Thank you Father in heaven for Jesus.
TEXT:
But we do not want you to be
uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as
others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen
asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are
alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who
have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of
command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are
left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one
another with these words.
But we do not
want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may
not grieve as others do who have no hope… Therefore encourage one another with
these words.
Dear friends in Christ,
Last Sunday as many of us were gathered together in worship a
single man entered into a house of Christian worship and left an imprint in our
memories that may haunt us for some time.
Our hearts are broken for the people of Sutherland Springs.
Some fifty people had gathered in their small church to worship and
pray
only to have a man enter and kill 27 of them, including an unborn
child, and wound 20 others. Only four
escaped physical harm but their hearts are not unscathed. Indeed the wounds extend beyond this small
community.
Where was God? This is the
question in the minds of some folks. Why
would he let this happen?
Was it a problem with our laws, with our keeping up with people who
have indicated they have problems, with our mental health care system?
What went wrong that this could happen?
But one thing we know. Shattered
are our illusions that evil is far away.
Shattered are our illusions that we are each of us completely safe and
secure. We read about the horrors of
history like the holocaust but that is safely far away in distance and
time, Then evil comes knocking at our
door and it isn’t just an idea anymore.
People just miles away are right now grieving the murder of their loved
ones just a week ago.
We are left with questions.
How could this happen? How could
a human being point a rifle at innocent people in a church of all places and
kill them? How can anyone shoot and kill
a child, or a pregnant woman? That anyone could do this shatters our
illusions.
We wish we could help and change things. There is no way that this can be undone. Evil had made itself known at terrible
unfathomable cost. Why? Scripture gives us one reason. Sin infests this world and each and every
person who inhabits it. But by the grace
of God this would be far more common.
The world is not as God created it to be.
Last Sunday in Bible class I stressed that a key component to
Luther’s theology is that life is not fair because this world has descended
into sin. Things happen to people that
should not happen. Luther wrestled with
this because he loved his flock and he saw tragedy strike them for no apparent
reason. It is almost as if life itself
rises up and says no, God does not exist or No God does not love you. Luther says that over and above these “No’s”
we experience, we hear God say Yes in His Word.
This is what St. Paul is doing in his pastoral letter to a
church. Brothers do be uninformed. We grieve but not as if we have no hope when
we lose loved ones. Jesus is Risen and
He has promised that He will come for us.
And will shall rise again. Paul
tells us to encourage one another with these words.
These are God’s “Yes” that cry out against the “NO” of life in this
world.
Sunday a man took the lives of Christians in prayer. Some said, see God does not exist or God does
God. Against this NO the Word of God says
Yes, God does care. Jesus already died
so that these who lost their lives to evil in this world are already with Him
in a place where all things are as they should be.
Sunday the world said to Christians you are nothing special, you
are not safe. But God says in His Word,
Yes you are. You are redeemed. You are
loved. You are adopted children
of God. And when the time comes not
matter how it comes, God will bring you home to Himself.
Meanwhile, here we are. Not
quite the same. A week later we are
getting back into our normal routines and somewhat putting out of mind what
transpired a week ago today. We
reminding ourselves that it was just one man out some 350 million who live in
the nation and that chances of it happening to us are so very slim. We tell ourselves we can go on and live
assuming such things cannot happen to us.
But… we know it could, unlikely, but possible. Indeed we know evil is out there. That’s why we lock our doors at night and why
we are thankful for all those who stand to protect and serve, whether they be police
and other first responders or those who wear the uniform of military
service. We are thankful for those who
heard the call of God through vocation to serve others putting their own lives
at risk.
I remember so many times that brothers and sisters in uniform put
themselves into harms way to make a difference.
Perhaps because of last Sunday the memory that is most fresh in my mind
is in the middle of the hot desert of Iraq in a small trauma center. The call that casualties were coming had gone
forth and we had gathered to wait. The
emergency bay was eerily quiet. Everyone
was already at their station. These men and women knew their jobs. They stood waiting for the dam to burst, to
go from stillness to fervent activity. And then we heard it. The roar of a humvee as it came flying in and the doors
sprang open and we had our first wounded child.
A very small Iraqi boy with a beanie baby tucked into his shirt,
probably placed there by a medic. And
they cut away his clothes and the gaping wound in his side was revealed. And they went to work and they saved his
life. And I learned later how evil had
lifted its head. How an insurgent had
deliberately thrown a grenade into a school to shake off his pursuers.
I am no longer surprised by what this world throws at us. But I am thankful for all those who stand to
make a difference.
What can you and I do in such a world to make a difference in such
a world?
First, we can make a difference for one another. We are here today, together. WE are worshipping. We are praying because we know God hears
us. There is not any “NO” that can
counter God’s “Yes” in Jesus. When we
grieve we can comfort one another. We
grieve when a loved one dies. We grieve
when things like last Sunday happen. But we do not grieve as if there were no
hope an no meaning.
For Jesus is Risen. Jesus is
mighty and victorious. Events like evil,
tragedy and death do not change that.
That is why we encourage one another with the Word of God.
Jesus is Risen. Jesus is
returning. This sad shadow of a world will not last. A new heaven and near earth are coming. Each day that passes it is closer. Soon we shall be with Him. Soon all shall be right with the world. It’s going to happen because Christ has
promised so.
Jesus is the only answer to a sinful world fallen into
darkness.
What can you and I do to make a difference in such a world? We can
make a difference for others. Bring the light. Bright and clear and bold. Proclaim Christ and Him crucified and risen
to redeem the lost sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. Proclaim the promise of forgiveness. Proclaim the promise of everlasting life. Proclaim the promise of a new heaven and near
earth.
Jesus said the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy but He has
come that we may have life and have it to the full.
This is God’s Yes in world that screams NO. But the world and the devil do not get the
last Word. The last Word is the only
Word that matters. Jesus says come to me
all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
The Lord is coming. He will
bring Him all those who have died in faith and together those who have died in
faith and those who are alive shall experience all the promises of God come
true.
In Christ’s name,
Amen.
