A Little Light

“You are the light of the world." -Matthew 5:14a

In many and various ways the Holy Spirit points Christ Jesus to you, and you to Christ Jesus, for Christ Jesus, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit are the One, true God, apart from Whom there is no other, and Who in these last days still shines for you as a light shining in the darkness.

A light shining in the darkness. That is how the Holy Spirit testifies of Christ Jesus through the prophets and apostles, and through your pastors today and now. This is what “Epiphany” means, namely the revelation of Christ Jesus unto the world, attested to you by the Father and the Holy Spirit as the only Son from heaven, come to save you and all people from sin, from death, and from the power of the devil.

In the Holy Gospel according to St. John, the text concerning the wedding at Cana, where Jesus blesses the wedding with abundant wine when the wine had run out, this text is used on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany both in the Three-Year Lectionary and in the One Year Lectionary.

It is a beautiful showing forth of Christ Jesus your LORD who has come to bless you with the abundance of His mercy, which flows forth like the finest of wines and in great abundance.

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, appointed for this day, is no different, for what can be more revealing, what can be more life-giving, what can be more public, what can be more abundant in showing forth the only begotten Son of God than for Him, upon seeing the crowds who were at this point following Him - to go up on the mountain upon, sit down, have His disciples come to Him, and then open His mouth and began to teach them?

He is the Only-begotten Son, with Whom God the Father is well pleased. Listen to Him, for He teaches not as the Scribes and the Pharisees, but with authority, for He is God in human flesh, come to serve and to lay down his life.

This He does not do without words. This He does do, together with the words of eternal life, so that you also may hear Him this day and be both saved and comforted in this perverse generation.

Today’s Gospel begins with the tenth saying in what the Church has called “The Sermon on the Mount.” You see, the Epiphany of your Lord happens from Above and comes down to you, as a light for you, a light that shines into your hearing.

So He is literally above the people on this mountain, as it should be. As the law was given to Moses from atop Mt. Sinai, the Gospel this day is given to you first from the mountain in Galilee where these words were first spoken, and then delivered to you from this pulpit, which also, as you can see, is elevated above your pew.

Speaking of elevation, the traditional mountain ascribed to where Jesus speaks these words is on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, between Capernaum and the archeological site of Gennesaret, on the southern slopes of the Korazim Plateau. Its negative altitude (around 80 feet below sea level) makes it one of the lowest summits of the world. Think of that. A mountain top that is below sea level!

And that makes sense, for the Son of Man came down to seek and to save that which is lost, to shine forth in word and in deed as the one and only perfect sacrifice for the sin of the world, your sin and mine, and to accompany His word for you with words of speech and teaching. More than that, with water, bread, and wine.

He comes down low into the earth not to exalt Himself, but to make payment for your sin and exalt you, to raise you up from your death of sin and trespass, to plant you in his vineyard as you are grafted into Him, to set you free from bondage, to cover your nakedness, to be your rear guard, and to keep you together with Himself in the one true Church until the Last Day.

And what does He say to you this day, this Holy Son of God who is Your Epiphany?

He says, “You are the salt of the earth.” These words of Christ Jesus will remain the focus of our attention until such time as we enter into the prayers of the Church this day.

“You are the salt of the earth.” What does he mean by this? To whom is he speaking? Does he mean this as a kind of compliment? Is he speaking to you as an individual, or is he giving this attribution to a whole bunch of people at once? What does it mean to be the salt of the earth?

Without question, these words apply to all who hear His voice and who follow Him. He is speaking to His disciples, of which there are twelve. He is also speaking to the crowd which by definition is comprised of many people.

By virtue of His Gospel going out into all the earth, He this day and hour is speaking to you as a congregation. He is speaking to you as an individual, and yet you cannot and do not live as an island or as a hermit, so that, whether you know and believe it or not, who you are as an individual is always intertwined with other people of your flesh and your blood.

Moreover, it is plain from the original language, which is able, unlike the English language, so spell out plainly whether “you” means “you” as a single individual, or “you” as in “y’all.” I suppose a good Texas translation would be “Y’all are the salt of the earth.”

And this, dear Christians, is an Epiphany in its own right, for if Christ Jesus had not spoken this and you not heard it, you would be floundering in confusion, thinking yourself to be your own person, dependent upon no one other than yourself, and defined as the devil, the world, and your own flesh would define you.

These words are not spoken as a compliment – you are the salt of the earth. They are spoken by the only Son from heaven who defines you through His baptism of water and speech.

Yes. As it stands, you are defined by Christ Jesus, into Whom you have been baptized, and who declares you first of all to be His own Child, having brought you into the flesh of His death and resurrection, and Who also declares you to be the salt of the earth, which chief attribute and purpose is that of . . . preservation.

True, we commonly know salt as a spice for food and a threat to physical well-being when ingested in excess, but in this case your dear LORD is telling you, y’all both corporately and individually, that you are a preservative in the world.

How can this be? It can be, and is, because God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in your hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

It is you, dear Christians, who tread upon this earth in the sure and certain knowledge, revealed and given to you not in superiority of speech or of wisdom, who are determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

It is you who tread upon this earth, wherever you are given among men, in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, whose messages and deeds are not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power as you are raised up in the heavenly places in and through Christ Jesus, so that your faith does not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

It is also you, dear Christians, who tread upon this earth, who speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but you speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood.

This altogether makes you the world’s preservative, not so that you can serve your whims and wishes, but so that God, through you and for you, withholds the judgment of wrath which is well deserved on account of the world’s sin and transgression, and instead acts in abundant mercy through His only begotten Son, given into death for the sin of the world, and raised up from the dead for your justification, allowing you to cry out to God and to be heard through this Christ Jesus alone, Who is your advocate before the Father.

This saltiness is yours because God in His mercy and by His Holy Spirit preaches to you, sanctifies you, and edifies you. He continually makes known to you that He is your only true God, your only Help in time of trouble, your only deliverance from sin and death.

This saltiness is yours because He has taken your heart of stone and replaced with a heart of flesh, the heart of Christ, Who was, and is, perfectly obedient unto the commands of God, seeking Him with His whole heart, not straying from His commandments. He guides you in the way of these commandments, and that makes you, y’all, the salt of the earth.

“But if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

Should you despise and neglect the Word of the LORD, then the saltiness will be lost. For there is no preservation or life apart from Christ Jesus Who comes to you only through His Word. There is no good purpose in being trampled underfoot, for what is trampled underfoot is worthless, like chewed up, spit out gum on a Disneyland manhole cover.

So listen. He Who speaks to you from this low mountain is also He Who was uplifted on the cross. This lifting up is for all to see and to know. With a soul exceedingly sorrowful, even to the point of death, He is preserved so that you, believing and being baptized into Him may also be preserved, and be a preserver in the midst of this world for a time subject to futility, but at the last made anew.

Your LORD Jesus has sacrificed Himself for the sin of the world, and in bringing you into His body, He seasons the world with you – yes you, as you are - and with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, so that you live here as life giving members of His body, in love and service to your neighbor and in thanksgiving for all things given you from Above, from the light of the World.

It is He who will preserve you, body and soul, unto life everlasting. It is He who feeds you with His body and blood in this place to that very and. It is He Who will shine forth in you and before men, that they may see your good works, your preserving works, and glorify your Father in heaven.

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The Right Message

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! -John 1:29

In many and various ways the world speaks to you by false prophets and false teachings. They say:

Follow your muse.
Take a step today to make your dream into a reality.
You owe it to yourself to become everything you've ever dreamed of being.
Just be yourself.
Feed your wild side.
Just do it.
You are a rugged individual who can take care of yourself.

Those are just a few of hundreds, if not thousands of examples where seemingly sound advice is given. Pick your advertising slogan.

On the surface of things, these sayings are as delightful and innocuous as could be. Who could possibly disagree? Who could possibly find fault? Who would be so negative as to criticize and pick apart these words that only encourage the joy and happiness you owe to yourself and the world owes to you?

Well, recall the kind words St. Peter has for Jesus upon hearing Jesus SAY that it is necessary for him, Jesus, to suffer and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. Peter says, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You,” which in this case is another way of saying . . .

Follow your muse.
Take a step today to make your dream into a reality.
You owe it to yourself to become everything you've ever dreamed of being.
Just be yourself.
Feed your wild side.
Just do it.
You are a rugged individual who can take care of yourself.

To these worldly words of wisdom your natural flesh yields a hearty, “Amen!”

Yet what does Jesus say to St. Peter, who only a short time ago confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God? Jesus says to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan.”

That ought to be a sober reminder that your own thoughts and words, even when they sound their best to every ear around, may not be in accord with the holy will and purpose of your Father in heaven.

“Follow your muse.” We’ll just pick on that one for now. This is a way of directing you to follow your creative self, as it were, and you are certainly creative by nature. You are made in the image of God, Who is a creator.

But there are problems: There are limits to what you are able to create. You cannot create all things out of nothing and sustain them, as has your Father in heaven.

Moreover, your nature is now fallen and corrupt, so that the things you follow for yourself and create for yourself have a driving desire to take you away from your Father in heaven and plunge you into your own world which can, and would, only end in grief, despair, and damnation. And make no mistake about it, your muse is still at work and will be at work until that day when you depart this life.

The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world does not bid you to follow your muse. He bids you to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him, and Him alone.

Do not let the word “cross” pass through your ears lightly and without further thought. The cross is forever identified with the most ignominious, shameful punishment, deserving only of the worst criminals. Not only that, the Cross also mark you as a discipline, and a disciple does not accept all that the world has to offer.

And so it is.

For you, O house of Israel, O saints of God who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus in this sanctuary here and now, for you the LORD God has made My mouth like a sharp sword, for I am given to you to speak the things The Holy Lamb of God speaks.

In the shadow of His hand He has concealed this Lamb of God who suffers upon the cross for you, and yet even the islands and peoples from afar will hear of His name and His deeds from of old.

Like a select arrow, like the perfect bullet, the LORD God has placed your sin, transgression, and rightful death upon Christ Jesus. Not just some of it, but all of it. Not just what you have done, but who you are by nature.

Today He baptizes you, He washes you, with the Word concerning His innocent suffering and death and his resurrection from death so that you do NOT follow your own muse and dreams and what you think to be your just desserts, but instead look to Him, behold him, behold the Lamb of God at all times and in all places for everything good both in this life and in the life to come.

Twice John the Baptist says of Christ Jesus, “I did not recognize him.” “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’”

If the last and greatest of the prophets did not recognize Him, what makes you think you will? You won’t. You cannot. It is not in you. Your muse is taking you in the other direction.

Your muse is all about you. Your life. Your plans. Your notions, ideas. The flotsam of all the world has taught you and your flesh what to accept as true and real.

Therefore you must hear from him who says, “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God,” and you must be baptized, washed, buried, clothed, and sanctified by and in Someone other than yourself.

The baptism of Christ is not yours to generate, conjure up, bring into being and distribute. No. He Who is from the beginning, whom you could not and would not recognize, has created you anew not out of your devices, but out of His from everlasting mercies.

The Lamb of God, Who is spoken to you, is the One Who baptizes you and joins you to Himself. He is the select arrow, hidden in the quiver of God, the one man of flesh given among men upon whom the sin of the world has fallen once for all.

No, John did not recognize him. He had to be told from the outside. He had to be instructed, just as you who once were dead in trespasses and sin. He had to hear, just as you must hear, and in hearing you are brought from death to life.

For just as God through Christ brought the heavens and the earth into being by speech, and still sustains them, He also brought you into being and moreover brought you into His kingdom through the washing of fire and sword that is His Gospel of the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life to be found and bestowed in and through Christ Jesus alone.

Twice John says He did not recognize him. Likewise twice John says, “Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.” O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.”

How many times are you going to say those words? How many times are you going to sing them together with your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, you and old, rich and poor?

I’ll tell you this: You are going to sing them today, just as you have sung them each time the body and blood of Christ are shown before your eyes in the Divine Service, where His baptizing Word of fire is spoken aloud in His presence to deliver you from your own muse and from the passions and messages the devil, the world, and your own flesh would substitute for what is true and real.

What is true and real is the substitutionary atonement of the Lamb of God, for He was at one with your sin as He was crucified, and you are now at one with Him since He has washed you with water and word.

You see, to baptize is simply to wash and to soak and to cleanse and to wipe away all the filth that clings. This your Christ Jesus does by the word of His mouth, spoken to you this day, and delivered with the gift of His holy body and blood into your mortal body so that you may be blessed and preserved both now and unto eternity.

The same testimony concerning Christ that was given to St. John has also been confirmed in you. Confirmed because you are baptized into His name. Confirmed because you are here in the presence of Him and His Word as it is preached in your hearing. Confirmed because He delivers to you this day from this altar the fruits of his innocent sufferings and death and resurrection from the dead because he purposed from all eternity by His Holy Spirit to call you, to speak to you, and to point you to Christ, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.

So when the world comes along with its many and various ways of speaking its wisdom, do not fall for it. Test it. Question it. If it draws you away from Christ Jesus in any way, then reject it. Cast it aside. Move ahead in grace while awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is He, and He alone, who out of the everlasting mercies of God, will wash you with His Word and preserve you in the midst of this world full of false hopes, false teachings, false prophets, and your own, ruinous thoughts and deeds.

To Him be the glory, forever and ever.

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The Holy Innocents

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. -Matthew 2:16

You have been called and placed as a holy priesthood. You belong to the kingdom and household of God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth. This is because Christ Jesus has taken up your flesh and joined Himself to you, for that is what it means to be baptized. That is what it means to be a disciple.

As a disciple you are not called to whittle away your time in isolation and to serve yourself. Instead you are cast out into the world while holding the holy estates God has placed you into. That of citizen, husband, wife, parent, child, employee, employer, youth, widow, and so forth.

Your Father in heaven has not been lax in letting you know what your duties are about as you hold the holy estates that apply to you. You may look to the table of duties as a full and satisfactory overview of your day to day responsibilities. As you go about those responsibilities out of faithfulness and love toward your neighbor you may also, by faith, be still, and know that the LORD God is the LORD God. You will not thwart or defeat His purposes, now matter how hard you wish or try to defeat them. 

That is a good thing, and this is a good place to be, namely, within the kingdom and household of God, but it is not a place without trouble. It is not a place without a cross. You know and have learned that thus far.

In reviewing the table of duties as listed in the Small Catechism, however, have you ever noticed there is no particular duty to that of a king or queen or president? When high authorities such as these are referenced in the table of duties, it is YOUR OBEDIENCE TO the king or queen or president that is enjoined. Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But there is no explicit word to Caesar, instructing him how to conduct himself.

The closest we come is in the words given to masters, parents, and to all.

To the master: Do the same things [that is, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh], with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

Masters, do the same things to them [that is to your servants], and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

This is good and salutary advice for any king, queen, or president. 

And the words given to all: For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."

Yes, these words, too, are befitting for any king, queen or president; for anyone who holds a high office, who holds a position of authority.

And we may also add the table of duties as each parent under Christ Jesus has come to learn and is still learning: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

This, too, is advice fit for any king, queen, or president.

But if you go through the table of duties in the Small Catechism, there is no specific call out for kings, queens, or presidents. Why is that? Is it because we would not expect to find a king, queen, or present in this parish?  Well, we don’t. Kings, queens, and presidents are fairly few and far between. What are the chances of your President subjecting himself to the discipline of your pastors when it comes to eternal things?

Is it because kings, queens, and presidents are not subject to any things that pertain to the Church and God’s kingdom of discipline through Christ Jesus? No. They most certainly are subjects, whether they know it or not.

Like King Nebuchadnezzar of Assyria, whom God used as an instrument to discipline the children of Israel in their exile to Babylon, and King Cyrus of Assyria whom God used as a tool to re-establish their home in Israel after decades of exile, kings, queens, and presidents, no matter how much they may think otherwise, or no matter how much you may think otherwise, they are ultimately subject to God’s almighty hand and providence.

And that brings us to King Herod the Great. King Herod, who as referenced in the Holy Gospel appointed for this day, undertook to slaughter every single male child two years old not only in all of Bethlehem, but in the surrounding region as well. He did this not out of service to the people under his governance, but in service to himself, out of fear that his power would be usurped by a king whose kingdom is not of this world.

Maybe he felt the table of duties had nothing to do with him since the office of king, queen, or president was not specifically mentioned. True, the Small Catechism was still fifteen hundred years away from being written, but he professed himself to be Jewish, and as such he had the ten commandments for reference and much, much more, including the promises of the Christ to come. But what did he do as a Jew? He did what many in the world do, but what you must not do. He despised and neglected the Word of God.

King Herod the Great was not autonomous. He served at the behest of Caesar. He used his political skills to win favor with Caesar, and to win favor with as many people as he could, so that he could hold power. So, on the one hand he was quite powerful. On the other hand, he was subject to a man more powerful than he, and ultimately he was subject to the King of Kings whom he sought to wipe out.

Thus your Father in heaven turns everything on its head for you. By all appearance King Herod the Great has the upper hand. He’s the big winner, dastardly as his deeds are. But his deeds do not succeed in rooting out the Root of Jesse. King Herod is not going to kill the Christ before the Christ has fulfilled all righteousness for you and for all people for all time, from Adam and Eve till the end of the age. Period.

But he does kill a lot of innocent children. His actions are not much different than the current Governor of New York, who has enacted laws that allow infants to be killed as soon as they are born for no other reason than they get in the way.

But these innocent children who are killed, and the tiny, frail, holy little ones whom God forms and gives life to in perfect love: they are not forgotten. They are not lost. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

It is tempting, when hearing of King Herod the Great and his reckless pursuit of power to the point of shedding innocent blood, to point the finger and accuse him. To be sure, he serves as an example of precisely how NOT to be a public servant, for his interest is in serving himself. Let this be an example to you, when you exercise the privilege of self-government in this county, to seek out and vote into power those who understand the public office is not for self-service, but for the service of others.

But know this: If your own flesh had not been called out of darkness into the light which lightens the world, even Christ Jesus our LORD, your own flesh would take up and pursue the same unbridled pursuit of power to the end that you would be guilty of everlasting damnation.

King Herod the Great could not possibly take the life from your King of Kings. No. Your King of Kings lays down His own life at the proper time and in just the right way. For He was given among men to be the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, voluntarily shedding his holy, perfect, innocent blood after fulfilling the law for all who have transgressed. He still lives. He richly and daily bestows forgiveness. He is present for you here, and here gives you his own body and blood for the forgiveness of your sin and for your everlasting life.

The abuse of power so often demonstrated by kings, queens, presidents, and tyrants is but a passing aberration on the creation as a result of the first Adam’s disobedience. Your LORD Jesus Christ, Who is present to give you His gifts this day, has defeated the worst of tyrants, namely sin, death, and the devil.

Come here and receive him, and rejoice with me as we together go out into the world and do those things we are given to do in our holy estates as citizens, fathers, mothers, children, employees, employers, kings, queens, and presidents, for we are all one body in Christ Jesus, the Savior of all forever and ever, being joined also to those who have gone before us and are with Christ, including those little ones slaughtered in Bethlehem Ephrathah and its surrounding region, and the Eleven Christian hostages who were killed by Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria on Christmas Day this year.

Fear not. The LORD Christ Jesus is their rock and Fortress, and your Rock and Fortress. For His Name’s sake He will lead you and guide you as He has to this day. Into His hand you may commit your spirit, for He, the LORD, your faithful God, has redeemed you through His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus.

+ + + In the Name of the Father, And of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. + + +