St John 15:26-16:4/1 Peter 4:7-11/Ezekiel 36:22-28
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
This Sunday, known as Exaudi, from the Introit in Latin: “Exaudi, Domine, clamavi,” Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, is an in-between day. Three days prior our Lord ascended into heaven, where He is seated at the right hand of the Father, His enemies having been made His footstool. The promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is still eight days away. The disciples live in the in-between. They wait. And while they wait, they pray the Psalms, saying, Your face, Lord, do I seek; hide not Your face from Me. It is a cry for our Lord’s return.
And it is the perpetual prayer of the Church: “Marantha, Come, Lord Jesus.” In truth the entire life of the Church is lived in the in-between. In-between our Lord’s first coming, His perfect life, His innocent suffering and death, His victorious resurrection and ascension, and His second coming on the clouds of heaven to judge the living and the dead.
We live in the in-between. And so we wait. And while we wait, we pray, as St Peter exhorts us: The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
And because we live in the in-between, we live in the midst of suffering and persecution and hatred from the world. This is the reality of the Church militant, the Church at war, in battle, attacked from all sides, from within and without, rent asunder by schisms, plagued by false doctrine and lies, tortured by those who oppose her. Make no mistake, dear Christians, the world hates you. But if the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you, our Lord comforts.
And so the apostles of Christ will be mocked and ridiculed, tortured and martyred. They will be put out of the synagogues; that is, excommunicated from the community on account of Christ. And they shall bear witness not only by their preaching and teaching, but by their dying. This is their marturia, their witness; that in the shedding of their blood they see the shadow of Christ’s own sacrifice.
This is what is means to be a Christian in a world hostile to Christ. To bear the baptismal Name of Jesus among those who seek to silence the preaching of the Word of the Gospel.
But the disciples would not go it alone. They had each other. They had the Church, built on the Rock of Christ. She will prevail against the very gates of hell, though she appears weak in the eyes of the world. Her weapons are more powerful than any could imagine: the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word, kills and makes alive, wounds and heals.
And they would have the Helper, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. He is the Advocate of the apostles. He is their Paraklete; their Comforter. But He comes not to embrace them in warmth and security, like hug from mom when you scrape your knee. He comes to give them a backbone, make them steadfast and resolute; to strengthen weak knees, to make strong feeble hands, to testify to them of Christ. For Jesus says, He will bear witness about Me. The Helper is the Spirit of truth who testifies of the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; who helps you to recall the things of Christ.
Christ is the Strength of the Church. He is the witness of the Holy Spirit and of Christians of all times and places. Do you not confess in the Introit, The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Whom shall you fear, indeed! Fear not the terror of the night, nor the arrow of the day, nor the pestilence in the darkness, nor the destruction at noonday. Fear not the false witnesses that have risen against you, that breathe out violence.
For our Lord Jesus has silenced them all. His blood is the true Testimony, with which He has sprinkled you clean. He suffered the terror of the dark night of sin. He received the arrows and fiery darts of the evil one. He gave Himself up to be destroyed at noonday. And victorious over death and hell He has ascended on high where He rules all things by His might and from whence He sends the help of the Holy Spirit.
He has taken your heart of stone and, by His Spirit, He has given you a heart of flesh. He has put His Spirit within you, having marked you with His great Name, sprinkling the clean water of His Holy Baptism on your sinful flesh, and having created in you a clean heart by the working of water with His Word.
For the world that viciously hates you without cause, hates you on account of Christ. But you were once of the world. You were brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin.
But according to the great mercy of our God, according to His steadfast love, He sent His only-begotten Son, who for His Name’s sake, ransomed you from sin and destruction by His suffering and death. And He has sent His Spirit to testify to you of Christ, who atoned for the sins of the whole world, who died to take away your sin. Indeed the Spirit comforts you in weakness by speaking to you the things of Christ – His mercy and forgiveness, strength and life, peace and joy, courage and endurance.
God the Holy Spirit testifies of these things to you from without, from the preaching of the Word of Christ. Do you desire to know where to find the Holy Spirit? How do you know if you have Him? Your Church has Him? Is it a Spirit-filled place? Then listen for Christ! For where Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins is preached there is the Spirit. Where Jesus is offered to you in Bread and Wine, water and Word, there the Holy Spirit is at work, bearing witness about Christ.
This He does in the Church, in the very Body of Christ, who is called out of the world. You are, by our Lord’s very mercy and grace, the ekklesia, His Church. And so it is that you bear the marks of Christ – His Word in liturgy and preaching, His Sacraments, baptism, absolution, and the supper; you pray in and through Christ, and you, the Church, also bear the final mark: suffering.
Of this Christ warns His disciples, and us, but He does so with a promise. You will suffer for His Name’s sake. But He has said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that He told them to you. He has said these things to you to keep you from falling away.
So do not be surprised, beloved, at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange where happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share in Christ’s suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. Be of good courage, beloved, for the end of all things is at hand.
And our Lord hears you when cry to Him. He who feeds the young ravens when they cry, gives you the very Bread of heaven, His own Body, to strengthen you in the day of temptation. He teaches you His way, and guides all things for you according to His good and gracious will.
You live in the in-between. Confessing and rejoicing over our Lord’s first advent, awaiting His second. While you wait receive often the testimony of the Spirit; that is, the preached Word of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, be gathered to His ekklesia, to listen, learn and confess. Trust His promises. Show hospitality to one another. Serve one another. Be constant in prayer, vigilant in waiting. Fear not, the time is short. Christ will return in the same manner that He left. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will have no end.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
This Sunday, known as Exaudi, from the Introit in Latin: “Exaudi, Domine, clamavi,” Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, is an in-between day. Three days prior our Lord ascended into heaven, where He is seated at the right hand of the Father, His enemies having been made His footstool. The promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is still eight days away. The disciples live in the in-between. They wait. And while they wait, they pray the Psalms, saying, Your face, Lord, do I seek; hide not Your face from Me. It is a cry for our Lord’s return.
And it is the perpetual prayer of the Church: “Marantha, Come, Lord Jesus.” In truth the entire life of the Church is lived in the in-between. In-between our Lord’s first coming, His perfect life, His innocent suffering and death, His victorious resurrection and ascension, and His second coming on the clouds of heaven to judge the living and the dead.
We live in the in-between. And so we wait. And while we wait, we pray, as St Peter exhorts us: The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
And because we live in the in-between, we live in the midst of suffering and persecution and hatred from the world. This is the reality of the Church militant, the Church at war, in battle, attacked from all sides, from within and without, rent asunder by schisms, plagued by false doctrine and lies, tortured by those who oppose her. Make no mistake, dear Christians, the world hates you. But if the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you, our Lord comforts.
And so the apostles of Christ will be mocked and ridiculed, tortured and martyred. They will be put out of the synagogues; that is, excommunicated from the community on account of Christ. And they shall bear witness not only by their preaching and teaching, but by their dying. This is their marturia, their witness; that in the shedding of their blood they see the shadow of Christ’s own sacrifice.
This is what is means to be a Christian in a world hostile to Christ. To bear the baptismal Name of Jesus among those who seek to silence the preaching of the Word of the Gospel.
But the disciples would not go it alone. They had each other. They had the Church, built on the Rock of Christ. She will prevail against the very gates of hell, though she appears weak in the eyes of the world. Her weapons are more powerful than any could imagine: the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word, kills and makes alive, wounds and heals.
And they would have the Helper, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. He is the Advocate of the apostles. He is their Paraklete; their Comforter. But He comes not to embrace them in warmth and security, like hug from mom when you scrape your knee. He comes to give them a backbone, make them steadfast and resolute; to strengthen weak knees, to make strong feeble hands, to testify to them of Christ. For Jesus says, He will bear witness about Me. The Helper is the Spirit of truth who testifies of the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; who helps you to recall the things of Christ.
Christ is the Strength of the Church. He is the witness of the Holy Spirit and of Christians of all times and places. Do you not confess in the Introit, The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Whom shall you fear, indeed! Fear not the terror of the night, nor the arrow of the day, nor the pestilence in the darkness, nor the destruction at noonday. Fear not the false witnesses that have risen against you, that breathe out violence.
For our Lord Jesus has silenced them all. His blood is the true Testimony, with which He has sprinkled you clean. He suffered the terror of the dark night of sin. He received the arrows and fiery darts of the evil one. He gave Himself up to be destroyed at noonday. And victorious over death and hell He has ascended on high where He rules all things by His might and from whence He sends the help of the Holy Spirit.
He has taken your heart of stone and, by His Spirit, He has given you a heart of flesh. He has put His Spirit within you, having marked you with His great Name, sprinkling the clean water of His Holy Baptism on your sinful flesh, and having created in you a clean heart by the working of water with His Word.
For the world that viciously hates you without cause, hates you on account of Christ. But you were once of the world. You were brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin.
But according to the great mercy of our God, according to His steadfast love, He sent His only-begotten Son, who for His Name’s sake, ransomed you from sin and destruction by His suffering and death. And He has sent His Spirit to testify to you of Christ, who atoned for the sins of the whole world, who died to take away your sin. Indeed the Spirit comforts you in weakness by speaking to you the things of Christ – His mercy and forgiveness, strength and life, peace and joy, courage and endurance.
God the Holy Spirit testifies of these things to you from without, from the preaching of the Word of Christ. Do you desire to know where to find the Holy Spirit? How do you know if you have Him? Your Church has Him? Is it a Spirit-filled place? Then listen for Christ! For where Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins is preached there is the Spirit. Where Jesus is offered to you in Bread and Wine, water and Word, there the Holy Spirit is at work, bearing witness about Christ.
This He does in the Church, in the very Body of Christ, who is called out of the world. You are, by our Lord’s very mercy and grace, the ekklesia, His Church. And so it is that you bear the marks of Christ – His Word in liturgy and preaching, His Sacraments, baptism, absolution, and the supper; you pray in and through Christ, and you, the Church, also bear the final mark: suffering.
Of this Christ warns His disciples, and us, but He does so with a promise. You will suffer for His Name’s sake. But He has said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that He told them to you. He has said these things to you to keep you from falling away.
So do not be surprised, beloved, at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange where happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share in Christ’s suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. Be of good courage, beloved, for the end of all things is at hand.
And our Lord hears you when cry to Him. He who feeds the young ravens when they cry, gives you the very Bread of heaven, His own Body, to strengthen you in the day of temptation. He teaches you His way, and guides all things for you according to His good and gracious will.
You live in the in-between. Confessing and rejoicing over our Lord’s first advent, awaiting His second. While you wait receive often the testimony of the Spirit; that is, the preached Word of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, be gathered to His ekklesia, to listen, learn and confess. Trust His promises. Show hospitality to one another. Serve one another. Be constant in prayer, vigilant in waiting. Fear not, the time is short. Christ will return in the same manner that He left. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will have no end.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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