Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church

So when Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd, He is saying that He is the Son of David, that He is the Messiah, that He is God. And when He says, I am the door, He is saying that He is the gatekeeper, the one who opens and closes -- not the door of the Temple or Tabernacle, or the door of the synagogue, but the door of heaven. His sheep enter through Him.

One of the things I really appreciate about the Scriptures is their honesty -- the people in these pages aren't superheroes! They're just like us. They fail and sin. They get confused. They are slow to learn. So it was with those two disciples as they left Jerusalem after the Passover. They were sad and dejected, just as we would have been. Just as we often are. So Jesus comes to these two. He doesn't expect them to figure it out on their own. We need to be taught. We need to be straightened out.

The book of Acts tells us how disciples were being arrested, threatened, imprisoned, and beaten. And more than that, the Jewish leaders wanted to kill them, just as they had Jesus. And yet they went on. Not because they were the ones who woke up from a bad dream, but because Jesus did! Jesus is the one who woke up from the dead after being threatened, arrested, imprisoned, beaten, and finally crucified. Jesus was alive, risen from the dead. So the disciples could go on.

In our marriage liturgy, the bride and groom vow their faithfulness to one another until death us do part. As joyous as they are, all marriages begin with that reality -- they will not last forever. But on the wedding day, the joy far outshines that reality. That was the situation for the disciples. He told them that he was going to be betrayed, arrested, and crucified. He didn't tell them when. So the joy of being with Him, enabled them to safely tuck that reality away.

Finally, Jesus is dead. Finally, things can get back to normal. What they didn't realize is that normal was the problem. Normal is what God did not want. So He sent His Son. And finally, the promise made to Adam and Eve was fulfilled. Finally, the Lamb is sacrificed. It is finished. And finally, all will be right again. Finally, a very Good Friday, indeed.

It was bloody. Very bloody. The Old Testament Tabernacle and later the Temple. They were not clean and sanitary places like our churches and homes. Because they were places of sacrifice. Animals were slain there. And their blood was poured out, splashed, sprinkled, thrown against, and wiped upon people and things. And it was important to do so because, as we heard tonight, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Fear not. We heard those words at the beginning of the service this morning, in the Palm Sunday Gospel. It was a quote from the prophet Zechariah, that the Lord was coming to set things right. So fear not. With the Lord there is hope. Jesus enters with the people crying out Hosanna, which means save us. And He will. By not saving Himself.

Those who mock Jesus do so by acknowledging the truth -- He saved others. And look -- He cannot save Himself. Well, that's not quite the truth. He could, but would not. But to those mocking, that's the same thing. To them, if He could, He would. That He doesn't is proof that He can't. Because first and foremost in this world and life you take care of yourself. That's true of a sinful world, a world curve in, bent in on itself.

Today we've reached the Fifth Sunday in Lent. It is the start of Passiontide, the last two weeks of this Lenten season. So what have you learned this Lenten season? If you had to sum up the Lenten season in one word, what would it be? Hope. Lent is so I might have hope.

Thy kingdom come, Jesus taught us to pray. But how often it is MY kingdom that I want to come. And I would like God to help me make that happen. But if MY kingdom comes, that makes ME the king, not God. And that is not good. And so it was with the Jewish leaders, and Pilate, and Herod. They all had their own kingdoms. You see this clash of kingdoms isn't really a clash at all. There is really only one king, and He is in control.

Who can see? Who is blind? That isn't just a question for Jesus' day. Today, this debate rages on as well. Both in the world and in the church. Consider the economy and inflation. Some say spending more will improve things. Others say spending more will just make it worse. But while important, these are questions that pale in comparison to questions that concern eternal life. And so the account we heard today -- a story not so much of a man born blind who can now see, but of how we see Jesus. And how Jesus sees us.

Truth and consequences. That's what we heard in the Passion reading tonight. First up in the reading tonight were those false witnesses against Jesus. But Jesus tells the truth. Though He knows there will be consequences for it. But, He is willing to suffer the consequences. This is why He came, God in the flesh. To be life in the midst of a world of death. To be love in the midst of a world of hate. To be truth in the midst of a world of lies.

They would all be offended and scattered. The Shepherd would be one me. Alone. Jesus was one man against the power arrayed against Him. One man from whom a simple spoken word conquered all the might of man. Until He gave Himself into their hands. To fulfill the word that of those you gave me I have lost none. Tonight we see all the weakness of men, and the strength of one, of Jesus.

Have you ever been in a conversation where you're just not communicating? You're talking about the same thing, you're using the same words, and yet, somehow, you're not connecting. That's what's happening with Jesus and Nicodemus in the account we heard today. Nicodemus needs what we all need -- not just facts or information or a checklist of what to do or do better. What Nicodemus needs, and what we all need, is a new way of thinking. A God doing for us way of thinking.

What will you give me? That just might be the question of our age. What's in it for me? This question cares not about the giver, only what is given. To me. For me. This is what sin has done to us. Curved us in on ourselves. How different Jesus. For Jesus' reality is not the sinful reality we inhabit, but of Eden. He doesn't want from you, He wants you. He doesn't want from you, He wants only to give to you.

That sin that you confessed tonight, I took that sin, Jesus says. And that one... and that one... and that one, too. All of them. So Ash Wednesday. It's about sin, it's about confession, it's about death, it's about dust you are and to dus you will return. You are unworthy. This is true. But Jesus knew all that, all your sin and unworthiness, before He came. That's why He came. And that's why this is all gift.

Not long after John the Baptist baptized Jesus, some of John's disciples came to him and told him that Jesus -- or, at least, some of Jesus' disciples -- were baptizing and all the people were going to Him! To which John said, Good! They should. He must increase and I must decrease. And maybe it seems as if that's what the Transfiguration is all about. But not so. The reality is actually the very opposite of that. What Jesus is doing, what we see testified in the Transfiguration, is not a man increasing but the Son of God decreasing.

You make choices all the time. Should I do this or that? Should I go there or stay home? Now most of the time, those are probably not life and death decisions, though they may have a negative impact on your life if you do not choose wisely. But sometimes there may be life and death involved. The people of Israel though they were making a good decision, thought they were choosing life when those chose not to go into the Promised Land the first time they got to the border. In reality, they were choosing death and evil. For they were turning away from God and His Word.

Last week we heard the Beatitudes, the beginning of Jesus' teaching called the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes come at the beginning of Jesus' teaching because they set the stage for His life and the rest of what He will say. And so it is with that foundation that we move onto the teaching of Jesus that we heard today. It's important that we keep this all together, that we build on this foundation laid last week, as we hear Jesus say that you are the salt of the earth... you are the light of the world.

Sometimes it's good to start at the end. That's what Jesus does today. We heard today the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes. Jesus is just getting started on His public ministry and His teaching. But He speaks of the end. Of rewards. Of blessings. Of the kingdom of heaven. He didn't have to. But sometimes it's good to start at the end. Because honestly, while we're on the way, it may not seem like everything is blessed. So Jesus starts at the end.