Last Sunday of the Church Year Sermon 2010

With thanks to the Rev. Rick Stuckwisch for helping with the end!

Do Not Weep for Me

Luke 23:27-43

26th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 29 C, 2010)

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day is the Gospel reading from St. Luke which you just heard read.

And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!' Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!”’ For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?" There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

‘Do not weep for me, daughters of Jerusalem, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed.’ Is this that day, dear brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we cry out for the mountains to fall on us, or for the hills to cover us?

Today is the last Sunday of the church year – the Sunday of the Fulfillment. Often on this Sunday we have heard the parable of the wise and foolish virgins – they are the basis for the sermon hymn. Today’s text is quite different. When Jesus taught the parables of the fig tree, of the wise and foolish virgins, and of the sheep and the goats, he was already in Jerusalem, but there was much more to take place before his betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion. When our Lord speaks today, he is trudging along the path toward Golgotha; Simon of Cyrene is already carrying his cross. He is bleeding, wounded, and dying. The scourging torture he suffered at the hands of Herod’s men had sapped him of the strength to carry his own cross. He did not have much time to tell a dramatic parable.

His chosen 12 had all but abandoned him. John alone is said to have been with Jesus at the cross. At this point of our Lord’s life he was speaking to crowds of followers, but not the apostles. It is unlikely that they would have heard many of his teachings or parables before. Not only was his time short, but the hearers were unfamiliar. There were women among the multitudes lamenting him and mourning for him.

‘Do not weep for me, daughters of Jerusalem.’ It sounds comforting, but our Lord is not trying to comfort them – far from it. This is a warning, a dire warning, to a people oblivious to the signs around them. ‘Weep for yourselves and for your children.’ On the surface, things are well. The condemnation of Jesus actually made friends of King Herod and Pontius Pilate, and even the temple was being rebuilt. Things were not well, however. That which drove the Son of Man to Golgotha was also at work in every man, woman and child; as surely as Jesus would meet his death later that day upon the cross, the same end was in store for all of the people. It could not be avoided.

‘Behold,’ Jesus said, ‘the days are coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us,” and to the hills, “Cover us.” For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’ These are chilling words from Christ, and they are not spoken in fear or spite; he is simply foretelling what humanity can expect.

Have we reached those days? Do we cry out to the mountains and hills to smother us? Do we wish, for fear of what is to come for our children and grandchildren, that they had never been born?

Maybe not. Life is good. How many of us actually want for food or shelter? Maybe we wish we ate better and lived in homes that are bigger or nicer, but we are not starving or freezing to death. For the most part, our health is certainly acceptable too. Again, many of us would probably like to shed some pounds, or overcome this or that physical ailment, but we are not dying where we sit, either? Or are we?

That is an uncomfortable question, is it not? We like to believe that we have some measure of control over our lifestyle and life expectancy, but as Christians we must acknowledge that this is not, ultimately, in our hands. God alone numbers our days. We live as long he gives us, and no more.

It is a sobering thought, indeed, but the warning our Lord gave was about more than death. His own experience would be an icon of what could be expected for his followers. ‘If they do these things while the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’

Green wood is newer wood, freshly cut. As it ages it dries. The older it gets, usually the drier it becomes. Green wood does not burn well, and if you try to build something with it, there is a good chance that the project will warp. Green branches and twigs are malleable; they flex when you bend them and spring back into shape. Dry branches are stiff and brittle; they will snap in two when you bend them. The one clear advantage green wood has over dry wood is that it is less likely to split when you drive a nail through it.

When Jesus is still preaching and teaching, the wood is green. The lessons and miracles are fresh. Many who witnessed his earthly ministry were still alive, and could testify to the magnificent healings, feedings, and actions he had done before them. It was one thing for him to claim to be God’s Son, but it was another to make that claim and then perform all those miracles.

If the wood was green before Jesus’ death, it quickly dried after. What could his followers expect? Better lives? Peaceful coexistence with the surrounding peoples? Three weeks ago, as we celebrated the festival of the Reformation, 58 Christians were slaughtered in Bagdad, Iraq by gunmen who called them infidels. Among the victims were men, women – some pregnant, and children. 70 others were injured. It would be an outrage were it to happen in this country, but it is the sad reality of life under the cross for our brothers and sisters in Christ in many places around the world. We live in relative peace here, where some of the worst things that will happen are vandals attacking our facilities, or the media making light of our beliefs, but we are living in a fantasy world if we believe that we have a privileged status in this land or anywhere in the world.

As long as sinful humanity populates the earth, the Gospel and its adherents will always be under attack. Not all attacks are physical; some are intellectual, or social. All attacks are spiritual, though, and the world, the devil, and our own sinful flesh will never give us a break. If they do these things while the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?

It gives new meaning to Jesus’ words. Do not weep for him; weep for yourselves. The days are coming when they will say, ‘blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ We pray that we would be delivered from such evil, but the answer to that prayer is only completed when Jesus returns in glory. We do see a glimpse of it, however, later on in this reading. Our Lord’s crucifixion is ordinarily accounted to us during Lent, but it is relevant every day of our lives.

In the reading we heard first about the weepers and the mourners. These people Jesus warned with the words I have repeated for you several times already. Next came the scoffers, the rulers, and one of the thieves crucified beside him. They ridiculed him, challenged him to take himself off the cross, and cast lots to divide his garments. He responded to them, too, praying on their behalf. ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ The last person we hear about is the other thief. He rebuked the first thief, ‘Do you not fear God, sin you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And then he said to Jesus, ‘Remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus’ final response answers the thief’s prayer, and it provides the answer to our prayers as well. ‘Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’

Jesus died shortly thereafter to fulfill that promise. Three days later he would rise from the dead to show that he was truly the Son of God as he had claimed all along. It is doubtful that many would have been weeping or mourning for the thief like they did for Jesus, but that does not matter; Jesus did not need the weeping or mourning either. He warned them because he knew what would follow his death. He came to establish a kingdom of forgiveness, and the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins is a scandal to the world. Your ancestry is not important in this kingdom, and your wealth is immaterial. Only the faith given by the Holy Spirit brings you into that kingdom and receives the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation that are freely given by Christ. Not because you are faithful, but He is.

As he did for the thief, Jesus also remembers you as he comes to you in and with his kingdom. He remembers you with his word of peace, his gospel of forgiveness. He remembers you with his Body and Blood, given and poured out for you to eat and drink.

Truly, he is with you, and today you are with him in Paradise. That is his word and promise to the poor miserable sinner who was crucified and died with him; and that is his word and promise to you, who have been crucified and died with him in Holy Baptism. So surely are you also raised with him in his resurrection.

To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.