Sermon Text for the Divine Service of the Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter 

Ezekiel 36:22-28 John 15:26-16:4

Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. 

I was struck by the reason that God articulates for his decision to save His people that is found in Ezekiel. I generally think of God’s mercy toward us as coming from His love. John 3:16 comes to mind regularly. Love appears to be at the root of God’s desire for a formal relationship with His people as expressed through the covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Parental Love appears to be the motivation behind God giving Moses the law. Through the Mosaic Law, God is stating expectations of behavior, providing clear boundaries, and explains what happens when boundaries are crossed. The Psalms regularly speak of God’s love as expression of mercy. Psalm 136 tells the story of creation and Israel’s rescue from slavery in Egypt with a steady refrain “for his steadfast love endures forever.” 

Given these Bible passages and more where love is either explicitly or implicitly stated as the motivation of God’s regular saving of us, I was struck by the Word of the Lord that comes from Ezekiel 36. “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name.” Since Israel is forever linked to God’s name, the Lord is protecting his holy name. His holiness is greater than the sin of Israel. God will not let Israel’s abuse of God’s name prevent Him from saving them. 

From this, the lesson that began in Genesis is once again reinforced. Humans, even humans that God has established a covenant with, simply are not able to save themselves. God’s holiness, in other words, God’s righteousness, acts upon us, to save us. Even when the sin is as egregious as “profaning God’s name” by words and actions of the chosen people. God chooses to honor His covenant with us despite our failures. God witnesses the complete depravity of those He has called into a covenantal relationship, yet, is determined to save us. 

God’s holiness moves Him beyond the offense to see our inability to save ourselves. Our complete depravity prevents us from ever moving toward holiness and righteousness on our own.  God’s grace is to see us for what we are and then to take the necessary steps to redeem us from sin, death, and the wily workings of the devil. 

Ezekiel is preaching to Israel while they are in captivity in Babylon. Israel is in Babylon as punishment for their sins against God and one another. You have heard me say, “us” and not “them.” The reason for this is because there is no evidence to suggest that those outside the covenant are any better than those within God’s covenant. There is no reason to think that we would do better than Israel. 

As we confess at the beginning of the liturgy, “we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.” Those are the words of a group of people who understand their own depravity before one another and before the holiness of God. 

As we reflect on our own shortcomings, we also rejoice. God’s holiness moves Him to save them and to save us. God’s holiness compels Him to give all of us, Jew and Gentile, His Son. Jesus is true man. Jesus is the sinless man, the New Adam. And He is the Son of God.  He is not able to sin. He resists temptation. He loves God and neighbor, even unto death. Through His death on the cross and the resurrection, Jesus saves us. He who sinned not, bore our sins upon the cross. On the third day, after announcing the grace of God those bound in hell, Jesus rose from the dead. Death’s grasp on sinful humanity is broken. For those who have faith in Jesus as the Christ, death is the doorway to eternal life. 

Ezekiel proclaims the work of God. When we are baptized, we receive Christ and His forgiveness. The Lord gives us a new heart. A heart of faith. Faith to trust in the sinless one’s redemption of us in the cross. Faith to let go of our pride and to let God transform us through His Holy Spirit. 

Jesus says that He sends us the Helper, the Holy Spirit. He is the one who works through the Word and the Water to create faith within us. The Holy Spirit leads us into the truth of God’s grace. We are covered by God’s holiness through Christ. In God’s holiness, we know love. 

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

Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!