Rogate 2021

Rev. Thomas Van Hemert

St. John 16:23-30

Rogate

May 9, 2021

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

Before the Fall into sin, Adam and Eve freely interacted and spoke directly with God. For God walked among the Garden of Eden with them in the cool of the day. And Adam and Eve were not ashamed. They were holy, without guilt, and without sin. Nothing impeded them from talking directly with God, their Creator.

But things changed quite drastically after they sinned. Once Satan, the deceiver, deceived them, then they were not holy like God, they were guilty, and sinful. A holy God cannot dwell among an unholy people nor can an unholy people dwell among and with a perfect, holy, and divine God. So He cast them out of the Garden of Eden. There, outside the bliss and perfection of Eden, pain is multiplied in childbirth, the ground is cursed with thorns and thistles, and we work and toil by the sweat of our brow. And because Adam and Eve were deceived and sinned against God’s command, we will return to the dust of the ground. This is the curse pronounced to Adam and Eve and thus, it is the curse we live with every day of our lives. We live outside of the Garden of Eden. The same trials and tribulations that befell Adam and Eve because of their sin, are ours to bear as well because of our sin. And because of our unholiness, because of our guilt, and our sin, we are not able to approach God or even worthy of conversation with Him.

But God did not leave mankind to wallow and perish in his sin. Out of great love for us, His desire is that we would be reconciled to Him. In order that mankind would be reconciled to God and that we would be brought back into communion and conversation with Him, He sent forth His Son to be the payment needed to redeem us—to buy us back. By this act of sacrificial love—the Son laying down His life for us—the Father declares us to be holy, without guilt, and without sin.

But at the present time, we look out into the world. Not only that, but we look at ourselves. We are still unholy, guilty. We are still sinful. We know this because people die. “The wages of sin is death,” St. Paul says. We get what we deserve. 

But we also receive what we don’t deserve. Even now, in this midst of a life full of tribulation, full of difficult trials, full of death, we have already been declared holy, without guilt, and without sin. This is what it means to be declared righteous. This is what it means to be justified before God. And this is what it means to be simultaneously a saint and a sinner. Because in this side of glory, on this side of the resurrection, we are both—both a sinner who will die because we sin but also a righteous and loved saint of God, who, when we die, will come to heaven and await the resurrection of our bodies to live with God and to walk with Him in the cool of the day. And in that life, in the life of the world to come, we will be perfectly holy, guiltless, and sinless.

Now what does this have to do with prayer?

This Sunday is called Rogate Sunday. Rogate means “pray” or “ask.” It comes from Jesus words in the Gospel reading to “Ask anything of the Father in His name.” So we have another command to pray. Of course, we have the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father who art in heaven,” but we also are told and encouraged to pray directly to the Father in Jesus’s own name.

If Jesus did not die in our place and rise again to new life, thus, securing our own resurrections and declaring us righteous, then we could never approach God by ourselves. We are still stained with the stain of Original Sin. Thus, because of our sin, we are not worthy to approach God or even ask things of Him. But Jesus did what His Father asked of Him. He paid the ransom for sinners, not with gold or silver, but with His holy and precious blood and innocent suffering and death. Not only did God send His Son, but He also provided mankind with intercessors throughout the history of the world. An intercessor is someone who intervenes on behalf of another—a go between. Certain men in the Old Testament, such as the prophets, we’re men whom God spoke to and who spoke to God, on behalf of the people. For example, Abraham interceded for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah—he prayed to God to spare the cities if there were any believers left in them. Moses interceded and prayed many times for the people of Israel throughout his life. Moses also went up on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments directly from God so that they would be given to all the people. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Amos, and Malachi are all examples of intercessors who spoke God’s Word to the people of Israel. They interceded for the people by praying to God on their behalf.

The Old Testament Priesthood was also a type of intercession. The Levitical priests would offer sacrifices on behalf of the people. The Israelites would bring the animals, grain, or other things they needed to sacrifice, to the tabernacle or temple and give them to the priests. The priests would then prepare these things for sacrifice and would offer them to God upon the altar. The priests would also burn incense along with offering up prayers on behalf of the people.

But all of that is done away with. We don’t need to offer up animal sacrifice. Jesus has fulfilled the Law perfectly for us. The book of Hebrews speaks of Jesus being our new High Priest. He’s the one who entered once into the Holy Place and offered the one, final, eternal sacrifice—the sacrifice of His own blood. The cross was His altar. There He offered up His body for you and for me. Jesus is our great High Priest. He’s our intercessor. That’s why we pray in His name. We usually say things like “In Jesus’ name” or “Through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord…” That’s why we pray as we do. Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, He will give it to you. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” Jesus is the one who goes between us and the Father. When the Father looks at us, He looks at us through what His Son has done for us. The Father sees the Son. And when He sees the Son, He sees the Son who was crucified but who lives. He sees His perfect, holy, guiltless, and sinless Son and so also, He sees us. Jesus is our intercessor, our High Priest, who brings our prayers to the Father. And the Father desires to hear our prayers.

And so, Jesus gives us the gift of prayer and encourages us to pray to the Father. We have been made to be children of God in Baptism. Because we live in this world, still as unholy, guilty, sinful creatures, Jesus gives us the gift of prayer and encourages us to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. Because when we pray, God hears our prayers and is moved to do things, such as when children ask their own fathers for something. When a child asks his father to do something or to give him something, for example, to take him on a visit to the zoo, his father is moved to do something about it. The answer to that request might be “yes,” to take the child on a trip to the zoo. The request is granted. But then there are times where the father doesn’t give the child what he wants because it would actually be harmful or bad for the child to receive what he’s asking. For example, if they’re both at the zoo and the child asks his father to help him climb down to play with the silverback gorillas and their babies because he wants to hold one. That, of course, would be foolish and bad for the child. But in not granting the request, the child still receives an answer. He receives love and safety from the father who doesn’t want his child to get too close to protective, dangerous animals.  

So also is it the same for us. Jesus encourages us to ask the Father for anything, “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, He will give it to you.” No doubt, Luther knew this verse very well when writing his Small Catechism. “Our Father, who art in heaven.” What does this mean? “With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father.” 

When Jesus says, “Whatever you ask of the Father,” He does not say, “Whatever you ask of my Father.” That’s because we have been reconciled to God in Christ Jesus. Jesus’ Father is our Father. So ask. Ask because you are His dear child. Ask Him for frivolous things such as prosperity, means to purchase a new car. Ask Him that your favorite team might win the big game. These are all fine prayers to pray. But also ask Him for serious things: a cure for cancer, peace in the middle east, a government that respects Christianity and the Biblical understanding of marriage. Ask God to bring an end to orphans and abortion and divorce. Ask God for forgiveness and ask that Jesus would come quickly. Ask Him to end all that is wrong and terrible in the world.

Because in this life we will have tribulation. Jesus promised this. He says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” He doesn’t gloss over the bad things. He doesn’t try to sugarcoat things to sound like a nice guy. He doesn’t try to avoid being a Debby-Downer. He promises that we will have troubles and sadness. But He also promises us an end to all of it and relief. Jesus has overcome the world. He is going to the Father and brings our prayers with Him. The Father loves the Son. He also loves us, who are His children.

We must come to Him in prayer. That’s what Rogate means—ask or pray. Everything that is Christ’s is ours. We will lack nothing. The Father has promised to hear our prayers because we pray in Jesus’ name. Jesus gives us this means of divine communication. He is our mediator, our intercessor. So that even in the midst of this living death, even in this life of trials and tribulation, we may speak with God and our joys may be full.  

In +Jesus’ name.