Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleulia! Our text is the Holy Gospel reading, in particular the last verse. Jesus says, "These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. But take courage-I have conquered the world." (author's translation)

Dear friends in Christ, everyone wants to be on top of the world, in one way or another. Today it's common to try to get to the top through athletic competition. Olympic athletes go for the gold, and national teams strive to conquer the world. Professional sports teams call themselves "world champions" when they win the Super Bowl or World Series. And those who can't compete can still root for their favorites, and fans often feel like they're on top of the world when their team wins.

But even if we aren't competitors ourselves or even concerned about sports, we still long for that feeling of overcoming problems and being on top of the world-which of us doesn't want good health, a loving family, great friends, plenty of money, and peace in our lives?

But what's the reality? Very rarely do we feel "on top of the world," most often we're just fair to middling, and sometimes we're down in the dumps, weighed down by guilt, shame, depression, and sorrow. And this grieves our flesh, which has no use for such troubles.

Yet the difficult tribulations we face in this world shouldn't surprise us. Even though we want to be on top of the world, Jesus says in our Gospel reading how it would go for His disciples in the world: "In the world you have tribulation," He says. So we shouldn't be surprised when we suffer various trials, or even are persecuted by the world, because Jesus said it would be this way. In John 15, He says to us, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:18-20).

As servants of Christ, we will always be at enmity with this world because it is not a good and peaceful place, it's not our home. The world is held in captivity by our #1 enemy, the devil, the evil one, Satan, whom Jesus calls the "ruler of this world" (John 16:11). The devil has brought humanity into bondage to sin and death, and we have all been willing participants in sin as well, so unless we have been snatched out of the grips of this evil world by the grace of Jesus Christ, we would plunge down to hell and eternal punishment along with Satan and all his evil angels and all unbelievers.

But the Good News is that even though the world hates God, He still loves the world, and doesn't want sinful men to perish in hell, so He loves the world this way: by sending His only-begotten Son to take up our human flesh and defeat the devil to conquer this whole sinful world and claim it for God.

Jesus says in our Gospel reading, "These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. But take courage-I have conquered the world."

The things Jesus has spoken to you so that you may have peace are all His Words in the Gospels, and He tells us how He has conquered: He has gone to the cross to die for your sins, in your place, to rescue you from eternal damnation and bring you the victory of everlasting life in heaven. We learned during Holy Week how He would accomplish this victory-by the cross, by suffering for the guilt of the whole world, by His death and burial, by being forsaken of God in your place. Although all of us because of our sinful nature are enemies of God, God shows His love for His enemies in this world by giving up His own Son. In Christ, you have been reconciled to God, at peace with Him, and the "ruler of this world," Satan, has been judged and defeated.

And now this Thursday we celebrate the risen Jesus going to the Father in His Ascension in order to take up His place "on top of the world" at the right hand of God, where He possesses "all authority in heaven and on earth" to exercise on your behalf, and on Pentecost to send the Holy Spirit to bring people to faith in Christ, so that in Christ alone we may have peace.

So the truth is that even though we so often feel defeated by this world, overcome by sin, death, and fear, we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us. St. John writes that "everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world-our Faith. Who is the one who conquers the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5) By Baptism you have been "born of water and the Spirit," born of God, adopted as a child of God and an heir of everlasting life, and so you are victorious in Jesus Christ. You share in Christ's conquering of the world by Baptism and remaining in the Christian Faith. In Christ, you truly are "on top of the world," rising above all sin, death, and sorrow, more than conquerors of this world and its tribulations through Him who loved us.

But even though Jesus has chosen us to belong to Him and not to the world, Jesus doesn't snatch us out of this world. Rather, He leaves us in the world so that we may take up our crosses daily and follow after Him, love and serve our neighbors as ourselves, live according to His Word, and go through the testing and proving of our faith that God has planned for us. And while we have peace in Christ, in this world we experience tribulation as our faith is tested, and as the devil and his evil spirits try to get us to believe that we are defeated and that God has abandoned us.

But even though Jesus has taken up His place "on top of the world" by His ascension and glorification at God's right hand, He has not abandoned us. No, Jesus still remains with His followers in this world every step of the way, as He has promised, "Behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age." "He's by our side upon the plain, with His good gifts and Spirit." So when you are down in the dumps, defeated, struggling in this world, recall His promise to be with you, to forgive and enliven and comfort you. And the most tangible place in the entire world where Jesus comes to be with you to give you peace is right here at this altar, in His very body and blood.

Jesus said, "I have spoken these things to you so that in Me you may have peace." Out there in the world, you will have conflict, but when Christ dwells in you with His true body and blood, then you remain in Him and are given heavenly peace and are truly "on top of the world," lifted up with Christ to God's right hand. St. John wrote, "You are of God, little children, and you have conquered [the devil and all evil spirits], because greater is He who is in you [Jesus] than the one who is in the world [the devil]" (1 John 4:4). As you receive Christ's true body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins, Christ truly is in you, and you conquer the devil, sin, hell, and the whole world.

On Maundy Thursday, I described the Lord's Supper as Christ's "victory feast." I wish there were a good way of showing that victory here during the service. If it wouldn't be disorderly and distracting, it would make a lot of sense for us to walk away from the altar with our hands lifted up in the air shouting "Victory!" because that is what we truly are given in Christ's life-giving body and blood.

My friends, in this world you have tribulation and suffer countless defeats at the hands of the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh. But take courage, for Christ has conquered the world, and with Him dwelling in you, and you dwelling in Him, you truly stand victorious over your foes, "on top of the world." In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

And the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.