sermonguy

: sermonguy; May 20th, 12:41

Grace to you and Peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

This is your word heavenly Father. Sanctify us by your truth. Your word is truth. Amen.

Fellow redeemed: These events are written by St. Luke, who interviewed many of the eyewitnesses. This account which begins the book of Acts is echoed by Luke as he ends his Gospel with the same story. We have also just heard the account of St. Mark in today’s Gospel reading. The author of the letter to the Hebrews also confirms that Jesus has “passed through the heavens”. This is no fiction, but an event to which many were eyewitnesses. Jesus, who had risen from the dead, who had proved that He is no ghost or figment, being seen over forty days, eating, cooking, praying, and physically interacting with the Twelve, and with many others, now ascends, rising from the earth, through the sky, to take His seat at the Right Hand of the Father.

Jesus’ body was raised to life on the third day, and Jesus’ body, the same one born of the blessed Virgin, the One whose lips spoke the Beatitudes and the Parables, the hands which took bread and the cup on the night He was betrayed, the whole man now ascends, completely, physically, totally; and they watched Jesus do so intently, those eyewitnesses, till after clouds hid Him from their sight. Jesus ascension is not a mystic thing, but a physical reality subject to the forensic testimony of many witnesses.

So what does this mean? It means that there was nothing that had to be left. The full human nature as well as the full divine nature, which two natures are the person Jesus were taken up. And Jesus was taken up to be seated at the Right Hand of the Father. He is fully acceptable and holy to God. The humanity of Jesus was not abandoned to the grave, and is now received upon the throne of the Most High. The nature of man is received and now dwells fully in Christ in the presence of the Godhead.

And not just any man’s nature, but the human nature of Jesus is acceptable in the sight of God. This is the One on whom the sin of the whole world once was laid. Jesus took on every sin, every offense, every pollution of every sinner from the Garden of Eden to the Last Day. Jesus was presented, the acceptable sacrifice for your every sin, and the sin of the entire human race, upon the cross to suffer and die. And to be buried. It is THIS flesh, which had soaked up all your wrong, and the sin of every sinner, every Hitler, Manson, bin Laden, and Stalin, of Nero, Caligula, and of every last bit of every secret, terrifying shame you bear within you, all of it without exception was taken into that flesh, that man, Jesus. And THAT ONE, God receives at His Right Hand.

Jesus’ death most certainly and most perfectly and without any exception whatsoever has fully paid the penalty of sin and eternal death for every sinner whatsoever, it was all on Jesus. And His suffering and death has accomplished a perfect justification for any sinner whatsoever now to stand also in the sight of God. The penalty is paid, the stain is nevermore, the sin is absolved, removed, undone perfectly, for the Man who took it all on Himself is Himself acceptable before the Father.

You are baptized into Christ. The One who ascended and now sits at that Right Hand is for you, and you are in Him. You therefore on the last day, and even here and now are brought before the holy altar of God Most High and with all boldness stand and face Him. You are just. You are innocent. There is no sin now whatsoever in you that He regards, sees, or censures, for you are in Christ Jesus. And if Jesus, who once has become your sin, is received at the Right Hand, then you are received also. And as you see the signs of the coming of the Lord our God, you may stand up, and lift up your head, and with boldness declare that any sin of yours is upon Jesus, and Jesus has so redeemed you from it that He Himself is acceptable, holy, and taken above all the world, and all of heaven too, high above the angels, archangels, and all the holy company of heaven, and has all authority over all that is, and if He who took your sin is holy, then you are holy in Him.

You are the child of the Living God in Jesus’ death for you. You have been born from above by water and the Word according to Jesus’ promise. Jesus’ human nature is at the Right Hand, and you too shall be raised to live in Him forevermore. Your sin is no more, for Jesus took it, paid for it, and has forever undone it. You are absolved, and now you stand forever before the Father in Christ as His dearly loved child and heir of paradise.

You have only ever had your own sin upon you, but Jesus has had all sin on Him. His redemption of it is perfect, and your own flesh, everything about you, your full human nature with His is presented acceptable and Holy to the Father. The curse of sin is no more. God, who for our sakes became man, has now purified mankind, and has taken His own humanity into the Holy Place, the very throne of heaven. Fully God, and fully man, Jesus stands for you, and you are acceptable forever in Him.

You shall see your Redeemer, your Creator, the forever God, and in your own flesh, and with your own eyes, you shall stand before Him and look upon Him, and His countenance, His face shall behold you fully. He has in His ascension prepared a place for you in His Father’s house, for you are in Jesus. With confidence and joy in this, live, and serve, and share this great good news with one another through love, and with those who yet would hear and be saved, let your kindness and gentleness be known to all men. There is no human being whose sin is not paid fully in Christ, there is none whom He would not now graciously receive. Love Jesus therefore, and love one another, and love your neighbor, the stranger whom you meet on the way, with the life-giving love so abundantly given and displayed for you in the death, resurrection, and ascension of God and man Jesus.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Easter 6 – St. John 16:23-30

: sermonguy; May 13th, 16:40

for more information go to <resurrectionlutheran.us>

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

“In that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

This is your Word heavenly Father. Sanctify us by your truth. Your Word is Truth. Amen.

Fellow redeemed: As He prepares His disciples for His death and resurrection, Jesus instructs them to begin doing something they’d never done before. He instructs them to ask whatever they’d ask of God in Jesus’ name. Remember, ‘pray’ is just an old fashioned word for ‘ask.’ So to put it in more religious sounding words, when you pray, pray in Jesus’ name.

Before this moment, all who would in faith ask anything, make any prayer, petition, or request of God, would do so only in an unnamed way. Even the Name given in the Old Testament, ‘Yahweh’ only means ‘He who Is.” It was oblique. Prayers until this moment were asked if you will, by addressing a title; ‘Lord,’ ‘Master,’ ‘God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,’ and the like. For there remained between God and mankind a terrible separation. The Creator and His created were not in direct communion one with another, for God is perfect, and through sin, we are not perfect. Perfection cannot tolerate the presence of the imperfect. To break anew into your life with His perfection would undo you entirely.

Sin is likened to deep darkness; holiness to light. Our heavenly Father dwells in the midst of unapproachable, uncreated light. You, in your sin are a creature of deep darkness. What would happen should He who is Light come near you who are darkness? The Light would drive out and undo you entirely. So when Moses was afforded the slightest glimpse of the passing backside of the Creator, his face had to be swathed in layers of cloth when he came down to the encampment of the tribes of Israel, for nobody could bear even that lingering, slight reflection of a fleeting glimpse. And that man of God’s hair was turned white from that moment on.

So in our darkness, insofar as we could speak to Him at all, it was only by title, and not directly approaching His Person. And we could only pray through the innocent blood of the sacrifices offered, and not on our own. Only filtered through the blood, the life of the innocent lamb could we approach at all.

Now God has done a New Thing. He has entered our sorrow, with no sin of His own, the Perfect One takes into Himself your sin. Having humbled Himself, and being born one of us, the uncreated Light of the Perfect God is veiled that we might behold Him through the innocent body and blood of the man He Is, our Lord Jesus. The Word of God by whom all things were made– and there is nothing in existence in all Creation that has not been made by this Word– which Word surely would undo us as surely as the sight of His Light, now The Word becomes incarnate, and speaks with the lungs and throat and tongue and mouth of our fellow man, Jesus.

Even so, the Holy One has throughout His incarnation to this point remained veiled in His Body and Blood, though His Body and Blood is fully Him, that we should not be undone. Teaching veiled in parable, and warning those eager to see the Day that His time had not yet come, Jesus spent years among us, gathering the Twelve, making all things ready for the reconciliation of creation to Creator. For as in Christ is united already man and God, so now in Him and through Him Jesus would make the sacrifice of the infinite Innocent on behalf of all sinners, that through His own blood mankind should at last be brought near and be received at last in the intimate presence of the God who loves you, and whom you now may name. So now, through the perfect sacrifice on your behalf of the God who loves you and for your sake has taken on your nature to reconcile you to Him, that the veil might at last and forevermore be torn down and removed, you may ask God by His own Name every request and petition and prayer. His Name, the only Name by which He may perfectly be approached, the only Name He gives you is ‘Jesus.’

The titles of His divinity of course remain, but now you are brought near, a child held close by the Father who loves you. For in Jesus you now also are named to your God. He sees you only through the reconciliation of the perfect Life given to take away the sin which formerly kept you far away. Jesus identifies God to you, and you to God, for He is very God, and true man, bringing us into His oneness and peace.

Whatever you would ask, ask in Jesus’ Name, in His person, through His blood, for His sake, and by His will, His good and perfect will. Stand upon this earth, ruined as you are in your sin and shame, and boldly defy that fallen nature and the death which attends you, praying as Jesus now bids you pray, and as He has taught you, in His Name you pray ‘Our Father.’ And with a mighty blow heaven-sent His Grace empowers you to defy sin, death, and the devil too, ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ For in Jesus’ name, by His personal identity you are known, and you are loved, and His will is done in you too, in spite of your sin, against all temptation, and to your great and never-ending joy.

The Creator who could not be known has made Himself known to you, dear one, for He loves you. The Name which could not be spoken is put upon your lips, and it purifies you of your sin and death and shame, for your guilt has gone on Him, and Jesus, your God, is Himself your Champion, and His victory over death is your victory. His cross is your payment, His rising is your eternal life.

Now dear one, blood-bought in Jesus, pray your prayers, and live the Life delivered in defiance of all that would deny you, for your sin is removed from you, the accusation is hollow, for Jesus has paid the penalty, and death is dead, for He has undone it, the darkness, and deep darkness is undone entirely by His uncreated Light now joined into His creation, Jesus, true God and man stands for you, and you in Him. His identity is yours, and the prayer He has taught you to pray illustrates His will perfectly in your praying, and in your living. No longer is God your enemy whom in your sin you hate and from whom you cower, for He has undone the true enemy of your soul, the devil is cast down, and your flesh is redeemed, washed, filled with His Word of forgiveness and life, that lively and forgiving you are made, and you are feasted even here and now as you await the eternal Feast to come. Jesus has reconciled you, you are made His joy, and He is yours. You are forgiven, you are free, ask whatever you will in Jesus’ Name. He is hearing you even before you say it. You are loved.

The peace of God which passes all understanding is keeping your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Amen.

Easter 4 – Lamentations 3.18-26

: sermonguy; April 29th, 12:56

Grace to you and Peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.

“And I said, ‘My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD.’ Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers and sinks within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.”

This is Your Word heavenly Father, sanctify us by Your Truth, Your Word is Truth. Amen.

Fellow redeemed: Does anybody really understand you? Your Lord understands. See how He has caused His prophet Jeremiah to describe your condition. “My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD.”

Where do you get your strength from, and your hope, if not from the God who made you in the first place? After He formed Adam from clay, God made him a living man by breathing into him. Breath and spirit are the same word in the languages of the Bible. In that breath God made Adam alive by placing His Spirit into him. But Adam sinned, and that holy breath, the Holy Spirit, departed from him. Ever since the children of Adam and Eve have been born not in the image of our Creator, but of our parents. You were born already dying, in other words, for the only source of your life– your strength and hope– have perished from the Lord in your sin. You come into the world like a car out of gas, coasting, and you know it’ll only last so long before it all grinds to a stop.

But while it lasts you do what you can, don’t you. No sense in crying all day long, so you put yourself together as best you can and you get on with it. But you feel the ache that’s new, suffer in some novel way, and there’s only so long you can convince yourself not to notice. And when you do notice, before you catch yourself and try to stop, you realize that you’ve been down so long it only looks like up to you, but it’s low, and going lower all the time. You try to be kind, but the cuts are many, and some go deep, and your heart is broken by a thousand little wounds.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t have this hunch of something better. If this really was all there was, well then you’d just keep dancing and make of it what you could. But you glimpse something better, something so far out of reach, a memory of a dream of what ought to be, of the life you were created for. I’ll never forget going into a gas station in the midwest late one winter during a ground blizzard (where the snow bites you and blows itself into drifts that stop everything) and heard a couple of folks talking. The cashier was saying “It’s a hard day, but it’s the same everywhere.” They took comfort, but it broke my heart, because I knew that it’s not the same everywhere. No ground blizzards back home on the Oregon coast! It made it that much more bitter, going out after paying for the gas to drive through the storm.

Life is bitter because you see in yourself a place for strength and you see a place where hope should go, and you catch that spark out of the corner of your eye of something More. And still you go on, and you wonder where God is.

“And I said, ‘My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD.’ Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers and sinks within me.” Wormwood and gall, or myrrh, are very bitter. Your life is very bitter, when you strip all the protective layers of good enough and nice enough away and get down to how you really are. And you wonder where your Lord is. Why are you abandoned, coasting sooner than later to a stop, to the stillness of your dying? Where is your God now? they jeered the prophets, they mocked the apostles, they insulted Jesus as He was dying. Where is your God now? they cry, insulting your suffering brothers and sisters in Christ as their church burns and they are trapped within. Where is my God now? And you dread the answer, for your faithless old flesh agrees, wants to just give up and curses your faith, even as you pray for more that you may endure. Your prayer is an old refrain “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!”

Where is the Lord when you are brought so low and all is wormwood and gall, and you learn new levels of bitterness?

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘ therefore I hope in Him!’ The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”

You know your suffering, and the bitterness of the day, it’s true. And you wonder where the Lord is sometimes, don’t you? That is to say that you may know some things, but you don’t know everything. There are times you can’t say where God is, or what His purpose may be in every particularity of life. I dread those who seem always to come up with a too-quick and too-chipper answer. Where did they get that information; from the Word of the Lord or from their own vain imagining? It is a terrible thing to speak for God when God is silent! And that means that there are times when you honestly don’t know where the Lord is in your suffering, or what purpose He may have. And your pastor must join you in not knowing, for there is no answer revealed to us.

When that’s so, then hear the words the Lord gives through Jeremiah. They speak to your unknowing and your wondering in the midst of your suffering. The Word of the Lord acknowledges the depths of your woe, but then calls upon you to acknowledge first of all that you do not know always what the mind of the Lord may be regarding a particular moment or situation. You cannot know that unless He has revealed it to you in His Word. But then consider that He gives you His portion; and He has taken yours. God entered your woe, laying aside His glory to become man, and as one of us He suffered all that you suffer. Jesus knows the bitterness of the wormwood and the gall, doesn’t He. You do not know what His purpose may be in the moment, but you know His will toward you; it is good and gracious, that you are set free from sin and eternal death, it is that He loves you and brings you to the place He has prepared for you.

Acknowledge that we do not have the answer for everything all the time, but rest on the unchanging love of God for you. Rest quietly and await the moment when all things shall be made new, and you shall see how it is.

And in the midst of the bitterness, in the midst of the wormwood and the gall remember that even here, where you do not see Him, Jesus sees you, and may in fact be moving all Creation to bring you what you need to bear the moment.

In the midst of the bitterness, He may be relieving you, though you do not know it.

When I said that ‘Jesus knows the bitterness of the wormwood and the gall’ the thought occurred that there was one time He refused that bitterness. Do you remember that, as they were preparing His crucifixion, Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall, and He refused it? He did so because He knows that the gall, that is to say the bitter herb we know as myrrh is an analgesic. It deadens pain. Jesus refused the galled wine so that He would suffer fully for you. But how interesting to think that sometimes He will give you something to sustain you in the midst of the suffering you endure in this life, that in the bitterness of the wormwood and the gall He is right there, unannounced, unseen, unacknowledged, unknown to you, but holding you together, keeping you going, working even through the present evils of this fallen world– even from the very thing which you know to be the bitterness– to minister to you and bring you through this vale of tears, and into the eternal victory over sin and death which He has won for you.

To know that your Lord is with you, though you do not see Him, nor do you understand always what He is up to, is a cause for joy in the midst of suffering. It is a cause for joy because you do know this: He loves you, and Jesus has given Himself into your sorrow and death without reservation. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Time and again you’ve turned away from your Lord, back to the sin and death you were born into, but He has not turned from you, but has called you by His Word and Spirit back to Him. Jesus has not denied this sorrow, but has fulfilled it for you. Follow Him, though the way be narrow, and tears be your companion, follow Him, and rejoice. You know that when you do not know where He is, He knows where you are, and loves and keeps you, comforting you even when you do not know it, meeting you even in the bitterest moments of crisis and defeat, and lifting you up again to follow.

Rejoice, for while your Lord has not told you everything, He has given you the one thing needful, your forgiveness, life, and salvation. And He locates Himself where He may be found according to His promise: in His Word and the Means of Grace, in the gathering of the Church around Him. Call upon Him then, while He may be found, and rejoice, for His Good Spirit has called you to Him, gathered you with His Church, and keeps you, now, and forevermore.

The peace of God which passes all understanding now guard over your heart and mind through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

2nd Sunday of Easter – St. John 20.19–31

: sermonguy; April 15th, 12:21

Grace to you and Peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.

The same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst,

This is Your Word Heavenly Father, sanctify us by Your Truth; Your Word is Truth. Amen.

Fellow redeemed: Today’s Gospel reading can be difficult to teach, for we have something of an embarrassment of riches, and a number of distinct themes within just a few sentences. We see Jesus coming into the closed room to encounter the Twelve. There’s enough right there for a sermon. But then Jesus shows that He still bears the wounds of His passion and death. Then He makes the Disciples into Apostles – sent ones– and then He breathes on them and tells them ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ Wow! But wait, there’s more! Jesus tells those He sends that they can forgive or not forgive the sins of anyone!

Now we hear about the guy who wasn’t in the room at the time. Thomas didn’t believe the news when he heard it, but Jesus showed himself again a week later and Thomas believed. Jesus responds by blessing those who haven’t seen, but having heard the word do believe.

And we aren’t done yet! John tells us why he has written his Gospel, and it serves as a purpose statement for all the Scriptures. Jesus did other things too. There’s lots of history that isn’t written in the Bible. But what is written is there that we believe Jesus and have life in His name.

Looking at all the particulars in this thirteen verse Gospel reading could take hours. I’m tempted to just pick one thing, and that’s not bad. But today I am determined to address the whole text. There is something ‘meta’, a overriding theme that brings all of these particulars together.

What is it that makes all these parts into something wonderful; something that changes your life? All of this shows us Jesus revealing Himself in His glory.

Nearly everything we know from the Gospels is about Jesus humbled. He is true God, and One with the Father. For our sake He emptied Himself, humbled Himself, and made Himself the servant of mankind. So we see Jesus an infant in a manger. We see the carpenter’s Son. We are shocked with Peter, James, and John when we get a brief glimpse of glory on the Mount of the Transfiguration, but within moments we see only Jesus again; trudging down the mountain along with the three. Finally we see Jesus placed under arrest, falsely accused and condemned, we see Him scourged, spit on. We see a broken body stumbling under the weight of a cross. We see a gracious, suffering, dying man on that cross. We see Jesus dead, buried by Nicodemus and Joseph.

Last Sunday, remarkably, we didn’t see Jesus at all. The Gospel for Easter Sunday highlights the women encountering angels at the empty tomb. For all the joy of the Resurrection, Easter Sunday is peculiar because the Gospel reading doesn’t actually have Jesus in it at all! Just talk about him by the angel.

Of course that only heightens our joy, for He is not in the tomb, Christ is risen, and the Church re-echoes “He is risen indeed, alleluiah!” And this is because something new has taken place. Something fundamental has shifted in the person of Jesus. Thus far the Gospels have shown us Jesus’ humility. Though He is fully God, Jesus has humbled Himself in not exercising His divine nature, only allowing the tiniest pinpoints to shine through in His miracles and at the Transfiguration. But now Jesus is risen. That is not an act of humiliation. It is Jesus in His exaltation. He is now always, fully on display as the Divine One, as the Creator, as the Eternal, Infinite, True God. And what’s more, now Jesus’ humanity also and fully participates in His divinity. The locked doors do not bar the man/God. He does not stand at the door and knock, but passes through those doors as though they were made of mist. His human nature, make no mistake about it, is fully present, for Jesus displays his wounds to the twelve and to Thomas, commanding him to thrust his fingers into them.

Jesus breathes on the twelve, empowering them with the abiding presence of the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, His spirit, to speak His word with authority and power. When you hear your sin forgiven to this day, your sin is forgiven. When the unrepentant hear God’s Law spoken against their unrepentance they too must reckon with the fact that their sin is retained against them and is not forgiven. Reckon with that now, and repent, or reckon with it on the Last Day and receive eternal judgment– this is a dreadful thing for the unrepentant, and a glory and grace for the repentant!

But see that in doing this, Jesus’ humanity is fully joined and participating in His glorious divine nature. He bestows the Gift of the Spirit by physically speaking the words, physically breathing on the twelve. And so too, Jesus in His exaltation makes His followers participants in His divinity too, insofar as they receive His authority to speak His Word and do so with divine efficacy to the whole world. Consider this when you hear God’s Word spoken and applied to you, when you receive the Means of Grace administered for your sake by servants rightly called into the ongoing apostolic office of the Holy Ministry. And consider too that you, as baptized disciples of Christ also participate in Christ’s divinity in your own body, as you hear with your ears, receive in your body, and then speak and do the Word of God, doing good works toward your neighbor in love, and speaking such hopeful and joyous answers when they ask how it is you are so hopeful and gracious to them and you testify to the grace of our Lord Jesus. You too, your flesh and your humanity are thereby joined into His exalted humanity, participating in His divinity.

Indeed, you have heard God’s Word. You have been washed by it with water. You have received Jesus’ human body and blood under the bread and wine. And in so receiving His humanity, you have received Jesus’ divine Grace, for His humanity now and forevermore participates fully in His divine nature. And you are being incorporated into Jesus. You are being made His Bride, His Body, and you shall forevermore live in His exaltation, in His glory, in His Life forevermore.

Something has changed. Jesus has fully satisfied the penalty of your sin. Jesus has undone the power of sin and death over you. Your sin is forgiven. Jesus is for you. Now you, remain in Jesus, even as Jesus remains in the Father and the Spirit. Receive His Gifts, let His grace flow through your life in joy and grace. You are in Christ, renewed, who once were dead in sin, and forevermore His beloved living one.

The peace of God which passes all understanding now guard over your heart and mind through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Palm Sunday – St. Matthew 21.1-9

: sermonguy; April 1st, 12:42

for more information go to <resurrectionlutheran.us>

Grace to you and Peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.

a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘ Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

This is your word, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is Truth. Amen.

Fellow redeemed: It all sounds so festive, doesn’t it; the multitude crying out “Hosanna to the Son of David!”? But listen more closely, look now, in your mind’s eye as you consider the scene and see the rictus of the jaw, gaping like so many tumbled skulls, the wildness of the eyes, lids pulled back from their sockets, the urgent keening in those clamoring cries.

That Spirit-driven multitude, prophetic in their greeting as Jesus fulfills ancient prophecies that day, what are they saying; really? What manner of greeting must this be? What’s going on here? What is this?

We all know Palm Sunday, the Triumphal Entry, but for a moment, defamiliarize yourself, come to it as an alien thing. What is this?

Is it joyous? Yes. Why? Why the festivity over Jesus’ approach?

Jesus has just raised His three-day-gone friend Lazarus. Dead and buried, Jesus waited till he was as dead as dead can be; ’Till the worms had taken up their customary residence in the dirt over him; ’Till there was no hope. And when there wasn’t any hope, when loving sisters Mary and Martha had begun to come to grips with the loss, had steeled themselves to move on in the daisy-chain of heartache you know as your lifetime, Jesus came, declaring “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” He said this to Martha. Sister Mary had already prepared her Lord for burial, pouring out the fragrant oil, wiping His feet with her hair. A burial for a burial. Jesus must go where He fetched Lazarus, calling to the friend “Come forth!” The dead man rose, dead no more.

Why the fervent keening call of the crowd, “Hosanna!” “Hosanna to the Son of David!” It’s not the first time, you know. Before though, the crowd was annoyed when the son of Timeaus you know as the blind man of Jericho heralded the approaching Jesus “Son of David, have mercy on me!” For all the crowd’s shushing, he kept at it. Jesus heard the blind man, and gave him sight.

In the silence of the hopeless graveyard, along the pitiless Jericho way, Jesus was making His way. Healing Bartimeaus, raising Lazarus, till at last He comes to the City of God, the Temple’s home, Jerusalem– where prophets were sent. Jerusalem– where prophets were murdered. Cruel Jerusalem, where the lambs were sent to die. Even now, the first working day of Passover, the vast herds were being led in, as Jesus, the Lamb, is led in along a palm-strewn way. And they cry to the Son of David their ‘Hosannas’ and we sing with them, but do you know what they are saying? Do you know what you are saying?

When you cry ‘Hosanna’ you are pleading to be saved. When you cry ‘Hosanna’ you are praying for rescue beyond all hope. When you cry ‘Hosanna’ you are saying an Hebrew word “Save us!” is what it means. “Save us!” you pray, for with the multitude who had heard of Him who gave sight to the blind, and now life to poor dead and buried Lazarus, you begin to realize that Jesus is the One who can do what your works cannot gain for you.

You cannot make yourself not die. The day is coming when you shall go to ground, and there is no device or strategy to be found whereby you may long avoid it. The gifts of nutrition and medicine are wonders. But they are like dogs on a leash. They have their limit beyond which they cannot reach. And death comes. No matter how eager you may be to be young again and new again and to live, this is beyond anybody’s doing. Death may take a little while, and you may claim a century or a little more. Or death may come with an infant’s borning breath; pitiless as it is. But it comes.

Now comes Jesus, and Jesus has healed the blind man, healed the paralytic, the deaf, the fevered, the possessed, the young girl, and the servant from death, and now the long-dead Lazarus He has raised from the grave. Now comes the only One who takes upon Himself the sin of the world, takes death too, and defeats it that they all were raised, healed, healthy.

So we cry out ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Save us!’

And you know your own dying. As the thief you come to yourself and recognize that you are dying because of your sin. You are dying because frankly that’s what you’ve got coming, along with the whole dying human race entire. But here comes the One who doesn’t have it coming, but sees your condition, sees your sin, sees your dying, and interjects. He comes to frankly get in your way. Jesus, uninvited comes, and you begin to realize what He’s up to. He’s up to saving you from your own death, and you cry out “Save us!” “Hosanna!” you cry it out in Jesus’ native tongue, and in your own. Own it. That’s what all the hosanna-ing is about. That’s all that it’s about. The cry of desperate, dying men crying to the Son of David for rescue. Rising from your dusty place in the ditch you cry out “Son of David, have mercy on me!” and you annoy the crowd.

It’s an unbelieving crowd around you these days. Most just want you to shut up and go to hell.

The want you to go to hell.

Why not? That’s where they’re going.

But you keep on crying “Have mercy!” “Save me!” “Hosanna!” and as your Savior nears, nothing, nothing, nothing will shut you up. Why shut up just because an unbelieving, dead world doesn’t want to be disturbed? Why hide your light because the blind are annoyed you can see? Why surrender any hope because the hopeless tell you to? “Have mercy!” the blind man cries, and the thief on the cross joins in, and then more and a multitude begin to shout it with you “Save us!” “Hosanna!” “Save us!” “Hosanna!”

If Jesus can save you from eternal death and hell, why shouldn’t you want His three-fold gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation? He rides now into the City to make a great exchange.

His life, for yours. His life, for the life of the multitude. His life, for the life of the world entire. He rides into Jerusalem you see, to take your death, to die your death, and to undo the power of it, of the devil, to overthrow the place of man in hell itself forevermore.

And to rise.

He raised Lazarus on the third day. Jesus rose triumphant from that loaner-tomb on the third day. And in the fulness of time, on the Last Day, your grave shall blow open wide and He shall raise you too.

Your sin and eternal death have been taken by Jesus. You have none left. He took them, and blew them all to hell. Like a fist through a paper wall, Jesus has destroyed the power of sin and death forever. What once trapped and imprisoned you forever now has a big hole in it. That’s where Jesus went. Death itself is now but a doorway, a portal, the big rip where Jesus blasted it through for you to eternal life.

That’s why Jesus is coming into Jerusalem to die on the cross.

That’s why you sing your hosannas now, without any desperation. The Savior has saved you. Your death is but a moment. Your grave, packed well under all that dirt though it may be, is but a rental. You won’t be staying. Life in Christ is sure.

He has already blown through the power of sin and death.

The world still doesn’t want to hear it. But you have the power of life in your voice and hands dear one. Don’t let the world shut you up. Don’t settle for hell. Be prepared, loving, and kind, and always give an answer to the hope that is in you. And let them wonder, those dying hellbound. Let’em all wonder; at the hope they see in you. The Light of Christ is dawning, the Daystar arising. Lift up your heads and join the joyous cry, He’s coming! Let them all wonder, and gather them in with you, those who would hear it, and let them join in the hopeful cry “Hosanna!”

The peace of God which passes all understanding is guarding over your heart and mind through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

DAILY PRAYER at NOON

: sermonguy; March 28th, 14:06

for more information go to <resurrectionlutheran.us>

March 28, 2012 • DAILY PRAYER at NOON

The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear my prayer and answer me.

Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress and He hears my voice.

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 55:1, 16-17, 22

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

John 19.17–18 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.
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Jesus is crucified in the center. That’s where He put Himself– in the middle. Between the sinners, Jesus dies their death. In the midst of this fallen and sinful human race, Jesus joins into the death of sinners– your death. Jesus is in the middle.

Jesus is in the middle because that’s where He put Himself. Because He loves you, and would not lose you to death and hell for your sin forever, Jesus took off His glory, was born a man, lived in perfect obedience to His Law, all the while in the middle of humanity, at just the right time, in just the right place. For you.

Jesus came in order to keep you, to rescue you from the penalty of your sin, which is eternal death. Jesus didn’t come to do magic, perform miracles, to impress anyone. He came in the middle, nobody would look at Him twice because of His appearance. He was one of us. He made Himself that way, for you. And He was crucified in the middle, at the center of sin and death itself.

In His dying, Jesus truly died. He had been born a man, and in this fallen world, men die. In His dying, Jesus truly fulfilled and destroyed the power of the penalty of eternal death for all mankind. Because He is God, Jesus is infinite. His work is infinite. His death in your place is infinite. Nothing more can ever be demanded. Jesus paid an infinite price for you in dying. Now death is dead. Because Jesus is in the middle, there is no more death. Even death itself is made a portal to His eternal life for you.

Jesus is in the middle. He is there for you. His death is your life. His death destroyed death. You are rescued from your death because, when you get there, Jesus is already there. Living. Jesus is in the center. You are forgiven. Live and rejoice. Jesus is for you.
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Hymn 339 The Lord into His Father’s Hands

• Our Father…

• Almighty and most merciful God, who gave Your Son to die for our sins, and to obtain forgiveness and redemption for us through His own blood, we humbly ask You, let the merit of this spotless sacrifice purge our consciences from dead works, that we may serve You, the living God, and receive the promise of eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus, our Lord, to whom, with You and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.

• Blessed Savior, at this hour You hung upon the cross, stretching out Your loving arms. Grant that all the peoples of the earth may look to you and be saved; for Your mercy’s sake. Amen.

The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
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Holy Week Services

Palm Sunday: Bible Study at 9.15.a.m.
             Divine Service at 10.30 a.m.
           Service in Bandon at 2.00 p.m.
Maundy Thursday: Divine Service at 6.30 p.m.
Good Friday: Service a few minutes after Noon
Holy Saturday: The Great Vigil Service at 9.00 p.m.
Easter Sunday: Divine Service at 10.30 a.m.
             Divine Service in Bandon at 2.00 p.m.

Lent 4 Midweek

: sermonguy; March 21st, 13:03

for more information go to <resurrectionlutheran.us>

March 21, 2012 • DAILY PRAYER at NOON
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear my prayer and answer me.
Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress and He hears my voice.
Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 55:1, 16-17, 22

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

John 19.23–24 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
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Sinning, the man and the woman knew death for the first time, and felt the the danger of being exposed in a world created for them, which now they could not fit, leaving them naked, cold, and needing such covering as they might be given (their own leaf-tailoring not having been any good at all). Grieving their loss in the death of sin, God reveals His graciousness and sacrificed animals for their skins to clothe Adam and Eve Himself.

Sinners following sinful orders, the squad deployed to crucify our Lord first stripped Him. He who clothed us, we made naked. As our first parents they too, obtained the clothing of God, His gift to them. For neither the priests, nor the governor, nor they could have done these things except He lay down His life for us all. But what does this clothing mean? It is an image of what Jesus has done. God emptied Himself of His glory, humbling Himself for our sake, for our salvation. Even allowing rough hands to tug His last garments away to crucify in deepest humiliation.

So now, by His grace, seeing us naked in our sin, our Lord clothes us all in Holy Baptism, in which we are clothed in Christ’s own righteousness– this is the wedding garment He speaks of in the parable of the wedding feast.

God has found us all exposed and undone in our sin. We were without recourse, and naked still, for all our work and striving. But He has been gracious to us, clothing us in Himself, enrobing us by His Word at the Baptismal font; and at the Last Day, calling us to Him from our graves, we are made new, and restored to His Paradise forevermore– a white-robed throng which no man can count, our song haling the Lamb who was slain for us all, in Whom we are clothed righteous forever.
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Hymn 308 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

• Our Father…

• Lord God, heavenly Father, by Your Son You fed five thousand men in the wilderness with five loaves and two fish: We beseech You graciously to abide also with us in the fullness of Your blessing. Preserve us from greed and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and in all things perceive Your fatherly goodness; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

• Blessed Savior, at this hour You hung upon the cross, stretching out Your loving arms. Grant that all the peoples of the earth may look to you and be saved; for Your mercy’s sake. Amen.

The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Lent 4 – St. John 6:1-15

: sermonguy; March 18th, 8:31

for more information go to <resurrectionlutheran.us>

Grace to you and Peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.

Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

This is Your Word heavenly Father, sanctify us by Your Truth; Your Word is Truth. Amen.

Fellow redeemed: We’re halfway from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, and have arrived at an oasis in this hungry lenten wilderness. Today is ‘Rejoicing Sunday.’ Lætare means ‘rejoice!’ And Jesus gives His disciple a perfect set up to realize anew how wonderful it is to be in the Lord’s presence and rejoice.

He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” Philip answered Him with great rejoicing “We are in your presence, Lord, and whatever comes to hand you may bless that we receive good things anew from your hand and be filled!” Andrew found a kid with a couple of sandwiches in his lunch bag and presented it saying ‘Here Jesus, in your hands this is more than enough’ and distributing the bounty of God’s blessing they all were filled.

No, that’s not what happened, is it? Philip was addressed by the incarnate God, but he proved himself more impressed by the thousands following, and was reduced to doing top-of-the-head accounting (you can see him standing there, muttering an equation to himself) and replying that two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t even meet a minimum of a bite each. Philip saw how vast the problem was, and assumed scarcity based on need.

The thing to do, following Philip’s logic, was to do the maths, repress any generous impulse, and find some way for Jesus and the Twelve to high-tail it out of there.

Can you blame him? Faced by the opportunities and crisis all around you, do you fare any better? No, you are a Philip too, aren’t you. You see the problem, and you count the costs, and it’s too big for you. In the end you make an excuse, or scoot away from life’s crisis du jour, and avoid it. Otherwise it’s just too much for you.

Well, you’re right. It is too much for you. Philip was right. He didn’t have nearly enough to provide for the multitude. I mean, what else could he do? What more can be asked of you?

Just one thing: Repent.

Repent. Jesus asked Philip a question and he answered focusing on the multitude. You have opportunities to serve and be a bold Christian, and you get overwhelmed by the problems and opportunities which are so big. Repent. It’s not about the multitude. It’s not about two hundred denarii of bread. It’s not about the best solution you can come up with. It’s not about meeting a minimum standard. It’s not about the ways and means of it. It’s not about the crisis, the multitude, the problem at all.

It’s about Jesus. Repent. Turn to Him. He’s talking to you. Jesus is talking to Philip. Why is Philip obsessing over the size of the crowd and the price of bread? Jesus has given you His Word, why are you all wrapped up and overwhelmed by the issue of the day? Jesus is talking. Jesus is talking! PAY ATTENTION TO HIM. Repent (that means turn around), turn to Jesus. He has the answer. He is the answer.

It’s not about understanding the solution. It’s about Jesus. He can do it. Stop doing the math, turn to Jesus. He’s the answer. He’s the solution. Repent. Turn.

And rejoice.

Rejoice, because Jesus can do what Philip can’t. Jesus can do what you can’t. Jesus can do what none of our works can ever do. And He isn’t interested in giving everybody a mouthful of the kid’s lunch. Jesus doesn’t work from scarcity. He works from abundance. By His speaking the whole universe was created. And by His will the finite space of the womb of the Virgin contained the infinite God. By Jesus’ will jars of water became the finest wine. By Jesus’ will today millions of our fellow Christians the world round will feast on His body and blood.

Think about that a moment: Right now, in the span of the day, millions of people are approaching the altar and joining in the Lord’s Supper. How shall they be fed? Stop doing the maths. Little scraps of bread, little drops of wine are all we can see. But one after another, till a vast multitude are all fed, all who commune today receive Jesus’ body and blood. How? He promised, that’s how. How much? All of them, worthy and unworthy too are feasting on Jesus’ body and blood. How much body? How much blood? All of His body. All of His blood. All who commune get all of Jesus. Wait, what? Yes, that’s right. He cannot be divided. All who commune receive all of Jesus.

Do you want to even begin to try to explain that one? You simply can’t. You can only confess that this is what Jesus promises, and hearing the Word of that promise, believe it. The feeding of the five thousand was pretty good, but does it hold a candle to what happens in the Lord’s Supper on any given Sunday? Stop trying to figure it out, look to Jesus. Believe in Him. Hear and cling to His promise, and rejoice!

Jesus is an oasis in a desert. He not only feeds the multitude, He fills them. So much so that there are big baskets left over for the Twelve to lug away. He brings the abundance of the Creator. Only His Word matters in the end. Or did He not make light in the beginning simply by saying ‘Light’? And in that single word, the abundance is astonishing. Astronomers continue to find new light of distant galaxies nobody knew was there. It’s a lot.

Rejoice. The problems are big. You know the problems you face. You’ve done the Philip thing, tried to work out solutions. Turn to Jesus. He’s been here all the time. And He loves you. The world lost in sin and death causes you despair, till you cling to crumbs like a claw. Cling to Jesus, who has never let you go, and hearing His Word, marvel at His loving presence in the midst of so much desperation. I can’t tell you always how He will care for you. But Jesus cares for you, and will always care for you. Look to Him, He feeds you not with crumbs that fall from the children’s table, but abundantly, and fully, and brings you great joy in the wilderness. Rejoice, Jesus is here. And He forgives you, and will never leave you nor forsake you, forevermore.

The peace of God which passes all understanding now guards your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Amen.

Lent 3 Midweek

: sermonguy; March 14th, 14:23

for more information go to <resurrectionlutheran.us>

DAILY PRAYER at NOON
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

Psalm 55:1, 16-17, 22

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Luke 23.27-31 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

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Bearing the full weight of the sin of man, having endured the scourging whip, you could understand if Jesus would have gone inside Himself, and become insensible to those around. But it is for your sake He is going through these things, and He turns ever toward you and all humanity. Hearing the lamentation and mourning He redirects your sorrow in pitying Him to the hideous condition you and your children are in. Jesus endures the cross for this very reason. Sin renders you more hideous than scourging and and crucifying. You are to be pitied. And Jesus pities you. He prophecies of the immediate sorrow of the women of Jerusalem, in their generation the City would fall in dreadful fashion. But Jesus speaks also of the condition of every mother’s child of the wretchedness of eternal death in sin we presently suffer. It is for this reason that He bears the scourging and cross.

Perhaps the women that day thought to merit some favor of God by mourning Jesus. Many today approach Lent in this way, as though by tears you would placate the Holy One. Repent. Your works cannot avert your doom. Your tears cannot wash your sin away. It is the work of Jesus, and His innocent suffering and death in which you are saved.

God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. You are saved not by your works, merit, and mourning, but by the grace of Jesus through faith, and this not of yourself, it is the gift of God.
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Hymn 307 I Know Thee, Savior

• Our Father…

• Lord God, heavenly Father, You have sent Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh, that He might overcome the devil, and defend us poor sinners against the adversary: We give thanks to You for Your merciful help, and we beseech You to attend us with Your grace in all temptations, to preserve us from carnal security, and by Your Holy Spirit to keep us in Your Word in Your fear, that we may be delivered from the enemy, and obtain eternal salvation; through the same, Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

• Blessed Savior, at this hour You hung upon the cross, stretching out Your loving arms. Grant that all the peoples of the earth may look to you and be saved; for Your mercy’s sake. Amen.

The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Lent 2 Midweek

: sermonguy; March 7th, 10:19

for more information go to <resurrectionlutheran.us>

DAILY PRAYER at NOON

The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear my prayer and answer me.

Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress and He hears my voice.

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 55:1, 16-17, 22

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Mark 15.20b–21 And they led Him out to crucify Him. Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

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Ann just sent off our tax stuff. Legal obligations like this irritate me. Taxes remind me I’m a sinner. Jesus has taught us concerning such things. In those days the Roman empire obliged its provincial subjects to carry the burdens soldiers would lay on them for a mile. Sinners like me, being pulled from their own affairs for this taxation of their labor doubtless irritated them. Jesus says, “whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”

Simon had nearly made it all the way in from the place he was camping to the Temple that Friday, when soldiers obliged him to bear the weight of Jesus’ cross out to the place where they would crucify our Lord. It was only perhaps half a mile, but who would want to carry such a dreadful burden even an inch? Nevertheless, Simon bore the burden and followed.

Jesus teaches us concerning such unwanted burdens, the inconvenience and pain they bring. He says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

Simon hadn’t chosen the cross, but he bore it. He likely didn’t know Jesus, but soon was well acquainted. He didn’t meet God in the Temple, but under this burden God was suffering with Him. His forced association with the gruesome instrument of death made Simon ineligible to celebrate the feast of the Passover lamb, yet the blood of Him whose cross Simon bore made him, and us sinners too, guests at the unending feast of the Lamb.

Repent of your unwillingness. Bear the burden laid upon you, and understand that in this world Jesus does not remove such hardships from you, but meets you in them. Jesus blessed Simon, he is included afterward among the believers, and his sons mentioned here, Alexander and Rufus, are counted among the first pastors. The blessing given goes ever on and on. Jesus meets you in the rejected place, under the burden the world disdains, and He blesses you.
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Hymn 330 Beneath the Cross of Jesus

• Our Father…

• O Lord, mercifully hear our prayer, and stretch forth the right hand of Your majesty to defend us from all that rise up against us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

• Blessed Savior, at this hour You hung upon the cross, stretching out Your loving arms. Grant that all the peoples of the earth may look to you and be saved; for Your mercy’s sake. Amen.

The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

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