Water into Blood and Wine

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

January 20, 2013

Jesus Turns Water into Blood and Wine

Exodus 7, Ephesians 3, John 2

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus loves to turn ordinary things into extraordinary things by His words of promise. And His love of using ordinary things for amazing purposes is entirely consistent with how He's always done things.

I.

3,500 years ago Moses was sent to tell the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to stop treating God's people as though they belonged to him. Through Moses, God said, “Let My people go.” Pharaoh thought he was god and he logically said no.

So God sent ten calamities on Egypt. The first was so disastrous that it's stunning to consider that the remaining nine plagues were needed! This first disaster was that the water of the Nile was turned to blood by God's power and promise.

God took two ordinary things that all people desperately need, water and blood, and by His word they became a plague upon Egypt.

The Nile was the lifeline for the country. Without it they would cease to exist as a nation—without the River they had no water for their crops. As pagans did then and they continue to do now, they worshiped the creation instead of the Creator. They worshiped the Nile as a god. When the one true God turned the ordinary water of the Nile into blood, Egypt's economy and theology was destroyed.

The waters that had once saved Moses himself from death, now became a bloody mess. This miracle was God's judgment on Pharaoh. Even the Devil's “miracle”, done by Pharaoh's magicians, had to bow down to God's judgment. The magicians turned more water into blood. How foolish! Why would you turn more water into blood?! This stubborn attitude would lead to nine more catastrophes that destroyed Egypt.

II.

2,000 years ago God's Son, Jesus Christ, went to a wedding celebration and He did it again. He used ordinary water for a special purpose—He turned it into delicious wine.

Jesus Christ created the institution of marriage, when He placed Adam and Eve together in the Garden of Eden. Now He came in person to celebrate another man and woman who had been placed together for life. At this happy occasion Jesus saved the day by turning water into wine. By this miracle He confirmed His love of marriage and His love for individuals.

III.

In many ways the Ten Plagues of Egypt was a battle between one man and the one true God. At Cana this miracle showed that Jesus' love of humanity is on a one-to-one basis.

Jesus didn't come in the flesh to your wedding, but He does live in each of your homes. He uses husbands and wives to take care of each other. He uses moms and dads to take care of their kids. He uses grown-up kids to take care of their elderly parents. Even grown-ups who aren't married enjoy the blessings of marriage through their parents, siblings, and extended family. Jesus has called the ordinary people in your life for a special purpose: to love you by putting your best interests ahead of their own. And the same promises applies to you.

IV.

But what if we don't take care of each other? Then Jesus gives us His words of promise that our salvation does not depend on how well we care for each other. It depends on His life, death, and resurrection for us. And because He forgives us, He calls us to life. We enjoy His life as we receive His gifts that bring cleansing and healing for our souls. And again He uses ordinary things for this extraordinary purpose.

In Baptism He loves it when we use His promised Words to turn ordinary water into holy water that washes away the self-centered attitude from our souls. It's holy water that is holy not because of a rite or ritual, but because of the word and promise of God.

In Absolution on Sunday morning He loves it when the pastor uses his ordinary voice to pronounce His word of promise that forgives our selfishness.

In His Supper He loves it when by His words of promise ordinary bread and wine become also His true body and blood for our forgiveness.

V.

Out of His glorious riches He… strengthen[s] you with power through His Spirit in your inner being. (Eph. 3:16)

Jesus uses ordinary things for His extraordinary purposes. With Pharaoh these miracles were judgment, but for you, dear believers, He uses miracles to keep His promises to you and strengthen your faith. A strong faith is one that day by day sees just how much it depends on Christ and His promises. A strong faith cries out in full confidence of the Cross, “I'm not a god, but a poor miserable soul who depends on You, dear sweet Jesus, and Your water and blood for my forgiveness, for my life, and for my future. Amen!”

In the name of the Father and of the + Son

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mercy Poured Out

First Sunday after the Epiphany

The Baptism of our Lord

January 13, 2013

Mercy Poured Out

Titus 3:4-7

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

St. Paul was a pastor who traveled and preached to the whole Mediterranean world. His sermons forcefully exposed two keys realities of life.

The first reality is that man wants to be god. You are born deciding what is righteous and what isn't. And time after time what is righteous turns out to be the things you have done. According to your god, you, most everything you do is good and righteous.

This is why St. Paul wrote that you aren't saved because of the righteous things you do (Titus 3:5). For example, the righteous activity of showing up for church doesn't save you. On the other hand, many think that belonging to a church and then only showing up once in a while should be good enough for their god. Judging yourself righteous before Christ based on your church attendance or a lack of it puts you in danger.

But the second reality is what St. Paul joyfully preached: God became a man. Christ came to rescue you from danger. The greatest danger is living in your old way of life where you are the judge of right and wrong. It's dangerous because you'll always end up judging yourself right and others wrong.

So Jesus became a man and saved you because of His mercy. Jesus had poured out mercy on Paul, and this pouring had saved him. Paul rejoiced in this divine mercy in a letter to his friend and fellow pastor Timothy.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:12-17)

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.” Paul's confession is your confession. When you mentally edge away from the “I am the worst” part, that's your inner god or goddess trying to kill you by making you think that you can live on your own righteousness and goodness.

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-6)

Look at the action in Paul's inspired words: appeared, saved, and poured out. Jesus Christ does them all. When we show up, we are receiving from Jesus the gift of life eternal. His role is to forgive because of His mercy; your role is to receive His forgiveness.

His mercy led Him down to the River Jordan and to be baptized by John. He switched places with you! He did this so that when God sees you He sees perfect Jesus instead. Because of His mercy poured out on you, He will say of you, His adopted child, “You are My Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22).

In the name of the Father and of the + Son

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Royalty Recognizes the Richness of our Redeemer

Festival of the Epiphany

January 6, 2013

Preached at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Moline

Royalty Recognizes the Richness of our Redeemer

1 Kings 10:1-9

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

They had heard amazing reports about a son and successor of King David. Because of these good reports, they traveled from a great distance to see the son for themselves. And when they arrived, they rejoiced in the presence of the King of Israel and gave him gifts.

This description applies to the Magi who came to the home of the infant Jesus and it also applies to the Queen who came to the palace of the grown-up Solomon. Their visits to David's sons were separated by 1,000 years, but they mirror each other. And the Queen's visit is a tremor that prepares the world for the earth-quaking truth that all the kings of the earth must bow to Christ the King.

Solomon was David's son. He ruled Israel in its golden age. Jesus showered glory and honor on him—his fame was world-wide. But this wasn't the main thing that impressed Solomon's visitor, the Queen of Sheba. She wasn't impressed by his wealth; she was very wealthy, too. She was stunned by his wisdom. She asked many hard questions and Solomon answered them all to her satisfaction. He understood people and the world and could explain complicated things in simple ways. By our sinful nature people love the world and we try to give life meaning apart from Jesus. Solomon cuts right to the point and cries out,

“Meaningless! Meaningless!

Utterly meaningless!

Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

If you lust after the world and try to marry it, then your life will be like running after the wind and trying to catch it. In a word, meaningless.

Jesus gave Solomon the wisdom to see the big picture. He also gave him wisdom on how to solve specific problems. When two women claim the same baby boy, King Solomon knew how to cut right to the truth. He summed up the situation,

“This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’” Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”

Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.” When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice. (1 Kings 3:23-28)

But a thousand years later, it wasn't the king, but the Baby Himself who was held in awe.

After [the Magi] had heard [Herod] the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh. (Matthew 2:9-11)

The royalty from afar brought gifts. In both encounters it might seem like a bit of waste. Why did Solomon need more gold? What could a baby do with myrrh? But the gifts themselves weren't the point. The point was that these expensive treasures demonstrated their relationship with Jesus.

Spices, gold, jewels, frankincense, and myrrh couldn't exist without Jesus. We confess in the Creed that through Him all things were made. Logic states that the maker of something is the ultimate owner of it. So when the Queen and the Magi offer treasurers to God's chosen ruler, King Solomon, and then to God's Son Himself, Jesus Christ, they are confessing that above all things they fear, love, and trust in Christ alone.

As we begin this Season of Light that we call Epiphany, we will confess our right relationship to God by our words and our gifts. We will give God's money back to Him cheerfully because in this giving, we express our total dependence on Jesus. Then we will use the leftover money to care for ourselves and our families, which pleases our King.

Like the Queen of Sheba and the Magi, we are on a long journey to see the King of kings with our own eyes. But instead of a journey through strange lands, we journey through our own strange hearts. Our times are filled with our own world-loving hearts; we love to waste money on ourselves.

But because Jesus has given us gifts that are better than Solomon's, we stand before Him without shame. Because Jesus has created and now sustains faith in our hearts by means of Baptism, Absolution, Preaching, and the Holy Supper, He sees us as though we had returned to Him all our gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and every single dollar and cent, even down to our last widow's mite.

Let us now bow down before the King who has given us a perfect standing before Him. And His gifts to you continue now as you come and receive His very body and blood. The amazing reports about Jesus are all true. All glory, honor, wisdom, and power belong to Him, and He gives them to you.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.