Sexagesima Sermon

 

Sexagesima – February 11^th and 12^th, 2023 – Luke 8

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

    Last week in our sermon, we heard of grumbling, how Satan will try to use resentment and disdain to try to make you hate God's generosity, God's grace. This week our Lord gives us another parable, and in the parable of the Sower and the Seed we see another angle of attack that Satan will use against you. Satan will strive to separate you from the Word of God. That's the Devil's goal – by hook or by crook, Satan will try to wrest away the Word or get you to ignore it.

    Consider the famous parable – the sower sows his seed, and it goes everywhere. Some falls on the road, some falls on rocky ground, some falls amongst the weeds, and some falls in the field and grows well. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Um, sure – okay. This is one of those parables that we are familiar with – we are used to the image of the Sower – every year this week I spend a lot of time pondering my class ring from Oklahoma because it has the image of a Sower on it. But it's a hard parable, it's a strange parable, because there's no clear plot, there's no moral of the story. There's no don't do this but do that. The Sower simply sows the seed. Everywhere. All over the place. Some grows, some doesn't (for a variety of reasons). And upon their first hearing, even the disciples are lost – they have to ask Jesus what it means, and Jesus notes that this is a parable that is hard, that people will see but not see and hear but not hear. The point can be missed – and so often is missed. Catastrophically so. But here it is. The parable is this: The Seed is the Word of God.

    When we consider this parable, we must be considering first the foremost the Word of God. This isn't a parable about our actions, this isn't a parable about us – it's about the Word of God. And the premise of the parable is that the Word of God goes forth throughout the world – to all people in all places. Again, this is playing off of last week – God is generous, He gives good gifts. Not just physical gifts, but His Word – the Gospel of forgiveness and life is to be spread all over. It doesn't matter who it is, where they are at, God would have His Word showered upon them. “Well, I don't know Pastor, my neighbor seems kind of rocky – should I tell him the Word?” - first off all, if you think like that just wait a few months because we'll be having a lesson about getting the log out of your own eye before you note the speck in your neighbor's eye. Second of all – in the parable the seed FALLS ON THE ROCKY GROUND. Even if we were somehow able to predict the future, which we can't, the sower still throws the seed onto the rocky ground. It goes everywhere. God is gracious and generous, even to jerks. The Seed, the Word of God, goes forth throughout the world and is proclaimed to all. God's grace and mercy, the victory that Jesus has won over sin and death by His death and resurrection, the forgiveness of sins in Christ's name is declared to all.

    “But Pastor, not everyone believes.” Correct – and this parable is teaching that. Here Jesus is dealing with His disciples, who are quite literally tasked with spreading the Gospel to the World – and they spread out a long way. We're pretty sure that Thomas made it to India and was preaching there – some even claim Japan. That was just one generation. Even today the Word is being spread, being translated into various languages – Lutheran Bible Translators has done translations in over 100 languages, and that's just one organization that's barely 60 years old. Christ Jesus has seen His Word proclaimed by His Church all over the place, and He continues to do so, and we continue to pray that the Word be spread. But this spread is not always a story of wild success – even Luther laments in a Mighty Fortress “The Word they still shall let remain, nor any thanks have for it.” I translated it into German so you could hear and understand it, but so many of you couldn't care less. Seeing they may not see and hearing they may not understand. Jesus is warning the disciples and us that people will ignore the Word – indeed, that Satan will by hook or by crook attack the Word of God and its preaching. So the point of this parable is to prepare us for what will happen, and also warn us of how Satan will attack us – because frankly, Satan wants you to ignore the Word of God as well.

    So how does Satan attack? Well, one way is this. The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not be saved. First and foremost, Satan will try separate you from the Word. There are people who have heard but are having the Word ripped away, the opportunity to continue on in hearing the Word snatched away. Satan wants to keep you from having the opportunity to hear the Word. We see this in totalitarian countries where oppressive governments will literally burn bibles and forcibly shut down churches. That's flat out Satanic – it's an attempt to stop people from hearing at all, stop them from being in the Word so that faith will crumble and die. We are so spoiled, so used to just having the Gospel available, having the Church right here that we can take it for granted, just assume the preaching of the Gospel will always be easily available. We can forget that Satan is active and seeking to destroy the Church, destroy the preaching of the word. It's happened before in many places, and Satan will try to see it done again.

    But Satan has more tricks up his sleeve, some that might be more common for us. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing they fall away. Maybe Satan won't get the Word completely stripped away – but Satan will try to make it uncomfortable to be a Christian, to be a hearer of the Word. This is something we see and feel keenly today. If you are older you probably remember a time when being a Christian was something that was respected in society. It's not that way any more – the vast majority of entertainment and media treat Christians as idiots and buffoons, they treat the Word of God as old fashioned, out dated, pointless. Christianity is mocked – commonly. This is what Jesus refers to as a “time of testing”. And yes, there have been times when the testing has been more intense – we just being mocked in the US, we aren't being dragged off to jails or camps (yet), but it's still a test. Satan will apply the heat, turn up the annoyance or social cost of being a Christian, of hearing the Word. Mockery, shame, ridicule, and threat – Satan will use all of these to get to you avoid the Word of God, to fall away from it. And see all this, know it for what it is Spiritually – an attack on you by Satan to get to you ignore God's Word. And these sorts of attacks are going to happen – we don't get to bury our head in the sand (or in the rocky soil in this case) and pretend it doesn't. The Devil and the World will tell you it costs too much to you personally to be a Christian. Be wary of this.

    But the old serpent is cunning, and he knows that if he can't drive you out of the church by fear, maybe he can lure you out by a misplaced love. As for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their away they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. Satan will use blessings against you. Your life can be so filled up with good things, so many things that you just have to tend to, that you have to care for and about, that you just won't have time for the Word. Just can't seem to fit it in the schedule. And again, this is a common temptation, especially for us. We're in a rather well off area, we all have a plethora of things that we could be doing – and many things that call to us. Good things, nice things. And Satan will try to elevate those things over and above hear God's Word. This is the basis of every seduction, every slight of hand or bait and switch trick in the book. Sure, that's fine, but this over here is better – and Satan will waggle so many glittering things in front of your eyes to draw you away from the Word. Be wary of this.

    Do you see? Do you understand how Satan will try his damnedest (literally) to separate you from the Word of God? We cannot and must not pretend otherwise, because if and when we do, we simply play into Satan's hands. But the premise of the parable remains – the Sower sows the seed. The Word of God continues to go out – and it even goes out today. And consider the happy ending of the parable. As for that in the good soil, they are those, who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. The Seed, the Word of God, the Gospel of Christ Jesus takes root in your heart – and it produces fruit. A grain, a seed goes into the ground, and it grows, and it bears fruit 100 fold. The Word of God goes in your ears, and it dwells within you, and it bears fruit, and the Word of God, His forgiveness and mercy springs forth from your mouth a 100 fold.

    This is one of the things that makes Classic Christian Worship different. Consider how much time during this service you are opening your mouth? You're not here just sitting silent like bumps on a log – you are least your not supposed to be, I don't care how lousy your singing voice is. You hear the Word, yes, but that Word also springs forth from your mouth here. In the responses of the liturgy. In hymns. In confessing the Creed. You spend a third of the time bearing the fruit of the Word. And this is the just start – that Word continues to go forth with patience, with endurance, the rest the week. God forgives you here in His Church by His Word, and then He uses you to proclaim that same Word of forgiveness throughout the world, even to some of the strange places you end up – even to the place you go this week that I as the pastor here wouldn't get to go. The Sower sows the Seed – God plants His Word in you and brings forth that Word to other people through you. This is what goes on.

    And will they always hear? Nope. Will they always stay faithful? Nope. But see and understand what God is doing. He is forgiving you, He is taking that forgiveness Jesus won upon the Cross and He is applying it to you by the Word – and that Word that you hear becomes the Word on your lips so that others would hear what Jesus has done for them as well. It's all what God is doing for you and through you. So do not let Satan terrify you – be wary of him, know that the old evil foe now means deadly woe – but more importantly know what Jesus has done for you and is doing for you and through you now by His Word. God is gracious, His grace goes forth, and it goes forth through the Word. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +

Septuagesima Sunday

 

Septuagesima Sunday – Matthew 20:1-16 – February 4^th and 5^th, 2023

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

With the observance of the Transfiguration last week, we see a change in focus in our readings in Church. We are now in the “Gesima” Sundays, and these days have as their focus ideas about how Christ Jesus, who is indeed true God and true Man, relates to the Church. How does Jesus deal with the Church, and how does the Church end up responding to Jesus? And from what we see in our texts today, it seems as though we don’t always respond well to Jesus. In fact, we might almost call today “Grumbling Day” – there’s grumbling in the Gospel, grumbling in the Old Testament, and as Paul talks about how we Christians need self-control and we need to keep on striving towards the goal, he’s probably writing to folks who have been grumbling as well.

Grumbling seems almost to be an obsession in our country. As a Baseball fan I like to say that Baseball is the national pastime – but in truth, it’s probably grumbling – and I’m no exception. I enjoy listening to podcasts, where people constantly grumble about sports or movies. Some people love watching the news – and frankly what's that become but grumbling about this or that? Walter Cronkite and David Brinkely would hardly recognize what happens today. Most any conversation you hear out and about, in the store, in the restaurant, even often here in the Church is likely to be replete with grumbling. Americans like to grumble.

The sad thing is that our grumbling is so unneeded. Consider our Gospel text. For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. Now, remember this about these laborers, the ones hired first. When the master finds them, they have no job. Without the master finding them, they would have had no work, they would have made nothing and probably would have gone hungry. Instead, the master finds them, He gives them a good wage – a denarius is a solid wage in Jesus’ day, so the master isn’t undercutting them or dealing with them on the cheap. He treats them fantastically. And then: And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace and to them he said, “You, go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.” So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” They said to him, “because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You go and work in the vineyard too.” So more workers come in, each working less and less time, to where you have folks who only work one hour instead of 12.

Before we continue with the parable, what do you make of this master? He wants as many workers as he can find, and he keeps bringing them in. He doesn’t make snap judgments – he doesn’t say to the last workers, “Boy, you people must have been real lazy to not find work” – instead, just why aren’t you working? Let’s put you to work! Christ deals with people in His Church the same way. Whereas we can make snap judgments, whereas we can see the person out there in the world who has been having a rather foul and wicked time of it and think to ourselves how horrible they are – God’s approach is different. God’s approach is, “It doesn’t matter what they have been doing or where they have been, they ought to be in Church, they ought to be part of My family.” It’s an astonishing love that God shows, an astonishing desire for the lost – which shouldn’t surprise any of us. He called us into His Church by His Word, by Baptism - why wouldn’t God want to be calling other people in? The lectern, pulpit, and font are all still here; guess God still wants more folks here, the very folks you know, that you come across in your life. Whoever they are, they belong here. And when you see someone who isn’t here, someone who doesn’t know or has forgotten Christ’s love, someone who is too busy doing nothing or who thinks they aren’t good enough to be here, that’s a tragedy. God calls us all to His house.

And when the evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.” And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And in receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them the equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” And now the complaining sets in. Why should this lazy bum who hardly did anything, who worked only in the cool of the day get the same thing as me? And they have a reasonable argument – more work should mean more pay! The grumblers view everything in light of what they have done – look at our work. They forget one thing – things all center around the master.

But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” Look at how the master has rightly and properly treated these workers who came first. They had no job – he gave them one. He promised them a good wage – he gave them a good wage. In all things the master has done what he said he would – he has treated them completely fairly and honestly and well. He has done exactly what he said he would – and yet, they grumble. And why – not because of how the master treated them, but because of how the master treated others. If these early workers had been paid first and then sent on their way, if they never knew what the other workers got, they would have gone home satisfied, content with what the master gave. Instead, when the comparison kicks in, when they see what another has, the complaining begins.

So, what about us? What drives our grumbling? Is it because God isn't providing for us and we are doomed? No – no, God is still rich and full of blessing and mercy to us. No, when we grumble, it's simply because we start comparing ourselves to other people. Sometimes we covet what other people have – look at their stuff, look at their life – so much of advertising and social media is a coveting-creation factory. Okay, so someone else has something – hasn't God been good to you, utterly faithful to you?Sometimes we see what others “get away with” and we grumble about that. I can't believe that they can just do all that stuff, I never could! Well, would you really want to? You know the love of Christ Jesus, you receive His good blessings – do you really think someone wallowing in moral filth has it better than you? Would you really want to trade places, to be, one of these people you complain about?

And the thing is, all this grumbling warps the way we view our lives and the lives of our neighbors. Instead of rejoicing in what we have, we lament what we don't. Instead of seeing our neighbor in deep and dire need, physically or spiritually, we become resentful and stingy – sometimes stingy with money, sometime stingy with time, sometimes stingy with mercy and forgiveness. All these things that we receive from God freely and generously – time, talent, treasure, forgiveness, love – our grumbling drives us to begrudge God's generosity when He shows it to others, especially when He wants to show it through us. This is just contempt towards God.

So, how should God respond to our contempt? I am reminded of the threat that my parents would make when I was grumbling about what I got – if you don’t like that you can have nothing instead. Seems a fitting punishment. Or employers dealing with a grumbling employee, fine – if this isn’t good enough for you, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. That’s what we might expect in this world, is it not? But is that how God treats us? No, master in the parable is gentile in dealing with these first workers – Friend, I am doing you no wrong. He treats those complainers with courtesy and compassion. He closes no door – he still gives the good wage, even when not appreciated. I imagine this owner would still be willing to hire these folks the next day – no firing, no blacklisting for them.

Know and understand how generous, how patient God is with you. How many times has God continued to give His blessings to you, even when not appreciated? Any blessings, be they material or spiritual. When we are not thankful, does God not still give us our daily bread? Behold His great love for you. When we are lax in our devotion and worship, when hearing His Word and receiving His Supper becomes a secondary priority instead of our first, does God not continually welcome us to His House to hear His Word and receive His forgiveness? Behold His great love for you.

This is the point. Christ Jesus, true God and true Man, came into this world precisely to go to the cross and suffer, to pay the penalty for sin, even the sin of grumbling, even the sin of not appreciating Him and thrusting Him to the side. It should be no surprise that God continually calls you – for that is how God relates to you, that is how God deals with you. God is not looking for an excuse to damn you; He is not trying to find a reason to scratch your name out of the book of Life – rather all that He does, everything, is so that you receive forgiveness for your sins, so that you are strengthened in faith during the days of your life, so that you will enjoy the life of the world to come. Or in other words, every action, every thing that God does is based out of His love for you. Sin would have you forget this, your flesh would have you cast covetous glances at your neighbors, but God in His Word calls you out of the darkness of sin into His marvelous light so that you always see and know and delight in His love for you. It is this love that shapes the Church, that shapes you. That is how Christ Jesus deals with the Church – ever showing love, finding you and giving you mercy and forgiveness. This is His love for you. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the light of the world. Amen

Transfiguration Sermon

Transfiguration Sunday – Matthew 17 – January 27^th and 28^th, 2023

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

So, what sort of God do you have? This Jesus Christ, Whose birth we have celebrated, Who has done signs and miracles, what is He like? That's the question we've been pondering this Epiphany season, and today, we hit the pinnacle of the season of Epiphany. There on the mountaintop, Jesus brings along with Him Peter, James, and John, and well Moses and Elijah too, and through the Prophetic Word of Matthew even us – and on that Mountaintop we behold Jesus' Transfiguration. For a brief time while He is on earth, Jesus' own Divine radiance shines forth unhindered. There He is, True God and True Man, God in Man made manifest! But the transfiguration is a bit more than that – it tells us what this Jesus, this True God and True Man is like. Jesus is the God who would come down from heaven for you, for us men and for our Salvation – and the Transfiguration shows us precisely what this means. Listen.

After six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes were as white as light. There on the mountain, the glory of Jesus shines forth. Bright, glowing, awesome. We hear this description of Jesus, and we can think, “How wondrous! How strange!” Well, no – it's not strange, it's actually the normal for Jesus. There's a reason I've been calling Jesus the Light of the World. This is normal – He's God, of course He's glorious and radiant. This is why sinful people can't really bear to talk to Him through the Old Testament – this is why Moses' face is glowing with reflected glory after Moses spent too long on Mount Sinai talking to Him. This is why in Revelation we hear the New Jerusalem described this way: And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. This glowing, glorious Jesus is typical, is normal. It is who He is.

And there's more – And Behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him. Who is this Jesus? Well, He's the LORD, the God who spoke with the prophets of Old in the Old Testament. When Moses was on Sinai talking to the LORD, He was talking to Jesus. When Elijah hides in the cleft of the Rock and talks with the glorious but still whisper, he's talking to Jesus. Jesus is the LORD, He is the Word of God. And all that Moses wrote, all that the prophets proclaimed, that's Jesus' Word. The Old Testament is Jesus' book, just as much as the New Testament, because Jesus spent the Old Testament talking to His people of old and having them proclaim His Word to the people. Moses, here's My commandments; Elijah, here is what I say. And all the rest of the Prophets, all the Psalms and the wisdom – that's Jesus' Word. Jesus is Glorious! Jesus is the Word of God! He is the source of the Scriptures, the point of them all, because Moses and the Prophets testify of Jesus. How Great! How Grand!

Except there is one problem, one giant elephant in the room. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. This seems so random to us – why make tents? I mean, that's not our normal reaction to seeing something great. Oh, thanks for coming by, can I get you something to drink, pitch you a tent? And it's strange because even in Israel pitching a tent wouldn't be normal hospitality. But here's where we need to think Old Testamentally – and what's a tent in the Old Testament? The great tent of the Old Testament was the Tabernacle – when the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, the Glory of the Lord moved around with them in the tabernacle, the great Holy Tent, the portable temple that was used before Solomon's temple was built. And the Tabernacle was where the Glory of the LORD, the Glory Cloud, the Shekhinah would sit – and when that was there, no one went into the Tabernacle (or the temple). This is what John was referring to in our Christmas Day lesson when he says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt [literally “tented”] among us.” Peter sees this glory, and it's too much for him to bear. He's a sinful man, and sinful man cannot bear the glory of God, cannot bear the wonders of heaven, cannot enjoy paradise. When there's the Holy God and Sinful Man, someone has to hide – either the man has to run away – like Adam and Eve in the Garden, Moses covering his face approaching the burning bush, Elijah hiding in the cave – or God has to hide His Glory – and dwell in the temple.

So, what Peter is actually saying is, “We shouldn't be here because we are going to die, but I can make a tent and You can go there and I can live. I will do what I need to do to make this something we all can survive, because the Glory of God needs to be hidden, needs to be covered up, or I'm going to die. And Peter's plan is a tent. But, the Father in Heaven decides to cut off Peter's plan. He was still speaking when, behold – poor Peter doesn't even get to finish giving his plan, when suddenly – a bright cloud overshadowed them – oh Peter, you aren't going to build a tabernacle – nope, you're in the glory cloud now that even the priests didn't dare to enter – and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” And the voice of God. When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. Of course they were, because they were dead men. This is the sort of story that killed people all through the Old Testament. You mess with God's Glory, you hear His unbridled voice – you died.

Now pause for a moment. Who is Jesus? What's He like? Well, we see here that Jesus by rights is glorious and powerful. That Heaven is His, that by rights He should be able to talk to Moses or Elijah or any of the other heroes of the Bible for as long as He wants. But there's a problem with this – Peter, James, and John – they couldn't handle that. They couldn't be with that Jesus yet, not until something is done about their sin, not until something is done about death and the power of the Devil.

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. So, who is Jesus, what's He like? Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. Jesus is the God who will willingly step away from heaven, who will slough off His own glory, who will for a time give up chats with Moses and Elijah, who will take on Human Flesh that human beings can handle, can touch... who will even go to the Cross and suffer and cry out “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me!” - all so that He can actually touch His friend Peter, so that He can look at Peter and say “Rise, and have no fear.” That grand, wondrous Transfiguration – Jesus ends it for Peter's good. The Transfiguration is the image, the glimpse at what Jesus had constantly before He was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. Who is Jesus? He is the God who will step away from heaven and glory and dive into the muck and mire and mess of sin all in order to rescue sinners, sinners like Peter, like you, like me. Jesus is the God who is will go the Cross and die just so that come the last day He can touch your corpse and say, “Rise, and have no fear” and finally you will – you will rise, you will finally have no fear. That's who Jesus is, the God who will go through anything to see you saved, to see you rescued from the power of sin and death, to see that you rise to life everlasting freed from sin and it's fear and anger and greed and lust and shame.

Because Jesus actually likes you and wants to be with you. Jesus likes Peter, He likes Moses and Elijah. They're friends. Abraham was called the friend of God. James and John were His buddies that He sat around the campfire with. And that's what you were created to be – and sin gets in the way of that, sin separates man and God, sin strives to separate you from God. And we can't bridge that gap, we can't mend that break – we literally physically and spiritually can't do it. So Jesus does it. He comes, and with His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, that gap, that separation, is gone. The curtain in the temple that kept God safely away from us and us safely away from God – torn in two by God when Jesus dies. Everything in the Scriptures is the story of what Jesus will do to win you back, to rescue you, to restore you unto God. This is why He has seen you baptized – you're more than just a friend – you are now a Baptized child of God, you're family, you're a co-heir with Christ of all things. This is the wonder of the Supper – you sinful folks can't quite handle heaven in full yet, but I'm going to bring you there right now in a way you can handle. Yes, sing with all the company of heaven the songs of the feast. Sing with the angels Holy, Holy, Holy! Yes, let Me come to you, give Myself to you, hidden under bread and wine I give you My Body and Blood, all that I am, to forgive you, to strengthen you until that day of the Resurrection when you do get to see Me face to face without any fear.

Who is Jesus? It's His name! Yeshua – the Lord Saves. And you see the depths, the fullness of what this saving means. Jesus is the God who will step away from heaven, who will become Man, who will suffer and put up with all the junk of sin that you do, who will even fight down and go through death for you, all so that come the last day He can say to you, Rise, and have no fear – and you will, for Jesus has won you forgiveness, life, and salvation – and He gives these gifts to you now and He will do so forever. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World + Amen.

Epiphany 3 Sermon

 

Epiphany 3 – Matthew 8:1-13 – January 21^st and 22^nd, 2023

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

So, who is this Jesus, who is this God that you worship? Who does He show Himself to be today in our Gospel lesson? Jesus shows Himself to be something profound – He is the God, the Messiah who is for everyone. Jesus is the God who loves even the people whom you hate. Because that's what we see Jesus doing today – we see Jesus healing two people who were flat out hated in His day – a leper and a centurion. Listen.

When [Jesus] came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him. And behold, a leper came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.” Strangely, it's easier to preach on this text after Covid. Ten years ago I would have had to try to make a comparison to maybe someone who had AIDS back in the 80s or something, but understand the disgust that would be going on here. There's a crowd, people following Jesus, people who have just heard the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5 through 7... and then into this crowd comes a leper. Someone with a horrid skin disease that was contagious, one that if you caught it would mean that you would be exiled and forced to live in isolation until it cleared, if it ever cleared. Alright – think on visiting a store two years ago and there's someone full in the throes of all the Covid symptoms, coughing and sneezing their way unmasked through the place – don't mind me, just getting some Dayquil. There'd be disgust, there'd be anger, there'd be panic. A leper popping up in a crowd would bring up the exact same thing. You are breaking the law, you are violating custom, Moses had said you are to stay away from us, what are you doing here, you idiot, you wretch, you mongrel. That leper is someone whom the crowd would have despized.

And yet, what is Jesus' reaction? And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” Understand that Jesus' action here, what He does, would be horrific. Jesus touches the leper. You just didn't do that – they knew that Leprousy spread by contact – Jesus is defiling Himself, opening Himself up to death and decay by touching this person – leper, outcast, unclean! Here, Covid guy, let me wipe your nose on my sleeve while I grab that Dayquil for you. It would be nuts. Well, except for the fact He's Jesus, He's God Almighty come to Earth to save His Creation, including this leper – well, now actually this former leper whom He has cleansed. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. The leprosy is gone – not on this guy anymore. Jesus heals him.

Again, quietly – And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourselves to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” Don't whoop and holler, don't make a scene, anymore than you have – you're going to have to get through a pretty big crowd here and I don't want any more commotion than there is. Just go back home quietly, visit the priest, go through the procedure of being welcomed back into society, and enjoy. Simple, quiet care for this guy – be healed and then be on your way.

Do you see Jesus' love and care for this man, this outcast, this person the world would have hated? His care is quiet, Jesus doesn't draw a bunch of attention to him so no one is going to be mad or filled with disgust. It's all so caring – and for a person that no one in that crowd would have given two cents for. The crowd would have seen a villain, a threat. Jesus shows compassion.

And see, this is where a lot of churches today stop, especially those of the more liberal, woke persuasion – and then there's the finger wagging lecture about how you have to love and accept and praise whatever “protected” group is the hip one we're supposed to fawn over today – because you are an evil, rich oppressor and you can never be sorry enough or accepting enough. See, even there, there's an appropriate group of people to hate – defund the police, hate the oppressor, so on and so forth. But the story doesn't stop just with that leper. We hear this. When [Jesus] entered Capernaum, a Centurion came forward to Him, appealing to Him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” Allow me to expand on what this situation is. So, Jesus enters Capernaum, a Jewish, middle-eastern town – and there is a White, European Oppressor Colonizer Police Officer who comes up to him and says, “My servant – that is, my child slave labor, is paralyzed.” But in response to this, Jesus doesn't organize a march – He doesn't change his background photo on-line; Jesus says something utterly dumbfounding. And He said to him, “I will come and heal him.” Yeah, I'll come to your house and help you, O vile oppressor. Again, do you understand the revulsion that there would be at this? Some of Jesus' disciples were Zealots, a group of people who had sworn their very lives to the destruction of Roman Oppression, and here is Jesus saying he's going to go inside the guy's house. This would be utterly shocking.

But then the reply from the Centurion. Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the Word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, “Go,” and he goes, and to another, “Come,” and he comes, and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it. And Jesus is tickled pink. This is fantastic, this Centurion gets it – Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. The Centurion understands God's authority and the power of God's Word, He gets who I am – this is fantastic – you want Me to say the Word, great! And to the Centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Two people interact with Jesus – a leper and a Centurion. Both would have been off handedly disdained and despised in Jesus' day. Both would have been propped up as emblems of evil by the various factions and political interests of the day. And yet, Jesus is there for both of them. To heal them and care for them. Well, this is a good reminder that our casual disdain of “those people” whoever our particular “those people” tend to be is off base. Anyone you come across, all of us, we're all people stuck in sin and uncleanliness of one sort or another, we all have people that we happen to annoy. That's the reality of life in the fallen world. But where as we so often see reasons to hate or disdain our neighbor – that's not Jesus' approach. What does Jesus see, what does Jesus hear when He comes across these two people, this leper and this Centurion? He sees faith.

Consider again the leper. A leper came to Him and knelt down before Him, syaing, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.” What a fantastic statement of faith! The leper kneels – he literally worships Jesus, this is kneeling in prayer – and then he simply speaks truth. You are the LORD, and if You so desire, you are able to cleanse me. It's simple statement of fact, it is a confession of faith as plain and as blunt as the Nicene Creed we will confess together in a few moments. That's not just a leper – that's a faithful Christian. And Jesus cares for him.

And consider the Centurion. You've got authority Jesus – speak and it will happen, just like at Creation when you spoke the World into being. When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who followed Him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.” This is what faith looks like – knowing that Jesus is in charge, that He has authority, that He will use His Word to do good. What does Jesus see when He sees this leper and this centurion – He sees faith.

We see many things when we look at the world and the people there in. We can see many things wrong with the people we see. And frankly, that shouldn't surprise any of us – we know God's Word, we know His Commandments, we know what God has said about the power of sin. Why should any of us be surprised at all when we see sin in our neighbor – you know the power of Sin, the hold, the way it will drive its claws into you and twist. You should know yourself how sin attacks you, how sin twists and turns you and tries to make you into someone whom other people understandably hate and despise. We know the power of sin. And we also know that Jesus comes to break the power of sin, death, and the devil. This is what He is doing with His righteous life, this is what He is doing when He stretches out His hands upon the Cross, taking up the guilt and shame of your sin. We see that Jesus is almighty and victorious in His resurrection, in His proclamation of forgiveness and life that He declares in your Baptism, that He declares over and over in His Word.

And so when the Father looks at you, He doesn't see your sins. By faith you are joined to Christ Jesus, so the Father sees Jesus and His holiness, His goodness, His righteousness. Faith clings to Jesus Christ alone, and in Jesus there is forgiveness, life, and salvation for you. And everything you see in life, all those things that you might hate or disdain – it's not about our categories or politics – it's a Spiritual Battle. It's Satan trying to use to sin and anger and wrath to drive people away from Christ – whether it's Satan pulling on the lure of sins to trap and enslave people into vice and greed, or whether it's Satan trying to push you away from Christ via disgust and disdain. All of it is an attack on Faith in Christ – your neighbor being attacked and driven from Christ, and Satan trying to attack your faith and drive you away from Christ.

And Jesus sees this battle. He sees uncleanliness clamber onto you again, He sees your sin and disdain rear its ugly head again – and so He comes to you, He stretches out His hand and takes hold of you, and He speaks His Authoritative, Life Giving Word again, and He says, “I have died and risen for you, I have claimed you as mine, I forgive you, and I will raise you to life everlasting.” And over and against all the sin in the world, all the sin in ourselves, all the very sin that Christ Jesus took upon Himself and carried to the Cross and crucified, we say Amen. That's who Jesus is – the God who has come to love, to redeem, to forgive people, even the people you hate, even you. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World + Amen.

Epiphany 2 Sermon

 

Epiphany 2 – John 2:1-11 – January 14^th and 15^th, 2023

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

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. Thus far the text. While we normally call this Jesus' first miracle, John doesn't call it a miracle or a wonder or something amazing – John calls it a sign. That's an important word for John, for scripture. A sign was a legal proof of something, the evidence that an assertion is true. This story in Cana is proof, is exhibit A as to the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and that by beliving in Him you will have life in His name. And yet, as a sign, as a proof – it seems odd. If you wish to prove that you are Almighty – well, this miracle isn't not exactly powerful or earth shaking. The water is changed to wine with hardly a whimper, with most people not even noticing what happened except for a few servants. If you wish to prove that you are here to save the world... saving a party up in the hills doesn't seem all that sweeping or grand. Wouldn't that be something to be done in Jerusalem where everyone would notice? If this is a sign, if this is meant to be the proof that Jesus is in fact God Almighty come to save His people, something that manifests God's glory, why is this sign something that so few people see or notice?

Let's consider the text again for a bit. On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.  When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” Alright – first a quick detail – John notes that this happens on “the Third Day”. We say that phrase “on the Third Day” all time – it's in the Creed – Jesus rose again from the dead on the third day. And John (and all the Gospel writers, really) like to use this literary device, where if something is going to show the joys of Christ's victory, it happens on the third day after the previous story. If it's something that's going to be about Jesus' suffering, it's six days later – Friday, Good Friday, was the sixth day of the week. Matthew does this with the transfiguration – And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James, and John his brother. Jesus is always teaching, that was part of the point last week – and His disciples realized that He was teaching even with His sense of timing. So, at any rate, John sets us up to know that this story, this event, is going to be a demonstration of Christ's victory.

So there's a wedding – and a wedding is the picture of heaven. That's how everlasting life is described – the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Paul in Ephesians notes that earthly marriage is the dim reflection of the greater reality of Christ's love for the Church. You can frame all of creation and the garden as the story of a wedding between Adam and Eve. And how is this wedding in Cana going to go – is it going to go sideways and fall like the one in the Garden, or will it be a good one? Well, they're out of wine, running low on supplies – it's lack, it's frustration, it's embarrassment. And Mary, who is probably helping to run the shindig, just mentions to Jesus, “They have no more wine.”

You know what this means when a mom just drops a simple fact. It means you are supposed to fix it. I can't count the times my mom would say, “Eric, the trash can is pretty full” - that meant take out the trash and hop to it. Same thing here – Mary lays out for Jesus the situation – they're out of wine, and I know you can fix this. And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Last week Mary was embarrassed by Jesus being all Messianic – now she wants Him to get the show on the road. But Jesus points out – no, it's not the time for all that victory yet – it's not time for Easter and the resurrection yet – there's still more to come yet. Slow down Mom, it's not the feast of victory for our God yet. And Mary knows that – but she also knows that Jesus loves to help people, so just a quiet “Do what He says” spoken to the servants.

And then the sign in all its quiet simplicity. Fill up those stone jars used for ritual washing with water. 150 gallons or so. Alright, take it to the steward – and the steward tastes it, and he is dumbfounded because the wine is so good – this should have been served first when everyone had their clean taste. No one at the wedding besides the servants have any clue what is going on – and even then, no one knows the instant that the water becomes wine. It just is. And there's Jesus, off to the side, out of the way, quiet but caring, and the party continues.

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. A sign, but no one sees except a few servants. It manifests glory, but there's no loud praise, there's no shouts of “thank you, Jesus” echoing through the hills. It's all so quiet, so mundane. You could have people years later who were at that Wedding who wouldn't have had any clue, who might not have even noticed that Jesus was there. How does this silent, subtle miracle that slides on by under the radar manifest the glory of Jesus?

What sort of God do you have? What sort of God is the Triune God that we worship? Is God insecure, where He has to blow His own horn all the time, pointing out over and over – see, I did that!? Is God a nag, where He tries to guilt trip you and rub your nose in it whenever He does something for you – I gave you that thing the other day, can't you at least do this little teeny weenie thing for Me? Is God a blowhard, full of bluster and bravado, always bragging and boasting? Not typically. How does God like to do thing – how does God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, like to care for you? How does He typically give you your daily bread? Simply and quietly, working behind the scenes, working through people, accomplishing great things in and for His creation in ways that people who don't know Him, who aren't His disciples, wouldn't even notice.

Jesus doesn't seek praise here. He isn't trying to steal the show away from the bride and groom. It's not His party yet – that will be the life of the world to come – that third day in Cana wasn't His third day yet. So let the focus be on them, but then the troubles of world, the hardships of sin, the impact of lack and want come creeping in. So very quietly, the Messiah sees that the daily bread of joy for that wedding day in Cana is given. Quietly, where no one would notice. Exactly how the LORD likes to operate. One of the great lines of the bible – Hebrews 13:2 - Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. That's how quiet, how behind the scenes God likes to be. Simple routine care. Simply fending off the impact of sin. Simply seeing that joy and love and delight go forth even here and now in this fallen, sinful world until that neverending day of eternal life where they shine forth undimmed forever.

This is how Jesus cares for you too, even today. You are given your daily bread, but in typical, mundane, plain, even frustrating ways. A job, a trip to the grocery store, a friend passing something on. Nothing flashy. Even things that we don't appreciate or find all that amazing. Yet God behind it all – blessing crops, granting strength and talents and safety, things continuing on in a blessed order that provides even as sin and the devil try to stir up so much chaos and strife against God. God orchestrating your neighbors in a grand symphony of simplicity so that you may receive what you need; God using you as His instrument of love and care so that your neighbor receives what they need. The servants at the wedding marveled at what happened; we should marvel no less at the wonders that God accomplishes for us and through us this coming Tuesday, or Thursday, or any typical day – for it is wondrous when seen through the eyes of faith.

And Jesus cares for you spiritually in the same simple, quiet way. Right here in His Church, by His Word. He speaks His forgiveness to you, and everything that He won for you upon the Cross and with His resurrection is applied to you. Your sin is taken away, and you have life in His name. Just with simple, normal words that we speak unto each other – I said them to you and you said them to me, but as easily as they slide off the tongue or perhaps were mumbled slightly distractedly, they are the Word of God and thus life giving. A baptism, with simple tap water and again that Word of God, and then there is a life giving flood of mercy and forgiveness. The Supper – and while the bread certainly is not artisanal and while Mogen David is no where near the quality of what they had in Cana, Christ Jesus Himself comes to be with you, gives Himself to you wondrously and mysteriously and quietly and simply. Because Jesus isn't focused on drawing attention to Himself – Jesus wants His Creation to receive His good gifts – whether it His people at a wedding in Cana or whether it's His people here in Herscher. And that's what He does.

Everything Jesus does, all that we see and hear in the Gospels, all that we see and hear throughout the Scriptures, all that we hear and see in our lives and in this Church, is so that you, His beloved, would receive good things. Blessings of Body, blessings of soul. Blessings today, and blessings eternal with creation restored. We receive wonders today as grand as they did at Cana, and just as quietly given. Because that is who Jesus is – God Almighty come to delight in blessing His creation, blessing you whom He loves. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World – Amen.

Epiphany 1 Sermon

 

Epiphany 1 – January 7^th and 8^th, 2023 – Luke 2:41-52

In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
For the third week in a row, we get Luke 2. We heard Luke 2 on Christmas Eve; last week we had baby Jesus coming to the temple, and now, the other young Jesus text – the Boy Jesus in the temple. And there's a temptation to turn into this a cute little text, maybe a chance for a pastor to get a finger wag in towards the start of a new year – see how Jesus came to church, don't you want to come to church too, hmmm? But there's more going on here than that! We are in Epiphany, the season where Christ Jesus reveals who He is to the world – and Epiphany reminds us that the world just doesn’t get or understand Jesus. Indeed, throughout the Gospels, whenever Jesus does stuff, He angers people, upsets them. In Luke chapter 4, after Jesus preaches His first sermon back home in Nazareth, they decide to throw Him off of a cliff. Throughout the Gospels people will want to stone Him, revile Him – and of course, they end up crucifying Him. So instead of just cutesifying this text, let’s look at and see it for what it is – the first time the Messiah, doing what He has come to do, confuses and upsets people.

“Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was 12 years old, they went up according to custom.” Now, an important note is given us for here. We think of this text as being about the “boy” Jesus – well, yes, but not as much of a boy as we would think today. When you hit 13, you were bar mitzvahed – you were then a man. You were ready to step up and enter adult life – and as such 12 year olds back in Jesus day were probably afforded freedom and responsibility more akin to what we would think appropriate for older teens today. So, that explains the next verses – “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 days’ 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.” When I was little, I thought Mary and Joseph just had to be the worst parents in the world – how do you leave your 12 year old son behind in Jerusalem, why, this is worse that those Home Alone movies. Well, not quite. You traveled in groups, your family and friends are all together. It was a walking family reunion. He’s almost an adult, surely He’s fine. He’s around here somewhere – let Him be, He’s off with John and His cousins probably. Besides, it’s not like He’s a troublemaker. But then, when they get to the campground, and it’s time for bed – Jesus doesn’t show up. He doesn’t come home – and that’s when they realize something is wrong. So, they hurry back to Jerusalem.

They are a day’s journey out on foot. Then they have to turn around and walk back. And then they are searching through Jerusalem, spend a day looking. And then we hear this: “After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” Again, this is a big thing that we might not catch. We are used to students sitting while the teacher stands. That’s not the case in the ancient world. In the ancient world teachers sat while the pupils stood by and learned. So when we hear that Jesus is sitting, that means He’s teaching. He listens and then asks questions – He’s doing the same thing He does when He preaches later on. How often when we hear Jesus talk with people does He ask them a question? That was the old Jewish custom of how you taught, it’s one I like. Haven’t you noticed how many questions I’ll ask in a sermon? So Mary and Joseph walk into the temple and they see Jesus there, hanging out with the rabbis… and teaching them. “And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and answers.” And He’s teaching them well – He’s making connections about things, about the Messiah, that they have never heard.

So Jesus is preaching – but then Mary speaks, “And when His parents saw Him, they were astonished. And His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, Your father and I were in great distress.” Astonished is a bit too kind. They are stricken, they are knocked off balance. They are surprised, but also angry and embarrassed. It is that moment of relief, but also frustration. ‘Oh, good night Jesus, You’ve been bugging the folks in the temple, do you even begin to realize how this is going to look – oh, look, there’s Mary, did you hear how her little Brat Jesus went and was a little hellion in the Temple. Oh, we’ll never hear the end of it.’ You know this, the panic that parents have when their kids are doing something strange. Which is why she asks, “What are You doing to us, Jesus!” And Jesus simply responds, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” Mom, Dad, you know the scriptures. You know that I am the Messiah. This is what I came for. It is necessary, it has to be this way. I must teach, I must preach – this is what the Scriptures say. And poor Joseph and Mary – “And they did not understand the saying that He spoke to them.” They didn’t get it yet – they weren’t mentally prepared for Jesus to start being the Messiah, doing Messianic things yet. And then, Jesus heads home with them. Oh, He’ll come back to Jerusalem and teach in the temple again a few Passovers later, but for now – it’s home with Mom and Dad.

For the first time in Luke’s Gospel, we not only see Jesus actively doing Messianic things, but we see people disappointed by what Jesus does. This is one of the major themes of the Gospels – that Jesus doesn’t end up being the Messiah that people expect. That He doesn’t fit the bill for what people want. Joseph and Mary right here – they just want a son who won’t do anything strange, who won't embarrass them or give the neighbors reason to talk. You aren’t doing what we expect, and we don’t like it. Latter on in Luke’s Gospel, there are many other expectations. You have people who want the Messiah to be a mighty warrior who will drive off the Romans. You have people who want the Messiah to just be some great and glorious gladhander – giving out bread and riches and power to people so we can be on easy street. And all of these things miss the point. The Messiah comes to be in His Father’s House, teaching the Scriptures and fulfilling them. No one likes it when Jesus says, “It is necessary” – not even His disciples. When Jesus says to the disciples that He must suffer and die, that’s when Peter tries to talk Him out of it, that’s when you get the whole, “Get thee behind me, Satan” episode. Over and over, Jesus upsets and disappoints people when He does Messianic things.

So, what of today? What do people expect Jesus to be doing, what do people expect Church to be doing? Don’t we have these same false expectations, the exact same ones? People still think of the Church mainly as a place to make your kids behave better, be less of an embarrassment to you. Many people want the Church to be the major instrument of social change – to lead a rebellion not against Rome, but a rebellion against whatever social issue they are up in arms against. Both liberals and conservatives want their churches to lead different and often opposite rebellions. And heading to Church so that God will bless you and let you live on easy street – oh, that’s still around, still around aplenty today. Chalk up entertainment (and don’t think that plenty of people went to see Jesus simply because it was something to do), and what you see is that the more things change, the more they stay the same. So many people expect Jesus, expect Church, to just be something that it isn’t.

But you have been given eyes to see and ears to hear. By the power of the Word and Spirit, your Heavenly Father has revealed, has shone His light upon you. Jesus will continue to make a habit of coming to the Temple in Jerusalem for the Passover. It is necessary that He do so. In fact, one very important year, He’s going to ride into Jerusalem to head up to Passover on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. Why? It is necessary, it is what the Scriptures proclaim. And He will go into that Temple, and He will teach again – He will turn over the money changers tables quoting the Old Testament – because it is necessary for Him. He will teach there in the Temple, and the people will hang upon His Words, but the Chief Priests and the Scribes will plot to kill Him. Luke 23 begins, “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the Chief Priests and the scribes were seeking how to put Him to death.” Of course they were, for Christ teaches, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise.” It is necessary for this to happen to the Messiah – and Jesus will go to the Cross, whether people like it or not, whether it is what they want or not. Why?

Because He is determined to win you forgiveness, life, and salvation. Jesus doesn't worry about disappointing people; He seeks to please His Father in Heaven. He seeks to be the Savior to makes sure that the Father is well pleased not only with Him but with You. Jesus comes to win you forgiveness by His death, He comes to give you life with His resurrection. This is the thing that Christ does, this is the thing that the Church gives out. Not less embarrassment, not earthly power, not wealth. Rather this - your sins are forgiven because of Christ. You will rise again. You are baptized, joined to Christ Jesus, attached to Him. It is necessary for Jesus still to this day to be in His Father's house, bringing you His salvation. This is what He came to do and still comes today to do – to be your Savior, and nothing will stand in His way. He will pull you out of darkness into His marvelous light, He will rescue you from the valley of the shadow of death by being with you in death and bring you to His resurrection. His crowning glory is in restoring you, and all thanks be to God, this is what Jesus is focused upon doing, even as a 12 year old, pointing to Himself in the Scriptures. Thanks be to God for His great mercy to us. In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +

Christmas 1 Sermon

 

New Year's Day – Luke 2:22-40

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +

What was old Simeon waiting for? There he was, in the temple, day by day, waiting. What was He waiting for? Our text says that he was waiting for the “consolation of Israel.” Consolation is a fascinating word in English – it is the act of being comforted in the midst of mourning and loss. We generally don't want to have to have consolation – no one goes on a game show hoping to win the consolation prize – I don't think any of you woke up this morning and thought, “I can't wait until my loved ones die and I get to be consoled at the funeral.” Consolation isn't something we generally seek out. And yet, there is Simeon, waiting in the temple for Consolation – and not just his own, but for the Consolation of Israel.

Consolation isn't generally sought after – our sights are often so much higher – but the truth is that we often need consolation. When we see tragedy or sorrow, when there is a loss and we are mourning, we desperately need consolation. Nothing else will do. And Simeon was a righteous and devout man. That meant something very simple – it meant that when he looked out over the people of Israel, he saw a tragedy – the tragedy of sin and death and the commandments being disdained in favor of lust and greed and domination. When he saw how people careless were with the temple, how few came, how the money changed hands and was horded, more profiteering than prophecy – Simeon sorrowed. This was a lost Israel, a Israel worth mourning, not what she should have been.

And yet, there Simeon was at the temple. He was awaiting consolation – and not just a generic consolation – buck up there, buckaroo, it's not so bad. No, no it was bad. This old, frail man knew from long and hard experience how empty and shallow and fleeting the glories of this world are – his dimming eyes could see how bad it was. Simeon needed strong consolation – and he would get one. The Holy Spirit was upon him, and the Spirit had told him to wait – wait for the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior would come. And this makes much more sense when you understand that the word for “consolation” in the Greek there is one of my favorite words, one that you should know and perhaps might already know if you are old enough – the word for “consolation” is “paraclesin” - from the word “Paraclete” - that word, that title that Jesus gives to the Holy Spirit in John 15 and 16 - “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” Some of you who are a bit more seasoned, a bit closer to Simeon in age might remember the old translations that called the Holy Spirit the “Paraclete” - the Helper, the Comforter. The Spirit always comforts and consoles us by pointing us to Christ Jesus, because Jesus is the only cure, the only solution to sin and death that there actually is. Everything other than Christ is sinking sand that drags us down to the grave and destruction and leaves us there. But Christ Jesus – there in true comfort, true consolation – the forgiving sins kind of comfort, the raising people from the dead consolation, the calling Simeon to everlasting life sort of help that only Jesus can bring.

And there in that temple, 40 days after He was born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus comes. Carried there, placed under the law – a first born male so the sacrifice would be required for him. This is something profound. When Jesus comes, He comes as One placed under the Law. He doesn't get to skirt around what everyone else had to do, He doesn't live life whining, “Don't you know Who My Father is?” No – Jesus comes and takes His place with us, with the rest of mankind. Jesus is God become Man, become one of us, to be with us, to redeem us. And so He is placed under the law – He is placed under the law when He is circumcised on the 8^th day, He is placed under the Law when Joseph and Mary take Him to the temple, and He is most truly and fully placed under the Law there upon the Cross when He takes up the punishment, the burden of your sin and my sin. And the sin of an old man named Simeon.

So on that day when Jesus was brought into the temple, old Simeon totters over, and he grabs Jesus out of Mary's hands and He sings forth – Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy Word!” Simeon sees Him, holds Him. The Savior is here! I can die now – because right here is my Savior. I have seen Him, and even when my eyes close in death I will see Him again because He is my Lord and my Life and my Salvation. The Gentiles will see Him too, the Glory of Israel, the presence of the LORD in His temple that fled before the destruction by the Babylonians has returned. I can die, and death can do nothing to be, because that Christ is here – God become man to save me is here. Comfort. Consolation. The Spirit, the Paraclete at work, pointing to Jesus, a real, bodily Jesus in Simeon's hands Jesus.

Now, this comfort of Christ does not mean that everything in this world will be easy. No, far from it! This Jesus is the Holy God Incarnate who has come into a sinful world, into the midst of a kingdom that the Devil has claimed as his own domain of death, and Jesus has come to throw Satan's powers into confusion and retreat. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” Oh yes, when Jesus came, when He came preaching and teaching and healing, He kicked over one heck of an anthill in the twisted sandbox of sin Satan had turned this world into. Many would hear Jesus, and they would fall away in anger and disdain. Many would see the signs that He would perform, showing that He was the Messiah, and they would oppose Him. Even Mary herself would be thrown aflutter by the might of Jesus' preaching – she would try to rein Him in, and He would dismiss her. Luke 8: Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” There's the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit, piercing through mom and calling her to repentance. Because Jesus came not just to give warm fuzzies, not to give some vapid, cheap, empty comfort; He came to give the only real comfort and consolation that there is – victory over sin, death, and the devil. The True God has come, and there will be no other false gods allowed to remain in His presence, and He will cast down all idols from their vile thrones.

This is what Christ Jesus does even to this day, even here in this place. Christ Jesus comes in, and by His Word He will break your idols, He will pierce your hearts. There will be times – frequent times, if we are honest – when your old sinful flesh will fight against what Jesus says. Your flesh doesn't want consolation – it wants domination, it wants self-authority, it wants lusts and greed and covetous desires fulfilled. And Jesus comes with His word to cut that down, to crush it, to make your sinfulness fall to the ground defeated. But He has no desire to leave you there – no, Jesus comes not just for the fall of many, but for the fall and then the rising – the anastasis, the resurrection of many. And that is what He is doing for you – preparing you for death and resurrection. Most of you were brought to the house of God as a child, but not for a sacrifice, but for the gift of Holy Baptism – where the Name of the Triune God was placed upon you via water and the Word. In Baptism you were joined to Christ Jesus – and what does this baptism indicate, as the Catechism asks? It indicates that the old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Christ Jesus has claimed you, and He cleanses you, and He washes you, and He presents you unto Himself redeemed, forgiven, without any spot or blemish, to be with Him for all eternity. And this is through death and resurrection. The daily dying to sin that is repentance, the daily rising to life that is the Spirit of God at work in you, bringing forth prayer and praise and good works – all of which points forward and prepares you for your full death and resurrection.

And until that day, until we see the consolation in full of beholding our LORD face to face with all the host of heaven, we come here, into God's House, awaiting that consolation. And Jesus comes to us – He comes bodily. Indeed, you approach this altar, this rail, and as assuredly as Simeon held His Savior, Christ Jesus is placed into your hands, upon your tongue – take and eat, this is the Body of Christ Jesus your Lord, given for you, for the remission of your sin, for consolation, for an increase of faith and love. And then we even sing with Simeon – Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace. Yep, we can die. We die peace, we die consoled, we die in Christ... and we will therefore rise with Christ. Because Christ Jesus, the true hope and comfort and consolation of the world has come – and indeed, He comes to you and for you, even this day. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Merry Christmas once again, my brothers and sisters in Christ. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King + Amen.

Christmas Day Sermon

 

Christmas Day, 2022

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Today, we tend to think of the story of history as an endless tale of progress, of things getting better. That's a relatively recent idea – barely 200 years old. It only arises towards in the 19^th Century where we thought our science and our progress would bring forth peace on earth. We called World War 1 “The War to End All Wars.” Oops. No, for all our progress and advances, we still have wars and rumors of war, and there's still violence and wickedness and evil. And far from everyone being better, well, the past hundred years have seen horrid genocides, tyrannies great and small, technology used for bigger and more horrific wickedness.

Now John, writing his Gospel, isn't dealing with a false dream of endless social progress. John understands that the world is a dangerous, harsh place. The classic idea which John and Scripture teach is that the world is decaying, breaking apart. Fallen and falling and failing. They would point to what the Ancients did, and how we couldn't match up to them. John could visit the pyramids and know that in the days of the Roman Empire, they couldn't be rebuilt. Of course, John would have walked on Roman roads, many of which are in better shape today than Illinois roads barely a decade old. Things fall apart. We become less.

John sums this fall, this decay, this things being swallowed up as “the darkness.” It's not just a darkness that is an absence of light, but a shadow stretching out and seeking to cast everything into gloom and confusion and night and fear. And that is what John saw when he looked at the history of the world. The advance of evil, of sin, of the Satan and the powers of darkness all around, breathing threats and murders and death. And yet, the darkness doesn't win, doesn't conquer. And why? Because of Christmas. Because of this day that we celebrate and give thanks for today. And while Luke gives the story of the manger and the shepherds, and Matthew will tell of the wisemen, John sums up Christmas this way: The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Into the midst of this fallen world, racked by sin, comes Christ Jesus, the Light of the World. Who is this Jesus, who is this Light? Well, He is the Word of God, the Word by which all things were made. When you see Jesus, you see the Creator of all things, you see your Creator. When God speaks forth creation, it is the Word, Christ Jesus, who brings forth creation. All things were made through Him, as John reminds us. This Light of Light who comes and is born this day is not indifferent to this world. He isn't cold or callous to creation – no, Jesus has a vested interest in it. It is His world, after all. He created it, He fashioned it, He formed Adam of the dust of the ground, Eve from Adam's rib.

And Jesus was there when darkness entered and swallowed Adam and Eve and unleashed the chaos of the fall. And one might have thought that this would be it, creation undone, too bad so sad. But no, even in that darkness surrounding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, with Adam and Eve hiding in the bushes, craving darkness – no, the Light of Light – the Life of men was still there. So Jesus strides forth in the garden, calls out to His terrified and fearful Adam and Eve, and Jesus promises them that one day He Himself would come and He would put and end to sin and restore life, true life to His Creation. Life beyond the powers of sin and death and hell and Satan and darkness. The darkness came, but it could not overcome Jesus. The serpent will be crushed.

And Jesus was there through the history of the world, through all the Old Testament. Over and over the Darkness attacked creation, over and over there is wickedness and horror and tragedy. Wickedness so dire we cannot imagine it. A world where there are only 8 faithful people left, crammed in an ark with animals while the darkened skies unleash torrents of rain for 40 days. Still, the Light shines, God is there, preserving and protecting Noah and his family, 8 souls in all. The light is not overcome. In the darkness of Pharaoh's prison, the Light is with Joseph. In the midst of the exodus the Light leads His people to safety even by night as a Pillar of Flame. David will write, “Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Thou, the Light of Light, art with me.” Even with all the twists and turns, even with faithless people abandoning God and flocking to idols, through new destructions and new exiles, the Light remains unswallowed by darkness. Jesus remains determined to see the promise to Adam and Eve fulfilled, the promise to Abraham brought to fruition, the promise to David established forever.

And then finally, the midst of a another great darkness, where Israel is conquered by foreign rulers and suffering under petty puppet tyrants (for Herod was indeed a lover of darkness), the Light of the World comes. And there, in Bethlehem, Christ the Savior is born. The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. There in that manager is Jesus – come to be the Savior of the World, the Universe, the Comsos. Light shining in darkness, light here, present for you, to be your Savior, your light, your life. Not to be too Lutheran Proud – but that's why 486 years ago Martin Luther decided to put some candles on a tree – the birth of our modern Christmas tree. See, Christmas is the time of the light shining in the darkness. Christ has come, and we have hope; beauty and joy still remain even in the midst of darkness. Life remains in the face of death. Because Jesus comes, and He will do it. That's why 171 years ago Pastor Schwann decided to put up a Christmas tree in his Lutheran Church in Cleveland, the first in the US. The Light shines in the darkness – that is what Christmas is! Christ comes to be the Redeemer, to be the Light that would swallow up darkness.

And Jesus would work our salvation in this way. That Child, born in Bethlehem, would grow, would be Man as man had been made to be. Without sin. Loving the Father and His neighbor. Obedient under the law. Fulfilling all that He had spoken in the past. And then, the Light of the world would be put upon another tree – not an evergreen, but a tree of darkness and death, the Tree of the Cross. There He would be glorified, as He takes up the sin of the world, as He takes into Himself all the powers of darkness and death and destroys them. There He cries out, “It is finished” - and darkness knows that it is done. The light is not defeated – on the 3 Day He rises and shines for with life and salvation.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Even to this day, the Light of Christ shines. He shines upon you, here, now. His coming, His birth – it is for you. He is the light that enlightens you, that redeems you, that saves you. Indeed, the Light, the Word become flesh, dwells among you now. By Baptism He has made you His brother, His sister, His co-heir of life everlasting. He comes to you in His Word, His Gospel light shining brightly – and His Word is yours now, to hear and to speak to others. He forgives you, and through you He gives His forgiveness to others. He comes to you today in the Supper, lain upon the manger of your hands, your mouth – a manger is a place for food after all. Forgiveness, life, and salvation, granted to you!

So fear not, my friends! Fear not the darkness! Yes, you will see darkness, you will see trouble, you will see hardship. So be it. None of them are bigger, none of them are more powerful than Jesus. Over and against all the evil, all the wickedness, all the nihilistic drivel and dourness the world spouts forth – Christ Jesus has come, the promises of God have been fulfilled, fulfilled for you. And thus, my dear friends, my fellow baptized children of God, those enlightened by the Light of the world – a true and hearty Merry Christmas to you! In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +

Christmas Eve Homily

 

Christmas Eve, 2022

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +

For unto you is born this day... Imagine if you will, just for a moment, the Holy Family there on the eve of the first Christmas. There they are, off in the stable, surrounded by animals and fodder, Mary tired from the ordeal of child birth, Joseph hovering nervously, Jesus lain in the manger. The hallmark, the, dare I say, bulletin cover image of what Christmas should be. Almost the image of our nativity sets at home, and yet – well, those nativity sets need shepherds there, right? Really? We're so used to the shepherds being there, we are so used to how the story goes – do you ever pause and think how strange it would have been for poor Mary and Joseph that a bunch of shepherds just show up, fresh from the field, checking this new born Jesus? I'm trying to think what the reaction would be today if a bunch of random workers just showed up on the maternity ward to check out a new born kid.

But of course, there is a major difference. The shepherds do belong there in that stable, in our nativity sets. And yes, they would have quickly explained the Joseph and Mary about the angel's message – Joseph and Mary would have understood the strangeness of hearing messages from angels. But note what the angel said to the Shepherds – “For unto YOU is born this day.” O Shepherds in the fields, o random strangers who probably don't know Joseph and Mary from Adam and Eve – this child, this Jesus – He is here, He has come, for you. For your good. Jesus is your Savior. And you have as much right, as much access to Him as Mary and Joseph. He will die and rise for your sin, He will hear you when you pray. He is Christ the LORD, and He is for you.

So the Shepherds showing up reminds Joseph and Mary that their family isn't going to be just a personal, private thing. No, this Jesus who is born is God become man to be the Savior of the world. And I would also assert, my dear friends, that the Shepherds remind you of your place in this story, in the nativity scene. This Christ Child who was born, He was indeed born unto you as well, for you, for your good. This Jesus who was born on Christmas Day is the same Jesus you call upon in prayer, the same Jesus with Whom you pray “Our Father”. It's same Jesus who brings you His Word for which you say, “Thanks be to God.” The same Jesus who brings the forgiveness and life He wins upon the Cross to you. The same Jesus who gives Himself to you under Bread and Wine in His Supper. All of this – unto you.

Our Nativities at home often get even more crowded – the Wise Men will be coming, after all. But it would be right, my friends, to not only include them, but it would be meet, right, and salutary to consider yourselves as belonging in that nativity. Christ Jesus was born in the City of Bethlehem for you, after all. And in many ways, that's the depiction of heaven given in Revelation – Jesus in the center, and all the believers of every day and age, from every tribe and tongue gathered around the throne – the never-ending and ever-living victory of this Child who was born to redeem you. Jesus has come, and He has come for your good. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +