The Lord Comes to His Temple (Epiphany 1, 2010)

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Luke 2:41-52
Epiphany I (January 10, 2010)

[podcast]https://public.me.com/toddpeperkorn/sermons/Epiphany01-2010.mp3[/podcast]

TITLE: “The Lord Comes to His Temple”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for today is the Gospel just read from St. Luke chapter two, the Lord comes to His Temple.

King Solomon completed the Temple that his father, David, had promised to make. This Temple was one of the great wonders of the ancient world, probably more ornate and beautiful than any of us have ever seen.

The chief purpose of this Temple was the worship of God. There were sacrifices made in thanksgiving and to atone for the sins of the people. The place would have smelled more like a farm to us than a church, with all of the animals coming and going and being slaughtered. The sights and smells would have been overpowering to us.

Solomon built this Temple because it was where God was to dwell. God had promised to be present with His people. For many years they had traveled with a Tabernacle, or a portable tent, that was God’s dwelling. But now Israel had a king and a palace, and it wasn’t right for God to dwell in a tent when everyone else dwelt in their nice new homes. So the Temple was built, and God’s glory descended upon the Temple in the form of a cloud.

If you were to ask an Israelite in Solomon’s day, or in Jesus’ day, where God was, they could tell you quite easily. He dwells with His people, in the Temple, in the Holy of Holies. That’s where God promised to be, and that’s where He is. This place was the center of everything in their common life together in Israel. We really don’t have an equivalent in our culture of the centrality of this space. Maybe it’s the TV in all of our living rooms.

So fast forward to Jesus’ day. He is now twelve years old, and like a good Jew, every year His family would make the long trek from Nazareth up to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover. The Passover was that annual festival where the children of Israel remembered how God had delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh. It was a feast day to celebrate and rejoice in how God takes care of His people through all things.

Jesus, being twelve years old now, makes the trip with His parents. He went up according to custom. They travel up to Jerusalem with aunts and cousins and relatives galore. It’s as much a family reunion as it is a trip. You can imagine all of the cousins playing together as they make this trek together. The time comes for them to go home, and so this large family of David’s descendants make the trip down the mountain and on their way home. Three days into the trip home, they realize that Jesus isn’t with them! Can you imagine the fear they must have felt? Amber alert! Talk about frantic. I can almost hear Mary’s heart racing as she asks everyone on the road, “Have you seen Jesus? Do you know where He is?” They shake their heads and trudge on.

So like good parents, Mary and Joseph retrace their steps. What would your child do if they were lost? Where would they go? What would be home base for them? Who would they talk to to find their way? So they go and eventually they find him in the most unusual of places. He is in the Temple. Not only is He in the Temple, but Jesus is talking with the teachers of the Law. This would be somewhat like expecting a ten year old to carry on a conversation with the Supreme Court while they’re on coffee break. It just didn’t happen. Mary understandably is upset, and asks Jesus why he has done this and caused them such heartache. Jesus replies, “”Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49-50 ESV)

Where do you think you would find God? God is in His house, doing His work. And what is God’s work? Saving you. God’s work is fulfilling the Law. God is right where He promises to be, doing right what He promises to do. He draws you into His house, forgives you all your sins, and promises that He will be with you every day.

We of course do not receive this as much as we ought all the time. Are you in your heavenly Father’s house as you ought? Not all the time. Not as you should. But Jesus does it in your place. Do you treasure every word and deed of our Lord, as Mary His mother did? Certainly not. We take God and His holy work for granted. But God, who is rich in mercy and love for you, continues to draw you into His house, slowly, patiently, with with great love and delight for your soul.

This day God draws us to His house, to the new Temple not made with hands. Jesus Christ is the new Temple of God, flesh and blood for you and for your salvation. Trust in Him. Believe that God’s promises are for you, and that He will keep you in His Temple today and always. Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.

The Slaughter of the Innocents (Christmas II)

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Christmas 2 (January 3, 2009)
Matthew 2:13-23
TITLE: “The Slaughter of the Innocents”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for this morning is from Matthew chapter 2, the slaughter of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem under the murderous King Herod.
Life has consequences.  If you take a certain path in your life, make certain decisions, do certain things, then something is going to happen as a result.  If you drink to much, you get drunk.  If you eat too much, you get fat.  If you steal, you go to jail.  We spend our lives trying to hope that this is not the case, but it always comes back to us.  You can’t escape it any more than you can escape death.
We are on the tail end of the Christmas season now, and so it is important for us to remember the consequences of our Lord coming down to earth as a little baby.  Today’s reading of the slaughter of the innocents and the flight to Egypt highlight this for us.  Our Lord came down in the womb of the Virgin Mary, took on our flesh and blood.  This is all fine and good, but now what?  What happens next?
In theology, we often divide talking about our Lord into to parts.  His person and His work.  Think about the catechism explanation of the Second Article of the Creed for a minute: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord; who has redeemed me, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood, and with his innocent suffering and death…
Christmas and Epiphany are the seasons where we remember first of all who Jesus is as the very Son of God and Son of Mary.  Later after Epiphany we will learn more of His power and love for us His people, but in Christmas we remember this great truth, that He is both God and Man, the two together in a miraculous way.
So what does this have to do with the slaughter of the children in Bethlehem and the flight to Egypt?  It has this to do with it.  These things had to happen.  The children in Bethlehem had to die, first of all, because it was prophesied in Holy Scriptures that this would happen.  But secondly and most importantly, because this all fits with who Jesus is and what He comes to do.
Jesus, simply put, comes to suffer in our place and die our death.  Everything in His life and death and resurrection point to this one, great reality.  Everything.  So Joseph is warned in a dream that he is to take our Lord and his wife, Mary, to Egypt in order to protect and save them from murderous Herod.
What does this mean?  This means that Jesus is already doing what He came to do.  He is, even as a small child, suffering on our behalf.  Beginning with His circumcision in the Temple, He blood is shed for you and for your salvation.  Every part of the Christmas story points to how Jesus came to save you from your sins.
But there is another aspect of this picture.  In the death of these small boys we have a picture of what it means to participate in Jesus’ suffering.  From the perspective of the world, they had done nothing wrong.  They were about two years old or less.  They were innocent.  Now it is true that they were sinners, certainly.  But that isn’t really the point of the text here.  The point is that these things happened to them, even death at a tender age, came about to point to Jesus and the life that He would shed for the sins of the world.  They lived and died as little Christs.
St. Peter reminds us that we shouldn’t be shaken up when we are tried for the faith.  He writes,
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Peter 4:12-14 ESV)
It is the greatest joy for the Christian to share in Christ’s sufferings, as these little ones did.  That is where God’s glory is revealed.  Christ’s being and His doing melt together here.  Christ is the Son of God, and as God’s Son He comes to save you.  When you suffer as a Christian, God’s work of bringing about the salvation of the world is all the clearer.  For you see, just as Jesus and His family fled to Egypt to hide from the hatred of Herod, they came back.  Herod died.  Your harrowed suffering will come to an end.  You will come home.  I don’t mean the home out of the cold from today.  I mean you will come home to heaven.  And this is the picture of it here, now.  Christ’s blood, shed first in the Temple, and finally on the cross, is now here, for you.  We sing and rejoice in the presence of angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, including those little martyrs in Bethlehem.  Rejoice, beloved!

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Christmas 2 (January 3, 2009)

Matthew 2:13-23

[podcast]https://public.me.com/toddpeperkorn/sermons/Christmas02-2010.mp3[/podcast]

TITLE: “The Slaughter of the Innocents”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for this morning is from Matthew chapter 2, the slaughter of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem under the murderous King Herod.

Life has consequences.  If you take a certain path in your life, make certain decisions, do certain things, then something is going to happen as a result.  If you drink to much, you get drunk.  If you eat too much, you get fat.  If you steal, you go to jail.  We spend our lives trying to hope that this is not the case, but it always comes back to us.  You can’t escape it any more than you can escape death.

We are on the tail end of the Christmas season now, and so it is important for us to remember the consequences of our Lord coming down to earth as a little baby.  Today’s reading of the slaughter of the innocents and the flight to Egypt highlight this for us.  Our Lord came down in the womb of the Virgin Mary, took on our flesh and blood.  This is all fine and good, but now what?  What happens next?

In theology, we often divide talking about our Lord into to parts.  His person and His work.  Think about the catechism explanation of the Second Article of the Creed for a minute: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord; who has redeemed me, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood, and with his innocent suffering and death…

Christmas and Epiphany are the seasons where we remember first of all who Jesus is as the very Son of God and Son of Mary.  Later after Epiphany we will learn more of His power and love for us His people, but in Christmas we remember this great truth, that He is both God and Man, the two together in a miraculous way.

So what does this have to do with the slaughter of the children in Bethlehem and the flight to Egypt?  It has this to do with it.  These things had to happen.  The children in Bethlehem had to die, first of all, because it was prophesied in Holy Scriptures that this would happen.  But secondly and most importantly, because this all fits with who Jesus is and what He comes to do.

Jesus, simply put, comes to suffer in our place and die our death.  Everything in His life and death and resurrection point to this one, great reality.  Everything.  So Joseph is warned in a dream that he is to take our Lord and his wife, Mary, to Egypt in order to protect and save them from murderous Herod.

What does this mean?  This means that Jesus is already doing what He came to do.  He is, even as a small child, suffering on our behalf.  Beginning with His circumcision in the Temple, He blood is shed for you and for your salvation.  Every part of the Christmas story points to how Jesus came to save you from your sins.

But there is another aspect of this picture.  In the death of these small boys we have a picture of what it means to participate in Jesus’ suffering.  From the perspective of the world, they had done nothing wrong.  They were about two years old or less.  They were innocent.  Now it is true that they were sinners, certainly.  But that isn’t really the point of the text here.  The point is that these things happened to them, even death at a tender age, came about to point to Jesus and the life that He would shed for the sins of the world.  They lived and died as little Christs.

St. Peter reminds us that we shouldn’t be shaken up when we are tried for the faith.  He writes,

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Peter 4:12-14 ESV)

It is the greatest joy for the Christian to share in Christ’s sufferings, as these little ones did.  That is where God’s glory is revealed.  Christ’s being and His doing melt together here.  Christ is the Son of God, and as God’s Son He comes to save you.  When you suffer as a Christian, God’s work of bringing about the salvation of the world is all the clearer.  For you see, just as Jesus and His family fled to Egypt to hide from the hatred of Herod, they came back.  Herod died.  Your harrowed suffering will come to an end.  You will come home.  I don’t mean the home out of the cold from today.  I mean you will come home to heaven.  And this is the picture of it here, now.  Christ’s blood, shed first in the Temple, and finally on the cross, is now here, for you.  We sing and rejoice in the presence of angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, including those little martyrs in Bethlehem.  Rejoice, beloved!

The Gift (Christmas Lessons and Carols 2009)

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nativity

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols (Dec. 24, 2008)

For an audio MP3 of this sermon, click below:

[podcast]https://public.me.com/toddpeperkorn/sermons/Christmaslessons2009.mp3[/podcast]

TITLE: “The Gift”

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our text is the story of our Lord’s birth as told in the Scriptures, particularly the verses from Luke 2 as follows: “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19 ESV)

We live in a disposable world. Nearly everything we have and own wears out. The toys of today become the pawned junk of tomorrow. As much as we all love to get gifts for Christmas, and I know that I do, there is always going to be one part of us that wants the anticipation of Christmas never to end. Why? Because you know that once you get your gifts, then it’s over. There is no more imagination. There is no more wondering how great this year will be. It’s done. Time to move on to next year.

But not when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mary kept all these things, these holy events of our Lord’s life, and treasured them in her heart. She meditated on them. Pondered them. Examined them over and over again, like a fine cut diamond that is always new because the light never hits it the same way twice.

That, dear Christian, is what this night is all about. Gifts fade away, but THE GIFT is always bright and clear as the morning sun. Toys grow old. Gadgets break. Clothes don’t fit anymore or go out of style. But Jesus Christ, He is different. You can continue to anticipate and wonder and hope in this little baby, because He makes all things new. Things can get better in Him. Things will get better in Him. He has taken you into Himself, and so His eternal future is yours. Trust in Him, for He cares for you above all things.

Meditating on Christ means meditation on His Word, on this great, wonderful, eternal story that crosses cultures and time, languages and race. This story is the story of all creation. Even those who don’t believe in Jesus know this story. The fact that the world gives gifts on this day, as commercialized and as silly as it may become, is itself a confession that THE GIFT is here in the flesh.

So this Christmastide sit back, relax, rejoice in family and friends, and in the wonder of this season. But don’t just do so because of all the new stuff under the tree. Rejoice because our Lord was hung on a tree. Rejoice because Jesus died so that you might have a future and a life that has no end. Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

It's beginning to look a lot like…swine flu

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50B1221E-7203-4289-A96C-AC44431E6C78.jpg

Certainly swine flu is in the air. Every TV news show and every radio program or newspaper seems to have some mention of its spread. Don’t touch! Have no human contact! You don’t want to get sick.

There is some wisdom in this. As diseases spread, we must take reasonable cautions to guard ourselves and our loved ones from sickness and disease.

But what about at church?

Are we to avoid shaking hands, or even stay away from the Body and Blood of Christ for fear of harm to ourselves or others? Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind as we move forward in faith and trust:

1. God would not command us to take eat, and drink in order to harm us. “In Him we live and move and have our being,” as St. Paul reminds us. God is greater than a virus. He who numbers the hairs on our heads (Matthew 6) will not command us to do something in order to hurt us.

2. It is not “tempting God” to trust HIs Word that we receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.

3. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has said on more than one occasion that the use of the chalice is actually more sanitary than individual cups. If you are not convinced or if this continues to cause you concern, by all means receive from the individual cup instead. [ed: When I wrote this article I couldn’t find my reference on this one. I am very happy to be corrected if I’m wrong on it.]

4. There is a greater chance of communicating a disease through a handshake than through the Sacrament of the Altar.

5. If you cannot in good conscience receive the Sacrament because you are afraid, then don’t. I will be more than happy to commune you privately, if that is your wish.

6. I am also happy to receive a “holy wave” after church instead of a handshake, if you prefer.

7. There is something to be said for “sharing our mutual woes”, as the hymn exclaims. Bearing one another’s burdens is part and parcel to being a Christian. This is not an excuse to be foolish or unsanitary, but neither should we be afraid of each other.

Those are my thoughts on the subject right now. I am happy to speak with anyone about it if that would be helpful. God be with you this season, and stay healthy AND forgiven!

Pastor Peperkorn

The Coming One (Gaudete, Advent III)

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Gaudete – Advent III (December 13, 2009)
Matthew 11:2-10(11)
TITLE: “The Coming One”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for today is the Gospel lesson just read.
John sends His disciples to Jesus with the question, Are you the Coming one, or shall I look for another?
In our text, John the Baptist is sitting in jail, waiting to be executed.  He is sitting in jail because he dared to claim that living together outside of marriage is a sin and breaking the Sixth Commandment against adultery.  Of course, he also made this basic claim of God’s Word to King Herod.  So there John sits, in prison because he has preached God’s Law to the wrong person at the wrong time.
So while he sits there, waiting to die, he sends his disciples to Jesus with that all-important question, are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?  John and his disciples know the prophecies.  They know that the Messiah would come and would turn everything around, would right the wrongs and reverse the work that Satan has done in destroying the world.  They know these prophecies very well.  So why did John send his disciples if he already knew the answer?  There are three possibilities.
The first possibility is that John himself is having doubts about Jesus.  I mean, John is sitting in prison.  He is waiting to die.  He might very well have been desperate for redemption and vindication.  He sent his disciples to Jesus in order to get a straight answer from his cousin.  ARE YOU IT OR NOT?  HAVE I JUST WASTED MY LIFE OR NOT?
We of course in our dark moments have such fears.  Going to church, receiving the Sacrament, teaching, hearing, confessing, praying, all of these things can have a sense of repetition that does nothing.  Here we are, another Christmas and things are no better than last time.  Let’s get on with it.  Are you there, God?  You aren’t alone in your dark feelings and fears.
The second possibility is that John is asking what we might call a “teacher question.”  He himself knows the answer, but he wants to pass his disciples off to Jesus.  He wants them to know and understand that Jesus is the Messiah.  “He must become great, but I must become less,” that is the message John sends to his disciples.
Now as a parent one of the most significant things that you can do is pass the faith on to your children.  That divine handoff, giving the traditions of the Gospel to our children, could hardly be more important.  We are at the beginning of a year of prayer here at Messiah.  One of the things that I have noticed as I pray for our members each day is that there are a lot of people I pray for that I don’t see nearly as much as I would like.  Have we as a congregation done everything we can to pray for and take care of these sheep within our fold?  Have we passed on the faith as we ought?  Yes, we can understand John’s concern for his disciples.  Passing on the faith is central for us, and it is easy to look around and see the possibility of failure, at least from our perspective.  True for him, true for us.
But there is a third interpretation that sort of encompasses those first two.  What if the news Jesus brought was so good, so impossibly wonderful, that John himself could hardly believe it, even though he knew it to be true?  What if in the middle of John darkest night, he knew a secret that changed everything?
The secret, of course, is Jesus Himself.  Jesus’ coming means that I don’t have to wonder about the future.  Jesus’ coming means that things will get better.  They will, because Jesus isn’t just better.  He is the best, the greatest, and the most wonderful gift you could ever imagine.  Jesus is not just a neat idea or a philosophy or a thought in a song on the radio.  Jesus pointed John to the works He had done: the blind could see and the deaf hear, lepers cleansed and the dead raised up, and the poor had the good news preached to them.  He said those words to strengthen John’s faith and yours.
Every son and daughter of Adam and Eve is weak in faith at one point or another.  We all have those dark nights of doubt and sorrow, fear and wondering if God is really here, and if He really cares about us.  What John this Adventtide invites you to is to abandon all of your thoughts that your faith is your doing.  Release them!  Let them go.  Sweep them away, because God has something far greater in store for you.
What He has in store for you is His Son, given to you this day by word and deed, Body and Blood, forgiveness and absolution.  No matter how weak your faith is, God gives Himself to you today to strengthen you, to forgive you, and to draw you into Himself.  Our Lutheran forefathers put it this way:
“We believe, teach, and confess that no true believer—as long as he has living faith, however weak he may be—receives the Holy Supper to his judgment. For the Supper was instituted especially for Christians weak in faith, yet repentant. It was instituted for their consolation and to strengthen their weak faith [Matthew 9:12; 11:5, 28].”
Comfort, comfort, ye my people, said Isaiah to many years ago.  Be comforted, dearly baptized.  God is here, in your midst.  Jesus has come, is coming, and will come again.  Things really can get better.  No, things won’t just get better.  They will become greater than you can possibly dream or hope for.  Believe it for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Gaudete – Advent III (December 13, 2009)

Matthew 11:2-10(11)

For an audio MP3 you may click here:

[podcast]https://public.me.com/toddpeperkorn/sermons/Advent3-2009.mp3[/podcast]

TITLE: “The Coming One”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for today is the Gospel lesson just read.

John sends His disciples to Jesus with the question, Are you the Coming one, or shall I look for another?

In our text, John the Baptist is sitting in jail, waiting to be executed.  He is sitting in jail because he dared to claim that living together outside of marriage is a sin and breaking the Sixth Commandment against adultery.  Of course, he also made this basic claim of God’s Word to King Herod.  So there John sits, in prison because he has preached God’s Law to the wrong person at the wrong time.

So while he sits there, waiting to die, he sends his disciples to Jesus with that all-important question, are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?  John and his disciples know the prophecies.  They know that the Messiah would come and would turn everything around, would right the wrongs and reverse the work that Satan has done in destroying the world.  They know these prophecies very well.  So why did John send his disciples if he already knew the answer?  There are three possibilities.

The first possibility is that John himself is having doubts about Jesus.  I mean, John is sitting in prison.  He is waiting to die.  He might very well have been desperate for redemption and vindication.  He sent his disciples to Jesus in order to get a straight answer from his cousin.  ARE YOU IT OR NOT?  HAVE I JUST WASTED MY LIFE OR NOT?

We of course in our dark moments have such fears.  Going to church, receiving the Sacrament, teaching, hearing, confessing, praying, all of these things can have a sense of repetition that does nothing.  Here we are, another Christmas and things are no better than last time.  Let’s get on with it.  Are you there, God?  You aren’t alone in your dark feelings and fears.

The second possibility is that John is asking what we might call a “teacher question.”  He himself knows the answer, but he wants to pass his disciples off to Jesus.  He wants them to know and understand that Jesus is the Messiah.  “He must become great, but I must become less,” that is the message John sends to his disciples.

Now as a parent one of the most significant things that you can do is pass the faith on to your children.  That divine handoff, giving the traditions of the Gospel to our children, could hardly be more important.  We are at the beginning of a year of prayer here at Messiah.  One of the things that I have noticed as I pray for our members each day is that there are a lot of people I pray for that I don’t see nearly as much as I would like.  Have we as a congregation done everything we can to pray for and take care of these sheep within our fold?  Have we passed on the faith as we ought?  Yes, we can understand John’s concern for his disciples.  Passing on the faith is central for us, and it is easy to look around and see the possibility of failure, at least from our perspective.  True for him, true for us.

But there is a third interpretation that sort of encompasses those first two.  What if the news Jesus brought was so good, so impossibly wonderful, that John himself could hardly believe it, even though he knew it to be true?  What if in the middle of John darkest night, he knew a secret that changed everything?

The secret, of course, is Jesus Himself.  Jesus’ coming means that I don’t have to wonder about the future.  Jesus’ coming means that things will get better.  They will, because Jesus isn’t just better.  He is the best, the greatest, and the most wonderful gift you could ever imagine.  Jesus is not just a neat idea or a philosophy or a thought in a song on the radio.  Jesus pointed John to the works He had done: the blind could see and the deaf hear, lepers cleansed and the dead raised up, and the poor had the good news preached to them.  He said those words to strengthen John’s faith and yours.

Every son and daughter of Adam and Eve is weak in faith at one point or another.  We all have those dark nights of doubt and sorrow, fear and wondering if God is really here, and if He really cares about us.  What John this Adventtide invites you to is to abandon all of your thoughts that your faith is your doing.  Release them!  Let them go.  Sweep them away, because God has something far greater in store for you.

What He has in store for you is His Son, given to you this day by word and deed, Body and Blood, forgiveness and absolution.  No matter how weak your faith is, God gives Himself to you today to strengthen you, to forgive you, and to draw you into Himself.  Our Lutheran forefathers put it this way:

“We believe, teach, and confess that no true believer—as long as he has living faith, however weak he may be—receives the Holy Supper to his judgment. For the Supper was instituted especially for Christians weak in faith, yet repentant. It was instituted for their consolation and to strengthen their weak faith [Matthew 9:12; 11:5, 28].”

Comfort, comfort, ye my people, said Isaiah to many years ago.  Be comforted, dearly baptized.  God is here, in your midst.  Jesus has come, is coming, and will come again.  Things really can get better.  No, things won’t just get better.  They will become greater than you can possibly dream or hope for.  Believe it for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting.  Amen.