St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown
Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz
Easter 5 Mother’s Day May 14, 2006 1 John 3:18-24


Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us. We know it by the Spirit he gave us.


People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

There was a big fat earth worm by the front door of church a couple of Sundays ago. Remember that Sunday when it was really raining? This earth worm was going away from the Church doors toward the soil by the Church mail box. It would stretch out—really thin—then it would bunch up—real thick. It went through those little criss cross cuts in the concrete—heading towards the blacktop! It had just started across the black top when a truck pulled up to church—to drop off a little grandma. The truck started up again—oh, no—wait—the front wheel turned sharp and missed the worm. Then came the back wheel—squish! I felt badly! I know it’s just a worm—and it sounds kind of Zen—but it was something living—and now it was dead! What could I have done? I could have picked up that worm—and set him safely in the soil across the way. But touch a worm—slimy and squishy—when I have on a suit and white shirt—and polished shoes and a nice silk tie? What would people think? And yet—how great is the love God the Father has lavished on us—that we should be called children of God—adopted by our Heavenly Father—when our sins made us a million times more distasteful than any earth worm. How great is God’s love for you and for me! This Mother’s Day God’s Word has a very simple powerful Gospel message:

God’s Love Gives!
1. God gives our hearts rest
2. God gives us what we pray for
3. God gives us strength to serve him

For 6 Sundays—the second Sunday of Easter through the 7th Sunday of Easter—the Sunday after Ascension—we are reading through 1st John! It’s kind of interesting—the Sunday after Easter—remember? The Easter lily cross was gone. The Girl Pioneer and Sunbeam Easter breakfast was gone. The choirs were not singing. And the parking lot was not as packed—and still—still—there was a kind of excitement—alleluias and Easter hymns. We read about Doubting Thomas. And we read—not from the beginning—but from near the end of 1st John. We read from the last chapter first—then from chapters 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. We started near the end—This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. You can’t read those words—and not think about Jesus—dead on the cross—the Roman spear piercing his side—piercing to his very heart—bringing the sudden flow of blood and water. The sure and certain biological reality that Jesus was dead! These 7 Sundays of Easter we celebrate that our crucified Lord is also our Risen and victorious Savior and King!

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. How simple it is on Mother’s Day to say we love our mom! You could go down to MiMi’s and choose from literally hundreds of cards with roses and pansies and lilies of the valley—cards spring loaded—so when you open them up—little honey bees—wiggle. Cards with little computer chips sometimes go off even in the mail box—so that your card is making music before you even open it! It’s easy to give your moms roses today—to take them out for lunch or dinner if you called early enough to get a reservation. It’s easy to get your moms jewelry with little chips of diamonds. Do we love our moms with actions and in truth? Sometimes Mother’s Day is a day of feeling very guilty! Dads feel guilty because they know the mushy poetry in their card rings kind of hollow—when you compare it to the often thoughtless and rude behavior of the past few days—the past few weeks and months if the truth be told. Dads feel guilty because they have not treated their wife with the love and gentleness the cards say they so richly deserve. But rather they have said things that are critical and belittling and embarrassing—not just in private—but sometimes in front of the children—and sometimes in front of relatives and friends and co-workers too! Sometimes children feel guilty today—because their cards talk about all that their love for their mom. And yet—the truth is—you have argued and talked back and even screamed at your mom. You have gone to your room and slammed your door and said some very angry words when you were frustrated! Sometimes children feel guilty today—because they have not picked up their rooms—have not helped with the dishes—have not done what their mom asked them to do—over and over and over—until in frustration she did it for you! And sometimes moms feel guilty today—because the cards and the gifts say that she is the best mom in the whole world. And they don’t feel like the best mom in the world. They are painfully aware of their failures—mistakes and short comings—and all this talk makes them feel even more inadequate of everything that everyone expects from them!

This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. When our heart condemns us—when we feel guilty and ashamed—remember the powerful Gospel promises of God. Remember that Jesus died to wash away all our sins. Even if you don’t feel forgiven you are forgiven. Jesus is greater than your heart and your mind. He knows you are forgiven. You are! It’s not a conditional process. It’s a fact!

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. What powerful Gospel promises God’s Word contains. We have confidence before God and receive from him anything—anything we ask! Imagine that! This past week a little grandma named Lillian died. She was 99 years old. She was just 5 years old when the Titanic sank. She survived that terrible tragedy. She didn’t talk about it often—but when she did—she said she had burned into her memory the sight of her father and 3 of her 4 brothers—including her twin—standing on the deck—saying they would get into another life boat—but they didn’t! When you close your eyes can you imagine a sight like that? When you close your eyes—can you imagine Jesus dying on the cross for you? When you do—it will color what you pray for. Pray for powerful blessings. Pray for Jesus to move mountains! Pray for spiritual blessings like more and more faith and more and more opportunities to share your faith. Pray for people you love—that Jesus would bless them with faith and forgiveness and an inheritance in heaven. Pray with a powerful confidence—a child like trust that we will receive from him anything we ask!

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. To love one another is to forgive one another! This is part of the essence of our faith—to forgive one another from the heart. This is real forgiveness—without conditions and without reservations—the same way Jesus has forgiven us! I was driving down the freeway—coming back from a hospital visit in Milwaukee—when I pulled up behind a little red car. On the back bumper was a satanic star sticker. On the back bumper were a couple of bumper stickers I couldn’t make out—other than they were something about down—being down! Inside the car was a single young man—wearing black—his black hair spiked—rolling down the highway—on his way to eternal destruction? Or was he just borrowing a car with back stickers on the bumper? Just moments later—passing we on the other side was a huge cream colored car—a car that also contained only the driver—a gentlemen with white hair and a driving cap. This car didn’t have any bumper stickers—just a nifty little silver plaque with overlapping “R”s—a real Rolls Royce! As expensive as this car must be—is the person inside—on the road to Heaven? That’s all that matters! That’s all the really matters at all. I didn’t know that person either. But there are people I do know—people I love and trust—who need to be encouraged to hear God’s Word. We need to talk to the people we know and love—about Jesus’ forgiving love. We need to tell them before it’s too late—to live their life close to Jesus! I was driving down the road the other day—when I saw a blind person—walking down the sidewalk. They had their walking stick—the long white stick with the red end. But they weren’t doing that vigorous sweep thing—checking, checking, checking in front of them. In the direct path of this person were a bunch of those really big plastic trash bins. You could see the collision that was about to happen. What could you do? Slam on the brakes? Honk your horn? Roll down your window and scream out a warning? Crash! The poor blind person crashed into the garbage! How helpless I felt! It’s too late to save that stranger from clashing into the trash. But it isn’t too late for me to warn the people I know and love about the danger of the eternal flaming trash heap of hell!

Mr. Biechele—was the manager of a rock n roll band. He was the guy that set off the indoor fireworks that set the ceiling on fire. People were trapped inside and died! Many died—quickly overcome by the poisonous fumes. Others were crushed in the desperate mash trying to get through the front door. Before sentence was passed—again—they had victim impact statements. The people who survived—people who lost loved ones got to say how the crime had changed their lives. They say their testimony was heart wrenching! People talked of depression so severe they couldn’t get up out of bed in the morning. People talked about graduations they would never attend—of grandchildren they would never get to hold. It was terrible. The defendant was sentenced to 15 years in prison—then 11 of those years were suspended. That means he got only 4 years—with a big chunk of that time to be forgiven, too—with good behavior. They said the defendant had written hand written letters to the families of each of the 100 victims of the fire. He said through tears—that he didn’t ever think he would be able to forgive himself. And the judge—the earthly judge said—he didn’t feel the need to pass a more painful and severe earthly sentence—because he too felt—the defendant was already punishing himself more than any earthly prison could! How sad is that? The Biblical Historical fact is this—Jesus took all our sins away—every single one. We dasn’t beat ourselves up—from now till Judgment Day because of painful hurtful mistakes we have made in the past. Jesus has forgiven us. Forgive yourself. If your neighbors—even your enemies try to hurt and harm your soul—throwing your sins of the past in your face. Know that it is God’s Word and God’s truth—this is how we set our hearts at rest when our hearts condemn us. God is greater than our hearts. God knows everything. Jesus knows we are forgiven. Amen!


To God alone all glory!

Rev. Anthony E. Schultz