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Sermons

This is a list of Pastor Wagner's most recently posted sermons. You can, of course, see a fuller list of those sermons at If these Stones Could Speak..., or follow the links here to the full manuscripts, as posted.

Down the side of each entry you'll see some icons. One is the link to the full manuscript, and it will lead you to the the main sermon site; this one is always at the bottom. The others will appear if certain things exist. If there is a PDF file of the manuscript, you'll see an icon. If there is an MP3 recording of the sermon, you'll see an icon. If there is a YouTube video of the sermon, you'll see an icon.



02
February
2025
The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
St. Luke 4:31-44
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

It is a familiar saying that John 3:16 is the Gospel in a nutshell; that God loved the world, so He sent His Son. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17) Every week you sing the Agnus Dei which proclaims with the other John that Jesus is the “Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world.” St. Paul wrote that “[God] in Christ was reconciling the world to himself.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

Therefore, from Scripture (especially these passages), you learn this truth: Jesus is the Savior of the world. But, you can also discern this truth: If Jesus is the Savior of the world, then He is the Savior of each person, individually, that is part of the world.

This morning’s Gospel finds Jesus of Nazareth having left Nazareth, after passing through the people unharmed as they sought to throw him over the brow of the cliff on which the town was built—the end of last week’s Gospel. He had returned to Capernaum, teaching and amazing His hearers. He spoke with authority…His own authority. He didn’t merely repeat what had been repeated by teachers before him and teachers before them: “You have heard that it was said…but I say to you…” (cf. Matthew 5:21ff)

A demon-possessed man was in the synagogue where Jesus was teaching with authority. This world that Jesus had come to save was the playground of these unclean demons. And so, this one cried out,

Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.

Now, isn’t it amazing that when the demon spoke, He identified Jesus as the Christ; there are very few people in the Gospel accounts that do the same. But, as it is written, “Even the demons believe—and shudder;” (James 2:19) the demons believe, in this case know who Jesus is, and shudder before Him. So, Jesus rebuked this knowledgeable but shuddering demon: “Be silent and come out of him!”

“Be silent!” “It is not for you to tell these people who I am. It is not yet my time. When my time comes, and the Son of Man is lifted up as the serpent was in the wilderness, then they can gaze upon me and know that I am the Christ. So, come out of him!”

And, once again, the people were amazed. “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” In other words, “How is He able to speak and the unclean spirits obey? Who is this that even the demons obey Him?” Oh, if only they knew, and they will soon enough.

“What’s next?” you can imagine them thinking. Simple! He got up, and left.

This past week, I got to thinking about my dear professor again—Dr. Norman Nagel. It happens from time to time. And I went looking for a file in which I thought I had collected a bunch of his sayings and quirks that others remembered and had shared—Nagel-isms we called them—but I couldn’t. I did find a few in other files, but not the one file of only Nagel-isms. However, there is always one that I remember: He would come in to the classroom, put his briefcase on the desk, and start pacing, eyes closed, and lecturing. He would walk from one side of the room to the other, coming mere millimeters from running into the wall at either end. Then, after about 15 or so minutes of lecturing, he would abruptly leave the classroom. He had said what he wanted to say. He had said what he needed to say. We were left in amazement at what he had said, and we were graciously given time to soak it in, ruminate on it, fully digest it, and come to class the next day and discuss it. Of any man I have ever met, I like to think that Dr. Nagel is the one of the most Christ-like.

In the same vein, I could imagine Jesus doing something similar in Capernaum that day. Not that it is written that he did or that I think that He did, but given what was written of that day in Capernaum, it seems like he taught for a bit, exorcised a demon, then left and let the people soak it all in. However, as you may recall from last week, when Jesus taught, He sat, as it was customary to do. So, it’s likely he didn’t do the Nagel-like pacing, but the rest is not out of the question.

Where did He go? He went into the house of Peter, His disciple. Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever, and He had been told about it. This is an amazing bit of information. Jesus left the crowd, left the many, to attend to the one. God sent His Son to save the world, and in so doing, sent His Son to save the person who lives in the world.

The Holy One of God left His lofty, seated position of authority, and stooped down to one lowly soul who is suffering with a fever. He rebuked the fever, it left her, and she began serving them. There was no pomp or circumstance there, she simply went about the task of caring for the house and all who were in it. But she did so confident in the knowledge that her son-in-law’s teacher was sent for her, personally.

Now, the crowd had followed Him to Peter’s house, and by this time had assembled at the door with many of their own sick and demon-possessed relatives. “[A]nd He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.” He laid His hands on every one of them, individually. Every person who had need of God’s grace received it individually from the Son of God…well into the night, after the sun had set, and into the early hours of the next morning.

How deep is the love of Christ that He did this for those people, individually, in Capernaum? How deep is the love of Christ that He does the same for you. While I certainly mean you corporately, Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, I definitely mean each of you individually assembled here.

In all of your cares and situations, you have the privilege as an individual in the world that Christ was sent to save to present your petitions before God. And God does hear them and answer them. In those times of illness, pray to God for God in Christ heals your diseases, if not in time, then certainly in eternity. If you are wrestling with some other burden, a sin or concern that has you sorely weighed down, or even demon-possession (yes, they can and do still happen), “take it to the Lord in prayer;” God hears your prayers, and He answers them for He has taken your burdens from you, individually, and placed them on the individual of His Son who bore them to the cross, for you, individually. All of this He does out of love for you, His people, and for you, individually, His son in Christ. As I often like to say, take this personally.

God is gracious—He has sent someone to you to care for you and feed you. So, in those times of need and tribulation, you can and should certainly pray to God, but you can also call your pastor. This man, as he is able, by the command and in the stead of his Lord Jesus Christ (and your Lord) will then come to you, individually, to hear your concern and to proclaim the Word of God to you in your personal need. He can be there to pray with you; he can be there to lay his hands on you in blessing and prayer.

You will get a beautiful taste of this grace given to God’s people individually in just over two months. On Maundy Thursday, the service will begin with corporate confession. After the congregation corporately confesses their sins, you are invited up to received Christ’s absolution individually. The pastor places his hands on the penitent’s head and pronounces, “In the stead and command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” What’s different about it this time is that “you” and “your” is singular. And this is just as valid and certain as if God in Heaven were speaking to you, personally, in the absolution. So, take it personally.

But, you don’t have to wait that long. If you ever find yourself burdened by any particular sin between now and then (and even after Maundy Thursday), call your pastor. He is called by God to hear your (singular) confession, speak the absolution over you (singular), and encourage you (singular) with the Word of God. Please, do not hesitate to make use of this gift that God has given to the Church, and to each of you, His sons in Christ.

And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

With all of this comes a word of caution. It is easy be tempted to view Jesus as your “personal Lord and Savior.” While this is true, the caution comes in turning that into the belief that God sent His Son to do your bidding. “He’s my Savior to give me what I need and want when I need and want it.”

God does promise to hear your prayers, but only once is a promise is ever made to answer your prayers in a manner or time that pleases you. You are encouraged and commanded to call upon God in “every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.” St. Paul wrote, “[D]o not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6), and that, “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) Still, only once is it ever said that prayers and wants are answered immediately and in the manner desired.

Therefore, do not be discouraged when God does not immediately heal you of your illness, as he did to Peter’s mother-in-law. Do not grumble against God when He doesn’t allow your favorite football team to win. Do not curse God when He does not give you the handsome raise or promotion you think you deserve—or if He doesn’t give you the job you want—or if doesn’t magically make the money you want appear in your lap. In other words, do not hinder the Christ from accomplishing the purpose for which He was sent.

On the contrary, in those times, look to the cross, for there you find the immediate answer to the one prayer, just as He promises. For it is written, “[C]all upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:15), and, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9) Look to the cross, for it is there that the prayer, “Lord, have mercy” is answered with the death of His Son, a death which was the purpose for which He was sent. It is at the cross that you see the Son of God lifted up, that all may gaze upon Him, see Him, believe in Him.

However, here another beautiful Nagel-ism comes into play. He once said,

If you want your sins forgiven, don’t go to Calvary. There forgiveness was won for you, but there it is not given out. You go to the Lord’s Supper. There forgiveness is not won for you, but there it is given out.

So, yes, the prayer for mercy is answered at the cross, but it is delivered to you personally once in the waters of Holy Baptism, in the Words of Absolution, and, as Dr. Nagel preached, in the Lord’s Supper where you take into yourself the body of Christ given for you and the blood of Christ shed for you under the bread and wine for your forgiveness, life, and salvation. Yes, look to the cross, but look even more to His means, for there you find the answer—the immediate answer—to your prayer, “Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.” (Psalm 25:18)

“Forgive me for despairing of your mercy when you did not take my fever away when I asked.” “Forgive me for blaming you when my team lost.” “Forgive me for cursing you for not giving me the money I wanted.” “Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.”

Dear hearers, cast your cares upon Jesus. By God’s grace, confess yours sins for what they are. God is faithful and just—He hears your prayers; He answers your prayers; He forgives your sins. Look at the cross and see your Savior hanging there; that blood was shed for you, all of you gathered here. Look to His means, for there He grants you forgiveness of sins individually. Take this personally!

So, with that prayer for forgiveness answered, you receive peace. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) Since this is true for all of you, it is true for each of you individually, because you, each one of you, are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
26
January
2025
The Third Sunday after the Epiphany
St. Luke 4:16-30
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

I often wonder what it would be like if I were to return to my “home” congregation as a guest preacher.

For a little bit of background, I’ll say this: My grandparents were long-time residents of Tampa or the surrounding suburbs. When my grandparents married, there was only one LCMS congregation in the Tampa area. As the metro area grew, especially in the 70s and 80s, several other LCMS congregations were established; almost all of them began in my grandparents’ house. Not to boast, but the name Wagner is almost synonymous with Missouri Synod Lutheranism in the Tampa metro area.

That’s why I often wonder what it would be like if I were to return to my “home” congregation in Carrollwood (a Tampa suburb) and be about a task of ministry there. They know me there. They’ve seen me when my family would drive down from Ft. Gordon in Georgia for a holiday break. They received me as a member when I went away to college, and often saw me during that time. In a sense, they saw me grow up and certainly heard stories of me (and the rest of my cousins) from my grandparents. I was ordained in that congregation and was a first-time celebrant of the Sacrament there that afternoon. While it’s not the same for a pastor who grew up and spent every Sunday of their young lives in the same congregation, there is a certain renown that I have with Lutheran circles in Tampa that most others don’t share.

So, when I wonder and imagine what my return there would be like, I am confident I would be met with some contempt and resistance. For one, sadly, I think that many Lutherans in Tampa suffer from a lack of proper catechization that has plagued the LCMS for a few generations, now, so to hear a preacher that they know quote from the Small Catechism (and the Book of Concord), as he likes to do, could easily be received as a show of special or better knowledge and be met with resistance and complaint. “How dare you presume to teach us this?” and “How can you be like that?” would be added to the regular litany of complaints.

“Familiarity breeds contempt,” is an idiom learned from Aesop. Even so, Aesop was not the only one to say it. In today’s Gospel, Jesus taught something similar: “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.”

Jesus grew up in the little town of Nazareth. The people there knew Him as Joseph and Mary’s son. They watched Him grow up and learn to care for His family, as any good Jewish boy was supposed to. He learned His step-father’s trade, and so the people knew of His craft (and may have had some of His creations in their homes). They knew that He left town and went into the wilderness around Jordan and was baptized by His relative (though His whereabouts for the forty days after that were a little sketchy, I’m sure, when He was tempted by the devil). After His time with Satan, “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” (Luke 4:14-15)

In such a short time, Jesus had acquired a reputation outside of Nazareth: He had quickly developed into a glorious teacher. In fact, He had even already begun casting out demons and healing diseases, according to Mark. (cf. Mark 1:21ff) Certainly, news of this spread to His hometown. Then, one day, He returns home. On the Sabbath, He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. While there, He took the position to read; He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and found the 61st chapter and began to read:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

When He finished, He handed the scroll back and sat down, the position a teacher took when he was teaching. And so you might imagine that when “the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him,” they were so in amazement, eyes wide open, mouths to match. “What was Jesus going to say?” “What is this little carpenter going to do?”

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” “Today, as I read from Isaiah, I am proclaiming to you that I am He whom Isaiah was writing about. I was the One who gave Isaiah the words to proclaim and write, and I am the One who those words are talking about. I, Jesus of Nazareth, am here to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to give sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed. Truly, truly, I say to you that in Me is the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The people marveled at this: “These are gracious words indeed. It is a time to rejoice if now is the time of God’s favor.” But, there was an air of contempt about them: “Wait a moment, isn’t this Jospeh’s son? Isn’t this the same man we knew as a little boy who we saw grow up? The same boy whose tears we wiped when he scraped his knees? The same boy who played with our children? The same boy who caused his parents grief by staying behind in Jerusalem when we were traveling back home? How can He, of all people, say this? There’s no way this same boy could be the Messiah God promised!”

So, knowing their minds and hearts, Jesus continued his sermon: “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” In other words, “Prove yourself! We’ve heard the stories of you being a glorious teacher. We get that; we saw and heard that today. But, we’ve also heard the stories of your miracles in places not here. Do something here, too, so that we may see and believe.”

And Jesus continued:

Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.

The people expected miracles, so Jesus brings up two miracles from the past, performed by two of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history. But, notice to whom these miracles were performed. During a time of great famine in the region, many in Israel were suffering, but to none of them was relief given, only to a widow in Zeraphath, a gentile! Israel’s history is replete with lepers; none of them were miraculously cleansed by Elisha, but he did, by God’s Word, cleanse Naaman, a Syrian—a gentile and enemy of Israel!

What’s the moral of all of this? Miracles are not meant to prove God’s credentials to those who already have His Word. Jesus was in the synagogue and read from the Isaiah scroll to the people of God assembled in that place. He preached the Word of God to them. They had no need of miracles; they had God’s Word on it. Also, it was a reminder that God was the Creator and Redeemer of all, Israel and gentile alike, and that Israel was supposed to bring the good news of salvation to the nations. It is a lesson that fills the book of Isaiah, who wrote passages like

Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:
“I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon… (Isaiah 42:5-7a)

Now, I’m not claiming to be the second coming of Christ. For one thing, I didn’t come as He left, a sure and certain sign that I am not He. But, the message I am given to proclaim is the same as His. Now is the acceptable year of the LORD. The words you heard from Isaiah 61 are fulfilled in the life of Christ and in your own lives. Jesus of Nazareth has done all of those things Isaiah spoke and wrote, and you, dear people of God, are the recipients of that fulfillment.

  • “To preach the gospel to the poor.” To you poor, miserable sinners is proclaimed the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
  • “He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted.” To you who are weighed down by the cares and worries of this world is declared that Jesus has borne all of your cares and burdens, and He promises you eternal rest in life everlasting. You have His Word on that, a Word that is sealed to you in your baptism.
  • “To proclaim liberty to the captives.” You who were captive to sin have been set free; the burden of your sin was taken from you by the Christ and crucified with Him. “[O]ur old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7)
  • “And recovery of sight to the blind.” That blindness that prevented you from seeing God in Christ has been healed. Through the waters of Holy Baptism, you have been given the eyes of faith that can look with confidence upon your God and recognize in Him your Creator and Redeemer.
  • “To set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Once you were at odds with God and children of the devil, oppressed by Him and His deceit that you are no beloved creation. But now Christ has come and defeated the devil, crushed his head by His death on the cross, and freed you, His most cherished creation, from Satan’s power and deceitful oppression.

Yes, dear hearers, now is the acceptable year of the LORD. You have His word on it. Do not be like the Nazarenes who looked for God’s favor and power in miracles. You know Jesus by His Word, because “faith comes by hearing.” (cf. Romans 10:17) That does not mean that He leaves you without miracles; there is in simple means of water, bread, and wine—combined with the Word of God—the greatest miracles of all: forgiveness, life, and salvation. God’s promise to those who believe is not for miracles for this life; on the contrary, God’s promise for those who believe is resurrection from the dead and the life of the world to come, just as we confess.

Yes, dear baptized, now is the year of the Lord’s favor. Therefore, joyfully proclaim that Word of God to the nations! For, just as Elijah and Elisha were sent to gentiles in Israel’s day—even to the enemy of Israel—the Church today is sent to the gentiles of this day and age to proclaim that in Christ there is forgiveness and life and salvation. Just as Israel had the Word of God in Isaiah that they were called in righteousness to be a light to the gentiles, so the Church also has the Word of God in Matthew that tells you to go and make disciples of all nations—of all people—baptizing and teaching them. What a joyous task to be about, to share the good news of salvation that you have been given—to share the words of Christ:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Yes, dear friends in Christ, now is the year of the Lord’s favor. The Gospel lesson ends with the people of Nazareth rising up against Jesus and attempting to throw him over a cliff. It is tempting to do something similar, especially when you don’t get your way with God—when He doesn’t answer your petitions in timely fashion or in the way you wanted—you want to throw Him over the cliff of your lives. Dear hearers, do not put God in your little boxes; the point is not to have your way with God, but that God has His way with you. Because, when God has His way with you, it is most certainly the year of the Lord’s favor—for that is when you confess your sinfulness, and once again hear that precious gospel, have your broken hearts healed, be released from captivity, recover your sight, and are set free from oppression.

And so it is my joy and privilege to proclaim to you who are here and receive His Word, that God has had His way with you and does have His way with you, and so you are forgiven for all of your sins!

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
12
January
2025
The Baptism of Our Lord
St. Luke 3:15-22 (St. Luke 3:1-9; St. John 1:19-27)
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

It doesn't take long in the Christ-half of the Church year for the boy Jesus to grow up. It was just a week ago that you heard about the 12 year-old Jesus in the temple. A day after that, the church observed Epiphany, and regressed about 10 years to when Jesus would have been no more than 2 years old, when he was visited by sages from the east.

Today, however, He is about 30 years old. Luke doesn’t give an exact age, but he does supply a date, relatively speaking: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” It was at this time that John preached in the wilderness the sermon just before today’s pericope, the same time “when all the people were baptized,” and “that Jesus also was baptized.”

John was a man who, immediately after he was born, was proclaimed by his father as “prophet of the Most High,” the one who “will go before the Lord to prepare His ways.”

[T]o give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

So, some 30 years later, John was in “all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew and Mark added that John “was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey”…typical wilderness prophet stuff. Matthew and Mark also wrote that “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” It’s not a stretch to assume that this motley group of people included not only ordinary Jews, but also those who belonged to the Pharisees and Sadducees, even Gentile converts and curious Gentiles—Romans, Greeks, Parthians, etc.—all going to John in the Jordan wilderness and being baptized by him for the forgiveness of sins (or just watching the spectacle, if nothing else).

And, John's baptism indeed worked the forgiveness of sins. Those who came to John and received his preaching confessed their sins and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins in the Jordan river. John was in the wilderness “preaching a baptism of repentance.” Repentance is the acknowledgment of and sorrow for sin, which is worked by God through the preaching of the Law. Those who received John's preaching, by the Law received contrition for their sin and repented of it. It is then that through the preaching of the Gospel that John directed the repentant to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins; he made it clear that the source of forgiveness was Jesus Christ, as you may recall from his interaction with the priests and Levites that John, the evangelist, records:

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

Or, as he says in today's Gospel lesson:

I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

John was fulfilling the Word spoken of him at his birth. By preaching a baptism of repentance, John was going “before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.”

[T]o give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

As it also happened, on this day during the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, etc., Jesus came to John to be baptized. Matthew pointed out that John tried to prevent Him from being baptized: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:13) You might imagine that John is shocked at this. “I am the sinner, and you are the sinless One,” he could have said, “What need do you have of a baptism for the forgiveness of sins? You are the source of forgiveness.” And, John is right!

But Jesus says, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) Jesus needed John's baptism to fulfill all righteousness. In a sense, Jesus needed John's baptism to be the source of forgiveness…to win forgiveness for sinful man. For it is in being baptized that Jesus unites Himself with sinful man and becomes the sinner for you. I like to tell confirmation students that in being baptized, Jesus became the designated sinner or designated sin-bearer for them. But, there are other words and phrases that are familiar that also get the point across: Substitute, Vicarious Atonement, the Propitiation for Our Sins. In His baptism, Jesus becomes all of these for you, in order to fulfill all righteousness.

Or, you can look at it this way as well. A great multitude came to John to be baptized by him for the forgiveness of sin. He brought them down into the Jordan to wash them, pointing to Christ as the source of the washing. You can look at the Jordan waters as being spiritually filthy waters, then. Then Jesus is baptized in those spiritually filthy waters, an act that shatters the perceptions of holiness and His high priesthood, taking all of that filth upon himself.

It is no accident, then, that the Baptism of Jesus is the beginning of His ministry as Messiah. For the previous 30-or-so years, He learned and worked at the craft of His step-father, making only brief appearances (if you will) as the Son of God (such as at the temple at 12 years old). Now, he breaks away from that life, receives John's baptism, and begins His ministry—He begins His arduous 3-year journey to Jerusalem and the cross—teaching, healing all manners of diseases, casting out demons, raising the dead, forgiving sins, and making enemies who would crucify Him. He begins His way toward the cross by taking into His flesh the sin of the world.

“But, how does He do that for those who were, are, and will be baptized after He was?” you might ask. Because in His baptism, Jesus sanctified the waters of this world for Baptism to work the benefits He promised in His word: “forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and eternal salvation to all who believe this.” For, it is written in Mark 16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,” and in 1 Peter 3, “Baptism now saves you!” It is the same as saying that at the cross, every sin that was committed and that will be committed was nailed with Jesus and there died with Him. It is a “time-defying miracle” as it has countlessly been explained to me. It is futile to attempt any explanation beyond that; you have to take it on faith because the Word of God declares it to be so.

So it is that Jesus came to John to be baptized. This is He of whom John said, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” It is incumbent to recognize the One who joins Himself to you in His baptism also as your Judge. The words John spoke to his hearers are important to hear.

You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Yes, dear Baptized, you must also hear the Law of God! Or do you not recall that Baptism indicates that the “Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” Your Baptism is not a one-day deal; it's not that you were baptized—no you are baptized!

Even if you were not yet be baptized, the word of God's Law would be for you, too. Contrition and repentance can be worked apart from baptism, especially in those who want to believe! As an example, recall the contrite thief on the cross next to Jesus. Or, perhaps look even to John's hearers in today's Gospel.

So, do not flee from the wrath to come. You will most certainly be faced with bouts of faithlessness. The toils and stresses of life on this earth will be difficult to bear. Stresses with health, relationships, work, finances, etc. can drive one to the point that they doubt God's love, presence, and providence—to the point where they curse God. However, I proclaim to you that these are not signs that God does not care, but that the contrary is true; these are manifestations of God's Fatherly will that you should not rely on yourself, but on Him—that you do not claim grace or favor because of who you are or where you come from or from whom you are descended, but that you look to God for grace and favor through His Son—that you confess your sins for what they are, in contrition and repentance, bearing that fruit in keeping with repentance, and receive the forgiveness His Son won for you on the cross, where He died with all of those sins washed upon Him when He was baptized.

“Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” Coming up out of the water, Jesus prayed. As He prayed, heaven opened. What a miracle! Heaven didn't open for anyone else baptized that day, or any day before, or any day since. The Spirit hasn't descended upon anyone since in bodily form like a dove when they were baptized. No voice came from heaven for anyone else proclaiming them God's beloved Son in whom He is pleased.

On the contrary, sin keeps heaven shut to everyone else. And so, in order to fulfill all righteousness, Jesus was baptized. In His baptism, Jesus opens heaven for you, for He bears the keys to heaven itself, as He proclaimed to John, the evangelist: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

Dear friends in Christ, that is why Jesus went to John to be baptized, to fulfill all righteousness. He was washed in order that heaven would be opened to you, so that your sins would be washed onto Him, and you in turn receive His righteousness and be received through Him in the presence of His Father in Heaven. For,

[God] in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

What a Blessed Exchange! And so it is, because of that exchange, that in your Baptism you do receive the Holy Spirit, not in the form of a dove, but as your Comforter. Because of that most Blessed Exchange, in your Baptism, God in Christ claims you as His son in whom He is well pleased.

Yes, dear hearers, what a Blessed Exchange! Because of that exchange, it is my joy and privilege to proclaim to you who receive this Word of God that you are forgiven for all of your sins!

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
06
January
2025
The Epiphany of Our Lord
St. Matthew 2:1-12
In the name of Jesus. Amen.

When it comes to Christmas, American Christianity (and even American Civil Religion in some respects) tends to be overly sentimental. Manger scenes are set up in a style the creates a peaceful scene with the animals in quiet awe of the Birth of the Creator of the Universe. Christmas pageants are performed with cute children dressed as angels and shepherds in oversized bath robes. And the entire world gathers to sing “Silent Night,” as if to pretend that it will “sleep in heavenly peace” that night.

Now, don’t get me wrong. In order to be heard at this time of year, even the secular artists cannot shy away from songs that proclaim the birth of the Savior of the World. It is Christmas, after all. But it’s almost always done with a bunch of sap and schmalz and false ideas of peace and what it means that the Prince of Peace has been born.

The reality of the Nativity—and what follows—is anything but peaceful. First, there’s childbirth. If you’ve ever witnessed it, it is hardly ever peaceful and silent. And Jesus’ birth was, perhaps, especially strange; being born in a barn, if there were sheep, oxen, cows, donkeys, and camels about, they were likely not kneeling and silently attentive to the commotion going on in the stall where the people were, like you always see in the plastic, plaster, or pewter replicas that can be found around the world. You can also bet that the Infant didn’t spend much time in that manger; he had to be there when the shepherds came and found the family, but in addition to being swaddled, if He was awake, He was likely crying or nursing—it’s what babies do, and Jesus is fully baby at the Nativity.

And then there were those shepherds out in the fields tending to the sheep (so I guess maybe they weren’t in the stable). Things for them were certainly more peaceful and silent BEFORE the birth was announced. But, their silent, dark night was pierced by a bright heavenly light and the voice of an angel telling them, cowering in fear at this point, not to be afraid, but to go joyfully to find the Babe lying in a manger. It’s not everyday that you’ll find a sight such as this, and I’m not referring only to the angels, because even more showed up and began singing; I imagine the night was lit up like the day time.

So, in addition to animals milling about as she’s trying to calm her Baby, Mary then had to deal with visiting shepherds. I suppose it’s to be expected if you’ve just given birth in a barn, but still, some courtesy might have been appreciated. Of course, this was no ordinary Baby. This is the Son of God.

And what a world God was born into. It’s a world of harsh realities and despotic tyrants. But, that’s the kind of world that God came to redeem—to redeem and to save from those harsh realities and despotism. God, the Author of life, is born to conquer death, and that’s a harsh reality that the world has had to deal with for many millennia (and still has for the millennia since He was born).

Sometimes, those harsh realities and despotic tyrants go hand-in-hand. See Herod the Great; he’s the “king” of Judah at the time of Jesus’ birth, claiming the title, though placed on the throne by the Roman emperor. An Idumean by birth (an Edomite) he claimed the Jewish religion, though there are some who have questioned whether he really had. He’s the one to whom the Magi from the east go to find the King that was born. This is news to Herod, and of course it would have disturbed him greatly. He’s a despot, and has done some pretty despicable things to keep the power that he was given. Of course, little of that is ever mentioned in regard to the Nativity, but here goes:

  • He supposedly had a secret police force whose purpose was to sway the people of Jerusalem in his favor by way of prohibiting and suppressing protests and having opponents removed by force.
  • Additionally, he had a bodyguard of about 2000 soldiers.
  • He had his own wife and two sons killed in order to protect his seat on the throne.

It’s a wonder that there’s never a figure of Herod included in those manger scenes.

So, it would make sense that Jerusalem was disturbed by the news of the birth of the King right along with Herod. It could be that anyone not disturbed by it would have been made to disappear by those secret police and bodyguards. Still, this fear over the birth of the Christ is on them, not solely on Herod.

The Magi’s report of the birth of the King not only disturbed Herod, it enraged him. He called for the priests and scribes to tell him where the Christ was to be born. After they informed him, he told the Magi to go and report back where they find the Christ. He intended to kill the Child, though He told the Magi that he wanted to worship Him, too.

And about those priests and scribes; did they go with the Magi? No, they remained in Jerusalem. The Christ was born, and the only people who went from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to see and worship Him are the Magi. If anyone else SHOULD have gone with them, it would have made sense for the scribes and priests to go. These were the experts in the Law and the Prophets—they reported from the prophet Micah exactly where the Christ was to be born. Is this the force of those secret police? Perhaps, but again, this apathy and fear and dread is on them as much as it is on Herod and his goons.

“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” (John 1:11) The only people who marveled at the birth of the Christ are some lowly shepherds and some Gentile magicians, astrologers, astronomers. Every time I read this text and think about that, I wonder if, perhaps, a majority of the Jews of Jesus’ time remained Jews, that only the lowly and despised among the Jews were joined by the lowly and despised among the Gentiles to receive the right to become children of God; that’s something to look into more, I suppose. Anyway, these Gentile astrologers—they saw His sign in the stars and went looking for Him. So who are they?

They came from the east, which could have been from the region of the Persians. It’s possible, but not corroborated by the Scriptures, that these are men who are descendants of the Babylonians and Persians who held the people of Judah captive in the time of Daniel and the three young men. In fact, they may even have been disciples of these wise men from Judah’s past. They knew enough to see in the sign of the star the birth of the One who was to be born King of the Jews (even Herod interpreted this to mean the Christ), so they may have been introduced to the texts and teaching of the Jews by way of Daniel and the three young men.

These are the ones who received Jesus. Once they made their way to Bethlehem, they saw the star rest over the house where Mary and the Boy Jesus were. They opened their pouches and presented gifts to Him. And they bowed down and worshiped Him. These Gentiles knew who this Child was, more-so than Herod and Jerusalem and the priests and the scribes. Beyond the appointed Gospel lesson, nothing more is said of the faith of these men, be they two, three, or many more. But, “[A]s many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name...” (John 1:12)

And in a twist of irony, the One who comes to you with gifts here received gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

  • Gold is a gift fit for a king. That’s what you often hear, and it’s true. By their giving it to Jesus, they acknowledge Him not only as king of the Jews, but King of kings—the One of whom the Law and the prophets had spoken who is the King and Ruler of the world. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you...” (Zechariah 9:9a) Additionally, the gold would also serve as financial stability for the time while the family was in exile in Egypt.
  • Frankincense is a gift fit for a god. More than that, it is the Magi’s gift acknowledging that Jesus is God. It is the common incense burned in prayer. “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” (Psalm 141:2)
  • And most telling of all is the myrrh which is a gift fit for the dead. Myrrh is a spice which is used in the preparation of bodies for burial. It was among the spices that Nicodemus had brought with which to anoint the dead body of Jesus. (cf. John 19:39) It is likely among the spices that the women brought to the grave when they found the stone rolled away because Jesus had risen from the dead. (cf. Luke 24:1) Still, just a living infant, the Magi’s gift of myrrh was their way of acknowledging that He had come to die.

These three gifts say it all: King of kings, Lord of lords, very God of very God, born to die. Despite the world raging around them, the Magi make a solid confession of faith. Even the shepherds didn’t get that much—or if they did, it isn’t made known—they were simply told (and it is enough to know), “[T]here is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

Herod, in his fit of rage, once he realized he had been tricked by the Magi, had all the male children in Bethlehem, two years old and younger, slaughtered. Weeping and lamentation were heard in Ramah, but not in Jerusalem. Rachel mourns for her children (cf. Matthew 2:16, 18), but it’s impossible to say how much beyond that it gets. Nevertheless, this is the work of a tyrant.

It is the type of world that God was born into. The “silent nights” and “sleeping in heavenly peace” are sentimental compared to the reality of the Nativity. Jesus isn’t born simply to be coddled. His birth didn’t even bring peace on earth. In fact, His death didn’t either. But, it is to this cacophony and chaos that Jesus is born, and out of this cacophony and chaos that He calls His own to Him: the shepherds at night, lit up by the angels; the Magi through troubled Jerusalem via the apathetic scribes and priests; you out of the darkness of this world. He does so because He loved them, and He loves you—loves you all to death!

So, sure, you live in the quaint little town of Elizabeth, or at least outside of the hustle and bustle of the large metropolis of Denver or Colorado Springs…for now, but even your nights are not peaceful nor necessarily silent. The cares and burdens of this life always weigh heavily on you:

  • What are the medical tests going to reveal, or how will you come out of the surgery?
  • Do you swerve left or right or not at all to avoid the drunk driver coming at you?
  • Have you done enough to teach, catechize, and prepare your children? Will they remain faithful?
  • What kind of world will be left to your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren?
  • Why do all of these bad things keep happening to good people?

You live in the kind of world that sees people dying of illness, airplanes crashing into barriers, and schools and parties getting shot up and run through with pickup trucks. It’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out and shout, “Why?”

And through all of this, despite all of this, into all of this, God deigns to be born. Furthermore, He deigns to endure all of it, too! From all of this, you have been redeemed, though for a while you must still bear the effects of it all—the pain and sorrow of illness, death, and loss. It’s enough to make you doubt the providence and promises of God. But God did come. He was conceived and born. He was circumcised, lived, and died. And He rose again. He is King of kings, and so He is ultimately in charge and will see you through all of the cares and concerns of this life. He is God and Creator, and so He is also Savior and Redeemer. And He is the One who has died and is risen again, so He is the One who brings you from this life through death to life eternal. He is all of this and has done all of this for you, just as He has promised. He has come to and for you, does so even this evening, and will on the last day, and you have received Him, so He has given you the right to be called His children.

And if you are His children, then you are cared for. The gifts with which He cares for you are ever before you right here: the grace of the washing of regeneration in baptism, the word of absolution, and the eternal medicine of the eucharist. God is the giver of these gifts, and by them, He lifts you out of the near-hell of this life’s existence to real, heavenly peace. It’s a peace which the world cannot give, indeed, does not know, nor can it understand. It is a peace with God, a peace that will be realized ultimately on the last day when the King of kings returns to take you where He is. It is a peace that is expressed in the words that you are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.
05
January
2025
The Second Sunday after Christmas
St. Luke 2:40-52
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Every year they made this trek—Nazareth to Jerusalem. There was business to conduct at the temple. It was time to be in the presence of God. It was time to make a sacrifice.

This time, Jesus got to go. He was 12 years old—no longer a boy, He was a man, now. As such, it was time for Him to sit at the feat of the teachers for Torah instruction.

And, wouldn’t you know it, the first time He is receiving instruction from the Torah teachers, He amazes them. He was asking questions the teachers never heard before; He was causing them to think of things they had never thought of before. This young Man, supposed to be a student, had become the teacher, and the teachers became the students. This was no ordinary 12-year old sitting with them. Where did He learn these things? Joseph was a carpenter, certainly not a trained theologian, so it couldn’t have been from His “father.” Well, St. Luke wrote, “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.”

This was the very Word of God in the flesh, the Wisdom of God made manifest, dwelling among the teachers. The teachers were supposed to be teaching Him; that is to say, not that they were giving Him instruction, but that the instruction they were to be giving was Him, pointing to Him. Their instruction was enfleshed before them; the Torah was walking and sitting and talking in bodily form before them.

And, while all of this was going on, the Passover festivities had come to an end. Mary and Joseph and their company of Nazarenes were returning home. They naturally supposed that Jesus was in their company; He wasn’t going to travel back to Nazareth clutching His mother’s hand, but would be playing with His friends somewhere else in the caravan. It was only when it was time to bed down for the night that first night did they realize that He wasn’t with them. Back to Jerusalem they went.

Three days of searching finally reveal that the Son was in the Father’s house. The Torah incarnate is there amazing the teachers—teaching the teachers.

I have heard it said that man can be gifted in many things—art and music, sport, math and science—even at a very young age. One marvels at these things and props the prodigious children up as examples of genius and talent—people such as Mozart, Tiger Woods, and Tim Tebow, who all showed their giftedness at young ages. There are even fictitious examples of them, such as in shows like Doogie Howser, M.D. and Numb3rs. However, never has there been anyone gifted in theology. The simple explanation is that the knowledge of God, the Word of God, is not natural to fallen man, and in fact, is completely opposite to man’s fallen nature—which, as the Scriptures teach, is completely rebellious toward God. That’s not to say that God couldn’t do it if He wanted to, but I’m not aware of anyone so gifted in theology. Gifts in art and music, sport, math and science, however, while affected by this fallen, sinful nature, are still naturally given (and can be and are often used by that rebellious, fallen nature in opposition to God).

So, Jesus is, for lack of a better word, an anomaly. He is, from the teachers’ standpoint, exhibiting a gift that has never been seen before, has never been heard of, and should not even be happening!

That’s when His mother and guardian Joseph show up. They had been frantically searching for Him, and they let Him know it: “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” Jesus, of course, corrects them. He had been teaching all day, for about three days or so, and even in this, He has a teaching moment. Of course, He’s also gentle; He is, after all, God who is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (cf. Joel 2:13): “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” There are a few things Jesus is teaching as He speaks to them:

  • First, He reminds them that God is His Father. Certainly Joseph was given the unenviable task of caring for the Christ as He grew into a man, and Joseph did so commendably.
  • Second, if God is His Father, then there should not have been any need to search for Him. He was going to be where He was supposed to be to do the task for which He descended to earth and took on human flesh and blood—He was about His Father’s business.
  • Third, His Father’s business took place in the temple. That’s where God’s instruction to His people originates. That’s where God’s grace to His people emanates. That’s where God is present for His people. He was in His Father’s house, therefore, He was in His house. And this served as a reminder to them of who He was: Immanuel as the angel Gabriel had announced

He is “YHWH Saves,” Immanuel, God with His people to save them. And He has a peculiar way of doing it, a way foreign to this fallen nature that is unable to comprehend God and His ways, naturally. His peculiar way is as was mentioned a few days ago, at the Circumcision and Name of Jesus: God becomes one of you—takes your flesh and blood—and places Himself under His own Law to keep it perfectly for you, only to spill His blood and give His flesh over to death in your place for your fallen inability to keep His Law perfectly yourselves. He comes perfectly and sinless and dies a sinner’s death—dies every sinner’s death.

He keeps the Law of God—His own Law—perfectly even at this point in today’s Gospel lesson. For, there, Luke wrote that, “[H]e went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.” He left His Father’s house and returned to his guardian’s house, and there He was submissive to them—His mother and guardian. It’s an interesting word there in the Greek which is here translated “submissive to.” The word Luke used conveys a deeper meaning of being placed under the divine order of them—subordinate would be a better word, being ordered under. He was ordered under His guardian and mother as a child—He deigned to place Himself under that order, not here at twelve years of age, but from the moment He was conceived of the Holy Ghost, indeed from the very foundation of the world (as one reads the bigger picture from Genesis).

In today’s text, Luke wrote that the Word become flesh who placed Himself under His own Law is perfectly keeping the 4th Commandment. He, even though He is King of kings and Lord of lords, subjects Himself to those who would have earthly authority over Him. In today’s Gospel lesson, that was the teachers and His mother and guardian.

And it’s a good thing He did, too. How many of you would willingly place yourselves under the authority of another? Or, better put, how many of you perfectly obeyed your parents, under whose authority you were divinely placed? How many of you, now, perfectly and willingly and without grudge subject yourselves to the authority of the rightly elected and divinely placed government—whether you voted for the officials or not, whether you agree with the officials or not? How many of you students are perfectly subordinate to your teachers? No, don’t answer, I’ll do it for you. Not one of you!

It’s a difficult thing to do: willingly submit 100 per cent to every divinely ordered authority placed over you. In fact, it’s an impossible thing for to do. And, sure, where there are proper channels to express dissent and force change, it is indeed right and salutary to use them, for even these are God-given. But your fallen, rebellious natures would rather strike out on your own, regardless of any authority placed over you, and often in spite of that authority. This is the sin against the 4th Commandment, a sin against God who gives parents, teachers, pastors, employers, and good government for your good.

Today you hear of Jesus’ subordination to His mother and guardian. This would not be the last time He placed Himself under the authority of another. For while it is rightly said that He did so His entire life by perfectly keeping His Law, there is another example in the Garden of Gethsemane when He was arrested by the temple guards. And again, when He was brought before the Sanhedrin. And again, when He stood before Pontius Pilate, where He even told Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” (John 19:11) And again, as He was flogged in the praetorium. And again, as He allowed Himself to be crucified.

All of this He did for you, dear hearers. He did this for all, those who are unable and unwilling to keep His 4th Commandment perfectly. He did this for His guardian and His mother. Yes, His mother…who would be without her Son for three days again.

Luke wrote in chapter two that Mary pondered all that happened to her young Son in her heart, and that she marveled at Simeon’s words, even these words: “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34-35) These events and words when Jesus was a newborn infant, 8 days old, 40 days old, and 12 years old likely served as a reminder to His mother who He was as He was hanging on the cross, helping to teach her that He did not belong to her, but that she belonged to Him, for He was her Lord, though Her dear Son. And you, dear Baptized, are with her, held with her by Her Son’s crucified, risen, and ascended hands, which were pierced for her and your transgressions.

He came as the subordinate King of kings and Lord of lords, He who is Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace, came as the Son of Man and subordinate to His own Law. He who was equal to God, “the glory equal, the majesty coeternal” (cf. Athanasian Creed), emptied Himself and became obedient and subordinate to His own Law, even to the point of death, the death of the cross. He who was Lord of all became servant of all, even to the point of His death on the cross. Now risen and ascended, God has highly exalted Him, placed Him over everything, so that at His name every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth, even under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (cf. Philippians 2:5-11)

All of this for you. It cannot be said enough, dear hearers. The Lord Jesus Christ was conceived and born for you. He was circumcised and named for you. He was subordinate to his guardian and mother for you. He kept the entirety of His Law, placed Himself under it perfectly, for you. And He suffered and died on the cross for you. Or, as St. Paul so simply put it, if I may paraphrase, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for you, that you might become the righteousness of God in Him. (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21)

In other words, God made Him who knew no sin to take your sin from you, giving you His perfect obedience in exchange, and His righteousness. You are declared right with God in your Baptisms, where you have been placed in Christ and His righteousness. Your perfectly obedient and subordinate Lord of lords and King of kings has taken your sin from you and died with it in your place on the cross. Now, when God sees you, dear Baptized, He sees His Son, for you are His son in Christ, redeemed and granted perfect remission, that is to say, you are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
01
January
2025
The Circumcision and Name of Jesus
Luke 2:21
In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem for a census. There was no room in the inn. Mary gave birth in a stable and laid her Babe in a manger, wrapped in swaddling cloths. This Baby is the Son of God—God in the flesh. Remember everything you’ve heard from me this past month as regards God in the flesh, because it’s all right there in the manger. (cf. Luke 2:1-7)

Shepherds were in the field tending their flocks that night. Then, an angel of the Lord appeared to them. They were frightened, but the angel brought them good news and was joined by a whole host of angels to sing a song:

[U]nto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger…Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!

The angels departed. The Shepherds made their way to see this thing of which they heard. They marveled, then went around telling everyone the things which they had heard and seen, then returned to their fields and folds. But Mary kept all things and pondered them in her heart. (cf. Luke 2:8-20)

Pause, because that’s what St. Luke does. The Son of God, who is the Word of God, is born in Bethlehem, as the prophets foretold, then Luke pauses for 8 days.

It is now 8 days since Christmas day, and this is the Gospel appointed for today. “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” That’s it; a blip among so many words, one verse from the longest of the four Gospels, but in such a short text, Luke tells you everything that you need to know. The one born “to you, [your] Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” is already at work to save, even at eight days old.

And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant. (Genesis 17:9-14)

Thus was the Law given prescribing the ritual now being kept in Immanuel’s eighth day. It was the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham, a sign marking the male child of eight days as part of that covenant and, more importantly, a part of the People—God’s Chosen People. He who was not circumcised was to be cut off from the people, for that male child, eight days or not, has broken the covenant with God—he has rejected God’s choice. Moreover, any male wanting to be part of the People must observe this ritual, no matter how old, for it would be a sign that he was a part of the People.

So, why is Jesus being circumcised? For one, He’s keeping the Law, and He’s doing it for Himself. For another, He’s keeping the Law, and He’s doing it for you. Jesus is born among the Jews. His mother is a Jew, His guardian is a Jew, and He will grow up a Jew. For Jewish boys, it was prescribed to be circumcised, so the foreskin of His flesh was cut off, and He remained a Jew. He was a part of the People of God—the Chosen People of God—and, therefore, fully subject to all of the laws and commandments of God.

St. Paul picked up on this when He wrote, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5) God was born under the law; it’s a profound statement. And, as part of being under that law, He had to be circumcised.

But, since He is born to you, a Savior, He places Himself fully under His law, including the covenant of circumcision, for you! Back on His eighth day, He continued being YHWH saves—as He has been since His conception, though He didn’t have the name just then—as He first shed His blood for you. Jesus became for you the Chosen Nation, for in His circumcision, He assumes all of Israel in His flesh, becoming the Nation rolled into one Person, as it has been said.

Then you are brought into Him by way of your baptism. Jesus is conceived, born, lived, died, and risen again for you. His circumcision is included in that. And the Word of God commands Holy Baptism and calls it a joining to Jesus’ death and resurrection—indeed, His entire life. (cf. Romans 6:3-5) He is the fulfillment of the Law for you so that in Him, you keep the law. Therefore, while circumcision is no longer prescribed, having been baptized into Christ, you are circumcised and a part of the New Israel, the New Chosen Nation. And, in fact, you are circumcised, as St. Paul wrote:

For in [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:9-12)

He described it to the Romans as a circumcision of the heart, of the Spirit, which is the cutting off of the flesh of sin. (cf. Romans 2:29) And this circumcision places you into the New Chosen Nation. Today, that nation is called the Body of Christ or the Bride of Christ. This is the adoption as sons that St. Paul wrote about.

On the Eighth Day of Christ, it is the Son of God who is circumcised—God in the flesh. He sheds His blood for you to bring you into the Nation with Him, and He sheds His blood for you to bring you into the everlasting kingdom with Him. That shedding of blood was on the cross, whereat the shedding of the blood of the Lamb of God was done for propitiation. The wages of sin—of your sin—are paid, and you are redeemed, bought back; you are saved, and propitiation has been made.

And it’s a good thing, too, because you know those laws of God under which Jesus was born. And not one of them have you ever perfectly kept. Sure, from time to time, you keep the letter of the law, but the spirit is never, if ever, kept by you or the rest of fallen humanity. Only one person has ever done so, and that person was God, who was given the name Jesus, the name given to Him by the angel before He was born. You fall short, but you are baptized into Him who was circumcised and named, lived and died, and rose again for you!

This is what is required of you, every one of you: to walk perfectly in the laws and commandments of God. So, examine yourself! Consider your station in life according to the Ten Commandments. You’ll find that you haven’t walked that straight and narrow line. Therefore, the only thing that you can be certain of is that you deserve to be cut off from the People.

But God would not have it that way if there was anything that can be done about it. Therefore, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Today’s Gospel, short as it is, describes Jesus, who was born under the law and kept that law—the law of circumcision—for you. But it is an important part. Only St. Luke gives it to you, and all he gives is one, short verse. Without it, the telling of Christ’s fulfillment of the law would be incomplete. Jesus is made a part of the Chosen Nation—He is the Chosen Nation, and He is the Chosen Nation for you. Therefore, in Christ, baptized into Christ, you are all circumcised sons of God and a part of his Chosen People.

I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating: if you celebrate Christmas, I dare say you have to celebrate this day, the Circumcision and Name of Jesus. Babies being born is something the whole world can get behind, but when that Baby is the Creator of the universe who takes on flesh and blood in order to spill that blood and give that flesh over to death, it gives meaning and the purpose to the first 20 verses of Luke 2. Christmas is a fine thing to celebrate—the birth of the Son of God; but what is that birth without the circumcision and name of Jesus? Jesus came as propitiation, and He begins that propitiatory sacrifice on His eighth day. Jesus is the reason for the season, and it’s salutary to keep Christ in Christmas; therefore, Luke 2:21 is the reason that Jesus is the reason for the season and is a means of keeping Christ in Christmas. Jesus is God who has flesh and blood and can shed that blood and bruise that flesh, and does so in order to keep the Law for you and for all.

“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13) Dear Baptized, you are marked with the sign of the People—the new sign of the People—for at your baptisms you have received the sign of the cross on forehead and breast, marking you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified and Christ the circumcised and Christ the named. In your Baptisms, you were born of God. There, you received Him and the benefits He gives in His birth, circumcision, crucifixion, and resurrection. You do believe in His name—Jesus, YHWH saves. Therefore,

…you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)

Yes, you are children of God, you are sons of God, every one of you, for in Him, in His shedding of blood, in His name, you are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.
29
December
2024
The First Sunday after Christmas
St. Luke 2:22-40
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

What a man, that Simeon. Although it is assumed he was an old man, gray and wrinkled, his age is never explicitly stated. This prophet, as he was, had spent his life waiting for God's promised salvation. He had spent his life waiting for God's promise to him to be fulfilled—it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And so it was, after Simeon's wait, it was time for Mary, the Mother of God, to perform the ritual of purification, required by the Law of Moses for all women, 40 days after they had given birth. He was also her firstborn son, so there was another law to keep: “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”—so it was that Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple to present Him to the Lord. Simeon was there; right away he recognized this ordinary-looking child as the fulfillment of God's promise.

The text makes it sound as if he swooped in, took the child in his arms from an unsuspecting Mary, and spoke, blessing God, and said what is sung today as the Nunc Dimittis—“Now Depart”:

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

I would imagine Mary's initial reaction would have been one of shock and distress, concern and fear—some man she does not recognize (if he is old, she may have thought him senile and crazed) just snatched her Son from her arms. But, the text says that that reaction quickly subsided as Joseph and Mary marveled at the words Simeon spoke. They knew who this Child was—Gabriel had told them so; so did this man!

Now, the promise to Simeon was fulfilled. He had seen, even held, the salvation of the world. Now, he could die in peace, as was promised. God had kept His promise to Simeon in keeping His promise to Eve (and to all of her sons and daughters through all generations)—He had brought salvation into the world, even to the man in Jerusalem who has given the Church a beautiful liturgical song. “I am saved and holding my salvation,” Simeon could have exclaimed, “What is the world to me? None else matters; my God reigns and saves! Death is nothing!”

Of course, Simeon didn’t stop there. He had more to say. He had been given more to say: “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed…so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” This should give you some perspective on this 12-day season of Christmas. To many people, Christmas is a joyous time filled with cookies and presents and mirth and “fa la la la la”s, and rightly so—though to the world, all of that ends on December 26. But these words of Simeon are a reminder that even in celebration, Christmas is not a time to lose sight of the reason for God putting on human flesh. For more perspective, listen to the days following Christmas Day according to the liturgical calendar:

  • December 26 is St. Stephen's Day, a day commemorating that early deacon of the church who was stoned to death rather than turn from the one who was born King of kings and Lord of lords and wrapped in swaddling cloths.
  • December 27, is St. John's Day, a day commemorating that evangelist who was not put to death for his faith, though he was made to drink poison, according to legend, and still survived. He did live a long life in exile for it—not exactly glamorous or glorious.
  • December 28, yesterday, is the day set aside for the Holy Innocents, martyrs all—all the young male children executed by Herod in an attempt to slay the young boy Jesus because he feared for his throne. Joseph, by this time, had taken his family into Egypt to escape Herod's wrath.

“Behold, this child is…a sign that is opposed…that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” As my dear seminary professor, Dr. Normal Nagel, once said, “Jesus, Simeon says, is one in response to whom people show if they have received or rejected God.” Simeon called Jesus a sign. A sign contains and conveys something that God is doing and giving, but signs also hide under what often appears to be its opposite. A sign is intended, one could say, to sort the wheat from the chaff. A sign can only be recognized for what it is by the Word of God, “which requires hearing and receiving,” or faith.

Elizabeth greeted Mary as the mother of her Lord. Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, blessed God for fulfilling His promise. The shepherds who watched their flocks by night rushed to greet the infant King born in a stable. Simeon rejoiced to hold his salvation. Anna, the prophetess, saw Jesus in the temple, too, and gave thanks and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. These all received God. These all, by faith, recognized the sign of salvation hidden in the form of an insignificant-looking baby.

The Sanhedrin took up stones against Stephen as he spoke to them about the Holy One of Israel, Jesus the Christ. Those in authority rebelled against John's preaching and exiled him to the island of Patmos. Herod had young boys slain because he feared that Jesus would assume the throne from him. These all lacked faith and rejected God, and so could not recognize the sign of salvation hidden in the form of an insignificant-looking baby and the uncomely and calloused carpenter and teacher he grew up to be.

For Elizabeth, Zechariah, the shepherds, Simeon, and Anna; for Stephen, John the Baptist, and John the Evangelist, Jesus was a sign for falling and rising. They all would be mocked, ridiculed, scorned, exiled, rejected, and killed because of the Infant Whose birth is celebrated here. Indeed, they all dealt with times of doubt and maybe faithlessness; times when they sinned against their God. But, as God dealt with them, their sins were revealed, confessed, and forgiven, and they were raised up and restored to faithfulness. They would all be raised up by Him, because they all could depart in peace, like Simeon, because He was their salvation…because, by faith, they received the sign!

Even for Mary, her Son was a sign for falling and rising. Simeon told her, “a sword will pierce through your own soul also.” She had to endure, first of all, the pangs and pains of birthing the Savior of the world. She had to endure, lastly, the pangs of pains of seeing her Son suffer and die on the cross. In between, there was the constant marveling at her Son, but also the rebuke from her Son when she misunderstood what He was. But she, like Elizabeth through John the Evangelist (and many others not mentioned), would be raised up by Him; she, too, could depart in peace, because her Son was also her Salvation…because, by faith, she received the sign.

But for the Sanhedrin, for those in authority against John the evangelist, for Herod, and for many, many others Jesus was a sign for falling only. While they certainly had power and authority for a while, by the sign of the infant, carpenter, and teacher (who was really God incarnate and the salvation of the world) the thoughts of their hearts were revealed—they were revealed for who they really were. They lacked faith and rejected God, and so they fell away from Him, unless they turned and repented.

And so it has been throughout the ages and to today as well. Through the sign of God incarnate in an ordinary-looking, even uncomely, infant, carpenter, and teacher, the thoughts of hearts are revealed. Now, you can cling to those thoughts—insisting on your ways and means—and remain under judgment. And many do, from those insisting God do things their way to those calling the signs, words, and symbols of Christmas and Christendom offensive—they reject God and remain fallen. Or, when you are shown for who you are, you can “come clean in repentance” and there receive the gifts of salvation that raise you up.

These gifts also come in signs. There is, of course, the sign of the infant in the arms of Simeon. There is the sign of the Man beaten and dying on the cross. There is the sign of bread and wine. “We fall in repentance; we are raised by forgiveness and quickened,” as Dr. Nagel once said. And so, in this lowly sign of bread and wine, you receive the very body and blood of this Infant whose birth is celebrated. And remember, a sign is not merely a symbol, but is a means by which God contains and conveys what He is doing and giving! To quote Dr. Nagel again: “God’s messengers disclosed what was hidden in Mary’s baby. Christ’s own words disclose what is hidden in the bread and wine.” In the sign of bread and wine there is hidden salvation in the reception of the very body and blood of Christ, your Savior!

And, after gazing upon, even holding and consuming, the salvation of the world you repeat the words first uttered by Simeon:

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Now, you can depart in peace. God had kept His promise to you because He has kept His promise to Eve, and you are all her sons and daughters—He had brought salvation into the world, and here has given it to you in the simple sign of water and word and bread and wine. Like Simeon, you can exclaim, “I am saved. What is the world to me? None else matters; my God reigns and saves! Death is nothing!” In sin you have fallen, but in the words of absolution and the Sacrament you are raised, having been joined closely with Christ and share in His life, won in His death on the cross. Therefore, you are forgiven for all of your sins!

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
25
December
2024
The Nativity of Our Lord
St. John 1:1-18
In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) While God was always present with His people, as you might recall from a sermon three weeks ago, He didn’t always speak directly to them, certainly not as a group so that everyone could hear. That said, God is always present in His Word, and long ago His Word was most often proclaimed by the prophets. That’s the way God spoke to His people long ago, revealing His Word to the prophets who would reveal God to the people through that same Word.

But now, in these latter days, God’s presence among men is through His Son. There are still prophets, so to speak, as I mentioned in a Sunday sermon several days ago, who relate to men the Word of God. However, unlike the prophets of long ago, the prophets today speak the Word already revealed in the Scripture, nothing that was told them in a vision or dream, because that’s how God interacted long ago. So, to you it is given to hear the Word of God as it has been handed down from the Apostles and Prophets, recounted for you again and again, because you need to hear it again and again, hear the message of the Gospel again and again, that the Son of God was incarnate of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, buried, and rose again, all for your forgiveness, life, and salvation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The beginning—long ago—the Word existed as was given to man by the prophets. Now, the Word still exists and is given to man in flesh and blood.

First, the flesh and blood of the Word of God is the same flesh and blood as yours. Assumed in the womb of the virgin Mary, the Word became flesh and dwelt among man. God gave Himself as His own creation to mankind in order to walk with them, talk to them and teach them, eat with them, using His own voice—when Jesus spoke, that was the very voice of God heard by the people. But Jesus also healed them and forgave them. And He charged His church to continue giving Him to His people in Word and Sacrament.

So, the people continue to hear and receive the Word of God as He is proclaimed to them. If you hear these new prophets, the modern-day preachers, speaking the Word of God in it’s truth and purity, then you, too, are hearing the voice of God; it just sounds like the voice of that preacher. Dreams and visions, such as the prophets and a few others have had, don’t happen with any regularity or as a matter of new revelation—so, if they happen, they cannot be discounted out of hand, but must always be measured against the Scripture. And while Abraham may have dined with God, and spoke to Him over that board, that certainly doesn’t happen at all for anyone else, as far as I’ve been made aware, at least not like that.

You see, the Word of God is still become flesh for you. In the simple means of bread and wine, the Word of God comes to you in flesh and blood, giving Himself for you for your forgiveness, life, and salvation. Up there on the altar, the Word of God makes these means what they are for you, because He still dwells among you in order to walk with you, talk to you and teach you, and, yes, even eat with you. He gives Himself to you to make you His own. That is His glory, which He reveals to you.

It was revealed on the cross, a most inglorious death, but by His death on the cross, He shed His blood and gave His body over to death in order that you would be forgiven for all of your sins, won back from death to life, and saved from this body of sin. In that, the Father and Son glory, for it is their victory over sin, death, and the devil—their enemies, and yours.

So, that you may continue in this, the Word of God, He continues to come to you in Word and Sacrament. There is no need to look for visions, burning bushes, wrestling matches, dinners, or any other way to hear the voice of God. He doesn’t promise to come to you in any of those ways. But He does promise to come to you in His Word proclaimed to you—flesh and blood comes to you in order to teach and heal and forgive and renew and restore. He does promise to come to you in Sacrament, Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper—flesh and blood comes to you in order to teach and heal and forgive and renew and restore.

He gives to you all that you need for your forgiveness, life, and salvation. The Word became flesh and dwells among you. God lived and died for you. God rose again and ascended for you. God continues to give Himself to you and be with you, flesh-and-blood, so that when He returns, He will take you to be where He is for eternity. The Word became flesh, and you have seen His glory, full of grace and truth, and the truth is that you are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.
24
December
2024
Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord
St. Matthew 1:18-25
In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The prophet Isaiah foretold it: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Matthew translates it for you: “God with us.” This is what you heard about at the first Mid-week Advent service. Immanuel is an amazing thing—but so is a virgin conceiving!

A virgin conceiving?! That’s not how this works. What does it mean? It means that the Son she carries is no ordinary Boy. He has no human father, which means that He has no direct human link to the fallen nature and sin of Adam. “From sire to son to bane descends,” you have sung before, just as it is proclaimed in the Scriptures. (cf. Romans 5:12-14, 18-19) The rest of you have human fathers, so like your fathers before you, you have sin.

Though you may not share in the sin of Adam insofar as you may not have sinned exactly as he had, you do share in his sin in that you do transgress the Word of God, which Adam had done. He says, “Do this,” and you do something else instead. He says, “Don’t do that”—just as He told Adam and Eve not to eat from that certain tree—and you do it anyway. In the day that Adam and Eve ate of it, they died; oh, they didn’t drop dead on the spot, but their eternal existence in the presence of God and their access to the tree of life was cut off, and years later they took their last breath. This death is consigned, therefore, to every descendant of Adam, you included, unless Someone intervenes.

But, is this Boy descended from Adam? Yes, for His mother is a daughter of Adam and Eve, fully human like her parents before her and their parents before them, all the way back to Adam and Eve. But she carried the promised Seed (cf. Genesis 3:15), the One who was to fulfill the Word of God being with His people, not just a presence at the Temple, but in the flesh—Immanuel, God with us. And, as you have heard time and again, His Father is God, the faithful, sinless Heavenly Father. When Luke lists the genealogy of Jesus, he says that Jesus is “the son of Adam, the son of God.” (Luke 3:38)

So what does that make this Boy? He is fully God and fully man. There are no halfways here. He is a man in every respect as you are, except without sin. He is God, fully, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, true God of true God, beyond all comprehension on this side of eternity. This is the truth of Jesus that scandalized men like Arius, as you might recall from a Sunday sermon several days ago. Jesus is the intervention from God that you need.

He needed to be fully man in every respect as you are, so that He would fully identify with you. So, he was conceived and born as you were. He grew up and learned as you did. He ate and drank and slept as you do. And He died as others have and you someday will too. Every moment of your life is drawn up into His life, except your sinfulness.

Okay, well, not exactly. For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for you, that you might become the righteousness of God in Him. (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21) He didn’t identify with your sinfulness, for He Himself knew no sin. However, into His perfect flesh did this Boy assume your sin and sins, as well as the sin and sins of all mankind, from all ages. In another of those great mysteries surrounding this God-man, He took your sins from you, washed off of you, as it were, and onto Him. And, like Adam and Eve before Him, He died. He sacrificed Himself for them and for all—for you—with every last bit of sin that has ever been conceived and committed—He who was conceived and lived without sin and sins. He gave His life as your ransom, redeemed and released you from that bondage, in order that you would be with Him forever.

That little Boy was no ordinary Boy, and He grew up into no ordinary Man, and He remains no ordinary Man. He is God and man—Immanuel, God with us. All of this means that the eternal God is a man who grew and aged, that the all-powerful God is a man who became tired and weak and hungry, that the ever-living God is the man who gave His life on the cross and died.

He is Immanuel, God with us. Tonight, you celebrate His birth in the little town of Bethlehem—the House of Bread—but such is always done with an eye toward His entire life and death. For, this little Boy, who is Immanuel and the Bread of Life, is your Savior, your freedom, your Life and your Light. In Him you have redemption, the forgiveness of all of your sins.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.
22
December
2024
The Fourth Sunday in Advent
St. Luke 1:39-56
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

There’s a word that I’ve used many times in the past which comes up with this lesson again and again: Theotokos. It’s a Greek word that means God-bearer, though it is often translated, for the sake of simplicity and impact, Mother of God. If such a term makes you feel uneasy, that’s unfortunate, but it’s understandable that it would cause some level of unease.

Mary was officially given the title by decree at the Council of Ephesus in AD431. It’s not that she wasn’t referred to as God-bearer or Mother of God before this, but at that council the doctrine was officially codified. Given the Lutheran Church’s respect and admiration for the past, and the deep connection she still maintains to the past, the doctrine codified at Ephesus is Lutheran doctrine. Codified or not, however, it is still meet, right, and salutary to call Mary Theotokos, God-bearer, and the Mother of God.

In using that term, I’ve also stated that it says more about Mary’s Son than it does about Mary. Mary is the bearer of God, the birth-giver of God. Whom she bore in her womb is God—God-in-the-flesh. Yes, He is God, “of the substance of the Father,” but He is also man: flesh like yours, bones like your, blood like yours, but conceived and born and lived without sin. Jesus is man and God, and that is why the Council of Ephesus decreed that Mary is to be called Theotokos. Jesus is unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, and inseparably God and man, and the title Theotokos confesses this in opposition to teachings condemned at Ephesus, specifically that Mary is the mother only of the human nature of Jesus Christ which the divine later mysteriously inhabited.

So, if you confess that Jesus is God and man, and if you believe what you say when you recite the Creeds, then you do confess as much, and for you Mary is Theotokos, God-bearer, the Mother of God. There is no real need to feel uneasy about or shy away from such a title, because it confesses what you believe regarding her Son, Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man.

The unease should only come from the abuse of the title by the church of the Papacy. To them, Theotokos also means that Mary is co-redemptrix—that she played more of a part in your redemption than as the bearer of God—and co-mediatrix—that she can be approached in prayer in order that she can bring your petitions to her Son and the Father. Consequently, they elevate Mary to a position as if she has a throne in heaven: the Queen of Heaven. While the Scriptures teach and confess that she bore God in the person of the Son, nowhere do they claim she had a part in your redemption, that you can pray to her, or that she is somehow the Queen of Heaven. As an aside, I believe it is this false theology results in the Muslim thinking the Holy Trinity is the Father, Son, and Mary.

So, Theotokos… When announcing that she would bear God, Gabriel also told Mary that, “[Y]our relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.” (Luke 1:36) So, having conceived in her womb the Savior of the world, Mary packed up and headed to the house of Elizabeth. Upon entering the house, she greeted Elizabeth, and John leaped for joy in her womb. Then Elizabeth said,

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.

What did Elizabeth say when she called Mary the mother of my Lord? Well, recall that Elizabeth lived in a time when the common practice was to gloss over God’s name when reading it and say Adonai instead, a word which translates as Lord. No one dared say God’s name, YHWH, for fear of misusing it—a Pharisaical abuse of the Second Commandment. This practice is still in play today, even in your own Bibles: as you leaf through the Old Testament, you’ll find places where LORD or GOD are spelled in all capital letters—the technical term for this is the Tetragrammaton, which literally translates to “four letters;” in the Hebrew text, that’s where God’s name is written (albeit, the Masoretic text omits the vowel points, leaving a Hebrew Tetragrammaton: yod, he, waw, he). So, while the text records her words as “Mother of my Lord,” what she was saying is Mother of YHWH or Mother of God.

Gabriel’s greeting announced to Mary that she would bear God: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” And to fill in the gaps, lest there be any confusion, Elizabeth called her the Mother of God. Therefore, the council convened at Ephesus declared what had long been rightfully confessed, that Mary is Theotokos, God-bearer, the Mother of God. Those who are uneasy with this terminology because of the abuses, would likely want to skip over this passage, or if reading it, slightly ignore it.

Hopefully, at this point in the sermon, if you had any unease with the term Theotokos, you have started to grow past that. Congratulations, you are growing in your understanding of orthodox theology, which is this: Elizabeth confessed what the Church of all times and places has confessed regarding Mary and, more importantly, her Son. He whom Mary bore in her womb is YHWH in the flesh. There, growing merely as a clump of cells these first few days or week after being conceived, was the One who made the Universe and holds all things together. He who is ageless was younger than Elizabeth, developing and growing in the womb of a young maiden, taking on flesh and blood like hers, attached to her via umbilical and completely dependent on her for sustenance and life. How about that! The Lord of Life required a young maiden for life! The doctrine continues: YHWH assumed flesh and blood in order shed that blood and give that flesh over to die as the propitiation for the sins of the world. Jesus, Mary’s Son, is Mary’s Savior. Furthermore, He is Elizabeth’s Savior, Zechariah’s Savior, John’s Savior…your Savior!

And John was there preparing the way for Jesus. Mary greeted her relative, and John proclaimed for his mother that Theotokos was in her presence, that the Lord, YHWH, her Savior, her God is in her midst. John pointed Elizabeth to Mary as the bearer of God, and she replied, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

Why? Listen to what Theotokos said following Elizabeth’s Spirit-filled words:

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Why is Mary blessed? Why do the generations still call her blessed? Because He who mighty has done great things for her. That, dear hearers, is the only way to be blessed, the only means by which one can be called blessed: that the Mighty One has done great things for you!

Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is a song sung by the Church, now, and was sung here just moments ago, because what she said of God is true of Him still, to this day:

  • “God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5) So it is that the Lord has regarded your lowly state, under the law, under the yoke of the law, weighed down by it’s accusations and condemnations and removed them from you by bearing them for you in His Son, Jesus Christ, as He died on the cross.
  • He has shown strength with His arm by rising again from the grave, sanctifying the graves of His saints, victoriously rising to life over death, and giving you that victory over death. You will rise from your graves just as Jesus rose from His because you are baptized into His death and resurrection. (cf. Romans 6:4-5)
  • Jesus scatters the proud, sends the rich away empty, and puts down the mighty in the thoughts of their hearts because in those hearts they proudly imagine that they have no need for Jesus and the redemption He has won for them; for them, the way to God and salvation is in their own works, their own status, their own possessions, their own standing in society. But the lowly He exalts; on the Last Day when Jesus returns, having ascended far above all the heavens (cf. Ephesians 4:10), your resurrected flesh will be exalted like His as He takes you to be where He is (cf. John 14:3), while those who refused Jesus will rise to eternal torment.
  • In the meantime, He fills the hungry with good things as those who hunger and thirst for righteousness receive Him in Word and Sacrament for the forgiveness of their sins, life, and salvation.

God in Jesus Christ remembers the promise of mercy that He made to His servant Israel, helping them to newness of life and righteousness, giving it to them as a gift on oath, just as He has promised through Moses and the prophets to Abraham and the fathers. You heard one such promise this morning from the pen of Micah:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. (Micah 5:2-5a)

Or, perhaps, this promise from Isaiah is more appropriate to today:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips she shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. (Isaiah 11:1-5)

Those promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who at just the right time was conceived by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and given over to die for your sins. He has promised to return for you, His brothers and sisters, just as He ascended. God is faithful to His promises, as He has demonstrated by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son, as sung by Theotokos herself. He will do as He has said, and bring you and the whole Church into the new creation because He has forgiven you for all of your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.