There are many hymns of joy that we sing during Advent and Christmas: all celebrating the coming into human flesh our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He who was born in Bethlehem to Mary the blessed Virgin as we will celebrate tonight. But as our Gospel lesson for this morning began, there is one who did not have a song of joy in his heart at the news that Mary was pregnant, he was singing the blues perhaps, but not a song of joy. Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, the betrothed husband to be, had found out that Mary was with child. Joseph could not have known at this time that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. No doubt Mary had told him about the angel visitation and Gabriel’s message, but honestly how could Joseph believe her? He knew how things worked biologically. He also knew that he, himself, could not be the father. Even though betrothal in the Hebrew world meant that Joseph and Mary were legally bound, during their betrothal they did not yet live together or have physical relations. Could it be that Mary was just making excuses for having sinned with someone else? The time to make some hard decisions had arrived for Joseph. His options were two; he could take Mary to be his wife and claim responsibility for the unborn child. This to the Jews would have been an admission of guilt. The remaining option was to divorce her. By divorcing her, he would be absolving himself of any responsibility and guilt for the sin of fornication. However, the usual form of divorcing in such a situation was public denunciation which would then have exposed Mary to public humiliation and possible stoning.

Joseph is described as a just and righteous man; as such, he certainly wouldn’t admit guilt when he had been innocent, but he also didn’t want Mary to suffer shame and execution… so he ultimately resolved that He would find a way to divorce her as quietly as possible.

Joseph’s plans to be married to Mary had been changed by circumstances beyond his control; now he had resolved to take control, to absolve himself while protecting Mary by divorcing her, but God had other plans for Joseph.
As Joseph slept that night, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and addressed him as “Joseph, son of David” not only would an angel in your dreams be unusual, but this greeting too was unusual. Why did the angel call Joseph, Son of David? The Gospel writer, Matthew had just given us the full geneology of Joseph. Joseph’s father’s name was Jacob not David. It is true that Joseph was a descendant of King David, but he was 28 generations down the line from him. In fact, for the last 14 generations, the royal lineage of David had no throne to rule. Therefore, this formal greeting of the Angel referring to Joseph’s royal ancestry already indicates the significance of this child’s birth: He would restore the throne to David, and His kingdom would have no end.

The angel after greeting Joseph by name, told him to change his plans again, to take Mary as his wife, and to do so without fear. She was innocent of the sin of fornication. The child in her was conceived by the Holy Spirit, a miracle of God’s purpose. A purpose and plan revealed in the name that Joseph and Mary were to name this son once He was born, Jesus. Jesus is the English version of the Hebrew Yeshua which means Savior or literally “God saves” as we have been talking about in our midweek services. The name is the same as Joshua, like the Joshua who led the Israelites into the promised land by God’s hand after Moses. Yet, that Joshua only prefigured and pointed to the greater work of this Joshua, this Savior, announced to Joseph. This son born of Mary named Yeshua was born to be a savior by saving His people from a greater enemy than the Caananites or the Egyptians. To bring His people to a greater promised land. He was born to save His people from their sins. To save them from eternal condemnation and the enslavement to sin and the hands of Satan!

How could He do this? Because this Son of Mary was not just a man, but He was also the Son of God. He was and is Immanuel, “God with us”.

In the meantime, God’s plan for Joseph was to bless him and use him in the vocation of husband and adoptive father of Jesus. He was to protect them both Mother and unborn child, the miracle of God’s salvation plan. He was to be the earthly hands of the heavenly Father taking care of Jesus until the time was fulfilled for Jesus to enter into His public office of Christ.

We are not told a whole lot about what happened to Joseph from Scripture, we assume that by the time Jesus began His teaching and preaching office of Christ, Joseph had been called by God to His eternal rest so He never saw the active earthly ministry of Jesus. We know that He was a righteous man, but He knew that that righteousness came not from himself, but from God. Now the righteousness of God which, he, Joseph needed, was coming to earth through Mary. Joseph believed that this son of Mary was going to save him and all of God’s people from their sins. Here revealed to him in the words of the Angel was the news that the long promised, long awaited Savior, was now God with us in human flesh. Ready to conquer in the spirit of King David, to deliver in the name of Joshua, battling against sin, death, and the power of the devil.

We cannot begin to imagine the mindset of Joseph after the angels, visit, but we he believed. We know that in this life, very often our earthly plans also get changed. We may have had the best intentions, but then something changes those plans. All too often the reason for the change in plans is because of sin and the failures within ourselves. This is part of the curse which we inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve, who decided that it was not enough to be loved by God as His subject, but wanted to be equal to God and so fell into temptation and sinned. The punishment for that sin is that sin is passed down from generation to generation through the sin that clings to this flesh. Sin which enslaves many to live in darkness without hope by their unbelief.

But God has better plans for you and me. Because of this inherited sin and fallenness of humanity, Jesus had to be conceived the way He was, He who was begotten from eternity was conceived and born outside the plans or desires of the flesh by the Holy Spirit so that even as He took on flesh and blood, it was perfect and sinless. Jesus the perfect man and Son of God allowed Himself to be despised, rejected, and crucified so that the natural outcome of our sins would not occur in full, rather believers could be redeemed from their sins. He took the punishment of sin upon His flesh so that your own flesh might be redeemed. So that the enemies of sin, death, and the devil could be defeated through His death and resurrection. This was and is the good and gracious plan of God the Father who sent His Son, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, men and women who receive this message of grace through the Gospel can believe and be saved and receive forgiveness for their sins.

You may not have had an angel come to you in a dream to deliver the message of Jesus Christ, but you have heard His message in His Word preached and taught. Jesus, the Savior of the Nation comes and is God with us as He washes clean by the waters of Holy Baptism where He took you, into His crucifixion leaving your sins on the cross. Then in baptism you were raised into His resurrection and given new life through faith. No longer are you slaves to sin, but you are set free to live holy lives by God’s Spirit in Jesus Christ’s name. God not only promises eternal life through Jesus Christ by the forgiveness of your sins, but He will guide, bless, and direct you in your life now. Pray that God would guide you in all wisdom even as you make your earthly plans that God’s will would be done in your life, but remember that all wisdom begins and ends here. Here is where we become centered for all things in life, for Christ is our center. And here is where He comes in His most clear way. He is the One who speaks to us by His Word to tell us of His Love. It is here where Jesus descends to His creation with His saving, merciful, Divine flesh to eat and to drink, where He abides with us in this special way. This is where He brings us to heaven on earth so that our fears, worries, sorrows, our sad songs, may be placed upon Him, and we are made free to sing songs of praise and adoration joined with all the heavenly host during the fast approaching Christmastide.

Our Savior has come to earth, He has conquered, He has risen and ascended and He is coming again to bring us to Himself. Your Immanuel, your, Savior and king, Jesus the Christ. Therefore, O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption! Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel has come to thee, o Israel. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

I begin this morning with a fable by Aesop.
There once was a giant oak tree that stood near a brook in which grew some slender reeds. When the wind blew, the great oak stood proudly upright with its hundred arms uplifted to the sky. But the reeds bowed low in the wind and sang a sad and mournful song. In pride, the great oak boasted of his strength to the reeds, how he stood upright and firm before the wind. The reeds on the other hand weren’t too concerned. “The winds do not harm us,” they said. We bow before them and so we do not break. You, in all your pride and strength have so far resisted their blows. But the end is coming.” And it did. As the reeds spoke a great hurricane rushed out of the north. While reeds bowed low against the wind, the oak stood proudly at first. But as the wind redoubled in fury, the great tree fell, torn up by the roots.
This fable accurately describes the spirit of the times in which we live. According to the world, in order to be successful, better yet, in order to survive, you must be flexible. You must bend to the ever-changing winds of the culture. To resist, to stand firm against the raging tempest, that is this culture, is to be destroyed like the oak. Consider why corporations, politicians, actors, sports figures – who take a stand but reverse course, backtrack, bend once they receive blow back? They don’t want to be destroyed. They want to maintain their power and fame. So, it is that, the wisdom of the world is that “you must be flexible like the reeds.”
But is that how Christians are to be? Bending to the ever changing winds of the culture? By all means, no! We are called to be oaks as written in Psalm 1.
“Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”

If there was ever a man who was like a mighty tree, who wasn’t swayed by its winds of popular opinion, it was John the Baptist. He didn’t wear the latest style of clothes, but wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He didn’t eat the finest meals, but his food was locusts and wild honey.

While his clothes and food were certainly counter-cultural, his message was more so. It wasn’t politically correct. “John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'” (Matt. 3:2). Whether Pharisee or Sadducee, peasant or king, no one was safe from his call to repentance. He wasn’t swayed by earthly power and might. He wasn’t, “A reed shaken by the wind” (Matt. 11:7), as Jesus indicates. He was like an oak tree in his preaching. He stood firm in this message because at the center of this message was Jesus and the forgiveness and life that He alone offered.

While some were cut down by John’s message to be planted as trees, that is repented of their sins, others did not. In sinful pride, they swayed away from his preaching in their unbelief. Pharisees and Sadducees, priests and Levites, and King Herod all despised John’s preaching, and as a result, they all sought to get rid of him and “cut him down”. King Herod would silence John eventually by locking him in prison, specifically because John stood firm in speaking the truth of God’s Word, that it was sinful for Herod to have an affair with Herodias, his brother’s wife. And it’s here where we find John in Gospel for this day, confined to prison, awaiting his death.

Fellow redeemed, it’s never easy for Christians to stand firm in the true faith. The Word of God that we confess is counter-cultural, it stands against the desires of the flesh, making enemies with the world and the devil’s minions. Where the world says you don’t have to marry or you can marry and divorce whoever you like, whenever you like, the Word of God says that marriage is between one man and one woman for life. Where the world says you can determine your gender, the Word of God says that He created us male or female. And so, standing firm on this Word of God, the winds of world rage against us. They try to break us.

And yet, while we stand firm against the winds of the world, it sometimes feels as if it redoubles in fury when these issues hit closer to home, and the fear of this wind causes us to break. The unbelieving child coming home for Christmas. Running into a member who hasn’t attended church in months. Being at work and school and being somebody else in thought and action in order to fit in. Fearful of offending them, that maybe they won’t come home or they leave the church, fearful that we will be ostracized for not being like the world, we bend. We don’t stand firm in the faith by calling out their sin, or by standing firm and resisting the temptation to go the way of the world.

Fellow redeemed, repent. Repent for the times that you’ve bent like the grass – bending to the winds that blow around you. While the grass survived the wind according to Aesop, they don’t according to the Word of God. The Old Testament for this day speaks of grass withering and flowers fading.

“All flesh is grass” writes the Prophet Isaiah. And though we want often bend to the wind of the devil and the world and the sinful flesh, there’s a wind that is far more fearsome, and that’s the breath of God’s judgment. “The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it…” And though we deserve to be cut down and thrown in the fire to be burned forever, He would have us repent of our sins and turn in faith to that which endures. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” the prophet Isaiah writes. It is this Word which can make us trees planted by the water of Holy baptism and strengthened in the fountain of life in Jesus Christ.

This helps us understand why Jesus responds the way He does to John’s question from prison, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” In saying, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them…”, Jesus isn’t directing John to experiences or feelings. Jesus is directing John to the solid and certain and enduring pages of Holy Scripture. The physical signs that Jesus did were the fulfillment of God’s promise concerning the Messiah. It’s as if Jesus was saying, “Look what I’m doing. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised. All of this is in accord with the solid Word of God. And because it is, you can trust that I’m your Messiah, your Redeemer, your Savior. In the face of death, I’m your life and salvation. You have nothing to fear!”

Jesus’ words would’ve brought sweet comfort to John as he sat in prison awaiting his death. They would have strengthened John to stand firm in the true faith, and to boldly confess until the end, “I shall not die but I shall live, even when Herod takes off my head.” And the pages of Holy Scripture do the same for you.

While the raging winds of this world and the devil and the sinful flesh fiercely blow against you, seeking to uproot your faith and to throw you down in order to destroy you in death, God seeks to strengthen you through His Word in order that you may stand firm in the one true faith. It’s a Word that reveals that Jesus is true God in human flesh. And having been tempted in every way that you are, He didn’t bend to the lying wind of Satan and of sinful man. He stood firm in order to fulfill the Law of God for you. He was and is the Tree of Life for John, Isaiah, me, and all believers, who bore the fruit of God’s mercy even as He received the full blast of God’s judgment upon the cross.

And while He appeared knocked over and defeated in death and laid in a tomb, three days later He rose. He lives to this day planting the acorn of His Word transforming us by His Spirit to be bold so that you may not be a reed shaken by the wind. He lives and preaches to you, so that you may stand firm and tall, like a great oak tree, having been grafted into Him and planted by Him who is the great tree of life which will never more die.

He waters you in the Holy Absolution receiving forgiveness and life. His salvation and strength are in His Body and Blood which fortifies you as the medicine of immortality. It strengthens you to stand firm in the face of opposition, to endure all manner of suffering without fear, and to be faithful even unto death.

Fellow redeemed, only the Scriptures can work this confidence, this sturdy hope, and this comfort in the face of opposition to the faith. Nothing else will do this. Only the Scriptures creates faith in you to, “Rejoice in the Lord always,” even in the midst of suffering. And do you know why this is true? Because only the Scriptures give you Jesus.

Through the Word of God, you have God’s certain promise that you belong to Jesus, that you stand righteous and justified before God, that you need not fear anything in life or in death, because Jesus was born for you, He died and rose for you, He ascended to the right hand of the Father and now intercedes for you. While the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, to us who are being saved, it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18). So, may the God of all grace grant us His strength to stand firm in this word of truth until the day then He calls us to Himself from the fierce winds of this life for Jesus’ sake. Amen!

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Signs are all around us. Some are more obvious than others. Signs signify something: a fact, a predictive likely outcome, or to describe a deeper reality. There are signs which some may understand and others may not; signs that people can understand a little of the meaning, all of the meaning, or not at all depending on the sign and the person. There are signs that everyone should be able to tell what the meaning is. The behavior of birds or animals may be a sign to people in the know, that a severe and harsh winter is coming or perhaps their behavior may indicate a mild winter, that rain or an earthquake is imminent. This behavior may seem obvious to those who have over the years observed the connections or who have been taught these observations, but for most people in the city or who have never stopped to watch and pay attention, they haven’t a clue. To them, it is not obvious and they cannot read, understand or interpret the signs at all.

But on the other hand, there are different kinds of signs that just about everyone should be able to understand. Take traffic signs for example. We see traffic signs all around: walk, don’t walk, green and red lights, speed limits, stop signs, yield, yet there are people who choose to ignore those signs all the time or even some of the time. They ignore these signs even though they are signs to warn, to threaten, to predict that if you disobey these signs you run the risk of a ticket, an accident, or worse. These people justify themselves: “Well, I am in a hurry today. I don’t see a police officer. I won’t get caught. Nobody will get hurt and nobody obeys that law, anyway.”

It is very much like the signs written about in the Bible and then the signs that we see in our society today. To a Christian, one is informed by Scripture, these signs are perfectly clear. Signs that seem as though all people should be able to understand. For example, all around us, there are signs that point to an ordered universe and a creator that is very generous, as well as signs that point to the fact that in the midst of order there is a brokenness, a dysfunction. That there are natural rules and laws that are helpful but if broken create problems.

The world sees the signs but it has no idea what they mean. They see the grandeur of the stars and cosmos, but they do not see a creator or an order, though it is there. They see chance, a big bang, and string theory. The world sees an earth which is growing older and groaning with its fires, earthquakes, changing and shifting seasons, and they see global warming and climate change that humanity caused and that humanity can solve. They see any disease as purely a matter for science, not as a sign that disease is a symptom of a greater germ. They do not wonder at its cause, nor as an opportunity to think of mortality and what lies on the other side of death, to seek hope beyond this life. Instead, they look to gods: like the government, to the medical community for a solution. When there is war, they reason it away that the conflicts are caused by something solvable: economic, or religious, or political alone. They look to the weapons and the armies of the nations and whomever they are fighting. “The solution is in the might and will and economic backing of those involved” they figure. When there is trouble among men and women, parents, teachers, neighbors, coworkers and employers, the family, in communities large and small, they see injustice that again only the government, psychologists, or sociologists can solve.

Some of the world’s solutions may be helpful here or there at least for a short time, but many solutions end up causing more damage in observable and not observable ways. Why is that? Why can they not find permanent solutions? Because they do not understand the meaning of the signs, the root cause of trouble, nor to what and to whom they point. They would never look to themselves or a great moral failing within humanity. Some signs they may observe but because of their belief that humanity is somehow naturally good, they cannot process it fully. Much like habitual traffic breakers, other signs they ignore altogether.

Who can read these signs? How are they to be read?

Holy Scripture explains the why and the what for all the signs written and unwritten. It explains from the creation of the universe, to the events of every generation, to the daily struggles, choices, and condition of each individual: what is happening and why.

It explains who it is who set up the signs in the first place. God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But also, it explains the why: He created all things out of love and because that is His nature to be creative, caring, and loving. That is why there is order and bountiful harvests, food, pleasure, and joy to be experienced here on earth. He is also just and will not allow evil to go unpunished. Adam and Eve allowed evil into their hearts and they rebelled against the one Law that was established by God, but the reason for their disobedience is explained in the 1st commandment: “you shall have no other gods”. Adam and Eve worshiped themselves and wanted to be God. They ignored the massive weight of signs pointing to the love of God and how bountiful is His love, forsaking any trust, instead they listened to the voice of Satan who pointed them to the one sign of warning and challenged them to disobey it. So, they disobeyed it, they were caught, and they were punished.

When we see the signs of the world groaning and wearing out, it points to this: the curse of Adam and Eve, to sin, and to the reality that there will be an end to this universe. Disease, famine, war, bloodshed, famine, the signs of the moon and stars, these are all signs pointing to the brokenness because of the curse upon sin, and are a result of the ongoing sins of mankind.

God continues to allow the bounty and joy upon earth to show that He is still loving and merciful, but God allows those signs of wrath so that people would realize that there is something wrong, realizing their mortality and then be open to repentance.

Holy Scripture is the key to a more clear understanding. Only those who have been introduced to the Word of God, who have been taught, who have themselves been brought through the higher signs that gives and works faith can there be understanding and hope. By nature, we in clouded unbelief need the Lord to come to us and speak by and through these higher signs through which the Holy Spirit overcomes our fallen ignorance and sin.

What are these higher signs? Holy Baptism, the Sacrament of the Altar, confession and Absolution. These all reveal and bring God’s solution to our brokenness, to our breaking of the 10 commandments, to our making gods of ourselves and then receiving in our flesh the trouble and the hardships of doing so. God is merciful and loving, and so He has sent a solution, a solution that points back to Him, and glorifies His merciful nature and His love. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and now Son of Man. He has died on the cross, taking upon Himself the full punishment for sin upon His flesh, and then rising again to show that there is an end to death, there is a newness and re-creation beyond this life.

But this salvation and revelation can only come by waiting upon the Lord and believing in Him by faith, that He is your God and Lord. That He loved you enough to reach out and lead you to Him and there is no salvation within yourself and the passing things of this world.

For many this realization began at Baptism. The sign of Holy Baptism (water with the Name and Word of God) was used by the Lord to wash us in the blood of Christ’s crucifixion sacrifice, drowning the old Adam, to bring us forth in the reality and sign of Christ’s resurrection: God’s new creation by faith in Him. With this sign of the cross, with faith comes understanding, wisdom, and hope.

The flesh may war against this, and many it is who have been shown the solution to the signs of trouble and hardship in Christ, yet reject Him and His grace, but the Lord doesn’t give up. He continues to send forth His Holy Spirit to work upon our hearts and minds to draw us back to Himself by His Word, by the promise of Baptism, using the witness of our parents, or our Christian brothers and sisters, our fellow congregation members who reflect the love of God in Jesus Christ, and point us back to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is where God reveals His love again. Who is our present and future hope.

Jesus Christ will surely come again in the fullness of His glory to bring an end to the brokenness of this world. To bring about the fullness of His new creation begun for us in baptism. He will raise the dead and judge the believers and unbelievers. Believers shall live forever body and soul never to die again, living with Him celebrating His love and victory over sin, death and the devil in His joy.

He loves you. He sent Jesus for you and for your sake. Do not ignore or take for granted His signs, rather return, repent, rejoice, and receive from Him the fullness of the revelation of His love and hope for you.

He continues to come to His people, to you who come in repentance and faith. He uses the simple signs of bread and wine, to deliver the greater reality of His presence and love in the body and blood of Jesus Christ given and shed for the forgiveness of sins. This He gives as a joy, a peace giving refreshment, a strengthening of faith and the confession of His name, as we continue to live in this world according to His purpose ever looking at, living for, and rejoicing in the love of God in Christ Jesus crucified and raised for our transgressions.

As we see the signs of sin all around us, as we see the trouble within the world, let us cling to Him all the more by faith. Remember, Jesus said, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” And so it is: your eternal redemption in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Come Lord Jesus be our guest… this is from a table prayer of blessing before meals. It is the prayer which I grew up with, and my family still uses frequently. Perhaps you know it too. The first lines of this prayer are really the theme of this season of Advent. “Come Lord Jesus”

Today is the first Sunday in the church season known as Advent. For the church this is the beginning of a new year already. The theme of “Come Lord Jesus” is present in the name of the season. As I am sure many of you have been told in the past, Advent comes from the Latin for “coming toward” or “arrival”. This “coming toward” does not describe the movement of people’s hearts, and the arrival does not refer to the many guests that arrive at Christmas and New Years parties, nor to the arrival of Santa Claus.

No, we talking about the arrival and coming again of Jesus Christ, of God to His creation, to His people to deliver them from their trouble, their trespasses and sin. Specifically, during the Advent season, we make note of 3 ways in which God has promised to come, to arrive among us and His creation. First, we mark the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of God’s arrival to the world to save them, specifically in the person of Jesus Christ, as He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary, and then born at Christmas. God joining Himself to humanity to redeem the world by His very human life, death and resurrection.

Secondly, we also mark and make note that God continues to come to His people through Jesus Christ in the gifts that He has given to enact faith, hope, love, and bring forgiveness in the preaching of God’s Word, and in the celebration of His sacraments. Here He continues to come to encourage and give life to His people through the life and very real presence of Himself in Jesus Christ.

Finally, during this season when we pray “Come Lord Jesus” or as we prayed in the collect: “Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance” we or pray in the Lord’s prayer “Thy kingdom come” we are also praying for and looking toward that final arrival and coming of Jesus Christ at the last day. He has promised to come again once and for all to bring all things to completion. When we pray “Come Lord Jesus” in this sense we are praying that He would come again in all His glory to judge the living and the dead, the final part of the creed confessing Christ that has yet to be fulfilled. We are pleading for the Lord to come and bring all things to His promised conclusion, that He would deliver us in the midst of our difficulties, that He would avenge the church against her persecutors, that He would rescue us so that we would no longer be tormented by temptation, sin, disease, false teaching, doubt, death, and the works of the flesh or the devil. We pray for the end of our waiting, to see the day of His glory, the moment of deliverance even now. And so, the prayer of Advent is “Come Lord Jesus”.

The Gospel lesson for today is almost like a summary of the Gospel texts of the past 3 Sundays from Matthew 25. As we have already been meditating upon the final return of Jesus Christ as the old year drew to a close. These passages speak about that the last days of the earth as dark days, days of tribulation. As we had heard Jesus saying, there will be signs showing that the final arrival of the Son of Man is near. Those last days sound terrifying in many ways, sun and moon not giving their light having been darkened, stars falling, powers in the heaven shaking. Jesus tells us of signs, yet reveals that nobody knows when it will come, nobody should try to predict when He shall come again. But just be ready. Even as Paul in Romans today tells us to “wake from our sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

Be awake. This warning is “don’t become apathetic, don’t let down your guard against those things that wrestle against faith.” “Don’t give in to the false security of the world and the flesh.”

And so during this season specifically we realize that with each passing hour, Christ’s return draws nearer. For this reason, we call out to each other, and exhort one another to be prepared for the Lord is ever nearer in coming in His office of judge.

Therefore, Advent is also a season of calling one another to repentance, to contrition for our lack of vigilance. To confess our sins of falling into temptation, for not being faithful with our time and treasures, for not making use of God’s gifts, for taking God’s gifts, His grace, and His mercy for granted, for using the time to abuse our neighbors, by letting them stay comfortable in their sin or their false beliefs instead of admonishing them in love to turn and live.

Let us not be found in unbelief, complacency, or laziness when our Lord comes again. Let us be ready. Let us be awake.

This true awakening can only come by God’s coming to us, to rescue us from our natural apathy. So again, we pray, “Come Lord Jesus”, but in the 2nd “advent coming” of which I spoke, specifically, that He would continue to come to us in His Word and sacraments. As We will pray in next Sunday’s collect that He would “Sir up our hearts, that by His coming we will be able to serve Him with pure minds.”

So, we are gathered here, and we do pray and God does awaken our hearts and minds, even as He comes to us with His Word and sacraments to give you forgiveness of sins, to give you the power to believe in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The power of this message is the forgiveness of sins that is already accomplished in Jesus Christ, who in His first coming came as true God and true Man to keep the Law in Himself. In order to redeem the world, He then allowed Himself to be punished, to receive the judgement that you, me, and all people deserve because of our rebellious unbelief and sin.

His first coming in the flesh, gives power to the signs of His coming in His Word, His baptism, His absolution, and His Supper of His body and blood. As He has conquered our sin, the curse of death, the power of the devil in His life death, and resurrection. He now gives that same power by the Holy Spirit to come us and give us that same victory even as we live each day in this earthly life waging battles against the same enemies. On our own, we would fail, but by Christ’s power, we will make it. We will not fail. Why?

Because Christ has promised to be with us and come to us in this way to strengthen and keep us in the faith by His presence. Jesus said: “heaven and earth may pass away but My Word will never pass away”.

He comes to you with His word of forgiveness in which He has attached His power and grace with the active power of His sacramental signs where He washes, kills and makes alive. He comes in His body and blood to heal and strengthen and prepare you, His people, for everlasting life in body and soul by His perfect and raised body and blood.

This is how He prepares us. This is how we are able to remain patient as we are strengthened against the enemies that would harm us or take away the treasure of faith. So we pray, “Come Lord Jesus make us your guest, feed us your grace, make us your people, prepare us by your power and make us joyful in your presence. Make us ready to confess you before all people, to bear witness of you to all so that they may see your light. Keep us strong against all our adversaries. Then come o Lord, come again that final time to bring us and all the Church to yourself.”

Dear Friends what a wonderful thing to pray and hope for: eternal life with Him, joy and gladness which knows no ending. Come and receive His gifts where He comes to you for your forgiveness and life. Receive His gifts and be awake in Him so that we may not fear the final day, but in all readiness already pray, “Come Lord Jesus in Your glory for our final redemption in your name, Amen.”

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Wisdom and foolishness. Two opposites. What makes a person wise versus a person who is foolish? Wisdom is generally considered a good thing. Yet, how is it defined? The world has various ways of defining wisdom, but the Church and Scripture have a very specific way of defining wisdom.

Once upon a time the world saw wisdom as having to do with reason, and as such, it quite often found itself at odds with the Church due to perceptions that religion is not based on reasonable things, but was a superstition. Yet reason cannot find within itself such things as morals, generosity, or mercy.

Today, much of the world would define wisdom as an emotional response: “you be you” “do your own thing” “fight anyone and everyone who won’t let you do whatever you want” “find offense in everything”. Perhaps that isn’t entirely the case for everyone in the world, and variations on what is wisdom is different depending on who you talk to, but the world still sees Christianity as that which is foolish. It believes Christianity, more than any other religion, is foolish specifically because of the wisdom that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. They cannot understand the finer parts of Scripture, nor do they care to. They do not wish to answer to God who has a claim upon them. Yet, they complain that they reject a God who is merciful, yet allows “evil” to exist while they reject that they themselves may have evil. They fail to embrace that the reason God allows evil to exist is because of His mercy. If He were to destroy evil, He would, in fact, have to destroy all people immediately. But He will not destroy all people. He will judge, but His judgments are based on these opposites: wisdom and foolishness. Faith on one hand and rejection of grace on the other. Recognizing ones weakness and finding hope in Jesus versus refusing to admit fault or weakness and the attempts to find hope in anything but Christ.

The Bible defines wisdom not by earthly knowledge or learning. It isn’t about getting rich or navigating and controlling other people. Wisdom has nothing to do with a high Intelligence Quotient or “IQ”. It is neither entirely emotional nor entirely rational. It is the balance of both with God in Jesus Christ in the middle showing the “Way of Truth”.
The Bible is filled with instructions on how to be wise as opposed to being foolish. One of the big ones is actually being open to advice and instruction. In fact, true wisdom, as the Bible defines it, is relying completely on the Lord. Attending to His Word. Admitting that we cannot save ourselves. Admitting that we don’t have it all figured out. Admitting that we have sinned, that we have made mistakes; that we want to do better, and know that unless we turn it over to the Lord, we will just keep making the same mistakes. However, “to humble oneself” is foolishness to the world, but the “fear of the Lord is the true beginning of wisdom.”
Scripture declares:
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. Pr. 3:7
Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord. Psalm 109:43
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; Psalm 19:7
The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace. Proverbs 3:35
Jesus said: Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24

But the wisdom of this world is described this way:
the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden. Is. 29:14
The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them? Jer. 8:9
everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Mt. 7:26,27

So, who are the virgins in today’s Gospel text? Just like the sheep and goats being separated last week, these ladies represent the visible church here on earth. All those people who had been baptized, who had heard the Word of God at some point and were appointed to be watchful and awake in order to greet the Bridegroom as He arrives at the last and final day. He then gathers His bride and the entire bridal party to the eternal joyous banquet hall to celebrate the consummation and completion of all the saving work appointed to be done.

All ten slept while the groom was gone; this sleeping is not bad, but just shows that the Bridegroom was delayed and that it was a long time in coming. He arrived at an unexpected time, at night, at a late hour.

This is the difference between the wise and foolish virgins. The wise were ready just in case it was a long night and a long wait. They had extra oil for their torches. The foolish did not think He would delay, therefore they wasted their oil and kept none in store.

This is the sorrow and sadness of the latter days. For the oil represents faith, and the storing up represents the hearing of God’s Word, the receiving of God’s Sacraments, the keeping in store and treasure of the truth of God’s Word, keeping it pure and growing from it. Receiving it as such a precious commodity as oil to keep the light burning. At the end of days everyone will have to answer for their own faith, their own deeds, their own faithfulness. That is why the wise virgins could not give their oil even if they wanted to. The foolish virgins were people who wasted the oil of faith, whose hearts turned cold to the whims, and the folly of the world and ended ignoring the value of faith and the Word of God which keeps the light burning. Who in the end, sacrificed their faith to the cares of the world, and gave up the true teaching of God’s Word for the half-truths, the laws and the spirit of the selfish modern Pharisees.

And so, in the end, the flame of righteousness and faithfulness grew dim for them, and when they realized their error it was too late. They left, the Bridegroom came, the party went to their destination and the door was closed.

The foolish finally arrived to door, and called upon the name of the Lord, but they were sent away. He said that He never knew them. Because in this life they had not ever truly known and acknowledged Him, they had not appreciated Him, and they were not ready, and so they did not receive the inheritance of honor which comes to the wise believers, but rather the dark despairing destruction of judgement for those whose faith was snuffed out by their own foolish neglect.

This is scary from an earthly standpoint, but it shouldn’t be. It should be a call to recognize that we cannot know when Christ will come again, therefore let us all be ready every day. Let us be awake and be filled to overflowing. Time is short for this life: for this world.

But rejoice. Give thanks and praise! The Bridegroom soon will call us to bring us to the wedding hall to enjoy the evening and eternal meal of victory in Jesus Christ. Why? Because the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ has sacrificed Himself upon the cross for your sins. He has washed you with His blood in baptism. He has made you and declared you holy once more in confession and absolution even as He has this day. The wisdom of God is your salvation; your forgiveness and life. You are here in humility to receive this salvation, to ponder the steadfast love of the Lord in Jesus Christ and as you do this your faith is strengthened as proving that you are among the wise.

As almost all of us got ready to celebrate some kind of Thanksgiving meal this past week, remember that we have an even greater thanksgiving meal that is established for us, by God through Jesus Christ for which the preparation is repentance and faith. God has prepared and now presents for us a feast that doesn’t come just once a year, but as often as we break this bread and drink this cup we proclaim and are received in fellowship with the crucifixion sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who has died for His bride the Church. A meal where He gives you His victory, now your victory. His righteousness, now your glory by the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, you are already receiving a glimpse into that full joy and glory of the wedding feast that is yet to come. Thanks be to God.

His presence and grace keeps us awake and keeps our lamps filled with the oil of gladness, faithful even as we wait, watch, and receive. The world may hate this message. It may hate the idea of weakness inside ourselves, but strength only in Jesus Christ crucified and raised. It may rage against the idea of mercy and holiness, but God will keep the true Church strong. Therefore, continue to receive and you will continue to believe as God fills up your oil to confess His name, to shine His light until He comes again. Stay awake in hope and faith. For as Proverbs 2 states:
the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
    he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
 guarding the paths of justice
    and watching over the way of his saints.
 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
    and equity, every good path;
 for wisdom will come into your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
and that knowledge and that wisdom is God’s love and salvation for you who gives you readiness through faith in Jesus Christ who will come again in great glory for our deliverance. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Blessed Thanksgiving to you in Jesus Christ!

A couple of weeks ago before our Sunday Bible Class we recited the 4th petition, and I thought, this would be good to review for Thanksgiving…so let’s do that. Please open your hymnals to page 324 or go by memory and you can follow along.
Give us this day, our daily bread.

What does this mean? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
What is meant by daily bread?

Daily Bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, ser-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like…. Of course, this list of earthly needs and wants which God provides of His bounty could go on and on.

And speaking of lists that is one of our Thanksgiving Traditions is to go around the table and each one of us in our family is to speak a short list of things that they are thankful to God for. Of course, it is not exhaustive, because if we had to, we probably could never list everything that God provides because there is always more that we are not even aware of. That is kind of what the explanation of the 4th petition is: a reminder that God is the source of All the good in this world. The list is humungous as to what He provides for our earthly needs…not only to you and me and all believers, but He even provides it to evil people, to unbelievers. He is just that generous and loving even to His creatures who won’t acknowledge Him!

But what else is the point of this prayer and explanation? It is to not only to be overwhelmed at God’s generosity and say: “wow!” The point is not to think that the point of the 4th petition is that we can or should ask for anything and everything from God as though we would encourage covetousness or envy. As though it is ok to make another kind of list: a list of what “I wish you would give me God”, this is what I want, what I think I need, what would help me believe in you.

As we ready to celebrate this National Day of Thanksgiving, where hopefully we acknowledge and give thanks to God for all His blessings, we all know that the world has been and will increase its encouragement toward covetousness and envy. What do you want for Christmas? Look at these sales! Here are some things that you don’t have, that you didn’t even know you wanted until these sales, but you want them now, right? We only have so many or there is a time limit. So start planning during Thanksgiving or earlier, or earlier, for all the black Friday sales going on throughout November and beyond!

The church makes a list of what God has provided, the world makes a list of what you must provide for yourself. The church assures you that you are not defined by your material ownership, the world says that you are defined by what you own or do not own, that you are missing out unless you pursue what everyone wants. God through His church declares that you are His treasure and He desires that you be grateful and desire His gifts and His love. And with salvation in Christ along with simple food and raiment, we can be therewith content, the world declares that you can and should never be content with what you have; that greater treasures must be pursued, worked for, stolen, grabbed, and there is no end to the madness.

Why is there this madness? Unbelief. A loss of humanity and perspective comes with a lack of faith in the true loving God. Unkindness, bitterness, greed, envy, covetousness, wrath, lust, and all the cardinal evils of the original fallen flesh will be the ultimate motivation of humanity, without God’s love in Christ. Unbelievers have no hope beyond this world, so they madly pursue what they can here. They do not believe in a God who provides, but that they must provide for themselves or they will be victimized by “missing out”.

Then we too, are tempted, What do you have to be thankful for? Things are hard. Look at what God “hasn’t” provided. Why kid yourself? Live for the now. Challenge God, make that list of “gimme or else I won’t believe”. Or ok, just this one day, be thankful, while keeping one eye on the advertisements. Get busy, working, planning, rushing, stressing, the other 364 days of the year. Oh dear friends, brothers and sisters, this is the handiwork of Satan whispering madness to the flesh.

The 4th petition points out that God is generous according to His will and mercy. We should give thanks tonight and tomorrow, but not only then. “We pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.” We can and should be “Thanksgiving” every day. Not only for our daily bread which provides only for our bodies. But we can and should be thanking God because He has provided that which gives true life to these bodies now and forevermore. We need this grace more than any other gift. Though we do not probably give thanks daily for all these daily spiritual and material gifts, we certainly “daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment”.

So we rejoice that God provides even physical gifts even for unbelievers, and those unworthy, because we too, are unworthy and all to often live and believe as those who have no hope beyond this life. But we do.

God in His infinite mercy has provided a sacrifice, so that we may be pardoned. This is of course, God giving of Himself, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, was sent to live in complete trust, faith, and obedience during His earthly life. Giving thanks always to His Father before His feeding miracles, Yes even when instituting the greatest and most important Thanksgiving meal: the Eucharist. He who was going to be treated most unfairly, gave thanks to His Father. He who was to be crucified as the innocent Lamb of God, gives thanks that He can and would redeem the world by His flesh given as in the bread, and the pouring forth of His flesh as given in wine. This meal which brings us the very gift of Christ’s all atoning sacrifice which is forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, is rightly called the Eucharist. Which is the giving of thanks for God’s good gift. God has provided a Savior, and now He spreads a meal for us to give thanks to Him approaching as forgiven ones for the sake of the server and the one served Jesus Christ.

We indeed have so much to be thankful for. Through Jesus Christ, death is overcome, our sins are forgiven, we have life in His name. We have been washed in Holy Baptism and given His righteousness to celebrate His victory for you and me. And yes, He also provides all the other things that our bodies need and usually many of our wants too. Let us daily and many times throughout the day, return to Christ in prayer and thanksgiving praising God for all His benefits: His gifts of daily bread and the bread which comes down from heaven so that we may have eternal life in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

For this 2nd last Sunday of the church year, we hear that at the last there will be a separation and separating. We actually separate things all the time. In baking and cooking sometimes we have to separate things like the yolk from the white in an egg and as we approach Thanksgiving some you may even tasked with doing this very thing. While doing laundry, we separate clothes according to color or by fabric. Also, Farmers have to separate the seeds of the grain from the rest of the plant or chaff while harvesting. This is very biblical: the wheat and the chaff. Fisherman using nets separate the desirable or legal fish from those that are not legal, or desirable, or big enough. And here in today’s Gospel we have the separation of the sheep and the goats.

This simile that Jesus uses, He uses to illustrate the reality that on the last day there will be a separation. A separation between people who otherwise may appear similar. They are separated even as sheep and goats are separated. As they are separated, we learn that some will be separated also from the presence of the Son of Man and sent away to eternal punishment, but the righteous on the other hand will be gathered and ushered into eternal life.

Yet in Romans 8 St. Paul asks the question: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” and then he answers it: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Who or what can separate people from Jesus Christ? It isn’t hardship or trouble. It’s unbelief. But also those things which can lead to unbelief: earthly success, pride, and laziness just to name a few.

Quite often earthly hardship drives believers ever closer to faith and reliance upon the grace of God and His generosity. Instead of these troubles separating people from the Lord, they are drawn ever closer to Him. Leaning on Him, receiving from Him His generous grace upon Grace, forgiveness, hope, and strength in Jesus Christ. Therefore, in response to God’s grace, by faith they are generous in their lives. Generous in offerings, generous to their families, neighbors, and coworkers as their faith grows in Christ.

Today’s text is a gut check. It is a warning. As we talk about the end of time and the judgement of the world. We have to ask, “Am I a sheep or a goat”. What will I hear proclaimed at the last day?

We Lutherans and all Orthodox Christians proclaim that salvation cannot be earned. That good works cannot redeem us. That we are saved by grace through faith alone. As we believe so shall we be saved.

But here is the problem: the human flesh. You and I in our fallenness have a tendency to abuse either the Law on the one hand: thinking that we can earn salvation by our goodness ‘or having heard the Gospel we tend to abuse the Grace and gift of God.

People are saved by faith alone, but faith is never alone. We cannot say that we have faith and willfully go on sinning. We cannot say that we believe and willfully stay away from God’s Word. We cannot say that we love God and then be cruel and merciless even to our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a dangerous thing to challenge God in His patience. And to challenge the strength of one’s belief in God by going on sinning to see how long that connection of faith can sustain itself until it snaps and one is fully separated from Jesus already in this life by their unbelief. Faith does not disappear all at once. It can be squeezed out day by day, week by week, year by year. Until there is none left. If in the public realm one is living their life no differently from the pagan unbelievers, they should ask: am I even a believer anymore?

The ancient church as they looked at this text from Matthew, believed that the people being separated in this passage did not represent believers and those of the world. The group from which these people, these sheep and goats are being separated represented the visible church here on earth. For there are many now and many throughout the ages who said they were believers, who may have been baptized in the church, who may have attended every Sunday, but did not believe. And because they did not believe, really, they had had no fruits of faith. They were not loving to Christ’s brothers and sisters meaning fellow members of the church. It is easy enough to adopt a child in Africa, but how difficult is it to listen to the needs and concerns of those within one’s own congregation and communion and then help? At the last day our hearts and thought will be revealed, but even now our lives today give an indication of the status and health of our faith and salvation. Martin Luther in a sermon on this very text once said: “In this way the distinction between sheep and goats is already made in this life, so that everyone can perceive it in himself and must also let it be noticed outwardly. Those who do not have faith will certainly do neither of these things: they will not take comfort in the grace of Christ, nor will they plan to practice mercy.”

So, have you as a baptized child of God, shown the love and mercy to your brothers and sisters that you could and should? Are you generous and good stewards of your time and talents? Have you planned and followed through in doing this good to the glory of God and to the good of your neighbor? Or have you been wasteful? Have you joined yourself in the wickedness of this world and the desires of your flesh? Have you been separating yourself from Christ Jesus and His Word? Have you known someone absenting themselves from this congregation, or caught up in a sin of any kind separating themselves from God and yet haven’t for the love of them exhorted them in humility to repent?

It is good to examine ourselves and our shortcomings. How can we ever know where by God’s grace we can improve unless we do this? How can we not but become lazy in our faith, or become proud in ourselves unless we take the time to examine ourselves.
Then we find, that we have failed, we have been more goatish in our witness and in our voice than sheepish. So, let us repent of our sin. Let us confess unto the Lord our points of weakness, our cold and selfish ways. And pray by God’s Grace not to deliver us according to our sin, but to forgive us for the sake of that same Son of Man who will come to judge the living and the dead. Though we have separated ourselves, it is God who through Jesus Christ gathers us again. And so, we are here, and I as your pastor announce that Jesus Christ died for those sins. That you are forgiven for His sake. That by His Holy Spirit you can indeed make plans to serve Him and glorify Him, to amend your ways, to show mercy to others in His name and succeed by His strength. But first, receive His love and mercy and strength.

Be reconciled to God and to each other, and be strengthened by Christ’s body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. You receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ here and so you are declared righteous. You receive His mercy. Then go with joy from this place rejoicing in the treasure of salvation that is yours now for the sake of Jesus Christ. Make plans to do good, and follow through, and it will become a habit propelled by the Holy Spirit working through the Gospel. Then showing love and mercy may become part of who you are so that you might no longer even realize that you are doing it. Living by faith. Living in His joy having drunk deeply from His well of grace streaming from the side of Jesus Christ crucified and raised. God will give you this strength and faith to live for Him, until that day, when you shall stand before Jesus Christ, and He will say: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” And indeed, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord forevermore. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Today we begin today the Last Sundays of the Church Year. There are, in fact, only 3 Sundays left before we begin the season called Advent which marks the start of a new church year. As we approach the end of the church year and the beginning of Advent and a new year, we turn our attention to Christ’s second or final advent, that is, His triumphant coming back to the earth to judge the living and the dead which will bring about a new aeon or time for the church: the time of triumph and eternal glory. Therefore, with our Scripture Readings, we turn our eyes upon those things that have to do with the End Times. In the Holy Gospel we hear Jesus preaching to His Disciples on the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem during the Holy Week just before His crucifixion and resurrection. In many ways these sermons are His last will and testament and teaching to them before He would be glorified and then ascended before them into heaven. These are words to pay attention to for every generation, but to those of us in this generation and time, many of Christ’s words seem to be coming true even now, therefore the end, we imagine must be coming nigh.

Jesus said, “If anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Yet, this is what we have heard so often. With “new prophecies”, those speaking of raptures and hidden returns of Christ, and the like, it is easy to see with a biblical lens how busy the devil has been in the world. He has been multiplying all kinds of false religions and denominations and false prophets and false teachers throughout the world. All around us are many voices claiming to speak for Christ.

How confusing it is for a poor, bewildered soul! How can you know which voice is the right one? They are so deceptive, these false voices. They use the name of Christ. They teach from the Bible, or at least from parts of it. They seem like good, loving men and women, so loving, so accepting, so just. It seems so difficult to tell the true voices from the false.

But Christ has warned you in advance. There is no room for excuses. Those who are wise by learning from the Scriptures should be able to discern where the true Christ is and where the false christs are.

So. I tell you: Do not look for signs and miracles. There are many counterfeit miracles to dazzle your eyes. Do not look for visions and angels, for angels of light may actually be satan in disguise. Do you not know that Satan can easily deceive the eyes and ears, he knows the hearts and minds of men and women. Therefore even signs and wonders of space people, UFOs, and aliens could be satanic manifestations to cause people to doubt God’s Word.

Do not think that truth must be held by those who seem most pious and godly. It is easy to make a show of righteousness by the flesh. Remember that good works in the eyes of the world, no matter how spectacular and amazing they seem, are nothing in the eyes of God without true love and faith.

Where is Christ? Where is He to be found? Is he everywhere? Anywhere I want or don’t?

On a Sunday morning, many people go looking for Christ, here, there, and everywhere. Some say, “He’s in my heart, so I can worship God in my pajamas at home.”  Some say, “He’s in nature, so I can worship God by going hunting.” Some say, “I can watch the man on television, or read my favorite book. Anything that teaches prosperity or fearsome law, or a church that excuses my sin or just makes me feel good.”  Many just through up there hands and say, “who knows? Who cares?” So very sad, because He will come to judge in terror, but in the meantime, He comes with hope, healing, and teaching.

The devil is very tricky in using the flesh and the world to keep people from finding Christ where He is for them with all His wonderful grace and truth: that is in a right-teaching church. The devil tells us, such churches seem boring, cold, and lacking in good works. “Surely God is not there, with these hypocrites” they say. But you – seek out Christ where He has promised to be.

If the deceptions in the world were to continue forever, then even the elect of God would eventually be deceived and led astray. Therefore, God will cut this time of deception short.

For now, we must be discerning. We must avoid the smooth talk of deceivers. We must avoid the easy paths of false shepherds. We must avoid lawlessness which brings the coldness of hearts and agnostic unbelief.

We must go to where Christ where He truly is, where the Holy Spirit works through the words of Jesus Christ. We may not even recognize at first but later say, “Did our hearts not burn within us while He talked with us, and opened to us the Scriptures?

For He is here today. He is speaking now. He is wherever His Gospel is spoken in purity and truth.

This is why the devil tries to tempt you away by saying, “He is here! He is there! You must, run and find Christ elsewhere!” The only thing the devil cares about is to get you away from this House and this Word. If he tempts you away, then you have not found Christ, but lost Him. Mind you, the devil is a master at his job. He blinds the eyes and dazzles the senses. He knows a thousand tricks to harden men’s hearts. His illusions and false signs never feel evil, but they feel good and wholesome and godly. Many have been deceived, and led astray. Many are not following the Word of God, but their own hearts. They place their own emotions upon the throne of authority, where Christ and His Word should be.

But flee to the mountain. Go to the one Rock of salvation that can save your souls. Build your house upon the one solid foundation that can never collapse.

Dear brothers and sisters, blind yourselves to all things in heaven and on earth except this one thing: The Gospel of Christ and Holy Scripture. See and hear only that, and the devil will not be able to lead you away.

This is the real, pure doctrine: that we are redeemed by Christ from our sins, from death, and from satan by His death and resurrection. We are planted in the kingdom of God through the Word and faith and made free from all manmade law. We are no longer under the condemnation of God’s Law because Christ has come to us, He has spoken to us and given us faith. No man, whoever he might be, can enter into the Kingdom of God through the works of the law nor be made free from sin, but only through Christ. Where this Gospel is preached, there is Christ.

As the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Except that the Greek “aetion” means eagle. Therefore as the world is freaking out and going where there is no Christ but only falsehood, may you be found where Christ gives His Body and Blood. As eagles feasting upon the crucified and raised corpse of Jesus Christ for strength. There He is. Even now as we eat and drink where He is, it comes to pass:
“they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
He gives us wing and freedom of strength over the troubles and woes of sin and death where He gathers the true church already even as the angels will come and gather us at the last day. In this one place on earth, more than any other, Christ dwells. Here He is now. In no other place does He bring His presence here in this way, in bread and wine. Only on the last day will He manifest Himself in a greater way. As St. paul declares in 1 Corinthians “as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we show the Lord’s death until He comes.”

Here is Christ! For you!

We have too often been absent, and too often been half-hearted or distracted. Although we know that this is where Christ is, we have let other things be more important than Him. We have sought out other “christs”.

Yet for all our disobedience, He still seeks and calls us and saves us. Bringing us back to the font, back to absolution, back to the fold, to His body, the true temple of sacrifice and reconciliation with God. To the place where Jesus Christ promises to come to you with His power and glory perceived by believers of each generation until He comes again in full power and glory when the whole world shall see it and cry out in woe.

But we, we shall rejoice in that day. Our salvation will have come to full revelation in that day. We do not fear the end, but we use this time to speak and witness to a world of lawlessness and lovelessness of the law and love fulfilled for life eternal in Christ. To a turbulent and dying world, we point to the true Christ where this Savior truly is now. In His peace we remain. We know where Christ is, and we pray to remain in this life, steadfast in being brought to where He is, crucified and raised for the forgiveness of our sins.

When He returns, with the glory of God and the flash of lightning and the thunderous voice of the Archangel, then you will be found where Christ is. If you are gathered with Him in this life, then you will be with Him forever and ever in the life that is yet to be fully realized. In death, in life, in eternity, He is your forever. He has marked you as His own possession, and He will never let you go.

In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Today we observe the feast Day of All Saints, where we celebrate the victory given to all the Saints who from their labors rest. We give thanks to God through Jesus Christ for their confession of faith and lives here on earth and pray that we too might be remain faithful and be brought to that eternal rest through Christ.

By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John had a vision of that eternal rest. He saw the saints in heaven. He saw what it takes to make a saint, that is, a holy one.  One of the elders speaking to John tells John the exact process for making a saint. The elder said, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” 

The blood of the Lamb is the blood of Jesus Christ as John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! The Apostle John wrote, [1 John 1:7] “The blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin.” The writer of Hebrews said, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”  

Therefore, becoming “holy ones” or saints, comes only from the holiness of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. It comes by the washing of regeneration and sprinkling in Christ’s Blood in the pure waters of baptism as the merits and righteousness of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sins on the cross are applied to His people by faith.

The world has the idea that saints are declared to be Saints because of their own good works or in the Roman Catholic church the designation “saint” is given only when a very pious and holy person dies and then after a drawn out process involving miracles in that person’s name the pope must designate that person a saint. This too is not the biblical definition.

Sainthood cannot be achieved by a good effort and nobody can confer it upon themselves. In this life all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. Instead, sainthood is conferred from outside ourselves. It is given by God through His Grace for the sake of the perfect life, and the innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ our Lord and savior. 

If we were to call ourselves saints according to the world’s idea of sainthood, we would be pointing to our own accomplishments and the world would be right to call us arrogant and self-righteous. If we were honest, even all our loved ones who have gone before us in the faith who now rest were imperfect in their earthly endeavors. But if we look at how sainthood is conferred according to the Bible, then we see that it is given by God’s grace despite the failings of mortal men and women. People are declared holy for the sake of the work and grace of Jesus Christ crucified and raised. It is in Him that Christians glory for what He has done, that He has redeemed them. That He has taken our polluted garments and washed them by His blood.

When we say that someone is a saint in the Biblical sense of the word, we are simply saying that the Holy Spirit has worked faith in them – that they believe that the Son of God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and earned the forgiveness of sins for them with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.

Does the description of a saint sound a lot like the description of a Christian? It should. All Christians are saints and all saints are Christians.

When we talk of all the saints as one large group of believers, we are really talking about the Holy Christian Church. The Holy Christian Church is sometimes also called the Communion of Saints.

This Communion of Saints spans two different worlds. Here on this earth, in this life, we are the Church Militant. We continue to struggle against temptation, the devil and our flesh in this sin soaked world. Even though Jesus has defeated Satan with His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, Satan still tries to wrest the victory from God’s children by tormenting and tempting them from the confession of Christ’s name. This is why we are the church Militant, we are yet in this life upon the battlefield. We would be defeated, except as we sang last Tuesday, “for us, fights the Valiant One”, Jesus Christ is our Mighty Fortress who fights by our side and continues to give us strength and power as He feeds and empowers us through His Word and Sacraments by the forgiveness of our sin so that we may reach the goal and receive the victory by faith in His name.

Cheering us on, though not able to clearly see our struggles, is the Church Triumphant. The Church Triumphant is made up of all those saints who are already gathered at the throne of the Lamb, who are now at rest from this earth’s labors. They are now without sin, without hunger, without misery, without tears, because the one called the Lamb is their Shepherd – who leads His lambs to living fountains of water. All memory of pain, death, sin, sickness, poverty, hunger, persecution, and hatred are wiped from their eyes along with their tears.

Even though this church spans two worlds, there are not two churches: there is not one here on earth and another in heaven. We “believe in one holy Christian and apostolic church.” The oneness of the church is not destroyed even by the separation of death. For where Jesus is, there are His saints – those here on earth, and those who have “come out of the great tribulation” of life in this world.

The church on earth and the church in heaven are united around the throne of God and in the presence of the Lamb through faith in Jesus Christ. When we gather around the altar on Sunday, we know that our deceased relatives and friends who have likewise “washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb” are right there with us. When we sing “Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world”, we sing along with the countless Christians of every age. When we chant “Holy, holy, holy”, we do so with billions of the faithful from every time and place. And when we come before the Body and Blood of the Lord, we are joined with those whom we love and remember but can no longer embrace. We are not only in the presence of Jesus, but are also surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses, this host arrayed in white, those who fall on their faces night and day in worship before the Lord Himself.

So, it is proper that we praise God for the men and women of faith who have gone before us. It is appropriate that we honor the work that God had done in their lives to give them saving faith in Jesus Christ, and through them served others including you and me. It is good to give honor to those who have preceded us into the Church Triumphant.

When we honor the redeemed, we are also honoring the Redeemer. The saints who are holy in God’s eyes testify to the only One who is eternally holy: our Lord Jesus Christ. It is His blood that covers our sin and allows us to stand in His presence. It is being baptized into His death that gives us a white robe. It is His Word and Sacraments that usher us already into the throne room and gives us a foretaste of eternity where we will never again suffer or be unhappy.

What then shall we do while we wait for our turn to leave the battle of this world and enter the rest our Savior has prepared for us? Let us live humbly before our God, in service to Him and to our neighbor as He has served us with His salvation here.

Remember the Savior promises never to leave us or forsake us. So live by His grace and the forgiveness of sin given through faith in Jesus Christ. Be fed and forgiven through His Word, be empowered by His Spirit to confess His name in worship and in your vocations to His glory.

Though we live in a mortal body decaying with sin, these bodies will be raised and made new. Though our worship is imperfect, it will be perfected. Though our voices may crack and are imperfect now, they will one day sing in perfect harmony with the angels in eternal glory. 

We who believe are already saints, holy ones. By His death on the cross, the Lord Himself clothes us with His righteousness, and through His resurrection He will one day shepherd us to everlasting life. In that blessed place we will experience the eternal joy of God’s presence along with the rest of the Communion of Saints. Amen

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Today is Reformation Day, also called “the eve of All Saints”, or Halloween. 506 years ago, an Augustinian friar and professor at Wittenberg University named Martin Luther posted 95 theses in Latin for theological discussion concerning the sale of indulgences on the castle church door. These statements which were concerned with answering what is true repentance?” and how can forgiveness of sins be bought or sold? This is what began what we now call the Reformation of the western church.

When you reform something, you don’t start from scratch. You conserve what you can and you fix what you can’t. A true Reformation tends to be conservative. It’s like pruning a perennial or trimming a tree. You don’t dig out the whole plant and put another in its place, nor do you whack down the whole tree to the root. You prune selectively, skillfully, carefully. Luther did not intend to split an already fractured church. Nor did he intend to start a new church, as if such a thing were possible. This was not about shaking a defiant fist at the Pope, though he did do a bit of that later on, nor was it about breaking away from the big bad Catholic Church, nor was it, as the radical reformation believed, so that some new pure church could emerge from the impure Catholic. This was supposed to be, and always is, about reformation. Correcting what is wrong, conserving what is right.

And so it is today. The Church is always and ever being reformed: including the “Lutheran church”, even this church. Every part of the church. It’s not simply a once and done deal where you can rest on your laurels. As long as there is sin and weak humanity, there is always going to be error, drift, a little sideways current or wind that blows the Church slightly off course. That’s true for each of us justified sinners too. We are ever in need of reformation. It’s not about once saved always saved. Our Baptism is not a one time thing but a daily thing, a daily dying and rising, a daily repentance and justification, a daily reformation by God’s Word. That is what the Reformation was all about: God’s Word.

Jesus spoke to the Jews who HAD believed in Him. They used to believe, but not anymore. There’s no once believed always believing security here. You dare not take the gift of faith lightly. What went wrong? Did God fail? Did the Word fail to do its faith creating, sustaining, enlivening work? No. The people refused. They had turned from the Word. Faith is born of the Word, is fed by the Word, is sustained by the Word. And without the Word, faith dies.

Jesus said, “If you abide in my Word you are truly my disciples.” But to be a disciple is to abide in the Word of Jesus, that is, to remain in the Word, to exist in the Word: being connected to Jesus by hearing His Word and having His Word have its way with you. The same word “abide” is used in Jesus’ saying of the vine and the branches. A branch abides in the vine and draws life from it. Cut off from the vine, the branch is fruitless and dead. Cut off from the Word, faith is fruitless and dead too.

There is a promise for those who abide in the Word of Jesus. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus Himself is the truth. His Word is truth. To abide in the truth is to abide in Jesus, which is the only place in which a sinner may abide and live before God.

The truth is that we are sinners. Not simply ones who commit sin, that is, do bad things, think bad thoughts, or say bad words. It goes much deeper than that. We are slaves to Sin with a capital S. “Whoever sins is a slave to Sin.”

Do you sin? Well, in case you’re not sure, the commandments say that you do. Do you fear, love, and trust in God above all things? Do you use the name of God rightly in worship and prayer? Do you gladly hear and learn God’s Word? Do you honor father, mother, and other temporal authorities? Do you help your neighbor in every need? Do you keep marriage pure and encourage others to do the same? Do you help your neighbor protect his property? Do you defend the reputation of others by putting the best construction on everything? Do you desire what doesn’t belong to you? Are you content with what you have?

The truth is that you do not abide in God’s Word as you should and therefore sin, and when you sin you are therefore a slave to sin, just as Israel was once a slave in Egypt, but then fell into the slavery of idolatry again and again: a fact that the Jews in the Gospel text seemed to have conveniently forgotten. They took God’s grace for granted. You’re freed from slavery, and forget the slavery and get enslaved elsewhere. “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.” How soon people forget. That’s pride talking, and an unusual form of pride. The worst form of pride which is spiritual pride. It’s receiving a gift and then acting as if you’d earned it all along. Or forgetting entirely that it is a gift, and so also forgetting the giver.

We are born enslaved, captive to Sin and Death. We cannot free ourselves. We’re stuck. And any attempts at self-liberation only make matters worse. When we honestly look into the mirror of the Law we find that it’s a magnifying mirror. Even things we thought were OK, even those places where we felt self-justified turn out to be so riddled with sin we barely recognize the good. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. The mere fact that we sin in our thoughts, words, and our actions reminds us that we are slaves to Sin.

A slave remains for a while, a son remains forever. The Word of God in His Gospel is that which frees us. The Word made flesh, the Son of God came down to us trapped in slavery to sin. The Son joined us in our humanity. The Son stood side by side with the slave to free us. He paid the price. He redeemed us. He lived the Law flawlessly without Sin. He was not enslaved by Sin, He was Lord over Sin. Yet as Lord, He came under the Law that accuses us, that holds us accountable, that silences us before God, and condemns us to eternal death. He took up our Sin and our Death and He nailed it all to His cross. The Son became the slave so that the slave might become the son. And if the Son sets you free, you are free as free can be.

That’s what Martin Luther discovered when He looked at the cross of Jesus and for the first time in his life saw mercy rather than merit. Undeserved kindness rather than an example to follow. When he heard that phrase “the righteousness of God” and recognized that this was not something you worked for by the Law but it was something given as a gift by God’s Word in Jesus Christ through faith. The Law drives you to Jesus seeking mercy, which is what it’s supposed to do. The Law is there to shut every mouth so that no one can boast before God. The Word of the Law prepares us to receive, in joy, the Word of the Gospel. Jesus Christ died upon the cross, so that you may be set free from the enslavement to sin, flesh, and the accusations of the Devil.

There is power in God’s Word. Power to rebuke the devil and His ways. Power to rebuke our pride. Power to embolden us by the forgiveness of sins given freely by Grace in Jesus Christ. The Word which we hear in Baptism, in Holy Absolution, in the Lord’s Supper, in the study of God’s Word, in catechesis, in our hymns, our liturgy. The Reformation was not about adding to God’s Word. It was about magnifying God’s Word: magnifying Jesus Christ and His rescuing freeing act of redemption. Showing that there is power in the Word to convert, to change, to grow strong and steadfast, because it is all about Jesus Christ and God’s will for your salvation.

Martin Luther, the Wittenburg theologians and the faithful reformers ever since have tried to promote biblical literacy, a knowledge of Scripture, how to read it, to find the power therein. It is this through which God causes personal repentance, forgiveness, and reformation and recreation in His Holy Freedom: Law, Gospel, Jesus Christ. It is this Word which causes Satan to fall. He cannot accuse us or lead us astray if we are steeped in and abiding in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ.

In Jesus you are free. Free from the Law’s condemnation. Free from enslavement to Sin. Free from Death, free from the torments of the Devil whose power has been destroyed. You are free to live before God as a justified sinner. Free to serve your neighbor in love. The slave is made a son, a child, an heir. Should you doubt this and wonder if it applies to you, remember that you are baptized. Baptism is your adoption paper. You were a slave but now you are a son, a daughter with the full rights of sons. You have a place at the table. You have a permanent place in the house to abide with your Lord and Savior as He abides with you in His Word, His Divine Service, His absolution, His body and blood in the bread and wine.

Therefore, abide in that justifying Word, and you are a disciple of Jesus. Abide in that Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, and you are forgiven. Abide in that Word, and you are free, and will remain free, for “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” In Jesus Christ’s Name, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas