“The Confirmed Life Is Present Sorrow and Future Joy”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear fellow confirmed [and soon-to-be confirmed] baptized heirs of
God’s good gifts, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord. [Amen.]
“Let us suffer here with Jesus, And with patience bear our cross.
Joy will follow all our sadness; Where He is, there is no loss.
Though today we sow no laughter, We shall reap celestial joy;
All discomforts that annoy Shall give way to mirth hereafter.
Jesus, here I share Your woe; Help me there Your joy to know.
“Let us gladly die with Jesus. Since by death He conquered death,
He will free us from destruction, Give to us immortal breath.
Let us mortify all passion That would lead us into sin;
And the grave that shuts us in Shall but prove the gate to heaven.
Jesus, here with You I die, There to live with You on high.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
685:2-3)
Gospel
Reading.....................................................................................
St. John 16:20 & 22
22So 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. 20Truly, truly, I say to
you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be
sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
Prologue: “In the Church of St. Nicholas in Amsterdam, Holland,
there is a wonderful chime of bells. If you go into the tower of the
church, you will see a man with wooden gloves on his hands pounding on a
keyboard. As you listen, you hear nothing but the clanging of the keys and
the harsh, deafening noise of the bells over your head. From that position
the bells seem to have no harmony or meaning whatever.
“But if you were standing out on the street a few blocks away, you
would be entranced by the beautiful harmony of the bells.
“So it is with the sorrows of life. They often seem harsh, cruel, and
inexplicable. But in later years they will have an entirely new meaning.
We will see then that the omniscient hand of God was producing sweet and
harmonious music in our lives, and we did not know.” (Encyclopedia of Sermon
Illustrations compiled by David F. Burgess. Copyright © 1988 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page. 189.)
[Tomorrow / Today] there [will be / are] 18 young people sitting
in the front pews of our sanctuary who will [soon] take a giant step in
their spiritual lives. They will confirm their Baptism vows as so many of
us did years, some years, and even many years ago … vows that were made in
our behalf for us by parents and/or sponsors at our Baptism. At the same
time they will be reassured of God’s ongoing promises to them that He made
at their Baptism, promises to be with them always even to the close of the
age, to never leave them nor forsake them, and to always be their God and
keep them as His children. Of course, it’s also a time for us to remember
the vows that we made at our confirmation and the promises God made to us as
well.
This ought to be and, to a large degree, certainly is an exciting,
joyful, and celebrative time in their lives. After all, they will soon be
invited to partake of Christ’s true supernatural body and blood hidden in
the natural elements of consecrated unleavened bread and fermented wine for
the certain assurance of the forgiveness of their sins, healing of their
sin-sick souls, and eternal life with Jesus in heaven. And that’s something
about which to certainly be excited, joyful, and celebrative!
But sadly, there’s another side to this spiritual coin. Being
baptized children of the heavenly Father and making the good confirmation
confession of faith in Jesus invites the devil, the world, and our fallen
flesh to rear up their sinfully-ugly heads in vicious attacks to separate us
and God’s flock of vulnerable lambs and sheep from Himself. And believe me
when I say it, they will unleash attacks on [you young confirmands and] all
of us that will sometimes seem, well, intolerable.
So it is in the lives of [tomorrow’s / today’s / you] young
confirmands and all of us who have confirmed the faith given us in Holy
Baptism that …
“The Confirmed Life Is Present Sorrow and Future Joy.”
Today’s Gospel Reading related an event that occurred prior to our
Savior’s crucifixion. In it, “Christ promise[d] to return after His
resurrection and turn the disciples’ sorrow into joy.” That was especially
important for them then and us today because “Human sorrow can become an
expression of self-pity, hindering genuine prayer for God’s help and
deliverance. Yet, God knows how to turn our sorrow into joy, and He
promises to hear our prayers for Jesus’ sake.” (The Lutheran Study Bible.
E. A. Engelbrecht, Gen. Ed. Copyright © 2009 Concordia Publishing House,
St. Louis, MO. Page 1816.) The disciples experienced confusion and sorrow
that resulted in logical and even familiar questions from which we can learn
that …
I. “What Does This Mean?” Is a Lifelong Question to Ponder. (16-18)
16[Jesus said:] “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a
little while, and you will see me.” 17So some of his disciples said to one
another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not
see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am
going to the Father’?” 18So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a
little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”
The catechetical instruction that precedes and prepares
catechumens for confirmation is riveted with Reverend Doctor Martin Luther’s
question, “What does this mean?” Well, truth be known, Doctor Luther did
not originate that question. After all, it’s found at least twice in the
Bible, one time each in the Old and New Testaments.
In the context of Moses relaying God’s instructions for the Feast
of Unleavened Bread to the Israelites He said: “And when in time to come
your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong
hand the Lord [Yahweh] brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.’”
(Ex 13:14 ESV) Then centuries later in the context of the Pentecost event
when Christ’s disciples were miraculously able to proclaim the crucified and
resurrected Jesus in languages that they did not previously know, Doctor
Luke recorded: “And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another,
‘What does this mean?’” (Acts 2:12-13 ESV)
Many present-day Bible students (among whom I prayerfully hope all
of us are included) ask that same question, “What does this mean?”, about
things that we read in the Bible that are confusing, frustrating, and
difficult to understand. As I told my Level 2 public and home school
Catechism students this past Wednesday, such questions that sincerely seek
additional knowledge and understanding are not evidence of stupidity.
Rather, they indicate keen intellect that’s seeking to build on and enhance
already-acquired knowledge and understanding.
Among the many spiritual items about which we ask “What does this
mean?” is sorrow like what the disciples experienced in the face of their
fear, fright, and confusion that followed Jesus telling them: “A little
while, and you will see me no longer.” Sorrow is certainly no stranger to
us either. Various trials that result from sin itself as well as our daily
struggle against the devil, the world, and our own flesh often result in
sorrow. In fact, “At times the trials make the living hope in Christ seem
distant and dim. But the trials do not diminish the gift. In suffering we
are joined to the suffering of Jesus Christ, and the strength of God is
displayed. He has had mercy on us in our weakness and continues to have
mercy on us as we weakly struggle.” (Visitation: Resources for the Care of
Souls. Arthur A. Just Jr. and Scot A. Kinnaman, Ed. Copyright © 2008
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 75.) In addition, the
Reverend Doctor Matthew Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod, concluded his lead article “Why do we suffer trials?” in the most
recent May 2017 issue of The Lutheran Witness by reminding us that “If we
did not have trials, we wouldn’t pray much and wouldn’t seek out God’s Word
much. But the trials pull it all together and drive us into Christ’s
blessed life, death, resurrection and life eternal, come what may.”
So it is that “‘What Does This Mean?’ Is a Lifelong Question to
Ponder” confidently realizing that …
II. Jesus Knows and Answers Our Spiritual Questions. (19 & 21)
19Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “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’? 21When 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.”
Jesus didn’t leave His disciples hanging in the noose of
ignorance. Rather, He concisely and yet fully answered their spiritual
question. And the answer was, well, Himself! That is, although they would
experience temporary sorrow over their separation from Jesus during His
three-day death-sleep, they would be reunited with Him following His
resurrection.
Therein lies the precise significance of His “Peace be with you”
greeting to the disciples. He thereby declared to them: “I am with you!”
When we share God’s peace publicly in the Divine Service and personally with
one another we thereby give and receive that comfort of being reminded that
Jesus is with us. In addition, His presence with us is further communicated
to us in the reading and hearing of God’s Holy Word, the remembrance of Holy
Baptism, the declaration of Holy Absolution, and the partaking of Christ’s
true body and blood in Holy Communion.
In those ways, Jesus extends His peace to us by reminding us that
He is with us, will always be with us, and will never leave us nor forsake
us. And although “We stumble and sin many more times than we even know or
recognize,” our heavenly Father “Look[s] away from … our wickedness; [and]
in [His] boundless compassion look[s] upon [His] dear Son, Jesus Christ.”
(Lutheran Book of Prayer. Compiled and edited by Scot Kinnaman. Leather
Gift Edition Copyright © 2005 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
Page 64.) For He alone is the spotless Lamb of God, who atoned for the sins
of all people of all time “with His holy, precious blood and with His
innocent suffering and death, that [we] may be His own and live under Him in
His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and
blessedness.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986,
1991 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Pages 16 & 119.)
In conclusion, therefore, “The famous artist Thomas Nast once
sought to explain the mystery of sorrow. With rapid strokes of his brushes
he painted a beautiful country scene on a canvas—green meadows, fields ripe
with grain, a house and barn, a rippling brook, birds in the trees, and a
bright, blue sky with fleecy clouds. He stepped back from the easel, and
the audience applauded loudly. It was a wonderful, peaceful scene.
“’But,’ he said, ‘the picture is not finished,’ and turned to brush it
with dark, somber colors. Sweeping the canvas with apparent recklessness,
he made daubs and blotches such as a child might make in smearing. Out went
the blue sky and peaceful countryside until only a patch of each was left at
the top and bottom. ‘Now,’ he said, ‘the picture is finished and perfect.’
No one applauded. All sat puzzled and doubtful.
“The the artist turned the picture on one end, and the whole crowd
gasped in amazement, for now they saw a beautiful, dark waterfall, masses of
water pouring over moss-covered rocks and raising rainbow hues in the air.
He had changed the first quiet scene into the rich, beautiful second one
while the audience thought he was ruining the canvas.” (Encyclopedia of
Sermon Illustrations. Pages 189f.)
In like manner, …
“The Confirmed Life Is Present Sorrow and Future Joy.”
Prompted by the prospect of that future eternal joy, let’s do as
today’s Introit said, namely, “Shout for joy to God, all the earth.
Alleluia. Sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
Alleluia. Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power
that your enemies come cringing to you.’” (Ps 66:1-3 ESV) As we do so, let’s
also keep in mind that …
I. “What Does This Mean?” Is a Lifelong Question to Ponder. (16-18) Of
course, the ultimate answer lies in Jesus Christ, because of whom today’s
Epistle Reading reminded us: “See what kind of love the Father has given to
us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. 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, because we shall see him as
he is.” (1 John 3:1a-2 ESV) Even as we ponder that precious priceless
truth, so also let’s never forget and always remember that …
II. Jesus Knows and Answers Our Spiritual Questions. (19 & 21) After
all, today’s Old Testament Reading prophetically spoke to that truth: “The
steadfast love of the Lord [Yahweh] never ceases; his mercies never come to
an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. For the
Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have
compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not
willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.” (Lam 3:22-23 31-33 ESV)
So, we raise our hearts and voices in behalf of our 18 junior
confirmands as well as all who have made the confirmation confession of
faith in the expressive prayer of today’s Collect: “Grant faithfulness to
all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Church that they may
avoid whatever is contrary to their confession and follow all such things as
are pleasing to You.”
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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