+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 2:7-8
Theme: Testifying Before Kings
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God discloses His mysteries. Christianity doesn’t involve becoming more enshrouded in mystery but rather a more open interaction with the light of truth. Today is the Sunday of the Epiphany. Epiphany means ‘showing forth’. The incarnation of Jesus and its consequences were gradually revealed to the world. The first ‘epiphany event’ recorded in the gospels is the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus. Coming to the house, not the manger, the Magi were an indication that the Messiah came not only for Jews, but also for Gentiles. God’s plan of redemption is universal- an event of atonement for all humanity. It was the privilege of the evangelists to ‘show forth’ how Jesus, the Christ, came as the Light of the World. It is our privilege to retell that narrative in our daily lives.
Today’s account is a familiar one. The Magi came from the East. They saw King Herod in Jerusalem first. They were guided by the star. They brought Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. We also know they bowed down and worshipped Him. This is a key point we should not skim over too quickly. It was surely no token gesture of respect. It was the purpose of their journey. Through eyes of faith God enabled them to see in this small child the Redeemer of the world. They were privileged to see early on the gift God wanted revealed to the world.
Today’s Scripture also relates to a seldom celebrated occasion in the Church Year. December 28th is the date for recognizing the Holy Innocents or Martyrs. It is typically overlooked because it is so close to Christmas. It commemorates the ruthless slaughter by Herod of all male children in Bethlehem two years old and under. In his rage over not learning from the Magi where Christ was Herod took measures to eliminate them all. It is a fitting time to remember that God holds life sacred and especially charges us with protecting the most vulnerable. The light in the eyes of a countless number of unborn is put out each year. This is a very dark evil in such ostensibly enlightened times.
Even 2000 years after Christ’s coming the darkness gathers its forces and seeks to reclaim every inch of space where the light of truth has gone out. Christianity is never more than one generation from extinction. That truth is a testimony to the power of sin within us. Daily must the Old Adam be drown with all sins and evil desires. As 2013 commences let us throw off all the pride we have accumulated during the past year and the years prior and humbly bow our hearts to the architect of time and author of our salvation. The bible says,
“Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.”1 This is our inspiration for the new year. God is never fatigued.
We make plans to the best of our abilities and within our capacities and then we learn to say, “If God wills it!”2 “If God wills,” that’s what the apostle Paul said as he set sail from Ephesus, intending to, but not knowing if he would return. When we are foolish or arrogant enough to plan things that oppose God’s will then He may use this as an opportunity to chastise us and we pray that He would do so mercifully but instructively. But regarding many things that we plan He has given us a large measure of freedom. We have flexibility within the limits of God’s decree. Truly as Christians we are not restricted (except in regard to sin) we are free.
But some things are strictly non-negotiable. The teaching and dissemination of the Gospel is indispensable. The truth about Immanuel, God with His people; Christ’s death as an atonement for sins and resurrection as validation of His authority and sacrifice, this is the very content of the rays of light always to be dawning on the dark world. That there would be one continuous epiphany is the prayer of the church for the world. Remember what the apostle says today, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”3 Through the church God’s wisdom is made known.
What is the church? It is the complete number of those who believe in Jesus Christ, including, of course, those already deceased. The church is organized in congregations and groups of congregations in this place and around the world. But the church is not a voluntary civil or social organization. The church is people. But it is not people who associate through self-assembly; not simply a gathering of like-minded individuals with common religious interests. The church is constituted by the Holy Spirit through the word of God and sacraments. It is divinely inspired and conceived. The church is the gathering of those who believe and are baptized. It is an organism, the body of Christ. It partakes of divine food. And it has a sacred vocation, a purpose and a mission.
Isaiah says to us today, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”4 The church is the steward of truth and the voice of hope in the world. It doesn’t possess worldly authority but divine power. It operates the keys to heaven by declaring that sins are either forgiven or retained. Its message will always be challenged by secular power. The wisemen testified before King Herod by heeding the counsel of God and retuning by a different route. The Lutheran reformers testified before King Charles and adopted Psalm 119:46 as their maxim, “I will also speak of your testimonies before kings, and will not be put to shame.” You too are called to testify. In your planning and your purposes; your allocation of time, treasures, and talents; your mindset, perspective and worldview. The Christians’ life is meant to be an open book testifying to the mercy of God in Christ.
The Scripture says, “We live by faith, not by sight.”5 How foolish the Magi must have appeared to their countrymen! How silly the shepherds who told of angels and a newborn King! How nonsensical this prospect of a Saviour. And yet Herod was enraged, Pontius Pilate was confounded and countless rulers since have felt threatened by this ‘foolishness’ – the message of the cross, God-in-the-flesh Immanuel. His presence is no cause for fear, only unending joy.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Epiphany Of Our Lord
6 January 2013
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Hebrews 12:1-2
2 See Acts 18:21
3 Ephesians 3:10-11
4 Isaiah 60:1
5 2 Corinthians 5:7
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
New Years' Eve 2012
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 13:8
Theme: “One More Year”
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
We cannot plumb the limits of the love of God. In his great prayer for the Ephesians the Apostle Paul asks that they may be able “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.”1 His mercy is absolutely inexhaustible. It reaches deeper than we can fall. It extends further than we can flee. It’s more patient than we can press. It’s more gentle than we can reproach. It contains more joy than our sorrows could ever rival. And these things not in some abstract theory but forged in blood and secured in sacrifice. The problem is we don’t always believe God’s love is of such quality.
The problem is a perennial one. At this close of the calendar year things of a perennial nature appropriately occupy our attention. What may seem to be an obscure text appointed for this occasion nevertheless lends itself well for our purposes. The caretaker of the vineyard should perhaps be understood to be Christ Himself who patiently pleads for one more chance for the fig tree- one more year! Of course the greatest perennial problems always involve sin and unbelief. All God’s truths are woven together like a fabric that can eventually be unraveled by pulling on a single loose thread. For example if people do not believe that Adam and Eve were historical figures then the church has a problem. The church does have this problem and many others. But such things are nothing new. The devil is subtle in his undermining of the faith. The frog is boiled slowly. One historical illustration will suffice.
In the early centuries of the church a very pious theologian named Arius was very content to worship Jesus as Lord but not to accord Him the same eternal divinity as the Father. Jesus, according to Arius, was even created (though before the universe) by the Father. Arius claimed support in the Bible. Many dismissed this as a minor opinion about mysteries that were inscrutable anyway. But some astute members of the faith saw the danger. If Christ wasn’t fully God how could His sacrifice be a sufficient ransom for the sins of the entire world? The whole redemptive enterprise was finally compromised. How could His words in John 10 be true, “I have authority to lay it down [His life] and authority to take it up again?”2 Or those of Matthew 9 when He says, “So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”3
These defenders of the faith understood that the truth of Christ’s being and mission was at risk. The result is the precision of the Nicene Creed describing Christ as, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made.” Our Immanuel is God-in-the-flesh in the fullest sense of the meaning. The Scripture says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”4 Christian truth must be grounded on the full witness of Christ- the Child of Bethlehem and sacrifice of Calvary- who He is and what He has commanded. Truth is the essential element, the basis of reality.
If there is no truth there is no real faith. Faith doesn’t exist as an independent entity- it has an object. Yes, there can be and is false trust in a countless number of things from the idea that everyone’s destiny is written in star signs and horoscopes to the belief that everyone, regardless of their past, is going to depart this life to a better place. But what are these confidences based on? Wishful thinking? Personal opinion? Jesus Christ is the only proper object of faith. He alone is the way and the truth and the life.
Faith that is cut loose from the word of God has no basis of authority. The fact that we have the gospel- the good news of salvation by grace through faith- doesn’t mean we can dismiss the wider testimony of Scripture. The gospel is the power of God for salvation but the Bible is the authority upon which truth is based. Faith that is detached from the Spirit has no sustaining power. It withers immediately from anemia. It will die for lack of legitimacy. And when there is no faith there are no good works.
If there is no faith there will be no fruits- only barren fig trees. Fruit does not grow on a dead tree. Attach fruit to it and you are only decorating death like the whitewashed tombs of the Pharisees. No matter how splendidly you decorate your artificial Christmas tree it won’t make the tree come alive. Perhaps, spiritually speaking, we spend too much time dressing up- or at least maintaining the outward appearance of- that which is already dead. Sooner or later the decay becomes evident even with the best cosmetics.
When truth is lost love is no longer grounded in the eternal. The moral philosophers from Grecian times, the utilitarians of the enlightenment era, the secular philanthropists of modern fame can all boast of piety and practicality that benefitted the world. But our time here is short and what about the life to come? God, of course, needs no defenders. He will be fully exonerated in glory. Scoffers will be speechless. Believers will rejoice. At His final Advent doubt will vanish and fear will cease.
One more year! Properly understood this is pure gospel proclamation. The Bible says, “God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”5 And Paul says, “I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience.”6 Surely the patience of God is one of the great, mysterious, and miraculous qualities of His being.
The vineyard keeper would have deemed it to be a miracle if the fig tree produced fruit the next year. But God has a pretty impressive track record when it comes to miracles. And the most important ones are often the ones we take for granted because they don’t seem flashy. God was cradled by the wood of the manger that He might be nailed to the wood of the cross. Easter validates these miracles; the power of which still comes to us in humble means.
If you want to interact with the miracles of God give rapt attention to His word of absolution. If you want to participate in the mystery of the divine presence receive His body and blood with humility and joy. If you want to know how wide, and long, and high and deep the love of Christ is remember you are baptized into the His death and resurrection; baptized into the name of the triune God. To some this seems to mean very little- a ritual that occurred (perhaps) in infancy and has been relegated to the past. But it means something to God. Had it not Christ would not have commanded it and filled it with promise.
One more Year! If God so wills it. What might happen in the next year? Circumstances may change. Over 20 years ago, a letter appeared in the national news that was sent to a deceased person by the Indiana Department of Social Services. It read as follows: Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. (So far so good, but then it continued) May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.
Dear friends, God only knows how your circumstances may or may not change. Lazarus, whom Jesus resuscitated, had few peers. Yet, all believers will one day join him in that great resurrection of the living and the dead. Will God grant one more year? Will we be able to cope with the changes and challenges of life? We need not worry because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”7 He said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever!”8 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
New Year’s Eve
31 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Ephesians 3:18-19
2 John 10:8
3 Matthew 9:6
4 Hebrews 1:3
5 2 Peter 3:9
6 1 Timothy 1:16
7 Hebrews 13:8
8 Revelation 1:17-18
Text: Luke 13:8
Theme: “One More Year”
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
We cannot plumb the limits of the love of God. In his great prayer for the Ephesians the Apostle Paul asks that they may be able “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.”1 His mercy is absolutely inexhaustible. It reaches deeper than we can fall. It extends further than we can flee. It’s more patient than we can press. It’s more gentle than we can reproach. It contains more joy than our sorrows could ever rival. And these things not in some abstract theory but forged in blood and secured in sacrifice. The problem is we don’t always believe God’s love is of such quality.
The problem is a perennial one. At this close of the calendar year things of a perennial nature appropriately occupy our attention. What may seem to be an obscure text appointed for this occasion nevertheless lends itself well for our purposes. The caretaker of the vineyard should perhaps be understood to be Christ Himself who patiently pleads for one more chance for the fig tree- one more year! Of course the greatest perennial problems always involve sin and unbelief. All God’s truths are woven together like a fabric that can eventually be unraveled by pulling on a single loose thread. For example if people do not believe that Adam and Eve were historical figures then the church has a problem. The church does have this problem and many others. But such things are nothing new. The devil is subtle in his undermining of the faith. The frog is boiled slowly. One historical illustration will suffice.
In the early centuries of the church a very pious theologian named Arius was very content to worship Jesus as Lord but not to accord Him the same eternal divinity as the Father. Jesus, according to Arius, was even created (though before the universe) by the Father. Arius claimed support in the Bible. Many dismissed this as a minor opinion about mysteries that were inscrutable anyway. But some astute members of the faith saw the danger. If Christ wasn’t fully God how could His sacrifice be a sufficient ransom for the sins of the entire world? The whole redemptive enterprise was finally compromised. How could His words in John 10 be true, “I have authority to lay it down [His life] and authority to take it up again?”2 Or those of Matthew 9 when He says, “So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”3
These defenders of the faith understood that the truth of Christ’s being and mission was at risk. The result is the precision of the Nicene Creed describing Christ as, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made.” Our Immanuel is God-in-the-flesh in the fullest sense of the meaning. The Scripture says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”4 Christian truth must be grounded on the full witness of Christ- the Child of Bethlehem and sacrifice of Calvary- who He is and what He has commanded. Truth is the essential element, the basis of reality.
If there is no truth there is no real faith. Faith doesn’t exist as an independent entity- it has an object. Yes, there can be and is false trust in a countless number of things from the idea that everyone’s destiny is written in star signs and horoscopes to the belief that everyone, regardless of their past, is going to depart this life to a better place. But what are these confidences based on? Wishful thinking? Personal opinion? Jesus Christ is the only proper object of faith. He alone is the way and the truth and the life.
Faith that is cut loose from the word of God has no basis of authority. The fact that we have the gospel- the good news of salvation by grace through faith- doesn’t mean we can dismiss the wider testimony of Scripture. The gospel is the power of God for salvation but the Bible is the authority upon which truth is based. Faith that is detached from the Spirit has no sustaining power. It withers immediately from anemia. It will die for lack of legitimacy. And when there is no faith there are no good works.
If there is no faith there will be no fruits- only barren fig trees. Fruit does not grow on a dead tree. Attach fruit to it and you are only decorating death like the whitewashed tombs of the Pharisees. No matter how splendidly you decorate your artificial Christmas tree it won’t make the tree come alive. Perhaps, spiritually speaking, we spend too much time dressing up- or at least maintaining the outward appearance of- that which is already dead. Sooner or later the decay becomes evident even with the best cosmetics.
When truth is lost love is no longer grounded in the eternal. The moral philosophers from Grecian times, the utilitarians of the enlightenment era, the secular philanthropists of modern fame can all boast of piety and practicality that benefitted the world. But our time here is short and what about the life to come? God, of course, needs no defenders. He will be fully exonerated in glory. Scoffers will be speechless. Believers will rejoice. At His final Advent doubt will vanish and fear will cease.
One more year! Properly understood this is pure gospel proclamation. The Bible says, “God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”5 And Paul says, “I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience.”6 Surely the patience of God is one of the great, mysterious, and miraculous qualities of His being.
The vineyard keeper would have deemed it to be a miracle if the fig tree produced fruit the next year. But God has a pretty impressive track record when it comes to miracles. And the most important ones are often the ones we take for granted because they don’t seem flashy. God was cradled by the wood of the manger that He might be nailed to the wood of the cross. Easter validates these miracles; the power of which still comes to us in humble means.
If you want to interact with the miracles of God give rapt attention to His word of absolution. If you want to participate in the mystery of the divine presence receive His body and blood with humility and joy. If you want to know how wide, and long, and high and deep the love of Christ is remember you are baptized into the His death and resurrection; baptized into the name of the triune God. To some this seems to mean very little- a ritual that occurred (perhaps) in infancy and has been relegated to the past. But it means something to God. Had it not Christ would not have commanded it and filled it with promise.
One more Year! If God so wills it. What might happen in the next year? Circumstances may change. Over 20 years ago, a letter appeared in the national news that was sent to a deceased person by the Indiana Department of Social Services. It read as follows: Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. (So far so good, but then it continued) May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.
Dear friends, God only knows how your circumstances may or may not change. Lazarus, whom Jesus resuscitated, had few peers. Yet, all believers will one day join him in that great resurrection of the living and the dead. Will God grant one more year? Will we be able to cope with the changes and challenges of life? We need not worry because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”7 He said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever!”8 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
New Year’s Eve
31 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Ephesians 3:18-19
2 John 10:8
3 Matthew 9:6
4 Hebrews 1:3
5 2 Peter 3:9
6 1 Timothy 1:16
7 Hebrews 13:8
8 Revelation 1:17-18
Monday, December 31, 2012
First Sunday After Christmas (C) 2012
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 2:49
Theme: From the Manger to the Temple
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The Holy Spirit always nurtures the faith He conceives. And though it involves mystery, He doesn’t do it magically because it never happens independently from the truth about Christ. That is, our faith is never nourished autonomously, never through our own ingenuity, never without His means. As our appointed readings transition us from the manger to the temple let us be mindful that our faith only matures as it follows Christ, never when it settles in the place of our choosing.
The evangelist Luke moves us quickly from the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem to the family residence in Nazareth. Aside from the family’s flight to Egypt, and their evasion of King Herod and his murderous plan as recorded in Matthew, we know virtually nothing about the childhood of Jesus. Our lone insight is the material of today’s gospel. At age twelve Jesus accompanied his parents to the annual Passover Feast in Jerusalem. One of the three great celebrations on the Jewish liturgical calendar it was expected that faithful Jews within reasonable distance would make the journey. The family of Jesus was no exception.
The Passover celebration reminded the Jews of God’s deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt. In the final plague God sent the angel of death to strike down the firstborn of both men and beasts. Only those were spared who had the lamb’s blood over the doorframes of their houses. To be held in perpetual remembrance the Passover’s meaning was meticulously taught to each new generation. It was a central part of the identity of God’s people. This history was the background for John the Baptist’s introduction of Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”1
Joseph and Mary are now served notice about the future of their maturing son. “Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?”2 Remember that Mary had been pondering all these things in her heart.3 Still, the Bible says, “They did not understand what He was saying to them.”4 Even Jesus’ parents needed time to begin to really appreciate the destiny of their son. We have the hindsight of history and do we fare better? Is the temptation to make Christmas mainly about us not stronger than ever? Christmas doesn’t eliminate the need for repentance but lends to it hope and purpose.
Will you leave go of those things that are not really gifts, but idols? Do you see that you are not really owners of all your possessions but stewards- including your time and talents? You are custodians of God’s blessings meant not for abuse but for the well-being of your neighbour. Do you realize our most entrancing idols are often not physical objects but ambitions of the will? Whether it involves pride, or image, or control the sinful nature seeks to unseat God from His rightful place. Our picture of sin often involves obvious transgressions- immorality of all sorts, dishonesty, theft, slander, violence- yet these are the symptoms. The source is our insistence of having our own way. Perhaps more of our repentance should be aimed at our attitudes as opposed to the obvious offences?
So do not underestimate the stubbornness of your own will. Our agendas, spiritual and otherwise, become quite intractable- but we don’t see it. Believe that it is something you don’t have the power to correct on your own. It requires the Holy Spirit. It requires the superhuman power of God’s Word. Egotism is recognized only in the mirror of the law. Whenever our sins become trivial in our own eyes we can be certain they are very major to God. The more trifling our view of sin the more compromised our spiritual condition. Pride is not a sporadic problem that is easily brushed aside. It is endemic in human nature and has pathological symptoms.
But just when you think your repentance is good enough- you’ve wrestled with anguish of conscience. You find out that absolution isn’t at all contingent or proportional. Now we must be clear, the stubborn and ungrateful heart forfeits God’s grace. For the unrepentant there is only one message: turn from your sin because you are under God’s condemnation. The door to heaven is locked. Grace is a gift that cannot be acquired on our own terms.
But the conscience that trembles with fear over sins great or small never fails to find mercy at the throne of grace. The person who fears he can never be good enough; she can never impress God; the person who despairs of his or her own spiritual merits- this person can be assured the grace of God is meant for them. The forgiveness of Jesus Christ is freely offered with no strings attached. You are declared righteous completely independently from your input. You are baptized into the death and resurrection of the Emmanuel. There is no power of darkness that can finally prevail over you.
And these truths have consequences. St. Paul says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love.”5
What a privilege it is to know we need not be enslaved to the agendas and mindsets of the world. We have confidence that in His time and in His way God looks after our every need. He cradles us in the infancy of our physical and spiritual lives and He carries us through the grave.
Today the boy Jesus has gone from the manger to the temple. He is already questioning the scholars. Yet is He any closer to being the image prophesied and so clearly referenced at Christmas: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace?”6
Jesus would go to the temple again. He would overturn the tables of the money-changers. He would rebuke those who turned it into an opportunity for profit, for self-interest. Yet when He offered up His own life for the forgiveness of sins the holy of holies was not in the temple but at the cross.
Dear friends, as His body was rent in death the curtain of the temple was torn in two. The door to heaven was now open. The Israelites consumed the Passover lamb. It was their communion with God and assurance of His blessing. Marked by the blood of the Lamb we also consume it as our source of life. We receive spiritual and immortal food. By this means the Holy Spirit nurtures our faith. By this same means He leads us to eternity.
One of the dangers of Christmas is that Jesus becomes not an object of worship but of magnetic charm. This is both the power and liability of cuteness in infancy. But faith must mature with the maturing Christ. The miracle of Christmas would come to fruition only after Jesus was no longer cradled by the wood of the manger but fastened to the wood of the cross. His mission was not to perpetuate a ‘cult of infancy adoration’, but to resolve the very mature crises of life and death. He came to face the power sin and hell head-on. His resurrection gives the title ‘Immanuel’ new meaning. Glory to God in the highest! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
First Sunday After Christmas
30 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 1:29
2 Luke 2:49
3 See Luke 2:19
4 Luke 2:50
5 Colossians 3:12-14
6 Isaiah 9:6
Text: Luke 2:49
Theme: From the Manger to the Temple
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The Holy Spirit always nurtures the faith He conceives. And though it involves mystery, He doesn’t do it magically because it never happens independently from the truth about Christ. That is, our faith is never nourished autonomously, never through our own ingenuity, never without His means. As our appointed readings transition us from the manger to the temple let us be mindful that our faith only matures as it follows Christ, never when it settles in the place of our choosing.
The evangelist Luke moves us quickly from the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem to the family residence in Nazareth. Aside from the family’s flight to Egypt, and their evasion of King Herod and his murderous plan as recorded in Matthew, we know virtually nothing about the childhood of Jesus. Our lone insight is the material of today’s gospel. At age twelve Jesus accompanied his parents to the annual Passover Feast in Jerusalem. One of the three great celebrations on the Jewish liturgical calendar it was expected that faithful Jews within reasonable distance would make the journey. The family of Jesus was no exception.
The Passover celebration reminded the Jews of God’s deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt. In the final plague God sent the angel of death to strike down the firstborn of both men and beasts. Only those were spared who had the lamb’s blood over the doorframes of their houses. To be held in perpetual remembrance the Passover’s meaning was meticulously taught to each new generation. It was a central part of the identity of God’s people. This history was the background for John the Baptist’s introduction of Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”1
Joseph and Mary are now served notice about the future of their maturing son. “Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?”2 Remember that Mary had been pondering all these things in her heart.3 Still, the Bible says, “They did not understand what He was saying to them.”4 Even Jesus’ parents needed time to begin to really appreciate the destiny of their son. We have the hindsight of history and do we fare better? Is the temptation to make Christmas mainly about us not stronger than ever? Christmas doesn’t eliminate the need for repentance but lends to it hope and purpose.
Will you leave go of those things that are not really gifts, but idols? Do you see that you are not really owners of all your possessions but stewards- including your time and talents? You are custodians of God’s blessings meant not for abuse but for the well-being of your neighbour. Do you realize our most entrancing idols are often not physical objects but ambitions of the will? Whether it involves pride, or image, or control the sinful nature seeks to unseat God from His rightful place. Our picture of sin often involves obvious transgressions- immorality of all sorts, dishonesty, theft, slander, violence- yet these are the symptoms. The source is our insistence of having our own way. Perhaps more of our repentance should be aimed at our attitudes as opposed to the obvious offences?
So do not underestimate the stubbornness of your own will. Our agendas, spiritual and otherwise, become quite intractable- but we don’t see it. Believe that it is something you don’t have the power to correct on your own. It requires the Holy Spirit. It requires the superhuman power of God’s Word. Egotism is recognized only in the mirror of the law. Whenever our sins become trivial in our own eyes we can be certain they are very major to God. The more trifling our view of sin the more compromised our spiritual condition. Pride is not a sporadic problem that is easily brushed aside. It is endemic in human nature and has pathological symptoms.
But just when you think your repentance is good enough- you’ve wrestled with anguish of conscience. You find out that absolution isn’t at all contingent or proportional. Now we must be clear, the stubborn and ungrateful heart forfeits God’s grace. For the unrepentant there is only one message: turn from your sin because you are under God’s condemnation. The door to heaven is locked. Grace is a gift that cannot be acquired on our own terms.
But the conscience that trembles with fear over sins great or small never fails to find mercy at the throne of grace. The person who fears he can never be good enough; she can never impress God; the person who despairs of his or her own spiritual merits- this person can be assured the grace of God is meant for them. The forgiveness of Jesus Christ is freely offered with no strings attached. You are declared righteous completely independently from your input. You are baptized into the death and resurrection of the Emmanuel. There is no power of darkness that can finally prevail over you.
And these truths have consequences. St. Paul says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love.”5
What a privilege it is to know we need not be enslaved to the agendas and mindsets of the world. We have confidence that in His time and in His way God looks after our every need. He cradles us in the infancy of our physical and spiritual lives and He carries us through the grave.
Today the boy Jesus has gone from the manger to the temple. He is already questioning the scholars. Yet is He any closer to being the image prophesied and so clearly referenced at Christmas: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace?”6
Jesus would go to the temple again. He would overturn the tables of the money-changers. He would rebuke those who turned it into an opportunity for profit, for self-interest. Yet when He offered up His own life for the forgiveness of sins the holy of holies was not in the temple but at the cross.
Dear friends, as His body was rent in death the curtain of the temple was torn in two. The door to heaven was now open. The Israelites consumed the Passover lamb. It was their communion with God and assurance of His blessing. Marked by the blood of the Lamb we also consume it as our source of life. We receive spiritual and immortal food. By this means the Holy Spirit nurtures our faith. By this same means He leads us to eternity.
One of the dangers of Christmas is that Jesus becomes not an object of worship but of magnetic charm. This is both the power and liability of cuteness in infancy. But faith must mature with the maturing Christ. The miracle of Christmas would come to fruition only after Jesus was no longer cradled by the wood of the manger but fastened to the wood of the cross. His mission was not to perpetuate a ‘cult of infancy adoration’, but to resolve the very mature crises of life and death. He came to face the power sin and hell head-on. His resurrection gives the title ‘Immanuel’ new meaning. Glory to God in the highest! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
First Sunday After Christmas
30 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 1:29
2 Luke 2:49
3 See Luke 2:19
4 Luke 2:50
5 Colossians 3:12-14
6 Isaiah 9:6
Friday, December 28, 2012
Christmas Day (C) 2012
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 2:7
Theme: A Breach Birth
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God is not abstract in His power or being. Christmas is evidence of this fact. Everything has a context. Nothing exists in a vacuum. The love of God can only be understood in the humanity of Jesus. A small Judean town was the backdrop for the most significant birth announcement in the history of the world. “Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”1 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…”2
Jesus’ birth was a breach. It was a breach of unprecedented magnitude. Through the womb of a humble virgin the architect of the universe breached the barrier between a holy God and sinful humanity. He traversed the boundary of the created sphere not with His omniscience but in human flesh and blood. He came not on a mission of reconnaissance but to set up tenancy. He came not to visit but to dwell. He came not to inspect His creation but to reclaim it, redeem it, and restore it. He came to hang from a cross.
Human logic deems it to be inconceivable. It doesn’t seem possible. How can this one man be the Redeemer of the world? How can your eternal future be secured by the birth, death, and resurrection of one human being! Yes, there is a long succession of miracles: A virgin birth, healing the blind, lame, deaf and mute, calming the seas, walking on their surface, commanding demons; capped by His own bodily resurrection from the dead. Still, the Holy Spirit must teach us that the one Man, this infant of Bethlehem died for me and my salvation. Only faith can enter here. In baptism faith is conceived in the human heart in a manner parallel to Jesus’ conception in Mary’s womb. The Holy Spirit is the father of such mysteries.
It can be debated whether our modern celebrations of Christmas are a help or a hindrance to our spiritual well-being. Easily lost is the confronting truth that Christ came because we are sinners- and that to such an extent that we merit condemnation to hell. We are called to honest reflection. What dominates our Christmas agenda? Is it mainly about family, taking time out, or indulging? Are we more likely to counting our blessings or just pause from the mundaneness of our daily regime?
The devil doesn’t take holidays. When we get up in the morning Satan tempts us to prioritize the day based on selfishness. Who or what do we fear? What challenges do we face? What tensions do we hope to avoid? Are we driven by pride? Or greed? Or guilt? Do we turn the things we’d like to have into the things we believe we need or deserve? What is the end purpose of our day? Our week? Our year? Does the birth of the Prince of Peace change that? Does the imminence of His return in glory ever prick our conscience or even cross our minds?
The nativity story should be gripping because it speaks to that which makes us essentially human. The soft touch of a newborn’s skin, the vulnerability of its tiny frame evokes the fiercest desire in the human instinct to safeguard that which is precious and fragile. A parent’s love for a newborn is surely one of the purest that exists among humans. And such is the appeal for a holy child born in a cattle stall. The circumstances of Christ’s birth are worse than ordinary, they are nearly tragic, unbecoming of a future King. Yet the ChristChild is no victim of His circumstances. Rather, the context is determined by the Divine will. So profound is the love of God that He deemed it necessary to condescend to us in such humility. Only in this way could our trust in Him be grounded in absolute confidence that He can truly relate to our condition.
He continues to dwell in and with humanity- the Creator with the created, the Immortal one with mortals. He comes, the bearer of light into darkness; the bringer of hope where there is doubt; the conveyer of peace where there is conflict. The tiny voice who cried as the animals rustled near His bed would one day call out as legions of darkness gathered near His cross. The bleat of God’s Lamb fell silent at the cross. The infant tears in a manger would swell to maturity as He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Yet His own tomb could not hold Him.
Christmas should always serve to recalibrate our perspective. We claw our way through life scraping together the world’s goods. We piece together some semblance of reputation and image. We tear and mend, and re-tear and re-mend our relationships. We steadfastly avoid ridicule, hurt and pain. We cloak our true motives with fashionable external activities. Our selfish and sinful sides are happy to receive Christmas as a distraction or opportunity for indulgence. Through it all we are prone to missing the truth that Christ didn’t come as a spiritual tonic or a therapist: He came to commiserate in His sacred role of substitution as only He could. He came to suffer.
Seldom is the nativity account seen as a call to understand suffering. That’s typically reserved for Lent. And yet the incarnation of God’s Son should both humble us and hearten us in our trials. Consider Luther’s words, “Think of it…the King of all creation in heaven and on earth, and of all creatures in them, lies there is such wretchedness…Why do I want to be so high and mighty that I never want to suffer anything? If the King of glory suffers as He does, for my sake, who do I think I am?” 3 Christ’s entrance into our human flesh is an entrance into our suffering.
The birth of Christ had context. Your life has a context. This is so spiritually and vocationally. You have and/or are a husband, wife, child, student, employer or employee. You have a sphere of influence among family and friends. You are a baptized child of God who learns at the Teacher’s feet and dines at the Master’s Table. You do these things in real time, among real people, in concrete settings. The truth of Christmas sanctifies even the most mundane activities we engage in.
Perhaps we’re so busy at this time of year trying to survive we don’t know what it means to thrive. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”4 Life in Christ is free, full, abundant, and bountiful. He is no miser. He is no Christmas Scrooge. So lavish and extravagant is the love the ChristChild embodies that the apostle exclaims, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!”5
The birth of Jesus Christ was a breach of Satan’s rule, sin’s power, hell’s terror and death’s supremacy. Today we celebrate; not alone, not only with families, but with all the faithful, living and departed, and the whole host of angelic beings. “Glory to God in the highest”6 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Nativity of Our Lord
Christmas Day
25 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 2:11
2 Luke 2:14
3 House Postils
4 John 10:10
5 1 John 3:1
6 Luke 2:14
Text: Luke 2:7
Theme: A Breach Birth
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God is not abstract in His power or being. Christmas is evidence of this fact. Everything has a context. Nothing exists in a vacuum. The love of God can only be understood in the humanity of Jesus. A small Judean town was the backdrop for the most significant birth announcement in the history of the world. “Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”1 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…”2
Jesus’ birth was a breach. It was a breach of unprecedented magnitude. Through the womb of a humble virgin the architect of the universe breached the barrier between a holy God and sinful humanity. He traversed the boundary of the created sphere not with His omniscience but in human flesh and blood. He came not on a mission of reconnaissance but to set up tenancy. He came not to visit but to dwell. He came not to inspect His creation but to reclaim it, redeem it, and restore it. He came to hang from a cross.
Human logic deems it to be inconceivable. It doesn’t seem possible. How can this one man be the Redeemer of the world? How can your eternal future be secured by the birth, death, and resurrection of one human being! Yes, there is a long succession of miracles: A virgin birth, healing the blind, lame, deaf and mute, calming the seas, walking on their surface, commanding demons; capped by His own bodily resurrection from the dead. Still, the Holy Spirit must teach us that the one Man, this infant of Bethlehem died for me and my salvation. Only faith can enter here. In baptism faith is conceived in the human heart in a manner parallel to Jesus’ conception in Mary’s womb. The Holy Spirit is the father of such mysteries.
It can be debated whether our modern celebrations of Christmas are a help or a hindrance to our spiritual well-being. Easily lost is the confronting truth that Christ came because we are sinners- and that to such an extent that we merit condemnation to hell. We are called to honest reflection. What dominates our Christmas agenda? Is it mainly about family, taking time out, or indulging? Are we more likely to counting our blessings or just pause from the mundaneness of our daily regime?
The devil doesn’t take holidays. When we get up in the morning Satan tempts us to prioritize the day based on selfishness. Who or what do we fear? What challenges do we face? What tensions do we hope to avoid? Are we driven by pride? Or greed? Or guilt? Do we turn the things we’d like to have into the things we believe we need or deserve? What is the end purpose of our day? Our week? Our year? Does the birth of the Prince of Peace change that? Does the imminence of His return in glory ever prick our conscience or even cross our minds?
The nativity story should be gripping because it speaks to that which makes us essentially human. The soft touch of a newborn’s skin, the vulnerability of its tiny frame evokes the fiercest desire in the human instinct to safeguard that which is precious and fragile. A parent’s love for a newborn is surely one of the purest that exists among humans. And such is the appeal for a holy child born in a cattle stall. The circumstances of Christ’s birth are worse than ordinary, they are nearly tragic, unbecoming of a future King. Yet the ChristChild is no victim of His circumstances. Rather, the context is determined by the Divine will. So profound is the love of God that He deemed it necessary to condescend to us in such humility. Only in this way could our trust in Him be grounded in absolute confidence that He can truly relate to our condition.
He continues to dwell in and with humanity- the Creator with the created, the Immortal one with mortals. He comes, the bearer of light into darkness; the bringer of hope where there is doubt; the conveyer of peace where there is conflict. The tiny voice who cried as the animals rustled near His bed would one day call out as legions of darkness gathered near His cross. The bleat of God’s Lamb fell silent at the cross. The infant tears in a manger would swell to maturity as He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Yet His own tomb could not hold Him.
Christmas should always serve to recalibrate our perspective. We claw our way through life scraping together the world’s goods. We piece together some semblance of reputation and image. We tear and mend, and re-tear and re-mend our relationships. We steadfastly avoid ridicule, hurt and pain. We cloak our true motives with fashionable external activities. Our selfish and sinful sides are happy to receive Christmas as a distraction or opportunity for indulgence. Through it all we are prone to missing the truth that Christ didn’t come as a spiritual tonic or a therapist: He came to commiserate in His sacred role of substitution as only He could. He came to suffer.
Seldom is the nativity account seen as a call to understand suffering. That’s typically reserved for Lent. And yet the incarnation of God’s Son should both humble us and hearten us in our trials. Consider Luther’s words, “Think of it…the King of all creation in heaven and on earth, and of all creatures in them, lies there is such wretchedness…Why do I want to be so high and mighty that I never want to suffer anything? If the King of glory suffers as He does, for my sake, who do I think I am?” 3 Christ’s entrance into our human flesh is an entrance into our suffering.
The birth of Christ had context. Your life has a context. This is so spiritually and vocationally. You have and/or are a husband, wife, child, student, employer or employee. You have a sphere of influence among family and friends. You are a baptized child of God who learns at the Teacher’s feet and dines at the Master’s Table. You do these things in real time, among real people, in concrete settings. The truth of Christmas sanctifies even the most mundane activities we engage in.
Perhaps we’re so busy at this time of year trying to survive we don’t know what it means to thrive. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”4 Life in Christ is free, full, abundant, and bountiful. He is no miser. He is no Christmas Scrooge. So lavish and extravagant is the love the ChristChild embodies that the apostle exclaims, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!”5
The birth of Jesus Christ was a breach of Satan’s rule, sin’s power, hell’s terror and death’s supremacy. Today we celebrate; not alone, not only with families, but with all the faithful, living and departed, and the whole host of angelic beings. “Glory to God in the highest”6 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Nativity of Our Lord
Christmas Day
25 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 2:11
2 Luke 2:14
3 House Postils
4 John 10:10
5 1 John 3:1
6 Luke 2:14
Christmas Eve (C) 2012
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 2:13
Theme: A Great Company
Dear Worshippers at the Manger,
Christmas is an event that marks an expansion of God’s love. The waiting for God is over. The form and substance of divine love is revealed in the person and work of Jesus- Emmanuel, Lamb of God, Good Shepherd, Saviour, King of kings and Lord of lords. Born in the quiet Judean town of Bethlehem, crucified in the bustling city of Jerusalem His coming is nevertheless Good News for the entire world. The human nature of Jesus made evident at the manger is the same nature the risen Christ rules with in eternity. Christmas demonstrates the Son of God’s true solidarity with humanity.
There is point, plan, and purpose in the Father’s sending of His Son. He is sent to sinners. He came not as a reward for our godliness but as a ransom price of our wickedness. He came not for novelty or spectacle but from compulsion and compassion. He could not bear to see us perishing in our self-absorption. He came in humility and sacrifice precisely for souls characterized by those four descriptives of the apostle in Romans chapter 1: senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless1. We are those souls. He came as light into our darkness.
One of the things that makes the Christmas story so engaging is the characters; peasant parents, simple shepherds, entrancing angels. Many people would secretly love to have personal encounters with angels. Sometimes the fascination is almost palpable. But the Christmas narrative is grounded in historical realism with communal implications. The cattle trough veils a reality that far exceeds our personal spheres of interest. Do you think any angel that approaches you could bear a more important message than Gabriel did that night? Can you ask for better news than that of a Saviour born to bear sins? Let us never reduce the witness of Scripture below the personal experience we desire. Our confidence rests not in the fluctuating appraisals of our feelings but in God’s truth that stands written. Our moods are governed by time and context; God’s Word endures for eternity.
God’s entrance into the world through Bethlehem is a universal event. The Holy Spirit extends the invitation to Jew and Gentile alike. All preferences defined by status and right are transcended by the gospel. Baptism is instituted for all. The Scripture says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared”2 to every man, woman, and child, the aged and the unborn, the privileged and the vulnerable. Like the “great company of the heavenly host”3 on that first Christmas Eve God seeks to bring many lambs into His fold. Our mindset at Christmas should be reflected accordingly. At Christmas do we seek to enlarge our company of friends? Or do we pull the circle tighter to include only family and those closest to us?
The mandate of Christmas often comes across in formula-like style: Dote like Mary, worship like wisemen, sing like angels, go and tell like shepherds. It’s persuasive in its simplicity. If only we’re mindful of replicating all these actions then God is glorified and there is peace on earth- or at least for our consciences. If only each year we can come to a closer representation then our Christian obedience will be validated and the Good News will be spread far and wide! Beware, dear friends, of making the fleeting sentimentality of Christmas the measure of your Christian life. It might be a little like gauging your marriage by that first passionate kiss or assessing your health by the one visit to the doctor you had some time back.
The import of Christmas is not that we remember but that we are remembered. Christ came for the long haul. He leapt into the fray. He is present in our suffering as well in our joy. He attends us while agitated and when at peace. When we are alone He either marshals a great company of companions or He alone remains our trusted confidant as befits the circumstance. He cheers us when all earthly means fail. He maintains hope long after we’ve given up. He prefigures life when death draws near. The ChristChild, a small, fragile infant is the embodiment of God’s expansive and invincible love. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Nativity of Our Lord- Christmas Eve
24 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 See Romans 1:31
2 Titus 2:11
3 Luke 2:13
Text: Luke 2:13
Theme: A Great Company
Dear Worshippers at the Manger,
Christmas is an event that marks an expansion of God’s love. The waiting for God is over. The form and substance of divine love is revealed in the person and work of Jesus- Emmanuel, Lamb of God, Good Shepherd, Saviour, King of kings and Lord of lords. Born in the quiet Judean town of Bethlehem, crucified in the bustling city of Jerusalem His coming is nevertheless Good News for the entire world. The human nature of Jesus made evident at the manger is the same nature the risen Christ rules with in eternity. Christmas demonstrates the Son of God’s true solidarity with humanity.
There is point, plan, and purpose in the Father’s sending of His Son. He is sent to sinners. He came not as a reward for our godliness but as a ransom price of our wickedness. He came not for novelty or spectacle but from compulsion and compassion. He could not bear to see us perishing in our self-absorption. He came in humility and sacrifice precisely for souls characterized by those four descriptives of the apostle in Romans chapter 1: senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless1. We are those souls. He came as light into our darkness.
One of the things that makes the Christmas story so engaging is the characters; peasant parents, simple shepherds, entrancing angels. Many people would secretly love to have personal encounters with angels. Sometimes the fascination is almost palpable. But the Christmas narrative is grounded in historical realism with communal implications. The cattle trough veils a reality that far exceeds our personal spheres of interest. Do you think any angel that approaches you could bear a more important message than Gabriel did that night? Can you ask for better news than that of a Saviour born to bear sins? Let us never reduce the witness of Scripture below the personal experience we desire. Our confidence rests not in the fluctuating appraisals of our feelings but in God’s truth that stands written. Our moods are governed by time and context; God’s Word endures for eternity.
God’s entrance into the world through Bethlehem is a universal event. The Holy Spirit extends the invitation to Jew and Gentile alike. All preferences defined by status and right are transcended by the gospel. Baptism is instituted for all. The Scripture says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared”2 to every man, woman, and child, the aged and the unborn, the privileged and the vulnerable. Like the “great company of the heavenly host”3 on that first Christmas Eve God seeks to bring many lambs into His fold. Our mindset at Christmas should be reflected accordingly. At Christmas do we seek to enlarge our company of friends? Or do we pull the circle tighter to include only family and those closest to us?
The mandate of Christmas often comes across in formula-like style: Dote like Mary, worship like wisemen, sing like angels, go and tell like shepherds. It’s persuasive in its simplicity. If only we’re mindful of replicating all these actions then God is glorified and there is peace on earth- or at least for our consciences. If only each year we can come to a closer representation then our Christian obedience will be validated and the Good News will be spread far and wide! Beware, dear friends, of making the fleeting sentimentality of Christmas the measure of your Christian life. It might be a little like gauging your marriage by that first passionate kiss or assessing your health by the one visit to the doctor you had some time back.
The import of Christmas is not that we remember but that we are remembered. Christ came for the long haul. He leapt into the fray. He is present in our suffering as well in our joy. He attends us while agitated and when at peace. When we are alone He either marshals a great company of companions or He alone remains our trusted confidant as befits the circumstance. He cheers us when all earthly means fail. He maintains hope long after we’ve given up. He prefigures life when death draws near. The ChristChild, a small, fragile infant is the embodiment of God’s expansive and invincible love. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Nativity of Our Lord- Christmas Eve
24 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 See Romans 1:31
2 Titus 2:11
3 Luke 2:13
Monday, December 24, 2012
Fourth Sunday Of Advent (C) 2012
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 1:41
Theme: A New Temple
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The mercy of God is constant and His ways cannot be manipulated by humans. Always wanting to tinker, the sinful human ego will still make no progress trying to influence the methods of the Almighty. Christian maturity involves learning to appreciate that God’s ways are not only best; they are truly liberating. Advent points us to the final emancipation from sin, Satan, death, and hell. Christmas reminds us of the humble beginnings that will one day give way to dramatic conclusions.
For a span of nine months, at the dawn of a new age, the most holy place was not in the Jerusalem temple, not in the synagogue, not in the palace of the high priest, not in any sacred shrine; it was in the womb of a humble virgin named Mary. This is the unassuming beginning of the revelation of God-in-the-flesh. What higher honour could be bestowed on any human being than to be the mother of the Son of God? In His infinite wisdom the Almighty chose a humble woman from a small Judean town to bring the Messiah into the world.
Startled by the visit of the angel Gabriel Mary was understandably full of fear and perplexity. How overwhelming it must have been. To what degree did she understand what it meant? Mary now becomes a symbol of the church and her faith a model for all who would enter therein. Every human soul enters the church only through repentance and faith. The Scripture says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”1
The conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary sanctifies every life in every womb in every age. Life is sacred because God the Father has created it to be so and God the Son has come to redeem it. Despite the cry for rights and freedoms in modern democracy or the discoveries of modern medicine God still has jurisdiction over human life. It is arrogant and dangerous to usurp His authority. It invites His wrath. It is therefore the solemn privilege of the Christian church to make prayerful intersession on behalf of every mother or couple contemplating an abortion. It is the duty of the faithful to tenderly support all who are traumatized by regret. Far from being a taboo subject during this sacred time it is very appropriately an implication of His incarnation. Christmas is about hope for those who are most vulnerable. Who are more vulnerable than the unborn, the aged or the incapacitated? God Himself will come to their aid. He leaves no one destitute.
Dear friends, as the words of the prophets come to fulfillment and the old covenant is absorbed by the new we see a shift in the presence and activity of God. In the time of the patriarchs the revelations of God were ad hoc- when and where He pleased. When Jacob was at Bethel he had a vision of a ladder reaching to heaven. He said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”2 At the burning bush God said to Moses, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”3
But then God took up residence. The people crossed into the promised land. God said, “You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit…to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name- there you are to bring everything I command you.”4 God could be found in the tabernacle, then in the temple in the holy of holies. When Isaiah saw the angels circling the throne of God the Scripture says, “At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook.”5 Isaiah’s vision had crossed the threshold into the holy of holies.
But the threshold of the temple is now no longer traversed by the high priest bearing blood. The infant of Bethlehem and prophet of Nazareth says to His Father, “‘Here I am, I have come to do Your will’…and by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”6 His humiliation effects our exaltation. What does it mean for us?
It means all the humanly-invented means of acquiring God’s favour are laid to rest. The approaches we devise to cross the threshold into the divine are obsolete. Our piety, our knowledge, our generosity, even our pleading or tears cannot penetrate the divine presence. Our best negotiations have no effect. But gone too is the burden. Gone is the fear. Gone are the hopelessness, doubt and despair. Gone is the terror of the sinner cowering before the righteous judgment of God. God is not aloof or inaccessible. He has come to us. Christ is Emmanuel, God with us! “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you.”7
Jesus now says, “I am the gate for the sheep.”8 He is the only access into God’s eternal kingdom. The Redeemer says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; He has crossed over from death to life.”9 The portal to heaven is now precisely as narrow as Jesus’ body. And for the contrite sinner that means it extends far beyond our vision of the horizon.
When God speaks His word of grace the hinges creak as the door to heaven opens wide. When Christ forgives we are drawn right past the threshold into the eternal love of the Trinity. When the Holy Spirit comforts we are calmed not by the voice of One who thunders from a distance but by the close presence of Him who cradles us with compassion.
Moses was told to take off His sandals. We need only to undress our egos. The wisemen bore precious treasures. We need only leave our transgressions. The shepherds were honoured above emperors. The baptized are honoured above the high and mighty of the world.
When you are called to the remembrance of your baptism you are transported again under the protection of His Name. When you kneel here at the railing you are kneeling at the gate of heaven. When you receive His body and blood in, with, and under that bread and wine Christ promises to dwell with you- the Holy One with the sinner. The shepherds left not with presents but with faith. And faith cannot keep silent.
Today we join with Mary in rejoicing that she was the provisional temple of the Son of God. Crucified, risen, ascended, and enthroned, when He comes again it will be neither to the manger, nor the temple, nor to establish one. He will come to resurrect the faithful to a scene and celebration that far excels anything we will experience this Christmas, or ever. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday of Advent
23 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 3:36
2 Genesis 28:17
3 Exodus 3:5
4 Deuteronomy 12:8-11
5 Isaiah 6:4
6 Hebrews 10:9-10
7 Luke 2:10-11
8 John 10:7
9 John 5:24
Text: Luke 1:41
Theme: A New Temple
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The mercy of God is constant and His ways cannot be manipulated by humans. Always wanting to tinker, the sinful human ego will still make no progress trying to influence the methods of the Almighty. Christian maturity involves learning to appreciate that God’s ways are not only best; they are truly liberating. Advent points us to the final emancipation from sin, Satan, death, and hell. Christmas reminds us of the humble beginnings that will one day give way to dramatic conclusions.
For a span of nine months, at the dawn of a new age, the most holy place was not in the Jerusalem temple, not in the synagogue, not in the palace of the high priest, not in any sacred shrine; it was in the womb of a humble virgin named Mary. This is the unassuming beginning of the revelation of God-in-the-flesh. What higher honour could be bestowed on any human being than to be the mother of the Son of God? In His infinite wisdom the Almighty chose a humble woman from a small Judean town to bring the Messiah into the world.
Startled by the visit of the angel Gabriel Mary was understandably full of fear and perplexity. How overwhelming it must have been. To what degree did she understand what it meant? Mary now becomes a symbol of the church and her faith a model for all who would enter therein. Every human soul enters the church only through repentance and faith. The Scripture says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”1
The conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary sanctifies every life in every womb in every age. Life is sacred because God the Father has created it to be so and God the Son has come to redeem it. Despite the cry for rights and freedoms in modern democracy or the discoveries of modern medicine God still has jurisdiction over human life. It is arrogant and dangerous to usurp His authority. It invites His wrath. It is therefore the solemn privilege of the Christian church to make prayerful intersession on behalf of every mother or couple contemplating an abortion. It is the duty of the faithful to tenderly support all who are traumatized by regret. Far from being a taboo subject during this sacred time it is very appropriately an implication of His incarnation. Christmas is about hope for those who are most vulnerable. Who are more vulnerable than the unborn, the aged or the incapacitated? God Himself will come to their aid. He leaves no one destitute.
Dear friends, as the words of the prophets come to fulfillment and the old covenant is absorbed by the new we see a shift in the presence and activity of God. In the time of the patriarchs the revelations of God were ad hoc- when and where He pleased. When Jacob was at Bethel he had a vision of a ladder reaching to heaven. He said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”2 At the burning bush God said to Moses, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”3
But then God took up residence. The people crossed into the promised land. God said, “You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit…to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name- there you are to bring everything I command you.”4 God could be found in the tabernacle, then in the temple in the holy of holies. When Isaiah saw the angels circling the throne of God the Scripture says, “At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook.”5 Isaiah’s vision had crossed the threshold into the holy of holies.
But the threshold of the temple is now no longer traversed by the high priest bearing blood. The infant of Bethlehem and prophet of Nazareth says to His Father, “‘Here I am, I have come to do Your will’…and by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”6 His humiliation effects our exaltation. What does it mean for us?
It means all the humanly-invented means of acquiring God’s favour are laid to rest. The approaches we devise to cross the threshold into the divine are obsolete. Our piety, our knowledge, our generosity, even our pleading or tears cannot penetrate the divine presence. Our best negotiations have no effect. But gone too is the burden. Gone is the fear. Gone are the hopelessness, doubt and despair. Gone is the terror of the sinner cowering before the righteous judgment of God. God is not aloof or inaccessible. He has come to us. Christ is Emmanuel, God with us! “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you.”7
Jesus now says, “I am the gate for the sheep.”8 He is the only access into God’s eternal kingdom. The Redeemer says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; He has crossed over from death to life.”9 The portal to heaven is now precisely as narrow as Jesus’ body. And for the contrite sinner that means it extends far beyond our vision of the horizon.
When God speaks His word of grace the hinges creak as the door to heaven opens wide. When Christ forgives we are drawn right past the threshold into the eternal love of the Trinity. When the Holy Spirit comforts we are calmed not by the voice of One who thunders from a distance but by the close presence of Him who cradles us with compassion.
Moses was told to take off His sandals. We need only to undress our egos. The wisemen bore precious treasures. We need only leave our transgressions. The shepherds were honoured above emperors. The baptized are honoured above the high and mighty of the world.
When you are called to the remembrance of your baptism you are transported again under the protection of His Name. When you kneel here at the railing you are kneeling at the gate of heaven. When you receive His body and blood in, with, and under that bread and wine Christ promises to dwell with you- the Holy One with the sinner. The shepherds left not with presents but with faith. And faith cannot keep silent.
Today we join with Mary in rejoicing that she was the provisional temple of the Son of God. Crucified, risen, ascended, and enthroned, when He comes again it will be neither to the manger, nor the temple, nor to establish one. He will come to resurrect the faithful to a scene and celebration that far excels anything we will experience this Christmas, or ever. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday of Advent
23 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 3:36
2 Genesis 28:17
3 Exodus 3:5
4 Deuteronomy 12:8-11
5 Isaiah 6:4
6 Hebrews 10:9-10
7 Luke 2:10-11
8 John 10:7
9 John 5:24
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Third Sunday Of Advent (C) 2012
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 3:10-14
Theme: Advent Opportunities
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God never squanders opportunities. He never relies on guesswork. Everything He does is always purposeful in Christ. Today John the Baptist continues his preaching of repentance. His message is urgent. “The ax is already at the root of the trees”1preparing to cut them down. The crowds are stirred up. They begin to query him. What does his preaching mean? How does one prepare for the coming Christ? He answers their questions to very practical effect. Faith shows itself in deeds.
Here John shows great skill in His ability to convey God’s truth. He is an expert surgeon. He sharpens the knife- the double-edged sword of God’s word- and begins to make curative incisions. Each individual’s sin has particular tendencies. This often relates to the opportunities that lay before us. He warns the tax-collectors to not take advantage of their position by over-charging even though it was something they could get away with legally. He warns the soldiers not to use their power to coerce citizens. He is most severe with the Pharisees who were abusing their spiritual influence. All were myopic and required the mirror of God’s law to see their faults.
The implications for us are transparent. In our vocations each of us has unique opportunities. Those opportunities can be selfishly used to gain some advantage over others. Those opportunities can be ignored. Or they can be used to seek the well-being of the neighbour. Repentance has tangible manifestations. It has concrete expressions. Because the heart has been acted upon daily attitudes and activities are transformed. We are not Platonists, aspiring to idealistic values but showing no evidence in our lives.
This is a reflection of the life-giving presence of Christ among us. The birth of Jesus Christ wasn’t a virtual reality. It isn’t a cleverly devised legend now accompanied by impressive computer-generated images. It’s not archived in some dusty Bible or electronic depository and retrieved each year to give our Christmas celebrations some focus. He stood among us in flesh and blood- God incarnate! He healed the sick, calmed the waves, gave sight to the blind and raised the dead. We have an unbroken succession of witnesses to His name. His sacrifice on the cross and subsequent resurrection finally alters reality. Death’s power has a use-by date. Death will become obsolete! The resurrection awaits us. That is the hope of advent.
We can now live as reflections of that truth. But as John warns that doesn’t give us license to exploit others or expect God will cater to our every whim. Christianity doesn’t make our lives more comfortable. It gives them ultimate purpose. So we must learn to identify and contest the modern tendency to think that people of faith receive special accommodation from God. It’s a misunderstanding to believe Christians should receive some kind of ‘exemption’ from trials.
Many like to think that their difficulties are exceptional. Here Satan plants a very arrogant lie in our hearts. We think we are worthy of special notice, special attention, special sympathy because our plight is somehow more severe than that of others. God should attend to us first! But do you think you are the first person ever to struggle? Is Job your peer? Have you broken new ground?
Dear friends, many people can sympathize with our struggles. Others have been through the hard knocks of life too. Showing compassion is something Christians should learn to excel at. A fewer number can empathize because they have faced something similar. They can relate. But only one-only Christ- can fully understand the depth and range of human hardship, temptation and sorrow. Only Christ, the infant of Bethlehem, the scapegoat on Calvary, and the victor over death’s power was an irrefutably obedient human being. We possess Adam’s nature in its fallen state. Christ is the New Adam who restores human nature to its original excellence.
So to say that Christ knows you- especially your flaws, and failings- is something much more than claiming He possesses complete information about you. Even a comprehensive accounting of all the events of your life is not what we mean. Christ lived for you. He endured the best Satan could throw at Him. He suffered the harrowing pains of separation from God the Father- a profound anguish that no believer will ever experience. No one can ‘prove’ that to you by any means that are acceptable to human logic. The Holy Spirit teaches it by faith. He says, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”2 And again, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”3
Christ understands your mortality. He understands all the vulnerabilities of your humanity because you were baptized into His death and resurrection. You inherited your sinful nature from Adam but you are gifted with true righteousness from Christ. Baptismal water is more powerful than Adam’s blood. Jesus promises you a much different inheritance.
One of the great mysteries of Christianity is this: Christ was resolved to leave heaven to live with sinners. This was previewed in the circumstances of His birth. How many nobles and high officials were at the manger? The wisemen came later to the house. The heavenly hosts announced the Messiah’s birth but the shepherds were hardly ambassadors of society’s elite. No representative from the temple was present. No high priest. No Pharisee or Sadducee.
Christ dwells only with sinners who understand themselves as such. He left the company of angelic beings to associate with sinful mortals. We can scarcely appreciate what a profound miracle that is. If you are seeking miracles look no further than the stable. Look no further than the cross. If you want to participate in this greatest of mysteries then come to Holy Communion. The infant cradled in Bethlehem has been crowned King in the heavenly Jerusalem. Yet even now He dwells with you through His word and Spirit.
The apostle Paul comforts the faithful with these familiar words today, “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”4 What does it mean to have your heart and mind guarded by the peace of God? Is it not the assurance that though the world would hurl all its fury at you, you nevertheless stand in the righteousness of Christ- still holy and blameless! His promises are not new. The prophet said, “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”5 He misses no opportunity. Rejoice all you who languish in darkness, Immanuel has come to you. Come, Lord Jesus, Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday of Advent
16 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 3:9
2 Hebrews 12:4
3 1 Corinthians 10:13
4 Philippians 4:7
5 Zephaniah 3:17
Text: Luke 3:10-14
Theme: Advent Opportunities
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God never squanders opportunities. He never relies on guesswork. Everything He does is always purposeful in Christ. Today John the Baptist continues his preaching of repentance. His message is urgent. “The ax is already at the root of the trees”1preparing to cut them down. The crowds are stirred up. They begin to query him. What does his preaching mean? How does one prepare for the coming Christ? He answers their questions to very practical effect. Faith shows itself in deeds.
Here John shows great skill in His ability to convey God’s truth. He is an expert surgeon. He sharpens the knife- the double-edged sword of God’s word- and begins to make curative incisions. Each individual’s sin has particular tendencies. This often relates to the opportunities that lay before us. He warns the tax-collectors to not take advantage of their position by over-charging even though it was something they could get away with legally. He warns the soldiers not to use their power to coerce citizens. He is most severe with the Pharisees who were abusing their spiritual influence. All were myopic and required the mirror of God’s law to see their faults.
The implications for us are transparent. In our vocations each of us has unique opportunities. Those opportunities can be selfishly used to gain some advantage over others. Those opportunities can be ignored. Or they can be used to seek the well-being of the neighbour. Repentance has tangible manifestations. It has concrete expressions. Because the heart has been acted upon daily attitudes and activities are transformed. We are not Platonists, aspiring to idealistic values but showing no evidence in our lives.
This is a reflection of the life-giving presence of Christ among us. The birth of Jesus Christ wasn’t a virtual reality. It isn’t a cleverly devised legend now accompanied by impressive computer-generated images. It’s not archived in some dusty Bible or electronic depository and retrieved each year to give our Christmas celebrations some focus. He stood among us in flesh and blood- God incarnate! He healed the sick, calmed the waves, gave sight to the blind and raised the dead. We have an unbroken succession of witnesses to His name. His sacrifice on the cross and subsequent resurrection finally alters reality. Death’s power has a use-by date. Death will become obsolete! The resurrection awaits us. That is the hope of advent.
We can now live as reflections of that truth. But as John warns that doesn’t give us license to exploit others or expect God will cater to our every whim. Christianity doesn’t make our lives more comfortable. It gives them ultimate purpose. So we must learn to identify and contest the modern tendency to think that people of faith receive special accommodation from God. It’s a misunderstanding to believe Christians should receive some kind of ‘exemption’ from trials.
Many like to think that their difficulties are exceptional. Here Satan plants a very arrogant lie in our hearts. We think we are worthy of special notice, special attention, special sympathy because our plight is somehow more severe than that of others. God should attend to us first! But do you think you are the first person ever to struggle? Is Job your peer? Have you broken new ground?
Dear friends, many people can sympathize with our struggles. Others have been through the hard knocks of life too. Showing compassion is something Christians should learn to excel at. A fewer number can empathize because they have faced something similar. They can relate. But only one-only Christ- can fully understand the depth and range of human hardship, temptation and sorrow. Only Christ, the infant of Bethlehem, the scapegoat on Calvary, and the victor over death’s power was an irrefutably obedient human being. We possess Adam’s nature in its fallen state. Christ is the New Adam who restores human nature to its original excellence.
So to say that Christ knows you- especially your flaws, and failings- is something much more than claiming He possesses complete information about you. Even a comprehensive accounting of all the events of your life is not what we mean. Christ lived for you. He endured the best Satan could throw at Him. He suffered the harrowing pains of separation from God the Father- a profound anguish that no believer will ever experience. No one can ‘prove’ that to you by any means that are acceptable to human logic. The Holy Spirit teaches it by faith. He says, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”2 And again, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”3
Christ understands your mortality. He understands all the vulnerabilities of your humanity because you were baptized into His death and resurrection. You inherited your sinful nature from Adam but you are gifted with true righteousness from Christ. Baptismal water is more powerful than Adam’s blood. Jesus promises you a much different inheritance.
One of the great mysteries of Christianity is this: Christ was resolved to leave heaven to live with sinners. This was previewed in the circumstances of His birth. How many nobles and high officials were at the manger? The wisemen came later to the house. The heavenly hosts announced the Messiah’s birth but the shepherds were hardly ambassadors of society’s elite. No representative from the temple was present. No high priest. No Pharisee or Sadducee.
Christ dwells only with sinners who understand themselves as such. He left the company of angelic beings to associate with sinful mortals. We can scarcely appreciate what a profound miracle that is. If you are seeking miracles look no further than the stable. Look no further than the cross. If you want to participate in this greatest of mysteries then come to Holy Communion. The infant cradled in Bethlehem has been crowned King in the heavenly Jerusalem. Yet even now He dwells with you through His word and Spirit.
The apostle Paul comforts the faithful with these familiar words today, “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”4 What does it mean to have your heart and mind guarded by the peace of God? Is it not the assurance that though the world would hurl all its fury at you, you nevertheless stand in the righteousness of Christ- still holy and blameless! His promises are not new. The prophet said, “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”5 He misses no opportunity. Rejoice all you who languish in darkness, Immanuel has come to you. Come, Lord Jesus, Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Third Sunday of Advent
16 December 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 3:9
2 Hebrews 12:4
3 1 Corinthians 10:13
4 Philippians 4:7
5 Zephaniah 3:17
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)