The Fourth Sunday of Easter – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. John 16:16-23
In Christ Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before him—the joy of saving you—endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”—from which He dispenses His gift of joy to you (Heb. 12:2), dear fellow redeemed:
The chief priests had the apostles arrested for their public preaching and teaching. They and the Jewish Council strictly charged the apostles to stop teaching in the name of Jesus. They threatened them in every way. They physically attacked them and beat them up. But instead of going silent or going into hiding, the apostles went right back to their work, “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Act. 5:41).
Paul and Silas received the same rough treatment when they proclaimed the Gospel in Philippi. They were beaten with rods and sent bruised and bleeding to prison where their feet were fastened in the stocks. How did they respond to this unjust treatment? They passed the night by “praying and singing hymns to God” (Act. 16:25).
Not just the apostles have responded in this way. We hear rejoicing from the lips of people who have lost all their earthly possessions, people who have been attacked for speaking the truth in love, people who experience weakness and pain from a terminal illness, people standing at the graves of their loved ones. How can people in these circumstances rejoice? How is this possible?
Unbelievers do not understand. When Christians are in some sort of crisis, they are quick to ask, “Where is the God that you say loves you and cares for you? If He loves you, why would He let you go through these difficulties?” They think that believing in God is only worth it if it makes your life better on earth. “What good is a God who doesn’t keep you from pain and suffering?” Thoughts like these have crossed our own minds as well. We wonder why God lets certain trials come our way, or why He doesn’t bring us immediate healing and help.
Jesus does not promise His followers a care-free and happy life on earth. In today’s reading, He told His disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.” He shared these words with them the same night He was betrayed and arrested before He was nailed to the cross on the following day. His suffering and death would cause them great sorrow, while many others would rejoice. But their sorrow would last only “a little while.” They would see Him again, and their sorrow would turn into joy.
Those were comforting words, but the sorrow and pain were still out in front of them. They heard the promise, but they couldn’t understand what blessings would come of it. We also hear God’s promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5), that He is with us always (Mat. 28:20). And yet, it’s easy to forget that when we are preparing for a challenging life event. Maybe it’s a hard treatment plan or a complicated surgery, and we don’t know if it will fix the problem. Or we know we should speak to someone about his wrongdoing, but we are afraid of the anger or repercussions that could come from it. Or we know we should admit our own sins, but we don’t want anyone to think less of us.
Jesus used the example of a woman going into labor and delivery. She is thankful that God has blessed her with a baby and given her strength to carry it for nine months. She is eager to meet her little one. But the pain is real. In the midst of that pain, she might feel that no one understands the suffering, and that it may never come to an end. But then it does, and “she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”
Jesus said to His disciples that in a similar way, they had sorrow now. They were worried about the enemies of Jesus who wanted to kill Him, and Jesus’ words about His departure caused them great grief. Jesus could see the worry and sadness on their faces. He knew that while He suffered in the coming hours, they would suffer too. Part of their suffering would be their guilt at having deserted Him, their shame at all their courageous talk being so cheap. But after this anguish, Jesus promised them, “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice.”
He kept that promise. For “a little while” after His death and burial, the disciples wept and mourned as though He were never coming back. They went into hiding with the windows shuttered and the doors locked. But on the third day, Jesus saw them again. Rising from the dead as He said He would, He came to them bringing His message of peace and forgiveness. And just as He predicted, the disciples’ hearts rejoiced; they “were glad when they saw the Lord” (Joh. 20:20).
The source of our joy is not a feeling that everything is going our way.
It is not being successful at our jobs and having a lot of money and a nice house.
It is not having the respect of everyone around us.
It is not staying healthy and active till we reach a good old age.
It is not avoiding death or never having to experience the death of a loved one.
Having good things in this life and honor and a long life are blessings from God, but they are not the source of our joy. They might bring us joy for a little while, but they do not last.
The joy that God gives is not a feeling. It is a gift won for us by a Person. Our joy is the same joy the disciples had. It is the joy of a holy Man who had shown Himself to be God in the flesh, dying on the cross and then coming to life again. Beforehand, the disciples could not understand how Jesus’ death would benefit anyone. But after His resurrection, they learned that His death was the necessary atonement for all sin, and that it meant salvation for mankind. His resurrection showed the entire world that sin is forgiven, and the whole world is reconciled to God.
This is the source of our joy.
Jesus’ death and resurrection means that He is not against me; He is for me.
He is not ashamed of me; He loves me.
He is not far away from me; He is with me always.
He does nothing to harm me, but works everything for my good.
Like He promised His disciples, He also promises us that He will see us again, and we will see Him, when He comes again in glory on the last day.
Until that great day of rejoicing comes, while you remain here in this world, it could be that your troubles and struggles are not likely to change or improve. You might carry the heavy burden of sorrow over loss. Your physical pain might linger and get worse. You might not regain the abilities you have lost. You might not feel happy. But you can still have joy. If the apostles could limp away with fresh bruises and injuries rejoicing, if Paul and Silas could sing hymns while their feet were in the stocks, we can rejoice in the midst of our troubles as well.
We always have cause for rejoicing because Jesus is our Savior—every minute, every hour, every day, for a lifetime. St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi after he had experienced that beating and imprisonment in their hometown: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Phi. 4:4). The key to our rejoicing is “in the Lord,” in what He has done for us and what He continues to do for us.
When He meets us in the Divine Service, He brings joy with Him. We express this joy after the Absolution, the forgiveness of our sins, by joining the angels in their Christmas song, “Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” We sing for joy after hearing Jesus’ words in the Holy Gospel, “God be praised for His glad tidings.” We greet Him with joy in the Communion liturgy like the people did on Palm Sunday, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” And after we receive His body and blood for the remission of our sins, we sing in the hymn of thanksgiving, “Break forth, my soul, for joy and say: What wealth is come to me this day!” (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #325, v. 2).
Our Sunday gatherings are filled with joy. Even the fact that we worship on Sunday is an expression of joy because Sunday is the day of our Lord’s resurrection. But you might not always or even very often feel the joy when you come to church. That doesn’t mean there is something wrong with you or your faith. You might come here carrying very heavy burdens, invisible to everyone else, and you don’t feel very joyful.
There is joy here, but it doesn’t always come through feelings. It does come through Jesus’ Word and Sacraments. These holy means are how the Holy Spirit works joy in our hearts, even when we are suffering. Joy is second on the list of the fruit granted by the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy” (Gal. 5:22). The Holy Spirit brings you joy as a gift through the message of Christ’s death and resurrection.
No matter how much suffering you have to endure, how much sorrow, how much injustice, how much pain, how much affliction, no one can take away from you what Jesus has done for you. No one can take away His perfect life that counts for your righteousness before God. No one can take away His holy blood that washes you clean from all sin. No one can take away His victory over death that assures you of your resurrection on the last day and eternal life with Him.
And if no one can take away your Jesus, what He has done for your salvation, then no one can take away your joy. Jesus’ promise long ago to His disciples is just as much a promise to you: “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and No One Will Take Your Joy from You.”
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “Jesus Discourses with His Disciples” by James Tissot, 1836-1902)
The First Sunday in Lent – Vicar Anderson sermon
Text: St. Matthew 4:1-11
In Christ Jesus, who beat back all of the temptations that we face in this life, who fights the devil for us, dear fellow redeemed:
The battle of good versus evil is pretty much in every single script for any superhero and action movie. The only way these movies or TV shows succeed is if you have a humble yet powerful superhero who the viewers will love, take on the evil character. The movie usually has the hero finding himself throughout the story. This then leads to the climax that happens at the end. To add a little flavor, sometimes the hero will have already fought and lost to the bad guy. Here is where all these movies and TV shows find their origin. Jesus has begun his public ministry and as soon as He starts, He is going head-to-head with the prince of this world. This is the first climax and Satan is not hiding behind his punches. What Satan thinks is a cat and mouse game, it is a boxing match that Jesus intends to not lose. Our text is giving you a front row seat as the Adversary takes on your Savior and the Adversary is the one outmatched.
Jesus after being baptized by John, is led into the wilderness. Satan thinks he is ready for the showdown. He strikes when it seems that Jesus is most vulnerable. Jesus had just fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. The majority of people cannot go this long without food. Here comes Satan when Jesus is weak with hunger, and he tells Jesus to turn these stones into bread. Satan is always armed with his half-truths, hoping to get Jesus to trip up. He tempts Jesus with food that can only provide comfort for a little while. He shows Jesus’ ways in which He can give up on living this earthly life. This life is hard, why should Jesus have to make sacrifices, especially for sinners? He flaunts Jesus with the pleasures of the world to get him to give up. Satan shows his knowledge of Scripture, misinterpreting passages to use against Jesus. Jesus must trust the Father’s plan of salvation and it will not be easy.
The surgical strikes that Satan uses against Jesus are the same strikes that are used against us. These heat seeking missiles hit their mark. He tempts us with the power that we think we can use to change our outcomes. He often uses the temptations of wealth and social status. We see that with social media platforms like Tiktok, Snapchat and Instagram. To have power, we must look better than the competition. To be better than our friends, we have to know the latest gossip and have to share it. We are very quick to compare our accomplishments with others. We are quick to look on with lust over what someone else has. The devil also deliberately uses God’s Word against us the same way in which he used it against Christ. He twists the meaning of passages that apply to society saying, “Did God really say that you can’t do that?” The same temptation used in the Garden.
We test God when we throw ourselves into danger. We hear and know the ten commandments. We know what God expects from us. Yet we test God by breaking every single one. Satan waves the sin in front of us. We see that juicy fruit that is pleasing to the eye and good for the taste. Once we taste the fruit, there is no going back, and the consequences of our sins are in front of us. Like us, Jesus is also exhausted after the constant bombardment of temptations. The problem is that we give in to temptation. Repeatedly.
That is what sets us apart from Jesus. We see as clear as day that we are children of Adam and Eve. Their first sin has been passed down the family tree all the way down to us. There is no earthly cure for our sinful nature. Satan has our number. The temptations are dangled in front of us like the forbidden fruit that it is, and we take a bite almost every time. We crave the power, we test God, and we bow down to get gratification that is short lived. The sins that we commit condemn us to death. We can’t withstand the temptations of Satan on our own. That is why Jesus came to withstand Satan for us.
Jesus takes every attack that Satan has to offer and deflects them all with the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Jesus points Satan to the Law demonstrating how He will keep it to perfection. He points out that we live by God. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” He says, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” There is no reason to doubt what God can do since He is with us. Finally, He says, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘“You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”’ There is no room for Satan and his lies. Jesus is victorious over Satan!
This battle gives us joy because in all the temptations that we fall into, Christ did not give in one inch because our souls were on the line. Our whole lives consist of us failing and falling into temptation. When we are close to despair, it is Jesus who not only beat the temptations perfectly His whole life, but He also took the punishment for what we have done. Jesus withstood what we cannot. The Gospel shows us that we are saved because of what Christ has done for us. Our sins have been wiped away. Satan wants us to despair. He is the accuser who tells God that since we have given into his temptation, that we should be his. Jesus tells Satan to “Be gone,” he cannot accuse what Jesus has redeemed.
Jesus fights for us through the His Word and Sacraments. His Word is where He defends us, comforts us, and He sends the devil away. We are not wielding the sword. Christ is the sword who does all the work as it is His power that causes Satan to flee. In our baptism we are clothed with Christ. Our old Adam was drowned, and the new man arises. The place that Jesus comes to us in the Word and Sacraments right here.
Jesus contends for you and fights for you each week in the Divine Service. When Satan tempts you and wins, you confess to God what you have done and that you are sorry for your sins. Then Jesus speaks His absolution to you through the mouth of the pastor or vicar. You hear these precious words spoken to you, hearing that as you admit that you have given in to the devil and his temptations, your Savior confirms to you that He has borne all your sins on the tree. They will not be remembered in the sight of God.
The sermon is Jesus’ own Word to you, where He teaches you what He has done for you, warns you about the devil’s temptations, and proclaims to you the power of the Gospel. The Gospel comes through clearly revealing that Christ came into the world, suffered everything that you suffer in this life, and He did it all perfectly and willingly in your place. Christ has beaten Satan. Then Jesus meets you in Holy Communion.
Holy Communion is the true body and blood of Christ. The precious body and blood of your Savior is placed on your tongue confirming that the sins that you have given into have been wiped away by Christ’s blood, shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. He fights the battles within you and keeps you close to him. You can’t get closer to your Savior than in His Word and Sacraments.
By the end of the service, you know that there is only One who you put all your hope and faith in, Jesus Christ your Savior. He is the same yesterday and today. He is your armor, your sword and shield against the enemy. He protects you, guides you, and brings forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, not because you earned it. But because He has beaten the devil for you. When you are weak, He is strong. He is the Hero of all heroes, the One who cannot be overcome.
Satan thought that He could get Jesus. He thought that Jesus was weak. Satan underestimated what Jesus is capable of. Jesus is the Son of God. Satan’s temptations were no match for Jesus. He should have known this as he was told this would happen in the Garden of Eden. Satan won with tempting Adam and Eve, but God delivers to him the ultimate blow. He promised that the woman’s seed would come and crush his head. Jesus is that seed. He came into the world as a humble infant. He humbly lived a life like ours, perfectly keeping God’s Law. And then He went to the cross sacrificing Himself for us, destroying the works of the devil. Jesus is victorious over Satan and always will be. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “The Temptation of Christ by the Devil” by Félix Joseph Barrias, 1822-1907)
The First Sunday in Advent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Matthew 21:1-9
In Christ Jesus, who “comes [to you] with gladness, / Moved by His love alone, / To calm your fear and sadness, / To Him they well are known” (ELH 94, v. 7), dear fellow redeemed:
My wife and I have been working our way through a book about Abraham Lincoln’s thirteen day train ride to Washington D. C., where he would take the oath of office. While Lincoln made his way there, the united states were coming apart at the seams. Some states in the south had already seceded and had elected a new president for themselves. The federal government was floundering. Credible intel suggested multiple assassination plots to keep Lincoln from ever getting to Washington. It was an anxious trip.
At every stop along the way on a carefully designed route through the northern states, Lincoln was met by large crowds of people wanting to catch a glimpse of this iconic man. Whenever he stepped off the train, they surged forward trying to get as close as they could and maybe even shake his hand. They hung on every word he spoke. As humble as his upbringing was and as down-to-earth as he conducted himself, they treated him like a celebrity—maybe even like a king.
If you had been there in that tumultuous time, and you met Lincoln at one of his train stops, what would you have done? What might you have said to him? To this point, Lincoln hadn’t done much more than talk. Was he really up for the task of leading a country that was on its way to civil war? Was he truly the man for this moment? There were many hopes, but also many questions.
The coming of Jesus to Jerusalem was met with just as much excitement and just as many questions. The people knew Jesus was special. They had seen Him perform many miracles, including the raising of Lazarus from the dead not far from Jerusalem. They also knew that the Jewish religious leaders despised Jesus and wanted Him silenced. No doubt the Roman authorities were aware of these things, and they were anxious to maintain the peace and avoid an uprising, especially now that the city was jammed full of people attending the annual Passover celebration.
If you had been in Jerusalem at the beginning of that festival week, and Jesus came riding down toward you from the Mount of Olives, what would you have done? What might you have said? We know what the Israelites did. They removed their outer garments and cut branches from nearby trees, and they laid them on the ground in front of Him. They wanted to create a soft carpet for Jesus’ arrival. They wanted Him to know He was most welcome.
But while the donkey’s hooves may have fallen quietly on the path, the crowd was anything but quiet. The people who went before Him and those who followed Him were shouting and singing the words of an old song, perhaps as much as 1,000 years old. “Hosanna!” they cried, which means, “Save us, we pray!” “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
They were shouting the words of Psalm 118, a messianic song of victory. They believed the coming of Jesus was the fulfillment of these words. They welcomed Him as a king, “the Son of David.” Just what sort of king He would be was not clear to them, but they almost certainly had nationalist notions in mind. Jesus could lead them into a new era of earthly glory and prosperity, free from the rule of outsiders, like the rule of the great king David!
But Jesus was not that sort of king. By the end of the week, He stood before Pilate and said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (Joh. 18:36). His kingdom was heavenly. He was looking to gain eternal souls, not earthly subjects. He would win them in a most surprising way. It would not be done by political deal-making, alliance building, or a superior show of strength. Jesus secured freedom for the captives by suffering. He brought them life by dying. He won everything for them by appearing to lose it all.
Jesus came to do what the people were crying out for, “Hosanna! Save us, we pray!” But it wasn’t salvation from corrupt religious leaders or pagan overlords. He saved them from their sin and death. It is rare and perhaps even impossible for an earthly leader to do something that benefits everyone. But what Jesus accomplished was for everyone. He suffered and died for everybody’s sins. He made no distinctions, played no favorites. Jesus was there on the cross for all sinners.
That means He was there for you. When Jesus received His crown of thorns and was pinned to that gruesome instrument of death, you didn’t exist. You wouldn’t exist for nearly 2,000 years! But God the Father saw the wrongs you would do and the good you would leave undone as clear as day. All sin was before Him, and He placed all of it on His holy Son. All your pride when things went your way, and all your impatience when things didn’t. All your bad decisions, your unfaithfulness, your brokenness. All of it was piled on Jesus, who suffered as though all of it was His doing, as though all of it was His sin.
Suppose you were employed somewhere, and you decided that you would do whatever you felt like doing. You broke the rules. You broke merchandise. You took whatever you wanted. When the losses couldn’t be ignored, the boss called everyone together. Now things were getting serious. How would you lie your way out of this one? But you didn’t have to. Even though the evidence strongly pointed to you, your innocent co-worker was accused instead. He was the one to be fired—not you. And he didn’t even open his mouth. He knew the truth, and he willingly took the punishment—took the punishment for you.
Knowing what your sin did to Jesus, knowing what He suffered in your place, what would you do if He met you here? What might you say? Part of you would want to try to justify yourself and pass the blame for your sins on to others. You were just a victim of unfortunate circumstances. Or maybe you would even have some criticisms of Him, that if He were a king more attuned to your daily needs and more aware of your troubles, you would not have struggled along like you had.
That would be no way to greet your King. But He would stand there patiently, looking right at you, a mixture of love and compassion and truth in His eyes. Then slowly He would lift His hands and turn them open to show two marks—marks from the nails. Those marks speak a message of perfect love, perfect sacrifice, perfect forgiveness, a message that can be boiled down to two words, “For you.”
Nothing more needs to be said. Nothing more needs to be done. Jesus died for you. He rose from the dead in victory for you. And He still lives for you. “I am with you always,” He says (Mat. 28:20). He does meet you here. He comes humbly, hidden in simple words, simple water, simple bread and wine. He comes through these lowly means to transfer all the wealth of His kingdom to you. He gives you His forgiveness, His righteousness, His life.
And when He comes in each Divine Service, you greet Him like the Israelites did outside Jerusalem. As the Israelites laid their garments at His feet, so you put off your old Adam in repentance and lay your sins before Him. That is how the Divine Service begins, with repentance. You tell the truth about yourself and put yourself at His mercy. And immediately you hear His words of absolution, the free forgiveness of all your sins.
As the Israelites also decorated the road with palm branches, so you sprinkle the path of your coming King with praises. You join the angels in their Christmas song, “Glory be to God in the highest. And on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” And as the Israelites repeated what they had learned about Jesus in the Holy Scriptures, so you listen to the Scripture readings and sermon and confess the truth about your King in the Creeds, acknowledging Him as the fulfillment of all of God’s promises.
Then in the service of Holy Communion, you even take up the Israelites’ hosanna song. Just before Jesus joins His body and blood to the bread and wine, you sing, “Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.” Then you hear Jesus’ invitation, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you…. Drink of it all of you; this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins.”
The entire Divine Service is a review of what Jesus did to save you and what He still does to keep you in His kingdom. Your King is not ashamed to count you among His followers. He is happy to meet you and dispense His riches to you. He does not ask anything from you except that you trust what He tells you. And even this faith comes to you as a gift from Him.
He is not a king who forces His subjects to be devoted to Him and praise Him. He doesn’t have to force us. When we see all that He has done for us, we cannot help but give Him thanks and praise and desire to live our life in His service. None of it is good enough for Him, and He accepts all of it with gladness.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “Entry of Christ into Jerusalem” by Pietro Lorenzetti, 1320)