Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Cantate 3 - "Therefore the Holy Spirit Rightly and Justly Convicts, As Sinful And Condemned, All Who Have Not Faith in Christ.

 

Cantate Sunday - Third Sermon - Link Here

23. Therefore the Holy Spirit rightly and justly convicts, as sinful and condemned, all who have not faith in Christ. For where this is wanting, other sins in abundance must follow: God is despised and hated, and the entire first table is treated with disobedience. For if one does not know God in Christ, he cannot trust him for any good thing, nor call upon him from the heart, nor know his word; but he is entangled in the devil’s lies, persecutes and blasphemes true doctrines, and continues in obstinacy and hardening, even to the degree of slandering the Holy Spirit. In consequence of this he also disobeys the other commandments in his life ,and station, so that he does to nobody what he ought to do, and has in his heart no true love, kindness, gentleness, patience, no delight in chastity, righteousness, faithfulness and truth; but practices the contrary, except where he has reason to fear disgrace or punishment.

24. Lo, how the dragon’s-tail of the devil and all hell must follow unbelief!

The reason is, that he who does not believe in Christ, has already turned away from God and quite separated himself from him. Therefore he cannot have the Holy Spirit, nor originate good thoughts, nor have a true, hearty pleasure in living according to God’s will; notwithstanding he may outwardly assume a different appearance, like a hypocrite, and act so as not to be rebuked or chastised. Just like a bad, ill-behaved servant, who is inimical to his master, and does what he hates to do, only because he is compelled, and as opportunity arises, does evil. Such are the beautiful, precious fruits, produced by this fountain and stem, if Christ is not accepted and heard as the Savior, presented to us by God in order to blot out our sin and to take from us God’s wrath.

25. Hence you see pictured here what the world is, nothing but a great company of wicked, stubborn people, who will not believe Christ, but despise God’s Word, praise and accept the seduction of the devil, and defiantly run counter to all of God’s commandments. They receive all the favors and benefits of God only to repay him with ingratitude and blasphemy. And yet in all this they are unwilling to be convicted or reproved, but wish to be called excellent, pious and saintly people. Such were the Jews, who crucified Christ and persecuted his apostles, and yet wished to claim the glory of having done God great service. Therefore the Holy Spirit must resist this and strive with the world and ever exercise his office of conviction with divine power and might until the last day.

 Jesus raises the young girl to life.

Luther's First Cantate Sermon #1 - This Paragraph Tears Down the Paper Lanterns, Spills the Barrels of Beer and Whiskey, and Sends the Professors Home To Weep

 

Luther's First Cantate Sermon 

2. In the first place, we see here that the world is accused of blindness and ignorance. All those who are without the Holy Spirit, however wise they may be in matters pertaining to the things of this world, are, before God, fools and blind. They do not like to hear this; and when they are told that their doings are of no account before God, it displeases them and makes them angry, because they insist that they are in possession of reason and the natural light, which God created in them. But what does this matter to us? There are the Scriptures and the Word of God plain and clear, that the Holy Spirit is to come to ‘convict the world, because it does not know what sin, righteousness and judgment are.' Thus it is determined, there it stands; let be angry who will, Christ does not care.

3. It is much to be deplored that the world is convicted, not only because of its sin and want of righteousness, not being able to judge rightly, but that it does not acknowledge nor see this, to say nothing of its endeavor to alter the matter. Oh, how completely the praise of all comes to naught, who, while they endeavor to make other people pious, know not themselves what sin is! Let us take, for example, at the present day, all the schools of learning and the learned men and see whether they can tell us what that one little word “sin” is? For who has ever heard that not to believe in Christ is sin? They say, it is sin if one speaks, desires or does something against God’s will and commandment. But how does that correspond with this saying of Christ: It is sin because they do not believe on me? Therefore, they are easily convicted of the fact that they know not what sin is; and if they be ever so learned, they will not be able to explain this text.

4. In like manner, they are not able to know what “righteousness” is. For who has ever heard that a man should become pious and just because Christ ascended to heaven or goes to the Father and we see him no ,more?

There we must say, a fool has thus spoken and not a wise man. For they say, righteousness is a virtue, which teaches man what he owes others.

This is true, but the trouble is, they do not understand their own words, such blind fools they are. Therefore, one needs not be surprised that they rage so much against the Gospel and persecute the Christians. How could they do otherwise? They know no better.

WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC Have Gone to War against Faith in Jesus Christ

That explains their deep love for ELCA, because they all share a drooling desire for the Bad Bible-Booster Paraphrases - the Evil Four + One. 

The various dogmatic theologies they promoted - Braaten-Jenson, Barth, Pieper - preach against faith in Jesus Christ, in perfect harmony with their Bad Bible-Booster Paraphrases.

One must stand back in awe at the coordination:

The Vatican has always hated and distorted the Bible.

A pope seems to have worked out a deal to reveal the fake Codex Sinaiticus and the laughable Codex Vaticanus. Those two works came from Tischendorf, who began by promoting his Ephraim Rescriptus. 

By calling the fake Sinaiticus "Aleph", to make it first in line rather than last, Tischendorf moved the forgery to the front of the line.

One should always be suspicious of greedy men who keep finding ancient treasures. Tischendorf.

What do we say when one golden hero of such antiquarian gems shows up with three out of three magnificent, perfect, ancient, flawless "oldest and best" codices? I say - "Fraud! Fake! Forgery!" The unifying factor with Tischendorf was his need for approval, fame, and money.

Tischendorf is the bedrock of the "oldest and best" Greek manuscripts. The rest of the team, led by Westcott and Hort, invented hysterical theories to fit their agenda, and 150 years of lying followed.

This genius set of modern translations, which change every week, is not the English wording - because no one agrees. No - they point to their uncertainty about the Greek New Testament. The Received or Traditional Text has too many examples of faith in Jesus Christ and His divinity. 

The Evil Four plus One have scrambled the Bible so no one in the future will be able to quote a passage with certainty - or even the multiple editions of the same Bible. Foolscap off to the

• National Council of Marxist Churches' RSV,
• National Council of Marxist Churches' ESV,
• National Council of Marxist Churches' NRSV,
• Trump Hating Murdoch NIV,
• Money-Making Apostate-Loving Beck Bible.

Daily Lutheran Sermon Quote - Cantate Second Sermon

 

I knew two WELS pastors who were Church Growth fanatics, like Valleskey, and Antinomian (no Law, only their twisted Gospel). Both pastors became 100% atheists. They are not alone - just samples of Objective Faithless Justification.

Link to Cantate Sermon 2 - Fourth Sunday after Easter

11. His way to the Father is his glory. For “to go” means to die, and to pass through death to the Father and enter upon another existence. He glories in his future course when he says: “I go unto the Father.”

Therefore, here righteousness is nothing more than traveling by faith the road through death unto the Father. This faith makes us righteous before God, this faith by which we believe that he delivered us from sin, death, Satan and hell, through his passion, and that thereby God, the Father, is reconciled and our sins are blotted out by his blood. This is also the reason that he mentions his going, when he says, in respect of righteousness, not that he is with the Father, but that he goes to the Father. In this going, sin is swallowed up in righteousness and Christ passes cheerfully through death, so that no one is even aware of it. Therefore it follows: “And ye behold me no more.”

12. The nature and art of faith are here set forth: Faith neither feels nor gropes, nor do the things connected with it require a science; but it bestirs itself cheerfully to believe the things it neither feels nor ‘can measure with all its powers inwardly or outwardly. Paul says in Romans 8:24: “Who hopeth for that which he seeth?” Therefore, the Lord aptly says: “And ye behold me no more.” As if he would say that this way of good works which he is traveling, will not be seen nor grasped by the senses, but it must be believed. Now follows the third and last part of our Gospel.

Using the Rainbarrel Before a Rainy Day or Two

 

Weather alerts always being with "Have you dumped your rain barrels?" I do that for two reasons. One reason is (later in the summer) to thwart the mosquitoes. The second reason is to pour lots of usable nitrogen and unbleached water on the neediest plants.

I got this local advice tonight, with the sun beginning to sink, "It is going to rain tomorrow you know." My answer, "That is why I am using up this rain barrel." I am a magnet for gratuitous advice and modest when handing the results to friends, neighbors, and church members. 

The first plant targets were three Clethra bushes up front - tiny and beautiful, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies - and also two beginners out back. I have lost four others but I count the five survivors as great additions to the garden and their cinnamon fry fragrance. 

Tonight a woodpecker stopped by to drink from the hummingbird feeder.

I also poured plenty of rain water on calla lilies, some late blooming flowers, and the new roses. 

Wood mulch was used last fall and renewed this spring. Fresh mulch is a good way to mark where the neediest plants get extra care, by pruning or watering or de-weeding. I agree with the Queen Elizabeth's policy of leaving stumps and lumps of wood on the soil to foster the bugs that bring the birds that sing in the trees and bushes.

If we cannot learn from God's Creation as foundational, the rest of all knowledge is diluted, misunderstood, and misused. 

I have spent some time and labor building up islands of bee balm, a mint loved by butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Now that I have large, healthy clumps in the garden, I can transfer samples to other areas where they will dominate weeds while soaking up the sun.

Likewise, areas front and back are hosting attractive hostas (approved by King Charles III) for background decoration. They are not glamorous but sturdy and attractive - but special treats when their graceful flowers on a stalk invite sipping from the hummingbirds. I often think, "Did He do that on purpose?" The answer is obvious - nothing is random when 

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

Daily Lutheran Sermon Quote - Second Cantate Sermon - "You Shall Humble Them with the Holy Gospel."

Link to Cantate Sermon 2 - Fourth Sunday after Easter

8. The rod, however, by which the world is convicted and punished, is the divine Word and the holy Gospel, proclaimed by the apostles and preachers, as God the Father says to his Son in Psalm 2:9: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” That is, you shall humble them with the holy Gospel. But the world resents such conviction and punishment; yet it punishes severely, and even more severely than the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit takes rods, but the world uses swords and fire. Isaiah also speaks in like terms of Christ our Lord in Isaiah 11:4: “He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”

9. What is now the righteousness the Lord means here? Some say righteousness is a virtue that gives to every person his own. Although this is a fine definition, yet it is misleading, in that we do not know how we are indebted to every one, to God and to man. This God desires and demands of us. Therefore, his righteousness is nothing more than the faith and grace of God, by which God makes us pious and righteous. Such righteousness we must have and thus be righteous, if we are to be found righteous and unblamable before God, and not only before man. For the smallest letter or tittle of the Law shall not fail, but all will be fulfilled.

10. Noah was found to be such a righteous man. It is written of him in Genesis 6:8-9: “Noah was a righteous man, and blameless in his generation; he walked with God. Therefore he found favor in the eyes of Jehovah.” It is also written of Job, in Job 1:1, that he was a perfect and upright man, one that feared God and turned away from evil. But that is done only by faith, when one believes that God has strangled and swallowed up one’s sins in his righteousness. For this righteousness is nothing but to believe that Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father; that he is equal with God, possessing equal power; that he has become Lord by virtue of his passion, by which he has ascended to the Father, reconciled us with God and is there as our mediator. This is what the prophet means in Psalm 110:1. “Jehovah saith unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Therefore, St. Paul calls Christ now a mediator, 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6; then a throne of grace, Romans 3:25; a propitiation,1 John 2:2, and other like names. God requires this honor from us and faith demands it that we possess him as our Lord and Savior; and this glory he will not concede to any one else, as he says through the prophet: “My glory will I not give to another,” Isaiah 42:8.

11. His way to the Father is his glory. For “to go” means to die, and to pass through death to the Father and enter upon another existence. He glories in his future course when he says: “I go unto the Father.”

Therefore, here righteousness is nothing more than traveling by faith the road through death unto the Father. This faith makes us righteous before God, this faith by which we believe that he delivered us from sin, death, Satan and hell, through his passion, and that thereby God, the Father, is reconciled and our sins are blotted out by his blood.

Norma A. Boeckler's Art Recognized Again!

Norma won the Purchase Prize. 

Norma A. Boeckler's "Single Pink Peony" close up illustrates the beauty of God's Creation.

 This is the Midland area group that won prizes for their art.

 Christians in India recognized Norma A. Boeckler for her beautiful religious art.

Daily Lutheran Sermon Quote - Cantate Sunday - "For This Reason They Will Not Allow Faith To Be Preached; Nay, They Condemn This Doctrine And Banish Its Preachers. Indeed They Have Already Set about It in Good Earnest."

 

Link to Cantate Sermon 2 - Fourth Sunday after Easter

5. What will now become of all the priests, nuns and monks who, wishing to escape sin, run into cloisters and undertake to do many good works without this faith? Unbelief is called sin, as I said, but to believe on Christ — that he takes my sins upon himself, reconciles me to the Father and at the same time makes me his heir of all that is in heaven and earth — this is good works. In John 6:28-29, the Jews asked Christ: “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” Yea, and should we preach thus, who will then enter the cloisters or contribute anything for them? The purses of the monks would then surely become flat, their kitchens scanty, their cellars empty and neglected. For this reason they will not allow faith to be preached; nay, they condemn this doctrine and banish its preachers. Indeed they have already set about it in good earnest. Christ further says: “Of righteousness, because I go to the Father.”

II. THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS THE WORLD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

6. Here all the learned come armed, yea, the whole world besides, and tell us what kind of righteousness this is. Yes, and they shall err. For the world has never known this righteousness; it does not yet know it, and it does not wish to know it. Hence, the Lord says here that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of this righteousness.

7. But what are we to understand here by “the world?” We dare not understand by it the coarse, outward sins, as adultery, murder, stealing and theft. There are instituted for such characters the wheels and gallows, with which the worldly powers, the kings, emperors and princes, have to do.

But we will interpret “the world” as the subtle and secret sins, of which the Holy Spirit convicts, which the world does not know as sin. Yea, it pronounces them divine works; it applauds them and will not permit them to be called sins. How else can unbelief and other secret sins live in the heart while the heart itself is not conscious of them and knows not that they are sins? But those who convict the world must, on that account, be reviled as heretics and be banished from the country, as we see at present.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit must convict the world.

May Day Warning - Your Abusive Lutheran $ect Has Declared War on the Best English Bible, So They Can Sell Their Tawdry Paraphrases - The Evil Four Plus One

Has anyone else noticed that the King James Version costs so much less than the Evil Four plus One - NIV, ESV, RSV, NRSV + Beck? The synods put their "Bible" profits into their nasty little pockets.

 

The central point of Jesus Christ' teaching in John's Gospel is sin - not believing on Him. 

The Evil Four + One paraphrases - listed above - feature two fatal flaws -

1. Denial of the Savior's divinity.
2. Erasing verses which emphasize or support faith in the Savior.

The Evil Four + One should be commended for their duplicity, dishonesty, and greedy money-grubbing. They vary their errors and terrors in the Greek New Testament so people do not realize the great assault on the Apostolic (Traditional) Text. Using the Biblegateway.com, anyone can see how the Evil Four + One does not march together in a unified way with these errors. Thus Rev. Winebibber DMin can say, "Scholars are divided. These are very difficult topics in Greek."

The Evil Four + One operate as independent to hide one simple fact - they have the same agenda, making money and erasing Biblical text. 

Listen to the short YouTube about the hilariously bad NASB, which the rich sponsor had to reject, much like the Revised KJV of 1881 being dumped by its own apostate promoters.

They must be great, scholarly, precise paraphrases, because they never stop revising everything. The Beck Bible has had more changes than a baby who ate way too many prunes.

Your Abusive Lutheran Sect Preaches Against Faith - WELS, ELCA, LCMS, ELS, CLC - And Against the Bible

 All Time Views9,900,020

The United World Religion Corporation teaches one thing - assuming we are all simpletons who cannot read - Everyone Is Born Forgiven. They have turned the atoning death of Jesus Christ into universal forgiveness, universal grace, universal salvation. While waving their "sola" signs on Reformation Sunday, they are picking your pockets, emptying your purses, and stealing your mother's estate (Irrevocable Charitable Trust, aka, there goes the farm forever).

The only thing they preach with clarity and energy is We Need More Money To Do His Work. But His means - Their Father Below.

The abusive sects - especially the abusive Lutheran sects - teach grace. They sing Amazing Grace all the time, which may explain why everything and everyone is amazing today. How do we get this amazing grace, some wonder. Simple! Everyone has grace, even before grace, called prevenient grace, that grace which comes before grace, like "Your frozen pizza is coming" although it is not there yet and nobody knows where it is.

The Abusive Lutheran Sects, aka Thrivent victims, claim everyone in the world was forgiven

1. The moment Jesus died on the cross,
2. The moment Jesus rose from death,
3. The moment Adam and Eve were forgiven.

That may sound as confusing as it really is, but the key factor in those claims is this - forgiveness without faith = grace = salvation.

Even the greats - Sam Nafzger and David Valleskey and Mirthless Mark Schroeder - agree to the formula handed down by Calvin and Halle University.

Didja know Halle University, founded on Pietism, was the hotbed for moving away from faith in the Scriptures and into pure rationalism? ELCA calls that "Biblical scholarship" and LCMS-WELS-ELS calls it Universal Objective Faithless Justification.

The Real Message of Grace in Romans 

The abusive Lutheran sects are hotter than Georgia asphalt for grace, so why not find out how we obtain grace in Romans (the recent site of New NIV apostasy in Romans 3 - all are justified)? 

KJV Romans 5:5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

I realize many in the readership do not have a decent Bible, like the KJV. However, most people understand these two verses. 

• Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ gives us peace through forgiveness of sin.
• This faith gives us access into this grace. 

Daily Lutheran Sermon Quote - Cantata - Fourth Sunday after Easter

 

Link to Cantate Sermon 2 - Fourth Sunday after Easter

The Lord addresses his disciples thus: “When the Comforter is come, he will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not on me.”

2. Here we must let that be “sin” which is ascribed to, and included in, sin by the high majesty of heaven. In the text only unbelief is mentioned as sin, “because,” says the Lord, “they believe not on me.”

3. But what is it to believe on Christ? It is not simply to believe that he is God, or that he reigns in heaven in equal power with God the Father; many others believe that: But I believe on Christ when I believe that he is a gracious God to me and has taken my sins upon himself and reconciled me with God the Father, that my sins are his and his righteousness mine, that there is an intermingling and an exchange, that Christ is a mediator between me and the Father. For the sins of the whole world were laid upon Christ, and the righteousness of the Father, that is in Christ, will swallow up all our sins.

No sins dare and can remain upon Christ. Such faith makes me pure and acceptable to the Father. Of this faith the pope and our highly educated leaders know nothing to speak, much less to believe. They teach that man should do many good works if he is to be acceptable to God and be free from sin, and that then God imparts to him his grace.

4. However, here the Lord speaks quite differently, and says: “The Holy Spirit will convict the world in respect of sin, because they believe not on me.” Unbelief only is mentioned here as sin, and faith is praised as suppressing and extinguishing the other sins, even the sins in the saints.

Faith is so strong and overpowering that no sin dare put it under any obligation. Although sins are present in pious and believing persons, they are not imputed to them, nor shall their sins condemn them. This is Paul’s meaning when he says in Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Their hearts are cleansed by faith, as Peter writes in Acts 15:9. Therefore, whatever they do in this faith, in this assurance is all good, pure and pleasing to God. On the contrary, without this faith all their doings are sin and destruction, though their good works may shine and glitter as beautifully as they will, and ever though they raise the dead. For Paul says: “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” Romans 14:23.

Boom! Crash! Pow! The NASB - A Translation Fraud - Not Unlike the Chri$tian New$ Beck Bible - More Changes Than a Newborn's Diaper

 

Details about the New American Standard Bible - Wiki

We Were Talking about Names and Books

 

Installation of Andrew Preus, Trinity, New Haven, Missouri, 2021. Sam Nafzger is on the far left, back row. Walter Otten is almost on the far right, back row. Andrew is flanked by his brother and his father Rolf, front row. Herman Otten died in 2019, closely tied with the Robert Preus clan but not with the Jack Preus side.

We were discussing LCMS names when someone asked about a well known person who participated in the fake Luther's Large Catechism - $40 - from CPH. I had to look it up because the name was somewhere in my mental Rolodex. Sam Nafgzer! He was one of many doctrinal board chairs in various synods (WELS, ELS, CLC sic) who championed false doctrine.

Next discussion point - There is another KJV-hating book out there? Yes, I found it when searching for a pro-KJV book and landing a real hater -
One Book Only? Examining Exclusive Claims for the King James Bible
Roy Beacham and Kevin Bauder (D.Min. but Ph.D. candidate!), editors, 2001.

The classic, spewing hatred for the KJV -

James White, D.Min. 

The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations?

About the Author

"James R. White is the author of several acclaimed books, including The God Who Justifies and The Forgotten Trinity. The director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization, he is an accomplished and respected debater and an elder of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church. James also blogs at the Alpha and Omega Ministries site www.aomin.org. He and his family live in Phoenix, Arizona."

Jubilate - The Third Sunday after Easter, 2023

 

Vimeo Service Link - Easter 3, 2023

Jubilate Sunday

Jubilate, The Third Sunday after Easter, 2023

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Church

Springdale, Arkansas

Note - the hymn lyrics are linked to the Bethany Lutheran Hymn Blog on the hymn number; the tune is linked on the hymn's name. 

Morning Hymn #549     God Who Madest Earth and Heaven

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Make a joyful noise (Jubilate) unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honor of His name; make His praise glorious.

Psalm. Say unto God, How terrible art Thou in Thy works: through the greatness of Thy power shall Thine enemies submit themselves unto Thee.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

Almighty God, who showest to them that be in error the light of Thy truth to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness, grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion that they may avoid those things that are contrary to their profession and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual  

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. The Lord hath sent redemption unto His people. Hallelujah!

V. It behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead: and thus to enter into His glory. Hallelujah!

     

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Sermon Hymn #288      Lord Help Us Ever To Retain - Loy Translation

A Little While - Dealing with Loss  

Communion Hymn #314         Lord Jesus Christ - Jacobs

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 #549        Blest Be the Tie That Binds   

  

Prayers and Announcements

• Medical care - Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Jim's sister. Lyne Cruz and Thea. Kermit and Maria Way. Callie is doing well.
• Pray for those suffering from emotional stress and for a young couple with a sudden loss.
• Glen Kotten and his bride Esther are currently visiting the Philippines.

                

  Norma A. Boeckler Christian Art Books

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly goodness dost suffer Thy children to come under Thy chastening rod here on earth, that we may be like unto Thine only-begotten Son in suffering and hereafter in glory: We beseech Thee, comfort us in temptations and afflictions by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not fall into despair, but that we may continually trust in Thy Son's promise, that our trials will endure but a little while, and will then be followed by eternal joy; that we thus, in patient hope, may overcome all evil, and at last obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV 1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. 18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

KJV John 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? 18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. 19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. 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.

Luther’s Sermon on the Gospel Lesson

Luther’s Second Sermon on the Gospel Lesson

A Little While - Dealing with Loss

KJV John 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

Every so often, a Gospel lesson is listed for that Sunday, and we know it has been used for many centuries. However, that particular one is difficult to explain and unusual. Luther commented on this one being unusually wordy.

That by itself is a clue, since the New Testament is extremely concise and not wordy. This selection has a special purpose that applies to us all. The seven-fold "a little while" is emphatic and important for everyone to remember, because the warning will become a fact, and each one will need to know its meaning 

1. You will not see Me and
2. Again, you will see Me because I go to the Father. 

The Greek word for a little while is micron, a little word which we use all the time - microscope, microcosm, microwave, microchip.

As Luther observed, the disciples were always with Jesus, learning, seeing miracles, looking ahead because they had so many joys with their Teacher. When things are going well, we think of that time being without a threat or problem. We can hardly imagine anything less. 

Here Jesus begins on the negative, which the disciples cannot imagine. That is a complete puzzle so the second part is equally opaque to them.

The repetition is not simply that, but an emphasis on a very important matter for all of them. We experience it as well.

17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? 18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.

This is central to the discussion but also to the fact of Jesus being taken away in the near future. They were going to experience a sudden loss of their Master, without any ability to cope with the disaster.

It was going to be devastating enough to see Him arrested in the dark. They were all so frightened that they ran away. 

It was going to be frightening that Jesus was on trial, which is why Peter denied Jesus three times and heard the final verdict of the rooster - just as Jesus predicted.

And then, when He was tortured and carried the cross Himself, it was the final display of what the opponents could do to their Teacher. What could become of them? They were without an apparent leader and had criminal attached to all their names.

They were at their lowest, and it took time for them to recover.

20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

Jesus was preparing them for that future, devastating loss, but also for the future beyond, when they would go from feeling completely abandoned to being joyful about what was ahead - even persecution and death. 

This lesson is for all of us, often in the distant future. However, those events will come and the loss will continue for a long time. 

When our second child was born - Bethany - I was sure something was wrong with her cry, something far different from a baby's cry for food or dryness. The crying built up and we went from doctor to doctor. One gave us a tube of something for the skin. Another doctor, about the sixth, said, "No development." And that led to the famous Cleveland Clinic. We had to hear all kinds of foolish questions and taunting and shunning from almost everyone. But we also saw very rare cases, one with a quote from John 9 - "This happened for the glory of God." Bethany was soon dubbed "Angel" by every nurse in every hospital or nursing home.

We had a similar experience with Erin Joy, with a different set of characters and the Cleveland Clinic. Nurses in various places nicknamed her Joy, surprised to find out it was her middle name.

The first loss, of Bethany, flattened us completely, but it also gave us energy to see what really mattered. All the previous dreams and hopes dissolved away, but we agreed when Erin Joy came along - "We will enjoy every minute and not be dragged down by the tragedy." The sorrow was equally great when weakness took over and nothing could be done. Erin did laugh for the nurses when they unknowingly tripped over a long-standing joke about her diapers. The nurse spoke out loud, and Erin burst into laughter. As they said, "Not a common event around here."

To borrow from the Lord of the Rings, reality for everyone else become the shadowland, while the entire world of disability, long-term disorders, and strange diseases became a reality we could see. Christina became the Florence Nightingale (a Lutheran by the way) who helped out many families. I did my part in various ways. 

No one becomes an expert in devastating loss, so the loss of Christina was even more difficult than that of Bethany Joan Marie and Erin Joy. It struck harder and longer, with every pleasant part of life filled with pain, all day long, for more than a year. 

That is why this seven-fold "a little while" is so important in the Gospel of John. Although Jesus was preparing the disciples for the first part, He was emphasizing even more the second part, with the well known story of a baby boy's birth. It is not a "snap out of it story" but God's message of His great love and future blessings. Great sorrows and grief are not erased by the extreme difficulties of life, especially death.

However, the early Christian Church followed the model of the disciples, willingly facing danger, torture, and execution for the sake of the Gospel, which drove the Christian Faith into the farthest parts of the world. The only disciple who lived long was John, according to tradition, while the others were pursued and quickly executed. Those people were called martyrs, the Greek word for witness, because they witnessed their faith in Jesus Christ by accepting His torture and death. As I wrote before, the Roman citizens were appalled by Christians praying before the gladiators and wild beasts before they were killed. The Roman crowds were devastated in their own way - seeing their pagan religion overturned by helpless but strong-in-faith believers.

22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. 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.

Just as Creation and the Gospel are true, so are the Promises of Jesus Christ. So we must look beyond the burdens and grief of this time before the pearly gates to appreciate what Jesus did and died for us, enjoying His life on earth but giving up everything to complete His mission of His death, Resurrection, and Ascension.

Here is a simple command, yet ignored by so many. Do not ask Jesus anything but anything asked of His Father in His Name will be given.