You, be glad in the Lord at all times; again I say, you be glad! May
your gracious-gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is near. You
worry (about) nothing, but in all, in prayer and in plea with
thanksgiving may your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of
God, which rises above every mind, guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.
Lutheran pastors almost always conclude their sermons with the words,
"And now the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding, keep
your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." This they are taught to do at
Seminary, according to the rubrics of the altar book, to speak these
words of the votum or "promise". God, with these words promises you who
hear the sermon's message that He will do what this passage of
Philippians says, namely guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus!
This is quite similar to what John the Baptizer was also given to do by
God. His job was to "make straight the way of the Lord". John boldly
confess that He was not the Christ, but that his God-given task was to
make a clear path between Jesus and people. Not that he would try to
show folks how *they* could seek out and find Jesus, but really just the
opposite; John's job was to preach and baptize repentance for the
forgiveness of sins, removing those obstacles to Christ's coming.
Pastors today do the same things that John did long ago. They preach and
teach God's truth alone from His clearly revealed word. Ministers
proclaim both Law & Gospel so that you may be brought to repentance and
receive forgiveness through Holy Absolution. They rightly administer
God's sacraments of baptism and communion, so that these loving acts of
God will remove your sins and bestow to you Christ's Own righteousness,
credited to your account by the gift of faith in your heart.
The goal of both John the Baptizer and modern pastors remains the
same–the "peace of God". You need His peace, because you sin against God
and break His commandments. You haven't always acted with
gracious-gentleness toward people. You forget that the Lord is near, and
instead of living according to His will, you do what you selfishly
desire. You worry about this life and it's temporary concerns, and you
fail to pray, praise & thank God as you ought. You really do need God's
peace!
So, it is for your joy that God initiates this peace-process for you. He
washed you clean before most of you ever even thought to ask Him to, in
the baptismal font. He spoke His words of tender-mercy to you so that
you wouldn't have to worry about whether your God still loves you. He
does love you in Jesus--so much so that He feeds you with your Savior's
Own body & blood in the Lord's Supper. In the Christ, God the Father
brokers peace between you and Him, as only the God-man could work.
This is sure. It is certain, even though it is a peace that far
surpasses what any human mind can fully comprehend. This is because it
is God's doing, not yours. If you had to clear a path through your sins
to somehow get to God, it would be a hopeless endeavor. For you are by
nature sinful, ever since the fall of Adam in the Garden. For every sin
you try to clear away from your path to God, you commit two more that
pile up in your way! It's an impossible task for a sinner like you to
find your way to God.
That's why Jesus finds His way to you. You can't pray your way to Him,
or sprout wings to fly yourself up to heaven. That's why Jesus had to
come down to earth in the first place. He brought salvation from heaven
down to earth in His Own body, which He gave up unto death for you on
the +. He keeps coming down from heaven to be with you today. The Lord
is near, in His word proclaimed for your ears to hear. Jesus is in His
sacramental acts of love toward you which deliver His forgiveness.
Jesus keeps His promise to be with you, in your heart & mind. His
promised Holy Spirit works faith in your heart, and is also at work
renewing your minds to catch them up to where your heart has been. It is
with this message of God's vertical peace between you and Him which
guards your heart and mind, keeping them in Christ Jesus! Just as a
soldier guards a valuable treasure, so to does God's peace keep your
newly created heart, and constantly-being-renewed mind safe in your Savior!
So each time you hear your Pastor conclude his preaching with these
words of the votum, rejoice in this amazing promise God makes to you. Be
glad especially that God keeps this promise of peace between you and
Him, a peace brokered by your Savior at the +. Rejoice that Jesus'
peace-giving word & sacraments guard your heart and mind in Him, now and
forevermore. Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[email protected]
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