Weekly Message & Bulletin

The First Sunday in Lent showed us the Son of Man as He met the enemy, Satan, face to face.  Jesus defeated His arch rival with the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.  The Second Sunday brings us Jesus’ own prophecy concerning His death as the way in which His mission must be accomplished.   To those who are Christians, it seems unbelievable that someone (Herod) would want to murder or reject Jesus.   

At the root of anyone’s rejection of Jesus, however, is the truth that the person doesn’t see our Lord as the only solution for sin.  A rejector either thinks there is no true God to whom all remain answerable to His demand to not sin, or thinks he is “good enough” and doesn’t believe God takes sin so seriously. 

But let the suffering and death of Jesus remind us of how seriously God took sin!  Let the suffering and death of Jesus comfort us that He lived perfectly and died sacrificially as our Substitute, and rose triumphantly to make His victory our victory over sin and death. 

The Lenten season officially began this past Wednesday, the day Christians call “Ash Wednesday.”  Many years ago, a custom developed in churches (some still practice) that in a worship service on this day the people would come forward and have the minister apply ash to their foreheads.  While doing so the pastor would say, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  “Dust and ashes” symbolized mortality, which remains a consequence of sin.  Also, “dust and ashes”—especially as we have learned from the Old Testament—served as a practice and outward sign of grieving and repentance. 

While many Lutheran churches no longer stress outward customs such as applying ash to the forehead, certainly the focus on repentance of sins is necessary.  After all, if a person doesn’t see his sins, he would see no need of a Savior from sin.   

That’s why, then, the Sunday and special midweek services revolve around the Passion of our Jesus, His suffering and death, which paid for our sins.  Thus, we see how the ministry of Jesus takes Him step by step to the purpose for which He was sent—to offer Himself as our sin-sacrifice to God, to rescue us from sin and its mortal consequences. 

The significance of “Transfiguration Sunday” remains twofold in purpose.  Firstly, it gives us a glimpse and reminder of WHO Jesus truly is: the all-powerful Son of God.  That truth remains important, especially as we see Jesus suffer during His Passion.  There will be times when He doesn’t appear to be in control as our almighty God since He allows Himself to be beaten, ridiculed, spit on and tortured. 

Secondly, “Transfiguration Sunday” provides the backdrop for discussion revolving around the very WHY Jesus took on a human nature and came to earth.  Jesus came here as the only One who could redeem us from sin by His perfect life, sacrificial, substitutionary death and victory resurrection.   

Today’s Scripture lessons tell of the Lord’s glory and relate how Jesus fits in with that glory as Jesus discusses the purpose of His Passion and saving mission with those on the Mount of Transfiguration. 

In what some consider the most comforting of all chapters in Scripture, the Apostle Paul assures through the Holy Spirit: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose….” (Romans 8:28) Now Paul doesn’t promise that everything that happens to us living in this sin-fallen world is good.  Paul outlines in Romans 8 how we do suffer the consequences of sin.  Yet, there is the promise that God will make all work out for good, although we may not at times feel it, see it or understand it. 

How can we be so sure?  God has “called” us to be His own.  We know that happened in baptism, where God personally “called us by name” and “made us His own” (Isaiah 43:1).  What’s more, Jesus is our Redeemer and Judge…and if He doesn’t condemn us because of His saving work, who can?  Truly, the LORD promises to never “leave or forsake us” (Deuteronomy 31:6) based on His divine promise of grace and mercy…all due to the saving work of Jesus.  

We hear of God’s ultimate control in the lives of His believers in the case of Joseph when it seemed all was going wrong.  In the end, however, the LORD blessed Joseph more than humanly imaginable.  Also, Paul guarantees that even physical death, which seems to be a dead end for us, is overcome by Jesus’ resurrection and ours because of Him.  Finally, instead of lashing out at our enemies who may do us wrong, Jesus urges us to love them and share with them the confidence we have that “God makes all work for our good” as His people. 

The writer to the Hebrews pens through the Holy Spirit: “Therefore, since the children share flesh and blood, he also shared the same flesh and blood, so that through death he could destroy the one who had the power of death (that is, the Devil) and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death” (2:14-15).  Of course, the one exception concerning Jesus was that He was conceived by a miracle of the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary.  Unlike any other human born of a woman, too, Jesus was born without sin.  We call this truth of Scripture His immaculate conception. 

Moreover, Jesus had to take on a human nature so He could carry out His saving work for you and me.  One aspect of that work was His “active obedience.”  Jesus actively had to submit Himself to God’s holy law and live it perfectly as our Substitute.   

What’s more, Jesus—as true God and true man—died on the cross to pay for our sins.  We call this work of Jesus His vicarious atonement and describe it as His “passive obedience.”  Consequently, through His life, death and resurrection, Jesus saved us.  Although we may physically die before He returns on Judgment Day, because He as the God-man rose from death physically with His human, glorified body, so too will we (Job 19:25-27; today’s epistle). 

Today’s Old Testament Scripture reading from Isaiah and the Gospel lesson from Luke are strikingly similar in content.  In Isaiah, the LORD calls His prophet to serve as His divine mouthpiece; in Luke, Jesus calls Peter and the others to become His divine fishers of people.  Both Isaiah and Peter confess their unworthiness before the LORD because they are sinful human beings.  In both cases God demonstrates in a vivid way that every blessing in the LORD’s service must come from the LORD Himself.  Accordingly, St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians underscores that all the gifts of God’s people to build the church come from God Himself. 

Of course, the exception would be Jesus.  Once when challenged by the Pharisees about His disciples “working” on the Sabbath because they picked some heads of grain to eat, Jesus made it known that He was “LORD of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:1-14).   Obviously, Jesus wasn’t saying He agreed with the Pharisee’s man-made definition of what constituted work on the Sabbath.  Rather, Jesus made the point that He is the LORD of God’s law and He came to fulfill God’s law as our Savior.  The Sabbath law, as part of the Old Testament Ceremonial Laws, foreshadowed Jesus as the Law-Fulfiller and Sabbath Rest-Giver through the forgiveness of sins He gives.   

We remember how Epiphany reinforces that Jesus is true God, although at times He only appears to be a mere, mortal man.  Also, the truth that Jesus is true God reinforces that He is the Light of the world (John 8:12), the only saving light for sinners living in the darkness of sin (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).  We teach that Jesus had three offices as part of His saving mission: Prophet, Priest and King.  As God’s ultimate Spokesman, Jesus stands out as unique from any other human prophet.  All human prophets had to proclaim to their hearers, “This is what the LORD says.”  Jesus, however, proclaimed, “This is what I say as the LORD” (Review Jesus’ claim last week as He read from Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:14-21).   

Our readings today show a similarity and yet a contrast.  In the Old Testament, the LORD called and equipped Jeremiah to be His prophet.  In the Epistle lesson, God “calls” and equips all Christians with various gifts to serve in various roles as His spokespeople in His Church.  In the Gospel, Jesus identified Himself as THE Prophet of God and Luke related how He faithfully carried out this office despite how humans reacted. 

Again, Epiphany reminds us of how Jesus came into this world to be the “Light of World,” that is, the light of salvation for all people (John 8:12) living in the darkness of sin.  Sadly, some still do since they don’t believe in Jesus as the Son of God or the only Savior of the world (Acts 4:12).  Yet, the Messianic thread of prophecy runs throughout the Old Testament that God would send the Savior for the fallen human race.  In the New Testament, we witness the fulfilment of that prophecy in Jesus. 

Our readings today—especially the Old Testament and Gospel lessons—tie together the thread of that truth.  Our Epistle lesson stresses how the Church, built because of and on Christ as Savior, works together to carry out Jesus’ Great Commission…all done in gratitude for God’s gift of salvation.  As we remember that Christ is the “Light of the World,” Jesus says of us also and instructs us accordingly, “You are the light of the world…People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket… let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16). 

When we speak of Jesus’ state of humiliation, we define it as the time period during which He didn’t always make full use of His divine glory, knowledge and power.  Yet, as the true God, He still had it.   

During the Lenten Season, we focus especially on Jesus’ Passion History, when He doesn’t always appear to be the all-powerful God.  While this truth may also apply during the Epiphany Season, on this day we hear how Jesus demonstrated His divine power as true God.   

The miracle revealed in John’s gospel serves as Jesus’ first recorded miracle during His state of humiliation and as He began His public ministry.  The truth remains that Jesus is the all-powerful true God, despite what others may see, think or witness at certain times.  As the true God-man, nothing is impossible for Him, especially when it comes to doing everything necessary for our salvation. 

In fact, through His prophet Isaiah, the LORD revealed the miracle of how Jesus made us righteousness, that is, “right” with God.  This righteousness is not something we earn by what we do.  Rather, this righteousness is that which God gives us by grace through faith in Jesus.  Isaiah reminds us to let that righteousness shine in our witness of Jesus in deed and word. 

We have already noted that Epiphany is officially known as the “Gentiles’ Christmas” because the season emphasizes how the Christ, who was born of the Jews, isn’t only the Savior for the Jewish race.  Since epiphany means “shining forth,” the scriptural connection is that God revealed His Christ as the saving “Light of the world” (John 8:12) wallowing in the darkness of sin. Perhaps a most familiar event of Epiphany to demonstrate that truth is the Wise Men who came to worship Christ as their newborn King. 

Although Epiphany has an annual fixed date (January 6), Easter has a moveable date—that’s what makes the Epiphany season longer or shorter; it depends upon the date of Easter.  (As we come closer to Easter, we will explain how the actual Sunday of Easter is determined). 

The season of Epiphany, then, serves as a bridge between Christmas and Lent.  The truth that predominantly stands out is that Jesus, who came into this world in the form of a servant (Philippians 2:5ff), is still the all-powerful true God and at times let His glory shine as such. 

On this First Sunday after the Epiphany, also called by the early church the “Second Epiphany,” we hear of Jesus’ baptism and will explain the significance of it.