This coming Thursday is a significant church year holiday, but many folks don’t even realize it. There will be nothing in the papers, no sales at the stores; very few churches have worship services to remember the day. But what happened on that day is important for us as the followers of Jesus Christ. What holy day am I talking about? Thursday will be forty days after Easter, the day of the Ascension.

The implications of the Ascension for us are immense. We speak of it every time we profess our faith using the Apostle’s Creed: He ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father almighty. The Ascension tells us the Jesus is still living. He went into heaven bodily. At the Right Hand of God He is still working for our benefit. He has assumed His position of power, ruling the world. He sends men to preach His Word, and He pleads our case. Jesus reminds the Father that He has paid the price for our sins, so that through faith, they will no longer be held against us. From there He will return to announce the final judgment, taking the faithful to himself.

This final chapter of Luke’s Gospel, from which today’s text is taken, records the reactions to Resurrection. The first 43 verses all deal with the events on Easter day and the way different followers of Jesus reacted to the proclamation “He is Risen.” First of all, they did not believe it was true (11). There was also confusion (12); Then came excitement (32), but also fear and worry (37-38); When Jesus showed them His hands and feet, there was tentative joy and amazement (41-42). That is where the events of Easter Day end. We know from the book of Acts that Jesus was with His disciples off and on for a period of 40 days after that. During that time, He spoke to them and reminded them of His teachings. At the end of that period came today’s text, the record of His Ascension. Notice what their reaction is now:  they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

There is something else here important for all of us. Before Jesus ascended, He told His disciples you are witnesses of these things, referring to His Ministry and work of redemption. There is an old legend that when Jesus ascended into heaven, the angels were talking to Him. Since He still bore the marks of His sufferings, Gabriel said, “Master, you must have suffered terribly for men down there.” Jesus replied, “I did.” Gabriel asked, “Do they know how much You loved them and what You did for them?” Jesus answered, “Oh, no, not yet. Right now only a few of them in Palestine know.” So Gabriel asked, “What have you done to let everyone know about it?” Jesus replied, “I asked Peter, James and John, and a few others to make it the business of their lives to tell others about me. Each one who hears about me will tell someone else, and eventually, everyone will know what I did for them.” Gabriel was a bit skeptical, since he knew what men were like. “What if Peter and the others get tired? What if those who come after them forget? What if way down in the 21st century, people just don’t tell others about You? Have you made any other plans?” Jesus answered: “I have no other plans. I’m counting on them.” You and I know of Christ because those who went before us let the Spirit work through them. It is now our turn to be the witnesses Jesus wants us to be.

You have probably heard the story about a woman who was in a house that was being flooded. A rescuer came up to the house in a boat and offered to take her to safety. She refused saying, “The good Lord will take care of me.” A little while later, she was on the second floor because the water had risen so high. Another boat came by, offering her assistance. She again refused: “I’m trusting in the Lord.” Before too long, she was on the roof, and a helicopter came by. They dropped a basket and pleaded with her to get in. She stubbornly maintained that she didn’t need their help–she was trusting in God to help her. The water rose still higher, and she drowned. She went to heaven and asked, “Lord, I was trusting in you–what happened?” God replied: “I sent two boats and a helicopter–what do you want?”

There is a point here. When Jesus told His disciples that they were to be His witnesses, He promised to send the help they would need. He sent it — His Holy Spirit. That may not have been what they were expecting, or how they thought it should be done, but that was God’s plan. That is the same help you and I need to be His witnesses. We may not always see the hand of God assisting us and recognize it as such. We often ignore the obvious. But God’s Spirit will work through those who believe in Jesus.

Another part of the problem we have in fulfilling Christ’s command to witness is that we view it as a chore from which we will receive little joy. We tend to think of it as a task that we have to do! We try to carry out our witness through our own means, based upon our fluctuating emotions, using our own programs and strategies, or relying on sociology or demographics. If this is all you’ve got, if this is your basis, you will fail. Those things are not powerful enough. They ultimately lead to disappointment and frustration.

How should we witness? The secret is not in a program, or even in organization. Our witness needs to begin at the cross. If you do not proclaim that the suffering and death of Jesus Christ was to pay for the sins of all men, then you have nothing of lasting value to share with the world. Your witness must be sincere and come from your heart, but it must also be according to the Word of God. If you share empty words and promises of men, then you are wasting your own and everyone else’s time. As followers of Jesus, your witness must be by the power of the Holy Spirit (WHAT MY FATHER HAS PROMISED): He alone is able to lead men to the knowledge of the truth. And in order to witness for Jesus Christ, you must know who He is: God’s Son, the Savior of the world, the only hope of forgiveness and salvation.

The best way to be a witness for Christ is to simply realize that you are a witness. You will reach people for Christ by living as His Child with the Spirit of God living and working in you. When you apply the knowledge that the life of Jesus Christ was lived for you, that the death of Jesus Christ was died for you, and that the Resurrection was for you, it changes you. Jesus will be seen by others through you. You will be His witnesses by simply living with this confidence. Hearing the message that you are a sinner who has been forgiven through the merits of Jesus Christ, and applying that to your life in all situations, You are His witnesses. You live in hope and joy.

In order to know who you are as witnesses, you must remember who Jesus is. Knowing that He is your Savior from sin and death, you will understand that you are His witnesses, and let that dictate how you live. How much easier life would be if we would just remember who we are? What difference would it make if you did everything aware of the fact that you are a witness for Christ?

• What if you dated as his witness, and chose marriage partners that way?
• What if we drove as witnesses for Christ? I bet the insurance rates would go down and you would see less rude gestures!
• What if you did your job as a witness for Jesus Christ? Do you think your job situation will improve or get worse?
• What if you Shopped and Played golf and mowed your yard and did the dishes as a witness for Jesus? What would be different?

All of life would be enhanced. And it is possible, if we will use the help the Spirit of God offers. The problems come when we forget that we are His witnesses. We should remember who we are. We live in the certainty not only of the Resurrection, but also of the Ascension; our Lord lives and reigns in heaven; He has gone to prepare a place for us; while we are here, we are to live as His witnesses. God grant this.

May 6, 2012

Luke 24:36–49  ³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ³⁷They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” ⁴⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate it in their presence. ⁴⁴He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

“Preach the Name of Jesus.” That is not the most original title for a sermon. It is a necessary thing, but it is also pretty obvious, isn’t it? It happens every week in countless churches around the world, including those is this community, doesn’t it? Of course it does. But if you think this passage is only speaking about what happens in church on the weekend, you’re sadly mistaken. The vast majority of people that come to worship spend about one hour per week here. If they come to Bible Class, too, that is about two hours per week. Since there are 168 hours in a week, 2 hours is less than 2% of your time in any given week. Less than 2% – And that is for those who go to Church! Preaching the name of Jesus is not to be relegated to less than 2% of our time.

Nor should it be just something for those who are in full time church work or who lead a worship service. Everyone of you who hear repentance and forgiveness of sins proclaimed to you in Jesus name have the responsibility to proclaim that to others. I know you’ve heard it before, but being a follower of Jesus is not a spectator sport. It means doing something, being involved in the mission, sharing the Good News of life and forgiveness. Do you “Love to Tell the Story of Jesus and His Love?”

The truth of the matter is that none of us – none of us – have done this as well as we should. That, however, is among the sins you confessed earlier in this service and heard God’s Word of forgiveness proclaimed to you. So put the guilt over past shortcomings behind you. As the forgiven people of God that we are, how can each of us carry out this task of preaching the name of Jesus?

Get the Message Straight

You know that preaching the name of Jesus means more than just telling other people His name. It means telling people who He is and what He has done for them. Jesus summarized it this way for His disciples on that first Easter evening: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations. That is the old, old story we sang about a few minutes ago. Jesus loved each of you enough to die in your place, so that you might live with Him forever. Remembering this is why we confess our sins, receiving the forgiveness He earned for us. That old, old story is made new every day in our lives. It is our reason for hope. It is our source of comfort. It gives us strength in our living. You know that because Jesus lived a perfect life, died to cleanse you from your sin, and rose to defeat death, you are assured of life everlasting with Him. That is what we are to share as we preach the name of Jesus.

Share the Message

So how do you do it? You probably all agree that it sounds good in theory, that it looks good on paper, but how in the world are you going to implement it in your life? The direct approach is to speak the words, actively telling the story. His name should be always on our lips, and we should be prepared to share the reason for the hope that is in us. His name is on our lips because He is in our hearts. And because He is in your heart, His presence should be evident in your living. Your life will be influenced by the knowledge of everything Christ did for you.  

You preach the name of Jesus when you are an image of Him for the world to see. I once heard someone describe it this way: Think of your life is a blank piece of paper. Place that blank piece of paper over Jesus and trace everything. It should be a complete tracing, so much so that all your actions are directed by what He would have done. He is to be the model. In Him we live and move and have our being. He will be evident in everything, even a simple act of kindness.

In Acts 4, Peter speaks of an act of kindness he had shown. By God’s power, Peter offered healing to a crippled man. I would say that qualifies as an act of kindness. And we all do little acts of kindness every day. But listen to how Peter used that act of kindness to share the message of Jesus as Savior.

That is why it is so important for us to preach the name of Jesus. He is the only name by which we can be saved.

You can do this in your life. You are given the opportunities to speak your faith every day. You can share with others the reason for your kindness and actions. The question is, “Will you?” More often than not, we get so caught up in our own lives that we neglect the preaching of Jesus. A long time ago I heard a pastor share the story of his own daughter who ran a flower shop. She made arrangements to take off early one beautiful spring afternoon shortly after Easter. She was going to meet her husband for a picnic. Right as it was time for her to leave, a couple came in to pick out a wreath for a child’s casket. They took their time looking at all the different arrangements, and the young lady found herself growing more and more impatient as the time she was to meet her husband came and passed. When the couple finally made their selection, she hurriedly threw it together and rushed it out to try to finish up. The couple took their time examining it, and she found herself thinking, “Come on, already. Hurry up so I can leave!” Finally, the man took out his checkbook, and as he started to write the check he looked at the young lady and said, “He would have been our first grandson.” As she was sharing this with her father, she said, “Here I was so happy in my life, and I had just heard the Easter story of victory proclaimed again, yet I was so wrapped up in myself that I didn’t even think about sharing it with those people who were hurting and needed to hear the Good News.”

How many people do we encounter every day who are hurting and hungering for the Good News that is found only in Jesus Christ? More than you will ever know. Could your acts of kindness and compassion be the way for you to share with them the faith you have?  Could giving them one of those witness coins open the door for you to share the Good News of our Savior? You better believe it could. And a few simple words is all it takes to plant the seed, to let the Spirit work in their hearts. You can also invite them to attend worship with you to hear God’s love and promises shared here in this community of believers. I know many of you are wondering whether or not you can really do this. You can if you remember that Jesus is with you. He told those first disciples,

We may not be eyewitnesses as those first disciples were, but we have seen His power in our lives. And we have the same power from on High, the Holy Spirit, clothing us. That is why we can confidently preach the name of Jesus in our living and speaking. Let’s sing one more stanza of that hymn in which we pledge to tell that old, old story to others.

I want to tell the story as it was told to me 

And live my life for Jesus for all the world to see.

I’ll preach the name of Jesus in everything I do

So that my friends and neighbors may come to love him, too.

I want to tell the story so all can share the glory

And know the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

April 29, 2012

Luke 24:45-47 [45] Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.[46] He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,[47] and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Last Sunday Cheryl, Jane Bronstad, Starr Jordan, Cleo Cline and I went to the Spring Event for the Dal-North Zone of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League at Prince of Peace in Carrollton. As part of that event, some of the ministries of Prince of Peace were shared. One lady talked about a mission trip she took to China with members of that congregation. But the other two ladies shared how they started ministries in the apartment complexes where they live. They invited the children into their homes for crafts and Bible Study and games and singing. Instead of bringing the children to church (and many of them would not go to a church) they are taking the church to the children. And many of these kids come from single parent households. It was encouraging to hear about the ways in which these ladies (and their husbands) where blooming where they were planted.

Too often we think of mission work as something that happens far away and is done by other people. That is part of it, but our Church is involved in mission here, too. And, after all, you are the Church. In all our efforts, we are simply responding to God’s love for us. When Jesus spoke the words of our text, he was already in Jerusalem. If He had been here, He would have said, beginning in Denison. His message is clear. Proclaim the Gospel to all nations, but don’t forget about the people who live next door! Mission work, like charity, begins at home, “at Jerusalem.”

An old Baptist hymn reminds us what our attitude should be:

Lord, Lay Some Soul upon my heart, And love that soul through me;

And may I bravely do my part To win that soul for Thee. (OSB #8)

You and I are the ones who have heard that Good News that Jesus Christ has paid for sin and conquered death and the devil through His life, death and resurrection. We are the redeemed children of God who have taken that message of forgiveness and eternal life to heart. So now what? You need to respond to God’s love by becoming personally involved in God’s Mission, making it your mission.

You may ask, “How? How can I be involved in missions?” At least I hope you will ask yourselves that, because the rest of my message to you today has to do with the answer to that question. And I am going to answer that question by listing eight broad categories. There will be some overlap in a few places, but I think you will get a pretty good answer to the question, “How can I be involved in missions?”

Learn

Personal education is essential if you want to be involved in God’s Mission of making disciples of all nations. Some of the learning needs to come from God’s Word. Other learning will take place by looking at the world around you. Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself:

• What is God’s view of the world?
• What is God’s goal for the world?
• Who are the people God cares about? Where are they?
• What is our church doing in God’s world?
• Who are the missionaries? What do they do?

Pray

Don’t ever underestimate the tremendous power you have at your disposal, being able to make your requests known to God with the assurance that He will hear and answer. Make a prayer list and refer to it each day. Lift up the needs of the lost along with your own requests. Here’s a starter list:

• for world evangelization
• for missionaries, their families and the people they serve
• for unbelievers you know
• for yourself to be a better witness
• for your Pastor, that he might be a faithful minister of God

Give

The two most precious things in our world today are time and money. We don’t part with either of them easily. But those are the very things that prove useful in carrying our God’s mission. So you need to give.

• money to this congregation to support LCMS Mission Work. Maybe some of you don’t know, but the first 10% of each week’s offerings is designated for world missions and sent in for that purpose. By your offerings, you are supporting Mission Work here and around the world.
• money to special mission projects that you know about. Some of you support the projects of the LWML. Each quarter here at Grace we support a mission project through our Sunday School and Mid-Week offerings. Some of you have other missions that you support on a regular basis. That is how you respond to God’s love.
• time to learn more about God’s Mission. Most people don’t know what is going on and won’t even take the time to learn.
• time to tell others about Jesus. This is perhaps most tragic, that people actually say, “I don’t have time to speak to others about Jesus. I’m too busy.” I ask you, and I want you each to answer this for yourself: What is more important that sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ as Savior with someone who does not believe in Him?

Serve

God wants His children to have the heart of a servant. Jesus gave the example, washing the feet of His disciples. Have you looked at ways you can serve?

• caring for missionaries and their families
• participating in servant events
• participating in relief efforts
• in the congregation – find something that needs doing and do it!
• In your neighborhood – find something that needs doing and do it!

Tell

Speaking your faith, letting it be a part of who you are and your conversation, doesn’t take much effort at all. You believe that Jesus has died to pay for your sins, and that has made a difference in your life. I think you will find that you can quite easily tell others about that:

• your family members – do you have relatives that have not heard?
• your friends
• your neighbors – are you sure they know Jesus Christ is the only way to life and salvation?
• others until you can go or because you can’t go.
• others and support them by praying, writing, giving and asking for ways to help

Send

Go

When Jesus told His disciples to make more disicples, He said to do it by baptizing and teaching. But He said there was something they had to do before that: GO! Go yourself. You can do it. There are numerous short and long term opportunities. And you really can do it. We had a lady for Grace go to Argentina for two years. We supported a yound lady who went to Hong Kong for a year. Some of our members have been going on Servant events around the country. Some of our members are seriously contemplating careers in church work. You can do it, too. But it doesn’t have to be going far away for you to be a part of God’s Mission.

• right now to people you know who need to hear about Jesus
• wherever the Lord directs you to make disicples.

Celebrate

Part of being followers of Jesus and knowing of His love is rejoicing in that Good News. We need to be sure to celebrate:

• with God’s people around the world
• that Jesus is alive
• that you are a child of God
• that God has a wonderful job for you to do.

Let none hear you idly saying, “There is nothing I can do,”

While the souls of men are dying And the Master calls for you.

Take the task He gives you gladly, Let His work your pleasure be.

Answer quickly when He calleth, “Here am I, send me, send me!”

Mowing the Grass                 $5

Making my bed all week       $1

Going to the store                  $.50

Taking out the trash             $1

Good grades on report card $5

And so on. The mother took the bill, looked at it, and didn’t say a word. The next morning the boy found the bill on his plate with the money he requested, but he noticed that his mother had written something on the back of it. He read down her list:

For the nine months I carried you             No Charge

The nights I sat up with you                       No Charge

Doctoring you when you were sick            No Charge

Praying for you                                            No Charge

Tears I’ve cried for You                             No Charge

Toys, food, clothes                                       No Charge

All my love for you                                      No Charge

The little boy returned the money and the bill to his mother. When she looked at it, she saw He had written across his itemized list PAID IN FULL.

The love of a mother is wonderful, especially a Christian mother. They take care of all our needs, including the most important need of telling us of Jesus, teaching us to love and follow Him. Christian mothers give us a picture of God’s love for us, how freely He gives us everything, all the while we try to make demands of Him. The sacrifice He was willing to make for us was prfound. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32) God’s love provides for our needs constantly, all at no charge to us.

I pay tribute to Christians mothers, those who have made it their priority to live out their Christian calling in their homes. That is the kind of mother I was blessed with. I know there were times that she and I didn’t get along too well. There were times that I was sure I hated her, and she may have felt the same way about me! Isn’t it funny, though, that I can’t remember why? What I do remember is that she is the one who took care of me. She was the one who made sure I got out of bed and had breakfast before I went to school. She was the one who sat up late to make sure I got home safely. She knew the pain of childbearing did not stop with labor and delivery. She was the one who prayed with me and for me. I thank God for that.

A good mother deserves honor, whether it is the mother who bore you or the mother who bore your children. They model for us the love that God has shown to us. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; [says the LORD] (Isaiah 66:13) That is what God has done: He has comforted us, loved us tenderly, given of Himself for our sakes. He saw us in our need, our corruption, the depravity of our sins, and He reached out to us. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. His death satisfied God’s demand that payment be made for sin. His rising assures you that death has been defeated. This has all been given to you at no charge, out of love.

Many of you first heard this good news from your mother, and she raised you to believe this, even as she did. Happy Mother’s Day.

Amazing Desert Journey…

…Where Jesus Leads Us Home

June 11-15     9:00am – 12:00pm

On this Amazing Desert Journey, your children will learn about God’s plan to rescue them from sin and death through His Son, Jesus. We will be centering on five different stories from the Bible:

• Adam and Eve leave the Garden
• God Provides Manna and Water
• Jesus is Tempted
• Jesus Dies and Rises
• A Heavenly Multitude

We will take a daily journey tolearn about God’s Promises, Provisions, Strength, Hope and Joy. Each day will begin at the Opening Oasis and from there they will head off in a Caravan to Bible study, music, crafts, games and snacks. We will close every day with a skit, prayer and our VBS Mission update.

Three workdays are set for decorating the church and preparing classrooms for the big event:

• May 19th 9:00am – 3:00pm with lunch provided
• June 2nd 9:00am – 3:00pm with lunch provided
• June 9th No lunch provided - The church will be open from 9:00am – 5:00pm for final touches and preparations

We are looking forward to this exciting VBS and pray God’s blessing for this week and all who are involved.

The Almighty One who provides such a proliferation of physical blessings doesn’t disappoint in the spiritual realm either. There is never a drought there. If you think there is, you are just not going to the right places. God’s abundant provision for all your spiritual needs is found in Christ. He has secured salvation for everyone by paying for the sins of all with His perfect life, which He offered up in sacrifice on the cross. His resurrection assures you of life everlasting. Jesus earned everything you need, and He sends those things to you through His Word, His sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, and through the fellowship of believers. And abundance of water and crops and flocks is good. God promises adequate provision.  Even better is the unending supply of forgiveness and life and salvation offered to everyone for Jesus’ sake (Philippians 4:19).

Oh, before I forget: please join me in praying for my brothers and sisters in West Texas that are still in need of rain.

April 22. 2012

Luke 24:36-49 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (NIV)

Today’s Gospel lesson has a lot of good stuff. So much so that I decided to spend more than one Sunday thinking about this passage with you. Today is the first of four messages on this text, and we begin by considering Jesus words, “Touch me and see.”

A study was done about 50 years ago to determine the importance of human touch and the lack thereof. In a South American orphanage, Rene Spitz observed and recorded what happened to 97 children who were deprived of emotional and physical contact. A lack of funds meant there was not enough staff to adequately care for all the children, aged 3 months to 3 years old. Nurses changed diapers and fed and bathed the children, but there was no time to hold, touch and talk to them as a parent would. After 3 months, many of them showed signs of abnormality. In addition to a loss of appetite and being unable to sleep well, many of the children had a vacant expression in their eyes. After five months, the deterioration was even more obvious. They would whimper and contort their faces in obvious pain. Now when a doctor or nurse would pick up a child, it would scream in terror. 27 of the children died in the first year, but not from a lack of food or health care. They died from a lack of touch and emotional nurture. Seven more died in the next year. Only 21 of the 97 survived, and most of them suffered serious psychological damage (Charles Sell, Unfinished Business, Multnomah, 1989).

As difficult as that is to hear, and as hard as it may be for you to imagine, what if you had to live without the touch and love of other people? What would your life be like? Then take it a step further: What must it be like to live without the touch and love of Jesus Christ? What if you lived without His presence because He had stayed in the tomb? That is not the case, because He is Risen. He invites all of you to be touched by Him, by His promises and presence and peace. Yet there are many in our world who live without His touch.  Jesus wanted to make sure His disciples knew that He was alive.

He was alive. This Good News would have an ongoing and everlasting impact, not just for those first disciples, but for us as well. It changes the way we live. It changes the way we die. It changes the way we worship. It changes the way we work. The Resurrection changes everything.

Of course the disciples had their doubts. Right after Jesus showed them His hands and feet, this passage tells us they still did not believe. I think it is safe to say the same problem plagues many of you sitting here today. Doubts creep in. You find yourself doubting like Thomas and the other disciples after the Resurrection. And Jesus knows that. Even after you hear the Good News in Bible Class and Church and Sunday School and home devotions, sometimes you still don’t fully believe for a variety of reasons. Satan will play on those doubts and fears. But Jesus says to you: “Touch me and see. I’ll show you. My resurrection is for real.” And we all need that reassuring touch.

During a severe thunderstorm, a mother tucked her small son into bed. She was about to turn out the light and leave the room when his trembling voice asked, “Mommy, will you stay in here with me tonight?” Smiling, she gave her son a reassuring hug and said, “I can’t dear. I have to sleep with Daddy.” As she turned out the light, she heard her son say, “That big sissy!”

We all crave a reassuring touch, no matter who we are. So how does God provide that for us today? Jesus says Touch me and see, but how is that possible for those of us who are removed by time and space from those post-resurrection appearances of our Lord?

In our worship and our singing today, we have affirmed that we believe in our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We have asked that He would open our eyes to see Him and feel His touch. We get that reassuring touch in many ways. Perhaps the most obvious touch comes from His Word.

He opened their minds not for the sake of wisdom or intellectual stimulation, but so that they could fully understand His death and resurrection, repentance and forgiveness. He was touching them with the reassuring news that His life was for them, His death was for them, and His victory over death was for them. He touches us with that same message, telling you that through faith you obtain everything He did for you. God wants to open your minds to understand His Word. He calls you to repent and receive His forgiveness. Through His Word, you touch and see Jesus.

Of course, there are others ways you can see and touch our Lord. He touches you with His peace and power and presence in Baptism. He touches you with His presence in Holy Communion. You can feel His peace in the fellowship of other believers. These things allow you to touch and see Jesus.

 Those first disciples took this encounter with their Risen Savior to heart. John wrote about it in his first letter. Listen to all the times he makes reference to hearing and touching and seeing Jesus

John wanted others to touch and see Jesus the way he had. He knew that our Lord could touch people with His grace even though He was not visibly present. His peace and presence and power are available freely today through the Word and Sacraments and through the fellowship of faith.

Last Sunday I spoke to you about the eyes of faith that see through the fog. Another way that is expressed in Scripture is in Paul’s letter to the believers in Ephesus.

In Scripture, the heart was considered to be the entire inner life of a person, the place of thought and wisdom. All that was in the heart. While we now know that thought takes place in the mind, we still use this same terminology at times in English. Someone might say “I know in my heart it is true!” meaning that you know it on the deepest level possible. That is what Paul was praying for here, and what Jesus wants for you as well: to know and believe on the deepest level possible that He is alive, that He loves you, and that He died and rose again for you. Touch and see.

John 20:19-31

I didn’t know! You’ve heard those words in a variety of situations.

• ·        It might be about someone who has died. “Did you hear Uncle Bill passed?” “No, I didn’t know!”
• ·        Perhaps you are just finding out that a friend has an illness. “Frank is in the hospital with cancer.” “I didn’t know he was ill!”
• ·        Sometimes you might say those words when you are looking for an excuse. “Why didn’t you clean up your room before the company came over?” “I didn’t know I was supposed to!”
• ·        But most often that phrase is an admission of ignorance. “I didn’t know!” You are telling someone that you did not previously have the information he or she is sharing with you. “I didn’t know.”

Ignorance is not always seen as a bad thing. The old saying “Ignorance is bliss” might lead you to believe that ignorance is to be preferred. However, just because you think everything is fine does not mean that it is! Ignorance is not truly bliss. You may be ignorant of the fact that you have a water leak under you slab, and be happy thinking that everything is fine. But eventually you will discover that things are not as blissful as you believed.

A long time ago somewhat explained it to me this way: “Being ignorant is not a sin. Staying ignorant is.” It is one thing to not know something because you have not had proper information shared with you through no fault of your own. It is an entirely different matter to be confronted with true information and then chose to ignore it.

There is a lot of trivial information in this world, some of which is interesting to me. I used to read newspaper columns about Odd and Little Known Facts. One such tidbit that I came across said that a dense fog covering seven city blocks at a depth of 100 feet is composed of less than one glass of water. Think of that – one glass of water creates enough fog to cover seven city blocks twice as tall as this building! Something as insignificant as the contents of this glass can keep people from seeing things as they really are.

Fog can be compared to the state of being ignorant. You can’t see things around you when you are in a fog. And for that reason, fog is also like the things most people worry about. Your worry about and fear the unknown. If those things were reduced down to their true size, you could probably fit them into this glass. Our fears usually don’t amount to much. And they block our view. But it can be difficult to have that perspective when you are engulfed in a fog.

I remember a fishing trip several years ago. Jim Bronaugh and I set out early on Lake Texoma on a Wednesday morning. I remember it was a Wednesday because we had Lenten services that night. As we arrived at the lake, it was totally socked in with a dense fog. I don’t think we could see 10 yards. I thought the fishing trip would be scrubbed. I didn’t think there was any way we could go out on a day like that. But Jim had other ideas. He knows the lake pretty well, and he assured me everything would be fine. We launched the boat and slowly headed out of the marina. I didn’t have any idea where we were or where we were going. It was a good thing I wasn’t driving the boat. Jim puttered along until he had us right up next to one of the islands. On my fifth or sixth cast a huge fish exploded out of the water toward my lure, but missed it. That was an awful feeling. Jim told me to keep after it. Two casts later, the fish came back, and this time he didn’t miss. About thirty minutes later we netted the biggest fish I’ve caught so far at Texoma, a 27 inch striper. If I had let my fear and uncertainty keep me from going out on the boat that day, I would not have caught that fish! Thankfully, I had enough faith that Jim knew what he was doing to get into the boat. Some might argue that it was foolish, especially if you know Jim. But it certainly paid off. And I thought it was interesting that about the same time I got that fish to the boat, the fog lifted!

Being in a fog can cause you to proceed with caution, and that is good. But to let that caution turn into fear that overwhelms you is not good. Worries and fears drain us of energy and serve no real purpose. Worry is just a form of fear.

Today’s Gospel lesson tells us what was going on that first Easter evening. The disciples were gathered together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus had been crucified, and they were afraid the Jewish leaders might come after them next! The women said something about Him being alive, but their anxiety and worry kept them from believing. It was into their fog-like fear that Jesus comes, showing Himself to be alive. They were all doubters at this point. They were not seeing things clearly. Their fear was blocking their view. Thomas is saddled with the label of being the doubter because he doubted a week longer than the rest of them. But on that first Easter, they were all in the fog. They didn’t believe Jesus was alive, even though the women had told them. Luke’s Gospel tells us that those two Emmaus disciples had come to tell the others that they had seen Jesus alive just before the Lord appeared to them. But they were still acting in ignorance. They had been told, but did not believe. Their fear was controlling them. It was like a fog blocking their view of what had happened that morning.

After they saw Jesus for themselves, they believed. Thomas would come along the next week and be convinced by seeing Jesus, too. And Jesus tells him

In a way, Jesus is saying, “You let that fog of your fears keep you from seeing with the eyes of faith. Those who believe with the eyes of faith that sees through the fog will be blessed.”

In Acts 3 we see how Peter was changed by the Resurrection of Jesus. He was empowered and emboldened by Jesus to tell others that “He is Risen” and that changes everything. After Jesus used him to heal a cripple outside the Temple, Peter was sharing this message of the living Jesus with the crowd that gathered. Peter says that he knows the Jews were living in foggy conditions when they crucified Jesus.

They were acting from ignorance, fear and worry. But Peter is trying to lift the fog, to help them escape their ignorance by telling them that Jesus is their Risen Lord and Savior as well. He loves them so much that He let Himself be killed in order to pay the price our sins demand. That He did everything we need to be saved is confirmed beyond all doubt by His resurrection. So Peter tells those who killed Jesus that His love is big enough to forgive even that. He had come so that everyone could be forgiven and receive the undeserved gift of eternal life.

When you have that knowledge, that certainty, that faith, it changes you. God wants your life to be transformed by His love. He tells you not to let fear and worry block your view of life as it is under His control.

That perfect love is Jesus Christ, God’s love that came to earth as one of us to free us from our slavery to sin and death and fear and worry. And that love incarnate told us how our lives should be changed by our faith in him.

There is so much fog all around us, and we are the ones who know and believe in Jesus. Imagine what it is like for those who have not been led to faith. Their worries and fears surround them and cripple them. They may feel blissful and secure in their ignorance, not knowing that without faith in Jesus they are doomed to an eternity of torment. But it does not have to be that way. God has made it possible for everyone to be forgiven for Jesus’ sake. In Acts, Peter was trying to make sure the Jews didn’t STAY ignorant.

You have that assurance in your life. As we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we need to remind each other not to let fear keep us from living lives as God’s trusting children. We need to be emboldened in the same way Peter was to share what we know and lead others through the fog of fear that blocks their view. We want them to join us as those who are blessed by believing that because He lives, we live also.

Lee Strobel is a Christian author. In one of his books he wrote: I hope I have more success in explaining Easter than my brother-in-law did a few years ago when he was trying to explain it to his 5-year-old son Sean. They were sitting in church on Easter, and just before the service began, my brother-in-law pointed to the cross and said, “See the cross? The people put Jesus on the cross. The people killed Jesus.” Sean looked around very nervously, then asked cautiously: “These people?”

Out of the mouths of babes come words that put it all in perspective. Easter is all about Jesus – crucified and risen again. But Easter is all about you!  You put Jesus on the cross. You put Him in the tomb. And it was for you that He rose again. That is what brings us together today to rejoice!

There should be no doubt that Jesus truly died. The graphic descriptions in Scripture make that point very plain. Of course, there will always be those who doubt this.  One lady wrote to a question and answer forum. “Dear Sirs, Our preacher said on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered. 

Dear Bewildered, Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for six hours; run a spear thru his side…put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens. Sincerely, Charles.

By all accounts, Jesus died. He was buried. They all thought it was over. That is why those women were making their way to the tomb – they knew He was dead and wanted to honor his memory by providing a proper burial. They didn’t expect to find Him alive. But that is exactly what they found.

I want to talk to you for a minute about possums. They are an ugly creature, aren’t they. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen quite a few of them dead on the roads. And then I ran across an article that maintains that possums are smart animals. You wouldn’t think so because you hardly ever see one except when it’s dead on the road. There’s a joke that goes, “why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the possum that it could be done!” But possums, it turns out, are smart. They won’t enter a hole if there’s just one set of tracks going into it. Think about that. They won’t enter a hole if there is just one set of tracks going into it because they know there’s something in there. But if there are two sets of tracks, one going in and one coming out, the possum will enter and not be afraid. 

Isn’t that a message for Easter? We can enter the grave without fear. We don’t have to fear death because there are tracks coming out of the tomb. Jesus went into the tomb but He came out again on the third day, this day. Paul preached the proclamation of Easter: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” It is not there because our Lord rose in victory over death for our sake!

Bruce Larson was a well known Presbyterian minister. He once said, “The events of Easter cannot be reduced to a creed or philosophy. We are not asked to believe the doctrine of the resurrection. We are asked to meet this person raised from the dead. In faith, we move from belief in a doctrine to the knowledge of a person. Ultimate truth is a person. We met him. He is alive.”

This is the message that we need to hear one Easter. You meet Jesus. He is alive. Jesus is risen!

The story of Easter is the story of Jesus.  It is the story the world needs to hear, and we need to tell.  It is the story in which we find our place, for it is our story.  It is a story that goes on, it lives because He lives.