Rogate -
The Fifth Sunday after Easter, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn #458 Our Father, Thou in Heaven (Luther)
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #454 Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire
God Provides the Faith To Ask
The Communion Hymn #652 I Lay My Sins on Jesus
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #457 What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Collect
O God, from whom all good things do come, grant to us,
Thy humble servants, that by Thy holy inspiration we may think those things
that be right and by Thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through Jesus
Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
- Ascension Day Holy Communion - Thursday, 7 PM
- Prayers for Randy Anderson and Christina Jackson as their therapy continues.
- Comfort for those dealing with seizures, including Jeshra Palangyos - and Callie, the daughter of a former student.
KJV James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
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| By Norma A. Boeckler |
KJV John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
Fifth Sunday After Easter
Lord God, heavenly Father, who through Thy Son didst promise us that whatsoever we ask in His name Thou wilt give us: We beseech Thee, keep us in Thy word, and grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that He may govern us according to Thy will; protect us from the power of the devil, from false doctrine and worship; also defend our lives against all danger; grant us Thy blessing and peace, that we may in all things perceive Thy merciful help, and both now and forever praise and glorify Thee as our gracious Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Background for the Gospel Sermon
Prayer is often taught as the Law, a commandment. In the past, when the movies tilted toward Christianity, frantic families would ask the doctor, "What can we do?" The doctor would scowl and say, "There is only one thing left to do - pray!"
The Scriptures treat prayer a different way. There are hundreds of places in the Bible where people to urged to pray, always on a foundation of God's gracious promises. The reason for this is simple. Prayer can be misunderstood or manipulated many different ways, but the Word of God treats it as the fruit of faith and combines those injunctions to pray with Promises that move us to ask - through trust in God's kindness.
The foundation for prayer is Christ. If we look back, we can see that many prayers have been answered, often in a miraculous way. If that is not sufficient, we know too that without being asked, God has saved our lives and turned bad situations into blessings. There must be a reason so many teachings of Jesus rest on His Creation as the Creation Word. We get to see, hundreds of ways, the order and blessings of that Creation. That inspires trust in the Lord of Creation.
God Creates the Faith - Faith in Christ Moves Us To Ask
KJV John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Someone asked me if I ever felt discouraged and anxious. I said, "Yes, every morning. The two remedies are enjoying some coffee and taking a walk with Sassy." Man-made wonders are nothing compared to the miraculous engineering of Creation. All things are possible through God, whose Word - the Logos - fashioned everything we see around us.
Sometimes the wonders are such things as the timing of each plant, popping out of the ground and stretching toward the heavens, developing buds, and flowering. How did that get there? I remember. I ordered Bee Balm on sale, got a bag of roots, soaked them in rainwater and planted them. Everyone wrote it that their plants never grew. I had nine clusters of Bee Balm, and bees working the blossoms. True chemical gardening - the most powerful chemical is rain.
The impossibility of Creation working in perfect harmony, without our aid, is a backdrop to this verse. There are no "ifs," no contingencies. "Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it to you."
Our lives are filled with commands, restrictions, rules, threats, and protective measures. Where can we go without a ropeline, without minders watching us! I asked the supermarket minder if anyone attempted to vault over the rope barrier. She said, "Not so far."
But this, in contrast, is unrestricted and based on the very faith that Christ has established in us through the Gospel Word. The Gospel is not only the message of His atoning death and resurrection, the Promise of forgiveness and eternal life. The Gospel includes every Promise from God, every Blessing from God.
The disciples could easily be urged on this basis, because their material world was shattered by the cross and empty grave, so they knew God was capable of wonders they could not even imagine. That is why the early Church produced miraculous growth - the witness of the empty grave, from eyewitnesses, their faith that God would work His will through the Word.
Luther:
1. First we note that in order for a prayer to be really right and to be heard five things are required. The first is, that we have from God his promise or his permission to speak to him, and that we remember the same before we pray and remind God of it, thereby encouraging ourselves to pray in a calm and confident frame of mind. Had God not told us to pray, and pledged himself to hear us, none of his creatures could ever, with all their prayers, obtain so much as a grain of corn. From this, then, there follows that no one receives anything from God by virtue of his own merit or that of his prayer. His answer comes by virtue of the divine goodness alone, which precedes every prayer and desire, which moves us, through his gracious promise and call, to pray and to desire, in order that we may learn how much he cares for us, and how he is more ready to give than we are to receive. He would have us seek to become bold, to pray in a calm and confident spirit, since he offers all, and even more, than we are able to ask.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Jesus gave the same kind of instructions in John 15, in regard to prayer. Pointing to Creation as the Lord of Creation, He observed that fruitful branches of the grapevine are cleansed (pruned) so they can be more fruitful.
That cleansing alarms people the most with roses. When I am cutting them for church, for others, for visitors to the garden, I am the secondary agent making them bloom even more. God's design is the primary agent. The stubborn rose wants to go to seed and form rose hips. Pruning the flower makes the branches grow even more and stimulates root growth.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the grace and forgiveness of God. There is no other way, no matter what Pope Francis, SJ, says. Forgiveness of sin and salvation are the great miracles worked by God, so the believing heart asks for many things for peace of mind, for others, for the spread of the Gospel.
Seeing prayers answered fills us with joy. I gave roses to our neighbor, who was weak from her chronic illness. Her mean husband hated the flowers being there (and our worship service) so the roses could not stay. Our neighbor took them to a patient she was helping. That patient's daughter said the roses lit up their house all the time, a great memory associated with the loss of her mother. Our neighbor, truly living in Hell, became a confessing Christian, and in faith gave joy to others though she could barely walk next door to us.
What was worse? the illness or the blindness of her husband? In the hospital, our neighbor demanded "Her pastor and his wife," against the will of their cult.
Luther:
2. In the second place, it is necessary that we never doubt the pledge and promise of the true and faithful God. For even to this end did God pledge himself to hear, yea, commanded us to pray, in order that we may always have a sure and firm faith that we will be heard; as Jesus says in Matthew 21:22: “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Christ says in Luke 11:9-13: “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” With this and like promises and commands we must consolingly exercise ourselves and pray in true confidence.
25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
Jesus combined a lot of teaching where the disciples could only see the basic elements of what He said. Showing is the best way of teaching. The empty grave and Easter appearances were the capstone of the Gospel ministry, including the Ascension.
Whoever shares in viewing our garden will get roses and other flowers and herbs, but also the plants, bulbs, and bare root roses. It is one thing to look at the plant, but another to experience it in one's own garden.
I gave Ranger Bob two Joe Pye plants to start, because he asked. He kept delaying the planting. I left this message. "The Joe Pye Rescue Society reminds you that you, a Native American, are neglecting a plant named after and promoted by a Native American. If you do not plant it as promised, the Joe Pye Society will repo your plants."
Like the bulbs from me that he planted, Bob will appreciate this plant that grows 6 feet tall and attracts an unusual number of creatures.
Luther:
3. In the third place, if one prays doubting that God will hear him, and only offers his prayers as a venture, whether it be granted or not granted, he is guilty of two wicked deeds. The first is, that he, himself, makes his prayer unavailing and he labors in vain. For Jesus says: “Whoever will ask of God, let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.” James 1:6-7. He means that the heart of such a man does not continue stable, therefore God can give it nothing; but faith keeps the heart calm and stable and makes it receptive for the divine gifts.
4. The other wicked deed is, that he regards his most true and faithful God as a liar and an unstable and doubtful being; as one who can not or will not keep his promise; and thus through his doubt he robs God of his honor and of his name of truth and faithfulness. In this, such a grievous sin is committed that by this sin a Christian becomes a heathen, denying and losing his own God, and thus he remains in his sin, and must be condemned forever, without comfort.
There are witches and warlocks in our midst - the ones who imagine that by touching a plant, they will kill it. They really doubt the Creation. They are like those who say, "I trusted God once but did not get what I wanted..." (One active member said that, many years ago - a most unhappy person.)
26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
27 αυτος γαρ ο πατηρ φιλει υμας οτι υμεις εμε πεφιληκατε και πεπιστευκατε οτι εγω παρα του θεου εξηλθον
This is another reason to pray. The Father loves those who love the Son. The reason is not because the disciples were perfect or worthy or meriting this love. The Holy Trinity has created this continuous loop - The Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father. The Son is in us and we are in the Son, just as He is in the Father.
In this chain of relatedness, we are united with God and this is taught to us through the Spirit in the Word. This is not something to doubt, because it is revealed in a straightforward, plain way.
We are in the middle of God loving the Son, the Son loving the Father, and being loved because we have loved and believed the Son.
This is no small matter, because it involves the power of Creation itself. That is, nothing can keep God from accomplishing His will through His Word.
When Pastor Palangyos writes "More power" to me, I respond, "More Word, more power." And he says, "Amen."
And we see that happening all the time, especially because the Word is spread in so many ways.
Luther:
5. In the fourth place, some say: Yes, I would gladly trust that my prayer would be heard, if I were only worthy and prayed aright. My answer is: If you do not pray until you know and experience that you are fit, then you will never need to pray. As I have said before, our prayers must not be founded nor rest upon ourselves or their own merits, but upon the unshakable truth of the divine promise. Where they are founded upon anything else, they are false, and deceive us, even though the heart break in the midst of its great devotions and we weep drops of blood. The very reason we do pray is because of our unworthiness; and just through the fact that we believe we are unworthy and confidently venture upon God’s faithfulness to his Word do we become worthy to pray and to be heard.
28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
This is another example, found often in the Scriptures, of believing and confessing the truth. Nothing can be doubted when we consider that the Son was sent by the Father and Spirit sent by the Father and Son.
Our problem comes from the gap between knowing and doing. As one woman said to Christina about eating habits, "I know all that - it's the doing that is hard." Our Old Adam shrinks back, or balks, or resists. Those are the reasons why the Son emphasizes and exhibits the grace of our Heavenly Father.
Luther:
7. In the fifth place, one should so act in this confidence of prayer as not to limit God and specify the day or place, nor designate the way or measure of the prayer’s fulfillment; but leave all to his own will, wisdom and almighty power. Then confidently and cheerfully await the answer, not even wishing to know how and where, how soon, how long, and through whom. His divine wisdom will find far better ways and measures, time and place, than we can devise, even should we perform miracles. So, in the Old Testament, the children of Israel all trusted in God to deliver them while yet there was no possible way before their eyes, nor even in their thoughts; then the Red Sea parted and offered them a way through the waters, and suddenly drowned all their enemies. Exodus 14.
This fifth quotation from Luther may be the most important one of all. When we think of dealing with the impossible, we only need to ask and wait in cheerful confidence. Many obstacles face us, and we also have our own attitudes to weigh us down. It is easy to say, "What's the use?" But that is the very definition of loss in the military - "An army is defeated the moment it thinks it has lost." (Clausewitz, if I recall correctly) I saw many people give up in academics because of turbulence in their lives, and they were all in theology.
In my education class, people always message me about the teams they are in. I tell them - I was ready to quit twice when I took these same courses. That makes them feel better.
Emotional turmoil is bound to happen; it affects some people a lot more than others. That is not a weakness but a strength. The spiritual battles are just as important as physical exercise. They strengthen us and at the very least give us the perspective to share the Biblical answers with others.
