The Sunday after Christmas, 2013

The Sunday after Christmas

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn # 85:1-8 From Heaven Above 4.55

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 Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #85:9-15 From Heaven Above 4.55

 Gospel of Joy

The Hymn #657            Beautiful Savior                    4.24

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 #83     Hark! What Mean Those Holy Voices  4:40

KJV Galatians 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

KJV Luke 2:33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Sunday After Christmas

O almighty and everlasting God, mercifully direct our ways, that we may walk in Thy law, and be made to abound in good works: through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Gospel of Joy

People miss the reason for Christmas joy. They tend to look at the things we associate with Christmas, such as family get-togethers and presents, getting time off work.

The true Christmas story is the reason for the joy, and it is best told by children, as people recognize. One of the least attentive members always came to the Christmas program because he enjoyed hearing the Christmas story through children. He said, “No offense, pastor, but you get paid. It is much better coming from a child.” And although he had many failings as a man and as a father, he at least had that connection with the Gospel and loved to hear it.

The people who walked in darkness had seen a great light. We can hardly imagine how difficult it was in those days to grasp religion when everyone taught works and the burden of the Law. The true Judaism of the Old Testament had been covered over with so many layers of tradition that people did not hear it from the professional clergy. The words were still spoken, if misunderstood. They had the Book of Isaiah and the Psalms, more than enough to teach them about the Christ.

Sometimes we recognize a long-lost truth better after we have been warned a few times and also misled by those who oppose that truth. My friends post about Noah’s Ark being found in Turkey. Definite proof appears in various places, making the skeptics even more skeptical. I told one, “I found Noah’s Ark long ago, in the Bible.” I was trying to say – I do not need the wood and the iron nails. I know it is the truth. Evidence is all around us about the Flood, which is fine, but the revelation comes from the Holy Spirit, not from the study of geography. That is just an extra benefit, showing us how all things work together.

In darkness, a small light means everything. No one knows that until absolute darkness is required in a battle or a photography darkroom. Ordinary light fogs film and paper, so a darkroom has to bee sealed up against those stray beams so only an amber light illuminates the chemical process. And that room looks very dark until the door is shut and the eyes adjust. Then light leaks are powerful reminders of how light conquers darkness.

When Jesus was born, people were used to darkness but longed for light. Joseph and Mary were told the Gospel message, so great that it was both wonderful and disturbing. The honesty of the story shows, because Joseph reacted as any man would, but God’s message tempered his action and thoughts. Mary in her humble faith was filled with awe at her special role.

With we hear normal welcome news, we wonder, “Can this be true?” We can see how God strengthened the faith of Mary and Joseph with repeated confirmations of the truth. They experienced trials and joys that no other can repeat, from the arduous journey and rejection in their home town to the angelic help and messages. The rationalistic imagination wants to supply details, such as fruit trees bending down for Mary to eat from them, a donkey giving her a ride all the way up to mountainous Jerusalem. Did she have angelic obstetrical help? Nothing is said. Yet they trust in God and there is no reason to doubt that God made the impossible possible – without adding details that we need.

The people sat in darkness because they knew Law and sin, but the Law only made the knowledge of sin worse for them. The Law cannot solve the problem of sin any more than an X-ray can heal a broken bone.

The entire Christmas story is one of God’s grace and love, so the narrative provokes and increases faith.

The Nativity foreshadows the Atonement in many ways, with rejection and indifference portrayed, and Simeon’s strange saying. The Atonement by itself might be too much for most people to grasp and believe, were it not for the Nativity.

34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

The Nativity and the Atonement go well together, the Two Natures united in the One Person. The Virgin Birth of Christ permits only a child-like faith. The adults (so to speak) look for rationalistic excuses. Or they praise it as a children’s tale (good for the kiddies) or a myth (a universal truth that never happened). The angels appeared to shepherds. That is another step too far for the rationalists. They start lecturing us every December that it could not have taken place in December, based on their pin-headed (self-serving) assumption that shepherds were not in their field at that time. Only in the lambing season, they claim each year. Only then. But the detective in me asks, “Only then?” Not when predators might be around? Or what other reasons since I have never raised any sheep, just like the spring-lambing advocates.

This requires faith in the revealed Word and faith in God’s activities and promises. Since all the Promises are united in this revealed truth, one cannot pick and choose the adult concepts and separate them from those requiring a child-like faith.

And that is the reason why the professional clergy are so easily misled and so eager to be false guides. Once they have another set of authorities, besides Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they can pontificate about their experts and ignore the Four Evangelists.

Thus faith does create the rising and falling of many. And a sword does pierce Mary’s heart. The very Savior she bore and raised was rejected by His people and executed as a criminal. On the one hand were promises of an everlasting and increasing Kingdom, from Isaiah 9, but what she experienced was quite different. They were a small, persecuted band. The glories of the future were invisible, but faith does not walk by sight.

Faith divides people in this way. Those who trust in the Savior are united with this truth and free from the demands of the Law, forgiven of their sins and promised eternal life. Those who lack this faith (worse – who have lost this faith) are constantly agitated and annoyed by anyone who believes. They must fix the believers and make them adults again.

Nothing is clearer than the immediate rejection of believers when they testify about the truth. A new story about this has been published in Christianity Today magazine. The family became Mormon and did all the good Mormon things. Then, when the son was on his missionary trip, he began reading a New Testament and discovered grace, faith, and the error of Mormonism. He was expelled as a missionary. The family studied the New Testament together and left the sect. Now they have written a book about it.

Jesus said in John’s Gospel – They will excommunicate you (expel you from the synagogue) – and they have. Falsehood always seeks to exterminate the truth but God’s truth spreads through persecution and rejection.