August 21, 2022 Trinity 10 The Sunday Jesus Weeps & Clears the Temple

Trinity 10
Luke 19:41-48
August 21, 2022

“More Tears & More Prayer”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Jesus was on His way into Jerusalem (this is on Palm Sunday) and He stops to cry bitterly (the word suggests many tears and lamentations like you see people at a funeral and not just one little tear). And He says, “If only you’d known what would give true peace, but you don’t.” He cries for those who don’t believe.

We’re pretty good in this church about praying for people who are physically sick, that is, their physical bodies aren’t well. Most churches are good at that and we absolutely should be. We’re more than happy to pray for people who aren’t members of our church, relatives or members of the community, who are physically sick. Usually it’s cancer but other things as well. For instance, today we’re actually giving thanks for ————–, a pastor a ——-, another church here in town. He said we could take him off our list as he’s doing quite well after a very successful surgery and treatments. We’re also praying for ————, who has cancer.

Now this is, of course, what we should do. Hear me well. We should pray for them and others. But the fact is that both of those men are strong believers in Christ. No illness will separate them from Christ. Their bodies may be sick, but their souls are healthy through faith in Christ.

We Christians are very good about praying for people who are physically sick but which is more dangerous? Sickness of the body or sickness of the soul? Physical illness or spiritual illness? Jesus says, “Don’t fear those who can kill the body but can’t kill the soul.” Where are all of our prayers for souls? For those who don’t believe and know Christ?

Yes, I know we can’t list those names in the bulletin for various reasons. But do you see the point? We’re much better at praying for people’s physical problems and crying tears for them than we ever are at praying for their heart and soul. We need more weeping for them. Weeping as Jesus weeps. In the words of Jesus, they don’t know what makes for peace. In other words, they won’t have peace in this world or the next if they don’t believe in Jesus. I know you all care about that. If we were to put the list together right now of all the people we know who don’t believe in Jesus, we’d have a lot longer list than what’s in the bulletin right now.

We need more tears for them.

Look at the love and care of Jesus for us sinners. Look at His tears. Look how He loves you. He doesn’t want to see any sinner lost. That includes you. Now it’s not only here that He cries. We’re also told that He cried at the grave of His friend Lazarus. And also Hebrews 5:7 tells us that Jesus cried at the cross. “Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.” Loud cries and tears for sinners.

How much do you think the tears of Jesus, the Son of God, are worth? David prays in Psalm 56 that God keep his tears in God’s bottle. If God sees our tears and gathers them, how much more the tears of His very own Son?

The point is that Jesus sheds the tears that you should have shed. You and I ought to shed a whole lot more tears that we ever do at how sinful we truly are. We ought to shed many more tears at how we’ve offended God and hurt other people. Where are the tears?

Yet Jesus sheds them for us. Those tears of Jesus plead for you before God. Those perfect and righteous tears of Jesus are kept in God’s bottle along with His perfect suffering and death. And they pay for all your sin and your lack of tears.

Now look at what Jesus does for you. Why do you believe in Him? One of our faithful members brought this up again at Wednesday Bible study that it’s all by God’s grace that any one of us believes. You’re here today, believing in Jesus, because of Jesus’s tears and prayers for you. And secondly, because family or friends of yours prayed and cried for you as well. I’m here today because Jesus shed His blood and tears for me and because many of my family did as well. And you’re all the same. I believe because of grandparents and parents and many other loved ones who shed tears and prayers for me.

Now it’s our turn also to shed more tears before God for the lost. For those who don’t know and believe in Jesus. Now you may think, “Ah, they’re doing fine though. Yeah, they don’t ever come to Church. Don’t have God’s Word or His Sacrament. But they seem to be doing just fine.” Yeah, that’s always the way it will be. Sudden and unexpected.

Jesus says, “Would that you had known the things that make for peace, but now they’re hidden from your eyes. For your enemies will come and surround you and tear you down to the ground. They won’t leave one stone upon another…total destruction…because you didn’t know the time of your visitation.”

It was sudden and unexpected. If you’re not aware of this history, the city of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed about 40 years after Jesus said those words. 70 AD. The Romans came in, led by some vicious men, and it was brutal. So bad that stories are written in the histories of people eating their own feces and, in one instance at least, even attempting to eat other people. They thought they were fine and secure until they weren’t at all. And Jesus knew it would happen.

If nothing else, we should all realize that death can come for us at any moment. We’re never secure and safe unless we know Jesus. He’s the only thing that brings true peace. Now look around in our world. It’s like the days of Noah. Noah was building the ark because God was sending a flood and everyone went about their business and evil acting like nothing would happen. In 1 Thessalonians Paul says, “While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

Look around today. People are engrossed in things that can’t bring true peace. Engrossed in entertainment—games, feeds, streaming, movies, TV, political theater. We entertain ourselves to death. And we think, “All is well. There’s peace and security.” But there’s not. All these worldly securities will fade away.

We need more tears for our neighbors who don’t know what makes for true peace. Who don’t know what truly makes for a good life. Who are thinking they are safe and secure in the luxuries of this world but are surrounded by the enemy, Satan, and don’t even know their danger. As Jesus cried for us, as other family and friends of ours cried for us, so we need to cry tears to God for those who don’t know the true peace of Jesus.

However, there’s one other thing we need as well. After Jesus wept for them they He went into the Temple in Jerusalem. And what did He find? A place of true peace? No. He said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

If we’re going to shed tears and prayers for people who don’t believe in Jesus, then when God answers our prayers and brings them to church—what will they find here in God’s house? Jesus didn’t find a reverent house of prayer and it angered Him. So not only do we need more tears for the lost, but we also need a prayerful house to receive them here when they come.

I would ask you then to sit and think about these three words for a few minutes here, “house of prayer”. That’s what this house is supposed to be. When someone comes and visits this house, this is what they’re supposed to find. A house of prayer. What does God mean by that?

God’s house should be a house unlike any other place in the world and certainly unlike any other place you go during the week. It’s here that great and holy and mysterious things are happening. God is speaking directly to us in His Word. We are speaking directly to Him in prayer as an assembly. Jesus is coming directly to us under the bread and wine in the holy Sacrament. Saints and angels are joining in worship with us and singing with us.

When someone walks into this house here at Trinity Lutheran, do they say, “This is truly a house of prayer.” Will they find it reverent, peaceful, holy, prayerful, joyful? Will they find us loving to be here? Knowing the words and rhythm of our worship by heart? Loving and caring for one another?

This is what I pray people will find here in the Lord’s house when He brings them here. A true house of prayer. A glorious place unlike any other.

Over the last years the Lord has brought some of you newer members to this house of His—all of you coming from various backgrounds—and I can’t tell you how much I thank God for you. You came here and found a house of prayer. A house where you found the things that make for true peace. A house where you found Jesus. And you’ve become bright lights in our church. The Lord has brought so many good and faithful and prayerful members to us during the years I’ve been here. (Nothing at all to do with me, of course.) But what a blessing! You know how important it is that when someone walks in those doors back there that they find a house of prayer here.

Along with our tears for those who don’t know Jesus, this should also be a front and center concern for us. Faithfulness! Will they come into God’s house here and find a house of prayer? And where can we make that better?

Finally, I’d encourage you all to do two specific things. First, write down the names of your family and friends who don’t know Jesus and believe in Him, who aren’t coming to Church, so that you can pray for them and shed tears for them before God. If you have a prayer list already, then obviously just make sure their names are written down on there. If you don’t have a prayer list, then just keep a list of these names in your Bible or portals of prayer. Pray for them. That’s first.

Second, ask yourself this question, “If God answers my prayer and they come to worship on Sunday morning at 10am, what do I want them to find here? Will they find a house of prayer here? And you may come up with some specific ideas to talk to me about or to any of our Elders about. You may find that you want to serve as an Elder or as a Council member or come to a Voters’ meeting and say, “Hey, have we considered this? Because I think it would make this house of prayer even better.”

Let’s pray.  Lord Jesus, thank you for your tears for us. We weep for those who don’t know you and the things that make for peace. Bring them here to Your house and keep us faithful that they find here a true house of prayer. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.