The Day of the Preacher - Sermon for January 26th, A+D 2025, the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany

Third Sunday after the Epiphany
January 26^th, A+D 2025
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, SD
The Day of the Preacher

Sermon Audio available HERE

In the Name of Jesus, the Preacher.

⁴ And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose, and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.

⁷  Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 

   You may have noticed that a bit of our Old Testament reading was left out today.  The lectionary committee left out the names of the men listed with Ezra, God’s priest and scribe.  Men who stood by and who assisted him as he read God’s Word and preached to His people.  And it’s understandable why they left them out.  Twenty-six Hebrew names, many of them hard to pronounce, would we be able to read them clearly, or would we stumble and your understanding of the reading be interrupted?  These 26, 13 leading men of the community, standing by Ezra, visibly lending their support to his work.  And the Levites, men from the tribe of Levi, not priests in the Temple, but Temple workers, responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of God’s house, now called to a new task, a teaching task, again, in support of Ezra. 

   I can understand why the lectionary committee chose to leave them out, but it’s really too bad, because they were included by the Holy Spirit in the Holy Text, He apparently wanted them to be remembered.  And especially today, for today is really a special Preacher’s Day.  Throughout our readings, the preaching office, and the men called into it, are highlighted and celebrated.   

   Our Old Testament reading is the first recorded instance of preaching, as we understand preaching today.  There was lots of proclamation of God’s Word prior, from the beginning when God said: “Let there be light” God’s Word has been proclaimed and preached.  God’s people and God’s special representatives, priests and prophets and judges and kings, spoke the Lord’s Word, for the good of His people.  But the format of public preaching as we understand it is first recorded here, in Nehemiah chapter eight.  The date is around 445 B.C., and the exiles of Judah have returned to Jerusalem, rebuilding the Temple and the city under the direction of Nehemiah, more or less the governor, and of Ezra, a priest, who was also a Scribe, a student, an expert, in God’s Word, especially in the Five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. 

   Today we heard about something we readily recognize:  God’s people gathering together, and then a minister, a man called and ordained to the task, read’s a portion of God’s Word.   Then, after the reading comes the explaining, teaching the congregation what God’s Word means, and how it applies to their lives. 

   What happened is not exactly like what we do on Sunday mornings, but it is recognizable in many ways.  Ezra was on a raised platform, to create a line of sight and sound from his mouth to the maximum number of ears possible.  The Word was read clearly, and then, the ministers explained it, they “:gave the sense” in order that the people would come to understand it. 

   What they did, almost 2,500 years ago, is quite similar to our Service of the Word, the order of service we follow on Sunday mornings, from the Introit through the Readings, the Sermon, and the Prayers.  God’s people have been wise to gather for such reading and preaching for 2-1/2 millennia, and with the Lord’s help, we will keep doing it, until the Last Day, and Christ returns on the clouds to take us home. 

   In our Epistle reading this morning, Paul teaches us about the Body of Christ, the wonderful reality of our intimate connection to Jesus Christ, a unity created in Baptism and maintained by faith.  The importance and God given dignity of every member, whether by our standards each one is impressive or maybe a little embarrassing, the call to love and support one another in keeping with the way that the Head of the Body, our Savior Jesus Christ, loves and supports each one of us.  A mystery we get to live every day, the mystery of God’s grace overcoming our human limitations and sins, day by day, to create a body in which we are both served, and given opportunity to serve

   And then, after explaining the Body, then Paul details the offices, the different roles of service that God has ordained and assigned with the Body, for our collective good.  And Paul start’s his list with preachers:  First Apostles, then Prophets and Teachers. 

   The calendar makes this even more a preachers’ day, because today, January 26^th, is the day we celebrate St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor.  Titus was an associate of the Apostle Paul, his disciple and then colleague in Gospel ministry.  Titus was appointed by Paul to be Archbishop of Crete, appointing ministers, pastors and bishops in every city, so that God’s Word would be preached and His gifts distributed.  And Paul wrote a letter to Titus which helps us understand the Pastoral Office.  Particularly important is this passage, when Paul told Titus:  But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. … ¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³ waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.  ¹⁵ Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

   This really is a Preacher Sunday, a day to recognize how the Lord has been working through His pastors and teachers and other ministers.  From the 26 assistants that accompanied Ezra, to Titus, down to all the men who have been rightly called and ordained, put under orders, to preach the whole counsel of God.  We rightly celebrate, not the men, not for themselves, but for the office of public proclamation, the institution of God by which He calls, gathers and enlightens His Church.  The glory of the Office of the Public Ministry is that it is established by Jesus, it is empower by Jesus, it is ultimately all about Jesus.  He is the one who connect Ezra to Titus to me, the one who ties it all who ties it all together.  Christ Jesus is both the source of preaching, and the goal of preaching.  He is the authority and power behind every faithful Christian sermon ever preached. 

   And this we see in our Gospel reading today, Jesus’ first recorded preaching in Luke’s version of events, when Jesus came back to His hometown, Nazareth.  The local boy has now become famous, by preaching and by healing.  Then He comes home, and gives a masterclass in preaching at the Nazareth synagogue, the local word house, where God’s people gathered to hear Moses and the Prophets, to chant Psalms, and listen to the Rabbi’s interpretation of the texts. 

   The synagogue developed among the exiled Judahites, while they were in Babylon, and had no way to get to the Temple in Jerusalem, first because of distance and servitude, and second because the Temple was in ruins, destroyed by the Babylonians.   

    Jesus message in the Nazareth synagogue is startling: Effectively He declares: I AM the One, the promised Messiah, the Savior, come to heal and rescue and free all God’s suffering people.  This Scripture, so full of promise, is now fulfilled, in your hearing, literally, in your ears.  And so we also see how God works, through His Word.  The Almighty chooses to enact His will by speaking, creating, correcting, promising, sustaining, and finally, in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, fulfilling His promises, through His spoken Word.  The Old Testament Word is fulfilled in Jesus.  The merciful will of God is fulfilled and delivered to us, through the spoken Word.     

    From Jesus’ sermon in Nazareth, we also see that the preacher needs to know his audience, and confront their sin, even if it’s risky.  If the preacher’s hearers are ignoring or contradicting God’s truth, they must be rebuked, for the good of the body, and for the salvation of the contradicter.  It must be done, come what may.  Sin and evil must be rejected, so that Jesus’ cleansing sacrifice can be applied.  Law and Gospel, we need them both. 

   All faithful, all useful preaching, flowed toward or flows from the Man who sat down after He read promises of Good News from Isaiah, and then said:  Today this Scripture this Scripture is fulfilled, in your ears.   This is what preaching is all about.  Anything else, anything less, any different goal will necessarily fall short of what God intends.  And certainly, there are lots of ways to mess up preaching, lots of ways the sinners whom God calls to preach for Him can fail.   

   The wolves are the worst, of course.  Self-serving, unfaithful, murderous preachers, who take the powerful Word of God, and try to use it to enrich and serve themselves and their appetites.  Such wolf preachers commit eternal homicide, instead of delivering the gifts of forgiveness and eternal salvation that Jesus died to win for all mankind, they use God’s Word to enrich themselves, and drag souls away from Christ.   

   Another failed preacher category would be lazy sheepdogs.  Not really shepherds, they just pretend to be God’s mouthpieces.  They serve, but not so much to get sinners into heaven.  Rather, their goal is to keep the flock moving together is some direction, doesn’t really matter so much what direction, because we are really a religious social club, not a congregation of Christ.  …

   Finally, we should mention, as Jesus does in John 10, the hired hands who run away.  They know the threats the Devil breathes out against God’s people, and they know the Word of Christ that they should declare, to protect the flock.  But they are too afraid, and they shut their mouths, running away from the struggle God has called them to. 

   I can understand running away, I can understand failing, in the critical moment, failing to speak the plain truth that God has given us.  Instructing in sound doctrine means stepping on the assumptions and sacred cows that the world has taught us to cherish.  Thou shalt not, and all that.  Instructing is hard, and then comes rebuking, opposing those who contradict God’s truth by their words or their actions.  Rebuking sinners is scary.  After all, who am I to say such things, to rebuke you? 

   I am nobody, really and truly.  I, in and of myself, am nobody, not better nor less sinful than any of you.  But.  But God, through His Church, through you, has put me in this office of preaching. It’s not a mystery what I’m supposed to do.  It’s just hard.  And so, it is only by God’s grace that I instruct and rebuke.   

    Sometimes rebuke in preaching happens unintentionally.  I’m just trying to give the sense of God’s Word, to faithfully explain what Peter or Paul or Jesus says.  But God takes my feeble words and cuts you to the heart.  Which is why the Gospel must prevail, must always be clearly proclaimed, every sermon, because God’s Law cuts deep, even if the preacher doesn’t intend it so.  God’s law cuts deep, and only the Good News of Christ and His forgiving sacrificial love can heal such wounds.   

    Sometimes I rebuke intentionally, because I know what needs to be said.  I was born at night, but not last night, and so sometimes it falls to me to say the obvious, to correct, rebuke, and point Christians in a better direction, that is, to repentance, and faith in Christ.  Often this happens in private, I am not into public shaming.  But not always.  Sometimes we all, together, collectively need rebuke.   

    Preaching is not always so dramatic, thankfully.  The work of the Holy Spirit through the words I preach are often unknown to me.  But God knows, because He is the one doing the real work. 

    An important note: Rebuke should only and ever be for the goal of forgiveness, for repentance and reconciliation with God.  Our goal, my goal, is that always, through the Good News of Jesus’ shed blood, sinners would be separated from their sin by forgiveness, and renewed by the power of Jesus’ glorious resurrection.   

    The men placed into the public office work at this central task of the Church as their principal vocation.  This is Jesus’ first and central way of caring for and growing His Church.  And yet, Lord willing, proclamation doesn’t end there.  Public preaching also informs and enables private proclamation, by you.  The extension of Christian preaching into the world comes also through the mouths of all God’s people. 

    To be sure, the call to authoritatively speak God’s Word should never be self-assumed, not by me, and not by you.  I am called to preach here.  And sometimes you are called to preach as well.  If you are a parent, for sure, you are a preacher to your children.  And, at different times and places, God brings people into your lives with spiritual questions, and you then have a call, perhaps time bound and limited, but a call to proclaim God’s truth, as best you can.  And the Holy Spirit does work through His Word, whenever it is faithfully spoken.   

    You’re going to mess it up.  I certainly do.  We don’t want to, and we should deepen our knowledge to minimize it, but we will speak God’s truth imperfectly.  However, our perfection in speaking God’s Truth is not the crucial thing.  Try to get it right, don’t settle for error.  But also remember, it is not our perfection, but rather God’s perfection that achieves His goals.  This is the mystery of preaching, that the Holy Spirit overcomes what is lacking in us, and achieves His good goals, sometimes despite us.   

    So, because of this mystery, in relation to God’s Word, we are free, free to read, free to hear, free to inquire, free to speak, to share, free to seek the greater gifts, as the Lord allows. 

 Most of all, we are free, free from fear, from sin, free from the power of death and the devil.  Because the Good News of God’s rescue which has been completed by Jesus, there is indeed, sight for blind, freedom for prisoners, forgiveness for sinners, life from death.  This Scripture is fulfilled in your ears, today, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

God Does His Will Through Holy Marriage - Sermon for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany

Second Sunday after Epiphany, January 19^th,  Year of Our + Lord 2025
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches, Custer and Hill City, SD
God Does His Will Through Holy Marriage – John 2:1-11

Sermon Audio available HERE 

“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”     What does this mean? The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.

       How is God’s will done?                        God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose, of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come; and when he strengthens us and keeps us firm in his Word and faith until we death do us part from this veil of tears. This is His good and gracious will.

   God’s will for us is that we have good lives here on earth, in this age, and in the age to come, to enjoy a life of perfection and glory, living with Him in heaven, in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness.  And so, since there was a wedding in Cana, Jesus was there, doing God’s will.  Because Holy Marriage is at the very center of God’s way of giving human beings good lives, both now, and forever and ever. 

   Which of course why God’s Way of Holy Marriage is so violently opposed by Satan, by the world, and, sadly, by our own sinful nature.  Bad ideas and flat out lies about marriage dominate our culture, and also have their malignant influence on Christians…way too much influence on us Christians.  Which is bad for this life.  And bad for the Church militant, the Church still fighting the good fight here in this sinful world.  A healthy Church depends on healthy families, and healthy families depend on a right understanding and a living out of healthy marriages.  Our life together as God’s family and our mission to proclaim Christ to the world are both injured when Holy Marriage is faring badly. 

   So it is good for us to once again journey to Cana, to consider what Jesus does and says, and how that fits with the whole Biblical depiction and use of marriage.  For this will help God’s will to be done, in our own lives, and the lives of our neighbors.   

   Every marriage in this broken world has problems.  Would that we only had the problems of the unnamed couple in Cana.  The wine for their wedding reception has run out.  That’s not great.  But our marriages today have much bigger problems, don’t they?  I know this can be painful to talk about.  We have such a range of experiences.  A couple of truths to establish right away.  First, every marriage has real problems, even the ones that appear excellent.  Whether you are solid in your marriage, or used to be married, have never been married, would like to be married and aren’t, don’t think marriage is for you, or you are married and are struggling, all of us are impacted by the myriad problems facing Holy Marriage today. 

   And, regardless of your current, past or future status in relationship to God’s institution of marriage, Jesus cares about you, and your relationship to Holy Marriage.  Whether you are married, want to be married, or want to be single, Jesus wants to help you.  The Bridegroom of the Church doesn’t abandon you because you are single, or because your marriage has problems, or has been broken, by your spouse, or by you.  He doesn’t abandon you because your parents’ marriage had or has problems.  Indeed, fixing marriages and healing people injured in marriage are exactly the reasons He came.  As we see in Cana today, Jesus came to help marriages, especially one particular marriage. 

   Am I saying too much, going overboard on the importance of marriage?  Well, consider this.  The Creation reached its completion with a marriage.  The Lord created the heavens and the earth, filled them and ordered them, for the benefit of Adam, the man from the dirt.  Everything was good, except that it was not good for the Man to be alone.  And so, after teaching Adam that none of the animals was a suitable partner for him, God performed the first surgery, and took Adam’s rib, in order to make the woman, the perfectly matched, complementary other.  Male and female together, God created them in His image.  Only then, after God brought the Woman to the Man, only after they were placed into their one-flesh relationship, only then was the work of Creation complete.  Only then did God see that it was “very good.” 

   The Bible starts with a marriage, and it ends with a marriage, the wedding of the Bride to the Lamb, the celestial nuptials that usher in Paradise.  As the Wedding Banquet that has no end is described in John’s Revelation, we rejoice to hear that finally, after so many ages of longing, in that great Wedding Day there will be no more tears, no more illness, no more suffering, no more sin, no more strife, no more death.  There will be only joy and celebration, forever and ever, for all who are invited to the Feast.  God’s Son, Jesus Christ, came into this world, came to Cana, went to Golgotha, did all that He did, in order to plan and prepare that eternal Marriage Feast, and to invite you.  Regardless of how wonderful or how troubled your relationship to Holy Marriage is today, Jesus has prepared the Way for you to have a seat at the wedding banquet that has no end.  

   It is the most glorious fact that Jesus by His Cross and Resurrection has qualified us for seats at the heavenly banquet.   Does this mean that Holy Marriage is not such a big deal anymore?  Can we kind of not worry so much about marriage on earth today, since we know that God has accomplished the final solution for us?  Not at all.  It’s just the opposite.  The Good News of eternal salvation means we can and we should fight for Holy Marriage, today, for a whole bunch of reasons.

   First, marriage and family was the original Church Growth method.  If sin had not ruined mankind, adding to the congregation of believers would have been naturally accomplished simply through bearing children and raising them up.  No need for sin to be conquered, no struggle to instill faith in sinners, if sin had never entered the world.  And even still today, marriage and procreation, men and women finding each other, and having babies as God allows, is still critical for the growth of Christ’s Church.  Being in a committed Biblical marriage is good for the faith, of the husband and the wife.  A cord of three strands, like a believing husband, a believing wife, and Christ as their binding cord, such a strand is not easily broken.  And such couples seek to raise believing children.   

    Speaking of having babies, it is true that the Holy Spirit can and does teach the faith and join souls of every age to Christ, through the forgiveness of sins.  But making Christians is so much easier with children, when you can start putting the Word in their ears, before they are born, before they become so corrupted, so jaded, not so misled as we adults are prone to be.  The first calling of Adam and Eve, to be married and to grow a family, is still the highest and best earthly calling.  Both for men, and for women. 

   Careers and accomplishments and doing great things in life are fine.  Marveling at the beauty of the creation and enjoying the fruits of the earth are real blessings.  But they are not as good as family.  I have never sat with a dying person who wished that their retirement fund or their college degree or their career accomplishments would come see them, one more time, before they die. 

   Whether God has granted you to be married and to be a parent, or whether He has not, a good and loving family is God’s greatest earthly gift.  All our families have their problems, but they are still precious.  And good and loving families come from Holy Marriage.    

    Satan attacked and badly damaged marriage when he corrupted Adam and Eve.  The serpent slithered in to put a wedge between the man and the woman, and a wedge between them and God.  Ever since, every marriage has faced struggles.  Humanity is so prone to neglect, betray and pervert marriage, because Adam and Eve’s corruption is our corruption. 

    But, despite the damage, God never abandoned Marriage.  The Father still wants to see His children give themselves to each other in Holy Matrimony, and to continue filling the earth.  Marriage does require work by both the husband and the wife.  It is also true that in this fallen world, not everyone will be married, and not every couple will become parents, and that does not change one’s value to God.  But good marriages and families are still the greatest source of earthly blessing, the biggest key to a good life in this world.  And, good marriages greatly support the creation and sustaining of faith, faith in Christ, which receives the blessings of eternal life, a seat at the Heavenly Wedding feast.  May God’s good and gracious will for marriage be done among us, also.    

   Another reason to teach and support God’s gift of marriage is that saving faith is created by the Word of God, and God in His Word talks about marriage, a lot.  The Bible begins and ends with weddings, and the story of salvation is filled with marriages as well.  Noah and his three sons were saved with their wives, so they could start again to fill the earth.  Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and his four wives, the chain of marriages goes on and on, right down to Joseph and Mary, a husband and wife who epitomize selfless commitment to Holy Marriage, so that God’s will be done, not just for themselves, but for the whole world. 

   And while getting us to Christmas morning and the birth of the Savior is the main purpose of all these Biblical marriages, they offer more to us.   From good examples and from bad examples, we find wisdom and hope for our marriages and families.  Abraham and Sarah teach us the folly of not trusting God and coming up with our own plans to fulfill His plan.  Sarah decided God could not give her a child, so she gave Abraham her Egyptian maid, Hagar, in hopes of getting a child through her.  This plan brought jealousy and bitterness to the family.  Joyous laughter would only come when the Lord, in His timing, gave them Isaac, through Sarah’s womb. Nothing will be impossible for God; His good and gracious will is done.   

   The Godly wisdom of maintaining Holy Marriage to be the lifelong union of one man and one woman is taught from the negative example of the patriarch Jacob.  Tricked into marrying Leah, his beloved Rachel’s sister, Jacob ended up with four wives, and an angry family, constantly fighting.  God still blessed the world through the 12 sons of Jacob, growing them into the 12 Tribes of Israel.   But God’s original plan of a lifelong marriage between one man and one woman is clearly best. 

   The marriage of Ruth and Boaz offers us an example of how faithfulness to family and to God leads to marital happiness, and a line of promise that ran through King David down to the Son of David, our Savior.  God’s will was done, through Holy Marriage.    

   Against God’s design and plan for marriage come the lies and false ideas of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature.  Marriage as God intends is all about mutual self-giving, of service to another, different from yourself and complementary, a new whole that is greater than the sum of the parts.  Marriage is rightly all about selflessness and service to the other within the structure of marriage that God has given.   It requires commitment and perseverance, and trust that God can bring a couple through hard times, together.   

   The devil and the world say no, that marriage is about you getting what you want, and if that doesn’t happen, then you are free to abandon the commitment.  Men and women are taught today to come to marriage primarily to fulfill themselves, to find pleasure, to be made happy.  Some men pervert their role as leaders, and use their strength to dominate and abuse their wives, instead of to love, protect and serve them.  Some women reject the leadership God has called their husbands to provide, and seek to manipulate and dominate. 

   The heart of the world’s lie about marriage is the false idea that my marriage is good only as long as it serves my selfish desires.  If not, it can and should be discarded, says the world, repeating Satan’s lies.     

   Wise men and wise women seek to serve the other, and fight against the natural selfishness that we all bring to every relationship.  Holy marriages seek to fulfill God’s will, trusting that this is the place on earth where true joys are found.  Again and again, Biblical examples of Holy Marriage teach us that a shared faithfulness to the LORD and His promises leads to blessing.  Understanding and seeking to fulfill the different roles that God has given to man and woman in marriage creates the best opportunity for success.  Honesty, communication and mutual selfless care are vital to overcoming the problems, the sin, that is present in every marriage and family.  And of course, forgiveness, confessing sins to one another and forgiving one another, for Jesus’ sake, is just as important for the life of a marriage as it is for the life of the Church.  

   The importance of forgiveness in marriage and family points us to the Lord’s greatest use of Holy Marriage, and the final reason to support Biblical marriage that we will consider today.  The Holy Spirit loves to use marriage as a frame for proclaiming the Gospel.  It is a favorite metaphor for His saving love for mankind.  The LORD was a faithful husband to His faithless bride, the people of Israel.  Unfaithfulness toward God, the worship of idols, these are called adultery.  The LORD again and again seeks out His faithless bride, and woos her back to Himself.  Ultimately, this lopsided courtship was fulfilled in the life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  A rib was taken from the side of Adam, to create his wife, Eve.  A sword was thrust between the ribs of Jesus, and out flowed water and blood, God’s means for creating His Bride, the Church. 

   And so, while Jesus was giving an earthly blessing to the newlyweds at Cana, He was also hinting at His coming plan to use water and wine to cleanse and recreate sinners, through Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.  Christ Jesus used water turned to wine to give joy to the newlyweds, blessing them with the very best cup.  God creates heavenly joy by using water and wine to be fruitful and multiply His new holy people, delivering His glorious forgiveness, and binding His Bride ever closer to Himself.  And so, God’s will is done for us through Holy Marriage, on earth, today, and also in heaven, forever and ever, Amen.    

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.