Transfiguration - February 27, 2022 - Transfiguration Sunday - Text: Luke 9:28-36

According to our church year calendar, today is a special day. Today is what we have come to call Transfiguration Sunday. This morning we have the opportunity to get a glimpse of Jesus’ relationship with His special friends, Peter, James and John, the three closest disciples who are often known as Jesus’ inner circle. What a treat they received on the mountain of transfiguration, even if they did not realize it at the time.
 

So, let us get right to our text. Our text begins by telling us that about eight days had gone by since the last events had taken place. You may have noticed that the Epiphany season is longer this year. And actually the longest the Epiphany season lasts is eight weeks. Anyway, because of the length of the Epiphany season this year we have been able to cover more of the events of Jesus’ life from His birth until we reach the season of Lent which begins on Wednesday, Ash Wednesday. Those last events according to Luke were eight days ago and were the questioning of the disciples by Jesus concerning His identity, who other people thought He was and who His own disciples believed Him to be. Those last events included Peter’s confession for himself and his fellow disciples that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now, after these eight days we are told that Jesus took, what we have called, His inner circle of disciples, Peter, James and John with Him, up on the mountain for the purpose of spending time in prayer. Certainly we see this as an example and a teaching for these disciples, and us of the importance of prayer. Jesus spent much of His time in prayer with His Father in heaven. If Jesus, who is true God, needed to spend time in prayer, how much more do we, in our own lives, need to spend time in prayer and Divine Service.
 

As Jesus was praying, we are told; and we are not necessarily told that Peter, James and John were praying, and perhaps that was their downfall; but as Jesus was praying, Peter, James and John fell asleep (v. 32). If this were simply a book of literature we may be told that this may be a foreshadowing of things to come. Remember, in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus was in prayer on the night in which He was betrayed, the disciples fell asleep there as well.
 

Anyway, while they slept, Jesus was transfigured, He was changed. The appearance of His face was altered and His clothes became dazzling white, according to Luke. Matthew says they were “white as light” (Matt. 17:2) and Mark says they were “radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them” (Mark 2:3). I guess describing Jesus in His heavenly glory is not an easy task. Anyway, Luke says He then met with Moses and Elijah. Remember, Jesus came to this earth, after giving up the glory that was His in heaven. He came as true God in human flesh in order to do for us what we are unable to do, in and of ourselves. Jesus came to live perfectly for us, in our place. Jesus came to obey all of God’s laws perfectly for us in our place, because we are unable to do so, according to our inborn sinful nature. And so, here come Moses and Elijah, we might say, to check up on Jesus. So, Jesus met Moses, the Law giver to make sure He had fulfilled all the Law, perfectly.
 

And Jesus met with Elijah. Elijah was one of the most revered prophets, at least during Jesus’ life. It was not the case during his own life as we heard at the beginning of our Epiphany season. Yet, here is Elijah, the Prophet to make sure that Jesus had fulfilled all the prophecies, all the promises of God concerning the coming Messiah, perfectly.
 

Luke tells us that one of the things they discussed with Jesus was His departure, that is, His suffering, death, resurrection and ascension. Remember, back at Christmas we were reminded that this cute, precious baby whose birth we celebrated in a manger, this cute baby was born for a purpose, to live the perfect life demanded of us, to fulfill all the Laws of God, perfectly for us, to fulfill all the promises of God concerning the Messiah, to take our sins and to suffer and to die. Jesus came to restore our broken relationship with God the Father. The only way to restore that relationship was to pay the price for our sins that broke that relationship. Indeed, not only Adam and Eve’s sin, but our own sin broke our relationship with God the Father. We daily sin much and are in need of forgiveness. And in and of ourselves, we are unable to restore our relationship with our Father in heaven. That is why Jesus came. Jesus was born, in the shadow of the cross. Jesus always had the cross in front of Him. And now, here, talking with Moses and Elijah, He was making sure that all things were in place for His death.
 

Finally, the disciples woke up. They saw Jesus in all His glory. They saw the two men, Moses and Elijah standing with Jesus. And notice that here too we get another glimpse of heaven and what heaven will be like. Notice that Peter does not have to ask, but he knows that this is Moses and Elijah as he proposes to build shelters, tents for Jesus, for Moses and for Elijah. How awesome, in heaven we will not need name tags. We will know everyone and we will be known by everyone.
 

And we are told that Peter made his suggestions about building the three shelters because he did not know what to say. Peter simply wanted to continue this wonderful “mountain top” experience. I believe that if we were in the same situation, we might have the same idea as Peter.
 

Moses and Elijah departed and we are told that a cloud enveloped them and then they heard the voice of God the Father from the cloud, testifying of Jesus, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to Him!” And then Jesus spoke and the disciples found themselves alone again with Jesus.
 

What a wonderful, grand, even mountain top experience. The disciples, Peter, James and John, had the opportunity to see Jesus in His heavenly glory, right here on earth. Certainly that was a sight to see. Unfortunately, for their sake, they were not able to share this event with the rest of the disciples, nor with anyone until after Jesus’ resurrection. As we are told, as they went down the mountain Jesus told them to tell no one about this event until after His ascension.
 

Okay, So what? First of all, we know that Jesus is truly human. He is a man, born of a woman. He is human just like you and me, except for one important detail, He never sinned. The reason Jesus was born as human was so that He could do for us what we are unable to do. We are conceived and born in sin. He was conceived and born in perfection. We daily sin much and are in need of forgiveness. He never sinned and has no need of forgiveness. We are separated from God the Father. Ours is a broken relationship, broken in the Garden of Eden and broken every time we sin. And we do sin. We break the commandments on a daily, if not on an hourly bases. Remember, if we only sinned thirty times a day, as a conservative estimate, times 365 days in a year, that is over 10,000 sins a year, times how old we are and we see that our sins add up. We cannot save ourselves. Left to ourselves we would be liable for all our sins, the price of which is death, even eternal death and hell. Jesus shows He is human because we see Him get tired and hungry, have emotions as He cried for His friends, and so forth. Jesus is truly human and this is important so that He might be our substitute, that is so that He might give His life for ours.
 

Not only is Jesus truly human, He is truly divine, that is, He is God. Jesus is God in flesh. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, making Him truly divine. He shows that He is divine through the signs, wonders and miracles He performed, healing, feeding five thousand, feeding four thousand, casting out demons, raising the dead, walking on water, and so on. It is important that Jesus is truly God, because only God could do the things that Jesus did. It is important that He is God so that He might live perfectly for us.
 

As Christians, and as sinful human beings, we acknowledge that apart from Jesus and faith in Jesus we have no hope, only eternal separation from Jesus and eternal death in hell. Even more important than our earthly relationships with family and friend, is our relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
 

At Christmas we celebrated the birth of the Christ child, born in Bethlehem, laid in a manger. At that time we were reminded that the baby was born for a purpose and that purpose was to suffer and die for our sins on the cross. That was God’s plan of salvation. This morning we continue to see God’s plan of salvation being worked out through Jesus. How does this salvation become ours? How do we gain access to God’s good gifts and blessings? Simple, God gives salvation and all His gifts and blessing to us. Jesus earned forgiveness on the cross and He gives it to us along with all His gifts and blessings. He gives them to you and He gives them to me. He gives them to us through the means that He has given us and that is through His means of Grace. Through the Word of God, which is not like any other book, but is a book with power and authority. Through His Word He gives us His good gifts and blessings. As we read and hear His Word, it does what it says, it gives forgiveness, it gives faith, it strengthens and keeps us in faith. And through His Sacraments, Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Through these means our Lord comes to give us His good gifts and blessings. And through confession and absolution our Lord gives us what He says, forgiveness of sins.
 

There is only one way to get to heaven and that is by being perfect. Thus, left to ourselves we would not have a chance. It is only as we are given forgiveness of sins, earned by Jesus’ perfect life, perfect suffering, death, and resurrection that we are given forgiveness. Thus, it is so important that we daily repent in order to daily be given His forgiveness which results in life and salvation. And He gives us this forgiveness through confession and absolution, through His Word and through Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which remind us of how important it is that we make regular and diligent use of these means, each and every Sunday and as often as offered, even and especially during the Wednesday mid-week services of Advent and Lent.
 

To encourage us in our Christian faith and life, this morning we get a glimpse of Jesus’ glory and the glory which will be ours. The glory with which He will robe us, with His robes of righteousness when He gathers us and all the saints on the last day.
 

What is left? Simply giving thanks and praise. Everything has been done for us and in our place. Jesus has accomplished everything for us. There is nothing left for us to do except give thanks to the Lord for all His good gifts and blessings. Certainly, we may refuse His gifts and we do that by not confessing our sins, not reading His Word, not being in Divine Service and Bible Class. Yet, our Lord continues to be patient, loving and forgiving. He is always working to draw us to Himself through His Word and Sacraments. May the Lord continue to work on you and in your life, calling you to faith, giving you faith, strengthening and keeping you in faith until Christ comes again. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Are You Blessed or Woe Is You? - February 13, 2022 - Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany - Text: Luke 6:17-26

Very often Jesus would spend time preaching to the people in the open country. In our text for today Luke brings us the first part of one account of Jesus’ message to the people who had gathered to hear Him. At this time Jesus popularity brought people from all over who wanted to hear Him, to touch Him, to be touched by Him, to be blessed by Him, to have Him bless their children. People came who were troubled by evil spirits so that He would cure them. It strikes me that many who were coming were there only to see what they could get from Jesus. Certainly there were those in the crowd who came to hear, believe and live their faith and yet, there were certainly many others who simply came to selfishly get what they could. I think we must all admit that this scene is not unlike what our churches look like today. How often do we have people who simply come to church to get what they can? And, yes, there are those many others who come to hear, believe and live their faith.
 

The question we might each ask ourselves this morning is, “What type of Christian are we?” “Are we blessed or should we heed the woes of our text?” Luke tells us that Jesus looked at His disciples and spoke these words of blessing and woe. This morning we will line up together the words of blessings and woe and ask the question, “are we blessed?”
 

We begin by comparing and contrasting verse twenty and verse twenty-four. Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (v. 20). And He contrasts that with the words, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation” (v. 24). We need to understand that Jesus is not talking about material blessings, about being financially poor, rather He is talking about those who realize they are poor in spirit, that is, those who realize their constant need to be forgiven and to have their spirit refreshed by the Word of God. These Christians He places in contrast to people who believe they can find peace and happiness in this world and the things of this world. Woe to those who think they are rich in spirit and do not see their need to be in the Word. These are those who think they are good people, or at least better than the really bad people and they think they know the answer to all of life’s questions and have no further need for the crutch of the Word of God and faith. To follow the course of this “woe” ultimately means eternal death. To follow the course of this “blessing” ultimately means eternal life. Are you blessed? Where do you find peace?
 

Next, we compare and contrast the first part of verse twenty-one and the first part of verse twenty-five. Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied” (v. 21a). And He contrasts that with the words, “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry” (v. 25a). Jesus is not talking about physical hunger, but spiritual hunger. When Sunday morning comes around, and even on Saturday, do you look forward to and eagerly anticipate being in Divine Service, being reminded of your Baptism, confessing your sins and hearing God’s word of absolution, hearing God’s Word read and proclaimed and being given Jesus’ body and blood in His Holy Supper? Do you seek other opportunities and reasons for reading your Bible and studying God’s Word? Do you hunger and thirst after the Word of God? How do I say it? When it comes to the Word of God and His means of grace do you have a desire for it? These people are put in contrast to those who think they have graduated from studying, reading and hearing God’s Word. They think they know everything there is to know about God. Their worship attendance is sporadic, although they might believe that their once a month, or twice a month attendance is regular. They do not exercise their faith in any way, serving on boards or committees and the like. They do not understand the idea of being good stewards of God’s good gifts and blessings but rather think they are doing God a favor by periodically giving some of their hard earned money to the church. To follow the course of this “woe,” also, ultimately means eternal death. To follow the course of this “blessing” ultimately means eternal life. Are you blessed? What is your attitude when it comes to Sunday morning? What is your attitude when it comes to the means of grace? What is your attitude when it comes to your personal reading of God’s Word? What is you attitude when it comes to living your faith?
 

Now let us consider the second half of verse twenty-one compared to the second half of verse twenty-five. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (v. 21b). “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep” (v. 25b). Jesus is not talking about those who weep for selfish reasons. He is not talking about those who are upset because they were caught sinning. When Jesus is talking about those who weep He is talking about those who are sorry of their sins and the consequences of their actions. I believe that too often in our society people are not so much sorry for their actions, their sins, what they have done wrong, so much as they are sorry that they got caught doing something wrong. Here Jesus is reminding us of the ultimate cost of our sins, His life. Yes, it is our sins, our little sins, our big sins, our sins of breaking the commandments, our sins of thinking we can find peace here on this earth, our sins of refusing God’s gifts by not being in Divine Serve and not reading our Bibles, our sins of not living our faith, our sins of not acknowledging our part in Jesus’ death, that is, that it is because of our sins, my sins, that Jesus had to die on the cross. Blessed are those who weep, but woe to those who have no contrition for their ways and sins. Woe to those who do not give thought to their words and actions, as well as their thoughts, because remember, our sin does not begin with an action, our sin has its roots in our thoughts which often prompt us to speak sinfully and to act sinfully. To follow the course of this “woe” ultimately means eternal death. To follow the course of this “blessing” ultimately means eternal life. Are you blessed? Do you lament your part in Jesus’ death or do you try to make excuses so that Jesus really did not have to die too much for you?
 

Finally, we compare and contrast verse twenty-two and verse twenty-six. “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!” (v. 22). Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets” (v.26). Martyrdom is not often seen in our world today, rather, more often than not, we compromise our faith and confession. It is truly difficult to be a Christian in our world today. It is difficult to hold on to the teachings and practices of our Lord. Christians, true Christians are those who are hated, excluded and insulted because they are Christians. It is so much easier to be a “closet” Christian and to compartmentalize our lives and just be a Christian on Sunday mornings. In contrast to this is the woe. Woe to those who are spoken well of, honored, and well treated in this world, for they are now receiving their reward. Are we praised for our ability to compromise and accommodate others, meaning that we are tolerant of other peoples faith and life style even if it is to their detriment? When it comes to good works of service, do we do only those things which gain praise for us in this world, or do we not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing so that our praise is not here on this earth, but is awaiting us in heaven? To follow the course of this “woe” ultimately means eternal death. To follow the course of this “blessing” ultimately means eternal life. Are you blessed? Do you let your light so shine before people that they see your faith, even if it means rejection? Do you do those good works which God would have you to do even if and especially when they are not seen by others so that your glory is awaiting your in heaven?
 

By now, most of us are probably feeling pretty rotten, because most of us must admit that according to these words of Jesus, which are meant as words of encouragement, find us guilty of not being the Christians He would have us to be. And yet, Jesus does remind us that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just and forgives our sins. He also reminds us that He will help us to do the good works which He has for us to do and in our text He tells us, “Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” (v. 23). In other words, as He works through our lives and as we face the persecution which is ahead of us, we are to rejoice because our reward is great in heaven.
 

So, what about us? Are we blessed? Thanks be to God that He is always waiting to forgive us and give us a second chance, at least while we are in this world. He is waiting and ready to forgive and give us a second chance earned by Jesus. It was Jesus’ perfect life, lived for us. It was Jesus’ taking our sins upon Himself and suffering the eternal punishment of hell for our sins. It was Jesus’ resurrection which earned this forgiveness and second chance for each one of us, for you and for me. Thus, we are blessed when we put our complete faith and trust in Jesus. We are blessed when we confess our sins and are given forgiveness. We are blessed when we live our lives centered and focused on Him. We are blessed when we realize that there is always more about God that we do not know and so we see our need to constantly be in His Word.
 

We are blessed when we hunger and thirst after the Word of God, when we not only find the time, but when we make the time to read the Word of God, daily, and when we make the time to be in Divine Service at every opportunity.
 

We are blessed when we confess that we are sorry for our sins and the consequences of our actions, especially the fact that Jesus had to give His life for our sins. We are blessed when we confess that we are worse than the next person and so we know our need to confess in order to be given His forgiveness.
 

We are blessed when we seek our reward not in this world but in the world to come. Ultimately we are blessed when we realize that we can do none of this in and of ourselves, but only with the help and by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
 

May the Lord bless you so that you might first seek Him and His Kingdom so that you might find peace with Him. May the Lord bless you so that you might hunger and thirst after His Word and a closer relationship with Him. May the Lord bless you so that you might be truly sorry for your sins and your part in His death. May the Lord bless you so that you rejoice in your forgiveness, earned by Jesus. May the Lord bless you so that you might be encouraged in your doing the good works that He has for you to do even when and especially when they are known only by Him. May the Lord bless you for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

From Now on You Will Catch Men! - February 6, 2022 - Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany - Text: Luke 5:1-11

This morning we continue to follow along as Dr. Luke, the physician and historian, weaves the facts of the life and times of our Lord and Savior, the Messiah, Christ the Lord. Luke has spent considerable time presenting the facts concerning Jesus humanity, that is that He is truly human. He has spent considerable time presenting the facts concerning Jesus divinity, that is that He is truly divine, truly God. Two weeks ago we following along with Jesus as He spent the Sabbath Day in the synagogue, as was His custom, proclaiming to His hometown people, family and friends that He is the Messiah, the one about whom what He read was speaking. And we saw how Jesus was rejected, run out of town and how they tried to kill Him. Last week we followed along as Jesus continued to preach and teach and witnessed His casting out the demon from the man as well as heal Peter’s mother-in-law and healing many others. This morning Luke brings us to the beginning of another day and another proof of Jesus’ identity. One thing that I ask as we go through our text for today, the same thing I ask every time we go through a text, is that we watch the “who” is doing the “what.”
 

Getting into our text; the account begins with verse one, “1On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat” (v. 1-3). The first thing we notice in this text is how the people wanted so much to hear Jesus. The people were crowding around him in order to listen to the Word of God. At first this may sound like no big deal, because we know that Jesus is gaining popularity, but when we think about it we realize that it is a big deal because, this shows that the Word of God has the power of the Holy Spirit working through it, and we know that Jesus works through His Word to draw us all to Himself, that is why it is called a means of grace.
 

It is a wonderful thing to see that Jesus was always ready to preach, to share the good news of salvation by grace through faith with the people. We often read in the Bible how Jesus went off to be alone to pray, but He was always ready to give up His time in order to preach the good news. In our text we see that He finds the best possible place from which to preach, so that everyone can hear. The best possible place is out in the water, a little out from the shore so that everyone sitting on the shore can hear as well as see.
 

As we move on in our text we see one of the signs, or miracles, that show us that Jesus is truly God, that He is the Messiah whom He professed to be. “4And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink” (v. 4-7).
 

Our text tells us that Jesus is speaking to Peter. To put this into perspective we might say that Jesus, the preacher is speaking to Peter, the professional fisherman. Jesus knows about proclaiming the Word of God to people. Peter knows about catching fish, it is what he does for a living, at least what he did do until now.
 

Jesus tells Peter to “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” First, notice that Jesus does not say that you might get a catch, but “for a catch.” Now, Peter answers with an explanation, not really an objection. He tells Jesus that they have fished all night, in the choice spot, knowing what they are doing, because they are professionals. How would you like it if I came to your work and tried to tell you how to do your job. Your first thought would be, “This guy does not know what he is talking about. I have been doing this all my life and I know what I am doing.” But rather than make a scene, because I am your pastor, you simply try to explain to me that you really do know what you are doing, but if it will make me happy you will try it my way. Notice that Peter never loses his sense of respect for Jesus. He recognizes Him as the Master, the teacher, “But at [Jesus’] word,” he casts out the nets.
 

If you took my advise at you work, I know that you will not get the same results as Peter did, because I am obviously not Jesus. Peter followed Jesus suggestion and he had great results. Peter and his partners had a great catch of fish. This catch of fish was a miracle of Jesus, showing His authority over all of creation. Now, there are some people who would like to explain this event, not wanting to admit that it was a miracle, but as I see it that desire for an explanation is simply a way for some people wanting to be smarter than God. If you can explain God away then you do not need to worry about Him. In essence, you become your own god. We know that Jesus performed a miracle. This miracle showed His divinity, His authority over creation. And if you were wondering, this is not the same miracle that is recorded at the end of John’s Gospel. This miracle came at the beginning of His ministry, the other came after His resurrection. However, both miracles are meant to show Jesus as who He is, true God, true man, Savior of the world.
 

Continuing on in our text we next hear Peter’s confession.  “8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ 9For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men’” (v. 8-10a).  Peter’s confession had two parts, first that Jesus is Lord and second he confessed his own sin. The effect that Jesus had on Peter is the same effect He has on us. When we realize that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lord, how can we do anything else except confess our sins and look to Him for forgiveness, because He is the one who earned our forgiveness by His death on the cross. How fitting it is then that at the beginning of our Divine service on Sunday mornings, we confess our sins and hear those most beautiful words, “Your sins are forgiven.”
 

Not only was Peter effected, so were James and John who were astonished, in awe, of what they had just witnessed. How else could they be? Here they were, professional fishermen, who knew their trade quite well. They had fished hard all night, when they knew was the best time to fish. They had fished in what they knew to be the best place to fish and had come up empty. Now, this professional teacher comes along, who probably knows as much about fishing as they do about teaching and tells them how to catch fish. And He is right.
 

Immediately, as these thoughts are going through their heads, Jesus calls them to follow Him as His disciples as we read “And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him” (v. 10b-aa). It would seem that they did not know how to catch fish, how would they be able to catch people? They could not see how Jesus performed the miracle He just did, yet they are to believe it, because they did see it. Jesus’ words of “don’t be afraid,” might include words to say that even if they do not see the work their words will do, as fisher’s of men, that God will work through them as they speak His Word, to bring others to faith. In other words, they are not to depend on themselves in their endeavor to be fisher’s of men, because God will give the catch, just like Jesus did with the catch of fish. Remember, earlier, I ask you to listen for who is doing what. Jesus is the one directing the catch of fish. Jesus is the one calling the disciples to follow Him. Jesus is the one giving them the faith and strength to go out and do whatever He asks them to do. Jesus is the one who is doing the what, the doing, the everything and it is this way in all aspects of our own lives too. Jesus is the one who is always doing everything for us, and in and through us.
 

The effect of the immediate call of Jesus was that Peter, James and John left everything and followed Him. Applying this to our lives we might ask ourselves, do we leave everything to follow Jesus? Now, before we waste too much time trying to justify ourselves, let me assure you, the Lord does not ask us to leave everything to follow Him, although He would like us to strive, with the help of the Holy Spirit to leave the sinfulness of this world.
 

So, what does this text mean for us today? First of all it means that we understand the difference between an immediate call by God and a mediate call from God. Although God can call people immediately, His usual way of working with us in this world today is to call us mediately. In other words, to call us immediately would mean that God comes to us Himself and speaks to us, the way Jesus came and called His disciples. That is not God’s usual way of working with us today. God’s usual way of working with us to day is through means. You remember, God works through the means of grace to bring us to faith and to keep us in our faith. God calls us today mediately that is through means. He calls us through the means of His Word and His Sacraments, Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
 

God calls us to faith through His Word and then He calls us to live lives of faith and witness. But He does not just leave us to our own devices. Just like He taught the Apostles and His disciples while He was here on earth, so He continues to teach us and give us the ability to live lives of faith and witness.
 

And more, God gives us His authority and the promise that He will be with us. You know, each week we have the privilege to come to Divine Service and be given all God’s good gifts and blessings. Gifts and blessing earned by His perfect life, perfect suffering, perfect death and resurrection for us, in our place. Every day most of us, I would suppose, have a Bible we can read. We are most certainly blessed. However, I wonder how many of us take these blessings for granted. We live in a relatively free country where we can worship as we choose. That is not the way it is in most of the rest of the world. There are many people with many stories of what persecution has come to them or to their family and friends because of their faith. My prayer, every day, for each of you is that you might be renewed in your faith, that you might be reinvigorated in your faith, that you might be encouraged to get excited, enough to move you to greater works of service to the Lord in His kingdom.
 

Our text for this morning is a wonderful reminder to each one of us that we are, each one, individually known, called and bought back by God. He knows us and He has called us. He calls us to faith through His Word and through His sacraments. He calls us to be strengthened in our faith through these same means, His Word and Sacraments. He calls us to daily repent and be given His forgiveness, earned by His suffering and death on the cross. He calls us to be His disciples meaning that we are to get excited about our faith and live our faith with an urgency so that others might see our faith, so that others might come to know our Savior, so that as many people as possible might have eternal life. Yes, He calls us all to be fishers of men! To God be the glory. Amen.

February Newsletter Thoughts

On December (24) 25, we celebrated Christmas and the birth of the One promised back in the Garden of Eden, the One reiterated to Abraham, the One promised to save the world, even God in human flesh.
 

On January 1, we celebrated the circumcision and naming of Jesus. Indeed we celebrated His fulfilling the Law for us, in our place.
 

On January 2, we celebrated Jesus’ first Jewish festival, the Passover and perhaps His bar mitzvah. I believe it is interesting that Jesus’ first festival was the Passover because one of the last things He will do before going to the cross is that we will give to us His Holy Supper, the Lord’s Supper from this Passover. I very often use this connection to help people understand the Real Presence of Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
 

On January 9, we celebrated Jesus’ Baptism and again, His fulfilling of all that is necessary for salvation, for us.
 

On January 16, we celebrated Jesus’ first miracle, the changing of water into wine at the wedding in Cana. This miracle is one of the signs, wonders and miracles the Gospel writer especially John points out proving that Jesus is truly God along with being truly human.
 

So, in four to five weeks we have celebrated 30 years of Jesus’ life. For us Lutherans, the Church year and the events of the Church year are very important. As we walk through the Church year and these events we are taught, we are strengthened, we are given the gifts the Lord has to give so that we are always ready to give an answer for the hope we have in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
 

I must say, maybe a bit tongue in cheek, that I am usually in awe of my “Bible-Believing” Christian friends because when I am asked and when I am able to give an answer especially concerning the means of grace, they do not seem to have an answer as to the “where”, the “why” and the “what for” of Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution and Holy Communion.
 

Because even among the members of our own congregations there are many who have not learned or have forgotten the importance of the means of grace, I am constantly placing this wonderful gift before them. Our own sanctuary bears witness of what we believe, teach and confess. As you enter our sanctuary, your eyes are drawn to the cross. Hopefully the cross reminds us of our sins and our need to repent, but also of our Savior who had to be a human in order to be our substitute, trading His perfect human life for our imperfect, sinful human life.
 

From the cross our eyes move down and to the left where we see the baptismal font, and we are reminded, as well as through the invocation, that we have entered into the Church through the waters of Holy Baptism. Jesus, using the pastor’s hand, puts water on our heads, and using the pastor’s mouth, speaks His name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit on us, claiming us and making us His child.
 

From the baptismal font our eyes move down to communion rail where our pastor kneels in confession and then rises allowing God to speak through him the most precious words we can hear, that our sins are forgiven because we know that with forgiveness is life and salvation. We know those are the most precious words because with forgiveness is life and salvation.
 

From the rail our eyes move up and to the right where we see the pulpit. From the pulpit our pastor reads and preaches God’s Word, the heart and power of Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution and the Holy Supper.
 

Finally, our eyes move to the center of the altar area where we see (not a band set up) the altar and the Holy Supper of our Lord where-in He gives us His body to eat and His blood to drink, not in any symbolic manner, but in a real way so that our Lord becomes a physical part of us. His perfect life becomes our perfect life, His suffering becomes our suffering, His death becomes our death and His resurrection becomes our resurrection.
 

Why am I Lutheran? Because we get justification right, we get sanctification right, we get Law and Gospel right, we get salvation right. Indeed, I cannot say it enough, we get it right when we point to Jesus, and our means of grace, Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, the Holy Supper and the power of these of grace is the Holy Word which gives the gifts God has to give and we can rest assured we have the certainty that we are given to. Thanks be to God.