Rudolph Frank Pankow - 2011 - The Tough Savior

Isaiah 61:1-3, 10,   I Timothy 4:6-8,    John 3:16

Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is from the epistle lesson just read, especially these words, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ, family and friends of Rudolph.  Rudy was a strong, tough man.  Over the course of 93 years he saw and did things that many of us have never, and could never have done.  The running joke was that Rudy had nine lives.  He served his country courageously, but humbly, in World War Two.  He had two heart attacks.  He fell out of a boat, and stood on the bottom of Lake Elsie holding his fishing pole in the air until he was rescued.  He cut his hand with a hatchet all by himself, when suddenly a doctor came out of the woods, sewed him up, and then left.  Rudy was tough, and it seemed like he was unbeatable. 

But today, we gather knowing that strong man too had his vulnerabilities.  Today we are here, because we have lost that tough man, we have lost a father, a grandfather, and a friend.  His earthly life has run its course over 93 years, and now Rudy can confess along with St. Paul in our text today, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.”  And so today he wears the crown of righteousness, as he peacefully rests forever in the arms of Jesus.

And it is because of Jesus that Rudy has that crown of righteousness.  You see, no matter how tough Rudy was, no matter how many times he may have escaped death in the past, Rudy knew that death would find him in the end.  He knew that he was not tough enough to overcome all the sin in this world on his own.  He knew he was not tough enough to always escape the maladies of this world.  He could not look to himself for salvation. 

For just like each of us, Rudy was born in sin.  He was born under the power of the law, the law that still speaks to you and me that final verdict, “you are guilty.”  Guilty in disobedience.  Guilty in stubbornness.  Guilty in every way, shape, and form.  And no matter how tough you are, you can’t change that verdict.  And so we must look to someone tougher then we are, someone tougher than Rudy.  We must look to someone tough enough to pay the price for our sin. 

And so we look to Jesus, the one who was tough enough to set his eyes on Jerusalem, the place where a wooden cross was waiting for him.  He was tough enough to take up all of your sin and mine, even Rudy’s sin in the waters of baptism, and he carried it to a hill called Golgotha to kill it.  He was tough enough to suffer the punishment we deserved in our sin, tough enough to be beaten and bloodied, to have nails driven in his hands, and to die a slow death to our sin.  Jesus has done this for you.  Jesus did this for Rudy, so that all our sin might be gone forever, and that we no longer might be guilty, but forgiven.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus was tough enough for Rudy.  Jesus was tough enough for me, and he is tough enough for you.  For that one who bore your sin rose again on the third day, promising that all who shared the faith that looked to Jesus as Lord too would rise again on that glorious blessed Day, and receive the crown of righteousness.  Jesus was tough enough for you, and he was even tough enough for one of the toughest old Germans we have known. 

And we know that Jesus was always with Rudy.  Jesus first came to Rudy in the year 1918, when at St. John’s Lutheran Church, he was baptized into Jesus name.  Jesus continued to bless and be with Rudy as he was confirmed in that faith, and for the first of many times partook in the very body and blood of Jesus Christ.  Jesus was with Rudy as he served his country, as he faced the many obstacles of his life, and was still with Rudy this past week, as his time for departure from this sinful world came. 

And friends, Jesus will always be with you.  Even as you go forward with pain and sorrow.  Jesus will be with you as you miss seeing an electric scooter driving up the street to The Nest with Rudy ready to play cards.  Jesus will be with you as you catch a bullhead and have fond memories of your father, grandfather, and great grandfather.  Jesus will be with you when you see a croquet mallet, and remember who always used to beat you.  For Jesus was there with Rudy, and friends, He will be there with you as well. 

The race for Rudy is finished.  Rudy has fought the good fight, and because of the toughness of his savior, we know today that Rudy was victorious.  Rudy has now received the crown of righteousness, and we know with certainty that we will see him again as we too are given that precious gift from our savior.  For Jesus has clothed Rudy with the garments of salvation;  he has covered him with the robe of righteousness, and one day in that faith that looks to the cross, our tough savior will do the same for you.  Amen.

Proper 17 - G - 2011 - Jesus Must Go to the Cross, Despite What We Want

Jeremiah 15:15-21       Romans 12:9-21          Matthew 16:21-28

Grace, Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Last week, Peter got it didn’t he?  He made the good confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  But even while Peter knew who Jesus was, he didn’t realize what that really meant.  He didn’t think through the consequences of what the Christ would have to do.  He didn’t realize the depth of the mess he was in. 

So when in our text today, Jesus says he “must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” Peter is confused.  Isn’t Jesus supposed to be a king?  Isn’t he supposed to sit on the earthly throne of David?  Isn’t he supposed to make all the nations of the Earth subject to him?  He can’t suffer.  He can’t die.  So Peter pulls Jesus aside, “Far be it from you, Lord!  This shall never happen to you!” 

Peter doesn’t want a bloody Jesus.  He doesn’t want a King who has to die for him.  He wants a friendly, happy, peaceful Jesus.  He wants a Christ that fits his own mold, he wants to make Jesus in his own image, rather than the other way around.  Peter, as Jesus says, is setting his mind on things of man, not things of God. 

In response to Peter’s word, Jesus shouts to him, “Get thee behind me Satan!”  For anyone or anything that tries to keep Jesus off the cross is a servant of that ancient serpent, the one who first asked, “Did God really say?”  Jesus knows, that because of sin, he must get bloody.  Jesus knows that because of sin he must suffer.  He knows he has to be tortured, having nails driven in his hands and feet.  He has to suffer, and he has to die.  That is what his mission has been all along, and nothing, not even Peter, not even Satan, no friends not even you can keep him off of the cross. 

For Jesus knows your sin.  He knows the filthy little voices that are in our heads, telling us what to do and what not to do.  He knows how Satan works on each one of us trying to have us look to “things of man, not things of God.”  That is why there is hunger.  That is why there is sexual perversion.  That is why there is robbery and scandal.  That’s why families and friends can’t get along with one another.  There is sin, and it all stems from us looking not at God, but rather inwardly to our own filthy wants and desires.  And so Jesus knows that he must go to the cross, if you are to stand a chance.  He knows he must give up everything on your behalf, even his own life in to death, so that you can be saved by God’s gracious will.

But even as Jesus knows his mission, we too try to keep him from it.  We look away from dirty bloody dying Jesus, and instead say with Peter, “Far be it from you Lord, this thing shall never happen.”  We tell Jesus, “You don’t have to die for me, I can save myself – I just have to try hard enough.  You don’t have to die for me, I’m not really that bad, its those other people who are here Lord, they are the sinners.  I know for I have spoken with them, I know how much worse than me they are.  But not for me Lord, I can handle my own little tiny mess.” 

If that isn’t enough, we would rather see a picture of peaceful shepherd Jesus, with a big smile on his face, than to see bloody dirty Jesus dying for us.  We are offended at such filth!  We don’t want to see that, or even here about it, especially in this nice clean church.  No, Pastor, don’t talk about that, don’t talk about pain and suffering because of me.  Don’t talk about the stink of death.  Don’t talk about those things, please.

But Jesus says to talk like this, “Get thee behind me Satan!”  Get thee behind Jesus for he must go to the cross.  He must die, and he will, he does, because he loves you.  Because he wishes in his great mercy to forgive you and your sin, to wash away the filth of this sinful world with his holy precious blood.  He wishes to purchase you from the stink of death by paying your debt, dying the death you deserve.  Jesus goes to the cross for Peter’s sins, for my sins, and dear friends, for your sins.  You will not keep him from saving you, despite your best efforts. 

And having paid for your sin, he calls you in Baptism.  There he does wash away your sin, your filth, your sinful thoughts, your disgusting voices, there he takes it all away, and your sin becomes his.  With mere water and the word, you no longer are under the power of Satan, but the grace of Jesus.

And now as a forgiven baptized child of God, you pick up your cross, and follow Jesus, knowing that the yoke is easy, and the burden is light for Christ has already born it all for you.  Now, as a member of Christ you go to the cross with Jesus.  In your baptism you go to die with him.  As our text says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

For as you die with Jesus, as you leave your sins behind, you also are resurrected with him.  You are given eternal life, life that cannot be destroyed, life that cannot end, life apart from the filth and disgust of this world.  You cannot keep Jesus from the cross, and as a Christian you go with him.  He dies for you, so that you might have life.  Amen. 

Proper 16 - G - 2011 - Our Confession and Peter's Confession

Isaiah 51:1-6     Romans 11:33-12:8    Matthew 16:13-20 

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Gospel lesson just read especially these words from Jesus.  “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  “Who do you say I am?” Jesus asks the disciples.  Jesus asks us this question today, who am I?  This question embodies everything that we believe as Chrsitians, and especially as Lutherans.  Everything we believe teach and confess is supposed to tell us who Jesus is, and what it is that he does for me. 

So what is the answer to this question, who is Jesus?  The world has given many answers to this question, and many of them are based upon our own understanding, our own research and our own preconceived notions.  Some say Jesus is a nice guy who was misunderstood.  Some say Jesus was a great philosopher, teaching us peace, love and harmony in our worldly relationships.  Some say Jesus was just a criminal whose followers made up stories about him.  Islam says Jesus was a prophet who came before the true prophet Mohammed.  And if none of these were bad enough, recently, in the news, I have even heard that Elton John said Jesus was just a misunderstood gay man. 

What about you dear friends in Christ.  What about you, who do you say that Jesus is?  I have spoken with people in our town who have said Jesus is a false teacher.  I have spoken with people who have denied that Jesus actually cares what we do son long as we are a “good” person.  And so what about you.  Who do you say Jesus is?  The answer to this question determines for us all of eternity, all of salvation, and all of forgiveness together. 

So what is the truth?  And how do we know?  Jesus tells Peter today in our text that he got the answer to this question right.  Who is Jesus – He is the Christ, the son of the living God.  But how did Peter know?  How could Peter have been sure?  Was he a good guesser?  Did he have some sort of secret knowledge that revealed who Jesus was?  Was he smarter than the other disciples, and smarter than we are?  Friends no, Jesus says Peter knew not because of his own flesh or blood, not because of his intellect, but rather because God the Father revealed it to him. 

God revealed Jesus to Peter as Jesus walked on water a few weeks ago.  God revealed it to Peter as Peter ate from the miraculous feast of Jesus, not once, but twice.  God revealed Jesus identity as Jesus spoke the very words of God, Blessed are the poor in spirit, the peacemakers and more.  God revealed who Jesus was to Peter in everything that Jesus did to care for those around him.  And these things revealed the truth about Jesus boldly and clearly, that Jesus was the Christ, the savior promised to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

And so Peter boldly confessed his faith, the faith given by God, that Jesus really is God after all.  Peter kept this confession, even despite of a few hiccups where he was confused in his life.  Peter kept this faith all the way to Rome, where he was crucified for believing that faith he had confessed, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

It is not flesh and blood, it is not our own intellect that reveals to us who Jesus is either.  It is the very working of God.  Yes, in this world we are faced with thousands of differing interpretations of who Jesus is.  Is he a nice guy or a lunatic, did he really exist at all?  What should we think of Jesus?  God tells us clearly, revealing Jesus in the same miraculous gifts that he did for Peter. 

God reveals Jesus to us today as we eat and drink the very body and blood of Jesus.  There, in mere bread and wine we come into contact with Jesus, and miraculously know who he is.  God reveals Jesus to us as we hear the living Word of God in the scriptures, the word that tells us what Jesus did and why he came, that we might be saved.  God reveals Jesus to us as we gather together in remembrance of our baptism, where we died and were raised with Jesus forever and ever. 

And so we can confess that same faith as Peter, that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God, not because it makes sense, not because we are smarter than the average bear, not because we are holy, but rather because God has revealed it to us. 

We confess this faith every week when we gather here around the gifts of God, and as we speak the Apostles and Nicene Creed.  “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord,” so similar to Peter’s confession, you are the Christ, the son of the Living God.  But our confession doesn’t  stop there, for we confess that this Jesus came to earth for me and for my sin.  This Jesus went before Pontius Pilate and was crucified.  That he shed his blood so we might not need shed ours.  We confess that he then raised again on the third day, just as we too will do in him.  In these words, we also confess that we believe Baptism really does work salvation, and that it is necessary for our salvation.

When Peter made this confession, just as he did in our text, he confessed all these things just as we do today.  And because the believing Peter, the faith-filled Peter made this confession through Gods grace and through God’s gifts, Jesus says, Blessed are you.  Dear friends, in this faith we share with Peter, blessed are you.  Blessed are you for death no longer has the last word for you.  Blessed are you because you are no longer held to be guilty for your sin.  Blessed are you because everything you have done wrong, everything you have failed to do that you should have, every things that is wrong with this world for you is gone forever in Jesus.  And in Him, and Him alone, you have the promise of eternal life forever and ever with Him in his kingdom.  Whatever sins are forgiven here in this place are forgiven you in heaven.  And so in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus, your sins are forgiven. 

This is the corner stone of the church, the faith that leads us to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, that he has died for me, and that in him we have eternity.  This is our faith.  This is our hope.  This is our gift of God, and this is what we confess to believe as Christians.  Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  Blessed are you who believe this by God’s grace.  Amen. 

Proper 15 - E - 2011 - Bound to Disobedience To Recieve His Mercy

Isaiah 56:1, 6-8           Romans 11:1-2a, 13-15, 28-32            Matthew 15:21-28

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Epistle lesson, especially these words, “For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Disobedience is our way of life isn’t it?  From the moment we are born, can walk, can talk, can do practically anything, we are learning where the rules are and where we can break them.  I can think of countless examples from my own life.  My parents would say, “Adam, clean your room.”  And I wouldn’t.  My parents would say, vacuum the floor, and I would watch TV.  My parents would say mow the yard, and I would ride my bike. 

I know each and every person here did similar things growing up.  Children are known for disobeying their parents.  Don’t touch that, and you would.  Don’t do that, but you would.  Do this, and you didn’t!  And when we were children we didn’t understand why we had rules, and why we had to obey.  But our parents were always working on keeping us safe, always working on providing the best for us.  The rules were there not just to bother us, but they were there for a purpose. 

Dear friends in Christ, our text today tells us a similar thing, only not in relation to our parents, but in relationship to our God, and creator.  The one who put us here on this earth to love us, and to give to us.  But just like a child, almost from the very beginning, we began to disobey God’s word.  Adam and Eve were the first people, and they were also the first to break a rule.  “Don’t eat from that tree” God said, “or you will die.”  Plain and simple, an easy rule right?  But before too long, Adam and Eve had broken it, and brought a life of sinfulness, of disobedience to God for all mankind. 

God consigned Adam and Eve to disobedience.  That word, consigned means he turned them over to the imprisonment of disobedience.  He allowed them to be surrounded by disobedience they wanted because that is what we wanted.  Adam and Eve disobeyed God because they wanted to be in charge in their own life.  And so God let them have what they wanted. 

But it was not as good as Adam and Eve imagined.  Their happy joyous life with God could not be replicated on their own.  They had to struggle.  They had to work hard so that they had enough food.  And worst of all they had to pay the ultimate price, the one God promised would happen for their disobedience, death.  930 years after he was born, Adam finally succumbed to his disobedience. 

Friends, you and I also disobey God.  From the moment of conception in our mothers’ wombs, we already had turned our backs on God.  Through out our entire lives, we do things that God doesn’t want us to do.  We like to gossip about people around us, even if though God says we should not slander.  We like to covet things those around us have.  We like to use language we don’t want our mom to hear.  We do all of these things, and in them all we disobey God in the exact same way that Adam and Eve did. 

Friends, you and I are consigned to disobedience.  We have been imprisoned in our sin so that all that we do is sin.  All that we are is sin.  All that we desire is sin, and on our own we cannot know anything else but sin. 

But  our text says that we were all bound into disobedience so that God might have mercy on us all.  And he has had mercy on us in his Son Jesus Christ.  For your disobedience, Jesus came to this world born of a virgin.  For your disobedience Jesus healed the sick and the suffering around him, even those who we would judge to be unworthy (as in our Gospel lesson today).  Jesus came and he submitted to mankind’s evil disobedience, allowing us to put Him to death on a cross. 

Yes, it was our disobedience that killed Jesus.  It was our disobedience that swung a hammer to pound nails through the hands and feet of Jesus.  It was us that swung the whip and tore off his flesh.  It was our disobedience that desired to put God to death. 

But through it, through our disobedience, God has shown mercy to us.  For the very death of Jesus which we desired in our sin destroyed that death forever.  IN the crucifixion of Jesus we were finally rescued from disobedience forever.  When Jesus died, he died the death Adam deserved.  He died the death Eve deserved.  And yes, he even died the death that you deserved. 

And instead of what you deserved, Jesus gave you the keys to the kingdom. He did not stay dead in our disobedience, but leaving it dead he rose again forever and ever. And you too, in Him alone, will one day rise to everlasting blessedness, righteousness and innocence forever in heaven.  God has had mercy on you poor disobedient sinners. 

So now what, St. Paul asks, For if we have died to sin, can we go on living in it?  Can we keep on doing whatever we want with out caring what God thinks about it.  No friends.  For you have died with Jesus in baptism.  And when you were dead with him, your disobedience died as well.  The old way of doing things doesn’t work any longer.  In Christian love and out of the response to knowing we have salvation in him, we are no longer bound by disobedience, but we are free to do what God would have us do.  We are free to help our neighbor.  We are free to no longer covet.  We are free to no longer disobey.  You are free to be God’s Child, and to be in perfect relationship with him foreve.r 

You once were bound over to sin.  But now in Jesus you are free.  Now through Jesus you have received mercy.  In Jesus, you have countless blessings forever.  Amen. 

Irma Lillian (Cordts) Pankow - 2011

July 5, 1923 - August 3, 2011

A Baptized Child of God

Confirmed: June 13, 1937

Isaiah 25:6-9

6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

 a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,

 of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

7 And he will swallow up on this mountain

 the covering that is cast over all peoples,

 the veil that is spread over all nations.

8 He will swallow up death forever;

 and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

 and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

 for the Lord has spoken.

9 It will be said on that day,

 “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.

 This is the Lord; we have waited for him;

 let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

1 Corinthians 15:51-57

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 27

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

28:1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he  lay.

Grace, Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today are the readings just read, especially these words, “He has swallowed up death forever.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ, family and friends of Irma.  It is a very somber occasion that brings us together here:  the passing of a loved one.  Some have come from New York, some Colorado, some California, and some Oregon, but all have come to say goodbye to a treasured mother, grandmother, friend and companion.  We are here today because death seems to have won another victory, and we are the ones left to feel the hurt and pain from it. 

Death does seem to have won, and it seems that is always the case.  For Scripture clearly teaches that all have fallen short of the glory of God, and are steeped deeply in sin, and Scripture further says that the wages of sin is death.  These words are about Irma, and they are about us.  Yes, even Irma, who was the daughter and husband to faithful pastors, was guilty of sin.  Even Irma, who went on mission trips to Mexico and Guatemala to preach the Gospel and even up until so recently was speaking Spanish with her caregivers, had fallen short of God’s glory. 

And dear friends in Christ, you and I too have fallen short.  You and I have sinned in our thoughts, words, and deeds.  You and I are guilty before God, because of our utter sinfulness.  And so friends, today we are all gathered here, a group of sinners, gathered in mourning for what the sin causes to us and our loved ones. 

But our readings give us a glimmer of hope in the midst of darkness.  They give us a message of joy in the midst of sadness and loss.  For throughout the pages of Scripture, we hear that God will swallow up death forever.  Where, O Death, is thy victory?  Where, O Death, is thy sting?  For death is not the final word for Irma, and dear friends in Christ, it is not the final word for you either. 

 For our God came to destroy death.  Our God took upon himself human flesh, and was born of the Virgin Mary so that He might rescue sinners like you, like me, and like our dear friend Irma, and that He might give us all life in His name.  And Jesus does just that, by the work He accomplishes on the cross.  Jesus took all your sins, all of Irma’s sins, and yes the sins of the whole world upon himself the day you were baptized into him.  Jesus bore all that guilt and all that shame to Calvary, where He nailed it to the cross along with his own body.  Jesus hung there, dying your death, and dying Irma’s death for six hours.  And finally, when your sin had fully been paid for, “He cried out in a loud voice and gave up his spirit.”  It is there that you died.  It is there that your punishment was exacted.  And it is there that your sin was swallowed up forever. 

Our Gospel lesson goes on to tell us that when Jesus gave up his life on your behalf, the tombs were opened around Jerusalem.  “And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”  Dear friends, that is your promise and the promise Irma held to for so long in her life.  That because Jesus has died for our sins, that we one day will rise up in the resurrection of the dead.  Because of the faith that looks to Jesus, the beloved mother and grandmother that lays here before us will one day return to physical life in her body made perfect.

Today we lay to rest the body of our loved one, knowing that one day her tomb will be opened again by Jesus, and that her body will gloriously be raised, so that she may physically be in the presence of her God forever and ever without end.   “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”  On that day, “Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces” with his own nail scarred hands.  On that day, we will all be united with Irma again, and with her be in God’s everlasting paradise.  “It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.  This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’”  For in Jesus, “Death is swallowed up forever.” 

Friends, this does not mean your life will be easy.  This doesn’t mean you won’t miss mom, or grandma, or even other family and friends.  There is hurt and loss with any death, not matter what the circumstances.  But even this death, even this pain cannot overcome or undo what Jesus has earned for you by his bloody death and glorious resurrection.  In that hope, and in that promise, we mourn knowing that this death is not the end.  In this hope we know that one day we will meet Irma again, that we shall be before the Lamb of God in his throne, and that he will give us peace beyond understanding.  In Him, and in Him alone, death has been swallowed up forever.  Amen. 

Proper 14 - G - 2011 - No Longer Be Afraid

Job 38:4-18   Romans 10:5-17      Matthew 14:22-33

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the words of Jesus, “Take Heart; it is I.  Do not be afraid.”  Thus far our text.

Dear friends in Christ.  It has been a long night for the disciples.  Last week we learned how they spent the day with thousands of people coming to Jesus.  When finally evening was coming, and a meal and rest seemed certain, Jesus had them pass out a miraculous meal of bread and fish to all the people gathered around.  Finally, late into the night, Jesus finally gives them a break.  He finally sends them across the sea of Galilee to the next place they are going.  It should be a nice and easy boat ride across the lake. 

But, it isn’t.  The wind turns against them as they are in the middle of the lake.  Suddenly the restful boat ride turns into a long night of straining on paddles against the wind.  They had to be exhausted.  They had to be worried.  There weren’t life jackets if something happened.  These were not fancy modern motor boats, these were rickety old fishing boats, made of wood, and very full with the 12 disciples weighing it down.  And it seemed that luck was against them. 

Just when it seems things can’t get any worse, they see something coming to them over the water.  “Look,” they shout, “it’s a ghost!”  It is easy for us to call the disciples stupid for seeing a “ghost” on the water.  But put yourselves in their shoes, something walking to them on water.  It must be a ghost; it must be something powerful, something dangerous, something out to get them. 

But immediately they hear a familiar voice.  “Take Courage! I am who I am.  Do not be afraid.”  The voice of God, the voice of Jesus calms their fears, it assures them that they are not in danger, but that they are in the presence of the living God, their creator.  He is walking on the water toward them.  It is a miracle!  Jesus must be God.  He can provide food in the wilderness, just as God provided manna.  He can cross the sea safely, just as God divided the Red Sea during the exodus.  And with a word, He can calm the troubled and afraid heart. 

It is not just because he is obviously God that Jesus can calm the sinful humans heart, but because He is the God who comes to die on behalf of all sinners that he can do this.  A God who loves his creation so much that even when they turn their backs on him, even when they don’t recognize him for who he is, that he would be willing to give up all he has on their behalf.  Almighty God enters our tumultuous world, he humbles himself into human form, becoming man (homo factus est) so that he might speak these words to the disciples, “I am who I am, don’t be afraid any longer.”

Don’t be afraid even though your sins are as scarlet.  Don’t be afraid even though the things you face are too big for you to handle.  Yes, our world is not a happy one.  We face floods and droughts, storms and famine.  Our security is not assured.  Our stock portfolios may tumble.  Our world is faced with car crashes, with explosions with earthquakes and loss and death.  Our world has only the certainty of death, of a punishment where our breath will cease and our bodies decay.  And these things make us afraid.  We are afraid of death, just as the disciples were afraid of the phantom, the ghost that they saw coming towards their boatload of tired disciples.  We fear what we cannot understand, and we are ever inching closer to that inevitable day.

But Jesus says, “Be not afraid.  I am who I am.”  Jesus, the same God who told that name to Moses, I am who I am.  Jesus who says, I have overcome sin death and the devil, and because of it you no longer need be afraid.  I have gone to Calvary.  I have spilt my blood.  I have suffered for you.  I have borne your sin, and destroyed it forever and ever.  You no longer need fear the specter of death.  Now you have life, and have it to the full. 

As Jesus calms the fears each of us have, so too did he fear the fears of the disciples.  Peter, no longer fearing a ghost but rather having his eyes firmly fixed by faith to the God who will redeem him, asks to walk out on the waves with his Lord.  He takes a few bold steps out towards his Lord, before seeing the sea and the waves, and taking his eyes off Jesus, he begins to sink.  But even then, even as Peter again returns to a life of sin and fear, his Lord grabs him by the arm and pulls him safely into the boat. 

It is the same for you dear friends.  Every week you come and hear what God has done on your behalf.  You hear how you no longer need fear the world and its sorrow.  You no longer need fear what happens when we die, because in Jesus you are victorious.  But every week we walk out the door of this building, and seeing the struggles of this world and our own lives, we so often take our eyes off the promise.  The words, “Do not fear” leave our ears, and we are afraid, very afraid. 

But even then, your God will not abandon you.  Even then he will not let you drown in your sin.  Just as he grabbed Peter, so too will he grab even you of little faith.  He grabs you again with nail scarred hands.  He grabs you with outstretched arms, and leads you to the safety of His own eternal kingdom.  And there we will bow before the God man, the one who formed the earth and who walked in the recesses of the deep, as our OT lesson says.  We worship him, for he saves us.  He rescues us from the ghost of death and gives us life in its place. 

Your God is not a ghost, and never shall be.  He is alive, and in him, you too are alive forever.  Nothing can separate you from His love.  Amen.