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Septuagesima 2018:Equality in Christ's Kingdom

1/29/2018

Matthew 20:1-17

January 28, 2018

The laborers agreed with the master for a denarius a day. Yet, at the end of the day, the laborers grumbled against the master for only paying them a denarius. They were upset, because the master paid even those who only worked the last hour the same as them, who labored all day in the scorching heat. They thought that because they worked more, they should get paid more. They deserved more than those who hardly got their hands dirty. They thought this way, because they were striving after a perishable wreath.

These laborers wanted the master to judge them according to the law. According to the law they should get paid more, because they worked more. But if you want to be judged according to the law, that is, according to your own works, then you better be prepared to be judged to the full extent of the law.  Galatians 3 states, "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, 'Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.'" (vs. 10) And so theses laborers were told to take their wages and go. And so, it will be for everyone, who wants to be paid according to their own works and not by God's grace. And Scripture is clear what their wages will be, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

The Johnny-come-lately laborers, on the other hand, didn't agree on a set price with the master. Rather the master said to them, "Whatever is right I will give you." Well, what is right? Does right mean fair, as most would expect? Does the master promise to pay them a fair wage, that is, a wage equal to the amount of work they put in? Evidently not, as we see they get paid more than a fair wage! So, what does the master mean by, "Whatever is right"?

To learn the meaning of a word it can be helpful to follow the etymology of the word. The noun righteousness is related to the adjective right. Right usually means lawful or just. But a more helpful way of understanding the meaning of a word is to look at how the word is used. In Scripture God will often tell us what a word means by paralleling it with another word. For example, Psalm 89:14 states, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you." And again Psalm 103:17 states, "But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children." And God speaks to Israel in Hosea chapter 2, "I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy." (vs. 19)

In Scripture God frequently parallels the word righteousness with steadfast love. This means that what is right according to God does not depend solely on what is fair, but rather, what is right depends on God's steadfast love. When the master told the laborers, he was going to pay them what was right, he was not saying he would pay them based on how much they worked. He was saying he would pay them based on his own steadfast love.

This is why all the laborers got paid the same. They weren't getting paid according to their work, but according to the master's generosity. And this is how it works in the kingdom of heaven. We are not rewarded by God based on how much we work, but based on God's steadfast love and mercy. In other words, God saves us by grace through faith apart from our works.

This is not the way it works in this world. An employer who pays all his employees the same no matter how much work they do or don't do will soon go out of business. This is why communism consistently fails as an economic policy. People need to be paid according to how much they work or else the work won't get done.

Likewise, not everyone can be equal. A student cannot be equal to his teacher. Otherwise the student would not submit to the teacher's instruction. An employee must do what the employer says, not the other way around. There is much talk these days about equality. But unless we are talking about equal justice under the law there can't really be complete equality. Because we're all different! Not everyone is going to have the same station in life. A father can't be a mother and a mother can't be a father. Children must submit to their parents. Not everyone can be a pastor, or a mayor, or a judge. And this is good. God has ordered the world, so that there are structures of authority and each person has his own different obligations, skills, and interests.

Yet, in Christ's kingdom there is no inequality. We all get paid the same. In the kingdom of heaven kings and paupers, students and teachers, mothers and daughters, they all are the same. Why? Because they all have the same Christ, as it is written in Ephesians chapter 4, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." We all believe in the same Jesus. Is your Jesus better than my Jesus? What a ridiculous question! There is only one true Christian faith. This is why we confess together as a congregation the Nicene Creed and why we are all baptized into the faith of the Apostles' Creed. We confess together one unified faith. Is my faith better than your faith? How can this be, if we confess the same faith? And we should all confess the same faith, because we have the same Lord, who teaches the same thing. We should all have personal faith, that is, faith which dwells in each of our hearts, but our personal faith is no good if it is not the same common faith shared by Christ's church.

Kendall is a few years older than her sister Aria. Did Kendall get baptized better than Aria? Of course not! Or for an even more extreme example, did St. Paul receive a better Baptism than us? How could that be? There is only one Baptism into which we are all baptized. No one could have a better baptism or get baptized better than another, because Baptism is not our work, but God's, as St. Paul writes in Titus 3, "He saved us, not by works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."

Baptism is grace, that is, a gift. In Baptism the same God put his name on Kendall and Aria, who put his name on all of us in our Baptism. They received the same Holy Spirit. All their sins were washed away, just as ours were. They are joined to the same body of Christ as we are and they are our equals in the kingdom of heaven, as St. Paul writes again in Galatians chapter 3, "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. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (vss. 26-28)

We are all equal in the kingdom of heaven, because we all receive the same Christ through faith. But what would happen if we were paid according to our work? Well, we certainly would fall short of the glory of God. Examine yourself according to the Ten Commandments. Have you loved the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind? Have you truly loved your neighbor as yourself, even in your thoughts, in your very heart? You know the answer. So, if we were not dealt with according to God's grace, we would not be able to live in God's kingdom.

Now, God is not unrighteous or unlawful. Our payment was earned, just not by us. Our wages were earned by Christ Jesus, who sacrificed his life, so that he could give us eternal life. When God tells us that whatever is right he will give to us, he is saying that he will give us forgiveness of our sins, because Jesus rightly took them away from us and disposed of them on the cross. So, when we want to see God's righteousness, we don't look to the Ten Commandments, which we have not kept, but we look to the cross where Christ made it right between us and God.

We do not receive the kingdom of heaven based on our works. Yet, it is still necessary for us to work. The master still sent the lazy loafers into the vineyard to work. Ephesians 2:10 states, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Before the foundation of the world God not only chose you to be saved through faith, but he also appointed good works for you to do in honor of him. These works do not save you, but God still intends for you to do them. Yet, how we do them is much different than those laborers, who sweat and bled in the hot sun for twelve hours. They labored, because they felt compelled to earn their reward. We, however, feel no coercion. Rather, we work with the freedom of knowing that God will pay us what is right based on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

It is as Jesus says in Matthew 11, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (vss. 28-30) Our burden is light, because we work as those who know our place in God's kingdom based on his promise of undeserved grace.

Whether you are a husband or wife, parent or child, CEO or hourly worker, in the kingdom of heaven through faith in Jesus Christ you are all equal. You receive the same forgiveness of sins. You are baptized into the same name. You receive the same body and blood for your forgiveness. And this should give you confidence to work in the station of life God has placed you. The mother, who nurses her baby, cleans up messes all day, and says prayers with her children at bedtime does good work in God's vineyard. The husband, who sacrifices his time and energy to feed his family and provide for them does good work. The child, who clears the table after supper and does her homework works well in God's vineyard. The student, who studies, the teacher, who teaches, the musician, who plays, and on and on, they do good work well pleasing to the generous master of the vineyard. And because they are assured of being given what is right, they do not fear that their work is not enough, because Christ's work is enough.

Whatever your station in life is, God wants you to work joyfully out of love for him and to help and serve your neighbor. Yet, your reward has already been secured by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. And no matter how lowly you might consider your station in life, through faith in Christ you should know that you have a royal rank in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

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Transfiguration: Glory Through The Cross

1/22/2018

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Matthew 17:1-9

January 21, 2018

When Jesus was transfigured his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. This was un-reflected glory shining from Jesus, unlike the reflected glory that shone from Moses. The source of the glory is Jesus himself. Jesus is God.

Now, it is important to note that in Jesus' transfiguration he did not change into something else. Jesus' outward appearance changed, but he was still the same Jesus, who walked up the mountain with Peter, James, and John. The glory that shined forth on the holy mountain was present even before the transfiguration, yet it was hidden.

Jesus is both God and man. Yet, Jesus humbled himself so that his divine glory did not shine forth. Yet, Jesus remained God even then. The baby in a manger was God. The emaciated man tempted by Satan in the wilderness was God. Even as Jesus was scourged and nailed to a tree and finally laid lifeless in a tomb, Jesus remained God. This is very important, because when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, it was not just a righteous man who died. Everything Jesus does he does both as God and man. God bore the punishment for the sins of his people. This means that the price Jesus paid was greater than the debt incurred by the sins of the whole world. So, while we see a hideously bruised man dying on a tree, God is glorified by redeeming the world from sin.

Likewise, Jesus never ceases to be a man. As he was transfigured before his disciples displaying his divine glory, he remained 100% human. And when he rose from the dead never to die again, Jesus rose as a human being. And when he ascended to the right hand of the Father, filling all things with all powers and authorities placed under his feet, Jesus did this as a human being. You cannot separate Christ's divine and human nature. This means that our flesh and blood now reign in heaven forever.

Jesus' transfiguration foreshadows his resurrection. This is something Jesus' disciples were struggling with, in particularly Peter. Six days before Jesus climbed the Mount of Transfiguration he told his disciples how he must be betrayed and mistreated, suffer and die, and on the third day rise from the dead. Peter rebuked Jesus saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." To which our Lord responded, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

Peter could not understand that it was necessary for Jesus to suffer and die. And because such a thought distraught him so, he couldn't even think of the resurrection of the dead. So, here on the mountain Jesus shows Peter his glory, which will be revealed at his resurrection. Jesus shows the proof that death cannot defeat him and that his resurrection is unavoidable.
And if Jesus, who shares in our human nature rises from the dead, that means that we too will rise from the dead. Jesus is the first fruit, and we will follow from our graves. And this is testified further by the witness of Moses and Elijah. These two men are living. All who are joined to Christ will live forever. They shall not die.

Peter is stupefied by this marvelous sight. But he feels the need to say something. So, he proposes to build three tents, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. Yet, God the Father interrupts Peter by declaring Jesus to be his beloved Son. And God gives a simple command. "Listen to him."

Peter wanted to harness the glory of Jesus. But he didn't know what he was talking about. He needed to listen to Jesus. Jesus told him not to be afraid. And then Christ tells them to tell no one about his transfiguration until he has risen from the dead. Jesus was transfigured before his disciples in order to show them that he truly is God the Son and to assure them that he does have the power to conquer death. But Jesus must still die. Peter wanted to grab hold of this glory without Jesus' death on the cross. Jesus is telling Peter, "You cannot have my glory unless I die."

Peter displays a problem that is rampant in our generation. People want glory. But they don't want the cross. They want the glory of Christ. But they don't want his crucifixion. It was not only in the first century that people despised a suffering Christ. People despise the suffering of Christ now. They want a winner, not a loser. Even more, people don't want to suffer themselves. Jesus died on the cross for all our sins. This means that we must repent of our sins and trust in Christ for our forgiveness. But this involves humility. Humility can be a tough cross to bear, even if God promises glory in return.

Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24) This means that your glory will be delayed. It means that you must grasp the glory of God through faith, while you do not experience it now. But Peter wanted it now. He wanted to keep Jesus in all his glory, and Moses and Elijah too. But Jesus makes it abundantly clear, there is no glory without the cross.

Yet, even today, people still strive to obtain glory here and now. Yet, they don't do this through faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus doesn't give you glory now. It gives you the promise of eternal glory in the future. The way people try to obtain glory now is through the law, that is, they try to obtain glory through their own works. This makes sense. The Gospel of Jesus' death and resurrection and the free forgiveness of sins that flow from it does not have to do with your works, but with God's work. Through the Gospel, God says to you in regard to glory, "My grace is sufficient for you." The Law, on the other hand, has to do with your works, what you do. This gives people the idea of control. If I show myself to be a good person, be generous and kind, hard-working and virtuous, then I can gain glory here on earth. And many will invent a Jesus, who fits this model: a Jesus who preaches prosperity now! And this glory seeking might seem to work, temporarily anyway. And there's a good chance that you'll gain the admiration and praise of many people and be considered a good and successful person.

Yet, this earth won glory can only be temporary. The Law does not demand the approval of human beings. It demands the approval of God. This means that you must fulfill the law in all its parts without fail. Before God, the Law accuses you of sin and condemns you to death and hell. So, the Law which promised glory and which seemed to give it in this life proves to bring shame and death.

If you are going to obtain glory through the Law, you have to go all the way. You must completely submit to the Law. And in so doing, you will find a cruel master, as St. Paul writes in Romans chapter 3, "Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." (vss. 19-20)

But there is a Savior for those condemned by the Law. St. Paul continues, "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." (Romans 3:21-22) This is of immense comfort to us sinners. When we try to achieve glory through works of the law, the Law shines brighter and brighter, exposing our failings and how far we are from God's righteousness. We are forced to shrink from this glory, just as the Israelites hid from the radiance of Moses' face. Yet, now God's righteousness is given to us through faith in Jesus Christ apart from the Law.

The glory of the Law is a glory that condemns sinners to hell. The glory of the Gospel, however, is a glory we do not need to shy away from. The glory of the Gospel is the righteousness of God given to sinners as a free gift. The glory of the Law condemns those, who lack glory. The glory of the Gospel causes those without glory to be glorious, as 2 Corinthians 3 states, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." (vs. 18) And so the glory that brings salvation to us far exceeds the glory that brings condemnation.

This glory of the Gospel that gives us salvation can only be received through faith. This is why Jesus would not let Peter build three tents for him, Moses, and Elijah. This is why Moses and Elijah stood with Jesus. This is why God the Father told Peter, James, and John to listen to Jesus. And this is why after the vision they saw Jesus only. Faith comes from listening to Jesus' word. If you want Jesus' glory, you need to listen to his words.

Moses and Elijah represent the Scriptures of the Old Testament. Jesus says in Luke 24, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. … Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations." (vss. 44, 46-47) Moses and Elijah stood as witnesses that Jesus was the Christ foretold in Scripture. And Christ stood as a witness that the Scriptures are true. If you want Jesus' glory, you need to listen to Scripture. Scripture is Jesus' Word.

The Word of God is a rather despised thing. People generally don't want to listen to it, or read it, or learn it. It doesn't seem glorious. The message of Jesus' death on the cross seems the opposite of glorious. And the call to repentance is very unappetizing. Perhaps if God would speak through a bright cloud, more people would come to hear. Perhaps if the preacher's face shone like the sun and he brought people from centuries past, then more people would come to church. But Christ has chosen to hide his glory in his Word, spoken by ordinary men. He hides his glory under ordinary means here on earth, so that we might receive God's glory through faith. We've already learned that just because God's glory is hidden, doesn't mean that it is not there.

Christ's glory can only be received through faith in Christ's cross, where he bore everything that would cause us to shrink from the glory of the Law. It is through faith in Christ's death and resurrection that we gain the hope of the future glory to be revealed to us, a glory from which we will not shrink back, but rather into its image we will be changed. Amen.

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Epiphany 2: Jesus Loves His Bride

1/15/2018

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Ephesians 5:22-33
John 2:1-11

January 14, 2018

Jesus chose to do his first miracle at a wedding. That makes sense. Jesus loves marriage. By turning water into wine, Jesus not only manifested his glory to his disciples, so that they would believe in him, Jesus also blessed the marriage of the wedding couple with very good wine. Jesus loves marriage. That is why he also teaches, "From the beginning 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." (Matthew 19:4-6)

God gives three reasons for marriage in Scripture: companionship, chastity, and children. Companionship: God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." (Gen. 2:18) And so, God created the woman. Marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman. This life-long companionship is a gift from God. God did not give the man another man. That would not be a helper fit for him. God gave the man a woman. "Same-sex marriage" is not marriage. Just as you can't have two bodies without a head or two heads without a body, two of the same sex cannot have the companionship designated by God for marriage, nor can they live a chaste life or beget children. Not a single pillar of marriage established by God stands in so-called "same-sex marriage."

God intends for the man and the woman to be joined together for the rest of their lives as one flesh. Yet, people tear apart what God put together. This doesn't just break God's commandment, but it hurts the people in the divided family. Life-long companionship helps men and protects women and children. Dividing this companionship brings hardship to husband, wife, and children. For this reason, God forbids divorce except in the cases of marital unfaithfulness and malicious abandonment.

Chastity: Marriage is a union where a man and woman can live together in purity, not in sinful lust. St. Paul writes, "But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:2) Sex belongs between a man and a woman within marriage. Sex outside of marriage is called fornication. Fornication is a sin. Sex is not a sin. It is a gift of God to marriage. Within marriage it is a pure gift. Outside of marriage it is a sin against God.

Fornication is not only breaking God's commandment, but it is harmful to people. It objectifies women and men and robs them of their dignity. The reason why sexual harassment scandals are so rampant on the news, is because fornication was accepted as okay. Despite what romantic movies and books will tell you, sex outside of marriage is not an expression of love. Love is selfless. Fornication is selfish. When a man commits this sin with a woman, he is stealing what does not belong to him. If he loves the woman, he should bind himself to her lawfully and promise to care for her in sickness and in health, for better for worse, till death parts them. Young people, pay attention to these words. They are words of wisdom spoken by Solomon the Wise, himself, "Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. ... Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth... (Proverbs 5:15, 18)

Children: Scripture calls children "a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Blessed is the man, who fills his quiver with them." (Psalm 127:3-5) Yet, children have not been accepted as a gift from God. Part of this is because of the prevalence of fornication. Children are no longer looked at as a reward from God, but as an inconvenience and outside of marriage it becomes all the more difficult when the parents are not committed to each other for the rest of their lives. And so, in our country we have a multibillion dollar industry to prevent and dispose of children, as if God is being shortsighted by trying to give them to us. Nevertheless, God still gives children as a blessing and we should regard them as such. You can't baptize your car. You can't teach your vacation home about Jesus. But God does promise that he will feed and clothe your children and he invites you to bring them to Jesus.

Companionship, chastity, and children are certainly wonderful gifts to marriage, which shows why Jesus would honor a wedding with his first miracle. Yet, there is something more that shows how greatly God loves marriage. Marriage is a picture of Christ's relationship with his bride, the Church.

The Holy Spirit caused St. Paul to write in Ephesians 5, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." Now, these have become some of the most hated words in all the Bible and even Christian women blush when they hear them. But this shouldn't be. These are beautiful words from our God. We should not let the secular world define the meaning of words God gave to us Christians. For a wife to submit to her husband does not mean that she becomes her husband's doormat or slave. Listen to the words from Scripture, "Submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands."

How does the church submit to Christ? By obeying laws and ordinances? No, but by receiving Jesus' love. The church submits to Christ through faith in Jesus' love, his death and resurrection. The church submits to Christ by hearing and believing the Gospel, which forgives sins and grants eternal life. The church submits to Christ by being washed in his baptism, by eating at his banquet, by trusting in him to protect her from all danger, from sin, from death, and from the power of the devil. This is a completely different picture than what the world would paint.

And so, how does a wife model her relationship with her husband after the church's relationship to Christ? This too is a fruit of faith. A wife submits to her husband by trusting him, trusting that he will care for her, love her, and will do what is best for her. This is how the church submits to Christ.

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her." Now, this is an interesting balance to submit isn't it? If a master leaves and tells his servants to submit to the foreman, he'd then tell the foreman to keep the servants on track, to rule over them well. But God doesn't tell husbands to domineer over their wives, but to love their wives. This means that they put their wives' needs before their own, so that when a wife submits to her loving husband, she is submitting to being loved and cared for. Husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church. Jesus gave himself for the church as the hymn states, "The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord, she is his new creation by water and the word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride, with his own blood he bought her and for her life he died."

Christ did not consider his own needs when he went to the cross. He thought of the need of his Church to be saved. Jesus didn't even think of the worthiness of his Church. She was covered in her own sins, filthy, and undeserving of a husband. We are that bride. We didn't love Christ or submit to him. Yet, even so, Christ loved us and gave himself for us, so that he might cleanse us of our sins through the washing of water in the word. And so, through Baptism, Christ washes us by joining us to his death on the cross, so that he might present us as a holy Church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. And so, husbands you should love your wives regardless of whether they submit to you. And you should cover their sins and forgive them, protecting their honor and reputation.

But wives don't submit to their husbands. They don't trust them as they should. And husbands often don't give them much confidence to trust in them. They fail to love their wives, to sacrifice their time, talents, and bodies for their wives. And they often fail to cover their shame as they ought. Likewise, we make a mess of the gift of companionship through bickering and selfishness and divorce. We can't stay chaste, even with the gift of marriage. And we're often afraid to welcome children as the gift they are and we fail to bring them to Jesus as we ought. In short, we make a mess of marriage. No wonder it is so despised in this generation.

Yet, Jesus still loves and blesses marriage. And his favorite marriage is his own with his beloved Bride, you his church. Although we crumble the companionship within our marriages, Jesus stays committed to his Bride. She is his body and he is her head. They cannot be separated forever. Christ Jesus is wholly committed to his Bride, even as he chose you to be his own before the foundation of the world. We fail to keep our lives chaste, yet Christ has made his bride pure through the washing in his own blood. He presents each of us, who have been unfaithful to him and to our spouses, holy through this spiritual washing.

Jesus gave himself to death, so that he could remove the sins of the whole world. He did this, so that he could forgive and save those, who have fallen into homosexuality and those, who have divorced their spouses wrongfully. Jesus died for fornicators and those, who hurt children. Jesus died for wives, who fail to submit to their husbands, and for husbands, who fail to love their wives. Jesus died for all these filthy sins, so that he could present you as his holy bride; so that he could make you chaste and his marriage to his church pure.

In our materialistic world, we can lose sight of the blessing of children. But Christ never loses sight of this blessing. And so, he blesses his church with many children. Through the preaching of Christ's crucified and through Baptism children of God are born to the Church. And within the Church, they will continue to be nurtured and cared for forever, through the grace and mercy that rains down from the cross of Christ. Marriage is a profound mystery. And Scripture says that it refers to Christ and the church. And we will rejoice in that blessed marriage forever. Amen.

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Epiphany/ Baptism of our Lord Sermon: The Word of the Lord Reveals Your King

1/8/2018

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Matthew 2:1-12; 3:13-17
January 7, 2018

The wise men followed the star until they got to Jerusalem. God caused this celestial phenomenon to lead these Gentiles to the promised King of the Jews. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they thought, certainly this is the place. Jerusalem is the great city of the king, the capital city of Israel, where the Jewish temple, one of the great marvels of the world stands. Jerusalem is God's city, where he dwells. So, certainly the star was leading them to Jerusalem. Yet, when they got to Jerusalem it wasn't clear where in Jerusalem this king would be born, so they had to ask for directions.

Of course, the King of the Jews was not born in Jerusalem, he was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is a short distance away from Jerusalem, about 6 miles. So, you could see how the wise men got confused following a shining star. It appeared to be leading them to Jerusalem. And that would be the logical place for the King of the Jews to be born, as important of a city as it was. Bethlehem was but a one-horse town of no consequence. But when their logic failed them, the wise men had to ask for directions. Herod asks his chief priests and scribes and they look to Scripture, Micah 5:2, "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient of days." The wise men's logic had to be corrected by Scripture. God promised in his Word that his Christ would be born in the little town of Bethlehem.

The wise men expected that the promised Christ would be born in a palace or a fine house near the temple, clothed in fine linens in a soft bed framed with solid gold and adorned with jewels. But they submitted their thinking to the revelation of Scripture. And when they saw the star before them affirming what the Scripture said, that the Christ was in Bethlehem, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. How strange it must have been for those Gentiles to go off to Bethlehem alone to worship the long-foretold Christ and King of the Jews, while the Jewish priests and scribes stayed behind in Jerusalem. This certainly is stranger than a king being born in poverty to a pair of vagabonds with a manger as his first bed.

But there is a difference between hearing God's Word and believing it. Herod, the chief priests and scribes heard the promise from God's Word that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem. But only the wise men believed it. And not only believed it to be true, but believed it to be for their benefit. And so, they left the palace to go and worship the King living in a shed.

Here God humbles the proud and exalts the lowly. He who is from of old, from ancient of days, the great I AM, is born in poverty. You won't find him in a palace or surrounded by important people. No, you must listen to God's Word to find him. And you will find him in the lowliest of places. And God does this, to show that Christ has come to have mercy on us. He humbles himself, so that he can join us in our meekness. It is as we have sung this past Christmas:

Come from on high to me; I cannot rise to Thee.
Cheer my wearied spirit, O pure and holy Child;
Through Thy grace and merit, Blest Jesus, Lord most mild,
Draw me unto Thee! Draw me unto Thee! (Now Sing We, Now Rejoice, LSB 386:2)

So, since we cannot elevate ourselves up to heaven to meet our Lord and King, he comes down to us, all the way down, so that even shepherds and foreigners can come and see him.

Now, we don't have a star to follow to find our King to worship him. So, what shall we follow to find him? We follow the star of Scripture, as St. Peter writes in 2 Peter chapter 1, "And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention to as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." (vs 19) Scripture, the Bible is God's Word. It is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. It will light the way to our King, if we will follow it.

About three decades later, Jesus goes to the Jordan to be baptized by John. Here again, Jesus is found in an unexpected and humble way. Our Lord approaches John the Baptist in order to be baptized by him. At first, John refuses. It makes sense that John would refuse. John's Baptism is a Baptism of repentance. People were coming to John to be baptized by him and confessing their sins. Jesus has no sin from which to repent. He cannot confess to any transgression. Jesus is holy and without any sin of his own. John only baptizes sinners sorry for their sins. How could he baptize Jesus? John's refusal makes perfect sense.

Yet, Jesus bids John to submit his infallible reason to the will of God. "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." These are God's Words. God's Words trump John's logic. So, John, like the faithful wise men, lets go of his reasoning and acquiesces to God's Word.

But why would Jesus get Baptized? Why must Jesus enter the sinner's bath? As many of you know, I come from a family of many children. And as you might expect, when we were little my mother would fit quite of few of us in the bathtub at a time to wash us. Yet, it always raised a protest from us five- and six-year-olds when our mother put a non-potty-trained brother into the bath with us. You know what toddlers do in bathtubs. And so, we would promptly get out, lest we get dirtied.

Yet, Jesus willingly enters the filthy waters made putrid by us sinners. Jesus, who has no sins of his own, dirties himself with our sin. Jesus enters the baptismal waters not to wash away his own sins, but to take possession of ours.

Jesus has two births. The first is from eternity when he was begotten from the Father. By this right, he is the eternal Son of God. Jesus' second birth is from the flesh of the Virgin Mary, whereby he becomes our brother in the flesh. We Christians too must have two births. Our first birth is in the flesh, born of our mothers in sin. Yet, our second birth is of the Spirit. This is how we are joined to Christ and receive adoption as sons. Jesus joins himself to the waters of Baptism, so that Baptism might be a spiritual rebirth, where all that we have becomes Christ's and all that is Christ's becomes ours. So, Christ becomes a sinner and we become children of God.

Now many have said and still do, "How can water do this? It's just water!" Well, it would be just water if God had not spoken a word. Yet God spoke. And so, although the rivers of Damascus are much better than the rivers of Israel, by the power of God's Word the Jordan river washed away Naaman's leprosy. And so, since Jesus entered the Baptismal waters, he turned baptism into a washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit descended on him. This was prophesied in Isaiah 42, "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations." Yet, this same Holy Spirit, who descended on Jesus as was foretold by the Prophet Isaiah, also descends on us through the same waters of Baptism, as Isaiah also prophesied in chapter 44, "For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' and another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel." (vss 3-5) And so Jesus calls this baptizing with water being born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:3, 5) And St. Paul writes in Galatians 3, "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." Through Baptism Christ puts his name on us. We become his own. God no longer looks at us according to our first birth according to sinful flesh, but according to our second birth through the Spirit.

In Jesus' Baptism, the Holy Trinity was made manifest. In the water with sinners is the Son of God, as he is pronounced by the voice of the Father in heaven. And the Holy Spirit descends gently in the form of a dove. This assures us that Jesus' Baptism isn't just a show. God is working in these waters. And Jesus assures us that the same Holy Trinity is working in our Baptism, when he declares, "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..." (Matthew 28:19). To be baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity means that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are working in your Baptism. To be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is to be baptized in Jesus' name, because Jesus commands us to be baptized in this way. This is why St. Peter says, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)

Yet, even with Jesus' Baptism and the declaration of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, and with the consistent declaration in Scripture that Baptism washes away sins and gives the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ, people still can't get over how plain water can do such great things. It must only be a sign and nothing more! But here, we must join the wise men and John the Baptist in forfeiting our wisdom in exchange for faith, for God delights in using simple means to do great things, as St. Paul writes, "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are," (1 Corinthians 1:27-28)

And so, God chooses the little town of Bethlehem to shame the great kings of Jerusalem. He picks poor shepherds and foreign outcasts to shame the priests and scribes. He chooses the cross where Jesus is nailed, bleeds, and dies, so that he might put to nothing our human pride and sin. And so, we should not be hesitant to accept that God uses simple water to do such a great thing as to give us his Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, and Christ's very name. This water has God's Word and promise. Who are we to argue?

So where will you find the King of the Jews, Jesus Christ today? Not with lofty wisdom in high and mighty places. You will find him in his Word and in his Sacraments. In the humiliating preaching of Christ's crucifixion and death for sinners, you will find your King. And in true repentance you will receive your Savior not through human wisdom, but through humble faith in God's promise. It is through this humble faith that God will exalt you, even as he has exalted the once lowly Jesus, who now lives and reigns at the right hand of God the Father.
Amen.

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First Sunday after Christmas: My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation

1/1/2018

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Luke 2:22-40
12/31/2017

Simeon was a righteous and devout man. God revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Christ. The Holy Spirit also led Simeon into the temple that day and caused him to recognize the infant Jesus as the Christ and Savior of the world. And because not many others in the temple received a direct revelation from the Holy Spirit, it might have come as a surprise that a complete stranger picks up an infant and declares him to be the Christ. Simeon is so over joyed to see the baby Jesus that he 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 sight of all peoples."

Now certainly Simeon has a special insight into Jesus. He knows that this little baby will grow up to redeem him from his sins. He is ready to die, because he knows that God has kept his promise to send a Savior. His death is now more joyful to him than life, because this Jesus will give him a greater life than he could ever live.

Yet, when Simeon says, "According to your word," he is not only speaking of God's direct revelation to him that he would not die until he saw the Lord's Christ. Simeon is speaking of the Word, which God has made known to all people!

Through holy Scripture God made known his plan to send his Son into the flesh, even to become a baby, so that he might save his people from their sins. God first revealed this plan when he cursed Satan in the garden, as it is recorded in Genesis chapter 3, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel." Here God revealed that the Savior would be born of a woman, and although he would suffer, he would crush the head of Satan. In our Old Testament lesson again, God revealed from which family the Christ would be born, "Then shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his root shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him..." And so, from these words, all people who waited for the appearing of the Christ knew that he would be a descendent of King David, the son of Jesse. Again, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 7, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" Here 700 years before Simeon found Jesus in the temple, Scripture revealed to whoever would listen that the Christ would be born of a Virgin and he would be Immanuel, that is, God with us. Again, Isaiah speaks in chapter 9, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

And so, when Simeon took hold of baby Jesus and declared him to be the Salvation of the Lord, the very Christ, he did not say anything contrary to what God had already spoken through Scripture. Rather, he confirmed that God keeps his promise! The long-awaited Christ is born! And God is using Simeon and Anna to make known that God's Word cannot be broken.

Simeon calls Jesus,
"A light for revelation to the Gentiles
And for glory to your people Israel."

This might sound as a surprise to some and indeed it is a difficult pill for many zealous Jews to swallow. Simeon says that Jesus is a light of revelation to the Gentiles. Gentiles means nations. Gentiles refer to non-Jews. But many think that the Christ is a promise only to Jews. The temple, where God dwells is in Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel. All the books of the Old Testament were written by Jews. Jesse and David, from whose lineage the Christ would be born, are Jews. The Jews are God's chosen people. And the Scriptures constantly make mention of Christ redeeming Israel.

But here, Simeon includes the Gentiles. That means, he includes all nations, every people, Greeks, Romans, Germans and Norwegians, Africans, Asians, Americans, whites, blacks, and everyone in between. Jesus is the light of revelation of salvation to all people. He is the Savior of the whole world!

Is this a new revelation from Simeon? No. Here again, Simeon confirms a promise that God has consistently made throughout Scripture. In 2 Samuel 22 King David praises God for delivering him by saying, "For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations." And Psalm 67 declares, "Let the nations be glad and sing for joy for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!" And in the same chapter as our Old Testament lesson, Isaiah writes, "And in that day the root of Jesse, who stands as a signal for the peoples- of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious." (vs 10) And of course, the first promise of Christ was made in the presence of Adam and Eve, who are not only the parents of the Jews, but of all peoples. As St. Paul writes in Romans chapter 3, "Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also."

Then Simeon makes a strange and ominous prophecy to Mary as he returns her infant child, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."

Jesus will cause not only the rise, but the fall of many in Israel. He will be opposed. Not all will accept Jesus. In fact, many even in Israel, will oppose him. Jesus is God's Son. He was born of women, born under the Law to redeem those who were under the Law. Why should God have to submit to his own law? It is we who must obey him. Yet, we do not obey, do we? We disobey God's Law. God says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind." Do we? No, we trust in money. We devote our time and intellect to other things, instead of pondering God's Word. God's Law says to love your neighbor as yourself. Do we? No. We disobey our parents and other authorities. We hurt people with our words and actions. We don't live chaste lives. We gossip, steal, and covet. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. We deserve to be damned.

So, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he could become like us, who are born of women. He became under the law, so that he could obey the law in our place and suffer in our stead. The law no longer condemns us, because it condemned Jesus in our stead. We need only to believe in Jesus and we have eternal salvation.

But this is the cause of offense. It is the very Gospel that Jesus died on the cross for our sins that is opposed. St. Paul writes, "But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles." (1 Corinthians 1:23) The wise think that it's foolish for Jesus to have to be crucified for our sins. And even the religious, the people we think are really good, who certainly deserve to go to heaven, they also are offended by Jesus' cross. They don't want salvation to be a free gift. They are offended that their good works do not save them or even contribute in a small way. So, they cling to their good works and stumble over Christ's cross, which preaches mercy to all.

You can't please everyone! Here Simeon prophecies that if you want to have Christ, there will be those who will reject him. If a preacher wants to preach the truth about Jesus he will offend some even as he comforts others. If the teaching of your church pleases everyone, then it isn't the teaching of Christ, as our Lord Jesus himself says, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:34-36)

Some, when they hear the Gospel will repent of their sins and believe in Jesus for their full salvation. Others will be offended. They'll be offended that they need to repent. They'll think they're works are good enough and that their sins are not that bad. They'll be offended that Jesus had to suffer and die for them. They'll be offended that God doesn't accept any of the good they've done as payment, but only the holy precious blood and innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ alone.

So, where you have Jesus you will have division; between those who trust in Christ and his cross and those who are offended by the Gospel. Yet, this is this same Jesus, who will lift up those, who trust in him from all nations. And he will give them true peace with God through the forgiveness of their sins.

A sword will pierce through Mary's soul as well. Yes, she will witness her son suffer for her sins and for the sins of the whole world. This will pierce her soul. She will also see many of her own countrymen oppose Jesus, who came to save them. This is the sword that will be thrust through Mary's soul. And this sword is thrust through our souls as well, as we see people reject the Gospel. It will cause us spiritual pain to see even our loved ones oppose Christ and fall.

And so, the hearts of many will be revealed by the Gospel. Those with a humble heart, who are sorry for their sins and desire God's forgiveness will be revealed as they trust in the Gospel. And God will exalt them. Those, who are proud and do not desire to repent and think that don't need Jesus will also be exposed. But do not be scandalized that Jesus causes division. He has come to shine a light on you. It is God's desire for all to be saved. And Jesus came to save the entire world. Jesus is your light of salvation.

It might seem strange to many that old man Simeon rejoices in God's salvation found in a little baby. But he rejoiced in the helpless baby, because he had faith in God's Word. You are saved through faith, when you believe that Jesus has won your salvation. And so, it is for us today. We are saved by faith. We come to church, and it doesn't look like much. We hear words. We eat and drink bread and wine. It really doesn't look like much, certainly not like the salvation of the Lord. But for us, who believe God's word, who believe that these words of forgiveness from Jesus are the words of eternal life and that Christ's true body and blood are present even as Jesus himself says so, well then, for us we can gladly sing, "Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people." Here, brothers and sisters in Christ, is your salvation, in the word of God, if you believe it.
Amen.

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

Septuagesima 2018:Equality in Christ's Kingdom

Transfiguration: Glory Through The Cross

Epiphany 2: Jesus Loves His Bride

Epiphany/ Baptism of our Lord Sermon: The Word of the Lord Reveals Your King

First Sunday after Christmas: My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation

Rev. James Preus

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