Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday - February 19, 2012

Opening Prayer

The scripture reading for our meditation this morning is taken from our Gospel reading: "This is my beloved Son, listen to Him!"

Today, we see what I think is one of Jesus’ most glorious miracles. But Jesus didn’t perform it! God did! But we are getting ahead of our story.

Transfiguration Sunday marks the transition from the Christmas season to the Lent and Easter Season. Throughout the season of Epiphany, we have heard how Jesus was revealed as the Son of God and Messiah in His words and actions. The identity of Jesus as the Son of God is confirmed beyond a doubt in the Gospel reading today, how He was revealed in all His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. From this time on, Jesus “set His face toward Jerusalem” where He will suffer and die on our behalf, and be raised to life again. Today we rejoice in the revelation of His glory, and we set our minds on that journey which He took for us, and in our place.

The Transfiguration story we heard today is related in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The verses before the Transfiguration narrative set the tone for today’s Gospel reading. Let’s try and put ourselves in the place of the disciples. In the weeks and months before this, His disciples had seen Him change water into wine, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, exorcise demons, feed thousands of people from a couple of loaves of bread and a few fish, and walk on water. Then Matthew relates the story as follows: Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Peter saw who Jesus really was… And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then He strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ.

Jesus was not a common man or even a prophet! He confirmed to them in plain words that He was the long awaited Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God!

But He also told them not to tell anyone. Scripture says: From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

These were scary words. Jesus called Peter Satan! Do you think that He meant it? What do you suppose Peter thought when Jesus said this? I am sure that he was confused.

But Jesus did tell them, in plain words, that He would go to Jerusalem… that He would suffer many things from the religious leaders… that He would be killed and would be raised on the third day.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”

A cross? What was He saying? That’s like saying “take up your electric chair and follow me.” A cross was a means of capital punishment for criminals – it didn’t make any sense!

We have the benefit of hindsight – we know what happened. But, I am sure that they were definitely confused.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

This was a prophesy of His suffering, death and resurrection… and was hard medicine for His disciples to take… and very confusing.

Then six days later, Jesus took three of His disciples, Peter, James and John, with Him up to a high mountain… …Luke says that He went up to pray, as was His custom. Which mountain, we do not know – some think Mount Tabor, others think Mount Hermon. I don’t think it matters much – scripture is fulfilled either way. Psalm 89:12 says: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in Your name.

Then, right in front of the disciples, His appearance was changed… transformed… or as the Bible says, transfigured. Jesus became a bright, bright white. And not just Him but His clothing. There are two words here: bright and white. The various Gospels say bright like the sun and dazzling, glistening. One commentator painted this picture:

Think of a dark stormy night with large, strong, bright flashes of lightning that fill the sky – they hurt your eyes!

That bright! And whiter than the whitest white, intensely white…

This was the “God-Man”, transformed to His heavenly glory right before them.

And then…

Two men appeared and were talking with Jesus. They were bright and white, too. And they were Moses and Elijah. What a spectacular vision! And the disciples got a peek at it! They were totally awe struck! They didn’t know what to say! Peter babbled something about putting up three tents, one for Moses, one for Elijah and one for Jesus! They were scared!

Peter actually said “Lord… Rabbi… Master… it is good that we are here” And he meant it! They were in the middle of a glimpse of eternity… …Jesus in His eternal glory with these two men in their eternal glory, by the grace of God. Here, in person, was a perfect harmony – the law, the prophets and the Gospel.

We can ask, “Why did God do this?”, for Jesus did not perform this miracle. That is one of the reasons: to give the disciples… and us… a glimpse of eternal glory. And how much more glorious will the reality be when Christ Himself will be visible to all in eternal transfiguration, and not only Moses and Elijah, but all of the millions of God’s elect in their eternal likenesses will be with Him, talking with Him and praising Him eternally.

Another reason for the Transfiguration is demonstrated by what God did next. While Peter was speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them and Luke says that they were enveloped in it. And out of the cloud came the voice of the living God saying: “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.”

Peter had confessed it with words… Jesus had verified it with words… and now God the Father confirmed it with action!

“This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.”

Jesus is the Son of the Living God… the Christ… the Messiah. In all of His glory, Jesus shows that He was doing this all voluntarily… He would suffer and die out of obedience to His Father and His love for us.

“This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.”

To all of the seemingly crazy things that Jesus was saying… the Father commanded the disciples… and us… to listen to Him. This was a reassurance that all of this was according to God’s plan and for God’s glory. While the disciples still did not know what was going to happen, they did have this reassurance tucked away until the proper time. And then Jesus told them not to say anything until the proper time.

Immediately, all was as it was before. The cloud was gone, the two men were gone, and Jesus looked just like He did a little while before. They could not stay there. They had work to do, Jesus especially. They had to go back down to the valley.

We have all had “mountaintop” experiences. I have had several incredible ones, many of which I have shared with you all. We feel close to God and close to His people. We don’t want these experiences to end. But they must. God gives us these tiny little pictures of what our eternal life will be like. Some of these for me have been: 12,000 men singing praises to God at a Promise Keepers conference; The funeral for my father, that was the most incredible praise service I have ever joined in; Praying on my knees together with my wife at a marriage conference; The worship service at Christ Memorial sending us here to start this mission.

These are the “mountaintop” experiences of our lives. Some are very simple. Jesus intends that each worship service, each Christian fellowship, be little mountaintop experiences. He promises that “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.” He is with us… right here… right now. He has promised. We have a mountaintop experience right here and now, in this worship service

But we will always have to come down from the mountain… we will always have to leave this place… and go down to the valley, until we are united with Him eternally. Like Jesus and His disciples, we have work to do. God gives us a little glimpse of what it will be like in eternity with Him, through Jesus Christ. He gives us these glimpses so that we can hope and yearn for His eternity… …and so that we can share this message of hope with others.

We are called to listen to Jesus, as God commanded. Jesus said: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”

And He said: “Follow Me”

And: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

And: “Love one another… just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

And finally: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

These are Jesus’ words… Listen to Him. AMEN.

And now, may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understand, keep your hearts and your minds, through faith in Christ Jesus, until His triumphant return. AMEN.

Sermon for New Year's Day - January 1, 2012

Opening Prayer

The subject for our meditation this morning is our Gospel reading: And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

God instituted the ordinance of circumcision in Genesis and Leviticus in the first covenant: “Whoever is not circumcised shall be cut off from my people.”

Thousands… hundreds of thousands… millions of Jewish men had been circumcised under the old covenant up until today’s reading. One was different, however. We heard about Him today – the One who was to institute the new covenant. Even though an infant, Jesus submitted Himself to the ordinance of circumcision voluntarily.

Paul said in his letter to the Galatians that Jesus was… “…born under the law to redeem those under the law.” Remember, Jesus lead a perfect life under the law to be the perfect sacrifice for our salvation. This was the beginning of His life of obedience – the first drop of blood for our redemption. Christ abolished the old covenant, the old ordinance of circumcision, and replaced it with a new covenant. Then: “Whoever is not circumcised shall be cut off from my people.”

Now: “Believe and be baptized, and you will be saved”.

Jesus is our salvation!

…which leads us to the second part of our meditation this morning, the naming of Jesus. And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Can you think of all of the names of Jesus given to us in the Bible? The kids and I brainstormed yesterday and came up with a lot of them: Christ, from the Greek Christos meaning “the anointed one”; Savior; Emmanuel, from the Hebrew for “God with us”. Remember what Jesus said right before He ascended into heaven? “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”; The Word; The Son of the Father, Son of God; The Son of David; The Son of Man; Prophet, Priest, King; Messiah; Redeemer; Lord; The Second Adam; The Prince of Peace; The Lamb of God…And Jesus

Jesus comes from the Hebrew “Yeshua” or “Yahweh is Salvation” or “The Lord is Salvation” or just… “Savior”. Why did His parents, Mary and Joseph, call Him Jesus? Well, the angel told them to, for one. The angel told both of them… Mary at the annunciation and Joseph in a dream as outlined in the Gospel of Matthew. Another reason why Joseph named Him Jesus was that, in doing so, Joseph officially adopted Jesus as his own son. And the third reason was that, in doing so, he expressed a hopeful belief that Jesus was, in fact, to be the Savior of all of mankind, as the angel had said.

The name of Jesus is powerful. I did a search on the word “name” in the New Testament and found it 177 times, mostly associated with Jesus Christ. I think that you will remember most of these: “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.” We began this service this morning in the name of Jesus and, as promised, He is here, among us!

“Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” “In His name, the Gentiles hope” “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake.” “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you”

The disciples baptized in Jesus’ name. They performed miracles, cast out demons, healed people, in the name of Jesus Christ… and… “At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow”

And, according to Revelation, so it shall be.

But the simplest verse… the simplest statement… is the one that the angel made to Joseph in his dream: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

The angel declared the Gospel in a nutshell… the Good News… Jesus, the Savior of the world. AMEN

Lutheran Advent / Christmas Services

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John 1:5

Come walk with us through Advent as we recall once again the mystery of the “Word made flesh!”

Sunday 11-27-11 9am Worship with Holy Communion

Wednesday 11-30-11 7pm Evening Prayer with Advent Meditation

Sunday 12-4-11 9am Worship

Wednesday 12-7-11 7pm Evening Prayer with Advent Meditation

Sunday 12-11-11 9am Worship with Holy Communion

Wednesday 12-14-11 7pm Evening Prayer with Advent Meditation

Sunday 12-18-11 9am Worship

Wednesday 12-21-11 7pm Evening Prayer with Advent Meditation

Saturday 12-24-11 7pm Christmas Even Worship with Holy Communion

All are welcome!

Indian Valley Lutheran Church – LCMS
259 N. 2nd Street (Generations)
Souderton, PA
www.ivlc.org 215-723-1550

Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year - November 20, 2011

Opening Prayer

The text for our meditation this morning is taken from today’s Gospel reading:

“Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
…‘as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me.’”

Today is the last Sunday of the church year. This Thursday is… …Thanksgiving. Anyone know what next Sunday is? The first Sunday in Advent. And we will start midweek Advent services the Wednesday after that. Anyone remember what Advent is for? We are waiting for Jesus! And anticipating the celebration of His birth on Christmas. But, before all of that…

Is anyone interested in what’s going to happen at the end of the world… at the end of time? I think everyone is… even Jesus’ disciples! As pastor has said, the Gospel readings from the past several Sundays are taken from Jesus’ time during Holy Week after His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, right before He was to be tortured and then killed… for you and for me.

After the church leaders of the time had challenged Jesus and He spoke to them in all of those parables, He went up to the Mount of Olives with His disciples to be alone, as He so often did. He was actually staying there or near there all during Holy Week. The Mount of Olives is actually outside of the walls of Jerusalem, to the east of the temple. Its peak is 250 feet higher than the temple and had a great view of the temple and all of Jerusalem.

Jesus and the disciples were alone on the Mount of Olives and the Bible says that the disciples privately asked Jesus about the signs of His coming and the close of the age. And Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Mark 13 and Luke 21 outline Jesus’ response.

He talks about the signs of the end of the age: impersonators of Christ, wars and rumors of wars, nations and kingdoms rising against each other, famine, earthquakes, disease, suffering, torture and death. But He also said that the Gospel, the Good News, would be preached to the whole world… and then the end would come.
While all of this sounds so terrible, it is actually good news!

First, Jesus promised that we are not to be afraid or anxious about these times… He is with us to the end of this age… He will strengthen us and send others to help strengthen us. He has established His church here on earth. We are to keep watchful… wait… and watch… and serve the Lord until He returns.

In today’s Gospel reading, however, Jesus shows us the judgment on the last day. Let’s look at it again. Verse 31…

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 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. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.”

Jesus, within two days of celebrating His last Passover on earth and then, crucifixion, sets forth the glory of His final triumph. In glory… the glory of heaven… the glory of His Father… the glory which was His before the world began… before He entered into the weakness and lowliness of our human flesh… the humble Nazarene… in glory He will come, accompanied by all the angels… as His messengers and ministers and court. Through them, He will cause all the nations of the world, both Jews and Gentiles, to be assembled before Him. This day is inevitable. In Hebrews, it says:

…it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…

I hate to break the news to you but, we will all die… you… me… everyone, eventually, will die. And we won’t just go into nothingness… it doesn’t just end in nothing. Like it or not, it’s the truth. There’s no way out of it. We will all stand in judgment.

Everyone… And I don’t just mean all of us… or all of Montgomery County… or all of Pennsylvania… or all of America… I mean everyone… every nation… every race… from every time… since creation!

Does anyone know how many people are on the earth right now? Close to 7 billion. That’s a lot of people.
How many people have you ever seen in one place? I have been to big football games that had 70 or 80,000 people and that was a lot of people. And they made a lot of noise! If we took 100,000 of those full football stadiums, that would add up to about 7 billion people.
How about the Million Man March. If a million people had shown up, you would need 7,000 of those marches to make 7 billion people. But that’s just today… that’s how many people are on earth today. Rough estimates say that there may have been as many as 100 billion people that have lived on earth since creation! 100 billion people! If you would try to count them, one every second, 24 hours per day without sleeping, it would take you 317 years to count them all.

100 billion people, standing before the throne of Christ…
All nations… all races… all people… ever. Can you imagine that sight? Can you imagine the awe and excitement for those in Jesus Christ? And the shear terror of those who are not.

Then the King will divide this incredible assembly into two groups… those who believe in Him… and those who do not. It’s that simple.

Notice that there will only be two divisions on the last day; no social distinctions… no preference by rank… or wealth… and no neutral people. In one of these two groups, every person who has ever lived will find themselves… inevitably… without escape in the one case… and with no desire for escape in the other. This is the first act of the Judgment, the separation… the fixing of an impassable gulf.

The sheep are those that followed the great Shepherd, Jesus, willingly… that heard His voice… the believers.
The goats are those who were disobedient to the Gospel… the unbelievers… the hypocrites among the Christians… the entire godless world.

That is the separation… now the sentence…

“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. 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, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 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.’”
Blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, prepared for you since the foundation of the world!

It is a kingdom that we will inherit, for we will have been made kings and priests unto God! And the reason for this wonderful gift? All of these deeds that we have done? NO! It is by grace that we have been saved, through faith, and not by works so that no one can boast! It is by the grace of God, through the saving life, death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ that we are saved… that we have this inheritance. It is the reward for our faith, as shown in the ordinary, everyday deeds of kindness to our brothers and sisters here on earth… feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, showing hospitality to the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned… the outward expressions of our love for each other, flowing from the love of Jesus Christ… these are the evidence, the fruit of our faith.

That is the sentence on the righteous… now the sentence on the unrighteous…

“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. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 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.’ 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?’ 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.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

A fearful arraignment for those on the left hand of the King… Instead of the “Blessed” which they expected, they hear “Cursed”… instead of the “Come”, they hear “Depart from Me”. Notice the King does not say, “Cursed of My Father”, for they have brought the curse upon themselves. The everlasting fire was not prepared for them… for human beings… for people… but only for the devil and his angels. Those people who reject Jesus, the wicked, cannot remain with those that are righteous, through Jesus Christ. And this fire was not prepared from the beginning of the world. God does not wish the damnation of any man.
He desires that all people be saved and to come to the saving knowledge of the truth that is Jesus Christ.
These accursed people will have no one to blame but themselves; this just sentence is imposed on them by no one’s fault but their own. The lack of good works is not the problem… it’s a symptom… of the lack of faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. They have not spent their life in good works flowing from the love of Christ.
They may have done deeds which were accounted great in the sight of men… those that received headlines in the daily papers. But in the specific works of true charity… in the little deeds of service from day to day… in that life of kindness that is the natural outflow of a heart filled with faith and love toward Christ, they have been altogether deficient. Therefore all their works, even those upon which they pride themselves, are evil, because they are not of faith.

So, for the unrighteous, their doom is sealed… everlasting punishment… while the righteous, those justified through their faith in Jesus Christ, will go into everlasting life. The unrighteous, by their own will and fault, have forfeited the happiness of Christ’s love and glory for eternity… the righteous, through the grace, love and mercy of Jesus that is theirs by faith, will inherit the joys of blessing for eternity. It is just that simple… eternal life or eternal punishment. There’s not a third choice.

Those in Christ can look forward to His return, not in fear, but in excitement! We wait, not anxious about the things going on around us but in service to Christ.
Last Sunday, we talked about “talents”. Then, we were speaking of the Biblical talents as a measure of gold or silver… a talent of gold… a talent of silver… about 75 pounds. This Sunday, we are still talking about talents, but this time as the gifts given to us by God that we can share with others.

Look at the pictures on the front of the bulletin… How many prisoners do you see? The prison picture is obvious. He can’t get out and is probably there for a reason… his own fault. The homeless guy… probably an alcoholic! Serves him right… if he would just stop drinking and get a job… The little boy…

How many prisoners do you see? All are prisoners… all are victims… victims of this sinful world, death and the devil
Alcoholics, drug addicts, sex addicts, those with addiction to money… to power… violence… gangs… war…
Prisoners, surrounded by other prisoners in the same shape… whether in prison, poor, hungry, needing clothing… or surrounded by those who don’t care… Know any of these?

What about those living in the prison of darkness, out of the Light of Christ? Know any of those?

We will be held responsible for the amount of light in which we walk… Remember the parable last week? We will be held responsible for the gifts given to us…

But you know what? For those in Christ, it’s really easy…

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Open your eyes… ask the Holy Spirit to show you opportunities to demonstrate the love of Christ to others… You’ll be surprised the doors that will open to you!

Are you psyched for Thanksgiving this Thursday? Remember to thank God for the most incredible blessing! Remember to thank God for your faith! In Jesus blessed name, AMEN.

Lutheran Quote of the Day

Therefore, the saints can use them (Monastic Vows) without impiety, just as Bernard, Francis, and other holy men used them.  They used them to restrain the body, so that they might have more freedom to teach and to perform other godly offices, not that these works themselves are, by themselves, works that justify or merit eternal life.  Finally, these exercises are of the type that Paul says,"Bodily training is of some value" (1 Timothy 4:8)  It is believable  that in some places there are also currently good men, engaged in the ministry of the Word, who use these exercises without wicked opinions.  But to hold that these exercises are [justifying] services because they are counted just before God, and through which they merit eternal life, conflicts with the Gospel about the righteousness of faith.

Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII (XIII) Monastic Vows 21-22

Emperor Justinian, Christian Ruler and Confessor of Christ

 

November 14th is the day that the Church has set aside to commemorate Emperor Justinian.  The Treasury of Daily Prayer offers the following regarding Emperor Justinian.

Justinian was emperor of the East from AD 527 to 565, when the Roman Empire was in decline.  With his beautiful and capable wife, Theodora, he restored splendor and majesty to the Byzantine court.  During his reign, the empire experienced a renaissance, due in large part to his ambition, intelligence, and strong religious convictions.  Justinian also attempted to bring unity to a divided Church.  He was a champion of orthodox Christianity and sought agreement among the parties in the Christological controversies of the day as the groups disputed the relation between the divine and human nature in the person of Christ.  The Fifth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in AD 533 was held during his reign and addressed this dispute.  Justinian died in his eighties without having accomplished his desire to forge an empire that firmly Christian and orthodox.