Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-5-6-12.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

Our gospel reading takes place as Jesus is leading His disciples from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane. He has just become their servant and washed their feet and instructed them to imitate His example and be a servant to one another. “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Then, He brought an end to the Passover meal by replacing it with the Lord’s Supper. He ends the symbolic and begins the real thing. In the Supper, He binds Himself to them by giving them His body and blood in the bread and wine. And He tells them that every time that they eat this Supper, they are being bound to Him.

In giving them His body and blood, He is giving them Himself and all who He is. He is the Creator of all things and the Sustainer of all things. In Him the Godhead dwells bodily and He possesses all of the attributes of God. He is “unchangeable,” “almighty,” “omniscient,” “omnipresent,” “just,” “faithful,” “good,” “merciful,” “gracious,” and “love.”

This is who He is. And He binds Himself to His disciples and they are bound to Him in this HOLY COMMUNION.

Another way to describe this would like this, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” The PARABLE is about a vine and it’s branches. The interpretation of the parable is, the Vine is Christ and the branches are all who are bound to Christ in this HOLY COMMUNION. Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-4-29-12.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

“I am the good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

That’s Jesus who’s talking. He is the “I am.” The same “I am who I am” who spoke to Moses in the desert. “I am the bread of life,” “I am the vine,” “I am the light of the world,” “I am the way and the truth and the life,” “I am the door of the sheep,” “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” “I am the good shepherd.”

He is the “GOOD” Shepherd. “GOOD” as in the beginning when He saw what He made by the power of His Word and called it GOOD. “GOOD” as in “tov.” Exactly the way it’s supposed to be. “GOOD” light. “GOOD” dry land and seas. “GOOD” fruit trees bearing fruit and vegetation. “GOOD” stars in the sky and creatures on the earth. “GOOD” man and GOOD woman. “I am the GOOD Shepherd.” Exactly what a Shepherd is supposed to be.

A shepherd is supposed to take care of the sheep of his flock. And we all know what sheep are for. Shepherds are hired to bring the sheep entrusted to their care to the market in good shape, well fed, well watered, healthy, the fatter the better. And shepherds darn well better bring as many sheep to the market as they were entrusted with in the beginning. If they were given 100 sheep to care for and one, even one, goes astray, they better get out there and look for it until they find it and carry it if they must, all the way back to the fold. Any shepherd who comes in with fewer sheep than he was entrusted with is going to have a hard time getting hired again.

“I am the GOOD shepherd.” “Of those whom You gave me I have lost not one.” (John 18:9) Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-4-15-12.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

On the day that we call “Maundy Thursday,” Jesus ate the Passover meal with His disciples in the Upper Room and transformed the Passover meal into the Lord’s Supper. After the meal came to its conclusion, Jesus led the 11 disciples minus Judas to the Garden of Gethsemane. It’s about two miles from Jerusalem, up the Mount of Olives to the Garden. As they walked, Jesus had a lot to say.

St. John records much of what Jesus says along the way. In fact, half of chapter 13 and all of chapters 14,15,16 record Jesus words to His disciples as they follow Him to His arrest. Some of what He wants them to know is that He must leave them, and that He will rejoin them. “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again in a little while you will see me. Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

He compares their experience to a woman in labor. “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:20-23).

When Jesus was taken away from them and brutally abused and crucified, they were in great sorrow and severe distress. The whole world had collapsed. All of their hopes and dreams where crushed and they were deeply disappointed and depressed. They were like sheep whose shepherd was suddenly taken from them and they were all alone and terrified.

I’m tempted to say, ‘maybe some of you can identify with the disciples.’ But none of us can. All of their trouble was due to the fact that Jesus had left them. But He has never left us. We will never experience the fear and despair that they experienced.

Their tribulation however was only for a short time. “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-4-8-12.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

I can’t remember where I read it or who wrote it, but someone once said, “there has got to be something wrong with a theology that doesn’t set men to singing.” Very true. Today, the one, holy, Christian and Apostolic Church sings. We sing “the song of victory to our God that has been suppressed for these last 40 days. We’ll explode if we had to keep in any longer – Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!)

This is “the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia!” And we “sing with all the people of God and join in the hymn of ALL CREATION…”

Talk about pent-up joy ready to explode. “We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” (Rom.8:22). But today the wait is over and “ALL CREATION” sings their hymn of praise to the One who has set it free from it’s bondage to decay that man’s sin has subjected it to.

In his revelation of heaven, St. John hears and sees all of heaven singing. There’s the quartet of “four living creatures… that day and night they never cease to sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Rev.4:8)

There’s the choir of 24 Elders who, every time they hear the 4 Living Creatures sing the Sanctus, “they cast their crowns before the throne and sing, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power…For you were slain, and by Your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…” (Rev.4:11; 5:9).

From a quartet to a choir, John writes, “Then I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude, like the roar or many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory…” (Rev.19:6-7)

I. The Heavenly Choir
St. John doesn’t identify any of the individuals in this heavenly choir. But we know who they are. Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-3-28-12.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

I. Introduction
We have come quite a way during these mid-week Lenten services. We began just outside of Jerusalem at the home of Simon the Leper where Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus with her expensive perfume a week before His death and burial. We followed Judas to the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter to the High Priest’s courtyard, Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin to Pontius Pilate’s headquarters. And last week we concluded right at the foot of the cross. “So they delivered him over to them to be crucified.” (John 19:16)

This evening, we find ourselves at the foot of the cross where Christ has been crucified. There are several present here. His mother, Mary and the disciple John are here. Simon of Cyrene who helped Jesus carry His cross is here. The two thieves crucified with him are here. The Romans soldier who pierced Jesus’ side and made the good confession “truly this was the Son of God,” is here. Several of the women who accompanied Jesus and supported Him are here as well.

It is one of those women whom we want to follow this evening. Her name is Mary Magdalene.

II. Mary Magdalene – 7 Demons
A. Background on Mary
We don’t know a whole lot about her. Some people think that Mary Magdalene was the woman caught in adultery whom Jesus defended and told to “go and sin no more.” But there is nothing in the record that connects her to that account at all.

St. Luke gives us the only bit of background that we have on her. In the 8th chapter of his gospel, Luke writes that while Jesus is in the region of Galilee, “He went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out. (Luke 8:1-2)

From that brief bit of background, we can say a few things about Mary in order to get to know her better. The women whom we meet in the Scriptures are identified one from another in various ways, usually by their husband’s name or by a name of a son or daughter, or some other family member. So, the most famous woman is “Mary the mother of Jesus.” Another Mary who was at the cross was known as “Mary the wife of Clopas.” Even the Mary whom we called “Mary of Bethany” is never really called that in the Scriptures. She would have been called either “Mary, the sister of Martha” or certainly after his resurrection, “Mary the sister of Lazarus.”

Mary Magdalene is not known by any personal connection to anyone. There is a village in the region of Galilee called Magdala or Migdal. She is simply known by where she is from.

Luke says that she had “seven demons.”

One of the things that Jesus does from the very beginning of His ministry is cast out demons from the demon possessed. Right after His baptism and temptation in the wilderness Jesus goes to Galilee, to the village of Capernaum where there is a synagogue. As soon as Jesus enters the synagogue a man with the demon cries out, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him saying, ‘Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.” (Luke 4:34-35).

Later that same night, Jesus is at Peter’s mother-in-law’s house, and Luke report “when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him and he healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” (Luke 4:40-41).

Keep in mind that all of this happened in Capernaum which is in the region of Galilee, not too far away from the village of Magdala. Maybe a woman from Magdala named Mary was one of those in that crowd, whom Jesus cast the demons out of.

B. Demon Possession
Let’s talk about this whole business of ‘demon possession.’ In our sophisticated and enlightened day, we’re not so sure what to make of ‘demons’ and ‘demon possession.’ Talk about ‘casting out demons’ brings to mind ‘voodoo’ and ‘witch doctors.’

So, I’d suggest we think about this like this. The fact that there are indeed such things as ‘demons’ and that Jesus Christ has the authority over even the ‘demons’ is perfectly in line with the work of Satan in this world and the work of Christ in this world according to the Scriptures. So that really shouldn’t bother us.

But let’s also be willing to consider that with the development of modern science, we understand the how the human body and brain works today better than they did 2000 years ago. And what they may have called demon possession then, we may call schizophrenia or manic-depressive or mental illness today. Some of the ways that the demon-possessed act in the bible actually looks a whole lot like the way someone with seizures might act. What they attributed to demons, we might attribute to a neurological or chemical disorder.

Here’s my point. Rather than trying to diagnose the specific cause of Mary’s problem, whether it was actual demons or mental illness, Mary was living in the darkness like a person held captive by evil forces unable to escape.

When Luke says that she had “seven demons,” he may be using the number seven in a symbolic way as to mean ‘completeness.’ She might have been so out of her mind that those who had once known her didn’t know her at all anymore. It was as though there was nothing of the real Mary. Haven’t we seen or known people with Alzheimer’s of whom we have said just that. “It’s not her.” Mary was lost in the confusion and chaos of forces beyond her control.

But then Jesus came along and set her free. Simply by the word of His command or the touch of His hand, He shattered the darkness. He unloosed the chains that bound her and the prison door came right off its hinges. Jesus came to her and spoke His famous, “let there be light!” upon her, just as He had done over the ‘formless and void’ creation in the beginning. And just like that, the confusion and chaos gave way to order and peace, and Mary was back again.

It is important to notice, that when the gospel writers report one of these episodes of Jesus casting out demons from the possessed, they always say, “he released them.” He didn’t “forgive them.” They weren’t ‘wicked people.’ They were ‘afflicted people,’ prisoners to evil forces that inflicted all kinds of terrible physical and psychological harm on them. Jesus ‘released them.’

One of the prophetic signs of the Messiah’s coming into the world, you’ll recall, was that the Christ would set the prisoners free. The Prophet Isaiah writes about the coming Messiah, “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:6-7) Mary Magdalene was one of those prisoners for whom the Christ came into the world.

C. What was it like for Mary after she was set free?
So, now we want to ask ourselves, what was it like for Mary after she was set free from the demons? It must have been like being ‘born again.’ It must have been like Lazarus’ being raised from the dead.

Jesus gave Mary back to herself. After Jesus cast out her seven demons, her friends must have said, “Mary, your back.”

And what did Mary do when she got herself back again. She gave herself to Jesus. Mary Magdalene becomes one of the most loyal followers that Jesus has.

As she follows Jesus, she sees the crowds coming to Him, just as she once had. And those who are possessed as she was are set free from their demons. Everywhere Jesus goes, she sees the darkness being shattered by the light, prisoners streaming out of their dungeons by the multitudes, The ‘lost,’ those lost to themselves, are found.

The “strong man” was breaking into Satan’s house and throwing out the evil tyrant. The Kingdom of God was coming into the world and it was an incredible thing to behold and be a part of.

D. What was it like for Mary at the foot of the cross?
But now we must ask ourselves another question. What must it have been like for Mary at the foot of the cross? John writes, “Standing by the cross of Jesus was his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” (John 19:25).

What must she have been thinking? What was going on inside of Mary when, as St. Mark reports, “when the 6th hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour”? (Mark 15:33)

What was happening? The One who had set her free from her darkness and captivity was Himself taken captive and consumed by the darkness. She had firmly believed that Jesus had initiated the great turning point in the war and that the final victory lie just ahead. But there He hangs. Had the darkness overcome the light after all?

There is something very special about Mary that we want to be sure to notice here. First, Mary doesn’t return to the demonic state of mind that she had been in before Jesus released her. We don’t see Mary going crazy when the foundations crumble around her.

What we do see is simply that Mary remains there at the cross. She remains right there through the three hours of darkness and the earthquake that immediately follows His death. What is it that keeps her there? Why does she simply stay right there?

What else could it be but her love and devotion for Jesus? He had entered into her darkness and delivered her from it. Now she, in loving devotion to Him, enters into His darkness. She couldn’t deliver Him from His darkness as He had delivered her. All she could do is remain with Him. In her total hopelessness and despair, she would remain with Jesus.

At the end of the day, when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus the member of the Sanhedrin came to take the body of Jesus down from the cross and place it in the tomb, Mary Magdalene is right there. Mark writes, “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.” (Mark 15:47)

E. Mary’s return to the tomb
It is Mary Magdalene who is the first to return to the tomb as soon as the Sabbath day was officially ended. John writes, “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.”

Oh, this must have been deep insult upon deep injury for Mary. The darkness of His death was compounded by an even deeper darkness that His body would have been stolen. Now there was not even a body to remain with.

She runs back into the city where the disciples are all staying and informs them of the terrible news. Peter and John race to the tomb to find it empty. Mary Magdalene is right behind them. The men leave.

But Mary stays. She stays right there at the tomb, weeping. Somehow she summons the courage to actually look inside the tomb. “And she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away MY LORD, and I do not know where they have laid him.”

She did not know what we know. She did not know that Jesus, ‘her Lord,’ had entered into the darkness in order to defeat it once and for all. She didn’t know that what ‘her Lord’ had done for her He came to do for all people. For haven’t we all been taken captive by the demons in one form or another?

The bible says that we are all so completely possessed by our sin that we have lost touch with ourselves. We were created in the image of God. But we are lost to ourselves. Sin and Satan have taken us captive and there is nothing that we can do to free ourselves. The bible says that we are all so totally possessed by evil, that we have fallen in love with the darkness and think that it is good and hate the light and refuse to come into it.

So it’s not a matter of Jesus calling us to come out of the darkness and into the light. He must come into the darkness and ‘release us’ from its grip breaking its hold on us, even against our will.

The great mystery of the faith is that Jesus did not overcome the darkness by waving a magic wand or by speaking into the chaos and confusion. He entered into it. He became as helpless and hopeless in His captivity to the forces of evil as Mary Magdalene was, and as all of us are.

In a way that may relate more closely to Mary Magdalene, haven’t we all, at one time or another, to one degree or another, a time when it seemed as though darkness and evil had overcome the world; a time of depression, of grief, or loneliness, or rejection. Worst of all, maybe even the loss of the sense of the Lord’s presence with us. Have we ever felt the darkness that covers our society and our culture and seriously wondered if evil has not conquered over good?

Sometimes, like Mary, all that we can do is remain in the darkness and wait, not really knowing what we are waiting for, only that in love for “our Lord,” and faith in Him, it is all that we can do.

It is in Mary’s patient ‘waiting in the darkness’ that she hears a voice from behind her. “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Thinking him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

Mary turned, and the darkness was shattered, and the sun (son) had risen, never to set again.

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-3-25-12.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

This is the 5th Sunday in Lent. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, the door through which we enter into Holy Week. Our gospel text for this morning comes from the 10th chapter of St. Mark’s gospel. The 11th chapter starts off with Palm Sunday. Jesus is at the door. For Jesus it’s like coming up to a check-point in Afghanistan knowing that He’s on the ‘most wanted list.’

This morning, we heard Him remind His disciples that He is well aware of what awaits Him when goes to Jerusalem for this third and final celebration of the Passover festival. They too have a clear idea of what lies ahead as they are aware that the Sanhedrin has put out the word that anyone who information about His whereabouts should report Him to the authorities.

Mark writes, “And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them.” He’s a man on a mission. The whole reason for His coming into this world was immanent. “Let’s do this.”

Mark writes, “they were amazed.” Despite danger that lies ahead He goes forward into battle.

Mark writes, “those who followed were afraid.” If He wasn’t AFRAID, they sure were. Afraid of what will happen to Him. And afraid of what will become of them, His followers.

Three times, Jesus has made it clear that He is fully aware of what awaits Him in Jerusalem. St. Mark has arranged these three “passion predictions” of Jesus in such a way that they form the cornerstone of Gospel, holding together the miracles and teaching of Jesus in the first half of the gospel to the suffer and death of Jesus in the second half of the gospel.

It might be helpful if you were to take out your bible and turn to Mark 8:31 (page 844 in the pew bible.) This was our gospel reading way back on the 2nd Sunday in Lent. Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-3-21-12.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

This is now the 5th stop that we are making in our journey with Jesus on His way to the cross. Each step along the way has brought a little closer to the terrible destination that awaits Him. Tonight we will finally come right to that destination.

Last week followed Jesus through the chief priest of Israel – Caiaphas. Tonight we follow Him through the governor of Judea – Pontius Pilate. Put these two together and what we see is that both the Church, represented by Caiaphas, and State, represented by Pilate, reject Jesus.

And as we will see, both reject Him for exactly the same reason. Jesus threatens their position among men. To follow Jesus would require them to forsake their reputation and position in society that they have worked so hard to attain. This is something that neither Caiaphas nor, as we will see, Pilate is willing to do.

This is the question that we must deal with as we continue this journey to the cross. Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-3-18-12.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

Moving to a new town and a new home can be exciting, and frightening. When you’re young, it’s mostly exciting. The older you get the more frightening it becomes. Young or old, once moving day finally comes and you make the final break from where you have lived, you are anxious to get to your new home where you will live.

Just imagine then that you’ve set out for your new home, and a month later you’re still driving around the country looking for it. And two months later you’re still on the road. And a year later you’re still living out of a suitcase and your destination isn’t any closer than when you first left. And by this time you’ve eaten at every McDonald’s and Burger King there is and had so many Big Macs and Whoppers that you swear you’d rather starve than eat another one. And two years later you’re still on the road and still living out of the same suitcase and still eating burgers and fries, burgers and fries, burgers and fries.

When we get to Numbers, chapter 21, Israel has been on the road, moving to their new home for 38 years. They left Egypt and set out to a new home in a “Promised Land” that was said to be flowing with milk and honey. But 38 years later, they’re still moving. Everyday, eating the same manna and quail, manna and quail, manna and quail. They’ve had it every way you can make it. Quaildogs, quailburgers, quail-nuggets for the children. Mana-bagels, mana-pancakes and bamana-muffins and bamana-bread.

“From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom.” We can’t appreciate what comes next until we appreciate the geographical details that Moses includes right here.

They had gotten as far as the outskirts of Palestine, the Promised Land. And Moses sent the spies to check it out and bring back a report. And some of them said, ‘as nice as it is, there are big people living there and we doubt that they’ll leave without a fight and we don’t think we will be able to take them.’ And against the objections of Joshua, all the people said, ‘let’s go back.’ All of this, while the Lord God Almighty was standing right in front of them in the pillar of cloud with His hand raised saying, ‘pardon me, but I AM WITH YOU.’ Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-3-14-12.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

So far in these mid-week Lenten meditations, we have followed those who were a part of Jesus’ inner circle in order to get close to Jesus during the time that we call ‘holy week.’ Mary of Bethany was a close friend. Judas Isacariot, although he betrayed Jesus was one of the 12 disciples. Peter was not only one of the 12 but also one of the inner three.

There comes a point however when the inner circle can take us no further, and we have reached that point. Now, we must follow Jesus’ through His enemies because only they are close to Him. We have come to that point where our Lord is truly all-alone.

Tonight we will use Caiaphas the High Priest to get close to Jesus. A bit of background about the High Priesthood, the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas might be a helpful way to begin. Continue reading →