Third Sunday after Epiphany - 01-25-09

The Church Season of Epiphany
The Third Sunday after Epiphany
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (January 25, 2009)
One Year Series

“FAITH AND LOVE”

Readings:

Psalm 110:1-4
2 Kings 5:1-15
Romans 1:8-17
Matthew 8:1-13

Sermon Form: Deductive

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Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to you from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel lesson from the 8th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses,

Matthew 8:1-13 (NIV)

1 When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

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

Jesus had just finished an extended sermon and came down from the mountain with a large crowd following Him. And during this journey down from the mountain top to the City of Capernaum, Jesus was met by two different men. One was a man who stricken with leprosy and the other was a Roman Centurion whose servant was suffering terribly. One of these men came to be healed of a personal affliction and the other was concerned about his servant. Yet, both of these men had come to Jesus because they trusted that He would be the one who could cure what was affecting them. When each of the men did come to Jesus their ills were indeed cured and both of their stories reflects the compassionate giving nature of a savior. So both of these stories records of,

“FAITH, TRUST, AND LOVE”

In this lesson we hear of two wonderful and marvelous works. One man is cured of an incurable disease, the servant of another was paralyzed and enduring terrible suffering. The leper asks for mercy and he is healed. The centurion asks for mercy upon his servant and for his servant is healed. Both the leper and the centurion had great faith and their faith was rewarded. The leper had so much faith in Christ that he broke all the rules. For the rule was that lepers were not to approach or draw near to anyone. The rule was that they were to separate themselves from others and should they see another, they were to announce that they were sick, by stating that they were unclean. Yet this leper obviously did no such thing, he followed Christ. He trusted Christ. The leper spoke to Christ in a completely unassuming manner. Because the leper did not ask Christ to heal him. Rather he broke the rules. In trust he came close to Christ without announcing his condition. In faith, he knelt before Christ and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”(v. 2) And in His love Christ healed this man.

In the same way the centurion came to Christ and pleaded for his sick servant. The centurion knew he was unworthy. He knew he could do a lot of things because he had assumed great authority. But this self proclaimed undeserving centurion trusted Jesus enough to ask for His help. And Christ said that this faith, this trust, was not equaled in all of Israel(v. 10.) And because Jesus saw the great faith, and trust of the centurion the servant in love Jesus healed the servant.

It would be easy to hear of the faith and trust of these people, the leper and the centurion, and get a whole lot wrong. It would be easy to say I am afflicted too. The world around me is upside down, there is sin, evil, death, and sickness everywhere. There is so much going on around me, so much going wrong that I can’t trust or have faith in anyone. In our daily lives it is all too easy to wonder if there is anyone that we can put our faith in to make things right. It would be easy to think or say I have a lot of faith in God, so why doesn’t He make my world right? Why doesn’t He make my life right, cure my sickness, why doesn’t he make all my problems right? Why doesn’t He take my pain away? Why doesn’t He give me a reason to trust in my fellow man? Why doesn’t He make everything right? I’m trust in God, and I have faith. If he did what that leper wanted and did what that centurion wanted why doesn’t he do what I want? I have all this faith and trust but where is His love for me?

If you’ll recall from the Old Testament, there a man named Naaman who felt that very same way. He had incurable sickness too and he was a pretty influential man of his times, had a lot of money. And when he heard there was man who could heal him, who could make his world right, Naaman placed all his faith, trust, and money to get himself healed. He had faith that he would be cured, but you know, he was wasn’t cured right away. And when a second man, Elisha, asked to see him, Naaman again piled up all his faith and trust and went to Elisha. And the Prophet Elisha, told Naaman to go to the Jordon river to cleanse himself. That made Naaman mad. He, “went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me.”(2 Kings 5:11) Naaman was mad because he had faith, but he didn’t get his way, the way he wanted. Naaman was disappointed because he trusted in Elisha, but it seemed to him that his trust was broken and that sent him into a rage. But when he relented and went to the waters of the Jordan he was healed and he was told to go in peace.

Our faith, our trust for our world, ourselves, our families, our sickness, our challenges seems to misplaced. It has been said that, “Our will is of a wavering mind-set and unreliable. But God’s will is peaceful and reliable. That’s why we are unable to achieve true peace of mind until we immerse our wavering-minded will in God’s calming will.” Our will is to trust in ourselves, our faith is in what we have and we expect that by some combination of faith, trust, and money we will get our way. And when we don’t, we get mad, we get disappointed, and we wonder if God really loves us at all.

Repent. For proclaiming faith, and trust and then expecting God to wave His hand upon you because of all you have done is really placing your faith and trust in yourself. And when you place your faith and trust in yourself, you will always be disappointed, you will always be mad, you will always be left wondering if God loves you at all.

When we repent we see that God does love us. And whether we approach Christ on bended knee begging for our own mercy, or whether we come to Him asking for mercy for another, a repentant heart asks in faith, and trusts that God’s will be done.

Luther said, “It is faith’s rightful art to be moved to trust the Word with the whole heart, as the one and only treasure and hope, never doubting the “yes” and “amen” to what the Word promises. Though I am not worthy of it, I accept it being unworthy; though I have not merited it - for I know nothing in myself by which I deserve it - yet will I take it as gift. That, indeed, is true faith and genuine humility when a person fears because of his unworthiness and yet does not despair.” You need not worry if you have done enough, for Christ has done enough for you. Christ placed His trust in God His Father, then placed Himself upon the cross to win salvation for you. Christ cleanses your sins in the waters of your baptism. Christ free’s you from the worries, pain, and strife of this world, and He does so by giving you forgiveness in His true body and true blood in Holy Communion.

When you are disappointed in yourself and others and you say to Christ, “I am unworthy,” Christ lovingly says to you, “Be clean.” When you place your faith and trust not in man, but in Christ He says to you, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” For Christ loved you so much He died for you on the cross and in that very hour you were healed for all eternity.

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The Second Sunday after Epiphany - 01-18-09

The Church Season of Epiphany,
Second Sunday after Epiphany,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (January 18, 2008)
One Year Series

“The First of His Miraculous Signs”

Readings:

Psalm 67
Exodus 33:12-23
Ephesians 5:22-33
John 2:1-11

Sermon Form: Deductive

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 2nd chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses.

John 2:1-11 (NIV)

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that (Jesus) had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

It’s interesting that our Gospel lesson should talk about signs. Because in the past few days and months, we have been inundated with the troublesome signs of banks failing, businesses filing for bankruptcy, bail outs, and tax breaks, and all too many discussions on how to get this world back on track. I say it’s interesting because at some point in the midst of the ever increasing challenges and all the bleak news, at some point we begin to shrug off and zone out what is going on around us. And when we reach the point of saturation a common phrase is often used, and it is this, “Well, it’s just another sign of the times.” In our Gospel lesson Jesus’ disciples and a few of those closest to Him received an invitation to a wedding in Cana. And at that wedding those guests were blessed to have Jesus in their midst, but they would soon learn that they would be blessed beyond their belief by the first of,

“HIS MIRACULOUS SIGNS”

Life is full of signs and promises, we see them every day. A sign tells us where to get on the elevator, where the lunch room is and even where the bathroom is. But the difference with the man-made signs that we see in our daily lives is that the promise made by the sign is not always kept. Sometimes the sign directs us to the elevator, but the elevator is out of order. Sometimes a sign directs us to drive down a certain road, but then we find that the road has been closed for construction. The signs of our lives never seem to warn us of the unexpected turns ahead. But you know if we did have some sort of advanced warning of all that was to face us in our earthly lives we probably couldn’t or wouldn’t want to hear about it. For if we were given advance notice of life’s challenges we would be tempted to stay in bed and avoid all that we knew was to happen.

There were plenty of advanced warnings of what was to happen at that wedding in Cana But, it would seem that no one knew that this wedding would be the place of the first of Jesus’ miraculous signs. However, we do know for certain that there was one person who knew what was to happen that day. For it was not by coincidence that Jesus, His disciples and His mother were invited to and attended a wedding and banquet. Jesus was there for a reason, though His time had not yet come, this was indeed the hour prescribed for the for the first miraculous signs.

And at that wedding banquet, as often still happens, something doesn’t quite go according to plans, something goes awry, something unexpected happens, and this particular banquet would be no exception. For there is no more wine, it’s all gone, the celebration was not yet over, the unexpected had happened, and the embarrassment and remorse was about to begin. And noticing the situation Jesus’ mother points out to her Son that there was no more wine. Jesus rebuffed his mother saying, “His time had not yet come”(v.4) The unexpected had occurred and Jesus certainly responded with an unexpected wedding gift. For He changes 6 jars of water into wine, 180 gallons of choice wine the quality of which even impressed a banquet master. Jesus gave royally in His gift, it is lavish in both quantity and quality. This first of Jesus’ miraculous signs shows that there is no limit to His power to give, for even the slightest need is enough to evoke His compassionate aid. But, this first of His miraculous miracles was not just a physical blessing, it was also proof that this man Jesus was both human and divine. The man Jesus attended the wedding and banquet, the divine nature of Jesus gave the man Jesus the power to perform the miracle.

Throughout scriptures there are many accounts of unexpected twists and turns in the lives of the people of God and many accounts or miraculous signs too. The Israelites were led on a wandering journey through the desert. On the journey the Israelites thirsted and unexpectedly God gave them a miraculous sign for a rock produced water. The Israelites hungered and unexpectedly God gave them a sign, for manna and quail came down from heaven.

Our lives may seem like a long winding journey, one in which we have seen and experienced either unwanted or unexpected twists. Sometimes those unexpected occurrences happen when we least expect them spoiling our plans and expectations. Signs which seemed like they pointed us to a never ending successful and unchallenged life are torn apart by the unexpected. We are faced with all the hardships life can deal us. Unexpected sicknesses, unexpected family turmoil, unexpected pain and suffering inflicts itself into the otherwise beautifully planned banquet feast of our lives. And all the pain and suffering in the world and in our lives is very real, they are not just inconveniences to be endured but rather painful realities which we face. Left to our own senses it would seem that the wine has run out and the party is over. For it seems that there is no miraculous sign in this world which can point us to the way to get ourselves undone from our afflictions. It is a hopeless and faithless earthly sin induced banquet famine.

Yet into our world steps a divine guest who was sent to save us from our sin, from our death, and from the devil. And that guest is Jesus Christ who performed His first miraculous sign at the wedding of Cana, but it was not His last sign. For many gathered around Him because they had heard and seen all the miraculous signs He had done. At Cana He changed water into wine, at Galilee He walked on the water, He rebuked the wind, He cured the sick, He raised the dead, and so much more than just those signs. For His last miraculous sign on this earth Jesus Christ went to the cross and He died there, for you and for me. And in His death and resurrection Christ continues to do even more miraculous things for us.

For in your baptism you were given the sign of the cross, and God’s Word was combined with water, and that is miraculous sign which proclaims shows that you have been made a child of God. In holy communion plain bread and plain wine are combined with God’s word and they are Christ’s true body and blood. In Holy communion you receive the miraculous sign that your sins are forgiven. So, no matter what you now face, rejoice the party is not yet over. The troubled waters of this world have been changed into unending abundance of new wine. And you will drink deeply of this new wine with Christ who will one day take you from this earthly banquet famine and bring you to His eternal banquet feast. AMEN

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The Baptism of our Lord - 01-11-09

The Church Season of Epiphany,
The Baptism of Our Lord,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (January 11, 2008)
One Year Series

“Let it be so now”

Readings:

Psalm 85
Joshua 3:1-3, 7-8, 13-17
1 Cor. 1:26-31
Mt 3:13-17

Sermon Form: Deductive

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 3rd chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses.

Matthew 3:13-17 (NIV)

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

“To the Jordan’s river came our Lord, The Christ, whom heav’nly hosts adored, The God from God, the Light from Light, The Lord of glory, pow’r and might.”(LSB #405) Jesus Christ whom angels had adored, who had all the glory, power, and might walked down to the Jordan river to be baptized. John must have recognized his cousin, but even more than recognizing the person, John recognized that Jesus was also heaven sent. So in standing in his earthen wear, yet with heavenly recognition, John first seeks to set the record straight. In his words and actions John implied....You know Jesus, I’m preaching a baptism of repentance, and we also know that is not the kind of baptism which you need, and I know I’m out here crying in the wilderness, but you’re going to have to tell me why are you are coming to me? And Jesus’ answered,

“Let it be so now”

The time had come for Jesus to begin His earthly ministry, it was time for Him to step foot in the Jordan river. Christ did not need John’s baptism, after all He is God who does not need require the works of men, for Jesus came to do what men could not. Jesus did not need the cleansing of repentance from the river Jordan, yet when Jesus stepped into those plain waters, the water was no longer just plain water. And being baptized by John at the Jordan was not by mere chance or circumstance, years before this same river hailed the likes of Joshua as he crossed over to the promised land. Joshua’s story is a lot like Christ’s, for here at this river it was proper for Joshua to cross, to begin a new journey and to end the last stage of the wandering Israelites.

The wandering course of the Jordan runs from its crystal clear beginnings to its dark and bitter end in a helpless race to a hopeless goal. It flows, from the heights of mountains in the deepest trenches on the face of the earth, it flows to a place from which no water flows. But along this journey, miracles did occur, like the ones who came to those waters like, Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha. God let it be so for these prophets for their miracles pointed to the one who would come way beyond their now.

Through our veiled eyes we may feel that we are living a so, so life in the here and now. Our minds are tired. Our health is challenged. Our bodies weak. We all have friends or loved ones who are worn thin by all chaos of this world. We would like to think of lives being lived out just like that Jordan river, flowing from a state of innocence high on the mountains. Yet like the Jordan, we know that life’s rivers flow down hill. And we are not only carried by along by all that happens around us, we drown ourselves with our thoughts of, sickness. We willingly succumb to the currents of our own sin. And ultimately we can not swim, rather we sink in our thoughts, words, and deeds, and there is no way for us to save ourselves from drowning in the flood of our own sin.

Yet into that very flowing journey of our lives, Jesus intercedes for us. For somewhere between the mountains of our self centered hope and the unavoidable sea of our death there flows a river. Jesus, stepped into our endless river of sin and was baptized by John the Baptist. Christ did not need John, yet John knew he needed Christ. Christ prevails upon John to, “Let it be so now it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”(v. 15) And by fufilling all righteousness Christ stepped in to free us from our lives which descend into a river of our sin, sickness, tragedy, and faithless despair. Martin Luther tells us, “There are only two abodes for sin: it either resides with you, weighting you down; or it lies on Christ, the Lamb of God. If it is loaded on your back, you are lost; but if it rests on Christ, you are free and saved.” (Luther Vol. 22:169)

In Eden, Adam and Eve once stood sinless and without knowledge of any despair. In their sin they were cast from God’s presence and they enjoined all who would be their heirs to their sin. And as they were cast from Eden God let them know that they could not return, and He told them it would be so, for now. But from the woman’s seed would come one who would fulfill all righteousness.

And as Jesus approached the Jordan, He came as the One who would fulfill all righteousness. He came to fulfill the Law, even to the point of receiving a baptism of repentance from John. But, Jesus did not need repentance. And John already knew that the Kingdom of Heaven was near for he had said so. The need for Jesus' baptism was just as incomprehensible to John as it is to us. That's why he tried to prevent Jesus. John was admitting that he is a sinner and that Jesus is sinless. But Jesus was proclaiming that this is the course that His life must run and that was enough for John. For John heard Christ’s words and he did not speak further, he consented and Jesus was given a baptism of repentance for the sins which He did not commit and He let it be so.

And as He came forth from those waters the Father spoke, and the Holy Spirit descended. In the water Christ stood with John and all sinful men. As Jesus came from the waters He stood as the Son with His Father and the Holy Spirit.

John consented to baptizing the One who did not need baptizing. And Christ in His journey from heaven to earth was prepared to do all things to fulfill righteousness, and to let that be so it now included being baptized by John. And Jesus did not stop His journey there, for He rose up out of the Jordan and continued to go up to Jerusalem, to hang on a cross. And went to that cross to fulfill our righteousness. In our baptism, all the rivers of this life’s worries which have piled up on us in a heap, are washed away. We are prepared for that promised miracle which flows from the depths of this earth to the heights of heaven. We are prepared for heaven each time we partake of the Lord’s Supper when eat the true body and drink the true blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Even when our thoughts, our lives, and our daily actions focus on the agony of now, Jesus has fulfilled our righteousness for beyond the here and now.

Christ the incarnate God of peace insisted upon fulfilling our righteousness and He was baptized for sins He didn’t commit. Jesus was baptized, by just a plain man, in a plain river, in plain water. But, God uses the ordinary things of this world to make extraordinary things happen. And because of the extraordinary life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, plain sinful mankind is baptized in the Name of Christ, in Holy water. And from that Holy baptism you will be gathered at the river of eternal of life, and you will most certainly join Him there. For Christ has made it so for you for both now and forevermore. AMEN

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Second Sunday After Christmas - 01-04-09

The Season of Christmas,
Second Sunday After Christmas
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (January 4, 2009)
One Year Series

"The Journey of Christ"

Readings:
Genesis 46:1-7
Psalm 77:11-20
1 Peter 4:12-19
Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon Form: Edited and paraphrased

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 2nd chapter of Matthew, verses 13-23

Matthew 2:13-23 (NASB95)

13 Now when the magi had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” 14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” 16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more.” 19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

On Christmas we celebrated the newborn Christ child. The only begotten Son of God who we know is born to a world in a state of being vulnerable and also almighty. Today we hear that Jesus and His family are controlled by the circumstances set in place by Herod who would have Jesus murdered with all the other babies.

One thing that comes through loud and clear in this passage is that Jesus was vulnerable, at risk of being hurt or killed. You recall that when King Herod heard from the Wise Men that another King had been born, he was fearful for his throne. He tried to use the Wise Men to find Jesus so that he could have Him killed. But when that plan failed, Herod flew into a terrible rage. Because Jesus was at least a year old at this time, he ordered that all male children in Bethlehem two years of age and under be slaughtered. As this was about to happen, Joseph was warned by an angel to flee that night and escape to Egypt. Imagine that (!), the Son of God having to escape under the cover of darkness, being rescued from a murderous monarch by a frightened father and mother. Joseph did as the angel said, and they took up residence to the south in Egypt until the death of Herod not long afterwards. And as we heard in the gospel lesson, all of this occurred in fulfillment of prophecy, according to God's plan. What at first appeared to be an unwanted vacation in Egypt turned out to be a fulfillment of the prophecy of Hosea "Out of Egypt I called my Son." (Hosea 11:1)

Yet Jesus is in control of everything. Everything that has happened, His birth, the rushed journey to Egypt all happened according to God’s plan for His beloved son. A plan which continues to the end of Jesus’ earthly life, and to the time of His crucifixion. On the one hand we know that the cross was a part of God's plan from the beginning. It was His almighty will that Calvary take place. And yet, when it actually happened, God the Son was utterly helpless. No escape occurred on the Cross, and no travel to Egypt was ever planned to avoid the horrible taunting, the nails, and the spear, and the His death–completely despised and rejected. Nevertheless, through that almighty vulnerability, God paid the full price for our sins and brought eternal life to all who dare to worship and place their confidence in Him.

We too often feel like our lives are full of vulnerable moments. Much of what happens to us seems to be beyond our control and often quite random. We have all lost loved ones, had challenges with someone in our family, or have struggled with tough situations in our daily lives. There often doesn't seem to be much order or purpose to the way things happen in our lives.

But there is a order in our lives because as Christians we have been joined to Christ by water and the Word and made to be members of His body through faith in Him. We should certainly expect to be experiencing Christ’s almightiness and His vulnerability in our own lives as well, both individually and as a part of this community. And that certainly is the case. On the one hand when you look at the church at large today, it seems to be in a state of disarray, vulnerable to all sorts of problems, looking less and less like God's set-apart people and more and more like the world around it. God's holy Law and Gospel often seem to be ignored.

And yet into the midst of this messy and complex world comes God's Word to us. St. Paul writes, "In everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose."(Rom 8) Wherever the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, wherever the Gospel of Christ is rightly proclaimed and His sacraments rightly administered, there God has His people, His church, and the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.

And also individually, we trust that despite any appearances to the contrary, God is truly working for good in our lives. For we know that we were "called according to His purpose" in Holy Baptism, made to be His sons and daughters through water and the Word, all our sin being washed away. We therefore believe that, in the midst of our human frailty, God is indeed working out His almighty will for our benefit.

At this time of year when an old year has ended and a new year has begin, we often look back on our lives. I'm sure many of us will recall when a time of trouble or suffering strengthened our faith in God. A seeming setback turned out to be an opportunity for better or happier employment. A chance meeting brought you to your husband or wife. In fact it was not chance at all, rather God's gracious working in your lives.

Sometimes the events that happen around us don’t always go the way we want, and maybe we would like to be like Joseph, Mary and that tiny Christ child and flee to another place, another country, or even another time. But, in those times when we can't make sense of things, when there seems to be no valid purpose or meaning to what's going on in our lives (and that happens to us all at one time or another), know that Christ has made you His own.

There is nothing in all of creation that can separate you from Him and His love. In fact, the Lord comes so near to you with His love that He actually gives Himself into you in the Sacrament of the Altar. He imparts to you His very own life with His body and blood. If the almighty Lord would go so far as to take on your vulnerable human flesh, to die in the flesh and shed His blood, and then give you His resurrected flesh and blood for the forgiveness of your sins, then certainly you can trust Him even in those times when there seems to be no reasonable answers to your questions.

When those times occur when our plans go crazy, or when there seems to be no reasonable answers to your questions, then that is a time when you can trust God. Our plans say the year 2008 has ended and the new year 2009 has begun. But, God said through the prophet Jeremiah, “I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11) God’s plans were for the One little baby laying in that manger. God’s plan was for One little Christ child whose earthly family fled to Egypt. God’s plan was for Christ to return to Jerusalem so that He could take our sins with Him to the cross. God’s plans for you is for you to dwell with Him in everlasting peace. Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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