Category Archives: Sermons

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First Sunday in Lent–“Death and Life” (Romans 5:12-19)

A-28 Lent 1 (Mt 4.1-11)Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Today we begin our 40 day journey of Lent to the cross of Calvary. It is a somber time for the Church because we reflect on what brought about this season in the first place: sin. How serious is this thing called sin? Paul tells us in Romans 6: “For the wages of sin is death.” You can’t get much more serious than death. Death has a 100% mortality rate. That means that one day, each and every one of us will die. There is no avoiding death. As the old saying goes, “There are only things certain in life: death and taxes.” Death is coming. Death is inevitable. Death is for everyone.

Paul tells us, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sin….” Sin has infected all of creation. That is just what sin is, an infection. An infection spreads, taking something that is healthy and then passing on a disease. The disease that is passed on is death. But this death has two levels of death. It has a temporal level and an eternal level.

We all know the results of the temporal level. All one has to do is look at the local cemetery to see what those results are. Death has come for many before us. Death is coming for us now. Death will come for many after us. It is inevitable. But even far more important than the temporal death is the eternal death.

From the moment of Adam’s transgression, he was spiritually dead. That spiritual death of Adam translates to us as well. Because we are Adam’s descendants, we too inherit that spiritual death of his. Whether you want to admit it or not, sin is a real thing and it has affected all of us. We all have been born with that original sin; that sin inherited from Adam and that same sin which has brought death to us all. Just as a prince does not become a prince but is born one and has no choice, so we had no choice; we were conceived and born in sin. David writes, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Although we had nothing to do with our becoming sinners, we are not absolved of our responsibility, not even as infants. Adam’s sin has rendered the entire human race unable not to sin and has made all of us guilty before God, that is, liable to His punishment.

Like it or not, you and I and all mankind are sinners. It’s not something that we’re proud of and it’s not something that we like to admit; however, that is who we are. All of that is owed to our ancestor Adam. Through Adam, we are born with what is called original sin, “that total corruption of our whole human nature which we have inherited from Adam through our parents.” Original sin “has brought guilt and condemnation to all people; has left everyone without true fear and love of God, that is, spiritually blind, dead, and enemies of God; causes everyone to commit all kinds of actual sins.” We are guilty and condemned people. We are guilty of our trespasses against God and neighbor. Because of our sin, we are condemned – condemned to a life of eternal separation from God. Because of that separation, we are enemies of God. Remember what happened to Adam and Eve once they sinned? God kicked them out of the Garden of Eden and placed angels with flaming swords at the gate so they could never enter the Garden again. You and I cannot enter that heavenly realm because we are enemies of God.

Being an enemy of God is never a good thing. We see throughout Scripture in various places what happens to enemies of God. During the time of Noah, God wiped away the peoples of the earth because they were evil and God-less. During the Israelites’ passing through the Red Sea, God made the waters of the Sea converge upon the Egyptians after the Israelites were safely through, killing Pharaoh and his army. Being an enemy of God is not something that you want to be, but because of our sinful nature, that is exactly what we are.

Just prior to our text, Paul tells the Church at Rome, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” We were enemies of God and yet He chose to reconcile us to Him; that is, God made an exchange to receive us into His favor. Through the death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, God made an exchanged. There on the cross of Calvary, God exchanged our lives for Christ’s life. God gave to us everlasting life but it came at expense of the life of His own Son.

This is the free gift of grace which Paul talks about here and in many other places throughout his writings. Paul is very quick to say what grace is: it is the undeserved, unmerited gift of God. The latter half of our text today talks about that free gift and what that free gift has done.

Paul writes, “For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.” In simple terms, Paul is saying that because of Adam’s actions, everyone died spiritually. But because of Jesus Christ and His actions, the gift of everlasting life is intended for those who have been affected by the spiritual death through Adam – that is, it is meant for everyone. It is meant for you and it is meant for me. It is meant for the rich and it is meant for the poor. The love that God has for His creation doesn’t look at dollar signs and flashy cars. His love looks at what is most important – the fact that we are His beloved creation separated from Him by sin. That fact and that fact alone is what moved God to send His Son Jesus Christ into this world to live and to die and to rise again.

What was done for us was done by the grace of God. Through the grace of God, He sent His one and only begotten Son into this sin-filled world to redeem it. It is by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that we have life and life everlasting. Jesus Christ took our place. He took our place in this sinful world. He took our place in the eternal damnation that was ours due to our sin. In turn, we took His place. We took His place in heaven, with the Father as His beloved children. We took His place in that we are seen as white as snow, pure and holy.

For us, the baptized believers, we have received everlasting life. We have had our sinful life taken away from us. We have been given a new life, a life in Christ. What did we do to deserve this new life? The answer is absolutely nothing! We had our first parents who sinned and passed that sin down to us. We sin and continue to pass that sin our descendants. We do nothing but sin, yet have been given a free gift from God our Father. It is through that gift of grace that we are made children of God.

Through Adam, “many were made sinners.” Through Christ, “the many will be made righteous.” God declares to us that we are not guilty, not by what we have done, but what the Son of God has done for us. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in faith through Christ Jesus, amen.

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Transfiguration of Our Lord – “Changing Lives” (Matt. 17:1-9)

A-26 Transfiguration (Mt 17.1-9)Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Gospel, which was read earlier.

It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? From the celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord to today, the Transfiguration of Our Lord, we have experienced something that we won’t experience again for another 27 years, or until 2038: we celebrate the entire season of Epiphany. That means we have heard some texts from Scripture that share more of what the Church was like at the time of Christ and shortly there-after: it was rough. It was ugly. It was not what we would think of the Church as being. During the time of Christ, there were groups who sought to put our Lord to death because He made what they thought to be heretical claims, such as being the Son of God and dying and rising from the dead three days later. For Paul, some 25 or so years later, we hear how the Church of Corinth was slowly tearing itself apart from the inside out, setting up faction against faction. Some of the other churches which Paul either visited or formed began to throw out the teachings of Christ and reverting to their previous ways, or accepting the worship of idols and the like as part of their worship. This was the Church, in all of its glory. Praise be to God that this was not a picture of the entire Christian Church, but it was a picture of what can happen when the Church moves away from Christ. But when the Church is firmly rooted in Christ, then it is life-changing.

Today in our Gospel reading, we experience an event that was life-changing. Our text begins: “After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.”

Jesus had just begun to show His disciples that God’s plan for Him as the Christ will take Him to Jerusalem to suffer and die and rise to eternal life. Instead of taking all of the disciples with Him, Jesus chose to take with Him Peter, James, and John. Sometimes referred to as the Three because they were present with Jesus on special occasions, such as this and again in the Garden of Gethsemane, these men were present when a life-changing event took place. They saw the transfigured Jesus, that is, the Jesus who shone with glory “like the sun.” His clothes became white as light. What occurred to Jesus’ appearance and form was as drastic a change as a caterpillar becoming a butterfly or a tadpole becoming a frog. Here, in this moment, Jesus was allowing some of the splendor of His divine nature to show through.

Indeed, Jesus had told His disciples repeatedly that He was God, and He had demonstrated that fact through the performance of miracles. Yet, here He is making a very visible statement about His divinity. There, Peter, James and John stood before Christ in all of His divine glory. If the Three had any doubts before of who Jesus was, this was all the convincing they needed. But it didn’t stop there. Before their eyes stood Moses and Elijah: Moses, the man of God through whom the Law was delivered on stone tablets. And with him was Elijah, representing the prophets who foretold of the coming Savior, and who endured the worst of times among God’s people. And finally, to top it off, they were overshadowed in a cloud and heard the voice of God. Jesus’ disciples were not dreaming. They actually saw two individuals who had died centuries before this time. How Peter, James, and John were able to correctly identify these two people as Moses and Elijah we are not told. But these disciples were experiencing a little glimpse of heaven. Their lives were changing right before their eyes.

Peter, experiencing this life-changing event wanted to build shelters there on the mountain because he didn’t want the experience to end. Maybe he had the idea that eventually Israel and even the whole world could come to this mountain top and worship the Lord.  Peter did not understand that there was an even greater mountain top experience waiting in the future.

But that wasn’t the only life being changed on the mountain. The life of Jesus was being changed as well.

Within about nine months, Jesus would enter into the depths of His humiliation by being arrested, mocked, tortured, cruelly executed on a cross, and buried in a tomb. Above all this, He had told his disciples that He would triumph by rising from the dead. His transfiguration certainly authenticated that claim. His life would forever be changed at His Transfiguration as He begins to set His eyes to Jerusalem, where lives would forever be changed, including yours and mine.

As Jesus sets His eyes to Jerusalem, lives are about to change. The disciples’ lives would be forever changed when their Friend, their Leader, would be led to the cross and die. The lives of the Pharisees and Sadducees would be changed because Public Enemy #1 was no longer interfering in their lives and their teachings and so they could go back to business as usual. Your life would be forever changed because of the sacrificial act of Jesus Christ on your behalf.

The Transfiguration on this mountain points God’s creation to another mountain-top experience: Calvary. There, we see the extent of the love of God for us: the sacrifice of His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. There, on the cross of Christ, your life was changed forever. At that moment, your sins became Christ’s sins and His righteousness became your righteousness. What should have damned us has been taken from us. That which is not deserved, that is, Christ’s holiness, was given to us.

Lives continue to be changed even today when we heed the words of God spoken to Peter, James, and John: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Why is it so important to listen to the words of Jesus? There are many other words that we could listen to that sound just as good. But we listen to the words of Jesus because of the promises which He gives to us. He gives to us great words of comfort when He says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He gives to us the great promise following His resurrection: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Just as Jesus spoke to the Three, He speaks to us as well: “Rise, and have no fear.” There is no reason we should fear. We know that all of the promises made to us by God have been fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As we prepare for our journey to Calvary, we make ready for another mountain-top experience. On that mountain Jesus will express the inner most being of God in sweat and blood, pain and suffering, and, ultimately death and burial.  It is through that suffering and death on the cross that Jesus earned our salvation.  It is through that suffering and death on the cross that Jesus took away our sin and replaced it with His righteousness.  It is Jesus working through the cross who offers us forgiveness, life, and salvation.  It is Jesus who takes away the burden of our sin and makes it possible for us to stand in the presence of God.  It is the glory of Christ on the cross that gives the glory of eternal life to us, glory manifested at His Transfiguration and fully shown to us on the cross where He won for us the forgiveness of our sins. In Jesus name, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Seventh Sunday after Epiphany–“Christ is the Foundation” (1 Cor. 3:10-23)

A-23 Epiphany 7 (Mt 5.38-48)Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Suppose that you’re building a house. The blueprints are done and the building is ready to begin. The next step is to find the builder. You have your own builder lineup, showcasing several builders. They each show you their best work. And now you have a decision to make: who do you select to build your house? The various builders have different skills and different abilities. Do you want Bob Vila building your house or do you want a person who has yet to build a house? You want the master builder! You want nothing less than the best to build your house.

Paul had founded the congregation at Corinth on his second missionary journey. He had laid the foundation for the congregation as an expert, a skilled master builder. Yet he does not claim special praise for his work, but gives all glory to God. For it was only by the grace God had given him that he was able to do anything at all. The factions in Corinth were forgetting about the grace of God and were boasting about the gifts and abilities of their leaders instead.

Apollos had followed Paul in Corinth and had continued to build on the foundation Paul had laid. But to others, who were using wrong building materials and false methods, Paul issued the warning, “Let each one take care how he builds upon it.”

The only way to build the church is to proclaim God’s pure and unadulterated Word, the Law in all its severity and the Gospel in all of its sweetness. Appeals to pride and an emphasis on man’s gifts and abilities do not strengthen the church, but weaken it. Paul’s warning is very much in place today. In our modern world with its emphasis on salesmanship and slick gimmickry, there is always the temptation to misplace the emphasis in our ministry. There is always the temptation to tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.

What is it that the people need to hear? We go back to what Paul said just a chapter before: “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul gave the people what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear. We want to hear how we’re a good person. But we need to hear “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We want to hear that we are born without sin and that sin is something which we can control. We need to hear “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” We want to hear how everyone will go to heaven, but we need to hear that “the wages of sin is death.”

The emphasis that Paul has spent the last three chapters on is Jesus Christ and this doesn’t change in our text for today. He says, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Ask yourself this question: What is the basis of your foundation? Is the basis of your foundation Jesus Christ or is the basis of your foundation something else? For many, the foundation is Jesus Christ. But unfortunately for many, their foundation is something other than Jesus Christ. Their foundation is built upon themselves; built upon something of the world; built upon something that will ultimately fail. Jesus is the only foundation on which the church can be built. He is the cornerstone on which the church centers and lines up. His work of redemption is the heart of our proclamation. As the Bible reminds us, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” And as Jesus tells us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

But throughout the ages men have tried to lay other foundations. They have tried to establish other ways to the Father. But those who have placed their hope in false gods, ancient or modern, will find their foundation to be sinking sand on judgment day. Those within the visible church who have tried to add human achievements or worth to that foundation will find that they have nothing left on which to stand when they appear before the judgment seat of God.

Our Lord spoke about foundations in Matthew 7 when He spoke the parable of building your house on the rock. There he showed what happened to those who built their house on the rock and when the rains fell, the floods came and the winds blew, the house remained. He countered that with the foolish man who built his house on the sand. When the rains fell, the floods came and the winds blew, the house fell. When asking the good Lutheran question, “What does this mean?,” this parable reinforces the message which Paul writes to the Corinthians: any foundation other than Christ will ultimately spell disaster.

There are many things and many people in which we could build our foundation upon. We could spend an eternity making a list of them, but at the end of the day, or rather, the end of our earthly life, they too will fail or pass away, leaving us with nothing. But when Jesus Christ is your foundation, there is nothing to fear, nothing to worry about, for Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The promise which God made to Joshua, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” is the same promise that is made to us. The foundation of Jesus Christ is unmovable and unshakeable. The promises of Jesus Christ will never leave a person disappointed, because how can a person be disappointed by the forgiveness of sin won for them by Jesus Christ?

The final words which Paul speaks to the Corinthians are words which we all would be wise to hear and remember: “and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” Going back to the beginning of this letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks against the factions which the Corinthian church has set up. By their factionalism the Corinthians were robbing themselves of God’s gifts. By attaching themselves to one leader or another they were missing out on what the other leaders had to offer. God had sent different men to Corinth for the building up of the saints there. But the various groups in the congregation were making themselves poor by claiming to be the followers of one or another instead of enjoying all of them as God’s gifts. The gifts which the various men brought to the Corinthian church was Christ, for it is Christ alone who is able to save. For the Church then, the Church today, and the Church tomorrow, the foundation must be Christ, for it is Christ alone which gives to us what we need the most – the forgiveness of our sins. In Jesus name, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Third Sunday after Epiphany – “Divisions” (1 Cor. 1:10-18)

A-19 Epiphany 3 (Mt 4.12-23)Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Imagine this scene: you’re sitting in a room full of people. One person is talking and everyone else is listening. After the speaker is done, there is applause. There is a sense of unity of the words just spoken. One thing that is missing is dissension. Everyone is in complete agreement of what was just spoken. Can you imagine this taking place? Do you know where this took place? Actually, this is fictional. This never took happened. The place where this happened is not a real place, but it should be. The place where this should take place is the Church. Unfortunately, this is not true.

Listen to Paul’s admonition to the Church at Corinth: “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” Paul spoke these words when he should not have needed to. Of all the places for there to be divisions, the Church is not one of them. Unfortunately for Paul though, almost all of the churches that Paul either visited or wrote to had divisions. Some had false teachings. Some had the teachings of Christ, but added or subtracted to them. Some had teachings that were Jesus plus something else. All this and more Paul had to deal with. It was doubtful that in a single church that Paul visited was there a church without some sort of division.

Paul’s concern to the Church at Corinth was one of love for the people. Paul had visited Corinth on several occasions, at least 3 times on his missionary journeys. This was one of his churches to which he was the pastor of. He founded the church in the midst of Corinth’s reputation: sexual immorality, religious diversity and corruption. Paul shows a concerned, loving approach to divisive errors. There was a division over who they should follow. Christian unity depends on faithfulness to Christ, not chasing one’s own agendas or ideas. Unfortunately, not all of the Church at the time of Paul focused on the teachings of Christ and what He did through His life, death, and resurrection; namely, living to die, in order to give to us forgiveness of sins. There were those, as Paul said, who followed Paul, Apollos, Cephas and Christ. The problem that the Corinthians faced was that they were following others rather than Christ and accepting teachings other than Christ’s teachings. By creating factions in the names of these men and in the name of Christ Himself they were actually undermining the work of Christ’s church.

Paul’s overarching concern was the division happening over following other’s teachings. It was something so divisive that it could split the Church at Corinth, and if left unchecked, it could split the entire Christian Church. So what choice did Paul have other than to address the issue at hand?

We all know the saying, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” That same saying applies to the Church as well. The message which Paul is giving to the Corinthians is one of unity, not of division. Under the heading of religion these people think there is room for doctrinal variety, as if the Lord allows two diverse understandings to be true at the same time! That may apply to the philosophy and human ethics of some, but not so with our Lord. He is a God of order. There is only one way that is God’s way. There is only one doctrine and that is what is found in the Word of God. We can try to make our own doctrine. We can try to make the Word of God say what we want it to say, but in the end it remains the Word of God. The Word of God doesn’t change. It has been the same Word of God for 2000 years and will continue to remain the Word of God long after us.

It’s understandable why Paul was taking such a vested interest in the goings of the Church at Corinth. Paul was the pastor of the Corinthians. They were still relatively young as far as the Church went. In their early days of formation, now they are coming apart at the seams. The people were not getting along with each other. They were dividing into competing groups, based on which apostle led them to faith and that determined who they would follow. There is unity in Christ; there was only disunity and division.

Paul could see that the future of that congregation, set within the turbulent environment of bustling Corinth, was threatened. Paul was not just offering some sound advice, but was calling upon the authority of Christ Himself to set things right. It was immaterial who baptized them; the overriding truth was that they had come into a new kingdom of love and grace, and this determined that they should live in peace and harmony with each other in the name of Jesus Christ.

When we look at the history of the Christian Church from Paul to present day, nothing has changed all that much. There are many and various Christian denominations. These are largely based on doctrinal issues, though not always. When one takes a hard look at the doctrinal issues, they all go back to the teaching of Christ and the teaching that is found in the Holy Scriptures. What is the sole source of doctrine in the Church? It is the Bible and the Bible alone. God’s Word is the pure fountain and source of God’s truth.

Whenever the Church deviates from the Bible, then that is when the Church will have trouble. The Church at Corinth began to face troubles because they began to deviate from the teaching of Christ. Paul sought to bring them back to what the Church is founded upon: Christ and the Gospel.

Why is it so important that you and all God’s people throughout time continually hear one and the same message from Jesus Christ? Only from Jesus Christ do we receive forgiveness of our sins, accomplished for us by His death on the cross and His triumphant resurrection from the dead. No other teaching can give to us what Christ has given. In the case of Corinth, the teachings of Paul, Apollos, or Cephas could prove to be devastating should those teachings be different than the teachings of Christ. The young Corinthian congregation could have been torn apart by conflicting teachings of doctrine that may or may not have been centered on Christ and His teachings. Unfortunately, that same concern is very much present today. How a church body interprets Scripture; how a church body views Christ; how a church body views teachings of man in relation to the teachings of Christ – all of this can lead to the devastating destruction of the Church of Christ.

The question for Paul and the question for all of us is this: “Is Christ divided?” Paul set out to make sure that the answer to that question was no. So it is today. We as the Church seek out to answer Paul’s question, that no, Christ is not divided; for Christ is still the head of the Church and His teaching still reigns as the only rule and norm of the Christian faith. The Church continues “to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” Whenever Christ is not proclaimed, whenever Christ is diminished, then Christ means nothing. But when the Word is God is proclaimed and upheld, then it is the power to save.

For those who are resting securely in Christ’s forgiveness, given to us through His life, death and resurrection, given to us at our baptism, given to us through Word and Sacrament, Christ cannot be divided because it is Christ and Christ alone who saves. In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Baptism of Our Lord: Matthew 3:13-17

A-17 Epiphany 1 (Mt 3.13-17)

The seasons are changing. I don’t mean the weather seasons. Unfortunately, we’re still in the season of winter and knowing Wyoming, probably will be until May. When I say that the seasons are changing, I’m talking about the seasons of the Church Year. We have left the season of Christmas and have entered the season of Epiphany. Epiphany, as we all know, means “revealing.”

In the Old Testament, God chose one people, the children of Israel, to receive His covenant. The Gentiles, the non-Israelites, could not enter the inner courts of the temple to worship God because they were outsiders. Yet from the very beginning, God had said Abraham would be a blessing to all nations, not just to Israel: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This is the message of Epiphany. When the Magi, who were Gentiles, came to worship Jesus, they showed that now all people have access to God because Jesus is the new temple: He is God in the flesh.

Today, on the first Sunday after the Epiphany, the Church celebrates the Baptism of Our Lord. Approximately thirty years have passed since Jesus last appeared in Matthew’s gospel. He was but a toddler then. With little fanfare Jesus suddenly bursts upon the scene in this text. He is grown to manhood and seeks a baptism from John in order to “fulfill all righteousness.” This is a great epiphany.

In reading the account of the baptism of Jesus, one must ask the question, Why? Why would Jesus be baptized if He is the Son of God who is sinless? Is there a reason why Jesus needs to be baptized?

Jesus arrives at the very place where the people have been confessing that from which He has come to save them: “their sins.” As they confessed their sins, the people were being baptized by John in response to John’s message: “Repent!” Now Jesus has come to the same place, to John, “to be baptized by him.” Does Jesus need to repent? Does Jesus need to be converted from unbelief to faith? John knows that the answer to these questions must be “No!”

How is it that the perfect God-man begins His public ministry by standing in line with sinners in order to be baptized?  This is the predicament that presents itself to John as this perfect, holy creator of all things now stands as a man in the Jordan.  How can John baptize this perfect Son of God into repentance for the forgiveness of sins?  John hesitated because he didn’t understand why the holy, sinless Son of God needed baptism.  Furthermore, even if this holy, sinless one needed baptism, he himself was certainly not worthy to do it.  He said, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” With these words John confesses that he, John, is the sinner.  He is the one who needs forgiveness.  He is the one who needs the baptism into repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Now, if John calls himself a sinner, then what chance do we have?

But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  If Jesus were to explain himself, He might say it this way, “In order that poor sinners might come to righteousness and receive salvation, you must now baptize me.  I have become a sinner for the sake of sinners and must fulfill the things that God requires of sinners.  In this way, sinners may become righteous through me.”

Here Jesus begins the work of salvation by taking the place of sinners.  Here Jesus takes John’s place – your place – my place.  Here Jesus takes up the sin of the world and offers us the gift of His holiness.  He becomes the greatest sinner of all; not with His own sin, but with our sin.  Here He takes up our burden for us.  As John performed the simple act of pouring water on Jesus, God poured on Him the iniquity of us all.

St. Paul expanded on this in today’s Epistle: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  Here Paul tells us that our baptism joins us to Christ and His baptism.  Our sin becomes His and His perfection becomes ours.  His innocent suffering and death are credited to our account.  The eternal life and salvation that He earned are already ours.  We will rise from death to live in eternal joy just as He rose from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity.  Through His Son, Jesus, God has done everything needed to secure our salvation for us.

Jesus does just what His name means, “the Lord saves.” When talking about the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, Luther asks this question: What benefits does Baptism give? The answer: “It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.” This is the work done for us through Jesus Christ, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.

Immediately following Jesus’ baptism, we see the Trinity present. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus? The Holy Spirit manifests Himself as a dove descending upon the Son. As the symbol of peace, it is a reminder to us that, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. When the voice of God from heaven speaks, He says something very simple, yet very profound: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Son has been obedient to the Father’s will.  Here the Father acknowledges that the Son is indeed living a life of perfection and fulfilling the promises given through the prophets.  The Father tells us that Jesus is the cause and target of His good pleasure.  He tells us that Jesus is His beloved Son.  Since Jesus stands in our place, the Father’s pleasure with His Son is also His pleasure with you and me.  Because the Father is pleased with His Son, Jesus, He is pleased with us. We are now the Lord’s beloved child because of the work of Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Christmas Eve Candlelight: “Time has Come”

Text: Luke 2:1-14(15-20)

“I wish Christmas time would never be over.” It is a feeling I’m sure we’ve all shared. Christmas seems to come earlier every year; the commercialization of it, that is. It is a time that comes and goes, leaving us yearning for a day when time would stand still and somehow our lives would be filled with excitement, and our days would be kinder, lovelier, and more peaceful. That time never seems to come, though we never give up the dream.

What would life be like without special moments? For example, just think about how this time of the year dominates our days. It’s Christmas time, wintertime, shopping time, vacation time. Every day there comes a time to wake up, a time to go to work, a time to eat, a time to play, a time to go to bed. The word time defines our existence, as the preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes puts it: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh; . . . a time to seek, and a time to lose; . . . a time to love, and a time to hate.” Those are the times that come and go as we move through life – happy times, sad times, exciting times, boring times, full times, empty times.

And so it is in the world in which we live, marking our time every moment of every day. We are creatures bound by time, which can be a challenge or a problem, an opportunity or a disaster. Time, which was intended by our Creator to be a blessing, sometimes seems to be more like a curse. We delight in those moments when we have good times, exhilarating times, hopeful times. But we can easily turn them into anxious, stressful, hurtful, desperate times.

In the Christmas story, the time came. It came as a decree from the emperor requiring everyone to return to his ancestral hometown for a census. Today the Census Bureau sends representatives to our houses. In those days, they required families to take the time to make a long, hard journey. For shepherds it was time to keep watch over the flocks at night, shivering in the cold, enduring the time until morning came. And for the holy couple, Joseph and Mary, it was time to find a place – not just to rest, but to deliver a baby, since there was no room at the inn.

Here we are, gathered together as God’s holy people waiting to celebrate that moment in time when a Baby was born, but it is not just the birth of any baby. It is the birth of the one whom Isaiah foretold of so long ago: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” This Baby is none other than Jesus Christ, the very Son of God. The time has come. The time has come for the promise from God of a Savior to be fulfilled. The time has come for God’s creation to be restored. The time has come for the sins of the world to be forgiven. The time has come for your sins to be forgiven.

When we see how the Son of God came into the world, it is not how the people of the New Testament expected. They had grandiose expectations of their King: a man who was strong and mighty; a man who would reign as their earthly king; a man who was powerful and a born leader. Instead, they received a Baby, born to meek and meager parents – a young teen mother and a carpenter. Instead of getting a great and powerful king, they got a Baby. This Baby was not strong and mighty. A Baby could not serve as a king. He wasn’t powerful or a born leader. What a let-down this must have been! Instead of getting a Messiah who fit their profile, they received a Baby who was the Messiah which fit God’s profile.

The prophet Isaiah later writes this: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The people knew what they wanted the Messiah to look like. However, God knew the Messiah that they needed. He knew better than the people did of what they needed. They wanted someone who would establish an earthly kingdom, possibly bring peace or make Nazareth a respectable city again. Instead of giving to the people what they wanted, God gave what they needed: a King who would reign over heaven and earth. He gave to them a King would establish a peace that passes all understanding, a peace between God and His creation. Jesus our King restored the relationship between God and us by His death on the cross. That was something that no earthly king could do; something only the Son of God could do for us.

Look at where Jesus was born. He was born in a manger, nothing more than a feeding trough. If He were the Messiah that the people had expected, wouldn’t there be more pomp and circumstance to His birth? If you look at the birth of a child of a dignitary or a leader of a nation, there is security, paparazzis taking pictures, the red carpet rolled out; in short, nothing but the best. In the case of Jesus, what happens? Listen to what Luke says: “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” What was done for the Babe of Bethlehem? Maybe a few sheep were moved out of the way. Possibly a hay bale was undone for the Holy Family. Hopefully the innkeeper was gracious enough to clean out a trough to lay Jesus in. None of this screams “Son of God” or “Messiah” for the people, but this was all according to God’s time and God’s plan.

Tonight, the time has come. The time has come for the Savior of the nations to be born – Jesus is born. The love of God took the shape of one named Jesus, born of Mary, but called also Immanuel – God with us – thus blessing and redeeming our times.

For many, tonight marks the end of waiting: waiting to open the presents which Santa Claus brings. But for the millions of believers in Christ, tonight is the culmination of much wishing and hoping and waiting as well. We too have received a present. But it is not a present that comes from Santa. Rather, it is the greatest gift of all – the gift of God’s own Son.

The time has come for us. In Jesus, God has entered our world where we are born and die, work and play, love and dream. We rejoice with the angel who proclaimed, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Keep On Preaching Christ


But someone might say, Are we to proclaim nothing but that Christ died for us? Isn’t it enough to preach about this one time only? I have heard it so often and know it so well. Answer: The Jews were required to hold the deliverance from Egypt in remembrance not only once, but always, year after year. But should we Christians trouble ourselves continually to repeat the remembrance of the deliverance Christ wrought for us from sin, death, devil, and hell? Are you among those who say, I have heard it all before; why must I hear it again? If so, your heart has become dull, satiated, and shameless, and this food does not taste good to you. This is the same thing that happened to the Jews in the wilderness when they grew tired of eating manna. But if you are a Christian, you will never grow weary, but will long to hear this message often and to speak about it forever.

Martin Luther, Sermon for Maundy Thursday, April 2, 1534. From Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, vol. 5, page 463.

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Remembering September 11

On September 11, 2001, it was my second day of classes in my first quarter of studies at Concordia Theological Seminary.  As I was leaving my class and heading to Kramer Chapel, people were talking about a plane accident where a plane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.  Shortly thereafter, a second plane crashed into the second tower.  Needless to say, we were stunned by the morning’s events.  Our chapel service that day was led by Rev. Richard Radtke, then senior pastor of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The following is his sermon which he preached that day.

Text: Luke 11:25-35

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The news this morning is very grim.  A commercial airliner crashed into one of the buildings of the World Trade Center in New York City.  A few minutes later, another airline crashed into the second World Trade Center building.  Then another commercial airline crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C.  Just a few minutes ago, we heard news that one of the World Trade Center building collapsed.  There is a great deal of confusion and horror about all this.  In the midst of this tragic news, we ask: How can this be?  How can this happen in our own land – in America?  Yet, this terrible tragedy shows the brokenness of this world, and how this world is truly a culture of death.  This means that today we can see even more than ever the need for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This is why you are here – as professor, student, staff, or pastor.  In his words of comfort before the service began, President Wenthe said that the work of the seminary will go on because of what has happened this morning.  Nothing else can give us the true hope that we need other then the word of our Lord.  And so, in my homily this morning, I will spend a few moments on today’s Gospel, which is our calling to follow Jesus, and then apply our calling to this morning’s tragic events.

The call to follow Jesus surpasses all else.  But on our own, who could qualify?  Not one of us here, or anywhere, for that matter.  Because of our sin, we are all not only spiritually impoverished, but the Scriptures call us spiritually dead.  The call to follow Jesus is serious and severe.  We must renounce all to follow Him – and not depend on family, possessions, works, or self.

But the One who calls us is gracious.  The One who is sinless became sin for us, and carried our sin in His flesh to the cross.  In Jesus Christ we find our life and our hope.  His gospel. is our invitation.  He invites us to come to Him and find rest for our souls.  He invites us to come and follow Him.

The call to follow Jesus is especially meaningful for us today as we witness the horrifying events of this morning.  We know that the evil one, satan, is working ever so hard to silence the word of God.  He is working evil in this world to confuse and mislead all people, even the people of God.  He wants us to take our eyes off the gospel and the Lord Jess.  And so, we must trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.  The Lord our God has promised in His word: “I will never leave your nor forsake you.”  Our Lord Jesus invited us to come to Him with these words: “Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  The Scriptures are filled with words of comfort that remind us of the presence and power of our Lord at all times, and especially when we face these difficult and perilous times.

Things will never be the same in the United States.  More tragedies may yet happen this day.  It will be “a day of infamy.”  I would urge all of us to pray for our nation, for President Bush, and for all our leaders, that God would give them strength and courage for today and for all the days to come.

In a few moments, we will have the opportunity to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion.  We so need the strength that God gives in the true body and blood of His Son Jesus Christ.  We so need the presence of our Lord among us as we struggle with questions about this national tragedy.  Here at this altar we will be nourished, and we will receive the strength that only our Lord can give – strength for the moment and for the days that are ahead of us with all the uncertainties of these times.  Therefore I commend you to our gracious and loving God, and I pray with you for His strength for our nation and all our leaders and for those who proclaim the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.  May His peace be with you.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.