Sermon - Lent 1 - Matthew 4:1-11

 

Tempted For You

Matthew 4:1-11

A blessed Lent to you.  In this season of penitence and fasting, of meditation and prayer, we tune our spiritual senses more keenly to the struggle with sin.  Temptation.  An experience common to every person, and yes, especially to every Christian.  Hebrews tells us Jesus is not  “unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but… in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin,” and also, “because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”  So we must consider our own struggles with temptation in the light of Christ’s temptation.

Matthew’s Gospel for today shows us that Jesus himself is tempted during his 40 days in the wilderness.  Tempted by none other than the Devil himself.  As we consider Christ’s temptation today, we can plumb its mysteries and learn from his example, consider our own struggle with temptation, and rejoice in his victory over the devil on our behalf.

The devil is a master of evil and deception.  From the very beginning he has sought to lead man astray, and he doesn’t stop even when it comes to the very Son of God.  The enemy uses every foul device he can, every wicked trick in his collection, and aims them all at Jesus.  We should take careful note of his tactics.

Notice, first, how the devil waited until Jesus was good and hungry, near the end of his fast, at his most vulnerable.

Temptations also come to us in force when we are in a similar weakened state.  Alone, tired, weak.  It may well be the devil who tempts us, or it may be the sinful world or even our own sinful nature.  Temptations are sure to come, whatever the source.  But we do well to flee from temptation and avoid situations where we are vulnerable and weak. 

So, for instance, Christian, don’t isolate yourself from the body of Christ.  For that makes you easier prey.  Stay with the herd, as it were, lest the lion single you out as easy pickings. 

The devil also has the audacity to use God’s word and twist it in with his temptation!  Of course, even in the garden he mixed truth and lies to deceive our first parents.  We do well to watch our doctrine carefully, lest we be led astray but pious-seeming lies into false doctrine and practice.  Don’t fall for pious-sounding lies that lead you astray from Christ and his word.

That the devil is an expert at temptation by no means gives us an excuse for falling into his traps.  God’s law stands, and there is no “devil-made-me-do-it” provision.  Rather than excuse us for falling into temptation, our Lord Jesus forgives us our sins, and then encourages us to go and sin no more. 

Sin is never winked at, it is always deadly serious.  But it is paid for, covered by the blood of Christ.  Likewise the devil is a nasty foe, and we are warned against him – but he is also a defeated foe, both in the wilderness, and better, by the death and resurrection of Christ.

Now, for Jesus’ part – it is a great mystery that he was tempted.  As true God, it is impossible for him to sin.  However, as true man he certainly felt the pressures of temptation.  One commentator writes:

The man who yields to a particular temptation has not felt its full power. He has given in while the temptation has yet something in reserve. Only the man who does not yield to temptation, who, as regards that particular temptation, is sinless, knows the full extent of that temptation.

Certainly the devil pulled out all the stops with Jesus. His temptation was three-fold, which, in Hebrew grammar, at least, indicates the superlative form.  The devil did his worst, and still Jesus prevailed!

First, he tempted him with bread.  The physical, carnal, fleshly needs are real needs.  And the devil is a master at using our creaturly-ness against us.  Food itself, nor any of the needs of the body- none of these are sinful in themselves.  But our use of them is often turned into sinful idolatry.  We place the created things above the Creator.  We abuse his good gifts in ways we ought not. 

But not Jesus.  He subdues his flesh like we cannot.  He rightly orders the spiritual food above the earthly.  He spurns the temptation and embraces the Word of God – “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

And Jesus, as the Second Adam, he succeeds exactly where the First Adam failed – the devil tempted Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, and Adam sinned.  The devil tempted Jesus to eat bread during his fast, but Jesus prevailed.

Next, the devil tempts Jesus at the Temple.  “Throw yourself down from the pinnacle – and watch the angels catch you.”  A stunt to test the promises of God?  The enemy always tests God by his poking and prodding, and he tempts us to do the same.

What is the devil tempting Jesus with here, but the easy way out?  If angels carried Christ down from the pinnacle of the temple, to a bedazzled crowd of religious people gathered there – then perhaps they’ll just believe in him on the spot.  “Do a miracle, Jesus, and become the Messiah through glory!  Take the easy way out, and we don’t have to bother with all the messiness of the cross.”  It’s the same talk the devil put into Peter’s mouth after Peter’s great confession.  But Jesus, of course, doesn’t take the bait.  He will not take the path of least resistance, but will go headlong into trials, suffering, and cross. He rebukes the satanic suggestion otherwise.

How often are we tempted with the easy way… the path of least resistance… tempted to flee from suffering at all costs, at the cost of our integrity, our faithfulness, and at the cost of not truly loving our neighbor? Jesus again does well where we do not.

Finally the devil takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows him the kingdoms of the world.  “All these are mine,” he says.  Another half-truth.  He’s the prince of this world, but he is a thief and a liar.  They don’t really belong to him.  “And I will give them to you, if you just bend the knee to me.  Worship me.”  And it’s preposterous, of course.  Jesus would never.

But we do.  And for far less.  Whenever we turn from our true Master we serve that other master.  Whenever put aside our sonship and become slaves to sin.  When we sell our birthright for a bowl of something or other, whatever little slice of the kingdom of this world the devil has on offer.

But Jesus is the true king, the true master, the true Lord of the Nations.  He sends forth his apostles to make disciples of all nations through the humble means of baptism and teaching his word.  Thus he establishes his kingdom – through the preaching of the Gospel, and by the work of the Spirit.

Christ defeats the devil, and all his temptations, not only as an example for us.  But he also does it in our place.  Just as he took our place in his baptism to fulfill all righteousness.  Just as he takes our place on the cross, to atone for the sins of the world.  So Jesus takes our place in the wilderness, under the assaults of the evil one, to defeat him for us.  To ever, always do what we cannot do for ourselves, and to win the victory on our behalf.

Jesus undoes, therefore, everything that went wrong in the Garden of Eden. 

There in the garden, the devil won the day.  Here, in the wilderness, the devil must flee with his tail between his legs. 

There, the devil deceived the woman, and she led her husband along.  Here, Christ cannot be led astray. 

There, sin and death came into the world, and Adam gave Satan a share in his dominion, even lordship in this world.  But now the true king has arrived, and he takes it all back and leaves the devil with nothing. 

Adam was exiled from the garden and cast into the wilderness.  Jesus goes to the wilderness to bring us back to paradise with himself. 

All the world was cursed by the sin of Adam, but by bearing the curse of the cross, Jesus brings us blessing. 

By a tree, the devil overcame – but now by the tree of the cross the devil is undone.

A blessed Lent, dear Christians.  May you ever fight the good fight against temptation, and follow as closely as you can the footsteps of Jesus who has gone before us.  And when you fall, repent again, and turn in faith to the one who has crushed the serpent – in the wilderness, and at the cross – and know that your victory is sure through him.

 

 

Sermon - The Transfiguration of Our Lord - Matthew 17:1-9

“Seeing God”

The Transfiguration of Our Lord is one of those prominent occasions in the Gospels, and in the Church Year.  Jesus takes the three apostles up the mountain, his appearance is changed – he becomes all bright and shiny.  Moses and Elijah appear.  There’s a cloud.  Then the voice from heaven, “This is my Son. Listen to him.” And as quickly as it began, it’s over.  Peter’s nonsensical jabbering aside, it is a glorious event.  It is a spectacular sight.  It is a peek at the true glory of Christ that had thus far in his life remained hidden.  And it brought to bear the witness of both the Old Testament spokesmen and the very voice of the Father in testimony of Jesus as the Son of God, the Savior, the Christ.

I’ve pondered this event, as I am sure many of you have, year after year.  It’s a treasure trove of depth and meaning.  There are so many significant details, it’s impossible to cover everything.  Today I want to focus especially on the aspect of the transfiguration that has to do with what the disciples saw.  Their eyewitness account.  And why seeing it with them matters, also to us.

Seeing, along with hearing, is a key concept in Holy Scripture.  Often times we are commanded to “behold!”, that is, “look, and see!” something of great importance.  Now, of course, none of us were there to see any of the Bible’s events, but we can see them through the eyes of faith, and witness them along with the writers who proclaim the word to us.  This is why their eyewitness account is so crucial.  

Peter makes a point of this in our Epistle reading.  “We didn’t make up a bunch of clever myths.  We were eyewitnesses of these things!”  Jesus instructed the three disciples not to tell anyone the vision” until after his resurrection.  But now, Peter reflects on that sight, and writes about it in today’s Epistle.  

It is a basic Scriptural standard that “every matter must be confirmed by 2 or 3 witnesses”, according to Deuteronomy 19, Jesus rightly took the 3 up the mountain with him for the very purpose of them witnessing what would happen.  But many others served as witnesses to the important events of Jesus’ work:  So also Jesus gave “many convincing proofs” to the hundreds of disciples who would see him – alive – after his resurrection.  John testifies poignantly about the blood and water that came from Jesus’ side, proof that he truly died.  And countless others in the great cloud of witnesses tell us what they have seen and heard.  We do well to “behold!” it all, through them.

We  dare not put God to the test like doubting Thomas, “I won’t believe it if I don’t see it!”  Yet, still we ought to appreciate that God has provided for us these eyewitnesses so that even though we weren’t there, and we don’t see first-hand, still we may believe.  The witness of Holy Scripture is how the eyes of faith see… as the Spirit works through this testimony to enliven and strengthen our faith.  He who has ears to hear, thus, also, has eyes to see.  

So what did Peter, James and John see?  They saw the Lord Jesus transfigured.  His appearance changed – from his normal, everyday Jesus, to a bright-shining glorified Jesus.  He gives them a peek behind the veil, as it were, to see a glimpse of the true glory that is his – glory of the one and only, Son of God, beloved of the Father.  In a word, they saw Jesus as God.

Now, John would later write in his Gospel, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”  In other words, though no one has ever seen the Father, we only know the Father through the Son.

This is worth pondering.  Who could see God face to face and live?  Certainly not a sinful man like you or me.  God’s holiness is radiant and all-consuming.  For us, in our sins, to stand in his presence would be like bringing a sheet of notebook paper up close to the Sun.  We can’t even get that close.  God is holy and he hates sin, and there is no place for sinners anywhere near his presence.

Remember when Isaiah saw God (in a vision!) and his first reaction was to exclaim, “Woe to me, I am ruined… for I am a man of unclean lips… and I have seen God!”  Such is the reaction of any unholy, unclean, unworthy creature when faced with the divine glory of the Incomprehensible!

But it is a different thing to see God in the face of his Son, Jesus Christ.  What a kind, loving face that is.  A face that is one of our own.  A smile that invites us to follow him, learn from him, be fed by him.  We behold Jesus in the gospels as one who loved all people, had great compassion, and gave his time and energy freely to the crowds of people who clamored for him – sheep without a shepherd.  But he alone is the Good Shepherd, and would lay down his life for the sheep.

Mostly, we see him in humility.  Born in humble circumstances.  Growing up and asking questions, learning like we do. As a man, itinerant, nowhere to lay his head.  Scorned by his enemies, betrayed and abandoned by his friends.  Arrested and imprisoned, flogged and crucified.  Most of what we see of Jesus isn’t that impressive to earthly eyes.

But there’s this glimpse of glory on the mount.  There’s this shining moment, in which just a bit of his true brilliance shows through.  You could say that Jesus really is the Son of God, but to see him dazzling like the sun, says it in a way words cannot.  It must have made quite an impression on Peter, James, and John.  It was, in a word, glorious.

What a blessing for us, through the Gospels, to have a look over their shoulders as they beheld the transfigured glory of Christ.  But as great as it was, this glory was not for basking in.  There was no time to set up tents and stay a while.  This was a glimpse.  It was a short and sweet glance behind the veil, for a very specific purpose.

Did you notice that Matthew’s account begins, “six days after this”?  Any time we see such a remark, it’s good to ask, “after what?”  What connection of context is there for us to consider?  And this one is very telling:

Six days before the Transfiguration, Peter made his great confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God!  Jesus commended him for this answer, which he received not from flesh and blood, but from the Father!  And then Jesus proceeded to explain exactly what it meant for him to be the Christ.  It meant suffering, betrayal, arrest, death, and resurrection.  It was more than Peter could stand to hear, and he tried to rebuke Jesus.  But Jesus called Peter Satan, and rebuked him instead.  Nothing would deter Jesus from his mission.  Nothing would stop him from facing the cross.  Nothing would distract him from dying for Peter’s sins, for everyone’s sins, for yours and mine.

Good Friday would be a dark day – figuratively and literally.  It would be hard to see the glory that was hidden in the bloody, sweaty, agonizing sacrifice of Jesus.  It had the appearance of the opposite of glory.  It looked all wrong.  But there in the back of their minds, was the Transfiguration.  A reminder to them, and perhaps even more so to us, that with God, things aren’t always as they appear.  Humble Jesus is really the glorious Son of God.  The shameful, mournful, sorrow of the cross – is really the greatest work of God, the great and glorious work of his Son, the redemption of the world, the crux of history, and the height of God’s love shown forth in the strangest and most blessed way.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Behold his transfiguration.  Behold his crucifixion.  Behold his resurrection.  We behold him now, through the word, and by our faith.

And one day, we will see not just with the eyes of faith, but as Job says, with my own eyes, I will see – I and not another.  We will see him face to face and be with him in our own resurrection.  How glorious that will be!  

Sermon - Epiphany 5 - Matthew 5:13-20 (especially 17-20)

 

Matthew 5:13-20 (especially 17-20)

Fulfill the Law

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Unless you’re more righteous than the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Well.  How’s that going for you?

The Pharisees, if they were known for one thing, it was their righteousness.  Held high as the standards of holy living, the Pharisees were the models of virtue for all of the regular, old, every-day Jews of Jesus’ time.  It might be like if someone today were to compare you to a Mother Theresa with the poor in Calcutta, or a Jimmy Carter who builds homes for homeless people.  They were thought of as the best of the best, they were admired above all, and their earthly riches were seen by many as a reward for their good lives.

But you and I know better, of course.  We know the dark side of the Pharisees – how they operated in the land of legalism, and made a pretense of doing good while devouring the homes of widows.  How they made a show of their righteousness, in order to be seen by men.  And perhaps worst of all – how they opposed the very Messiah himself, and conspired to have him put to death.  No, in another sense, from our view, the Pharisee’s level of righteousness isn’t very hard to exceed at all.  You’d just have to not be an absolute scoundrel to qualify.

But Jesus isn’t trying to relax the law for us.  He means that our righteousness should be tip-top.  Better than even the popular perception of the Pharisees.  Better than the zenith of man-made righteousness.  In fact he says anyone who even just relaxes the law will be least in the kingdom.  He wants his law taken seriously, and followed.  Not just in an outward sense.  Not just to be seen by men.  He wants the law kept in thought, word and deed, not just deeds. 

That’s what Isaiah writes about in our Old Testament reading – false fasting.  Doing only the outward show of good when the heart isn’t in it.  And you can tell, because they do the religious good works for show, but they turn around and mistreat the poor.  It would be like people who are “good church going people” on the outside, but on the inside they are just as petty and petulant as the next sinner.  They treat each other with contempt and only look out for their own good.  And the true good works of loving their neighbor don’t match up with their supposed “good religious character”.  God is not mocked.  He sees through it all.

But it gets even worse for us.  He wants his law followed perfectly, in its entirety, not in a horseshoes and hand grenades, close-enough-is-good-enough sort of way.  Keep the commandments!  Love God perfectly.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  Have no other gods, don’t misuse God’s Name or despise his word.  Respect authority, cherish life, love your family.  Look out for your neighbor’s stuff, and even his good name.  And don’t even think about taking what is his, but be content.

So again, I might ask, how’s that going for you?  Does your righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees?  Are you all about keeping the law, or do you relax it on yourself?  Are you following all the commandments all the time?  Or is an iota here and a dot there just a bit too much for you?  So get out your law-eraser!

And do you, in word or action, teach others to do the same?  How would someone looking at your life describe your keeping of the law, if they followed you around with a camera and recorded your words and deeds?

Do you act as if God’s holy and eternal law is something of no consequence, something you can bend and break at will, something you can ignore or rewrite to suit your fancy and circumstance?  How do you compare to it?  Or do you even bother, usually?

If we are honest with ourselves we will see and say and confess that of ourselves, none of us is righteous enough or righteous at all.  And that means that the kingdom of heaven is out of our reach.  That means that each of us is least in the kingdom.  It means that we are just as bad off as the Pharisees we love to mock and critique.  It means we are lost.

But then there is Jesus.  Jesus, who kept the law.  Who didn’t come to abolish it, but fulfill it.  And he did that in so many ways.

He fulfilled the law, first, by keeping every commandment perfectly, all the time, in every way.  That’s hard for us to even imagine, but that is what he did.  He was like us in every way yet without sin. 

That means he never had any other Gods but the one true God.  He never misused or dishonored God’s name or Word.  A perfect relationship with God, always trusting and loving and never disobeying his Father.  No idols.  No false worship.  Satan tried to tempt him that way – with an offer of all the kingdoms of the world!  But Jesus knew and obeyed the first commandment, and quoted it to the enemy, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him alone”.

And he always loved his neighbor – honoring his parents, submissive to them and all other authorities (even those who put him to death). 

Not only did he “not murder”, but he cared perfectly for the lives of all those around him – having great compassion on the sick and diseased, healing them. 

He was always faithful to his Bride, the church.  And he remains faithful to her even now.  He gives up everything for her, with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died. 

He never took what wasn’t his (for all belongs to him anyway), but had nowhere to lay his head, no earthly riches, no ill-gotten gains.  And he always spoke truly and kindly, gracious words for the benefit of any who had ears to hear, never a false witness, but words of Spirit and truth.

Jesus did all things well.  He perfectly obeyed his Father’s will in all things, even to the end.  The cup wouldn’t pass from him, the cup of wrath for all sin.  Death would not Passover him, the true Lamb of God.  He humbled himself even unto death, and even death on a cross. 

And along the way, he fulfilled everything written about in the Law and the Prophets.  He was born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem.  He was a son of David, also called a Nazarene.  He healed and cast out demons.  He preached good news to the poor.  He came to his own city humble and riding a donkey.  He bore our griefs, this man of sorrows, and became the Suffering Servant upon whom was laid the iniquity of us all.  He rose on the third day, showing forth the sign of Jonah, and ascended to the Father who makes all his enemies his footstool.  He even pours out his Spirit on all flesh, as the prophet Joel wrote, and he establishes his church, and sends his word and witnesses out even to the ends of the earth.

All of this fulfilling of the law – both the commandments and the prophecies – all of this Jesus does, for you, dear Christian.  Everything Jesus does, he does for you.  His incarnation as a man – literally every breath he takes – he didn’t have to do it, but he did it out of love for his fallen creation, yes, even, for you.  He fulfills all, for you, his rebellious subject, his wandering sheep, his wayward, wondering, creature.  And he turns the tables on all your law-breaking.  It is finished.

Or to put it another way, in Christ, you are more righteous than the Pharisees.  And the kingdom of heaven is yours.  For he takes away all your law-breaking, and he gives you his perfect righteousness.  He fulfills all righteousness for you, and me, and for all.

What is left for us to do then?  Nothing for salvation, that’s been done.  Nothing to fix anything with God; Jesus has done it all.  All that’s left for us is love.  Love God, love neighbor.  Fulfill the law as best we can, with the power of his Spirit.  Fulfill the law for the sake of love and nothing more.  Because that’s what Christians do.

So go and sin no more.  Keep the law.  For Christ has fulfilled it for you.  Love God, who loves you.  And love your neighbor, too.

Sermon - Third Sunday in Epiphany - Matthew 4:23-25

 

Matthew 4:12-25  (especially 23-25) 

“Jesus the Healer” 

One of the major tasks of the Epiphany season is to continually reveal Christ.  Who is this child born in Bethlehem?  Who is this man, baptized by John?  What is his true identity, and what is his mission?  It’s as if we received the gift on Christmas, but we now spend weeks unwrapping it, appreciating it, and learning all about it. 

Today, in our Gospel reading, especially the last few verses, we see Jesus as a great healer.   

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. 

It is also our annual Life Sunday emphasis, and so I’ll tie in some of those thoughts as well. 

We Christians need healing, just like every human in this sinful, fallen world.  We are just as subject to the physical, bodily effects of sin as the next person.  The problem of illness and disease is a problem that goes back to the garden and the Fall.  It is, in a sense, death encroaching in upon us in various ways.  Just as Adam and Eve were told the day they ate of the forbidden fruit, they would die – and they did, at least spiritually – but they didn’t keel over and die that very day, physically.  But nonetheless death had its claws in them, and it wouldn’t let go.  Adam lived 930 years – but he who came from the ground returned to it, as the Word of God declared.  You are dust, and to dust you shall return. 

Death has its claws in you, too, or at least in your fallen, sinful nature.  Unless Jesus comes first, your flesh will go the way of Adam, and all flesh, and something or other will end your life.  You will die.  To dust you, too, will return.  The wages of sin come due. 

But yet in another sense, you will never die.  For you are in Christ.  And though your body will break down and cease operations, you, the essence of you – the spirit – will be with the Lord in paradise, and at rest.  And on the last day, that body will be resurrected and all of us in Christ will never see death again.  God is the giver of life, and in Jesus Christ he makes all things new.  In Jesus, who died for us all – he brings new and everlasting life.  We have a future hope, and never forget it, Christian! 

But what about today?  What about my aches and pains?  What about this disease and that – my loved one who is sick, my aging parents who won’t ever be the same?  Where is God in all of this suffering?  Where is Jesus?  Isn’t he the healer?  Let’s treat some of these questions head on. 

Jesus was a great healer, and part of the point of all that healing was as a sign that he was the Messiah.  Remember when John’s disciples came asking, “Are you the one, or shall we seek another?” Jesus told them to report to John what they saw:  His healing credentials were part of the proof that he is, in fact, the one, the Christ: 

And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. (Luke 7:22) 

Well you might say, “Well that’s good and well for them, but we already know Jesus is the Messiah.”  Ah, but see, his healings also demonstrate his heart.  Time and again the Gospels tell us he had compassion on the sick.  His heart went out to those who are suffering.  He cared deeply for them. 

And Jesus also cares about life.  He who wept at the grave of Lazarus is not indifferent to death.  He does not desire the death of the wicked.  He cares especially for the weak and the lowly, the aged and the unborn, those whose lives are precarious – the widow and the orphan – and also the humble poor.  His desire is always for life, spiritual and physical, abundant and eternal. 

And this also shows us his inclination toward you.  Jesus the healer knows your hurts.  He cares about them.  He is not indifferent to human suffering.  Nor is he a cruel God who makes us suffer for his own amusement.  He wants us to have life, and have it abundantly.  He wants us to be whole, and healed, and healthy and well. 

The truth is, he does heal.  The human body itself, God’s own creation, has an amazing ability to heal itself.  Thanks be to God.  He also provides medicines and sends and sends us healers – doctors, nurses, all manner of helpers who use their knowledge and skills to benefit us.  They are his agents for our good health. Thanks be to God.  And sometimes, yes, God even brings us miraculous healing that modern medicine and biology cannot explain.  It’s not unheard of, and it does happen.  Thanks be to God. 

It would be wrong of us, however, to put God to the test.  Faith healers of all manner have come along and done terrible damage to people’s faith with their false promises and false hopes. “You’re not being healed because your faith isn’t strong enough” is among the most pernicious of lies. 

It would also be wrong of us to doubt his goodness or his love for us if he doesn’t provide a healing of this or that sort.  He answers all our prayers, in his time, and in his way, and according to his will.  But his particular will in this is not revealed to us. 

Sometimes, God’s will is to heal us in this earthly life. But sometimes, for whatever reason that is his alone, he allows us to suffer, and eventually even to die. 

For the Christian, this is not the end of the story.  It is not a deal-breaker.  It doesn’t make us turn away from God or consider him unloving and cruel. 

For in death we see the gate to eternal life.  Death has no sting for us who are in Christ.  It has no ultimate power.  It is a temporary sleep and we will awake more surely than the sun will rise tomorrow.  And even while we wait for that day, we rest in peace knowing we are with Jesus.   

But that still leaves the question of suffering here on earth.  That still leaves us with our aches and pains and sorrows and tribulations.  What do we do with them? 

We suffer with patience and endurance.  We look for the good in all things.  We cling to the promises of God, and seek the comfort he does afford even in our suffering.  Consider: 

Sickness and disease can humble us.  They can break down our prideful tendencies to resist God’s goodness.  God can work through these things to prompt repentance.  Think of Paul’s thorn-in-the-flesh, which he prayed for God to remove, but, no.  It kept him humble.  Paul was even thankful for it.   

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  

(2 Corinthians 12:8-10) 

When I am weak, I am strong?  It sounds like nonsense to the world.  But to us who are in Christ – it rings true.  In our weakness we turn to God who is our ultimate and only strength.  We see his goodness in rich and powerful ways.  And we learn to rely on him ever more deeply and profoundly.   

And suffering and sickness also provide us with an opportunity to love our neighbor.  Fulfilling the 5th Commandment, we can help and support him in every physical need. 

Jesus Christ has suffered for us, even unto death.  And he promises us abundant life in him.  He doesn’t just treat the symptoms of death and disease, he strikes at the very cause – sin.  He obliterates sin and puts it to death at his crucifixion.  And so what is left for us, but forgiveness, life and salvation in him? 

If we are healed – thanks be to God.  If we must suffer – thanks be to God.  For even in our sufferings he works good.  And he does point us to that day, that final healing, when all sorrow is gone and every tear is wiped from our eyes.  When the perfect is revealed, when death is finally swallowed up in victory, and when life – glorious, eternal life – is revealed to us and for us and in us forever. That life which is already ours in Jesus Christ.  May God, who has begun this good work in you, bring it to completion at the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Sermon - The Baptism of Our Lord - Matthew 3:13-17

Matthew 3:13-17 

Why is Jesus being baptized?  That’s the central question of this reading, and of this day.  It was John’s question, or at least the question behind his initial objection.  It’s the question that every child raised in the church eventually wonders:  If Baptism washes away your sins, and if Jesus has no sins, then why is he getting baptized?  It’s a good question.  But it’s also a question Jesus answers.  Why?  “to fulfill all righteousness” that’s why.  And so today let’s talk about what he means by that. 

Like so many things that happen in the pages of Holy Scripture, God not only teaches us by the words that the people in the Bible say, but also by the actions they perform.  Quite often these actions and events have very deep significance, and it takes keen insight and careful teaching to draw them out.  Consider how the flood of Noah prefigures Christian baptism – washing away the wicked, and only the faithful remain – saved through the waters by God’s grace alone.  Or take the prophet Jonah being swallowed by the great fish for three days – Jesus tells us the “sign of Jonah” is related to his own rest in the tomb, before his resurrection on the third day.  And there are so many other examples of all this. 

But Jesus’ baptism is one of these, too.  An action and event that is loaded with meaning far above and beyond the simple words describing what happened.  It is therefore one of the readings, one of the events in the life of Jesus, that we return to each and every year on this Sunday.  We ponder its meaning for us, delve into its mysteries.  And each time it seems there is more to say about why Jesus was baptized for us – to fulfill all righteousness. 

Martin Luther weighed in on what Jesus means by “to fulfill all righteousness”:  

“In other words, in order that poor sinners might come to righteousness and be saved, [Jesus says  to John you must now baptize me. For I have for the sake of sinners become a sinner and must fulfill that which God imposed upon sinners, in order that they might become righteous through me.”  (Martin Luther, House Postils: Epiphany: Third Sermon — 1534). 

St. John Chrysostom, one of the early church fathers, puts it this way: “I have come to do away the curse that is appointed for the transgression of the law. I must therefore first fulfill it all, and having delivered you from its condemnation, in this way bring it to an end. It is fitting for me therefore to fulfill the whole law, by the same rule that it is fitting for me to do away the curse that  is written against you in the law: this is the very purpose of my assuming flesh and coming here.” (Homily XII, Matt. III., 13.) 

St. Paul has a similar idea when he writes to the Corinthians:  “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) 

And so Jesus is anointed with the Holy Spirit, set apart and proclaimed as the Son of the Father, with whom God is well pleased. But it also proclaims him as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. John had already said so. Now it's even more official. Jesus who has no sin, enters those waters for us, not to be washed of his own sin, but to take on our sins. 

You might even say that as Jesus, in his baptism, takes our sins upon himself – it is a sort of "Reverse-Baptism".  Part of the “Great Exchange” between The Righteous One and those he makes righteous by fulfilling all righteousness. 

Some have suggested it's as if all the sins of the people that were washing off into the Jordan with John's baptism, Jesus waded in and took upon himself, like a giant holy sponge, taking even more – taking all the sins of the world on his shoulders, or into his own body. And with his eye on the cross, where he would take all those sins to die. 

Notice also:  The whole Trinity was in action in his Baptism, the Father's voice, the Spirit's descent as a dove. And so, also, in yours – the whole Triune God places his name on you by those waters. The Spirit is at work on you and in you.  The Father's words of Jesus are spoken as much to you – you are now his beloved child. With you he is well pleased. The same Spirit has sanctified you, and continues to make you holy, continues to point you to Christ, continues the good work begun in you, bringing it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ. 

You and I are baptized into Christ, who was baptized for us, to fulfill all righteousness. 

Who can say enough about the gift of Christian baptism? It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. It creates faith, drowns the Old Adam and raises the New Man in Christ. It is a daily renewal. It is a lifelong blessing. It is the seal of God's approval and the sign that you too will be part of the final resurrection. It's not just a symbol, though, it actually does what God promises. It is the means of God's grace in Christ for the making of disciples of all nations, Jews and Gentiles alike. 

But when we speak of Jesus' Baptism, we can't only mention the one in the Jordan by John. There's another baptism. Hear his words to his disciples from Luke 12: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” and Mark 10 to James and John, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 

You see for Jesus, his baptism, his greater baptism, the one that mattered even more, was the cross. For Jesus the baptism in the Jordan was part and parcel of, and led directly to the baptism of Golgotha. There the sins of the world were washed away, not in ritual water, but in the real sweat and blood of his death. There at the cross was the baptism of all baptisms, the baptism into which all who are baptized are baptized... into his death, and into life eternal. 

And now we see from Romans 6 that your baptism, dear Christian, is also part and parcel of his baptism.  You were, in your baptism, buried with Christ into death, that just as Christ has been raised from the dead, you too might walk in newness of life.  Your baptism unites you to him, even as his baptism united him to you.  And all of it leads to the cross, to death, and to victory over death in him. 

This is why baptism is such a comfort when Christians die.  Oh sure the culture wants us to say nice things about our departed loved ones, and there’s a time and a place for that.  But one of the greatest comforts in the shadow of death is the hope that baptism brings.  Buried with Christ already, raised with Christ by faith to newness of life, and one day, you who are baptized will be raised bodily to the life of the world to come.   

In the end, none of your works matter, but God’s work of baptism does not fail.  And so this sign, this seal, this water-mark upon your brow is really preparing you for life, for death, and for eternal life. 

There truly is nothing worth comparing to this life-long comfort sure. Open-eyed my grave is staring, even there I’ll sleep secure.  Though my flesh awaits its raising, still my soul continues praising, I am baptized into Christ.  I’m a child of paradise! 

So rejoice this day in the baptism of our Lord, at the Jordan, and in the baptism of our Lord that is the cross. Rejoice this day that in your baptism, you receive the benefits of his baptism. Rejoice this day that each and every day “baptism has the power divine to make life immortal mine”.