Jacob Hercamp – Page 14 – What Does This Mean?

The Rainbow and God’s Promise

The story of Noah, is one that most people know, even those who do not believe in the One True God. One only needs to look at a recent movie to see that the story of Noah is one people have etched in their minds. Yes, we remember the rainbow but we don’t teach our children what it means. The world has commandeered it for their own sinful purposes.

The rainbow is a sign with a word of promise attached. This is not the first time that the Lord worked like this. We have a particular word to describe these things. We have narrowed the definition a bit, but the idea remains the same. We call these things sacraments. A sacrament is a rite commanded by God, which the promise of grace (forgiveness of sins) is attached. The rainbow is one such instance in the Old Testament that the Lord shows us how He deals graciously with his people. God’s grace is attached to the sign of the rainbow. Today with Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, He is working the same way as He worked back in the days of Noah and even earlier in the days of Adam and Eve.

The rainbow teaches us the first commandment and its meaning well. You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, trust, and love God above all things. We fear the Lord because of what He can do, we trust the Lord because of the promise He has given, and we love the Lord because he has had compassion on us poor miserable sinners, whose hearts are still inclined to evil rather than good. His “bow” of wrath against humanity has been “retired” and hung in the clouds.

The rainbow points to Jesus and His cross. The greatest act of wrath and judgment against sin took place at the cross. Jesus took on the full righteous judgment and wrath of His Father for us. Jesus suffered and died on account of on our sins. But in Christ’s atoning death we have the promise of everlasting life with God in His Kingdom. And God deals graciously with us establishing with us an even greater eternal covenant in the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

The Lord Takes All Kinds

If you could not tell already, I love the Old Testament Prophets. Amos is no exception, and our Old Testament reading gives us a little insight into the Lord’s call to Amos.

Amos was not looking to be a prophet. He makes that explicitly clear, saying that he was a herdsman and a dresser of figs (or mullberries if you follow Luther in his discussion on the passage).

But rather than question the Lord, when he was called to preach to the people of Israel (the northern kingdom), Amos goes without much complaint. Amos knows that he is not going this ministry alone. It is not his word that he will be speaking to Israel. It is solely the Lord’s Word.

That is what makes any man qualified to be the mouthpiece of the Lord. The Lord takes all kind to be his preachers, even those who are content to do what they have always done.

Think of our Lord’s call to his 12 disciples. Some were fishermen, one was a tax collector, and others were professions we have little knowledge. But what is clear is that in these men we see them hear the call and follow Jesus. Amos does the same thing even defending himself and the message, saying that the sermon he preaches is not his own. It is the Lord’s.

The Lord takes all kinds of men to be his servants of Word and Sacrament, so that means all of men ought to at least consider the call to serve as the mouthpiece of the Lord, that faith in Jesus Christ may be obtained. We should encourage our young men in our church body to learn more about the call and vocation of the Office of the Holy Ministry. Because even if they don’t go into the public ministry, they certainly will be the “preacher” to their own family as being the head of the household. And again the promise is true, that the Lord goes with his preachers. They do not preach themselves but ought to preach Law and Gospel, those magnificent Words of the Lord which bring about life and salvation for sinful men.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO

That Rebellious House

I have thoroughly been enjoying preaching on the Old Testament Lessons these past few weeks. The hits just keep coming with Ezekiel 2. Ezekiel is quite a prophet, and his task from the Lord is a mighty tall task. He is to preach to that rebellious house of Israel.

Ezekiel was sent into hostile territory. He was sent to a people who was in the middle of divine judgment, slowly being brought to repentance. Judah was being thrown out of the promised land. They are mad and upset with God. And to make matters worse for Ezekiel, God tells him, that the people would not want to listen to what Ezekiel was sent to say.

The rebellious house of Israel would not like it because they still had punishment and discipline to endure. The Lord’s message through Ezekiel would fall on mostly deaf ears, and these are ears of the Lord’s chosen people Israel, the people through whom the Messiah was to come.

The message of Ezekiel was one of repentance. And that is a great message to hear when it is not directed at you. For repentance requires you to acknowledge that you have done something wrong, that you have sinned before God. And we certainly don’t like having to admit that we are sinful and unclean in the sight of God and deserve nothing but punishment from God.

But with the message of repentance comes also the promise of forgiveness. The message of the prophets is the same of Jesus himself. And like Ezekiel, Jesus came to the rebellious house of the world. Jesus accused the world of its rampant sin and its rebellious ways, straying from the ways of the Lord. His Law accuses and kills, but His all atoning death on the cross brings with it life and salvation to the one who believes. What a beautiful gospel He brings. And he brings it to us, that rebellious house who needs to be brought to repentance and faith daily.

And we are as the 4th question concerning Baptism indicates. By daily contrition and repentance our sinful adam is drowned and the new man daily emerges, to live the gracious presence of God forever.

Thank the Lord that He sends his preachers and His only Son to that rebellious house preach His Law and Gospel to us in need of repentance and faith!

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

Isaiah

On the 6th of July, the church commemorates the prophet Isaiah. If you have never read the front part of the hymnal I highly recommend it. The Church sees the good in remembering the saints.

Isaiah ministered to God’s people during an era of great turmoil. Reading his book, you will see that he was called to serve as the Lord’s prophet the year that King Uzziah died, and he served as a prophet through the reign of Hezekiah. During this period there was a lot of political turmoil, and the book does speak about some of these situations in detail. But the promise of the Lord saving his people and gathering them together on His Holy Mountain is in the background.

Isaiah did what every other prophet did, speak the word of the Lord to the people, even the kings of his day. He preached the Law of God, proclaiming that judgment was coming on Judah and the northern kingdom in the form the Assyrians, and later the Babylonians. He preached to them repentance. But Isaiah also offers much gospel and forgiveness from the Lord. We only need to look to Isaiah 40. But even before that we see throughout his book that he preaches Law and Gospel.

In the three year lectionary of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, we find Isaiah’s book is used on a whopping 77 Sundays. That is over 50% of the Old Testament lessons, when you consider the season of Easter replacing OT lessons with readings from Acts.

Perhaps, we should ask why Isaiah is so prominent in the lectionary. Perhaps, it is because Isaiah preaches Christ’s kingdom in a way that the Gospels preaches it. Some even called Isaiah “the fifth Gospel” because Christ and His work comes through so clearly. Even the name “Isaiah” conveys Christ. His name means “YHWH’s Salvation”. And it is no surprise that two of Isaiah’s favorite words to use in the book are the verb “he shall save” and the noun “salvation”.

Isaiah’s prophecies of Christ are quite clear, and perhaps that is why we like him so much. Isaiah also is quoted a number of times by the Gospels too, and Isaiah 52 and 53 are highlighted in Acts as a the text that converted the Ethiopian Eunuch.

So we in the Church give thanks to the work that the Lord did through His prophet Isaiah, as we remember and commemorate Isaiah today.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO

Church and State Relations

The State as we learned is to wield the sword and keep rampant evil and sin at bay. The Church is given to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

So, how do we citizens of the State and the Church fit into both categories? What ought we be doing? The answer I believe comes through vocation.

One vocation that we all have is being citizen of the State. This vocation is informed by the many others we have as well as the Word of God, especially the vocation that comes from being baptized into Christ. Each vocation places duties on us, and the Small Catechism gives us a small picture into some of those duties. Peter in his first letter reminds us to honor all, even the Emperor.

Christ our Lord says in the Gospel of John, be in the world but not of the world. And Paul also reminds us that our citizenship truly lies in heaven. But we aren’t in heaven yet, but we live in that hope. We are here in the world to serve our neighbor through our various vocations, and that includes the State and our government leaders. The Church is in the unique position to inform the the State of God’s law and gospel.

We are even given the command that when the state compels us by law to do something against the Lord’s will we are to obey God rather than men. The Church has a voice in the public sphere, particularly to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How else will the citizens of the state receive the grace of God? Certainly, they will not see that grace from the State. That is not the State’s job or purpose.

What do we do as citizens of the State? We want desire peace and prosperity. We pray for our government leaders in our worship services, even those we don’t agree with politically. We pray that the Lord God use them to fulfill their vocation as leaders and give us a peaceful and quiet life that allows us to worship our God and Savior Jesus Christ without fear.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO

Great is Thy Faithfulness

I really enjoy the Old Testament, and if you have been paying attention, the Old Testament lessons during this season after Pentecost have not disappointed. This Sunday, we get Lamentations 3:22-33.

Lamentations is not the first book people want to read in the Old Testament because it deals with communal suffering. In Lamentations we know exactly why God brings this suffering on the people of Jerusalem. They did not turn from their wickedness and sins. They did not seek God, but rather ran after other gods. God warned them this would happen through the many prophets He sent, but they would not listen. This is written for our learning.

Another question you might be asking is this: “So what’s God’s plan with this suffering?” Or another way to say it, “What’s God’s desired outcome?” It’s simple: Be brought to repentance and faith.

Jerusalem was in utter ruins. King Zedekiah watched his sons be killed at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. God’s judgement against Jerusalem was on full display. Tears filled the streets. But in our readings from Lamentations 3, Jeremiah remains confident in the compassion of God. The Lord does not destroy and kill to all eternity. This discipline Jerusalem receives is actually all about compassion. God shows His compassion through discipline on His people because He loves them and us. He does not want any to die, and this discipline will humble some and bring them to repentance and faith in Him. The Lord’s Law and discipline has this effect. The Lord disciplines those he loves. This is why we too discipline our children, because we love them.

The Lord’s wrath is not forever, but was actually poured out for us all on Jesus at the cross. Christ suffered the full weight of God’s righteous judgment and wrath once for all. Even in wrath the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. Jesus takes our suffering on out of love. He turns his cheek and receives the insults. He drinks the bitterness of God’s wrath for us. This is the mercy of God for you in action, and you get to receive this mercy anew every time you hear that your sins are forgiven on account of Christ. So do not be grieved by your sin, but receive the Love of God for you in Christ.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO

Building the Body of Christ with a Visit

I wonder just how many church members only see their pastor on Sunday morning. Has your pastor seen your home? Does he even know where you live? Has he tried to make a house call to you?

Perhaps, the bigger question is whether or not you have invited your pastor over for such a visit. Too many people think that going to church on Sundays is “enough”. And please don’t get me wrong, the gifts of Christ are certainly there for all people and that is certainly enough for our salvation. But being the body of Christ, we ought to build one another up. Visits do just that.

Jesus went into people’s houses to visit with them. Shouldn’t your pastor? Maybe he has tried. Perhaps the membership list is daunting. Maybe he feels he needs to be invited.

Most often people think that a visit for the pastor is reserved for the family members of a dearly departed. Or people think its for the really sick or just for those who are “shut-in”. But what if I told you that every church member should get a visit? A pastor should visit all the sheep put into his care because he must give an account of those entrusted into his care. But every Christian should and ought to visit their fellow church members because it builds up the body of Christ.

A visit is a friendly reminder to the person (no matter how frequent or infrequent they attend) that they are cared for by God and by their church. Visitation is a chance to remind us all what Christian charity looks like. It is a chance to connect with one another in ways that a corporate worship service does not allow unless if you have “gemutlichkeit” in the parking lot after.

It the best way for your pastor to get to know you, and it helps him preach practical law and practical gospel to you from the pulpit. Visiting also builds rapport for those “harder” visits when “Mom” passes or when your spouse is called to our Good Shepherd. It might even help build up courage within the pastor to make those other hard visits to the people who haven’t been in church since before he got there.

So if you haven’t gotten a visit from your pastor, might I suggest you invite him over? It might do you and him good!

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

“What will this child be?” That was the question of the people who witnessed John’s father bless the Lord God upon John’s birth and naming. Zechariah, you might remember, was so skeptical when he first got the news of John’s arrival that God shut his mouth and kept him mute until naming the boy John.

The appointed lectionary readings for the day give a bit more information about what John would do and be. He is to be the voice in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord.

Also from the book of Malachi and from Jesus’ own mouth we learn something else about what John was to become. John is the Elijah promised before the great and awesome day of the Lord (Mt 11:13-15; Mt 17:12-13).

But one thing that John is not is this: John is not the Messiah (John 1: 19-23) . John is adamant about his position as this voice in the wilderness. Even though John’s birth was prophesied, and even though John preaches with power, and even though he has a large following, John does not preach himself. As a matter of fact, he does not preach anyone except Christ and Kingdom that Christ ushers in, which the kingdom of forgiveness of sins.

The song of Zechariah also known as the Benedictus, also answers the question from above. John will the be the prophet of the Most High. He will give knowledge of salvation to the people of God in the forgiveness of their sins (Luke 1:76-77). The Baptism that John baptizes with comes from God (Mt. 21:25), and it a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3). The same message that John will preach will be preached by Jesus, but Jesus is also the fulfillment of it and thus mightier (Luke 3:15-16).

Who will John be? He is the one who will reveal Jesus to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)!

John was sent to prepare the hearts of the people of Israel for Christ. We too hear his words, and they still ring true for us. Even at his birth, we know from God’s words through the song of Zechariah who John will be.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO

Afraid of the Word of the Lord

Today’s Old Testament Lesson tells us about the ramifications of the Fall into Sin, and the fear that fell over the man and the woman.

One bite of the fruit and their eyes were opened. They were ashamed because of their nakedness. They were afraid and so hid. They are so afraid that a snap of a twig would have set them into flight. How much more God’s voice.

The voice of the Lord which they once delighted in now gives them the frights. The man and woman only have fear in their mind. And that is what sin does and its immediate. We fear the unknown. “How will God deal with us now that we have broken the only law God gave us?” And instead of listening to the word of the Lord, they listen to the voice of sin and doubt welling up in their own now sinful nature. So they try to remove themselves from the presence of the Lord because they think that hell would be better than being in the presence of the Lord God Almighty.

And what makes it even worse is when the man finally answers the Lord, he admits his fear and trepidation. Obviously something changed in the man and woman immediately because how can one who walked and talked with the Lord in the paradise of the garden now be deathly afraid of the Lord’s voice? Furthermore, the man does what every sinner does: blame someone else for his problem of sin without admitting that he has done anything wrong. Sin is compounded and again and again til the point that the man is audacious enough to blame God for sin. But don’t we still do that today?

God shows the man and the woman their sin. He gives them the opportunity to confess their sins. And He gives us the same opportunity and He gives us the same word of promise. The promise is the sending of the offspring of the woman. That in this “seed of the woman” He would defeat the serpent once and for all. And we know who that is. He is Jesus Christ. And in Him do we have hope of eternal life and complete reconciliation to God our Father.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp

St. Peter Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO

Sabbath as the Day of Salvation

I have been thinking about the Sabbath and how the Israelites are to remember how the Lord brought them up from the land of Egypt, the land of death, by his mighty arm .

What a wonderful thing to think about every Sabbath, every week, to never forget what the Lord has done, saving them from slavery and death. But we know the story all too well. They did forget. They didn’t listen to the Lord’s word. They despised it especially when the prophets were sent to call them to repentance. And eventually because of their disobedience and faithlessness they were exiled, and the temple was destroyed.

While we were not there in Egypt with the Israelites at the time of the Passover, we too have been brought from the land of death. It is through the work of Christ. The act of the Lord on behalf of Israel pointed forward to the greater act of salvation, Christ’s saving the world from sin by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. The Lord Christ went into the land of the dead and was victorious over sin and death for you and me. That is something to get excited about and hear on a weekly basis. We need it because there is plenty of things that take our time. There is always plenty of “work” to do. But on the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day we get to be fed and nourished with the Word of God, where we hear again the wonderful news of Jesus Christ and what He has done for us and for our salvation. Not only that but we get fed with Christ’s own body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith. So don’t miss out. Come and remember what the Lord has done for you in bringing from death into life.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO