Romans 5:1-11 - The Paradox of Lent: Joy in Suffering - March 12, 2023

Lent is perhaps both the most rewarding and the most challenging season in the Christian church year. Rewarding because we get to witness once again our Savior’s love in offering himself for us; challenging in that we must come to grips with the fact that it was our sins that made him suffer at the hands of wicked men and die nailed to a cross. Another challenge of Lent are the paradoxes. What’s a paradox? A paradox is statement that seems contradictory but is nonetheless true. Jesus presented a paradox when he declared that whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it (Mark 8:35). You must lose your life to save it? This would be nonsense coming from anyone but Christ – who lost his life only to take it up again 3 days later! Authentic Christianity – as defined by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount – is filled with paradoxes: the poor will inherit the riches of heaven, only those who mourn will be comforted, and it is a blessing to be persecuted (Matthew 5:3-4, 11). But perhaps the most difficult paradox Lent presents is the one before us this morning: finding joy in suffering. It seems to be foolish and nonsensical. But as Paul explains, nothing could be truer for Christ and for Christians.

In the years following the conclusion of WWI, H.G. Wells voiced the thought of many when he described it as “the war to end all wars”. [1] They imagined that future generations would learn from the death, depravity and violence and never repeat the same mistakes. They believed that the Treaty of Versailles would establish a peace that would last. Time has a way of dashing fickle human hope, doesn’t it? WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the ongoing global war on terror and now, Russia and Ukraine have proved that our world is anything but peaceful. Each day the evening news reminds us that there is no peace in our world as it reports on robberies, car-jackings and worse. Even more sobering, we often don’t even have to look outside of our own homes to find the absence of peace. To make matters worse, this lack of peace is only symptomatic of a deeper problem: the lack of peace between God and man. Sin separates us from God. It earns us his wrath. It makes us hostile to God and God hostile to us. And we were helpless to do anything about it. But Paul says that God did something about it: therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

With the word “justified” Paul transports us into a courtroom. God’s courtroom. A courtroom where we are the defendants – whether we like it or not. The charges against us fall into 10 categories – all first degree felonies worthy of an eternity in hell: failure to fear, love and trust in God above all things; failure to pray, praise and give thanks; failure to gladly hear and learn the Word of God; failure to honor and obey those in authority; failure to help and befriend those in need; failure to lead a pure and decent life; failure to help our neighbor keep what belongs to him; failure to take words and actions in the kindest possible way; failure to be content. We know – and God knows – that we are guilty as charged. But then something shocking happens. The judge slams down his gavel and declares that we are innocent of all charges, that our records have been expunged, that we are free to go. If such a thing were to happen today, there would be outrage and cries of injustice and marches in the streets. How is this possible?

Paul’s “therefore” points back to chapter 4 which tells us how this is possible: [Jesus] was handed over to death because of our trespasses and was raised to life because of our justification (Romans 4:25). Here’s the greatest paradox of all: because Jesus endured the exact opposite of peace: a cruel death on a cross – we now have peace with God. It may seem contradictory, but it was the only way. And Paul tells us why a few verses later: at the appointed time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. It is rare indeed that someone will die for a righteous person. Perhaps someone might actually go so far as to die for a person who has been good to him. But God shows his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

What does this mean? Do you remember the name Aaron Feis? You might remember the name Nikolas Cruz. Cruz was the young man who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida five years ago. Aaron Feis was an assistant football coach and security guard at the same school and when Cruz came charging down the hall, Feis threw himself in front of a group of students, saving them from death but dying in the process. Feis made the ultimate sacrifice – he gave up his own life to save others. That kind of heroic, selfless sacrifice is rare in our world. But as heroic and selfless as Aaron Feis was, he didn’t do what Jesus did. Feis sacrificed himself for innocent students. Jesus sacrificed himself for helpless, ungodly sinners. Jesus did the equivalent of taking a bullet – not for innocent students, but for Nikolas Cruz. Jesus didn’t die for his friends, but his enemies.

And the result is that through faith, we have peace with God. This is not the peace that our world talks about. This is not the end of school shootings; it’s not the end of wars or racism or natural disasters; it’s not a peace that can be achieved by getting rid of guns or urging love and tolerance. Standing justified before God does not mean that we will always feel “at peace” or have peace in our homes and families. This peace is better. This an objective peace – a peace that exists outside of us. It means that regardless of what is happening in our lives our relationship with God has been changed: instead of being his enemies, we are now his friends, his children.  

And the devil simply cannot tolerate this. He works tirelessly to make us doubt God’s gift; to make us believe that God is still our enemy, that he’s still angry at us, that he’s just itching to slam the hammer of his wrath down on us at any moment. One of his more sinister methods is to make us wonder and worry about dying in sin – that is, dying or having Jesus return in judgment at the very moment where you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing. What happens if we don’t have time to repent and be forgiven? Will you go to hell? That’s a scary thought, isn’t it? The reality is that we will be sinning when Jesus returns or we die. Sinful desires pass through our minds at the speed of thought. Sinful words, actions and attitudes are perpetual part of our lives. But Paul grants us comfort and the assurance that peace with God isn’t something we have and lose as often as we sin and repent. He says: we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. The wonderful reality is that peace with God is not something that we get this morning and lose tomorrow. The peace Christ died to win for us has changed our status before God forever. Wait, aren’t we still sinners? Yes. This is another paradox of Christianity. Luther captured this paradox with the Latin phrase simul justus et peccator – a Christian is “simultaneously righteous and a sinner.” [2] Yes, we are always sinning, but through faith Christ’s righteousness always covers us. Where sin increased, grace overflowed much more (Romans 5:20). So that, while Lent is certainly a time for serious self-examination and repentance, it is also a time to rejoice. Rejoice in Christ’s suffering because through it he produced peace with God. Peace for sinners. Peace for you. Peace for me. Peace forever.

That’s a paradox we could live with, but if we stopped there we might leave with a warped view of the Christian life. A view that, unfortunately, many people actually hold. It’s the view and the expectation that because Christ has established peace with God that we will experience peace in our lives here and now. That’s not true. That’s a distortion and cheapening of the Gospel. The second paradox Paul presents is the paradox of finding joy in the reality of our suffering.

We also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope. And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us. Rejoicing in Christ’s suffering is one thing – his suffering is over, he is now reigning in heaven’s glory – but rejoicing in my suffering? That’s something else entirely, isn’t it? In fact, isn’t it when we are suffering that we are most tempted to doubt God’s love, to believe that Christ’s suffering was all for nothing – most tempted to give up our hope in God and hope for heaven? How can suffering possibly lead to joy and hope?

First, we have to ask: what kind of suffering is Paul talking about? It is not the suffering that is brought about by our own sin – Peter makes that clear (1 Peter 4:14-16). Instead, it includes any and all suffering that come as a result of being believers living in a sinful world controlled by Satan. This includes the persecution, ridicule, and animosity we face at work, from friends, from the media, from the world because we are Christians. This includes the challenges, sacrifices, and effort we choose to make only because we are Christians. (For example: choosing to pass on a job promotion that would mean working Sunday mornings or as parents, adopting a more humble lifestyle (maybe passing on some luxury) in order to be able to give your children a full-time Christian education.) Suffering includes the problems that are part of the normal human condition: sadness, loneliness, weakness, sickness and death. We suffer all of these things because, while Christ has already won our salvation – we are not in heaven yet. And yet, even in suffering, Paul says that we rejoice.

Why? Because we know where the road of suffering starts and where it ends. It starts with hope – hope for the glory of God. In the life of a Christian, suffering leads to patient endurance. Patient endurance is the quality of bearing up under adversity. Patient endurance leads to tested character. The picture behind tested character comes from the testing of metals by refining them with fire. Character is formed only through testing, trials, pressure. And, when we have been put through the wringer and come out the other side, what is the result? Paul comes full circle: an even greater hope for heaven. The McFarland girls’ basketball team made it to the state tournament this year – sadly they lost on Friday – but Paul likens the life of the Christian to the life of those basketball players. All season long those athletes have trained, sweated, and sacrificed. They disciplined their bodies and their minds. Why? The hope of a championship. Hope is where their training began and where it ended. The Christian life begins with justification, the gift of God in Christ that guarantees our “not-guilty” status in his courtroom. And then, as we pass through the trials and troubles of life God strengthens us in that hope by showing us, in sometimes painful ways, that this world is not all it’s cracked up to be; by creating in us a longing for something better; by increasing our hope for the glory of heaven.

And, unlike the hope of the majority of high school athletes, this hope does not disappoint. Therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, it is even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, it is even more certain that, since we have been reconciled, we will be saved by his life. Jesus has already done the hardest thing – he has reconciled us – God’s enemies – to God. In Paul’s eyes, then, nothing could be easier than bringing those who already stand before God not guilty through this life and through Judgment Day to the glory of heaven. That certain hope is why we can do the unthinkable: rejoice even in our sufferings.

Is this paradox hard to understand? Is it hard to believe when our suffering seems especially bitter and meaningless? Yes. That’s why we need Lent this year and every year. That’s why we need to see and understand that we are following in the footsteps of our Savior – footsteps that lead through suffering and death to a resurrection to glory. The cross was necessary for him because only his suffering could purchase our forgiveness and produce peace with God. The cross is necessary for us because suffering trains and refines our hope – not for a better life now – but for the full and never-ending glory of heaven. Yes, this is one of Lent’s most difficult paradoxes. But this is the paradox that guarantees and sustains our joy and our hope of heaven. Amen.  

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_war_to_end_war#:~:text=%22The%20war%20to%20end%20war,World%20War%20of%201914%E2%80%931918.

[2] LW 25:336 (On Romans 7) “Now notice what I said above, that the saints at the same time as they are righteous are also sinners; righteous because they believe in Christ, whose righteousness covers them and is imputed to them, but sinners because they do not fulfill the Law, are not without concupiscence, and are like sick men under the care of a physician; they are sick in fact but healthy in hope and in the fact that they are beginning to be healthy, that is, they are “being healed.” They are people for whom the worst possible thing is the presumption that they are healthy, because they suffer a worse relapse.”

Matthew 26:36-46 - You Are a Rock - March 8, 2023

If I say “the Rock,” what thought comes to mind? These days many people – at least people of my generation – would probably think of the famous actor and wrestler whose real name is Dwayne Johnson – a man, who, physically at least, does bear a striking resemblance to a large rock. And that’s the first and last time I will mention him in a sermon…we’re not talking about him. Our theme tonight is more closely associated with a boast once made by Lycurgus, the ruler of the Greek city of Sparta around 820 BC. Even though Sparta was famous for its military prowess, the city itself wasn’t protected by brick or stone walls like most cities of the time. When asked about this by a visiting ambassador, Lycurgus reportedly responded: “Come with me tomorrow and I will show you the walls of Sparta.” Early the next day the king led his guest to a plain some distance from the city, where the Spartan army was gathered. Pointing proudly to his soldiers, he said, “that city is well fortified which has a wall of men instead of brick.” [1]

Peter might have agreed with that concept, right? He was – at least in his own mind – a “brick,” solid as a rock. Did he have any right to have such a high estimation of himself? Well, didn’t Jesus nickname him petros, which, in English, we might translate as “Rocky?” (Matthew 16:18) We just heard how Peter boasted of his own “rock-solidness” on Maundy Thursday: even if all fall away because of you, I will never fall away (Matthew 26:33). Sadly, the biblical record tells a far different story.

The biblical record tells us that Peter proved himself brave enough to walk toward Jesus on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee, only to shortly thereafter begin to sink – like a rock (pun intended) – beneath the waves because of his fear and unbelief (Matthew 14:22-33). It tells us that Peter was a bold confessor of Jesus’ identity, calling him the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). But it also says that shortly after that Peter rejected Jesus’ mission, trying to talk him out of going to Jerusalem to die for the sins of the world (Matthew 16:22-23). When Jesus was washing his disciples’ feet on Maundy Thursday, Peter at first refused – and then, after Jesus explained what he was doing, demanded to be washed from head to toe (John 13:8-11). Hardly a rock-solid position to take. When the mob led by Judas approached, while he was brave enough to slice off the ear of the high priest’s servant, Malchus, moments later he fled with the rest of the disciples (John 18:10; Matthew 26:56). Peter was bold enough to venture into the courtyard of the high priest to see how Jesus’ trial would turn out – but, when questioned about his identity and relationship to Jesus, he didn’t stand firm like a rock, he crumbled like sand, denying that he knew Jesus three times (Matthew 26:69-75). On Easter morning, when the women reported what they had seen and heard, Peter sprinted to the tomb – but later that night he was locked in a house with the other disciples out of fear of the Jews (John 20:19). The biblical record is clear: Peter was hardly a man of rock-solid thoughts, words or actions.

How did this happen to Peter – this man whom Jesus had nicknamed “Rocky”? If he was so solid, why did Jesus have to warn him to watch and pray instead of falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane? The answer is simple: the devil was at work with his lies; he was trying to sift Peter like wheat (Luke 22:31). He had convinced Peter to believe the lie that he was stronger, more loyal and more faithful – not only than the other disciples, but than Jesus told him he was. And he’s far from alone in Scripture. Abraham thought that he was man enough to father sons with different women and not have to pay the price (Genesis 16:2-3). (Incidentally, as you hear about the ongoing violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the world is still paying the price for that sin.) Samson figured he was invincible until Delilah buzzed his head – and realized that he was powerless without God (Judges 16:19). Jonah was a pretty tough guy – when God told him to go to Nineveh he boldly boarded a ship in the opposite direction – until he got tossed into the sea and swallowed by a fish (Jonah). So it’s not surprising that, having successfully used this tactic so often in the past, that the father of lies would implement it once again – this time on one of Jesus’ inner circle.

So what’s the lesson? The lesson for us is this: once the devil finds a strategy that works to successfully separate people from their Savior, he doesn’t stop using it. Just note how successful he’s been in using humanity’s inherent pride, arrogance and ego to continue to separate them from Jesus today. The religion of secularism sown by the father of lies has convinced millions today that we are doing pretty well, on the whole. In order to get better all we need to do is believe in something sincerely and be tolerant of everyone else’s beliefs; toss any concept of a holy God, sin, death, damnation and hell to the curb; and reject any idea that there is anything such as absolute right and absolute wrong. We’re all free to do our own thing as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. And if you add a dash of sexual freedom to that postmodernist stew – including ingredients like premarital sex, LGBTQ rights, abortion on demand, euthanasia and suicide – and you’ve got all the ingredients for the disaster that our society is becoming today, don’t you?

But arrogance, pride and ego aren’t just manifested outside these walls, either. How many parents have proudly stood at this baptismal font and promised to do everything in their power to help that child remain a child of God until death? How many have kept that promise? How many confirmands have stood before an altar like this and swore to be faithful until the point of death so that they may inherit the crown of life (Revelation 2:10) – and yet the devil has convinced them that they can make their way through life without God? How many couples have vowed to be faithful to each other until death, in sickness and in health – and yet failing to keep their marriage grounded in God and his Word – saw their marriage crumble to pieces? How many of us have ventured into places or websites or books or TV shows or groups of people that we know we shouldn’t because we’ve convinced ourselves that we are strong enough, we won’t give into temptation. This Lent we need to recognize and reject the devil’s lie that we are rocks; that is, that we are strong enough to stand firm by ourselves. We need to repent of our proud and arrogant hard-headedness. We, like Peter, need to heed our Savior’s warning to watch and pray, so that [we] do not enter into temptation, because like him [our] spirit is willing, but [our] flesh is weak. Peter’s example tonight shows us how dangerous it is to believe that we are spiritually stronger than we actually are – or, as Solomon put it in Proverbs pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18).

I suppose the question, then, is: what are we supposed to watch and pray for? While we certainly need to be watchful and alert for the devil’s lies and temptations, we’re fooling ourselves if we think that our vigilance can defeat them. Peter’s case proves that we are neither as vigilant or as obedient to Jesus’ command to pray as we should be. No, the only way to avoid or escape temptation is to look to Jesus. He’s the only One who actually earned the title of “Rocky.” The question is: is that how you would describe the Jesus we see in the Garden of Gethsemane – as a Rock? He confesses that his soul is sorrowful, even to the point of death. He begs his disciples for help and support. He pleads with his Father to take the cup of suffering from him – not once, not twice, but three times. He needed to be strengthened by angels (Luke 22:43) – his own creation. Is that what it looks like to be a spiritual, mental and physical Rock? Well, yes!

As he was faced with a showdown with the ultimate powers of darkness: sin, death and the devil – Jesus didn’t proudly or arrogantly march into the teeth of battle – instead, he fell on his face before his Father, prayed that the cup of suffering for the sins of the world might be taken from him, and for strength to submit his will to his Father’s will. I know the world doesn’t see it this way; I know that often we don’t see it that way, but this is what true strength looks like! True strength doesn’t come from in here – from our own strength or decision or determination – but from God. But Jesus didn’t just pray and trust to give us an example to follow – he primarily did it as our substitute – to obey God’s command to call on me in the day of distress. I will deliver you, and you will honor me (Psalm 50:15) because we haven’t. And then, strengthened by the angel with his Father’s power, Jesus was a Rock as he withstood the mocking and torture of men, the sinister lies of the devil, his own Father’s wrath, and even death itself – and crushed them all by his death and shattered their power by tossing aside the rock that covered his tomb in his resurrection. Because Jesus crushed the devil’s skull – we don’t have to believe his lies anymore. We’re free to admit, perhaps for the first time, that we are not strong and courageous, but weak and helpless. In other words, if you really want to be strong, admit that you’re not and rely completely on God for strength.

Peter eventually learned that he was not a rock; that he could not stand alone, no matter how strong he thought he was. With the exception of Judas (and John), all of Jesus’ apostles eventually got the message. Trusting that Jesus died and rose for them – these men did willingly die for the Rock, for their Savior. But, without question, the only way these men found the courage to be faithful to the point of death, was through fervent, constant prayer to the Father who granted them strength.

Learning that he wasn’t a Rock was a hard lesson for Peter and the other disciples to learn. It is a hard lesson for us to learn, too – because we often overestimate our own strength – and we often pay the price for it, like Peter did. But we must learn it. We must learn that no matter how strong we think we are – even if we are physically and mentally strong or if we know our bibles and catechisms from cover to cover – we are not rocks; we are not strong enough to deal with the real problems of life alone (2 Corinthians 12:9). We are not powerful enough to overcome the enticements of sin on our own. We will never be able to go one on one with the devil and win. We may long to be home with our Lord – but none of us are brave enough to face down death alone. The good news is – we don’t have to. Jesus has already crushed those enemies once and for all. Peter wasn’t a rock. I’m not a rock. You’re not a rock. And that’s ok. Because Jesus was and Jesus is our immoveable. And when we watch and pray and stand firm on him, then nothing can move us. Amen.

[1] https://www.bartleby.com/344/262.html

Genesis 3:1-8 - Great Faith Is All About... - March 5, 2023

What comes to mind when you think of great faith? What characteristics or behaviors do you associate with great faith? Who are the people you think of as having great faith? In general, I think we associate great faith with people who do great things. For example, we think of Noah as having great faith because he built an ark on dry ground, Moses because he stood up against the most powerful empire in the world and Daniel because he fearlessly walked into a den of lions. We imagine the apostles had great faith because all of them but one – John – were martyred for confessing their faith. We think of Martin Luther as having great faith because he stood up to the heretical teachings of the pope and the Roman Catholic Church. Today, we might think of the people who are the most active at church or those who are the most generous with their time and money; the people who never seem to struggle with sin, never seem to doubt that God is in control, never waver even when bad things happen. But as we examine God’s call to Abraham, we see that faith isn’t really about us at all.

Even though in Romans Paul called Abram (or Abraham) the Father of believers (Romans 4:1), he was anything but that when God first came into his life. While living in Ur – which was in present-day Syria or Turkey – Abram and his family were (at best) polytheists – they worshipped many false gods in addition to the one true God (Joshua 24:2). Far from being a hero of faith, Abram was an idolater. But in spite of that, God came to Abram, spoke to him, called him to faith and away from his idolatrous surroundings.

Whenever you think about faith, yours or anyone else’s, it’s important to remember that at one time we were all just like Abram – hopeless sinners, pagan idolaters and enemies of God. Paul put it this way: you were dead in your trespasses and sins…formerly, we all lived among them in the passions of our sinful flesh, as we carried out the desires of the sinful flesh and its thoughts. Like all the others, we were by nature objects of God’s wrath…indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:1, 3, 8-9) Whether you came to faith as an infant, a teenager, or an adult – you, like Abram, did not make the first move – God did. God came to you in the waters of Baptism. God spoke to you through a pastor, parent, or friend. By nature, we were all faithless idolaters like Abram, but God in his infinite mercy has called us out of that miserable life to give us a name and place in his family. Great faith, any and all true faith, is only given by God as a gift of his grace, not because we deserved it or sought it out.

Having stepped into Abram’s life and created faith in his heart, God challenged Abram: Get out of your country and away from your relatives and from your father’s house and go to the land that I will show you. Imagine that: leave your hometown, your friends, your family, everything you know and love and go – where? you don’t know, just go. If God had stopped speaking at this point, I suppose Abram may have just ignored this command. But you’ll notice as you read the Bible that God almost always wraps his command up in promises. God overwhelmed Abram with promises – 7 in total. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse anyone who dishonors you. All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you. God promised Abram posterity and prosperity, fame and fortune, blessings for his friends and curses for his enemies, and finally, the greatest blessing of all: one of his descendants would be the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world. No conditions, no “if’s”, no basis in Abram’s obedience, these things would all be his simply because God wanted him to have them.

And that’s how God continues to deal with us today. He deals with us primarily in terms of promises not demands. God doesn’t force faith into hearts with threats or with a gun pointed at our heads, instead he gently and quietly invites us to trust his promises. He doesn’t overwhelm us with laws (think about it, God only gave 10 Commandments – compare that to the legal code in our country or state – or even your own house!), rather he piles promise on top of promise – all apart from anything we do or don’t do. And God’s promises to us are no less incredible than his promises to Abram. Here are a few: 1) The sin we were born with as well as the sins we commit every day – God promises that in Christ they are washed away: as distant as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us (Psalm 103:12); 2) He promises an eternity in heaven: the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23); 3) He promises to take care of us until then: …God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19); 4) He promises that everything that happens in your life, whether you perceive it as good or bad, is for your eternal good: we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). And we could go on and on. Every page of the Bible is filled with God’s unconditional promises to you. Great faith is based on God’s great promises. Promises he never fails to keep.

What is the proper response to God’s promises? So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…they set out to the travel to the land of Canaan…there he built an altar to the Lord and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The emphasis of Abram’s calling is often placed on his willing obedience in the face of daunting, dark uncertainty. But don’t forget those all-important words: As the Lord had told him. Abram didn’t just wake up in the middle of the night and decide to leave his family and homeland – his obedience was prompted by God’s promises and directed by God’s Word. Abram wasn’t taking a blind leap of faith into the unknown (faith is not a blind leap); he was jumping into the safety net of God’s unbreakable promises. Even in his obedience Abram couldn’t take the credit, the credit was all God’s – a fact that Abram acknowledged by building altars and publicly worshipping God every step of the way.

Why is it so hard for us to imitate Abram’s response? What makes us hesitate at jumping into the safety net of God’s promises? First, the devil makes promises too, and his promises seem so tempting and so much easier to attain. God’s promises often require a certain amount of patience and sacrifice; the devil’s promises offer immediate gratification without sacrifice. But the sad truth is that the devil never follows through on his promises; he offers one thing and delivers another. The devil always and only lies (John 8:48). He offers pleasure, we end up in pain. He promises riches, we end up poor. He says that following him will make us perfectly happy, and we end up perfectly miserable. He promises happiness and life – but in the end his path leads to death.

But the devil isn’t the only barrier to faith. Our own reason gets in the way too. Too often we let the obstacles of life block out the beauty of God’s promises. We forget that no matter how incredible or impossible his promises seem, he never breaks them. Instead of confidently leaping into his loving arms we act like he is asking us to step off a cliff. We think “If I commit to giving the first part of my paycheck back to God, there won’t be enough left for the mortgage or car payment.” “If I take time out of my day for meditation on God’s Word or prayer, then I won’t have enough left for all the really important things I need to get done.” We think “If I don’t make sure my kids are on all the best teams, in the best academic and music programs they won’t have a future.” It’s our nature to want to be in control of everything in our lives – while stupidly ignoring the fact that we can’t control our own heartbeat, much less the future. And just like that, our faith shrinks because it’s focused on what I think rather than on what God promises. And that’s why faith is such a challenging and rare thing. Faith is a constant struggle between what we see and what is unseen (Hebrews 11:1); between the present and the future (Romans 8:18). Faith is a constant wrestling match between trusting in God’s promises and trusting in our own reason, strength and abilities.

It’s true that when you look around, you might see a bunch of broken promises. But none of those broken promises are God’s broken promises. Who fails? The people around you fail. Your loved ones fail you. Your coworkers fail you. Your job fails. Your government fails. Your bank account fails. Your health fails. Your pastor fails you. You fail you. God never fails. He never has and he never will. His promises are great and he keeps every one of them. He promises to be your shield and your strength (Genesis 15:1). As your shield and strength he doesn’t promise to take you out of every bad situation you find yourself in, he promises to be with you through them. That doesn’t mean life in this sinful world is going to be easy, but it does mean that through every difficulty you are never alone. He promises that you have eternal life. That doesn’t mean you will never have to face sickness and death, but it does mean that on the other side of death is a new life that is perfect and will last forever. All because God kept his promise to Abram that through his seed, the Savior, all of the families of the earth will be blessed in you. Paul put it this way: as many promises as God has made, they have always been “Yes” in [Christ] (2 Corinthians 1:20). In other words, God’s promises are always “Yes” because all of his promises find their fulfillment in him – that is, if God kept his promise to do the hardest thing, save us from sin and death, then we can surely trust all of his other promises too.

I like to picture the difference between great faith and lack of faith like taking a flight. There are two types of people on every airplane. Those who trust the pilot and the plane and those who don’t. And you can tell by their behavior, can’t you? The faithless person will look anxious and nervous at take-off, perhaps clenching the hand of their spouse or parents, perhaps lifting themselves off of their seat – in hopes of making the plane lighter and giving it a better chance of taking off. The person of great faith will sit back and doze off or calmly start to read a book or magazine – because, in the end, they know that the success of the flight is out of their hands. Our success, now and eternally – just like it was for Abram – is really out of our hands. We have his commands wrapped in his promises and therefore we can have great, calm, confident faith that our great, powerful, loving God will do great things through us.  

Could you do what Abraham did? Can you have great faith too? Well, do you have God’s promises? Do you believe them? Then you can absolutely do what Abram did. You can leave behind whatever hinders you from putting your full trust in God and He can do great things through you too. Like what, you may ask? Well, just 26 years ago Risen Savior was nothing more than a plan on the back of a napkin in someone’s living room – look at what God has done. Can we continue to reach the lost with the Gospel of free forgiveness in Christ – even here in Dane County? Yes, we can! Absolutely. Can God’s promise that everything that happens is for your eternal good give you confidence to face any challenge life throws your way? Certainly. Maybe not in the way you expect, but whatever he provides will be for your best. We can do great things because we have great faith. We have great faith because that faith rests on the great promises of our faithful God. May God keep us all firmly grounded in his promises so that our faith may always be great. Amen.

Luke 22:1-6 - You Know Best - March 1, 2023

America in 2023 has no shortage of problems. Nor does it have any shortage of people willing to offer their own explanations for those problems. Racism. Sexism. Inequality. Inflation. Recession. Climate Change. Russian aggression. Chinese balloons. Derailed trains. Republicans. Democrats. You know them. You’ve heard them. But the truth is that the real reason our world faces the problems it does is none of those reasons; it’s for one reason: lies. At creation, God gave truth to the world – along with every other perfect gift the human heart could ever desire. But when Adam and Eve fell for the devil’s first lie: you certainly will not die (Genesis 3:4) – doubt, death, destruction, depression – and yes, racism, sexism, poverty and natural and man-made disasters – but more importantly, damnation enveloped God’s perfect creation in darkness. Since that moment, the world has been filled with lies. Big ones, small ones, white ones and black ones. Lies that are told with good intentions and lies that have no purpose, rhyme or reason. The 19th century chancellor of Germany, Otto von Bismarck, once stated that “if you want to fool the world, tell the truth.” [1] We know this – we know that lies permeate virtually every aspect of life in this world. We know that when every toothpaste claims to give you the best breath and the whitest teeth and every politician guarantees to lower your taxes and raise your standard of living and every pharmaceutical company promises that their latest drug will cure whatever ails you – we know that they can’t all be true, we know that somebody is must be lying.

Jesus knew this too. That’s why Jesus didn’t mince words when he described the devil’s agenda in John 8: whenever he lies, he speaks from what is his, because he is a liar and the father of lying (John 8:44). Throughout this Lenten season – we will see how the devil’s lies permeate Jesus’ Passion and how he’s still telling the same lies today. What’s surprising tonight is that the devil was able to convince a man who had been hand-picked by Jesus, who – for three years – had been an eyewitness to Jesus’ amazing miracles, compassionate healing and powerful preaching. Tonight, we see how the devil corrupted Judas’ heart with lies to the extent that he proactively went far out of his way to betray Jesus to his enemies.

The big question is: why? Why would Judas do such a thing? Some have suggested that Judas was predestined – like a programmed robot – and that he had no choice in the matter. They point to Acts 1, where Peter said the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David about Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus…and that Judas turned away to go to his own place (Acts 1:16, 25). Is that possible – that Judas was hard-wired by God to sell Jesus for 30 pieces of silver? No. God our Savior…wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4) – and that included Judas. Others theorize that Judas was an anarchist and revolutionary – and that this betrayal would somehow “force Jesus’ hand” – in that now he would be forced to use his divine power to finally overthrow the hated Romans – even though Jesus made it clear over and over again that he was not here to lead a political revolution (John 6:15; Luke 17:20-21; John 18:33-37). Scripture itself suggests some other possible motives for Judas’ betrayal. John identified him as a thief who, as the apostles’ treasurer, used to steal what was put into the money box (John 12:6). Or perhaps Judas was out for vengeance after Jesus had embarrassed him by rebuking him for suggesting that the expensive perfume Mary had poured on Jesus’ feet could have been put to better use by being sold and given to the poor (John 12:1-8).

In the end, no one can know with certainty what Judas’ human motivation was. We can’t look into his heart. But we do know that Satan entered Judas and that Judas fell for his lie. It’s a lie we know all too well: “I know best. Better even than the God who created me.” And yet, while Judas may be the most infamous person to fall for this lie – he’s far from the only one. History is littered with the ruins of those who figured that they knew better than God. After the Flood, God commanded Noah’s descendants to fill the earth (Genesis 8:17). They thought, “Nah, we’ll just stay here and build a tower to our own glory” (Genesis 11:1-9). We are still dealing with the consequences of the Tower of Babel today. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah preferred their new, more enlightened view of sexuality to God’s will regarding sex and marriage (Genesis 19:1-29) – and the scorched remnants of those cities shows how well that worked out. In the days of the judges, every man did whatever was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6) instead of God’s – and so they spent decades suffering under foreign tyrants. Peter rebuked Jesus for saying that it was his mission to go to Jerusalem to be betrayed, arrested, convicted and finally murdered – and he found himself on the receiving end of some of the harshest words Jesus ever spoke Get behind me, Satan! (Matthew 16:22-23) Ananias and Sapphira figured they could hide their greed from God – both dropped dead as a result (Acts 5:1-11). We could go on.

In our own time, we can see what happens when the entire world buys into the devil’s lie that “we know best.” We are living in the age of experts – in that we’ve been told to trust the “experts” because they know best. Well, just the other day the “experts” at the CDC released a report called the “Youth Risk Behavior Survey” – which reviews how well all their “expert” advice has worked out. Allow me to cherry pick a few of their findings. In 2021, 30% of high school students reported having had sex. 16% of high school students reported having used marijuana in the past 30 days and 12% admitted to misusing prescription opioids. 42% of high school students felt so sad or hopeless every day for at least two weeks straight that they stopped doing their usual activities. Horrifyingly, 10% of high school students had attempted suicide one or more times in the past year (that’s 1 in 10 of all high school students!). [2] Again, this was just in 2021 – the peak of the era of “trust us, we’re the experts. We know best.” Like Judas, people today think they know what is best. Today’s “experts” have led the charge on banishing God and his truth from public schools and public discourse – and now our children are reaping the lies they’ve sown – as the very experts who instituted the policies have now had to admit.

But it’s not just out there, is it? The devil’s lie that we know best has penetrated these walls and these hearts too. It shows up in our priorities: when we make getting our children into the best sports and other extracurricular programs more important than raising them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4); when we can spend hours each week scrolling on our phones or watching TV but can’t find even a few minutes to read the Bible; when our budgets prove that we think we know better than God how to use and spend the wealth he has given us to manage. When we gather for holidays or other celebrations with family members who are living openly rebellious and ungodly lives or are holding to unbiblical and heretical beliefs or have made a habit of neglecting the means of grace – and pretend that everything is just fine, and don’t say anything – we are listening to the devil’s lie that momentary happiness in this life is more important than the joy of eternal life in heaven – for you and for the people you love. Do you worry? What’s worry other than doubting that God knows what he doing? In general, each and every time we sin, we are falling for the devil’s lie that we know better than God how we are to think, talk and act in a way that is best for us and those around us. And, just as we could see in the case of Judas, just as we could see in the statistics regarding the world out there, we only have to look at our own families, marriages and hearts to know that the results of listening to this lie are absolutely disastrous. 

There’s only one ramp off of this highway of lies which always leads to destruction – it’s call repentance. One of the most important parts of repentance is identifying the devil’s lies, confessing the times we have fallen for them, and then turning (or returning) to God’s truth. And as we gather tonight in repentance and worship tonight, we give thanks that the Holy Spirit has led us to find and follow the Savior, who is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). And this isn’t just a slogan – he proved that unlike Adam and Eve, unlike Judas, unlike the generation out there and unlike this generation in here, he held firm to the truth of God’s plan of salvation and never gave into the devil’s lie that he knew better, even if the lie was easier, more logical, more popular or felt better than the truth.

As we saw last Sunday, Jesus rejected the devil’s lies in the wilderness when any one of us would have been quickly seduced by the devil’s false promises (Luke 4:1-13). Jesus rejected the satanic calls from the crowds (John 6:15) and even his own disciples (Mark 10:37) to assume earthly power and political rule because he trusted the truth: that he hadn’t come to defeat Herod or the Romans but sin, death and the devil. Jesus stood firm in the truth of God’s plan when he allowed Judas to betray him with a kiss, a mob to haul him off to endure an illegal and illegitimate trial, the leaders of the church to cruelly mock and beat him, Pontius Pilate to torture and condemn him, Roman soldiers to nail his hands and feet to a tree and God, his Father, to abandon him to the horrors of hell. The only reason he did all that was because he never fell for the devil’s lie – that everyone from the beginning of time has at one time or another fallen for – that we know better than God; that we don’t really need a Savior – that we can save ourselves. Jesus listened only to the truth – that only his blood, the precious blood of the Son of God (1 Peter 1:19), could redeem this world of damned sinners. It’s been said that many people will die because they believe a lie – but that only a fool would die for something he knew to be a lie. Jesus didn’t die for a lie; he died because he knew the awful, gruesome – and yet wonderful and beautiful truth – that only by his death could we have life. If that doesn’t prove that he – not we – know what’s best for our lives here and now, nothing will.

Maybe Otto von Bismarck was right – maybe you really can fool the world by simply telling the truth. Jesus and his church have been proclaiming the truth of the Gospel for 2000 years and yet Judas was fooled, millions of people have been fooled, you and I have been fooled – fooled into listening to the devil’s lie that we know better than the God who created and redeemed us. Praise be to the God who loved us so much that he not only sent his Son to live, suffer, die and rise for us – but that he has led us tonight to confess and believe the truth: “No, Lord, I don’t know best. You do – and you proved it by sending your Son to bleed and die to save me from the devil’s lies.” Amen.

[1] https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/06/25/fool-tell/

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/YRBS_Data-Summary-Trends_Report2023_508.pdf

Matthew 4:1-11 - The War for Your Soul - February 26, 2023

What would you say is the greatest, most vicious conflict in our world today? The war between Russia and Ukraine which has embroiled much of the rest of the world and has cost you and I – American tax-payers – billions of dollars which has been going on for over a year now? The battle to remedy and rectify the effects of the devastating earthquakes that shook Turkey and Syria – killing over 50,000 people? What about in our own country? Is it the vicious battle between conservative and progressive ideas of morality? Is it one of the great ongoing wars our society is waging against crime, violence and drugs? Maybe the battle is closer to home. Are you fighting a sickness or a disease or depression? Are things with your spouse or sibling or child or friend rocky at the moment and the conflict has left you drained? Maybe you are fighting to make ends meet or fighting for every breath. If we were to take a poll of average Americans, it’s probably a safe bet that some of those battles would find a place on their list. Perhaps some have made your list. But do you know what? You would be wrong. The fiercest battle in the world isn’t over any of those things; the greatest battle – one that has been raging ever since Genesis 3 – is the one for human souls – for your soul. Why? Because unlike any of the other conflicts we named, the consequences of this battle extend beyond this life, beyond even death and into eternity. This battle is what Matthew sets before us this morning: Jesus enters the field of battle to engage the devil in the war for your soul and mine.

A bit of context is necessary before we step onto the battlefield. Our lesson follows right on the heels of Jesus’ baptism where He was anointed to be the representative and substitute for the entire human race (Matthew 3:13-17). This means that Jesus enters the wilderness to battle Satan, not for his own benefit, not for his own sake; but for our benefit, for our eternities’ sake. Why? Why did we need a champion to go to war for us? Simply because, like Adam, like Israel, like every human before us, we have failed God’s test. The test of living up to His holiness. The test of subjecting our reason to God’s authoritative Word. The test of putting obedience to his commands before the desires of our flesh. Because humanity had failed God, God’s Son went to war for us.

Matthew begins: then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Notice two things: the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert with the express purpose of facing temptation. Don’t we sometimes think of temptation like we think of junk food if we’re on a diet? Keep it out of the house and it won’t tempt you? Stay away from certain places and certain people – and the devil can’t get you. That’s a very naïve and dangerous way to think of temptation. The fact is that even if you were able to totally isolate yourself from every single source of evil in this world – you wouldn’t be able to avoid temptation. Because the devil’s most powerful ally lives in our own flesh. No matter how hard you try, you can’t avoid his temptations. Which is precisely why Jesus had to enter the desert to be tempted; if he was going to be our substitute, he had to face the exact same temptations we face…with one big difference: where we fail, miserably, repeatedly; he had to emerge absolutely victorious, without even a hint of sin. Second, note how the circumstances differ from Genesis 3: when Adam was tempted to eat the forbidden fruit, he was surrounded by more food than he could ever eat. When Jesus faced down Satan, he was hungrier than you and I can imagine: he had eaten nothing for forty days and forty nights – in other words, the deck was stacked against him.

It was this natural, human need for food that Satan chose to attack first. The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” “Jesus, you’re hungry and you’re God’s Son – put those two things together and make yourself some food.” It sounds so harmless that we almost miss the trap, don’t we? What would be wrong with Jesus making himself a sandwich? Nothing…except the biggest thing. The devil was trying to use Jesus’ aching stomach to lead him to distrust God’s loving care and to disobey God’s will – because his Father wanted him to go hungry. If Jesus made himself a meal, he would be sinning against the first commandment – much like Israel did when, after God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, they suggested that it would be better to have died in Egypt than to starve to death in the wilderness because God wasn’t providing for them (Exodus 16:1-3).

How does Satan lead you to distrust God’s promise to provide for you? Has the loss of a job or the lack of promotion led you to doubt that he really cares? Do you anxiously check your financial portfolio every day because you have begun to trust it to provide for you rather than God? Have you sacrificed your obligations to your spouse, your children or your God on the altar of work for the idol of a paycheck? A life insurance salesman once asked me “what is your most valuable asset?” The answer he was looking for was myself; my potential to work and earn an income over my lifetime. Am I my most valuable asset? Of course not. God and his promises are – but that doesn’t stop me from trusting these hands more than him! Of course, in those ways and many more we, like Israel, have failed the test. We have sinned against the 1st Commandment. We have obeyed our stomachs instead of trusting our God.

For Israel’s failures and ours, Jesus endured a grumbling stomach without grumbling against God. While we often mistake needs for wants and necessities for luxuries, Jesus saw the insidious nature of Satan’s suggestion and he defeated it – not with an army of angels – but with the sword of the Spirit: “It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” So hearing a sermon can serve as a meal replacement? (How’s that for a diet plan – The Feed Your Faith, Not Your Belly Diet – remember, you heard it here first!) No, that’s not what those words mean. Jesus understood and trusted that all the bread in the world would not keep him alive if his Father did not want him to live and that if his Father wanted him to live, he would keep him alive even if he didn’t eat for another forty days. In other words, food or no food, our lives are in God’s hands (Psalm 31:15). Jesus trusted that. Imagine having that kind of faith! Now stop imagining and believe, because Jesus did this for you! His obedience is credited to your account. You have God’s promise and you can have that kind of faith…so act like it. Jesus: 1; Satan: 0.

Then the Devil took him into the holy city. He placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, and he said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you. And they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Unless you are very familiar with Scripture, it would be easy to miss the trap – after all, doesn’t God promise to send angels to protect believers? Well, yes, but if you read Psalm 91 carefully, you will see that Satan left out an important phrase. He will give a command to his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways (Psalm 91:11). Psalm 91 is about the protection that God promises to provide from the dangers that come near believers as they are busy carrying out their various God-given callings in life; not taking unnecessary risks to see if he will really do what he says. The trap Satan had laid was to see if Jesus would put his Father’s promise to the test.

Hundreds of years earlier, Israel had failed that test at a place called Massah (“testing”). The Israelites were camped at a place where no water was to be found. So what did they do? The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why are you quarreling with me? Why are you testing the LORD?” (Exodus 17:1-7) But certainly grumbling and complaining would never come out of our mouths and hearts, would it? We would never adopt an attitude that says, “God, you promised to provide for me richly and daily, so where are the riches?!” We would never needlessly expose ourselves to danger or embrace a diet or lifestyle guaranteed to shorten our lives, would we? Honestly? Yes, we would, we have and we do. We, too, are tempted to take Scripture out of context and lodge outrageous claims against God in things he has never promised. God hasn’t promised you a long life if you decide to slowly kill yourself with gluttony or laziness or prescription pills or other substances. God hasn’t promised to send his angels to guard you if you find it thrilling to break the speed limit. God hasn’t promised to keep every hardship, disease, or accident from you. God hasn’t promised to put food on your table if you will not work. God has promised to provide what you need – but on his timetable, not yours. And yet, how often we test God in these things.

But Jesus didn’t. Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written: You shall not test the Lord your God.” Jesus knew that God hadn’t promised to send his angels to catch him if he threw himself off of the temple. He didn’t test his Father. But he also displayed perfect trust in his Father’s protection and plan. We witness that perfect trust when Jesus was calmly sleeping in the boat on the stormy Sea of Galilee, even as his disciples – seasoned sailors themselves – panicked (Matthew 8:23-27). We hear that trust when he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane: Father…not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42). We see it as he is hanging on the cross, flattened under the hammer of God’s wrath we deserved, when he submissively commits his spirit into his Father’s hands (Luke 23:46). Because we have tested God in things he has not promised and failed to trust the promises he has made, Jesus overcame the devil’s temptation. He won. Jesus: 2; Satan: 0.

Finally, the Devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said to him, “I will give you all the kingdoms of these things, if you will bow down and worship me.” This time, you would have to be sleeping to miss the trap. The devil brazenly tempted Jesus to become a Satanist. Why would this even be a temptation? Because the devil was proposing a shortcut to the glory God had promised Jesus; a shortcut that didn’t involve blood and sweat and tears and suffering and death. The instances in which Israel failed this test are too numerous to list. One of the more memorable ones took place at the foot of Mt. Sinai, right under God’s nose, when Israel decided to worship and praise a golden calf instead of the LORD who had led them out of Egypt (Exodus 32:1-35). What shortcuts to glory has the devil highlighted on your path through life? I know they’re out there, because I know the devil hasn’t given up. Marriage can be hard work – if it gets too difficult, why not get out and find greener pastures? Finding time to have family devotions and pray and study the catechism together is hard – why not just let the church do it for me? Going day after day to a job you can’t stand takes persistent effort – winning millions in Powerball, that’s no sweat. Sincere repentance and battling against the desires of the sinful flesh is really, really hard – why not just find a church where they will tell you that God loves you just the way you are and that you don’t need to change? Whatever the shortcut – if we follow Satan’s path instead of God’s we are no better than the devil himself and deserve to suffer his punishment.

Once again, Jesus didn’t give in. He refused to betray his Father in favor of a shortcut to glory. “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Jesus held out against this third and most attractive temptation even though he fully understood that it would mean a path of rejection and betrayal, blood and tears, suffering and death. As we begin Lent, this battle has given us a pretty good indication of how the war will end on that hill outside Jerusalem. Jesus: 3; Satan: 0.

So, now you have the handbook to defeating Satan and his temptations. Just do what Jesus did. Know your Bible as well as he did. Identify both Satan’s traps and the specific passage that will serve as the perfect sword to cut his lies to pieces. Do that, and you too can be victorious! No, no, no. If you walk out of church this morning thinking that Jesus has done nothing more than give us an example to follow, then I’ve failed you miserably. Jesus didn’t enter the battlefield to simply show us how to fight off temptation (although he does show us that the Word of God is our only sure defense) – he came to defeat Satan and temptation for us. Perfect obedience to God while he was near starvation was how Jesus began his work of destroying the devil’s power over us. And, because we have failed so fully and so frequently, he would continue his march all the way to Calvary to pay for our sins himself. Through faith, his perfect obedience is your perfect obedience. That is the victory Jesus fought and died to win for you. That’s why, as you leave here to go back to your personal battlefield, don’t ever give up the fight. Go armed with Scripture, but above all go armed with the knowledge that even though the battle rages on, because Jesus went to war for you, the victory is won! Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:50-57 - The Story of Her Life - Theora Utke Funeral - February 24, 2023

Some people in this world are good at storytelling. Others have lived lives worth telling stories about. But there are a precious few people in this world who are both good at telling stories and have lived lives worthy of telling stories about. As you all know, Theora was one of those precious few. Almost every time I visited Theora over the past several years, she would have a newspaper clipping or a letter she had written or received or a photograph laid out on the kitchen table – just itching to tell me the backstory. She especially loved telling stories about her time on the farm and her travels around the country and across the world and stories about her family – especially her brother Maurice’s involvement in the space program. In fact, the very last time I visited with Theora a few Mondays ago, she couldn’t help but tell me – I think for the 6th or 7th time – about the experience of purchasing seeds from a vendor in Randolph. Theora lived a storybook life and was very good at telling it.

But that’s not why we’re here today. Today we are faced with the fact that the story of Theora’s life on this earth has ended. She won’t be writing or telling any more stories. The question is: why? Why did Theora’s – why do all of our – stories eventually come to an end? Why can’t this flesh and blood…inherit the kingdom of God? The answer is: because all of our stories are bound up in a much bigger story, one that goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. Our stories all eventually end because of how the story of humanity began. God had created two perfect humans named Adam and Eve. He gave them everything they could ever desire – a beautiful garden to live in, living creatures to take care of, all the food they could eat – and, last but not least, he had given them each other. He also gave them one command: do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Tragically, tempted by Satan and lured by the attraction of the forbidden fruit, Eve ate and gave some to Adam to eat. By this single act of rebellion, Adam and Eve brought God’s curse on this world; a curse that would ultimately end in death for Adam and Eve and all of their descendants.

Or as Paul puts it, our bodies and lives and stories all eventually come to an end because the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. Every human’s story comes to an inevitable end because our bodies are contaminated with the genetic disease called original sin – sin which the law of God brings to light. And as Paul says in Romans the wages of sin is death (Roman 6:23). I know it’s not really something we want to think about this morning – but we have to in order to properly understand why we’re here and how it should impact our lives as we leave here – but the hard truth is that Theora was a sinner. She was guilty of breaking all 10 Commandments. She didn’t always fear, love and trust in God above all things. She misused God’s name and failed to pray faithfully. She didn’t always want to go to church or read her Bible. She disobeyed her parents and disrespected others in authority. She held anger in her heart. She wasn’t the perfect wife. She may not have robbed any convenience stores, but, like all of us at one time or another, she was greedy and covetous of things God hadn’t given her. She told her fair share of lies in her 96 years on this earth. And I’m not making that part of Theora’s story up; I’m not slandering her. Every time she came here for worship or I visited her in her apartment over the past 10 years, she admitted as much herself. She confessed that she was by nature sinful and had disobeyed God in her thoughts, words and actions. It’s for those sins that Theora’s earthly story has ended here in this coffin.

Perhaps the most sobering part of any funeral is coming to grips with the fact that our stories will end in a similar fashion – and for the exact same reasons. We inherited a sinful nature from our sinful parents. We have proved it every day by sinning against God and against others in thought, word and action. We have more than earned God’s wrath and deserve nothing less than the curse of death – both now and eternally.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that Theora’s story doesn’t end here – and ours don’t have to either. Why? How? How can these perishable and mortal bodies become imperishable and immortal? Only because of one man’s story, the most important man to ever live: Jesus Christ. Jesus’ life story was different from any other human’s right from the beginning. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary – so that he didn’t inherit the sinful nature that the rest of us are born with (Matthew 1:20). He lived in this same broken, sin-filled world – but he never sinned, he never broke any of God’s 10 Commandments (Hebrews 4:15). And yet, having lived a perfect life as our substitute, Jesus willingly shouldered each and every one of our sins and the sins of the world where he paid for them all with his holy, precious blood by suffering God’s wrath and hell itself in our place (1 Peter 1:19). But then, having buried the sins of the world out of God’s sight and mind forever, Jesus then did the impossible: he broke out of the grave; he rose from the dead! Theora may have had some good stories – but none of them can top Jesus’ story – the story of the Son of God defeating sin, death and the devil once and for all!

Now, you may ask: “What does the life story of a Jewish man who lived and died 2000 years ago have to do with our beloved Theora?” By God’s grace, Theora knew and believed in Jesus’ life story – that by his life, death and resurrection, he had swallowed up death in victory. And through that faith, Jesus’ life story became hers. His life story which had no errors, no sins at all – became Theora’s. The story of Jesus’ shedding his blood on a cross on Calvary cleansed Theora’s story from all the lies and greed and disobedience that were there. Most importantly, the story of Jesus’ glorious resurrection from the dead – imperishable and immortal – is a preview of where Theora’s story will continue: when Jesus calls this body back to life on the Last Day and invites her to join him forever in the glory of heaven. Which means that today doesn’t mark the end of Theora’s story – but the beginning.

Theora believed that – and she demonstrated that faith with both her lips and her life. She clung to the promises God made her in her baptism. She confessed her sins and her faith in Jesus as her Savior from sin. She faithfully attended worship to hear Jesus’ story as long as she was able. She eagerly received Holy Communion in which Jesus gave imperishability and immortality to Theora’s perishable and mortal body through his own body and blood. We can say with absolute certainty that Theora is now living a brand-new story-filled life – one that will never end – in heaven, because through her reception of Word and Sacrament, Jesus made his story hers. It may seem like today is a day of defeat – that the grave has claimed yet another victim. The reality couldn’t be more different. Today is a day of victory – Theora’s victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Today is a day for us to rejoice that Theora’s life story has the happiest ending of all – she is at peace with her Lord in heaven!

In my experience, next to telling stories about her jobs, education, travels, and other life experiences, the thing Theora loved talking about more than anything was you: her family. Every Christmas, she loved to show me the pictures you had sent her and point out who everyone was and what they were up to. You made her an extremely proud mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. At the same time, some of you made her a very anxious mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Why? Because she was well aware that many of you have strayed from Jesus’ story. That you have neglected worship and the Word and Sacrament – the ways in which Jesus’ story – the only story that doesn’t end in eternal death – becomes yours. While it’s nice to be able to reminisce about the stories Theora told and made with you – it was always far more important to her that her loved ones be able to continue writing their stories with her forever in heaven. But for that to happen, you need to continue to write – or perhaps, begin to rewrite – your story starting here and now. You need to continue or resume writing Jesus into your story by receiving his grace and forgiveness through faithful worship and reception of the Word and Sacrament. Because when Jesus’ story becomes yours – just like it was for Theora’s – then you can be certain that you will continue to write your story along with Theora and Jesus in heaven forever.

To the eyes of many, today is a tragic story, a day that has ended in defeat for yet another person – a person we knew and loved. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Today doesn’t mark the last page in Theora’s story – but the beginning of a new chapter that will go on through eternity. Today death is swallowed up in victory – so that we can defiantly and joyfully sing and shout: death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory? And for someone who was so good at telling stories about her story-filled life, there is truly no happier ending. Thanks be to God, who gave Theora and gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.

2 Peter 1:16-21 - The Transfiguration Teaches About the Bible - February 19, 2023

If you ignored my advice and ended up watching the halftime show of the Superbowl last week, then, from the reviews I read and clips I’ve seen, you witnessed a performance the likes of which had never been seen before; a show which at times seemed to defy reality. The main artist (using the term “artist” very loosely) called Rihanna, appeared to float in the air over the field. Dozens, maybe hundreds of dancers flailed their arms and gyrated their hips in remarkable harmony. Lights and fireworks and sound effects combined to overwhelm your senses. If you didn’t see the halftime show last Sunday, you might be a little skeptical, you might think I’m just making it all up – because what I just described seems too unbelievable to be true. Sadly, that is exactly the way many people approach the Bible. They think it’s a nice book of stories, but that it is too incredible, too unbelievable to be true. Today, the apostle Peter makes a somewhat unexpected but extremely important connection between his experience of our Lord’s Transfiguration and our reading of the Bible.

Sowing doubt in God’s Word is the oldest play in the devil’s playbook. He planted that lie right away in the Garden of Eden with his question to Eve “Did God really say?” Skepticism about the truth and validity of Scripture was widespread in Peter’s day and it is still widespread in ours. Peter takes these skeptics head-on: to be sure, we were not following cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the powerful appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Speaking on behalf of all the writers of the New Testament, Peter defends their work, first by establishing that every word in the Bible points to Jesus and that the good news about Jesus is not a myth. It is not a book of morals like Aesop’s fables. It is not just one of the many religions invented by men to help people deal with the problems in their lives. The Bible is about Jesus and Peter and the other apostles were eyewitnesses of his power and divine majesty. They had eaten the food he miraculously provided for the 5000 (John 6:1-14). They sat in the boat as Jesus walked on water and calmed stormy seas with just a word (John 6:15-21). They talked with and even touched Jesus after he had risen from the grave (John 20:19-29). Both courts of law and common sense tell us that the most trustworthy accounts of an event come from eye-witnesses. The Bible is the work of eyewitnesses. It is historical fact not fiction.

So what’s the problem? Why do so many doubt the Bible? Why do we sometimes doubt the Bible? The problem is that many people like the idea of Jesus, but they don’t really like the parts of the Bible that contradict culturally accepted truths about science and history and morality. They may accept the Jesus who was portrayed in commercials last Sunday – as a Jesus who is relevant because he “gets us” [1] – but they also want the right to pick and choose the parts of the Bible they will keep and which they can do without. For many, this means cutting out the miracle accounts. Peter puts an end to this kind of thinking when he describes the Transfiguration: For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from within the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We heard this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.    

Peter witnessed Jesus’ miraculous transfiguration with his own eyes. He saw Jesus clothed in heavenly glory from head to toe – a sight more incredible than anything seen last Sunday at the Superbowl. He saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. He listened as the heavens were ripped open and God identified Jesus as his Son and approved of both the work he had done and was about to do when he left that mountain. And Peter wasn’t alone. James and John were with him. Peter could not have gotten away with telling this story if it wasn’t true. The same goes for the miracle that serves as the foundation of our faith: Jesus’ bodily resurrection from death. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus appeared to no fewer than six different groups or individuals after he returned to life. Jesus walked and talked with his disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), he ate fish and let them touch his resurrected body (Luke 24:36-49), and he appeared in a blinding vision to Paul himself on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). None of that is myth – it is undeniable, historical fact – a fact that even the Jews who killed Jesus couldn’t dispute – but could only try to cover up (Matthew 28:11-15). Despite what other religions teach, despite what the critics of the Bible say, Peter uses the Transfiguration to remind us that the Bible, including every single miracle, is the eyewitness account of true, historical events.

That fact alone would be enough to make the Bible worthy of serious consideration and serious study. But Peter goes on: we also have the completely reliable prophetic word. If eyewitness testimony doesn’t do it for you, Peter says, then do your homework: go back to the Old Testament, search the Scriptures and you will find that nearly every major event contained in the Gospels was foretold hundreds of years before it ever took place. Everyone who knows their Old Testament could verify that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), he would preach in Galilee (Isaiah 49:6), he would be betrayed for precisely 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13), and he would be hung on a cursed tree (Deuteronomy 21:23) – and that only Jesus fulfills all these prophecies. The New Testament is the result of eyewitness testimony, and this testimony in every case agrees with God’s Old Testament prophecies.

The fact that the Bible is true and verifiable, means that you do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts. This really helps us understand the “why” of Jesus’ Transfiguration. Jesus knew what the future held for him. He knew he would soon be suffering at the hands of his enemies and agonizingly dying on a cross. He knew how this would look to his disciples who still expected him to set up a glorious earthly kingdom. He knew they would see his suffering and death as the ultimate defeat. So he gave Peter, James, and John a glimpse of His heavenly glory. He wanted to reassure them that no one; not Judas, not Caiaphas, not Pilate; not even the devil himself could force him to give up his glory, suffer and die. Rather, he would walk to Calvary of his own free will. He would voluntarily give up his power, his glory and his life in order to redeem the world from the clutches of hell. Jesus was transfigured to strengthen his disciples’ faith – to give them one more proof that he was who he claimed to be: the Son of God.

In many ways, the days we live in feel a lot like the last days of Jesus’ life, when it seems like evil is always gaining strength and it doesn’t seem like Jesus can possibly follow through on his promises to take care of us here and now and then to return and take us home. But even these evil days should not surprise us because they are exactly what the Bible predicted. In this same letter, Peter wrote: First, know this: In the last days scoffers will come with their mocking, following their own lusts. They will say, “Where is this promised coming of his? For from the time that our fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have from the beginning of the creation.” …But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: For the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow to do what he promised…Instead, he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-9).

Does it every feel like sin has the upper hand on you? Does it ever seem like the flame of your faith is growing dim? Do you ever feel impatient for Jesus’ return? Keeping the flame of faith brightly lit, holding firm to the hope that might return at any moment is what the Transfiguration is all about. Jesus knows that the world has a way of dragging us down. He, of all people, knows how Satan works to smother our faith every day. He knows how important it is to keep feeding our faith and building up our hope. The Bible is God’s tool for doing just that. (Listen to him (Matthew 17:5) God the Father said!) But we have to be in it, reading it, hearing it preached and taught, paying attention to it so that its light may brighten our lives and invigorate our faith. The world is a dark place – the Greek here is equivalent to “filthy darkness” – but the Bible is God’s flashlight to lead us through, until that glorious day when Jesus – ‘the morning star’ – returns to light the world with his presence. The Bible is factual, eyewitness testimony, it is God’s light in a dark world – use it, let it strengthen your faith and increase your anticipation for our Lord’s return.

Peter closes with a final debate-ending defense of the eternal truth and inerrancy of the Bible. We know this above all else: No prophecy of Scripture comes about from someone’s own interpretation. In fact, no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit. Peter is describing what we call verbal inspiration. Not only is the Bible based on eyewitness testimony, not only does every OT prophecy find its fulfillment in the NT, but God himself – in the person of the Holy Spirit – moved the authors of Scripture to write what they did. The picture here is nautical – the Holy Spirit moved the writers like the wind moves a sailboat. You can be sure that every word – from Genesis to Revelation – came from God himself. And that’s important, especially today when truth seems to be such an unsettled, subjective, constantly changing thing – based on little more than the opinions and theories of so-called “experts.” As Christians, we can be – and we must be! – absolutely certain that our teachings, our doctrines, our faith, and our lives are not based on polling data or political correctness or “what experts say” – but on God’s own truth which never has and never will change. So whether we are talking about abortion or absolution, church or child-raising, evolution or evangelism, life now or life eternal – when we look to Scripture we are being guided by the holy, unchangeable revelation given by God himself.

I’m not sure how many of you watched the Superbowl halftime show last Sunday; and, in my humble opinion, even all the theatrics couldn’t hide the fact that the main performer is not a very talented singer. But today, as we celebrate our Lord’s Transfiguration, Peter reminds us that this miracle and the rest of Scripture are not just a collection of myths and fairy tales. The Bible is so much more than a nice story or a book of morality. The Bible is the account of eyewitnesses, it deserves our full attention, and every word of it is inspired by God himself. Don’t let critics or scientists or Satan mislead you or shake your faith. Instead, cling to the Bible; it is your only sure guide through this dark world. And as we leave this mountain today to descend into the valley of Lent, keep this vision of glory in the back of your mind, for it assures you that Jesus is the Son of God, he is your willing Savior, and one day he will return to take you and me and all believers to be with him in the glory of heaven. Amen.

[1] https://hegetsus.com/en

Matthew 5:21-37 - Jesus Cuts Through the Fake News - February 12, 2023

Have you run into any fake news lately? Fake news is defined as false information or misinformation which is published with the appearance of being authentic, factual news. [1] In spite of social media’s alleged efforts at fighting fake news, every time a new story breaks, two or more competing narratives are created – each one claiming that the rest are just “fake news.” This fake news phenomenon has apparently grown so problematic that a few years ago Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, said that it is “killing people’s minds.” [2] Well, whether Mr. Cook realized it or not, he is simply raising a concern that Jesus first raised over 2000 years ago. Only, Jesus’ concern was not that fake news was killing people’s minds, but that it was damning their souls. As we continue our walk through our Savior’s Sermon on the Mount this morning, Jesus cuts through the fake news that filled the world in his day and ours.

Jesus begins by addressing a prominent fake news headline: You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.’ In quoting Exodus 20, Jesus is not calling the commandment God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai fake news. But over the course of 1500 years, the teachers of Israel had artificially limited the 5th commandment to mean that the only way a person broke it was by literally committing murder. It was this twisted view of the 5th commandment that led the Jewish leaders to believe that, even though they had conspired against Jesus, hunted, arrested, illegally tried, unjustly convicted, and finally handed the Son of God over to Pilate for crucifixion, that they were innocent of his blood and blameless before God.

What have you heard about the issues of life and death lately? Have you noticed that even as the rate of violence and murder have increased dramatically in the past few years, it is most widely reported only when it fits a certain narrative or when a “hate crime” label can be attached? Have you heard people claim that “words are violence” even while the lives of the most helpless in this world (unborn babies) continue to be snuffed out at a horrific rate? Have you heard that the lives of the terminally ill or severely handicapped are not worth living and that it is an act of love to assist their suicide? Aren’t we sometimes tempted to think that God isn’t really concerned about the hatred in our hearts and the loveless words on our lips – or typed by our fingers on social media – as long as we don’t act on them? The world says many things about hatred and murder. So how do you decide which of them are true? The only solution is to turn to a trusted source, to Jesus, and listen as he clarifies God’s will.

But I tell you, Jesus says with divine authority, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’ [3] will have to answer to the Sanhedrin. The teachers of Israel had left out one very important word from their interpretation of the 5th commandment, a word that is sadly lacking from our culture’s definition. You, every part of you, is prohibited from any murderous thought, word, or action. Martin Luther commented in a sermon on these verses: you may find as many ways to kill as you have organs. You may use your hand, your tongue, your heart; you may use signs and gestures; you may use your eyes to look at someone sourly or to begrudge him his life; you may even use your ears if you do not like to hear him mentioned – all this is included in [do not murder] (LW 21:74). The point Jesus wants to drive home is that all hatred, whether it ends in violence or murder or not, is a sin against the 5th commandment. A sin that puts the sinner in danger of hell fire. Yes, the physical act of murder is condemned by God, but so is bullying, abortion, euthanasia, angry social media screeds, reckless driving, vengeful and vindictive attitudes. God looks at the heart and the attitude he demands is one of love, not hate. 

But just as important as understanding what Jesus does mean is understanding what He doesn’t mean. Jesus doesn’t mean that judges and police officers and parents are forbidden from being angry with and punishing those who break the law or rebel against their authority. In fact, the modern theory that convicted criminals shouldn’t be punished due to so-called “social justice” is fake news that directly contradicts God’s definition of justice. [4] Nor does Jesus mean that all taking of life is forbidden: in Romans 13 God explicitly authorizes the government to punish lawbreakers and use the sword to take the lives of capital criminals and enemy combatants: he does not carry the sword without reason. He is God’s servant, a punisher to bring wrath on the wrongdoer (Romans 13:4).

And the teachers of Israel didn’t limit their meddling to the 5th commandment; they also had a corrupted understanding of God’s 6th commandment regarding adultery and divorce. Jews living in Jesus’ day were taught that any filthy thought, word, or action was ok as long as it didn’t end in intercourse. Are we being told anything different today? Isn’t the main discussion of sex in our society based not on whether or not it is right or wrong, but on how anyone should be able to have sex with anyone else as long as they do it safely and responsibly? If you doubt this, visit a health class at any public high school and suggest abstinence as the only form of birth control that is 100% effective at preventing unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (not to mention it is the only form approved by God) – you will be laughed out of the building. And as far as divorce goes, in Jesus’ time, a man could divorce his wife for almost any reason – even if the only reason was that he had found a prettier woman to marry. [5] The societal issue was not whether divorce was right or wrong, but that it should be done properly – that a husband give his wife a document of divorce before sending her on her way (Deuteronomy 24:1). Today, many people don’t even give passing consideration to whether divorce is morally right or wrong, but how to do it properly: so that the possessions are divided fairly, reputations are preserved, and the children and pets are cared for. Consider the source of this fake news: the spiritually dead, unbelieving world which is under Satan’s control (Ephesians 6:11-12). It is not a trustworthy source. For the truth, we must turn to Jesus.

But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Adultery doesn’t begin with the act, Jesus explains, but – as we saw with King David – it begins in the heart. The result is that God not only forbids the adultery that takes place in a shady motel, but the adultery that takes place in front of the computer screen and in the imagination. So what are we to do in a world which plasters smut on billboards and pumps its filth right into our homes? Is Jesus serious about gouging out our eyes and cutting off our hands? Think about it this way: would throwing away an eyeball or hand remove the desire from your heart? No, Jesus wants us to gouge the lust out of our hearts, where every adulterous action originates, through repentance. Then, and only then, have you really removed the offense from God’s eyes. And, when the sinful desire has been removed from the heart, the hand and the eye will follow suit. Even though it is nearly impossible for 21st century Christians to avoid sexual temptation, the new life God has created in us controls even the muscles of our neck and the hand that holds your smartphone. The Christian does not have to look and give in to temptation; he or she can walk away, turn away or exit the website.  

Our unbelieving, godless world is filled with fake news concerning divorce, but Jesus says that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, cause her to be regarded as an adulteress. And whoever marries the divorced woman is regarded as an adulterer. Divorce is never God’s will – and he only allows it after the union has already been broken by adultery or desertion (1 Corinthians 7:15). Marriage as God defines it is a lifelong union between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24). When divorce happens, sin has always been committed and the result is always that the union God intended to last a lifetime is shattered. Divorce is never, ever God’s will. I have heard it said: “it’s not that simple, pastor.” That’s right. In this world, sin has created an ugly mess of marriage and divorce. But according to Jesus (and this is where you have to ignore the world’s fake news) a sinful situation does not change God’s will. God’s will is not situational, it is absolute. Regardless of what the world, our emotions or reason say, Jesus tells us that no one has the right to bend, twist or redefine God’s will regarding marriage to suit difficult circumstances or selfish desires.

Finally, Jesus’ disciples had also heard all sorts of fake news about swearing and taking oaths. Again you have heard that it was said to people long ago, ‘Do not break your oaths, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ Evidently in Jesus’ time people were taught that some oaths were more serious than others. If you swear by the hair on your head, you’re not real serious. If you swear by God, you are absolutely serious. What have you heard about the words and language we use? Have you heard that intentions are more important than words? Have you noticed that a man’s word isn’t what it used to be? Have you ever heard or used the excuse “I know what I said, but that’s not what I meant”? Have you fallen into the habit of using God’s name as an exclamation point rather than to pray, praise, and give thanks? How many of us have stood before God and promised to faithfully conform all [our] lives to the teachings of God’s Word, to be faithful in the use of Word and sacrament, and in faith and action remain true to God as long as [we] live and then later acted as though that confirmation vow meant nothing? We have heard all sorts of things about our use of language, but Jesus says:

Do not swear at all…instead, let your statement be, “Yes, yes,’ or ‘No, no.’ Whatever goes beyond these is from the Evil One. What does this mean? As believers, we know that God is always present and always listening to the words we speak. Therefore, there is no need for a believer to swear in his or her personal life. Believers should be so honest and have such a reputation for integrity that nothing more than a simple yes or no is needed to affirm the words they have spoken and the promises they have made. Anything beyond this only and always comes from the devil, the Father of lies (John 8:44). At the same time, Jesus is not forbidding all oath taking or swearing. Swearing, for example, in a courtroom, at the altar in a marriage vow, even the oath we made when we were confirmed are all appropriate and God-pleasing because they are demanded by him or his earthly representatives.

Jesus has clarified God’s will concerning murder, adultery, divorce, and our use of language. Where does that leave us? Does the phrase “poor, wretched sinner” come to mind? Does mourning over past sins of thought, word and action wrench your soul and constrict your throat? Do regret, pain, and guilt weigh heavily on your heart? Do you realize that you could never live up to the standard God demands? Good, because that means the law has done its job. God hasn’t given us his Law to make us feel good about ourselves or show us the way to heaven – because it’s very clear that it can only lead to the dead end of hell. We have heard the law and the law’s main purpose is to filter out the fake news and clearly show us our sins against God.

But don’t despair, consider once more the source: Even as Jesus was preaching this sermon, he was obeying God’s Law perfectly in our place. He didn’t just talk about the Law; He lived according to it for 33 years. As he teaches us about the holy life God expects from us, he was busy living the only perfect life that could satisfy God’s holy demands – and through faith, his holy life is your holy life. You have heard the law, now look to the cross and hear Jesus say it is finished (John 19:30) – knowing that the “it” was his perfect sacrifice which washes away all of your sins against all of God’s commandments. Ignore the world’s fake news and listen to the real Good News: there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2). Jesus didn’t just come to preach the law; he came to free you from the law’s impossible demands. We are not forgiven because we keep God’s commands; we want to keep God’s commands because he has already forgiven us. Because of what Jesus has done for you, you can go in peace. Go back to your life as Jesus’ disciple, go out to salt the earth and light the world with the real news of law and gospel. Don’t let the fake news spread by the world and the devil or created by your reason or your feelings define right and wrong. Listen to your Savior – he’s the only one with the real, and really good news. Amen. 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_news

[2] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/02/10/fake-news-killing-peoples-minds-says-apple-boss-tim-cook/

[3] Raca was an insulting name in Aramaic, which meant something like numbskull or empty-head.

[4] Proverbs 24:23-25 - To show partiality when administering justice is not good. 24If anyone says to a guilty person, “You are innocent,” people will curse him. Nations will denounce him. 25However, it will be pleasant for those who convict the guilty. A wonderful blessing will come upon them.

[5] https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Gittin.9.10?lang=bi

1 Peter 2:9-12 - Your Christian Identity - February 5, 2023

You’ve no doubt noticed that something every generation since the beginning of time has taken for granted – that there are only two genders and you are either one or the other – has become one of the main targets of the relativistic, subjective, postmodern spirit of our age. (And I use the term “spirit” intentionally, because it is clearly a manifestation of the work of hell’s evil spirits (Ephesians 6:12)). At issue is whether gender is an objective biological fact or a subjective psychological or emotional opinion. The result has been a nationwide identity crisis: there’s a crisis over which bathroom or locker room or which athletic event or even which pronouns apply to a person. And yet, as troubling as those things are (especially when they are forced into the minds of young and impressionable children), they are only symptoms of a deeper problem. They are symptomatic of a world that is alienated from God and lost in the darkness of sin and unbelief searching for personal identity and purpose. This shouldn’t surprise us. Identity is important – it’s who you are. So…who are you? How do you identify yourself? Male, female, son, daughter, father, mother, white, black, rich, poor, high school dropout or college graduate, employed, employer, jobless, retired, Republican, Democrat, Independent…the world demands that you identify yourself according to these categories. Is that really all we are? The sum total of our feelings, our body parts, our skin color and politics? Not according to God. This morning Peter helps us to define and understand our Christian identity.

At the center of this identity debate is the battle between objectivity and subjectivity. Our society, in large part, has elevated subjectivity over objectivity. For example, I am free to identify myself as a Caucasian, heterosexual, monogamous, Christian male – not because those are objective realities, but because that’s just how I choose to self-identify – and I can change it tomorrow if I want. It’s dangerously absurd. But not as dangerous as those who claim the right to self-identify before God – and demand that he accept it. There are obvious examples: the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons – cults who have hijacked the name of Christian while denying Jesus’ identity as God and Savior – which is the central doctrine of Christianity. But there are more subtle examples too. People who attend church but secretly idolize power or popularity or wealth. People who claim to be Christian and yet don’t faithfully attend worship. And, maybe most humbling of all, people who claim to be Christian and yet by word and deed join St. Augustine in his honest but unbelieving prayer: Lord, make me good…but not yet. [1] There is a theological and logical fallacy behind these claims. It is the lie that creatures can claim an identity different from that given them by their Creator. That was the lie that led to Satan’s fall from heaven, Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden, Israel’s fall into destruction, and countless Christians’ fall from faith. We creatures don’t have the right or authority to identify ourselves before God. Only God can truly and objectively identify us. And he only has two categories.

Peter spells them out: At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy. There was a time when we had no identity before God. We were less than nothing in his eyes. We not only didn’t deserve his favor and love, we deserved only his wrath and punishment (Ephesians 2:3). We didn’t possess citizenship in his kingdom or membership in his family. We could assert every imaginable claim, we could grumble and protest – but none of it could change the fact that by nature we were not God’s people, we were not entitled to his mercy, we could not call on him in prayer, live a life pleasing to him, or hope to live forever with him in heaven. We were lost, dead, and blind; doomed to a meaningless life on earth and imprisonment in hell forever. By nature, damned sinner is the only identity we own. That’s the real identity crisis everyone faces.

What changed? What happened? Did we somehow make a choice or change our clothes or hair or have some surgery to change our identity? No. What happened was that little word “but.” Did you notice it there 3 times in verses 9 and 10? But, but, but. What stands behind that but? God. God happened. God changed us. He didn’t just change our label, he changed our hearts and, as a result, our lives. He called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light. Peter explained this in the beginning of this letter, where he addressed the elect, temporary residents in the world…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:1-2).

Whether you can pinpoint the precise moment this change occurred is not important. The important thing is acknowledging who is behind this change, this conversion. God chose you. The Spirit sanctified you – setting you apart from the rest of the godless, unbelieving world (1 Corinthians 12:3). Obedience to Christ, which is just another term for faith, was planted in your heart through the water and Word of baptism. Having been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, your old identity – along with all its sinful desires, words and actions – has been stripped off and thrown away. While once we were like refugees standing outside God’s kingdom carrying only our dirty, worthless, sinful rags as identification, we now stand before God clothed in the perfect robes of Christ with Baptism as proof of our identity. We are God’s people. Not because we have earned it, but only because we have received his mercy.  

Now, that might sound a little abstract. What does it mean to be God’s people? Peter explains: you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession. You are a chosen people. Our world condemns discrimination. God practices it. Out of 8 billion people, God chose you. And unlike the world’s identity groups this choice wasn’t based on your birthplace, gender, skin color, or politics. Look around at the proof. God has chosen men and women, married people and single people, those who never went to college and those who have received their doctorates, white and black, nurses, mechanics and artists, young and old. The Christian church is the most diverse organization in the world. And yet none of those things played a factor in God’s decision to choose you, Jesus’ decision to die for you, or the Spirit’s decision to bring you to faith, keep you in the faith and give you the hope of everlasting life. In a world that divides people along lines of race, gender, and social status – God unites us under one banner: undeserving sinners chosen by God, saved by Jesus and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

You are a royal priesthood. In the OT, the only people who could properly, personally approach and serve God were the descendants of Aaron, members of the designated priestly family (Exodus 28:1). If you wanted to pray, you had to go through them. If you wanted to offer a sacrifice, they had to offer it on your behalf. But in the NT, God threw out that rule book. You don’t need a priest to pray for you, you can pray directly to God through Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). You don’t need the blood of a lamb or a black robe or an altar to serve God – your life is a living sacrifice and the world is your temple (Romans 12:1). Wherever you go and whatever you do – even eating and drinking – you do it as a royal priest (1 Corinthians 10:31).

You are a holy nation. Holy? Really? Here’s where that dispute between subjective feelings and the objective reality come into conflict in our hearts and minds. Do you feel holy? Didn’t we just self-identify ourselves as natural born sinners, disobedient in thought, word and action? Don’t the devil, the world and our own consciences condemn us? Yes. And so subjectively, we don’t feel holy. But according to Peter, you are objectively holy, in two senses. You have been set apart from the sinful world as a nation special to God. And, second, through faith in Jesus your sins have been washed away. It is finished (John 19:30) applies to your sins and your forgiveness. Don’t listen to what anyone else says – not even your own conscience. God has declared you to be holy and so holy is what you are – right here, right now.

Finally, you are the people who are God’s own possession. That brings us full-circle. Humans have an inherent need to belong. We want to belong to our families, our group of friends – and when that doesn’t satisfy – Facebook groups and political groups and groups marching in the streets. But whenever you turn on the TV or scroll through social media you see the hopelessness, helplessness and confusion that results from belonging to the groups the world creates. Kids will change their pronouns and even undergo unnecessary surgery just to fit in. So don’t. Don’t identify yourself according to the world’s categories. You belong to God. Whatever else you might be, you are first and foremost a Christian. No one can take that from you. That is your identity. Know it. Believe it. Cherish it.

And then…live it. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul. Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us. One of the greatest lies that Satan has sown in the church is that once you become a Christian, the struggle is over. Peter says just the opposite. Becoming a Christian isn’t the end of the struggle, it’s the beginning. God made us Christians, now we are to live as Christians. Christians who strive to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh and instead live…honorable [lives]. This means war. And the fiercest and longest struggle is not against the unbelieving world but right here, in our own hearts – it is a war against the person we see in the mirror. The sinful nature doesn’t want to belong to God – it wants to be its own god. And the way it rebels is by leading us to live and believe everything that is contrary to God. In other words, it tempts us to sin. Now we may argue: “I can’t stop sinful desires from popping up in my heart and head – especially in this godless world.” True. No one is denying that. Martin Luther compared sinful desires to birds: “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest there” (LW 42:73). You won’t be free from sinful desires until God stops that sinful heart of yours from beating. But that’s not an excuse for giving in to them. Remember who you are! Remember what Jesus died to make you and give you! You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And, when you fail – and you will! – come back to the cross, come to his holy Supper, drop your sins at Jesus’ feet in confession and leave forgiven, refreshed and strengthened to continue to struggle.

But, be warned. When you do that, people will notice. The world, which struggles with its own identity, will recognize and mark you as an alien, a stranger in their darkness. It will hate you and persecute because you don’t join in their evil ways (1 Peter 4:4). Don’t be surprised by it. Embrace it as evidence of your true identity. And, know that this honorable life that Peter refers to is not some set of special, heroic good works. He’s not calling us to solve poverty or end violence or leave our homes and families to dig wells in third world countries. He’s talking about living as a Christian in your average, every day, normal life. If you read the rest of his letter, you’ll understand what Peter is talking about: quiet submission to governing authorities (1 Peter 2:13-17). Respect for employers and supervisors, even the bad ones (1 Peter 2:18-25). Honoring marriage – whether married or single – and living our gender in a way that glorifies God (1 Peter 3:1-7). And, in general, carrying out whatever role God has given you in life: child or parent, husband or wife, employer or employee (1 Peter 3:8-12). Even things as simple as changing the dirty diaper, taking the time to instruct and discipline your children, and patiently putting up with your spouse’s irritating habits and forgiving their sins – all are offerings God welcomes from his chosen people. But remember why you do it. It’s not so that the world may see your good deeds and glorify you. It is so that the world may observe your noble deeds and glorify God. Your quiet, moral life may lead your unbelieving neighbor to ask you why you live the way you do (and what a great opportunity to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness!) – but it may not. Either way, in this life or on Judgment Day they will join us in giving glory to God. (They won’t have any choice (Philippians 2:10)). And for us, there is no higher calling and purpose in life.

Our world appears to be suffering from a severe identity crisis. It’s sad but it’s not all that surprising – apart from God you don’t have an identity and you can’t find one anyone else. But by God’s grace you know better; you know who you are; you are so much more than your body parts and accomplishments and politics. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession. From your baptism to your grave you are a Christian. And wherever life leads you, you have a purpose: to proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Amen.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo

Matthew 5:1-12 - You Are Unconventionally Blessed - January 29, 2023

Have you ever found yourself “blessed” in a way that you or maybe the world at large doesn’t normally consider a blessing? I wouldn’t dare to suggest that things like having red hair or being taller or shorter than average are unconventional blessings – because I don’t want to get myself in trouble. In time you may come to see how these things are indeed blessings from God, but still, they remain unconventional blessings. They make you unique, special – they often lead to both unique challenges and opportunities. At first glance, that’s how we might see our Lord’s blessings in the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are the poor, who mourn, who are gentle, who hunger and thirst, who are merciful, who are persecuted and insulted. You’re blessed if this describes you? Really? That’s, by definition, unconventional. Dictionaries define unconventional as “not based on or conforming to what is generally done or believed.” [1] As we receive our Lord’s blessing this morning, we will grow in our appreciation of our blessed status before God, especially because it seems so unconventional and backwards to the world.

Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount: Blessed. In Greek, makarios. It’s not an emotion. It’s not “being happy.” It’s not jumping up and down for joy. It’s a condition, an umbrella under which you live. You are blessed, Jesus says to his disciples, and he repeats this word 9 times, each time looking at it from a different angle – like turning a diamond to view its different facets. The first four relate to our relationship with God. Blessed are the poor in spirit…those who mourn…the gentle…those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Ah, but that’s not what the devil or the world or your flesh want you to believe. Even more troubling and disgusting, that’s not what many Christian churches teach. Their message is the opposite. Blessed are the rich in spirit, the glad and the happy, the strong and powerful. That’s the conventional message, isn’t it? That’s the central message of every religion other than orthodox Christianity. The whole point of God is to use him to become a winner. Placing your trust in God is like hiring a consultant to improve your life. God is only useful if he helps you get your life in order, maximize your potential, raise your self-esteem, help you be all that you can be.

That’s conventional. Follow the rules and God will reward you. Believe in Jesus hard enough, give enough, “name it and claim enough big things” – and it can all be yours: health, wealth, happiness, love. After all, it worked for the mega-pastor on the stage, didn’t it? He’s the picture of success. Expensive suit, luxury car, pretty wife, private jet; squeaky clean, honor roll kids. The message is clear even if no one says it out loud: God is on the side of winners. The NFL conference championships are today. Isn’t it funny how God will only be found on the side of the winning team? “I’d like to thank God for helping me make that game-winning catch or last second field goal.” You never hear anyone say “I’d like to thank God that I missed the tackle that could have sealed the game; for allowing me to drop the game-winning catch.” But humanly speaking, it seems like those are the blessings Jesus is giving us today.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. Not financially poor; but poor in spirit. The spiritually bankrupt. Blessed are those who recognize that they have nothing to offer God but their sin and guilt, their messed-up lives, their broken hearts, their dysfunctional marriages and families. Blessed are those who understand that they can’t please God. Blessed are those who realize they haven’t kept a single commandment perfectly. Blessed are those who, like the tax collector in the temple, can’t even lift their eyes to heaven but beat their breasts and can say nothing but God, be merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:13).

Blessed are those who mourn. We saw a nation (or at least a football stadium) in mourning just a couple weeks ago, didn’t we? Mourning – and praying – after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin literally dropped dead on the field (praise God for the people and technologies that brought him back to life). In a broader sense, you mourn when someone has died. Blessed are those who experience the pain of death? Yes. Those who weep over the awful results of sin in their lives and the lives of others – up to and including death. Why? Why is a grieving person blessed? Well, consider this: when is person most likely to seek out the kind of comfort that can’t be found anywhere else but in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus? When everything is going great in their lives? When their career is on cruise control and their families are perfectly Instagram worthy? No. It’s when sin intrudes and ruins everything; when they are grieving the effects of sin, then they are ready for the Gospel, then they are prepared – like soil that is plowed up and turned over (Matthew 13:8) – to be comforted. Blessed are you when you mourn and repent of your sins, for then the comfort of the Gospel is yours!

Blessed are the gentle. No, that’s not the way it is. Blessed are those who rant and rave in order to get their way and their expectations met. Jesus’ logic is obviously backwards, isn’t it? If you want the world to be your oyster, you’ve got to squeeze it; demand your rights to it; trample others to get it. But Jesus says that you get the earth by inheritance, as a gift. It’s so unconventional. It cuts against the grain, the way we run our lives. We want to be strong, in charge, in control. Gentle? When have the gentle ever won?

Well, if you’re here it’s because you believe that Jesus is the ultimate winner – and he was not only gentle, he wore it as a badge of honor. Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29). Jesus is gentle – and that’s where his strength lies. It’s the unconventional kind of strength – strength that turns the other cheek (Matthew 5:39), that asks his Father to forgive his executioners (Luke 23:34), that lays down his life for his enemies (John 15:13). And this is the first hint we need to properly interpret these Beatitudes: these blessings are first and foremost about Jesus. None of these blessings are ours by nature. But they describe Jesus perfectly. And through faith we receive these blessings that rightly belong to him.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. No, it’s not just having a growling belly or a parched throat. You can fill yourself with food and drink – and many of us will today when we leave here. But you can’t fill yourself with righteousness. You can’t make yourself holy. Oh, you can do outwardly righteous things, you can post all sorts of politically correct messages on social media, but you can’t make yourself righteous. You can’t cleanse your own heart or your own past. We are only blessed when we hunger and thirst for a righteousness that is not our own. When we hunger and thirst for Jesus, as Paul says God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). What we hunger and thirst for as sinners, what man-made religions and philosophies and virtue signalers are really looking for – even though they don’t know it – can only be found in Jesus. He’s the only one who can fill us with the righteousness we crave.

The next five beatitudes turn us to others. To our relationship with our spouse, children, parents, neighbors, etc. Blessed are the merciful. Those who love the unlovable, who take time for their enemies, who set aside their goals and dreams for their spouse, their children, their fellow believers. Do you know what the most important expression of mercy is? Especially in marriage, in the family, in the church? Forgiveness! As we pray forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us (Matthew 6:9-13). God has shown mercy to you, by not punishing you as your sins deserve (Psalm 103:10). How could you not reflect his mercy to others – not holding grudges, not demanding a pound of flesh, not waiting for a chance to get revenge? Only believers can understand this verse. Unbelievers cannot understand mercy…not really. When unbelievers are wronged, they seek vengeance, they protest, they riot. Why? Because only the forgiven can be forgiving. Only those who know God’s mercy in Christ can be merciful to others.

Blessed are the pure in heart. “Ignorance is bliss,” it’s been said. Is that true? In this verse it is. To be ignorant, unfamiliar with evil is to be blessed. The person who leads a “Leave it to Beaver”, sheltered lifestyle is blessed by their distance from evil. That’s unconventional. I’ve heard parents say that they don’t want to send their child to a Lutheran school because they don’t want them to be sheltered and naïve to the evil of the world. What sense does that make? What parent would say “I want my child to drink spoiled milk because I don’t want to shelter them from toxins”? At the same time who can claim such purity? Proverbs asks who can say, “I have purified my heart. I am cleansed from my sinfulness” (Proverbs 20:9)? I can’t. Can you? Well, yes. Yes, you can, but not on your own. On your own all that comes out of your heart are evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and blasphemies (Matthew 15:19). But the blood of Jesus has purified your heart (1 John 1:7).

Blessed are the peacemakers. This isn’t an inner peace; this is making peace, bringing it to others. They shall be called sons of God. Why? Because they are chips off the old block; clones of God’s only-begotten Son, Jesus. But that’s not who we are by nature, is it? Who wants to get in the middle of a fight between coworkers? Who wants to step into the breech between the couple whose marriage is on the rocks? Who wants to mediate between fellow church members who are quarreling? You know what’s likely to happen if you do that, right? Some of that anger will get turned on you. Yep, but you do it anyway – because that’s what Jesus did. He stepped into the breech between God and us and we crucified him and God abandoned him to hell. But by his death he brought you peace (Romans 5:1).

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. There are two important qualifiers in there: 1) blessed are you. You the disciple. You the baptized believer. This does not apply to unbelievers. And 2) because of me. Because of Jesus. You’re not blessed when people insult you because of your political beliefs, because of the football team you cheer for, or because you post something foolish or offensive on social media. You are blessed when you are insulted because you speak the truth of God’s Word to the world’s lies about abortion and sexuality and gender identity. You are blessed when you confess the true God as the one who will graciously take believers to heaven for Christ’s sake and will send unbelievers to hell – even though many today mock such beliefs. [2] When those things happen – and they will happen – don’t be sad; rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven! When you face that kind of persecution for the name of Jesus, you are following in the footsteps of Moses, David, Peter and Paul – footsteps that lead to heaven!

These are unconventional blessings, aren’t they? They turn our whole world upside down. Why should we risk living in such an unconventional way? It’s not because by doing so we earn our reward in heaven. That’s conventional thinking. We risk living this way because our reward is already safe and sound in heaven. Remember, these beatitudes are first and foremost about Jesus. He is the one from whom all blessings flow. He is the One who became poor to make us rich. He is the one who left the glory of heaven to mourn with us in our sin. He is the gentle one, the one who turned the other cheek, who went as a Lamb to the slaughter. He hungered and thirsted for our righteousness, and by his body and blood shed on the cross we are filled. His mercy knows no bounds. His heart is pure. He is the peacemaker, the One who brought peace between God and us by bleeding and dying. He is the one this world can’t help but persecute, who is hated to this day despite the fact that he died 2000 years ago.

Jesus is the Blessed One described in these verses. And because you are baptized into him, so are you (Romans 6:1-4). These are not commands. This is not a “to-do” list. This is who you are through faith in Jesus. You are richly, if unconventionally, blessed! Rejoice and be glad! Amen.  

[1]https://www.google.com/search?q=unconventional+definition&oq=unconventional+definition&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l7.4477j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[2] https://people.com/sports/aaron-rodgers-opens-up-about-religion-to-danica-patrick-i-dont-know-how-you-can-believe-in-a-god/

Matthew 4:12-17 - The Light Has Dawned - January 22, 2023

How did you feel this past Monday? Was it harder to get out of bed and get going than normal? Did the gray skies and rain clouds make you feel like just staying under the covers? Were you a little gloomy and depressed? Did you know you were supposed to be? This past Monday, January 16th, was labeled by some in the media as Blue Monday. In 2004, a British professor named Cliff Arnall, developed a formula for predicting the most depressing day of the year based on factors including weather, debt, and failed New Year’s resolutions. According to him, “Credit card bills are a big problem after Christmas. Snow, ice and floods are causing worries, and many feel a lack of motivation.” Also, “The deaths of so many…has also worried people by reminding them of their own mortality.” [1] Well, even if you weren’t depressed last Monday – you might be now. While Blue Monday was originally nothing more than a pseudoscientific marketing stunt intended to drum up business for travel agencies and tropical resorts, it contains an element of truth, doesn’t it? Our world and our lives are covered in a blanket of darkness and depression – and not just on the third Monday in January. For that and many more reasons, it is good for us to be here because in this world of darkness, the Light has Dawned.

The circumstances surrounding the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry did not seem to suggest that he came to bring light. First, his ministry began in earnest only after he heard that John was put in prison. John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the OT prophets (Matthew 11:11), had been imprisoned by Herod for having the guts to point out that he was sinning by taking his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his own (Matthew 14:3-5). A year later, John would be beheaded by Herod as part of a foolish oath he had sworn to Herodias’ daughter (Mark 6:14-29). Dark. Gloomy. Depressing.

Second, the place where Jesus chose to begin his ministry was not exactly the proverbial shining city on a hill. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. He did this to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.” Before Palestine became a territory of the Roman Empire, the northern region of Israel was known as Zebulun and Naphtali – named after Jacob’s sons and their extended families who had settled there. This was not a place you would choose to live if you had a choice. For two reasons. First, Galilee was a military “no-man’s land.” Whenever a foreign invader from the north set its sights on Israel, they came through Galilee. The landscape and people of Galilee bore the scars of centuries of invasions. Second, after God had handed over the 10 Northern tribes to Assyria in 722 BC, Galilee was partially repopulated with foreigners from other countries. From the perspective of the Jews, Galilee was not only filled with “illegal” immigrants, it was filled with unbelievers who brought their immorality and idolatry into the Promised Land. I suppose if, instead of single-family homes, the development outside those doors was designated as a camp for poor, desperate, idolatrous Muslim refugees from Afghanistan, we might begin to have an idea of Galilee’s population and reputation. Galilee was a place of deep darkness, socially, politically and spiritually. And yet this was where Jesus decided to set up his home base and begin his ministry.

Why? Why wouldn’t Jesus start his ministry in a place like Jerusalem, where the Temple was, where the teachers were, where the rich and powerful were, where he would have the best chance of finding outwardly good, obedient, righteous Jews? Because, as Isaiah had prophesied 700 years earlier, Jesus came to shine the light of God’s grace in the darkest – and, most unexpected – of places. The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and on those dwelling in the region and the shadow of death a light has dawned. As Jesus would make explicit later: I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13). So that’s what he did. He went right into the heart of darkness. He went to the people who were the most hopeless, whose spiritual lives were the most messed up, who were suffering with various diseases and suffering severe pains, the demon-possessed, those who experience seizures, and the paralyzed. Then he healed them (Matthew 4:24). Jesus made his primary mission to visit those who didn’t know God, didn’t know the way to God and had no hope that God could or would ever have compassion on them.

This is still how Jesus operates today. The lighthouse of his church, which revolves around the Word and Sacraments don’t exist for those who have life all figured out, to those who are happy and healthy and wealthy; his compassion and forgiveness are not for those who don’t want it and don’t think they need it. Jesus still comes to those who feel like they’re blindly stumbling through life, who don’t feel happy or healthy or successful, to those who are hopeless, helpless, and on the verge of despair. Practically speaking, those who think the church is only for “good” people, don’t understand who Jesus is or what the Gospel message is all about. The Christian church, this Christian church, is not for “good”, righteous, perfect people. If you’re one of those, or if you think you are, you might as well leave now, because we have nothing to offer you. Jesus comes exclusively to people who are broken, people who are wandering in the fog of doubt and uncertainty, people who feel left out, alone, and abandoned, people who are suffering physically, financially, spiritually.

The parents who bring their babies here to be baptized do so because they recognize that their baby inherited more than their brown eyes or larger than average feet, they inherited original sin and therefore a death sentence in God’s courtroom. The Absolution is not for good, righteous people, but for confessed, convicted sinners. Holy Communion is not for the best of the best, but for the self-confessed worst of the worst. Jesus didn’t come to shine light in a bright place. He came to shine light into the darkest places. And, if you’re like me, this makes you very happy, because even if we don’t look it and no one would guess it, we know that darkness surrounds each one of us. If you are broken, despairing, depressed, if you’ve messed up life so badly that you don’t think you can ever put it back together, if you feel like you’re just wandering through life without aim or purpose, if you know that you need more than a handout and a piece of advice – you know that you need a Savior – rejoice, because a Light has Dawned in the most unexpected of places – Jesus is here for you.

In that unexpected place, he proclaims an unexpected message. Dr. Arnall, the guy behind Blue Monday, suggested some ways people could cheer themselves up. He writes “the easiest way to be happy is spending more time with people who love you and like you as you are…Use Blue Monday as a springboard for change, whether it is to lose weight, stop smoking, embark on a dream or change jobs. Make the most of your life and live it to the full.” Isn’t that typical of the world’s advice to those who are desperate and struggling? If people disapprove of your sinful lifestyle – go find people who will accept you just the way you are. If you’re unhealthy, start watching your diet, get a gym membership and a good pair of running shoes – and get out there and win your health back. If you’re addicted to drugs or alcohol, follow these 12 steps to recovery. If you’re lost and hopeless, dream big and chase that dream. If your marriage or family are broken, read this book to fix it or, alternatively, just abandon it and start over with someone else. Look inside. Believe in yourself. You. You. You. Do. Do. Do.

There’s only one problem with that line of thinking – if you truly are lost and wandering in darkness (no matter what kind of darkness it is) – you know that the worst part is that you can’t find your own way out. You know that the biggest problem isn’t some outside factor, temptation, or situation – the problem is far more serious, far deeper – the problem is right in here, our own sinful hearts. No outside factor can make you unhealthy, addictive, lazy, unfaithful, or hopeless. The darkness we see in our world is just a visible manifestation of the darkness that lives in every human heart – including in our hearts. So telling you to find hope and light in yourself is like telling a blind man to try really hard to see – it just leads to greater darkness. That’s why, when Jesus steps in to bring light, his message is dramatically and unexpectedly different from anything the world can offer.

Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near, he preaches. The light Jesus shines into the darkness has two parts: the first is repentance. The basic meaning of repentance is to turn or return. With this call to repentance Jesus is taking off the blindfold, showing us the reality and leading us to confess the truth – the truth that by and large, the darkness in our lives don’t come from the outside, but from within. Jesus came to shine the focused light of God’s truth which dispels our dark tendency to blame our problems on the weather, on the political atmosphere, on a difficult set of circumstances, on any physiological or psychological factor or on other people. The source of darkness is not out there. It’s in here (Mark 7:1-23). And secondly, he wants us to turn from the idea that we can escape the darkness ourselves, that we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, that we can make the desperation and despair go away if we just try hard enough. We can’t. That’s what Jesus shows us by leading us to repentance with the mirror of the Law. That’s what Jesus wants us to see. That’s what Jesus, our God and Savior, wants us to confess. That’s his call to repentance. That’s unexpected.

But not as unexpected as the second part. The kingdom of heaven is near. Sin has a tendency to put us in a sick, self-destructive cycle. I sin because I’m a sinner so I’m going to keep on sinning. The world’s solutions to that destructive cycle are, at best, temporary therapies that do little more than mask the real problem. 12 step programs might change behavior but they can’t change the heart. Medications and therapy treat the symptoms but they can’t do anything about the source. Surrounding ourselves with people who accept us just the way we are might make us feel good but it doesn’t make us good in the eyes of God. The remarkable news, the light that Jesus has come to shine into hearts stuck in the cycle of sin is that he has come to heal, to fix, to solve the source of all our problems – he has come to bring the light of God’s forgiving grace into our sin-darkened hearts. It’s not that he ignores our sin. It’s not that he’s unaware of how ugly we are on the inside. The unexpected message is that God knows exactly who we are and loves us anyway. He comes to us, not because we’re good, but because we’re not.

He loves us so much that he sent the Light of his life, his Son, to live among us. Jesus was born like us, grew like us, endured the darkness of temptation and loneliness and depression in this world like us. And the fact that of all places Jesus began his ministry among the people of Zebulun and Naphtali should assure you that he doesn’t care how dark your life is, he doesn’t care how much sin he will find, he isn’t afraid to wade into the worst situation because his mission is to remove every last remnant of that darkness from your heart and life. He doesn’t tell you to trust yourself or be a better you. He doesn’t tell you to clean up your act and then he will love you. He tells you to trust him and believe that his blood has scrubbed every last drop of sin from your heart and that you are now wearing the bright white robe of his innocence. Jesus didn’t come to tell you or show you how to beat the darkness of sin, death and the devil yourself, he came to defeat the darkness and save you from it forever. And that is exactly what he has done. On the cross he swallowed the darkness of sin and the shadow of death and on Easter morning the blazing light of his resurrection destroyed their power forever. That’s the only light that pierces the darkness of this world and our hearts; the only solution that crushes the power of death and can break the cycle of sin in our lives. That’s the unexpected message Jesus came to bring and continues to proclaim through his Church still today.

I’d like to be able to tell you that spring will be here tomorrow. That the darkness of winter will soon be over. I’d like to be able to tell you that because you cling to Jesus in faith, all your problems will go away. But I can’t. All the conditions that Dr. Cliff Arnall described as causing Blue Monday – the weather, the bills, the failed resolutions, all the other problems – will still be there. But in this dark world – a world of sin, a world of death, a world of people like us – a Light Has Dawned. Jesus has come to shed light in the most unexpected places – our own sin-darkened, hopeless, helpless hearts; with an unexpected message – God has forgiven all our sins and promised to take us to live in his glorious light forever. May the brilliant light of God’s grace in Jesus brighten every aspect of your life this week. Amen.

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/01/15/blue-monday-2017-could-bluest-ever-says-expert-behind-equation/

John 1:29-41 - Look, the Lamb of God - January 15, 2023

The bad news is that the Packer’s season is over. The worse news is that now we have to endure months and months of speculation over whether Aaron Rodgers will return next season. But there is good news: the church’s season is not over – far from it! We are in the season of Epiphany. Epiphany means the appearing or revealing of something that we could never have discovered on our own; something that could only be known by divine revelation. For example, we could never have known that the baby born in Bethlehem was born to be our Savior, the Savior of the Gentiles, too – if God hadn’t revealed it through the example of the Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-13). We could never understand, much less believe things like where this world came from or where we go when we die unless God revealed them to us. The same is true of the phrase – or more fitting, the title of Jesus – at the center of our text: the Lamb of God. If the Holy Spirit hasn’t granted you knowledge and insight through the Word, this title would make about as much sense as if I were to point at you and call you a cow, a pig, or any other barnyard animal. But there’s a good reason that we sing or speak this title nearly every single week in worship. This title is a summary of the heart of Christianity.

As we catch up with John the Baptist, still preaching and baptizing in Bethany beyond the Jordan (John 1:28), he found himself under hostile interrogation by some men from Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders were jealous of this wilderness prophet’s popularity, so they sent some priests and Levites (the Jewish religious lawyers) to attack his character in order to discredit his message (this political smear tactic we see employed so often today is nothing new!). “Are you the Christ? Or Elijah? Or one of the other great OT prophets raised from the dead?” they demanded (John 1:25). In other words: who or what gives you the right to baptize and preach? It’s helpful to note how John responded to this attack, because it guides us when people question or criticize Christianity today. John didn’t take these accusations personally; he didn’t get offended or angry. Instead, he did what every Christian should do when questioned about their faith: He pointed to Jesus. In John’s case, he simply made it clear that whether you like me or respect me or not is irrelevant – but the one who is coming after me, He’s the one you need to listen to and believe (John 1:26-27). John knew that his ministry was not about him but Jesus. And the next day, He had the opportunity to do more than merely talk about Jesus.

The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because he existed before me.’ I myself did not know who he was, but I came baptizing with water so that he would be revealed to Israel.” Now, Jesus and John were cousins, so it’s fair to ask: “how can John say that he didn’t know him?” Here’s where that idea of Epiphany or divine revealing comes in to play: John certainly knew Jesus, but he didn’t know Jesus’ true identity or what he had come to do. Nor could he, because Jesus’ true identity and purpose were cloaked in humility under flesh and blood. Only when God the Father spoke from heaven and the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove at his baptism, were John’s eyes opened (John 1:32-34). In that moment God revealed to John that this man, his younger cousin, was no less than the Son of God, who John later pointed to and further identified as the Lamb of God.

Which brings us back to our original question: why did John call him a Lamb? Why not the Messiah or the Christ or the Savior? Understanding this requires a short OT history lesson. While worship for us in the New Testament revolves around four basic elements: God’s Word and water, bread and wine; worship for God’s Old Testament people revolved around the bloody sacrifice of animals – especially lambs. God foreshadowed this practice already in the Garden of Eden when he slaughtered an animal to cover Adam and Eve’s naked shame after the Fall (Genesis 3:21), but it didn’t become the formal focus of Israel’s worship until after the Exodus, when the Angel of the Lord passed through the city, killing all the Egyptian first-born sons, while sparing the Israelites who had painted their doorposts with the blood of thousands of lambs (Exodus 12:1-13). This occasion, known as Passover, was to be an annual festival for the Israelites – when they would recall God’s miraculous redemption by eating bread without yeast and roasted lamb. In addition to the annual Passover festival, each day two lambs were sacrificed in the temple (Exodus 29:38-39). These daily sacrifices alone would amount to over 700 lambs sacrificed in Israel each year. This type of bloody, sacrificial worship might seem cruel and even offensive to people today, but God designed this system of sacrifice to send a very clear message: sin is serious. Sin must be paid for – and the cost is death (Leviticus 17:11; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:22). Either we must die or someone or something must die in our place, as our substitute.

That’s what makes the title, Lamb of God, so important. Jesus has taken every ounce of the guilt that drips from our hearts and lives, and the threat of eternal punishment that guilt deserves and put it on his own shoulders. This is the meaning behind the festival of Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – when the high priest would lay his bloody hands on the head of a goat, known as the scapegoat – and lay the sins of the people on him and send him into the desert – never to be seen again (Leviticus 16). Every time you hear, sing, or think about Jesus as the Lamb of God – as we will sing in the Agnus Dei right before Communion – that’s what you should be picturing. Picture God lifting the burden of sin and guilt off of your shoulders and placing it – and the sin of the whole world – on Jesus. This is the essence of the Gospel – God sacrificed his own Son in our place. We deserved to die forever in hell, but Jesus did it for us.

And…you’re all still just sitting there. I just announced that Jesus died in your place, to give you eternal life – and no one is clapping, no one is shouting, no one is jumping up and down for joy. A touchdown this afternoon will probably generate more of a reaction than this Gospel message. Why is that? Why does a football game create more excitement than the Gospel? If we are indifferent to the Gospel, it’s probably for one of two reasons: pride or despair. 1) Pride, in that the devil has succeeded in convincing us that we don’t need Jesus, we don’t need his sacrifice, we are pretty good people all by ourselves. But what did John say? Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If you’re in this world, you have sin – sin that you need to have taken away if you don’t want to suffer its punishment forever. 2) Despair, in that the devil might convince you that you don’t deserve Jesus’ sacrifice, you don’t deserve to have your sins forgiven. Every page of Scripture reveals Jesus as the Savior of the whole world, but the devil whispers “yeah, but it’s not talking about you, not this time, not after all the horrible things you did, not after those filthy thoughts you had, not with all the people you’ve hurt.” Is he right? Are we undeserving? Are we unworthy to come forward to eat and drink the body and blood of the Lamb? Well, yes! We aren’t worthy to be forgiven. We don’t deserve to receive the Lamb’s sacrifice for our sins. But that’s the point. NO ONE DOES. This sacrament is not for good, holy, righteous people – it’s for bad people, wicked people, damned sinners – people like you and me. As Jesus told the self-righteous Pharisees “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). If you feel the weight of your guilt and shame, if you know your sin and wish to be free of it, if you recognize that standing up and coming forward to this table isn’t a sign that you’re a good person – but a public admission that you are not – then this sacrament is for you. Here Jesus invites you to lay your sins on him and receive his forgiveness – and don’t let Satan convince you otherwise. And if that’s not better than a touchdown – I don’t know what is.

How should we respond to such undeserved kindness, such unspeakable love? Apart from giving high fives and jumping up and down, the first and most important thing we can do to thank Jesus for his sacrifice is exactly what Andrew did – follow him (John 1:37) – for the right reasons. When Jesus asked those two disciples what are you looking for? They could have said, power, wealth, health, and happiness – like many today do. But John didn’t call him the Lamb of God who takes away the pain, sadness, hardship, or poverty of the world. He’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That’s why you follow him, why you first sit at his feet in worship and Bible study and Sunday school and private devotions – and why you then follow him with every thought, word and deed every day of your life. He’s the Lamb of God who takes away your sin. Follow him by reading, hearing and meditating on his Word!

But it doesn’t stop there. What’s the first thing Andrew did after he followed Jesus? He found his brother Simon Peter and said to him: we have found the Messiah! John pointed Andrew to Jesus and Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. If you’ve ever wondered what witnessing or evangelism or outreach – whatever you want to call it – actually looks like, this is it! I find this description so refreshing. There are so many burdensome myths out there about evangelism: 1) First, you have to be targeting total strangers; 2) you need to have a carefully crafted message that panders to whatever identity group you’re targeting (as if “millennials need one thing…gen Xer’s another and Boomers, well who cares about them, they’re old”); and 3) outreach is often focused inward, it’s often about doing cute things that make us feel good about ourselves – even if they are totally ineffective; and 4) the most important thing is the numbers – even though individual souls often get lost in the desire to boost the numbers. Andrew’s example dispels those myths. Evangelism doesn’t start with perfect strangers; it starts with the people you already know – often people living under your own roof. (For example, parents, your mission field is your children; etc.) And you don’t have to have a carefully curated message that panders to the exact profile of person you’re talking to – no matter who you are talking to, you’re talking to a sinner; you know what they need and you know where to lead them. Because evangelism is not about you or how clever the program is or how well-spoken you are. It’s about Jesus. It’s about leading fellow sinners to Jesus, one at a time.

And where is Jesus? If you don’t know that by now, then I have utterly failed you. Jesus has promised where two or three have gathered together in my name, there am I among them (Matthew 18:20). In other words, he is present wherever his Word is preached and his sacraments are administered in line with his commands and promises. We can say without a shadow of doubt that Jesus is present here. In recent years, some people have pitted evangelism against worship. In fact, some have given the impression that that the real work of the church happens outside of these doors; outside of the invocation and the blessing. The truth is that gathering together around Word and sacrament is the whole point and goal of outreach! Here is where Jesus is. Here is where you follow Jesus and find forgiveness. And here is where you bring others to follow him too.

Now, I understand that thinking about the Lamb of God who had to bleed and die on a cross to take away your sins may not be as exciting as an NFL playoff game. It may even be a little offensive that the innocent Lamb of God had to die in order to save you from your sin. But this good news will still be true no matter who wins or loses today, Jesus died so you could live. And even if you don’t give anyone a high five as you walk out of church this morning, there are two things you can do: first, thank God for the John or Johns’ in your life, those people who pointed to Jesus, who revealed him to you as the Lamb of God who has taken away your sins; and, second, think of just one person in your own life who needs to hear this message, who you can point to Jesus and say “follow him.” It doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be as simple as inviting them to church. You know who Jesus is and you know where he is. He’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Know him, follow him and bring others to him. Amen.

Ephesians 3:2-12 - God's Master Plan Revealed - January 8, 2023

Just outside those doors a new neighborhood – called Juniper Ridge – has sprung up from the farm fields in just the past few years. Many of us witnessed the progress from farmland to surveyor’s stakes to earthmovers to roads and finished homes. It was captivating to watch this project become a reality. It’s also remarkable to think that long before the first earth-mover moved the first yard of earth, before the first foundation was dug, this entire project was nothing more than a plan in a developer’s mind (or on his computer). When it was being proposed, there were skeptics. How’s it all going to fit? Will anyone want to live there? How are they going to get it passed by a village board, which is rumored to be…difficult? That’s why, before Veridian received permission to start their Juniper Ridge project, they had to present a master plan, showing where and when and how they planned to build those homes and parks and streets. Now when we look out at the finished homes and roads, it seems obvious how it would all go together. But only a few years ago, it was hard to imagine. That’s kind of how it works with God’s good and gracious rule of this world and our lives. It’s hard to grasp and hard to know your place in it unless you know the plan. This morning, Paul reveals God’s master plan of salvation.

As fallen – and yet proud – humans, we tend to think we know what God’s plans are – or at least ought to be – and that they will always make sense to us. Boiled down, we expect that God will reward those who do what is right and punish those who do what is wrong. But what happens when God doesn’t work the way we expect him to? When bad things happen to good people and the wicked seem to thrive? Don’t we wonder about God’s plans, question them, even get angry at him for not doing what we expect, when we expect it? Occasionally, the passing of time gives us perspective – we can look back with 20/20 hindsight and say “Oh, yeah, that’s what God was doing. Duh.” But in the moment, God’s plans often leave us confused and frustrated. (By the way, that’s nothing new. Study any believer’s life in the Bible and you will see evidence that God’s ways are far above our ways (Isaiah 55:9)).

And yet, while God’s plans are often a mystery to us, they aren’t to him. Everything that happens is according to God’s perfect blueprint. It’s a massive, mind-numbingly intricate, eternally expansive blueprint, but a blueprint nonetheless – not all that different from Veridian’s master plan. Everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen in this universe and in your life follows God’s plan down to the day, minute and second. One of the things that makes God’s blueprint far superior to any developer’s is that he never has to change his plans, there are never any unforeseen challenges, no obstacles that frustrate his will. Oh, it may seem like things get in the way all the time. Snowstorms ruin your travel plans. Southwest airlines can’t find enough people to fly their planes. Babies are born outside God’s institution of marriage – or worse, murdered before they can take their first breath. [1] Jobs are lost. Cars break down. Families are divided. Spouses divorce. Cancer kills and wealth evaporates. Did God really account for all of those disastrous effects of sin in his master plan? He sure did. He assures us: I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). We know that. We try to trust that. But it often seems like a mystery. That’s where Paul comes in. His special calling was to reveal how God’s plan was eternally for us.

Now, if you’re at all familiar with the first 39 books of the Bible, you might question that statement. In fact, you might start to think that right from the beginning God’s plan only involved saving a select group of people – which did not include us. Around 2000 BC God chose a man named Abraham and promised that he would bless him and make his family as numerous as the sand on the seashore (Genesis 12:2-3). God made the same promise to Abraham’s son Isaac, his son Jacob, and Jacob’s sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel. On Mt. Sinai God separated this ever-growing family from the nations around them. He gave them their own laws, their own diet, their own temple and rules for worship, their own nation, and the promise that the Savior would come from them. Only members of this family were allowed to worship in God’s temple. Non-Jews were considered unclean (Revelation 11:2). [2] And the Lord made no secret of his favoritism. He told them you will be my special treasure out of all the nations, although the entire earth is mine. You will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6). So, where were we in this master plan? Aren’t we just plan B; just a fallback plan when God’s original plan failed? No. And that’s the mystery.  

This mystery is that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and people who also share in the promise through the gospel…To me – even though I am the very least of all the saints – was given this grace: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to enlighten everyone about the administration of this mystery. In past ages this mystery remained hidden in God, who created all things. When you hear mystery, don’t think of a murder mystery podcast or Dateline NBC. It’s not a mystery that requires human investigation. It’s a mystery that requires divine revelation. But here’s what Paul wants us, non-Jew Gentiles, to be certain of: we were part of God’s plan long before we were born, from before the creation of the world. This was done according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. God did not start with the Jews and then, when that experiment failed, decided to move on to the Gentiles. You were eternally part of God’s plan, even though for centuries it was a mystery as to how he would carry it out.

Flattering, humbling even, isn’t it? To think that God has been thinking of you since before creation and that he actually planned every minute detail of his entire blueprint around you thousands of years before you were born. But that’s definitive evidence that we are saved by grace, isn’t it? Before we were born, God had drawn up a blueprint to save us. The same God who keeps the planets spinning in their orbits, who guides the orderly procession of the seasons, who directs the vast orchestra of everything in the entire universe cares so much about us – just specks of dust on the timeline of history – that he made us the crown and goal of his master plan. Every time a baby is baptized we witness this plan in action. Those little ones squirming in your arms were created by God and given to you at this time and this place so that he could reach out of heaven with water and the Word to adopt them into his family and make them heirs of his heavenly kingdom. And what’s true of the little ones we bring to this baptismal font is true of all of us. You have your own history that somehow resulted in you hearing the Gospel and believing that God has saved you for Jesus’ sake (Acts 17:26). A history carefully crafted by God from beginning to end. Flattering. Humbling.

And…embarrassing when we compare God’s eternal plan for us to our plans for him. Now that the holidays are over, I imagine many of us have begun planning out our 2023. Birthdays and anniversaries, school breaks, holidays, vacations, weddings, doctor’s appointments – even where and when we’ll watch the Packers game later. We plan and schedule even the most minor details of our lives. You know one thing that you won’t find on my calendar – I checked – and I’m guessing I wouldn’t find on yours either? Time for prayer, time for Bible study, time specifically and intentionally set aside for the One who wrote his entire plan for us.

Now, I’m not saying that we never pray, never study our Bibles, never take time for devotion and meditation. After all, we’re here today, aren’t we? Never taking time for God is not the problem. Compartmentalizing God is. God gets an hour – or maybe two – on Sunday mornings; he might get a shout-out before meals and before I go to sleep – but the rest of my life, that’s mine. I have a plan for my life, and if God wants to help – he’s welcome – but if not, he can take a back seat as follow my plan and chase my dreams. Is that really any way to thank the One who carefully laid the foundations of the universe, set the days and seasons, controlled governments and empires, and sent his One and only Son to this earth to die for you and your salvation? Can we really only find a few minutes here and there for the one who put us at the center of his eternal plan? That doesn’t mean that we need to be praying or reading our Bibles every waking moment – after all, God has given us vocations as mothers and fathers, employers and employees, students and teachers – but it does mean that as we carry out those vocations and plan our schedules God should always be at the very center. He’s the one who gave us a life to live and time to schedule. He’s the one who gave us our jobs, marriages, and families. But let’s be honest. Even if we only made one resolution for 2023: to keep God at the center of our lives every minute of every day (out of obedience to the 1st Commandment) – we wouldn’t and couldn’t keep it, would we? We’re not capable of it. We’re too self-centered.

You know what? God in his multifaceted wisdom even planned for that. He knew who we would be and how we would act. He knew that our schedules would be perpetually self-centered and that he would be relegated to an occasional cameo appearance in the drama of our lives. That’s why he designed his master plan for you, not around you. Everything he created, he created for you. Every promise he made, he made for you. Everything he had written down over the centuries, he had written for you. Every time he steered the events of this world in a certain direction, every monumental miracle he performed and every little undetected detail he worked out behind the scenes he did for you. And, as the climax of his whole plan, he sent his Son.

God’s plan was eternally for us, but it was always about Jesus. That’s why our sermons and hymns and Bible studies and church year are not about us; they’re about him. But the amazing thing we discover when we examine his life is that His life was for you too. When Jesus was perfectly obedient to both his earthly parents and his heavenly Father – he did it for you. When he went toe to toe with the devil in the wilderness – he defeated those temptations for you. Every law Jesus obeyed, he obeyed for you. Every temptation he fought off had you in mind. Every word he spoke, every miracle he performed, every comforting, compassionate look he gave had you in mind. When he was being whipped by the Roman soldiers, guess who he was thinking about? When the angry mob was screaming for his crucifixion, guess who he was thinking about? When he was carrying his cross out to Golgotha, when nails were pounded through his hands and feet, when he was hanging there naked for all the world to see his shame and agony, guess who he was thinking about? He wasn’t up there for his own good. He was there for you, for your forgiveness. He was there to give his life for yours. He was there to die so that you might live. You were at the center of every moment of Jesus’ life and death. The Bible is about Him. But from beginning to end, his life was for you. You were his obsession.

And you still are. Jesus has risen. Jesus has ascended into heaven. Jesus has taken his seat on his heavenly throne and is in full control of all things at all times. But even now, everything he’s doing, he’s doing for you. If we could see Jesus’ agenda right now there would be trillions of things on it – but it’s all for you. Wind chills and snowstorms…Jesus has his hand on that thermostat. The passing into and out of office of elected leaders – the King is ruling those kings (yes, even when they struggle to elect a Speaker of the House). The ebbs and flows of the stock market and your blood pressure – Jesus is controlling them all for you.

And that’s the way God planned it all along. From the very beginning to the very end, his plan was that through the gospel, you and I would be fellow heirs, members of the same body, and people who also share in the promise through the gospel…according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. God planned to make you a member of his family in Baptism, to preserve and strengthen your faith in Word and Sacrament – and he’s done that. God planned to make available to you all the blessings that membership entails: forgiveness of sins, new life – free from sin and guilt, the hope of salvation. God planned that you will experience the joys of heaven forever as a result of Jesus’ work. God determined that you and your salvation would always be THE master plan. And on Epiphany, the day the mystery is revealed that Jesus came to save us, too, we see that what God plans always happens. Happy Epiphany! Amen.

[1] (It’s estimated that over 44 million babies were aborted in 2022) https://notthebee.com/article/abortion-1-cause-of-death-worldwide-again

[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/Court-of-the-Gentiles.html

John 1:14 - The Word Became Flesh - December 25, 2022

Ever since the very first Christmas, people have been trying to capture the essence of this sacred day. They try to capture it in a photo, a song, a movie, in decorations and traditions. Maybe the most obvious example of this attempt to capture Christmas is the snow-globe – Christmas with snow that lasts year-round! But try as they might, all their attempts fail. You can’t capture Christmas in a picture of your family in ugly sweaters, a corny Hallmark movie, or a child’s toy filled with fake snow. Only the words before us this morning, the inspired Words of Scripture have truly captured the essence of Christmas. When you look past the lights and the gifts, the family and the food; when you scrape away the sentimental music and family traditions and the winter weather delays – even the angels and shepherds, the stable and the manger, this is what remains: the Word became flesh and dwelled among us.

John’s words are simple (even in the Greek!): the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. But what does this mean? We could spend every second of every day plumbing the depths of these simple words and never reach the bottom. The shepherds – who were there – could only repeat the things they had heard and seen (Luke 2:17). Mary herself could only ponder things so far above her understanding that her heart must have nearly burst (Luke 2:19). On that first Christmas, it took angels – those mighty messengers of God – to explain the meaning of all of this (Luke 2:10-14). And today we can only scratch the surface of this divine mystery.

In the first verse of his gospel, John identifies this baby lying in a manger as the same Word who was God and was with God in the beginning (John 1:1). This baby is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24) who designed and engineered the universe – from the largest galaxies to the smallest atoms. This is the Word who called forth day and night, sun, moon and stars, land and sea, plants and trees, fish and animals – out of nothing (Genesis 1). This is the Word that breathed life into a lump of clay and shared with mankind his image – his immortality, his holiness, his love (Genesis 1:27). This Word has always been, ever is, and ever will be (Revelation 4:8). 2000 years ago, that Word was conceived in the womb of a virgin and born to dwell among us. When you capture this, hold on to this, believe this, then you have captured the real essence of Christmas.

No other religion in the history of the world has ever conceived anything even close to this divine mystery. Sure, the Greeks and Romans had their myths of gods and goddesses occasionally “appearing” on earth (usually either to chase women or engage in war) – but they didn’t voluntarily give up their superhuman powers. Sure, there are many religions which (falsely) teach that flesh and blood humans can or will one day become gods. The world believes that through science and technology we can regain immortality and become “gods.” But only Christianity turns it all upside down by proclaiming that God became man. You could not make such a religion up and get away with it, not even 2000 years ago. But it stands because it happened. In Bethlehem of Judea. When Augustus was the Roman Caesar and Quirinius was the governor of Syria (Luke 2:1-2). It happened at a specific time in a specific place, with witnesses and consequences – just like any other historical event. The Word became flesh.

Why? The Word became flesh because that’s what we are. Flesh. While we try to avoid and deny our flesh and all its limitations and implications and pretend to be “enlightened,” and “wise,” and “powerful,” with our lofty ideals and oversized egos, but the Word willingly took on our humanity. We strive to be more than human, “supermen and superwomen” – to control not only our lives but to imagine that we can control the world around us. But the same God who created the universe was willing to become a baby; to play in his mother’s lap and accept the praise of filthy shepherds. We are human, sinful humans – fallen sons and daughters of Adam. The only-begotten Son of God became what we are (without the sin, of course) – because, left to ourselves, we are lost.

He came to be with us under the Law (Galatians 4:5), the holy Law of God that condemns us, that shuts our mouths, that fills our hearts with terror at the consequences of our sin, that keeps us awake at night and makes even Christmas anything but a wonderful time of year. But he came full of grace and truth. He came not to judge us but to save us; not to take us captive but to set us free; not to bring more laws for us to follow but to keep all of the laws we haven’t. He came to save sinners – of which I am the worst…and so are you (1 Timothy 1:15). He came to be your Shepherd and your friend, to lay down his life for you (John 10:11; John 15:12). The Word became flesh to save you, all of you, your body and your soul, by suffering the consequences of your sins and giving you eternal life as his free gift (Romans 6:23).

John testifies that we have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father. John was not there in Bethlehem. He came to know and follow Jesus much later (John 1:35-37). But he was an eyewitness to His miracles, including his transfiguration – that moment where Jesus revealed his full glory as God to sinful human eyes. With his own ears he heard the voice from heaven declare him to be the Son of God (Matthew 17:1-8). He was there to see him die in the darkness of Good Friday (John 19:26-27). And he was among the first to see his empty tomb (John 20:3). He stood gaping as the Word made flesh ascended into the clouds to his Father’s right hand (Acts 1:1-11). John was even privileged to receive the words and visions the Word spoke to him in what we call the book of Revelation. John saw Jesus’ glory: glory covered in humility, divinity wrapped in our humanity.

In Jesus, the Word became flesh to reverse the spiral of history – to reverse what the first man had done. The image of God, so disfigured and tainted by Adam, is now restored (Romans 5:12-21). Now, through faith in Jesus, God sees us as fully what he intended us to be from the beginning because he is fully one of us. At the hand of John the Baptist he was baptized into our place (Matthew 3:13-17) and when we were baptized, we were baptized into him (Romans 6:3-4). So as we follow the course of Jesus’ life through the church year – from manger to the empty tomb – we are actually tracing our life’s story. His birth, his obedience, his suffering, his dying, his rising – is our birth, our obedience, our suffering, our dying, our rising. Your sin became his. His glory becomes yours. The Son of God accepted the death you and I deserved so that we might enjoy the eternal life he earned!

This is Christmas summed up in just eight words: the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We might wish that we could have been there. We may wonder what that first Christmas was like. But there is no need for us to go to Bethlehem – unless you want to go as a tourist. You will not find the flesh and blood of Jesus there. But don’t worry – the Word no longer invites us to meet him in a stable; he invites us to meet him in the Word we can read and understand, in, with, and under the bread and wine we can taste, in water we can see and touch. That’s where the Word made flesh encounters our flesh, where our sins are forgiven, where we die and rise to new life. Because the Word became flesh we don’t have to go groping about blindly for God on earth (as so many do) or in heaven (as if we could, anyway!) (Romans 10:6-8) because he comes down to us to dwell with us still today. He dwells among us in Word and Sacrament to serve us. He dwells among us to save us. He doesn’t make his dwelling among the rich and the famous, the proud and the happy, the good and the righteous – in Fortune 500 boardrooms or White House situation rooms. He makes his dwelling with us: the weak and the lonely, the sad and the tired and the distressed and the dying. He comes here to serve us – and then he equips us with beautiful feet to bring the good news that the salvation of our God has come to others (Matthew 20:28; Isaiah 52:10).

Long after the gifts are opened and forgotten, after the decorations are packed away, after the holiday break gives way to a new work week – this is what endures. God is with us in this baby born of Mary named Jesus. He dwells among us so that we too may see his glory, hidden then in human flesh and blood, hidden now in Word and Sacrament, and soon – very soon – to be revealed in power and glory. The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. Whatever else you do today, hold on to this. Because this is Christmas. Amen.

Christmas Eve Lesson Introductions - December 24, 2022

Our Dire Predicament

The first and most important question we should ask tonight is: why? Why spend Christmas Eve here instead of in our warm homes eating Christmas cookies and exchanging gifts? Why bother traveling back 2000 years to a little place called Bethlehem? Why did God send his Son to be born as one of us? Why was all this necessary? We will never fully appreciate Christmas or find joy in it that can last beyond tomorrow unless we answer the question: why? Genesis 3 explains why. Not only the “why” of Christmas but why our world and we are the way we are – broken, depraved and evil. God had created a perfect world and two perfect humans – Adam and Eve – to live in it and care for it. But these perfect humans rose up in rebellion against their Maker by disobeying his only command and eating the forbidden fruit. This single act of rebellion resulted in a world and a human race that had fallen from its original perfection into the dire predicament described by the Apostle Paul in Romans: just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death spread to all people because all sinned (Romans 5:12). Because we are born of sinful parents we are born to sin. And because we sin we will die. And that’s not even the worst of it. The death we deserve isn’t just the separation of body and soul but separation from the love of God forever in hell. Being born to die and be separated from our God forever – it doesn’t get more dire than that. Listen as the ugly, underlying necessity, the why of Christmas is explained in Genesis 3:

First Lesson                                                                                                                                                                                         Genesis 3:8-19

8They heard the voice of the Lord God, who was walking around in the garden during the cooler part of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” 11God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13The Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14The Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all the livestock, and more than every wild animal. You shall crawl on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel. 16To the woman he said: I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing. With painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, but he will rule over you. 17To Adam he said: Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You shall not eat from it,” the soil is cursed on account of you. You will eat from it with painful labor all the days of your life. 18Thorns and thistles will spring up from the ground for you, but you will eat the crops of the field. 19By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the soil, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

Hymn 32                                                                                                                                                   When Sinners See Their Lost Condition

Rescue Promised

One of the more unfortunate and universal side-effects of the total and utter depravity of human nature is that we are a proud people. Just like Adam and Eve proudly ate that fruit thinking that it would make them like God, so we continue to overestimate our own power and ability. We also underestimate the truly desperate nature of our situation. And, as a result, we often underestimate what it would take to rescue us from our dire predicament. Many to this day believe that God sent Jesus to earth to be a guide, an example, or a teacher – to show us that we have the potential to make everything right with God if we just put our minds to it. This goes hand in hand with the natural human belief that there is no problem that we can’t overcome given enough time, money and effort. This illusion of self-sufficiency is nothing less than proof that we don’t even realize how deep the darkness is in which we live. The reality is that when God looks at us, he doesn’t see a bunch of willing, energetic volunteers who just need a helping hand or some positive encouragement – he looks at us and sees nothing less than a graveyard of dead souls who need nothing less than a miracle to raise them to life (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Christmas is not just a cute children’s story (like those about fat men in suits and reindeer with glowing noses), Christmas is not God’s offer to help us help ourselves. Christmas is nothing short of the most daring rescue mission in the history of the world. In God’s great Christmas rescue, God alone sent his Son, God alone became man, God alone will establish his king over his kingdom, and God alone will restore peace between himself and us. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this – without any help from us. Therefore, to God alone – and to his Son, be glory now and forever!

Second Lesson                                                                                                                                                                                     Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. For those living in the land of the shadow of death, the light has dawned. 6For to us a child is born. To us a son is given. The authority to rule will rest on his shoulders. He will be named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7There will be no limit to his authority and no end to the peace he brings. He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from now on, into eternity. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

Hymn 47                                                                                                                                                                      Behold, a Branch Is Growing

An Unexpected Plan

Isaiah had prophesied that God would send a King to rule his people. Kings are supposed to be born in palaces, not stables; to queens, not peasant girls; in capital cities, not tiny villages; they’re adored by visiting dignitaries, not filthy shepherds. But such were the details God revealed in his unexpected plan to save the human race. These unexpected details reveal one of the key truths for understanding the ways of God both 2000 years ago and the ways of God today. This truth is spelled out by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians: God chose the foolish things of the world to put to shame the things that are strong, and God chose the lowly things of the world and the despised thing, and the things that are not, to do away with the thing that are, so that no one may boast before God (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). Just as God chose the little insignificant town of Bethlehem to be the birthplace for his eternal Son – the truly Good Shepherd who would lay down his life on a cross for his sheep – so God continues to work in meek, humble, and seemingly foolish ways today. He continues to distribute the salvation Jesus won on the cross through humble means: through sinful men proclaiming Absolution of sins, through men and women teaching the Gospel, through the plain water of baptism which washes away sin, through normal bread and wine which are the true body and blood of Christ. This place and these means might not seem like much to a world that revels in displays of wealth and power and glory – but, as Micah makes clear, it was God’s plan all along to use humble and unexpected means to bring salvation to the ends of the earth – even here, even now, even to you and to me.

Third Lesson                                                                                                                                                                                            Micah 5:2-4

2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, from you, will go out the one who will be the ruler for me in Israel. His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity. 3Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when the woman who is in labor bears a child. Then the remaining survivors from his brothers will return to the people of Israel. 4He will stand and shepherd with the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. They will dwell securely, for at that time he will be great to the ends of the earth.

Hymn 65                                                                                                                                                                         O Little Town of Bethlehem

The Plan Revealed to Mary

Crazy and ambitious plans are often met with doubt and skepticism. When John F. Kennedy announced the goal of landing a man on the moon back in the 1960’s, many Americans didn’t believe or support his plan. Just a few years ago the idea that a car could actually run on just a battery seemed like nonsense to many, and today we see Teslas and Rivians all over the place. Closer to home, just 25 years ago, starting a church in McFarland – much less doubling its size in less than ten years – seemed to be an impossible dream. And yet, here we are. But all of these pale in comparison to the precise details of God’s plan to save the world. It’s not just the fact that virgins don’t give birth – that’s not actually the greatest miracle of Christmas – it’s the fact that God could become a man at all. Gods don’t do that. That’s impossible. Many still doubt the truthfulness of the virgin birth. They think of it as nothing more than a fairy-tale or myth. Is that true? Is this plan unexpected? Yes. Is it unlikely? Yes. Is it impossible? Nothing will be impossible for God. Therefore, when it comes to the words and works and plans of God, we must set aside our reason and our skepticism, and instead respond in faith to the Words and promises of our almighty God like Mary did: Lord, if this is how you’ve chosen to save me, may it happen to me as you have said.

Fourth Lesson                                                                                                                                                                                       Luke 1:26-38

26In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” 29But she was greatly troubled by the statement and was wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God. 31Listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Listen, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age even though she was called barren, and this is her sixth month. 37For nothing will be impossible for God.” 38Then Mary said, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Hymn 61                                                                                                                                                                    Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

The Plan Revealed to Joseph

If you think it was hard for Mary to believe God’s plan, just imagine what it was like for Joseph! You discover that your fiancé is pregnant – and you know it’s not yours. Now, this may have been the 1st century, but they weren’t dumb – they know where babies come from. Joseph knew that women don’t spontaneously become pregnant. He had every right to divorce her. Then the angel showed up in his dream, to tell him an even more unbelievable story: that the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. And not only that, but that he should name this baby boy Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. So just to summarize, Joseph was supposed to believe that Mary had not been unfaithful, that the baby growing in her had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that this baby would be the Savior of the world. How could Joseph – or anyone for that matter – believe this unbelievable plan? Matthew gives us a hint when he says all this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.” For Joseph and for us, faith doesn’t come dreams or reason – faith comes from hearing the message (Romans 10:17). Joseph knew the OT and knew that Isaiah had prophesied 700 years earlier that the Savior would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) – that’s how he believed. That’s how we believe, too! Read the Word, hear the Word, meditate on the Word, share the Word, and trust that through the Word, God will create and strengthen faith – even in things that seem impossible or unbelievable – just as he did for Joseph.

Fifth Lesson                                                                                                                                                                                    Matthew 1:18-25

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother, Mary, was pledged in marriage to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her. So he decided to divorce her privately. 20But as he was considering these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23“Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.” 24When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He took Mary home as his wife, 25but he was not intimate with her until she gave birth to her firstborn son. And he named him Jesus.

Hymn 40                                                                                                                                                                  O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is

Christmas: God’s Plan in Action

All of the lessons we’ve heard so far tonight take us right back to our opening question, don’t they? We’ve seen again tonight that God chooses humble, lowly means to work seemingly impossible salvation – and the faith to believe it – for sinners. But the question still remains: why? Why would God go to such impossible extremes just to save a human race that for all intents and purposes hated him and despised his goodness? That’s the real mystery of Christmas. If we focus only on the lowliness or the impossibility or the irrationality of Jesus’ birth, we’re really missing the point. The point of Christmas is not that God can do impossible things – creation and the Flood teach that. The point of Christmas is not that God chooses the lowly and humble and unexpected things as instruments of his power on earth – if you look at any of the people in the Bible – or look around at the people gathered here to worship the newborn King – you see that truth on display. No, the point of Christmas is that it proves that God’s love for us is wider and higher and deeper than we would have ever imagined.

And that’s important, especially at Christmas, which is said to be the happiest time of the year – and yet, it seems that love is growing cold at an alarming rate – not just out there in the world but even in our own families, our own marriages, our own hearts. This lack of love may take many forms: depression, loneliness, conflicted or separated families. It sadly often results in the fact that more people than any other time of year experience depression or even desire to end their lives. Maybe you are struggling with some sin or some guilt or loneliness or some dark memory that clouds your joy this night. There is only one cure, one light that can shine through the darkness of despair and depression sin has sown in our world: the impossible, unlikely, unearned, and undeserved love of God – embodied in a little baby boy born in a manger. Finally, that is what this night is all about. We are here to celebrate a birth two thousand years ago that promises us life that will go on for all of eternity. All because God so loved the world. All because God so loved me. All because God so loved you. You may not feel loved for many reasons tonight – but look at that baby in the manger and know beyond all doubt that God’s love is for you! Even if you don’t get a single gift this Christmas, even if you are celebrating all alone, you have God’s love, and God’s love is and will always be enough for a very merry Christmas.

Sixth Lesson                                                                                                                                                                                           John 3:16-18

16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18The one who believes in him is not condemned, but the one who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.

Hymn 19                                                                                                                                                                   Love Caused Your Incarnation

Ephesians 2:13-18 - Jesus Comes to Bring Peace - December 18, 2022

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind (Luke 2:14). In a few moments these children will echo the words of that well-known angelic hymn. Think about the key words of that hymn: peace and good will. Would you describe 2022 as a year of peace and good will? Or do those words ring hollow when you look at your life and the world around you? Does it ever seem like peace and good will are things that can be printed in Christmas cards and children can sing about, but the rest of us know to be just an impossible dream? Do you ever look around at your life or your family or the world around you and think “peace? No, I don’t see much peace. I see worry, frustration, hatred, jealousy, murder, terrorism and war?” That’s the reality, isn’t it?

And because of that reality, the obvious absence of peace, many are tempted to think “let’s just skip Christmas, it’s just a contrived distraction from a far from peaceful reality anyway.” If that thought has ever crossed your mind, you’re not alone. In fact, the leader of the largest Christian church in the world – Pope Francis – said something similar just a few years ago. “Christmas is approaching: there will be lights, parties, Christmas trees and nativity scenes…it’s all a charade. The world continues to go to war. The world has not chosen a peaceful path.” [1] Is he right? Were the angels lying? Is Christmas just a charade? Should we just skip it this year?

First, we need to take an honest look at what really causes unrest and destroys the peace in our lives and in the world. The devil is very good at leading people to all sorts of mistaken conclusions as to why they lack peace in their lives. “If I could only afford to buy my kids what they want this year, we would have a peaceful Christmas.” “If only my family would lend a hand with getting everything ready, I would have peace.” “If only inflation would ease up, if the price at the pump would go down, then I would have peace.” “If only the political parties would work together instead of constantly bickering; if only everyone or no one had a gun; if only we would open or close our borders; if only Russia and Ukraine would stop fighting – then, we could have peace.”

I’m not saying that those issues aren’t real. They are. But they are only symptoms of the underlying problem. The underlying problem is much deeper and far more widespread. The real reason we don’t have peace in our lives is because as sinners we don’t have peace with God. And that problem is rooted in here, in my heart and yours. Jesus says that out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and blasphemies (Matthew 15:19). Isaiah says that your sins have hidden God’s face from you (Isaiah 59:2). If you find no joy, no comfort, no peace in Christmas – the problem isn’t with Christmas, the problem is with you. The real, root problem for the lack of peace in our lives and our world isn’t family or inflation or religion or politics – it’s the sinful heart that beats in my chest and yours that makes us fear and hate our God. And no gift, no card, no treaty, no law – and no, not even canceling Christmas this year – can fix that problem.

So instead of ignoring the problem or hiding in the basement until the lights and trees go away, we need to embrace the real message of Christmas. Hear again Paul’s words. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace…And he did this to reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by putting the hostility to death on it. He also came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

At Christmas, we can’t overlook the real, deeply rooted problems of our sinful hearts and our broken relationship with God – but neither can we forget that that’s exactly why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The angels weren’t lying – Jesus came to bring peace. When the Son of God put on human flesh – he also took all of our selfishness and anger, all of our resentment and grudges, every sin, every hurtful word and loveless action on his shoulders. He carried that load from Bethlehem, through his ministry in Galilee and Judea, all the way to the cross – where he paid for every ounce of that sin with every ounce of his precious blood. By paying for the sins of the world – including yours and mine – he created peace by tearing down the wall of sin that separated us from God. And this Christmas, His gift to all who believe in Him is just that: peace for our minds and hearts – even if there is no peace out there – because he gives us peace that reconciles us to God!

Now, the more cynical among us might think “if that’s true, why, after 2000 years of Christmases, is our world as broken and filled with hate as ever? Where is this peace that Jesus promised to bring?” Here’s where we need to reorient our understanding of peace. Our minds tell us that there can only be peace when we have enough money. Our emotions tell us that peace means everyone being nice to each other (often, at the cost of ignoring sinful behaviors and lifestyles). Our government tells us that to get peace, every threat must be neutralized. Our media tells us that peace is Republicans and Democrats getting along. Charities argue that there can only be peace when no one is cold or hungry this Christmas. Activists say that there can only be peace when there is perfect equality among people of every age, race, gender, etc. Otherwise, they say, there can be no peace.

Paul wrote to people who were at each other’s throats just as much as our families, our coworkers, our politicians and our world often are. The Jews were God’s chosen people and made sure everyone knew it – they thought of the Gentiles as filthy dogs. The Gentiles weren’t obligated to keep the seemingly silly Jewish ritual laws and despised them as arrogant and self-righteous. This hostility even led to war and terror attacks just as bad as we’ve seen in our world in recent years – in 70 A.D. the gentile Roman destroyed Jerusalem and razed the temple to the ground. And yet, what does Paul write? Christ Jesus…made the two groups one by destroying the wall of hostility that divided them.

When you observe the issues that cause not just differences but hostility and division between people today – it quickly becomes clear that no amount of money, presents, charity or diplomacy can fix those problems. There’s only one thing – or rather, one person who can: Jesus. Only when broken, sinful hearts have been reconciled to God through Jesus can they truly be reconciled to one another. Only when I remember that God has forgiven my mountain of sin, can I forgive the sins of another. Only when I know that God has forgiven my imperfections for Jesus’ sake can I be patient and compassionate with the imperfections of others. For a world broken by unrest, terror, hatred and hostility – the solution is not to cancel Christmas, but to hold on even tighter to – and sing even louder – the good news the angels preached to those shepherds that night long ago: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind (Luke 2:14). It may seem too good to be true. It’s not. In Paul’s day, in spite of the previous hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles, they eventually stood side by side to worship their Jesus Christ as their Savior. During WWI, German and British soldiers declared a truce on Christmas in 1914 and sang Christmas carols and even played soccer together. [2] I didn’t watch a second of the FIFA World Cup this year, but I heard reports that some of the teams (namely, the team from Fiji) sang Christian hymns before and after their matches [3] – that’s a glimpse of the peace Jesus brings to this sin-broken world.

And I challenge you this Christmas season, to look for and take advantage of the gift of peace Jesus came to give to this world. Look around your Christmas gathering and see the friend or relative or coworker who has hurt you in the past – remember that forgiveness is Jesus’ gift to you and can be the most precious gift you could give to them. Look at these children, listen as they – instead of talking about a fat man in a red suit or a reindeer with a red nose or what they expect to find under the tree – are proclaiming with joy the good news that a Savior has been born to us – he is Christ the Lord. And, as you worship Jesus this Christmas, notice how people from all different backgrounds, all different ethnicities, all different political parties unite at the manger in Bethlehem to worship Jesus in peace and unity. This baby really is God in human flesh. This man really is the Savior of the world. He really is our peace! Should we skip Christmas this year? No. Because only this baby in the manger in Bethlehem can bring peace to our sin-broken hearts and peace to this sin-broken world. Glory to God in the highest! Merry Christmas! Amen.

[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3327115/Pope-says-Christmas-charade-atrocities-like-Paris-massacre.html

[2] https://www.history.com/news/christmas-truce-1914-world-war-i-soldier-accounts

[3] https://twitter.com/themiddleborne/status/1594354912036786177

Matthew 1:17-25 - Jesus Is the Son of Mary - December 14, 2022

This Advent we’re asking the single most important question in the world: who is Jesus? It’s also one of those questions that seems to have nearly as many answers as there are people willing to answer it. Some say that Jesus is a therapist – he helps us cope with life’s problems, and forget about the past; tells us how special we are and not to be so hard on ourselves. Some say Jesus is basically a stereotypical millennial – he drinks fair-trade coffee, enjoys spiritual conversations, proudly drives a hybrid and goes to film festivals. Some say Jesus is a coach – that if you call on him and point to heaven, he will help you catch touchdowns and drain 3-pointers. Some say Jesus is a spiritual guru – that he hates the structure of religion, the confessions and denominations, the pastors and doctrines – and would rather have people searching for god in nature – or silently meditating and searching for the god within. Some say Jesus is merely a good example – he shows us how to be better people so that we can make the world a better place. But we’re interested in the real Jesus – the Jesus of Matthew 1. Matthew has told us that Jesus is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham and, tonight, the Son of Mary.

So altogether there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian exile to Christ. Matthew summarizes salvation history in three sets of fourteen – or, perhaps, counted another way, in six sets of seven. This theory argues that if you happened to be a native speaker of Hebrew – this last detail would make you cringe. (It would be like me leaving out the last line of “Happy Birthday.”) In the Bible, seven appears to be the number of completeness – starting with the seven days of creation (Genesis 1); the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:7-13); the seven words of the cross; the seven churches of Revelation (Revelation 2-3); etc. But regardless of whether we accept that theory or not, the story of salvation Matthew has described so far in chapter 1 is clearly incomplete – this story lacks an ending. And maybe that’s Matthew’s point. Jesus is the one who will usher in the final act of God’s plan of salvation. Jesus completes the story of salvation – and the names given to this Son of Mary show us how.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother, Mary, was pledged in marriage to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found (presumably by Joseph) to be with child by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her. So he decided to divorce her privately. This is really a remarkable series of events. Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes for a moment. He wasn’t dumb. He knows that babies aren’t conceived spontaneously. It’s hard to blame him for deciding to divorce her – but it’s also to his credit that he wanted to do so quietly, because God’s Law mandated that adulterers were to be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). But what’s even more amazing is what happened next: as he was considering these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

By the power of the Holy Spirit Joseph believed the angel’s words and took Mary home as his wife and then named her son Jesus. Jesus means “the LORD saves.” From what? He will save his people from their sins. Let that sink in for a moment. When you think of Jesus, look to Jesus, call on him in prayer – what are you asking him to save you from? Certainly, we all have problems – be they financial, political, psychological, medical, or interpersonal – and Jesus is certainly capable of saving us from those problems – he proved it by his words and works on earth. But that’s not the primary reason he came – and we should repent for thinking so little of his saving power. Jesus came to save us from much more than those issues. That’s why the angel didn’t tell Joseph to give Mary’s child a name that would indicate his expertise in medicine, economics or psychology. Those are issues we can work on, we can learn from experts to deal with, we can plan for and find treatment for – but sin, what can we do about that? That’s why the angel left no room for misunderstanding what the job of Mary’s Son would be: he will save his people from their sins.

Mary’s Son is Jesus – the one who saves us from our sins. But he’s only that because he’s more than that – he’s more than just the Son of Mary. Matthew continues: All this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet [Isaiah 7:14]: “Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.” “God with us” is one of the major themes of Matthew’s Gospel. It first appears here; it appears in the middle, when Jesus promises that where two or three have gathered together in my name, there I am among them (Matthew 18:20); and then, in the last verse of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus promises surely I am with you always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Sure, Big Brother may be tracking us everywhere – but only in Jesus is “God with us.”

Jesus is our Savior because he is also Immanuel, “God with us.” Jesus – that little, helpless baby in Mary’s arms – is God entering our muck and mire, our chaos and confusion. He’s with us in the manger, yes. He was with us for thirty some years on this earth, yes. But we see God not only with us – but for us – most profoundly on the darkest day in human history – that day when humanity grabbed hold of Mary’s Son, arrested him, mocked him, condemned him, tortured him, and then nailed him to a tree – all of which were really just expressions of the attitude first exhibited by our first parents in the Garden of Eden after they had eaten the forbidden fruit – which can all be summarized by the statement: “Get away! Leave us alone, God!” Ever since then, the world has been telling God to get away. Why do businesses forbid their employees from saying “Merry Christmas”? Why have the Ten Commandments been torn out of public places and Bible reading and prayer banned from public schools? Why does our world want to stuff Christmas back into a box and shove it into a closet as soon as the last present is opened on December 25th? These are all manifestations of the sinful nature screaming: “Get away! Leave us alone, God!” But a better question might be: why do we, by our words and actions, make it clear that we want nothing to do with God? Why do we make up all sorts of excuses to avoid reading our Bibles, praying, worshipping or giving up our pet sins? Aren’t we also telling God to get away from us? And that, truly, is what we deserve: to have God abandon us forever in the depths of hell.

Which is precisely what makes the birth of this child to Mary so important and so worthy of our time and attention and worship and praise this Advent season. Mankind, from the beginning, has been telling God to stay away. God, from eternity, knew that the crown of his creation wouldn’t want anything to do with him. And yet, God loved us too much to let our story end unfinished in hell. He not only sent his Son to come to live with us and among us; he sent him to live for us – to never fail to fear, love, and trust in God above all things; and to die for us – for each and every time we have expressed our failure to fear, love and trust in God above all things by our thoughts, words and actions. But, most importantly, he rose again for us – proof that not only are our sins forgiven but that in Jesus, God is with us each and every day – not to hurt us but to help us. And through the means of grace – the Gospel in Word and Sacrament – God is still with us to deliver the forgiveness and salvation his Son won by his life, death and resurrection to us.

In these final days before Christmas, casual conversations with our friends and family – and even perfect strangers – often consist of discussing how your preparations are going; if you’ve finished your shopping, cooking, travel, etc. And, unless, we’re delusional, I don’t think any one of us will be able to say that we’re finished until December 26th, when the cleanup and thank you writing starts. If you find yourself in a conversation like that, take a moment to remind yourself – and maybe that person – that Christmas isn’t really about us or our preparations – it’s about the Son of Mary, whose names reveal his identity and work. He’s Jesus – because he will save us from our sins and Immanuel – because he is God with us, was the one person able to say it is finished (John 19:30) from his cross. Matthew’s genealogy left God’s story of salvation unfinished – but Jesus finished it. In Jesus your sins are forgiven and God is with you – and that’s all you really need for a happy ending to your Christmas story this year and to your life story eternally. Amen.

James 5:7-11 - Good Things Come to Those Who Wait - December 11, 2022

Is there anything harder for sinners like us to do – and do well – than wait? Especially this time of year, and especially for children, waiting is a real challenge. And it’s hard to blame them, isn’t it? Christmas trees, lights, and yard decorations have been up for weeks already. The mailbox that’s normally just filled with junk mail and bills is now filled with glittery Christmas cards and mysterious packages show up on the porch. Christmas carols fill the air and Christmas movies fill the TV. It’s no wonder kids get so impatient – they are surrounded by the signs of what is to come and they want it to be here now. But it’s not just kids, is it? Maybe as adults we’re not fixated on Christmas presents, but we’re always waiting for something. We wait for test results. We wait for the end of the work week. We’re waiting for a raise, waiting for retirement, waiting for our children to grow up and move out. Waiting is difficult in a whole host of situations. This morning James helps us find patience in the most important waiting game: waiting for our Savior’s coming. James teaches us that Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Why, do you think, it seems to get easier to wait for Christmas the older you get? Is it because instead of fun toys we get to open up ugly sweaters or compression socks? Is it because we know how much we still have to do? Is it because we’ve come to understand that Christmas can never live up to the hype? Or, is it because when you have some years under your belt you have a better perspective on what Christmas means in the larger scope of life? Having the proper perspective makes a big difference in how we wait.

That’s James’ point: therefore, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Lord. In other words, take the long view. We’re anticipating the day we meet our Lord…so let’s fast forward and see what that day will look like. When he returns, he will divide all of humanity in half – the sheep on one side and the goats on the other. The sheep he will take to heaven and the goats he will cast into the fires of hell (Matthew 25:31-46). On that day, the list of what really matters grows very short. When a person is standing before their Judge only one thing matters: the presence or absence of saving faith in Jesus Christ (Mark 16:16). All the things that consume our time and attention now: wealth, possessions, prestige, power, pleasure, presents are put in their proper place – they either aided our faith or detracted from it. That is the end we all are looking forward to, a conclusion to life that no one will be able to avoid. Viewing all of life in light of that serious and significant moment will help us keep the present in its proper perspective.

In that sense, according to James, we’re all like farmers: see how the farmer waits for the valuable harvest from the ground, patiently waiting for it, until it receives the early and late rain. There are no shortcuts in farming. A farmer can’t do much to speed up the growth of his crops. In 1st century Palestine, the farmer counted on rain around the end of October to soften up the land so he could begin his plowing and planting. Then in March or April, when the crops were blooming, the farmer watched for the spring rains to come, to provide the moisture that would fill the heads with fruit. If either rain failed to fall, both crop and farmer were doomed. Therefore, the farmer learned patience. He learned to recognize that the timing was out of his control. He worked hard, but when he was done working he put it in the Lord’s hands. He knew that worrying and questioning God’s care and control wouldn’t squeeze even one drop out of the clouds – so, in view of the valuable crop that was coming, he was patient and waited for the Lord.

Likewise, James writes you be patient too. Strengthen your hearts because the coming of the Lord is near. We know that the Lord is coming. We know it because he has promised it (Revelation 22:20). We know he will keep this promise because he has kept all of his other promises. We know he’s coming and we anticipate it more than any Christmas party or present. But worrying about it or questioning God’s wisdom and love will not make it come any faster. We need to have the proper perspective. We need to take a page out of this farmer’s almanac and leave the timing up to God. We need to see life now from the perspective of our Lord’s coming – because we know, like the farmer, that good things come to those who wait.

But waiting often leads to other problems, doesn’t it? When people are stuck waiting in line at the restaurant or grocery store, their tempers get short and they get annoyed at little things. When children are idly waiting for Christmas Day they start to pick on each other and whine and complain. Is it any different as we Christians wait for the second coming of Jesus? Not in James’ experience, and, if we’re honest, not in our experience either. We know the Lord is coming. We don’t know when. We know we should be busy carrying out his work. We don’t always agree on how that should be done. We each face our own unique pressure that comes from anticipating something that most of the world regards as a ridiculous myth. And what happens? We grow impatient and frustrated. All day long at work we restrain ourselves only let loose on our families when we get home. We expect patience and understanding when from others but we hold our fellow believers to an impossible standard of perfection. Instead of building one another up and encouraging one another when they face trouble in life, we tear each other down.

Knowing human nature, James writes: Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look! The Judge is standing at the doors! James warns us against even the grumbling and complaining that we might consider minor. (“How could they do that, not do that; how could they say that to me, how could they not talk to me?”) Grumbling and groaning is the opposite of joyful and eager waiting. In fact, when we grumble against other believers, we are effectively pushing Jesus out of his place as Judge – which is what we are supposed to be waiting for together. When we are casting a critical eye towards others, do you know what we’re not focused on? Christ. To put James’ warning in different terms, he’s saying: “Hey guys, Jesus is coming back very soon and he’s bringing amazing gifts. When he does, do you think he wants to see his children fighting with each other when they’re supposed to be building one another up as members of his body, His Church? He’s almost here. Be patient – especially with one another.”

I think we all like to imagine that we’re patient people, and maybe to those who don’t know us well, we may even appear to be patient. But just ask those who know us best – our parents, spouses and children – they will likely paint a very different picture. If patience is such a rare virtue, what’s the secret to getting it? I hate to sound like a broken record, but the secret to patience is the Law and the Gospel. Law and Gospel that might be summarized in James’ words: the Judge is standing at the doors! How many times should that Judge have knocked down those doors, grabbed you by the throat and tossed you into hell this past week for your moaning, groaning, complaining and impatience with others? Did he? Your presence here today proves that he didn’t. But that doesn’t mean that the Judge hasn’t issued his verdict. He did. On Good Friday God the Father lost his patience with mankind and unleashed his rage on Jesus. God was far less patient with his own perfect Son that he is with us. He allowed him to be betrayed, denied, tortured, nailed to a tree and tossed into the depths of hell. That’s what it looks like when God’s patience runs out. The good news is that Jesus endured that impatience in our place – so that all that God has left for us is an enduring patience, yes, even though we continue to sin and rebel against him every minute of every day.

That’s why we need to be in the Word – in the Law and Gospel – every single day! In the Word we are reminded that the LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy…he does not treat us as our sins deserve. He does not repay us according to our guilty deeds…as distant as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us (Psalm 103:8-12). If our holy God, faced with the enormity of our sin, is patient with us, putting up with our failures and graciously waiting to forgive us when we repent (2 Peter 3:9), then who are we to grow impatient with the weaknesses of others? Jesus has not come yet, not because he’s testing our patience, but because he is exercising extreme patience with us. As we wait for him, let us be patient with one another, building one another up, not tearing one another down – for good things come to those who wait…patiently.

Finally, waiting in a world that loves to persecute Christians demands perseverance. James has help for us here, too: brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering with patient endurance. See, we consider those who endured to be blessed. You have heard of the patient endurance of Job and have seen what the Lord did in the end, because the Lord is especially compassionate and merciful. When you think about the OT prophets, it’s hard to think of one who didn’t face persecution and yet, by God’s grace, persevered. Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc. But the example James cites is Job. Job, the most righteous man on earth at his time (Job 1:1), persevered in faith even as Satan unleashed his fury on him. Satan robbed Job of his property, his health, and his family. His suffering was made worse as his friends and his wife tempted him to curse God and die (Job 2:9). And yet, even in the midst of almost unimaginable suffering, Job trusted God’s wisdom and love and handed his troubles over to God: the LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. May the name of the LORD be blessed (Job 1:21).

The difficulty for us is defining the suffering we as Christians living in 21st century America actually face. We can freely worship our Lord and Savior without fear. We can talk about Jesus with our family and friends and they probably won’t chase us out of town. Being open about our faith won’t lead to a prison sentence. We can’t really imagine life in the early church where Christians had to be careful about who they worshipped with for fear that they might be a government spy who would hand them over to be tortured and murdered. We aren’t black-listed from employment or refused service because we believe that Jesus is coming again to take us home.

But Job’s confession still serves as a pretty good summary of the struggles we face today: the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Sometimes the Lord gives us challenges to face. He gives us an immoral boss or back-stabbing coworkers, a rebellious child or financial struggle. Other times he allows comforts to be taken away. He takes away our dreams, our jobs, our loved ones. He takes away our hearing or sight or health or wealth. And, we face a trial that believers in the OT and the early NT didn’t: it’s been 2000 years since Jesus promised that he was coming back soon! Soon? 2000 years? This world of instant gratification teaches us to think that patient, perseverant waiting is for suckers. To silently endure pain and persecution, trusting that Jesus is coming soon to take us out of this world, sounds to most like utter foolishness. Satan pelts us with doubt; leading us to wonder if Jesus is ever going to return. In the face of it all, by God’s grace, we persevere. Not because we have super-human faith. Not because we completely understand God’s hidden hand in our world or our lives. We wait and we persevere because we know the good things Lord has brought about in the lives of the saints in the past, because he comes to us here and now in Word and Sacrament to give us good things, and because we know when he returns he comes bearing the gift of heaven. We wait and we anticipate the Lord’s coming and until that happens, we rest in his grace, because we know the Lord is especially compassionate and merciful. We persevere because of who God is. He gives us perspective. He sows patience in our hearts and gives us the strength to persevere.

Whether you’re 7 or 70, waiting isn’t easy. James reminds us that good things come to those who wait. It starts with perspective. View everything in life in light of the end – when the Judge returns in glory – for then you will be able to see what is truly important now. It continues with patience. Be patient with each other because God, our merciful Father, has been patient with you. And, right to the end, persevere. Trust that God has never left his children hanging and he won’t start now. May Jesus give us this rare combination of perspective, patience, and perseverance so that he finds us eagerly waiting for the good things he will bring when he returns. Amen.

Matthew 1:1-2 - Jesus Is the Son of Abraham - December 7, 2022

More attention, more devotion, more praise; and more criticism, more opposition and more hatred have been directed at Jesus than any other person in human history. There’s really no comparison. Every recorded word that Jesus spoke has been sifted, analyzed, scrutinized and debated – letter by letter – by both believers and deniers – more than all other kings and queens, authors and artists, philosophers and scientists combined. Even 2000 years after his death, there isn’t a moment on earth that millions are not studying what Jesus said and did. Here’s a man who was born in the little town of Bethlehem 2000 years ago, and yet his birth still marks the dividing line of human history: BC – “before Christ;” and AD – Anno Domini, “the year of our Lord.” Just who is this person? Who is Jesus? That’s the question we’re asking during this Advent season. Matthew is serving as our guide. Tonight he informs us that in addition to being the royal Son of David, he is also the Son of Abraham.

While Jesus is clearly the most famous and important son of Abraham – he wasn’t the first famous and important one. That title belongs to Isaac. The story of Isaac is one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible. Abraham and Sarah had been trying to have children their entire marriage – and rightly so, for God had promised Abraham that he would have a son from whom would spring a people too numerous to count and through whom all people on earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3; 15:5). Roughly 25 years after God had first made his promise, at the ripe old age of 100 for Abraham and 90 for Sarah, he kept his word and Isaac was born. Isaac in Hebrew means laughter. No doubt the birth of Isaac gave great joy to Abraham and Sarah – as the birth of any child does. But it wasn’t long before God gave this horrifying command to Abraham: now take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there, the one to which I direct you (Genesis 22:2).

While God has never commanded us to do anything remotely close to sacrificing our only son (the son through whom the Savior would come, no less) – we can imagine what he felt, right? We’ve all had those days when the world seems to be coming apart around us; when our lives seem to be falling apart. When the OBGYN tells us to sit down and proceeds to tell us that the child we are so eager to welcome into this world has a severe birth defect – and may not survive. When our employer calls us into his office and tells us that cuts have to be made for the good of the company – and we are one of those cuts. When the burden of PTSD or depression seem to get heavier day by day. When our – or our children’s – marriage is on the rocks and it doesn’t appear like it will survive. When the doctor calls to say that tests confirm it is cancer or Alzheimer’s or dementia. When we get the call that yet another friend or relative has died…and we have yet another funeral to attend – it can feel like your world, your life is falling apart around you.

And at those times in life, it’s easy to get lost. We’re tempted to lose ourselves in our jobs or hobbies or social media or Netflix or substance abuse. We express our pain by lashing out in anger and hatred and revenge. Satan tempts us to believe that the pain will go away if we destroy our marriages, rip apart our families, abandon our friends, or even put an end it all. But, as dangerous and damaging as those temptations are, none of them are his ultimate goal; his ultimate goal is to lead us to blame God for the pain and the hurt – and to walk away from him in unbelief. Let’s not be so naïve as to pretend that we haven’t been there (or at least close) – and, if you haven’t, you will. But it’s at those times that we need Jesus the most. It’s at those times that Jesus’ words and work are most important. Because Jesus knows what it’s like – he knows what it’s like to have your life turned upside down.

Before we get there, let’s remember the context of this test. This text didn’t come out of the blue. Some time later God tested Abraham Genesis 22:1 tells us. God had prepared Abraham to face this test by making – and keeping – many promises. He had carefully and safely guided Abraham from his birthplace of Ur to Haran and then to Canaan – just as he promised (Genesis 12:1-3). God had made Abraham a very wealthy man – just as he promised (Genesis 13:2). God had shown Abraham the land of Canaan which his descendants would eventually inherit (Genesis 15:18-20). God had given Abraham and Sarah a son when they both were well beyond child-bearing years (Genesis 21). God had given Abraham comprehensive preparation for this test.

God has prepared us, too, for the tests we will face in our lives – like those we mentioned before. Through baptism, absolution, the Gospel and Holy Communion God regularly delivers to us the grace, faith and power he has promised us. Through these means of grace, he gives us courage and confidence, insight and wisdom. These means of grace – these ways in which God reaches down out of heaven into our lives to assure us of his presence and promises – also remind us that whatever test we’re facing – it’s not random, it’s not an accident. Every trial we face is, in fact, ultimately a test administered by God our Father.

Theoretically, I think, we can all agree with that premise, that fact: that God never sends a test into our lives that he hasn’t prepared us for. But that doesn’t answer the larger question: Why? That’s the question we ask most frequently when we’re going through a period of testing, isn’t it? Why do we have to undergo this testing at all? Why me? Why now? Why this? Do you know what God’s answer is? We aren’t told that Abraham asked this question – but Job certainly did (Job 42:1-6). It’s the classic parent answer: “Because.” Satisfied? No? Well, God’s answer doesn’t end there. Peter explains: because of this you rejoice very much, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various kinds of trials so that the proven character of your faith – which is more valuable than gold, which passes away even though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:6-7). Why does God test us? “Because,” he says, “because I love you right where you are but I love you too much to leave you where you are.” The tests God puts us through refine us; they mature us; they season us; they humble us – in the end, they lead us to despair of life in this world and to long for heaven. In other words, God tests us to strengthen us – that is, to strengthen our faith in him – so that we will be saved – that’s a good purpose for testing, no?

God’s testing of Abraham shows us that God prepares his people for the testing he gives and the purpose for the test. Finally, it teaches us that God provides provision for the test – he provides a way out. Back to Genesis 22: Abraham looked around and saw that behind him there was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. Abraham called the name of that place “The LORD Will Provide.” So it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided” (Genesis 22:13-14). In times of testing, this is what we need to remember – the same God who spared Isaac’s life on that mountain and provided Abraham with a way out is our God – a God with a proven track-record of providing for his children in times of testing. Our God saw Joseph sitting in Pharaoh’s prison and provided a miraculous way out (Genesis 41). He saw the people of Israel enslaved in Egypt and provided a way through the Red Sea (Exodus 7-14). He saw a teenager named David facing off against a giant named Goliath and provided a stone to strike him down (1 Samuel 17). He saw Daniel thrown into a lion’s den and provided angels to close their jaws (Daniel 6). In every test, God provides a way out. Paul says God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability, but when he tests you, he will also bring about the outcome that you are able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Of course, God has provided the ultimate provision for us in Jesus. Jesus also willingly took the wood of his sacrificial cross and carried it up a mountain – a mountain which some believe was the same on which Isaac was almost sacrificed – now referred to as Calvary. There would be no substitute this time. Well, more accurately – there would be no substitute for Jesus because he was that ram, he was our substitute. We were the ones who deserved to be marched out to Calvary and nailed to a tree – but Jesus took our place. He was arrested abruptly. Tried unjustly. Sentenced callously. Mocked repeatedly. Abandoned ruthlessly. Beaten brutally. Crucified barbarously. But then Jesus passed the ultimate test – he rose from the grave victorious! God reversed the curse. Jesus is alive – never to die again. Death has no power over him – or over any who belong to him! Jesus lives to provide what we need when we are faced with even the hardest tests of life. Once more, back to Paul: my God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Whatever test you’re facing in this moment, Jesus’ selfless sacrifice on the cross is proof that God will provide.

Thinking back to the account of Abraham and Isaac, there’s one thing that’s always struck me as strange, maybe even shocking: Abraham’s attitude after it was all over. He wasn’t bitter or angry or resentful that God had put him through this test. He didn’t call the mountain Mt. Resentment or Mt. Bitterness or Mt. Don’t Every Do That Again, God. He called it The LORD Will Provide (Genesis 22:14). In other words, Abraham was strengthened in his conviction that wherever God guides us he will provide. He will provide for us wherever he guides us, too. How do we know? Because we know Jesus, the Son of Abraham, the Son of sacrifice. Under God’s mighty hand, whatever trial you’re facing right now is for your good – and you will look back one day – although it may not be until the day you’re in heaven – and say: “Thank you Lord for the preparation, purpose and provision of those tests that strengthened my faith in Jesus, the Son of sacrifice, the Son of Abraham.” Amen.

Romans 15:4-13 - Where Is the Hope in This Holiday? - December 4, 2022

If you were forced to choose a single word to describe your mood in these days before Christmas, what word would you choose? Frantic? Underprepared? Overwhelmed? Frustrated? Impatient? Going broke? What about hopeful? Advent is a season of hope. The question is: what are we hoping for? Sure, most children – and even many adults – may be waiting to receive gifts, but even the unbelieving world recognizes that gifts aren’t the ultimate holiday hope – just consider any of the silly Christmas movies that will be playing nonstop until December 25th. The greatest hope (and perhaps the greatest fear) most people have this time of year has to do with relationships. This time of year we spend more time with others than any other – work parties and family gatherings, checkout lines and soup suppers. And, I would expect that we all hope to engage in these interactions as loving, accepting and understanding people. How’s that going for you? Certainly, we won’t ignore error, false teaching or immoral living as we gather with coworkers, family, friends, and fellow members – right? – but who doesn’t hope that this year there won’t be any bitter arguments or slammed doors or nasty social media posts? We hope for unity and love and friendship. The question is: where is the hope for that in this holiday, where is the hope in Christmas?

Before we can find the hope, we need to recognize the source of the hopelessness that seems omnipresent in these days before Christmas. The world might blame its hopelessness on inflation or the war in Ukraine or on supply chain issues that make it difficult or impossible to find the gifts you want to give to the people you love. But the reality is that the source of hopelessness is not out there – it’s in here. And we Lutherans are good – I might even say the best – at articulating the real source of hopelessness – at least if you remember Luther’s explanations of the first, second and third articles of the Apostles’ Creed from confirmation class. In the first article we confess that everything we are and have is a pure gift of God’s grace and not because [we] have earned or deserved it. In the second we confess that we are lost and condemned creature[s]. In the third we confess that there is nothing we can do to change this situation. These are the hopeless realities that are true of every human being from conception – but which only a precious few acknowledge and confess. But it’s there. Every year at this time you see stories about the “Christmas blues” – how more people are sad, lonely, depressed, and even suicidal during the holidays – because they have no hope.

And when people feel hopeless, they tend to give up – even when rescue is near. In 1945, when the USS Indianapolis, the ship that carried crucial parts for the atomic bomb that was eventually dropped on Japan which ended WWII, was ripped in half by Japanese torpedoes, about 900 of the almost 1200 sailors aboard were left stranded in the ocean. Only about 300 survived. The shocking thing is that after waiting days and nights in the open ocean many of them gave up and drowned themselves even as the rescue planes were circling. They gave up hope even when rescue was in sight. That’s what happened to Judas – even as Jesus was willingly sacrificing himself for his sins, he gave up hope and ended his life at the end of a rope (Matthew 27:5). That’s a very real temptation for very many people – even us or the people we know and love – this time of year. That’s because if we hope that we or the people around us will suddenly change because the calendar says December 25th, we are bound to be disappointed. That’s a holiday myth that’s preached by Hallmark movies and advertising professionals – but it isn’t reality. And so, as shocking as this may sound, I’m telling you to let go of that hope for this holiday.

But that doesn’t mean that you should give up all hope. Paul writes that whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through patient endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we would have hope. In other words, Paul is encouraging us to recall the hopeless situations in Scripture into which God injected a powerful dose of hope. ESPN used to air a segment called “You Had One Job.” That’s how I think of Genesis 3 and Adam and Eve – they had one job: don’t eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:17). But they ate and the moment they ate they realized the hopelessness of their situation. They futilely tried to hide from God and cover their shame with leaves. But God hadn’t lost hope. God came to them and promised that one of Eve’s descendants would crush the serpent’s head once and for all (Genesis 3:14-15).

And there are more examples in Scripture. When Abraham and his wife Sarah were old – and, in regard to fertility – their bodies were as good as dead (Romans 4:19), God promised to give them a son – and through faith in this promise, Paul writes in Romans 4 that Abraham [hoped] beyond what he could expect, he believed that he would become the father of many nations (Romans 4:18). King David’s sins were, according to his own description in Psalm 32, killing him physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually – and yet, when he confessed those sins, do you remember what his pastor, Nathan, said? The LORD himself has put away your sin. You will not die (2 Samuel 12:13). Israel seemed like a hopeless wreck of a nation in Ezekiel’s day, and yet the LORD showed him how he would raise that wreck to life again by the power of the Spirit (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Peter denied Jesus three times in the temple courtyard (John 18:15-18) – and yet weeks later Jesus came to him to restore him to his place as his apostle, encouraging him to feed my sheep (John 21:17). In other words, with God it’s never hopeless.

And that’s why – while you may think I’m a kill-joy for dismissing the hope offered by the world out there – our focus this season (and every season) must be on the God of hope and what he has done to inject hope into our otherwise hopeless lives. He could have given up hope on this fallen world but instead he sent his Son to be born of a woman, to be born under the Law in order to redeem all those under the Law (Galatians 4:4-5). While Jesus never grew impatient or irritated or lashed out at either friend or foe in a sinful way – as our substitute, by the way – God handed him over to sin, death and the devil to receive the punishment that we deserve for all the sins we’ve already committed and will commit this holiday season. There was hell to pay, and there is no better description of hell than the absolute hopelessness that Jesus expressed when he cried out my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46). When God turns his back on you – gives up hope in you – that’s true hopelessness. But Jesus paid it. As Paul puts it: Christ became a servant…to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs. Jesus submitted himself to hopelessness so that you could have hope.

The reason that there is so much hopelessness this time of year is that so much of the world’s hope is built on a foundation of sand. You hope your grandchild will like that present, right? You didn’t know that something newer came out just last week. You hope that the whole family can be together this year – after all the fuss over Covid has passed – right? Well, welcome to the so-called “tri-demic” of flu, RSV and Covid all in one convenient and annoying package. You hope that you won’t lose your temper or think or say some nasty things under your breath about your in-laws – well, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. If our hope for this Christmas is grounded in us, we should give up all hope.

Are you feeling hopeless this season? Have you lost hope that you will be able to cover all the bills this season creates? Have you lost hope that your health or the health of someone you love will recover? Have you lost hope that your children or grandchildren who have wandered from the faith will ever return? Have you lost hope that that relationship that was broken so bitterly and permanently can ever be repaired? Then you’re in the right place, because here is where hope is restored – not in ourselves or in the people around us, but in God – and his endless hope in us.

Paul refers to God as the God of hope. If you’re the God of something, that means you own it; you control it; you can’t lose it. God never loses hope with this world – or with us. And, again, I think we Lutherans articulate this hope more clearly than almost anyone in Luther’s explanation of the Apostles’ Creed. In the First Article we confess that God the Father provides clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home – so if you have those things, know that God hasn’t lost hope in you. In the Second we confess that even though we were hopelessly lost and condemned creatures, Jesus redeemed us not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood. In the Third we confess that even though we could never choose to believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has called, gathered, enlightened and sanctified us by the Gospel. While our hope in ourselves and others is uncertain – the hope we have in God’s loving, redeeming, protecting care is absolutely certain – it’s set in stone in the words of Scripture – and distributed regularly through the means of grace.

And this hope has practical implications for us – and our relationships – in these days before Christmas. Paul was writing to a church in Rome that was struggling with division between Jewish and Gentile Christians – and reminding them that in Christ, they are one. He writes may God, the source of patient endurance and encouragement, grant that you agree with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that with one mind, in one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason, accept one another as Christ also accepted you to the glory of God. If your greatest hope this season is for peace, joy and unity in your personal relationships - then here’s the key: start and end with Jesus, at his manger, his cross and his empty tomb. Because where Jesus and his cleansing blood are – there all of those bitter arguments, those nasty words, those years or decades old sins melt away. In Jesus, we can be united in hope – because he accepted us – sins and all – we can accept each other – sins and all – and worship God with one mind and one voice. I pray that is our greatest hope for this Christmas season.  

And so, while you watch the rest of the world scurrying around, frantically trying to drum up hope in gifts and decorations and cookies and their own efforts to be nicer and kinder – we rest in the fact that our hope is not based on us but on what God has done for us in Christ. Your hope for this Christmas and for eternity is firmly grounded – not only in the fact that our God is the God of hope; not only in the fact that Scripture proves that those who placed their faith and hope in him were never disappointed – but in the fact that God has and continues to deliver the ingredients for our hope here through Word and Sacrament. This water, this Word, this bread and wine prove that God has not given up on us (and that he hasn’t given up on your coworkers, friends or family, either). And that is one hope that will never disappoint! Amen.