The Day of Epiphany (CL)

Luke 1:46-56

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

       “My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁴⁷        and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

⁴⁸    for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

⁴⁹    for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

⁵⁰    And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

⁵¹    He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

⁵²    he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

⁵³    he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

⁵⁴    He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

⁵⁵    as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Mary remains with Elizabeth until approximately the birth of John the Baptist. She sings this song of praise to God for looking upon her humility. Mary has received a blessing of which she definitely does not feel worthy. She praises God not only for what he does for her, but for what God is doing for all his people.

Epiphany is traditionally the celebration of the coming of the Maji. This is God coming to the Nations and not just the people of Israel. Baby Jesus is not just for the lost children of Israel, or shepherds in his field, but for all nations.

Mary recognizes God is humbling the mighty and the prideful people of this world. God continues to use the foolish to shame the wise. God tears down the mighty of this world from their thrones. Jesus will judge the living and the dead. He will judge each of us for the way we treat our fellow man. God continues to fill the hungry with good things. He will provide for all people their needs, likewise he sacrifices his only Son for your salvation.

OT: 1 Samuel 1:21-28

OTA: Isaiah 57:14-21

NT: Acts 14:8-23

NTA: James 4:1-10

GA: Matthew 2:1-12

Ps: 1 Samuel 2:1-10

O God, by the leading of a star You made known Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles.  Lead us, who know You by faith, to enjoy in heaven the fullness of Your divine presence; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.(L11)

The Second Sunday after Christmas (Ps) January 5th

Psalm 11:1-7

¹  In the Lord I take refuge;

       how can you say to my soul,

“Flee like a bird to your mountain,

²    for behold, the wicked bend the bow;

they have fitted their arrow to the string

to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;

³    if the foundations are destroyed,

what can the righteous do?”

⁴    The Lord is in his holy temple;

the Lord’s throne is in heaven;

his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.

⁵    The Lord tests the righteous,

but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

⁶    Let him rain coals on the wicked;

fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

⁷    For the Lord is righteous;

       he loves righteous deeds;

the upright shall behold his face.

What is baptism? Answer:

Baptism is not simply plain water. Instead it is water enclosed in God’s command and connected with God’s Word.

What then is this Word of God? Answer:

Where our Lord Christ says in Matthew 28[:19*], “Go into all the world, teach all nations,⁷⁸ and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Almighty God, You have poured into our hearts the true Light of Your incarnate Word.  Grant that this Light may shine forth in our lives; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives an reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.(L10)

The Second Sunday after Christmas (GA)

Luke 11:29-32

²⁹ When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Many people in this world are seeking after signs and wonders. They want a prophet like Moses who will bring mighty wonders and signs, or plagues. They want a sign like Mt Carmel. People desire so called gifts of the spirit. Jesus Christ would call this a wicked generation. These people seeking after signs will only get one sign.

The sign of Jonah is the only sign left for anyone to receive. Jesus Christ does rest in the belly of the earth three days and rise to life again. This sign speaks to us about our own resurrection and eternal life. God does give us his Word and truth to teach us about our salvation, and point us to the only sign left for this wicked generation.

This generation leads people away from Jesus. This generation leads people away from the holy life. This generation teaches people to follow their own truths, rather than the Truth of Jesus Christ. This generation needs no sign, it is staring them in the face. Jesus Christ dies and rises to for your salvation.

The Second Sunday after Christmas (OTA)

Deuteronomy 16:1-8

“Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. ² And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there. ³ You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. ⁴ No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. ⁵ You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, ⁶ but at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. ⁷ And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. ⁸ For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.

The celebration of feast some have long forgotten. The Passover celebration has become the Service of the Sacrament, it is no longer a reminder of God bringing us up out of the Land of Egypt, but a reminder of the crucifixion of our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus himself comes up to the appointed location (the temple in Jerusalem) to offer with his family the proper sacrifice. Jesus follows the tradition, the command, and the remembrance.

This celebration is more than just some random occasion. Passover is not like Hanukah. Passover is something more. It is the celebration of the ten wonders against Egypt. It is the celebration of God calling his people out of the land of Slavery. It is the celebration of God claiming his people to be his very own.

God has claimed his people. He claimed them from the hand of Pharaoh. He claimed them from their land of slavery and suffering and death. Jesus Christ died and paid your price with his holy precious blood. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of price, or the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the Passover Lamb. This celebration is a celebration of Israel’s salvation, and likewise the salvation of all people.

The Second Sunday after Christmas (NTA)

Acts 5:17-26

¹⁷ But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy ¹⁸ they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. ¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” ²¹ And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. ²² But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, ²³ “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” ²⁴ Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. ²⁵ And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” ²⁶ Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

Just as Jesus was lost in the temple for three days, his disciples were placed behind locked doors and lost only to be found in the temple teaching. Jesus provided the elders or teachers with wisdom well beyond his years. Now the high priest and his party are filled with jealousy and cannot stomach this thought anymore.

There are many so-called wise men of this generation that cannot stand the simple folk teaching them anything. I often love the illustration of the book smart people who do not have what others call common sense. Some people have their intelligence blind them to simple solutions. God reminds us that he will use the foolish of this world to shame the wise.

He uses a group of simple fishermen to teach his people the fulfillment of the Old Testament or Holy Scriptures. These teachers of the law are no longer amazed or astonished, but now are ready to put down, kill, or destroy these foolish men. But God will continue to proclaim his word through simple people, and through simple words on a page.

It is there in the word of God, He proclaims your salvation and forgiveness. He promises you a life everlasting. He promises you forgiveness and redemption.

The Second Sunday after Christmas (NT)

2 Corinthians 2:1-11

For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. ² For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? ³ And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. ⁴ For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

⁵ Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. ⁶ For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, ⁷ so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. ¹⁰ Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

It would be a grave error for any of us to be outwitted by Satan. We should not be ignorant of Satan’s schemes, but we should be knowledgeable of all potential errors. This means we need to study the nature of fallen man. We need to be mindful of his misconceptions and defiance of God.

St Paul talks about people he has pained, or people that have pained him. It would be easy to see this passage teaching us that we must not ever cause people hurt feelings, or pain. But it is more important to know that there are times when we must point out the afflictions others have caused. St Paul would truly have been pained to come to Corinth and found the church following after the numerous false teachings addressed in 1 Corinthians. So in order to avoid that pain he wrote to them. St Paul likewise may have caused others pain in the harsh tones that he used. This pain must be overcome by repentance and forgiveness.

When we do something wrong, we need to address the wrong, pain, suffering, and sorrow we may have caused someone. Then we need to address the proper, correct, or right answer or doctrinal understanding. We need to find this truth so not to be outwitted by Satan, nor fall blindly into error. But we need to always conclude with forgiveness and reconciliation.

God points out our grievous errors in the flesh and how Satan has ensnared us. God then sends his Son into the flesh to reveal the truth, and die for the forgiveness of our sins. God has brought us to the truth and reconciles us to himself through Jesus Christ our Lord.