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Grace, mercy, and peace be upon you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, the text for this morning is the Gospel reading. Not the Palm Sunday text, but the text that was just read in the Gospel procession. You may be seated.
The pastor who confirmed me was born in 1918. He was an older gentleman when I was confirmed by him, and he kind of guided me to the seminary. It was at the seminary while I was going there… a Lutheran Christian sermon. So he saw the heyday of the church with building projects and Sunday schools bursting to the seams and day schools overflowing and pews filled with families of three, four, five, six, and seven kids. He said, “The era that you’re heading into is far harder than the era of the church that I worked in.” What he saw from a distance, you and I see face-to-face every day in this country.
There is a hardness of heart here among us in this nation toward the good news of Jesus. There is a rejection by large amounts of the population toward this message that we hold so dear. Now, mind you, people are still coming to faith. God be praised. Children and adults are still being baptized. Right? Young people and adults are also still being confirmed and brought into the communion of the saints. But it is a different world on the outside, what we see, than it was when this pastor was a young man starting out in a small congregation.
In this morning’s text, we have two men, Philip and Andrew, who become believers. And of course, Andrew later on talks to his brother, Peter, and brings him into the faith by introducing him to Jesus. But in the midst of Andrew and Philip coming to Jesus, coming to faith, there is also surrounding in this text many more people who reject and have a hardened heart. Jesus said, “Many even of the authorities believed in Jesus, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. For they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”
That’s a perfect and apt description of this world and this present generation. We are so full of opportunities to be entertained, so full of things that distract us from the things that really matter. So easy to be complacent when our bellies are full and our minds are adrift in our entertainment.
And yet, in the midst of these many authorities who love the glory that comes from men more than the glory that comes from God, there’s Philip and Andrew who become believers. There is gathered around Jesus a small number who believe in him, trust in him, and are counter-cultural.
Now isn’t it interesting, when Philip and Andrew come to Jesus, they’re not just believers. They want to know what’s going on. Of all the things that Jesus could have said to them, they who are alone, and they who will be encountering more and more rejection as time goes on, of all the things that Jesus could have said to them at this most opportune moment, when they wish to, quote, “see Jesus,” he shows them Jesus, but not the Jesus that many people think, the Jesus that was revealed to you and to me in our baptism.
Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” So Jesus explains what that glorification is. He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
So at this most apt moment, Jesus tells them death is what’s in store for him, which brings glory to the Father. Amen. Seems like a really negative and disheartening statement to share with these two men who are very excited about the faith. Seems somewhat counterproductive when most of the people there reject Jesus and these few who do come and see him, he gives them this kind of information, this kind of truth.
But in spite of the rejection by those many, many more will be saved. But they won’t be saved by a Jesus who is some wonderful memory. They won’t be saved by a Jesus who fixes economic or marital woes and helps them to be more highly effective. They’ll only be saved by a Jesus who’s planted in the ground and dies. They’ll only see the glory of Jesus in his death and his resurrection.
They won’t see the glory of Jesus in a brand new kingdom there in Rome or in Jerusalem. They won’t see Jesus, and neither will your and my contemporaries, in a fixed or changed America. They won’t see Jesus, for your and my contemporaries, as well as you and me, in everything going so well in this country’s economy.
They’ll only see Jesus as the one who was planted in the ground and died and bore much fruit through his death and resurrection. In the midst of this, brothers and sisters, listen to the encouragement that your Lord is giving to you. He knows you live in this kind of a world, which was not too unlike his own. He knows you need encouragement to remain faithful to these things that you and I cling to so that Hosanna doesn’t just become another phrase, but the very thing that we cry out, “Save now. Save me now, O Lord.”
Jesus is encouraging you to remain faithful to what you have believed and to what you have been taught by those sinful Sunday school teachers, those sinful parents and relatives of yours, those dysfunctional day school teachers, and maniacal pastors. In spite of them and all of their sinful pride and all of their problems and all of our shortcomings, remain faithful to the truth that was given to you.
In spite of what you see happening among us, you’ve seen many people come through the doors at St. Paul, joining the church, and you’ve seen those same people. Where are they now? You’ve seen young people join the church whose parents aren’t even believers and whose parents have nothing to do with the church. Why? You’ve seen parents who brought their children up in the church and asked themselves, “Where are their children? Why?” You’ve seen churches struggle and close around the country. You’ve seen schools struggle and close around the country.
How do we have any encouragement with this truth that we’ve been given? Remember what Jesus said: “Though he, that’s Jesus, had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him.” If Jesus did all these signs in front of all these people who were the very people who should have seen the signs, who knew the signs that would be revealed, if they themselves reject them, do we think we are any different in this day and age?
And so that leads to your and my temptation. Seeing these things that we’ve just spoken about—children coming, children going, people coming, people going, schools opening, schools closing, churches opening, churches closing—it’s okay for you and me to ask the question, “Why, O Lord, why does this happen? Why do I have to be the one who has to observe it happening? What can I do? What can we do? What can you do?”
And that’s where the temptation begins. We think we can do something about it. We think we can change, manipulate, alter this truth of Jesus dying and rising again in order to make it more palatable. But in spite of the many miracles that Jesus did, the many signs he showed them, they still did not believe in him. And yet Philip and Andrew did, not because of the signs, but because of the message. Because of the message of truth.
So let’s ask that question again. What can you do? First and foremost, you can repent. You can repent because you see these things just as I see these things, and it evokes an emotion within us, a desire to see people come to faith. But it starts with us repenting. The second thing, believe these promises that Jesus proclaims to you, that in spite of what you see in this present culture, his word will have its way. And though many reject him, many more will be saved.
And the third thing, remain faithful. Remain faithful to the truth that you close your eyes on every night. Remain faithful to what you cling to. If it’s what you cling to, why does it need to be different for somebody else? Are they better, or are they worse than you? Remember Jesus: “Whoever loves his life loses it. Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
As you read the texts of the scriptures from this era, meaning 2,000 years ago, you will see that this same message that we’re proclaiming here today was cruelly and heartily rejected by the majority of the people, not only in the Jewish culture but also in the Roman culture and all of the other cultures around the Mediterranean. And yet, in spite of the rejection by the Jewish culture, the Roman culture, and the other various cultures scattered about the Mediterranean, this same message that was cruelly and heartily rejected was also embraced. And people died in this faith.
And we think we can repackage it. And we think we’ve got to do something different. And we think it’s not as effective as shame on us.
“Now is my soul troubled,” Jesus said, “and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Jesus does not just lockstep to the cross as a robot; he goes there with a heart heavy for the very people who have rejected him.
You know Satan had to be saying to him, “Oh, great Lord Jesus, you’re going to die for these people who have cruelly and heartily rejected you. Why waste it?” And that is what grace is, isn’t it? And that is what love is, isn’t it? Could not the same be said of you and me?
“Lord, you’re going to die for these pathetic believers who question, who think that they are more enlightened than others, who think that their generation is so much more able to grab hold of what really needs to be said to this present generation that’s different than what was said to all of the other cultures and all of the other generations before this country ever existed.” It’s a waste, O Lord— that’s what Satan would say.
And yet, as Jesus approached that cross, as he carried it to the top of Mount Calvary, he did it with great love for the people that would reject him and for the pathetic believers that we are who continue his message through whom he extends the church. That’s what he lets us in on at this moment in his life: “My heart and my soul is troubled.”
Remember, “The light is among you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you, for the one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you who have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of the light.”
Repent and believe and remain faithful. People have and people will continue to reject him who died for them. People have and people will continue to believe in him who died for them. We are not a special generation. We are not a special culture. We are not more enlightened. We are sinners for whom the great seed died that he may produce fruit in you and all those in this world who he brings into your life.
But the same problem exists that tempts you every day. God be praised hasn’t damned you, but tempts you. They love the glory of men more than they love the glory of God.
Why God does not wash his hands of us who hearken to the sirens of the glory of men so many times day in and day out, I do not know except for the vast mercy and love of God in Christ Jesus. For he has seen our love yearning for the glory of men and despising the glory of God time and time again and yet he still comes back after you as he’s doing this morning right now, working in your heart, holding you close to him, keeping you steadfast, not letting go.
Consider these things that God is doing among you that you may not close your eyes to. By God’s grace, a woman who is the wife of a pastor of the King and Kings, along with others within our own congregation, meet multiple times in this building with foreigners who either are studying at the University of Texas or whose spouses are.
And they’re in these places, in this church, being taught English, being confessed to the faith. And they take it home with them. Just last fall, we had eight Chinese men who went through the entire 10-week adult confirmation class that met for two hours almost every single Sunday. And though they were not confirmed, they heard the word of God.
What we need to do is embrace the things that God is laying in our laps, brothers and sisters. We’ve got a little small sister congregation called Jesus Lutheran Church for the Deaf. They’re almost worn out because of all the things that they’re trying to do to get their church to reach out. And by God’s grace, one family, a deaf mother, and her two deaf children are going to be baptized in a couple of weeks down there.
What do we need to do? Embrace the very things that God has given us in our place. We’ve got a school here where only 25%, mind you, only 25%, are St. Paul members. The other 75% are from all across the country, of various religions and or none. And yet two young ladies whose parents don’t take them to church want to be baptized. And we’re going to do that the Wednesday after Easter. They may even want to get confirmed.
And we wonder what we should do? God is giving you and me opportunities. Let us not be sidetracked from these opportunities. And every fall and every spring, whether the pastor is teaching that class or I am teaching that class, we are baptizing adults and confirming them in our adult confirmation class. There has yet to be a class when we’ve had nobody. That’s God’s gift to you and me.
Do you know how many congregations would die for just having one new convert a year? And they’re more like flies around us here. And we get despondent. Is that more self-pity or is that blindness? What is it?
God gives us these things in this word this morning so that we would not be despondent. And God has given us the very thing that we should do when we do feel these things: repent, believe, and remain faithful. Here’s the promise: “If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
That’s a promise. This message of great power, the message of Jesus dying for people, not only who reject him but who, by God’s grace, are brought into the faith… This message of Jesus Christ that we are entering into the throes of this Holy Week is the very one that has produced fruit and will continue to produce fruit in spite of what you see and I see, in spite of what you think or I think.
Because when he said this, “If this seed dies, it bears much fruit,” he said it when he was about to be rejected and recorded it for us so that we would remember it. Repent, believe, and remain faithful. Don’t lose heart.
And I, Jesus said, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He will not let go of his beloved bride, the church. And he will use you here and now. And the opportunities are many.
In the name of him who bore the weight of the world, including the doubts, including the anger, including the injustices that we can come up with our minds as to why he bore it, so that you would be his child, a son or daughter of the light.
In Jesus’ name, Amen. The peace of God which passes all understanding. Keep your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.
