Brent Keller – Page 7 – What Does This Mean?

Rejoicing in a Day Like Today?

TTT Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. TTT

Dear saints, when we met a week ago, I was certain we’d be meeting here again just like any other Sunday. What a difference a few days make! The world is still ripe with concern, panic, fear, and several other adjectives that apply. More restrictions in more places. The number of infected continues to climb. Governments continue to struggle to balance their actions.

And yet, today is Laetare. It is a day to rejoice. But here we are in Lent and many of us are stuck at home. Even the most introverted among us may be getting a bit of cabin fever. So, what do we have to rejoice about on a day like today? As it turns out, there’s quite a bit.

We heard from St. John that Jesus was attracting large crowds because he was healing the sick. He takes the disciples up a mountain near the time of the Passover and sees a crowd coming. So, he puts the disciples to the test: “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” Left to the disciples and their resources, feeding this crowd is impossible. Eight months of wages wouldn’t do the job. But there was a boy with some bread and fish. The lunch he brought with himself. Using it, Jesus blesses it and distributes it to all present. And unlike the manna from heaven, this food didn’t dissipate in the heat of the day. It remained to provide all present to have their fill, and then it was taken up into baskets that nothing would be wasted.

The people see the sign, the miracle, and are prepared to make Jesus their king. He is their King, but not the king they were seeking. They are not looking at things eternal, but of things only in this world. This is the look of most around us. They are full of fear at the possibility of contracting a virus. They look for relief and salvation, not of their souls, but their bodies.

It is tempting and easy for us to do the same. It isn’t wrong to think about our friends and families and have concerns about their health. It isn’t bad to desire our own health. But when the fear of a healthy body consumes us, we can lose sight of the fact that sickness and pestilence only exist because of our sin. No, I am not saying that this pandemic is a punishment sent from God. But I am saying that if we were sinless, we wouldn’t have to deal with such things as sickness or famine or war or economic depressions.

The world looks to themselves or government or vapid songs for relief. We look to Jesus. Yes, we look to God to preserve us in our bodies. But even more, we look to him to preserve our soul. We look to Jesus not only as a Bread King but as our Crucified Lord. The One who shows he is King by serving and even dying for his people.

At Pentecost, Peter delivers a powerful sermon. In it, he convicts those present of murdering the Lord Jesus. He shows them Jesus is the Messiah that they were waiting for. That they rejected him and killed him. They killed the Lord of Life! At hearing this, many were struck. They found the vastness of their sin and their need to be saved from their treachery toward their God. They ask and Peter answers what they must do to be saved. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

About 3,000 were baptized that day. 3,000 were given the Holy Spirit and added to the Lord’s church. These devoted themselves to four things in two groups: the teaching of the apostles and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. They met daily and had everything in common. They gave to one another as they had need. They gathered daily in the Temple and one another’s homes.

In many ways, this is exactly what we do today. We stay devoted to the apostles’ teaching because it is the teaching Jesus gave to them. We don’t meet daily, but ordinarily, we meet often. We don’t break bread, that is, share the Holy Supper daily, but we do it often. We give that the work here continues. We pray, not only what is on our hearts, but the prayers handed down to us by the church and from Jesus himself.

True, right now we don’t gather together daily. Or for the next unknown period weekly. We are being asked to not gather in one another’s homes. But fear not. we cling to our crucified and risen King. We trust that he has washed us in baptism. We remember that he has sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. That we are among those far off whom the Lord has called to himself. We trust and look forward to resuming our gatherings. And, ultimately, we look forward to the day that he gathers us to Himself in heaven.

Our Lord knows about the pandemic the world is seeing. He cares for those affected by it. So much so that he shed his very blood for them. So much that he died on the cross so that they might live eternally. That in that sacrifice, the disease of our sin is healed and taken away. And so, we rejoice. Rejoice that we are called to be a child of God. We rejoice that we are forgiven of all our sins, even the sins that deserve death by sickness and pestilence. And rejoice that our spiritual sickness is healed by the blood of the Lamb. Indeed! There is much to rejoice for! Amen.

TTT Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. TTT

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

Sermon on the Pandemic

We all know the news of our day. There is quite a bit of panic over the virus that has swept the world. Runs on supplies. Stocks tanking. Schools, sports, and even countries have shut down. People of Facebook and Twitter are afraid.

I get it. It’s a bit of a scary time. Even if you’re healthy and at no real risk, you could unwittingly be a carrier and expose someone who is vulnerable. It’s why I don’t blame businesses for telling people to work from home and sports leagues from shutting down. Some schools have closed. And while I don’t like it, I understand and am not going to complain about hospitals and nursing homes closing their doors to everyone except the patients, residents, and staff. They are rightly protecting their patients and residents. Let us hope and pray that this does not get to the point that they force everything, including churches, to close their doors as happened with the 1918 flu epidemic.

The impact on everyone is yet to be known. But even though many won’t be severely affected, they are worried. The more common fear for most is that a loved one will be. And worse, that they could accidentally expose them because they didn’t know they were infected. It is my hope and prayer that this passes quickly. That the death toll is as low as possible. That sanity returns and runs on things like toilet paper and soap quickly end. But in the meantime, we wait and watch for the next announcement.

I get the concern among many. But that said, plague and pestilence are not new. It has afflicted humanity since the Fall. During the late 1500s, the Black Plague devastated Europe. One pastor in Germany, Phillip Nicolai, lost around 1300 of his members from it. He lost 170 in a single week. His response to the tragedy was not fear, panic, and running away. It was to write a series of meditations and a couple of hymns for his flock, one of which you know: “Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying.“

There’s no indication we are up against anything like that. But picture something like that did come at us today. What would be our reaction? Surely there would be panic in the streets, but what about us? What about the Church? We could turn to the Introit appointed for today:

“My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.”

This is not a text only for widespread sickness, but for any time of trial. It is for when you are being attacked and amid temptation. For when you have succumbed to your temptation and find yourself lamenting your sin. This is the text for you.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.

In the portion of the Psalm we hear today we hear several petitions of prayer. David prays for victory, for forgiveness, for deliverance. Not included in the appointed reading are petitions for teaching and redemption.

In times of trial and tribulation; in times of sickness, pandemic, and distress; the Christian response is to repent and call out to our Heavenly Father. We call out to him and recognize our sin. We repent of our sin. We plea for forgiveness. That he would clean us of our sin. And that, having his perfect absolution, we are freed to serve our neighbor, as did Pr. Nicolai. Knowing the love and grace of God, he stood up in the face of death all around him and proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ to those around him. Especially those dying of the Plague.

While sickness among us will drive us to realize our own human frailties, the early church used this Sunday in Lent as the day of renunciation of the devil and the exorcisms of the catechumens. This is the day that men and women with battles raging in them and outside of them confessed that Christ will be their God. Even if it means rejection of their livelihoods or exile from their families. This is the day they announced their step out of the darkness of sin and the rule of Satan and into the light and service of the Lord Jesus.

Born in sin, we are essentially the goods of the strong man; of the devil. He has claimed us and guards us as his property, waiting for our eternal destruction. But the heart of Lent, the heart of the Gospel, is that God has kept his promise to Adam and Eve in the garden. He has sent the Seed in Jesus Christ. And he is the stronger man. He comes and attacks the devil, crushing his head. He takes away the goods that the devil has stolen from God and stored up as his own.

This happens for all men at the cross. And it is applied to you at your baptism. There, at the font, the Holy Spirit makes your body his holy temple. At baptism, the unclean spirit goes out of the person, and the Holy Spirit makes the body holy. Your bodies, death brothers and sisters, are not an empty house, swept and put into order. Your bodies are a holy temple of God. Your state is not worse than before, but it is eternally better.

Perhaps our cleansed bodies are what makes it [somewhat] easier in times such as these. For we know that our God is not only just, but he is also merciful. We know that his mercy extends to all, but especially to us as his adopted children. This is why we may, at all times, call out to him with our eyes ever toward him. Why we may turn to him in every trouble, trial, and temptation, putting our trust in him and knowing he will not put us to shame. Rather, he will continue to have mercy on us in peril and pestilence; forgive and cleanse us of our sins.

But those who still belong to the strong man fear, and fear greatly. They see peril and pestilence as a potential real and present harm to them. And it is. Not only to their flesh but to their souls. And so, we pray not only for ourselves but for those far from our merciful God. We lift not only ourselves up in our affliction, but also our neighbor who fears and is far from Christ. We pray for their physical safety and that the Light of Christ would reach them, cleanse them as he has cleansed us, and send to them the Holy Spirit who would make them his holy temple as he has done with us.

We don’t know how long or how bad this pandemic will be. We don’t know if we will contract it. If a friend or loved one will. And if we or they do, how severe the case will be. We don’t know what restrictions will be placed on us by the authorities, which, I remind you, that God himself has put in place.

But we do know some things. We know that our Lord Jesus Christ took upon our flesh to free us from the strong man. We know he paid for our sins on the cross, bleeding and dying to win victory over the strong man. We know that he has cleansed our bodies from all evil and sent the Holy Spirit to live in us and sanctify us. We know that we are always able to cry out to God in all situations and tell him whatever is on our mind. And when we do, we know that he will hear us and answer our prayer in the way that benefits our eternal good. O my God, in you I trust…Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!…for I take refuge in you.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

Jesus Tempted by the Devil

Adam and Eve were created pure and given a divinely planted garden. But they were deceived by the Devil. They doubted the goodness of God and ate of the forbidden fruit. Their fall plunged all of humanity into sin and are cast us all into the wilderness. But even with this severe consequence of sin, a Promise is made: The Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. The head of Satan and deliver to them life.

Jesus begins to reverse the curse at his baptism. It is there that the Great Exchange begins. He purified the waters of Baptism and took upon himself our guilt. The heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon him, and the Father spoke. Immediately after this, the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. Jesus, who had freshly taken upon himself our guilt, is taken into the wilderness. He is cast out as were Adam and Eve.

When there, he fasted for forty days and forty nights. At the end of this time, the Tempter came. And he used the hunger of Jesus in the first temptation. He tempted Adam and Eve with food, and he does it with Jesus too. The temptation of Adam and Eve was to doubt God’s goodness. The temptation of Jesus is to use his divine abilities to serve himself rather than the people he has come to save. Jesus answers the devil with Scripture. The devil sought to make him selfish, but Jesus declares that the true bread that truly sustains us is the very Word of God.

After this swing and a miss, the devil took Jesus to the highest point of the Temple. There he again sought to get Jesus to be selfish. And he this by quoting Scripture. Well, by misquoting Scripture. Jesus again rightly used and quotes Scripture: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” He would not fling himself off the Temple, by testing the Lord God to protect him., Jesus would draw attention to himself. And since it was not yet his time or hour for glorification, this is something he could not do.

But beyond that, the devil is twisting Scripture yet again. This should not surprise us as he is the father of lies. The Psalm isn’t about being reckless and forcing the protection of God. It isn’t about making a show for people to see that Jesus is the Christ. It is a Psalm of comfort for the afflicted Christian. In it we confess God as our shelter, our shadow, our refuge, and our fortress. God is our defender and deliverer. The Christian is not exempted from trials and tribulations, but he is protected in the midst of them. And even if our physical bodies are tarnished or destroyed, our soul is kept and preserved.

And so, now with an 0-2 count, the devil desperately tries once more time. He takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. And he again tempts Jesus to turn away from his Father and bow down to the devil. “All these I will give to you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Sure, Satan has some dominion over this world. But this is an offer of something that is not his to give. He does not have the authority to give what is not his. Let alone at the cost of worshiping him. And so, Jesus replies, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

With that third swing and a miss, the devil goes away. And as he leaves, angels come to Jesus and minister to him. They support him and, I am sure, provide his weary earthly body with food and drink. In the end, we see Psalm 91, the Psalm he devil twists and the Psalm we heard as our Introit this morning, is fulfilled.

With the devil defeated, Jesus does what Adam, Eve, Moses, Israel, and everyone since them including us could not: Perfectly resist the temptations of the devil. Jesus won a victory for us in the wilderness, and his march to the cross is already well underway. More trials and temptation will come his way. The devil will return and try to get him again. But the course is set. Jesus eyes the cross. Eyes your redemption.

While we concern ourselves with food and importance and power, Jesus is focused on saving his creation. While we are easily and constantly fooled by the Tempter, Jesus rebuffs him even when starving after a fast. We can be tricked by twisted Scripture, but Jesus wields the Sword expertly as it is his own Word.

In about forty days, we will gather at the altar on the night Jesus is betrayed, we will observe his death, the church will stand vigil on Holy Saturday, and then we gather to celebrate his victory over sin, death, and the devil with his resurrection. But today we begin the road to victory. Begin the road to the Great Reversal. And so let us come to Jesus.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

The Parable of the Vineyard Workers

There is a vineyard, and it needs to be worked. Its owner goes and calls workers into his vineyard. Throughout the day, he continues to go out and call others in. At the end of the day, the wages are to be given. And when they are, it is those who worked only an hour who come first. They are given a full days’ wages. In fact, everyone gets the same. No matter if you worked an hour or the full day. All are made equal. To no one’s surprise, those who worked a long day are upset. But the master reminds them that they are receiving exactly what they were promised. Exactly what they agreed to.

Like work in a vineyard, the Christian life is not a life of leisure or sloth. We are not called to loiter around and simply wait for heaven. We have been called into the vineyard. Christ has come to you and for you. He has chosen you to work in his vineyard; to be a part of his church. He has redeemed and saved you by grace.

This parable speaks of God’s goodness and his grace. The workers receive out of the generosity and goodness of the master. They have work because they are invited. Their calling into the vineyard is by grace. So also, for us. We are brought into our Lord’s vineyard by grace and grace alone. And we receive life and forgiveness of sins out of His mercy and grace.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

Pre-Lent

For churches that use the historic, one year lectionary (cycle of readings), Epiphany has passed and, last week, they celebrated our Lord’s Transfiguration. They now focus on our Lord’s Resurrection, the victory Christ won for us as he died on the cross and then triumphantly rose from the dead. They do this in stages: Pre-Lent, Lent, and the Passion. Today, they are in Pre-Lent (nicknamed the ‘gesima’ Sundays for the Latin titles of the Sundays). For churches using the three year lectionary, Epiphany lasts a few more weeks. When Lent comes, all of the churches will be on the same calendar again.

In the early church, catechumens (learners) were baptized on Easter, and Lent was a sort of final and intense preparation. And so, the Sundays before Lent aim to equip the students for Easter and to remind the baptized of what is to come. The Epistle texts will present the Christian life as a race, as a contest that requires constant self-discipline and self-control, as a demanding life filled with labor and suffering. In a few weeks, Lent will teach that the Christian life is selfless and motivated only by love. Our Gospel texts speak of God’s call for us to be laborers, of the education and training in God’s ‘school of life,’ of the enlightenment of God’s rich grace upon all who seek it. Pre-Lent seeks to prepare for Lent and Easter in this way because the new life we are raised to live is one that lasts forever.

This summer the world will turn their eyes to Tokyo. Some of the most elite athletes in their various sports will take the field or arena or ring. They were born with natural gifts in whatever their sport is. Yet despite this natural gift, they have still had to prepare for this moment since they were young children. They are always laser-focused not just on qualifying and competing, but on bringing home gold. They will have trained and competed with little to no regard for their body. All that matters is being on top of that podium in July and August.

The Olympic games were centuries old when St. Paul writes his first letter to the Corinthians. That said, they were a much different event then than they are now. What isn’t different, however, is the effort put in. And Paul knows it.We each have a race to run, and none of us knows how long it will last. This is why continual training is required. Why self-discipline and focus are paramount. Lent is a time of battle. It is a time of preparation and repentance. But it is also about grace. About hearing what Jesus has done for us in his coming, culminating in his death, burial, and resurrection that all your sins are put away and forgiven.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

The Healing of Lepers

The best comparison to sin is leprosy. This skin disease, at its best, discolored your skin and hair while exiling you from your community. So, no family and no worship in the Temple or Synagogue. So, if you’re a Jew, you are cut off from your people and your God. At its worst, it exiled you while also wasting you away to death. Your skin becomes lumpy and scarred. Your fingers and toes begin to fall off. Eventually, you die from this disease and there is nothing you can do to prevent it. In St. Luke’s account of Jesus healing a man with leprosy, the man is described as being “covered in leprosy,” and so we know that his disease is both a bad case and advanced.

He takes a great risk in coming to Jesus. He isn’t allowed to do it. But his situation is so dire, that he is willing to risk it all and come anyway. And when he does, he begs for mercy. “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus is, and Jesus does. Jesus touches this unclean man, and that touch makes him clean.

We also hear in 2 Kings 5 about a pagan who is struck with leprosy. This man is a commander of the army of Syria, an enemy of Israel. A child he took from her home tells him of a man who could heal him, so he goes. He expects a show and brings costly gifts to pay for his healing.

Yet he is disappointed when there is no show. In fact, he doesn’t even get an audience with the prophet. It is a servant who goes and tells him to, “Go and wash in the Jordan….” He is angry he wasn’t told to do some great thing or to wash in one of the nicer rivers of his land. But his own servants remind him of the good news: Has he actually said to you, “Wash and be clean?” And so Naaman goes to the Jordan, washes as instructed, and is made clean. He is cleansed of his leprosy. And not only cleansed, but his skin is restored like that of a child. It is made better than it was when he contracted the disease.

Naaman sees he is clean and has an epiphany. He realizes that this cleansing, through such simple means as water from the Jordan, was the work of God. The text goes on to tell how the gifts he brought were refused, for miracles and healings are not to be purchased. It goes on to tell that Naaman knows he continues to need forgiveness; continues to need absolution as he serves his king. When all is said and done, Naaman is clean and goes in peace.

We confess with King David that we are conceived in iniquity. This means that since the Fall, we all have a spiritual leprosy like Naaman and the man who came to Jesus, from our very beginning. It is eternally fatal. There is no human cure. We are by nature exiled from our God. We need mercy. We need a Savior.

And in the Lord Jesus Christ, mercy is given as he comes to stand in our place. To touch us and take away our leprosy and make us bright and shiny and new. He takes on our flesh to be our savior and substitute. Instead of suffering the eternal agony and punishment that we deserve for our leprous condition, he is lifted up on the cross, suffers and dies in our stead.

In this, he has already suffered for our leprosy. He has already been condemned by the condemnation we are owed. He has taken away all our sin and shame. And in our baptism, he makes us new. In our baptism, he promises to cleanse us, give us new life, and forgive us all our sins. In our baptism, Jesus shows us mercy. He says, “I will; be clean.”

The promises attached to simple water brings forth life from dead sinners. Sin is forgiven. Deliverance from death and the devil is delivered. And just like it wasn’t the words of the prophet or his messenger that accomplished the miracle, it wasn’t the words or hands of a pastor that did it either. It is the word and work and promise of God.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

The Wedding at Cana

In John 2, we find our Lord at a wedding. He is there along with his mother and his disciples, all invited guests. In the course of the celebration, they run out of wine. And in the first century, running out of wine at a seven-day wedding feast was not a good thing for the host. It would be rather shameful, in fact. And so Mary comes to Jesus and tells them that the wine was gone. And already, we see she believes in her son. But we also see that she doesn’t have a full understanding.

Jesus responds to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” Of course, he is right. Having enough wine is not his responsibility. Ensuring that the banquet continues as normal is not why he has come. Undeterred, faithful Mary looks at the servants and tells them, “Do whatever he tells you.” And they do. And what are they told? To take the six stone water jars, jars used for ceremonial cleansing, and fill them to the brim. Fill them until they are about to run over. And they do.

And they obey the Lord when he tells them to take this water from the jars to the master of the feast. Now think about this request: You are to take the water that people wash their hands in and give it to your master to drink. It is water that you wouldn’t want to drink, but you are to give it to your master. How many of you would be willing to do that? Even if you wouldn’t, they do. “Do whatever he tells you.”

The water, now wine, is brought to the master of the feast and he tastes it. And when he does, it is not dirty water that hits his palate, but the best of the best vintage of wine you could imagine. Only better. His response says it all. He calls the bridegroom and, in a way, chides him for bringing out the best wine later on in the feast.

Jesus submits to his mother and ensures that the joy of the feast is not interrupted. His time is not yet come, but he uses his power to provide for the needs of the newly married couple. But why? Jesus isn’t responsible for there being enough wine. He isn’t required to do anything. Why act? Because the is the first of his signs and upon doing it, he manifested his glory. And he manifests his glory for one simple reason: that his disciples would believe in him.

Throughout the ministry of Jesus, the disciples are witnesses to the teaching of Jesus. The miracles of Jesus. They see and experience his joy and pain. Reception and rejection. As they walk with him, they learn to trust him. To believe that he is the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world. But even as they do so, they stumble and fall. At times, they doubt. And that should provide us some comfort. They were with Jesus as he walked among them. We, some two-thousand-years later, are with him, but we do not see him in the flesh.

Though we don’t have Jesus in the body with us, we do have what the Holy Spirit had the apostles write down for us. We have the Word of God. And in it, especially in the Gospels, we read what Jesus did and what he has done for us. The Apostle John even gives the reason for writing his Gospel: That all those who hear it would believe in Jesus. That he is the Son of God, and that believing in him you would have eternal life.

We see in the miracles of Jesus that they are not to make us “healthy, wealthy, and wise,” but to be wise in what is the Truth. To be wise in knowing and trusting in Jesus. This first and chief sign of Jesus at a wedding in Cana clues us into what all the Gospel, and indeed, the Bible is about. It is about Jesus. How he creates all and then comes to it after it falls to restore it.

The wedding in Cana is a joyous festival, but it runs out of wine. The church throughout the world today celebrates the joy of Christ weekly by coming together, hearing the Word, and participating in the sign, the sacraments, that our Lord has given us. But we also wait for the culmination of the wedding in Cana. We wait for our own wedding feast as the Bride of Christ. It is there that he will again bring out the best of the best wine, and we will live eternally with him.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

The Baptism of Our Lord

John the Baptizer arrived in the wilderness preaching a message of repentance. He called on those who came to him to turn away from their sin and pursue righteousness. When he is asked what to do, he tells them: Share your excess with those without. To the tax collectors, he said to only take what is owed. To the soldiers, he says to be content with their wages and not extort anyone. And as his title suggests, he baptized many who came to him. All the while, he is pointing to someone greater. To the One whose sandal he is not worthy to untie. Of whom he says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

John’s baptism is one of repentance. It is for sinners. So when Jesus comes to him to be baptized, it isn’t such a surprise the John balks. Jesus has no sin to repent of. He has nothing that needs to be cleansed. And it isn’t a surprise to me that John wants to be baptized by Jesus. It is, after all, Jesus who John says will baptize with both the water and the Spirit. Even still, Jesus answers John’s resistance: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

And with this, John relented and baptized Jesus. And when Jesus is baptized and comes out of the water, something no one expects happened: The heavens were opened. The Spirit descended like a dove and came to rest on Jesus. And a voice from heaven said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

That day at the Jordan River, the entirety of the Trinity was revealed. Jesus, the very and only-begotten Son of God stands with the Spirit and the voice of the Father.

With the baptism of Jesus, the waters of baptism are sanctified. He, the pure and perfect Son of God, stepped into the muck and mire. And in his baptism, all of that filth is applied to him. And now, that dirty water is pure and clean. Those who enter it dirty leave clean.

Think of it like sheep at a pool. They are dirty from the terrain and get into the water, leaving the dirt and clouding the water. But then, a sparkling white sheep approaches the pool. This sheep is pristine. You don’t want the bright white wool to enter the water. But it does. And when he does, all of the muck immediately rushes and sticks to that sheep. It takes on all of the filth and leaves the pool. And even after he leaves, each subsequent sheep that wades into the pool loses its dirt, but the water stays clean. All the dirt is applied to the one pristine sheep.

In fulfilling all righteousness, Jesus has made baptismal waters like that pool. In them, all of your sin and unrighteousness falls off you and sticks to Jesus. He bears it all. I remember when I was baptized what I visualized. It was like slips of paper came off of me with all my sins and transgressions written on them. And if you think of what you have done, you know what those slips would say if they were yours. As they went into the water, they dissolved, never to be seen again.

In Christ, this is what happens for you as well. As he takes all your guilt upon himself, he carries it to the cross. He is nailed to it bearing your sin and my sin. This perfect and pristine lamb is made dirty to pay for your sin. He wins righteousness for you. He wins forgiveness, life, and salvation for you. And with the promises of baptism attached to the water in the font, it is applied to you. With certainty, you are made clean in Christ. Baptized with water and Spirit. You are forgiven of your sin. You are cleansed and given the purity of your Lord Jesus Christ. He takes all your iniquity and unrighteousness and gives you his own purity and righteousness for His Own Name’s sake.

And so may we rejoice in the gift we have in our baptism. Let us rejoice that we, too, have been made a beloved son of God, in whom he is pleased.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

Epiphany

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany. It is the culmination of not only the Christmas season, but indeed is the culmination of everything we’ve been anticipating since the beginning of Advent. Here’s what I mean: Advent begins in Holy Week. We hear about Jesus entering Jerusalem on the First Day of the Week, making his way to the cross. We anticipate the celebration of our Lord’s birth, and watch for his return in glory. And even in a season of repentance, we have joy in what the coming of our Lord gives: forgiveness, life, and salvation.

On Epiphany, we hear that people who are in the dark see a sign. They see the light. Specifically, they see a star. The significant thing about this is not just the sign, but who it was that saw the sign. While angels announce the birth of Jesus to Jewish shepherds in the fields on Christmas, God reveals the birth of the Messiah to Gentiles as well. For this, he causes a sign in the sky. He chooses to reveal the birth of Christ to some men who would recognize it. And so some Magi from the east see it.

We find the word for Magi in the second chapter of Daniel. After Daniel interprets a dream of the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, the king made him governor of the whole province of Babylon and the prince of the governors over all the wise men (magi) of Babylon. Because of Daniel and the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, the Magi knew something of the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. And so when they see the star, they know that it means the King of the Jews have been born.

But why is this important? Why make a big deal out of some men who are not Jewish to see a sign and come to the Lord? Because Jesus was sent as the Savior of Israel. He even says so himself: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Before that, when he sends out the seventy-two, he tells them to only go Israel and not to the Gentiles or Samaritans.

So why, at the birth of Jesus, does God give Gentiles a sign? Why give them the star? Because of the promise he made to Abram Thousands of years before. “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God chose Abram to be the father of his chosen people. The people who would become Israel. And it is through these people that God promised to deliver all mankind from the darkness of their sin and death. And while there are a few examples of Gentiles becoming a part of the people of Israel in the Old Testament, they were largely alienated from God, worshipping their false gods. And so it isn’t surprising that the people of Israel often assumed and acted as if they were the only ones that God actually cared about.

In the book of Acts, Peter comes to realize that salvation is also for the Gentiles only after a vision and witnessing the Holy Spirit fall upon the house of Cornelius. And St. Paul writes that the revealed mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Already at the birth of Jesus, God is drawing Gentiles to himself. These magi see the star and come to Jerusalem to worship the newborn king. And this tells us that, even though they know something about this new king, they did not have full understanding. They knew enough prophecy to know what the sign meant, but they didn’t know enough Scripture to know where the birth would occur.

When Wise Men find where he was to be born, they set out. They see the sign once again and follow it to the Christ. Once there, they behold the child. And these magi, the Wise Men bow down and worship him. Indeed, these men have stepped out of darkness and behold the Light. They bring gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They return to their homes, and you have to think they spread the message, a good news about this Christ Child.

At the Fall, the world was cast into darkness. This is a darkness that you and I were born into. Yet even in the fall into darkness, we were promised redemption. As Abram is called out of his home to journey to an unknown land, he is told all would be blessed through him. King David is promised a Son who would sit on his throne forever. Isaiah prophesies that “darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.”

The magi saw the sign in the sky and followed it to Jesus. Our Lord followed his course, and at the proper time, was lifted up on the cross, upon the tree. The sign of one who is cursed, but the sign of our redemption. By the work of Christ, we have been brought out of darkness and into the light. In the waters of baptism, the sign of the cross is applied to you and you are made a found sheep of the house of Israel. And now, sitting under the light of the Word, you hear and joyously receive his good news of your redemption. And in the sign of the Body and Blood, you feast upon the food that gives life, forgiveness, and salvation.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

Anticipation

Tomorrow is Christmas. Anticipation runs high. Children look under the tree and dream of what may be in those wrapped boxes. Parents look forward to seeing the joy upon the faces of their children when they open these gifts. And while not every gift will be a hit; not every gift will be met with joy and fulfill expectations, many will. And those are the ones everyone will want to remember.

Anticipation was growing in the First Century, too. In had, in fact, been growing since before the prophets went silent with Malachi. And now, there is a strange man in the wilderness. He dresses weird. He has an odd diet. He is the son of a priest but is not himself a priest. And the Jewish leaders took note, for he drew many to himself.

He was a prophet and a prophet is one of the things they were all waiting for. Which is why it isn’t surprising to hear the religious leaders of the day sent some priests and Levites to John. They ask him who he was. The response is akin to how Jesus will sometimes answer a question. He answers it, but not in the way the inquisitor expects. Who is John? He is not the Christ. He is not Elijah. He is not the Prophet. So who is he? He is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.”

John answers their questions, but he doesn’t give the answer they seek. They know he isn’t the Christ. They know he claims that he isn’t Elijah. They know he is not the Prophet. But then he goes on to tell them he is the one preparing the way for the Lord. So while he isn’t The Prophet, he is a prophet. Make sense? Possibly not.

To understand how John can be a prophet but not the Prophet, we must understand what the Jews were asking him. The Prophet was a very specific person. Moses tells Israel, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen”

Moses prophesied about One who will come who will be like him. One who will converse with the Lord. Who will speak the very Words of the Lord. Who will be the mediator between man and his God. So from that time on, Israel waited for this prophet. They were in a constant state of anticipation. And indeed, many prophets came who exhibited some of the attributes of this Prophet to come. They would speak with God. They would proclaim this word to the people. But none of them were the New Moses that Israel was waiting for. None of them had the unique relationship between themselves and God that Moses had.

Perhaps exasperated, the religious leaders of the people asked, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”And John responds by saying, “I am the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.

What John tells them here is that their anticipation is about to be fulfilled. He comes to prepare the way for the Christ who is the Prophet. That One is coming, and that is why John does what he does. He is preparing hearts for the coming of Jesus. And this work is important because this coming One is greater than he. Because of what Moses says in Deuteronomy 18: “I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” John tells these men that the Prophet is coming, and they had better pay attention. They had better listen to him. Because if they don’t, there will be dire consequences. God himself will hold them accountable.

But what about those who do receive and listen to the Prophet? St. Paul exhorts us, to “rejoice in the Lord always.” Indeed, our Lord is at hand and there is no reason for us to be anxious over anything. Because we have this Prophet, greater than Moses, we may go to him in prayer and with every petition of want, need, or desire.

And we know that this Glory has been revealed. And it is revealed in the babe of Bethlehem. In the Child of the Virgin Mary. People will come from near and far to see him. From the Magi to Samaritans to Pharisees. Some will behold him, marveling at him and worshipping him. Others will grumble and oppose him.

The glory of the Lord is revealed in Jesus not to condemn, but to bring life. To show his righteousness and salvation to all flesh. At the birth of Christ, heaven can’t contain itself. As we will soon hear, angels announce the birth to shepherds. Magi in the east will see the star in the heavens and be drawn to Jesus, bearing gifts and worship.

As our anticipation for Christmas nears its climax, we recall that this babe doesn’t stay in the manger. He doesn’t stay a baby. Instead, he is driven far away as Herod seeks his life. He grows in wisdom and in the favor of God, even marveling the teachers in the Temple when he is twelve. As the Nativity of our Lord draws near, we recall that he is our help and our deliverer. That we are weighed down by our sin, but Christ is born to take it up and bestow upon us grace and mercy. And that this is accomplished just outside Jerusalem. Where our Prophet, Priest, and King is affixed to a cross in our place. Where our salvation and righteousness are won.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD