Posted on by pastorkevinjud

Arise, Shine, Your Light Has Come

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Epiphany (Observed) 2023
January 7, 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            Are people by nature, good or evil?  Are folks naturally selfless, or selfish?  What about you?

            We would like to believe that if we were left alone to live together everything would be fine.  We would like to believe that people are, by nature, good, and that people would naturally share with each other, help each other, and love each other. 

            This is some of the foundation behind the ideas of communism.  What a wonderful place this world would be if everyone worked together for the common good. Each person contributes according to their ability and everyone shares equally in the fruits of the labor; a worker’s paradise. 

            But there is a flaw in the system.  Communist governments have to maintain brutal control over the people and ruthlessly squash any dissent.  It turns out that collective farms and factories do not produce as much as individually owned farms and factories.  What is the problem?

            Children sometimes fantasize about how great it would be if kids ran everything; families, schools and government.  Everything would all be better if there were no adults around with their stupid rules and discipline.  William Golding wrote a book about this, it’s called “Lord of the Flies.” For those who haven’t read it yet, Golding portrays self-government among British school boys.  It does not go well. 

            We want freedom to just do what we want to do. But is that really a good idea? What would the world look like if you just did what you wanted?  I don’t want to get up and go to school.  I don’t want to brush my teeth.  I am going to drive as fast as I want.  I want money and you have some, so I will take it.  I don’t want to be tied down to one woman.  I don’t want to take care of my kids.  I just want to get drunk and forget about life.  I want… I want…

            What would your life be like if you simply let your desires rule?  You can see what happens because there are plenty of examples all around you.  You see the disastrous consequences.  You see how terrible this is in your own life and in the lives of those around you.  You see the destruction of families.  You see people self-destruct as they ignore all the warnings.  You watch lives fall apart because of selfishness. 

You really, really want to believe that people are, by nature, good, but you know this is not true.  You just confessed that youare… by nature…sinful and unclean.

Your heart is darkened by the sin of selfishness from which flows all other sins and this is not just you, it is a universal problem.  It is a selfish world, and a selfish world is a dark world and this is the world you live in.  This is the world into which Jesus arrives as that baby born in Bethlehem.  Jesus, the Light, comes into a dark, selfish world and this is the Good News for all eternity.  “Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”  Jesus is the light of the world.  He comes to bring the Good News of the Reign of Heaven.  He is the light that illuminates the darkness.  He is the glory of the Lord and yet it is a hidden light, a hidden glory.  The baby Jesus is the light of the world and yet veiled in flesh the Godhead see.  Peter, James and John see the glory of God burst through only for a moment on the Mount of Transfiguration, otherwise the Light, hidden as it is in the body of Jesus, needs to be revealed.  Just as the light was hidden in the flesh of baby Jesus, the light is now hidden in the Word of God, hidden in the waters of Baptism, hidden in the bread and wine of Holy Communion.  The light is here with us, but it is hidden for now and needs to be revealed. 

            The light is revealed to the shepherds in the field by one angel and then by an army of angels.  The light is revealed to the Magi from the east by a star guiding them to the child.  The Magi come seeking the one born king of the Jews.  The star reveals the Light of the world to these unlikely people from the east who journey to find and worship the newborn king. 

            But even with the bright star in the sky showing the way to the Light, the inky darkness of selfish sin hovers about.  Herod tries to use the Magi to find the Christ so he can kill the newborn King.  Herod wants to snuff out the Light because he fears that the Light will impinge on his own power.  There is power in darkness and dark power brings increasing evil. 

We look at Herod and see him as a notorious villain for wanting to snuff out the Light; but Herod is not unique.  “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” People still want to snuff out the light of Christ because they worry that the Light will reduce their own power, their autonomy; their control, their selfish pursuit of doing what they want to do, not caring about others. 

The darkness hates the light and tries to snuff it out by forbidding people to reveal the Light to others.  For 2,000 years and still today, Christians are imprisoned and beaten and executed for being the light of Christ.  In North Korea you can be executed for possessing a Bible and your family will be thrown in prison.  The darkness hates the light. 

The darkness denies that the Light has come into the world.  The darkness pretends that the Light is a tamer, more palatable, less offensive light that plays well with the darkness.  But true light will not mix with darkness. 

            Darkness distracts you so you ignore the Light.  Darkness wants you to not hear about the Light, not read about the Light, not speak about the Light, not pray to the Light, not gather to worship the Light.  Darkness wants you to get so busy with things of this world that you just ignore the Light. The darkness goes after individuals to get them to reject the light because the darkness cannot extinguish the Light of the world.

            As Herod found out, even as his sword dripped with the blood of Bethlehem’s baby boys, the Light cannot be overcome.  The Light has come into the world and the revelation of this Light, the Epiphany of the Light, the understanding of the Light, continues even to this day as news of the light of Christ is proclaimed in this dark world from pulpits and lecterns and dinner tables and bedside talks with children.  The Light is here.  At the temple, Simeon calls Jesus, “A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 

            Let the Light shine.  This is the mission of the Church.  We proclaim the truth of the Light.  We announce the Good News; Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  We baptize and teach.  We forgive sins and celebrate the Lord’s Supper.  The Church shines forth the Light that shines for all people.  In this Light, sin and guilt disappear, washed away by the love of Christ.  In this Light you live in love and forgiveness.

            The Light comes into the world, is swaddled, and laid in a manger in Bethlehem. The Light escapes Herod’s sword by fleeing to Egypt.  On a dark Friday, thirty three years later, outside the walls of Jerusalem, it looks like the darkness will finally smother the light.  From the cross, the Light, declares, “It is finished,” and the life goes out from His eyes.  Life is gone from the Light and it appears that darkness has won.  The Light has died, but the Light rises from the dead and continues to shine forth forever.  Darkness will never overcome the light. 

            You still live in a dark, selfish world.  People are, by nature, evil.  By nature, you are selfish and dark, but you have been rescued from the darkness. Colossians 1:13 (ESV) 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…”  You have been born again in water and the Spirit just as you got to witness here this morning with the baptism of our little brother Everett. 

And just like Everett, you have received Christ who is the light of the world.  You are a child of light in Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 60:1 (ESV) 1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  Amen. 

Posted on by pastorkevinjud

No Detour Ahead

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No Detour Ahead!

Vicar Matthew Kinne

Bible Readings: John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-12; Isaiah 52:7–10

Most of my family is from Wisconsin.  Up there we have a saying that there are only two seasons throughout the year. There is winter and then there is road construction season. It is quite frustrating when you are traveling to see friends or family and you come upon that unwanted sign saying, “Road Closed Ahead”. As much as the sign also says, “Follow Detour”, there is an unwanted, unsettling anxiety that builds up in every driver. What if the detour is not marked properly and I miss a turn? What if the detour takes me in the opposite direction of my destination? What if the detour adds over an hour of traveling and I do not get to my family Christmas reunion in time for Mom’s famous banana bread? 

Detours can be frustrating, but they can also be necessary. Without planned detours, defects in the road cannot be avoided. Without proper signs, no one would know the dangers that lie ahead. Without proper instruction, no one would know how to turn around and follow the better path. Looking at it this way, detours can have a more promising outcome that outweighs their annoyances. 

If a regular road closing seems annoying, imagine what patience it would require in order to travel a detour that takes many generations to get back on the course of God redeeming His people. For all the people in the Old Testament waiting for the Messiah to come, it probably seemed like God took many long and agonizing detours. Adam and Eve never saw the Messiah promised when God cursed the serpent in the garden.  Genesis 3:15 (ESV) “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  All their descendants died in the great flood except for Noah and his family. Abraham never saw how many descendants he would have through Isaac, but as we can see in the Old Testament history of the children of Israel, God saves those from the line of Abraham repeatedly all the way down to Mary and Joseph. God saves Israel from the bondage in Egypt, brings them through the Red Sea waters, saves them from the hunger and thirst of living in the wilderness for forty years, and finally brings them to the promised land. God continued to guide His people even though they put their trust in earthly kings. After Babylon takes over Israel and spreads its citizens throughout the ancient world, God continues to send prophets to pave the way of the Lord. 

The Old Testament tells of a long and twisted and tiresome road from Eden to the manger in Bethlehem. We hear about how God had to make so many detours because of man’s sin. Yet God made sure every detour led to the Christ child that first Christmas morning. He made sure that His promises were kept and that His plan to save all mankind would come into fruition. 

Before Adam and Eve’s fall into sin there was only one straight path from God to His creation. Because sin entered our world, the pride of man made everyone blind to the truth that we need God’s grace to live. Sin cut off that narrow path to the Father, thus condemning everyone to a worthless life without God. Because this disease of imperfection is handed off from parents to children, the history of sin continues to repeat itself. That is, it continues to repeat until God intervenes by sending a baby in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. 

Since God is love, He has compassion on His creation. God establishes a way in which His children will know Him. He sent messengers, the prophets, to prepare the way of the Messiah. God sent these watchmen in the hopes that His people would hear His voice and follow it. But instead of waiting for Christ’s birth they follow the paths of the world and kill the prophets. If they did not honor the prophets, what will they do to God’s Son? 

Today we celebrate Christmas, the incarnation of the Son of God.  John 1:14 (ESV) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  This is the end of the detour! The Messiah has come! But the world does not listen to the warnings.  They do not heed the signs. The world turns off the straight path to the Lord and seeks the wrong destination. Now it is up to God to reprogram everyone’s GPS to the correct destination.  The Holy Spirit shows us the way.  And what is that destination? It is the glory of Christ on the cross where He takes away the sin of the world. This cross is where He shines in our darkness so that we can also become Children of the Light.

Since God is love, He has compassion on His creation. God establishes a way in which His children will know Him. He sent messengers, the prophets, to prepare the way of the Messiah.

John the Baptist was the last sign on the detour pointing directly at this destination. He proclaimed the words of Isaiah saying, “prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God”. Since Israel was lost in their sinfulness, John taught repentance and baptism so that the nation of Israel was ready for the Kingdom of God. This kingdom was found in no other place but the body of Jesus Christ. God’s kingdom is not of this world, but it entered our world for our benefit. 

The Word of God becomes flesh and dwells among us. He knows our world. He understands our pain, our frustration, and even temptations. But unlike all men born in sin, this Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He receives His flesh through Mary, but He receives His perfection by His divine nature as God. Therefore, He never sins once. He never gives into the detours and temptations of sin. His path is clear! 

This Man was sent to start a new path, one that brings the whole world back to its Creator. This path was to fulfill all the words of the prophets in the Old Testament. He lived a perfect life. He healed the sick and the dying. He preached the ways of God in the temple and synagogues. But ultimately, He completed the covenant given to Abraham and fulfilled the promise made to Adam and Eve in the garden by shedding His blood in exchange for their sin and the sin of all their children.

But the path does not end there. He did die, but He did not stay dead. He is God. He was with the Father and the Holy Spirit before creation. Jesus is everlasting. Therefore, death cannot hold its grip on Him. He is the God of the living, and He gives everlasting life to you! He gives you His righteous life in your Baptism. In this Baptism, you are born of the Holy Spirit. This is the same person, the Holy Spirit who put life in Mary’s womb, who gives birth to new life in you in the baptismal font. This way before the Father in heaven, you are covered by Jesus’ righteousness. The sin you received from your parents has no effect on your eternal salvation. Jesus took the effects of death on Himself! 

This new path we are walking is the path of the Baptized. Jesus leads us through this desert of a sinful world by His pillar of light. We are children of the light and need to comprehend that there is no detour ahead outside of Christ. Avoid the detour of thinking your good works will save you. Avoid the detour that because God will always forgive you, that you can keep on living in sin. These are deviations from the true path! Christ is the path and establishes where you can find Him. That is, you can find Him where sound teaching of the Word of God is preached and where His body and blood are offered to you for the continuous repentance and forgiveness of the many detours you take away from His light.

Christ is the straight and narrow path to the Father. He gives us eternal life in exchange for our detours from Him. He found us while we were lost. Through centuries of faithfulness and unfaithfulness God showed His frustrations by refining His people in the Old Testament by various trials.  He even puts us to the test as a people who fall into the trap of sin, yet He locates us and turns us back in His direction. He shows us His path because He loves us and wants us to be allowed into His family reunion. When He comes back to be the judge, He will separate the evil doers—those who did not follow the straight path—from His children who were led by His light. He will again establish a new path, one that we will travel together for all eternity in the heavenly glory of our Father. We will never again be lost because we will always be with Him. His path is always straight and has no detours. He gives us the light that the world could never give, and we find that light in the newborn child, Jesus Christ.  Amen!

Posted on by pastorkevinjud

Baby Jesus is Not Safe Jesus

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Christmas Eve 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud 
December 24, 2023

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                        bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:   bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            The little town is just bursting at the seams with all the visitors from out of town.  Normally families need to plan for a big get together, but this huge family reunion is ordered by Caesar Augustus in Rome.  Everyone must go to the place of their ancestry.  All the descendants of King David are back in Bethlehem to be registered by the Romans. No one thinks registering is a good idea, but it is not wise to go against the Romans.  And it will be nice to have generations of David’s family gathered together for a time. 

            Over the years, traditions have developed that Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room in the inn due to an evil innkeeper. Luke 2:7 (ESV) 7 And [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

The word for “inn” here, however, more likely means “guest room” and that Jesus was born in the family area at a relative’s house in Bethlehem and was laid in a manger where animals were brought in at night for safekeeping. 

Imagine you are one of the relatives staying in the same house and witnessing all that is taking place.  People keep arriving for the registration.  The upper guest room is full and now the lower family area is packed.  One couple, your cousin Joseph and his wife Mary, arrived from Nazareth 90 miles north. Mary is very pregnant and about to give birth.  There will not be much privacy, but at least there will be plenty of help.

            The time comes for Mary to give birth and everything goes as smoothly as giving birth can go.  The baby is swaddled in strips of cloth and now a bed must be found.  Since the guest room is full, one of the stone mangers is cleaned out and fresh straw is put in and the baby is laid on the straw to sleep. What a joyous event.  Mary gives birth to her first born son and Joseph’s whole family is there to celebrate. 

That evening, as things are winding down and people are starting to get ready for bed, there is a knock at the door.  Who is this?  Are we expecting more family?  There really isn’t any more room, but something will be figured out.  When the door is opened it is not family traveling from out of town, instead local shepherds are standing at the door.  How strange.  What are these guys doing here?

            The shepherd in front says, “We have been all over town searching for the Savior, Christ the Lord.  Is there a baby here wrapped up in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger?”  An unnerving hush falls over everyone in the house.  Whoa…..how did they know that? 

            The father of the house responds, “Yes, indeed, there is a baby here as you describe, but how could you possibly have known?”

            “An angel appeared to us tonight in the field, glowing with the glory of God, scaring us half to death, and the angel said, “Luke 2:10–12 (ESV)  10 … “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 Savior, 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.”  “The angels told us, and it is true.  Here He is, the Savior; Christ the Lord.”

            Mary and Joseph go over to talk to the shepherds by the door. Just then the baby wakes up and starts to fuss.  You go over and pick Him up to comfort Him amidst all the excitement.  You hold the baby Jesus in your arms and gently rock Him and try to quiet Him, “shhhh, shhhh, shhhh,” as Mary brings the shepherds over to see the baby.

            Christmas is a hugely popular holiday for people from many different backgrounds.  It is a fascinating phenomenon because Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation of God. We rejoice at God taking on human flesh and being born in Bethlehem.  We celebrate the Son of God becoming Immanuel; God with us. 

Non-Christians celebrate Christmas while rejecting Christ.  A lot of folks who claim to be Christian but reject the teachings of Christianity, still love Christmas.  There are many who get really offended by Jesus’ teachings, but then celebrate His birth. 

            I wonder if maybe folks think that “Christmas Jesus” is “safe Jesus.”  A Jesus you can hold in your arms and shush; a Jesus who is not telling you to love your enemy, not telling you to forgive others, not warning you about lust and anger and greed, not teaching you about sin and forgiveness, not calling you to repent and take up your cross and follow Him, not telling you that He has to die for your sins.  Christmas Jesus is just lying there, helpless, seemingly under your control.  Baby Jesus seems like a safe Jesus.

            For so many, Christmas has been reduced to nothing more than a sentimental holiday all about colored lights and trees and food and family and ugly sweaters and gifts and memories of Christmas’s past.  It is a sentimental Christmas with a safe Jesus lying silently in the nativity scene not making anyone uncomfortable.

            Now, baby Jesus is small, but he is not safe.  His birth is announced by an army of angels and a star appears in the heavens to mark His arrival.  From His infancy He brings division and death as the devil tries to kill Him.  As C.S. Lewis says of Aslan the Lion, in the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Jesus is not safe, but He is good. 

Jesus is not safe.  He is the Savior.  The little Lamb of God lying in a manger has come to defeat the devil by being the sacrifice for the sin of the world.  2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) 21 For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  

You cannot shush Jesus because He is God and you are not.  He is Lord and you are His servant. In the battle against the devil, the world and your own sinful nature, Jesus is in charge and yet He comes to serve you and save you and lay down His life for you.  Jesus is the light who takes into Himself the darkness of your sin and pays the price on the cross.  Afterwards, His Body is swaddled in cloth and laid on a stone slab.  A safe Jesus would have stayed dead, but Jesus is not safe. He rises from the dead on the third day to conquer death forever.  And because Jesus rose from the dead, you will rise from the dead.  Thank God, Jesus is not safe.

            The light of Christ comes into the world in the little town of Bethlehem.  The light spreads from the manger in Bethlehem to those in the house and the shepherds and the magi, to Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and Galilee and to the surrounding nations and out to the farthest reaches of the world.  The light spreads from one person to another to another, generation after generation.  The light of Christ has been on the move, spreading person to person for 2,000 years.  The saving light of Christ has come to you.

The Advent wreath is all lit up tonight.  The four candles for each of the Sundays of Advent and now the center Christ candle also. The Christ candle represents the light of Christ which comes into the world as the baby in Bethlehem.  As we near the end of the service tonight I will take light from the Christ candle and share it with everyone here.  As you receive the light, remember you are baptized.  At your baptism you received Christ who is the light of the world.  As we share the light from the Christ candle, picture the light of Jesus bringing light in the darkness throughout the centuries as it spreads all around the world.

Tonight you celebrate Christ’s arrival in Bethlehem.  Tonight you rejoice in Jesus coming to be “God with you” to save you from your sins.  Tonight you celebrate the birth of the Savior who is not safe, but is good.  Merry Christmas!  Amen. 

Posted on by pastorkevinjud

Jesus Becomes Immanuel — God with Us

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Advent 4 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud 
December 24, 2023
2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16, Romans 16:25–27, Luke 1:26–38

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                        bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:   bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            It is December 24th.  It is the morning of the eve of the celebration of the birth of our Lord. Tomorrow morning we will have a communion service to remember Jesus’ birth, the Christ Mass.  This afternoon and evening and tomorrow morning we will be in Bethlehem for the birth of the Savior.  This morning, for the 4th Sunday in Advent, we are going back 9 months and traveling 90 miles north to Nazareth in Galilee.  Today we go to Nazareth to meet Mary for the first time.

Mary is likely a teenage girl up in the hills in the small town of Nazareth with maybe 400 or so inhabitants.  Everyone knows everyone else and nothing gets past the busybodies in town.  When the angel visits, it seems that Mary is alone, maybe at home, maybe outside working, maybe drawing water at the well, we are not sure.  One tradition has it that Mary was at home and that home is now inside the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.  There have been many churches built and destroyed over Mary’s small house from the time of Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century until the construction of the current church in 1954.  The Bible is unique among religious books because you can actually visit the places you learn about in the Bible because these things really happened.

            Mary is a teenager engaged to be married to Joseph.  From all we can tell, she is a nobody from a nowhere little town until God shows Mary favor and sends the Angel Gabriel to bring Mary amazing news.  Gabriel’s name means, “God is my strength.”  He brings news from the throne of heaven … Luke 1:28 (ESV) 28 …“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 

            Mary is greatly troubled.  What is going on?  What is this heavenly being doing talking to lowly little me and calling me, “O favored one?”  Why is Mary favored?  She has done nothing important.  She is not famous.  She is just a regular young lady from Nazareth.  Why is the Lord favoring the humble estate of Mary?  What does this mean?

            Gabriel continues, Luke 1:30–33 (ESV) 30 …“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 

            Conceive? Bear a son?  Call him Jesus?  The throne of David?  Reign forever?  Mary’s head is swimming with all this information.  What can this all possibly mean?  Mary goes back to the first part of what the angel told her.  “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.”  Mary is young, but she knows where babies come from and this is impossible.

            Luke 1:34 (ESV) 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 

            Luke 1:35–37 (ESV) 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 

            Genesis 1:1–3 (ESV) 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

            In the beginning the Spirit hovered over the creation. At the conception of Jesus the Spirit hovers over Mary and Word of God brings about new life in Mary’s womb. The Lord speaks through His messenger Gabriel and Jesus takes on human flesh as a tiny new life inside Mary.  The Lord’s Word is powerful; it makes things happen. 

            In a world that is awash with words it can feel like words are not very valuable; not very powerful, but today we see the power of God’s Word. 

            In the beginning God spoke — and the world was created.  Jesus takes on human flesh through the Word of God.  This morning, the Lord’s Words are still powerful as He declares to you that all your sin is forgiven.  His Word is powerful; bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus because Jesus says, this is my body, this is my blood. 

            God’s Word declares you to be His child in the water and Word of Holy Baptism, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Word of God saves you in the Words of forgiveness, the water and the Word of baptism and the Word with the bread and wine bringing the Body and Blood of Jesus.  God’s Word is powerful.  It makes things happen.

            The angel Gabriel has never come to visit me that I know of, and it seems that I would know if he had.  None of you have said the angel Gabriel has come to you.  But you have encountered many messengers of God bringing to you the Word of God.  Many messengers have told you that you are favored by God and the Lord is with you. 

 In a world that is awash with words it can feel like words are not very valuable; not very powerful, but today we see the power of God’s Word. 

            Because Mary carried the Lord Jesus in her womb and gave birth to the Savior who lived and died and rose from the dead, you now carry Jesus in your heart.  You have the power of the Holy Spirit in your inner being, Ephesians 3:17–19 (ESV) 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

            Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus dwells in your heart.  Jesus died for you and rose from the dead for you.  You are favored by God.  Living in this era after Jesus ascended into heaven and waiting for Jesus to return on the last day, you know more about Jesus and what He has done than Mary herself knew.  Through His Word the Lord has saved you.  You may not have heard from an angel directly, but God speaks to you through His messengers and in the words of the Bible.

            In this life there are a lot of other religious options; lots of various people and ideas to follow.  There seems to be a continuous string of spiritual fads that all promise fulfillment.  There are many options, but you know there is no substitute for Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.  When others are abandoning the truth of God to follow after the lies of the devil, the world and their own sinful flesh, and the Lord looks to see if you are going to follow them, you can say in the words of St. Peter, John 6:68–69 (ESV) 68 …“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”  The Word of God is powerful, it makes things happen.

            Blessed are you, O favored one.  The Lord is with you.  Amen.