During my years as a student at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, I was privileged to sit under the wise teaching of Dr. Lowell Satre, a New Testament scholar who, I found out after coming to St Paul’s ten years ago, was also the grandfather of former St Paul’s member Kari Ristvedt Mahaffey. Dr. Satre taught classes on the gospels as well as the letters of Paul, and for every course he taught there was the requisite term paper due near quarter’s end. Regardless of the content or quality of one’s term paper, the ever-pastoral, the ever-gentle-and -dear, and the ever-zealous-for-the-gospel Dr. Satre would inscribe two simple words at the end of his comments on the paper. Two words always underscored and then followed by an exclamation mark. Two words which echoed those of St. Paul’ to the Philippian church from our second reading this morning: “Press on!”

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Alleluia! Jesus is risen! Trumpets resounding in glorious light!
Splendor, the Lamb, heaven forever! Oh, what a miracle God has in sight!
Jesus is risen and we shall arise. Give God the glory! Alleluia!
Walking the way, Christ in the center telling the story to open our eyes;
Breaking our bread, giving us glory; Jesus our blessing, our constant surprise.
Jesus is risen and we shall arise. Give God the glory! Alleluia!
Weeping, be gone; sorrow, be silent; death put asunder, and Easter is bright.
Cherubim sing: O grave, be open! Clothe us with wonder, adorn us in light.
Jesus is risen and we shall arise. Give God the glory! Alleluia!
Text: Herbert Brokering, 1926-2009, Evangelical Lutheran Worship No. 377

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When Martin Luther died, tradition records that his final words were “We are beggars, this is true.”

By that he didn’t mean we need to beg and grovel for God’s mercy and forgiveness. But rather, at the end of his lifetime of shining the spotlight on the riches of God’s amazing grace, he recognized that, like beggars with empty hands outstretched, all we can truly do is receive what God freely gives us.  God’s heart does not need to be inclined toward us by our begging or asking or pleading. Instead, God’s heart is so overflowing in love for us that before we can even stretch out our needy and empty hands, God is there with hands outstretched, reaching toward us first.

“We are beggars, this is true.”

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I invite you to turn to Hymn 325 and to sing the first stanza a capella with me. Then mark that page and we’ll return to it throughout our meditation together this morning.

I want Jesus to walk with me, all along my pilgrim journey,
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.

Our Lenten journey brings us face to face with the age-old question, “Why does evil happen?” and our all-too-human-and-feeble responses to that question.  I want Jesus to walk with me, but will he stay by my side if I screw up?

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