of 1980, 2017 was a far off future day. A day when we would have flying cars, world

Transcription

1 Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen ? Can you believe we are at this point? 2017? So many years. Back when I was a kid, back in the stone age, back in the primordial time of 1980, 2017 was a far off future day. A day when we would have flying cars, world hunger would be eliminated, robots would do all of our dirty work, and do things like chores when it s 15 below outside I hope you have gotten used to putting 2017 in the date part of your papers and checks and forms, as opposed to writing in We begin a new year. Does this time seem to be a let down? Here we are after a Christmas break, at least for those of us in school, we go back to the day-to-day life of reality. These are days that include routines and habits. It seems like the end of the year leads up to something big that happens, like Christmas. It is a day that is going to be something big and change things. It was going to be a day where things are different now. Where the light seems brighter, sweets smell better, and food tastes more delicious. Christmas, that is the day when we celebrate God becoming man, and celebrating that day would change everything. Everyone would be happy and things would fine. No more wars. No more sickness. No more bills. Gas would be free. Maybe you think like me that Christmas would bring about change in the world. I don t know, it just seems that Christmas would make some things, I don t know what things, but things would be different. But, after Christmas, after the New Year, we go back to the same routine. Not that it is bad or good, it is just that way. Back to the day-to-day habits. 1

2 Seeing as how I was on vacation last Sunday, and this is well into January, I am considering today the beginning of the New Year. We are in a new season. Epiphany and Christmas continue. Even though your decorations may have come down or may still be up. Even though the Christmas debris of wrapping paper, ribbon, and gift bags has moved from the floors of houses to the garbage outside, Christmas continues. Even though beloved hymns like Joy to the World, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, have long since ended, Christmas continues. Christmas continues? Yes, Christmas continues. Yes, the celebration of Christmas continues with Epiphany, the Epiphany season is our time now. The time begins with the celebration of Epiphany. You see, Christmas is about God becoming man. Jesus is born, He is God with us. Christmas is about that wonderful event. Well, now that we have celebrated Jesus birth, we ask Martin Luther s great question, Vas Dis Das? What does this mean? Yes, what does it mean that God became the man Jesus? What does it mean for you and me, and all Christians God incarnated himself in Jesus birth? Epiphany, the season we now begin, explores the question, What does it mean that God became man? Who is this guy Jesus? The season begins with the day of Epiphany, January 6, the 12 th day of Christmas. Some of you folks may have the practice of adding the wise men to mangers scenes that day. January 6 th, the day of the Epiphany is the day the church remembers the Wise men from afar who visits the holy family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. These guys from the East know who Jesus is, the savior of mankind has been born and these wise men come to worship him. They know him, and 2

3 the season of Christmas means the church continues to realize whom this Jesus is and learn from him. As our winter continues on, so does Christmas. We realize who Jesus is by beginning with remembering how his ministry begins, in the Jordan River, baptized by his cousin, John the Baptizer. The 1 st Sunday after the Day of Epiphany is the day we remember Jesus Baptism. It is the beginning of his earthly ministry. For many Christians who are baptized as babies, their baptism begins their life in Christ. They are filled with the same spirit that came onto Jesus in the Jordan River when his cuz baptized him. When Kristen was baptized, my parents treated Riss and me and our families to lunch. We exchanged gifts and ate and reveled in the new life Kristen had been given. Many of you do the same celebrating. And you should. It is a joyous thing to celebrate, that is another soul has been cleansed of sin. A life has been won. A child of God is marked and loved. For Jesus, the immediate happening after his baptizing was testing and tempting. He received no candle nor white garments nor napkin. The Holy Spirit Isaiah prophesied of would be put on Jesus, and the same Spirit lead Jesus into the desert. A divine heavenly voice said This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. And not too far afterward, a malevolent voice would rasp, If you are the Son of God A long time afterward there would be instruction to go forth and baptize all nations. But now, Jesus baptism was a prelude to tempting and testing. After this would come Jesus ministry. 3

4 What baptism begins for the Christian, the newly baptized babies and adults too, is life in this world. A whole lifetime of tempting and testing. But not without God. You see, even though we baptize and teach and memorize and worship and learn, the Spirit will continue to lead. And these things, like worship and study and devotion and fellowship and communing, are good and nourish. But still it may happen that faith becomes scorned, maybe forsaken. Many faithful parents have faithfully trained up their children the way they should go, as Proverbs 22 says. And maybe, some tearfully have departed from it. For parents, it s more than disappointing; it s a deep ache that won t go away. Parents stress over it and wonder how they failed as parents. They re worried sick not only about their children, but about their grandchildren who are growing up unbaptized, untaught, with little or no knowledge of God and what He s done for us in Christ. These parents are far from alone. Scattered throughout all denominations are moms and dads whose greatest disappointment in life is that their children have seemingly abandoned the faith. And they re all wondering the same things: Why? Where did we go wrong as parents? There is no easy fix. I offer some thoughts and advice. The water of baptism never evaporates. A child baptized will never be unbaptized. God the Father made that child his. They may reject it or deny it sadly, but it still remains true that God loves them, baptized them, and claims them as his own. If and when you can, remind them of this beautiful truth. It is the kindness of God. 4

5 Even a tiny faith has the full Christ. One of the most comforting verses in all the Scriptures is Isaiah 42:3 from our Old Testament prophesy this morning, A bruised reed He will not break; and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out. Our Father is not the kind of God who weeds people out of His kingdom who don t have faith that is quite up to par. Quite the opposite. Bruised reeds and smoldering wicks are especially beloved of God because of their fragility. Your child, that smoldering wick that bruised reed is very loved by your Father in heaven. Even if we are faithless, God remains faithful. God cannot deny that He is our Father. If you, as an earthly parent, are worried about the spiritual welfare of your children, just think of how much more your heavenly Father is concerned. Your children mean infinitely more to Him than they do to you. Jesus is this kind of savior, this gentle and kind and faithful one described in our prophecy from Isaiah. Our Epiphany journey begins realizing, having an epiphany of who he is. Gentle. Faithful. Just. Leading. Keeping. Eye-opening. This is the kind of Savior we have in Jesus. And he thinks the world of you. In fact, He thinks you are to die for. In His name. Amen. 5