On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, a sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever.

When we speak of victory, we usually understand it as defeating an opponent. We use the word to describe winning a contest- whether the contest is of little consequence or of great importance. However as the contest increases the reference we use for our adversary changes from “opponents” to “enemies” and “contest” becomes a “battles” and “wars”.

We’d like to think that our enemy is clearly known to us and the objectives that define victory are clear, but in these last days our enemies are not always so clear and even the terms of victory may appear clouded. We’d like to have victory over our enemies, but we don’t always know what a clear victory looks like.

In Tom Brokaw’s book The Greatest Generation he wrote of a time when there were clear enemies and clear victories. There was little doubt during World War II who we were fighting against and why. The Allies were locked in a life and death struggle with the Axis. There was no confusion as to who won this war. Formal surrenders from all the Axis nations clearly and unequivocally declared the Allies the winners, the victors. When the victory had been won there were parades and celebrations, V-E day and V-J Day.

But times are different now. The enemies may at times be clear but the victories are not so clear. In the early 90’s the United States formed an international coalition to respond to the invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The enemy was clear: the nation under the leadership of Saddam Hussein. With overwhelming firepower, technology, and skilled troops, the coalition routed the Iraqi military in lopsided victories in battle after battle. Yet, the overall victory remained unclear. Yes, we liberated Kuwait, but Saddam Hussein stayed in power. We thought his own people would overthrow him but they didn’t. The victory became clouded and smeared. The coalition forces had to begin supervising enforced blockades, embargoes, and “no-fly zones” as Saddam Hussein began to rebuild his military and rattle his saber again.

Now we are in a time when the enemy isn’t really clear and victory even more unclear. Several years ago we entered into a war on terrorism but the enemies have been hard to identify and get a handle on. Shortly after sweeping across Iraq it became apparent that we are fighting an often unknown enemy and we can’t say when this war will be over or what a victory will look like.

In our personal lives we may experience this same confusion about the enemy and about real victory. We need clarity on who the enemy is and what the victory is all about if we are to merge victorious, but like the war on terrorism, we struggle with understanding who our real enemies are and what it takes to win against them.

One enemy is sin. And this one is crafty for we have been kidnapped and pressed into his service since before birth - an empty way of life handed down to us by our forefathers. Truly I was sinful from birth, sinful from the time when my mother conceived me. (Ps 51.5) Sin corrupts us, turning us against God. Listening to the general of sin and death, we unwittingly fight against God.

Our sinfulness leads us to war against each other often using relationships with others to get what we want rather than looking to serve others unselfishly. We come to see others as adversaries and enemies and it becomes a “dog eat dog battle,” a “survival of the fittest.” We horde resources and exploit others. We come to think of victory as being at the center of our world and at the top of our heap. We scorn the true God’s command to have no other gods before Him and we make gods of all manner of things, especially ourselves.

Health issues can lead us to further declare God our enemy. We may blame Him for afflicting us or at least not delivering us or those we love from afflictions. We may go to war with Him if the healing doesn’t come as we expect. We may see victory as nothing less than a full recovery to good health.

The general of evil whispers to us that sorrow, unfairness, hard times and the like are thrust upon us by an uncaring God. He whispers to us - can’t you see who the enemy is: if God loved you would He leave you to suffer so? In our sinfulness we come to see God as the enemy.

And then there is the even greater enemy, death, especially death of a loved one or someone we know. Their death will one day be our death. Some begin to panic realizing our time here is short charging around aimlessly beating the air trying to stuff as much living into what days one might have. Death is allied with sin and fear. Truly death is our greatest enemy, and death as our lesson declares is the shroud that enfolds all peoples, a sheet that covers all nations.

As bad as sin and fear are, death is the greatest of all our enemies. We can have reasonable or tolerable relationships, enough resources to get by, passable health for the most part and even be blessed to skirt around most of the unpleasantries of life, we can even delude ourselves with manmade illusions about what death might be like. But not even these help, for death and uncertainty hang over us like a pall. It is certain victory over death that we ultimately need. We need a clear victory, not an opinion, not a vague manmade hope but clear and decisive victory.

Our Triune God is the good general. He is an excellent tactician. He knows what battles must be fought first, what victories must be won so that the war can be ended. The greatest enemy is clear: it is death. Death that came into the world with sin yet because of our fallen nature we are trapped in sin. Because of sin we will die. Clearly sin and death were waging war against us and winning. A clear and decisive victory was needed. That battle was fought at the cross. There Jesus defeated sin by His atoning sacrifice for us.

The battle was costly for He gave up His life to save ours. He offered himself as the spotless perfect sacrifice. He died the death that all sinners deserved. With the words, It is finished! The battle was won! The shroud, the sheet that could cover us was taken from us, but it was wrapped on Him. A victory for us, yes, but it didn’t seem so clear. Our Jesus, our general, was now dead and placed in a tomb.

We hear of the confusion over the victory from the women at the Easter tomb. A dead Savior didn’t seem like much of a victory. Even today the victory may seem unclear when we see a loved one die, when we come face to face with death ourselves. We become confused about this victory that the church proclaims. We can still see the enemy of sin at work, too, in crime, hatred, immorality, and crumbling values tearing apart our society. We find jealousy, dissension, factions and harmful gossip even at work among us. How can a defeated enemy be so active and effective if it is really defeated?

Let God assure you that the victory over sin was won at the cross. We hear the words of victory in the dying gasp, It is finished! We share in that victory, we are given the fruits of that victory in the words of our Savior, Forgive them, father they know not what they do. Truly, truly our sins are forgiven even those of fighting for the enemy.

Yet where O, where is the clear victory over death? The One who was to be our victor is entombed. But that is not true! The clear victory is in the empty tomb. It is the empty tomb that shouts the victory! It is the clear evidence that death cannot hold Him and will not hold those who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior. He has emptied the shroud that once loomed menacingly before us. He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures and…He appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time.(1st Cor 15.4-8) If He had not been raised then we’d still be in our sins and our faith would be futile but He did indeed rise, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1st Cor 15.17-22) The victory over death is given us in the empty tomb. We hear in the Words of Jesus for He rightfully proclaims I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though He dies; and whoever who lives and believes in Me will never die. In the empty tomb we have the promise of life to life.

Christ has achieved a clear and decisive victory for us. He shares that victory with us in our baptism. For we were united to Him in our baptism… buried with him… into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life!

We share in that victory when we come to Lord’s Supper. There we gather around and receive the very body and blood of our Lord and Savior in, with, and under the bread and wine. In that meal is the forgiveness of sin and where there is forgiveness there is life and salvation.

Despite these victories we find ourselves still living for a time on the battlefield. Even though defeated, the evil general continues to mount a guerrilla campaign to discourage us. How are we to live day to day? “Oh, most certainly Pastor I believe in the hope of heaven one day but how do I live this one hard week, survive this oppressive day? How do I persevere during this trial, hold up under this unfairness? I am convinced it is by the Word, by the sacraments, and by fellowship with the body of believers. Daily we must be in the Word being reminded of God’s love, sacrifice, and victory for us. Be careful, the enemy will want to distract you or stuff up your ears taking God’s Word from you. We must make regular use of the sacraments: the Lord’s Supper was given to us for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith. The baptismal font is a place to which we should return to be reminded of all the promises made to us there: promises of forgiveness, adoption and outpouring of the Spirit to dwell within us. And most assuredly we need fellowship. We need the company of believers so that the evil one not isolate us, and if one is cut off from us we must go to them. Like the marines we should leave no one behind. We must look around for who is missing and go to them as we would have them come for us.

All around us are people who need to hear of the clear victories over sin and death. Like us they need to hear of our victor, Jesus and all He has done to save all of us. All need to hear again and again of what He did by His life, death, and resurrection. In the telling and retelling we will remain in the victory unto life everlasting.

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed.

Amen.