In the Name of Jesus
Luke 4,16-21 0812Neujahrstag 011 weiß
Circumcision of the Lord, and Name of Jesus
1. January 2012
1. O Christ Jesus, the Bearer of the Holy Scriptures, You proclaimed in Your public ministry the gospel by which You rescued those who are in a malaise. At times the world and the Church respond to this with anger and frustration, for our sinful nature always seeks to take control and do things our way and in our timing. The world, however, needs Your gospel proclaimed to the four corners of the earth, for there are many people still in bondage to sin, death and the devil. The Church, however, needs Your preaching of the Lord’s grace, for a number of Christians do not understand the depth of Your loving-kindness. Help us, O Christ, as the Church and as individual Christians, to proclaim the gospel and preach Your mercy. Encourage us to support those efforts in Your Church with our lives, our fortunes and our honor. Amen.
2. And Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read. And the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah was given to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: »The Spirit of Yahweh is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s grace« [Isaiah 61,1-2a]. And He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them: „Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.“ This is our text.
3. Today is the first day of 2012, and it is a year of God’s grace! Throughout this year, especially as we draw closer to December, many will cry that this is the year that the world will end. To be sure, 2012 will have its share of wars and rumors of war, signs in the heavens and natural disasters, just as every year past has experienced, but above all 2012 is a year of God’s mercy for it is another year in which the gospel will be proclaimed throughout the world in churches from pulpits like ours.
4. But will people believe this? Will you believe that this is a year of great opportunity and gospel proclamation in our borough? In A.D. 30 the Nazarene Jews did not believe it was a year of grace, for they were still living under the old testament. In their minds it was still a year of the law where Moses reigned. Who are you, Jesus, to declare this is a year of the new testament? The old testament with Moses has served us well for centuries, and we are happy with the way things are. We do not want any changes. We know who you are Jesus; you are a carpenter and the son of a carpenter. Your parents are Joseph and Mary; your brothers and sisters live in town. You are not a prophet nor are you the Messiah, for you are merely a carpenter. Because the Nazarenes refused to believe Jesus, many of them missed out on the opportunity to be disciples of Jesus and His ministry of grace.
5. „Those who see God as angry do not see Him rightly, but look upon a curtain as if a dark storm cloud has been drawn across His face. If we truly believe that Christ is our Savior, then we have a God of love and to see God in faith is to look upon His friendly heart“ (Luther). The devil, the world and your own sinful flesh all conspire to convince you that God wants to punish you and condemn you to eternal torment in hell. But God is no longer angry at you, nor does He approach you as a Vengeful God. Christ Jesus shows us God’s friendly heart. When the devil or your conscience throw your sins in your face and threaten you that you deserve damnation in hell, remember that, yes, this is true, but you know the one who suffered and died in your place, the one who bore all of God’s hellish wrath on the cross, Jesus Christ your Savior. He has made satisfaction on your behalf and where Jesus is you too shall be. Jesus is in heaven preparing your mansion. You will dwell with Him forever in eternal glory.
6. What about you? Will you miss out on all that Jesus plans to do this year through our church? Will you be satisfied with the status quo? Will you be content with thinking small instead of expecting great things from Jesus this year? This is the year of God’s grace!
7. This grace is proclaimed in the Word, poured out in Holy Baptism, spoken with the words of Absolution and received at this altar in the Lord’s Supper. God’s grace is offered to you and you receive it by faith in the full assurance that all your sins are forgiven.
8. This is the year of Yahweh’s grace! Jesus is here for you. Are you afflicted? Are you in bondage to some Anfechtung (spiritual attack)? Are you sick or oppressed by an ailment or tribulation? Be of good cheer, for Jesus was born to set you free and this freedom from sin, death and the devil is given to you freely as a gift, a gift of Christ’s mercy and grace. 2012 is another year in which Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, pours out His gifts upon His Church, and through the Church das Pfarramt (the Pastoral Office of the Holy Ministry), that is both die Seelsorger (the carer of souls) and das Predigtamt (the preaching office), gives Christ’s gifts of Word and Sacraments to you as an individual.
9. Yes, this is the year of God’s grace. You have this grace on account of Christ Jesus. Live this year in peace and joy, for Christ has made you righteous in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. Amen.
10. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the Lord is upon You to preach the gospel to the poor. You have sent the Holy Spirit upon us and we believe that we are redeemed by Your grace; continue to send the Spirit upon us so that we may yield the fruits of faith and so support Your gospel with our tithes and talents so that we and many other people can hear and be absolved from our sins, for repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in Christ’s Name to all nations. Amen.
One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Luther. Copyright © 2003 MGM.
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