Last Sunday in the Church Year Malachi 3:13-18
Remember Me
Colossians 1:13-20 Luke 23:27-43
I remember my father taking me to the New York world’s fair when I was 13 years old. Mixed in among the many wonderful things at the fair were the carnival games. One of those games was the coin toss. The object of the game was to toss a dime onto a plate. The problem is that the plates were extremely smooth and shallow. Although I did not know it at the time, the act of throwing the dime gave it enough momentum that it was virtually impossible for a dime to stay on the plate.
The prizes however, were huge and I really wanted to win. So I got change and tried my best with the rest of the crowd to land a dime on a plate. While the booth attendant had his back to us, an extremely tall man said to me, “Watch this.” He reached over the booth wall and set a dime on one of the plates. He then called out, “Hey, I won!” After hesitating for several seconds with a puzzled look on his face, the attendant took down one of the huge stuffed animals and gave it to the tall man. I’ll never forget the look of unbelief the attendant had on his face.
When I saw that look, I realized that the game itself was a con. This rogue was making tons of money by taking advantage of people who thought they could get something for nothing. At that moment, I understood that I was literally throwing my money away--that unless I was willing to cheat the cheater, my efforts of winning a prize were in vain. I recall thinking about how lucky that very tall man was and wishing that I was tall, so I could get some of those big prizes like he did.
Such is the way of the world. It seems that those who live an immoral life, have great fun, get ahead and more often than not are rewarded for their dishonesty, while those who live a life of sincerity and decency seem to lose out. And looking back in time, it seems like this has been the case throughout history.
In our Old Testament lesson, the Lord spoke through Malachi, “Your words have been hard against me.” “You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”
It should not surprise you to find that this world is full of darkness and wickedness. If you listen to the world around you, you will hear the crowds who call evil good and good evil. Isaiah (5:20-23) says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.”
So we keep waiting for the woes to befall the wicked, but oftentimes it does not come. They seem to be having all of the fun and we who try our best to do what is right in God’s eyes can become very resentful of those who flourish and revel in their wickedness. We should not however, be so quick to desire retribution on those who are openly sinning. For if given the opportunity, under the right circumstances, you and I would give into whatever temptations beguile us the most.
We who follow the Lord oft times feel as if we are receiving no gain or reward for our service. What’s the use of serving the Lord, sacrificing our time and talents and giving of ourselves when all we get is mocked and scoffed at by the unbelievers around us? We see them spending their Sundays, working at getting ahead, laughing, playing and frolicking while we are in worship fretting over our sins and asking for forgiveness.
In many ways we are just as sinful as those who reject our Lord. Saint Paul tells you that there is no one who is righteous not even one. “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” So, we acknowledge that we too are sinful. So why do we mourn over our transgressions while others party and revel in their immorality?
The answer is found when we look at the cross of Christ. Upon that cross we see One who has done nothing wrong. On the one side we see a criminal who is railing at Jesus. He along with the crowds is mocking, taunting and tempting Jesus. Surprisingly we find ourselves on a cross as well for we too are sinful. We have mocked Jesus by our grumbling and complaining. We have not trusted in Him to give us what is good and necessary and have look at the wickedly indulgent with jealously and envy.
But we find that through our suffering, we can somehow hear the words of Christ more clearly. We hear Him say words of absolution, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” We see the sign that tell us that He is the King of the Jews. The Holy Spirit opens our heart to know that we deserve to die for our trespasses, but that He does not.
Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we see the depth of the love that Christ has for us. We see His willingness to die for us so that His forgiveness will carry eternal blessings. We confess our sins before Him, in faith knowing that He has the power to forgive them. Even though we are suffering, we look forward to the life to come.
Truly, if we had no hope of another and better life, we would be foolish to refrain from the ways of the world. As the Apostle says, (1 Cor. 15:19) “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” So we cry out, “Jesus Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And in turn we hear Him say, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
You find yourselves not on a cross but in His church. You remember your baptism where you died to this world and all of its wicked ways. You remember He baptized you into His death and you rose with Him as His name gives you a new life.
Whenever you make the sign of the cross you are remembering not only His death and resurrection, but your own as well. Whenever you come to His Supper, you eat His Body and drink His blood in remembrance of Him remembering you. At that moment, you are in Paradise, surrounded by angels, archangels and all the company of Heaven. Knowing all this, how can He possibly forget you when He returns?
The One who comes to save you will come again in glory for the entire world to see. He will be revealed to those who derided and mocked you for confessing Christ by your words and actions. For now, we all struggle against the forces of darkness, which still rail against Jesus Christ just as the unrepentant thief did upon the cross. The cross you bore for His sake; all the times you thought you were alone in your suffering, will seem as nothing when you are surrounded by the riches of heaven.
May God give you peace and strength to remain steadfast and faithful until He calls you home. In Jesus’ Name, amen.