Heaven Shining Down By the Sea of Gennesaret
Luke 5:1-11 / I Corinthians 14:12b-20 / Isaiah 6:1-8 Sixth in a Series of Nine – Heaven Shining Down Feb. 9 and 10, 2019 Dear Friends in Christ, We are focusing on the specific locations of our texts in these days, to say this: that God does not choose places at random but deliberately. God does not ignore the past of his people but uses every bit, every scrap of everything that we are to demonstrate his grace, his mercy, and his peace. Two maps we have in our bulletin today focused on locations in Jesus’ day with significant history and particular opportunity. Locations where an epic battle raged between the Light of this world and the forces of forces of darkness, a battle that continues to rage to this very day. In the past weeks, we have seen
Luke 5 through 13 summarizes Jesus’ ministry mainly in Galilee, and in today’s text we find Jesus using the metaphor of fishing to teach about mission and ministry. In this text, the boats will symbolize the church, the sea is the world, fish=people, and the nets will represent the teaching and preaching and miracles of Jesus. Going fishing is the most (expensive) way there is to catch a free meal. That’s a little Facebook post that caught my eyes in recent days. I did a little research and found that in 2011 33.1 million Americans age 16 and over went fishing, they fished on average 17 days, they spent 41.8 billion dollars, (and I hope I’m not getting any men in trouble here today), which is an average of $1,261 a year spent by each fisherman or fisherwoman. No doubt many of you have heard a lover of fishing say something like this – “it’s better to be fishing and thinking about God than to be in church thinking about fishing.” I don’t know about that, but I do know that the first disciples were fisherman, and that’s precisely who Jesus chose to hang around, they are the ones Jesus decided to call into ministry. I don’t know exactly why Jesus didn’t choose the highly educated or the independently wealthy folks, but we do know that he did choose the men that society considered unimpressive, not particularly successful, and uneducated. In last week’s sermon, Pastor Muther’s third and final point was that going from Nazareth where he was rejected to Capernaum where there were all kinds of Gentiles mixed in with the Jews, Jesus was moving from the earthly to the heavenly. He pointed out that the heavenly wasn’t so much a place as it was and is the presence of God. Moving from the earthly to the heavenly. Specifically we want to see how Jesus took Peter in our text from Point A to Point B. He took Peter where he was at, and by teaching and perfoming a miracle, Jesus moved him to where he wanted him to be. Three movements in the heart and mind of Peter, we would note. First, Jesus took Peter From wanting to be left alone to (leaving everything). When Jesus first told Simon Peter to throw his nets back out into the deep, he was asking Peter to do something that defied logic. For starters, their nets were designed for night fishing, and secondly, the fish just weren’t biting! Peter wonders out loud why he should go back out fishing, but then replied, “but at your word I will lower my nets. He reminds us of the virgin Mary who wondered out loud how she could be pregnant, but then responded, “Behold I am the servant of the Lord, Be it to me according to your word.” When Peter saw the miracle unfolding he just wanted to be left alone. The catch was so great not just one but two boats were sinking. The miracle was so amazing Peter knows he is unworthy to be in the presence of Jesus. The awesomeness of the one true God had grabbed ahold of Peter, and he just wanted Jesus to leave. He reminds of us of Abraham who was bold enough to pray a third and a fourth and a fifth time for Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared, even though he was but dust and ashes. Peter reminds us of Job, who dared spout off to God and then backed down with these words of confession, “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” Or Isaiah in today’s first lesson who is in the presence of the Triune God and cries out, “Woe is me. I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” Point A is Peter just wanting to be left alone as a poor and a miserable sinner, Point B is in the final statement of our Gospel lesson when he and his brother Andrew and fishing buddies John and James leave every one of their possessions, they leave their business, they leave their families, and they follow Jesus to places unknown. For reflection: In what ways have I fallen into that ditch where I just want to be left alone, that ditch where I just want to mind my own business, that ditch where I’m not really against those pastors and people over at the church making disciples of all nations, but I’m not really wanting to be involved? Secondly Jesus moved Peter From timidity to (courage) When Jesus invited Peter not to be afraid, he was absolving his sins. The great miracle of the abundant catch of fish pointed to a greater miracle – namely the forgiveness of sins. So also in the case of Isaiah, as soon as he cried out in unworthiness, the seraphim flew to him, touched his mouth with a burning coal and said, “your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Keep in mind Jesus moving Peter from being afraid to being on fire for the kingdom wasn’t a one time deal. So also on this very same lake, recall another time when Jesus was sleeping, a terrific windstorm threatens to drown them all, the disciples wonder out loud if their Master doesn’t care that they are dying, Jesus rebukes the wind, he quiets the waves and wonders out loud where is their faith/wonders out loud why they have fallen back into being fearful little men. So also on this same lake, you will remember Jesus walking on the water, then Peter getting out of the boat with a strong faith walking on the water, then Peter wavering, Peter sinking, Peter crying out, Jesus reaching out and wondering out loud why he was of little faith, why he was doubting. Jesus moving Peter from Point A which was being afraid to Point B which is on his way to becoming a faithful preacher of God’s Word to the early church. For reflection: In what ways have I fallen back into that mood where I freak out in the storms of life instead of staying calm? In what ways have I retreated to my comfort zone where I stay quiet instead of speaking God’s truths with kindness and patience? In what ways have I been gripped with a spirit of timidity instead of courage? Third, Jesus moved Peter From catching fish to catching (people) Jesus doesn’t just forgive Peter’s sinfulness in this text, he commissions him to take that forgiveness to the villages by the Lake of Gennesaret and beyond. He doesn’t just invite Peter into the kingdom, he calls him to be a builder of that kingdom. He doesn’t just shine into Peter’s heart with grace and with mercy, he says perhaps with a twinkle in his eye, we’re going fishing full time. From this day forward, you and your buddies are going to be helping me catch people alive! In these next three years, Jesus would be teaching, he would be catechizing them with all kinds of teaching and with all kinds of preaching and with more miracles than they could even remember. By the time the next three years were finished, they would be fully equipped, trained, and ready to turn the world upside down. Just as fish would go from swimming loose in the lake to being caught and in the boat with Jesus, so also with thousands and eventually millions of lost and wandering sinners be brought into the kingdom through baptism, catechesis, and the Lord’s Supper. Peter’s commission to catch people alive was to go out and do what Jesus had just done to him, that is to preach the kingdom and forgive sins. Jesus would be moving on, the church would be going with him, and these ordinary fisherman would have brand new hearts, brand new desires, and a brand new vocation. For reflection: In what ways have I been seeking after all these other things instead of the kingdom of God and his righteousness? Have I been hearing God wondering out loud, “whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Where are the places in my little corner of the kingdom where this week I might step forward and say out loud, “Here I am, send me!” To fish or not to fish? The kingdom of God is like a father who is pretty regularly too busy to take his son fishing. Almost always there was a lawn to mow, a garage to clean, an errand to run, or a nap to enjoy. One day, he had the time. He took the time to take his 7 year old son fishing. For an entire afternoon and into the evening, the father was as patient as he could be, he taught his son how to bait and cast, he taught him how to reel and how to clean. That night as mom tucked him into bed and asked him how was his day, the answer was swift, the answer was simple. It was the best day ever. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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Heaven Shines Down in Capernaum
Fifth in a series of nine Luke 4:31-44 // 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13 // Jeremiah 1:4-10 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our sermon theme is Heaven Shines Down, and our sermon text leads us to heaven shining down in Capernaum, “And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee.” Dear Friends in Christ, We are focusing on the specific locations of our texts in these days, to say this: that God does not choose places at random but deliberately. God does not ignore the past of his people but uses every bit, every scrap of everything that they are to demonstrate his salvation. In the past weeks, we’ve been seeing heaven shine down at Bethlehem outside of Jerusalem, at the Jordan River where John baptizes Jesus, and at Cana where Jesus turns water into wine. And last week we saw Nazareth, the little hometown where Jesus grew up, where Jesus was rejected, because “Jesus [was not] the Messiah they had in mind.” But “because Jesus was rejected, we are accepted... Because he rose up again on the third day, we understand not only that there will be a happy ending to our own stories, we know that the stories we live out here and now are full of both significance and opportunity.” Today we turn our attention to Capernaum of Galilee. It was a Mankato-sized kind of a place to the Twin Cities metropolis of Jerusalem. It’s on the north side of the Sea of Galilee where the mountain snow fed a pure little lake with abundant fish. It was situated in about as beautiful a place as inland Judea had to offer. Capernaum was on the trade routes from Babylon in the east to Egypt in the west. It was a place of growing wealth. It was a place where Jews and Gentiles alike mixed. Isaiah prophesied about this place, just before he writes what we have painted on the walls of our Sanctuary, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given”.... he says, “In the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.” Jerusalem, the center of Jewish worship, was far away enough that the people had to rely on synagogues and Pharisees to practice their faith. Galilee and Capernaum were a place where the Jewish population was always aware, sometimes uncomfortably aware, of their Gentile neighbors. So, into this Mankato, full of foreigners and Jews, Jesus comes preaching with authority, driving out demons, and healing the sick as the crowds gather around. Three thoughts on the shift that happens in our text, as Jesus, who was just in Nazareth, comes to Capernaum. Thought #1, A shift from what he (said) to what he (did). In Nazareth he says that he comes to proclaim good news and to free people from their oppression. In Capernaum, he starts doing it. In Nazareth, he quotes the proverb “Physician heal thyself,” and tells them that Elijah and Elisha served the Gentiles, and in Capernaum, he starts doing as Elijah and Elisha did. In Nazareth, he inaugurates his ministry with the words of Isaiah, and in Capernaum, he begins to teach with an authority that is both simple and deep. We might not know what he said in that synagogue exactly, but we do know what he preached the rest of his ministry. He would ask us to shift from what we say to what we do... Do you say that you practice forgiveness, or do you practice putting the sins of others away? Do you say it’s good to humbly confess your own sins, or do you take the time to set your defensiveness aside and admit that you can be at fault? Have you lately been praying for your enemies? Have you lately been looking for ways to give up your shirt when someone asks for your coat? Thought #2, A shift from where he had (been) to where he was (going). In Nazareth, he was hometown boy. In Capernaum, he is a teacher with authority. In Nazareth, he was among those familiar to him. In Capernaum, he is among those who were getting to know him through his miracles and teachings. In Nazareth, he was among those who knew who he had been. In Capernaum, he begins looking toward the journey that ends at the cross and the open tomb. I’ll tell you what I’m not saying: I’m not saying that his life in Nazareth didn’t matter. I’m not saying that the virgin birth is meaningless. No, quite the opposite. I am saying that it all makes far more sense when we see the ending. You see what dribbling drills are supposed to do when you start driving the lane in a basketball game. You see what basic training drills are supposed to do when you get into combat. You see what the very mundane, the very basic, the trivial, does when you look to the end and get to see the whole picture. You see what it means for Jesus to preach what he preaches here, when you look to the cross and the open tomb. Jesus shifts to inaugurating the kingdom of heaven, a kingdom that turns upside down what it means to have power, a kingdom finds its strength in weakness, a kingdom that finds its purpose in the death of the Savior. He shifts from where he has been to where he is going. The kingdom of heaven is like a family that is finding its focus to be less on where their loved one has been, the struggle she has been through, the pain that he is in, and more on the place where their loved one is going. They find themselves less and less dwelling on the loss that they are feeling, and more and more looking forward to the day when they see each other again. Thought #3, A shift from the (earthly) to the (heavenly). Galilee was ripe for rebellion. Two hundred years before Jesus, the Maccabeans led a revolt that freed the Jewish people into an independent state. “Thirty years before Jesus, Judas the Galilean led another revolt. Thirty years after Jesus, they would try again, and the Romans would end up destroying the temple of Jerusalem.” So, when Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is near,” the people a generation before him would have taken it literally and taken up arms, the people a generation after him would have taken it literally and taken up arms, so you could well guess that the people in Jesus’s day would have taken it literally too. But Jesus shifts from the earthly to the heavenly, and remember that heavenly for the Christian doesn’t so much mean a specific place as it means the presence of God. Jesus shifts from the earthly—from what you can see and taste and touch and feel and know—to the heavenly—who God is for eternity, treasures that moth and rust could never destroy. I’ll what else heavenly DOESN’T mean. It doesn’t mean that the earthly has no meaning. On the contrary, the Christian believes that when we shift from the earthly to the heavenly, then the earthly stuff, the earthly life, all of the mundane ordinary things of our day are filled with an extraordinary meaning. The lepers walking, the blind and the demon-oppressed finding relief, the fevers getting healed, they aren’t just about temporary relief and quality of life and band-aid solutions, because ailments and troubles would always come back... but in this moment, they point toward the way that Jesus will make all things right in the cross. They point to the heavenly blessings that give meaning to the earthly tools we use. You shall not steal. Money isn’t just another earthly thing; it is a tool to lift the cross high. Don’t use money to enact your will. Don’t use it as a tool for your own entertainment. Use it as a tool to bless others and encourage them. You shall not murder. Serving your neighbor isn’t just a good thing to do; is it the reason why God made humanity to exist. You shall not commit adultery. Marriage isn’t just a stable place to find love or raise children; it is a picture of Jesus laying down his life for his church. You shall not give false testimony. Telling the truth isn’t just a good thing; it is the only way to cultivate the honest community which points toward the new Jerusalem. You shall not covet your neighbor’s stuff. Loving people more than you love stuff isn’t just a helpful tip when life goes wrong; it is a little piece of how God so loved the whole world that he gave his only son, how he knows all the hairs on your head, how the God who watches over the sparrows watches over you too. The kingdom of heaven is like a large church in a small town, a church that is made up of all kinds of individual stories, all kinds of people in community, the sort of community known for caring for any who comes through their doors, loving people in the ways that they need, forgiving others as they have been forgiven by their God, and living in the hope that all of this life points toward something more. Amen and amen. Heaven Shines Down in Cana of Galilee
Third in a series of nine John 2:1-11 // Isaiah 62:1-5 // 1 Cor 12:1-11 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our sermon text for today is especially the Gospel reading, from John 2, “All men first put out the good wine and when it is drunk, the lesser. You have kept the good wine until now.” Dear friends in Christ, We are focusing on the specific locations of our texts in these days, knowing that God most often works in those specific locations through their significant history to bring about particular opportunity. God does not choose places at random but deliberately. God does not ignore the past of his people but uses every bit, every scrap of everything that they are to demonstrate his salvation. Two weeks ago, we began with Bethlehem, the site of Rachel weeping for her children, the site of Jesus’s birth, the place where the Magi worship the Christ. Last week, we examined the River Jordan, an unimpressive place and yet one where God had chosen to give his people a new beginning. Today we look at the third sermon in our installment of nine, Heaven shining down on Cana of Galilee. Look at the map in our bulletin. Cana was east of the city Capernaum, and north of Nazareth by about 8 miles. It was a similar kind of town, in the shadow of the two big cities in the area, Capernaum to the northeast and the capital Sepphoris to the north. It was just right for construction workers like Joseph and Jesus to get work. It was a small town, the kind of place where Jesus had family and friends the right age for getting married. And for life in a small town, a wedding fest was a big deal. When someone would get married, it took over the town. “The wedding festivities lasted far more than one day. The wedding ceremony itself took place late in the evening, after a feast. After the ceremony the young couple were conducted to their new home...They were taken by as long a route as possible so that as many people as possible would have the opportunity to wish them well.” Can you imagine parading people around Janesville? And it wouldn’t end there. “But a newly married couple did not go away for their honeymoon; they stayed at home; and for a week they kept open house. They wore crowns and dressed in their bridal robes. They were treated like a king and queen, were actually addressed as king and queen, and their word was law.” Here’s the summary statement. “In a life where there was much poverty and constant hard work, this week of festivity and joy was one of the supreme occasions.”[1] How does heaven shine down when important chapters begin? How does heaven shine down when things are supposed to be at their most joyful? Three thoughts on the wedding feast that Jesus attends, a wedding feast gone wrong, a wedding feast that alludes to so much more. Three thoughts on how the presence of Jesus the bridegroom of the church changes the situation they are in. First, he turns disgrace into pure grace. In our text, Jesus attends a wedding and they run out of wine. I quote “For a Jewish feast wine was essential... At any time the failure of provisions would have been a problem, but for hospitality in the East it is a sacred duty; for the provisions to fail at a wedding would be a terrible humiliation for the bride and the bridegroom.” Hospitality was essential, to show your guests that you care. Hospitality was essential, because all of your guests were your family, your friends, the village that you lived in and around all of your days. And in turning water into wine, Jesus turns disgrace on the part of the steward and on the part of the bridegroom into pure grace. He turns a rotten outcome into something better than we could imagine. He uses a mistake to make something better, and he does that for us too. I find it to be a struggle for us to find the words to say these things, to say them in a way that doesn’t praise the mistake, nor does it minimize the pain. For grieving families, death can be a good thing even when death is the enemy that steals our loved one. For the person who has been through all kinds of hardship, those trials of life shape us into the people we are, even if we wouldn’t wish them on anyone. But here we find the depth of the Christian narrative. We believe that God created the world, good, that the world’s good has been marred and smudged, and that Jesus came to make it good again. We believe in a world that God created good. Very good. Every bit of it. But we believe that all that good has been marred and smudged. Each and every part is good but it is good that has been twisted. Evil isn’t a thing in itself; it's a twisting, a disordering of what is good. And here’s the gospel turn. We believe that Jesus took the worst piece of that twisting and marring, he took life which ends in death, and through the worst consequence of sin he has brought new life. Do you notice what that does? It does what Isaiah 62 says so well. The God who didn’t wish for cities to be desolate and people to be forsaken in the first place has taken away their desolation and their forsakenness to call them into his weeding feast, to rejoice over them as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. Second, in turning water into wine, Jesus turns scarcity into (grateful generosity). The wedding feast was only partway in and they were out of wine. One could imagine, that the wine steward was starting to get pretty stingy with the wine by the point that Jesus steps in. He only has so much left, and he would want to make it last as long as possible. But after Jesus’s miracle, I would guess the wine flowed a little easier. The party went on a little louder, the rest of the night was a more than a little better. If you had just enough money to get through the week, then you would look pretty hard at what you spent it on.But what if you had a million dollars in your bank account? How much easier would it be to spend? St. Paul comes from much the same place in 1 Cor. 12. There is an overwhelming generosity of gifts, and only one Spirit who gives them. There are such a variety of members, and only one Body of Christ. All of the gifts that we have are to be used to the glory of Christ and to the building up of your neighbor. All of the gifts of your neighbor, this is the Christian trust here, all the gifts of your neighbor are to be used to the Glory of Christ and for the building of their neighbor. Third, he turns this present hour into (eternity). This wedding feast, I can tell you with confidence, ended. At a certain point, the miraculous wine stopped flowing. At a certain point the bridegroom and the bride were no long addressed as king and queen. The laughter and the joy of the village were replaced by hard work. The brief moment of feasting was replaced by the poverty of living in a small town in an arid place. But this is the first of Jesus’s signs, first of Jesus’s seven signs in the Gospel of John, and signs are a thing that point to something greater. This is the first of the signs that point to the greatest work of all. Jesus in his death and resurrection, Every happy chapter of our life is a sign to the overwhelming joy of heaven. Every relationship of love and care is a sign toward the overwhelming love and care of our Father in Heaven. Your marriage is a picture of Christ laying down his life for his bride the church. Your moments, the ones that will stay with you for all your days, the ones that are so full of joy that time seems to have ne meaning, all point toward the day when Christ turns this present hour into eternity. The kingdom of heaven shines down like a large church in a small town where they know they have a foretaste of the feast to come every time they come to the Lord’s table. They know that they have a little bit of eternal feast in every fellowship that brings them joy. They don’t despair over their past; nor do they hide it. Their eyes are turned from disgrace to the pure grace given them, from the scarcity of this world to the generosity of their savior. And together, they long of his hour to come. Amen and amen. [1]Barclay, John vol. 1. Heaven shining down on the River Jordan
Second in a series of nine Luke 3:15-22 // Romans 6:1-11 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our Sermon text for today is Luke 3, beginning with these words, “While the people were all in expectation about John, whether he was the Christ...” Dear Friends in Christ, We are focusing on the specific locations of our texts in these days, knowing that God most often works in those specific locations through their significant history to bring about particular opportunity. God does not choose places at random but deliberately. God does not ignore the past of his people but uses every bit, every scrap of everything that they are to demonstrate his salvation. Today we look at the second sermon in our installment of nine, Heaven shining down on the river Jordan. Look at the map in our bulletin. You see the windy River Jordan coming down on the right-hand side of the page. It extends from the freshwater Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. We think that John preached on the East side of the bank, nearer to Jerusalem, on the edge of what you can’t see on your page – the hundreds of miles of desert and wilderness that now make up modern day Iraq. Now, we don’t know exactly where on the River Jordan John baptized, but we do know that it was an unimpressive windy river, full of shallow rocks and muddy water. But for generations, for centuries, for over a thousand years, the River Jordan had been a place of significance. Point number 1 is that the River Jordan was and had been for a long time a place of New Beginnings for an (Ancient) People. It was the final gateway from slavery to freedom. Over the Red Sea, God had claimed Israel as his firstborn son, in the river Jordan, A. Joshua crosses into the (Promised Land). After a generation passed away, after forty years in the desert, after the punishment for their sin was over, here was a new beginning as they started a new nation, as they claimed their freedom. Joshua sets twelve smooth stones on the river to remind his people of their new beginning. B. Namaan the Syrian crosses into (life). You remember, he was a Syrian commander – an enemy of Israel – and he had leprosy. He came to Elijah – an enemy, asking for mercy and for a cure. Elijah tells him to go on down to this river of new beginnings, the Jordan river. Wash seven times, and he’ll be cured. And finally, for our purposes, C. Elisha crosses into (ministry). After Elijah was taken up into heaven, Elisha retraces his steps, back from the fiery chariots, back from the wilderness beyond the Jordan, and the first miracle that he does as THE prophet in Israel is to cross the river Jordan on dry ground, marking this new ministry in their midst. He passes from apprentice to master, from follower to prophet, from the end of Elijah’s ministry to the beginning of Elisha’s ministry. That’s the backdrop of this area. So when John the Baptizer comes on the scene, he preaches in the places where Elijah was taken into heaven, where Elisha started his ministry, where Joshua began to conquer the Promised Land, and where we find the Messiah would begin his ministry. 2. New Beginnings for a new ministry Point A. John formed their (expectations). John looked like a prophet. He hung out in the wilderness. He delivered scathing and persuasive rebukes. He looked like the culmination of all the Old Testament prophets, because he was. He was the expectations of the people incarnate, the way that they thought the Lord would begin the reign of the Messiah on earth. Can you imagine the folks that were coming out to see him? On the far side of the Jordan? They come from 20, from 40, from 60 miles away to see John in the wilderness. Israel hadn’t had a prophet in 400 years. It’s like if America didn’t have a general of George Washington’s caliber in 400 years (we’re at 242 now), and then there one comes. They flock to him. They hope in him. They wonder about him. They were longing for a military leader, for a second Joshua to lead them across the Jordan into the Promised Land. They were looking for a second Elisha to lead them out of their oppression. They were looking for a certain kind of person, and John formed their expectations. But Point B. is that Jesus filled their (needs). This is fundamental to the Gospel. Jesus does what we need him to do, whether we care that he does it or not. Jesus is who we need him to be, whether we want him to be that or not. Jesus is a second and greater Joshua, and the stream that he crosses is death itself. Jesus is a second and greater Prophet, and the sin he calls out is deeper than we could know without him. But the realest need that his fills is that he does everything that we are supposed to do. He is the representative man. He is baptized here for our sake. He fulfills all righteousness for our sake. He is the beloved son for us. And so, for us today, the River Jordan is a place for our 3. New beginnings and second chances. A. A second chance to (confess) faults. Pastor Griffin told me a story the other day about a voters meeting in Lewiston. They had made some changes in their policies, changes that weren’t appreciated by some. A member, a faithful member, had been angered at something he had done, so angry that he quit bible study, quit coming to church, to the point that his pastor called him. Before he could speak, Pastor launched into an apology, that he hadn’t thought through his words, that he was doing with the law what he should have done with the Gospel, that he was sorry for his fault and wanted to do better. There was a pause. Then, on the phone, “Pastor Griffin, you’re a hard person to stay mad at.” You see, when he heard who was calling, he was ready to just rip into him. He was ready to give him a piece of his mind. He was ready to give him what he deserved. But confessing your faults, taking the first step forward, laying down the burden of your own pain, gives you the opportunity for a new beginning and a second chance. B. A new beginning (day by day). Martin Luther writes this when he says, and this is the last question and answer on baptism in the catechism, “The old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts, and, again, a new man daily come forth and arise; who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever” Daily we drown the Old Adam and daily the new man rises up on the inside. St. Paul says, we have been baptized into his death so that we might rise in his life. A new beginning each day. A new rising of the New Man on the inside of his people. A second chance in the body of Christ. A chance to be what we already are in eternity. The good news for those, like Jayme Closs, who have lived a nightmare, the good news is that daily the mercies of God are new, renewed in the morning no matter how dark the night. The good news is, for those who have health concerns, the good news is that although we outwardly waste away, inwardly we are renewed day by day. For those who have messed up again and again, the good news is that daily we remember that Christ has died our death and has raised us to a newness of life. For those who struggle with their thoughts and feelings, with depression and despair, the good news is that God’s first words for us every morning are, “For the sake of my son, you are my beloved child.” The kingdom of Heaven shines down like a large church in a small town where words of confession and forgiveness are spoken frequently, where hurts are laid down at the foot of the cross, where honesty, even when it hurts, is appreciated, where their stories are chalk-full of second chances and new beginnings. Amen and Amen. Heaven Shining Down Into Bethlehem
First in a Series of Nine “Heaven Shining Down!” January 5 and 6, 2018 The Epiphany of our Lord Isaiah 60:1-6 / Ephesians 3:1-12 / Matthew 2:1-12 Behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Dear Friends in Christ, The season of Epiphany is one of the oldest seasons in the church year, second only to Easter. This season of lights begins with a celebration of the Wise Men visiting the Christ child and ends with the Festival of Transfiguration. This Epiphany season is about as long as it ever gets, due to the late date of Easter this year. Today is the first of nine sermons under the theme, “Heaven Shining Down.” Three truths we would emphasize in this series. First, as we travel with Jesus from manger to his baptism and into his public ministry of performing miracles, we rejoice that God has reached down from heaven to rescue us, even as we admit that we have no way of reaching up to him. Secondly, we explore the obvious reality that mission and ministry happen in specific locations, each with their own significant history and particular opportunities. Third, we reflect on this epic battle between Light and darkness in the past, the present, and the future. Today we focus on Bethlehem in Old Testament times, Bethlehem in Jesus’ day, and small town living today. Bethlehem B.C. At this time, I invite you to notice in your bulletin a map of Israel in Jesus’ day. Today, we will be focusing on the little town of Bethlehem in Judea, located six miles or so south of Jerusalem. In coming weeks we will be focused on Jesus getting baptized in the river Jordan, then on Jesus performing his first miracle in Cana of Galilee, then on Jesus reading in the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth / not too far from Cana, then to Capernaum also up there near the Sea of Galilee, then out on the Lake of Gennesaret, then for two Sundays we hear Jesus preaching to the crowds on the level plain, and ending up at the Mt. of Transfiguration, where Jesus reveals his glory in spectacular fashion. Rachel (dies) Bethlehem was a small village, perched on some rounded hills overlooking the desert to the east. It was six miles south of Jerusalem and an obvious stopping point for those on a pilgrimage to the temple of Jerusalem. The name Bethlehem means “house of bread,” it was a stopping place for supplies / sort of the Kwik Trip of its day, and a place surrounded by wheat fields and shepherds watching their flocks. You may remember that Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, he was the grandson of Abraham and Sarah, and eventually his name was changed to Israel. And so Jacob’s 12 sons gave rise to the 12 tribes of Israel. You may also remember that Jacob’s favorite wife was Rachel, and his less favorite wife was Leah. Rachel gave birth first to Joseph, and as she gave birth to Benjamin, she passed away… There in Bethlehem, also called Ephrath, Rachel was buried, and Jacob put a pillar over her tomb. Ruth (gets married) Bethlehem is also that place where the story of Ruth, the grandma of King David takes place. Ruth was a Gentile woman from the land of Moab who had married into a Hebrew family. When her husband died, she chose to travel with her grieving mother in law back to Naomi’s hometown of Bethlehem, where she met and married Naomi’s relative Boaz – and thus the name of Ruth makes it into Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus – Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. David is (anointed king) Bethlehem is also that place, where some time later, one of Israel’s greatest prophets Samuel comes to Bethlehem to visit that family of a man called Jesse. There the prophet passes over seven older brothers and chooses the youngest boy David, who was out shepherding the sheep. David is described as ruddy / attractive, had beautiful eyes and was handsome. There in Bethlehem, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. From that day forward, Bethlehem was associated with great King David, and as expectations grew that God would send another king like David, the prophet Micah predicted that even though Bethlehem was “small among the clans of Judah,” yet from here would come a ruler of Israel, whose origins are from old. As we move from this little town’s Old Testament history to Jesus’ day, keep in mind, that in this sermon series we explore the obvious reality that mission and ministry happen in specific locations, each with their own significant history and particular opportunities. Bethlehem in Jesus’ Day In terms of Mary and Joseph traveling from Nazareth in Galilee down into Bethlehem, we could imagine them traveling along with other family members, we could speculate that it was a five or 6 day journey by mule or donkey. In terms of the magi / wise men visiting from the east, scholars suggest they may have come from as far away as Babylon and that their visit was months after, perhaps up to two years after the birth of Jesus. It’s not so important to figure out exactly who these magi were or where they came from or when they arrived. What matters is heaven shined down with one of the stars of this universes. In Old Testament times, God led his people by day with a cloudy pillar and by night with a pillar of fire. Now God uses a star, Scripture, and a dream to guide the Magi on their way to and from Bethlehem. In our Gospel lesson for today, Bethlehem is both a place of danger and a place of divine reversal. First, A place of (danger) The story of these first Gentiles visiting and worshiping the Christ child is jam packed with all kinds of joy mixed in with all kinds of tragedy. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh on the one hand and bloody massacre on the other. A great light shining in the darkness on the one hand, and darkness doing its dastardly best to overcome it on the other. Bethlehem on the one hand the birthplace of the very author of life and on the other a little town of 300 people or so crying until there were no more tears as they see with their very eyes a dozen or two dozen or more beautifully created baby boys slaughtered. Second, A place of divine (reversal) Bethlehem was already a place associated with divine reversal. David had been a child, the youngest son, when God called him to be the anointed king of Israel. God had overturned human expectation in the choice of his king; humans so often look at outward appearances, but the writer of I Samuel comments, “the Lord looks at his heart.” Now in Jesus we see something similar; a humble birth in a tiny village, but the one born here will in due course be spoken of throughout the world. (Isaiah 60 language) Nations would come to his light, and kings would come to the brightness of his rising. As we move from Bethlehem in Jesus day to small town living today, keep in mind, that in this sermon series we explore the obvious reality that mission and ministry happen in specific locations, each with their own significant history and particular opportunities. Bethlehem Today is a majority Muslim town cut off from its sister city of Jerusalem by an 8 meter high wall. The old city has a population of 5000 or so, and its chief business is tourism. You could find 30 hotels and 300 handicraft workshops on these streets. Rachel’s tomb is only a short drive from Jerusalem. It is completely walled in, and only bullet proof buses and vans are allowed to pass between the 15 foot high concrete barriers that lead to the Tomb. In closing today, we note two truths about small town living on the subject of light vs. darkness. Two truths about what it means for this church and school to be like a city of lights set on a hill shining Jesus Christ all over our neighborhoods. Two truths about what it means (Ephesians language) to join the missionary Paul in preaching to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things… Two truths, one obvious and one not so much. Truth #1 is obvious. Darkness is still causing all kinds of (trouble) The kingdom of darkness is like a country where two political parties engage in debate that is often petty, occasionally poisonous, and increasingly profane. It’s like large cities and small towns alike where unborn infants are aborted and many argue that it’s nobody else’s business. It’s a land where darkness infiltrates our families on a daily basis, it attacks our relationships morning, noon, and night, it hides in the shadows, it lurks around many of our corners, more often than not, it is predictable and surprising at the same time. Truth #2 should be, but isn’t always obvious to the naked eye Those who look to him are (radiant) This is Psalm 34 language, it’s King David language after he had confessed his transgressions to the Lord, after the Lord had forgiven the iniquity of his sin, and after he had changed his behavior. He writes, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes it boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I ought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. The kingdom of light is like sinners who have cried out for mercy, mercy has arrived, and a huge weight has again been lifted from their shoulders. It’s like a marriage where husband and wife say to each other again and again, I’m sorry, I forgive you, I really do want to do better. It’s like classmates and co-workers and church members who have stumbled into self-centeredness and sarcasm and cynicism and worse, who have looked themselves in the mirror, shaken their heads in disgust, and in the quiet of the night they have asked for and received forgiveness. They understand now what Solomon once declared, “the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.” They look around the sanctuary and think about what Isaiah predicts, “Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and exult.” Heaven shines down. In the case of the Wise Men, heaven shines down with a star, in Scripture, and in a dream. This week, we pray that heaven would reach out through us, in every one of our relationships, in every one of our conversations, in every one of our actions, that we would be like a city of lights set on a hill, obviously radiant, difficult to ignore. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. |
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