John.1.37-51; Ash Wednesday; February 26, 2020;

John.1.37-51; Ash Wednesday; February 26, 2020;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marias, MN;

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”” (John 1:37–51, ESV)

(From a Sermon by Norman Nagel)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Nathanael asks a good question. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" You see, Nazareth was nowearsville.  One of my seminary professors said, "Nazareth was of one-donkey nothing of a town." Nothing good or notable had ever come from there before. It wasn't in the history books. No famous people claimed Nazareth as their home. It was in the middle of nowhere, and you can't get there from here. So, Nathanael's question stands, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

His friend Philip was from Bethsaida. He doesn't waste any time arguing with Nathanael, instead he takes him to Jesus straight away. "See for yourself!" There is nothing wrong with Nathanael's question, in fact we have it on good authority that Nathanael was a good man (the best authority indeed). When Jesus sees him, he says in him is no deceit. Nathanael had spent time studying God's word. That's what it means to be "under the fig tree". Nathanael must've spent plenty of time there reading The Book. It's possible to read the Bible and never see Jesus. It's possible to read the Bible and think it's something like "Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth". That is a manual on how to live and what to do in every situation. In other words, how to be a good person to make God happy. There wasn't a problem with Nathanael's question, there seems to be a problem with the way Nathanael thought about God. What he meant by the Nazareth question was "that's not the way God is supposed to work. Nazareth is not even mentioned in the Scriptures (for Nathanael that was our Old Testament). That's not the way God should be doing things."

Nathanael's understanding of God had to change. The God he had made for himself reading under the fig tree had to die. And the God from Nazareth had to be born. Nathanael needed a new heart created in him that could see not a God of his own making, one who couldn't do anything from Nazareth, but the one who came from Nazareth who was going to do everything, that is bring salvation in new life to him and all people.

This is the way of all people. It's even our way here at Life in Christ Lutheran Church. We have ways we think God should work. We have standards that we think God needs to meet. We need money to run the church, volunteers to fill our boards, new bodies sitting in the pews, and Sunday school classrooms full of little children. And if he can't do that, well, we just throw him out and make up our own God. One that can fulfill all our expectations. We want our God to point out the sins of other people and hold them to account, but not point to our sin is deadly, and damning. There are ways, we think, that God should work, and ways that he should not. When we place our expectations on God, we are not dealing with the living God but were working with the God that we have made and put in his place.

Jesus knew how ridiculous it is to deal with God this way. Maybe he's even poking a bit of fun at Nathanael. Maybe you think he would never do such a thing. But he shouldn't have come from Nazareth. He shouldn't have been a plain old carpenter. He shouldn't have been born in a stable, either.

Nathanael wasn't seeing what God was really supposed to be like. He read under the fig tree, but he missed the point. He wasn't seeing God while he was under the fig tree, but God was seeing him. And, the question isn't whether you believe in God, the question is whether God believes in you. The question isn't whether you accept Jesus, the question is does Jesus except you. Jesus saw Nathanael under the fig tree. Nathanael came to Jesus of Nazareth. And he doesn't just see Jesus, he sees God in Jesus. He blurts out the truth. He sees with more than just his eyes. "You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

But notice that Jesus doesn't use any of the titles afforded him by Nathanael. Instead he uses the title "the Son of Man." As St. John always wants us to see, Jesus is true God and true man together. Jesus uses the title that makes him interchangeable with all people. He walks and talks and breathes and lives on the Earth as a son of man, a person. He walks and talks and breathes and lives on earth for anyone and everyone. Jesus says later "the hour has not yet come for the Son of Man to be glorified." He is speaking of his death on the cross, being lifted up from the earth. And there too, he is interchangeable with all people. He suffers, he bleeds, and he dies. And he does so according to God's perfect will. The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, true God, is glorified and lifted up on his throne of the cross. This is indeed the greatest thing that Nathanael will ever see. If he didn't think that God could come from Nazareth, he certainly didn't think that God should die on the cross. But this is exactly what happens in Jesus Christ. With all his weight bearing down on the nails, he bears our sin, especially our sin of replacing him with our own god. And there bleeding out of his head, hands, feet, and side he is not the God we think he is, or even want him to be, but he is the God that we need. For in his life, suffering and death he brings to us the forgiveness of sins, and as Martin Luther says, "where there is forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation."

So, this evening, Ash Wednesday, you bear on your forehead a charcoal cross. It is a sign of death. What has been put to death in you is your old nature that wants to make its own God. A God that will do things the way you want them done. A God that will tell you that your sin is small. A God that will excuse your sin and the sins of those you love, and tell you you have no other way to go. That's the ashes. They remind you that you are dead to sin. But it's also a cross. And even though the cross is a deadly instrument, and it brings death to you through Jesus Christ, it also brings life. It brings life because in his death on the cross, Jesus, the Son of Man, is interchangeable with you. Your sin goes the way of death. Your sin goes the way of forgiveness. For you the cross is also life. And although it's not the way we think that God should work, thank God he does. Amen.

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

Matthew 17:1-9; The Transfiguration of Our Lord; February 23, 2020;

Matthew 17:1-9; The Transfiguration of Our Lord; February 23, 2020;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” (Mt 17:1-9, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Isn’t this nice, the bright white color here at the front of church. Rather reminds you of Easter does it not.  But, it’s not Easter.  In fact, this Wednesday is Ash Wednesday.  Ash Wednesday starts the season of the church year we call Lent.  At our Ash Wednesday service, you can receive ashes on your forehead.  Those ashes set the mood for all of the next 40 days.  When you get that little black cross, you will hear the words “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  It’s to help us to remember that because of sin, death is in our future.  That in turn reminds us how much we need a Savior.  We call that having a penitent or repentant attitude; looking at ourselves and seeing sin, then looking at Jesus and seeing Him as Savior.  Lent is a penitential season.  That is why we leave flowers out of the sanctuary, drape the altar in dark colors, and skip singing alleluias.  We might rather skip the somber tones, but it is good way to keep in mind who we are and what we really need.

Ah, but all that is a few days away, right now the altar is white, we’re singing bright songs and looking at Jesus shining as bright as the sun.  Today is the day we talk about the Transfiguration of Jesus.  It is good to be here, just as the hymn said.  It is good to be here where everything is bright and shiny, and there is not any of that dark talk about our sin and death and punishment. 

That is kind of what Peter thought, too.  He saw Jesus standing there with his cloths glowing and his face beaming like the sun.  He saw Moses and Elijah with him (how he knew it was them, we will never really know).  And even though he was frightened, it was too good to let go, he wanted it to last forever.  Let us just stay here forever, he must have thought.  It came out in the words, “Lord, it is good that we are here.  If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

And yet, it isn’t all bad to dwell here for a little while either.  Jesus did not scold Peter.  After all Peter and the other disciples saw Jesus in a way they had not seen him before.  That is, they saw the divine nature of Jesus shining out.  What I mean is, that here on the holy mountain (2 Pet 1:16-18) we see that Jesus is really and completely God.  His face shines like the sun.  It is an internal light, not a reflected light.  It is a part of who he is; not something he gets from somewhere else.  It is like the pictures of God that are painted for us in the Old Testament and Revelation.  In the OT; Daniel speaks about the “Ancient of Days” whose clothing was white as snow and the hair of his head as pure wool.  (Dan 7:9) St. John saw a similar view of God in Revelation. (Revelation 1:12-16)

We should make sure we understand Jesus as much as we can.  Jesus is not God in a human suit.  It isn’t that he is a man with God deep inside.  Jesus is God and man together, completely God and completely man.  On the mountain of Transfiguration Jesus is not pulling back his clothes like Superman to reveal a great big “S” on his chest.  What we see is Jesus as he is.  St. Paul describes him like this: 

For in [Jesus Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.  (Col 1:19-20, ESV)

For the sake of what he had come to do, Jesus did not fully reveal his whole self.  He humbled himself and chose to appear as a man, a servant, holding back the divine nature.

The 16^th Century Theologian Martin Chemnitz said it like this: 

He humbled Himself and willed, not only to bear the substance of our nature but also in it to be similar to men in the infirmities with which we are burdened because of sin (even though He could have been immune to all of them as penalties for sin; because where there is no guilt, there no punishment is required), and He was found in fashion as a man, that is, subject to the emotions, deeds, and actions of a complete human life, not exempt as someone who is beyond the lot of the others, but as any other man taken at random from among men.       Chemnitz, M., & Preus, J. A. O. (1999, c1989). Loci theologici (electronic ed.). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

If he had not done so, brave Roman soldiers would have run in terror, Pharisees would have bowed in obedience without argument, and Pilate would have never assumed authority to put him to death.

There were other times, too, when we see Jesus choosing to let his divine nature to come to light.  He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11).  He healed the deaf, blind and sick (Mark 7:31-37, Matt 20:29-34, Matt 8:14-15).  He cast out demons (Matt 9:32-33) and raised the dead to life again (Matt 9:18-19, 23-25).

Here on the mountain we see Jesus as he is; God and man together.  God in human flesh come to earth to save human beings from their sins.  And not only that but we see the ultimate end, Jesus will go to the cross and die, but that cross is victory for him, not defeat.  As Jesus stands on the mountain with Moses and Elijah, we see His resurrection. 

Now, we shouldn’t think that because Jesus is God that the cross was nothing.  Don’t forget we said that Jesus isn’t only God; he is fully and completely human.  He is God born in humble human flesh, as we celebrated a few short weeks ago.  All that affects human beings affected Jesus, because he is fully human.  As we heard a moment ago, he was subject to the emotions, deeds, and actions of a complete human life.  That includes pain, suffering, and even death.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Php 2:5-8, ESV)

That obedience isn’t just talking about doing the right thing, it’s also talking about being completely human, suffering and dying, as a human would suffer and die.  If you doubt the reality of Jesus suffering all you must do is spend some time reading the accounts of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was arrested.  It’s a far cry from the Mount of the Transfiguration:

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. (Mt 26:36-45, ESV)

It’s the same cast of characters, except Jesus is suffering and the disciples are sleeping.  Later on, on the cross for three hours, Jesus bore the pain of death (and more) and we see why it’s so important to know that Jesus is God and man.  All human beings, except Jesus, deserve God’s anger and punishment for their sin.  That’s you and me, that our sons and daughters, our grandparents and great-great-grandparents, in fact, every person who has ever live and will ever live.  That’s a lot of sin, a lot of punishment, a lot of suffering.  We deserve the suffering of hell.  But it’s the suffering and death of Jesus, true God and true man, Jesus, the Son of God, that is set in the balance against it all.  His death is enough to cover it.  His suffering is enough to cover it.  Not only did he suffer a physical death but also, he suffered the spiritual consequences of our sin.  On the cross and in his death, Jesus suffered torment of hell.  God, the Father, abandoned him to death.  Jesus suffering in our place was enough; we don’t have to suffer the punishment of hell anymore.

And that brings us right back to the Mountain where Jesus is shining like the sun.  The story of Jesus doesn’t end with suffering, death and punishment on the cross.  The transfiguration is like a little glimpse of the resurrection.  The victory of the cross is shown when life returned to Jesus body in the tomb.  It is no longer necessary for Jesus to hold back his divine nature.  From then on, he is just as he was described on the mountain; Jesus in all his glory; Jesus God and man in one person, still fully God and fully human; Jesus the one who conquered sin and death and hell.

And so, where does that leave us, as we stand here at The Mountain of the Transfiguration, with forty days of Lent, forty days of a penitential attitude ahead?  Well, depending on Jesus, I hope.  Just think, the same Jesus that stood on that mountain shining like the sun, suffered the darkness of death, and rose again to shine like the sun.  The big thing to remember is that he did it for you.  You know how difficult life is.  You know how death chases you around.  You know how your sin makes your life miserable.  You know that no matter how hard you try, nothing you do is going to change it.  That shining Jesus is the answer to it all.  His life, death and resurrection change it all for you.  Your sin is forgiven.  That means that you can set it aside and go on with your life.  Your death won’t end in hell’s punishment; it ends in a resurrection like Jesus and in life forever with him.  That’s why the dark colors and somber tones only temporarily cover up the joy that is coming at Easter.  That’s the attitude that Transfiguration sets in place for Lent.  Amen.

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

1 Corinthians 2:1-16; Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany; February 9, 2020;

1 Corinthians 2:1-16; Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany; February 9, 2020;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. ” (1 Corinthians 2:1–16, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

It is difficult for a pastor to talk about Christian maturity.  The problem, for a pastor, is this: many of you will think you are spiritually mature.  Your first thoughts on this topic are to think that you’ve obtained some spiritual level higher than your brothers and sisters in Christ.  You’ll think you’ve put away certain sins evidenced by the fact that you no longer struggle with them.  You joyfully participate in the activities of the church, give your fair share to the budget, say good things about your pastor, and pray through the whole prayer list in the bulletin.  You’ve weathered the storms of church politics, pastors with problems, and a long vacancy.  You look at the blessings of your church, life, family, work, security as proof that you’ve been blessed by God because you are spiritual, because you have stood firm, because you have run the race and won.  Obviously those who struggle to give anything to the church with joy haven’t reached that level of maturity.  Obviously those who struggle with sexual temptation haven’t reached that level of spiritual maturity.  Obviously, those who… how does the saying go? “I don’t smoke, drink or chew and I don’t date girls who do.”  If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a million times.  “Before I came to the Lord, I insert your favorite sin here, but now I don’t even have the desire to insert your favorite sin.”  It just all sounds vaguely familiar. 

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ” (Luke 18:10–11, ESV)

You see, the Pharisee thought he was spiritually mature.  He’d conquered all those sins.  The tax collector hadn’t.  Obviously, he was spiritually lacking, immature.  Maybe if he just worked a little bit harder, attended church on a more regular basis, dropped just a bit more in the collection plate, sat closer to the front of the church, worked on the youth board, maybe then God would clear all those sins out of his life. 

You see, that’s the problem with talking about spiritual maturity.  Whenever we, sinful human beings, begin to think about growing up in the faith we naturally turn to ourselves.  We look to what we must do to make it all happen.  And then we boast in our accomplishments and congratulate ourselves on our spiritual maturity.

Paul calls this the “spirit of the world.”  And it had invaded the church at Corinth.  There were divisions in the church.  Some claimed to be more mature because they followed Paul or Apollos.   Some thought that they were spiritually mature so they could do whatever they wanted (one man even married his father’s wife!).  Paul’s letter to them points out these errors in thinking.  He doesn’t go easy on them either, calling for excommunication for open unrepentant sin.  It is chilling, “Hand this one over to Satan.” (5:5) he says.  For a Christian to live according to the “spirit of the world” is a very dangerous place to be.  For a Christian to live in unrepentant sin is to be on the path to denying Jesus Christ.  Our own confessions say, But those who walk according to the flesh [Galatians 5:19–21] retain neither faith nor righteousness. ^[1]

Paul’s warning comes from a firm hand, as does my pastoral warning to you.  Beware of your sin, beware of your pride, and beware of your natural tendency to put others in their place while ignoring the log in your own eye.  There is only one thing that can be done with a sinner.  He must die.  Shall I say it even stronger?  There is only one thing that can be done with a sinner.  He must suffer hell’s punishment.  So beware of your sin, Christian.  It can only lead you to one place, eternal separation from the Holy God.

Now, dear Christian, I would be neglecting my job as your pastor, if on the heels of that strong law I would direct you to yourself as a solution.  “Try harder!”  “Do these ten biblical principal and you’ll remove temptation to sin.”  “Read your bible every day and God will make you strong enough to overcome.”  “You can be victorious if you pray everyday.”  “Of all the things Jesus talked about he talked most about money.  The bible tells you more about managing your money than anything else!”  These are actually more of the same.  These are reflections of the wisdom of the world creeping to the church.  In fact, if I preached these kinds of sermons you’d soon be nodding your head in agreement.  “Yea, that’s what I need some practical stuff to make a difference in my life.”  But that’s not Paul’s solution to the problems of spiritual immaturity in the Corinthian church.  What does he say?  

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (2:1)

In fact, this is exactly what St. Paul calls spiritual maturity.  It is seeing the foolishness of the cross of Jesus as the solution over and against the wisdom of the world.  Not our doing anything.  Not our working out our own way out of sin.  But clinging to the cross, to Jesus and Jesus Christ crucified as our solution for sin.  Spiritual maturity is here at the font, here at the altar, here in the pew when Jesus’ forgiveness from the cross is poured out on you and spoken into your ears.  The two most important words you will ever hear in this church are “for you.”  This is the Spirit of God at work against the spirit of the world. 

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. (2:12)

So what are the things freely given?  The forgiveness of sins won by Jesus on the cross, life and salvation.  For as the Catechism says, For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.^[2]

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ” (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ” (Galatians 6:14, ESV)

So there it is spiritual maturity as defined by God’s Word.  It is not my victory over sin; my improving life.  It’s not my best life now or my pursuing the purpose God give me in my heart.  It is not thinking that there is something I can do to deal with my own sin.  It is seeing that my sin is over my head.  It is seeing the absolute danger of my sin and fearing the eternal consequences of it.  It is also seeing that God has done what it necessary to remove it.  It is seeing Jesus Christ bleeding and dying on the cross as the only answer.  It is clinging, in faith, to Jesus as my savior and boasting in Jesus Christ crucified for me.  Amen.

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

---

^[1] Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions. 2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (135). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

^[2] Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions. 2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (343). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

Luke 2:29-32; The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany; February 2, 2020;

Luke 2:29-32; The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany; February 2, 2020;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

²⁹“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; ³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation ³¹that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-32 (ESV)

(From “Emmanuel, God With Us)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When my family was all at home, we were sitting in the living room enjoying a video. The wind was howling outside and the snow blowing against the window sounded like sand. Just as the credits began to roll, there was a flicker in the lights… then another, and finally the lights went out completely… and it was dark. Not just a little dark either, I mean really dark. Fortunately, the lights were only out a few minutes and they flickered back to life again. After a few other threats, they stayed on for the remainder of the night. You know, there is just something people don’t like about the dark. That’s why night-lights were invented. That’s why the hall light burns out long before the lights in the kid’s rooms. That’s why horror movies are always set at night.

But there is also something we like about the darkness. In the dark, we can’t be seen. We can be quiet and alone. And if you’ve been in the dark for a while you don’t want the light. Think about turning that bedside lamp on first thing in the morning. The alarm has dragged you from sleep, but your still warm and comfortable. Suddenly the light clicks on and you shield your eyes from its invasion. It almost hurts until you become once again accustomed.

For a long time, the whole human race was very much in darkness. People didn’t really know where they were. We didn’t know why. And many people tried to figure out the reasons, but no one found it. Some of the time we were afraid, in the dark, but sometimes we were very comfortable. Then a light did come into our darkness. It shown so brightly that none of the darkness was left at all.

Why is it that there is so much suffering in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is it that so many people wander around their whole lives wondering who they are? What am I supposed to do with my life? Why do people die, especially my close loved ones? Why do I have to die? Life is full of questions like this. Maybe we’ve come to expect them. Maybe we’ve become comfortable with them. But it seems that in a good and perfect world we would have questions like that to ask. Something’s not right, something is wrong in the world.

Well, the world is in darkness. It’s like a shadow that covers over everything. Just like all darkness it makes it hard to see what’s real. And even though we know there is something wrong we can’t see what it is. Like sitting in a darkened room, you can’t see what’s around you. During one of those strong snowstorms the power went out several times. When you’re in the parsonage at night and the power goes out, it’s very dark. There isn’t much to do, even with a flashlight. And you know what it’s like to drive the roads at dark, knowing that lurking in the darkness just outside your headlights are dear waiting to dart out in front of you. It’s dangerous driving.

God’s Word tells us about the darkness in the world. It’s called sin. Sin is a blindness that has affected all people. It ‘got dark’ when Adam and Eve decided that they wanted the ‘knowledge’ to judge good and evil on their own. They thought that that knowledge would let them see more clearly. But, it blinded them to God and His desire for their lives. They separated themselves from God by saying that they wanted to be their own judge of right and wrong. But that’s something that only God can really say, and that separation has been a real part of every human life ever since.

We sing right hymns here in the middle of our darkness. Jesus Christ has come into our dark world and He has brought true light. God has always been about bringing light. Remember God’s first words in the bible? Let there be light! Through Jesus God has spoken those words again. Let there be light! Let people see. Let them see that disease and suffering and death are not the way the world is supposed to be. Let them see that things are not right. Go, my beloved Son, and be the light that takes their darkness away.

One of the worst things about darkness it that it hides those we love from us. You know what its like to try to find someone in a crowd; and if the crowd is in a dark room its even harder. Darkness separates from people. In darkness we are alone, stumbling around looking for a friend, a mate, or just someone to talk to. Sin, the real darkness in the world, has made it much harder to find each other.

It’s because of sin that we can’t see each other clearly. We can physically see other people. But we don’t know what they are thinking. We don’t know what people really want from us. How many of you had a crush on someone when you were young? It’s called a crush because is pushes everything else out of your mind. You spend endless hours trying to find answers to your questions of: Does she feel the same? Does he really like me? But primarily the most important thing about a crush, the thing you spend the most energy on is keeping it secret. You don’t want to rush out and speak your feelings, because you don’t want to be foolish. So, you keep your secret in the dark. And really all our relationships are like that. We spend a great deal of time and effort trying to discover what people mean when they say certain things. We argue over the smallest thing because of a simple misunderstanding. Marriages end because the spouses don’t ‘understand’ each other anymore. Without God, without Jesus Christ, people are disconnected from one another, hiding alone, living in darkness.

When the light shinse in our darkness, we are not alone anymore, we can find each other again. When we are at one with God, through Jesus, He binds our hearts together as one. Jesus brings light to the troubling questions of life: Who am I? What should I be doing?

Who are we? We are God’s precious creation, loved by Him dearly. He shows us the great extent of His love by sending His only son to die and be separated from Him instead of you and me. He sends His Son into our dark world to shed light on you and show you that you are His. God made you His very own child in baptism. That’s where God snatched you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Where are we going? We are going to be in the light forever. That is the light of Christ. We are on our way to city where there will never be any darkness. And right now, you have a great purpose. You are a light in the dark world. You are a light pointing to Jesus Christ; showing people that their darkness can have an end.

It’s not always easy to see the light. Our lives are full of dark moments that we’d rather not have to live in. But God shines the light of Jesus on your life through His Word and Sacraments. Through these things, He keeps you focused on the true light of the world.

You have been placed in the light through faith in Jesus Christ. He is coming again, and when He does, all that is dark, evil, and sinful will pass away forever. And we will join with all those who have faith in Him, past, present and future, one in the light of Jesus Christ. Amen. Come Lord Jesus, Come! Amen.

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

1 Corinthians 1:18-25; The Third Sunday after the Epiphany; January 26, 2020;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:18–25, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In September the church generally celebrates The Festival of the Holy Cross. But maybe it is not exactly what you think. Way back in 326 A.D. Helena mother of Emperor Constantine went on a pilgrimage to the holy land and found what she believed to be fragments from the very cross on which our Savior hung. And while maybe it's a bit interesting, it is doubtful that what she found is what she claimed. Enough shards of the "true cross" have been found to build a whole church. And we don't venerate the cross itself, anyway. We hold the cross dear because of the one who hung upon it. Whether Helena dug out a sliver of that old piece of wood is irrelevant. Whether she even actually found the historic location of Jesus' crucifixion is irrelevant.  It's just like the account from the Old Testament. The children of Israel were saved by God giving Moses the command to hang a snake on a pole and put it up before the people. When they saw the snake on the poll, they were healed of the snakebite and didn't die. The snake and the poll were so highly regarded that later they began to be worshiped by the people. They held the thing to be greater than what God did through it. So would be our temptation to the "true cross" were it to be found in our midst. In fact, as we speak, all those slivers all over the world are given special powers for those who bow before them.

For you and me the cross has its power in the Savior. It's not the cross at all, but the blood shed on the cross. It's not the cross at all, but the life given on the cross. It's not the cross at all, it's Jesus Christ crucified. We hold the cross in high esteem. But it's not the cross at all.

St. Paul makes this very clear in this text. He begins "For the word of the cross…". The word of the cross. He's talking about the Good News of Jesus Christ. God in human flesh; born of a virgin in Bethlehem; walking the roads of Jerusalem; Preaching and teaching and healing; Eating and laughing and crying; Living and dying... on the cross. His life lived in perfect relationship to God the Father. His life lived in perfect relationship to the people around him. The sinless son of God in human flesh. Who willingly offered his life on the cross for the sin debt of the whole world. He suffered the complete punishment of hell for all people. This is the word of the cross.

The word of the cross is foolishness… It doesn't make sense for those who don't see their lives considering God's law. It doesn't make sense for those who don't want there to be a God to whom they are accountable. It doesn't make sense for people who believe that they can please God by offering him their good works. After all that's the way the world works. We do good things, we work hard, we take care of our families, we develop friendships and help other people, and we generally receive rewards. So, in our natural way of thinking, God must work the same way.

The problem is there's nothing we have that God needs. And the deeper problem is there's nothing we do for God that we ultimately don't really do for ourselves. I do things to please God to make God like me. I do good things for other people, while God looks on, so that he will think better of me. I think that I am basically a good person. At least I'm better than you. So what need is there for God to send anyone to die for me. I think that if I set out a scale and put all the good things I do on one side and all the bad things I do on the other, the scale will tip in favor of the good. And God should consider that. He should look at me and say, "he's more good than bad." And even more importantly, I think if you line up all the people of the world from bad to good, I would be lined up more on the good end of the line than on the bad. So, I think, you may need the cross, but not me. It is a self-centered delusion.  For a perfect and holy God nothing short of perfection can be in his presence. Jesus was asked about keeping the law, he answered:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”” (Matthew 22:37b–40, ESV)

And loving God with our "all" and loving our neighbors just as we love ourselves is not within us. There's no line from good to bad. There's no scale where good things I do are weighed against the bad. The determining factor is loving God with "all" we have and loving our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. And our lives are filled with the breaking of these commandments. Our lives are filled with self-centeredness. What we do is put ourselves is the object of our own worship. Even though we try to think of other people, the truth is we make ourselves the center of the universe. We make ourselves, god. And while this is certainly a rejection of the commandments, more importantly it's a rejection of the commandment giver. When we reject God there is nothing left for us but his anger in punishment. Eternal separation, hell is the destination for those who do not keep God's perfect commandments perfectly. That's me. That's you.

Enter… The Holy Cross. The foolishness of The Holy Cross. This is the foolishness that we preach. We preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. We preach that on the cross Jesus is eternally separated from God the Father. We preach that on the cross Jesus suffered hell's punishment. We preach that the sins of the whole world were laid on Jesus on the cross. We preach that the death he died is the death we deserve. To a world that is perishing, it is moronic, foolishness, unnecessary. But for those who see their sin it is the power of God. The power is in faith that Jesus on the cross forgives sin. The power is taking sin to the foot of the cross where Jesus' blood is shed for it. The power is faith that my sin, your sin, is forgiven at the Holy Cross. Faith has its power in two simple words: for you. The Holy Cross is Jesus Christ for you.

We are gathered here today with right before our Strategic Planning Seminar. Together we will look at what God has given us and the possibility of embarking together on a mission. That mission is to serve the world, our country, our state and our community with the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is appropriate that we begin together this journey of mission with the contemplation of the Holy Cross. The Holy Cross, were our Savior bled and died for the forgiveness of our sin, is the whole point. For Christians there is no image more powerful than Jesus Christ dying on the cross. It is the heart and center of all we believe, teach, and confess. It encompasses our faith. It's what binds two Christians together as the body of Christ. It's what binds together into a congregation, with one single purpose, to preach Jesus Christ crucified. Jesus himself said "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show us his death on the cross. It is the center point of history. There's nothing more important to proclaim. God has been proclaiming it through faithful preaching here for years. And now it’s maybe time to take a fresh look at our congregation and see what God is calling us to do. Amen.

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

John 1:43-51; The Second Sunday after Epiphany; January 19, 2020;

John 1:43-51; The Second Sunday after Epiphany; January 19, 2020;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”” (John 1:43–51, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Nathanael speaks correctly. “Rabbi, you are the Son of God!” But Jesus wants him to get the big picture. “You will see greater things than these. In fact, you’ll see heaven opened and the angels of God going up and coming down on me.” Jesus isn’t making up new stuff. He’s referring to a dream that was dreamed centuries before. And the disciples knew it well. They were told the story by their parents. They heard it read in the synagogue. It was an important story about their ancestor Jacob.

Jacob stole his brother’s inheritance. He tricked his blind father into thinking that he was his hairy brother Esau by slaughtering a goat and covering himself with it. When their father died, Esau was out for vengeance. Jacob had to flee for his life. While he was running, he stopped to sleep on a mountain. While he slept shivering on a stone for a pillow, God gave him a dream. He promised the land he was on to his family. He promised that his family would be as “many as the dust of the earth”. God had not forsaken him, he would always be with him. In the dream there was a ladder going from the place where he was lying to heaven. And the angels were going up and down. Jacob called the place Bethel, meaning “the House of God”. The temple in Jerusalem was built on that very spot.

Now the disciples knew well what happened at the temple. God came to be with his people. Heaven and earth were joined together. Sacrifices were made to God for the sins of the people. Lambs were slaughtered and the blood was sprinkled on them. Prayers were offered to God. It was an amazing place. The link / ladder for God’s people to be connected to God by his very presence.  

Jesus pulls it all together and makes it about himself. He says his disciples would see heaven opened and the angels going up and down on him. Jesus is claiming to be the link to heaven, the way that people have a connection with God. He’s saying the old dream the disciples grew up with was about him. Nathanael makes a wonderful confession about Jesus. “…you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” It’s correct, but I don’t think he has any idea of what it really means or what Jesus must do to be Jacob’s ladder.

The disciples did see greater things than Jesus miracle of seeing Nathanael under the fig tree. They saw Jesus turn water into wine. They saw Jesus healing a paraplegic. They saw Jesus feed 5000 men with a boy’s lunch, healing a man born blind, and raising Lazarus from the dead. All were greater than seeing Nathanael under the fig tree. And while Jesus may have been talking about these things he was more talking about the one greater / greatest thing he would do. The thing that he, the Son of God, God-in-human-flesh, had come to do. The place where heaven was opened and the ladder between God and man set up, Jacob’s dream fulfilled.

It was right after the Wedding of Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine, that he turned the tables in the temple and chased out the money men. “This is a house of prayer!” he shouted. “This is the place to come to meet God, not a place to buy and sell!” The Jews asked Jesus what right he had to do such things. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He wasn’t talking about the physical building, he was talking about himself. Jesus replaces the temple. Everything that it was for people, Jesus is. Heaven and earth are joined together. Jesus is God and man joined together in one person. God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and made man. He is the sacrifice made to God for the sins of the people. Suspended between heaven and earth, bound to the cross. Held there not with the nails that pinned his hands and feet but with the purpose he had come to accomplish. He is the Lamb of God slaughtered and the blood poured out for the people. He is the one who prays (still) for his people, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus is the greater thing that brings forgiveness, God sacrificing himself in the place of sinful humans, to satisfy the forever punishment due for sin. Jesus is the amazing place where God and man, heaven and earth, meet.  

It is what St. Paul means when he says in Colossians:

[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:15–20, ESV)

And it is still true. Jesus ascended into heaven to be at God the Father’s right hand, and yet he is not gone. He is still very present in this house of prayer. Jesus is after all God’s Word made flesh come to dwell among us. Here he does it. Jesus off the page written through the Holy Spirit and into your ears to tell you the Good News of your restored relationship to God through forgiveness. Jesus in the water of Holy Baptism, connecting himself, in his death and resurrection, to you. He promises resurrection there, rescue from hell there, forgiveness there. Jesus present in the body and blood that hung suspended between heaven and earth. The body and blood that poured out on the earth and into your mouth, bringing you a connection directly to God through forgiveness.

Jesus tells the disciples and Nathanael that they will see greater things. They do. He tells them

And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.” (John 12:45, ESV)

In Jesus we see God who comes in grace and forgiveness. God who comes to earth to restore our connection to him. God who goes up and down on Jacob’s ladder, from heaven to earth and back again. Making the climb for us. He says it clearly to Nicodemus.

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:13–18, ESV)

Amen.

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

Matthew 2:1; The Epiphany of Our Lord (observed); January 5, 2020;

Matthew 2:1; The Epiphany of Our Lord (observed); January 5, 2020;

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came…” (Matthew 2:1, ESV)

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Everything seemed normal in the little stable when the baby was born.  His mother had all the normal birth pangs; his father paced and worried that everything would be all right.  The animals around watched in eager expectation.  The birth of a baby is always as special occasion.  When he was born, he was quickly examined to see that everything was perfect.  At first glance, it all seemed to be, but when he staggered to his feet and began to walk that’s when everybody realized something was different.  They weren’t surprised that he could walk, all reindeer walk moments after they are born, what was surprising was his nose.  It was unexplainable; there on the end of his face, where the hair gives way to the soft skin of his nose, was a light.  It was perfectly formed.  I know that many of you are imagining this light as a bulb screwed into a socket right there where his nose should be, but it wasn’t like that at all.  There between his nostrils, on the flat part of the reindeer’s nose, the skin was, well… transparent.  It was a little like a car’s headlight.  The flat surface of his nose was the lens, underneath, was unexplainable light source, and behind that a very smooth and very shiny surface.  It cast a bright red beam that was brighter than any halogen light that is driving down the highway today.  It was so bright that everywhere the little deer looked heads turned away to protect their eyes.  The animals fled the stable, even though there was a freezing blizzard outside; at least they understood the wind and the snow.  His mother screamed and fainted.  His father broke down and wept. 

You know how the story goes,

“all the other reindeer use to laugh and call him names.

They never let poor Rudolf, join in any reindeer games.” 

He was excluded, different, not part of normal reindeer life.  We can relate to Rudolf.  Remember on the playground?  Lining up to be picked to play a game of ball.  “I’ll take Joe.”  “I’ll take Peggy.”  “I’ll take Dan.”  On and on it goes until everyone is picked, except one.  Neither captain wants to pick him, because well frankly he can’t play.   He is uncoordinated and slow.  Finally, they try strike a deal.  “You take him.” One captain says to the other.  “Ok.”  He agrees, “but you have to give me Dan and Peggy, too.” 

It is a part of human existence to exclude certain groups of people from the ‘normal’.  Our own country’s history is a dark example of racial hatred and exclusion.  Our bloodiest conflict ever was fought, in the shadow of the African American slavery.  Even with slavery abolished, the scares will likely never heal.  Talk to Chinese immigrants in San Francisco, or Polish settlers in Nebraska, their stories are the same.  They were excluded.

I’d like to tell you about Willy.  He was 8 and afraid to go to school because of the protestors.  Whenever he did go, they would stand outside yelling obscenities, and racial slurs.  He didn’t understand why people hated him so much just because of his race.  He had heard of several schools like his had been burned, and the teachers beaten, and that men dressed in white sheets were terrorizing his relatives in town.  Sometimes he was angry with his parents.  “Why did they have to be so different?”  He wondered.  “Why couldn’t they be like other people?  Why did they have to be so . . . German?”  That, of course, was a picture of history in this country during the First World War, when racial prejudice was expressed against Germans, and German Lutherans in particular.  It was at the height of anti-German sentiment that nearly closed parochial schools around the country.  No racial group is immune from exclusion.

God hates racism.  There is no question about this.  Hatred and exclusion based upon a person’s race is outside of God’s desire for this world.  He created man most of all with a capacity for relationships.  First and most important, he created him for a relationship with God, Himself.  Second, he created him for relationships to other people.   Our relationship to God is expressed in Luther’s explanation of the First Commandment… to fear, love and trust God above all things, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves.  When Adam watched Eve pick the fruit, he had decided that they knew better about what was good than God.  He pushed himself away from God, ripping the loving, trusting relationship that was between them.  In an instant destroyed the nature of relationships forever.  Without a proper relationship to God, a proper relationship to others is impossible.  That destruction is the nature of sin, and its power over us.

Over time humans have gotten pretty good at relationship breaking.  Cain killed Able.  Jacob deceived Esau.  Hitler gassed Jews.  Southern Whites beat Blacks.  Every generation is the same, and worse. 

But, before we begin to think that we are immune here isolated on the North Shore, because we live in a ‘protected,’ ‘secluded’ community, we might want to think again. We may not be guilty of gross prejudice, but we are guilty.   No, I’m not saying we are responsible for our ancestor’s wrongs.  We didn’t invoke slavery.  We have enough guilt of our own.  Scan your memory for your thoughts, or words.  Do you look at certain folks who you see around here in the summer and say to yourself you’re glad they don’t live here?  Have you heard or said things like ‘He’s a pretty good worker for a colored person?’  When have you told off color jokes about Jews or homosexuals, and passed them off as nothing?  When was the last time you heard of a racial slur causing pain and separation?  Most times though we here aren’t guilty of racial exclusion, but rather it comes in the form of economic exclusion.  We want the “better” people to be members of the church.  We’d pay much more attention to the doctor visiting the church than the unemployed person.  After all, with all our tight budget…  Well, you understand.  It happens, and it happens right here.

As much as God hates separation, he loves separated people.  The Bible is a love story about how God reaches out with loving, protecting arms to restore his relationship to the world.  His love reaches beyond political, ethnic and economic boarders.  He reaches out to people of all nations and races and classes.  It isn’t that God is colorblind.  He loves people, in all their varying shapes and colors, all their walks of life, both rich and poor, black and white, and even sexual orientation. Please note: I’m not saying God ignores sin.  He just loves them so much that, once in time, he sent his son to be born in a quiet and dark stable.  He became an ethnic human being.  Jesus Christ our Savior was a Jew.

Our text tells us of visitors to the infant Jesus.  They were outsiders, Gentiles. Despised by the Jews.  They were the butt of jokes told in the daily marketplace.  Contact with them caused you to be unclean.  “What are they doing here?” was asked of them.  But they came and gave expensive gifts to the Christ child.  Matthew goes to great lengths in his Gospel, with this account and many others; to assure us that God’s love in Christ is for all people, even the despised and outcast.  He tells us how Jesus love poured out on even the unwanted, hated separated people around him.  He healed them, forgave them and comforted them.  Finally, he was raised up on a cross, spread out his loving arms to the entire world, every race, every color, every nation, and he died for them all.  This great act of love evaporated the separation between man and God.  Through faith in his un-separating work, human beings can once again be in a relationship with God.  They can trust him and love him.  He changes them from sinners to saints. They can look to him in times of pain and times of joy.  He can heal their broken relationships with others. He can cure them of their sin.

God’s work of healing is a work of healing for you and me.  We are gathered here as a community of believers.  We are one because of our Baptism into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  We confess faith, given to us in Holy Baptism, to end our separation from God.  We believe in this work for all people.  It is only through this faith that we can begin to tear down the walls of separation that exist.  Through this faith, God will enable us to heal the brokenness caused by our own prejudice.  That is what the church is all about.  It is the place God has chosen to build relationships to people of all classes and ethnic groups.  It is the place God has chosen to speak His word of forgiveness, and give it through Word, Water and Bread and Wine.  We live in that Word every day.  Everyday we can do God’s work in the community, tearing down the walls of hostility between races and social classes.  We can do it, not because we are sin-free, but because we are sinners, forgiven and set free from our sin.  If you want this church to be all that God wants it to be, look for opportunities to connect to those people that are usually told they don’t belong; look for ways to include the outcast people into our church, and our community; look for ways of sharing the forgiveness God has given you here in this building.

So many years ago, ‘outsiders’, Gentiles, went to visit the Christ child.  They weren’t Jews.  They traveled a great distance to be there.  They traveled into a foreign land that didn’t welcome them.  When they found him, they stood in wonder, then they bowed down in worship.  There before them was a Savior, not just a Savior for the Jews, but also a Savior for all people.  He was a Savior for ‘outsiders’ and Gentiles like them.  He is a Savior for ‘outsiders’ and Gentiles like us.  God had led them there to show us that his love and forgiveness crosses ethnic boundaries, race, and nation.  He wanted us to see ‘The World’ worshipping Jesus.  ‘The World’, with all its ethnic variety, needs this Savior.  It needs him to restore its divisions, its ethnic hatred… its sin.  That’s why he came to this world.  He came to gather the ‘outsiders’ to himself.  You see, as wonderful as the Christmas story is, the real joy for us is that … “Magi came from the East.”  Because, their visit shows us that we too are included in God’s grace.  Their visit shows us that God’s saving act through Jesus Christ was for Gentiles like them and like us.

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