SUNDAY SERMON FOR JANUARY 2014 Epiphany 3 January 26, 2014 Mt. 4:12Epiphany 3 January 26, 2014 Mt. 4:12-25 The Gentiles living in darkness have seen a great light v. 16 Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men v. 19 Jesus was healing every disease and illness among the people v.23 Those are the three key themes in today’s gospel: 1) those living in darkness have seen a great light; 2) Jesus’ call: come follow me; 3) He healed every disease and illness. However, everything depends upon the first theme: those living in darkness have seen a great light, the salvation in Christ, the Light of the world. Jesus was Light in darkness because brought a tremendous, vitalizing hope. That hope in the light of Christ was foretold by Isaiah. Let’s begin by looking more closely at the first lesson from Isaiah 9:1-7. Isaiah wrote in a time just after the Assyrian army had conquered Galilee, pillaging villages and murdering God’s people. Then the Assyrians tore them away from their homes and carried them off to live as captives in foreign lands. This was the beginning of dark times for Israel. In the face of the dark despair that had fallen upon Israel by this first onslaught, Isaiah brought God’s Word of hope. Isaiah expressed this hope in past tense as if it had already happened. God carried Isaiah forward passed his own bleak days to see a future when victory has already been won. Isaiah painted the picture of a future when Israel would stand victorious on a battle field and gather up the spoils of war. At this moment of victory, the people are absolutely exultant, overjoyed, full of rapture at having won the battle, a day they had longed for for centuries. Isaiah encouraged his people, “Picture yourselves gathering up the spoils of war after defeating your worst enemies. Picture yourselves enjoying victory. That is your future.” Isaiah painted a picture of hope for his people who has just been defeated and devastated. Listen again to Isaiah’s words of hope: “They rejoice as people rejoicing in the harvest as men rejoice when dividing the plunder… they have shattered the yoke that burdens them The bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressors has been broken.” Isaiah tells defeated and hopeless Israel, “You will burn the blood soaked garments of your enemies. You will destroy their tramping, military boots in fire.” This is good news; Isaiah is proclaiming the gospel. The word gospel originated outside the New Testament. When an army defeated its enemies, a messenger was sent back to the city with the gospel, the good news, that their army had won the battle. Isaiah is definitely proclaiming gospel, the good news that on a future day God will finally defeat all enemies and gain the victory. And how will all this great day of victory come about? Isaiah answers with this hope: “For to us a child is born. To us a son is given. and the government will be on HIS shoulders.” A king will be born to Israel who will defeat all her enemies: “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor”. He will not rely on human insight or wisdom. Instead this child to be made king will offer supernatural wisdom in governing his people, NOT politics as usual. This child to be made king will be called “Mighty God”. That means “mighty warrior”, mighty general. He will be smarter in waging war and more powerful than Patton or Washington or Napoleon. This child to be made King will be called “everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. Those titles describe the nature and reality of his kingdom. This child to be made king will govern like a wise, kind, and good father. As Prince of Peace, his people will live secure in an everlasting peace. It will not be temporary or short-lived; peace will never end. What is the future was Isaiah pointing to? He was pointing forward to 700 years later AND the end of time. 700 years after Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus brought light to scatter the darkness in Galilee where God’s people had suffered defeat in Isaiah’s time. But Isaiah was also pointing to the end of time when sin and death will be destroyed in the lake of fire and we will enjoy Christ’s everlasting kingdom of peace. But the light of Christ is a message for us, too. Now, in this time I experience Jesus’ light and I am assured he loves me a sinner, when I have come to hate the sin dwelling in me and around me and yet I know Christ loves me. That is the Light of Christ in my darkness. The Light of Christ is the first of three parts of today’s gospel. Second, Jesus next called 12 disciples to follow him and become fishers of men, saving lost souls. Once we hear and believe, we are to pass it on. There was a movie you may have seen which I think was titled “Pay It Forward”. In that movie, people who have received unexpected and generous help were told they were NOT to pay back the person who helped them but Pay it Forward, by giving help to someone else in need just as they were once in need of help themselves. The 12 disciples had been forgiven and encountered the light of Christ and now they were called by Jesus to Pay It Forward and, in a sense, repay Jesus for all he had done by telling others about Christ, the Light of the world. That is how Jesus’ kingdom works: Pay It Forward. Tell others about the mercy you have been given. You and I are beggars and Christ has fed us on the riches of his grace. Now, it is our turn to tell other beggars where to find that supernatural food. That is what you and I are to be doing, Pay it Forward: share what we’ve been given. Tell other beggars where to find food. The problem with me is that I have not paid it forward to others outside the church. I continually speak of Christ to people in the church; I teach and minister to people in the church. But I have seldom “paid it forward” by telling someone outside the church about Jesus. The churches I have served have not made it their priority to welcome new people to reach out to unbelievers and I count that my failure as a pastor. I have not encouraged my churches to “pay it forward” by welcoming and inviting the unsaved to know Christ and his wonderful gifts. What about you? Have you told anyone outside this church about Jesus? Have you invited an unbeliever to come here to worship? Have we made an effort to welcome new people into our worship? Recently someone told me that when they visited this church one person really reached out to welcome them: Homer Sell. Homer saw them come in the door and he said, “Come over here and sit by me.” Who have you invited to come sit by you? Have you and I been “paying it forward” by sharing the love of Jesus we have known? Or have you and I kept Christ’s love for ourselves and not shared it? Have we been more concerned about keeping our little church comfortable for ourselves rather than making every effort to invite people to Jesus? I am learning that it is very important to provide a welcoming atmosphere for new folks by continuing to offer the contemporary service. I think we should keep our traditional 8:30 service for the sake of many of us who were raised in traditional worship. It feeds our souls. However, don’t you and I have to make an effort to really support that 2nd Service with contemporary music and a more relaxed style of worship so that people not used to worship at all can feel comfortable and welcome? By encouraging and supporting the 2nd service we are “paying it forward” so that others may know the Light of Christ in their darkness. Now, the third part of today’s gospel: Jesus healed the sick. Why did Jesus emphasize physical healing? It is not enough to just save the soul? Jesus came to save both body and soul. When God created man, body and soul, God said, “It is good”. So, when Christ came to save our lost souls, he also came to heal our sick bodies. Which part of the world has good hospitals and doctors? Those parts of the world shaped by Christianity. Buddhism and Islam didn’t develop medicine as we have but Christian countries did because Jesus came to heal. Thus we have hospitals named, Methodist Hospital, Lutheran General Hospital, St. Mary’s hospital, Baptist Hospital. Jesus healed the body and we have learned from our Lord to care for the body also. Every Sunday in worship we pray for healing for folks we know. Moreover when Jesus’ kingdom comes fully at the end of time we will be given new bodies free of sickness and death. That’s how important the healing of the body is to our Lord Jesus. These three parts: 1) Christ’s Light of in darkness – salvation; 2) the call to be fishers of men – mission; 3) and healing the sick and helping those in need – service are best represented by God coming down. Jesus’ message is symbolized by an arrow pointing down from God to human beings. The downward arrow represents what God is doing, not what we do. The victory Isaiah prophesies is all God’s doing. God comes down to us in Christ the light of the world in order to defeat our enemies, and God does it without any help from us. The second part of God’s downward action is that God leads us to be fishers of men, to tell others about God coming down to save us. We pay God’s love forward to others. Third and finally, God comes down to give us the power of his love which leads us to heal and help our neighbor. Salvation, mission, service, are all driven by God’s action to save us. The Christian life is shaped and driven by the action of God, not by what we do. The opposite of the downward arrow, God’s action is the upward arrow, representing our efforts to save ourselves. Religion is the human attempt to reach up to God and save ourselves. First, we put forth the effort to be a good person who deserves God’s love. We try to earn God’s love. Second, by trying to be a good person, we finally win God’s love. Third, by our own efforts, we become holy. This kind of religion is driven by our own efforts. The Bible presents the story of God coming down. The Bible is about what God does. The Bible’s message is the good news of God to save us. Our faith is driven by what God has done and is doing. God’s desire and will to save lost sinners is the power behind Christianity. Christianity is not driven by our efforts but by God’s love. pin darkness have seen a great light; 2) Jesus’ call: come follow me; 3) He healed every disease and illness. However, everything depends upon the first theme: those living in darkness have seen a great light, the salvation in Christ, the Light of the world. Jesus was Light in darkness because brought a tremendous, vitalizing hope. That hope in the light of Christ was foretold by Isaiah. Let’s begin by looking more closely at the first lesson from Isaiah 9:1-7. Isaiah wrote in a time just after the Assyrian army had conquered Galilee, pillaging villages and murdering God’s people. Then the Assyrians tore them away from their homes and carried them off to live as captives in foreign lands. This was the beginning of dark times for Israel. In the face of the dark despair that had fallen upon Israel by this first onslaught, Isaiah brought God’s Word of hope. Isaiah expressed this hope in past tense as if it had already happened. God carried Isaiah forward passed his own bleak days to see a future when victory has already been won. Isaiah painted the picture of a future when Israel would stand victorious on a battle field and gather up the spoils of war. At this moment of victory, the people are absolutely exultant, overjoyed, full of rapture at having won the battle, a day they had longed for for centuries. Isaiah encouraged his people, “Picture yourselves gathering up the spoils of war after defeating your worst enemies. Picture yourselves enjoying victory. That is your future.” Isaiah painted a picture of hope for his people who has just been defeated and devastated. Listen again to Isaiah’s words of hope: “They rejoice as people rejoicing in the harvest as men rejoice when dividing the plunder… they have shattered the yoke that burdens them The bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressors has been broken.” Isaiah tells defeated and hopeless Israel, “You will burn the blood soaked garments of your enemies. You will destroy their tramping, military boots in fire.” This is good news; Isaiah is proclaiming the gospel. The word gospel originated outside the New Testament. When an army defeated its enemies, a messenger was sent back to the city with the gospel, the good news, that their army had won the battle. Isaiah is definitely proclaiming gospel, the good news that on a future day God will finally defeat all enemies and gain the victory. And how will all this great day of victory come about? Isaiah answers with this hope: “For to us a child is born. To us a son is given. and the government will be on HIS shoulders.” A king will be born to Israel who will defeat all her enemies: “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor”. He will not rely on human insight or wisdom. Instead this child to be made king will offer supernatural wisdom in governing his people, NOT politics as usual. This child to be made king will be called “Mighty God”. That means “mighty warrior”, mighty general. He will be smarter in waging war and more powerful than Patton or Washington or Napoleon. This child to be made King will be called “everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. Those titles describe the nature and reality of his kingdom. This child to be made king will govern like a wise, kind, and good father. As Prince of Peace, his people will live secure in an everlasting peace. It will not be temporary or short-lived; peace will never end. What is the future was Isaiah pointing to? He was pointing forward to 700 years later AND the end of time. 700 years after Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus brought light to scatter the darkness in Galilee where God’s people had suffered defeat in Isaiah’s time. But Isaiah was also pointing to the end of time when sin and death will be destroyed in the lake of fire and we will enjoy Christ’s everlasting kingdom of peace. But the light of Christ is a message for us, too. Now, in this time I experience Jesus’ light and I am assured he loves me a sinner, when I have come to hate the sin dwelling in me and around me and yet I know Christ loves me. That is the Light of Christ in my darkness. The Light of Christ is the first of three parts of today’s gospel. Second, Jesus next called 12 disciples to follow him and become fishers of men, saving lost souls. Once we hear and believe, we are to pass it on. There was a movie you may have seen which I think was titled “Pay It Forward”. In that movie, people who have received unexpected and generous help were told they were NOT to pay back the person who helped them but Pay it Forward, by giving help to someone else in need just as they were once in need of help themselves. The 12 disciples had been forgiven and encountered the light of Christ and now they were called by Jesus to Pay It Forward and, in a sense, repay Jesus for all he had done by telling others about Christ, the Light of the world. That is how Jesus’ kingdom works: Pay It Forward. Tell others about the mercy you have been given. You and I are beggars and Christ has fed us on the riches of his grace. Now, it is our turn to tell other beggars where to find that supernatural food. That is what you and I are to be doing, Pay it Forward: share what we’ve been given. Tell other beggars where to find food. The problem with me is that I have not paid it forward to others outside the church. I continually speak of Christ to people in the church; I teach and minister to people in the church. But I have seldom “paid it forward” by telling someone outside the church about Jesus. The churches I have served have not made it their priority to welcome new people to reach out to unbelievers and I count that my failure as a pastor. I have not encouraged my churches to “pay it forward” by welcoming and inviting the unsaved to know Christ and his wonderful gifts. What about you? Have you told anyone outside this church about Jesus? Have you invited an unbeliever to come here to worship? Have we made an effort to welcome new people into our worship? Recently someone told me that when they visited this church one person really reached out to welcome them: Homer Sell. Homer saw them come in the door and he said, “Come over here and sit by me.” Who have you invited to come sit by you? Have you and I been “paying it forward” by sharing the love of Jesus we have known? Or have you and I kept Christ’s love for ourselves and not shared it? Have we been more concerned about keeping our little church comfortable for ourselves rather than making every effort to invite people to Jesus? I am learning that it is very important to provide a welcoming atmosphere for new folks by continuing to offer the contemporary service. I think we should keep our traditional 8:30 service for the sake of many of us who were raised in traditional worship. It feeds our souls. However, don’t you and I have to make an effort to really support that 2nd Service with contemporary music and a more relaxed style of worship so that people not used to worship at all can feel comfortable and welcome? By encouraging and supporting the 2nd service we are “paying it forward” so that others may know the Light of Christ in their darkness. Now, the third part of today’s gospel: Jesus healed the sick. Why did Jesus emphasize physical healing? It is not enough to just save the soul? Jesus came to save both body and soul. When God created man, body and soul, God said, “It is good”. So, when Christ came to save our lost souls, he also came to heal our sick bodies. Which part of the world has good hospitals and doctors? Those parts of the world shaped by Christianity. Buddhism and Islam didn’t develop medicine as we have but Christian countries did because Jesus came to heal. Thus we have hospitals named, Methodist Hospital, Lutheran General Hospital, St. Mary’s hospital, Baptist Hospital. Jesus healed the body and we have learned from our Lord to care for the body also. Every Sunday in worship we pray for healing for folks we know. Moreover when Jesus’ kingdom comes fully at the end of time we will be given new bodies free of sickness and death. That’s how important the healing of the body is to our Lord Jesus. These three parts: 1) Christ’s Light of in darkness – salvation; 2) the call to be fishers of men – mission; 3) and healing the sick and helping those in need – service are best represented by God coming down. Jesus’ message is symbolized by an arrow pointing down from God to human beings. The downward arrow represents what God is doing, not what we do. The victory Isaiah prophesies is all God’s doing. God comes down to us in Christ the light of the world in order to defeat our enemies, and God does it without any help from us. The second part of God’s downward action is that God leads us to be fishers of men, to tell others about God coming down to save us. We pay God’s love forward to others. Third and finally, God comes down to give us the power of his love which leads us to heal and help our neighbor. Salvation, mission, service, are all driven by God’s action to save us. The Christian life is shaped and driven by the action of God, not by what we do. The opposite of the downward arrow, God’s action is the upward arrow, representing our efforts to save ourselves. Religion is the human attempt to reach up to God and save ourselves. First, we put forth the effort to be a good person who deserves God’s love. We try to earn God’s love. Second, by trying to be a good person, we finally win God’s love. Third, by our own efforts, we become holy. This kind of religion is driven by our own efforts. The Bible presents the story of God coming down. The Bible is about what God does. The Bible’s message is the good news of God to save us. Our faith is driven by what God has done and is doing. God’s desire and will to save lost sinners is the power behind Christianity. Christianity is not driven by our efforts but by God’s love. Pastor Phil Gronbach, Interim Pastor, St. Paul Lutheran, Oregon, Illinois
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 00:05:02 +0000
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