http://al.lunneberg.com Sermons and Rumenations Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:14:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 2005-2008 alunneberg@comcast.net (Allen Lunneberg) alunneberg@comcast.net (Allen Lunneberg) 1440 http://al.lunneberg.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://al.lunneberg.com 144 144 Sermons and more from my site. Allen Lunneberg Allen Lunneberg alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/01/01/blessed-in-the-name/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/01/01/blessed-in-the-name/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:03:53 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=907 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/01/01/blessed-in-the-name/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Numbers 6:22-27 Date: Circumcision and Name of Jesus + First Sunday after Christmas + New Year’s Day + 1/1/12 We tend to hear this shortest Gospel reading of the year as a mere report of events, not unlike a short announcement in the newspaper[...] Text: Numbers 6:22-27 Date: Circumcision and Name of Jesus + First Sunday after Christmas + New Year’s Day + 1/1/12 We tend to hear this shortest Gospel reading of the year as a mere report of events, not unlike a short announcement in the newspaper, “just the facts:” “at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” Period. That’s it and that takes care of that. In a similar way every Sunday are we tempted to just let the final words of the Aaronic benediction slip by us like so many required words of legal disclosure at the end of a commercial. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” Well, that’s nice. Thank you. And that takes care of that. Today our infant Savior is given a name, and we are given a name. But what takes care of what? Why all the hubbub over names? Well, the Law required, as God spoke to Abraham of old, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised…. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised” (Gen 17:9-10, 12). So Joseph and Mary brought their newborn Jewish Child to the temple to be circumcised on the eighth day since His birth. And that took care of that. But, did you ever wonder, why the eighth day? It is the eternal day, the Day of resurrection and reconciliation with God and new life, even from the beginning! That’s why we’ve gathered here today, not just because it’s New Year’s Day, not on the seventh day of the week nor even the first of another week, but on the eighth day, the eternal day, the day full of grace from God and salvation for dying souls. The Babe received the sign of the covenant of God, the covenant that pointed to the forgiveness of sins and new life in the Messiah. Yes! Here is the Messiah, and the very first blood shed by Him for us and for our salvation, for it is “the blood of Jesus [God’s] Son that cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). “And how is this child to be named?” There was no question about it. No baby name books or fussy discussion. Mary and Joseph had been commanded by God through the angel and he was called Jesus, a relatively common name of the time. “Joshua,” “Yeshua.” It means “God saves.” But this Child would be the only One who would, who could live up to His name. And that’s it. That takes care of that. That is until you are commanded to believe in this name, to be baptized in, or into this name, to confess both the sins He takes away and the faith He gives. Such faith and confession is not such an easy, automatic, undemanding, uncomplicated thing. So that doesn’t necessarily take care of that, at least that easily. Similarly with the Aaronic benediction. “Bless you,” we say to someone after they sneeze. But why? What is a blessing? And why this blessing? Well, for one thing this blessing tells who and how and why we need God’s blessing. Two years after God led His people out of the slavery of Egypt He prepared them to be His people in this world. He was making them a nation along side of the nations of the world. He gave them Laws to regulate their life together. But more than that they were to be different than the nations of the world, indeed, a light among nations, the light of the deliverance of God. And so they were also made a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that they may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light (cf. 1 Peter 2:9). For their moral and spiritual order He set apart the Levites to serve at the sanctuary of God, the priests being Aaron and his sons. Beside[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/12/25/his-holy-arm/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/12/25/his-holy-arm/#comments Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:52:36 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=904 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/12/25/his-holy-arm/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Isaiah 52:7-10 Date: Christmas Day + 12/25/11 On Christmas Day we celebrate and proclaim the doctrine, the teaching, indeed the mystery that, in Jesus of Nazareth, God became man, took on our human flesh and blood, in order to redeem, to save [...] Text: Isaiah 52:7-10 Date: Christmas Day + 12/25/11 On Christmas Day we celebrate and proclaim the doctrine, the teaching, indeed the mystery that, in Jesus of Nazareth, God became man, took on our human flesh and blood, in order to redeem, to save us from sin, death and hell. Isaiah had foretold it, even as he foretold so much about the coming Messiah. Among the prophet’s prophecies, in the fifty-second chapter he speaks of human feet and arms. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.” The feet belong to the messengers. He calls them beautiful not because of any expert treatment of a podiatrist or pedicurist but they are beautiful because of the good news the messenger brings. The feet belong to a preacher sent by God. They belong to the prophet Isaiah. They belong to apostles like Paul. Above all they belong to Jesus Himself as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews calls “Jesus, the apostle,” that is the sent one (Heb 3:1). These feet belong to all who are sent by God throughout the ages to preach the Gospel. You know the messenger is a preacher sent by God if He preaches not just about the latest tips for family peace or advice for congregational development, but preaches about Jesus according to the pure doctrine revealed in Holy Scripture. The Good News or Gospel he preaches is peace with God and salvation. He proclaims, “Your God reigns.” This is certainly good news to anyone who has begun to think, as have God’s people time and again throughout history, that God has abandoned us or that He is sleeping, angry or simply ignoring us. For by His Word of promise we have come to know that God reigns and rules for our good and not for evil. As Jesus said, “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” (John 3:17). In addition to the feet of the messenger, Isaiah speaks of the arm of the Lord. “The Lord has bared his holy arm.” His arm is an expression of God’s strength and action, taking on the enemy and freeing His people from captivity and enslavement. Applying to God human characteristics is called “anthropomorphism.” It is a way of expressing a quality about God by human analogy. God, of course, does not have feet or arms. “God is spirit” (John 4:24). But at Christmas we discover with some surprise that God so loved the world that He came in human form. Not an apparition, mind you, but real, observable, touchable, “holdable” and huggable human form. St. John reminds us that God is the Word in the beginning, before all created things and creating all things. God is life itself. And God is light as opposed to darkness. Yet, in the fullness of time, God, the Word, became flesh and dwelt among us. When He took on our human nature, our human flesh and blood of His mother Mary, yes! God now has feet and arms! In Jesus “His holy arm” was about to do what no human being could do. In Jesus His holy arms first clung to His mother Mary, feeding at her breast as any normal human child. And that clinging would turn into honor and continued care even all the way at His final moment when He handed her keeping over to the care of His beloved disciple, John. Those holy arms gathered and hugged the little children to bless them. They cast out demons and told the devil where to go. Sometimes they flailed a whip to cleanse His temple. His arms bent often or reached heavenward in prayer to His Father. They reached out to call sinners to repentance, to preach the good news of release from sin, and to teach His disciples of the good and gracious will of God. His arms gather us in fellowship every time He extends the bread of His body and the cup of His blood to us, proclaiming His death, the price of our redemption. Those holy arms, of course, would finally be extended to embrace and bless the whole world as they were nailed to a cross. Those holy arms, on the cross, were not held fast by the nails as much as by the Savior’s holy[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/12/24/god-is-with-us/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/12/24/god-is-with-us/#comments Sun, 25 Dec 2011 01:54:24 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=901 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/12/24/god-is-with-us/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Isaiah 7:10-14 Date: Christmas Eve + 11/24/11 How many tyrants in their conquests, how many nations, how many church denominations, or how many football teams or quarterbacks have been convinced that God is on their side? At least the proper c[...] Text: Isaiah 7:10-14 Date: Christmas Eve + 11/24/11 How many tyrants in their conquests, how many nations, how many church denominations, or how many football teams or quarterbacks have been convinced that God is on their side? At least the proper cheer would be “Deo Volente,” “God willing,” as St. James advises, “you do not know what tomorrow will bring,” so “you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:14-15). So I suppose to some it would seem rather presumptuous that our Savior and God Jesus Christ would be called “Immanuel,” “God is with us.” But that is not a name we came up with on our own, the product of only of our own loyalty or enthusiasm. It is the amazing, majestic name of the Savior given by God Himself through the prophet Isaiah. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,” literally, “with us God,” God is with us. This is the significance of Christmas. It was a word given to the prophet Isaiah to convey to Ahaz, the King of Judah, when “the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind” (Is 7:2). They were frightened; frightened at the prospect that Judah was surrounded. The foreign Assyria and traitorous Ephraim threatened from the north and Egypt threatened from the south. So Isaiah was sent with a word of the Lord to assure Ahaz that God had determined that it shall not stand, their defeat shall not come to pass. Ahaz didn’t believe it. So the Lord commanded him to ask for a sign to confirm God’s promise. After all, this was the mighty God of Moses talking, the One who liberated His people from their bondage in Egypt with mighty signs. When Moses feared that the people would not believe his words the Lord gave him the sign of his staff turning into a serpent and back again (Ex 4:1-5). Then there were the signs of the ten plagues to finally convince Pharaoh to let God’s people go. Through the wilderness God led His people by the signs of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. So Ahaz was told to ask for a sign from God. How often have you asked or wished for some sign from God to help you make a decision? “But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.’” Was this the answer of an unbeliever? or of one truly humble? You recall how our Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil to test God’s promised angelic protection, and Jesus answered by simply quoting the Law in Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” But Ahaz was not here being tempted by the devil, he was being commanded by God. So his refusal amounted to, at least, false humility and at most unbelief. It was the prophet Isaiah that then spoke and asked the king a question. He calls Ahaz, “O house of David,” as if to remind him of all of God’s promises now invested in him. “Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?” Clearly Isaiah was frustrated. On the one hand Ahaz was one of those who would not believe without seeing. And yet when signs were offered so that he might believe, he wouldn’t look! A person “wearies” God when you do not hear His word or believe and take Him at His word. All our worries and fears, not to mention our doubts and slowness to believe weary the God who would have us hear, believe and be saved. So the Lord, under the motto, “If you want it done right, do it yourself,” gave Ahaz a sign of His own choosing. But what a mysterious sign! “A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Most prophecies have both a short-term and a longer-range fulfillment. This one, however, is a puzzlement and went unsolved for ages. Yet it is one of the most important of the Messianic prophesies in the Old Testament. That a virgin would conceive and bear a son is, of course, the normal procedure as a chaste bride and groom would not have relations until they were married. That is still God’s will and desi[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/01/02/the-boy/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/01/02/the-boy/#comments Sun, 02 Jan 2011 18:04:55 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=691 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/01/02/the-boy/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 2:40-52 Date: Christmas II + 1/2/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI On this, the Second Sunday after Christmas, on the ninth day of Christmas, we have St. Luke’s account of Jesus the twelve-year-old boy. But it [...] Text: Luke 2:40-52 Date: Christmas II + 1/2/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI On this, the Second Sunday after Christmas, on the ninth day of Christmas, we have St. Luke’s account of Jesus the twelve-year-old boy. But it is for much more significant reasons that Luke includes this incident than merely to convey an interesting insight into the otherwise silent years of Jesus’ early days of growing from infancy to adulthood. For one thing, this account leads many to believe that Jesus’ mother, Mary, was evidently a direct source for the Evangelist in composing his Gospel.[1] Of anyone, Luke would be the most likely to research and interview if not Mary then a close relative. It is in her reminiscence of this event some twenty, thirty or so years before that Luke discovered details supporting the telling of Jesus’ mission and the Gospel of salvation. For the details point to, almost shout how this Boy is the Son of God and came to be the Suffering Servant, the promised Messiah, and that by faith in His death and resurrection salvation is brought to everyone. In reporting the account of the twelve-year-old Jesus being lost and found by Mary and Joseph, during the Passover, in the Jerusalem temple, Luke points to the divine plan of Jesus, the Son of God, come to fulfill His true Father’s will, and to be the great Passover or Paschal Lamb by whose sacrifice He takes away the sin of the world and triumphs over death for all who put their faith in Him. The situation was the annual journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. Mary and Joseph are called Jesus’ “parents.” This, of course, becomes an important issue as Mary is reminded by her Son that, as the divine Son of God, God is His true Father. It is interesting that, though only the men were required to attend the Passover in Jerusalem, and this the first year of that requirement for the young Jesus, nevertheless it seems the whole family as well as other relatives always made the journey together. The drama of the story concerns the return trip when they had walked “a day’s journey” only to discover that Jesus was missing. So the search began. In relating this, Luke hints, first of all, at the plight of all human beings who are lost—lost to God in their sins. Recall the hymn, “Amazing Grace,” “I once was lost but now am found.” All men remain spiritually lost until they find Jesus, or, more accurately, they discover that Jesus has found them! The Evangelist also carefully notes the three days of the search. This unmistakably points eyes and ears of faith to the three days and nights when Jesus was lost to the world after His crucifixion and burial. When Jesus asks Mary, “Why were you looking for me?” it parallels, then, the risen Lord’s question to Mary Magdalene on Resurrection morning, “Whom are you seeking?” (Jn. 20:15). “Mary treasured up all these things in her heart” especially after the death and resurrection of her Son, the Son of God, her Savior and ours. Therefore we see this text, the near-Christmas witness concerning the early years of our Lord, as pointing us to several important facts for faith. First: Jesus’ identity as God, the divine Son of God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity. “I must be in my Father’s house” he reminds Mary and Joseph since it appears they needed reminding. Surely they had spent a little more than a decade bringing up the young Child and maybe family life was so normal that they tended to forget (as hard that may seem to be) that Jesus is the Son and gift of God the Father to the world through the operation of the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary, Joseph serving as Jesus’ protector and step father. It is important, of course, that the world knows what believers acknowledge and confess, the Biblical truth that Jesus is the Son of God, “very God of very God, begotten, not made,” that is, eternally begotten, always having been but his relationship with God the Father as Son. He is so closel[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/12/24/a-babe-of-beauty-born-today/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/12/24/a-babe-of-beauty-born-today/#comments Sat, 25 Dec 2010 01:51:37 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=684 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/12/24/a-babe-of-beauty-born-today/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Matthew 1:21 Date: Christmas Eve + 12/24/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI On this night, this holy, silent night, we gather to celebrate the birth of love, the restoration of peace. The angels proclaimed, “Glory to[...] Text: Matthew 1:21 Date: Christmas Eve + 12/24/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI On this night, this holy, silent night, we gather to celebrate the birth of love, the restoration of peace. The angels proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth.” So tonight we gather in awe around the tender scene of a mother and a newborn infant, A Babe of Beauty Born Today. Of course, all babies are beautiful, no one more so than your own, or your own grandchild. You count toes and fingers and try to decide if he or she looks more like dad or mom. Everyone is so quiet in the newborn’s room. The child is passed around carefully, almost as if you were handling the most expensive china in your hands. A burp or other sound, an opened eye, an apparent smile are noted as monumental occasions. What a wonder! You stare and wonder, “what will become of this child?” It doesn’t matter if the birth was in a hospital or some other place. Good OB/GYN Dr. Luke tells us the infant Christ was born in a cave or stable outside a “No Vacancy” inn. Still, Mary held her newborn child with gentle firmness as Joseph stood in dutiful awe. Angels and stars and moon in the clear night sky declared—A Babe of Beauty was born today. Sure, all babies are beautiful. But you know about us humans. They say, “Beauty is only skin deep.” That’s because, as beautiful a beginning as most of us may have, along with the gift of human life is the underlying, hereditary disease called sin. Some people, as they grow older, seem to be able to fight off the effects, the ugliness, the flaw, the blemish, the imperfection better or longer than others. Rarely, however, is it due to naturally “good genes” and most of the time it is a victory only of cosmetics. But all ultimately succumb to the curse of sin. Physically there is illness, infection, disease, disfigurement, dissolution and death. But the underlying ugliness is also anger, hatred, spite, prejudice, murder and everything that separates people from one another and ultimately from God. This, really, is what is behind the phrase, “the hopes and fears of all the years” that are met tonight in the appearance of this Babe of Beauty. They are the hopes of being delivered from this body of death, and the fears that we may ever be beyond the help and deliverance even of God. Speaking to one like us yet uniquely chosen for the honor of offering our human nature to its Creator to lift and exult by Himself becoming incarnate, Mary is told “she will bear a son.” The angel told this to Joseph her husband who was already aware of the reality and predicament but was now given the revelation as to his special vocation as guardian of the Son of God. “She will bear a son.” And she did, on this night in which we celebrate amid the winter’s snow, Born for us on earth below (LSB 373), this Babe of Beauty. For His true Beauty is more than skin deep. It is clothed in skin, but it permeates His entire being, holy and sinless in the flesh by God’s own Immaculate Conception. This is why even the bloody lashes and gashes of His cruel crucifixion, his hands and side, are, nevertheless, rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified (LSB 525:3). For, these are but the crimson trophies of His victory over sin and death not for Himself alone, but for you and for the whole world. For now baptismal water cleanses us from the ugliness of sin and the threat of death because in this washing His death is counted as our death and His righteousness ours. As we eat and drink of His true body and blood in the Holy Sacrament, His beauty becomes ours also from the inside! For it is the beauty of the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Then by faith in Christ even the old and last enemy of death becomes but a Beautyrest®. A Babe of Beauty was born today. Though royalty of the great King David’s line, this one is born to rule the earth in gentle way. It is the way of the forgiveness of sins, of restorati[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/01/03/searching-for-jesus/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/01/03/searching-for-jesus/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:58:08 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=471 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/01/03/searching-for-jesus/feed/ 1 http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/12/27/the-presentation-of-our-lord/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/12/27/the-presentation-of-our-lord/#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:09:13 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=469 http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/12/27/the-presentation-of-our-lord/feed/ 0 0:00:01 in the Temple. Sermon by Saint Louis Seminarian David Herald. in the Temple. Sermon by Saint Louis Seminarian David Herald. alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/12/23/a-blue-christmas/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/12/23/a-blue-christmas/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:57:57 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=462 http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/12/23/a-blue-christmas/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Matthew 1:18-25 Date: Christmas Eve + 12/24/09 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI In recent years during Christmas time many churches have attempted to minister especially to those who are facing this otherwise joyous h[...] Text: Matthew 1:18-25 Date: Christmas Eve + 12/24/09 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI In recent years during Christmas time many churches have attempted to minister especially to those who are facing this otherwise joyous holiday after the death of a loved one or a divorce or some other life tragedy. The invention of “Blue Christmas” services seek to give people who have experienced such losses a sacred time and sacred space to meditate and to hear the Word of God in a more subdued or quiet celebration of Christmas. It is an attempt, for one thing, to play down any “forced” joyfulness so that Christmas might be less of an escape and more a solemn facing of the realities of life with the quiet, hidden joy that is, after all, the joy of faith and the peace that passes all understanding. Though I have considered designing such a service in years past it is, of course, no coincidence that this year I should be the more interested. But I must ask, has Christmas not become merely an escape from reality for most people even when they’re not facing some tragedy? How else to explain much of the sentimental and even fictional treatment with which many treat this holiday? I even think that a lot of the anti-Christmas sentiment in society is mostly a rebellion against the merely sentimental or fiction and the absence of the real, honest and truthful proclamation of Christmas, the incarnation of the Son of God. Therefore it is good, right, and salutary that we should hear the Christmas story tonight not from St. Luke with his details of angels and shepherds and glorious heavenly songs and canticles, not from St. John with his heavy theological interpretation, but from St. Matthew. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.” Just the facts and only the facts tell us what is most vital and important. There is no mention in Matthew’s record of the arduous journey imposed by the Roman government that made it necessary for Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem. There is no appearance of an angel to Mary, just to Joseph. There is no Magnificat, no rejection from an inn keeper, none of the details of manger or animals. And, you see, what is not most important are the details of the particular twists and turns of your life, the little frustrations, the recent obstructions, the recurring aggravations of daily life, or even those bigger tragedies of the unfolding story of our lives, “in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him.” Need we compare those frustrations, obstructions and aggravations with the Holy Family when Mary, “betrothed to Joseph, before they came together was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit”? That a young woman is found to be “with child” is not that unique of a situation or story, especially in our day. It is, actually, rather common. What is not common, of course, is that this pregnancy should be “from the Holy Spirit.” St. Matthew tells us this, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, right off the bat, so that we do not even begin to think, much less contemplate, the possibility of some unfaithfulness on the part of the Blessed Virgin or her husband. Joseph is called by Matthew “a just man,” meaning that what he was to consider and to decide in the face of this situation, would be pleasing and acceptable to God. “Being a just man,” Joseph was unwilling to put Mary to shame and resolved to divorce her quietly. This already seemed to violate or at least to stretch God’s very Law regarding marriage and divorce. Then, “as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘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.” Now “all this” could have been considered just a coincidence, a happenstance that just happened to call to mind something similar in the [...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/01/04/my-fathers-house/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/01/04/my-fathers-house/#comments Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:42:45 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=208 http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/01/04/my-fathers-house/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 2:40-52 Date: Christmas II + 1/4/09 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Today (this year, and whenever there is a Second Sunday after Christmas [which is a little more than about half the time]) we get to hear th[...] Text: Luke 2:40-52 Date: Christmas II + 1/4/09 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Today (this year, and whenever there is a Second Sunday after Christmas [which is a little more than about half the time]) we get to hear that rare word concerning the Lord Jesus Christ when He was just twelve years old. It is rare because between the account of His conception and birth as an infant and the beginning of His active, earthly ministry when He was about thirty years old, we know nothing more about Jesus’ life as a child or a teenager or a young man than this little account. Surely St. Luke got this and probably other information directly from the Lord’s mother, Blessed Mary, an opinion inferred by many from the inclusion of the comment how Mary “treasured up all these things in her heart” (2:51). As with the practice of the Jews to this day of celebrating the Bat and Bar Mitzvah, the coming to the age of majority of a child around the age of 12 or 13, and of western Christians with the rite of confirmation at about the same age, there was probably a similar significance with Jesus’ attendance at the temple in that particular year. At least it wasn’t until that particular year that the memorable, treasured, unusual thing happened when Jesus “stayed behind in Jerusalem,” at the Temple, thus making for the three-day “Amber alert” for the missing youngster. The greatest significance of this incident for us has to do with Jesus’ identity as the Son of God the Father and as the very presence of God in His temple. Amid the amazement and astonishment and the ensuing questions and the lack of understanding, Jesus says he must be in His Father’s house and about His Father’s business. It is that divine necessity that emphasizes the Lord’s destiny, His purpose and the goal of His ministry that encourages us in the blessed destiny that is ours by faith in Him. “As they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it.” Now, this was no great sin, of course. It is just to explain how it was that they could travel so far for so long before realizing that Jesus was not with them. Yet could this be at least a reminder for us of how we too sometimes miss Jesus because we merely assume He is somewhere around us. And it may be just as innocently and understandable. After all, how long have you been a Christian? You possibly remember Sunday school as a child. You certainly remember your catechetical instruction. Above all you know how faithful you have been in attending to the Lord’s Divine Service and how familiar the words of the liturgy and hymns have become over the years. Or maybe even attendance to the Lord’s Word and Sacrament has become a little too occasional of late. Of course, Christ is “around us” and everywhere according to His divine nature, but the question is always, where is He “for you,” and do you always realize it? Can a person become bored of the Gospel or of worship? When that happens many are quick to blame anything other than themselves and their own fallen, sinful, spiritually lazy nature. They will blame the old, outdated hymns or liturgy or the seeming unfriendliness of the congregation or even blaming the pastor. And sometimes the pastor himself can get sidetracked, too, by trying to treat the symptoms rather than the real issues. I’m reminded of the person who complained to the pastor, saying, “The liturgy just doesn’t say what I mean.” To which the wise pastor responded, “rather you must learn to mean what the liturgy says.” The Word and the sacraments in the Christian community, these are the means by which Jesus says He is present for you. Let us be attentive with the eyes and ears of faith and, above all, look for and listen to and worship Jesus who is Emmanuel, God with us and for us. I wonder why it took Mary and Joseph three days to search for and find Jesus? It has been observed that, whereas the details of His nativity connect to the detail[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2008/12/28/the-glory-that-sets-us-free/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2008/12/28/the-glory-that-sets-us-free/#comments Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:43:59 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=203 http://al.lunneberg.com/2008/12/28/the-glory-that-sets-us-free/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 2:21-40 Date: Christmas I + Holy Innocents, Martyrs + 12/28/08 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Did you get what you wanted for Christmas? According to a recent survey 60% of people receiving gifts at Christma[...] Text: Luke 2:21-40 Date: Christmas I + Holy Innocents, Martyrs + 12/28/08 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Did you get what you wanted for Christmas? According to a recent survey 60% of people receiving gifts at Christmas will tend to return or exchange at least one item they received. Most likely gifts to be returned are clothing. Least likely are gifts from children or family. But the long return lines at the stores in the days immediately following Christmas suggest people were somewhat disappointed and did not get what they wanted for Christmas. The same thing seems to apply to the Church’s annual celebration of Christmas. People, many of whom possibly rarely attend worship services at all the rest of the year, still tend to come out for the annual Christmas pageant out of at least some vague hope they may discover or remember something that seems to have been missing in life lately. There are the old familiar carols and hymns and songs of Christmas that everyone has somehow been able to memorize with only once-a-year rehearsals. Nevertheless, the crowds of Christmas churchgoers seem to quickly disappear as people fail to get or discover anything new that they may have hoped for or wanted at Christmas. Did you get what you hoped for or wanted for Christmas? Something similar could be said as we hear the history of the first Christmas. On the one hand, did you ever stop and think about all those crowds of people in Bethlehem, filling the reservations in the inn and other guest houses, how they were all completely oblivious and unaware of the momentous event happening just outside the door in a little stable? “Just some poor family that got into town too late to get a room. Oh, and she gave birth to a baby out there? Wow. Too bad.” And yet for shepherds rushing into town they saw nothing less than the Savior and Messiah of Israel. Later, wise men from the east, too, would come and be impressed and worship at the infant’s side. The difference, of course, is faith—faith informed by the Word of God giving direction and explanation. Today we hear another witness of faith. A man named Simeon who met the 40-day old infant Jesus coming to His temple, taking Him up in his arms and singing of peace and salvation, light and the glory of Israel. Throughout the Old Testament God had made His presence known, His glory, as when He led Israel out of the slavery of Egypt in the Exodus appearing to them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The glory of God was visible as it dwelt over the ark and the tabernacle and God would lead His people. In Exodus 40 Moses writes: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys (Ex. 40:34-38). At the construction of the temple in Jerusalem, God took up resident there, the cloud of the glory of the Lord filling the house of the Lord (1 Ki. 8:10-11). In the year 592 bc, however, Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord depart from the temple before it was destroyed (Ezek. 8). After the exile, the second temple was built in Jerusalem, but the glory of the Lord did not fill it because the Most Holy Place was left empty since the ark of the covenant had been lost through the Babylonian conquest. Nevertheless, God promised to fill His temple with even greater glory. He said, “Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2008/12/25/this-will-be-a-sign-for-you/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2008/12/25/this-will-be-a-sign-for-you/#comments Fri, 26 Dec 2008 02:49:24 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=198 http://al.lunneberg.com/2008/12/25/this-will-be-a-sign-for-you/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 2:7 Date: Christmas Eve + 12/24/08 It all took place so quietly, so silently, so privately, so anonymously that it’s amazing anyone noticed anything unusual happening at all, much less that this event, this lowly, humble birth would li[...] Text: Luke 2:7 Date: Christmas Eve + 12/24/08 It all took place so quietly, so silently, so privately, so anonymously that it’s amazing anyone noticed anything unusual happening at all, much less that this event, this lowly, humble birth would literally change the history of the entire world, that this night as the Church and the world mark time should be so universally observed through the centuries to this day. In fact, however, it is precisely because salvation is and can be only by way of humble faith that the mighty acts of God are so hidden under the camouflage of the normal, the every-day, the dust and the sweat, the drama and the boredom of life-as-usual. Oh there were unusual, well-known events by which we can accurately date and locate the first Christmas—Caesar Augustus, the census, the one that happened before Quirinius governed Syria. But “in, with and under” the front page events of the time, and actually quite because of them, the young maiden chosen and favored by God was caused to be brought from Nazareth to the little town of Bethlehem; for it had to be as foretold by the prophet, “But you, O Bethlehem…from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2). But when it happened, when the promised Messiah was born, it all happened so quietly, so silently, so privately. O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleepThe silent stars go by….For Christ is born of Mary….While mortals sleep….How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is giv’n! [LSB 361] So St. Luke records the event so simply, with words so matter-of-fact, “And it came to pass…the days of her giving birth were fulfilled, and she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him up with cloth bands and laid him in a manger, because there was for them no place in the inn.” Or, how did we memorize it from the King James Version for our bit part in the annual Christmas pageant? “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7 KJV). Swaddling clothes, the manger—these were the signs the shepherds were to look for to accurately identify the new born Savior, Christ the Lord, in the town of David. But these—swaddling clothes, the manger, the no vacancy in the inn—are also signs for us! Not, of course, that we cannot accurately identify the new born Savior without the signs, but that we might accurately believe his salvation. For, from the very beginning, from these little details of His humble beginnings we have also a mighty proclamation of the goal of His mission, the purpose of His incarnation. How does the Savior’s humble birth proclaim His goal, you ask? Three things are said here by St. Luke that he will repeat later at the end of his gospel account. At His birth the Christ Child is (1) wrapped in cloth strips, (2) placed to lie in a manger, because there was (3) no place for Him in the inn (Luke 2:7). And so is the detail at His death when the body of the crucified Christ is (1) wrapped in linen cloth, (2) placed to lie in a rock-hewn tomb, (3) a borrowed one (Luke 23:53). Our Lord’s earthly ministry was in His state of humiliation from beginning to end. The first century English monk called the Venerable Bede sums it up best as he wrote: It should be carefully noted that the sign given of the saviour’s birth is not a child enfolded in Tyrian purple, but one wrapped round with rough pieces of cloth; he is not to be found in an ornate golden bed, but in a manger. The meaning of this is that he did not merely take upon himself our lowly mortality, but for our sakes took upon himself the clothing of the poor. Though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9); though he was (sic) Lord of heaven, he became a poor man on earth, to teach those who lived on earth that by poverty of spirit t[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2006/12/30/o-blessed-day/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2006/12/30/o-blessed-day/#comments Sat, 30 Dec 2006 15:28:50 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=27 http://al.lunneberg.com/2006/12/30/o-blessed-day/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 2:21 Date: Circumcision and Name of Jesus + 1/1/07       There are two reasons we gather this day. The second reason, that is to say, the reason of least importance, is that it is New Year’s Day. Happy New Y[...] Text: Luke 2:21 Date: Circumcision and Name of Jesus + 1/1/07       There are two reasons we gather this day. The second reason, that is to say, the reason of least importance, is that it is New Year’s Day. Happy New Year 2007! The primary reason, of greater importance, is that it is the eighth day of the celebration of Our Lord’s human birth, the day on which he came under the knife of God’s Law and already began to shed his infant blood in the Mosaic covenant of circumcision. For our Lord took on our human flesh from his mother Mary in order that he could take away our sin by his bloody sacrifice and restore us by giving us his holiness and righteousness and deathless, resurrection life. In other words, this feast changes everything.       Even our marking of time and the changing of a digit on our calendars have any real meaning only insofar as it testifies to this Good News. The politically correct crowd of secular atheists trying to remove any references to God or religion in our society whether that be from our country’s pledge of allegiance, national holidays or even our money has even adopted the change in those two little letters on the calendar, “a.d.” The initials “a.d.” refer to the Latin phrase anno Domini or “year of the Lord.” But you will see the politically corrected initials “c.e.” here and there meaning, simply, the “common era.” Yet just the number 2007 itself marks time from the most significant birthday in the history of the world, that of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ or Messiah of God. Even if we would try to obliterate reference to Christ by adopting the Hebrew calendar, this year being 5767 “c.e.”, that number ostensibly refers to the creation of the world by the Creator of the world, to the Darwinian chagrin of secular scientists. Separated from God or ignoring God, the passing of time and even life itself becomes meaningless, pointless. The truth is, the calendar itself, and so New Year’s Day, is a testimony to the creative and saving acts of God.       We heard the words of institution of the covenant of circumcision in our first reading today from Genesis 17. Much like rainbows that, although they happen naturally, were given the added significance by God as a sign of his promise never again to destroy all flesh by means of a flood (Genesis 9:8-17), so God chose circumcision, though already practiced by other peoples of the ancient world, to be a sign of his covenant or promise to Abraham of His grace that would culminate in The Descendant of Abraham, the Messiah and Savior of the world. Circumcision was a fleshly mark of God’s covenanted mercy. Failure to bear this sign signified refusal to accept the proffered grace of God. Of course, mere outward compliance with this law wasn’t enough in itself but required also a spiritual and mindful confirmation and commitment to the God of the covenant.       Now, according to the Law of God, our short, one-verse Gospel reading for today says of the Holy Child of Mary, simply, that “at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” It was thus that the Savior began his active obedience under the Law of God in order to fulfill it perfectly and thus become the one-and-only perfect, spotless victim whose sacrifice alone could obliterate the wages of sin for the whole world. His active obedience began with the shedding of a few drops of his sacred blood in the sign of circumcision. His passive obedience ended with the spilling of his sacred blood on the cross. As the Book of Hebrews says, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” [Hebrews 9:22 (ESV)]. And so the Church sings today,       [...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no