Before Jesus

And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:4–11 (RSV)

"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." St. Peter's thoughts were not of fish but his sin. His mind was a swirl of confusion regarding the overwhelming awareness of who he was before God sent him to his knees.

Whatever he had thought of God before that moment was gone in the reality of the miracle wrought by Jesus. For him, a boat nearly sunk with fish had become a holy place, for Jesus was there.

We are mistaken if we think we will stroll into heaven as if we have a perfect right to be there. St. Peter could not stand the holiness he encountered in a boat knee-deep in fish. The perfection of divine beauty we will see as we enter eternity will overwhelm us.

There we will begin to know confession and repentance. We will experience the burning tears of holy sorrow as the first glow of the Father's glory reaches our eyes. We will see that we have no claim on the Kingdom.

St. John the Divine wrote in his Revelation that God Himself would wipe away our tears. Our complete and final repentance will be our first act of joy and praise in eternity. We will at last fully know as we have been fully known. We will see the true sacrifice for our salvation. The resurrection of our Lord will be in our eyes the sunrise no earthly day could provide.

All of this wondrous majesty, holiness, and glory in which the angels eternally dwell begins with Jesus' answer to St. Peter, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men."

Word of Life

If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has borne witness to his Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne to his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life. 1 John 5:9–12 (RSV)

Why would any sane person pay the slightest bit of attention to a single word that I might say or write? Seriously, who am I that anyone should give a second thought to my words? I am one of the many who have spent their hour in the light, soon to be gone, eventually forgotten.

I was not the best confirmand Pr. Jolivette ever taught (I really hated memory work). A few of the old-timers who work out the world's problems around coffee might from time to time say with genuine amazement, "That Hatcher kid is a pastor? Imagine that?"

Why give any thought to what I say? What I say is the testimony the Father has given to the world concerning His Son, our Lord Jesus. It is no word of my invention. No, it is the life-giving Word that has become flesh, dwelt among us, suffered, died, and was raised for our salvation.

In the mystery of the Holy Spirit's work, the Father has sent me, and countless others, to bear witness to His Son. Listen to Gary Hatcher in the hope of your salvation, dear God in heaven, no! Listen to the Word of God a faithful pastor proclaims for your salvation? Yes, by all means, hear it and give thanks for His Word made flesh.

God's Love

We love, because he first loved us.  If any one says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.

1 John 4:19–21 (RSV)

We often mistake self-satisfaction for love. It may be a dim vision of the love St. John holds out for us to see, but it is not close to the love of God. We measure 'love' by what we gain from others. We expect more to flow toward us than we give out.

Our miserly excuse for love is not far from hate, for it turns if we don't get what we think we deserve in return. We offer the Father whatever feelings we can generate within ourselves and call that love. Once we have done that, there is rarely any left.

When St. John teaches that if we do not love our brother/sister, we do not love God, the calculations begin. We compute the limits of love in our hearts, just enough to convince ourselves we love God as well.

The Father shows the measure of love in the cross. There His Son suffered and died at the hands of the loveless. His love bursts forth from the tomb, redeeming all creation. The infinite cosmos is far too small to contain this love.

Our starting point is the cross. We are baptized into Jesus' death for the sins of the world. It continues in His resurrection as the new creation replaces our old sinful nature. The Holy Spirit pours the Father's love into our hearts so we by faith may begin to love as we have been loved.

In the love of the Father given to us by the Holy Spirit, we live in the self-giving love of our Lord Jesus. It will never be a perfect love within us, but it will be the love that has loved us. We will learn to love our brothers/sisters in His love.

Jesus Only

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already. 1 'John 4:1–3 (RSV)

Out for a Sunday afternoon drive seeking small-town diner reported to have the best chocolate malts on the planet, you stop to get directions. You are told that you can take a near by gravel road. Will that get us there? 'Oh, no,' you are told, 'but you will find a place that serves decent liver and onions.

You may like liver and onions, but you will not go down the gravel road if you are seeking a delicious chocolate malt. You will find someone who can direct you toward your goal.

The witness of the Christian Church is, and has been, that God has come to us in the person of Jesus, who is the Lord's Messiah. It is by Jesus' innocent suffering, death, and resurrection has salvation come into the world. The Holy Apostles have proclaimed that there is salvation in no other name by which we must be saved.

Throughout history, other voices have taught that there are many paths to the divine. Jesus, they say, is but one of them. It is up to the individual to choose which path, if any, will give them the spiritual bliss they seek.

Our witness is that of the Apostles, which they received from the Risen Lord. We are to proclaim Him as the Savior. He is the only means by which sins are forgiven, life and salvation assured. All other paths lead away from life; thus we preach Christ.

Do You Love Me?

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go."

John 21:15–18 (RSV)

'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Three times St. Peter hears Jesus ask, 'do you love me?' St. Peter is doing penance for his three-fold denial of Jesus. St. Peter boldly proclaimed he would stand by Jesus, even unto death. And he failed, denying Jesus three times.

Jesus' asking is not a petty punishment for St. Peter's denials. Jesus is preparing St. Peter for what lies before him. 'Feed my sheep' comes on the heels of St. Peter's love.

'If you love me, Peter, you will tend my sheep. You will give the rest of your life caring for those who will come to faith. Our Roman brothers and sisters are confident that St. Peter is ordained as the first pope.

We will agree that St. Peter leads the early Church in its witness to the Risen Lord. St. Peter, who failed Jesus, is redeemed to proclaim the One who has mercy on all we who are failures.

Defeating the Devil

And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' " And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Luke 4:12–13 (RSV)

We err in our thinking about the devil by considering him more powerful than he is or giving him little thought.

The devil wants to be God and cannot. God is God, and no power can undo Him. Thus the devil's longing to be God will never come to pass. Since his efforts against God always fail, he assails us.

We are created in the image of God so we may know and love God freely as He loves us. The devil uses our freedom to tempt us away from the Father. As Adam and Eve reached to unseat God, so we are tested in like manner.

Like Jesus, we resist with the Word of God. We refuse the lie on the lips of the devil for what it is, a lie. He may offer us all things, but he does not even have his existence apart from God.

As he did with Jesus, he will depart, for a time, seeking a moment to lay before us yet another trial. The devil tried Jesus on the cross when the crowds shouted for Jesus to come down from the cross. He tempted Jesus through the words of the thief on the cross next to His, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

Even as His life was fading, Jesus trusted the Father over the schemes of the devil. So might we as well when the opportune time comes for the devil to test us. Like our Lord, we trust only in the Father and His promises.

The Holy Trinity

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."

Luke 3:21–22 (RSV)

St. Luke notes the truth of God in his account of Jesus' baptism. There is one God in three persons, the Holy Trinity. I will caution folk to step carefully if they wish to unpack what that means. Anyone who claims to have a simple explanation is either selling something or a heretic. Both are equally dangerous as they lead the faithful to temptations on par with what Adam and Eve knew in the Garden.

Luther made the observation that God hides Himself from us. Once we get over the shock of that statement, we have to concede that Luther is right. What do we truly know of God? My mind goes into neutral, trying to grasp that God has no beginning. God has always been. I can understand God having no end, but to have always been?

The Holy Trinity is a profound mystery. We confess it to be true. The Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds all bear witness to this reality. The Athanasian Creed aids us in acknowledging that we cannot understand the Holy Trinity. We believe it, for it is the truth of God.

Though the fullness of God is hidden from us, we see in Jesus the love of God made flesh alive among us. We need not comprehend God in His full nature. We know the divine love and mercy embodied in Jesus, revealed for our redemption and salvation.

Thanks be to God that we need not fully grasp the divine nature. We trust that the love within the Holy Trinity has come among us in the person of Jesus.

Witnesses

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness; and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Luke 3:1–3 (RSV)

St. Luke roots his Gospel in the ebb and flow of history. He records names and dates familiar to the reader. St. Luke makes it clear that he is not writing a pretty story or a pious tale. He has put pen to paper as a record of the events making up the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Names that made people tremble are listed as minor players in the great drama of salvation. Caesar's far-flung empire is the humble stage upon which the Son of God will live out the redemption of all things.

Pilate, Herod, and Caiaphas are merely extras as John the Baptist enters, proclaiming his repentance and forgiveness message. John, the last and greatest of the prophets, declares the preparation of all things for the Messiah's arrival. He who is the greatest ever born of woman is unworthy to untie the Savior's shoes' laces.

Jesus comes into history, as God has always done throughout the ages. Year upon year has the Father sent his Word on the lips of the Holy Prophets, awakening His people from their dullness to burning faith. Now, in these last days, He has sent His Son.

We are the stage of God's history, playing out our part in the great drama of salvation focused on the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have our role to play, our witness to give, our faith to live out.

It may be that we are in the final scene of the great drama of the Lord's salvation. We may also be the next act that sets the stage for the Lord's coming. Whatever our role, let us play it faithfully, witnessing to the One who has come and will come again.

Christ Remains

While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. John 17:12–19 (RSV)

Only those who have dwelt in a cave in recent times are unaware that Christianity is declining in Europe and North America. Fewer claim to be Christian now than at any other time in our nation's history.

It is not pleasing to hear, but it is not cause for desperate hand wringing. The Church has always been under assault by the world. Jesus prayed for his disciples that they might be kept in the Father's love as they remained in the world.

We remain in His love, for it is only the Father's love that will last. All the trappings of this world will one day be gone. They will be replaced by something else as it has been throughout the ages. So it will go, until the hour when the New Heaven and the New Earth come through our Risen Lord's return.

We continue to live the Truth, and in the Truth. We continue in our Lord. He it is who sustains and shelters us in the face of ever-increasing godlessness. We remain in Christ. The whole of creation may turn away, but we ask that we might continue steadfast in our Lord Jesus.

You Are My Witnesses

Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes,

who are deaf, yet have ears!

Let all the nations gather together,

and let the peoples assemble.

Who among them can declare this,

and show us the former things?

Let them bring their witnesses to justify them,

and let them hear and say, It is true.

"You are my witnesses," says the LORD,

"and my servant whom I have chosen,

that you may know and believe me

and understand that I am He.

Before me no god was formed,

nor shall there be any after me.

 I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.

I declared and saved and proclaimed,

when there was no strange god among you;

and you are my witnesses," says the LORD.

 "I am God, and also henceforth I am He;

there is none who can deliver from my hand;

I work and who can hinder it?"

Isaiah 43:8–13 (RSV)

'You are my witnesses,' says the LORD. We hear this and look around to see who it is the LORD is naming. It has to be someone other than me. Who am I that He should even consider asking? I could name dozens better suited to the task.

'You are my witnesses,' says the LORD. Yes, you, I have chosen you to be my witness to the wonderful things I have done. I could send an angel as in ancient days. True, there are great saints whose gifts astound thousands. They have their place in My Household.

'You are my witnesses,' says the LORD. The Father sends us because we are ordinary. He sends us with His Word and mercy as a living witness to such grace. From time to time, the Father may send an angel or raise up a St. Paul or Luther as the hour demands.

The critical work of the Kingdom, of proclaiming and living the Gospel, is given to us, the ordinary believers. Think on it, who among us came to Christ through an angel's visitation or preaching of a Luther? No, it was ordinary Christians who told us of Jesus' love.

'You are my witnesses,' says the LORD, as it has always been, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

A Feast

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.

It will be said on that day, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation." Isaiah 25:6–9 (RSV)

Our life in the Kingdom is often portrayed as a wedding feast. A joyous gathering of guests from every place and time throughout the ages. You and I will sit at table with Eve, redeemed and beautiful. We will break bread with the prophets and apostles. The white-robed martyrs will chorus the Father with endless praise as all creation dances the resurrection.

We can glimpse the feast as we gather at the Lord's Table, breaking bread, tasting wine, receiving the very Body and Blood of our Risen Lord. We are not arrived at the feast, though we can catch the echo of the praises sung to the Lamb from time to time.

Though the love of this life would root me here, my spirit longs for that day's arrival. I cannot begin to imagine the joy that awaits which would draw me from this age. It will come, and all who have been loved and redeemed by our Lord Jesus will add their voices in praise.

O Lord, let the hour not tarry, let that glorious day dawn upon us, and all the former things will have passed away. Grant that the time when the Father wipes our tears from our faces be soon upon us. Amen, even so, Come Lord Jesus.

No Other Name

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:8–12 (RSV)

""And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

These are days in which St. Peter's words are deeply offensive. They are also the truth. As Christians, we confess that the death and resurrection of Jesus is the only means by which salvation comes. One may choose to mute their confession to be palatable to others, and you are free to do so. However, if you do, please do not call yourself a Christian.

Our witness stands against the ways of the world distorted by sin. They like a religion of pretending importance that asks nothing of anyone. Their God would not get too involved in the way humanity chooses to do things.

God, whom we confess, comes directly among us. In Jesus, He confronts all the falsehoods, compromises, and shadow faiths our race chooses. Jesus will not let us content ourselves with any other name save His.

He does this not out of small-minded selfishness but because it is the eternal truth.

Choosing

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. This I command you, to love one another. John 15:12–17 (RSV)

Jesus has chosen us. We often would have it the other way round. I think of the invitations to 'ask Jesus to be my personal savior', which never quite worked. True, there was a sense of happiness, perhaps joy, that lasted for a bit, but then my old self would show up.

The old self would either undo all my good intentions or begin questioning the sincerity of my choosing. The point is well taken. I did not discover Jesus. He has always been there. His death and resurrection, thus salvation, had already taken place. It did not require my approval.

And the sin, my old self was very good at doing and recalling sin. 'How can Jesus love you when you have done this and that? He might forgive a minor sin or two, but these? Are you serious?' The old self would then play the trump card, 'You choose Jesus because you don't want to go to hell. Is that love?'

The notion of my choosing Jesus is backward. Jesus is clear about that, 'Apart from me, you can do nothing.' John 15.5.

The Good News is that Jesus is the One who chooses. He chooses us in our baptism, joining us to His death and resurrection. He chooses us to be the beloved child of the Father. He chooses to send the Holy Spirit that we might believe His promise.

Jesus chooses us. The old self is undone by Jesus' choice. Jesus chooses the sinner to begin their transformation into the redeemed child of God.

Abide In Me

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 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. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:1–5 (RSV)

We all have hymns that we love. A hymn can express the deepest emotions of faith. We can know great comfort as we sing a favorite hymn. One such hymn is 'Abide With Me.'

St. John records Jesus comforting and encouraging His disciples as He teaches them to abide in Him. He calls us to follow Him, obedient to the Father's will and purpose. We live in Him, and He in us.

Abiding in the Lord is to live in the unity of love and purpose within the Holy Trinity. It is the love that unites the Trinity in a oneness in which we are called to live.

As Jesus teaches in John 15, we are joined to Him as a branch is to the vine. We draw our life from Him, and the fruit we bear is through Him. As we live in Him, we live in the love and purpose of God. Apart from Him, even the most remarkable accomplishment is as nothing.

The Father longs that each of us would abide in His love through Christ. His joy in us leads us to bear fruit that blesses God and the neighbor. United in Christ, we know and live the love that is in the Holy Trinity.

Loving God

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.

John 14:15–17 (RSV)

Luther once thought that salvation was a near-impossible task. He strove and worked doing everything the Church appeared to require. He confessed sins for hours. He punished his flesh in an attempt to beat sin from his spirit. He begged God for mercy, offering his tears in repentance.

He reached a point where the very thought of God was odious to him. He hated a God who demanded the impossible, then punished the sinner for failing to achieve it.

If we only read the first sentence of the passage above, we will agree with Luther. 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments", to which we might reply, "and how pray tell can we do this? Our hearts struggle to love ourselves. How can we love you, Jesus."

This is why Lutherans do not base anything on a single passage of Scripture. The very next sentence offers us the blessing by which we will love Jesus and keep His commandments.

Jesus prays to the Father to send the Holy Spirit to us. It is the Holy Spirit that creates faith within our hearts. The Spirit sustains that faith, nurturing it, so we trust the Father. Even the tiniest flame of faith ignited by the Spirit is pleasing to the Father.

Our Father longs for our salvation. He grants it through His Son, sending the Holy Spirit so we might have faith in His promise. A person must work very hard to be lost and condemned. Amazingly, many do just that, focusing only on themselves. They reject every offer of love and mercy from the Father.

Still, the Father will not cease His seeking the lost. He will pursue us with love without end. Jesus descended into hell to proclaim salvation to those enslaved by their folly.

As Luther discovered, salvation is the Father's gracious gift to those whom the Spirit grants faith.

Christ Is Risen!

The Catechetical Sermon of St.  John Chrysostom is read during Matins of Pascha.

If any be devout and love God, let them enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any be wise servants, let them rejoicing enter into the joy of their Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let them now receive their recompense.

If any have wrought from the first hour, let them today receive their just reward.

If any have come at the third hour, let them with thankfulness keep the feast.

If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let them have no misgivings, because they shall in nowise be deprived therefor.

If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let them draw near, fearing nothing.

If any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, let them, also, be not alarmed at their tardiness; for the Lord, who is jealous of His honor, will accept the last even as the first. He gives rest unto them who come at the eleventh hour, even as unto them who have wrought from the first hour.

And He shows mercy upon the last and cares for the first, and to the one He gives, and upon the other He bestows gifts. And He both accepts the deeds and welcomes the intention, and honors the acts and praises the offering.

Wherefore, enter you all into the joy of your Lord; and receive your reward, both the first and likewise the second. You rich and you poor together, hold high festival. You sober and you heedless, honor the day. Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden. Feast you all sumptuously. The calf is fatted. Let no one go hungry away.

Enjoy you all the feast of faith. Receive you all the riches of loving-kindness. Let none bewail their poverty, for the universal Kingdom has been revealed. Let none weep for their iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let none fear death, for the Saviour’s death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into hell, He made hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: “Hell,” said he, “was embittered when it encountered Thee in the lower regions.”

It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the Unseen.

O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen, and life reigns!

Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave!

For Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.

Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen, Indeed!

Христос Воскресе! Воистину Воскресе! 

Χριστός Ανέστη! Αληθώς Ανέστη! 

Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! 

Kristus är uppstånden! Ja, Han är verkligen uppstånden! 

Kristus er oppstanden! Han er sannelig oppstanden! 

Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe! 

Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh! 

ハリストス復活！実に復活！ 

基督復活了 他確實復活了 

Le Christ est ressuscité! Vraiment Il est ressuscité! 

Cristo ha resucitado! Verdaderamente, ha resucitado! 

Христос воскресе из мертвых , смертию смерть и тем, в гробницах , даровав жизнь !

Keeping Vigil

"Oh that my words were written!

Oh that they were inscribed in a book!

Oh that with an iron pen and lead

they were graven in the rock for ever!

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and at last he will stand upon the earth;

and after my skin has been thus destroyed,

then from my flesh I shall see God,

whom I shall see on my side,

and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

My heart faints within me!

Job 19:23–27 (RSV)

I have kept a personal vigil three times. As Dad was dying in 2008, as my brother Doug was moving toward his final hours in 1989, and as Grandma Hatcher's illness was bringing her life to an end.

They all have memories attached to them, some bitter, some blessed. A moment with Grandma remains in my heart as a blessing.

I had been at hospital for several days. I had to get home. It was December. Our son, Matthew, was only five weeks old. I wanted to be there to help. There were Christmas plans to make for the parish. Reports of bad weather moving in all forced a choice I needed to make.

I went in to say 'good-bye' to Grandma for what I knew would be the last time. As we visited, my Aunt Cecilia came into Grandma's room for a moment. Grandma Hatcher went to the Methodist Church in Anamosa. Cecilia was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic.

I asked Grandma if she wanted to pray the Lord's Prayer before I left. She did, so we joined hands and prayed the "Our Father", the Methodist Grandma, her Catholic daughter-in-law, and her Lutheran grandson. It is the blessed memory of Grandma, who fell asleep in the Lord a few days later.

We keep our vigils as we wait for the last hour to come. I thank God that He sheltered my final moments with Grandma in prayer. Our common faith in the resurrection bound us together.

As we keep the Easter Vigil, let us hold fast to the confidence we have in our Risen Lord.

Forgiveness

And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. Luke 23:34 (RSV)

In about twelve hours, Jesus has been betrayed, arrested, denied, falsely accused, beaten, rejected, humiliated, and crucified. This abuse of an innocent man would be enough to turn nearly anyone bitter and resentful of their tormentors.

Yet as the wounds in His hands and feet are still burning with the pain of the spikes driven through flesh and bone, the jarring of His entire body as the cross is dropped into place, the first words Jesus speaks are words of divine mercy.

'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' Forgive the betrayer, the denier, the disciples who fled, the priests and scribes who falsely accused, Pilate for his cowardice, the soldiers who drove the nails, the howling mod mocking and tormenting, forgive the whole world.

Such mercy lies beyond comprehension, and the mind falters at grace so profound. Sadly, many ears were deaf to this mercy. Many were pleased with themselves that they had done God the favor of getting rid of Jesus. Many were doing their duty to Pilate and Rome. Many had turned from shouting 'hosanna' on Sunday last to demanding His crucifixion on Friday. Many had come out to 'see the show' of the suffering of the crucified. Yes, some came to be forgiven, for they knew that Jesus was the hope of the world.

Among those whose ears were listening was a common thief crucified next to Jesus. His partner dying next to Jesus was demanding Jesus bail him out, get him off the cross, help him avoid yet again the consequences of his choices. The other, just a guilty, just as condemned, indeed just as hopeless, does not beg for his life. He has heard Jesus forgive any whose ears have heard. Perhaps for the very first time in his life, this thief finally saw that the Father's love was his as well.

In the words of Jesus, he heard of mercy and grace that he finally understood was his. He knew he had no claim on Jesus. He looked at the truth of his life and saw no hope, save in the man dying next to him. 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.'

This day, Jesus promises, this day you will be with me in paradise. This day as death seeks to do its worst, as we bleed out and die. As we are laid cold in our graves, even today, you will be with me. The forgiveness Jesus offers is the gate of paradise, the promise of heaven through the Father's mercy.

Good Friday is good through the forgiveness Jesus offers to any who has ears to hear and faith to trust the promise of the dying Savior. Faith trusts that today is not death's day. It is the beginning of paradise.

The Beauty of the Lord

Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but I have known thee; and these know that thou hast sent me. I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."

John 17:24–26 (RSV)

And count the forbearance of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. 2 Peter 3:15–16 (RSV)

St. Peter's observation regarding St. Paul is a gift to the reader of Scripture. Many things in Scripture are hard to understand. Many things lie beyond me, waiting for the Holy Spirit to reveal their meaning.

Like Jacob wrestling with God at the Jabbock, we wrestle with God's Word, being challenged to think and contemplate its meaning and beauty. The passage from St. John is part of the prayer Jesus offered for the Church shortly before His arrest.

Our Lord longs for us to be in Him, in the love He has from the Father, beholding the wonder of the Father's glory. Jesus prays that the unity He has with the Father will become ours. He prays as we are enfolded in the love within the Holy Trinity; we will reflect that divine love here.

We who treasure our individuality will one day be wholly merged with God in a oneness words cannot begin to describe. At that time, we will discover our true selves, being the person we were created to be. We will then start to know life as it is within the Holy Trinity.

Yes, some things in Scripture are not easy to understand. Still, we need not understand a wondrous dawn light to know that it is beautiful.

Peace

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4–7 (RSV)

Eve reached for the fruit and found no peace. Jacob deceived his father and cheated his brother and found no peace. David took Bathsheba and found no peace. Judas was paid thirty pieces of silver and found no peace. Peter denied Jesus and found no peace. Paul sought to destroy the Church and found no peace.

We wish to be the God of our lives and find no peace. This is the litany of humanity from the Garden to this hour. We want all things on our terms, even wanting God to dance to our tune and find no peace.

We find only death. It matters little at all if we possessed the world, commanded millions, or stood at the pinnacle of power, the grave is our common end.

We spend our lives in a fruitless chase for meaning built on the praise of others which can crumble to dust in an instant.

The only peace we will have is the peace of God through Jesus Christ. It is beyond the understanding of the world which is built on things that will fade and pass away. In Christ, peace is ours even as the world collapses and death looms before us.

He is our peace for He has conquered death and gives life to all who believe. Our peace seeking hearts find it only in Jesus.