NOT IN VAIN

Because Jesus lives, the promise of eternal life is ours. But what about this life, now, today? Dr. Ryan Tenetti tells how Christ's resurrection gives us hope for the future and motivation here and now. Today, on the Lutheran Hour. I'm Mark Eicher, glad to be with you on this, the third Sunday of Easter. The Lutheran Hour is listener-supported, and for more on that, here's Lutheran Hour speaker, Dr. Michael Ziegler, with a special invitation. God bless you this Easter season as we celebrate Jesus' resurrection. The whole world needs to hear this good news, and we proclaim it every week on the Lutheran Hour, with the help of our financial supporters. Our spring giving campaign begins today, and a $75,000 match can double your generous donation. To help bring this program to listeners nationwide, including those who stream the program online, please consider sending a gift today. You can donate online at lutheranhour.org or call us Monday through Friday at 800-876-9880. The number again, 800-876-9880. And the website is lutheranhour.org slash give. Thank you, and please keep praying for us. Dr. Ryan Tenetti is an assistant professor of practical theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Now, with a message titled, Not in Vain, here is Dr. Tenetti. Hallelujah. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah. Because Jesus lives, our future is assured. Because Jesus lives, the promise of eternal life is ours. Because Jesus lives, we have the assurance that we will be with Christ when we depart from this mortal life, and we have the sure hope that ultimately our bodies will be raised, glorified, and we will dwell with Christ and all the saints in a new creation. Hallelujah indeed. But what about this life, now, today? It's a great comfort to know that our future life is taken care of by the Lord Jesus, but does the resurrection also impact and affect our present life? To be sure, as the Apostle Paul tells us, if it were only for this present life that we hoped in Christ, then we should be pitied. A present tense religion with no future confidence would be very hollow indeed. But what about the opposite? What about a faith that only speaks to the future life, with no care or implication for the present? The Apostle Paul helps answer this question in today's reading from 1 Corinthians.

I'd like to read to you from 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 50 through 58. Paul writes, For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. This is the word of the Lord. Throughout 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul testifies to the promise and the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He speaks first to the fact of the resurrection, then to its necessity, its unfolding, and its character or its nature. And in this final section of the chapter, Paul points up the triumphant, dramatic climax of his entire argument. Or does he? Maybe you picked up on this. After some 57 verses unpacking the meaning and majesty of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the hope that all of us who believe in Him will likewise rise, after all of this profound and persuasive prophecy, Supposed Paul says in verse 58 therefore Therefore that's a significant word But my teachers taught me that whenever you see a therefore in Scripture you ought to ask what it's there for Therefore tells you Paul is about to set out the implications of it all Therefore is the heads-up that you're gonna get the payoff the big takeaway Therefore tells us pay attention. Here's the point So Paul writes Therefore my beloved brothers Be steadfast and movable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain Now, this is a lovely thought a sweet sentiment But at first blush it can look less like the dramatic climax of Paul's argument and more like a disappointing anticlimax

After all this talk of the resurrection you expect him to burst into songs maybe when we've been there 10,000 years Or I anticipate him closing out with one final flourish about the joys and glories of eternity Therefore he might have said and does say in other places. Keep your eyes fully fixed on the future But that's not what Paul says here Instead he turns to talk of toil and labor Rather than rhapsodizing on the pleasures of paradise. He turns our attention to the meaningfulness of our work in the Lord now He says in effect because Jesus lives we ought to keep the shoulder to the wheel in our vocations Because Christ is raised we can be confident that our labor no matter how small or insignificant it may seem has inestimable eternal worth in Christ What might seem at first like an anticlimax is in fact just the message we need How so what makes me say that? Let's think back to the Old Testament the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes is helpful here King Solomon the author of that book is Unflinching and his assessment of our life in this world, especially what it's like apart from knowing God Vanity vanity all is vanity. That's the unforgettable refrain of the book in Itself all is transient temporary even absurd and at one point Solomon turns his attention to our work He writes what has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the Sun? For all his days are full of sorrow and his work is a vexation Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity Solomon looks at his labor and he says if this life is all we've got then what's the point of all our work? Solomon is saying that it's like we're all just making sandcastles by the seashore Some might build grand impressive sandcastles that win the admiration of all the onlookers Others might just build humble little sand huts But all of them will likewise be washed away by the tide of time All that labor is in vain so it can seem Maybe you felt this You're a teacher say Year after year you try to impress upon your students the the value the importance of math or English or biology Sometimes it seems like they get it at least for a moment But then you see the test scores

vanity Or you're in health care a doctor nurse a physician's assistant Again, and again you serve people making bad choices with their health you try to help to heal But more often than not they just don't change vanity Or you're a parent or grandparent You've sought to love your kids raise them right only to see them as adults forget or walk away from all that you've tried to give vanity In these ways and countless others in view of the tide of time the sting of sin and the press of death It can feel like all our work all our toil all our labor is in vain Like it's nothing more than making sandcastles by the seashore that we know will be washed away Not so says the Apostle Paul not so This is the glorious liberating life-affirming significance of his final admonition of 1st Corinthians 15 See when Jesus died was crucified laid in the tomb it looked like the greatest waste of all Here was vanity at its uttermost absurdity Even the Son of God succumbs to the tide of time even Christ Jesus gets wiped out by the grave What hope could there be for any of us? But Jesus did not stay dead hallelujah the great did not have the last word, God the Father raised His Son from the dead and said, I will not let my Holy One see corruption. I will not let His life be lived in vain. He shall be raised incorruptible, imperishable, indomitable, never to die again, and instead to establish an eternal city with rock-solid foundations, a kingdom that has no end. Dear friends, for you who trust in Christ, the resurrected Lord, your life is no sandcastle on the seashore. Instead, you yourself are the holy temple of our Lord, founded on the rock of Jesus' indestructible life. And because He lives, Paul says, our labors carried out in Him, by faith in Him, however

small or insignificant as they may seem, these labors are not in vain. Even more than that, in the eyes of our loving Lord, they are of extraordinary worth, more glorious than you and I could ever know. In his book The Great Divorce, author C.S. Lewis provides an imaginative picture of what this looks like. The book recounts one pilgrim's imaginary fictional field trip from hell to heaven, and at the climax of the story, the pilgrim sees this awe-inspiring parade. He's struck by the majesty and the ceremony, and he can only wonder what hero could prompt such a party. But he thinks he knows, and he whispers to his guide, Is it? Is it? The guide says, No, it's someone you'll have never heard of. Her name on earth was Sarah Smith, and she lived at Golders Green. We quickly learn from the story that fame on earth looks different than fame in heaven. Sarah Smith of Golders Green didn't capture or command any attention in her life on earth. Her name is about as vanilla as it gets. And yet in heaven, a grand procession is held in her honor. Why? Not for anything that we would find especially remarkable. We learn that she treated every child that she met as though they were her own son or daughter, even though she had no kids of her own. We learn that she loved and cared for animals. We learn that she didn't know a stranger, taking every chance to show hospitality. This is all fine and well, but it doesn't justify a parade in heaven, does it? Sarah Smith of Golders Green is an obscure saint if ever there was one. She seems to have done no great things, accomplished no ambitious feats, won no laurels while on earth. But then this is just the point, and the pilgrim's guide explains. It's like when you throw a stone into a pool, he says, and the concentric waves spread out

further and further. Who knows where it will end? Redeemed humanity is still young. It has hardly come to its full strength, but already there is joy enough in the little finger of a great saint such as yonder lady to waken all the dead things of the universe into life. The waves spread out further and further. Who knows where it will end? The story of Sarah Smith of Golders Green reminds us that a meaningful life doesn't have to take place on some grand scale. In fact, more often than not, it will look quite little, as little as a pebble in a pool. But in the eyes of your Lord, those little labors are not for nothing. Because Jesus lives, your future is certain, your eternal destiny is assured. And what's more, because he lives, you can be confident that your present life has meaning and worth in the eyes of God more than you could ever know. And so, dear friends, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for in the Lord your labor is not in vain, for Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah! You're listening to the Lutheran Hour. Go to LutheranHour.org for free online resources, including transcripts and broadcast guides. That's LutheranHour.org. Our recent programs have focused on 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and that text also inspired this next hymn by English hymn writer Christopher Idle, set to an original tune by American composer Philip Magnus. It begins, If Christ had not been raised from death, Our faith would be in vain, Our preaching but a waste of breath, Our sin and guilt remain. But now the Lord is risen indeed, he rules. in earth and heaven. His gospel meets a world of need. In Christ, we are forgiven.

If Christ had not been raised from death, our faith would be in vain. But now the Lord is risen indeed. He rules in earth and heaven. His gospel meets a world of need. In Christ, we are forgiven. If Christ had not been truly raised, His church would live on high. His name should never be praised. His words deserve to die. But now, our great Redeemer lives. Through Him, we are restored. His word endures. His church revives. In Christ, our risen Lord. Once again, here's Dr. Michael Ziegler. Thank you, Mark. I get to visit today with our guest preacher, Reverend Dr. Ryan Tenetti. Thanks for hanging around to chat with us, Ryan. Happy to, thanks. And also, thanks for the message today. I love how you ended with this great picture that C.S. Lewis, it comes from the imagination of C.S. Lewis of this parade in heaven for an obscure saint, Sarah Smith from Golders Green. Who are the Sarah Smiths that you have in your life that you anticipate are going to have this kind of reception from the Lord? Yes, Mike, like you, I'm a pastor. And so it's been my privilege across my years of ministry to see all sorts of Sarah Smiths or Sam Smiths, if you will, these seemingly obscure saints who are by no means obscure to the Lord. But I think I'd be remiss, here we are just a few weeks before Mother's Day, not to mention my own mom and how she has been a quiet saint and someone who has faithfully lived bringing up me and my brother and his wife to my dad. And I've just seen her in so many ways attend to the little things in life and be faithful in it. For years, she worked in a hospital laboratory and it was in the basement. She would carry out her vocation each and every day with joy in her heart, with songs on her lips. And it really was an impact on her co-workers and on those she served because she had that sense of she was doing it for the Lord and not for men. And so she's really a Sarah Smith in my own life. These kinds of examples, they relate to the closing chapter of your recent book that came out, The Quiet Ambition, and you title this concluding chapter, Think Little. Yeah. If we have this grand promise, as you talked about in the message from 1 Corinthians 15, that your labor is not in vain, then why do you conclude with think little? The message in our world so often is think big.

And the reason that is, is because the responsibility is all on your shoulders. But we have a God who has accomplished all things for us already. And so it's liberating for us to recognize in the littleness, the Lord is at work. And we don't have to make much of it. That's his job. We have this freedom to see it with new eyes, resurrection eyes, if you will, because we know that in the Lord, that labor is not in vain. Another image you talk about in the book is from Martin Luther. God uses our work callings like masks that he puts on. Yes. And so it's not so much us, but God who is at work serving. And that's what makes it a big deal. God is at work in and through us, that he uses us. It's our joyous privilege as believers just to walk into what he has already prepared. And so as Luther talks about it, he says, listen, while you are a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker, whatever vocation you might find yourself in, the Lord working in you and through you. And that's where the Lord is able to do good work for you and me. It's in the hustle and bustle, it's in the warp and woof of everyday life that then we're able to serve our neighbor in a concrete way. Again, the book's called The Quiet Ambition. You end with this fictitious story from a TV show called The Bear about a family who runs a restaurant. And Richie, would you share just a bit of that? Well, just to be clear, the show The Bear, which is a really interesting show, it's not a faith-based show or anything like that.

But the character, Richie, is a middle-aged man and he finds himself just kind of lost and adrift. And he has this perspective on his work that it's manual labor, that's menial labor, and it doesn't really matter. He's gotta get his paycheck just so that he can put food on the table. But he has this epiphany. He has an opportunity to help out for a time at a really nice restaurant. The job that he's given is not to be up in the front of the house cooking, doing all the cool, fun stuff in a restaurant. Instead, the job that he's given is to polish forks for eight hours a day. And it finally drives him to the brink of despair and frustration. And he just storms out at one point and his supervisor comes and follows after him. And he says, man, I'm a middle-aged man. Here I am, I'm polishing forks. Is this really what my life is all about? And the other fellow, the character's name is Garrett. Garrett looks at Richie and he says, don't you realize that people, when they come to this restaurant, we have an opportunity to make their day. And if they're willing to give their hard-earned money and devote this time to share with us, the least we can do

is to give them forks without streaks on them. And in that moment, Richie realizes, he changes from a mindset where, okay, I'm just working for myself to instead an attitude of service. For us as believers, we can understand that we are doing work for the sake of others. Indeed, we are polishing forks for the kingdom of God, preparing for that marriage feast that has no end when our Lord Jesus returns. It makes me think of another C.S. Lewis book, The Weight of Glory. And you referenced it at the end of your sermon here too, that when we see people as they are, as God intended them to be, we'll be tempted to worship this person who looked so beat down and decrepit. Like he says, you know, this yonder saint, there's already power and joy in her little finger that could awaken all the dead things of the universe, that that's who we get to serve, these wonderful creatures, people, that God has made in his image. It makes me think of, again, another letter from Paul and his letter to the Romans. He says that we are to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. And I think of that as kind of the renewal of our imagination, in a sense,

that the Holy Spirit is opening our eyes and expanding our vision so that we can see our everyday life, not just in the way that the world would look at it, like, okay, yeah, there's just people who are moving from point A to point B, there's just jobs to be done and we're killing time. Instead, to have this sanctified imagination, this renewed vision on life, that in fact, all of it is sacred and holy because it's carried out under the blessing of God Almighty, seeking to serve and seeing people as God sees them. Eyes like our Lord, who looks at you and me, who looks at our neighbors in love. I really think that it transforms our perspective on everyday life. Amen, thank you for joining us. My pleasure. ♪ It's joyful, these good times are alive ♪ ♪ Awake with sin and sorrow ♪ ♪ Thy love, the crucified, has come to life this morrow ♪ ♪ And Christ, who once was slain, at worst is three-day prison ♪ ♪ Our faith had been in vain, but now has Christ arisen, arisen, arisen ♪ ♪ But now has Christ arisen, arisen, arisen, arisen ♪ ♪ Yes, love has lost its chill since Jesus crossed the river ♪ ♪ Lover of souls, come hither, come hither, come hither, come hither, come hither ♪ ♪ By passing soul deliverer ♪ ♪ And Christ who once was slain ♪ ♪ At first is freed a prisoner ♪ ♪ Our faith hath been in vain ♪

♪ But now has Christ arisen ♪ ♪ Arisen, arisen, but now has Christ arisen ♪ ♪ My flesh he will cherish and for a season slumber ♪ ♪ Till trump from east to west ♪ ♪ Shall wave the dead in number ♪ ♪ And Christ who once was slain at first is freed a prisoner ♪ ♪ Our faith hath been in vain ♪ ♪ But now has Christ arisen, arisen, arisen, but now has Christ arisen ♪ ♪ Arisen ♪ Now Dr. Tenetti invites you to join him in praying the Lord's Prayer. Taught by our Lord and trusting in his promises, we are bold to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Now receive the benediction of our Lord. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you always. Amen. The Lutheran Hour is made possible through the support of faithful listeners like you.

To learn how your prayers and gifts can extend the worldwide outreach of the Lutheran Hour, go to LutheranHour.org. I'm Mark Eicher. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪