Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: January 2013

Saturday, January 19, 2013

John 1,29-34. 1st Sunday after Epiphany

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

John 1,29-34 813

1. Sonntag nach Epiphanias 014

Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, France † 368

13. January 2013

1. O God, Father of all grace and mercy, we praise You that You have also revealed the Redeemer of the world unto us unenlightened Gentiles, and has enlightened us to realize that Jesus is the Light of the Gentiles and our salvation unto the ends of the earth. Grant us Divine grace to walk worthily of our heavenly calling (Löhe 455-56), receiving Him by faith whom You verbally declared to be Your beloved Son with whom You are well pleased, Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

2. The next day John the Baptizer saw Jesus coming toward him, and said: „Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said: ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because He was before me.’ I myself did not know Him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, so that He might be revealed to Israel.“ And John bore witness: „I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. I myself did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me: ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.“

3. As He approached John the Baptizer for baptism, Jesus said to him: „Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.“ For John and Jesus, it is all about δικαιοσυνην, righteousness, justification. Jesus manifests this justification throughout the Holy Gospels. The reason Jesus assumed human flesh, was born of the virgin Mary and was baptized were all on account of justification﹣the world’s justification and yours.

4. John the Baptizer attests to this justification when He prepares the way for Jesus by calling Him the Lamb of God. John proclaims: »Behold, the Lamb of God, this Jesus who takes away the sin of the world!« (John 1,29).

5. How did lambs in the Old Testament take away Israel’s sin? A person went the temple in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice for his or her sin. The person could either bring their own lamb or buy one in the temple’s outer courtyard. The priest then took this lamb, laid his hands upon the lamb, thus conferring upon the innocent lamb the sin of the individual and then cut open the lamb’s neck with a knife, caught this blood in a bowl and burned both the lamb and his blood on the altar of burnt offering. »Thus the priest makes atonement for the transgressor for the sin which he or she has committed, and he or she is forgiven« (Leviticus 4,35). John the Baptizer says that Jesus is this innocent lamb offered up for sacrifice for the atonement of our sin.

6. Yes, it is not polite to talk about sin and sinners in public company. It is not politically correct to mention mankind’s sin and damnation. The average person does not want to be reminded of the truth that he or she is a sinner. We spend an exorbitant amount of energy silencing our conscience and ignoring the law, both of which remind us of this truth that we are sinners.

7. Jesus did not shun sin or talking about sin. He acknowledged people’s sin but He also absolved them of their sin. If one is going to speak about justification, then one must first speak of condemnation. Those who are under condemnation need a savior. No amount of denial, good works or any other tactic will negate the penalty of sin and sin’s punishment, which is suffering, death and everlasting separation from God. Thus the only remedy for sin and condemnation is to have a savior.

8. When John calls Jesus the Lamb of God he is rightly calling Him our Savior. John saw this Savior manifested before the world when he baptized Him and saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus and the Heavenly Voice of God the Father declared: »This Jesus is My Beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased« (Matthew 3,17).

9. Thus far in the season of Epiphany, St. Matthew has listed in his Gospel two manifestations of Jesus’ glory: the miraculous star that led the Gentiles to Him and the Divine revelation at His baptism acclaiming Him as the very Son of God, the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world and our Justifier.

10. The Apostle Paul proclaims: »the justified shall live by faith alone« (Romans 1,17). Here the will and love of the Triune God are manifested to men and women: God desires that you be forgiven and saved. The only way to do this is for God Himself to purchase our forgiveness and merit our salvation. Jesus the Justifier therefore makes you righteous and you receive this righteousness by believing on Him. What flows from this is God the Father’s approval: You are His son, you are His daughter, by Holy Baptism, and He is now well-pleased with you on account of Jesus.

11. From righteousness and faith flow hope and love. Hope is the certainty of things yet to come, for we have the promise and we patiently await the fulfillment of the promise, that is, life everlasting in God’s holy presence. Love is the water that nourishes all good works. All that we do for God: worshipping Him, giving offerings and such are works borne from love so that God and His gospel are glorified and proclaimed to the next generation. All that we do for our neighbor: helping them, uplifting them and such are works flowing from love so that the neighbor is encouraged and supported.

12. The righteous life is a life of faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior from sin, death and the devil that is lived out in this temporal life in love to both God and the neighbor. Jesus, the Righteous One, merits us righteous on His own account and merit. He sends the Holy Spirit to manifest this righteous life of faith and love in our lives, beginning with Holy Baptism and seeing it through to completion on the last day with the resurrection of the body unto life everlasting on the new heaven and earth. Amen.

13. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Justifier of the unjust, teach us to do Your will, for You are our God, so that Your Good Spirit leads us on level ground to be a rich blessing to our neighbor. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

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.

Löhe, Wilhelm. Evangelien-Postille für die Sonn- und Festage des Kirchenjahres. Copyright © 1859 Samuel Gottlieb Liesching. A sermon preached on Luke 2,41-52 for The 1. Sunday after the Epiphany. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2012.

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Isaiah 60,1-6. The Feast of the Epiphany

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Isaiah 60,1-6 713

Fest der Erscheinung des Herrn (Epiphanias) 013

Epiphany of the Lord. Matthew 2,1ff.

6. January 2013

1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, who by the leading of a star did manifest Your Only-begotten Son to the nations: Mercifully grant, that we, who know You now by faith, may also be led to behold Your Divine majesty and glory (Löhe 455). Amen.

2. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you. For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but Yahweh arises upon you, and His glory is seen upon you. And nations enter your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons arrive from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you see and are radiant; your heart thrills and exults, because the abundance of the sea is turned to you, the wealth of the nations comes to you. A multitude of camels covers you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba arrive. They bring gold and frankincense, and bring the gospel, the praises of Yahweh.

3. The Prophet Isaiah foresees the time when the Light will dawn upon Israel and the Glory of Yahweh will rise upon them. Isaiah says, however, that this Divine Light and Glory is not only for Israel, but also for all the nations. Israel liked to boast that they alone had the One True God, His holy words and His gracious mercy. Isaiah, however, had spent 59 chapters demolishing this sinful pride of Israel, for Israel, you see, was no better than the pagan nations around them: both Israel and the nations were in the dark clutches of sin, death and hell. This darkness in Israel manifested itself with pagan idolatry and contempt of their neighbors. The Church often takes up the prideful banner of Israel. It is true that we have the True God, His Word and His merciful grace, but we tend to be stuck in the darkness of idolatry and contempt just like all the unbelievers who live around us.

4. Some people erroneously believe that Christians and the Church are perfect, holy people who sin less than everybody else. The truth is: the Church is full of sinners, and Christians can be some of the most exasperating sinners on the earth. Christians are just as lost in the darkness, just as in need of forgiveness, as any other person. Christ Jesus was born to redeem both Israel and the nations and convert them into Christians. Thus we joined Simeon in His Nunc Dimittus this morning: mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a Light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy people Israel.

5. We see this Light and Glory for Israel and the nations in Jesus’ epiphany. An epiphany is a Greek loan-word that means „manifestation“. The liturgical season of Epiphany reveals the ways in which God’s glory manifested itself through Jesus. „The Jews have the proclamation and the angels singing praise, they have the shepherds, they have Joseph and Mary, they have Simeon and Hannah and they have the very sun in their midst, the newborn Christ. The Gentiles have the mysterious revelation, a wonderful morning star“ and the magi from the East, traditionally known as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. „The same grace is extended upon the Jews and the Gentiles“

(Löhe 60).

6. The Prophet Isaiah proclaims: »A multitude of camels covers You, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba arrive. They bring gold and frankincense; they bring the gospel and the praises of Yahweh.« The Apostle Matthew writes: »Then, opening their treasures, the magi offered Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh« (Matthew 2,11). Isaiah prophesied, and Matthew wrote that it was fulfilled. The three gifts brought by the Magi to Jesus were: gold (for a prince), frankincense (for a priest), and myrrh (for a physician or an herb used in burial rites).

7. As the Magi’s gifts foretold, Jesus is our Prince, Priest and Physician. He is the Son of God the Father and is seated at His Father’s right hand. He rules the universe on behalf of His Heavenly Father. He is the priest, yes, the high priest, who offers unto God the Father the sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. He Himself is both the priest who offers the sacrifice and the sacrifice itself. He offered Himself up on the cross as the ransom price for the world. He is the physician who heals all the world from the ills of death and damnation. His Word is a healing balm and ointment that He applies liberally to the wounds and hurts we have incurred from this wicked world. His Sacrament of the Altar is the prescription for everlasting life.

8. The magi travelled from afar, from the heart of what is now Iran, to bow down before Jesus as their Lord and to worship Him as God. This same Jesus is also our Lord and God. Thomas’ post-resurrection confession of Jesus is also our Christian confession: My Lord and my God (John 20,28)!

9. Jesus manifests Himself in our midst. He called us to be fellow-heirs in our Holy Baptism. He absolved us in our sins with His words of forgiveness. He sits among us today as we hear His gospel read and preached. He feeds us and satisfies our needs with His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. He sends us forth into the world with His blessing in the Benediction. All these means of grace are manifestations of Jesus’s glory, presence and redemption in our lives. He spares nothing and gives us everything, yes, even His very Self!

10. Such assurance of Divine presence and providence is especially needed at this time of year. Today, the Feast of the Epiphany, is the twelve and final day of Christmas. The world and the radio stations have already cast Jesus and Christmas aside eleven days ago, but the Church was only beginning to celebrate the joy of Christmas. No matter what the world says, or our doubting flesh thinks, Jesus is with us, now and always. He is a gift from our Heavenly Father who is more precious than gold, more aromatic than incense and more healthful than myrrh.

11. The star guided the magi to the Divine Star who is Jesus the Christ. Jesus has manifested Himself, He has arisen in the sky and His light shines down upon us. Jesus draws Israel and all the nations unto Himself to reveal to them His righteousness and salvation which He radiates upon them. Jesus is the Bright Star

who guides His Church, the ship of faith, on her voyage across storm-tossed seas to safely arrive at her final destination on the shores of heavenly, everlasting life.

12. „Hail Day Star! Brightest Angel sent to man throughout the earth, and Thou steadfast splendour of the sun, bright above stars! Ever Thou dost illumine with Thy Light the time of every season. As Thou, Begotten Son of God, Son of the True Father, without beginning abodest ever in the splendour of heaven, so now for need Thy handiwork beseecheth boldly that Thou send the bright sun unto us; that Thou come and shed Thy Light on those who long ere this, compassed about with mist and in the darkness, clothed in sin, set here in the long night, and must needs endure the dark shadow of Death. Now are we full of hope and put our trust in Thy salvation, heralded to the host of men by the Word of God, which in the beginning was with God, with the Almighty Father coeternal, and afterward was made flesh unstained of sin, which the Virgin bare, a solace unto wretched men. God was seen among us without sin; together dwelt the Mighty Son of God and the Son of man, in peace among the people. Wherefore we may rightfully give thanks forever to our Victor Lord, that He would send Himself to us“ (Cynewulf 104-29). Amen.

13. Let us pray. O Son of God, full of Eternal Might, all the nations praise You, and all the people laud you! Keep us in Your Providential hand so that we remain among those who praise You so that we remain enlightened by Your glorious Light unto salvation. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

John 12,44-50. 1st Sunday after Christmas

In the Name of Jesus

John 12,44-50 613

1. Sonntag nach dem Christfest 09

David, King of Israel, 1050 B.C.

30. December 2012

1. O Almighty God, who has given us Your Only-begotten Son to take our nature upon Him, and as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin: Grant that we being regenerate, and made Your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. And Jesus cried out and said: „Whoever believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And whoever sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me has Himself given Me a commandment of what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told Me.“

3. There is perfect unity between God the Father and His Only-begotten Son. Jesus’ words are the Father’s words. Jesus’ works are the Father’s works. If you have Jesus, then you have the Father; if you have the Father, then you have Jesus. In John 14 Jesus expounds on these truths: »Philip said to Him: „Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.“ Jesus said to him: „Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say: „Show us the Father“? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the works themselves“« (John 14,8-11).

4. Some hear these words from Jesus in John 12 and 14 and wrongly reason that God is one Person (Monarchianism). This was an early heresy in the Church that erred in one of two ways. Dynamic monarchianism (adoptionism): holds that God is one being, above all else, wholly indivisible, and of one nature. It reconciles the Trinity (or at least Jesus) by holding that the Son was not co-eternal with the Father, and that Jesus Christ was essentially granted godhood (adopted) for the plans of God and for his own perfect life and works. Modalistic monarchianism (modalism): considers God to be one person appearing and working in the different modes of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

5. In our Creeds we confess the Triune God by which we mean that we worship One God comprised of Three separate and distinct Persons. Jesus Himself teaches that there is One God. Both the Father and Jesus are separate Persons in this Godhead, and since they are both Persons of the One God there is perfect unity of will, word and work between the Father and the Son. To furthermore make this 3-in-1 nature of God more complicated, Jesus, the Son of God, has taken up into His Divinity human flesh, body, soul and spirit. Now and forevermore, Jesus has two natures: the Divine and the human. We celebrated this union of two natures six days ago with Christmas.

6. As we heard the readings from the Gospel of Luke, perhaps you pictured Jesus quietly sleeping in the manger as Mary and Joseph proudly look upon Him. There in the manger is the very God who created the universe who is now as dependent upon His parents as any other infant boy or girl is. Mary fed Jesus and changed His dirty diapers. Joseph taught Jesus how to read the Bible and showed Him all the tools of the carpenter trade. For more than half of His earthly life Jesus worked with wood. The very hands that formed Adam from the ground and made Eve from his rib now built tables, chairs and buildings for men and women.

7. The real shock of it all was that God did not consider such human activities to be menial, degrading or of little importance. God delighted in being born of the virgin Mary, and He took great pride in working as a carpenter. This was the unified will of the Father and His Son.

8. If you desire to know the Father and discern His will, then you must look unto His Son, Jesus Christ, for Jesus is the humanly physical embodiment of God the Father. The cornerstone of the Divine will is the salvation of His fallen creation. Jesus tells us that He is the Light to shine upon the darkened heart and soul of mankind. To look upon Jesus and to believe in Him is to gaze upon the very glory of the Heavenly Father and to believe that it is His sincerest desire to redeem sinners from death, hell and the grave. Jesus Himself tells us that He did not enter this world to judge it but to save it.

9. In this fallen, wicked world we often look for God’s wrath and judgment under each rock and behind every tree. A storm damages our property, and we think God is angry at us. Little children are gunned down, and we question God’s omnipotence. We have no basis for such interpretations. We rightly make the logical deduction that evil actions merit Divine retribution. We feel safe with this interpretation because it seems fair and just. The problem is: the more closely we scrutinize the world around us we see the wicked safe, secure and prospering while the righteous are suffering. We then begin to question God’s justice.

10. It goes no better for us if we take the opposite view (which is the now popular Western view). Sure this world is fallen, but it is not all so bad. We still have a good spark within us; all we need is God to breath on it and fan it into a flame. We ease our conscience with thoughts of God’s love. He is merciful and compassionate to us, we say. Such generic love will not take us very far in this world. If God is so loving, then why does He allow homes to be swept away, children to starve and bloody warfare to continue? We then begin to doubt how loving God really is.

11. This is exactly why The Father sent His Son to this world and why the Son was in full and complete agreement with this decision. God knows that our corrupted human reason will question His justice and doubt His love for His creation. God’s will is not our will and His ways are not our ways. We cannot fathom His reasoning or will because He is the Almighty God and we are fallible human beings. Sometimes we just cannot comprehend what we perceive as God’s inaction in this world.

12. Jesus, however, came into this world to bring us clarity to God’s justice and love. Jesus says, here is God’s justice: the Son of God humbled Himself, took up human flesh and soul, lived among us as a man and is the Righteous One who bore all of His Father’s fierce wrath that sinners and their sin rightly deserve. Here is God’s justice: you deserved to suffer His judgment, but you did not, and you will not, because Jesus suffered that judgment in your place. Jesus says, here is God’s love: the Father gave you His very own Son as a great Christmas gift. Here is true unconditional love and value (αγαπη): the Son of God left the glories of heaven, humbled Himself, took up our human nature and dwelt among the unloveable as the Loving One who laid down His life for all the world. There is no greater love than this (John 15,13).

13. If you want to see God’s justice, if you want to see His love, then look nowhere else but to Jesus and look no further than Him. Jesus is the Righteousness of God who justifies the unrighteous. Jesus is the Love of God who loves and values the unloveable. Jesus is His Father’s justice and love made flesh, made real and physical, made accessible to you and all the world. Cast your eyes upon Jesus and believe that by Him you are justified and through Him you are loved, for Jesus is your salvation. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O God the Father, You remembered Your steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel by sending to earth Your Only Son, help us to behold this gift that all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God so that we receive this salvation as our very own. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Saturday, January 19, 2013

John 1,29-34. 1st Sunday after Epiphany

Friday, January 11, 2013

Isaiah 60,1-6. The Feast of the Epiphany

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

John 12,44-50. 1st Sunday after Christmas