Easter 4 - Revelation 7:9-17

It seems that people have a fascination with death. It seems that everywhere you look; in culture, in art, in music, in literature, in pop-culture there are always and continually discussions about death. Movies and television approach the topic all the time. News reports seem to focus on reporting murders, accidents, not to mention the death toll in Iraq. There is a whole sub-culture of young people that call themselves Goths that dress in black and paint their faces white to mimic death. There are entire television series that are devoted to the topic of those who are dead and those who supposedly have the power to interact with them. Death is everywhere. It interests us and at the same time frightens us. We can't stop thinking about it but at the same time are afraid of thinking about it too much. Death is everywhere. It is inescapable.
If you think about, our faith is really all about death. The Christian faith, and really, about any other faith, is about preparing you to die. Faith in general is all about getting you ready, it is all about what needs to be done before it is your time to die so that you will be ready to die when your time comes. Faith is about making certain those necessary preparations are made so that is no question about what has happened to you after you are dead and gone. Faith and religion tackle the all to present question of your mortality.
That can be a difficult topic to tackle. Many people question what happens to us after we die. After all, there is no scientific way to measure what happens to you. We believe by faith that we live on in heaven, yet there are those that believe that you simply cease to exist. It is not something that we can know for sure. After all, you only die once. People don't go through it multiple times. Certainly there are those who have been resuscitated and have told stories, but how believable they are is up for question – after all their mental and psychological state is influenced by drugs and pain killers, by the trauma of the event. By other factors. How reliable are they going to be? For many people it would be nice if there were some expert testimony, someone who had witnessed with his own eyes what happens to those who are dead. Who saw them and talked to them. Then we would have evidence. Then we would have a credible witness. They we could know for certain.
That is exactly what God has given to us through the testimony and the witness of John the Evangelist. John was taken in the Spirit into heaven and he saw those who have died. He was taken to the place where our deceased loved ones are, he was able to see them and hear their voices and even talk with a few of them. John saw the dead. And this image that John witnessed was not horrible or frightening. IT was not morbid, nor was there a bright light for that matter. John saw angels. John saw apostles. John saw God and then John saw people. A vast ocean of people. It was too big to even begin to count. It was filled with people of every nation and race. It was filled with the voices singing one common confession of faith, with one voice to one God. John saw those who have died and are dying and John has written it down to tell us about it.
What John saw was amazing. John saw a great multitude that served God in his presence day and night, before the throne of God. They were under God's protection, he sheltered them and he cared for them. And he protected them so that they were granted the hope that they would never see or experience any suffering ever again.
Last week, our sermon text was from Revelation 5. We talked about the destiny of the church on earth as all of creation waits for the last day to come. This destiny involves great suffering. It involves death.
Chapter 6 of Revelation is famous for its four horsemen. Last week we talked about the 7 seals on the scroll that the Lamb took from the hand of God. As the Lamb opened each of these seals, there was a new calamity that was poured out on the earth. At the first four seals, were these four horsemen. There was a white horse who rode out into the earth to conquer. This white horse brought with him tyranny and dominance. The next horse and rider was red. He brought with him murder and bloodshed.
The third horse and rider were black, he held scales in his hands and dictated a high price for grain – this horse and rider represented the presence of scarcity and famine in the earth. The final horseman, the fourth horseman was pale in its color, John tells us that this horseman's name is death.
As the end of days plays out, the earth will be plagued by tyranny, by bloodshed, by famine and the result of all of these things will be death and the grave. Death will continue to ravage the earth until its final end.
On a national scale, powerful nations will rise up to dominate the earth. On an individual scale spouses, employers, educators, even people in the church will abuse their authority to gain for themselves power that they will abuse. People will be dominated and abused by sinful men. In addition there will be murders and killings, certainly by those in authority but also in the streets and ally ways, in homes and in schools. There will be hunger. The world will experience famine. There will be those who are poor and impoverished, who die from lacking the basic necessities of life. These things are examples of the truth of this prophecy.
History has demonstrated this truth over and over again. There have been empires that have risen to power under the promise peace and stability and freedom and wealth. Not one has been able to deliver. Our own United States now stands as its own empire, with wealth and military power that has been unmatched throughout human history. Yet with all of our military might, have we been able to stop bloodshed? Have we been able to erase hunger and disease? Have we come up with a system of government that is immune to corruption? Far from it. We can see the hoof prints of the four horses as they run back and forth throughout our great nation. Despite the promises that are made by men, there is no end to the injustice and the starvation and the bloodshed.
All of these things lead to death. The result of all of these things is that people die. Death continues to be unavoidable. It continues to occupy our attention and it continues to be for some an obsession. The more we see these events occurring all around us the more we are forced to wrestle with the question of our own death and with the death of those we love.
Part of the job of being a pastor is that you sometimes have the opportunity to go into hospital rooms where people are near to death. You have the opportunity to visit with families of those who are preparing for a loved one to die, you have the opportunity to pray with those who have just lost a loved one. You have the opportunity to witness the struggle that people go through as they near the end of their lives. That struggle can be difficult, both physically and spiritually. (Both for the one who is dying as well as for the ones who are watching them die).
However, it is also amazing to see the peace that comes over the faces of those who are staring death in the eye and who see right through it. It is amazing to be in a place where death is soon to come or has already come and see the effects of this expert witness and testimony that we have from the Apostle John. As I have had opportunity to spend time with families of the deceased this very text has become one of my favorites. It's message has so much power in the face of death and in the hopelessness of the loss of life.
Again, as we have already said, John was granted a vision of heaven. He saw in heaven all those who have died in faith. John saw a vast multitude of people, a multitude that was too large to be counted from every nation, tribe and race. John saw them. He heard them sing.
The elder came to John and asked “Sir who are these.” John answered, “Sir you know.” The elder responded, “These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.”
John saw heaven. In heaven, John saw those who have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and made them white. The Lamb, Jesus has dressed the assembly of the righteous in heaven cleansing them with his own blood. Sins no longer trouble them. As those who are dying remember their sins they hear of the cleansing blood of Jesus and they are reminded that they are forgiven. When they look back at the sins of their life they know that they have all been washed away. They know that because of the blood of Jesus, their suffering is soon to end. They know that they will soon be in the care of Jesus. They know that they won't ever suffer any pain or discomfort or sadness ever again.
For those who have lost a loved one, they know that their parent, their brother or sister, their friend is in heaven. He is standing before the throne of God and serving him in his temple. She is singing with the saints and angels. Together with all the saints they are enjoying the love and the warm embrace of God himself as he protects them and shields them so that nothing will ever harm them.
It is true that people today have a preoccupation with death. It is true that death unsettles them and because of sin it should. But it need not. Because of the blood of the lamb we have been cleansed. We have been washed clean. Our sins are washed away. Because of the blood of jesus we have the hope and the comfort that all those who die in faith are in heaven under the care and the protection of Jesus. Jesus has overcome death. He has taken away death's injury and sting and he has promised us life.
Amen.

Easter 3 - Revelation 5:1-14

So what do we do now? Three weeks ago it was Easter Sunday. We talked about Jesus' resurrection from the dead. We read from Luke 24. We heard about the women at the tomb, the two angels, the unbelievable report to the disciples. We said that because Jesus has been raised from the dead our lives are new, they are different. Our lives are filled with hope and joy. That was three weeks ago. Since then Easter has come and gone. The very next day, despite the celebration within these walls, we went right back out into the world, our noses back to the grindstone. Between Sunday and Monday no too much had changed. Between Easter Sunday and today, three weeks later not too much has changed. For all the Easter hope and for all the Easter glory, everything seems to be about as it was. If Easter has so profoundly effected the world, what has changed? Have we changed? Are we any different? And if so, how? If so, what do we do now?

That question is a big question. It is a question that is bigger than just you and me. That question applies to all believers in Christ. Every Christian is some-how effected by Easter. Every Christian has the hope of new life and glory that has been promised to us. Every Christian is caught in this same suspended place between time and eternity, between the promise of glory and the reality of the day to day grind. Things are supposed to be different, but it doesn't always seem that way. If things are so different, how are they different? What makes them different? And how does that change my life right here and right now?

Our text from St John's Revelation answers this all important question. John is given a vision that provides hope and that provides comfort and that provides assurance for the church as we are caught in this interim period between Christ's Easter victory and his return on the last day to judge the living and the dead. We have, because of our text, the promise of protection as given to us by the Lamb who alone is worthy and who is seated at the right hand of God.

As we ask this question about what has changed because of Easter, there are times in our lives that it seems especially urgent. There are times that we are confronted with the fact that the lives we construct are little more than a fragile house of cards. Things can happen in an instant that can completely rewrite the plans we have for our lives. Take for example the 32 victims whose lives were taken from them at the hand of one college student who had become jaded and disenfranchised from the world around him. There were college professors and researchers. There were students with their whole lives ahead of them. There are the families survived by the victims. There are those whose lives were spared yet who will be forced to relive those horrible moments in their minds for the rest of their lives. Life can change all too quickly We do not know when. We do not know how. But it could happen at any time.

This is frightening. This is urgent. And at those times that evil seems to have it way in the world, to say that we are unsettled is an understatement. And this is only one example of one tragic event. There are countless examples. There are countless possibilities of things that could happen. How do these things effect the promise and the truth of Easter? So what if Jesus has been raised from the dead? How does that effect what happens to me in this world and in this life? What do we do now?

In our reading for today John saw a scroll held in God' right hand. The scroll was written on the front and the back. The book of Revelation is a genre of literature that is referred to as apocalyptic. Apocalyptic literature is characterized by symbolic language that describes the end times. It is cryptic. It is mysterious. It needs to be deciphered and explained. The images are symbols. To interpret the text we need to interpret the images. This is not easy to do, but it is also not impossible. We need not take the book of Revelation as something that is inaccessible to us.

In the previous chapter, John describes his vision of heaven. In heaven he sees the throne of God surrounded by the thrones of the 24 elders. These 24 elders represent the 12 tribes of the Old Testament church and the 12 apostles of the New Testament Church. God was attended by the four living creatures, the four cherubim or a special order angels that serves in the presence of God. All of heaven was falling down before the throne of God to worship him in his glory.

It was then that John saw the scroll in the right hand of God the father. Our text tells us that John saw that the scroll was written on both sides. It was written on the inside and out. In other words, the scroll was complete, it contained the totality of God's message – nothing was left out. But the scroll was sealed shut. It was sealed with 7 seals.

[A seal was a mark of authority that was given to keep unauthorized persons out. For example, the seal that Pontius Pilate placed on the tomb of Jesus was a mark of authority. It made it illegal for anyone to open the tomb. The tomb was opened, however, by one who had a higher authority.. In Roman law, it was customary for a last will and testament to be sealed with 7 seals as was the scroll here in our text]. The message is clear. The scroll is God's last will and testament for his creation. The scroll holds the destiny that God has laid for his people the Church. The future of his people and of all creation is set. In order for the stipulations of a last will and testament to be set in motion, the will must be opened and the will must be read. If the will remains shut then nothing can happen, the will and its stipulations can not be enacted. In order for the destiny of God's church to come about the scroll must be opened. It must be read.

A great and mighty angel called out through all of heaven and earth to find someone who had the authority to open the scroll. No one could be found. John began to weep. The destiny of the church was hanging in the balance. The consequences of the scroll remaining closed were dire.

We have all seen or heard of this happening. Someone dies, the will is not in order or is contested and the settling of the estate falls into turmoil. People come out of the wood work claiming to have a right to a share of the inheritance. Without a clear reading of the will the rights of the heirs are questioned. These questions are easily settled when the will is read and its stipulations are clear.

That is for the settling of one persons estate. One family, one limited group of people. God's last testament involves everyone. Every person for every time in history. As is revealed elsewhere in this book of Revelation there are others who lay claim to the inheritance. The dragon, Satan wants to destroy the estate. He wants to kill everyone of us. If he gets a hold of the will then all is lost. If the will is never opened the dispute is an open question, our fate hangs in the balance. We are at the mercy of any who would lay claim to us. If no one was found in heaven or on earth who was worthy to open the seals and read the scroll, then there would be no one to speak on our behalf, there would be no rule of law to preserve us.

That is what is so unsettling about this question that we have been asking this morning. As we are confronted with the senseless loss of life from limitless tragedies, is there no one to speak on our behalf? Is there no one found to preserve us? Is there no one who will save us? What do we do now?

In our text John was suddenly comforted by one of the elders, one of the 24 who were seated around the throne. In other words, John was comforted by one of the saints who had suffered through the tribulation on earth, that same suffering that we feel pressing down on us at some many times during our lives. And the elder said “Weep no more. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

John in his vision of heaven saw a Lamb looking as though it had been slain, standing standing in the midst of elders and the living creatures. The lamb had seven horns and seven eyes. [horns were symbols of power and authority, eyes were symbols of knowledge. Thus the 7 horns and the 7 eyes symbolize complete and total power and complete and total knowledge – the lamb in the midst of the throne is all powerful and all knowing] The Lamb who had been slain took the scroll from the hand of God. And the 24 elders, and the 4 living creatures fell down and worshiped the lamb.

Understanding this image gives us the key to our question. If we were to read on in the book of Revelation we would see that as the seals were opened and the scroll was read, history would unfold in a frightening way. There would be death and destruction. There would be kingdoms that would rise and fall. The world would be unsettled. Even as the world around us is in turmoil, we see that this in only the unfolding of the events that were foretold through the Revelation given to John.

But keep in mind the one who holds all of this in his hand. The one who directs and governs these events is the lamb who was slain. Jesus, the one who died for this sins of the whole world. The one who purchased you for his own paying for you with his flesh and blood, the one who has risen again from the dead is the one who is opening these seals. He is the one who is directing these events. In the book of Revelation, before that last seal is opened, the message of God to John is that there will be 144,000 who are preserved and kept safe for heaven. This is not a literal number. It is a symbolic number. It as promise to us that we are sealed, that we are preserved for the last day and there is nothing that can take us out of his almighty and all powerful hand.

So what do we do now? What we are already doing. Did you notice the new song that is being sung in heaven by the saints and angels. They sang,

"Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

[10] and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth."

It is a song that proclaims glory to God for his great acts of mercy and salvation. And then in verse 13 every creature in heaven and on earth sings and ascribes glory and blessing and honor and strength to God and to the Lamb. Do those words sound familiar. Consider the Glory in Excelsis that we sang this morning:

Lord Jesus Christ, the Father's only Son.

You bore for us the load of this world's sin.

O Lamb of God, Your glorious victory won.

Receive our prayer, grant us your peace within.

Or from this is the feast:

This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia.

Worthy is Christ the Lamb who was slain,

whose blood set us free to be people of God.

Power riches, and wisdom and strength

and honor and blessing and glory are his.

As we worship, the songs of our liturgy are written to be a deliberate reflection of the songs that are sung in heaven as recorded in the scriptures. We are a part of that heavenly chorus. The Apostle John heard our voices singing in heaven with the saints. We are there. Already, even now, even today we are brought into heaven to sing these same songs in praise to the Lamb of God who was slain and who sits on the throne of heaven in majesty and glory.

As we consider all of the events that take place in our lives from the moment of our birth until our last breath, there are so many possibilities of things that could happen. God offers many blessings, but there are also many sufferings and trials and tribulations that we must pass through. At times we wonder about these events and we wonder if we have the strength to endure them. At times we fear that our strength is lacking. Yet our song plays on. In faith we sing, knowing that we sing to the Lamb who hears our prayer and preserves us for his victory celebration in heaven.

Amen.

Easter 2 - Revelation 1:4-18

This past week the prosecuting attorney in charge of the investigation of the 3 Duke University La Cross players accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a party held a press conference to announce that the initial charges that had been filed against the 3 men would be dropped due to evidence that contradicted the story of the accuser. Upon further analysis of the evidence it was concluded that the initial charges that were filed were based upon snap judgments. The methods of the District Attorney were called into question and legislation was recommended to help protect the innocent from future damaging accusations that were in this case accepted without sufficient review.

In another major news story from this past week, radio talk show host Don Imus was fired after making a comment that was insulting to the women's basketball team from Rutgers University. The fallout from this comment was all over the air waves. Discussion ensued ad nausium. Few people were willing to defend him for what he said, however they did defend his right to say it. Others felt like those making comments such as this should be fired and such speech should not be tolerated.

All of this amounts to a big mass of confusion. Every time you turn on the television, every time you turn on the radio. Every time you open a newspaper or magazine you are presented with contrasting and even contradicting stories and evidence. Who has the correct opinion when it comes to free speech and who should be fired and who should be suspended and who should be permitted to speak inflammatory words against whom. Who is guilty and who is innocent. Who is an opportunist, making false accusations to take advantage of some wealthy college boys and who is excusing their bad behavior from wrong doing because they have grown up with an attitude of entitlement? It seems that we can't even believe the supposed unbiased and objective opinions of prosecutors in these cases. So who can we believe? In all of this noise where is the voice of reason? Where is the voice of truth? Who do we listen to? Do we all just form our own opinions and make our own choices and then line up on whatever side of the debate? How are we to know?

In our text this morning as John the Beloved Disciple, the disciple of Jesus was exiled on the Island of Patmos there was a voice that called to him – a loud voice, like a trumpet. A voice that called out to him and said, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, [18] and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” A voice that comes from outside the debate, a voice that rises above the debate. A voice of power and a voice of authority. And this voice says to us. “Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last. I have defeated death. I have the authority to give and take away life. And I have done this for you.”

It seems that confusion isn't just limited to examples of law, it isn't just limited to examples of ethics or even morality. The debate rages on over issues of faith and religion. What religion is the right religion. Which of the many religious authorities can be trusted. This past Monday night a special aired on PBS entitled Jonestown. It was a retelling of the events that led to mass suicide of the members of the People's Temple Church – a religious cult that was led by a previously Christian preacher named Jim Jones. Thousands of people came to love him and respect him as a religious authority yet he led them away from the truth and into their own demise. In addition to these extreme examples there are the scandals that involve pastors and priests and televangelists and religious leaders of all stripes and colors. There are the expos-ay-s that implicate the organized church as being little more than simply one of many organizations, that it has existed for the sake of control or simply its own advancement and that it has created its doctrine with little concern for the truth. That the Christian church has been deliberately deceptive so that it could better sell its ideas and grow in membership. And so with all of this noise the question again needs to be asked, “Who do you listen to? Who do you trust? How do you know?

John the apostle of Jesus Christ, answers that question as soon as he gets started. “Grace to you and peace” he says. Certainly these are nice ideals for anyone to say, but these are not mere niceties. John is not just looking for a polite way to say hello. John is offering to us these things not in a general sort of way, he is not merely offering his grace and his peace. He is offering grace from God. He is offering peace from God. He is offering to sinners the unserved favor of a merciful God who overlooks and forgives sin and the ensuing peace. That is, after the sin has been washed away and forgiven through the grace of God in Jesus Christ we then have peace. All is set right. All is put back in place. Grace and Peace from God – The Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Because John is offering grace and peace from God, the message of the text that he is about to write down and that we are about to read is not his own. He did not make it up. It did not come from his own mind or from his own hand. It came to him from God. John was by himself on this Island prison of Patmos. He was praying to God and suddenly he was given a vision from the Spirit of God and Christ Jesus. He saw one like a Son of Man standing before him. He heard the voice of the Son of Man calling out to him. He heard the command of the Son of Man telling him to write down what he saw because it was his revelation given for his people the Church. It would be his last word given to those who he called to faith in him until the last day, until the day when he would return again in glory as the judge of the living and the dead.

And notice the message that the risen Christ gives to his church. It is a message of power. It is a message of authority. IT is a message of strength. But it is not a message of law. IT is not a message of duty and expectation. IT is not a message of ethics or morality. It is not a message designed to compete with the countless other voices that are speaking contrary and contradicting messages of supposed truth. It is a message of grace and a message of love and a message of forgiveness.

“Fear Not! I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died and behold I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of death and hades.”

Can you imagine such a message of grace? Can you imagine such a message of love and forgiveness. Can you imagine such a message of peace?

Every one of these other competing voices calls upon us to align ourselves within a certain, specific group. It always seems to boil down to liberal vs conservative. Democrat vs republican, black vs white, male vs female... It seems that with each of these divisions there are competing ideologies with a whole set of assumptions and presuppositions that you have to subscribe to if you want to align yourself within each grouping.

According to Jesus there is also such a group – there are two states that are opposed to each other, you are one or the other. You can't be both. You are either living or you are dead. By default we are dead. By default, from the moment we are conceived we are headed for death, by default from the moment we are conceived we are sinful, we are condemned in our sin and we are headed for God's judgment and wrath and we are headed for hell. By default we are dead.

But there is an alternative. When we come into the light of Gods truth our sin is exposed and we are shown to be the sinners that we are. It is revealed that no matter what our political persuasion, no matter our gender, no matter our ethnic background, no matter our stance on any of the supposed hot button issues of the day, we are sinful. We are deserving of God's judgment and death we have only one recourse – to fall on our knees and beg for mercy.

And God hears our cries. Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, He whose face shines with heavenly glory, hears our prayers. And what is more, the one who hears our prayers is the one who is the first born from among the dead. He is the one who has died and who lives forevermore. He is the one who defeated death and he hold the keys of death and hades. He has the right to say who dies and who lives. He has the right to judge sin and the right to forgive sin. And he has the right to provide for us the mercy that we so desperately need.

Entering before the judgment seat of God can be a frightening place to be. Entering into the presence of the one who holds the keys of death and hell can be imposing. Especially when we are mindful of the judgment that we deserve because of our sin. Yet despite this demand for judgment God calls us into his presence on a regular basis.

The picture on the cover of our bulletins this morning provides a very insightful illustration of the biblical theology that describes the blessing of our text.

The scene is painted by an Artist by the Name of Jan Van Eyck from the year 1432. It was painted on an altar piece for a church. The painting is entitled the Adoration of the Lamb. At the center of the picture is Christ, represented by a lamb – a reference to the later chapters in the book of revelation where the lamb of God is seated on the throne with the 12 apostles and the saint and he angels gathering around to worship. This is heaven. This is the glory of God unmasked and unhindered. This is God in all of his power and might. This is a representation of what we will see with our eyes on the last day.

But it is also a picture of what we have right now through faith in Jesus. It is not just a future reality. IT is not something that we are hoping to be a part of somewhere down the road at the end of time after the judgment after the tribultation, after armageddon, after the return of Christ, after we have died. This is ours right here and right now. This is God's gift and his invitation to us.

Notice the lamb in the painting. Notice what he is standing on. He is standing on an altar. An altar similar to the altar here in our church. Notice what is placed at the feet of the lamb. A chalice with blood spilling from the lamb into the cup. This is a piture of communion. This is the Lord's Supper. This is where God himself invites us on a regular, on a weekly basis. We are invited into heaven. God himself, the Lamb who was slain, who holds the keys of death and hades, who will come again on the last day in power and glory to judge both the living and the dead comes right here. St Paul Lutheran Church becomes the earthly address for heaven as Jesus takes his seat here on our altar. The first and the last, the first born from the dead comes bringing us grace and peace in a very real a very tangible and a very physical way. We are brought into heaven. Heaven is brought into us.

As we have already acknowledged there are so many voiced competing for airtime and proclaiming so many different versions of the truth. It is often hard to make sense of the confusion. But there is one voice that calls out above the rest offering grace and peace. Offering live and salvation. That voice is Jesus.

Amen.

Lent 2 - Philippians 3:17-4:1

A few weeks ago we began to make our way into the season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday we resurrected the practice of using ashes. We have put away the hallelujahs from our worship services. Our midweek worship series has been following the theme of the Suffering Servant song from Isaiah 53. This past Wednesday we talked about the appearance of Jesus that was disfigured by his suffering, by the fact that he was beaten beyond recognition to the point that people would have looked at him in horror if they would have looked at all. It seems that Lent is in full swing. We are all feeling appropriately mournful and repentant. We all have come to expect that the next few weeks are going to be a bit introspective and melancholy so we are just going to gut it out until we can though lent and back to easter – then we can get back to not feeling so guilty about being happy.

Lent is sombre. Lent is by its nature a bit mournful. We do talk about sin. We do talk about suffering. That is all a part of the preparation for easter as we recognize that it is our sin that sent Jesus to the cross. Doesn't it then seem a bit out of character to have an Epistle reading from Philippians. After all, the book of Philippians is the Epistle of Joy. It is Paul's letter of love to a church that had shown great care and love for him while he was in prison. One of the occasions of the writing of this letter was to say thank you to them for a gift they had given to him. The church at Philippi loved Paul dearly. He was grateful. In return he loved them. The book of Philippians is an expression of the love that was shared between the Apostle and these Christians. It is an expression of the joy that they brought to Paul. With that being the setting and context for these verses, doesn't it seem a bit odd to include them as a part of the readings for Lent?

Just look at the text. There is nothing about suffering in it at all. Certainly it talks about following Paul example and we might assume that has something to do with repentance or Christian living – but then Paul moves on to talk about our hope of the resurrection – about the promise that on the last day our sinful bodies will be changed to be like the glorified body of Jesus. Doesn't quite sound mournful.

At times we might forget this – at times we might not even realize it, but every season of the church year, in fact every day of every year for every Christian is a day of celebration. It is a day of joy. It is a day to remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a day to recall all that he has done for us as he died on the cross for our sin and as he rose again victorious over sin and death. In fact, as we remember the suffering of Jesus as we recall the seriousness of our sin that only serves to enhance our joy – it burns even brighter!! When we see the hopelessness of our situation and then when we reapply the gospel we see and appreciate and love it even more dearly.

Sometimes Christians have an unhealthy fixation on suffering. There are times that people can get too caught up in thinking about all of the actual pain that Jesus felt and experienced. There are times that people can get too caught up in their own suffering. Sometimes we get caught up in our feelings of guilt because of sins that we have committed. Sometime we get caught up in thinking that we can somehow help Jesus out in our salvation if we suffer along with him. Sometimes, we get so engrossed in our own feelings and experience that we loose sight of Jesus and all that he has done for us.

I once had a conversation with a man who said that he watched the movie The Passion of the Christ over 150 times. His feeling was that the more that he watched this film and the more he was so graphically reminded of the bloodiness of Jesus' death on the cross the more it would motivate him to live a Christian life. He felt that he needed the daily shock of that experience or else he might forget to discipline himself properly. He might forget to live the Christian life.

Martin Luther, when he entered the Monastery in the middle ages, felt that by living a life and by choosing a life of rigorous discipline and even suffering would help him to live a life closer to that of Jesus. The life of a monk was one of suffering; they slept little, they ate poorly, the dressed uncomfortably, they subjected themselves to extreme conditions all for the sake of disciplining themselves and sharing in the sufferings of Jesus so that they might make themselves more righteous.

Most likely we cannot relate to either of these examples. We don't sleep on cots in damp concrete rooms. We are well fed and comfortably clothed. Most likely no one here has become fixated on watching The Passion of the Christ. But that is not to say that we do not still spend too much time concerned with our own sufferings.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking or doing something, realizing that it was wrong and then wonder if anybody saw you? Have you ever wondered to yourself what people would think of you if they found out about it? Have you ever worried about what would happen to you if you lost your good name and reputation? Have you ever found yourself nervous and defensive because you don't want anyone to know about something that you have said or done?

Now wait a minute pastor, That isn't the same thing as fixating on suffering. You might think to yourself. And you would be right. It is not. But it comes from the same darkened place in our hearts. It comes from the place in our hearts that is concerned not with the law of God, not with doing the law of God but with having the appearance of doing the law of God. Often we don't care if we are righteous. We just want to appear that we are righteous before others. We want other people to think that we are righteous. We want other people to think of us as having done all that can be done in living a good and decent life. In that way the two are exactly the same. The two are fixations on our own righteousness. The two come from a belief that somewhere inside of us there is or can be or should be righteousness. The two come from a belief that we can and should have something to contribute to God's gift of our salvation.

That is why Lent and Joy go hand in hand. During the season of Lent we come face to face with sin. We see it in our selves as we confess. We see it in ourselves as we acknowledge our many weaknesses. We see it in ourselves as we are forced to remember that we are responsible for the sufferings of Jesus.

And don't you know that Jesus died? don't your know that Jesus saw that sin, he saw that wretchedness that you were so concerned to hide that you lied about it. Don't you know that Jesus has already suffered the punishment for it? Don't you know that you are free from having to put away your sins and from having to pretend that they are not there. Don't you know that you are free to live your life without the fear of your guilt and your sin hanging over your head? Don't you know that you can set aside your fear and your depression and your sorrow and you can feel joy – real joy. Don't you know that because of the suffering of Jesus our lives are filled with celebration and joy?

In our text Paul talks about being an enemy of the cross of Christ. He talks about those who are enemies of the cross and he says that their end is destruction. Their god is their belly. Their glory is their shame and their minds are set on earthly things. There were people in Paul's day just as there are people in our day who look at the cross of Christ and they cannot see forgiveness. They cannot see that God would do something that was for them, something that would be for them a free gift. They just can't accept the fact that heaven would be their and they would have no part in earning it. How could that be. It just doesn't make sense. That is because people have such a narrow focus. People get so caught up in themselves, in their own lives, in their own experiences that they can't see the goodness and generosity of God. They can't see all that he has done for them.

In Paul's day there were plenty of examples of this. There were those who followed a path of hedonism – a path that looked for fulfillment in the experiences of the flesh. Eat drink and be merry. Live it up and experience all of life's pleasures while you can. For them their god is their belly.

For others they felt that their glory was in their own righteousness. The felt that their glory was in their outward performance of good deeds. They fooled themselves into thinking that they could actually accomplish good, that they could be righteous. As Paul says, their glory (their “good deeds”) were in no way righteous before God and were therefore only their shame.

But not us. Our home is in heaven. Our bodies are filled with sin. Our flesh is wholly corrupt and we have no righteousness. And that is exactly the reason why we rejoice. That is exactly the reason why celebrate. We are on our way to heaven anyway. We have a guaranteed ticket to paradise that has been bought and paid for by Jesus himself with his own body and blood.

There was a professor at Wittenburg University who was a colleague of Martin Luther's, a man by the name of Phillip Melanchthon. Melanchthon was a man who lived with the guilt of his own sin and was incredibly burdened by it. He would wonder about his forgiveness and his salvation. He would wonder is he loved God enough or if the state of his soul and his sin should cause him to doubt his salvation.

Luther wrote to Melancthon to comfort him in his doubt. He told him Melancthon sin boldly knowing that your sins are forgiven. Knowing that they have already been washed away by Jesus knowing that you do not have to worry about whether they have been washed away.

Luther has been criticized for this statement. People have said that Luther was telling us that the gospel is a free ticket to sin as often as we would like. Not so. We struggle with sin. We put to death our sinful nature. Be we do not let our sinful nature put to death the joy that we have in Jesus.

Jesus has died for your sins. He has washed them away. Do not let the threat of your sin and the accusations of the devil get in the way of the joy that you have received in Jesus.

Amen.

Easter Festival - Luke 24: 1-12

And returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. [10] Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, [11] but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

This is our text

It was just too good to be true. This message that the women came proclaiming. It was too fantastic. Too spectacular. Too unbelievably good to be real.

The disciples were gathered all together, still reeling from the events of the past Friday. Trying to figure out what to do now – now that their leader was dead, now that Jesus was dead – they had all seen him die.

With their own two eyes they saw him arrested, they saw his trial. They saw him as he carried his cross to the place of the skull. They saw him hoisted up as a common criminal. They heard him cry out in agony. They saw him breathe his last. Those images were all too real. They had seen them with their eyes. There was no dispute. There was no waking from this nightmare.

So when the women came, was there any other possible response? Suddenly their mourning was disturbed by a handful of women who said they had been to Jesus' tomb to anoint his dead body. They said that they found the tomb empty, they said that they had spoken to two men in dazzling white clothing who claimed that Jesus was alive – was there any other logical response than to be skeptical? Sure they all hoped he was alive. Sure they all would have loved to believe that he was alive. But death is all too real and the reality of death is that it is all too final. They didn't believe the women. Would you?

After all, how often does it happen that people simply believe what they want to believe. The truth is just too hard to take so instead of accepting it and dealing with it, they make up an alternative – one that better suits their needs. Wasn't that what these women were doing? Weren't they just trying to find a way to cope with the tragedy? Or was there more to it?

Of course there was more to it. These women were better grounded in reality than the unbelieving disciples. They had a better grasp of what had happened than the logically dismissive 11. They came bearing the truth. They came to proclaim the gospel – the gospel that Jesus Christ, the Son of God was not dead. He was alive. It was just as the angels had said. He was not in the tomb. He had risen again from the dead. He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!

And this truth. This reality. This gospel message that was proclaimed by the angels, that was repeated by the women, that was doubted by the disciples is that Jesus is alive. And because Jesus is alive we too shall live – in fact we do live. We have life. We have the hope of heaven. We have the promise that God is with us now until the end of the age.

When you stop to think about it, it seems to good to be true. IT seems like we are making it up just because it sounds so good. But it is true and it is real and it is ours because of the resurrection.

We are confronted with unbelievable scenarios all the time; things are presented to us that we dismiss because we have come to understand that they are too good to be true. We get offers in the mail all the time from Credit card companies that offer us free balance transfers, free ATM with drawls, and free cash back savings – but we know that we pay for those things with high interest rates if we are late or default on our payments. There are always lots of “great deals” that are dangled in front of us only to find out later that there is always some hidden agenda, that there are always some strings attached.

We find this to be true even in our relationships with each other. All too often we place our hopes and our dreams in the hands of some person only to be let down. Young people have day dreams of being in love, believing that they have finally discovered Mr. or Ms. Right and then after it's all said and done, they find that they have kissed a frog that turned out to be only a frog. Occasionally churches will become enamored with the personality of a particular pastor and construct the entire ministry around the man. How disappointed they are or they have been when they discover the hidden life of sin that has been lead by their leader. It seems that there are too many reasons why we should be skeptical when we hear of such good news.

At first hearing, it seems that the good news of the gospel is also too good to be true. IT seems that the words and the teachings of the bible are more than what could be real.

Take for example this doctrine of the resurrection. According to the bible Jesus was dead. His heart stopped pumping blood. His brain stopped functioning. His lungs stopped filling with air. He was gone. His body was completely and totally lifeless. He was placed in tomb. According to the bible, this dead corpse of a body that was Jesus came back to life. Life was restored where there was death. Death, that is so final, death that claims the life of those we love, that cuts down those we care about and takes them away from us Death, the one single disease from which there is no cure was cured. Death was forced to give back one it had taken. Death was forced to cough up the life of one it had claimed. That just doesn't happen. As much as we would like to believe it, it just can't be.

Because it seems to be too good to be true, people often assume that there must be some logical explanation. If we believe the historical evidence there must be some scientific explanation – maybe Jesus wasn't all the way dead when they put him in the tomb. Maybe a few days of rest enabled him to heal and wake up from his supposed death. Or we could discount the historical evidence all together. We could claim that Jesus never actually rose after he was crucified. We could spend millions of dollars on a documentary claiming that a tomb unearthed in Jerusalem contained the bones of Jesus. After all, this doctrine of the resurrection is and must be too good to be true.

But there is more to it than just a resurrection. There is also this idea that death is the punishment for sin – that death is an un-natural part of the human experience. That is what st Paul is telling us in our epistle lesson when he says that death came by one man – Adam. Before Adam sinned, there was no such thing as death. If Adam and Eve had never sinned then you and I would live forever without dying. Doesn't that seem to be an unnatural explanation for things? Isn’t death just a part of life? Isn’t it a continuation of the cycle of life and death in that is visible in the 4 seasons – the death of winter becomes the new life of spring? Isn’t death there to simply complete the circle. Humanly speaking that might make sense – but that doesn't fit with the biblical explanation. The wages of sin is death. If there were no sin there would be no death.

And then, there is this idea that Jesus' death was payment for our sin and that because he died and was raised we won't ever die. Again, that is the message of our Epistle lesson from 1 Corinthians. “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” In Christ we have the hope that we won't ever die. In fact, if you read all of chapter 15 from 1 Corinthians, Paul doesn't ever talk about believers in Christ ever dying at all – he says that they simply fall asleep. Doesn't that sound too good to be true? Doesn't that sound like we are just trying to find a way to make our selves feel better about losing those we love to death. Doesn't that sound like we are just trying to find a way to come to grips with our own mortality? Doesn't it all sound too good to be true?

Yes it does! Of course it sounds too good to be true. But does that mean that it is not true? Does that mean that the God who was so powerful that he made the entire universe in a weeks time cannot overcome death? Does that mean that the God who gives new life every time a baby is born is not able to restore life to one who has died? God can do anything! God has done this! God sent his son, born of a woman to be sin for us so that through his life we also might receive life.

It happened! As we learned from reading our text this morning, on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, some women went to the tomb where Jesus’ dead body had been laid. They went carrying spices that they had prepared so that they could anoint his body for burial. When they got to the tomb they discovered that the large stone that had been placed in front of the opening to the tomb had been rolled away. They entered the tomb only to discover that the body of Jesus was gone. This perplexed them, until they were met by two men, standing beside them in dazzling white clothing – reminiscent of the face of Jesus when he was transfigured before Peter James and John. They were shining with heavenly glory. These men, these messengers of God reminded them of the words of Jesus. Jesus himself had promised that this very thing would happen. He would be handed over. They would crucify him. But on the third day he would rise.

Suddenly they remembered. Yes. Yes he had said that. He said that very thing. They thought little of it at the time, because of course they all knew that no such thing would ever happen. They all knew that Jesus would go to Jerusalem. That he would be crowned king and that he would lead them on to victory as the king sitting on the throne of his father David. But he died. He said that he would die and he died. He said that he would be raised again from the dead and now here they were at his tomb. It was empty. There was no one there except for the women and the angels.

The women returned. They went back to the disciples. They told the disciples what had happened. The disciples didn't believe. Would you?

Perhaps the question is “do you?” At the time the disciples did not believe. It after all seemed too good to be true. But they would believe. Faith doesn’t come simply by taking someone else's word for it. Faith in Jesus never comes by simply hearing a story. It never comes by mere exploration or physical evidence or even forensic evidence. This is faith. This is the stuff that is given by God as he works through his word. The disciples did not yet believe. But soon they would hear the Word of God. They would remember the word of God spoken by Jesus. They would hear that word again reported to them, and even given to them again through the mouth of the savior himself. They would come to believe in the same way that we have believed. They would come to believe by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God.

This message certainly seems to be nonsense. It appears as though it is too good to be true. But it is the message that has been given to us by God. It is the message that Jesus died for our sins and that ton the third day he rose again from the dead. And that because he lives we too shall live, forever! In heaven. With him. All because of this one simple fact.

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed. Hallelujah!

Easter Sunrise - Mark 16:1-8

And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid. This is our text.

Does it seem to you like something is missing? In our text that we just read, the verse that I just read is the place where the text ends. We have the women. We have the empty tomb. We have a young man sitting on the stone that had been rolled away. We have a report that he has risen. All of those things are good. They are supposed to be there. But doesn't it seem like a piece of the story isn't there? Doesn't it seem like there is something that is supposed to be there that we don't quite get to? Where is Jesus? Where is the joy? Where is the realization that Jesus is alive? Look how the text ends – “the women went out and fled because they were afraid”. We have a tendency to read this with our 20/20 hindsight glasses on. We know the rest of the story so it doesn't phase us so much when the reading ends with women who run away too scared to talk. But there is another piece of information to consider here. IF you were to open up your bible to chapter 16 of the Gospel of Mark you would notice that after verse 8, that is after the place where our pericope ends there is a little note. IT says something like this: “Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9-20.” In other words, some of the manuscripts, in fact the most reliable manuscripts end right here. Women fleeing in fear from the tomb. Afraid. No sight of Jesus. No witness to any words that he said. Only fear. As we consider these verses from Mark it really begs the question. Why end an account of the resurrection in such a way. Why choose an Easter text that ends with fear. Isn't Easter about victory and life? Isn't it about leaving behind the fear and living in everlasting Joy? Where is that victory? Where is the rejoicing? Where is the comfort? Where is Jesus? But when we go back and take a closer look at our text, there is an important point that comes through. A point that offers to us hope and even victory and comfort as we consider the words of the angel. God's messenger spoke these words to the women on that morning: "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him!'" It is in the words of God's messenger that we have comfort for our lives even today. Those words give to us hope. They give to us joy. They give to us a cause for celebration. Our Joy this Easter morning is found exclusively in the truth that Jesus died for our sins and that he rose from the dead. Our victory over sin and death, the reason that we are here to celebrate, the reason that our songs are joyful is because we are guaranteed by the promise of God himself that Jesus death and resurrection was for us. His death was our death and now his life is our life. We can sing our Hallelujah loudly and clearly. These Hallelujahs are proclaimed in faith. But faith can be difficult. Faith can be a challenge. The book of Hebrews defines faith as “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith means that we believe what God says in spite of the fact that we don’t always have the physical evidence or proof to back it up. In fact, there are times that faith even seems to contradict our experience. Faith says one thing, while our experience or even our feelings tell us another. So we sing our Hallelujahs, but it would certainly be a lot nicer if we could sing our Hallelujah from experience - from what we have seen with our eyes or what we have touched with our hands or even what we have felt in our hearts. In would be nice if we always had that direct experience of God and of the resurrection. We would like to think that these experiences are better, that faith that reveals itself in our experience is the what it is all about. We want the neatly packaged life with the happy ending. We want the feeling of fulfillment or of joy or of happiness in our worship and in our daily living. We want our lives to be like a Hallmark Hall of Fame special where there are a few bumps along the way but in the end everyone winds up happy. The reality is that life, more often than not, leaves us feeling like the women at the end of our text - trembling and feeling bewildered. Fleeing in fear. We deal with the realities of sickness and death, tragedy and hardship. These things - these everyday-life issues can leave us feeling hopeless and insecure. These realities can prove to be challenges to our faith. The women at the tomb on that first Easter morning faced challenges to their faith. They were disciples of Jesus. They followed him. They loved him. They believed him to be the Messiah. They knew that he was the one who had been promised to come. They were willing to forsake everything and stake their lives on the truth of who they believed this man to be. But then he died. How could he be the messiah if he is dead? How could he be the savior of his people if he is not even around to save them? How could he fulfill all that they hoped he would fulfill if he was lying lifeless in a tomb? Talk about a challenge to your faith. What you thought was a sure thing, what you were absolutely certain was a sign of God working for his people among you was suddenly pulled out from under your feet. The object of your faith was gone and you were left with what appeared to be nothing. Would you not also be afraid? Distressed? Anxious? Of course you would. Of course you are. We all feel that way. We all experience challenges to our faith almost daily. We experience events that we do not understand. We face temptations that we feel we can not over come. We experience doubts. We also experience struggle with sin. We become drawn into sin. We disobey the commandments. We curse, we swear. We covet. We bear false witness. We lust. We steal. We deny the regular preaching of his word. These challenges that we face, and especially our struggle against sin and Satan, can often lead us to doubt. We become afraid. We worry. We wonder if God is who he said that he would be. We wonder if our faith is founded in the truth. We cry out like the father of the demon possessed boy from Mark chapter 9, "I believe! Help me with my unbelief." But that is what makes our text so very important for us. As the gospel of Mark ends with the angst and anxiety of those women we remember that the power of the gospel is not in the response of those who have experienced it or even in the experience itself, rather the power of the gospel rests firmly in the truth of what has happened. Jesus died. In an event that challenged the faith of his disciples, he was arrested and he was crucified and he died and he was buried in a tomb. But he is not dead today. Today he is alive because 3 days after his crucifixion he was raised from the dead. He was given life because his death was a sufficient sacrifice for our sin. On this day. This Easter day, we have gathered for a celebration, for a heavenly festival. We are here to remember the resurrection of our Lord. We are here in faith, that is, we are here because we are certain that regardless of what anyone might say or think, Jesus, our Lord, who died on the cross is alive. He has Risen. He is victorious over death and the grave. His death means for us that we too will live. We are here this morning because that truth has come to us personally. God has given to each of us the gift of faith. Faith that trusts. Faith that believes. Faith that knows that Jesus died and rose again and that the resurrection was for us for our life so that we might live forever. In faith we hold on to that truth and we live in that victory no matter what the world around us seems to suggest. That truth remains whether our lives have a feel good ending or whether our lives end in tragedy. God himself died for us. He defeated sin and the grave. We will live forever. There is nothing that can change that. Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James, and Salome were on their way that morning to embalm the dead body of their beloved messiah. They were expecting to put to rest their hopes and dreams that this one was who they hoped he would be. They did not know. They did not understand that he had to die. That death was part of the plan. That through death he would gain victory for them. When they arrived they did not see him. They did not know what to think. All they saw was the vision of an angel proclaiming that he had risen. They were terrified. And so do we experience terror. Terror when we realize our dreams do not come out the way that we had hoped. Terror when we do not understand what God is doing and the way that he is doing it. Terror when we come to the realization that our lives are beyond our own control. But that doesn't change the truth. The truth of the gospel The truth of the resurrection. The truth that we know even as we are looking on at the story of our own lives, the victory is there! The hope is there! It is all tied to the promise. Just as God sent his messenger to speak His truth to those women, so does he speak that same truth to us. "Don't be alarmed." Don't be afraid. Don't worry. Here at the grave, at the place where you were expecting to have your defeat confirmed I have won. In my victory I have given to you victory. You may not see it. Your experiences may even seem to tell you otherwise. But I am calling you to believe it. Believe in me. Live in me and in my truth. And in the truth of my Gospel. And in the truth of what I have done for you, you will have hope. Guaranteed.