Category: Epiphany Sermons

Text: Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Date: Epiphany III + 1/22/12

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.” The first time it was a disaster. Or, was it? For the first time the word of the Lord came to him, at the command, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it,” Jonah rose but to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:1-3). Now which of the prophets of old wouldn’t respond immediately and dutifully obey the call of the Lord? Most did, albeit with various degrees of hesitation. But the Bible is no mere human work and no propaganda piece skewed to make its characters seem to have super-human strength or insight or dedication or even faith. So here we have the call of the Lord coming to one of God’s people, the great grandson of King Jehu, but he disobeys and flees from the Lord’s presence. But where, pray tell, is the Lord not present? So God followed Jonah and tracked him down, sending a great storm to intercept his getaway. Continue reading “God's Call to Repentance”

Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-10
Date: Epiphany II + 1/15/12

God called Abram out of his unbelief and idolatry to be­come the father of faith for the whole world. The Bible simply says, “the Lord said to Abram.” How the Lord spoke to Abram is not said. Interestingly, Luther wrote, “did he hear this voice from God Himself? I am convinced that he was not called directly by God without the ministry, as it is related below (Gen. 18:2) that God visited him, conversed with him, and was even the guest of Abraham; but I believe that this command was brought to him either by the patriarch Shem personally or by some others who had been sent by Shem.”8[1] Continue reading “Psalm 139 and "Speak, Lord, Your Servant Listens"”

Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-10
Date: Epiphany II + 1/15/12

God called Abram out of his unbelief and idolatry to be­come the father of faith for the whole world. The Bible simply says, “the Lord said to Abram.” How the Lord spoke to Abram is not said. Interestingly, Luther wrote, “did he hear this voice from God Himself? I am convinced that he was not called directly by God without the ministry, as it is related below (Gen. 18:2) that God visited him, conversed with him, and was even the guest of Abraham; but I believe that this command was brought to him either by the patriarch Shem personally or by some others who had been sent by Shem.”8[1] Continue reading “Psalm 139 and "Speak, Lord, Your Servant Listens"”

 

Genesis 1:1-5
Psalm 29 – setting by Allen D. Lunneberg

Text: Genesis 1:1-5
Date: The Baptism of Our Lord + Epiphany I + 1/8/12

“The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters” (Ps 29:3). Another psalm says, “When you send forth your Spirit, they are created” (Ps 104:30). Today we are called to attend to the voice, the waters, the Spirit, and creation. Continue reading “"And God Said…."”

 

Genesis 1:1-5
Psalm 29 – setting by Allen D. Lunneberg

Text: Genesis 1:1-5
Date: The Baptism of Our Lord + Epiphany I + 1/8/12

“The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters” (Ps 29:3). Another psalm says, “When you send forth your Spirit, they are created” (Ps 104:30). Today we are called to attend to the voice, the waters, the Spirit, and creation. Continue reading “"And God Said…."”

Text: Matthew 17:1-9
Date: Transfiguration + 3/6/11
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI

Today we celebrate the mystery of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Six days before this, when our Lord Jesus Christ asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am,” and “Who do you say that I am,” He was not suffering from an identity crisis or running an opinion poll to see if His marketing techniques were proving effective. He knew very well what people were saying about Him. And to this day it is so that, apart from the divine gift of faith, no one can come up with the right answer, namely, to discover and see and believe, as the apostle Peter rightly confessed, that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. The apostle Paul wrote, “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit’” (1 Cor 12:3). For it is by the Holy Spirit alone, working through the Word and sacraments, that faith is born in the heart. I always remind people not to miss the miracle, the miracle of faith in you when you say, “I believe.” Apart from faith, at best people say Jesus was a good man, an enlightened teacher, an amazing miracle worker. At worst they said and say today that He is a false teacher, even in league with the devil. It’s not enough even that we get the doctrine right on a confirmation exam, or in repeating the Creed, for even Peter, in the very next breath, at the mention of Jesus’ coming death by crucifixion—resurrection promise or not—gives the devil voice saying, “No way! This will not happen to you, Lord!” The challenge that calls forth faith is that the glorious deliverance of the world from the grip of sin, Satan and death comes only, solely and alone by way of the cross of Christ. So also Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” This is at least one reason why, six days later, “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.” Why? First, to confirm His glory as the Christ, the Son of God, and, secondly, to confirm the truth that the only way to glory, for Himself and for His disciples, is through the cross. Continue reading “The Beginning of the End”

Text: Matthew 6:24-34
Date: Epiphany VIII + 2/27/11
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI

In our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount He has been telling us who believe on Him what He is making us to be as His disciples. Quite opposite of any top-10 list of desirable traits the world would come up with He calls us “poor in spirit,” “those who mourn,” “the meek,” “those hungering and thirsting for righteousness,” “merciful,” “pure in heart,” “peacemakers,” persecuted and otherwise reviled or rejected by the world for His sake. He has ushered us through the blessed door of our new identity in Him and citizenship of heaven. Then He reveals the heart of God’s holy Law to us and with His Word creates a new heart in us, a heart cleansed and beating in rhythm with God’s will. Because we will not hear the end of the Sermon in Matthew 7 in the lectionary however, today’s selection acts as the last word we hear on this mountain as next Sunday we climb another mountain to celebrate the Transfiguration only then to descend into the blessed valley of Lent. After the challenging words of God’s Law fulfilled by and in Jesus, the last words are comforting and reassuring as He says, “do not be anxious.” Continue reading “Relax”

Text: Matthew 5:38-48
Date: Epiphany VII + 2/20/11
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI

What do you say when someone asks you, “How are you”? Do you just say, “Fine,” whether you really are fine or not? An instructor in early college days once responded to the question, “How are you,” with the words, “Perfect, Just Perfect.” That struck us as being at least a little over-the-top. So from then on (behind his back) we referred to him as “Perfect Schultz.”

In today’s Gospel Jesus concludes this section of the Sermon on the Mount saying, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” To those whom our Lord Jesus Christ has called to follow Him, to be His disciples, that is, to you who have been baptized into Christ, He has given you a brand new identity. Continue reading “Perfect. Just Perfect!”

Text: Matthew 5:21-37
Date: Epiphany VI + 2/13/11
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI

“Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them” (Mt. 5:1-2).

“The crowds” consisted of all sorts of people “from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan” (4:25). Today those “crowds” are of every land and nation throughout the world. “His disciples” were those who were following Jesus more closely, many to become His chosen apostles. Today those “disciples” would include you and me. His first major sermon or discourse, the Sermon on the Mount, is for all who would believe on Him and become His disciples. And all who would be such must enter through this door first, the Beatitudes. It is the preaching and teaching of Jesus, after all, His Word entering your ears and eyes, your mind and heart, that has the power to draw you to true repentance and faith. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” that is, those who have come to know and to admit and confess their desperate need of God. How many people, on the other hand, are there walking and driving and running around us every day today, and who are maybe sleeping in this morning or doing other things all because they don’t know, don’t admit their desperate need of God? But you are blessed. And now today we become, more than ever, the blessed who mourn over what sin has done and continues to do to us and to the whole world, as Jesus has us look more closely to the Law of God! Only those who have entered the Kingdom of heaven through this door of humble contrition and faith in Jesus are able now to hear and understand aright the rest of the sermon. Especially today Jesus illustrates what He meant when He said He did not come to abolish the Law of God but to fulfill it; that Law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, which, if you are to be salt and light in the world, you dare not relax, ignore or fail to teach. Continue reading “The Law Fulfilled”

Text: Matthew 5:13-20
Date: Epiphany V + 2/6/11
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI

Today we continue on in our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. But because not everyone is necessarily with us from the beginning, each Sunday we need to back up and reiterate how these words are only for those who have already entered the Kingdom of heaven by way of the door called the Beatitudes. That is, a person can enter the Kingdom only as God’s Word has begun to work that humble attitude of true repentance of the heart and conscience over sin and true faith that looks to God alone for salvation and life. Those who approach the kingdom through the door of the blessings of the Beatitudes become the “poor in spirit,” that is, they know and confess always their need of God’s help. They “mourn” as they continually see all around them what sin has done and is doing to the world. They know they are “meek,” powerless apart from God and are constantly hungering and thirsting for righteousness, that is, forgiveness of their sins and faith in and love for God as their only salvation. Continue reading “The New Righteousness”