Third Sunday after the Epiphany

January 22, 2006
Rev. Harlan Limmer
Text: Mark 1:14-20

Grace and peace from God our Father, and love of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

God calls us and we respond in some way. In the Gospel reading for today (Mark 1:14-20), Jesus went to the region of Galilee. There, he proclaimed the Good News. The Good News was that the time of the Messiah, promised centuries before, had come. The Kingdom of God was near. It was now. Jesus called the people to repent and believe.

Jesus walked along the shores of the Sea of Galilee and saw two fishermen, Simon and Andrew, in particular. They were fishing by throwing nets into the sea. He called to them to come and follow him. He called them to learn from Him. He would be their teacher and they would become His students. He promised them that He would make them fishers of men. They would become evangelists. They responded. They dropped their nets and followed Him.

Jesus went further and saw two more fishermen, two brothers, James and John. We learn that their father’s name was Zebedee. They were mending their nets with some other fishermen. Jesus called to them and they left their father and the others and followed Jesus.

Notice. Jesus simply called the fishermen to follow Him. This call meant Good News. They responded to this Good News. The kingdom was near. The King had come. The ruler, the master, and the Provider of good things had called them. This King would live, suffer, die, and rise from the dead for them and the whole world. He would save them from the punishment deserved for sin.

The call to be a disciple of Jesus and to follow Him meant preparing for a definite task and responding with a total commitment to be fishers of men by bringing the Good News of Jesus to people. Notice the promise. It is Jesus who will make them fishers of men. It is not something they can do on their own. They will become evangelists. They will be witnesses to the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. They will tell what they know about Jesus. That is what evangelists do.

In the Old Testament reading today (Jonah 3:1-5,10), we hear another calling. God calls Jonah to go to the people living in the city of Nineveh. They are gentiles. They are sinners. They are a wicked bunch. They do not believe in the grace or mercy of God. They ignore God. They have become their own Gods. Jonah is to warn them, “You are wicked. You will be punished.”

Jonah resisted at first. After all, he thought the people deserved to be destroyed. He wanted them destroyed. He tried going in the opposite direction. He ended up in a great fish - as good as dead for three days. But, he ended up on shore ready to go to Nineveh to carry out what God called him to do. Jonah went, but he was reluctant.

Jonah did give the people of Nineveh that stern message from God. He warned them about the consequences of their sin. In forty days, God would punish them for their wickedness. The Ninevites believed God. They took the prophet’s warning seriously and acted. They fasted. They repented. They changed their ways - all signs of true and humble repentance.

The people of Nineveh genuinely turned to the true God. The king did too! He commanded them to repent and change their evil ways. God saw what they had done. He saw their change of heart. He had compassion for them. He did not carry out His threat to destroy them.

God called a man named Paul to warn the Christians at Corinth. He told them that the time is short for doing the work of the Lord. The Second Coming of Christ, the Lord, is closer than they think. They are warned that they should not be overly concerned about the affairs of this world. They are to give up their evil ways immediately. Husbands and wives are to honor one another. Material things always change or disappear. They are to be concerned about ways to please God. They are to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul warned them about divided interests. They need to focus on Jesus Christ. They claim to be Christians and follow Jesus, but they live as if things of this world matter most. They cannot give devoted service to Jesus Christ when they are distracted.

God provides us with ways to keep us focused on Jesus Christ. God, the Holy Spirit, calls, gathers, and enlightens us, the church, by the Good News of Jesus Christ –His life, suffering, death, and resurrection. We call that the Gospel. We can be focused after receiving the benefits of being baptized with water and the Word of God – faith, forgiveness, and the promise of salvation. We receive the same benefits thorough His Words of promise, as we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion.

What is our response to this call by the Gospel to repentance and service? We may resist His call like Jonah did at first. Ignore it or run away, or, reluctantly, follow Jesus. We may respond as the Ninevites and repent of our sins and believe. We may drop all distractions, leave home and family, and follow Jesus … becoming Fishers of Men by telling people what we know about Jesus.

What pleases God? Being totally committed - by faith in Jesus Christ - to whatever God has called us to do in life, no matter where or what that is, pleases God. That is our godly vocation, our calling. God comes to us with His mercy, grace, and love even before we repent and believe. He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to the cross to take our guilt of sin. Jesus loves us. God has canceled our punishment for the sake of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God! God calls: We Respond. Amen.

2nd Sunday after Epiphany

January 15th, 2006
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Text: John 1:43-51

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

Dear fellow found ones,

In our text for today, John records that Jesus found Philip. That is how salvation works. God must find us. We give Him no reason to do this wonderful work of finding us. He comes looking for us for no other reason than that: He wants to. We can’t even begin to understand why God would want to find us. But He does. This is the grace of God which is beyond all understanding.

Jesus found Philip doing what he always did. And then Jesus said: “Follow me.” And so Philip followed. The Word of the Lord is powerful stuff. He created the heavens and earth out of nothing. Even though Lazarus would be wrapped in death shrouds, Jesus’ words would raise him from his tomb. And even though Philip was nothing but a sinner, what Jesus said to him was able to make him trust and follow.

But Philip had faith. The words of the prophets had been read to him. His heart had been prepared by the Law of Moses, seeded with the promises of the prophets, and watered with John’s Baptism of repentance. By the will of God, he had diligently listened to those words, with the result that the Spirit of Christ in him yearned to see the Messiah (1 Peter 1:10-11). Philip had God-given faith in the Messiah — faith given through God’s Word. He had heard the promises. He had faith in what the promises promised. And what they promised was a Messiah who would be the Savior of the nations. It was in the Messiah that he hoped. When the man from Nazareth walked into Philip’s native land, He was a sight for strained eyes. The object of Philip’s faith, the object of your faith, the object of father Abraham’s faith, has appeared in the Man, Jesus of Nazareth. When the light of the world, Jesus of Nazareth, bid him: “Follow Me”, Philip followed. In his zealous fever, Philip wondered who else he could tell about the Man from Nazareth. He thought of Nathanael, who practically lived under a certain fig tree. In those days, instead of seminaries and universities, some men would study scripture under a fig tree. That’s where Nathanael was when Jesus saw him. So Philip went to tell Nathanael about Jesus. But he did not tell him about his faith, but about Jesus of Nazareth, the object of his faith.

Jesus had found and called Philip. And Philip found this Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah promised in Scripture. So Philip went and found Nathanael and declared the good news: Eureka! We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus is the Nazara, the twig, or shoot from the stump of Jesse. Philip found the fruit born from a branch of Jesse’s roots (Isaiah 11:1).

On sinful men and women, the words of Jesus, while powerful, do not always have the effect He and we desire. Nathanael reminds of us that. Even with all his study under the fig tree, before he did anything, he questioned, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” His words drip with cynicism. Nathanael had read the Scriptures. He knew the heart of men is motivated by self-interest. This Nazarene wouldn’t be the first false prophet he’d ever heard of. False prophets still come even these days. But you know better. How’s that saying go? “Trust everyone, just don’t trust the devil inside them.” As a result, we often live guarded lives because we fear men rather than God. Living with sinful men, that’s just the way it is, but not with Jesus of Nazareth.

Sometimes, like Nathanael, we have our lives so well guarded, we actually guard it from Jesus, the source of all life. This is no way to live life, now or in eternity. Can anything good come from Nazareth? Can anything good come from such an under-privileged place? Or can anything good come from humble weakness? Like Nathanael, our hearts can also be cynical about God’s promises to act for our benefit in this world.

Except for John, there hadn’t been a real prophet of the Lord in those parts for hundreds of years. Even with all those words of Moses and the Prophets, Nathanael had not foreseen the Messiah coming from Nazareth. He knew Scripture never mentioned the town of Nazareth. A small home town like Nazareth does not seem very appropriate for the very Son of God. The Son of God should come in a more remarkable way, rather than unexpected, like a thief in the night. But just as the Magi looked for the one who had been born king of the Jews in the kingly city of Jerusalem, so also did Nathanael expect to see something more majestic than what God had planned. Can anything good come from Nazareth? But Philip persisted in his loving proclamation by bidding Nathanael, “Come and see!”

So while Philip believed and followed, Nathanael doubted but still investigated with his friend. Together they went to see this new Moses, this new prophet, this new king. But this king is like none other. Besides being born in a stable and raised in a little-known town, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews (INRI), knows Nathanael before he even begins to know Jesus. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

For Jesus (the God who saves), seeing is knowing. He sees and knows you too. He knows all the things you wish your family and friends knew about you. He knows you like no one else does, or can. He knows your likes and dislikes. He knows what upsets you and why. He knows your loves and fears. If you dare to think about the deepest fears that haunt you or weary you — Jesus sees them and what they do to you. He knows you. Jesus knows! Without asking, He knows you inside and out. If you ever feel like no one really knows or understands you, those feelings are wrong.

He even knows the things you wish no one knew — the secrets you’d like to forget — the thoughts you’d like to hide. After hearing loving correction, how often have you heard some version of the warning: “don’t talk to me like you know me, you don’t know me, how dare you tell me anything!” Oh, Jesus knows! If we say He doesn’t, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And cleansed you are on earth and in heaven by the very words of Jesus. That is God’s will for your life.

Just as the Lord saw Nathanael under the fig tree before he was called by Philip, so also, the Lord sees you in your home, in the classroom, in this house of worship. Under whatever tree you spend your time, he sees and knows you. In fact, like Jeremiah, the Lord knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb (Jer. 1:5).

Jesus, God in the flesh, knew Nathanael. And Nathanael believed and confessed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But Jesus promised he would see greater things than this work of knowing. Greater things? Yes, greater things. Just as Jacob was shown the angels of God first ascending and then descending on a ladder stretching all the way from earth to heaven, so will Nathanael see the angels of God first ascending and then descending on the Son of Man. By following Jesus, Nathanael also saw water turned into wine, the sick made well, the lame walk, and the dead rise. But the greatest thing he saw probably appeared like the worst thing ever. He saw the object of his faith (Jesus of Nazareth) forlorn and forsaken of all goodness.

The cynicism behind the question “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” could be multiplied to infinity in this question “Can anything good come from a torn and beaten man on a cross?” The one who said ‘follow Me’ would Himself be led, willingly, to Calvary like a Lamb to the slaughter. “Can anything good come from the bloody death of Him about whom Moses and the Prophets wrote?”

Yes, Nathanael witnessed the Son of God Himself, not only submit and die, but also rise from the grave. He saw the Son of God become like us in every way. By taking our sin on Himself, He became just like us – subject to death. On a not-too-distant Friday night, the Son of God would conquer death by dieing. And even though Jesus died, He did not stay dead. What could be greater than seeing the creator of the world willingly suffer the death you deserve, and then rise again? Oh but you, O Christian, you will see great things along with Nathanael. You and Nathanael will see the risen Son of Man return in all His glory on the Last Day. You will hear the trumpet blast. You will see the dead rise. You will see the one Holy Christian and Apostolic Church prevail against the gates of hell. Like Stephen, you will see the Son of Man, not sitting, but standing at the right hand of God to welcome you into his eternal kingdom. “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and [like Jacob and Nathanael, you will see] the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

In +Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Baptism of our Lord

January 8th, 2006
Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Wieting
Text: Mark 1:4-11

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

Dear Christians:

A Public Broadcasting show that has become quite popular in recent years is entitled “Antiques Road Home Show.” Traveling appraisers go to different communities and offer free appraisals for old paintings, antique furniture, first-edition books, family jewelry and so on. The value of common looking items stashed in an attic or pulled from a drawer or standing in a hallway is oftentimes staggering. Part of the attraction for viewers is the thought that perhaps they too might possess a neglected heirloom, a treasure in hiding. Seeing the great worth of the things of others fosters the hope that we also might benefit from an appraisal of unrevealed treasures of our own.

The Baptism of our Lord calls each of us to do a spiritual appraisal of a neglected Christian heirloom. Outwardly it seems of little significance. In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. From the boondocks of Galilee, from the small town of Nazareth, a man stepped forth to be baptized in the muddy stream of the Jordan. John the Baptist, of camel’s hair garment and grasshopper diet, did the honors. In one sense, his act appeared to entail anything but honors.

John’s baptism, you see, was meant for sinners. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him…confessing their sins. But Jesus of Nazareth had no sins. He knew no sin (II Cor. 5:21). He had nothing to confess. His record was without blemish. Yet He stepped into the dirty flow of the Jordan, joining the ranks of sinners being baptized by John. In so doing, He counted Himself as one of us. O happy Day!
This seemingly simple act of Jesus is really an epic event! It changes everything! It is one of the most beautiful pictures in Scripture! It is an awe-inspiring revelation of the one true God! The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all shine forth at the Jordan united in purpose for us. The Father speaks, the Spirit anoints, the Son is baptized. O happy day!

The first adult act of Jesus recorded in Scripture is this wondrous surprise! The first adult act of Jesus recorded in Scripture brings beautiful light into this world’s darkness. His baptism is the foundation for His public ministry – for all that follows! It all started with that splash of water. Jesus’ baptism is also the foundation for your baptism and your life in Christ today. Perhaps one of the reasons worry and disappointment cling to us so stubbornly is because we do not rightly appraise the true value of Jesus’ Baptism and of our own.

It is no accident that our stained glass window illustrating Jesus’ Baptism (5th back from the pulpit) has a baptismal font in the panel beneath it. Our booklet explaining the Word of God in the windows states, “The baptismal font beneath is, of course, the symbol of Holy Baptism which our Lord hallowed when He Himself was baptized.” Do you see the direct connection to you? Beloved, the Baptism of our Lord deserves our highest honor and strongest praise. Nothing tells us more about ourselves and God than this holy event. Yet, our appraisal of it is often a bit weaker than that.

We are constantly tempted to appraise too highly the possessions and pleasures, the plans and pride of this passing world! We are constantly tempted to switch the labels, classifying trinkets as treasures and identifying God’s treasures as trinkets, hardly worth our attention. The Baptism of our Lord – can it not be rather boring? After all, when was the last time in your busy life that you truly contemplated His baptism by John?

Look into the eyes of our lost and lonely culture. Bare flesh is flashed about as if this can help attain true love and caring. Identity is sought in bold claims of self-assertion and the right to make one’s own reality. The perversion and slavery of homosexual sin is widely championed and presented as being free and truly loving. God’s gift of marriage is routinely dishonored as couples idolize their desire over God’s loving commandments.

Look into the eyes of our lost and lonely culture. Viewing ourselves as a momentary speck of evolutionary accidents, unborn babies are increasingly viewed as medicine to be ground up for sick adults. If you listen, you can hear not only the brash claims and loud protests, but also the silent screams of those who don’t know whose they are or where they are going.

Who we are, you see, is answered only by the Holy Trinity. We came from His creative hand, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Where we are going is also answered by the Holy Trinity. That’s what makes the Baptism of our Lord so wondrously comforting. When He came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

God who first spoke at creation, speaks again! The Holy Spirit who initially hovered over the face of the waters of creation now descends upon Jesus in the waters of the Jordan. As this happens, Jesus saw the heavens opening!

Fellow-Redeemed, we sinners need for God to open heaven to us. Our sin goes so much deeper than the bad things we do or the good things we fail to do. Sin is a state of being, a leprosy that defiles us. As we confessed it today, “we are by nature sinful and unclean.” Sin shuts the door to heaven and there is no opening it from our side. Again as we confessed today, “We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment.” Sin as God reveals it is rebellion and stubborn resistance to the will of the Holy Trinity. Sin is being dull and blind to the light and love of Christ and appraising the value of things wrongly.

That is why there is matchless beauty in the fact that at His baptism Jesus saw the heavens opening! The Greek word is (skizo) from which comes our word “schizophrenia.” It is a word used to describe a split or torn personality. At the Baptism of our Lord, however, it was not a personality that was torn open but heaven. When He came up out of the waters he saw the heavens opening. Whenever our reason appraises the Baptism of Jesus as dull or unimportant, God grant us remembrance of this truth. There at the Jordan, the Holy Trinity was at work to tear heaven wide open for us.

This word for “torn open” or split or divided is used in only one other place in the Gospel of St. Mark. There we read “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” which immediately follows “With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last” (See Mark 15:38).

That which symbolized separation between God and sinful man, the temple curtain, was torn apart not by man, but by God. It was torn apart from top to bottom just as heaven is opened only from the top. What was evidenced three years earlier at Jesus’ Baptism was accomplished at the cross. The Holy Trinity opened heaven not to pour His wrath out on us, but to draw us poor sinners unto Himself. The wrath of God that was poured out fell upon the one crucified instead of on us. John the Baptist in our window testifies to this very truth. The long slender cross that He is pictured with there as in almost all Christian art bears witness to His cry “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

That’s what this first Sunday in Epiphany trumpets to us each year. The cross was no accident. The crucifix pictures the very love of God for us. Jesus was no ideological dreamer whom God nailed for His niceness. Jesus was God the Son who in His humiliation was working for our redemption right from the start. The Father was well pleased with His work of substitution and sacrifice. The Holy Spirit anointed Him for this bloody but beautifully work. O happy Day!
In the washing of this one man all heaven breaks loose as though they cannot contain themselves and spill forth upon the earth. Here we see without question that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is exclusively for us. And if God is for us, who can be against us? Oh I know, sickness and loneliness and disappointment and despair and death are against us. Satan is certainly against us, switching labels and giving us false appraisal of what is valuable.

Yes, there will always be things against us. But you can’t drag along all dreary, fearful, guilt-ridden, nobody loves me, me against the rest, me against the system, me separate, me alone. You are not just a doubtful, ambiguous bunch of atoms bouncing around in this place. In His baptism Jesus has said, “No, enough of that thinking, it’s us together in this dying world.” He truly stepped into our mess in the Jordan. Where our sins are is where He is. With that sin He belongs with us and exchanges it with His righteousness.

By the command of the crucified and risen Christ, you had the water combined with God’s Word put on you. So what? the world says. Unbelief appraises that gift as of no value at all. Our lost and lonely culture will always look for help and meaning elsewhere. Always looking for something new, always going from one exciting disappointment to the next.

But the Holy Trinity makes you new. He calls your baptism a washing of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). He also asks, “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” God’s gift of baptism holds the crucifix before our eyes and says this Divine love is yours; this act is fully credited to you. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

With all of your struggles and suffering, you have a new life! It is God’s gift to you! He washed you clean from all your sins. He found you when you were not seeking Him. His mercy exceeds all praise and all wonder. He takes what you are and gives you what He is. There is now joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7). There is now joy in heaven over you.

The opening of the heavens at Jesus’ Baptism shows you God’s heart toward you. O happy day! Connected with His Baptism, infant baptism more than any other act of the Church expresses the essence of the Christian faith and the love of our Triune God! That gift roars that you are saved by grace alone, apart from works. Oh no, some may say, appraising infant baptism as without value since you were too little to even remember it.

But you may ask those false appraisers, Do you remember the day of your birth? Did you decide to be born? Is your biological life therefore fake or meaningless because you can’t recall the day of your birth? God help us to repent of our adult reason and ego! “Allow the little children to come to me, and forbid them not,” Jesus said, “for of such is the Kingdom of God.”

O happy Day of Jesus’ Baptism! O happy Day of your Baptism! O happy Day today for the Lord who opened heaven for us sinners comes to feed us with heavenly food.

Dr. Luther helps us make the right appraisal when he invites us to begin and end each day by making the sign of the cross and saying, “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” It is no neutral God that he bids us call upon. The Holy Trinity is unabashedly biased in our favor. His appraisal of us was so high that He gave His one and only Son to get down and dirty in our sin. In the Name of the Father – who finds perfect delight that Jesus stepped into our mess as our Savior – and of the Son – who turned not away from the stream of sin and death that washed over Him – and of the Holy Spirit – who anointed Christ for this saving work and has anointed you with the cleansing results of His completed work. Of every day begun and ended in His name you can truly say, “O happy day!” In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Circumcision of our Lord

January 1, 2006
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Text: Luke 2:21

Merry Christmas and blessed New Year.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Do not hinder your little children from coming to see the whole Jesus. Like every son born from father Abraham, so was God’s own Son, begotten in the flesh, through the Blessed Virgin Mary, circumcised and called by His God-given Name.

“At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”

If modern man has trouble recognizing something that separates men from animals, he need look no further than the Hebrew circumcision. What animal would ever do that to themselves and to every male, generation after generation? None that I know of. If there are, certainly, none of them had a command and promise from God, their creator, to go with it. But Abraham and his descendents did. That included Joseph and Mary. So they rightly brought Jesus to be circumcised and named on the eighth day, as the Lord Himself had commanded.

The Son of God became man in order to die. He was born to die to redeem us from the punishment our sins deserve. But first, before He would grow, suffer, die, and rise from the dead, He was circumcised. Among other things, God became man in order to be circumcised. He made that promise to Abram, who became Abraham, remember? God promised great offspring and land to Abraham. He also promised Abraham: you and your offspring shall keep my covenant. What meaning does Jesus’ circumcision hold for us as we enter this New Year? Whatever God says shall be, shall be. In order to fulfill His own promise, God-in-the-flesh was circumcised.

It was a bloody affair. A direct result of our sin. Circumcision was instituted by our Lord when He commanded Abraham to have it done for himself, his sons, and all the males of his household. God promised to make Abraham’s people (and land) great. And what’s more, He promised to be their God. Circumcision served as a sign of our Lord’s promise to Abraham. It was a sign he carried with him when he was sitting in his house, and when he was walking by the way, and when he would lie down, and when he would rise (Dt. 11:19).

So what does circumcision mean for the Hebrew? It means: welcome to the promise, welcome to the family. Welcome to the nation through whom all God’s work is finished. Just like Jesus said on the cross. It is finished. Salvation and eternal life are won, in the perfect One. What the first perfect man lost, the second perfect Man won. And what He won, He won for all us imperfect men and women. God said, “you shall keep my covenant… you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” The Hebrew circumcision meant the Lord is your God and you are His people.

Why did Abraham have to circumcise the male children so early in their lives before they had a chance to decide for themselves? Simply because, any man who was worldly-wise would refuse this cutting-off of the flesh, and he would then be cut-off from his people, and therefore, God’s promise could not help him. Better to enter eternal life wounded, than to be uncut and thrown into hell (Mt. 5:29-30, 18:8-9, Mk. 9:43-47, Jn 11:50). It was out of love that God told Abraham to circumcise the boys so early.

But what is the significance of the eighth day? It was the day after the Sabbath. God created everything in the heavens and earth in seven days. But His work does not end there. His work of sustaining, and now saving, what He has created, continues. Your life is proof of His on-going work. The eighth day signifies new life. It was the day each newborn child of Abraham was to be circumcised and named. In this way, they were given life among Abraham’s people. This next day is the new day-of-our-Lord. The eighth day is a brilliant beam of light and hope in a world where each passing year grows old and passes away. The eighth day is forever new.

Our Lord’s circumcision marked Him as a Son of Abraham. But He was not just another child of the promise. Jesus is the promise fulfilled. Just like the Hebrew circumcision did before our Lord was circumcised, now Holy Baptism marks you as one redeemed by God’s own Son. God’s own Son, not only died for your sin, but was first circumcised for you. The Lord’s own flesh was cut-off. The blood of His circumcision was shed in righteous obedience to the Law and Promise of God. The blood He shed on the cross was freely given to win righteousness for you, for me, and for the whole world. Even though He was The Promised One, He first became a child of the promise, marked by circumcision. He became a child of Abraham. As we enter a new year, Jesus circumcision bears witness to a newness that never grows old.

In Holy Baptism, we are marked as well. We are completely united with the risen Christ. The Law, including the Law of circumcision, no longer applies to the Jew or Gentile reborn as a Christian. The Holy Baptism of all children, boys and girls, not only replaces circumcision of the male member with a spiritual circumcision of the heart, made without hands, but it conveys the Word Who creates saving faith. Before Abraham was ever circumcised, it was the faith of Abram that God counted as righteousness, not his circumcision (Rm 4:11). As we enter the New Year, the Word Who creates saving faith, is where the newness that does not grow old comes from.

When the Lord of the promise commanded Abraham to cut-off not only a portion of his male member, but that of every boy in his household, Abraham obeyed the Word of God. Without question. Such is the faith of father Abraham and every male who remained in his household. Such is the faith that saves. Not everyone winds up with this kind of faith in God’s Word. Many have freely chosen to reject it. Unfortunately, this choice can effect not only the parents but also their children and their children’s children for generations. People who live in lands where the Gospel promise is not proclaimed as it was given to Noah and passed to each generation through our Lord’s Prophets and post-resurrection Apostles, have their ancestors to thank on the Last Day, when the Son of Man returns. In the meantime, there’s only one thing needful. So God sends His Church to deliver Him. The Church is sent to reintroduce the Gospel to all lands and all nations. The Church delivers Him as Jesus commanded Her: through the preaching of His Good News and through the physical elements of water, bread, and wine. In this New Year, God would have the Church that gathers at Luther Memorial Chapel, center her life on receiving Him and proclaiming Him in this lost and dying world.

Our Lord instituted circumcision for this purpose, so He could wear yet another mark of His love for you for all eternity. The Lord giveth, and the Lord takest away. It was a symbol of unity with Him and His chosen people. But that physical sign is no longer necessary. He has ended its significance and replaced it with a more unifying sign — a sign of mutual death and resurrection — a sign of new birth. It has been replaced with Holy Baptism. The sign of circumcision was a sign of the Law, and Baptism is a sign of the Gospel. Circumcision could not save anyone, but Baptism does. By the sign of Holy Baptism you have been physically bathed in His Name, in which every promise of God is given to you. Holy Baptism has the unique quality of creating faith through the Word of God…in the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

New Years Eve

December 31, 2005
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Matthew 1:18-21

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Merry Christmas and blessed New Year!

Tonight, the people of the world who live and die by the Holy Roman calendar prepare to enter a New Year. That includes us. Some prepare by removing all the old 2005 calendars and by hanging new 2006 calendars. Others may also prepare by making New Year resolutions. They resolve to do all sorts of nice things for themselves and others: to stop smoking, to stop drinking so much alcohol, to start loving more and hating others less.

Tonight, many Christians will hopefully prepare in similar ways. But one thing is different for the Christian. As Christians enter into a New Year, our hopes and thoughts are caused to be centered on the Name of Jesus. That Name represents all that Jesus is and does, all the new things He makes for the whole world. Jesus makes all things new. By His dying and rising, time is made new. Sinful men and women and children are made new. Wellness and courage are restored. Strength is made new. All things are made new in the Name of Jesus — the God who saves His people.

Tonight, we shake off the dust of the past and by God’s gracious forgiveness in Jesus Christ, we put on new garments of salvation, the robe of His righteousness. As the year of our Lord, 2005, ends, His 2006th year begins. The prophet Isaiah reminds us of how vital His righteousness and salvation are: “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.”

As we experienced this past year, this earth is wearing out and vanishing like smoke. Through the media we were witnesses to Earth shattering events like the hurricanes that flooded the gulf coast of our homeland. We’ve witnessed fires that have consumed homes in Texas and Oklahoma. We’ve observed mob beatings and criminals who have shot victims in the streets near our own homes. We’ve heard about or been the victims of robberies, cancer, heart attacks, and car accidents involving those we love. Through the media we’ve witnessed the starvation of those who are unable to feed themselves.

Christian art often depicts the reality of life in this world with a human skull. It reminds us that life in this world is temporary. You can not take anything with you. All of it shall pass away.

In this dying world, we are all sinners. And because of sin in us and sin in the world that affects us no matter what we do, we suffer tribulation, distress, persecution, and danger. There is no enduring hope in this world or in ourselves. We need a sure and certain name we can call on so God will save us.

Hear the name the angel told Joseph to give the Son of Mary, his virgin bride.

“Do not fear to take Mary as your wife. For that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Naming things is a god-like power.

It all began back in Eden. The Father of Adam gave Adam his name.
His name means ‘ground’ or ‘land’.
His name tells us where he comes from.
God gave Adam his name.
Adam was then endowed with the authority to name God’s creatures.
His power to give names came from God.
He gave names to all the beasts of the field, even the serpent, even the flesh-of-his-flesh and bone-of-his-bone, he lovingly named Woman.
His name told her who he was.
And her name told everyone who she was, for she was taken out of man.

For most of us today, naming one of God’s creations is not a big deal.
Anyone can do it.

Parents name their children. Children name their pets. Friends and co-workers give each other endearing, and not so endearing, nick-names.

Children call each other names, sometimes mean names. If only sticks and stones are supposed to break our bones, then why does it hurt so much, when people call us bad names.

Since Adam named every beast of the field and bird of the heavens, anyone can name anything he wants.

Or can he?

When the flesh and bones of Jesus were being knit together in His blessed mother’s womb, it was not a man who named Him.

[While a man named all of God’s creatures, this holy Child is no creature. He is the Creator. He is the Alpha and Omega, without beginning or end. More than that, He became the firstborn of the dead. He named Himself. He named Himself, ‘Jesus’, for He saves His people. He saves us from our sins.]

What a name! Every time it is spoken it is the Gospel in a nutshell. Jesus!

He is the flesh and bone of God incarnate. Jesus is more than a mere shell of a man. He is God become man. Jesus is the perfect man we need Him to be.

He is the God who saves your sinful flesh and bone by humbly taking you into His own holy essence.

Just as the Woman was made by God from the side of a man, so also is the Church born from God through the blood and water that poured from the side of The One True Man, Her Savior. On the cross, His Name was one of insult and mockery. But He rose from the grave with His Name that is above every name. Now, through the waters of Baptism combined with the Lord’s own Word… in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… you have been united with God’s own flesh-and-bone Son, Jesus. Through Baptism, sinners are made bone-of-His-bone and flesh-of-His-flesh, whom He lovingly names Christian, for Christians have been taken out of the sinful world and united to Christ.

And so the Lord names His children.
Abram’s name became Abraham: the father of many nations.
Sarai’s name became Sarah: the princess.
Simon’s name became Peter: the rock
And you, O Sinner, He calls Saint. In Jesus’ Name, He calls you holy.

On the eve of this night, New Year’s Eve, the Church helps us to remember how our Lord received His human name. He named Himself Jesus, the God who saves. He saves us by giving us His Name. He bathes us in His Name at Baptism. He feeds us with heavenly food in Holy Communion, by the authority of His Name. He absolves us in His Name. His Name is proclaimed into your ears in the Service of the Word. It is no small thing that He calls you ‘Saint.’

As a new age of man began when God took on our human flesh, so now a new year of man begins tonight. The end of the calendar reminds us of the end of our earthly lives and the end of all things.

As Eve became the mother of all the living, so also Mary became the blessed mother of the creator of all the living. Her Son is the heavenly Father’s only begotten Son, Jesus, who at His resurrection, also became the firstborn of the dead.

While a man named all the creatures on earth, man does not get to name the Son of God, because He is no created creature, the Son of God is the Creator. Through Him, God graciously gives us all things, and makes them new. He justifies all things. Who can condemn you? Jesus Christ has already died for all your sin — more than that, He was raised. He sits at the right hand of God, where He indeed speaks to His Father on our behalf. No tribulation, no distress, no persecution, no famine, no nakedness, no suicide bomber, no sword — nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

His salvation is forever. His righteousness is never dismayed. Blessed be His Name!

In + Jesus’ Name, Amen