Exaudi (Easter 7), 2025
Rev. Thomas Van Hemert
Exaudi
St. John 15:26-16:4
June 1, 2025
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The reason that Jesus told the Apostles all of this in the Gospel reading is twofold. He tells them that they will be hated by the world because the world hated Him first. They hate His Gospel. So also, do they hate His Law. Nothing has changed, up until the present day. Since the Apostles are not of the world, they will be hated, persecuted, and put out of the synagogues, for preaching the Gospel. And for that—for preaching the truth: that God in Christ Jesus alone saves sinners by His death on the cross and by His glorious resurrection—they will be killed. He does not say, “If whoever kills you…” He says, “The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering a service to God.”
He does not tell them this in order that they might avoid it, that they might avoid pain and suffering, that He’s giving them a chance get out now and jump ship before it’s too late. The first reason He tells them this is so that they would not fall away when things seem bleak and when suffering comes their way.
The second reason Jesus tells them all of this, is that in remembering His words, they would not fall away and that they would receive comfort in the midst of their sorrow and suffering. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.
Remember. As this Eastertide concludes, we continue to remember the joy of the Resurrection. Remember the confidence you have in the risen Lord. Remember, also, the warnings He gave, “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering a service to God.” And He tells us, “They might put you out of your jobs; you will be shamed in the public square, on TV, on social media, in all forms of your life because you are a Christian. You will suffer because of your faith.” But just as the Apostles all faced this adversity with faith from the Spirit who brought to remembrance all that Jesus said to them, so do we. We remember the words of Christ.
Memory is a funny thing. It comes and it goes. We have no memory of when we were a baby. Quite a few people lose their memory in the later years of their lives. Memory comes and it goes. The smallest thing—the quietest sound, the faintest smell, a familiar touch—all can bring back a flood of memories. Painful memories resurface when you don’t want them to. Cherished memories slip away far too easily. From the moment we are conceived our bodies and minds begin to fail us. We try to remember. But memory fails.
Jesus encourages the Apostles to remember these words so that they might face their own fiery trials with steadfast and immovable faith. Remember. It is not a strange thing to experience troubles in this world. And so also we would do well to remember that nothing has befallen you that is not common to man. The world has not known the Father. And so they don’t know Him whom the Father has sent. They do not know the Son. But you know Him. The Apostles were insulted for the name of Christ and so also will you. You are a Christian. Christians are despised by the world. We do not live in a Christian nation. No matter how much we would like to pretend we do and how much we revel in and remember the memory of the so called “Glory Days.”
Since Jesus ascended, the devil has taken every opportunity to convince this fallen world that the Savior is gone for good. Every generation that has ever lived has found some tragedy, some disaster, to identify as proof, that God no longer remembers His creation; that He has simply stepped back and allowed sin to run its course. Now certainly, God does punish evil with evil. The tragedies and disasters that befall us are all signs and warnings for us that we might repent.
We acknowledge what the Prophet Isaiah recorded, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” We don’t understand why God allows these things—fires, floods, earthquakes, plane crashes, terrorist attacks—to happen. We are prone to forgetting that He is in complete control. We are prone to forgetting what it means that Christ has ascended to the right hand of the Father. It means that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. And in His unsearchable wisdom, God has many great catastrophes to befall humanity. We are not in control. In His unsearchable wisdom, God allowed the apostles to be put out of the synagogues. He allowed them to be put to death. And in His wisdom, He allows bad things to happen to those of His Church. Remember. Do not be surprised as though something strange were happening to you. For nothing has befallen you that is not common to man. Remember this.
And remember this: God remembers you. He sent His Son to redeem you, not with God or silver but with His holy and precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and death. He sent His holy Apostles to witness of His salvation. He sends His Spirit to call, gather, and enlighten even you in the one, true faith.
In His remembrance of you, He gives you ways to remember Him. You’re surrounded by them. We enjoy the Mutual Conversation and Consolation of the Brethren. We aren’t alone in this fight. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are with us in the fight. For how can we survive this fight by ourselves? God gives us the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation. The witness of the Apostles preserves this message of Salvation—that God loves you and has promised never to leave you or forsake you. Jesus has promised to send the Comforter. He works through these gifts and through His Church, so that you may remember your God and His love for you.
To be sure, the Scripture passages we have memorized as children have become jumbled. Hymns we once used to know by heart now have missing stanzas. These foundations of faith and confession come and go through the clutter of an overburdened mind. But we still must cling to them, though on our own, we can’t. The Apostles were sent to bear witness—to be killed. To die for the faith. But the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. They gave their witnesses to be martyrs. Their faith is your faith. Their God is our God. As they were steadfast by the grace of God in the face of fiery trials and tribulations, you too may remember the words and promises of God.
The Psalmist writes, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.” The Lord remembers you in the midst of your fiery trials. He remembers you for the sake of His Son. Because you know the Son, you remember His Son. Faith clings to the promises found in Christ, who commanded that you eat and drink in remembrance of Him. Even in His ascension, He makes Himself more present for His Church.
Remember. Thus, St. Paul, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the Word of God is not bound!”
We are all encouraged by the same words of the angels to the disciples. “Why do you stand gazing into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.” Remember this. You are not alone. You are not left behind as orphans. You are not without hope. For as your Lord ascended to the right hand of the Father, even so, He rules and guides all things. He remembers you. He causes you to remember Him. Your perfect memory doesn’t matter. The alzheimer’s patient, whose memory was lost years ago still has faith. Because the Word of God transcends our fallen memories. Christ comes again and again in His Word and His Supper to be with you, to remind you that you are His. And that He will come again with glory. His kingdom shall have no end.
In +Jesus’ name.
