Quinquagesima

(Audio)

Luke 18:31-43; 2 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 Samuel 16:1-13

 

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

You know, we take so many things for granted in life. Take, for instance, seeing and hearing. These senses are so extremely fundamental to us, so much a part of our human experience, of what it even means to be human, that we assume them, we take them for granted, and we rarely stop to think what it would be like to not have them. Oh, sure, we can pretend, play a little parlor game and imagine being deaf or blind, but that’s a far cry from the reality that truly deaf and blind people have to endure every day of their lives.

As I’ve mentioned in other homilies and Bible classes, seeing and hearing are passive activities. What I mean is that our eyes and our ears receive information, they don’t transmit it, but they are passive. Light and sound come to our eyes and our ears, and then our brains interpret the data it receives from them. Thus, you don’t decide or choose to see and to hear, but sights and sounds come to you completely apart from your will or decision. You are passive in regard to your sensations. Sensations are not something that you do, but sensations are something that you experience, something that happens to you. Only if you desire to not see or to not hear do you have to do something; you have to close your eyes and cover your ears. Even then, it is extremely difficult and it takes much effort to stop seeing and to stop hearing completely.

So, here we are just days away from the beginning of Lent, a season of penitential reflection upon our sins and upon our merciful Savior Jesus Christ who suffered, died, and rose again that we might not die but live through faith in Him. And, in our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus exhorts His disciples to “See.” Jesus said to them, “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.” Jesus exhorts them to see. He commands them to see. However, they do not see. And they do not see because they do not hear. Now, God made their eyes to see, and God made their ears to hear, so what is the problem? Why did they not hear the continuous message of the prophets? Why did they not see the signs demonstrating that Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophet’s prophecies? Why is it that a blind man sitting by the roadside could see who Jesus was and what He came to do when His twelve seeing and hearing disciples struggled so to believe and to understand? Sin, of course. It was sinful rebellion and the refusal to believe the Word of the Prophets, the Word of God, and to submit to His will rather than force their own reason and interpretation upon God’s Word. They effectively stopped their ears and shut their eyes to the Word of the Prophets, therefore they could not hear, therefore they did not see.

Peter had this problem more than a few times. He had just confessed Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” for which Jesus praised him saying that His Father in heaven had revealed this truth to him, but then, moments later, when Jesus taught His disciples, just as He did in today’s Gospel lesson, that the Son of Man must suffer and die and rise again, Peter could not hear and he did not see – Peter stopped his ears and shut his eyes and would not believe that the Messiah should come in this way or suffer and die. Peter’s rational wisdom simply would not accept, would not believe, the Word and the will of God. Likewise, Thomas had this problem too. Following Jesus’ death and resurrection, though the other disciples told him that they had heard and seen the resurrected Lord, Thomas said “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.” Indeed, seeing and hearing are passive activities. One must willfully and intentionally stop his ears and shut his eyes to keep from seeing and hearing the Truth.

And yet, too often, you do precisely that. The Word of God does not make sense to you. It seems to say something that is hard for you to believe and to accept. It seems to go against the popular wisdom of your culture, your brightest and best minds, and your world. Then you, like Peter and Thomas, say to yourself and to others, “Well, that can’t be true. Surely God’s Word must mean something else. It must be a metaphor or a symbol. It’s not meant to be taken literally. For, if that is true, then what so many believe to be true is surely wrong. Or, if that is true, then what I have been believing is wrong.” Whereas Jesus praised Peter for his bold confession of faith, what did our Lord say to Peter when he denied and refused to accept the path that the Son of Man must go? He said, “Get behind me Satan.” Now, Jesus was not calling Peter Satan. However, just as He told Peter that his bold confession of faith came, not from Peter’s flesh and blood, but from His Father in heaven, so Jesus also told Peter where his denial and unbelief was coming from – Satan, the father of lies himself. It was Satan, after all, who was the first to tempt man to disbelieve God’s Word saying, “Did God really say?” Indeed, this is Satan’s great and only power – lies and deception. Truly, there is no need to fear the devil, for he is already defeated by Christ. He has no power to harm you other than that power which you give to him by believing and trusting his lies and deceptions, his word instead of God’s Word.

Jesus exhorted His disciples to “See,” but they couldn’t see. They couldn’t see because they didn’t hear. Well, they heard, to be sure, but the didn’t hear rightly: Hearing, they did not hear, therefore seeing, they did not see. St. Luke tells us the “they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” This is to say that there was a little something supernatural going on; in some respect, the disciples were kept from understanding Jesus’ teaching. We should understand this in this way: God does not force Himself upon anyone. As in the Parable of the Sower you heard last Sunday, God’s Word, the seed, is always powerful and efficacious to bring about faith, life, and fruit. If the Word is not successful, that is not, and can never be, the fault of the seed of the Word. No, it is the fault of the soil, for when the soil is receptive, the seed of the Word will do its work, creating faith and growing to fruitfulness. However, the condition of the soil will always limit the growth and fruitfulness of the Word. Could God force the growth and fruitfulness? Well, He certainly has the power to do so, but that is not His way; God does not force Himself upon anyone. Therefore, when your heart is receptive to His Word – when your ears and eyes are open and not intentionally stopped and shut, or blinded by human reason and wisdom – then you will grow in faith and understanding and fruitfulness, for the seed of the Word is always powerful and efficacious.

In contrast to His hearing and seeing disciples who did not understand or grasp what Jesus said, it was a blind man begging on the roadside that heard and therefore saw Jesus for who He truly was and what He had come to do. What the blind man heard was the sound of a crowd going by. Then, rather than leaning on his own understanding, he inquired of others what this meant. When he heard the word that Jesus was passing by, he cried out to Jesus for mercy using the Messianic title “Son of David.” Though the blind disciples rebuked and tried to silence the man, he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” The Lord Jesus asked the man what He wanted Him to do for him. The man replied, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And, because his ears were open to the Word of God, Jesus granted him also to see, for those who have ears to hear the Word of the Lord will also have eyes to see differently, to see in accordance with God’s Word unclouded by man’s reason and wisdom.

Similarly, in our Old Testament lesson today, neither Samuel nor David’s father Jesse expected the lowly shepherd boy to be the LORD’s chosen king. Nevertheless, the LORD had said, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, […] For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” Likewise with St. Paul’s beloved epistle on love – St. Paul lists all sorts of spiritual gifts and abilities and yet states that they are all worthless, meaningless, and nothing unless they proceed from love for God and love for the neighbor. What is seen with natural eyes is the work. What is seen with the eyes of faith is the love that produces the work as fruit, indeed, that makes the work to be a fruit and the branch fruitful.

Children of God, be slow to speak and quick to listen as the Lord teaches through St. James. For, faith is created, and knowledge and wisdom are gained, through the Word of God that you hear, not through that which you observe with your eyes. Indeed, by hearing rightly will you receive eyes to see the truth of things as they really are, as God sees them and directs them. This is what St. Paul means when He says, “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully.” This is why physical eyesight is not necessary to see the things and the ways of God, for, when the soul rightly hears and hearkens to His Word, then true sight will be given with which you may truly see.

Your God is a God who does wonders. He has made known His might among the peoples of old. His Word has gone forth from His mouth, returning not to Him void and empty, but having accomplished the purpose for which He was sent forth. He is unchanging from eternity, His Word the only thing true and certain. He has kept His promises, and He keeps them now for you. Come before Him now, as His dear children, purchased in the blood of His Son Jesus, the Word of His mouth made flesh, and receive from Him bread and wine, what your eyes see, believing them to be as you have heard Him say, Jesus’ body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins, eternal life, and salvation. He who by His Word has opened your ears to hear will give you also new eyes to see what lies beneath the veil until He comes, when every eye will see Him and every tongue will confess Him to be the Lord, and God the Father will be glorified.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Christian Funeral for Alfred "Al" Clifford Cox

(Audio)

John 10:11-16; Romans 8:31-39; Job 19:21-27

 

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

I think it’s fair to say that Al was a simple man. I’m not speaking of his intelligence, for Al was whip-smart and nobody’s fool, but his lifestyle, his interests, his dreams were fairly simple. Al was content, at peace, happy with what he had and with what he could do. Sadly, longing and desiring for things we don’t or can’t have, or can’t do, is what often make us so miserable. Most of us, I imagine, could learn a thing or two from a guy like Al and be a lot happier for it.

Al was born in Florida but lived most of his life in Pennsylvania where he worked as a bakery assistant and as a car wash attendant. It was much later in life that he reconnected with his high school sweetheart Robyn. Robyn was living in Texas at the time, and Al was living in Pennsylvania, but Al’s sister Kathy hooked them up. Robyn traveled to Pennsylvania to see her high school sweetheart, and thirty-three years after high school, Al and Robyn were married on April 23, 2016. Together they lived in Pennsylvania for a while, then Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania again, and finally they moved to Waverly, Iowa in May of 2023 to be closer to their daughter Michelle. Though Al was not her biological father, Michelle said that Al was a better dad and was that he was there for her from day one. Al and Robyn would have celebrated their ninth anniversary in April.

Al and Robyn enjoyed everything together, especially watching TV and playing the Wii. They regularly joined us here at St. John for fellowship dinners and for cards and games at 5-C. However, Al was the cook at home, and the dishwasher too! His favorite dishes to make were meatloaf and spaghetti, and Michelle enjoyed cooking with Al from time to time.

Al and Robyn began attending St. John in the Fall of 2023. They immediately became a part of our family of faith and appear in countless photos of fellowship dinners and events. Al was always so happy and smiling in those photos. He was funny, easy going, and positive. We will all miss him, along with you his family and friends.

On August 25 last year Al suffered a debilitating stroke. Life would never be the same. Al was life-flighted to Iowa City where he spent a month or more in the surgical ICU at the University of Iowa Hospital. It was touch and go most of that time, but Al pulled through and he and Robyn had to adjust to a new way of living that involved a long stay at Mercy One Rehabilitation for inpatient physical rehabilitation, and then later, an indefinite stay at Harmony House in Waterloo. The damage from the stroke, however, was truly debilitating and the recovery was long and slow and frustrating for Al. I truly believe that it began to wear down his contentment, peace, and patience, and to rob him of some of his lighthearted joy and spirit. Al put up a strong fight, perhaps all that he had, but in the end, the Lord took him that he might find rest in Him.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” says Jesus. There is rest and peace and comfort and joy in the presence of Jesus. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep by name; He calls them, and they follow Him. He leads them to cool waters. He guides them and protects them. And He feeds them in the presence of their enemies. In Jesus, there is no want, for every need is met and all desires are fulfilled. Jesus’ sheep are like a cup, a chalice, filled to overflowing with His love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

Jesus is our Sabbath rest. All who trust in Him find rest and comfort, through good times and through bad times. Job was a man blessed richly with family, wealth, possessions, the admiration of men, and personal health. Though the LORD permitted all these blessings to be taken from him, Job still trusted in the LORD confessing, “The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away; blessed by the Name of the LORD.” And 2000 years before the birth of Jesus, in his suffering, Job confessed his belief in an already living Redeemer and in the resurrection of his own body saying, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, [and He is!] who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? […] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Robyn, Michelle, family, friends, take comfort, find peace, and have hope in the promises of the LORD: “Nothing can separate you from my love.” “I will never leave you or forsake you.” “I am with you always.” Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on, for they are with Him. Though we grieve their passing, and we miss them, we truly do not wish them back, but our wish is to be with them where they are in the presence of our Lord, Savior, and Good Shepherd Jesus. That promise has been kept for Al and for all who trust in Him, and that promise will be kept for you if you trust in Him as well.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Sexagesima

(Audio)

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

 

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

Farming is hard. Did you know that? Pretty much everything is stacked against you: Not enough rain; too much rain. Not enough sun and heat; too much sun and heat. Weeds, insects, mold, blight. Bird flu, parasites, and more. It’s almost like all of creation is in bondage to sin, corruption, and death, or something? And, as it goes for the farmer, so it goes for the preacher, and so it goes for you dear Christian in your life in this world: You are under continual attack from Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh, and you will enter the LORD’s kingdom only by persevering through trial, temptation, tribulation, suffering, and finally death as you follow and live your life in the One who was pierced and crushed for our sins and iniquities.

The Scriptures abound in agricultural themes and imagery. Jesus compared Himself to a grain of wheat that must fall into the earth and die that He should produce an abundance of new life: “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. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” Jesus, of course, was talking about His suffering and death. He was literally born so that He might suffer and die for us. Yes, that’s what Christmas was really all about: The Father sowed the Seed of His Word, His Son, into our flesh, into this world, so that He should suffer and die and be raised to new, abundant, and everlasting life for all who trust in Him.

The Parable of the Sower is a particularly beloved parable, perhaps in large part because Jesus actually explains what it means. The Seed is the Word of God, which is to say, the Seed is Jesus. Thus, the Sower is God the Father. These two, the Sower and the Seed, stand at the very center of the parable as the only agency, power, and life. The Sower sows the Seed, and only the Seed has the agency, power, and life to bring about new life and fruitfulness. However, the life-giving Seed, the Word of God, Jesus Christ, will be attacked by the devil, the world, and the sinful flesh of men. For, we are the soil: The hard soil, the rocky soil, the weedy and thorny soil, and, by the grace of God alone, sometimes the good soil too. Do not think that anyone, including yourself, is one particular soil alone, for we are each all of the soils at different times, often even in the same day. The point is that, apart from the powerful, life-giving Word-Seed-Jesus, we are just soil, and we are lifeless and fruitless on our own.

The Father sows the Word Seed, His Son, into this world, into our flesh, in full knowledge that He will be opposed, resisted, and rejected by most – indeed, by ¾, 75%, in the parable – and in the full knowledge that He will suffer and die. Moreover, the Word Seed Son Jesus also knows that He will be resisted, rejected, will suffer and die, and He goes willingly out of love and obedience to His Father. This is the Father’s will. And, the Son’s will, Jesus’ will, is the same as His Father’s. Resistance, rejection, suffering, and death is the Father’s will for His Word Seed Son. Yes, as much as it is the Father’s will that the Son should die that those who receive Him and trust in Him, but a remnant, should have life in His Name, it is also the Father’s will that those who reject Him and do not believe should be exposed, for in this way the LORD’s righteousness shines forth and God is glorified. The Prophet says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” And St. Simeon prophesied of the infant Jesus, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed […] so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

The Father didn’t have to send His Son. By all rights, He shouldn’t have. But that’s who He is. God is our true Father who loves us with a perfect, selfless, sacrificial love. No, He shouldn’t have, but He did, because that’s who He is. The Father’s sowing of His Seed Word Son is a gift of grace, pure grace, no strings attached. We are the soil, inert, lifeless soil. Be we hard, rocky, thorny, or good soil, we are the soil, and we contribute nothing, but we only receive, or we reject, the powerful and life-giving Seed. We contribute nothing because we are creatures, created by our Creator God and LORD. What did the pot contribute to its creation by the potter? What did the painting contribute to its being painted? If a pot or a painting are bad, they might be destroyed or painted over. Not so with our Creator God and LORD. Though we, His creatures, rejected and rebelled against Him, He did the unthinkable, He set in motion a plan to redeem and restore us, a plan that would require the death of His Son. It was the Father’s grace alone that gave us a chance to be redeemed, and it is by His Word, Scripture alone, His Word Seed Son Jesus alone, that we can be redeemed. “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

The Sower sows the seed of His Word. This Word is living and powerful to conceive new life in those who hear it. But the planting of Christ is attacked by the devil, the world, and the flesh. Satan snatches the Word away from hard hearts. The riches and pleasures of this life choke off faith. Shallow and emotional belief withers in time of temptation and trouble. But see how Christ bears this attack for us! Christ’s cross was planted in the hard and rocky soil of Golgotha. A crown of thorns was placed upon His head. Satan and His demons hellishly hounded and devoured Him. Yet, through His dying and rising again, He destroyed these enemies of ours. Jesus is Himself the Seed which fell to the ground and died in order that it might sprout forth to new life and produce much grain. He is the Word of the Father which does not return void but yields a harvest hundredfold.

There’s nothing easy about farming. Likewise, there’s nothing easy about being a Christian. You are under continual attack from Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh, and you will enter the LORD’s kingdom only by persevering through trial, temptation, tribulation, suffering, and finally death as you follow and live your life in the One who was pierced and crushed for our sins and iniquities. Thanks be to God our Father that He is gracious and merciful. He has sown His Word Seed Son into our flesh, and He has suffered all the assaults of the evil one in His own flesh and blood body, has suffered and died and rose again victorious of sin, death, and Satan the firstfruits of those who believe and trust in Him. Because He lives, we will live also, provided we do not give up. By the Grace alone of the Father we have the Holy Scriptures, His Word Seed Son. Remain in His Word and He will remain in you, and you will bear His fruit a hundredfold into life that does not end. Grace alone; Scripture alone; Christ alone. Faith alone; Believe it and live in Him.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

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.

Outside those doors is a world ruled by man’s wisdom and reason, knowledge and intellect. In that world men are in competition with one-another, much less for survival than for the amassing of power and wealth, material possessions, and for the admiration, envy, and fear of other men. Outside those doors men use political philosophies, business and marketing strategies, coercion, threats, and even force to gain one-upmanship over one-another, to advance the self, and to squash all competition or opposition. That’s what lies outside those doors from whence you came this day. But, when you come through those doors into this place, you must leave all those things behind, check them at the door. For, such philosophies, strategies, and means have no place within the walls of God’s house, and they must find no voice amongst God’s children. And we must not attempt to use them to grow, to maintain, or to defend the Church of Christ, for they are of, and they belong to, the world outside those doors, and, though the Church of Christ is within that world, She must never be, or become, or desire to be, part of that world.

Indeed, in His parable today, Jesus is not describing what lies outside those doors, but He is describing what is inside those doors, the kingdom of heaven, a reality of which our humble assembly in this place is but a dim reflection. It is a parable about a Master who hires laborers to work in His vineyard and who, at the end of the day, pays them exactly what He had promised each of them regardless of how long they had worked or what they believed that they earned, deserved, or merited. To be sure, if Jesus’ parable were enacted as a socio-political philosophy today, neither the capitalist nor the socialist, nor even the libertarian outside those doors would agree or be pleased, for the first principle in Jesus’ parable is grace, which, by definition, cannot be earned, deserved, or merited. For, you must remember, this is a parable about the kingdom of heaven, and not a parable about the crumbling, rotting, selfish, and wicked kingdoms of men.

And, notice this, there is no “go and do likewise” teaching from Jesus here. For, the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of grace – period. In the end, you are either in the kingdom of God’s grace, or you are outside of it; you are either on this side of those doors, or you are on the outside. Those on the outside of the kingdom of God’s grace will be there by their own choice alone, for the Spirit of the Lord will continue calling laborers to work in the Lord’s vineyard even unto the eleventh hour of this world, and those who enter last will receive the fullness of God’s grace in Jesus Christ even as the first. The only question that is asked of those who enter the kingdom at the eleventh hour is “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” Do not begrudge the Lord His generosity.

Indeed, there is more for you to check at the door when you enter this place than merely your socio-political philosophies and your worldly wisdom and fleshly desires, for you must check every sense of merit, worthiness, and deserving as well. For, you come into the kingdom of heaven much in the way that you came into this worldly kingdom – naked, helpless, and with nothing to offer. Worse than that, you come as damaged goods, broken, selfish and self-centered, envious, greedy, and filled with every corruption. That’s the way you come into the kingdom; but that’s not the way you leave. For, there is not one in the kingdom of heaven that does not receive a 100% share of the Lord’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ. And, there is not one in the kingdom of heaven who is not made to be holy, innocent, and righteous in the atoning incarnation, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Outside those doors, many men are concerned only about preserving, keeping, and defending what they believe they have rightly earned, deserved, or merited, while, many other men are concerned only about providing for those who are either unable or unwilling to earn, deserve, or merit much of anything at all. As the former may be tempted to self-concern and selfishness, so the latter may be tempted to take, by coercion or by force, from those who have to distribute it to those who have not. But, that is outside those doors. For, inside those doors, in the kingdom of heaven, no one earns, deserves, or merits anything at all, and yet all receive equally and fully of God’s rich grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness for Jesus’ sake. Again, there is no “Go and do likewise” teaching here, but, nevertheless, you are sent back out through those doors into the world, but not of the world. And, you go out into the world differently, as a child of God, as a recipient of God’s boundless grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness, to show and to share to those in the world that they might come through those doors and enter the vineyard kingdom of heaven as well. No, you will not be perfect in your efforts outside those doors; you will pick up some of the old habits, and thoughts, and sinful ways of the flesh. But, when you return, you will leave those things at the door once again and return to the kingdom of heaven in repentance and humility, where you will find that, though you strayed, the kingdom was never far from you, and that you will be restored and renewed in God’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness once again for the sake of Jesus Christ your Lord.

For, while the way into this place may be through those doors, the way into the kingdom of heaven is not through those doors, or the doors of any building, but the way into the kingdom of heaven is through the font. For, the font is the womb of the Church, the place where the children of God are conceived and born through water and the Word. And, from the pulpit and the lectern the children of God are nourished and strengthened in faith by the faith creating and sustaining Word of God. And from the altar the children of God are served the finest of meats and the choicest of wines to eat and to drink, that Christ may dwell in you and you in Him. For, as St. Peter has written, “our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”

And so it is, dear Christian, that you live your life in two kingdoms – the kingdom of this world outside those doors, and the kingdom of heaven inside those doors. And, as much as the world out there must not influence, change, or affect life in the Church of Christ, so likewise, it is not the mission or the purpose of the Church to conquer and to rule in the world. Rather, you are to be like leaven in the world, you are to be like salt in the world, and you are to be like light in that world of sin, darkness, and death. That is to say that you are to take the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness that you have received from God in Jesus in His kingdom of grace and you are to live it, to speak it, and to do it in the world, in your vocations, to your neighbors, as God has freely lived, spoken, and done to you in Jesus Christ.

And, as citizens of the kingdom of heaven, you must not seek to use the government or politics or force to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth, for grace does not force itself on anyone, but it is freely given and it must be freely received. Likewise, Jesus nowhere teaches that the children of God should utilize government, politics, or force to take what belongs to one and give to another. Instead your Lord teaches, “Give, as it has been given to you” and “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.” You search the Scriptures in vain for a socio-political philosophy, for Church growth strategies and marketing techniques, for such things are of the kingdom of the world outside those doors, while Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. But, you are the Lord’s laborers in His vineyard, and, notice, there is no description of the kind of work that you do or even of the limits of your work shift, for, the conditions of your hire are a relationship of faith and trust in the good will of your Lord and Master, and the work that you do is to live your life outside those doors in faith and trust in Him and in loving service to your neighbor. Put not your trust in princes, they are but mortal, but put your trust in Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth. He offers His grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness to all, to the last as to the first. Let us not begrudge His generosity but share it in life, word, and deed to the glory of God the Father, in His most Holy Son, in the love of His Holy Spirit.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

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.