As intended from before the foundation of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ has perfectly fulfilled the Holy Scriptures by His becoming flesh, by His bodily death upon the Cross, and by His bodily Resurrection from the dead. This work of the Lord is really what the whole Bible is all about.
So, too, by the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures, Christ Jesus Himself is actively present and powerful to save all those who hear and receive Him in the Ministry of His Gospel.
Because He has defeated sin, death, the devil, and hell by His voluntary suffering and death, He now also brings forgiveness, life, and salvation to His Church in His Resurrection from the dead.
Here, in the gathering of His disciples, He comes to you as the crucified and risen One, and He grants to you His perfect Peace and Sabbath Rest through His forgiveness of all your sins. Indeed, this peace and rest that He bestows upon you is the good and gracious will of God, the very point and purpose for which He has spoken His Word, so that you should have abundant life in Him.
Tragically, your sins and your sinfulness include not only all the bad things that you do and all the good things that you neglect, but also your false belief, your doubt and despair, and your failure and refusal to understand the Scriptures, to trust the Gospel, or to receive the Lord Jesus in peace.
But you are not able to believe in Jesus Christ, your Lord, neither can you come to Him, nor even recognize or receive Him when He comes to you, except by His Word and the work of His Spirit.
So, if you had been there in that upper room on that first Easter Sunday evening, do not suppose that you would have done any differently or any better than those disciples in this Holy Gospel.
Actually, the crucified and risen Lord Jesus is very much here with you, in your midst, speaking His Word of the Gospel to you, opening His holy wounds to you, giving you His Body and Blood, and granting you His blessings of grace, mercy, and peace. And yet, in your sinfulness, you greet all of this with superstitious doubts and fear. At best it all seems too good to be true, and at worst you regard the dear Lord Jesus Christ as a “ghost,” a specter, an immaterial, inconsequential fable.
As a consequence of your unbelief, you reject and despise the Peace that your dear Lord Jesus brings, because it surpasses all of your human understanding; and you refuse to accept the Sabbath Rest from all your hard labors and heavy burdens of sin and death, which only He can give you.
That is why it is so necessary to your salvation — no less so than the Cross and Resurrection — that repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached to you in Jesus’ Name. For it is only by such preaching of His Word that you are called from your doubts to live by faith in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, because the Lord your God loves you and does not want you to die forever in the darkness of your despair and unbelief, He sends His servants to proclaim the Lord Jesus to you.
By His Word and Spirit, by His Law and Gospel, they catechize you in the one true faith, calling you daily to repentance and turning you away from your sins to the forgiveness of His Cross. In this way they open the Scriptures to you, and the Holy Spirit opens your heart and your mind to understand those Holy Scriptures, so that you thereby receive and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So does the same Lord open His wounds to you by the Ministry of His Gospel. And He opens your hand and your mouth to receive His Body and His Blood — not apart from faith, lest you be judged and condemned in unbelief — but in the one true faith, in His Peace, and with great thanksgiving.
This is how He works to save you. By the proclamation of the Gospel in His Name and stead, your sins are all freely and fully forgiven. And by that Word of Holy Absolution you are rescued from the fear of death, from uncertainty and superstition, and brought into the sure confidence of faith. You are taught by His grace to believe and trust in Him, and to receive all good things from Him.
And it is by this Spirit-wrought faith in the Word of Christ Jesus that you are given true Peace and Sabbath Rest in Him, unto the resurrection of your body and the life everlasting of body and soul.
It is likewise by and with the Word of Christ — in fulfillment of the Scriptures of the Prophets and Apostles — that He who was crucified for your transgressions and raised for your justification is still eating with sinners; and He invites even you to recline here at His Table to eat with Him.
Not only that, but one and the same Lord Jesus Christ is Himself the Feast that you eat and the Host who serves you. For He gives to you His holy Body, and He pours out for you His precious Blood, for the forgiveness of all your sins and the nourishment of your faith unto life and salvation.
Here, then, is the promise, the down payment, and the guarantee that your own body and blood, and your own flesh and bones, no less than His, shall at the last be raised from death and the grave, glorified like unto His own glorious Body, immortal and imperishable. Indeed, you shall see Him in the flesh with your own two eyes, and you shall be like Him, by the grace of God your Savior.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Showing posts with label Easter Tuesday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter Tuesday. Show all posts
14 April 2020
23 April 2019
The Resurrection of All Flesh in the Body of Christ Jesus
On the one hand, you are tempted and prone to idolize, worship, and serve your flesh, whether as a child craving toys, candy, or dessert, or as an adult craving food and drink, material possessions, fancy cars, fine clothing, or creature comforts of whatever kind appeal to your personal tastes.
On the other hand, you find out early on just how fragile, fleeting, and unreliable your flesh is. As a child you experience hunger and thirst, discomfort and pain. You know accidents and ouchies, punishments, weaknesses, and inabilities. And as an adult you have to deal with your various inadequacies, failures, aches and pains, wounds and scars, fading glories, and lost opportunities.
Your fleeting and fickle relationship with your own flesh and that of the world around you is the evidence and outcome of the fall into sin, and of your own sinfulness and mortality. Descended from Adam and Eve, you were conceived and born in sin, and death has stalked you ever since.
The irony is that, in your sin, you still desire and pursue that which is perishing and cannot give you life. You invest yourself, your time, attention, energy, and money, in serving your fallen flesh and seeking that which is flesh, even though you already know that none of it will last forever or even for very long. It does not and cannot satisfy you, but only increases your longing for more and more in a pointless pursuit that continues until it has driven you into the ground.
You love the flesh and long for it, even though it dies. So you are driven by this constant appetite and hunger — of the flesh for the flesh — and yet, you do not trust the flesh, neither your own nor that which you idolize. So you resent the hold that it has over you and your dependence on the flesh, because you know that it is going to fail you and that you are going to fail and fade with it.
I suppose that addicts and alcoholics know the feeling more acutely than most, but the problem is common to all the fallen children of Adam and Eve. You make a false god of the flesh, and you spend your whole life worshiping the flesh, all the while it is dying and taking you along with it.
It therefore seems the height of piety and spirituality to disavow and avoid the flesh; to swear off the things of this body and life, and to discipline yourself to do without them; to deny and deprive your own flesh of pleasure, and to despise and demonize the good things of creation. That attitude and approach seems good and right and spiritual, because it seems to be what the Law requires.
To be sure, the Word of the Law is harsh, and it threatens you with deadly fire. It would strip you of all things, consume your clothing, and destroy your flesh. So fierce is the Law that no one can draw near to it without being killed. So it was that Israel cowered in fear at the foot of Mt. Sinai. And so were those valiant and mighty warriors who cast Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego into the midst of the fiery furnace slain by its blazing heat.
But the curse and condemnation of the Law is not aimed at your flesh per se, nor at any flesh in particular, inasmuch as it is the creation of the Lord your God. For all that He has made is good and right, to be received in faith and with thanksgiving, and sanctified by His Word and prayer.
No, what the Law condemns and puts to death is the sin that dwells within your members, that is, within your flesh, infecting and permeating your body and soul with unrighteousness. That is the wickedness of idolatry and unbelief, which originates within your heart, abides within your will, and prevents you from living rightly in the flesh and receiving God’s good creation as He intends.
But now, all that has been written in His Law, all that He demands and requires, has been fulfilled and satisfied by the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus. He has suffered and died in the flesh, cursed and crucified for the sins of the world. And yet, God has raised Him bodily from the dead.
Not only in His Immaculate Conception and Holy Nativity, but also in His Resurrection from the dead and His Ascension to the Right Hand of the Father, He possesses a body of flesh and bone, with blood and sinews, lips and teeth, tongue and stomach. He is and remains forever a true Man, a Human Being just like yourself. For He is the Word-made-Flesh who tabernacles with you.
He bore all of your sins, and the sins of the whole world, in His own Body on the Cross, even unto death; but, again, God raised this same Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary, bodily from the dead.
His Flesh, therefore, did not suffer decay. For His Flesh is Spirit and Life. His holy Body and His precious Blood are immortal, imperishable, and glorious — as are you and your body in Him.
The crucified and risen Lord Jesus is the Christ, anointed in His Flesh with the Life-giving Spirit of God. Genuine piety and true spirituality thus derive from, depend upon, and live in His Body.
In Him, all things are pure, and all of Creation is made brand new; for the resurrection of all flesh has been accomplished in His Body. That is why you are now able to receive the good gifts of God in faith and with thanksgiving, also for this body and life, and to sanctify them to yourself by the Word of Christ Jesus. Indeed, all the earth with joy is sounding in His Resurrection from the dead.
He has entered the fire with you and for you, this Son of God in the flesh, so that you are spared from death and suffer no harm. The Law cannot touch you or have any effect on you, because it is already satisfied by Christ. He is your God in the flesh, who has conquered death forevermore.
And as you eat and drink with Him — the Meal of His Flesh and Blood — you are begotten of God in body and soul, and you live in Him, unto the resurrection of your body and the life everlasting.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
On the other hand, you find out early on just how fragile, fleeting, and unreliable your flesh is. As a child you experience hunger and thirst, discomfort and pain. You know accidents and ouchies, punishments, weaknesses, and inabilities. And as an adult you have to deal with your various inadequacies, failures, aches and pains, wounds and scars, fading glories, and lost opportunities.
Your fleeting and fickle relationship with your own flesh and that of the world around you is the evidence and outcome of the fall into sin, and of your own sinfulness and mortality. Descended from Adam and Eve, you were conceived and born in sin, and death has stalked you ever since.
The irony is that, in your sin, you still desire and pursue that which is perishing and cannot give you life. You invest yourself, your time, attention, energy, and money, in serving your fallen flesh and seeking that which is flesh, even though you already know that none of it will last forever or even for very long. It does not and cannot satisfy you, but only increases your longing for more and more in a pointless pursuit that continues until it has driven you into the ground.
You love the flesh and long for it, even though it dies. So you are driven by this constant appetite and hunger — of the flesh for the flesh — and yet, you do not trust the flesh, neither your own nor that which you idolize. So you resent the hold that it has over you and your dependence on the flesh, because you know that it is going to fail you and that you are going to fail and fade with it.
I suppose that addicts and alcoholics know the feeling more acutely than most, but the problem is common to all the fallen children of Adam and Eve. You make a false god of the flesh, and you spend your whole life worshiping the flesh, all the while it is dying and taking you along with it.
It therefore seems the height of piety and spirituality to disavow and avoid the flesh; to swear off the things of this body and life, and to discipline yourself to do without them; to deny and deprive your own flesh of pleasure, and to despise and demonize the good things of creation. That attitude and approach seems good and right and spiritual, because it seems to be what the Law requires.
To be sure, the Word of the Law is harsh, and it threatens you with deadly fire. It would strip you of all things, consume your clothing, and destroy your flesh. So fierce is the Law that no one can draw near to it without being killed. So it was that Israel cowered in fear at the foot of Mt. Sinai. And so were those valiant and mighty warriors who cast Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego into the midst of the fiery furnace slain by its blazing heat.
But the curse and condemnation of the Law is not aimed at your flesh per se, nor at any flesh in particular, inasmuch as it is the creation of the Lord your God. For all that He has made is good and right, to be received in faith and with thanksgiving, and sanctified by His Word and prayer.
No, what the Law condemns and puts to death is the sin that dwells within your members, that is, within your flesh, infecting and permeating your body and soul with unrighteousness. That is the wickedness of idolatry and unbelief, which originates within your heart, abides within your will, and prevents you from living rightly in the flesh and receiving God’s good creation as He intends.
But now, all that has been written in His Law, all that He demands and requires, has been fulfilled and satisfied by the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus. He has suffered and died in the flesh, cursed and crucified for the sins of the world. And yet, God has raised Him bodily from the dead.
Not only in His Immaculate Conception and Holy Nativity, but also in His Resurrection from the dead and His Ascension to the Right Hand of the Father, He possesses a body of flesh and bone, with blood and sinews, lips and teeth, tongue and stomach. He is and remains forever a true Man, a Human Being just like yourself. For He is the Word-made-Flesh who tabernacles with you.
He bore all of your sins, and the sins of the whole world, in His own Body on the Cross, even unto death; but, again, God raised this same Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary, bodily from the dead.
His Flesh, therefore, did not suffer decay. For His Flesh is Spirit and Life. His holy Body and His precious Blood are immortal, imperishable, and glorious — as are you and your body in Him.
The crucified and risen Lord Jesus is the Christ, anointed in His Flesh with the Life-giving Spirit of God. Genuine piety and true spirituality thus derive from, depend upon, and live in His Body.
In Him, all things are pure, and all of Creation is made brand new; for the resurrection of all flesh has been accomplished in His Body. That is why you are now able to receive the good gifts of God in faith and with thanksgiving, also for this body and life, and to sanctify them to yourself by the Word of Christ Jesus. Indeed, all the earth with joy is sounding in His Resurrection from the dead.
He has entered the fire with you and for you, this Son of God in the flesh, so that you are spared from death and suffer no harm. The Law cannot touch you or have any effect on you, because it is already satisfied by Christ. He is your God in the flesh, who has conquered death forevermore.
And as you eat and drink with Him — the Meal of His Flesh and Blood — you are begotten of God in body and soul, and you live in Him, unto the resurrection of your body and the life everlasting.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
22 April 2014
Given and Poured Out for the Whole of You
It is in both body and soul that Jesus has suffered and died for you, and in both body and soul that He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns eternally as your true King and great High Priest.
He is not a disembodied spirit, nor any sort of ghost, but glorified and perfect Man; the new and better Adam; the Head of His Body, the Church, which shares His Resurrection and His Life.
That is the Resurrection that is preached to you. That is the Holy Gospel. The Jesus who is with you is the Savior of your body as well as your soul and spirit; the Savior of your flesh and blood, your bones and sinews, along with your heart and mind, your thoughts and emotions. To all of “you,” to all that you are, He speaks Peace; and with His Word, He does and gives what He says.
His Cross and Resurrection have wrought forgiveness of your sins, not only your sinful thoughts and sinful words, but all your sinful actions, too. For as you sin with your heart and mind, with your mouth and your body, so does He forgive you all those sins and grant His blessed peace and rest and saving health to your heart and mind, your ears and mouth, your soul, and your body.
Why, then, are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your heart? Why do you gasp and groan and shake with fear? Is this not the Savior you expected, whom you have longed for, and prayed for, and waited for many a day? Or, were you wanting, instead, a Jesus who would calm your spirit and grant peace to your heart and mind, but who would leave your mouth and body alone, so that you might be free to live your own life in the world?
Well, forget that fabricated, New Age nonsense sort of “Jesus.”
The crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ, does grant peace and rest to your heart and mind, your soul and spirit; so all of these belong to Him, too. But He is also the Author and Giver of Life to your body, which likewise belongs to Him by rights. And this Life He grants to the whole of you by His Word, which you hear with your ears, believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth.
Where you have refused to listen, repent with your ears.
Where you have doubted and questioned and refused to believe, repent with your heart.
Where you have refused or failed to confess the Word of Christ, His Cross and Resurrection, repent with your mouth: confess your sins, and confess your faith in the risen Lord Jesus.
And where you have dishonored His holy Name with your body, and where you have failed to love and serve your neighbor in his body, repent with your body, and live henceforth by faith and love.
But don’t suppose that you’ll pull it off or manage it on your own. You won’t. You can’t. It is surprising, actually, how many Christians suppose themselves to be superior to and more capable than the Lord’s chosen Apostles. But, no, the Spirit of the Father is bestowed upon you by the preaching of the Word of Christ.
It is by that preaching, which is the preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name, that Christ Jesus Himself comes to you and dwells with you and grants you His Peace.
His Word does and gives what it says, just as the Holy Scriptures of St. Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets preached Christ in days of old, and were perfectly fulfilled with His coming in the flesh.
His Word of the Law and the Gospel calls you and brings you to repentance; which is to say that He thereby turns you around, away from your preoccupation with sin and death, and He brings you into faith and life in Him. Because His Law exposes your sin and puts you to death for it, and His Gospel forgives you all your sins and raises you up to the life everlasting in both body and soul.
His Word likewise puts His Body and His Blood into your hands and mouth and body, so that He lives and abides in you, not as a disembodied ghost, but as the One who is your Brother in the flesh, true God and Man, your Savior.
In this Holy Supper, everything is fulfilled and accomplished, just as it is written, and just as it is preached. For this true Body and Blood of Christ in you is the down payment and surety of your own resurrection on the last day. With these, all your sins of thought, word, and deed are forgiven, and you are preserved, body, soul, and spirit, steadfast in the true faith unto eternal Life.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
He is not a disembodied spirit, nor any sort of ghost, but glorified and perfect Man; the new and better Adam; the Head of His Body, the Church, which shares His Resurrection and His Life.
That is the Resurrection that is preached to you. That is the Holy Gospel. The Jesus who is with you is the Savior of your body as well as your soul and spirit; the Savior of your flesh and blood, your bones and sinews, along with your heart and mind, your thoughts and emotions. To all of “you,” to all that you are, He speaks Peace; and with His Word, He does and gives what He says.
His Cross and Resurrection have wrought forgiveness of your sins, not only your sinful thoughts and sinful words, but all your sinful actions, too. For as you sin with your heart and mind, with your mouth and your body, so does He forgive you all those sins and grant His blessed peace and rest and saving health to your heart and mind, your ears and mouth, your soul, and your body.
Why, then, are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your heart? Why do you gasp and groan and shake with fear? Is this not the Savior you expected, whom you have longed for, and prayed for, and waited for many a day? Or, were you wanting, instead, a Jesus who would calm your spirit and grant peace to your heart and mind, but who would leave your mouth and body alone, so that you might be free to live your own life in the world?
Well, forget that fabricated, New Age nonsense sort of “Jesus.”
The crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ, does grant peace and rest to your heart and mind, your soul and spirit; so all of these belong to Him, too. But He is also the Author and Giver of Life to your body, which likewise belongs to Him by rights. And this Life He grants to the whole of you by His Word, which you hear with your ears, believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth.
Where you have refused to listen, repent with your ears.
Where you have doubted and questioned and refused to believe, repent with your heart.
Where you have refused or failed to confess the Word of Christ, His Cross and Resurrection, repent with your mouth: confess your sins, and confess your faith in the risen Lord Jesus.
And where you have dishonored His holy Name with your body, and where you have failed to love and serve your neighbor in his body, repent with your body, and live henceforth by faith and love.
But don’t suppose that you’ll pull it off or manage it on your own. You won’t. You can’t. It is surprising, actually, how many Christians suppose themselves to be superior to and more capable than the Lord’s chosen Apostles. But, no, the Spirit of the Father is bestowed upon you by the preaching of the Word of Christ.
It is by that preaching, which is the preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name, that Christ Jesus Himself comes to you and dwells with you and grants you His Peace.
His Word does and gives what it says, just as the Holy Scriptures of St. Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets preached Christ in days of old, and were perfectly fulfilled with His coming in the flesh.
His Word of the Law and the Gospel calls you and brings you to repentance; which is to say that He thereby turns you around, away from your preoccupation with sin and death, and He brings you into faith and life in Him. Because His Law exposes your sin and puts you to death for it, and His Gospel forgives you all your sins and raises you up to the life everlasting in both body and soul.
His Word likewise puts His Body and His Blood into your hands and mouth and body, so that He lives and abides in you, not as a disembodied ghost, but as the One who is your Brother in the flesh, true God and Man, your Savior.
In this Holy Supper, everything is fulfilled and accomplished, just as it is written, and just as it is preached. For this true Body and Blood of Christ in you is the down payment and surety of your own resurrection on the last day. With these, all your sins of thought, word, and deed are forgiven, and you are preserved, body, soul, and spirit, steadfast in the true faith unto eternal Life.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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