He gives us the victory

Sermon for WLS Closing Service 4-28-2020

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Now I know that the Lord saves his Anointed.  He answers him from his holy heavens with powerful acts of salvation from his right hand. (Psalm 20:6)

Our boys’ soccer and girls’ volleyball teams began the school year with victories in their sports. Our boys’ and girls’ cross country teams won the first place trophies at the Shoreland meet.

Then came the long season of basketball. If you know me, you know that to me and my family, basketball is just something to do in between soccer seasons. Our basketball teams did very well again this year with lots of victories. Our boys’ and girls’ A teams each won the Lancer Invitational Tournament.

Our first ever robotics team surprised everyone with a great showing at Shoreland and State.

But that’s when the victories stopped.

We were getting ready for the forensics team to keep Ms. Maass’ streak of victories going. We wanted to say goodbye to Mr. Patterson with our boys’ and girls’ teams taking first place in the Shoreland track meet. And the girls’ soccer team were planning to play for their ninth championship in a row.

But there were no more victories. Not on the athletic field. Not in robotics. Not in forensics of Battle of the Boks or even in recess or Phy Ed. There were no victories from studying hard and earning an A in the classroom.

It wasn’t like we lost. It’s that we didn’t even get the chance to compete, to sweat, to work, to train, to study, so we could earn those victories. Everything was taken away from us.

Well, not really.

These earthly things like games and medals and trophies and accolades and grades are all good. They create memories. Reasons to celebrate. Have pizza parties and bragging rights. … Come on. You know how satisfying it is to beat Trinity and KLA in anything. 😊

Not having all that stings a little.

No. It stings a lot.

Those things are important to us. They should be. God created us to be active, social, competitive people. It is good to work hard to do our best for our school, for our parents, for ourselves, and especially for our God’s glory.

But the victory that’s really important is the victory that has been our theme for this school year. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”

We might feel the sting of all the things we are missing this spring. We’re even missing an in-person closing worship service for all of you and a graduation ceremony for our 8^th graders. As Christians, thankfully, we have God’s Word to keep everything in perspective. The real sting comes from death.

I’m sure you’ve felt this sting. It hurts far worse than missing athletics or a school play. Death means we are going to be missing a loved one. The death of a sibling, a child, a parent, grandparent or friend. Death leaves its mark on all of us. Everyone dies. Everything dies. Death stings.

Death is an opponent that makes certain that the body will never move again. That the heart will never beat again. That the lungs will never breathe again. That the mind will never think again or feel emotion again. That we will never be able to hug or laugh or cry or talk to our loved one again. Death is Satan’s last laugh.

Death is the entire reason everything has been shut down and canceled these last three months.

We don’t want to die. We don’t want to be responsible for the death of anyone else. Death is a terrifying enemy we cannot bargain with. We cannot appease. We cannot control. We cannot defeat. It is final and irreversible.

Death viciously attacked Jesus on Friday of Holy Week. It surrounded Him on all sides. The Jewish Sanhedrin pummeled him with their fists. King Herod and his soldiers dressed Jesus in a purple robe and mocked him as a king. The Roman soldiers peeled the skin off his back with their scourging. Pontius Pilate released a criminal and condemned the Son of God. The soldiers forced Jesus who had been turned into a bloody pulp to carry his cross to Golgotha’s hill. Blood-soaked and spiked to a tree for six hours, death was Jesus’ constant companion.

After a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last, bowed his head, and gave up his spirit. He died. It appeared as if death had won its greatest victory. It had claimed the Son of God. It had captured the Lord of life in its tomb. It had control of the almighty God of heaven and earth.

It appeared as if Jesus had waved the white flag, given up and surrendered.

But then came Easter morning. The tomb was open. The tomb was empty. Jesus walked out of the grave alive. Victorious! Triumphant! Undefeated!

Death has been swallowed up in victory!

Death no longer has the final word. In fact, because our Savior suffered death, he paid the ransom for our sins. He released us from death. He removed the sting and turned death into nothing more than a sleep for his followers. He has made it so death causes us as Christians to exchange our old, terrestrial, perishable garments for new, celestial, imperishable clothing. “For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53

With His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave three days later, Jesus has reversed the irreversible. He controls the uncontrollable. He has defeated that which had seemed to defeat him. He has destroyed the power of the devil by his life and death. That means that he has also destroyed the devil’s ability to keep us afraid of death. Christ’s own promise is, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).

Jesus knows death. Intimately. Death had delivered its message calling for Jesus’ surrender and had it posted on the cross in three languages for everyone to see: “The King of the Jews” (Mark 15:26).

After Jesus’ resurrection from the grave, St. Paul hung a new sign over the open tomb for everyone to see: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

That sentence – only four words in the Greek – is one of the most famous resurrection messages of the entire Bible. It has become the rallying cry of Christians for countless generations, often read at the gravesite for Christian funerals. 

That sentence is a fitting theme for this school year.

What has been most frustrating this spring is that you didn’t get the chance to earn any victories – in the classroom or the athletic field. It isn’t that you lost. You didn’t even get the chance to compete.

That stings.

But Christ – like he always does – puts everything in perspective. He has removed the real sting – the sing of death. In fact, St. Paul taunts death with these words: “Death is swallowed up in victory.  Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) Jesus has earned the greatest victory over sin, death and the grave. He has given that victory to you.

You should rightly respect Covid-19 or any disease or accident or crisis. But Christ has given you the ability to not be afraid of any of those things. Respect them but don’t fear them. Christ has given you the victory over anything that can take your life away. He has already given you a greater life in heaven. A virus, disease, accident or crisis can be Christ’s means of getting you into his heaven.

For our returning students, we pray that next year you will be able to earn more victories on the athletic field and in the classroom. But your greatest victory is hearing God’s Word every day in our WLS classrooms and every week in our Lutheran churches.

For our 8^th graders, you are done. You’re not going to wear any black and green jerseys to win trophies and championships for WLS. So, I want you to focus on the real and spiritual victories you’ve been given.

Christ poured his victory of the resurrection over your head in your baptism. Your baptism marks you as his own brother or sister. Though you are encouraged to practice social distancing right now, you know that you are a part of a greater fellowship of the body of Christ. The mark of the cross on your head and your heart marks you as a redeemed child of Christ. Jesus promises that Satan can never take you away from him.

For the Epiphany confirmands who were confirmed a few weeks ago, and the New Hope and First Evan confirmands who will be confirmed soon, you get to partake in the meal of the Lord’s Supper. That’s better than any pizza party after a championship. You taste the victorious body and blood of Christ, broken and shed for you on the cross. The cross where Christ died to gain the victory over sin, Satan and hell. You taste and treasure that victory every communion celebration.

Though you didn’t get to finish the school year at WLS, you still get to look forward to another four, six or eight more years of education. Woo Hoo! This is just one milestone in a life of many milestones.

Celebrate your victories. The victories you’ve earned. The victories you will earn. But realize, those are only earthly victories. They are special. They are important.

But they aren’t the most special or important victories. That victory only comes through Jesus Christ. That’s what makes Wisconsin Lutheran School so special and important. Because whether it is our theme or not, every year, every day, we believe, confess and teach. “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” Amen.

The words of the Lord to Judah as they were facing an overwhelming enemy is encouraging to us: “It is not up to you to fight this battle. Just take up your position. Stand still … and see that the victory of the Lord is with you. Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified. Tomorrow go out against them. The Lord will be with you.” (2 Chronicles 20:17)