Program note: As I published this morning’s post, it all of a sudden occurred to me that many of my friends may be unaware of my one published hymn on the subject of forgiving a neighbor his sins. (Call me a one hymn wonder!) So, I’ve put the hymn on the blog site in case you are interested. It is “Remember Christ Our Savior.” Feel free to use it or forget you ever saw it.
Pastor Bob Smith
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear saints, the Latin name for today is Jubilate. It means, “rejoice!” Yet, the gospel text this morning doesn’t seem to lend itself to a lot of rejoicing. Rather, it lends more to sorrow. The Epistle isn’t much different. We are urged to abstain from the passions of our flesh as sojourners and exiles. We hear that people will speak ill of us for being Christian and we have suffering and sorrow to look forward to for trusting in God.
In the Gospel, we find ourselves again in the midst of Holy Week. Actually, we will be in the Upper Room with Jesus and the disciples through the Day of Pentecost. Saints Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us the institution of the Lord’s Supper; St. John gives us more of what else occurred during that remarkable Passover Meal. At or near the end of the meal, Jesus says to the remaining disciples, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”
Jesus is speaking of his crucifixion and death. Yes, even in the season of Easter, the death of Jesus is prominent. He had spoken of it many times before. He had predicted it and plainly told his disciples that he must die and rise. But they did not put it together. They see what Jesus does and hear what he says in the Upper Room on that Holy Thursday, yet they are still confounded by it. They ask each other, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”
Jesus knows they want to ask him about this. He knows they want more information, more understanding. And so, he says to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” He keeps going, and as he does, I am sure that the disciples grow in confusion. For they are not able to understand what is going on that side of the cross.
But Jesus knows exactly what is going on and what is about to happen. He is about to be handed over into the hands of sinful men. He is about to be put through a farce of a trial and be crucified. He knows that his beloved disciples will scatter and mourn. He knows they will be full of sorrow. And he knows that those who perpetrate all this will be full of joy. They will think they have won and defeated Jesus.
Yet after a little while, they will see Jesus again. Then their sorrow will turn to joy. Of course, this is exactly what happens. We have seen this through the first half of our Easter season. Did you realize we are already at its midpoint? So far, with the disciples, we have rejoiced in Christ’s resurrection. Heard the peace that he brings. Heard what it means for Jesus to be our Good Shepherd.
But in another little while, the disciples will again, in a sense, be separated from Jesus. We are quickly approaching The Ascension of our Lord. It isn’t that he leaves them or abandons them; they just won’t see him as they have the past three years. And though this will also be a sad time for them, it is also a time for joy. For on Pentecost, the promised Helper will come upon the Apostles. They will boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the world will be turned upside down. And through them, the Lord will grow his Church.
For this reason, we have much to rejoice about. Christ is risen from the dead. Death is defeated. Our sins are paid for – we are forgiven. Through baptism, our old man has been drowned and we have been born from above. The good work the Holy Spirit has begun in us is being and continues to be worked.
The enemy has been defeated, but he still howls and prowls among us. The victory is won, but the battle is not over. And because of this, despite all we rejoice about, we still lament and have sorrow. Our flesh, made new in baptism, still pulls us in every direction but the direction we ought to go. The world acts as if Jesus were still dead or as if it just doesn’t care what he said and did. And that’s if they think he was ever here at all. Many hold open animosity toward Jesus and his Christians.
This is why our Lord tells us we will weep and lament. We will and must suffer just as Jesus did. Just as his apostles did. None of us will be spared our own cross, however different it may be for each one of us.
Even still, in our weeping and lamenting of our sins and whatever our enemy throws at us, we are comforted by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as he said he would be, he was taken from the disciples for a time. Then, after that little while, he rose, and they saw him. And even though they had failed him, he was not angry with them. For he had died for them. He came to them in mercy and with love for those who were most precious to him. Upon them, he gave his peace and established the Office of the Keys.
Like the disciples, we fail our Lord. We fear many things in this life: the loss of health, sickness, a lack of financial stability. We may fear being ridiculed or being called out for what we believe and confess. In these times, we are tempted to fear, love, and trust in a god that is not in the God, our Heavenly Father who sent his Only Begotten Son and lives in us through his Holy Spirit. We sometimes are scattered like sheep.
In these times, godly sorrow comes upon us. Such sorrow hurts our conscience as we recognize our transgression of God’s good and eternal Law. We realize it is our sin that caused Jesus to ascend the cross. And so, we turn to him and beg his mercy. We plead that the Father would cover us in the blood of his Son, healing us and washing us clean of our iniquity.
Such godly sorrow brings repentance, which brings joy. For in the absolution we hear God through the voice of the pastor. He forgives you. He gives you his peace, his salvation. And he even lets you see him, though it is dimly and hidden within the Sacrament. You know him there where you see his Body in the bread and Blood in the wine. One day we shall see him fully in his resurrected and glorified body. We will see him with our own eyes in our own resurrected and glorified bodies, as will all the world. It is then that your joy will be full. It is there that our anguish and sorrow will be no more. There, where no one can ever take our joy again.
O Lord have mercy on us! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen.
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD
©2020 Brent Keller. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today, in the Church we commemorate Philip and James. We don’t know a lot about Philip except for what is recorded for us in the Gospel of St. John. Philip was called by Jesus to follow him. Philip then found Nathaniel and told him about Jesus. Philip told Nathaniel, “Come and see” when Nathaniel questioned if anything good could come from Nazareth. Philip was in the group of apostles whom Jesus told in Mark 6, “You feed the people,” before Jesus taking the bread, gave thanks, and broke it and gave it to the people, feeding 5,000 men. It was Philip according to John 6 that said the words, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not enough of them to get a little.”
Philip was also the man in John 12, whom some Greeks came to saying, “Sir we wish to see Jesus.” And here in the Gospel for today, Philip is the man who says those words, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
James on the other hand is a bit obscure because of the fact that we have three James to discuss. James the brother of Zebedee is known in the Church as James the Great. James the son of Alphaeus could be a second James, and ultimately, we have James, the author of Epistle James. In some traditions this James, the author of the epistle, is James the son of Alphaeus. But others insist on him being the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and also brother of Jude. Three James adds to some of our confusion about this Saint remembered today.
It is this James, the half-brother of our Lord, the author of the epistle that we remember with Philip today. Philip was called to faith in Christ early on in the ministry of Christ. James, the brother of Christ later, after the resurrection but before the Ascension of Christ as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:7. Paul gives us the run down of events this way concerning who saw Jesus after the resurrection: That he [Jesus] was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. James was called to faith in Christ in a similar fashion as Paul.
Think of the rivalry that must have been in the house of Joseph and Mary. Jesus was the perfect son, James? Uh, not so much. We know from the Gospels that the family of Jesus thought him to be off his rocker a few times, and then we also know that Jesus said that his family were those who did the will of the Father. And the will of Him who sent Jesus is this: “That everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the Last Day.” When Jesus talks about his family, faith in him as the Savior of the world from sins, is not really talked about much. And if were in that household I probably would have resented Jesus. If a prophet cannot have honor in his hometown, he certainly has no honor given him in his own home. James was not a fan of Jesus and his preaching in the beginning. And we can probably see ourselves in this light too. The natural man, that is the man still slave to sin and death, does not like the light of God’s Law coming and running everything amuck. For it exposes the evilness of our hearts and the sinfulness of our ways. It exposes our resentment toward one another and the like, much like the resentment and animosity that James had toward his brother, Jesus.
Yet, in all grace and mercy, James was called to repentance and faith in Christ. Not only was James granted faith but also zeal to proclaim the reality of Christ’s resurrection and the forgiveness of sins given to the world through Christ’s atoning death by the risen Lord Christ, Himself! The same forgiveness is proclaimed to you still today. For it is the same Gospel and it endures until Christ’s return calling us all to faith in Christ Jesus.
By grace, James became the bishop of the Jerusalem church as the other apostles like Peter and John began to move away from the city in times of persecution. It is likely that during this time of persecution James wrote his letter, quite early on in the life of the church. Paul speaks about going to visit James a few times in his letters as well. And in Acts 15 it is James who oversees the first Church Council and forms the letter, when the church is confronted with the question, “What shall we do with the Gentiles, who believe in Jesus?”
Jesus tells us, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” Jesus has prepared a place for them. They belong. You belong in the home of Christ and His Father.
With the story of St. Philip, we can extrapolate a little bit more from John 6 and Mark 6, that’s where the feeding of the 5,000 is located in those two Gospels. John tells us that Jesus went across to the other side of the sea of Tiberias and there performed this sign on the mountain. The other side of the Sea of Tiberias was Gentile country. And its in the context of that we should hear the words of Jesus from Mark 6:37, “You give them something to eat.” Yes, Philip. You feed them. But do not feed them just any old bread. But feed them the bread of life, which is my flesh, and do not give them any old drink, but give them my blood. Yes, James, the Gentiles belong to me as well. Those who believe in me have the Father and have a place in my Father’s house.
We should also not miss the opportunity to see how Christ gathers these folks on a mountain, just as He gathers all people to himself at the foot of his cross. Where his body and blood are given up in death that we might have forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. Yes, Philip show me, high and lifted up on the cross, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
And this is what was preached by both James and Philip by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus. This is still preached to both Jew and Gentile, Christ has come to save you from your sin to prepare for you a place to rest eternally. You have a place with Christ Jesus. And you are already being prepared for it. You have a foretaste of it here on Earth in the Divine Service, where the preaching of Christ is put into you very ears. Here, You hear the risen and living voice of Christ here and now. And here, You receive on your lips the living body and blood of Jesus, this Jesus whom has died for your sins and risen to life and ascended to the right hand of the Father preparing for that place. That He might return and that we might be brought to be with Him forever.
This is the Jesus whom Philip and James preached until their own mouths were stopped by their respective martyrdoms. But the preaching of these saints still goes on. We have James’ own testimony in Scripture crafting his own letter in a similar fashion of Jesus’ own Sermon on the Mount, calling weary Christians to come and be at rest in Jesus Christ. And Philip still calls out to you, “Come and see this Jesus, and follow Him.” For this Jesus will take you home to be with him and his Father forever. Amen.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO
©2020 Jacob Hercamp. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com
