Text: John 14:15-21
Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day when we remember those who
gave their lives fighting for our country.
Why were they willing to do this?
To be honest, some did it because they had no choice. They were drafted and forced to fight in an
unpopular war. Some were drafted and fought
out of a sense of duty and honor in a noble cause. Others signed up voluntarily. They were willing to serve because they loved
their country and the principles of freedom for which it stands.
What goes through the mind of a soldier in the hours leading
up to a battle? Will I survive
this? Will I live another day to see my
comrades? To be able to go home
eventually and see my family? While
soldiers are trained intensively to steel themselves for the horrors of war, I’m
sure there is still a measure of fear and uncertainty underneath their courageous
visage.
What was going through the minds of the disciples as they
listened to Jesus the night before his crucifixion? Did they fully understand what Jesus was
talking about? Did they know what he was
preparing them for? Today’s Gospel reading
is a continuation of the encouragement the Lord Jesus gave to the disciples as
he prepared them for his death and departure.
The disciples were confused and uncertain. They didn’t quite understand what Jesus was
doing or talking about. He acted as a
lowly servant and washed their feet. He
foretold that one of their number would betray him and that Peter would deny
knowing him three times. The disciples
had followed him and learned from him for some time, but now Jesus says, “Where
I am going you cannot come” (John 13:33).
Jesus knows the devastating sorrow the disciples will face in the next
few days. Yet he also foresees the
glorious outcome beyond all the suffering he would endure, and so he gives them
hopeful promises. He promises the help
of the Holy Spirit and his own enduring presence and life.
The love of country leads a soldier to do his duty. In a similar way, our love of Jesus leads us
to keep his commandments. Jesus
said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Also, the words of our Introit from Psalm 119 call us to “delight” in God’s
Law: “If your law had not been my
delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by
them you have given me life” (Ps. 119:82-83).
Now, at first this
sounds discouraging. We’re not so
skilled at keeping the Ten Commandments.
This leads us to doubt our love for God and God’s love for us. This is when we need to remember that Christ
did not come to be a new Moses, a new Lawgiver.
If that were the case, then it would have been unnecessary for him to
bear our sins upon himself at the cross.
Jesus did not come to lay a further burden upon us that we could never
bear. Instead he said, “Come to me, all
who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you,
and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). Likewise, in 1 John 5, the apostle writes, “For
this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1
John 5:3). The word for “law” and “precepts”
in Psalm 119 are broader terms that include all of God’s counsel. God’s gracious promises are included
here. They are the words that give life,
not the Law. The Gospel calls us to
faith and brings forth faith in our hearts.
The Law, on the other hand, brings wrath (Rom. 4:15). It shows that we have not measured up to God’s
expectation of holiness.
The commandments which Jesus says we will keep are
these: faithfully preaching about him,
carefully guarding and administering his Word and Sacraments, showing affection
and harmony for one another, and patiently bearing all adversities that come
our way because we belong to Jesus. Our
love for Jesus and his truth will lead us to willingly observe all these commands. More
importantly, it’s what Jesus has done for us that empowers and motivates our
love for him. “We love because he first
loved us” (1 John 4:19). He gave his
life for us and shed his blood for us.
Therefore we gladly live in harmony and friendship with one another,
listen and apply what we learn in his Word, and avoid creating division in our
midst.[i] Our prayer in today’s collect is answered as
we “think those things that are right” and by God’s “merciful guiding
accomplish them.”
Up to this point, the presence of Jesus has given the
disciples strength and courage. Now, he
tells them he will soon be leaving. In
his Ascension, Jesus would remove his visible presence from his disciples. And so, he promises to ask the Father to send
“another Helper.” Jesus had been their “Helper.” He had been the one who was their constant
companion, the one who walked along side them to be their support and their
advocate. But now, he would send “another
Helper to be with you forever.”
Jesus calls this Helper “the Spirit of truth.” He is the Spirit of truth because he points
us constantly to Jesus who is “the Truth.”
This is also why Jesus says, “the world cannot receive [him], because it
neither sees him nor knows him.” The
world is deceived by the devil’s lies … in particular, the lie that there is no
such thing as “truth.” The unbelieving
world has no concept of the Holy Spirit working through Holy Scripture and the preaching
of Christ. But Jesus says, “You know
him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” For you and me today, we have that same
Spirit, given in the saving waters of Holy Baptism and in the forgiving Word of
the cross. The devil will attempt to
make you doubt the Spirit’s presence. He
will try to get you to compare yourself to the greatest of saints and make you
think “I can never be as faithful as them. Maybe I do not have the Holy Spirit.” That’s when you must recall that you are
baptized. God promises that in baptism “you
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38) and that baptism “now
saves you” (1 Pet. 3:21). And consider
how “Every bit of faith, love, obedience, every holy motion, delight in God and
his Word, its promises, comfort, etc., is both a mark of the Spirit’s presence
in us and of our knowledge of who and what he really is.”[ii]
Jesus has promised that he would not leave us as orphans. In fact, not only did he send the Holy Spirit
as another Helper. He promised that he himself
would continue to be present among his disciples. “I will come to you,” he said. The world would see him no more, but he would
show himself to his followers. After his
resurrection, he appeared publicly only to his disciples until his Ascension. But then came Pentecost and the empowering of
the Holy Spirit. Once Jesus’ work of
dying and rising again for the forgiveness of sins was completed, then the full
work of the Spirit commenced. Now, the
disciples would know fully the truth of the presence of Jesus for his Church. “In that day,” Jesus said, “you will know that
I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you … He who loves me will be loved
by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” And this is the way you and I “see” Jesus,
too. Through the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit, we are united together in the love of God … Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. The Spirit dwells with you and
is in you. Jesus comes to you. Because he lives, you also will live. He is in the Father. At one with the Father, Jesus shares his
eternal life with you. You are in
Jesus. Jesus is in you. You love him.
The Father loves you. Jesus loves
you. He manifests himself to you. You are wrapped up in the love of Christ and
his resurrection life and the life and love of the Holy Trinity. And since this is the case, then death and hell
can never claim you.
A
small orphaned boy lived with his grandmother. One night their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to rescue the little
boy asleep upstairs, perished in the smoke and flames. A crowd gathered around the burning house. The boy’s cries for help were heard above the
crackling of the blaze. The front of the
house was a mass of flames. No one
seemed to know what to do. Suddenly a
stranger rushed from the crowd and circled to the back where he spotted an iron
pipe that reached an upstairs window. He
disappeared for a minute, then reappeared with the boy in his arms. Amid the cheers of the crowd, he climbed down
the hot pipe as the boy hung around his neck.
Weeks later a public hearing was held in the town hall to
determine in whose custody the boy would be placed. Each person wanting the boy was allowed to
speak briefly. The first man said, “I
have a big farm. Every boy needs to grow
up around animals and to work outdoors.”
The second man told of the advantages he could provide: “I’m a teacher. I have a large library. He would get a good education.” Others spoke. Finally the richest man in the
community said, “I’m wealthy. I could give the boy everything mentioned
tonight: farm, education, and more, including money and travel. I’d like him in my home.”
The chairman asked, “Anyone else like to say a word?” From the backseat rose a stranger who had
slipped in unnoticed. As he walked
toward the front, deep suffering showed on his face. Reaching the front of the room, he stood
directly in front of the little boy. Slowly
the stranger removed his hands from his pockets. A gasp went up from the crowd. The little boy, whose eyes had been focused on
the floor until now, looked up. The
man’s hands were terribly scarred. Suddenly
the boy emitted a cry of recognition. Here
was the man who had saved his life. His
hands were scarred from climbing up and down the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw himself around the
stranger’s neck and held on for life. The farmer rose and left. The teacher, too. Then the rich man. Everyone departed, leaving the boy and his
rescuer who had won him without a word. Those
marred hands spoke more effectively than any words.[iii]
The scarred hands of Jesus declare that he is your
rescuer. He is the one who promised, “I
will not leave you as orphans.” He is
the one who sacrificed his life for yours.
His sacrifice moves you to love him and love what he commands. He is the one who is present for you today in
an even greater way than he was for the Twelve.
He is your exalted Savior who is seated at the right hand of the Father,
yet who also comes to you in the bread and wine. On this Memorial Day weekend, Jesus gives you
more than just a meal to remember him by.
He is truly present for you with his body and blood in this meal of
forgiveness, life, and salvation. He is
the one who sends the Spirit of Truth into your heart to bind you to the love
of the Father so you can face your daily battles with courage, with comfort, and
with confidence in Christ Jesus your ever-present Savior.
Alleluia! Not as orphans
Are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us;
Faith believes, nor questions how.
Though the cloud from sight received Him
When the forty days were o’er,
Shall our hearts forget His promise:
“I am with you evermore”?[iv]
Are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us;
Faith believes, nor questions how.
Though the cloud from sight received Him
When the forty days were o’er,
Shall our hearts forget His promise:
“I am with you evermore”?[iv]
Amen.
[i] Thoughts in this paragraph borrowed from Luther, M.
(1999). Luther’s works, vol. 24: Sermons
on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 14-16. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald,
& H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 24, p. 102). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing
House.
[ii] Lenski,
John, 1001.
[iii] http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-bruce-howell-stories-christiandisciplines-forgivenessinjesus-lordshipofchrist-3725.asp
[iv] LSB
821:2
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