National Lutheran Schools Week 2019
Epiphany 3 2019
John 1:14-18
January 26, 2019
Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID
We prefer a “full” reading on the gauges of our life. It’s a good feeling to drive away with a full tank of gas, and we are thankful for the full feeling after a delicious meal. The desire for fullness follows us to church. We rejoice in a full sanctuary of worshippers; we are relieved when a project has a full list of volunteers. We rejoice in full classrooms, fully-funded budgets, fully- and professionally- staffed classrooms.
The reality of our lives is that things are often less than full. Fuel tanks need to be refilled, shortly after one meal we start wondering about then next, and not every classroom is full or every budget fully funded.
More challenging than the discomforts or inconveniences of physical “tanks” left unfilled is the reality of emotional emptiness. “I feel so empty” is the lament of the one grieving the loss of a family member, the abandoned spouse and the child rejected by a friend.
Most devastating is our spiritual emptiness. Matthew’s Gospel tells of Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man (Matt.19:16–22). The man is described as one with “great possessions.” In his own eyes, he was full of righteous deeds. In many respects, his life was full of possessions and power. When Jesus asked this young man to take what he had and give it to the poor, the man could not walk away from his earthly fullness. In reality, his life was empty.
Our schedules may be full; our homes may be full of goods and conveniences; our garages may be full of vehicles and toys; we may be filling our retirement coffers; and yet the lives of so many are empty.
Without Jesus, emptiness prevails. The Apostle Paul had authority in the church, significance in his heritage, and a well-rounded education, and yet his life was empty. It was only by grace through faith, he received the “riches of his grace” (Eph. 2:7). Peter, Andrew, James and John may have had nets full of fish, but it was only when Jesus came and called them, that they were filled with His presence and grace. God emptied Himself so that we might receive the fullness of His grace.
Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus’ journey in the flesh is described briefly in the Gospel of John. The God who rightfully could have chosen to be full of anger and judgment over the sin, the evil, the abuse suffered throughout His creation, is described as “full of grace and truth.” The first sign of Jesus’ power and authority as the Son of God occurred at a wedding in Cana. Jesus took jars full of water and miraculously turned it into “good wine” for the wedding guests. He would go on to fill diseased bodies with health. He would fill hearts emptied by grief with the joy of seeing family members raised from the dead. He would fill panicked disciples with the peace of His presence and Word. Every action of Jesus was part of His journey to the cross. His spirit was emptied in prayer in the garden, and His body was emptied of all life as He announced, “It is finished.” Every part of Jesus’ being was fully emptied to pay for the sins of the world. The sacrifice was full and complete.
Receiving by faith the fullness of Jesus’ sacrifice and the full assurance of His resurrection, we receive John’s Gospel promise: “And from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.” By faith, you have fully received God’s grace. The infant is held above the baptismal font. Physically small and mentally not yet developed, the child receives the fullness of God’s grace with sins fully forgiven. The communicant comes to the altar. The meal is small — a wafer and a sip of wine — but the feast is plentiful, for it is the fullness of Christ’s body and blood. Worshippers gather with guilty consciences, complicated lives, strained relationships, fearful hearts and every other problem imaginable. The Word is spoken: “As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins.” There is no sin that the blood of Jesus does not fully cover. In the gift of His Son, the Father grants full forgiveness of all sins.
Throughout this last week, the children at our school have been focusing on the theme and celebration of the fullness of God’s grace in Christ. Along with the thousands of other Christian schools around the country, we may not always meet the quantitative measures we desire. However, as the Word is taught, these schools are always full of grace for Christ is present. The grace-filled school teaches the truth of grace from the Scripture, celebrates grace in worship, and lives grace in relationships, all the while celebrating a rich heritage – almost 60 years in our community; academic excellence recognized by National Lutheran School Accreditation and Consortium of Classical and Lutheran Education; servant-hearted staff who love the Lord.
By God’s grace, the greatest strength of our school is that we are a “grace place.” The grace of God, which became ours through Christ, is shared in Word and Sacrament and received by every student, parent, and other person blessed by our ministry. We may not always be “graceful” as we go about our hectic daily routines, but we are always “grace-full” as we hear Christ proclaimed. We are grace-full because Jesus is God’s grace. We are full of Gods’ grace ot be shared joyfully, thankfully, faithfully, peacefully, and hopefully with all.
* This sermon was modified from one provided by the LCMS for National Lutheran Schools Week.