Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne; Hark how the heav’nly anthem drowns All music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing Of Him who died for Thee, And hail Him as thy matchless king Through all eternity.
When we speak of crowning someone, we think of a king. But here we sing that the Lamb is crowned and He is upon the throne. From the very beginning, this hymn is at the very end, at Revelation 7, at the Lamb’s high feast.
Crown Him the virgin’s Son, The God incarnate born, Whose arm those crimson trophies won Which now His brow adorn: Fruit of the mystic rose, Yet of that rose the stem, The root whence mercy ever flows, The babe of Bethlehem.
When we think of crowning someone, we expect a person of royal family, in a palace. But this baby of Bethlehem, a small town, without even a place for Him, is crowned. What kind of Savior we have, who comes humbly into the earth to redeem with His crimson trophies of blood those who He loves.
Crown Him the Lord of love. Behold His hands and side, Rich wounds, yet visible above, In beauty glorified. No angels in the sky Can fully bear that sight, But downward bend their wond’ring eyes At mysteries so bright.
Would you ever think of crowning a dead man? Even one who is crucified? His hands are side are nailed upon the cross to show His great love, not a feeling, not a lust, but love by sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It hardly feel like the conqueror worthy of a crown would be dead on a tree. And yet this He did once for all for you and for me.
Crown Him the Lord of life, Who triumphed o’er the grave And rose victorious in the strife For those He came to save. His glories now we sing, Who died and rose on high, Who died eternal life to bring And lives that death may die.
Finally, this stanza brings us to something worthy of a king, that He rose from the dead. Nobody does that. And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ most certainly rose from the dead. This is the crowning moment for Him, that sin, death, and the devil have no dominion over Him or over us.
Crown Him the Lord of heav’n, Enthroned in worlds above, Crown Him the king to whom is giv’n The wondrous name of Love. Crown Him with many crowns As thrones before Him fall; Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, For He is king of all.
This final stanza sums up each of the previous stanzas. Jesus Christ did not come to be an earthly king back then or any time in the future. He is not only the Lord of creation, but the Lord of heaven and that can never be taken away from Him. And faith in this can never be taken away from us. Crown Him, for He is king of all.
Rev. James Peterson First Lutheran Church Phillipsburg, Kansas
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The theme for this morning’s sermon is this: Law and Gospel explain to us the whole meaning of the Bible.
How do we read and understand the Bible? This question was the basic question that we answered this summer during our Lutheran Faith Class. If there is one thing that matters most to us as Christians, it is Bible Study, both on our own and as a congregation. This is the question that people ask me all the time. Sure they read the Bible … but What does it mean?
How do we read and understand the Bible? We could even ask the question a different way. How are we supposed to listen to a sermon? When I first arrived here, there were many who asked me to simplify the sermon or to come down to our level. That is something I have tried to do without being condescending to any of you. That is something I have tried to do, having attended chapel each day for 8 years, hearing sermons from hundreds of different pastors, and coming from a town and state far away from here.
How do we listen to a sermon? Paul answers this in our epistle for this morning. He talks about Law and Gospel. Luther talked about Law and Gospel. C. F. W. Walther one of the founders of the Missouri Synod, wrote his most famous book on Law and Gospel. The circuit visitor in Plainville has been having a weekly video on Law and Gospel. But Pastor, what is Law and Gospel?
Law and Gospel is how we read and understand the Bible. The Law we find in the Ten Commandments. The Gospel we find in the Apostles’ Creed. The Law we find in the Confession of our sins. The Gospel we find in the Absolution of our sins. The Law we find in our three enemies, sin, death, and the power of the devil. The Gospel we find in the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Law and Gospel is found on nearly every page of the Scripture. It is the way we read and understand the Bible. What does this mean? Is the famous question from the Small Catechism, and it is the primary question that we have as Christians studying God’s Word. How do we read and understand the Bible? How am I supposed to listen to the sermon?
Law and Gospel. Take the Parable of the Good Samaritan for instance. This is our Gospel reading for the day. What is the Law portion of this reading? We take a look at the context of the parable to understand the point of the parable. A guy asks Jesus “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” We would think that that is the wrong question, but Jesus turns the guy back to the Ten Commandments. He turns him back to the Law. For this guy is a secure sinner, a self-righteous independent person who needs to hear the Law.
This we know because he then asks, “Who is my neighbor?” In other words, he made the Law so small that he could get around it. He made the Law something that is attainable. He really thinks that he is a good person. He thinks the inheritance is already his without even trying. He does not need to be told that he is forgiven, if he isn’t even repentant. What need does he have of righteousness when he already thinks that he is? He keeps the commandments among his friends and at church, why does he need to care about the poor or his enemies?
Jesus then tells the story we know so well. The robbers steal from the man, and then they hurt him. What commandments have they broken? They broke the Fifth Commandment, You shall not murder, and the Seventh Commandment, You shall not steal. Is this who we are? We ask ourselves.
We probably say that we are not, and I don’t think that is the point of Jesus’ story. We aren’t supposed to be the robbers. But do we see murderers and robbers in our country? Of course we do. They go to prison for it. There is an external civil punishment for sin. This is the Law. But so also are the lesser sins, like cutting corners in order to make a bigger profit. So also it is the Law that we help and support our neighbor in his body, whether with groceries or visiting in the hospital.
Then the priest and the Levite enter the scene. The guy is still beaten up, poor, unclean, and left for dead on the side of the road. What do they do? They should keep the Commandments, care for the man’s wounds, provide him with food, water, and shelter. They are the religious people, the church people, the Christians, the Lutherans in the story for today. They should, but they don’t.
Although they didn’t murder or steal, they did not help or support their neighbor in his body, nor did they help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. They were no better than the murdering robbers from before. This is the connection that Jesus wants to make between the self-righteous man asking Him the question about eternal life and in the story. That your neighbor might be your enemy. That your neighbor might be the poor. That your neighbor might be really suffering. That we really ought to help them.
This is the Law. Who among us could wriggle out of it? Who among has not been either the robbers or the religious people in this story? This is the part of the sermon that shows us our sins, that convicts us, that offends us, that causes us to be sorry for our sin. This is where the robber hits the road. This is where we are left for dead in our trespasses and sins.
This is where most sermons you hear on this text then get it wrong. Because most sermons you hear on the internet, most sermons you hear in our world, then make us out to be the Good Samaritan. Be the Good Samaritan today, or some such thing like that. But then we are left with more Law. Then the whole story has no Gospel at all. There is no forgiveness, there is no work of God, there is no comfort for the suffering. Be a good neighbor, love your neighbor, take care of the poor, and you’ll gain eternal life. It’s just the same as the guy asking the question. He is self-righteous and independent and don’t worry, he’s got this all under control.
No, the point of the story is that Jesus is the Good Samaritan. Jesus is the one whose neighbor is His enemy, and yet He dies for us. Jesus is the one who takes the place of the beaten man upon the cross and suffers because of the world and its sin. Jesus is the one who has mercy on us, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, bandaging up the wounded.
This is the Gospel, not more of what you must do, but the Gospel is all about what Christ has done for you. The Gospel is that free gift from God through the death of His Son. The Gospel is that the Lord Jesus Christ has perfectly obeyed the Law in order to offer you the Gospel. The Gospel is outside of you, your works, your righteousness before the world, or whatever.
The Gospel is what Christ has done for you, taking your place, redeeming with His grace, that you may be confident of the forgiveness of your sins, that you may be certain about the life everlasting, and that you may believe that He came into this world for your sins. Christ pays the price for you when you are near death, when you tempted to despair, and when you are struggling through this veil of tears. Christ Jesus is Himself the Good Samaritan, your Good Samaritan, who shall care for you each and every day.
How do you read the understand the Bible? It is through the Law and the Gospel. How do you listen to a sermon? It is through the Law and Gospel. What does this mean? It means that the Bible is full of this Law and Gospel, that the pages of Scripture apply to us. We are convicted of sin and comforted of the forgiveness of sins. We are worried about death, but Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and shall raise you also from the grave. We are tempted by the devil, but Jesus has conquered the devil by His death on the cross and that victory will never be defeated.
Jesus Christ is Lord of all, and that is the Gospel, dear friends, in its absolute sweetest.
In the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
Rev. James Peterson First Lutheran Church Phillipsburg, Kansas
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
We all know that we memorize songs on the radio much better than articles we read on our computers. We know that kids want to sing in VBS, not just listen to the Bible stories. This also we must do in the church. Even Issues Etc. recently remarked that a Roman Catholic priest after the time of Luther wrote that Luther “destroyed more souls with his hymns than he did with any of his writings.” And this is most certainly true. We may read words on the page, but Romans has clearly said: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” What we hear we believe, and not just what we see or read.
So today, let us turn to the hymn “These are the Holy Ten Commands.” Let us sing about the Law of God this morning:
These are the holy Ten Commands God gave to us by Moses’ hands When high on Sinai’s mount he stood, Receiving them for our good. Have mercy, Lord!
These Ten Commands we call the Law. But many Christians today would love to get rid of the Law, of the negative parts of the Scriptures. They do not want to be confronted by their sin, because they are good people who do not need a Savior at all. But that’s the pesky thing about laws: they don’t go away. In today’s world, it is still important that people go to church. In today’s world, we still expect that children obey parents and citizens obey their rulers. In our immoral society, we still hold that murder is wrong and that adultery is cause for divorce. This is because God’s Law never changes with the times. Though the Ten Commandments are no longer found in the courthouse, the courthouse still enforces them.
Let us sing of the First Commandment:
“I am alone your God, the Lord; No other gods shall be adored. But you shall fully trust in Me And love Me wholeheartedly.” Have mercy, Lord!
Much like the Law of God never changes, neither do His promises. Thanks be to God His promises are new every morning. Thanks be to God, His promises never fail. When God says He is your God, at baptism, at church, at the Lord’s Supper, then He is. Only we can change our minds and run away like prodigal sons and daughters. This commandment demands and commands faith, that God is all that matters to each and every one of us.
Let us sing of the Second Commandment:
“Do not My holy name disgrace, Do not My Word of truth debase. Praise only that as good and true Which I Myself say and do.” Have mercy, Lord!
While the First Commandments speaks of faith, the Second Commandment speaks of worship. Faith without doctrine is not faith. Faith without worship is not faith either. It matters that God’s Word is spoken and heard in this church. It matters that we believe God’s Word to be true and without error. This is why we call pastors, so that we have confidence that he knows God’s Word and teaches it faithfully. This is why we go to Bible Study, so that our faith may not waver no matter what we go through in life.
Let us sing of the Third Commandment:
“You shall observe the worship day That peace may fill your home, and pray, And put aside the work you do, So that God may work in you.” Have mercy, Lord!
This commandment more than all the others is sinned against the most. How often did Jesus teach about the Sabbath, come into controversy with the religious leaders on the Sabbath, and do miracles on the Sabbath? It was far more often than we would be comfortable to admit. The world Jesus entered is the same world that we live in. The sins are the same: we don’t go to church.
But Luther shapes for us what worship is all about, that God may work in us. Church isn’t about what we want, but about what God does. What does God do? He teaches the Word and administers the Sacraments. He asks me to carry it out, to deliver the goods, as it were. For it is at worship that God calls His children by baptism, teaches His people right and wrong, Law and Gospel, saint and sinner, Word and Sacrament. It is at worship that the Lord God feeds us His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of all our sins. It is so much easier and so much more joyful to come to church for the right reason, for the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the dead, and the life everlasting. We come to church for the promises of God, and not for our own desires.
Let us sing of the Fourth Commandment:
“You are to honor and obey Your father, mother, ev’ry day, Serve them each way that comes to hand; You’ll then live long in the land.” Have mercy, Lord!
The Lord Himself has ordered creation as husband and wife. The world will continuously create other arrangements of sinful behavior, but God created us in families for a reason. This is the foundation of all society. Fathers, teach your children what a Christian father is. Mothers, show your children what a Christian mother is. Husband and wife, be the example you want your children to follow. Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.
Let us sing of the Fifth Commandment:
“You shall not murder, hurt, nor hate; Your anger dare not dominate. Be kind and patient; help, defend, And treat your foe as your friend.” Have mercy, Lord!
This commandment governs all life. But notice what Luther focuses on. He does not focus on “murder,” the act of taking life. He focuses on our thoughts, hate, anger, and kind and patient, help and defend. This is often when we sin against this commandment, in our thoughts and not in our deeds. For this, we repent this day, and turn once again to the Lord of Life.
Let us sing of the Sixth Commandment:
“Be faithful to your marriage vow; No lust or impure thoughts allow. Keep all your conduct free from sin By self-controlled discipline.” Have mercy, Lord!”
Before God, we vow to one another that we love one another. Let our word of confidence always remain between us, that our deeds and thoughts may not wander. This commandment is not outdated or changed by government definition. Marriage shall always be between a man and a woman. Our promises to one another are more important than our feelings or anything else that may tempt us to flee one another.
Let us sing of the Seventh Commandment:
“You shall not steal or take away What others worked for night and day, But open wide a gen’rous hand And help the poor in the land.” Have mercy, Lord!
This commandment we shall discuss in further detail later this month on Stewardship Sunday. We cannot take what does not belong to us. But of the gifts that belong to us we give freely, generously, and cheerfully. When we have more, we give more, and when we have less, we give less. But we give without strings attached, not for our own sake, but for the needs of our neighbor.
Let us sing of the Eighth Commandment:
“Bear no false witness nor defame Your neighbor nor destroy his name, But view him in the kindest way; Speak truth in all that you say.” Have mercy, Lord!
This commandment tears up the church. In every parish in this country, there are meetings after the meetings, and this should not be so among us. There are lies and slanders, because gossip is juicy. This is the commandment I repent of the most; this is the commandment for all of us to repent of the most. For everything done in the church should be done publicly. There should be no secrets and there should be no darkness. There should be no cliques or special treatment. As Paul reminded the Galatians, there is no rich and poor, there is no young and old, but we are all one in Christ Jesus. There is one Sacrament that binds us together, there is one Church that waits patiently for the coming of the Lord.
Let us sing of the Ninth and Tenth Commandments:
“You shall not crave your neighbor’s house Nor covet money, goods, or spouse. Pray God He would your neighbor bless As you yourself wish success.” Have mercy, Lord!
Coveting leads to other sins. There is one clear thing about the world around us: people desire what they cannot have. Whether a house or boat or business, or a spouse or workers or friends, the world is not content with what they have. So they murder, love, or steal. They take by deeds what they thought in their hearts.
Dearly beloved, let us sing the final stanzas in conclusion this day of these holy Ten Commands:
You have this Law to see therein That you have not been free from sin But also that you clearly see How pure toward God life should be. Have mercy, Lord!
Our works cannot salvation gain; They merit only endless pain. Forgive us, Lord! To Christ we flee, Who pleads for us endlessly. Have mercy, Lord!
In the holy name of Jesus, Amen.
Rev. James Peterson First Lutheran Church Phillipsburg, Kansas
The Church’s one foundation Is Jesus Christ, her Lord; She is His new creation By water and the Word. From heaven He came and sought her To be His holy bride; With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died.
How does Christ make disciples in the Church? He makes them by water and the word. Baptism is this work of God, and not our own work. Notice that the hymnwriter connects baptism to the Incarnation, that Jesus came from heaven to be married to His Bride, the Church. Jesus shows us that the life of husbands ought to be sacrificial for their wives, and that wives are more precious and valuable than everything else.
Elect from every nation, Yet one over all the earth; Her charter of salvation: One Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses With every grace endued.
This stanza speaks of the church from all over the world united by One Lord, One Faith, and One Birth. Consider how beautiful this hymnwriter includes baptism, then prayer and worship, and then the Lord’s Supper, and then the hope of the life everlasting that we confess in the Creed. This is the life of the Church because the Church lives because of Christ.
Though with a scornful wonder The world sees her oppressed, By schisms rent asunder, By heresies distressed, Yet saints their watch are keeping; Their cry goes up, “How long?” And soon the night of weeping Shall be the morn of song.
What are the concerns of the Church today? There is persecution, there is false doctrine, there is low attendance, and there are so many different denominations. But we are those saints who are keeping watch, who pray like the Psalms, “How long?” How long until the Lord returns for us? is the yearning of faith among those who sing.
Through toil and tribulation And tumult of her war She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore Till with the vision glorious Her longing eyes are blest, And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest.
We might expect to sing about justification at the end, but here the hymnwriter has put our vision out in front of us, awaiting the end of the world and the final victory of our Lord over sin, death, and hell. Rather than looking back, we look forward to seeing Jesus once again.
Yet she on earth has union With God, the Three in One, And mystic sweet communion With those whose rest is won. O blessed heavenly chorus! Lord, save us by Your grace That we, like saints before us, May see You face to face.
This final stanza connects us back to communion, back to the saints, and ultimately into fellowship and union with the Holy Trinity forever and ever. Amen.
Rev. James Peterson First Lutheran Church Phillipsburg, Kansas
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believer’s ear! It soothes our sorrows, Heals our wounds, And drives away our fear.
This first verse speaks so beautifully of faith, that we hear the name of Jesus when we are baptized and when we hear the Word and when we pray and when we receive the Supper. Faith is not about what we see with our eyes, but what we hear with our ears. What is it that we hear? We hear comfort during our grief, and restoration after sickness, and peace in the midst of fearful times. What power the name of Jesus has!
It makes the wounded spirit whole And calms the heart’s unrest; ‘Tis manna to the hungry soul And to the weary, rest.
This verse refers to the manna that fell from heaven in the wilderness for the people of Israel. It connects us also to the story of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 by the Sea of Galilee. It certainly reminds us also of the Lord’s Supper that we eat in Jesus’ name and by His command and institution. This is the manna for our hungry soul, even the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear name! The rock on which I build, My shield and hiding place; My never-failing treasury filled With boundless stores of grace.
In this world there is shaky ground and wavering wind. But on Christ the solid Rock we stand. This name above all names is our firm foundation. In this world there are many attacks waged on souls from all corners. But Jesus is our shield and our hiding place. Here we have a Defender; we do not need to defend ourselves. Here we know we are safe; the enemy cannot find us!
O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend, My Prophet, Priest, and King, My Lord, my life, my way, my end, Accept the praise I bring.
This verse sings so many names of Jesus. These titles are found throughout the Bible to comfort those in need. Jesus is the Shepherd, guardian, and friend. What more could we need? He is the Prophet, Priest, and King. We know what He has done for us, and that He is the greatest prophet, the greatest priest, and the greatest king that ever was and ever will be. Jesus is the Lord who offers life eternal and is the way to heaven forever and ever.
How weak the effort of my heart, How cold my warmest thought! But when I see Thee as Thou art, I’ll praise Thee as I ought.
The hymnwriter understands his own weakness and so do we. We are sinners, unable to believe in God on our own. We cannot save ourselves or forgive ourselves. We certainly cannot pay the wages of sin, death. But when we see the Lord Jesus on the cross, suffering and dying for us, we see how the Lord is, who the Lord is, and what the Lord is doing for us.
Till then I would Thy love proclaim With ev’ry fleeting breath; And may the music of Thy name Refresh my soul in death!
This final verse is placed in the present time, as we sing it with him and all the church on earth. While we live we proclaim the name of Jesus. While we sing we know He soothes our soul. While we worship, we pray, praise, and give thanks for the name of Jesus who accomplished our own salvation. When our last hour comes, we have every confidence in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, that even the name of Jesus that saves us will deliver us from this vale of tears to Himself forever. How refreshing is that thought!
Rev. James Peterson First Lutheran Church Phillipsburg, Kansas
O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high, O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky: We praise You for the radiance That from the hallowed page, A lantern to our footsteps, Shines on from age to age.
“The book becomes a boy” is the opening thought for this hymn today. We know that the Old Testament sought the Messiah in earnest for many centuries. But now, as Jesus is born, the Word of God becomes a person born into the world. What a blessing this is!
Proverbs especially speaks of the Messiah as Wisdom. Wisdom of the world offers no grace or mercy. But the Wisdom from on high is first and foremost the Lord Himself, who knows all things because He created all things. Wisdom for Christians is what we often call faith. This is wise, that we follow the Lord.
What is Truth? Pilate says to Jesus on the steps before His trial. And yet, the Truth was standing right in front of him. We live in a world full of lies and liars. But our Lord entered this world to show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This way is through His death on the cross. There is but one Truth, that God became man in the person of Jesus Christ, and that He died for the sins of all the world.
Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. We consider light these days to be an every day all day sort of thing. We do not understand the blessing of light. But in the time of Jesus, when there was no light at night, no electricity at all, there was only darkness and fear. Night was the time for sinfulness. But Jesus casts His Light over the world, exposing sin and bringing us to see Him clearly as the Savior for sin.
The Church from You, dear Master, Received the gift divine; And still that light is lifted O’er all the earth to shine. It is the chart and compass That, all life’s voyage through, Mid mists and rocks and quicksands Still guides, O Christ, to You.
What is it that the Church believes and receives? We received the forgiveness of our sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. These are gifts, and we do not deserve them. But our Lord and Master gave them, gave them freely and completely. These we do not receive in merely some spiritual sense that plays with our emotions. These gifts divine we receive in certain ways, namely through the Word and Sacraments.
O make Your Church, dear Savior, A lamp of burnished gold To bear before the nations Your true light as of old! O teach Your wand’ring pilgrims By this their path to trace Till, clouds and darkness ended, They see You face to face!
This final verse points us to the ongoing work in our congregation and to the future of the Church in this world. Like the book of Revelation says, the Church is a lamp in its various places to shine forth the love of Christ for the world. We bear before the nations the marks of the Lord upon us, both on our forehead and upon our heart, that we would shine the true light of the Gospel of Jesus into the darkest places on the earth.
The hymn ends with us considered as pilgrims, not living in the world as the final destination, but living for the sake of the Gospel in this world anticipating the world to come, where we shall see the Lord face to face forever and ever.
Rev. James Peterson First Lutheran Church Phillipsburg, Kansas
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The theme for this Ascension Day is this: I will be with you always.
When the wind blows in the night, it wakens the children. At first, sister and sister try to console one another. “It’ll be alright. It will go away soon.” But the more frightened one of the two usually won’t go back to sleep. No, the child will open the door, walk down the hallway, and knock on the door, and say, “Daddy, I’m scared.” And Dad gets up, opens the door, and holds his child. And they talk and the child gets back into bed, tucked in just right, and Dad says, “Do not be afraid, my child. I will be with you always.” Holding that promise, the frightened child goes back to sleep calmed and secure.
When a man loves a woman, he asks her on a date. And they get to know one another, spend time together, talk about their lives, and enjoy one another’s company. Inevitably, after the passage of time, the man finds that he cannot live without her. He finds that he cannot share her with any other. He loves her. And so, he heads to the jewelry store and buys a ring with all the money he has saved. And on one knee, he says to this woman, “I will be with you always.” And that is that, and they get engaged and soon to be married, and they have made promises and commitments to one another for as long as they live.
“I will be with you always.” These words cast out our fears, and these words bring us to tears. These words tell us we are never alone, and that some other person cares about us. These are not just the words of father to child or of a husband to a wife, these are the words that comfort us during our greatest sufferings and our greatest moments in life.
But even more, the God of heaven becomes man on earth, and God Himself Jesus Christ, was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem. And what is the promise? God with us. Far greater than a child’s comfort in the storm or a husband’s promise to his wife, God promised to be with us, to be born like us, to grow up like us, to be baptized like us, to be tempted like us, and even to suffer like us. Through every moment, every struggle, every suffering, every sin, and every moment, our Lord God is with us. There is no other god in this world than our God and Lord.
Quite often, we want to be left alone with our sins. I certainly don’t want you to know that about me. And every time, we find ourselves alone when our loved ones die. And the devil loves to tempt us to go through life alone, to deal with our problems alone, to make us feel like we are all alone.
And this is why Jesus has established His Church, so that He can tell you as He tells you today, “I am with you always.” And this is why Jesus has established His Church, that no matter what our family life is, no matter what our social life is, no matter who is missing or who we are missing, that I will be with you always and you will be with me always, and we will be here together always.
This is why we go to church, not for ourselves, but for those around us. I will never forget Stan and Vivian, Frank and Arlene, Marion, and Wanda. These were the elderly members that showed me how to be a Christian, and they showed me how to love one another. They weren’t at church to see what they could get out of it, but to train up a child in the way he should go, and now he’s a pastor in the Lord’s Church. They reminded me often, I will be with you…when you usher, when you acolyte, when you are confirmed and when you graduate. When I got married, they came to the wedding, when my parents were divorced, it was those examples of faith who I called for help.
For this is how the church works. What good is an eye if it has no ear? What good is a foot if it has no leg? What good is a heart if there is no head? Our Lord has knit us together as one body. If one part is missing, then the whole body suffers. If one part is sick, then the whole body is sick. If one part is alone, then it must be rejoined. The last words of Jesus must be the first words of His Church. “I will be with you always.”
This is important for me to say, for this is what my vows have said and this is what the Lord has commanded: I will be with you always. And this is important for you to say, to one another as often as you need, I will be with you always.
But I suppose this only goes so far. What if we can’t stand each other? What if we don’t care about one another? What if we are afraid or alone and unable to be comforted? What if we want to be the Church, but we just don’t know how?
Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, promises you this: I will be with you always. And we may ask, But how is Jesus with us always, even now, even today? Jesus has told us. By baptizing and teaching. These are the ways that He is with us, by making us part of the family, part of the body, part of the Church. By teaching us like a father with his child in the darkness of the night. By telling us His promises more than once because maybe we didn’t hear it the first time. By explaining to us how much He loves us and how much He suffered for us.
When we were baptized, our Lord said unto us, “I will be with you always.” When we are taught the Scriptures and have learned what they say, then we can be sure and certain, that the Lord will be with you always. This is why we always say the salutation in every one of our services. I tell you, “The Lord be with you,” and He is. And you tell me, “And also with you.” And thus we are the Church together, walking together, believing together, never alone and never afraid of whatever the world may throw at us.
This promise of Christmas begun at the Incarnation is the final promise of our Lord when He ascended. His whole life declares to us that He is with us. And He has shown us how He is with us, in His Word and His Sacraments. This means even today, we have the Lord in our midst, not as a thought, but in His own Body and Blood. We have the Lord with us always because Jesus has promised it to be so.
What is true for us now, what is true in this world, will be true for us then, will be true in the world to come, that the Lord our God is with us, even to the end of the age, and ever and ever. Amen.
Rev. James Peterson First Lutheran Church Phillipsburg, Kansas
