Dance Acts

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled Dances and Acts and is based on Acts 2:22-36. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Throughout my high school years, my family was very active in the Polish National Alliance in Monaca. We were part of the Krakowiaki, a youth group that performed traditional Polish songs and dances throughout Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. If you’ve ever been part of a dance group, you know that everyone must practice his or her parts many times before you can perform it before others. The same principle applies to team sports, marching bands and plays. We call this choreography.

Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies in which motion or form or both are specified. It came to the English language from the Greeks. Khoreia means dance and graphein means to write. The word means dance-writing.

I open my sermon with this illustration because it helps us appreciate the Mystery of the Trinity. I say appreciate because it is difficult to fully understand any true mystery, especially if I am the type of person who can figure out even the most complex sciences or house repairs.

The Church Fathers described the inner life of the Trinity as perichoresis. Peri means “around” and chorein I have just explained. Perichoresis means “to make space around.” It points to the way in which someone or something makes space around itself for others or for something else. It is a picturesque word that suggests a kind of swirling or a dance. In the dance of love in the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit make room for one another. They dance about and with one another in a way that shows a mutual indwelling while still maintaining space for each person.

I will return to dance later, but now a question: Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Trinity Sunday? Think of Trinity Sunday in terms of Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Most people love and appreciate their mothers and fathers and understand the importance of motherhood and fatherhood. Why set aside Sundays in May and June to celebrate mothers and fathers? It’s not that we remember them only one day a year. If they are alive, we show our love and appreciation on a regular basis. Regarding the Trinity, we have come to know and understand how God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are important to our true Christian Faith and set aside one Sunday a year to specifically celebrate the Trinity.

To us, it may be assumed that all who follow Christ agree with our teachings about the Divine Personhood and the two natures of Jesus Christ. Yet, there is a long history of individuals and church bodies whose teachings do not agree with ours. These are based on a condemned heresy known as Arianism.

Arianism is a heretical sect named after its founder, Arius, a 3^rd-century priest from Alexandria, Egypt. Arius opposed the theological doctrines held by Christians regarding the nature of the Trinity and the nature of Christ. He and his followers believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God the Father with the difference that the Son of God did not always exist, but was begotten within time by God the Father, meaning that Jesus was not co-eternal with God the Father. The Son is distinct from the Father and subordinate to him, and not a co-equal Person of the Trinity. In short, they did not believe in the Trinity as we do.

Principally, the dispute between Trinitarianism and Arianism can be boiled down to two questions. First, has the Son always existed eternally with the Father or was the Son begotten at a certain time in the past? Second, is the Son equal to the Father or subordinated to Him?

This controversy continued until Emperor Constantine called the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD), which defined the dogmatic fundamentals of the Christian religion. From this Council, we have the Nicene Creed. For 1700 years, the Council and Creed served to rebut the questions posed by Arians. Still, the controversy did not go away. It lingered for centuries because many Christians in the 3^rd and 4^th centuries did not understand or appreciate a clear teaching of the Christian faith and went along with what was being taught in their local churches.

Unfortunately for the Arians, Bishop Athanasius, who attended the Nicene Council and refused to accept Arianism, pushed back on the sect’s false teaching. He opposed it so strongly that he was exiled from his office and city. The Athanasian Creed is attributed to him, and accepting it leaves little wiggle room for questioners of our Faith, which is why it is one of the three creeds found in the Lutheran Book of Concord, and why we recite this creed on Trinity Sunday.

The focus of this Creed should deepen our understanding that some religious bodies today do not believe in the Trinity as we do. Many of the core beliefs of Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses are similar to Arianism. Mormons or Latter-day Saints do not accept the Nicene definition of Trinity. So, from our perspective, the beliefs of these and a number of splinter Pentecostal Churches that are not Trinitarian are not Christian as the Book of Concord defines a Christian. This is not to say that the people who belong to these religious bodies are bad, but, like Athanasius, we need to be clear on what we believe and hold true.

That said, we turn to Acts. The first thing Peter did was get his audience’s attention. In v. 14, Peter shouted, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.” In today’s opening verse, Peter addressed his audience in these words, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.”

Acts’ author, Luke, wants us to know that Peter was in Jerusalem of Judea, and first got their ears. Peter also knew that God’s people were the People of Israel and were in Jerusalem for the Passover or the Feast of Shavuoth. Therefore, all present heard Jesus’ words or saw his works. Now that Peter drew their attention to Jesus of Nazareth, a Galilean, which meant Jesus was neither a Judean nor a dweller of Jerusalem, but a Man of Israel.

As he spoke, Peter indicted his listeners for having crucified Jesus. The Resurrection, however, confirmed that Jesus’ death was part of God’s plan, as Christ Himself foretold.[1] Peter then delved into Psalm 16, in which David expressed his trust and confidence in God, but pointed out that it was actually Jesus speaking through the mouth of David. After his struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus submitted his will to the Father, he was no longer disturbed but serene and courageous, knowing that his Father would deliver him.[2]

Psalm 16 expresses Jesus’ confident hope that he would be raised from the dead. Now, keep in mind that Jews viewed that physical decay began on the fourth day after death. Martha commented that her brother, Lazarus, had been dead for four days, and there would be a stench in his tomb. Unlike Lazarus, Jesus was raised on the third day – a prophetic sign that he did not nor would not see corruption.

Peter points out that the psalm could not apply to David because his tomb was in their midst to that day. Jesus’ tomb, however, was empty. David was buried for 1,000 years, and so in Psalm 16 spoke of his descendent, Jesus. David foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah. No one could dispute Peter because he and the others were actual eyewitnesses of the Risen Christ and His empty tomb.

What is going on here is a conversion. When Peter said, “Give ear to my word,” and “hear these words,” he invited careful hearing and encouraged his listeners to shift their thinking. The people who heard Peter were now ready for a radical makeover of their patterns of faith and thought. What follows in the next verses is an affective response. His listeners were cut to the heart, the center of emotion and understanding, their innermost being.[3] Next, they referred to Peter and the others as brothers, echoing his address in verse 29.

Peter aimed to connect with his audience in a personal, family manner and succeeded. The result was that they were now not only ready to embrace a common understanding of Jesus’ identity and role in God’s saving purpose, but also to respond with a solid commitment.[4]

So, what does all of this (my explanation of why we celebrate Trinity Sunday and an effective teaching on Acts) have to do with us today? The answer to my question is found in a question from Acts 2:37, when the hearers ask, “What shall we do?” And the default answer to that is always, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”[5] Those who were baptized also repented and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Folks, Baptism is a community affair, not a simple personal and private affair between God and me. Baptism for the forgiveness of sins admits me to the Church, the Christian community. And if I have excluded myself from the community through sin (and I do), repentance and forgiveness readmits me. We should never forget that the divine forgiveness that we receive through baptism or the pastor’s words of absolution during our Divine Service was central to the promise of Israel’s restoration.

Peter depicted baptism as the appropriate individual response to the Gospel. “Everyone of you” or “Each of you” means that I come to the Church of those already baptized and ask for the Sacrament. I cannot baptize myself no matter how strong my emotions are. When I seek baptism that means that I submit myself to baptism by the community, the Church. As Church, we embrace those who present themselves for baptism because baptism means belonging. Baptism is a response and a gift.

Baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ” provides focus for us. Looking at Peter’s Pentecost speech, we are to call on no one else other than Jesus Christ for salvation. It also means that we embody the discipleship as spelled out in Jesus’ ministry and teaching. And if we do that, we cannot embrace contradictory teachings and lifestyles.

Now, let’s return to our dance. Before Cindy and I married, we took dance lessons at Arthur Murray Dance Studio. We learned the Foxtrot, the Salsa, the Cha-cha and the Tango. Don’t expect me to teach you anything other than a waltz or a polka, and my lessons don’t come cheap. All kidding aside, I am returning to dance because part of being a theologian, a pastor, a Christian is learning how to dance with the Holy Spirit.

How do you dance with the Holy Spirit? First, let the Spirit lead. Trying to lead the Holy Spirit is like dancing with two left feet. Second, learn the steps. By that I mean that you need to read your dance manual. Arthur Murray was successful at teaching people how to dance because he taught one step at a time. Finally, practice. Let the Holy Spirit teach you how to read your dance manual, that is, your Bible, one page at a time, one chapter at a time, one book at a time. An intimate relationship with our Triune God is not based on emotions. It is based on faith (what we believe) and how we live those beliefs (loving our neighbor through actions). Just as you practice choreographed in dance or sports to excel at it, you practice beliefs and works to become the saint God calls you to be.

Let the Holy Spirit lead you in prayer one moment at a time, one session at a time, one day at a time. As the master teaches dance troupes, marching bands, ballet companies and football teams to learn their movements one at a time, so does the Holy Spirit. And the key word is practice. If I want to have fun dancing with the Holy Spirit, I need to spend time practicing steps.

Now, Satan can mislead us into thinking that we do not need the Holy Spirit or practice. He says that I can make up my steps as I go along, just as I make up rules for living as I go along. If I think that I can change or water down Church teaching, I become another Arius. When I betray other believers just to get them to do what I want, I become another Judas, and it will not end well for me. That is why I recited Luther’s Sacristy Prayer last week. That is why we are going to speak The Athanasian Creed today. That is why I must cling to Christ crucified. That is why I speak the Lord’s Prayer out loud.

Friends, all of us experience sickness and healing, love and heartbreak, success and failure, new life and death. Through all these experiences, our partner, the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of Holy Trinity, is with you. The Spirit leads you, embraces you, comforts you, celebrates you, loves you. The Holy Spirit is calling you to learn and practice your steps. The Holy Spirit calls you to read Scripture daily, to re-read and study your Small Catechism because there is a lot you do not know about the teaching of the Church.

In a month, you will have a new pastor, and the Holy Spirit will teach you through him to dance as a couple. Remember that there are only two members of this congregation: the pastor and the congregation. That means you need to practice because only the congregation as a whole can dance with the pastor. So, practice reading God’s Word, obeying God’s Commandments, living the Lord’s Prayer, and being Christ for others. Take time this week and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to dance like Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers, or whoever your favorite dancers are, and when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Luke 9:22,44; 18:31-33.

[2] William S. Kurz, Acts of the Apostles. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic (2013), p. 54.

[3] Joel B. Green, Conversion in Luke-Acts. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic ((2015), p. 127.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Acts 2:38.

Pentecost's Three P's

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled The 3 Ps of Pentecost: Pneumatology, Passage, Practical Application. My focus is Acts 2. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

This is my sixth Pentecost at Mt. Olive (my first at St. John’s), and so, it is appropriate that for Pentecost, I focus on three points: pneumatology, passage and a practical application.

First, pneumatology. Pneumatology refers to a particular discipline within Christian theology that focuses on the study of the Holy Spirit. We derive the term from the Greek word pneuma meaning breath or spirit that symbolically describes a non-material being or influence; and logos meaning teaching about. Pneumatology includes the study of the person and works of the Holy Spirit. Works of the Holy Spirit includes teachings on new birth, spiritual gifts, sanctification, the inspiration of prophets, and the indwelling of the Holy Trinity.

The early Church engaged in debates over the divinity of Jesus which led to similar arguments about the Holy Spirit. Later, during the Medieval period, a debate ensued regarding the relationship between Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Eastern Church situated in Constantinople asserted that the Holy Spirit ‘proceeds’ from the Father alone, as stated in the original Nicene Creed, while the Western Church added to the Creed the clause filioque meaning that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

During the Reformation and Counter-reformation the relationship between the Spirit and the Scriptures was re-examined. Martin Luther and John Calvin held that the Spirit has a certain ‘interpretive authority’ to ‘illuminate’ scripture, while Counter-reformation theologians responded that the Spirit authorized the Church to serve as authoritative interpreter of Scripture.

Contemporary pneumatology, marked by the Pentecostal movement in various denominations, understands a distinctive relationship between the Spirit and the Church community. Various contemporary theologians see the Spirit as the authority that governs the church, liberates oppressed communities and creates experiences associated with faith.

Now, before I move to my second point, your word for the day is pneumatology. Start a conversation about pneumatology at Sunday dinner, while watching the Pirates or in the break room at work. Discuss pneumatology with conviction and certainty – like you are filled with the Holy Spirit. And so, we move from pneumatology to passage.

In Acts 2, Luke focuses our attention on Pentecost. Pentecost was an agricultural feast where Jews celebrated not only the harvest but also the giving of the Torah. It was known as the Shav – u’– oth or the Feast of Weeks. This festival was celebrated 7 weeks or 50 days after Passover. It brought farmers from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Asia, Egypt, Libya and Rome to Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot. They came to thank God for the harvest and for the Law.

The original agricultural feast later became a commemoration of God giving the Covenant and Law on Mt Sinai. For Christians, the celebration of the gift of the Law embraced the giving of the new law in the spirit, the writing of the law on the heart.[1] We read in Jeremiah, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah … I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”[2]

Paul echoed the Second Letter to the Corinthians, “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”[3]

The coming of the Holy Spirit fulfilled this meaning of Pentecost. The opening verses introduce the festival of Pentecost. Acts declares a salvation event of highest importance, the actual turning point when Israel begins to separate itself from unbelievers to become the Church.[4] To illustrate this Luke assembled a vast representation of all Israel to hear the apostles.

The signs that manifested the Spirit, the loud noise like a strong wind and the tongues of fire, evoked divine appearances on Mount Sinai to Moses and Elijah.[5] Yet, the sign that Luke most emphasized that the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit was their speaking in different tongues or languages.[6]

The fact that many Jews from different nations heard the apostles speaking in their own tongues of the mighty acts of God signified that the ancient tragedy of Babel was reversed.[7] And the apostles’ “drunken state” symbolized joy and abundant blessings. Yet, the onlookers’ reaction was astonishment and bewilderment. At Pentecost it was clear that the new wine of the Holy Spirit, the gift of God’s love, was poured into human hearts, as Paul reminded Christians in Rome.[8]

Again, we move from passage to practical applications. In many churches today, pastors confirm young people. I confirmed seven teenage girls four years ago, and Julia last year. Lutheran confirmation is a public profession of faith prepared for by long and careful instruction. This mature and public profession of faith marks the completion of the congregation's program of confirmation ministry.

Since young people study Luther’s Small Catechism, a bit of catechesis for the rest of you. As Lutherans, we do not treat confirmation as a sacrament of the Gospel in the way we do Baptism and the Eucharist. Yet, we lack a universally accepted definition of confirmation and a consistent approach to it.[9] It is the Lutheran way.

Luther approved the 1540 Brandenburg Church Order and subscribed to the 1545 Wittenberg Reformation. His emphasis on instruction, especially in preparation for the Lord's Supper, proved to be a major contribution to a new type of confirmation associated not only with Baptism but also with the Lord's Supper.

Where confirmation is associated with Baptism and the Lord's Supper, as is usually the case, the three essential elements of confirmation are: (1) a course of instruction preceding the rite; (2) profession of faith, usually made through an examination and summarized in formal questions in the rite; (3) and intercessory prayers by the congregation, normally with imposition of hands. Baptism, not confirmation, normally marks the beginning of one's membership in the church.

All this talk about confirmation now behooves me to ask you how the Holy Spirit is active in your life today. It is a question I ask all of you. Applying the passage, how is the Holy Spirit active in your life today?

Preparing for this sermon, I sent the passage from Acts to some friends along with this question: How is the Holy Spirit active in my life today? My friend, David, responded with this: When I think “living in the Spirit” or walking with God, I focus on three priorities that your love and resulting time should have: God first, family second, and all others third. When I read the scripture in Acts that you forwarded, I am taken to every conference or function where Christians from all over get together that I have attended. The lack of personal or other agendas is gone. Focus is on God first, and what he is doing, or not, in your life. It gives me insight into what heaven will be like. One of the first times I felt this, and I have felt it many times since, was when I attended the [a conference with] Christians from all over the world, and we were of one mind, and one focus. It was a great experience.

A friend from Pittsburgh wrote this: Since I have never had an original thought in my life, when reading Scripture, and particularly when preparing to preach I seek the guidance of the Spirit. On a day-to-day basis I pray to the Spirit to make me aware of and alert to opportunities to bring God's presence into everyday circumstances. Over the last 35 years, I have repeatedly trusted in and acted upon the Holy Spirit’s urgings. That's how I wound up being ordained as a deacon and living in Tennessee and now Mississippi.

My cousin in San Diego said this: My religious education is slim, having gone to public school, the only thing we got was an hour a week at Sunday School. I'm not sure I can directly say how the Holy Spirit influences my life, but I know there are times when things mysteriously work out and I say it's a “God Thing.” So, since the Holy Spirit is part of God, I suppose I’m getting guidance and comfort from him at those times too.”

Finally, a college friend replied with these words: The Holy Spirit is dwelling among us. The Spirit may not present itself in the same manner as it did to the Apostles on that original Pentecost, but in some manner or form, the Spirit is present among us.

So, how is the Holy Spirit active in your life today? Is the Holy Spirit alive or asleep? The Holy Spirit did not cease being active in the Church with the last page of the New Testament. Rather, throughout the centuries Scripture and the Holy Spirit have infused the lives of countless men and women that they themselves became living gospels.[10] You are the living gospels because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Do you call upon the Holy Spirit before you read Scripture? Do you ask the Holy Spirit to guide you before you send a text or email or post on social? Is the Holy Spirit present when you confront your spouse, child or other church member? Do you pray that the Holy Spirit give guidance to your pastor before he responds to your word or deed? Do you pray for the sick and send them a card telling them that you are praying for them? Have you been praying for Joel Lissy and your congregation?

Folks, you should know that every act that appears to be good is not from the Holy Spirit. Even the devil can speak kind words. How else do you think he can seduce people? People who act nice can be motivated by an evil spirit, a selfish motive, greed or deep-seated anger. It is because, as Col Nathan Jessep said, people “can’t handle the truth.” That is why Martin Luther taught both Law and Gospel. The Law of God convicts us, but the Gospel redeems the unrighteous sinner. Luther urged people to cling to Christ crucified. That is why in many church sacristies, we find Luther’s Sacristy Prayer. He wrote it for pastors, but it is applicable to anyone who serves the congregation in any capacity. Take to heart these words, especially the last sentence because when you act without the aid of the Holy Spirit, you do much harm.

Lord God, You have appointed me as a Bishop and Pastor in Your Church, but you see how unsuited I am to meet so great and difficult a task. If I had lacked Your help, I could have ruined everything long ago. Therefore, I call upon You: I wish to devote my mouth and my heart to you; I shall teach the people. I myself will learn and ponder diligently upon Your Word. Use me as Your instrument — but do not forsake me, for if ever I should be on my own, I would easily wreck it all.[11]

Friends, we are all sinners, but Christ has always transformed sinners into saints. As you depart from here, reflect on how the Holy Spirit makes you a living gospel and share that good news with others, and when you do may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. Alleluia.

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[1] William S. Kurz, Acts of the Apostles. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, (2013), p. 44.

[2] Jeremiah 31:31, 33.

[3] 2 Corinthians 3:2-3.

[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary, p. 730

[5] See Exodus 19:16-19; 1 Kings 19: 11-13.

[6] Kurz, p. 45.

[7] Kurz, p. 45. See Genesis 11:1-9.

[8] Romans 5:5.

[9] See Confirmation at http://cyclopedia.lcms.org.

[10] Christopher A. Hall, Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, (1998), p. 35.

[11] A Sacristy Prayer by Martin Luther Translated From: Dr. Martin Luthers Werke (Weimar: Hermann Boehlaus Nachfolger, 1909), Band 43, pp. 513. Translated by James Kellerman.

WHEN YOU PRAY

 

When you pray, do you ask God for anything? If you do, what is it? When I was your age, I asked God for friends and to be funny. I asked God to help me in baseball and school. When I got to high school, I asked God to help me be popular, and later to be successful. So, nothing I asked for was really important.

Do you know what I ask God to give me today? I ask God to make me indifferent. That means that I want to be okay with whatever God gives me. As I have gotten older, I have learned that it’s better for me to accept God’s plan for me than for me to give God my plans.

Here is what I mean. I prayed for good health, but I got sick and got well many times. I have fallen more times than I can remember and was in a car wreck. I had teeth replaced and surgery on my shoulder. In the future, I will have to have my knee replaced.

Maybe your parents have gone through the same thing. They pray to be successful so that they can take care of you, but they may not make as much money as they want.

I say this because in our Gospel today (Jn 17), Jesus prays not for all the things we often pray for. He prays for his disciples. And do you know what? Jesus prays for you too. Jesus prays for you to be protected from sin, Satan and for you to be holy. So, the next time you pray, ask Jesus what He wants for you.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Best and Worst Days of LIfe

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled Best and Worst Days of My Life and is based on Revelation (22). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

The best day of my life. If you search for the phrase “best day of my life,” you will find a forgettable movie, book and country western song. Primarily, you will hear a catchy tune by American Authors which received a lot of airplay in 2013, and which was later used in commercials by Lowe’s, Hyundai and Best Western Hotels. It was played for the Little League World Series, the Stanley Cup playoffs and by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

If you ask people what the best day of their life was, some will say their wedding day, the day their child or children were born, the day they got hired for their dream job, and so on. When I was serving at a church in Swissvale, I went to a funeral home to pray with a church member who lost her husband. I don’t remember many details other than his name was Domenic; he was retired, and for many years, was an usher at Forbes Field. The best day of his life was October 13, 1960, according to his widow. As he lay in the open casket, I noticed a large button with a picture of Dom running behind Bill Mazeroski before he crossed home plate. After Dom’s widow told me that that was the best day of his life, I wondered why it wasn’t his wedding day or the birth of his children or grandchildren. I also wondered about all those other answers other people offer.

We capture moments on the best days of our lives through pictures or videos. If those recording means were not available, we may have jotted a few words in a journal or diary. In our reading from Revelation today, John offers readers not only the best day, but the best moment. And it’s one that will never end. There will be no need for cameras or diaries to remember a good time that we once had.

Revelation depicts what heaven will be like. Today’s reading paints a figurative picture. It describes the river of life-giving water, the tree of life, the throne of God, and the heavenly multitude who worship God day and night. The most important part to me is verse four, “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”

Since the fall, no human being had ever seen God face to face, for to do so meant death. We read in Exodus how God responded to Moses’ request to see his glory. God told him that no man could see his face and live.[1] However, God promised that his righteous people would one day see His face and be satisfied.[2] We hear that promise at the end of each Divine Service, The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.[3] It is what all of Jesus’ disciples want through the words of Philip, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”[4] Jesus promised in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”[5] St. Paul was confident of this when he wrote to the Corinthians, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.”[6] That promise is fulfilled in this passage from Revelation.

When we see God’s face, his name will be upon our foreheads. This was promised earlier in chapter three when Jesus said he would write on the conquering faithful disciple “the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God.”[7] It was repeated twice after that.[8]

When we were baptized, the pastor said, “Receive the sign of the holy cross upon your forehead and upon your heart to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.” That and the donning of the white robe or baptismal garment marked us as belonging to Christ. In that way, Christ took away sin and marked us with his perfect righteousness.[9] So, one day you, now redeemed and marked by Christ, will see God face to face. Guaranteed, that will be the best day of your life, for we Christians do not fear death and hold Christ’s promise of everlasting life.

One of the reasons that John offers such hope to Christians persecuted for living their faith is because in contrast to the Gospels which describe the life of Jesus on earth through his ascension, Revelation begins with that moment. It presents Christ as Lord of lords and King of kings, from the time of his ascension until he returns to judge earth and usher in a new creation.[10]

Christology, the study of Christ, is usually seen as low or high. Low Christology refers to the human side of Jesus, the state of humility. High Christology is the study of the exalted Christ. Revelation’s high Christology sees Jesus in several roles. As Son of Man, he will bring all things to an end when he comes in judgment. All creation will bow before him. As Lamb of God, all God’s people will be redeemed and made into a kingdom for our heavenly Father. Because the Lamb won the victory for God’s people over death, hell and Satan, Christ is honored. As the spokesman and the Word of God, he is mediator and witness of the message of Revelation.

Revelation’s high Christology is summarized in verse 13, where the three divine titles describing the eternal magnitude of our infinite God are applied to Jesus. Primarily, Jesus Christ is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End of all creation, and the new creation. Secondly, he is the Alpha and Omega of all eternity. Finally, with the Father, Jesus of Nazareth, born of a woman, is glorified and honored as God incarnate. Through Him alone God creates and redeems the human race, judges us and has mercy upon us. For us, Revelation ends as the best moment for all of us because of Jesus Christ.

As I pondered that this past week, a second question came to me: What is the worst day of my life? I remember some of the worst days of my life. I saw the Cadillac hurtling towards me in an inevitable T-bone. I remember missing the last step of the staircase while touring a castle in Europe and tearing my rotator cuff as I attempted to break my fall. I recall the feelings when I walked into a meeting prepared to present an update on a golf outing and my boss telling me that my job was eliminated. I know exactly where I was when I heard that my father, mother and brother died.

Apart from the personal worst days of my life, I remember arriving home from school on November 22, 1963, wondering why my mother was crying while watching TV. I remember standing in the kitchen of the rectory at St. Irenaeus Church watching the news as the second plane hit the World Trade Center.

What do we do when we experience the worst day of our lives? I can tell you that on the afternoon of September 11, 2001, a member of the congregation called and asked if I would open the church so that people could come to pray together. I remember a crowded church on September 16, 2001, a less crowded church the following Sunday, and by October, we were back to our normal attendance.

I mention this because to me it seems that on the worst days of our lives, we turn to God. After experiencing one of the worst moments life deals us, we seek divine intervention. As helpless creatures, we submit ourselves to our Almighty God, King of kings and Lord of lords, begging for help. Like King David, some of us make promises, deals and commitments to God if He comes through for us.

Eventually, however, most people – even steadfast Christians – return to their normal state. We don’t see the need to honor the promises, deals and commitments we made. We don’t see the need to return to church and God each Sunday for whatever reason we render: work, family activities, travel, foul weather and so forth. Folks, if we find that we need God on the worst days of our lives, do we see that we need God on the best days of our lives and all those days in between?

In six weeks, Pastor Lissy will be leading you in worship. Lots of people will attend his ordination on July 13, and on his first Sunday of worship on July 20. But what will happen when football season arrives or when Sunday is a nice day to play a round of golf? What will happen when our time for Worship is not to my liking? What excuse will I offer to God who has commanded me to Worship Him in the Ten Commandments? God is infinite, but His sense of humor is not.

So, why should I be here each Sunday? Ask yourself: Is there anything happening here that does not happen on my recliner, sofa or bed where I can relax peacefully? Is something going on here that does not occur on the ball field or golf course, at the lake or the cabin? Can I learn something more important from Sunday morning TV programs, books, blogs or newspapers than I can from God’s Word?

Friends, I understand how nice it is to sleep late on Sundays. I enjoy a cup of coffee while reading the paper on the back deck. I know the importance of showing up for work on Sunday morning. But given that our reading from Revelation describes what God has done, is doing, and will do for us, I can reflect deeper on my need to be in church on Sunday mornings.

To answer my questions about being here, I’ll say this. I need a Divine Authority in my life and that authority is Jesus Christ, God Himself, who has built His Church for us because we need it. What happens when people gather in their Church for Divine Worship does not occur anywhere else. In this Church we confess our sins to God with fellow sinful believers and receive God’s mercy as His people. In this church, I can hear God’s Word in the same manner as it was announced to His Church 2,000 years ago. Like the Twelve at the Last Supper, from this altar we receive the true Body and Blood of the Risen Christ as members of this body of believers. What happens here on Sunday morning happens nowhere else, and I am blessed to be here on my worst day and on my best.

This is the last Sunday of Easter (given that next Sunday is Pentecost). If you have fully understood how much our Exalted Lord Jesus Christ means to you on the best and worst days of your life, then maybe, maybe you are ready for your eternal life. If not, I encourage you to return each Sunday until you do. This week, I ask you to contemplate what it means for you to see God’s face. As you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus the Risen Lord. Amen. Alleluia!

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[1] Exodus 33:18ff.

[2] Psalm 17:15.

[3] Numbers 6:25-26.

[4] John 14:8.

[5] Matthew 5:8.

[6] 1^st Corinthians 13:12.

[7] Revelation 3:12.

[8] See also Revelation 7:3; 13:16.

[9] Rite of Holy Baptism.

[10] Louis A. Brighton, Revelation. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1999), p. 659.