Acts 4:5-12.                 Salvation – nowhere else!!                               29/4/12

⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Here on Good Shepherd Sunday the focus is again centred on our risen Lord Jesus and what that means for us as we live out our lives each and every day of our lives. Here, in this reading Jesus is again the centre and source of everything for Peter and the disciples. In the letter of John it is Jesus Christ who is to be obeyed and pleased, because of who he is and what he has done for us. In the Gospel reading Jesus is the good shepherd whom the sheep [us] will listen to, obey and follow, because he has laid down his life for his sheep.

Easter has reshaped God’s people in a most amazing way. Now we have one that is to be truly looked up to and seen as the only source of life and salvation. Here is one who truly looks after us and has what we need for life – this life as well as the next. He has the power over sin, death and hell; and he has what is needed for us to be able to live happily with God and the people around about us. This is amazing! This is life changing!

Yet sadly, what do we find, as we look here [to ourselves] and at the people around us? We all too often are still leading the same old life – struggling, hurting and fearful. Still we want to go on living the same selfish, self-centred life. We still want to control ours and others lives. We still know what is best. Yes, now we might couch it in ‘God-talk’, but it is all too often the ‘same old, same old’.

What are the results? Instead of living in Easter joy and confidence, with Jesus Christ now as Lord of our lives, we still have placed ourselves under pressure to perform and have control of our lives. We still are left with things not working out for us, because it doesn’t work out the way we think it should. Meaninglessness and depression takes control big time. We change what God’s Word says, so that it becomes more palatable to the way we think is good, and finish up with God being less and less meaningful for us. And the list could go on and on.

When the central focus is shifted from the crucified and risen Lord Jesus and placed elsewhere we will always be left struggling and in trouble. We will be left fearful like those disciples were before Jesus appeared to them; or be proud, arrogant and controlling, like the Pharisees. We will be despondent with regard to church life and be constantly seeking after the next great thing or program that might once again make things right. When we look within, we will ever be trying to justify ourselves and to ‘paper over’ the major cracks that are there. Life will never be what it was intended to be.

But here again, remember, this is Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus is the crucified and risen Lord: the Good Shepherd that we can rely on as we live out our lives every day.  He is the one, who as Psalm 23 tells us; is the one who will ensure that we shall not be in want. He is the one who makes us lie down in green pastures and leads us beside quiet waters. In other words he is the one who will ensure that we have enough so that we can live comfortably day by day. Sure he still expects us to work as best we can, but he will ensure that we have enough so that we don’t have worry and fret and think that it is all up to us and the fortunes that we can amass for ourselves. He has provided for humanity throughout its existence and he promises that he will continue to do so.

But the Psalm goes on to say that there is more. The Good Shepherd guides his people in paths of righteousness for his names sake. His ways for living and acting are good and appropriate for us as his people, so that we can happily live with God and one another. So why do we constantly want to change what God’s Word says? Why do we listen to the world around us instead of listening to and following what God says? His ways are right and good. He can be absolutely trusted in this area as well. What God’s Word has to say on a whole raft of issues is what we can rely on to help us to live in the right way. When we hold to it, we are holding his name up as the one who our world can look to as being the God who is truly great.

And there is even more. Even though I walk through the shadows of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Yes, the Good Shepherd is there with us through the rough and tumble of life, using it all for good. There is no need for us to fear evil any longer, for nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We can look to him and go forward with confidence and certainty.

But there is even more still. With the Good Shepherd at work for his people we can know that he has prepared a table before us in the presence of our enemies. He will anoint our heads with oil; and our cup will overflow. So surely goodness and love will follow us all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Every week he prepares a table for us here in this place, feeding us with his Word and his body and blood; assuring us of his love, forgiveness and eternal life that he has won for us through his death and resurrection. We are richly blessed for this life and the next. His goodness and love thereby chases after us so that we can constantly know what he has done for us so that we can be assured that we can have eternal youth in the very best of settings.

Then to add to this, we have God Word reminding us in this reading that we have before us, that:  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. So Jesus Christ then is the only source of hope and salvation the humanity has. He is not just one of many ways to God. He is the only way. This is quite simple and very, very clear: there is no other way for us to attain salvation. It is only there for us, through Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. So we don’t have to struggle with the issue of who is right and who is not; or which the right guru or philosophy to follow. There is only one way; and it is very simple way: And it is available to everyone.

This Good Shepherd lay down his life so that we could have this salvation as a free gift. He took the punishment for all our guilt so that no one or nothing can bar anyone of us from attaining it. Since he was freely prepared to do this for us, we can be ever so appreciative and confident that this is for real. All we need to do is trust that he is true to his word; and we have an enormous amount of evidence that prove that he is reliable and trustworthy. His death on the cross and his resurrection three days later is one of the many evidences of this, but is the absolute centerpiece of it.

Yes, we can reject this Good Shepherd and his wonderful message that we have before us, and so choose to lose out on all of these wonderful benefits that he has for us: but they are there for us all. If we choose to wilfully turn our backs on this Good Shepherd and all that he has to offer us, then we have got no one else to blame but ourselves when we end up in hell. He is gracious enough to allow us to reap the consequences of our own decisions.

But surely, in light of all of this that we have before us today, we can now lift our eyes out of the mud and focus the permanently on this Good Shepherd and hold him up as that which is absolutely central and vital for life now and always. Now we will surely not want to put ourselves, our thinking and our actions into the forefront of life; for he is our crucified and risen Lord Jesus: he is our Good Shepherd who truly has good in mind for us all. Our thinking and ways are surely a load of garbage compared the greatness of this one who truly has ultimate good in mind; in every way.

Now we can go forward with confidence and certainty, leaving this Good Shepherd to be the Lord of our whole life. He can be the One who determines what I do and what I don’t do. We can leave him to allow good and blessing to come our way, or to allow sickness, suffering or even death to come our way: for we know that he knows what is ultimately good for us or for those around us. When we or others make mistakes and fail along the way, we can now look first and foremost to him for forgiveness, but also for help to make it all right once again. As we allow him to be Good Shepherd over all that we are and all that we do, we will find that we are enabled to be positive and hopeful, whilst still being realistic aware of all that is happening in our sinful world around us.

And yes we can even be enabled to show kindness to others around us, like Peter and disciples did in this reading to the cripple. Or be given the ability to stand up and witness to the greatness of Jesus Christ and all the he has done for us through his death and resurrection, to those who are our greatest fear; just as Peter did to those very people who had Jesus put to death on the cross. The Good Shepherd goes with us and before us to ensure that it all works for good. As we look up to him, recognising and holding him up as all important we can have the boldness and certainty that he will do what is needed in and around our lives. As we allow him to lead and guides us, life will be very interesting, but above all, all glory and honour will go where it truly belongs: to our crucified and risen Lord Jesus, and to his Father and the Holy Spirit.

 So go with this in mind; to hold Jesus Christ up as the Good Shepherd that he truly is; and may great blessing abound. AMEN

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Luke 24:36-48.                        Jesus – truly risen??                                        22/4/12 

 Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." {37} They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. {38} He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? {39} Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." {40} When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. {41} And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" {42} They gave him a piece of broiled fish, {43} and he took it and ate it in their presence. {44} He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." {45} Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. {46} He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, {47} and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. {48} You are witnesses of these things.

 Here in this reading today we have God’s answer to the whole issue of, did Jesus really rise from the dead and how important is it really. From the human perspective, it is unbelievable: nobody rises from the dead. So we have our doubts, and we have many that downplay the importance and reality of it. And it is in the face of this that here God’s Word clearly states that Jesus truly did rise from the dead and that we can be quite sure of it, despite what the sceptics and our human experience might tell us.

 Yes we hear of many near death experiences; where people have died and after a short time have been revived again; but this is something far different from this. Here we have Jesus well a truly dead and buried, being raised on the third day after his death and appearing and being with his disciples. Then Scripture goes on to testify that this Jesus is still alive today, even though he has now physically ascended into heaven. God’s Word wants us to clearly understand and believe that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, but that he also came alive again.

This is important for us to hear, as we are confronted with more and more lies and deceptions in the name of, and about, Christianity. There is much being promoted today in all forms of the media, that is seeking to denigrate Christ and Christianity; and which often also denies or downplays Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. But even within the mainline churches these days there are leading ‘theologians’ denying the resurrection: there are those who say it is not important whether he rose from the dead or not, as long as you have faith, or as long as you are sincere. The emphasis is not on God and who he is and what he has done, but on us and what we do: and therein lies disaster. There are also those who acknowledge a resurrection but who say that it was a ‘spiritual’ resurrection; where he merely appeared to them in a ‘ghostly’ kind of way.

Yet here in this reading we have God’s very clear answer to these misconceptions. Here Jesus stands right in the midst of his disciples the night after his resurrection. But not only does he appear before them; but he speaks to them: "Peace be with you." Wherever Jesus comes to his people he speaks his word of reassurance and peace. The presence of the risen Lord, means peace for them. Here is no word of doubt: no, ‘can you be sure.’ ‘Maybe I am for real and then again maybe I am not.’ Jesus resurrection instead means that God’s peace now comes to us. We can be sure that Jesus death and resurrection is for our good, so that we might have peace with God both here and in eternity.

 But he doesn’t just leave them with that. For they, and we, would be tempted to think that it was a ghost, or that is merely a figment of their imagination: maybe from a lack of sleep or some drug that they perhaps had taken, or whatever. But he holds out his hands so that they can see and touch the nail holes in his hands. He tells them to touch his body so that they can be sure that it was really Jesus; fully flesh and bones, as he was before. Then when they still had trouble come to terms with his physical presence, he tells them to go and get something for him to eat, so that he could eat it in their midst. Jesus went out of his way to assure them and us that Jesus had truly risen from the dead.

 But then he comes in and lands the clincher. He tells them what he had told them before his death on the cross; that: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."  Then he again opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

 What they saw in front of them; a resurrected Christ, who had died three days before, is actually what was foretold hundreds of years beforehand on many different occasions by many different people whom God had inspired to write these things, even though it made no sense to them at the time. The facts bear witness to what God’s Word, the Bible, has stated again and again. Prior to this point, their human thinking wouldn’t allow them to accept a resurrection. It didn’t fit in to their understanding of reality: it just doesn’t happen. Yet, here now was living proof that God’s Word is true to what had been written. God can be trusted. The Promised Saviour would and did, die on the cross and be raised again on the third day. Now then everything else he said, even though it may not fit our human thinking, can also be trusted and taken seriously.

 His death on the cross, for the forgiveness of sins then, is of absolute importance. God’s Word is very clear on this, and Jesus here spells that out emphatically. As a result of Jesus death and resurrection, he says: repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations. That he says is now the basis of the churches preaching and teaching – Jesus death on the cross and repentance and forgiveness of sins.

As a result of the certainty of Jesus’ death and resurrection, a turning to, and focus on God and what he has done for us through Jesus and his death on the cross, is at the core of what his church is about. That means that any primary focus on us and what we do in order to be acceptable to God; unless it leads to an understanding that we are completely unable to do what God seeks from us, and thereby turns us back to God for his forgiveness and help, is a deception.

Yet, how much don’t we see that, when there is a denial of the resurrection there is a shift of emphasis from his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, and  a focus on us and our faith and actions and all the rest. We and our feelings become central; the Spirit becomes over-emphasised; and Jesus crucified is neglected along, with sin and its damnable effect for us. The devil is having a field day, and many are falling for it.

 However, for us here today, we have been again reminded and reassured of the absolute reality of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. This is no ghost; no figment of someone’s imagination, but a true reality and was in accord with God’s Word. Surely then we too can continue to look to Jesus with joy and amazement: Knowing that as the crucified and risen Lord, all that he said about repentance and forgiveness of sins is of vital importance to us and to our world today. And in the face of the increased promotion of all kinds of deceptions, we now can and must hold firmly to and boldly witness to these things.

 Let us also here remember that where God’s Word is and is proclaimed truthfully, and where the Sacraments are administered rightly there too we can know that the crucified and risen Lord Jesus is really present also. So here again today, and every time we gather here, we are reminded and reassured of Jesus presence with us and of his assurance of the forgiveness of sins. So week by week we can repent: we can turn back to him and receive all that he has in mind for us. Then we will be enabled to go forward with joy and confidence to witness to Jesus and the certainty of his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

 So again, to him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN

 He is risen – he is risen indeed.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Parish

John 20:19-23.             "Peace be with you"                           15/4/12

 (19)  On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" {20} After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. {21} Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." {22} And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. {23} If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." {24} Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. {25} So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." {26} A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" {27} Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." {28} Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" {29} Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." {30} Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. {31} But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

"Peace be with you!' That's the risen Lord Jesus’ message to each one of us here today. The Jesus who died on the cross for us has risen and now comes to us to assure us that his peace is now there for us all: forgiveness of sins, life and salvation is extended to us. What joy is ours! What encouragement this is to us as we live in difficult times for those who are Christians. Easter surely enables us to go forward with confidence and certainty, no matter how tough life may be.

Imagine it - locked away in fear for one's own life. Afraid that they too might be arrested and put to death for being associated with this Jesus. They have already lost the one great hope in life that they thought might be there for them; so now there was a very uncertain future ahead for them. And they were afraid and hiding away from the world.

This was the situation for the disciples on that first Easter day, before Jesus appeared in their presence. But isn't that so often our situation as well: afraid! Afraid of facing life and its hassles, sickness and death. Struggling with the fact that God seems so far from his church today, as it becomes more and more liberal and as its focus shifts further and further from Christ and the importance of his death on the cross for forgiveness and life. So often we try to ignore and shut out the problems and threats that face us; not wanting to get involved; hoping that we will somehow survive it all. We close ourselves off from the rest of the world, in our own  little self-righteous world; Walling ourselves in, with our work and other activities; closing the door of our life and our personality so that others can't get close. Very much, we look to the future with uncertainty; Spiritually, socially, politically, financially and in many other ways.

I am sure that we all have our doubts and fears; sometimes even wondering if it is all for real. Perhaps the world out there is right after all; that this is just one big game of chance; that selfishness and greed, no matter what the cost is the way to go; put others down so that they can not and will not be competition. It is all there around us and within; and so often we are tempted to think that maybe that is the only way.

So we join those first disciples and Christians right down through the ages with their doubts and fears. We all struggle in this way to a greater or lesser degree; trying to shut ourselves off from those fears, doubts and uncertainties. Trying to close those threats out of our lives; pushing them away; whatever.

But when we think of those early disciples and ourselves, in this regard; closing ourselves off does not take the problems and dangers away. In fact it only increases our fears and uncertainties. If the soldiers wanted to get the disciples a couple of locked doors wouldn't keep them out. Trying to avoid sickness, death and most other threats will not overcome our fears and doubts. All we are doing is shutting ourselves off from the openings and opportunities that are there before us.

However the most surprising thing of all; despite the shut doors, fears, and doubts Jesus appears and speaks his words of peace. And this one who brings peace is not some airy fairy, distant and uncaring being. He is not an abstract idea, created in the pages of a book written by some novelist. No, this is the one and only God who came into our world to help humanity out of the dire situation it had gotten itself into. He came to do what was necessary for us to be brought back into God's family.

To do this he had to suffer immensely; having nails smashed through his hands and feet and strung up on a cross to die: being punished by God for all our sin; so being totally forsaken by his Father, because of you and me: Then buried; presumably, never to be seen and known of any more.

 But now this one has arisen from the dead and appears in the midst of his disciples and to us also. God's own Son - comes into our closed world and says; Peace be with you! My Lord and my God - our Lord and our God has come - bringing peace: Bringing forgiveness of sins, peace of mind and wholeness to us all. Our Lord Jesus comes bringing peace between God and us. Bringing forgiveness for all that is wrong in our lives. Restoring our relationship with God both here and for in eternity. But as well as that, he brings healing for our guilt, hurts, sorrows and desolation that we experience in this world of ours.

So yes, what joy is now ours? Our crucified and risen Lord Jesus now assures us of lasting peace and eternal life with himself in heaven. And that peace is ours now in the midst of our doubts and our troubles; our  hurts and our sorrows. We now know that he is here with us and for us even when the whole world seems to be against us. Because this Jesus who died and rose again for us and is truly God, assures us of this, we can go forward with every confidence and every hope. We know that everything will work out for good, because that is what he promises.

 But Lord Jesus does not leave it there; for again he speaks his word - Peace be with you! a second time. Then he sends his people out into the world around them. He sends us out with that peace. He says; As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. He sends us out to proclaim the same message that Jesus came with: The Kingdom of God has broken into our world. God has come into our sin-filled world to save us all; to assure us all of the forgiveness of sins and of the lasting peace which Jesus has accomplished through his death and resurrection. We are sent to let the people around us know this Good News. We are sent to point others to Jesus - our Lord and Saviour.

 Remember he sends us with and despite our fears, doubts, troubles and inadequacies. He knows our weaknesses and failures and yet he sends us out. It is with all of these issues at work in lives that we are still able to bring God's offer of forgiveness. To tell them that because of Jesus’ death and resurrection their sins are forgiven. As Jesus, God's Son, left his glory to take on our humanity and to live in our world - to identify with and be able to relate to people in a broken and hurting world; so we too are now sent out with our weaknesses, fears and troubles to relate to others around us who are also hurting and in trouble. We do so with the same message that has touched and changed our lives, bringing peace and wholeness. We go, recognising that this Jesus and his message of peace, changes our relationship with the people around us, even those who are giving us a hard time, and it changes the way we will treat and deal with them. Because forgiveness, salvation and peace is ours, we will want to impart and pass that on to them also.

 Here also remember that we do not go out there alone. Jesus reminds us that we too have received the Holy Spirit. As we speak of what we know and have heard from God's Word, the Bible - through preaching, reading and study of it, we have the assurance that the Holy Spirit will be at work through that message. The same God who told us that Jesus would die and rise again three days later, is the same God who has promised that the Holy Spirit would be at work in and through the Good News that we speak with our inadequacies and fears

. All the while our Lord continually speaks his word; Peace be with you!

And that word lives with us and goes with us to those around us. So we are able to go forward and face life with confidence. We can live and share the great message that our Lord has died and risen again for our salvation; forgiveness is ours and ours to proclaim in Jesus name.

This certainly is Good News. This is Easter going on every day of our life. Life thereby has surely changed - even though we still live in a frail and hurting world. Because of our crucified and risen Lord Jesus and his word of peace, we too are surely left to say; My Lord and my God!

To him belongs all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Isaiah 53:1-5.              Rejected and punished for you/me!!              6/4/12

 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?  He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Unbelievable! – Absolutely unbelievable! Yes, there are an incredible number of people who would regard the events of Good Friday and Easter as just that, unbelievable. I am sure you know many people who reject and ignore the importance and seriousness of this happening, and of many others who simply couldn’t give a darn whether it is for real or not; they would sooner go fishing, camping, down beach, or whatever, and        who like to think they can take their chances and enjoy life now, whilst deferring any decision and thinking on this matter to later in life. And how sad that is, that they should follow this line thinking.

But rather than just think of those out there, what about you and I. How serious are we, really? Where do we stand? Come on be honest – how fair dinkum do we take Jesus Christ and his death on the cross and it’s impact for and on our lives. How many of us are not sure, and who just want to have two bob each way; and turn up at Christmas, Easter, and a couple of times in between, just to be sure. How many of us have been caught up in the popular concept of Christianity today, which focuses primarily on us, and what we must do. How many us are sitting back smugly thinking, I’m OK Jack, I’m here most Sundays and I’m on this committee and that one, so I’m a good Christian. And I could go on. Yes it is there isn’t it? None of us are so pure and honourable are we – none us?

Now here we are reminded that there was nothing attractive or spectacular about Christ and Christianity. Here it says, there was going to be nothing beautiful and attractive about the Saviour, particularly when we look only on the surface. In fact it says, he would be despised and rejected – hung up on a cross to die a criminal’s death. There, to our way of thinking, we have the furtherest thing from victory, power, and new life. No, all good things there. In fact just the opposite! Nor is there outwardly a sudden transformation of us as individuals simply because we are Christians. No automatic health, wealth and happiness; freedom from the hassles and difficulties of life. So on the surface it looks so often to only be a sham and a waste of time.

From a worldly point of view Christianity has not got much going for it at all. Hence we have many, not talking about sin, Christ and the cross but loving, and living the Christian life: or focussing on making worship upbeat and entertaining. All kinds of things are focussed on because Christ crucified goes against the grain of our human way of thinking.

But we need to remember that it is there on cross that it all happens. There we have the pivotal point of history, and the one hope for mankind. There we have the genius of the Masters plan, despite the fact that it goes against the grain of our whole way of thinking, and that our reason and feelings say that it is just not on; and that there has to be something else, something more. No, there we have the central point of history. There we have the one determining factor as to whether we go to Heaven or Hell. There we find the one thing that makes us acceptable to God. As much as we might like to turn the focus in any number of other directions, there is no other way but to take Jesus Christ and his death on the cross seriously. There alone we have the real answer to life and what is important.

So with that in mind let us focus our attention for moment on that cross. Take away the shine, glitter and artiness of it all, and there see a rough old wooden cross, probably a couple of rugged spiky tree branches fixed together. And on that cross Jesus is hanging, in excruciating pain. Remembering, he had just had big nails smashed through his hands and feet, and that was now taking the whole weight of his body. Hanging out in the burning sun, with no respite;             no consolation; no comfort. Just the heckles and jeers of the crowd: And, for what? He’d done nothing wrong. He was innocent. He had done nothing what-so-ever to deserve it. And that is just the human side to his suffering and pain: Which was the least of his worries.

 In reality, there on the cross Jesus faces the terrible, righteous anger of God himself, even though he himself is innocent. He is being punished, and in fact being totally forsaken by his Father. There he is receiving everything that you and I, and every other human being deserves. It should be us that are hanging there! Every one of us! Because, all of us have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God. None of us are good enough! None us are acceptable to God on our own merits. And yet, there, Jesus hangs in our place. There, the Almighty’s holiness is unleashed against all our sin, and every sin committed by humanity; yours, mine, Hitler’s, and every other mad man’s, and every other human being’s. Every sin is receiving it’s punishment from God Almighty there on the cross. So there, we see real agony! There we see real pain! No wonder he screams out to his Father, ‘My God, my God why have you forsaken me?’ No wonder he died hours sooner than expected.

Yet you know, he willingly accepted all that on himself for our benefit. He went to the cross freely, so that we wouldn’t have to suffer eternal damnation: so that our slate may be wiped clean: and receiving forgiveness for our sins, be assured that friendship and acceptance by our Lord is there for us. And there is the big deal about Jesus Christ! There is the big deal about the cross! That is why our celebration here today is so important: so solemn: and so deeply moving. Sure there is no razzamatazz and glitter. No great show of power and might. But that is the way God has chosen to take care of yours and my stupidity: Even today. All, so that we can again, freely and easily, be a part of God’s family for all time.

And all of that happened there, on that awful cross, 2000 years ago. There, in great suffering and pain he does it all for you and me. So the Lord says, ‘It was my will that he should suffer; his death was a sacrifice to bring forgiveness. And so he will see his descendants; he will live a long life, and through him my purpose will succeed. After a life of suffering, he will again have joy; he will know that he did not suffer in vain. My devoted servant, with whom I am pleased, will bear the punishment of many, and for his sake I will forgive them. And so I will give him a place of honour, a place among great and powerful men. He willingly gave his life and shared the place of many sinners and prayed that they might be forgiven.’

 But now the question is, what are we going to do about it? Do we sit here as if it doesn’t really matter all that much: as if it was no big deal what he went through. Do we walk out of here and hardly give a thought to him for the rest of the week or year: Going about our life, not caring in least about what he has done for us. Do we now go about our Christian life merely thinking about ourselves and our importance and our feelings, and what we can do for God, and changing God’s word to suit ourselves, and the like. God help us if we do!

 No, surely, this again is a turning point for us all. Surely, this again must move us to look in grateful thanks to this one who endured so much for us. Since he has done all of that on the cross for us and for our salvation, we will look up to him with awe and appreciation. He will be for us, our Lord – the most important person and thing in our lives. We will cling to him for dear life, knowing that it is only through him that we are and will be anything at all.

 Knowing that through his death on the cross, we have forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation; and that by being joined to him and his death through Baptism, Holy Communion, and constant listening and reading of his Word, we can now go forward confidently, but humbly. Now we can face each and every day, not in our strength and ability, but with the constant assurance that our Lord Jesus goes with us. So we can face the hassles and terrors of life, as well as the joys and good times, and know that they all are not the last word. But that Jesus Christ and the cross are our one assurance that it will all work out.

So yes, that cross, is such a terrible thing, and what he went through is a crying shame. But thank God he did! Thank the Lord Jesus for his indescribable love for us. To him alone, be all glory and honour, now and always.   AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish