Psalm 107,24.28-31; Psalm 93,4. 4. Sunday after Epiphany

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Psalm 107,24.28-31; Psalm 93,4 1117

4. Sonntag nach Epiphanias  017 

Valerius, Bishop of Trier, Germany. Disciple of Peter.
Francis of Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Switzerland, ✠ 1622 

29. Januar 2017 

1. О Blessed Lord, You are worthy to be praised by all the nations; pour out upon us Your great steadfast love, so that we may enter into Your courts with thanksgiving.  Amen. (Gradual) 

2. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty! They saw the deeds of the Lord, His wondrous works in the deep. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and He brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of men!

  3. Since the ancient times, the seas have evoked images of monstrous sea creatures threatening sailors and sinking their ships. Homer wrote about the choice Odysseus had to make between Scylla and Charybdis, as he sailed between them in the Straight of Messina. Medieval and Renaissance maps depicted monstrous sea creatures waiting to devour the hapless sailors who sailed too far west upon the Atlantic. The Writings and Prophets mention Leviathan. Job described him with dragon-like imagery and concluded: »Leviathan makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired. On earth there is not his like, a creature without fear« (Job 41,31-33). The Holy Scriptures tell us that the Lord is »Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty!« 

4. The Introit continues: »They saw the deeds of the Lord, His wondrous works in the deep.« The Psalmist also tells us: »Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan, which the Lord formed to play in it. These all look to you, to give them their food in due season« (Psalm 104,25-27). 

5. »Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.« This very verse is played out in the story of Jonah. »The sailors were exceedingly afraid and said to Jonah: „What is this that you have done!“ For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then they said to him: „What shall we do to you so that the sea may quiet down for us?“ For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them: „Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.“ So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. And the Lord appointed a great sea creature to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of Leviathan three days and three nights« (Jonah 1,10-12.15.17). When the scribes and Pharisees wanted a sign from Him, Jesus responded: »For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth« (Matthew 12,38.40). This sign was more than one of Jesus’ resurrection. The sailors threw Jonah into the sea to appease an angry God and to quell the tempest. Jesus went to the cross to appease His Father’s anger at sinful humanity; His vicarious sacrifice quieted the Divine storm of vengeance. Leviathan swallowed Jonah and kept him in the deep for three days. Jesus was swallowed up by death and the grave for three days. After three days, Leviathan spat Jonah out upon the beach. After three days in the grave, Jesus emerged forth alive for death and the grave could not hold Him. 

6. »He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.« Our Gospel Reading tells us another time when Jesus quieted the raging seas. »And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. And Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea: „Peace! Be still!“ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And the disciples were filled with great fear and said to one another: „Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?“« (Mark 4,37.39.41). Their question was rhetorical, for His disciples knew that Psalm 107 ascribed such power and authority over the winds and the waves to God alone. Jesus had proven Himself to be the Lord before their eyes.

7. »Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and He brought them to their desired haven.« This is how our Gospel Reading ends today. Jesus calmed the tempest and they safely arrived on the opposite shore of the Sea of Galilee. This also has cosmic implications. Haven is a Middle English word that means harbor, port, a place of safety. By conquering death and overcoming the grave, Jesus brings us to the haven of eternal paradise. Just as the ark safely took Noah and his family through the raging Flood and safely returned them to dry ground once more, so the Church is the ship of faith that Jesus pilots to the Port of Heaven where we disembark to live a life of eternal peace and fellowship with God and all Christians. 

8. »Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of men!« Thus the Psalmist concludes today’s Introit. God the Father desires to save us from the perils of sin, death and hades. He promised to do this in both the Palms and the Prophets where they use the images of storms and sea monsters to represent danger and destruction, but assuring us that God Himself is Master of both the sea and its Leviathan. God’s love is manifested in His Son Jesus who died to pay for our sins and rose to conquer death itself. He is the Firstborn from the dead and He will raise all of us up on the last day too.  Amen. 

  9. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, who perfectly does Your Father’s will; help us to see and trust in Your mighty deeds as He who rescues us and brings us safely to eternal life.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Psalm 67,1-3.7; Psalm 117. 3. Sunday after Epiphany

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Psalm 67,1-3.7; Psalm 117 1017

3. Sonntag nach Epiphanias  016

Vincentius, Deacon at Saragossa, Spain. Martyr 304 

22. Januar 2017 

1. O Almighty God, whose Name the nations fear; build up Your Church, so that the nations trust in Your mercy and their rulers praise Your glory.  Amen. (Gradual). 

2. Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast mercy toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, so that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! God will bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him! 

3. The Psalmist exhorts us in today’s Introit to: Praise and extol the Lord. This is no mere exhortation to praise God with blind faith, for the Psalmist gives us a reason why God deserves our worship: »Great is His steadfast mercy toward us.« This loving grace is manifested time and again unto generation after generation in the pages of Holy Scripture, and the Epistle to the Hebrews proclaims: »And now in these last days God has spoken to us by His Son« (Hebrews 1,2).  

4. The Psalmist continues: »The faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.« Also the Apostle Peter: »The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but He is patient toward us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance« (2. Peter 3,9). The Lord promised Eve a redeemer; He began to bring that promise to fulfillment when Sarah gave birth to Isaac. The Lord promised Abraham that the messianic line would descend through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. This promise was then given to Jacob’s son Judah; and from Judah it eventually passed to his descendants David and Solomon. Finally, the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus descends from David both through Mary (via Nathan) and Joseph (via Solomon). 

5. Jesus then called from among His disciples twelve men whom He elected to be His apostles. These 12 Apostles became the New Testament 12 Tribes of Israel from the Old Testament. Jesus passed on His promise of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life through the gospel these apostles preached as eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. Thus St. Paul boldly proclaimed: »We preach Christ« (1. Corinthians 1,23). This gospel spread throughout the Judea, Samaria, the Roman Empire and eventually unto every corner of the world. God promised to save the world. He did so through Jesus, and this message has been preached upon all the face of the Earth. We are here this morning because God was faithful. The Psalmist continues in the Introit: »God is gracious to us, blesses us and makes His face to shine upon us, so that His way may be known on earth, His saving power among all nations.« Thus, our Divine Service (Gottesdienst) concludes with the Aaronic blessing: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace (Numbers 6,24-26). 

6. This priestly blessing is found in Numbers 6. The Psalmist writes something similar in the Introit: »God is gracious to us, blesses us and makes His face to shine upon us, so that His way may be known on earth, His saving power among all nations.« There are many events recorded in the Holy Scriptures that speak of this saving power. The Lord saved Noah and his family from the Flood via the ark. The Lord lead Israel out of Egyptian slavery through Moses. The Lord returned the Jewish captives to Judea after a 70-year exile in Babylon. All these Divine acts of saving power were types of the great antitype revealed in Jesus whose saving activity on the cross saved us from sin, death and Hades (the Devil). 

7. Behold, Hades trembled when Christ knocked upon his gates. Jesus had promised: »The gates of Hades shall not prevail against the confession of the Name of Jesus« (Matthew 16,18). Hades is now in fear. St. John Chrysostom in his famous Paschal homily proclaims: „Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He that was taken by death has annihilated it! He descended into Hades and took Hades captive! He embittered it when it tasted His flesh! And anticipating this, Isaiah exclaimed: Hades was embittered when it encountered Thee in the lower regions (Isaiah 14,9). [1] Hades was embittered, for it was abolished! It was embittered, for it was mocked! It was embittered, for it was purged! It was embittered, for it was despoiled! It was embittered, for it was bound in chains! It took a body and came upon God! It took earth and encountered Ηeaven! It took what it saw, but crumbled before what it had not seen!“ Fear not Death nor Hades, for our Savior has conquered His foes. Again the blessed Chrysostom: „O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory? [2] Christ is risen, and you are overthrown! Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen! Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is risen, and life reigns! Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb! For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the first-fruits of them that have slept. To Him be glory and might unto the ages of ages.“ Lift up your heads, for your Sleeper has awakened (Isaiah 60,1-3; Ephesians 5,14)! [3] 

8. The Psalmist concludes: »Let us praise God! God will bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear, love and trust Him!« This is our humble response to Jesus and His Divine act of salvation of the fallen human race. Let us rejoice with the Psalmist: »With You, O Lord, is the Fountain of Life; in Your Light do we see light« (Psalm 36,9).  Amen. 

12. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You reign at the right hand of Your Father, let us on earth rejoice and let us be glad, so that we do not fear death but rather rejoice for You have torn asunder the gates of hades and in doing so set us free.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  

All quotations from the Book of Concord are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, 12. Edition © 1998 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 

[1]  Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations (esv). 

[2]  Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? (Hosea 13,14). 

[3]  Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn (Isaiah). This is why it is said: Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you (Paul). 

Psalm 89,20.24.26-28; 1. Chronicles 29,11-12. 2. Sunday after Epiphany

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Psalm 89,20.24.26-28; 1. Chronicles 29,11-12 0917

2. Sonntag nach Epiphanias  015 

✠ The Baptism of Jesus ✠ transferred 

Maurus, Abbot at Glanfeuil, France ✠ 584 

15. Januar 2017 

1. О Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, the God of Israel who alone does wondrous things; as the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills bear righteousness, let us bear Your grace in our Baptism, so that we daily live with the assurance of our adoption and forgiveness.  Amen. (Gradual) 

2. Behold, now the Lord of lords arrives, and the reign, the power and the glory are in His hand. I have found David, My Servant; I have anointed Him with My holy oil, My faithfulness and grace shall be with Him, and in My Name His horn shall be exalted. He will cry to Me: „You are My Father, My God, and the Rock of My salvation.“ And I will make Him the Firstborn, the Highest of the kings of the earth. I will keep My steadfast love for Him forever, and My covenant will stand firm for Him. 

  3. In today’s Introit the Lord declares: »I have found David, My Servant; I have anointed Him with My holy oil, My faithfulness and grace shall be with Him, and in My Name His horn shall be exalted.« In the Old Testament, the Lord’s prophets anointed the kings of Israel. »Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it upon Saul’s head and said: „The Lord has anointed you to be prince over His people Israel“« (1. Samuel 10,1). Then years later, »Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward« (1. Samuel 16,13). Years later, the Lord promised King David: »Your son, Solomon, shall build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of His reign forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to Me a son« (2. Samuel 7,13-14). The Messiah would descend from David’s royal lineage through Solomon and through this lineage God’s would bless not only Israel but all the nations as well (2. Samuel 7,19; Psalm 72,8-11.17). 

4. The kings of Israel were temporal rulers with Divine appointment. They were sons of God and messiahs. Both Messiah and Christ mean anointed one. They were the chosen ones through whom the promise of the actual Son of God and Messiah would descend. This truly Divine Son of God would establish His throne with justice and with righteousness (Isaiah 9,6-7). 

5. The Introit tells us: »He will cry to Me: „You are My Father, My God, and the Rock of My salvation.“« David was just such a man. He wrote in the 63. Psalm: »O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You. I will bless You as long as I live; in Your Name I will lift up my hands, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips, for I remember You, and I meditate on You in the watches of the night. You have been my help, and My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.« 

6. But David, like us all, was a sinner. He did some horrible things as king. He did not always trust God or worship Him as he should have. We are in the same predicament as David as we daily fall short of the glory of God. We often use David’s own words when the weight of our sin bears down upon us: »Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be justified in Your words and blameless in Your judgment. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise« (Psalm 51,1-4.7.10-12.15). 

7. The Introit continues: »I will make Him the Firstborn, the Highest of the kings of the earth.« While this is certainly true in regards to David and his royal line, it is merely a type of the greater antitype fulfilled by Jesus. The Apostle Paul writes in his Epistle to the Colossians: »Jesus is the Icon of the Invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, for in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things« (Colossians 1,15-20). Jesus is King of creation as the Only-begotten Son of God; He is also the King of Israel as a descendant of David. 

8. Finally, the Introit tells us: »I will keep My steadfast love for Him forever, and My covenant will stand firm for Him.« The old testament ratified through Moses at Mt. Sinai was always meant to be temporary; it was meant to prepare the way for the advent of the Messiah. The new testament ratified through Jesus at Mt. Zion is God’s permanent covenant for the world. The old testament was merely a shadow of the good things to come through Jesus in the New Testament (Hebrews 10,1). Thus, Jesus told John at His baptism: »Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all God’s righteousness« (Matthew 3,15). At this event we have John, Prophet of the old testament and Jesus, Messiah of the new testament. The old testament transferred to the new testament, for John said that he must decrease so that Jesus could increase. 

9. The Voice of God the Father declared at Jesus’ baptism: »This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased« (Matthew 3,17). Here God the Father through John the Baptizer publicly anoints Jesus as the Messiah and the Christ. Jesus is publicly inaugurated as the King of Israel and the Son of God through whom all the promises given to the patriarchs and the prophets would be fulfilled. The blessing spoken by Jacob so many centuries earlier was fulfilled at Jesus’ baptism: »The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to Him; and to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding His foal to the vine and His donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He has washed His garments in wine and His vesture in the blood of grapes« (Genesis 49,10-11). Thus Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the foal and colt of a donkey. He gives us wine to drink in His Sacrament that is His true blood. He then shed His blood on the cross. In all this Jesus fulfilled the mission of the Christ: to lead His people and give His life as a ransom to redeem all mankind from their sin.  Amen. 

  10. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You have done the will of God; pour out Your Good Spirit  upon us so that we may walk upon the level ground of Your Holy Word.   Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 1:1– 11:1. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Psalm 72,1-2.10-11.19; 1. Chronicles 29,11-12. The Feast of Epiphany (transferred)

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Psalm 72,1-2.10-11.19; 1. Chronicles 29,11.12 0817

Fest der Erscheinung des Herrn (Epiphanias)  013 transferred

Severin, Apostle of Noricum, ✠ 481 

8. Januar 2017 

1. O Son of God, who received from Sheba gold and frankincense; upon these magi the starlight of the gospel shined, likewise, arise and shine upon us Your Light and Glory so that we are blessed by Your gospel you.  Amen. (Gradual). 

2. Behold, now the Lord of lords arrives, and the reign, the power and the glory are in His hand. O God, give the king Your justice, and Your righteousness to the royal son! May He judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render Him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before Him, all nations serve Him! Blessed be His Glorious Name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His Glory! Amen and Amen! 

3. On Friday the Church commemorated Epiphany and the arrival of the magi with their gifts for the Infant Jesus. 6. January brought to close the 12-day Christmas season we’ve been celebrating since 24. December. Christmas focused on the Jewishness of Jesus by telling us how His birth fulfilled the promises of God made to the patriarchs and prophets to save His fallen creation. Epiphany focuses on the Gentileness of Jesus by telling us that people from other nations longed for, watched for and worshiped His arrival. The magi are the first recorded Gentiles to visit Jesus and worship Him, but they would not be the last. 

4. Who were these magi in the Gospel according to Matthew? The Magi were advisors to  the kings and rulers of Mesopotamia and Babylon. They were similar to the men and women who make up the president’s staff and advise him on many different issues. The Magi were priests, astronomers, scholars and doctors who were men well-versed in several academic studies. We would call them Renaissance men who mastered different disciplines. We find these magi already in the Prophet Daniel. During the Babylonian Captivity, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon added those young Jewish men who showed an aptitude in learning arcane knowledge and wisdom. Among the young Jewish captives initiated into the Magi Caste were Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (Daniel 1,3-7).  Daniel became so renowned in his studies and knowledge that the king eventually elevated him as the chief of the magi (Daniel 5,11). The magi who visited Jesus 600 years later may have received their information about the star from the the records left behind by Daniel for later magi to study. In these records, Daniel may have passed on to the magi a knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures and the prophecies of their messiah. This new knowledge would then be an studied and passed on to succeeding generations of magi. 

5. There are several theories as to what exactly was this star that the magi had seen in the heavens. The Torah tells us that a star is a symbol of the Messiah: »A Star will arrive from Jacob. A Scepter will arise from Israel« (Numbers 24,17). Thus, Jewish tradition preserves a belief that the advent of the Messiah would be connected with some special star, comet or grouping of planets to form a conjunction. Abarbanel, a renowned rabbi in the Medieval Ages, believed that the Messiah would arrive in the same month (15.-22. Nissan; March/April) as the Exodus took place, and claimed that the Cup of Elijah in the annual Jewish Passover celebration preserves this tradition. He looked for Messiah to enter human history when Jupiter and Saturn conjoin in the constellation of Pisces; this happens every 805 years. Jewish tradition identified the planets of Jupiter and Saturn with the Justice of God that vindicates the righteous and punishes the guilty. Therefore, a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Pisces would be the sign of Messiah’s advent into human flesh. This very conjunction took place a short time before Christ’s birth. 17. century Lutheran German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler, checking astronomical tables, found the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on 29. May, 29. September, and 4. December in 7 bc. This triple conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn in one year’s time is extremely rare. The 4. December conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces put it over Bethlehem. Jerusalem is a mere 5.52 miles/8.89 km north of Bethlehem, and that is where the magi went since Jerusalem was the capital of King Herod the Great. A year later (every 806 years) Mars joins Jupiter and Saturn in a triple conjunction. Jupiter the King’s Planet approaches Saturn the Defender of Palestine: »You carried along the statues of the god Sikkuth as your king and the star-god Kiyyun, the gods you made for yourselves.« (Amos 5,26) and Mars signifies war, struggle or change. Thus, the star-gazing magi would interpret this conjunction as: a Messianic King is arriving in Palestine amid a time of great change or this King will bring about a great change. After this star appeared in the heavens, and the magi understood its significance, they began their trek to Jerusalem.  

6. A lesser light heralded the Great Light’s appearance upon the Earth. This Great Light is Jesus. He is the promised Messiah of Israel and the Christ of the Gentiles. His Light illuminates those who cower in the darkness of their sin. The Light had waned, but not forever, for God had promised that the Light would wax again upon mankind.  

7. »Behold, the Lord of Light shines forth, and the reign, the power and the glory are in His hand. He bears the gospel of justice and  righteousness upon mankind! The kings of Tarshish render Him tribute, and the kings of Sheba and Seba bring Him gifts! May all kings fall down before Him, and may all nations serve Him!« The magi represented these mighty men of Tarshish, Sheba and Seba. They represented you and me as the first Gentiles to worship Jesus as the Christ. During His public ministry Greeks and Romans sought Jesus out; some of them even joined the Jews as His disciples. Later kings, queens and even emperors knelt down before Him. Pagans and barbarians received Him and forsook their religions. Christendom is a rich tapestry of nations and cultures that have sought the Christ and been enriched by Him. 

8. All creation glorifies Christ Jesus. Fallen humans are stubborn in their hubris and at times do not receive Jesus as the Son of God and Lord of the universe; but the magi show the way. These learned men recognize Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords who is to be worshipped and adored above all others.  

9. Today’s Introit reminds us: »Blessed be His Glorious Name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His Glory!« The winter solstice gives us days with longer sunlight; Epiphany teaches us that the light from the Son of God also shines forth with greater and longer brilliance. The season of Epiphany highlights a number of Jesus’ miraculous actions that bear light to His Divinity. 

10. The Holy Scriptures enlighten us about Jesus’ life and the Light of Life and Salvation that only God can bring to the world. And bring it Jesus did, in all His Brilliant Glory, Christ, our Light who shines now and always driving the darkness into the abyss. The Scriptures call Him the Bright Morning Star who is the brightest star in the sky. He chases away the shades of night and is a portent of great heavenly things to arrive. All this the magi recognized in the Infant Jesus. Their testimony is verified by ours as well. 

11. »Behold, the Lord of lords has arrived, and the reign, the power and the glory are His forever and ever.« May the Light of Christ illumine your soul with the assurance of His forgiveness. When you find others shrouded in darkness, share the Light of Christ so that their eyes may see hope and draw near to Jesus for assurance too.  Amen and Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of all nations who is alone worthy to be praised; shine forth Your gospel upon us, so that we may  laud You now and always.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  

All quotations from the Book of Concord are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, 12. Edition © 1998 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.  

Devotional thoughts for Epiphany

Friday 6. January 2017 
The Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord 

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying: „Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have arrived to worship Him.“ (Matthew 2,1-2) 

Epiphany brings to close the 12-day Christmas season we've been celebrating since December 24th. Christmas focused on the birth of Jesus and its fulfillment of the old testament promises to send the world the Messiah. Epiphany focuses on the manifestation of that Messiah's Divine nature among mankind. 

John tells us that Jesus is the Light of the world who overcomes the darkness. At His birth, God puts a star in the heavens to announce His Son's birth. Starlight heralds the arrival of the True Light. Another light would also prepare the way for Jesus, that being John the Baptizer. And so Epiphany is bookmarked by the lesser lights (the star and John) heralding the Great Light. 

During Epiphany we see Jesus manifesting His Divine nature in His public ministry. His light shines forth, and the darkness has not overcome it. Jesus illuminates us with the gospel, which proclaims that God has arrived to redeem His fallen creation from sin, death and hell. Those living in darkness have seen a great light, and they rejoice at the arrival of Jesus for He saves them from their sinfulness and opens up the kingdom of heaven for all people. 

Prayer: O God, by the leading of a star You made know Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles. Lead us, who know You by faith, to enjoy heaven the fullness of Your Divine presence; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (L11, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

Psalm 8,2.4-7; Philippians 2,10-11. The Circumcision and Naming of Jesus

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Psalm 8,2.4-7; Philippians 2,10a.11 0717

Tag der Beschneidung und Namengebung Jesu  011 weiß 

✠ Circumcision of the Lord, and Name of Jesus ✠

1. Januar 2017 

1. О Incarnate Jesus, Thou New Testament of Thy Father’s grace; put Your holy word into our minds, and inscribe it on our hearts, so that we remember Thy faithfulness to redeem fallen mankind.  Amen. (Gradual) 

2. Now, therefore, O kings, be wise. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Out of the mouth of babes and infants, You have established strength because of Your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field. 

  3. When the Archangel Gabriel appeared to both the parents of John and Jesus to announce their important births, he was greeted with fear and trembling. Such is the initial response from people when they encounter an angelic messenger from God. 

4. But when the shepherds and later Simeon behold the Son of God in the Infant Jesus they are not afraid but give thanks with joy. God took upon Himself human flesh and was born of Mary. Jesus humbled Himself and curbed the full glory of His Divinity so that people would not tremble with fear before Him. The Psalmist declares: »Out of the mouth of babes and infants, You, O God, have established strength because of Your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.« This was manifested in the Infant Jesus who was born to fulfill the promise given to Eve long ago: your offspring will crush the head of the serpent. Jesus is the Chosen One to avenge fallen mankind and defeat the devil. 

5. The Psalmist asks: »What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?« People often wonder if God cares about them? Does He want them to prosper? How can we know; where does God reveal His will for us? Searching for God in nature will reveal His power, majesty and intelligent design, but nature will not reveal how He is dispositioned toward us. Philosophical pondering gets us a little closer to the will of God, but ultimately philosophy is mankind’s wisdom; there is no certainty that our philosophical thought lines up with God’s. The inspired and inerrant word of God is the only means we are certain of His will toward us, and that very Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. 

6. The Prophet Moses teaches in Genesis that God created mankind, male and female, in His Divine Image and Likeness. The Psalmist explains this in further detail, writing: »You, O God, have made man a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, yes, even all the animals of the field.« When Jesus was born, He was, according to His human nature, a little lower than the angels, but He was still, according to His Divine nature, higher than the angels. So at the same time we behold the Infant Jesus who is humbled according to His human nature yet also exalted according to His Divine nature. 

7. The Son of God entered this world in humility in order to redeem mankind who had fallen into sin and was mired in sinfulness. Gabriel told Joseph to name his begotten son Jesus, for this Child will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1,21). Eight days after His birth (1. January), the baby was circumcised and Joseph named Him Jesus (Luke 2,21). 

8. The Apostle Paul proclaims: »At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father« (Philippians 2,10-11). The Archangel Gabriel announced Jesus’ birth; the angelic choir praised His arrival; shepherds and magi knelt down in homage to Him. Angels and men humbled themselves before the Divine majesty of the Infant Jesus who is God with us. Let us likewise join those who have before us beheld Him with glory and honor, praising Him as our Lord and Savior from sin, death and hades. Jesus is the Glory of Israel and the Light of the nations. His light shines more glorious than the evening star that heralds His advent upon this Earth. Jesus is the revelation of His Father’s will that He desires to dwell with mankind and forgive their sin. The birth of Jesus is proof of this Divine intent.  Amen. 

9. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, our Life-long Blessing; help us to lift up Your Name so that all the world hears the glory of Your birth.   Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.