A Stick or A Cross?

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Gospel Reading for this Sunday has one of the most beautiful Gospel proclamations ever spoken by Jesus, our Redeemer. Sadly, this same part of God's Word is also one of the verses most misused.

Please listen to John 14:6 with the following question in mind: "What Kind of Stick is This?" “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'”

In order that this sermon may be one that is memorable, consider the fact that, on May 1, 1885, Rev. Dr. C. F. W. Walther, in his 26th evening lecture, stated in Thesis XV: "In the eleventh place, the Word of God is not rightly divided when the Gospel is turned into a preaching of repentance." Now it should be noted that this thesis rightly follows Thesis V which was part of his 9th evening lecture of November 21, 1884 during which Dr. Walther stated that the grossest confounding of Law and Gospel occurs when Christ is represented as a new Lawgiver and the Gospel is turned into a doctrine of meritorious works. Got it?

But, wait a minute.

Because I Live

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus promises us, “I will not leave you as orphans.” With these words, our Lord invites us to believe and trust that He will never leave us alone in this world, no matter how forlorn or difficult things appear to be. For we know that regardless of appearances, our God is always with us.

Contrary to what many might think, and in contrast to many other religions of the world, our God is not an absentee deity. Despite what the philosophers of the 1960s and on have said, God is not dead. Our Lord has died, but is now living. And our God is not simply a clockmaker who wound up the system, set it in motion, then wandered off and forgot about us. The Scriptures declare that our God made the heavens and the earth, and He directs the movement of each and every particle in the cosmos. He knows the beat of every heart of every living thing, and He daily and richly provides for all our needs of body and soul.

FUNERAL: + Lorna Mae C. Haeflinger +

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It can be difficult to adapt to the change when parents move away from the home where we grew up. As a child, a move means leaving a place that holds so many memories and associations, even if you only move across town. I knew someone in college who, as soon as he had moved off to college, his parents sold their house and relocated. Once he left for that first fall semester, he never got to go “home” again.

For all of us, the idea of moving is unpleasant, and all the more so if you do not know where you are going to end up. No matter how well planned, there is always uncertainty about how things will work out, about how you will adapt your life to your new place in the world.