Sermon for the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord - Eph 3:1-12

                                                                                                Epiphany

                                                                                                Eph 3:1-12

                                                                                                1/6/16

            During this last year we witnessed a remarkable event as hundreds of thousands of people – most of whom are Muslim – have been making the trip from their own country to western Europe.  Although it has just now received attention here in the United States, it is actually something that has been going on since 2011 when Sub-Saharan Africans who had migrated to Libya, began fleeing the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

            The ongoing war in Syria has prompted people from that area to come to Europe as well.  And while that has been the focus of much media coverage, the crowds making their way into Europe have included large numbers of individuals from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Eritrea and elsewhere.

            They have been drawn to northwest Europe where in particular Germany and Sweden have openly welcomed them and promised to provide a host of social services.  Certainly those nations are free to handle the matter as they wish.  The problem is that in order to get to Germany and Sweden many people from the Middle East and Southwest Asia must pass through Southern and Eastern Europe. These less affluent countries have found themselves inundated with a sea of humanity. 

            Unable to care for these large numbers of now homeless people, and fearing the crime and even terrorism they may bring, nations have responded by building fences.  Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria have all built barbed and razor wire fences that are intended to keep immigrants out and to control the flow of people. The European Union that had worked so hard to have open borders among its member countries now finds itself divided by fences that crisscross the southeastern part of Europe.

            In the Epistle lesson for the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord, the apostle Paul is describing the remarkable thing that God has done in Jesus Christ.  In Christ, God had united Jew and Gentile into one.  Paul has just reminded his Gentile readers about what they used to be.  He wrote, “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

            The Gentiles had not been part of God’s people. They were not part of the covenant God had made with Israel.  They were not included in the promises that God had made to the nation.  Instead they were without God as they worshipped the false gods of paganism. 

            The Jewish descendants of Israel lived a life that was separate from their pagan Gentile neighbors.  They were marked off from them – quite literally when it came to the men.  Circumcision was the sign of the God’s covenant with Israel, and it was something that physically marked off Jewish men from Gentiles.  As those living according to the Torah that God had given to Israel, the Jews were also marked off by the food that they ate, the religious festivals that they kept, and by the fact that they did not engage in the pagan worship in which the Gentiles participated together.

            The Jews and Gentiles were separate.  At the temple in Jerusalem a colonnade marked off the area that was called the Court of the Gentiles.  Signs warned that any Gentile who entered the temple area past that point would be put to death.

            Just before our text, Paul has stated that in Jesus Christ, God had united them and brought peace.  He acknowledges that there had been a dividing wall of hostility.  But now this had been broken down through Jesus’ death on the cross.  He said about Christ, “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”

            The sheer size of the influx of people into Europe this year is not something that people saw coming.  In the same way, in our text Paul asserts that the unity of Jew and Gentile is not something that people saw coming either.  Instead, it is something that God alone could reveal because it had been hidden from eternity.  He says, “When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

            Paul says that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  He calls this a mystery hidden for ages in God, but now revealed through his apostles and prophets.  It is a mystery that he began to reveal in the event that we are celebrating tonight – the visit by the magi to the Christ child.  Magi from the east – the scientists of their day – had perceived from an astral sign that the King of the Jews had been born.  Most likely the words of Numbers chapter 24, “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” prompted the journey.

            Most of, if not all of us, are Gentiles.  Paul proclaims to us the good news that through the blood of Jesus – through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead – we have now been made part of God’s people.  The Son of God whose incarnation we just celebrated during the season of Christmas, died for you in order to give you forgiveness.  He rose for you in order to give you life.  And because of this, Paul tells us that Christ is the One “in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”  We have bold and confident access to God.  We have it now. And we will also have it on the Last Day when Christ raises the dead and we stand before the judgment seat of God. We have confidence because in Holy Absolution tonight we have already heard what will be spoken on the Last Day.

            In our text Paul emphasizes the unity that now exists between Jew and Gentile.  He says that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  When read in Greek the thing that jumps out at out you is how Paul has piled up words that all have prefixed to them the preposition “with.”  He leaves no doubt that Jews and Gentiles are together in this. They are heirs together.  They are part of the Christ’s body together. They are sharers in the promise together.

            The question that Paul’s words address to us is whether we really view things this way. And to be honest, I am not talking about whether we think of Jews and Gentiles in this manner.  Instead I am referring to the question of whether we view our fellow Christians in general this way.  Do we view the members of our family this way? Do we view the members of Good Shepherd this way?  Do we view Christians around the world who differ from us in race and culture this way?

            Do we really understand what God has done in Christ?  He has acted in the death and resurrection of his Son to unite all as one forgiven people.  Through faith in Christ he has given all of us what we don’t deserve.  As Paul says in his famous words found in chapter two: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

            In Holy Baptism God washed away your sins through water and the Word.  He joined you into the Body of Christ. But the life of faith is not simply one in which you get something – in which you have won the spiritual lottery and get forgiveness and eternal life.  This faith has meaning for the way we live.

            In the next chapter Paul writes: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

            Through faith and baptism you are a fellow heir, a member of the same body, and a partaker of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  But as Paul says, this fact calls you to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”  The unity you share with other Christians in Christ and the undeserved love you have received in Jesus prompt you to live in ways that show forth this unity and love.  It leads you to view your fellow Christian differently and therefore to treat him or her differently. Paul describes this when he says, “            Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  The Holy Spirit leads you to do this because, after all, you are a fellow heir, a member of the same body, and a partaker of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

           

           

Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord.  On this day we remember and celebrate the visit by the magi.  In this event, God began to reveal the saving glory of Christ which is for all people. 

Scripture:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Matthew 2:1-12)

Collect of the Day:

O  God, by the leading of a star You made known Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles.  Lead us, who know You by faith, to enjoy in heaven the fullness of Your divine presence; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Mark's thoughts: Luther's striking Christmas "Gospel"

In the discussion about preaching in the Lutheran church, I think there is a growing realization that modern Lutheranism has strayed from the biblical language of exhortation and admonition about good works and the life of new obedience. A key factor for many in this recognition has been the reading of Martin Luther’s sermons.

More and more, one hears pastors say that we should “just preach the text.”  By this, many mean that if language about how Christians are to live is present, then this should be included in the sermon.  Sometimes the corollary to this is that if such language is not present in the text, then a sermon will not include language that exhorts and discusses good works and new obedience.

Certainly, not every sermon will include language about how Christians are to live.  The attention span of today’s hearer is far more limited than in the past, and as a result sermons need to be shorter.  There are inherent limits on what can be done in any given sermon, and a sermon may develop in a way that simply does not lend itself to including language about good works and new obedience.

But if a text does not include language about how Christians are to live, does this mean that our starting assumption will be that the sermon will not as well?  A reading of Luther’s Church Postil soon makes it evident that Martin Luther did not see things in this way.  A classic example of this is his treatment of the Gospel Lesson for Christmas Day, Luke 2:1-14 (called “The Gospel for the Christmas Eve Mass” in the 1522, 1528 and 1532 versions) (LW 75:209, ftnt. 1). 

The Gospel text does not have any language in it that addresses how Christians are to live – after all it is simply a narrative of the birth of Jesus Christ.  However, in his treatment of the Gospel lesson for Christmas, we see both Luther’s keen insight into the Gospel and also his understanding about what Jesus Christ means for the life of the believer.  Luther begins by emphasizing the “for you” of the Gospel.  He writes:

The first is faith, and it is right that we recognize it as the first in all the words of God.  It is of no value only to believe that this history is true as it reads; for all sinners, even the condemned, believe that. Scripture and God’s Word do not teach that faith is a natural work without grace.  Rather, the right and gracious faith which God’s Word and work demands is that you firmly believe that Christ is born for you, and that this birth is yours and occurred for your benefit (LW 75:215).

Martin Luther described Jesus’ saving work at the “great exchange” in which Christ takes our sin on the cross and gives to us His saving righteousness.  Here Luther applies a similar idea to Christ’s birth for us:

See, in this way Christ takes our birth away from us and absorbs it into His birth, and gives us His, that in it we might become pure and new, as if it were our own, so that every Christian may rejoice and glory in Christ’s birth as if he also, like Christ, had been born bodily of Mary. Whoever does not believe this, or doubts it, is no Christian (LW 75:216).

For Luther, this must be the starting point of the Christian life.  He comments:

This is the principal thing and the principal treasure in every Gospel, before any doctrine of good works can be taken out of it. Christ must above all things become our own, and we become His, before we can take hold of works (LW 75:216).

Yet receiving Christ’s work for us does not conclude the matter.  It cannot. Luther goes on to say:

If Christ has now thus become your own, and you have by such faith become pure through Him and have received your inheritance without any personal merit, only through the love of God who gives to you as your own blessing and the work of His Son, then the example of good works follows, that you will also do for your neighbor as you have seen Christ has done for you.  Here good works are their own teacher. What are the good works of Christ?  Is it not that they are good because they have been done for your benefit, for God’s sake, who commanded Him to do the works on your behalf?  In this, then, Christ was obedient to the Father and served us.

Therefore, since you have received enough and have become rich, you have no other commandment in which to serve and be obedient to Christ than so to direct your works that they may be good and useful to your neighbor, just as the works of Christ are good and useful for you.  For that reason He said at the Last Supper: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you” [John 13:34].  Here you see the He loved us and did everything for us in order that we may do the same, not for him – for He does not need it – but for our neighbor. (LW 75:216-217).

Luther sees the Christian life as that of being drawn to Christ and then also toward the neighbor:

See, these are the two things that a Christian is to practice. The one is toward Christ, that he draws Him into himself and through faith he makes Him his own, clothes himself in Christ’s blessings, and boldly builds on them. The second is towards his neighbor, that he lowers himself [to serve] him and lets him rule over his possessions as he rules over the possessions of Christ (LW 75:217).

For Martin Luther the saving work of Jesus Christ for us comes first.  However, this can never be separated from the love which the life of faith now gives the neighbor in service.  In fact, Luther can even define the Gospel as including both of these:

The other mystery or secret teaching, is that in the church nothing more than the Gospel should be preached.  Now the Gospel teaches nothing more than the two previous things: Christ and His example; and two kinds of good works, the one belonging to Christ by which we are saved through faith, the other belonging to us by which our neighbor receives help. Whoever teaches anything other than the Gospel leads people astray; and whoever does not teach the Gospel according to these two parts leads people all the more astray and is worse than the one who doesn’t teach the Gospel because he desecrates and cheats with God’s Word, as St. Paul complains about some [2 Cor. 2:17] (LW 75:218; emphasis added).

Luther’s words here are particularly striking.  While he certainly understands “Gospel” in the strict sense of the term to be matter of pure gift, he is not at all hesitant about using the word in a broader sense that includes the Christian response of good works for the neighbor.  There is Christ as Savior for us, and Christ as example for us. There is the work of Christ to save us and our work which helps the neighbor.  Both are included here in what Luther calls "Gospel."  In fact Luther says that anyone who “does not teach the Gospel according to these two parts leads people all the more astray and is worse than the one who doesn’t teach the Gospel because he desecrates and cheats with God’s Word.”

Luther himself does not emphasize the second part in every sermon.  So, for example, it is virtually absent from his treatment of the Epistle for the Third Day of Christmas, Hebrews 1:1-12 (LW 75:256-276), as instead he discusses the incarnation. But as a general description it holds true, and with remarkable consistency he takes up Christ as example and our work for the neighbor.  Martin Luther is simply unable to discuss the Gospel, without also talking about what those who have faith in Jesus Christ now do.  He does not believe that the text needs to include language about how Christians are to live in order to take up the topic in the sermon.  The presence of the Gospel propels his thought and discussion in this direction.  Luther’s Church Postil  reveals that the post-communion collect he wrote is really a description of his homiletical outlook:

We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another (LSB 166).

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Christmas - Mt 2:13-23

                                                                                    Christmas 2

                                                                                    Mt 2:13-23

                                                                                    1/3/16

                     

            Most of you know that Good Shepherd member James Peterson is a student in his first year at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN where he is studying to be a pastor. There have been many changes for James recently since he married Michela in December 2014, then graduated in the spring of this year from Concordia University, Nebraska and then moved to Ft. Wayne to begin work at the seminary at the start of this school year. The changes will keep coming this summer when Michela gives birth to their first child.

            The changes will continue, but when it comes to the location of his life, James will soon find that other people are going to tell him where to go.  It was James’ decision to go to Seward, Nebraska and attend Concordia University.  It was James’ decision to go to Ft. Wayne and attend Concordia Theological Seminary.  He could have gone anywhere he wanted to do his undergraduate work.  He could have chosen to go to St. Louis, or even St. Catherines, Ontario to do his seminary studies.

            But at the end of his second year at the seminary, James will attend a vicarage assignment service, and at that service the seminary will tell James where he will live for the next year as he serves in the parish setting under the oversight of a pastor – basically an internship year.  At the end of that year James and family will return to Ft. Wayne for his fourth, and final year at the seminary.  Then at the end of that school year he will attend a Call Service, and at that service the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod will tell James where he will live for the foreseeable future as he receives his first call to serve a church.  He won’t have any choice.  The church will tell him to go to that location and serve as pastor, and so James and family will pack up and move there.

            As we listen to today’s Gospel lesson, we are reminded that at the beginning of their life together, Joseph and Mary were told where they were to go on several occasions.  Their location was not a matter of their choice.  By all appearances their movement was dictated by powerful and dangerous leaders.  But we learn that in the midst of it all, God was in charge working out his plan.  It is a plan that is surprising.  Yet in this surprise God worked for our salvation … and he still does today.

            Luke’s Gospel tells us that Joseph and Mary were form Nazareth, in Galilee – the northern part of Israel.  Their first change of location was a result of the Emperor Augustus telling them where they had to go. Augustus had unified the empire and ended civil war … by defeating all challengers.  He was calculating and had no problem using force to get what he wanted.  It was under his rule and authority that a census decree forced Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem.  He forced them to go, but when Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ in Bethlehem we see that God was at work because it fulfilled what the prophet Micah had written.

            The appearance of a star in the east, and then after a visit to King Herod in Jerusalem, the guiding of a star had led the Magi to the Christ child.  Herod’s plan was to use the Magi to locate Jesus and kill him – that was his way of dealing with any perceived threat to his crown.  But God had warned the Magi in a dream not to return to Herod and so they went home a different way.

            Now, in our text, we learn that once again Mary and Joseph are told where they are to go. And once again the location is dictated by a powerful and dangerous man.  Matthew tells us that an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Joseph obeyed.  He arose, and took Jesus and Mary in the middle of the night and departed to Egypt.

            If we step back and look at it, things really don’t seem to add up.  Jesus is supposed to be the incarnate Son of God.  He is supposed to be the Christ – the Messiah – the true king of Israel whose rule has no end.  And yet we find Joseph fleeing with the child and his mother under the cover of darkness as they seek to escape the murderous plan of Herod the Great – Herod, who is nothing more than a petty king under Emperor Augustus’ thumb.

            We are left to wonder: This is God at work bringing forgiveness and salvation to Israel and all people?  Is this the best God can do?  It is a question that is not limited to this one moment narrated in the biblical text.  It is a bigger question that continues to confront us when we look around.  We see the Church as she is being persecuted around the world at levels that have never been seen before.  We see our culture which embraces and imposes a view of sexuality and marriage that is completely contrary to God’s ordering of creation and the revelation of his Word.  And we see lives of those who believe in Jesus Christ that are still lived in the midst of great pain, and weakness and sorrow. We can end up doubting God and wondering, “Is this really the best God can do?”

            In our text we learn that while the trip to Egypt was prompted by Herod’s evil, it was God who was still working out his purpose.  In fact, it was God who had guided the history of the nation of Israel, because he would do this through his Son.  Matthew tells us, “And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’”

            The prophet Hosea wrote these words in the eighth century B.C. as he described Israel’s history and how she had been unfaithful.  But Matthew tells us that there is actually something much bigger going on here.  Yes, they describe Israel in its failure. But they were written because they describe what Jesus Christ, who is Israel reduced to One, would do in his success.  Matthew tells us clearly that Jesus stands in the place of the nation. But where Israel failed to carry out God’s will as a light to the nations, Jesus succeeded.

            We learn that what we are seeing in parents fleeing with a child in the middle of the night is God’s powerful act of salvation.  It may look like the evil kings are running the show.  It may not look like what we expect.  But in fact it is God who is in charge and he is doing things in his way.

            We find this when Joseph and Mary are again told to change location.  Matthew tells us: “But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.’”  It is God’s command through the angel that called his Son out of Egypt. 

            Joseph obeyed and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But then he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and with good reason – Archelaus was not playing with a full deck.  Even the Romans concluded this when they eventually removed him from power and turned Judea into a Roman province.  Again, Joseph received direction as he was warned in a dream. He withdrew to the district of Galilee, and the family went to live in Nazareth.

            Yet this too was part of God’s plan.  Matthew tells us that this took place “so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.”  Now there is no clear prophecy in the Old Testament that the Christ would live in Nazareth.  It is notable that here Matthew uses the plural – he refers to “what was spoken by the prophets.”  It appears that Matthew’s reference is a more general one, and that the statement takes up the connotations of Nazareth.

            As Jesus is on trial a maidservant accuses Peter of being with “Jesus the Nazarene.”  It’s location in Galilee is looked down upon.  In John’s Gospel Nathaniel asks Philip, “Can any good come out of Nazareth.”  Later when Nicodemus asks the Pharisees to give Jesus a hearing, they reply, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

            Galilee in general and Nazareth in particular were held in scorn.  And this is the place where God’s Christ grows up.  It is not where you expect to find the Messiah.  It is a place that causes some to reject and deride him. And yet we learn that this is how God works. This is how he will work the salvation of the world through the Messiah.  He will not do it in power and glory and success.  Instead, he will do it in weakness and lowliness and rejection.  He will do it through suffering and death.

            And this too is God’s plan.  Jesus will go to the cross as Israel – the Servant of the Lord.  He will go as the suffering Servant who bears the sin of all.  He will go as the One who was was pierced for our transgressions and was crushed for our iniquities.  Just as he said during his ministry: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

            Jesus died in weakness and lowliness and rejection.  He was buried in a tomb.  But on the third day the final goal of God’s plan became clear.  In his resurrection, Jesus emerged in power and greatness.  He has been exalted to God’s right hand and when he returns on the Last Day he will have the last word against all who have rejected him.

            This is now what must guide our understanding of the life lived by the Church and Christians.  We live as those who are in Christ – those whose lives are defined by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  This means that in the present our lives will often be characterized by circumstances of weakness and lowliness and rejection. These things do not indicate the absence of God’s love and care. They do not reveal God’s failure to be involved with the course of our life.

            Quite the opposite – we have seen in Jesus that God works in unexpected ways.  He works in ways that appear the opposite of what they really are.  It is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that gives us the ability to believe this.  We have seen God work our salvation through the cross.  As those who have been joined to Christ through baptism, we will find that the Christian life is often characterized by the cross.

            But Easter assures us that the cross always leads to the resurrection.  It always leads to victory.  That is God’s plan, and it will be fulfilled for his Church and for you.  That is the faith he sustains by his Spirit through the Means of Grace.  You may experience weakness and lowliness and rejection during the course of your life. But when you do so, you are following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, and you already know where that path leads.  God has revealed his plan for you in his Son.