Jeremiah 8:4-12; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; St Luke 19:41-48
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Our Lord once drew near to a funeral procession and saw the tears of a widow weeping over the dead body of her only son. But Jesus had a Word for her. Do not weep. And then He raised the boy from the dead and gave him back to his mother (Lk 7:11-17). Jesus once drew near to a house of Jairus and saw his tears. His twelve-year old daughter had died. So He had a Word of the parents and family. Do not weep. And He took the little girl’s hand and raised her up (Lk 8:49-56). When they led Jesus to the Cross, He was followed by a large group of women who were weeping and wailing about the brutal treatment and His impending death. Somehow He mustered the strength to utter a Word to them: Do not weep (Lk 23:28).
This is what Jesus came to do. To draw near to broken hearts and heal them. To see the tears of man and wipe them away. To see the unspeakable sorrow of life in this world and bring joy into it. So something very odd is happening in this morning’s Gospel. Jesus draws near to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As He drew near to the Holy City atop a borrowed donkey the crowds acclaimed Him as the Messiah with shouts of praise and adoration. But as He drew near He weeps. God cries. And we see what makes Him cry: no faith in Him. His Word and His peace not received. Love rejected.
You would have thought that Jerusalem would know the things that make for peace. Jerusalem literally means “City of Peace.” It is were Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram. They should have known the things that make for peace. Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow and crane keep the time of their coming, but God’s people do not know the things of the Lord. They refused them.
Things like Jesus’ Word. Things like Jesus’ blood being shed. Things like a wooden Cross where He was lifted up, suspended between heaven and earth. Things like the nails that would go through His hands and feet. Things like a crown of thorns. Those are the things that make for peace between God and man - the innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ, the High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. But they refused to believe.
If the city spurns the Pax Domini, the things of Jesus’ peace, all that’s left for them is the peace that the Romans bring. The Pax Romana. And boy do they know how to bring it. As by Babylon at the time of Jeremiah, the Lord God would use Rome to discipline His wayward people. So Jesus warns them. In about 40 years - in AD 70 - a Roman general named Titus would draw near and bring his version of peace. The things that brought Roman peace were thing like the cutting off of Jerusalem’s food supply so that thousands of Israelites would die or resort to eating rats, or worse. Things like forcing weak, hungry Israelites to bury their own dead so that they would call into the graves themselves, half alive. Things like the alleys of Jerusalem clogged with thousands of corpses. Things like gigantic piles of dirt ringing the ways of the city; handy for placing cross to hang the bodies of those who tried to escape. All this happened to Jerusalem in AD 70 because they did not find their peace in Jesus. They did not know the Day of their Visitation.
The Last Day will be much worse. No wonder Jesus weeps.
And here we are in the Year of our Lord 2019 still all messed up, still trying to find peace outside, apart from Jesus. There you are again, trying to justify that naughty thing you did. That’s not finding your peace in Jesus. There you are again, thinking you can handle that guilt of yours by yourself. That’s not finding your peace in Jesus. There you are again, frustrated and angry in a world that is unfair and your always venting. But that’s not finding your peace in Jesus. There you are again, nursing your bitterness, stewing in resentment, and giving God the silent treatment, biting your tongue in prayer. None of these things make for true peace. Rather they are the things that destroy a person and can make God weep.
Repentance is needed. Today is the Day of your Visitation. Today you have a chance to do what Jerusalem never did. Today is not the day to say, “I was baptized, therefore I can lie, cheat, steal, hate, dishonor my parents, lust, and live any old way I want.” Today is not the day to say, “Of course I’m in. I’m Lutheran.” Today is the day to repent of your mediocre, half-baked repentance. Today is the day to confess your lack of faith and trust in Jesus. Repent, but do not weep. Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you. Call to God and the Lord will save you. For Jesus draws near not only to warn you in love, but to bring to you a Word of Peace and absolve you.
Do not weep. Jesus draws near in mercy and pity and reminds you of the things that He did to make for your peace. There He was upon the Cross, taking the naughty things you’ve done into His hands and feet so that the nails might be driven through them so that you may be justified. There He was, burdened with the guilt of sinners on His bloody back and handling it for you by carrying it to the Cross emptying it of its power to accuse. There He was, treated unfairly, getting the silent treatment from God His Father, unresponsive to His prayers, yet He doesn’t vent or take it out on sinners. Instead He takes your anger, your bitterness, your resentment right into His pierced side and buries it. As it is written, Now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the Blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who's broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility, that He might reconcile us to God through the Cross, thereby killing the hostility (Eph 2:13-16).
Stop hunting for a scapegoat on which to pin your troubles. You have something better. Yours is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Do not weep. There is no need to. For once there was a funeral procession and you men were the dead sons. But Jesus drew near and baptized you, washing you with water and His Word, raising you from the dead, giving you back to your Mother the Church, saving you from eternal wailing, never to die again.
You women were also once dead in your trespasses and sins, but Jesus drew near and baptized you, giving you His sweet Word of absolution, His peace which surpasses all human understanding.
For you were all once dead in your sins, but Jesus drew near to you, visiting you as your Bishop and Shepherd, in your Holy Baptism. Your baptism, which puts you to death with Christ and buries you with Him, so that sin is dead and no longer reigns in your mortal body. But it also raises you with Him, by His Spirit, to join you as a living member of His Body the Temple, which was destroyed, but raised, never to die again.
For Jesus entered the Temple and drove out those who sold, for He had to make room for Himself, the Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Of course He scattered the sacrificial animals. What are those animals compared to Him, God’s final and complete sacrifice for your sins. Of course He overturns the tables, for He had a better Table in view. One that He has set up in your midst and call you to this morning. One upon which are the things that make for your peace. Here your High Priest brings our bread and wine, His Body and Blood, blesses you as Abram of old, and makes you His new Jerusalem.
Thus do you, like the people in the Temple, hang on His life-giving, death defying Word. You hold it sacred, unafraid of the final judgment, for you have his Word that you who share in the death of Christ by faith also shall share in His resurrection. At the Last He shall come to your grave and raise you from your grave, wipe away every tear from your eyes, and have a Word for you: Do not weep.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Our Lord once drew near to a funeral procession and saw the tears of a widow weeping over the dead body of her only son. But Jesus had a Word for her. Do not weep. And then He raised the boy from the dead and gave him back to his mother (Lk 7:11-17). Jesus once drew near to a house of Jairus and saw his tears. His twelve-year old daughter had died. So He had a Word of the parents and family. Do not weep. And He took the little girl’s hand and raised her up (Lk 8:49-56). When they led Jesus to the Cross, He was followed by a large group of women who were weeping and wailing about the brutal treatment and His impending death. Somehow He mustered the strength to utter a Word to them: Do not weep (Lk 23:28).
This is what Jesus came to do. To draw near to broken hearts and heal them. To see the tears of man and wipe them away. To see the unspeakable sorrow of life in this world and bring joy into it. So something very odd is happening in this morning’s Gospel. Jesus draws near to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As He drew near to the Holy City atop a borrowed donkey the crowds acclaimed Him as the Messiah with shouts of praise and adoration. But as He drew near He weeps. God cries. And we see what makes Him cry: no faith in Him. His Word and His peace not received. Love rejected.
You would have thought that Jerusalem would know the things that make for peace. Jerusalem literally means “City of Peace.” It is were Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram. They should have known the things that make for peace. Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow and crane keep the time of their coming, but God’s people do not know the things of the Lord. They refused them.
Things like Jesus’ Word. Things like Jesus’ blood being shed. Things like a wooden Cross where He was lifted up, suspended between heaven and earth. Things like the nails that would go through His hands and feet. Things like a crown of thorns. Those are the things that make for peace between God and man - the innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ, the High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. But they refused to believe.
If the city spurns the Pax Domini, the things of Jesus’ peace, all that’s left for them is the peace that the Romans bring. The Pax Romana. And boy do they know how to bring it. As by Babylon at the time of Jeremiah, the Lord God would use Rome to discipline His wayward people. So Jesus warns them. In about 40 years - in AD 70 - a Roman general named Titus would draw near and bring his version of peace. The things that brought Roman peace were thing like the cutting off of Jerusalem’s food supply so that thousands of Israelites would die or resort to eating rats, or worse. Things like forcing weak, hungry Israelites to bury their own dead so that they would call into the graves themselves, half alive. Things like the alleys of Jerusalem clogged with thousands of corpses. Things like gigantic piles of dirt ringing the ways of the city; handy for placing cross to hang the bodies of those who tried to escape. All this happened to Jerusalem in AD 70 because they did not find their peace in Jesus. They did not know the Day of their Visitation.
The Last Day will be much worse. No wonder Jesus weeps.
And here we are in the Year of our Lord 2019 still all messed up, still trying to find peace outside, apart from Jesus. There you are again, trying to justify that naughty thing you did. That’s not finding your peace in Jesus. There you are again, thinking you can handle that guilt of yours by yourself. That’s not finding your peace in Jesus. There you are again, frustrated and angry in a world that is unfair and your always venting. But that’s not finding your peace in Jesus. There you are again, nursing your bitterness, stewing in resentment, and giving God the silent treatment, biting your tongue in prayer. None of these things make for true peace. Rather they are the things that destroy a person and can make God weep.
Repentance is needed. Today is the Day of your Visitation. Today you have a chance to do what Jerusalem never did. Today is not the day to say, “I was baptized, therefore I can lie, cheat, steal, hate, dishonor my parents, lust, and live any old way I want.” Today is not the day to say, “Of course I’m in. I’m Lutheran.” Today is the day to repent of your mediocre, half-baked repentance. Today is the day to confess your lack of faith and trust in Jesus. Repent, but do not weep. Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you. Call to God and the Lord will save you. For Jesus draws near not only to warn you in love, but to bring to you a Word of Peace and absolve you.
Do not weep. Jesus draws near in mercy and pity and reminds you of the things that He did to make for your peace. There He was upon the Cross, taking the naughty things you’ve done into His hands and feet so that the nails might be driven through them so that you may be justified. There He was, burdened with the guilt of sinners on His bloody back and handling it for you by carrying it to the Cross emptying it of its power to accuse. There He was, treated unfairly, getting the silent treatment from God His Father, unresponsive to His prayers, yet He doesn’t vent or take it out on sinners. Instead He takes your anger, your bitterness, your resentment right into His pierced side and buries it. As it is written, Now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the Blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who's broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility, that He might reconcile us to God through the Cross, thereby killing the hostility (Eph 2:13-16).
Stop hunting for a scapegoat on which to pin your troubles. You have something better. Yours is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Do not weep. There is no need to. For once there was a funeral procession and you men were the dead sons. But Jesus drew near and baptized you, washing you with water and His Word, raising you from the dead, giving you back to your Mother the Church, saving you from eternal wailing, never to die again.
You women were also once dead in your trespasses and sins, but Jesus drew near and baptized you, giving you His sweet Word of absolution, His peace which surpasses all human understanding.
For you were all once dead in your sins, but Jesus drew near to you, visiting you as your Bishop and Shepherd, in your Holy Baptism. Your baptism, which puts you to death with Christ and buries you with Him, so that sin is dead and no longer reigns in your mortal body. But it also raises you with Him, by His Spirit, to join you as a living member of His Body the Temple, which was destroyed, but raised, never to die again.
For Jesus entered the Temple and drove out those who sold, for He had to make room for Himself, the Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Of course He scattered the sacrificial animals. What are those animals compared to Him, God’s final and complete sacrifice for your sins. Of course He overturns the tables, for He had a better Table in view. One that He has set up in your midst and call you to this morning. One upon which are the things that make for your peace. Here your High Priest brings our bread and wine, His Body and Blood, blesses you as Abram of old, and makes you His new Jerusalem.
Thus do you, like the people in the Temple, hang on His life-giving, death defying Word. You hold it sacred, unafraid of the final judgment, for you have his Word that you who share in the death of Christ by faith also shall share in His resurrection. At the Last He shall come to your grave and raise you from your grave, wipe away every tear from your eyes, and have a Word for you: Do not weep.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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