Sorrow into joy

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for the Third Sunday after Easter – Jubilate

1 Peter 2:11-20  +  John 16:16-23

What does it mean if Jesus truly rose from the dead, and lives today, and will never die again? How does it affect things? How does it affect you? We’ve talked about some of the implications over the last few weeks. If Jesus rose from the dead, then death is truly conquered. Sin is truly atoned for. Fear itself has become unnecessary. Today our Scripture lessons point us to yet another implication of Easter, that sorrow is also tempered and temporary and will soon be replaced by endless joy.

The eleven disciples’ confusion was understandable on Maundy Thursday evening. Many astonishing things had happened already that night. Jesus had washed their feet. Judas’ betrayal had been foretold. A new Supper of the body and blood of Jesus had been instituted. Jesus had been cramming many teachings into this last time they would have together before the events of Good Friday. Some things He spoke clearly, other things cryptically. It was one of those cryptic sayings that left the disciples wondering. A little while, and you will not see me. And again, a little while, and you will see me, because I am going to the Father.

There was a very literal sense to those words. In a little while, less than 24 hours, Jesus would be dead and buried, out of sight and seemingly gone forever. In another little while, some 48 hours after He was buried, they would all see Him again, except for Thomas. And then, 40 days later, He would ascend into heaven and go to the Father, at whose right hand He would sit and rule over all things for the benefit of the Church until He returns again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

And the disciples did weep and mourn and were full of sorrow for a little while, while the world rejoiced to have Jesus out of the way. But then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. And the world lost some of its own joy, because, while the world still believed Jesus to be dead, it soon learned that it would have to keep dealing with these pesky Christians who believe He is alive and so refuse to bow before the world and its demands that we should be like them.

Now, you and I, we will never experience what the apostles did, getting to see the Lord risen from the dead. But then, we will also never experience what they experienced, a time, even a little while, when our Lord and our God is dead.

It’s true. We don’t see Jesus. He has risen and gone to the Father. He has removed His visible presence from us for a little while, for our relatively short lives on earth, for the “short” time between His ascension and His coming at the end of the age. The world rejoices not to see Him, because it allows people to do what they want, believe what they want, and rush into every form of perversion and wickedness, because they think Jesus is either dead or a fictional character who doesn’t exist. The only thing that gets in the world’s way are those nagging Christians, at least the ones who remain faithful to the Word of Christ, who keep claiming to have, not “a” truth or “our” truth, but THE truth, who keep preaching about sin and divine judgment and hell, and about God’s earnest desire that all men escape their just condemnation, through repentance and faith in Christ Jesus.

For our part, we Christians also have plenty of sorrow during this time of not seeing Jesus, because, in His visible absence, we’re forced to deal with our own doubts and uncertainties, to struggle against our own sin, and to put up with the world’s hatred and malice. We would all like to see Jesus now and have Him wipe all the bad stuff away, to have Him restore goodness and order to the world, to wipe away every tear from our eyes immediately. But that is not what’s best, either for the world or for us, and God knows it.

But now He does reveal Himself to us, in the Word, in the preaching of His Word, which is a living and active thing, filled with the working of His Holy Spirit. He shows Himself to us in the Gospel, crucified, dead, and buried, but then alive again, and He works in us by His Spirit so that we believe it and know that He lives. And if He lives, then the minister’s absolution has true authority behind it, and the Sacraments have real and living power. If He lives, then all our sorrow and grief is tempered, as the sorrow of a woman in labor is tempered by the knowledge that the pain will have an end, and in the end, it will all have been more than worth it, because a child will be born, and joy will truly begin.

Things may seem bad, but we can know that, in reality, they’re never as bad as they seem, never as bad as the devil tempts you to think they are, because there is this one truth behind everything: Jesus lives. And in a little while you will see Him. Meanwhile, the devil is an already-defeated enemy. The world is an already-defeated enemy. And sin itself is an already-defeated enemy. And nothing that happens to you in this world is beyond the loving control of the Savior who died for you and now lives.

Still, there is grief and sadness in the world for those who love Christ, because things are not yet as they should be in this world, not yet as they will be when He comes again to burn up this world and create it anew. Hatred reigns. Injustice reigns. Depravity reigns. And your own sinful flesh is still active and wishes and strives to reign over you, over your thoughts, over your attitudes, over your words and actions. You must not let it reign. As Peter said in the Epistle, Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; behave well among the Gentiles. The Lord Jesus died to pay for our fleshly lusts and our indulgence of them. He died to atone for our bad behavior among the Gentiles, among unbelievers. So don’t resurrect the lusts and the behaviors for which Christ died. Instead, live in the new life that He gave you when He had you baptized into His death and into His resurrection.

As for the world, let it rejoice in its depravity. Let it revel in its corruption. Let it take pleasure in its lies. These are the birth pains we must put up with for now. And as the pain of childbirth gets worse as the baby is closer and closer to being born, so the pain of the world’s depravity gets worse and worse as Christ is about to return visibly. But just as the pain of childbirth is worth it, so, too, it will be worth all the pain and suffering Christians endure in this world to see Christ in person at the end of the age, or at the end of our earthly life, whichever comes first. And the days and months and even years of sorrow here will seem like just a little while. Then you will see Him. And your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. Amen.

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The shepherding the good Shepherd did and does

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Easter 2 – Misericordias Domini

1 Peter 2:21-25  +  John 10:11-16

St. John’s Gospel includes many pictures to help us to understand the Lord Jesus better. He is the Word of God, who was with God in the beginning and who was God. He is the Bread from heaven, the Light of the world, the Door of the sheep, the Resurrection and the Life, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Vine, and we the branches. It’s the Apostle John who also records the words of John the Baptist, identifying Jesus as the “Lamb of God” who takes away the sin of the world. But, how is He like a lamb? We learned that on Good Friday as He died on the cross and became the sacrificial lamb, the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the world.

But Jesus is not only pictured as a lamb or a sheep, because when a lamb is slaughtered, it has no say in the matter. A lamb doesn’t choose to be slaughtered. It doesn’t lay down its life for anyone. Its life is taken from it by others. It’s purely a victim. Not so with Jesus. In today’s Gospel, Jesus pictures us human beings as sheep and Himself as Shepherd. I am the good Shepherd, He famously says. He is the good shepherd who both laid down His life for the sheep, and who also took up His life again in order to keep shepherding His sheep for all eternity.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He calls Himself good in contrast with the bad. The bad shepherd, the “hireling” as he’s called in our Gospel, is not the owner of the sheep. He doesn’t care about the sheep. He’s a hired hand who’s only out there in the field tending the sheep because it’s a way to make money. He stays with the sheep as long as it’s convenient for him, as long as it’s not too much trouble. But if danger comes, he’s looking out for himself. He sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees. And the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees, because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. Who is the wolf? He is the devil. And he has power over people because of sin, power to accuse them before God, power to hold their guilt over them, power to drag them to hell. And no one could be free from his power, because no one is without sin. No one is righteous, no, not one, the Psalm says. And as Isaiah wrote, we all like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, each one, to his own way.

When did we last hear those words? We heard them on Good Friday. Why? Because, as Isaiah’s prophecy continues, the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Now tie those words to Jesus’ words: the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. Willingly. Intentionally. In fact, He came to earth in the first place for the very purpose of confronting the wolf and laying down His life so that the sheep might be saved. He laid down His life in every way, by living and dying, by His life and by His death. The Son of God took on our flesh and lived among us as both God and Man. He devoted His life to serving us by preaching the truth, the truth about us as sinners and about Him as the One who freely forgives sins to all who trust in Him. And, finally, He laid down His life as the atoning price for our sins, and not only for ours, but for the sins of the world. It’s the Good Shepherd you should envision bloody, dying, and dead on Good Friday. That’s what it meant to see the wolf coming and to stand His ground for the sake of the sheep, so that He might be attacked and killed in their place. He shepherded His people by living and dying.

Of course, it’s the same Good Shepherd whom you should envision risen from the dead, perfectly healed and alive again on Easter Sunday—healed, except for the marks of His suffering which He chose to retain in His hands and in His side, as He showed them to Thomas in last Sunday’s Gospel. Those are the scars of the Shepherd from His battle with the wolf, and even as He wants you always to remember His resurrection from the dead, so He wants you always to remember His crucifixion, so that you never look at sin lightly, but always remember the blessed cost of your redemption, the holy, precious blood of your Shepherd.

Jesus’ life on earth and His innocent death and His glorious resurrection are His great shepherding acts in the past. But He isn’t done shepherding His sheep. He has more shepherding to do, and yet, it was never Jesus’ plan to stay on earth in visible form and to shepherd His flock, from Jerusalem or from some other place. Imagine how sad that would be! A Shepherd who lived on the other side of the world from where you are, who had only so much time to spend with each one of His sheep. No, the Lord had a different plan for this New Testament era, with a different form of shepherding in mind.

Jesus says in our Gospel, I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. But that “bringing” into the one flock didn’t happen, or at least, was far from being finished during Jesus’ life on earth. This is the bringing the Good Shepherd does through the shepherds whom He has been sending into the world since Easter Sunday and whom He will continue to send until all the sheep are found who are to be found, until the whole flock is gathered into the One Holy Catholic—that is, Christian—and Apostolic Church.

So it is Jesus who sends the shepherds, as Paul writes to the Ephesians, Christ Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry. That means that every pastor of God’s Church is placed exactly where the Good Shepherd wants him, in every time and in every place, so that He might preach to men through the humble service of men, so that He might gather His sheep, minister to His sheep, forgive the sins of His sheep, and preserve them in His flock through that very same preaching and through the administration of the holy Sacraments.

So, too, it is Jesus who brings the sheep, who went looking for each and every one of you, who brought you to Baptism and to faith. I know My sheep, He says, and am known by My own. He knew you from before the foundations of the world were laid, and He knows you still. Even if no one else on earth truly knows you, He knows you—who you are, what you need, what you’ve done, and what you will do. And He also knows all who will believe in Him as His Spirit calls them through the Gospel, even if they don’t yet know Him. There is still time to know Him! The invitation still goes out!

And now, as St. Peter wrote in today’s Epistle, the Lord calls you to do good to others and for others, just as your Good Shepherd did, and to be willing to suffer for doing good, just as your Good Shepherd was. That means living as the light and salt of the earth. That means taking this Christian faith seriously, living a life that stands out in the world, that stands out in goodness, that shines with the truth, that honors God’s Word above all things. You will suffer in this world if you live like that. But then, you’ll just be walking in the footsteps of your Good Shepherd, following behind Him wherever He goes, first to shame and then to glory.

May the voice of the Good Shepherd ring in your ears today and every day. You know Him. Now follow Him. He will make you to lie down in green pastures. He will lead you beside still waters. He will restore your soul. He will be with you as you walk, even through the valley of the shadow of death. And He will follow you with His goodness and with His mercy all the days of your life, until you dwell safely in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.

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Divine remedies for fear and unbelief

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for the First Sunday after Easter (Quasimodo geniti)

1 John 5:4-10  +  John 20:19-31

Here’s a question for you this morning: Was the resurrection of Jesus good news or bad news? Well, it was both, wasn’t it? Depending on your relationship to Jesus. For Satan and his demons, who knew that it was true, it was terrible news. For those who had been responsible for Jesus’ death, it was bad news, although they didn’t acknowledge it as true. For those who still reject His Word today and want to believe whatever they want, worship their god however they want, and live however they want, it’s still bad news, because it means that all other gods are false gods and idols, and that people will have to answer to this God whose Word they rejected. But for those who trust in Him as the One who gave His life into death to atone for our sins and to reconcile us to God, it’s the best news there is.

Here’s another question for you, for you who both believe that Jesus rose from the dead and believe in Him as your Lord and your God, as Thomas confessed: Why would you ever be afraid, of anything? Why would you ever worry, about anything? For that matter, why would you sin, ever? Why would you say those hurtful words to your brother, sister, parents, or neighbors if you know that Jesus lives and, therefore, sees and knows all that you do? Why would you worry about the future, if you know that Jesus lives and governs the future? Why would you be afraid of disease or enemies or even death, if you know that Jesus lives and only permits to happen what He knows to be best for those who love Him? The answer is, you shouldn’t—you shouldn’t be afraid, you shouldn’t worry, you shouldn’t doubt, you shouldn’t sin. But that doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t, does it? Wretched people that we are, we still wrestle with a sinful flesh. We still struggle against varying degrees of shameful unbelief, leaving us to cry out to God as the man in the Gospels once did, Lord, I believe! Help me with my unbelief!

That’s exactly what the Lord does in today’s Gospel. He helps us with our unbelief, and with our fear, by holding before our eyes and hearts His first and His second interaction with His gathered apostles after He rose from the dead, men who had no reason to harbor any doubt or unbelief, and yet did, who had no reason to be afraid, and yet they were. Here, in today’s Scripture lessons, the Lord presents us with divine remedies for fear and unbelief, remedies which, if you’re honest, you still need to take. And often!

It wasn’t for nothing that Jesus had seen to it during Holy Week that His disciples would find a friendly home in which they could all gather after His death. He had told them how to find that upper room where they celebrated the Passover with Him and where He had instituted that new supper called the Lord’s Supper. They continued to use that room in that house over the coming weeks.

Gathering in that room together was fine, but the reason the disciples were gathered there with the doors locked on the Sunday after Good Friday was not a good one. John tells us they were afraid of the Jews. Afraid, even though Peter and John had seen the empty tomb that morning. Even though Peter had, by this time, seen Jesus. Even though the women had reported seeing Him, too. Fear is powerful, debilitating, hard to overcome. It took men who had walked and talked with Jesus for three years, and it immobilized them.

We’ve all seen what fear can do to people over the past year. It’s driven many people into their homes, many of them still afraid to leave because of even a slim chance of catching or passing on a disease. People cling to their earthly lives in fear. Now, that actually makes sense if they think death is the end, or worse, if they know, deep down, that death isn’t the end and don’t know the way, the only way, to escape eternal condemnation for their sins, if they don’t believe in a living Lord Jesus, if they don’t trust in Him to be their Mediator before the Father, if they don’t believe they’ll be with Him in Paradise when the die, if they don’t believe in a resurrection of the body at the end of the age. For the unbeliever, fear is a very natural and reasonable reaction to any bodily threat, whether from disease or from accident or from someone else’s malice.

What about for the Christian? Fear comes naturally to our flesh, and we do still carry the flesh around with us. You’ve been afraid before. So have I. But we need to recognize how foolish that fear is and how unnecessary. We know that Christ Jesus rose from the dead, and we have believed in Him as our Lord and our God. As the Psalm says, The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?

And so Jesus appeared to ten of His remaining eleven fearful apostles on Easter Sunday evening. And we’re told by Mark that He did rebuke their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. But it wasn’t an angry meeting. His greeting was one of peace. Peace be with you! That’s how He greeted them. Luke tells us that He had to prove He wasn’t a ghost by showing them His nail-printed hands and feet, and by letting them touch Him, and by eating some food in their presence.

And finally, they were at peace. They had all the testimonies, all the proofs they needed—at least, for the moment. Peace, because Christ had paid for their sins with His death. Peace, because their Lord and their God in whom they had trusted was truly alive. Peace in the forgiveness of their sins. Peace, in knowing that their risen Lord had kept every promise, had fulfilled every word, and would be there to oversee their earthly lives and finally to receive them in heavenly mansions.

And then the Lord gave these eyewitnesses of His resurrection, these chosen apostles, the authority and the ability to extend that peace to others, to those who would believe in this risen Savior through their preaching, or to withhold it from those who would cling to their sins in spite of the apostles’ preaching. Peace be with you. As my Father has sent me, so I also send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” God the Holy Spirit would be present with the apostles, and with all ministers who would later be called, working through the ministry of the Gospel to bring sinners to repentance and faith and to absolve them from their sins, also working through the ministry of the Gospel to hold the impenitent accountable for their sins. These words of Jesus are a proof and testimony to the world. You don’t see Jesus or hear His voice. But when you hear Christ’s ministers, you are to take it as a divine testimony. As we confess in the Small Catechism: I believe in what the called ministers of Christ do among us, by His divine command—especially when they exclude public, impenitent sinners from the Christian congregation, and when they absolve those who repent of their sins and are willing to mend their ways—that it is all as valid and certain in heaven also, as if our dear Lord Christ did it Himself.

Jesus’ appearance to His apostles, His words of peace, and His authorization of their ministry were powerful, divine remedies for their fear and unbelief. But one apostle missed out on it. Thomas wasn’t there. He seems less fearful than the others, because he was not locked in the room with them. But there is something darker about his unbelief. Ten witnesses, his brothers in the apostolic office, testified to him that Jesus was risen. But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail prints in his hands, and put my finger into the nail prints, and place my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Yes, fear is one symptom of doubt and of unbelief, and it can be devastating. But a stubborn clinging to science and human reason is another symptom, and it can be even worse. Thomas was very reasonable, very “science” oriented, if you will. “Whatever the science tells me, that I’ll believe, and I won’t accept anyone’s scientific experiment but my own. You men tell me He showed you His hands and His feet. Not good enough. I won’t believe it until I see the evidence with my own eyes and test it with my own hands.” In other words, I don’t believe you, and nothing you say will change my mind. Only scientific proof will do.

What a dreadful pit for a Christian to fall into! God does not bind Himself to our fallible scientific methods, and He thinks very little of human reason. If you’ll only believe God when you can see His plans and test His truthfulness, then you’ve turned your God-given reason and senses in an idol. No, the Christian can use both science and human reason, but we have to make them subordinate to God’s Word and recognize them as fallible tools which God can and often does overturn and overrule, as He wishes. As He certainly did in bringing Jesus, not only back to life, but into a new and glorious life that is not bound in any way to the laws of nature.

Jesus had mercy on Thomas. He came back a week later when Thomas was there and gave him the testimonies, the scientific evidence he had demanded, thinking Jesus couldn’t hear him when he demanded it. Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put your hand here and place it into my side, and do not be unbelieving any longer, but believing. Yes, he should have believed, should have trusted Jesus, the Scriptures, the women, and the apostles, even the Holy Spirit Himself who was working through their testimony. He had almost committed the sin against the Holy Spirit in denying Jesus’ resurrection. But he was mercifully pulled back from the brink by the merciful Lord.

Finally, Thomas confessed, My Lord and my God! And Jesus replied, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed. That’s you and me. But how can we believe without seeing, if the apostles themselves needed to see to believe?

In this case, blind faith, according to Jesus, is actually better than science-backed faith. If you’ve come to know Jesus through His Word, how can you say to Him, “I won’t believe You’ll do what You say until You actually do it.” Now someone who has broken his word to you before, who has broken your trust, may deserve that kind of treatment, that kind of skepticism. But when has Jesus ever done that? When has He broken His word? When has He earned your skepticism?

You know He hasn’t. You and I don’t have the nail prints or the gash in the side to see and touch. We don’t have angelic appearances or a newly emptied tomb to see. But we have testimonies of God that are powerful enough.

As John said in today’s Epistle, There are three that testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that testify on earth: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. The Holy Trinity has given His testimony about Jesus as God’s Son and Savior in the Holy Scriptures, and in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The Holy Spirit still testifies on earth to the humanity and the divinity of Jesus, to His atoning death, to His glorious resurrection. He testifies through spirit, that is, through the preaching of the Word. He testifies through the water of Holy Baptism. And He testifies through the blood of the Sacrament of the Altar. Those are God’s testimonies, His proofs, and the means that He uses to bring people to believe, even though they don’t see. They may not seem like much, but don’t be fooled by appearances. Preaching and the Sacraments are the power of God for salvation to all who believe; they’re powerful to drive out fear and doubt and unbelief and to create and strengthen faith. They are the very divine remedies for fear and unbelief that have created and sustained the Christian Church for nearly 2,000 years, and they will guard you, too, against the lies of the devil, and the hatred of the world, and the weakness of your flesh.

Jesus is risen. Have no fear! And let your faith in His resurrection guide you to live as His saints here until you meet Him in person there. Amen.

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We gather here because Jesus wasn’t there

Posted on April 4, 2021 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Easter Sunday

1 Corinthians 5:6-8  +  Mark 16:1-8

Last year on Easter Sunday we gathered here in defiance of our government. We gathered here, even as we are gathered here today, with no guarantees of safety, with no promises of immunity to the plague that was spreading and has now spread throughout the world, and with no assurance that we wouldn’t be fined or even arrested for gathering together around the Word and Sacrament of Christ. We gathered here, not because we wanted to defy the governor, but because we wanted to defy the devil, because we were determined to worship the One who is King over all creation and to seek His help, for ourselves and for our neighbors, because we would not be robbed of the opportunity to celebrate and proclaim the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We gathered here then, even as we gather here today, because, when the women arrived at the tomb on the morning of that first day of the week, Jesus wasn’t there.

The Holy Spirit holds those faithful women up to us as role models for women of every age. They were absolutely devoted to Jesus and His Word. They were the ones who provided for Him during His earthly ministry from their own resources. They had also followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they were there watching as He hung from the cross on Good Friday.

They were also there when He was buried, but they didn’t have time to properly tend to His dead body on Friday, because they had been racing against sunset, when the Sabbath began. They weren’t satisfied with it; their Lord deserved better, they thought. They wanted to serve Him better, even in death. So they rested on the Sabbath, even as Jesus’ body rested in the tomb. Then they bought spices—even the hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes provided by Joseph and Nicodemus wasn’t enough, in their mind. They got everything ready, so that, the very first chance they got, as soon as the first light hit the land on Sunday morning, they would be there.

But there was a problem, one they hadn’t worked out how to fix: the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb. They had seen how large and heavy it was. And for some reason, they didn’t want to ask the men to help them with this task. They were the ones who had attended to Jesus’ needs throughout His ministry. They wanted to do this alone.

But how? How could they move the stone? How could they serve their Lord in His death? There’s an even more horrifying question, if you think about it, one which the women didn’t even consider: What would it mean for them and for their children if they found their Lord the Christ lying dead in the tomb when they got there? In the end, none of those questions mattered. Because Jesus wasn’t there.

The stone was rolled away when they got there. An angel had taken care of that, not for Jesus’ sake, but so that they could see the evidence of the great truth. The angel himself announced that simple, life-altering Easter Gospel: Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.

This is one of those rare Gospel readings where we don’t meet Jesus or hear Jesus at all. But, today, that’s the point. If you see Jesus still in the tomb on the third day, then something is terribly wrong. Then He lied about His resurrection; He lied about His authority to lay down His life and take it up again. If Jesus was there in the tomb, then His death was just like any other. It wasn’t a sacrifice for sin. It has no power to justify, no power to save. There can be no forgiveness of sins, because we don’t have an Advocate or Mediator or Intercessor to plead His death on our behalf. If God’s people had found their God in the tomb that day, then you and I would be on our own  to face God’s wrath and judgment for our sins. We’d be on our own to face all this world’s hatred and corruption and cruelty. We’d be on our own against the devil. And we’d be on our own against the grave.

But, dear Christians, you’re not on your own. You’re not left to fend for yourself and perish. Because Jesus wasn’t there.

Because Jesus wasn’t there, you’re not on your own against the devil, against his many temptations, accusations, and deceptions, against his demonic influence on the world. You’re not on your own against the plague and pestilence either of disease or of false doctrine with which the devil would harass and destroy our race. You’re not on your own when death comes and hell would gladly suck you in. Because Jesus wasn’t there in the tomb, you have a living Mediator before God to defend you against all the powers of hell.

Because Jesus wasn’t there, you’re not on your own against the world, with its cares, riches, and pleasures, or against the coming persecution in all its various forms. You’re not on your own against the world’s lies and empty promises, against the government’s oppression, against society’s growing hatred of the truth and of all that is good and noble and right. You’re not on your own to spread the Gospel in the world, either, or to build or to preserve the Church. Because Jesus wasn’t there in the tomb, He will be with you, to guard and to guide, to strengthen and to uphold.

Because Jesus wasn’t there, you’re not on your own against your sinful flesh, against its passions and desires and against the condemnation you deserve for your sins. You’re not on your own to struggle against temptation, or to hold onto your precious faith, or to find your path and your place in the world. Because Jesus wasn’t there in the tomb, you have a Redeemer who lives, who was delivered up for your sins and raised to life for your justification, a Savior who didn’t just die for you, but who now lives and reigns to see you justified through faith, washed in Holy Baptism, preserved through His Word, and brought safely through this valley of tears to Himself in Paradise.

And so we gather again today on this Easter Sunday to celebrate the defeat of death and the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ—a victory that He won, not for Himself, but for us who were once doomed to die an everlasting death, but are now destined to live forever in glory. We gather here today to celebrate the real absence of Jesus’ body in the tomb, even as we celebrate the real presence of Jesus’ body and blood in the Holy Sacrament. We gather here because Jesus wasn’t there. He is still Emmanuel, God with us. He is risen indeed! Amen.

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St. John Chrysostom’s Paschal Homily

Posted on April 3, 2021 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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In place of a regular sermon for the Easter Vigil this year, the Paschal Homily attributed to St. John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople (AD 347-407), will be read. 

If anyone is devout and loves God,
let him take part in this noble feast of triumph.
If anyone is a good and wise servant,
let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord.
If anyone has wearied himself with fasting,
let him now receive his denarius.
If anyone has labored from the first hour,
let him receive today his rightful due.
If anyone has come after the third hour,
let him keep the feast with thanksgiving.
If anyone has come after the sixth hour,
let him not be in doubt, for he will suffer no loss.
If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate but draw near.
If anyone has arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be fearful on account of his lateness.

For the Master is generous and welcomes the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour
in the same way as to him who has labored from the first.
And He has mercy on the last, and refreshes the first.
To the one He gives, and to the other He is gracious.
And the deeds He receives, and the thought He welcomes kindly.
And the effort He honors, and the intention He praises.

Enter, then, all of you, into the joy of our Lord.
Both the first and the second, receive alike your reward.
Rich and poor, dance together.
You sober and you slothful, honor the day.
You who have fasted and you who have not, rejoice with gladness today.
The table is full! All of you, come and enjoy the feast.
The calf is fattened! Let none go away hungry.
Come, one and all, and partake of the feast of faith, the riches of His kindness!

Let none lament his poverty;
for a kingdom has appeared that is common to all.
Let none bewail his trespasses;
for pardon has risen from the tomb.
Let none fear death;
for the death of the Savior has set us free.
He quenched death, even as He was held by death.
He did injury to hell, having descended into hell.
He filled it with bitterness as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he cried and said,
“Hell was embittered when it met You below.”
It was embittered, because it was made powerless;
embittered, because it was mocked;
embittered, because it was put to death;
embittered, because it was overthrown;
embittered, because it was chained.
It took a body and encountered God.
It took earth and met heaven.
It took what it saw and fell because of what it did not see.

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?

Christ has arisen! And you, O death, have been cast down!
Christ has arisen! And the demons have fallen!
Christ has arisen! And the angels rejoice!
Christ has arisen! And life lives free!
Christ has arisen! And the tomb is barren of its dead!
For Christ, having arisen from the dead,
has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be the glory and the power, forever and ever. Amen.

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