“The Wounds of Jesus" (John 20:19-31)

John 20:19-31

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Pastor Tom Johnson, April 28, 2019

It is Sunday evening of the resurrection. Jesus appears through the locked doors in his miraculous body. He greets them with the word shalom, “peace.” He shows them the scars in his hands and in his side. The marks are where he was nailed to the cross and where he was pierced in his side with a sword. It had only been a few days—Friday, Saturday, and now Sunday since his crucifixion and death. It is miraculous that he is raised from the dead. It is miraculous that scar tissue has grown to heal up the wound so quickly. But it is quite unexpected. Why wouldn’t there be complete healing with no scarring? His scars tell the story for all time. Even into eternity in the book of Revelation, Jesus appears as the Lamb who was slain in his glorious body (5:6). It is impossible to look at Jesus even in his glorified state without being reminded of his crucifixion and death on the cross.

Scars tell stories. They are souvenirs from falls, bike accidents, car accidents, sports injuries, surgeries, hands slipping with knives and saws. Depending on how visible they are—especially if they are on the face—we may feel compelled to tell the story of our scars for the rest of our lives. I have scars from bike accidents and falls on my face, scars on my hands from knife and saw accidents, a scar from a spectacular fall in the Grand Tetons, and pencil lead in my right palm from a girl who really wanted my attention in the third grade. But some scars cannot be seen. There can be scar tissue deep beneath the skin from surgeries and profound injuries. Some scars are emotional from traumatic experiences or abuse. Perhaps it is the lingering memory or heartbreak of rejection.

Jesus shows his scars to assure his disciples that he is his authentic self. He truly is the same one who was crucified, died, and was buried. Jesus actually did suffer bodily and now he has been raised from the dead. He is a survivor. And even more than that, he is miraculously healed. He truly has victory over sin and death. Jesus points out his wounds in order to build the Kingdom of God. He wants the disciples to see and touch the marks in his hands and side to strengthen our faith. He has truly conquered death, the devil, and our sin. Touch and see for yourselves. Jesus uses his wounds to establish a deeper connection with his followers. Their faith and trust in their Savior grows. The one who gave his life for the life of the world creates a bond of love through the marks of the nails and the spear. Jesus is our forerunner and example as to how God builds his Kingdom.  He wants us to see the true humanity of his Son so that we will see his true divinity as the one who conquers death and evil.

As the Church—as the Body of Christ we also have wounds. Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” So we are to share our wounds with the world. Our sisters and brothers in Sri Lanka were attacked and killed because of their faith in Jesus just a week ago. How do we respond? We can perpetuate the endless cycle of violence. Or we can show our wounds—teach the world the way of the Cross. “If you live by the sword you will die by the sword,” Jesus said. We can show the world what it means to be free of the tyranny of sin and death. And by the words and example of Jesus, we learn to pray for our enemies and love our enemies.

When people visit our community of faith, what do they see and what do they touch? Do they see us masquerading as those who have never been wounded in body and soul? Who are we deceiving by pretending that we have never been scarred by the evil in the world, our own poor choices, and harm we have done? When we have courage to share our wounds and scars, we are being our authentic selves. We share the story of the injury we have suffered. But even more importantly, how God has begun to heal us in soul, mind, and body.

There is power in sharing our scars. Some need to know they are not alone in their struggle. Some need hope that God will also bring healing and courage to their lives. Some need a friend who sticks closer than a sister or brother. We need to know that our fathers and mothers may forsake and fail us but the Lord will take us in. Some of us need to know that we are not invisible. That what we have experienced matters. That our mistakes can be forgiven. That God can bring good out of a tragic experience. That Jesus also greets us with Shalom—with peace. He will also breathe into us new life in the Holy Spirit. He makes all things new.

God has forgiven us for piercing his only begotten Son with nails and spear. He has forgiven us for all our sins and injury we have done to others and to ourselves. He has not rejected us or left us as orphans. He accepts and loves us scars and all. “He was pierced for our transgressions...and with his wounds we are healed.” Our scars remind us that we are survivors. We are willing to take risks and live life to its fullest. We fell down but we got back up again. We get back into the game again because, as Scripture says, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is within you is greater than he who is in the world.” God will use our scars to build his Kingdom. Just as he used Jesus’ scars to bring wholeness, peace, forgiveness, salvation, and faith. Even this morning, we see, touch, and taste the tokens of Christ’s sufferings in the bread and the wine. We proclaim the Lord’s death. We preach his wounds to the world and ourselves when we eat and drink his Body and Blood. We look forward to his coming again. We celebrate the victory we have over our sin, the devil, and death itself. The wounds of Jesus tell us we are more than conquerors because of him who loves us.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

“The One who lives,” Luke 24:1-12

Luke 24:1-12

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“The One who lives,” Luke 24:1-12
Pastor Tom Johnson, April 21, 2019

There is a group of women who go to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. They are not expecting the stone to be rolled away from the tomb. They are not anticipating the tomb to be empty. They are perplexed. While they are still trying to make sense of things, two angels appear in dazzling clothes. They terrify the women. The angels express their joy of the resurrection by pointing out the irony of looking for someone who is alive in a graveyard. The angels see the humor of the situation. And what better way to celebrate the truth of the resurrection than with joy and laughter? We laugh at death, the devil, and sin that tried to snuff out the eternal Son of God. And at the same time, we learn to laugh at ourselves—how foolish we can be.

“Why seek thee the living among the dead?”
John Roddam Spencer Stanhope (1829-1908)

Later we see the foolishness of the apostles. When the women tell the men the good news of the resurrection, they do not believe their story—presumably because they are women. It seems to them to be an idle tale. The reason this is sad, but also ironic, is that the women again go seeking to proclaim the living one among the dead. Now it is the apostles—the ones to be commissioned by Christ himself—who are the ones whose ears, minds, and hearts are lifeless—dead to the news of the One who triumphs over the grave!

The angels are God’s messengers. Their message to the women and the apostles is a question that calls into question their actions. God wants us to reflect on our actions. He wants us to ask ourselves, “Why do we look for the living among the dead?” Why do we engage in vain pursuits in this life? Why do we not live more by faith not by sight? Why do we seek meaning, pleasure, or fulfillment in the things that are passing away? Or why have we become dead to God’s resurrected power? Why have we let our cynicism, despair, and pride get in the way of hearing the good news God sends our way? Through the Word of God, the Holy Spirit confronts our unbelief day after day with the transformative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God sends us his angels who continually guard and protect us. And like the angels in our reading, they still wonder why on earth we would still look for the living among the dead. “He is not here, but has risen,” they say. “Remember how he told you...that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

It was necessary for Jesus to be arrested, be unjustly condemned, die, and rise from the dead. “Necessary” because through his suffering and death he confronts sin and the evil of this world to bring us forgiveness. And through the resurrection, he triumphs over death and the grave to bring us eternal life. Jesus is the Living One among the dead. He is life in the midst of a dying world. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.” Christ is the One who dawns upon us to infuse meaning, hope, and joy. The Living One makes all things new.

When we live our lives in light of Christ’s resurrection, we see the futility of worldly pursuits. We will not look for riches among an impoverished world. We realize how much God treasures our lives who has purchased us not with gold or silver but his precious blood. We will not look for power or great stature in a world that misuses and abuses power. We come to understand that power is not in our ability to manipulate others and get our own way. Power and authority is God’s delight to forgive us and set us free from the bondage of sin. We realize the unprofitable pursuit of pleasure. God spreads the banquet table before us. We celebrate the pascal feast. We taste and see that the Lord is good. He strengthens us for the journey ahead in body and soul to life everlasting. And we get to proclaim the Living One so that the whole world can share in his life.

He brings me to the portal
That leads to bliss untold, 
Whereon this rhyme immortal
Is found in script of gold:
“Who there My cross has shared
Finds here a crown prepared; 
Who there with Me has died 
Shall here be glorified.”

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

“Evildoer on the Cross” (Luke 23:32-43)

Luke 23:32-43

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“Evildoer on the Cross,” Luke 23:32-43
Pastor Tom Johnson, April 14, 2019

Luke’s account of Jesus’ passion and death is the only one that includes his conversation with the two others crucified with him—on on his right and another on his left. All three are crucified for treason. But those flanked next to Jesus are guilty of murder and insurrection. They were first century Israelite terrorists. They likely killed Roman citizens to put fear and flight to their Roman occupiers. The word criminal here literally means “evildoer.” One of the evildoers repeats the mockery: “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself...” then adds, “and us.” If the Messiah was the one to bring in the Kingdom and deliver Israel from captivity, then it makes sense that he who is dying for Israel would demand this.

“Christ and the Thief” by Nikolai Ge (1831-1894)

But the other evildoer...literally, the evildoer “of a different kind” speaks up. His hands and feet are nailed to the cross, but his tongue is free to be the evangelist he is now immortalized to be. He says to the mocker, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Reverence for God. Respect and honor for Jesus is what opens this evildoer’s lips. What makes him an evildoer of a different kind is his recognition and admission that he is an evildoer—a sinner—rightly condemned and crucified and put to death for his crimes. Just as Scripture says, “The wages of sin is death.” “All we like sheep have gone astray, each has turned to its own way.” This evildoer of a different kind bears his soul and speaks the hard truth that he is guilty. And he proclaims the innocence and righteousness of Jesus—the Man who has done nothing wrong.

I was thinking about this text all week and why it is one of the clearest passages on the grace of God—that is, just how radically free, unearned, and undeserved the love of God is in the Gospel. I believe this is the reason this passage is so powerful: God’s providence isolates the controlled variables. Just like Luke the physician determined illnesses by isolating controlled variables with treatments, patience, and observation to determine how to heal others. So we are able to see what cures the human soul. That is to say, that just as Jesus and the evildoers were stripped of their clothing before they were crucified. So God strips away all sorts of reasons why God might forgive and give eternal life to this condemned man. We presume that he was a circumcised Israelite who looked for the Messiah. But we are not told that. We do not know if he was baptized. It is not mentioned. He certainly was not baptized while hanging on the cross. He does not pray a prescribed prayer. He is not at a worship service nor is he at a revival. He is not prodded or asked to make a decision about Jesus. Nor is he guilted or shamed into making a confession of his sinfulness. He cannot go to the temple to offer sacrifices. He cannot perform good deeds. His hands and his feet are nailed to a wooden cross. But his ears hear. His mouth speaks. And with his heart he believes. He likely heard Jesus say, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” He certainly heard Jesus say, “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Through the Word of Christ and the Holy Spirit, God creates faith in the heart of this uncommon criminal. He knows that all his treason, murder, and wickedness are forgiven because Jesus forgives those who mock and nail him to the cross. And so he prays to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He does not ask Jesus to merely recollect him and bring him to mind when he enters his domain. He does not ask to be delivered from death on a cross. He asks the King to show him favor by receiving him into his heavenly Kingdom. He asks Jesus to save him from sin, evil, and a cruel world.

Jesus says, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Not tomorrow. Not on the third day. Not in the age to come. Today. When Jesus dies he commends his spirit to God the Father. When this evildoer dies, he will be received that very day. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” When a sinner who trusts in Jesus dies, they do not go into soul sleep. They do not take a detour through hell or purgatory. Like Enoch, Elijah, and Lazarus they are swept up into heaven—in a sudden translation, a chariot of fire, or up on angel’s wings. The word Jesus chooses, paradise, is incredibly powerful as well. It refers to the Garden of Eden. In Jesus’ death he will take away the curse of death and fall of humanity. He will restore creation back to its original beauty, holiness, and joy. And Jesus will be there to welcome the vilest sinner who believes. He will not remember our sins. He will remember you and me. It was for us that he suffered and died that we would not perish but have eternal life.

Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.
’Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.

For me, king Jesus, was thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and thy life’s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.                     (“Ah, Holy Jesus,” vv. 2 & 4)

“Press on” (Philippians 3:4b-14)

Philippians 3:4-14

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Pastor Tom Johnson, April 7, 2019

Our Lenten journey began with remembering that we are dust and to dust we shall return on Ash Wednesday. It continued in the wilderness, fasting, temptation, and ongoing struggle with sin. We now come toward the end. Paul gives us the tools we need in order for us to move forward to celebrate Easter, the pascal feast. Paul has mastered one thing: “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” To press on, Paul reminds us that we must forget what lies behind. Paul is honest, vulnerable, and candid about his past. He puts his impressive resume forward. His pedigree is impressive. His was born into privilege. He was highly educated. And he was passionately faithful to continue his family’s legacy.

But all that is rubbish to him now. The New Testament word rubbish, as you might know, is the vulgar word for excrement. He considers his past worthless and even repulsive—not because he despises all the good things he inherited but because of how much more valuable and precious is what he now has in Jesus Christ. And so Paul forgets what lies behind. By telling his story, he tries to inspire us to follow his example—or rather the example of Christ.

Forgetting is a not a passive slip of memory. It is not the inability to remember. It is not spiritual dementia. It is active effort to no longer let what is in the past define you. It is a mindset to transform the way we enter the future. Forgetting what lies behind is paying less attention to the old you and paying more attention to the new you God is creating. Forgetting what lies behind is caring less about the things that are passing away and more about the gifts God has in store. Forgetting what lies behind is our belief that God can take any very messy situation and bring order and peace. It is our faith in God’s power to transform the vilest sinner whose sins are forgiven, in the past, and whose righteousness in Christ is emerging and rising like the dawn of a bright new day. God says in Isaiah 43 (v. 25), “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” God forgives and forgets. When he erases our guilt and shame, he chooses not to remind us or conjure it up again.

Paul does not bring up all his pedigree, privilege, and persecution of the church to impress us but to persuade us that none of us is too good nor too bad to have the need to forget what lies behind. Pride about our past keeps us from seeing the surpassing riches of Christ which await us. Regret stifles the growth that God wants to cultivate in our lives. To put it bluntly, to dwell in the past and to let it hold us back is a form of unbelief. It is allowing the things of this world to hold us captive, to paralyze us, and to prevent us from moving forward in the peace, joy, and hope of our future in Christ. “One thing I consider to have mastered,” Paul says, “to forget what lies behind and to strain forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul uses one of his favorite metaphors to describe the Christian journey—a race. In the 2006 Winter Olympics, Lindsey Jacobellis was about to finish first for the gold in a snowboard race. When she saw her success behind her, she showboated on a jump, wrecked, and finished second instead of first. It’s painful to watch. Coaches and sports commentators scold runners and racers of all kinds who look back for whatever reason because of the loss of focus and precious time.

One of the most powerful moments during my visit to Stateville prison with Deaconess Lori Wilbert was when Jesús was vulnerable enough to share his belief that his young daughter will never want anything to do with her incarcerated dad—that he will spend the rest of his life without a relationship with her. “You do not know that,” said one prisoner. “Yeah,” said another, “you never know what God will do in her heart to want a relationship with you.” I could see a glimmer of hope in Jesús’ eyes as he began to let go of the past and strain forward toward a future in the hope of the Gospel which is a ministry of reconciliation.

That is Paul’s encouragement—don’t look back. Strain forward. “Press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” In our Gospel reading, Mary does just that; she anoints Jesus with costly perfume. Jesus says that it is in preparation for his burial. Mary presses on in her faith in the Messiah who will die and rise again for her forgiveness and eternal life. Jesus presses on toward Jerusalem where he will win the race and battle against sin, evil, and even death itself.

So we press on—not looking behind gloating in our success nor looking back bemoaning all our past mistakes. We cannot earn our life in Christ by what we do. Nor can we lose our life in Christ by what we do. We press on—not with our own resources nor with our disgraceful regrets. We press on to what Jesus has won for us—the goal—the prize—the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Soon, our confirmands will be taking an oath to press on. They will say, “Yes, by the grace of God”—by God’s strength and help, confirmation is about what lies ahead in our Christian journey and lives being built up on the promises of God. So God cheers us on to “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). And so we press on in the peace, joy, and hope of what is ours in Christ Jesus.

"The Guts of God" (Luke 15:1-3,11-32)

Luke 15:1-3,11-32

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Rev. Dr. Jeff Leiniger, March 31, 2019

The Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Leininger has served as Concordia University Chicago’s University Pastor since 2002. He was born and raised in St. Paul, MN, where he attended Lutheran Schools through university. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Concordia University, St. Paul, majoring in theatre and completing pre-seminary requirements. In addition to his studies, Pastor Leininger was very involved in the arts and received the University’s Pro Artibus award for excellence in music and drama. After graduation, he worked in theatre education and directing, and spent a year touring with a professional Christian Theatre Company based in St. Paul.

Dr. Leininger received his pastoral training at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (1991-1995). He studied at Cambridge University from 1998 until 2002, receiving an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Divinity (Church History). His area of research focused on the use of theatre in the English Reformation.