Homily for Quinquagesima

(Audio)

Luke 18:31-43; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Isaiah 35:3-7

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

Three weeks ago today we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. On that day we heard how Jesus lead three of His disciples high upon a mountaintop and there was transfigured before them and how He shone with the glory of His divine nature. But the glory of that mountaintop experience was but a glimpse, a brief foretaste of a glory that would be revealed in Him later. Though Peter, like all men, would have preferred to stay on the mountaintop in glory, Jesus lead his disciples, and He leads us, down from the mountain of glory and into the valley of the shadow of death amongst people possessed by unclean spirits and afflicted with all manner of disease, where men struggle for greatness over and against each other, where Jesus’ is rejected and opposed by most, and where He taught in parables so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. For, although Jesus is the glory of God the Father incarnate, His glory is not revealed in power and majesty as men desire to see, but His glory and His power and His majesty are revealed in weakness and in humility, in sacrificial love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness that must be seen for the glory that they are with eyes of faith. Indeed, Jesus’ glory, the glory of God the Father, was revealed in its fullness upon another mountaintop, a mountaintop which is called Golgotha in Aramaic and Calvary in Latin, which means the place of a skull.

Through the Church’s liturgy we have walked in that valley with Jesus these past three weeks, but truly we live each and every day of our lives in that valley, surrounded by enemies, darkness, and death. But we do not faint with fear, we are not overcome with anxiety, for our Lord and our Good Shepherd is with us in the valley of death to lead us and to feed us, to guide us and to chasten us with the rod and the staff of His Word. And now, in the Church’s liturgy, Jesus has set His face to go to Jerusalem to suffer and to die. Jesus said to His disciples, and He says to you, “See.” His Word is a performative and creative Word, the very Word of creation and life, but it was not understood and it was rejected. The disciples were blind to the way in which Jesus’ glory as the Son of the Father would be revealed.

Jesus said, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise.” But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

The disciples heard Jesus well enough, yet they did not hear Him with the ears of faith; they saw Him and His teaching in action, yet they did not see Him with the eyes of faith. This was not the first time that they had heard Jesus teach about His suffering, death, and resurrection, but they were blind to His meaning because it did not make sense according to their human reason and expectations and their sin-wrecked ideas about glory, power, and majesty. The disciples’ blindness, the blindness of Quinquagesima, stands in contrast to the glorious sight of the Transfiguration. Indeed, it is a blind man who can see that, despite His humble appearance, Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of God, while His own disciples stumble in blindness.

Indeed, it is a physically blind man who can see better than Jesus’ disciples who Jesus is and what He has come to do. He called Jesus by the Name given at the Annunciation by Gabriel, Jesus, God’s Salvation, and He called Jesus by the Name of His human lineage and nature, Son of David. The blind man had heard of Jesus, His teaching and His wondrous deeds, and he confessed with his mouth what He already believed about Jesus in his heart, that Jesus is God dwelling amongst men as a man and that He is, above all else, merciful. The blind man cried out to Jesus, not because of His powerful, glorious, and majestic deeds, but because he believed Jesus to be God in the flesh, and because he believed Jesus to be merciful.

And so, it is a blind man who can truly see, while the seeing show themselves to be blind, rebuking the man and telling Him to be silent. Yet, the blind man cried out all the more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped dead in His tracks; He never passes by a cry for mercy. Even though He had set His face like flint to go to Jerusalem, to suffer and to die, He stopped and commanded the blind man to be brought before Him. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “Lord, let me recover my sight,” the man replied. And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God.

It was indeed the man’s faith that made him well, but this was not a work that he performed that earned Him Jesus’ favor, but it was trust, simple, child-like trust that clung to Jesus and would not let go. The blind man’s faith gave him true sight to see that Jesus was the most important thing to him, his one thing needful. Apparently there was a time that this man could see, for he plead “let me recover my sight,” but even without his sight he could see better than most. Jesus said to him “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well,” but the real healing had occurred sometime before that, when the blind man believed, for then he could truly see. As glorious, powerful, and majestic as was this man’s healing, the recovery of his sight was truly secondary to the healing of his sin-sickness unto death that he received through faith in his merciful Jesus.

In the recovery of his sight the blind man glorified God, for God’s power is made perfect in weakness. God is glorified when you receive His gifts in faith, for the highest worship of God is to receive His gifts in faith. The blind man recovered his sight and followed Jesus, glorifying God in His worship. And so, our Gospel lesson today began with Jesus’ disciples who, though they had seen Jesus’ glorious works and wonders with their own eyes, could not see that Jesus must suffer and die and be raised from the dead on the third day just as the prophets had written, but it ends with a blind man who could see this and so much more, who simply trusted and embraced Jesus as His merciful God in human flesh.

The disciples were at a crossroads, so to speak, for Jesus was going up to Jerusalem to suffer and to die. This was the reason for His appearing; it was a path that He submitted Himself to willingly in love for His Father and in love for you. All who trust in Him, who cling to Him desiring mercy will receive it, and they will follow Him through suffering and death into eternal life. Though surely blindness, disease, persecution, suffering, and death are common to all men, you, Christians, will experience these acutely as you love others and you have been loved and as you show mercy as precious mercy has been shown to you. For, God is love, and Jesus is God’s gift of love for the world, and mercy is love in action toward others.

Dear Christians, do not subject yourself to a self-imposed blindness, refusing to see that love is mercy and forgiveness and sacrifice. As we journey with Jesus to the cross this Lenten season, let us remember the great love and mercy that has been poured out for us in Jesus and let us glorify God by showering this same love and mercy upon our neighbors, even our enemies, and especially upon our brothers and sisters in Christ. And, take comfort and receive strength in faith and knowledge that you do not make your pilgrimage alone, but that God’s love incarnate, Jesus Christ, goes with you and that He has blazed the way through death for you unto eternal life. Jesus’ glory is not in His power and majesty as men count glory, power, and majesty, but it is in His selfless, sacrificial love and mercy laid down and poured out for the world. We were given a foretaste of His resurrection glory in the Transfiguration, and even now we are given a foretaste of His victory feast in this Supper of His glorified body and blood. Now water breaks forth in this barren wilderness and streams well up in this desert that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may be unstopped, that you may leap like a dear and sing for joy as you follow your merciful Lord unto Jerusalem, to Calvary, to the Kingdom of God.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily for Sexagesima

(Audio)

Luke 8:4-15; 2 Corinthians 11:19 – 12:9; Isaiah 55:10-13

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

The Parable of the Sower is surely the best known and probably the most beloved of all our Lord’s parables. It appears in each of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) as the first of Jesus’ parables and in each Gospel it serves to introduce His parabolic teaching in general. In fact, the Parable of the Sower is so familiar that I imagine most of you could stand up here and tell the story in your own words and capture it reasonably well. However, our familiarity, combined with this parable’s unexpected sublimity, actually serves to keep us from understanding this parable which we think that we know so well.

The Parable of the Sower, once again, is a parable about the Kingdom of God, or, the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus explained this to His disciples when they asked Him what the parable meant, He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God.” The word translated as secrets here is actually μυστήρια, mystery, for the Kingdom of God is in actuality a mystery, and even a parable necessarily falls short of capturing the fullness of the mystery of the Kingdom.

Perhaps the first mystery in the Parable of the Sower is the Sower Himself, who is He? I think that most Christians assume that the Sower is our Lord Jesus Christ. This seems to make sense to begin with, Jesus being the itinerant preacher of God’s Word, later empowering His disciples to do the same, and then even His Church. Even Christian artwork and iconography seems to imply that the Sower is none other than Jesus Himself. However, a closer hearing of the parable reveals that this cannot be the case. For, Jesus explains that the Seed that the Sower sows is the Word of God. And, we know from Genesis and from the Prologue to St. John’s Gospel, at the very least, that the Word of God is God the Son, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity who became flesh and made His dwelling amongst men as the Man Jesus the Christ. And so, our Lord Jesus is not the Sower, but rather He is the Seed that is sown by His Father, the Sower.

It is God the Father who so recklessly and indiscriminately sows the Seed of His own Son in the field of this world of men. He sows it on the hardened path where it is trampled upon and becomes food for the birds of the air. He sows it on the rocky soil where it can gain no root. He sows it even amongst the sowings of the Enemy, where weeds, tares, and thorns grow up alongside and choke out the new growth. And, yes, He sows it upon good soil where it grows and yields mature fruit in abundance. And, here is another mystery: In the case of the seed sown upon the good soil alone is mature fruit said to be borne. Why then does the Sower bother to sow His Seed in the weed and thorn infested soil, in the rocky soil, and upon the hardened path at all? What kind of wasteful, inefficient Sower is this?

Remember, the Parable of the Sower is a parable about the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, therefore it is a parable about grace. God the Father’s grace is such that He gives it freely, unconditionally, no matter whom you are, what you have done or haven’t done, what you believe, or what kind of soil your heart’s condition is most like. The Sower sows; His reckless love scatters abroad the goodly seed, intent alone that all may have the wholesome loaves that all men need. Further, more important than good soil is good Seed. The best soil in the whole world won’t bear a single fruit if the seed is not good. Well, the Seed that the Sower sows is the Good Seed of His Word, even His Son. The Seed is Good, always; it is always life-giving, creative, and efficacious, let there be no doubt or confusion about that. That is why, even when the Seed is sown in the worst kinds of soil, under the worst conditions, it still sprouts and grows. Even when it is trampled upon on the hardened path and eaten by the birds of the air, the Good Seed gives life to the birds who very likely deposit it somewhere else that it might create life there. God is like that. The Kingdom of God is like that. Grace is like that. Love is like that – and that is why love is the fulfilling of the Law of God. In loving others as He has loved you, you are most like Him. Love always gives and never takes. Love always thinks of the welfare of others first. Love always puts the best construction on things. Love never harms a neighbor, but helps and befriends a neighbor in every need. The Sower knows that much of what He sows will not bear mature fruit, but He sows His Good Seed anyway, everywhere, saying, “Oh, what of that, and what of that?”

In the beginning, our God, Father, and Heavenly Sower sowed the Seed of His Word into the nothingness and it brought forth light and life and all creation. And, in the new beginning, He sowed His Word-Seed into the virgin-soil of Mary’s womb, and the Word became flesh and made His dwelling amongst us. Lastly, He sowed His Word and Seed made flesh, His Son, Jesus the Christ, into the soil of the earth in death that He might bring forth fruit a hundredfold – “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Dear Christians, the fruit of Jesus’ incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension is not good works or some instruction on how to live the Christian life, but the fruit that He gives and causes to be borne is like Him – life and light. He is the true vine and you are His branches; by remaining in Him you will bear much fruit. That fruit cannot be anything other than what He the Vine enables you to produce, for an apple tree does not produce pears and a grape vine does not produce berries. The Christian faith and life is first about remaining in Jesus and second about bearing fruit. The point is, if you remain in Jesus, He has promised to remain in you [and note, He is going to do that anyway, even if you don’t remain in Him! You can’t undo in the Incarnation!], and He has promised that you WILL bear much fruit. How much? That doesn’t matter; that’s up to God! What kind of fruit? Again, that’s pre-determined; you’ll bear Christ-fruit: love, mercy, grace, peace, charity, kindness, humility, and the lot – you know, life and light fruit!

But, what about the different kinds of soils, the rocks and the weeds, the thorns, the hard-packed ground, and those devilish birds of the air? Well, these are realities in your life, to be sure, and they are the result of sin, but, remember what Jesus said in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, “An enemy has done this.” Sorrow, grief, and suffering, temptation, trial, and tribulation, these are a very real part of our lives as we grow and mature in fruitfulness in the field of this life and world; this is why we have in today’s Epistle Lesson the record of St. Paul’s tribulations. St. Paul prayed fervently and repeatedly that the LORD would remove the thorn in his flesh that afflicted him, even as we prayed together in the Collect a little while ago, “O God, the strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully grant that by Your power we may be defended against all adversity.” God’s reply to St. Paul is His reply to you as well, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” For, there is no greater example of God’s power being made perfect in weakness than in the incarnation, suffering, and death of His Word-Son-Seed Jesus the Christ. In the seeming weakness of Jesus’ death, the power of death was destroyed and the gift of life was given to all the world.

And, just as a sown seed splits open and dies and then shoots forth in new life, sucking up nutrients from the soil, nutrients that are themselves the result of death and decay, and transforms them into food, fuel, and nourishment for growth and fruitfulness, so too all the evil in the universe, whether from the devil or from us, is now and ever shall be just part of the divine ecology. The Parable of the Sower says this. The seed eaten by birds is as much seed as the seed that produced a hundredfold. The snatching of the Word by the devil – and the rejection of it by the shallow and the choking of it by the worldly – all take place within the working of the kingdom, not prior to it or outside of it. It is the Word alone, and not the interference with it, that finally counts.

To you it has been given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God. And the mystery of the Kingdom is this: Boundless love; reckless grace; power in weakness; glory in humility and sacrifice. Each Christian is all the different kinds of soils at different moments in their life, sometimes even in the same day! But, your life does not depend upon what kind of soil you are, how good your works are, how strong your faith is, how much or how little you sin, but, your life depends on the Seed, your Savior Jesus the Christ. He is the life and light of this world, the life and light that darkness, sin, death, and devil cannot overcome. He has overcome all these tyrants so that they all serve Him and His purposes. Receive Him, believe Him, and remain in Him in patience – He will never leave you or forsake you – and you will bear the fruit that He desires and you will have all that you need for today, for as many tomorrows as there may be, and for all eternity.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily for Septuagesima

(Audio)

Matthew 20:1-16; 1 Corinthians 9:24 – 10:5; Exodus 17:1-7

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

The parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard is yet another parable which our Lord says is explicitly about the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, it is, first and foremost, a parable about God’s grace, and, consequently, it is a parable about God’s judgment only upon rejection of His grace – for, there are none who will find themselves outside of the Kingdom of Heaven who were not first within it.

In this parable, the Master of the vineyard is God, our heavenly Father, and, like in so many other parables of the Kingdom of Heaven, He is out searching for His straying children: In one parable they are like sheep gone astray; in another they are like ungrateful, prodigal sons; in another they are like unto a lost coin; and, in this parable, they are like idle laborers with no work to do and with no way to provide for themselves and their families. The Master went out early in the morning to seek and to hire laborers for His vineyard. He will find them. His vineyard will be tended to. There will be a bountiful harvest. And, there will be a festive celebration for all the hired laborers whom the Master finds and hires, who do not reject the gracious terms of His employ. For, these terms are guaranteed, for the last, as well as for the first, for, this is a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven, and this is a parable about God’s immeasurable and reckless grace.

The parable itself is really quite simple, and you know it well. The Master of the vineyard hired laborers to work in His vineyard at the beginning of the day. He agreed with them upon the wage of a denarius for their day’s labor, a fair and respectable wage, and they went to work in His vineyard. Then the Master went out again at the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to those idlers He said “You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.” Now, from a worldly perspective, these idlers are not worthy of hire, for they made little to no effort to be hired for work, sleeping in while the first arrived early in the morning. But, here, already, the Master’s grace begins to shine forth as He graciously gives them employ and promises to pay them what is right. So, the idlers hitched it into the vineyard and began to work alongside those first hired. Then, the story repeats itself at the sixth hour, and again at the ninth hour, and, then, lastly, even at the unthinkable eleventh hour. The Master of the Vineyard graciously extended hire to all, even to the last idlers of the day. Now, we might rightly imagine that these last had given up all hope of hire and had resorted to drunken carousing in the bars, and yet, still, the Master sent them to work in His Vineyard. Outrageous! You think? No, this is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like!

The Kingdom of Heaven is about grace – Good things given to people who don’t deserve them. If you have in mind any sense of merit or worth, forget about it, that’s not grace. Grace is a gift, absolutely free, no strings attached, given by God your heavenly Father for no other reason than that He is good and generous, gracious, and He wants to give you what He wants to give you, whether you deserve it or not. And, He wants to give, not only to you, but to the person sitting next to you, and to that person over there, and to all the people that are not here today, even to that person who says she doesn’t believe in God, and to that one who steals from others, and to that one who kills, and to that one…. There is no one that He does not shower His grace upon. There is no one that He has not graciously forgiven in His Son Jesus Christ. There is no one that He has not invited to His banquet, killed the fatted calf for, or called to labor in His vineyard. There is no one who deserves or merits this grace and favor from God the Father, not even one, and that is precisely the point! That is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like! It’s all about the giving, and the forgiving, to all people in all the world, because this is who God the Father is and this is what He and His Kingdom are like!

Thus, at the end of the day, the Master told His servant to call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first. And, as they are paid, the laborers began to realize that all have been paid the same amount, one denarius, a full day’s wage. There is no difference in pay between those who worked all day and those who worked less, and those who worked but only an hour, for God the Father is gracious and He graciously gives to all regardless of worth or merit. Again, how good you are, how hard you work, how much you think that you should merit, these have absolutely nothing to do with grace.

Oh, scandal! Oh, confounding offense! Those paid last, those who worked the longest, grumble that those hired last, who worked only one hour, are paid the same, one denarius. Outrage and anger! Oh, the injustice! They thought that they would be paid more. Now, why would they think that? There was no injustice done to them. They were paid exactly what was promised to them and what they themselves agreed to. Their only offense, then, is that the Master showed grace to those who worked less hours and paid them the same. Is that not the Master’s choice? Does anyone have the right to dictate how the Master uses His own wealth? “Or do you begrudge my generosity?” asks the Master. Or, more literally, “Is your eye evil because I am good?”

Yes. Yes, that’s it! Your eye is evil because of the goodness of the LORD. That is, how often do you begrudge the LORD’s generosity, His goodness and grace shown to others whom you deem to merit less than yourself? How often do you curse the LORD and destroy your brother with anger, like Cain destroyed his brother Abel, because God the Father, in His goodness and grace, favored the labor of His hands equal to or above that of your own?

Why are you offended by this? So what if God is crazy?! Has He not promised you a full day’s wage, a denarius, that is, all that you need to sustain your body and life now, and your life eternally in His Kingdom? You are not being shorted; it is impossible that you will be shorted in any way. So what if God is crazy in His generosity and grace and gives the same to everyone else? Such is the “weird goodness” of your heavenly Father, that when He’s happy, everybody’s happy, no matter what they did or didn’t do. At the end of the day He will pay out His generous and gracious wage, a wage that you didn’t deserve, merit, or earn – that nobody deserves, merits, or earns – eternal life and blessedness with Him in His kingdom of glory. And, then the party will begin!

In His generosity and grace, your heavenly Father has invited you and the whole world to the harvest feast in His Vineyard-Kingdom. It matters not whether you are first or last, but what matters is His gracious invitation – you are invited, all has been prepared for you, you are in! This is the LORD’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes! Only you can keep yourself out of the kingdom; only you can make yourself miss out on the party. If you insist that you have earned or merited God’s favor, then, to the back of the line with you, for the last will be first, and the first last. But such grumbling and dissatisfaction at God’s generosity and grace and at the having of the have-nots only breeds jealousy, anger, and misery. And, these are great footholds for the devil in your heart, soul, and mind that he will use to separate you from the flock and to see that you put yourself out of the kingdom – for, there are none who will find themselves outside of the Kingdom of Heaven who were not first within it.

It is so tempting to be a bookkeeper and to fill our books full of black ink representing our positive balance of merits and works before the LORD. Of course, it is also tempting for us to keep books for others around us, books filled with lots of red ink to be sure. But, God is not a bookkeeper. In fact, He has erased the marks in all of our books, He has made them white and clean in the red, holy and innocent blood of His Son and Sacrificial Lamb Jesus. Jesus is the Book of Life, and in that book, nothing stands against you. There are no debit entries that can keep you out of the clutches of the Love that will not let you go.

There is a Vineyard feast going on in eternity and you are all on the guest list. But, while it is still daytime, there is work to do in the Master’s Vineyard – work, not for merit, but for the love of God who loves you and all the world. The work of the Vineyard is to share His love in word and deed so that none of the Master’s invited guests find themselves missing out on the party. So, even now, He graciously gives you this foretaste of the feast to come, faith strengthening food and sin-purifying drink, from the Stricken Rock Jesus Christ that you might be bold in confession and boundless in grace like unto your Master, your Lord, and your God and Father, to whom be glory with + Jesus Christ and His most Holy Spirit now and forever.

Amen.

Homily on The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord

(Audio)

Matthew 17:1-9; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Exodus 34:29-35

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

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and He filled them with His Light by the creative power of His Word. Indeed, the creative Word of God was the Light of the world even before there was sun, moon, or stars – the Light no darkness can overcome. And, when time was full, God spoke that same creative Word into Mary’s ear and into her virgin womb that the Light of the world would be conceived and born a human man and that He might make His dwelling amongst us. Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus revealed and manifested His Father’s glory, His own glory, in Words and deeds of mercy, forgiveness, life, and love, and His disciples believed in Him and they glorified God. And then, in a glorious mountain-top experience, Jesus’ face, His body, and His clothing glowed and shined forth with the preternatural Light of God, unveiled, before the very eyes of His closest disciples, and Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Him. Heaven had descended upon earth and the disciples were understandably amazed. We can empathize with Peter in his zeal to enshrine the glory and the joy and to preserve it forever, but the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands. Thus, while Peter was still speaking the things of men, not of God, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

The Transfiguration of Our Lord stands as a bookend at the end of the Epiphany season paired with the Baptism of Our Lord at its beginning. Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus manifested Himself as the anointed Christ of God, the Messiah, and as true God in human flesh. As the Church confesses, Jesus is God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. He is the icon of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation – and He is all that you need. He is the love of God incarnate. He is the fulfillment of the Law. He is the New Moses. And, He is the one to whom all the prophets had pointed and the fulfillment of all prophecies. Moses and Elijah have been fulfilled and assumed into the glorious Light of Jesus and we are given to see, we need to see, no one but Jesus only.

Jesus is the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome. He has penetrated the darkness of our sin and death, exposed it for what it is, so that it can be named, confessed, and forgiven. The Mount of Transfiguration revealed Jesus’ glory and light, not that we might bottle it up, adore it, and worship it here on earth, but that we might see and believe and know that that glory is located nowhere else than in the person of Jesus – then, now, and always. For, now that you confess Jesus as the anointed Christ; now that you confess Him to be God in human flesh; now you must go with Him, down from the Mount of Glory into Jerusalem to suffer and die with Him.

But, still, the glory of God is the Man Jesus, even though the world sees in Him only weakness and shame, God’s power is made perfect in weakness. What kind of god becomes a creature? What kind of god lives in selflessness, poverty, and meekness? What kind of god is stripped, whipped, mocked, and crucified? What kind of god is executed as a common criminal? – Your God, and my God! Thanks be to God! For, He is a God of love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. He is the God who lays down His life for you, His friends. He is the God who has faced death and defeated that enemy before you and for you. He is the God who works all things, even sin and every evil, even death, for your good. He is the God holds the victory over death and hell and beckons you through it into eternal life. There will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord, and God the Father will be glorified – of this, the Transfiguration was but a foretaste – but, first, your God has revealed His glory on another mountain, on Mount Calvary where, for God the Father’s only beloved Son there was no substitute ram caught by its horns, but the Lamb of God laid Himself down to be slain that His blood might cleanse and purify you, and the Angel of Death pass o’er.

Before the bewildering events of His Passion, Our Lord prepared His disciples by revealing a glimpse of His glory. The veil of His humility was lifted for a moment to confirm what Peter had already confessed: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. For, their faith and trust would be tested shortly thereafter.

You also pass through dark and difficult times when your faith and trust is tested. But, you may take comfort that you live on this side of Christ’s death and resurrection. Your enemy has been defeated and Christ’s victory is yours even now. The Transfiguration of Jesus is a foretaste of what He will soon do to you in the resurrection of your body. And, you already share in that glorious life now through your Holy Baptism into Christ. And, Peter, who witnessed the glorious Transfiguration with his own eyes, says that you have something more sure, the prophetic Word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. And on this altar mountaintop you join with Peter, James, and John, Moses and Elijah, and with all the saints and the heavenly host around the throne of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ who gives you Himself for forgiveness, life, and strength until He comes. All of a Christian’s life is a life with Christ, in His presence, radiant with the light that comes from Christ, fulfilled by Christ Himself. There is no boundary between Christ, His light and glory, and our Christians lives.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

(Audio)

Matthew 13:24-30, (36-43); Colossians 3:12-17; Genesis 18:20-33

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

Three weeks from now, on Sexagesima Sunday, you will hear the beloved Parable of the Sower and His Good and Life-Giving Seed, the Word of God. Though the devices are nearly identical – both having sowers, seeds, fields, weeds, etc. – The Parable of the Sower and His Seed stands in stark contrast to the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares that your Lord presents to you today. For, in today’s parable, there is a second sower who sows his seed, secretly, in the darkness, whom Jesus calls an enemy, even the devil. And, the enemy’s seed grows and matures right along with the Lord’s seed so that the Lord’s field is full of both good wheat and evil weeds. But it is good for you to hear today’s parable first, for then on Sexagesima Sunday, you may remember where the weeds and the thorns that plague the soil of men’s hearts came from.

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares is a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus begins the story with the words, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.” At the end of the parable, amidst all the curious details and surprising turns of events, this parable is designed to teach you something that is true about the Kingdom of Heaven. First and foremost, what is unquestionably true is that the Kingdom of Heaven is good: The Sower is good. The Seed is good. The field is good. That, ultimately, bad seed producing tares, weeds, was sown in the field was not the doing or the fault of the good Sower or His good seed, but this was the doing of an enemy to the Sower, the devil. The enemy sowed his seed in the field at night, in darkness, when the Sower’s servants were sleeping; he sowed his evil seed and then he went away.

This, perhaps is the first curious detail of Jesus’ story, that the servants of the Sower left the field alone and slept, and that the enemy, after sowing his evil seed also left the field and went away. I suppose, from a purely agrarian viewpoint, leaving your field or garden to grow at night is a sensible thing to do. However, we want to know what this tells us about the kingdom of heaven. Just as none of you tends his or her garden 24/7, 365 days a year, particularly through the night, but takes natural rest from your labors knowing that your garden will grow; just as no farmer in Iowa tends his field all night long but takes natural rest knowing that his crops will grow; so the Kingdom of Heaven grows of its own accord – the seed that is sown, whether good or evil, grows without the tending of its good or evil sower.

“But, when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’” The servants are surprised and alarmed at the presence of the weeds. They busy themselves asking questions about what went wrong and who’s to blame. The assumption of many, when evil rears its ugly head, is that the Master, God, must be accountable; either God put the bad seeds in there Himself (“Did you not sow good seed?”), or He doesn’t care that evil infests the world and afflicts His people, or He isn’t capable of stopping the evil from happening. These, of course, are all false and faithless answers to the question “Why does a good God permit evil in the world?” God did not create evil. He did not sow evil in His Kingdom. And, God does not cause evil, though He does permit it. The sower in the parable answers plainly, “An enemy has done this.” An enemy has sown the evil weeds in the field of the Lord. An enemy in opposition to the Lord’s goodness and will. When you hear the Parable of the Sower and His Good Seed on Sexagesima Sunday, remember that the weeds and the thorns that choke out the young shoots of faith were sown by the enemy of your Lord.

Then comes the second curious detail of Jesus’ story. Upon hearing that an enemy has sown weeds into the Master’s field, the servants ask if they should yank them out and gather them. Again, from a purely agrarian viewpoint this seems like the sensible thing to do. However, the Master surprisingly says, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn’.”

Let them grow together until the harvest? The Kingdom of Heaven is to have both wheat and weeds within it until the end of time? How can this be? Oh, how we are tempted to root out evil as we perceive it, when it arises in the world, in our communities, in our church, in our family, and in our lives. We are loathe to bear with patience and tolerance those persons we perceive to be unfaithful, sinful, and evil and we are loathe to bear with patience and tolerance perceived evil in our lives whether it be trial, tribulation, disease, suffering, or death. Better to root it out and cast it away. Ah, but the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man, for the weeds sown by the enemy are of the sort that they are often indistinguishable from the young wheat as they grow together. It is not until the fruit is borne and the harvest that one can clearly distinguish between the good wheat and the bad weeds. In fact, the type of weed that Jesus and the disciples would have been most familiar with was one called darnel, which is still prevalent in the Middle East today. Darnel is a weed that looks every bit like wheat until it heads in the late Summer. If one were to attempt to pull the darnel out of a wheat field prior to its bearing fruit, one would pull out just as much young wheat, or more. So, for the sake of the wheat, Jesus teaches His disciples to bear with the tares.

This should not be surprising, for an enemy is responsible for sowing the tares, and that enemy is the devil, whose devices are lies and deception. He takes what God has created good and he plagiarizes it, making it an, often attractive, but false, perversion of God’s creation. It is often said that wherever God builds a church, there the devil builds a chapel next door. This proverb reflects the biblical truth that wheat and tares, good and evil, reside together in the world, in the church, in the family, in the individual until the last day and the return of Christ in glory. The sowing of the tares is not the Father’s doing, but leaving them to grow alongside His good wheat is His will.

Oh how we would like to pull out the tares and purify the field, but, in so doing, we would uproot much that it is good. So, the Lord instructs you to bear with the evil, to suffer the evil, even to forgive the evil in this life. That is literally what He means when He says “Let both grow together…” He uses the Greek word ἄφετε which means “to let go; to permit; to forgive”; it is the same word Jesus uses when He says “suffer the little children to come to me” and in the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Bear with the evil; permit the evil; suffer the evil; forgive the evil. This is the lesson of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. For, in the harvest, on the Last Day, God will send His angels, not men, not you, to do the weed pulling – it’s not yours to do, not now, not then. Until then, you are to bear with what and who you perceive to be evil (I say perceive to be, for you may be wrong. The devil is a master of deception and he is actively trying to deceive you.) This is not to say that you should be complicit with evil and that you should not resist evil, but that it is not your job to root out all evil so as to make this church, this community, this world a new paradise, for, since good and evil in this world commonly inhabit not only the same field but even the same individual human beings, the only result of a truly dedicated campaign to get rid of evil will be the abolition of literally everybody.

What the Lord would have you do is grow in the field in which He has sown you, which is His Kingdom. You grow by remaining in His Word and Sacraments as wheat grows by sunlight, rain, and nutrients in the soil. Grow where you are planted and be fruitful with the fruits He causes you to bear, for yourself and for your family, and for the service of your neighbor to the glory of God the Father. Don’t worry about the weeds. Yes, they will grow too, right alongside of you, and they will bear their evil fruit causing pain and suffering. Now is the time of faith and trust, patience, long-suffering, and hope. When the harvest comes, “The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. […] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” “He who has ears, let him hear.”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

(Audio)

Matthew 8:23-27; Romans 13:8-10; Jonah 1:1-17

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

Look up at the ceiling of this church. Its mighty beams and rafters supporting a tremendous weight, the protuberance of wood and iron braces, its great height and severe pitch – is it not reminiscent, in some way, of a great wooden ship, perhaps turned upside down? This is not a coincidence. Even in churches of a more modern structure, such as this one, the great architectural tradition of church buildings emulating ships is still carried through. For, the Church is a great naval vessel. She is a frigate sailing upon oft turbulent seas. She is a fishing boat catching men alive unto salvation through God’s creative Word and Sacraments. She is an ark in which God preserves His elect from the raging destruction of sin and death.

For, the sea is a fierce and pitiless force of nature, giving and taking life indiscriminately. In the Scriptures, the sea is at once the provider of food and a means for commerce, but it is also a symbol for the abyss of hell where leviathan and other demons dwell. In the case of Jonah, it was the LORD who hurled a great wind upon the sea causing a mighty tempest so that the ship threatened to break up. In the Gospel, the storm seemingly arose on the sea of purely arbitrary and natural causes. But, in both cases, the LORD was in control, whether actively or passively, using the elements for good in accordance with His wisdom. And, so it is that the same water which floated the ark and saved Noah and his family also drowned those outside in its furious torrents. And, so too, the waters of Holy Baptism both kill and make alive as the man of sin drowns and dies and the new man is raised to life.

Whether He commands the tempests or allows them to go their natural course, the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land, is in control of His creation. The LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea to strike terror in the hearts of the mariners that they would cry out to their gods and rouse sleeping Jonah to cry out to his God in repentance. The LORD allowed a great storm to arise upon the sea that the disciples would cry out in faith to their slumbering Lord. At their cry, Jesus awoke and demonstrated His authority over creation, rebuking the winds and the sea and bringing a great calm, and the disciples marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

What sort of man, indeed? He is none other than the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land, in human flesh. Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea. He spoke to them as one speaks to annoying servants. And, though He slept, the Lord was in command. He slept to illustrate the holy peace and confidence that comes from faith. He slept to illicit a cry of faith from His disciples, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”

When the Lord is in the boat, there is nothing to fear. When the storms of life threaten to overtake you, you must know that the Lord is in control and that, whether awake or asleep, He is in the boat with you. He is the love of God incarnate and the fulfilling of the Law. Through faith in Him, nothing can harm you. Though you often may have but a little faith, faith receives Him who is sufficient for all your needs of body and soul.

In life you pass through many storms. Some arise about you seemingly spontaneously. Others the Lord hurls at you directly. But, there is nothing that is outside of the Lord’s command. Sometimes He calms the storm and removes it from you after a time of testing. Other times He lets the storm seethe and, like Jonah, casts you into the midst of the raging sea that you might be swallowed up and put to death in repentance, before He enlivens you again and brings you back up to shore. And there are some storms that are never removed, but rather are to be endured until death, yet endured in faith. Because where there is perfect trust in the Lord, there is also perfect peace, no matter what storm may be pounding upon your little boat. Jesus, who is the Almighty God, who exercises authority and power over wind and wave, is also your Lord who loves you and has redeemed you from all sins, from the power of the devil and even from death itself.

This He proves to you in His Holy Word, and gives to you here in the ship of His Holy Church, a ship where He is present through the preaching of His Word and in the Holy Sacraments. And with these He answers your prayers for strength and healing and for help. For here He gives you His grace which will strengthen your faith even in the midst of life’s relentless storms, and will bring you through them into a safe harbor and life everlasting.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany

(Audio)

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

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

It is a lesson about faith. It is a lesson about authority. It is a lesson about the creative power of the Word of God. It is a lesson about true healing in the forgiveness of sins. It is a lesson about the Gospel extended to the Gentiles. It is a lesson about Jesus made manifest as the Son of God in our own human flesh. It is a lesson about humility and repentance in receiving mercy from God and in showing mercy to our neighbors. Indeed, our Gospel lesson today is about all these lessons and many, many more, all at the same time, for the Word of God is an inexhaustible fountain of life and an inviting mystery that draws the faithful ever deeper into the life of God Himself.

In the Gospel lesson we are presented first with a Jewish leper and then with a Roman centurion, a commander of a hundred men, both of whom appeal to Jesus, the leper for cleansing and the centurion for the healing of his dying servant. Clearly the leper is a man of great faith. He dared to approach His Lord in his uncleanness and appealed to the Lord’s will saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” His words are an outstanding confession of faith in the good will, nature, and essence of His Lord. His confession is like unto Job’s – the Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the Name of the Lord – in that, even if it were not the Lord’s will to cleanse, the good will, nature, and essence of the Lord would not be changed in any way. But, the centurion outdid the leper in his confession. The centurion, initially, did not confess anything about Jesus, but merely laid his concern for his dying servant before the Lord. Without hesitation, Jesus said that He would go to his servant and heal him. But, this is when the centurion makes his great confession saying, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” What made the centurion’s confession great was not so much what he said about his Lord as it was what he said about himself – I am not worthy.

I am not worthy. I do not deserve your healing and forgiveness. I a poor and miserable sinner confess…. My brothers and sisters, we come before our Lord with no expectation of entitlements and with nothing of our own to offer. Rather, we come before the Lord as idolaters, as prodigals, as murderers, adulterers, and thieves. In humility and repentance we confess our sins and our iniquities against the Lord. We confess that we are worthy only of temporal and eternal punishment. We confess that to remain an unclean leper is too good for us. And, we confess our repentance and contrition and pray for the Lord’s mercy for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Jesus Christ alone. “Lord, I am not worthy,” we confess. “I forgive you all your sins,” our Lord replies. “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”

In a beautiful display of the unity and concord of the Holy Scriptures, the Church, in Her wisdom, has assigned as the Old Testament lesson for this day the complimentary narrative concerning Naaman of Syria. Whereas, in the Gospel we were presented with a Jewish leper and a Roman centurion, Naaman is at once a Syrian commander and a leper. Now, Naaman was a powerful man of great authority and influence, and, yet, he was also a leper. Apparently, it seems, the disease of leprosy had not the same social stigma amongst the Syrians as it did amongst the Jews. Further, this may be indicative of the corruption of the pagan Syrian culture. Thus, when Naaman was informed that there was a prophet in Israel who could heal him, despite his leprosy, he was bold to go directly to the king of Israel. But, having, himself, no power to heal, the king of Israel was distraught. Thus, Elisha the prophet counseled the king to send Naaman to him. So, Naaman then came to Elisha with his horses and chariots and stood outside his house awaiting an audience with the prophet. But, Elisha sent out a messenger instead. The messenger instructed Naaman to wash in the Jordan seven times and that his flesh would be restored and he would be clean. But, Naaman was angry that neither the king nor the prophet would come to him in person. And, he expected ceremonial invocations and showy hand-wavings to accompany such a miracle. Also, he was repulsed by the lowly waters of Israel in comparison to the rivers of Damascus. And, so we see that Naaman is the exact opposite of the Roman centurion. Naaman came to the king and then to Elisha with expectations of entitlement and with a sense of self-worth that he merited respect and honor. He was offended and scandalized that a mere messenger and not the prophet himself would speak to him. He was offended and scandalized that he was given only the command to wash. And he was offended and scandalized that he was to submit himself to washing in such lowly and common waters as the Jordan in Israel. He would not accept the word delivered through subordinates and he would not surrender his own expectations, desires, and will even for the promise of healing.

How like Naaman are you, thinking that the uncleanness of your sin is no big deal and that you are entitled to be heard and served by your Lord on your own terms, according to your own preferences and expectations? How often are you offended and scandalized by the means and the messengers through which your Lord ministers to you, thinking them old fashioned, irrelevant, outdated, and foolish? How often do you think that what is desirable, beautiful, glorious, and pleasurable in your eyes should determine how we worship before our Lord? How often do you leave in a huff and grumble in anger, inciting others to join in your malcontent? Of this you must repent daily, for you are not worthy that the Lord should enter under your roof.

Nevertheless, thanks be to God, He does speak His Word and you are healed. And, it is a great Word that your God has spoken to you, the Word become flesh, dwelling amongst us, whose Name is Jesus, God’s salvation. Thou you were not worthy that He should come under your roof, He has come into your flesh and has joined you into Him. Though He had no uncleanness of His own, He submitted Himself to be baptized in the Jordan for you, to become the Lord’s anointed scapegoat, taking your leprous sin, and the sin of the whole world, upon Himself, to defeat Satan’s temptations and to destroy death by His own death upon the cross. All this He gives you freely in Holy Baptism without ceremonial hand-wavings and impressive flair, but with humble, common water and His mighty, creative, and life-giving Word delivered by humble and common messengers and servants.

The Lord does indeed have authority, as confessed by the centurion, over heaven and earth, yet it is not evidenced in the worldly ways desired by Naaman, but in and through humble means does the Lord exercise His authority to forgive sins and heal, cure, and raise up men afflicted by sin’s poison and death. Though the wages of sin is, universally, death, and though all afflictions, disease, and sufferings are but the symptoms of sin, Jesus is the victor over death. Thus He is the Great Physician of your body and soul and He is the Medicine of Immortality who brings life to all who receive Him. You are not worthy that He should enter under your roof, nevertheless, He has come amongst you and has drawn you into Himself. Even now He is present with His life-giving Word to cleanse and forgive you, to feed and sustain you, and to send you as His messengers of mercy for the life of the world.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

(Audio)

John 2:1-11; Romans 12:6-16; Exodus 33:12-23

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

Our Lord simply loves weddings! After crowning His six-day’s work with the creation of man – male and female He created them – He joined them together in the one-flesh union of marriage and blessed them that they would be fruitful and multiply. And, it was at a wedding that Jesus performed His first sign, or miracle, and manifested His glory. Then, in the Revelation, we see our glorified Lord, standing as a Lamb slain, being wedded to His Bride the Church coming down from heaven. From the beginning, it has been God who has joined together; from shortly thereafter, it has been man who has separated.

Thus, Jesus blesses the wedding party at Cana with His presence. He wants to be there as two of His beloved children are made to be one. Our Lord simply loves weddings. He came with His mother and with His disciples who believed in Him. But, the wedding party ran out of wine. How many marriages today are at risk of running out of wine, or have already run out of wine? What God created as holy and as a fruitful blessing, marriage, has, because of man’s sin, become bittersweet and fraught with lies and deception, sorrow and pain. What was to be a brilliant image of the union God would have with man has become but a dim reflection. For, more than our fragmented marriages between husbands and wives, it is our marriage with God that has run out of wine. This Jesus came to restore, but His hour had not yet come.

Jesus’ hour, in John’s Gospel, is the appointed time of His passion and death on the cross. It is a time that will not be forced upon Jesus apart from His will: His life is His to lay down, no one takes it from Him. When His mother informed Him that the wedding party had run out of wine, Jesus replied that it was not a matter of concern between them now and that it was not yet the time for the shedding of His blood. Mary clearly understood this. Nevertheless, she instructed the servants to do whatever Jesus told them. It seems that Mary, who pondered the mystery of her son in her heart, who heard the prophecy told about Him by Simeon that He would be for a sign spoken against and for the rising and failing of many in Israel, and that a sword would pierce her own heart too, it seems that Mary urged her son along His destined path to the cross that He would perform this first sign and manifest His glory.

For, Jesus’ glory was manifested, not primarily in the miracle of changing water into wine, but Jesus’ glory was manifested in this first glimpse of His hour of passion that was yet to come. The water in those six stone jars was for the Jewish rites of purification. It was water that had been set aside to wash away the wedding party’s uncleanness that Jesus changed into wine. Amongst the sadness and the shame of this wedding party that had run out of wine, Jesus began to take the curse of man’s great divorce from God upon Himself and to fill its place with joy and life, the finest of wine. For, the glory of Jesus is not manifested primarily in wonders and miracles, but the glory of Jesus is manifested in the Lamb of God’s self-offering in death on the cross.

The wedding of Adam and Eve was an image of man’s wedding with God. That was the first day. Succumbing to temptation, tasting the forbidden fruit, man became the whore and divorced God in adultery. That was the second day. But, on the third day, there was a wedding. The third day is the day of resurrection, the Lord’s Day, the day on which the sun never sets. Jesus came to turn man’s sorrow and death into joy and life. He came to fill what the Law demands of us to the very brim, and not with mediocrity, but with the finest works, obedience, and love. He came to lay down His life for His friends, the greatest expression of love possible, that they might be restored unto God and live.

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the Church, His body, and is Himself its Savior. Now as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love you wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for Her, that He might sanctify Her, having cleansed Her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the Church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that She might be holy and without blemish. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.

Jesus’ first sign at the wedding of Cana points us squarely to the greatest sign, the sign of Jonah, that is Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection on the third day. For, it was from Jesus’ riven side upon the cross that was brought forth His Bride the Church. From the side of the New Adam was brought forth the New Eve in water and blood.

It is still the Third Day, the Day of Resurrection, and we are gathered here as one body in the water and the blood of our Bridegroom Jesus Christ. This is the New Cana, where the Lamb of God stands as though slain, still bearing the marks of His Calvary as glorious life-giving signs. And, the master of the feast, Satan, is stunned, knowing not from whence this precious wine comes (though you know) saying, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This is the Lamb’s High Feast, the Feast of Victory of Our God. He has fulfilled the Law, filled its gaping tomb-like mouth to the brim with the finest wine of His holy blood. No longer need you repeatedly, ritually return to the water for cleansing, but having been cleansed in His blood once and for all you are clean, holy before the Lord. This feast is but a foretaste of the Feast that is to come, the Marriage Feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom that has no end. But, it is all you need for today, for tomorrow, until He comes. Come quickly Lord Jesus. Come quickly, come.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily for the Baptism of the Our Lord

(Audio)

Matthew 3:13-17; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Isaiah 42:1-7

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

Children of God, let us not make light of the Baptism of our Lord, and let us not make light of our own baptism, for it is because of His baptism that our Lord’s death was efficacious, and it is because of His baptism that your baptism is efficacious. Jesus’ baptism was fitting, it was proper, it was necessary. Thus, when Jesus approached John to be baptized by him, John protested saying “I need to be baptized by you.” Jesus did not deny John’s complaint but, agreeing, He replied “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” The baptism of Jesus was fitting, it was proper, it was necessary for the fulfillment of all righteousness. Or, to state it negatively, all righteousness would not be have been fulfilled were it not for the baptism of Jesus. Thus, we dare not make light of the Baptism of our Lord, and we dare not make light of our own baptism.

But what is it about Jesus’ baptism that is so special, so necessary? Here, the placement of this Feast in the Sanctoral Calendar is informative. The Feast of the Baptism of our Lord is celebrated the Sunday after the Epiphany, immediately on the heels of the Christmas cycle celebrating the Birth of our Lord. So, as the story of the birth of Jesus is still fresh in our minds we are caused to reflect upon the second birth of our Lord – His holy baptism. Consider the language of Jesus’ baptism: And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” It sounds like an infant child passing through the birth canal into the light of day being received by His loving Father crying out, “It’s a boy! And, He’s perfect!” And then, what does our Lord teach us about baptism: Unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Indeed, it was fitting, it was proper, it was necessary for our holy and sinless Lord to step into the waters of the Jordan, along with sinners of all kinds, so that He could take the sins of all humanity upon Himself and, in exchange, make all men righteous through Him. In His baptism, Jesus, who was conceived and born without sin, was born again in sin, man’s sin, and was made to be sin for us that we might be made righteous in Him.

It was Creation all over again! The Father spoke. The Son was spoken. And the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. But, what was created this time was a new man, a new Adam, a new son of God with whom He could be fully pleased. The old Adam had closed heaven by his sin; the New Adam has opened it! The old Adam drowned in the waters of the Jordan; the New Adam stepped forth into life and light. The uncreated Son of God became a creature as the Son of Man – it is upon Him, Jesus, that God poured out His anointing Spirit and christened Him Son, Christ, Messiah, Savior – for you.

Jesus’ baptism was fitting, it was proper, it was necessary to fulfill all righteousness. If Jesus had not been baptized, then we would have no Christ and we would still be in our sins, our baptisms would be meaningless and useless. But Jesus has been baptized, He is the Christ, the Anointed of the Lord, and He has taken all our sins upon Himself and has given us His righteousness. He has sanctified the waters of Baptism in His blood to make them a cleansing flood of forgiveness for all men. He is God’s Son for us; with Him God is fully pleased for us. He is the Chosen One, chosen by the Father, and the Father put His Spirit upon Him and no other – for us.

His baptism marks the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. At once He is subject to temptation by the devil and mockery and persecution by men. And, at once He begins to proclaim the fulfillment of God’s Law and the presence of His Kingdom. He heals the sick, restores sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to the dumb, He makes the paralyzed to walk and He cleanses lepers while proclaiming the forgiveness of sins. His teaching is that, in Him you are forgiven, you are free. Why, then, do you remain in the prison house of sin and death? Why do you continue to strive to earn God’s favor by works? Take up your mat and walk! Go, and sin no more! Your faith has made you well!

Of Jesus, God said through the prophet Isaiah, “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” Children of God, it is still Christmas, and Jesus is the Gift that keeps on giving! “And because of Him,” writes the Apostle Paul, “You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” Jesus is your Anointed One, Christ for you. Because of His baptism is your baptism a cleansing flood of forgiveness. For, you are baptized into Christ: His baptism is your baptism. His righteousness is your righteousness. His death is your death and His resurrection is your resurrection. He is God’s Son, with whom God is well pleased; through baptism into Him, you are God’s children, forgiven, freed, and possessing eternal life and salvation!

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things! Your baptism, your faith, your forgiveness, your righteousness – these are the LORD’s work who alone does wondrous things. The LORD upheld and chose His servant Jesus. The LORD took delight in Him. The LORD placed His Spirit upon Him. The LORD called Him in righteousness. The LORD gave Him as a covenant for the people and as a light for the nations. For, God has chosen the weak and the foolish things of this world, the low and the despised, even things that are not, to shame the wise and the strong; and the LORD has chosen and called you to faith and baptism into Christ that He might say of you, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” In Christ, God became man that man might become God. Christ is baptized. Let us descend with Him that we may also ascend.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily for the Epiphany Walk

The six Christian congregations in the Village of Pawling, NY have a longstanding, unique, and beloved tradition called the Epiphany Walk. Each year on the Sunday before Epiphany, members of the congregations and the community walk together from church to church, stopping at each for a brief service or program. In the past, churches have featured their choirs, a portion of their children’s Christmas program, a prayer service, a hymn sing, etc. Each church does something different. At Christ the King, we pray Evening Prayer, sing two hymns, feature a choral piece, and I preach a brief homily. Each of the churches builds its theme around one of the pericopes of Epiphantide.

(Audio)

Isaiah 9:2-7

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

It is the ninth day of Christmas; three more to go, and then the Epiphany. Many of you have already chucked your tree to the curb; that’s ok, especially considering you may have set it up over a month ago, just after Thanksgiving. And, if your decorations are still up, they may be beginning to look a bit bedraggled and disheveled. That’s understandable. Soon, we will have all packed up our ornaments and stowed away our trimmings and put Christmas behind us for another year. However, my friends, let us not put a cover on the Light that we have enjoyed this season. For what we celebrate at Christmas is the fact that the True Light who enlightens everyone has penetrated this world of darkness, sin, and death. And that that has changed everything!

You were once a people walking in darkness, but now you are children of the Light. You have been changed! You are no longer in the dark, but you are in the light. You are no longer strangers, but you are children, even sons! This God has done for you – this God has done to you – in the incarnation of His Son Jesus Christ. There is nothing for you to do but to live and to walk in the Light and to not hinder the Light from shining about you and through you. My friends, this is as passive and natural as being born. Christ’s birth is the new birth of all humanity; Christ’s birth is your new birth – you are a child of the Light, a son of your heavenly Father, born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Being a son of God means that you have access to your heavenly Father. You can ask Him anything in the Name of Jesus and He will give it to you. More than that, you have access to His will and His voice; He is with you always with His Word to lighten your path and guide your feet, His Absolution to restore you when you go astray, and with His flesh and blood to strengthen you in communion with Himself. You are always loved and you are never alone.

Yet, even now the sun is setting. This world can still be a very dark and a very cold place. But the night is but a little while, and even in the darkness of our night, we know that the sun is still shining and that dawn will soon break. Dear friends, do not despair at the darkness of the world. Do not lose hope because of the personal darkness in your lives. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given – and that has changed everything!

The government is upon His shoulder – no, not the bloated, corrupt, inefficient, and misguided governments of men, but the government of the universe and all things in it where Christ stands as the Lamb who was slain, the flagstaff of sins forgiven for all the world. His Name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He is your Savior. He is your God. He is your brother. And that has changed everything!

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.