Christ’s resurrection colors all our little whiles

Posted on May 12, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
Sermon (audio)
Download Sermon

Service(video)
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/335726245 w=540&h=360]
Download Service Download Bulletin

Sermon for Jubilate – Easter 3

1 Peter 2:11-20  +  John 16:16-23

Today’s Gospel has us thinking about the meaning of “a little while.” On Maundy Thursday evening, before reaching the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to His disciples: A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.

His disciples had no idea what He was talking about. So Jesus elaborated, but just a tiny bit; He didn’t really explain. He simply told them how things would be during the little while, and then after. Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.

Hindsight shows us what Jesus meant. The most imminent meaning of “a little while” was “in just a few hours,” when the disciples wouldn’t see Jesus because He would be arrested, then taken away, tried, condemned, crucified and buried. Then there was the terrible “little while” which would last from Good Friday till Easter Sunday evening. Then they would see Him again.

The little while between Good Friday and Easter Sunday evening was only two days—a very short little while, relatively speaking. But it was also the worst little while in the history of the world. No little while in history has ever been worse, nor will it be again. Because, for that little while, Jesus, the Lord of life, was actually dead. And even after He rose early in the morning, His disciples thought He was still dead until they finally saw Him on Easter Sunday evening.

To think that Jesus the Son of God, Jesus our Advocate before the Father, Jesus our Defender against the devil, Jesus the King of this world and the next—to think that Jesus is dead made for a terrible little while for the disciples. They did weep and lament—Peter for his denials, the rest for their cowardice, all of them for the loss of the One whom they had believed to be the Christ. And the world did rejoice. No more lectures on morality from this Jesus character. No more pointing out the sins of the “good” people. No more forgiveness for the unworthy. No more silly talk of a God in heaven who sent His Son to redeem the world.

Yes, the world rejoiced, and the disciples were sorrowful. But then their sorrow was turned into joy when Jesus came into the room on Easter Sunday evening and greeted His disciples, “Peace be with you.”

And immediately, their sorrow was replaced with unending joy because of Christ’s resurrection. Why? Because now, everything will be OK, no matter what. Sin? Paid for. Death? Defeated. Devil? Overpowered. World? Living Christ reigns over it. Yes, it was brutally painful for a little while, when it seemed like hope was gone. But now we know: hope can never be gone, as long as Jesus is alive, there is hope. And where there is hope, there can be joy.

Jesus compared the little while of not seeing Him to a mother in the pangs of childbirth—a fitting reference for Mother’s Day! Very painful. It seems to last a very long time. But it was never going to be a permanent sorrow or pain. It was always leading to something wonderful. And in the end, the mother rejoices, not just because the pain is gone, but because there is now a new human child born into the world—her child, her baby. And the sorrow that seemed to go on forever is looked back on as just a little while—a little while that was nothing in comparison with the lifetime of the son or daughter who was born from that pain.

So it was for the disciples, with that “little while” between Good Friday and seeing Jesus again on Easter Sunday. All the sorrow was suddenly erased. As Jesus had told them, I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

There was another little while that Jesus’ disciples would have to face, another short time when they wouldn’t see Jesus: the little while between Christ’s ascension and the day of their death. There was still plenty of sorrow ahead for them, but it wouldn’t be nearly as bad, because through it all, the Lord was still risen. They had hope and joy in Christ’s victory over sin and death, in the safety of their souls, and in their final resurrection.

You know the hardships the apostles faced, the beatings and imprisonments they endured, watching one after another of them be put to death for their preaching of Christ. And yet, the joy of Easter never entirely faded for them. Once, after the apostles were arrested in Jerusalem and then beaten, we’re told that they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus’ name. And St. Paul, after listing all the trials and hardships he endured, never lost sight of Christ’s resurrection, but wrote, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us…In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. No matter what the hardship, no matter how lonely they became or how hopeless things looked, the apostles could never forget that Christ was raised from the dead and reigning at God’s right hand, and so no one could take their joy from them. They would suffer much evil, but nothing could change the fact that Christ was ascended and reigning even over the evil, even over the persecutions, and that they would soon see Him again, even if it meant that a martyr’s death was the doorway to eternal life.

There are two of these “little whiles” that we ourselves face, short times of sorrow when we don’t see Jesus. But neither of them is as bad as when Jesus was dead. Christ’s resurrection colors all these little whiles.

There’s the little while that affects us all, every day, and lasts until the end of our earthly lives (or until Jesus comes again, whichever comes first). It may seem like a long while. It’s all the sorrow that a Christian faces along the way as we watch the world rejoicing at Christianity’s apparent demise, as we see wickedness prospering around us, as it becomes harder and harder to live as Christians in this world. We see our own sins, our own guilt, and we rightly sorrow over them. We know we don’t deserve God’s favor. We know we haven’t earned eternal life. We struggle against sin. We struggle to live in this world in such a way that our confession of Christ is bright and clear in everything we do. We struggle to, as Peter wrote in today’s Epistle, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. All of those struggles, all of the sorrow of living in this sinful world and dealing with our sinful flesh, while Christ our Savior remains unseen—it all brings us sorrow.

But Christ’s resurrection colors this little while. It makes it all bearable. Even now He sends His minister to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in His name. Even now He sends His Spirit to help you in your daily struggles. Even now He reigns at the right hand of the Father, and no evil in the world can get in His way. So the people of God can rejoice in Christ’s forgiveness and in Christ’s reign at God’s right hand.

Then there’s another little while that St. Peter speaks of in chapter 1 of his first Epistle. It may affect us all, but it affects us differently and it may come and go throughout this life. It’s the little while of the especially painful sorrows that come into our lives. It may be sickness. It may be uncertainty. It may be any crisis or any tragedy that strikes.

Peter writes, In this you greatly rejoice—that is, in Christ’s resurrection from the dead and in the living hope that is yours because of Him. In this you greatly rejoice , though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. These come, St. Peter says, for the testing of your faith. The devil will use these various trials to try to pry your eyes away from Christ, from His Word, from His forgiveness, from His love. In fact, in the midst of this little while, you may forget about Jesus entirely. You may even forget that He is risen and reigning at God’s right hand. But Jesus calls you back, in the midst of this little while, to remember. To remember Him, crucified and risen from the dead. To rely on Him more, not less. To rejoice in Him, because He will sustain you, even as He uses this little while of sorrow to make you perfect.

And as a special way to help you, He has given you, not only His Word, but also a Sacrament, something to “do in remembrance of Me.” In remembrance of Jesus, who gave His body and shed His blood for you. In remembrance of Jesus, who rose from the dead and lives to help you. Let Christ’s resurrection always color all the little whiles of sorrow, to give you joy even in the midst of sorrow, until you see Him face to face and enter into the everlasting while of heavenly joy. Amen.

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Christ’s resurrection colors all our little whiles

The crucified and risen Shepherd shepherds His sheep

Posted on May 5, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
Sermon (audio)
Download Sermon

Service(video)
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/334307324 w=540&h=360]
Download Service Download Bulletin

Sermon for Misericordias Domini – Easter 2

1 Peter 2:21-25  +  John 10:11-16

Today, the Second Sunday after Easter, marks 12 years since I was installed as shepherd of this congregation. And I preached my first sermon here the following Sunday, the Third Sunday after Easter. Like today, the Gospel for that Sunday was from John chapter 10, about Jesus the Good Shepherd, since the WELS liturgical calendar is off by a week from the historic calendar we now use. So both this day in the Church Year and this chapter from John’s Gospel hold special meaning for me as I’m still privileged to stand before you 12 years later.

Regardless of whether we hear about the Good Shepherd on the Second or the Third Sunday after Easter, it’s fitting that we hear this text after Easter, because it took Good Friday and Easter Sunday to show us the full import of Jesus’ words. It’s the crucified and risen Shepherd who shepherds His sheep. He did that shepherding by living and dying. He does that shepherding by sending and bringing.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord. The good shepherd gives 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, sees the wolf coming and leaves 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, not one. As Isaiah wrote, we all like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, every one, to his own way.

When did we last hear those words? Oh, that’s right. We heard them on Good Friday. Why? Because, as Isaiah’s prophecy continues, the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. The Scriptures of Good Friday should still be fresh in your minds. Now tie them to Jesus’ words: the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. He gave it 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, 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 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, other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, 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 ministers to you, to supply your every need of body and soul.

And now, as St. Peter wrote in today’s Epistle, He 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.

 

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The crucified and risen Shepherd shepherds His sheep

Life through the Word of Christ

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
Sermon (audio)
Download Sermon

Service(video)
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/332985694 w=540&h=360]
Download Service Download Bulletin

Sermon for Quasimodogeniti – Easter 1

1 John 5:4-10  +  John 20:19-31

At our Easter Vigil this year, we listened as the prophet Ezekiel, referred to as the “son of man,” spoke life into a whole valley full of dry bones. Those bones didn’t just represent death. They represented fear, despair and hopelessness on the part of Israel. Israel was destroyed. Judah was in exile. And there was no possible way they could come out of it – no solution, no plan of action. And they despaired. And that was wrong. They had a faithful God who had promised to help them and who had never lied to them. But the devil got them to forget all about God’s faithfulness and kindness and turn inward on themselves, on how bad things looked for them. Humanly speaking, there was no hope for them. No human solution could save them. They were dead.

But where there’s death, that’s where the Spirit of God goes to work, on dead things, on hopeless things that can’t move a muscle to help themselves. A valley full of dead, dried up bones? Perfect! Prophesy, son of man! Prophesy to the breath! And by the simple words spoken by God’s called spokesman and prophet, Ezekiel, the dead, dry bones – those hopeless, fearful Israelites—lived. There was death in that valley. But then, there was life.

There was death in the upper room on Easter Sunday evening. There was dead, dried up faith on the part of Jesus’ ten apostles who were there. There was fear and hopelessness. They despaired. And that was wrong. They had a faithful God who had promised to defeat death and who had never lied to them. But the devil got them to forget all about Jesus’ faithfulness and kindness and turn inward on themselves, on how bad things looked for them – and for Jesus. As far as they were concerned, their God was dead.

But then He wasn’t. The women had seen Him. Peter had seen Him, and the Emmaus disciples. Life was breaking into the upper room by the word of Jesus’ resurrection. And then Life stepped into the room. Right through the locked doors. And He spoke words of life, “Peace be with you.”

That’s a powerful word when it’s spoken by the very Son of God, the crucified and living One. Wouldn’t you like to hear it from His lips? But that’s just the thing. If you want to believe in Jesus at all, then you have to take Him at His word. And what does His word say? As the Father has sent Me, 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, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

How could Ezekiel bring dead bones to life? Because God put His words into Ezekiel’s mouth, so that when Ezekiel spoke life into those bones, it was really the Almighty God speaking. In the same way, Jesus wants to come to you today, not with a personal, visible appearance, but in the words of the one whom He has sent. It’s the same life, the same peace, the same forgiveness. He gives authority on earth to declare peace to repentant sinners, to forgive sins and to bring the dead to life with a word.

And those who believe are comforted. And whoever does not believe will be condemned – unless the Lord of life brings life to the unbelieving before it’s too late, as He did with Thomas.

Stubborn Thomas. Whose fault was it that he didn’t believe all the eyewitness reports he heard? Whose fault was it that he didn’t believe Jesus’ own words promising his resurrection? None but Thomas was to blame. Stubborn and unbelieving. Stubborn and needing to be convinced by reason, by science. I won’t believe unless I see and touch and handle. That’s death. That’s hopelessness and despair. Because that is unbelief.

Now, maybe you’ve disbelieved and lashed out like Thomas, too. Even lifelong Christians can fall into the grievous sin of despair. But your despair or your disbelief doesn’t change the truth. Jesus was crucified, whether you believe it or not. He died and paid for all sins. He was buried. He rose from the dead, whether you believe it or not. He lives. He reigns. He keeps His promises. So you might as well believe it.

Jesus confronted Thomas in his unbelief and his demand for proof. Put your finger here and here and here and here. Put your hand here. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing. And the only thing that kept Thomas from running out of the room in shame over his shameful despair and unbelief was the word of Jesus, “Peace be with you. Believe.” And where there was unbelief, now there was faith. Where there was death, now there was life. And then Thomas did what faith does. It confesses, “My Lord and my God.”

Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. And then, it’s almost as if Jesus looked up from Thomas, across time and space and right into this room, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Those words are spoken for you, you who have not seen and yet have believed. You are blessed.

And you need to hear those words over and over again, because you don’t get to see in this life. You don’t get to see the resurrected Jesus. You may see trouble and sickness and suffering. You will see temptation and your own sinful nature pulling you back into yourself, dragging your eyes away from Jesus, so that you forget about God and His faithfulness and despair of His help.

But God has left us a witness on earth that’s just as good as seeing Jesus. Really, honestly, just as good as seeing Jesus. Actually, it’s even better. How many people saw Jesus and still disbelieved? But the Spirit of God bears witness, because the Spirit is truth…And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. The Spirit of God always works through the Word of God, whether it was the word spoken by Ezekiel, or the word spoken by Jesus, or the word spoken by His apostles, which, today, means pastors. What is the Spirit’s testimony? This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Believe His testimony about the risen Lord Jesus and the life He gives and the forgiveness of sins He pronounces to you penitent sinners. Believe His testimony in the water, that you have been washed in the blood of Jesus and clothed with Him. Believe His testimony in the blood of the Sacrament, that it was shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

There’s plenty of death all around us, and there isn’t a lot of life. Death is everywhere. It spreads like gangrene. But life – life is found, life exists, life is given only in a place. Life is in Jesus alone. And Jesus comes to you in His Word alone, and His Word is enough. These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name Amen.

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Life through the Word of Christ

The meaning of Christ’s resurrection

Posted on April 21, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
Sermon (audio)
Download Sermon

Service(video)
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/331845424 w=540&h=360]
Download Service Download Bulletin

Sermon for the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord

1 Corinthians 5:6-8  +  Mark 16:1-8

We were blessed to witness a Baptism today. And what better day could there be for it? As St. Paul wrote to the Colossians, You were buried with Christ in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses. What we witnessed here with our eyes was the washing of a baby with a little water—water that was used by God’s command and connected to God’s word. Now, if Jesus is dead, then that Baptism was a sham, nothing but the observance of a worthless tradition. But if Jesus is alive, then God was doing something amazing behind the scenes—He was counting Jesus’ death for sins to that baby. He was counting Jesus’ righteousness to that baby. He was forgiving that baby’s sins, giving him a new birth, and making him alive together with Jesus. So, yes, an Easter Sunday Baptism is most fitting.

Equally fitting is for all the baptized to remember their Baptism when we remember Christ’s resurrection. Not long before he died, St. Paul wrote to Timothy, Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel. It was good for Paul to dwell on that fact before he died, because he, too, had been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and so Jesus’ resurrection gave him a sure hope for the day of his death. It would be good for Timothy also to dwell on the fact of Christ’s resurrection as he carried out his ministry in a world that was increasingly hostile to Christians. Today, on Easter Sunday, it’s good for us to dwell on it, too, and to consider not only the fact of it, but the meaning of it.

Jesus Christ was truly raised from the dead. He lives forever—not metaphorically, not in our hearts or in our imagination, but really and truly, with His real flesh and blood, born of the virgin Mary, He stepped out of His tomb on the third day after His crucifixion. The angel announced it to the faithful women, who found the stone already rolled away from His tomb when they arrived early in the morning. 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. They, in turn, told His disciples, who were all very surprised—and doubtful—when they heard it.

It really shouldn’t have surprised them as much as it did. Jesus had told His disciples how He would be killed and rise on the third day. He had never lied to them, and He had performed so many miracles, including raising people from the dead, that they should have known He would perform this one, too. And the women—they should have believed the women, although even the women didn’t believe until they saw Jesus with their own eyes. Not even the stone rolled away or the empty tomb or the angel could convince them.

What if you saw what the women saw? The stone rolled away, the empty tomb, the folded grave clothes, and the angel sitting where Jesus had been? Then what? Then you would have been just as alarmed, just as terrified as those women were. Because an empty tomb, all by itself, isn’t the Gospel.

The resurrection of Jesus is a fact. It happened. But what does it mean? Is it a fact that saves or is it a fact that damns? The only way to know what it means is to hear what God reveals about it in the preaching of the gospel. Again, as Paul wrote to Timothy, Remember that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead according to my gospel. What is that gospel?

Well, in the words of Psalm 2, which gives us a prophecy about the Christ, Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. So those who put their trust in the risen Son of God are blessed! But those who do not put their trust in Him will perish by His wrath.

According to the gospel, then, the empty tomb of Jesus means that His enemies and all who hate Him had better be very afraid. The resurrection of Jesus is terrible news for the devil and his demons. It’s terrible news for the one who wants to get to heaven by serving some other god, or by offering God his own good works as his ticket to heaven, or for the one who denies the existence of God or a life after death. It’s terrible news for all who refuse to repent of their sins. Because if Jesus is dead, then you get to decide what’s right and wrong for your life, and then when you’re dead, you’re dead. That’s it. But if Jesus was raised from the dead, then there will also be a resurrection of all the dead, as Jesus Himself declared, and a Judgment Day for all, where Jesus Himself is Judge. So for the impenitent and unbelieving, the empty tomb of Jesus should be cause for fear. No wonder so many people want to live in denial of the resurrection!

But for those who want a sure refuge from God’s wrath, for those who mourn over their sins, for all who want to be reconciled to God, the gospel reveals this truth: that Jesus was delivered up for our sins and raised to life for our justification. His death was sufficient payment for all sin, for every sin, for the worst sinner, for His most bitter enemy; and His resurrection means that all who hope in Him, all who trust in Him, all who look to Him for forgiveness of their sins are absolved before God’s courtroom in heaven. The empty tomb means the justification of all who believe in the risen One.

And with justification comes every gift and benefit of Christ: the adoption as God’s children, the full acceptance into eternal life, the daily forgiveness of sins in this Christian Church, the daily help, guidance and protection of a risen Savior, and the promise of your own empty tomb and the empty tomb of your faithful loved ones when Jesus returns, for judgment against all who refused to repent, and with eternal blessedness for His believing people.

No, Jesus’ empty tomb all by itself is still a scary thing, and those faithful women who visited Jesus’ tomb on Easter Sunday remained afraid until, later that day, they saw Jesus for themselves and, more importantly, heard His gospel, His word of peace. Then they rejoiced with a joy that even the bitterest persecution couldn’t take away.

That same joy is intended for all of you here today: for the newly baptized, for all the baptized, and for the unbaptized who are now being invited to be baptized. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel. Let His enemies remember and repent! Let His people remember and rejoice! Amen.

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The meaning of Christ’s resurrection

The Rosy-Red Water of Baptism

Posted on April 19, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
Sermon (audio)
Download Sermon

Service(video)
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/332341412 w=540&h=360]
Download Service Download Bulletin

Sermon for Good Friday

+  Isaiah 52:13-53:12  +  John 18:1-19:42  +

On this solemn day, I’d like you to turn your thoughts to Holy Baptism. We’ll be celebrating a Baptism this coming Sunday and we’ll talk about it more then, too. But it’s fitting that we give it some time today, too. Baptism and Good Friday. Washing and dying. Water and blood. They don’t seem to go together, do they? It’s the blood of the Lamb that captures our attention on Good Friday. It’s the gory scene of torn flesh from the floggings, of thorns driven into the head of Christ, of nails and spear and a dead body bandaged in cloths that were once white, but now are stained red with blood as His body is laid in the tomb. Good Friday was a day full of shame and pain and death.

On the other hand, Baptism is characterized by cleanness and life and joy. On that happy day when parents bring their children to the font, or when an unbaptized adult comes forward for that Holy Sacrament, no one is thinking about the bloody mess of Good Friday. If anything, it’s the joy of Easter resurrection that fills our thoughts, not the torture and death of the Passover Lamb.

But what does St. John say in the Book of Revelation about the great multitude in heaven, standing before the throne of God? He writes, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. A washing in the blood of Christ that cleanses and whitens!

What was it again that John saw streaming from Jesus’ side as he stood there at the foot of the cross? Water and blood. He tells us that immediately blood and water came out. And then he emphasizes it with these words: He who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. He refers back to it again in his Epistle, which we heard last week Wednesday: This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. Commenting on those words, Luther once wrote: Thus St. John pictures our dear baptism for us in this way, so that we shall not regard and look only at the clear Water, for, he says, Christ comes “not with water only…but with the water and the blood”. Through such words he desires to admonish us to see with spiritual eyes and see in baptism the beautiful, rosy-red blood of Christ, which flowed and poured from his holy side. And therefore he calls those who have been baptized none other than those who have been bathed and cleansed in this same rosy-red blood of Christ.

Martin Luther rightly made that connection between Good Friday and baptism, just as the Apostle John himself had done, just as you and I must do. Baptism and Good Friday belong together, because it’s the “rosy-red blood” of Christ, the Paschal Lamb, that sanctifies the water so that the water, in turn, can sanctify the one who is washed in it.

“We were, therefore, buried with Christ through baptism into death,” St. Paul wrote. On that happy day when parents bring their children to the font, when you yourself received this Holy Sacrament, the striking picture painted by Holy Scripture is of God taking that child or that adult and whisking him or her away, back through the ages, across the ocean, and hanging the baptized onto the cross of Christ Jesus, and placing the baptized into Joseph’s newly carved tomb, so that, together with Christ, he or she has now been punished for all sin. Together with Christ, the baptized has now paid the wages of sin, which is death, and together with Christ, the baptized has now also been raised from the dead. He is forgiven, justified, and saved from the power of sin, death and the devil.

This is the object of faith, this is what faith clings to: that Christ truly died, not for His sins, but for ours; that He was truly raised from the dead, not for His justification, but for ours, and that we have been baptized into Christ. Your Baptism really happened, just as the events of Good Friday really happened, just as the events of Easter Sunday really happened, and there’s nothing in the world that can change it. No sin can undo it. No tragedy can overturn it. Not even death can affect it. You don’t have to go searching in yourself for some goodness you can rely on in the hour of your death, for some past deeds that might hopefully pry the doors of heaven open long enough for a sinner like you to sneak in. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” Period.

How can you be sure? Because, “It is finished!” All the blood has been spilt for sin that ever needs to be spilt, spilt by Jesus and applied to you by the power of the Word of God that is in and with the water—water that appears clear to the naked eye, but to the eye of God, appears rosy-red. All the gifts won by Christ on Good Friday are yours through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Amen.

 

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Rosy-Red Water of Baptism