Sermon from Jan. 10th

This was our sermon from Jan. 10th, a day we observed both the Epiphany of our Lord and the Baptism of Jesus.

Epiphany/Baptism of our Lord
Jan. 10, 2009
Matt. 2:1-12
Come to the light

In the name of Jesus, amen. I suppose every age can be called a dark age. And I know I have shared before that the incandescent light bulb is a horrible invention because we are losing the distinction between light and dark. With the flick of a switch we can have light 24 hours a day. Knowing what darkness is helps us value the light so much more.
Darkness is a metaphor for spiritual blindness. Blind, dead, and an enemy of God is the way that the Bible describes life apart from God, a life that descends further and further into the darkness of death. Because of our self-centered sin, every age is a dark age. Darkness represents the age in which all people live where sin reigns. Darkness can represent this present age.
It was in January of 2008 when news stories shared the upheaval in Kenya over elections. The upheaval became violent. And the violence affected the church. Rev. Dennis Meeker, a Lutheran missionary in Kenya, married to a Kenyan deaconess, suffered because of the violence. While Rev. Meeker and his wife were spared physical harm, the church they serve was burned to the ground. And the very next Sunday, Rev. Meeker’s congregation met for worship. This horrible event was a combination of religion, politics, and tribalism. But that event from two years ago sheds light on the decision 37 years ago, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal. It is the same old darkness that surrounds us, the darkness that feeds upon itself and leads us from darkness into more darkness.
With the beginning of Epiphany, a great shift has taken place. The shift is this: Christmas is a Jewish celebration. Jesus is born a Jew in a Jewish city of Jewish parents. And what happened on the 8th day? Jesus was circumcised like every other Jewish boy baby. What did Joseph and Mary do on the 40th day of Jesus’ life? According to religious custom, Joseph and Mary offered sacrifices on the day when women were declared to be ‘clean’ from the delivery of their children. Jesus was raised according to the Law of Moses. And Jesus fulfilled that law. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises to have a son of David sitting on the throne forever. And if you are not one of God’s chosen people, then you are left out. You are left sitting in the dark.
Epiphany changes all that! Epiphany loudly, brightly, joyfully declares that this newborn King is not merely King of the Jews but King of all people, King of all tribes, races, tongues, and nations. Jesus is born savior of the Jews and savior of the Gentiles. The Gospel of grace and mercy goes global as Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar show up with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. As Isaiah and Paul wrote, the mystery hidden for ages is epiphanied. It is revealed. “The mystery is that Gentiles are now fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
God the Father has given His light, His only-begotten Son, to humanity. Still, darkness often threatens to overwhelm the light. It surely must seem that way these days as we see, hear, and read the news from all over the world. How would Christmas have been different if that terrorist succeeded in blowing up that plane? What dark sin must own that pediatrician in Lewes? What forbids us from seeing the need of our neighbor, from hearing their cry for help, for companionship but the darkness of our sin that causes us to look with suspicion, with cynicism, with skepticism at the people we live with?
The dark shadows creep into our lives, and the people of God mourn their sin. But more than mourn, the people of God repent of their sin. Yet some people stubbornly stumble in to the pitch darkness of sin and death, empowered by the prince of darkness, and they seek to drag the children of light back into the darkness. But the world will not go back to the Dark Ages, and this is because of the Epiphany of our Lord. The darkness tries, but it cannot put out the light of Christ! Christ has won the final victory over the darkness of sin, death, and hell by his innocent life, suffering, and death.
It is important for us to hold on to a sober view of this sin-darkened world, the dark age that you and I live in. The outcome is not in doubt, but there are many battles yet to fight against the forces of darkness. Christ, the true light, continues to be with us and in us. At the font, God turned on the light in our life. As Dr. Luther writes about the Apostles’ Creed, God the Holy Spirit has enlightened me with his gifts. The light shines and we are able to see and believe that God is loving and forgiving for Christ’s sake.
What glorious light shines in the Supper of our Lord! Here in the Supper is light because Christ Himself, who is the true light, is here bodily for you. You are invited to the Lord’s table to feast with the Lord, and to feast on the Lord’s goodness. We are one body, partaking of the body and blood of Christ, broken and shed for the forgiveness of our dark sins.
Christ, the true light, continues to shine in ways that the world in its darkness cannot comprehend. Mercy is mystifying. Forgiveness is stupefying. Charity is scorned. Kindness and compassion is laughed at and mocked. But you see the light. You know the light. You live in the light because of your baptism you are children of light. Indeed, Christ is the light for a darkened world. And God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit strengthens us to take the light of God and His Christ into our communities, all for the sake of revealing Christ our Lord and our Redeemer. SDG