Easter
John 16:23–33
23In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 25"I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father." 29His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God." 31Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? 32Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
For almost 500 years Lutherans have taught the faith to their children using Luther's Small Catechism. Divided into 6 parts it teaches young and old alike what it means to be a Christian and how to live as Christians in this broken and hurting world of sin.
For thousands of years believers have worshipped God starting with Adam and Eve. The historic liturgy of the church which we follow in our worship is an echo of Old Testament worship and took on its current shape in the first few centuries after the resurrection of Christ.
It is important to note that the liturgy teaches the Catechism. It is through liturgy that the church passes the faith down from generation to generation. In liturgy and worship we are not only instructed in the Catechism, we live it; we act it out. Our life in Christ is lived out in worship beginning with Baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We begin our worship just as we begin life in Christ.
From that beginning our life is shaped by the Holy Spirit, the Ten Commandments are our guide to the Christian life.
Yet, because the sinful flesh still clings to us and we fall short of what God expects of his children. We sin, and the Ten Commandments are a mirror showing us our sinfulness. Thus we are driven each week into the church to confess our sins and receive God's absolution in confession.
As we hear God's Word we are instructed in the faith that is expressed in the Apostles' Creed and we respond in faith with prayer and thanksgiving and by bringing out offerings to the Lord. In The Lord's Prayer we are taught how to pray and the Lord invites us to his dinner table as we partake of Jesus' death and resurrection in the Service of the Sacrament.
Thus week after week our liturgy instructs us in the Catechism and repeats its six chief parts: Baptism, Ten Commandments, Confession, Apostles' Creed, Lord's Prayer and The Sacrament of the Altar echoing our life in Christ as we live out our lives from baptism to being taken to the cross where we share in his death and are raised to eternal life.
Our Gospel reading for today deals with our life in this hurting world, a world full of dangers and monsters that would destroy us and our faith in Jesus. But Jesus assures us that as God's chosen people, while living in the midst of hatred, violence and oppression, we are forgiven and washed of our sins. We can always pray with confidence because we come in the name of the One who has overcome the world.
Christ has overcome our own sinful nature and our continual sins. On the cross he paid for our sins and became our substitute in God's punishment, taking the wrath of God which we deserve. He is the propitiation for our sin which he atoned for on the cross. The resurrection is God shouting out loudly for all the world to hear: "your sins are forgiven." Eternal life is now yours. In your baptism you received this forgiveness, you were washed of your sins, and you were incorporated into the body of Christ becoming one of his chosen people.
So what are Christians to do, scattered about in this uncertain world; wrestling with temptations, evil, suffering and death? We are to pray. "Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you."
Through his life, death and resurrection Jesus has given us access to the Father. "For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and believed that I came from God." As Christians instead of asking "What is going to happen to me in the lost world?" all we need do is to ask the Father for what we need in the name of Christ who has overcome our sin and this sinful world.
Amen.