The Presents - New Year’s Eve - Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus - December 31, 2011 - Text: Matt. 2:10-11

This evening we present the last of our Advent to Christmas and New Year’s Eve symbols of Christmas, the presents, pun intended. Again, as I have said many times, it is good to look at the traditions and customs we use to make sure that the tradition or custom has not and does not overpower the thing for which it is done. Likewise we might ask, does the particular symbol of Christmas we are looking at serve its purpose as a symbol. This evening we want to take a look at the custom of giving presents for Christmas.

Although no one knows for sure, because there are many theories, I would believe that a part of the custom or tradition of exchanging presents and gift giving goes back to the giving of the gifts of the Magi to the baby Jesus. So, this evening I want to begin by looking at the actual gifts, as we read in our text, “10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:10, 11). And personally, I believe the reason many people believe there were three wise men is because there were three gifts, at least there are only three gifts mentioned.

One gift given by the Magi was the gift of gold. Gold is the gift meant for a King and Jesus is our King. Jesus was born from the kingly line of King David, thought to be Israel’s greatest king. The genealogies of both Joseph and Mary trace Jesus’ lineage back to King David. Jesus is the son of David and even Greater, He is David’s God and Lord. As King, Jesus watches over us and rules us from heaven, but even more His kingdom is not of this world, but is of the eternal kingdom of heaven where He will rule over us forever.

Another gift mentioned is the gift of Myrrh. Myrrh is an oil often used for the purposes of anointing. Myrrh is a gift especially appropriate for a prophet. Jesus is indeed a prophet and the greatest prophet. And although Jesus did speak prophetic sayings while He was on this earth, He was a prophet in that He was a proclaimer of God’s Word. And interestingly enough, as some had suggested, I have a Bible that has the words of Jesus in red and the response is, then why are not all the words in red. Jesus is the great prophet in that He is the one who has given us His Word in the first place. Jesus continues to be a prophet for us today as He continues to speak to us through His very Word as it is read and proclaimed.

Another gift mentioned is the gift of frankincense, or simply incense. Incense is meant to be a gift for a priest. Incense is the fragrant aroma burnt in the temple as a sweet smelling offering rising up to the Lord. Jesus is our priest and our great High Priest. One of the roles of the priest was to offer sacrifices in the temple. As our great High Priest Jesus does not simply offer any sacrifices, but He offers Himself as the ultimate, the once and for all sacrifice for us. And as our great High Priest Jesus continues, even today, to intercede for us before His Father in heaven.

Today, we continue to see this gift giving reminding us of the gifts of the Magi or the Wisemen. Yet, today this tradition is expressed as a tradition of emulating St. Nicholas who was said to have begun the tradition of gift giving by leaving coins in shoes for those who left them out. He truly took to heart Jesus’ words to sell all you have and give to the poor.

On the down side, if you will, and I believe I am not alone, but the tradition of gift giving, of exchanging presents in our world today has reached a point that, as the saying goes, “We have over commercialized Christmas.” Satan has moved our attention to the things of this world away from the main thing, the gift of God in flesh in Christ. What God has done is that He has given us the greatest gift of His Son, even Himself. What we do every year is exchange presents. So, this evening I do want us to make note of the difference between exchanging presents and true gift giving. Very often we use these terms interchangeably as if they mean the same thing, but I contend that they are two separate and distinct things.

What we do today, our tradition and custom, for the most part is an exchange of presents. I will give you a present if you give me a present. Now certainly there are some exceptions to this tradition, mostly because someone did not get the message that there was to be a “gift exchange,” and so they may have received without giving, but, again, for the most part it is simply an exchange. And please understand and do not misquote me, I believe this is a worthwhile tradition and there is nothing wrong with this tradition. I am not against this exchanging of presents, but my point is that this is not true gift giving.

My contention is that true gift giving is not a present or gift exchange. And further, my contention is that true gift giving is what Jesus does and what only Jesus can do. True gift giving is giving without getting in return and truly without even expecting in return. True gift giving flows out of true love which, as sinful human beings does not originate within us, but must first come from outside of us, namely from Jesus. We love because He first loves us and therefore we give because He first gives to us. It always begins with and flows from Jesus to us.

God is the prime mover. God gives and we are given to. God gives gifts. He gives first and truly expects nothing from us as if there is anything we would have to give to Him, especially to give to Him that He did not in the first place give to us. God gives life. He gives life to all at creation. God gives life personally, to each one of us at our conception. God gives us new life through the waters of Holy Baptism. God gives forgiveness especially through His means of confession and absolution. God gives strengthening of faith through His Word and through His Holy Supper. God in Jesus has given His life for ours, living perfectly for us, taking our sins and giving us His righteousness, suffering and dying for our sins, rising and ascending to heaven to watch over us, rule over us and intercede for us. God gives gifts. God gives faith, forgiveness and life.

This evening as we continue celebrating the twelve days of Christmas, we do so looking forward to our Epiphany celebration and our acknowledgment of the gifts of the Magi. As we end this year which has been a gift from God, remember, each day is indeed a gift from God, we look forward to many more gifts from God in the new year knowing and believing that our God is the great and even the greatest gift giving God. Our God, the one true God is God who needs nothing from us, as if we would have anything to give to Him, except to return to Him a portion of what He has first given to us. Our God is the great gift giving God who created us to love us and to give to us. And He gives to us, all that we need, all our physical needs as well as all our spiritual needs. And He has taken care of our greatest need, forgiveness of sins. He gives and we are given to and we rejoice in His giving. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Baby - Christmas Day - December 25, 2011 - Text: John 1:1-14

This morning we continue examining the various symbols, even the customs and traditions surrounding the season of Advent and Christmas. Certainly, as we have being saying, it is important that we look at the customs and traditions we have to make sure they are always complimentary with what we believe, teach and confess, in other words, to make sure our customs and traditions have not taken over as the main thing, but always point to the main thing. And this morning the main thing is the baby. And just as a reminder, today we begin our Christmas celebration and our celebration lasts for twelve days, beginning today and ending at Epiphany on January 6.

This morning our symbol of Christmas is the Baby, yet, as we heard in our text, I want to focus on the Word, which our text says, became flesh, became the Baby. John tells us, in the beginning was the Word and of course we know this Word is Jesus Himself. Jesus was in the beginning with the Father and the Spirit at the creation of the world. And as we know the story, while God was running the show in Genesis one and two, everything was perfect. When we get to Genesis chapter three and Adam and Eve begin running the show we read of how they disobeyed God and how sin infects the world. Because of their disobedience the world was cursed. And yet, in His great love, God stepped in and made a promise, a promise to right the wrongs of sin, a promise to reconcile us to Himself. This Word spoken by God was the promise or prophecy that a Savior for all people, of all places, of all times would be born. In the beginning was the Word, the spoken Word of God, the Word of the Promise.

This Word of God, this spoken promise of God was passed on from generation to generation until we get to Moses. A part of Moses calling from God was that he began writing down the Words of God. So God’s spoken promise of a Savior became God’s written promise of a Savior. And even today we can read these promises of God as they permeate the whole Old Testament. And we know that this Word, this spoken and written Word were to have their fulfillment in the promised Savior Jesus and indeed that is what happened.

As John tells us in his Gospel, this spoken and written Word became incarnate, that is it became in carnal, in flesh, which is what we are celebrating today, the birth of the Savior, Jesus, God in flesh, “God with us,” God taking on human flesh and blood in order to live for us, suffer and die for us and to rise for us, in our place.

While He was alive, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples and out of the Passover He gave us a new celebration, even a new sacrament, He gave us Himself to eat and to drink in His Holy Supper. In the Old Testament a lamb, a spotless lamb was sacrificed, its blood was shed as a reminder of sin, then the lamb was offered as a burnt offering, barbequed if you will, and the family sat and ate the lamb thus participating in the sacrifice. The lamb’s life, the lamb’s sacrifice was for their life and their sacrifice. Thus, the spoken and written Word, the Word made flesh has become a tangible Word for us in Lord’s Supper, where Jesus, the Lamb of God was offered as a once and for all sacrifice for us so that now when we come to the Lord’s Table we taste and know that the Lord is good. We participate in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, which is what it means to “do this in remembrance of me”, that is to participate in His life, death and resurrection so that they become our perfect life, death and resurrection.

And so, we understand and we believe God’s Word, His spoken Word, His Written Word, His Word made flesh and His Word given to us in Holy Supper, that His Word is indeed Jesus, and in particular His Word is this Jesus whose birth we celebrate today. So, let us talk a little about this baby.

When a baby is born there is indeed much rejoicing and likewise with the birth of this baby, the Baby of Bethlehem. This is the One who was promised in the Garden of Eden. This is the One who was promised to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to King David, to Zechariah and to Mary and Joseph. Certainly there is rejoicing at the birth of this child.

Even more, for us today, we rejoice because we know that this Child was not born for Himself, but He was born for us. He was born because of our broken relationship with God the Father. He was born in perfection because we are born in sin.

This Child was born for us and He was born for us so that He could live for us. All that we cannot do, obey God’s commandments perfectly, He did, for us, in our place. Not only did He obey all God’s commands perfectly, He also fulfilled all of God’s promises concerning the coming Savior, perfectly for us, in our place. The reason Jesus was born as a human was so that He could live for us a perfect life the perfect life we cannot live so that He might be our substitute. The reason Jesus was born as God was so that He would be perfect for us in our place.

Jesus was born for us. He lived for us and then He took our sins upon Himself for us. The price for sin, the cost for sin, which was set in the Garden of Eden, eternal spiritual death, hell, had to be paid and Jesus came to pay that price. As we said earlier, when a baby is born there is much rejoicing. When Jesus was born there was much rejoicing, yet for Jesus, when He was born He had the cross always before Him. The very reason He was born was to die.

And He did die, for us. Jesus suffered physical pain and torment but more importantly was the fact that He suffered the eternal spiritual death penalty for us, in our place. Jesus suffered hell for us in our place. He paid the price for our sins. He reconciled our account with God the Father, making the balance we owe zero.

But Jesus did not stay dead. Death and the grave had no power over Him. On the third day He rose and He rose for us. He rose defeating sin, death and the devil. He rose so that we know that we too will rise again.

After He rose, He showed Himself to be alive and before He ascended into heaven, back to the place from which He descended, He promised that He would come again to take us from this valley of tears to be with Himself in heaven for eternity. Thus, we wait with eager anticipation, either for His return, or our passing on and going to Him, because when we do meet Him, He will robe us with His robes of righteousness and gather us and all His saints and take us to the place which He has prepared for us, our place of eternity in heaven.

Listen again to the word of our text and as you hear John speak these words think about this baby, and think about this Word. “1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14And 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” (John 1:1-14).

Perhaps, as we see the baby in the manger, as we hear the Word of God, we might remember that the two are one and the same. And as we come to our Lord’s Holy Supper to eat His body and drink His blood we might be reminded that this is a participation in Him so that His life is our life, His suffering is our suffering, His death is our death and His resurrection is our resurrection. Yes, we have forgiveness, life and salvation. And so we are moved to rejoice and say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Star - Christmas Eve - December 24, 2011 - Text: Matthew 1:18-25

This evening we continue to look at the various customs, traditions and symbols of Christmas. As we have been saying, it is important that we do take the time to look at the customs, traditions and symbols we use to make sure they are being done the way they were intended when they were first initiated and to make sure they continue to carry the same meaning as when they were first begun. If our custom or tradition takes away from or interferes with its intended meaning then it is no longer an adiaphor nor is it wise or advisable to continue its usage. With this understanding in mind we turn our attention this evening to look at the symbol of Christmas of the star.

Interestingly enough, outside the Biblical account of the star leading the wisemen, the Magi or the kings as they have been designated, to the toddler Jesus, there is not really any other accounting for the star of Christmas. In other words, unlike the Christmas Tree and Candles and Christmas Light which may have pagan or other roots and which have taken on much more secular meaning in our world today, the same cannot be said of the Christmas star. The star is what it is and certainly that is a good thing.

As for any secular meaning in the Star of Christmas today, certainly the star is considered a light of heaven. When we look up into the sky, at night, and perhaps away from the city and the city lights, we can see the star amongst a plethora of stars in the heavens. So again, secularly speaking, the star is a nice pretty sight at night and makes for a nice addition to the Christmas scene.

Unfortunately, for many the star is simply another Christmas decoration, like the creche, the candy cane, an angel, or the Santa and reindeer. For some the star makes for a nice tree topper, that or an angel. For others the star may be encapsulated in the lights that are often hung on one’s house. Again, secularly speaking, the star is simply a nice piece of Christmas decoration.

For some, the star continues to be the symbol of Christmas in that it was the guide for the wisemen. Of course, as we have discussed before, the wisemen did not show up at the barn or cave where Jesus was born and they did not present their gifts to the child while He was still in the manger. The star lead the wisemen so that they showed up to the house where the child was and this was probably about a year or a year and a half after the child was born.

To those who would deny Christmas and the miraculous star of Christmas, there are many explanations to explain away any divine phenomena. Of course, this explaining away is what the secularist, the agnostics and the atheists continue attempt to do and must do in order to deny God and their own accountability to God. Anyway, some have explained the star as a nova, or a comet. Some have explained the star as a convergence of planets. But the main point in explaining away the star is to deny God’s hand in creation, in Christmas, and in the miraculous appearance of a star to lead the Magi from the east to the baby Jesus. Interestingly enough, any attempt at any explanation is a subtle admission that a wondrous star did appear.

So, what is so special about the star today? Why do we continue to have the star as a symbol of Christmas when actually it is more a symbol of Epiphany? It is my hope that the star of Christmas brings to mind several important truths which we learn from God’s Word and which should permeate our Christian faith and lives.

First and foremost the star reminds us of creation. And let me remind you, God did not create the Sun, the moon and the stars until the fourth day of creation. Yes, on the first day the first thing God created was light, but we do not know what type of light that was that He created, only that it was light. On the fourth day of creation God created the Sun, moon and stars and placed them into His creation in order to mark time, days, weeks, months and years, time which He created for us as we read in Genesis, “14And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:14-18). When we see the stars of heaven, certainly we are reminded that God created all things out of nothing.

Second, the star reminds us of Christ’s birth. As we read in Matthew’s Gospel, “9After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:9-11). Very often we see the star placed over the manger or the stable reminding us that it was the star that led the wisemen, the first non-Jews, the first Gentiles to visit the baby Jesus, although as we have noted, their visit was not in the stable, but in the house where they were at this time.

And third, the star reminds us of Christ the light of the world. In his Gospel, John says, “1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5). Although we live in a sin darkened world, although as sinners we like the darkness, because it hides our sins, or so we believe, Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness to expose our sin and the sin of the world, but not simply for the sake of exposing sin, but in order to bring confession and forgiveness for our sin and for the sin of the world, for the sin of all people of all places of all times.

As we have outlined this evening, the star is indeed a most fitting symbol of Christmas and the custom and tradition of using stars for decorations and referencing the star is highly appropriate. This evening as we begin our Christmas celebration we too look at the star and we are reminded of the words of our text, “18Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us). 24When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus” (Matt. 1:18-25). My prayer is that the star of Jesus, the star of Bethlehem, even all the stars in heaven might always remind you of God’s love for you and the sending of His Son for you. Even more, my prayer is that the star might remind you that Jesus is the Light of the world who draws all people to Himself so that He might give them the gifts He has to give, faith, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, and even at the last, robing us with His robes of righteousness. And finally, my prayer is that the star of Christmas might guide you so that you are strengthened and kept in faith, so that you are better prepared to give an answer for your faith in Jesus, and so that when your last hour is at hand or when the Lord returns you might be ready, with all the saints, to stand before the Lord’s throne and say, to God be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Candles - Advent Mid-week 3 - December 14, 2011 - Text: Matthew 5:14-15

Again this evening we continue to look at some of the traditions, customs and symbols of Christmas. Our purpose is somewhat to review what we do and why we do what we do. Does what we do enhance, take away from, or is neutral to our celebration? This evening we want to talk about our custom of lighting candles.

We should realize that lighting candles is a custom of many religions for many different reasons. The lighting of candles among other things, signifies love, prayer, passion and hope. One source I read said that Christians see candles as ‘Christ’s Light’ and suggested that the lighting of candles on Christmas Eve comes from the Jewish ‘Feast of Lights’ or Hanukkah. Of course this fact should neither surprise us nor discourage our usage of candles, after all, as Christians, as believers in Jesus we are the true children of Abraham and thus the true Israel.

Another source I read said that since earliest times, candles have symbolized the triumph of light over darkness, warmth over cold, community over isolation. It went on to say that Ancient Romans lit candles as a defense against evil and to entreat the sun to shine. During Victorian times candles represented goodwill to folks who were down on their luck during the holiday season. In many cultures throughout history people placed candles in their windows to welcome passing strangers into their homes where they could find food and a roof over their heads for the night.

On the negatives side, I read that some cultures have bestowed supernatural powers upon candles, believing that they could predict tragic events. In England, instead of a Yule log, families would burn large candles on Christmas Day. If the candle went out before the day’s end, it was believed that those who lived in the household would have misfortune for the coming year, I would suppose a larger candle might be in the plans for the next year. In Scotland, people believed that the Christmas candle dying before Midnight meant the coming of a great disaster. Danish families often lit a candle to symbolize the wife of the household and another to symbolize the husband; the first candle to burn out would foretell which one of them would be the first to die. In Scandinavian countries, families would leave candles on the graves of their ancestors, most likely because of the old Viking belief that during the winter solstice the dead rose to haunt the living. Certainly we know that there is no scientific evidence, nor any other evidence proving the ability of candles to tell the future. We do know that they bring a touch of warmth, light, and beauty into what might otherwise be a cold, dreary season.

As for the symbolism of candles around the world, we know that to Christians, candles symbolize Jesus, who brought light into the world, or rather, who is the Light of the world. I read that during the Middle Ages, people put candles in their windows to guide the Christ child, whom they believed wandered through the world in search of a place to stay; on that night no wayfarer was turned away. Candles also came to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the wise men to Jesus’ birthplace. During the Middle Ages people would light a large candle both at home and in church, and families during Victorian times used pins or melted wax to attach candles to Christmas tree branches. Candle holders didn’t come into use until 1890. In Spain, families light a candle above the door on Christmas Eve. In China, Christians adorn their Christmas trees with lanterns, and Christians in some parts of India use clay oil-burning lamps.

As for our modern world, last week we talked about the significance of the candles on the Advent Wreath and week before last we talked a little about the lights on the Christmas tree. Today we see, not only candles, but our modern equivalent, the light bulb, burning brightly at Christmas time. We do still see candles burning, but we see lights on houses, in windows, on trees, in the yard, on the roofs of house and so forth.

Might I suggests that just as in days past and just as in other cultures, much of the reason for the lighting of candles has remained the same for as many years. And even today, the reason for our modern electric candle, the decorating with lights is probably not all from altruistic reasons.

On the negative side, too often I see more houses today decorated with Halloween decorations or Easter bunny and Santa decorations than actual Christmas decorations. Our world has turned so inward that instead of looking outside ourselves to find our joy and peace, we look inward and seek to find joy and peace from this world and the things of this world, and then we wonder why we are so not at peace and not full of joy and happiness.

On the positive side, we do have Christians who decorate their houses for the purpose of drawing attention to the coming celebration of the birth of the Savior of the world. We see houses with a manger scene prominently displayed. We see houses with a star on top. We see Christmas trees with an angel or star on top. And periodically we see a Christmas tree with a nail hidden in the center near the trunk as a reminder of the reason for the Christmas tree. We may even see houses with a cross prominently displayed in the front.

The question we must always and continually ask ourselves is this, “Why do we do what we do?” and at this time of year, more specifically, “Why do we light candles?” Do we light candles as a part of our preparation, focusing our attention on the reason for the season, or do we simply light candles, put up lights and the like because that is what everyone is supposed to do this time of year?

Our modern world has made such advances in candles that now, not only do candles offer light, they also offer smell, thus scented candles might bring the scent of the pine or fir tree, or perhaps the scent of apple pie, cookies, cinnamon, or whatever other smell might remind one of their own Christmas as a child. Thus, for many the symbolism of the candle has all but vanished so that it is simply an esthetically pleasing sight and smell. And please do not misunderstand, I am not saying that any of this estheticism is bad, in and of itself, it is simply that for too many any symbolic meaning of the candles has been lost. Yet, even though much, if not all of the symbolism has been lost, so candles as well as modern lights can still serve the function of drawing one’s attention to meaning of the season, which perhaps is the goal in the first place.

Personally, we put up lights as a witness to our community of our Christian faith and our hope in the birth of the Messiah and in His second coming. We put up lights so as to draw attention to the fact of the coming celebration of the birth of the Christ at Christmas. As our Scripture reading reminds us, “14You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house” (Matt. 5:14, 15). Now, certainly, not everything we do is for altruistic reasons, and I am sure God knows that, but I am also certain that God can and does work through our witness, our decorations, our lighting candles, not to give a false impression or lead others astray, but to be a light to the world and as an opportunity to give a witness of the hope that we have. My prayer is that our lighting candles might say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Advent Wreath - Advent Mid-week 2 - December 7, 2011 - Text: John 3:19-21

This evening we continue looking at some of the symbols of Christmas. As we noted last week, it is good, at times, to take a look at the traditions and customs we have in order to find their root and to ascertain if they are still relevant, even good, mete, right and salutary for us to use today. This evening we want to take some time to talk about the Christmas Symbol of the Advent Wreath.

The custom of the Advent Wreath has been around for many years and has changed somewhat over the years and remember, this is an adiaphora, something neither commanded nor forbidden, yet this is a custom as are all customs which is to be celebrated with proper respect and decorum for the Lord’s house. Although some would suggest that the candles should be white, for many years the candles were purple with one Rose candle. Recently, the color has been changed to blue, to distinguish the season of Advent from the season of Lent which makes use of the color purple as a symbol of passion. Blue is the color of hope and reminds us not only of our hope in Christ as we look to celebrating Jesus’ birth, but also as we hope for His return on the last day, or our returning to Him at our passing.

By now you know, every year I like to take the time on Sunday mornings to walk the children through the various parts of the Advent wreath, the fact that the foundation is round which reminds us that God is our foundation and God is eternal, without beginning and without end. Also, the foundation is wrapped in green reminding us that God is alive. Three of the four candles on the outside are blue, which is the color of hope and reminds us of our expectant hope of our celebration of the Messiah’s first coming which we celebrate each Christmas, but also our continued hope of His second coming when He will gather us, robe us in His robes of righteousness, and take us to be with Himself and all the saints in heaven. And by now, you know how every year, each week during advent, I talk about each specific candle, what it is called and what is its significance, well, this evening I want to walk through the five candles all at once.

The first candle is the Prophecy Candle or the Promise Candle as I like to call it because I believe it is easier to say and to remember and that is what the Advent Wreath is for, a nice way to remember, explain, and prepare ourselves for our Christmas celebration. The Prophecy Candle serves to remind us of the prophets throughout the Old Testament, which God sent, to announce the coming of the promised Savior. One such prophecy is Isaiah 9:6-7a, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.” This prophecy was given to Isaiah as he spoke to the people of his day.

The second candle is the Bethlehem Candle and reminds us that the place where God promised to fulfill His Promise or Prophecy to send the Messiah was the town of Bethlehem. The prophet Micah tells us, “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 coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2). Bethlehem was the birthplace and the city of David. Jesus was an ancestor of David and truly our King of Kings.

The third candle is the Shepherd’s Candle. The Shepherd’s Candle is the rose colored candle which signifies joy and reminds us of the joy of the shepherds as they were told by the angels of the birth of the Son of God, the Messiah. When the shepherds heard the good news from the angles they left their flocks in the fields and went with haste to find the newborn child, the One who was to be the Savior of the world. After seeing Him they returned to their flocks telling others along the way of what they had heard and seen.

The fourth candle is the Angels Candle. The Angels Candle reminds us of the angels who worked so diligently during that first advent season. It was the angel who announced to Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would give birth to a son, John, who would prepare the way for the Messiah. It was an angel who announced to Mary that she was highly favored and selected by God to be the mother of God, even the Savior. It was an angel who told Joseph in a dream that it was okay to take Mary as his wife. And now, it was an angel and a multitude of angels who announced to the shepherds that God was fulfilling His promise to send a Savior.

So, as we “read” the advent wreath, if you will, we are reminded that the God promised to send a Savior, that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, that the shepherds were the first to hear of the birth of the Savior and that the angels were the ones to announce the birth of the Savior.

Which brings us to the last candle, the fifth candle, the center candle. The center candle is the Christ Candle and reminds us of Christ, the Messiah. It is to this center candle that all the other candles lead and about which the other candles speak. We light the Christ candle reminding us of the birth of the Christ, the Messiah on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This Christ Candle is the same candle that remains after the advent wreath is removed and we continue to light this Christ Candle until the day of His ascension. We light this Christ Candle reminding us that Jesus is the Light of the World. Even our text for this evening reminds us, “19And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:19-21).

The advent wreath is one wonderful tradition of Christmas. It is indeed the story of Christmas wrapped up in one easy to see symbol which tells the story quite succinctly. Not only does it tell us the story, but each week it helps us visually heighten our anticipation as one candle after the other is lit as we get closer and closer to our celebration. And lest we forget, Christmas, as in the Twelve Days of Christmas, does not begin until Christmas Day and lasts for twelve days, until January 6 which is Epiphany and our celebration of the coming of the Magi to see the baby Jesus. Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise made first in the Garden of Eden and reiterated to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David and so on through Israelite history. Jesus is the much anticipated, hoped for and longed for Messiah. Jesus is the Son of David, truly King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus is the One who came for all people, from the greatest of kings to the lowliest of shepherds. Jesus is the One who deserves the announcement of His birth by the angels from on high. Each week as you look at the Advent Wreath may it remind you of the truths of God’s Word and even more fill you with hope and anticipation, not only for our celebration of His first coming, His birth in Bethlehem, but also for His second coming when Christ will come with the shout and will take us from this vale of tears to be with Himself in heaven for eternity. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Tree - Advent Mid-week 1 - November 30, 2011 - Text: Gal. 3:10-14

Over the years there have been many symbols and icons that have come to remind us of Christmas. Some symbols have been brought over, borrowed, even stolen, if you will, from pagan rituals and customs. At times the reason for this borrowing was in order to give Christians a way to compete with the pagan culture, other times it was intended to take back something that was Christian in the first place. When it comes to the traditions we have as well as the customs we observe, it is good to go back and look at the roots of our customs and traditions to make sure that these are customs and traditions we should continue to celebrate today. For this reason, this year during the season of Advent we will take the time to look at some of the symbols of Christmas that are important to us today. We will attempt to find their history and explain them in the light of our modern world. This evening we begin with the custom of “The Christmas Tree.”

First, let us look at some of the “not so Christian” reasons for the use of a Christmas tree. The tree was a pagan symbol of life following winter solstice, something like a tree began to bud in the Spring, celebrating life after the winter time of death. The Egyptians brought green date palms into their homes as a symbol of “life triumphant over death.” When the Romans observed the feast of Saturn, part of the ceremony was the raising of an evergreen bough and the early Scandinavians were said to have paid homage to the fir tree. To the Druids, sprigs of evergreen holly in the house meant eternal life; while to the Norsemen, they symbolized the revival of the sun god Balder. To those inclined toward superstition, branches of evergreens placed over the door kept out witches, ghosts, evil spirits and the like. This use does not mean that our Christmas tree custom evolved solely from paganism, any more than did some of the present-day use of signs in various religious rituals.

Trees and branches can be made purposeful as well as symbolic. The Christmas tree is a symbol of a living Christmas spirit and brings into our lives a pleasant aroma of the forest. The fact that balsam fir twigs, more than any other evergreen twigs, resemble crosses may have had much to do with the early popularity of balsam fir used as Christmas trees. Other Christian symbols found in the tree include the fact that the tree has a Triangular shape reminding us of the trinity; Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The tree is green reminding us that God is alive and eternal. And the needles point up to heaven.

For us Lutherans, legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. As the story is told, one crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ’s birth.

The ultimate Christian symbol of the tree is that it becomes the cross of Christ. Perhaps you have heard the old story of the Three Trees (uncertain as to the author).

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: “I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I’ll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!” The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on it’s way to the ocean. “I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I’ll be the strongest ship in the world!” The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. “I don’t want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me they’ll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world.”

Years, passed. The rain came, the sun shone and the little trees grew tall. One day three wood cutters climbed the mountain. The first wood cutter looked at the first tree and said, “This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me.” With a swoop of his shining ax, the first tree fell. “Now I shall make a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!” the first tree said.

The second wood cutter looked at the second tree and said, “This tree is strong. It’s perfect for me.” With a swoop of his shining ax, the second tree fell. “Now I shall sail mighty waters!” thought the second tree. “I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!”

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last wood cutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the wood cutter never even looked up. “Any kind of tree will do for me.” He muttered. With a swoop of his shining ax, the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the wood cutter brought her to a carpenter’s shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, or treasure. She was coated with saw dust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the wood cutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and awed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river, instead she was taken to a little lake. The third tree was confused when the wood cutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. “What happened?” The once tall tree wondered. “All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God.”

Many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. “I wish I could make a cradle for him.” Her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and sturdy wood. “This manger is beautiful.” She said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and a thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She new she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and the rain. The tired man awoke. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, “Peace.” The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the king of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten wood pile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man’s hand to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God’s love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

Now, the story usually ends like this, The next time you feel down because you didn’t get what you wanted, sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you. But this evening let me give you a better ending.

In times past, the Christmas tree was allowed to dry, then the branches were lopped off except that one branch was used to make the tree into a cross which was used on Good Friday and Easter. In this way, the Christmas tree brought us full circle, from the birth of our promised Messiah to His death and resurrection. As a simple reminder, some families hang a nail in the middle of their Christmas tree, you might check it out and see. So, let me leave you with the words of our text: “10For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ 11Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ 12But the law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them.’ 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’— 14so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” May your Christmas tree be a joyous reminder of God’s love for you. To God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Where Are You? - November 23, 2011 - Thanksgiving Eve - Text: Luke 17:11-19

This evening we come to say “thank you,” which is something I pray we do every day. This evening we take the time to come, and with special emphases, we say “thank you,” as we celebrate a national day of giving thanks. “Thank you,” is not naturally in our vocabulary. I remember as a child and now that I have I children I am again reminded of that constant reminder, “what do you say?” “Thank you.” Our text for this evening is the Gospel lesson and the all familiar story of the ten lepers, but before you drift off into thinking about who will win the football game, or how much still needs to be done before the guests arrive, let us keep our ears and minds open to what really happened in the story of the ten lepers.

One day Jesus was on His way from Samaria to Galilee. On His way ten men who had leprosy met Him. At this point in the story we are not told of their nationality we are simply told of their disease, leprosy. Leprosy was a disease that had no cultural or national boundaries and if leprosy did anything it united those who would have otherwise been divided. A leper was a person who had a skin disease that was so bad and so infectious that they had to live outside of town. The person with leprosy was literally rotting to death and for the safety of others they must yell “unclean, unclean,” when anyone came near, in order to warn them to stay away lest they might get this dreaded, fatal disease. Not much was known about the disease, how it was communicated from one person to another so lepers were not allowed contact with the rest of the world. Certainly these lepers lead very lonely, deary lives. Their only companions would be other lepers.

What is evident from the response of the lepers to Jesus coming is that they must have at least heard of Him, even if they did not necessarily believe that He was the Messiah. It is evident that they had heard of His ability to cure and heal so that when He did come into town they cried out to Him for healing. Well, even if one did not believe, the rest did and besides, what could it hurt to try? Notice that their felt need was to be healed. They believed they needed physical healing and that is what they asked, for physical healing from leprosy.

Although their desire was for physical healing their cry was a cry for mercy, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Now notice what Jesus does on His part. He does not wave His hands around or up in the air. He does not put His hand on their head and push them over. He does not say, “Be healed” (said in a deep “faith healing” voice). Instead, He simply asks them to demonstrate their faith. He says, “Go show yourselves to the priest.” They were to show themselves to the priest because he was the one who could announce that they were clean and no longer infected with leprosy. He was the one who could give them back their lives. But they were leprous. Perhaps the question on their mind was, should they go? Did they believe that Jesus healed them?

Now, we may want to pause here in this story and make sure that we understand it was not their own personal faith that healed them. Many times Jesus healed people and although, as here, He alludes to faith making them well, it is not one’s faith in Jesus that brings healing. Certainly that would limit God’s power. Their healing was effected by God. And actually, it was their healing that effected faith in their hearts. In other words, Jesus’ healing the lepers is what confirmed Jesus as God and is what confirmed their faith.

Getting back to the story, on their way to show themselves to the priest they are healed, all ten of them, but only one man notices. Or at least only one man notices and returns to Jesus to give Him thanks. When he gets to Jesus, he throws himself at Jesus’ feet, a sign of unworthiness and our text adds that “he was a Samaritan,” that is, he was a foreigner. Now we get to this social, national distinction. Again, as a leper this social/national barrier was knocked down, but now that they are healed it comes back into play. Actually, Jesus uses this social/national distinction to strike at His fellow Israelites for their thinking more highly of themselves. Jesus asks (rhetorically) “where are the other nine?” And He tells the man that his faith has saved him, saved him as in healing him and saved him for eternal life. We might suggest that this man had faith, saving faith. The other nine believed more in the healing than in the healer.

Now, that is a nice story and a nice story for this day of Thanksgiving, a nice story to remind us to be thankful. Yes, we know that Thanksgiving is not necessarily a religious holiday, rather it is a secular holiday. Yet, we might compare this secular holiday to the Old Testament festival of Pentecost which was a harvest festival. And as Christians, certainly we should be on the forefront of thankfulness and demonstrating that thankfulness. But, we might ask, how does it relate to our story?

In a very real way we are like the ten lepers. We are sick, spiritually sick. We are full of sin, enemies of God, we are outcasts, leading lonely, dreary lives. We know we are in need of healing, especially in need of spiritual healing.

And we know Jesus. We know even more than the lepers knew about Jesus. We have hind sight. We can look back and know that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior. We know that He did live perfectly, that He did take all our sins upon Himself, that He did suffer and die the eternal death penalty for us in our place, that He did rise and ascend into heaven, that He did send His Holy Spirit to be with us to guide and lead us in life. We are continually reminded of all that Jesus did for us; all that He still continues to do for us; and all the He will do for us especially as He comes to us through the means of grace. As we read His Word we meet Him. As we make regular and diligent use of reading our Bibles we meet Him. As we come to Bible class and divine service we meet Him. As we read our Bibles we meet Him. As we remember our Baptism, as we partake of the Lord’s body and blood in His holy supper, as we confess our sins and hear His most beautiful words of absolution He gives us faith, forgiveness, life and salvation.

Jesus comes to us daily and weekly through His means of grace. Daily we are confronted with the question, do we believe? The temptations of the world are to put our trust in the creation rather than the Creator. Do we see Jesus’ hand in all things in life? Do we notice His good gifts and blessings? Each new day, the rain, the ability to work, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the roof over our heads and so on. Do we believe these are from our good and gracious God or that somehow we may have earned them, even a little?

Are we the one about whom Jesus asks “where are the others to whom I have given life?” Do we forget, or maybe we should ask, how often do we forget to give our Lord the thanks and praise He deserves. Or are we the one who came, throwing ourselves at Jesus’ feet in unworthiness and thanking Him for all His good gifts and blessings? Do we live for the creation or for the Creator? My prayer is that we are all like the foreigner.

Yet, whether we are like the foreigner or one of the nine, the fact remains that even for us, Jesus has given us healing, perfect healing through the forgiveness of sins which He earned for us and which He gives to us through His means of grace. He gives us perfect healing with forgiveness, He gives us faith and we know that we are saved. Thanks be to God.

Thanksgiving is a time to be like the leper who returned to give thanks, but not just at Thanksgiving, but all year long. As God has given to us, we respond, with His help in giving thanks to Him. We respond by speaking and singing words of thanks and praise. We respond by giving of our time, talents and treasure, as we are moved by the Lord to do so. We respond by simply offering ourselves and our lives to the Lord and living our life to His glory. I thank the Lord that you have come and began your Thanksgiving by coming here first and recognizing and giving thanks to the Lord for all His good gifts and blessings. My pray is that the Lord will continue to work through His means of grace to strengthen and keep you in faith and that He will continue to bless you as you give yourself back to Him. To Him be the glory. Amen.

Separated - November 20, 2011 - Last Sunday in the Church Year (Proper 29) - Text: Matthew 25:31-46

As I said last Sunday concerning our readings for last Sunday and this Sunday, you may notice how the Scripture readings point to the end times, the second coming of Christ, the day of judgement. Very much like the people of Jesus’ day who were watching, waiting, hoping and praying for the first coming of the Messiah, so too, today we are waiting, watching, hoping and praying for Jesus’ second coming. Today is what we call the Last Sunday in the Church Year and as it is every year as we reach the end of a church year our emphasis is on being watchful for Jesus to come again. I remember back as we approached the end of the year of 1999 and looked to beginning the year 2000, so many people were set on the possibility that Jesus would be coming, that the end of the world was near. And today as we look to the end of 2012 next year with the Mayan Calender ending in December, some people think that will be the end of the world. Fortunately, or unfortunately, God is not on our time schedule, nor does He measure time according to our measurement of time. As a matter of fact, God is outside of time. God lives in the eternal present, which means for God there is no yesterday or tomorrow, only now. God created time for us. And remember, He waited four thousand years to fulfill His first promise to send Jesus. So far, He has only waited two thousand years since Jesus’ promise to return. We do not know how much longer, or shorter He will wait. We know that He will come in His time and according to the good pleasure of His Father who alone knows the time of His coming. Yes, He could come at this time or He may continue to wait, or He may come even sooner. Until He comes, we continue to prepare ourselves for His coming.

Our text for this morning comes immediately after Jesus tells the parable of the talents, our reading from last week. The parable of the talents, you might remember, from last week, reminds us of our duty, privilege and responsibility to use the gifts, talents and abilities that God gives to us in this world in service to Him and His kingdom, which we do, we serve Him by serving others, and that He will hold us accountable for how we use the gifts, talents and abilities He has given to us. The order of Judgement, as we pointed out last week and as will see this morning is first, faith, then works. Both are important, but one, works, naturally follows the other, faith.

What will the day of Jesus second coming be like. I do not know. I can only tell you what Jesus Himself tells us in His Word. It will be a day when the Son of Man will gather all nations to Himself. How that will occur, I do not know, all I do know is that I believe it will be a very magnificent event. All people of all nations will be drawn to the Lord and everyone will come. I do not know how it will happen, but God will come so that all people will be able to see Him at the same time, and He will not need television, or Facebook or twitter, to make it happen. So, obviously it will be the biggest event of all times, a mass of humanity, of billions of people, coming before Jesus all at once, recognizing and acknowledging Him as the Lord and Savior of all. And I do mean everyone, believers and unbelievers alike. No one will have to tell us who Jesus is. No one will deny Him. Everyone, believer and unbeliever alike will confess that it is Jesus. Unfortunately for the unbeliever, as this fact is revealed to them by Jesus Himself, it will be too late. But mark God’s Word, they will bow before Him and recognize Him as the Lord of all. And as we read in the book of Revelation, they will then proceed to blame Jesus for their unbelief. They will act like the lazy servant in last weeks parable and they will act like a lot of people in our world today. We are not necessarily sorry for our sins, just sorry we got caught. And then they will want to blame someone else, in this instance, Jesus.

Our text lays out somewhat of a courtroom scene of judgement. To the Sheep, that is, to the believers, Jesus will say, “34bCome, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” (v.34b-36).

In their humility the believers will ask, “37bLord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?” (v. 37b-39). And the King’s answer will be, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (v. 40).

Notice that Jesus begins by speaking to the believers, those who have faith in Him alone for their salvation. They are credited with doing works of service, that is, good works, the good works God has prepared in advance for us to do. Notice, too, that they are credited with doing good works only because of their faith. It is our faith which drives us to do works of service. Without faith we would not do works of service. We might do some things that look good to our world, but our motivation will not be to give God glory. Notice, again, that the believers will humbly deny any recognition for doing works of service, giving credit where credit is due, to the Lord who motivates and works good works in and through us.

Now the questions we might have is, “What are our works of service?” Our works of service are anything that we do as a response to our faith, as motivated by the Holy Spirit working in us through the Word of God. Jesus lists our works of service as giving food and drink to those in need, clothing those who need clothes, and visiting the sick and those in prison. Our works of service also include living our faith, giving ourselves to the Lord, giving our first fruits and tithes to the Lord, serving on boards and committees, anything we do that is motivated, not from a selfish motivation of wanting to earn something, but from the motivation of wanting to respond to all the Lord has given us, faith, forgiveness and eternal life. As I have said before, our works of service are the fact that through our vocations we serve God by serving others. And Jesus tells us that the result of our faith is eternal life.

After addressing the sheep, the believers, Jesus continues by addressing the goats, that is the unbelievers. He tells them, “41bDepart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” (v.41b-43).

The self justifying response, or excuse, of the unbeliever will be similar to the humble response of the believers, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?” (v.44). And Jesus response will be, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” (v.45).

Yes, these are people who have done some good things in their life. They may even have a sincere faith in something or in someone. Their problem is that they do not have faith in Jesus alone. Their problem is that their good deeds are only social good deeds and are deeds which have been motivated for self recognition and not done to the glory of God. Their good deeds and good works are discounted because they have no faith in Jesus alone. No faith in Jesus alone means no good works in God’s eyes.

The difference between the Christian and the unbeliever is faith which is our motivation for doing what we do. Think about it. How often are we motivated to do something because it makes us feel good, or because it is the “right” thing to do, or because of any number of selfish reasons, self recognition and the like. Or think about how often we do something without gaining any recognition, but because we know that it is something that will bring glory to God. Do we believe that we are deserving of heaven or do we believe that we are undeserving? As Christians we humbly acknowledge that there is nothing that we have done to gain eternal life in heaven, but that it is given to us freely by God, through faith in Jesus, which He gives to us as well, and through His work for us of giving His life for our forgiveness. Which brings us to the noticeably different result. The result of faith is life. The result of unbelief is eternal death.

Jesus makes a clear distinction concerning what will happen on judgement day. We will be judged, first and foremost according to our faith. Those who have faith in Jesus He will separate to His right and those He calls His sheep. His sheep are His sheep because they believe in Him alone. Those who do not have faith in Jesus alone, including those who have faith, no matter how sincere, or those who are religious or very religious, no matter how religious, yet their faith or their religion is not faith or religion in Jesus, He will separate to His left and those He calls goats. Because our God is a just God, there are many who will not inherit eternal life in heaven. Thanks be to God, that He is also a gracious and merciful God so that there are many who also believe in Jesus and will be saved, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus alone.

As we listen to these words of Jesus we can understand why we Christians are so hated by the rest of the world and even some in the Christian church who cannot deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Jesus. Contrary to what is taught by some, that there are many ways to enlightenment, or that we are to grow to be more and more Christlike, as Christians, and as Lutheran Christians, we understand that the more we grow in our Christian faith and life, the more we realize how sinful we are, how unworthy we are, and how helpless before God we are and thus we understand our need to continually confess our sins and hear God’s message of forgiveness and grace. Like a child, a helpless child, I have to cling to Jesus and Jesus alone for salvation. All other ways lead to perdition.

Christmas time is usually known as the time for giving. When we are the recipients of many gifts from others we begin to feel good about ourselves, we begin to get built up. If we are given what we would perceive as particularly thoughtful gifts from one person our attitude toward that person begins to change to being an attitude of gratitude. We may even begin to think about what we could do in return for all they have given to us. Not that we would be trying to repay them for the gifts which they have given to us and not that we would be trying to earn more gifts from them, but simply that we would be motivated by their generosity to be generous back to them. The same thing happens with our relationship with Jesus. Jesus gave up heaven. He took on human flesh and blood. He became one of us. He took our sins upon Himself, not because He had to, but because He wanted to. He suffered the eternal death penalty for us in our place. He gave His life for ours. And He continues to lavish us with His gifts of forgiveness of sins, faith and strengthening of faith and eternal life. On the last day He will invite us into His heavenly Kingdom and robe us with His robes of righteousness. Our response is not one of trying to pay Jesus back, not one of trying to earn His gifts from Him, rather our response to His generosity is a response of gratitude and thanks. Our response is one of giving ourselves to Him. Our response is a humble attitude of gratitude. Our response is one which says, to God be the glory. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Blessed - November 6, 2011 - Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost /All Saints’ Day Observed - Text: Matthew 5:1-12

Today we celebrate All Saints’ Day. This does not mean that we give undue credit or glory to those faithful family members and friends who have fallen asleep in faith, but it does mean that we place their lives before us as an example of how we are to live the Christian faith. As we remember the saints who have gone on before us we remember that they too were at the same time sinner and saint, just like us. We also take the time to be reminded that by faith in Jesus Christ we are all saints. As we go around the room we might call each other by our sainted name, Saint Shirley, Saint Pat, Saint Jon, Saint (place your name here) and that would continue for each one of us. As saints, then, heaven is not just something we look forward to, it is a present reality. By faith in Jesus and His work on the cross we have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Heaven is ours now, it is just that we will wait until we fall asleep in faith from this life until we will awaken in our heavenly home.

This morning our text is what we call the Beatitudes, or the statements of blessing from Jesus. Before we get to these statements of Jesus let us take a few minutes to remind ourselves what is the world’s idea of being blessed. We have talked about these various items from time to time. Being blessed according to the standards of this world means having riches. Wealth and money is a worldly sign of success. The more money one has, the more successful they appear to be, at least in the eyes of the world.

Another indicator of success in our world is power. Power is a sign of worldly success. The more powerful one is, or the more powerful they seem to the world, the more successful they appear to be, again, at least in they eyes of the world.

A third indicator of success in our world is fame. Being famous is a sign of worldly success. The more famous one is, the more successful they appear to be, again, at least in the eyes of the world.

Yet, as we have been reminded time and again, these worldly signs of success are not necessarily indicative that a person is successful, because, as we know, as we have heard stated and read about, some of the most wealthy, most powerful and most famous people are also some of the most depressed. Jesus has a different idea and understanding of being successful and that is where we now turn our attention.

Beginning at verse three, Jesus’ idea of being blessed begins with admitting our weak faith. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 3). Jesus is not talking about simply being poor in spirit, or weak in faith, but admitting that we are in a constant need of having our faith strengthened. Here we might remind ourselves that confirmation was not graduation and that there is always more that we do not know about God than we do know about Him and so we have a constant need to be in His Word, to read our Bible, to be not only in divine service, but also in Bible Class so that we might be strengthened in our faith.

Continuing on at verse four, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes being ashamed of and mourning our weak faith. In His own words Jesus say, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (v. 4). Jesus is not talking simply about some outward speaking of our weak faith, you know the line, “I know I should be in Bible Class, I know I should read my Bible every day, I know I should be in church every Sunday,” and so forth. No, Jesus is talking about a yearning which comes from the heart, a yearning so deep that it moves us to do something about our weak faith. In other words, we simply cannot help but be where the gifts are given and distributed.

In verse five, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes meekly acknowledging one’s part in Jesus’ crucifixion. In His own words Jesus say, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (v. 5). Blessed are those who are not arrogant, but who bow their heads in grief because of their sin and their part in Jesus’ death, that Jesus had to die for their sins. This means that each one of us confesses, for ourselves, that it was because of my sins that Jesus had to shed His blood and die on the cross. For if we cannot and do not acknowledge our part in Jesus’ death on the cross, then we have no part in Jesus’ resurrection and eternal life. It is this acknowledgment, when it is a faithful and true acknowledgment which gains for us an inheritance in heaven and which leads us into action as we read in verse six.

In verse six, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes craving, hungering and thirsting after doing the right thing. In His own words Jesus say, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (v. 6). Those who are blessed are those who hunger and thirst after the Word of God, those who truly hunger and thirst after the Lord’s righteousness, and those who strive, with the Lord’s help, for an eternal righteousness and a piety of life. Again, this is something that is so powerful we simply cannot help but want to be where God’s gifts are distributed and given out.

So far Jesus has been pointing to us as individuals. We are blessed when we confess and grieve our sins, confess our need to be in His Word, and when hunger and thirst for His word and righteousness. Our confession brings forgiveness, but even more. Here we are reminded that our faith does, or at least should, make a difference in our lives, the way we live, how we speak, what we do and so forth. There is more to our Christian lives than just showing up for church and Bible Class on Sunday morning.

In verse seven our attention focuses on our outlook toward others. Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes showing mercy to others even if that mercy is not show back. In His own words Jesus say, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (v. 7). Blessed are those who have a deep and sincere concern for the temporal and spiritual needs of their neighbor. Here we might be reminded of the opportunities which the Lord gives to us to be merciful to others, specifically to our guest who come to divine service with us and also to the families of our mother’s day out, and especially those who have no home church.

In verse eight, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes being pure in heart, thinking pure thoughts. In His own words Jesus say, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (v. 8). This is the opposite of hypocrisy which is acting like a Christian, but not believing. Are our thoughts on ourselves or on those who have not yet heard the message of Jesus and salvation? Are our thoughts continually on this world and our lives in this world, or on the world to come and our being ready for the world to come and getting others ready?

In verse nine, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes seeking to bring peace among ourselves and others. In His own words Jesus say, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (v. 9). This is not a peace which comes from compromising one’s faith and beliefs, but a peace which has at its center Jesus Christ. Maybe you have seen the sign or the bumper sticker, “No (N-O) Jesus, No (N-O)Peace, Know (K-N-O-W) Jesus, Know (K-N-O-W) Peace.” Apart from Jesus and apart from faith in Him we cannot know or have true peace. Remember, true peace comes only from sins forgiven so without Jesus there is no forgiveness and no true peace.

In verse ten, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes suffering persecution because of our faith. In His own words Jesus say, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 10). It is our spiritual righteousness, our moral character, our exclusive claim that there is one way and only one way to eternal life, which makes us Christians stand out and “look” aloof to the world and thus that is why we are hated by the world. When we make the Lord’s righteousness ours and when we adopt our Lord’s intolerant attitude toward sin then we can no longer be accepted by our unrighteous and, ironically enough by our, so called, tolerant society. Do you want to know if you are really a Christian or not? Check to see if you are loved or hated by the world.

Finally in verse eleven, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes suffering, being insulted, falsely accused and spoken against. In His own words Jesus say, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (v. 11). Here Jesus names a few forms of hatred which will be bestowed on “practicing” Christians. It is our honor and distinction to suffer in His interest and because of His name. As Jesus says, “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (v. 12). As Christians we still have an irrepressible joy, because no matter how much the world might hate us, no matter how much the world might persecute us, this is nothing compared to the glory which is ours in heaven.

This morning we see a stark difference in our focus and in the focus of the world. The world’s focus is on the here and now. For those who are in the world and of the world, this is all there is and so life must be lived for the here and now. “You have to grab for all the gusto you can.”

Whereas God’s focus is on the now and the not yet, the future, eternity. Our life on this earth is short, from conception and birth to a hundred years or so and then it is over, compared to our life in heaven which is forever and ever and ever. As Christians our focus is not so much on the here and now as on the now and the hereafter. That is why we see the importance of confessing our sins and being given forgiveness, that we confess our weak faith, that we hunger and thirst after the Word of the Lord and His righteousness, that we show mercy and seek ways to share the love of Jesus and His Gospel message with others, so they too might be a part of His kingdom.

As we celebrate All Saints Day we celebrate that by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, we are a part of God’s Kingdom and that we have a hope and a certainty for now and for the future. We celebrate the example of all the saints who have gone on before us because they showed their faith in Jesus alone for their salvation, because they hungered and thirsted after righteousness and because their lives are an example to us to be about the business of Jesus in spreading His love and Gospel message to all the world.

I like the words of one of the songs we used to sing when I was serving with a group that did weekends for church youth groups while in college, it went, “Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace, I want to see my Savior’s face, heaven is a wonderful place, I want to go there.” I pray that this is your song as well so that when our last hour on this earth has come we might all together with all the saints stand before the Lord’s throne and proclaim, “to Him be the glory,” for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

You Shall Love - October 23, 2011 - Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 25) - Text: Matthew 22:34-46

Last week we watched as the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law sent their underlings to attempt to trick Jesus into saying something that would turn either the government or His own people away from Him. But, as we saw, their plans were foiled again. This week we continue in our saga of the Life and Times of Jesus. This week our text begins by telling us that the Sadducees have failed again and now it is the Pharisees turn, again to attempt to waylay Jesus.

We actually have two parts to our text for this morning. In the first part of our text are told that a questions is asked of Jesus in order to test Him, as was the usual reason the Pharisees and teachers of the law would ask Jesus questions. And in the second half of our text we are told that after Jesus answers their question, He asks them a question, perhaps not so much as a test, but in order to help those who were gathered and listening to understand who Jesus truly is. First, the test, “34But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ 37And he said to him, 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets’” (v. 34-40).

It has been said that one way to defeat your enemy is to divide and conquer. In this question the lawyer is attempting to divide Jesus by dividing His emphasis, placing one part of God’s Word over another part. Now, we know that there are Ten Commandments, because that is what we are told that God gave Moses and the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. So, out of these Ten Commandments, the lawyer asks, “What is the greatest commandment?” Again the test is an attempt to get Jesus to give greater emphasis to one commandment over all the others.

Jesus, being Jesus, being truly God, knows all and knows what is at the heart of the question, thus He does not answer according to how they might have thought He would answer. His answer is a twofold answer. First Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” As we have been taught and hopefully have learned in confirmation, the summary of the commandments is love. It is true, if we could love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind, we would never disobey any of the commandments. The problem is that we cannot do this one thing. Because we are conceived and born in sin, it is against our nature to love God above all else. Jesus says to love God and this love for God is a love which flows out of love, God’s first love for us.

But Jesus does not stop, He continues, “39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Here again, if we could love our neighbor as our own self, we would never break the last seven commandments which deal with our relationships with each other, we would not steal, kill, commit adultery, bear false witness nor covet. But, again, the problem is that we are conceived and born in sin and so not only can we not love God above all else, we cannot love our neighbor as ourselves. Interestingly enough, when we do love our neighbor it is only as we have been first loved by God, thus loving our neighbor shows our love for God, and His love for us.

Jesus even goes so far as to conclude that “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” All the Law and the prophets depend on love, love for God and love for neighbor, which is the summary of the commandments. How is this the case? We will answer that question after we look at the next words of Jesus.

Just as the lawyer asked a question to test Jesus, these last words of our text might be considered a test of Jesus. Our text continues, “41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ 43He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 44“The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”? 45If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?’ 46And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions” (v. 41-46).

Notice that unlike the questions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law and even the Sadducees, who asked questions to trap Jesus, Jesus asks a question which is at the heart of the matter, the heart of the controversy, “Who is the Christ? Is He the Messiah?” Now, understand, the Pharisees do not believe that Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah. They believe Jesus is simply asking a theological question concerning the promised Messiah, the one promised back in the Garden of Eden and reiterated to Abraham, Isaac, Moses and so forth. The theological question is this, “Is the promised Messiah truly God?”

The Pharisees answer Jesus question saying that the promised Messiah is the son of David, in other words He is truly human. We would agree, Jesus is truly human, but Jesus is even more than simply being truly human as He will instruct the Pharisees.

In response to their answer, Jesus agrees, but furthers the answer by declaring that He is also truly God, as David calls Him Lord. Now, if you have been paying attention to the news of late, concerning the Mormon church, the question has been asked if the Mormon church is a cult or a part of the Christian church. For the Mormons, who consider themselves to be Christians, they view the Christ as a man who became a god and so they speak of the divinity of Jesus in such a way, also suggesting that we humans may also become gods. In other words, they believe they are a part of the Christian church because they do believe that Jesus is God, but not in the same way we believe that Jesus is God. Here again we are reminded that very often when speaking to others concerning our Christian faith and beliefs we must begin by defining our words. Concerning Jesus being God, He Himself answers otherwise and so does the Christian Church. As we profess and confess in our creeds, Jesus is truly God who was born as a human, taking on human flesh and blood. So now Jesus is both God and man at the same time and thus is the divinity of Jesus. And so according to the traditional Christian church, the Mormon church is a cult.

So, what does this mean? We answer this question by getting back to Jesus’ statement, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” All The fulfillment of the commandments today, that is the fulfillment of God’s demand of perfection, and all of the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, flow out of love, not our love for God and love for neighbor, but out of God’s love for us.

Who is the Christ? He is God. He is truly divine, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and He is truly human, born of the human woman, the virgin Mary. Jesus is God who gave up the glory that was His in heaven in order to take on human flesh and blood and to do for us what we are unable to do.

After Adam and Eve sinned, the world was cursed. No longer do we have free will. Our will has been tainted by sin so our will is always to not do what God would have us to do. Again, our will is simply to sin, to live in sin, to sin daily and constantly. Since our will has been tainted so that we no longer have free will, we cannot meet God’s demand of perfection.

Because we cannot rescue or save ourselves, God provided a Savior. Jesus came to earth, God in flesh in order, first and foremost to live in perfection for us. God’s demand is perfection and we cannot be perfect. The fulness of the Gospel is the fact that Jesus lived for us. Jesus obeyed all of God’s laws perfectly, thus fulfilling the demands of the law of the commandments and Jesus fulfilled all the promises, all of the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah, thus fulfilling the demands of the Prophets. If Jesus had not obeyed all the laws perfectly and fulfilled all the Prophets perfectly, He would not be the Messiah.

After fulfilling all the law and the Prophets perfectly, after living a perfect life, Jesus then traded His righteousness for our sins. He who was without sin, He who knew no sin became sin for us. Jesus suffered and died to pay the price for our sins, but not just our sins, He paid the price for all sin, for all those sins committed before His incarnation and all those sins we have yet to commit. He paid the price for all sins, for all people, of all places, of all times. He paid the price for sin which was set in the Garden of Eden, death, physical death and apart from Him, eternal spiritual death which is hell. He suffered hell for us in our place so that by faith in Him we will never have to suffer hell.

In His fulfilling of the law and the prophets, in His fulfilling of all of Holy Scripture, in His living, taking our sins, suffering and dying, Jesus showed and shows His great love for us. He loves us. He shows His love for us by creating us, even though He knew we would bring a curse on His creation. He shows His love in His promise to send a Savior. He shows His love in His giving up the glory that was His in heaven as true God, in His taking on human fleshing, being born of a human woman, in His living perfectly for us in our place because we cannot, in His taking our sins upon Himself, in His suffering and dying to pay the price for our sins, in His rising from the dead, in His giving us faith, forgiveness and life, in His robing us with His robes of righteousness for eternity.

God loves us. God first loves us. Jesus is God who shines His love on us even through us so that we might love others. We love because He first loves us. Because God loves us, because He gives us faith, forgiveness and eternal life, He also works in and through us to do the good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do and we do those good works as we are motivated by Him, as He works them in and through us and as they are done to His glory. Yes, after we are given faith we do have some free will but only with His help are we able to exercise our free will for good.

The two great commandments, the summary of the ten commandments is love. And as always we get love right when we start with God. God is love. God loves us and God moves and stirs in us to love one another. We love because He first loves us. And in so loving others we do show forth the faith that is in our hearts and we do say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Give to God What Is God’s - October 16, 2011 - Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24) - Text: Matthew 22:15-22

If you have been following along through the Gospel of Matthew you will see how our drama continues to unfold this morning. Previously the Pharisees and teachers of the Law had questioned Jesus concerning His authority to do the things He was doing, after which Jesus “put them in their place” by showing that they are the ones who are not doing as God would have them to do (remember the parable of the two sons, the one son who said he would go out and work but did not go and work and the second son who refused to go and work, but later repented and did go and work). Jesus, then, showed them that they are guilty of killing the prophets and will be guilty of killing God’s Son (remember the parable of the vineyard and the tenants and the killing of the servants who went to collect the rent, and the killing of the son with the intent of gaining the vineyard). Jesus then showed them how they are not a part of God’s wedding banquet as they think they are (remember last week’s Gospel lesson, the parable of the wedding banquet). As we approach our text for this morning we see the Pharisees and the Sadducees licking their wounds trying to find a way to get back at Jesus. They are bent out of shape about Jesus’ accusations and now they are really out to get Him again.

This time, instead of approaching Jesus themselves, they decide to send some undercover spies, some people that Jesus does not know or recognize, at least that is what they are attempting. They know that they will get no where if they try to trick Him, so they recruit some of their disciples to approach Jesus to trick Him. But, of course, Jesus is on to them. (Hey, He is Jesus. He is all knowing.) Their idea is to present Jesus with a question of such a nature that if He answers one way He will set Himself at odds with the government officials and make them suspicious of Him, and if He answers another way He will offend another, His own people. In their own opinion, either way, Jesus is trapped into getting Himself in trouble and that will take care of Him for them.

These recruited disciples begin with flattery, certainly an attempt to build up Jesus’ ego so that He might be caught off guard and trapped. They begin with, “Teacher, we know you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think” (v. 16). Notice several things about this flattery. First they call Him “Teacher” because He does teach others, yet, notice their sarcasm as they do not like what He is teaching. It is rather ironic that the words they use are words of truth, yet they are not words which they believe. “We know that you are true” and we know that you “teach the way of God truthfully.” Neither of these might be said of those who are asking the question. Second, there is irony in the words “you do not care about anyone’s opinion” and here I would emphasis the word opinion. I would suggest that there may have been a note of sarcasm in their expression when saying these words, especially since they believed that Jesus did not care about their “opinion,” which really bugged them. The Pharisees and teachers of the Law expected others to give them certain privileges and respect because of who they are and they do not like the fact that Jesus does not understand that He is supposed to do this too. Finally, notice that they do not ask Him to tell them the truth in the matter they are going to present, but they are only asking for His “opinion.” As if this matters to them as we will see.

And now comes the loaded question. The question they ask is this, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (V. 17). It is almost as if they are asking, “have you ever been caught cheating on your taxes?” “Have you ever been caught beating your children?” “Have you ever been caught beating your spouse?” The thought behind their question is this: If Jesus answers that they should not be paying taxes to Caesar, the people will love Him, but they can then turn Him over to the Romans as a traitor. If He answers that, yes, they should be paying taxes to Caesar, then the Romans will have no problems with Him, but the people will turn against Him because they do not like paying taxes to Caesar. What a dilemma they believe they have set for Him.

Jesus, being God, being all knowing, sees right through their plan. “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax” (v. 18b, 19a). “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” (v. 20). Jesus calls them what they are, hypocrites. The word means “actor.” They are acting like they want Jesus “opinion.” But Jesus, rather than run from their question, and their trap, meets them head on. Show me a coin He says.

They find a coin and they answer His questions. On the coin is the image of Caesar and the inscription is also an inscription giving evidence that it is a coin of Caesar and the Roman empire. There is no mistake, it is a coin belonging to the Roman government. We could look at one of our own coins. We have images of past presidents as well as buildings, memorials, and the like on our own monies. The inscriptions we have are also inscriptions having to do with the things of our country.

Jesus’ answer to their question then is this, “Therefor render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v. 21). Simple enough. If it has Caesar’s name on it, it must be his, give it to him. If it has God’s name on it, give it to God, it must be His.

Our parable this morning reminds us of several important facts. One fact of which we are reminded is that we should never underestimate God or in this case, His Son, Jesus. He is all knowing and all seeing. He knows what is in our hearts and on our minds, even before we speak or ask.

More implied than directly stated in this parable is the fact that God gives. He gives all things. He gives faith, forgiveness, life, and salvation. He gives families. He gives food and drink. He gives house and home, monies and goods. He gives good governments. He gives all things and we are the ones to whom He gives. And He gives without expecting anything in return. As a matter of fact, He even goes so far as to give us His son and the life of His Son for ours.

Here and in other places in the Bible we are reminded that God gives government. Certainly we would agree that not all governments are Christian governments, but all governments are from God because the main purpose of all governments is to bring order to the land, which brings peace to the people. Without governments there would be only anarchy and chaos, thus no peace. Thus, governments are given for the sake of law and order and peace in the land.

Here and in other places in the Bible we are reminded that we are to support our government. We are to pay our taxes to keep our government going. Again, government is a gift from God for the keeping of good order and peace in the land. Yes, we are to pay our taxes. We are still to give to the government the things that belong to the government (just look on a coin) and we are to give to God the things that are God’s.

I do not want to sound like a broken record, or should I say, CD, but God gives to us all that we need. Here I would refer you to the Apostles’ Creed and the explanations to the articles of the Creed. In the explanation to the first article we list God’s gifts as “clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have.” In the second article we list the fact that we believe that it is Jesus “who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.” And finally, in the third article we confess that we believe that “the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” And all this He does because of His great love for us.

No, today is not “Stewardship Sunday,” and I am not one for preaching stewardship sermons. I believe that if I preach the Gospel, you will be motivated, by that Gospel, to give. I also believe in preaching the text and this text does speak about stewardship, that is it speaks about how we are to be good stewards of all that God gives to us. With this text it is only fitting and proper that we should come to some understanding from this parable that we will want to return our first fruits to the Lord according to what He has first given to us. That is what is meant by “giving to God the things that are God’s.”

Have you ever been caught stealing from God? That is not the type of question we like to hear. And we might think that this questions is a loaded question and we would rather not answer it. The task that is before us, according to this parable is this: Do we recognize the gifts that God gives? And if we do, how do we respond? Do we respond begrudgingly? Do we respond joyfully? Do we respond according to whether or not we like the pastor and what he is preaching or doing? Do we respond to how we are treated in church or in the world? Do we respond just by giving our leftovers, our change, or our collection? Or, do we respond with our lives, living lives of faith, as priests serving God by serving others?

We get it right when we start with God. God gives and we are given to. God gives faith, forgiveness and eternal life. And God motivates in us a response of faith. Because we are conceived and born in sin, our first response to what God gives is usually a response of sin, to sin in thought, word and deed, to sin sins of commission, doing what we should not be doing and sins of omission, failing to do what we should be doing, like living lives as priest, serving God by serving others. And so, God’s response to our sin was to give the life of His Son. Jesus came to live perfectly for us in our place because we cannot be perfect. Jesus came to take our sins and pay the price of our sin because we cannot. Jesus died and rose for our forgiveness and eternal life. So now, moved by God, our response to God’s gifts, moved by God, is to give our lives and I do not necessarily mean in death, but that we give ourselves while we live to Him. Only as we give ourselves to Him will we be able to share with Him anything else of which He has first given to us. Again, it all begins with God, He first gives to us and stirs in us. Yet, once we have given ourselves to Him, which we do only with His help, then we will be able to joyfully give of our first fruits, our tithes and our offerings, while at the same time, giving to the government the taxes that we owe. Thus, as we fail to joyfully give of our first fruits, tithes and offerings, it shows that we have failed to give ourselves to the Lord and that we are instead refusing and rejecting the gifts God has to give.

God is the prime mover and He continues weekly and daily to give to us, to stir in us, to move us to be the people He would have us to be. And He does this, stirs and works in us through the very means He has given us to do this work, His means of grace. As we make regular and diligent us of His means of grace, as we do every Sunday at divine service, He gives to us, pours out on us and lavishes us with all His good gifts and blessings and stirs in us to do the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do. And in so doing we will be witnessing our faith and we will be saying, to God be the glory. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.