“He Will Testify of Me” Exaudi 2009

ToddPeperkorn3 Comments

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Exaudi – Easter 6 (May 24, 2009, rev. from 2008)
John 15:26-16:4
For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “He Will Testify of Me”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is from the Gospel lesson just read, the words of Jesus, But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

In ages past there were certain men who seemed to have a special connection with God. Abraham (Gen. 18:23-33; Gen 20:7, 17), Moses (Exodus 32:11-14, 32; Exodus 34:8f.; Numbers 14:13-19), and Samuel (1 Samuel 7:8f.) come to mind. There were also prophets like Amos (7:2, 5 f.), and Jeremiah (14:7-9, 13, 22).1 These men went to God on behalf of the people and pleaded their cause when God sought to judge them on account of their sin. In the same way the angel pleads before God on Job’s behalf when Job is stricken with a sickness.

Everyone can use someone in your corner at the proper time. These prophets of old are fulfilling one of our great needs in life. You need someone to counsel you on the right way to go. You need someone who will be honest with you, who is willing to speak the truth regardless of the consequences. You need someone who will always fight for you, always try to get what’s best for you, no matter what.

Of course, our problem is that we don’t know what is best for us. Even if we did know what’s best for us, it is unlikely we would actually do it. All you have to do is ask someone in the fast food business to find out about our collective willpower. We can look at the right thing to do, smell it, hear it, feel it, but still we go for the junk food, every time. St. Paul put it this way:

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Romans 7:15-20 ESV)

What all of the coulda woulda shouldas mean there is that even when you know the right thing to do, you won’t do it. You won’t do what is best for you. You can’t. It’s not in your sinful nature.

So this brings us back to Jesus and to our text for this morning. St. John writes in his first epistle, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1John 2:1 ESV) What this means for you is that you have that someone in your corner. You have Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Jesus is our advocate, our go-between with the Father. He is the one who communicates your needs to the Father and He is the one who communicates the Father’s wishes to you. And what does the Father want for you? That you be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. That’s what God wants for you.

So how does Jesus, the righteous One, deliver the will of the Father to you? He does it through the Holy Spirit. Our text (John 15:26) calls him the helper. That’s not bad, but it could also be advocate, mediator, or maybe supporter. The Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, is the Spirit of Truth. His job is to be a witness. He testifies to you about Jesus. But more than that, He actually delivers Jesus to you. That is why He is called the Spirit of Truth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The Spirit of Truth is the Spirit of Jesus, for that is who you receive in Him.

This is so important for us to understand, especially here between the Ascension of our Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit tells you the truth. He tells you who you are according to the perfect will of God. You are a sinner and you are dead and in need of redemption. But you are also a saint, holy and righteous in God’s sight, because of the blood of the Lamb, who died to redeem you from sin, death and the power of the devil.

Ezekiel has made this prophecy of our Lord as well, when He ties Holy Baptism to the coming of the Holy Spirit as follows. Our Lord says,

“I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:24-28 ESV)

God is in your corner. He has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. He continues to guide you and lead you in the way you should go, through death and into the resurrection to eternity. He sends you His Spirit, who leads you in all truth, for Jesus is the Truth Incarnate. So come now to His Holy Table. Feast on the True Bread of Heaven. Rejoice in the truth of your salvation. You have been bought with a price. Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.

Gesture in Worship

ToddPeperkornNo Comments

Pr. Weedon’s practice in terms of ceremony is basically identical to my own. The only minor change is that I do not genuflect at the knee all the time. This is partly because of back problems on my part, but also because it’s just a practice that my parish has not fully embraced, and I don’t want to turn it into a law or a battle. Other than that, our practice is the same.

-LL

Weedon’s Blog: Gesture in Worship

Hidden in Christ, Funeral Sermon for Ida Sadowski

ToddPeperkornNo Comments

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Ascension Day (May 21, 2009)
At Hansen-Lendman Funeral Home
Funeral Homily for Ida Sadowski
Mark 16:14-20

TITLE: “Hidden in Christ”

Family and friends of Ida, especially Sharon and Janice, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Our text for today the Ascension of our Lord, is from Mark 16:16, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Ida Homs Sadowski was born in Kenosha on June 12, 1910 and was baptized into the Holy Christian Church on June 16, 1910. She made confession of her Christian faith in the Rite of Confirmation on June 1, 1924. Ida married her beloved husband, Clemens Sadowski, on October 19, 1934. Their marriage was blessed with three children: Sharon, Janice and Julian. She was a long time member of Messiah Lutheran Church. Ida died in Christ on May 18 in the year of our Lord 2009. “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”” (Rev. 14:13 ESV)

Today in the church year is Ascension Day. Forty days after Easter, our Lord ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God interceding on our behalf. This is a wonderful day for a funeral, because this day kind of gives us the path for where Ida has gone, and for where we, too, will go.

But the Christian faith is different from many other faiths of the world. Unlike many faiths, the Christian faith takes the body very seriously. Everything in our funeral service points to how God has cared for this body. God created the body, but most importantly, God will raise up this body from the dead on the last day.

Jesus, you see, is our guide. Indeed, he is more than a guide; He goes ahead of us to clear the path to heaven itself. He is the one who has gone before to death and life again for you and I. And Ida was baptized into Jesus almost a hundred years ago. For ninety eight years Ida confessed the Christian faith. She was confirmed. She was a regular member at Messiah for years and years. And when she could no longer come to church, the church came to her. I visited her for the last ten years of her life, and we have had many different parishioners who have sung with her, prayed with her, and

All of this points us to what is truly important. In the midst of grief and sorrow, there is hope, real hope. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. That is Jesus’ promise to Ida. Ida is saved. She is in heaven with Jesus. And one day, Jesus will return again and will raise up this body from the dead. For Jesus loves Ida, body and soul together. This is why Saint Paul could write:

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

But frankly, we miss her. Because of her illnesses at the end of her life, it may feel like she has already been gone for a long time. That is not the same, however, as now. It is a relief for Ida to be out of pain, this is true. But there is also a loss. She was a part of a generation that is quickly fading.

She is gone from our sight for a time, and that is hard. It is okay to weep, because you love her and don’t want her to be gone. But weep with hope, for we will be reunited with her one day. At the last trumpet, our Lord will raise Ida and you and I up from the dead to life everlasting. Perhaps the hymn expresses it best:

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

So rest well, Ida. Rest well in the arms of Jesus, until that last, great day when we will be reunited again in the resurrection of the dead.

Believe it for the sake of Him who died and rose again, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

On Pastoral Examinations of First Communion Candidates

ToddPeperkorn3 Comments

This past month has really convinced me of the benefit of pastoral examinations of catechumens. I’ve always avoided it in a formal setting, because I don’t want to contribute to the “pass the test and graduate” mindset. However, exercising pastoral care by teaching children to confess the faith is a great and mighty gift, and a wonderful tool that I believe we have lost over the past couple generations.

In about ten days or so we will be having the first communion for five of our young catechumens, ranging from grades 2-5. As a part of this practice, I am using the wonderful rite out of the Pastoral Care Companion for examination. Basically what I’m doing is I meet with the child, their parents and an elder at the family’s home (typically). Then we go through the examination, which at it’s heart has the Commandments, the Creed and the Our Father, as well as essentially Luther’s Christian Questions and Answers.

What a great thing! Five times this month I’ve had the privilege of hearing these young people confess the faith once delivered to the saints. I can’t believe I’ve been ordained for thirteen years and have never really sat down and done these examinations.

What was I thinking?

I can hardly express what a blessing these confessions have been. It has served as a great opportunity to hear what actually sinks in, and what doesn’t. I’ll try and write more about this tomorrow, but it is a great gift to Christ’s Church. God be praised.

-LL

Brother trip

ToddPeperkornNo Comments

I won’t be around much for a few days. My brother, Troy, is graduating from the University of Iowa with a degree in Latin and Ancient Civilizations. Normally the response to such a fine liberal arts degree would be, “do you want fries with that?” But in this case, he will put it to very good use. He’s starting the Fort Wayne seminary this summer with Greek, and will be preparing to be a pastor. So I’m going to his graduation and running around for a bit. Of course, I’m such a hopeless internet junkie and nerd I’ll probably be online anyway….