Boasting (Epiphany 1 Alternate, The Baptism of our Lord 2009)

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Epiphany 1 – (January 11, 2009)
The Baptism of Our Lord
Matthew 3:13-17
For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “The Least and the Most”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for today is the Baptism of Our Lord from Matthew chapter 3, as well as St. Paul’s words from I Corinthians, “Let him who boast, boast in the Lord.”

Boasting. It is our national pastime I think. Whether it is a child talking about how much faster, smarter or better they are than another child, or an adult boasting about their house, job, family or whatever, we all love to toot our own horn. Now to be fair, we don’t always do this in obvious ways. Sometimes we cover it up in a false humility, but it is there nonetheless. We are all selfish by nature. We all want to make sure that everyone else knows what we do, what we are worth, and that we are worth more than others.

But saint Paul reminds us that this is not the way it is with God and His holy Kingdom. He wrote in his introduction to the book of Corinthians:

1Cor. 1:26   For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

This is hard for us to grasp, it really is. We don’t want to buy it. We want to believe that God rewards a good effort, and that as long as we try really hard, God will makeup the difference. You know the adage: God helps those who help themselves. Of course, that’s not from the Bible. It’s from Benjamin Franklin (1757 in the Poor Richard’s Almanac), but it’s still close enough. Right? No.

Boasting of course is another word for pride. Pride means to be puffed up, to be convinced that you are right and that you are better than anyone else. Now sometimes pride can be a healthy thing. We can talk about school pride or pride in our community. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. Here we are talking about believing especially that it is your own works before God that matter, your attitude, your belief that you are a better Christian than others. All of us have this prideful, boasting attitude within us somewhere. No matter how bad of a Christian you think you are, there is always someone you know that is worse. That makes it easy. At least you aren’t at the bottom of the pile. Of course, God is not fond of this mindset. St. Paul writes, “You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.” (Romans 2:23 ESV)

So all of this talk about pride and boasting brings us back to our Gospel for today, the Baptism of our Lord. When Jesus stands in the waters of the Jordan river, He does so as the Son of God and the Son of Mary. John doesn’t want to baptize Him: “I need to be baptized by you, and you are coming to me!” But Jesus replies with this wonderful Gospel proclamation, ““Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”” (Matthew 3:15 ESV) In other words, Jesus, the Son of God, the creator of the universe, the king of kings and lord of lords, let’s John in on this work of salvation. Only not just John. I would contend that the “us” there actually includes us, you and I as well!

This is what I mean. Jesus was born the Son of Mary. He is quite literally our brother in the flesh. When He does something, you do something. It’s that simple. Everything Jesus does, He does for you. So when Jesus is baptized in the Jordan river to fulfill all righteousness, you are there. This is what our Lord’s baptism does. God declares Jesus His beloved Son, and now, by your baptism, you fall under that
selfsame blessing.

St. Paul calls this “boasting in the Lord”. God ties himself to your future so much that it’s a little unnerving. Yet that is the love God showers upon you in Holy Baptism. What baptism does for you is makes your glory, your boasting be in God, not in yourself and your failings, big and small. Perhaps Luther wrote it best in the Large Catechism:

“Thus we see what a great and excellent thing Baptism is, which snatches us from the jaws of the devil and makes God our own, overcomes and takes away sin and daily strengthens the new man, always remains until we pass from this present misery to eternal glory. Therefore let everybody regard his Baptism as the daily garment which he is to wear all the time.” Large Catechism [Tappert p.446 #83]

God clothes you in Holy Baptism. Jesus stands in those waters, and God declares Him the beloved Son. When He does this for Jesus, He does it for you as well. You have been rescued from sin, death, and the power of the devil. You no longer have to find your identity simply in yourself, and your accomplishments and failures. Now your identity is in the ONE who stands in the water with you, loving you with a whole heart, forgiving your sins, and drawing you into His loving embrace. Boast in the Lord, dearly beloved! He has done all things for you. 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 Lutheran Confessions – Pocket Edition a.k.a. "Baby Concordia"

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Recently Rev. Paul McCain announced the “birth” of Baby Concordia, the Pocket Edition of the Lutheran Confessions.  Being a hopeless bibliophile, especially on editions of the Book of Concord, I ordered one right away.

Here it is:

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My initial reactions are very positive.  It’s roughly the same size as my old pocket edition of Lutheran Worship.  The binding is about an inch thick.  The paper is higher quality than I expected.  I thought it would be that super think bible-type paper.  It isn’t.  It’s a more standard book paper.  I’d say trade paperback quality, maybe a teeny bit thinner.

Basically it is the straight text of the Book of Concord, without any of the introductions or other supplementary materials you find in the larger, hard bound edition.  It also includes the appendices, including the Saxon Visitation Articles and the Catalog of Testimonies.  It is 1036 pages.  Single copies are: $14.99, if you order ten or more copies, they are $10.99 each. Place your orders here, or call 800-325-3040.

Frankly, I think this is awesome.  My only real criticism of it is that I’m afraid that the paperback cover is going to wear out long before the rest of the book.  But that is necessary in order to keep the price down. Fortunately, it is cheap enough so that if you are using it enough to wear out, you can get another one.  I suppose one could explore some kind of dust cover or something else.

Uses that come to my mind right now include anyplace that you don’t want the “big” edition.  Winkels, out of town, etc.  It may be a worthwhile option for getting multiple copies for bible class or something as well.  Men’s groups.  I think the options are nearly endless.

Thank you, Concordia, for another great product.

-LL

+Richard John Neuhaus+

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First Things just reported that Richard John Neuhaus, longtime editor of First Things and former Missouri Synod Lutheran, died in Christ this morning.  As a former Missourian, he always had an interesting perspective for those of us within the fold.  While I hardly agreed with everything he said, I found him insightful and almost always worth reading.  We will miss him.

-LL

FIRST THINGS: On the Square » Blog Archive » Richard John Neuhaus, 1936–2009.

Heirs of the Reformation: Treasures of the Singing Church

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Imagine 45 of the greatest Lutheran hymns (okay, a few straight choir selections) from the 17th century, done by well trained musicians, with great instruments.  Now imagine it done in English, with mostly LSB hymn translations.  Now imagine a great booklet describing each piece.

That is Heirs of the Reformation.

This collection is really incredible.  Basically what CPH did with this is take many of the great hymns of the post-reformation period (lots of kernlieder, among others), and make choral settings of them.  Many of the settings themselves are from the 17th and 18th centuries, although there isn’t much Bach (we have that in abundance elsewhere).  But you do get a fair sampling of Vulpius, Hammerschmidt, Praetorius, Hassler, Buxtehude, and many others.  There are a few settings from the 20th century, but mostly they are arrangements of the period.

It is hard for me to describe how much I like this collection.  Lutheran chorales really get a bad rap in so many ways.  Decades of abusive playing have nearly killed them.  But it is not so!  Here you will find fresh, beautiful and vibrant settings of many of the great hymns from our heritage.  Paul Gerhardt is very well represented.  I have particularly enjoyed the double choir setting of Lord Let at Last Thine Angels Come by Hans Leo Hassler.  It is moving and wonderful.

If I have any criticism of this recording, it is that it wasn’t done in a church.  There is a hint of that “recording studio” feel to it occasionally.  This was really my chief criticism of the Martin Luther: Hymns and Ballads collection that CPH put out a few years ago.  It is an occasional annoyance, but the power of the text and the music itself more than overcomes this fault.

This four CD collection has almost four hours of music included.  It costs $45, and is worth every penny.

-LL