God Does Great Things Through Baptism - Sermon for the Baptism of Our + Lord

The Baptism of Our Lord
 January 12^th, Year of Our + Lord 2025
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, SD
God Does Great Things Through Baptism 
Luke 3:16 – 22, Romans 6:1-11, Psalm 29

Audio of Sermon available HERE.  

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters.

   How can plain water do such great things?  Luther in his Small Catechism asks the obvious question concerning Baptism.  When a person is baptized, it appears sweet, but unimpressive.  And yet the Scriptures make such great promises concerning Baptism.  Or “do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  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.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

   From Jesus we hear "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  And in Galatians we learn that “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.”

    In Hebrews we are encouraged to approach the Holy Places of God, “to draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”  It is as Peter says, “Baptism now saves you.” 

   But how can plain water do such great things?  It is not plain water that saves us, it is the Word of God, in and with the water, which saves.  And faith, the heart which believes and trusts the promises of the Word joined to the Water.  Faith receives God’s promises in Baptism, and so God’s kingdom comes. 

   Today we celebrate the Word entering the Water, that is we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus.  For Jesus is the Word of God, made flesh, so that He could enter into the water, for us. 

    Almost 2,000 years ago, the voice of the Lord thundered over the Jordan, the Spirit descended as
a dove, and Jesus revealed the glory of Baptism.  For us and for our salvation, the pure and spotless Lamb of God entered into the water, and so He prepared all water, making it fit for Baptism.  Jesus three years later commissioned the Eleven to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Whenever the servants of the Church join these words to water in Holy Baptism, there again God speaks over the water, thundering His glory, by adopting another child, by forgiving sins, by saving a sinner.

   How can water do such great things?  Because God has chosen to work through water, and has tied it to the Cross.  Jesus Christ began His work of taking on the sins of the world in the River Jordan, and He finished His great work of paying for all of those sins in His Baptism by fire on the Cross.  As Paul teaches us, the Power of Baptism is the Work of the Cross. 

   The Word of God declares that, for the sake of Jesus’ death, Baptism now saves you.  Baptism saves you by giving to you the entire work of Christ, the great exchange of your sin-doomed life for His sinless, eternal life, the new and glorious life revealed on Resurrection morning.  Jesus shares His life with you, in your Baptism.  

   The Lord sits enthroned over the flood.  These gloriously wet words of our Psalm, along with the promises to Noah after the flood, and the promises to Moses at the Red Sea, all these promises of God and more are fulfilled in Jesus’ Baptism, and delivered to you, in yours. 

   Baptism now saves you, and it also changes you.  If you haven’t figured this out yet, you should be warned.  Jesus was driven directly from His Baptism into the desert, to be tempted.  In a similar way, the Baptized become targets for Satan’s hatred.  The alternative, being cut off from God and enslaved to sin and Satan, well, that is no alternative at all.  But the Evil One tends to pay less attention to those who lack any connection to Christ.  He focuses his malice on those whom God has called, those on whom God has lavished His promises, those who have put on Christ. 

   So you, the Baptized should remember that you are in the middle of the struggle, the struggle between good and evil, between God and Satan.  But that’s right where you want to be, because Christ has won this battle.  His victory is complete, and He promises to bring you through to victory, with Himself. 

   In Christ, you are safe from Satan’s attacks, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be pleasant.  Still, it is truly a comfort to be persecuted for your faith in Christ.  Despite how you might feel in the midst of it, to have the battle brought to you is evidence that you truly are a soldier in the Lord’s army.  Good News indeed! 

   Another reason it won’t be easy is because the battle lines are drawn right through you.  No one likes to be persecuted, and no one should seek to have evil done to them.  But the battle is also within you.  You know who you are, baptized into Christ, and you also know how you should live.  And you try.  But you don’t succeed all the time.  Neither do I.  This is often the  hardest part of the battle.  For we who have been washed clean and set free from sin cannot live in it any longer.  And yet within ourselves we find urges to do just that.  The temptation of sin beguiles and calls to us.  Too often, we are entangled.  It is depressing.  How can Baptism help us when we still sin?

   One of my favorite illustrations for Baptism is new fallen snow.  To look out the window in the morning and see the world, covered in pure white snow, is a wondrous thing.  It is also a good picture of Baptism, where God clothes you in Christ.  His righteousness, His pure white garment of goodness, is placed over your sins.  And so, you are beautiful to God, in Christ. 

   We cannot, however, stand at the window and stare at the snow all day.  Life must be lived.  The dogs need to go out in the backyard, and it won’t be long before cars and trucks litter the snow-covered street with dirty tracks.  Gazing at beauty won’t earn a paycheck, so you wield your shovel and clear a path.  Sand, gravel and salt are cast around, to give us some traction, darkening the pure white snow, melting it into a dirty grey slush.  It can’t be helped. 

   Likewise, even though it is not acceptable, even though our sin is a tragedy, and an affront to God, the truth is that in this life, the Baptized can’t keep their garments pure and white.  We live, and we sin; we stain our garments.  It is much worse than the loss of beauty when we break the new fallen snow.  Our sin is an insult to God, a denial of who He has called us to be.  It is depressing, and ugly.  How can Baptism help us when we still sin?

   When we lived in northeastern Montana, shoveling snow was often a losing battle, because the wind always seemed to blow.  I would bundle up and go clear the walks and the driveway.  But too often newly exposed sidewalks would be quickly covered again.    To keep the white blanket from coming back would have required staying out in the cold, shoveling till the wind died down, or spring came.  I couldn’t do it.

   I distinctly remember one January, in the week running up to the celebration of the Baptism of Our + Lord.  I was out fighting the snow and wind, and as I watched the grey sidewalk turn white again, at first I was mad.  Why do we choose to live in such places, where 10 inches of snow, 20 below zero temps and 30 mile per hour winds mean that it is a Tuesday in January? 

   I was angry.  But suddenly, thanks be to God, I laughed.  I laughed, because the Holy Spirit reminded me that the devil has a much more frustrating problem, when he tries to torment wise Christians.  The devil wields his shovel of guilt, trying to dig out your old sins, which once stained your white garment of righteousness.  You should forget them, for they have been forgiven.  But, the evil one knows how hard that is for you.  Then he scatters the sand, gravel and salt of shame into the open sores of the stains you have added with your sins today.  It hurts.  It is ugly.  It makes you doubt that you are saved. 

   But the Wind of God blows.  That is, the Spirit of God is always at work, applying and re-applying the covering of Christ.  The word ‘spirit’ is closely related to the both the words ‘breath’ and ‘wind.’  The lifelong value of Baptism is the fact that the Spirit of God, blowing His Word of forgiveness, is constantly renewing the Baptized, returning us to the state of perfect righteousness that we first received in Baptism.  Wise Christians seek out this Wind of God, which the Spirit blows for them, through His Word.     

   Satan can’t keep up.  Cross-shaped drifts of forgiveness blow in from God.  Satan can’t outwork the Spirit of Christ.  It must be depressing for the devil.  Good.  Depressing for Satan, and pure joy for the Baptized, the promise that, even though we don’t deserve it, all who believe and are baptized can be daily renewed in purity and righteousness, through the Word of Christ.   

 

  This is the form of Christian living in this world.  We who have died and risen with Christ through our Baptism are then called to hear Him, daily, repeatedly, morning by morning, evening by evening, Sunday by Sunday.  To hear of Christ and His work, to thank and glorify God for His grace.  To feel the wind of the Spirit blowing through His Word, driving drifts of forgiveness over your sin.  Restoring you, and sending you back out into the world, to work, and serve your neighbor, and confess the good news of Baptism. 

   We see this pattern of Christian living in the Words of Institution for Baptism.  After telling the Eleven to make disciples through Baptism, Jesus then tells them to teach the Baptized to obey all that He commanded.  Jesus isn’t saying we can or we must work in order to earn or keep our salvation.  We are saved by grace through faith, not by our works. 

   Jesus does mean that He wants us to be doing the things He has told His Church to do.  Like hearing the Word, and gathering for worship, receiving the Supper, and loving and serving your neighbor, in Jesus’ Name.  Jesus commands these things, for it is through these things that God preserves the faithful, in spite of themselves.  And it is also through these things that God reaches out to the unbelieving world, and to His wandering sheep, who have stopped living out their Baptisms. 

   This is your life, the life of the baptized believer.  This is the life that flows from forgiveness.  The life that leads to love, love for your fellow believer because of what you share in Christ.  Love for the unbeliever because you know that Christ has died and risen for all people.  Love that seeks to serve needs, because we have been served perfectly by Christ. 

   The love received by the Baptized prompts us to dare to speak the truth about sin, our own sin, and sometimes, when the Spirit calls you to the task, also the sins of others.  Repenting and confessing his own sins, the baptized believer is also called to help other sinners see and understand sin, and then point them to the perfect covering of Christ and His forgiveness.  The love of Christ moves Christians to humbly and gently speak the truth about sin, always for the sake of declaring the joy of forgiveness, the washing of regeneration and renewal, that is available for all, in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

   Fathers and mothers do this for their children.  And sometimes, when they have been raised well, children do this for their fathers and mothers.  Friends dare to speak such words to friends.  Living in daily repentance, Christian hearts bathe their conversations in prayer, that we may be ready to give the reason for the hope that we have to any who ask us.    

   How can Baptism do such great things?  Because of the One who was Baptized for us, Jesus Christ, true God and True Man, our Brother, and our Savior.  The Lord Jesus Christ entered into the water, and He has applied His life-giving water to us.  So we can remember and rejoice, every time we see water.  When you wash your face, remember your Baptism.  When the rains cleanse the earth, or the snow covers the world in beautiful spotless white, remember your Baptism.  When you quench your thirst with cool water, rejoice that God has quenched your soul, with Himself, by your Baptism into Him.  When you see a lake or the ocean, remember that God has placed you into the safety of the Ark of His Church, which no wave can sink. 

   Doing all this would keep you thinking about your Baptism all the time, wouldn’t it?   I mean water is all around us, you would be remembering your Baptism all day. 

   Good, for this will shape your mind like God the Father’s.  For He is also thinking about your Baptism into His Son, all the time.  God remembers your Baptism, and so you can rejoice, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.  

What Is God Going to Do Next? Sermon for the Celebration of the Epiphany of Our + Lord

Epiphany of Our + Lord, (Observed), January 5^th, A+D 2025
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota  
What is God going to do next?  Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon audio is available HERE.

What is God going to do next? 

   He certainly did a lot to pull together Epiphany.  Epiphany is often called Christmas for the
Gentiles, Christmas for the Nations, the extension of the celebration of the Birth of God’s Son in human flesh, beyond the nation of Israel.  At Epiphany God extended the gift that is Jesus Christ to all nations, to all people, so that the ends of the earth could hear of His birth, and the hope that He brings.   

   Think of all God had to arrange for that first Epiphany.  The Babylonian Exile, almost 600 years earlier, was, on one level, a just and necessary punishment for the unfaithfulness and disobedience of Judah.  As He had to do so often, the Lord allowed terrible things to happen to His people, so that they would be shocked out of their idolatry and evil living, and come back to Him.  And so it was. 

   And yet, on another level, with the deportation of the Judahites to Babylon, the Lord was already arranging Epiphany.  The Bible doesn’t spell out this detail, but the most likely way that these magi, these eastern sages, came to know about the birth of the new King of Israel was from the Word that the exiles from Judah brought with them.  Faithful Jews, like Daniel, and his three friends, Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego, brought the Hebrew Scripture with them to Babylon.  And wherever the Word of God goes, it spreads.  Many, often most ears reject God’s Word, but some are always drawn in by it, converted to faith in the true God, by the Holy Spirit, working through His Word.  Certainly the fidelity and bravery of Daniel in the lion’s den and the Three Young Men in the fiery furnace caused some to want to hear this Word of the God they would not deny, to meet this LORD God who protected and delivered them.  We don’t know the details, but the message of the Hebrew Scripture drew the Wise Men to cross field and fountain, moor and mountain, looking for the newborn King, whom they intended to worship. 

   The Lord did a lot to pull together Epiphany.  A tax-enabling census by an overbearing central government is not nearly as bad as military defeat and exile.  Still, many would view the census pretty negatively.  Nevertheless, God used Caesar’s project to have His Son born in Bethlehem, to fulfill the word of the prophet Micah: “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”  Thus God brought Joseph and Mary from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem.  Prophecy fulfilled, and God’s plan advanced, as Bethlehem is just a short distance from Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, the logical place for the Wise Men to come, looking for the Newborn King.  God was in the middle of it all,  pulling it all together, to teach us about this Child, who as a king rightly received gold, as a priest would put incense to good use in His prayers, and as the Lord’s sacrificial Lamb, would need myrrh for His burial. 

   The Holy Family and the Wise Men were brought by God to Bethlehem, for their good, for their faith, and also to help prepare God’s Mission to the ends of the earth. 

What is God going to do next? 

   God did a lot to bring Epiphany together.  The gifts of the Magi foreshadow Jesus’ ministry, God in the flesh doing it all, relentless, until “it is finished.”  God’s Son accomplished everything necessary to win salvation for all people, for all sinners. 

   And still, God kept working.  Through the Book of Acts, we see how the Lord did and did and did, working through His very imperfect disciples, to grow the Word of the Lord and the Church that it creates when the Gospel is proclaimed faithfully. 

     And God has done a lot, to extend the Faith of Christ throughout the world and through the centuries.  In these United States, we have lived in the tail end of a boom time for Christianity, and we struggle to deal with the increasing rejection and resistance of recent decades.  But in most times and most places throughout 2,000 years, the Church has suffered much worse, and still thrived.  Because, at the end of the day, as at its beginning, Christ is the One who protects and preserves His Church, the One who extends and grows His flock. 

   What is God going to do next? 

   We know that God is going to do more, because He has promised.  And also, because we can see that He is still doing and doing, every day.  As He did for the Wise Men, God has given you the wisdom to come and find Jesus, truly present to receive your worship and gifts.  Even more, He is present to bless you with His gifts of forgiveness and new life. Through the more complete Word that the Spirit has inspired and preserved for you in the Bible, you are in fellowship with the Wise Men, the Shepherds, the Apostles, and all the saints, those gone before, and those still present on earth.  The faith that Jesus gives us at the font, through proclamation, at the rail, these bind us together with all God’s people. 

   What is God going to do next?  He’s not done with His Mission.  And since we are in communion with Him, since we are temples of the Holy Spirit, we are not done with His Mission, either.  As Christ’s congregation, as members of His Body, each of us has some role to play in whatever God is going to do next.  God could accomplish His Mission in whatever way He wants, but He chooses to work through us.  Privileged to be included, we can and should be looking around for opportunities, and trying things.  Collectively and individually, each of us within our various vocations, our various callings and relationships of life, are free and privileged to try to advance God’s Mission. 

   Consider the instructions God gave to His Apostles and Church in the earliest days of Christian Mission.  The Lord did not lay out every detail.  Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching.  Proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  Be ready to give the reason for the hope that you have, with gentleness and respect.  Be my witnesses, from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.  A general plan to move outward with the Gospel.  But not a lot of specifics. 

   A few times, the New Testament tells us of some particulars:  One time, Paul and Timothy were forbidden to preach in Asia.  Instead, the Holy Spirit told Paul in a dream to come over to Macedonia.  The first disciples discussed where to try missions, and prayed about it.  They prayed a lot.  All the time, it seems.  Beyond praying, the basic plan was one, be faithful to the deposit of the faith that Christ had given them, and then two, go try to tell people all about it.  And, despite this seeming lack of planning, it worked, wonderfully.  Because God was the One doing the real work.  Through His Apostles, Deacons, Pastors and People, to be sure.  But as the Apostle tell us, Paul planted, Apollos watered, but it was God who gave the growth. 

What is God going to do next? 

   I don’t know, but I know it’s going to be good.  Because the same instructions and the same promises that the Lord made to the Church before He ascended into heaven are still in force, for us, today. 

   God will do His Mission, through His people.  God arranged a lot of moving parts to bring the Wise Men to Bethlehem, and to get them back home with the Good News of the Birth of the Savior.  But do note, they did get on their camels and go, (or maybe they walked).  Either way, they made a very long and arduous journey, just to go to Church the right way, one time, kneeling before the Christ Child.  They did what they did because they believed God was doing His Mission, and had graciously included them.  Just like He has done for you.   

   Pretending God’s Mission is somebody else’s responsibility is a lie of Satan, and a temptation for every Christian.  We all have different abilities, we all have different callings, and different gifts.  God will use each Christian in the way He knows best.  But we are all called to participate. 

   To refuse to walk in the good works that God prepares for you is a sin.  And this includes the good work of contributing to God’s Mission in the ways that He prepares for you.  To refuse is harmful to faith.  If you do refuse, if we collectively refuse, God will still accomplish His plan, but through someone else.  Do not be so foolish, do not miss out.  Father, forgive us for the times we have failed to do our part in Your Mission.  

   Seeing God grow His Church though the salvation of sinners is the greatest show on earth.  Jump on board!  You will enjoy the ride, and it will be good for you, even when the ride bumpy. 

What is God going to do next?          

  I don’t know, exactly.  But we do know that at its core, our part in God’s Mission is to get His Word, His Law and His Gospel, into people’s ears in ways that they can understand.  We also know the central core of His Mission is this gathering, it is the ongoing Word and Sacrament ministry of Christ, enacted in His congregations.  Keeping you and me in the faith is part of God’s Mission, for sure.  And yet, God wants more.  We have God’s saving Truth.  We need to receive it, for ourselves, daily.  At the same time, not nearly enough people are coming to join us.  So, we look for ways to get to them, to foster opportunities for Christ to give His gifts to more souls.    

What is God going to do next through Our Savior’s, Hill City?  

   It feels like Satan keeps messing up my calendar and pushing the start date out, but with a lot of good advice from Shelee, and with an enthusiastic commitment to help from Deanna, we intend to offer a Spanish Language Bible Study, starting February 25th. 

   How’s it going to go?  I don’t know.  What will it entail, how might you help?  Well, we will need to advertise.   Along with placarding the town with posters, we might start a OSLC Facebook page, to then advertise on local Hispanic Facebook groups, and on Hill City Happenings.  We plan to have invitation cards to hand out to people you hear speaking Spanish in Krulls, the Hardware story, or wherever.  If it becomes a thing, child care might be a need.  There will be many ways to help.   

   That’s one thing to try.  Maybe it won’t be the thing God has planned.  Or maybe it will.  What else?  Do you have an idea, something we could try?  Let’s talk about it. 

    And of course, you know people who don’t have a church home.  You know people who need the forgiving love of Christ.  You can invite them.  Not sure how to go about it?  That’s fine, I’m never sure either.  But I’d be happy to talk to you about how you could try. 

   Before, during and always, in all these efforts, like the Early Church, we can pray.  Please begin praying now and keep praying for our Spanish Bible Study effort.  Pray for God to show us how we can better fulfill our part of His Mission in Hill City.  Pray for your friends and neighbors, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to invite them. 

What is God going to do next through Our Redeemer, Custer?

   Several different members have been independently thinking and talking about doing more to develop caring ministries within Our Redeemer.  Many of you already do a lot to help each other, and your neighbors. 

   With just a bit of organization and more communication, we could do more and better for one another, and for our neighbors.  That might not sound like outreach, that might not sound like Mission.  We will certainly want to intentionally keep the Word of Christ in the center of the caring things we do.  And, if we develop a reputation as a caring community, that will be attractive to people outside the Church. 

   Other members are working with me to offer a Marriage Enrichment course, for members and for the community.  This will both be very practical, and we will also clearly teach the great love story of Christ and His Bride the Church. 

   That’s a couple of things to try.  Maybe they won’t be the things God has planned.  Or maybe they will.  What else?  Do you have an idea, something we could try?  Let’s talk about it. 

    And of course, you know people who don’t have a church home.  You know people who need the forgiving love of Christ.  You can invite them.  Not sure how to go about it?  That’s fine, I’m never sure either.  But I’d be happy to talk to you about how you could try. 

   Before, during and always, in all these efforts, we can pray.  Please begin praying now and keep praying for our efforts.  Pray for God to show us how we can better fulfill our part of His Mission in Custer.  Pray for your friends and neighbors, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to invite them. 

Common Close: 

What is God going to do next? 

   We don’t know, exactly.  But we know it is going to be good.  God’s election is sure.  The
burden of growing Christ’s Church is not on our shoulders.  For on His own shoulders, Jesus has both carried the Cross, and still carries His lambs to their eternal home.  And yet, God has given us tasks to do, a joyful work to join.  God works through means, through His Word.  God works through His Church.  Along with our upward calling as His forgiven children comes the outward calling to be part of His ongoing work.  It is a bit of a paradox, a mystery, this Mission of God and our role in it.  And so rejoice!  For all the deepest and most wonderful things of God are mysteries, through which Jesus holds us close, and draws still more souls to Himself,

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

Simeon's Surprises - Sermon for the 1st Sunday after Christmas

1^st Sunday after Christmas
December 29^th, Year of Our Lord + 2024
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Simeon’s Surprises, Luke 2:22 - 40

Sermon Audio can be accessed HERE.   

     Luke is the singing evangelist.  He records several songs in his account of the life of Christ,
songs which the Church has been singing ever since.  The song of the angels, announcing the birth of Jesus to the shepherds on Christmas night, is the chorus or is referenced in the stanzas of dozens of carols, like Silent Night, which we just sang.  And of course, it is the opening line of the Gloria in Excelsis, the second song of the historic liturgy: Glory be to God on high, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.

 

   There is also the song of Zechariah, the Benedictus: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel…  Zechariah thanks God for the birth of his son, John the Baptist, and for the Christ whose way John would prepare. 

   As we considered last Sunday, Luke also gives us the Song of Mary, the Magnificat, which Mary sang to her cousin Elizabeth, and to John the Baptist, eavesdropping in her womb.  The Church sings with Mary:  My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. 

   Today we have Simeon’s Song, known in Latin as the Nunc Dimittis, which means “Now you are dismissing,” as in Lord, now you let your servant go in peace.  Simeon first sang these words as he held the Christ Child in his arms, a song of joy, and confidence, a song about the victory of God, for us.  Simeon’s Song has been set to music hundreds of different ways through the centuries.  The version we just sang is one of the best recent contributions to the collection.   

            Lord bid Your servant go in peace, 
            Your word is now fulfilled.
            These eyes have seen salvation’s dawn, 
            This Child so long foretold.

   The Christ is born!  The Babe of Bethlehem is in the world, come to complete His great salvation mission.  This is a wonderful surprise, and there are many more surprises to come. 

   Simeon was a faithful Israelite, one of the Remnant who believed and lived from the promise that, at just the right time, the Lord God of Israel would send His Savior.  Simeon received another surprise, a special promise, just for him, the promise that he would not die before seeing the Lord’s Christ.  When Mary and Joseph, obeying the Law of Moses, brought Jesus to Jerusalem to be dedicated to the Lord, Simeon knew from the Holy Spirit that the Lord’s promise had been fulfilled. 

    Now, the Christ has come to His Temple, which means that Simeon could die anytime, and very happily.  Simeon is glad to be a servant of the Lord, happy to be the servant of the little Child he held.  Simeon rejoices that now he can depart in peace, he can die with joy and confidence, for the Word of God has been fulfilled.  Salvation from on high has dawned in the darkness of our world. 

   All of God’s promises receive their yes, in the infant Jesus.  All prophecy, all of the promises of the Old Testament had been awaiting His arrival.  All that God had promised to do for His people is being fulfilled in the Christ Child.

   Simeon rejoices that God has revealed His salvation.  But salvation from what?  Now, this may seem an obvious question.  We drill this basic fact into the heads of our children.  We start the service by confessing our sins; everyone here knows that Jesus came to save us from our sins. 

   Or do we?  Yes, we know it as an answer to a question, and that’s good.  But do we always believe it as the truth, about ourselves?  Our lives are very comfortable, mostly,  and by the standards of the world we are a pretty fine group of people.  We are by the ease and appearance of our lives tempted to think sin is a problem, but not so much for us.  We are tempted to think this way, because often we put on a pretty good show of not being such terrible sinners.  And I’m glad that we all make an effort to avoid sin.  And how could we not try to avoid sin, for we have been redeemed and claimed by the Holy One.  Still, we are tempted to ignore the sin that still clings to us, most especially because facing our own sin is painful.  To confront or not confront your own sinfulness is the “falling” that Simeon spoke of, the question of whether we honestly confess the Truth, about Christ, and about ourselves. 

   Simeon’s “falling” is repentance, my acknowledgement of and sorrow for my sins, and my sinfulness.  And, everyone will repent, eventually.  Every knee will bow before Christ and His Holy Truth.  The critical question is whether a soul repents now, while it is still daytime, and the work of salvation can be done, or only when it is too late.  When every eye sees the One who was laid in a manger suddenly coming on the clouds, to usher in the new heavens and the new earth, then repentance will be no help.  To confess one’s sinfulness then will be too late.      

     By grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, lest anyone should boast.  Saving faith in Jesus must be worked in us by God.  We know this.  But, what about repentance?  Is this also God’s work, or are we responsible to repent, out of our own knowledge and wisdom and will? 

   To be saved, the sinner must repent, it is necessary for communion with God, who is holy, and hates sin.  And so, just as He must work faith in us, our Lord does not leave such a great work as repentance in our hands.  True repentance is beyond the strength of the unbeliever,  just as is trusting in Christ and His forgiveness.  As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit, and so we can struggle against our sinful nature, we are much more involved in repentance.  Still, whether before conversion or after, we need God to repent.  God works repentance in us, by preaching His Law, even more, by preaching Christ.  For the true depth of our sin, the truth of our need, is finally revealed through hearing of all that Christ suffered for us.  The sword that pierced Mary’s soul is the ultimate way the Holy Spirit works true repentance. 

   Simeon’s final words to Mary must have been quite a bitter surprise, for Simeon, as he held Baby Jesus, and had been singing so joyfully.  Quite a shock for Mary and Joseph, too.  It’s hard to think that this most wonderful person of all, this perfect, sinless, humble Babe, who would grow into the man Jesus, should have to suffer, for our sins.  The Cross is the Lord’s strongest tool to bring us to repentance.  This is true, even for Mary, whose soul would be pierced, through seeing up close and personal all that her Son would suffer. 

   But we do not despair, for God does not stop with this bitter surprise.  The Christ who causes the fall of many also raises many.  Repentance is bitter, but Salvation is even sweeter, the very best surprise of all.  As Simeon sang:

        This is the Savior of the world, 
        The Gentiles’ promised light,
        God’s glory dwelling in our midst,
        The joy of Israel.

   This Baby is the Savior!  Wonderful surprise.  And, there is another one coming, right behind it.  Do you suppose Simeon was surprised that Jesus was the Savior of the world?  Was he surprised that the promise was also for the Gentiles, as the Holy Spirit led him to sing?  Perhaps not.  Perhaps faithful Simeon knew what the Lord had declared through the prophet Isaiah:          “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)   Maybe Simeon always knew.  But certainly this news of Christ for the nations was a surprise to many Jews. 

   Ancient Israel had been set apart by God.  God through His blessings and through His instruction made them different than the Gentiles, that is the nations, all the non-Israelite people in the world.  God set Israel apart, for their good, and for the good of all people.  

   But you know what can happen with a child who is favored over his siblings.  Through generations of being set apart, it was natural for Israelites to begin to think that God only favored them, that His providence and love and mercy did not extend to the nations.  And remember, most of the nations that surrounded Israel were bitter enemies, often persecutors or even conquerors of God’s special people. 

   That the Christ would be the joy of Israel, that was expected.  But that the Messiah would be the Savior of the World, the Light of the nations, the Hope of all people?  The Jews, or better said, Judahites, members of the tribe of Judah, were the great majority of the remnant of Israel at the time when Christ visibly walked this earth.  After centuries of strife, warfare, exile and return, many Judahites were so turned inward that they hated non-Jews.  Or at least they considered them unworthy of God’s salvation.  But Simeon, inspired by the Holy Spirit, sings that Jesus is the light of the nations.  A wonderful surprise, even if unwelcomed by some.   

   Many first century Jews were largely turned inward, unconcerned for the rest of the world.  Does this malady continue to plague the Christian Church today?  We are Gentiles, for the most part, members of the nations, who have put on Christ in our Baptisms.  We have been grafted into the true root of Israel by faith.  Do we forget that Christ is still for all people, all nations?  Do we prefer to ignore the fact that God wills to work through us, through His Church, to reach out to the world of unbelievers? 

   Like forgetting about the ugly reality of our own sin, it is easy for Christians to disregard the world, forgetting that, however evil the world may be, it is made up of souls for whom Christ died.  Souls for whom there is plentiful forgiveness and salvation, in the blood of Christ.       

Lord, protect us from indifference to Your Mission. 

   How can this all be?  How can a tiny baby be expected to do so much?  Because this Child is God, in our midst.  The Son of God come down to earth, to do all that it takes to save the world.  As Job declared: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25)  Or as the Lord declared through Ezekiel: “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.” (Ezekiel 34:11)  Or from Isaiah “The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.” (Isaiah 59:15-16)

   That the Savior be human was necessary so that He could truly suffer, and die, for sins.  The sins separating us from God are our sins, human sins, the plague of every man, woman and child descended from Adam.  And so, this debt had to be paid by a human being.  That the Savior be divine, that He be God, was also necessary, since no mere human death could merit forgiveness for all people.  Only the death of the eternal Son of God would be worth enough to cover all sin.  Because His value and merit are infinite. 

   Surprise upon surprise, grace upon grace, God and man in one person, Jesus Christ, born to save.  His story of suffering, the hardest story ever told, God then resurrects into the sweetest surprise in history.  And so, clinging by faith to the resurrected Christ, we with Simeon worship the Babe of Bethlehem, Immanuel, God with us, come to save.   

   This Baby causes every saint to sing with Simeon.  That means you.  Every believer is called a saint, that is, ever believer is called holy, declared to be holy, by God, for the sake of Jesus.  Sainthood does not come from doing good work.  Being a saint is certainly not determined by a committee in Rome.  No, God declares everyone who trusts in His Son to be one of His holy ones, a saint.  For every believing sinner finds forgiveness in Jesus’ blood, and new life in His resurrection.  Faith in Christ re-creates, it restores, it regenerates.  This Baby is the One who gives us access to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, opening the way for us to sing God’s praises forever. 

   This baby who grew to be the Savior gives life to every person whom He joins to Himself, through repentance and faith.  To the Jew first, and also for the Gentile, God’s Son came to save.  And so, Mary carried Jesus in her womb, and sang.  The angels celebrated His birth, and sang.  Simeon sang to God, holding Jesus in His arms. 

   Baptized into His death and resurrection, we have been clothed in Christ.  He has joined Himself to us, and so we too sing.  When we rise from this altar, having received the Body and Blood of Christ, put into our hands, received into our bodies, we sing.  And most often, most appropriately, we sing Simeon’s Song.  We sing and rejoice in the surprising Good News that we too, are ready to die, fully prepared for life forever with God, by faith in the forgiveness won by the Babe of Bethlehem.    

   We too have seen God’s salvation.  From this altar, obeying Christ’s instruction, we receive His Holy Body and Blood into our lowly bodies, for forgiveness, and also for strength for Christian living.  We like Simeon are ready to die.  We are also ready to live, for we are filled with Christ, ready to confess His Name and His Gospel, and to love and serve the neighbors He places around us.  So we sing with Simeon, and with all the saints:    

    With saints of old, with saints to come, 
    To You we lift our voice;
    To Father, Son, and Spirit blest, 
    Be honor, love, and praise.

And all God’s people said, Amen.  

Connecting You to What Matters Most - Sermon for Christmas Eve

The Nativity of Our + Lord – Christmas Eve
December 24^th, A+D 2024
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota

 Sermon Audio available HERE.

Connecting you to what matters most.  

     I’m thankful to Goldenwest, our local telecommunications provider, for giving me the theme for tonight’s message.  It can be a challenge to choose a good theme for Christmas Eve.  In this Lessons and Carols service, we hear so many texts, so much of God’s Word, how will I boil it down to one main thought? 

     Then I walked into the church office last week and saw this calendar on the counter.  It’s from Goldenwest, and across the front it says: Connecting you to what matters most. 

     That’s very helpful, because connecting you to what matters most is exactly why God has gathered us here tonight.  So, thank you, Golden West.   

     The question really comes down to this: “What truly matters most?”.  What do you believe matters most?  What are the things, the people, to whom you most want to be connected, that make your life good and complete?   

    “Connecting you to what matters most” is Golden West’s company slogan.  What do they mean by “what matters most”? 

     The photos of the calendar would suggest that rural South Dakota is what GW has in mind… (show pictures, give commentary, really beautiful)

     Finding beauty in the world is certainly good, it probably matters more than many of us give it credit.  Life as God has given it to us is supposed to be beautiful.  Ugliness goes with decay and death and sin.  Christmas is beautiful.  We love so much to decorate for Christmas that we start in early November, once all those “beautiful” Halloween decorations come down. 

     The story of the Incarnation and Birth of Jesus is beautiful, the ultimate story of humilty and dedication and hope.   Beauty has always been important to Christ’s Church.  At our best, we, within our means and abilities, pursue beauty.  In our music, art, architecture, in our hymnody and preaching, we seek to adorn the communication of the beautiful message with beautiful things.   

      Of course, by their slogan, G.W. certainly means connecting you via telecommunications to, well, to everything, I think they would say.  Via wires and waves, our lives have become remarkably interconnected.  And certainly, there are many blessings in modern telecommunications.  Costs and risks, too, no doubt, but many blessings. 

    In terms of “what matters most,” I think G.W. would likely stress connecting you to loved ones, allowing you to communicate with your kids, your parents, your bothers and sisters, your grandparents, neighbors and friends.  For sure, this matters a lot. 

     When Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait separated my wife Shelee and me, telecommunications were an amazing blessing.  I remember clearly how wonderful were the two times, over seven months, that Shelee and I were able to talk.  Once was on a military satelitte phone.  I love you, over…  The pregancy is going fine, over…  I miss you so much, over…  The second time was on a regular long-distance phone call from the home of an American oil field engineer who lived and worked in Dharhan, Saudi Arabia.  Two gifts of telecommunications that we will never forget.    

   Today, thanks to the internet, you can text or talk or video chat with anyone anywhere,  as long as you are both connected.  Is this what G.W. means?  Is this the connection that matters most?  Well, a lot depends on who you are connecting to, doesn’t it?  And on what is being communicated.  Most of the connections we make on the internet don’t matter much at all.  A follower or friend on the internet is not the same, not even close, as a friend in real life.  Far too many of our “connections” are just distraction, eye-candy that keeps our heads down, that prevents you and me from connecting to the people who are right around us.  A barrage of shallow, fleeting, often un-real connections, that keep us from connecting with people and things that matter more.     

   Keeping you connected to what matters most, from the Church’s perspective, is the complete opposite of most of the connections fed to us by the Interwebs.  I’m not saying the internet isn’t used to proclaim Christ and His Good News of reconciliation and peace with God.  Many Christians and many Churches, ours included, try to use the Web for good. 

     Telecommunications are a communication technology, of the 20^th and 21^st centuries.  So is the printing press, which got its start in the 15^th and 16^th centuries.  Interestingly, the early use of both technologies was driven in large part by two separate causes:  On one hand, sharing God’s Word and the teaching of Christ; on the other, sharing socially transgressive and sexually explicit materials.  Light and darkness, good and evil, both trying to expand through information technology.    

     Sad to say, I think the ratio of good Christian material vs. inappropriate material is much worse with internet today that it was with the 16th century printing press.  The Christian must take care, because for all that is useful and good, most of the Web is a cesspool.  I’m not giving up on using the internet, but I don’t think it is the best way to truly connect you to what matters most. 

     That’s why I’m very glad we are here together, tonight.  All in one room, phones put away, listening, singing, speaking God’s Word together, praying.  I’m thankful we are here, face to face, because, despite what G.W. or the internet might tell you, connecting you to what matters most means one thing.  What matters most is being connected to the Babe of Bethlehem, God’s Son, who became a human baby, and grew up to bcome the Man of Sorrows, the Scapegoat of Golgotha, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself, to take away the sin of the world. 

     Being connected to Jesus is so much better than being up to date on the latest post from whatever influencer you follow.  Your favorite internet personality may entertain you, enrage you, maybe even give you some helpful tips.  But he or she will not forgive you your sins.  The vast majority of internet influencers do nothing to take away your guilt, or teach you Godly wisdom for living.  A life hack about all the cool ways you can use a paperclip is fine.  But Jesus offers so much more. 

     Being connected to Jesus is infinitely better than being continually distracted and entertained, hopefully not titillated, by the limitless stream of outrageous, angry, and shallow material that telecommunications has on offer.   

     I’m thankful we are here, together, tonight.  Because meeting and understanding and coming to trust in the Savior, Jesus, works so much better face to face.  Which makes sense, because face to face togetherness is our ultimate goal.  All who trust in Christ for forgiveness and new life will be face to face, with God and His angels and all the saints.  Face to face, forever, in paradise.  And that is what matters most.

     Now, often this particular Truth from God’s Word will generate some push-back, spoken or unspoken, from souls who are working hard to make a good life in this digital age.  I mean, what about my family, our time together?  Are you saying they aren’t what matters most?  What about my job, which allows me to care for my family, and make a good life for us?  What about keeping my kid active in sports and school, so they can get ahead, and have a good life?  Can you really say what matters most is gathering around an ancient book to learn ancient stories and sing old songs? 

   Well, yes I can, but only because God said it first. 

    Family and friends and honest work and providing for your family are all very important; they really matter, a lot.  They matter so much, because God has given all these good things to you.   They matter, but they all have a problem that prevents them from being what matters most of all.  All these important things are imperfect, always somewhat disappointing, never totally fulfilling, because you are disappointing.  Because I am disappointing.  So are all your family and friends.  God gave you your family, your friends, your honest work, your home.  God gave you these beautiful Black Hills, to explore and enjoy.  But we, all of us, deface them, with our selfishness, our foolishness, our sin, which continually ruins things. 

    This is why being connected to the Babe of Bethlehem is what matters most.  For only Christ Jesus offers forgiveness, restoration, removal of guilt, peace with God.  Peace and joy that spills over into peace with your family, your friends, yourself.  Peace and contentment that makes all the other things that matter even better. 

     Your family, your work, your recreation, your life, now and in eternity, will be much richer, if you are connected to what matters most, if you are in communion with the One who matters most.  He was born for you.  He served and healed and taught, for you.  Jesus suffered, for you, in your place, and He died.  He died for you.   But death could not hold the Lord of Life.  And so He rose, for you.  He has taken the wood of His manger and the wood of His Cross, and is building a heavenly mansion, for you.   

     God grant you a wonderful Christmas, filled with the peace, love and joy of Jesus.  And God grant you what matters most, an ongoing connection to Christ, through His Word, through His Meal, through His Church, the gathering of the Baptized, staying connected to Jesus, today, tomorrow, and forever and ever, Amen.