Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church

Why did Jerusalem stone and kill the prophets God sent to them? It's simple, really. They didn't like the message, so they would kill the messenger. We heard an example of this today from the book of Jeremiah. God sent Jeremiah to call the people to repentance, but also to tell them that since they had refused to repent, God was going to discipline them. So you might think, then, that Lent must be a really unpopular season, with its strong call to repentance. But its not. There are many people who will still give up something for Lent. Ah, but you see, that's exactly why so many do it -- they're not repenting.

Jesus takes temptation personally. It hurts Him, for sin hurts His creation. Sin destroys what He has created. Which is why Jesus takes temptation personally -- in His person, in the flesh, for you. He came in the flesh to be personally tempted, and to win. He came to live the perfect life that we cannot live. Jesus came to take temptation personally. Which is important, because I think we tent to regard temptation as just a feeling, an urge, an inclination to do something.

You know what that's like. When you want to stay awake, but you just can't. So it was for Peter, James, and John. They wanted to pray with Jesus -- He had chosen them specially for this, after all! But the harder they fought off sleep, the sleepier they became... and then they woke up. Some time later. And Moses and Elijah are leaving. They missed it. It's over. But the truth is... they hadn't missed it. He would atone for the sin of all the world and disarm the hordes of hell. They didn't miss that. That's now what they were going to see.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And so along with Peter, James, and John, Andrew, Philip, and Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Thaddeus, and Simon, Matthias preached this. These words that he had heard from Jesus' lips, and saw Jesus fulfill. For that was one of the requirements of being placed into this office of apostle: he had to have accompanied the twelve all through Jesus' public ministry, and be an eye witness of the resurrected Jesus. For apostles provided first hand testimony of what Jesus said, what Jesus did, and who Jesus was.

Our world tends to judge things in a very easy and straightforward way. And so, blessed is the man to whom nothing bad happens. Who attains the desires of his heart, and to whom life is good. And the opposite, then, is true. Woe to the man to whom bad happens, for whom life is a struggle. But it's not just "the world" that thinks that way. We do it too. Today Jesus reminds us: not so fast. Or how does the old saying go: don't judge a book by its cover! Blessings and woes may not be what you think. Blessed is the man whose faith lies not in what happens to him, but in what happened to Christ.

The last two Sundays we have heard of Jesus preaching. First it was in the synagogue in Nazareth, then the synagogue in Capernaum. Today He is preaching again, but this time is a little different. It is not in a synagogue, but by the Lake of Gennesaret (also known as the Sea of Galilee). It is not a Sabbath but a work day. And He preaches not from a reading table with a scroll of Scripture in front of Him, but today His pulpit is a boat. But the preaching is the same. That doesn't change. He preaches so that all would repent of themselves and believe in Him.

We heard God give authority today to Jeremiah, to be His prophet, to speak for Him. He told Jeremiah that I have put my words in your mouth. The Word of God that has authority. So Jeremiah would speak, and the blue lights would come on for kingdoms, nations, and kings. And God gives that authority today, as pastors blue light sins, speaking in the stead and by the command of Jesus. His words, His authority, His forgiveness. But the Lord is with you. He has given you His Spirit. In fact, the Lord has touched your mouth, too, as He did Jeremiah, and into your mouth has put His word -- His Word made flesh!

Imagine a place that is cold and silent toward pain and human suffering. Life is all about financial profit, business transactions, and the bottom line. Countless people are being dehumanized. In this place there are no prayers, liturgies, hymns, or sermons. Mercy is a rare commodity. Where is this God-forsaken place? It is the world Isaiah describes in the last 11 chapters of his book. But then Isaiah gets to chapter 60 and he changes his tune. Arise, shine, for your light has come, he says. That's the message of Epiphany. The message proclaimed by Jesus that day in Nazareth. Arise! Shine! Rejoice in it and grow in it.

That person, those people, don't matter. Maybe you don't say that, but have you ever felt it, thought it, or acted like it? Those people don't matter. Words that I hope bring all of us to repentance today. But words that can bring us joy too! In this way: to know that these are words that are not and will never be uttered by God. For the message of Sanctity of Life Sunday is that those people matter. That YOU matter. And not just matter, but are precious to God. And that, to use the words of Isaiah, your God rejoices over you! For those people -- and you -- were redeemed by God.

Why did Jesus have to be baptized? That's the question I am asked whenever people hear this story. And the answer, very simply, is this: He did not have to be. Jesus had no sin to repent of. He needed no washing of forgiveness. Jesus is the Lord and Creator of all, and the perfect, sinless Son of God -- what could John possibly give Him that wasn't from Him and of Him? Nothing. So why was Jesus baptized? Well, for the same reason He was born and lived and died: because you needed Him to be. Because when Jesus stepped into that water, the water didn't change Jesus -- Jesus changed the water.

Matthew is a lousy historian. He tells us this story of the wise men, but he leaves out so many details. For example, how long after Jesus was born did the wise men come? How long and how far did they have to travel? How old was Jesus when they arrived? And where were they from? Yes, Matthew is a lousy historian. But he is a great Gospel writer. For he knows this story really isn't about the wise men -- it's about Jesus. And so what's important in this story isn't the details about the wise men, it's that God is here, among us, in human flesh and blood.

Plans and preparations for Christmas have been going on for a while now. The church has been planning and preparing, too. The season of Advent is to prepare us and our hearts for the comings of the Lord -- to remember in His coming in the flesh at Christmas, to rejoice in His coming to us with His forgiveness in His Word and Sacraments, and to be ready for His coming again in glory. But there is one more who has been planning and preparing: God. And just as surely as that Christmas God was planning and preparing for came, so too will your Christmas. Not the one in two days, but the one on the Last Day.

Today is joy Sunday. The third Sunday of Advent. We lit the oddly-colored candle on the Advent wreath today, the rose-colored candle, the joy candle. For with this Sunday we have turned a corner. Advent is now more than halfway over and our remembrance of Christmas is close. And so the call rings out today for joy. But the readings we heard today weren't all joy... or so it seems. But to think there is no joy in the Gospel today is to misread it. Wherever Jesus went, He brought joy. He is fulfilling all the prophecies spoken of the Messiah. And that doesn't change just because John is in prison.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. Charles Dicken wrote those words over 150 years ago, yet how apt they seem for today. How wise we are, yet how foolish we often act. Perhaps the fact that Dickens wrote those words so long ago is a lesson to us, that the more things change... right? The more they stay the same. So I guess (to use words I began this sermon with) that makes the worst of lives into the best of lives! Not because we do it. But because He does it. Our Saviour does it.

So chronologically, this reading today of Jesus entering Jerusalem belongs to Palm Sunday and the end of the Lenten season. But theologically, it is fitting for today, this First Sunday of a new Church Year; this First Sunday of Advent. For Advent isn't just about getting ready to remember Jesus' coming at Christmas, but more to get us ready for Jesus' coming again at the end of time. Christmas is part of that. Palm Sunday is part of that. But it is this First Sunday of Advent that brings it all together, so that you can await His second coming with confidence and joy.

What are you looking forward to? Many folks were looking forward to this holiday weekend and spending time with family and friends. Or maybe you're looking forward to a new job, to finishing school, or something else awaiting you in 2019. The Introit we sang today reminded us of something else, too, that as Christians we are looking forward to: We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. And it will not just be the home of righteousness, it will be our home, too. So heaven an earth, this world, this creation, it's dying. But as Christians, we know what comes next.

Jesus says a lot of frightening things in the Holy Gospel today. First, He tells His disciples that the Temple they were just standing in and which engulfed them with its size, would be destroyed. Then, He says, there will be false prophets and false messiahs speaking false truths. There will be wars. There will also be persecution because the truth will not be popular. Well, relax. The one who endured to the end was Jesus. And that's why we have hope. That's the Gospel. We can draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

There were a lot of people in Jerusalem. It was almost the Passover. So people were coming from all over, coming to Jerusalem for the Feast. And Jesus watched. All kinds of people and all kinds of offerings. At last, she came in. After the many. At the end. Like she didn't want to be seen or noticed. Except Jesus noticed her. Maybe this story isn't so much about giving as it is about mercy. Or maybe the two go together... The end of the church year gives us that chance each year to remember that we may be living in the last days, and that one of these days, we'll be right. And so to hang onto the little things of this world a little less, and hang onto our bridegroom a little more.

These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. Tribulation, not ease. For life in this world is seldom easy. There is hunger and thirst and tears. There is trouble, trials, and temptations. There is weakness, fear, and death. And we are a little flock, hunted by the devil, hounded by his demons, and harassed by his evil, both without and within. And yet in the midst of such a world, we have hope. And we are given this vision of hope today. When Jesus comes again, and John's vision becomes reality. All God's promises, fulfilled.

Some would say that we should not have a Festival of the Reformation. We should not celebrate this day, but, in fact, mourn. For the Reformation, they would say, divided the church. Well, the church had been divided long before Luther ever came along. Which, honestly, is what we should expect. But though some sing a dirge on this day, it is not a time to mourn. For one very simple reason. Not because of Luther. We thank God for him, as we do for all the church fathers who came before us, who fought for the truth, who often gave their lives, and on whose shoulders we stand.