The Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
John 16:23-33
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Hoopeston, IL
May 9, 2010; Rev. James T. Batchelor
The prophet Isaiah had some very striking words for those who worship false gods. He wrote: [Isaiah 44:14-17] [The carpenter] cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!" 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"
How silly we say - to pray to a block of wood. How could anyone believe that a god of salvation could inhabit a block that is taken from the same piece of wood that fueled a fire? Those people back then were certainly primitive. Who is foolish enough to pray to a god that they themselves have made?
Ah … but what happens when the false god is a little more sophisticated? What about Eastern meditation? What about the prayers of Moslems to Allah? What about prayers of Jews to the god that they worship? The Jews especially use many of the same scriptures that we do. They use many of the same words that we do. In fact, they might even say the exact same prayers that we pray. The fact is that a false god is a made up god - a god that is just as made up as a god that is made from a block of wood.
People often talk about the power of prayer as though prayer were some sort of magic incantation. That fact is that there is no power in the prayer itself. The power of prayer is in the person to whom we pray. It is important to pray to the true God.
If we pray to a false God the result is very similar to the result of a letter sent to the wrong address. If there is a return address, the letter comes back. Return to sender - address unknown. If there is no return address, the letter goes to the dead letter office. Either way, the letter does no good.
In a similar way, words intended for a false god have no place to go. They are intended for a destination that does not exist. Words addressed to the nature god of the Wiccans or to the generic god of the Unitarians, or to the god of the Jews, or to the god of the Mormons, or to Allah, the god of Islam, or to any false god do no good. No matter how sincere the words are, they have no effect on their intended recipient because their intended recipient doesn't exist. You might just as well address those words to Isaiah's block of wood.
Prayer is communication with God. There is no communication when no one is at the other end of the line. The only God who can respond to prayer is the God who actually exists. In order for words to become a prayer, they must be prayed to the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So, it does no good to pray to a false god, but what if you pray to the true God? Why should the Almighty ruler of this and every other universe listen to our prayers? We are very tiny beings in a very big universe. How can we be important to God? What right do we have to interrupt the throne room of God with our pathetic little words and thoughts? Then, as if it weren't enough that we are so puny, we are also filthy with sin. Our righteous deeds - our best stuff are but hazardous waste in the eyes of the holy God. Why should He listen to our sinful, little words?
That is where the words of today's Gospel bring such comfort. Jesus not only tells us to pray to God, but He even teaches us to call God our Father. In another place and another time Jesus even taught us to begin our prayer with the words: Our Father Who art in heaven … By these words God would tenderly encourage us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that we may ask Him confidently with all assurance, as dear children ask their dear father. How can Jesus Christ encourage us puny little sinners to be so bold before a great and holy God? Not only does Jesus tell us to address our prayers to God, but He even tells us to call God our Father.
Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." The key is that we are asking in Jesus' name. It is Jesus' name that opens the way for our prayers to come before God. So, why does Jesus' name unlock the barrier that stands between our prayers and the ear of the holy God?
Jesus is God's only begotten Son. God the Father loves us so much that He sent Jesus to us in order to deal with the sin that stands between us and God. Jesus took on our human flesh and lived a life without sin for us. He then allowed mere human soldiers to nail Him to a cross so that He could take the penalty of our sin for us. With those actions, it is as if He said, "Dear Father, You and I both love these poor humans. Do not let your justice fall on them. Let it fall on me instead." Jesus absorbed the justice of God for every sin that we have ever done. He took the full punishment onto Himself. He paid for everything. There is nothing left for us to do. He has opened heaven for us.
When Jesus rose from the dead, it is as if the Father said, "You have done all things well. Justice has indeed been satisfied. You have triumphed over sin, death, and the power of the devil. Heaven is open. You have given salvation to all people."
That same work of Jesus that opened heaven to all believers also opened the way for our prayers. When we ask in Jesus' name, we are saying, "Dear Heavenly Father, I understand that I am a poor miserable sinner. Never the less, I come before You in the name of Your precious Son who surrendered Himself up to Your justice." In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us that the Father loves us and does not see our sin. Instead, He sees the holiness that Jesus earned for us with His suffering and death. God the Father loves us and because Jesus has satisfied His justice, He is eager to hear our every word. He is not just our Father. He is our dear Father.
We receive that holiness when the Holy Spirit works faith in us. It is the Holy Spirit's gift of faith in Jesus Christ that receives the forgiveness that Jesus earned for us with His life, suffering, death, and resurrection. It is the Holy Spirit's gift of faith that enables us to pray in Jesus' name.
The Holy Spirit not only gives us saving faith, but He also helps us pray. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write: [Romans 8:26] 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. We do not even have to worry about getting the words exactly right. The Holy Spirit knows what is on our mind and He will convert our prayers into a perfect heavenly language that our little words cannot even express. Even our crudest prayers will be translated into the beautiful language of the Holy Spirit as they make their way to our dear Father in Heaven.
The wonderful thing about the gift of prayer is that it lasts forever. We who have the Holy Spirit's gift of faith in Jesus will not experience eternal death. At our earthly death, our souls will be with Jesus in paradise. There we will pray in His very presence. When the last day comes, He will raise our bodies to immortality and we will be body and soul once again. Then we shall gather around the eternal throne and pray to our dear Father in joy and peace. There we will communicate with God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in perfect prayer. We shall see Him face-to-face and experience his perfect love. Amen
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