Cantate - Fifth Sunday of Easter

Introit (Psalm 98)

St. John 16:5–15

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Cantate! That’s Latin for, “Y’all Sing!” Sing to the Lord a new song! Here we are, starting the fifth week of Easter and we’re still singing. It never gets old. It’s what the Church does. But it’s worth asking, what is the cause or basis of this song? What’s the reason behind this call to sing? Our Introit antiphon answers that too: Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. So now we really should ask, where is this righteousness revealed? What does it look like and how does it happen? And the answers to those questions are given by Jesus in our Gospel reading.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, spoke these words, during that last meal with His disciples: Now I am going to him who sent me… But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. By this point it seems that the disciples had come to the realization that Jesus was going to die. They didn’t know exactly when or why and they didn’t want it to happen. The thought only filled them with sorrow. So imagine their confusion when Jesus says, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away. They did not understand it then, but we know the truth better now. It was to our advantage that Jesus went away – that He died. Because He didn’t just go away into the blue. He went to the Father with His body and blood as the perfect sacrifice for sin. The death of Jesus is to our advantage, and to the advantage of all sinners, because Jesus has laid down His life in the place of sinners. His righteousness was substituted for our sin. His holy blood was poured out to pay our debts. This is what we call the vicarious atonement. Jesus made atonement for sin. He satisfied God’s demands by a perfect life according to His Law. He satisfied God’s wrath over sin by His perfect suffering. And He did it vicariously: He did it for us, in our place, so that it won’t be required of us. Jesus’ death, His going away to make His offering to the Father, was to our advantage. It is our very salvation. And this is really what the Psalm is referring to when it says that the Lord’s right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. Jesus is God’s right hand and He alone achieved salvation.

And there is more to our advantage. With salvation accomplished by Jesus the Holy Spirit can come. Jesus said: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. This doesn’t mean that Jesus had to get out of the way so the Spirit could come do His thing. But Jesus’ going away, His atoning death, makes it possible for the Spirit to come. Jesus’ death provides the Spirit with something to give us. The forgiveness that Jesus accomplished for us is now delivered by the Holy Spirit in His Word. And there are three parts to the Spirit’s Word, three convictions that come by hearing the Spirit speak. When the Helper, the Holy Spirit, comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. And by these three convictions the Spirit of Truth guides us into all the truth: the truth of our sin, the truth of God’s righteousness, and the truth of God’s judgment.

The first part of the Spirit’s Word is that He gives you a conviction about sin. All that is ours is included here, for all that we are is sin. The Spirit doesn’t try to convince us that we’re worth it or that we deserve better. He doesn’t give us a conviction to improve our self-esteem. He doesn’t affirm you, flatter you, or build you up, because He is not the Spirit of lies and delusions, but the Spirit of Truth. And the Truth is that man doesn’t even know the real problem. Man doesn’t even really know what is sin and what isn’t. But worse than that, man doesn’t know the root of sin, the true cause of evil actions, words, and thoughts. We think we’re going to fix things by more laws, more regulations, more efforts. We have the wrong problems so we make up our own wrong saviors – whether it’s government, wealth, other gods, or love and tolerance – we keep looking to things that can’t save us.

Man doesn’t have a true conviction of sin, so the Spirit must give us one. He must reveal the root of the problem, and that is unbelief. We sin because we do not perfectly believe in the one true God. We sin because we do not listen and check ourselves by His Word. Even Christians, continue to be rebels and disbelieve, and so we must be convinced by the Spirit. The Spirit must tear us open, reveal our evil hearts, and break our stubborn wills. This is a work of the Holy Spirit too. He’s not all that pleasant. He is a holy fire and we must feel the terror of His burning, and learn the knowledge of our sin and the danger we are in on our own. If this hasn’t happened to you, if you’ve never known the conviction of your sin, then maybe you’ve been listening to pastors and teachers who fail to preach the Law clearly to you, who waffle on sin and its consequences, and maybe I am included in this group of pastors at times. But also, if this hasn’t happened to you, if you’ve never been concerned of your standing before God, whether your faith and life match up with His Truth, then maybe it’s because you reject the Spirit’s conviction, and you don’t listen to the Law because you think it’s mean or unloving. Repent. We can never take God’s Word seriously enough. We must believe that it is always a matter of life and death, what we and others believe and then also what we and others do on the basis of those beliefs. Listen to the Spirit’s Word and be convinced of your sin. He will reveal it you, so that you may know your desperate need for the Lord’s salvation.

Thankfully, the Spirit has another revelation, another conviction. This is the second part of the Spirit’s Word: He gives you a conviction about righteousness. And this revelation is the Good News that causes so much singing in our Psalm. Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. The Holy Spirit has this conviction of righteousness to give because of Jesus. Remember, it was to our advantage that Jesus died and sent His Spirit. He revealed His righteousness on the cross by dying for sinners. And now He reveals His righteousness in the Spirit’s Word of forgiveness. The Word of Absolution, breathed by the Spirit, preached and spoken by men, now delivers Christ’s righteousness to sinners. It declares the sinner to be holy and righteous on account of Christ. Without the death of Jesus the Holy Spirit could only convict us of sin and that would mean judgment for us. That would only be cause for weeping and gnashing of teeth. But because of Jesus’ death for us the Holy Spirit can give us a conviction about Christ’s righteousness. And this conviction is that Christ’s righteousness is given to us as a gift. We are not saved by our own righteousness, for our righteousness is nothing but sin. We are saved by Christ’s righteousness, His perfect life in our place, His holy blood in our place. That is what the Spirit also convinces us of by His Word. The Holy Spirit works faith with His Word so that we can say with conviction, “I believe in Jesus Christ my Lord. He has revealed His righteousness and given it to me in exchange for all my sin. This is most certainly true.” That is the conviction that saves.

The third part of the Spirit’s Word is that He gives you a conviction about judgment. This judgment can go two ways. Jesus said in John, chapter 3: God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. If you will not hear and be convinced by the Spirit’s Word, if you will not repent of your sins and trust in the righteousness of Christ, then you will receive the same judgment that God has made for the ruler of this world, the devil – condemnation. This is the Spirit’s work too and He also does this with His Word.

The topic of excommunication recently came up in conversation and this is really what it is. Excommunication is telling someone with the Word of God that because of their sin they are under judgment and unless they repent they will stay there. Some might think, this doesn’t happen much anymore. That’s probably true, and shame on your pastors for not doing it. Shame on me! And shame on all of us who think it’s not important that we do this. First, Jesus commanded this be done. And second, it is truly a most merciful and loving thing to tell someone, to warn them, of the judgment they’ve brought upon themselves by their sin.

Now, remember I said this judgment from the Holy Spirit can go two ways. For all who do believe, who have heard the conviction of their sin and received the conviction of faith in Christ’s righteousness, then the judgment of God is against the devil and this evil world and it is joyous news. For you have been judged righteous and the devil has been judged guilty. His time is short, his doom is set, and death itself will receive its punishment as well. Sin, death, and the devil are finished because Jesus died and the resurrection of Jesus is their judgment. Their power is gone, life has won. Jesus is risen, the verdict is in. You are set free from your sin and you will rise from your grave. The devil, your own sin, and death will be locked up and cannot harm you.

And that is cause for singing. Jesus’ going away is not a cause for our sorrow. It is the cause for our joy! He has gone to the Father with His blood as the sacrifice for sin. He has died and is alive again. He has gone to the Father and yet, still, He is here. Because the Spirit of Truth sings the Word of Christ. The Spirit’s song is of our sin and Christ’s righteousness. And so in that song of Truth, in that Word of conviction, the righteousness of Christ is declared to be yours, and the body and blood of Christ are given for you. And as we learn this new song from the Spirit, we sing it back to Him, praising our Lord as His little mockingbirds, happy in His righteousness that He gives us, happy with the words He teaches us. Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice, with exultation springing, And with united heart and voice and holy rapture singing, Proclaim the wonders God has done, How His right arm the victory won. What price our ransom cost Him! (LSB 556:1) Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Jubilate - Fourth Sunday of Easter

Introit (Psalm 66)

St. John 16:16–22

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night that He was betrayed, Maundy Thursday,

He said to His disciples, “A little while, and you will see Me no longer.” That is, in a little while, in a matter of hours, Jesus was going to die. Then He said, “Again a little while, and you will see Me.” That is, in a little while, in a few days, Jesus was going to rise again and show Himself to the disciples. But they didn’t understand. Before the cross and resurrection the disciples never understood Him even when He was clear and to the point: It is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer and die and on the third day rise again. After His death and resurrection things became clear. And so we who live on this side of the cross and resurrection don’t have much trouble understanding Jesus, but that doesn’t make life much easier.

The disciples had sorrow at the death of Jesus. He was taken from them, and they did not know if they would see Him again. They wept and lamented, but the world rejoiced. While the disciples cried for their Master, Satan and this world of unbelievers rejoiced at the death of Jesus, thinking they had victory.

So also we weep and lament in this life. We know Jesus is not dead, but we do not see Him. Like the disciples we are experiencing that “little while” when He seems to be gone. We know that Easter is a great celebration, but we also know from experience that the celebration doesn’t last forever. This world doesn’t always look or feel much like Easter. This world is full of death. It often really looks like death is the victor.

Jesus said, “You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.” So at first glance, there seems to be a contradiction between this word from Jesus in our Gospel reading and the Introit for today: Jubilate – as in “jubilation.” Shout for joy to God, all the earth! But when the Bible or the liturgy quotes another piece of Scripture, it is generally assumed you know the context or the whole Psalm. Our Introit verses come from Psalm 66, and this Psalm is perfect for this Gospel reading. It is a Psalm of praise and victory, but not a victory that we achieved for ourselves. It is a Psalm of deliverance, God’s victory for our benefit.

Sing the glory of HIS name; give to HIM glorious praise!

Say to God, “How awesome are YOUR deeds!

So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You.”

Come and see what God has done:

He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of man.

Come and hear, all you who fear God,

and I will tell what He has done for my soul.

This is how we rightly praise God: we tell of His awesome deeds. The ancient people of God praised Him by telling how He redeemed them from slavery in Egypt and brought them into the land He promised them. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. Now we, God’s people, tell of His victory that He won for us on the cross, the redemption He achieved by shedding His holy blood and dying in the place of sinners. We tell of His triumphant joy that He now shares with us, having risen from the dead, putting the enemies of sin, death, and the devil under His feet.

And yet the shout of joy is not always heard as it was on Easter. This “little while” of sadness seems to drag on, for we don’t see our risen Jesus. He told us we would experience weeping and lament. So does our Psalm ignore our sorrow and try to brush it under the rug? No. The Psalm has not forgotten or dismissed our suffering and sadness. Rather it looks on our dark moments with the right perspective. It sees our suffering and sadness clearly with eyes of faith.

For You, O God, have tested us; You have tried us as silver is tried.

You brought us into the net; You laid a crushing burden on our backs;

You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

You see, despite the Psalm’s call to shout for joy and Jesus’ word that we will weep and lament, this Psalm and Gospel reading go together perfectly. Because this Psalm does not shout empty praise, and it does not ignore our sin and desperate situation.

Here is the hard truth of God’s Law that this Psalm reveals about our distress, our pain, and our tears: The Lord did this to us. He tests us, He tries us like metal in the forge. He presses on us, He breaks us, He exposes us, He accuses us and even kills us. Because we are sinners. It’s no more than we deserve. Left to ourselves we only do what is hurtful for us. We are not satisfied with what we have, we think God is holding out on us. We choose only what we think is right in our eyes, but our eyes, desires, and thoughts are evil.

So the Lord must break us. But He breaks us so we do not break ourselves. He does it in mercy, for our benefit. This is also included in the awesome deeds of the Lord. He will not leave us to our own devices. He does not want His creation to destroy itself. So He comes after us, He chastises and corrects, He exposes our lies, our weaknesses, and our stubbornness devoted to self-destruction. He disciplines us because we are His children, and He would have us back with Him. He catches us in His net and lays the crushing burden of the Law on our backs in order that we would stop our evil ways and seek Him, in order that we would wait for His salvation so that He may bring us to life again.

So repent, but do not despair. If we give into despair and sin, or if we still insist on our own way, if we love our sin more than God’s Word, then the Lord will not save. The Psalm admits, If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. He will let us go our own way and His chastening will not help. If we spurn His Word and His loving correction, if we despise and neglect His precious blood and redemption, then He will spurn our prayer.

But truly God has listened… He has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me! His love for you cannot be destroyed because Christ our Savior has revealed that love with His death in your place. Our Father breaks and corrects us for our good, but all punishment for sin was taken care of on the cross. Christ was brought into the net of death, the Father laid on Him the crushing burden of our sins. Violent men rejected Him and He went through the fire of God’s wrath. Yet the Father also brought Him out to a place of abundance. Raised from death, Jesus lives, for you and forever. And the love of God for you may never be in doubt.

So shout for joy! Sing praise even in the dark moments. When you are lonely, depressed, or beaten-down, don’t wait for your happy emotions to come back on their own. Sing hymns, pray the Psalms. They carry you out of yourself. And when you are suffering, when you are sick, or when you’ve sinned and you get the consequences, or when someone dies, call the thing what it is. Don’t ignore the pain and hope it will go away. Complain to God about it, hate it, and wait for the Lord. Cry to Him. Call yourself what you are. Confess you are a sinner, confess your anger and sadness, confess that you’ve been sinned against, and confess that you sin too.

All this is the Truth, and the Truth is praise to our God. For when this Truth of sin is spoken, then the greater Truth of forgiveness may also be made known. And forgiveness is a reason to shout for joy, even in the middle of weeping and lament. Even while you’re dying, sing these words, He has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. The world laughs at this and calls it false hope and wishful thinking. To the world, suffering and death are all that there is. We call a thing what it is. Sin, sickness, suffering, and death are evil. And we count them as nothing for that is what they are. Even in death God keeps our soul among the living. Jesus lives and that means you shall live also. He is risen from the dead and He will raise your body from the dead. He said so Himself: I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth.

Sing the glory of His name;

Give to Him glorious praise!

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

            He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Misericordias Domini - Third Sunday of Easter

Introit (Psalm 33)

St. John 10:11–18

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Last week, our Introit called us newborn infants. While we might think babies are cute, they’re not something we aspire to be. While we might be nostalgic for childhood, we enjoy the knowledge and strength of adulthood and don’t really want to go back to being helpless. Just go visit anyone in a nursing home, and they’ll tell you they don’t like not being able to do anything for themselves. Being called a newborn infant is no compliment.

This week, our Gospel reading calls us sheep. Like babies, they seem cute and cuddly, but they’re weak, timid, and a bit mindless. Sheep are not known for bravery and strength, and they easily get lost. So being called a sheep is no great compliment either. Being called an infant means we must depend on the pure wholesome milk of God’s Word. So also being called a sheep means we must depend on God our Shepherd. We can’t fight our own battles or save ourselves from danger. All we can do is hide behind the Good Shepherd, and eat only from His pasture, and only follow Him.

So this Good Shepherd Sunday is not just about how weak or stupid we sheep are, but more importantly, how good our shepherd is. The old Latin name from the Introit connects well with the Gospel about Jesus the Good Shepherd. Misericordias Domini – the steadfast love of the Lord, or the mercy of the Lord, or as the King James put it, the goodness of the Lord. This Sunday tells us once again that we have a loving, merciful, good Lord and Shepherd, and it also tells us once again what He does for us.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Those who fear the Lord are those who hope in His love. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. The fear of God is an aspect of faith in God. It is combined and tempered by trust, hope, and love. We have fear, awe, and reverence to the God who made us and saves us, the Lord who keeps His eye on us, like a shepherd keeping watch over his flock. And He doesn’t simply look on from afar. He doesn’t merely watch us while we wander into disaster and death. But He keeps an eye on us in order that He may deliver our souls from death and keep us alive in famine. He rescues us from the jaws of the demonic wolves. He saves us from wandering over the cliff of our sins. He feeds us with His Word of Truth, while the world suffers the famine of lies and false teachings. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Like ignorant sheep, we are unaware that the devil is crouching just behind the bushes. If we were left to ourselves we would have perished long ago. But the Lord our Shepherd watches over us. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. He protects us even when we don’t realize we need protection. He has a better life for His little flock than any of us can even imagine. We think this world is pretty great, and as wonderful as it is, it is full of danger that we don’t fully realize. But our Shepherd sees it and He knows how to guide us safely through. So for our own safety, we must be His little sheep and follow Him.

These Introit verses are all from Psalm 33, and whenever the Bible or the liturgy quotes some Scripture verses, it is generally assumed that you know the context. So what about the rest of Psalm 33? What else can it teach us? Psalm 33 is a kind of militant Psalm, proclaiming the Lord’s power and rule over the whole earth. It reminds us that we are sheep, weak and foolish. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. This tells us two things: The Lord will do things His way and not allow wicked and rebellious humanity to destroy itself. And it tells us we cannot save ourselves from the danger we have put ourselves in. We cannot trust in ourselves, in our strength or intelligence or even our moral character.

Our trust can only be in the great Shepherd who fights for us. He defends us from the devil and this world so full of evil. He also defends us from ourselves, from our own evil desires, our own twisted ideas of justice and goodness. The Lord knows better than us sheep, so He fights for us. And how this Shepherd fights, that is the most surprising thing of all. This Shepherd fights for His sheep by dying and rising. He lays down His life for the sheep and then takes it back up again. This is why He is the Good Shepherd. He is not good for His own benefit, but He is good for the sheep. He is not concerned for His own safety or power, because He has authority to lay down His life and take it up again. He is not concerned for His own glory or fame, because He gets all the glory He wants by dying for His sheep, rescuing and forgiving us who left Him. His glory and honor are in His love and mercy for the sheep, in having them back in His flock.

So this fighting Psalm is also a missionary Psalm. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! This Psalm expresses God’s desire for all to be saved and know the truth, for all to fear, love, and hope in the one true God. Just as He didn’t fight with sword and armor, but was stripped and beaten and killed on the cross, so also He doesn’t fight by destroying His enemies, but by converting them. His fight is fought with the staff of His Word. He gathers His flock by calling them together, keeping them safe and on the right path by letting them hear His voice. All around us are clouds and thick darkness, so that we cannot even see Him, but even in the dark we hear His voice, His Word, so we know which way to run. All around us the world rages and snarls, trying to frighten, confuse and scatter us. False religions offer paths that seem better but are full of traps. Whichever way we turn we see sin, false belief, and death. We are tempted to despair and the wolves of hell would like nothing more than for us to lie down and give ourselves up. But none of that matters. O little flock, fear not the foe. Your Shepherd keeps you safe. He guides you even though you cannot see Him. He cannot be defeated, so you that cling to His Word cannot be defeated either.

As true as God’s own Word is true,

Not earth nor hell’s satanic crew

Against us shall prevail.

Their might? A joke, a mere façade!

God is with us and we with God – our victory cannot fail. (LSB 666)

Jesus made a promise: I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. He is gathering His sheep that were scattered. God is with us and we with God. Our Good Shepherd is spreading His reign, gathering His flock, by preaching His Word.

So at last we come to the joy of our Introit antiphon. And to get the full meaning of these verses we should hear them in their context in Psalm 33. The word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. The Lord’s Word goes out and fills the earth. It is His world, His creation. By His Word He created it and by His Word He will win it back and make it good. The Lord laid down His life to redeem us. He succumbed to death, our end, this world’s end, so that we might be spared. And He took up His life again to give victory and life to us. Sin, death, and the devil cannot have us. The Lord’s death and resurrection have won for us His righteousness. The Lord’s Word says we are His, and His steadfast love, His mercy, His goodness is for us. Our Shepherd is Good because He is good for us.

We are always unreliable, weak, and untrustworthy. But we can always trust in Him. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. His love is steadfast. His mercy endures forever. His goodness will never end. We may not always find joy in this world but there is always joy in the Lord. He has forgiven our sins and given us His righteousness. The Good Shepherd has died and is alive again. His sheep are safe. So Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

            He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Quasimodo Geniti - Second Sunday of Easter

Introit (Psalm 81; Antiphon: 1 Peter 2:2)

St. John 20:19–31

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Sundays in Advent and Lent, and the Sundays of Easter all have traditional Latin names that they get from their Introits. Today is Quasimodo Geniti, and if that Latin sounds familiar to you it’s probably from knowing the name of the main character in The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Quasimodo. The priest who adopted Quasimodo gave him this name because it was on this Sunday that the orphan baby was found abandoned at the cathedral. The words Quasimodo geniti are the first words of the Introit antiphon from 1 Peter, chapter 2: Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word. So it was fitting that the poor child was found and given his name from this Sunday – “newborn infant Sunday.”

Now what does any of this have to do with Easter or with us? We are the newborn infants of Easter. We all passed anew through the Baptismal waters of the Easter Vigil, and we are reminded to daily die and rise with Christ. Easter is a new beginning. We are the poor infants, misshapen and abandoned by sin, but adopted by our heavenly Father and given a home in the Church, not hidden away in the bell tower but given a place of honor among the people of God, a place that says we belong here.

And so now, in the Second Week of Easter, St. Peter and our Mother the Church tell us little ones to long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word. We can’t live on Easter candy, sweet sounding clichés, or idols of our own making. We need pure doctrine. We need the true teaching of God’s Word. Mother says you’ve got to eat your vegetables. Babies need good nutritious milk. We need, and should even long for, the pure, wholesome Word of our God.

Now, the Introit antiphon is paired with Psalm 81. It’s an Exodus Psalm, recounting the salvation that the Lord worked for the children of Israel, Jacob’s sons and daughters. The Psalm is a song of praise and a remembrance of what God has done. The Lord speaks to Israel: In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder. The Lord God heard their cries while they were in bondage to Pharaoh and He made an Exodus for them, a way out of Egypt and a way into the Promised Land. He led them with un-moistened foot through the Red Sea waters and made His covenant to them at Mount Sinai, the place of thunder. God rescued Israel and made them His people by promising them, I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

This song of praise for God’s deliverance is also a remembrance to us, the new people of God, Jacob’s new sons and daughters of faith. God rescued us by sending His Son to die and rise, and so made an Exodus for us, a way out of slavery to sin and death, and a way into the Promised Land of everlasting life. The Lord God speaks to us as well: I am the Lord your God. The Old Testament Exodus from Egypt was the birth of God’s ancient people. Now Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus, is the birth of God’s New Testament people. Easter is always a new beginning, when we are reminded of our new birth as God’s children, and when we sing the praises of our God.

But there’s more to Psalm 81 than the call to Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! This Psalm also gives reminders that Israel failed as God’s faithful people. God spoke to them in the thunders of Sinai, making His promises and giving them His Law:

Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

There shall be no strange god among you;

you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

But while Moses was on the mountain, the children played with make-believe gods. When God provided food for them, they desired Egyptian candy instead. They worshiped a golden calf and refused to enter the Promised Land. Israel failed because they did not receive the pure spiritual food of God’s Word, but instead wandered in the wilderness of unbelief and sin.

Psalm 81 also gives God’s response:

My people did not listen to my voice;

Israel would not submit to me.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,

To follow their own counsels.

Oh, that my people would listen to me,

That Israel would walk in my ways!

This Psalm is a reminder, a warning to us. We need pure doctrine. We need the true teaching of God’s Word. Rather than following the counsels of this world, rather than listening to our stubborn hearts, we should long for the pure, wholesome Word of our God. Because we are His children, and His Word is what He gives and wants us to have.

There was a similar problem with Thomas in our Gospel reading. Like Israel of old, Thomas did not desire the pure spiritual milk of the Word. On that first Easter evening, when the risen Lord appeared to His disciples, Thomas should’ve been there. He should be with His brothers and sisters, the Church. He should be there to see the Lord Jesus, to hear Him speak, and to receive His peace. But he isn’t. He’s somewhere else. And when Thomas does turn up and hears about Jesus’ appearance, I think it becomes clear that Thomas’ absence wasn’t innocent. He had stayed away from the gathering of the Church. And so he also tempts God: Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, unless I place my finger into the mark of the nails, unless I place my hand into His side, I will never believe. If that isn’t blasphemy, it’s pretty darn close. Like Israel with its golden calf, like Israel in the wilderness, Thomas put the Lord his God to the test. He didn’t long for the Word of God. He did not believe.

But the Lord is gracious and merciful. So the very next Sunday, that would be today, the Church is gathered again for prayer and God’s Word. The disciples are gathered again for Jesus to show up, and they got Thomas to come along. And the gracious Lord allows Thomas’ demands. And praise be to God, Thomas believes and confesses: “My Lord and my God!” Yet, Jesus also reminds Thomas, “You believed because you have seen Me. Blessed are those who have not seen Me and yet have believed.” That’s you – blessed are you who believe, not what you’ve seen, but what you’ve heard. Blessed are you who long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word. Because if you don’t long for it, if you don’t feed on the Word, then you won’t be blessed. Learn from Israel. Learn from Thomas. We need pure doctrine. We need the true teaching of God’s Word.

The problem with us childish sinners is that we always think we’re stronger than we are. Like the little boy who wants to keep up with the big kids. We think we’re more mature than we are. We think we can handle a little sin here and there. We think we can handle a little false teaching now and then. We think we’re cool because we’re not ashamed of the movies we watch or the websites we visit. We think we’re enlightened because we’re not scandalized by the sin being taught by our schools and government, and approved by our families and communities. We tell ourselves that a little spiritual candy is ok now and then, even if it doesn’t come from God’s Word. We can handle it.

But no one was ever saved by believing false doctrine. People might be saved even though they believed some false things, but they were only saved because they at least believed some true things. False teaching never helps. At its best, its like sugar or caffeine that stunts our growth and gives us a tummy ache. At its worst, its like poison or a disease, it makes us sick and die. We need pure doctrine. We need the true teaching of God’s Word. It doesn’t automatically make us better than others or more deserving of God’s love. But it is what’s best for us. It is what God wants to feed His dear children. The pure doctrine of God’s Word is nothing less than life and peace from our crucified and risen Lord. It is at the heart of everything we do. It’s why we sing, why we teach our children, why the pastor visits shut-ins, why we keep up the building. It’s all about the pure spiritual milk of the Word that gives forgiveness for sins and gives growth and nourishment to faith.

Like newborn infants, Alleluia! Let us long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word. Alleluia! Let us run to receive God’s gifts with the joy of a child when he finds an Easter egg and the treasure inside. Let us hunger for God’s Word the way a child begs her father to read another bedtime story. Let us long for God’s Holy Supper as a child longs for his mother’s home cooked dinners. Open your mouth wide, and the Lord will fill it with His Word, and with the honey of the Gospel He will satisfy you.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

            He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.