Ascension

Mark 16:14-20 - Festival of Christ’s Ascension - May 29, 2014
Ascension

We confess in the Creed that Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and that from thence he will come to judge the living and the dead.  What does “thence” mean?  Why don’t we just say “from there”?  The reason is so we don’t get the idea that the right hand of the Father is some distant geographical location.  It isn’t.  If we said, “and from there he will come,” it might sound that way.  But “thence” means more.  It means not only from that time and place, but it also means from that source, or position of authority.  This is to say that when Christ returns, he will judge the earth with the same authority by which he ascended into heaven, and with the same authority by which he has been ruling his Church for the last 2,000 years. 

And what is this authority?  Of what does it consist?  His authority consists in the forgiveness of sins, the rescuing from death and the devil, and the giving of eternal salvation to all who believe.  It is through the means of grace that Christ exerts his authority as the King of kings and Lord of lords over all nations, and indeed over all creation.  And it is by distributing this salvation which he has won that he shall reign forever and ever.  “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.  He who does not believe will be condemned.” 

Ascension

Mark 16:14-20 – Festival of Christ’s Ascension – May 29, 2014
Ascension

We confess in the Creed that Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and that from thence he will come to judge the living and the dead.  What does “thence” mean?  Why don’t we just say “from there”?  The reason is so we don’t get the idea that the right hand of the Father is some distant geographical location.  It isn’t.  If we said, “and from there he will come,” it might sound that way.  But “thence” means more.  It means not only from that time and place, but it also means from that source, or position of authority.  This is to say that when Christ returns, he will judge the earth with the same authority by which he ascended into heaven, and with the same authority by which he has been ruling his Church for the last 2,000 years. 

And what is this authority?  Of what does it consist?  His authority consists in the forgiveness of sins, the rescuing from death and the devil, and the giving of eternal salvation to all who believe.  It is through the means of grace that Christ exerts his authority as the King of kings and Lord of lords over all nations, and indeed over all creation.  And it is by distributing this salvation which he has won that he shall reign forever and ever.  “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.  He who does not believe will be condemned.” 

In Psalm 2, the eternal Father speaks to his eternally begotten Son, “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.  You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”   

Well, his only begotten Son asked of him. 

Easter 5

John 16:5-15 - Cantate Sunday - May 18, 2014
Convicting the World

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) 

What is a yoke?  My wife is reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the kids right now and so I had to explain this to them recently, because in the story the main character Almanzo got a yoke for his birthday.  A yoke is a rather simple device that binds two work animals together so that they learn to walk in a straight line rather than going off in their own preferred directions as young animals are prone to do.  In this way they’re able to share the burden that is placed on them and get stuff done.  What they are meant to do they must learn to do together – otherwise the work is too much for only one of them.  The more stubborn an animal is the heavier the yoke needs to be. 

Jesus says that the yoke he places on us is light.