“Is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.”

Main point: The Spirit leads us to eternal life through obedience to these commandments.

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

SERMON

“This commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.” Deuteronomy 30:11

The story of the Good Samaritan. One of the most famous teachings from Jesus visits us this morning and invites us to ask two questions.

• First, what must one do to inherit eternal life?

• Second, who is my neighbor?

Question 1: What must I do to inherit eternal life?

Our gospel begins with a question from a concerned Jewish lawyer. Presumably this man was smart. Presumably he was educated. Presumably he had played this question over in his mind many times before. It is a question you may have asked yourself before: what must I do to inherit eternal life? 

This question reveals a deeper question which, when we’re still enough to let it come to the surface, is equally profound. It is, am I OK? God sees all I do. I know I make mistakes. I know I am flawed. Sometimes, I do what I know isn’t the good thing - the healthy thing - the thing that leads to life. I know me. And I know it doesn’t add up to enough. 

So what does God think? Am I going to be OK when we get to the end?I know God sees me too. 

Take a crack at that first question on your own. What answer would you come up with if you were asked point blank: What must one do to inherit eternal life?

• Maybe you would say… Well, there’s nothing someone can do to inherit eternal life. It’s not about what I do; it’s about what Jesus has done.

• Or, you might say, believe and be baptized. I know that’s in the Scriptures somewhere. We talk an awful lot about believing and baptism and faith at church. Surely, that’s a part of the equation.

• Lutherans are quick to say both of these things. As we should.

I must be straight with you, the answer from Jesus does not sound very Lutheran - or even very Protestant in general. His answer is simple enough. It's plain enough. It comes straight from the heart of the tradition he is in and the tradition we Lutherans claim. And might I remind you, the answer comes from the mouth of Jesus. 

He doesn't say, be baptized. He doesn't say believe in me. He doesn't say there's nothing you can do to inherit eternal life. We here this morning may expect a Lutheran answer, but the answer Jesus gives us is the answer I give to you this morning. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. Do this and you will have eternal life. In your answer to the question of eternal life, I pray you leave room for the answer Jesus gives. 

“A Picture of Liberation”

Main point: 

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

TEXT

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.

He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.

Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.

Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.

Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'

"Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!"

He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. Indeed, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.

Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

SERMON

To start this morning, I invite you to recall a time when you saw a painting or an image of some sort that caught your attention. It could be a beautiful piece of art hanging in the Philadelphia Museum of Art or the Met in New York, or above your couch in your living room. This is a short film that captures your attention, makes you grateful, and impacts your soul.

(I remember my first visit to the Philadelphia art museum when I was about 22 years old…)

There are times when we encounter a passage from Holy Scripture like a beautiful painting. The story creates an image in our minds and we are left to wonder about its meaning. We are left with the impact it makes on us and we are subtly, maybe even imperceptibly, changed. Such is my prayer for us this morning with this scene from Jesus sending out the 72.

How We Read the Bible

We often read the Bible with an assumption that we are supposed to obey what the Bible says and do what the people in the Bible do. This is not a bad assumption on our part. The Holy Scriptures were given to the Church and its people to be known, followed, and obeyed. Christians from every century have deeply valued the Scriptures and committed themselves to being shaped by these holy writings. Read the Scriptures yourselves. Read them daily. Study them and know them. Go to Bible studies where you can study them together. When a Bible study isn't served up for you, start your own. Bible study resources are not lacking in our time and place. Use them!

However, there is - what I’ll call - a live wire present in evangelical Christianity in our day which assumes each individual person's ability to interpret and apply the Scriptures is THEE place where we hear God's voice and guidance for our lives. I have not witnessed that spirit here at St James, but it is alive and well in our culture.  We must be discerning about this way of reading the Scriptures. Read and know the Scriptures - yes. But none of us should assume that we, on our own, are responsible to interpret and apply the Scriptures to hear God’s voice and guidance for our lives.

“Already, Not Yet”

Main point: Saints live in the “already” reality of the kingdom of God is greater than the “not yet.”

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

SERMON

Introduction

• Lutheran Summer Day Camp

Before I get started.. I want to introduce to you a statement that helps us make sense of so much about ourselves and the era we live in as Christians: Already, Not Yet. Keep that in your minds as we consider the lives of Peter and Paul.

Peter and Paul were saints and martyrs.

• Who were Peter and Paul?

• St. Peter the Apostle was Jesus’ right-hand man. He was a witness to the many miracles of Jesus. He was present at the Transfiguration. When the going got tough he denied Jesus three times, but his relationship to Jesus was restored and he became a pillar in the early church in Jerusalem. He was known as the Apostle to the Jewish people. He died a martyr’s death. He was crucified in Rome under the Roman Emperor Nero.

• St. Paul the Apostle was not originally a follower of Jesus. He persecuted the church and was even responsible for the death of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He traveled all over Asia Minor in his three missionary journeys to spread the message of Jesus. He was also killed by the Roman Emperor Nero. 

• Some accounts tell us Peter and Paul were martyred at the same time - one by crucifixion and the other by beheading - during the Christian Persecution by the Emperor Nero following the Great Fire of Rome in A.D. 64.

Two Great Questions

This leads us to two great questions that arise on these days when we commemorate saints and martyrs. 

• The first question is regarding saints. Q1: What is up with saints? What are they and why would we try to remember them?

Saint

Definition: holy one(s)

We understand this in two senses.

• In one sense, we all are saints because we have been called out by God to be God’s holy ones. “Already.” 

• Romans 1:7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• The Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 1:22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

• We are also building toward the full measure of what we have been called to be as God’s perfect holy ones. We are “not yet” what we will be.

• Philippians 3:13  Brothers and sisters, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Martyr

• The second question is regarding martyrdom. Q2: What would grip a person so strongly that they would die for their faith? Didn’t Jesus already die for us? What good does the death of a saint do? Wouldn’t it be better if they kept on living to do the good things they were doing while they were alive? Why would they give their lives for their faith?

Already, Not Yet

I would like to introduce to you a phrase that helps us make sense of these questions about sainthood and martyrdom. Already, not yet.

We live in an era when God’s work in the world is “already fully present in you and in me, not yet perfected for what it will be.” Saints (like Peter and Paul) live in the full reality of God’s presence and work in the world here and now. They live so fully in the already aspect of God’s presence and activity in the world that the “not yet” aspect is pushed out of their minds entirely. 

Saints are able to see these things from God. We call that vision faith.

We can grow in that faith - to see what the saints see.

“Jesus Enters the Scene”

Main point: Jesus has power over the evil forces of our world and is at work driving them out.

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

SERMON

Introduction

There is a story of the young monk who came to his Spiritual Father, the Abbot of the Abbey, with a question…

“Master, yesterday I was in the village and I saw a girl who was hungry. I was moved with compassion and gave her my lunch. We speak of the holy angels who lead us to do good deeds for others. We also speak of the Holy Spirit who lives in us to show compassion. Help me, Abbot, was it the angels or the holy Spirit who led me to do these things?”

The Abbot replied: “Was the deed you did good?”

The young monk replied: “Yes, as much as I can tell.”

The Abbot answered: “Then you have your answer. Go and do more of the same.”

In our gospel story today we encounter a man plagued by demons. They are destroying him. His body is cut. He is ostracized from society. He lives among the dead - the tombs and catacombs of the city. He is shackled and bound, but chains cannot subdue him. 

This was not a new condition for this man. Long before Jesus showed up he was subjected to the demons’ torments. It was likely he placed himself in cooperation with the demonic forces at the direction of the people in his town - and now these forces control him. The pattern has been habituated over such a long period of time that the people in the town and in the surrounding area have come to expect what this man has become. Stark, raving, mad. A menace. A terror. A boogyman of the worst degree.

Just like every person who is overtaken by demons, he is being destroyed.

(Long pause)

Jesus enters the scene. 

Jesus enters the scene..and things begin to change.

In a demonstration of divine order Jesus enters the scene and commands 

the mayhem 

and the chaos 

and the confusion

and the destruction

…to be sent back to where it came from.

Because that’s all the demons can do. Where disorder, destruction, and chaos reign, there is the work of the unholy angels. But their activity only goes so far. 

Until the one whom they must obey comes on the scene…

Until the one who has authority speaks and says, “What is your name?”

Until the one who created all things seen and all things unseen shows up and orders those chaos dealers to be gone. 

Expanding the Territory

It says that Jesus was in the area of Gerasenes. This was a territory outside of Galilee where Jesus was spending most of his time up to this point. When Luke tells us they were in the area of Gerasenes, he’s saying to the reader that Jesus and his band of merry men are not in a Jewish-typical area. Worship of Yahweh is not the norm in Gerasenes. By going to this place, Jesus is expanding the boundaries of his ministry to include the non-Jewish nations. This message of freedom from the evil forces of this world is for all people in all places! 

Jesus enters the scene..and things begin to change. The boundaries of God’s reign are expanding.

Jesus asks the demon’s name. 

You’ll also notice that Jesus asks the demon its name and addresses it specifically. 

Have you ever had a problem in your life and you struggled and struggled not knowing why you were struggling so badly? But then you discovered the source of your struggle and this new insight changed the way you engaged. Your struggle now had a name. No longer were you struggling in general. You were now fighting something in particular.

“Trinity is Reality”

Main point: 

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

SERMON

A special greeting to all of the Fathers and Father figures present with us today. May all of your golfballs fly straight; may all of your neck ties stay in fashion for at least as long as it takes you to dribble food on them at your next formal dinner; and may your nap this afternoon be interrupted only by the noise of your children arguing in the hall outside your bedroom door.

Introduction

I would like to explore with you this theme of Trinity on this Great Feast Day. Let’s begin this way…

Around the year A.D. 418, St. Patrick was assigned to be a missionary to the people of Ireland. He used language and symbols familiar to the people of Ireland to explain the Christian message. Perhaps most famous among those symbols was the use of the shamrock to demonstrate how God is both three and one. God is three like the three leaves of the shamrock. God is also one like the stem of the shamrock. The three is the one; and the one is the three.

In generations since, many others have tried to use other symbols to explain how the three are also one and the one is the three. Water was the main illustration that was used when I was a child. I still remember being a small child in my Sunday School class and the teacher bringing in a boiling pot with steam rising out of it, a glass pitcher of plain tap water, and a tray of ice cubes to demonstrate that God was three similar to the way water can be a solid, liquid, and gas. But God was also one because each of them is still water. 

Last night a person at our Saturday service reminded me of another illustration that I had forgotten: an apple. An apple has the white flesh, a peel, and a core. Three parts that are all apple, but the three fit together to make one apple.

These illustrations each have their value to make a picture of the way God has revealed Godself through history. Always three. Always one. Always in unity; always in harmony. Three persons limitlessly bonded together in perfect unity to such a degree that there is no distinction between them. They are one person: Father, Son, Spirit.

Complicated

This dynamic puzzle - 3 is 1 is 3 is 1 - has broken the mind of countless generations of people since the dawn of time.

• Before the first humans, God was there in Trinity and Unity.

• Before the first atoms, God was there in Trinity and Unity.

• Before there was light or energy or any other thing, God was there in Trinity and Unity.

This puzzle has broken many minds - as it should. God is infinite and we are finite. God is very, very big and we are very, very small. As our Psalm tells us this morning:

O LORD, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

Our minds cannot grasp limitlessness. Our minds cannot grasp infinity. God true essence cannot even be known. God is too big. God is beyond us.

And yet, God shows us a glimpse of himself. What we are shown is 3 but also 1 but also 3 but also 1. Which leads me to my first point:

When we start by contemplating God who is infinite and limitless, we realize…

Trinity is actually the simplest way God could reveal God-self to us, not the most complex. 

Yes, it breaks out minds, but, remember, we are glimpsing eternity.

Some would say this idea of Trinity is ridiculous because there’s no way 3 can be 1 can be 3 can be 1. But when we understand we are glimpsing limitlessness, we stop asking, how is God who is one also three? And we begin asking, why did God who is infinite stop at 3?

Trinity is the simplest way God could reveal God-self to us, not the most complex. 

“God Dwells in You”

Main point: 

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

SERMON

On this Great Feast Day, the story stands on its own two feet.

On the Day of Pentecost the disciples were gathered in a closed room. The doors were locked, the windows were shut, and they were faithfully waiting, just as they were told to do. They were waiting for what God would do next.

• New things were about to happen. Things they could not imagine. The promise was given by Jesus that he would send the Spirit of Truth as their helper. What did this mean? They didn’t know. So they waited. 

• As they waited and prayed, a mighty, violent wind blew through the closed room and fire appeared above each person there. The elements were breaking out in symbol and in power. 

• Wind is like breath, is like spirit - which hovered over the deep at the creation of the world. 

• Fire is like power, is like terror, is like fear - which surrounded Mt. Siani when God gave Moses the Law.

• God was doing a new thing. Something they could hardly imagine or understand.

We see in the wild story of Pentecost, God bringing capital “L” LIFE to God’s people through creative, explosive, even terrifying new ways - as the Spirit blows through with a mighty rushing wind and pillars of fire appear over each person’s head. 

God is not finished doing these things. The Day of Pentecost was just the beginning.

God is still doing a new thing in us today. 

• Last night, five of our precious children were baptized into Christ through water and the Spirit down in Duck Creek. They are saying yes to God in response to the great yes that God has said to all of us through the Spirit. For in Christ everything is “Yes” and “Amen.” 

• Today, three people said yes to being a part of this body as they continue to move with what the Spirit is doing in them and in us. 

But we may still wonder - what does it mean? Why do we tell this story? What is the big deal?

This is the great message of Pentecost: God, who formerly made his presence in the world known through the brick-and-mortar Temple in Jerusalem and the Torah which he gave to Moses on tablets of stone, has now taken up residency in the hearts of his people by his Spirit and by his Spirit has written his Law on our hearts. In a word, God dwells in you. Not a piece of God. Not a trickle or taste. God. God dwells in you.

This is a marvelous mystery. If you have been a Christian for some time like I have, it may be a feature of our faith that we take for granted. But I pray we will remind ourselves of this deep mystery today and stand in awe. The God who made the universe lives inside of me.

The implications of this mystery are rich. I’ll share two of them with you today.

Two Indwellings: Individual and Collective

First, the Scriptures tell us that God resides in each of us individually and each of us, individually, are a temple of God’s Spirit. St. Paul, in the sixth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, says, Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Because God is in you…

1. You are never alone. In the loneliness of your home or the loneliness in the middle of the grocery store, God is with you. You can talk to God and God promises to hear your prayer. You can turn to God any time and all the time. At your lowest moment or at the height of ecstasy. Every moment you live, God is present with you.

2. God will guide you through all things into the Way of Life. There is an itch in all of us that tells us things aren’t the way they are supposed to be - no in our world and not in ourselves. But because God is in you, you have an advocate/friend/helper who is the Giver and Author of Life. And this friend pushes, encourages, and comes alongside of us to lead us into the path that is full of LIFE. 

“That They May All Be One”

Main point: Our unity is an outgrowth of the unity God shares in the Godhead.

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

TEXT

John 17:20-26

"I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them."

SERMON

INTRODUCTION

As we look at these words of Jesus this morning I would like to start with this question: What is the church? What are we here for? 

If the church is a social club, I don't need it. I have friends. I have a family. I have more opportunities for social engagement that I know what to do with. If this is a social club, I don't need it. 

If the church is a place for ancient religious ritual alone, I don't need it. There are many places I could go to get that itch scratched. There are places who do it better than us. If it was just for ancient religious rituals, not sure the purpose that would serve. It's just a place for that, I don't need it.

If the church is a place where I just come to develop my personal Christian faith, I don't think I even need that. There are more direct ways of developing my personal faith. There are places I can go and people I can listen to in order to take in spiritually nourishing content. Spending time at home in prayer and Bible reading might do more for my personal faith than coming to church on a weekend. If this is a place where I come to develop my personal Christian faith, I don't need that. 

So what is the church? What is it that we are doing together? In a word, we are putting God on display for the world. In love. In unity. In worship. We are an outgrowth of God. God who is three in one. Atemporally existent in mutual harmony and submission. Perfectly unified in love. 

When we exist together as the church, we put this God - we put this reality - on display for the world to see. 

In our gospel today, you see a prayer from Jesus that those who follow him may be one just as he is one with the Father. By this, Jesus says, the world will know God.

 I invite you, today, to pause and consider how fully our practice - week by week, month by month, year by year - serves as a testimony to the world of this God who dwells together in perfect unity.

Jesus prays for unity. Why?

Why a prayer for unity?

Why would Jesus pray this prayer for Christian unity? Why - in the final couple of days of his life - in the longest prayer he prayed retained in our Scriptures - of all the things that he could pray for - why would he pray for Christian unity?

1. Answer 1: Perhaps he could see the future disunity of his people and it grieved his heart. Perhaps he could see the strain, the pain, and the hurt of broken relationships in the church. Perhaps he mourned over the divisions he could see among the disciples - even while he was still with them. Perhaps he could even see 18th Street in Bettendorf, IA where - in the span of 2 miles - 8 denominations are represented (Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Wesleyan, Nondenominational) with very little unity shared among them.
   

“Secure in God’s Hands”

Main point: Our being is held in an absolutely secure relationship with the one who created us.

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

TEXT

John 10:22-30

At that time the Festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.

So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me, but you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep.

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all else, and no one can snatch them out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one."

SERMON

Introduction

A special greeting goes out this morning to Mothers as we honor and remember all of those who have mothered us in our lives, but especially those particular women who gave birth to us. God’s richest blessings on you for the many ways you sacrifice and love us. We honor you. 

And for all of you out there who somehow missed the memo, today is Mother’s Day. You might want to take note.

Today is also the Fourth Sunday of Eastertide on which we traditionally celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. We read Psalm 23 and look to Jesus who is the Good Shepherd. Shepherding, especially as it pertains to the way Jesus Shepherds us, is a word which describes a relationship. Jesus shepherds his sheep. They know his voice and they follow him.

The portion of John 10 which we read in Year C offers strong words of comfort. Secure words. They show to us how utterly and absolutely secure Jesus’ sheep are in that shepherding relationship. The way that secure relationship is described is so profound we likely miss its significance with a cursory reading so I would like to read the last few lines of our gospel again. See if you can allow them to sink more deeply into your hearts. 

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

From the absolute security of this relationship between Jesus the Shepherd and us his sheep stems all manor of blessing for the Christian life. Courage to face adversity. Confidence in troubling circumstances. Generosity in times of scarcity. Because when one experiences the guarantee of security in the most foundational of our relationships we can say with St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, If God be for us, who can be against us?

Addressing the Lies that Stem From Our Brokenness

This secure attachment to God in Christ which leads us to build healthy, fulfilling, and long-lasting relationships with others. It leads us to trust others more easily, communicate more effectively, and feel more comfortable with ourselves when no one else is around, and manage conflict in healthy ways. This is the promise of God. This is the good news of this Good Shepherd Sunday. This is the reality for our lives.

But, in fact, there are voices which actively oppose the good news we hear in these verses. They wiggle their way in to disrupt our experience of the true security we have in the hands of Christ. These opposing voices could be described in two categories: 1) the voices in our own hearts and 2) the voices in the world around us. Part of the process to truly hear and experience the secure attachment we have in the hands of Christ is to name those opposing voices. So let’s name them this morning.

“Peter is Restored”

Main point: The risen Christ meets Peter where he needs to be met in order to restore him to the mission Jesus originally called him to.

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

When you walked into the church building this morning you may have noticed you were surrounded by a school of fish. On the doors, fish! On the walls, fish! Everywhere, fish! Last night, the kids in Children’s Church had fun cutting out 153 fish - the specific number listed in our text - and hanging them around the church as they learned about Peter and the great catch of fish. Abundance. The bigness of God who provides for us everything we need.

SERMON

Introduction

If you were with us last week you may recall that we learned from St. Thomas the Apostle about faith and doubt in the life of the Christian as we looked at the story of his encounter with the resurrected Christ. This week we learn from St. Peter’s encounter with the resurrected Christ about the way God works to restore his children when we are broken.

First, let’s get to know Peter a little bit. Compared to Thomas, the story of Peter is much more prominent in our Scriptures. Peter pops up so regularly we hardly notice when he does.

You may recall…

• Peter is the one to whom Jesus declared, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church.”

• When Jesus asks Peter, “Who do you say that I am.” Peter declares with confidence, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

• Peter is also one of three disciples who witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain and offers up the idea to build three monuments - one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah - to commemorate the revelation of God’s glory.

• A couple of weeks ago, we saw Peter at the Last Supper who, when Jesus got up to wash the feet of the disciples, said, “No way, Jesus, you can’t wash my feet. I’m going to wash yours.” To which Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash your feet then you will have no part of me.” Peter only half understood what Jesus was saying so he, in turn, replied, “Well, if that’s the case, don’t stop with just my feet! Wash all of me!”

• Peter is also the one who stood up against the soldiers who came to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. Peter pulled his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, the servant of the High Priest. But Peter didn’t get it right. Jesus tells him, “Peter, put away your sword. I could call a thousand angels to fight for me in a moment, but that’s not how my kingdom will come about.”

From each of these encounters, we get a little taste of what Peter was like. We find: Peter is a man with gusto. He’s quick to speak but often doesn’t know what he’s saying. Peter is given to extremes. You can tell he’s eager to please Jesus. His heart is usually in the right place, but what he says and what he does doesn’t always perfectly match the situation at hand.

Today, we encounter Peter in the middle of a twofold crisis.

1. First, Peter failed in a big way by abandoning his closest friend in his time of need. Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church,” but the rock crumbled under pressure. And not only did he crumble, He crumbled in public. The story of his failure made its way around the Christian community, so now, he’s a public failure too.

2. Second, Peter recently watched Jesus die - and with the death of Jesus also died all of the hopes of the dreams they shared for a new world. Perhaps Peter blamed himself for Jesus’s death. Perhaps he said “If I was just more brave or if I would have done something differently… If I was just better than I am, this whole catastrophe could have been avoided.”

Peter is broken. So what does he do? Peter goes fishing.

“Faith and Doubt: Two Sides of the Same Coin”

Main point: St. Thomas the Apostle is a worthy muse to lead us into the realm of Christian faith rooted in the resurrection of Jesus.

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

SERMON

Introduction

Easter greetings from Pastor Amy Dillard. She sent a text to me on Easter wishing you all the blessings of the resurrection. With all of the hubbub of that great feast day, I forgot to pass along her greetings, so I am doing that now.

Also, Easter greetings from our Bishop Amy Current. You might like to know that four times/year the Bishop gives the gift of a pre-recorded sermon to the pastors in our synod. One of those is the Sunday following Easter to give us a chance to catch our breath. In these sermons the Bishop would be able to greet you herself. I arranged to use her gift this morning for worship, but I made the mistake of reading our gospel on Monday as I typically do when I prepare for a Sermon for the coming weekend. This gospel planted a seed so deeply in my mind that I couldn’t shake it. So I hope you all and the Bishop do not think me ungrateful for her gift, but I couldn’t help but organize a few thoughts of my own concerning this encounter with St. Thomas.

The more I thought about Thomas this week, the more I was drawn into him. I wanted to study him, because there seemed to be so much more to this person and this episode that merits more than a casual glance. St. Thomas the Apostle is a worthwhile muse to lead us into the realm of Christian faith rooted in the resurrection of Jesus. 

Part 1: A Brief Biography

Who is Thomas?

• Often referred to as “Thomas the Doubter” or Doubting Thomas.

• Thomas the Apostle - Feast Day is July 3rd.

• Thomas the Twin

• Thomas the Martyr

St. Thomas comes with his own unique tradition and story.

Tradition tells us that the 12 apostles cast lots to decide who would carry the message of Jesus to the areas of the world beyond the city of Jerusalem and the region of Judea. You may recall that Jesus told his followers to carry the message of his victory over sin, death, and the evil forces of the world to the ends of the earth.

The lot fell on Thomas to travel eastward toward what is now India. The story goes that Thomas desperately did not want to go to the east so the Lord appeared to Thomas to assure him that this was his calling and that he would not be alone. God would go with him.

Thomas’ contributions are often overlooked in our western/latin church, but this is not so in the eastern church. In fact, there are entire church traditions, some of them Lutheran (co-members, like us, in the Lutheran World Federation), who trace their apostolic heritage all the way back to St. Thomas instead of St. Peter.