When we pray the Lord's prayer, and we come to the 3rd petition, "Thy will be done" we say, "On earth as it is in heaven."

We could very easily say that ending phrase after the first two petitions. I'll show you. After the intro, "Our Father, who art in heaven," we could then say, "Hallowed be Thy name--on earth as it is in heaven. Thy kingdom come--on earth as it is in heaven. Thy will be done--on earth as it is in heaven." Each one of them is requesting that what happens in heaven would also happen here on earth. God's name is already holy in heaven. We want it to be holy among us. His kingdom is in heaven, we want to see it come to us here on earth. His will is done in heaven; we want to see it done here on earth.

It should be easy to see why we would want to see these things happen on earth as it happens in heaven, because if it didn't...we wouldn't get anything out of it. It makes sense, doesn't it? All kinds of wonderful things could be happening in heaven, but what difference would it make if it had no impact on earth?

We would have this huge gap. Heaven and earth would be completely separated, and nothing that happened in either place would have any impact on the other. Nothing that happened on earth would make any difference in heaven. Nothing that happened in heaven, would make any difference on earth. It would be kind of sad wouldn't it?

I suppose that is what happened after Adam and Eve's sin. It's almost like the glories of heaven fled from the earth. They bit the fruit and there was a huge sucking sound as heaven flew away from the earth and a huge gap appeared. Almost like those movies where you see an earthquake, and where you saw two people standing together, when the earthquake is done, one person is one side and the other person on the other, and there is a huge yawning gap between them. That's what happened between earth and heaven. A huge gap appeared.

Actually, it's bridging this gap which is what the Bible is all about. We saw it in the Old-Testament lesson. It's the account we call Jacob's ladder. Jacob falls asleep and has a dream. In his dream he sees a ladder or a stairway reaching from earth to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending on it. There, with His feet on the ground, the bottom of the stairway, is the Messiah. He stands on the earth and reaches up, bridging the gap between earth and heaven.

If it wasn't clear what Jacob's dream was all about, Jesus makes it clear when some of His first disciples start following Him. "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." Aha! That's what that staircase was all about--It was Jesus, Jesus the bridge between earth and heaven; the one who can make sure what happens on earth can happen in heaven.

Which was the problem these scribes had when Jesus told this paralyzed man his sins were forgiven. "What?! How dare He! Who does He think He is? No one can do what He just did. No one can forgive sins, but God, and that only happens in heaven.

I have a name for the scribes' theology. It's not a Biblical name, and if I were to want to preach this sermon a couple years from now, it probably wouldn't make any sense, but right now it does. It's Las Vegas Theology. You know what they say about Las Vegas--"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." They would say, "What happens in heaven, stays in heaven." I think I may have said this before in a sermon, but because the Las Vegas advertising campaign probably won't go on forever, and because it's incredibly fitting, I need to get some mileage out of it. "What happens in heaven stays in heaven."

"Hey, you can't say that," those scribes would say. "What happens in heaven stays in heaven. He may be forgiven, but you can't bring it down to earth."

But here's the problem: O.K. so I'm forgiven in heaven. God forgives me. That's wonderful. How do I know?

What do people have so they can know? I suppose they would go by a feeling. They may speak very convincingly about it. "I know I am forgiven." Really? How do you know? I feel it.

On the other hand, they might say, "God says it." Well, at least, now, they are getting closer. When did He say it? When did He say He forgave you? Some might say, "He said it when Jesus rose from the dead." That's not bad. That's not half bad. In fact, that's pretty good. When Jesus rose from the dead, it signaled that Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient for us, and we are forgiven.

The angel at the tomb said, "Tell the disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee." Peter was looking for forgiveness after betraying Jesus in the courtyard, acting like he didn't know Him. He was feeling like scum for it. The announcement of the resurrection said to Peter, "Your sins are taken away. You are forgiven." Wonderful! This was Peter's absolution, until He was given further absolution.

Is this all the absolution he was given? Is this all the absolution we are given? That's what the scribes would say. Would this be enough? Would it be enough for us to just simply hear God say, "Jesus rose from the dead; this means you are forgiven?" I suppose it would be, if that was all the Lord chose to gave. If the Lord thought that would be enough, it would be enough. But He knew better. The announcement might be made in heaven, but He knows we need for it to be made on earth. He knows we need to hear it regularly. He doesn't want that stupid Las Vegas theology.

But those scribes would want it that way. That's the way they saw it. What happens in heaven stays in heaven. End of story. The scribes would blow up the bridge between earth and heaven--and so would we.

Oh, we like the idea of Jesus bridging earth and heaven. We like that Jesus is the way to heaven, the way to the Father. I should add, "The only way to the Father," as He Himself says. But we don't tend to see it as going beyond Jesus' death and resurrection. The bridge was built way back around 33 A.D. and if we want to take advantage of it, we have to go back to that period of time.

That's kind of hard to do. We have to put ourselves back at Calvary and meditate on what He did, and then in the Garden Tomb to remember His resurrection. Everything is going on really in our minds. We can say it's in our hearts, but it's still just a mental activity, and not what God would have us do. It happened in heaven, and we have to get ourselves up there or back there to the tomb. This is why a lot of us resort to saying, "I know God forgives me, because I just know it."

Again, if that was all we needed, then that's all God would have given, but He didn't. He makes what happened in heaven, happen here on earth, and what happens on earth, happen in heaven.

This is what St. Paul was talking about when he wrote to the Romans. "Who will ascend into heaven? (That is to bring Christ down) or "Who will descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up). Wait. We don't need to do either one. He has already bridged the gap. He goes on, "But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart." The Word is the bridge. And that Word is here on earth.

We have that Word with us in several different forms, the means of Grace. Baptism, for most of us, is the very first way that Word is brought to us. With that Word we are told the Lord has adopted us as His children. It's decided in heaven, but then it takes place on earth. "Now you are mine," He says. We are also given forgiveness in the absolution. Our loving Lord says in heaven, "I forgive my dear children, for all their sins against me, for Jesus' sake. Jesus paid the price, there is now no condemnation against them." But He doesn't leave it there. He says it to us here on earth through your pastor or even another Christian, "I forgive you for Jesus' sake." Not "I have already forgiven you. This is just a reminder," but "I forgive you, now." The same with His Supper. We are given forgiveness in this also. The pronouncement made in heaven is made on earth and sealed to us with His body and blood. The very elements that made the forgiveness possible, and now the very elements that reside in heaven, are brought here to earth. The flesh and blood of the very lamb that the angels and saints are falling down prostrate before, is brought here on earth, and in it we are given forgiveness.

I've said this before--I know I have--but I'll say it again and I'll warn you now, I'll say it yet again. If people were to realize what is happening here in our worship, the wonderful way God comes to us and speaks to us Himself these amazing words of love, I really don't think we would be able to accommodate all the people who at least would be checking us out, if not staying. I don't hear a whole lot of other churches talking the way God does and how He wants us to talk.

I mean, I think it's pretty clear when Jesus says to the disciples, "Whoever sins you forgive, they are forgiven. And whoever sins you retain, they are retained." This is what inspired what is said in our catechism, when we are given the explanation for the Office of the Keys, "When the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, it is as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself." And in the section on Confession, when we talk about the two parts of confession. After we confess our sins, we then, quote, "receive absolution, that is the forgiveness of sins, not doubting but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven."

But this is not that easy to believe. In fact, it's pretty tough. It's a whole lot easier to believe that God forgives us, and we know it because we feel it. This is why we look for that feeling when we come to worship. "I need to know that God was here. I need to know that I was forgiven. I won't know it, though, until I feel it."

We believe this is what God does, because it is a whole lot easier to believe. Never mind, He chewed out the scribes for questioning what happened in heaven was made to happen on earth. It's a lot easier to believe we are forgiven because we feel it. Never mind that the Lord Himself says, "I give forgiveness to you here on earth, you don't need to ascend into heaven to get it, or go back to my grave to find it." Never mind what He says, since it's easier to believe like the scribes did--it happened in heaven, and I just believe it.

In fact, I find people who get away from regular worship, may actually increase in their faith. Doesn't that sound strange? How could their faith grow when they disconnect themselves from the Word and the Sacraments? Easy. Their faith in the wrong thing grows. Their faith in what is actually a lie is what is growing. They believe what is not true, but they believe it more and more firmly. They believe this lie because it is more natural. Martin Luther when he preached on this text back in 1533 said this, "We who have the Word at times do not believe and trust as firmly as those who don't have the Word. When the Word is absent, we have faith galore; but when we have the Word, it is only with great difficulty that we ward off unbelief."

It's not easy to believe that God is actually here. It's not easy to believe when the words of absolution are spoken, God has spoken. It's not easy to believe this is not just a symbolic meal, but rather the actual body and blood of Christ under the bread and wine. It's not easy, so unbelief in this Word is more natural. Whereas, believing this is only a symbol of His body and blood, that God has said in heaven we are forgiven, but not really here on earth, this is easier. To believe that another human, a fellow sinner, could speak on God's behalf, tests us to the limits.

But that's the whole point of this reading. He is here. He does speak. We actually are given, what we have so much trouble believing is true. Jesus heals the man to prove He had this authority. He heals Him to show He has brought this authority to earth, and He gives it to be used here on earth. That's why the people glorified God, because He had given this authority to men. Yes, this is just what we need. If we didn't, He wouldn't have given it. But He has, and He gives it regularly, and you and I, enjoy this gift, here on earth, just like it is in heaven.

AMEN