Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity - Mt 5:20-26

 

   Trinity 6

                                                                                                            Mt 5:20-26

                                                                                                            7/12/26

 

 

The Gospels are theological biographies. They are biographies in that they tell us true and accurate information about the life of Jesus Christ.  However, they do so with a theological purpose. They are teaching us about who Jesus is and what he means for our life.

We need to recognize that since this is their goal, they do not always narrate what Jesus said and did in a chronological order.  Instead, they sometimes group material in order to convey a truth about Jesus.  It is easy to see this in Matthew’s Gospel. In chapters eight and nine, Matthew narrates ten miracles performed by Jesus. There is no other kind of material in this section. We see that Jesus is powerful in deed.

Our text this morning is found in a preceding grouping of material. In chapters five through seven we find only the teaching of Jesus. So in chapters five to seven we find Jesus powerful in word. And in chapters eight and none we find Jesus powerful in deed.

Our Lord taught constantly during the course of almost three years.  Any good teacher finds wording and explanations that work well and then keeps using them. Surely Jesus was no different. As he was teaching in different places it’s very unlikely that he said something completely new every time. No doubt there was a repetition of material with slight variations.

Chapter five begins with the words, “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.” These words give us the familiar name for the material in these three chapters: the Sermon on the Mount. On the other hand, in Luke’s Gospel we find very similar material as Jesus came down and talked to a crowd in a level place. This is to be expected – Jesus shared the same basic content many times in different places.

Our text today is at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount has always occupied a significant place in Chistian thought. We have here three chapters of powerful teaching as Jesus describes the life of those who believe in him.

So what is Jesus doing here? Is he telling us what we must do in order to have salvation? After all, the first verse of our text says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is Jesus describing what we can never possibly do in order to reveal our sin? The answer to both of these is no – though we will see this his words certainly may confront the continuing presence of sin in our life.

Instead, Jesus is describing what the kingdom of God – the reign of God that arrived in our Lord – means for your life. The kingdom of God – or kingdom of heaven as it is expressed in a more Jewish version in Matthew’s Gospel – was the central feature of Jesus’ ministry. Matthew tells us about the beginning of his ministry, “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Jesus declared that in his person the reign of God was present that was overcoming the forces of Satan, sin, and death. When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by being in league with the devil, our Lord replied, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Jesus was the presence of the kingdom of God – the reign of God for us. He spoke with the authority of God. Matthew tells us at the end of the Sermon on the Mount: “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

He had authority over demons as he cast them out. They knew who he was, even if they were confused about why he was present and yet it was not the Last Day. They cried out to him, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” He had the power and authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, and even control creation itself as he stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

But the surprising thing is that his great action to bring God’s reign by freeing us from sin did not look mighty and victorious. After Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Matthew tells us, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Jesus declared, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He offered himself as the sacrifice on the cross by which we now have forgiveness before God. But death was not the end. As he had predicted on the third day God raised him from the dead. On Easter the tomb was empty and the angel told the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.”

            This is what Jesus did for you. And then he brought his saving reign to you through the work of his Spirit. He called you to faith in his death and resurrection through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. He made you a new creation in Christ through the water of Holy Baptism.

            Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. In the first of these he says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Who are the poor in spirit? You are. You are because you know that you don’t love God above all things. You are because you know that you don’t love your neighbor as yourself. You know that you are sinful. Then, at the same time, you believe in Jesus. And so in Christ, the kingdom of heaven – the reign of God – is yours. You have received the forgiveness won by Christ – you are a saint. You have been born of again of water and the Spirit. You are in Christ, because the Spirit of God is present and at work in you.

            And so the Sermon on the Mount describes how you now live because of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not describing what you must do in order to receive salvation. You already have it! He is not describing what you can never possibly do in order to reveal your sin. Instead, he is describing how you now live because of what he has made you to be.  You have received the reign of God in Christ.

            Just before our text Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”  You have received God’s saving reign in Christ. And so your life now shows forth was God has done for you – what God has made you to be.

            Our text begins as Jesus is concluding his introductory comments about how we are to view the law of Moses. He says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

            Jesus came to fulfill the law.  Now, in his death and resurrection, all has been accomplished. And so the law of Moses is no longer the law that directs God’s people. Instead, we learn in the Sermon on the Mount that it is Jesus’ teaching that directs our life. There is, of course, continuity between this teaching and what we find in the Old Testament law. God’s moral ordering of creation has not changed. That is why Paul could say of the Gentiles, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts.” But you never find Jesus teaching anything about keeping food laws, or being circumcised, or any other parts of what we call the ceremonial law. These are things that are no longer binding for Christians.

            Instead, our Lord says, “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus says that we are to teach and do what he is teaching, and nothing less.

            Then in our text he adds, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is not a description about how to be saved. You have already received the kingdom of God. Instead, it means that only by being in Christ as those have received God’s reign can your righteousness have any standing before God. The scribes and Pharisees rejected Christ. Their keeping of the law that followed their own interpretation of it meant nothing before God.

You on the other hand have received the kingdom of God through faith in Christ. You have been baptized into Christ and his Spirit has given you new life. It is Christ through his Spirit who now causes you to walk in his ways. This is the life produced by faith and so it is pleasing to God in a way that the Pharisees and scribes never could.

Jesus is the Son of God who has brought the kingdom of God. And so he teaches with authority. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus addresses understandings of the law that were present in his day and corrects them. He gives a full and deeper understanding of the law as he describes how we will live because of him.

He says in our text, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Our Lord teaches us that the Fifth Commandment does not simply prevent murder of another person. I does not even just prevent physical harm. It means that we do not nurse anger in our heart and we do not speak in ways that disparage our neighbor. We do not allow anger and hate to direct our actions.

Jesus makes this point clear as he applies what he has just said to our lives. He says, “Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Our Lord describes the setting of first century Jerusalem. The life of a faithful Jew involved making offerings in the sacrifices at the temple. But Jesus says that if a person remembers that there is some division or animosity with another individual he is to leave his gift at the altar. He is not to follow through in making the sacrifice to God. First, he is to go and be reconciled to the brother.

Your life in Christ is not ruled by anger. It is not one of seeking payback. It does not speak ill of others. Instead it is directed by the love and forgiveness you have received in Christ. So forgive those who have wronged you. Where possible, seek to be reconciled. As Paul told the Romans, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

This is true as you interact with everyone. But it becomes true in an even deeper way when you come here to the Divine Serivice. The high point of the Divine Service is the celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar. Paul told the Corinthians, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

In the Sacrament you receive the true body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. But it is not you alone who does this.  So also do all those who are receiving the Sacrament at the altar. The apostle tells us that the body and blood of Christ join us together as the Body of Christ. The Sacrament is Christ coming to you.  It is vertical and individual. But it is also Christ joining you together with those who commune. It is horizontal and corporate.

The Sacrament of the Altar is the sacrament of unity. It is the place where Christ joins us together as the Body of Christ. Divisions are contrary to the very nature of the Sacrament. And so we don’t bring our divisions there.

This means that before we come to this altar we forgive and reconcile with one another. The Pax Domini – the “Peace of the Lord in the liturgy - is a verbal and visual announcement of this fact. The pastor chants, “The peace of the Lord be with you always” as he holds up the host over the chalice – as he holds before you the body and blood of Christ. This is a declaration of the peace Jesus is giving you in the Sacrament. But it is also a reminder that we need to be at peace with one another if we are to come and receive the body and blood of Christ. When we have not forgiven one another and are not reconciled, then that is the time not to commune.  And this fact makes all the more clear what we need to do as we live in Christ. We need to forgive and be reconciled.

Though Jesus does not speak the Sermon on the Mount for the purpose of showing us our sin, it is law and so it will also reveal the ways that the old Adam is still resisting the work of the Spirit in our life. They are words that will demonstrate where sin is present.

Our response then is twofold. In that baptismal life of daily contrition and repentance we confess it as sin and hold on to the forgiveness we have received in our baptism. And then recognizing sin for what it is we arise to live in newness life made possible by the Spirit of Christ.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is not telling us what we must do in order to have salvation. He’s not describing what we can never possibly do in order to reveal our sin. Instead he begins by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of heaven – the reign of God entered into our world as Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead. You have received that saving reign through the Gospel as the Spirit has worked through Word and Sacrament. The Sermon on the Mount describes how we now live our lives through the power of the Spirit as we are in Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity - Lk 5:1-11

 

   Trinity 5

                                                                                                            Lk 5:1-11

                                                                                                            7/5/26

 

            During May we realized that our hot water heater was not working.  On a Wednesday we noticed a change – the water didn’t seem to be as hot as it normally was. On Thursday there was no hot water, and we clearly had a problem.

            The timing was less than ideal. I wouldn’t be able to get the plumber to come out that very day. On Friday we were going to the state track meet to watch Michael throw the discus, and then Saturday as well in the finals. I wasn’t going to pay the rates for emergency service on a Sunday. So we were without hot water for four days before the plumber could come out and work on things on Monday.  It felt like I was back in South Sudan.

            I was thrilled when the plumber finally came on Monday. But you know what I didn’t do? I didn’t go down into the basement and tell him what to do as he assessed the problem. When he discovered that the issue was the hot water heater itself – an item that thankfully was still under warranty – I didn’t tell him how he should disconnect it and install a new one.

            I didn’t do this because I am not a plumber. I don’t have the knowledge about how to figure out problems.  I don’t have the expertise about how to do the work to fix things. It would be foolish for me to start telling the plumber how to do his job. 

            Jesus was not a fisherman. But in our Gospel lesson this morning he tells the experts how to do their job. He gives them instructions that demonstrate he has no idea what he is talking about. But he uses these circumstances to reveal who he is. And then in his words to Peter we learn what he means for us.

            In the previous chapter Luke tells us about the temptation of Jesus. Next he narrates the beginning of our Lord’s ministry. The Holy Spirit had descended upon Jesus at his baptism. Now Luke tells us, “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.”

            The people were astonished at Christ’s teaching, because his word possessed authority. Jesus himself demonstrated his authority as he cast out demons. The people were amazed and said, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” Luke tells us that reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

            This authority extended to Jesus’ ability to heal people. We learn that Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. Then Luke adds, “Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.”

            Because of his teaching and healing, people sought out Jesus. Just before our text we hear about how people didn’t want Jesus to leave. But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”

            In our Gospel lesson we hear about an instance when a large crowd was there to hear Jesus. We learn, “On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.” 

            The crowd was pressing in on Jesus as he was standing on the shore of the lake. So he got into one of the boats that belonged to Peter, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Jesus sat down in the boat and taught the people on the shore.

            We learn from John’s Gospel that this wasn’t Peter’s first interaction with Jesus. There we find that Peter and his brother Andrew had been associated with John the Baptist in Judea. John the Baptist had seen Jesus walking by and he declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”  Andrew was one of the disciples with John, and he went to get Peter and brought him to Jesus. When they met Jesus he said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas”(which means Peter).

            The fact that Andrew and Peter had been in Judea around John the Baptist and his work tells us a lot about them. They were obviously concerned about spiritual matters. Now they were back in Galilee, and here they once again encountered Jesus.

This background from John is helpful because we learn that it wasn’t a random stranger who asked Peter to put out from the shore so that he could teach.  He had met Jesus before and understood that he was different and special. It also helps us to understand what happened next.

When Jesus had finished speaking he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Jesus, the son of a carpenter, gave instructions to Peter the fisherman about how to fish. Peter answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 

Peter’s response was a polite way of saying that Jesus’ instruction made no sense.  He didn’t know what he was talking about. Fisherman on the Sea of Galilee fished at night close to the shore. They knew that this was the best way to catch fish. Peter and his companions had done this the previous night and had caught nothing. Yet now Jesus told Peter to go out into the deep during the day and let down his nets.

Our Lord’s instruction made no sense. But it was direction that came from Jesus and so Peter replied, “But at your word I will let down the nets.”  When they did so they enclosed such a larger number of fish that their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners James and John in the other boat to come and help them. When they came they filled both of the boats with so many fish that they began to sink.

Peter and those with him were astonished at what had happened. In particular, Peter was overwhelmed by what it meant. We hear in our text that when he saw the catch of fish he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Peter realized that he was in the presence of the divine. And this recognition led him to the acute perception of his own sinfulness.  His response was, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” This is a fundamental biblical truth. God is the holy God. Sinners cannot exist in God’s presence, for sin evokes God’s wrath and judgment. When Isaiah found himself before Yahweh he said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Scripture teaches that we are sinners from the moment of our conception.  Jesus told Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Sinful nature brings forth more sinful nature. No one has ever had to teach their child how to be jealous or angry.  It’s just there in them. Paul told the Ephesians that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and were under the power of the devil. He added that we “were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.”

This is what we are by nature, and then it shows forth in our lives. We see sin happening as we have jealous and covetous thoughts. We speak angry words. We lust and indulge that lust through the use of pornography or even fornication itself.  We do not trust God to provide for us. We doubt his love and care when difficulties arise.

Peter knew his sin and so he wanted to flee from God’s presence. But Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Peter acknowledged his sin. But Christ’s response was not one of judgment and condemnation.  Instead, he said, “Do not be afraid.”

Jesus said “Do not be afraid” because as the Son of God he had not entered into the world in order to bring God’s judgment. Instead, he was here to brings God’s forgiveness and salvation.

            In the previous chapter Jesus was at his hometown of Nazareth on the Sabbath. He went to the synagogue and the people were eager to hear from this well known teacher from their own town. Jesus took the scroll of Isaiah and read this text: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 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 the Lord’s favor.”

            Then he said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  Jesus had been anointed by the Holy Spirit at his baptism. He was the Servant of the Lord who had come to proclaim good news – Gospel – to those who are trapped in sin. He had come to give liberty to the captives of sin and all that it does in our lives.

            Jesus Christ was numbered with the transgressors. True God and true man, he was the holy Son of God who committed no sin. But he took our sins – he became sin for us as he died on the cross and received God’s judgment.  The holy and just God judged your sin in Christ.

            Sin brings death. It did for Adam. It has for everyone since. Paul told the Romans that the wages of sin is death. Our sin caused Jesus to die. But Jesus was the second Adam through whom God has given us not only forgiveness, but also rescue from death because Jesus rose from the dead on Easter.

            In our Gospel lesson we hear about how Jesus causes a miraculous catch of fish. During the forty days after Easter seven of the disciples once again went fishing on the Sea of Galilee at night but caught nothing. Then as day was breaking Jesus stood on the shore and enquired about whether they had caught any fish. When they said no, he replied, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” They did so and then caught so many fish that they could not haul the net in. The event caused John to exclaim in recognition, “It is the Lord!”

            In our text Jesus says to Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Then Luke adds, “And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” The disciples – who would become apostles – left everything and followed Jesus. Jesus was crucified and buried on Good Friday. But then the apostles kept following Jesus.

They did so because they had encountered the risen Lord at so many times, in so many different places, and in so many different groups that they knew for sure that Jesus had risen from the dead. In the resurrection of Jesus they had come to understand what his death on the cross meant for them. As Peter went on to write, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” They also understood that in the resurrection of Jesus they had the hope of eternal life. Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Jesus told Peter, “from now on you will be catching men.” Fishing is a good metaphor for the work of sharing the Gospel. There is certainly a skill involved – there are techniques and equipment. There is a knowledge base about how to do it. But it is still something that you can’t control. Some days, for whatever reason, the fish aren’t biting. All one can do is keep fishing the next day.

In the same way, we recognize that we can’t control the process by which people are called to faith. Only the Holy Spirit can create faith in Christ. He does so where and when he pleases. But we do know the means by which he does so. He does it through the Gospel – the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead. Paul told the Romans, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” We speak this word. And then the next day, we speak this word again. We keep speaking about what Jesus Christ has done for us because we know that through faith in Christ we are saints – we are forgiven and holy in God’s eyes.

You came here this morning to hear the Gospel. You came because here the Lord delivers the Gospel to you through the Means of Grace. He did in the word of absolution. He did in the reading of his word – the Scriptures.  He is right now in the proclamation of the sermon. He will in a few moments in the Sacrament of the Altar. Through these means the Spirit delivers forgiveness and strengthens you in faith.

You keep coming back here because it is the Gospel place. And because it is, the simplest way to catch men and women for Christ is to invite them to come here. In this place they will hear the Gospel through which the Spirit creates faith in Christ. Here they will be called to be united with other sinners, who are repentant sinners and therefore are forgiven sinners. Here Christ makes us saints.

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

Mark's thoughts: Does baptism have to take place by immersion?

 

Christians in the Baptist/Evangelical tradition frequently claim that the Greek verb baptizw (βαπτίζω) always means immersion under water, and therefore baptism must take place in this manner. However, it is easy to demonstrate that such a claim is not accurate. Lexically the Greek verb baptizw means to wet with water. This can happen in a variety of ways that certainly includes immersion in water. At the same time, one can show in the Greek of the New Testament itself and outside of it as well that in no way is it true that baptizw always means immersion.

 

Luke 11:37-38 says, “While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner [literally, “he was not baptized before dinner”- ἐβαπτίσθη]. Note that in this verse, the action before dinner is described as “being baptized.” If Jesus had done the action in question, it would be literally, “he was baptized.”

 

Mark 7:1-4 says, “Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash [different Greek verb than baptizw – νίψωνται] their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash [literally, “baptize themselves” -βαπτίσωνται ]. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)”

 

We recognize that like Luke 11:38, Mark 7:4 uses the verb baptizw to describe the action expected by the Pharisees  (“baptize themselves”). Yet we learn that this baptism involves only the washing of hands. Here the action “to be baptized” or to “baptize oneself” explicitly does not involve immersion of the person’s entire body. It is only the application of water to the hands.  

 

The reference to “dining couches” is a textual question since it is not found in some manuscripts.  Even if the reading is not original, it shows that application of the verb baptizw to a dining couch did not seem strange to scribes who knew the Greek language. You aren’t going to a immerse a couch in water, but you can apply water to it. They knew that baptizw is an entirely appropriate verb to describe this.

 

It can also be shown from Greek outside the New Testament that baptizw does not always mean immerse. The following texts describe soldiers fording a body of water. They are not immersed, yet the word baptizw is used:

 

Strabo Geographica 14.3.9 (first century  B.C.) Alexander, meeting with a stormy season, and being a man who in general trusted to luck, set out before the waves receded; and the result was that all day long his soldiers marched in water submerged [baptized -  βαπτιζομένων ] to their navels.

 

Polybius Histories 3.72.4 (later third and early second centuries B.C.) The infantry had great difficulty in the crossing, as the water was [baptized -  βαπτιζόμενοι] breast-high.”

 

Finally, we see in the Didache – one of the earliest pieces of Christian literature that we have outside the New Testament – that baptizw can be used to describe the action of pouring water in the triune name:

 

Didache 7:1-3 (late first or early second century) As for baptism, baptize in this way; Having said all this beforehand, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in running water. If you do not have running water, however, baptize in another kind of water; if you cannot do so in cold water, then do so in warm water. But if you have neither, pour water on the head three times in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit.

 

Paul Bradshaw has emphasized the need to acknowledge that regional diversity existed in early Christian liturgical practice (Paul F. Bradshaw, The Search for the Origins of Christian Worship: Sources and Methods for the Study of Early Liturgy; 2nd ed., 2002). There is little reason to doubt that baptism by immersion did take place in the early Church. However, this is not the practice reflected in early Christian artwork and archaeology. The earliest Christian artwork we have of baptism is of water being poured on the head. This is seen in the Catacomb of Callistus (third century A.D.) and its depiction of the baptism of Jesus.

The portrayal of Jesus' baptism reflects the manner in which Christians themselves were baptized. Christian art shows Jesus standing in water up to his waist, with water being poured on his head, such as at the Orthodox Baptistery in Ravenna (fifth century A.D.)

The earliest baptismal fonts that have been discovered are too small and shallow for the practice of immersion. This is seen, for example, in the baptismal font of Milan in which St. Augustine (fourth century A.D.) was baptized. The person stood in the water, and water was then poured on the head (Maxwell Johnson, The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation; Revised and Expanded 2007, 33-34).

Baptism has been performed in a variety of ways in the history of Church.. The previous paragraph describes baptismal practice through the fourth and fifth centuries as many adult converts were coming into the church from paganism. As the Christian church became established and Christian families were having children, the baptism of infants became the norm. The medieval practice became one of holding infant by the feet and dunking the child three times (immersion) into water of the font.  Medieval fonts are deep in order to enable this practice, such as seen in this font from Norman England (twelfth century AD).

It is clear that during the fourteenth century infusion (pouring water on the infant) began to overtake immersion in the western Church.  However, accounts of sixteenth century Lutheran baptismal practice vary, and most likely this reflects the reality that practice itself varied.  Graff indicates that Luther and Bugenhagen wanted immersion and that some Church Orders of the sixteenth  century followed them in this (Paul Graff, Geschichte der Auflösung der alten gottesdientstlichen Formen in der evangelischen Kirche Deutschlands 1:303).  He adds that many Church Orders only speak about “Baptism” and leave whether immersion or pouring is used up to the decision of the pastor baptizing (1:304). Strodach notes this diversity and adds that, in addition there was “superfusio, i.e., holding the naked child over the font and pouring water over him profusely” (LW 53:100).  Rietschel acknowledges Luther’s preference for immersion but adds that most often, as in Wittenberg, the superfusio over the naked child was customary, while in other places the water was poured over the head (Rietschel/Graff, Lehrbruch Der Liturgik, 564).  Rietschel goes on to point to the depiction of baptism in the Cranach Wittenberg altar piece as evidence for the practice of superfusio in Wittenberg.

Thus in an irony, the fourth question in the Small Catechism about Holy Baptism is based on the practice of immersion, even though today Lutherans not only don't baptize in this manner but would be hesitant to do so because of claims made by the Baptist/Evangelical tradition which insists that immersion is the only valid means of baptism.

Baptism is water included in God’s command, and combined with God’s Word. It does not matter how much water is used, or how it is applied. Where water is applied in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, baptism is taking place.

 

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity - Gen 50:15-21

                         

                                                                                          Trinity 4

                                                                                          Gen 50:15-21

                                                                                          6/28/26

 

 

Near the end of his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” He tells us that what was written in the Old Testament was written for our instruction. And he adds that this Scripture is a source of encouragement so that we can have hope.

These words guide our understanding when we come to a text like our Old Testament lesson for today which recounts the interaction between Joseph and his brothers after Jacob their father had died. We are instructed about how God works in ways that we don’t understand – ways that at the time make no sense to us.  We are encouraged that the God who was faithful to his promises through their fulfillment in Jesus Christ continues to be our God today. And we are instructed about the place of forgiveness in our life as God’s people.

You will be hard pressed to find a more dysfunctional family than that of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Some of these problems were caused by the manner in which they disobeyed God’s ordering found in the Sixth Commandment. When Sarah was unable have a child, she ignored God’s promise and encouraged Abraham to try with her servant Hagar. This produced the son Ishhmael. Then, when God blessed Sarah with Isaac there was strife because Sarah resented Hagar and her son.

Isaac and Rebekah were blessed by God with twins. But each parent showed favoritism toward one of the sons.  Isaac favored Esau, while Rebekah favored Jacob. In the end Jacob swindled Esau out of his birthright. Then Rebekah instructed Jacob about how to deceive his father and receive the blessing. In the end, Jacob had to flee because his brother Esau wanted to kill him.

Jacob was deceived by his uncle into marrying two women – the one he really wanted and the one he didn’t.  Once again, not following the Sixth Commandment created problems – are you noticing a theme here? Jacob favored the two sons he had with his favorite wife Rachel. In particular we learn that he gave Joseph special treatment over his other brothers. For example, he gave to Joseph alone an expensive robe of many colors. His brothers hated Joseph because of this.

And let’s be honest – the young Joseph was a punk. It wasn’t enough that his father favored him in a way that was sure to upset his brothers. Joseph couldn’t keep his mouth shut. When he had a dream that indicated that he would rule over his brothers, he told them all about it. And so they hated him even more. When he had another dream which said that his parents and brothers would bow down to him, he shared that with his brothers as well.

Joseph led a charmed life … until it wasn’t. As you know, the opportunity finally arose for his brothers to get back at him. They sold him as a slave and faked his death when they reported the news to Jacob. And then every time life seemed to be going well for Joseph, things turned bad.

Potiphar, the officer of Pharaoh, bought Joseph. God blessed everything Joseph did, and Potiphar soon realized this. In time Potiphar placed Joseph in charge of his household and everything he owned. But when Joseph resisted the repeated sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife, she falsely accused him of trying to rape her and Potiphar had Joseph thrown in prison.

In prison God continued to bless everything Joseph did, and the keeper of the prison soon realized this. He too put Joseph in charge of everything. Jospeh’s opportunity to get out of prison seemed to arrive when he correctly interpreted the dream of Pharaoh’s cup bearer about his release from prison and return to Pharaoh’s service. Joseph asked the cup bearer to help him escape his unjust imprisonment by telling Pharaoh about his situation. But when the cup bearer returned to Pharaoh’s service he forgot about Joseph.

Finally, two years later when Pharaoh had disturbing dreams  that no one could interpret, the cup bearer finally remembered Joseph. He was able to interpret the dreams and explain how God was about to bring seven years of plenty followed by seven years of lack. He counseled Pharaoh to store up food during the coming seven good years in order to be ready for the seven bad ones.  Pharaoh perceived Joseph’s wisdom and how God was with him, so he put Joseph in charge of the whole project. In the end, Joseph was second in charge over Egypt.

The events in our text are a result of the fact that the years of lack affected the whole area around Egypt. Jacob had to send his sons to Egypt to buy grain. Joseph’s dreams came true as his brothers bowed down before him. Finally, Jospeh revealed himself to his brothers. He brought Jacob and his family to Egypt and settled them in the good land in Goshen.

Eventually, Jacob died. And this caused fear among his brothers because they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.”

The brothers asked Joseph to forgive them. They fell down before him and uttered, “Behold, we are your servants. But Joseph replied, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

          Joseph acknowledged that they had acted in order to harm him. But he said that in the midst of this, God had intended it for good. He was working the outcome that was saving many people. There was nothing new about this understanding. Joseph had described how God had been at work when he first revealed himself to his brothers. At that time he said, “And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

          Joseph had every reason to get revenge on his brothers. But he understood how God had been at work through what they had done. And so he forgave them.  He said, “So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” He comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

These words were written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. God’s Word teaches us this morning that his plans and purposes for us go beyond our understanding. He tells us that we need to trust in him because circumstances that we consider to be a great hardship do not evade his good purpose for us. They are still part of God’s work in our life. St. Augustine wrote, “God is so good that he does not permit evil to be done unless he can draw great good from it.”

The way God works is summarized by Paul’s statement in Romans chapter eight: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” The apostle says that for those whom God has called – that’s you – all things work together for good.

Now when you are in Joseph’s position – when you are second in charge over Egypt, and you have wealth and power – it seems easy to come to this conclusion. God meant it for good. But what about when you are in the midst of hardships that seem to have no end? That is when doubt arises about whether God really is in charge. We begin to wonder about whether God really does care. There is the temptation for anger towards God, or despair.

And so this morning we need to take a deeper look at what God is in the process of doing in our text. We see here that God is in the midst of carrying out his saving work in Christ. It is his saving work, but it takes place in ways we don’t expect.

When Jacob was fleeing from Esau he camped at Beersheba and had a dream in which there was a ladder to heaven with the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Yahweh said to him, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

God promised to give him the land of Canaan. He promised to give him numerous offspring. And he promised that in Jacob all families of the earth would be blessed. These were the same things that God had promised to Abraham. In the last of those promises, Yahweh said that the Christ would be descendant of Jacob’s line.

In our text none of these things are true. Jacob died when he wasn’t even in the promised land. He went down to Egypt and died there. He wasn’t a great nation. His entire household was only seventy people when they went to Egypt.

But these circumstances do not change the fact that God was at work. When Joseph called upon Jacob to bring the family to Egypt God told the patriarch, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.”

Jacob believed and trusted God’s word as he went to Egypt. It was not in Canaan that God made Jacob into a great nation. It was instead in Egypt that Israel developed into a numerous people.

They became a numerous people, and because they were a later Pharaoh viewed them as a threat and enslaved them. But Yahweh was at work in this circumstance as well. He displayed his saving power in the exodus as he brought Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.

In our text God is in the process of working through circumstances that appear to be the opposite of what they are. What was true of his work in bringing forth Israel was all the more true of the descendant of Abraham and Jacob in whom all nations have been blessed.  It was true of Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the fulfillment of all that God had promised in the Old Testament. He was the Son of God – true God and true man. He was the One who carried out the greatest action of God for our salvation. Yet that action was, as Paul told the Philippians, humbling himself to the point of death - even death on a cross.

When Christ died on Good Friday there was nothing to see except weakness, suffering, and humiliation. As Jesus hung in the darkness and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” it appeared that there was nothing except failure.

But in his resurrection on Easter we learned that in fact the cross was the most powerful action by God to save us.  God judged our sins in Christ so that now we can be holy in his eyes. And in the Lord’s resurrection he has defeated death and begun the life that will be ours.

Because we have seen God do this in the death and resurrection of Christ we can now trust that God is at work in our life even when nothing else suggests this.  Jesus Christ is the reason we trust that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” The risen and ascended Lord is the source of our hope and encouragement in the midst of any circumstance. 

The words of our text were written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  We see that Joseph forgives his brothers.  Jesus Christ is now the reason that we forgive.

God has acted in Christ to forgive you. Baptized into Christ your sins have been washed away. You are a new creation in Christ through the work of the Spirit. And so the forgiveness you have received is the forgiveness that you share. Paul told the Colossians, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

This is the forgiveness that you speak to your spouse, children, parents, and siblings. It is the forgiveness that you share with congregation members and friends. It is the forgiveness that guides the actions of your life because God has forgiven you in Christ.

The words of our text were written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Today we are instructed about how God works in ways that we don’t understand – ways that at the time make no sense to us. We are encouraged in the knowledge that we can trust that God is at work because of the way we have seen him work for our salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  And we are instructed about the place of forgiveness in our life as God’s forgiven people.