Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Blessed Are You”

Text: Luke 6:17-26; Jeremiah 17:5-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-20

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

You heard it over and over again today. In the Introit, in the Old Testament reading, in the Holy Gospel. You would have heard it in the Psalm appointed for today if we had sung that - which you will, actually, sing a hymnic version during communion in a bit. You heard blessed is the man . . . You heard what it means to be blessed. You heard where such blessedness is to be found. Which is a very important thing to know. And even more than know - to believe.

Because I’m not sure we do . . . For do we really believe what Jesus said today, that blessed are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the hated and excluded and reviled? And woe to those who are rich and full and laughing now, and when people speak well of you? Or do we not think Jesus really got it backwards? He was not really having His best day when He said those things . . . 

Do we really believe as we sung in the Introit today, that blessed are those who walk in the law, or Word, of the Lord and keep His testimonies? Or as Jeremiah said, that Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord? I mean, we do . . . we say we do . . . we want to . . . we’re Bible-believing Christians, after all! And yet at the same time, do we demonstrate and live something else? That this really doesn’t work? Not in real life. Been there, tried that. Or, it works in this part of my life, but not this part. Yes, in church, but not in the world. Not if you want to get ahead. And so we wind up living a kind of dual life. The religious part of me, and the secular part of me. That’s hard to do. To live one way here and another way there. And it’s usually the religious part of me that suffers when I try.

But it’s not just us. It’s the same old story. Think of all the stories you know of people in the Bible and how they, too, struggled with this. The great Abraham believed God . . . and yet went down to Egypt and lied about Sarah being his wife. Job struggled mightily with what happened to him. David, the great king of Israel, writer of psalms . . . became an adulterer and murderer. James and John, apostles, two of Jesus’ inner circle . . . wanted for themselves the seats of glory next to Jesus. Remember what that one desperate father cried to Jesus one day: Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24) Sounds about right.

Luther thought about this a bit. What it means to be blessed. What and how we think about being blessed. And he realized that how we answer that question depends a lot on our stage in life. When you’re in school, when you’re a young adult, when you’re middle aged, and when you get to retirement, and beyond,  you have different thoughts about what it means to be blessed. And how you answer that depends on where you live in the world, and at what time in world history. An orphan in Nigeria, a widow in Russia, and a suburbanite outside Washington, DC are all going to have different thoughts about what it means to be blessed. And then there is also living in peacetime or wartime, bull market or bear market, sickness or health . . . 

Yet through it all . . . Jesus. He is the common thread through it all. Through all of history, through all ages, through all parts of life, and throughout all the world. And the bottom line is this: with Him, you are blessed; and woe to you if you are without Him. With Him you are blessed, even if it doesn’t seem or feel like it. And without Him, even if everything seems and feels good and successful, woe to you. 

We see this in the Holy Gospel today. People from all over, people who no one would consider blessed, came out to Jesus. People who were confused. People who were diseased. People who were troubled with unclean spirits. And Jesus taught them and healed them and cured them. And after He had done all that is when He then said, blessed are all these people. Because these things - these unblessings, if we could call them that - drove them to Jesus. Because they had no place else to turn, they went to the source of every blessing and were not disappointed. 

And so it is with us. Woe to us when everything in our lives is going well, for how easy is it to forget about Jesus. Oh, maybe not all the way. We still might go to church on Sunday. But during the week? Forgetting to pray, neglecting His Word, Walking in step with the ways of the world. And instead of blessing us, those things put us in danger. 

But when your life is not going so well, things are falling apart, friends are betraying you, everyday is a struggle . . . like the people in the Gospel today, we are driven to the only place we have to go, to the only One we can turn to - to Jesus. And then from woe comes blessing. For then - whether things improve or not - our lives are on a more firm foundation. We are focused on more than just the here and now, but what is truly important and what truly lasts - Jesus, His Word, and His life.

I saw our fellow Athanasian and the patriarch of our congregation Roy this week, just a couple of days before he died. He was very weak. I had to talk loudly because he had trouble hearing me. He had had trouble swallowing for some time, and so couldn’t eat what he really liked. I don’t think he could really walk anymore - or if he could, not very far. He had oxygen on for his breathing. Everything was being taken away from him, except for one thing: Jesus. Roy’s firm foundation, no matter what life threw at him. So we read Scripture, we prayed, and we received the Body and Blood of the Lord. And then, a couple of days later, Roy received the blessing of all blessings: he was called home to his eternal rest. To continue living the life given him in his Baptism, just now in a new place and time and way. 

Now, you could say, Roy was old so of course it was a blessing. But even those 67 who perished a couple of weeks ago near Reagan National, some of whom were very young . . . I don’t know anything about them, but I can say this, those in Jesus, they were blessed. Even when helicopter and plane collided in a deadly fireball. Blessed with a life that cannot end, even with a life that could end at any moment. 

That’s the sure and certain hope Paul was talking about to the Corinthians, as we heard today. A resurrected Christ who is with us always. Not just in the good times, for what kind of God is that? But a Jesus who is with is on the battlefield against satan, who is with us here in life, who is with us in death with His death on the cross and His time in the grave, and then rose victorious over it all - not for Himself but for you! That’s a Jesus worth having. Blessed is that man. Blessed are you.

And if that’s true, which it is, and which I know you believe because that’s why you’re here! Then why not live that blessedness all through your life? Not just now and then or here and there, but in all times and in all places? Wouldn’t that be better? Oh, it’ll be a struggle, no doubt about that. And you’ll have to keep coming back for forgiveness, and falling to your knees in prayer, and opening that mouth that lied and spoke harshly to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus. But think of it this way: just as the living Jesus died for your sin and laid in your grave and then came out alive and victorious, so too does He enter your sinful mouths and dying bodies to come out of you alive and victorious. Your sin and your grave didn’t overcome Him - He overcame them! And He is doing the same even now in you. Overcoming your sin and death with his forgiveness and life. Overcoming your sinful life with His Spirit and love. That you live a blessed life.

And that looks like not only going to Jesus in all of your needs, but also going to others in all of their needs. Or, maybe to put it like Jesus did . . .

Blessed are you when you forgive, but woe to those who hold a grudge.

Blessed are you when you serve, but woe to those who demand to be served.

Blessed are you when you love, but woe to those who belittle and neglect.

Blessed are you when you give, but woe to those who only take.

Blessed are you whose riches are in heaven, but woe to those whose riches are only here. 

Blessed are you who bear the cross, but woe to those who look to place their cross upon others. 

I could go on, but you get the idea. Blessed are you when you live in Jesus and Jesus lives in you. 

And in that list of blessings and woes I just spoke, if you heard yourself in that, and maybe heard yourself a little too much on the woe side and a little too little on the blessed side . . . first of all, good! Be driven to Jesus in repentance and faith. Go to Him for the forgiveness and life you need. And then second, come and receive His healing, restoring touch here in His Supper. For the Body and Blood that touches you here and enters into you here is the very same that touched all those that day who were healed of their diseases and cured of their unclean spirits. To those of whom Jesus could then say: Blessed are you . . .

And so blessed are you, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Blessed indeed! At all times and in all places. Because of Jesus. To look at life different. To live different. For you are different. Blessed are you. Not because you feel it, but because Jesus has done it. So rejoice . . . and leap for joy, for great is your reward in heaven.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

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Jesu Juva

“A Net Unlike Any Other”

Text: Luke 5:1-11

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

I’ve watched some fishing shows on TV from time to time, and when the crab pots come up full of crab, when they reel in the big fish, when they pull up nets full of fish, the fishermen aren’t sad or afraid, they’re full of joy! They don’t just see fish, they see dollar signs. A catch like that means they’ll be able to feed their family and pay the mortgage. It makes all the effort and hard work worth it.

And yet the day we heard about today, with Peter and his fishing partners out on the Lake of Gennesaret (which is another name for the Sea of Galilee), it wasn’t like that at all. Peter should have been ecstatic. With each one of those fish filling his boat and the boat of his partners he should have seen denarius signs! This would provide for their families. It is what they worked so hard for. But instead of visions of profits filling his head, to Peter, every fish that flip-flopped into his boat heaped another burning coal on his head. The weight of his sin was crushing him. 

Until that moment, Peter probably thought he was doing pretty well. He had a respectable business. Was married, had friends in the community. Jesus had even come over to his house and healed his mother-in-law of a fever! All in all, things were going well . . .

But something changed. Something brought him to his knees.

Maybe he had grumbled when Jesus wanted to use his boat, if he was tired and just wanted to go home and sleep . . . 

Maybe he muttered under his breath when Jesus then told them to go back out and fish again! At the wrong time of the day and in the wrong depth of water and after a long and frustrating night . . . 

Maybe he had had other impure thoughts that day . . . Maybe he had left the house last night after a fight with his wife . . .

Maybe it was that little white lie he told the fish dealer the other day . . .

Maybe it was remembering the neighbor he should have helped but just didn’t want to be bothered . . .

All things in the normal course of a day. All things everybody does. That’s just life, isn’t it? Right?

Until Jesus comes and after all that heaps blessing upon blessing upon you that you clearly don’t deserve! It is an honor for Him to use your boat, not an inconvenience. You get to hear Him preach. He wants to be with you. He enriches you! But all of a sudden, the weight of all those sins that before felt so small and light now feel so big and heavy . . . and crushing. Enough to bring a big, strong fisherman to his knees.

This wasn’t the first time Peter had met Jesus. As I said, Jesus had come over to his house and healed his wife’s mother. But this time was different. He wasn’t among a crowd of people, Jesus wasn’t doing for someone else - this was sinful him, in a boat now graciously filled with fish by the One who created the sea, the fish, and him! And suddenly, standing next to Him, to Jesus, the Holy One of God, the weight of his sins seemed to multiply as fast as the spinning numbers of the United States debt clock! This great catch of fish may have been sinking his boats, but his sins were sinking him! Quickly. And under such a burden and weight, he found himself at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

And then those words: Do not be afraid. How could he not be afraid?! And yet those words did what they commanded. They took away his fear. They took away his sin! And then Jesus gave him another gift - a new life. From now on you will be catching men. And not just Peter, but James and John, too. And while Jesus fills the nets and boats of this little fishing company with a multitude of fish, there’s really only one - or maybe three - fish He wanted in His net. And for Jesus, that was a very successful trip. For He landed Peter.

And imagine how many fish Peter caught in the roughly 2,000 years since that day! Not only in his ministry until his martyrdom, but even after, through his words and work handed down to us in the Bible. Peter reminds us so much of ourselves, in his hasty words, his misunderstanding, his fear, his denials, his failures. And yet how wonderfully God used him to bring people into the boat of the Church. A good reminder to us that it is not our goodness, our strength, our friendliness, our effective techniques, or anything in us that builds the Church. It is the work of God through sinners like Peter and you and me. That day, the work of God the Son. These days, the work of God the Spirit. 

But more than the fish Peter caught that day or all the days after that, it was Jesus’ forgiveness that netted Peter. Jesus’ forgiveness that transformed Peter that day, and all the days after that day when he kept stumbling and fearing and putting his foot in his mouth and falling asleep and denying and acting like the sinner he was. Jesus did not leave him or forsake him, but lifted him up and forgave him. With forgiveness that zeros the debt clock of our sin that always seems to be spinning out of control! Forgiveness that will not and cannot run out.

And forgiveness is the net that catches men and women today. Jesus hasn’t filled our church with fish, but He has filled it with forgiveness. So that is the gift we have to give, to a world filled with sin and sinners. They might not even realize they need it, like Peter at first. He was just living like normal, doing what everyone does, until he realized how bad our normal is, how great and numerous the sins we do everyday without even realizing it. Until that weight crushed him and left him no place else to go but to his knees. 

Are there people like that today? There are people like that today in these seats here! In your seat. For with what sins is your everyday life filled with? Sins that just seem normal, that everybody does, that are just a part of life and living. Except they’re not. And we need Jesus. We need to hear Him. We need to hear His do not be afraid. Because we are. Maybe you’ve just buried that fear deep down so you don’t have to deal with it. Maybe it hurts too much. Maybe you don’t want to admit you’re not okay. We do . . . but we also don’t, right? We confess, but . . . aren’t I more okay than the next guy, at least?

No. So how good that Jesus is here for you, and His words are here for you. Do not be afraid. I forgive you all your sins. These are words that do what they say. For Jesus, here, is casting the net of His forgiveness and catching sinners - even if just one or two at a time.

And this is the net Peter - and the Church ever since - would use as Jesus chose him and trained him and then sent him out as an apostle. Not everyone wants that forgiveness, or thinks they need that forgiveness. But when sin bring them to their knees, we have it for them. To let them know that Jesus has not left them or forsaken them, but is here for them. To take away the guilt and shame of their sin. And that even when death rears its ugly head, do not be afraid. Jesus has overcome that, too. Jesus’ resurrection means that His net even pulls us up out of the grave to live a new and eternal life.

A new life that you live where God has put you to live it. He didn’t make you an apostle like Peter, but He didn’t need to. And that doesn’t make you any less important, just different. With different people to be with and care for and especially forgive. Here’s how Luther put it:

Because God is gracious, ready to forgive, and kind, I go out and turn my face from God to human beings; that is, I tend to my calling. If I am a king, I govern the state. If I am the head of a household, I direct the domestics; if I am a schoolmaster, I teach pupils, mold their habits and views toward godliness. . . . In all of our works we serve God, who wanted us to do such things and, so to speak, stationed us here. 

So where has God stationed you? Wherever it is, and in all the places He puts you, forgive. In your family, forgive. In your school, forgive. In your church, forgive. At your work, forgive. In your neighborhood, forgive. For by forgiving, you’re casting the net of Jesus. And you never know what you’re going to pull up. It could be a great catch, it could be just one at a time. But one thing is for sure, the waters are not fished out. Peter and the others were out all night and caught nothing, but Jesus knew there were fish to be had. 

And maybe for us, too. So we’ll keep being the church, throwing out the net of forgiveness, showing mercy, helping others, and letting Jesus do the rest. It’s His net, His Church, His forgiveness, and His catch. He’ll do it. Maybe in quite surprising ways! Maybe at the wrong time of the day and in the wrong depth of water. Maybe with the wrong people and in the wrong neighborhoods. Maybe catching sinners so bad we look at them and think . . . them? Really? Here? With me? And then we look in the mirror and know: if there is forgiveness for me, then certainly there is for thee. 

Peter learned that great truth that day in his boat out on the Sea. A lesson he kept learning and a gift he kept receiving everyday. If that doesn’t sound like you, then drop to your knees (at least in your hearts!), for Jesus is here for you today in this boat, His Church. To provide for you and enrich you. The God who created the fish, the sea, and you, now says to you, Take and eat, this is My Body; Take and drink, this is My Blood. Do not be afraid. With this gift your sins are forgiven, you are raised to a new life, and can depart in joy and peace. You are not condemned, you are saved. And in His sight, you are a sinful man no more.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord

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Jesu Juva

“The Saviour You Need and Have”

Text: Luke 2:22-40; Hebrews 2:14-18

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

We commemorated Sanctity of Life Sunday last week, and then this week we were again reminded just how fragile life is, how quickly, suddenly, and unexpectedly it can be taken away, and how badly we need a Saviour. 

When everything’s going well, it’s easy to forget that. We get busy with other things. Our studies, our work, our families, our hobbies. And those are all good things. Things God has given us to enjoy. So for that reason, God has strategically inserted days and times for us to regularly remember Him. So that when things go off the rails, when life is quickly, suddenly, and unexpectedly taken away, when the fragility of life rises up, we be ready. We know the Saviour we need is the Saviour we have.

That’s why we gather every Sunday. Maybe this past week you didn’t think about God too much. You had a thousand other things on your mind and an even longer to do list. You went to bed exhausted, and woke up still tired. Maybe you were tempted to skip church today - a few more hours to get things done or to rest up would really help, and it’s just one Sunday. But you came, and you got a break from life. This is what you needed. 

For here is a God bigger than your problems. And a God small enough to care. A God loving enough to be here for you, in a world where love is often lacking. You didn’t come here today to do something for God - your to do list is long enough already! You came here for God to do for you. For God to forgive you, feed you, strengthen you, and prepare you, so that whatever comes your way this week, even the end of life, you be ready. God didn’t forget you. God didn’t get too busy for you. God doesn’t have bigger problems to worry about than you. He comes here for you, that the Saviour you need is the Saviour you have.

He comes here for you just as He came for Simeon, whose story we heard again today. We don’t know anything, really, about this Simeon. This is the only place in the Bible he is mentioned. But I’ll bet his life wasn’t so different than yours. Work problems, family problems, life problems. But the Lord had given him this wonderful promise, that before he died, he would see his Saviour. His Saviour would not only come for him but to him. And He did this day, this 40th day after Christmas, when the purification of His mother and His presentation as the firstborn son were required by the Law. And once He did, Simeon is ready to depart this life in peace.

But the amazing thing in this story isn’t Simeon and what he said and did, it’s Jesus. We just sang In His Temple Now Behold Him (LSB #519), See the long-expected Lord. And if you’re like me, your first thought is that Simeon got to see his long-expected Lord in this building - a Temple of stone and mortar. This Temple called the Lord’s house. This Temple that was first a portable Tabernacle built by Moses, then made a permanent structure by Solomon, later demolished by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, and then rebuilt by Herod the Great. The little Lord Jesus comes home. Or, as He would later say to His parents when He was twelve years old: Why were you looking for Me? Don’t you know I must be in My Father’s house (Luke 2:49)?

And on one level, that’s right. But if we stop there, I think we miss the greater significance, the greater miracle, the epiphany of this story. Because really, God had done this before, come to this structure, this building, before. When Moses dedicated the Tabernacle in the wilderness and when Solomon dedicated the permanent Temple in Jerusalem, God came both times and filled them with His presence. It was called His glory cloud. When that cloud filled the Tabernacle and Temple, you knew that God was there. It was an awesome sight to behold. A sight worthy of a large, powerful God.

And I wonder if that’s what Simeon expected to see, or something like that, when He was made this promise. Something big. Something worthy of a large, powerful God.

But it wasn’t what He saw. Because that wasn’t the Temple God would come to dwell in. Been there, done that. That’s the old covenant. The new testament is here. And for a new testament, a new Temple. And so the Temple in which Simeon now beheld his Saviour was a baby. Not God in a cloud, not God in a building, not big, not awe-inspiring, not a powerful presence to cower before - but this. God in human flesh, with human blood. A baby boy.

When God’s cloud and presence filled the Tabernacle and the Temple, everyone knew God was there. You couldn’t miss it! But that day, only two other people besides Simeon knew it: Joseph and Mary. Until others heard what Simeon had to say. And even then, besides Anna, maybe they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Couldn’t be! Not big enough. Not strong enough. Not awesome enough. Too small. Too weak. Too helpless. God wouldn’t become like us! We have to become like God!

And that’s the lie. Satan’s lie. The one he hissed to Adam and Eve in the Garden, and he’s still hissing into our ears. That we have to become like God. We have to do it. We have to improve. We have to get better. We have to be worthy. We have have to rise up from our sins. And our epiphany today is: NO! This baby boy is your God, come to save you. In His Temple of flesh and bone now behold Him! And this is even more stunning and impressive than the glory cloud filling the Temple. We have a fleshly God.

And this is important for us today because this is not only about how God saved us, but about who we are; about what it means to be human. This is what has come under attack in spades in our world today. That what it means to be human, what it means to be you, has nothing to do with your body. And, in fact, your flesh is holding you back and getting in the way. Your body is something to escape, to be set free from. It doesn’t matter what body the person you marry is in. You may have been born in the wrong body and so you should change it. You can live on without your body, cyberly, and that’s better. For then, you don’t have to eat or sleep or exercise. And, many believe, that’s what eternal life is - just living forever as a spirit without a body. Which is really a belief imported from Eastern religions, like Buddhism or Hinduism.

Against that is a God who comes in our flesh and blood. To save our flesh and blood. Because the truth is that you aren’t you and can’t be you without your body. This is how God created us, and it is good. We are enfleshed spirits. We are spirited bodies. There are spirits without bodies, they’re called angels, of the good and bad variety. That’s not you. And there are bodies without spirits, which are called animals. That’s not you either (though maybe we act that way sometimes!). You are a man or a woman made in the image of God. And on this day so many years ago, Simeon got to see God made man.

And because he did, he said: Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace. I’m ready to die. Because You are here in my flesh and blood to save my flesh and blood. My body isn’t bad or something to get rid of, otherwise You wouldn’t have come in it like this. But you did. Mary came on this day for her purification, and that’s why You came, too. To purify us. She and Joseph presented You in the Temple, and You came to present us to Your Father. And this is greater. It’s not that the glory cloud was bigger and more impressive than a baby boy! This is far greater. For when You came in a cloud, animal blood was shed for us and animals died for us. When You came in the flesh, it was Your blood that was shed for us, and You who died for us. You blood for our purification, and Your death for our resurrection, to present us in our bodies to Your Father. 

You see, satan wants to separate who you are from your flesh so that he can separate God from your flesh, too. For a God without your flesh is still God, but no Saviour. If His body didn’t rise, your body’s not going to rise. And if His body didn’t rise, death won. And if death won, sin won. And if sin won, we’re lost. Eternally.

So when Simeon held God in his arms that day, he was beholding God in His new, tiny Temple. And he saw his salvation. 

And now it’s our turn. But no cloud here. No baby boy to hold here. Now, we behold Him in the bread and wine of His Supper. The same body and blood that Simeon held in his arms is now (after His death and resurrection) placed into our mouths. But now even greater. For from cloud to baby to bread is not less and less powerful and awesome, but more and more. For now it is not just Jesus that we receive and hold, but all He did as well - for here in His body and blood is His forgiveness, life, and salvation, too. And it is we who are purified. It is we who are presented to the Father. It is we who have been redeemed - not by a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons! - but by the Son of God Himself. And so now it is we who say, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace. I’m ready to die. Because of all you have done for me. Because the Saviour I need is the Saviour I have.

Which is good, for two reasons. First, and maybe more obvious, is because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. No one expected that mid-air collision. No one expected that plane to dive out of the sky. No one expects the doctor to come in with bad news. But with Jesus, when we are again reminded just how fragile life is, and how quickly, suddenly, and unexpectedly it can be taken away, the Saviour we need is the Saviour we have.

But then second, and maybe less obvious, is that this then sets us free to live. You don’t have to live in a bubble-wrap cocoon. You don’t have to live constantly looking over your shoulder. You can live in confidence and peace. You don’t have to serve and save yourself, you have a Saviour who did that. So you are now free to serve and live for others. For this is your promise: that when you die, you will see the Lord’s Christ. With your own eyes, risen from the dead, and with a life that cannot end. 

I don’t know how long Simeon waited for his promise, and I don’t know how long you or I will wait. But as sure as Simeon’s promises was fulfilled, so, too, will our’s be. For from creation to cloud to manger to cross to altar, we behold our Lord. And the Saviour we need is the Saviour we have.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.