6 February 2022 - Epiphany 5 - Luke 5:1-11

Simon Peter, the fisherman from Capernaum, was introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew. Andrew in turn had been directed to Jesus by John the Baptist, whose disciple he previously had been.

After Peter got acquainted with Jesus, he became what we might call a part-time disciple of the Lord. He spent time with him during his travels in Galilee, listening to him, and trying to come to a better understanding of who he was and of what he was doing. But Peter also continued to pursue his livelihood as a fisherman.

This process by which Peter was becoming better acquainted with Jesus, and was growing in his appreciation for him, included the events that took place at the wedding in Cana. We heard about those events, on the basis of St John’s reporting of them, two weeks ago.

Peter was no doubt one of the disciples who was with Jesus at that wedding, and who had helped to drink up the original supply of wine. So, Peter was glad that Jesus was around on that occasion, so that he could miraculously replenish the supply of wine, for him and the other wedding guests.

Last Sunday’s Gospel, from St. Luke, recounted for us the story of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. Peter was glad to have Jesus around for this miracle as well.

But in today’s Gospel - also from St Luke - we see a different kind of reaction from Peter, and a change in Peter’s thinking about whether he really does want Jesus to be around, and to be a part of his life.

In today’s text, Peter was no longer comfortable with Jesus being so close, and so closely involved in his affairs. The miracle that Jesus performed in today's text directly impacted Peter’s occupation as a fisherman, and penetrated to the depths of Peter’s life as a human being.

We don’t know exactly why this particular miracle served as a tipping point for Peter, or why it made such a different impression on him - in comparison to the other miracles that Peter had witnessed, and from which he and his family had benefitted. But for some reason it did.

For some reason, the holiness and righteousness of Jesus, as contrasted with Peter’s sinfulness, became more vivid, and more frightening, for this crusty and calloused fisherman. And so, after Jesus had brought about a miraculous catch of fish for Peter and his partners, Peter said, with profound humility and deep shame:

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Now, when Jesus had turned water into wine, Peter did not want Jesus to depart. And Jesus did not depart. When Jesus had healed Peter’s mother-in-law, Peter did not want Jesus to depart then, either. And Jesus did not depart.

But when Peter - at Jesus’ word - let down his nets into the water; and when those nets became filled with such a large number of fish that they began to break, Peter changed his mind about the relationship that was developing between him and Jesus. Now he did want Jesus to depart.

But Jesus did not depart. Instead he got much closer to Peter; that is, he became more intense in the claims he was making on Peter, and in the plans that he was making for Peter. We are told that Jesus said to him:

“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

When Jesus, with his supernatural power, was somewhat close - but not too close - Peter was glad to have him around. He was glad to have more wine to drink at the wedding, and he was glad to have a well and healthy mother-in-law.

When Jesus was functioning as the giver of earthly gifts which improved the quality and joy of Peter’s life in this world, Jesus was welcome. And for many today - us included - Jesus is likewise welcome, when he comes to give us daily bread, to heal our physical diseases, and to bestow upon us other material blessings.

We don’t mind it when Jesus is close enough to us, to be able to do these kinds of things for us, according to the needs of our bodily life. And when that is all he is doing, he is still at a safe distance from our heart and conscience: not challenging us or upsetting us too much.

But what happens when Jesus wants more than that with you, and from you? What happens when he wants to get much closer, and to be more intense in the claims that he is making on you, and in the plans that he is making for you?

Your initial reaction probably would be the same as Peter’s reaction, as you become more intensely aware of your sinfulness, in contrast to Jesus’ holiness and righteousness. When Jesus gets really close - and instead of just bestowing a few external blessings on your life, wants to take over your life - that will scare you, just as it scared Peter.

Before you can appreciate Jesus coming up close, to be the forgiver of your sins, you need to face up to the fact that you are sinful, and have displeased him through your bad decisions, your bad attitudes, and your bad actions. And you need to be honest about the fact that you are currently displeasing him, as you are currently sinning against God and your neighbor in thought, word, and deed.

That will make you uncomfortable, and it should make you uncomfortable. That will make you afraid, and it should make you afraid.

This is what the divine law does, when it shows us what God expects of us, and when it makes us contrite over the fact that what God has expected is not what God has seen. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession unfolds this Biblical teaching for us:

“Contrition is the genuine terror of the conscience that feels God’s wrath against sin and grieves that it has sinned. This contrition takes place when the Word of God denounces sin...”

“Scripture...speaks about these terrors...in Psalm 38: ‘For my iniquities have gone over my head; they weigh like a burden too heavy for me. ... I am utterly spent and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.’ And Psalm 6, “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. My soul also is struck with terror...” And Isaiah 38: ‘I said: In the noontide of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years. ... I cry for help until morning; like a lion he breaks all my bones; from day to night you bring me to an end.’”

“In these terrors the conscience experiences the wrath of God against sin, something that is unknown to those who walk around in carnal security. It sees the rottenness of sin and deeply grieves that it has sinned.”

These words represent the complex emotions and the tangled thoughts that found expression in Peter’s anguished declaration, when he realized that Jesus was getting too close, and was probing him too deeply:

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

But as I have noted, Jesus did not depart. Jesus stayed. He stayed to absolve Peter and to take away his fear by the healing power of his words. And he stayed to bestow upon Peter the vocation that would define the rest of his life:

“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

And Jesus stays with you, and gets even closer to you, when you initially feel - in your guilt - that you would rather not have him around: because you would rather not face up to the hard truth that your sins have invited God’s wrath upon you. In your subconscious mind and in your emotions, you may feel that having Jesus too close is having God’s wrath too close.

But then God tells you something else. The message of his law is followed by a different message: a message that changes everything. We return to the Apology of the Augsburg Confession for more instruction:

“In the midst of these terrors, the gospel about Christ (which freely promises the forgiveness of sins through Christ) ought to be set forth to consciences. They should therefore believe that on account of Christ their sins are freely forgiven. This faith uplifts, sustains, and gives life to the contrite, according to the passage [from Romans]: ‘Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God.’ This faith receives the forgiveness of sins. This faith justifies before God, as the same passage testifies, ‘since we are justified by faith.’...”

The Apology goes on to explain how the gospel is delivered and applied to us for our comfort:

“The power of the keys administers and offers the gospel through absolution, which is the true voice of the gospel. ...when the gospel is heard, when absolution is heard, the conscience is uplifted and receives consolation. Because God truly makes alive through the Word, the keys truly forgive sins before God... Therefore we must believe the voice of the one absolving no less than we would believe a voice from heaven. ...”

“At the same time, this faith is nourished in many ways, in the midst of temptations, through the proclamation of the gospel and the use of the sacraments. For these are signs of the New Testament, that is, signs of the forgiveness of sins. They offer, therefore, the forgiveness of sins, as the words of the Lord’s Supper clearly state, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. ... This cup...is the new covenant in my blood. ...’ Thus faith is formed and strengthened through absolution, through hearing the gospel, and through use of the sacraments, so that it might not succumb in its struggle against the terrors of sin and death.”

Jesus told Peter, “Do not be afraid,” because Jesus was not getting up close to Peter in order to condemn him on account of his sins, but in order to save him from his sins. And when Jesus speaks to you in his gospel, in his absolution, and in the words of his Sacred Supper, he is also thereby telling you, most fundamentally: “Do not be afraid.”

God is holy. Jesus, the Son of God, is holy. But God in his grace makes you holy too, and compatible with his holiness, through the washing away of your sin from you, and through the crediting of his Son’s righteousness to you.

So, from that perspective, it is a good thing to have Jesus close - really close: in the words that enter your ears and mind, in the bread and wine that enter your lips and soul, and in the Spirit of Christ who dwells in your heart.

And Jesus will take over your life - as he took over Peter’s life. You will not be called to exactly the same thing as Peter was called to. His full-time apostolic office was unique.

But Jesus will be in charge of the vocation, and the relationships, in which he does place you, whatever they may be. He will orient your values, shape your thoughts, and guide your steps, as you move forward in a life of loving service to him and to your fellow man.

He will, according to your calling, and according to your faith, step out in front of you, glance back gently and lovingly, and say, “Follow me.” And you will follow.

“[Jesus] said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.”

“But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” Amen.

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13 February 2022 - Epiphany 6 - Jeremiah 17:5-8

The ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah in the Kingdom of Judah encompassed the time from the reign of King Josiah to the fall of Jerusalem and the carrying away of the nation to Babylon. It was a time of much political turmoil.

And it was a time of great religious apostasy, when most of the royal successors of the godly King Hezekiah led Judah in embracing the worst kind of idolatry and spiritual wickedness.

For example, Hezekiah’s own son Manasseh restored the high places and altars of Baal which his father had destroyed; he built altars to pagan deities in the temple courts, and erected an image Asherah in the temple itself; he sacrificed his son to Moloch; he practiced witchcraft and fortune-telling; and he put to death many prophets and godly persons who rebuked and resisted him in these things.

And as went the heart of this king, so went the hearts of the people. Manasseh’s horrible example was followed more often than not in the years that followed his reign.

At God’s direction, Jeremiah spoke a message of severe divine judgment against these and similar evils, and predicted the destruction of the nation. We get a glimpse into his oft-repeated warnings - coming originally from God - in the verses that immediately precede the verses that are appointed as today’s first lesson, from the Book of Jeremiah:

“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, on the mountains in the open country.”

“Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil, as the price of your high places, for sin, throughout all your territory. You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies, in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

This kind of preaching stung. And Jeremiah was on the receiving end of a lot of grief from powerful people in Judah, who didn’t like what he was telling them. But what he was telling them was from the Lord.

They should have listened. They should have repented of their despising of God’s Word, and their embracing of that which contradicted God’s Word.

They didn’t repent, though. They pursued the path of their spiritual destruction all the way to the end, until their physical and political destruction took place. And they paid the price, in the severe chastisement that they as a nation endured when they were carried off into Babylonian exile.

Today’s text from Jeremiah, which is the section that comes right after what was just read, sets forth a pair of simply-stated general principles that can be applied not only to the historical circumstances of the Kingdom of Judah during its waning years, but to any nation, to any family, and to any individual, at any time or place.

It is a message to you from the Lord. It is a warning, and a promise, to you. You, too, should listen. Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.”

Living as we do in the Sonora Desert, we can relate to some of the imagery that God uses in his description of those who put their trust in human strength, in human spirituality, in human wisdom, and in earthly, human values.

They may continue to exist, even as the ungodly and wicked among men continue to exist. But their inner life will be dry and unfruitful, because the Spirit of the Lord is not with them or in them. And their existence will be a lonely, solitary existence - lacking in love for others, and therefore ultimately lacking in the companionship of others.

To be sure, the people of Judah were still very religious. I’m not talking about a lack of religion, and Jeremiah is not talking about a lack of religion, either.

The Judahites were very devoted to worshiping their pagan deities, at their pagan high places. They thought that this would hold back the invading armies of the massive empires that surrounded their tiny country. But the living Word of the living God was not in their ears, in their minds, or in their hearts.

We, too, live in the midst of a very religious society. And maybe some of the popular secular spirituality of our day has infected or influenced us, too.

Maybe it is our sin that is engraved on the horns of the figurative altars where our hearts actually worship. Maybe our children are taught to remember, not the Lord and his gifts and promises, but their own Asherim idols.

A fanatical zeal fuels those fads and movements of our time that contradict common sense, natural law, and real science, and that have become - for all intents and purposes - a new false religion. Their adherents sincerely believe, however, that they are dealing with ultimate questions, and with things of the greatest importance, which they absolutely must impose on everyone - for their own good, of course - lest all be lost.

But it is a zeal without knowledge: without knowledge of the hard truths of human sinfulness, human spiritual blindness, and human moral obtuseness. What seems right is often wrong. What seems true is often false. What seems helpful in the short term is often harmful and destructive in the long term.

Yet this zeal without knowledge keeps people trapped in the dryness of their spiritual deserts, living but not truly living; powerless and hopeless, lost and alone in the dark.

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.”

But the Lord also says this:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green; and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

That first line is interesting: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.”

The blessed man’s blessedness is based not only on his act of trusting, but on the one in whom he trusts. Trust, or faith, is not a virtue in itself. The social category “people of faith” - intended to refer to those who practice an organized religion - is not actually a helpful category.

And this is because everyone actually believes in something, and has some kind of organizing principle in his life, even if the object of faith is something as base as a person’s own carnal appetites.

The key point of why the Lord’s people are blessed, is because their trust is in the Lord. They are not blessed simply because they believe in something.

The Judahites who set up statues of Asherah and who sacrificed their children to Moloch certainly believed and trusted in Asherah and Moloch. But this was an evil faith, which brought down upon them the wrath of the real God whom they were ignoring in their religious devotion.

Yet the only God who actually exists - apart from the demons who masquerade as bloodthirsty, pagan gods - is the almighty God, who made the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, in six days. He is the covenant-keeping God, who called Abraham out of Ur, and who brought Israel out of Egypt.

And he is the redeeming God, who repeatedly promised that someday an eternal salvation for Israel, and for all nations, would be brought about by the life, death, and resurrection of the divine-human Messiah: who would be the second Adam, the Seed of Abraham, the greatest Prophet, the true High Priest, and the Davidic King whose reign would never end.

This is the gracious Lord, whose holy name embodies all these saving works and all these saving promises. But this is also the righteous Lord, whose name embodies a righteous anger against all violations of his law, and a righteous threat to punish all violators of his law.

To trust in the Lord, however - to trust specifically in him, as he reveals himself in sacred history, and in Sacred Scripture - is to know the Lord not as a judge, but as a Savior; not as an avenger of his besmirched honor, but as a patient and forgiving heavenly Father; not as one who demands righteousness from us, but as one who gives the righteousness of his Son to us, and who justifies us by grace through faith.

And to trust in the Lord - as that trust affects you on the inside - is to have a heart that has been turned toward the Lord and opened to his influence; to have a mind that defines goodness, truth, and reality as the Lord defines them; and to have a will that has been liberated and transformed by the Lord, so that it desires what he desires, and values what he values.

One who trusts in the Lord is connected to the Lord through the means of grace. The gospel and sacraments of the New Testament era - which is how we can be and remain connected to him - are like a bubbling river that continually flows for our refreshment, and to which the deep roots of our faith have access, even when times of burning heat and drought come.

The burning heat and droughts of life - the temptations and the trials - are on the surface. They do not go deep enough to cut you off from the spiritual sustenance, and the remission of sins, that you can always receive in the absolution that Christ speaks to you, through the lips of his ministers; or in the body and blood of Christ that he offers to you, through the hands of his ministers.

You cannot see the roots that run underground from a healthy tree to the sources of water on which that tree depends. Likewise, with your physical eyes, you cannot see the faith that receives the Water of Life - that is, the Holy Spirit - poured out upon us and into us through the natural water of Baptism.

With your physical eyes, you cannot see the faith that receives the Bread of Life - that is, the Son of God himself, who comes down from heaven - supernaturally fed to us for the sanctification of soul and body, through the natural bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper.

But they are there, just as the river is there. And a trusting faith receives the gifts and blessings that God offers, just as the roots of the tree soak up water from the river.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green; and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

You don’t want to know what will happen to you if you pull your roots back from God and his Word, and away from Christ and his Spirit.

You don’t want to experience what will happen to you if you instead start to rely on human strength, begin to try to find meaning for your life in human spirituality, attempt to understand what’s really going on in the world according to human wisdom, and reorient your daily existence by the norms of earthly, human values.

It might seem to work for a while. Manasseh’s new religion - a betrayal of the Lord and of his father’s faith - seemed to work for him. But it put his kingdom, and his own soul, on a pathway to dissolution and death.

None of us wants to be on the receiving end of what St. Paul describes in his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, in an exile away from the loving presence and goodness of God that will have no end.

By divine inspiration the apostle writes that on judgment day, “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire,” he will inflict “vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction - away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might - when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”

Instead, you want to be among the saints of the Lord on that day - and on every day before then, while this world, and your life in this world, continue. You want to believe the testimony of Paul, and of all the apostles and Evangelists whose inspired writings God has made freely available to you.

You want to trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, and acknowledge him in all your ways, so that he will direct your paths. You want to be comforted with the comfort of Psalm 34:

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

And, you want to heed the invitation of your Lord - every day you want to hear and heed his words - when he says, in St. Matthew’s Gospel:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.”

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green; and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Amen.

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20 February 2022 - Epiphany 7 - Luke 6:27-38

It is often pointed out that the “Golden Rule” - commonly expressed as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” - is not, in its essence, unique to the Christian faith. And this is true.

Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, said: “Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself.”

The Buddha said: “Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

Confucius said: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.”

Muhammad said: “Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.”

And the list could go on. The reason why this general ethical principle appears in so many places, and comes from the lips of so many people, is because it is based on common sense, and on the natural law that resides in the heart of all men.

The unique authority of Jesus, and of the Christian faith, is not based on the notion that non-Christians are incapable of common sense and ordinary human reason.

So, when Jesus says, in today’s text from St. Luke, “As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them,” we are okay with the fact that other people have said basically the same thing; and that the adherents of other religions, and the adherents of no particular religion, are able to recognize the essential soundness of this thought.

If everyone in a human society actually lived according to this principle, there would be no conflict, no violence, and no crime. Everyone’s reputation and property would be protected. Everyone’s human dignity would be honored.

Human reason is able to see this. But, the sinful human flesh, with its destructive passions and half-blind shortsightedness, is not able to implement this. Human greed, human selfishness, and human lust often overpower human reason, and impel people to act in ways that defy and contradict common sense.

So, the Golden Rule lays out for all people the way things should be in human relationships. But the Golden Rule does not describe the way things actually are, most of the time.

It’s also important to note that the way the Golden Rule is worded - especially in the version that Jesus gave us - indicates that each of us it to be proactive, in doing the right thing for others, and in saying the right thing to others, rather than sitting back and waiting for others to do or say something first.

The shape of the rule is: Act first, and do to others as you would like others then to do to you; do not wait until others do to you first, and then respond. So, not only are you not to respond to an injury, by injuring another, but you are to reach out to another first, to help and to heal.

Again, that’s what we’re supposed to do. But we don’t do what we’re supposed to do.

And our violations of the Golden Rule often develop into a viscous cycle of actions and reactions. Someone hurts me, and so I hurt him in response. He retaliates by hurting me again, and I then get even by hurting him yet another time.

And on it goes, as people drag each other down into an ever deeper mutual resentment, into an ever more intense mutual anger, and into an ever more obsessive mutual vengefulness.

Everyone involved is miserable. No one enjoys the feelings that are associated with this.

But it just continues anyway, pressed forward by the momentum of an unrelenting pride that does not want to concede defeat, or to accept the final humiliation. So it can seem that the cycle will never stop.

But it should be possible to stop it. It should be possible for such a destructive pattern to be halted and reversed. It should be possible for you to stop it, when you have been pulled into something like this.

When you are in this kind of competition with someone else, to see who can inflict the most and the greatest pain on the other, you could bring it to an end, and reverse it, if you would insert the Golden Rule - “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” - into this vicious cycle.

Like inserting a monkey wrench into the gears of a machine that is otherwise humming along, this would stop it immediately. Jesus says:

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.”

“Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

“Easier said than done,” you might say, as you even in this moment are thinking about rivals who have hurt you, and whom you have deliberately hurt in response. But Jesus says to do it. Jesus says to follow and to apply the Golden Rule, even when you must swallow your pride to do so.

I’ve noted that the basic contours of the Golden Rule are not unique to the teachings of Jesus, or to the principles of Christian ethics. Other religions and other worldviews also recognize the soundness of the Golden Rule, based as it is on common sense.

But Jesus, and the Christian faith, are unique, in making it possible for someone from the heart to be able and willing to act, think, and speak according to the Golden Rule - even and especially when it’s hard to do so.

The sinful flesh always undermines and hinders the living out of the Golden Rule, even in those who rationally recognize the soundness of this rule. And that includes Christians, whose faithfulness to the Golden Rule is always imperfect and incomplete, since their sinful flesh still clings to them, too.

But deep down on the inside, Christians have something more than the sinful flesh, and the old nature, which all human beings have inherited by natural generation, and with which all people have come into the world.

St. Paul writes to Titus of the salvation and the new spiritual beginning that the Triune God has provided for us, and has delivered to us, in the means of grace. He says that

“When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

St. Peter writes these words of encouragement to Christians, in his First Epistle:

“You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He...was made manifest...for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God...”

St. Paul furthermore writes in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians that

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them...”

Paul and Peter both link the new nature that is now in us because of Christ, with the redeeming and reconciling work of Christ: who in his life and death followed the Golden Rule perfectly, for us and for our benefit.

Jesus did not wait for sinful humanity to reach up to him and offer to serve him, but he reached down to us first. Of course, his service for us is very different from the service that we might have rendered to him. But he, proactively, by grace, served us according to our needs: as rebellious sinners in need of a reconciliation with God, and as spiritually dead sinners in need of a new life with God.

Jesus himself explains that “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” And St. Paul explains in his Epistle to the Romans that

“God shows his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

When Jesus said, “love your enemies” - as a very specific and very vivid example of implementing the Golden Rule - he certainly practiced what he preached. You and I were his enemies, because of our sin. But he loved us, and gave himself for us, without waiting for us to love him first.

And of course, he does now expect us, by the working of his Spirit within us and in our new nature, to love him in return. “We love because he first loved us,” St. John reminds us in his First Epistle.

But the way we show love for Christ, is to show love for our needy neighbor in his name. Jesus describes, in St. Matthew’s Gospel, the conversation that he will have with his saints in the final judgment:

“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.’”

For us who know the love of Christ, who reached out to us in the spirit of the Golden Rule before we ever reached out to him, this shines a whole new light on what it means for us to seek to follow the Golden Rule now in our interactions with other people: including irritating and annoying people; people who have offended and hurt us in the past; people who have gone so far as to make themselves our enemies.

The Golden Rule is not only a crushing demand that we cannot live up to. It is a description of a new and liberated way of living, in Christ, which is possible for us now because Christ has freed us from the chains of bitterness and resentment that had bound us; and because Christ has lifted us out of the pit of hatred and anger that had buried us.

And as we move forward in love for him and for our neighbor, Jesus continues to do unto us, what he wants us to do unto him - or, more precisely, to do unto our neighbor in his name. Jesus forgives our sins in his Holy Absolution and in his Holy Supper, and we then heed these words of St. Paul:

“Bear with each other, and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Jesus encourages and comforts us in our troubles, and we then heed these words of St. Paul:

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Jesus continually pours out his grace upon us, to teach us his truth, to mold us into his image, and to heal us of the wounds that sin has inflicted upon us. God supplies every need of ours according to his riches in glory, in Christ Jesus. And we then heed these words of St. Paul:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” Amen.

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27 February 2022 - Transfiguration - Luke 9:28-36

The transfiguration of our Lord was a remarkable and truly extraordinary event. And in a remarkable and truly extraordinary way, the transfiguration demonstrated two important things about Jesus and his ministry.

First, it was a revelation of the mystery of Christ’s person: That he was not only a man, but was the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in human flesh.

During Jesus’ time on earth, the glory and power of his divine nature were usually hidden, as Jesus lived under the law in the form of a man, according to the limitations and “ordinariness” of his human nature. But the transfiguration was one of those unusual occasions when the divinity of Christ was manifested.

In today’s Gospel, St. Luke tells us that “as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.” In St. Matthew’s version, we are told that “his face shone like the sun.”

The light of divine glory was not shining upon him, but was shining out of him: out of his face; and also out of his whole body, so as to cause the clothing that he was wearing to shine as well.

And second, the transfiguration of our Lord was a revelation of the deep and intimate connection that there is between Christ and the Old Testament, with its many types, foreshadowings, and prophesies all pointing to him and his saving work.

So, when Jesus appeared in his transfigured state - so that Peter, James, and John could get a glimpse of his divine glory - a portal to heaven was also opened, so that they could also get a glimpse of that supernatural world.

They saw Moses and Elijah, and heard them talking with Jesus. Luke tells us what they were talking about.

They “spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” That is, they spoke of the impending suffering and death of Jesus: where it would happen, how it would happen, and why it would happen.

The transfiguration took place on a mountaintop. During the time of their respective ministries on earth, Moses and Elijah were closely associated with important events, and important encounters with God, that likewise took place on mountaintops: on Mount Sinai in the case of Moses, and on Mount Carmel in the case of Elijah.

The Book of Exodus reports that on Mount Sinai, Moses received the Law of God in the form of the Ten Commandments, to provide a foundation of unvarying moral law on which all the civil regulations for ancient Israel would be built. But these Commandments would also serve as a concrete testimony to all nations, of the standards of right and wrong to which God holds the entire human race.

At the very beginning of these Commandments, delivered to Moses on that mountaintop, the Lord said:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

This uncompromising prohibition of idolatry, and this uncompromising demand for complete loyalty and obedience to God, were then unfolded into all the divine commandments that followed. To break any of those succeeding commandments, would be to break the first one as well.

At a later time, as recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy, God expounded upon the meaning and application of the First Commandment in these words:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

And Jesus, as we know, quoted this text in the New Testament, and thereby put these words, and what they demand, upon the consciences of all of us.

With respect to Elijah, the other person who appeared with Jesus in the transfiguration, the First Book of Kings tells us about the “duel” of sorts that took place on Mount Carmel, between Elijah, the Lord’s prophet, and the priests of Baal - who were under the patronage of Ahab, the corrupt ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel, and his pagan wife Jezebel.

Previous to this event, Ahab had rebuked Elijah as the “troubler of Israel.” And Elijah had responded:

“I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.”

And then Elijah challenged Ahab to send the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel, where - in the presence of a multitude of people - these prophets and Elijah would each prepare a bull for sacrifice, but not set fire to the sacrifice. Instead, each side would call upon the deity they served to send fire down from heaven to consume the sacrifice.

So, this is what happened. The prophets of Baal went first. From the morning until the mid afternoon, they attempted to call down fire from Baal, and to get some kind of response from their god. But nothing happened.

Then Elijah took his turn. But first he saturated the bull that he had slain, and the wood on which it rested, with water - which ran over to such an extent that it filled up a trench that Elijah had dug around the place of his sacrifice. Elijah then said this prayer:

“O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

We are told that what happened next, was that “the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

But that’s not the end of the story of what happened on this occasion. The narrative continues:

“Elijah said to them, ‘Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.’ And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.”

What happened that day demonstrated God’s holiness and righteousness, according to which he received - by the agency of the fire that he himself sent - the propitiatory sacrifice of the bull, which was offered to him in the stead of the people whose sins had offended him.

What happened that day also demonstrated the wrath of this holy and righteous God against all unrepentant idolaters who violate his Ten Commandments - beginning, of course, with the First one, which expressly forbids idolatry.

Those defiant idolaters were executed for their violation of the civil law of Israel, which Ahab had not been enforcing, but which Elijah certainly did enforce that day.

And now, Moses and Elijah - with these momentous mountaintop experiences in their background - are, miraculously, on another mountaintop. And in the glory of heaven, surrounded by the brilliance of the divinity of God’s Son, they are talking with that divine Son about his upcoming departure from this world.

That departure will indeed have some significant connections to the events that took place on Mount Sinai and on Mount Carmel. Jesus was talking to these prophets of old about his impending crucifixion.

Like the sacrificial bull offered to the God of Israel on Mount Carmel, he was going to be the sacrifice offered to his Father in heaven for the sins of humanity. St. John, in his First Epistle, declares that Christ “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Jesus would be the pure and sinless substitute for the human race, offered in our place on the altar of the cross. But from another perspective - God’s perspective - he would not be the sinless substitute for the human race, but would become the bearer of all the sins of humanity.

By God’s imputation he would be clothed and smeared with all human transgressions and iniquities. And then on the cross he would place himself under the judgment of the Ten Commandments, against all the violations of those commandments that have ever been committed by any human being in any time or place: violations that had been imputed to him by God; violations that he as God in the flesh, had freely taken onto himself.

St. Paul writes in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians that “For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus allowed himself to stand as guilty: not guilty of his own sin - because he had no sin - but guilty of our sin.

The Law that the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, which convicts us of the sins that we have actually committed, would also convict our divine-human substitute Jesus.

And just as the sacrifice that was offered to the Lord on Mount Carmel was received by the Lord - by which his anger against the sins of the nation of Israel was turned away - so too would Jesus’ sacrificing of himself on the cross turn God’s wrath away from the sins of all nations.

Jesus, on the cross, would be consumed from heaven. And in our place he would feel and experience the spiritual horror of this. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?,” he would cry.

Also, just as the actual idolaters at Mount Carmel suffered the just punishment that their idolatry had earned, so that their blood was shed in death; so too would Christ - the idolater by imputation - suffer the punishment that idolatry deserves: the punishment deserved by the prophets of Baal because of their violation of the First Commandment; and the punishment deserved by you and me, because of all the times we have broken the First Commandment, together with all the other Commandments that flow out from it.

Jesus would endure this divine wrath and this feeling of forsakenness, until the full redemption price for our sins had been paid. And then, when this agony was over, he would say, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” And he would breathe his last.

This is what Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were talking about. They were talking about mountaintop experiences - but not the kind of “mountaintop experiences” that people usually mean when they use that term. What they were talking about was not exciting and exhilarating, but serious and sober.

They were talking about God’s Law, the demands of God’s Law, and the threats of God’s Law against those who disobey it. They were talking about God following through on these threats, punishing sin and not ignoring sin.

They were talking about Jesus going down from that mountain, turning onto the road to Jerusalem, and making his way to that holy city of sacrifice and atonement - of reconciliation and forgiveness - so that all of these things would happen to him, for the sake of our reconciliation and forgiveness.

The reason why God is willing to forgive sin, is not because sin does not really bother him. He is greatly bothered by it. He is deeply offended by it. The entire Old Testament teaches us this, both by what God says, and by what God does, in its hallowed pages.

But God is willing to forgive sin. God does forgive sin. He forgives your sin and my sin, because Jesus did bravely and lovingly follow through on the things that he had talked about with Moses and Elijah.

As you and I turn to him in fear and humility, in regret and repentance, we are able to receive the forgiveness that was earned and accomplished by Christ our substitute. On Calvary he allowed himself to be condemned and punished for our idolatry, and for all our sins; and there offered himself as a sacrifice to redeem us, to restore us, to justify us.

Jesus, as it were, descends from the mountain today: the day of the Transfiguration of Our Lord; the last Sunday in the Epiphany season. And as Lent begins, he begins his journey to Jerusalem.

We, too, as the season of Lent now begins, likewise begin our liturgical journey to Jerusalem with him. In Lent we will travel on the pathway of repentance and faith, to the cross of Christ. There, at the cross, we will watch him die. We will watch him die for us.

That’s not the end of the story, of course. And that’s not the whole story. But that’s the part of the story we will be telling and hearing over the next six weeks. That’s the part of the story that Moses and Elijah were talking about with Jesus, on the Mount of Transfiguration.

“And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” Amen.