Farewell sermon: Audio sermon (31-Jan-2016)

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Farewell sermon [Jeremiah 1:3-10] (31-Jan-2016)

This sermon was preached at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Mt Barker, 8.30am.

Click here for PDF file of sermon for printing.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today for my closing sermon here at Mt Barker, I’ve chosen to preach on Jeremiah chapter 1, which is not our appointed reading for Harvest Thanksgiving, but is actually the normal Old Testament reading for this Sunday. So, since we haven’t read it yet, I’ll read it now.

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of [their faces], for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.” Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, bless all of us with your Holy Spirit, to me that I may preach well, and to all of us that we may preach well. Amen.

There was a Lutheran Bishop from Sweden called Bo Giertz, who died in 1998, who wrote a novel about young pastors called “The Hammer of God”. In it there’s a story about an enthusiastic young pastor, who is all fired up about converting people. He sits down with an older pastor and he says: (p122-p123)

“I just want you know from the beginning, sir, that I am a believer,” he said. His voice was a bit harsh. He saw a gleam in the old man’s eyes which he could not quite interpret. Was approval indicated, or did he have something up his sleeve? The rector put the lamp back on the table, puffed at his pipe, and looked at the young man a moment before he spoke. “So you are a believer, I’m glad to hear that. What do you believe in?” Fridfeldt stared dumbfounded at his superior. Was he jesting with him? “But sir, I am simply saying that I am a believer.” – “Yes, I hear that, my boy. But what is it that you believe in?” Fridfeldt was almost speechless. “But don’t you know, sir, what it means to be a believer?” – “That is a word which can stand for things that differ greatly, my boy. I ask only what it is that you believe in.” – “In Jesus, of course,” answered Fridfelt, raising his voice. “I mean—I mean that I have given him my heart.” The older man’s face became suddenly as solemn as the grave. “Do you consider that something to give him?” By this time, Fridfeldt was almost in tears. “But sir, if you do not give your heart to Jesus, you cannot be saved.” – “You are right, my boy. And it is just as true that, if you think you are saved because you give Jesus your heart, you will not be saved. You see, my boy,” he continued reassuringly, as he continued to look at the young pastor’s face, in which uncertainty and resentment were shown in a struggle for the upper hand, “it is one thing to choose Jesus as one’s Lord and Saviour, to give him one’s heart and commit oneself to him, and that he now accepts one into his little flock; it is a very different thing to believe on him as a Redeemer of sinners, of whom one is chief. One does not choose a Redeemer for oneself, you understand, nor give one’s heart to him. The heart is a rusty old can on a junk heap. A fine birthday gift, indeed! But a wonderful Lord passes by, and has mercy on the wretched tin can, sticks his walking cane through it, and rescues it from the junk pile and takes it home with him. That it how it is.”

What a wonderful story! And so it is with all of us Christians. We are all like rusty tin cans on a junk pile, and the Lord picks us up with his walking stick and puts us in his bag, for his use, for his purposes. And so it is with all of us pastors. We are all rusty cans on the junk pile, which the Lord takes on his stick and places in his bag. And so it is with Jeremiah here in our reading.

We read in this chapter about a young prophet Jeremiah, who is called by God and sent by God to go where he sends and to speaks what he commands. Last week, we were talking about Jesus preaching in Nazareth, and we were particularly talking about prophecy then. In the Old Testament, there were prophets, who were chosen by God, and used by the Holy Spirit to bring God’s word to the people, but at the same time their personalities and personal qualities were not destroyed. The same goes for all the writers of the Old and New Testaments. The same goes for all the apostles—Peter, Paul, James, John, Andrew—they were all different and yet they spoke the same word of God, and they were all sent by the same Lord Jesus.

The same goes for us pastors. We are all called by the Holy Spirit to speak the word of God, and yet our personalities are not destroyed in the task. Even to all Christians, we are all prophets over and against the pagan unbelieving world. Jesus sends us with a word on our lips, and yet our personalities are not destroyed. Jesus sends us back where he places us.

The church is not full of special people. It’s full of ordinary people—ordinary people like you and me, who have a special Saviour, who have a special Jesus, who have a special word, and a special call. To think that God uses a few rusty old tin cans like us?

In the reading, we read where it says: Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Isn’t it an amazing thing that God knows who each of us are, and that he appointed a particular path for each of us even before we were made? Jeremiah was appointed a prophet to the nations even before he was formed in the womb, and before he was born.

Jeremiah has not made himself a prophet. God is the one who has called him. Even today, God is the one who calls us for whatever purpose he has chosen us.

But listen to the words there: I knew you. It’s not that he knew about him, but he knew him. He knew Jeremiah intimately. He knows us intimately. But not only that, but it also says: Before you were born I consecrated you. He didn’t just know us, but he also set us apart for the work and the task and life that he has called us to. “Consecrated” means “set apart”.

But it’s not as if God makes a special call to fit us: he shapes us to fit his call. What God says to Jeremiah indicates that his call to be a prophet is not through any works or any contribution that he has given whatsoever, but it has come purely by God’s action. God is the one who calls, and no one else.

A prophet who calls himself is a false prophet. There are no Christians who have ever called themselves to faith—God is the one who has called them. Pastors too do not call themselves to the ministry. And even though pastors are called through the church, they are not called into the ministry by the church. God is the one who calls, God is the one who baptises, God is the one who ordains a pastor, God is the one who installs a pastor, and God is the one who brings a pastor’s ministry to a close. So a pastor is not answerable to the church, they are answerable to the Lord of the harvest who has given them to the church in answer to the church’s prayers. Jesus says: The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his vineyard. Jesus is the one who calls and sends his workers.

This is very important for us to think about as we farewell a pastor today, and look to the future to call a new one. Sometimes it is said that the pastor is the servant of the congregation. This is true, and it is not true. Yes, a pastor is the servant of the congregation in that he serves the congregation with the word of God and with the holy sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But it is not true, that a pastor is a servant of the congregation’s whims. What if a congregation has 100 different opinions about what needs to be done? Who does the pastor follow? The pastor must do what his conscience is bound to do by the word of God. St Paul says: This is how one should regard us, as slaves of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Sometimes that means a pastor moves to the left, sometimes it means he moves to the right. Sometimes it means he stands still.

St Paul also knew this very well when he said: With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

So also a pastor does not stay in a place as long as he wants. He also doesn’t stay in a place as long as the congregation wants. He doesn’t stay in one place as long as a bishop wants. The most important thing is that he stays in a place as long as the Lord Jesus wants. When Ezekiel was called, he was called to speak God’s word until there was no one left to hear him. When Philip the Evangelist spoke to the Ethiopian soldier in the book of Acts, he was only with him perhaps for a few hours, if that, before the Spirit of the Lord took him away, and the Ethiopian went on his was rejoicing.

It is a very daunting thing to be a called by the Lord. Jeremiah knows this full well and he says: Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”

When Jeremiah was called, he realised that he is completely and totally inadequate for the task that God has called him to. He says: I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth. Perhaps the young pastor Timothy in the New Testament also felt this inadequacy of being young, so that Paul encouraged him with the words: Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

But when we realise our own inadequacy for any job that he has set before us, that is the best place for us to be. Because God doesn’t make his power perfect in our strength, but as it says in 2 Corinthians 12, My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. St Paul also says: Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant.

And so, what does God says to Jeremiah? It says: But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of [their faces], for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah doesn’t have to worry that he is only a youth. Neither did Timothy. Neither does anyone, because Jeremiah does not send himself, but it is the Lord who sends him. Timothy also did not send himself, but it is God who sent him. And so, for whatever time a pastor is sent to a particular place, whether it be for 20 years, 10 years, 5 years, or 2 years, God says: To all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.

God has a particular word that Jeremiah was called to speak—the book of Jeremiah is one of the largest books in the bible. But when God sends a pastor, we are called to speak one thing. Jesus says: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

We teach everything that Jesus has commanded us. He has commanded us to speak the law of God—where God convicts us of our sin, but he has also commanded us to speak his Gospel—where God shows us that we have a wonderful Saviour Jesus who has paid the price for our sin with his own suffering, death and blood. This is the message that all Christians give witness to for the benefit of the whole world.

But God does not send us anywhere: he sends us only where we are called. To all whom I send you, you shall go. God also does not let us say anything: he sends us only with words which he has given. Whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Sometimes it happens that people don’t want to hear what the Lord wants to speak. We all know what a difficult task it is to share the gospel with people in our community who generally don’t want to hear it. We are also living in a church context where people in church often don’t want to hear the word of God either. In some extreme situations, there are churches that say that if you put more money in the plate, God will bless you with a Mercedes-Benz. But we are all sinners altogether in the church, and we would much rather God let us keep our idols than destroy them.

God said to Jeremiah: I appointed you a prophet to the nations. He wasn’t just called to his next-door neighbour, or to the people of Israel, but to the nations. And there were many hardened idolaters amongst the nations. Plenty of people are happy for people to talk about God as long as God lets them keep this or that. Jeremiah knows that people will not always be happy to hear what God has given him to speak.

And so God says: Do not be afraid of [their faces], for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.” Have you ever found yourself in front of an angry face? No matter whether the world will grit its teach and throw us out, the church of Jesus must stick with the voice of its good shepherd, the clear, pure word of God, no matter what the cost. As Christians, we must not compromise in our faith one bit, one scrap, one hair over against the world. We must have no desire to appease pagans and to become one with them. Unbelievers need one thing—and that is Jesus Christ, their Saviour, crucified and risen from the dead. And even if their faces roars like lions, we must not move an inch. Do not be afraid of their faces. He also says: Do not be dismayed, lest I dismay you before them.

But God also says: I am with you to deliver you. God will stick with us in our hard times. He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, but will also provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. God also says to Jeremiah: I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.

But then, let’s look at the last part of our reading today, where God says to Jeremiah: Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Isn’t it amazing that God touches Jeremiah’s mouth? He says:  Behold, I have put your words in your mouth.

What a wonderful gift it is to come here in our church here in Mt Barker and to hear the word of God! And not only that but the word of God gives power to everything in the church. The word of God is the power behind Holy Baptism, it is the power behind the Lord’s Supper. We pray from God’s word, we are blessed with God’s word, the word of God is the power behind our whole lives. God, even today, puts his words in my mouth as a preacher, and he puts his words in all of mouths as we join in praising God, praying to him, and pouring out our souls in his holy presence, whatever happens to be on our hearts and minds. He places a word on our mouth to take with us into our lives, wherever we are sent.

But once that word of God is in Jeremiah’s mouth, what does the reading say:

See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Now through this word comes the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a power over nations and over kingdoms. The power of the Holy Spirit is a power that is over hearts, which tests hearts and breaks hearts and comforts hearts. This word will be powerful: it will pluck up and break down, destroy and overthrown. It will bring destruction. But it will also build and plant. God’s word is a powerful word—it breaks and destroys idols. But where this happens, then he also promises to build and plant.

This reminds us Jesus and his life and his death. It was God’s will that he should be crushed and bruised and nailed to the cross. His ministry and his life was not a failure. And yet, he does not stay in the grave, he rises from the dead. Jesus is plucked up and broken down, destroyed and overthrown, but then on the third day, he is built and planted, he is risen from the dead.

The same thing happens with God’s word and the same thing happens with the church. We protest against God’s word, and they are plucked up and broken, destroyed and overthrown. But that is not the end of the story: then God builds us up and he plants us, and he makes us flourish into the most wonderful tree. This is the Holy Spirit’s work which is accomplished through the pure and clear word of God.

And what a miracle it is that God uses rusty old tin cans like us to speak it! As God says to Jeremiah: To all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. Amen.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the many gifts that you have given to us over the last two years together here at Mt Barker. Keep us strong and faithful in your word, no matter the cost, and shine us as lights into the world. We know that you Lord Jesus are with us, both now and to the end of the age. Amen.

Epiphany III Year C: Audio Sermon (24-Jan-2016)

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Epiphany III Year C [Luke 4:14-21(22-30)] (24-Jan-2016)

This sermon was preached at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Mt Barker, 8.30am, 10.30am.

Click here for PDF file of sermon for printing.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Today in our Gospel reading we read about Jesus giving one of his early sermons. Actually, this is the first sermon that Jesus preaches that is recorded in the Gospel of Luke. Over the last couple of weeks, we have read about Jesus’ baptism where he was anointed with the Holy Spirit for his ministry, and then where he performs his first miraculous sign at a wedding in Cana where he turns water into wine. Today, we read about one of his first sermons.

We read that he was actually doing a lot of preaching. We read: Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

After Jesus was baptised, we read that the Holy Spirit drove him out into the wilderness to be tested and tempted by Satan. We read there that he didn’t eat for 40 days and 40 nights. But once this time of testing had finished, Jesus went back to Galilee and was preaching. In fact, Luke says here that he was preaching in the power of the Spirit.

Last week, you might remember we were talking about how the world looks for happiness now, because now is the only time that the world has got. But Christians have a future, so sometimes we have to wait! As the man says at the wedding: Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then the poor wine, but you [Jesus—you!] have saved the good wine until now.

With the world, people have happiness and then sadness and pain. But with Christians, we often have sadness and troubles first, and then joy and happiness later. The same thing happens with Jesus here in the reading. He goes out into the desert for 40 days and is gruelled by Satan. He has his hard time of testing, his dark night of his soul. But then the time of testing comes to an end, and the time of great blessing and joy follows. Jesus goes out in the power of the Spirit, he becomes famous, and he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

After being hounded by the devil, then Jesus is glorified by everyone who listened to him. This should be such a great encouragement to us. Often when we go through a difficult time, we might ask ourselves, “Why is God letting me go through this? What’s the point of this?” But then we realise later, that God has led us through this time precisely so that he can equip us and send us in the power of the Holy Spirit for our next task, just as it happens to Jesus here. And though everything, it is not us who is glorified, but Jesus who is glorified. It says: He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

But then we read about where Jesus comes to Nazareth, as Luke says, where he had been brought up. We read in Luke that Mary and Joseph actually lived in Nazareth. The whole event where the angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her that she would become pregnant all happened in Nazareth. But then once Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, and when they had fled to Egypt, and returned, then they went back to Nazareth. So if you think about it, Jesus probably spent most of his life there, and only really left there when he went to be baptised by John. Before that, he was following his father’s trade as a carpenter.

And so, here Jesus comes back to his hometown. There was a time before this when he was a local boy – now he comes back as a prophet. And Jesus says later in the passage: No prophet is acceptable in his hometown.

But before we get to talk about the actual event in the reading, let’s talk about prophets. Actually, there are four prophets mentioned in our reading today. We have Isaiah, Elijah, Elisha and then of course, Jesus.

So what does it mean to be a prophet? A prophet was a person that was particularly chosen by God to speak a particular word of God. Sometimes prophets spoke about the future, about what was going to happen – but also they spoke about what was happening right now. They spoke a word straight from God to the people.

However, we have to be careful that we don’t confuse prophecy with fortune-telling. Fortune-telling is also mentioned in the bible, but it is forbidden. It is mentioned as a practice that belongs to pagan people. So for example, going to a palm-reader or a tarot card person or a clairvoyant is not prophecy – but as God says in Deuteronomy: Whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord… These nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this.

We have to be very careful with this in the church. Sometimes people claim to bring someone a word from God that they had in a dream, or something. Is it a word from the Holy Spirit, or is it fortune-telling from another spirit, an unclean spirit? I once heard about a man where a prayer group from a church told him that God had revealed it to them that he was no longer welcome in their congregation. How did they know this? They stood in a circle and held hands, and asked God questions. If they felt a tingle up their left hand, that meant “no”, and if they felt a tingle up their right hand, that meant “yes”. This kind of thing is absolutely demonic. Run like the wind! It should have been a great encouragement to the man that—not God!—but the devil wanted him to leave! As someone once said, “An insult from an idiot is a complement!” So this kind of thing is not prophecy.

So what happens to a prophet? God calls a prophet, and gives the person the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of speaking his word directly from him. The Holy Spirit connects himself with the prophet in such a way that what the prophet says is God’s word, but in such a way that the personality of the prophet is not changed or destroyed. So for example, we might read the prophets Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and we find that these prophets have a different character. That’s because the Holy Spirit uses each of these prophets, but doesn’t destroy their personalities and their particular gifts, but uses them in all of their uniqueness.

Actually, the same thing happens with the whole bible. In the bible, we don’t just have one book, but we have 66 books written by many different authors. Even the four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—are all quite different. But God uses all of these different authors with all of their different qualities for his purposes. And yet, the whole bible so obviously has one author, one Holy Spirit who is behind the whole book. We read in 2 Timothy 3: All Scripture is breathed out by God. And in 2 Peter 1 it says: No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

And so, Isaiah has a certain personality, so does Elijah and so does Elisha, but they are all carried along by the Holy Spirit, and speak the same word of God.

There’s a character of prophecy too in the Office of the Ministry. You might look back at your life and think about the different pastors you have known. There are so many different pastors in our church, who all have quite different gifts and different personalities. And yet, provided that we all stick to God’s word, we pastors should stand together in unity of the Holy Spirit, speaking a united word in churches all throughout the country. Each pastor is called by God to preach, and is given the gift of the Holy Spirit for the task. And yet, God doesn’t destroy their personalities, but uses each of us in all of our differences and uniqueness.

The same goes for all Christians. We are all called by Christ to follow him, we are all baptised into Christ, we all hear the same word of God. And yet, the Holy Spirit doesn’t destroy our personalities when we become a Christian, but uses us for the service of God’s kingdom. Each Christian is a kind of prophet for the unbelieving world, and God uses our speech and our actions in ways of which we’re often completely unaware. And yet, wherever we are placed—in our homes, in our families, in our workplaces—the Holy Spirit uses us in our unique situation.

And so, back to our reading. It says: As was his custom, [Jesus] went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Here we have this wonderful word of God from Isaiah the prophet. But Jesus also comes along and shows that he is an even great prophet that Isaiah. Jesus interprets the prophecy, and says that this prophecy is about him. Isaiah is pointing to the future, but Jesus is saying, “Here I am, I’m it!” Even Moses said in Deuteronomy: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen. Jesus is saying: This is me!

So Isaiah’s words say: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. We see this at Jesus baptism—the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, of God the Father, is upon Jesus.

Isaiah says: because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. Jesus is anointed for a special purpose, to proclaim good news to the poor. Why to the poor? Well, it’s not talking just about poor people in the financial sense. It means those who have been robbed of something by the devil, especially robbed of their peace with God. In fact, the devil robbed the whole human race of the purity and perfection and innocence when he led Adam and Eve into sin. And so to be poor, means to be troubled, sad, sorrowful, miserable—in a word, a sinner. Sinners are the only ones who need Jesus, and so Jesus wants to speak his good news to them. These poor ones are the only ones who need it. There are plenty of rich people who are poor in spirit, and there are plenty of poor people who are spiritually arrogant. However, there is a connection with money—because when we do have money, and possessions, and stuff, then we start to think we have everything we need, and we don’t need God any more. When people go through a crisis in life and lose money and possessions and livelihood, then they are often in a much better position to go to Jesus and ask for his strength and comfort, and of course, his forgiveness. So we who are rich have a temptation and we have to watch out. But remember here that poor is not simply financially poor, but spiritually poor. I remember reading a prayer from a pastor from Haiti in the Caribbean, where he said: Heavenly Father, we are the poorest people in the world. Make us also poor in spirit.

And so what is this good news? It’s the wonderful good news of Jesus and his presence, the fact that Jesus came from heaven to be born of a virgin, and suffered and died on the cross for you, to pay the full price for your sins. And to prove it all to you, he has risen from the dead, and prays for you constantly sitting at the right hand of God the Father. This is the good news of great joy that is for all people, that the angel came to speak to the shepherds in the fields at Christmas time.

Anyway, we can see that this text from Isaiah applies to Jesus exactly. And Jesus knows it and this is what he preaches. He says: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

We have to remember that Jesus is always with us now. He is constantly in his church, and when we speak the word of God, this is Jesus who is speaking. Sometimes he speaks a word of God’s law to strike down our pride and to convict us of our sin. And then when we’re struck down, Jesus speaks a word of Gospel, to raise us up and to heal us and forgive us. Whether it is a word of law or a word of Gospel, Jesus always comes and fulfils the Scripture in our hearing.

Even today, when we hear the preaching of the Gospel, we remember that Jesus said to his apostles: Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. And we can say: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in [our] hearing. When we baptise a person, we remember that Jesus said: Make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And we can say: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in [our] hearing. When we have the Lord’s supper, we remember that Jesus said: Take and eat, this is my body. Drink of it all of you, this is my blood. And we can say: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in [our] hearing.

So this is what happens when Jesus is around. The Scripture is continually fulfilled, because he has fulfilled the whole Scripture. The whole Old Testament points forward to him, and the whole New Testament testifies about him.

However, from a human point of view this sermon of Jesus in his own hometown is a disaster. Jesus says: Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. And then Jesus tells them about Elijah and Elisha and how God sent them to people in far distant lands because there was no one to listen to them in the house of Israel.

When Jesus told them this, the people didn’t want to hear it. We read: When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.

Goodness me! Fancy people reacting to a sermon like that, to even throw the preacher off a cliff! Jesus is sent to preach to gospel to the poor, but this Scripture is fulfilled, and these people are not the poor! They are the proud! Jesus fulfils here a passage from Ezekiel where it says: Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel—not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.

Sure, many people do listen to Jesus. Many people do receive his words with joy and with gladness. But on this particular day, the people of Nazareth want to throw him off a cliff. Instead of listening to Jesus’ words, they were distracted by his person. All they could see was their local boy, the local carpenter’s son, so much so that they were blinded to his words and his ministry, and to the fact that he was even the Son of God. But this always happens with prophecy—people don’t listen to the prophecy because they reject the prophet. But when they reject the prophet, they reject the God who speaks behind the prophet.

Jesus is not just a prophet though. He is God’s son, and actually true God himself. Jesus is the one who spoke behind Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Elijah and Elisha. All these prophets had a hard time, and so it’s no wonder that when Jesus turns up, they treat him badly too. In fact, in the end, they crucify him. And yet, when he is crucified, Jesus says: Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Jesus’ crucifiers are not in control, but Jesus himself is in control the whole way, laying down his own life for the sheep. He knows what he is doing, and he does it all for you.

And everything he has won for you, everything he died for, everything he rose from the dead for is given to you, so that each and every day of your life, the Scripture may be fulfilled in your hearing.

Amen.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for the wonderful gracious words that come from your mouth. We know that the Spirit of the Lord is upon you and that he has anointed you to proclaim good news to the poor. Make us poor in spirit that we may be receptive to this wonderful good news and inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen. 

Epiphany II Year C: Audio Sermon (17-Jan-2016)

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Epiphany II Year C [John 2:1-11] (17-Jan-2016)

This sermon was preached at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Mt Barker, 8.30am, 10.30am.

Click here for PDF file of sermon for printing.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Today’s Gospel reading has to do with Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding at Cana. This is a wonderful event, and we read in John’s gospel that this was the first of his signs. This was the first miracle that Jesus performed.

Last week, we were reading about Jesus’ baptism, where he was baptised by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, and the Holy Spirit came down on him in the form of a dove, and God the Father spoke the words: This is my beloved son; with you I am well pleased. Before his baptism, Jesus hadn’t performed any miracles, or preached any sermons. His baptism was the beginning of his ministry.

Now we read in the bible about all kinds of miraculous things that happened to Jesus when he was a baby. At Christmas time, we read that Jesus happened to fulfil all kinds of prophesies in miraculous way—the fact that he would be born in Bethlehem, even though he didn’t live in Bethlehem. We read about the miraculous way in which the shepherds were able to come and visit him through the good news brought by the angels. We read about the miraculous way in which the wise men were brought to Jesus by means of a star. There’s also something miraculous in the way that Jesus knew when he was 12 years old that the temple in Jerusalem was his Father’s house, that he knew that God the Father was actually his father.

But all of these miraculous things were not actually signs that Jesus performed. There were miraculous things that happened to him, but this event in our Gospel reading is the first sign, the first public visible miracle that he performed.

And isn’t a wonderful thing that all this happens at a wedding! Don’t you like going to a wedding? What’s the best wedding you’ve ever been to? There’s something very special about going to a nice wedding.

Actually, we can see here that organising a wedding was one of the first things we read about God doing in the Old Testament. We read about how God created the world in Genesis 1, and then we read about the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2, and at the end of that chapter, we read that wonderful passage which says: So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Isn’t that a wonderful passage, where we read about the first time a man and a woman ever saw each other! In the following chapter, we read about the fall into sin. It’s almost hard for us to imagine such an event happening completely without sin: a man and a woman completely in love, with no shame, with no dodginess, with no sadness, with no disappointments, with no smut, no treating of each other as a sexual object—just completely and totally pure, lovely, wonderful.

And then when Adam and Eve fall into sin, it’s significant that the first thing to be effected is this relationship. We read where God says: I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. We can see that for the rest of history, we are going to realise that the love between a man and a woman is one of the most wonderful creations and gifts of God, but because of sin, it’s going to come now with some pain and sorrow. It’s going to come with a cross.

Even right from the beginning of creation, God said: Be fruitful and multiply. And now, because of sin, it’s going to be a difficult thing to give birth. Children, who are such precious little people that God creates, are going to be difficult to raise—it’s going to require effort. The pain here doesn’t just simply refer to giving birth, but refers to before birth where women often get sick with morning-sickness, and after birth, where children are going to be hard work, giving mothers and fathers many a sleepness night, and then as they get older, they will come with more challenges.

And then we also read where it says: Your desire shall be for your husband, but he shall rule over you. Every marriage is going to come with tensions—what does it mean to be a good husband? What does it mean to be a good wife? Who’s in charge? Who has the last word? Some of the greatest sadnesses in the world are the sadnesses of unhappy and failed marriages. Some of you might know this pain particularly sharply.

I think that everyone can see that God has created marriage between a man and a woman as a wonderful thing, but that because of sin it’s also one of the things that is so sharply effected by the devil. The devil knows just what a good thing marriage is, and he wants to attack it. In our current times, the devil seeks to redefine marriage completely from top to bottom, as if it has nothing to do with men and women at all anymore. It’s become politically incorrect now to speak the truth that marriage is between a man and a woman. Everyone know this is true, and yet people can’t say it. And yet, this should be said, while we have still have the opportunity to do so, because the bullies of political correctness will not rest until the voice of truth is silenced in their favour. Today, if Christians are attacked, for example, in the media, they are often attacked on their definition of marriage.

Jesus knows this full well. He was there when the first man and the first woman were given to each other in the Garden of Eden. Jesus is true God. After creating the world, setting up the marriage between a man and a women was the first thing that he organised. So isn’t it significant then that the first miracle of Jesus happens at a wedding? Jesus had instituted marriage right at the beginning of creation, and now that he has become a man, and has been baptised and has begun his ministry, he does things in the same order: he goes to a wedding, and he blesses it. He knows that marriage is a wonderful thing, and he knows that the devil roams around trying to stuff it up. And so Jesus begins his new creation by being present at this simply little wedding, in a simple town, in a simple village, with a simple couple. This very fact that Jesus shows up to this wedding should be a tremendous encouragement and strength to all married couples. All the crosses of marriage are blessed now, because Jesus has died on the cross. The sting is taken out of them—the hardships of marriage lift up our eyes to that wonderful wedding banquet in heaven where we will be with Jesus, the Lamb of God who was slain for us. Even if we’re not married, it’s a wonderful privilege to be able to encourage married couples and to pray for them and to wish them all the best, in their life together.

Also, it’s not just marriage that is blessed in this passage. Jesus, for example, himself is not the groom in this passage, but leads a single life and brings a great blessing to the occasion. Every Christian is made part of the church, which is Christ’s bride, and we already join in his wedding banquet, and also wait for it in heaven. We can see that Jesus was invited to the wedding with his mother, and his disciples. Jesus and his mother are together in this reading—just through this fact, there is a blessing in the relationship with our parents. Jesus is there with his disciples—we don’t just have marriages, and families, but we also have other companions just like Jesus—friends, and all kinds of people that we can enjoy good conversation with and who pray for us and help us.

Anyway, there’s a problem. We read: When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” What a terrible embarrassing thing it must have been for this couple to run out of wine at their wedding! People would have talked about it for years! But Mary’s words are a wonderful encouragement to us about prayer. Mary here gives such a good example to us about how to pray. She doesn’t tell Jesus what to do. She doesn’t prescribe for him some kind of method to fix the problem. She just tells him what the problem is. They have no wine. If only we had this kind of strength in prayer.

When it comes to prayer, we often think: If only I had strong faith, then I could pray properly. Then say: Jesus, I don’t have strong faith. Dump it on him, and let him fix the problem. We might think: If only I had time to pray… Then say: Jesus, I have no time to pray. Already as soon as we’ve prayed this, we realise that Jesus has already put a stamp on your order and it’s already in the post! You might think: If only I was good person… Perfect! Jesus didn’t die for good people, he only died for sinners. So say: Jesus, I have no goodness in me. Let him give you his, and cover your sin over with his blood. You can see just what a wonderful prayer this is of Mary.

Mary must have known Jesus better than anyone else, except of course for God! She tells him because she knows he can help. We often want to help ourselves, and then at the last moment, as a last resort, then we pray. But when we think we don’t need to pray, we won’t. But it’s precisely at those times when we realise that we’re in need, and Jesus is the only one who can help us, when we realise that we’re completely helpless, that Jesus comes and says: Come and talk to me. I want to know exactly what you need help with. Only helpless people pray. That’s what prayer is all about—it’s simply telling Jesus all the things in our life where we are helpless.

We read: Jesus said to [Mary], “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Sometimes people think that Jesus is being harsh on his mother here. That’s often because in English, when someone calls someone “woman”, it’s often a rude way of talking. So some ungrateful husband says to his wife, “I don’t want egg and chips, woman! I want steak and chips!”

It’s funny that if we say to a man, “Give me a hand, man!” it’s quite friendly. But if we say, “Give me a hand, woman!” it sounds rough. Jesus is not being rude to his mother here, even though it sounds like it to our ears. After all, at the creation of the world, woman was like the last jewel in the crown, the final masterpiece. Jesus doesn’t despise anything that he has made! There’s nothing in this passage to suggest that Jesus isn’t giving his mother the normal kind of respect that good children normally give. Yet, Jesus puts the matter back on her: Why are you telling me about it? What do you want me to do about it? What’s it got to do with me? What’s it got to do with you?

Mary’s request still stands. They still don’t have any wine. And Jesus’ words to her maybe make her think that he already has something in mind. So she says to the servants: Do whatever he tells you.

And now we read about this wonderful event. Let’s read it exactly as John puts it: Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.

Six stone water jars filled with twenty or thirty gallons of wine is a lot of wine. It really is far more wine than they need for this wedding. There’s plenty for the wedding celebration to go on for a few more days yet. And maybe people could take some home as a present. It’s quite a tremendous gift that Jesus gives this couple.

We also might think that it’s strange that Jesus gives them a gift of wine. Wine, of all things! This is a very sensitive issue for some people, especially those who are tee-totallers. Now, people are free to drink as little wine as they like, but there’s no rule that Christians are not allowed to drink alcohol. It’s a gift. It’s something to be enjoyed. And Jesus gives this gift for these people to enjoy at a wedding. Some people think that Jesus didn’t give them alcoholic wine—but the text is very clear that this is what we normally think is wine.

However, we also know that alcohol can be dangerous, that it can be harmful, if people don’t know when to stop drinking. In my ministry as a pastor, I once buried a six year old who was killed by a drunk driver. Many of you will know from your own experience how alcoholism can destroy families and marriages. Alcoholism is a terrible problem in Australia. There may be people who for their own good need to refrain from drinking, because it’s a temptation for them.

However, it’s the devil who wants to corrupt things. God gives these things as a good gift, to be enjoyed.

Wine was even used by Jesus for the Lord’s Supper, for Holy Communion. On the night he was betrayed, he took a cup of wine, and said: Drink of it all of you, this is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. To drink Christ’s blood in the Lord’s Supper is a wonderful gift! And what an amazing thing that Jesus should give us his blood to drink by using the drink for weddings, for special occasions, for gladness.

And this brings us to our last point. Why did Jesus turn the water into wine? Simply because he wanted to make the people happy, and he wants to show us that all happiness comes from him. It really is as simple as that.

But there’s a great mystery in the words of the master of ceremonies, where he says: Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.

We always want the good wine first, and then the bad wine. We want happiness and joy and gladness now. We might look around at the world and think: Why are all the Christians I know having a hard time in life right now? And why are all the unbelievers I know going off on fancy holidays and having a great time?

The way the world works is to have the good wine now, now, now, because they don’t have a Saviour who can turn water into wine. Now is all they’ve got! However, we Christians need to remember that Jesus puts things in the reverse order. He saves the best to last. We might think sometimes that Jesus has abandoned us, and that there’s just no possibility that we could have any joy in life any more. He’s preparing you for an eternity of joy, and he will give you all the encouragement and foretastes of that joy that you need along the way. It’s better to be sad, it’s better to have some sorrow for a while, it’s better to have a hard time—because when we’re with Jesus, we know that he can cheer us up. Think what it’s like to have all the joy in the world, but no Jesus. They don’t put trailers on the back of hearses for you to put all your money in. Eventually, the world’s joy will end. Jesus says: Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

But then he says: Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Jesus says: Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because the hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But Jesus, you have saved the best wine until now. Who cares if I have some sadness now? Better than being happy all the time for a short while now, and be in darkness and misery for ever. Yes, Jesus, I know that you have wonderful vintage in store for me, a Grange hermitage of eternal joy waiting for me, a Barossa Shiraz of everlasting happiness and gladness, and I know nobody will take that joy away from me. St Paul says in Romans: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Jesus, we look forward to that time when your best wine will be served up! We will see you again, and our hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you!

Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you with all our helplessness and all our needs and we place them into your arms. We know that you are the source of pure joy, and we look to you. Amen.

Epiphany: Audio Sermon (3-Jan-2016)

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Epiphany [Matthew 2:1-11] (3-Jan-2015)

This sermon was preached at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Mt Barker, 8.30am, 10.30am.

Click here for PDF file of sermon for printing.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the eat came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Today, we celebrate the Festival of Epiphany, which is where we commemorate the wise men coming to visit the baby Jesus. So who were these wise men? In Greek, Matthew calls them “μαγοί”, or as we might say in English: “Magi”. And this word could mean all kinds of things. In those times, the ancient Persians and Medes often had particularly learned men called magi from whom they chose their rulers. Ancient Persia is modern-day Iran, and the ancient Medes lived in modern-day Iraq, and might be the ancestors of the modern-day Kurdish people. This is the area in northern Iraq close to where ISIS has taken over.

In the Old Testament there are actually a couple of prophesies about Epiphany. First, we read in Psalm 72:10: May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. Let’s have a look at this verse and see what it says about our reading today. In the Gospel reading, the wise men are not called kings, but we often sing “We three kings of Orient are”, and if we have a nativity set, the wise men often sometimes have crowns. However, Tarshish is the area around the Mediterranean Sea. Sheba is what we might call modern-day Yemen, and Seba is said to be the royal city of Ethiopia.

The wise men in our Gospel reading are called “magi”, and it doesn’t seem as though these places had people called “magi”. This was the Persians. Also, the Gospel reading says that they were from the east. Sheba, Seba, and Tarshish aren’t really east, they are more west and south. However, because Ethiopia is mentioned in this prophecy, you might have noticed that often in nativity sets there is a black African wise man. This is because people thought that maybe there was a wise man from there.

But then, there is another prophesy in Isaiah 60:6, which says: A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.

In our Gospel reading, it doesn’t say that the wise men rode camels. No camels are mentioned, but Isaiah mentions camels, and this is the reason why we often picture the wise men as riding camels. Midian is the area up the top of Arabia, and Ephah is the area to the south of Arabia, close to Yemen, or Sheba again.

Even in this prophesy it mentions gold and frankincense. However, it is still probably the case that the wise men came from Persia, in the east. But Arabia was known for its gold and frankincense. Even today, the best frankincense comes from Yemen and Oman, and they also grow myrrh there.

But what do we make of these prophesies of these wise men from the east, if Psalm 72 and Isaiah 60 mention Arabia and other places which are not really east? Well, the visit of the wise men gives us a little taste of what is going to happen later in Christian history. We know that these wise men were from an exotic land, a strange land. They were not part of God’s people, the Jewish people, but they were Gentiles, outsiders. And the wise men give the first taste of all the thousands of nations and kings and gifts that would be brought to Jesus.

I think in light of what has happened in the Middle East in the last year, with ISIS invading Iraq and Syria, this also gives us a lot of comfort. We might look at these verses from Psalm 72 and Isaiah 60 and think: isn’t it amazing that they both deal with Arabia, a part of the world which doesn’t seem nowadays to have any Christians very much at all? In early times there were Christians there, but not many. And now, Arabia is the centre of the Islamic religion, and is home to many people who are very hostile to the teaching that Jesus is the son of God.

However, we have to realise something very interesting. What ISIS are doing in the Middle East is being watched on TV by everyone at the moment. But it’s also being watched on TV by many Muslims—and many Muslims are not happy with what they see and some have even converted to Christianity in great numbers, sometimes openly, sometimes secretly. There is a Lutheran Church in Berlin in Germany which has baptised over 500 Muslims from Iran. In recent weeks I saw a video on the internet of their Iranian choir singing Christmas carols. There are also many reports of individual Muslims turning up to churches and saying that they were told in a dream to ask the pastor to tell them the truth. These pastors then tell them about Jesus, the way, the truth and the life.

We know that oil in the Persian Gulf, near Arabia, has meant that there are some grand cities that have been built there, like Dubai and Abu Dhabi. And these cities have had some of the world’s greatest architects build beautiful mosques, which are where Muslims pray. But what if it happened sometime in the future that some of these mosques became churches? What would happen if the marble, the gold, the riches of Arabia, were brought into the service of Christ? What would happen if one day a Christian altar was set up in one of these mosques with candles and a crucifix, and then people from far and wide came to be baptised and to receive the Lord’s Supper and hear a Christian sermon? Is this the kind of thing that you pray for? If not, why not? Don’t you know that nothing is impossible with God? How does what you see on the TV and on the news effect the way you pray and what you pray for? The prophecy in Isaiah 60 says: All those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord. The wise men from the east are just a little taste of the wonderful way in which Christ continues to gather people by the Holy Spirit from all kinds of strange places to worship him.

One other thing we know about these wise men is that they were learned men. They were smart people. They read a lot of books and they tried to learn as much as they could. This teaches us something very important about the church too. After Jesus was born, we read that there were simple shepherds in the fields who came to Jesus—simple, uneducated people. But they weren’t the only ones who came to see this baby: there were also educated, learned people who came. And in the church, Jesus is for both the unlearned and learned, he is for simple people and he is for the lofty and high-brow people too.

Often in the church today, Christians don’t seem to want to use their brains very much. They say: Pastor, you’re just talking about “head-stuff”—what’s most important in the heart. Also, there are plenty of atheists who think that Christianity is for stupid people. But Jesus calls us to use our hearts, but also to use our brains, our heads. He says: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Jesus created every piece of you, and if you want to keep your mind, your brain somewhere outside of his kingdom, then you are a traitor, and you are withholding something from Jesus which he wants you to offer to him. There are plenty of people in the church who are highly educated, who have masters’ degrees and PhDs and yet they when they come to church, they don’t want to know anymore than a Sunday School child. This is shameful. It is often the case that people who had no opportunities in education are far wiser in the Christian faith than those who spent 10 years at uni and think they know everything. Look at the wise men—they use all of their learning, everything that they have, to go and find Jesus. And yet, so many people just don’t care or they are just plain lazy. Jesus gave up everything for you, he gave up his very life for you. What will you offer him in return?

Now, let’s look at our text: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Now how do you think the wise men knew that the king of the Jews was born? How did they know that this star had to do with him? And how did they know that that they should worship this king?

This is such a mysterious passage, and there are so many questions. This shows us just how rich the kingdom of God is, and just what wonderful things the Holy Spirit can do with people.

It’s important for us to realise that these are the first Gentiles that came to worship Jesus. Jesus didn’t just come for his own people, the Jewish people, he came for the whole world. And after his resurrection, Jesus sent his apostles out to all nations. The Jewish people were different to other people. They worshipped in a different way, they had special laws and regulations, and even today many people think that a lot of customs and practices of Jewish people are a bit odd. However, they were God’s chosen people. But right back when God called Abraham, he didn’t say that only one nation would be blessed, but that through Abraham’s offspring all nations would be blessed. And so, here is Jesus, born from the Jewish people, and he is worshipped by people from other nations, other people, just like us.

So the wise men coming to Jesus is about us. Most of us are not Jewish, and yet the Holy Spirit has called us just like these wise men to come and bow down and worship Jesus. Mary and Joseph must have thought that these men with their exotic clothes must have been very strange. And yet, if Mary and Joseph had met us, wouldn’t they think we would be even stranger? What a wonderful gift that just as these men met Jesus, we meet Jesus still today in his word, and in baptism and in the Lord’s Supper. And we even speak to him in prayer!

But how did these wise men know what they knew? Many Jewish people had travelled east before – Queen Esther was Jewish and she lived in Persia. Maybe the Persians got some of the books of the bible for their libraries then. Or when the people of Israel went to exile, we read about Daniel being there with King Nebuchadnezzar. There are all kinds of ways in which these wise men may have come across the prophesies of a coming King of the Jews that they should come and worship.

Even in the Book of Numbers, we read about a man called Balaam. He was from Moab, which is to the east of Israel, and wasn’t a Jew. And yet the Holy Spirit gave him a wonderful prophecy saying that a star shall come out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. He speaks of a star and a sceptre. A sceptre is what kings have in their hands. It could have happened that this prophecy was passed on for centuries in those regions, which the wise men knew about. In many ancient cultures, many things are passed down from person to person, and they have a very rich oral tradition. We might think of Aboriginal culture and the knowledge and stories which they pass down.

In our culture, some things are passed down without us even thinking about it. In Australia, it’s common for people to swear and say: Jesus Christ! Or Christ Almighty! Isn’t it funny how God has kept the name of his Son in the households of so many people? And it’s a testimony to them. Maybe one day someone will wake up like these wise men, and ask the question: Who is this Jesus that I talk about every time I drop a hammer on my toe? Who was he? What does he want me to believe and what does he expect of me? If things like this get passed on without us even thinking about it, how much more could some ancient cultures carefully pass all kinds of things on if they were intentional about it!

However, we shouldn’t say that the wise men were astrologers and were following horoscopes. All kinds of people in our country read their star signs, and think that the stars govern and influence their lives. But it’s not true—and if they think that they do, the messages come from the devil. There are plenty of Christians who read Mystic Meg in the newspaper, and yet can’t seem to read the bible. God cannot be mocked. He wants people to reject this rubbish. We also shouldn’t use the stars to plant our crops or for healing—it’s forbidden in Scripture and it’s not God’s power at work. It says in Isaiah 46: Behold, they are like stubble… those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.

In Mount Barker, we have a lot of people interested in Rudolf Steiner, who founded the Waldorf education system. He founded his own religion, and a method of farming called “Biodynamics”, which tells people to plant their crops by the phases of the moon, as if each phase gives some special power. Even if it works sometimes, it is a trick of the devil. If we want a good crop and a good harvest, we should pray to God for it, and let him provide the rain and the sunshine and everything we need.

The stars don’t govern our lives. God does, and he made the stars. The star of Bethlehem which the wise men saw was sent by God. Jesus’ life is not governed by the stars—if he really was born in December, we don't talk about how Jesus was a Capricorn! That’s blasphemy. Jesus is true God—and the wise men don’t seek messages from the stars, they seek the word of God as it was spoken through the prophets.

So what happens to the wise men is that they show up in Jerusalem, rather than Bethlehem. The star leads them there, and they don’t know where the baby is.

We read: Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [King Herod] inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: -- see, they consult God’s word in the bible, in the prophets – And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

Once the wise men have heard God’s word, then they can go to Bethlehem, and the star can lead them there. This strange star is in service of Jesus, it shows the wise men the exact house, which must mean that it is something completely supernatural, that has never happened before and may never happen again. All this shows us what a wonderful baby this Jesus really is—how many things will Jesus do that had never happened before? We might think of his conception and birth, his wonderful miracles and healings, and of course, his resurrection, and his ascension… The list just goes on and on. And we are gathered here today in this humble church to bow down and worship him.

It’s strange that when the wise men go asking about Jesus, King Herod and the people of Jerusalem are not excited and happy about his news at all. They are scared and worried. We read: When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. We also read where Herod tried to trick the wise men saying: Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.

Yuk! Yuk! There’s nothing worse than the kiss of Judas: someone says all kinds of nice words, but behind the words is a trick and a nasty scheme. Herod has no intention of worshipping Jesus, but we read later that he ended up slaughtering all the baby boys in Bethlehem so that he could kill Jesus too. At the end of our reading we read that being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. God gave them a special warning.

And so here we learn something very important. Before Jesus, the chosen people were the Jewish people, and the Gentiles were outside of God’s kingdom. But now, the Gentiles are brought in, they are grafted into God’s kingdom through Jesus, like branches on a tree. And instead of the separation being between Jews and Gentiles, a new separation begins: those who worship Jesus and those who hate him. The wise men from the east do worship Jesus, and King Herod tries to kill him. Those who worship Jesus are new Jews, the new chosen people, they are built as spiritual stones like a house into Jesus. And those who reject Jesus are outside of God’s kingdom, even if they are descended from the Jewish people.

But we are all sinners, we have all tried to kill Jesus at some point. It is our sins which nailed Jesus to the cross. But now he calls us to follow him, to worship him at his manger, to listen to his word and to receive the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism, and eat and drink his body and blood. Jesus forgives us for trying to kill him—because this is exactly what our sinful flesh always wants to do. And yet, we pray: Jesus, let your kingdom come. Build us into your kingdom, and make us living stones in your temple. Chip away and do whatever you need to do to make us useful! And bring all kinds of other people to be part of this temple too!

Finally, we read about the wise men: When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

These treasures, gold, frankincense and myrrh, were found most commonly in Arabia. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that these men were from there, because gold, frankincense and myrrh were traded all along there throughout the Middle East. In fact all the way from Iran, right through Yemen, Ethiopia and into Sudan, people still light incense in their houses, because these countries were on the frankincense trade route. The wise men didn’t offer Jesus cheap local stuff, but they offered him their treasures. In the same way as these men offered Jesus their whole minds and all their learning for his service, they also offered him the best of their treasures. We might think of the woman who poured a jar of precious ointment on Jesus’ head. She offered him her precious treasures.

They offer him gold—gold for a king. They offer him frankincense—incense was used in the temple in Jerusalem in worship of God. And this baby Jesus is true God. And myrrh was a special spice used in burying people. It helped to stop decay. Jesus would die one day and would be placed in a tomb, and given a rich man’s burial, anointed with expensive spices, like myrrh. John tells us: Joseph of Arimathea came and took away the body [of Jesus]. Nicodemus…came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy pounds in weight. And on Easter morning women would come to the tomb to with spices and ointments, just like Nicodemus.

Jesus is our heavenly king. He is our true God. And he has died for our sins. What can we bring of ourselves, our minds, our hearts, our treasures in service of this wonderful Jesus?

The kingdom of God is so wonderful. It is so rich. So like the wise men, let’s not just rejoice, but as the bible says: they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. That’s a lot of joy! Amen.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for your wonderful miraculous birth, and we thank you for calling us together with so many other people including the wise men to come and meet you and worship you. Inspire us by your Holy Spirit to bring our hearts, minds, and treasures in service of you. Amen.


Click here for a map of the Middle East.
Click here for article about Iranian Lutherans in Berlin.
Click here for a information of the recently built Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.