Author: TechCommittee

Sermon Text 2022.04.15 — Are you a fan of red?

April 15, 2022 – Good Friday                                    Text:  John 19:25-37

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Are you a fan of the color red?  Some of you are.  Many of you know I am not.  Go through my closet.  No red ties.  Go through my drawers.  One torn up red t-shirt.  Even a remnant from my ISU days is a white sweatshirt with a splash of red.  Why?  Two reasons.  A certain pro team that plays baseball in a neighboring state and a certain university in a neighboring state that had a maniacal coach when I was growing up.  This is going to sound crazy, but I wasn’t too excited to come to Illinois State with their red.  They had the best TV broadcasting school in the state and the rest is history.

    Tonight, I appreciate the red we are about to witness.  I pray you do too.

“ARE YOU A FAN OF RED?”

    Why do we need the red of Jesus?  Because we never measure up to his standards.  We fail so miserably.  We project sin on others.  Blame the husband.  Blame the wife.  Blame the kids.  Blame the parents.  Blame the teachers.  Blame the government.

    If not blaming, we are rationalizing.  “I only hurt myself.”  “It was just this once.”  If that doesn’t work then let’s compare.  “Think I’m bad, you should see my creepy boss.”  “My sister has a lot more problems than me.”  

    Another way is to be so busy with distractions that you collapse in bed at night and have no time to haunt your mind with your sin.  If you must think about it then pop a pill, smoke a joint, get liquored up and maybe the thoughts will go away.  None of it works.  You cannot escape the reason for this night.  Yea, that’s right.  Your sin.  My sin.

    The only solution?  Stand under Christ’s cross with John.  “He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth – that you also may believe.” (v. 35). John was there at the cross.  John saw it all happen.  Christ’s blood alone washes away sin.  And the color of blood is . . .

    Before getting to the cross the blood was all over the Savior.  A crown of thorns on his head – blood.  Flogged by the Romans – blood.  Whipped with spikes – blood.  Deep lacerations.  In our day he would be stitched up.  Not this day.  The blood would keep pouring out.  Clot up and tore open again.

    He gets to the cross and the nails bring bleeding from hands and feet.  His bones and muscles burn as he tries to push up so he can breathe.  This lasts for six hours.  He is exhausted.  He went into respiratory acidosis – which leads to an irregular heartbeat.  He knew death was near.  He died of cardiac arrest.

    “One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.  He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth – that you also may believe.”  Peter Paul Rubens, a 17th century artist, depicts these events in John’s Gospel.  Rubens’ masterpiece is called The Descent From The Cross.”

    Black clouds are in the back.  Jesus is in the foreground.  Christ head dangles to one side and the body is limp.  Mary, the sister of Lazarus is there, with Jesus’s foot resting on her shoulder.  She once sat at Christ’s feet.  Another woman is there with tears.  Mary Magdalene.  She is crushed.  So much so that on Easter morning, she runs frantically, searching for Jesus.  We will learn more about that and her, on Easter.  Joseph of Arimathea is on a ladder.  Joseph looks at a man in black.  It is Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night.  Then we get to the color of the night.  Are you ready?  Don’t be afraid.

    The person under Nicodemus is dressed in red.  Red.  I said it.  It’s John, the Gospel writer.  It’s John, the beloved disciple.  It’s John, who has instructions from Jesus to take care of his mother.  But why is John dressed in red?  That is what Rubens wants us to ask.  Why is John dressed in red?  St. Louis Cardinal fan?  Indiana University fanatic?  Supporter of Illinois State?  None of it.  It is a bloody answer.  As the blood drips from Christ’s head, and hands and side it continues downward until it pours directly on John

    John is dressed in red because he is covered in blood.  He is saturated.  John is washed in Christ’s blood.  And John says that same blood is for you.  Are you a fan of red?

    At the bottom right corner of the paper is a piece of paper with the Latin inscription INRI with a rock on top of it.  These letters stand for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum – Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.  Next to the inscription and rock lies an offering plate that holds the crown of thorns and more blood.  Blood is in the offering plate.  Why?  It is Christ’s offering.  It’s Christ’s gift for you.  More cleansing blood.

    Peter Paul Rubens invites us to stand at the cross, like John.  To hold on to Jesus, like John.  To allow the Savior’s blood to wash us, like John.  Why?  Because Christ’s blood is the only solution for our sin.  

    So we stand at the foot of the cross, like John, clothed in red, yes red, forever forgiven.

                                                Amen.      

Sermon Text 2022.04.14 — Nothing shall detract from Jesus

April 14, 2022 – Maundy Thursday                                  Text:  John 13:21-30

Dear Friends in Christ,

    It took three years to complete and is one of the most recognized paintings in the world.  The 15 x 29-foot painting became an instant masterpiece.  We are talking about The Last Supper by the great master Leonardo da Vinci.  

    When he was 43 years old, the Duke of Milan asked him to paint the dramatic scene.  He worked from 1495-1498 though not constantly on the assignment.  He grouped the disciples into threes – two groups on either side of the central figure Jesus.

    When he finished, da Vinci asked a friend to look at it and give his honest opinion.  “It’s wonderful,” exclaimed the friend.  “Christ’s chalice is so real I can’t take my eyes off of it.”  Immediately, da Vinci took a brush and painted over the chalice, exclaiming, “Nothing shall detract from Jesus.”

    Nothing shall detract from Jesus.  Why is that?  Because Jesus was betrayed.  Let that sink in.  Tonight in our Witnesses for Christ sermon series we meet Judas Iscariot.  We meet him in the Upper Room the night Jesus was betrayed.

    Betrayed by a disciple.  Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.  Betrayed with a kiss of all things.  Betrayed in a garden.  Jesus was betrayed for us and why da Vinci exclaimed . . .

“NOTHING SHALL DETRACT FROM JESUS”

    According to Matthew 26:25 Judas was seated close to Jesus.  Close enough to carry on a private conversation.  Jesus gave him some bread, and this is when satan entered him.  

    Da Vinci depicts the disciples eating herring.  In da Vinci’s northern Italian dialect, the word for herring is renga.  Renga – in that dialect – also describes someone who denies religion.  Judas isn’t the only sinner at the table.  Peter denied Jesus in the courtyard.  The disciples denied Jesus in Gethsemane.  Renga.  All of them.  Renga.  All of us.

    Why did Jesus allow all this to happen?  It was for you.  Those are powerful Gospel words.  God is not against you.  God is not your enemy.  God is for you.  His love is intensely personal.  It is for you.

    Martin Luther wrote, “This is something more than the sermon; for although the same thing is present in the sermon as in the sacrament, here there is the advantage that it is directed at definite individuals.”  Even if you give up on yourself, Jesus never gives up on you.  When soldiers spit in his face, He doesn’t give up.  When a whip ripped his back, He didn’t give up.  When nails crushed his nerves, He didn’t give up.  Jesus will never give up on you.

    Since its completion The Last Supper has been falling apart.  Da Vinci – always the inventor – tried using new materials for this painting.  He used dry plaster instead of wet plaster.  It was good artistically but not for sustainability.  Experts continue to work on restoring the original even to this day.

    Fitting isn’t it?  The Lord’s Supper is for people whose lives, like the painting, are always falling apart.  In this life, we never get it right.  Thank God for the Gospel words, “for you.”  God acts for you – right now.  Holy Communion is a meal with a man who lives.

    A middle-aged and slightly overweight Scottish woman walked out from behind a theater curtain.  Her hair was going in all different directions and she was wearing a dress that wasn’t flattering.  People rolled their eyes and didn’t expect much.  That is the way it was on April 11, 2009, when Susan Boyle began to sing.

    After her song, people exploded with applause.  The video clip of Susan Boyle became the most-watched YouTube video at the time.  Her first recording broke many sales records.  Susan Boyle wasn’t what people expected.  Susan Boyle was much more.

    Here’s the point.  What may look ordinary can be completely extraordinary.  The Lord’s Supper is like that.  When Christ’s words – “Take, eat; this is my body; and take, drink; this is my blood” – are spoken over bread and wine, it’s not what we expect.  It is so much more.  What may look ordinary is completely extraordinary.

    Da Vinci’s The Last Supper includes a view of heaven.  The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the feast to come.  Jesus coming to restore all things.  At the heavenly banquet, we will no longer have to look at our sin.  We will be perfect, wearing white robes washed in the blood of Jesus.  At the heavenly banquet, we will not have to deal with broken hearts and broken lives.  In heaven we are gathered with the angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven.  At the heavenly banquet, we will no longer need Jesus to come to us in the Sacrament.  We will see Jesus face-to-face, and He will fill us with unspeakable joy that will never end.

    Some of the most important words about Communion are two short words, with three letters each – “for you.”  For you – in the past.  For you – right now, Christ is present.  For you  – in the future, you will partake of the marriage feast of the Lamb that will have no end.

                                                Amen    

Sermon Text 2022.04.06 — Slowly harden our hearts

April 6, 2022 – Midweek Lent                                      Text:  John 19:1-16

Dear Friends in Christ,

    “I saw a woman today who finally became hard as wood all over.”  A French doctor named Guy Patin wrote these words in 1692.  This is the first clinical description of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive, or FOP, a disease that slowly and irreversibly turns people into solid bone.  The disease imprisons the whole body.  Ligaments, tendons, and muscles solidify as the body becomes as hard as cement.  The rogue gene of FOP has one goal – slowly harden the body until it’s dead.

    We are in a sermon series called Witnesses to Christ.  Tonight, we meet Pontius Pilate one of the more notorious names in history.  Pontius Pilate had an acute case of FOP.  In Pilate’s case the gene went straight to his heart – back to front, top to bottom.  Spiritual FOP has one goal . . .

“SLOWLY HARDEN OUR HEARTS”

    If spiritual FOP can harden our hearts then we are on the way to being spiritually dead.  But at first we don’t notice, do we?  Our priorities start getting mixed up.  Slowly, we stop praying and stop repenting, and then we stop trusting Jesus.  Then a day comes when words such as Christ and salvation and Baptism and worship and Holy Communion mean nothing.  Spiritual FOP has one goal – slowly harden our hearts until we are spiritually dead.  Pilate knows.

    Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea for ten years – AD 26 to 36.  Pilate was from a middle-class family and that tidbit is huge as you will see.  Pilate served the Roman army in Germany and then met an upper-class Roman woman in Rome named Claudia Procula.  Guess who her grandfather was?  Caesar Augustus – the Roman emperor.  Pilate was in.  He got a position he never would have gotten any other way.  The position?  Governor of Judea.

    That is his background.  But hang on…we got a Thursday night posse led by Judas Iscariot who have come to arrest Jesus.  He will stand before Annas, Caiaphas, and finally the Sanhedrin – the Jewish Supreme Court.  They accuse him of blasphemy which is punishable by death.  One slight problem here.  They can sentence a man to death but can’t carry it out.  They need the consent of Pilate.  This is what got his name in the creeds and made him famous.

    It was early morning when Jesus was led to Pilate around 6:00 a.m.  All the accusers are there – chief priests, scribes, Pharisees.  They have Jesus right where they want him.  Soon they will have Pilate right where they want him.  

    He starts with some basic questions like, “What has this man done wrong?”  The Jews can’t give a direct answer.  Pilate was not fond of the Jews and he didn’t understand them or their religion.  He wasn’t going to get into a religious debate.  His heart is becoming harder.

    Pilate questions Jesus.  “Are you the King of the Jews?”  Jesus answers, “You say that I am a king.”  This means, “Yes, I am a king, but not the kind you are thinking of.”

    The chief priests want to confuse Pilate into thinking Jesus is some kind of revolutionary and a threat to Rome.  Jesus tells Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.”  The Pilate heart is getting as firm as cement.  Jesus is scourged.  But they want more.  They want Christ killed.  They play the card they have been hanging on to all this time.  They say to Pilate, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend.” (v.12).  Well played.  The Caesar, the king, named Tiberius was sick at the time.  He was a suspicious and violent man.  Tiberius wouldn’t like getting news about a riot in Judea, especially when this governor was appointed only because of family connections.  And Pilate was, after all, just middle class.

    The Jews blackmail Pilate and it works.  It is a choice between Jesus and Rome.  This is Pilate’s conscience.  What is it going to be?  People will do many things to save their job and status and reputation.  They will even crucify an innocent man.

    Pilate asks, “Shall I crucify your King?”  This isn’t a military king looking for battle.  This King is a suffering and bleeding type – looking for us.  This is the King who cleanses sin-stained hearts.  This King heals deep brokenness.  This King calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  He knows the time and place for His execution and still goes there – all for us.

    The chief priests give an answer, “We have no king but Caesar.”  There cannot be a riot.  We can’t have the town taken over.  So Pontius Pilate caves.  Let the mob do their thing.  Nailed to a cross. Suspended between heaven and earth.  Pilate now has a heart as hard as Mt. Rushmore.

    Notice the pattern of Pilate.  John 18 – 19 is “what’s in it for me?”  It is only about him and don’t get in the way.  We know that pattern.  It is a recipe for a hard heart.  It mangles marriages, kills kids, and finishes off family and friends.  Spiritual FOP is killing us.

    Is your heart hard or calloused or indifferent or dead?  It is not too late.  The Lord can create a new heart.  Ezekiel 11:19:  “I will give them one heart…I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.”  God will take away our stubborn heart and give us a tender, responsive heart.  It means our heart will beat again.      Amen.     

Sermon Text 2022.04.03 — Eye on the finish line

April 3, 2022                                          Text:  Philippians 3:8-14

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Track season is underway.  St. Paul illustrated where the Lord is calling us with the oldest of athletic competitions, the foot race.  We all know the coach speak: “keep your eye on the finish line or rim or ball or goal.”

    Chariots of Fire won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1982.  I wonder if it could win today?  It was the true account of a man who, like St. Paul, ran toward the life above.

    The movie chronicled Eric Liddell’s refusal to run on a Sunday in the 1924 Olympics and his subsequent victory in the 400 meters.  For Liddell, Sunday was the Lord’s Day, a day to honor God.  It was not a day to run – even in the Olympics.  The movie was very good, Toni and I actually just saw it a few years back, but even Hollywood couldn’t communicate the whole inspiring story.  

    Sally Magnusson wrote a book entitled The Flying Scotsman.  She admitted that she approached the Liddell story as a subject too good to be true attitude.  She thought such a strong-minded man would have a “holier-than-thou” attitude.  In many of her interviews with those who knew him they described Liddell as “Christlike.”  He was open to people of all races and befriended competitors no one else would talk to.

    Eric Liddell gave up running to become a missionary to China.  He died of a brain tumor at age 43.  He had a quiet serenity from early morning sessions of prayer, meditation, and Bible study.  On the day he died in 1945, one his companions wrote in their journal: “He wasn’t a great leader or an inspired thinker, but he knew what he ought to do, and he did it.”

    Liddell lived his life like he ran the 400, with his . . . .

“EYE ON THE FINISH LINE”

    In our Epistle, St. Paul reminds us that righteousness does not come to the Christian by obeying the Law – it is the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  Neither guilt over the past nor worry about the future produces the Christ-life in the present.  Nobody is perfect in this life – not St. Paul, not Eric Liddell, not you and not me – but in faith the perfect righteousness of Christ is already ours.  Christ has set us free to run through life without the need to look back over our shoulders, without prejudice for those who run alongside, without jealousy for those who are out front, and with our eye on the finish line.

    Ever heard this line?  “Watch where you’re going.”  Parents says it to kids.  Bump into someone you might hear it.  Coaches say it to runners.  St. Paul says it to us.

    Where are you going?  Life has many distractions.  We want our words to reflect Christ, but profanity is so prevalent it is hard to go out in public.  We want our minds on the things of Christ while we watch media that stacks sin upon sin with no remorse or counter opinion.  We want our eyes looking heavenward but pride, greed, envy, lust and laziness stand up in front of us.  We want hearts filled with Christ but we clog our arteries with apathy, indifference, and selfishness.  We want to be loving to others, but self gets in the way.  A psychiatrist had this sign on his door: “Specializing in people who have no idea who they are.”  When we are wrapped up in ourselves we make a very small parcel.

    Where was St. Paul’s focus?  Look at his deeds and life and writings and we get the picture.  St. Paul knew the Scriptures.  Eric Liddell knew the Scriptures.  Do we know the Scriptures?  As the Holy Spirit helps us study and learn He will empower and run alongside us.  The Word of God is much better than Wheaties.

    St. Paul focused on telling the Good News.  With his eye on the finish line, He worked to proclaim the Gospel to large audiences and individuals.  When we repent of our distractions with our words and minds and eyes and hearts and actions, the Lord can forgive and keep us moving toward the finish line.  He won that for you too on a Sunday when a tomb was empty.  With this new outlook and heaven on the horizon we can share the news of Jesus on the track where the Lord has us running.

    Back in 8th grade I ran competitive track for the first time.  The Lord blessed me with speed, and I was able to cross the finish line first numerous times.  On the 4 x 100 Relay I ran the anchor or last leg.  My buddies and I won at the District level on a cinder track.  Remember those?  We then went to the Sectional and it was on an all-weather track.  The race began and by the time the baton got to me, well, I would have had to have been Usain Bolt to even place.  This is what I remember:  I never glided on a track so effortlessly, no cinder just pure comfort.  But all I could see were the backs of the other runners.  So peaceful but 6th out of 8 teams wouldn’t cut it this day.  I finished but we were disappointed.

    That can be a picture of life.  You feel you are behind from the start.  But as Christians we keep going with the peace of Christ.  He leads the effort.  He makes the path.  He has already won the race.  We see the finish line.  On your run, get set to tell the Good News about Jesus to everyone you know, and go . . . why?  Because the Lord has focused your eye on the finish line.

        Amen.

Sermon Text 2022.03.30 — Innocent, Guilty, and Free

March 30, 2022 – Lent                                     Text:  John 18:33-40

Dear Friends in Christ,

    William Jefferson was a congressman from Louisiana.  In 2002, he used resources of an organization that would encourage a vote for his daughter to the Statehouse.  He used this same organization to help get his sister elected as a city official in New Orleans.

    During Hurricane Katrina he used the National Guard to recover belongings from his home.  When their truck got stuck in mud he used one of their helicopters to get them out.  All the while this manpower was needed elsewhere.

    In March 2005 a company called iGate sent Representative Jefferson $400,000 so he would persuade the army to use their technology.  When the FBI raided his home they found $90,000 in the freezer.

    Innocent?  Hardly.  In 2007 he was found guilty and sentenced to the largest sentence ever given a congressman for bribery.  He was released a few years back for time served.

    The Witness for Christ series finds us looking tonight at Barabbas.  We have a trial going on.  There are three outcomes:  innocent, guilty, and free.  Here we go . . .

“INNOCENT, GUILTY, AND FREE”

    Innocent – that’s Jesus.  Pilate says so.  “I find no guilt in Him.” (v. 38). Pilate didn’t think Jesus deserved the cross.  Maybe a lecture or a lashing, but no cross.  Pilate is “the governor” which means he decides death-penalty cases.  You live or die according to him.  So Pilate declares Jesus innocent and does it again in John 19:4, 6.

    Guilty – that’s Barabbas.  Barabbas is a violent outlaw.  Our text says robber but he was so much more.  He plunders and steals and he may not just rob you, but kill you.

    So Pilate, the man with all the power, relinquishes the power, and instead goes to the court of public opinion.  “”Do you want me to release the King of the Jews?’  They cried out again, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!’” (vs. 39, 40)

    Innocent – Jesus.  Guilty – Barabbas.  Guilty – you and me.  We are all born “dead in trespasses and sins.” (Eph. 2:1). We are blinded by the god of this world.  We are hopeless.  Our good works are unclean rags.  Just call you and I “Barabbas.”  Paul called himself a “wretch” and that is what we are – right now…this moment – we are wretches.

    The biblical word is sin.  This isn’t a momentary stumble and lapse in judgment.  This sin we all have is rebellion against God’s rule.  Our sin lays claims to God’s throne.  Our sin defies God’s authority.  Our sin let’s God know we are in charge.

    “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way.” (Isa. 53:6). We all have a way.  Her way may be flirtation and promiscuity.  His way may be intoxication and bad language.  Her way pride.  His way gossip.  What’s your way?  God has declared us all guilty and the sentence is death.

    Innocent – that’s Jesus.  Guilty – that’s Barabbas.  Guilty – that’s us.  Free – that’s Barabbas.  Listen.  Can you hear it?  The Roman guard with a key.  He unlocks the prison door and shouts, “Barabbas.  You are free.  They have chosen to let you go.”  Barabbas had to be shocked, right?  Shackles gone, crimes pardoned and he walks to the light of day.  Free!

    Free – we see it with Barabbas.  Free – you and I.  How so?  Christ endured not just the Roman nails, the mockery, and the spear, but also the gears of God’s grinding justice.  God doesn’t overlook sin.  He doesn’t poo-poo it as no big deal.  That is not how it works.  God must punish sin.  

    That is why all of sin was placed on Jesus.  My sin.  Your sin.  Barabbas’ sin.  Christ was in our place.  Our sins are many but Christ’s mercy is even more.  We are free.  Psalm 146:7 says, “The Lord sets the prisoners free.”  Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom Christ has set us free.”  Think of all the way you could become a prisoner.  But there is only way to be free.  Jesus.

    He liberates us from the condemnation of sin.  He frees us from our past.  He opens doors to our worry.  This freedom cannot be taken away.  No power on earth or hell can destroy it.

    Innocent, guilty, and free.  Three important words in any trial.  Which one is the most life-changing?  Innocent?  Guilty?  Free?  Do you have it right?  Free!  “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36).  By faith, forever free.

                                    Amen.   

Sermon Text 2022.03.27 — Get ready for some sleight of hand this morning

March 27, 2022                                Text:  Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Magicians are great at distracting us.  If they can get us to look intently in one direction at what they are doing, we will not see what they are doing elsewhere.  They then pull off their trick and we are stunned.  So . . .

“GET READY FOR SOME SLEIGHT OF HAND THIS MORNING”

    This is the third in a series of parables Jesus has been telling in response to the criticism he has been receiving from, of all people, the upstanding, churchgoing crowd.  This third illustration is designed to be the clincher.  Jesus does a great job of distracting his hearers.

    The younger son.  He wants his inheritance.  In implicit terms he would like his dad to die.  The father still very much alive gives him his share.  He gets away from his parents and spends his monies on prostitutes and other unsavory devices.  He is careless with his life because he has left home and church.  He runs out of money and with famine in this foreign land the only job he can get is with the pigs.  

    Let’s notice something for our ears.  The father enabled the son with the finances he gave.  But he didn’t keep enabling him.  The son had to hit bottom before he changed and repented.  He did this on his own.  His family was not chasing him.  The son came back.

    He gets on his feet and makes his way home.  On the way he practices his apology.  “Dad, I messed up.  I am not worthy to be your son.  Can I hire on as one of your servants?”  Aren’t you and I gloating a little bit?  We always like it when we think people get what they deserve.  He’s no big man.  He just another guy on dad’s payroll.  The magician has our attention.

    The magician pulls us in closer because we can’t wait to watch this spurned dad make this poor sack of a kid lick his boots.  While we wait for this Jesus creates a twist.  The dad greets him like a dignitary.  He throws filet mignon on the hibachi, gives him a ring, Johnston & Murphy shoes and a Brooks Brothers suit.  This isn’t fair!  But the magician smiles and continues.

    Now let’s introduce the character we can identify with:  the older son.  He’s indignant.  “I’ve slaved for and never disobeyed you.  I never even got a pizza party.  This is mockery.”  And the others standing around had to say, “Alright.  Someone thinking clearly.  A voice of justice.  His dad needs a wake-up call and this son has the guts to delivers the goods.”  And the magician smiles even more.

    Now we are really following the action.  How is Pops going to answer that?  Will he come to his senses?  Will he stop mollycoddling this younger son?  “Son,” he begins.  We usually miss this part because we are distracted by the story.  The son just insulted his dad but he still calls him “Son.”  Dad ignores the insults – dad as servant, brother as not part of the family.  He reassures him that the younger son coming home has done nothing to damage his relationship with him.  “All that is mine is yours.  It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” (vs. 31b-32)

    Now we get it.  The sleight of hand story distracted us that that we missed our resentment and begrudging forgiveness.  Thanks to the Savior’s skillful storytelling, we didn’t even see it coming.  How does the story end?  How you finish it says a lot about you.

    If you want the older son to hold his ground and skip the party and begrudge his father’s grace, well, Jesus shakes his head in sorrow.  You don’t get that you are in God’s family by the same forgiving love that sent the Father’s Son to the cross for those sinners you think are worse than you.

    It is fitting that those who do not forgive as they have been forgiven remain outside the celebration, because that is where they will spend eternity.  They will not enjoy God’s love and forgiveness in Christ. But those who are rejoicing over this one sinner who repents will enter into the feast.  

    You and I enter by the same act of love by the Father – giving Christ Jesus into death on the cross.  There He welcomes and dies for what you have squandered.  He prepares a heavenly feast for you by which His Easter resurrection has made possible.  You are given the clothes of an endless paradise.  

    Hasn’t the greatest of magicians given you a new perspective this Sunday morning?  Some of you are living this story with your own children.  So how does the story end for you? 
The Lord knows.  Trust Him.  It is His grace and mercy that will make the difference.

                                                Amen.