Sunday of the Passion with Palms at St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church, Rensselaer, IN
Passion Sunday with the Procession of Palms.
John 12:12-19; Deuteronomy 32:36-39; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 23:1-56
What do you say about Jesus?
O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
Today, we are blessed to be present with Caleb and Easton as they confirm the faith in which they were baptized. In case any of you do not remember, Caleb was baptized on November 9, 2010. Easton was baptized on February 13, 2011. Both of them were baptized by Pastor Wickert.
As Lutheran Christians, we believe that the water poured upon them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit is a means of grace. In other words, God works through the act of Holy Baptism to create faith within the baptized, we also receive the forgiveness that Jesus won for us on the cross. And we are marked with Jesus’ cross. We are His forever after. Our identity is Beloved Child of God.
All of this happened when Caleb and Easton were too young to speak for themselves, so we have this formal process, to make sure that they are instructed in the basic content of the faith so that they can now say, “yes, I believe this,” they know what they are affirming.
At St. Luke, the formal process involves Bible reading and studying of the catechism. In the past year, Pastor Mueller and I have been leading them through the Small Catechism. For those of you that have had the privilege, you know that the Catechism has a question-and-answer format. I am pleased to say that these two young men have learned to answer the questions well. But they are not yet done. Shortly, we will be asking them more questions and rejoicing in their answers.
I do not want any of you to be left out of the fun, so I have a question for all of you to think about as we continue through this Divine Service.
What do you say when you talk about Jesus? I do not intend this question to be an empty rhetorical query. This is a serious question. It is also a question that helps us to reflect on the Biblical texts for today.
We begin with the first Gospel reading – John 12. The Passover is a huge feast. People are arriving from all over the world to participate. The Gospel of John tells us that a large crowd heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. Why were they so excited? Everyone is coming to Jerusalem right now. What’s one more person? It just so happens that a bunch of people who watched Jesus call Lazarus out of the tomb were in Jerusalem. They were saying that Jesus is more than a wonder worker. Jesus has power over death. Lazarus was dead for four days, he had been in the tomb for three. They watched Lazarus come out of the tomb with his grave clothes on.
The witnesses are saying that Jesus has power over death! No one but God can do that!
The crowds that cheer as they see Jesus coming up into Jerusalem on the donkey are saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” The crowds hear of Jesus’ unique gifts and power. They see him on the donkey and remember the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.” The crowds of the faithful are saying that Jesus is the long awaited, long hoped for, Messiah. He is even more powerful that King David!
Pontus Pilate and Herod both interviewed Jesus. They both say that Jesus is innocent. He is not guilty. He does not deserve death.
One of the criminals saw the false accusations and the ferment of Jesus’ adversaries for what they are. In hushing the loudmouth, he declared that Jesus is innocent. The condemned criminal says that Jesus does not deserve to be on the cross like he and his buddy.
The Roman Centurian saw the way that Jesus died. He heard the last seven words that Jesus spoke. These are not the words of a guilty, condemned, criminal. The Centurion says, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
So, if Jesus has power over death to raise the dead and so many are convinced that He is the Christ and that He is innocent, why is Jesus suffering, bleeding, and now dead on the cross?
The catechism gives us the answer. The catechism pulls all the information that we have from the Bible and God’s many witnesses and summarizes the answer. The shortest version is simply: For You. The slightly longer answer is that, first, we human beings are a hot mess, also known as sinners, who cannot redeem ourselves from our own sinful condition. Our salvation must come from outside of ourselves. Second, that Jesus is the innocent, God-Man, who saves us by being our substitute. He takes the punishment of the Father’s wrath upon Himself and confers upon us His righteousness and declares us forgiven. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we have His promise of eternal life with Him in heaven.
The formal answer of the catechism is the explanation of the second article of the Apostles Creed. If you have it memorized, please say it with me:
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
This is what the Church is saying about Jesus. This is what we are going to continue to say about Jesus until He calls us home. This is what you say about Jesus.
Let’s return to the Biblical text for a moment. Every positive thing that the people say is the result of an experience with Jesus. The experience is either one on one, they personally witnessed it, or because they believe what the witness is saying.
When you have opportunity to talk about Jesus, it may very well be because you have had an experience that confirms that what the Bible and the Catechism say is most certainly true. Please do talk about what Jesus has done to and for you. Chances are high, that people need to hear what you have to say. Unbeknownst to you, your words may bring the light of Jesus into a very dark place and to a person that desperately needs to know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and that His cross is our only hope and salvation.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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