Mark 1:14-20 (EHV)

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ “The time is fulfilled,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near! Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

¹⁶ As Jesus was going along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately Jesus called them. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Dear Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit upon us so that we may repent and believe in the gospel for the sake of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

According to St Mark, today we hear what Jesus preached when he began his ministry. He said:

“The time is fulfilled.

The Kingdom of God has come near.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Nice sermon. Short. To the point. I like it. And some of you might think: I wish Pastor’s sermons were this short!

But what does it all mean and how does it apply to us today?

Well, for starters, Jesus begins with time.

The time is right, and the time is now, for Jesus to come and fulfill God’s promises.

But of course, it’s taken a long time.

For example, a promised Saviour was mentioned in the Garden of Eden. That was a long time ago.

Many words were spoken by many prophets who promised a Messiah, a Christ, who will come and save the people. Well, the ink has dried on those prophecies hundreds and even thousands of years beforehand. Many faithful people have come and gone, waiting for the promised Messiah, but time went on without its fulfillment.

What we discover is that God’s timing and our timing doesn’t always match, which means we often have a problem with his timing. But if we question God’s timing, it means we also challenge the love of God or the power of God.

For instance, we might pray that God would do something for us like fix our health, fix our virus or border problems, fix our relationships, or fix our finances. But we also start to place time limits on when we want God to fix things for us. We reckon if God is powerful and loving, he’ll do what we ask, and do it quickly.

You see, we’re not happy to wait. We’re finite beings with time limits placed upon us, so we expect God to act within our time limits as well. We might also reckon we know better than God as to when things should happen.

But God doesn’t get the timing wrong. We’re the ones who get it wrong. We don’t have eternity in mind. We’re often only concerned with the here and now. We don’t want to be patient. We don’t want time to heal things or grow things or learn things. We want instant fixes and an instant God.

But we learn from Scripture that our eternal and timeless God entered into our world where everything has a time limit. He was born at a particular time in our human history in order to be with us as our God, to take on our finite humanity while somehow still remaining fully God with no time limits. He came at the right time to absorb our sin into himself so that he might forgive us and grant us his innocence and holiness. He came at the right time to suffer and die and rise again for you and me.

Well, that time is now fulfilled in the person of Jesus. He came. He saw. He healed. He preached. He suffered. He died. He rose again. He ascended into heaven, but his time isn’t over. He still lives forever and gave his fledgling church his Spirit-filled gifts of grace where he still comes to us in our own time through his Word and Sacraments.

Which means, now is the time when God’s kingdom comes.

But we have funny ideas of what God’s kingdom looks like. So did the disciples. So did everyone else.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to St Mark identifies three main reactions to the coming of God’s kingdom in the person of Jesus.

Some followed him, including Simon and Andrew, James and John. Some didn’t have a clue about what Jesus was on about and followed him in curiosity. And some were against him and sought to kill him.

But even those who followed him didn’t really get it. We discover the chosen disciples were slow learners who got it wrong on many occasions. The kingdom they thought they would see was a political and physical kingdom. But God’s kingdom is a spiritual kingdom which is upside down and muddled up in our eyes.

God’s kingdom makes the last first and the first last. In God’s kingdom the King comes to serve and not be served. In God’s kingdom, the criminals go free and the innocent One is punished. In God’s kingdom, justice is served through forgiveness and mercy for those who believe.

We pray for God’s kingdom to come in the Lord’s Prayer, but do we pray that God’s kingdom comes, or that our idea of what God’s kingdom should look like comes?

It could be that our idea of God’s kingdom might look like a political kingdom where only Christians get to rule and they make sure our own moral and ethical standards are upheld across our society and everyone else gets controlled or punished for disobeying.

Our idea might look like a physical kingdom where churches are grand and full of people, where no sport is played on Sundays, and where the most faithful are also the most blessed.

Our idea of God’s kingdom might demand good people are rewarded and bad people are punished. This of course presupposes we’re the good people. We often struggle to remember that many whom Jesus spoke against also thought they were the good people.

But God’s kingdom isn’t what we expect or even desire.

Our God and King wasn’t born in a palace or even a well-resourced hospital. He was born among the poor. God’s kingdom, in the person of Jesus, came to shepherds, fishermen, tax-collectors, prostitutes, the sick, the ostracized, the neglected, and the abused. God’s kingdom ate and drank with sinners. God’s kingdom spoke against those secure in their own self-righteousness.

What does God’s kingdom really look like?

Well, our Lord allowed himself to be falsely accused. Our Lord didn’t fight the charges. Our Lord was falsely tried and condemned by his own people. Our Lord was spit on, beaten and whipped and he said nothing. Our Lord was nailed to a cruel cross. Our Lord felt abandoned by his heavenly Father. Our Lord prayed: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And those words still echo throughout time as he prays the same for you and me. Our Lord died. Our Lord rose again to defeat death, the devil and our sin. Our Lord ascended to rule eternally.

And our Lord, whose kingdom comes near to his people at the right time, proclaims for us to repent and believe in the gospel.

Well, that’s ok, but many of us reckon we don’t have anything to repent of in the first place.

Most of us know we’re sinners because the Bible tells us this, but we struggle to realise what are those things that we think and say and do that we need to repent of. And if we ever do figure out what we need to repent of, we defend our selfish actions and struggle to actually turn from thinking or saying and doing those things in any meaningful way!

You see, most of us are blind to what we do and how it affects those around us, especially God. We’re not very good at assessing our own sins or how they hurt others. We’re also not very good at seeing how we damage our relationship with God by our unrepentance.

So, how can we repent if we can’t see our sin?

Well, one way to assess our own sin is to consider our vocations.

For example, I might consider whether I have been disobedient or lazy in my responsibilities as parent, spouse, worker, or child. Have I given those in authority over me the respect due to them as God’s representatives to me? Have I been hot-tempered, rude or argumentative? Have I stolen, been negligent, or been wasteful? Have I been discontent with whom and what God has given me? Have I unfairly judged someone and think poorly of them?

Another way to assess our own sin is to consider our relationships.

For instance, have I noticed whether someone relates to me differently than they used to? Have they become more distant, less patient, or angry toward me? Have they ended their relationship with me? On the other hand, have I limited or ended my relationship with them? If so, is there anything I’ve done or said which upset them? If I don’t know, how might I find out? Is there anything they’ve done to me which I need to talk about with them?

In other words, what signs do I see within my relationships that may indicate I have something to repent of? In this case, am I willing to obey Christ’s call to repentance, or will I remain disobedient and rebellious in my self-justification?

But Jesus doesn’t leave us in the depths of despair as we consider our sinfulness. He gives us one more instruction as our gracious King who comes at the right time. He tells us to believe in the gospel.

Now, in one sense, the gospel was still in its early stages as he preached this message. At this point of Jesus’ ministry he hadn’t suffered and died for the forgiveness of our sins yet. He hadn’t risen again to give us the good news death has been defeated yet. But since the time was right for the Kingdom of God to come in the person of Jesus Christ, now is when the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for our sake is happening so that we may believe.

But is it so easy to believe?

We can be a suspicious lot because we don’t always know what to believe. Unfortunately, we often believe what people tell us through their speculating gossips (and fail to check their authenticity), but we struggle to believe the truth of what Jesus tells us. In other words, we find it easier to believe something bad about someone than believe something good that God does for us!

But God doesn’t lie. What God says, happens. So, instead of believing what people say about us (or about anyone else for that matter), we should believe the truth of what Jesus says.

So, if Jesus says you’re forgiven, then forgiven you are. Let God have the last say instead of your troubled conscience.

If Jesus says this is his body and blood, then that’s what it is, given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins. He can’t lie or deceive you.

If Jesus tells you that you’re children of God who have inherited eternal life because you’ve been washed and made holy by his blood, then that’s who you are.

If Jesus tells you to follow him, then follow him in faithful trust knowing his gracious Kingdom has now come at the right time for those who repent and believe. Salvation is yours through faith, through trusting God’s Word, through believing what he says and does for you. Therefore, with the help of the Holy Spirit, you can believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus tells you: “The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God has come near! Repent, and believe in the gospel…”

…so that the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (EHV)

¹² “All things are permitted for me”—but not all things are beneficial. “All things are permitted for me”—but I will not allow anything to control me. ¹³ “Foods are for the belly, and the belly is for foods, but God will do away with both of them.” However, the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. ¹⁴ God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. ¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then remove the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For it says, “The two will become one flesh.” ^{Gen 2:24 17} But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

Dear Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit upon us so that we may glorify you with our bodies because we are joined to the body of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

“It’s my body – I can do whatever I like with it!”

This statement, or variations of it, seems to be a catchcry of our times.

So, if a man wants to eat something, even if it means he eats so much of it that it affects his health, what’s it to you? Isn’t he allowed to do whatever he wants with his own body?

If a woman wants to wear certain clothes, even if they’re revealing and alluring to others, what’s it to you? Isn’t she allowed to do whatever she wants with her own body?

If a young boy feels he was born in the wrong body and reckons he’s a girl, no matter what science says, what’s it to you? Isn’t he allowed to identify his own body differently if he chooses to?

If an unmarried couple decide to have sexual relations with each other, what’s it to you? They’re not hurting anyone are they? Can’t they do what they want with their own bodies?

If a woman becomes pregnant with an unwanted child and chooses to abort the child’s life, what’s it to you? Isn’t she allowed to do whatever she wants with her own body? Although I wonder if anyone ever asked the child what he or she wanted to do with his or her own body.

And I could go on.

One of the greatest freedoms we fight for is the freedom to do whatever we want with our own bodies, after all, it’s my body, and since it’s my body, can’t I do with it whatever I want, especially if I’m not hurting anyone else?

Well, that depends on whether your body is truly yours to do with as you like in the first place.

St Paul argues our bodies are not our own so that we can do with them whatever we like. He argues our bodies have been bought by someone else. At great cost, Jesus paid to reclaim us – body and soul – through his sacrificial blood on the cross. If he bought us, then we are not our own. We’re accountable to our new Lord for what we do with our bodies.

After all, did Jesus suffer and die to just save your mind or your heart? Did he endure crucifixion and death just so he could save your spirit? Or did he pay such a costly price to save your body as well? If this isn’t the case, then why would we confess that we believe in the ‘resurrection of the body’?

Similarly, haven’t you been joined to the body of Jesus Christ in your baptism? Isn’t his holy body and blood received into your own physical bodies? Hasn’t he purified your body by his holy and innocent blood?

Since Jesus Christ has purchased us as his own precious belongings – body, mind, heart and soul – and joined our bodies to his own holy body, then we can’t do whatever we like with our bodies without affecting the body of Christ, especially among those who are also fellow members of the body of Christ.

This means if we make a fellow Christian feel unworthy or unwelcome because of what we speak with our physical lips and tongues, this affects the body of Christ.

If we fail to care for the well-being of a fellow Christian because we decided to keep our physical hands in our pockets and walk on by, this affects the body of Christ.

If we use our physical eyes to look at images or videos which lead us Christians into temptation or lead us to be discontent with the bodies of those God has joined us to, this affects the body of Christ.

If any Christian joins his or her own body to another person who is not their spouse for the sake of their own physical pleasure, this also affects the body of Christ.

So, while we may be tempted to go along with the world’s deceptions thinking it doesn’t matter what we do with our bodies just as long as we don’t hurt anyone else, the spiritual and physical reality is that it does indeed matter because, as members of Jesus’ holy body, we would be unwittingly joining the body of our Lord Jesus Christ to sinful and unhelpful thoughts, words and actions.

Now, you may wish to point out that our God is gracious and merciful who delights in forgiving our sins, including those we do with our body.

And I would agree! Our Lord is indeed gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Our Lord does indeed forgive us for all our sins. But this fact never gives us permission to sin. We should never consider sinning against God or anyone else with the assumption God is going to forgive us anyway. Jesus saves us from sin and its harmful effects, but this doesn’t make us free to sin.

Unfortunately, the weakness of our human flesh makes it hard to resist the temptation to satisfy or give pleasure to our bodies. We’re often tempted to do or say things simply because they feel good or because we get some form of gratification. When we give in to these temptations we become slaves to our own fleshly desires.

Once we become slaves to our own physical desires for pleasure, this new master will either control us by encouraging us to want it so much we can never be truly satisfied, or we’ll be so burdened with guilt or shame that we despair of our worthiness. Both of these responses will affect our relationships with those around us, including our relationship with God.

But Jesus didn’t suffer and die so that we would become slaves once more. Knowing our spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, he gave us his own prayer, which includes the petition “Lead us not into temptation”.

As Luther explained, this means ‘God tempts no one to sin, but we ask in this prayer that God would watch over us and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful self may not deceive us and draw us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins. And we pray that even though we are so tempted, we may still win the final victory.’ (Small Catechism, 6^th Petition).

The good news is that even when you’ve given in to temptation and sinned against those around you and sinned against the body of Christ with your own bodies, you can eagerly repent of your sin knowing God is gracious and merciful, and for Christ’s sake you’re forgiven for all your sins, including those you do with your body.

In humbleness you submit once more to the rule of our Lord Jesus Christ so that you may glorify God in your bodies. And, to help you glorify God with your bodies and help protect you in your daily struggles with temptation, you ask him to refresh you with his Holy Spirit so that you may lead a holy life, even as Christ has made you holy.

As you receive the promised Holy Spirit, together with all the other members of Christ’s body, you become the temple of the Holy Spirit.

But when Paul tells you that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, you need to note the ‘you’ here is plural. This means he’s not talking to each of us as individuals, but as a community. You and I aren’t the temple of the Holy Spirit by ourselves as if we aren’t connected to each other and don’t have to be. But together, as people joined to the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

While some are tempted to stay away from the physical body of Christ which gathers in worship, we’re encouraged to gather as physical beings in physical worship. We worship and glorify God with our bodies. We come to speak and sing with physical lips. We sit or stand or kneel as a physical response to what Christ is doing among us. We remind each other our physical bodies were baptised. We receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ into our own physical bodies.

You see, even when you’ve succumbed to temptation, Jesus forgives you and makes you holy and pure once more through his innocent blood which touches your own body through the waters of baptism and through receiving his holy body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. His Word and Sacraments wash you clean from the impurity of sin. In this way, through faith, even your guilty or ashamed consciences have been purified through the blood of Jesus.

Jesus Christ has paid the full price for you – for your body, mind, heart and soul. Because he loves you, he still speaks to you and constantly calls you to follow him again and again, because he knows you’ll stray and succumb to temptation.

When he calls you to follow him, you follow him, but not only with your minds and hearts. You also follow him with your strength as you honour him with your bodies.

Like all of God’s good gifts, they can be misused and abused, but God also teaches us how we can bless each other with our bodies as we live chaste and holy lives in repentance and faith. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can honour God and each other with our bodies.

So, while God has created us and given us our bodies and souls, our minds and senses, and all our abilities, they’re not ours to do with as we please as if we’re not accountable to anyone else. Because Jesus has redeemed us, body and soul, and has purified us with his holy blood, he calls us to use all these things to glorify him with all our heart and mind, soul and strength.

So, as you follow the One who set you free to love and serve him faithfully, may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds and bodies in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Mark 1:4-11 (EHV)

⁴ John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

⁵ The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. ⁶ John was clothed in camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He preached, “One more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals! ⁸ I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.”

Dear heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit on us so we may trust you love us when we’re baptised in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

“God loves you just the way you are!”

Have you heard this comment before? Have you said it before? Do you believe God loves you just the way you are?

Well, I believe there’s reason to doubt this.

I don’t believe God loves me just the way I am, because this would suggest there’s no reason for me as a sinful person to change from who I am.

You see, if Jesus loves me just the way I am in my sinful condition, then there’s no reason for Jesus to come to earth in human flesh, no reason for Jesus to be baptised, no reason for Jesus to suffer and die, no reason for his resurrection, no reason for me to repent, no reason for me to follow Jesus, and no reason for me to be baptised, receive Holy Communion, or even go to worship.

In other words, if God loves us just the way we are, then we don’t need Jesus!

For this reason, I reckon this commonly quoted statement by well-meaning Christians is one of the best anti-mission statements we can spread as a church.

If we tell everyone God loves them just the way they are, then they don’t need Jesus and his sacrificial love, don’t need to repent, don’t need to be baptised, don’t need to hear of God’s forgiveness, and therefore don’t need the church because they reckon they’re already right with God because he loves them just the way they are.

This isn’t the message of the Bible.

I mean, when John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, what was the message he spoke? Did he tell people “God loves you just the way you are”?

Or did he tell them to repent and be baptised for the forgiveness of sins, which means he believes they were sinners who weren’t right with God and needed to be washed of their sins?

Perhaps another way to put God’s love could be: “God loves you just the way you are, but not enough to let you stay that way.”

Now I suppose this is a little closer to the truth, but it’s still not the full truth. You see, if this was the truth, then all he’d want us to do is change from our sinful ways.

In this case, John would have only needed to tell people to repent; you know, “Change your ways and live perfect lives as God expects!”

But if he only did this, then he’d only be preaching the Law. He’d be telling us we all have the power to save ourselves through our own obedience. He’d be saying we all have the potential to be better people and can actually make God happy, so all we need to do is try harder.

But if we could actually change ourselves or somehow meet God’s perfect expectations, then we still don’t need Jesus, or baptism, or the church.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Does God love you? Absolutely! God loves you so dearly he needed to take drastic action to save you. But God doesn’t love you so much he wants you to stay as you are. God also doesn’t just want you to be a better person. God wants you to repent and be baptised. And once you’re baptised, he wants you to repent and believe the gospel.

Now, believe it or not, this is a highly unpopular message.

No-one likes to be told to repent because no-one wants to hear they’re not ok, that they’re not doing the right thing, that they’re not good enough, or that God may not love them just the way they are.

I mean, do you think you need to repent? And, if you’re aware of your need to repent, are you willing to do so? Or do you think you’re better than everyone else around you and think they need to repent before you do?

You see, most people have self-inflated egos and we often think much higher of ourselves than the way God thinks of us – after all, God sees the truth of our sinful condition and we don’t. We’re often blind to our own sins, which is why we struggle to repent.

We fool ourselves into thinking we’re ok but everyone else isn’t. This is why many of us like to point out everyone else’s faults, failures and flaws, but hate it when confronted with our own. When this happens, we’re likely to attempt all types of self-justifications, excuses, and other defensive behaviours.

But if you think about it, as long as we make out everyone else is the one with all the faults, failures and flaws, then we also give the message that we don’t love people the way they are.

I mean, if we did love people the way they are, then why do we have so many relationship issues, fights, arguments, divisions, separations, and divorces?

But it doesn’t stop there, because we also give the message we’re not going to love or forgive them until they repent, change their ways, and attempt to make up for their wrongs against us. But even if they did, we may still be tempted to refuse to forgive them because we’re still being controlled by our own hurt, resentment, anger, or the delusion that we’re still better than they are.

Yet, to make things worse, many of us refuse to accept our own part in our relationship breakdowns. Since we’re always blaming everyone else and pointing out their failures, we give the impression we haven’t sinned. Or at least we give the impression our sins aren’t as bad as everyone else’s!

But the Bible tells us we all sin, and God doesn’t love our sin. Sin is part of our corrupted fallen nature. Making excuses or trying to hide our sin doesn’t change the fact we’re all sinners who have inherited the sickness of sin from Adam and Eve.

God doesn’t love us being in this corrupted sinful state, because that’s not the way he wants us to be. It’s like we’re all sick with the genetic sickness of sin and need a cure. In this case, we don’t need a vaccine to protect us from inheriting this disease of sin in the first place, but we need an antidote for our sinful nature. We need to be purified, which brings us back to the message of John the Baptist.

You see, God does love you! But because God doesn’t love you the way you are in your sinful state, God needed to act. God acted so that you might be restored to him, be his holy child, be washed of your sin, and be with him in eternity. This is why God sent Jesus to be baptised for your benefit.

Now, even though some may consider baptism to be the way to join the ‘Jesus club’, or that it’s some kind of ‘hell insurance’, or it’s a way to ‘get people done’, or even that it’s our ‘ticket into heaven’, but it’s much more than all this. Baptism involves a lifetime of living with the Holy Spirit who constantly leads you to repent and believe the good news of forgiveness and salvation in Jesus’ name.

Although the baptisms which John the Baptist performed were more of a baptism of repentance, it’s when Jesus was baptised that this earthly baptism received heavenly power and authority to do much more than just forgive sins.

Sure, it washes away your sin like water washes away dirt and grime, but through baptism you’re also claimed, or rather; reclaimed as God’s own possession and therefore baptism rescues you from death and the devil, and it gives eternal salvation to all who trust the words and promises of God.

Baptism also acts a little like an antidote; where the holy medication and heavenly cure of Jesus’s life, suffering, death and resurrection, are given and imputed into you in order to effect the forgiveness of sins, and freely grant you life and salvation.

This doesn’t mean you have to be baptised every time you sin again, but every time you return to, and remember, the promises made to you in baptism, which is how you keep practicing a life of repentance and faith, you receive a top-up of that injection of forgiveness and holiness again.

Not only this, but Baptism also joins you to Jesus like a branch being grafted onto a vine. Therefore, since you’re joined to Jesus, this means when God looks at you, he doesn’t see a disobedient and unholy child anymore, but he sees his only Son. And, since he’s pleased with and loves his Son so dearly, this means he’s also pleased with you. He’s pleased when you live in the daily repentance and faith given to you in the waters and promises of baptism.

You can trust the water and words of baptism has effected forgiveness for all your sin, has regenerated and renewed you into holy people, has adopted you as children of God, and has given you eternal life through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Through trusting the promises of baptism, you can trust God loves you and you’re now right with God.

Not only this, but living in the promises of baptism can also affect your earthly relationships. You see, the pattern of repentance and baptism can have real power to reconcile your relationships with each other. The same pattern of confession and forgiveness can be lived out in such a way it reconciles strained relationships in order to restore love, joy, and peace.

So, let’s face it: God loves you. That’s why he sent Jesus. That’s why he calls us to repent and believe. That’s why he gave us the gift of baptism.

God loves people who are willing to submit and trust in his promises, including those promises effected in the waters of baptism. God loves people who seek to live in the pattern established through baptism where our daily repentance and forgiveness helps us to live in, with, and under the love and grace of God.

God dearly loves his Son and is well pleased with him. God also loves you and is pleased when he sees his Son live in you through the power of the Holy Spirit so that…

…the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Ephesians 1:3-14 (EHV)

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

⁴ He did this when he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ. He did this in accordance with the good purpose of his will, ⁶ and for the praise of his glorious grace, which he has graciously given us in the one he loves.

⁷ In him we also have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in keeping with the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. ⁹ He made known to us the mystery of his will in keeping with his good purpose, which he planned in Christ. ¹⁰ This was to be carried out when the time had fully come, in order to bring all things together in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.

¹¹ In him we have also obtained an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in keeping with the purpose of his will. ¹² He did this so that his glory would be praised as a result of us, who were the first to hope in Christ.

¹³ In him, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and in him, when you also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. ¹⁴ He is the down payment of our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own possession, so that his glory would be praised.

Dear Heavenly Father, lavish us again with your grace through your Holy Spirit so that we may rejoice in the fact you chose us and redeemed us for your own through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have you ever had to choose a team before?

Perhaps you were at school and you were assigned as the captain. You then had to choose from your classmates so you could assemble the best team possible. If you did this, what would be the criteria which would help you choose your team?

Perhaps you chose your friends first, followed by a few others who would add strength or versatility to your team. Sometimes your friends would advise you who to choose and who not to choose. Then came the more difficult task of choosing between the unwanted people who you had to pick, even though you didn’t want to have them on your team.

As you played, you may have worked well with your friends and the gifted ones, but you may have avoided some of the others who were just there to make up numbers. Sure, you may have tried to be polite and involve them for a little while so they might feel important for a moment, but otherwise you may have chosen to use them as little as possible. Of course, it may not have been a very positive experience if you were ever one of the last chosen!

In a sense, we do this every day.

While we don’t always get to choose our family members, who we get to work with, or who’s part of our congregation, we often choose who we’re going to favour over others.

Think about the members of your family, or your neighbours, or the people in this congregation. Who do you talk to the most? Who do you look forward to talking with? Who do you seek to avoid?

Of course, some people are easier to get on with than others. Some people are more pleasant company and have common interests. Some people are good at telling us what we want to hear, while others aren’t. Some people hurt us or break our trust. We don’t want to give these people the opportunity to hurt us again. We may even attempt to get back at those who hurt us.

So, whether we’d like to admit it or not, we all do it. We choose to be good and generous and gracious and forgiving toward those we prefer, and we can be apathetic, cold, nasty, and unforgiving toward those we don’t like or trust. We judge each other based on whether we want them to be one of ‘us’ who we choose to be nice to, or whether they’re one of ‘them’ who we feel justified to treat them with contempt, indifference or payback.

When St Paul wrote to the congregation in Ephesus, one of the issues he was tackling was the ‘us and them’ way of thinking and living which had crept into the congregation. It was Jewish Christians versus the Gentile Christians. The unity of this early Christian congregation was being tested.

But what’s interesting is the way Paul tackles the problem.

We might expect him to call a big meeting so they could air all their grievances to ‘get it out in the open.’ We might also expect him to knock their heads together or plead for love and unity and peace and forgiveness and harmony. We might think he’d put some issues to a democratic vote, hoping the weight of popular opinion will force people to agree with each other. Perhaps he’d let the division increase and let everyone go their own way, and good riddance of anyone who decided to do this.

But Paul doesn’t use any of these tactics.

His starting point wasn’t pointing to them or their differences or their arguments or majority rules or even the problem at all. His starting point was to praise God!

He pointed to who God is and what God does – not just for me and my favourites, but for all of us, after all, God doesn’t play favourites.

God chose you and me and all those we struggle to get along with. He didn’t choose any of us because we deserved it, but because it was his choice to love and adopt all of us as his children through faith in Christ. He didn’t wait to see if any of us would deserve his choosing, but chose us anyway before the foundation of the world. He chose us despite the fact we often play favourites. He chose us knowing we can be quite nasty to those around us. He chose us knowing we’ll often think we know better and will rebel against his ways. He even chose those we struggle with because he loves them too.

He chose us all to be holy and blameless. Not because we’re holy or blameless, but because that’s what he makes us. We want to think we’re holy when we’re not. We want to blame others for our unholy actions and reactions to those around us. Yet through the blood of Jesus, you and I are made holy and innocent once more through his forgiveness and cleansing.

He chose to adopt us as his children. This wasn’t our choice. It’s God’s choice. And his choice isn’t based on what we bring to the family or whether he likes us more than anyone else. God’s choice is based on his grace and love to choose us anyway. It’s also his choice to adopt those we look down on or criticise or argue with or gossip about. This means we don’t get to choose who we treat with respect and love and compassion as our brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s God’s choice, not ours. If we have any choice at all, we can only choose to go along with God’s choice to love and serve everyone he chooses, or we can choose to rebel against his choices.

He chose to redeem us. This means he had to buy us back from someone else. This redemption didn’t cost silver or gold, but cost him the blood of his beloved Son, Jesus. Like the Israelites in the past, he needed to buy us out of slavery. We’ve been enslaved to serve our own desires, our own fears, our own prejudices, and our own pride. We’ve been captured and enslaved by the world’s and the devil’s deceitful lies. But the blood of Jesus paid for our freedom so that we might serve within God’s kingdom of grace and peace and love and forgiveness and hope. We no longer need to serve the other masters of fear and pride and anger and favouritism any longer.

He chose to lavish his undeserving grace on all of us. Unlike us who are often stingy and miserly and frugal in our giving and loving and forgiving and serving, God is prodigal, wasteful and extravagant in his grace. He chose to be gracious to you and me, then he chose to be gracious again, and again, and again.

He’s so generous with his love and grace and mercy, that it keeps overflowing. It’s like he can never be too abundant with his grace. He lavishes us with his grace upon grace because we need it. You see, we often abound in selfishness and rebellion. His abundant and overflowing grace is needed as the heavenly cure to overcome the disease of our self-centred sinfulness. He did all of this (and much more) so that all things would be united in him.

This means God’s eternal answer to our problem of disunity and division is blessing us through his choosing to adopt us, redeem us, forgive us, and be gracious to us.

Therefore, unlike the world’s answers to our human problems, which always seeks to control or separate or punish, God’s ways are much more gracious and loving and merciful.

Through faith in our loving and gracious God, who would rather punish his own beloved Son instead of punishing us, we’ve all inherited his promises of forgiveness, life and salvation. We’ve been adopted as his own children so that we may love and serve him and each other without the need for prejudice or favouritism. We’ve all heard the word of truth and believe the gospel of our salvation. We’ve all been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our inheritance through faith.

Trusting in God’s grace, and believing in our heavenly inheritance, we no longer look at each other as the world looks at us. Seeing each other through the redeeming cross of Christ, we consider each other as equally loved, equally saved, and equally recipients of the lavishness of God’s grace. Who are you or I to treat each other any differently?

After all, to show favouritism or judgment toward our brothers or sisters in Christ would be to place ourselves above God. By attempting to choose who’s in and who’s out of our good books would be to think we know better than God about who’s worthy of our love and attention. When we attempt to become our own little god who chooses our own selfish ways instead of God’s ways of grace and love, we end up rejecting God’s kingdom of grace and mercy. God forbid we would want to do that!

Thankfully, for all those times we’ve favoured and judged and threatened and punished those around us, we believe God still chooses to lavish us with grace upon grace. Because we know God is gracious and forgiving, we eagerly repent of our selfish pride and look to be lavished again with his grace and mercy. Through faith in Jesus Christ we’re forgiven and become holy and blameless once again. Through repentance and faith we trust in God’s promises of grace and blessing.

Together we’ve been chosen to live under God’s kingdom of righteousness, holiness, unity and grace. We’ve all been marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit in our baptism into the one Triune name.

The promises of Christ don’t distinguish between us and them. Our worthiness to stand before God without fear depends on Christ himself, and not any distinctions of favouritism or separation. In fact, God’s plan for his royal household of redeemed children depends on Christ breaking down any walls of hostility which separate or divide us.

Therefore, praise be to our God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places so that he may choose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In Christ alone we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in keeping with the riches of his grace, which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.

Which is why the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Luke 2:22-40 (ESV)

²² And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons”. ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

    according to your word;

³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation

³¹     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

    and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marvelled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favour of God was upon him.

Dear heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit on us so we may see our salvation and depart in peace for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.

You’ve probably gone shopping when it’s busy, perhaps even recently as you attended the pre- or post-Christmas sales. If you have, you might have observed many people rushing about as they hoped to get their list of things done. You may have also seen children having to touch and grab things off the shelves hoping mum or dad will buy it for them to stop their whining. You may have heard checkout cash registers or pay wave machines ringing and dinging away merrily, and seen shopkeepers being rushed off their feet to attend to everyone’s whims and desires.

You may have discovered that in busy crowds you don’t always notice each other as there’s often too many faces to search through and too little spare time to stop and chat. You’re often just focused on doing what you came for and going home to some kind of peace and quiet.

In the same way you also could imagine the Temple in Jerusalem being a busy place.

You had money changers swapping the local currency for the Temple currency so you could buy your sacrifices. Then you had the people selling their animals for those sacrifices – including doves and sheep and goats and even cattle. Mixed with the sounds of coin tinkering, the coos of doves, the bleats of sheep, and the moos of cattle were the sounds of many people in conversations: haggling, laughing, talking, and wailing. You also had many Levites and priests going about their everyday duties at the Temple as they served the line ups of people coming to offer their sacrifices.

On one particular day in human history, in this busy temple complex, which was constantly buzzing and bustling, five people met who had never met before. This small gathering within a crowded temple is now remembered for the rest of history as significant and insightful.

One of those people was an old widow who was either 84 years old or had been a widow for 84 years. Either way this was quite remarkable as the average age (especially for widows), was much lower than it is today.

This old woman, named Anna, was there at the Temple every day, so she would have seen many regular people come and go. Since we learn she’s been waiting for the redemption of Israel, she may have been scanning the crowd daily; watching and waiting for the One who would come.

Another person was a faithful and devout man of unknown age named Simeon who was also watching and waiting. We don’t know how often he was at the Temple, but somehow, he knew he would see the long-promised Messiah before he died. The Holy Spirit would guide his attention as he scanned the crowds.

And then came a poor young couple and their 40-day old child.

Now you may wonder how I know Jesus’ exact age when it’s not specifically mentioned in the text, but we know this because this is the requirement for the people of God in Jesus’ day.

You see, the purification rituals for the mothers of children following childbirth required them to go to the Temple and offer a small sacrifice to God 40 days after childbirth. Their visit to the Temple was for Mary’s purification following childbirth, but it was also about redeeming their first-born son.

This is because, according to Exodus 13, every first-born male (who opens the woman’s womb) ‘belongs’ to the Lord, and so needs to be redeemed or ‘bought back’ from the Lord by paying five shekels to the priesthood (according to Numbers 3). If the child isn’t redeemed or bought back from the Lord, the child remains dedicated to serve the Lord.

The prophet Samuel is an Old Testament example of this where his mother Hannah ‘lent’ him to the Lord for the rest of his life. Like Samuel, Jesus too (since he wasn’t redeemed by his parents), would grow in wisdom and stature before God and his people, and he remained holy ‘to the Lord’.

So, into this crowded place was an old woman, a man, and a young family. To anyone else going about their busy routines, they would have all looked like an ordinary people. No-one unusual. No-one exceptional. No-one worth a second look. Except the child Jesus was very the One whom both Simeon and Anna were looking for.

Simeon was the first to see Jesus for who he truly is. He saw that, here, in this child wasn’t just the promised Saviour, but Salvation himself.

Now, I’m not sure how Mary or Joseph felt about meeting this stranger who put his arms out to hold their child, but they let him anyway. Thankfully, there was no Coronavirus in those days, so keeping a distance wasn’t required. Simeon, eagerly taking Jesus in his arms, then sang his famous song which is sung on many Sundays after we receive Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.

He sung how, now that he has seen, touched, and even held Salvation himself in his arms, he could now gladly be set free in peace. He is privileged to hold the Lord of Peace, the Light of the world, the Glory of Israel, God’s Word and promise in human flesh. He could now depart from this place, and even from this life, feeling whole and complete.

Even old Anna saw in this helpless and tiny Jesus the promised redemption of Israel, and spoke words of praise and thanks to God. Her joy is complete. She has seen her Lord.

Now think of the next time you’ll also eagerly put out your arms to hold the body of Jesus in your hands and taste the goodness and holiness of his blood in your mouth. While this meal may seem simple and ordinary, here you’re offered wholeness, peace, life, and salvation himself.

Here in the drudgery of your own existence as you cope with your own troubles and misery and relationship strains and post-Christmas blues, the Lord of life and hope and peace comes to you. In the midst of your busyness, your holiday resting, your feasting, your sorrow, or your loneliness, the promised Messiah comes to be truly present for you in his living Word and in this holy meal.

Jesus – the child, the man, the Saviour – continues to come to you through his Word. This Spirit-filled Word continues to unblock stubborn ears, soften hardened hearts, and open blinded eyes so you may see Jesus as your salvation.

This same Word and Spirit calls you to shift your eyes from the cares and worries and routines of your life, and gaze upon, and feast upon, the Son of God who came for you.

And as you hold Jesus’ body and blood in your hands and receive him into your own flesh and blood, through faith you see, and receive, your promised salvation. After receiving him in faith, you can leave this holy place in peace, knowing forgiveness, life, and salvation are yours.

Of course, you know all your troubles won’t automatically go away, but your fear of them goes away as you trust God is bigger than all your fears. God is on your side. God is with you. God has even defeated the enemies of sin, death, and the devil for you, so you don’t need to fear them anymore.

By eating and drinking in faith, trusting his words of promise and forgiveness, you leave in peace. Through faith you believe your sins are forgiven – all of them. Through faith you believe he is working peace in your hearts, peace in your family relationships, and peace in your work environments.

Sure, he won’t pay the bills, but he’s paid for your guilt. He may not undo the mistakes you’ve made in the last year, but he forgives you for them. You may not look forward to some things which might come your way this new year, but you go forward in peace knowing that your Lord and Saviour is still with you.

This is why we sing this same song of Simeon after receiving the Lord’s Supper. We all become little ‘Simeon’s; that is, we all get to hold Jesus in our hands and see our salvation, and since we receive the forgiveness of sins, we all get to depart in peace. This is what we see through faith.

As you reflect on your experience of Christmas, move about busy crowds, mull over what happened to you this year, and ponder what awaits you in the New Year, remember that, just as Jesus went to the crowded Temple and was revealed for who he truly is, Jesus also reveals himself to you through the church and travels with you. He is your constant source of forgiveness, salvation, peace, and joy.

I pray you may see a little of what Simeon saw, so that you can sing along with him: ‘Lord, now let your servant depart in peace according to your Word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the presence of all people.’

In this way may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Luke 2:8-20 (ESV)

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,

    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Dear heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit on us so we may not be afraid, but live in the joyful knowledge that our Saviour, Jesus Christ, is born for us. Amen.

A long time ago in a garden far, far away…there was nothing to be afraid of and everything was right in the world.

In the Garden of Eden everyone and everything lived in perfect harmony. There was no sickness or disease. There was no cancer or Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s or Coronavirus. There was no fighting or bickering. There were no accidents or death.

In this heaven-like garden, God and humans walked together in perfect peace as they enjoyed each other’s company. In this garden you could imagine lions and lambs playing together, with everything in a state of perfection.

And then there came the uninvited guests, and among them was…fear!

Now, you may have expected me to say ‘sin’ or ‘evil’, which would be correct, but sin and evil’s bed-companions are fear and death.

These uninvited guests came into this world because the first humans wanted to be like God. They weren’t happy to know only about the goodness and perfection of God, but they felt God was keeping something back from them. They wanted to know what evil was as well, so they succumbed to this temptation and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

But no sooner did they eat from this forbidden tree that they became afraid. They were afraid of each other’s nakedness, and they were afraid of their Creator.

Being afraid, they tried to hide from each other, and also from God. And from that time on, we’ve all become afraid. Like them, we attempt to hide ourselves from each other and from our Creator. Not only this, but we also attempt to hide the fact we’re afraid.

Oh, I know we all like to put on a brave face and make out we’re all in control and aren’t afraid of anything, but we all have our secret, and not so secret, fears. For example:

• We fear spiders, snakes, and other creepies and crawlies.
• We fear darkness.
• We fear the unknown.
• We fear being out of control.
• We fear what people think.
• We fear letting people down or upsetting them.
• We fear for our children and grandchildren.
• We fear we’re not as important or intelligent or beautiful or loveable as we think we are.
• We fear what tomorrow brings.
• We fear this Coronavirus thingy will continue to disrupt our lives and freedom.
• We fear change.
• We fear losing people.
• We fear being a burden or a bother to others.
• We fear we might miss out.
• We fear ageing and sickness.
• We fear death or the process of dying.

This seems to be our lot in life – to live in constant fear as if we’re enslaved to it! And if we’re not afraid right now, we soon will be, as our life surprises us with ever-changing conditions to our freedoms, or we experience storms, accidents, illness, changes to employment, breakdowns of relationships, and other unexpected events which remind us we’re not really in control. Some of these things happen as a result of our own selfishness. Some happen as a result of other people’s selfishness. Some things happen because we no longer live in that perfect garden and live in a broken and hurting world.

But from that moment in the garden when fear entered our reality, God has kept coming to search for us, comfort us, forgive us, and restore us.

If you think about it, the bible is a long story of God’s people being afraid as a result of losing (or fearing to lose) what we humans desire to get or keep or control, and yet despite their fear, it’s also a story about how God patiently and continually perseveres with his frightened people to slowly reveal his plan to restore peace and joy and to make things right again.

This is what we celebrate today when we hear he comes to us in such an unexpected way in order to save us from the very things we’re most afraid of – from sin (and all its troubling effects), death, and the devil.

And what do we hear through God’s message to us at his incarnation? Well, it’s a story of comfort and peace where God encourages his people not to be afraid. For example:

• The angel said to Zechariah at the announcement that he was going to have a son who would prepare the way for the Lord: ‘don’t be afraid.’
• The angel told Mary when announcing she would bear the Christ: ‘don’t be afraid.’
• The angel told Joseph, who wanted to divorce Mary for being pregnant with the Christ: ‘don’t be afraid.’
• And now the shepherds hear the angels tell them the good news of their Saviour’s birth, but they firstly tell them: ‘don’t be afraid.’

‘Don’t be afraid. Have no fear. Fear not.’ It’s the same message spoken many times at Jesus birth, during his ministry, and also at the time of his death.

It’s not only the story of Christmas, but it’s the meaning of Christ’s incarnation for us. It’s the consistent message from the Word-made-flesh himself, as he continually tells his frightened people, including us some two thousand years later: ‘don’t be afraid.’

But why shouldn’t we be afraid? What’s the antidote for all our fears and anxieties?

Well, it’s not a ‘what,’ but a ‘who.’

As you’d expect, the answer is Jesus Christ, who was born for you in Bethlehem, and whose news was the basis for the shepherd’s reason to not be afraid. But it’s also much more than that.

Now you may wonder what I’m going on about. Am I saying there’s something more than Jesus Christ?

Well, yes, but not entirely.

You see, the problem is our selfish and self-centred sinful desire to rebel against God, which comes with the companions of evil and fear and death. The answer is Jesus Christ and his forgiveness, life and salvation. But the connection between the problem and the answer is…faith. You can also call it belief or trust. The antidote for all our fears is having faith in Jesus Christ, who exactly matches everything which what was communicated about God’s plan of peace and salvation throughout the Scriptures.

It’s even lived out in our text for today.

For example, the shepherds were afraid. They were told not to be afraid, but they were also given a reason. The reason for them not to be afraid is because a child has been born for them.

The shepherds then checked out this news and went and saw the Christ-child. They beheld with their own eyes the reason for them not to be afraid. The reason for them not to be afraid is true. A child is born for them, and it’s none other than Christ, the Lord.

The next thing you know, they went away joyfully from their encounter with our God-in-human-flesh, praising God and telling everyone else about what they had seen and heard. They wanted to tell others not to be afraid because they had personally confirmed, and now trusted, the message of their hope and peace is true.

In our case, well, we didn’t hear the angels ourselves. We don’t get to peek into the manger and see Jesus with our own eyes. We can’t personally confirm the news, which means we can only receive this remarkable world-changing news by faith. It’s only by faith that we can believe what we’re told in Scripture. And if we believe what we’re told is true, then we also have reason not to be afraid.

We’re not afraid because, no matter what we experience in this life, we believe our God loves us so much he sent his Son in human flesh in order to perform an almighty swap with us.

We’re not afraid because we believe he took on our sin and died for us in our place so he might give us his holiness and innocence, and so that we may have hope of walking with our God in a state of perfection once again.

We’re not afraid because we believe he defeated our enemies of sin, death, and the devil so that we may have joy and peace.

We’re not afraid because we believe God is with us always in our trials and tribulations, which means we can never truly be alone.

We’re not afraid because we believe we don’t need anyone else’s approval because we know we’re valued as God’s own child.

We’re not afraid because we believe if God is for us, then who can be against us?

We’re not afraid because we believe we receive forgiveness, life, and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, who came to fulfil what is written about him. This child who lies in the manger is the child of the promise, the One who came to ultimately fulfil our peace and joy through his work on the cross.

Even though he’s come and gone (historically speaking), the incarnate Christ still comes to you today. He still comes to speak his words of comfort, “don’t be afraid” because he says, “I am with you”.

He comes to give you his holiness and innocence through his words of forgiveness through his chosen servants. He might not come to us wrapped in swaddling cloths, but he comes ‘wrapped’ in water made holy by the word of God in order to join you to himself. He comes ‘wrapped’ in bread and wine in order to reassure frightened people of his forgiving and loving presence and strengthen your faith.

You receive all these words of promise and their heavenly gifts through faith, and then, like the shepherds, you can go from this place praising God because you believe you’ve received what he promised because he gives you exactly what he tells you: life, forgiveness and salvation.

Yes, we all have reasons to be afraid, but we can also have joy and peace because we believe and trust our Lord and Saviour has come in order to fulfil everything that was spoken about him. That, through faith in him, everything will be restored to how it was always meant to be.

Yes, it began a long time ago, in a garden far, far away, but our reason to no longer be afraid has been fulfilled in the manger, on the cross, in the empty grave, and even in our church today, so that…

the peace of God, which drives out all fear, and which surpasses all human understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 (EHV) 

¹ It happened that when king David was living in his palace, and when the Lord had given him rest from his enemies all around, ² the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I live in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God sits under tent curtains.”

³ Nathan said to the king, “Go and do everything that is in your heart, because the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan. He said, ⁵ “Go and tell my servant David all these things.”

This is what the Lord says. Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? ⁶ I have not lived in a house from the day I brought the people of Israel up from Egypt until today. I have been moving around in the Tent and the Dwelling. ⁷ I have traveled everywhere with all the people of Israel. Did I ever speak a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, or ask them, “Why have you not built a house of cedar for me?”

⁸ You are also to say the following to my servant David.

This is what the Lord of Armies says. I took you from the pasture, from following sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you went. I have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make your reputation great, like that of the great ones on the earth. ¹⁰ I will set up a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them there. They will dwell there, and they will not be disturbed again. Violent men will not afflict them again as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and ever since the day I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies.

The Lord also declares to you that the Lord himself will make a house for you. 

¹⁶ Your house will stand firm, and your kingdom will endure forever before you. Your throne will be established forever.

Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit on us so that we may gladly receive the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ who was born as the fulfilment of your promise.

You may have either heard or said this common statement: “Life is what you make it”.

While there may be some truth to this statement, I wonder if our experiences this year would challenge this type of thinking?

I mean, what we wanted to make or do or plan this year has been turned upside down. We weren’t allowed to make what we wanted out of life because we were restricted in our movements. We couldn’t do what we wanted to do without putting others, or ourselves, at risk. Our plans and dreams were thrown into disarray and as a result we often feel frustrated, angry or disappointed.

Even our Christmas celebrations might look a bit different this year. It could be some of us won’t travel as far as we want to. Maybe some of our family and friends are choosing to stay home this year. Maybe our Christmas might be a bit more simplified.

In the end, life isn’t so much what we make of it, but it seems we just have to make do with what our life looks currently like and be thankful for whatever we receive.

But I wonder if God’s teaching us that we often get everything upside down, topsy-turvy and all muddled up?

In this way, life isn’t so much what we make it, but what God makes it. You don’t always get to make your life into what you want it to be, but you receive it. Similarly, you don’t make Christmas, but you receive Christmas.

Even King David seem to get it all mixed up.

Now, I know he never celebrated Christmas, but he too wanted to make and do something special. He had big plans, which even Nathan the prophet thought was a good idea, but God turned his wish on its head.

You see, King David had defeated all the enemies God wanted him to defeat, and finally had some time to sit back and look at making some improvements on the home front. Since he loved God, it must have startled him to realise that while he sat in his lovely palace, the Ark of the Covenant sat in a tent.

By now the Ark of the Covenant contained the Ten Commandments, the budded staff of Aaron, and some manna, but it was much more than a glory box. The Ark of the Covenant was the most important holy item for all Israel and was also known as God’s throne. God sat on the Ark of the Covenant. So, where King David sat on his throne in a fine stone palace, right next door, God sat on his throne in a tent.

So David, like many people of faith, wanted to do something for God. He knew all the other gods of his enemies he had defeated had their own grand temples. Many considered that the bigger the temple, then the bigger and more powerful the god was. But if this is the case, then what would other people say about his God who resided in a tent? Perhaps all his enemies would laugh or tease them because their God was only powerful enough to sit in a worn-out tent!

David figured this wasn’t right, so he told the prophet Nathan he was planning to build a grand temple for God.

At first Nathan agreed, perhaps thinking this sounded like a good idea, but that night God told him otherwise. David won’t build a house for God, but God will build a house for David. This ‘house’ isn’t so much to be understood as a physical building, but a lasting dynasty for David.

You see, David, although well intentioned, had got it wrong. It wasn’t about what David did for God, but it was about what God does for David.

I wonder if we do the same sometimes?

Take for example our Christmas celebrations. If we think Christmas is only what we make it, then we’ve got it all wrong.

All the while when we busy ourselves with so many preparations we may end up with the wrong focus. Instead of receiving Christmas as a gift from God, we might think of it as an annoyingly busy time of frantic shopping and cooking and giving people what they want. Instead of meditating on the holy child born for us, we’re distracted by trees and lights and tinsel and food and shopping lists and all our other preparations.

Now of course there are many things to do, but Christmas is about receiving the glorious story of God coming into our weary world. It’s about receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. It’s about receiving his peace and joy rather than manufacturing our own. It’s about receiving his saving gifts through his holy Word, his cleansing and adoption through holy baptism, and his forgiveness and fellowship through his holy Supper.

This is what Mary did in today’s gospel reading. She knew that by herself this remarkable promise couldn’t be completed. It was impossible for her, but with God all things are possible.

In the end she received this announcement from the angel as a gift. Life wasn’t what she made it but what she received from God. So she trusted God by saying, ‘may it be as you have said’. She received God’s Son into her womb as a gift through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Mary bore Jesus in her womb and gave birth to him, God’s promise to build a house, or rather, a dynasty for David, was ultimately fulfilled.

But even our own worship of God might end up having the wrong focus. Do you consider worship as something you do or make for yourself or God, or is worship instead something you receive as a gift from God? Is it a hassle to come to church and go through the pietistic motions, or is it like opening a gift from God every week? In other words, is your worship something you do for God, or is it God doing something for you?

Would your view of worship change if you heard God say through his messengers, “Well, I know you came here to do something for me. You want to make me happy. You want to praise me and be faithful to me, but let me instead do something for you. I want you to sit back and receive my gifts – the gift of my spirit-filled Word, the gift of my forgiveness and love, the gift of my faithful presence with you at all times, and the gift of my faith-sustaining sacraments.”

Now I know we have a nice building for worship. But do you realise God is just as magnificent and awesome here as he is in a tent? Although helpful, the building isn’t important. What God does in and among us is important.

We can’t make God any greater than he is, no matter how grand our building, how up to date our technology is, or how impressive our musicians are. Worship isn’t really about us doing things for God, but about what God does for us. Worship is about receiving God’s gifts.

Even your faith isn’t about what you do, but about what you receive. Many people ask, ‘what must I do to be saved?’ or even ask ‘what would Jesus do’. But it’s not about doing – it’s about receiving!

You don’t make your salvation, you don’t earn God’s pleasure, and you don’t manufacture your faith, but you receive all these things as a free and undeserving gift. St Paul says in Ephesians 2:8 ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.’

You can’t even make yourselves into the people God wants you to be, but you receive his shaping, his pruning, and his growth. The Holy Spirit instructs you and sculpts you into the image of Christ, most of the time without your input. In this way, your tough times, your busy times, your lonely times, your desperate times, and your joyful times are all given to you as gifts to shape you and your faith. Even the events of this year, while disrupting and disturbing for many, are gifts from God to teach you about what’s really important. It’s not so much about you and what you want to do with your life, but about how you receive all things, including the tough things, from God through faith.

King David received a promise he didn’t ask for. Young Mary received a promise she didn’t ask for. They may not have made their life the way they wanted it to turn out, but they received these promises from God through faith. Their life, and our own lives, have been changed as a result of what they received from God.

Similarly, we also receive the Christ-child as the angel promised, the one who would ‘be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David’ (Lk 1:32).

We receive Christ as the still reigning successor of David, and as the final ruler of the House of David. We trust that his kingdom is far greater than that of his ancestor. We receive and trust the promise that through baptism, we have been grafted into Christ and his kingdom.

We receive the promise that all those who believe and are baptized are saved. After all, we’ve been grafted into the royal line of David through our baptism into Christ. Through faith we receive all the benefits of his royal words and work from his birth, obedience, suffering, death and resurrection.

As children in his royal household, we receive the forgiveness of all of our sins through faith in Jesus Christ. We receive Christ’s own righteousness. We receive peace and fellowship with himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. We receive his guidance during our earthly lives as we’re led by our Good Shepherd. Even after our time in this world is finished, we trust we’ve already been received by Christ into his everlasting kingdom of heaven.

It doesn’t matter what type of year you’ve had, because you still get to receive all these heavenly gifts through faith. No virus or earthly restrictions can muck up what God gives you through faith. God keeps his promises and remains faithful to you.

Life isn’t always what you make it, but it’s about what you receive and how you receive it as you trust in our God who loves us so much he sent his dearly beloved Son into our troubled world for you and me.

So this Christmas, sit back and receive whatever God may give you in order to help you grow in faith and discipleship. Receive God’s promises and trust in them. Receive Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of God’s promise to David. Receive Jesus, the Son of David and the Son of God as your eternal Lord and Saviour.

Receive the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, so that it will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 (EHV)

¹ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the afflicted.
He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release for those who are bound,
²     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance for our God,
    to comfort all who mourn,
³     to provide for those who mourn in Zion,
    to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
    the oil of joy instead of mourning,
    a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit,
    so that they will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.

⁴ Then they will rebuild ancient ruins.
They will raise up what was formerly devastated,
and they will renew ruined cities,
    which have been devastated for generations.
⁸ Yes, I am the Lord. I love justice.
I hate robbery in a burnt offering.
I will repay them in faithfulness,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their offspring will be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
    that they are offspring whom the Lord has blessed.
¹⁰ I will rejoice greatly in the Lord.
My soul will celebrate because of my God,
for he has clothed me in garments of salvation.
With a robe of righteousness he covered me,
like a bridegroom who wears a beautiful headdress like a priest,
and like a bride who adorns herself with her jewelry.

¹¹ For as the earth produces its growth,
and as a garden causes what has been sown to sprout up,
so God the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up
    in the presence of all the nations.

Dear Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit upon us so that we rejoice at the coming of the One on whom the Spirit rests: our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

No-one wants to be a loser. Losing means defeat, which leads to devastation and broken heartedness.

But, if everyone’s trying to be a winner, then there’s always going to be losers. In fact, even the winners may also become the true losers.

For example, imagine a husband and wife having an argument. Both are trying to win the argument because each of them are trying to get their own way. Each of them think they alone are right and the other is wrong. Each of them will try to impose their own will and rule and opinion over the other.

We do this because our own selfish nature wants to be more important, more valuable, more right, more intelligent, more influential, or more powerful than everyone else. It’s not our normal nature to be humble, or gracious, or submissive, or to serve others. Spiritually, our selfish nature wants us to become our own god where the world and everyone in it should obey us and bow to our own wants and desires.

Our self-centredness results in us not being able to correctly assess our own words, action, or motives. This means it doesn’t matter if we’re truly on the good and right side, because even if we’re wise and correct in our thinking and desires, we often want to be so influential that we’ll often use sinful methods to force our will and opinion onto others. We want to win at all costs, even at the cost of truth and decency and love. We’ll want to win, even at the cost of our relationships.

So, let’s say for example the wife wins this argument. She may now think of herself as the winner, but what has she won and lost in the process of winning?

In this case, she may have got her way, but she’s also broken the spirit of her husband who no longer wishes to serve her out of love and faithfulness, but out of fear and resentment. Their relationship may now be strained and no longer functions as harmoniously and as graciously it should. Therefore, even though she might think she’s won the argument and got her way, both people became losers because their relationship is now strained.

This game of winning and losing is played out in every marriage, every family, every friendship, every workplace, every congregation, and every community.

While much of the ‘winning’ and ‘losing’ may be subtle and might seem easy to dismiss or get over (at least that’s what we attempt to fool ourselves into thinking), the scars of winning and losing is highlighted in Isaiah’s words about all those who are ultimately labelled as losers: the poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, the prisoners, the grieving, and all those with a faint spirit of timidity and fear.

As you consider your own life and relationships, and as you think back on how you’ve either won, or attempted to win, your arguments and discussions with those around you, do you come here today as a winner? As you consider your relationships within this congregation and across the parish, do you consider yourself as someone who’s won your arguments, got the better over other people, and feel vindicated by your words and actions? And if so, what have you lost in the process of winning?

Or do you come here as a loser? What or whom have you lost? What pain and heartache over strained relationships do you currently bear? How have you been broken or crushed or scarred? Who do you now struggle to love and forgive because of the pain and heartache you carry?

In this case, who will rescue and heal you from your loss? Who will serve as the one who brings the good news of reconciliation, wholeness, restoration, and peace to you? For any loser, surely the one who brings such a miracle of life and hope and peace to all of the losers of the world would be so valuable, that no-one would be worthy to untie this person’s sandals!

Well, for starters the person longed-for in this ancient word from Scripture could be the prophet Isaiah himself who brings hope and comfort to the exiles of Israel who were longing to be restored to their own nation and worship in the Temple at Jerusalem. The good news of their restoration would lift their flagging spirits and give them hope of their reconciliation with God, his holy land, and the intimacy of worshipping him in the Temple once more.

On the other hand, the one on whom the Spirit rests could also be referring to the restored nation of Israel itself who was chosen by God through Abraham to be a blessing to all nations, as surely any nation or community who would bring such good news of reconciliation and peace to a troubled and conflicted world could only be one led by the Spirit of God.

But, as Christians who long to hear what Jesus is doing in your life, you should know that ultimately, Scripture provides its own answer when St Luke records Jesus entering the synagogue in Nazareth to read from these very verses written on the scroll of Isaiah, and then says: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-21)

So, while Isaiah and the nation of Israel could be the one referred to, this text find its definitive identity in the person of Jesus Christ; who is the One on whom the Spirit of God rests. He is the One who is anointed to proclaim the good news to all you poor losers.

Jesus Christ is the One who has been sent to bandage your broken hearts. He is the One who proclaims amnesty for any of you who are captive to sin and fear and pain. He is the One who proclaims the year of grace and jubilee to you through his forgiveness. He is the One who brings comfort to any of you who are grieving.

As the anointed One of God, Jesus is authorised to tell you the good news that you’ve been forgiven, cleansed, made whole, restored, and reconciled with your God – not because he won any battle or argument over you (which would only cause you more pain), but he tells you this heavenly good news comes at the cost of his own losing for your sake.

Where everyone else wants to win and make you a loser, Jesus became the ultimate loser by willingly giving up his life for you so that you would win the prize of righteousness, salvation, and peace. You become the winner through his loss, and you receive all his love, mercy, grace, and blessing, simply through believing his words of promise.

This means when you were baptised and believed in Jesus, you received all the benefits of Christ’s obedience, suffering, death and resurrection through faith. You’re no longer a loser who is isolated and beaten and defeated. You’ve been welcomed into the royal family of God with all the heavenly benefits!

It also means, whenever you receive the broken body of your Lord into your mouth, and drink his innocent blood, peace and wholeness become yours through faith.

In this way there are no losers here. You become victorious over sin, death, and the devil, and are healed from all your scars, by trusting the words of your Lord and Saviour. You no longer need to fear any more loss, because what you have received through faith can’t be taken away from you. Through faith you receive forgiveness for all of your sins, reconciliation with God himself, and life eternal where you’ll get to see the fullness of what Christ has won for you: your full reconciliation and restoration to God.

But there’s a twist you may not have seen coming.

Here, as you receive and trust the good news of your Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and as you receive the promised Holy Spirit, you also become one of those whom this precious text of Scripture speaks.

You see, you may come here as losers, but through faith you leave this place as restored winners. As you go from here, you’re sent by the Spirit into this broken and hurting world; not to get your own back or punish all those who attempt to win their little games of one-upmanship, but you go to them as a restored loser to proclaim the same good news of hope and peace and wholeness to them.

As forgiven and restored people of God through faith in your Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the Lord now also rests on you. Like Christ himself, you don’t attempt to win any arguments or play as God’s police force in the world, but you instead reflect the love and light of God to a hurting and bewildered world.

You’re sent out by God to your family and those around you, not to point to yourself as anyone special, but to point to Jesus, who is their only true hope and peace and life. The Holy Christian Church therefore, as a community of people who gather to be made whole and holy by Christ, is the messenger of forgiveness, grace, and love to a world filled with losers.

As those filled with the Spirit of Jesus (who was willing to lose for your sake), you’re also content to lose, because even if you lose, no-one can take away what you’ve won through faith in Jesus. Since you’ve already received the victory prize of what Jesus has done for you, nothing and no-one can take these heavenly blessings from you, no matter how much else you lose in this life.

This means your conversations after worship, and your conversations with people through the week, would change as you no longer need to win, but you instead look for opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who are hurting or struggling or losing.

Therefore, as holy and loved children of God who have received such good news which believes you’ve been healed and restored to wholeness and life through faith in Jesus, is it possible you could also say:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.”?

Then may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 25:31-46 (ESV) 

Jesus said: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Dear heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit on us so that we might help and serve those in need around us and so also serve our King, Jesus Christ. Amen.

As good little Lutherans, we’ve all been taught we’re saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. We’re not saved by our good works because we’ll never be good enough. Only Christ is good enough. Only Christ brings us peace with God the Father. We believe this.

But at first glance, what Jesus says to us today seems to challenge our thinking a bit. We seem to hear that on that great and glorious Day of the Lord when we stand in front of our God in judgment, we’re going to be split up into two teams. These two teams won’t compete against each other to see who wins, because the result has already been decided.

The ones selected for the winning team will inherit the kingdom of God with all the eternal benefits, which has been prepared for them since the foundation of the universe. You want to be part of that team because the other team of losers will enter the eternal fire of hell, which has been prepared for the devil and all his angels.

So, for the members of these two teams, it’s entry into heaven or hell. You’ll either be blessed or cursed. That’s the choice, but it’s not your choice. God chooses. By this time the result is already decided and you can’t appeal his decision.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re already asking: ‘How do I know which team I’m going to be on?’

Well, according to Jesus, it seems to be based on your good works. In other words, all those who do good things like feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison, and so on, well, they’re in. They go to heaven.

But if you’re not merciful and gracious enough because you don’t do these things, then it seems you’re out! It’s hell for you!

So, how many of you are confident you’re going to heaven based purely on being a good, merciful and gracious person who willingly and regularly gives food to the hungry, supplies glasses of water to the thirsty, welcomes strangers into your homes, clothes naked people, visits the sick, and goes to see those in prison?

I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re starting to have some doubts!

It then seems the greatest and most unforgivable sin Jesus mentions here is inaction! This means, if you don’t help or serve those in need around you, if you don’t show mercy to the homeless and depressed, if you don’t welcome people into your homes, or if you don’t visit criminals in their prisons, then you’re in deep trouble!

For this reason, this text has the power to make us very worried! After all, how many times have we not acted when we should have? How many times have we made a conscious decision not to help, or serve, or provide, or give, or visit, or bless?

When you and I don’t serve the down and out in these ways, do we hope it’s someone else’s job to feed them, give them a drink, donate to that appeal, or visit them? Do you think it’s only the pastor’s job or the elder’s job to visit the shut in and help the needy? Maybe you think you don’t know how to help which you hope will justify your inaction.

In this case, when you stand in front of Jesus, how do you think he’ll answer you when you say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, but I thought so-and-so was supposed to do that!’?

Jesus is saying your acts of grace and mercy to other people aren’t optional extras, but they’re essential – in fact it seems your salvation is totally dependent on it!

Well, so far it sounds as if all of us who don’t perform these acts of mercy aren’t going to heaven!

But if this is really the case, then it seems faith in Jesus isn’t essential anymore! It seems we’re saved by doing good works! Isn’t this a little different to what we’ve been taught as good little Lutherans? I mean, as mentioned earlier, haven’t we all been taught we’re saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone and not by what we do or don’t do? Have we got it all wrong?

Well, no, we haven’t got it wrong, because there’s something else strange and unexpected in this text.

You see, the ‘blessed ones’ on the team going to heaven didn’t even know they were helping Jesus!

For them it was no surprise Jesus expected them to feed the hungry, provide drinks to the thirsty, welcome strangers, cover the naked with clothing, and visit the sick and those in prison, because they did these things naturally anyway. But what surprised them was that when they did any of these things to those who most people look down on, no matter what the person looked like or how they acted, they were doing it to Jesus himself!

So here Jesus tells us he fully identifies himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the foreigner, the naked, the sick and those in prison; so much so, that when you provide for these people’s basic needs, you’re doing it for Jesus himself!

This is because Jesus doesn’t abandon those who don’t have basic needs, but is there with them in their hunger, in their thirst, in their sicknesses, and in prison with them.

And we thought Jesus is only present in churches! Imagine going to prison and seeing Jesus there! Imagine seeing a homeless person sleeping under a bridge, and that’s where Jesus is! Imagine caring for someone sick in bed, and that person is Jesus.

Now, this doesn’t mean you do these things just because you know you’re doing it for Jesus, but because you’re naturally merciful to all people.

It works like this: for those who believe in Jesus, helping the needy isn’t an optional extra, but a natural part of their life of faith.

To make it plain: Good works won’t save you and get you into heaven. Jesus is the one who forgives you. Jesus alone saves you. So yes, you’re saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone. But what Jesus is saying here is this gift of grace to have faith in Christ alone doesn’t come alone.

You see, the more you’re exposed to the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God and his holy Sacraments, the more you receive Christ’s nature. The more of Christ’s nature you receive, then the more naturally you care for the needy because Jesus identifies and cares for the needy.

So, although faith in Jesus isn’t mentioned, it’s implied because:

Only those who have received the grace of God will become gracious people.

Only those fed and nourished by God will feed and nourish others.

Only those visited by God will visit other people.

Only those healed through the blood of Jesus will visit and care for those who are still sick.

Only those clothed by the righteousness of Christ will seek to cover up other people’s shame by clothing them.

Only those who have been freed from the prisons of hate and fear and guilt will go to visit those in prison.

In other words, Christ-centred people will naturally become needy-centred people. It almost goes without saying then: self-centred people will naturally ignore the needy.

But notice you don’t have to heal people or release them from prison, and so on, but simply supply their basic human needs – a meal, a drink, clothing, a welcome, and a visit. Big miracles aren’t happening, but little ministries of grace and mercy are happening. Even when we have restrictions placed on us on how we interact with each other, those who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, will also love their neighbours, and show it in real, tangible actions.

So Jesus isn’t expecting you to provide a miracle cure, or a magical answer to take all their cares away, or the perfect words to make them feel better, or for you to make things right, but you just help them as you’re able. Therefore, this is something all of you can do, no matter how young or old or able bodied you are!

Strangely, it seems as you attend to the needs of others, you’re also attending to your own salvation. Notice this doesn’t mean you’re saved by your good works. Again, to make it clear, you’re saved through faith in Jesus Christ alone! But the result of having faith in Christ is your faithful service to people around you, such as the infirm, the lonely, the misunderstood, those in nursing homes, the foreigner, the outcast, the unborn, the criminal, and so on.

This is because the fruit of your faith is shown – not through your holier-than-thou attitudes or long-winded sermons or prayers, but through your actions. Jesus expects good fruit to be produced on a good tree; and good fruit will naturally be produced on every tree firmly rooted in Christ alone, whose very own merciful nature is communicated through his holy Words and blessed Sacraments. Those who don’t produce these good fruit simply aren’t firmly rooted in Christ.

As you look to Jesus and trust all he does for you, the Holy Spirit is equipping you for works of service which doesn’t ignore the needs of those around you, but moves you to action – to feed the hungry, provide a drink to the thirsty, welcome the alien or stranger, clothe those not adequately dressed, and visit those who are sick or who feel imprisoned.

Yes, some of them may be a real pain in the neck, but as you choose not to ignore their needs and do these things Jesus talks about, you may be surprised to find you’re feeding and helping Jesus himself.

Then you’ll be surprised to hear those most welcome words of Jesus who tells you to ‘come into the kingdom of heaven which has been prepared for you since the foundation of the universe.’

Which is why the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 25:14-30 (EHV)

Jesus said: ¹⁴ “You see, the kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey. He called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to still another one talent, each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The servant who had received the five talents immediately put them to work and gained five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same way, the servant who had received the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who had received one talent went away, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The servant who received the five talents came and brought five more talents. He said, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’

²¹ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’

²² “The servant who received the two talents came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more talents.’

²³ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴ “Then the servant who received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter seed. ²⁵ Since I was afraid, I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “His master answered him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers so that when I came I would get my money back with interest. ²⁸ Take the talent away from him and give it to the servant who has the ten talents. ²⁹ Because everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ³⁰ Throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Dear heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit on us so we may make the best use of what you have given us through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

When reading or listening to Scripture, it can be helpful to take note of patterns and repetition. It can be helpful because it usually teaches us something important about ourselves or about God.

Similarly, it’s also helpful to take special note when a pattern or repetition is broken. It often points to something God is about to do which is unexpected.

For example, in Genesis we hear how God creates all things in an orderly fashion. As God creates all things, we keep hearing the pattern: “there was evening and there was morning, the first day; …there was evening and there was morning, the second day; …and so on. The pattern is established. We count off one, two, three, four, five, six, …and then God rests. It’s unexpected. It makes us take note. God did something important in his daily pattern, but then does something new on the seventh day. God creates something new by resting. The seventh day is therefore a holy one, a day of rest. The seventh day remains holy because the break in pattern sets a new pattern for us to receive and rest in.

Similarly, in Genesis chapter eleven, we have one of those lists of descendants which we often want to glance over. “So-and-so lived so many years before having what’s-his-name as a son. He had other sons and daughters and lived for this number of years. What’s-his-name lived so many years before having Who’s-ama-call-it” …and so on. They’re all fertile. They all have children. That is …until Abram. The problem is his wife Sarai is barren. They have no children. There’s no hope of furthering his line. The break in pattern makes us take note. Something important is about to happen. Then God steps in and acts. In chapter twelve, God calls Abram and gives him a promise which would eventually lead to the birth of the Israelites and the promised Messiah in Jesus Christ.

Jesus uses a similar trick when he tells his parables. He sets a pattern, and then breaks the pattern to make us take note. Something important is happening which will teach us about our own nature and the nature of God.

For instance, in today’s parable Jesus gives us another glimpse of what the kingdom of heaven is like by telling us about a man going on a journey. Before going on his journey, he hands everything he owns into the hands of three workers – each being given a portion in keeping with their ability. It also seems he didn’t even tell them what to do with it. He went away and they were to look after their master’s belongings.

Then comes the pattern.

The one who was looking after the equivalent of 100 years-worth of wages earns another 100.

The one who was looking after the equivalent of 40 years-worth of wages earns another 40.

The one who was looking after the equivalent of 20 years-worth of wages …buries it in a hole.

The break in pattern teaches us to take note. Something’s wrong with the third worker. He’s been given the task of looking after someone else’s property, but he seems to want nothing to do with it. He could have placed it in a bank where it could have at least earnt some interest (however little we would get these days), but he doesn’t even do this. Instead, he hides it in the ground. So, even though has the ability to make the property double in return like the others (since he was given as much as his ability could handle), he attempts to absolve himself of all responsibility.

The eager disciple of Jesus would now be straining to listen to what comes next. Something’s about to happen! God is at work here and we want to hear what he does!

Again, Jesus establishes another pattern when he tells us what happened when the master came back to settle accounts after being away for a long time.

The first worker brings the doubled amount to his master. The master congratulates the good and faithful servant who’s demonstrated he’s ready to serve with even greater responsibly. He enters the joy of his master.

The second worker brings the doubled amount to his master. The master congratulates the good and faithful servant who’s demonstrated he’s ready to serve with even greater responsibly. He enters the joy of his master.

The third worker comes…and now we find out why he didn’t want anything to do with what his master gave him to look after. There is indeed something wrong with the worker!

The third worker has somehow come up with the conclusion that his master is a hard, cruel and merciless man. He accuses his master of unfairly reaping and sowing what he hasn’t planted. As a result of his own view of the master, he was afraid.

This means his fear drove his words and actions. His fear made him think he was justified in hiding from both his ability and his responsibility. His fear stopped him from entering the joy of his master. His fear resulted in the master only receiving back what he first entrusted to the worker.

As a result, the worker was judged by his own words.

Despite the fact the master had demonstrated his generous and trusting nature (which is his true nature), the third worker’s worst fears and presumptions would be realized. His actions and words had revealed his fearful and selfish heart. He’s demonstrated he’s not ready to serve with any responsibility at all. He was judged by the master to be morally and socially worthless and his fear had made him hesitant and lazy. He won’t enter into the joy of his master, but would instead be placed in the outer cold and darkness where he will weep and gnash his teeth.

Here Jesus gives us this striking and shocking picture of what the kingdom of heaven is like to make us take note and learn carefully. The patterns, and subsequent break in pattern, teach us something important about ourselves and about God.

Therefore, as a Christian who has undeservedly received many things from God, including the love and service of our Triune God, are there times you wish to avoid loving or serving your neighbours, including the difficult ones? Are there times you hide the glory of God and what he does for you from others? Are there times when you attempt to ‘bury your head in the sand’ and ignore your part in passing on the peace and forgiveness of God to troubled people around you? Are there times you wish to cut yourself off from the world and avoid your own responsibility to forgive or pray for those who hurt you? Are there times when you receive the generous and gracious gifts of God but think you’re not expected to pass on the same grace and mercy to those you struggle with?

Similarly, how have your own selfish presumptions turned into self-fulfilling prophecies? How have your own assumptions about others restricted the way you love and serve? How have your own judgmental presumptions affected your relationship with others?

How have your fears restricted you from loving and serving? How have your fears blocked you from experiencing joyful obedience and faithfulness? How have your fears altered the way you look at those around you? How have your fears altered the way you see God? Like the third worker, how have your own fears become your lord and master who controls, cripples, and entombs you?

Now, this doesn’t mean our motivation for love and service as Christians should be because we’re afraid of being cast aside by an angry or vindictive God to weep and gnash our teeth. You see, this isn’t how the other workers saw their lord and master. They saw his true nature which loves to give.

The master in the parable is a giver. He intimately knew each worker and their abilities. He generously gave them what was his, entrusting his kingdom and future and reputation into his servant’s hands.

The first two workers simply did what they were able to do; and did so willingly. They put their master’s gifts to work and saw them multiply. The master then gave them even more.

But how much more generous and merciful is our giving and forgiving God!

God graciously gave you life and health and family and home and abilities and senses and community. He daily and abundantly gives you all that you need – in fact, he gives you enough to share with those around you. You share and care, not because you’re burdened by fear, but because this is how people loved and served by God love and serve our neighbours.

Yet, even though you prove to be selfish and unfaithful and fearful, God continues to give. He gave you his own dearly beloved Son. Instead of you being cast out, Jesus was the One cast out in your place to experience the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus, forsaken by his Father and rejected by his own people, didn’t moan and groan about experiencing a cruel and merciless God, but still kept on giving by caring for his mother and his disciples. He remained faithful to the task at hand for your sake. He granted paradise to a thief and prayed from the cross: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do!”

And the giving didn’t stop there!

Through faith God grants you adoption as children of God who belong to the kingdom of heaven through the waters of baptism. Through faith you believe the promise of life eternal in his kingdom. Through faith God gives you the innocent body and blood of his holy and precious Son for the forgiveness of your sins. Through faith you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit so you may learn to love and give and forgive and care for your neighbours as God first loves you.

You see, there’s a pattern and repetition present throughout the whole of Scripture. There’s the repeated pattern of our disobedience and selfishness and fear and death. There’s also the repeated pattern of our Lord’s generous and merciful nature who sent his Son into this world to suffer and die for you and me. Even when the patterns are broken and our attention is drawn to what happens next, we see God at work.

When the patterns and repetitions of our own sinful thoughts, words and behaviours are broken by the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, God is at work in you and me. By the power of the Holy Spirit we too may not bury or hide God’s forgiveness, but freely forgive those around us.

By the grace of God, and through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, you and I have been rescued from slavery to fear, sin, the devil, and death. Through faith we’re free to love and forgive and serve as we’re able, no matter what our age or abilities are. Through faith we look forward to entering the joy of our master, which is why…

…the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.