Second Sunday in Advent, December 7^th, A+D 2025
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
The Lord of Fire                   Malachi 4:1-6

Audio of the Sermon available HERE.

     Our God is a consuming fire, (Hebrews 12:29).  And He is the Sun of Righteousness, rising with healing in His wings.  (Malachi 4:2)

     What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘fire’?  Depends on how and where it is spoken, no?   “Hey, come sit by the fire with me,” is the warm and coziest of invitations, if the fire burns in the fireplace at Grandma’s house, or in a campfire ring out in the wilderness.  But if you are in an old wooden building or a dry forest, someone shouting ‘fire’ may terrify you.  Staring into the flames with a warm drink in your hands?  Wonderful.  Staring up the hillside as a wildfire races toward you?  Horrible. 

     Our God is a consuming fire, and He always has been.  In the desert, just after their exodus from
Egypt, the Lord came to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. To the eyes of the children of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord on the top of the mountain was like a consuming fire, (Exodus 24:17).  The sight filled them with fear, and soon led them to trade the true glory of God for a golden calf, made by Aaron, a manageable metal god whose presence wasn’t a threat to sinners. 

    The prophet Daniel saw the Ancient of Days, Almighty God, sitting on a fiery throne.  And he saw the one like a Son of Man, whose eyes were like lightning, (Daniel 7 and 10).  On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus let the glory of heaven, which had always been within His body, shine forth for a few minutes, to help Peter, James and John see the Truth, (Matthew 17).  And, as Malachi prophesied, the Lord will on the Last Day burn the stubble, the chaff, that is, the arrogant and the evil doers.    

 

     The harnessing of electric power, which makes possible our very comfortable lives, also provides us a helpful object lesson to understand what the fiery, electric reality of Almighty God means for us. 

     When we are protected, insulated from the raw power of electricity, remarkable blessings come our way.  Heat your engine block on a sub-zero morning, make a professional espresso on your kitchen counter, decorate your house with lights, watch your favorite football team play a thousand miles away, light the stairway to the basement: electricity under control blesses us in myriad ways.  But we also recognize the danger of uncontrolled electricity: a lightning strike, a smoldering short in a light fixture, a power surge, a live wire dangling from the ceiling in a construction site, a fork stuck in an outlet by a curious child.

      Like electricity, we know that fire is good, as long as it is controlled.  The flame of a candle is a wonder, giving us light and warmth and beauty.  That flame is a gift, until you put your hand over it, and it burns you, inflicting tremendous pain, destroying your flesh.  The same light that enhances life can also destroy.

      Our God is the Sun of Righteousness, rising with healing in His wings.  And He always will be.  As the Apostle John says: In the Kingdom of Heaven, there will be no sun or moon, "for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp," (Revelation 21:23).  Which makes sense, because in Jesus is light, the light of Christ, who is the light of the world, (John 8:12 and 9: 5).  We depend on this fire within Christ, because it gives us life.  The life that is in the Word made flesh is the light of men, the true light which shines in the darkness, (John 1:4-5). 

      And this light, this fire, is coming, because the Son of God is coming soon, the "one who has eyes like a flame of fire," (Revelation 2:18).  On the day of His coming, all men will see him, and the eyes of the Son will penetrate all, revealing hearts and unveiling God’s righteous judgment.  Therefore, the Day of the Lord, when Jesus comes to us riding on the clouds, will be a day of fire.  On that day we see Him as He is, in His unveiled glory.  The Lord of Fire will be visible, even touchable, if one can endure it.

      So, will the coming of the Lord of Fire be a good day?  

      We do not want to burn up like straw, or the chaff after the harvest, dry and fit for nothing, except to be consumed.  The arrogant and the wicked will burn.  Which rightly teaches Christians to flee from sin.  The consequences of sin in our daily lives are bad enough, but to face the angry fire of God?  No thank you.   

      The Lord is coming, visibly, one more time.  So, as you wisely flee from sin, also be sure to approach the Lord of Fire now, while you can do so safely.  Many wait, they choose not to draw near, out of ignorance or laziness, wickedness or fear.  All who wait and do not draw near in this age will on the Last Day face the uncontrolled divine fire, which no sinner can bear.  Do not wait, do not delay.  Draw near.  

      Approach the Lord of Fire now, while His burning power is a blessing to you, a forgiving and purifying fire that calms your conscience and restores you by His grace.  Approach the Lord of Fire now, to be renewed in His salvation, day by day.  Then you will go out rejoicing in the sunrise of His light, jumping like calves set free from their stalls, celebrating the life-giving warmth of His love.

      And you know where, and how you can safely approach the Lord of Fire, the Sun of Righteousness.  You go to the places where He has already drawn near to you.  John the Baptist promised that the Christ would come to you and would baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  It makes sense that God uses water, united to His powerful Word, to protect us from the destructive power of the divine fire.  Baptism with water protects us because God uses it to unite us to Christ’s baptism by fire.  As Jesus exclaimed as He was on his way to Jerusalem to face the flames: "I came to cast fire on the earth; and how I wish it was already cast down!  But with a baptism I must be baptized, and how distressed I am until it is fulfilled! " (Luke 12: 49-50)

      Jesus’ baptism by fire has been fulfilled.  It is finished, for you. Our protection against the flames of judgment is the Cross of Jesus.  

  

     You all probably know that firefighters carry fire shelters, aluminum and fiber cocoons in which to
hide themselves as a last resort if a wildfire comes too close.  They are quite effective; according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, through 2022 fire shelters have been deployed over 1,300 times in this country, and only 41 deaths have occurred.[1]  That’s an impressive success rate.

       The Body of the risen Christ is our spiritual fireproof shelter, and His success rate is 100%.  All who find refuge in Him live forever, even though they die.  By your faith in Jesus, by your Baptism, by His Supper, by the power of His Word, you are in Christ, and He is in you.  In Christ, the fire of the Last Judgment cannot threaten you.  The Holy Spirit has clothed you in the righteousness of God, won for you by God’s Son.  So be wise, approach His saving flame, every day.  Rejoice in His light, which illumines your path, day by day, and forever and ever. 

      If you wander from His Way and the flames of sin singe your robes and you sense the heat of God’s displeasure, give thanks for the Holy Spirit’s warning, and repent.  Turn from temptation and sin, return to the path, get back under your Savior’s healing wings, for the forgiveness of your sins, and for your renewal. 

      Veteran firefighters know the dangers of their work, and are wise to train continually, so they are prepared when the fire comes.  If someone new and untrained joins the firefighting effort, the veterans drill into these newbies both the basics and the finer details of the job, especially how to stay safe, including how to use the fire shelter.   

       Because of what Christ has done for you, because of what the Spirit has taught you about sin and grace and life and death and eternity, you are a veteran Christian, refined by God’s fire.  So, like a good firefighter, be wise to keep training yourself in righteousness, to keep growing in the Word and applying it in your daily life. 

      How does this work?  Training in righteousness is pretty simple to describe, but difficult to do, especially in our day, when we are trained to organize our lives around comfort and entertainment.  For the sinner that remains in each of us, pursuing righteousness is uncomfortable.  But as saints, for the child of God we have been re-created to be, it is also joyful and fulfilling. 

      Since it is from God, training in righteousness is powered, informed and judged by His Word.  And we will use His Word to examine ourselves.  We know God’s revealed will for our lives, that we should love Him with our whole heart, soul and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves.  How are we doing?  We can get more detailed instruction, by working our way through the Ten Commandments, using them to honestly and seriously consider our daily walk. 

      As I consider my life through the various roles and relationships, the vocations the Lord has given me to fulfill, the commandments will help me know what I am to do, how I am to prioritize my time and energy.  I am a pastor, a husband, brother, father and grandfather.  I have neighbors on my street.  Does my conversation with and service to all the people I meet in my vocations communicate that I am a Christian? 

      Such an exercise will keep me humble, pointing out my shortcomings, my sins, turning me back to the Lord and His Way.  It will also make obvious my ongoing need to be renewed and formed by the Spirit.  Even more than self-examination, training in righteousness involves receiving the Gospel of God, through our eyes and ears and into our heart.  We need the condemning, correcting and guiding word of the Law, yes.  Even more we daily need the Good News of God’s salvation, of His love and grace toward sinners.  Thus the Spirit by His living and active Word will be working on us, shaping us, changing us.  He will also be comforting and forgiving us, leading us to good works, and making us wise.  Wise unto salvation, and also wiser for our earthly walk. 

      As we breathe in God’s Word, we naturally breath out in prayer, speaking to our heavenly Father as dear children, asking God’s mercy and providence, for ourselves, our loved ones, our community, our world. 

      Jesus also calls us to pray for our enemies.  That’s tough.  Especially in this ill-begotten digital age, in which the pursuit of clicks brings every offensive thing, every evil, every blasphemous act before my eyes.  I am tempted to despair.  There are so many of “them,” people who seem opposed to everything I believe is good and right, people I am tempted to hate and disparage.  Healing our culture seems hopeless.  But true hopelessness is to not believe that the Lord can do anything to help. 

      In the face of such despair, I do know one thing God has called me to do.  Even though I oppose the agenda and reject the goals of the ungodly, and even as I am called to uphold God’s truth, I am also called to pray for “them,” for those whom I see as enemies.  I am to continually ask the Lord of the harvest to draw them to Himself, to make them His children, and our brothers and sisters.  It is hard to hate a soul you are praying for.  And that is God’s will for you.       

      We are called to pursue righteousness, to drink deeply from the spring of God’s Word, and let it occupy the center of our lives.  Wherever you are in your pursuit of righteousness, consider doing just a bit more.  It will be good.  Not easy, but good.  Do it for yourself, and for your brothers and sisters in Christ, to mutually encourage and teach each other.  And do it for the newbies, and potential newbies, for those souls around you who will also face the fire, but don’t yet know the One true Rescuer, our spiritual fire shelter, Jesus Christ.  They may not realize they need to be protected from the fire.  But you know.  This knowledge should not puff up your pride.  Rather, the way that God in His grace has and continues to rescue you and me should keep us humble, and lead us to deal with others with the same patience and mercy God has shown to us.  We are led to speak of and imitate Christ, always with gentleness and respect. 

      This is what Jesus means in the Sermon on the Mount, when He declares: Let your light so shine before men, so they see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in heaven,  (Matthew 5:16).  No one can truly glorify God the Father, except through faith in His Son.  And so the light of your faith is used by the Holy Spirit as He saves souls. 

      Stay under the healing wings of Jesus, for there you are safe from the divine fire that destroys all that is wicked.  This is the gift of Christ for you.  And, when you are under the healing wings of Jesus, trusting in your heavenly fire shelter, you are also a useful light for God’s work, His Mission.  Through you and all His children, the Lord shines the light of His truth, for all to see, that many more would be refined, restored and protected for eternal life, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

---

[1] https://www.nwcg.gov/publications/pms411/fire-shelter-history

Branches, and the Branch - Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent

First Sunday of Advent (Ad Te Levavi)
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Branches, (and the Branch)    
Jeremiah 23:5-8, Matthew 21:1-9, Romans 13:8-14

 Audio of the sermon is available HERE.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”  Jermiah 23:5

   God Almighty, ineffable, uncreated, holy and eternal, is kind to us flesh and blood, material creatures.  He knows who we are, and our limitations.  He knows we live in a world of growing things, and of water, stone and soil, of objects moving in the sky above.  So, He uses numerous things of the Creation we live in to communicate His will, and His love, for us, and for all people. 

   This material reality, along with our understanding and use of created things, these are common to all human cultures.  All people are connected by light and dark, soil and water, gravity and decay, bounty and hunger, and a thousand other features of life in this Creation.  When the Holy Spirit uses tangible, earthly metaphors in His Holy Word, we fallible creatures are better able to grasp the Lord’s intention.  By such tangible teaching, we are also well prepared to share the Good News of God’s Word with other flesh and blood people.    

   Take branches, for one example.  Trees and bushes and vines all have cylindrical offshoots, which teach about the connective nature of life.  Everything in this world comes from something else, something before, something that gives life to its offspring.  And the Source of everything is God!  Including the trees and branches.    

   Mankind takes these woody life forms and makes all manner of useful things.  Need some support as you scramble over a rocky trail?  Look for a sturdy branch to use as a walking stick.  Later, when you need protection from the wind or the sun or the rain, you can use branches to form a structure over which to lay smaller, leafier branches, forming a shelter for yourself and your loved ones.  Just outside the opening, branches burn and crackle, providing warmth and light.  If you find yourself stuck in the wilderness for a long time, a straight, stiff branch might be your spear for fishing, or, if you dare, for hunting. 

   Back in civilization, trees provide the skeleton of our homes.  Our understanding of branches facilitates the organization and connection that allows our standard of living to rise.  A successful business puts out branches, extending the reach of their products and services, enriching the owners, the employees, and the communities that purchase their goods.  Just as a tree shows life by extending new branches, so also with our human endeavors. 

   And of course, the flowering of human enterprises, from root to branch to extended networks, is in many ways a reflection and extension of the root and branch reality of human families.  In fact, all the structures of human endeavor should be serving the family that God created.  When we remember this truth, our life together goes better. 

  When we forget or deny that the family as ordained by God is the essential foundation of human existence, chaos reigns.  Our 21^st Century culture insists on making this defiant choice again and again, rejecting the Biblical family and promoting a radical individualism.  All of us, but especially the children suffer.  The result is insecurity, loneliness, and stress, which bring an increase of emotional, physical and mental illness, leading to decay, desperation and destruction. 

   As Christians then, we pursue, speak for and promote this root and branch Biblical understanding of family and culture.  We are pro-family, even as we acknowledge that our efforts to fix the family, while worthwhile, will never completely fix our problem.  Even the best Christian families face failure and disintegration.  Even the best earthly fathers eventually leave their children, for death comes for us all.  To find the true and eternal solution we all need, we turn to God’s Word, which very helpfully continues to use branches to reveal God’s solution to us. 

   Biblically, one of the first theologically helpful uses of branches is to make a shepherd’s staff.  From Abraham through King David, from the Good Shepherd to the Apostle Peter, called three-times to tend God’s sheep, and continuing on through the Ephesian elders, right down to this day, the shepherd’s loving use of a sturdy branch to guide and protect the flock became both a staple of ancient agriculture, and a primary Christian metaphor. 

   Sadly, the misuse of branches is constantly encouraged by the Serpent who, in our collective imagination, hung from a tree branch in the Garden as He hissed lies to our first mother.  We don’t know what Cain used when he rose up to kill his brother Abel; I tend to think he grabbed a rock.  But a sturdy branch, maybe even the stolen shepherd’s staff of Abel, would have served the first murderer just as well.  Whatever Cain used to kill Abel, whether a branch or a rock or just his own hands, death was inflicted by an object from the Creation, an object that God had originally made and given us for our good. 

   Stout branches turned into sturdy staffs quickly became a symbol and tool of leadership in ancient culture.  But, following the example of Cain, the branch or staff, that should be used by a leader to protect and serve, can also be abused.  Servant leaders of God’s people, ancient and modern, are called by God to use the staff of their office for the good of the people.  The scepter of a king, whether of wood or iron, is the exaltation of the same symbolic object, intended by God to serve the whole nation. 

   Shepherd staffs should be used by leaders to help their followers.  But every leader also faces the temptation to serve himself by turning his staff against the people, to beat and threaten the flock in order to stroke his own ego, or to feed his belly.  The branch turned into a spear can defend against a bear or bring down a deer to feed the family.  It can also be turned against human beings, including within the family or nation, evilly used to coerce, or even to kill.

   We see that the reality and the metaphor of branches, and the staffs and structures we make from them, can reveal much about this life we live together, both the good and the bad, the godly and the cruel.  So, it is no surprise that the Holy Spirit also uses branches, poles and staffs to teach us about our salvation, about our Savior.  For the promised Messiah, the Son of David who would come to rescue God’s people once and for all, is the Righteous Branch, the offshoot of Jesse’s stump, who will execute justice and righteousness in the land.                

   The fact that God uses physical objects from our daily lives to identify and reveal His Chosen Messiah flows from an even deeper truth, the unexpected but necessary fact that the Savior is the ineffable God Himself.  The Christ is the eternal Son, who comes to His people to rescue them.  This is what the season of Advent is all about.  Advent means “the coming,” so during Advent we are reminded how the Savior comes to us, to redeem us from sin, death and the Devil. 

   The texts for the First Sunday of Advent traditionally start in the middle, with Jesus coming into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, six days before Good Friday, hailed as a king, the people waving the victor’s palm branches in the air as they sang His praise.  Hosanna to the Son of David.  Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. 

   During Advent we will also reflect on Jesus’ Final Coming, on the Last Day, the Good Shepherd Judge who will once and forever use His staff to separate the righteous sheep and the wicked goats.  We will also see His coming foretold in the Old Testament through earthly metaphors, particularly in our midweek Advent services. 

   We will of course celebrate and rejoice in Jesus coming to us daily, through His chosen means, the instruments of His Word, His Washing and His Meal.  All this in preparation to celebrate with exceedingly great joy His coming in the flesh, the Incarnation, Jesus’ miraculous conception and birth from the Virgin Mary.  At Christmas, God took humanity into Himself, in order to fulfill His calling to be our Brother and Savior. 

    As we once again decorate the branches of our Christmas trees, we will be reminded of the sobering yet merciful truth that another tree, shorn of its branches and transformed into a tool of cruelty, became the ultimate earthly instrument of God’s plan of salvation.  The horror and shame of that tree is transformed into the revelation of new life, for as death once flowed from the fruit of the forbidden tree in the Garden, so also life has arisen from the tree of the Cross. 

   We who by faith have been grafted into God’s Righteous Branch now have the sap of eternal life flowing through us.  Jesus is the true Vine, and we are His branches, not dead, fruitless branches to be cut out and thrown into the fire, but living branches who bear good fruit, acts of love, voices of praise, and proclamations of Good News.  These are the Spirit’s work, in and through us.   

   Our calling to be fruitful branches is for us comfort and wisdom, the freedom of knowing that all we are to do as Christians flows from the mercy and power of Christ, who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.  At the same time, because the decay of sin still rots within our core, there is also a warning.  We are warned not to fall into the dry death of unbelief, outwardly appearing to be grafted into the Vine, but in reality, living like every other dry branch in this fallen world.       

    Ever aware of our need, Jesus our Vine, our Righteous Branch, does not leave us to wonder how we stay planted in Him.  In John, chapter 15, He is very clear about how we came to faith, and how we remain faithful:  "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ^[2] Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes clean, that it may bear more fruit. ^[3] Already you are pruned clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ^[4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. …

   If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ^[8] By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:1-4, 7-8 

   Faith comes, and abides, by the Word.  So, today is a good day, a righteous day, for God the Righteous One has gathered you here, to listen to His voice.  Today, and every day in which you hear, read, recite and pray the Bible, you are walking wisely, casting off the darkness and putting on the armor of light.  Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, by letting His Word dwell in you richly.  This is how you dwell in Christ, and how He dwells in you.     

   So then, we can see that the Israelites who waved palm branches and sang the praises of Jesus as He rode the donkey into Jerusalem were well steeped in God’s Word.  They sang from memory the ancient Psalms that prophesied the Messiah.  They would be surprised later that week, to see that Jesus’ Way of Salvation ran through a Roman cross.  But the Holy Spirit by His Word would sustain all the faithful palm wavers, until they could see and rejoice in the Resurrection. 

   What the Spirit did for them He continues to do for us.  Teaching us through things we know, like branches and vines and seed for sowing and bread for eating, through Water, Wheat and Wine, through stones and buildings and the members of the body, the Spirit continues to make us wise unto salvation through earthly things.  Through this earthy Word, we are kept grounded in the faith, trusting in the God who entered His own Creation to save it.

  Just in case we don’t grasp it, the Lord gives us one last use of branches to teach us the Truth of Salvation.  In Revelation chapter seven the Apostle John, caught up into heaven,  looks and sees “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; ¹⁰ and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb… These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  

   And so we, who like them trust in Jesus Christ, wave our palm branches in praise of our Coming King, and with the saints in heaven we sing out: “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

 

  

Today - Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

Last Sunday of the Church Year, November 23^rd, anno + Domini 2025
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches, Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Today - Luke 23:27 – 43

 Audio of the sermon available HERE.

    Today.  Today we close out another journey with Jesus through the Church Year.  Today we come to the End, and the Beginning. 

     Last Tuesday I listened to Pastor Goldammer’s sermon recorded last Sunday.  He was working with another set of readings focused on the End, and did a fine job connecting the dots, from the drama in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago during the first Holy Week, to the struggle of Christians in Nigeria, who face death today for their confession of Christ Jesus, to our comparatively minor but still real struggles in the Christian lives we lead here in the Black Hills.  Gordon did a wonderful job exploring the reality of our lives, of the Last Day, and our future lives in heaven.  He showed how they are all connected together and redeemed by Jesus, who has won for us a future that will be wonderful, perfect, life forever with God and all the host of heaven. 

     Today we close out the Church Year with the remarkable conversations Jesus held in the last hours before His death, conversations with wailing women, with His Father, and with a fellow subject of crucifixion, who, by God’s grace and the power of the Word, had the very best moment of his life, even as he hung dying on a Roman cross. 

   Today we are privileged to focus on that Day, the pivotal day in the history of fallen humanity.  For it was that Day which makes today, and every other day, a day for rejoicing, a day made by the Lord, for our blessing.  Our calling today and always is to live from that Day, which is still determining our today, and our tomorrow, one-thousand nine-hundred and ninety-some Novembers later.  So today, let’s listen closely to Jesus’ conversations, listen to His words of wisdom, truth and mercy, that He spoke as He made His way up the hill to Golgotha, and even from the Cross. 

     Today is not the day for mourning.  Jesus turns to the women who were following His crucifixion procession, beating their breasts and wailing, and He says:  "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

Who were these women? 

   The text doesn’t tell us precisely, but many think that they are “professional” mourners, like the crowds outside Jairus’s house, weeping and mourning over his daughter, who had just died.  Jesus also told them to stop wailing, and sent them away, just before entering the house and raising the little girl from the dead. 

     Such mourners were customary in Jewish culture, and it’s easy to see how this practice would be extended to Jews condemned to death by the Romans, a natural addition to the morbid spectacle.  This possibility is reinforced by the title Jesus gives them: “Daughters of Jerusalem.”  Most of Jesus’ followers were from Galilee, not Jerusalem.  The sophisticated, upper-crust citizens of the capital were the least likely to believe in Jesus.  If this is correct, then we may question the sincerity of these wailing women.  Regardless, Jesus tells them to stop, because His future, while horrifying in the next hours, is eternally bright and joyful.  But for these women, and all who lived in Jerusalem, destruction is coming, their future is very grim, the end of Israel as they understand it.  In last week’s Gospel, Jesus prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, which would happen almost four decades later, in the A+D 70.,  He is referencing it again, today. 

   For behold, Jesus continues, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' ^[30] Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.' ^[31] For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"  The reason the tree of the Hebrews was still green that Day was Israel’s primary purpose for being, which was to provide the human lineage of the Messiah, the anointed Savior of God.  No matter how faithless most Israelites were over the centuries, God had made a promise.  Faithful to His promises, the Lord always preserved a remnant, kept a bit of faithful sap flowing.  God always prevented the total destruction of the nation of Israel, so that, from the house and line of David, Mary could be chosen to give birth to God’s Son, the Savior, Jesus. 

   But now that their most important purpose was fulfilled, now that the sap of salvation would be flowing to all nations, what would happen to unfaithful sons and daughters of Abraham?  Jesus predicts a bitter fate was approaching the Jews in Jerusalem.  And He proclaims throughout all the Gospels an even worse fate for all men, women and children, unless they come to understand what is really happening “today,” that Day, almost 2,000 years ago.  For that Day was, and still is today, the Day of Salvation for all who trust in the Crucified One, whether they are biological descendants of Abraham, or not. 

   Today, as you contemplate the Cross, weep not.  Not too much, at least.  The death of Jesus is truly hard to contemplate, and the part each of us sinners has played in making the Cross necessary is a heavy thought, which may bring you some tears. 

   But you do not need to beat your breast and wail for Jesus.  Rather, rejoice in His steadfast commitment to you and all sinners.  For today is the day for Divine Mercy.  Two others, convicted criminals, were led away to be put to death with [Jesus].  And when they arrived at the execution grounds, the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified [the Christ], and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ^[34] And [just then, as spikes are driven through His flesh and He is lifted up from the earth] Jesus says, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  Father, forgive them.  There was never love like this, love for enemies, love for torturers, love for all people. 

   Today and every day is a day for God’s mercy, because Jesus has won the Father’s forgiveness, for you.  Mercy, along with justice, is essential to God’s character, and so the plan of forgiveness was a completed reality in the mind of God from before the foundation of the world.  And on that Day, that dark but very good Friday, the miracle of forgiveness shone like never before, a miracle of salvation, not for good people, but for God’s enemies, for sinners, for you, and me, and all people.  

   Today is the true King’s Day.  Recently our American Republic observed a bit of mass political theater as concerned citizens held “No Kings Day” rallies.  As far as I heard, none of those rally goers repeated the American Revolutionary chant of “We have no king but Jesus!”  That would have been interesting! 

   Monarchies and republics come and go.  But there is one True King, yesterday, today and forever, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, the King of Heaven, the potentate of the Universe.  The Man Jesus, also the eternal Son of the Father, sits at God’s right hand, ruling over all things, precisely because the Father accepted His self-sacrifice on behalf of His enemies.  Father, forgive them.  And He does!  For Jesus’ sake. 

   Today is the Day for Mission, for outreach to dying sinners, for effective Gospel proclamation.  Today and every day, God’s living and active word does not return to Him empty, but always achieves the purpose for which the Lord sent it forth from His mouth.  Like it did on Golgotha, for one of the two thieves, dying alongside Jesus.  What Word did the Holy Spirit use to convert the penitent thief?  The last thing Jesus had said, I would think.  Father, forgive them. 

   Insults were hurled at Jesus by the soldiers and the rulers of the people, the Pharisees, priests and elders.  These slurs also happened to lay out Jesus’ claims about Himself, with one eternally significant error.  The rulers scoffed at [Jesus], saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" ^[36] The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine ^[37] and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"  

   One of the two criminals joined in the abuse, and it seems from the other Gospel accounts of Good Friday that the second one started to insult Jesus as well.  But something changed him.  By God’s grace he came to believe that this One, a dying man capable of praying to God for the forgiveness of His executioners, this man is the Christ of God, the Chosen One, come, not to save Himself, but to save others.  Confessing the justice of his own crucifixion, confessing his own sinfulness and Jesus’ innocence, the penitent thief cries out in faith: Jesus, remember me, when You come into Your Kingdom.  And Jesus confirms his faith, confirms that he is accepted by God: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

   Today.  For you.  Today is the Day for rejoicing for you, because your place in paradise has also been guaranteed.  What Jesus promised and delivered to the repentant thief that Day on Calvary, the blood-bought forgiveness that transforms enemies of God into beloved children, that victory is also for you.  By the Resurrection God the Father confirmed and announced to  world the reality that was already perfected on Golgotha.  So, today we rejoice, for this same Jesus comes to us to deliver to us the same promise, the same forgiveness. 

   Today you are not yet in paradise, and you are unlikely to be crucified.  But sin and its consequences surely plague your today, just as they did those thieves hanging on either side of Jesus.  Thanks be to God, your problems with sin don’t seem so dramatic, but sin is still as dangerous as ever.  And the solution for sin today remains the same as it was on that original Good Friday. 

   When God, through consequences, through earthly authorities, and through His Word, makes it clear to you what you deserve for your sin, the only solution is to turn to Jesus in faith and ask for His rescue.  Yes, sinner, you are forgiven.  Convicted, corrected, absolved, restored and reconciled again to the Father, you go forth, filled with God’s mercy and love, ready to walk in the Lord’s Way.    

   Today you are not yet in paradise.  That Day, outside Jerusalem, the penitent thief’s earthly journey with Jesus was complete.  He would not gather week after week with the infant Church, he would not support and participate in the Mission of Christ that the Holy Spirit worked through His Church.  And yet, he has played a tremendous role in Christian Mission, thanks to the pen of St. Luke. 

   Today, and millions of times more, the forgiven thief’s story has been used by the Holy Spirit to draw yet more sinners to Jesus.  The forgiven thief has played his part in heavenly absentia.  You, on the other hand, have the privilege of playing in-person your part in extending Christ’s Kingdom of grace to more souls. 

   And you can participate in this great work of God without worry, without concern that you must do it just perfectly.  You can relax and rest in the promises that Jesus has made to you, and then simply share His love and His Word in your daily life.  It’s just that simple.  The Holy Spirit will take care of the rest. 

   There are lots of other Bible passages that teach us about the Last Day.  But today it is appropriate and edifying to close out the Church Year with the Crucifixion.  Even though the Cross happened long ago, and the End of the Age is yet to come, still the Crucifixion is a good End Times text to study, the best, really.  For, as we prepare for the Last Day, only the Cross makes us ready for the End.  The judgment, the disturbances in the earth and sky, the fear and trembling that the Bible describes as part of the Last Day are already complete, finished, fulfilled for us by Jesus, on that Good Friday.  The Cross was Jesus’ goal, His End, and it is our salvation.  All of the Bible points to or flows from that cursed tree, which Jesus has turned into a tree of blessing, the Tree of Life. 

   One Bible passage that is all about that Day has been turned into a favorite Bible song, often sung by children: “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  Taken from Psalm 118, and written around the time the Temple was built by Solomon, this favorite verse is rightly beloved, a good and true confession of faith in the Lord’s daily providence, which should create a joyful and grateful spirit in us.  “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” 

   But wait! There’s more.  Because the Psalmist is doing more than telling God’s people to rejoice in His daily blessings.  He actually speaks about a particular Day.  In fact, the believing thief might well have been singing Psalm 118 as he breathed his last and his soul passed into paradise.  All of this psalm is remarkable.  Let’s just hear a bit.  As you listen to verses 20 – 26, picture in your mind the thoughts of that thief, after Jesus’ proclaimed His promise:

This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter.

²¹ I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation.
²² The stone which the builders rejected, Has become the chief cornerstone.
²³ This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
²⁵ Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

    The Day of Psalm 118 is Good Friday, because Jesus is the cornerstone of salvation sent from God, but rejected by the leaders who had been charged with building up Israel.  But, in the cruciform rejection of those builders, Jesus became the cornerstone of His Church, through His death.  This was the Lord’s doing, marvelous in the eyes of the believing thief, for on that Day Jesus created a New Day, a day for saving, a day for never-ending prosperity. 

    Blessed indeed is Jesus Christ, the One who comes in the Name of the Lord, speaking words of mercy and grace.  Today you hear His voice.  Rejoice in His mercy for you, and pray: Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom. 

    He has, and He will, today, and forever and ever, Amen.