Wednesday 4/1 Sermon
“What is truth?” It’s the question we heard Pilate asking Jesus after Christ revealed to Him that – yes in fact – He is a King…though His Kingdom is not of this world. He is the Eternal King. He is the King of Peace and of Righteousness. (Or as Jesus said) Christ is the King of truth. Everyone who is of this kingdom of truth listens to Jesus…to His voice.
But again, I’ll echo Pilate’s words, “What is truth?” These words take on a different flavor in our current global situation. Nations and states, kings and presidents, parliaments and congresses, governors and all other authorities have been in council together, trying to wrap their minds around the truth concerning this pandemic. Day by day plans are made based on the latest information – the most recent iteration of truth – and yet the only thing that can be nailed down with any amount of certainty is how uncertain this all is.
I am reminded of the Word of God from St. James in Chapter 4 where we read:
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit" – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (Jas 4:13-16)
Earlier in the Chapter is the line, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” And even earlier “God opposes the proud but give grace to the humble.” Well, let me say, I for one have been humbled over these past days and weeks. Holy week is begins in just a few days and here I am (together with pastors, ministers and musicians around the world) scrambling trying to figure out what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. For the past few weeks the new normal has been, make plans for the next week and then cancel those plans and make new plans day by day.
I’ve told my wife I’ll be home by 6 only to be held hostage by technology, or other unanticipated ministry needs, finally getting back hours after I had planned. I think I need humble myself and take a que from St. James, saying simply “If the Lord wills, I will live through another day and do this or that.”
And this my friends is what I want to talk to you about today: The Lord’s will. In all of the planning, deliberating and mutual counsel of the leaders throughout the world in their various fields, I wonder how many of them have inquired of God’s will. Better yet, of those of us who call ourselves Christians, how many of us are inquiring of God’s will? How many of us are saying, “Thy will be done.”…?
Our readings for today really strike hard against us. Psalm 2 and Isaiah 13 warn all of us about God’s wrath against the proud and arrogant of the world – all who would cast off God and His authority as if they were binding chains. Yet Psalm 2 and 1 John also beckon to us with God’s promise of blessing for all who find refuge in Him, for all who see the not with worldly desirous eyes, but with loving eyes focused on God’s gracious will for us and for our neighbor through Christ. The worldly seeks to cast off the bonds of our eternal Lord and King, but the faithful one desires that the grace of God would, in deed like a fetter (like a shackle), bind our wandering heart to God.
In our Gospel readings, we heard of the plots and plans of the people: the Jewish council was seeking (with its worldly eyes) to put Jesus to death in order to retain their earthly position and authority among the people. Pilate on the other hand was seeking to free Christ, but in the end found no opportunity that wouldn’t put him, his position, and his authority at risk. However, all of these plans (in their worldly successes and failures) did not take into account the plans of Jesus the Christ; they did not take into account the plan of Salvation made by our heavenly Father. For you see, while we are arrogant in our presumptions of what next year, next month, next week or even the next minute will bring, our heavenly Father is not surprised by anything that happens. In fact all that happens is within His care and control.
When God makes plans those plans are not undone. (Not by anything or anyone). No earthly power, or power of the devil, or of our flesh can spoil the plans of our Almighty God. Though we rage and struggle against God’s will, we cannot unbind ourselves from His righteous Law.
That being said, it should be noted that God has demonstrated in the Scriptures that He leaves what we might call wiggle room when it comes to His chains of judgement, and punishment of sin. How is that? Well, quite plainly all of us are guilty of sin and deserve His temporal and eternal punishment, however God calls us through the Gospel of Forgiveness in Jesus to confess and repent. He calls on us to believe the Good News of His gracious love for us in Christ, and to rest in that love rather than struggle to break free from it.
God calls us all to humble ourselves, take stock of our own sins (and as mediators the sins of our nation (our world)), and humbly confess them before Him, seeking His grace and mercy to forgive our sins, and grant us forgiveness and healing – life and salvation. You see, the will of God is not for our death and destruction. But for life and salvation.
But this life and salvation comes not on our terms. It comes by His will and authority…it comes on His terms, through Jesus our Savior who is our King; a King not of this world (in all of its brokenness and sinful desires) but a King who was crowned with thrones and exalted upon a cross, so that we who are haughty might humble ourselves and ask for the forgiveness God freely offers to us on His account.
Citizens of Christ’s Kingdom, the world says the best thing that you can do to bring an end to this pandemic is to sit home and do nothing. I beg to differ. The best thing we can do as members of Christ’s eternal Kingdom is to humble ourselves before God, confess our sins to Him, and beg for His mercy, grace and healing.
Too long have we trusted in (or worshiped) the earthly idols of finance and government, business and expertize. Too long have we pushed God and His authority aside. We must all repent, trusting in God’s mercy and gracious love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord, to grant us pardon and healing.
For in all of this if we get nothing more out of this whole pandemic, I pray that we would come away with a greater sense of the truth. And what is truth? This is truth: God’s plan for you in Christ, is grace…it is mercy and forgiveness. Salvation through the Cross of Christ: that is God’s plan for you. You never need to doubt it. Though every other plan on earth might fail, the unfailing love of God for you in Christ is sure… His grace is sufficient for you. The will of the Father is simple; that you would believe in the name of the one whom He sent, even Jesus Christ our Lord. And the promise is this: whoever does this will of God abides forever. In Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray: