The Epiphany of Our Lord - The Christian and the State

The Hymn # 132                O God of God, O Light of Light
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 2 on page 123
The Lections

Isaiah 60:1-6

Matthew 2:1-12

The Sermon Hymn #575        Before the Lord We Bow

The Christian and the State

The Litany and the Lord’s Prayer p. 44
The Collect for Peace p. 45
The Benediction p. 45
The Hymn # 558             All Praise to Thee

Isaiah 60

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Matthew 2

2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

The Christian and the State

A lady in this area was talking about her worship services at church - outside. I said, "I wish people would declare their First Amendment rights instead of saying - the strip clubs are open, so we should be, too."

She seemed a bit confused by what I said, so I said, "Free exercise of religion is a First Amendment right, which is beyond the control of any lawmaker or policeman."

She said, "Right. That is why we are worshiping in the parking lot. Freedom of religion."

I decided not to go over our inborn - inherent rights, because that concept is being lost quickly. It is very common to hear people say, "Don't even talk about that topic because it offends me."

The same is true of the Second Amendment. I have had students worry about their innate right to protect themselves.

The trouble with our society is the loss of literacy in general and that includes the concept of government. We have best possible Constitution, unrivaled by any other country's. However, we need to articulate our rights and our history rather than listen to blame from those who strive for another form of government.

I do not feel any sense of alarm about Washington DC, because the current disturbance was obviously planned, funded, and coordinated with those who would benefit from it. Many times people are stricken bad, unexpected events. Rather than blame the peace, why not ask, "Who benefits from this?"

Most of the news coverage is almost completely lacking in knowledge of the US Constitution. For example, we do not have a direct election of the President and Vice-President. Nobody votes for President. We only vote for a slate of electors. With slight variations, the state either pledges all electors to one candidate or another.

No one is elected or President Elect until the electors have voted and their slate has been accepted by the House. This balances the influence of the region with the influence of the population.

Lutherans should not be shocked. What protected Luther from the Emperor (who hated Germans and Lutherans) was his ruler being an Elector of the Emperor. Frederick the Wise had the power to say "No!" to the Emperor and the Pope. That is ironic especially this year - because that protection changed the world.

Our Founders anticipated the issue of population massed in certain places and controlling everything beneficial to them alone. The idea of electors was not new to them, but borrowed. There are many benefits, such as having presidential candidates pay attention to tiny states and big states with tiny populations. One state can make the difference in the election.

The individual state legislatures alone have the right to set the rules for their elections. Judges do not have that authority, and governors do not have that authority - under the US Constitution. There can be adjustments from the House of Representatives, but it really depends on them and the state legislatures to keep the votes honest.

God has given America a great place in the history of the world, great leaders as founders, a long-lasting Constitution, great mineral wealth and fertile soil, lakes and rivers to provide water and transportation, two oceans to provide safe distance from the covetous.

We seem so small and insignificant as a congregation, but the Savior was born in a town barely known, placed in a manger rather than the Temple or a ruler's home, not even in a scholar's home. The great power of Jesus came from the Truth rather than political standing. Truth is often persecuted but God's truth in the Word remains and grows until the end of time.

The fog was so bad, they could not see where they were going. The Durham boats took their half-frozen and ill-equipped army to the Hessian mercenaries, where they surprised them and began the march to freedom for us all. Washington gave credit to God.

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The Litany of Martin Luther, 1529.

 

℣: O Lord,	℟: Have mercy upon us.
℣: O Christ,	℟: Have mercy upon us.
℣: O Lord,	℟: Have mercy upon us.
℣: O Christ,	℟: Hear Thou us.
℣: O God the Father in heaven,	℟: Have mercy upon us.
℣: O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,	℟: Have mercy upon us.
℣: O God the Holy Ghost,	℟: Have mercy upon us.

 

℣: Be gracious unto us.	℟: Spare us, good Lord.
℣: Be gracious unto us.	℟: Help us, good Lord.

                                                               

℣: From all sin;	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.
℣: From all error;	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.
℣: From all evil:	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.

 

℣: From the crafts and assaults of the devil;	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.
℣: From sudden and evil death;	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.
℣: From pestilence and famine;	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.
℣: From war and bloodshed;	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.
℣: From sedition and rebellion;	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.
℣: From lightning and tempest;	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.
℣: From all calamity by fire and water;	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.
℣: And from everlasting death:	℟: Good Lord, deliver us.

 

℣: By the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: By Thy holy Nativity;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: By Thy baptism, fasting, and temptation;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: By Thine agony and bloody sweat;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: By Thy cross and Passion;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: By Thy precious death and burial;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: By Thy glorious resurrection and ascension;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: And by the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter:	℟: Help us, good Lord.

 

℣: In all time of our tribulation;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: In all time of our prosperity;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: In the hour of death;	℟: Help us, good Lord.
℣: And in the day of Judgment:	℟: Help us, good Lord.

 

℣: We poor sinners do beseech Thee

℟: To hear us, O Lord God,

 

℣: And to rule and govern Thy holy Christian Church;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To preserve all pastors and ministers of Thy Church in the true knowledge and understanding of Thy Word and in holiness of life;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To put an end to all schisms and causes of offense;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To bring into the way of truth all such as have erred and are deceived;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To beat down Satan under our feet;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To send faithful laborers into Thy harvest;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To accompany Thy Word with Thy Spirit and grace;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To raise up them that fall and to strengthen such as do stand;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: And to comfort and help the weak-hearted and the distressed:	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

℣: To give all nations peace and concord;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To preserve our country from discord and contention;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To give to our nation perpetual victory over all its enemies;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To direct and defend our President and all in authority;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: And to bless and keep our magistrates and all our people:	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

℣: To behold and succor all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To protect all who travel by land or water;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To preserve all women in the perils of childbirth;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To strengthen and keep all sick persons and young children;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To set free all who are innocently imprisoned;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To defend and provide for all fatherless children and widows;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: And to have mercy upon all men:	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

℣: To forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers and to turn their hearts;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: To give and preserve to our use the fruits of the earth;	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.
℣: And graciously to hear our prayers:	℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

℣: O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,

℟: We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.

 

℣: O Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world,	℟: Have mercy upon us.
℣: O Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world,	℟: Have mercy upon us.
℣: O Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world,	℟: Grant us Thy peace.

 

℣: O Christ,	℟: Hear Thou us.
℣: O Lord,	℟: Have mercy upon us.
℣: O Christ,	℟: Have mercy upon us.

Minister and Congregation:

Lord have mercy upon us. Amen.