Why Church Buildings Matter

Watching the spire of the cathedral of Notre Dame fall in flames was an eerie reminder of a similar event that occurred at Historic Trinity Lutheran Church in Milwaukee less than a year ago.  It is heartbreaking and distressing to see these things happening in real time.  It is frustrating that in both cases the cause of the quickly spreading fire appears to be accidental/negligent renovation work.  It is tragic when such significant architectural and artistic history is damaged or lost.

               In response to a catastrophe such as this, a common refrain that is heard is that the Church is not a building, it is the people of God, believers in Christ Jesus the Savior.  And this is most certainly true.  The hymn says it well, “Built on the Rock the church shall stand, even when steeples are falling” (LSB 645).  The church is not dependent on buildings but on Christ the crucified.  His Gospel rightly preached and His Sacraments rightly administered are what create faith in His people, bringing them forgiveness, life, and salvation, making them to be His Church, “built for His own habitation.”

                But that is precisely what makes the building important.  Christianity is not a free-floating spirituality.  It’s not just about faith in my heart.  It’s about the external Word of Christ being proclaimed from the pulpit.  It’s about children and adults being baptized at the font.  It’s about the body and blood of Christ being distributed from the altar.  A later stanza of “Built on the Rock” twice uses the word “here” to emphasize the importance of place for the faith:

                “Here stands the font before our eyes,

                Telling how God has received us.

                Th’ altar recalls Christ’s sacrifice

                And what His Supper here gives us.

                Here sound the Scriptures that proclaim

                Christ yesterday, today, the same,

                And evermore, our Redeemer.”

                This ministry of Christ can take place in simple house churches or in grand cathedrals.  But Christians have always had set-apart and sacred places to gather to receive the Lord’s gifts.  For the omnipresent God whom we worship has chosen to make Himself present and locatable for us.  “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  Jesus died and rose again in the flesh to redeem us.  And He continues to come to us in external and material ways.

This is why the church building matters, because Christianity isn’t merely an individualistic and private matter of the soul.  It is about the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23) in Christ who shared fully in our humanity.  It is about the congregation of believers physically gathered around His preaching and His sacraments.  The church building is the place where that ordinarily happens, a space sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:5). 

                And so even though most Christians know very well that the Church is not a building but the body of Christ, we still feel a deep connection to our places of worship and are profoundly affected when church buildings are vandalized or damaged or destroyed.  The Christian faith is grounded in God’s good creation and in the redemption of creation worked by Christ.  We rejoice when the beauty of God’s saving Word is reflected in a Church’s physical architecture and art.  And we grieve as ones reminded of the curse of the fall when these things are ruined. 

It is unclear when or even if Notre Dame will be rebuilt and restored.   I suspect it will, although I’m sure many will wonder why, considering that European and French culture has mostly drifted away from Christianity.  I hope that many Christians will gather at the ashes outside Notre Dame during this Holy Week to worship the one true God, the blessed Holy Trinity, and to sing of the sure hope of the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the body that comes from Jesus.  For in the end, the only sure foundation on which to build is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).  And the only thing that finally matters is His death and resurrection, as He said referring to His own body, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19ff).  In the risen Jesus the ruins are rebuilt (Amos 9:11), all things are made new, and the beauty of creation is restored (Revelation 21:5). 

St. Patrick's Day Meditation

✠ In the name of Jesus ✠

 It is good and fitting for us to observe St. Patrick’s Day–not merely in the way of the world but in keeping with who the man actually was.  Just as there was a real St. Nicholas who was a bishop and defender of the Christian faith, so also there was a real St. Patrick who had a zeal for bringing lost souls to the faith back in the 5th century A.D.  As Lutherans we rightly honor and give thanks to God for the help He gives to His saints and for the good He works through them.

 Patrick actually wasn't Irish but English.  His grandfather was a pastor, and his father was a member of the city council and a deacon in the church.  When Patrick was 16, he was seized by Irish raiders and sold into slavery there.  He was forced to tend the sheep of the Irish chieftain of Ulster.  Patrick had not been particularly religious before, but now he turned to God for comfort and strength.  Patrick later wrote abut those difficult years: “The love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened.”

 Patrick eventually escaped from his captors but later, amazingly enough, he felt the call to return to Ireland and preach the Good News of Christ the crucified to the Irish, his former captors.  In this way Patrick is a good example of the Scripture which says, “Be merciful, as your Father in heaven is merciful.  Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

 Patrick was unprepared for such a mission as this, so he went to France to complete his education.  He studied theology at a monastery and was soon ordained.  Eventually he was sent to Ireland.

 Patrick was tireless in his ministry.  He overthrew pagan idols.  He preached Christ to the Irish chieftains.  He founded churches and schools.  He later wrote to his flock, “I went even to the farthest districts, beyond which there lived nobody and where nobody had even come to baptize, or to ordain clergy, or to confirm the people.  With the grace of the Lord, I did everything lovingly and gladly for your salvation.”

 It is because Patrick preached that grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that he is to be remembered.  He proclaimed the one true God, the Blessed Holy Trinity, and the Son of God, whose death and resurrection alone brings salvation.  As you know, one of the things that is now associated with St. Patrick is the shamrock, the clover with its three leaves.  Those three leaves on one stem are symbolic of the Trinity, three persons in one God.  He used that as an illustration to teach the people.

 There is a hymn that St. Patrick wrote that is even included in our hymnal.  The song’s tune is called St. Patrick’s breastplate.  Part of the hymn goes like this: “I bind unto myself the name, the strong name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the three in one and one in three, of whom all nature has creation, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.  Praise to the Lord of my salvation; Salvation is of Christ the Lord!”

 One of the legends that arose about St. Patrick is that he drove all the snakes off the island, and that’s why there are no snakes in Ireland today.  Perhaps that legend arose, however, because of his preaching of the Gospel which drives away the serpent, the devil.  For indeed, by Christ’s holy death on the cross, He fulfilled the Scripture which says that the Messiah will crush the head of the serpent.  The cross is like a dagger into Satan’s skull, and when Christ crucified is preached and believed, Satan is cast out and defeated.  So it is fitting that St. Patrick’s Day always falls during Lent, when we dwell upon the blessed Passion of our Lord for our salvation and our victory over death and the devil in Christ.

 Patrick is also an important reminder to us of Jesus’ words to go and make disciples of all the nations: be they Irish or German, be they rich or poor, be they friendly or hostile.  We are given to speak of and show Christ’s love to all, and to be willing to suffer for the sake of the truth of God’s Word.

 May God grant us also to be zealous and passionate in helping to free others from their false beliefs to bring them to the one true faith, faith in the only Savior, Jesus Christ, who together with the Father and Holy Spirit belongs all worship, honor, glory and praise.  Amen.

The Spoiler We All Need

There are some scholars and textual critics of the Bible who suggest that the account of the Transfiguration is, in fact, a misplaced resurrection narrative, an Easter story.  For whatever reason, the end of the story, Jesus in His glory, got placed in the middle.  I don’t agree with this, of course.  But there is a sense in which it is helpful for us to think of the Transfiguration in this way.  Before we get to the end of the story, Jesus gives us a glimpse of how it all culminates.

We often need this in our own lives.  We need to know how the story ends for us, especially in the middle of suffering or difficulty.  Jesus shows us this on the mountain.  After speaking of the necessity of His suffering and death, after saying that whoever wants to be a disciple of His must take up the cross and follow Him, He then reveals the glory that belongs to all those who are baptized into His body, shining brighter than the sun.  The fact that Jesus is speaking of His death with Moses and Elijah on the mountain (Luke 9:31) shows that the only true way to glory is through the cross.  “Whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:24). 

In the middle of your story Jesus comes to you and shows the glorious climax of it all.  He speaks to you the words of eternal life; He gives His own risen body and blood into your frail flesh and blood.  He gives away the end of story; but that doesn’t spoil it but gives meaning to it and strengthens you to bear the cross and endure to the end.  He says to you, “It’s only a little while longer; keep on going, trusting in Me and loving your neighbor.  For the sufferings of this present time are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in you” (Romans 8:18).  The Apostle John encourages us, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).   

Why is IVF Not a Viable Option for Christians?

           It is a good and natural thing that husbands and wives desire children.  This is one of the reasons why God instituted marriage. The desire for children is bound up in His ongoing creative Word “Be fruitful and multiply.”

           However, since we live under the curse of sin, our fallen bodies are not always fruitful as they were created to be.  What are married couples to do when the gift of children is not being given?  Christians call upon God in prayer, and one of the answers to prayer can be medicines and therapies which work to bring healing to the body’s functioning – promoting ovulation or increasing sperm counts and motility, etc.  Since these sorts of treatments and procedures work within the boundaries of the natural, one-flesh union God created to conceive life, there are very few potential ethical concerns with them. 

But what is to be done when that doesn’t work?  It is at this point that many couples consider in vitro fertilization (IVF).  Because of the way IVF is done, it raises several significant ethical issues.  Here’s how IVF works (from “In Vitro Fertilization—Ark or Tower?” by James Lamb):

Fertilization in Glass
The basic procedure of IVF begins when the woman is treated to produce many viable eggs per cycle. The eggs are retrieved through a hollow needle inserted through the abdominal wall. They are placed in a petri dish and mixed with sperm. Fertilization occurs and development begins “in glass,” Latin, “in vitro.”

Embryo Grading
A laboratory technician then assigns a grade to each embryo based on his visual microscopic assessment of how “good” each embryo appears. This is completely subjective—and is admitted as such on fertility clinic websites. Generally, embryos with “poor grades” are discarded. Many couples are unaware that this happens.

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis
At this point, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis may take place. A nucleus from one of the embryonic cells can be removed and analyzed. If a genetic disease exists, the embryo may be destroyed. Since gender is determined at the moment of conception, this technique can be used to select boy or girl embryos, and the clinic will only implant the babies of the gender the client chooses.

Insertion
The “good” embryos are placed into the uterus. The procedure generally calls for three or four embryos to be inserted because not all may implant in the uterine wall. The success rate is about 40 percent. When multiple embryos do begin to develop, doctors often recommend “selective reduction” so only one or two remain. Selective reduction = abortion.

Embryo Freezing
Embryos not inserted may be frozen in liquid nitrogen. Although freezing techniques have improved, embryos may be harmed in this process, and harm may occur when they are thawed. Couples with frozen embryos generally have four options:

1.       Have more inserted at a later date

2.       Donate them for research

3.       Seek to have them adopted by another couple

4.       Allow them to die

Based on the above information, there are several of God’s commandments that come into play which Christians will want to give serious consideration to.  First, and most clearly, is the 5^th Commandment.  In the meaning to this commandment against murder, the Small Catechism states, “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body. . .”  However, IVF clearly and almost inevitably involves harming or destroying embryos.  This is virtually unavoidable in the IVF process.  Multiple embryos are created with the goal of merely one, or perhaps two, actually implanting and being brought to term.  Every one of these embryos is a child, a human being with a soul, a boy or girl with their own unique DNA.  And yet it is routine and accepted that many of these young lives will simply need to be sacrificed in order to achieve the goal of pregnancy.  If the unused embryos are discarded and left for dead, or donated for research where they will be experimented upon and eventually destroyed, the 5^th Commandment is directly being violated.  And even if the embryos are frozen, there is great potential for harm to come to these young human lives in the process.  And the entire method of freezing embryos raises the more basic question, “Where and when were we given the right to create and manipulate human life like that?”  The entire notion is contrary to God’s order for bringing new life into the world.  And we haven’t even begun to address the reality of a 60% failure rate for implantation of these embryos.  This means that from the outset, parents and doctors are willing to accept a 60% death rate of the children they create outside the womb in hopes that one will come to term within the womb.  In the name of creating human life, IVF destroys human life.

            There are also other deeper issues at work.  For instance, IVF takes the creation of life outside of the one flesh union God instituted and brings 3^rd parties into the actual reproductive process itself.  This brings issues of the 6^th Commandment into play.  In some cases, donor eggs or sperm are used, which even more radically brings a 3^rd party into the marriage, contrary to God’s will. 

            And at the root of all of this are matters of the 1^st Commandment, where we are called to fear, love, and trust in God above all things.  IVF goes beyond using God’s good gift of science and medicine for healing and helping, and it transgresses into the realm of taking over the role of God.  It is no minor thing to change the way life is created and to intentionally step outside of God’s natural order.  This is virtually the very definition of playing God.  Medical technology becomes a false god when we look to it for help in a way that stands in contradiction to the Holy Trinity and His Word.  Our desires and dreams become idols if we set our hearts on them more than the Lord.  The entire notion that children are commodities that we are in charge of bringing into existence, rather than gifts which God gives according to His good pleasure, is deeply problematic.

The Lord gives hope and comfort

            Dealing with infertility and barrenness certainly involves serious spiritual struggle.  Scripture gives many helpful examples of women who experienced these issues and endured this struggle.  There is comfort to be had in hearing about their lives as they trusted in the Lord and called on His name.  Whether or not the gift of children is ever granted, God’s Word is full of comfort and hope and promises such as this: “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).  He has promised to work all things together for the good of His people, those whom He has called to be His own in Holy Baptism (Romans 8:28).  Very often it is precisely when we are weak and empty and powerless of ourselves that He draws us most closely to Himself and fills us with His blessing and teaches us to trust in Him ever more confidently.  St. Paul, commenting on a different sort of struggle, said in 2 Corinthians 12, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this. . . but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. . . For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  In suffering we cling most fervently to Him who suffered for us, even to the point of death on the cross to take away our sins and to restore us to everlasting life.  

Our Lord Jesus shared fully in our humanity.  The Son of God was willing to become a holy embryo Himself in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary.  He sanctified the wombs of all women, those who bear children, and those who don’t.  He made our entire lives holy, from conception to the grave, and redeemed us as His own by His precious blood.  Through faith in Him who is now risen from the dead, new and eternal life is conceived in us, and we begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  Having this life in the risen Jesus is what we set our hearts on above all; it is what gives us purpose as we love and serve our neighbor.  That purpose may involve fostering or adoption or any number of other paths of service that God might set before us.  But in all things, we seek to live according to His will, trusting in Him, giving thanks to the Lord in the confidence that “He is good, and His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).  

-Pastor Koch

P.S.—An excellent resource on the general topic of infertility and barrenness can be found here, “He Remembers the Barren” by Katie Schuermann.  And on the general topic of life issues, be sure to visit LutheransForLife.org.

I've Been Invited to a Same-Sex "Wedding." What Should I Do?

           Sadly, this is a question that many Christians will have to have wrestle with sooner or later.  Whether it involves a family relation or friend or coworker, there are no easy options for someone who wants to be faithful to God and His Word and loving toward his neighbor.

            Christians know that same-sex “marriage” is sin.  It is a clear and blatant rebellion against God (1 Cor. 6:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:9-11; Rom. 1:24ff).  It rejects His work as the One who created us male and female (Matt. 19:4-6).  And in so doing it corrupts and undermines faith in His work as our Redeemer.  For it is the Man Jesus who laid down His life for His elect Lady, the Church (Eph. 5:25ff).  God is a husband to His chosen people, His Bride (Is. 54:5).  The fact that we are created male and female is a reflection of the nature and the ways of this God who is love (1 John 4).  Same-sex marriage, then, is not only the breaking of a commandment, it’s a denial and an overturning of God’s order of creation and redemption. 

           Where most Christians struggle is how to respond to this sin in a way that does not come across as hateful or unloving in our easily offended culture.  Family relationships may be involved.  Often, the “wedding” will be for gay or lesbian children or grandchildren of long-time friends or co-workers.  We want these people to know that we don’t wish ill on anyone and that we care about everyone involved.  So how do we show true Christian love?

            Part of the struggle we have is that we falsely pit faithfulness to God and love for others against each other, when in fact they are two sides of the same coin.  The best way that we can love others is by holding faithfully to God’s Word and confessing its truth clearly and compassionately, speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).  For God’s Word of Law and Gospel gives eternal life (John 6:68).  It works repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:46-47).  It brings true peace (John 14:27).  Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Luke 21:33).  To set aside God’s Word in the name of love or for the sake of some supposed future greater good is a delusion.  Real love cares for a person’s salvation and never condones sin which brings death to a person’s soul (Ezek. 18:20).

            What is loving is to grieve with parents who are having to deal with a child who has openly departed from the faith in this way.  What is loving is to encourage them to continue to look to God for help in prayer and to trust His Word for guidance and comfort.  And when the people involved willingly embrace sin or approve of sin, what is loving is to call them to repentance.  What is loving is to point people to Christ who died for all sins and who desires that we turn from our evil way and live by His mercy and forgiveness (Ezek. 18:23). 

            The truth is that the reason some Christians might feel compelled to attend a same-sex “wedding” is because we don’t want to let go of our favorite idols.  For some the idol might be money.  A job or a business relationship might be at stake.  To such people Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke16:13). “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much” (Luke 16:10).  Others simply want to be thought of well by the world and not looked at as the bad guy.  To them Jesus says, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15; see also Galatians 1:10 about seeking favor from men or from God).  Or still others want to keep peace in the family rather than to act according to the truth.  But to those who bow down to the idol of family, Jesus says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:37).  Even harsher are the preceding words, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household” (Matt. 10:34-36). 

Our media-saturated lives have desensitized us to the grave spiritual seriousness of this matter.  We’ve forgotten what was common sense only a couple decades ago.  So consider this:  Would we think seriously about attending a wedding where not just two people were getting married but three or four people were entering into a sexual union among themselves?  (Yes, this is happening now.)  Would we want to be supportive of their choices even though we disagreed with them?  I mean, #lovewins right?  Would it really help the family to show up at a ceremony that condoned that?  How, then, is a same-sex wedding any different?  Both reject and corrupt what God Himself has given and created in marriage on a fundamental level.

            Some try to suggest that Jesus would go to a same-sex “wedding” since He spent time talking with and even eating with sinners.  There is no doubt that what Jesus did raised some eyebrows.  But what was He doing in those encounters?  He was calling people to turn from their sin to the freely given mercy of God.  “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:27-32).  Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), never to condone sin (Matt. 5:17-19).  No one is suggesting that we should cut off all contact with unbelievers or those engaged in sinful lifestyles.  For then we would have to leave the world (1 Cor. 5:9-10).  God places us into our various vocations precisely so that we might show love to our neighbor in both word and deed.  Those relationships provide the opportunity to confess our faith in Christ the Savior.  But it is supremely dishonest to think that by attending a same-sex “wedding” you can do as Jesus did.  Do you seriously think you’ll be able to call people to repentance in that venue where sin is being celebrated and the words of Jesus are explicitly being rejected?

At a wedding you are obliged to congratulate the couple, to smile politely and happily at what is going on, to laugh at the jokes.  Being present means joining in the celebration, affirming the goodness or at least the acceptability of the union.  Under what circumstances can a Christian justify doing that?  Plus, when the people involved are ones we naturally care for and are close to, there is a very real possibility of being tempted to compromise the truth and to be drawn away from God’s Word ourselves.  After all, weddings are nice and positive and fun.  And there you are feeling like a wet blanket.  Being present at such events and witnessing the counter-preaching of the world can make you question the Scriptures.  The very nature of the event whispers to you, “Did God really say…?” (Gen. 3:1). 

            In the end there is simply no way in good conscience that a Christian can attend a same sex “wedding.”  For there is no realistic scenario where doing so does not lend aid and support to sin and rebellion against God.  There really is no middle ground on this one.  Jesus Himself said “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matt.12:30). 

This is a defining issue of our times.  Let us take our place with Christ, even in the face of worldly scorn.  For He took His place with us, even unto death.  He is our Immanuel, God with us, God who is for us to rescue us sinners that we may share in His resurrection life forever. 

Living Outside of Yourself

    One of the blessings of having children (or grandchildren) is being able to experience old things in a new way.  Things that had become ho-hum for us as adults, like going to the zoo or making a snowman, now become new and enjoyable all over again because we are experiencing them from the perspective of another person.  We get outside of ourselves and find our joy in someone else’s joy, like when we see a familiar movie with someone who hasn’t seen it before. 

    This same sort of thing is also true when we are close to someone who is dying.  Ordinary, seemingly insignificant day-to-day things become much more precious to one whose days are numbered.  And as we see that in them, we learn better to appreciate the little things that are blessings in our life. 

    This is how God would have us live, not lost inside of ourselves where things grow stale and empty, but seeing through the eyes of others, sharing not only in their joys but also their sorrows, as Paul says in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” 

    This is a good thing to keep in mind when we are praying the liturgy, particularly in those times when divine service is starting to seem boring to us.  See the liturgy through the eyes of a new Christian, to whom the mercy of Jesus toward us sinners is a wonderfully new gift.  See the hymns and prayers through the eyes of one whose body is failing them, to whom Jesus’ suffering is cherished and priceless, for whom the sure hope of the resurrection if very tangible and real.  Then we will perceive things rightly again.  God would have us live outside of ourselves, in our neighbor by love and in Christ by faith.

    For Jesus is one who lived outside of Himself.  He not only made our joy and sorrows His own, He also made our sin and death His own.  He didn’t just see things through our eyes, He lived our very life for us to redeem us from our self-focused ways.  His joy is in bringing us joy in the forgiveness of our sins.  He revels in giving Himself and His gifts to us, pouring out on us life and salvation freely.  His glory is to glorify you and raise you up in His resurrection.  He lives in you, so that you may live in Him and share in His life forever.

Vocation and Incarnation

Baccalaureate Service

Concordia University Chicago
December 12, 2014

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

    Last weekend at the Lessons and Carols service, we heard the reading from John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . .  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  This is a foundational truth of the Christian faith–the Son of God took up into Himself your flesh and blood; He became fully human.  He not only became a man, He became man, mankind, all of humanity joined to His divine nature.  This is why the angels sing of peace on earth, good will toward men.  Where the fellowship of God and man had once been ripped apart by sin and the curse, now God and man are rejoined and brought back together again in Christ, literally; for Jesus is both God and man in one undivided person.  Heaven and earth are reunited in Him.

    “The Word became flesh.”  There is the truth that sets you free.  There is no higher honor that God could give to you than to make your flesh His own and to share in your nature.  Jesus is your flesh and blood, your blood brother.  And that is true, of course, not just of you but of every single human being, every person of every tribe and race and nation and language.  There is no human being whose nature Jesus has not shared in.  All of humanity has been graced and exalted by the incarnation, from the unborn in utero to the dying in their last moments.  For Jesus Himself experienced every stage of life on your behalf–a holy embryo in the womb all the way to a holy corpse in the tomb, now bodily risen and glorified for you and for your salvation. 

    This is in great part what gives your vocation meaning, whether your calling is going to be within the church or outside of it–for everyone here.  Those whom you serve are people whose nature the Son of God shares in, whose flesh He has made to be His own.  As a Christian you know that to care for them, to minister to them, to edify their hearts and minds and lives in your work is done as if to Christ Himself.  Now of course, unlike the sinless Jesus, those whom you serve will be ones frankly just like yourself, whose natures are infected with sin, which will manifest itself in many challenging and sometimes painful ways.  But even and especially then, we see in those suffering from sin the One who suffered for sin, who put it to death in His body on the cross in order to take our sin away.  The incarnation of Jesus demonstrates and shows not only that your lives in the flesh are worth living, but that the flesh and blood people around you are worth loving. 

    This is the first half of my message today, that in your various vocations you look at others with Christian faith to see them in the light of the Word made flesh.  Let your work be enlivened by that truth.  Let your desire be that none dismiss Christ in unbelief and thus lose their humanity apart from Him forever, but rather that they come to share fully in the saving reality of who Jesus is and what He has done for them.

    The second half of today’s message is simply the other side of the same coin–that you see
yourself and who you are in the light of the Word made flesh.  Jesus shared in your human life even to the point of death that you may share bodily in His divine resurrection life.  Christ has taken your place in order that you may take His place.  That’s true first of all in the presence of God the Father.  Scripture says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27).  The Father receives you the same as He receives Jesus.  And that’s also true, then, in the presence of your neighbor.  Your calling is to stand in the place of Christ toward your neighbor, to put on the One who came not to be served but to serve and to give His life, a ransom for many.  The Word became your flesh; and now in baptism you have become His flesh.  Baptized into His body, partaking of His body and blood in Holy Communion, you are His flesh and blood to love and serve others. 

    St. Paul uses this sacramental, baptismal language when he says in Galatians 2, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  Christ is at work through you in the callings He gives you.  That may be the most readily apparent for you who are going into church work, as you will be given to preach or teach the words of the Word made flesh or uplift them in music.  Pastors actually get to come right out and say it, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, by His authority, I forgive you all your sins; I baptize you in the name. . .” and so on.  But the fact is that every Christian is given to stand in Christ’s stead according to the duties of your particular calling, to serve as His instruments in both word and deed for the benefit of others and for His glory.

    And once again, at the heart of all of this is the flesh of Christ.  He gives His body and blood for you to consume that you may be filled with His mercy and His life.  And His life is at work in you to offer yourselves to be consumed in merciful, life-giving love.  Romans 12 exhorts us, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

    Your vocation is not simply a matter of what you do; it’s about who you are in Christ, and what He is doing through you by His Word and Spirit.  Christ is all in all.  That’s why Jesus can say, “I am the Light of the world,” and then to His Church, “You are the light of the world.”  The light that is radiated is not yours but Christ’s, the love that is shared is not yours but Christ’s, the life that is given is not yours but Christ’s.  It’s all about Jesus, from beginning to end, Alpha and Omega.

    With that in mind, as we give thanks to God for bringing you to this milestone and for the knowledge and skills and wisdom He has imparted to you here for your calling, let me conclude with these words from 1 Corinthians 1.  That Scripture declares, “You are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption–that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠