confidently expect their parents to know exactly what they are asking for, even though their parents can’t make out what they want through the mumbling baby-talk gibberish. Yet, this confidence of a child is the model given to us on how we should pray.

We should pray to God with such boldness and confidence. But how can we pray to God with such boldness? It is because God speaks to us in His Word…in boldness. He promises to hear us with boldness. In His Word, and in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, He tells us with clarity and plainness what He has done for us and that He loves us. Our prayers therefore rest upon this clear promise of our Father in heaven that He will hear us and give to us all good things for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Jesus told His disciples that He was going to speak to them plainly about the Father. First, it means that they would be able to pray directly to the Father in Jesus’ name. He then clarifies, just so they understand, that this means that they themselves will be talking to God the Father when they pray. They will be addressing the Father, asking Him for anything they need, confident that He will hear them for the sake of His Son.

Why will the Father hear them? Why does He hear your prayers? Simple. It’s because He Himself loves them and you. They love Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father. Therefore, they can know that the Father loves them. As Jesus had already told them, “Whoever receives me receives the One who sent me.” If you believe in Jesus, trusting in Him, loving and embracing His words of life, then you have the very testimony within that faith that God the Father, who sent His Son to die for you, hears your prayers.

Jesus then plainly explained that He came from God, He has come into the world, and He would be departing the world to return to God. Jesus is the eternally begotten Son of the Father, true God in the flesh. He has come to earth in order to bear the sins of all mankind. He has come in obedience to God, an obedience we all fail to meet up to. He was obedient in our place. He died for our sins. He was raised from the dead, because death could not hold Him. He returned to the Father, demonstrating that he is one God with the Father. He sits at the right hand of the Father with sin, death, and all powers under His feet. He intercedes for us in the glory of the Father. As surely as He is risen from the dead, as surely as His Word is true, it is just as sure that our prayers are heard by God.

Therefore, Jesus promises, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” Ask anything, Jesus says. Whatever you ask the Father in His name, He will give you. Jesus teaches us this in the Lord’s Prayer. There is nothing you can pray for that is not promised in the Lord’s Prayer. He promises you daily bread, everything for the support of your earthly life. He promises to forgive you your sins, even as He calls you to forgive those who sin against you. He even promises to lead you out of any temptation to sin. He promises to protect you from all evil and guard and defend you from all danger. He teaches you to say Amen, which means, “Truly, truly, I believe it!” He teaches you, in other words, to be confident and bold, convinced that God will answer you.

Yet, from our eyes, it doesn’t seem to happen. It certainly doesn’t happen all at once. But Jesus still teaches us to pray. Ask, and it will be given to you. Knock, and the door will be opened. Seek, and you will find. Don’t stop asking, knocking, and seeking. He doesn’t promise that it will happen all at once. But He does promise this. He promises that your joy will be complete. As surely as Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished,” He assures you that when you pray to the Father in His name your joy will be complete. This is because the peace by which your conscience is at rest is already complete in the wounds of Jesus. Your righteousness is already complete in the resurrection of Jesus.

When you pray, you are simply relying on His promise. You are resting on His boldness to take your sins on Himself and to promise you the resurrection of your body and the life everlasting. St. Paul says: All things are made holy by the Word of God and prayer.” It is the Word of God, which cannot be separated from prayer. The Word creates faith in your heart. Faith cries out in true hope to God, resting on the very Word which created it in the first place.

The word Jesus uses for plainly can also be translated as boldly. He spoke plainly/boldly about the Father. He boldly proclaimed the truth even at His death. And it is upon this bold truth that your prayers rest in true boldness.

It was because of Christ’s boldness that His disciples became bold. They said, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.” This is what the boldness of God’s Word does. It gives us boldness to confess. And this is what happens when you confess the Word of God with boldness. It emboldens your fellow Christians to speak with the same boldness, to pray with confidence, and to have confidence that God hears, with the assurance that He will answer in His own time in the way that is best.

When you must confess the Word in the midst of afflictions or persecutions we need His boldness. It’s a hard thing to confess the truth when people are speaking against it. In fact, it’s impossible to do with your own reason and strength. Many times you and I fail, but we repent and are restored and forgiven for the sake of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, working through the Word of God, emboldens you again to confess it. When you confess the truth in the face of hostility, then this emboldens your fellow Christians to do the same. Listen to what St. Paul said to the Philippians. After writing about the suffering he had to go through because of his preaching of the gospel, he wrote:
“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” (Phil 1:12-13)

When you stand up to your friends, your family, your children, and your grandchildren, telling them that sex outside of marriage between a man and woman, abortion, disrespecting God and despising His Word are sins, when you confess Christ as the only truth and His Word as the only source of truth, then most people, even your family members and closest friends, might deem you to be out of your mind, unreasonable, and mean. When you tell your friends that there is nothing more important for them than that they also know Christ, His baptism, His death, His resurrection, and His righteousness, then they might look at you as a crazy religious nut. Don’t be discouraged. You are confessing the Word of God and it will not return to Him empty.

And pray. Let your requests be made known to God. Let your petitions rest upon the sure promises of Him who called you out of darkness. Yes, remember that God’s Word never returns empty. The faithful hear it. They are encouraged by it. They are emboldened by it. They are moved by it to confess it with you and to call upon God for all they need. God is pleased by such boldness.

So, also, at the Sacrament of the Altar we boldly confess the truth of Jesus Christ crucified and raised and all His teachings besides. Here we encourage one another as Christ comes and encourages and strengthens us with His sacrificial body and blood for us to eat, drink, be forgiven and give thanks.

As boldly as God speaks to you through His Scriptures and His sacraments, just as boldly does He hear your prayers. So, pray with this same boldness. Even when you feel unworthy, even when you find that you have been influenced by the world, stumbled into sin, fallen away from attending church as you should, remember that God’s Word is a promise. It is a sure promise. It is a bold promise. Rest on this Word of promise in Christ. Call upon God in the day of trouble. He will deliver you, and you will glorify Him now and for always, for the sake of and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Last week we heard Jesus talk about what would happen in a little while. But while Christians are waiting that little while for Jesus to come back in all His glory what is going to happen in the meantime? Well today, Jesus told His disciples, and also the Church, that He would send His spirit, the Holy Spirit. But when Jesus described the work of the Holy Spirit, He did not refer to His work in the exact same way as we confess in the creeds. Or does He? In the Gospel lesson, He doesn’t speak of the Holy Spirit calling, gathering, enlightening, or sanctifying. Jesus said that He’s going to send the Holy Spirit to “convict” people in the Truth.

 Convict: That’s a harsh word to our ears. We usually think of “convict” like when a person is convicted of a crime in a court of law, and that person is then a “convict”. When we say that “we are convicted”, we usually mean that we admit our guilt.

What is Jesus saying here? The word that Jesus uses here (in the original Greek) is elegxo, which we translate as “convict”. A better translation would be “convince.” So, the Holy Spirit’s job (as sent by Jesus) is to “convince”? Convince of what? Jesus answers that question. He says that the Holy Spirit will elegxo (convince/convict) people in the Truth. His job is to convince/convict in the truth of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

It is important to understand that all of this convincing/convicting finds its source in the cross of Christ. The crucified Christ is the origination and destination of this holy conviction. It either moves one to faith or rejection of God’s gift. The cross is the central destination and purpose of Jesus. John makes this clear in his Gospel. Christ is anointed with/receives the Holy Spirit in baptism. Three years later, Jesus is telling His apostles here (at the Last Supper) that He will send His Spirit of Truth so they [the disciples] can understand. They can’t understand what’s about to happen.  But…Jesus will send His Holy Spirit of Truth later on, and then they will understand. Three chapters later (John 19), and Jesus is hanging on the bloody cross, mere moments away from breathing His last. John tells us that Jesus, knowing that all of the Father’s plan for salvation was now complete, each and every sin atoned for; the full wrath of the Father against sin for all time paid for in full, declares victoriously, “It is finished!” He then gives up the Spirit. So often this is simply translated/understood as Jesus “gave up the ghost.” That is, He merely breathed out His last breath. End of story. But…the way the Greek reads is that Jesus gives up and sends out/breathes out “the Spirit.”

I want you to think about that, because this is important. The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Truth—proceeds forth from Christ at the moment of His death on the cross; at that singular moment of our eternal, vicarious satisfaction, of reconciliation between God and mankind. Divine Truth—the Spirit of God’s condemning, life-giving Truth—flows forth from and finds its source at the cross of Jesus Christ. This is the central point of all Holy Scripture, of all time and history: Law and Gospel in one moment!

Three days later the resurrected Jesus, who had completely conquered sin, death, and the devil for all time—stood among these same apostles and breathes on them as we heard a couple weeks ago. “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness, it is withheld.” Notice again that this specific giving of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Christ’s Truth—is all about forgiveness of sin flowing from the crucified/resurrected Christ. There is forgiveness of sin nowhere else! 

Now…did these men fully understand all this? Not immediately. They wouldn’t (and didn’t) understand the necessity of the brutal death of Jesus. They didn’t understand the necessity of the cross. Or the resurrection for that matter. When they encountered the resurrected Christ, they were in disbelief. They were joyous—yes—but St. Luke tells us that they “disbelieved for joy.” Even atop that ascension mount, they still didn’t fully comprehend.

When Jesus was about to ascend, they were still thinking in terms of “worldly kingdom” and “earthly rule and power”. They asked, “Lord, are you now going to restore the kingdom of Israel?” So, like humans who only see the here and now. Only the Holy Spirit could bring about a faithful understanding… Pentecost is when they FINALLY understood and believed (through the working of the Holy Spirit). 

Why did God send His only-begotten Son? To take our place and die for our sins; to do what we cannot do; to save us from our justly-deserved wage for sin: death and judgement. This is where the work of “convincing/convicting” is focused: On the cross of Christ. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and our sin is so great that God Himself had to die for it. We cannot save ourselves, no matter how hard we try. We cannot understand this by our flesh and blood, therefore we need the Holy Spirit to convince us and give us saving faith in the knowledge that we need a Savior: this Savior, Jesus Christ. Faith believes this truth, despite what the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh tell us. Faith also looks to this same cross and rejoices because faith (wrought by the Holy Spirit) believes Christ when He victoriously declares, “It is finished!” this all-redeeming righteousness is won for them. 

Look at this [the crucifix]. To earthly eyes, this crucifix doesn’t look like victory, does it? But saving faith (brought forth by the Holy Spirit) is convinced of this singular all-redeeming Truth. A firm conviction that this is for you: for me. Saving faith is convicted and convinced of its sin and need for salvation, and here it sees the answer to that sin: Christ’s righteousness. It is finished. Because of this [the crucifix] we are redeemed, once and for all time. The faithful one has a firm conviction of their sin and judgment, yet, a believer does not fear or doubt or worry whether they’re good enough. Baptized into Christ’s all-redeeming death and resurrection; holding fast in faith to this all-atoning death and resurrection, the believer stands firm in the sure and certain conviction that God has already judged them “innocent,” as righteous in God’s eyes: Justified…not because of who they are or what they’ve done, but solely because of who Jesus is and what He has done for them in their place.

Then by the Holy spirit we see the cross as a place of hope and joy. Our sins upon the body of Jesus crucified. Then we are moved by the Holy Spirit in joy and gratitude to live and move by the Spirit of Truth to produce His fruits. We see the fruits of this Holy Spirit produced in our midst, in our brothers and sisters in Christ and in us from baptism to funeral and everything in between. In baptism, we see the faithful parents, convinced of what our Lord says regarding “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and “the wage of sin is death,” faithfully bring their little child dead in sin to the life-giving Good Physician so that He can breathe His Holy Spirit into that precious little one and give them the gift of eternal life. We see this in the funeral, as the baptized child of God who has fallen asleep in the faith is brought before the altar and we remember that person’s baptism when they were covered by the white pall of Christ’s all-availing righteousness and how they lived in that faith by that Spirit and now have been received into His everlasting presence. Even as we grieve the death of our departed loved one, we grieve differently. We don’t grieve like those who have no hope. We grieve in the joyous hope and firm conviction of blessed reunion before the heavenly throne of God; reunion with them, and more importantly, reunion with Christ in all glory and peace.

We see the work of the Holy Spirit during the “little whiles” of this life as we are moved to repent, to receive absolution, to be brought here to study and hear God’s Word and be built up together by God’s Word which has its power and completion in Jesus Crucified in victory over sin, death, and the devil. Here He comes to you with His body and blood in the bread and the wine, so that you are encouraged as His Spirit works though it so you may confess His truth, in thought, word, and deed. You have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection! This is a peace that surpasses all understanding; a peace that can only be known and understood in the conviction of Spirit-born faith.

No matter what befalls you on this side of eternity; no matter what crosses you bear as you make your way through this shadowy valley we refer to as “life,” you are completely covered over in Christ’s perfect righteousness. Live by that faith, live in that faith as God continues to send you His Spirit to encourage and strengthen you by His Word and sacraments, through faithful pastors, brothers, and sisters. Though you may not always understand everything, by His Spirit, you may trust and be convinced, and be saved and have hope and peace.

Look to Him, to Jesus Christ where your sins are placed. Be humbly convicted and convinced of God’s love and His desire for your salvation now and always in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Today, Jesus teaches us how to wait for the coming of His final kingdom. He says, “A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me.” At this time, Jesus was going to be taken away from his disciples, condemned, crucified, and buried. But on the third day He would rise from the dead, and they would see Him again. A little while they would not see Him, and again a little while they would see Him. His death and resurrection remain the very foundation for the Christian life. We continue to live by this teaching of Jesus: His teaching of “a little while”. Our life on this earth is only a little while. To God the span of our life is like a breath. But our true and everlasting life is hidden in Him with our crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t live for ourselves. Instead, we live for Him who died and rose as we look forward to His glorious return.

The death and resurrection of Jesus are the foundation for our life as Christians. Since we have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, it follows that our entire life here on earth is one of dying and rising. Repenting of our sins with faith in God’s promise, the old sinful nature in us is crucified every day and our new man comes forth, alive in Christ Jesus. This is a daily dying and rising.

This “dying and rising” shapes the way we see life here on earth. It shapes the way we see our earthly duties. In our stations in life. Your job as a father or a mother is only for a little while. Your children are a gift of God, whom he entrusts to you for a little while. Any kind of authority you carry out in this life is for a little while. Any kind of authority you submit to in this life is for a little while. Any afflictions you must bear, any temptations you must fight against, any sadness or happiness, honor or praise, enjoyment or disappointment – this is all for a little while. You look to something much greater. You look to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. He is coming soon.

Any duty you carry out in this life is a duty you know will only last for a little while. Of course, this doesn’t mean that your work is unimportant. No, in fact, this means that it is much more precious and meaningful than you could know. When you raise your children, you are not just feeding them, clothing them, and helping them to succeed in this life. Much more, you are commending them to Him who died and rose to give them life. You are teaching them that nothing lasts forever except for the Word of their Savior. And when they are going through temptations, when they are being bullied, when they are suffering from a guilty conscience or a heavy sickness, you teach them that these things are only for a little while. You teach them to bear these pains for Christ’s sake, looking eagerly for His return.

When you put in your hours are work, you learn from Jesus that when He returns all the works of this world will burn up. But again, this doesn’t take value away from your work. Jesus isn’t teaching you that you shouldn’t even try because it’s going to break anyway. No, Jesus is teaching you to value the work he has given you while it is day before the night comes when no one can work. And He is teaching you that the value of your work is not in how long you can make it last. The value isn’t found in how much bacon it puts on the table. Instead, the value of your work is found in love for God and your neighbor. Such love flows from faith and a good conscience. God is pleased with your work because it is done by faith in Christ.

Even if you were to spend hours a day working on a building project, making sure that everything is sustainable and up to standard. The day after the construction is finished, Jesus returns. No one will live or work in your building. Was your labor in vain? To the world, this would seem to be the case. But a Christian doesn’t see it this way. A Christian knows the whole time that his labors are for a little while to His glory regardless of the labor’s outcome.

When the children of Israel were traveling through the wilderness God had them set up the tabernacle. It was a huge project involving many workers. When God’s glory cloud moved, they would tear down the tabernacle and follow God’s glory until it rested in another location. Then they would build up the tabernacle again. Sometimes the tabernacle would stand for many days. Sometimes it would stand only a few days. But every time the glory of God moved, they would tear it down again, and when the glory of God rested they would build it up again. This is how God was teaching them to wait for his Salvation. It is through dying and rising, tearing down and building up, being humbled and being exalted. And so are we.

God gives you your work to do in this life, because he loves you. He wants you to serve your neighbor and the living God. And as much as He Himself has prepared these works for you to walk in, He also teaches you through these works that you cannot rely on them. Things break. Dreams shatter. Goals are often not met. Your body fails. Your kids get sick. Your sins get the better of you. These are all things you learn while you work. God is teaching you to die to yourself and to find your life in Christ. When He returns He will prove that your works done in faith were not in vain. As Isaiah says in chapter 65, you will build houses and live in them; you will plant vineyards and enjoy their fruit (Is 65:21). St. Paul gives these encouraging words in 1 Corinthians: “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labors are not in vain. (1 Cor 15:58)”

In today’s epistle, St. Peter tells us to be subject, for the Lord’s sake, to every human authority. He tells us to honor everyone. Honor everyone in the station God has given him. Honor the emperor, the policeman, your employer, your teacher, your father and mother. This honor comes from knowing that all authority is given by God. Notice that Peter does not tell us to fear the earthly rulers. No, we are only to fear God. God has the authority to kill and make alive. He has the authority to condemn or free the soul, not just the body. He has given honor to various human authorities to serve a purpose for a little while here on earth. But only for a little while. So, honor them. Pay your taxes. If you vote, think about protecting your neighbor. Think about the unborn and the dignity of marriage and the family. Think about the poor and your neighbor’s livelihood. They will always be with you in the little while of this life. Your true inheritance is not in this world. So whatever duty God has given you, do it in fear and faith toward Him, trusting that He will preserve you in the faith until you die.

And love your fellow believers. Peter literally says, “Love the brotherhood.” This is what the church is. It’s a brotherhood, brothers and sisters bearing one another’s burdens, forgiving each other, covering up a multitude of sins. This is the life of the Christian church as we receive forgiveness, life, and salvation from the Lord Jesus himself. Such love, which flows from faith and a good conscience, is not only for a little while. To love your fellow Christians, to share with them the compassion your Lord has shown you, will last forever. This isn’t because of how valuable or enduring your work is. It is because it flows from faith in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. Your best efforts will ultimately fail. But the love, which God has poured into your heart, which compels you to serve your neighbor, will prove on the last day that your faith in Jesus was true and genuine.

The world doesn’t mourn over what Christians mourn over. Jesus tells his disciples that when they weep and lament the world will rejoice. While the disciples were weeping over their Lord, the Roman soldiers tortured and mocked him, and the Jewish leaders accused and taunted him. Christians are sad when God’s Word is denied and attacked. Christians mourn when love for Jesus from His sheep grows cold. The world can’t mourn over these things. The world will mourn over natural disasters, death, injustices, and other outward evils. But this is not a sadness that leads to repentance and life. Instead of seeking comfort and joy in the eternal Lord, they seek it in things that last for only a little while. They rejoice over the election of a new politician, the passage of a new law, the victory of their preferred party, or the rise of a new hero. And while we should certainly thank God when he gives us just and competent leaders, we know that these are only for a little while.

It doesn’t always seem like a “little while”. The pain a mother goes through when she’s giving birth seems like it will never end. The battle against your sinful desires, which wage war against your soul, rages on in this life. Your sadness over death or your pains of body and soul make your time slow. But Jesus calls it only a little while. It is by faith in Christ who has conquered death that you can call your afflictions light and momentary. As a new mother forgets her pain for the joy of her newborn child, the joy of the gospel overwhelms the sadness of this life.

Jesus says that no one can take this joy from you. It is joy in knowing that your Savior is risen from the dead and that you will see him face to face. And it is the joy in knowing that whatever work you have to do in this life was given to you by God. So even if it seems to be in vain, it can’t be. God gave it to you. He counts every tear. He hears every prayer in Jesus’ name.

We do our duties while it is day. And sometimes the darkness comes before we expect it. But whether our life span is a “long” day or a “short” day, we are always blessed when we look to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come which will be forever in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

This Sunday in Easter is oftentimes called “Good Shepherd Sunday”. Therefore, today we sang Psalm 23 and a portion of John 10, along with the Shepherd references in the Old Testament and Epistle readings. John 10 and the 23rd Psalm contain passages that many consider their favorite. Our readings used that beautiful imagery of Jesus and God as the Good Shepherd who searches for and guides the sheep, meaning members of the church, His flock. We often use these texts to comfort ourselves when we are suffering, hurting, near death, and at funerals. Many of you I am sure even have the 23rd Psalm committed to memory. If you do, that is wonderful; if you don’t have it memorized, it might be helpful to do so. Why would it be helpful? Because when the time comes that you will be in need, you may not have access to a Bible. It will then be good to have this psalm with you in your memory to comfort you, to remember that the Lord is your Good Shepherd whom we need especially during difficult times.

Very often we have thought of shepherds during Bible times as these peaceful, caring, good, hard working types. Perhaps at Christmas Eve we might hear in a sermon that shepherds were smelly and were considered by the rest of society as being rather low in social status, but in many ways, it was actually worse. In fact, shepherds actually had a nasty reputation as being untrustworthy. In a Rabbinical list of thieving and cheating occupations, we find “shepherd” to be included. A Jewish Midrash/sermon on Psalm 23, the good shepherd psalm, comments: “No position is so despised as that of shepherd.”

Often, when the hired shepherds (the hirelings) would be sent to sell sheep to interested buyers, they would return to their master and tell them that some of the sheep had died, therefore the sale was less than expected but what they had really done was pocket the extra money. Since the hired shepherds had no real stake in the flock, if a wild predator would come and seize one of the sheep, that hired shepherd would not risk his life to save the sheep from the jaws of death.

These hired hands, these unfaithful traveling shepherds, remind us all too well of the world and its trickery, cruelty, and self-interest. By the way, the word: “Pastor” means “Shepherd”. Perhaps you have been the victim of such wily and worldly unfaithful religious “shepherds” who have seized every opportunity to take advantage of you or who have not been faithful in protecting your spiritual needs, but only look for popularity and prosperity for themselves from the backs of the sheep.

Sadly, this is the state of the world. There are many people, in business, politics, education, or even in “so called religious professions”, in any position of trust, who do not fulfill their obligation to be faithful. Many who are in the position where they are called upon to protect, yet, instead of protecting the weak, take advantage of and abuse the weak, and when trouble comes, they seek only to protect themselves.

But let us be honest here, though we can think of examples of those pastors or people who have taken advantage of us, let us not forget how often have we taken advantage of others. How often have we pushed our advantage over others to get our way? How often have we lapsed in our faithfulness to do our duty as an employee or employer, as a citizen, as a student, as a parent, as a child, as a member of the church: a pastor or as a lay person?

There are all these problems in the world because there is something wrong with each human: an illness, a disease which is the source of all sorrow, all sickness, all betrayal, all selfishness, greed, lust, laziness, gossip, narcissism, abuse, and danger. This condition which all humanity shares is, of course, sin. It is a condition which we have inherited from our fathers and mothers. Sin is a rebellion against God. Yet God is a good shepherd, the best. He is the one who created each and every one of us and each and every person in this world and loves them. Yet all we like sheep have gone astray each one to his or her own way. That selfish way that we have pursued is a way of death, of destruction, of faithlessness and pain. We feel this pain in our weak bodies, in our broken relationships, in our fears and doubts, in our toil and failures, and in the pain we have given to others when we have taken advantage of them and when others have taken advantage of us. It is our adversary, the devil, who takes advantage of this rebellion and the resulted vulnerability to consume whomever he can, to bring them not only death, fear, and misery here on earth, but to an eternal destruction.

But, our Lord is indeed a good shepherd, a shepherd: faithful, loving, caring, and self-sacrificing. Jesus the Christ is the fulfillment of Psalm 23. Jesus said that He is the good shepherd, but Jesus did not claim this as a means to take advantage, but because He is. It is to our advantage that He is the Faithful and Good Shepherd. He took this job, this responsibility of loving care seriously, yes, all the way to the cross.

The Good Shepherd, the Word of God made flesh, came down from heaven and used His sinless incarnate body as the tool of salvation. Jesus, the Son of God, humbled Himself to be born among the sheep, to become as a sheep, Himself. To seek and to save His sheep by being the perfect sheep that the sheep could not be. He came to be the Good Shepherd who actually lays down His life so that the sheep who loved to roam and rebel would be redeemed and rescued from the wild beasts of the devil, the world, and their own flesh. He became sin for His sheep, He took the punishment for sin so the sheep would not have to receive an eternal punishment for their sin. Jesus the Good Shepherd laid down His life, destroying the choke hold of sin upon the sheep. Jesus contended with Satan in His crucifixion and by it defeated the devil’s power to accuse people of their sin. At the same time that He did this in His death, He also destroyed the final enemy which is death itself. Death could not defeat the perfect sacrifice which took away the power of death which that disease of sin. Therefore, Jesus was raised triumphant over death. The Good Shepherd has redeemed His sheep!

The image of the Good Shepherd is powerful. He overcomes the enemies which would destroy us, having sought us, and then gathers us into the sheepfold of the Church. There we behold Him crucified upon the cross, we hear His Voice by His Word and in His powerful absolution and see Him feed us in His body and blood given for us for the forgiveness of sin. His heroic actions for us testify by His Spirit that we sheep can trust Him: A truly loving and Faithful Shepherd. Yes, He will rebuke and exhort us when we do wrong, but for our good. He will forgive, He will pick the nettles out of our wool, bind up the wounds that we incurred by our own wanderings, forgive us, and then heal us, and make us right. Not just right, but righteous and holy in thought, word, and deed by His Holy Spirit. In the green pastures of His Word and sacrament He nurses you, me, and all His sheep back to health. He whispers assurances to us: that in Him and His cross, the devil and death cannot harm us any longer. In the daily battles that we have against sins, accusations, and our temptations He says, “stay by me, this is my battle, I am the answer for you.”

In the midst of suffering, we are tempted to ask, “Why has this happened?” Know that it is because of our sin. Instead of asking, “Where are you, God?” See Him sharing your suffering at the hands of the world, the devil, the flesh. Behold Him coming to you triumphant over your sin in His Word and Sacrament. He has won for you your final deliverance. Find comfort in His promise: ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5 and Deut. 31:6).

From Holy Baptism where we were first washed as His little lambs He leads us forth to the place of eternal rest in heaven. We follow Him who is the “Good Shepherd”, “the Great Pastor”, “the Faithful Overseer and Bishop” of our souls: He who has laid down His life for His sheep and took it up again so that you and I can have forgiveness of sins, and victory over sin, death, and the devil.

Jesus Christ makes all the hopes and promises of the beloved 23rd psalm come true throughout our lives. He shall always provide for us so that we have no true want. He allows us to be restored and refreshed in the green pastures and still waters given in this Divine Service of His Word and in His Holy Supper as we receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation from His hand. When you are tempted to hear and listen to voices of unfaithful shepherds and the world, resist them. Listen faithfully and learn the voice of the One who has defeated your enemies and given you the victory so that you fear no evil even in the valley of death.

As He prepares a table for His sheep here, He anoints us with joy and mercy and heals us of our sin as we drink the overflowing cup of blessing in Jesus’ blood for the forgiveness of sins. We see that truly God’s mercy and goodness shall follow us as we dwell in the house of the Lord now on earth and forever in eternity. All this through Faith in our Faithful Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, Christ is Risen….Alleluia! Amen.

Pastor Aaron Kangas