Epiphany 3 2019

2 Kings 5:1-15a; Matthew 8:1-13

January 27, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

Funeral Sermon for Beverly Garlie

Upon the Festival of the Confession of St. Peter

Mark 8:27-9:1

January 18, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

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Epiphany 2 2019

John 2:1-11

January 20, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

Our Gospel reading for today, the story of Jesus’ first miracle of changing water into wine is unique to the Gospel according to St. John. The wedding at Cana is the first of Jesus’ signs and it begins His public ministry. As we hear this account at Cana and the sign Jesus did there manifesting His glory, we come off of hearing about the Baptism of Jesus last week, witnessing the Christian baptism of a baby. Serves to create and sustain faith in Christ, faith that is delivered and sustained in the people of God by means of the Word and Sacraments.

The story at Cana extols the virtue of marriage. The Lord was invited to the wedding, and His presence and first miracle blesses this estate of one man and one woman joined together into a one flesh union, as God created. Because of sin many crosses have been laid upon this holy estate of marriage, nevertheless our gracious Father in heaven does not forsake His people, but blesses that which He established as holy and acceptable to Him.  Earthly marriages reflect a heavenly reality. St. Paul expounds on this in our Epistle.

Weddings were occasions of great joy, of family peace and unity. Throughout the Old Testament, marriage became a central prophetic symbol for the peace and prosperity that God’s salvation brings. In the union of husband and wife we see an earthly picture of the union between God and Israel, between Christ and His bride, the Church.  Peace and unity where the hallmarks of this marriage.  This is part of why traditional, Biblical marriage is so important, both to society and to the church, and why sexual immorality, that is to say, sexual activity outside of the lifelong marriage of one man and one woman, is so devastating especially when the sinfulness is willingly committed by Christians.  The way we live publicly confesses who we believe Christ is, and who we are as His children. All too often we fail in this regard. We turn a blind eye to cohabitation, we divorce without biblical cause, we adulterate ourselves by failing to live with chastity and holiness.

Repent of the lust in your heart, the wandering of your mind, your self-justification, your neglect to the fact that you are not your own, you do not belong to yourself, and your body is not yours to do with you as you please. You have been created by the Father, redeemed by the blood of Christ, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. You belong to your heavenly Groom, body and soul. 

This sinfulness is nothing new. It has gone on since Adam and Eve.  The early church frequently interpreted Christian baptism as a nuptial in which Christ weds an unworthy bride. Unworthy you are.  You do not deserve God’s love. You do not deserve His devotion. You do not deserve His commitment. Yet this is the mystery revealed to us by faith, that Christ weds Himself to sinners, He joins you to Himself, to present you not as you are in your sin, but without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that you might be holy and without blemish, cleansed by the washing of water with the word. Here, in the miracle of Cana we see that this marriage is begun.

The changing of water into wine, water that was used for rites of purification, shows that the purification is being replaced by another, different, and greater purification. The water in the stone jars is symbolic of the baptism of John with water only.  His baptism stands within the context of the old covenant that is concluded and fulfilled in Christ.  The wine of Cana is a symbol of Christian baptism, which is a baptism in which water with the word, made effective through the blood of Christ, cleanses from sin and bestows eternal life through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In 1 John 1:7 the evangelist writes that the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.  In Hebrews 10 the blood of Jesus is associated with the purifying actions of Baptism, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb 10:19-25).  Jesus’ death is sanctifying purification applied through the washing of Christian baptism.

This is what St. Paul was talking about in Ephesians. The bridegroom Himself prepares His bride, pure and holy. In part, this is the reason why white is the traditional color of the bride’s wedding dress; it connects us back to the Baptism, to being dressed in the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all our sin, draped over us when we united with Him in the holy matrimony of this blessed baptism. You are not sinless, but through faith you are forgiven, presented pure and holy and righteous in the sight of God.  

Water and wine are just the start. Jesus changes everything.  Once we were destitute, empty, used up, and He changes us filling us with His Spirit all the way to the brim so that our cup overflows. He weds us to Himself, undeserved, unworthy, and all too often adulterous people. He changes we who are as sinners into the beloved bride of Christ, washed and purified in the blood of the Lamb. And then He provides for us.  

What was done at Cana is a type of all Christ’s working and of the final victory over sin, the devil, and the world. When we gather together in His name and receive the body and blood of Christ, He is given us as a foretaste of the feast to come. We pray after receiving the Lord’s Supper that God would keep us firm in the true faith until as His immanent coming, we with all His saints celebrate the marriage feast of the lamb in His kingdom which has no end.

The fine wine which the divine Bridegroom has reserved to the last directs us to His blood, shed in His passion and death, for in the death of Christ the works of salvation has reached its conclusion. By bringing this fine wine, Jesus manifested His glory, pointing to the glory of the cross. From this miracle Jesus’ disciples recognize Him as the Son of God and the promised Messiah in whom they place their faith and hope. It is in these signs that we see and believe Jesus to be the Lord.

From this we learn that all miracles of Christ relate to and call for faith. From the Word of God and His promises we come to know His gracious will, and from His miracles we come know His divine power and the purpose for He uses it: a lifelong, an eternal, union with Christ. May the Lord keep us in this faith, in our baptismal grace, and filled to the brim with His love.

The Baptism of our Lord 2019

Joshua 3, 1 Cor 1:26-31, Matthew 3:13-17

January 13, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

In our Old Testament reading for this morning, we heard from Joshua 3 wherein Joshua leads the people of God into the promised land. The Exodus was now over after 40 years of wandering in the desert. They had reaching the border of the promised land, marked by the waters of the Jordan River.  The people were soon to go through those waters, parted in a similar fashion as the Red Sea, and begin the conquest of the land.

The ark is the central focus of the whole miraculous events of this section of Joshua.  In the Exodus God led His people Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, hovering over the ark itself. The ark is the visible location of the Lord’s invisible presence. The movement of the ark itself was the movement of the Lord. To follow the ark meant to follow the Lord where He led.

This section is also about what the Lord does for Joshua.  There are three aspects of God’s miracles:  Joshua will be publicly exalted, Israel will know that the living God is in their midst just as He was with Moses throughout the Exodus, Israel will know that the same God who has power to cut off the surging waters of the Jordan River will cut down His enemies.  The central theme is the fulfillment of God’s promises to deliver His people to the promised land.

This morning we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of Jesus.  How does the OT lesson tie in? First of all, the ark of the covenant points toward the incarnation of Jesus Christ, as we heard on Christmas Day from John 1, “The Word became flesh and dwelt/tabernacled among us.” During His earthly ministry, the incarnate Christ was the visible presence of God among His people. Just as the Lord was pleased to use the ark as the physical and visible means of His presence in the Old Testament, so now in the New Testament times He is pleased to use His appointed means of grace as the vehicles of His continuing presence until Christ’s final return in glory.

So when we read in the Old Testament about the ark of the covenant, we relate it to the incarnate Christ and His coming in Word and Sacraments. As the ark brought both judgement and salvation, so too the means of grace can be abused, resulting in condemnation. The ark is not a magic box with powers that can be manipulated, just like the Sacraments of Baptism and Communion are not magical words and talismans. They are the work of God, for the benefit of believers in Christ, done according to His word, and delivering what God has promised to deliver.

Second, Jesus is the new and great Joshua, literally with the same name. In the Old Testament reading, the Lord intends to begin to exalt Joshua by means of this deliverance of God’s people, implying a promised reaching past the miracle of that day. As great as the miracle is, it is only the beginning of his exaltation.  The Lord doesn’t want that generation nor those who come to forget this day and its significance, so that they may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty (4:24), and that the Lord is with Joshua.

This theme finds its fulfillment in Christ, the living God who has come to dwell with His people, Immanuel, God with us. The greater Joshua is exalted in His baptism. By means of His passing through the waters of the Jordan, the heavens opening, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him and the word spoken by God the Father, He is exalted and made known to all that He is the beloved Son, with whom God the Father is well pleased. The Baptism of Jesus is the first of the great miracles we hear about during the season of Epiphany, miracles that reveal Christ and our salvation through faith in Him to the world.

Herein we see that Jesus is Israel reduced to one man. The son of God stands in the place of the sons of God. Entering into the waters, into the Holy Land. The Gospel of John informs us that John the Baptist is baptizing people on the other side of the Jordan, outside the promised land, so that the people have to go out and then come back in again. Jesus reenacts the life of God’s children, but this time, He is doing it right, doing it with a perfect righteousness.

This is where it all connects to us.  God works saving faith and incorporates people into His covenant through His Word and sacramental actions.  As Joshua leads the people of God through the waters of the Jordan river and into the promised land, so too are we saved through the water of Holy Baptism. Christ enters he water before us, in our stead, sanctifying all waters to be blessed flood and a lavish washing away of sin. It was then, it is now by faith, that God the Father looks at you and declares the same, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Which brings us to our last point. Third, by virtue of His suffering, death, and resurrection, has defeated the enemies of God and of His people and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.   Our Lord goes in into the water in order to take your place; in order to take on your sins and defeat your enemies. And when He emerges from the water His ministry is directed towards one goal. It is directed towards the cross, for there by his death he will win forgiveness for all of your sins. Jesus goes into the water because you have anger and hate towards other people.  He goes into the water because you put yourself first – before God, and before your spouse and children.  He goes into the water because you don’t trust God to care for you, and because you complain that the ways which he provides aren’t good enough. Jesus steps into your place and takes these and every other way you sin against the holy God upon Himself.  And then on the cross He received God’s judgment against your sin.  And then on the third day He rose from the dead.  He defeated the final wages of sin – death.

A child is baptized today. Declan, brought to the waters of Holy Baptism. He has nothing to bring to God, nothing to contribute. But He is loved, loved by God, by his parents, by his family. He has no reason to boast before God, no great accomplishments in life. But he is now a child of God, adopted into God’s family, a son of God with the perfect righteousness of the Son of God.  Freely given. Freely received.

Like Declan, you are baptized into Christ. Through your baptism, you share in the saving death and resurrection of Jesus. His suffering and death became yours. Your baptism is a guarantee that you will share in Christ’s resurrection.

Epiphany 2019

Isaiah 60:1-6

January 6, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

A little more than 700 years before Jesus was born, when the great prophet Isaiah wrote, conditions among God’s people were sad and depressing. King Ahaz, the perfect example of an evil king, was on the throne of Judah.  Isaiah laments that so many of God’s people had rebelled against God, they had become a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly, who had forsaken the Lord (Is 1:4).

Conditions in the world weren’t any better. Darkness covered the earth. Outside of Israel, all the inhabitants of the earth, which maybe some exceptions, were not believers in God. Nations and Empires swept over and around and through Judah in a bloody and savage struggle for world domination, but little paid heed to the dim light shining from the faithful remnant in Judah.

Isaiah’s lament was not only for Him, but he looks forward to the time when the Messiah was to appear. That too would be a time without light, in which darkness and blindness covered the people of the world.  When Christ came, there was righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth, an infant John the Baptist, God fearing Joseph and the young virgin Mary. A few shepherds visited the newly born savior. Godly Simeon and the prophetess Anna recognize that He was the long promised and expected Messiah.  A few magi came to seek the King of the Jews.  Another evil king did an evil thing and slaughtered the infants on Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate apparent competition. But aside from these, no one seems to notice, or really care. In Bethlehem, there is cool indifference. Judea and Galilee don’t seem to recognize the light in their midst. He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him (John 1:11, 10). Isaiah’s words certainly apply, “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples.”

These words are also true for our own time. The Light has shown for 2000 years, the Gospel has gone out into all the world. And yet there are so many who walk in darkness of unbelief and misbelief. In Nampa alone, recent survey from the Pew Forum indicate less than 50% consider themselves Christians, and only about 35% attend church on a regular basis. When we look at Christianity it seems divided into almost countless denominations. False prophets exist within the church, knowingly or ignorantly, leading people around as blind leading the blind.

What are we to do? Isaiah’s words rouse us out of the dark night of sin and captivity, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Christ has come, and He is the glory of the Lord.  The coming of the Light is likely to disturb us. It is well that is does. The light scatters the darkness where we hide from the world, from our families, from our spouse, even from ourselves. But we can’t hide from God. This causes terror and comfort. King David once wrote, “Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Of where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there” (Psalm 139:7-8). We are exposed, naked, baring all before the Lord.  That is what it means to have the Light of Christ shine upon us. Sin must first be exposed in order to be confessed and forgiven.

What brings you here today? What sin lies in your heart, in your memory, in the darkness? What brings you to the Lord’s Supper this week, where the forgiveness of that sin is offered?  People beloved of God, why are you here?

The words of the prophet answer this for us, “⁴ Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. ⁵ Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.”  Through the preaching of Christ, of the Gospel, people are brought by God to the Light of the World. We confess in the 3^rd article of the Creed that the Holy Spirit has called, gathered, and enlightened us by the Gospel. As prophesied by Isaiah, the Magi were led by the light of the star to the infant Jesus.  Here were pagan philosophers and astronomers, those the least likely to come and visit the newborn king of the Jews, showed a surprising wisdom. They kneeled down and worshipping Jesus, foreshadowing the mission to the Gentiles and the power of the Gospel, and teaching a very important truth of our faith. As you cannot know the one true God apart from Christ in His Gospel, neither can you worship God apart from Christ in His Gospel (Rev. Rick Stuckwisch).  The glory of the Lord has risen, risen from the dead, so that the light of Christ might cause you to arise from the dead. The road to blessed communion with the Lord is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:6).

The Church has long heeded this call of the Prophet, though imperfectly at times. From Israel, the light of salvation through the preaching of the Gospel went out to the world.  The apostles went out to the world with the news of Christ’s death and resurrection for the world. The Holy Spirit used them, and faithful people throughout time to speak this Word of God to the world. And so it is in our time as well.  It isn’t just happening overseas, or somewhere else. It happens here and now. The Gospel shines light into the darkness of our world, into the darkness of our lives, and leads people to Christ. To bow down and worship. To rise up and live.

Your light has come. You have been called out of the darkness of this sinful world to live as children of the light. Christ Himself says of His people, “you are the light of the world.” So arise and shine, for the light of the Gospel; Christ is the light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome. Amen.

Christmas Day 2018

John 1:1-18

The Child Who is the Word

December 25, 2018

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

St. John proclaims loud and clear for the world to hear that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  We can hardly grasp the great significance of this. The Word that was in the beginning, that was with God, that was God, became man. In doing so, Jesus pitched His tent, He tabernacle among us, He made His dwelling place in this fallen creation as a man. The greatest honor that we can knowing that God Himself became man. It is not that we can turn to God but that God has turned to us. Jesus became flesh in His incarnation. Jesus shares in our humanity.

In this feast of the Nativity of our Lord, the Epiphany, Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost have their beginning and their purpose. For if Christ hadn’t been born according to the flesh, he wouldn’t have lived the life of a human, though without sin. He wouldn’t have been crucified and raised, which is Easter. He wouldn’t have sent the Spirit, which is Pentecost.

What He once put on, He will never take off.  From the moment of His incarnation He was not only the eternal Word of God, but He is also your brother, flesh of your flesh and bone of your bone. Even now, exalted at the right hand of the Father, He bears the resurrected body He took for Himself in Mary’s womb still marked with the scars of His crucifixion.  This is the great mystery, and the great joy, of Christmas.

The Epistle for this morning calls Jesus the Son. In the Gospel, He is the Word. God speaks to us by the Son, who is the Word made flesh. We have seen His glory, glory as of the Son from the Father. That is why we are here, because the Lord of Creation, the only begotten Son of God, God of God, light of light, very God of very God comes. We can’t travel back 2000 years to kneel with the shepherds in awe. We can’t hold the child in our arms as Mary and Joseph did. We can’t go to our Lord, but as He came, so He still comes, and He will come again.

Luther once recounted a medieval legend in his Christmas sermon in 1534, “The story is told in the papacy that at one time the devil came to Mass in a church. And when in the Patrem – the Nicene Creed – the words were sung “Et homo factus est – and He was made man – and the people did not kneel but stood, the devil slapped one of them on the mouth so that he saw stars, cursed him terribly and said, “You gross knave! You cursed fool! Are you not ashamed to stand here like a stick and not to fall on your knees for joy? If God’s Son had become our Brother as He has become yours, our joy would be so great that we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves.”

“The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.” Today that salvation is again extended to you as a gift from this Child’s altar. It’s Christmas, the Mass of Christ, that is to say, the Service of Holy Communion wherein the Lord comes to us and we humble receive His gifts with praise and thanksgiving. Here, today, in just a short while, Jesus is giving you the best gift—His very body and blood. A gift that forgives your sins, renews your zeal for good works, and enlivens your love. The body that He took from the Virgin He gave for all on the cross and He gives to us in the Sacrament today. The blood He shed He gives to us with the wine.  He has put all His grace in this Sacrament so that sinners may know where the Lord comes to meet them. And as we meet Him, we kneel before our Lord, not just to receive, but to proclaim that this is Christ, the King, who comes to us.

Our very presence at the Lord’s Table is a declaration on our part that we believe in this. As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. By our eating and drinking, we bear witness to our families and friends, our neighbors and community that Christ became man and gave Himself for me, that He might redeem me from all evil, from death, from my sin. I renounce the devil and all His works and all His ways. I reject the worldly passions, though I still struggle with them daily in my sinful flesh. I look to Christ incarnate for forgiveness, life, and salvation. And that I await my blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of my God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Blessed are you who receive this Holy Sacrament, the real presence of the Word made flesh given to you in, with, and under the bread and wine and so declare your faith in the grace of God that has appeared to all men. Come, as pardoned and redeemed sinners, and by faith kneel and lay a hold of Christ for you. Behold His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, given and shed for you. The darkness of sin has not overcome Christ, and it shall not overcome you who are in Christ.[1]

Christmas Day 2018

John 1:1-18

The Child Who is the Word

December 25, 2018

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

St. John proclaims loud and clear for the world to hear that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  We can hardly grasp the great significance of this. The Word that was in the beginning, that was with God, that was God, became man. In doing so, Jesus pitched His tent, He tabernacle among us, He made His dwelling place in this fallen creation as a man. The greatest honor that we can knowing that God Himself became man. It is not that we can turn to God but that God has turned to us. Jesus became flesh in His incarnation. Jesus shares in our humanity.

In this feast of the Nativity of our Lord, the Epiphany, Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost have their beginning and their purpose. For if Christ hadn’t been born according to the flesh, he wouldn’t have lived the life of a human, though without sin. He wouldn’t have been crucified and raised, which is Easter. He wouldn’t have sent the Spirit, which is Pentecost.

What He once put on, He will never take off.  From the moment of His incarnation He was not only the eternal Word of God, but He is also your brother, flesh of your flesh and bone of your bone. Even now, exalted at the right hand of the Father, He bears the resurrected body He took for Himself in Mary’s womb still marked with the scars of His crucifixion.  This is the great mystery, and the great joy, of Christmas.

The Epistle for this morning calls Jesus the Son. In the Gospel, He is the Word. God speaks to us by the Son, who is the Word made flesh. We have seen His glory, glory as of the Son from the Father. That is why we are here, because the Lord of Creation, the only begotten Son of God, God of God, light of light, very God of very God comes. We can’t travel back 2000 years to kneel with the shepherds in awe. We can’t hold the child in our arms as Mary and Joseph did. We can’t go to our Lord, but as He came, so He still comes, and He will come again.

Luther once recounted a medieval legend in his Christmas sermon in 1534, “The story is told in the papacy that at one time the devil came to Mass in a church. And when in the Patrem – the Nicene Creed – the words were sung “Et homo factus est – and He was made man – and the people did not kneel but stood, the devil slapped one of them on the mouth so that he saw stars, cursed him terribly and said, “You gross knave! You cursed fool! Are you not ashamed to stand here like a stick and not to fall on your knees for joy? If God’s Son had become our Brother as He has become yours, our joy would be so great that we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves.”

“The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.” Today that salvation is again extended to you as a gift from this Child’s altar. It’s Christmas, the Mass of Christ, that is to say, the Service of Holy Communion wherein the Lord comes to us and we humble receive His gifts with praise and thanksgiving. Here, today, in just a short while, Jesus is giving you the best gift—His very body and blood. A gift that forgives your sins, renews your zeal for good works, and enlivens your love. The body that He took from the Virgin He gave for all on the cross and He gives to us in the Sacrament today. The blood He shed He gives to us with the wine.  He has put all His grace in this Sacrament so that sinners may know where the Lord comes to meet them. And as we meet Him, we kneel before our Lord, not just to receive, but to proclaim that this is Christ, the King, who comes to us.

Our very presence at the Lord’s Table is a declaration on our part that we believe in this. As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. By our eating and drinking, we bear witness to our families and friends, our neighbors and community that Christ became man and gave Himself for me, that He might redeem me from all evil, from death, from my sin. I renounce the devil and all His works and all His ways. I reject the worldly passions, though I still struggle with them daily in my sinful flesh. I look to Christ incarnate for forgiveness, life, and salvation. And that I await my blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of my God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Blessed are you who receive this Holy Sacrament, the real presence of the Word made flesh given to you in, with, and under the bread and wine and so declare your faith in the grace of God that has appeared to all men. Come, as pardoned and redeemed sinners, and by faith kneel and lay a hold of Christ for you. Behold His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, given and shed for you. The darkness of sin has not overcome Christ, and it shall not overcome you who are in Christ.[1]