The Lutheran Hour
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"No Hope"
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Text: Matthew 5:4
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! To all of you who have had death touch your homes and your hearts; to all who fear what eternity will bring; to all who need to know if Jesus can help them – rejoice. The angel says, and you can believe: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Lord, may Your words of life touch all who live in this land of death. Grant this Lord unto us all. Amen.
A few years ago, when The Lutheran Hour was on a recording tour in the Holy Land, we stood on what some say was the hill where Jesus gave His Beatitudes – uplifting words of blessing. Like countless groups before and after us, we read those words of the Savior. Our guide, Peter, handed me a Bible opened to where I should begin to read. It was an honor I passed on to someone who could really interpret those words. I gave the Bible to Mark Eischer, the voice of The Lutheran Hour – the fellow you hear with me during the Question and Answer period. Someday, when I grow up, I hope to have a voice like his. If you had been with us that day, this is what you would have heard:
Mark: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when others revile you, and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely, on My account. Rejoice, and be glad: for your reward is great in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
As Mark read, I watched the faces of the people who were with us. Some closed their eyes so they could concentrate. Some tried to imagine they were there when Jesus first said those words to His original listeners many lifetimes ago. Most of the people in our group had a smile on their faces as they nodded at the wonderfully beautiful things that Jesus had said. Indeed, you may study poets, philosophers, and princes, and you will still be hard pressed to find any words which speak more beautifully and convey ideas more clearly than did those short paragraphs uttered by our Lord.
Still, as I was watching the people in our group, I noticed everyone was agreeing with what Jesus said. Nobody stopped Mark in the middle of a passage and said, “Do you think Jesus was really serious? Did He really mean the things He was saying?” I’m surprised more people don’t do that, because, quite frankly, Jesus’ statements are radical beyond belief. Even the most casual observer of society and human action would recognize the things Jesus said, in almost every way imaginable, fly in the face of common belief and behavior.
Think about it. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek.” In what way is a meek person blessed? I’ve gone to the bookstore, I’ve been to the library, and nowhere have I found a single book which told people how they can attain meekness and receive the blessings meekness provides. In all my years in the parish I never met a father who came up to me and said, “Pastor, I’m worried about my boy. I don’t want you to share this with anyone, but I’m afraid he’s not meek enough.”
But Jesus didn’t confine Himself to blessing the meek. No, not at all. He said a person who was a mourner would also be blessed and comforted. Now, I can understand if Jesus had said, “Blessed are those who find a gold mine, they will be comforted,” or, “Blessed are those whose boss has singled them out for a promotion, he will be comforted,” or, “Blessed are those who win a game show and pay off their mortgage, they will be comforted.” But Jesus didn’t say those things. Nor did He vacillate or fluctuate. There was no, “Kind of blessed are the mourners for they might, possibly, in some way, be comforted a little.” He didn’t hedge and say, “There is a good possibility you will be blessed.” Jesus spoke as if comfort for mourners was a done deal, a fact beyond disputation or contention. I was amazed that none of those wonderful people on the trip seemed to find Jesus’ words as puzzling, or perplexing as I did.
Maybe that was because I had, shortly before that trip, attended the funeral of a young man, about 25 years of age. His car, which the police estimate was traveling at over 100 miles an hour, left the road and hit a great tree. The tree was torn up, but the young man was dead. According to church records, although he hadn’t been at worship for a while, the man still had his name on the roster of a local congregation. Parents visited with the pastor and funeral director and arrangements were made. On a Thursday evening, there would be a few hours of visitation at the funeral home. On Friday morning, the casket would be open for an hour and a half before the service began.
The pastor told me about the hours of visitation. His short, family service went well enough, but when the doors were opened for friends to arrive, things seemed to get strange. The pastor watched as one car after another pulled up and the occupants, mostly young folks, piled out. The pastor was surprised to see, rather than coming in, these young folks lingered on the sidewalk. Some smoked, a few went back to their cars for a beer, then they talked some more. Glances, sad, furtive, fleeting glimpses were stolen as they tried to force themselves to go inside and see their dead friend. “A dead friend” – that was a hard thing for them to say. It didn’t seem right that someone so full of life one moment could be a corpse the next. On that point God would have agreed. The pastor said it was weird watching the mental battle of the folks who didn’t want to go in but knew they had to. They had to look, but they didn’t want to. They didn’t want to see death. They didn’t want to be reminded that their clocks were ticking, that their date with death might also come, before they were old or ready. They didn’t want to know they were fragile and life was temporary, transitory, unpredictable.
After a while they slowly, ever so slowly, made their way down the sidewalk. They hesitated at the door and then entered. The funeral director was professional. Recognizing this visitation was a first for many of these young men and women, he gently took them to the end of the line where people waited to pay their respects to the young man’s family. When they realized what was expected of them, they loudly whispered, “What do I say?” “I don’t know what to say, why are you asking me, I’ve never done this before.”
Eventually they reached the foot of the casket. At that point these young people became animated in their discussion, sharp in their gestures. They continued to shuffle forward and stood before the open half of the box wherein lay their young friend. That was when some of the mourners, mostly women in their early 20s, turned their backs. A few said, “I’m not going to look,” and the way they said it and the way they held themselves said they were not open to discussion or argument. By count, no less than six stepped out of line, walked outside, and waited for their friends to join them.
Those are the things the officiating pastor shared with me. The next day, I saw what happened. As I knew the young man’s parents, I went to the funeral. The man’s friends arrived early. They weren’t exactly sure what they should do, so the funeral director and the church elders tried to put them at ease and engage them in conversation. They didn’t have much to say. Some started down the aisle, turned, looked at each other, and left, having only gotten halfway to their friend’s casket. That scene, with only minor modifications and variations was repeated again and again. At the appointed hour, the casket was closed, the family was escorted in, and the pastor began, “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Having done hundreds of funerals, I thought that was what the pastor was trying to say. I had to make a guess because I couldn’t hear him. There was, from up in the balcony, a series of shouts, of screams louder, more piercing, more from the soul than any I have ever heard in a horror movie. I don’t know how to describe that sound. I can only say it came from deep in the heart of people who were in uncontrollable distress. It was so loud, so unexpected, people jumped, and more than a few of the assembly sprung to their feet to see what was happening.
The pastor preached on a text taken from John 11, the words Jesus spoke to the sister of Lazarus as they were walking to his grave. That day Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die”(John 11: 25). That day, the all-perfect Savior who had dedicated His entire life to the defeat of sin, death, and devil gave reason for people to believe He was the Savior. With a shout, Jesus called into Lazarus’ tomb and demanded he come out. To the amazement of everyone, Lazarus, who had been dead, whose body was in a state of decomposition, walked out. Like a mummy, wrapped in gauze-like strips, he shuffled out. But Lazarus was no horror story; he was alive, strong, well, healthy. Jesus had defeated death.
That Jesus can always defeat death is a promise shared with billions of mourners over the centuries. “Jesus defeats death” is the story the pastor tried to tell the day of the young man’s funeral. Unfortunately, few people heard what he said. The dead man’s friends had, after their aborted visit to his casket, migrated upstairs, to the balcony – as far from casket and preacher as they could go and still stay in the building. As the minister tried his best so share the message of hope which only comes through Jesus, most people could only hear the sobs which came from the choir loft. One voice, two, three, how many I can’t say. I do know it was steady, loud, and punctuated by an occasional scream.
After the service we drove to the cemetery. Now, for the first time, when they would have no other chance to pay their respects, the young man’s friends no longer held back. As the casket was being walked to the newly-dug plot, his friends swarmed the casket. Some touched it; some tried to take flowers from the spray as a remembrance. When the casket had been placed on its stand, one girl threw herself over it; another grabbed a handle on the box and tried to drag it away from the gaping pit.
Although I had served more than 25 years in the ministry, that was the day when I most fully understood what it means to mourn as those who have “no hope.” Those are the things I was remembering as Mr. Eischer read Jesus’ words on the far away Mount of Beatitudes, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” And that day I also understood the great peace the Lord Jesus has given to those who believe on Him. You know, when that young man died, his friends were left with three choices. The first was the one most of them had embraced. They saw death’s darkness and they despaired. Those who had heard or believed in hell were frightened. They were afraid for their pal, they were afraid for themselves. Others followed the second path: they chose to beat down that fear, to ignore it, to say it had no foundation. Endlessly they repeated, “There is no sin, there is no hell; there is no punishment. And if there is a place called hell, even if there is punishment, it is reserved to punish really big, bad sinners.”
These folks desperately, deliberately, tried to convince themselves that God would let their small, minor infractions slip on by without notice. Maybe some of you agree with them – that a little sin doesn’t count. If so, let me ask you to try an experiment. Take a handkerchief; blow your nose into it. Then try to give that handkerchief to a person who has watched you blow your nose. Do you think they’ll find that acceptable? Do you think they’ll say something like: “Well, it wasn’t much of a nose blow, and the handkerchief doesn’t have too much gunk in it”? You know the answer. Once a handkerchief has been used, it is dirty, thoroughly, completely dirty – unsanitary, unhealthy to any and all. God feels the same way about sin. He doesn’t see people as being a little bit bad. Either we are clean or we are not. There is no middle ground; there is no part way pure.
I imagine, if I am any judge of character or spiritual condition, more than one of the young people at that funeral had managed to convince himself of their acceptability before God. They believe, when their day comes to stand before the Lord – if there is a Lord – they will successfully plead their case.
Since that funeral, on numerous occasions I have prayed for those young men and women. I have prayed that they might realize that they were, on their own, lost and condemned; that they, by the Holy Spirit’s calling, had concluded they needed a Savior, a Savior who had the power to raise up a dead friend and to cleanse their souls of their sin. I prayed that each of them might know Jesus as their Lord. To acknowledge your sin and be given a Savior from that sin is the third path we can take. Believing on Jesus Christ, God’s perfect Son who managed to avoid all the wrongs which we have done; to believe on Him who successfully declined the devil’s deceptions; to trust the Christ who came out of His tomb alive, well, and ready to save all who believe, is the path of salvation. I pray that they have seen the Savior and He will comfort them the next time they are thrust into a time of mourning. I pray they may know comforting mourners is what Jesus does.
During His time of ministry, Scripture never records a funeral Jesus didn’t ruin. When He met the funeral procession of a young man from Nain, He stopped the group, raised the lad, and returned him to his mother. As He traveled to the house of Jairus to help the man’s ill daughter, He was told not to waste His time because she had already expired. Jesus, disregarding their words of dismissal, came and raised that little girl from the dead. We’ve already shared what the Christ did for dead Lazarus and his family. But we have not shared what He has done for the human family.
You see, after some jealous souls had decided someone who heals the sick, raises the dead, feeds the hungry, and preaches repentance and free forgiveness from sins, was not safe to be among us, they had Him crucified. Yes, they whipped Jesus, beat Him, thrust thorns into His head, and nailed Him to a cruel cross on Calvary’s crown. They waited until He was dead and then to make sure He was completely, totally, most assuredly dead, they put the point of a Roman spear into His heart. Forget any theory which says Jesus was in a coma and revived. Jesus was dead and He was buried. But even as He had conquered our foes with His life, in the tomb Jesus defeated the last of our enemies: death. After His resurrection, again and again He showed Himself. He showed His wounds; He showed His reality. Jesus lives, and because He lives, all who believe on Him will also live – and those who believe will be comforted.
That’s what Jesus meant on the Beatitude mountain. Believe on Me and you will be comforted. He doesn’t say you won’t mourn. He does say believers will never mourn as those who have no hope. Really. I know. I’ve been with a mother who gave birth to a child she knew would not live; I’ve broken the news of her child’s unexpected death to another Christian mom; I’ve listened as a wife of 54 years told her husband that if it was his time to go home to Jesus, she would be all right. I watched as, not more than ten seconds later, he took a last breath and went home. Every one of these people experienced loss, emptiness, pain, hurt, a loneliness which will always be part of them.
Yes, they were hurting, but – and all of humanity should fall to its knees in thanks when they hear these words – they were hurting, but because of Jesus they were comforted. They knew there is a reunion. They knew death was not going to have the final word in the lives of their loved ones. They know that as much as they missed their beloveds, they knew there was a better place. They knew this, and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to comfort them.
Which brings me to the end of this message. Having shared it, I am fully convinced that this message has been written for someone in the Lutheran Hour audience who needs this joy and hope of the Savior. They need to know Jesus who comforts mourners. He is there for you. He is reaching out to you. Believe Him. And if there is anything we can do to help that belief, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for November 2, 2008
ANNOUNCER: Now, author and historian Dr. Paul Maier joins us to talk about some recent archeological finds that have a bearing upon people mentioned in the Bible. Back in August, it was announced that some clay seal impressions had been uncovered in Jerusalem. These impressions date back 2,600 years and they bear the name of someone who’s mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah.
MAIER: Yes, indeed. It’s a thrilling discovery and again it bears out the fact that so many discoveries immediately confirm the Biblical record. You don’t often hear that. You always hear about the offbeat, revisionist archeological approach that says, “No, none of these things work.” But they do! There’s no question about it. I would say that 90 percent of the discoveries made there immediately confirm the Biblical records.
ANNOUNCER: Exactly what was found and who does it name?
MAIER: The name on the seal – in Latin, it’s bulla – is Gedaliah ben Pashur. Now, he was one of four individuals under one of the last kings of Israel. This was just before the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. The prophet Jeremiah had warned Israel, “Please surrender to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, otherwise you’ll be enslaved. Try to get as good a deal as you can from him.” And these four representatives of King Zedekiah were now “tattling” on Jeremiah – he’s ruining our morale, and so forth. And one of those individuals, this Gedaliah ben Pashur, his very name has been discovered on this bulla, this impression seal. And there had been another one of these four ministers, it was discovered last year. So, the thrilling thing is that the very name, sometimes only a name, mentioned in the Old or New Testament shows up in stone.
ANNOUNCER: In the case of this Gedaliah, he’s actually one of the attempted assassins of the prophet Jeremiah.
MAIER: That’s right. They threw him into a pit. Exactly.
ANNOUNCER: Do we know anything else about this person or his career, other than his attempt on the life of Jeremiah?
MAIER: Mark, I don’t think we’d expect to, simply because he was kind of a tertiary figure, an “also-ran.” But the beautiful fact is that even one of these tertiary figures shows up in stone.
ANNOUNCER: And I guess to the extent that it helps to confirm the historicity of Scripture, his episode that’s recorded in the Bible, even though he meant if for evil against the prophet Jeremiah, God is working it for good to help bring to light the historical nature of our faith.
MAIER: Excellent way to put it. There’s no question it’s obviously correct. And in many ways, this is what sets Christianity apart from all the other world religions except for our parent, Judaism. That is the only other religious faith on this planet whose holy book has archeological substantiation on the outside. If you take any of the religions before and since Christianity, if you take any of the “Made in America” religious systems – which are the least convincing of all, as far as I’m concerned – you cannot find any correlation between their holy books and any hard evidence on the outside. In the case of the Old and New Testament, we’re finding that evidence all over the place.
ANNOUNCER: The archeologist who’s uncovered this is Dr. Eilat Mazar. Is she well-regarded?
MAIER: She is, indeed. And as a matter of fact she found the very impression that we’re talking about inside what may well have been the ruins of David’s palace in Jerusalem, in the so-called City of David. That’s below the southern end of the Temple Mount in the area where they got their water – the virgin spring Pool of Siloam, and so forth. And of course there are the Biblical critics who say that David never lived, or if he lived he was only a little small “hilltop chieftain” in south Judea. Well, sorry, here’s a palace being excavated!
ANNOUNCER: Dr. Maier, thanks for being with us.
MAIER: Delighted to be back with you, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“The Beatitudes” arranged by Henry Gerike. From Blessed by the Concordia Seminary Lutheran Hour Chorus (© 2000 Concordia Seminary Chorus)
“Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart” by Arthur Messiter, arr. Albert Travis. From Hymns by Dan Miller (© 1992 DSDS Enterprises) Broadman/SESAC
“Allegro from Concerto in a minor” by J.S. Bach. From Richard Heschke at the Hradetzky in Red Bank by Richard Heschke (© 1993 Arkay Records)