Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text on which this morning's message is based comes from our Gospel lesson (John 5: 24-29).

When you made me your vicar two years ago, and then your pastor last year, you Immanuel bestowed on me some new abilities, things I could never do before. I can now stand before two people and say "I now pronounce you man and wife" and what happens? My words actually perform that act. The sounds that come out of my voice actually accomplish what they say. Whenever we all talk in most everyday situations our words don't actually perform that act. Usually when we talk, we are simply trying to describe something (like 'that's a red sweater') or influence somebody ('would you like to buy that red sweater?'). But when I say "I now pronounce you man and wife", I'm not just describing their relationship or trying to influence them to have a better relationship. I am actually changing their relationship at that time WITH MY WORDS. A moment before I spoke they were not married.

A moment after I spoke, they are legally husband and wife. At that moment my WORDS perform, accomplish what they say.

In most other professions people have to use tools to actually "perform" their duties. A carpenter uses a hammer to perform his duties, to build a house. A delivery person uses a van to perform her duties, to deliver a package. A salesperson or manager uses words in his duties, but his words can only persuade, they do not actually perform the duties. The salesperson can't actually say "You're going to buy this TV" and make that sale happen. But when you put me into this office as your pastor, you gave me the privilege to use WORDS as my actual tools in many situations. The words perform the duties. Linguists actually give this a name, its called "performative speech."

Wouldn't it be great if we had performative speech abilities in everything we do? A parent could tell a child "go clean your room" and a power would overcome the child so that they had to go perform that duty. A school child could say "homework, be finished" and it would accomplished for the day. You could tell the neighbors' dog "stop barking" and it would automatically stop. When your car quit running, you could actually say "start running again" and avoid all those tow charges and repair costs. Unfortunately, we don't have performative speech abilities in most things in life. We'd probably misuse them if we did.

But just so you know, we pastors don't hog all the performative speech abilities. We are just one of the few professions with those abilities tied to the work.

But when you say "I promise", you are actually using performative speech. The sounds that come out of your mouth and the action are the same. When you say "I promise" the words perform the activity, the promise. In the same way, when you tell someone "I forgive you", the sounds are performing the activity. When you say, as I hope you can often, "I forgive you", you are performing forgiveness at that moment.

So what does all this discussion about "performative speech" have to do with our text? Listen again to our text ""I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." Talk about performative speech! You can say "I promise" and your speech performs the act. I can say "you're husband and wife" and my speech performs the act. Christ says "Arise from the dead. Arise from the dust" and his speech performs the act. That's heavy-duty performance speech, the kind that you and I all look forward to. That's miraculous performance speech, the kind that all those loved ones we tolled the bell for look forward to as well!

God's Word to us about Christ doesn't just describe Him or influence us. Don't get me wrong, God's Word does describe and does influence, but that is not all it does. The Word of Christ is so powerful it actually performs what it wills and brings life from death. The prophet Ezekiel was instructed to go and preach God's Word to a valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37) and when he did the bones came together and flesh was restored on them and breath was restored to them and they lived again. Now that was performative speech!

But we shouldn't be surprised about how powerful our Lord's strong word is. He has been a "performative" speaker from the beginning. In the beginning (Genesis 1) God created, and out of the formless and emptiness He said "Let there be light" and there was light. Throughout the next 6 days God continued to speak, and there was land and water and vegetation and animals and humans. From the beginning His speech has worked miracles.

God's Word, His performative speech, has worked miracles in our lives. His Word of salvation in Christ Jesus has brought us from spiritual death to spiritual life. We humans don't choose to follow Jesus of our own free will. The Holy Spirit, using the strong Word of God, has worked a miracle in each of us, using the performative speech of God to work faith in us, so that we cross over from death to life.

How did we say it in the creed's meaning (3rd article) "I believe that I cannot believe in my Lord Jesus Christ or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith. He began doing that when we first heard the name of Jesus, whether that was at our Baptism or sometime later. The Holy Spirit continues to preserve us in the true faith, using that same strong performing Word and Sacraments to keep us in the Christ Jesus.

We all have a tendency to suffer from a spiritual form of anorexia. You all remember anorexia, the mental disorder in which someone thinks they are too heavy even when they are bone thin. Their thinking can become so disordered that they can actually starve themselves to death. We all have a tendency toward spiritual anorexia, of not consuming enough of God's spiritual nourishment, his powerful Word and sacrament, to keep us healthy and spiritually vibrant.

When we separate ourselves from that Word, especially for weeks at a time, our souls can become starved and disordered, bone thin even if we don't realize it. God works through his performative speech, but when we choose to ignore or disregard his Word and sacraments, it is possible to drift away from Him and his salvation. This is why I and so many other clergy encourage members to be regular in the church attendance and to be regularly involved with personal and group Bible study. When we encourage attendance, we're not just trying to boost the numbers of our "club meetings", but connect people with God's gifts of his performative Word, the word that gives life. When you encourage fellow members to be regular in attendance, I hope you don't do it because you hope they will "pay their dues" better, but because you love them and recognize their need for the Bread of Life even if they don't. Luther reminds us that the 3rd commandment (Sabbath Day) means that "we should fear and love God, and so we should not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. He said in the preface to His Small Catechism: "It is to be feared that anyone who does not desire to receive the sacrament at least 3-4 times a year despises the sacrament is no Christian, just as he is no Christian who does not hear and believe the Gospel." Luther didn't say "only 3-4 times", but at least 3-4 times and for spiritual strength and renewal many more times than that.

But today we celebrate those people who did hear and believe the Gospel whom the Lord called to be with Him in Paradise at this time. We celebrate those who knew that the Son of God, Jesus Christ had come down from heaven for them, suffered on the cross for them, rose again from the grave for them. We celebrate those who heard His Word and believed that He was sent for their eternal life. They knew that there was nothing good in them, but that He was patient with them, calling them to repentance again and again through His Word. In a few cases, those to whom He calls come to Him just before they die. To others He gives the privilege to live in His grace and peace for a lifetime. To all on whom the Word has worked faith, calling us to spiritual life, we await His performative Word on the Last Day, "when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out." We await that great and glorious day when "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live."

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)