The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (Epiphany 4)

(Audio)

Matthew 8:23-27; Romans 8:18-23; Jonah 1:1-17

 

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

Why do bad things happen to good people? You might be surprised to learn that God’s Word does provide an answer to that question, but you’re probably not going to like it. The answer to the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people,” God’s answer to that question, is that there are no good people. Remember the words of St. Paul to the Church at Rome: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and “there is none that is righteous, not even one.” And remember Jesus’ own words to a rich young man who called him good teacher; Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Therefore, instead of asking the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people,” perhaps you should be asking, “Why don’t bad things happen to me continually?” Truly, you shouldn’t wonder why a terrible thing has happened to this person or to that person, but rather why you, who are just as deserving as they, have, by the grace of God, been spared. That’s the true mystery of it all, the mystery of God’s grace in Jesus Christ.

The so-called “Problem of Evil” isn’t really a problem at all when you take God’s Word and your sin seriously. In the beginning there was God, period. God created all things that exist, including humankind, and it was good; in fact, it was very good. There was no evil in God’s very good creation. There was only God, who is good, and the good creation he created. However, God gave us a free will, that is, a will that was free to reject him and his goodness and choose something else, something other – evil. So, why is there evil in the world? It’s not because God created evil, but it is because his free creatures, man and woman, chose to reject God, to rebel against his goodness; it is because God’s free creatures chose evil over good. Because of mankind’s free choice of evil over God’s Word and goodness death entered the world. This was mankind’s choice and doing, not God’s. While it may be incorrect, and certainly unhelpful and unkind, to suggest that any person’s suffering is the direct result of his or her sin, it is not incorrect to say that suffering and death in general are the result of sin in the world, sin and death that came into the world, not by God’s choice, but by man’s. And so, the storms of life often encompass us and threaten to destroy us. But we need not fear, for God is still good, and he is still God, and that means that he is in control. Though he did not create the evil that afflicts us nor introduce it into his good creation, he is still LORD of all, and he will restore all things, in his way and in his time, to order, goodness, and perfection once again.

The LORD commanded Jonah to go to wicked Nineveh and preach his Word, his Law and Gospel, that they might turn in repentance and find salvation in him. But Jonah didn’t want to go. More importantly, Jonah didn’t want to go, not because he feared the Ninevites or that God’s Word would be ineffective, but quite the contrary, Jonah fully believed that the LORD’s word was powerful to turn the Ninevites in repentance so that they could be saved. Jonah didn’t want that to happen; he felt that this was too good for those wicked people, and that they shouldn’t have the opportunity to receive forgiveness. So, Jonah made a choice; he chose to reject God and his goodness and to run away and hide from God. He charted a freighter and sailed off for Tarshish, hidden and fast asleep in its hold. The LORD permitted a ferocious storm to come upon the ship. The wind roared and the waves buffeted the ship striking terror into the hearts of the sailors that they would be overcome and perish. Now, storms and gales, trials and tribulations, come and go upon us all. They are not of God, who is good and the rule and measure of all that is good, but they are under his control, and he permits or prevents them from befalling us according to his good and gracious will.

Jonah knew this fully well. When the sailors awakened him in their terror, Jonah confessed that this was God’s doing, and that it was because of his sinful rebellion that he permitted the storm to afflict them. He told them to throw him overboard and that the storm would cease. Whereas before the storm Jonah refused to obey the LORD and preach his Word to the Ninevites that they might repent and be saved, now Jonah was willing to die that the pagan sailors might be saved. And so, they threw Jonah into the sea, and the storm was stilled, and many of the sailors believed in the LORD who made the sea and the wind and is their master. But then the LORD did something more; he sent a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish where he prayed fervently to the LORD that he might save him. Though his sin was his own and he justly deserved death and eternal torment, the LORD heard and answered Jonah’s prayer and, demonstrating his power and authority once again, this time over the beasts of the earth, the LORD caused the great fish to vomit Jonah out on dry land. And the LORD commanded Jonah a second to time to go and preach repentance to the Ninevites. This time Jonah obeyed. He preached repentance to the Ninevites, and the Holy Spirit worked contrition in their hearts, and they cried out to God and were spared his impending judgment. Truly, the LORD works all things together for good, even the rebellious and evil things that we and other men do, for the good of those who are called according to his purpose.

So often it seems that God’s ways are not our ways. What we count as foolishness may we come to see as wisdom by his Holy Spirit through his Word. For, it appeared foolishness that the people of Nineveh should be forgiven. And it appeared foolishness that the LORD would use a wicked, rebellious man to bring this Word to wicked people. And it appeared even greater foolishness still that this man should be thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish in order to make this happen. Thus, when the scribes and Pharisees demanded a sign from Jesus in order for them to believe him, Jesus answered them saying, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

Indeed, Jesus had performed many great and miraculous signs, and still they did not believe him. Heaven was opened, God the Father spoke, and his Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan. He changed water into wine at a wedding in Cana. He healed men of leprosy and disease and of paralysis and even raised several from death to life by the power of his life-giving and creative Word. Jesus had demonstrated his authority and control over the forces of nature on land, and then he demonstrated the same over the forces of nature at sea. As in the story of Jonah, Jesus was at sea with his disciples when a terrible storm came upon them and the disciples were terrified that they would perish. All the while Jesus was sleeping. Shaking him awake in their terror, they said to him, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” Jesus arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Then he rebuked his disciples saying, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”

Why are you afraid, O you of little faith? Does your life seem to be out of control? Are there forces and powers at play that affect you that are indifferent to your suffering or need? Does it sometimes feel as if the Lord is sleeping, is powerless to help, or doesn’t care? Repent. Perhaps the LORD is causing your idols to be stripped away, those persons and things in which you have knowingly or unknowingly placed your fear, love, and trust over, above, or in place of him. Repent. It is good that they be tossed overboard and buried in the depths of the sea. When you are tempted to cower in fear, hopelessness, and despair at what is befalling you and the world, and when you are tempted to flee from the presence of the LORD and his will, remember that he is awake and active, upholding heaven and earth and the laws of nature and all things for you, his beloved.

God permits storms and trials to come upon you, but he also rescues you in them so that you may see clearly his protection. Jesus’ kingdom, his Church, is strengthened and grows by sorrow and trial as by these the LORD calls you to turn your attention away from yourself and back towards him. The LORD uses storms and trials to perfect your faith and to strengthen your weak and little faith. Your Lord is present with you always, even if unseen or seemingly inactive and asleep. He is in this place, this boat, this ship, this ark, his Church, commanding the natural elements of Word and Water, Bread and Wine to serve you, to absolve you, to strengthen you, to equip you and to send you. Do not be afraid. Your LORD, Your God, is present to save you.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany (Epiphany 3)

(Audio)

Matthew 8:1-13; Romans 12:16-21; 2 Kings 5:1-15a

 

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

“Lord, if you will you can make me clean.” That is faith speaking. The Jewish leper confessed his faith in Jesus, first, that Jesus had the power to make him clean; second, that, if Jesus willed him to be clean, he would be clean indeed. Yet, as great as that confession of faith was, there may have been a twinge of doubt – “if you are willing.” The leper believed in Jesus’ power to heal, but he seemed uncertain of Jesus’ will. True faith trusts in the goodness of the LORD’s will come what may, come healing or not. The LORD is good, Jesus is good, and His will for man is always good. Holy Spirit, increase our faith and gives us eyes to see the goodness of the LORD in all things, in weakness, suffering, and death, as well as in healing, joy, and life that cannot die.

Then there is the centurion, a Gentile, who petitioned Jesus, not for himself, but for his servant who was paralyzed. Jesus offered to come to his home at once and heal him, but the centurion confessed, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” The Roman commander of one hundred soldiers confessed his own unworthiness. This great man whom many admired, and whom everyone feared, considered himself to be nothing but a poor miserable sinner. Now, I suspect that some of you don’t much appreciate those words we confess concerning ourselves each time we gather here in Divine Service. The Old Adam hates to confess his sinfulness and unworthiness; he’d prefer to blame someone else, even God. That is precisely why we say those words each week, “I – A – POOR – MISERABLE – SINNER,” because that is the truth, that is what I am, and that is what you are, do not deceive yourself. If we don’t want to believe it, at least keep on saying it that, in time, the Holy Spirit working through those words might cause you to believe it.

“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” That is faith speaking. The faith of Abram who believed the LORD when He promised him an heir from his own flesh through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed – Abram believed the LORD, Abram believed the Word of the LORD, and the LORD counted his faith, his trust, to him as righteousness. The faith of Mary who believed the LORD when His Messenger Gabriel announced that she would conceive and bear the Son of God – Lord, may it be to me as you have said, according to Your Word. Mary believed the Word of the LORD, she trusted the LORD and the Word He had spoken to her. The faith of Abram, the faith of Mary, and the faith of the Roman centurion – that is what faith (trust) looks like, sounds like, and does. Jesus praised the centurion for his faith saying, “Truly, with no one in Israel – not even the Jewish leper – have I found such faith.” And He continued saying, “I tell you, many will come from east and west [Gentiles] and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob [Jews] in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom [Jews in name only] will be thrown into the outer darkness.” Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And his servant was healed at that very moment.

“What God ordains is always good.” Whether the LORD grants physical healing or permits us to endure suffering, it is good: It is good for you. It is good for your family. It is good for others you may not even now when they observe your faith, your trust, in word and deed. “What God ordains is always good: His will is just and holy. As He directs my life for me, I follow meek and lowly. My God indeed in every need knows well how He will shield me; to Him, then, I will yield me.” “What God ordains is always good: He never will deceive me; He leads me in His righteous way, and never will He leave me. I take content what He has sent; His hand that sends me sadness will turn my tears to gladness.” “What God ordains is always good: His loving thought attends me; No poison can be in the cup that my physician sends me. My God is true; Each morning new I trust His grace unending, My life to Him commending.” That is faith. That is the faith of Abram, of Mary, and of the centurion, and of many other heroes of the faith. That is what faith (trust) looks like, sounds like, and does. That is the faith the Holy Spirit alone can create in you, sustain, and bring to fruitfulness unto life everlasting.

In our reading from the Old Testament, it was the faith of a young Israelite girl who had been carted away to Syria to serve as a slave to a high-ranking Syrian commander that was on display. Despite the fact that the LORD had permitted her to be carted away and enslaved, the girl trusted the goodness of the LORD and showed love for her Syrian captor who was afflicted with leprosy. She encouraged him to seek the Word of the LORD in Samaria from the Prophet Elisha. Having nothing to lose, Naaman traveled to Samaria to seek this healing. However, Naaman did not have faith. He went seeking to purchase his healing with gold and silver and costly fabrics. Moreover, he went to the King of Israel, not to the Prophet, because he expected such healing to come from someone of great power, wealth, and authority. This is a temptation we often fall to as well, expecting, demanding, that the LORD answer our prayers in the way we think best, forgetting, or worse, denying, that what God ordains is always good. The king of Israel was terrified because he could not heal leprosy and he thought the king of Syria was trying to entrap him. But, Elisha the Prophet sent word to the king to send Naaman to him, so Naaman went, once again with his horses and chariots and wealth, to purchase healing. This time Naaman was angered that the Prophet himself did not come out to see him but sent his servant with instructions to wash seven times in the Jordan. Naaman was incensed and protested that the waters of Syria were preferable to the filthy waters of the Jordan, so he turned away in a rage. But his servants said to him, “It is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’” Essentially, they said to him, “What do you have to lose?” Then Naaman went down and washed, and he emerged from the waters cleansed, his skin like that of a newborn baby. This story is not an attestation of Naaman’s faith – Naaman did not have faith – but, rather, it is an attestation to the goodness of the LORD and His will and the power of His Word for those who believe, for those who trust in Him come what may.

Faith is trust, plain and simple. Faith is the confession that, though I am but a poor, miserable sinner, the LORD is good and His will for me is always and only good. At the very least you can come to Him as one having nothing to lose. But, you are invited, you are called, to come to Him with so much more than that – true trust and love and hope founded in, trusting in, and clinging to the goodness of the LORD, come what may. Has He not said to you that you will be healed? It matters not the way, means, or time; all that matters is the promise He has made and sealed in His Son Jesus Christ which can never be broken. “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany (Epiphany 2)

(Audio)

John 2:1-11; Ephesians 5:22-33; Amos 9:11-15

 

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

There is no human institution that is more ancient or more universal than marriage. Every culture of every time and every place has instituted, promoted, and protected marriage in some way or another. In ancient and medieval times, marriages were seen as contracts between families and were often arranged in order to procure and to secure land and wealth, and to maintain ruling dynasties. In addition to these purposes, marriages were entered into with the intention of procreation to produce offspring and heirs. Indeed, our modern conception of marriage, which holds that love and equality are the key factors, is extremely new and innovative, and has shallow roots in human history. Arguably, the first marriage, instituted by the LORD Himself in Eden, was not a union of love or equality, or even of sexual attraction, but marriage, as the LORD instituted it, is a union of completion and fulfillment – the union of man, – for “it is not good that the man should be alone.”

But, why? Why is it “not good that the man should be alone?” Well, that’s a good question – a question that is not answered directly, but implicitly and by example throughout the rest of the Holy Scripture. For, when we consider how marriage is portrayed in the Scriptures we see that it is bound up in selflessness and sacrifice and redemption. For example, consider these famous marriages in the Holy Scriptures: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Rachel, Boaz and Ruth, the Bridegroom and Bride from the Song of Solomon, and Joseph and Mary. Now, of course these marriages were not perfect, indeed they were riddled with problems of various kinds. Thus, these Biblical marriages do not serve as models of perfection that preach the Law to us, “Be like this!” but, rather, they are realistic examples, Gospel examples, of sinful people, …well, sinning, and repenting, and being forgiven and restored.

Let’s take Adam and Eve as our chief example. They had it all: Peace, love, and excellent real estate. They were the first marriage, created by God, brought together by God, and blessed by God. Obviously, they are the supreme model for marriage. And yet, they sinned, and in their sin they plunged all of God’s creation, including all their children and all their children’s children, into sin and death. Of course, the model for marriage was not what came after the fall, but what God instituted before the fall. First and foremost, God created Adam and Eve in unity with one another. Husband and wife were united in heart, mind, spirit, and will. Adam wanted only that which was good for Eve and glorifying to God, and Eve wanted the same for Adam. They were truly united as “one flesh” in every way imaginable. The LORD instituted their marriage union so that they might reflect Him – His selfless, sacrificial love which gives life, reproduce with Him – in the procreation of children to be raised in the selfless, and sacrificial image of God, and to reign with Him over all that He had made – in selfless, sacrificial stewardship of God’s creation.

And, that is precisely why Satan attacked Adam and Eve in the way that he did. Satan attacked their marriage in attacking their unity of heart, mind, spirit, and will. His seemingly innocuous question, “Did God really say?” was meant to create disunity. It created a divide between God’s will and word and another will and word, any other will and word. Before the question, Adam and Eve were in unity with God’s will and word, and with each other. But, after the question, they were divided and defeated in heart, mind, spirit, and will, even before actively sinning by eating the forbidden fruit. And, the poisonous fruit of their sin was born quickly: They hid from God because they were afraid of His holiness and righteousness. They were ashamed of their nakedness, for they no longer saw each other as “one flesh,” but as individuals to control, manipulate, and to possess. And they blamed each other, and they blamed God, for their own sinful failings. And, to seal their fate and their separation from both God and from each other, they became self-righteous, seeking and finding their justification and purpose in themselves alone. Truly, nothing can be more separate, divided, and isolated than self-righteousness and selfishness. No longer did they reflect the LORD who is in essence selfless and self-sacrificing. No longer could they reproduce Godly fruit, the fruit of selfless love and sacrificial service. And, no longer could they reign over all creation as God created them and blessed them to do, for all creation became to them, now, means to control, manipulate, and to possess to their own selfish ends.

We live in a cynical age, and I know that my speaking this way about the sanctity of marriage, even within this Christian congregation, has some of you wagging your heads in disagreement, disillusionment, disgust, and unbelief that anything so broken, so messed up, and so filled with disappointment, conflict, hurt, and mental, emotional, and spiritual pain as marriage could possibly be the key to knowing God, His will, and His purpose for our lives and our relationship with Him. Indeed, that’s precisely how Satan wants you to think. Moreover, that’s why the institution of marriage is under attack today. For, marriage has always been under attack, even from the beginning when God created man and woman in His image and blessed them and joined them in a selfless and sacrificial one-flesh union.

And thus, Jesus’ first recorded miracle in the Scriptures occurs at a wedding. This is not by chance, mind you. St. John’s Gospel is arranged like a catechism. His purpose in writing it is “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.” Marriage is the chief and key revelation that God has given us that we may know Him and trust in Him, and conform to, and reflect Him in the world, reproducing His love in others, and reign with Him in and over His creation.

With only a cursory reading, it might appear that John included this miracle of Jesus only so that His power might be revealed. While, that is certainly a part of John’s purpose, and His account certainly accomplishes that purpose, that is only to scratch the surface of John’s telling of the events of the Wedding at Cana. This story is a revelation of Jesus’ re-creation, or creation anew, of His Father’s creation that had fallen into sin and death. It is not a coincidence that this wedding occurred on the “third day.” Third day language in the Scriptures is fraught with weight and meaning in connection with Jesus’ resurrection on the Third Day. This is new creation language, and the story cannot be rightly understood without seeing it through the interpretive lens of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. Moreover, it may be reckoned from John’s numbering of days that the third day was in fact the Sabbath Day, the day of rest. This may be part of the explanation of Jesus’ initial protest to Mary’s request that He do something about the wine problem at the feast. Jesus’ reply, “My hour has not yet come,” once again, necessarily, connects this story with the hour of Jesus’ passion and death upon the cross.

The time for Jesus’ fulfillment of God’s Law, Word, and will in His death upon the cross has not yet come. Nonetheless, that hour will come, and when it does, Jesus will be raised from death on the Third Day and He will usher in a new creation. This is symbolized in the six stone jars of water used for purification rites. The six jars represent the six days of the former creation, ruined by sin and death, thus, requiring purification. However, in the new creation, sin and death have been defeated, atoned for, and removed. There is no longer need for purification, for the Father’s Law, Word, and will have been fulfilled in Jesus’ holy and innocent life, obedience, suffering, and death. In His first miracle, or His first sign, as John refers to it, Jesus demonstrated that He has come to “make all things new.” He will fulfill the Law, Word, and will of His Father and release all creation from the curse of sin. Thus, the story of the Wedding at Cana is much less about marriage and weddings, or even about powerful miracles and signs, than it is simply and plainly about Jesus and His work of atonement and re-creation. It is truly the first sign of who He is and what He came to do. As John puts it, “This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him.” And so do we.

Thus, when the Lord returns on the Last Day, there will be a wedding in heaven. For, just as Adam’s Bride was brought forth out of his riven side, so will Jesus’ Bride, the Church, brought forth out of His riven side in the water of Holy Baptism and His holy, precious blood in Holy Communion, be presented before Him as a Bride adorned before Her Bridegroom. Truly, marriage is the preeminent revelation the LORD has provided us to the kind of relationship He desires to have with you. He is not a God who is far off, but a God who is so very near to you that He became flesh and blood, that He might marry you and have a one-flesh union with you that, together, you might reflect His glory, reproduce His selfless and sacrificial love, and reign with Him over heaven and earth forevermore. This is what was instituted by God in marriage from the beginning, and this is what is at stake when we seek to reduce marriage to mere equality, love, or sex.

When it comes to marriage in this world, which is passing away, the church has been forced to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. That’s ok, we do not have a mandate to change the world by force, but rather by influence. Indeed, the model for Christians is salt, leaven, and light. By being Christian, by following the example of our Lord Jesus in showing love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness to others, in and through our callings, our vocations, we will change the world, not by force, but by influence. However, we can only do that if we do not permit ourselves to become conformed to the world. Truly, we have no hope of influencing marriage for the better in this life and world if we do not understand and hold to what our LORD instituted marriage to be in the first place. Therefore, husbands and wives are to love and to serve each other as they love and serve the Lord. And, those who remain single, you are to love and to serve others as you love and serve the Lord. And if you are blessed with the gift of children, then your primary Christian duty is to raise your children up to love and serve others even as they love and serve the Lord. For, the LORD instituted marriage that you might know Him and the kind of relationship He desires to have with you, a relationship of grace, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness borne out of selflessness and sacrifice, which are truly love.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord (observed)

(Audio)

Matthew 2:1-12; Ephesians 3:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6

 

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

If you think about it, Christmas was really about the gift of a savior and a king for the Jews. He was born to Jewish parents in fulfillment of prophecies made to the Jewish people. He was born to be their king, of David’s house and lineage, in the king’s hometown of Bethlehem. Jewish shepherds were the first to hear the proclamation of His birth. Yes, Christmas was really about the gift of a savior and a king for the Jews. However, Epiphany is about the gift of a savior for the Gentiles, for you and for me. 

The truth is, of course, that Jesus is God’s gift of a savior and a king for everyone, for all the world. For, while the Jews were chosen to be the first to receive the gift, the gift was never intended for them alone, but that God’s gift would shine forth from them as a light of hope and salvation for all the world. That is precisely what was prophesied by Isaiah: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the people; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations, Gentiles, shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

The LORD’s covenant promise to Abram was that, through an heir from his own flesh, all the nations of the world would be blessed. That covenant was fulfilled, in part, in the birth of Isaac, and then Jacob, and then Judah, and then David, and then Joseph and Mary, and then finally and fully, in their son Jesus, who is rightly the son of David and the Son of God. Thus, the covenant promise made to Abram, the father of the Jewish people, was a son through whom the Gentiles, all the nations of the world, would be blessed. Though Jesus was promised and given first to the Jews, He is God’s gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation for all people of all times and all places.

For, the Jews, as well as the Gentiles, were once a people who walked in the darkness of sin and death. Upon them, the Light of Christ shone forth. The LORD intended that even the promise of that Light, before its fulfillment in Christ, would shine through His people, providing a guiding light for the Gentile nations to the hope of Israel. And there were times in which the Light shone brightly through them, and the Gentiles were attracted to the God and hope of Israel. But there were other times when the Light could not shine forth because the people had strayed into self-righteousness and idolatry. The same is true for God’s Christian people, the Church, today.

By the time of Jesus’ birth, precious few in Israel, a remnant, were waiting and watching for the coming of the LORD’s salvation. Still, there were those who were faithful, who studied and kept the LORD’s Word and Promise dear to them. And there were others, far away in Gentile nations, who also had heard the LORD’s Word and Promise through various ways and means whom the LORD had alerted to the wondrous work He was about to do. To those afar, the LORD provided a special light, a star, to guide them to the Christ child. These Gentile Magi were lead by the LORD’s light to the Light of the world, Jesus Christ, in Bethlehem. Far they journeyed from the East following both the light of God’s Word and the light of the star God provided as a sign, seeking the one who was born King of the Jews.

Why a star? The LORD knew that the Magi watched the stars and read them as signs to mark the seasons and natural occurrences. Therefore, He gave them an unusual star, one that would capture their notice and attention, and through its light guided them to the Light of the world, Jesus. However, the Magi also had the light of God’s Word, and that Word told them the Jewish King they looked for would be for all people. And so, they set out West, to Jerusalem, to the city of the King of the Jews, with gifts fit for a king: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Both Jews and Gentiles are saved in the same way, through faith in Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. St. Paul wrote to the Galatians – words we heard on New Year’s in connection with Jesus’ circumcision and name – “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” The Light of God shines on all the same, uniting all as one in Christ who will not refuse and remain in darkness. Those weary and burdened by their sin and guilt are drawn to the Light for comfort and peace, but the wicked flee from the Light and try to hide themselves in the darkness because their deeds are evil.

Such a man was King Herod. When the Magi came to him looking for the King of the Jews, Herod deceived them, telling them to go and find the child and then report back to him that he might come and pay homage. Herod was filled with fear and hatred and jealousy for his throne. He was one who willfully turned away from the light of God’s Word and tried to hide himself in the darkness because his deeds were evil. Herod had the Word of the LORD. His scribes rightly shared with him the prophecy of the Christ, but he willfully rejected it. He chose darkness and evil, and he even used the Word of the LORD in an attempt to murder the LORD’s Christ.

But the LORD sent the star before the Magi and guided them to the place where the Christ Child lay. There, before their Lord, did they bow down and worship Him. And they presented Him with their gifts of gold confessing His royalty, incense confessing His deity, and myrrh confessing His priestly sacrifice. They were filled with joy at this fulfillment of prophecy, which was for all people. Then the LORD warned them in a dream of Herod’s nefarious plans, and they returned home to their own country by another way. Imagine the news they brought back to their countrymen: “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” – just as was told the Jewish shepherds by the angel.

Truly, St. Paul ties it all together in his Epistle to the Ephesians saying, “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. […] To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.”

Thus, while it may be that Christmas was really about the gift of a savior and a king for the Jews, and Epiphany is about the gift of a savior for the Gentiles, nonetheless, we see that Jesus was God’s plan for the salvation of the whole world from the very beginning. Indeed, before there were Jews or Gentiles, there was God in the beginning, and His Word which was with God, and which was God. All things were made through the Word of God. And, to our First Parents was God’s first Gospel Word spoken: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This was God’s promise to our First Parents, before there was Jew or Gentile, and this is God’s promise fulfilled in Jesus, the Word made flesh.

Jesus has come to bring Light and Life to you this day. In Him, there is no Jew or Gentile, male or female, for all are one body, flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bones, of which He is our Bridegroom, our head, and our Lord. Let us never hide His Light, but let it shine through us in all we do and say that others might know and glorify our Lord and God. Come, let us worship Him. The highest worship we can give is to receive His gifts.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Eve of the Feast of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus (New Year's Eve)

(Audio)

Luke 2:21; Galatians 3:23-29; Numbers 6:22-27

 

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

Perhaps on this day, more than any other day of the year, the expectations of the church are seen to be in sharp contrast with those of the world. Perhaps you will find that even your own expectations are frustrated when you begin to realize that the Word of God proclaimed to the Church this evening is not about resolutions, new beginnings, and hope for the new year to come, nor even about the events, challenges, and triumphs of the year that is past. For this day the Gospel demands that our sermon and ceremony be about circumcision and the Name of Jesus, and we are going to observe this.

Circumcision is not only an affront to our expectations of a New Year’s Eve celebration, but also an affront to our sense of what’s appropriate for polite conversation - The very word likely makes some of you squirm a bit and avert your eyes. And perhaps, even more so, circumcision is an affront to our reason: Why would God require such a foolish, ridiculous thing as circumcision? Could He find no other part of the body to use except this one? This sign of the covenant God made with Abraham, the cutting off of the foreskin of all males, was the cause of much humiliation and shame suffered by the Israelites. Moreover, what good is brought by injuring the body? It does not make the soul any better.

But all of God’s commands and works are exactly this way; in our eyes they appear as most foolish, humiliating, and useless, in order that proud reason, which considers itself clever and wise, may be disgraced and blinded, give up its arrogance and subject itself to God. Therefore, God was not concerned about circumcision, but about the humbling of proud nature and reason.

Our corrupted reason, along with our fallen nature, if it will even confess its sin and brokenness, believes that it can remedy the situation on its own and by its own terms; that is to say, it believes that by works it can make things right. But this corruption which afflicts mankind cannot be cured or healed, it must be cut off and destroyed. So, God commanded the sign of His covenant to be written in the flesh of the very part of the body from which all human life proceeds. Circumcision was a sign in a man’s flesh that was a reminder that all children born of man bear in their nature the original corruption of their First Father Adam, and that this corruption cannot be reformed or healed, but must be cut off and destroyed. Thus, we see that God, with no pretense of subtlety, gets right, shall we say, at the point: all children that are born of man’s seed are conceived and born in sin that leads to death. Sin is a terminal disease that cannot be cured, healed, or reformed; it must be circumcised, cut off, and destroyed.

Our deficiency does not lie in our works but in our nature. Our person, nature, and entire existence are corrupted through Adam’s fall. Therefore, not a single work can be good in us, until our nature and personal being are changed and renewed. The tree is not good; therefore, the fruits are evil. Thus, by circumcision, God very early taught everyone that no one could become righteous through works or through the law and that all works and efforts to become righteous or to be saved are in vain, as long as the nature and person are not renewed.

It seems to us then foolishness that Jesus, who alone was conceived apart from the seed of a man, but by the Holy Spirit, and was therefore alone without the original corruption of sin, but was holy and righteous, should submit to the covenant sign of circumcision. Why would the sinless one bear the cutting of His flesh intended to show that a man’s sin must be cut off and destroyed and his forgiveness given by God’s grace alone?

St. Paul writes in Galatians chapter four, “[Christ] was put under the law so that he might redeem them who were under the law.” The Law of God is perfect and holy, and it places upon all men the demand of perfect obedience, a demand for perfection that no man can obey – we are damned before we are even born! We are conceived and born in sin, and the wages of sin is, without exception, death.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman [not of man’s corrupted seed], born under the law [just like us], to redeem those who were under the Law.” When Christ was circumcised, He began to fulfill the perfect and holy Law of God, not for Himself, but for us. Christ was, and is, for us, the Second Adam, who did not sin so that all that are born of His seed are born, not in the corruption of sin, but in holiness and righteousness as sons of God.

And finally, in death, He who knew no sin or wrong was Himself violently wronged, and man’s redemption was made complete. For when death overcame him and slew him, without however having any claim or cause against him, and he willingly and innocently permitted himself to be slain, death became indebted to him, having done him wrong and having sinned against him […], so that Christ has an honest claim against it. The wrong which death perpetrated against him, is so great that death is unable to pay or to atone for it. And so, death must be under Christ and in his power forever. […] He was not obligated to it, and so it is rightfully subject to him, and he has become its master, has vanquished it and given it to us as a present, so that it must come to an end and no longer have any say over those who believe in Christ.

In this same way, on the eighth day of His infant life, Christ submitted to the Law of circumcision and His holy flesh was cut, His innocent blood was shed; but in so doing, Christ was wronged and became master of this Law – it is finished. And He presents this fulfilled Law to us now as a gift – we call it Holy Baptism; a washing of water and Word that gives to us all that belongs to Jesus, whose name, also celebrated this day, means “God’s Salvation.” There is no longer a Law or command to circumcise; that Law has been fulfilled and mastered by Jesus Christ. Now there is instead a gift, the gift of Holy Baptism. It is a baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection, a grafting into the True Vine, and a promise – a betrothal – from the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, to His beloved, His Bride, the Second Eve, the Church. We are heading for a wedding; and the feast we celebrate tonight, and every Lord’s Day, is but a foretaste of the feast to come.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.