Sermon for Third Sunday after the Epiphany

                                                                                                            Epiphany 3

                                                                                                            Mt 8:1-13

                                                                                                            1/26/14

            When we lived in Brookfield, IL, which is inner suburban Chicago, I don’t remember ever seeing any wildlife in our neighborhood.  Of course, that’s not surprising.  After all there was nothing in the area except village after village – suburb after suburb.  You drove through one continuous city, and apart from the signs marking each village you would never really know that you had left one and entered another.

            On the other hand, Marion is very different.  Here if you live near the edge of the city as we do, you are living near the countryside.  There are fields, woods and some farmland. And there is a lot of wildlife out there.  I thought about this a couple times recently when I have been driving Abigail home from basketball in the evening.  Several times as we drove into our neighborhood we saw a number of deer standing in a front yard.  On one occasion I slowed down and surprisingly the deer didn’t move at all.  We were probably ten feet away from the deer who just stood there looking at us.

            Now I enjoy seeing the deer.  They are pretty and graceful animals.  It has been fascinating to see an occasional fox.  But I don’t like it when one particular animal shows up in our neighborhood. And that animal is a skunk. There have been quite a few of them recently.  With their black and white stripe they are hard to miss.  And very often, you don’t even have to see them in order to know that they are around.  The scent they spray is powerful and unmistakable. 

            It smells bad when you just sniff it in the air.  Our dog Baylor basically lives in the house, and yet somehow in the brief time she goes outside she has managed to get sprayed on multiple occasions.  You would think that one experience of a full blast of skunk odor would have taught her … but apparently not.  I don’t like it when I see a skunk show up around our house, because unlike Baylor I know for sure that one of the last things in life I want to experience is to get sprayed by one of these annoying creatures.

            The crowds around Jesus probably had a similar feeling when they saw the leper show up in our Gospel lesson.  This was not someone you wanted to see, and it certainly was not someone you wanted to come anywhere near you. The term “leper” in the Bible describes a person with some kind of skin condition that was easily noticeable.  However, it seems unlikely that it refers to what the modern world has called “leprosy” – a condition known as Hansen’s Disease.

            Leviticus chapters thirteen and fourteen describe how leprosy made a person unclean in the ritual system of the Torah.  As such, it cut those afflicted off from fellowship with the rest of the people.  Leviticus thirteen provided the instruction: “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.”

            The leper had to do this because contact with another individual made that person unclean too.  Leviticus says that when a person knows that they have touched human uncleanness, they must sacrifice a lamb or a goat in order to make atonement.  If a leper showed up and touched you, your whole day was messed up.  Forget about what you were going to do.  Now you had to undertake a significant effort and expense in order to return your life to normality.

            This is the reason that our text says, “And behold! A leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”  In the previous three chapters Jesus has been on the mountain teaching.  Now he has come down the mountain and we are told that great crowds followed him.  Then suddenly a leper approaches Jesus. The one who is supposed to stay away; the one you don’t want anywhere near you came up to Jesus and began to bow before him.

            The leper bowed down, and said something remarkable: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”  There are three things to notice here. First, the leper called Jesus “Lord” and so we know he approached Jesus in faith because in Matthew’s Gospel only those who have faith use this title to address Jesus.  Second, the man’s request is built on the assumption that Jesus does have the authority and power to cleanse him.  And third, the man doesn’t make a direct request.  Instead, even in his request he submits before Jesus as he says, “If you will.”

            The leper knew that he had a problem, and so he came to Jesus for help.  Like the leper, you have a problem.  The thing is, you often want to deceive yourself into thinking that it’s really not there, or that it’s really no big deal.  Sure you say harsh, cutting and angry words to others – but they say them to you as well.  Sure you worry about how to pay for that lifestyle that you simply must have – but so does everyone else.  Sure you may indulge in the use of some pornography – but it’s only soft porn; it’s not any of that really bad stuff.

            In these and a host of other ways, you sin in your thoughts, your words and your deeds.  You can try to rationalize it.  But that won’t do you any good when you are dealing with the holy God.  “Pretty good” doesn’t cut it.  And deep down, you know it. You know the nagging sense, after the fact, that you failed; that you have not been what God wants you to be.

            The leper came to Jesus because of the way the fallen world had afflicted his life.  He approached in faith and humility as he said, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”  And then as the Lord who brings salvation, Jesus acted.  He did the unexpected.  He touched the leper. Jesus did the thing that normally would make him unclean.  Yet instead, his touch overcame the uncleanness.  It overcame the leprosy.  We hear in our text, “And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

            Jesus began his ministry with the words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven stands near.’”  Then shortly after this we receive a summary statement of what his ministry looked like when we are told, “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”

            Jesus preached and he healed. And in both his authority was revealed.  That’s what the verses right before our text say as we hear: “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.”  And that’s what the second half of our Gospel lesson says as the centurion believes that Jesus has the authority simply to say the word and heal his servant.

            Jesus has authority because he brings the kingdom of God – the reign of God that is present in his ministry.  But there is something very important to recognize about this authority.  He hasn’t come to use this authority for himself.  Instead he seeks out those in need – those who struggle with sin and all of the ways it has impacted the world.  In the next chapter when Jesus calls Matthew, the Pharisees will complain that our Lord eats with tax collectors and sinners.  He will respond to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

            Jesus brought the saving and powerful reign of God.  And he came to serve you, a sinner.  Our Lord said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He brought God’s saving reign by dying on the cross as the ransom for you – as the One who received God’s judgment against your sins.  And then he brought the reign of God by rising from the dead and beginning the resurrection of the Last Day – the resurrection that will one day be yours.

            And now, he continues to bring God’s reign to you.  He continues to come and serve you.  In fact, that is the reason we call what is going on this morning the “Divine Service.”  Here our Lord comes and serves us with his gifts of the Means of Grace as he gives us forgiveness, life and salvation.

            In our text today, Jesus does the unexpected.  He reaches out and touches the leper with a power that healed the leprosy and drove away the uncleanness.  In a few moments, our Lord will touch you.  In the Sacrament of the Altar he will touch your mouth with his true body and blood. He will touch you with the power to forgive all of your sins because it is his true body and blood, given and shed for you on the cross.

            Our Lord will send you home today after embracing you with forgiveness in a variety of ways: in Holy Absolution; in the reading of the Scriptures; in the proclamation of the sermon; and in the Sacrament of the Altar.  You will once again have received the saving reign of God. Through these means the Holy Spirit strengthens you in the faith and nourishes the new man.

            He does this so that you can once again take up the struggle against sin. He does this so that you can forgive and pray for the person who has wronged you.  He does this so that you can give thanks for all the blessings God does give to you, even as you trust in him to provide the things that he thinks you need.  He does this so that you can take the practical steps needed to avoid pornography; so that single Christians can wait to make us of sexuality in marriage; so that married Christians can rejoice in this gift of God with their spouse.

            It is an ongoing struggle. Through the work of the Spirit you will be able to do these things.  And we also know that there will be times when we fail. And so next Sunday we will return here again.  We will give thanks for all of the ways that we have seen Christ at work in our life.  And where the old man he raised his head we will repent.  We will return to Jesus Christ and say, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”  And in the assurance of the Gospel we know that once against he will touch us through the Means of Grace as he forgives all our sins.

Feast of St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor

Today is the Feast of St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor.  Timothy was the son of a Gentile father and Jewish mother whose mother and grandmother were Christians.  St. Paul met Timothy on his second missionary journey and Timothy became a trusted co-worker who engaged in mission work in Greece and Asia Minor (modern day Turkey).  According to tradition, after Paul’s death, Timothy went to Ephesus, where he served as bishop and was martyred when he was beaten to death by a mob of pagans.

Scripture reading:

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:11-16) 

Collect of the Day:

Lord Jesus Christ, You have always given to Your Church on earth faithful shepherds such as Timothy to guide and feed Your flock.  Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and administer Your means of grace, and grant Your people wisdom to follow in the way that leads to life eternal; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Why does Calvin reach American Evangelicals and Luther does not?

James R. Rogers has written a very perceptive piece about why American Evangelicals respond to Calvin and not Luther.  Lutherans need to recognize that what they offer is very different.  For this reason it does not encounter the same easy reception.  Yet in the "for you" of its sacramental focus it offers the Gospel in all of its comfort and assurance. 

Culture news: Married parents and economic upward mobility

Marriage and family are the central feature of how God has ordered human existence.  It is therefore not surprising that rejection of these institutions causes hardship, while the affirmation of them brings blessings.  A recent National Science Foundation study has looked at economic mobility and has found that:

“The strongest predictors of upward mobility are measures of family structure, such as the fraction of single parents in the area. As with race, parents’ marital status does not matter purely through its effects at the individual level. Children of married parents also have higher rates of upward mobility if they live in communities with fewer single parents.”

Life news: Eight lies in President Obama's Roe Statement

Matthew Schmitz breaks down the euphemisms of President Obama's Roe statement to shine the light on the lies.

Sermon for Second Sunday after the Epiphany

                                                                                                      Epiphany 2

                                                                                                      Exo 33:12-23

                                                                                                      1/19/14

            On March 11, 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake took place 231 miles northeast of Tokyo, Japan.  It caused a tsunami to hit Japan with a thirty foot wave that caused incredible damage.  Almost sixteen thousand Japanese were killed in this terrible natural disaster.

            As Japan searched for survivors and sought to provide relief to those who had lost the place where they had lived, it soon became clear that the tsunami had produced a new crisis.  The disaster damaged nuclear reactors at the Fukushima power plant and officials began desperate measures to prevent a meltdown as they pumped in sea water.  The worst case scenario was averted, but to this day the situation at Fukushima continues to be an issue as the Japanese seek to provide a permanent solution.

            The Fukushima disaster was almost three years ago, however concerns about its impact have been in the news recently.  Some seventy former U.S. Navy sailors who were on the board the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ronald Reagan are suing the government because they say the radiation from Fukushima has made them ill.  When tsunami occurred, the Reagan was diverted to assist with relief efforts.  It was near the Fukushima plant when the plant released a huge steam plume as they were trying to cool the reactor with sea water.  The plume rose and when it hit the cold Pacific air, it turned in o snow that fell on the Reagan.  Navy crews worked clearing the snow.  The snow was radioactive and they believe that it is the cause of the many cancers, thyroid issues and other physical problems that have now appeared.

            The Fukushima plant did release radiation.  There has been concern about the impact this may have on the United States as it crosses the Pacific Ocean, carried by currents.  Many experts have claimed that it poses no threat.  However, not all are convinced and it certainly didn’t cause speculation to cease when the Department of Health and Human Services recently posted a solicitation to businesses for fourteen million potassium iodide pills – the drug used to help prevent radiation sickness.

            Radiation is frightening.  It’s frightening because we don’t really understand it.  It’s frightening because you can come into contact with it and not even know it – you can be exposed by the water you drink or the food you eat.  And it’s frightening because it will kill you.  Get enough exposure and you will die a horrible death from radiation sickness.  Get some exposure and it can kill you later through cancer. That is why we are fearful about coming into its presence, and why such stringent measures are taken to limit exposure and keep us safe.

            In our Old Testament lesson today we learn that things are very much the same when it comes to the holy God.  Moses wants a full exposure to God – he wants to see God’s face.  However, God says that no person can experience this and live.  Instead, he reveals himself in a measured and restrained way – he allows Moses to seek his back. Yet by this revelation, Moses receives the assurance that God’s presence will go with Israel and with him during their journey.

            In our Old Testament lesson this morning we hear an exchange between Yahweh and Moses.  God had called Moses to lead his people Israel out of Egyptian slavery in the Exodus.  God had rescued the nation and brought them to Mt. Sinai, where he had entered into a covenant with Israel.  Now, they were about to set out from Mt. Sinai for the promised land.

            God tells Moses that his presence - literally “his face” – will go with Israel and the he will give the people rest.  For Moses this fact is critical.  He says to God, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

            Moses knew that it was only the presence of Yahweh that made Israel unique and distinct from every other people on the earth.  In and of themselves, they were nothing.  They had no land. They had no home.  They had no real military might.  They had no great city filled with magnificent buildings. The only thing that made them special, was the fact that Yahweh had made them his choice possession and was with them.

            Yahweh responded by saying, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” And then Moses made an additional request.  He said, “Please show me your glory.”  Moses asked for a direct revelation of God. 

            Yahweh responded that he would make his goodness pass before Moses. However he added, “But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”  God told Moses that a direct encounter with him was impossible because it would be fatal.  Instead, God would hid Moses in a cleft in the rock and shield him as God passed by.  Then he would allow Moses to see him indirectly – he would allow Moses to see his back.

            Our text this morning teaches us a profound truth about how God deals with us.  God reveals himself to us.  He is present with us in ways that set us apart as his people.  Yet because of who he is as God, and what we are as fallen creatures our God does so in indirect ways.  He does it in ways that reveal and hide himself at the same time.

            We think about this especially during this season of Epiphany.  At Christmas we celebrated the fact in the fullness of time God sent forth his Son into the world.  John tells us in the first chapter of his Gospel, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  God grants that his glory is seen in the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ.  And as Jesus begins his ministry, this glory is revealed.  In our Gospel lesson this morning we hear of how Jesus turns water in to wine.  At the end of the account John writes, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

            In our Old Testament lesson, God reveals himself to Moses.  Yet he does this in a way that is restrained and hidden.  He allows Moses to see his back.  And we find that the same thing is true in Jesus Christ.  God doesn’t reveal his glory directly because sinful man can’t bear this.  Instead, in a miraculous action, God reveals his glory through Jesus Christ.  Just as Moses asked for God to be present with Israel, so Jesus is Immanuel – God with us.  Yet just like Moses’ experience, this is not some kind of head on and direct encounter with the glory of God.  Instead, it is a hidden glory – a glory revealed to faith.

            This fact becomes undeniable at the moment when Jesus Christ’s ministry reaches its goal on Good Friday.  God’s saving glory is revealed as Jesus dies on the cross for us. It is revealed in a way that appears to be the opposite of glory.  It is revealed in blood, and humiliation, and suffering, and death.  It is glory revealed in hiddenness.

            That’s what he continues to do.  He reveals his saving glory.  Yet he does so in ways that are not forceful and overpowering.  He does it in ways where the glory is hidden.  He does it through the Gospel, as it is proclaimed and shared with others.  He does it through water in a font, as he gives forgiveness and new spiritual life in Holy Baptism.  And he does it in a way that is the summit of the Divine Service each week.  He does it through bread and wine in the Sacrament of the Altar.

            Now frankly there are many times when, like Moses, we want to ask for more.  We know how we want God to do things.  We don’t want a Gospel that others can reject.  We don’t want the gifts of the sacraments that are received in faith – gifts that even many Christians around us reject. We want force and power.  We want God to deal with us directly. We want his glory – straight up and in our face.      

            Peter, James and John had that experience once.  We will hear about it in three weeks.  At the transfiguration of Jesus, our Lord’s face shone like the sun and his clothes were white as light.  A bright cloud overshadowed them and God the Father’s voice was heard.  And you know how they reacted?  They fell on their faces on the ground and were terrified.

            No, God doesn’t reveal himself directly in unfettered glory because we can’t handle it. Like silly little children we have no idea what we really need and what is really good for us.  And so God hides himself in order to reveal himself.  We saw this on Christmas Eve as we beheld the creator of the cosmos as a baby in a manger.  We will see this on Good Friday, as the Son of God hangs on a cross and dies for our sins.

            But then, on Easter, we will see Jesus Christ rise from the dead.  We will see him defeat death and begin the resurrection of the Last Day.  In the resurrection of Jesus we find the assurance that though it is indirect; though it is now hidden, the word and sacraments of Jesus Christ are indeed the powerful revelation of God’s saving glory. 

            Why is it that every Sunday the Divine Service reaches its summit in the celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar?  It is because that bread and wine is not just bread and wine. Instead, as Christ takes it and adds his word, it becomes the means by which he gives us his true body and blood to eat and to drink.  It is the presence of the risen One – the One who continues to come bodily into our midst to give us forgiveness and to strengthen us in the faith.  Now it is hidden.  One can choose to reject his words about it.  But that does not change what it is – the very thing his Church has always confessed it to be.

            In our text today God promises Moses and Israel, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”  Our Lord continues to go with us as he comes into our midst through his Means of Grace.  And in a particularly unique way he is present with us in the Sacrament of the Altar as he gives us rest in the forgiveness of his body and blood.

            He comes as the risen Lord in a hidden way – like the baby in the manger; like the man on the cross.  But because it is the risen and ascended Lord who comes to us in the Sacrament, each celebration points to the day when there will be nothing hidden about his presence.  It points to the Last Day when he will return in glory and we will see him as he is.  It points to the day when we will no longer see God in a hidden and indirect way – when we will no longer see God’s back, but instead we will see him face to face.