Circumcision and Name
of Jesus
New Year’s Day
Pastor Gregory L.
Jackson
Bethany Lutheran
Church, 7 PM Central Time
The Hymn # 81 O Jesus Christ, Thy Manger Is 3:60
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The
Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O
Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 90 Come, Your Hearts 3:83
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 90 Come, Your Hearts 3:83
Christmas – The Story
of Faith
The Hymn #119 Great God We Sing 3:20
The Hymn #119 Great God We Sing 3:20
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 283 God’s Word 3:90
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 283 God’s Word 3:90
Galatians 3:23-29
King
James Version (KJV)
23 But
before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which
should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith.
25 But after
that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as
many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye
be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Luke
2:21-40
King
James Version (KJV)
21 And
when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name
was called Jesus, which was so named of
the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Christmas – The Story of Faith
Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the Temple to fulfill the
requirements of the Law. It was the custom to give the baby a name at this
time, and this Baby was already named by God through the angel – Jesus.
Jesus means salvation, and this word is found throughout the
Psalms and many other places. In many places we can substitute Jesus the name
for the term salvation and it makes perfect sense. In other words, God was
preparing His people for His Son being salvation for His people.
And so we end prayers in the Name of Christ, as He taught us
to pray. Notice that generic religion forbids this. People are urged at massive
gatherings to bow their heads in silence (no prayer) and in one instance, to “pray
to whatever God you believe in.” Those solemn words by the un-offending
chaplain at the university was a tribute to polytheism – all gods being equal.
But believers pray to the one and only God, through Christ
alone, not through any other agents.
Names are powerful. We get someone’s attention with that
individual’s name, not with Hey You. And every soul has a name. The naming of Jesus is a beautiful transition
from the era of the Old Testament to the New Testament, something we take for
granted.
God chose Paul to preach this transition, from the demand so
of the Law to justification by faith. In fulfilling this Law, Joseph and Mary
displayed their faith in God. Human reason could have made them think they and
the Baby were above all that now, with so many divine Promises.
Human reason is not contrary to faith, but people often put
reason above faith and judge faith through reason. They say, “I cannot believe
this unless it is reasonable.”
The Christmas story is just the opposite. One miracle after
another prompts the individual to acknowledge the effect of the Word – God has
done this. Only He can work this way. I believe in His love and mercy as shown
in the birth of His Son.
Yesterday I read the biography of Theodore Schmauk, a
forgotten Christian leader. I was able to get a rare book in perfect condition
for only $10. It was signed by an equally famous (at one time) leader – Luther D.
Reed. When I was in seminary, everyone studied Luther Reed about worship. Now
they study the guitar and bongo drums. Reed put his bookplate in the book –
naming it as his book – and signed it.
When I was reviewing Schmauk’s life earlier, I was
astonished by his whirlwind of accomplishments. That prompted to get the book
to find out more. And I did. He lost his little sister due to her fragile
health, and he spent most of his life going from one near fatal crisis to
another.
When Schmauk was a nationally known leader and writer, he
led a workshop in teaching Sunday School. He sat on a tiny chair (he was a very
large man) and held his little audience of 5-6 year-olds in rapt attention. He
was as lost in the story about Jesus as they were. His role was planting faith
and building faith in the hearts of those children.
When I read some of his statements in his letters, it was
like reading from the greatest works of the Christian leaders. He always
connected the teaching of the Word with the work of the Holy Spirit, and that
was how he conducted his life.
Lenski wrote long ago, “Programs come and go, but only one
thing builds the Church – the Word of God.”
In contrast, I heard one highly visible church leader say, “Get
baseball going. That is how we got all our new members, from the baseball
tournaments.” I wondered how St. Paul would have responded to games as the
foundation for the Kingdom of God. Doubtless it would have prevented the
apostle from being driving out of towns, arrested, and facing capital
punishing.
Reason says – forget troubles. Use tricks, hooks, and
gimmicks to please people.
Luther saw this temptation, because the Reformation seemed
to move in reverse after it went so well at first. If he had counted the
numbers, as they do today, he would have given up. He even saw how his own
people were letting false doctrine rise up and take over during his own life.
The question is not, “Are we successful because we look at
results that please us?” but rather, “We trust that God’s Word will always
achieve His purpose in powerful, effective way, but according to His time and
His purpose.
Our tendency is to merge human reason with our emotions, a
dangerous mix. It is more obvious among college students, who imagine that
their experience trumps what someone might conclude from research and many
decades of experience. Thus younger adults will say loudly what others say in a
more subtle fashion – “You have upset me, so you must be wrong.”
This is where the Word takes our human reason and pitches it
overboard. That reminds me of when I was going against a tiny guy in judo. Only
he had a brown belt. I had him locked up until I suddenly (and effortlessly)
became airborne, landing on the mat several feet away.
The Word says to us, “You thought God should work your way,
but He chooses to work His way.”
Nothing says this better than the Savior born of a Virgin in
a stable and honored only by poor working men at first. Various aspects of the birth
of Christ make people stumble, as God intends. It may be a prophecy from
centuries before. It may be the simple item of Virgin Birth.
I have known many different people, active in the church as
leaders, who simply rejected the Virgin Birth of Christ. I had lunch with Herb
Children, the former head of the ELCA. When he published on the topic, he
changed it from the Virgin Birth to Christ being born of an unwed mother
(factually wrong on two counts – Joseph and Mary were married, plus the denial
of the Virgin Birth).
Methodists changed their hymn to reflect this rationalism – “Offspring
of the Chosen One” instead of the offensive (to them) “Offspring of the Virgin’s
Womb.”
The real offense – the Big Miracle – is God becoming man.
What they are really saying is – Jesus is only a man. The Incarnation is the
miracle of miracles, greater than Creation.
The Word teaches us this – because human reason cannot
accept it. No one can prove it through reason and likewise any so-called proof
based on reason will suffer from that weakness.
The Word is so powerful that we know its truth and
experience it as well. The Nativity shows us how reason clings to salvation by
works, but faith receives and enjoys the Promises of God,
