Thursday, January 22, 2009

Seeing Jesus

In this morning’s sermon we saw how the invitation to “come and see” Jesus is connected to Jesus’ presence, where He abides. Like the summons to follow Jesus, the invitation to “come and see” Jesus is first and foremost a challenge to be with Jesus. And beloved if we would see and be with Jesus, then this Table should be the central event of our lives. For here with the eyes of faith we see Jesus, His body broken and His blood shed. And here He has promised to be with us. For as Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:16, in partaking of this bread we commune with body of Christ. And in partaking of this cup we commune with the blood of Christ. When you and I “come and see” Jesus at this Table, we come to the place where we are seen and transformed by Jesus. It’s pretty hard to commune with the body and blood of Christ and go away unchanged. Here at this Table we are, in the words of David, searched and known and tried by God. And if there is any wicked way in us, He will root that out and lead us in the way everlasting. But you see we need not fear the searching gaze of Jesus because He not only searches and knows us, but also loves us. And the Father accepts us on the basis of His body and blood. Therefore you should rejoice to “come and see” Jesus here in the bread and wine. For these are the signs of your acceptance – the memorials of Jesus’ death for you. You belong to Him and this is the way He has appointed for you unto everlasting life. So beloved, “Come and see.” Come and be seen and transformed by your Savior. He loves you and accepts you and delights to be with you.

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Come and see

In this morning’s Gospel lesson we will see how Philip, following the example of Jesus Himself, invites his friend Nathanael to “Come and see” Jesus. Philip’s hope is that in coming to see Jesus, Nathanael will be seen and transformed by Jesus. One question that this text poses for us after Jesus’ ascent into heaven is, where are people to go if they would see Jesus today? Where do you and I invite people to “Come and see” Jesus for themselves? Well, beloved, if men and women are to see Jesus today, they must seek Him where He has promised to be found. They must seek Him in His Word, Sacraments, and Prayer. And that means that this gathering on the first day of the week is the primary place where people can “come and see” Jesus because here, in the covenant renewal service, His Word, Sacraments, and prayer are central. Now this doesn’t mean that we should, like so many other churches in our day, turn the covenant renewal service into an evangelistic service. No, this is the gathering of the Triune God with His people for the purpose of renewing covenant with us. And yet in the way that God renews His covenant with us the gospel is both proclaimed and enacted. You could think of the liturgy as God evangelizing us; proclaiming and applying the gospel to us in Word and Sacrament. If, therefore, an unbeliever comes into our assembly, he has come to the place where he can both see and be seen and transformed by Jesus. This is the scenario that Paul sketches out in 1 Cor. 14 when he envisions what would happen if an unbeliever came into the worship service in Corinth. He envisions the unbeliever being seen and transformed by the Word of Christ such that “the secrets of his heart are revealed; as so falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.” And if we’re worshipping God in Spirit and truth, that is what can happen when we invite folks to “come and see” Jesus among us. Beloved, this day you have come to the place where you can not only see, but also be seen and transformed by Jesus!

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Heaven Reopened

This morning we saw how one aspect of the work of Christ involved “the reopening of heaven.” We saw how Mark connected the tearing open of the heavens with the tearing of the firmament veil in the Temple. Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the people of God are given access to the Most Holy Place in the heavenly Temple. This is perhaps the central identity and vocation that you are given by baptism. In baptism God sanctifies you, makes you holy, in other words, He makes you a priest. And under the old covenant the priests were those who could pass through the firmament veil into the Holy Place. Everybody else had to wait outside. And even then only one the priests, the High Priest, could pass through the second veil into the Most Holy Place, and that only once a year. But by the sacrificial and atoning death of Jesus, the veil is torn and heaven is reopened. This old covenant form of graded holiness is done away with and we are all constituted priests of God. That is the truth portrayed at this Table. Here, we are all brought near by the blood of Jesus to share a heavenly meal. In the covenant renewal liturgy and most fully here at this Table, heaven is reopened. Together we pass through the heavens in union with the Lord Jesus Christ and come into the presence of God. This Table is the fulfillment of your baptism. So come and feed upon the body and blood of Christ by faith. Do so knowing that His body and His blood are the means by heaven has been opened for you. And rejoice because the same God who was well pleased with His Son, is pleased with you and accepts you because of His body and blood. You belong to Him by baptism and thus He is pleased to feed you at His Table. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!

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Improving your baptism

This morning the Church celebrates the Baptism of our Lord and we have celebrated the baptism of Trevor Christian. Now whenever we witness a baptism we should take the opportunity to remember our own. Our forefathers often spoke of the duty of improving upon our baptisms. You see for the Apostles, the Fathers, and the Reformers, baptism remained a focus throughout the Christian life. For them the Christian life is really nothing more than the process of being conformed to baptism. Just as someone has described the history of Western Philosophy as a series of footnotes to Plato, you could think of the Christian life as a series of footnotes to baptism. What does it mean to improve upon your baptism? In Romans 6 Paul says that it means learning to live as those who have died and risen with Jesus. He says that your baptism into the death of Christ means that you died to sin and therefore you should no longer be its slave. And likewise he says that just as Jesus rose to new life, even so you are to walk in newness of life. And beloved that is why you are gathered here this morning. Perhaps you continue to struggle with particular sins. Perhaps there are sinful patterns in your life to which you feel bound. Well, if you are in Christ Jesus, God says differently. You are gathered here as the baptized people of God, the household attendants of the King of kings and Lord of lords, to improve upon your baptism. You are gathered here to confess and repent of your sins and be raised up to walk in newness of life. Having heeded the call to worship, turn from your sins and fix your eyes upon Jesus. You are no longer under the dominion of sin and the curse of the law. Christ has borne that in your place. You are under grace, grace that abounds more than sin and empowers you to walk in newness of life. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!

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Describing vs. Defining

This morning as we baptize Trevor Christian we should be mindful of a helpful distinction; the distinction between the descriptive and the definitive. There will be any number of physical and personality traits that will describe him. If he’s anything like his parents, he’ll probably be tall and have dark hair. I’m sure you could easily envision him having a good sense of humor and being outgoing, perhaps even outspoken! But these traits – “tall,” “dark,” “good-humored,” “outgoing” – would only describe him. They would tell us what he is like, but not who he is. Our physical or personality traits describe us, but they don’t define us. Our identity is not to be found there. But beloved what takes place here this morning will define him. For in baptism an identity will be conferred upon him. Whereas his appearance and personality will tell us what he is like, his baptism will tell us who he is. This morning Trevor Christian will be marked out as a Christian belonging to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And as a Christian he will have the calling to live and as one who has died and risen with Christ. It’s quite fitting, then, Trevor and Christina, that you will be calling him “Christian.” I exhort you to bring him up to find his identity and purpose in Christ. Bring him up to know that what describes him is to be put into the service of that which defines him. As parents it is easy to focus on our children’s gifts and abilities (what they will do) to the neglect of their character/identity (who they are). Bring him up such that every time he hears his name, he is reminded of the identity that God gives him this day. And brothers and sisters in Christ, I likewise exhort you to come alongside the Davis’ and encourage them in this calling. Never allow young Christian, or Trevor and Christina, to forget who he is in Christ. Always be reminding him that regardless of what he is like, what is most important is who he is: a Christian who belongs to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!

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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Things are not always what they appear

This morning’s Gospel lesson contains not only an epiphany, or revelation, of Jesus to the Gentiles, but also an epiphany of God’s way of working in the world. The one strand that ties the various nativity stories together is summed up by Mary in the Magnificat, “He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.” Jesus Himself summarizes this grand reversal of fortunes with His saying, “the first will be last, and the last will be first.” What we see in these reversals, and which was prominent in our Gospel lesson this morning, is the strong element of irony in the way that God advances His purposes in the earth. The epiphany of David’s Greater Son provokes fear and plotting in Jerusalem, but joy and worship from the land of the east. And beloved we see the ritual enactment of this irony in the Table spread before us this morning. The “glorious and triumphant feast of the Lord” to which you are summoned each week would appear to many a rather inglorious and unsuccessful feast. I mean this isn’t a Table of fine choice meats and aged cheeses that we would picture on the Table of a King. And the feast is a celebration of the death and seeming defeat of the King, rather than the triumphal conquest that many of the Jews expected of their promised King. But to view the Table in this way is to miss the epiphany of God’s way of working in the world through Jesus. The simple of elements of bread and wine signify the transcendent glory of the King of kings and Lord and lords. And the death that is proclaimed by these simple elements is the means by which Jesus, “disarmed principalities and powers, making a public spectacle of them, [and] triumphing over them in it.” And beloved, despite all appearances to the contrary, as you feed you upon this bread and wine Christ’s victorious kingdom is advanced in your lives and throughout the earth. Despite all appearances to the contrary, this is “the glorious and triumphant feast of the Lord.”

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Come to the Light!

We are gathered this day to celebrate the Epiphany of God’s grace to the Gentiles in the person of Jesus Christ. This Epiphany involved the manifestation, or revelation, of light in the darkness. When light comes into a dark place that which is hidden is exposed. And therefore the coming of light involves a judgment. You see this in the creation week as darkness is followed by light and thus each day is judged to be good. And you see it again as the firstborn of the new creation comes to bring the dawning of a new day following the nighttime of the old covenant. Now, the judgment that follows the dawning of this new day in Jesus Christ is determined by how mankind responds to the light. There are only two responses. You can accept the judgment of the light and be justified, or you can reject the judgment of the light and be condemned. The latter is the response of the wicked that hate the light and love the darkness because their deeds are evil. The former is the response of the righteous that come to the light and walk in the light and have their evil deeds cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Beloved, you have come to the light this morning that your deeds may be seen and judged. Beware how you respond to the light. Don’t allow your heart to be hardened so as to reject the light. Come to the light. Welcome God’s verdict upon you and forsake your unfruitful deeds of darkness. You are children of the light in Jesus Christ and thus God’s verdict upon you is always qualified by your death and resurrection with Jesus. And your death and resurrection with Jesus entails that you walk in the light, confessing your sins and endeavoring to manifest the fruit of the light in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. This is the way appointed for us to have fellowship with God and one another in name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

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