1.
Please pray with
me. May the words of my mouth and the
meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our
Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word this 6th
Sunday of Easter is taken from Acts 10:34-48 and is entitled, “Walls Come Tumbling Down,” dear
brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
Humanity
struggles to break down walls, only to find others being built. But, the
resurrection of Jesus, has forever changed this world. Jesus’ cross holds out
the victory that pulls down one wall after another. The Book of Acts shows a wall between Jew and
Gentile that was far more than a cultural clash. It was also a religious clash, in that Jews
and Gentiles didn’t worship the same God.
They also didn’t eat the same foods.
There were many barriers between the Jews and Gentiles in the ancient
world. In our text from Acts 10, Peter confessed at the house of Cornelius, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a
Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but . . .” Peter
then goes on to say, “God has shown me that I should not call any person common
or unclean” (v 28). There was no hiding behind walls, even with the Law.
Everything centered on Jesus Christ, who calls all to repent and believe in
him. In place of walls, then, God Loves
to Bind Our Lives Together by the Word of Christ.
3.
The Father loves
to bind all people together in his Word of our one salvation (vv 34–36). Peter reveals the love the heavenly Father
has for Cornelius and all those in his house.
He does this by opening his mouth out of love for those unloved by the
Jews. The Apostle Peter says in Acts 10:
“Truly I understand that God shows no
partiality” (v 34). God does this by
showing that the Word given to Israel is God’s love for the Gentiles: “Good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he
is Lord of all)” (v 36). We reveal
that the love the Father has for all people is without exception. He opens our mouths with love to those
outside the walls built in life. For example, the fall of the Berlin Wall in
November 1989 was quite a spectacle. People on both sides of the wall were
picking and pulling off chunks of concrete. What had since 1961 separated East
and West was finally gone. As much as
the present age wants to tear down every wall for the sake of freedom, we still
erect all kinds of walls, trying to protect ourselves from things we fear. We
live lives segregated from others by where we live, what we eat, or what we do.
We tear down walls only to build up others. We are guilty of not really loving
every neighbor as ourselves, certainly not as God does.
4.
But, God the
Father sending his Son broke down the barriers built by sinful men. The Gospel
is a freedom for all to repent and believe in Jesus. The Word that God gives
for sinners draws all to his death and resurrection (Acts 10:34–43). This
exceeds culture wars and a need to be defensive. Only Christ can forgive the
loveless. Only he defends us with his sacrifice. Love prevails in Christ and is
a promise alive among the baptized.
5.
He shows that the
Word of God’s love for the Church means peace, binding all people to his
one-for-all salvation: “Everyone who
believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves
the Father loves whoever has been born of him” (1 Jn 5:1).
6.
The Son loves to
bind all people to the Word of what he did for our forgiveness (vv 37–43). Peter declared this love from Jesus to
Gentiles. Jesus’ life as the Word made
flesh was a perfect expression of love. He was always “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (v 38). Then Jesus’ death was the ultimate act of
love to save sinners. His enemies “put
him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day”
(vv 39–40). Christ saw the cross to be the cure binding all to him. Now Jesus is to be the “judge of the living and the dead” (v 42), but for all who believe
in him, the judgment will be forgiveness of sins (v 43).
7.
Jesus loves us to
speak this Word of his love so that everyone may be bound to it. Jesus’ love is the gift he gives for the
world. He told his disciples, “As the
Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (Jn 15:9). Jesus’ death is the cure of life, covering a
multitude of sins. This love means forgiveness for every sin of the whole
world. As judge, Jesus demands that all
believe in his Word of forgiveness, for it does bind all people to him for
eternity. “This is the victory that has
overcome the world—our faith” (1 Jn 5:4).
8.
The Spirit loves
to bind all people together by the Word in Baptism (vv 44–48). The Holy Spirit showed Peter the love he was
to have for the Gentiles. The Spirit
made clear the love he has for all people. It goes beyond the walls built by
man, for “the Holy Spirit fell on all who
heard the word” (v 44); they began to speak in tongues. Love meant Peter was not to get in the way of
God’s work by the Gospel. The miracle of his hearers speaking in tongues
confirmed the greater miracle. “Can
anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy
Spirit just as we have?” (v 47).
9.
We see the same
love of the Holy Spirit shared around Word and Sacraments. It comes to us as a work of God able to give
faith in Jesus. “For there are three that
testify: the Spirit [Word] and the water [Baptism] and the blood [Lord’s
Supper]; and these three agree” (1 Jn 5:7–8). Love means a good confession of Jesus arises
among the baptized. Right behavior by the standards of men still builds walls,
but a right belief in Jesus entrusts us to his Commandments, his forgiveness,
and his faithfulness for everyone.
10.
Today our
Confirmands here at Christ Lutheran confirm the Christian faith they received
by the power of the Holy Spirit in their baptisms. Through your baptism, Jesus
certainly knows you today and you know Him as well. You may feel a
closer-than-usual relationship with Jesus today, but he’ll know you just as
intimately every day from now on too. Jesus knows each of you so well that he
knows right now how he will shape your life in beautiful ways—what you’ll do
after you finish school, whom or if you’ll marry, whether you’ll have children
of your own to bring to confirmation, all the opportunities you’ll serve him
until he takes you to heaven someday. He knows you a lot better than you know
yourself, doesn’t he! And he knows everything you’ll need at each step of that
way, so he’ll surely be there to provide it.
And he has bound you together through His Holy Word. The same Word of God that you have learned
from Him through Luther’s Small Catechism…
11.
So then, because
Jesus has been that faithful to you, I want you to promise that you’ll follow
him all your life. You realize, of course, that that’s exactly what you’re doing
today in your Rite of Confirmation. It’s an oath you’re taking, you know, just
like the oath, the vow, you’ll take if you get married someday, except that
this oath you’re making first, and that means you keep it ahead of any you’ll
make later. Nothing—not what your parents do, not whom God gives you to love
someday, not what seems cool or fun somewhere down the line—is to get in the
way of your keeping this vow. Remember what you’re going to promise? “Do you hold all the canonical books of the
Bible to be the inspired Word of God, and the doctrine of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church, drawn from the Bible, as you have learned to know it from
Luther’s Small Catechism, to be the true and correct one? Do you also, as a
member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, intend to continue steadfast in the
confession of this church, and suffer all, even death, rather than fall away
from it?” I do so intend, with the help of God. That’s quite a promise,
isn’t it? But you’re declaring today, once and for all, that you are going to
follow Jesus all your life, and that this is what it means to follow him.
12.
Long before our
confirmands ever came for confirmation class, they knew Jesus gives them
eternal life? And you know that’s not just for today! That’s forever. But for
the years to come, I want to remind each of you how sure that will always be.
No matter what happens in the future, no matter what anybody—including the
devil—will do to you, nobody can snatch you away from Jesus. I have a feeling
your parents like hearing this part, because they know the sorts of stuff that
can happen. Jesus and his Father both promise that they will protect you from
all of it, and they’re strong enough to do that! God loves to bind our lives together by the
Word of Christ. The risen Christ breaks down all the walls we put up and
replaces them with salvation for every soul—salvation unbroken by sin, death,
and the devil. May we daily live in repentance to him, for his love unites the
baptized in the most magnificent way. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment