How Can This Be Glory? It Does Not Look Like, Sound Like, And Feel Like Glory

Text:  John 12:20-43

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

On this day we wave palm branches and sing boldly in honor of Jesus coming into Jerusalem.  We join with those from long ago to acclaim the Son of David as our King, for He is most surely a King. 

He is a strange King though: riding on a donkey, no magnificent chariot, no fireworks, no powerful swords lifted upward, no battle cries, and no demonstration of flexing muscles, just a modest procession of the Son of David on a donkey.

Needless to say, there was excitement in the air that first Palm Sunday, for Jesus performed all the signs of the Messiah.  The blind received sight, the lame walked, lepers were cleansed, the deaf heard, and the dead were raised to life.  Thus, it makes sense that the people expected more of the same.  Would Jesus rally the people to overthrow the Roman Empire?  Was there some great plan that Jesus had hidden, underneath His humble entrance into Jerusalem?  What was He planning?  What would happen?  What could they anticipate?  They, like us, stood on the edge of Holy Week, on the edge of greatness and glory.

The disciples must have felt the same sense of anticipation as Jesus continually said to the disciples over three-and-a-half years,

“My time has not yet come.  My hour has not yet come.  It is not my time yet.  No, not now my disciples; the time is later.” 

Yes, there were countless occasions where Jesus was either almost arrested or taken by force to Jerusalem to make things happen, but it simply did not occur because the time was not right.  The hour of Jesus’ glory had not yet arrived. 

However, in our Gospel reading from this morning, things are a bit different.  Otherwise stated, right after Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey, after all the palm branches, after the great welcome and yelling of, “Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” we hear that Jesus is interacting with His disciples and a group of Greeks.  He then says to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” 

What? 

Yes, after all the countless times of saying that it was not His time, here in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is now saying that it is His time.  Now is the time for Jesus to reveal His glory. 

We can just imagine the reaction of the disciples and others when they heard this news from Jesus:

“It is about time.  Now, we will see things happen.  Yes, the timing is just right Jesus; now we are going to see something really spectacular.  Let’s capture the buzz and excitement and funnel it towards Jesus as He unleashes His glory.  Yes, Jesus you healed, gave sight, and imparted health; now you are going to drive out the Romans, restore the temple, and make Jerusalem great.  Hold on and fasten your seatbelts for we are in for a ride!”

 

Yes, Jesus said that the hour had come for the Son of Man to be glorified!  “What earthly glorious pictures those words must have called up in the minds of the disciples. They were flushed with the glory of the palms and hosannas of Palm Sunday. This, they thought, was the real Jesus, the royal Jesus. This was Jesus coming into His own. The kingdom was about to be established.”[1]

Surely, glory is about to be revealed.  The disciples and followers were on the edge of glory; they were about to experience and see glory in Jerusalem.

For you and me today, we stand on the edge of Holy Week, the edge of glory as well.  We lean forward and are able to looking into the events of this next week.  But what does this glory exactly look like?  What do you think glory looks like as we stand on the verge of Holy Week anticipating the glorification of Jesus?

Well, you may believe that glory is the accumulation of power and status.  You may believe that glory is the gathering of money, health, and influence.  You may believe that glory is acquiring first place and having a list of achievements, achievements that provide a platform for boasting.  You may believe that glory is using God’s divine power to make your life a little bit easier here on this earth.  You may be convinced that victory, prestige, health, money, power, influence, confidence, status, boasting, control, and beauty are all words that are attached to and communicate the word ‘glory.’

Thus, is this what we will see in Jesus?  Is this what we can anticipate this next week as we hear about Jesus being glorified during Holy Week?  As we have been journeying towards Holy Week during Lent, has our slow journey been a steady uphill climb towards the flashing glitter and power of glory that anchors itself above the troubles of suffering?  As we come closer to Good Friday will we find that the Roman Empire has been destroyed, that the Pharisees have been silenced, and that Jesus sits in power and control on a mighty golden throne?  We may hope.  Will we find ourselves sitting on Jesus’ right and left established in health, wealth, and happiness?  Oh, how blissful that would be having our problems and enemies under our feet!

My friends as you step into Holy Week you will most definitely hear and see Jesus in glory.  However, the glory that you and I will see is quite a bit different from the glory that you and I anticipate.  It is different from what the disciples anticipated as well.  You will not see Jesus overcome and destroy the Roman Empire, but Christ destroyed, bloodied, and beaten on a Roman execution cross.  You won’t see Jesus correcting a crooked justice system, but you will see a Kangaroo court enacting perverted justice upon a truly sinless man.  You won’t see a halo, but a crown of thorns.  You won’t see a radiant Jesus sitting on a golden throne, but rather you will see a suffering servant spit upon, beaten to mush, and crucified.  This week you and I won’t see anything of renown, honor, beauty, respect, delight, splendor, and adoration.  It seems that Jesus’ definition of glory is quite different from our definitions of glory. 

Yes, instead of rising out of the Lent Season to a glittery and flashy glorious Holy Week, it seems that we will encounter an entirely different kind of glory; we are going to travel much deeper and darker to a place called Golgotha, the place of the Son of God’s death.    

But how can this be glory you may ask?  It does not look like glory.  It does not sound like glory.  It does not feel like glory. 

I want glory. 

I need glory. 

This sounds depressing; culture says that I have a right to be happy.  This sounds too negative and too pessimistic; culture says that goodness comes to those who speak positive. 

Stop, I don’t want to know what happens when we plunge deeper and further away from what I perceive glory to be like.  Hold the show, I don’t want to follow Jesus any deeper or go any darker into the valley of death.  I want positive and encouraging thoughts; I want happy feelings; I don’t want the cross.  I don’t want to see the crown of thorns; I want a Precious Moments halo.  I don’t want to be spit upon; it is not sanitary.  I don’t want to hear the hammer and nails colliding with flesh; I want glorious fireworks and cannons.   I don’t want blood to be spilt upon me; I want celebratory champagne spilt on me.  I don’t want suffering; I want that euphoric feeling of awesomeness.  Where Jesus goes, I cannot go… …Thus, my friends, Jesus goes alone; abandoned by His disciples, abandoned by the crowd, and abandoned by you and me.  Jesus goes to the cross on His own solidarity.  Jesus goes to this anti-glorious place to be lifted up on a cross.

When the Christ is lifted up on the cross—after being spit upon, bloodied, mocked, betrayed, and forsaken—the scriptures say that He draws all men to Himself.  Yes, in this anti-glorious place; in this dark, ugly, low place of shame and death, Jesus drags and pulls the weight of sin from the world—from you—unto Himself.  Do you and I truly hear this?  Jesus chose the crown of thorns—for you.  He chose the hammer and nails—for you.  He went into the darkness—for you.  He chose the cross—for you.  He drank the cup of wrath and He drags and pulls the weight of sin, your sin and mine, into this anti-glorious place Golgotha where He finds death!  It is finished. 

“On Good Friday, when you see Christ dying on the cross, being cut off from God for sin, say, ‘That is my death for my sin.’  When Christ rises out of the whelming waters of death to life, say, ‘That is my rising to life.’  ‘I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live; yes not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me.’(Galatians 2:20)”[2]

As you step into the events of Holy Week remind yourself that Jesus was fighting a different war, His tactics were different; His definitions of glory were different.  Indeed, this is the week that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as God’s anointed warrior prince—the very Son of God in the flesh—who is on His way to do battle for your soul and the souls of mankind.  This is the week of war; the hour had come for a war that had eternal consequences, a war against sin, death, and the devil.  Yes, we stand on the edge of war, on the edge of glory, for Jesus must die and will die in order to win—all for you.  

This – Is – Glory.  This – Is – The – Glorious – One – At – Work – For – You! 

Have a blessed Holy Week, dear Baptized Saints, as we journey to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday!

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

---

[1] Norman Nagel, Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 106.

[2] Ibid, 108. 

Forgiveness For Eyes That Grow Hands

2015 Zion Lutheran Lent Series

God's Ten Word's - For You

Part 6 of 6 

Text:  Exodus 20:1-17 and 1 Timothy 6:3-10

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

God’s design for life begins with perfect fear, love and trust in Him.  This perfect fear, love, and trust in Him function like a foundation to a perfectly built house.  Everything else rests upon this sure foundation. 

Then comes the use of God’s Name, followed by gladly hearing and learning His Word.  The themes in the Second and Third Commandments function like the structure of the house, the framework if you will. 

Our house metaphor needs walls, windows, doors and some decorations too.  This is where the gifts of: authority, life, a good reputation, marriage, contentment, and possessions come into play.  These gifts become the walls, windows, doors, and decorations of our foundation and structure, thus completing our house.  Indeed, the gifts of authority, life, marriage, a good reputation, and so forth flow out of fear, love, and trust in the Lord.

As mentioned in previous sermons, the commandments are the Lord’s protection of His gifts; they function like protective fences for God’s gifts.  The First, Second, and Third Commandments seek to protect the foundation and structure, whereas commandments Four through Ten function to protect the walls, doors, windows, and decorations.  Together all Ten Commandments guard the Lord’s good and perfect gifts ‘to’ and ‘for’ us; the commandments guard God’s house, this design of how life ought to be.  

 

Tonight though, we will be focusing on the remaining three commandments of our six part series: the Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Commandments.  In other words, we are going to focus on the gift of possessions and the gift of contentment.  Indeed, returning to our house metaphor, we will be looking at the remaining doors and windows of our house, the house that represents God’s perfect design for life. 

Like the Fifth and Eighth Commandments, the Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Commandments have a bit of overlap as well.  The Ninth and Tenth Commandments state,

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his.

The Seventh Commandment states,

“Thou shalt not steal.”

In other words, coveting happens when the gift of contentment is attacked by our sinful nature and this coveting can fuel and lead to the breaking of the Seventh Commandment, stealing.  That is to say, coveting is having sinful desire for anyone or anything that belongs to our neighbor.  If left unchecked however, this coveting will lead to robbery, theft, or dishonest ways of getting that which we covet, thus breaking the Seventh Commandment of stealing as well.

Truly, the Lord is all about protecting the gifts of material possessions and the gift of contentment.  They need protection because of our hearts and because of the tactics of the Evil One.  Yes, from our hearts proceed all evil thoughts, such as coveting. 

This covetous heart is really exposed and ensnared by the Ninth and Tenth Commandments though.  These two commandments on coveting will catch us every time.  These commandments are directed precisely at the most upright, good and religious people.  Because just when you think you’ve kept all the other commandments, along comes the command “Don’t covet.”

In the other commandments, God dealt with actions.  In the ninth and tenth He zeros in on your heart and your desires.  With these two as with the others, God is protecting our neighbors from ourselves.

Coveting is looking to get what God did not give you.  In other words, don’t let your eyes grow hands.  That’s what we do when we covet.  We are saying that we are not content with what God has given us, so we look to our neighbor’s things, or blessings, or reputation… “if only I could get my hands on some of that.”

Coveting happens.  But no matter where or when it happens, the sin is the same.  We have a problem being content with what God has given us, whether it’s house or spouse, goods or kids.

Simply put, when we long for the honor, wealth, happy life, or what seems to be the ease of the lives of others, we are coveting. 

When we become stingy and self-indulgent with our money so that we can try to keep up with the Jones, we are coveting. 

When we live with grudges and a fist full of discontentment about what we should’ve got and what we supposedly deserve and how others shouldn’t deserve their gifts, we are coveting.

When we have wanted our neighbor’s spouse, property and possessions or if we attempt to win the affections of our neighbor’s spouse or children away from our neighbor, we are coveting.

There is no doubt about it that the Ninth and Tenth Commandments shine the light of truth on us good and religious people.  God’s Law shows us as the malcontents we really are.  And amazingly it all goes back to the First Commandment; we really don’t trust God and how He chooses to take care of us.

As you can see, these evil covetous thoughts not only erode contentment, but these covetous thoughts are like hot embers.  They are hot embers that are fanned by the Evil One in order that they catch fire.  When they catch fire, the flame attacks other people through robbery, theft, and getting things in dishonest ways, thus leading us to the Seventh Commandment.

This commandment has to do with taking advantage of our neighbor in any way that makes them lose something.  As with the other commandments, with this one God is protecting your neighbor from you because He knows how we can be tempted to look at what our neighbor has and make plans to take it.

Granted, you probably wouldn’t do it outright like a common thief.  But stealing happens more commonly and more innocently than you might think.  God counts it as stealing when we are lazy in our work or at school.

He considers it stealing because we are taking time and materials from our employer or teacher.  God also counts it as stealing when we over charge someone for something or try to get something for far less than what it’s worth.  We steal when we fail to care for the property in the neighborhood, school, or church so that it is improved.  We steal when we do not help our neighbor in his needs.  We steal when we work for ourselves rather than for Christ and the benefit of our neighbor.  And yes, it is also stealing when we hold tightfisted to our finances becoming stingy in our giving back to the Lord, when we withhold our thank offerings from the offering plate. 

Dr. Luther said in the Large Catechism that “thievery is the most common craft and largest guild on the earth.”  And we have all practiced that craft one time or another.

Instead of stealing, God’s design is to help your neighbor improve and protect their possessions and income.  Love looks out for its neighbor’s benefit, not its own.  Truly, God is gracious enough to give each of you exactly what you need.  With your needs, not necessarily your wants met, you are freed up to help and serve your neighbor.

God always gives us the money and possessions we need, especially in America, so we don’t have to worry about taking what belongs to our neighbor.  In fact the wealth and possessions, whether great or little are gifts from God so that you may bless others with what you have been given.

With all of this stated in regard to the Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Commandants, we find ourselves again at the end of our rope like last week, and the week before that and the week before that.  Convicted of sin, no way out, mouths shut, at wits end, and spiritually bankrupt. 

It is most definitely true that the Holy and Divine and Good and Salutary Law of God not only protects His gifts and reveals sin, but when it is proclaimed, it also has a way of stopping us dead in our tracks.  It catches us red handed and points a finger at us saying, “Guilty!”

This is all much needed and is very good.  Otherwise stated, it is good when we are stripped down and shown for what we are:  naked, frantically grasping for fig leaves; poor damned miserable sinners.   

This is healthy and a good place to be.  Otherwise stated, this is right where we need to be, especially the week before Holy Week.  Yes, when the Law shows us that there is no way out by our own reason or strength, we are actually being prepared to hear about the only way out.  We are being prepared to hear about what the Lord thinks, says, and does ‘to’ and ‘for’ us.  Truly, the only way out of this is by God’s giving and forgiving, namely in His Word and Sacraments delivering the benefits of Holy Week to us.

Dear baptized Saints, you, who have ears, hear…. in Jesus, you have a gracious God who provides for you in His death and resurrection.  In Jesus you have forgiveness; you are forgiven, the debt has been canceled, and you have been gifted every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.   Indeed, in the Holy Week gift, the Lord has met your greatest need and desire, as well as giving you the proof and promise that He will always see to your needs of both body and soul.

Believe it or not, that’s it!  We have finished six weeks of rehearsing and relearning God’s design for life in the Ten Commandments, though somewhat abbreviated at times.

It hasn’t been anything flashy or entertaining and it wasn’t supposed to be.  Because the Ten Commandments themselves are not flashy.  They are rooted in the simple everyday actions of faith in God and love toward our neighbor.  They are there as protective fences to protect God’s gifts.  They come from God Himself and reveal to us His perfect will for our lives.  They show us where fall short and sin against God and neighbor and they lead us to see our need for Holy Week and our need for the God-Man Jesus Christ  dying and rising for us.  Undeniably, they prepare us to hear about the all availing sacrifice for sinners, Jesus Christ, who not only takes away the sins of the world, but also fulfilled the Law perfectly for you and in your place.

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

We Want Glory; We Have Glory

Text: Mark 10:35-45

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

I am addicted to glory my friends!  There is no doubt about it that I want glory and I am pretty convinced that you want it too. 

Glory, it is great honor or fame; it is being in a position of adoration, receiving attention, receiving splendor, and being exalted! 

Who wouldn’t want this?   Who doesn’t fight and at least strive for this?

For men it is awesome to be in a place of honor and fame is it not?  It is good to be king of the hill.  Climbing the hill is all worth it, if you can have glory as a trophy.  For women, it is wonderful when you are a princess and it is exhilarating when the whole world bows to your magnificence and serves you.

The thoughts of glory intoxicate us in euphoric bliss.

Not only do we long for glory, we are also told in our culture that we deserve glory.  Listen to some of these marketing slogans,

“Have it your way.  Because You’re Worth It.  You deserve a break today.  We do it all for you.  You deserve the best.”

The desire for glory is nothing new though, for all of mankind has this innate addiction for that which is glorious.  We want to bask in glory, possess it for ourselves, and then display it as something that we have accomplished. 

The desire for glory is also present as a theme in today’s Gospel reading.  Otherwise stated, just before today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells His disciples the supposed non-glorious news that He is going to Jerusalem where He is going to be handed over to the religious rulers and authorities, so that He can be flogged, spit upon, beaten, and crucified.  He reveals the news that He has revealed before; however, it just seems as if the disciples don’t hear Jesus and are fixated on their own perceptions of glory. 

“Jesus, grant us to sit one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 

The disciples were pretty convinced that Jesus was someone special.  They witnessed His miracles, they saw Him transfigured like the sun, they knew His authority, and they dreamed of how He was going to make things happen; put things into action if you will.  They anticipated, like many others, that Jesus would arrive in Jerusalem, fireworks would go off, the fight would be on, and Jesus would overthrow the Roman Empire and usher in an independent Jerusalem with a powerful reign like King David’s.  Pure glory! 

They wanted to be ‘in’ on ‘this’ glory.  They wanted a piece of the glorious pie.  They even wanted this glory so bad that jealous tension arose about whom gets the right hand spot.  Who gets to sit closest to glory!

When we see this kind of stuff going on, it makes us sick.  You know what I am talking about—this nepotism, influence-peddling, heads rolling, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours, corporate ladder climbing, kissing up to authority to get a favor—this glory snatching and glory grabbing.  All of this stuff is really the same, people wanting to get that position of honor, fame, and glory and doing whatever it takes to get it.  Like I said, it makes us sick and makes us want to puke. 

“Jesus does not puke [though].  He continues on His way to Jerusalem.  And He draws us along with Him, which means leaving all that putrid and enslaving stuff behind.”[1]  Otherwise stated, Jesus is not distracted by these requests of the disciples, He does not rebuke the disciples.  He doesn’t even condemn their request.  You see the disciple’s request for glory—believe it or not—actually springs forth from faith.  That’s right, they realized that glory was attached to Jesus and this is a good thing.  It is a good thing that they want to be on Jesus’ right and left.  It is good when we want to be with Jesus in His adoration, fame, honor and splendor, rather than finding glory in ourselves.  It is a good thing for us to want to rub against Jesus in His glory.  The problem is not that the disciples sought glory from Jesus, the problem is that their motives and their understanding of glory needed to be purified; it needed to be refined.  The same is true for us. 

The disciples wanted to sit with Jesus at His right and left in glory.  As previously mentioned, this is good; nothing wrong with this.  However, Jesus challenges them and says, “You do not know what you are asking.”  In other words, they didn’t understand what it meant for Jesus to obtain glory.  They were ignorant of what their request involved.  They didn’t understand the real kingdom that Jesus was building.  They wanted glory but didn’t understand the pain that Christ was about to go through.  They wanted glory without the pain.  Give us a bit of your glory Jesus along with comfort, honor, prestige, special handouts, and respect, but hold the pain and humiliation.  Let us go upward in glory, not downward!

Jesus corrects them and asks,

“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized.”

Painting by Stephen C. Dawson

Now, this isn’t merely drinking a strong cup of coffee or a strong drink or getting a little wet.  The phrase “drinking the cup” was a phrase that communicated pain and suffering.  Furthermore, when Jesus talked about “baptism” here, He is not referring to water over the head, but rather He is talking about being submerged in death.  In other words, He is asking James and John if they would be able to go through suffering and death as He was about to.  Could they truly be on His right and left sides in glory?  Do they know what they are asking? 

We know who gets those places when Jesus is crowned, proclaimed king, and enthroned.  Those at His right hand and at His left are those who are crucified with Him.  Thus, are the disciples able or do they understand what it means to drink the cup of suffering? 

The same can be asked of you and me.  When we want to cozy up to the glory of Jesus, do we realize what we want to cozy up to?  The crown is thorny; the cross gives slivers.  Are we really able to drink the cup that Jesus drank; are we able to be baptized in the baptism of suffering that Jesus endured? 

Truth be told, we are not.  We are not able.

Jesus points out to James and John that the way to glory and greatness is not through overthrowing the Roman Empire and being in victory.  Rather, the way to glory is through the cross, through suffering and through humiliation.  The kingdom of God is not like the ways of this world. 

My friends, if we think that we are able to obtain spiritual glory, we are severely mistaking ourselves.  Furthermore, even though it is good that we may want to be at the right and the left of Jesus in His glory, our faith is still misguided, for we do not understand what glory completely entails. 

You want glory at Jesus right or left?  Are you able to drink the pain of a thorny cross?  You want to be in a position of glory?  Are you able to drink the pain of flogging?  Are you able to drink the pain of God’s wrath?  Are you able to bear the sins of the world on yourself?  It is good that we want to be with Jesus in His glory. However, we are not able.  The whips are too frightening, the pain is too great, the weight of sin is too heavy, and death is too powerful for us.  We are not able.

Christ is able though. 

Yes, Christ Jesus was able.  Jesus drank the cup of suffering.  Jesus was baptized in a drenching of death.  Jesus suffered the pain.  Jesus went to the cross.  This is why Jesus is glorious.  He is not a glorious savior because He conquered a mere feeble earthly kingdom, but rather, He is glorious because He conquered darkness, He conquered sin, and He conquered death itself.  Jesus obtains glory, honor, splendor and fame, through losing on the cross, which is ultimately victory.  The way to glory in the kingdom of God is through suffering. 

This idea of glory is climaxed in the thoughts that Jesus became last, He was made sin and He became a slave of all—which means He did this all for you and me too.

Dear friends, glory comes not by being first, but by being last. Glory is found not in your sacrifices for Christ, but in His sacrifice for you. Jesus did not come to be served, but to be a slave for all, a servant for you.  The purpose of Jesus’ life was to give, not to take.  He did not come to take earthly kingdoms, but to give you the kingdom of God.  Jesus paid what you should’ve paid but simply could not.  “God did the judgment on you when He did the judgment for your sins on Jesus.”[2]

And so, after all is said and done, you who are not able to acquire glory are given glory.  You are given Jesus.  “He gives you a baptism with which to be baptized.  He buries you into His flesh and resurrects you via that same flesh to a new life.  He places a cup to your lips and bids you drink of the blood given and shed for you.  He has given His life as a ransom for you, so that you are now His own.  He has bought you at a price.  You are His.  You are His, His beloved child.  And nothing in heaven or on earth can change this.”[3]

Your debt became His debt.  Your sin became His sin.  His righteousness is your righteousness.  Jesus was able; Jesus was willing.  That is your glorious Savior, glory given to you. 

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

---

[1] Norman Nagel, Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 102.

[2] Ibid., 103.

[3] Chad L. Bird, Christ Alone: Meditations and Sermons (Copyright 2014), 107.

The Shepherd Of Our Souls, Stands At Ashley's Side And Yours Too

The following 'Funeral Service Sermon' is posted with family permission.  May the Lord give to the family of Ashley Ann Anderson, and all who mourn, comfort in their grief and a sure confidence in the Lord's loving care.  

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. [Psalm 23:4]

Ashley Anderson: 
Born a Child of Man on August 12, 1987,
Asleep in Jesus on March 17, 2015

Brady, Lydia, Charli, Jerry, Patty, Andrew, Katie, Avery, Gary, Mary Ann, William, Mary, Patricia, family, and friends… this is a beautiful text taken from a beautiful psalm. It sings and proclaims of the blessings and riches of a life under the shepherd-like care of the Lord. The care Ashley and all of you have lived under since childhood.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters; He restoreth my soul;

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

A beautiful psalm; full of comfort and protection—for you.

But how does this psalm also fit into this moment of death and grief and pain and sorrow, when a husband has to part from his wife and children from their mother and parents from a daughter and a brother from a sister and grand-parents from a grand-daughter?

Brady, you have lost a wife with which you have lived and worked together for the last four plus years, in times of sunshine and rain, of success and loss, of happiness and sorrow. Although I am sure that you did not always agree and at times viewed life and its tasks from a different angle, it is obvious that there was a secret tie that tied you together and during the years this tie did not become loose, it grew firmer. Each child you and Ashley brought home from the hospital gave you increased happiness and tied you closer together. Every sickness that visited your home exercised a deepening force upon your union and helped cement it. So you were two and still one. Now the union has ended. The tie torn apart. It has pleased God to call your wife from your side to Himself and you stand alone. That, truly, is a loss that saddens your heart, all the more so when you look for assurance, for an understanding heart, and for a helping hand.

And to you, Lydia and Charli, even though not fully comprehended at this point and time, the death of your mother is likewise a great loss.  In the years to come when joy fills your hearts, both of you will want to go to mother and tell her and have her participate in your joy. When the shadows of life with their sadness and trying sorrow fall over you, you may want to hurry to mommy to find strength and consolation from her loving heart and experienced advice. This you will no longer have, and that is what makes this hour an occasion of sorrow and pain for you and for all of us here with you.

Painting by Stephen Dawson

But now listen to our psalm, which has a word for you and for all of us in this time of distress. Here we find the comforting words:

 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” 

The Psalmist feared no evil. Why not? Because the Lord was with him. The Lord’s rod and staff comforted him. The Lord was his rod that showed him the way even in the dark. He was his staff that protected him and gave him strength to go his way fearlessly, although enemies were lying in wait for him at the right and at the left. So it is with you who mourn for Ashley.

It is true, the road of your life Brady , is narrow, the shadows of evening will fall upon you and the dangers of lonesomeness and bodily weakness will threaten you—and it is a terrible thing to be lonesome and to have no one to whom one can tell his inmost thoughts—but be not afraid. Listen to the Psalmist:

“I fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

Brady, the Lord, the almighty and merciful One stands with you always.

It is the LORD, the Good Shepherd, Jesus Himself. He is with you, that you need not fear. His rod and staff will comfort you. He has overcome death when He died on the cross and rose again Easter morning. He can console you when the hour of death overshadows you. He has taken away the sin of the world. Mine, yours, and your beloved wife’s. Therefore you shall not want, neither in life nor in death.

The same is true with you, dear Lydia and Charli. The Lord stands ready to be with you in this hour of distress. To be with you in all the life before you. As you listen to this recording of this sermon in the years to come, I say to you, do not push the Lord away. Do not hush His voice. Do not let Him stand and then you go your way without Him. Indeed, your mother nurtured you and comforted you. The Lord is a still-better comforter. He stirs up the soul. He gives courage in loss, strength in weakness. He cleanses our heart with forgiveness. He enables our mind. He directs our thoughts to that which is everlasting. He will be our rod and staff in all the confusion and anxiety of life and death. The Lord is your shepherd, with Him at your side You shall not want...

Family and friends, we must all descend into the shadow of the valley of death. We descend by various paths and at various ages, but we must all descend. The hour may be much nearer than we think. Last week and this past Sunday none of us imagined that we would assemble here this afternoon around the casket of our departed sister. Today we are well. Tomorrow we may be dead. Who knows how near this end may be? Is there anyone ready to step to our side? Is there anyone ready to protect us from this?

There is One. He will be with us. We need not fear anything, not even bodily death. His rod and staff comfort us. He overcame death when He died on the cross and showed us our hope in the resurrection is sure and true when He rose again on Easter morning. Thus, even now, when the hurt that has settled into our hearts over Ashley’s death seems ready to wash away hope, we cling to the consolation that is with us always. Only God’s baptismal promises can sustain us when the hour of death threatens to overwhelm us. That is, by Jesus’ death in our name, and by our baptismal death in His Name, we already have one foot in the resurrection.

In God’s baptismal promises, Ashley and all of you can rest, not in your heart’s desires, which fade, wither, and wear out over time, but in the grace of God which works entirely by raising the dead.

No uncertainties.

No anxiety.

Just God's abundant, unbreakable promise that,

“We were buried with Him by baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of God the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” [Romans 6:3-5]

This is our mighty Lord, the Shepherd of our souls, Jesus Christ who stands at our side. Upon Him depends all, your death and your eternal life. I beg you, then, this afternoon, listen to His voice. He comes to you with His words of comfort and protection. Hear them. Use them, especially now when you are so terribly shaken by Ashley’s death. In Jesus’ sheepfold you shall not want, neither in death nor in eternal life.

Now may the Lord of peace Himself, Jesus Christ, lead you with His rod and staff through the darkness and dread of sin and death, and give you peace, hope, and courage always in every way until He graciously takes you from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven. Amen.

Note: This sermon is indebted to Rev. Donavon Riley of Webster, MN. 

Clothed In White, With The Palm Of Victory In Her Hand

The following 'Visitation and Prayer Service Sermon' is posted with family permission.  May the Lord give to the family of Ashley Ann Anderson, and all who mourn, comfort in their grief and a sure confidence in the Lord's loving care.  To listen to the 'Funeral Service Sermon,' CLICK HERE.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ashley Anderson:
Born a Child of Man on August 12, 1987,
Asleep in Jesus on March 17, 2015

In tonight’s reading from the New Testament book of Revelation, we heard about a great multitude from every nation, from all tribes and all people and all languages.  There they are, standing before the throne and before Jesus—the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world.  This vast crowd does not stand empty handed or in with ordinary attire, but they stand clothed in white, with the palm of victory in their hands, as they sing a song that ascribes their salvation solely to their God and to the Lamb.

These faithfully departed Saints know they have nothing to boast of on their own.  Why would they, for they have only been given to.  They know that their robes are white only because they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb - because the Lamb, Jesus, bled and died to redeem them and set them free to stand before the throne holy and pure.

Furthermore, these blessed departed Saints are always there, day and night, never departing from God’s presence, delighting to offer him an endless worship of praise...

They live in God’s temple - protected from all harm and danger.  In that act of awesome gentleness, He reaches out His nail-scared hand to wipe away every tear from their eyes.  Their sorrows are gone.  No pain.  No suffering.  No anguish.  They have eternal joy.

Just to ensure that we are all on the same page thus far, who are these people that are portrayed in our Reading from Revelation?  Who are these people seen in this vision of heaven?  They are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, or the great sorrow.  These are people like you and me:  People who have had their share of heart-ache and pain; people who sometimes had to struggle day by day just to hang on and keep going; people for whom faith never came easy.  They are people who struggled to trust in the Lord and to believe that in the midst of their troubles, the Lord was still there and still in control and still loving them… Who are they?  Well, among them are those that you have known and loved; fellow sinners who were baptized into the name of the Lord.  They are fellow sinners declared righteous for Christ’s sake.  They are fellow sinners who put their hope in Jesus’ words.  They are fellow sinners who have gone before us and died. They are people like Ashley.  They are people like Ashley who died in Christ’s care.  That’s who they are.  They’re the Church, that bunch of forgiven sinners whom Christ has already gathered to Himself.

With that said, what do we make of the rest of us in the here and now?  Yes, you and I sitting right here and right now?  You and I are those who are in this vale of tears.  We are the Church that struggles still. 

If this is the case, does this mean that there are two churches?  Is there a church on the earth and a church in heaven?  No, we are not two churches:  we’re one Church, one communion.  Otherwise stated, there are not two churches: one in heaven and one on the earth.  We do not have two Lords, but one Lord.  Christ Jesus does not have two brides, but one.  We are baptized into one name; those who are in the vale of tears and those who are with the Lord, yet all of us belonging to the Lord.

 

The reality that there is one church can be a big comfort and encouragement for us.  When we gather for worship on Sundays, it’s not just those of us in the room that are gathered together.  Oh, no!  If we only had the eyes to see it, we would discover that we never gather with less than a few million at a time.

Listen to what Hebrews says of this One Church: 

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. (Heb 12:22-24).”

You have come to all this, the sacred writer reminds the people.  So when we gather for worship here on Sundays or in your churches across the South East of North Dakota, it’s never just you in the sanctuary.  It’s also the angels in heaven, the spirits of just men and women made perfect, that is, the saints in heaven with their blood-washed white robes—saints like Ashley—and most of all Jesus with His blood, that established the new covenant of forgiveness

We’re always a mega-church when we’re at worship.  And the song of those that triumph, the voice of them that feast, gives us the courage and strength to go on, and muddle through, and know that in the end, our God will take us out of the great sorrow and bring us into eternal sunshine, when we will see with our eyes those who have gone before us, those like Ashley, and we will lift our voices in song with their voices forever.

So tonight and tomorrow we’re not just remembering those who died in the faith, like Ashley.  We’re worshipping with them.  At the same throne.  Before the same Lord...  Surrounded by the same angels.  Clothed in the same righteousness of Jesus.

We can’t see them with the eyes of the body yet, but that’s only because our vision is so poor.  It’s a reality none the less.  Together with them, together with Ashley, we cry out:

"Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb!" 

Painting by Stephen C. Dawson

Indeed, this evening we remember Ashley, while “trusting in that forgiveness won on Mt. Calvary by the Lamb who was slain. [We remember that] it is He, [Christ Jesus,] who is our judge, He who answered for our sins on Calvary. What Christ did is given us as ours, His death for us, His life for us, and so we are forgiven and righteous with His righteousness, holy, saints. That is all ours from the Lamb, and the Lamb who is our judge cannot deny Himself or what is ours from Him… We are justified by grace through faith for the Lamb’s sake”[1] just as Ashley was and is.

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

Note: This sermon is indebted to Rev. Bill Weedon's "All Saints Day Sermon."

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[1] Excerpted from Norman Nagel’s All Saints’ Day sermon preached at Valparaiso University on November 1, 1981 by the Reverend Dr. Norman Nagel “Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel,” pp. 315-16.