Palm Sunday 2020

"Jesus conditions hearts of faith" summarizes the little gallery for today. Pic #1 is indicative of the Epistle for Palm Sunday in the Eisenach series of lessons; Pic #2 is a typical response for anyone who takes joy in completing an apparent overwhelming task; Pic #3 demonstrates the exuberance of not only seeing the goal ahead but also of completing the race; and, Pic #4 reminds us of the course that was set out for Jesus to complete: By His subsequent passion and death He entered the Holy City for all who would believe and take the prize of His salvation. 

                                                         This brings me to my address for this morning:

“Run the Race; Make Straight Paths for Your Feet”
Hebrews 12:1-13 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. NKJV

My Christian friends: Theodicy is a term rarely heard of except in the times of war and pestilence or, as we now have today, in a time of a pandemic. Theodicy belongs to a strange branch of theology concerned with the defense of the attributes of a good and righteous God against the objections that result from all the physical and moral evil perpetrated in and on the world. Theodicy was first coined in French by the German mathematician, scientist, theologian and philosopher, Gottfried Leibniz, who was well known in Germany’s age of enlightenment. Theodicy comes from two Greek words meaning God and Righteousness.

I again saw this word used on Facebook last week as someone mocked God in view of the Corona virus pandemic. For such a rationalistic person, it was evident that there is no just God who looks after His creation to do good; but, if perchance there is a God, he not only allows evil to take place but must also be evil. The Deistic movement, where God created the world and then left it to its own recourse, was a natural conclusion for religion. However, our text this morning says that we should not be “discouraged” when the Lord chastens us; but the word more commonly means not to “faint” when we are rebuked by the Lord.

The Christian can easily become faint-hearted when he thinks that he is only to become a statistic only to be placed among those who become ill or among those that are counted as dead. When the believer wearies of this life and questions why God allows His children to suffer and die then it is when weariness sets in and the believer’s faith wanes. This is indeed very dangerous to faith when he does not remember what God’s Word says about being chastened as a son whom the Father loves. This is the same situation as when Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loves he corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights.” Therefore, a Christian can easily become “faint-hearted” or “discouraged” when he is rebuked by the Lord.

Our text begins with the exhortation to lay aside every weight, and especially that one particular sin that might easily beset you, in order to run the race with endurance. But unlike the familiar aerobics class that has a tangible goal of reaching and sustaining a certain heart rate before the end of the session, scripture makes it clear that the Christian is in a continuous spiritual race, running toward the goal that St. Paul states he is pressing on to grasp. As Philippians 3:12-14 reveals, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Like the stronger, natural heart you might hope to achieve by doing aerobics, the new heart that you have been given as a born-again Christian needs spiritual conditioning. In our liturgy, we sing the offertory, which are the words of David in Psalm 51, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”

If then the Christian is to run the race of endurance, he must have a heart that is conditioned to perform such a task. Serious athletes of this world won’t smoke or drink to excess; they also will watch what they eat and work-out their bodies on a regular basis. Although these things are good in caring for the body, which is the temple of the God, no physical activity will do the Christian any good in making a spiritual heart strong in faith. Therefore, I suggest that Christians partake in spiritual exercises that I believe are patently Biblical.

In spiritual conditioning the Christian’s heart one should reflect on Church history and study the heroes and heroines that have received the victor’s crown and now rest from their labors. The first phrase of Hebrews chapter 12, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” is a summary of what preceded it in Hebrews chapter 11; hence chapter 5 begins with the word “Therefore”. In days gone by it was those who had finished the race, those who have gone to their heavenly reward, who were counted as saints and heroes of the faith. For sure it was they who lived by faith. It was they who were enabled to endure the hardships because they were given new hearts. It was they who exercised their new hearts while running their race among tribulation and persecution. It was Jesus, their Teacher, who was with them with His spirit, leading them on with great perseverance.

Our spiritual exercises begin with looking back upon and meditating on these particular biblical people. They were in no sense of the word supermen; that’s not what landed them in the pages of Hebrews, chapter 11. No sir! These were special people because their hearts were conditioned to do what they did by faith! All these Bible-type people in Hebrews chapter 11 were ordinary people, sinners of the likes of you and me; but their hearts were spiritually conditioned thru faith in Christ to believe the promises of Gospel and to walk in ways of Jesus.
Christians with strong spiritual hearts are not those who roll in the isles, neither laugh uncontrollably in miracle-working charismatic churches; nor are they those who seek a return on any “seed offering” planted in the ministries of TV prosperity gospel preachers. No, no, no. These people, whose hearts are spiritually conditioned, are they who trust in the Lord no matter what befalls them, either good or bad.

The miracles that the men and women received by faith in Hebrews 11 were tempered with the great witnesses of those who did not accept deliverance and endured mocking, torture, great affliction and death that they might receive a better resurrection. These were they who were especially conditioned by the Lord not to be faint-hearted. Their hearts were of the same things that the hymn writer, Horatius Bonar, penned, “Thy way, not mine, O Lord, However dark it be. Lead me by Thine own hand; Choose Thou the path for me. I dare not choose my lot; I would not if I might. Choose Thou for me, my God; So shall I walk aright.”

So the most excellent way of conditioning your new spiritual heart begins by lifting it up to Jesus, “the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Friends, the heroes and the heroines of faith in the Old Testament looked forward to the time of Christ but now you yourself have that author and finisher of your faith giving you the example, and so your eyes are to be fixed on Jesus. Our Lord not only had conceived of and had designated the course you are to run but, in His own human nature, He is the One who completed the course and now gives to you that spiritually conditioned heart to follow Him without fainting. Those who refused the promise given with this new, spiritual heart must take heed to the warning in Deuteronomy 20:8, when Moses had this to say to those men of Israel that were weak in heart: “The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’”
If you have seen the 1953 Luther film (that was nominated for 2 academy awards), you realize the doubts and many hardships the monk had, then he read Romans 1:17, “the just shall live by faith”, and Luther’s spiritual heart gained strength and courage. By faith Luther wrote his 95 theses; by faith Luther burned the Papal Bull that condemned him as a heretic; by faith Luther mocked being burned at the stake or being killed as the Pope declared him to be an outlaw.

Another way to spiritually condition your heart is to accept being disciplined by the Lord as one of His dear children. Hebrews 12:4-8 reads: “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.’”
If then, Christian, you find yourself being disciplined by the Lord; it is only because God loves you as His child. It is at these times that your heart is being conditioned so when you need to bear the cross of Christ in times of persecution or even a pandemic you can endure suffering and even death for sake of you Elder Brother Jesus Christ and for His kingdom that you diligently sought.
Do not be misled, however, the times of persecution in the shedding of the Christian’s blood for the kingdom of God will never be like those Jihadists for Islam. For the Christians who suffer death and persecution do so out of true holiness and righteousness in loving both God and neighbor because of their testimony for Jesus. And it was this same Jesus who, in humility and righteousness, rode into Jerusalem this day in history in order to begin His passion that culminated in the shedding of His holy blood for all sinners so that they might become the righteousness of God in Him.

It is sometimes disheartening to hear Christian pastors give funeral sermons for people both young and old who suffered much before they died. It is sometimes disheartening because you rarely hear a word about Jesus’ sufferings and death, and His redemptive merits in whom their hope was to be anchored. Grace, peace, and love cannot be achieved without Christ; the goal of heaven and eternal life remains a hopeless thing without Jesus! Seneca, a Roman philosopher and political leader, a contemporary of St. Paul, once said, “Eyes will not see when the heart wishes them to be blind. Desire conceals truth, as darkness does the earth” This quote encapsulates America’s religious institutions as opposed to the Christian faith revealed to us by the one, true God.

Be alert, therefore, and condition your hearts spiritually by emulating the saints that went before you; be alert, therefore, and do no reject the discipline of the Lord who loves you as His own dear children. Luther once said, “If you do not want to have the Gospel or be a Christian, then go out and take the world’s side. Then you will have it as a friend and no one will persecute you. But if you want to have the Gospel and Christ, then you must count on having trouble, conflict, and persecution wherever you go.”

Pray that you may faithfully confess Jesus Christ before a world that despises the meaning of the cross. And follow Christ’s example that, in such spiritual exercises, your hearts will be strengthened as you run on straight paths until that Day when you can triumphantly proclaim, as Paul did to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Amen.

Midweek Lenten Devotion: “Only Two Religions; Only One God”

America is convinced that there are many types of religion in the world and that all of them pray and lead to the same God. But this isn’t so. The shocking truth is that there are only two religions and only one of the two is true, that being the religion of Christianity. The other religion which encompasses most of the world is paganism; teaching man that by his own works, and by his own righteousness, he can attain heaven.

But Jesus himself illustrates His position on this matter by means of a parable. This is what Jesus says: Luke 18:10-14 NKJV, “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Yes, only one of the two men stood justified before God and thus had the forgiveness of his sins and declared to be righteous. This is the only true doctrine of justification that causes it to be the cardinal doctrine of Christianity. This is the only one, true religion, by which man attains salvation for the New Covenant is known in the forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake and by His merits alone! As it was prophesied by Jeremiah 31, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

This precious teaching brings joy in knowing that true repentance indeed is comprehended only by one’s desire to be free. The one, true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has revealed the one, true, faith: Christianity is known in the forgiveness of sins ad therefore begs mankind to confess and be reconciled to God. St, Paul explains it this way: “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

As Luther stated, concerning confession, in his Large Catechism: “…whoever is a Christian, or would like to be one, has here the faithful advice to go and obtain this precious treasure. If you are no Christian, and desire no such comfort, we shall leave you to another’s power. Hereby we abolish the pope’s tyranny, commandments, and coercion since we have no need of them. For our teaching, as I have said, is this: If anybody does not go to confession willingly and for the sake of absolution, let him just forget about it. Yes, and if anybody goes about relying on the purity of his confession, let him just stay away from it.

We urge you, however, to confess and express your needs, not for the purpose of performing a work but to hear what God wishes to say to you. The Word or absolution, I say, is what you should concentrate on, magnifying and cherishing it as a great and wonderful treasure to be accepted with all praise and gratitude.”

Our Lord Christ declared that the Pharisee, with all his civil good works and all his moral rectitude, was not acceptable before God the Father. This works-type religion stands as an affront to Christ and His Church, which is comprised of all who believe in the free Gospel of salvation by grace through faith; yes, all who trust in the merits of the only-begotten Son of God. The Christian religion identifies only with the penitent sinner, who looks alone to God for mercy.

Keep this thought in mind this coming week, namely, that Jesus entered into Jerusalem triumphantly and He, as the high Priest, offered Himself upon that old rugged cross of Calvary to defeat sin, death, and the devil for you. Don’t lament His sacrifice but rather lament your sins. It is as Jesus (Luke 23:27-29 NKJV) told the great multitude and the women who followed him as he was on His way to His crucifixion: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’”

Only when you truly lament your sins and desire to follow Christ to receive His blessing, then will you see how sweet this Gospel really is. Only then will you understand why we call next Friday, Good Friday. Any other understanding of Good Friday will stand in opposition to the one true religion for the religion of works, other than the works of Christ, no matter if it is combined with faith, is still a pagan concept. 

We pray: O God of all mercy, show to us all evil intentions in our worship and direct us to rely alone on the works of Your dear Son, our only Comfort and Salvation, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

A Lenten Devotion on The Last Will and Testament of Christ
Text – Luke 22:14-20 NKJV 14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."

Dear friends: Martin Chemnitz (the second "Martin" of the Reformation), in his book, The Lord’s Supper, speaks of Luther’s “golden chain” that is simply “the command of Christ (Luther says) lays hold of the wine in the cup; the wine by virtue of the words of Christ embraces the blood of Christ; the blood lays hold of the covenant (i.e. Testament), because it is the blood of the covenant, which is shed for the remission of sins.” You may often hear people say “I have Jesus in my heart” and so forth, but they are only speaking figuratively and by speaking this way they do not have the real power of Jesus’ real and true blood, only figuratively.

Yet within the Lord’s Supper we receive these blessings and power, since the ministers do as Jesus commanded them to do in His Last Will and Testament. As Christ said, “This do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19b). Therefore, the elements of bread and wine are consecrated by Christ’s own words as recorded by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11. Jesus has communed His blood with the wine in the same way He communed His body with the bread…that is the real action of the Lord’s Supper, and then He distributed His body and blood to those who desired to commune with Him in reality and in truth.

Question: Does anyone have the right to change a person’s Last Will and Testament? So why give another meaning to the very words of Christ and thus change our Lord and Savior’s words written down in Holy Scripture? You may believe in a literal physical resurrection from the dead, but what is easier to believe: the resurrection from the dead or that our Lord Jesus Christ could distribute His own body and blood within the bread and wine in His Holy Supper as He had spoken?

The Psalm for this coming Sunday is Psalm 54 which aptly states in vv. 1 and 3, “Save me, O God, by Your name and judge me by Your strength…Behold, God is my helper.” We know that God will judge us in this matter and that He continually helps us to do His will accordingly.

We keep and guard Christ’s own words, as revealed in Scripture, and do what we are commanded to do for the remission of sins, namely, eat and drink. These two imperatives are simple evangelical commands telling us what to do according to Jesus’ New Covenant or Testament. Judge for yourselves whether or not we do as our Lord tells us, or if we have it within our own judgment to change what amounts to Christ’s Last Will and Testament. If it is changed, is it invalidated?

We do what we do for the reason that our Savior means, by this method, to have an intimate, personal relationship, and to do us good, both in body and in soul. As we meditate upon the Scriptures, prior to the passion of Christ, we should ever be mindful that the New Covenant was literally cut (Hebrew karath berith, literally to cut a covenant) into Christ’s body, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

As the prophet Jeremiah (31:31ff NKJV) spoke: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” In other words, the New Covenant is to be the New Testament of Christ that is known only in the forgiveness of sins. And, as the Evangelist Luke (20:22) recorded Jesus as saying: “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

Therefore, you should be ever more attentive to the words of St. Paul to the church at Corinth when he wrote, “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NKJV) And, of course, that unleavened bread of sincerity and truth is…Jesus! Amen.

We pray: “O Jesus, blessed Lord to Thee my heartfelt thanks forever be, Who hast so lovingly bestowed on me, Thy body and Thy blood.” Amen

A Lenten Devotion on The Lord’s Supper:
“Discerning the Body and Blood of Christ in His Supper”
1 Corinthians 10:15-17 NKJV “I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.”

My Christian friends: While discernment is exhorted in our public worship’s liturgical formula in the Sursum corda, “Lift up your hearts” or rather “Our hearts are lifted up,” joy awaits us as we anticipate hearing Christ’s very words of blessing the bread and cup of wine in the Words of Institution. However, the question may linger of whether or not the communicant acknowledges what it is that beckons his coming forward to the altar even as all sing the Agnus Dei, “O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us…”

Not only must the communicant have sure faith, without doubting, in what it is that the minister holds out to proffer him, but the pastor himself must know what it is that the Lord Christ has done in preparing His own table and thereby prove to be a good steward of the mysteries of God, as St. Paul wrote the Church in Corinth: “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”

Faulty thinking causes faith to erode so that you see what you receive from the hand of the servant of God as merely bread and wine. Many are of this mindset even though they confess that it is the “real” or “true” body of the Lord. Think upon the many times that it had been said that the Supper should only be celebrated only a few times in the year so that the congregation won’t get wearied of it or, as I have been told many times in the past, that we might take it (i.e. Communion) for granted. But remember that it is the Lord Christ who alone sets His table, who alone stated as His Last Will and Testament by saying of the bread, “This is my body” and of the cup of wine, “This is my blood.”
As Martin Chemnitz (the second “Martin” of the Reformation) wrote in his Examination of the Council of Trent: “We grant, with Irenaeus, that after the blessing in the Eucharist the bread is no longer common bread but the Eucharist of the body of Christ, which now consists of two things – the earthly, that is bread and wine, and the heavenly, that is the body and blood of Christ. This is certainly a great, miraculous, and truly divine change…What now, after the blessing, is truly the body and blood of Christ.”

Martin Chemnitz, again, wrote in his book De coena Domini (The Lord’s Supper) published in Jena, Germany 1590, “Some, of course, try to get around these statements of the ancients by saying that Christ is united with us only by some unique spiritual connection which nevertheless is called bodily…”Chrysostom in his Homilia (sermons) 82 in Matthaeum (Matthew), 45 in Johannem (John)…say…that there is a threefold kind of union between us and Christ: 1. By faith through the Spirit; 2. By love, which along with other gifts is the work of divine efficacy and renewal. But he (St. Chrysostom) also contends there is still another, more intimate kind of union between us and Christ, namely, not only by the Spirit and by efficacy, but we are truly united with his very flesh or body, so that we together with Him are joined as though into one lump (massa), through eating that which is bestowed upon us in the Lord’s Supper when He says: ‘This is My body.’ This does not take place in such a way, however, that the flesh of Christ is far distant in heaven and unconnected with us, but in a way that when we eat His body we have Him in us in totality.” (Martin Chemnitz, The Lord’s Supper [De coena Domini], translated by J.A.O. Preus, CPH, 1976 pp.163 – 167.)

Martin Luther, in his Great Confession concerning the Lord’s Supper, is quoted in the Book of Concord in the Formula of Concord as teaching: “…if I were to say over all the bread there is, ‘This is the body of Christ,’ nothing would happen, but when we follow His institution and command in the Supper and say, ‘This is My body,’ then it is His body, not because of our speaking or our declarative word, but because of His command in which He has told us to speak and to do and has attached his own command and deed to our speaking.”

Friends, you have often heard people say that Christianity isn’t a religion (which according to the common definition of religion is not true) but that Christianity is a relationship (which is true). This is absolutely the case at point. Can anyone be more intimate than when Jesus was when He was born of the Virgin Mary taking on human flesh, but without sin, in order to identify with His own creation? Could you ever be more intimate with Jesus than when you come to understand that this same human flesh born of the Virgin Mary now gives Himself into death on Calvary’s cross, for the atonement of the world’s sins? He now gives Himself to you, personally, to eat for the forgiveness of your own sins. The same can be said of the blood of Christ; for that very blood that flowed from your Savior on that old rugged cross is now given to you to drink for the forgiveness of sins. This is the most intimate relationship you could possibly hope for as Jesus truly gives Himself bodily to you in His Supper as His Last Will and Testament.

Innovations and novelties added to the Lord’s Supper do nothing but hinder the communicant from knowing the true intimacy with his Savior that relies first upon Christ communing His body with the bread and His precious blood with the wine, the same natural flesh and blood that was crucified for sinful man. Only then would the faithful have the real and substantial body and blood of Jesus. Anything less than what Jesus said could not be His body or blood but merely a spiritual semblance without the substance itself.

Luther at the 1529 Marburg Colloquy emphasized the Latin phrase Hoc est Corpus Meum, “This Is My Body!” to solve a disputation with Ulrich Zwingli over the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Courier & Ives had a lithograph c.1873 picturing a priest offering holy communion. They entitled the picture Hoc est enim Corpus Meum translated “This is truly my Body.” May Jesus’ very words of blessing ring as clearly today for the salvation and comfort of weary sinners.

The fifth stanza of Samuel Kinner’s hymn of 1638, “Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast Prepared,” summarizes today’s devotion:
“Though reason cannot understand
Yet faith this truth embraces;
“Thy body, Lord, is everywhere
At once in many places.
“How this can be I leave to Thee, Thy word alone sufficeth me,
I trust its truth unfailing.” Amen.

Martin Chemnitz, the second Martin of the Reformation, wrote an extensive evaluation of the decrees of Trent. Kramer translated his works and Concordia Publishing House published the works in 4 volumes in 1971.

Martin Chemnitz, examined this Canon Law on Justification and wrote, “in the Pauline epistles, especially those to the Romans and to the Galatians, in almost every verse we hear it said that a man is justified by faith, through faith, out of faith; faith is said to be imputed for righteousness. It is called ‘the righteousness by faith’ in Romans 4:11; ‘righteousness through faith’ in Romans 10:6; ‘righteousness in faith,’ or (what is more significant) ‘that depends on faith’ in Philippians 3:9; ‘the righteousness through faith for all who believe’ in Romans 3:22; ‘We have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law’ in Galatians 2:16.” And then Chemnitz states, “Because these things are most manifest, the papalists cannot deny them. Therefore, they seek various sophistical arguments in order that, although they cannot deny the words that teach justifying faith, they may nevertheless by weird explanations rob the churches of their true and comforting meaning.” (Examination of the Council of Trent, part 1, pp. 552-53.)

BTW As you can see, Martin Chemnitz, like Martin Luther, never said a word concerning any "Universal Objective Justification" prior to or without faith as C.F.W. Walther taught and Modern Missouri Synod now teaches.

This Sunday's little gallery below is reminiscent of Whom we are to see and where we are to see Him. Pic #1 is the devotional faith of beholding Jesus' physical presence in His Last Supper (according to how St. Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17); Pic #2 directs our attention to see the glory of the cross as Christ crucified to atone for the sins of the entire world; in Pic #3 is a not so gentle reminder, since we by faith have received the salvation promised to us, that we dare not ignore the needs of others; and lastly, Pic #4 is the cross that once was outside of the old Faith Mission near the corner of 4th and Long streets in Columbus, Ohio, where Christ crucified was on occasion preached to all who wanted to truly see Jesus.

This brings me to my address for the second Sunday in Lent: Reminiscere Sunday in the Synodical Conference Series:
John 12:20-25 NKJV “We Wish to See Jesus”
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Dear friends in Christ: Our Lord God had placed before Philip an opportunity; and what an opportunity this lesson places before you to reach out to others who have questions about Jesus and the Christian faith. The Greeks mentioned in our text were most likely proselytes to Judaism and were familiar with the Jewish customs and festivals, for Scripture says, “…they were among those who came up to worship at the feast (of Passover).”

Solomon’s dedicatory prayer of the temple speaks of such people that the evangelist John mentions. Solomon prayed in 1 Kings 8:41-43: “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.”

The simple request made of Philip by these foreigners was this: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” If their request is to be granted, they would have to “see” Jesus as all Christendom now sees Him: 1) To see Jesus means to see His death and His resurrection; and, 2) In order to see Jesus one needs to repent, deny self, pick up his own cross, and believe the Gospel.

After hearing the Greeks’ request, Philip told his brother Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. And as you look at verse 22, you will see what Jesus said about this request, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” In other words, you should see Jesus how He wishes to be seen this Lent, namely, only in His crucifixion and death. Every true Lutheran “temple” should be dedicated to the Lord’s name, the name of Jesus. Every member, man or woman, rich or poor, old or young, of all ethnic groups, needs to make that simple statement to be their own. They should demand of their pastors who stand in their pulpits to preach Christ crucified and Christ only: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

Why preach the death and resurrection of Jesus Sunday after Sunday? Simply because Jesus is glorified along with the Father in heaven and that message of Christ crucified is the power unto salvation! As St. Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone WHO BELIEVES, for the Jews first and also for the Greeks.” And just how does this power work? St. Paul explains it this way: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” What kind of future would we have if we ever forgot what God, through Jesus, had done for all sinful mankind? Could it be the future that has already come to America? This is an America that is devoid of any personal responsibility but only sucks off the teats of her government for comfort and salvation! An America that is devoid of any sense of the eternal and lives only for what each person can suck out of life now, and forgets about its Creator and Savior, is only evil.

It is true that one can claim to be a Christian and yet not seek the glory that lies in Jesus’ cross and His resurrection. But that kind of Christian is only interested in the social gospel and a socialist’s State that has only a civil religion in mind. There are many Judases who would reverence their Master with a kiss and yet be willing to betray Him just because they place their trust elsewhere. As is recorded by the prophet Jeremiah (17:5), “Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the Lord.’”

Sometimes we all forget to see Jesus, if first we can’t picture Him suffering and dying on that old rugged cross of Calvary. Sometimes we all get used to viewing the empty cross so that we forget what great work was done once for all for sinful man in the sufferings and death of God’s only Son. The simple statement, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” should be made again and again! Yes, that was probably meant only as a request for a personal interview with the Master in the courts of the Lord’s House just prior to that eventful Passover in Jerusalem. But the public was about to personally see Jesus outside the walls of Jerusalem, bleeding and dying on the cross to atone for the sins of the entire world.

As St. Paul reminded the Church in Galatia to once again see Jesus: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified?’”

In a sermon, St. Augustine spoke of the glory of the cross: “Let us declare that Christ was crucified for our sake, proclaiming it with joy and pride, not with fear and shame.” The Apostle Paul saw this reason for boasting. He could have told us many great and holy things about Christ; how as God He shared with His Father the work of creation, and how as man like us He was master of the world. But Paul would not glory in any of these wonderful things.

You, and many Christians around the world, are called to see our Lord in His Holy Supper today. You are to see Him just as St. Paul did in the words of 1 Corinthians 10:16, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” In other words, we confess along with Paul that Jesus body and blood communes first with the bread and the wine so that He is physically present in a miraculous way. Today, in the Lord’s Supper, we see and handle Jesus in this mysterious, sacramental way. And yet we cannot possibly see Jesus unless we have come to true repentance of our sins and have denied ourselves.

This, friends, is what Jesus Himself tells us: John 12:25-26 is very explicit to the detail of Jesus’ own words: “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” If you see Judas as he saw the Christ ask yourselves what went wrong that Judas, as contrite as sorrowful as he was, went out and hanged himself. We believe that in order to see Jesus as He really is you must first have true repentance. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, teaches that repentance merits graces that enable you to trust in Christ. However, our confessions point out the following: “Why did not Saul, Judas, and men like them attain grace even though they were terribly contrite? If someone should ask this, the answer must be in reference to faith and the Gospel that Judas did not believe nor strengthen himself with the Gospel promise of Christ. For faith makes the difference between the contrition of Judas and that of Peter.” (Apology of the AC, Art.XII, p.183 Tappert)

It is important to see Jesus through acknowledging your sins before Him and also by clinging to His promise of forgiveness gained for you in His cross, when Jesus, in His dying breath, triumphantly proclaimed, “It is finished!”

On February 20th of 2016, I watched the funeral Mass of the late Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, and I was impressed with the opening liturgy chanted by his son, the Reverend Father Paul Scalia. I was impressed with the way the priest began his homily, preaching Christ alone saying, “We are gathered here because of one man, a man known personally to many of us, known only by reputation to many more; a man loved by many, scorned by others; a man known for great controversy and for great compassion. …That man, of course, is Jesus of Nazareth.” I knew that he wasn’t referring to his dad the way he led others to think; Scalia was showing the thousands in the congregation Jesus only, whom many did not come to the cathedral expecting to see.

As Reverend Scalia got toward the end of his sermon he unfortunately showed another Jesus. The Jesus that he now portrayed to the thousands gathered was a Jesus that somehow left things undone by His crucifixion, namely, the earthly penalties that remained for the sins committed that now had to be purged from Antonin Scalia’s soul in the fires of purgatory in order that he could enter into eternal glory and heavenly bliss. Rev. Scalia asked for the prayers of the people to help his father and reminded the large congregation of the indulgences they were to be granted by coming to the funeral Mass that was being said for his father. So what started out to be a glorious evangelical, even a Lutheran, sermon was turned into a plea to rather trust in the doctrine of man than to trust in Jesus, who alone died to make full atonement not only for the sins of Justice Scalia but for the sins of the entire world.

There were a few moments recalling some lighter sides of the two Scalias: He also shared a funny anecdote about his father: “[Once he] found himself in my confessional line and quickly left.” Scalia also said, “As he (my father) put it later, ‘Like heck if I’m confessing to you.’ The feeling was mutual.” Luther, who saw the meaningful comfort of the distressed soul in confession, might have also laughed at that situation between the two Scalias.

But, on the serious side, Luther’s Small Catechism states: What is Confession? “Confession embraces two parts. One is that we confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, and in no wise doubt, but firmly believe, that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.” And these keys are also given to every Christian, but the pastor is called to act on behalf of the congregation.

Had Judas seen Jesus, in this way, he would not have despaired and took his own life, which now continues with this part of seeing Jesus, namely, that if you wish to see Jesus…you must deny yourself. Some may think that this is beating a dead horse; nevertheless, what Jesus says in our text again this morning is exactly what He means. “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

And as much as Lutherans believe in the separation of Church and State, we also must believe that America was founded on the principle that there are some things worth sacrificing self. These things were written into the Declaration of Independence and spelled out in our Constitution. The U.S. Constitution is our so-called Caesar to whom we are to obey, according to Romans 13, and the President and Congress are also to obey the Constitution. For the President and the Congress as well as the Supreme Court are sworn to uphold the Constitution just as much as we Christians are obligated to obey what St. Paul tells us in Romans 13.

So, friends, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ should be something you continually see before you all the days of your life and not just while attending funerals or merely during the season of Lent. You are to learn from Christ and all His saints who denied self so that that you too will not cling to the things of this world but rather learn to nail your unregenerate selves to Christ’s cross! In that way you will keep your lives to eternal life. For in this life here on earth, sin always remains but it is always atoned for by the cross of Christ so that you are pure and holy now only for His name’s sake, if you believe in Christ.

Be careful not to imitate the ways of this world and be tempted to turn away from Jesus who wants you to trust in Him as He trusted in His heavenly Father for all His needs. And again, God’s revealed will for you is quite clear throughout the Bible, that you are to love God with your whole heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. Remember that Jesus demands that you indeed deny self as is stated in Mark 8:34, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” The New Man that was recreated in you through your baptism into Christ’s death is now brought forth in a new life, a life of love, following His resurrection.

If foreigners were to come to worship within your own churches, and they wish to see Jesus, whoever it is that comes should always expect a Christian pulpit where only Christ is shown as crucified. Only then will they truly be able to see Him face to face in glory when life in this veil of tears is finally ended. Amen

The little gallery below comments on self-examination prior to receiving the Holy Supper. Pic #1 is a simple reminder to know yourself and who you really are; Pic #2 is a laughable comment on a person who tries to be who she is not (BBC comedy "Keeping Up Appearances"); whereas those who truly examine who and what they are by God's Law are, Pic #3 driven, by faith, to Christ who alone can bring them comfort and salvation; and, finally Pic #4 is an historical photo of those trusting in Jesus alone to bring them peace amidst the horrors of Iwo Jima, 1945.


On Self-Examination: “Not All Self-Examination Leads to True Knowledge of Self”

1 Corinthians 11:27-29 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. NKJV

While self-examination is provided for us in our liturgical formula the question may linger of whether we, as purposing to come to the Lord’s Supper, have used the correct method that leads to a true knowledge of self. One way in which true knowledge of self is denied is to assume that you aren’t all bad and that you have some spiritual knowledge even from birth.

To assume that there is spiritual goodness in your natural heart makes it impossible to have a fruitful examination of self. The Bible, the Word of God, states most emphatically, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that does good , and does not sin” Ecc.7:20; and. “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen.8:21), and again, as St. Paul says, Romans 7:14-15, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. The natural heart is spiritually wicked and all evil thoughts proceed from an evil heart” also, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man”, as Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23.

If man’s heart is bereft of any spiritual goodness, how then could he have true knowledge of himself when he only pretends to have a heart that is by nature good? This is impossible, for where he would find sin, he finds only plausible excuses of why he is what he is.

Another false examination that leads you away from your true self is to measure your lives by the standards of others. There are many Christians who believe that this is a good means of self-examination, and it seems reasonable, but it is not a Christian means. This is explained by Jesus in the parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector.
Luke 18:11-14 (NKJV) tells us: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Our observation of others is at most superficial and our view of ourselves is not then based on reality. For we are all in the same boat when it comes to sinning. Yes, you are in the same boat, as we all are, and that boat not only has sprung a leak but has already sunk.

The only test that really examines who you really are is to hold up the standard of God’s Law. It is by this law of holiness that you should examine yourselves prior to communing – it is God’s Law demanding moral perfection and holiness that is set up as our standard. We may not be murderers, adulterers, or thieves, but do we “call upon God in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks”? Do you look forward to and delight in partaking of the true and essential body and blood of your Lord Jesus Christ, or do you see it as just a traditional thing that regular church people do? This last statement presents another danger, and probably the most dangerous; a danger that defeats the process of self-examination: The proposition that genuine sincerity is lacking, by which I mean faith itself is lacking. It is impossible to obey God’s Word to examine oneself with a light-minded, superficial, routine attitude. Unless you use the spiritual meaning of God’s law to examine yourself, without excuses, you will never know the wretchedness of your heart and will never desire the sweetness of the Gospel to save and uplift your soul.

Therefore, the Law needs to fulfill its purpose in bringing us to a conviction of our sins. This is indeed the highest office of the Law, to see our sin, sin to us personally that we may despise it. Once that is accomplished then the question of faith is issued, namely, that which St. Paul asked: Romans 7:24-25 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!

We should always go to our Savior then with all our sins, acknowledging that we, like St. Paul, should be considered the chief of sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NKJV) “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” By faith, possess Christ and make what He has done your personal possession. For Christ is the friend of sinners as He offers us the benefits of His life and death for us. It is only by, through, and in faith whereby the righteousness of Jesus is your very own – and Christ’s righteousness cannot fail to save to the uttermost.

Therefore, after you have examined yourself rightly, you should always receive in this Sacrament the true body and blood of your Lord, as it communes with the bread and the wine, as a pledge that your sins will be made white and pure as snow. For as Isaiah says: “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Amen.
Next Wednesday we will have a brief devotion on 1 Corinthians 10:15:16-17.