Sermon for 12/21/11 "Grace for Me Too"

Sermon “Grace for Me Too” Lord, let us be faithful, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Today, the last Wednesday in Advent, we also celebrate the feast of St. Thomas, the apostle. From the red paraments you know something about Thomas, that he died for his faith. Early Christian tradition says Thomas traveled to the East after Pentecost, finally reaching India. To this day there are Christians who call themselves “Christians of St. Thomas.” We hear that Thomas died for his faith at the point of a spear. What happened to this Thomas? What changed him from being the apostle who, though he had been with Jesus for so long, fled and was hesitant to believe the resurrection? I would venture to say that Thomas is a lot like we are. In ourselves, when we look to our own resources, we have no confidence that Jesus is raised from the dead for our justification. We may doubt his promises. We may doubt whether he is making effective intercession for us. We are very much like Thomas. Why would I say this? You may say that there must be something wrong with my faith in God. I’d say you are right, but that is beside the point. You may say there must be something wrong with my theology. I’d say you are right, but again that is beside the point. Maybe there’s something wrong with my head. No doubt about it, but that’s not what we are talking about right now. The reason I say this is that I hear it from people I visit. We pray a prayer of confession and prior to the absolution I ask them if they believe Jesus forgives their every sin. I can’t start to count the times people have said they hope so. We’re like Thomas. We hope Jesus is good enough. We hope Jesus forgave our sin enough. We hope Jesus’ resurrection is great enough, that his love is broad enough, and that he will remember to forget our sins. But somehow in the back of our minds we have this nagging sense that Jesus’ forgiveness depends on some righteousness we have. We think it depends on how complete our repentance is. We think it depends on our ability to stop all sin and live a perfect life of holiness, following Jesus our savior. We try to mediate salvation on our own behalf. We, like Thomas, decide that we are the judge, jury, and executioner for how real Jesus’ resurrection is, how complete his salvation is, how perfect and lasting his pomise is. I have news for you. It’s the same news I have for you day after day, week after week. And I’m not going to quit giving you that news as long as we find ourselves doubting as Thomas did. Jesus Christ has come with grace and mercy. He has lived a perfect life so that we could be forgiven for an imperfect life. He has died a perfect sinless death to be the lamb slain on our behalf. He has risen from the dead as the firstfruits of the resurrection of all the dead. And he has appeared, showing that his promise to be present for us in the power of the resurrection is absolutely trustworthy. Jesus himself has lived, died, and risen again for you and for me. There is no doubt about his work. There is no doubt about his being able to bear all our sin. There is no reason in the world to doubt whether he has accomplished salvation on our behalf. None at all. But what if we don’t trust? What if we are scared. What if we wonder if Jesus’ blood and righteousness are sufficient for us? I don’t think it should be a surprise that many of the people who find themselves doubting are those who are in physical and mental distress. They have come face to face with the reality that they are struggling with their age. They are looking death in the eyes. They have found that they are frail. They see their need for a savior and wonder sometimes if they were mistaken about Jesus. And that can be a picture of each one of us on any day of the week. We find ourselves secure in our faith and then something shakes it. We are confronted with a surprising reality. We don’t know what to expect next and it makes us uncomfortable. What then? I’ll simply ask if Jesus came just for the other disciples or if he also came for Thomas. In fact, Jesus had already appeared to the other disciples. He seems to have made a special trip for Thomas. Why would he do that? The only way I can explain it is that Jesus Christ, our Savior, is full of mercy and grace. He is full of mercy for the people to whom he was going to send Thomas. He is full of mercy for Thomas himself. He does not give up on those whom he has chosen. He will also come for us whom he has chosen. And he comes tonight in Word. He comes for us when we receive the Sacrament of the Altar. He comes to us also in confession and absolution as we confess our sins before him and receive the forgiveness that he has granted. Jesus is here for his people, for us who are like Thomas. We do not know his purpose in it. We only know that we are weak, weary, sinful, and faithless. And where we are presented to our Lord he gives us his grace, making us strong, lively, righteous, and faithful. There’s grace aplenty for you and for me. Our Lord and Savior, we thank you. Mercy and grace abound in you. Let us see again your wounds of love for us. Let us see you in your resurrection. Create in us a clean heart and restore us to walk in your paths, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.