Text: Acts 2:1-21

Come, Holy Spirit

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the Day of Pentecost is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Today is the Day of Pentecost, a Jewish festival day celebrating the gifts of God. I might surprise many if I said that Pentecost was equally important to the Christian Church as both Christmas and Easter! Yes, we know that the birth of Christ was essential to our salvation, because if Jesus had not been born, He would not have been able to rescue us. Easter is also crucial in God’s plan to save us because our Lord, through a cross, purchased our salvation by Jesus’ shed blood payment for sin. Since Jesus is risen, we know His payment for sin was accepted. Easter Sunday provides all believers eternal life.

But Pentecost stands with Christmas and Easter as equally important. Why? Because, beginning with Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fills believers and spreads the Gospel! By the Spirit’s power, all are made aware of the Gospel’s saving power, and all can be drawn by the Spirit’s action to Christian faith and service.

The Old Testament Feast of Pentecost was one of the three annual harvest celebrations of the ancient Israelites, along with the presentation of the first grain sheaf and the Feast of Ingathering, or Tabernacles, during the grape harvest in the fall. Grain in Israel is harvested in the spring, and on Pentecost the Israelites were expected to bring to the Lord the “firstfruits of the wheat harvest.” Pentecost was also one of the three great festivals for which every Israelite was to assemble in Jerusalem.

Pentecost and the other spring festivals for the life of Jesus is noteworthy. On a day when Israelites were looking for a Passover lamb, Jesus rode into Jerusalem. On the day when the Israelites were concerned about slaughtering and eating their Passover lambs, Jesus hung on the cross as our “Passover lamb.” On the day when the Israelites brought the first sheaf of the grain harvest, the Sunday after Passover, Jesus arose from the dead as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” And on the day when the Israelites brought the firstfruits of their grain harvest to the Lord, the Day of Pentecost, the first ingathering of souls into the church took place.

Early in our text, we are told that when the Christians were together, “suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Three unusual phenomena accompanied the outpouring of the Holy Spirit—the sound of a violent wind, what appeared to be tongues of fire, and the ability to speak in different languages. What an exciting time that must have been to those present – to the listeners. So much so that the Holy Spirit really got into them and made them speak in all kinds of languages. But what a frightening time it must have been as well. To hear a sound like wind, but to have no wind blowing. To see what appeared to be tongues of fire appear on people. Finally, to hear people speak your own native language when just moments before, everyone spoke the same language. Truly for something like this to happen, it must be the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, provides for us the same as He did at the first Pentecost: the power for Christian faith, life, and growth. Here, at the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gets the Good News out! In the Spirit’s power, the message of Jesus Christ is presented clearly and effectively for the salvation of the whole world.

The Holy Spirit’s miracle gets everyone’s attention. The crowds hear the sound of a blowing, violent wind. At that moment, the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit. Awe-stricken, they stand in amazement. When others heard the sound, they gathered around where the people were, trying to figure out what was going on. Some responded with surprise. Some were “bewildered, amazed and astonished.” Even the devout Jews, for the most part, listened to the message. People started asking themselves who these people were and how can these Galileans know these languages. More importantly: what were the disciples declaring? What is it that they were saying?

Instead of listening to the words which the disciples were proclaiming, it was easy to dismiss what they were saying as mere gibberish. The disciples really weren’t speaking in tongues and saying anything of merit: instead, they were drunken on new wine. Unable to comprehend the supernatural events which were taking place, they conjecture a natural explanation of the events. But it isn’t gibberish that the disciples are speaking. It isn’t drunkenness or any other natural explanation: it is indeed a miracle and Peter explains the miracle: a miracle of the Holy Spirit.

Peter explains that drunkenness is not the explanation for the disciples’ behavior. “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.”This isn’t the same Peter who was a coward, a denier, betrayer. Now, he is a powerful preacher with eloquence and confidence. There was no way that they could be drunk: it was only 9am. This was the time for morning prayers and sacrifice. No Jew was allowed to eat or drink before this time. When they did eat and drink this early in the morning, wine would not have been on the menu. In the morning, they would have eaten bread. Jews drank wine only with the meat, at the evening meal. The crowds are witnessing the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, the Spirit being poured out.

The Holy Spirit’s amazing miracle is that languages are not a barrier to this day’s Gospel proclamation. All hear “the mighty works of God” in their own tongue. But here lies the problem: these men shouldn’t have known all these languages because they’re all from Galilee. While they’re from Galilee, that makes no difference. The Holy Spirit makes sure the Word of God will be effective. How long with the Holy Spirit do His Work? Until the end of time, until the Lord’s Day.

The message which the Holy Spirit delivered that day has been and continues to be delivered today: the message of salvation that Christ has come! The message which was proclaimed in every tongue is one which we all understand: all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved!

The Holy Spirit draws hearts to faith. For one to call upon the Lord’s name is to call Him to our aid. It is through faith given to us by the Holy Spirit that we recognize that He alone can rescue us from all that assails us. The message of Joel can be reduced to one simple statement: that salvation is available to everyone. With the Holy Spirit’s work, God now stands in immediate relationship with His people. A new world was presented to those devout Jews in Jerusalem, just as a new world is presented to all who have been called by the Holy Spirit in faith. Christians were confessing and continue to confess what they have seen and heard: the clear message that in Jesus Christ, all answers have been supplied for life today and eternal life as well.

The good news is that the power of God and the Word of God will triumph over all opposition. God will not, then or now, permit the message of His Son to be lost: the message that the Lord has provided life and salvation for us all in His Son, Jesus Christ, amen.

Now the peace which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Pentecost 2007

Text: Revelation 22:1-6 (7-11) 12-20

“I am coming soon”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for our sermon this morning comes from the Epistle which was read earlier.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” These are familiar words to us all. At the conclusion of every day, we hear these words: “And God saw that it was good.” Adam and Eve came into the scene and all was good until the serpent came into the picture. Once the interaction between Adam and Eve and the serpent took place, all was no longer good. We jump ahead to the birth of Christ. Christ was born, grew in stature of a man, died, rose again, and ascended into heaven for one reason: because you and I are sinners.

Just a few days ago, we remembered Christ’s ascension into heaven. It is there that he sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he will come to judge the living and the dead. In our text for today, we see what is to come following the resurrection and ascension of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: the second coming.

In the beginning of our text for today, John sees another depiction of the new heaven and earth, this time reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. We see the river of the water of life and the tree of life. “The tree of life” first appeared early on in Genesis. Among the many trees God created, He made in the middle of the Garden of Eden “the tree of life” and “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Adam and Eve rejected God’s command not to eat of the tree. They turned away from His face—the act of disobedience. They feared His presence because they feared His wrath. They were lied to by Satan, and were tricked into thinking that they could be independent of God. They believed they didn’t need Him or His Word. They embraced the lie and the death that came with it. Because Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge in disobedience to God’s command, they were driven from the garden. Because they sinned, we too have sinned. Their sin became our sin. The psalmist David knew of his sinful nature and from where it came from: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” This “tree of life” which John sees standing before him is what would come to save all of mankind: Jesus Christ.

John, while in exile on the island of Patmos, received the revelation from Jesus Christ which said not once, not twice, but three times that “I am coming soon.” We have all seen the first coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He came to us as a baby, weak and frail. He grew up to be a man with a mission. His mission was not His own, but His Fathers: to save all of mankind from eternal death. Through His coming, death has been defeated, once and for all. Through His life, death and resurrection, we have received forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

Here we stand; the Sunday after the Ascension, seven Sundays after Easter. Announcements of triumph have been sounding all over the place. The Gospel’s content has never been clearer than in this text which insists that Jesus is the “Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” There it is before you, that powerful message that forms the very spine of life: God in Christ affirming again that He will be our God from the beginning to the end of it all.

From the beginning, He has been our God. He was our God in the Garden of Eden, giving to us all that we needed to survive. He was our God when Adam and Eve were barred from the Garden because of their disobedience. When they were barred, we didn’t see an angry God. On the contrary, we saw a God who gave us the first words of Gospel truth: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspringand ^her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”He was our God when He sent His only-begotten Son to live and die for us. He was our God at our baptism, when we were made His children. He will continue to be our God, even to our last days and beyond, when He calls us to our heavenly home. John records for us, “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”We have the promise of God Himself that He will be our God and we will indeed be His people.

Here it was where and when Jesus shed His holy, precious blood, so that men, women, children and infants might “have washed their robes and made them white ^in the blood of the Lamb.”Indeed, “blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.”Christ is the Fruit of the Tree of Life and whoever eats His flesh and drinks His Blood will live forever.

God draws us in the flesh of Jesus Christ through His body and blood. He draws us through His Word, which calls and enlightens us. We are united in the flesh of Christ. We are gathered in one place: in Christ. God sustains us with the one river of the waters of life and the one tree of life.

We are gathered to share in His blessings. We receive the waters from the river: the waters of Holy Baptism, just as young Trey did this morning. Jesus Christ has invited Trey, us, and all sinners to quench our spiritual thirst: “And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

We receive the healing fruit from the tree: the Lord’s Supper, which you will partake of in just a few moments. Here, around His Word and His Sacraments, we are gathered in the true worship of God — “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

There it stands at the Bible’s opening verses, the picture of a loving God, tenderly authoring life bringing about man’s genesis; the God who makes covenant promises. In today’s text, the curtain rings down on the Bible’s witness and the message at the end is the same as at the beginning: God announcing that He is with us at the beginning and at the end and with each intervening step!

Jesus gives to us unity in His promises. His Baptism, death, resurrection, and ascension are ours as well. We are baptized into His name. We die in His name, as Christians. We are promised the resurrection on the last day, where we will be raised in all holiness and righteousness, where we will be with God and the Lamb forever. We will see Him face-to-face on the Last Day and in eternal life. We will again possess the image of God, lost when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, restored when Christ died for your sins and mine, when He took our place and elevated us to full sonship, made holy by His blood.

While waiting in expectation for the second coming of Christ, we invite, proclaim and pray. We invite others to share in Christ and the waters of life. We proclaim Christ’s Word faithfully. The Lord of life, the root and offspring of Davis says “Come. Come you who are thirsty, accept the water of life, a free gift to all who desire it.” We pray, “Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus, and bring us to the new Eden, around the tree of life, forever more together.” In Jesus’ name, amen.

Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Easter 7C: May 20, 2007 – “I am coming soon”

Text: John 10:22-30

The Good Shepherd

Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God, our Father, and from our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, amen. The text for this
morning comes from the Gospel and other selected verses from Matthew 10.

One sure
sign of spring at Concordia Theological Seminary and Concordia St. Louis is the Vicarage
Assignment/Deaconess Internship and Candidate Placement services held each
April. This past week, several gentlemen
who started “seminary bootcamp” known as Summer Greek with me were placed into
the office of holy ministry. A former
vicar here, Michael Groves, was placed into the office of holy ministry from Concordia St.
Louis. Men, such as these, have been
called to be pastors and teachers. They
have been called to be shepherds from He who is the Good Shepherd.

This
office, to which some are called, is a difficult and challenging office to
serve in. Yes, it has its many joys and
rewards, but there are times where it becomes difficult and challenging to say
the least. Even our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, faced difficult times and challenges in His
ministry to His flock. John records for
us today in our text one such occurrence.

The entire
10^th chapter of John revolves around Jesus and His discourses to
others about who He is: the Good Shepherd. He tells those gathered around very plainly that “I am the good shepherd. The
good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.… I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the
Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” These words were meant for the people to be
words of comfort and of assurance, knowing that Christ is indeed the Savior,
the One promised of old. Instead of the
crowd acknowledging Christ’s words, they were split: some of the Jewish leaders
said that He was possessed by a demon and insane, while others believed in
Jesus because of the miracles which He had performed.

Two months
later, we find Jesus at the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem. Two months earlier, Jesus had told them that He was the good shepherd,
that He was the Son of God. Now they
want proof of who Jesus is: “How long
will you keep us in suspense? If you are
the Christ, tell us plainly.” What
more proof do the people need? Haven’t
they heard the message which He has preached? Haven’t they seen the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies
regarding the coming Savior? Haven’t
they seen the miracles which He has performed? Surely someone present had to have eaten some of the fish and bread when
Jesus fed the 5000 people. Food kept
coming from what seemed like nowhere, and there was no stopping it, not until
everyone had eaten their fill.

The answer
which Jesus gave was not the answer they had wanted to hear. What they wanted to hear was a simple “yes”
or “no.” They didn’t want any
complicated answer. They didn’t want to try
to read between what Jesus was saying for an answer. “Are you or aren’t you? Just say “yes” or “no.”

Jesus saw
through their words and actions and He understood clearly the intent of their
question. He answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe.” Therein lies the tragedy of unbelief. “I told
you, and you do not believe.” Jesus
had already clearly spoken the good news of God’s grace. From the beginning He had revealed the
goodness of the Father. His preaching
and His teaching had announced simply but forcibly that the Father loves what
He created. In contrast to those who
said that one had to do something to win the affection of God, Jesus came
proclaiming a message, the Gospel, the Word, that God loves the world in spite
of its sin.

Strangely,
it was religious people who did not want to believe this. They did not want to believe this message,
not because they did not want to be saved. They did not want to believe it because they thought they had to do
something to be saved. Unbelief does not
grow out of the unwillingness to be saved. Unbelief is the notion that God is not good. Sometimes it is the sinners who do not
believe that God can forgive. In this
instance, they people who thought they were righteous did not believe that God
was so good as to accept them without their merit. Or we could say they thought they could be so
good that God would have to accept
them.

The latter
half of His answer was more pointed, so pointed that the Jewish leaders wanted
to stone Jesus. “The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you
do not believe because you are not part of my flock.” “The Jews” show, by not believing in Jesus,
by not recognizing who He is in spite of the miracles which show His Father’s
authorization of Him, that they do not belong to His flock. When Jesus had spoken to them previously
about Himself as the “Good Shepherd,” they had become very angry.

What more
startling of a statement can Jesus make than this: that if you believe in Him,
you are of His flock. If you don’t
believe in Him, then you are not of His flock. If you want to be of Christ’s flock, then you must believe. And for the Jewish leaders, there was a
significant number who did not believe. For
those who did believe, they had the assurance that they were indeed members of
Jesus’ flock. That meant that they would
have eternal life and they will never perish, as Jesus says.

If you know
anything at all about sheep, they are dumb animals and will literally lead
themselves off a cliff or separate themselves from the flock, wander away and
die if no one is there to shepherd them. Jesus tells us that He is the good shepherd. “The
good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” That is exactly what our Good Shepherd did
for us, Jesus Christ laid down His life of perfection so that He could become
sin and death, so that you and I might have a life of holiness by His body and
blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins.

The sheep
of Jesus’ flock hear the voice of Jesus. He knows us and we follow Him. Sheep “listen to” the voice of their shepherd. They not only hear this voice outwardly. They listen obediently. The shepherd also “knows” his own sheep. He knows, recognizes as his own, and
understands their ways. This meaning is
conveyed by the word used here by Jesus. The sheep therefore “follow” their shepherd. They do so obediently.

A traveler relates that one day he came to a
well at the time when the shepherds watered their flocks. Many different flocks came there at the same
time. The sheep of the various flocks
mingled, and no attempt was made to keep them separated. The traveler thought that the shepherds would
have a tedious and difficult job separating them. But when the time came, each shepherd went
his way calling his sheep, and every sheep followed its shepherd. Every sheep of Christ knows and follows His
voice.

Passing
from the picture to the application Jesus adds, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will
snatch them out of my hand.” This
free gift of “eternal life” is assured. In no way shall the sheep of Jesus “perish.” No one has the power to snatch the believers
out of His protecting hand. Only by
rejecting His hand of salvation will they go astray.

We are all
chosen to be sheep of Jesus’ flock. That
was what God had wanted. Unfortunately,
some of these sheep have wandered away. For the sheep who remain, we know that by listening to the voice of the
Good Shepherd, all will be well. The
Good Shepherd knows His sheep and will continue to watch over us. He will keep us away from the cliffs and will
bring us back into the rest of the flock when we go astray. We as sheep follow the shepherd. God provides to us shepherds of congregations
to watch over and lead and guide, just as He did this past week when He called
223 men to be undershepherds of the Good Shepherd of the Church. We rest, knowing that we are safe in the
shepherd’s care, both in the Church on earth, and in the Church in heaven, for
we have the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life, so we may have eternal life,
amen.

Now the
peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds
through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Easter 4C