The Conclusion: Amen
Sermon
What's That Supposed To Mean?
Using The Catechism In The 21st Century
Object:
The Lord's Prayer -- The Conclusion
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. What is meant by the word "Amen"? That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray, and has promised to hear us. Amen, Amen, that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.
Many years ago, when he was still in the seminary, a friend of mine visited a woman who was dying of lung cancer. Some friends had told her that all she had to do was pray and believe, and God would heal her. The day came when he arrived in her hospital room only a couple days before she actually died. Then, she looked up at him and said, "I cannot pray anymore." She had gotten mixed up with the "name it and claim it" crowd. They have the false idea that if you have enough faith, you can ask God for anything, and he will do it. So here's this precious child of God on her deathbed. She had tried so hard to pray in faith that God would spare her. But the doctors had told her she had a day or so left. So, she was convinced that she did not have the faith it took to pray.
What does one say to a person whose faith has been crushed by such a lie? All my friend could think of was what Jesus once said about prayer. So he took her hand and said, "Jesus said, 'When you pray, say "Our Father who art in heaven." ' Jesus said, 'When you pray,' not 'if you have enough faith to pray.' And He said, 'Pray like this, "Our Father ..." ' Jesus gave you that prayer. You can always pray it, no matter what." And they did pray that prayer together. No matter what, we can always pray the prayer our Lord taught us. That's because the great Amen taught it to us. And because our Father is King, we know that our prayers are heard. For that, we especially can be thankful. "Amen, Amen, that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so" is the grateful response that springs from a heart that trusts God always to do what is good and right for us.
But do we really mean it when we say Amen? Do we really believe that Jesus will take care of us as the Father's personal representative? What about when things go wrong and don't turn out as we expected? How can we be thankful when so often things don't turn out the way we want them to? Sometimes we just get done saying thanks, only to turn around and complain about what we didn't get or what we got that we really didn't want.
Where can we find the ability to thank God no matter what happens to us? How can we say Amen and really mean it? Consider what the ancient prophet Isaiah had to say. Isaiah sings, "O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." Nowhere do we see this more than in the death and resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Foretold by prophets and sung by poets, God relentlessly set in motion events in human history that all aimed to land Jesus of Nazareth on a cross at just the right time. Not only so, but because Jesus now lives forever, He can see His plans completed exactly as He wished. He will either send good things our way, or change the evil things into blessings according to the power by which He governs all things for the good of the church. He sees a kingdom prepared for each of us from before the foundation of the world. There He has stored up treasures that cannot be stolen or spoiled. Jesus is God's Amen to us that we have a glorious future ahead of us, no matter what may happen now.
Isaiah sings, "You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners' stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you." Jesus lasts longer than our enemies, and wins over them eventually. Even sickness and death cannot hold us for long. What have we to fear from lesser enemies, like pestilence, famine, and persecution? Hell's gates are broken down, the devil's throne shattered. Standing in the rubble is an empty cross, stained with the blood of Christ. But it is empty, because Jesus Christ died there to destroy death by destroying its power, sin, and rose again to life to show how we are raised to new life in baptism. We can be thankful that Jesus as the Amen God speaks to us to assure us we shall survive this evil world.
Isaiah sings, "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled." We have to put up with crooks and thieves and all manner of evil people as long as we live. Yet we can be thankful to know that Jesus has the last laugh on our enemies, because Jesus is God's Amen to us that He will put an end to all that is evil.
Isaiah sings on, "On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine -- the best of meats and the finest of wines." Food is a big part of our Thanksgiving celebrations. No greater feast has been prepared than what Jesus lays before us -- bread of life we eat as we hear His Word, His own body and blood offered to us for forgiveness of sins, water that springs up to eternal life from within us. We can be thankful for eternal food -- Word and sacraments. As we eat and drink, we say Amen to the promise that we shall join with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven around heavenly food.
Isaiah's song of thanksgiving continues, "On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken." For some of you this year will be the first Thanksgiving without a loved one. Holidays have a way of reminding us of who is missing in our lives. And that hole is hard to fill. But I am here today with all of you who have lost loved ones to give thanks to Jesus who has undone the foreverness of death and given us a forever hope to look forward to. The Lord has spoken, and Jesus is that Word made flesh. He is God's eternal Amen to us that we shall live with Him forever in everlasting innocence, righteousness, and blessedness. We can be thankful that Jesus is master over all our sorrows and griefs.
Isaiah also teaches us to sing, "In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.' " Compared to many people in the world, we have much to be thankful for. But even if we had nothing but the clothes on our backs, we could still say Amen when we pray, because if we have Jesus, we have all we need to live forever. "Forever" is another name for "Amen" -- because Jesus is both always there and always true. The world may fall apart around us, but we always have Jesus to see us safely through until we sit with him forever in his eternal kingdom, power, and glory. Jesus is God's Amen to us that the day will come when God will make all we have endured worth it.
So, how can we be thankful when there is so much for which to be unthankful? How can we say Amen, no matter what happens to us? By turning to Jesus, who is the great Amen. Because of Him, we have hope for the future, help in the present, and healing of the past. We can only say Amen because God has said it to us first, through the life, death, and resurrection to life again of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we consider all that Jesus has done for us, we can then be thankful for whatever comes our way, believing that He only sends our way what is good for us.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your kingdom, power, and glory are forever and sure. Your eternal government makes it possible for us to say Amen to our prayers because You are God's Amen spoken to us. We are thankful for the salvation You have worked on us. We are also thankful for the countless blessings we enjoy, downpayments of treasure laid up in heaven for us. Forgive us when we grumble about what we don't have or what we have lost. Help us be thankful no matter what happens to us by reminding us of what we have that is forever. Amen.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. What is meant by the word "Amen"? That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray, and has promised to hear us. Amen, Amen, that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.
Many years ago, when he was still in the seminary, a friend of mine visited a woman who was dying of lung cancer. Some friends had told her that all she had to do was pray and believe, and God would heal her. The day came when he arrived in her hospital room only a couple days before she actually died. Then, she looked up at him and said, "I cannot pray anymore." She had gotten mixed up with the "name it and claim it" crowd. They have the false idea that if you have enough faith, you can ask God for anything, and he will do it. So here's this precious child of God on her deathbed. She had tried so hard to pray in faith that God would spare her. But the doctors had told her she had a day or so left. So, she was convinced that she did not have the faith it took to pray.
What does one say to a person whose faith has been crushed by such a lie? All my friend could think of was what Jesus once said about prayer. So he took her hand and said, "Jesus said, 'When you pray, say "Our Father who art in heaven." ' Jesus said, 'When you pray,' not 'if you have enough faith to pray.' And He said, 'Pray like this, "Our Father ..." ' Jesus gave you that prayer. You can always pray it, no matter what." And they did pray that prayer together. No matter what, we can always pray the prayer our Lord taught us. That's because the great Amen taught it to us. And because our Father is King, we know that our prayers are heard. For that, we especially can be thankful. "Amen, Amen, that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so" is the grateful response that springs from a heart that trusts God always to do what is good and right for us.
But do we really mean it when we say Amen? Do we really believe that Jesus will take care of us as the Father's personal representative? What about when things go wrong and don't turn out as we expected? How can we be thankful when so often things don't turn out the way we want them to? Sometimes we just get done saying thanks, only to turn around and complain about what we didn't get or what we got that we really didn't want.
Where can we find the ability to thank God no matter what happens to us? How can we say Amen and really mean it? Consider what the ancient prophet Isaiah had to say. Isaiah sings, "O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." Nowhere do we see this more than in the death and resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Foretold by prophets and sung by poets, God relentlessly set in motion events in human history that all aimed to land Jesus of Nazareth on a cross at just the right time. Not only so, but because Jesus now lives forever, He can see His plans completed exactly as He wished. He will either send good things our way, or change the evil things into blessings according to the power by which He governs all things for the good of the church. He sees a kingdom prepared for each of us from before the foundation of the world. There He has stored up treasures that cannot be stolen or spoiled. Jesus is God's Amen to us that we have a glorious future ahead of us, no matter what may happen now.
Isaiah sings, "You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners' stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you." Jesus lasts longer than our enemies, and wins over them eventually. Even sickness and death cannot hold us for long. What have we to fear from lesser enemies, like pestilence, famine, and persecution? Hell's gates are broken down, the devil's throne shattered. Standing in the rubble is an empty cross, stained with the blood of Christ. But it is empty, because Jesus Christ died there to destroy death by destroying its power, sin, and rose again to life to show how we are raised to new life in baptism. We can be thankful that Jesus as the Amen God speaks to us to assure us we shall survive this evil world.
Isaiah sings, "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled." We have to put up with crooks and thieves and all manner of evil people as long as we live. Yet we can be thankful to know that Jesus has the last laugh on our enemies, because Jesus is God's Amen to us that He will put an end to all that is evil.
Isaiah sings on, "On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine -- the best of meats and the finest of wines." Food is a big part of our Thanksgiving celebrations. No greater feast has been prepared than what Jesus lays before us -- bread of life we eat as we hear His Word, His own body and blood offered to us for forgiveness of sins, water that springs up to eternal life from within us. We can be thankful for eternal food -- Word and sacraments. As we eat and drink, we say Amen to the promise that we shall join with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven around heavenly food.
Isaiah's song of thanksgiving continues, "On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken." For some of you this year will be the first Thanksgiving without a loved one. Holidays have a way of reminding us of who is missing in our lives. And that hole is hard to fill. But I am here today with all of you who have lost loved ones to give thanks to Jesus who has undone the foreverness of death and given us a forever hope to look forward to. The Lord has spoken, and Jesus is that Word made flesh. He is God's eternal Amen to us that we shall live with Him forever in everlasting innocence, righteousness, and blessedness. We can be thankful that Jesus is master over all our sorrows and griefs.
Isaiah also teaches us to sing, "In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.' " Compared to many people in the world, we have much to be thankful for. But even if we had nothing but the clothes on our backs, we could still say Amen when we pray, because if we have Jesus, we have all we need to live forever. "Forever" is another name for "Amen" -- because Jesus is both always there and always true. The world may fall apart around us, but we always have Jesus to see us safely through until we sit with him forever in his eternal kingdom, power, and glory. Jesus is God's Amen to us that the day will come when God will make all we have endured worth it.
So, how can we be thankful when there is so much for which to be unthankful? How can we say Amen, no matter what happens to us? By turning to Jesus, who is the great Amen. Because of Him, we have hope for the future, help in the present, and healing of the past. We can only say Amen because God has said it to us first, through the life, death, and resurrection to life again of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we consider all that Jesus has done for us, we can then be thankful for whatever comes our way, believing that He only sends our way what is good for us.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your kingdom, power, and glory are forever and sure. Your eternal government makes it possible for us to say Amen to our prayers because You are God's Amen spoken to us. We are thankful for the salvation You have worked on us. We are also thankful for the countless blessings we enjoy, downpayments of treasure laid up in heaven for us. Forgive us when we grumble about what we don't have or what we have lost. Help us be thankful no matter what happens to us by reminding us of what we have that is forever. Amen.
