Easter 5 - Cantate (Mother's Day)
Isaiah 12:1-6
v.6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Alleluia! Christ the Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Dear friends in Christ, what a great day this is. A day of joy and thanksgiving--a day of shouting and singing for joy. For the Holy God of Israel is in your midst. He is here among you--in Word and Sacrament--to give you His strength and salvation. And this is tremendously good news for people like you and me--sinners all. "For though [He] was angry with [us], [His] anger turned away, that [He] might comfort [us]."
"Now what are you talking about, Pastor Quast?" some of you may be thinking. "After all, isn't this Mother's Day, a day in which we should be thanking God for the wonderful gift that He has provided for each and every one of us through our mothers?" Yes, indeed. Mothers are a tremendous gift to us--for apart from God who first gave us life in their womb, it is our mothers who carried us, nourished us, and loved us--before we were even born. We see in our moms a dim reflection of the great love of God for His people--a love of devotion that nurtures and exhibits compassion--even when it is not reciprocated--when it is not shown in return.
But no mother--no matter how much she may love her children--will ever love them as fully and completely as God the heavenly Father. Nor will any parent--mother or father--ever fully measure up to God's perfect standard of love that He expects all people to show to one another--be it parents for their children--or children for their parents--or spouses--or any other relationship. Indeed, our love falls far short of God's. In our sin we exhibit great selfishness--we fail to love as we have been loved by God--and for that--we deserve God's wrath and anger--and we are called upon to repent.
In our epistle reading, James gives us a brief look of how we are to love as Christians. "We should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures…let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;…put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word…" Beloved, who among us looks like THIS? Which mom or dad, son or daughter, friend or stranger acts like this all the time? As parents, are we always quick to hear and slow to anger? If we're honest it is generally the reverse, isn't it? We often embrace wickedness and laugh at filthiness in our own lives and that of others--embracing it in our music, television programs and movies, not to mention computer screens. We often stand in opposition to the Word of God--receiving it in outright hostility because we don't like what it has to say about who we are and what we like to do. We grow angry and dismayed when God doesn’t speak or act the way we think He should. For all this and so much more, we heap God's righteous anger and judgement upon ourselves and deserve nothing less than everlasting death and damnation in hell. And so we are called upon to repent. To confess our guilt and sin and try to turn away from it.
This is what the Israelites of Isaiah's day knew to be true. They had departed from God's clear Word, in thought, word and deed. They had devoted themselves and their children to the worship of false gods--they had given themselves over to the desires of their flesh and God threatened through Isaiah and the other prophets to rain down destruction upon them in His righteous fury. They would be devastated. Killed by famine, plague, and sword. They would be hauled away in slavery to a foreign land. But God's anger would not last forever.
Thus the promise of God to His people in our text today. There would be a day that would come when the people would shout and sing for joy--that they would give thanks to the Lord for His anger would turn away and He would comfort them--He would allow them to draw deeply from the well of salvation and the people would sing His praises throughout the world.
At first, the Israelites might have thought that this promise would be fulfilled when the Lord brought them back out of exile to live in Jerusalem once more. This was not so. That would be but a foreshadowing of the even greater salvation that God had in store for all people through His chosen Israel. Indeed, chapter 11 of Isaiah speaks of the root of the stump of Jesse who would rise up and be a signal--a banner--of great joy and salvation for all the people.
This is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Christ Jesus, dear friends who has taken the full wrath and fury of God for all of your sin into Himself. Jesus was punished by God--suffered hell and death in your place--so that the Lord's righteous anger might be abated and turned aside from you. Though innocent, He became sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus did this not because His people are so wonderful and perfect, but precisely because they are NOT. Jesus knew that the only way to save you and me from eternal punishment was to come and take that punishment upon Himself. This He has done by suffering and dying on the cross in your place. The blood of Jesus was the only payment the Heavenly Father could accept as a sacrifice for your sin and mine. And Jesus gave it all so that we might instead receive forgiveness.
This is why Isaiah prophesies the people will rejoice and shout and sing on that great and awesome day. For the anger of God has been averted. God's wrath has been poured out in full upon His own innocent Son. Your sins as a mother, father, son or daughter, friend or coworker--all have been paid for by the blood of Jesus. Instead of drinking from the cup of God's wrath, He implores you to draw water from the wells of salvation. To drink deeply of His deliverance of you in your Baptism. As you were washed with water and the Word your sins were completely forgiven--now and forevermore. There is no more debt to pay. There is no more work to accomplish. Jesus has done it all. Look upon His cross and rejoice in His gift of salvation for you and all people.
We give thanks to God this day for the great miracle of salvation that He won for us on Calvary's cross and with His glorious resurrection. Today you are invited to eat and drink deeply of this salvation in the Sacrament of the Altar, whereby you are given the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. Come, eat and drink, you who are weary and burdened by the guilt of your sins. You whose conscience is deeply afflicted by your failures toward your family and friends (the kind of guilt that not just mothers are familiar with). You who are in terror of the wrath of God on account of your sin. Come, eat and drink of the Lord's salvation and mercy poured out for you in this simple meal of His body and blood given in bread and wine.
"Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel." Beloved, the Lord Jesus has come to you this day and is in your midst in Word and Sacrament. He sends His Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to you in order to remove your guilt and sin. To direct your attention to the bloody cross whereby the anger of God has been satisfied.
Now we may joyfully make known His wondrous deeds in all the earth, recognizing that only God could have done this miraculous work--only God could have procured our salvation. Sing and shout for joy this Good News into all the earth--tell your children--your neighbours and friends--your coworkers and perfect strangers--tell one, tell all. That by Jesus' death and resurrection--the anger of God has turned away--and He has become your strength and your song--He is your salvation. For Alleluia! Christ the Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Isaiah 12:1-6
v.6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Alleluia! Christ the Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Dear friends in Christ, what a great day this is. A day of joy and thanksgiving--a day of shouting and singing for joy. For the Holy God of Israel is in your midst. He is here among you--in Word and Sacrament--to give you His strength and salvation. And this is tremendously good news for people like you and me--sinners all. "For though [He] was angry with [us], [His] anger turned away, that [He] might comfort [us]."
"Now what are you talking about, Pastor Quast?" some of you may be thinking. "After all, isn't this Mother's Day, a day in which we should be thanking God for the wonderful gift that He has provided for each and every one of us through our mothers?" Yes, indeed. Mothers are a tremendous gift to us--for apart from God who first gave us life in their womb, it is our mothers who carried us, nourished us, and loved us--before we were even born. We see in our moms a dim reflection of the great love of God for His people--a love of devotion that nurtures and exhibits compassion--even when it is not reciprocated--when it is not shown in return.
But no mother--no matter how much she may love her children--will ever love them as fully and completely as God the heavenly Father. Nor will any parent--mother or father--ever fully measure up to God's perfect standard of love that He expects all people to show to one another--be it parents for their children--or children for their parents--or spouses--or any other relationship. Indeed, our love falls far short of God's. In our sin we exhibit great selfishness--we fail to love as we have been loved by God--and for that--we deserve God's wrath and anger--and we are called upon to repent.
In our epistle reading, James gives us a brief look of how we are to love as Christians. "We should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures…let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;…put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word…" Beloved, who among us looks like THIS? Which mom or dad, son or daughter, friend or stranger acts like this all the time? As parents, are we always quick to hear and slow to anger? If we're honest it is generally the reverse, isn't it? We often embrace wickedness and laugh at filthiness in our own lives and that of others--embracing it in our music, television programs and movies, not to mention computer screens. We often stand in opposition to the Word of God--receiving it in outright hostility because we don't like what it has to say about who we are and what we like to do. We grow angry and dismayed when God doesn’t speak or act the way we think He should. For all this and so much more, we heap God's righteous anger and judgement upon ourselves and deserve nothing less than everlasting death and damnation in hell. And so we are called upon to repent. To confess our guilt and sin and try to turn away from it.
This is what the Israelites of Isaiah's day knew to be true. They had departed from God's clear Word, in thought, word and deed. They had devoted themselves and their children to the worship of false gods--they had given themselves over to the desires of their flesh and God threatened through Isaiah and the other prophets to rain down destruction upon them in His righteous fury. They would be devastated. Killed by famine, plague, and sword. They would be hauled away in slavery to a foreign land. But God's anger would not last forever.
Thus the promise of God to His people in our text today. There would be a day that would come when the people would shout and sing for joy--that they would give thanks to the Lord for His anger would turn away and He would comfort them--He would allow them to draw deeply from the well of salvation and the people would sing His praises throughout the world.
At first, the Israelites might have thought that this promise would be fulfilled when the Lord brought them back out of exile to live in Jerusalem once more. This was not so. That would be but a foreshadowing of the even greater salvation that God had in store for all people through His chosen Israel. Indeed, chapter 11 of Isaiah speaks of the root of the stump of Jesse who would rise up and be a signal--a banner--of great joy and salvation for all the people.
This is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Christ Jesus, dear friends who has taken the full wrath and fury of God for all of your sin into Himself. Jesus was punished by God--suffered hell and death in your place--so that the Lord's righteous anger might be abated and turned aside from you. Though innocent, He became sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus did this not because His people are so wonderful and perfect, but precisely because they are NOT. Jesus knew that the only way to save you and me from eternal punishment was to come and take that punishment upon Himself. This He has done by suffering and dying on the cross in your place. The blood of Jesus was the only payment the Heavenly Father could accept as a sacrifice for your sin and mine. And Jesus gave it all so that we might instead receive forgiveness.
This is why Isaiah prophesies the people will rejoice and shout and sing on that great and awesome day. For the anger of God has been averted. God's wrath has been poured out in full upon His own innocent Son. Your sins as a mother, father, son or daughter, friend or coworker--all have been paid for by the blood of Jesus. Instead of drinking from the cup of God's wrath, He implores you to draw water from the wells of salvation. To drink deeply of His deliverance of you in your Baptism. As you were washed with water and the Word your sins were completely forgiven--now and forevermore. There is no more debt to pay. There is no more work to accomplish. Jesus has done it all. Look upon His cross and rejoice in His gift of salvation for you and all people.
We give thanks to God this day for the great miracle of salvation that He won for us on Calvary's cross and with His glorious resurrection. Today you are invited to eat and drink deeply of this salvation in the Sacrament of the Altar, whereby you are given the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. Come, eat and drink, you who are weary and burdened by the guilt of your sins. You whose conscience is deeply afflicted by your failures toward your family and friends (the kind of guilt that not just mothers are familiar with). You who are in terror of the wrath of God on account of your sin. Come, eat and drink of the Lord's salvation and mercy poured out for you in this simple meal of His body and blood given in bread and wine.
"Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel." Beloved, the Lord Jesus has come to you this day and is in your midst in Word and Sacrament. He sends His Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to you in order to remove your guilt and sin. To direct your attention to the bloody cross whereby the anger of God has been satisfied.
Now we may joyfully make known His wondrous deeds in all the earth, recognizing that only God could have done this miraculous work--only God could have procured our salvation. Sing and shout for joy this Good News into all the earth--tell your children--your neighbours and friends--your coworkers and perfect strangers--tell one, tell all. That by Jesus' death and resurrection--the anger of God has turned away--and He has become your strength and your song--He is your salvation. For Alleluia! Christ the Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.