Easter 4 draft

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! Amen.

For this Sunday and the next three we are going to be moving around in John 16, listening in on the conversation Jesus had with His disciples on Maundy Thursday. I want to you think for a moment that that Maundy Thursday would have been like. Right after Supper, after the first celebration of the Lord's Supper, Jesus has a frank discussion with the disciples. They don't know it, but in less than 24 hours, Jesus will be Crucified, and that will turn the disciples' lives utterly upside down. And yes, Easter is coming – but also after Easter there will be the Ascension, and then Pentecost, and so many things for the Disciples will be so vastly different than they are now. So, Jesus teaches. He emphasizes to the Disciples and to us what life will be like in the New Testament church. For years, basically since the beginning, the people of God had been waiting for the coming of the Messiah – now what's it going to be like after the Messiah has come?

Jesus concludes a bit of a speech with the first line of our Gospel reading today. A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me. Jesus just drops this out there for the disciples to ponder – and they are utterly confused. They were in fact utterly confused by a lot of what Jesus had been doing and teaching, especially that night. Actually, I think this is a good reminder for us. Jesus isn't offended or upset by our confusion. Our value, our relationship with Jesus does not depend upon how well we understand, how well our ducks are in a row, how well we have everything together. The disciples were often confused, and likewise my dear friends, we are often going to be confused in this life. There are going to be times when we have no clue what is going on, what is happening. There are going to be times we don't have the answers, even when things are staring us straight in the face. That doesn't shock Jesus. In fact, your Lord Jesus is patient enough that He will end up working through confusion and teach us patiently. Jesus doesn't demand immediate results, nor does He spoon feed answers. He knows the struggles of life, and He knows that they are indeed struggles. So be it – our confusion doesn't matter. Jesus knows what is going on, and that's the important thing.

And when the time is right, He will clear away our confusion. Jesus knew that they wanted to ask Him. Again, just another quick point. Jesus knew what the disciples wanted to ask Him. Likewise, Jesus knows all the things that you wish to ask Him. When we are in confusing times, burdensome times – those are times where we really ought to pray more often. But sometimes in our pride, we don't want to pray a confused prayer – we think our prayers should be clear, orderly, straight to the point and we ought to know what is best. That's not how the Scriptures describe prayer. St. Paul says that they are often groanings too deep for words – you know, confused and from a place of pain and stress. That's fine. Don't hesitate to pray, don't hesitate to take your concerns to Jesus, or your confusion, your uncertainity, the times you do not know what to pray for. That's fine – you don't have to know. Jesus knows. And when the time is right, when it is good for you to know, Jesus will clear away our confusion.

So Jesus decides to speak to the disciples again. Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, 'A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me?' Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You guys are wondering about what's going to happen – how events will unfold. Let me give you a different heads up – I've already told you three times that I am going to be Crucified and you don't want to face that. So instead, here's the impact. You will weep, you will lament, even while people around you rejoice. And this is precisely what Good Friday is for the disciples – they are utterly devastated while the wicked cackle with mocking glee as Jesus is crucified. And Jesus doesn't sugar coat it, water it down, anything like that. He acknowledges the lousiness of the situation – He calls it like it is.

One of the hardest things about the Christian life is the fact that we are out of step with the world, that so often the world will rejoice when we are sorrowful – or that the world and people we love will ignore the joys of Christ's forgiveness and mercy and instead angrily mock and deride our Lord, mock and deride us. And it is okay to note that, to see that, to feel that. There's a massive disconnect – that's what sin and unbelief cause, a massive disconnect with God and with each other – and it is sorrowful. And it's okay to note that sorrow, to see it, to feel it. Doesn't make you less of a Christian. I mean, even Jesus Himself weeps when He comes to Lazarus' tomb, even knowing that He's going to raise him from the dead in mere moments. You're are free to feel sorrow.

But Jesus wants you to remember something in the midst of your sorrow, when the sorrow looms large. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. This sorrow, this pain, this suffering, this sin, this death – it doesn't last. It doesn't endure. It has been defeated by Christ Jesus, by His death and resurrection. Doesn't mean that sorrow is somehow less sorrowful, it doesn't mean that sin is less sinny, it doesn't mean that death is any less horrid – but what we do remember is that these enemies and foes do give way. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish for joy that a human being has been born into the world. The mothers here can attest to this – yes, there is pain, but it will go away, and there's joy to come. Doesn't mean that the pain isn't real. I didn't look at my wife while she was in labor having a contraction and say, “Oh don't worry, this isn't that bad.” But after the kids are born, a mom isn't living in the pains of labor – she's living with her kids, and that's wondrous. And worth it.

When we see hardship in this life, we must remember that Christ Jesus will bring us through it – and that it is okay to acknowledge that the moment is lousy. Terrible example – I got out of bed Sunday night and knew that I starting to throw a kidney stone. I get them. I know how they work for me – push fluid, walk, in a day or two it will pass. I knew that by Wednesday I'd feel better – that didn't change the fact that Monday was lousy. But I did know that there would be relief. And what Satan tries to do with people, with the world, with us, is he tries to convince us that there will never be relief, that there is nothing better to come – that this pain and suffering is really as good as it will ever get. And there are times even, to the way of the thinking of the world, that this is sort of true. Sometimes the Doctor says you probably won't get better – and for this life that may be true. But listen to Jesus – So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

This is the truth of your Christian faith. You will see Jesus. You will see your risen Lord. And that day, that moment, the joy of the resurrection of the body – we can't comprehend it. Even John, who was at that Maundy Thursday, who saw Jesus risen from the dead, he can't put his finger on it. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him. We are redeemed, forgiven, alive in Christ right now, even in the midst of sorrow and fear and pain. We are the baptized, we are dead to sin and alive to Christ. And yet, we still have to deal with sin and sorrow and fears and all that other junk of life. But the promise remains – You will see Jesus. He died and He rose precisely because He wanted you to see Him, He wants you to stand before Him for all eternity, washed, redeemed, forgiven, living, enjoying His good gifts. That's why He went to the Cross. So that you would see Jesus.

There's a little plaque right here on the pulpit that says, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” Now, in the Church, we see Jesus by preaching, by the Word, by Baptism, but the Supper. We get the real Jesus in these ways – but our vision is obscured by sin and the world – and sometimes that obscuring looms large and harsh. And sometimes we can be discouraged by that fact. St. Paul said that now we see as in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. There will be times you notice that dimness more and more – do not look at the dimness, do not get distracted by that – but rather, see Jesus. Know that Jesus is for you, always. Know that you are forgiven, that your sin is atoned for. This is the truth – and even the sorrows of this life don't change that. And seeing Christ, we have joy now, even in the midst of sorrow – and then we will have joy above and beyond all sorrow. And this is sure, because Christ Jesus has died and risen for you. Amen. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! +

Easter 3 Draft 2020

Christ is Risen, He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! +

We often downplay sin, we treat it as but a trifle as one old hymn puts it. I mean that – whether we talk about white lies or just bad habits – things that are bad but if they are habitual and daily it's no biggie – we tend to downplay sin. We tend to downplay the impact of our own sin – whether it's the addict who says it's not a problem or whether it's the times where we've said, “Well, they are just overreacting.”

Jesus never downplays sin. He never minimizes it. He never poo-poos it and pats it's on its head. He calls sin what it is. And in our Gospel text the image of sin that our Lord uses is that of a ravenous wolf that snatches and scatters a herd of sheep, while the hired hands all run in fear. That's sin in a nutshell, right there. Sin snatches – sin will grab a hold of us and tear into us and shakes and not let go until we die. Anyone slightly uncomfortable hearing that? I am – I am now, and I was during the week, and I was while writing it. There's a reason we tend to keep with those bad habits – they've got their claws into us deeply whenever we care to admit it. And sin scatters – folks who should be together get blasted and blown apart. We see a physical example of this right now – disease and death are a consequence of sin, and we've been scattered and separated now, more certainly. But even before last month, well, none of us have to think too hard to ponder relationships that were blown apart, friendships scattered, and people we were once close to from whom we are utterly distant. And sin drives us to fear, drives us to abandon our duties. The hired hand – he was hired precisely to protect the sheep – but he hears the growls, he sees the teeth and the strong jaws of the wolf – and terror hits him. He is “unmanned” as they would say back in the day, and he flees. I like that word “unmanned” - he ceases to be a man and instead flees like a beast. Sin lessens us – as instead of being whom we were created to be, we give into base emotion and are drive away from those whom God has placed into our lives.

Thus the reality of sin. All described neatly in one verse – He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. Actually, just Jesus just needed the second half of that verse to set up what sin looks like. And if that was all that we had to talk about, this would be a right dour day for us. And these would be right dour days for us. And we'd be left with nothing but fear and panic and dread – the fear and panic and dread that is floating in the air right now – and it's rightly to be there. People are seeing face to face the impact of sin, the impact of death – an impact long denied. People are seeing that there's not quick and simple governmental solution, that a simple change of policy won't perfect anything. Trust not in princes, they are but mortal – and seeing this drives the fear deeper into so many bellies.

But did you note what else Jesus said? All this impact, all this sin unleashed, all this terrible reaction – it's all from either the sheep or from folks who do not own the sheep. The owner, Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd – well, His reaction to sin is quite different than ours.

I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. You aren't just left on your own – in spite of what the fear driving you away from others might try to tell you, in spite of what your own shame over derelicted duties might make you feel. Sin attempts to scatter, to isolate. Sin tries to drive a wedge between you and God, and that wedge is in a word, death. God gives life and blessing – sin brings as its wage death. And it would have, except for one mind boggling thing. Jesus Christ, your God and Lord, lays down His life for you. When you are snatched away from Him by sin into death, He dives willingly into death for you.

And at first, this sounds like the most idiotic thing in the world. What shepherd ought lay down his life for the sheep? Is not the shepherd worth more than the sheep? I mean, this doesn't seem worth it, or heroic – the economics and math don't line up. That's because we don't own the sheep – economics and price think about selling the sheep or utilizing the sheep or turning a buck off the sheep – and that's never been Christ's relationship with you. He's never viewed you simply on the basis of your utility to Him, how much wool He could sheer you for. No, simply this – you are His, and He delights in you. The great sheep story of the Old Testament is the one Nathan tells David – think on it. “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds,  but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.” That's not economics and profitability – that's the rich man's world. No – love, loves it like a daughter. Some rich man watching a tragedy unfold won't run into a barn to save a sheep – that's why you have insurance after all. Risking all to rescue your daughter – that's another thing entirely.

And so when you hear that Jesus is your Good Shepherd, He's not a Shepherd who views you merely as a commodity – He is your Shepherd who loves you, and there is no way on His green earth that He is just going to let Sin and Satan and Death get their wolfy little paws on you. And so He lays down His life for you – He chases down sin and death, dives right on into the pit where they hid, and He rips them apart. For your good. To rescue and redeem you. You bring you back home upon His shoulder rejoicing.

Jesus doesn't abandon His duty – He loves you constantly and continually, and His steadfast love endures forever. And Jesus is not scattered from you – all the things that you think would drive Him away, He forgives – Peace be with you. And even should death snatch you – so be it, for Christ is there and yet you will live. This the reality of the Christian faith – this is the truth we hear and delight in and sing forth. This is the truth that forgives the sin in our own life and calms our fears and forgives each other when we sin – you note that – we begin service by forgiving each other. Utterly astonishing, that. Mayhaps this stay at home stuff has just taught us how much we need to be forgiven and to forgive others. Because over and against the hardship of sin, you have forgiveness in life in Christ Jesus, because you are His, and He will not let you be taken from Him.

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd. And the voice of Christ Jesus, His Word, goes forth even today. Even unto us – we who most certainly were far from the disciples in terms of both time and space. Even through us unto our own friends and neighbors. You know them, the ones who are fearful and afraid now. Who are snatched and scattered and fleeing in panic. They too are people for whom Jesus died – and you are able to proclaim the peace of Christ Jesus, His love and forgiveness to them – and you will do so as the Holy Spirit gives you the opportunity and the words so to do. When? Beats the tar out of me, I'm not the Holy Spirit – but this is what God does – He gathers sheep into His fold by His Word, by the voice of Jesus – and the Lord does open our lips, and into the midst of a world of sin and fear, even over and against our own sin and fear, the Spirit brings forth the praise of God.

This is what Jesus has always done for you. This is His love for you, for you are His, and He will always readily forgive you and restore you to life, for you are His now and forever. God grant us His Spirit, that we might ever more see this and grow in this, even in whatever strange days we see. Amen. Christ is Risen!

Easter 2 Draft 2020

Christ is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!) Amen +

We hear the Scriptures differently depending upon the events of our lives, what we have been through. You hear things differently as a child than you do as a parent, or a grandparent. Thing resonate differently. Because you have experienced different things in your life, you end up noting, keying in on different things in the text. Now, with that being said, how much different is our Gospel text, how much more keenly does it resonate in our ears this morning. Consider – On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.... There had been the disciples, gathered together in fear. Why? We can't go out there – we go out there in public and there's a good chance we will die. I've preached on this text over 15 times, and I'd bet that every time I've preached it I've taken pains to point out how this is a reasonable fear, how it's understandable for the disciples to be locked up in fear – and I'm sure this text is familiar to you. It sounds a bit different this year, doesn't it? With us having been cooped up, staying inside, going out only when wearing masks?

I'd also be willing to wager that the disciples hated their quarantine, their hiding themselves away as much as we do. I mean, a week later, the second time around in this text, they are still locked up. Things are still rough and strange and bizarre for them. And things are rough and bizarre for us. I reckon that quite a few of us are going a bit stir-crazy, that this is some of the worst cabin or spring fever you've felt. Or the uncertainty, the random dread. Our situation isn't the same as the disciples, clearly – but perhaps now we understand it a bit better. Our comfortable lives have been disrupted, just as theirs had been. And their pious stories had been disrupted too – after all, these were the disciples, the students who had dedicated their lives to following Jesus. Well, I'd say that's been tossed out the window expect the window's closed and locked and nothing is going out it. And likewise too, so many of the pious things we do, the good works that we cherish and value, well – lots of those are are on hold. And it sits poorly, it gnaws. We're Americans – we value hard work and what we do – and that's changed now, so what does that say about me? If I'm not doing what I used to do, what does that say about me?

The disciples weren't doing anything. For three years they had been defined by following Christ, their identity was that they followed Christ and now they are hiding precisely to keep from following Christ to their own graves. What does that say about them? What does that say about how God sees them? Will there be wrath and anger and punishment? Will there be fear never ending? The disciples aren't doing anything – doesn't that mean that God must now hate them?

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Hi there disciples. Peace. With you. Shalom – for you. Yeah, I know you're freaked out, I know you've been lousy – I was there when you all ran off, and you're probably expecting some fire and brimstone, if not an angry mob... but, um... no. No, instead you get Jesus. You get Peace. You get Christ the Crucified who has died and has risen – see the nail prints, see the spear wound – it's the real Jesus. And He says peace. Jesus is the Truth, and He says Peace be with you, even in that locked room to lousy disciples who hadn't been doing a thing.

Now the lie, the terrible damnable lie that we tell ourselves is that our relationship to God is based upon what we do. That God's attitude towards us is shaped by what we do for Him, how hard we work, how devoted we are, how we keep our nose clean, how we might have our faults but at least we don't fill in the blank like the other guy. And we make idols out of our actions – and these idols seem great and good... until they fail and crumble as all idols do. As all of our own actions do. And then comes the fear, the crippling fear that locks us up and wraps us up tight. And that's all based upon a lie – the lie that our relationship to God rests upon what we do. Over and against that, over and against what we think we need to do, or ought to do, or should do – or ought to or should have done – over against all of those recriminations, over and against all of that sin comes Jesus Christ, Christ the Crucified – and He says, “Peace be with you.”

Seriously. Even now. Peace be with you. And this peace doesn't rely upon you, or your actions, or what you have done. It's on Jesus – He's died and risen for you, and so you have peace. Period. And it's not in doubt, it doesn't hang upon you or your reaction – God did it for you well before you were born. All that Jesus has done – for you. So that you would know this peace that He gives. In fact, we hear: Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Recieve the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” There you go fellas – just as I've come into here in the midst of your fear and proclaimed peace to you – you're going to do that for others. You're going to tell them that they are forgiven by Christ the Crucified. Might have to tell them that they are loving their sin idols and not looking at Christ – but the point is to give them Jesus, Jesus Crucified for them. And thus has been the history of the Church.

There, in the upper room that Easter Evening, Christ Jesus made sure that you would have people who would speak Christ's peace to you, this day. Established well before you came along, established well before you did a cotton picking thing, but established for you. Jesus even set up this Church here for you – before any of you were born – put it here so there'd be a place where that peace would be proclaimed, that there would be pastors put here to proclaim in. Because it isn't about you or what you do or don't do – this peace is yours because of Christ Jesus and what He has done.

Oh, but the temptation to not believe! The temptation to think we have to do things, that there are hoops we have to jump through first. Consider much maligned Thomas – Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe. Surely these are the hoops I must jump through, here are the qualifications I need met. I'm going to poke around for myself. Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” And still, Jesus shows up. Still Jesus proclaims peace. Even to grumpy, cynical Thomas. Peace be with you. And then, of course, in what really is one of the more humorous lines of the Scriptures we hear Jesus: Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” I heard you talking smack to My preachers that I sent out. I heard all your bluster and bravado... and I still showed up and proclaimed My Peace to you. I can take your Pepsi Challenge if you want – I mean, you can dig around here if you want to... but the important thing is that I'm here and proclaiming peace – so away with this not-faith demands about what you're going to do and let's get onto faith, shall we. And so it was – Thomas cries out, “My Lord and my God!” Yep, that's who it is who says peace. Your God and Lord.

And Christ Jesus, your Lord and your God still proclaims His peace to you here today, even right smack dab in the midst of your fears, your doubts, the bluster and false bravado you've shown this past week. Right in the midst of your foolish sins, your silly idols – all of it. And your Risen Lord has sent forth His Word and Spirit to proclaim to you this same peace, proclaim to you this forgiveness that He has won for you. It's all been written and read and proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ – that He has done it – and you... you believe. You hear, you receive what Christ does – and you simply get life. In His Name. The Name you received as your own in Baptism when He joined Himself to you. The Name proclaimed in His Church, week in and week out. The Name proclaimed in our homes in our own devotions, at our meals. The Name that does actually give peace and forgiveness and righteousness – true righteousness – His righteousness. And all we do is receive this. And even when distracted and fearful, Christ bursts in again and says Peace be with you.

So – once more. Peace be with you. All your sins are forgiven by Christ the Crucified. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! Amen.

Maundy Thursday Viral Draft

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. This verse has always struck me as a bit odd. A new commandment? From the beginning we have been instructed to love one another. When Jesus sums up the Law, He sums it up as “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” How is this “new”?
Well, this is one of those places where as modern, 21^st Century people we don't hear Jesus fully. When we think of “new” we tend to think of the latest, the greatest, the new invention, the novel – that's what “novel” means in the “Novel Coronavirus” - it's just the new one, because there have been plenty of other coronaviruses before. Greek had two words that often get translated into English as new – one you know. Neo. That is new, especially as we think of it. The start, the beginning, a neophyte is a beginning, neo-new. But Jesus here uses the other word for new, and that is Kainos – and this is new, but it is more like new and fresh and clean – like if I were to say, “I love the smell of a new spring day,” I don't mean that there was nothing beforehand, but there's a renewal, freshness, the spring back in the step aspect to it.

Jesus is freshening up the Commandments, He is renewing them. Why? Because we had totally messed up God's commandments, God's law. And what I mean by that isn't just the breaking of the law – we had forgotten what the purpose and point of God's law was. Ever since the fall, ever since we sinned, mankind has misunderstood the point of the law. Sinful man thinks we can use the law to get back on God's good side. Sinful man thinks we can use the law to manipulate God – if I just do X, Y, and Z then I will make God give me blessings. We, in our sin, try to work our way back up to God – we think the law is the way that we elevate ourselves back up to God.

And that's catastrophically dumb. St. Paul points out in Romans that since the fall the Law ought to silence every mouth simply show us our sin, how we have fallen short of the glory of God and that it is impossible to work our way back up to God. But our sinful flesh always wants to try to use our works to manipulate God. That's what we do – we manipulate people by our actions, and we think we can do the same thing with God. And so every act, every thing we did, we made it something we gave up to God to work our way closer to Him.

That was the point of Jesus turning over the tables in the temple, that was why the Chief Priests and the Scribes so fought against Jesus. He overturned their “holy works” in which they trusted. This is why the Pharisees fought against Him – in your pride you leave the temple unjustified, for no one will be justified by his own works. Your scheme, your plan, your way of thinking is wrong. You cannot work your way up to God, that's not how the story goes.

And so, on the night when He was betrayed, Jesus changes the story, refocuses the Disciples and us. John gives this really long introduction to this – Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During Supper, when the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. We can hear this and think, “that's a lot of preamble just to get to the story.” No, it's not. It's important. John is reframing the story. What Jesus is going to do isn't going to earn Him heaven – He's already received everything from the Father. This isn't about buttering up the Father a bit more – this isn't to earn His ticket to heaven. This is simply to love His friends, because that's what Jesus does.

And then, “He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.” Jesus doesn't elevate Himself – He lowers Himself. He's not going to get a thing out of this action, no reward, no merit, no pat on the back. He is simply going to love His friends and serve them – because it's good for them. That's all, that's the only point. Love and care show simply for the sake of those receiving love and care.

Peter balks – Peter didn't understand. Peter would have refused – You shall never wash my feet. No, Jesus, you can't lower yourself, you can't simply serve me. That's not how the pious old story goes – I'm supposed to work and elevate myself up to you. Jesus cuts that off – If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me. Peter, I show love, if and if refuse My love and service, our relationship is broken. That's what sin is – it's refusing to receive God's love and service that He gives to you, it's running off after something else. Which is why Peter then bounds to Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head! Let me give you a better idea, let me tell you how to do things Jesus. And thus it has been since the fall – not just all the other trees, but the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil too! No, Peter – just receive the love, the good gifts that God knows you need.

And so Jesus washed the disciples feet. They had been dirty – now they are clean. And Jesus gained nothing for Himself by this – no honor, no praise. There was no elevation, no self-aggrandizing glory. Simply this – love and service flowing to take care of what was needed. No thought of pay back, no thought of restitution, no thought of merit. This is how it is now. And the commandments are freshened up.

And then Jesus fulfills it all. Then Jesus goes to the Cross, utterly lowering Himself to our level. And He dies, taking up the weight, the filth of our sin upon Himself. Then He rises – and gives us His own life as well. And we are freshened up.

You don't have to do anything to prove yourself to God. You don't have to do good works to get on His good side. You don't even need to attend Church X times to prove your love or devotion to Him. That's not the point. That's not the story. No – God loves you. You are forgiven and redeemed in Christ Jesus. And He gives you blessings. He serves you. And likewise you are free to do so to your neighbor. Not to earn anything – for God already gives you everything and more. Not to prove anything, because Christ Crucified is all the proof of life and salvation that could ever be needed. Not to atone or make up for anything – Jesus has already done that. Nope – we simply receive from God good things, and others receive from God good things sometimes through us. And we are free in Christ Jesus to delight in it all.

Because as Christ loves you, as He fills your cup – so you will love one another, so too will your cup overflow unto them. And not in a “you have to” sense, not in a “you better” sense – simply because this is what Christ gives you to and what Christ brings about in you. You've been freshened up – and yes, you are still sinful now, so there is this constant struggle. You constantly sin, and yet God constantly redeems and works good through you – daily die to sin, daily rise – the new man shining forth. But the same God who redeemed you comes to you and blesses you and enlivens you now. It doesn't hinge upon you, It hinges upon Christ the Crucified, and He has cleansed you. Sometimes sin drives us to forget this – but when He comes again we will be utterly free of sin and we will see nothing but Christ Jesus and His love and blessing for us. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Of course He will – tomorrow we will hear Him cry, “It is finished, it is complete.” He has done it all for you, and now we simply receive, Even in our works, our giving, in truth we simply receive. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +