1 Corinthians 11-23-26/St John 21:1-14
Lutheran High School Chapel
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The empty tomb is not enough.
An empty tomb could mean that the disciples managed to steal the body. Or that Jesus was received up into heaven like Elijah, which would mean, an empty tomb could signify that our Lord hadn’t really died; but only that He seemed to die. Worse than that though, an empty tomb could be a myth, a metaphor to say that Jesus rises when the hearts of His people come alive with faith. But we don’t say that. Because that is utter nonsense.
Christ is risen! And the eyewitness accounts provide proof of His bodily resurrection - evidence so overwhelming that someone counted the miraculous catch as documentation. First He shows the apostles His scars in order to show that He really did die, that He is the crucified One. He also opens their hearts and minds to understand the Scriptures, that the Christ must suffer and die and on the third day rise. He was slain as your Substitute, having bore your sins under the Law and laying down His life as a ransom. He emptied hell of its wrath and fury. He died. He has the scars to show it. But He has come through death. He is alive in His body.
That is why He now eats with them. He who first called them away from their nets, calls them to Himself again. He who stripped Himself of His outer garment only days before, now bids them come and eat. He is there, as He was before, to serve them. This is who He is. He came to serve. Not to be served. But to become your Sin and lay down His life as a ransom for many.
Thus the very corpse, the very body, born of Mary, nailed to a Cross, pierced by the centurion, dead and laid into the tomb, has been renewed and reborn. Our God is still and forever shall be, a Man. He is one of us. He died. But He is alive. Heaven is now open to sinful men.
And as He first revealed Himself to them at a wedding in Cana of Galilee with water and wine. So now He reveals Himself to them on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias with bread and fish. Our Lord is into water, bread, and wine. And they know that it’s Him. It is their Lord, among them, in flesh and blood, calling them to come and eat, serving them.
Remind you of something? It is not precisely the Sacrament of the Altar, but it is close. Close enough that St John the Evangelist wants us to make the connection. Closer, even, than you may think. For what does St Paul say? As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Each Lord’s Day, that is, every weekly celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, He is there, gathering you as fish in the net of His Gospel proclamation; dragging you to the shores of His Altar and Pulpit and Font, where He is among you, in flesh and blood, with His Word, bidding you to come and eat. And this is precisely the Sacrament of the Altar, as St Paul has delivered over to you: the very body of Jesus, the crucified and risen One, in the bread; His very blood, poured out for the forgiveness of all your sins, in the wine.
Beloved disciples, “It is the Lord!” It is no accident that the Lord’s Supper is consecrated on an altar under a crucifix. There you eat with God. He gives you His body risen out of death. You handle Him. It is not a corpse. Neither is it a bloody piece of flesh, grilled medium rare. It is the living, risen, glorified body of He who is true Man and true God, joined to bread by His Word to be your food. This satisfies your soul, forgives all your sins, encourages and strengthens your faith.
The empty tomb is not enough. What you need is the risen body and blood of Jesus Christ the crucified.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lutheran High School Chapel
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The empty tomb is not enough.
An empty tomb could mean that the disciples managed to steal the body. Or that Jesus was received up into heaven like Elijah, which would mean, an empty tomb could signify that our Lord hadn’t really died; but only that He seemed to die. Worse than that though, an empty tomb could be a myth, a metaphor to say that Jesus rises when the hearts of His people come alive with faith. But we don’t say that. Because that is utter nonsense.
Christ is risen! And the eyewitness accounts provide proof of His bodily resurrection - evidence so overwhelming that someone counted the miraculous catch as documentation. First He shows the apostles His scars in order to show that He really did die, that He is the crucified One. He also opens their hearts and minds to understand the Scriptures, that the Christ must suffer and die and on the third day rise. He was slain as your Substitute, having bore your sins under the Law and laying down His life as a ransom. He emptied hell of its wrath and fury. He died. He has the scars to show it. But He has come through death. He is alive in His body.
That is why He now eats with them. He who first called them away from their nets, calls them to Himself again. He who stripped Himself of His outer garment only days before, now bids them come and eat. He is there, as He was before, to serve them. This is who He is. He came to serve. Not to be served. But to become your Sin and lay down His life as a ransom for many.
Thus the very corpse, the very body, born of Mary, nailed to a Cross, pierced by the centurion, dead and laid into the tomb, has been renewed and reborn. Our God is still and forever shall be, a Man. He is one of us. He died. But He is alive. Heaven is now open to sinful men.
And as He first revealed Himself to them at a wedding in Cana of Galilee with water and wine. So now He reveals Himself to them on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias with bread and fish. Our Lord is into water, bread, and wine. And they know that it’s Him. It is their Lord, among them, in flesh and blood, calling them to come and eat, serving them.
Remind you of something? It is not precisely the Sacrament of the Altar, but it is close. Close enough that St John the Evangelist wants us to make the connection. Closer, even, than you may think. For what does St Paul say? As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Each Lord’s Day, that is, every weekly celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, He is there, gathering you as fish in the net of His Gospel proclamation; dragging you to the shores of His Altar and Pulpit and Font, where He is among you, in flesh and blood, with His Word, bidding you to come and eat. And this is precisely the Sacrament of the Altar, as St Paul has delivered over to you: the very body of Jesus, the crucified and risen One, in the bread; His very blood, poured out for the forgiveness of all your sins, in the wine.
Beloved disciples, “It is the Lord!” It is no accident that the Lord’s Supper is consecrated on an altar under a crucifix. There you eat with God. He gives you His body risen out of death. You handle Him. It is not a corpse. Neither is it a bloody piece of flesh, grilled medium rare. It is the living, risen, glorified body of He who is true Man and true God, joined to bread by His Word to be your food. This satisfies your soul, forgives all your sins, encourages and strengthens your faith.
The empty tomb is not enough. What you need is the risen body and blood of Jesus Christ the crucified.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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