Workers in the Vineyard

This upcoming Sunday is the workers in the vineyard text.  The hymn of the day is Salvation Unto Us Has Come.  It's a great day - it's a sola gratia day - Grace Alone.

The beauty of the lectionary is that it serves to gently correct and curb us, guides us and acts like a trellis, and returns us again to the heart of what we preach and teach.  And the heart of this is that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ.  Not by works of the law, no matter how good or virtuous they are.

You think it wouldn't be that hard to keep that the center of things - but the beginning symphony of faith (check out the Greek in Mathew 20:2) soon becomes grumbling and dischord when instead of focusing on God's grace freely given, we instead become focused upon the works of others - how poor they are, how they aren't up to our standards.

And our eye becomes evil and no longer craves and celebrates the Goodness of God.  Instead, we put forth our own efforts and actions as the center of everything.  This is horrid.

Keep yourselves from idols, little children =o)

Transfiguration Sermon - 2016

Transfiguration Sunday – Matthew 17 – January 16/17^th, 2016

In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +

         They were afraid. When people got a glimpse of the unbridled Glory of God, when sinful men got a taste of this, they became terrified. We see this both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old, Moses comes down the mountain from having talked with God while getting the 2^nd copy of the 10 commandments, and what happens? When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shown because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Even Aaron, the high priest, Moses’ own brother is terrified of merely the reflected Glory of God. They even finally talk Moses into keeping a veil over his face because Moses’ glowing face freaked them out.

And then in the New, we have the Gospel lesson today – the Transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on a mountain – and Jesus is transfigured, He begins to glow, and Moses and Elijah show up – and Peter, Peter is bold, as bold as only Peter can be. Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents, one for you and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. It was the time of the festival of booths, the festival of tents – where basically all the faithful Jews would camp out and remember the wanderings in the desert. Peter’s able to handle seeing the transfiguration – he just wants to keep busy, busy and focused somewhere else. Maybe Moses and Elijah are just here to celebrate the feast with us – I’ll keep busy. I’ll set up some tents. He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. And then the voice of God comes from the cloud, and it’s too much, and the disciples cower in fear. A transfigured Christ – we can keep busy, we can work through this amazement – but God’s voice – duck and cover, duck and cover.

We will in modern American Christianity talk about God’s glory a lot. We like to talk about God’s majesty and strength. Glory, Glory, Hallelujah. Awesome God who does cool stuff, yeah! On and on. But here is what happens. When our focus shifts to God’s power or glory, we forget one simple thing. God’s glory is too much for sinful man to handle. We see this in the Old Testament, we see this in the New Testament. When people see God let His Glory, His Godliness shine forth – it is terrifying. Now, think for moment, imagine a situation with me. Let’s say, in the middle of this sermon this evening/morning, my voice starts to get unnaturally loud - and the earth starts to quake – and thunders and lightnings come – and angels appear behind me – what would happen? Honestly, what would your reaction be? I’d be freaked out, but too scared to stop talking. Y’all would probably dive under the pews. If a touch of God’s unbridled Glory popped out here, even here in Church, we would be terrified. It happened to Isaiah in Church, and he was terrified. “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips!” That’s what would happen. The unveiled glory of God is terrifying to us here on earth.

And why? Because we are sinful people. When we are walking around in normal life here on earth, we can get cocky. We can get a little proud in how good we are. We’re decent people – show up to church, put money in the plate – we can compare ourselves to other people, the godless hordes out there, and get to feeling pretty good about ourselves. That’s because all too often we examine our lives not in terms of God’s Word, not in terms of His absolutes, not in terms of have you done all that you ought – but rather we compare ourselves to others selectively, remembering only their faults and weaknesses, and comparing that to our successes and strengths. Thing is – when God shows up, when God shines forth His glory, we see how shallow and poor we are in comparison to Him, we see that we fall short, and we crash, we flee in terror, we run and hide – just like Adam in the garden when God calls out to him after the fall.

So, why do I bring this up? What is the point in talking about this? Because today, in seeing Peter, James, and John – Disciples, Apostles, heroes of the faith – on their knees cowering in fear, we see the fundamental problem of our lives. Sin isn’t just doing bad stuff. Sin isn’t just being naughty. It’s not just that we happen to sin – it’s that we are sinful – that we are full of sin. We are sinners – people who on account of their wicked and corrupt natures end up sinning. And there’s nothing we can do to change that – we are sinners, that’s who we are. Period. And because we are sinners – by our nature we are shut off from God. Like we say in the meaning to the third article, we can’t by our own reason or strength go to God, we can’t come to Him – why? Because on our own we are sinners. Sinners don’t saunter up to a holy God and ask Him how His day was. When a kid is in big trouble, does he want to go chat his your parents? No! How much more so the sinner with God? Our sinfulness, which we all have from the day we were conceived separates us from God – and we can’t fix it. We can’t do anything about it – when sinful people stumble upon God's unbridled glory, we have no choice but to cower.

But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. This is why Christ Jesus comes. Epiphany is the season where we see, where we remember that Jesus is indeed God – God come to us humbly as a servant, coming to us as a Human, coming to us in a away where He can be with us without terrifying us. Jesus hides His glory most of the time so that He can come to us sinners. The way in which we know God, the way we understand Him, isn’t in His almighty power – we can’t grasp that, and what little we can terrifies us. We don’t understand God’s majesty, and when we see it we become afraid. But God reveals Himself to us in Christ, in becoming man, in becoming One of us and coming to us in a way that we can handle. And so, because of this great wisdom and love of God, we see no one but Jesus only. He is how, He is the only way we understand God. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life – we can't get to the Father apart from Him. Paul preaches Christ and Him Crucified. Hear how Hebrews describes this. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the Word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Jesus is true God, in Him we get everything there is to get, all the power, all the glory – but behold how God works. He comes to us while we are still sinners, while we are still sinful, but He comes in a way which we can tolerate, in a way which doesn’t completely destroy us. And what does He do? In our Gospel, Jesus doesn’t stay up on the mountain, He doesn’t just bask in His own glory. Rather, He goes to comfort the disciples – He tells them not to fear. Why can Jesus say this? Because He knows He is going to the Cross.

We can’t handle, we can’t deal with our sin. But Jesus can and Jesus does. He takes on our flesh, becomes one of us for the express purpose of going to the Cross. This is why He comes, to go to the Cross – to make purification for sins, to justify us – to cleanse us from all unrighteousness – this is the work of the Cross. This is why He comes, to rise again, to walk forth from the tomb bringing life in His train – so that He can say, “See, I have won for you the forgiveness of sins and now give to you life Eternal.” Jesus comes to work, Jesus comes to get down to business – Jesus comes to touch us while we are by our sinful nature His enemies and give us life. But God shows His love for us in this that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This is what Jesus does.

And this is what Jesus does for us still today. Think on this – as I’ve already pointed out, if we were to see God’s unveiled glory while still on earth in this sinful flesh, we would freak out. Yet God still deigns to come to us and bring us forgiveness. How? Not through earth shaking power. Not through fire and brimstone and flashing lights. God comes to us in ways that don’t destroy us – God gives Himself to us in ways that we can handle. He comes in His Word – through hearing His Word. And not echoing, booming sounds – but Words spoken and read by normal people in normal ways. He comes in Baptism – think on that – a washing which cleanses all our sin, which unites us to God, which joins us to Christ’s death and resurrection. When Christ died the earth shook, the clouds blotted out the sun, when He rose nothing could contain Him – and yet we are connected to Christ’s death and resurrection by water and the Word – in a manner so gentle even infants can bear it. He comes to us in the Lord’s Supper. Think on that – God gives us His own Body and Blood – we take and eat, we take and drink for forgiveness – and how can we receive this? Because He gives us His Body and Blood in a way that we can handle, that we can receive – through bread and wine. He comes to us sinful men to forgive us our sins in ways in which we can handle.

Yes, Jesus reveals His glory upon the mountain of transfiguration. We see God’s glory revealed, we have confirmed for us that Jesus is indeed true God. But Jesus doesn’t just stay there – His ultimate purpose isn’t to show how wonderful He is. Rather, He leads His disciples down the mountain, and He walks undaunted and boldly to the Cross, where He wins for us forgiveness. And Jesus continues His work today as He comes to us in His Word, in Baptism, in His Supper. He comes to us gently, so that we receive Him without fear and simply rejoice in the forgiveness of sin. The world looks at this – looks at God at work in His Word and shrugs. The world sees Baptism and mocks it – How can water do such things? The world hears that Christ gives us His own Body and Blood in His Supper and calls Jesus a liar, says it’s just a chunk of bread, a bit of wine and nothing more. The world foolishly craves glory and power. But we have been called into God’s house, brought into His family; we have received His forgiveness, and so we see and know and thirst for the forgiveness which He gladly and continually provides for us in His Church. And because we have been forgiven, we look forward to the resurrection of the dead, when we and all believers in Christ will be raised to glorious and eternal life, and once again enjoy perfection, and delight forever more without fear, in God’s Glory in His Heavenly Kingdom. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World + Amen

Case Study: Boy Jesus in the Temple

I propose a case study, a little thought experiment for self-evaluation.  As good Lutherans we know that the Gospel is to predominate; that is we understand that the point, the goal, the end of the Scriptures is seeing Christ Jesus who is our Redeemer, who is the Author and Perfector of our faith.

Do we let the Gospel predominate?  And by that I don't just mean does it take up more time in our sermons, or do we finish with it... but does the Gospel predominate and shape the way we view the Scriptures?

I have a test case, a case study for self-examination.  Luke 2:41-52  The Boy Jesus in the Temple.  Read it, ponder it, and then ask yourself, what is the point of this text?  If you were to preach it to your congregation, what is the major point, what is the theme?

Go on.  Think about it for a bit.

Pondering is good.

Alright.  So what did you get?  What sort of themes took the foreground in your head?  And were they Law-centric or Gospel centric?

This text is a great study for this, because there are some fantastic law themes in the text.  You can use the text as a springboard for examining all sorts of 3rd commandment and 4th commandment issues.  They came to the temple as was their custom, Joseph and Mary faithfully brought Jesus, Jesus goes home and is submissive to them, He grows in stature and wisdom before God and Man.  These are all wonderful, positive Law themes.

But what about the Gospel themes?  That right there, you have the Word of God Incarnate expounding upon the Word of God?  That you have Christ declaring that He must be about the Father's business of salvation?  That the God who became man and tabernacled among us enters his temple to restore us.

So....

What was your focus?

Is this text primarily an occasion to get in some good law, some good positive example, or is a revelation of the mysteries of the incarnation and our salvation in Christ?

In your own thinking, does the Gospel predominate?

Command or Gift?

I am reminded of Dr. Luther's response when asked how often someone *had* to come to the Supper.  Luther refused to answer.  At least not directly.  Eventually he would say that if one doesn't commune at least 4 times a year, then that person should think about whether or not that they are actually a Christian.

Even when pressed, Luther would not make a hard and fast "you must" law about receiving the Supper.  Why?  Because the Supper, even with our Lord saying "This do" was not to be viewed as a Law, but rather a gift.  The focus is never to be "what must I do" - where the Supper becomes a terror as it was in his youth, but rather always remain the "for you" as the focus.

We have a great love as sinful human beings to turn the gifts of God into commands.  I'm sure the folks who still read this blog would happily nod their heads in agreement if I were to point to the aggressive prosperity Gospel folks, where if you aren't making money that's a bad thing.  You must name it, you must claim it.  We would all recoil against that - we know that wealth and possessions are gifts from God.  Give us this day our daily bread.

Daily bread is a gift - something given to us by God.  That's something we learned from the Small Catechism:  "Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like."

So then my question is this.  Why is there again a focus on children as a command?  "Well, the Lord mandated children saying 'Be fruitful and multiply!'"  Okay - bear with me.  I'd argue that that is more a blessing (especially as right before that you have "And and God blessed them") - a blessing of fruitfulness - hey, kids will come, because I will give them too you... but even if I were to concede that it is a flat out mandate (which I don't want to do, because I don't think my single brothers and sisters in Christ need to be forcefully paired up in order to have kids... which, if it is a mandate would be the case)... why is the focus on the *mandate* rather than the blessing, than the gift?

Luther wouldn't set a hard and fast "you must commune X times" because the important truth was that the Supper is a gift.  Why the thrust on "you have to have kids"?  Doesn't that blow by the fact that kids are gift?  And that really is a big thing - society doesn't treat kids as gifts.

"I know that society doesn't treat kids as gifts - which is why we need to tell people that they are supposed to have kids!"

Really?  Let me propose a scenario.  Let us say that some fellow walks into your study and says, "Pastor, I don't want to commune."  Which do you say?

A:  You must commune, because God said "this do in remembrance of Me" (and if you like going to John 6 "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.")

B:  Why don't you want to commune?

See, I'd argue that if someone says that they don't want to commune, option B is probably the best choice.  There is something wrong, there is some disconnect that brings up some sort of fear or worry - and that needs to be diagnosed.  They either don't understand the gift, or there is some other fear that is coming into play.  If they don't understand what a gift the Supper is - a mandate to commune won't fix that.  Nor if they are fearful about some other factor will a mandate to commune address or handle that.

Likewise - when we come across those who do not intend to have children, a simple throwing down of the gauntlet isn't the best course of action.  Rather, ask why.  What fears are there that prevents you from seeing that a child is a gift?  (And a gift that God chooses to give, and in fact, may choose to give you whether or not you want one... but that's another blog post.)

You see, we are pastors, we are caretakers of souls - we are to care for each other, not simply toss out laws.  We recoil against the idea of Pastor as "CEO" - well we certainly shouldn't be acting as though its "Pastor as middle management policy enforcer" either.

Seriously - if you think that the Pastoral solution is to become Bill Lumbergh, you've got a problem.



Um, yeah, I'm going to need you to come in to communion on Saturday and then conceive a child....

Be bold... let things be a gift.

Sermon for the Sunday after Epiphany

Epiphany 1 – Luke 2:41-52 – January 9^th and 10^th, 2016

In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +

And so today we hear the story of Boy Jesus in the Temple – the great Sunday School Classic. I can even remember the lessons – see how Jesus goes to Church and pays attention and learns – you should go to church and pay attention and learn, too! And yes, that's true – but that's not really the full point of this text. There's so much more going on. In fact, this text is fantastic. If we rush through it, if it treat it just as a morality tale about showing up to Church, we miss just how wondrously it reveals who Christ Jesus is. So, let us examine and ponder the text.

Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. There's a lot in these two sentences. I could point out that this was their custom – that they made it a habit. I could point out that the parents brought the Child faithfully and regularly. That is true – but here's the biggest thing. When? At the feast of the Passover. Everything in the Scriptures, everything in the story of salvation, your salvation, revolves around Passover. Passover was the meal first celebrated in the Exodus – the Lamb eaten in haste with the blood on the wood of the door posts. Passover is what is being celebrated on the night when He was betrayed, when He took bread broke it and gave thanks and said, “This is My Body”. That happens when Christ celebrates Passover. It's Passover when they take Christ Jesus, the true Lamb of God, and nail Him to a wooden cross that is drenched in His blood for our deliverance. Luke isn't giving this story to be cute – it's pointing ahead to what Christ Jesus would do at the passover, not when He was 12, but 21 years down the road when He is 33, when He gives His life for your Salvation.

But even when He was 12, we should have had a clue of what was coming. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the Boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing Him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for Him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for Him. Now, this does let us know that Jesus was a pretty responsible kid – Mary and Joseph figured He could take care of Himself, that He's probably just walking in the big gaggle of cousins over there. You didn't have to worry about Jesus – but when they go to camp for the night, He doesn't show up. And no one's seen Him. And so they tear back to Jerusalem searching for Him. And then we get a highly amazing verse.

After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Now, don't hear this and think, “Man, Mary and Joseph are lousy parents, they spent three days in Jerusalem before they go to look for Jesus in the Temple.” Day 1 was walking away from Jerusalem, Day 2 was heading back, and then, on the third day, that's when they find Him. However, I am hoping that something else is spinning in your mind when I said “on the third day.” This is a giant case of foreshadowing – again, on the third day 21 years down the road, that's when Jesus rises from the dead. This is pointing forward to Christ's death and Resurrection, because God really likes to use foreshadowing. That's basically what the prophets are – that's what the Passover itself was – a giant dose of divine foreshadowing so that folks would be prepared for Christ's Coming.

But let's consider what Jesus is actually doing in the Temple. This is one where we don't hear this right, we don't understand. Jesus is sitting, and He's listening to the Teachers and asking them questions – and we hear that and think, “wow, what a good student. Active listening! Asking questions!” Nope – not what is going on. First thing to note – Jesus is sitting among the teachers – and if you were sitting in the ancient world, that meant you were the teacher. The teacher sat. A few chapters later in Luke 4, when Jesus teaches at Nazareth, He reads from Isaiah and then we hear this: “And He rolled up the scroll and give it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, 'Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'” He's not just going and sitting down like one of our readers – He was sitting in the teaching seat – it would be the equivalent of walking and standing up in the pulpit today. Moreover, in the ancient world, when the Rabbis got together (and to a certain extent even today), teaching was done by question and answer. It's something I do in bible study, I ask questions. The Rabbis thrived on that – so the hearing and questioning isn't Jesus learning... it's Jesus schooling the Rabbis. We get an example of this 21 years later in Matthew 22: “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, 'What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?' They said to Him, 'The Son of David.' He said to them, 'How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said to My Lord, sit at my right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet'? If David calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?' And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions.” That's how the teaching, the intellectual debates were done – by asking questions back and forth and each other. And the boy Jesus blows their minds – And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. Note this – they weren't amazed at His age. This isn't “I can't believe a 12 year old knows so much” - rather, He is surpassing them in knowledge. He is teaching, He is giving them understanding, He is giving them answers that they hadn't had, that they hadn't thought of. This is Christ Jesus, the Word of God Himself, explaining the Word of God. And it's wondrous.

And then Joseph and Mary show up. And when His parents saw Him, they were astonished. This is actually funny. This word here doesn't mean “impressed” - they weren't pleased over how much their Son knew. They were freaked out and embarrassed – that moment that parents have where they can't believe what their kid has just done. Which is why Mary says, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” Every single one of us in here, when we were young... or maybe not so young has gotten the “Just what in the world did you think you were doing” tongue lashing. That's what's going on here. And yet, Jesus is in teaching mode, and so He asks one last set of questions to amaze the Rabbis - “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?” Now, here's one where old King James translates it better - “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?” Literally Jesus says that He must be in the “things of His Father”. And yes, while the temple is a thing of the Father, and Jesus is in it – that's not really the main thrust. You see, it's not that Jesus is a good little boy who goes to Church – the point is that Christ Jesus came and was born to be about the work of Salvation, and that's what He's going to be doing. Of course He's going to be teaching, of course He's going to be in the Temple, of course He's going to be preparing folks for His own death and resurrection, because that is what it is all about – Christ's death and resurrection for our forgiveness. “And they did not understand the saying that He spoke to them.” And, understandably enough, Joseph and Mary don't understand. It would have been over our head too.

And after that, they head home. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. And Jesus goes home – He gets up, leaves the Rabbis behind, because He is only 12, he's not 13, he hasn't been Bar Mitzvah'd yet. And He follows along after mom and dad, He does what they say (that actually would be the finger wagging part of this text). And He grows up – and then Luke jumps forward 18 years to when John the Baptist starts preaching, and Jesus is ready to turn 30 – which is when the Rabbis started teaching publicly in full.

So then – what does this mean? In thinking about this text, I am amazed at how often we just want things to be nice and neat and orderly. Mary and Joseph wanted Jesus to be nice and neat and orderly – as a parent, I totally get that. And that's actually a trend in American Christianity – we're big on moralism, on making the point of Scriptures, the Church, about making people behave nice and orderly. And that's not a bad thing in and of itself – but it's not really the point, it's not really the main thing. It's interesting, Mary “treasured these things in her heart” - you know what that means? That's Mary saying, “maybe instead of hustling Jesus out of there because I was embarrassed, I should have listened to Him more, I should have marveled over what He was teaching, what He was doing.” And likewise, we today can be so quick to drive to the practical – is this lesson going to help my kids behave, or give me advice on how to manage the house, or teach me to manage my finances? Actually – the point is revelation, is epiphany, is the light shining upon us. Just pause for a moment and ponder – there is Christ Jesus, and as all the world swirls around Him, as His parents are panicking and freaking out – there He is. God become man for our salvation. God calmly revealing to us the plan of salvation laid down from eternity. I'm reminded of a story later in Luke – Jesus with a different Mary and her sister Martha, where Martha is running around all busy, but Mary just wants to sit and listen to Jesus. Martha was distracted by much serving. And she went up to Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” So yes, there is an aspect of Jesus in the Temple that is about getting to church – but that's because Jesus is there. Because in His House Christ still comes and teaches us through His Word, because Christ calls us away from all the busy practicalities that we Americans love and worship, and instead He focuses upon the fact that He is our Savior and Redeemer, that He is about His Father's business. That we are saved not by what we do or our own improvement, but that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

That's Jesus's focus. That's what He is determined to be about. It was true, even when he was a 12 year old – and no offense to the 12 year olds in here, but that's not an age of great dependability. Doesn't matter. Jesus is bound to bring about to fulfillment all the promises of salvation found in the Word – and He does. Thus we have life in His name, all thanks and praise be to God. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World. +

Epiphany Observed

Epiphany Observed – Jan 2/3, 2016 – Matthew 2:1-12

In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +

Although technically we are only on January 2^nd/3rd, the 8^th/9th day of Christmas, today we are going to celebrate and observe the 12th day of Christmas – January 6th, the day of Epiphany – the season of the Church year which we are about to enter. Epiphany means to shine upon, it is a season of revelation – where we see and understand more and more just who this Christ Child is whose birth we have been celebrating these past few weeks. And to start off the season of Epiphany, we have a lesson of vital importance for each and every one of us in this room – the coming of the Wise Men.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." We are used to this story. We are familiar with it. We tend to just toss out some wise men with our nativities without much thought, we sing “We 3 Kings” because it has such a fun refrain. And so we forget just how strange it would have been for the people in Herod's court to have these wise men – and no, Scripture doesn't say how many of them - to have these wise men simply show up. And by rights they shouldn't be there – they don't fit in. Think on your classic Nativity scene. The stable – well, okay, there's no room at the inn. That explains the animals, that makes sense too. And shepherds – well, Bethlehem was kind of rural, so the fact that folks in fields right on the outskirts of town might show up, there's nothing strange about that. But these Wise Men showing up – from the East, they stand out like a sore thumb. They had to travel a long way – and more over, they were Gentiles – they weren't Jewish – and yet they knew that this Jewish Boy who was born was important – and not only important – but that this One who was born King of the Jews, was True God whom they ought to worship.

That's astounding – that these Gentiles would seek to find the young Jewish Child whom they know is God. This, dear friends, is really where you fit into all this Christmas pageantry. This is the wonder of Epiphany – that this Christ Child who comes really is for all people – not just all classes of Jew, not just for the rich and the poor of Jerusalem – but for all people – even those strangers and foreigners. Even those people from the East – even those Germanic folk from the north, even for folks even further afield. That's part of the reason why in a classical nativity the three Wise Men will be three different skin colors – all peoples of the world will be saved by this Christ Jesus, all nationalities – red and yellow, black and white. It does not matter a hill of beans where you are from, Christ is for you. (It's Saturday Night here, but Sunday morning to the East, and we worship at the same time as folks over there) (Already this Sunday our brothers and sisters in Christ have worshiped our Lord in Asia, in Europe, in Africa. My friend who is a Missionary in Peru is probably preaching right now as well.) You fit in now – you are a part of the story – even the Gentiles, even non-Jews – they have a Savior.

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet. Herod is a nasty sort. If we had done the readings for the 2^nd Sunday after Christmas, we'd hear how Herod kills off all the baby boys in Bethlehem. He's a piece of work. We would expect wicked Herod to be troubled by this news – but all Jerusalem as well? The chief priests and the scribes, even the people who knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, they are troubled too? Why? Well, sadly, it boiled down to earthly things. If you are King, and someone else is born to be King, it means your reign will be cut short. It means that maybe it won't be all about you or your kids. It may be that, like John the Baptist, you must decrease that Christ may increase. Herod didn't like that idea. It made him unhappy. You've heard the phrase, “If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy”? Same thing with kings. If the King ain't happy, heads tend to roll – and that makes us afraid. This coming of Christ is met with such fear – fear of how it will impact King Herod.

Allow me a few moments of bluntness. When you hear these words, when you hear of Herod's fear, of Jerusalem's fear – know that this is precisely how Satan will try to tempt you, that this is same sort of fear the Devil will try and raise up in you. Why is Herod afraid? Because Herod’s focus is on his kingdom, his power, his stuff. Why are the people afraid? Because angry kings might mess with their lives, their power, their stuff. They are afraid of their stuff being disturbed – and they did not seek to worship Christ Jesus as the wise men did. Oh, you wise men, just go ahead with out us – come back when you've found Him, we can't be bothered now. . . we have emergency plans to make. Instead of beholding God – Herod's eyes and the eyes of Jerusalem are firmly faceted on earthly politics and pomp and power.

This is the way in which Satan will try to attack you. What you have to remember is that you also can be compared to the people here in Herod's Jerusalem's. If I were to ask any of you, “Where was Jesus born” - is there anyone in this room who can talk who wouldn't be able to tell us that He was born in Bethlehem? These were people who knew who the Messiah was, who in theory where those who were looking for His coming. . . but when it comes down to it, when He comes, there's just not that much interest – other than what chaos and trouble it might cause. We've got to focus on the hum drum things of life.

Isn't that the temptation that Satan levels at us Christians, we who know who the Messiah is, even today? How many are not here because they cannot be bothered? Too much stuff going on, too many things coming up? But as you know, God's Law is not given to us so that we can point fingers at others – rather the Law is applied to us. How easy would it be to fall into that habit, to slide away, to become worn down with cares or worry? Or even for us here – how many of us felt joy and wonder at being allowed to come to Church? We are invited into God's House to hear His Word – in fact, God Almighty will give us His Body and Blood today – and did any of us this evening/morning look like kids on Christmas day ready and excited to go? Or was it more of, “Well, we probably oughta get to Church today”? Did we approach this evening/morning thinking more that it was the end of vacation with a little bit of dread of heading back to the normal slew of things now that the holidays are done – or thinking that Monday is going to bring the new slate of 2016 business, or another crop to worry about? We too, each us of here – even as we are here, we can be worn down the weight of this world, our responsibilities here and now – where our eyes become focused mainly on the things of this life, jobs, bills, weather, the economy. And that's heavy. That comes with fear.

This is why God calls us to worship – to have us rest from the responsibilities of this world and instead be in His care, be served by Him, be refreshed by Him. We are told in Scripture that perfect love casts out fear – and Worship is where we see, where we receive God's perfect love – where once again He applies it to our lives through our ears, where He places it upon our tongues. The heart of worship is that God gathers us to focus upon what He does for us, the rest and forgiveness which He gives to us. Those people whom we rightly call the wise men knew this. See what they brought to their worship of Christ the King - And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We can miss this today, but Gold and frankincense are part and parcel of worship. When Moses builds the tabernacle, when Solomon builds the temple – gold is used - the idea of a precious metal shows that what is going on is something precious. There's a reason why we take care with the things we use in God's House – they demonstrate the importance of what goes on here. The stuff we use in worship shows that. Frankincense was also part of worship – the tabernacle and temple were always filled with smoke – smoke of incense. The incense, the smell was a reminder, a confession that God was present at worship for the benefit of His people. Gold and Frankincense were things that were present at worship, that let you know you were at worship – so the wise men brought them to be present at their worship. But then, they also bring myrrh. Myrrh is used to anoint the dying – myrrh was the chief spice that is used to cover the stench of death. On Easter morning when we see that the women are hastening to the tomb with spices to anoint the body – the chief spice of that mixture is myrrh.

This Christ Child whom the wise men worship, whom we ourselves worship, is the God who becomes Man to stare into the face of death and win us life through His own death and resurrection. The wise men see and know this – it is part of their worship. When we gather here for worship today – the center, the focus of our worship is that Christ Jesus goes to the Cross, and thereby wins us forgiveness and life – and that what He has done trumps and enlightens everything in our life – that His love drives away the shadows and fears of this life – that in the light of Christ we face all things confidently seeing the proof, the depth of His love for us – knowing that nothing can separate us from Christ our Lord.

This is what our Lord brings to us here in His House – the Lord who comes to serve His people with life and Salvation, the Lord who comes and gives of Himself to bring us unto Himself and enfold us with His love. And He continually pulls us unto Himself. He is our God – He comes even to bring the Gentiles into His Kingdom – to pull us away from the world of sin and strife and to give us Life in His name. All praise and glory be unto Christ Jesus, our God who wins for us salvation. Amen.

New Year's Eve Sermon

Eve of the Name of Jesus – December 31^st, 2015 – Luke 2:21

In the Name of Christ the Newborn King +

While tonight the world celebrates the last day of 2015 (and an OU victory in the College football playoff- hopefully) and prepares to look forward to 2016 – indeed, while we ourselves in a few moments will be doing the same, our worship service is focused on something far more monumental and profound than any turning of a calendar, than any change of date. Tonight, we address something so utterly profound and wondrous, that our Gospel need only be a single verse – that is how deep this simple verse is. All the insight or wonder of a long parable, all the profoundness of a much longer passage contained in one simple verse – and even tonight, dear friends, we won’t come close to fully delving its depths. That verse again is as follows: And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the Name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

There are many traditions that come up around names. I’m sure some of you have names that are traditional in your family, ones that get handed on and on throughout the generations – being named after a grandfather or an aunt. If I had been a girl, I would have been named Bertha since mom's Aunt Bertha had the same birthday as I do. Being named after a relative was a tradition they did have in Jesus’ day, and one they followed more vigorously – remember, everyone looks at Elizabeth strangely when she says that her boy will be named John because None of your relatives is called by this name. But there are two traditions dealing with names back in the days of Christ that we really don’t have any more, and tonight we will use these as our insight into this wondrous text. For the first tradition, did you note, dear friends, when Jesus is given His name? And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus. Even though Mary knew that she was going to name her child Jesus, even before He was conceived, Jesus did not receive this name until He was circumcised.

There was a reason for this. For a young boy, it was the 8^th day when you were circumcised, where you officially joined the family of God, when you officially were. And only then do you get your name. This even used to be the practice up until 100 years ago or so with Baptism – until a child was Baptized they would simply be known as the so-and-so baby – they would be given their name at their baptism. Another word for Baptism is Christening – literally “Christ –in-ing” or “putting into Christ” – but we still use the term Christening for giving something a name, like a ship or a building. Your first name was known as your “Christian Name” Another example – Martin Luther was born November 10^th, and his father took him to church on the 11^th to be baptized. The 11^th was St. Martin’s day – in honor of St. Martin of Tours – so the Luther baby was named Martin.

Your name is your identity, it is who you are – and for a Jewish baby in Jesus’ day, you only had an identity in light of God’s covenant – you were one of the males of Israel, and of your number one day God would produce the Messiah. That was who you are – and when and only when you were circumcised, when you were physically marked as being of Israel, did you receive your name, your identity. And so it was with Jesus. And on the 8^th day, He was circumcised. But for Jesus, He was not just one of the race that could be the Messiah, He was the Messiah Himself. And on that day, there was a bit of foreshadowing. The Baby Jesus shed His blood. The Law demanded Blood, and Jesus gives it. This event is the first time that the Son of God sheds His Blood – God Almighty, Maker of the Universe becomes Man – we have been celebrating that all this Christmas – but here we see what that literally means. He is born under the law – and being born under the Law – He bears its consequences. His Blood is shed. Just a little right now – but you dear friends know where this Child will be when He grows, you know where He willingly goes – to the Cross to win you salvation. The blood that is but a trickle on the 8^th day pours down His whipped and beaten back on Good Friday – it spills from His pierced side – all for our salvation. Indeed, it is poured from every Chalice in Christendom whenever and wherever the Lord’s Supper is celebrated, that we might receive salvation, that the Blood which was shed for us might be applied to us, given to us.

And to make it most clear that it was indeed this Child, shedding His Blood, who would indeed more fully shed His Blood to save the world – when He was circumcised He was given the name Jesus. Nowadays we don’t think too much about what our names mean. In America we pull from so many heritages and languages that we forget that names have meaning. For example – my name is Eric. It’s Swedish for powerful – but you look at me and don’t think “powerful”. My dad’s name is Gregory – that’s a Greek Word – when you get the instruction to be watchful – to keep awake – that’s be Gregore-o. My mom’s name is June – and we even know that’s a month – but her name doesn’t really have anything to do with the month because she was born in April. Nowadays we pick out names because they are pretty, we like how they sound. I didn’t name Victor Victor because he won anything, and Ambrose doesn’t smell like Ambrosia – but back in Jesus’ day, more importance was given to what a name means. Think about it – Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter – Rock, Petros, after he makes a solid confession. Daniel, great name – Dan-I-el – God is my Judge. El at the end of a name refers to God. Abram, exalted father, is changed to Abraham – father of a multitude. Micah – Mi-ca-yah – Who is like The LORD, who is like Yahweh? The names all have meaning, have importance.

And then we get the name Jesus. In the Hebrew, the name is Yeshua. We say Jesus, because Yeshua in Greek is Iesous, which got put into Latin as Jesu – into English as Jesus. There is another way of doing this name in English – the name Joshua is the exact same name, it’s just Yeshua going straight from Hebrew to Latin and then English – same name. But what does this name mean, Pastor, since you said names are so important? Ye is a form, a short form of Yahweh, or Jehovah – the Divine Name – the LORD. Shua is a verb meaning to save. So literally the name Jesus, the name Joshua, the name Yeshua – they all mean one thing. The Lord Saves.

His name tells you what you are seeing. The child is cut, He bleeds, He is placed under the law. Though He is not sinful He takes up His place with sinful man – and why? Because Yeshua, because Jesus, because the LORD saves. This is how the Lord brings about Salvation – by becoming Man, and by taking up in our stead the punishment for sin, and by giving us His own Life, so that we are made whole and spotless and without blemish by His divine power. Behold the Lord’s Salvation – behold what God does to give you life.

In all things, God points us to His Son, so that we might remember that we have life in His Name – that Christ Jesus came into the World to be our Champion, to be our savior from sin. And even from His youngest days, this is what He does. This is His identity, it is who He is known as – He is Jesus, the one who becomes Man and sheds His Blood for us. Let us ever give thanks to God the Father that He does not abandon us poor sinners unto everlasting death, but freely sends His Son to be our Savior. In the Name of Christ the Newborn King + Amen.

St. John

St. John's Day, 2015 – John 21

In the Name of Christ Jesus, the New Born King +

I make no bones about it – St. John the Evangelist is my favorite of the Apostles. There is a joy, a humor to him that I appreciate. John was the young pup of the disciples, the young, brash Apostle. John gives Peter a hard time in his Gospel – even points out in the resurrection account that he was younger and faster than Peter – see Peter, I beat you to the tomb. And there are other stories, legends of the Church about John that I love. My favorite is this – John later in life is in Ephesus, and he and some of his students are going to go to the public baths to wash, and as they approach, they see a fellow by the name of Cerinthius, a false teacher, one of the guys John rails against in 1 John, they see this heretic come walking out of the public bath – and John stops, looks at his students and says, “Let’s go back home, I think those waters would just make me dirtier now.”

But John, the young, brash apostle, grows old, and he becomes old John, the last living apostle, the one who sees His friends martyred, who sees Peter crucified, who sees Paul beheaded – who is exiled and left to simply rot on the isle of Patmos. And He knows that the time is coming when his body will fail, when he will die, when even the last of the Apostles will have died, just like the prophets before them, and just like Moses before them. And so, moved by the Holy Spirit – John writes His Gospel. And it is for this reason that we remember St. John this day, for this reason that rejoice and give thanks to God.

Our Gospel text occurs after our Lord’s resurrection, and as so much of John’s Gospel does, it shows us a conversation – this time between Peter and Jesus. This is following the discussion between Jesus and Peter where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, and three times Jesus tells Peter to “Feed My Sheep.” And then our Lord adds on one little thing – He tells Peter “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” This He said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. Jesus tells Peter – they are going to stretch out your hands on a cross of your own – someday you too are going to be wrapped in linens and carried to your own tomb – but follow Me. And then we have the beginning of our text for this morning. Peter turns, points to John, and Peter says, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” Again, I do love this verse just because it shows that relationship that Peter and John had, where they would tease and josh with each other. Peter says, “Well, if I’m going to get crucified, what about John here? How’s he gonna get it?” And our Lord lovingly admonishes Peter – who cares what happens to John, we’re talking about you now, Peter, and as for you, you are to follow Me. Now, this is a wonderful teaching reminder to us. As Christians, we have been called to follow Christ, and there are times when following Christ is hard and difficult – when being a Christian will carry us to places we’d rather not go, when we will be called upon to show love that we find difficult to show. The task laid out for us remains the same – follow Christ.

This can be difficult for us. None of us like difficulty, none of us like hardship – but that is what happens when one follows Christ. Our Lord doesn’t shy away from hardship. The very fact that we sing Christmas Carols this day proves this – we go tell it that Jesus is Born, we marvel that He leaves bliss, and why? Because God becomes Man, because God takes up human flesh. When He is made Man, when He comes to live in the midst of this fallen world – He shows love in the midst of His own suffering. He cares for people even as He is abused. He calls out for forgiveness for the very people who are crucifying Him. Follow Him. That is what it means to follow Christ – it means that in this life, as a Christian you too will take up your own cross and follow Him. And this can make us nervous – we wonder what will happen. This can make us jealous – we look at other people and can think, “Why do they have it so easy when I have it so hard.” (As an aside, when we think thoughts like that, it only shows that we don’t know the pains they are carrying, for we all have them. Whatever.) It doesn’t matter – over and against all of this, Christ calls us to follow Him – and so we strive to do.

And we long for Him to come again, to return, to let us rest from our labors and toils and simply to enjoy the wonders of the life of the world to come with Him face to face. In fact, when John writes this, he can see the burdens that his students, the generations to follow him will have to bear. He’s an old man in exile, and he sees the worry on people’s faces, the fears of persecution, the fatigue of waiting for Christ to return. And they start making things up. John notes, “So the saying spread among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but “If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” John had told folks this story – but instead of saying, “Ah, yes, we ought be like Peter and follow Christ wherever it leads,” they twisted things. Oh, John isn’t going to die – and look at him – he’s old – surely Jesus will be back any moment now and we’ll be on easy street. But John has to correct them gently – our Lord didn’t say that He was coming back before I died. That isn’t what He said, don’t twist the Word. And here John teaches us another important lesson. We are to handle this gift of the Word of God with care – making sure we pay attention precisely to what it says. People will try to twist Scripture to make it say what they want to hear – and quite often to make it say things that mean money in my pocket or constant joy and success in the here and now. John points to an example here – people started thinking earthly hopes. But that wasn’t the point. John’s Epistles are all about antichrist coming and twisting the Word, in Revelation we get the same thing. And even in his Gospel, John warns us that we must pay attention to what the Word of God says with care and with diligence. And why? John tells us.

The purpose of the Word of God is not just to be a history, a factoid sheet of events in Jesus’ life. John even says, “Now, there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” Again – that humor. Yes, Jesus did other things, I have more stories that I could tell – but I’m not going to tell anymore. And why? Because the job is done. As we hear in John 20, as we just sang – “Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.” This is why Scripture is written. Because we need to see what Christ Jesus has done for us, because we need to hear His salvation. None of us lives the lives that we ought, none of us follows Christ as perfectly as we ought. We are all sinners, we all fall down. And yet, what has John recorded for us? Behold your Savior, Christ Jesus the Lord, the very Word of God incarnate, God become Man who lived perfectly, who through His signs and wonders showed and proved that He is the promised Messiah, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World. Behold the Lamb of God, who goes to the Cross, who suffers and dies. Behold from His side flow water and blood. Behold the Man Risen from dead – and see that He really is a man – behold His hands, His side – see Him eat on the beach, He truly lives! And because of this – you have salvation. The Word is written, and it is preached and proclaimed, we even hear it here this day. The same water which poured from Our Lord’s blessed side has been attached to His most holy Word and poured upon you at your Baptism. The very Blood which poured from His side has been poured into chalices throughout Christendom for the celebration of our Lord’s own Supper. Everything which we need, all that we need to know for our salvation, it has been given to us.

And so we rejoice this day, we give thanks to God for His servant John, whom God used to write 5 books of the bible, who laid out for us so beautifully what our Lord’s incarnation means, what benefits Christ wins for us. We believe because God has made us to hear these Words that John recorded for us, and because we have been brought to faith, we have life in the Name of Christ Jesus. This is our hope, this is what we cling to as we follow Christ in the midst of the struggles of this life – for our Lord and Savior will come again, and on that day we will rejoice with John and with all the Apostles and Prophets, all the hosts of heaven which John saw in his revelation – and we will rejoice together throughout all eternity. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +

Sermon for St. Stephen's

The past few weeks, just in conversation, I’ve been asking people if they know the old Carol, “Old Good King Wenceslas”. It’s one of those songs that people know the rough tune to, that they have heard before, but have no clue what the words are. I’m the same way; I really only know the first two lines. Good King Wenceslas looked out/ on the feast of Stephen.” On the feast of Stephen, today, December 26^th. It at first seems strange to suddenly go from Christmas to such a sad story as Stephen’s, the first Christian Martyr. However, it makes sense. We have just celebrated the feast of the Nativity, the birth of Christ. But this birth doesn’t happen in a vacuum; Christmas has an impact and an effect on our lives. From Stephen, we can see what that is.

First, on account of Christ, we are all called to service. Let me read from just before our epistle text. Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit This is how we meet this Stephen, this is the first time he shows up. And what is he? Oh, a man full of faith, a man who has the Holy Spirit. What clearer sign is there that the events of Christmas have impacted Stephen than this? Christ Jesus comes down and takes on human flesh, and what do we see? Stephen now filled with faith and the Holy Spirit. This is the result of Christmas and Christ’s life, that Stephen knows who God is, that Stephen believes in the Salvation won for Him by Christ Jesus, and that the Holy Spirit now dwells in him.

On account of this, Stephen is called into service. Stephen is asked, “for the good of your fellow believers in Christ, please do this. See that everyone is cared for fairly and kindly.” The faith that Stephen has is put into action. Faith isn’t just some dead possession, it’s not something that we keep on a bookshelf and dust off every now and then. It is true life, it is love - and life and love with God always involves action. Think of it this way. I’m sure many of the kids here this morning got new toys yesterday, and well, probably quite a few of us adults got new toys as well. So, are these toys just kept in the box, oh, look, I have a toy, how nice? No, they are played with, they are used. That’s the way it is with faith and love. We aren’t supposed to just keep them wrapped up, but rather we are to exercise our faith and love in the service of others. Which is easier said than done, isn’t it? We humans are the masters of the excuse, of dodging and shifting responsibility. When it comes to service of others, all too often our gut instinct is to avoid, to grumble, to wonder why someone else isn’t doing this, isn’t helping out, why am I the one stuck with this. There are times when our faith is an inconvenience to our schedule, and we’d rather just stick it in the closet with that gift our aunt gave us 7 years ago rather than actually use it. This is the temptation we are to avoid and beat down. As Christians we must remember that we are always going to be called into service, called to show love to our neighbor, to reflect back the love that we have received from Christ onto our neighbor. This is something that Stephen does, and it is something which we ought to emulate.

Stephen also demonstrates another aspect of the Christian life. On account of Christ Jesus, we are called to Confess. In our text today we see Stephen getting in trouble because he speaks plainly and clearly the Word of God. Stephen has been preaching and performing miracles, but the powers that be are upset, and so he is taken before the Jewish rulers and called to account. And what does Stephen do? Does he start playing the great game of cover my backside? Oh, this is all a misunderstanding, there’s no big deal, just let me go. Things are getting a little tense, a little hot in here, I had better stop what I’m doing, drop it, and just roll away? No, that’s not what Stephen does. We skip most of what Luke records for us in Acts 7, but we get the end of it. Stephen preaches, Stephen rips back and calls a spade and spade, giving them a good double barrel blast of the law. And they kill him for it. They drag Stephen out, they pick up rocks, and beat him to death.

So, was Stephen foolish? Was he unwise? No. Stephen was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. As Christians, as those who know who God is, who have tasted His Salvation, we are called to proclaim, to speak out the truth of God. Now, by this I’m not telling you all to get your sandwich boards and stand out on on Court Street in Kankakee and start screaming at passer-bys in cars. But when you are questioned, when you are asked, “Who is this Jesus”, when one comes and denies your Lord, your duty is to confess Christ, whatever the consequences.

If that isn’t a tough row to hoe I don’t know what is. Few things are more scary, more terrifying than speaking. Think in your own life apart from religion specifically. How many of you have things that you would like to tell someone but are afraid to? Someone is doing something wrong that hurts them, but. . . you just can’t say it, because you might upset them. Someone could use some advice, you have a recommendation. . .but what if they take it the wrong way. All too often we don’t speak when we ought to. Instead of showing love and care and service, instead of helping out, we say nothing. Or worse than saying nothing, we talk and complain about how things are and gossip to anyone and everyone except the person we ought to talk to. We have that fear of someone becoming upset with us, and that fear runs and rules our lives, not the love that we have from Christ.

Fear of speaking comes in even with good things. Who here hasn’t felt their knees turn to jelly when you want to say something sweet and romantic to someone? I’d wager that there are some guys here who have been married quite a while who still ho and hum before they work up the courage to tell their wives that they love them. Why then, should we be surprised when we have to confront fear when speaking the most wonderful words ever, speaking of Christ Jesus our Lord? Being bold in your faith can be hard, it can be frightening. There can and will be negative consequences in this life. If you doubt that, look at the prophets, look at the Apostles, look at Stephen, look at the cross itself. Nonetheless we are called to Confess, to speak boldly about Christ and Him Crucified when the opportunity presents itself.

So how? So far this morning we have talked about many demands, much law. I, a poor miserable sinner, am called to service which I grumble about and do not do, I am called to confess Christ, and man, there are times where I just back down and run away. What now? Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! What now is this. We remember that the Christian faith is not primarily about what we do, but rather it revolves around what Christ Jesus has done for you. Dear friends, the Christ child does not remain idle, Jesus doesn’t just keep a low profile. Rather, He grows and suffers and dies and rises again. Why? So that He might call you to His side, that He might send His Holy Spirit to call you by the Gospel and Enlighten you by His gifts. At any and all times, we are to look to this, to remember this fact. That God Himself calls us to be with Him. This is what Stephen sees as he lie dying, as the life is pounded out of him. Christ Jesus His Lord calling to Him, giving more and more forgiveness, bringing more and more Salvation. Which is why Stephen thinks to cry out “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Of course, because He sees Jesus, Jesus who is all about forgiveness. When Stephen sees Him, Jesus isn't up in heaven playing canasta with the prophets, He there ruling at the Right Hand of God, dispensing forgiveness, calling His servant Home.

God constantly calls us as well. We are called by His Word to hear again and receive again the forgiveness of our sin. He calls us to the Altar, to His Supper, to receive His Body and Blood for the strengthening of our faith. When we are burdened, when we see our lack, which is great indeed, we are called to look at Christ and see His love and Salvation, which is beyond anything else in the world. By His Word God constantly strengthens us and refreshes us when the world batters us down. Here in His house He gives us the gifts we need so that we can go out into the world and live the lives of service, the lives of confession that He calls us to. Here Christ Jesus fills us again with faith by forgiveness, by preaching, by His supper, so that we are kept strong and firm, so that we are picked up whenever we stumble. Here in His House, we are gathered by Christ, just like a mother hen gathers her chicks, and under His protective wings we receive all that we need to grow in faith towards Him and in fervent love towards one another. Here in His house the Christ Child is at work for us, forgiving us and leading us.

And so, dear friends, on this December night, we see who God is, who this Babe of Bethlehem is. He is the God who calls us to service, the God who calls us to confess him, but more than that, Jesus is the God who constantly calls us to be with Him, to come to Him, and to receive His blessings. God grant that in this coming year, we receive His blessings and forgiveness often and richly, so that we would be stirred up to works of love on earth, even until Christ Jesus our Lord in mercy and love calls us unto life everlasting. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King. + Amen

Christmas Day Sermon

December 25^th, 2015

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +

Today’s Gospel, the first few verses of John, are perhaps the most beautiful depiction of Christmas that we have in scripture. And yes, this is a depiction of Christmas, even though you don’t hear anything about Joseph and Mary, even though there’s no mention of shepherds or angel choirs, no Star and no wise men – none of the people or things we so often associate with Christmas. John knows we know the story, and so He sets out to tell us what all this really means. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. When John begins his gospel which we hear this most joyous day, He lets us know flat out who this Jesus is. When we are talking about Jesus, when we are talking about the Word, we are talking about God. Plain and simple. Jesus is God, Jesus is Lord. This Child, lying in the manger – that is God. Full, true God – All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. This Child is the Word of God – and before His birth, before He became Man, He was there at creation – He was the Word of God Who created all things. And not just things, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” This is the Word of God who gives life – the reason we have existence, the reason any of us draw breath, now lies in a manager, breathing Himself. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The most wondrous Light of Christmas wasn’t the star – It was the One who created that star. The most glorious Light of Christmas didn’t shine from the angels – for their light was merely the reflected glory of this Child. And we are directed to this Light – John the Baptist points to Him, instructs us to behold Him. John calls out to us to repent, to believe. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. This is the Baptist’s cry which echoed on the banks of the Jordan, this is the cry which rings forth from every pulpit in Christendom that is rightly called a pulpit – that God Himself, Light of Light, Very God of Very God – has come into the World to enlighten us, to redeem us, to make us not merely glorious like the angels, but to makes us even more glorious and higher than the angels, reflecting His light. And yet – He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. No, when the world thinks of “God” – it doesn’t think of what we see at Christmas. The world thinks of “God” as draped in wealth and splendor – it doesn’t think of a child in a manger in a backwater town in a backwater province. The world thinks of God throwing lighting bolts like Zeus or hammering his foes like Thor – it doesn’t think of a Child weak, waiting for His mother to feed Him, to change His diapers. When the world thinks of God, it things of a being who slays all his enemies – not of a Man who goes to the cross and dies for the very sake of those who hate Him, in the hopes that they might see and hear and believe and be forgiven.

And it wasn’t just the world – the gentiles – the crazy Germans and the money happy Romans who didn’t know Him – He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. Even coming to the Jews, to the people to whom John the Baptist preached – the people who knew what Isaiah had foretold, who knew David and the promise of His Son who would reign, who knew Moses, who knew the Tabernacle and Temple, who thought they knew the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – they didn’t receive Him. What good is a prince of peace when we want war and bloodshed and freedom from Rome? What good is salvation when we want a better life now?

But you know who this Child is – you know that He is God. And what does that mean for you? But to all who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. Do you see what this means, what the manger means, what Mary holding her Child means? Because God became Man, because God became the child of Mary, we have been called to be children of God once again. This Jesus came to fix the fall, to end our rebellion. The Word of God who saw Adam and Eve wreck His Creation is the same Word of God which told them that one day He would come, be born of one of Eve’s daughters, and that He Himself would crush the cursed serpent and restore Adam and Eve, restore God’s wayward children – make us God’s children again.

And again, note how beautifully this happens. Why are you a child of God? It is not of blood – this gift wasn’t limited to one race, one lineage. All races are brought together in Christ; all the languages that were scattered at Babel are reunited in Christ. Nor does this happen because of the will of the flesh – it doesn’t happen because of any act of our body – it does not rely on our own strength to do mighty works to claim our status as sons and daughters – it isn’t based upon our merit. Nor does this happen because of the will of man – it’s not a decision we have to make, a puzzle we have to solve. No – you were made a child of God, you were brought to faith, called to believe in Christ Jesus and given the gift of faith by God. The Word of God, indeed the very Child in the manger came to you – the Father sent His Word to you, poured out His Holy Spirit upon you, called you His own child in by the Word in the Waters of Holy Baptism – and so you are.

This happens, this is possible, only because this Word of God, the One by whom all things were made, beholding sinful man, for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. Or as John puts it here in the Gospel – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God becomes Man – right now, God is a Man, He has a Body, He is our brother. We do not have to try to find some mystical way to Him – He came to us, came to be with us, to share in our life so that He might restore us to everlasting life. That is the glory and wonder of this day – that God comes to us.

The Word becomes flesh – and He dwells among us. That word dwell is a loaded term – it’s saying that Jesus tabernacled with us – that the presence of the Lord that Moses saw at the tabernacle was made more wondrous and awesome when God came to dwell with us, not in a tent, not in a temple made with human hands, but in His own Body. What hope this gives. This body that you have, with it’s aches and suffering – Christ Jesus has come to you bodily – in His own Body. Do you see what that means? It guarantees that on the last day – when our Lord calls you forth from the grave, you will have your body, but it will no longer be full of aches and pains and things that don’t work right, but it will be perfected, like His Body – because He has come to dwell with you, to be with you, to live eternally with you – to make you like Him, to make you shine to reflect His Glory in a Body like His glorious Body.

That’s why we call this day, this celebration of our Lord’s incarnation, our Lord’s taking up a Body, Christmas – Christ Mass. Because it is there, in the Sacrament of the Altar, in the Lord’s Supper, where you receive your Lord’s Body and Blood to be a promise, a pledge and token that all the things you hear in the Scriptures, all the things which Christ Jesus does, His birth, His fasting, His death, His resurrection – that these all were done for you – that He has chosen to dwell, to tabernacle here with you – to come to you until the day when He calls you to Him for all eternity.

My dear friends in Christ, there is nothing more joyous or wondrous that I could say than the fact that God has become Man, that Jesus has come and by taking His Body born of Mary to the Cross and dying and rising, He has won you salvation, and He gives this Salvation to you richly. He is the Emmanuel, God with us, the source of all life and where we have our completion, the love of God given to us for our everlasting salvation. Rejoice and celebrate this Christmas – I will not wish you a merry one, for it is no mere wish, but it is a reality – because Christ Jesus is born, and you have live and salvation in His Name. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +