Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (C)

February 9, 2025

Text: Luke 5:1-11

            Simon was a hard-working laborer, a man of the lake, and salt of the earth.  Faults?  Yes, of course.  A synagogue member, though, sins aplenty.  He is, after all, a sailor of the sea.  The blue-collar owner of a successful fishing enterprise, along with his partners, his brother Andrew (not mentioned in our text), and their friends, the sons of Zebedee, James and John.  But they hadn’t been successful on this night.  That’s how it sometimes goes.  Hard work and disappointment.  Life in a fallen world.  So, back to shore, washing their nets.  And here comes the Teacher.  They already know Him.  They already love Him.  He’d recently healed Simon’s mother-in-law from a fever (Yes, you can call Peter the first pope if you want to, but let it be noted, he had a wife).  Now Jesus is pressed by the crowds clamoring to hear God’s Word.  For they are hearing it from Him like they’ve never heard it before.  Things are happening in the preaching of that Word.  Shackles falling loose, sorrows soothed, diseases healed, demons sent packing.  Fallen creation remade, the curse undone as the Word blows forth from the mouth of this Man.

            There is a familiarity, now, between Simon and the Teacher.  Jesus is always welcome in Simon’s boat.  And it is a friendly favor the Lord asks of Simon… Push out a little from the shore, so that I’m not surrounded by the crowd.  This way, everyone can hear.  Jesus preaches to the populace from the boat.  He even sits down, as the rabbis do when they teach on the Sabbath.  Simon listens to the preaching as he goes about his tasks.  A good habit to foster.  When the hands are busy, meditate on God’s Word.  There is a difference, though, between Simon and the rest of the crowd.  Simon is in the boat with Jesus, and when you are in the boat with Jesus, you are always engaged with His Word.

            Okay, an interlude in the story, a little hint so we don’t miss the picture our Lord is painting for us.  The boat is the ark is the good ship Holy Church.  Because Jesus is in it, and He is speaking His Word.  The Word of God is preached to the world from the boat where Jesus sits.  And if you want to be in the boat with Jesus (and the Word of God is a call, an invitation to precisely that), you come through the water.  And there you are, with Jesus and His disciples.  And whatever the peril outside the boat… the wind, the waves, the hatred of the world, or the demons of hell… when you are in the boat with Jesus, you are safe.  You are saved.  That is what is meant by the phrase, “ there is no salvation outside the Church.”  You’re either in the boat with Jesus, or you perish in the flood.  If you are a believer in Jesus, you are in the boat.  The Church is, finally, believers in Christ.  Come all the way in, by water and the Word, if you haven’t already.  Be safe.  Be saved.  Join.  Then commune.  Whenever you read of a boat, or a ship, or a vessel upon the water in the Scriptures, it is probably written to project this image.  The Church is the fulfillment of Noah’s ark. 

            In any case, now the service has come to an end, and now the Teacher does impose.  Put out into the deep and let down your nets.  Well, everybody knows it’s the wrong time of day for fishing.  And everybody knows most preachers are lacking in practical knowledge.  But, what do you do when the preacher visits (or any guest to whom you want to show hospitality), and asks some inconvenient and bothersome favor of you?  (You can probably think of similar experiences you’ve had when entertaining guests… or your pastor!)  You do it.  So, Simon does it.  With expressions of skepticism, granted.  But he does it.  And what happens?  Such a large number of fish, the nets are breaking!  Too much success!  Overflowing blessing.  Call in the partners to share in the windfall.  Even at that, there are so many fish, the boats begin to sink.  (Maybe they need more boats.  You can think here about mission congregations!)

            And at this point, the light begins to dawn on Simon.  This is no mere Teacher and Miracle Worker.  There is something more going on with this Man.  It will take some time for the Father to reveal the fulness of the truth to Simon Peter, to bring him to his great confession of Jesus as “The Christ of God” (Luke 9:20; ESV).  But even here, Peter falls before Jesus’ knees, and says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (5:8). 

            Maybe you’ve said something similar.  Stunned by the righteousness and holiness and goodness of Jesus, and cognizant of your own sinfulness and uncleanness and wickedness, you think Jesus can’t possibly be for you.  You think He came for holy people, and you know that’s not you.  And you also know that if you get too close to the holiness, it will kill you.  There is a reason sinners can’t see God and live.  So you beg Him to depart.

            But He doesn’t depart.  No, don’t be mistaken.  He came for you.  He came precisely for you.  Here He is, in the boat… Bodily presence, by the way.  Jesus doesn’t just shout out to Peter from the shore, “I’m with you in spirit!  Let your faith stretch out from the boat so I can be present with you spiritually, but know that I’m not actually getting into that bucket of boards with you.”  No, don’t be ridiculous.  He is bodily in the boat.  And He’s pulled you on board with Him.  He came for sinners.  Like Simon.  Like you.  He wants you in His Church.  He wants you for His very own.  And He wants your brothers and sisters for His very own, too.  James and John… and Andrew, too… and the people sitting around you… they get in on the blessing of the Lord’s Word and presence in the boat.  Jesus came for you.  Jesus came for them.  Never disqualify yourself from the Lord’s saving presence.  And never disqualify anyone else. 

            Now, we particularly love this text when we’re teaching Sunday School or talking about evangelism, because we love the idea that we all become fishers of men.  Which is to say, we catch people for Jesus when we proclaim the Gospel.  That is all very true.  But it is worth recognizing that these words, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men" (v. 10) are first spoken to Simon Peter, not to you.  This is his call to be an Apostle, one officially sent to speak on behalf of the Lord.  This is his call to leave everything and follow Jesus.  That call will then extend to others, as well.  The total number of them will be Twelve, the number of the Tribes of Israel.  And then, as to one untimely born, the Apostle Paul, also, who will go beyond the confines of Israel to bring in the Gentiles.  Theirs is a special office.  We don’t become Apostles when we are called.  Even we pastors, though called and ordained to speak the Word of Christ in His stead and by His command, are not Apostles.  And there is no need for more Apostles.  Because to this day, Simon Peter and his brother Apostles, though dead, live, and are the fishers who cast the net of the Gospel and catch us, bring us to faith in Christ, bring us into the boat with Jesus.  It is their preaching that we have in the New Testament Scriptures, the preaching that is the very Word of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Even the Scriptures that weren’t written by an Apostle were written in connection with an Apostle, or Apostles.  Mark probably wrote his Gospel under the authority of Peter.  Luke interviewed a number of the Apostles (as well as Mary, and others), and served under Paul.  Apostolic authority is a requirement for a document to be included in the New Testament Canon.  So this idea of being fishers of men applies first, and most directly, to Simon Peter and the Apostles. 

            Does that disappoint you?  Well, relax.  You still get your shot at fingering the nets.  Because pastors are only to preach the Word of God as it is given in the Holy Scriptures… the Prophetic (Old Testament) and Apostolic (New Testament) Scriptures!  And Sunday School children, and evangelistically zealous Christians, are to share with others only that Word of God as it is given in the Holy Scriptures… the Prophetic and Apostolic Scriptures.  So it’s not wrong to apply this verse to all Christians, by extension.  The mistake we often make, though, is not proclaiming the Scriptures, but instead proclaiming our own personal testimony.  No, no.  You get out of the way.  You are not the point.  Christ is.  The Prophetic and Apostolic Word, spoken by the Father in His Son Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that is the point.  That is the power. 

            As a matter of fact, we learn that from the fishing going on today in our Holy Gospel.  What is the difference between the unsuccessful nightlong fishing excursion, and successful outing in the middle of the day?  In one case, Jesus is not in the boat, speaking His Word.  In the other case, He is.  That is the secret to the successful fishing of men. 

            Now, we wish success in the Church was always as visible as it was in Peter’s boat with the fish.  But we have no promise that we will always see the miracle.  That doesn’t mean that the miracle isn’t happening.  The Word is preached.  The net is cast.  Faith knows that, with Jesus in the boat, and at His Word, the Gospel is hauling them in.  Through the water.  Into the boat with Jesus.  Every Baptism.  Every conversion.  Every case of every one of us repenting and believing.  The miracle is happening.  The Word is proclaimed to the world from the boat.  Where Jesus is, with His people.

            The Word of God’s love for all people.  The Word of the cross, the death and resurrection of Jesus for the life of the world.  The Word of our King.  Jesus reigns.  And He is coming again to judge the living and the dead.  Evangelism is as simple as the Apostles’ Creed, the distillation of the Apostolic Word.  That Word goes out, and things happen.  Liberty to captives.  Sight for the blind.  Sins forgiven.  Demons cast out.  Creation made new. 

            This Good News, spoken from the boat, is for the whole crowd.  But don’t miss the unshakable truth that this Good News is also for you.  Second person singular.  You.  Jesus wants you.  Jesus died for you.  Jesus lives for you.  And Jesus loves you.  He has a place for you, right here with Him in the boat.  He is looking you in the eye, right now, speaking His Word to you.  He is present here with you.  And He will never depart.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.                            

The Purification of Mary & The Presentation of Our Lord

The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord

February 2, 2025

Text: Luke 2:22-40

            Old Simeon lays eyes on the Child and he knows.  He sees His salvation.  This is the One who will redeem Israel, indeed, the world.  This is the One who will save His people from their sins.  He takes the Child from the arms of Mary, His mother, and he prays… to the Child!  “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace” (Luke 2:29; ESV).  “I can die now, without fear, with joy, having beheld the fulfillment of Your Promise.  Messiah has come.  I hold His little body right here in my arms.  He is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, for a sign that is opposed.  Oh, and Mary, a sword will pierce your own soul, also.  That is, this Child is destined for the cross.”  And that is the great scandal that will separate those who are God’s from those who are not, believers and unbelievers, the saved and the damned, the fall of all who reject Him, the raising of all who receive Him… this great offense that God saves the world by this flesh and blood Baby, this flesh and blood Man, who gives His flesh and blood into death for the life of the world.  That is the great sign that is spoken against, the sign of the holy cross.  That is the sword that pierces Mary’s soul as she stands by her precious Boy at His execution, and can do nothing to alleviate His suffering.  That is the sign that reveals the thoughts of many hearts.  What do you think of the Crucified?  Is He an object of scorn?  Do you pass by Him unheeding?  Are you scandalized, offended by Him and His Words?  Or do you cling to Him, to His Words and His blood and His death, for your very life as your only Savior from sin and condemnation?

            History repeats itself, here and now, today.  For you are old Simeon, and your ears lay upon the Child, and your eyes behold the bread and the wine, and you know.  Your ears have heard and your eyes have seen your salvation.  This is the One who died, and who is risen from the dead, who lives and reigns, who comes to you now in His flesh and blood, by Words and water, bread and wine.  But just as assuredly as Simeon held God in his arms when he held the little Lord Jesus, so you hear His voice in the Scriptures and the preaching, and you hold Him within you as you eat Him and drink Him in the Holy Supper.  And so, having held Him on your tongue, you pray to Him, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace.”  The Nunc Dimittis.  I can die now in peace, without fear, with joy even, having received the fulfillment of Your Promise under bread and wine.

            Now, that may seem like a strange thing to pray (“I can die now”).  But you know, unless the Lord returns first, you will have to die.  Ignoring that fact, or pretending that isn’t the case, doesn’t change the truth of it.  So you can die without Christ and have no hope or assurance or comfort heading into the darkness.  Or you can die in Christ, with Christ Himself in your ears and on your tongue, knowing all your sins are forgiven, and when you close your eyes in death here, you open them to behold Him in heaven there.  And you have the absolute certainty that, baptized into the risen Christ who died for you, Christ now having entered into you with His crucified and risen body and blood and becoming one with you, He will raise you from the dead.  Bodily.  On that Great Day. 

            See, that is what Simeon knew as he held the Child in his arms.  I can die now because this Child has pulled the very teeth out of death.  He is my life.  He is your life.  When He comes to you, as He came to Simeon… when the Spirit lifts your eyes of faith to Him, as He lifted Simeon’s aged eyes to the Baby… when He is placed into your ears and mouth as Simeon received Him into his arms… death can’t harm you anymore.  This Child is the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Jesus, even though he dies, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in Jesus will never die (John 11:25-26).

            We see here the importance of the Lord’s Supper and why it is we often sing Simeon’s song after eating and drinking our Lord’s true body and blood.  This is where we receive Jesus into us, and where our eyes see our salvation.  This is the medicine of immortality.  This is the antidote to death.  Here our sins are forgiven.  Here we are enlivened with the risen body of Christ.  As one sainted teacher of the Church famously said, “We go to the Lord’s Supper as though going to our death, that we may go to our death as though going to the Lord’s Supper.”  He didn’t mean that we have to go to Communion frowning and sullen, but we go in repentance and hope and faith and joy, knowing that this marks us for resurrection and eternal life.  And so we can go to our death the same way, not frowning and sullen, but in repentance and hope and faith and joy, knowing that we will see Jesus just as we have received Him in the Sacrament.  This is just what we dying sinners need, Jesus Christ for us, under bread and wine, for forgiveness and life.  St. Ambrose said, “Because I always sin, I always need the medicine.” 

            And that is exactly what you need to know, that this Supper is medicine for sinners and life for the dead.  For otherwise you might say, “That’s great for a holy man like Simeon, whose whole life was dedicated to waiting for the coming of the Lord… He can hold Jesus in his arms and declare he can die in peace.  But if you really knew my sins, Pastor, you would know that these Promises are not for me.  I dare not hold Jesus or receive Him into my very mouth and body in the Supper.  He is too holy, and I am too sinful.  And so I must die alone and in terror.”

            Did you know that I already know that about you, that you are a poor miserable sinner?  That He is holy, and you are not?  And, in fact, I encourage you to just own up to that… come to me and confess it, so that you can hear just what God has to say about your sin in the Absolution, namely, “I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Depart in peace.  You are free!  You live!  God is for you and not against you.  He loves you and gave His own dear Son for you, to make you His very own.”  That is what you receive tangibly in the Supper.  So that you know without a doubt the Absolution is true, that the death and resurrection of Christ are for you.  Here it is, the very body crucified for you, the very blood shed for you, now risen from the dead and living, for you to eat and to drink.

            The great irony of it all is, it is only those who know their unworthiness who are worthy to receive the Supper.  For this meal is for sinners only.  Those who believe they are worthy by their good works or lack of sin or credentials as “Good Christian Folk” must stay away.  Now, of course, you must be instructed in the faith, and specifically regarding the Supper, before you come.  In other words, no one should receive the Supper until they’ve been catechized, taught the things of God.  Our children don’t commune until they are able to examine themselves, as St. Paul says (1 Cor. 11:28), and have been instructed.  And under no circumstances should an unbaptized person commune, for Baptism is your birth into the faith; the Supper is the food that sustains and nourishes your baptismal life.  Baptism comes first.  And because St. Paul tells us that those who eat and drink “without discerning the body,” eat and drink judgment on themselves (1 Cor. 11:29 ff.), only those who share our confession of doctrine, especially regarding the Supper, should commune.  Which is not to say we don’t recognize other Christians as Christians, as brothers and sisters in Christ, but it is to take the Lord’s Supper seriously as the great and powerful gift that it is.  And that is why, ordinarily, only members of Missouri Synod congregations commune with us.  When our Lord comes again, all those divisions will cease.  But until then, we strive to be faithful as we suffer under the cross. 

            And finally, unrepentant sinners should not receive the Sacrament.  The key word there is “unrepentant.”  Sinners should absolutely come.  The Supper is for sinners, and sinners only.  But unrepentant sinners are those who do not recognize and acknowledge their sins, who believe that they are righteous in and of themselves, and that what they are doing is righteous, even if it is counter to God’s commands.  Do you see this irony?  Sinners who know their unworthiness and look to Christ alone for worthiness and righteousness are precisely those who should come.  Those who believe they are worthy and need no repentance are unworthy nonetheless and should not come. 

            Simeon knew his sins.  And that is why he so eagerly took hold of his Savior.  And so you.  You know your sins.  You confessed them mere minutes ago.  Now, having been absolved, you come eagerly to the altar to take hold of Jesus Christ.

            Today is also known as Candlemas, the day Christians of old brought their candles to Church to be blessed, as well as to donate candles for the Church’s use.  We don’t do that.  We could.  But the point of that tradition is quite beautiful.  Jesus is precisely what old Simeon says He is: The Light that lightens the Gentiles, and the glory of His people Israel.  Here we are enlightened as we see our salvation in the flesh and blood of the Savior.  Just like Simeon.  And like Anna, who couldn’t help but spread that Light to all who would hear. 

            On this day, the Light came into the Temple, in the flesh of a little Baby Boy.  His mother gave the sacrifice of the poor for her purification, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons.  The sacrifices themselves point to her Son and His death for our sins.  And this is the Presentation of Jesus as the Firstborn.  In the Old Testament, every firstborn of man and beast belonged to the LORD, the animals to be sacrificed, the humans to be redeemed by sacrifice.  Think of that.  Jesus gives the sacrifice, but in reality, He is the Sacrifice.  The Firstborn, not only of Mary, but of God, who redeems all the firstborn and all people from sin and death, and brings many brothers and sisters into the Father’s Kingdom.

            Come to the altar, beloved.  Eat and drink and behold your salvation.  Then depart in peace, sins forgiven, and go spread the Light to all who will listen, until your eyes see that Light for yourself in all His heavenly splendor.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.     

 

Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Third Sunday after the Epiphany (C)

January 26, 2025

Text: Luke 4:16-30

            Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:21).  Not just the today of the hearers in Nazareth in our Holy Gospel.  Today… our today… and every Sunday, and every time the Spirit gathers us around the gifts of the Lord in Word and Sacrament.  But especially today, as in January 26^th, 2025, in a very particular way.  Baptisms.  Confirmations and First Communions of those now baptized and instructed, catechized.  Those already confirmed members of other congregations, but who have now moved here, and are seeking a place, a home, in which they may hear the living voice of Jesus, in the Spirit of His Father, proclaiming His performative Word into their actual day to day lives, their families, their vocations, their bodies, their souls… doing things: Good news preached to the poor.  Liberty to the captives.  Sight to the blind.  Release to those oppressed.  They’ve heard it here, thank God, and so, they are staying, and committing, affirming their faith, making their good confession.  And the Body of Christ in this place (to use Paul’s analogy in our Epistle [1 Cor. 12:12-31]) grows stronger, God be praised.  

            Our Lord’s sermon in Nazareth has been called “the paradigmatic statement of Jesus’ Ministry.”  That is, as our Lord reads this passage from Isaiah (61:1-2), and preaches its fulfillment in Him (God in the flesh), He sets out the pattern, the roadmap, of what He will do in Israel for three years, from the beginning of His earthly ministry until His Passion, His suffering and death on the cross.  And what He will do, ultimately, and for all people, in that suffering and death for sinners, and in His bodily resurrection from the dead.  And in our own death and resurrection in Him.  Good news (Gospel).  Healing.  Release.  That is why He came.  This paradigm is present in every Word of the Holy Gospels, and really, every word of the Scriptures, if God only gives us eyes to see it, ears to hear it, hearts to believe it.  Jesus accomplishes it and proclaims it.  The Spirit delivers it as it is proclaimed and enacted in the Sacraments (the Spirit and the Word always go together).  And sinners, once exiled from the Father, are now reconciled to Him as His dearly loved children.

            The great surprise is, this isn’t just for Israel.  It is for the nations.  It is for the Gentiles.  And that is what gets Jesus into trouble.  The dear people of the Nazareth congregation love the Hometown Boy’s sermon… until He makes this turn.  The salvation given to, and through, Israel, will now go out to those Israel considers beneath them.  The Gentiles.  The world.  As Elijah was sent to the widow of Zarephath.  As Elisha was sent to Naaman the Syrian.  This fills the congregation with murderous wrath.  “How dare they be included in our Kingdom.  They don’t belong here with us.  They are not supposed to receive mercy.”  So, they reject the preaching, the members of the Nazareth synagogue.  And along with it, the Preacher, and the gifts given in His preaching.  They would rather go to hell than receive the gifts of God with those people.  And they bring Jesus to the brow of a hill in a futile attempt to throw Him off.  Utter rejection (a foreshadowing of Israel’s rejection of the Savior all the way to the cross.  He walks away this time, but only because it is not yet His “hour.”

            And note this, because we can fall into this error, too.  The angels of God are rejoicing today, as they do when even one sinner repents.  Join your hearts and voices with theirs, and not with the congregation in Nazareth.  We all want a growing congregation, in theory.  But you’ve heard the horror stories of veteran members of some particular church who resent the new members, because the makeup of the body is changing, and the veterans feel threatened.  I’m sure that won’t happen here, and I thank God for the welcome our new members have experienced.  Keep that up.  They are your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Members of your own body.  Take them in.  Assimilate them.  Love them.  Don’t fall into the Nazareth error.  And this warning is for you new members, too, as much as it is for the veterans.  Because you won’t always be new.  Guard against it.  Repent of it, wherever it crops up.  Don’t let the devil even begin to attack us in this way. 

            After all, the Lord’s preaching releases us from that.  Today.  Now.  In this moment.  Beloved, new member or veteran, young or old, man or woman, clergy or lay… whoever you are… whatever your sins… whatever you’ve done… wherever you’ve been… This preaching is for you. 

            You who are poor… poor in spirit, which is to say, one who makes no claims of righteousness or worthiness of your own before God… and you who are, perhaps, literally poor… Good News!  Christ is your righteousness.  He is your worthiness.  He is your life.  And He is the Treasure enriching you beyond imagination, beyond any wealth gold or silver could bestow. 

            You who are captive… prisoners and slaves, yes, but maybe not too many of those in the crowd today.  How about those captive to besetting sins?  Captive to addiction, or depression… to a broken mind or body?  The Lord Jesus is your freedom, your loosing from all that binds you.  Your sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake.  And He will heal you.  Ask Him.  Trust Him.  Receive from Him.  He will begin your healing already, now, in this life (though, understand, it will come with the cross).  And what is only partial here, will be whole and complete when He raises you bodily from the dead. 

            Those who are blind…  Of course, Jesus heals any number of physically blind people in the Gospels, and the blind will see again, if not in this life, by medical intervention, then in the resurrection, when we will see perfectly… But, the spiritually blind, which is the condition of every one of us when we are born.  Those who cannot, by their own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ our Lord, or come to Him.  Jesus preaches to you.  And when He speaks, the Spirit comes by His breath, on the wind of His Word, to do what your wisdom and strength can never do… bestow on you saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

            Those who are oppressed… by other people.  By sin, by death, by the devil.  By the derivatives and symptoms of those enemies: Grief and sorrow, pain, disease, injury, guilt, shame.  Jesus lifts the yoke from off your neck.  He is your consolation.  He is the salve that soothes you.  He has taken your guilt and shame away from you, and nailed it to His cross.  And in the end, He will raise you from death, and wipe away every tear from your eyes.

            See, what this is… this Today in Jesus Christ, called here “the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19; ESV)… This is the Year of Jubilee.  The Sabbath of years, it was to take place every fiftieth year in Israel.  No reaping or harvesting.  All debts forgiven.  All slaves released.  Inheritances returned to the rightful heirs.  Every Israelite resting in God, in His salvation and providence.  Trusting Him.  Believing He will do what He promises.  Israel never did it very well.  But it was all a type, a foreshadowing of things to come.  Christ is the fulfillment.  This is what He does for us.  Total release.  Complete forgiveness.  Wholeness.  Abundance.  Rest in the sin-atoning, life-giving, righteousness-bestowing work of Christ.  Wherever, and whenever, Christ is present with His people, this is what He does for us.  And, incidentally, it’s what we can do for each other. 

            And that is the Epiphany we receive Today.  In our hearing, and before our very eyes, Christ declares all our debts paid in full by His death for us on the cross, sins forgiven.  He bestows righteousness and life and freedom in His resurrection.  And He does it in the splashing of water, the sounding of Words, and the Feast of His very body and blood.  Rejoice this day, beloved.  Because Today, the things that have been proclaimed are fulfilled in your hearing.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.                   

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Second Sunday after the Epiphany (C)

January 19, 2025

Text: John 2:1-11

            “On the third day…” (John 2:1; ESV), when so many of the greatest things in the Bible happen, earthshaking things, things of life and redemption…  “On the third day…”  On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place, Mt. Moriah, upon which he was to sacrifice his only and beloved son, Isaac, to God; but where, at the last possible moment, the Angel of the LORD (and that is the pre-incarnate Christ!) staid his knife-wielding hand, and provided a ram for sacrifice in Isaac’s place (Gen. 22).  On the third day, it was made known that Jacob had fled from his devious father-in-law Laban, gaining freedom for his family, preserving the messianic line, and leading them toward the Promised Land (Gen. 31).  On the third day, Joseph’s prophetic dreams concerning Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker came true (Gen. 40:20-22), which would lead, eventually, to Joseph’s release from prison and exaltation to ruler of all Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself, and savior, not only of Egypt, but of Israel, of his own brothers (and really, of all people… us!... because without Israel, we don’t have Jesus), providing grain during the famine (Gen. 42 ff.).  And that’s only Genesis.  If you want to have a little fun, go to an internet Bible site, like biblegateway.com or esv.org, and search the phrase, “On the third day,” and have a blast reading all the references.  All through the Bible, earthshaking things, things of life and redemption, are connected with the third day.  (By the way, what about the third day of creation?  Vegetation.  Plants yielding seed, trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.  That is to say, among other things, grain for bread.  Grapes for wine.  Wood… for the cross.)

            So, the third day.  Always give that phrase a second, third, or hundredth look.  And what does it all point to?  You know.  “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Luke 9:22).  So Paul preaches, “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).  THE earthshaking thing.  THE thing of life and redemption.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  On the third day.

            “On the third day there was a wedding” (John 2:1).  Mary was there (incidentally, her first appearance in John’s Gospel).  The disciples were there.  Most importantly, Jesus was there.  The couple had invited Him.  And that is not an insignificant detail.  Those of you who are married, and those of you who may get married someday…  Invite Jesus to your marriage.  Not just your wedding (though certainly there, too!).  To your marriage.  He is the center of it.  You need His blessing.  You need His presence in your marriage.  Bring your spouse to Church, where Jesus is, for you.  Bring the fruit of your marriage, your children, to Church, where Jesus is, for them.  Husbands, wives, families…  Hear the Word of the Lord together.  Read it together at home.  Receive the Sacrament together.  Pray together.  Talk about the things of God together.  Marriage is hard.  Family life is hard.  But Jesus is present in these things, to cover over your whole marriage and family with His mercy and redemption, to strengthen it, keep it, protect it, provide for it, and to do great things in it, for you and for the world. 

            But more than that… Every wedding and marriage in which Jesus is present, is a visible witness and foreshadowing of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom which has no end!  Jesus is the Bridegroom.  The Church is His Bride.  You are His Bride.  Our Lord gave Himself up into the death of the cross for His beloved Bride, the Church, as Paul says, to sanctify her, in order to cleanse her by the washing of water with the Word (that’s Baptism!), that He might present her to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy, and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27).  The Church joyfully submits herself to her Bridegroom to receive this very salvation.  And when Christian husbands love their wives in self-giving sacrifice, and Christian wives submit themselves to that self-giving love… when Christian husbands and wives invite and receive Christ into their marriage… they manifest a mystery, Paul says, that of Christ and the Church (v. 32).

            On the third day…  Mary shows us that in time of need, we should ask Christ, lay all our troubles at His feet, even when it seems like He doesn’t want to help.  “They have no wine” (John 2:3).  “Woman, what does this have to do with me?” (v. 4).  Well, perhaps His hour had not come yet at the wedding in Cana, the hour of His suffering and death for the world, but it has come now.  And that hour is the answer to all our prayers.  Jesus wants us to hold Him to the hour, and to ask for, and expect, His help on the basis of that hour.  Our troubles have everything to do with Jesus.  He was born to redeem us from our troubles.  And so, Mary directs our eyes and ears, not toward herself, but to her Son.  “Do whatever he tells you” (v. 5).  Because whatever He tells you will be right and good.  And it is in this case, too.  The servants do as Jesus tells them, and behold, wine!  The wedding feast is saved.  The couple is saved from embarrassment, from public humiliation.  And their marriage begins… and continues… with joy, because Jesus is with them.

            And speaking of wine…  On the third day, wine to overflowing!  Six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons (imagine how much that is!).  “Fill ‘em up to the brim,” Jesus commands the servants (and the Greek word “servants” is διακόνοις, “deacons,” by the way, so here the clergy can learn something of their job description.  They are to serve the wedding guests at Table).  And then, of course, the great miracle… sign, as John calls the miracles in his Gospel… water into wine.  Because, when Jesus is on the scene, the old rites of purification give way to the new and better way of purification in Jesus Himself.  The Law gives way to the Gospel.  Sorrow is turned into joy.  Death is swallowed up by life, sin by righteousness.  Throughout the Old Testament, wine is a sign of the arrival of the messianic age.  Wine is the cup of joy.  When Messiah arrives, there will be a Feast for all peoples, Isaiah says.  A Feast of rich food, of aged wine well-refined (Is. 25:6).  Well, here it is.  When Jesus turns the water into wine, you can’t miss the meaning.  On the third day, the servants, and Mary, and the disciples (and you) know… This Man is our Messiah, our Savior, our Lord. 

            And let it be known, this is no two-buck Chuck (or twenty buck Chuck, as the case may be these days).  This is the real deal.  The very best wine.  Astoundingly better than what the couple served at first (and that was presumably pretty good stuff).  And so, on the third day, Jesus bestows this very best of gifts… on drunks!  On those who don’t deserve it.  Weddings lasted seven days when our Gospel takes place.  These guests consumed a week’s worth of wine in… what?... maybe one day.  Never mind the alcohol abuse, they took advantage of the couple.  Nevertheless, the Lord provides.  And isn’t that just like Jesus?  Isn’t that precisely what He does for us?  Sinners, every last one of us.  Yet Jesus pours out the best gifts upon us.  In His mercy, He takes away our sin.  And what does He do?  Our Bridegroom purifies us, cleanses us, not with the water of the Old Testament rites of purification, but the water of the font, the water flowing from His side, the water that covers us with His blood.  And then He gives us wine!  The wine that is His blood, with the bread that is His body.  It is His Wedding Feast! 

            Now, not everyone at the wedding is privy to the sign, the water turned into wine.  “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory” (John 2:11).  But not everyone sees it, and not everyone believes in Him on the basis of it.  Rather, the text says His disciples saw it, and His disciples believed in Him.  The miracles, the signs, are not given to dazzle the unbelieving into faith.  They are given for the faith of those who have become Jesus’ disciples, those who follow Him.  And so they are for you.  On the third day, an Epiphany.  Water into wine manifests Jesus’ glory.  Here is our Messiah, our Savior and our God.  What He did for the couple in Cana, He does here and now, for us.  Wine at the Wedding Feast.  Life.  Redemption.  Joy.  It is earthshaking.  On the third day.  Whenever you run across that phrase, you know.  On the basis of our Lord’s hour and resurrection: This is gonna be good!  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.                                       

The Baptism of Our Lord

The Baptism of Our Lord (C)

January 12, 2025

Text: Luke 3:15-22

            The Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in the River Jordan turns the whole world upside down; in fact, the whole cosmos, all creation, all things, visible and invisible.  Heaven descends.  God comes down to you in the flesh.  All the way down into your sin.  Jesus needs no Baptism for repentance and forgiveness.  He has no sin of His own.  But He is baptized into you, and into your sin, and the sin of the whole world.  He takes it into Himself.  He becomes sin for you (2 Cor. 5:21).  And so, He comes all the way down into sin’s wages, into your death… even death on the cross!... all the way down into your grave and your hell.  Why?  To put your sin to death in the flesh.  And to raise you up in the flesh.  To take you with Him in His ascent.  Up from the grave.  Christ is risen, but your sins are not.  Up into heaven.  Up to the seat of honor at the right hand of God.  Up into righteousness… His for you.  Yours in Him.  Up into life… Eternal life.  Resurrection life.  “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4; ESV).

            So your Baptism into Christ turns your whole world upside down.  In Holy Baptism, you died with Christ.  No longer dying, your death is done.  In Holy Baptism, you are raised with Christ.  Eternal life flows to you from the font.  You, who once were far off, have now been brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph. 3:13).  You, who once were naked, have now put on Christ as your robe of righteousness (Gal. 3:27).  You, who once were lost, have now been found (Luke 15:24).  You, once walking in death (Col. 2:13), are now born again, anew, from above, by water and the Holy Spirit (John 3:5).  You’ve been circumcised, not in the flesh, but in the heart (Rom. 2:29).  You’ve been given a new heart (Ps. 51:10).  And now, your whole life is a life of daily death and resurrection in Christ, repentance and faith.  You daily drown old Adam, your flesh, by repentance and contrition.  And you daily emerge and arise, a New Creation in Christ, to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. 

            And it is an Epiphany.  An epiphany is a revelation, a manifestation, a showing of something that has been hidden.  January 6^th was the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord.  Known as the Gentile Christmas, on that day the Church commemorates the revelation to the wise men (Gentiles), and to the world, that Christ is born, not just for Jews, but for all people.  And that means, for you.  Here this little Baby is shown to be God in the flesh, your Savior, your Lord, and Wisdom incarnate.

            Now we are in the Epiphany Season, and each successive Sunday will be a revelation, a manifestation, a showing of this truth.  And this Sunday’s epiphany is a whopper!  In the Baptism of our Lord, our God reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  See how our God paints the picture for us.  There is the incarnate Son, standing in the water, baptized by St. John, baptized for you, and into you.  Heaven, once closed to sinners, now is open, and the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the bodily form of a dove.  And now the Spirit will be with Him always… not always visibly, but with Him always, in all His Words, and in all His works, delivering all His saving benefits.  And there is the Voice from heaven, God the Father Almighty, declaring to Jesus “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). 

            And now this is the baptismal pattern.  What happened to Jesus at His Baptism, happens to you at yours.  There is Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, in the water of the font, with His blood and death for the forgiveness of your sins, with His righteousness and life for your justification and salvation.  And heaven is opened to you.  The Holy Spirit descends upon you and remains with you, not visibly, as a dove, but assuredly nevertheless.  And that is faith, by the way.  Saving faith is God’s gift to you as the Spirit comes to you in His means of grace.  And a Voice speaks.  It is your Father in heaven.  “You,” He says at your Baptism into Christ… you, now…  you “are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 

            Well, clearly everything has been turned on its head.  You can’t see all this with your eyes, of course.  All you see is the water dripping from your head.  And if you were baptized as an infant, you don’t even remember that.  But you know it.  You know it to be true, because that is what the Lord proclaims to you in His Word.  And what is that Word?  The Divine Name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  You are baptized into the Name, as Jesus commanded when He instituted this Sacrament (Matt. 28:19).  Where the Name of God is, there is God Himself.  And God wants to be with you, to help you, to counsel you, to guide you, to bless you.  To provide for you and protect you.  To save you.  To give you life.  So He writes His Name on you, for the same reason you write your name on anything.  You belong to Him.  You are precious to Him, and He never wants to lose you.  He gives you His Name, for the same reason you bear the family name of your parents.  You are a member of His family, the Christian family, the Church.  He adopts you as His own.  He is your Father.  You are his child.  He loves you.  Because you are in Christ, His Son.  “God’s own child, I gladly say it: I am baptized into Christ” (LSB 594:1). 

            By the way, it’s not that you were baptized, past tense.  Sure, your Baptism happened at one particular point in time.  But your Baptism is never simply over and done.  Beloved, you are baptized, present tense.  That is your ongoing and eternal reality.  Don’t say, “I was baptized.”  Say, “I am baptized.”  Even if, God forbid, you fall away from the faith, the fact remains, you are baptized.  Now, you can leave your Baptism, that is true, and that would be absolutely tragic, because you would forfeit eternal life.  But your Baptism will never leave you.  And when any apostate (lapsed Christian) repents, and returns to the faith, there is his Baptism.  He need not be baptized again.  He simply returns to his one Baptism, the reality, the state of one who is baptized into Christ.  Because, after all, Baptism is not your work for God.  It is God’s work for you.  And He is faithful.  Therefore His Work abides. 

            Beloved, every day, remember your Baptism and the gifts that flow from it.  And by remember, I don’t mean simply that you should call it to mind.  Rather, live each day immersed in the water.  Repent of your sins every day.  Push old Adam back down under the water, and drown that sucker, your sinful nature, by dying to self and confessing your sins to your Father who loves you.  Read and hear the Gospel every day, that all your sins are forgiven on account of Christ.  And know that you are baptized into that reality, His death, His resurrection, for you.  Arise in Christ every day, to live in Christ, Christ living in you.  His Word in your ears, and in your heart and mind, the scent of His blood on your breath.  The Spirit in these means of grace, coming upon you and sanctifying you.  Every day, remember your Baptism in that way.

            And every day, as God’s own child, born anew in blest baptismal waters, and dearly loved, take upon your lips the prayer of the Baptized.  “Our Father,” we are given to say.  For in Baptism, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba!  Father!’” (Gal. 4:6).  And we know that “With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father.”[1]

            Sinners once alienated from God, now beloved children of our heavenly Father.  Your whole world turned upside down.  Jesus upended it by His Baptism into you.  And then, by baptizing you into Himself.  Once you have died and arisen with Christ in Holy Baptism, your whole life becomes an Epiphany of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, for you.  And all things are made new.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.      

 

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[1] Luther’s Small Catechism (St. Louis: Concordia, 1986).

Second Sunday after Christmas

Second Sunday after Christmas (C)

January 5, 2025

Text: Luke 2:40-52

            Mary and Joseph were mistaken.  He was not lost.  He was never lost.  He was right where He was supposed to be.  He was doing just what He was supposed to do.  He was in His Father’s House.  That is the holy Temple, the place of sacrifice and atonement, the place of Torah and prayer, the place of God’s abiding presence with His people, Israel.  But there is another possible translation for the words rendered here, “in my Father’s house” (Luke 2:49; ESV), and perhaps it is the better one.  That is, “about my Father’s business.”  “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?”  And, of course, that is His divine saving mission, accomplishing once and for all, and bringing to fulfillment, all the purposes for which God gave the Temple in the first place.  He is the Sacrifice, our Lord Jesus.  He is the Atonement.  He is Torah made flesh, and the object and answer to our prayers.  He is God’s Presence with us, our Emmanuel.  He is the true Temple.  And so, maybe these words are delicious Spirit-inspired double entendre.  Where else would He be, but in the Temple?  Where else would He be, but immersed in Torah with the teachers of Israel?  What else would He be doing, but His Father’s business… the business of undoing all that went wrong in Eden… doing to the full all that should and must be done if man is to be righteous before God… accomplishing the salvation of Israel, and of the world… present for us… saving us? 

            Mary and Joseph were desperately searching.  Don’t be troubled by their assumption that the twelve-year-old Boy was somewhere in the caravan.  That’s just par for the course.  On the yearly pilgrimage to the Holy City for the Passover, families, friends, and neighbors travelled together for safety and for fellowship.  And you know how that works.  All the kids gravitated toward one another.  They played together, while the adults did their boring adult things together.  Everybody watched for everybody else’s kids.  And while there weren’t street lights to come on at twilight, the sign that it’s time to go home, the kids knew to meet up with their parents at the end of the travel day, at the appointed stopping place.  It was there that Mary and Joseph realized… something is wrong.  If you are a parent, perhaps you know that terror.  Where is my child?  For Mary, it may have been the first taste of the sword prophesied by Simeon, the one piercing her own soul, also.  In any case, it is a foreshadowing.  This will not be the last time she tastes that terror with regard to her Son. 

            So the Holy Parents returned to Jerusalem, and they searched everywhere, or so they thought.  The reality is, they searched everywhere, except where they should have.  “After three days” (v. 46)… a time stamp I think not insignificant… they found Him.  You know where.  Doing you know what.  And as mothers are wont to do, Mary asked the question that would have produced tremendous guilt and contrition in any mere human child: “Son, why have you treated us so?  Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress” (v. 48).  Of course, any mere human child would have sinned grievously against the Fourth Commandment by staying back, disappearing from his parents, worrying them half to death.  Take note of this, children.  Do not do this to your parents!  But Jesus is no mere human child.  Oh, He is human.  But He is also the sinless Son of God.  And He has a Father who takes precedence over Jospeh, and even over Mary, and He must honor that Father, by His presence in His Father’s House, doing His Father’s business.  And Mary and Joseph should have known that.  This is why He came.  This why He was born.  As Gabriel told them both.  Our Lord’s Third Commandment obligation (holding the Word of God sacred, and gladly hearing and learning it) trumps His Fourth Commandment obligation (honoring father and mother).  And, of course, in honoring His heavenly Father in this way, He hasn’t actually dishonored Mary and Joseph.  He has honored them greatly, by doing the work of the Law for them, fulfilling it for them… and for us… in their place, and in ours.  Also, teaching them, and us, that our first loyalty is to God, then to parents and other earthly authorities.  Always.  God comes first.  And that, as you know, is the First Commandment: You shall have no other gods.  We should fear, love, and trust in God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) above all things.

            But back to Mary’s question for a moment.  It is not only the question of a distraught mother.  She is speaking for us.  Isn’t she?  Well, isn’t that your question, after all?  God… Jesus… where have You been?  Why have You treated me so?  I’ve looked everywhere for You!  I’m desperate, here!  I’m in great distress!  But I guess that doesn’t matter to You…  Are you sure about that?  Is it really that Jesus has sinned against you?  Now, be honest here.  You’ve been in Mary’s shoes, with her question, with her rebuke for Jesus.  Maybe you’re there right now.  Hear His answer to Mary… Hear His answer to you… not as scathing reprimand of your lament, but as a loving turning, a changing of your mind (a repentance!), an opening of your eyes, from the blindness of misperception and false belief, to the truth that you should have known, and, in fact, do already know: When you are searching for Jesus, for His help and deliverance, for His comfort and salvation… for the incarnate Presence of God for you… where should you look?  Where will you always find Him?  In His Father’s House.  Doing His Father’s Business.  Isn’t that self-evident?  Didn’t you learn that in Catechism class?  He is the Sacrifice of Atonement, offered upon the Altar of the cross.  Where else would He be, but where the fruits of His cross, the body and blood of the crucified and risen Lamb of God, are distributed and feasted upon?  He is the Word made flesh.  Where else would He be, but where the Scriptures are read and proclaimed into the ears and hearts of God’s holy people?  When you need Jesus, run to the Word.  You will always find Him there.  When you need Jesus, run to His Church, to preaching and Sacrament.  He is ever and always here, in the flesh, for you.   

            Why is that the last place we look?  It’s not that we’re ignorant.  It’s that we’re stubborn and rebellious.  We want to find Him ourselves, in the places we wishfully think He should be found (where is that?): In our hearts, in our reason, in our resolve.  On the couch.  On the screen.  In pleasure.  In power.  In wealth.  In wellbeing.  Well, you can think of other places.  But you know you will always find those places empty of Jesus, unless you find Him where He has promised to be for you.  In His Word and Sacrament.  Repent of looking for Him in all those other places.  Find Him here, and all those other things will be purified and filled with Him.  But, neglect Him here, and all those other things become filthy, empty idols.  They won’t actually help you with your distress, your anxiety, your sadness, your brokenness.  Rather, they’ll multiply your afflictions and break you to death.  Christ is your only help.  And you know where He is.  And you know what He has done, and what He is doing, for you and for your salvation.  His answer is calling you back.  “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s House… about my Father’s Business?”

            You know what might be a good New Year’s resolution for you?  Be here more.  In your Father’s House, and about His Business, Word and Sacrament.  Not to fulfill an obligation (although it is an obligation, the Third Commandment).  But because Jesus is here, for you.  Be with Him.  He is here with you.  Read and hear the Scriptures more… to hear His voice.  To receive His Spirit and His wisdom.  Listen more carefully to the proclamation, and the Holy Absolution… that your faith in Christ be strengthened.  Take joy in God’s people.  Love them.  Jesus is here, in their midst.  And when you love them, you love Jesus.  Pray more… He is the object and the answer to your prayers.  Pray for yourself, for your family, your friends and acquaintances… your enemies… the nation, the authorities, your Church, your pastor.  For every need they may have, and most of all, that they know Jesus, and find Him here.  Because you know that praying with and in Jesus, your Father loves to hear your prayers, and answer them.

            Find Jesus here.  You will always find Jesus here with His forgiveness, righteousness, life, love, Spirit, consolation, and every other gift, for you.  When you don’t find Him everywhere else, it isn’t because He’s sinned against you, any more than He sinned against Mary and Joseph.  It’s that you weren’t looking in right places.  He is faithful.  He has told you just where to find Him.  He is always here for you.  He is always doing His Father’s Business for  you.  Beloved, merry Christmas.  Christ is born for you.  And here He is.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.