​Sunday of the Passion – A                                                                       LSB #’s 758, 430:1-5, 436
Text – Matthew 27:21
 
The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”  And they said, “Barabbas.” 
 
And they said, “Barabbas.”
 
 
“…from that day on they made plans to put Him to death.”  (John 11:53 ESV)    You may remember those words from the sermon text for last Sunday.   Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead, who had been in the tomb four days by then.   The Pharisees were afraid that if they allowed Jesus to continue doing miracles they would lose their positions of power & privilege. 
Something had to be done to stop Jesus.   Yet, He’d outwitted them in their every attempt to discredit this upstart teacher.   Not only did He dare to ignore their laws, He had called them out in public for being hypocrites. 
After Jesus called Lazarus out of his tomb, “Many of the Jews… who had come with Mary & had seen what He did, believed in Him.”  (John 11:45 ESV)   The only thing the Pharisees & chief priests could think of now, to stop this whistleblowing miracle worker, was to kill Him.  However, under the rule of the Romans, they no longer had authority to execute criminals. 
They needed to convince Pontius Pilate to give that order.   As the Roman ruler over Judea & Samaria, Pilate possessed an almost absolute authority, though it was mitigated by competing circumstances imposed upon him by the Emperor – rule & keep the peace. 
Brought before Pilate, Jesus was a Galilean Jew of lowly birth & status.   Therefore, Roman law did not apply to Him.  Pilate could function as prosecutor, judge & jury.   His own sense of right & wrong would compete with his need to balance the opposing interests – Roman & Jewish – in the area under his jurisdiction.  The leadership of both despised each other. 
Due to his position, Pilate dealt with many criminal cases & he’d seen the patterns of
character that were common to the criminal type of human being.  He didn’t see those patterns in this Jesus of Nazareth, the supposed King of the Jews.   It was clear this man hadn’t done anything deserving of the death penalty.  And if He deserved to die for seeking to overthrow Caesar, Jesus certainly didn’t look like any other “king wannabe” that Pilate had met. 
Pilate’s instincts were telling him to dispose of this matter in some lesser way:  “For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up.  Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of Him today in a dream.’”  (Matthew 27:18-19 ESV) 
And that’s where Barabbas came in.  He was a notoriously evil man.  Pilate thought to put Jesus & Barabbas side by side & allow the crowds to choose which man would be set free.  Remember, Pilate knew that the Jewish leaders were so invested in killing Jesus because they were envious of Him.  The crowds were not likely to suffer from that kind of envy. 
 Unlike the crowds of common people, the Jewish leaders had their private security detail to protect them.  If the crowds were sufficiently afraid of Barabbas, they could choose to have the innocent Jesus released instead.  In that way, Pilate could abdicate his responsibility & tell the Jewish leaders that it was their own people who had chosen to set Jesus free. 
It was the quintessential move of a career politician.   In a similar move, the Jewish leaders worked among their people & convinced them to act against their own self-interest.  When Pilate asked the crowd again, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”  …they said, “Barabbas.”  (Matthew 27:21 ESV) 
  Politicians love to pass blame for anything difficult, & they love to take credit for anything that’s successful.  As for the crowds, the people were duped by unscrupulous leaders who didn’t care about the welfare of the people.  Everything was backwards from the way any just society should behave, & the heavenly Father knows that.  He took into account the weak & vacillating leadership of a career politician such as Pilate.  God understood how the false & unbelieving religious leaders would look out only for their self-interests.  Our Lord knew the ignorance of the masses & how they could be duped into voting against their own safety. 
The good news in all of that disfunction is that Yahweh also understands how backwards our minds work.  He knows the corruption under which every one of us functions, & still today He accomplishes His will through you   & through me. 
A lot of our politicians seem more concerned about criminals than they are about victims.  They’re more concerned about the guilty than about the innocent, but ultimately, they are far more concerned about themselves than about the people they are supposed to serve, no matter what their political ads may tell us. 
From this text in the Gospel of Matthew, once again we see that nothing is new under the sun.  Yet, the book of Hebrews tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday & today & forever.”  (13:8 ESV)  He is always looking out for our best interests – even when we make foolish choices.  “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”  (Hebrews 13:6 ESV)
God used the weakness of Pilate, the corruption of the Pharisees & the ignorance of the people to sacrifice the Lamb of God for the sins of all people – from Adam & Eve to you & me.  The sins of everyone involved in crucifying Jesus were forgiven if only they saw the grace & mercy of Yahweh in the life, death & resurrection of His Son. 
Barabbas became the quintessential example of the salvation Christ offers.  Barabbas was a notoriously evil man & yet was released that Jesus might be executed in his stead.  That is the good news taught to us this morning by the Gospel of Matthew.  As Isaiah wrote in the OT lesson, “Morning by morning He awakens; He awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.”  (Isaiah 50:4b ESV)  Our Lord & Savior calls us to hear His teaching, to listen to His Word, just as He called the dead Lazarus to listen & walk out of his tomb that he might live.  Whatever tomb your sins have locked you into, the life-giving Word of God can call you out of it.  As Jesus took the place of Barabbas, Jesus also took the place of each one of us. 
As the crowd called for Barabbas to be released, so we call to our Lord & Savior in order that we might be released.  In the world of Christianity, we call that prayer, & our Lord loves to answer prayer.  He loves to save those who are lost.  His greatest desire is to take all who have failed & raise them to heaven where they will never fail ever again. 
We don’t know if Barabbas ever came to faith in Jesus as Lord & Savior, but we do have the words of the centurion in Matthew 27:54, “Truly this was the Son of God!”   In seeing the crucifixion & death of Jesus of Nazareth, he apparently came to understand God’s love for him.  It is the greatest desire of Jesus that you come to understand as well.  Amen. 
 
 
 
Sometimes they strew His way & His sweet praises sing; resounding all the day Hosannas to their King.  Then “Crucify!” is all their breath, & for His death they thirst & cry.         They rise & needs will have my dear Lord made away; a murderer they save, the Prince of Life they slay.    Yet cheerful He to suffering goes that He His foes from thence might free.       My song is love unknown, my Savior’s love to me, love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be.   Oh, who am I that for my sake my Lord should take frail flesh & die?  Amen.   LSB 430:3, 5, 1. 

​4th Sunday in Lent – A                                                                                    LSB #’s 411, 541, 873
Text – Ephesians 5:13
 
But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.
 
LIGHT EXPOSURE
 
 
Photography is all about lighting.  Without light, there is no photography.  The quality of the light can differ by color, angle & intensity, indoors & out.   Filters can be used to alter the qualities of the light that is projected onto the image sensor.   Today, that is most often an electronic device.   In the old days the image sensor was called film. 
Photographs can be very flattering, or unflattering depending upon the skill & the intentions of the photographer.  Capturing an image can be as complicated as you care to make it, but the skill of any photographer boils down to their ability to understand & work with light. 
The sermon text makes a very simple & obvious point.  Light makes things visible, but St. Paul is not writing about photography.  He is using a physical phenomenon that all of us understand quite well, in order to reveal something about the spiritual realm that none of us understand well enough.   There are good reasons why many people are afraid of the dark. 
The church at Ephesus was the first Christian congregation in that pagan community.  So, it’s likely that the vast majority of the members were converted as adults.  Prior to that, they’d been living their lives in the darkness, but it was much more than just struggling to find their way.  Paul wrote of that prior life, “For at one time you were darkness…”  (Ephesians 5:8 ESV) 
It’s common to hear that most people are basically good.  It’s just that occasionally they do bad things because they aren’t properly educated.  That way of thinking is quite the opposite of what the Word of God teaches.  Connected to Paul’s words that the Ephesians “were darkness” are his words kicking off chapter 2: “And you were dead in your trespasses & sins.”  (2:1 NASB) 
Jesus refuted the notion that all people are basically good, when He stated in the Gospel
of Mark, “No one is good except God alone.”  (10:18b ESV)   King David confessed before God in Psalm 51, “Against You, You only, have I sinned & done what is evil in Your sight…  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, & in sin did my mother conceive me.”  (51:4-5 ESV)   Sinful from birth is what all human beings are.   Our identity is darkness until the Holy Spirit enlightens us. 
There’s a ton of confusion in our culture about identity & it stems from the errant idea that all people are basically good.  Paul wrote to his church members, “For at one time you were darkness…”  (Ephesians 5:8 ESV)  When he wrote that, Paul was describing their former identity & it had nothing to do with being good.  In fact, they were evil – children of sin & iniquity. 
Demanding to choose our own identity, one independent of God’s choice, leaves us in darkness.  Since only God is good, choosing an identity, apart from our Creator, means the source of that identity is something other than good.   By default, any source other than good must be evil, even when it appears harmless to you & to me. 
The drift into darkness is subtle & easy because our sinful nature is part of the darkness.  As Christians, it is no longer our identity, but it is a defect that is constantly dragging us down.  Sin is not just mild indolence or something to wink at.  Sin & death are inseparable companions.   The death we carry around in the old Adam, needs to be drowned & made to die, each day. 
In the verses prior to the Epistle lesson, Paul was drawing out the profound consequences of Holy Baptism.  It divides our lives into then & now.   In the reading for today, Paul is highlighting the danger of going back to ‘then.’  For the Ephesians, who were converted pagans, sexual immorality was a bridge back to idolatry.  It is darkness, delusion & death. 
Rather, Paul was reminding the Ephesian church that they were a fulfillment of Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”  (ESV)   As God’s children today, we also are a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah.  We too were once darkness.  Then, the light of Christ exposed us & made visible the fact that our deeds were evil.  However, the light that Paul wrote of in the sermon text is not only about exposing sin.  Light also helps us to heal & rebuild. 
As Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  (John 8:12 ESV)   There is death in the darkness & there is life in the light.  Both of those forces are constantly at work on us.  The teaching of ‘once saved always saved’ is not in God’s Word, & it certainly can lead to complacency & danger. 
Even though Yahweh is stronger by far, Satan will never stop tempting us in this life.  To combat the devil’s temptation, all of us need constant exposure to the Light.  Jesus used different terminology in the Gospel of John, but He was making the same point:
“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.  Whoever abides in me & I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:4b-5 ESV) 
Jesus knows what it is to be cut off from the Vine, to be darkness.  On the cross, as Jesus bore all the sins of the world, He shouted, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  So often our thoughts, words & deeds grope in that darkness of sin, & we wonder if God has abandoned us too.  But God raised Jesus from the dead, & He raises us as well. 
In the last words of the Epistle lesson, Paul wrote: “…Awake, O sleeper, & arise from the dead, & Christ will shine on you.”  (Ephesians 5:14 ESV)   That is a resurrection that can occur each day we are here on earth.  It is a daily call, from God’s Spirit, to live in the Vine.  Especially when we fall, Paul is encouraging us to intentionally step forth again along the path to heaven. 
You & I need that encouragement, the daily resurrection, for as Jesus said, “…the gate is narrow & the way is hard that leads to life, & those who find it are few.”  (Matthew 7:14 ESV)  As Paul is using the word “light” it can be read as a metaphor for the Law & the Gospel.  Yes, the Law kills & it is meant to, but the Gospel gives life to those who were darkness & death.  We need that light in our lives every day, & our Lord & Savior is more than willing to interrupt us as needed in order to bring His light to bear on us. 
He always does so out of love.  His ultimate goal is always to save & give life, but if people refuse that, He will not shove it down their throats.  He has offered to each & everyone of us the identity His loving purposes intended for us.  If God were a photographer, His goal would always be to present us in our most flattering light. 
There are good reasons for us to be afraid of the dark, especially in the spiritual sense.  And yet, we need never be afraid, but Immanuel is always, even in this broken world, God with us.  And our God is the Light of the world.  Amen.
 
 
“Away from us!” the demon cried when Christ, the Lord, drew near.   “Our dark, disordered world is lost when You, the Light, appear!” But Jesus spoke with God’s own power;  “Come forth!” was His command;  for evil cannot bear the Light  nor sin the Truth withstand.      Drive out the doubt that cripples faith; expel our pride & greed that we, from powers that threaten us, may, by Your grace, be freed.  Amen.  LSB 541:1-2, 4. 

3rd Sunday in Lent – A                                                                                   LSB #’s 648, 718, 761
Text – Exodus 17:1
 
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, & camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 
 
NO WATER TO DRINK
 
 
After the people of Israel left Egypt, it’s easy to think of them as just a bunch of whiners.  Throughout their time in the wilderness, they are constantly complaining & Moses is clueless what to do with them.    In the OT lesson for today, we read about the 4th major occurrence of complaining in less than three months since they left their life of slavery to the Egyptians. 
Eventually, God determines that the entire adult generation, except for Joshua & Caleb, would die before He’d bring His people into the Promised Land.   Still, before we completely write off those stubborn & obstinate people, we should consider the circumstances under which they were complaining in the text from Exodus 17. 
One hundred hours – it’s often cited as the length of time a human body can survive at “average” temperatures without access to water.  During forced marching in sustained heat, that time can be reduced to as little as seven hours.   That is what the congregation of Israel was facing as they arrived at Rephidim. 
They went there, “…according to the commandment of the Lord...”  (Exodus 17:1 ESV)   If He wanted them to live, He knew they’d need water, & lots of it.  In Exodus 12, we’re told there were 600,000 men.  Adding women & children, 2 million people is a reasonable estimate.  Along with their livestock, they’d need millions of gallons of water. 
Since there was none, a logical person would conclude that God simply brought them there to die.   And that’s not out of the realm of possibility in our lives either.   Maybe  you’ve never been certain that God was trying to kill you,  but I’m sure that all of us  have been disappointed at times  in what God has brought  or allowed  into our lives.  Relationships broken by betrayal are common in this world.  Serious illness, job losses, failed government, raging inflation, & nations going to war – bring disappointment, frustration & even anger into our lives.  How quickly people reinterpret God’s salvation as abandonment when suffering comes. 
When those circumstances come into our lives, it’s very easy to slip into wondering, “Does God really love me, or is He’s just playing games?”   As I graduated from seminary, I was assigned to a dual parish in North Dakota.  It only took from July to December to wonder if God had sent me to my own personal hell   right here on earth. 
The people whom God rescued from Egypt, had grown up under slavery in a pagan nation.  Now they’re camped in the wilderness, water has run out, & dehydration is imminent.  As thirst devolves into panic, & panic into fury, the Israelites confront Moses: “…Is the Lord among us or not?”  (Exodus 17:7 ESV)   “…Give us water to drink.”  (Exodus 17:2a ESV) 
 The difficult events of the Exodus bear witness to the characteristic nature of life in this broken world.  And our lives are broken, not just because of what other people have done to us.  Our lives are broken also because of what do to ourselves – each & every day.  It is not only the people of Israel who were stiff necked, hard hearted, & characteristically lacking in faith.  
It is not just the people of Israel whose community was threatened by their characteristic infidelity.  It is not merely the ancient Israelites who complained against God.    All of us are whiners, stubborn & obstinate people who believe we are entitled to our hearts’ every desire. 
That may hit your ears a little too severe.   If it does, remember God the Father sent God the Son to suffer & die on a cross for your sins.  That’s what it took to pay the price for all the times you & I have failed to be perfect,   for all the times we have failed to put ourselves last so that others might be first,   for all the times we have failed to be kind & generous & thankful.  Think of the number of minutes you spend each day in giving heartfelt praise to your Lord & Savior.  Do those minutes outnumber the ones where complaints flow from your lips?   Jesus died on the cross willingly because He wanted to rescue us from everything that we complain about.   He was born in human flesh so He could truly understand how broken our lives are. 
His greatest desire is that we speak to Him about our disappointments, our frustrations & our anger.  If we don’t know what to say, there are numerous Psalms written just for that purpose.  They express, with holy words, the sufferings & sorrow that we endure.   They are referred to as Psalms of lament, & a good example comes from Psalm 80:4-6 NIV:
“How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?  You have fed them with the bread of tears; You have made them drink tears by the bowlful.  You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors, & our enemies mock us.” 
That Psalm ends with the words: “Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”  (80:19)    Psalms of lament not only give us words to express our despair, they give permission to take such complaining prayers on our lips to God.  They go so far as to authorize such complaining prayers as a proper dimension of faith.  
And how does Yahweh respond to the grumbling of His people?  He gives them water even before the people repent.  The heavenly Father loves perfectly even when we do not.   This text in Exodus bears witness to the characteristic nature of relationship with God.  He creates the world, it rebels against Him, & He seeks to restore the world to the glory in which He created it. 
This event bears witness to the faithfulness & graciousness of God, in spite of, & because of, our sin.  The entire Book of Exodus is about the faithfulness of Yahweh.  Chapter 2 reports that God heard the people’s groaning in Egypt & remembered the covenant with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.  So He rescued them.   Near the end of Exodus, Yahweh proclaims: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful & gracious, slow to anger, & abounding in steadfast love & faithfulness.”  (34:6 ESV)   Some are afraid to say that God at times brings into our lives things we view as harmful.  God is not the cause of evil, but He certainly does not avoid using it for His purposes. 
He sent the Devil to tempt Job.  In the Gospel reading Jesus had no water to drink.  God brought the people into the wilderness where there was no water to drink.  Through the narrative, we understand the OT lesson as another episode in the unfolding drama of Yahweh’s relationship with His people.  The question to the people of Israel & to us:
“How will we respond when the Lord leads us where He will?”   Even if the water is bitter, the food scarce, if it seems there’s no water or food at all, or it seems that the Lord is not with us at all, will we continue to believe His word that He is our God & we are His people?  God is good, & God is love, but in the brokenness of our sins, it’s easy to doubt that. 
If our Lord simply gave us good things in this life, we would never appreciate them.  This text from Exodus helps us to confront our deepest fears, “…Is the Lord among us or not?”  (Exodus 17:7 ESV)  Is He real, & is He actually working in our lives?  Through our desert times we ask again & again because we need to know again & again.  Is God among us now? 
It’s the only question that matters.  To ask it is to register our need, our yearning, & our hope before the Lord almighty.  To ask it is to journey into radical freedom, knowing that the God of both wilderness & water has compassion enough for our questions & our fears.  Out of Christ’s empty tomb, eternal life flows to you as a living water of forgiveness & healing.  Amen.
 
 
If the way be drear, if the foe be near, let not faithless fears overtake us;   let not faith & hope forsake us; for through many a woe to our home we go. When we seek relief from a long-felt grief, when temptations come alluring, make us patient & enduring.   Show us that bright shore where we weep no more.        Jesus, lead Thou on till our rest is won.  Heavenly leader, still direct us, still support, console, protect us, till we safely stand in our fatherland.  Amen.  LSB 718:2-4.