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Epiphany 4: Jesus Rules

1/30/2017

Matthew 8:23-27
01/29/17

Jesus went into the boat and his disciples followed him. That's the way it works. Disciples follow their Lord. So it is when you were baptized, when you began to believe in Christ Jesus you followed him into the boat. The boat is the holy Christian Church. Christians are safe when they are in the holy Christian Church, because they are with Jesus.
But if anyone ever tells you that being a Christian is easy or that their troubles went away when they became a Christian don't believe them. Not long after the disciples pushed off onto the peaceful waters of Galilee with Jesus in tow a great storm arose on the sea and the waves pummeled over its deck and threatened to swamp the ship. And so it is for you Christians, safe within the boat of the Christian Church. The devil sends his attacks. Temptation! That spiritual warfare that tosses about your soul like a little boat in a hurricane. Temptation to doubt God's love; to doubt the benefits of his word; to doubt his presence. Temptation to sin, because it would be so much easier than doing what's right. Temptation to sin, because it's what you want to do. And if anyone tells you, "Don't worry, Satan can only launch spiritual attacks. He can't hurt your body." Think again. He'll use mounting debt, a lost job, sickness, injury, the death of a loved one, anything he can get his hands on (he's an innovator, that devil) to tempt you into sin and unbelief.
And Satan has powerful allies, the world and your own sinful flesh. And these three attack the Christian Church like a boat on the sea; hailing down persecution from powerful governments and cruel extremists and swamping her hull with scandals and false teaching. And Satan attacks the Christian too. He attacks you. He'll use your own wants and desires to make you believe that they make up your whole world. He'll use national politics, the economy, and your job to cause you to lose sight of who's really in control. But all the wind and rain, thunder and lightning, even the waves rushing over the edge of the ship are just distractions to deter you from seeing who's really in charge.
Jesus lay sleeping. The disciples cry to him, "Save us, Lord!" So Jesus rises and rebukes the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. The disciples marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?" What sort of man is this? Well, he's the Lord God of heaven, the creator of the sea and dry land. Who else can command the winds and sea and they obey him? The disciples see Jesus sleeping. He appears to be just a man. Jesus is a man. But he is not just a man. He is God. And so, he is always in control.
Jesus never loses control of the situation. Even as waves poured into the boat and no amount of man power could steer the ship straight, Jesus was in control. Even as he trudged up that hill with splinters of wood from his cross rubbing against his already raw back, Jesus was in control. As Roman soldiers drove nails into his hands and feet; as he was lifted up high for all his haters to see; even as he gave up his last breath; Jesus never lost control of the situation.
Hell itself ranted and raved for the souls of the damned. The Law of God required justice for the sins of the world. Lots were cast to see on whose account this storm raged. Yet the lot didn't fall on you or me, as it should have. The lot fell on Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God. So like Jonah, Jesus was cast into torrents of hell and was swallowed up by death. Yet even then Jesus steered the situation. Our Lord willingly lay down his life, so that he could defeat hell and death by rising from the dead on the third day.
And Jesus is in control now. That doesn't mean your life will be peachy? Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24). You, Christian, must bear your cross. Yes, Christians must suffer more than all people. Satan will not let you pass through this life with ease. He'll try to capsize your boat. He'll make you long to be an unbeliever, who doesn't have to be concerned about the teachings of the Church, who doesn't have to worry about repentance and forgiveness, about heaven and hell. He'll even let your life be comfortable, so that you care more about your nice car, your retirement fund or your next vacation than God's Word.
Being a Christian takes courage. Satan won't just let pastors preach the pure Law with its full force to lead sinners to repentance and guide Christians in what is right. Nor will he let them preach the Gospel to comfort and save the lost without temptations to compromise to keep the peace. He doesn't want parents to teach their children about Jesus or bring them to church. He wants them to think the task of reading Bible stories and saying prayers is too laborious and not worth the time. He wants parents to give up on bringing their little ones to Jesus thinking, "There's no way they're getting anything out of church anyway." He'll make you feel stupid for being a Christian. He'll make you choose between worshiping your God and making money or doing what you love. He'll make you think that you're in control or that there is no order in the universe, anything if it will knock you out of that boat and get you away from Jesus.
And this is how the disciples were, exhausted from trying to row to shore and bailing out the boat, drenched to the bone and preparing to drown. So they cry, "Save us, Lord! We are perishing!" Jesus, in complete control of the situation, before he orders the seas to be still, first rebukes his disciples, "Why are you cowards, O you of little faith?"
"Why are you cowards? Can't you see that I am God? I am in control." Jesus calls his disciples, "O you of little faith." At first this seems like an insult or a harsh rebuke. But Jesus only calls his disciples, "you of little faith." If you read the New Testament you'll see Jesus use this phrase several times, but never when talking to an unbeliever; only when talking to his disciples.
We learned last week about the centurion of whom Jesus said, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith." Oh, how we'd love to have the courage to say, "At your word, O Lord," even as sickness and death pummel us! And truly, we should constantly pray for a stronger faith. Yet, when it comes to your eternal salvation the "greatness" of your faith isn't what matters. Faith isn't some great work that earns your salvation. Faith is only as useful as its object, that is, faith is only as good as the one to whom it clings. The disciples, these men of little faith, clung on to Jesus with their little faith.
Oh, that we all could have such a little faith! Oh, that each of us here would have the faith to cry to Christ for help when the waves of this life rush over us! God promises in Psalm 50:15, "Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you and you will glorify me." Faith grasps this promise, it believes it, it takes refuge in it. Often times the reason why Christ, who is always in control, permits trials and temptations to accost us in this life is so that we will come crying to him for help, so our faith will become stronger while we still have it.
Faith clings to Jesus and his promise. It believes that when Jesus says, "Your sins are forgiven," that God truly is at peace with you. Faith knows to whom you should pray. Faith keeps you from being drowned by the attacks of the devil, because faith clings to Christ alone, who died, so that you might live, who was raised from the dead to give you new life, who bore the pains of the cross, so that you can endure the suffering of this life.
Now the entire Christian life on earth is not doom and gloom. God sends days of gladness to the Christian; children, family and friends, even prosperity. But these are not what makes a Christian truly happy. A Christian can rejoice, because after the great storm is a great calm. The Christian knows that the suffering of this present age is not even worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us in Christ Jesus.
Having faith does not put you in control. Rather, it attaches you to the one who is in control. And even a little faith that trusts in Christ will join you to the only one who can save you. May God, by the preaching of his Word and the power of the Sacrament strengthen all of you in this faith, so that you may always remain in the safety of this boat, the Christian Church, which carries us to eternal life with Christ.
Amen.

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Epiphany 3: The Authority of Faith

1/23/2017

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Matthew 8:1-13
01/22/17

The two men in our Gospel lesson teach us a great deal about faith. And since we know that it is by faith and faith alone that we are saved, it would be of great benefit for us to pay attention to these two saints, who will dine with us at the Feast of Salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The first man is a leper. He falls down on his knees before Jesus and says, "Lord, if you will, you are able to make me clean."
"If you are willing and able." Those two need to come together, don't they? A mother may hold her sick child to her chest willing as ever to heal her baby's illness. But she remains unable to cure the disease. Likewise, there are many millionaires, who could easily pay the debts of many poor. But if they are unwilling to do so their ability doesn't help the poor.
The man calls Jesus, "Lord" and confesses that he is able to cure him of his disease. Yet, he says, "if you will." True saving faith requires that one believe that God is both able and willing to save. The man, however, does not express a lack of faith here. He is not praying for the forgiveness of sins or eternal salvation. Rather, he pleads for his daily bread, the cleansing of his leprosy. Here the man prays the third petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The man acknowledges God's ability to save him. He trusts that his Lord desires to do him good. But he submits to the will of God, even if Jesus chooses to let him bear the cross of leprosy.
And so this teaches you to pray, "Thy will be done." You know your Lord desires good for you. He tells you so. But whether he will cure your cancer or heal your disease in the time you want is up to his will. So each of us must in humility and trust say, "Thy will be done" and believe that God's good and gracious will is better than our own.
However, when you pray that God will forgive your sins, or strengthen your faith, or bring you to heaven for Christ's sake, you should not doubt that God will do it. In some cases, God's will is hidden from us. You don't know if you will get the job or recover from the illness. Yet, when it comes to the Gospel, whether God will forgive or damn you, you know God's will. When you pray "Thy will be done" concerning your eternal salvation, you know what God's will is, because he tells you. God's Word says that Jesus died for the forgiveness of your sins (Rom. 4:25). When Jesus said, "I will; be clean," the man no longer doubted Jesus' will. And so, God's will concerning your eternal salvation is not secret. So when you pray to God concerning earthly matters, pray, "If you will, O Lord" and know that your Lord is able to help you and his will is good. But when you pray concerning the forgiveness of your sins and your eternal salvation, do not doubt God's will. He has revealed his will to you in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and in his resurrection. God wills to forgive you and to give you eternal life.
"And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him." Here Jesus demonstrates the blessing of the incarnation (the fact that God became a human being). Jesus comes to be with us sinners in our misery. When Jesus' skin touched the rotting flesh of the leper, he cleansed him of his disease. And so when Jesus went to the cross, the Father laid on his body the sin and guilt of every human and Christ's body became the vessel into which God poured his wrath and punishment for all sins. And so Christ reaches out his hand and touches your uncleanness and he snatches away your sin and makes it his own. It is no longer yours, but Christ's. Even in church today we see Christ's willingness to be with us sinners, to touch us, to clean us. He feeds us his body and blood in bread and wine, he joins to his word a physical touch to assure us of his willingness to forgive and heal.
Of the second man Jesus says, "Truly, I say to you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith." This man too calls Jesus, "Lord" and says his servant is paralyzed and suffering terribly. When Jesus says he will come and heal him the centurion replies, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof." Here the man dispels perhaps the greatest myth about faith. Faith has nothing to do with your worthiness. The man claims no merit of his own or that he deserves anything from Jesus. And so he teaches you that you are not more worthy than all those unbelievers. You church goers aren't better than those absent. God didn't choose you, because of your good works, your love, or your piety. You are as unworthy of God's love as any other sinner. But faith doesn't claim to be better than others. Faith claims unworthiness, yet clings to the promise of God.
"But only say the word." The Word! That's what faith clings to. The Word, which reveals God's good and gracious will to you in great detail. The Word that tells you that God loves you so much he sent Jesus to die for you and forgives you, not based on your worthiness, but because of his great undeserved love for you. This word is the Gospel, of which St. Paul writes, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to all who believe." And so, while by faith you claim no worthiness of your own, you tap into the power of God's saving word.
"For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Here the centurion displays another important attribute of faith: knowledge. He understands remarkably well how God works. Just as the man gives a command, so his servants obey his word. And so God the Father spoke to God the Son, and although they were equal in majestic divinity, the Son submitted to the Father's word. The Father said, "Go," and the Son went to earth, born of the Virgin Mary. He said, "Do," and the Son willingly went to the cross and died for all sinners, whom the Father loved. The Father said, "Come," and our Lord rose from his mortal sleep and returned in glory to the Father, having subjected Satan, sin, and death to himself.
The centurion's military experience helped him understand what authority is. Authority is not the same as power. Power is the ability to do something. The leper confessed Jesus' power to cleanse him. Authority is the right to exercise power. A gun if power. A police badge is authority.
Authority can be passed on. When a king gives a command to a messenger, that command has just as much authority when repeated by the messenger, as it has when spoken by the king. An angel from God speaks with God's authority. So Jesus gives the word that the servant will be healed, and the command is carried out even though Jesus doesn't stand above the boy himself.
It is important for us to understand how authority works, because when Jesus ascended into heaven he left us with authority. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) So although Christ does not walk before us as he did two thousand years ago, he has given his authority to his Church.
When Christ told his disciples to baptize in the name of the Holy Trinity, he gave authority to Baptism. When a pastor even in the 21st century baptizes it is as powerful as when the Apostles baptized those centuries ago, because the authority comes from God himself. The Gospel remains the power to salvation to everyone who believes, because its authority comes from Christ. We partake of the same meal this morning as the disciples did in the upper room on the night our Lord was betrayed, because the words, "Do this" carry this authority through the millenia. This authority gives us comfort, because the paralyzed servant received the same Jesus by the authority of his word as did the leper whom Jesus touched.
Many of the faithful wonder why people don't go to church. You could ask them, but that wouldn't give you the answer. Because the reason people don't come to church is not because of work or sports or leisure, or a busy schedule. People don't come to church, because they lack faith. The centurion of great faith trusted not only that Jesus could heal his servant, but that he had the authority to command even an angel to accomplish his word. And so if you have faith like the centurion, you will not simply believe in Christ, but you will believe his word and that his authority is carried through his word. This means when the pastor forgives sins, Christ Jesus your Lord speaks to you! The sermon should never be thought of as meanderings of some guy. They carry the power to save those who hear and believe it!
And so it is, even for those who do come to church the lazy flesh and the nagging devil try to distract the faithful from the fact that Christ's authority is being exercised before their eyes and the power to salvation is being worked for them. For this reason, we must constantly pray that God strengthen our faith, so that we may receive his holy word with thanksgiving.
"Many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness." It is those of faith, who will sit at the table of salvation. No one will earn a seat by his good works or pedigree. Jesus even says that the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. That means that even those of the nation of Israel, the promised people, who do not have faith will not be saved by their Jewish blood. And so neither will anyone be saved, because he was a member of the Lutheran church or because he got confirmed, or because he volunteers a lot.
Each of us is saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone. This means we call Jesus Lord. It means like the leper, we believe Jesus is willing and able to do for us what he says he will do. Like the centurion, we do not claim to be worthy by our own works, but cling to the promise of God's Word. Faith believes that Jesus has the power and authority to forgive sins and that he has given that authority to his church.
Jesus said to the centurion, "Let it be done for you as you have believed." The centurion believed Jesus' word. So Jesus was really saying, "Let it be according to my word." You see, faith grasps Jesus' word. It takes possession of God's power. St. John wrote, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the authority to become children of God." Faith is the authority to apply the Gospel to yourself. Faith is the authority to look at Jesus on the cross and say, "He did that for me." Faith is the authority to remember your Baptism and trust, "I am a child of God. The Holy Spirit dwells in me." Faith is the authority to sit at the feast of salvation with all believers from every land and century, who believe in the forgiveness of sins won by Christ on the cross.
Dear friends, do you believe in the Gospel? Let it be done for you as you have believed. Amen.

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Epiphany 2: Jesus' Hour

1/23/2017

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John 2:1-11

01/15/2017

"And Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.'"

It was a beautiful service. And the couple looks so happy as they laugh with guests. The bride is beautiful and the bridegroom has scrubbed up well. Mary's attending the wedding with her Son, Jesus. As it often occurs at weddings people look around at potential young matches. Jesus is sitting with his disciples. He's now thirty years old and still single. Recently he's quit his carpentry business and is roaming around Israel unemployed with his twelve new disciples. He hardly looks like he's pursuing a bride. When will his hour come?
And with this awareness of singleness at a wedding, the exchange between Jesus and his mother might seem to some to be a bit awkward. "They have no wine.," Mary says. It was the duty of the Bridegroom to provide wine for his wedding reception. What is Mary hinting at? "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." It's as if Jesus said, "Mom, this isn't my wedding. My time to get married hasn't come yet."
But Mary isn't hinting at anything concerning that. Rather here the mother of our Lord displays her faith in God's Word and in her Son. The angel told Mary that her Son would be "great" and would "be called the Son of the Most High." (Luke 1:32) Mary believes her Son to be him sung about by the Psalmist, "You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart." (Psalm 104:14-15) Mary trusted her son could provide wine and save the wedding reception from disaster.
Of course we know Jesus does it. He turns water into wine, a miracle that only God can do. And so he revealed his divine glory and his disciples believed in him. Yet this wonder performed by Jesus was not Jesus' hour. His hour would come later. Yet this miracle was a sign.
It was a sign that Jesus loves marriage. Our Lord graced a wedding with his presence, saved the bridal couple from embarrassment and gladdened the hearts of the guests, and manifested his glory for the first time. He sure loves marriage. Of course Jesus is God. God loves marriage. He invented it. Jesus was there with the Father and the Holy Spirit when the Divine said, "It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." (Genesis 2:18) And so with pleasure God created Eve from the rib of Adam and presented her to her bridegroom in the first wedding ceremony ever performed. And so God provided man and woman companionship like none other within the bonds of marriage.
Jesus later defended this lifelong union between a man and a woman when he answered the Pharisees question concerning divorce, "Because of your hardness of heart [Moses] wrote you this commandment [concerning divorce]. But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." (Mark 10:5-9) After thousands of years of difficult, broken, and failed marriages, Jesus still has the same view of marriage as he did when he first gave Eve to Adam. And so he blesses a wedding with God's blessing. Marriage is a gift from God, for a man and a woman to be each other's companion and to delight in each other, until death does them part.
Jesus loves marriage. Not only does he desire for it to last a lifetime, but he wants to bless it with children. Children are a blessing to marriage, just as marriage is a blessing to children. Children born outside of wedlock are still blessings of God, yet they have been robbed of the benefits of marriage God put in place for them. Marriage protects children, just as it blesses husband and wife with companionship and chastity. Motherhood and fatherhood teach husband and wife not to be selfish. Much more, it teaches them the great cost of loving another person. And yet, children are a blessing to their parents. You love your children in a way that is utterly humbling. And Jesus too humbled himself out of love for you.
Just as Jesus blessed a wedding, an institution he put in place to care for children, so Jesus calls, "Let the little children come to me and by no means hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." And he blesses them. God gives children to parents on loan. They don't really belong to the parents, they belong to God. God gives parents to children, so that they can teach them God's word, especially about their Savior Jesus. The number one duty of every father is to teach his children about Jesus, bring them to Jesus in baptism to raise them to visit their true Father in the Divine Service. The number one duty of every mother is to teach her children about Jesus, to give them that new birth her body of flesh failed to give them, and to bring them to the Divine Service. This is a responsibility of marriage, fatherhood, and motherhood, yet it is the greatest honor on earth. Because by the power of God's Word, you may lead your children to heaven with you.
So much does Jesus love marriage that he calls himself the Bridegroom (Matthew 9:15). In fact St. Paul describes the husband's duty to his wife by what Christ did for his bride, the Church. "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water and the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself." (Ephesians 5:25-28)
And so Christ's example teaches how you husband ought to treat your wife. Love her even at the expense of your own body. Suffer for her. Humble yourself for her. Make sure she gets what she needs physically and especially spiritually. Give her Jesus. This command also includes your children, the fruit of your one flesh union. Love them. Care for them. Give them Jesus.
And here we are led to the second item signified by Jesus' miracle. Jesus' turning water into wine at a wedding is a sign that Jesus is the Bridegroom. He truly has a bride and a wedding feast for which he must provide the wine. And it is this wedding to which Jesus refers when he says, "My hour has not yet come."
St. John refers to Jesus' hour seven more times in this Gospel. Each time making reference to Jesus' suffering and death. Finally in chapter seventeen Jesus prays, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him." (vss. 1-2) And shortly thereafter our Lord is taken away and crucified. And it is nailed to that cross that Jesus lays down his life for his bride, confessing his marital vows to her with the shedding of his own blood. In agony and death he pledges himself to her for all eternity. They are no longer two, but one flesh. She is his body and he is her head.
This bride is his holy Christian Church: sinners washed clean and presented without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish. On that cross Jesus bled for fornicators who make a mockery of marriage and endanger children as well as lechers, who can't control their lust. He died for adulterers and men who beat their wives, for divorcees and women who hate their husbands. He died for bad husbands and wives, bad fathers and mothers. He bled for the children. He died for single people too and for everyone captive to this world of sin. And he did this to join them to himself as his beloved bride. And Jesus has given a certain promise to you; he will never divorce his bride.
Those six stone water jars at the wedding were used for Jewish purification rites. These weren't washings commanded by God through Moses (although God did give Moses a number of washing regulations). These jars were for ceremonial washing before eating according to the human traditions of the Jews. This is the same tradition of which the Pharisees asked Jesus, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." And Jesus replied, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" (Matthew 15:2-3) And so when Jesus turned the water in those pots into wine, he replaced the worthless traditions of men, which could never clean the soul, with wine, which gladdens the hearts of men. He declared the works of men to be worthless and instead gave them a gift by grace.
And likewise, Christ Jesus, our Bridegroom, provides wine for his wedding banquet (as any bridegroom should). Yet here Jesus turns wine into his precious blood shed when he won us as his bride. In the Sacrament we get a foretaste of that wedding celebration when our hour will come, when we are joined to our God forever. So let us enjoy this feast, by which Jesus forgives our sins and speaks those wedding vows afresh into our ears until our hour comes. Amen.

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Epiphany (Observed): A Light to Lighten the Gentiles

1/9/2017

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Matthew 2:1-12
Ephesians 3:1-12
Isaiah 60:1-6
In our Epistle lesson St. Paul tells us "that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel." Yes, Jesus was born to be the Savior of every nation, all mankind. Not everyone thought this of the Messiah. The Jews hoped for a Christ to come and sit on David's throne and lead them as a people. But it was part of God's eternal purpose that the Christ would come for all peoples.
This of course is good news. When Adam fell into sin he plunged our entire race into the darkness of sin, not just a small nation in the Middle East. All peoples faced the wrath of God. All nations were stuck in the chaos of their own sinful condition. They all needed a Savior just as much as the Jews. And when God chose the father of Israel, Abraham to be his own nation he said, "I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”(Genesis 12:3) And so God promised that a descendant of Abraham would bless all nations and peoples.
God spoke to the nation of Israel through the prophet 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 peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." And so Isaiah prophesied in beautiful language that God would enlighten all nations through Israel.
Isaiah paints a picture of thick darkness, a plague of blackness like that, which cursed the Egyptians, which now covers all peoples. This darkness is sin. It rules by chaos and hatred. All people rebel against a God they don't even know. And then comes the light, God's very glory, which scatters the darkness. And it settles right on Israel. Israel gives birth to this light. And all nations and peoples crawl out of their darkened confusion toward this light. They escape from not knowing God to worshiping and praising the true God.
And this picture painted by Isaiah happened in history. Magi from the east traveled to Jerusalem in search of this light. The Magi were probably astrologers from Persia. They weren't Jews. They lived in a pagan land. They looked at the stars for answers. The people of their land did not know God, but worshipped false gods. They lived in complete darkness. Yet, God revealed to them what the Prophet Balaam prophesied in Numbers 24, "a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel" and these sages departed their land of darkness to be enlightened by the true light, who had come into the world.
They went to Israel, because "Salvation is from the Jews." (John 4:22) They followed the star God placed in the sky until they came to Jerusalem, the city of the great king. They went to King Herod and asked, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?" This was a verbal slap in the face to Herod. Herod wasn't born king of the Jews. He was made king by the emperor in Rome, in fact he wasn't even Jewish. These magi weren't interested in seeing him. They wanted to pay homage to a different king.
We know this enraged the jealous Herod so much that after the Magi returned to their country without telling him he ordered a massacre of all boys in Bethlehem two years old and younger. But the Magi weren't looking for the king of an earthly kingdom; a kingdom of paranoia and fear, chaos and murder and darkness. If they wanted to see a kingdom of such madness they could have stayed in their own country. But they traveled to see Christ's kingdom of grace, mercy, truth, forgiveness, and life. They came out of the darkness to be enlightened by God's light.
The gathering of nations to God's light in Israel really did happen in history. Yet, not only with the Magi bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The gathering of nations continues today. Sure we're not all congregating in Bethlehem to see the infant Jesus. But we are gathering around this true light, Jesus Christ.
Epiphany is an especially important holiday for us. Christ is revealed to the Gentiles. We are the Gentiles. Gentiles are the non-jewish nations. We are the families blessed by the promised descendant of Abraham, Jesus Christ. Like the Magi we too benefit from this gift given to the Jews. All nations gather to that light, which shown on Israel. Jesus Christ, who is born a Jew is that light. He reflects God's own truth and light, grace, and mercy. And we gather to him through faith in his word.
When the Magi looked for Jesus they came to Jerusalem. Jesus wasn't born in Jerusalem. But it was a good guess. Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel, the city of the King. So they asked Herod, where he was who was born king of the Jews, for they saw his star and came to worship him. But they couldn't find him. So Herod asks his chief priests and scribes where the Christ was to be born. They told him that Scripture promises in the little town of Bethlehem according to the prophet Micah, "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel."And so it was with the light of Scripture that they headed toward Bethlehem to find Christ.
Now the star that led the Magi is no longer in the night's sky. It won't lead us to Jesus. But the Scriptures still shine bright to light the way for all nations to discover the Christ. When Christ sent his disciples into all the world, he sent them to proclaim the truth as it is found in Scripture. This is why St. Paul writes, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) And so it is through the revelation of Scripture that people are brought to the true Christian faith every day.
The Scribes knew the answer to the question, "Where is he who is born king of the Jews." They knew where the Christ would be born. Herod too learned this news. Yet they didn't accompany the sages to Bethlehem. Herod told them to report back to him so he could worship him too, but that was a lie. He wanted to kill Jesus, so the child wouldn't take his crown from him. How sad it is, Herod hears the truth, just as the Wise Men did, but he doesn't care. The Scribes and chief priests are descendants of the men to whom these promises were first given. They are Abraham's children according to the flesh. To them the prophets spoke. They are the heirs of Scripture! And yet they don't bother to go and see the Christ of whom Scripture speaks, just a few miles away. They rejected the treasure that belonged to them.
This is a danger for us too. Sure, we are not the promised people of Israel, descendants of Abraham according to the flesh. We're Gentiles. But we are heirs of the promise. We've inherited our faith from our parents. We've been raised in the church. We know the Gospel. We know of Jesus. We know where to find him. But do we go to see him? To hear his word? To eat his Sacrament? Do we take advantage of the great gift we've inherited or do we take it for granted like those Scribes and chief priests and the pathetically sad King Herod? But if we do reject this gift, which has been given to us, God will give it to others. There are many still dwelling in darkness, who long to be enlightened by this Christ, to have their sins forgiven, to taste his goodness.
Epiphany teaches us that the Gospel is for all people. All people are in trouble. We sin against God. We hate our neighbors. We're selfish and lazy. What we desire trumps what even our loved ones need. And every soul on earth lives in this chaos, this darkness. Without Christ, not only is everyone condemned to hell to be punished for eternity, but without the light of Christ each person on earth is covered in darkness and confusion, ruled by passions, disoriented from what is right and true, and blind to the love of God. We need Jesus. Everyone needs Jesus.
When the Magi saw that prophecy of Scripture was true and the star rested over the place where Jesus was, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. They worshipped Christ and gave him expensive gifts (which no doubt came in handy when the Holy Family fled the murderous troops of King Herod to live in Egypt). And so the Magi teach us how to receive Christ. Not only with gifts to support the mission of the Church, but with great joy.
To be a Christian is the greatest thing in the whole world. To be a Christian is to be enlightened by Christ. This means to know God as your Savior; to know Jesus Christ as the man who joins all mankind to God. This light reveals to you the love God has for you. And it empowers you to love your neighbor and to battle the chaos of darkness to which you were born enslaved.
And yet being a Christian can be lonely. People leave the flock to slink into the darkness of the world. Christians are looked at as stupid. Being a Christian is time consuming. And in many parts of the world, being a Christian is deadly. In many Muslim nations people are killed for converting to Christianity and believing that Jesus is God, who died and rose for our salvation. And yet Christians rejoice even in their suffering, because to be enlightened by the light of Christ means to have eternal life that surpasses anything in this life.
And so this light, which reveals to us God's love toward us and empowers us to love also gives us the desire for everyone to come to this light. St. Paul, under arrest, said to King Agrippa, "I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains." (Acts 26:29)
I want everyone to be a Christian. I want every atheist, Muslim, Jew and fallen away Lutheran to be enlightened by this Christ. Every American, German, Iranian, and North Korean, I want them to leave the darkness of this world and be illuminated by Christ our Savior. No matter what pain or sorrow or inconvenience being a Christian causes them, I want them all to be as I am, aglow with the grace and mercy God has shown on me through Jesus Christ, who died for me and forgives my sins even today.
God revealed that star to the Magi to fulfill his word, that he would bring all peoples to the light of Christ. He declared at Jesus birth what Christ declared at his ascension, that this Gospel is for all nations. It is God's eternal plan that all nations hear the good news of Jesus. God wants you to hear it, to believe it and be enlightened by it. He wants you to know him through Jesus, to have certainty of your salvation and of a home without sin and sadness. And he wants this for your children, your neighbor, and your enemy; for those far off under the blackness of Islam and for those close to home darkened by materialism and religious apathy. And so God shines the light of Christ into the darkness by the proclamation of Jesus. And he succeeds in making Christians. So may the light of God's Word continue to join peoples of every tribe and nation to the body of Christ, his holy Church where we will be ruled by the Shepherd of Israel unto life everlasting. Amen.

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First Sunday after Christmas: God Keeps His Word

1/2/2017

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Are you old and tired? Do you feel spiritually drained? How many years have you been going to church? How many sermons have you sat through? How many baptisms and confirmations have you witnessed? How many of those baptized and confirmed have you never seen in church again? Do you get tired of defending your faith to an increasingly faithless generation? Do you fear that all the promises God has made to you will fall flat? Does this new year offer nothing new, but rather more of the old trudging battle to keep the faith? Does God's apparent silence exhaust you?
Well, take a look at our friends Simeon and Anna. They're old. They've been waiting for Christ to come their entire lives. They believe the prophecy from Isaiah 11, "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." They believe God will send this Messiah, who will judge the poor with righteousness and strike the lips of the wicked. And so believed generations of Jews now resting safely in their graves. God hadn't sent a prophet since Malachi, more than 400 years! Meanwhile the religious elites are straying further and further from God's Word (the Sadducees even rejected the resurrection!) and upon King David's throne sits an imposter.
Can you imagine how exhausted these two were? Anna has been in the temple praying and fasting since she was a young woman, now she's 84! And Simeon is so old and tired of waiting that after he holds the baby Jesus he exclaims, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace," meaning, "Lord, I'm ready to die now!" And so you see after decades of waiting, growing old and tired God keeps his promise to faithful Simeon and Anna. Today's lesson teaches us that God keeps his promises to old, tired Christians. (Even you who just feel old, God keeps his promise).
Holding the Christ Child Simeon says, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory to your people Israel." And so he confesses that this Blooming Rose from the stump of Jesse was the Savior not only for the people of Israel, but for all Gentiles, for you and me.
Christ's birth and presentation proved to Anna and Simeon that God keeps his promises. And when you're dealing with someone who keeps his word you should listen to what he says. Simeon prophesied to Mary, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."
Jesus will be the source of the fall and rise of many in Israel. Of course, Mary herself sang in her Magnificat, "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate" (Luke 1:52). Christ will humble all who try to please God by their own works. He will cast down the religious bigshots who care nothing about God's Word. And lest you think it is only other people whom Christ will bring low, he will humble you too. Indeed he must! Christ will confront you with every sin you've ever committed, he'll show its severity without filter. Simeon told the young mother Mary that her soul too would be stabbed through, foreshadowing to Christ's gruesome crucifixion with his mother kneeling before the cross weeping for her son.
Mary felt the sword as only a mother, who witnesses her beloved son's execution could. Yet this sword pierces you as well. It goes right through your soul until you keel over. When you contemplate the cross of Christ, you cannot help but lament your sins, which put him there. And so are you torn down, fallen. And this is to your great benefit. Because it is only in this humble estate that you can be exalted. Christ raises only those, who have fallen in their sin. Our Lord himself said, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32) It is the repentant sinners, whom Christ will exalt to everlasting life. Those who will not fall nor feel the bite of the sword will fall eternally. God keeps his word.
And so we can even find a reason to rejoice in our repentance. Sure it sounds weird. Repentance involves sorrow of heart, weeping, and fear. And yet, a repentant heart is a sign of faith in Christ. When you bemoan your sinful condition, sorry that Christ had to bear the burden for your mess-up, you can thank God and rejoice that he yet again yanked your soul out of your self-made hell and that he has already paid for your sins. You can rejoice that the God who fulfilled his word by bringing you low with the stab of his sword, will also raise you up according to his word.
God gifted Simeon with the Holy Spirit, so that he would go to the temple and recognize the Christ Child. And finally laying eyes on the boy the tired old man rejoiced. Anna told everyone who was waiting for redemption about this child, who answered her decades long prayer. And yet, at the end of the day, what do we see? A religious old man and a religious old woman, celebrating what seems to be an everyday occurrence: a young couple brings their first born son to the temple to present him to the Lord according to the Law. An unbeliever could look at the exact same episode and see nothing remarkable: just overly religious old-timers and a cute kid. Probably what unbelievers think when they come to church when a friend's kid is baptized.
And yet, Simeon rejoices. Anna can't stop thanking God. Because God answered their prayers. But it took faith for them to see that God was doing that.
There will be a time when both believers and unbelievers will see God for who he is when Christ comes in judgment. It won't require faith to know who the one true God is. But at that time there will be no more time for those who did not believe to repent and be saved.
But today, God does keep his promises; even to you old, tired, Lutherans. Just as he was for Simeon and Anna, God is faithful to his Word. That Baptism you were taught about even as a child really does wash away your sins. Everything the Scriptures say about Jesus is absolutely true. Even this morning, you will join with Simeon in singing, "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace," after you witness God's word accomplished. The same Christ, who was held by Simeon and whose sword of passion pierced through Mary and you, this same Christ comes to you today under the disguise of bread and wine. To the scoffers it's religious foolishness. But to you, it's the consolation you need so you can rest in peace.
God knows your tired. God knows you're growing old. That is why God gives you his Word and Sacraments complete with the faith giving Holy Spirit, so that you may know God keeps his promises, even to you. Amen.

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

Epiphany 4: Jesus Rules

Epiphany 3: The Authority of Faith

Epiphany 2: Jesus' Hour

Epiphany (Observed): A Light to Lighten the Gentiles

First Sunday after Christmas: God Keeps His Word

Rev. James Preus

Archives

Categories

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

﻿Epiphany 4: Jesus Rules

﻿Epiphany 3: The Authority of Faith

Epiphany 2: Jesus' Hour

Epiphany (Observed): A Light to Lighten the Gentiles

﻿First Sunday after Christmas: God Keeps His Word

Rev. James Preus

Archives

Categories

Epiphany 4: Jesus Rules

Epiphany 3: The Authority of Faith

First Sunday after Christmas: God Keeps His Word