6th Sunday of Easter
Text: John 16:23-33
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before His throne (that is the Holy Spirit) and from Jesus Christ, the first born from the dead.
“I have said these things to you that you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Dear hearers of the Word: in the world’s eyes, your pastor is a moron! By the world, I mean the natural reason of unbelieving man. By the world I mean the philosophies of mankind – both academic wisdom and backyard common sense apart from Christ. St. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth “the word of the cross is folly (Greek – moronic) to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” In the world’s eyes your pastor is a moron. But then so are you!
This is not just because you believe in God. Many people believe in a higher power of some kind. Spiritual experiences, hope that their might be something better than life and death on earth – these do not automatically merit the label of “foolish” from the world. Whether it might be the spirit of nature or your inner being or some angelic or star-powered force – who knows? But, if you confess faith in the one Man Jesus Christ and His work of redemption on the cross, that is seen as foolish (moronic) by this dying world.
Jesus said, “…the Father loves you, because you loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” This one man came from God the Father – equal with the Father! It was now Holy Week. In a little while – a few short hours – He would be hidden from the eyes of His disciples in the darkness of the tomb. They would not see Him! Then, in a little while, on the third day, they would see Him. Their hearts would be full of joy as the risen Christ taught them and fed them again. Then, in a little while, forty days more, His Ascension would remove from them His visible, presence. They would not see Him. Yet, in this “little while” until He comes again, He continues with us more then ever through the Holy Spirit. We live by faith, not by sight until we see Him face to face.
How foolish this sounds to an unbelieving world and to our hearts by nature. Jesus keeps talking about Himself as if He is the key to everything! Jesus keeps talking about His person and work as if He makes things right for us with the Father. Jesus keeps talking about things we cannot see as if He gives peace and purpose for what we do see in this troubled world. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. Either He is a proud and misguided man or He is the marvelous Prince of Peace and Savior of the world. What He cannot be fashioned into is nonetheless the most popular Jesus today - a religious nice guy suitable for blending with this world’s idols.
Even the disciples at this crucial hour had misguided thoughts about what He should do. “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” The disciples thought that they finally understood. “…now you are speaking plainly…they said, we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.” Years of teaching, hours of praying, multitudes of healings, magnificent miracles on land and sea, yet now they will all leave Him. The hour has come when they will be scattered. Such is the strength of the sinful disciples. Such is our unaided strength as well!
No more than had Jesus predicted their failings, however, than He also made the most astounding claim about His faithfulness. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” The Greek word for tribulation means to be pressed in on, to be squeezed in a narrow place. It includes persecution (I Thess 1:6) and derision (Heb. 10:33) and poverty (Rev. 2:9) and inner sorrow (Phil 1:17) and anxiety and fear (II Cor. 7:5). In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart… The Greek word for take heart means to be bold and of good courage. To the man sick with palsy, to the woman with the flow of blood, to the disciples in a sinking, storm-tossed boat Jesus said “take heart”. Then He acted to heal them and save them! Take heart; I have overcome the world. The Greek word for “overcome” is abstracted from the Greek goddess “Nik-a”. It is the word now used for marketing “Nike” shoes and sports equipment. Those who wear them are winners – so the advertisement says. The New Testament uses this word to proclaim Jesus’ complete victory over sin and death and the devil. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
How foolish that claim seems to the naked eye! Jesus asserts victory just hours before His shameful and brutal crucifixion. I have overcome the world! I, Jesus, who will soon be bound and led away! I, Jesus, who will soon be abandoned by all of you! I, Jesus, who will be humbled to death on a cross and my body placed in the tomb. I have overcome the world! We see again, dear Christians, that there is no doubt in heaven about what will occur on Good Friday and Easter morning! This is the very reason He came from the Father for us.
The world is unbelieving! The world is dying! The world is hostile to Christ and His Church! In open derision or unspoken elitist pity, the world views Christ’s exclusive claims as moronic and us as morons for believing in Him. Therefore the world will put His disciples through all manner of tribulation. The unbelieving world will put you through the same. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world.
Do you believe this? On the sixth Sunday of Easter, 2007, do you see the triumph you have today in Christ? On a day when our society celebrates mothers, do you see the incomparable gift you have received through your mother, the Church? We can scarcely understand the blessings we receive from our earthly mothers? From the knitting together of our bodies in the womb, to years of tender care, to needed correction and ongoing counsel, how they love us! What gifts we receive in this way! Concerning mothers, more than any other reason we should thank God for their encouragement to receive the gifts of the risen Christ. We should praise God chiefly for their part in bringing us to our mother, the Church, for through the Lamb, the Church receives life eternal.
“Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Her radiance is like a most rare jewel – the holy city, Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. So fully does she participate in the triumph of Christ over the world that in eternity she has no need of sun or moon – the Lamb gives it light. By God’s grace through our mother, the Church, we are born again in the washing of rebirth. This is not life or light that we can work our way into. Nor is it life or light that the love of our earthly mothers can bestow upon us.
The church Fathers anciently said that no one has God as their Father who does not have the church as their mother. Thus, among all the tribulations and weaknesses and faults of the Bride of Christ, this is where we receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
The human eye is never sharp enough to discern between genuine and apparent victory. God’s victory should be recognized by all, but it is not acknowledged. Rather, human hearts seek refuge in self-delusion. Thus the Greek, when faced by the ultimate threat to existence was taught to draw courage and take heart from what lies within him or herself. Not so with you Bride of Christ. You are to take heart in Christ. Beloved, you are in the hands of the victor over the cosmos. Heaven and earth will pass away but His words will never pass away.
Every tribulation that we will encounter in this passing world is anchored in death, the wages of sin. Whether it is persecution or derision or pain or depression, all of the pressures of this life come from the last enemy. We sang in the Introit, My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. If it weren’t for our sin and God’s curse against it we would not have tribulation.
That’s why Jesus became a curse for us - to unlock the door to the Father’s heart. That’s also why He gives us a sweeping invitation to use His gift of prayer to call upon the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Fathers and mothers and children – be encouraged in the use of this gift! Parents pray for your children and children pray for your parents in Jesus’ name.
To pray in Jesus’ name does not mean to ask for anything you want with the tag line “in Jesus’ name.” This is not a “name it and claim it” promise. To pray in Jesus’ name means to pray with faith in what He has done to save you. For the name “Jesus” literally means “The Lord saves”. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we are asking the Father for all of the saving gifts that are given us in the name that is above every name. Such prayer is shaped by God’s Word. Such prayer is offered in faith which asks “Thy will be done” not “My will be done”. God’s will for you in Christ is so good and gracious and grand. Ask and receive that your joy may be full. I have overcome the world.
Brothers and sisters in Christ after a little while of tribulation there is an eternity of peace and pleasure awaiting you. Pray with boldness in Him who is the risen Conqueror, who has given you His victory. Believe him when He says, Ask and receive that your joy may be full. Whatever tribulation presses in on you today believe Him who says, “Take heart; I have overcome the world”.
Each week in the Liturgy and again today, He says it to you this way, “Lift up your hearts”. You are right to say, “We lift them to the Lord”. He who has blessed you from your mother’s arms with beautiful gifts of daily bread is here to bless you as the Bread of Life. You are never foolish to love Him and believe that He brings you the Father’s love. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; Amen.
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before His throne (that is the Holy Spirit) and from Jesus Christ, the first born from the dead.
“I have said these things to you that you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Dear hearers of the Word: in the world’s eyes, your pastor is a moron! By the world, I mean the natural reason of unbelieving man. By the world I mean the philosophies of mankind – both academic wisdom and backyard common sense apart from Christ. St. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth “the word of the cross is folly (Greek – moronic) to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” In the world’s eyes your pastor is a moron. But then so are you!
This is not just because you believe in God. Many people believe in a higher power of some kind. Spiritual experiences, hope that their might be something better than life and death on earth – these do not automatically merit the label of “foolish” from the world. Whether it might be the spirit of nature or your inner being or some angelic or star-powered force – who knows? But, if you confess faith in the one Man Jesus Christ and His work of redemption on the cross, that is seen as foolish (moronic) by this dying world.
Jesus said, “…the Father loves you, because you loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” This one man came from God the Father – equal with the Father! It was now Holy Week. In a little while – a few short hours – He would be hidden from the eyes of His disciples in the darkness of the tomb. They would not see Him! Then, in a little while, on the third day, they would see Him. Their hearts would be full of joy as the risen Christ taught them and fed them again. Then, in a little while, forty days more, His Ascension would remove from them His visible, presence. They would not see Him. Yet, in this “little while” until He comes again, He continues with us more then ever through the Holy Spirit. We live by faith, not by sight until we see Him face to face.
How foolish this sounds to an unbelieving world and to our hearts by nature. Jesus keeps talking about Himself as if He is the key to everything! Jesus keeps talking about His person and work as if He makes things right for us with the Father. Jesus keeps talking about things we cannot see as if He gives peace and purpose for what we do see in this troubled world. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. Either He is a proud and misguided man or He is the marvelous Prince of Peace and Savior of the world. What He cannot be fashioned into is nonetheless the most popular Jesus today - a religious nice guy suitable for blending with this world’s idols.
Even the disciples at this crucial hour had misguided thoughts about what He should do. “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” The disciples thought that they finally understood. “…now you are speaking plainly…they said, we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.” Years of teaching, hours of praying, multitudes of healings, magnificent miracles on land and sea, yet now they will all leave Him. The hour has come when they will be scattered. Such is the strength of the sinful disciples. Such is our unaided strength as well!
No more than had Jesus predicted their failings, however, than He also made the most astounding claim about His faithfulness. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” The Greek word for tribulation means to be pressed in on, to be squeezed in a narrow place. It includes persecution (I Thess 1:6) and derision (Heb. 10:33) and poverty (Rev. 2:9) and inner sorrow (Phil 1:17) and anxiety and fear (II Cor. 7:5). In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart… The Greek word for take heart means to be bold and of good courage. To the man sick with palsy, to the woman with the flow of blood, to the disciples in a sinking, storm-tossed boat Jesus said “take heart”. Then He acted to heal them and save them! Take heart; I have overcome the world. The Greek word for “overcome” is abstracted from the Greek goddess “Nik-a”. It is the word now used for marketing “Nike” shoes and sports equipment. Those who wear them are winners – so the advertisement says. The New Testament uses this word to proclaim Jesus’ complete victory over sin and death and the devil. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
How foolish that claim seems to the naked eye! Jesus asserts victory just hours before His shameful and brutal crucifixion. I have overcome the world! I, Jesus, who will soon be bound and led away! I, Jesus, who will soon be abandoned by all of you! I, Jesus, who will be humbled to death on a cross and my body placed in the tomb. I have overcome the world! We see again, dear Christians, that there is no doubt in heaven about what will occur on Good Friday and Easter morning! This is the very reason He came from the Father for us.
The world is unbelieving! The world is dying! The world is hostile to Christ and His Church! In open derision or unspoken elitist pity, the world views Christ’s exclusive claims as moronic and us as morons for believing in Him. Therefore the world will put His disciples through all manner of tribulation. The unbelieving world will put you through the same. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world.
Do you believe this? On the sixth Sunday of Easter, 2007, do you see the triumph you have today in Christ? On a day when our society celebrates mothers, do you see the incomparable gift you have received through your mother, the Church? We can scarcely understand the blessings we receive from our earthly mothers? From the knitting together of our bodies in the womb, to years of tender care, to needed correction and ongoing counsel, how they love us! What gifts we receive in this way! Concerning mothers, more than any other reason we should thank God for their encouragement to receive the gifts of the risen Christ. We should praise God chiefly for their part in bringing us to our mother, the Church, for through the Lamb, the Church receives life eternal.
“Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Her radiance is like a most rare jewel – the holy city, Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. So fully does she participate in the triumph of Christ over the world that in eternity she has no need of sun or moon – the Lamb gives it light. By God’s grace through our mother, the Church, we are born again in the washing of rebirth. This is not life or light that we can work our way into. Nor is it life or light that the love of our earthly mothers can bestow upon us.
The church Fathers anciently said that no one has God as their Father who does not have the church as their mother. Thus, among all the tribulations and weaknesses and faults of the Bride of Christ, this is where we receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
The human eye is never sharp enough to discern between genuine and apparent victory. God’s victory should be recognized by all, but it is not acknowledged. Rather, human hearts seek refuge in self-delusion. Thus the Greek, when faced by the ultimate threat to existence was taught to draw courage and take heart from what lies within him or herself. Not so with you Bride of Christ. You are to take heart in Christ. Beloved, you are in the hands of the victor over the cosmos. Heaven and earth will pass away but His words will never pass away.
Every tribulation that we will encounter in this passing world is anchored in death, the wages of sin. Whether it is persecution or derision or pain or depression, all of the pressures of this life come from the last enemy. We sang in the Introit, My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. If it weren’t for our sin and God’s curse against it we would not have tribulation.
That’s why Jesus became a curse for us - to unlock the door to the Father’s heart. That’s also why He gives us a sweeping invitation to use His gift of prayer to call upon the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Fathers and mothers and children – be encouraged in the use of this gift! Parents pray for your children and children pray for your parents in Jesus’ name.
To pray in Jesus’ name does not mean to ask for anything you want with the tag line “in Jesus’ name.” This is not a “name it and claim it” promise. To pray in Jesus’ name means to pray with faith in what He has done to save you. For the name “Jesus” literally means “The Lord saves”. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we are asking the Father for all of the saving gifts that are given us in the name that is above every name. Such prayer is shaped by God’s Word. Such prayer is offered in faith which asks “Thy will be done” not “My will be done”. God’s will for you in Christ is so good and gracious and grand. Ask and receive that your joy may be full. I have overcome the world.
Brothers and sisters in Christ after a little while of tribulation there is an eternity of peace and pleasure awaiting you. Pray with boldness in Him who is the risen Conqueror, who has given you His victory. Believe him when He says, Ask and receive that your joy may be full. Whatever tribulation presses in on you today believe Him who says, “Take heart; I have overcome the world”.
Each week in the Liturgy and again today, He says it to you this way, “Lift up your hearts”. You are right to say, “We lift them to the Lord”. He who has blessed you from your mother’s arms with beautiful gifts of daily bread is here to bless you as the Bread of Life. You are never foolish to love Him and believe that He brings you the Father’s love. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; Amen.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
5/22/2007
