Sermon for the Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
I Will Raise Him Up on the Last Day
Theme: God’s will for Jesus is Jesus keep track of YOU always and forever.
Jesus WILL NOT FAIL in this.
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!
Amen. In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains to you that He was on—and still is on—a
mission from God His Father: “This is the will of Him who sent Me,” says Jesus,
“that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the
last day.”
Dear Christian friends,
One of the responsibilities that often comes with being the oldest
child in the family is that, once you reach a certain age, you get put in
charge of the younger children when mom and dad need to be away. Perhaps you
remember those days when either you or your older sibling was dubbed “the
babysitter” while your parents headed out the door for the evening.
God the Father Gave Jesus a Big Brother’s Responsibility
In His Bible, God your heavenly Father uses many different ways of
speaking about the miracle of your baptism. God speaks about your Baptism as
being your new birth (John 3:5), your adoption into a new family (Galatians
4:5), your cleansing bath (Acts 22:16), your change-of-clothes (1 Peter 2:2,
Ephesians 4:22-24) and even your death (Romans 6:4). Because you are baptized
· all your sins are now and forever completely forgiven (Acts 2:28);
· you wear the spotless and unblemished clothing of Christ Himself
(Galatians 3:27);
· the Holy Spirit now is yours (Acts 2:38-39); and
· without a doubt you “shall… be united with [Christ] in a resurrection
like His” (Romans 6:5).
Beyond these rich gifts, Jesus wants you to know in today’s Gospel that, when
you were baptized, God your Father gave also you an Older Brother. Stated
perhaps a better way, when all of you were baptized, God the Father gave
younger brothers and sisters to His Son Jesus. At your Baptism, your heavenly
Father gave Jesus the responsibility of watching over you, in the same way that
many older siblings must watch their younger brothers and sisters. “This is the
will of Him who sent Me,” says Jesus, “that I should lose nothing of all that
He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day.”
It is as if the Father said to Jesus on the day of your Baptism, “Keep watch
over this man. Do not lose track of this woman. Fix Your attention upon this
little child and do not get sidetracked. I am giving this newly baptized
younger brother or sister to You, My Son. Your mission is that You lose nothing
I have given You—especially this son or daughter whom I have just adopted here
in Baptism. This is My fatherly, divine will for You, Jesus: You are the
babysitter. Watch over Your younger brothers and sisters!”
Jesus Watches Over You Forever!
In today’s Gospel, Jesus also wants you to know that He will not grow
tired of watching over you. Jesus’ job of being your elder brother and your
babysitter is His greatest joy, because Jesus rejoices to do His Father’s will.
Jesus’ brotherly care for you did not end with His death and resurrection for
your sins. He continues to be your watchful older brother today and always. He
will remain your vigilant and protective guardian through eternity. This is why
Jesus repeats Himself in today’s Gospel, twice pointing you to the future power
and promise of the resurrection on the last day:
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will
never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the
will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should
lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day. For
this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes
in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Here you have Jesus’ promises to you in today’s Gospel: 1) An older brother,
given to you in Baptism, and 2) His loving, brotherly care that will not end.
This is the will of your Father who is in heaven.
“And I will raise him up on the last day.”
When our dear brother Dwight died, it did not take long for the elders and I to
think of a suggestion for how to spend a portion of his memorial money. When we
spoke to Pam about our idea, she and the children very quickly saw how this
idea will be a great blessing and benefit to their brothers and sisters in
Christ here at Grace Lutheran Church.
We have used Dwight’s memorial money to purchase a funeral pall, which we will
consecrate in the near future. The funeral pall is a large, white cloth that we
will drape over the caskets of our Christian dead when the funeral service
begins. Our funeral pall is adorned with a clear symbol of Christ our Eternal
King, whose death has abolished our deaths (2 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians
15:54-57) and whose life shall result in our inevitable resurrections from the
dead (1 Peter 1:3).
Why would we want to place a funeral pall on your casket? The reasons
are many. Among others:
1. This is not a Roman Catholic idea, an Anglican idea, or even a Lutheran
idea, even though generations of Christians from these church bodies (and more)
have used funeral palls for the caskets of their Christian dead. A funeral pall
is an exceedingly Scriptural idea, deeply rooted in those many baptismal images
that we have studied in God’s Bible over our many years together.
2. A funeral pall is the silent sermon of the Christian dead. We might
even say that a funeral pall is better than a last will and testament. When
this pall covers your casket, you will be proclaiming
a. You will be proclaiming that you have indeed been clothed with Christ
and with His perfect righteousness (Galatians 3:27).
b. You will be announcing that you died, not in a nursing home or a
hospital, but at the Baptismal font (Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:3-5).
c. With this funeral pall, you will be helping me to comfort your loved
ones, because you will be echoing the eternal Words of your Lord Jesus, who
promises you in your Baptism,
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet
shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die (John
11:25-26).
d. You will be giving your fellow Christians yet another comfort—a visible
comfort that is rooted in and drawn from God’s powerful Word. A funeral pall
says that your Lord Jesus Christ has not forgotten you, and that He is not yet
done being your watchful older brother. “This is the will of Him who sent Me,”
says Jesus in today’s Gospel, “that I should lose nothing of all that He has
given Me, but raise it up on the last day.”
Along with the elders of the congregation, I ask you to think about these
things. Join us in emphasizing the vital and continual importance of Holy
Baptism at every opportunity, even at your funeral. Open your Small Catechism
to the section on Baptism and re-read the Bible verses you see there. Study the
Scriptures—including today’s Gospel—in search of your Baptism and the great
gifts God has given to you in this miracle: forgiveness of sins, eternal life,
and an unbeatable Big Brother.
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. Amen.
___________________________________________________________________________
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