The Spirit of Life

The day of pentecost (confirmation)

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Ezekiel 37:1-14

¹ The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” ⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. ¹¹ Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’” (NIV)

I imagine the prospect of being buried alive to be among the more terrifying.  Frightening as it might be to contemplate, there were times when it happened accidentally.  A person may have been thought to be dead who was merely unconscious or in a coma.  It could not always be told whether a person was truly dead or not.  Even today, with medical advancements and life-changing technology, we cannot always be sure.  Consider the doctor who deems the patient on life-support to be brain dead, only to have that person make a partial or complete recovery once removed from life-support.  We hear stories of near-death experiences and examples in which not even medicine or science can determine why a person is either alive or dead.  Even today, it turns out, we have difficulty telling whether a person is truly dead or not.

But there was no question about what Ezekiel saw in his vision.  There was nothing but death in the valley before him; there were no signs of life.  The only remains were sun-bleached, dried out bones.  Ezekiel explains, “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry” (v.1,2).  Ezekiel had gotten as good a look as one could get at the bones – it was clear to him that the very last thing those bones represented was life.  Bones are synonymous with death, not life. 

That reality served to make the Lord’s question even more surprising: “Son of man, can these bones live” (v.3)?  The answer would normally have been just as easy for us to answer as it would have been for Ezekiel – “No way – bones don’t just come back to life.”  However, Ezekiel knew who was asking the question, and that made all the difference.  Since it was the Almighty himself, the one who established the earth’s foundations, Ezekiel’s response was, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know” (v.3).  Ezekiel had learned his Bible stories growing up; he went to Sunday school.  He knew the Lord’s history with his people and how he had shown his mighty hand time and again, from covering the earth with seas of water at the Flood to splitting seas of water at the Red Sea to deliver his people from Pharaoh, God had shown that even the impossible was within the realm of possible with him.  Sure, he could make the dry bones live.

And he did just that… but this morning we want to take note of how he went about it.  Listen to the Lord’s instructions to Ezekiel: “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.  I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (v.4-6).  So Ezekiel prophesied just as he was told to, and what happened is no surprise: suddenly bone came together against bone to form skeletons.  Then the organs and flesh began to cover them – ligaments and muscles took their place. Finally skin covered everything up and the bodies were complete… except that they were still no more alive than when they were nothing but bones.

The final step had to take place.  The Lord’s directions were clear: “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army” (v.9,10).  The vision unfolded before Ezekiel’s eyes as he prophesied the word of the Lord, but it wasn’t complete until the Spirit breathed life into the bodies.  And that is always how it has been: life doesn’t come apart from the Word and Spirit of God.

While that truth was made evident in the valley of dry bones, it had already been established in the Garden of Eden.  God had brought all things into existence with his spoken word, but in the case of man it was different; man was set apart in a special way.  The account is recorded for us in the second chapter of Genesis: “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (2:7).  Nothing else in creation was endowed the God’s breath but man alone.  The pattern was established: the Word of the Lord was spoken, and the Spirit gave life.

If we skip forward through history, we see the pattern repeated at Pentecost.  The disciples at Pentecost heard the word of the Lord, and the Spirit gave them life. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4).  Now they weren’t dead, but they were certainly made alive in the Spirit in a way unlike any other.  After the spectacular events of Pentecost, equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit, the church exploded with life.  The Word was sown and the Spirit gave life.

Confirmands, do you see a recurring theme here?  You have something in common with Adam, with those bones in Ezekiel’s vision, and with the disciples: at one point you were dead, but then you heard the Word, and through it the Spirit gave you life.  For most of us that initial Word was heard at our baptisms – “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  The words meant nothing to your infant ears, but through them the Holy Spirit kindled the flame of faith in your heart.  As you grow up spiritually, recalling those words and their significance at your baptism takes on increasingly special meaning.  You were brought to life by the Spirit, and he did it through his breath, his Word… just as he did for Adam, for the dry bones, for the disciples, indeed for all who have ever been brought to faith.  It’s one of the many things that unites the body of Christ – we all were joined to the body through the same Word of God and through the same Spirit.  All gathered here this morning on whose hearts God has staked his claim share that in common: when the Word was spoken, the Spirit gave us life.

“So what?” we may be inclined to ask.  “What does it matter that we all have in common how we were brought to faith?”  It matters because we all have something else in common that threatens that faith: we’re all liars, everyone of us, and in a few short moments you’ll be reminded why.  When these confirmands stand up and come to the front, they’ll be asked the same question(s) many, if not all of us were asked at one time: “Do you reject the devil along with all his lies and empty promises?  The confirmands will respond just as so many of us did with the words, “I do.”  But how have we made ourselves out to be anything but liars at those times when we have not only failed to reject, but have even welcomed the devil and his invitations to sin?  And again the confirmands will be asked, “Do you intend faithfully to conform all your life to the teachings of God’s Word, to be faithful in the use of the Word and sacrament, and in faith and action remain true to God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – as long as you live?”  And the confirmands will respond in the affirmative, just as so many of us did.  But how have we made ourselves out to be anything but liars during those periods of our lives when “faithful” is the last word on earth that would describe our worship attendance and general lukewarm indifference toward God and his Word?  We are all liars, and – newsflash! – liars aren’t allowed in heaven.

So why again does it matter that the same Word and Spirit worked in all of us to bring us to faith?  Because it is only that same Word and Spirit that keeps you in the faith.  Understand that the very Word that just cut you down was the Spirit at work through his law, but that’s by no means the only work the Spirit does through his Word.  He also comforts, uplifts, restores, reconciles, soothes, and forgives – yes, he forgives.  That is the joyous news of the gospel, the Word of God which the Spirit uses to bring peace to his Church.

The gospel was what was ultimately behind the vision Ezekiel saw.  God’s people were destitute.  They had deserted God so frequently that God finally let them have what they wanted and it was a bitter pill to swallow.  First it was the Northern Kingdom of Israel decimated and exiled.  Then the Southern Kingdom of Judah eventually fell at the hands of the Babylonians.  After Judah’s failed attempts at insurrection, the Babylonians finally squashed any hopes of restoration that Israel might have had.  At least that’s the way it appeared.  But one of the very reasons God allowed Ezekiel to be taken into captivity to Babylon was to prophesy and give the hope of restoration to a fallen nation. 

And God did just that, as Ezekiel shared: “Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’  Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.  I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord’” (v.11-14).  Their situation seemed hopeless; God gave them hope.

God does the same for us.  When the guilt of our sin pierces our conscience and nothing else will soothe it, when God’s law convicts us as liars and we cannot deny it, when the devil himself concludes his most compelling case to convince us that the gateway into paradise will certainly not be opened for us, that is when the Holy Spirit comes in, though the Word – always through the Word – and jars us with the gospel of grace to draw the eyes of our hearts to the cross and the tomb.  For there is where the devil’s case falls apart to pieces.  See the Savior, see the sacrifice, see the cross, see the tomb – see it all, and at that moment you know the life that the Spirit gave to Adam and to the disciples – not just the “I’m still breathing” or “I’m still vertical” life, but spiritual life that will last long after your time here on earth is over; life in Jesus. 

The Spirit gives that kind of life.  The Spirit alone sustains that kind of life.  He does it through his Word.  Confirmands, more than anything else in this world – more than a decorated athletic legacy or a successful career or fame or fortune, I pray for the one thing that is important in your life – that God always keeps you in his Word.  Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

The Perfect Priest

The seventh sunday of easter

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Hebrews 7:11-27

11 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 12 For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. 13 He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. 20 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 
‘You are a priest forever.’”

22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. 23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (NIV)

You may have heard about the perfect pastor chain letter before, but I think it bears repeating:

The results of a computerized survey indicate the perfect minister preaches exactly fifteen minutes. He condemns sins but never upsets anyone. He works from 8:00 AM until midnight and is also a janitor. He makes $50 a week, wears good clothes, buys good books, drives a good car, and gives about $50 weekly to the poor. He is 28 years old and has preached 30 years. He has a burning desire to work with teenagers and spends all of his time with senior citizens. Theperfect minister smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work. He makes 15 calls daily on congregation families, shut-ins and the hospitalized, and is always in his office when needed.

If your minister does not measure up, simply send this letter to six other churches that are tired of their minister, too. Then bundle up your minister and send him to the church on the top of the list. In one week, you will receive 1,643 ministers and one of them will be perfect. Have faith in this procedure. One chuch broke the chain and got its old minister back in less than three weeks....so don't break the chain (source unknown).

I believe – or perhaps I should say I hope – that description of the perfect pastor is not intended to be taken seriously.  If it is, I regret to share with you the breaking news that you are out of luck in the “perfect pastor” department.  But, kidding aside, while all pastors are far from perfect, God’s Word this morning assures us that in Jesus Christ, we do have The Perfect Priest.

The book of Hebrews centers on the theme of Christ’s superiority.  While we cannot say with certainly who the author of Hebrews is, the intended audience appears to be pretty clear.  There was a movement among some Jewish Christians to abandon their newfound faith in Christ and return back to Judaism, which for many would have been like a security blanket in the face of persecution for the early Christian Church.  It would have provided familiarity with its well-known rules and regulations.  It seemed to provide a certain pedigree when it came to Moses and ancestral roots.  It also had the draw of the long-established history and tradition of the priesthood. 

To draw a modern-day parallel, the appeal to run to “form” and “history” and “tradition” isn’t completely unheard of in the Church.  Occasionally, when a Christian has been a part of the branch of Christianity that has Evangelical or Baptist roots, he can become fascinated with certain aspects of what are often considered the more “orthodox” circles of Christianity, like the Roman Catholic Church, for example.  The historical pattern of worship known as the liturgy can have an appeal which perhaps seems to be “more religious” than the less-structured “praise” worship he’s used to.  Compared to having a self-appointed pastor who started his own church as a mission plant, who may or may not have ever been theologically trained, there can also be something appealing about a clergy of priests, bishops, and the papacy, all of which have much more history behind them.  The inclination might be to think that the religion with the most forms of religiosity and the longest historical traditions must be the right one.

The writer to the Hebrews was setting out to convince his audience of Jewish Christians that that was not the case when it came to abandoning Christianity for Judaism, because Christ was superior in every way.  In chapter seven of the letter, which serves as our focus this morning, the question of the priesthood was being addressed.  This chapter beautifully compares the established Jewish priesthood – the Levitical priesthood – with the priesthood of Christ, showing that in every way, Christ’s priesthood far surpasses the Levitical priesthood.

A little background on Melchizedek will prove helpful for understanding this section of Hebrews.  Melchizedek is a mysterious individual mentioned on but a few occasions in the Bible. We are first introduced to him during the life of Abraham.  After rescuing his nephew Lot, who had been taken captive after a recent battle, Abraham returned and was met by Melchizedek. Melchizedek was both king of Salem, and a priest of God.  Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave him a tithe.  And just as abruptly as Melchizedek appeared on the scene, he was gone.  He is then mentioned again in the Psalms, and here in the book of Hebrews. 

So what is the significance of this Melchizedek?  The writer to the Hebrews makes it clear that he is special in a unique way: he is a type of Christ.  When you look at an accurately painted portrait of a person, you can tell who it is you’re looking at.  You are not seeing the person in the flesh, but the portrait depicts the person clearly enough that you are able to identify the individual.  So Melchizedek is a portrait of Christ.  The incarnation had not yet happened; Jesus had not taken on human flesh.  Yet, when we look at Melchizedek, we see Christ. 

Consider the identifying characteristics the two share.  Melchizedek was both a king and a priest, as is Christ.  The name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness,” and he hailed from Salem, which means “peace.”  Both righteousness and peace are names/titles attributed to Christ as well (cf. Jer. 23:6 and Is. 9:6).  Melchizedek, like Christ, has no beginning and no end, for we know nothing of his genealogy, his parents, or his birth, and have no record of his death.  And, they both exist continually – Melchizedek will always serve as a type of Christ, and Christ is of course eternal. 

The writer to the Hebrews spills no small amount of ink on this Melchizedek, and in doing so he successfully shows how the priesthood of Melchizedek is better than the Levitical priesthood.  But that is to merely establish the foundation so that one might be able then to draw this main conclusion: if Melchizedek’s priesthood surpasses the Levitical priesthood, and Melchizedek is merely a type of Christ, then how superior Christ must be!  Why would one return to Judaism with its inferior priesthood when Jesus Christ is the superior priest???

Is more evidence needed to prove the point?  The author explains, “And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared, ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek’” (v.15-17).  Levites became priests because they were Levites; they became priests because of their lineage.  Christ’s priesthood, though, was not his simply because he had the right ancestors or family line; rather, his priesthood was bestowed upon him because of his inherent merit.  What’s more, where Levites would inevitably die and the priesthood would be passed on down to another and another and another, Christ’s priesthood would always remain his, for he is eternal.  Finally, there was never an oath or promise given to the Levites that they would retain the priesthood forever.  However, such a promise was included in the prophetic words of David’s Psalm in reference to Jesus, that he would be a priest forever.  “Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant” (v.22).  Who could refuse a guarantee like that? - a better covenant – a one-sided covenant – where God carries out all the work and we reap the benefits.  Again, why would anyone return to Judaism with its inferior and temporary priesthood when Jesus Christ, the superior priest will retain his priesthood permanently, forever???

Since his priesthood is permanent, “[Christ] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (v.25).  The priests of the tribe of Levi could offer sacrifices repeatedly on a daily basis.  But it didn’t matter – such sacrifices couldn’t save.  All they served to do was point ahead to the ultimate sacrifice – Jesus – who alone could save completely. 

“He is able to save completely those who come to God through him.”  Think of what that means.  There’s no unfinished business when it comes to your salvation. There’s no missed payments.  It’s complete, and it’s completely taken care of by Jesus.  Your salvation is not a shared venture where Christ does a little and you do a little.  He does it completely.  Only he could because “Such a high priest meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (v.26).  Holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners… how many different ways does one need to say it?  Only Jesus could serve as our Perfect Priest, for only Jesus was without sin.  A “good guy” wouldn’t have been sufficient.  A “fine teacher of morality” wouldn’t have cut it.  Only a sinless Substitute could serve as our Perfect Priest.  And Jesus did – “once for all,” as we’re told in verse 27.  His death on Calvary was the one-time sacrifice, and it covered all people; it covered you.

That makes a difference in a life wrought with much that has and will continue to let you down.  Things don’t work out the way they were planned.  No one’s perfect.  In a lot of cases there is just nothing you can do about it.  But you can choose to put it all in perspective, because here’s the bottom-line: none of it matters.  That is, none of it matters in the grand scheme of eternity.  Your eternity, now that matters.  Where you will spend it – that matters.  And so having the Perfect Priest matters because he is the one who has determined our eternity by offering himself up as the perfect sacrifice.  Yet even after doing so, he wanted to remain serving you as your Perfect Priest, so he didn’t stay dead, as every single animal sacrifice ever offered has, but he rose again.  This last Sunday of Easter, let us rejoice that our Perfect Priest rose again, and that he continually serves us with his grace.  CIR HIRI (Christ Is Risen; He Is Risen Indeed)! Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

Mothers Reflect the Father's Love

The sixth sunday of easter (mother’s day)

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

1 John 4:7-11

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (NIV)

You have so much to do over the course of a day that you wake up overwhelmed and you go to bed frustrated because you didn’t get it all done.  It sometimes feels like you don’t have a life.  It’s not that you don’t have things you want to do, it’s just that they always tend to be very low on the list of priorities.  What you wouldn’t give for a little time to read that book or catch up on your favorite show or go out with friends or… do absolutely nothing.  But you’ve gotten used to your interests taking a back seat to everything else.  Everyone else comes first.  It is not an exaggeration to say that your day is packed with so many things that literally will not get done if you don’t take care of them.  What’s more, being underappreciated comes with the territory as well.  And on top of that, you also double as the customer service department, receiving more daily complaints than you can even keep track of!  So the many “thank you’s” that you deserve to be hearing are replaced with complaints instead.  But it’s not about receiving recognition or acknowledgment for all that you do – you just do it because that’s who you are: you’re a mother.

To be fair, “Mother’s Day” doesn’t begin to cut it; you deserve “Mother’s Week” or “Mother’s Month,” if not more.  As far as human relationships go, I don’t know if there is a better example of selfless, self-sacrificing love than the example that mothers put on display on virtually a daily basis.  The bond of love that a mother has for her child is unique and truly unlike any other bond.  That unconditional love is what consistently drives a mother to do the unthinkable, the unreasonable, and the undesirable for her child.  From changing dirty diapers to wet bed sheets to canceling plans because of sick kids to working extra jobs to help pay for school to helping raise grandchildren – mothers do it all, and if you asked most of them why they do it, the answer would not be shocking: “I love my child.” Usually Valentine’s Day comes to mind first when we think of expressions of love and heart-themed decorations, but perhaps Mother’s Day would be every bit as appropriate, for nowhere else on earth do we see love like that of a mother for her child.

Yet as impressive and inspiring as a mother’s love is, when John makes his appeal to his hearers to love one another, it’s not a mother’s love he points to as an example, but a different source of love altogether: God’s love.  Now that doesn’t in any way downplay a mother’s love for her children; rather, I think it manages to speak volumes more to the depth of God’s love!  In other words, if the example of love on John’s mind is an example of love that surpasses that even of mother’s love for her children, it must be quite an impressive love!  And indeed it is.  So this morning, a day on which many of us will be going out to eat or making special plans to celebrate mothers – and rightly so! – we set the tone by celebrating God and his unparalleled love for us.  We’re thankful for mothers then, because in so many ways they help us begin to grasp the amazing love of God.  Yes, Mothers Reflect the Father’s Love.

It shouldn’t surprise us to find John as the author of the books of the Bible in which the connection between God and love is more clearly drawn out than anywhere else.  After all, John took special pride in being “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (e.g. Jn. 13:23; 21:7, 20), as he enjoyed referring to himself in his Gospel.  It is also in his Gospel that we come across what is arguably the most well-known and frequently-quoted passage of Scripture, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  Since the author of the Gospel of John and the author of  First, Second, and Third John is one and the same, we can better understand the theme of love taking the center stage in our verses this morning.  John knew and appreciated God’s love, and he certainly had a unique perspective from which to share it.

It is that unique and personal experience with God’s love that prompts John to encourage his readers to pass it on, to love one another.  From the very first word of verse seven that John uses in addressing his audience, he gives his audience a reminder of why they’re fit to love others: they themselves are loved.  The King James’ “beloved” is better than the NIV’s “Dear friends” in reflecting John’s address.  For it is not just dear friends to whom John is writing, but those who also are loved by God – fellow recipients of God’s love.  And who is better qualified to love one another than those who know God’s love firsthand?  Indeed it would be near impossible to pass on that of which a person had no knowledge or experience.  For me to encourage you to go out and show somebody how to sail would be quite difficult if you’ve never been sailing.  To be told to demonstrate to another how to plant a garden would be quite a challenge for you if you’d never grown a thing in your life. But John addresses believers in a way that reminds them they are qualified to love others, because they themselves are beloved. 

Furthermore, that title seeks to underscore that when we do love others, we’re merely passing along that which finds its source in God alone, for as John reminds us, “love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (v.7).  Does that help us to overcome what is often times a challenge in loving others?  We speak this way: “I have a hard time loving” or “I just can’t love so and so,” when the truth is, loving others is less about you or the other person, and more about God.  It’s not a matter of you “finding it in yourself” to love others, but rather passing along what comes only from God himself.  You are not the source of love, but merely a conduit, passing it along to others.  You cannot take credit for loving others well; neither should your life be wrought with guilt because you struggle so much to love others.  Don’t be so silly and foolish to think that the ability to love others comes from you – it doesn’t.  Love comes from God.

Last Sunday Jesus pointed out that branches cannot do a thing when cut off from the vine.  Believers can do nothing apart from Jesus, and that includes loving others.  There’s simply no native love in our hearts to pass along to others until God first puts it there.  You cannot love others the way God wants you to unless God is in you.  Love comes from God.

Doesn’t that explain why our society today has such a twisted and contorted idea of what love really is?  Should so many headlines and news stories shock us anymore?  Should we be so surprised that what the world calls “love” we cannot even recognize or identify as such?  Are we surprised that ending a life, whether by abortion or euthanasia, doesn’t resonate with us as “loving” when such repulsive actions clearly violate God’s command to love life?  Is it a shock that young and old alike cannot even distinguish between love and sex when they are portrayed as one and the same in our world today, regardless of the clear boundaries God has set?  Is it alarming to see parents not only allow defiant or disrespectful behavior in their children, but actually defend it under the guise of loving their children, when God’s take is that failure to discipline a child is actually showing hate to that child (Proverbs 13:24)?  It’s no wonder an unbelieving generation’s understanding of love is so woefully misguided, for love comes from God.

And if it people don’t recognize love from God, then how can they love others?  They can’t.  They can’t know that loving others involves much more than words – it involves actions.  John explains, “This is how God showed his love among us; He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (v.9,10).  See how it makes all the difference in the world to go beyond the spoken word and let love show itself through action!  Isn’t that what is so unique and special about mothers?  They do not mouth meaningless words that fail to touch our hearts when they say “I love you,” because those words are consistently backed by acts of service that clearly show love.  When he hears mom say, “I love you,” a son knows it to be true because mom keeps the pantry stocked with his favorite snacks when his buddies come over.  When she hears mom say, “I love you,” a daughter knows it because mom always makes sure her favorite outfits are clean when she needs them.  When he hears his bride say, “I love you,” a husband knows it because even though she’s worn out from putting others ahead of herself all day long, she is willing to give him the intimacy he so appreciates from his gift-from-God spouse.  When we hear mothers say, “I love you,” we know it’s true because they show it.

So when we hear God say “I love you,” we know it’s true because he showed it.  When John reminds us that the Father sent his Son into the world to give us life, it’s not just about where he went, but also what he left behind.  It’s one thing to enter into this veil of tears and be faced with the sickening reality of sin on a daily basis, but imagine how much worse it made matters when considering what he left behind!  Jesus left the perfect harmony of heaven.  He left things the way they should be for a world gone horribly wrong.  And he left the presence of the Father for the presence of the fallen. 

Yet as loving as that alone would have been, it was merely the beginning.  The real separation from his Father wasn’t just his leaving heaven to come to earth; no, the real separation came when Christ was completely and utterly cut off and forsaken by the Father while enduring all the brutality of an eternity in hell.  And, were such a punishment deserved, it would have been one thing, but it wasn’t!  It was for us that he was punished!  Our sins dragged him out of heaven and split him apart from the Father.  It was not enough to simply show us the way; he himself became the way.  He was the atoning sacrifice, the sacrifice by which we’ve been made “at-one” with God.  “This is how God showed his love among us…” (v.9).

Then see how John brings it all full-circle in verse eleven.  “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (v.11).  There’s more here than just, “Hey, since God loves you, you should love others, too.” John is referring back to the manner by which God showed his love to us, and imploring us to show that same kind of love to others – not an artificial or superficial kind of love, but a sacrificial, unconditional love.  For that is what God the Father showed us in Christ Jesus.  That is the kind of love God would have spill over from our lives into the lives of others.  How about starting today by showing that kind of love to your mother… for she’s a pretty good reflection of the Father’s love. Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

A Life Worth Living Stays Connected

The fifth sunday of easter

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

John 15:1-8

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (NIV)

CIR HIRI! (Christ Is Risen; He Is Risen Indeed!) Larry isn’t much to write home about.  He’s always had trouble holding a job, frequently enduring long bouts of unemployment.  It’s hard to determine if it’s the unemployment that spurs on his drinking or if it’s the other way around.  Though he’s felt horrible about it, he’s also said and done some awful things to his wife.  Larry would not very likely be a top contender for any “father-of-the-year” awards, either, as he’s always struggled with parenting.  His church attendance has been streaky at best, and he’s spent his share of time in the Pastor’s study for any number of reasons.

Then there’s Tom.  Now Tom is just the kind of guy every dad wishes his daughter would bring home and marry.  Tom has always been a hard worker.  Nothing was given to him.  He put himself through school, passed the bar with flying colors and eventually became successful enough to open his own law firm.  Yet as busy as he has been with his career, he’s always made time for his wife, and bends over backwards to help raise the children.  He makes all the games and recitals he can, and his kids think the world of him.  He first started coming to church with his wife, and after a while Tom became a regular, attending virtually every Sunday.  He is always one to back church projects, both with his time and his pocketbook.  People cannot say enough good things about Tom. 

So which one, Larry or Tom, better serves as the ideal picture from John’s Gospel of the fruit-bearing branch: Larry, aka Mr. Lackluster, or Tom, aka Mr. Terrific?  Most would agree that Tom certainly appears to fit the mold, whereas Larry leaves a lot to be desired.  While that may be the case, more information is needed about each individual to come to a conclusion.  You might find that information surprising… as it turns out, the biggest difference between Larry and Tom is that Larry is a believer, and Tom isn’t.

Could the roles be reversed – could Tom be the believer and Larry the unbeliever?  Certainly, and we might even say that more often we’d expect that to be the case.  But as the examples of Larry the Lackluster and Tom the Terrific stand this morning, they serve to illustrate a very important point about the vine and branches section from John 15: don’t focus first and foremost on the fruit, because it’s the connection to the vine that matters most.  If there’s no connection, then there’s no fruit, plain and simple.  While certain fruit may appear to be ripe and mature and ready for picking, what appears to be the finest looking fruit on the outside, if not connected to the true vine, is merely spoiled and rotten on the inside.  On the other hand, that fruit which looks less than desirable on the outside may eventually ripen into nothing short of the most delicious fruit on the whole plant!  The difference is whether or not the branch on which the fruit grows is connected to the vine.

And so it is with a life worth living.  A Life Worth Living is one that Stays Connected. Without a connection to Jesus, the best this life has to offer is spoiled, rotten fruit.  How different is the life that stays connected, for whatever fruit it bears will be the sort of fruit with which every harvester would be delighted to fill basketful after basketful!  The difference is Jesus.  Only Jesus can offer a life worth living, and so this morning we wish for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our hearts and see how blessed we are to stay connected to Jesus in every way possible.

The alternative – no connection with Jesus – is not a pleasant one.  Listen to how Jesus describes it: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit” (v.1,2a).  He’s pretty straight forward, isn’t he?  Branches that don’t bear fruit will be cut off.  They will be completely separated from the tree, for since they do not produce any visible fruit, they are simply draining the trunk or vine of its precious resources, and thereby robbing other fruit-bearing branches of their vitality.

Once cut off, there is no longer any hope for that branch to bear any fruit.  The gardener does not return from the garden with pulled weeds and dead branches in hand, thinking to himself, “I will hold on to these, water them regularly, and give them plenty of sun to see if they will produce fruit.”  He knows better.  He knows that when the branch is no longer connected to the rest of the plant, there is no more hope of it bearing fruit.  Jesus said, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  Apart from me you can do nothing” (v.4, 5c).

Now this is a mystery to the world, because the world is not qualified to view fruit the way God does.  The world sees any act of generosity and kindness toward others and says, “Ah, see, there is fruit.”  It sees noble philanthropic gifts to this charity and that, which undoubtedly provide aid and assistance to countless others, and says “Surely there is choice fruit.”  Yet the world fails to recognize that such acts, each and every one of them, if not done in and through the true vine, Jesus, count for nothing before God.  The prophet Isaiah pointed out “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (64:6).  One would hardly expect a branch with shriveled up leaves to bring forth abundant fruit.  It simply cannot  do so if not connected to the true vine.  The world thinks it sees precious fruit, but what appears to be fruit, if not connected to the true vine, is merely an illusion. 

Finally, those branches that have been cut off serve no other purpose; they are simply gathered up and burned.  “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” (v.6).  The world stumbles and trips on this teaching of Jesus: that a person who does what is right, who treats others well, who gives and puts others first, who is a model spouse and an exemplary parent – a person who appears to bear all kinds of fruit – would end up in the flames of hell for eternity simply because he wasn’t connected to the vine through saving faith in Jesus.  It is a difficult teaching, to be sure, but one that is quite clearly spoken from the mouth of Jesus himself in these verses.

See what is important: don’t focus first and foremost on the fruit, because it’s the connection to the vine that matters most.

When that connection remains solid and intact, fruit will be evident.  Jesus promised as much, saying, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit” (v.5).  Not only will such a branch produce fruit, but it will bear “much” fruit.  It’s unavoidable; the branch connected to the vine – the believer connected to Jesus – will show fruits of that relationship.

How will this come about?  In order for a fruit-bearing tree to bear even more fruit in the future, the process of pruning is in order.   “[The Father] cuts off every branch in [Jesus] that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (v.2).  The branch that doesn’t bear fruit will be cut off; however, the branch that does bear fruit will be cut back.  Then it will be able to produce even more abundant fruit. 

That sort of pruning can be a painful process, but the child of God welcomes and endures it because he knows the end result will make a life already worth living even more so.  For where does the child of God turn when death strikes, when hard times surface, when frustration settles in, when pain and suffering arise?  He doesn’t look here (inside himself).  He doesn’t look at his past record of righteousness.  He doesn’t turn to worldly wisdom. 

No, he turns to Christ, just as a Christian doctor once did.  This Christian doctor had been responsible for helping and healing many others when suddenly he himself was stricken with sickness.  He remained bed-ridden for many days enduring the suffering that accompanied his sickness.  During that time, friends would come to visit him and lament how unfortunate it was that he was stricken down with illness.  “Not at all” he would reply, “the Lord brought me down so that I might not forget to look up.”

So it is with the Christian who endures whatever painful pruning God allows in his life.  He looks up, he turns to the true vine, the vine who cleans and purifies, who forgives and upholds, who promises more than anything this life has to offer.  His words and promises alone keep us connected to the vine and enable us to bear abundant and God-pleasing fruit.  Jesus said “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you” (v.3).  The Christian isn’t made clean by the fruit he produces, but is rather made clean by grace in order that he might then produce fruit.  That grace comes through baptism.  It comes through the Lord’s Supper.  It comes through the Word.  Through these means Jesus longs to keep the branches connected to him and bearing abundant fruit.  But without these means and apart from them, the branch slowly withers and dies and will eventually be cut off.

Rejoice that instead of being cut off, you are continually cut back.  Rejoice that your gracious Gardener cares enough about you to bless you by bearing more and more fruit.  Such fruit is a blessing to you, to God’s kingdom, and to the rest of the world.  One such blessing: Jesus promises, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (v.7).  In Christ, the believer gets whatever he wants, because in Christ, the believer is in tune with the mind of God and longs for what he wants us to have.  Another blessing is that we know the fruit we bear brings glory to the Father.  Jesus said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (v.8).  Just as an earthly father takes pride in the good behavior and praise-worthy accomplishments of his child, so does our Heavenly Father delight in our precious fruit.  The key to that blessing is staying connected to the vine.  With and by God’s grace, make that the number one priority in your life: staying connected to the vine.  Then, go and bear all kinds of fruit, and you will find a life worth living. CIR HIRI! Amen.