It was just the usual trip to the grocery store. The kids were buckled in their seats in the back of the minivan. Mom would occasionally glance at their little faces in the rearview mirror. All of a sudden her little four-year-old broke the silence. “Mommy, what is heaven like?” One of the most profound theological questions ever! From the mouth of a four-year-old! On the way to the grocery store!
Today is a big day for two of our youths at Lord of Love. It is their Confirmation Day. They will stand in white robes before the Lord’s altar and they will confess and promise. They will confess faith in the Triune God. They will confess, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.” They will promise to be faithful to this God, even pledging to die a martyr’s death rather than deny this confession. It will be obvious to everyone in attendance that these two young adults are Christians!
This is nice! Looking out at all of you. At this point in time, you’re all still awake. You haven’t begun to daydream about other things. Your eyes are wide. You look eager and engaged. This is good! And this doesn’t surprise me. Because something very special and dear is happening. You are about to hear God’s Word. You are about to hear the voice of Jesus. You are going to hear the voice of your Shepherd. And so you are perked up.
I want to begin by reading for you again two statements from our text. The first one comes at the beginning: Saul was breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. (v. 1) And at the end of our text we are told, Immediately [Saul] began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues saying, He is the Son of God. (v. 20) Stop for a moment to appreciate what we have here! At the beginning of our text, Saul hates Jesus! And he hates the followers of Jesus! So much so that his goal and mission is arresting Christians and threatening them with death unless they renounce faith in Jesus. And at the end of our text, Saul is standing up publicly proclaiming for all to hear that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God!
Pastor John Boggs, Professor at Luther Preparatory School is serving us today.
Are any of you here today Marvel fans? The Marvel movies or Marvel comics? If you are, maybe you are familiar with one of the super-villains in the Marvel franchise. The villain I am referring to is named Thanos. Thanos first appeared in a comic book back in 1973. Thanos is generally a bad guy.
The Service of Darkness centers on a series of lessons, psalms, and liturgical texts that reflect on the Lord’s crucifixion and our repentance. As the service progresses, the candles of a sevenfold candelabrum are extinguished until only one remains. This candle is not extinguished but is removed from the chancel, leaving the church in darkness. The service is closed by a loud noise (known as the strepitus) that foreshadows the rending of Jesus’ tomb on Easter. After the strepitus, the last candle, still burning, is returned to the chancel. It thus anticipates the light of the paschal candle. The service ends without a benediction. We exit in silence to reassemble on the Festival.
At the center of our meditation tonight is one word: “covenant.” “Covenant” is a very important word in the Bible. In fact, the Bible itself is divided into two main divisions, the Old Covenant (or more commonly called the Old Testament) and the New Covenant (or more commonly referred to as the New Testament). A “covenant” (or testament) is a formal, many times legally-binding, agreement between parties.
We begin today at the end. We take up something Jesus says at the end of our text. The Pharisees have watched the events of Palm Sunday very carefully. They have seen the reception Jesus received as he entered Jerusalem. They have observed the royal-treatment given to Jesus. The palm branches being waved, as if a conquering hero is coming to town! They have listened to the crowds as they cheer the arrival of Jesus, using portions of Psalm 118 to welcome Jesus with Messianic overtones. They don’t like it! They don’t like it one bit!
Tonight, as we finish our Lenten series in which we have been meditating on “The Hidden Glory of the Cross,” we come to a most unusual text. Our text tonight contains a dialogue that took place between the three men who were crucified on Good Friday. Does that strike you as at all odd? What would there be to “chat” about? What do you talk about when dying on a cross?
