January 12, 2020 – Baptism of our Lord                                       Text:  Isaiah 42:1-9

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Back when newspapers were the most important way to communicate news and happenings they would sometimes have two editions.  One was the regular edition of the paper but then they would put out an “extra” edition of the newspaper.  Young people would stand on the corners, especially in the big cities and yell, “Extra!  Extra!  Read all about it!”  Then a brief description would be given.  “Pearl Harbor Bombed!”  “Full Surrender Brings War To An End!”  “President Shot in Dallas!”  “Man Walks on the Moon!”

            In text for this morning God is coming to us with an “Extra!  Extra!  Read All About It!”  He begins by saying “Behold.”  Behold is a transitive verb that means to see or look.  The Lord wants us paying attention to His message.  He ends our text with “I tell you of them.”  He is getting our attention.  Are we ready to behold?  “Extra!  Extra!  Read All About It!” 

“GOD’S SERVANT BRINGS RIGHTEOUSNESS TO THE NATIONS”

            What a mission that is.  The Servant comes to bring “justice” to the nations.  For us that means as guilty sinners we can be declared “not guilty,” “righteous.”  This is because the Servant is bringing a new “covenant” for the people.  The “old” covenant is the Law, which all men and women have failed to keep.  Through the shedding of His blood on the cross, He establishes a new way for us to be acceptable to God.

            This Servant comes to be “a light for the nations.”  We can live some pretty dark times.  Our minds can be in some pretty dark places.  This Servant comes to be the light and a beacon of hope.  He comes to give sight to the blind and release to those in prison.

            What a servant.  This is the chosen One of God in whom He takes great delight.  We see this in our Gospel lesson at the Baptism of Jesus.  We all like to be uplifted by a parent and God the Father says this to His Son, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

            This Servant could only be Jesus.  God’s “Spirit” will be upon him.  He is righteous.  God’s “glory” is upon Him and no other.  Only the perfect Son of God could be the servant to carry out this mission. 

            This Servant comes in humbleness and mercy.  He is not blowing his own horn in the streets.  He is dealing tenderly with those who are hurting and broken – He is dealing with us.  He is not going to “grow faint or be discouraged.”  He will fulfill the task no matter how hard it is.

            Why does God make this special announcement to us?  Why does God in this text stand on the street corner and yell out for all to hear, “Extra!  Extra!  Read All About It”? 

            Because through this Servant He brings all that we need.  He brings justice – we need it.  We need breath – He provides it.  We need sight – He opens our eyes.  We need release as prisoners – He gives us the key.  We need forgiveness – He died for it.  We need eternal life – He rose for it.  Are you putting your hope in Him?  This Servant is for all the nations.  What about your neighbors and relatives and friends, your co-workers and your school classmates?  Are they putting their hope in Him?

            Jesus is the only way.  As we believe in Him and the work that He has done in our life, we join God in standing on the street corners and proclaiming Christ to the nations.  We, too, join God in yelling out for all to hear:  “Extra!  Extra!  Read all about it!  God’s Son has come and died for us on the cross so we might have eternal life.” 

            The evangelist Dwight Moody once spoke to a group and after his talk a locomotive engineer came forward.  He said he wanted to go to a foreign country to be a missionary.  Moody asked him if his fireman was a Christian.  (In those days steam locomotives needed someone to keep the fire ablaze.  That man was called the “fireman.”)  The engineer said, “I don’t know if he is a Christian, I’ve never asked him.”  “Well,” said Moody, “why don’t you start with your fireman.”

            Who close to you needs the hope that only Christ can give?  When we consistently and actively encourage others we live with joy and purpose.  Maybe we can’t stand on the street corner but we can use our God-given abilities to tell others of this hope we have in Jesus.  Don’t we want others to have what we have? 

            Epiphany is the revealing of Jesus as God’s Son and the only Savior.  To whom can you reveal Jesus?

                                                Amen.  

January 5, 2020 – Epiphany                                                                     Text:  Matthew 2:1-12

Dear Friends in Christ,

            As we celebrate Epiphany today let’s continue to debunk a couple of myths about this day.  First, this is one you hear me talk about all the time – we do not know the number of wise men who visited Jesus.  We just sang “We Three Kings” but that is just a number in a hymn.  There could have been an entourage of men or very few.

            The second myth perpetuated by manger scenes and greeting cards is that the wise men worshipped Jesus in the manger.  Verse 11 of our text tells us they went into “a house.”  No barn or feeding trough.  Just a nice bi-level for the carpenter and his wife and their new baby.  Oops, let’s not create another myth – nobody knows what style of home the first family lived in.

            What is clear is that these Magi from the East have come to worship Him.  The Christ Child – Jesus by name.  So do we.  With the Wise Men, on this Epiphany…

“WE HAVE COME TO WORSHIP HIM”

            Why?  Well along with the mistaken ideas about Jesus’ coming there are some even stranger ones that have circulated throughout the years.  Ever hear the one about Jesus turning mud into doves.  How about bringing a dead playmate back to life?  My favorite is this one – Jesus zapped dead a buddy who cheated in a game. 

            What we do know is that the first miracle Jesus performed was turning water into wine at a wedding in the town of Cana.  This did not happen until he was 30.  Jesus’ miracles were always acts of kindness.  He wasn’t zapping people dead.

            The biggest misconception of Jesus has been the one that has now gone on for centuries.  He is a great religious teacher and prophet who espouses love to one another.  That is partly true but does not reach into the realm of who He really is.  The Bible says there is so much more.  There would be no need for worship and our gathering here today if he were just a prophet that is here today and gone tomorrow.

            What did the Wise Men think of Jesus?  “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” (v. 2) 

            Word of their arrival quickly reaches King Herod.  He is a descendant of Esau and more than a little edgy about a legitimate “king of the Jews.”  When Herod gets edgy people die, including many in his own family.

            The other thing that upset Herod is that these Wise Men have come to worship Him.  Not only was He the crown prince of Israel, but the crown prince of heaven as well.  They have come to worship Him because they know who He really is.  Christ deserved to be worshipped then.  He deserves to be worshipped today.

            Why?  Why worship Him?  Because in His birth He took on human flesh, and his death he took all the sins of human flesh to the cross.  When he died, the sins remained there on the cross.  Now he lives, having arisen from the dead.  He is to be worshipped.  That baby is the Savior of the world.

            Herod couldn’t bring himself to worship Jesus.  He hated Jesus.  To acknowledge Jesus means we have to admit that we are sinners.  Can we do that?  Can you and I admit we are horrible human beings and we deserve death and hell on Judgment Day?

            Yes, we can do that.  We did it this morning in our confession.  We do it daily in our prayers.  You confess.  Jesus forgives.  The Holy Spirit lives in you and works in you.  He inspires your prayer life and your worship life.  Like the Wise Men you have come to worship Him.

            There in the home they fell down and worshipped Him and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  One day Jesus would hang on a cross robed in a glory gold can never show, sending forth into heaven a prayer that frankincense could never carry, buried as a sacrifice myrrh could never make sweeter.  They are grand gifts to be sure, but they do not compare to the greater gift Jesus would offer.

            Jesus has a gift for you.  It is the gift of forgiveness.  It is the gift of salvation.  It is the gift of eternal life.  All for free.  A gift paid for by His sinless death on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead.

            So we come to worship and we also bring our gifts.  We offer up our prayers.  We lift our voices.  We bring our offerings in joy.  In the eyes of Jesus these gifts are as precious as gold and frankincense and myrrh. 

            In humbleness Lord, accept our worship this day.

                                                                                                            Amen.