The Angel to Joseph, Leave Nazareth - New Year’s Eve - Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus - December 31, 2012 - Text: Matthew 2:13-15

The angels became very prominent in the work of the Lord at the time of the birth of Jesus. We began the Advent season talking about the angel that God sent to announce to Zachariah the birth of the one who would prepare the way for Jesus, John the Baptist. We went on to talk about the angel sent from the Lord who announced to Mary that she had found favor with God and would be the mother of God. We talked about the angel who was sent in a dream to reassure Joseph that it was okay to take Mary as his wife because what was conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit. Last week, on Christmas Eve, we moved on to talk about the angel and the angels who were sent to announce the good news of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. And last week on Christmas morning we move on to talk about the angel who was sent to announce to Simeon the birth of the Savior for whom he and the believing Israelites had been waiting, the birth of the Savior of the world. This evening we conclude our series of the work of the angels by talking about the angel who appeared to Joseph in a dream to instruct him in saving Mary and Jesus from the hands of King Herod.
 

Again, as we have done through the Advent season, before we get to the actual announcement, let us take a moment to look at the message receiver. This evening we have the angel again sent to Joseph and again rather than appear to Joseph as he did to Zechariah and Mary in person, the angel appears to Joseph in a dream. Now, remember, the angel had previously appeared to Joseph in a dream to assure him that it was okay to take Mary as his wife because she was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. At this time the angel appears to Joseph in order to save him, Mary and especially the baby Jesus. The message recipient this evening is Joseph, the husband of Mary and father of Jesus.
 

The occasion or what precipitated the necessity of the angel appearing to Joseph was the fact that Herod was after the life of Jesus. Let me refresh your memory. After Jesus was born there were Magi or wise men from the East who saw the special star God put in the heavens to guide them to meet the Savior of the world. These Magi were not Jewish, but were Gentile and so were the first non-Jews to visit the baby Jesus, reminding us that Jesus came to save all people, Jew and Gentile alike. When the Magi came to Jerusalem they were instructed by Herod and his priests as to where the baby Jesus might be found and they were further instructed that after they found Jesus they were to report back to Herod, under the pretense that he wanted to worship the baby as well. After waiting for a length of time, perhaps a year, Herod realized that the Magi, the wise men, had tricked him.
 

As we know, looking back, as the story unfolds, Herod was not looking for the baby Jesus in order to worship Him, rather Herod feared for his throne and was looking for the baby Jesus in order to kill Him. Herod was rather a selfish and paranoid ruler. His life and rule were riddled with murder in order to keep his earthly throne and the search for Jesus was only a part of this miserable life.
 

Because Herod did not know where Jesus was or who He was, in order to destroy this competition for the throne he sent his soldiers to kill all the baby boys in the region where Jesus was born, the region of Bethlehem, that were two years old and under, just to make sure. And so was fulfilled the prophecy of the cry from Bethlehem Ephritha concerning the murder of these infants.
 

The Lord sent the angel to Joseph to deliver a message and the again the angel appears to Joseph in a dream. The message the angel delivered was that Joseph was to take the Child and His mother and leave for Egypt. Notice the Child is mentioned first because all of history is centered on this Child, His life and soon His death, resurrection and ascension.
 

The angel appeared to Joseph, delivered God’s message and Joseph believed the message and obeyed God’s direction through the angel. Joseph packed up his family and all their belongings from the house where they were now staying and began the trip to safety, away from Herod and his murdering soldiers.
 

Joseph took his family and moved to Egypt. Again we are told of the fulfillment of a prophecy concerning the fact that God would call His Son out of Egypt.
 

The typology of these events, the going down to Egypt and the coming up out of Egypt is important. Jesus came to be Israel. He came to do what Israel could not do, and for that matter, what we cannot do. So, just as the Lord sent Israel to Egypt in order to survive the famine and just as the Lord called Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, so now the same is happening to the Lord’s own Son, Jesus.
 

Jesus coming out of Egypt, is the anti-type, except that His is true Israel, perfect in every way. So, Israel is the type and Jesus is the greater anti-type. Israel was called by God and set apart to be His chosen people and the nation through whom the Savior of the world would be born and Jesus is the anti-type, the true Israel who fulfilled all of what God commanded His people to do, but all they could not do.
 

The importance of this going to and coming out of Egypt is seen in typology and is an example and message to us of the same scenario today. Israel was called by God to live perfectly, to inhabit the promised land, to be God’s people and to be the nation through whom the Savior of the world, of all people would be born. Israel failed miserably in their calling from God. We have been called by God to faith. We have been called by God to be His people, to bear witness through our lives, our thoughts, words and actions that we are God’s people and yet we continually fail miserably.
 

And so Jesus came to do for Israel and to do for us what we are unable to do. Jesus came to live perfectly. And He did, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, being born in perfection and never sinning. Jesus came to fulfill all the law and the prophets perfectly. And He did, perfectly obeying all God’s laws and commands and perfectly fulfilling all God’s prophecies and promises concerning the coming Messiah.
 

And Jesus came to pay the price for sin, which He did after living perfectly and after taking all our sins upon Himself. He who was without sin, He who knew no sin became sin for us in our place. And He paid the price, the wage, the cost for our sins which is death, eternal spiritual death and hell for us, for Israel, for all people, of all places, of all times. Jesus suffered and died, and rose again for us. He showed Himself to be alive and then ascended back to the place from which He descended.
 

Jesus came to trade His perfect life for our imperfect life and to robe us with His perfect robes of righteousness. By faith in Jesus, faith given to us through our Baptism as well as through His Word, faith strengthened through confession and absolution as well as remembering our baptism, hearing God’s Word and through His Holy Supper, by faith we are robed in His robes of pure righteousness and we inherit eternal life in heaven.
 

What does this mean? Again we notice this evening, it was not Joseph who approached God. Notice also, it was not because he was blameless that God reassured him. If this statement were true, then we would naturally point to ourselves and we would be the reason that God does what He does. Because we know that we are not the prime movers, but that God is the Prime Mover, we know that it was God who chose Mary and Joseph as her husband. It was God who chose to give him directions in a dream in order to save the baby Jesus and his family by taking them to Egypt and later by bringing them back to Galilee. As always, it always begins with God.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Past

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the world
No one was expecting, (even though they were told)
The events that were soon to unfold.

The angel appeared to Zechariah and Mary
The angel told Joseph, “Don’t worry”
To Bethlehem town they must go
In order their family to enroll.

The town was so busy
David’s family so big
Everyone else had made it to town
So no place to stay could be found.

A barn was all that remained
For Mary a place to be laid
For the baby now on His way
He was born and laid in the hay.

The shepherds were watching their flock by night
They did not worry, they had not a fright
They had all settled in to watch the sheep
They were never expecting to be woke from their sleep.

The angel appeared and said, “do not fear”
The news that he brought was so great to hear
Then the heavens filled with the Lord’s glory all around
Singing praises to God with a great heavenly sound.

The shepherds did rush, they did not tarry
To the manger they went in such a big hurry
What a wonderful sight were Joseph and Mary
The Savior of all the manger did carry.

They worshiped the new king
Then good tidings went to bring
To all who would listen and hear
They brought the greatest news for all the world to hear.

May the Lord bless and keep you
May He give you the strength
In this world to bear witness in all that we say
To Christ as our Savior, the truth, the life, the way.

Present

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the world
While some were preparing a grand celebration
Others were oblivious to all the sensation.

While some were a rushing here, there, everywhere
Some were working the events of that day to prepare
Some thought of others to their delight
Yet, some thought of nothing but to escape the night.

For some the season is quite a challenge
For others it seems a time to indulge
What if there is no reason for the season
What if the answer is some other reason.

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the world
Some want to celebrate tolerance, diversity
Others don’t want to acknowledge the King of Christianity.

So many things vying for our attention
We get so confused and we get so distracted
We make a witness which makes some people wonder
Do we know what or why we celebrate and ponder.

So what do we do?
How do we respond
Do we get all involved in rites of this life?
Do we stand up for Christ and celebrate His life?

Christmas time is indeed a struggle, a fight
The world is confused and at times in a fright
We can compromise and not share with those that we love
Or we can stand firm with the help of the Spirit above.

Do we celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanza, Santa or Christ
Do we water it all down so as not to offend
With the help of the Lord we can stand up and say
Our hope in one Savior, to heaven, the way.

May the Lord bless and keep you
May He give you the strength
In this world to bear witness in all that we say
To Christ as our Savior, the truth, the life, the way.

Future

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the world
A small few were waiting
While the rest were not caring

Twas the night to celebrate and sing
God in flesh, the birth of the King
It happened so may years long before
Yet into their memory their hopes they did pour.

Twas another night to wait for the Savior’s return
He has been quite patient for unbelievers to turn
He has yet one promise to fulfill
But waiting patiently they are sure of His will.

While too many are dazed and confused
So many are following after false clues
Too many have turned to follow other ways
And many are looking to make it their own way.

In Jesus’ day it was much the same
Some were faithfully waiting, watching and praying
Others put on a spin and too often with a grin
Decided to choose what would give pleasure to them.

In days forward it is certain yet surely not right
But some will be running away from the Light
Some will look for their own way to fulfill
Anyone, anything, except with the Lord to be filled.

Yet we have God’s promise straight from His Word
And some will try following the narrow, straight road
So when it is time for us to be accounted
By the Spirit’s power, we will stand up to be counted.

The future holds naught what we know for sure
For some that brings fear and trembling so pure
But we face forward, with the Lord, ever so bold
We have certainty, in His hand our life He does hold.

May the Lord bless and keep you
May He give you the strength
In this world to bear witness in all that we say
To Christ as our Savior, the truth, the life, the way.

The Angel to Simeon - Christmas Day - December 25, 2012 - Text: Luke 2:22-35 (v. 26)

The angels became very prominent in the work of the Lord at the time of the birth of Jesus. We began this Advent season talking about the angel that God sent to announce to Zachariah the birth of the one who would prepare the way for Jesus, John the Baptist. We went on to talk about the angel sent from the Lord who announce to Mary that she had found favor with God and would be the mother of God. We talked about the angel who was sent in a dream to reassure Joseph that it was okay to take Mary as his wife because what was conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit. Last night we moved on to talk about the angel and the angels who were sent to announce the good news of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. This morning we move on to talk about the angel who was sent to announce to Simeon the birth of the Savior for whom he and the believing Israelites had been waiting, the birth of the Savior of the world, but right off let me confess, I have stretched our theme a bit this morning. As we hear in our text, it was actually God Himself, God the Holy Spirit in this instance that made the announcement to Simeon, not an angel.
 

Again, as we have done through this Advent season, before we get to the actual announcement, let us take a moment to look at the message receiver. Our message receiver this morning is the priest, Simeon. Simeon was from the tribe of Levi and so was serving the Lord in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus for the purification rite of the firstborn male child. About Simeon we are told that he was a righteous and devout man. He served faithfully in the Lord’s service in His temple.
 

About Simeon we are also told that he was waiting for the consolation of Israel, in other words he was waiting for the promised Messiah, the Savior. Simeon was getting older in years, but God had told him that he would not die before seeing the Savior of the world. And it was for this reason, that God might fulfill His promise to Simeon, that he was on duty in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus for the purification rite. Notice that this was not a coincidence, but as all seeming coincidences are, this was accomplished by the actions of God.
 

The events which surround the announcement of Jesus’ birth is that Mary and Joseph had come to Jerusalem to perform the purification rite of Mary after she had giving birth to a son, and a the firstborn. The actual rite required that a lamb was to be sacrificed, but if the couple could not afford a lamb, the rite allowed for two turtle doves or pigeons might be sacrificed.
 

So, Mary and Joseph entered the temple with their sacrifice of two turtle doves and they are met by the priest on duty, Simeon. Simeon was in the temple as we are told because he was moved by the Holy Spirit to be in the temple, in the right place at the right time, to meet with Mary and Joseph and to see the baby Jesus, the long awaited Savior of the world. Here again, rather than send His angel, the Lord Himself announces this message to Simeon.
 

As Simeon approaches the couple and the Savior of the world, he is moved by God the Holy Spirit to speak words of joy and words of prophecy. Simeon began by proclaiming that now he was ready to die because he had seen the Messiah. The words he speaks are the words we often sing following our participation in the Lord’s Supper. When we come to the Lord’s Table, we taste and see that the Lord is good. We are given His body and blood to eat and drink, thus participating in His life, death and resurrection and so we too are ready to die, we too are ready to depart in peace from this world, this valley of the shadow of death, in order to be taken to be with the Lord in heaven for eternity.
 

And Simeon also proclaims words of prophecy concerning this Jesus, this Savior of the world, that is that Jesus is the Savior for all nations, Gentiles included. Unfortunately, Simeon also proclaims a bit of not so good news, announcing to Mary and Joseph that this Jesus will cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, in other words there will be those who rise to eternal life by faith in Jesus as the Messiah and those who fall or are eternally condemned because of a lack of faith in Jesus as the Messiah. And just as Jesus will be pierced on the cross, so will Mary’s heart be pierced.
 

The response of Mary and Joseph to the revelation of Simeon is that they marveled at these events. As for Mary, as Simeon spoke of Mary’s own soul being pierced, certainly this might be compared to our hearing how she kept pondering these things and keeping them in her heart. Certainly Mary’s life consisted of the great events of a normal mother and child as well as those greater and marvelous events including Jesus’ opposition, His suffering, death, resurrection and ascension.
 

This morning we celebrate the fact that Jesus was born for the express purpose of being the Savior of the World. We celebrate Simeon and the Lord’s promise and fulfillment to him to be able to see the promised Messiah and we are reminded that every time we come to the Lord’s Table, we taste and see that the Lord is good, we taste and see and participate in Jesus’ life, suffering, death and resurrection, so that His life, His perfect life becomes our perfect life; His death, His perfect death becomes our death; His resurrection becomes our resurrection; and His life, His rising to eternal life is our eternal life.
 

What does this mean? Again we notice this morning, it was not Simeon who approached God. Notice also, it was not because he was blameless that God reassured him. If this statement were true, then we would naturally point to ourselves and we would be the reason that God does what He does. Because we know that we are not the prime movers, but that God is the Prime Mover, we know that it was God who chose Mary to be the mother of God and Joseph to be the adopted father of Jesus. It was God who chose to promise Simeon that he would not die until he saw the Savior of the world. And it was God who kept His promise to Simeon so that he was in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple. As always, it always begins with God.
 

Throughout the Old Testament God told His people, you and me included, what was going to happen. God continually reiterated His promises, to Abraham, to Isaac, Jacob, Moses, King David and the like. Our church year begins with Advent and the account of the beginning of God’s fulfillment of these promises. Now we can be certain, from the promises and from the fulfillment that Jesus us who He says He is. Jesus is God in flesh. Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the one promised in the Garden of Eden. Jesus is God and God with power. Indeed, we can believe what God tells us in His Word. God’s Word is His Word and is a Word with power, the power to do what He says. As we begin our celebration of Jesus’ birth, may we do so in all faith and confidence that this was ordained and accomplished according to God’s good and gracious will and so is efficacious for our salvation. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Angel and Angels to the Shepherds - Christmas Eve - December 24, 2012 - Text: Luke 2:8-20

The angels became very prominent in the work of the Lord at the time of the birth of Jesus. Three weeks ago we talked about the angel that God sent to announce to Zachariah the birth of the one who would prepare the way for Jesus, John the Baptist. Two weeks ago we talked about the angel sent from the Lord who announce to Mary that she had found favor with God and would be the mother of God. Last week we talked about the angel who was sent in a dream to reassure Joseph that it was okay to take Mary as his wife because what was conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit. This evening we move on to talk about the angel and the angels who were sent to announce the good news of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds.

Again, as we did last week, before we get to the actual announcement, let us take a moment to look at the message receiver. Our message receiver this evening is not one person, but is a group of people. Our message receivers are the shepherds who were out in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night. It is interesting that the first people who are given the good news of the birth of the Messiah are these shepherds, perhaps this is so because Jesus often refers to Himself as a shepherd and even as the Good Shepherd. And Jesus compares us to sheep. We are like sheep. We have a tendency to follow after the ways and whims of the world. And Jesus is our Good Shepherd who leads us through this earth, this valley of the shadow of death, leading us beside quiet waters and green pastures.

These shepherds were ordinary, common people. They lived their lives caring for and tending the sheep. They were always outside. They probably did not smell as nice as the next person, being out in the heat of the day and in good weather and bad. They may not have been the most educated of the world, but they certainly knew how to take care of sheep. Someone suggested that the sheep they tended may have been those used in the temple as sacrificial sheep. I think that suggestion was simply a way to, shall we say, elevate their standing, which, as we will see is not necessary. These were ordinary shepherds taking care of an ordinary flock of sheep.

Now, we turn our attention to the message giver, the angel. Our Bible narrative tells us that at first there was only one angel. This one angel first appeared with the message of the birth of Jesus. As was the case with the appearance of the angel to Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph, so here the first thing the angel does is to reassure the shepherds with a message of peace, “Fear not . . .” The angel has not come for judgment but to announce good news.

The message of the angel was the announcement of the birth of a child, a son of David, the One promised of old, even the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Yes, some four thousand years has past since God first promised to send a Messiah. Yes, some five hundred years has passed since the children of Israel were a great nation. Yes, some five hundred years have passed since any in Israel has seen or heard a prophet or any first hand message from God. And yet, there were some in Israel who continued to have faith and hope in the coming of a Messiah.

The angel gives a sign so the shepherds will be able to recognize the child about whom they are speaking. The sign is that the baby will be wrapped in, as we say, swaddling clothes, that is the baby will be wrapped in cloth and even more distinctive, the baby will be lying in a manger which is a feeding trough for animals. I believe the second part of this announcement is the more important part, because I do not believe the shepherds will find many babies lying in a feeding trough.

After the angel makes his announcement, he is joined with a great number of angels as a matter of fact our narrative tells us that he was joined by a host of angels. Now, to make sure we have the picture correct, we must look at the word “host.” This word “host” literally means an army. This was an army of angels. Why an army of angels? Because God is taking on human flesh in the birth of a baby, a helpless baby. Because Satan is alive and well, always prowling around seeking someone to devour and because Satan will do anything to destroy Jesus and God’s plan of salvation for all people, God sent His army of angels to guard and protect the baby Jesus. And this host of angels then speak these words of praise and joy, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

The response of the shepherds to this greeting and these words of good news is that they left the sheep in the field, maybe leaving some of the shepherds behind to tend them, or maybe leaving them in some sort of night time corral, but leaving them they hurried to Bethlehem. We are not told how they searched to find the baby, but we are told they came with haste and they did find the baby as they were certainly lead by God. I would suppose that the birth of a child among relatives would be enough of a scene that they would have no trouble finding the child in the small town of Bethlehem.

They found Mary, Joseph and the baby. The found the baby laying in a manger. It was just as the angel had told them. Certainly their appearance was a surprise to Mary and Joseph. It is no wonder we are told that Mary ponder all these things, all these events and kept them in her heart. I would suggest that for the next thirty-three years and even past Jesus resurrection and ascension that Mary thought about these events and I would further suggest that the Lord comforted her in her pondering.

After the shepherds had an opportunity to greet Mary and Joseph and to pay respect to the new born Savior, they left and as they left they went out telling everyone what they had seen. What exciting good news. How could they keep any of this to themselves? They wanted everyone to know the good news they had heard, seen and witnessed. They wanted the world, or at least their little world to know that the Savior was born.

What does this mean? This means that Jesus who is God, truly God and He had to be truly God in order to be born in perfection, has now been born in human flesh. Jesus is truly human and he had to be human in order to be our substitute, in order to trade His perfect life for our imperfect sinful life.

This means that Jesus came for all people, from the lowest shepherds to the greatest, even for those we deem as the greatest, kings, monarchs and rulers. Jesus came as promised in the Garden of Eden, for all people, of all places, of all times.

This means that Jesus’ birth is a big deal. Jesus’ birth ushered in the end times. We celebrate the beginning of the end. We celebrate that we are living in the last days.

What does this mean? Again we notice this evening, it was not the shepherds who approached God. Notice also, it was not because they were blameless that God reassured them. If this statement were true, then we would naturally point to ourselves and we would be the reason that God does what He does. Because we now that we are not the prime movers, but that God is the Prime Mover, we know that it was God who chose Mary and Joseph as her husband. It was God who chose to announce the birth of His Son first to these lowly shepherds. As always, it always begins with God.

Throughout the Old Testament God told His people, you and me included, what was going to happen. Throughout the Old Testament God reiterated His promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, King David and the like. It was God who sent His angels to announce to Zachariah that Elisabeth would give birth to the one who would prepare the world for Jesus’ work of salvation. God said all these things would happen and now we are getting God’s fulfillment of these promises. Now we can be certain, from the promises and from the fulfillment that Jesus us who He says He is. Jesus is God. He is God with power. God’s Word is a Word with power, the power to do what He says. As we begin celebrating Jesus’ birth, may we do so in all faith and confidence that this was ordained and accomplished according to God’s good and gracious will and so is efficacious for our salvation. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Angel to Joseph - Advent Mid-week 3 - December 19, 2012 - Text: Matthew 1:18-25

The angels became very prominent in the work of the Lord at the time of the birth of Jesus. Two weeks ago we talked about the angel that God sent to announce to Zachariah the birth of the one who would prepare the way for Jesus, John the Baptist. Last week we talked about the angel sent from the Lord who announce to Mary that she had found favor with God and would be the mother of God. In both of those narratives we were told that the angels name was Gabriel. This week we move on to talk about the angel who was sent in a dream to reassure Joseph that it was okay to take Mary as his wife because what was conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit. This week, for whatever reason, we are not told the angel’s name.
 

Again, as we did last week, before we get to the actual announcement, let us take a moment to look at the message receiver. And interestingly enough, this will not be the only time the angel will appear to Joseph as we will find out later. Anyway, this Joseph of our text, this man chosen to be the father of our Lord, even the father of God, that is the adoptive father of Jesus was himself from the line of David, King David. Now let me remind you that one of the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah, the Savior of the world is that He would be from the line of King David and so Joseph meets that requirement. This is important information which substantiates Jesus claim to be the Messiah.
 

Joseph was betrothed to Mary and as we said last week, that meant that he was legally her husband. Even though they had not yet consummated their arranged marriage, they were, in the eyes of the community, in the eyes of God, for all intents and purposes, married. The only way to dissolve such a betrothal would be a legal divorce.
 

And about Joseph, we know that he was a just man. He was a fair man. He always looked to do the right thing. When he found out that his wife to be, his legally betrothed wife, was pregnant, because he loved her, already, he was unwilling to have her put to shame and worse to have her stoned to death which was the punishment for adultery, so he resolved to divorce her quietly. Because they were betrothed and legally married, divorce was his only option for dissolving the betrothal arrangement.
 

Now, for the angel and the angel’s message. Over the past couple of weeks we heard how the angel appeared in person, in flesh, to each of those involved in the announcement and birth of Jesus. This evening we hear that the angel did not appear in person, but in a dream. And please do not ask me why the Lord decided to deal with Joseph in this way, because I do not know, God does not tell us and so I would presume we do not need to know. The fact is that we are told in this narrative that the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
 

As usual, as we have been hearing over the past couple of weeks, the first thing the angel announces to Joseph is words of comfort and a declaration of peace, to not fear. The angel explains to Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy is not because she has been promiscuous, not because she has committed adultery, but because she has been chosen by God to be the mother of the Messiah. Mary has become pregnant by the power of God, by the Holy Spirit. And she has willingly and humbly agreed to take on that responsibility.
 

Further, the angel announced to Joseph the babies name, that is that this baby will be named Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. His name will be Emmanuel which means that God is with us. The angel gives this name to Joseph because he is the one who will be naming the child and in so doing, in naming the child he will be claiming the child as his own, adopting him to be his own son. In giving Jesus the name Emmanuel he will be stating the fact that God has come down, has intervened in human history, that God has taken on flesh and blood so that this child is truly human, born of the woman Mary, and truly divine, conceived by the Holy Spirit. This child will be our substitute and will defeat sin, death and the devil.
 

And as God’s Word always does what it say, the events happened just ast the angel announced. The prophecy of God through the angel was fulfilled. The virgin Mary did conceive, by the power of the Holy Spirit who overshadowed her. The child conceived in Mary’s womb was truly human, conceived of the woman, and truly God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, God Himself.
 

The child was born and the child was given the name, Immanuel, which means God with us. Just as God had promised, since the Garden of Eden; just as God reiterated to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Moses, to King David, all through Israelite history, God is breaking into human history to undo what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. God is intervening to do what humanity could not do, restore our relationship with God Himself.
 

The child is true God taking on human flesh. Jesus is one hundred percent God and one hundred percent human. No other person has ever or will ever be who Jesus is, just as God Himself promised.
 

The result of the action of the angel appearing to Joseph in the dream is that after Joseph awoke, he believed what he saw in his dream, and he obeyed the words of God given to him through the angel in the dream. Joseph took Mary as his wife, yet he did not have any relations with her until after the baby was born. Interestingly enough, God provided that Mary and Joseph should go to Bethlehem to register for the taxes which took them out of their small town and out of the gossip that may be been going around concerning those who did not know God’s plan for Mary and Joseph and may have intended to bring harm to Mary and her child.
 

Joseph cared for Mary his wife as he did for Jesus his adopted son. He provide a house and a home for Mary and Jesus. He labored to provide for food and clothing, just as any good father would. He love Mary and indeed they had other children as the Lord blessed them.
 

And Joseph adopted Jesus as his own son by naming Him. By giving Jesus the name the angel told him to give Him, Jesus announcing that this was his child.
 

What does this mean? Again we notice this evening, it was not Joseph who approached God. Notice also, it was not because he was blameless that God reassured him. If this statement were true, then we would naturally point to ourselves and we would be the reason that God does what He does. Because we now that we are not the prime movers, but that God is the Prime Mover, we know that it was God who chose Mary and now Joseph as her husband. It was God who chose to reassure him in a dream. It was God who chose Joseph for the awesome duty to be the father, albeit the adoptive father of Jesus. It was God who chose to send His unnamed angel to bring him the message of the coming events. As always, it always begins with God.
 

Throughout the Old Testament God told His people, you and me included, what was going to happen. Now we are getting God’s fulfillment of these promises. Now we can be certain, from the promises and from the fulfillment that Jesus is who He says He is. Jesus is God in flesh. Jesus is God who is a God with power. God’s Word is a Word with power, the power to do what He says. As we continue our preparation to celebrate Jesus’ birth, may we do so in all faith and confidence that this was ordained and accomplished according to God’s good and gracious will and so is efficacious for our salvation. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Angel to Mary - Advent Mid-week 2 - December 12, 2012 - Text: Luke 1:26-38

As we outlined last week as we began this series on the work of the angels, the angels became very prominent in the work of the Lord at the time of the birth of Jesus. Last week we took up the announcement by the angel that God sent to announce to Zachariah the birth of the one who would prepare the way for Jesus, John the Baptist. This evening we take up the announcement of the angel sent from the Lord to Mary that she had found favor with God and would be the mother of God.
 

Again, as we did last week, before we get to the actual announcement, let us take a moment to look at the message receiver. The one to whom the angel was to announce was Mary, the woman who would be the mother of God Himself, God in flesh. About Mary we know that she was a virgin, a young woman who had never been with a man. She was single and not married. She was young, perhaps between the ages of 13-16. And we are told that she had found favor with God. way we might look at this finding favor is that we might infer that this favor with God was something like the fact that we were told last week that Zachariah and Elizabeth were blameless. The implication is that Mary was a good girl.
 

We also know that she was betrothed, that is she was engaged to be married. Yet, we need to understand that this betrothal was not exactly like our engagement today. To be betrothed meant that the couple was actually married, yet they were not yet living in the same house, nor had they consummated the marriage. This betrothal also meant that if the couple, or better said, if the husband did not desire to be married, the couple would actually have to have a legal divorce to separate the betrothal. So, unlike our engagement, betrothal was legally binding.
 

Mary was betrothed, legally married to Joseph, thus Joseph was her husband. Joseph was of the line of David, the kingly line of David. This information is important to know, because this substantiates the claim of Jesus Messiahship, that He was born of the line of King David.
 

Now, as for the angel, the messenger who was sent to Mary, to announce God’s message to her, we are told that the angels name was Gabriel. Now, I do not know too much about angels, how many angels are named Gabriel, but I would suppose that this angel Gabriel is the same angel Gabriel that was sent to Zechariah.
 

As the angel approaches Mary he greets her. His greetings is an announcement that she has found favor with God. We previously inferred that this greeting may have meant that she was a good girl. Another way to understand these words is that it is Mary who is being given favor. It is not Mary who is giving God favor by her actions. There is an artistic relief in one of the hospitals in Corpus Christi which depicts the angel Gabriel kneeling before Mary and kissing her hand. I really do not see that depicted in this text. It is not Mary who is the prime actor in this text, rather it is God who sends His angel Gabriel who is the prime mover.
 

Gabriel’s words are words of peace, “Do not be afraid;” words of encouragement, “you have found favor with God, or you are being given favor from God;” and words of instruction, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
 

Again, as last week, we have some words of exchange in response to the appearance, greeting and announcement of the angel. Mary asks a question concerning the birth of this child, but unlike Zechariah’s question which was a question stemming from skepticism and doubt, after all he was old and had been praying for a child for many years, Mary’s question was not a question of doubt, but was a question of, shall we say, “mechanics.” Mary knew how children were conceived and so, being a virgin, being betrothed and not yet having consummated the marriage, she was simply asking how the angels announcement would come about.
 

The angel explains to Mary that what will happen will happen by the power of God. Mary will become pregnant, but not in the usual way. God the Holy Spirit will, to use the words of our text, “come upon [her], and the power of the Most High will overshadow [her].” Thus, the child will be truly God, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and truly man, truly human, born of the human woman, Mary.
 

Now, even though Mary’s question was not a question of doubt and did not ask for any proof if you will, just as the angel provided proof for Zachariah, so he provided proof for Mary as well. As “proof” of God’s power and the validity of these events the angel points to Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth who was thought to be barren and beyond child bearing years yet now, by the power of God she is indeed pregnant. As a matter of fact she is six months pregnant according to the angel.
 

Gabriel’s words to Mary are indeed words to us and words for us to remember, especially when we think that something is impossible. As the angel tells Mary, all of these events will take place because “nothing will be impossible with God.” It is God who is in control. It is God who is in charge. It is God who is the prime mover. God has promised that these events will take place and He is now moving these events into happening.
 

Mary’s response is that she concedes and consents to what the angel has said and what God has proposed and is giving to her. She consents to be the handmaiden of God. Obviously she has no idea of what she is doing, what she is getting into, or what will happen and where all this will lead, but, by the power of God, by the moving of the Holy Spirit in her heart, mind and life, she consents to being the mother of God.
 

Mary, chosen by God, impregnated by the Holy Spirit, betrothed to Joseph, a man of honor, is fulfilling God’s promise to send a Messiah, Jesus, Christ the Savior who would be born in nine months, according to the usual, earthy way in which children are born.
 

What does this mean? One thing I hope you noticed again this evening like last week is that it was not Mary who approached God. It was not because she was blameless that God chose her. Again, if both of these statements were true, then we would naturally point to ourselves and we would be the reason that God does what He does. Because we know that we are not the prime movers, but that God is the Prime Mover, we know that it was God who chose Mary. It was God who chose her to fulfill His promises of old. It was God who chose to send His angel, Gabriel to bring her the message of the coming events. As always, it always begins with God.
 

Throughout the Old Testament God told His people, you and me included, what was going to happen. Now we are getting God’s fulfillment of these promises. Now we can be certain, from the promises and from the fulfillment that Jesus us who He says He is. God is a God with power. God’s Word is a Word with power, the power to do what He says. As we continue our preparation to celebrate Jesus’ birth, may we do so in all faith and confidence that this was ordained and accomplished according to God’s good and gracious will and so is efficacious for our salvation. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Angel to Zachariah - Advent Mid-week 1 - December 5, 2012 - Text: Luke 1:5-25

The angels became very prominent in the work of the Lord at the time of the birth of Jesus. It was the angels that God sent to announce to Zachariah the birth of the one who would prepare the way for Jesus, John the Baptist. It was an angel sent from the Lord who announce to Mary that she had found favor with God and would be the mother of God. It was an angel who was sent in a dream to reassure Joseph that it was okay to take Mary as his wife because what was conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit. It was an angel and a multitude or rather a host of angels who announced to the Shepherds that Jesus was born. It was an angel that announced to Simeon that he would see the Christ. And it was an angel that warned Joseph to leave Nazareth to go to Egypt for the child’s protection. Angels played a prominent role in the Christmas story and so this year during the season of Advent and Christmas we will take the time to look at the role the angles played and how they were indeed God’s angels, God’s messengers. This evening we take up the angels announcement to Zechariah.
 

Before we get to the messenger and the message, let us take a moment to talk about the message receiver. The message receiver was Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest of the division of Abijah. He was from the line of Jacob’s son, Levi, the tribe set apart to be the priests in the temple of the Lord. For all intents and purposes, he was a regular Israelite. He was a priest and he served God in the temple.
 

Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, we are told from the text, were blameless and at the same time they were barren, which really does not seem to make sense, at least when we understand that in the culture of the day that, to be barren was considered to be a curse from God. So, how could a blameless couple be barren? Of course, we are looking back and we know how these events have panned out and we know that God’s timing is always perfect timing. Elizabeth was barren until the right time, which is the time for the birth of the way preparer for Jesus, John the Baptist. And so, Elizabeth was blameless, which, let me say, was not the reason she was chosen by God. She was chosen, as we all are chosen, by God’s pure grace. Elizabeth was blameless and not cursed, but was blessed according to God’s time with the child, John.
 

As for Zechariah, again he was chosen to serve in the temple on this particular day. He was chosen in the usual way, that is by lot, probably the urim and thummim, the two stones the priest carried for decision making so that indeed he was chosen by God, through the instrument of the urim and thummim to serve at this particular time. Make no mistake, all of these proceedings were directed by the very hand of God.
 

Now, for the angel and his message. Zechariah had been prepared for his service, to attend to the duty of the Holy of Holies, the most holy place. He went through the necessary and prescribe ceremonial preparations so that he might be ritually clean while performing his duty on behalf of the people. And the people were prepared as they prayed while he served. This service was the once a year service that God ordained for service in the temple.
 

While Zechariah was on duty, serving in the most Holy Place, the angel, sent from God,  appeared to him and his first inclination was fear. Which, humanly speaking, makes sense. If I actually saw an angel, and I do believe that there are angels all around us protecting us, I believe we would also be afraid.
 

The angel spoke to Zechariah and the very first words he announced were words of peace, “Do not be afraid.” He knew Zechariah’s fear and thus began by easing his fear with these words of peace. He went on to announce the birth of a son to Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. He announced that the name of his son would be John. And he announced what would be John’s service, to prepare the way for the Messiah.
 

Upon hearing the news, the good news of the angel, the announcement of a child to him and Elizabeth, a child they had been praying for, for so many years, Zechariah relaxed and questioned the angel. Zechariah asked, “How shall I know this is true?” His question was a question of doubt. He did not believe the angel and so he wanted proof from the angel. This questioning we will see is different from when Mary asked the angel a question, later.
 

For proof, the angel tells Zechariah that his name is Gabriel and that he is a messenger from God. He explains that he has been sent by God Himself, meaning that Gabriel is not speaking on his own behalf, but on behalf of God, so these words are not his words but God’s Word and if any Word is a Word that is faithful and true, it is God’s Word.
 

As a sign of proof to Zechariah, Gabriel announces that he will have a lack of speech until the child is born. This is the sign to Zechariah, but will also serve as a sign to all the people who had gathered.
 

And so it was. Zechariah was unable to speak. He completed his work in the temple, which took longer than usual because of his encounter with the angel. And everyone knew that something had happened to Zechariah while he was on duty because they could see it in his face. And they soon discovered that he had seen an angel and had been given an important message. And that he was unable to speak the message. Evidently he had to write out all he wanted to say, at least until the time of the birth of John and Zechariah’s confirmation of his name as John.
 

We are not told exactly what happened following Zechariah’s time of service except that he returned home and that God had removed the reproach of Elizabeth. Certainly for the next nine months he communicated with his wife, through writing, all that had happened in the temple. Certainly he explained to Elizabeth that their son would be named John, John the Baptist and that he would be a special person, even a prophet.
 

Finally, even if Zechariah could not fully explain to Elizabeth and to all the people how their son, John would prepare the way for the Messiah, Jesus, the one for whom they have been waiting for so many years while he remained speechless, after his mouth was opened he most certainly communicated this message to all that would hear.
 

What does this mean? One thing I hope you noticed this evening, it was not Zechariah who approached God, nor was it Elizabeth, although we are told they did bring their prayers before the Lord concerning their desire to have a child. Notice also, it was not because they were blameless that God answered their prayers. If both of these statements were true, then we would naturally point to ourselves and we would be the reason that God does what He does. Because we now that we are not the prime movers, but that God is the Prime Mover, we know that it was God who chose Zechariah and Elizabeth. It was God who chose to answer their prayer. It was God who chose Zechariah to be on duty. It was God who chose to send His angel, Gabriel to bring them the message of the coming events. As always, it always begins with God.
 

Throughout the Old Testament God told His people, you and me included, what was going to happen. Now we are getting God’s fulfillment of these promises. Now we can be certain, from the promises and from the fulfillment that Jesus is who He says He is. God is a God with power. God’s Word is a Word with power, the power to do what He says. As we begin our preparation to celebrate Jesus’ birth, we do so in all faith and confidence that this was ordained and accomplished according to God’s good and gracious will and so is efficacious for our salvation. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Modern Work Righteousness Abounds, How to Tell

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). We are saved by grace, but what is grace. Grace may be understood as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense, which is a good way to point to Jesus. But most certainly, grace is a gift. A gift is a gift, not because of something done by the one being given the gift, but because of the action of the one giving the gift. How absurd to suggest that for a person to get a birthday gift s/he must claim it, accept it, not reject it, or any other action on his/her part. To suggest an action on the part of the one being given to suggests an earning or deserving making it no longer a gift, but a reward.
 

Forgiveness, salvation, faith, heaven, these are all gifts, not because of some action on the part of the one being given to, but solely because of the work and actions of the Giver. To suggest an action on the part of the one being given to, such as even suggesting the one being given to must receive the gift, subtly implies an action on the part of the one being given to and thus subtly implies an earned or deserved reward.
 

Why is this so difficult? Because of our tainted will and sinful human nature. And because of the “work” and “earn” world and society in which we live being taught from birth that nothing in life is free.
 

How is this dependency on works righteousness manifest in our world today? All you have to do is listen to the way people speak, how they express their certainty of salvation. Does one point to oneself or to their dependency on Jesus alone. You might be rather stunned when you actually listen to a person’s expression of faith to find that more often than not it is an expression that points to self, not Jesus.
 

Statements which focus on self are similar to the following: “If you want to be saved, all you gotta do . . .” “If only you . . . ” “You can be . . . ” “ You have to . . . accept, not reject, open your heart, commit yourself . . .  etc.” When you hear or say these phrases or similar phrases you become the object of your salvation, which means you are dependent on yourself for salvation, which is works righteousness.
 

When someone gives you a gift what is your response? Of course, in asking that question it is inferred that one has been taught the appropriate response because an appropriate response is not something that comes naturally. When we are children our parents teach us an appropriate response, usually by asking, “What do you say?” And our response is “Thank you.” So, as we grow older and we are given a gift, we respond by saying, “Thank you.” To answer with something other than simply, “Thank you,” would bring certain confusion to the gift giver. An example would be if we were given a gift and we were to respond, “Look what I got for myself,” or “Look what I have claimed for myself,” or any phrase that points to me or suggests that I need to do or say anything except say, “Thank you.” With this understanding that our response to a gift is to say, “Thank you,” we can see one’s dependency on their own works righteousness when they respond with something other than to say, “Thank you” when Jesus gives us the gifts He has to give. When Jesus gives the gifts He has to give, when He gives us faith, when He gives us forgiveness of sins, when He gives us eternal life, our response is simply to say, “Thank you.” To respond in any other way to the gifts God gives, pointing to oneself, is work righteousness. “Look what I claimed for myself, faith,” “Look at the forgiveness I choose for myself,” “Look at how I dedicated my life to Jesus, lucky Him,” all these responses are work-righteous response.
 

God gives, and we are given to, and He even moves in us and stirs in us, much like our parents so that we respond appropriately, “Thank you, Lord for all your good gifts and blessings.”

What Will Pass Away? - November 25, 2012 - Last Sunday in the Church Year (Proper 29) - Text: Mk 13:24-37

This morning we move to the end of our present church year. At the same time, we continue to move ever closer to our final day on this earth. Perhaps you have never thought about it this way, or had it put in this perspective; from the moment of our conception, we are destined to have only a short time on this earth. Our time on this earth will end, sooner than we know and probably sooner than we might expect, thus it is important, and even imperative that we spend our days on this earth getting ready for our eternity in heaven.
 

In our text for this morning Jesus gives us more signs of the coming of the day of Judgement and what that day will be like. Thus, we are encouraged, with the imperative, to be ready. According to Jesus’ words in verse thirty-one of our text, and these are words to which we will cling, “Heaven and earth,” that is our present, physical living quarters, “will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Certainly we will want to readily cling to that which is permanent, His Word. And so, we spend our time on this earth watching.
 

What do we watch for? We watch for signs. We started talking about this last week, but we need to continue this week. We do watch. We are a visual society. We watch television. In a way we may “watch” the radio. We “watch” the newspaper. We “watch” magazines. We watch the internet, Facebook, MySpace, google, Yahoo and the like. We watch for information to keep us tuned in to what is going on in our world. For some of us, we watch the sports section and the comics section of the newspaper, along with the obituaries.
 

We go outside and we check the thermometer, we watch the clouds, we watch the wind direction and wind speed and we use this information to help decipher the weather, as if anyone can accurately decipher and predict the weather. But we do watch the weather, perhaps looking for the best time to picnic, or to go hunting or fishing, or to do our gardening.
 

We watch the stock market. We check stock prices. We check to see how our mutual funds are doing. We check the interest rates to make sure we are getting the best return for our investments, our IRAs, our 401Ks, and so forth. We look to see when is the best time to invest or to buy or sell. And certainly, an added benefit of this watching is that this would be in keeping with being good stewards of the blessings which our Lord gives to us.
 

We watch and as we watch we “interpret” these things we are watching. We interpret what we see according to our own knowledge and understanding of how these things might affect us in our own lives. Most of all, let me remind you that, while all this watching may be meet, right and salutary, this watching is simply and only for our lives in this world. All this watching is fast and fleeting. All this watching will soon pass away. Certainly, there is something more important for which we need to be watching.
 

Our texts for last week, our texts for today, and yes even our texts for next week as we begin a new church year, all remind us that the end of the world will come. In the first article of the Apostles’ Creed we confess that we believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. We confess that we believe, not only has God created, but He also continues to preserve His creation. The only thing that keeps this world going is the almighty power and hand of our good and gracious Lord. The end of the world will come. We will see it when the universe collapses into itself, that is we will see the end of the world happen with the removal of the all preserving hand of God.
 

The end of the world will come. Jesus outlines some of the events which will occur at the end of the world. At the end of this world we will see the angels of heaven sent out to gather the Lord’s elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. He will send His angels to gather us, who, by His Word and Holy Baptism, have been given faith, that is, have been elected and made a part of His Kingdom.
 

The end of the world will come. We will see it when we see the Son of Man comes in great power and  glory. Certainly, this will not be something easily missed. Certainly, our Lord will not need any satellite coverage or global media, no tweeting, you tubing, or facebooking, when He returns. His return in great power and glory will be such that all people will know that this is the day.
 

And when the end of the world comes, we will see it and we will stand to be judged. Our Lord will separate the sheep, the believers, us, from the goats, the unbelievers, those who continue to deny Christ and refuse and reject His good gifts and blessings. And our message is that this day will come, sooner than we know and sooner than we might expect. So, what do we do?
 

We realize that now is the time; now is the time to get ourselves ready for this coming. There will be a time when it will be too late. There will be a time when there will be no more opportunities for becoming a Christian. That time will be when Jesus comes on the day of judgement. On that day, as we are told in John’s revelation, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, however, on that day, it will be too late for those who have refused and rejected Him up until that hour.
 

Because we do not know when our time will come, now is the time to get ready. It is true, we do not know when our last hour on this earth will be. Open the newspaper. There are many of you, I am sure, who check the obituaries. I can tell you this, noone listed in the obituaries knew that it was their last day, their last hour, their time, as we say. Thus, it is important, it is imperative, that we are at all times ready for our time to meet our Lord.
 

It is said that there are two certainties in life, and those certainties are said to be death and taxes. Well, I do not know if these are both certainties, but I do know that there is one certainty, that is that the end of our time on this earth will come. The end of our time on this earth will be, either at the time of our own death or at the time of Christ’s coming. And we do not know when either of those times will be.
 

Yet, there is another certainty. Jesus tells us plainly, the Word of God will never pass away. God’s Word is His Word. God’s Word is unlike any other word. God’s Word is a Word with power. God’s Word is a Word which does what it says. Let us take a closer look at God’s Word.
 

The Word of God is that word which is the Law. The Law is that Word of God which tells us what we are to do and not to do. The Law is that Word of God which gives us boundaries to keep us on the narrow path, which keeps us out of trouble, which shows us how we have not been faithful and have not kept His Word. The Word of God is a Word which is intolerant of sin. Yes, we are in the final days of this world. We see time and again how the people of this world do not want to hear the Word of God, but they want to hear what their “itching” ears want to hear. What we need to hear is the fact that we have not kept the Ten Commandments, we have not done what we are supposed to be doing and we have been doing what we are not supposed to be doing. We have sinned and we continue to sin, as we confess, in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We are by nature sinful and unclean. We are spiritually blind, spiritually dead and enemies of God. Left to ourselves, there is no hope.
 

Thanks be to God that His Word, which does not pass away, is also a Word of hope. His Word is a Word of Good News, of Gospel. His Word is that which gives forgiveness of sins. In the Epistle reading for this morning we are reminded to encourage one another, to keep ourselves in the love of God, indeed to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Jesus is the founder of our faith, that is He is the one who gives us faith, who puts faith in our hearts. He is also the perfecter of our faith, that is, He is the one who strengthens and perfects our faith and this He does through His means of grace, His Word, which never passes away and His sacraments, Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as well as Holy Absolution. Jesus gives us the gifts we need for eternal salvation. He gives us the gifts He earned on the cross. Yes, it is Jesus who lived perfectly for us in our place. It is Jesus who took all our sins upon Himself. It is Jesus, who suffered and died, who paid the price for our sins. It is Jesus who endured the cross, despising the shame of the cross and after His resurrection and ascension, is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, where He is watching over us, ruling over us and interceding for us.
 

Thanks be to God that His Word does not pass away, because it is His Word that gives life, even eternal life. Yes, when we are given faith, through His Word and though Holy Baptism, we are given life. Eternal life is something which is ours now. Certainly, we will not move into our eternal home until we fall asleep in faith, that is until we pass away in this present life. But the fact remains, we have eternal life now.
 

Thus, it is imperative and urgent that we believe and that we tell others who do not yet know of Jesus and His love for them. It is imperative and urgent, because, as we have said, we do not know the day nor the hour when Christ will return and on that day and hour it will then be too late.
 

The signs show that the end of the world is near. This fact reminds us of our need to be ever ready. We get ourselves ready by being reminded of the importance of taking God’s Word seriously, by reading and listening to it, and by believing it, because it will never pass away. We are ready when our faith is firmly planted in Jesus who promises never to leave us nor forsake us. Now is the time. May the Lord bless and keep you, and strengthen you in faith so that you might be found ready when your last hour comes. To Him be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

God Shall Provide All Your Needs - November 23, 2005 - Thanksgiving Eve - Text: Philippians 4:6-20

Tomorrow has been declared by the President of the United States as a national day of thanksgiving. It has become sort of automatic that each year our President makes the same proclamation. Tomorrow is not a religious holy day as we think of most holidays, but tomorrow is a national, social day of giving thanks. And to whom do we give thanks? For us, we give thanks to the one we acknowledge as the giver of all good gifts and blessings. We give thanks to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This evening I would like to make three points from our text.
 

Our first point comes from Paul’s words, “6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (v.6). By these words Paul encourages us to be in constant prayer to the Lord. That does not mean that we are to be constantly kneeling, bowing our heads, folding our hands and offering up prayers and petitions. It does mean that, really, our whole lives should be lived as a prayer to the Lord. We remember that prayer is a heart to heart talk with God, anytime and anywhere. I do not know about you, but I find myself in constant prayer to the Lord. Many times each day I find myself praying for one need or another, for one bit of rejoicing or another.
 

Paul also encourages us to give thanks as we present our requests to the Lord. We present our requests with thanks knowing and having confidence that the Lord will answer our prayer. And we know that the Lord will answer our prayer according to what He knows is best for us according to His good and gracious will, not necessarily according to what we might think we need. And yes, we even give thanks when our Lord in His infinite wisdom says, “no.”
 

The second point I will make this evening comes from Paul’s words, “7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (v.7). This it the phrase we hear after many sermons, perhaps not from this translation, but from another. Just as our hearing the Word of the Lord gives us true peace, so as our lives become a prayer to the Lord, He will give us true peace. True peace is that peace which is not simply a worldly peace, not simply a few moments or even an hour of earthly calm and serenity, but true peace is that peace which comes from knowing our sins are forgiven, because with forgiveness we know that we have life and salvation. What other, or better peace can we have than to know that our eternity is set, that heaven is a present reality.
 

God’s peace is a peace that is beyond all understanding. His peace is beyond our understanding because we cannot understand how God could love us so much that He would give the life of His Son for ours. We cannot understand how a Creator could love His wayward creation so much that He would reconcile the debt the creation owes its Creator. It is the life of His Son on the cross which earned for us our forgiveness and eternal life.
 

Paul gives his life as an example of the transforming power of God’s peace. God’s peace is that which makes it possible for us to be content in all things. It is God’s peace which makes it possible for us to keep our thoughts and minds on all things true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. And we remain in God’s peace by being in His Word.
 

Another example that Paul gives concerning the power of peace in his life is the example of contentment. He has learned to be content by learning the difference between wants and needs. As blessed as we are in this country, we continually have a difficulty understanding this difference. Most of us probably believe that a telephone in every room of the house is a necessity, or every member of the family having a phone, or that a television in every room, or today, a computer in every room is a necessity. We believe having more than one change of clothes or more than one pair of shoes is a necessity. We have been and are so blessed that many of the things we have we believe to be necessary. Paul helps us distinguish what is necessary and what is simply a want. Please understand, to want things beyond what is necessary is not in and of itself wrong. What is sin is when our wants dictate our actions and so consume us that we forget what is important. Paul’s example is one which we would do well to imitate as we live in the peace of the Lord.
 

The third point I would like to make this evening comes from Paul’s words, “19And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (v. 19). When it comes to contentment we learn to be content by learning that it is the Lord who gives first. The Lord gives us everything that we need and even more than we want. I have challenged many people from time to time and I will offer than same challenge to you. Can you name even one thing that is yours that did not in some way come from God? In one way or another, everything we have, except our sin, has its beginning with our Lord. What we are born with and what we take with us when we die is what is truly ours and everything else is simply on loan to us from God while we live in this world. Being content begins with learning the difference between wants and needs. Again, for us in America, most of us have so many things. We have more than we need and many times, more than we could want. Today is the day to take time to give thanks for all those things, the things we need and the things we have that are wants.
 

The second part of contentment is to respond in thanks. Being content is recognizing that all things, in one way or another, come from God and then thanking Him for all His good gifts and blessings.
 

And as the Lord gives and as we return a portion from what He has first given with thanksgiving to the Lord, He gives us even more. He does this to remind us that we cannot out give Him. The Lord gives to us everything we need and He gives to us a whole lot more.
 

As we celebrate our national day of thanksgiving we do so by giving thanks. I guess I do not see how a family can sit down at a thanksgiving meal and not give thanks, yet there are many who will do so tomorrow. I do not see how a family can begin a day of thanksgiving without first giving thanks to the Lord for He is the giver of all good gifts and blessings.
 

As I think about the gifts that God gives I am reminded that; first the Lord has given me the gift of life. He gave me that gift at my conception. The first spiritual and really the most important gift I was given by the Lord happened thirteen days after my birth and that was the gift of new life at my baptism. At my baptism the Lord gave me the gift of faith, forgiveness and eternal life in heaven. He has provided this forgiveness by giving His Son and the life of His Son, yes, even His own life as God in flesh so that I might have this forgiveness, but not just me, He has provided this forgiveness for all people. And with forgiveness we know that we have life and salvation, indeed there is no greater gift.
 

But I know that God has not just given me these spiritual gifts, although with just those gifts I know that I am especially blessed by God. God gives me physical things as well. He has provide me with a loving wife and four loving children. He has provided for us a nice house which we are making into a nice home. He allows for me to arise each day as each day is a gift from Him. He gives me the ability each day to do whatever work He has prepared for me to do. He has brought us to this congregation to love and be loved by the members of this congregation. He gives me food and clothing. He gives me all that I need. He even gives me more than I need and more than I want.
 

He also stirs in me to give thanks. I know that in and of myself I am a selfish person. I take what God gives me and I always want more. That is why I am so thankful that the Lord also stirs in me a desire to give Him thanks for all that He gives to me, for all His good gifts and blessings.
 

I am going to leave here this evening. I am going to wake up in the morning and around noon I am going to eat some turkey and southern cornbread dressing. I am going to watch one or even both and maybe even three football games. I am going to enjoy the company of my family and friends. I am so glad that you have been with me this evening to begin our Thanksgiving celebration right, by coming to Divine Service, to be given God’s gifts through His Word and by being able to give Him thanks and praise for all His good gifts and blessings. May the Lord be with you this day, tomorrow and always as you give thanks to Him. To God be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Comfort, Comfort

Internalizing Versus Eternalizing

One might deal with life’s struggles by internalizing, which is thinking about the struggles and making them a part of one’s life. Although internalizing is often viewed as a negative because one may act out negative or harmful behaviors to himself or others, internalizing may be beneficial if one is acting out positive or good behaviors.

Rather than internalizing there may be a better, more positive and uplifting approach and that approach is eternalizing. To eternalize is to put life into an eternal perspective. An eternal perspective is to understand that life in this world is short and sweet, as the saying goes, compared to eternity which is forever.

So, if a person has had a struggle in life, he may internalize by acting out, or he may internalize by trying to make himself better, or he may realize that the struggles of this life are simply a result of the cursed world in which we live and that in the end all things will be made right.

Life is indeed like a rose garden. Roses are beautiful, yet they have painful thorns. In the beginning God created a perfect world. Humanity brought sin. Sin brought a curse. The world we live in today is an imperfect, cursed world. Yet, we have God’s promise that He is in control and even though we may not see His control, as when the righteous are punished and the unjust are rewarded, we know that in the end, justice will be meted out.

For one to internalize the struggles of life might mean rationalizing that life is unfair and thus one must do whatever needs to be done to take care of oneself. To eternalize would mean putting the struggles of life into an eternal perspective, realizing that although life on this earth may not seem fair, in the end justice will be served, thus one is encouraged to a righteous life of faithfulness, with the help of God.


Making It Personal

Recently my wife and I suffered the loss of our twenty week stillborn son. Certainly we could internalize and dwell on our cursed world in which we are considered high risk when it comes to having children. Or we could internalize believing the fallacy that there are too many people in the world already, or that we have four children and should be happy. None of these internalizing options brings comfort.

Personally, I am more interested in eternalizing the matter, knowing that although I will not see my son while I am alive in this world, certainly, by God’s grace, through the faith He has given my son as he heard God’s Word in utero every Sunday morning, I know that I will see him in heaven. His stillborn death would mean nothing except for the fact of the eternal love, grace, and justice of our great and loving God. To know that I will see him and meet him in heaven is what brings us comfort and hope, beyond any human explanation.

Washed in the Blood of the Lamb - November 4, 2012 - All Saints’ Day - Text: Revelation 7:(2-8) 9-17

Although today is the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost, because All Saints Day was Thursday, this morning we take the time to celebrate All Saints Day. Please understand that when we celebrate all saints day, we are not worshiping, nor are we praising all the saints who have gone on before us, instead we are placing their lives before us as examples of how we are to live our lives, that is that we are to live lives of faith so that others see our faith and give praise to God for our faith as well. Remember, as Lutherans we understand that we are at the same time sinners and saints. By faith in Jesus Christ, faith given to us at our Baptism or faith given to us through the Word of God, we are redeemed, we have been purchased, we are saved, yes, we are saints. At the same time, while we remain on this earth we continue to sin and so we are sinners in need of forgiveness. Thus we understand, we believe, teach and confess that we are at the same time sinner saints.
 

Our text for this morning is from the book of Revelation, and notice this is not a book of revelations, plural, but is one revelation. Revelation is a look into heaven and a look into what our last days on earth and our first days in heaven will be like. As we look into heaven we see the enumerable number of people in heaven. We see them wearing white robes and holding palm branches. We hear them sing. We see how, even John, is unable to answer the question from God concerning what he is seeing, so he refers the question back to God answering, “Sir, you know.” John’s answer reminds us that we do not need to know all the answers to all the questions about the Bible, rather we need to realize that God is so much bigger than we are and He does know all the answers. Which in turn encourages us to continue steadfast in the Apostles’ Doctrine to learn more about Him and be strengthened in our faith.
 

Our text begins with John telling us that he sees “a great multitude that no one could number.” These words remind us that the reference to 144,000 which is the number Revelation speaks about being the number in heaven, this number is not a counting figure, not an actual number one can count, but it is a symbolic figure. The 144,000 means the Old Testament believers from the twelve tribes of Israel times (X) the New Testament believers from the twelve apostles times (X) the number of completion, ten, cubed (v.9-10). In other words, 12 x 12 x 1000, the number 144,000 is what John is seeing, that is a great multitude, all believers who ever lived, from Old and New Testament times. Everyone who believes in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is included in the great multitude, and in the 144,000. We, you and I, are included in that 144,000.
 

Their song, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (V. 10b) reminds us that salvation is given by God to those who believe. Notice who is doing what? Salvation is not something we get. It is not something we earn. It is not something we claim for ourselves. Salvation belongs to God. Our salvation was earned by Him and it is given out by Him. It is given by through His means of grace through faith in Jesus. God is the one doing the doing and we are the ones being done to.
 

The song of the great multitude is followed by a song by the angels, elders and four living creatures, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen” (v. 12). We are told that “they fell down on their faces before the throne.” They fell down in fear, in awe and in respect. They fell down in worship. In the Old Testament we are often told of people falling prostrate before the Lord, or a king or whoever. To fall prostrate means to fall on your face, completely flat, face down on the ground. This is a posture of complete submission. Thus, even the angels, elders and four living creatures recognize Jesus as Lord and fall down in complete submission to Him.
 

They worshiped and said “Amen!” They spoke the word which reminds us that God is faithful. In His faithfulness He remembered His promise to send a Savior, Christ the Lord. In His faithfulness Jesus was born as a baby, a human being, as one of us. In His faithfulness Jesus lived a perfect life. He obeyed all God’s laws perfectly. He fulfilled all God’s commands, perfectly. In His faithfulness He lived His life for us, as our substitute. In His faithfulness Jesus took all our sins upon Himself. In His faithfulness Jesus gave His life for ours on the cross, suffering the price for our sins. In His faithfulness Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to bring us to faith, to give us faith, and to keep us in faith until He comes again.
 

They sing a sevenfold song of praise. This sevenfold song is very similar to their previous sevenfold chorus of praise and it is a song of complete praise.
 

John is then questioned by one of the elders. The elder asks, “These in the white robes—who are they, and where did they come from”(v. 12-17)? John rightly answers, “Sir, you know.” John does not know and so he turns the question back to the man who asked so that he might get an answer. The answer is that they are those who have suffered for their faith. The word that is used for tribulation is the same word that Jesus used when He said that we would have trouble in this world, but we are to take heart, because He has overcome the world. This trouble, this tribulation that we suffer is what we have suffered since the fall into sin in the Garden of Eden. To be a Christian means that you inevitably suffer trials and tribulations.
 

You might think of it this way, the devil does not spend time working on those he already has. He spends his time working on those he does not have. Which means that if you are not having troubles in this world, if you are not having tribulation, if you are not suffering from the trials and tribulations of the devil you might want to take a hard look at yourself to make sure that he does not have you already [smile :)]. And this does not mean the troubles, the trials and tribulations we bring on ourselves, which we do because of our sinful nature.
 

The elder continues by saying that these are they who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.” It is faith in Jesus’ death on the cross, the shedding of His blood that brings the white robes of righteousness. By faith in Jesus, we stand before God in His perfection, washed in His blood, robed in His white robes of righteousness.
 

“Therefore,” the elder says, meaning, as a result of Jesus’ redeeming work, because Jesus shed His blood on the cross, by faith in Him, faith given by God, therefore, salvation comes to those who believe. The perfect bliss of the redeemed people of God is described in the next series of ten statements. Remember too, that the number ten is the number of completeness and so we are reminded by these ten statements that there is complete release from all evil and complete fullness of joy which is ours, given to us by God.
 

The first three lines describe the blessedness of the redeemed who stand in the presence of God spending their days and nights in service to Him. Their service is a worship service, a time spent in praise and adoration to Jesus. While we are on earth it is most important and necessary that we come to the Lord’s House, to divine service first and foremost to be given to by God. It is only as we are given to by God that we can respond with lives of faith. In heaven we will be perfected and so we will be able to offer a service of worship, worthy of our Creator God.
 

The next four lines speak about the freedom we Christians will have in heaven from the effects of sin. The curse which was placed on all creation in the Garden of Eden is now broken. In heaven there is no hunger, no thirst, no being beaten down by the sun. In heaven there is no sorrow or sadness, only joy and rejoicing. In heaven we will eat eternal manna and drink of the river of pleasure forever.
 

The final three lines describe heaven in positive terms. We are reminded first that Jesus is the Good Shepherd as John reminds us in His Gospel. Jesus compares us to His sheep and He is our Shepherd. He leads us beside the quiet waters as we read in the Psalms. Jesus is the living water. We are Baptized into faith through water. We need water to live. Jesus is that living water for us. And with God there will be no suffering, no more tears. Heaven is a place of complete and unending joy.
 

This morning as we get another glimpse of heaven. We are reminded that heaven is a gift, given by God, earned by Jesus’ death on the cross and the shedding of His blood. We are reminded that heaven is a place of forever joy. And we are reminded that heaven is a place of forever worship.
 

The question we might ask ourselves this week is “are we ready?” If you ask young people “are you ready to go to heaven?” Many times you will get the answer, “Yes, I am ready, but I would rather grow up before I go.” How often do we find ourselves answering in like manner. “I think I am ready for Jesus to come again, but I would rather get done doing the things I think I need to do here on earth.” I think that answer begs the question even more. Are we ready? Are we ready if we believe that there is more for us to do on this earth than to get ourselves ready for Jesus’ to come? Or to get ourselves ready for our going to Him, which might be sooner than His coming to us. And maybe we need to spend time getting others ready as well. I wonder if we are ready as we continue to keep our focus on the things of this world instead of on things heavenward.
 

How do we get ourselves ready? We get ourselves ready by making regular and diligent use of those means through which our Lord gives to us and uses to get us ready, His means of grace. In other words, it is not so much we who get ourselves ready, but it is the Lord who gets us ready. He gets us ready by our remembering our Baptism. He gets us ready by our confessing our sins and hearing His most beautify words of forgiveness. He gets us ready by our hearing and reading His Word, by our having personal and family devotions, by our being in divine service and Bible Class. He gets us ready as we come to His table, where He is the host and the meal, where He offers and gives to us His true body and blood to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins and for strengthening of faith.
 

When I was attending the Seminary, one of my classes followed chapel. Every morning we had chapel at 9 a.m. It was a short service in which we heard the Word of God and sang some hymns. Our professor noticed that some of the men from our class were not making it to chapel, but were missing for some reason. He chastened us one morning by using the following words, “Gentlemen, receive the gifts.” So, too, I come to you and as I come to you I ask you to share these words with those who are not here. Ladies and gentlemen, receive the gifts. Because it is only through the gifts God gives, the gifts of His Word and Sacraments that He can prepare us for Jesus’ coming and/or our going to Him. And now more than ever is the time to be prepared. To God be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Truth and Freedom - October 28, 2012 - Reformation Sunday - Text: John 8:31-36

Happy Reformation Day! As I have said in the past, Reformation Day is one of my favorite holy or holidays and I think it is appropriate that we greet each other in this way, “Happy Reformation Day!” This year, Reformation Day is as it always is on October 31, which this year is on Wednesday. Reformation Day is the day we celebrate the act of one man, the sainted Dr. Martin Luther, after whom our church denomination is named,  who on October 31 in 1517 nailed his 95 statements (theses) for debate on the town bulletin board, which happened to be the church door. It was this act which set off what we now call the Reformation.
 

Dr. Luther did not suggest that he had found the real church which was lost. He did not suggest that God had given him any new revelation for beginning a new church. He was not trying to form his own new church, rather he was trying to make his old church, the Roman Catholic church of his day, aware of what he knew were false teachings and false doctrines which were being proclaimed, so that the truth of the Gospel might prevail. And if anyone understood these falsehoods, it would be Dr. Luther. Perhaps you have heard his story.
 

Dr. Luther was born to Hans and Margaretta Luther, November 10, 1483 in Eisleben Germany. He began his college education studying law, but at the age of twenty-two a thunderstorm and the death of a friend moved him to make a vow to enter the quiet life of the monastery to study to become a priest in the church. Young Luther believed that if he worked hard enough, if he studied hard enough, if he stayed out of the public life and could keep from sinning, then he might be able to earn heaven. This is what was being taught in the church during his life and as we will see, this is also what he wanted to reform. In the language of our text for today, Luther became a slave to works righteousness.
 

The “truth” that young Martin Luther was taught and believed was that if you were good enough, if you kept from sinning, if you did what was right, then you would be justified, then you could stand before God as a just person, deserving eternal life and heaven. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately for us, the more young Martin Luther tried to justify himself before God, the more he felt unjust and undeserving. More than once young Dr. Luther fasted to the point of almost starving himself to death. He would beat himself in hopes of appeasing, what he believed to be, an angry, vengeful God. And so, Dr. Luther really kept himself in a vicious cycle of trying to appease God, thinking he had to do more and so he tried to beat himself more, fast more, confess more, and that only made him realize he could not do enough to appease God, so he tried even harder.
 

Young Dr. Luther did not know the truth. He was like many people in our world today. We live in a world where truth has become relative. What may be true for me may not be true for you and what may be true for you may not be true for me, or so the world would have us believe. Today, in our world, truth is validated, not by facts, but by feeling. If I feel it, it must be true, at least for me. I am here to proclaim to you that there are not many truths, that each one of us does not possess our own individual truth, but that there is one and only one truth. There is only one absolute truth. I know that goes against the world and against our culture, but I, and the whole Christian Church for that matter, cannot do otherwise. The very reason we are in the mess we are in, having various truths, is because we do not know the Truth. In answer to the question of “What is truth?” the only answer we can give is the answer of Truth Himself, that is, that Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Apart from Jesus there is and can be no truth. Why do we have such a problem with truth in our world today? Because we live in a truth-less, Jesus-less world.
 

John tells us, in our Gospel reading, that it is faith in Jesus Christ alone which brings us into all truth and which makes us a part of God’s family. We are not a part of God’s family by physical birth nor DNA. We are not a part of God’s family by who we know. We are not a part of God’s family because we are so good and deserve to be a part. We are only a part of God’s family by faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus makes Him our brother and God our Father, then we are a part of the family. When it comes to eternal life in heaven it truly is not what you know, but who you know, or better, who knows you!
 

Young Dr. Luther’s problem was that he was not a part of the family. Young Dr. Luther’s problem was that he was a slave to everything except Jesus. For young Dr. Luther, the Scripture reading, “The just shall live by faith,” meant that he had to be just, he had to live a just life, he had to do what was right in order to stand before God and be declared righteous. It was only after his eyes were open by the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God that Dr. Luther came to understand the truth. The truth is that “the just shall live by faith,” means that we are declared just and right before God, not by our own accord, but by faith in Jesus Christ. We, you and I, can never do enough good things, we could never fast enough, we could never beat ourselves enough, we could never do anything enough in order to pay the price, to work off the cost of what our sins have earned. And believe me, our sins have earned plenty. We are born in sin and daily we add to our sin. And the cost of our sin, the wage of our sin is death, eternal spiritual death, hell. Maybe, before we turn to the Gospel, too quickly, we need to spend some time with young Dr. Luther in the Law. We need to spend more time in the Law, because until we realize that left to ourselves we are deserving of nothing less than eternal life in hell, the Gospel will mean little or nothing to us. To young Dr. Luther the thought of deserving hell was devastating and that is what drove him to do all he could to redeem himself. Perhaps we might need to spend time contemplating our destiny apart from Jesus Christ, because, you see, a part from Jesus Christ, we are, you and I are, deserving of eternal spiritual death in hell. And that ought to be pretty scary for us.
 

But there is good news. The good news is that hell is what Jesus suffered for us, for you and for me, in our place. Jesus took all our sins upon Himself and paid the price, the wage, the cost for our sin. He suffered eternal spiritual death for us. That is what young Dr. Luther realized when he came to a proper understanding that, “the just shall live by faith,” means that we are made just in God’s eyes by faith. By faith Jesus’ life becomes our life. By faith Jesus’ suffering becomes our suffering, by faith Jesus’ death becomes our death. And by faith Jesus’ resurrection becomes our resurrection. Notice that it is no longer we who are doing anything, but it is Jesus who is doing the doing.
 

When Dr. Luther understood the Gospel, that Gospel set him free. Dr. Luther understood that no amount of fasting, no amount of beating himself, no amount of anything could pay for his sins. No amount of money could pay for his sins. His sins, the cost, the wage, the price for his sins had been paid, in full, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus. Dr. Luther rejoiced in his new found freedom in the Gospel and from that day forward began boldly to proclaim that same freedom to others who, like him, were devastated by the constraints of the Law.
 

Which brings us back to our Reformation celebration. You see, as Dr. Luther grew in his faith and understanding of the truth of the Gospel, he began more and more to see the false teachings of the church of his day. You might say that the straw that broke the camel’s back was the selling of indulgences, that is the selling of the forgiveness of sins. The story goes that on one of his walks through town, Dr. Luther stubbled over one of his parishioners who was on the ground drunk as a skunk. When Dr. Luther told him that he would be waiting for him to come to confession later in the week, the man held up a piece of paper and boldly stated that he did not need to come to confession anymore because he had paid good money for his sins to be taken care of. In other words, he had paid money for his sins to be forgiven so he no longer had to worry about sin, instead, he could live life as he wished with no repercussions, or so he thought.
 

It was this event as well as many other similar events which stirred Dr. Luther to sit down and write his 95 theses or statements for debate. These statements were written in Latin, the language of the educated, because he was looking to debate these concerns with others who were educated in the theology and teachings of the church. His sole intent was to correct and to reform what he knew were some false teachings of the church. He knew that church would be full on All Saints day, November 1, so on the eve of all Saints Day, on All Hallow’s Eve as it is called or as it has been mispronounced today on Halloween, he posted his statements for debate.
 

You might remember that a man named Gutenberg had invented what is called the printing press at about this time and so Dr. Luther’s statements were quickly translated into the language of the people, printed and distributed for everyone to read and that is what started what we now call the reformation.
 

I believe there is an adage which reminds us that we need to study and be mindful of our past history lest we are doomed to repeat such history. We live in a world not unlike the world of Dr. Luther’s day. We live in a world where it is believed by many that it is our character, it is our good deeds, it is our sincerity of faith, it is our living as God’s people which will bring us to some sort of eternal existence. Jesus tells us that we are saved by His grace alone, through faith in Him alone. Both faith and the object of faith are important. It is our faith which brings us the truth. It is our faith which makes us members of Jesus’ family. It is our faith which makes us the people we are, little Christ’s or Christians. Here again, as we have been hearing over the past several weeks, we are to have faith as a child, not trusting in anything of our own, being completely helpless, but trusting and clinging to Jesus alone who sets us free.
 

Jesus said it best in our Gospel reading, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” As His disciples, being given, strengthened and kept in faith through His means of grace, holding on to His teaching, the very Word of God, we rejoice and say, to God be the glory. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.