What's Wrong With Preaching?

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

 Throughout the church today, one hears the same lament over and over again – what's wrong with preaching? A brief survey of sermons reveals that what is missing is Christ himself. especially a clear and weekly proclamation of Christ crucified. This sad condition would cause the apostle Paul to launch into a harangue like the one in his first letter to the Corinthians, particularly in those first two foundational chapters.

The sad state of preaching may have more to do with the theological darkness that has come over the Church than a sudden crisis in the style of preaching. The other two lessons today assert that Epiphany is the season to see the light of Christ shine in the darkness. In both Isaiah and Matthew, “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” If Christ is not preached, then our preaching is in darkness. Are we a people who walk in darkness – who dwell in a land of deep darkness? Are we a people who, through preaching Christ, have seen a great light – who have had the light shine upon us?

"Behold the Lamb of God!"

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

The disciples of John the Baptist knew all about the lambs.

There were stories of one-time sacrifices, like the story of Abraham and Isaac where the son was nearly killed. You know the story: Abraham and Isaac climbed that mountain together, with Isaac innocently asking where the sacrifice was. Abraham, unable to speak the truth, uttered those famous words, "God will provide for Himself the lamb" (Gen. 22:8). And so it was: Just as Abraham lifted the knife to sacrifice his only son, the Lord pointed him to a ram, caught by his horns in a thicket. The ram was sacrificed that day. Isaac was delivered because God provided the lamb.

There were the annual sacrifices, too, like the Passover Lamb. Every year, the people of Israel were to remember the Exodus by the sacrifice of a lamb for Passover dinner. They were to recall how the Lord saved the firstborn of each family because the angel passed over the doors marked by the blood of the lamb. The lamb died; the firstborn sons lived.

And then there were the twice-daily sacrifices, too, still going on at the temple: Morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed to God by the priests, in accordance with God's command: "One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight" (Deut. 29:39). Two lambs every day, offered to the Lord. So long as the Temple was intact, the shedding of lambs' blood continued.

For Those Who Were Not

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

On this day, the earth rings once again. But whereas only a few short days ago, the earth was ringing with the exultant cries of the angels in the Judean sky and the joyous songs of all creation at the birth of our Savior, now the earth rings with the blood-curdling wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem mourning for their sons who are now no more – slaughtered at the command of lunatic Herod. Instead of “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth!” is now heard “weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

The Magi – wise men from the East – had passed through the courts of Herod in Jerusalem. That great pretender, the usurper to the throne of David, feared for his ill-gotten position, and so he plotted how he might rid the land of this newborn King of the Jews. When the Lord thwarted his plans by sending the Magi home another way, Herod determined to spend his murderous wrath on the whole land. So he gave the decree to have all male children in the region of Bethlehem two years old and younger slaughtered, according to the time he had ascertained from the wise men.

All this took place while our Lord was spirited away to Egypt, his guardian Joseph having been warned in a dream to flee with the Child and His mother. So the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem shed their blood in order that the Christ Child might not spill His yet.

O Holy Night?

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

What a night Christmas Eve is! The Festival of the Incarnation of our Lord has come once again and it is good to be here this evening in order to hear of God's revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations (Romans 16:25-26).

Throughout Christendom there are many gatherings taking place this night as the people of God congregate to hear the Word and to receive Christ in the Sacrament. In many such churches, the Lord's undershepherds tell children of all ages, the Story - the historical account - of the Savior's Birth in Bethlehem on that night so long ago and so far away. In truth, it is the privilege of such local undershepherds, men who have been entrusted by the Lord, to guide and lead the people to Bethelehem to see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. This is truly a Holy Night – the most holy night of all.

This is a holy night because the angels proclaimed it to be when they visited the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. And so throughout generations, people have sung this truth: that this is O Holy Night.

In Joseph's Shoes

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

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.” The beginning of our Gospel lesson sounds so clinical, so matter-of-fact; and compared to the Gospel of Luke, Matthew does not say much about Christmas. What Luke takes over a hundred verses to talk about, Matthew boils down to the eight we have before us. But what Matthew has to say is quite a bit.

Mary and Joseph are betrothed to one another: unlike today where the vows take place the same day of the wedding, they have already promised their lifelong commitment before God and man, but their wedding day still lies in the future. They have pledged their faithfulness to one another—and now Mary is found to be with child. Such scandals are not unknown in the history of mankind, but Mary's explanation might be a first: she says the Child is from the Holy Spirit. Uh huh, replies the world; of course He is.

Given the evidence before him, Joseph could have Mary stoned to death; but he resolves instead to divorce her quietly. But as he considers these things, an angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream and says, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So begins the Incarnation, and note Joseph's position from the very beginning: he can go by what his eyes see or what his ears hear.

"The Lamb Who Died"

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

There is something to be said about the fact that the preparers of our lectionary, whoever they be, appointed this scene from the crucifixion of our Lord to be the Gospel lesson for the last Sunday in the Church year. In Year A, the year ends with a vision of the final judgment, where we see the sheep and the goats separated and sent into their respective homes for eternity. In Year B, we are left with the promise that the Word of the Lord remains forever, and with the charge from our Lord: “Stay awake.”

But this year, you have heard from the pen of St. Luke the first words of Jesus from the Cross. And how fitting it is that, at the end of time (so to speak), we hearken back to the beginning of the End.

John Calvin once called the shouts and jeers and mocking of the crowds, the insults of the Jews, and the scoffing of the impenitent thief a “premature triumph” on the part of the devil. The devil and his minions looked around and saw that they had Jesus under their thumb. He was beated, scourged, bloody, and broken. The Son of God was about to die. And would God save Him? “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”

Settle Your Minds

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

“They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.” This is what is coming to you, declares the Lord. You will be delivered over to those who hate you, and brought before those who ridicule you for the sake of Christ. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

Bearing witness will not be fun. It will not be easy. It will not win you any popularity contests in the public square. Bearing witness to the Truth in the midst of a world of lies and deception is hazardous to your health.

Let me tell you the story of a young man named Ivan. Ivan was a soldier in the Red Army of the USSR in 1970. And Ivan was a Christian. He was not shy about his faith. Ivan was a dutiful soldier and an honorable citizen, even in the midst of a thoroughly disrespectable society.

Change, Or Not

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

Congregations, like human beings, grow old. A large congregation once filled these pews. You may become nostalgic for the olden day. A century ago people walked to church, walked to work, walked to school, walked to the store. Now we drive everywhere.

A photograph taken of the congregation from the pulpit today would be different from a picture taken ten years ago. A picture taken from the back pews toward the chancel would be just as different. Faces you thought you would never forget have slipped over the cliff of your memory. If “all the world is a stage” where we all are actors, so is the church.

Pastors and people are constantly changing, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Since the Church is His Body, she also stays the same. Perhaps a church that advertises itself as “contemporary” is no church at all. The true Church has one Baptism and she partakes of the one spiritual food in the Holy Sacrament. She reads the same Scriptures, hears the same Gospel, and sings the same liturgies and hymns. St. Paul said that there is one Church, one Spirit, one Lord Jesus, and one God and Father of all.

What Does Christ Say?

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

Today we observe Reformation Day, one of the festivals completely unique to Lutheranism. But what is it we commemorate on this day? Historically, we commemorate the supposed posting of the 95 Theses by Martin Luther on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. But so what? What is the heritage that we, who bear the name Lutheran, have inherited from this event nearly five hundred years ago?

The heritage we celebrate today is nothing short of our identity. Consider this – what is a Lutheran? Simply an adherent to Martin Luther's teaching?

Faithful Lutherans are those who remain steadfastly in the Word of the Lord, standing with Martin Luther and confessing with him: “Holy Scripture and God's Word should be the empress that man follows directly and should obey what it says, and speak no word against it; for it is the mouth of God” (Erlangen 61:107).

God-Breathed and Useful

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

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Great news. We like things that are profitable, things that are useful, things that have value and purpose. So it is good news when the Apostle tells us that all Scripture is profitable. And it is even God-breathed – inspired, as some translations render it.

Indeed, all Scripture is God-breathed, God-inspired. All Scripture is breathed out by God, because all Scripture is about God. Jesus is the sum total and the content of the Scriptures. The Law and the Psalms and the Prophets all testify of Him and His saving promises to the children of Israel. The Gospels and the Epistles and all the historical books all record the mighty acts of the Lord for His people. All Scripture is God-breathed, because all Scripture is God, enrobed in the mask of ordinary human words and phrases and sentences and grammar. And therefore, because God is true, faithful, and unchanging, so also is His Word always true, faithful, and unchanging. The Word of the Lord remains forever.

“The Hand of the Lord Has Gone Out Against Me”

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

Naomi had a rough go of things. She and her husband had picked up and moved from Israel to Moab because of the drought and famine, leaving their family, their inheritance, and their way of life to cross the Jordan into a foreign land with a strange people and pagan gods. Then they got there and settled down and attempted to make a life for themselves. Their sons even married Moabite women. But then first Naomi's husband died, and then both her sons died, without leaving any children.

Naomi was stuck. Without a husband or sons to provide for her, she was bankrupt. Without a people or inheritance, she had no place and no living. And besides that, she had her daughters-in-law also to provide for. The pleasant things in her life had become bitter – hence her name change. She had lost the things she held most dear, and so she cried out, “The hand of the Lord has gone out against me!”

The Angels of the Little Ones

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

Not like a man with intellect and reason and experience, not like a seasoned veteran of war, not like a teacher with initials and degrees come down from the ivory tower, or even like a man who has run a business and shown a profit, but like a child, a little one, you must become. You must give up your airs, your status, your independence and control. You must be vulnerable. You must turn, repent, be converted and risk all on the simple trust that God is good, that He knows best, and that He will take care of you. That, dear friends, is faith.

So it is that greatness in the Kingdom of heaven is measured differently than greatness in the kingdoms of men. For the greatest and most wonderful thing in the Kingdom of heaven is the most despised and pitiable thing in the kingdoms of men, even the unjust, brutal, and bloody execution of Our Lord. In Christ's kingdom, where Grace rules, weakness is strength, poverty is riches, and dependence and vulnerability are virtues.

+ The Feast of St. Matthew +

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

Today we take the opportunity to remember the author of the first book of the New Testament. St. Matthew, also known as Levi, identifies himself as a former tax collector, one who was therefore considered unclean, a public sinner, outcast from the Jews. And yet, our Lord saw fit to call him from his tax collector's booth and make him to be an apostle and evangelist. St. Matthew's “book of the genesis of Jesus Christ” portrays Christ especially as the new and greater Moses, who graciously fulfills the Law and the Prophets, and establishes a new covenant in and with His own blood.

Matthew's Gospel is also well-known and beloved for his record of the visit of the Magi, for the Sermon on the Mount, including the Beatitudes and the fullest text of the Lord's Prayer (as we will pray it momentarily); and for the institution of Holy Baptism and the most explicit revelation of the Holy Trinity.

Tradition is uncertain where St. Matthew's final field of labor was, or whether he died naturally or was martyred – he may have been burned, stoned, or beheaded – but he died confessing the faith, and left behind his Gospel account, which continues to shape the Church to this day. In celebrating his feast day today, we therefore give thanks to God that He has mightily governed and protected His Holy Church through this man who was called and sent by Christ to serve the sheep of His pastures with the Holy Gospel.

What Do You See?

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

In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus has been invited to a dinner at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. Maybe you have been to a dinner like this one: the important people are all invited, each person for a specific reason and according to a specific protocol. The mix of people there is carefully crafted to elicit the desired social result. Jesus is there because they want to see how He behaves in this setting. Can our Lord behave Himself? Will He eat nicely and be gracious to His host, or will he cause an upset and a scene, as He is wont to do in more public places?

Jesus is invited to this dinner as a test. Well, actually three tests, if you will. The Pharisees are seeking to test Jesus, and they expect Him to fail. But Jesus will turn the tables, and show them their failings instead. For the Pharisees act only out of love for themselves, but Jesus looks in love at all those around Him, and He gives of Himself for their benefit, and not for His own gain and purposes.

Steadfast in the Word

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

Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word;

Curb those who by deceit or sword

Would wrest the kingdom from Your Son

And bring to naught all He has done (LSB 655.1).

Thus we sing, and thus we pray – that our Lord would keep us steadfast in His Word. Not in my word or your word, or the word of the false prophets of this or any age. Steadfast in His Word, which stands forever, true and certain and unchanging.

The Word of the Lord stands forever. Despite the changes and chances of life, it remains. Despite the whims and wishes of men, it remains. Despite the ignorance and foolishness of the world, it remains. The Word of the Lord remains forever, because the Word Incarnate remains forever. God does not change, and so neither does His Word. He is not false, and neither is it.

"Amen, O hear us, Lord!"

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

Our Father, who from heav'n above

Bids all of us to live in love

As members of one family

And pray to You in unity,

Teach us no thoughtless words to say

But from our inmost hearts to pray (LSB 766).

Our Father in heaven bids us to pray, and in today's Gospel lesson, His Son, our brother, teaches us how to pray, so that we may pray not with thoughtless words and unsure hearts, but with faith and confidence, believing that He will give us all that we need.

For you, O Christians, have the joyous Word and promise that God is with His people. He is with you every moment of your life, from the instant of conception until the end of your last breath, and then He continues to preserve you in glory in His eternal, heavenly kingdom. Your God is not distant or far off or caught away in the furthest heavens, far removed from you. No – your God is Immanuel, God-With-Us.

Who is Jesus?

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

We remember this day the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, missionary preachers to the Jews and Gentiles. We thank God for them. For they were men obsessed not with speculation about what Jesus would do or about how we should behave or believe. They were men inspired by God to care for nothing but the saving reality of who Jesus is. Red adorns the Altar this day not to remind us so much of the blood that they shed, but to remind us of the Blood by which they were transferred into heaven. For that Blood, shed for them and for us, by God in our Flesh, is also poured forth this day from the Chalice to cleanse your lips and inspire your confession.

On this day, we commemorate not primarily Peter and Paul, but their confession – their answer to the question “Who do you say that I am?”

Here I Am

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

Sometimes God gives object lessons – case studies, if you will, that show what He has said before in a more concrete way. If you do not understand what He has said before, He will spell it out in a way that might make sense before your eyes.

Today, one might say that that God has given a sort of case study on Isaiah. The prophet spoke the Word of the Lord to the people of Judah all those centuries ago, and sometimes the prophets can seem a bit murky. In today's Old Testament lesson, he speaks of the Lord coming to His people and finding a rabble who did not seek Him or ask for Him. He found a rebellious people doing their own thing, doing things which were detestable under the Law. His people were eating pork, making illicit sacrifices, and making their dwelling place among tombs and in the places of the dead.

“I Have Something to Say to You”

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

Jesus is no stranger to sinners. He is surrounded by them, and He knows it. In fact, He knows every sin of everyone He meets, before a person even opens his mouth. Jesus eats with sinners, touches sinners, worships with sinners, lives with sinners, and dies with sinners.

In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus eats with sinners. Not just the woman, whom tradition identifies as a prostitute, but also the Pharisee who thinks he lives a more holy life than Jesus. Sinners are all around, and Jesus deals with each sort in turn. The same treatment will not apply to both the woman and Simon the Pharisee.

The woman, whom the Church has traditionally identified as Mary Magdalene, is a sinner of the worst kind, at least in the eyes of her community. She lives in open, manifest sin. Prostitution is not something one does secretly, after all. One must attract business to ply the trade. She is a woman of ill-repute, some of which is probably deserved. She probably bears the marks of her trade – well-coiffed hair, gilded and painted face, plentiful jewelry. When she walks through town, she is a marked woman, known for what she is and scorned because of it. She might as well be wearing a scarlet letter, for as much ability as she has to live privately.

Worship and Believe

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

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And it was good. God saw all that He had made, and He called it very good. And so it was. Nothing that God creates is bad. God created all things, and without Him was nothing made that has ever existed.

All things were perfectly arranged. The sea had its course and the dry land its bounds. The night and the day, the heaven and the earth, all had their times and motions and seasons. Every tree and plant and herb brought forth fruit and seed, each according to its own kind. All the animals of the earth grew and thrived. And God created man to be the pinnacle of creation, the bearer of the image of God in the flesh. Everything was perfect, precisely according to the plan and purpose of God.

But, then, this begs the question: who is this God?