Have you ever stopped at one of those California visitor centers or any of those welcome centers along the interstate when you cross the border of a state? When you stop at one of these visitor centers, you will see hundreds of different books, maps and brochures. All of them glorifying what you can see and do in whichever state it is. Those books and brochures contain all sorts of information about what wonderful destinations lay ahead for the traveler new to that state. The brochures and books contain pictures of happy smiling people, majestic natural beauty, interesting museums, and thrilling amusement parks. All of them show and promise you their glorious best features, but very few tell you the cost of admission until you get there or look online after having your interest piqued and it may not even live up to the hype.

In today’s Gospel text, something glorious and amazing happened to Jesus. Peter, James, and John were witnesses to it, but what happened was more than some interesting occurrence. It was a sign of the very real heavenly glory that was yet to come for Jesus but also for those who would believe in Him. Unlike travel brochures, however, Jesus had been very clear as to the price of admission: His own innocent sacrificial death on the cross.

In order to understand this text in Matthew 17, let us first take a brief look at Matthew 16. In Matthew 16, Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, when in the last verses of the chapter, Jesus talked to His disciples and explained that as the Christ He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Peter had tried to rebuke Jesus and tell Jesus that could never happen, but Jesus then rebuked Peter. “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

The final verse of MT 16 says: “there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His reign”. This could be referring to the crucifixion, the resurrection, or even the transfiguration, perhaps all three.

Immediately after these verses that I just read to you, we have the text of today’s appointed Gospel lesson in which Jesus was transfigured before His disciples. He was changed in appearance, His clothes became pure white like light, and His face shone as brightly as the sun itself. Imagine that…what happens to you if you were to stare at the sun? You would go blind, wouldn’t you? Yet here is Jesus giving off the same light and glory. While this was happening, Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Him. Peter was so taken with this scene, He wanted to stay there and build tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, but as Peter was talking, a cloud surrounded them and a voice said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” Although the disciples were terrified knowing that this was the voice of God the Father Himself, Jesus came and touched them and said, “Rise, and have no fear”. When they raised their eyes they saw no one but Jesus.

This transfiguration was a sign of things to come. I mean this whole occurrence was a glimpse into the glory that would be given to Jesus once He accomplished His earthly ministerial task. Perhaps I should say the glory that would be given “back” to Jesus, for indeed He was the very Son of God and worthy of all glory and the source of all light as the creator. The Transfiguration was also a sign explaining again what Jesus was doing during His ministry. The appearance of Moses, giver of the 10 commandments, leader of the Exodus from slavery to the promised land, represented that Jesus would fulfill the law, and lead all people in faith as the true Israel to an even greater promised land. Elijah represented Jesus as the ultimate prophet and the fulfillment of all prophecy. The cloud represented the Old Testament visible presence of God who now dwelt among the people not in temple or canvas tent but fully and bodily in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.

Another reason for this transfiguration of Jesus was as a testimony to and encouragement for the disciples. It was like a light at the end of a tunnel, giving hope to those who must travel through more darkness before emerging safe on the other side. The disciples needed this encouragement of witnessing Christ’s glory, for all too soon they would descend the mountain and Jesus would have to descend the depths of humiliation. The time was at hand for Jesus to be betrayed, to suffer, and be crucified. Meanwhile the disciples would suffer in confusion, fear, and weakness. This manifestation of Christ’s rightful light and glory would give them hope during the darkness of Good Friday. Though there would be much bitterness, sorrow, and mourning during Holy Week, on Sunday morning of Easter, Jesus would emerge victorious over sin, death, and the devil. He would be exalted and glorified with the glory that was rightfully His and which He has now won for all believers in Him.

Now we approach the season of the Church Year, we call Lent. As we do, we remember the price that Jesus paid so that we may enter eternal life rather than the damnation that our sins deserve. We remember that the price to be paid for the righteous wrath of God upon sin was the life of God’s own innocent Son, Jesus Christ, crucified for our sins and the sins of the world. We remember Jesus’ words that whoever must save His life must lose it, that whoever would come after Jesus must take up his cross and follow Jesus. The price of admission into Christ’s heavenly kingdom is also our own death. This does not mean that we must also be put to death and suffer as Christ suffered, but this death about which Jesus speaks is putting to death through repentance our old sinful selves, that it would be crucified and buried with Jesus Christ.

This has already been begun in us through Holy Baptism, for there in the waters Christ came to us and we were crucified with Him. Our old sinful selves were crucified and nailed to the tree even though we may not understand how. In Holy Baptism we also were transfigured because the Holy Spirit overcame our sin and we have been clothed with the pure white garments of light; the light of Jesus’ righteousness. Every time that we repent and confess our sins, our garments are made clean again by His absolution. We cannot see these clothes with the eyes of the flesh, but the Father sees them for Jesus’ sake. You are clothed with Christ through faith. You are able to look to the cross and see God’s glorious mercy for you. We can, by faith, see His redemptive light, which does not blind as when looking at the sun, but rather removes spiritual blindness. In the crucifixion of Jesus, we can see the love and mercy of God. In the terror of God’s judgment upon Jesus, we can see His tender compassion for us and all people. We can know without a doubt and be encouraged that God knows any grief or sorrow that we may bear in this life, for He bore all heartache and grief when His own Son died so that we may not die eternally. He died so that we might have life and have it abundantly. He died in humiliation so that we may partake in His glory, the glory of His triumphant resurrection.

Now as Christ lives in us, He lives through us as new people living with light in the midst of darkness. We have beheld the glory of His love in His redemption of us at the cross and His empty tomb. We are now transfigured by His Holy Spirit working through His Word and Sacraments to be holy people of God.

That is what is happening here in this worship service. The Holy Spirit gathers us to repent and remember our baptisms. Then Jesus comes stands before us and touches us by His grace through His Word and in His body and blood at the Lord’s supper and says, “Rise, do not fear”. You are forgiven. We have His peace by the forgiveness of our sins and His presence, we no longer need to fear, for the Lord is at our side. We partake of the glory of His forgiveness won for us, and we celebrate with all those who have gone before us the victory of Christ’s death and resurrection. The feast of victory in Christ’s body and blood gives us forgiveness and strength, filling our hearts and minds with joy. Now in His joy we may bear witness to the glory and love of God which He has shown to us through Christ’s death and resurrection even as St. Peter attests in the Epistle. We do not follow cleverly devised myths, but we may also proclaim to others the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been eyewitnesses of His majesty. Our great deliverer Jesus Christ has come and in His cross points us to the life and glory which is yet to come and is yours already through faith in Jesus Christ who has paid the price of your admission unto His glorious eternal life. God keep us in that faith in Jesus Christ, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Our Gospel lesson for today comes immediately after the beatitudes which we heard last week. Jesus had called His disciples, drawn them to Himself, He had taught them, blessed them, and given them the good news that the kingdom of heaven was reigning in the Ministry of Jesus the Son of God who had come to fulfill the Law. He then spoke to His disciples as those He would be sending out with that message of God’s salvation.

He said, “you are the salt of the earth,” and then “you are the light of the world.” Jesus makes this statement of description to all the Church, to all who have been redeemed out of the world. The world with its sin and unbelief, is a place that is impure, decaying, disease ridden, a dark and ignorant place where sin, death, and the power of the devil attempt to reign supreme. The earth has been filled with the curse of sin, therefore there is sorrow, sickness, slavery and bondage to that curse. Yet Christ came and burst through the prison doors, and has set people free by the forgiveness of sin through His perfect life giving death at the cross, a perfect sacrifice.

Having been called by His Word and regenerated through baptism, the Church and its members have been changed by the Holy Spirit. Given faith in what Jesus Christ has given them: namely redemption, life, and hope by the forgiveness of sin: reconciliation with the Father through Jesus blood and merit. Now believers in Jesus Christ are at peace with God. If you are a baptized believer in Jesus Christ, you too have been changed by the Holy Spirit who has worked repentance and faith into your hearts. You are therefore included in the words of Jesus today and made to be the salt of the earth, you are to be light even as Jesus has been salt and light for you.

Why did Jesus choose salt to describe His disciples and the Church? Because salt even as we know it and use it helps describe the work of Holy Spirit working through His Word, His sacraments, and yes working even through you, His people.

Salt makes food taste good or better. Have you ever had meat that was unsalted or a meal that had absolutely no salt added? It was probably as bland as chewing on a napkin. Christians are to be salt for this world. As they serve God through their vocations, Christians are a blessing from God to non-believers. He uses faithful Christian laborers, farmers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, mothers, fathers, children, and any other godly calling to build up society and civilization, to bring an increase in the quality of life here on earth to all people. As salt, they make this world, palatable.

Salt may seem common today and the doctors may speak of the possibility of having too much, but salt has historically been considered very precious and valuable. Did you know that the word “salary” comes from the word salt? The Romans would actually pay their soldiers not in gold but in salt. Therefore, a faithful worker was literally “worth his salt.”

Salt was valued not just for flavoring but also as a preservative. Before the invention of modern refrigeration, salt was needed in the preservation of food. Food, especially meat, will not spoil as quickly if it has been salted, because flies, bacteria, and other spoilers are slowed down or unable to penetrate the salt.

Salt is also a disinfectant. Salt has a burning quality to it. It dries things out. Yes, salt kills snails, but it also kills germs, and can prevent infections in wounds and promote faster healing. Salt can induce thirst and drive people and things to water. This is very much like the Word of God. The Law of God burns sin and draws it out of the spiritual wounds of people. Sometimes the Law hurts as it cleanses, because the impurities inside the sinner must die to sin in repentance. The Law of God causes people to hunger and thirst for the water of life for the righteousness which is found only in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Grace of God given in the preached Gospel, in Baptism and Holy Absolution, quenches the thirst for salvation, because the eternal hellish burn which sin deserved was placed upon Jesus at the cross, buried in the tomb so that believers are purified, disinfected and raised again in newness of life in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Salt is valuable in giving life. Without salt humans and animals cannot have proper bodily function. Salt is necessary for the firing of the electrical impulses in the nervous system. Salt is necessary for the health of bodily organs, for the replacement of blood cells and other cells, to maintain blood pressure, for proper muscle activity, to equalize the balance of water and other elements in the body. Likewise, the salt which Jesus Christ gives in His instruments of Grace continues to give life to His people. He feeds you and His Church through the Holy Ministry of preaching, teaching, and administering the sacraments. In this way, He regulates and balances your physical bodies and your spiritual needs, even as He nurtures and cares for His body, the Church, and prepares it for eternity. Therefore, He uses physical and spiritual means to feed our physical and spiritual bodies in His body and blood in the bread and the wine to preserve us for eternal life. In Absolution and the Eucharist, He also regulates us as individual members of His body. We learn to daily repent of pride and learn to live together in unity of confession as one body in Jesus Christ. As the Lord says through St. Paul in Ephesians, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Having been fed and nourished through the Word of God and His sacraments here in His Divine Service, we are called to not lose our salt as soon as we leave these doors, but by the Holy Spirit we are called out from this place to be salt and light to the world.

You have been called out to be spiritual priests offering your lives of good works as spiritual sacrifices to the Father. Reflecting the light of Jesus Christ to others, giving flavor and life by speaking and witnessing to the truth of God’s Word in Jesus Christ is being salt and light in this world.

If we just go about our business without witnessing to Christ through word and deed, we are like lamps that had been lit but are then hid under a basket. We can never expect our families and communities to be blessed, or our congregations to grow if we do not take the light and the salt of God’s Word and Jesus Christ with us in our lives and on our lips. Salt remaining in a shaker does not flavor, disinfect, or give life. If we do not present the Law of God to salt and cast out the deeds of darkness in our own lives, the lives of loved ones, and those around us, there will be no thirst for the Gospel, there will be no need to repent. The cross of Christ will not be seen as a place of hope, a place breaking through the darkness, but will be an excuse to sin all the more. If we relax our message, if we rely on others to do it instead of ourselves, then we deserve to be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. If we lose our flavor so easily so that we ourselves are offended by the teachings of God’s Word, then we deserve to be thrown out into the streets and the dunghills and smashed and trampled as salt that has lost its saltiness.

This is part of the reason why our society grows darker. This is why the deeds of lawlessness, whether they be sexual impurity of any kind, greed, hate, covetousness, gossip, and false teaching are rampant. The people who have been called to be light and salt have lost their voices, they have instead become afraid, they have become satisfied with artificial flavoring rather than the true sin burning, spiritual curing of God’s Word in its truth and purity in Jesus Christ, and too many are impotent and ineffective and become one with the world. Without God’s Word, the darkness cannot be overcome, growth, life, and hope come only by the Holy Spirit working through His people who use the instruments of His Word and His sacraments. There in His Word is the source of salt, there is the true Light.

Let us therefore repent of sin and our selfish laziness. Look to the cross of Jesus Christ where we have been redeemed and now for Jesus sake you have been forgiven again. You have been given life, again, the joy and hope of eternal life, again by the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Again, His strong Word cleaves the darkness of your heart and replaces it with the light of His Gospel. Now you may eat and drink His blessing in Christ so that you may go and be a blessing in Christ to others. Pray for opportunities and the focus to be able to witness to Christ without fear. We know that we have deserved to be thrown out and destroyed, yet He has not.

He loves us, forgives us, and renews us in faith so that we may know that Christ has fulfilled the Law so that we may live not in fear, but in His love and forgiveness and joy. Jesus is your salt, your light, your life, forever more. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

The Gospel reading for today is known and often quoted by many people inside and outside of Christianity including historic figures such as Gandhi and Nietzsche because of the nature of its words. Most people can recognize these verses which are often called the “Beatitudes”. They are called that because in the Latin Vulgate, each of these blessings begins with the word beati, which translates to ‘blessed’. It includes 9 repetitions of this word: “Blessed” in our English translations. The original Greek uses the word: makarioi which means “overwhelming joy, happiness, and gladness.”

Who wouldn’t want to receive and live in that happiness, joy, and gladness?

But what does that mean? Most people think of happiness as a delight and satisfaction in receiving the desires of their heart, as an escape from the sadness that comes from disappointment in NOT receiving the desires of one’s heart. The Declaration of Independence even speaks of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” as “unalienable Rights.” Though Thomas Jefferson did not mean the pursuit of fleeting joy, most people think of happiness in such a way. In fact, most people worship the idea of happiness. Many pursue happiness in any way possible in a self absorbed, self satisfying obsession, even if it is self destructive, corrosive, and hurtful to everyone around them.

These verses teach something else altogether from selfish pursuits.

Some may look to these verses as some kind of ethical formula, so that if we do this and attain x condition then we can achieve that stated result of “Blessedness” or a pious and Holy plane of consciousness.

This outlook is destined to failure.

If you look at the Beatitudes as a Law to be fulfilled in order to be rewarded you will run into a wall.

For one thing, some of these beatitudes describe passive conditions whereas some describe specific acts, and the final two beatitudes describe the ultimate passive state and that is being persecuted for the sake of faith in Jesus Christ thereby excluding non-believers.

Let’s find out more about what these verses mean. Let us begin by looking first at the passive conditions, the poor in spirit, meek, and pure in heart.

The poor in spirit is defined by God in Isaiah 66: “But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.”

The poor in spirit is one who is contrite, one who is sorry for their sin. One who realizes the poorness of their spiritual condition because they have not and can not keep the Law before the Lord and need His mercy.

The “meek” are similar. They represent those who are no longer shaking their fist at God and at their neighbor in as those who prevent their pursuit of happiness. Rather they admit that they have no right to rebel, they understand to fight against God and their neighbor is the reason they have been so miserable and have ceased to fight and be aggressive as the world so often is.

The pure in heart is the state of one who has been forgiven. Who has had all the putrid evil, all the hatred, malice, the sick self-serving, back stabbing hatefulness removed, who have been cleaned and purified in a passive way. That is they have done nothing by their own power to have to have this state.

Now, let’s look at the active deeds lauded in the Beatitudes, Blessed are those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, and the peacemakers.

At first it may seem to be easy, because who hasn’t mourned about something? Whether somebody hasn’t gotten their way or who felt mistreated and they are lamenting that fact or they are mourning and grieving the death of a loved one, just about everyone has experienced that to some extent. What if the mourning is less about weeping and lamenting what has happened to us or someone we love, and the mourning is referring to mourning and lamenting how much we have failed? What if the starting point of hungering and thirsting for righteousness and mourning is connected? What if the starting point is that the disciples, and all who hear God’s Word realize that they cannot hope to fulfill God’s commands and because of this they mourn and lament their sin? The hungering and thirsting after righteousness is recognizing that there is something wrong not just with society but in our own hearts, minds, and lives. Have you been merciful to others? Have you been consistent in it? Have you tried to make peace with those around you or are you quick to tell tales of how people have hurt you and how bad they are? Have you avoided or shunned people for any slight, real or perceived? Peacemaking doesn’t involve meddling in other people’s affairs, it doesn’t mean giving in to everyone else and their whims, but it has to do with trying to understand where other people are coming from and then making every effort to communicate with them, not out of concern for yourself but for concern and care for the other party and then making that first move understanding that maybe, just maybe you are the one with the problem. Have you done that? Really? All the time?

The only way you can ever get to performing the acts that are lauded and extolled in the Beatitudes is by recognizing that there is no way you can perform them. There is no way that you can perfect your life through your acts, attitudes, and deeds through your own steam. You can’t become poor in spirit, meek, or pure in heart if you think you are better than others, or you think that you can save yourself.

Instead, be humble and contrite. Realize the magnitude of your sin and wretchedness and that you don’t deserve any rewards from God but judgment, you don’t deserve mercy from God.

But it is God who has had mercy on you. It is Jesus who has fulfilled all of the passive and active demands of the Law including the beatitudes, including hungering and thirsting for our righteousness and purity, humbling Himself, to be made “poor in Spirit, repenting in our stead, being persecuted and meek before His persecutors even to being crucified and dying to take the wrath of the Father against sin in our stead. He did this specifically to take away your sins. He did this for your sake. So that when the Law strikes at your heart, and you realize that there is something wrong in your life, in this world, in your heart, you can be turned to Him, to the cross, to His sacrifice, to His love which has purchased and redeemed you and me lost and condemned creatures not with gold or silver but by His precious blood and His innocent suffering and death so that we can be His own and live with Him forever in His kingdom. So that even now we can serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness because we have received Christ’s righteousness by the forgiveness of our sins. We have been released from our sins and the mournful misery which was our condition under the Law and the accusations of the Devil. This all for the sake of Jesus Christ has been declared for you and grasped by faith in Him which the Holy Spirit has created in your heart by the working of His Word.

This is how we become blessed…by faith, by God’s Grace and power giving us a fresh and new perspective by the epiphany of His love in Jesus Christ. This is how we can receive unbounded joy, happiness, and gladness. By receiving from Him and believing. By living by faith in our baptismal grace. By daily remembering how God emptied us of our sin, cleansed and purged us by water, spirit, and the Word. So that our hearts were and are made pure though our unworthy hearts are not pure by nature. That our poor spirits have been lifted and enriched by His precious blood and continue to be. Today, you have confessed your sins of this past week, you have been absolved. Do not return to those same sins by His strength, not yours. Pray for His strength to love your neighbors, to show mercy, to make peace, to continue to hunger and thirst for His righteousness, and find satisfaction for that hunger and thirst here in the body and blood in the bread and wine given and shed for you for the forgiveness of those sins. In Him you are blessed, it is where He is for you that you become beatified because God descends to you and to His Church so that here we together see and know God by His mercy, and be comforted in any of your grieving and mourning over sin or trouble in this world.

It is here in His presence and in these words of forgiveness in Jesus Christ’s name that you have the strength to resist and stand fast and secure even when the devil, the world, and your flesh taunt and persecute you for the sake of Jesus Christ with their vain attempt to steal your faith. Cling by faith to Christ and the gates of Hell can not prevail against it.

Know this, cling to His power by faith, come to His Word, again, rely upon His strength, not yours. Cling by faith to the cross, which His power. The sacraments are the benefits of the cross delivered to you for your good, for your upbuilding, for your blessedness in Him. You will not be put to shame. Though the World does not understand and may mock: “we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Cor. 1:23-25)

Let us boast in the Lord, and His great love for us. By His power we can live and abide in that love even in our weakness, through faith, in service to Him and to one another. You are in Christ Jesus, and the blessed joy, gladness, and happiness of forgiven redeemed children of God is not only your promise in the eternal future heavenly realm, but yours even now for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

We heard in the Gospel text today, “The Land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” St. Matthew being led by the Spirit quotes Isaiah as to why Jesus had His ministry headquarters in Capernaum in the region of Galilee. After they entered the Promised Land from the exodus, the far northern part of Israel had been allotted by Joshua to the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. Both Zebulun and Naphtali were sons of Jacob. Throughout the years this area had seen much war and bloodshed. It was the frontlines and the first land to be invaded and dominated by the Syrians and Assyrians and later the Babylonians. Even after the Jews were freed from Babylon and resettled Palestine, the area was never settled as fully by the Jews as the southern part of Palestine. They figured, to be closer to Jerusalem meant to be closer to being a true blue Jew. This area of Galilee became a major crossroad of traffic for non-Jews. It was a major stop over point between the area of modern day Iraq and Iran on the road to Egypt and places south, the area called the fertile crescent because of its arching shape. People traveled through as they headed further west to the major ports of Tyre and Sidon, or to travel north and further west to Asia minor, Greece, and Rome. For this reason, you could say that the area was more multicultural than southern Palestine. There were many people of Jewish blood and religion, but there were many who had mixed ancestry, and many, many Gentiles passed through this area that Jesus chose as His main base for His earthly ministry.

What is the point of this geography lesson? To understand the text, of course. Isaiah and Matthew refer to the people of this area as those dwelling in the region and the shadow of death because of all spiritually deadly unbelief, idolatry, and false beliefs that crossed this road and hung around in the mix trying to overshadow the Truth of God’s salvation. Myriad screeching false prophets and philosophies crying out where Truth was meant to reign. But now, at this time, the time of Jesus, Now those who had been dwelling in darkness for them, we are told, for them a light has dawned.

This is Jesus as He began His earthly ministry in the fullness of time, in the place prophesied. He is the light to the nations, to the Jews and Gentiles. He is the living human embodiment of the star that the magi followed, except His message was more clear than the star. His message which He brought in His Word of preaching, His miracles, and fulfilling the Law. In all this, He was bringing to earth the kingdom reign of heaven.

John the Baptist had now been arrested. He picked up the preaching mantel of the prophet John the Baptist and began preaching, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” These weren’t just words, Jesus showed that He, as the Word of God, was not just announcing the reign of heaven, but was bringing it with Himself. Now in Jesus Christ, God is breaking into history in a new way, manifesting His power, breaking through the reign and rule of Satan, driving him back, undoing all the consequences of his slanders and temptations. Jesus already confronted the devil one on one in the wilderness and rebuked his every trick. Now Jesus in His ministry would show the signs of His power, binding the evil strong one with His Words and His miracles in His earthly ministry. What Jesus accomplished in that time and age hearkens and points to the age which is to come when Jesus will come on the final day of history and destroy Satan and his every power. He will punish the unrighteous and the unfaithful, but He will gather all those throughout time who believed on His name and trusted in Him and the kingdom which He established in His death and resurrection. Jesus came in His earthly ministry to the war torn and weary area of Galilee to a region of those dwelling in darkness, to those set upon by the lies of Satan and the world, to call from among them disciples to Himself, some of whom He would later appoint apostles to be sent out in His name. Yet, He came not just for them, but for all people who have lived in darkness, who have been dwelling in the shadow of death. For all dwell in the shadow of death as a result of the curse upon sin since Adam and Eve. The curse of sin which made all creation broken, which brought death into a creation that had been made for life. Sin brought confusion and enmity between God and man when before there was communion and peace. This first sin of rebellion compounded itself as every generation is born in ignorance and sin, subject to the poisonous aftereffects of sin the result of which is the death of our mortal bodies. This sin is the reason there continues to be political chaos, anger, miscommunication, between all people in families, marriages, and quite obviously in the public square as we have seen with all the violent rhetoric, protests, responses and ongoing chaos in Minnesota and elsewhere.

Because of this sin, our flesh suffers even now. Fighting and kicking, trying to make sure in a selfish way, that we get what we think we want, what we think we need. Like a child closing their eyes in a midst of a tantrum, so too when we sin, do we close our eyes again to the truth of God’s Law embracing the darkness of unbelief, giving way to the shadow of death.

But my dearly beloved, our dwelling in the shadow of death and the curse of darkness and unbelief, of warring against God and against our fellow man and woman is at an end.

It is at an end because Jesus comes as the great light, destroying the dark with His Word even as we heard it and are hearing it now. He calls for repentance yes, to turn away from the deeds of sin and darkness, but not that you can burst free from the bonds of the sin that holds you, but He calls you by name even as He is destroying the power which Satan had over us, so that you can hear His voice and be turned by His Spirit to hear His voice and hope by faith. He uses the net of His Word and sacrament to gather His people from the darkness of the abyss, the sea of confusion, where people otherwise drown in Satan’s lies. These are the tools which He uses to spiritually fish for men and women through His apostles and pastors. The net is His voice calling to us hear in His Word. The net is baptism where He calls us by name and actively takes us to the place where sin has been punished, to the cross of His perfect sacrifice. There our sins have been washed away in His blood. There we are given the hope of resurrection from our mortal death because of Jesus’ own resurrection These are the tools through which God continues to bring His spiritual reign upon earth. This is where Jesus again enters and descends with great power.

He does continue to call people from darkness into the glorious light to believe the forgiveness of sins won for them in Jesus Christ. This forgiveness of sins which is for you. Through the Ministry which He has given to the Church and exercises through the pastoral office He continues to give forgiveness of your sins, to heal that poison which caused every disease and affliction in your heart and mind and in all people. The heavenly Father forgives every sin to those who believe for Jesus’ sake. He has mercy even upon you and me, because we have been reconciled to Him through His Son, brought near to Him by His blood, by His cross. The cross is the power of God for our salvation, it is through His sacrifice that you are reconciled to the Father, it is only in Jesus that we can have peace with each other, learn to have patience and live for more than ourselves.

Jesus has indeed saved us from our sin, He has called us as His own, He hears us as we pray to Him. He has called you to follow Him, to follow His cross, to the place where He is, to be served by Him, so you can hear His Word and receive His very body and blood as a comfort in your bodily needs. To be uplifted for the upcoming week, months, and years. In the midst of any and all fleshly maladies and afflictions He gives us joy and hope, using His sacraments to bring us His crucifixion and resurrection victory now and pointing to the end of this age; the redemption and resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

What do we do now? We give our Lord thanksgiving and praise and follow Him. We seek His Word, and gladly hear and receive it. We follow Him by the power of the Holy Spirit to show that same love which He has showed us in Christ to those who come into the crossroads of our lives, into our paths and vocations. We become as human Capernaums to bear witness to those among us the words of Truth in Jesus Christ which dispels the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil whose voices grow more loud as their judgment draws nigh. Those who live among us in this time, but who yet have the veil of the shadow of death and darkness clinging to them need to hear this hope. To them you too can be lights, you can be fishers in your vocations to the people in unbelief or trapped in false churches. You too may point them to Jesus, to His cross, to His forgiveness as the answer for the poison of sin.

God continues to reign in you and for you. He continues to rule His kingdom of heaven the Church as He dispels the clouds of darkness and death from our paths by His Word. His Word made flesh. For you He has given His Son as a Savior, the One who continues to come to you and strengthen you and give you peace now and forevermore. May God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Some of the greatest works of art have been created as visual sermons for all who see them. One of those works of art is the Isenheim Altarpiece painted by Matthias Grünewald around 1516 and is now in the Unterlinden Museum at Colmar, Alsace, in France. An altarpiece was a work of art placed right behind and above the altar.

Like most altar pieces, the central focus of the piece is the crucifixion of Jesus. But one of the unusual things that makes this work so striking is that it shows John the Baptist at the crucifixion. The Bible tells us that John the Baptist was long dead and buried by the time Jesus died on the cross. So, what is the message that Grünewald was trying to convey in this work?

As you study the figure of John the Baptist in the painting, the thing that stands out the most is the index finger of his right hand. It is pointing straight at the crucified Jesus. This is John pointing at Jesus and saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This is the message of John that speaks to all people down through the centuries. If you could understand everything there is to know about this sentence, you would be worthy of the title Doctor of Theology many times over. This sentence from John the Baptizer is one of the most powerful expressions of the Gospel in the Bible. Within the full meaning of these words are all the sentences of all the Creeds of the Church.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! The word “Behold” is an epiphany word. It means “look here; I want to show you something”. John uses this word so that he can show Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, to his listeners and to us. He had already received an epiphany from God. Last week we learned that after John baptized Jesus, the heavens opened, the Spirit descended like a dove, and the voice declared that this Jesus was God’s beloved Son. Now John is proclaiming this epiphany to his listeners. He is doing the proper work of a prophet and pointing to Jesus Christ, the Son of God and savior of the world.
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Now, although some sacrifices in the OT required bulls, goats, or birds, the lamb more than any other animal was the animal required by most of the sacrificial regulations of the ceremonial law. The word “Lamb” as it is used in this sentence brings to mind the continuous flow of blood from the altar in Jerusalem. Consider the multitude of regular sacrifices: the morning and evening sacrifices, the purifications, the sin and guilt offerings, and so forth. Then there are the many festival sacrifices: the Feast of Booths, the Pentecost, the First Fruits, and let’s not forget the Passover. When John says the word “Lamb” the image of all these sacrifices comes to mind.

All devout Jews knew that they were the ones who should be punished instead of the lambs or other animals. They knew that they had earned God’s eternal wrath with their sins. Just as they knew that sheep are amazingly helpless regarding the things of this world, so they also knew that they themselves were equally spiritually helpless regarding the things of God. This image was so strong that God often referred to the people as His sheep with Himself as their shepherd. They understood that the sacrificial lamb was taking their rightful place of punishment. Now John was saying that this man was the Shepherd who had become a lamb in order to become the sacrifice for His sheep. The word “Lamb” reminds us of the sacrifice that was made also in our place for our sin.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This Lamb is God’s Lamb. The sacrificial Lamb of Old Testament ceremony must not have any blemishes or spots. It was to be as close to perfect as is possible on this sin filled earth. Its sacrifice was to remind the people that one day God would send His perfect lamb to make the sacrifice pointed to by all the sacrifices described in the Scriptures. 

John is saying that this man is God’s Lamb of promise. He is not just close to perfect. He is perfect. He is the culmination of all the sacrifices of all time. He is the sacrifice that fulfills the first sacrifice that God had made when he killed some animal to provide the skins that covered Adam and Eve after they sinned. He fulfills the sacrifice that Abel offered and He fulfills the sacrifices that Noah offered after he landed safely in the ark. He fulfills the sacrifices of Abraham including the sacrifice he made after he nearly sacrificed his own son, Isaac. He is the one time for all sacrifice that makes all the other sacrifices meaningful.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! The words “the sin” gather the stench of everyone’s sin into one disgusting mass of evil. It includes all the wars and murders and rapes and thefts. It includes all the sinful thoughts, words, and deeds that anyone at any time has ever had. It includes the sinful nature that we were born with. It includes all our gossip, complaints, grumbling and worry. It includes every lie we have ever told to our parents, our teachers, our spouses, our children, our pastors, ourselves, yes, even the lies we have told to God. It includes everything putrid and vile that you, I, or anyone else has ever thought, done, or said that flew in the face of God’s holy law and earns us eternal damnation.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! The words “of the world” mean that the work of God’s Lamb, Jesus Christ is good for the whole world, not just those who believe. The word for “world” in this sentence is the root for the word cosmos. This word means everything that God has created, everything that God has brought into being by the command of His word. God’s gifts are not German or Roman or Greek or Jewish. They transcend all nations and people groups. They are not restricted to the rich or the poor or the young or the old. They are for all people in all times and in all places. There is no sin anywhere by anyone that this Lamb of God does not take away.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! The words “takes away” are just one word in the original Greek. That word means to lift up and carry to another place. This means that the Lamb takes the load, the curse, the damnation of the total massive amount of sin onto Himself. He lifts the awful burden from us and carries it to the cross. There our sin is crucified with the Lamb. There our sin is put to death. This one act of lifting and carrying away our sin is good for all time.

The path that Jesus took when He carried the sin of the world began when he was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. John’s words tell us that it is Jesus’ vocation to carry away the sin of the world. John’s words tell us that Jesus was already carrying the sins of the world when he had made his declaration, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

When John said these words, he considered the taking away to already be a done deal. The forgiveness of sins that comes as a result of the Lamb’s sacrifice was already available to all. All the saints of the Old Testament received salvation because this Lamb’s sacrifice is good for all time and all places and all people. God’s promise is as if John had already heard Jesus declare His victory from the cross with the words, “It is finished.”

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! The word “the” before the word Lamb tells us that there is only one Lamb. This Lamb that John points out is the one and only savior. There is no other. All the other faiths of the world tell us that we must earn our own salvation, but, as soon as we are honest, it is easy to see that no one can earn his own place in heaven. No one is good enough. People can lead lives of desperation in their sin, they can wear their conscience down to a pulp so they do not feel their sin, but they can’t save themselves. Only the Lamb of God can do that.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! We respond to John’s declaration in the Divine Service, that we do in faith behold Him where He says He is. God reveals the presence of the Lamb in the sacrament and we ask for mercy as we approach this altar and sing “O Christ Thou Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the World, have mercy upon us.” Here we will eat the flesh of the Lamb crucified and raised and drink His true blood poured out for our redemption. Here we will join with angels, archangels, and the armies of heaven to glorify and give thanks to God with the words, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory; Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He, Blessed is He, Blessed is the Lamb that cometh in the name of the LORD.”

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This sentence will stand forever. Long after this world is gone – long after the world as we know no longer exists – long after the creation of a new heaven and a new earth – we will gather before our Lord and say, as in Revelation 5:12 “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And we shall sing a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10)

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! When John the Baptizer saw Jesus, pointed at Him, and said this short sentence, he said more than I can possibly explain this morning. When God inspired John the Evangelist to quote John the Baptizer, God gave us something to think about and to comfort us for the rest of our lives and on into eternity.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Amen

Pr. Aaron Kangas

We are taught as Lutheran Christians what Baptism is according to scripture in the Small Catechism. It says Baptism is not just plain water but it is water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word. That Word is specifically the command at the end of Matthew to go into all the world making disciples by baptizing people in the name of the Trinity and teaching them all that Jesus has taught.

We are also taught what the benefits of baptism are: It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this as written in St. Mark “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved”. We confess that these great things in baptism are done by virtue of God’s promise and power in the command along with the water as it is written in Titus chapter 3 “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His Grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” We are taught to remember our Baptism as a sign of daily contrition and repentance so that our old nature would be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. If you ever want to review what all is said in our catechism but don’t have a catechism handy, the entire catechism is reproduced in our hymnals.

So now that we have reviewed what Baptism is for the New Testament Church, that it is a sign and seal of forgiveness of sins for sinners, we can turn our attention to the text in Matthew appointed for today. It also happens to be about baptism, specifically about the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. But there is a difference between the baptism that John baptized with and the baptism that Jesus instituted. The baptism of John was a sign of repentance and renewal in the hope of the Savior to come. The baptism instituted by Jesus has power of the Holy Spirit to give faith through the fulfillment of the Savior’s work: His death and resurrection of Jesus who is here in our text getting baptized. Both baptisms were intended for sinners, to receive the forgiveness of sins, therefore why should Jesus need to be baptized? Was Jesus a sinner in need of repentance? That answer is “NO”.

Why then did Jesus desire to be baptized by His cousin John at the Jordan? As John himself points out. “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” John knew who Jesus was. Jesus was not only His cousin, but He was the promised Messiah, the One for whom John had been sent to prepare the way, the one whom John had predicted would come with a greater baptism. Yet here was Jesus coming with sinners to be baptized in repentance according to the Old covenant. Though John would have prevented Jesus from being baptized, Jesus answered him and said, “Let it be so now”. In other words, just go with it, I know what I am doing. He continued, “for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness”. Then John consented. But how did this fulfill all righteousness?

By Jesus being baptized, He was fulfilling all righteousness as the substitute and sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He was repenting on behalf of the world and placing their sins upon Himself. It was a sign of His submission to His Heavenly Father’s will and through it Jesus was anointed and set apart for His Work as prophet priest and king as the one in His obedience fills all righteousness.

In the Baptism of our Lord, the sinless One, who knew no sin and would never sin Himself was placing Himself under the Law, under its curse for the sake of sinners. Because of the fallenness of our human flesh, all those other people being baptized by John the Baptizer would continue to sin. All people today who have been baptized into Jesus, sadly, will still struggle with sin, but in Jesus Christ there is one who didn’t need to “repent”. For that reason, He is the only One who could repent for our sakes and not sin again. He is the true Holy Israel who came unto the Jordan to be washed and sanctified before entering the Holy Land. He is the fulfiller of the demands of the covenant between God and man. All because no Jew, no Gentile throughout time living or dead was capable to fulfill this covenant except the very Son of God Himself.

This is why He had to be baptized, so that He could fulfill all righteousness, so that He could be a perfect substitution in His life for the life of the world so that in His death at the cross He could make complete payment for sin by His own innocent suffering and death to make atonement and satisfy God’s righteous wrath upon sin. Having been crucified and raised from the dead, He has the power to institute this Baptism, a true washing of regeneration and righteousness as people are brought through His own crucified blood and sacrifice, anointed into His name and the name of the Holy Trinity. Through this baptism the Holy Spirit would come upon His people, work faith in them, and make them heirs of eternal life as members of the new creation: believers through faith by grace in Christ Jesus.

Going back to the text, when Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove hovered over the water coming down from heaven and rested upon Him and a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Here we have affirmation that Jesus had begun to fulfill all righteousness, that He was beginning His earthly Ministry, the ministry of service and substitution which would lead to the death of an innocent man for the sins of the world. Yet when He died on the cross, He was no longer innocent, because Jesus Christ had become sin for us and the whole world. He took upon Himself the sins and guilt of every sinner at the cross so that in the eyes of God’s wrath it was as though “the sinless one” had become “the worst sinner”. The substitution for sinners begun at His baptism at the Jordan saw its completion at the crucifixion. All this He did out of obedience and love so that all righteousness could be fulfilled, that sin death and the power of the devil could be destroyed; that those who confess their sins and put their faith in JC and His atoning work at the cross might be saved from eternal death.

This past Tuesday was the celebration of the Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ, that is, when God made clear, His mercy in the person of Jesus Christ: that He was given for all people even as the Gentile wise men were led to worship Him. Here in His baptism and at the Cross, God is manifesting Himself again in His Trinity in Jesus Christ the Son of God and Son of Man. The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove shows that God and Man are now reconciled: that we repentant sinners are able to be at peace through Jesus Christ and that righteousness He was fulfilling. In the Holy Baptism that Jesus would give and command after His resurrection, believers can bear witness through the eyes of faith that the Holy Spirit continues this reconciling through the blood of Jesus Christ. In Holy Baptism the Holy Spirit also comes down to us working through the water and the Word of promise. The person who had been born according to the flesh as an enemy of God has now been reconciled to Him and reborn by the Spirit as a child of God. In Holy Baptism peoples’ sins are placed upon the cross of Christ through this washing of regeneration and rebirth and are declared righteous for Jesus’ sake.

Now those who have been baptized into the name of the Trinity Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, have the mark and sign of righteousness upon them, the cross of Jesus. His Cross is the place where we have become the children of God and redeemed as the true Israel. Now God the Father looks at us through the lens of His son’s sacrifice and can say that we are His beloved sons and daughters and through faith in Him He is also well pleased with us. Now we are entrusted with that Good news that God’s love and Christ’s death and resurrection have power over the evil of this world. Sin, death and the devil are defeated through Christ’s death and resurrection, yet many are still enslaved to sin by their unbelief and addiction to sin. That is why God continues to use His children to witness and reflect His love in Jesus our Savior. We cannot do this by our own strength, but He gathers us around His word to confess our sins and receive forgiveness through absolution and the proclamation of Jesus death for our sins. Now we live in the joy of His substitution and receive the hope of eternal life in the life He now gives us. He invites us to feed on His body and blood in His supper and gives us rest as we wait for the rest in the promised land of heaven which Jesus has prepared for us. May God keep us ever in that hope which has been given through Holy Baptism unto life eternal. In Jesus name. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

One of the major problems that revolve around the parent child dynamic is one of power. Now I am not talking about physical power, but authority, and not just any authority, but the authority that comes from knowledge and wisdom. That is the answer to the question: “Who is it that knows best? The parent or the child?”

Good parents try to do what is best for their children, they make decisions, rules, give advice, but I don’t know of a single person in my experience who hasn’t chaffed, rebelled, or protested at some point over and against their father and/or mother regardless of intent and care on the part of the parent. It is a difficult thing for the parent, because parents do want their children to be able to stand firm and be able to defend their thoughts as adults, but they also don’t want them to rebel, show disrespect or fight them on every little thing, especially on matters where discernment, experience, and a true knowledge of good and evil are on the line. Yet, such is the growing pangs of parenthood and life on here earth.

For all you grown ups, look back upon your own youth and you know that it is true. You all, I’m sure, can remember such a time when you chaffed and took exception to your parents. Why? Because you thought you knew more than them. Or because you wanted something else even if it wasn’t going to be good for you, but you thought you knew better than them, that it must be good because others have it or are doing it or whatever. Were you justified? Are young people today, justified in defying or arguing with their parents? No. Probably not. Although it depends upon the topic and God’s Word of truth. Hopefully, you can look back upon those times and see truthfully what was good, right, and proper. And for you younger people, you will be able to keep this mind and look back later on and understand.

Understanding. Discernment. Who has it? Who can get enough of it? What is it? Where do you go to get it? In the readings for today, we have the answers to those questions.

What is the first point to consider: regarding wisdom and understanding? If we look first to the example of the 12 year old Jesus, we may become confused. Jesus was no ordinary child. Even though it appears from the text that Mary and Joseph had temporarily forgotten whose child He was and just how exceptional He was. We may say to our children (or to ourselves) why can’t you be more mindful and respectful like Jesus? Why can’t you be so smart and yet be submissive and well behaved? Yes, well why not?

Because we are not Jesus. Let us look at the definition of what it means to have wisdom and understanding in the first place. The OT reading defines wisdom from the words of Solomon as he spoke with God: “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil.”(1 Kings 3:9) An understanding mind is one that can discern or tell the difference between good and evil. Why is that a problem for us? We are by nature like our Father Adam and mother Eve who thought that they knew more than God who was their Father in the sense that He brought them forth. They were warned for their good over and against evil, but they didn’t trust that God had their best interests at heart and ate what they were told not to. The fruit of the knowledge of good and evil introduced evil into their hearts and minds, and now all of us when given the choice gravitate towards the evil, the harmful, the forbidden, the dangerous. This is the very opposite of wisdom. It is folly and harmful, because it sin, and as such it is of unbelief, death, and worthy of damnation.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) This is the real starting point. Faith. Belief. Going to the source of all wisdom, all life and light. God Himself. But it starts even sooner. It starts when God, Himself, speaks to us even in our darkness by His Word, and the Word of His Law and Gospel reveals to us: our ignorance, our folly, our sin and self harm.

When we finally admit, that we are spiritually shallow, silly, often stupid, stubborn proud sons and daughters of Satan in our rebellion, and repent of it… then we are ready to learn and acquire the understanding that comes with faith. Wisdom and understanding come with faith, and the Word of God is our instructor.

This Word of God is wrapped up in and pointing to this same Jesus in today’s Gospel lesson. Jesus whose earthly father was not Joseph nor any sons of Adam but was begotten and brought forth by and from God as He was the eternal Word already. He came to give true understanding by the knowledge of evil and good. To flee the evil and embrace the good. When it says that “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” It means that Jesus lived a human life and grew up from baby, to child, to man, showing forth, living, and speaking God’s wisdom that was already in Him as God’s Son until the time for His earthly ministry of service and suffering began. God knew that nobody could embrace His truth nor comprehend His good and grace naturally, nor keep the Law so He joined Himself to our flesh by His incarnation to fulfill what we could not, to take the punishment which we deserved, so that our bodies of flesh could be redeemed along with our fallen souls and spirits of darkness. Jesus died upon the cross to give understanding of His good which overcomes the evil of our sin and points to the rescue that His righteousness and purity delivers by the forgiveness of our sins.

Jesus Christ is the now the source of understanding and wisdom and He uses His Word to affect change within us from year to year growing and changing us even as our physical bodies grow and change with each passing year.

When Mary and Joseph desperate and panicking in their fear and pain looked for the boy whom they thought was lost, Jesus said:
“Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” In the Greek it does not say “house” but it is more in the meaning of He must be with His Father with His dealings. In other Words: God the Son, with the Father and the Holy Spirit are always working together through the means which He has established for the good of His people.

Dear friends in Christ, when we are tempted to think that we know everything or when we are overwhelmed by fear or worry by the evil that is coming into this world, let us flee to where Jesus is. There is no mystery as to where He is for us with His great strength and power. He is in His Word. He is in His Absolution. He is in His body and blood with the bread and the wine. He is there to give understanding. To embrace the goodness of God and give power to recognize and forsake the evil.

But this is and will be a challenge for us in our human flesh. There will be times where we understand but do not care for it and wish to rebel against it. There will also be times where like Mary and Joseph, who “did not understand the saying that He spoke to them.” we will not understand what God is doing or what He means. But take courage. You are now God’s children baptized into Christ for service and a blessed future and can in trust be submissive to His wisdom. As Paul says in our Epistle:

“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, which he set forth in Christ to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in Him in the fullness of time.”

God knows what is best for us. He loves you and in Christ He will give you a wise and discerning mind. You can abide in His Word and Sacraments in His peace. Be talking about them, asking questions finding His answers, pondering His mysteries receiving His Grace. You can serve your neighbor in your vocations reflecting that love and wisdom of God. And as you live with your heavenly Father surrounding yourself with His Word, praying for more understanding and wisdom, know that you shall in humble joy receive it, and your heart be made glad. By God’s Grace, you can and will grow evermore in His wisdom and stature receiving His favor as one of His Beloved in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Pr. Aaron

On Christmas Day we heard this from the Gospel of John chapter 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” These verses talking about darkness and light are not talking about the good creation of night and day and its intricate balance made by God. This is talking about the theological difference and estrangement between the good of God and the evil of that which is opposed to Him. The darkness is referring to evil, sin, Satanic lies, to unbelief, ignorance, anything that is the opposite of that which is Good, Holy, Pure, true or wise which comes from the light of the True God and Lord of all. Spiritually speaking, the darkness struggles to grasp hold of the light and to understand it. So great is the chasm caused by sin and Satan’s deep delusion upon the earth.

Sadly, this darkness is the natural state of mankind after the fall into sin. As you know, every man and woman naturally born, is born with sin, without faith in God but rather an inborn fear and dread because of that sin: a fear for oneself as our natural inborn instinct is to worship ourselves. We are born as those belonging to Satan, the father of lies, the author of evil, who so often seems to be ruling this world through the evil thoughts and deeds of men and women.

But God did not create humanity for evil, for death, for punishment, but for life, true life which comes through knowledge of His light, His love, His truth which is fully revealed in Jesus the Christ, born on Christmas in order to rescue those who have dwelt in darkness and under the shadow of death.

This is the great message of Christmas and Epiphany. The message that the light of God in Jesus Christ has come to save and redeem those could not on their own understand the light and cannot by their own strength flee the darkness of evil, sin, and unbelief. Jesus gives them faith and by it, the right to become the children of God and receive salvation in His name.

This movement from children of darkness to children of light is not a soft and easy thing without any shock, pain, or strong reaction. When the Lord bursts into the lives of people with the glory of His presence and His Word… It is much like a person whose eyes are used to the dark and are suddenly exposed to a bright spot light: there may be shock, confusion, fear, panic, there may even be rage. “What? What is this? What does this mean? How dare you?”

When the holiness of God and the demand of His holy Law meet sinful mankind, the reaction is swift. When the Law strikes properly to convert minds and hearts, it begins with an awe that inspires fear of punishment, a recognition of unworthiness before the righteousness of God. We see this in the reaction of the shepherds to the light and message of the angel. We see this in the reaction to the Pagan magi, who see the light of the Epiphany star and immediately ask: “What does this mean?” And moved by curiosity and fear of the celestial warning begin to search and finally come to the Truth of God’s Word. This Word of God moves them and their noble caravans to travel to the land of Jacob’s heirs, to Jerusalem seeking “He who is born King of the Jews”.

However, in Herod, we see how all too often, the world and the flesh as it rejoices in its evil and immorality, in its thirst for earthly praise, power, and self made security reacts negatively to the Word of God. This is the negative and often times violent reaction of the darkness to the light of God’s Law, not in a proper shock and humility, but rather doubling back in rage, wanting and trying to destroy and overcome the light to protect the darkness.

In Herod we see the personification of Satan himself, He hears of a rival, and wishes to hear more, yet it is not to worship, but to plot against, to gather information to destroy and rage against in protection of his own glory. Satan is also insecure, even as Herod is insecure, even as each human clinging to their sin is insecure. Why so insecure? Why such dread alarm at the Law of God?

Because they know, sinners know, deep down, that they are weak, they are sinners, that they are in the wrong, but do not want to admit it. It is one part pride, but it is also one part delusion in that pride, not wanting to face facts and reality. Unbelievers are escapists. They wish to escape the reality of their mortality, they know that they only have so much time on this earth before they receive a judgement for their brutish selfishness. Therefore, they now justify their brutality to other people as a defense against the brutality that they fear from others: expecting that all hearts of men and women are like them, and that if they show weakness, they will be overthrown.

The Law of God is therefore a threat. The Gospel is therefore even a threat. Jesus Christ coming to redeem is a threat to evil, to immorality, to cruelty, to selfishness, to pride, to self rule, to a culture and mindset of utilitarianism: That is, the attitude: “I will only tolerate you, if I have a use for you from which I can benefit, but if you are a nuisance, a responsibility I do not want, a drag upon my conscience, I will thrash out against you, dehumanize you, seek to silence or eliminate you.”

We see this even in our modern dehumanizing impatient political discourse. We see this in the terms used for unwanted pregnancies where unborn children whose lives are individual and precious miracles are called “blobs of flesh” or “parasites” and scientific terms which sound less like “one’s own offspring and child” even though it is the Latin word for it. I’m speaking of the word Fetus, BTW.

This is all the delusion of sin, of Satan, of the darkness reeling and thrashing against the goodness of the Lord in being anti-life and anti-light. This also explains the increase of persecution against Christianity that we see in Nigeria, Uganda, Sudan, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, here at home and everywhere. Satan and those who remain under his power know that their time is short and they do not want to hear the Word of God, nor do they want others to hear it, because it is the truth and it frightens them, though it should comfort.

The Church in her calendar acknowledges that persecution and hatred is often the reaction of the world to the message of God’s Word in Jesus Christ. Dec. 26 was the feast day of St. Stephen, the first New Testament Christian martyr who was stoned for his confession of Christ. Dec. 27 is the feast Day of John the Evangelist who was persecuted and martyred in the sense that he was banished to the Island of Patmos. Today, Dec. 28, we commemorate what we call the Massacre of the Holy Innocents. The Church calls these young boys martyrs who bear witness to the truth of Jesus Christ not with their mouths but with their sacrifice of blood. For their blood was shed as the price to be paid for the madness and jealousy of evil Herod who reacted violently to the Word that came to Him that Jesus the Messiah and king would be born in Bethlehem.

But the good news cannot be overcome, Jesus Christ is still king. Herod could not destroy what God had designed. The children killed for his vanity were redeemed and are alive with the Lord while Herod is likely suffering in damnation.

Could there have been forgiveness for Herod? Is there forgiveness offered even for those who actively work against God’s Word, against the value of life, against anything that contains the light of God in His Word of Scripture or in Creation? Yes.

That too is the good news. Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world, the greater light which the star points and leads to. He came to overcome the darkness of all humanity’s corrupted hearts and redeem them from damnation by turning them to the light. He came to overthrow the spiritual oppression, the delusion, lies, and unbelief which the Devil tries to nurture. Jesus Christ overthrows the Devil’s plans to keep all in darkness. He is the Word made flesh. The light and life of mankind. Jesus took your sins and the sins of the world to the cross to receive our punishment, so that all who did and do receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

He continues today to undo and overthrow the darkness of unbelief and evil by sending forth the Light of His Word in faithful preaching and teaching, and the administration of His Sacraments where He continues to give and work belief, wisdom, purity, kindness, and love, by His power in the forgiveness of sins.

Therefore, come and bask in His light here. Be warmed by it against the cold of the dark and deluded world. Be emboldened by His Spirit, and be made wise men and women, in Him. He is the one who in the light of His Word gives us faith to boldly proclaim His name and truth even against the hate of the world, the flesh, and the prince of this dark world, Satan.

You are now God’s children: Children of the light… not to be ruled by darkness again but in Jesus Christ have overcome the darkness, and have been given the light and life eternal by faith in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Who doesn’t find great joy at the birth of a baby? Especially if it’s your own? With the pain and sorrow of the labor having come and gone, you’re left with a precious little child in your arms. And you’re mesmerized by this precious gift from God – counting the tiny fingers and toes – analyzing the features of the baby’s face – the eyes and nose and mouth. What wonder – what excitement – what joy! 

I’m sure a lot of this joy at the birth of a child feeds a lot of our thoughts and feelings about Christmas. We love that nativity scene – Mary holding her precious newborn son, Joseph hovering over them, ready to protect and to provide at a moments notice. As beautiful and serene as this scene is, it’s no wonder a lot of Christmas hymnody speaks of peace, silence, and wonder at the beauty of this sight.

Yet, like a newborn that suddenly awakens and screams due to hunger pains, the Gospel for this Christmas Day breaks the silence and awakens us to the truth that the baby in Mary’s arms isn’t just a lovely and cute son of man, He’s the eternal Son of God – who was in the beginning with God – who is eternally begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.

He wasn’t just with God in the beginning, but He is God. Along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He made all things: hanging the stars in the sky, giving the sun its light, creating the earth fit for plants and animals and human life, and designing the miracle of the human body. “All things were made through him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3).

What wonder, what excitement, what joy, that this new mother and her husband would’ve had! Not only were they holding a precious newborn child in their arms, but they were holding the all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present God! That means the tiny fingers and toes they would have touched were God’s fingers and toes. The face they gazed upon would have been the very face of God. What wonder! What excitement! What joy! What an amazing privilege to behold the face of God in joy and peace and not in terror and judgement.

Yet, why did God take such drastic measures? Why would He – the creator of the entire universe – lower Himself to become a creature? Why would the God of the heavens and the earth come into His creation and join Himself to it, when the world that He made didn’t know or acknowledge Him? Why would He come to His own when His own people didn’t receive him? God comes into the world through the flesh and blood of Jesus, so that “all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:12).

He descended in this way, so that we could know Him in His mercy rather than in fear and judgement. Before we were made children of God, we were “by nature, children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3), as St. Paul writes in his Letter to the Ephesians. We are born according to the flesh in sin, spiritually dead in our trespasses, born under the curse inherited from our earthly fathers. This is hard, if not impossible to believe or understand, especially when you’re holding a precious newborn child when they appear quiet, sweet, and innocent. Yet, the words of Holy Scripture are clear. The will of man begets children of man, children doomed to disobedience and ultimately wrath.

Spiritually dead in our trespasses and born under the curse of our earthly fathers, we are unable to free ourselves from the condemnation we justly deserve. Therefore, God in His mercy and infinite love, Himself takes on human flesh and blood to come and rescue us. He comes to redeem our fallen flesh by His Holy flesh. To make us His beloved children and to give us the forgiveness and life that we desperately need, The Holy Word of God, the only begotten son of the Father, is conceived then born in the person of Jesus.

Being born of an earthly woman, Jesus is a true human: “man” like you and me in our usual functions, one needing to eat and drink and sleep, one who is subject to illness and even death. Yet, whereas you and I were conceived by the flesh of man, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Where your flesh and blood has been corrupted by sin, His flesh and blood is pure and guiltless and free from sin. Where we fail to keep God’s Commandments perfectly, He placed Himself under the Law and was obedient to His heavenly Father in every way, even unto death upon the cross. All this He does for you and your redemption!

Jesus is the baby born to face your death. Carrying your sins, your burdens, your sorrows, the eternal Son of God goes to the cross to suffer the Father’s wrath for your sin. And dying the death that you deserve, He who was once wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger, would be wrapped in burial cloths and laid in a grave for you.

While Jesus is the baby, born to die in your place, He’s also the baby, born to be raised and live forever for you. As the eternal Son of God who fulfilled the plan of salvation, the grave couldn’t hold Him. He has been raised triumphant over death and sin. Jesus, as true God, has proven that He is the fountain and source of life now and for eternity. He lives today and He continues to work through His Word and Sacraments to give you His forgiveness and life. All so that you may know Him by faith, and be made a child of God, no longer a child of wrath.

St. Peter writes that we’re born again through the abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). He makes us His beloved child as the Holy Spirit works through His Word as it is spoken through preaching, Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. This is wonderful news! We can’t make ourselves worthy to be His children or earn His love. Just as a newborn can’t change his diaper or feed or care for himself nor give anything in return for their parent’s love and service, so we receive and are cared for by God free grace and loving mercy.

This is God’s good and gracious will for us. As we heard in the Gospel for this Christmas day: “to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Fellow children of God, we can celebrate this Christmas Day with all the wonder and excitement and joy that even the smallest of children experience as they open their presents. Our heavenly Father loves us and has given us the greatest gifts, which are redemption, forgiveness, and the hope of life everlasting through Jesus Christ His Son. This Son, our Savior not only came to dwell for 33 years upon the earth during His ministry, but He continues to dwell and abide with us. He comes to us to us to strengthen us as His children, to walk in His ways. He restores our faith and joy as He gathers us here together in His house to unwrap and receive His gifts each and every week where He speaks His Word and gives us His body and Blood crucified and raised for the forgiveness of our sins.

As beautiful and serene as the Nativity scene is, we get to experience and receive its fulfillment in Christ, here. The glory of God is present in Christ’s presence. This is where God’s peace continues to descend on earth to those with whom God is well pleased for the sake of Jesus. With the same tenderness that we imagine Mary and Joseph showed to the newborn Jesus, God shows to us now as His beloved children born again through the washing of regeneration in Christ. As the most loving Father, He turns His face to us and looks upon us and sees us as precious and beautiful for we have received the holiness of His beloved Son. This is the beauty of the words of the benediction that we don’t always appreciate. “The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”

He gives you His peace as He comes to you here in Jesus Christ. So justified by His Grace, let us continue to receive and rejoice in His tender mercy this Christmas Day and every day. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

A very Blessed and Merry Christmas to you all!

Tonight let us continue the theme of looking at the songs of Luke’s Gospel. Tonight we heard the words of the host of angels following the announcement of the initial angelic herald. These beloved words have inspired multiple Christmas carols, songs, hymns, including the hymn which we just sang a part of: “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come” which was written by Martin Luther. We also use the angels’ song in our liturgy which we sing most Divine services throughout the year in what we call the “Gloria in excelsis” or “glory in the heavens”.

The Words of this angelic annunciation and chorus are full of meaning though it be short in length. The interplay between the shepherds and the angels are filled with the themes which resound throughout the Christmas season and the life of the Church year. Enmity and division between God and Man being ended by reconciliation through a Savior bringing peace. Terror being met with peace and turned to joy, the darkness of evil being dispelled by God’s pure glory and light, humanity’s ignorance and unbelief being turned by God’s revelation to wisdom and faith.

The shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks during the night. Darkness surrounding them except perhaps stars and moon if the sky were clear. This is theologically like the world without the direct revelation of the Lord in His Word. The world abides in the darkness of unbelief not giving proper attention to the signs of His light in creation. Then when the Lord bursts into the lives of people with the glory of His presence and His Word…When light meets the darkness suddenly without warning: shock, pupils dilating, confusion, fear. When the holiness of God and the demand of His holy Law meet sinful mankind, the reaction is swift. When the Law strikes properly to convert minds and hearts, it begins with an awe that inspires fear of punishment, a recognition of unworthiness before the righteousness of God. This is described in the very real reaction of the shepherds to God’s reflected glory with the angel. Listen to how it is described in the literal Greek:
“An angel of the Lord came among them and the glory of the Lord shone all around them and they were filled or seized with a terror and great fear.” A “mega” Fear.

The verb described the kind of fear that puts to flight, to flee in terror: that is how great the separation created by man’s sin is to God’s holiness. But behold, the grace of God, sending the angel and angels, with the message: not a message of “yes, cower with fear o sinner”, no, he sends this message: “Don’t be afraid” “Fear not”. And then he explains why they don’t need to fear. In which he explains why you don’t need to be afraid of God. Why by faith your fear over sin is at an end. Why Christmas and the incarnation birth of Jesus is so dear and wonderful.

“Behold I bring you great tidings “euaggelizomai”, that is I bring you the Gospel, the Good News, News of joy, which in the Greek says “Xara megalayn”. Great joy in exchange for your great fear. Why? What makes this good news message so great with joy?

“Because brought forth/born for you this very day, the Savior, is Christ the Lord in the city of David.” Notice the word order. Born FOR YOU. For you. This very day. In the midst of this dark evening, the daylight has come upon you. A Savior, [who] is Christ, that is, the long foretold and promised Messiah, He is also “the Lord”, that is He is God. In other words, God has brought forth of Himself your Savior, your Christ, your Lord and God. And this happened in the city of David, which was understood by the shepherds to be Bethlehem. A sign of His fulfillment of David’s reign.

The sign to them was that they would find, and here the Greek is “Heurisko” that is, to find out for one’s self, to acquire, get, obtain, procure, to meet with after long searching and enquiry or to come upon. This is the same word base as “Eureka”, “I have found it” made famous in the discovery of Gold in California or by Archimedes and taken up as the cry of triumph for any discovery or any mystery revealed. But God is the One who has brought and revealed the gift to be “discovered”: that Savior far more precious than Gold. A new born infant in a feeding trough swaddled in common cloth. In flesh seemingly common to us all but Divine and perfect. A truly Divine mystery to be pondered.

What does this mystery mean to those invited to behold and come to know in the presence of this Christ? Now the angelic chorus rings out. It means that in Jesus Christ is: “The Glory in the heavens to God and [now] upon earth there is peace to mankind and good will and benevolence.” The glory of the heavens has come down upon earth. The heavens and the earth declare the glory of God because He has brought forth the Son of God, our Savior, the Christ, the one who will shepherd His people, who will reign upon the throne of His Father David forever as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace with justice and righteousness with no end having defeated the enemies who dwell in darkness: that is the Devil, death, and sin.

This one of whom the angels sang and heralded to the shepherds, came to be your Savior. He reconciled you to God by His incarnation, death, and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins. He has heralded this to you this night even as He did at your baptism and continues to in His Word. The sign of discovery which makes for your peace is still in Jesus, no longer in the manger, but forever crucified, raised, and ascended. This sign is not unattainable as a far and distant mystery, but you shall find Him wrapped in bread and wine with His body and blood for you to eat and to drink. To come and worship and be filled with His joy and peace by His righteous reign of forgiveness. Then return from here ever glorifying and praising God for what we have heard and seen: our Savior, Christ, the Lord, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas