The Feast of Pentecost

Acts 2: 1–21 / Psalm 104: 24–34, 35b / I Corinthians 12: 3b–13 / John 20: 19–23

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 24, 2026, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“THE MESSAGE OF THE PENTECOST EVENT: CHANGE!”

(Homily text: Acts 2: 1-21)

Whenever God intervenes in human affairs, one thing is certain:  What happens afterward will be different than what came before God made His presence known.

On this Feast of Pentecost, we are reminded that God came “crashing into” the lives of the Apostles (and perhaps about 120 others)[1] as the Holy Spirit came like a “mighty, rushing wind”, and with “tongues of fire, which appeared above the heads” of those gathered that day.

The Holy Spirit’s descent made it possible for those gathered that day to speak and to be understood in languages that they had not previously been able to either speak.  Talk about change!

Before we explore the changes that the Pentecost event made in the life of the body of believers, that is, the Church, and in the lives of individual believers, let’s remind ourselves about the original meaning and importance of the Feast of Pentecost.

In the Jewish calendar, the Feast of Pentecost was one of three major festivals observed each year, and was celebrated fifty days[2] after the Feast of Passover. It was observed on the first day of the week, and was an ingathering of the first fruits of the harvest. (Remember this aspect of the festival, for – I think – it has a meaning for Christian believers that is similar. We’ll get to that in a moment.)

Now then, we began by saying that whenever God chooses to intervene in human life, change is bound to happen. In the Pentecost event, that change became a reality for the Body of Christ, the Church, and for the individual believers who were members of it.

We will begin by looking at the changes that the Church came to experience.

Notice, first of all, that there were people from all over the known world in Jerusalem at the time of the Holy Spirit’s appearing. That’s because the Feast of Pentecost was one of those three major festivals that devout Jews would feel compelled to attend, if at all possible. So it is that Luke (the writer of the Book of Acts) provides for us a list of the places from which those attending the festival had come from.

We could easily come to the conclusion that God wanted the early Church to know that the great, good things that God had done in raising Jesus Christ to new life on Easter Sunday morning was Good News (Gospel) for the whole world, and not just for people in Jerusalem, or in the region around Jerusalem, Judea, or – for that matter – not for Jews only, but for Gentiles as well. (Notice that Luke tells us that there were Gentile converts to Judaism among the crowd that heard the believers speaking: His term for those people is “proselytes”.)

Talk about change! The idea that God’s goodness was to be received by all people, everywhere, was a challenge to the early Church. As we read through the early chapters of the Book of Acts, we see that Peter had had an encounter with Cornelius[3], a Roman centurion and someone who was known as a “God-fearer”[4]. But Peter is initially reluctant to associate with Gentiles. Eventually, Peter comes to understand that God’s intent is that all people, everywhere, will come into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Peter’s understanding echoes his quotation from the Old Testament prophet Joel, made at Pentecost, as Peter says, “…it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”.  A bit later in the Acts account, we see that Paul and Barnabas were spreading God’s great, good news throughout the known world, and among Gentiles.

These initiatives created a major crisis in the early Church. The difference of conviction about whether or not Gentiles could come to faith in Christ, and whether or not they had to convert to Judaism in order to do so, came to a head at the Council of Jerusalem, which was held in the year 49 AD.[5]

The Council’s decision was that Gentiles did not have to convert. The Church had come to understand the implications of the Holy Spirit’s intervention at Pentecost.

Notice that it took about twenty years[6] or so for the Church to change its understanding about who it was who could come to faith in Jesus. Change in the Church sometimes takes awhile.

With the decision to allow non-Jews into the Church, the Church began to look forward, not back. The change in perspective is due, directly, to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and to the Spirit’s continuing influence on the early Church.

Individuals in the Church who had come to faith also encountered change as a result of their new relationship with the Lord.

They, too, were to look forward, not back. They, too, were to accept and receive new believers as the faith that they had come to know was now the gift of others, as well. Lives changed, as encounters with God made a new way of living a requirement, for the Lord’s will is that believers will live upright and holy lives.

Individuals in the Church were to lend their gifts to the outpouring of God’s Good News to the world. Just as the original meaning of Pentecost was to celebrate the in-gathering of the first fruits of the harvest, so, too, was the Church to be about the business of gathering in new believers into the kingdom of God. In the process, individual wills, individual desires were to take second place to God’s will and God’s vision for the future.

What does all of this mean for the Church today? What does all of this mean for our local part of the Church, Flohr’s Lutheran?

Perhaps this: First of all, a genuine encounter with the Lord means that we are called to live holy and upright lives. Second of all, it means that we are to proclaim God’s great, good news to those around us. As we do so, we are called to proclaim that Good News (Gospel) by what we do, and – if necessary – by what we say. And, finally, any encounter with God means that change is inevitable, as we submit our own wills and desires to God’s will and God’s desires.

So may these things be.

AMEN.

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[1]   It isn’t possible to be sure, judging from Luke’s narrative, exactly how many were present at Pentecost. Luke mentions the original twelve Apostles (see Acts 1:13), where Luke names the Apostles who were present. But then, at Acts 1:15, he mentions 120 persons. In Acts 2:1, he says “they” were all together at Pentecost.

[2]   The word by which we know this festival is derived from the Greek word for “fifty”, Pentecost.

[3]   See Acts, chapter ten, for the account of Peter’s encounter with Cornelius.

[4]   A “God-fearer” was a Gentile who had come to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Perhaps some of these Gentiles hadn’t formally converted to Judaism, but were believers, nonetheless.

[5]   Luke describes the events of the Council in Acts, chapter fifteen.

[6]   The Council of Jerusalem took place some twenty years or so after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and after the Pentecost event. 

Easter 7 (The Sunday after Ascension Day), Year A (2026)

Acts 1: 6–14 / Psalm 68: 1–10, 32–35 / I Peter 4: 12–14; 5: 6–11 / John 17: 1–11

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 17, 2026, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

                  

“INVITED AND DRAWN INTO THE INNER LIFE OF GOD”

(Homily text: John 17: 1-11)

Life has the ability to offer many blessings. One of the most wonderful things that can bless and support us in our earthly journey is a close and deeply personal relationship with someone. That “someone” might be our marriage partner. Or that “someone” could be a close friend, or perhaps a parent or a grandparent, or perhaps a schoolmate.

Such persons are ones we can share our innermost thoughts, concerns, struggles and desires with. We are able, with such persons, to share anything and everything, all in confidence.

It is just this sort of a relationship that our Lord Jesus Christ describes in this morning’s Gospel reading, which is a portion of what has come to be known as the Lord’s “High Priestly Prayer”. This prayer occupies all of chapter seventeen of John’s Gospel account. We hear just the beginning portion of it this morning.

The prayer concludes John’s extensive account of what happened as Jesus and His disciples celebrated and observed the feast of Passover. In John’s account, chapters thirteen through seventeen tell us about the events that took place on that night before our Lord suffered and died on Good Friday.

John’s unique writing style is evident as the prayer unfolds. In verses one through eleven, Jesus prays for Himself, and for the original band of disciples, as He is about to leave them. Then, in verses twelve through nineteen, John advances the narrative, as Jesus prays for that original band of disciples who will soon become Apostles, as they are sent out into the world carrying the Good News of God, made known in the sending of Jesus Christ. Finally, verses twenty through the end of the chapter, at verse twenty-six, Jesus prays for those who will come to faith through the work of the Apostles. (Yes, that includes you and me!)

John’s writing style has been compared to a series of loops, by which an idea is introduced. Then the idea is advanced a little at a time as the narrative unfolds.

Now then, let’s return to the theme with which we began: The blessing that is ours by virtue of a close and deeply personal relationship with someone.

That “someone”, in the case of the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer, is the Lord Himself. In Jesus’ prayer, we are invited into a close, personal, and a deep love relationship with the fulness of God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

For, you see, Jesus Christ’s coming sheds light on the nature of the Father. His coming also sheds light on the nature of the Spirit.

And we are invited into the inner life of God, into the fulness of God’s identity as the Three-in-One, the Holy Trinity. We are invited into a place where we can share our innermost longings, desires, concerns, challenges, shortcomings and disappointments. At the same time, God, as our trusted companion in the walk of faith, is also that One we can share our celebrations and the high points of our lives with.

What a blessed state, to find ourselves drawn into the inner life of the God of all, that One who – in the final analysis – will be the One whose will and whose love will endure, and will conquer all things.

AMEN. 

Easter 6, Year A (2026)

Acts 17: 22–31 / Psalm 66: 8–20 / I Peter 3: 13-22 / John 14: 15-21

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 10, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“HOLY BAPTISM: A NEW BEGINNING AND A BARRIER”

(Homily text: I Peter 3: 13–22)

Across the country at this time of year, many young people will be attending Commencement exercises, as they graduate from the schools they’ve been attending. In the process, a chapter in their lives ends, and a new one begins. Though we may not think of it, it might be useful for us to reflect on the basic meaning of the word “commencement”, for it literally means “to begin”.

These young graduates, as they leave the lives they’ve known in whatever setting they’ve grown used to in their academic pursuits, experience the creation of a barrier of sorts in their lives. For many graduates, their commencement exercises will mark the last time they set foot on school grounds or buildings. For others, their time in the institution will form an important chapter in their lives, one that many will look back on with fondness, but – nonetheless – they will move away from their lives in academia as they venture forth into new pursuits. For a few, the friendships and the relationships formed during their school years will survive into the future.

Living life entails the ending of some things, and the beginning of new things.

For example, we leave employment in one place, and pick up employment in another.

We meet and marry someone, leaving our former lives behind, to cite another example.

Holy Baptism is much like the examples we’ve cited above. When we enter the waters of baptism, we set aside our former lives, in order to pick up a new identity as God’s own child, one who enters into a deep, abiding and personal love relationship with the Lord.

The early Church marked this change in a dramatic way. (Some of the early Church’s practice survives in our liturgy today.)

Back in the early centuries of the Church’s existence, when people had come for baptism, they entered the waters of a pond, lake, river or creek. They faced west, and were asked questions of the sort of “Do you renounce Satan and all the powers of evil which seek to separate us from God?” The answer is given, “I renounce them”.

Then, after a series of similar questions, the person to be baptized turned around to face east (toward Jerusalem and the place where our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again). Then, they were asked to affirm their faith in Christ.

Today, our baptismal liturgy involves three questions which renounce those things that form barriers between us and God. And then, there are three affirmations of our faith in the Lord and our determination to follow Him as Savior and Lord.

St. Peter, writing in his first letter, captures the meaning and the importance of baptism. He compares baptism to the passage of Noah, Noah’s wife, their three sons and their wives, eight persons in all, through the waters of the Great Flood. (The number of persons who were saved from the waters of the flood, eight in all, is important, for in Holy Scripture, the number eight often indicates a new beginning. Our baptismal font, for this same reason, has eight sides, to remind us of the new beginning that baptism represents.)

Water passages of the sort that Noah experienced drive home the dual meanings related to baptism, for water has the ability to kill. But water is also necessary for life to exist.

Baptism captures this double meaning: Passing through the waters means that, as we descend into the waters, we are placing our whole trust, our entire lives, in God’s hands, trusting that He will lift us up out of the waters, in order that we may continue in a new way, a new path, a new chapter in life, living out our part of the love relationship that baptism confirms.

From this day forward, those who are baptized, and especially those who are baptized as infants or very young children, will need guidance and reminders of the claim that baptism establishes on their lives, as they are affirmed as children of God, beloved persons of God’s deliberate creating.

Thanks be to God!

AMEN. 

Easter 5, Year A (2026)

Acts 7: 55-60 / Psalm 31: 1–5, 15–16 / I Peter 2: 2–10 / John 14: 1–14

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 3, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“THE GOSPEL: USE – OR – MISUSE?”

(Homily text: John 14: 1–14)

We use many things in the course of our daily lives. Things that make life easier, more convenient, or which enable us to do things we would, otherwise, not be able to do.

Most all of these things can be used properly, within the design and the limitations of each.

But they can also be misused, often resulting in damage to the thing itself, or to the people using the thing(s).

Consider, for example, a hammer. It can be used to drive a nail, or to insert something into a place where it’s supposed to go, but won’t. But a hammer can also be misused, used to break things.

Consider the Seven Deadly Sins. Each one of these is rooted in some naturally-occurring desire or need. But they become sins when those naturally-occurring desires or needs are misused. Gluttony is the misuse of our need to eat. Avarice (an old word for “greed”) is the misuse of our need to have our basic needs met. Sloth is the misuse of our need for rest. And so forth with the others.

Even very good things can be misused.

Consider, for example, the Gospel, the Good News of God in Christ.

The Gospel, this very good news, that, too, can be misused.

Which brings us to today’s Gospel text, and – in particular – to Jesus’ statement that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). And then, especially, this part of His statement which follows: “No one comes to the Father except through me”.

For Christian believers, this statement is, indeed, very good news. It is life-changing news, it is news that makes all things different and all things new.

But we Christian believers can easily misuse this assurance from the Lord.

We can act as though we have an exclusive claim on this good news. We can use this good news as a club or a hammer to goad and prod unbelievers into faith.

Of course, such an approach doesn’t work very well. In fact, it’s counterproductive. Furthermore, it doesn’t mirror the sorts of ways that our Lord behaved with those who were deemed, in the time of His earthly visitation, to be “notorious sinners”.

We could call such an attitude that seeks to raise ourselves up to some highly-placed position in God’s kingdom “spiritual arrogance”.

How might we be aware of – and guard against – the misuse of such a wonderful thing as God’s offer of love, new life and grace? How might we step back, in order to take a good look at ourselves and how we behave when we speak of the things of God”

Perhaps we might begin with an attitude of humility. After all, God’s offer of love, new life and grace is just that, an offer, a gift. It isn’t something that we either deserve or merit. We have no standing upon which to say that we deserve God’s goodness.

Humility leads us to ask ourselves, “What is it that I might be missing, when I consider God’s will for my life?”. Joined to that question is this one: “In what ways do I fail to show by my life that Jesus Christ dwells within my heart?”.

Realizing that God’s prerogatives mean that He is the One who will, in the final analysis, be the judge of who has found favor in His sight ought to set our priorities straight. Our ability to determine who is – and who isn’t – a child of God is a matter that God, alone, makes. Such a determination is echelons above our human pay grade.

One other thought is worth mentioning…If we have come to a place of faith in God’s promises, then that place that we have come to is due entirely to God’s grace, which has come before us, coming into our hearts and minds often before we are aware of the Holy Spirit’s work to soften our hearts and to prepare our minds to receive God’s truth.[1]

Our prayer then, might be for God to install an attitude of humility and gratitude in our hearts and minds for the goodness of God, which has brought us to the place of faith we find ourselves in this day. And, we ought to pray for the Holy Spirit to continue His cleansing and empowering work, that we might be the image of Christ to all we encounter.

AMEN.

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[1]   Such a grace carries a technical term: Prevenient Grace, meaning a grace from God which comes before our awareness of it. (An original meaning of the word “prevent” was to “come before”.) 

Easter 4 (Good Shepherd Sunday), Year A (2026)

Acts 2: 42–47 / Psalm 23 / I Peter 2: 19–25 / John 10: 1–10

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, April 26, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

“THE VALUE OF EVERYTHING, INCLUDING US”

(Homily text: John 10: 1–10)

This, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, each year in our liturgical cycle, is informally known as Good Shepherd Sunday.

One way we might consider what it means to be a part of the Lord’s flock, is to consider our value in God’s eyes.

Whether we think of it or not, we assess the value, the worth, of nearly everything in our lives.

Consider, for example, the purchase of something…it might be something small and insignificant, like a box of cereal, for example. Or, it could be something large and important, like a new vehicle. We assess the value of the proposed purchase when compared to the asking price. We ask ourselves, “Does the price seem reasonable, does it seem worth paying, is this a good value?”.

Or, think of our relationships. We assess whether or not it’s worthwhile, or beneficial, to associate with someone. We do this if we are thinking of marriage. We also do it when we consider informal relationships like membership in a volunteer organization. In such cases, we ask ourselves, “Is being in relationship, or associating with this person/these people, beneficial? Will it be of value to me?”. And, hopefully, we might also ask ourselves, “Does my presence in the organization or the relationship add value to those?”.

Now then, let’s turn the tables a bit, and consider, from God’s perspective, our value to Him.

Apparently, a mystery is woven into God’s assessment of our value to Him, our relating to Him.

Consider, for example, that we know God to be Lord of lords, and King of kings.[1] We apply this title to our Lord Jesus Christ (I think of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah). Knowing God in this way reminds us that the God who made everything that is, that wonderful, eternal God whose creative hand we see in the world about us, who fashioned all that is billions and billions of years ago, is also that same God whose lordship is magnificent.

But here is the mystery: That same God, the Lord of lords and King of kings, also seeks to be in relationship with us in a servant role. Here we see that our Lord Jesus describes Himself as a shepherd. A shepherd’s purpose – and reason for being – is the existence of the flock of sheep in His care. Put another way, if there is no flock, there is no need for a shepherd. So, the Lord’s statement that “I am among you as the one who serves[2],” applies to the relationship between the Lord’s flock of believers and His leadership as shepherd. The shepherd is the leader of the flock, but also serves as its servant.

It might help if we think in terms of height and depth. That way, we could describe this mystery by saying that the Lord is high above all things, unapproachable in His glory. But that same Lord also seeks to come among us, and below us, in order to claim us as His own, and in order to sustain and support us in this mortal life, and in the life of the world to come.

What awesome stuff!

Apparently, we are of great value to God. Therefore, the understanding is that we, ourselves, are the possession that God most wants to have. Another part of that mystery is that we have the freedom to give ourselves to the Great Shepherd as a gift, not under compulsion, not as a response to an order from God, but as a gift we, ourselves, offer to Him.

AMEN.

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[1]   Revelation 17:14 & 19:16

[2]   Luke 22:27b 

Easter 2, Year A (2026)

Acts 2:14a, 22–32 / Psalm 16 / I Peter 1:3–9 / John 20:19–31  

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, April 12, 2026, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION: SEEKING (AND FINDING) THE PROOF WE NEED”

(Homily text: John 20:19–31)

Each year, on the Second Sunday of Easter, we hear the account of our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearance to Thomas (yes, he who has come to be known as “Doubting Thomas”). In a very real sense, it is highly appropriate that we hear this account on this day, for it was on this day, the eighth day[1] after the Lord’s resurrection, that Jesus granted Thomas’ demands to be able to put his finger into the wounds on Jesus’ hands, and to thrust his hand into the Lord’s side.

The importance of this event underscores Thomas’ need, and ours, to know that the Lord really, truly, and in fact, was raised from the dead on Easter Sunday morning. Put another way, Jesus’ resurrected life was – and is – an actual fact, not the product of an ancient people’s religious imaginations, and not a fable promulgated by some highly fanatical followers of a dynamic teacher and leader. (I mention these two possibilities because – as many people contemplate the resurrection event - those who cannot accept it as an actual reality or fact often maintain those two possibilities to explain the biblical accounts.)

The Lord’s gift to Thomas underscores an essential outline of God’s ways of working with human beings. That plan unfolds in this way[2]: 1. A person comes to faith in God’s love, God’s power to change, and, perhaps most importantly, God’s ability to create and to re-create; 2. An encounter with God changes the person, fitting them out for God’s intentions, God’s call and God’s plan for their lives; and 3. The called/changed/outfitted person pursues God’s call and God’s will, putting faith into action.

The truth of this progression, when we think about Thomas’ situation, discloses the truth that, absent an encounter with the risen Lord, Thomas wasn’t prepared/outfitted/ready to do God’s will for his life. If Thomas had tried to do God’s work and will without that life-changing encounter, then he would be trying to do so on his own steam, not on God’s power.

What we’ve just said about Thomas state before his encounter with Jesus is the same truth we can apply to our own lives and our own situations: None of us is truly and completely ready and able to do God’s will for our lives, absent an encounter with the risen Lord, an encounter which leads us to faith in the reality of the Easter event as Holy Scripture informs us.

Thomas got the proof he demanded. Don’t most of us wish that we, too, had the same proof, the same encounter with the risen Lord? I think we do. No wonder that the Lord says to Thomas, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have come to believe”. (Personally speaking, I’d like to think there’s an imaginary blank in that statement, one into which my name can be inserted…maybe you feel the same way.)

Absent that sort of physical proof, the demands that Thomas made to be able not only to see the risen Christ, but to touch Him, aren’t available to us today.

How then, do we get the proof we need? After all, faith needs some sort of a foundation in order for us to have something to work with as we come to believe in the reality of God’s power to change, to create, and to make all things new again.

Perhaps the proof is in Thomas’ life, post-Easter, and, as well, in the lives of the others who’d encountered the risen Lord.

Each one of them went out into the known world, carrying the Good News (Gospel) of God’s intervention in human history, made known in the sending of the person of Jesus Christ. In Thomas’ case, tradition tells us that he went as far as the subcontinent of India, carrying the Good News with him.

Each one of the original band of twelve Disciples who would soon become Apostles met a martyr’s death[3]. But even that possibility couldn’t shake their steadfast adherence to the truth that they had witnessed God’s power to preserve them for an eternity in God’s presence.

Today, proof of the reality of the resurrection event can be seen in altered and changed lives, lives which exhibit in some way or another that God’s power to make all things new has taken up residence in someone’s heart and mind.

So then, we pray for the Holy Spirit’s assistance, in order that we may come to believe and to know that Christ truly rose from the grave, a reality that continues to changes lives today.

AMEN.

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[1]   Remember that, in the Bible, the number eight represents a new beginning. So the event that took place on this day was, for Thomas, a new beginning.

[2]   God’s way of working with people is much the same plan we can see elsewhere in life. For example, a person feels called to pursue some calling in life. The process of being able to fulfill that calling begins with an encounter with the reality of the calling, some way of knowing what the calling involves. Then, the person assesses their own ability to fulfill the calling. Then, the person receives the training and the skills needed (a new chapter in life, if you will).

[3]   Absent one, traditionally John.

The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ (Easter), Year A (2026)

Acts 10:34–43 / Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24 / Colossians 3:1–4 / John 20:1–18

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, April 5, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

“EASTER DAY:  BEWILDERMENT TURNED INTO JOY”

(Homily text: John 20:1–18)

It is the first day of the week, and the eleven disciples have greeted the new day with a restless and troubled night, for they are all looking at each other, and wondering if, and when, there might be a knock on the door of the place where they have been in hiding since last Thursday evening.

The knock they fear is one that might be delivered by the officer in charge of a detail of temple police and soldiers, who have come to arrest them, just as they had done to Jesus four days earlier.

They wait, but there is no knock. They are relieved, but only a little.

They know that the temple authorities wouldn’t hesitate to hand each one of them over to Pilate. They shudder at what would happen next.

The sun is beginning to come up, just a little.

Then, there is a knock on the door. It isn’t a loud one, but it’s still a knock. No one moves. They look at one another, fearful of what will happen next.

Then, there is another knock, followed by Mary Magdalene’s voice. Someone goes and opens the door, but only a little, for they are afraid that those who managed to get rid of Jesus the previous Friday may have used Mary to find their way to the eleven.

The minds of those eleven begin to spin….they knew what happened to those who wound up on Roman crosses: They were dead, completely and totally dead. Jesus was dead.

And now they had no idea what would become of the movement that was shaping around His movement.

Mary is almost out of breath. She says she’s been to the tomb, but it is empty. Peter and John bolt out of the room, seemingly unaware that they could be caught on their way to the tomb by the temple authorities. The confirm what Mary said.

Mary returns to the tomb, and a bit later, she returns and says, “I have seen the Lord!”.

Later on that same day, as ten of the eleven huddle in that locked room[1], and as they continue to wonder about the reports that Jesus had risen from the dead, suddenly the Lord appears in the room. He now is free of the limitations that normal human beings experience, for He comes into their midst, and says, “Do you have anything to eat?”[2] He eats in front of them, and invites them to touch Him.

The disciples’ heads continue to spin: That previous Friday, the Lord had seemed like a downtrodden and abused slave, slowly dying a criminal’s death. The sign that hung above His head was a cruel mockery, that sign that said, “The King of the Jews”. There is no glory for this king, only a downward movement into the depths of despair.

It had been quite a week for those first followers of Jesus: He had been hailed as the son of David eight days earlier. But on Thursday evening, He had been betrayed by Judas, and in a few short hours, had been convicted and sentenced to death by Pilate. The week had begun on a high note, but on Friday, it couldn’t have gotten any lower.

The highs and the lows that had happened that week seemed like some out-of-control emotional roller coaster.

Now, on that first day of the week, the eighth day, the Lord’s appearance among His chosen disciples confirms God’s power to create and to re-create. Christ is alive!. Death and hell have been conquered. Satan has been defeated.

The God who raised Jesus from the dead draws back the veil of his nature, showing us that God is one who seeks to love us, to serve us, and to lead us, redeem us, and renew us. All of these divine qualities inform one another.

This is, my friends, the divine mystery: That God is a God of love and mercy, a God of service and of servanthood, but also God of all power, might, majesty and awe.

That such a God would want to be in a personal, intense and loving relationship with each one of us, is another part of that divine and wonderful mystery.

Thanks be to God.

AMEN.

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[1]   Remember that John tells us that Thomas was absent on Easter Sunday.

[2]   Luke 24:41 

Good Friday, Year A (2026)

Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 / Hebrews 10:16–25 / John 18:1 – 19:42

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Good Friday, April 3, 2026, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“MAKING SENSE OF GOOD FRIDAY”

(Homily texts: Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 & John 18:1 – 19:42)

Since the beginning of Holy Week last Sunday, Palm Sunday, we’ve been looking at the events that took place during this most holy time of the year from the perspective of the ways in which our Lord Jesus Christ undertook to be a servant to all, and yet, to be Lord of all.

Now that we’ve arrived at Good Friday, this perspective will serve us well, as we examine our Lord’s death on a Roman cross. For it is in this sort of a death that we see the Lord’s self-emptying love for humanity. And yet, His lordship is also apparent (in more than just the posting of the sign which was placed above His head on the top of the cross, that sign which proclaimed “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”).

In truth, we cannot count the importance of the Good Friday events without keeping the Easter reality in view, for the events of Good Friday weren’t in that day time and place, all that unusual (victims dying on Roman crosses probably happened quite regularly…it’s even possible to imagine that there may have been regularly-scheduled days for crucifixions to take place). It is the Easter event that makes Good Friday important. The reverse is also true: It is the Good Friday event that makes the Easter event important.

That said, let’s attempt to keep our focus on the Good Friday sequence, and try not look ahead to Easter.

How, then, do we make sense of what happened to our Lord on Good Friday? What makes His death so important (and different from all other deaths of victims on Roman crosses)?

For answers to this question, I think we need to turn to theology to understand what happened to the relationship of God to humankind as the Lord’s lifeblood ebbed away.

Theology (which is, essentially, the study of God’s nature, and God’s interaction with human beings) can shed some light on the importance of Jesus’ death, and the benefits that flow from that death.

With this understanding in mind, let’s consider some of the ways in which the Christian faith has come to understand Good Friday in all of its importance, and in many of the ways in which its ramifications continue to reverberate in our hearts and minds today.

Here are some of the ways Christians have come to regard the importance of Jesus’ death:

Ransom: This is a view that is supported by Holy Scripture, for the word “ransom” appears in the New Testament in connection with Jesus’ sacrifice. (See Matthew 2028, Mark 10:45 and I Corinthians 6:20.)

These days, most people are familiar with the word “ransom” in connection with the word “ransomware”, which is a malicious attack on a computer system whereby someone manages to infect and corrupt a computer system. To free up the system, the attacker demands payment for the system to be unlocked.

In a similar way, Jesus’ death pays the price needed in order to free humanity from bondage to sin.[1]

Jesus’ death as an example:  This approach maintains that Jesus’ willingness to undergo such a horrific death shows us, by example, what true servanthood looks like.[2] (See I Peter 2:21 and I John 2:6 for scriptural support for this approach.)

Jesus’ death as the supreme example of God’s love:  Perhaps stemming from some of the Lord’s comments about the depth of love He has for those who come to Him in faith, this view understands Jesus’ death as the supreme example of the sort of love God has for each of us.[3] (Biblical references which support this view include Romans 5:8, II Corinthians 5:17–19, Philippians 2:5–11 and Colossians 4:24.)

The Penal Substitution Theory: This view maintains that each of us, as sinners, are required to pay the price for our sin. But we have nothing with which to pay the penalty. In our place, Jesus takes up and bears our sins on the cross, paying the penalty that was ours to pay. The Lord is able to do this because He is without sin, and is – therefore – free of the lack of resources with which to pay the penalty that is ours to bear.

A good example of this is the illustration of a person who is brought before a court. The judge pronounces the sentence and the amount of the fine. But the guilty person says they have nothing with which to pay the fine. So the judge steps down from the bench, removes his/her robe, and pays the fine for the convicted person.[4] Our Old Testament reading from Isaiah 52 supports this view.

(Additional scriptural support for this approach may be found in John 11:50-52, Romans 5:8–9, Titus 2:14 and I Peter 3:18.)

Human sin dishonors God, Jesus restores God’s rightful honor:  A view that came into prominence with St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury (1033 – 1109), reflects the feudal society in which he lived. This understanding maintains that human rebelliousness dishonors God. Jesus’ death acknowledges this dishonor and restores a rightful relationship between God and humankind. (Biblical support for this view may be found in John 10:18.)

The examples given here aren’t the only understandings that have come to acceptance as the Church’s life continues through time.

A question which might linger in our own understanding, given the times in which we live, might be to ascertain which of the views outlined above would gain acceptance among people today, and especially among non-believers. My guess would be that many, if not most, people might say that Christ’s example of servanthood, and the example of His love, would be the most widely accepted views.

As we go about sharing the Good News (Gospel) of God in Christ with others, and especially with those we know who have not yet come to faith, it might be good for us to remember what meaning would resonate most readily with others as we share that Good News.

AMEN.

 

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[1] The third century theologian, Origen (c.285 – c.253 AD), maintained this view.

[2]   Peter Abelard (1079 – 1142) was a key proponent of this view.

[3]   Peter Abelard also maintained this view, which, I think, is somewhat like the view that Jesus’ death is the best example we have of servanthood in action.

[4]   The sixteenth century reformer John Calvin (1509 – 1564) maintained this view. 

Maundy Thursday, Year A (2026)

Exodus 12:1–14 / Psalm 116:1–2, 12–19 / I Corinthians 11:23–26 / John 13:1–17, 31b–35

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Thursday, April 2, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

 

“THE LORD WHO LEADS, ALSO SERVES”

(Homily text: John 13:1–17, 31b–35)

In this Holy Week, 2026, we’re looking at the major events that took place as Jesus made His way into Holy City of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and then as the Last Supper took place on Maundy Thursday, and as the Lord dies on Good Friday, and then as He rises from the dead on Easter Sunday; from the perspective of the ways in which our Lord Jesus Christ leads us, but also serves us.

Let’s retrace our steps by returning to the events of Palm Sunday.

On that day, we remarked earlier this week, that the Lord entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. No, not a white horse with sword held high, but on a donkey. A donkey – then as now – isn’t regarded as being a creature with much of a high estimation. Donkeys are working animals, used to carrying things. The manner of the Lord’s entry into the Holy City sets the stage (it seems to me) of the servanthood nature of His work for us and among us. But then, last Sunday, we also noted the importance of the greeting that awaited the Lord as He rode along the way into the city. The crowds shouted, “Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord”. Notice that the reference to Jesus as the son of David carries with it royal overtones, ones harkening back to the glorious days of King David, 1,000 years earlier. In that way, the crowds affirm (it seems to me) Jesus’ leadership.

Now, with the arrival of Maundy Thursday, we are ready to look at the account of the events that took place at the Last Supper, as we read them in John’s Gospel account.

(John, alone among the Gospel writers, reports on Jesus’ washing of the feet of His disciples. John doesn’t narrate the institution of the Lord’s Supper, as the other writers do, his interests lie elsewhere.)

The significance of the washing of feet might escape our notice, unless we remember how important that action was in the ancient world. The roads of the day, for the most part, were dirt. They were dusty in the dry seasons. Moreover, most people wore sandals of some sort, not shoes. So it was that their feet got dirty. Washing them was a task that was the business of slaves or of servants.[1]

For the Lord to remove His outer garments, and to wrap a towel around Himself, in order to wash His disciples’ feet, was an affront to the usual expectations of the society of the day. We can see this in Peter’s reaction to the Lord’s plan to wash his feet.

Washing feet was a lowly task. One reserved for persons who had either never had their own freedom, or who had lost it.[2]  If the foot-washer wasn’t a slave, but was a servant, we can still see that foot washing was reserved for persons for whom there were very limited possibilities in life. Such persons were at the bottom of the social pecking order.

Jesus places Himself among this bunch of people, somewhere near – or at – the bottom.

But then, it is also the Lord who institutes the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, the Mass.

This holy meal supported the Lord’s disciples in that Passover meal, from which the Christian holy meal came forth.

The Lord continues to lead, but also to support, uphold and serve His disciples, in ages past and still today, with His presence in the bread and in the wine.

For to Christian believers, the Lord’s Supper reminds us of the Lord’s suffering and death (the celebration of the Eucharist is – at its heart – a bloodless sacrifice). For we believe and maintain that this holy meal is much more than a simple memorial of what the Lord did, and what He accomplished, in His death on Good Friday. No, for such Christian believers, the Eucharist means that the Lord is really present[3] in the bread and wine. We needn’t understand such a thing totally. The efficacious effects and benefits of this Sacrament aren’t dependent upon our ability to completely understand and grasp what’s going on as the Sacrament is celebrated and received. The Lord has taken care of the meaning, and also the blessing, of His presence among us and within us.

Thank you, therefore, gracious Lord, for leading us into this eternal and ongoing gift, the gift of your very self. Thank you, as well, for supporting and uplifting us, as you serve those who love you and claim you as Lord and Savior.

AMEN.

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[1]   The Greek word we find in the New Testament, doulos, can mean either slave, or servant.

[2]   A Roman citizen could lose their citizenship if they’d been captured by bandits and were sold into slavery.

[3]   The idea that the Lord is present in the elements of the Holy Communion, or – as it is often characterized – in, under, around and through the bread and the wine, is often known as the Real Presence of the Lord. It is also known by a technical term, Consubstantiation.