Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
  • Home
    • Missions
    • Swaddling Clothes
  • What We Believe
    • Christian Education: Sunday School and Catechism Program
    • Baptism
    • Worship >
      • Online Services
    • Confession and Absolution
    • Holy Communion
  • Our Pastor
    • Sermons
    • Sermons 2015-2016
  • Trinity Trumpet Newsletter
  • Trinity Trumpet Calendar

"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

God’s Glory Is Revealed in Love

1/18/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Marriage at Cana of Galilee by Adelaide Ironside, 1861, Public Domain
Epiphany 2 
John 2:1-11 

January 17, 2021 
 
 
What do you think? Is God’s glory revealed more prominently in his power or in his love? This is a major question, the answer to which determines very much how you perceive your relationship with God. Jesus performed his first sign at a wedding in Cana in Galilee, manifesting his glory, so that his disciples believed in him. While turning water into wine is certainly a miracle, it does not demonstrate the immense power of dividing the Red Sea in two or walking on water or raising the dead. Yet, by turning water into wine at a wedding, Jesus showed that his glory is not revealed primarily in his power, but rather in his love.  
This is not to say that Jesus is not all powerful. Jesus is omnipotent, the almighty God. But we don’t believe in Jesus through the revelation of his power alone, but through the revelation of his love. And in turning water into wine at a wedding, Jesus shows his love and commitment both to our earthly marriages and to Christ’s heavenly marriage with his Church. The stone jars Jesus filled with wine were not meant for wine. They were meant for water used in ceremonial washing after the tradition of the Jews. Yet, by using them for wine, Jesus demonstrates that it is not human traditions that determine what marriage is, but God. And God has made both earthly marriage and the marriage between Christ and his Church to be a joy.  
There are three God-given purposes for marriage: Companionship, Chastity, and Children. First, Companionship: God said in the Garden, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.” (Genesis 2:18) So, God made a woman for the man and joined them together as one flesh (Genesis 2:24), so that Jesus says, “What God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matthew 19:6) So, it comes as no surprise that God says that he hates divorce (Malachi 2:16 NKJV). Who doesn’t hate divorce? But God doesn’t simply hate divorce the way Tammy Wynette sings about it. God hates divorce so much that he undoes divorce and will never again be separated from his Bride.  
When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they caused a great divorce between man and God. Sin separates us from God. And through Adam we are all born in sin. Yet, this divorce did not just separate man from God, but man from one another. The first man ever born murdered his first brother. And mankind was divided into factions; families dividing in hatred, nations rising in enmity against other nations. Yet, God did not stop loving our race, and so he sent a Savior, as it is beautifully described in that great hymn, 
“The Church’s one foundation/ Is Jesus Christ, her Lord; 
She is His new creation/ By water and the Word.  
From heav’n He came and sought her/ To be His holy bride;  
With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died. (Samuel Stone, The Church’s One Foundation, LSB 644).  
And this is the reason Scripture says that husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the Church (Ephesians 5:25). Neither the threats of the Law nor God’s demonstrations of power through a world-wide flood, plagues, and the destruction of nations could reunite his people to himself, but rather in love sending his only begotten Son to die for us. (That is where God’s greatest glory is revealed!) Likewise, a husband cannot get his wife to respect him by exerting force, but rather through love, even by laying down his life for hers.  
This also leads to the discussion of wives submitting to their husbands. Few passages in Scripture are met with as much resistance as the passages, which tell a wife to submit to her husband (Ephesians 5:22-24; 1 Peter 3:1-6). And many women (and men) reject this, either dismissing it outright or trying soften it by saying that husbands and wives should submit to each other. Yet, that is not what the word means. Submit means to subordinate. Two people cannot submit to each other. One submits to the other. When St. Paul tells us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, he is not telling every single person to submit to every single person. Rather, he is telling each of us to submit to those whom God has placed over us, even as we submit to Christ. God has created an order (1 Corinthians 11:1-3). The husband is the head and the wife the body just as Christ is the head of his body the Church. The Church submits to Christ. Christ does not submit to the Church, rather, he lays down his life for her in love. Yet, Christ does submit to the Father’s will, even though he is equal to the Father. Likewise, the husband does not submit to his wife, but rather loves her, serves her, and lays down his life for her.  
And so, you see that it is actually a strange thing to protest that wives should submit to their husbands. Except for God the Father, there is not a being who must not submit to another. All of us must submit to many people on a regular basis, from employers to people in government and the church. Yet, God here tells the wife to submit to her husband, the man whom God has commanded to love her unconditionally and to sacrifice all for her welfare. Of all the people a woman must submit to in her life, she should be most willing to do so to her husband, because by submitting to him, she is putting her trust in him. This is how the Church submits to Christ. The Church submits to Christ by trusting in his love, believing that everything he does for her is for her good. Yet, even if a husband does not love his wife as he should (which they never do perfectly), Scripture still tells wives to submit to their husbands to the glory of Christ, so that they may win them over by their Christian conduct (1 Peter 3:1). And Scripture spends many more words commanding a husband to love his wife, so that when his wife submits to him, she is putting her trust in his love for her.  
It is through this relationship of love being given and love being trusted that God designed the companionship of marriage to survive. It involves continued repentance and forgiveness, patience and kindness, humility and selflessness. And this is what our Lord Jesus has demonstrated to us by continuing to forgive us with patience. And he promises never to divorce us.  
Chastity is sexual purity. Sexual relations are only permitted within marriage between husband and wife. Outside of that bond it is called fornication and adultery. Yet, within marriage it is a blessing from God, which helps prevent sin, as St. Paul says, “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each wife her own husband.” (1 Corinthians 7:2) Sex outside of marriage is a sin and an attack on marriage. It harms men, women, and children, and cannot be considered an act of love, but of selfishness. Therefore, all Christians should abstain from sex until they are married and then be faithful to their spouse. Such faithfulness God rewards with happiness and children.  
Faithfulness in marriage relates to faithfulness to Christ. We are to have no other gods and we are to trust in Christ alone for salvation. So, just as husband and wife should be faithful to each other and remember their wedding vows, so each Christian should remember that we have one Lord who has bought us and joined us to himself forever. He is our Redeemer.  
When God first joined man and woman together in marriage, he blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:18) And the Psalmist declares, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” (Psalm 127) And so, children have always been a God given blessing to marriage and the fruit of marital fidelity. So likewise, Christ’s union with his bride the Church begets children born of water and the Spirit. And within the household of God, these children are nourished by the proclamation of the Gospel, Absolution, and the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood. In the Church he strengthens and shelters his children by forgiving their sins and filling them with his Holy Spirit. And everything he gives to his children, they receive from their Mother, the Church.  
Yet, despite how Scripture praises children as a wonderful blessing from God, children are often despised. People think they get in the way of life. They disrupt plans. They’re expensive. They wreck things. So, more and more married couples choose to prevent having children so that they can save more money to spend on stuff or they wait to have children until they think they have enough money, as if God would let their children starve or go naked. And of course, many learn that it isn’t for them to choose anyway. God is the one who gives and withholds children.  
 Marriage took multiple blows even before so-called “same-sex marriage” became a thing. Divorce destroyed the lifelong companionship instituted by God. Fornication has defiled the marriage bed. And people value stuff that will turn in to junk in a few years more than children they can baptize and teach the Gospel to, so that they can live with them forever in heaven! And many young people are forsaking marriage all together, choosing rather to fornicate, since it is now socially acceptable. Marriage is looked at as a burdensome undesirable thing.  
This is sad. God didn’t create marriage to be a burden. He doesn’t give us children, because he hates us. Marriage isn’t a life-long prison sentence. God gives us marriage, because he loves us. Outside of the Mystical Union between the Church and Christ, marriage is the most blessed union on earth! God created marriage to be a joy! This is shown in how Jesus blesses this wedding with wine. Wine is considered a non-essential, a luxury you can do without. Yet, Jesus uses his first miracle to make wine, because, as Scripture says, wine gladdens the heart of man. (Psalm 104:15) He does this to show that joy is not a non-essential. God created marriage to be a joy, just as he sent his Son to rescue us from our sins, so that we may have joy with him forever in heaven.  
Yet, we must not confuse the joy God gives to marriage and to his Church with the lusts and passions of the sinful flesh, which pass away, give headaches, and fill you with regret. The joy God gives his Church stems from the forgiveness he won for us for Christ’s sake, which brings us into Communion with him and one another. God gives joy to marriage even when our sin tries to ruin it. God honors marriage by likening it to Christ’s union with the Church. He gives joy to marriage by blessing it with his children, whom you raise as God’s holy instruments. Even when God withholds children from a marriage, he still blesses it with love. He blesses marriage with the forgiveness of sins, so that husbands who fail to love their wives and wives who fail to respect their husbands can be reconciled. And in his Church, Christ even gives joy to those who have unlawfully divorced, who have committed adultery, fornication, or have otherwise dishonored marriage, by forgiving them and joining them to himself again.  
Jesus turned water into good wine even after the wedding guests had already drunk enough wine. He did this to show that he gives his joy to those who don’t deserve it out of his own grace and mercy. He forgives us sinners. He blesses our marriages. He gives us laughter even in the midst of this sinful world.  
Jesus performed this first miracle in the village of Cana in Galilee, a town forgotten by history. This shows us that Christ values our marriages and our families and desires to dwell in them to make them holy. Although history will most likely forget you, your marriage and children, God will never forget you. The most sacred house is not the Capitol or even some ancient cathedral, but the Christian home where husband and wife dwell with their children in the Word of God. That is where Christ desires to dwell, to forgive and strengthen them through his word. To such a meek and despised setting, Christ continues to reveal his glory through his love in the Gospel. Amen.  
0 Comments

The Epiphany of our Lord in the Jordan

1/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo: The Baptism of Christ, 1655, Public Domain
The Baptism of our Lord 
Matthew 3:13-17 

January 10, 2020 
 
Blessed Epiphany! Epiphany comes from the Greek word for manifestation or appearing. It refers to God revealing himself to us in his Son, Jesus Christ. So, it makes sense in this Epiphany season that we remember the Baptism of our Lord Jesus in the Jordan River, because in few places does God manifest himself and his desire to save us so clearly and succinctly as in Jesus’ Baptism.  
There is a saying, “The Old is in the New revealed; the New is in the Old concealed.” This saying refers to the Old and the New Testament. Both the Old and the New Testament are God’s holy Word. And the Old Testament is truly valuable and profitable to read and meditate on for faith and salvation. Yet, without the revelation of the New Testament, there is much in the Old Testament that remains hidden from our understanding. St. Peter explains it this way,  
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.” (1 Peter 1:10-12) 
What does this mean? It means that you are the most blessed people, privileged even above the prophets and seers of the Old Testament! Because to you has been revealed the Gospel in its fullness and clarity. Think of this, the Prophet Isaiah prophesied that the Virgin would conceive and bear a son and would call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). He wrote of the suffering of the Christ, who would go as a lamb to the slaughter bearing the iniquities of us all (Isaiah 53). Yet, search as he might in his own prophecies, he could not answer when these things would be or exactly how they would be carried out. Yet to you, o blessed of all people, is revealed the meaning of Isaiah’s prophecies, even more clearly than Isaiah could make them out! The prophets searched their own writings! Yet, to us is revealed just how wonderful their message is.  
This great mystery is summed up in the first verse of the book of Hebrews, which says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” The prophets of the Old Testament write much about God and his plan to send his Son to save us. Yet, you must read many passages to find arguments for the Holy Trinity. Although much is written about Christ, there are still many unanswered questions. Yet, in the New Testament, what is hidden in the Old Testament is revealed. This is because the New Testament reveals God’s Son Jesus to us. And in the five verses that make up St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Baptism, more is revealed to us about who our God is and what he does for us than in many chapters of the Old Testament.  
You can find much about the Holy Trinity in the Old Testament. In the first three verses of Genesis, we can see the three Persons in the Holy Trinity: The Father, the Son, that is, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. The Father speaks, which shows that he begets the Word through whom he creates all things and the Spirit of God hovers over the water. Yet, that passage alone does not suffice to prove the Holy Trinity: Three distinct Person, yet one God. There is also the passage of the burning bush, where the Angel of the LORD is in the burning bush, but then Scripture says that God spoke to Moses from the bush, so he is both the Angel of the LORD, yet he is God. He is multiple distinct persons, yet one God. Yet, this passage alone is also not sufficient. Again, in Genesis chapter one, God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” And then it says, “So God created man in his own image.” Again, an example that God has multiple persons, yet there is one God. In the Aaronic Benediction in Numbers 6, we hear, “The LORD bless you and keep you, the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” So, the name of the LORD is put on the people of Israel with the name of the LORD repeated three times. In Isaiah 6, the angels sing to the Lord, “Holy, holy, holy,” thrice holy for the three persons in the holy Trinity.  
And there are many other passages that point to and hint at the holy Trinity in the Old Testament, yet, many of them are not sufficient on their own and you must read many passages and search for it to find the teaching of the Holy Trinity. Yet, in Jesus’ Baptism, in just a few short verses, we hear the Father from heaven speak, declaring Jesus to be his beloved Son, and we see the Holy Spirit descend like a dove upon Jesus, anointing him for his mission to save our souls. In a single sentence we see the glorious doctrine of the Holy Trinity with more clarity than in all the Old Testament together. And we also see God’s Son Jesus reveals himself to us in his Baptism! And this same Jesus then commands that all nations be baptized into the name of this one God: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20).  
In the Old Testament we learn a lot about Christ Jesus our Savior. In Genesis 3:15, we learn that he will come from the seed of the woman and will crush the head of Satan, while he himself will be bruised on the heal. To Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God promised that all nations of the earth would be blessed through this descendent of theirs. God revealed to King David that this Christ would descend from his family tree and would rule forever (2 Samuel 7), a fact confirmed even by the Prophet Jeremiah in the midst of the destruction of Jerusalem, when he assured us that God would raise up for David a righteous branch, who would reign as king, save Judah and Israel, and would be called, “The Lord is our Righteousness.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6) Isaiah too confirmed that the Christ would come from David’s father Jesse’s stump. And David himself told us that the Christ was both his Son and his Lord, when he said, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your foot stool” (Psalm 110) 
The Old Testament is filled with information about the Christ. Micah told us he would be born in Bethlehem. David told us that they would pierce his hands and feet, divide his garments and cast lots for his tunic (Psalm 22). The prophet Zechariah said they would look on him whom they have pierced (Zech. 12:10).  Yet, here in the Jordan we see him appear to us, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We see him, the Son of Mary, born in Bethlehem, who is called a Nazarene for living in Nazareth, this descendent of David standing in the Jordan, anointed by the Holy Spirit, declared to be God’s Son!  
And we even learn that Jesus does not do this for himself! Obviously, he doesn’t! He has no sin! John knows full well he has no need of his own accord to be baptized. Sinners are baptized. John the sinner needs to be baptized by Jesus, not Jesus be baptized him. Then why is Jesus baptized? Jesus says, “to fulfill all righteousness.” That is to say, in order for poor sinners to become righteous and be saved.  
By willingly being baptized in the Jordan River, Jesus willingly joined himself to sinners. He took upon himself his mission to be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. You cannot separate Jesus’ Baptism from his crucifixion and resurrection. When he entered the Jordan, he entered his course to the cross. From there, he would take our sins, possess them, own them, and pay for them with his own blood. He, who shares our flesh and blood is God’s beloved Son, and as God’s beloved Son, he rescues those whom God loves.  
So, we see in Jesus’ Baptism a great Epiphany. A revelation of who God is: The Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We see the revelation of his Son, the Christ: Son of David and Son of God. And we see God’s desire to save us and fulfill righteousness for our sake.  
As certainly as we cannot separate Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan from his death by crucifixion and resurrection from the dead, so certainly can we not separate our own Baptism from Christ’s Baptism and his work of salvation for us. In his Baptism, Christ was anointed to save sinners. And in so doing, he joined himself to the Baptismal waters. He sucked all the sin out of them and poured into it his righteousness and Holy Spirit, so that those waters become a washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:6-7), so that Christ might present us holy and blameless without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:26-27).  
This means that in your own Baptism, which you should remember every day, you should see the great Epiphany of God’s love for you! At Jesus’ Baptism, God sent down his Holy Spirit to anoint Jesus. So, in your Baptism, God sends his Holy Spirit to anoint you and make you a little Christ, that is, a little anointed one, who bear’s Jesus’ name. At Jesus’ Baptism, God declared Jesus to be his beloved Son in whom he is well pleased. So, he does the same to you in your Baptism. This is what has been revealed to us by Christ’s holy Apostle Paul, who says, “For 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.” (Galatians 3:26-27) If this is the case, then you have no fear of sin, death, hell and damnation, since God has declared you his beloved in whom he is well pleased. Since you are joined to Christ through those Baptismal waters, you have a great Epiphany that God is pleased with you! 
Baptism joins us to Christ’s death and resurrection, as again, Jesus’ holy Apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3-5) What this means is that we are a new creation in Christ. We turn from sin each day, because we have died to sin with Christ. And the Holy Spirit, whom we have received in our Baptism, draws us to repent and raises our new man to new life every day. This also means that we have no fear of death. We’ve already died with Christ. Rather, we have a sure hope of the resurrection from the dead as we follow Christ.  
Jesus’ Baptism is a great Epiphany of our salvation. And the entire New Testament is filled with such epiphanies. In fact, the New Testament shines a light on the Old Testament, so that it is clearer and more comforting. The entire Bible is now for us a book of epiphanies, which show us our Savior Jesus, God’s own Son.  
You are blessed of all people, not simply because you have heard this Epiphany of Christ, but because you believe it. And faith begets faith. A living faith desires to grow and be strong, which can only happen by continued meditating on the Epiphany of Christ. We should not despise the revelation of Christ, but recognize how fortunate we are to have it in such clarity! In faith, we should always follow that light of Scripture and cling to Christ’s Sacraments, so that Christ may enlighten our darkened minds and keep us from being pulled away from him by this sinful world. Let us pray.  
O Lord, our hearts awaken To know and love You more,  
In faith to stand unshaken, In spirit to adore,  
That we through this world moving, Each glimpse of heaven proving,  
May reap its fulness there. Amen.  
0 Comments

Through Christ We Put Evil and Death to Shame

1/4/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Eugène Girardet (1853–1907), Flight into Egypt, Public Domain
Christmas 2 
Matthew 2:13-23 
January 3, 2021 
 
 
“We resist evil with the ministry of Word and sword, and yet, the evils which cannot be averted we bear to our great advantage but to their detriment and destruction.”, wrote Martin Luther in meditation on our Gospel lesson. And indeed, our Gospel lesson teaches us how to resist and avoid evil and death with God’s word and sword, yet even more, how to put both evil and death to utter shame and destruction.  
We have one Father in heaven. His authority it divided on earth into three estates, so that we have three types of earthly Fathers. First, the House Fathers, whom God gives authority over body and soul. Second, the Civil Fathers (Government), to whom God gives authority over the body, but not over the soul. And third, Ecclesiastical Fathers (Church), to whom God gives authority over the soul, but not over the body.  
Of these three estates, the house father is above the others and the most important. First, because house fathers come first and the authority of the civil and ecclesiastical fathers passes through the house father. God first instituted fathers of families before he instituted either the Church or the Government. And both the Church and the Government get their authority from God through the family.  
Secondly, A house father is a more intimate relationship. Unless the house father take care of the body of his wife and children, the provision and protection of the civil father, that is, of the government will be insufficient and tyrannical. Unless the house father care for the soul of his wife and children, the spiritual care of the ecclesiastical father, that is, of the church will be hindered and stifled.  
Thirdly, the authority and responsibility of the house father is broader, covering both body and soul. God gives the government a sword and says, “Protect the weak and punish those who do wrong. Curb evil with all your might, so that the people may live in peace, be clothed and fed.” Yet, God gives the government no responsibility over the souls of those it governs. Neither does God give the government power to grant eternal life.  
God gives the church His Word, that is, the Bible and with it the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments, and says, “Preach and teach. Save the souls of these people with the words I give you. Baptize them into Christ, so that I might make them my sons and heirs. Feed them the precious body and blood of Christ, so that they may forever be united to Christ and to each other. With words, prepare them to enter through the gates of heaven. And when persecution comes, accept your death with faith in Christ’s eternal life.” Because God gives the Church no sword in her hand.  
Yet, to house fathers God gives both the ministry of the sword and the ministry of his Word. God puts a sword in the father’s hand and says, “Take this sword, and shovel, and hammer, and plow, and whatever tool you may need. Work, so that by the sweat of your brow not only you may eat, but your wife and children as well. Work those fingers to the bone, so that your family may be clothed and fed. And defend them with might, even lay down your life for theirs.” Yet, in the other hand God places the Holy Scriptures and says, “Though you work till the sweat of your brow run dry and those fingers are worn to the bone, though you lay down your life to preserve the life of your wife and children, know that death will still come to them. There is nothing you can do with your might that will make them live forever. So here, I give you my words, so that when death comes, he may be put to shame by you, by your wife and children. So, bring your children to be Baptized, and teach them my word each and every day. Teach them to pray, to ask for forgiveness and to give it, bring them to church to hear God’s holy Word, and be the mouth of Jesus at home. When you lie down, when you rise, when you walk by the way and sit in your home, provide, strengthen, and protect your wife and children with my Holy Word.  
As the Virgin Mary is a wonderful example to all Christian mothers of pious humility and faithfulness, who meekly accepts the will of the Lord and does mighty works without pomp and circumstance, so is Joseph a wonderful godly example of faith and good works for us Christian fathers. As the heavenly Father entrusted to Joseph the care of his only begotten Son, to be his foster father and guardian here on earth, so our heavenly father entrusts us Christian fathers with his own children, whom he has caused to be born from above through water and the Spirit. Through Joseph we learn to protect our children from evil through the ministry of the sword and Word, yet even more, we prepare them to conquer death and destruction and to put those imposters to shame through Jesus Christ.  
Because St. Matthew is the only contemporary historian to report Herod’s slaughter of the baby boys in Bethlehem, many modern historical critics deny that this massacre ever happened. Yet, this assumption is flawed for a number of reasons. First, St. Matthew wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so he is more reliable than assumptions made by the silence of other authors. Secondly, the death toll of baby boys two years old and under from that little hamlet Bethlehem and its surrounding region probably only added up to one or two dozen victims. So, it is not that surprising that this event was missed by early historians, who recorded many other barbaric events around the same time.  
Yet, it shouldn’t surprise us that this event was ignored by the pagan world. Today in our country around three thousand unborn babies are murdered in the womb every day, over a million each year, and almost no one takes notice of them There are no news reports about them or death toll tallies on the bottom right screen of your television. But such silence does not make the crime disappear or any less horrid. Abortion is worse than you think. Even if you have not personally had an abortion or are personally opposed to it, all of us should be ashamed for what our country has done. If God was able to destroy the mighty empires of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians on account of their wickedness, and if he did not spare his chosen nation Israel from destruction on account of her wickedness, we should not think that America is beyond God’s judgment and righteous punishment. We should pray that our nation repents from this sin and pray for leaders who will oppose this wicked crime. And we certainly should not support Herods, who openly defend the killing of these children.  
And although the slaughter of holy innocents took fewer lives than you might have expected, this does not make this any less of an evil. The slaughter of these innocent children was a worse crime than even our bleeding hearts can know. And yet, although the historians all ignored the cries of Rachel for her children, God heard the cries of these children’s blood, praying for justice out of the ground. King Herod suffered a much worse fate than those poor children of Bethlehem.  
And so, we learn why God permitted this awful episode to take place, so that we see his only begotten Son flee to Egypt and the innocent children of Bethlehem murdered.  
First, this took place to fulfill the prophecies of Scripture and so prove that Jesus is in deed the Christ and redeemer of the world. Secondly, we see that even as a baby, our Lord Jesus suffered persecution and danger for our sake. Thirdly, we learn that when we suffer persecution as Christians, we always follow our dear Lord in this suffering, and so we are blessed. And finally, we learn that there is something worse than death and that those who die for Christ’s sake are infinitely blessed.  
And this is a good lesson for us Christian fathers to learn as we seek to follow the example of Joseph. As we work to provide for our families, to feed, clothe, and find shelter for our children, as Joseph did for his young wife and baby Jesus; as we seek to protect them from danger, as Joseph did by fleeing to Egypt and then to Nazareth, we will learn that we cannot perfectly protect them from evil and death. And although it is our God-given duty to protect them from evil and death, we do not get to choose when these foes will overwhelm our greatest defenses. And, so it is our primary duty as Christian fathers to prepare our families to face every evil, persecution, and death and come out victorious.  
How is this done? Only through faith in Jesus Christ. As we have seen, Jesus was still a swaddled infant when persecution came to destroy him. And so, we see that there is not cross we bear in life on account of Christ that he has not born for us first. This is why St. Peter says, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” We are blessed forever when persecution falls upon us, because we join the blessed company of Christ. And when the enemies of Christ attack Christians, whether with words or fists, they harm themselves much more than they do the Christians they seek to hurt.   
Likewise, in Christ Jesus your children are impervious to death. When Jesus was crucified, death came to devour him. Yet, death only has authority to devour sinners. Jesus had not sin of his own, but rather bore the sins of the world. So, when death devoured Christ, he went beyond his office. The devourer was devoured, or as Martin Luther paraphrases St. Paul, Death is swallowed up by death (Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands, LSB 458:4). This is why Jesus rose again from the dead. Death had no authority to keep him bound.  
Now, in Christ Jesus, all your sins are taken away. Jesus has put them away forever in his death. So, when death comes for you to devour you, he again goes beyond his office. He has nor right to keep you, because death only has authority to take sinners. But if your sins are taken away by Christ, then you are not a sinner! And so, when death comes to kill you, he is put to shame. Your death destroys death and you inherit eternal life through Jesus! 
And so, you fathers learn well, that the Book God places in your right hand is much more helpful than the sword or shovel or hammer that he places in your left. Despite your best efforts, despite being the best dad you can be, you cannot keep your children alive forever. Yet, by the Word God gives you, you can equip your children to conquer death and put Satan and death to shame. Temptation must come. Satan will roar. Death will rear his ugly head. Yet, when your children bear the name of Christian, these enemies are destroyed by them. Then your children are blessed forever.  
May God raise up for us good fathers like Joseph, who will sweat and run and work to keep their children clothed and fed, yet much more, will employ the Word of God to clothe them in Christ, so that these children will overcome every evil and be God’s children forever. Amen.  
0 Comments

December 25th, 2020

12/25/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Nativity, Lorenzo Lotto, 1523, Public Domain
Christmas Day 2020 
John 1:1-14 
​ 
 
O Jesus Christ, Thy manger is 
My paradise at which my soul reclineth.  
For there, O Lord, Doth lie the Word 
Made flesh for us; here in Thy grace forth shineth.  
 
Paul Gerhard says that Jesus’ manger is our paradise from which grace shines forth. Why is Jesus’ manger our paradise? What does it mean that the Word lies within it or that the Word was made flesh for us? The Word lying in the manger is the eternal Son of God, whom St. John writes, was with God and was God from the beginning, through whom everything that is made was made, who became flesh, that is, was made man. That little baby in the manger, whom we remember today, is the eternal God.  
So, what does this mean? Why does Gerhardt call this our paradise? Because the Word-Made-Flesh in the manger opens the gates of heaven to all people. The Word-Made-Flesh in the manger makes our salvation trustworthy and sure. In that manger lies our victory over Satan; our conquest over death. In that manger lies our reconciliation with God, the appeasement for God’s wrath against our sin. In that manger lies our salvation. This is most certainly true.  
Why? Why does the Word-Made-Flesh in the manger mean that our salvation is true? Because the eternal Word has joined our camp! In the enemy’s camp, which is the camp of death and hell, stands Satan, that great Goliath, who towers over his victims, that great red dragon with seven heads and ten crowns, whose tail wipes out the lights of heaven. He is an evil foe who has no equal on earth. But now in our camp has entered the Word, who was with God and was God from the beginning. This is an unconquerable Champion. He cannot be defeated. For us fights the Valiant One. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise in the Garden, when he said that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. (Gen. 3:15) In the manger lies our victory over our strongest enemies. This gives us certainty for salvation.  
The Word-Made-Flesh lying in the manger means our salvation is true, because he assumed our flesh. God became a human being! This means that Jesus’ work includes salvation for all people. The Word has assumed our human nature, that is, our flesh and blood, our soul and mind and will. The ancient church father St. Gregory of Nazianzus wrote, “For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved.” This means that Christ has opened the gates of heaven to all who possess a human body, mind, soul, and will. The words, “The Word became flesh” mean that the Son of God has assumed everything that we are. He is like us in every aspect, except without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus took on human flesh to save your human flesh. He forever possesses a human soul to save your human soul. Jesus forever possesses a human mind and will to save your human mind and will. Are you a human? Then the Word-Made-Flesh lying in the manger is your salvation and paradise. The Word-Made-Flesh in the manger means that the Gospel is for everyone.  
And this is not only an irrefutable logical syllogism derived from the clear words of Scripture. This is the clear promise of God’s Word. God told Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that in their seed all nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). Christ has come to save all people. And the Apostle John makes clear that Jesus comes to shed his blood for all peoples, as he says, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) It is the intention of God that the Word-Made-Flesh lying in the manger win salvation for all people and the fact that the Word became flesh proves that all human flesh find their salvation in him.  
The Word-Made-Flesh is the light which enlightens everyone. He comes into the world to shine throughout the whole world. God makes the promise that whoever believes in him will be saved. This again proves that the Gospel is for everyone. For how can God tell you to believe in something that is not true? The Word-Made-Flesh opens the Kingdom of Heaven to everyone. He makes our salvation trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance.  
The Word lying in the manger has won salvation for all people, yet that does not mean that all people are saved. The gates of heaven stand open wide, yet that does not mean that everyone enters it. St. John writes, “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.” (vss. 10-11) The Word became flesh to save all flesh, but not all flesh will receive this salvation. 
In order to walk through the open gates of heaven, you must have faith. Faith, as Scripture makes abundantly clear, is not your work. It is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ has already done all the work for you. Faith is trusting in the objective fact that God has saved you in Christ Jesus. That manger is everyone’s paradise, but if you do not believe it, you don’t possess it. Faith makes all the difference.  
This faith can only be acquired through the Gospel, which offers this free salvation through Christ. This is why it is so important that we continue to hear the Gospel and to receive the Sacrament. This is what creates and sustains our faith. This is what draws us to enter those gates, which Christ has opened for us.  
St. John says that all who do receive the light, who believe in the name of the Word-Made-Flesh, are given the right to become children of God, not born of blood or the will of the flesh or the will of man, but of God. The eternal Word of God was born of flesh, so that we, who were born of flesh might be born again of the Spirit. It is God’s Holy Spirit, who works through the Gospel, who causes us to be born again as children of God. This is done, most notably, in Baptism, where God’s word and promise is joined to water. And so, the gates of heaven are placed at the font where sinners are baptized. The gates of heaven are placed at the chancel, where the pastor absolves sins. The gates of heaven are placed in the pulpit, where the words of eternal life are preached. The gates of heaven are placed at the Communion rale, where Christ’s body and blood are fed to Christians. And it is faith that brings you through these gates. You receive the benefit of the Gospel in Word and Sacrament through faith. And the benefit is paradise secured by the Word-Made-Flesh.   
That stable where Jesus slept in a manger was the most blessed place on earth at that time. There is no place you’d desire more to be. Not because it was beautiful or comfortable or even that Jesus looked different than any other baby. But because in that manger was the Word-Made-Flesh, who opens the gates of heaven for us. And so, it is today, that the most desirous place for us to be is where Christ comes to us in faith, not because they look more splendid than other places, but because through faith we know that here we stand before and enter through the gates of heaven.  
Today, we can only enter through these gates through faith, which means that we do not see them with our eyes. Just as only through faith can you recognize Jesus’ manger as your paradise. Yet, the time will come when you will enter these gates with eyes wide open. You’ll see your paradise without the veil and you will spend eternity with the Word-Made-Flesh. But that is only if you enter through the gates through faith today. So, let us recognize our paradise now, so that we may enjoy salvation with our Savior forever.  
The world may hold 
Her wealth and gold; 
But thou, my heart, keep Christ as thy true Treasure.  
To Him hold fast 
Until at last 
A crown be thine and honor in full measure.  
Amen.  
 
Merry Christmas! Amen.  
0 Comments

Christ Comes to Dwell with Us in Love

12/25/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerhard van Honthorst, 1622, Public Domain
Christmas Eve 2020 
Luke 2:1-20 

 
Every once in a while, someone, usually from the church, will ask me if he can stop to check on something in the parsonage. And I almost always answer, “Yeah, sure.” This annoys my dear wife, not because she has a problem with people stopping by, especially to help, but because I almost never tell her that someone is coming. She likes to have a heads up, so she can tidy up before someone enters our home, in case there’s a mess. It would cause her embarrassment if someone she respected walked into our kitchen and saw oatmeal smeared on the table, milk spilled on the floor, and peanut butter fingerprints on the window and a toddler running around without any pants on. She’s not being weird. This is how we all are. It’s why we clean our homes before honored guests arrive.  
Now, you can imagine the shame that befell our world when the Almighty God, the eternal Son of the Father by whom all things in heaven and on earth are made, who is robed in majesty in heaven and who receives the eternal praise of all the angels of heaven, came down to visit our humble earth. And he didn’t come to us unannounced by any means. Not only did prophets proclaim his coming for hundreds of years, even telling us the very town in which he would be born, but God sent angels to announce to Mary and Joseph! And still, with all this warning ahead of time, our world could not prepare a place fit for him. The finest palace with gilded marble and silk cushions would be too mean an accommodation for such an honored guest, yet all Joseph could secure for him was a drafty stable with a manger for a bed.  
It makes one blush to think of the state of things when this most noble guest honored us with his presence. And indeed, it is horrifying to think of the behavior of our race as Christ Jesus arrived! No death glare from a mother at her son burping in from of his grandmother at Christmas dinner could suffice for the shameful act with which humanity welcomed the Christ child. Instead of sending precious gifts and welcoming him into his palace, King Herod sent soldiers to murder the baby boys of Bethlehem. And as this perfect child grew up into a man, he saw with eagle eyes our every fault: the weakness of our flesh, our diseases, our stench and mortality. He saw how we treat each other! Each one of us has his own faults, behavior that annoys and even harms our neighbor. Yet, instead of being patient toward the faults of others, we are quick to condemn, complain, and malign those with faults no worse than our own! Jesus didn’t just see our messy kitchens and smell our stinky feet. He watched how the crown of his creation, which he honored by joining in flesh and soul, treat each other with utter hatred, pride, and selfishness.   
That’s embarrassing. Shameful. We humans couldn’t get our act together, even for a little while, to welcome the Son of God himself into our home. Of course, it did not surprise Christ Jesus that we were so awful. He didn’t come to earth expecting to find a bunch of righteous saints nor did he come to sleep in a comfy bed. Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins; to shine a light on those dwelling in darkness. He saw our wickedness and misery even from his glorious throne, and still he chose to come to us. Not only to come to us! He came to join us. To become our brother! Jesus Christ, our God is a human being. And he didn’t borrow the body of a man. He assumed human flesh. He acquired a human soul.  
Think of the significance of this decision from our God! God cannot change. Yet, by becoming a man, he added something to himself that remains permanent forever! This means that in a billion years from now, yes, in one hundred billion times one hundred billion years from now, our God will still be our brother. He’ll still have ten fingers and ten toes, two eyes and a nose. He’ll be the same human who lied in the manger, who hung on the cross, who lay in the tomb. He will be as human then as he was that Christmas morning over two thousand years ago.  
Why? Why did God join his creation? Why has he become a man, just like us? In order to rescue us from our sinful condition. Christ didn’t expect us to clean up this earth in preparation for his coming. Jesus came to rid the world of sin and death for us. While we with faults judged others for their faults, he who has no faults at all, came to rescue the people of the world from their own misery. It is exactly as the Apostle writes, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)  
Christ Jesus came to earth, became a human permanently, bore the worst suffering this world could place on him, bore our sins, sorrow, and punishment, because he loves us. In the Christmas story, we see how much our God loves us; how far he will go to save us. Again, it is as the hymnist reasons,  
“If our blessed Lord and Maker 
Hated men, Would He then 
Be of flesh partaker?  
If He in our woe delighted,  
Would He bear All the Care 
Of our race benighted?” (P. Gerhardt, All My Heart Sings and Rejoices, stz. 5, ELH 115) 

The answer is obvious! Of course, he wouldn’t! In that little baby lying on straw in Bethlehem, we see irrefutable proof that God loves us, that he desires to save us. And in the teachings and deeds of Christ, up to his willing crucifixion, death and burial, resurrection, and great Commission of the Gospel, we see over and over again Christ’s love for us.  
Now, by means of this very Gospel, Christ seeks an even more intimate dwelling with us than sharing the same planet. He desires to dwell in our hearts through faith. Yet, our hearts are an even less appropriate place for the Mighty King of Heaven than even the dingy manger in which he once lay. Our hearts are colder, darker, and harder than that stable. Out of the human heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, indeed, everything that defiles us and makes us ashamed comes from our dark cold hearts (Matthew 15:19-20; Genesis 6:5). The human heart is so bad, that the Prophet Jeremiah declares that its deceitfulness is beyond understanding (Jeremiah 17:9).  
So, how can our hearts be an appropriate dwelling place for Jesus Christ? In the same way that our world became home for our dear Lord Jesus. Jesus came into this world to save it from sin, and so he comes to dwell in your heart in order to save you. He shines a light into your heart to expose every crevice, so that he can cleanse it from sin. He gives you a new birth of the Spirit that takes away your heart of stone and gives you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Jesus enters your heart with forgiveness and peace from God himself.  
It was God who made our sinful earth his home, preparing everything, even raising up Caesar Augustus to declare a census, so that Joseph would take Mary to the town of Bethlehem in order to fulfill the prophecy of Micah (5:2). And, so it is God who prepares your sinful heart to be a dwelling place for the King of Heaven. He does this through the miraculous power of Baptism, which empowers plain water with the voice of God. He does this by exposing your sins to create remorse for the wrong you’ve done. He does this by declaring forgiveness for all your wrong. God does not demand that you make your heart clean in order for him to enter into it anymore than did he wait until we had cleansed the earth of sin before he was born in it. Rather, God enters your heart with forgiveness so that he might cleanse you from your sin.  
God made the earth his home, because he loves us. Jesus makes your heart his home, because he loves you. This is the message of Christmas. This is the glad tidings the angel declared when he said, “unto you is born a Savior.” This is why this message is a message of great joy to all people. Jesus comes to save us.  
And so, this Christmas season should be a season of peace. God has made peace with sinners. It is we who have sinned against God, not he who has sinned against us. We confess to God in Psalm 51, “Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Yet, it is God who comes to us to make peace! It is our heavenly Father who sends his Son to die for us while we are still sinning against him. Rarely in a conflict is either side not at fault. Yet, it is God, the faultless one who makes peace with the guilty. This is the apotheosis of magnanimity. Yet, even at the time of Christmas, we who have our own faults find faults in others. We who have a need for peace refuse to make peace. We who need forgiveness refuse to forgive. We who are unworthy of God’s grace find others unworthy of our patience and good will. Such behavior is rooted in unbelief! It reveals a heart that has refused to let Christ dwell in it.  
The only way for love to pour forth from our hearts is for our hearts to first receive Christ. Only when God makes peace with us through faith in Christ can we make peace with one another. Yet, when we refuse to make peace with one another, we show that we are not at peace with God in our hearts.  
Every Advent we sing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” In the final verse we sing,  
“O come, Desire of nations, bind,  
In one the hearts of all mankind;  
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,  
And be Thyself our King of peace.”   
And our dear Lord Emmanuel answers this prayer. He answers this prayer with his Gospel of forgiveness. When his forgiveness dwells in your heart, Christ Jesus dwells in your heart. And from your heart flows peace. Make peace with those who have sinned against you through the peace that God gives you through Jesus, the Prince of Peace. He has made peace with our sinful world. And he has made peace with each of us.  
This is also why we pray after receiving the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood, that through the Sacrament, God would “strengthen us through the same in faith toward [God] and in fervent love toward one another.” Indeed, how can this Jesus dwell in our hearts through faith and not have his peace pour out from us?  
Dear Friends in Christ, God has made peace with us through Jesus Christ. May his peace spread from us to one another. Let us pray.  
  
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,  
Prepare a bed, soft, undefiled,  
A quiet chamber set apart 
For You to dwell within my heart.  
Amen.  
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Rev. James Preus

    Rev. Preus is the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. These are audio and text of the sermons he preaches at Trinity according to the Historical Lectionary. 

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All
    Advent 1
    Advent 2
    Advent 3
    Advent 4
    All Saints Day
    Angels
    Ascension
    Baptism Of Our Lord
    Christmas 1
    Christmas 2
    Christmas Day
    Christmas Eve
    Circumcision And Name Of Jesus
    Confirmation
    Easter 2
    Easter 3
    Easter 4
    Easter 5
    Easter 6
    Easter Sunday
    Easter Vigil
    Epiphany
    Epiphany 1
    Epiphany 2
    Epiphany 3
    Epiphany 4
    Exaudi (Sunday After Ascension)
    Good Friday
    Last Sunday
    Lent 1
    Lent 2
    Lent 3
    Lent 4
    Lent 5
    Lenten Services
    Maundy Thursday
    Name Of Jesus
    Nativity Of St. John The Baptist
    Palm Sunday
    Pentecost
    Presentation Of Our Lord
    Quinquagesima
    Reformation Day
    Robert Preus
    Second Last Sunday
    Septuagesima
    Sexagesima
    St. James Of Jerusalem
    St. Michael And All Angels
    Thanksgiving
    Transfiguration
    Trinity 1
    Trinity 10
    Trinity 11
    Trinity 12
    Trinity 13
    Trinity 14
    Trinity 15
    Trinity 16
    Trinity 17
    Trinity 18
    Trinity 19
    Trinity 2
    Trinity 20
    Trinity 21
    Trinity 22
    Trinity 24
    Trinity 25
    Trinity 26
    Trinity 27
    Trinity 3
    Trinity 4
    Trinity 5
    Trinity 6
    Trinity 7
    Trinity 8
    Trinity 9
    Trinity Sunday

    RSS Feed

© 2017  www.trinitylutheranottumwa.com
  • Home
    • Missions
    • Swaddling Clothes
  • What We Believe
    • Christian Education: Sunday School and Catechism Program
    • Baptism
    • Worship >
      • Online Services
    • Confession and Absolution
    • Holy Communion
  • Our Pastor
    • Sermons
    • Sermons 2015-2016
  • Trinity Trumpet Newsletter
  • Trinity Trumpet Calendar