I Am Your Shield, Your Exceedingly Great Reward: Genesis 15:1-21

Genesis 15:1-21: "1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.' 2 But Abram said, 'Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?' 3 Then Abram said, 'Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!' 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.' 5 Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.' 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. 7 Then He said to him, 'I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.' 8 And he said, 'Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?' 9 So He said to him, 'Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.' 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: 'Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.' 17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates--19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.'"

Abram shows a moment of doubt towards God's promise. He hears the promise, but doesn't see the results. There are times we can certainly relate. God has promised in His Word that His Word will not return to Him void, yet, from our perspective we often don't see this happening. We see congregations disdaining the Word of God, exchanging it for man-made platitudes. We see discord among brother ministers of the Word, where we should see unity. We see strife between clergy and lay people, where there should be peace. We see Church bodies forsaking the Word of God by teaching things that God does not teach. We would think that this world would hear God's Word more attentively than it does.

Of course this is really our own sinful desire to place demands upon God. We expect to see results, just like Abram did. However, as God in the pericope points out to Abram, just because there are no visible results, does not mean that the promise won't come true.

The same is true of our Lord's second coming. This promise was given almost 2,000 years ago, and yet we still wait for His return. There are some who are so antsy for His return that they start making up dates. Again, this is our sinful desire to place demands upon God, instead of trusting that His promises will come true in His own time, and on His own terms.

However, our Lord God doesn't just tell Abram to trust in Him, of which Abram would have been content, for his faith is strenghtened simply by the repetition of the promise, and we are told that this is counted as righteousness, but God actually makes a covenant with Abram, through the sacrifices of the animals that Abram offers. The same is true for us as well, God doesn't simply just remind us of His promises through the spoken, preached Word, but He actually gives us signs that testify to His promises. These signs are His holy Sacraments, and means of grace, that is, Baptism, Absolution, the Lord's Supper, and the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren, in addition to preaching.

Through Baptism and the Lord's Supper we have actual physical signs we can point to that not only proclaim our Lord God's promises, but actually impart forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation, which was won for us by our Lord Jesus's death on the cross. These simple signs of water, bread and wine, when connected to the Word of God, remind us of the promise, and place us once again into His covenant that He made with Abram. Even a case could be made for preaching and absolution, for the sign would be the man of God who was sent by Him to impart forgiveness, and proclaim the good things that our Lord has done for us. This minister is a visible sign that God fulfills His promises, for he represents the mouth of God Himself, when He preaches the Word of God in its truth and purity, and administers the Sacraments according to Christ's institution.

The same can be said about the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren, for wherever two or three are gathered together in the Name of our Lord Jesus, He is there amongst them. When we are surrounded by fellow believers in Christ, we have a visible example that God keeps His promises, for we are shown by the gathering of the saints, that God's Word is not fruitless, but has fulfilled its purpose.

Now granted, the men of God, and the gathering together of the saints, aren't as sure signs as the water, bread and wine, since these elements never fail, unless one would use elements unfit for these Sacraments. On account of sin, however, mankind does fail from time to time to give a decent witness of the promises of God. This, however, does not render the promises untrue. Rather, it makes them more true, for we see from these simple mundane things our Lord's grace and mercy, working through what we might consider inferior vessels.

Our Lord God tells Abram that He is his Shield, and His exceedingly great reward. This is the same promise that is made to us. How great it would be if we had faith like Abram's and believed and trusted in God simply when He spoke to us, no matter in what form that Word came to us. Our doubts would be assuaged, and we would have joy knowing that our Lord God is fulfilling His promises.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The People Who Sat in Darkness Have Seen A Great Light: St. Matthew 4:12-17

St. Matthew 4:12-17: "12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.' 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

St. John the Baptist is put in prison. It would seem that as soon as our Lord Jesus shows up, the devil immediately begins to do all things that he can to put obstacles in the way of our Lord's work. Our Lord will have no rest from the devil, and his tempations, and his questioning and harassing of Him until He is dead on the cross. Such is our Lord's life. All of the temptations, troubles, sorrows, trials, dangers, and the like that we face throughout our lives, our Lord Jesus faces in abundance. His pain, His sorrow, His trials and temptations are greater than we ever experience, for the devil can win if he succeed in getting our Lord Jesus off of His mission of saving us.

But our Lord is fit to the task. He does not waver, but trusts completely in His Father, that His Father could send down legions of angels to assist Him if He so desired. However, as we learn from Scripture, our Lord Jesus takes the punishment, takes the abuse of the devil, in order that He might fulfill His work of salvation on our account. This is the love of our Savior. This is His grace. He takes on our temptation and punishment; And this, in more abundance than we ever experience.

Our Lord Jesus, however, is not, it would appear from His departing into Galilee after St. John the Baptist's imprisonment, afraid to avoid a situation that is not necessary for Him to experience. He would not have much of a ministry, if He began preaching near the Jordan River like St. John the Baptist, and then was arrested like him before His time. And so, He retreats to Galilee, and makes His home there in Capernaum. We are told by the Evangelist St. Matthew, that this was foretold by the Prophet Isaiah. Our Lord would abode in Zebulun and Naphtali by the sea.

The interesting thing to note about the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah is that Galilee is considered the land of the Gentiles. This poses the question, "Why in the land of the Gentiles?" Galilee was divided into two sections by King Solomon, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. It is here in the section set apart for the Gentiles that our Lord takes His abode. This region of Zebulun and Naphtali, was also the first section of Israel that was lead into captivity and exile by the Assyrians. So it seems that our Lord takes His abode in the place where the darkness and shadow of sin and death were at its greatest. Our Lord Jesus comes to the darkest place, spiritually speaking, to shed the Light of the Gospel upon these who so desperately need it.

It would seem that the use of the word "retreat" is a little bit of an overstatement. So let us follow so far the steps of Our Lord Jesus Christ's adult life as we know it. He is baptized, and then spends 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil, then after St. John the Baptist is put in prison, He leaves Judea, where he was preaching, and then (we are told by the Evangelist St. Luke) He goes to Nazareth to preach in the synagogue, in which they want to throw Him off a cliff, and now the Evangelist St. Matthew tells us that the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah is fulfilled by our Lord's abiding in Capernaum of Galilee. It appears that our Lord is faced with adversity throughout the beginning of His ministry. And where does He go? He goes to the place that is the darkest, where Satan's power would seem to be the strongest, and makes His abode there.

This is what our Lord Jesus does for us, He takes on the devil head on. He does this through His preaching. And if one examines the preaching of St. John the Baptist, and our Lord Jesus Christ here in the Gospel of St. Matthew, one would find that the sermon is exactly the same. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Mystically speaking, we have an instance where the Law, represented by the preaching of St. John the Baptist who was the last of the Propets of the Law, gives way to the Gospel, represented by our Lord Jesus who is the Light of the world.

In this manner, our Lord comes to us. He comes with His preaching into the darkness of our lives full of sin, and sheds the Light of His Gospel upon us. He calls us out of darkness into His glorious Light. Therefore, the beautiful words of the Prophet Isaiah are fulfilled in our midst whenever the Word of God is preached and taught in its purity, and the Sacraments are given out according to Christ's intention, that is, "the people who sat in darkness have seen a great Light." That "Great Light" is our Lord. And although this prophecy was directed at those who were lead captive by the Assyrians, it finds its true fulfillment in the all those who hear the Word of God and believe it.

May we ever see this Great Light and be rescued from the darkness of our sins.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Then Melchizedek King of Salem Brought Out Bread and Wine; He Was the Priest of God Most High: Genesis 14:8-24

Genesis 14:8-24: "8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar--four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. 11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. 14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. 17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.' And he gave him a tithe of all. 21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.' 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, "I have made Abram rich"--24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.'"

This evening we get to meet the high priest of God Most High, Melchizedek. And what does the priest of the Most High God do? He brings bread and wine. How could this not be anything but a figure of what the priests of today do every Sunday and Feast day? The priests of today, Bishops, Pastors, and Deacons, bring out the bread and wine to be consecrated in the Blessed Sacrament of our Lord's Supper.

Melchizedek is figure of our Lord Jesus Christ. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes this connection for us in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of that book. The Psalmist David, likewise in Psalm 110, connects the promised Messiah to Melchizedek. In these passages we have Scriptural proof, that Melchizedek is a prefigurement of the Messiah, that is, the Christ, our Lord Jesus, to come.

There are some things that need to be noted about Melchizedek. First, he is a king. Second, that he is the king of Salem. Third, that he is a priest of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. Fourth, he blesses Abram. Fifth, the meaning of his name.

The fact that Melchizedek is a king, also ties him to our Lord Jesus. For our Lord is also a King. He sits on the right hand of the throne of God, judging the quick and the dead. What do kings do? Or, what are they supposed to do? Kings are supposed to supply the needs of their people. Melchizedek supplies the needs of those returning from the slaughter of the kings by bringing to them bread and wine. He brings them something to satisfy their hunger, and to lift their spirits. Our Lord Jesus supplies the needs of His people by giving them His very own Body and Blood in bread and wine, to feed their souls, and strengthen them from the battle with sin, death, and the devil. He also declares as King, that all those who believe and trust in Him, are free from sin, and free from the punishment of sin.

That Melchizedek is the king of Salem, also ties him to our Lord Jesus. Salem means peace. That means that Melchizedek is the king of peace. Our Lord Jesus is the true King of Peace, He is the true King of Salem. Salem is believed to be the city which became Jerusalem. Jerusalem means "set ye double peace." Jerusalem is the place where the Temple of God stood. It is where our Lord God decided to make His dwelling place on earth in the time of Solomon the king. It is also the place where the kings of Judah reigned. It is no surprise therefore, that our Lord Jesus Christ go there to take His place of residence. It is not His home, that was Capernaum. And our Lord did not dwell in the Temple, even though He preached there. Our Lord's true place of abode, the place where He reigns as our King of Peace, is on Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, that place where He offered up His own Body and Blood as a sacrifice for us, in order that we might have salvation.

Melchizedek is also connected to our Lord Jesus because he is a priest of God Most High. What do priests do? They offer sacrifices. Our Lord is the True Priest, for He not only offers the Sacrifice, but He also takes the place of the victim. He is the true Lamb of God, offered for our salvation, by the True Priest of God. Priests also intercede for the people. Our Lord Jesus, now sitting on the right hand of God the Father, intercedes for us to the Father, ever reminding Him of His Sacrifice, and that our punishment has been paid. Priests also were given the remnants of the sacrifice as their food. The Blessed St. Peter in his First Epistle calls us "a royal priesthood." What that means is that we now get to enjoy the food that once was only reserved for the levitical priests. We get to eat the once for all Sacrifice of our Lord's Body and Blood under bread and wine. Melchizedek prefigures this great meal of forgiveness by bringing out bread and wine for the weary battlers. We as weary battlers with sin, death, the devil, the world, and our flesh, are refreshed through this salutary meal.

Melchizedek also blesses Abram. This shows his role as a prophet. The purpose of a prophet was to preach glad tidings. Melchizedek preaches to Abram that it was God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, who brought him the victory. It doesn't say it, but we can assume since Abram doesn't object, that Abram received this preaching with the ears of faith, believing wholeheartedly that God has indeed accomplished this through him. Our Lord Jesus is also a prophet, as we heard in this mornings text, He preaches Himself, and the good things that He plans to do for us. He preaches His death on the cross, for our salvation. And He preaches that He will give us His very own Body and Blood to eat and drink for our forgiveness.

Melchizedek is a prophet, priest and king. Our Lord Jesus is a Prophet, Priest, and King. That brings us to the final point about Melchizedek, and that is his name. Melchizedek means "my king is righteousness." Does that not bring our Lord Jesus to mind? Our Lord and King is Righteousness. Contrast that with our unrighteousness. We break the Law of God constantly. We fail miserably in keeping the commandments. We confess in public confession, that we are "poor, miserable sinners." This is a good confession, because it is true, and it is honest. On account of our sin we are deemed unrighteous. But our Lord Jesus is Righteousness. What that means, is that in His righteousness, He fulfills the Law perfectly for us. He covers over our unrighteousness, with His righteousness, so that our Father in heaven sees only His righteousness when He looks at our works. We, therefore, are counted righteous not because of anything that we did, or are doing, but because of what our Lord Jesus Christ did, and is doing.

Therefore, we can rejoice that we are counted righteous, that we have a High Priest, in the order of Melchizedek, who intercedes on our behalf constantly to the Father. And because of this we are deemed holy and pure. Rejoice in your holiness and perfection!

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Time is Fulfilled: St. Mark 1:12-15

St. Mark 1:12-15: "12 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. 14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'"

For the second morning in a row the temptation of our Lord Jesus is mentioned. However, this reading is not just about our Lord spending forty days in the wilderness. This pericope is about the end of St. John the Baptist's preaching, and the beginning of the preaching of our Lord. Our Lord begins His preaching by carrying on the preaching of St. John the Baptist, that is by preaching, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

The time that is fulfilled is the appearance of our Lord God in our flesh. Our Lord God has come to us born as one of us to fulfill the Law for us, and suffer and die for us. What a great thing! Our Lord begins to preach about Himself, the basis for all good preaching. And He immediately begins to preach about His work, another sign of good preaching. Good preaching, such as our Lord Jesus and St. John the Baptist preach, is always about our Lord and His work of redemption.

Bad preaching includes pop-psychology, which puts forth a sort of 12-step program of religion, that is, do these certain things, and your life will be great. Besides the fact that our Lord Jesus states that men will revile and hate and persecute His followers, this is wrong because it places the focus on man, and not on our Lord God. Included in this type of preaching are the so-called "success" preachers, who claim that if you truly love God enough, and you are a good person, God will reward you. Again, this places the focus on you and what you must do, and not on our Lord Jesus.

Bad preaching also includes the so-called preachers who use the pulpit to promote some political agenda. And along the same lines, are those who carry on about some facet of social justice. Having a good government and just citizens may be a good thing to have, but again, it takes the focus off of our Lord Jesus Christ, or worse yet, it drags Him into the picture, as if only a certain form of government and social action is pleasing to our Lord. None of this has to do with our Lord's true work of salvation for mankind, which is basically two things, His active (His fulfilling of the Law) and passive (His death on the cross) obedience.

Another form of bad preaching is the type of preaching that simply tells a bunch of stories, most of which have nothing to do with each other, or the text appointed for the day. Along these same lines is the preaching that uses the pulpit as a place for stand-up comedy. I suppose these can be entertaining, except when you get the preachers who think they are funny or entertaining but are really not, but again, preaching is not about being entertaining, it is about proclaiming our Savior and what He has done for us, and still does for us, through His Blessed Sacraments. Now that is not to say that preaching should be dull or boring either, but entertaining should not be the main focus.

Let's look at our Lord Jesus's preaching, which is the carrying on of St. John the Baptist's preaching. Our just states the facts. "The time is fulfilled." That is to say, "I, the Messiah, have come to fulfill the Law which you are unable to keep." "The kingdom of God is at hand." That is to say, "I am here to suffer and die in your place, taking on your punishment, so that I suffer all of your pain, and you get all of My reward." "Repent." That is to say, "Turn from yourselves and your works; turn from the things in which you trust in this life, and rely and trust in Me. For those things in which you trust are false gods, and I am the One True God and Savior. Trust in Me, for in Me only will you find the salvation and True God which you seek." "Believe in the Gospel." That is to say, "Believe in My work of fulfilling the Law perfectly, which you are unable to keep perfectly, and believe that My suffering and death in your place has won for you forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, in order that you may receive these things through the means of grace given out by the Holy Ghost.

Our Lord preaches Himself and what He has done. All good preaching will put the focus on our Lord Jesus, and not some other thing. It is our duty as hearers to make sure that we are hearing about our Lord, and not being puffed up in our works, or our success, or our emotions, or feelings, or our social action, or our politics, but solely in what our Lord Jesus has done for us. This is the type of preaching that will actually save you, for it will place the mantel of the Holy Spirit upon you, and give you true peace.

May God's peace be with you!

Deacon Dulas

I Will Make Your Descendants As the Dust of the Earth: Genesis 13:1-18

Genesis 13:1-18: "1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD. 5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. 8 So Abram said to Lot, 'Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.' 10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD. 14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: 'Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.' 18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD."

"I will make your descendants as the dust of earth." This is glad tidings for us, for we are the descendants of Abram by virtue of our baptisms into our Lord Christ. This promise is given to Abram when he has no offspring. And, this is the first time that he receives this promise, but it isn't the last. Abram will be the father of a huge nation. However, he will never see it come to fruition. Even his son Isaac, was not married to Rebekah until he was forty years old, and he only had two sons. By the time Jacob marries Leah and Rachel and has all of his sons and daughters, Abram is long dead.

But, Abram, takes these words of God on faith, just like he did when he left his home in Haran. And the promises do not stop there. Not only will Abram be the father of a large nation, but he will also be given the land of which he resides in now as far as he can see in all four directions.

These promises were first fulfilled through the nation of Israel. Israel, who was called Jacob, begat twelve sons, who became the twelve tribes of Israel. And they eventually resettled in the land that Abram is currently in. This is all well and good, Abram will have a huge nation, and possess a great amount of land. But that is not the only reason that our Father promises Abram these things. This is done, so that through Abram, the Messiah would be born. This Savior is the same one promised back in Genesis 3 to Adam and Eve. The Messiah born out of Abram's descendant's is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Our Lord Jesus, even though born among the Israelites, as the Messiah of the Israelites, does something great and wonderful for all of us who were not born Jews. He extends His grace and mercy to us, by calling us into that nation and people. All we who are baptized, spiritually, are Jews, descendants of Abram, and brothers of our Lord Jesus. Indeed, the holy Church on earth, extends to all peoples and tongues. Christianity encompasses the whole earth. God is in great abundance has given to the descendants of Abram, not just Canaan, not just Jerusalem, not just the Holy Land, but He has given the whole world for us to live in and be a part of. And He also shows His abundant mercy, by not just calling Jews His people, but all peoples everywhere, His people.

This is all accomplished through His Son Jesus Christ, who by His obedience and death, as called us out of darkness, into this holy Nation. Our Lord Jesus, has restored His creation to Himself. He does this on the first day of the week, that is, on Sunday. The same day that He began creation, is the same day that He completes salvation. He recreates the earth that was corrupted by the sin of Adam by His resurrection from the dead. He takes the Nation that was dead in its trespasses and sins, and brings it back to life, just as He brought Himself back to life. And now He calls all nations to Himself through holy Baptism.

What great glad tidings this is for those of us who are baptized. We see this promise fulfilled in the holy Mother Church. And not just the Church that lives on the earth, but the whole history of the universal Church of all ages. When we consider also all those who have gained their heavenly reward, including the Blessed Abram and Sarai who were the parents of this great people, we cannot even fathom, let alone number, all the saints, who are part of this holy family. This is the family of which we who are baptized are a part. And seeing this family we can rejoice that the Lord fulfilled His promise to Abram. It makes sense, therefore, that if our Lord fulfilled this promise, and many other promises as well, He will fulfill all of His promises.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

You Shall Not Tempt the Lord Your God: St. Luke 4:1-13

St. Luke 4:1-13: "1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.' 4 But Jesus answered him, saying, 'It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."' 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, 'All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.' 8 And Jesus answered and said to him, 'Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."' 9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: "He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you," 11 and, "In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone."' 12 And Jesus answered and said to him, 'It has been said, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God."' 13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time."

The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness seems out of place in this season of Epiphany. This is afterall the narrative for Invocabit, the First Sunday in Lent, although that Gospel is from the Evangelist St. Matthew. So why does the temptation reading get appointed for this week after the First Sunday after Epiphany? The answer is that the readings for the mornings are following the natural progression in the life of our dear Lord Jesus. He was baptized, called his first disciples, and then is led out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for forty days. There are many things that can be said about this pericope, but here are a few.

Jesus is tempted, we are told, for forty days. This number 40 calls to mind several things. The Flood, where it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. The Exodus, where the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness. Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and nights when receiving the Law, both times, that is, when he first received them, and when they were broken on account of the Israelites making a golden calf, and then again a second time, to replace the first one, in which he did not eat bread nor drink water for those 40 days and nights, during which he pleaded with God for the lives of the Israelites. The Israelite spies spent 40 days spying on the land of Canaan, before they decided to not attack the land, and God forced them to spend 40 years in the wilderness. Forty was the maximum number of blows that was to be given to someone who was to be beaten because of their wrong doing. Goliath came out to challenge the Israelite army for 40 days and nights. The front of the Temple was 40 cubits long. The ten lavers of the Temple held 40 baths of water. From these examples, and there are plenty more, one can see that the number 40 is important in Scripture.

Another thing that can be pointed out about this pericope is the response of our Lord Jesus to the second temptation: "Get behind Me, Satan!" This reminds us of the Blessed St. Peter, when he tried to stop our Lord from going to the cross, immediately after confessing Him to be the Son of God. This is how our Lord responds to those who try to prevent Him from completing His work of saving mankind from their sin.

The next thing to be pointed out about this text is the temptation itself. St. Luke the Evangelist points out to us that our dear Lord Jesus was not just tempted after the 40 days and nights were completed, but that He was tempted throughout the forty days. The fact that this happens directly after His baptism, tells us something of our own Christian life. Immediately after having the Holy Ghost descend upon Him in the form of a dove, our Lord is driven into the wilderness and tempted. The same thing is true of us as well. The Blessed Dr. Martin Luther in his observations about baptism states that when we baptize someone, we make them an enemy of the devil. And because we make that person an enemy of the devil, he will have no end of trouble and sorrow, on account of the devil, the world and his own sinful flesh, which war against that holy thing which has been implanted into him.

The Temptation of Our Lord Jesus Christ is shown as a picture of our Christian lives. The devil is always leading us into temptation. However, unlike our Lord, we often fail at that temptation, especially if it is a particular sin we like to do. The good news is that our Lord resists the temptation. What that means for us is that the Evangelist St. Luke is here showing us that our Lord indeed does fulfill the Law with His obedience. Theologically speaking this is what we call our Lord Christ's "active obedience." That is to say, He actively obeys the Law on our behalf. This is coupled with what is known as His "passive obedience." Which is His death on the cross for our salvation, that is to say, He passively suffers in our place so that we won't have to. By these two forms of obedience, our Lord fulfills His work given to Him by the Father. And in so doing, He gives us a picture of how to resist temptation. It is done through knowledge of His Word.

We pray in the Lord's prayer, in the sixth petition, "And lead us not into temptation." * What we are praying for when we pray this is "that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, our flesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and obtain the victory." * How does God guard and keep us? We learned that from the third petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." * When God breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our flesh, we are protected from them. This is done when He gives us His Word and Spirit (The first two petitions of the Lord's Prayer). He gives us these through preaching and the Sacraments. So how does one learn to resist temptation, by hearing and receiving the Word of God, and His Blessed Sacraments, wherein, He implants into us His Holy Spirit, so that we might resist these sinful desires, words, and actions.

What that means for us who desire to resist temptation like our Lord, is that we should be in the Church, and we should be in a parish that preaches the Word of God in its purity, and administers the Sacraments according to the institution of our Lord Christ, in order that we might receive the Holy Spirit, and thereby be given a way to resist temptation.

May this be done for us all.

God's peace be with you!

Deacon Dulas

* Translation from Doctor Martin Luther Small Catechism and An Explanation of Christian Doctrine based on Doctor Luther's Small Catechism, Edited by Markku Sarela, Published by The Confessional Lutheran Church of Finland, 1999.

I Will Make You A Great Nation: Genesis 12:1-20

Genesis 12:1-20: "1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.' And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South. 10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, 'Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, "This is his wife"; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.' 14 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, 'What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, "She is my sister"? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.' 20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had."

There are several similarities between the calling of Abram, and the Exodus account. Abram is caused by a famine to go to Egypt. So was Jacob and his sons. The Pharaoh of Abram's time is plagued by plagues. So is the Pharaoh of Moses time, who is the writer of this book. The Pharaoh of Abram's time commands him to leave his country. After the plagues during the time of Moses, Abram is Pharaoh demands Moses and all Israel, the descendants of Abram, to depart from the land.

Given the season of the year, this text hearkens us back to the flight into Egypt of our Lord and Savior Jesus, St. Mary, and St. Joseph. Although our Lord was forced from the land, not because of famine, but because of the rage of an evil king, one cannot help but consider that our Lord like Abram, and the Israelites before Him, had to seek shelter, solace, and succor in the land of Egypt. The question that has to come to mind is "Why Egypt?" After all, Egypt is not looked upon all to well by Scripture. There is an answer, and it is a spiritual one. This is really a picture of our own lives. Egypt represents this world. The world is at odds with the True God. It would rather have a god of its own choosing. The god the world chooses is an amalgamated god, one that embraces all religions as the same, and lumps them all together, as just different ways to the same end result of heavenly bliss. This is not the True God. The True God, is only the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the true Savior is only the Lord Jesus Christ, Who suffered and died on account of our sins, for our salvation.

However, in this world we must live. In a sense we have been exiled to Egypt, we are forced to live a world, and in a land, that is not our true home and land. Our true home and land, is heaven. Our Lord sends plagues, that is, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, war, bloodshed, and the like. He sends these things not just as a punishment for our sinfulness and wicked lives, but He sends them so that all those in the world, might do as the Pharaoh in the time of Abram did, that is, repent. God desires that we turn from our sinful lives, and live according to His ways. But even more than that, He desires that we trust and rely on Him for everything that we need and desire in this life.

Here is truly the amazing thing about this pericope: God tells Abram to leave his home, his family, the place in which he grew up and in what he was familiar, and go someplace else. If the command was given to us, we would balk at it. Moving is a hassle. The packing boxes, the lifting of heavy objects, making sure that everything is marked so that one is able to find it again and easily once we have reaced our destination, doesn't sound like a very attractive task, even when it is desired and/or necessary. For some of us, even just rearranging the furniture can be a hastle that is best avoided. But the fact that Abram, not only packed up all that he and his wife Sarai owned, and all that he acquired, along with his nephew Lot's things, and did as God commanded him, is a sign of absolute faith.

Abram could not have known what was in store for him, nor did he know where he was going. But he faithfully did as God commanded. Such faith is hard to find these days. To find a person that truly trusts and relies on God is a great and precious thing. There are certainly people who belong to the One True Church who fit this example of faith, who by all appearances trust in God completely, just like Abram did. Such a person is truly blessed.

Abram's leaving of Haran is not unlike a small band of brothers, who either forced out or leaving of their own free will the Synod in which they were raised, left to go into a new Diocese, a land of Canaan, flowing with the milk and honey of the pure teaching of God's holy Word and a blessed fellowship of love and trust. To leave this Synod, and form and join this Diocese, took a leap of faith. A leap of faith not unlike the faith the Abram showed. Abram, as well as this Diocese, desired to do what was right, and desired to do the will of God, and he did it trusting in His Divine grace and mercy.

The desire of Abram to pass his wife off as his sister, in order to save his neck, must also be discussed. This is a weird move on the part of Abram. Afterall he has shown such faith up to this point. Why the doubt? Why the mistrust of God? Why all of a sudden is he trusting in his own abilities, or lack their of, instead of God's? The truth of the matter is that Abram displays that which is inside all of us.

There are always doubts that come to us. We see the world, and what it teaches, and how it behaves, and for some of us we desire to be like the world, and in fact, there are those in the Church, who try to fashion God into the type of god the world wants. This is seen in their preaching, which is nothing more than how to live a good life, or handle a certain situation, and not a true preaching about our Lord Jesus Christ, and what He has done for us. We can also see this attitude in these people's worship. It resembles a rock concert, more than a sacred meeting between God and His people, in order that He might give out His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. These people's worship is focused on themselves, and what they feel, and experience, instead of what God does for them. And they even turn that around, and make their feelings, and emotions, something that God has to effect in them.

For others of us, we are saddened by the abject faithlessness of the world, and wonder why God doesn't do something about it. We secretly desire that God would do something drastic, in order that people would repent, and turn back to Him. Sometimes, there are even people, who do illegal things, like blowing up an abortion clinic, thinking that it is God's will. Abortion is wrong, and it is clearly contrary to God's Commandment, but breaking one commandment to fulfill another doesn't do anybody any good.

Abram had these same doubts, and so he tells his wife to pretend to be his sister. God, however, used the plagues and Pharaoh to get Abram back on track. God sends us these trials and tribulations in this life, so that we might also get back to trusting and relying on Him alone.

There is a true joy that comes, when one trusts in God completely, and is free of doubt. That person hears God more clearly, he trusts in Him more completely, and chases after God wherever He is to be found, desiring and demanding those gifts from Him in all of their grace and purity. That person will also desire to do what is truly God's will, and desire that he receive pure teaching of the Gospel, that the he receive the Sacraments according to Christ's institution, and he will demand that the vehicle in which the Word and the Sacraments are administered be properly adorned like a beautiful Bride set for her wedding, and not a harlot trolling the street for tricks. The historic Liturgy is such a beautiful Bride, and the Liturgy done well, truly adorns the Word and Sacraments in a worthy vehicle.

May all who read this find that True Canaan, where the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and the Sacraments are adminstered according to Christ's institution, and delivered in a worthy vehicle.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

We Have Found Him of Whom Moses in the Law, And Also the Prophets Wrote: St. John 1:43-51

St. John 1:43-51: "43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow Me.' 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' 46 And Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.' 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!' 48 Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!' 50 Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you, "I saw you under the fig tree," do you believe? You will see greater things than these.' 51 And He said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.'"

There are several things to be pointed out in this pericope: One, after the calling of St. Andrew, the unnamed Apostle, (who is probably St. John) and St. Peter Jesus determines to go to Galilee. There in the hometown of Sts. Peter and Andrew, He finds St. Philip. St. Philip does the same thing that St. Andrew did, he went and told someone else. These Apostles cannot contain their enthusiasm of finding the Messiah. They must tell someone. St. Philip tells St. Nathanael. "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Such a simple sermon. Nothing more needed to be said.

However, in St. Nathanael we see the second thing to be pointed out in this pericope. We see the kind of reaction the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ can have on a person, and that is, doubt. This is especially true of those who have not seen with the eyes of faith the great gifts that our Lord bestows upon us. St. Nathanael had the benefit of seeing with his own eyes, and hearing with his own ears. We today, obviously don't have that luxury, but we do have the eyes and ears of faith, which cling to the preaching of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that tells us of what He has done for us. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" This is the same disdain that those who desire a Lord and Savior, and a God, of their own choosing.

Our Lord Jesus keeps revealing Himself in simple means and ways. He did not show up in Jerusalem, the holy city where the Temple stood, but He was born in Bethlehem. He was not raised in Jerusalem, in the house of the king, but in a backwater town called Nazareth, in the house of a carpenter and a handmaid. He reveals Himself today and comes to us today in simple means as well. He comes through the preaching of the Word, from some guy dressed in something that looks like a Mediaeval bathrobe. And this guy, who is called Minister, or Reverend, or Deacon, or Pastor, or Elder, or Presbyter, or Father, or Bishop, sometimes may not be all that pleasant to listen to. He has a tendency to "get into our kitchen and root around in our fridge without our permission" and point out our sins and our weaknesses, and our failings. For the most part these men aren't the picture of Adonis, but are more likely the embodiment of the nerdly sort. (This can be seen when you get a bunch of them together, it's like a nerd convention). But through this unlikelly man, our Lord Jesus is preached and taught in His truth and purity, and the sacrifice that He made on the cross for our salvation.

Our Lord Jesus also comes to us in the waters of Holy Baptism. There is nothing special about the water used, it is just tap water. The only rubric about the water is that it must be living water, that is, water that flows, just like the water from the tap. But it is not the water that makes a baptism special and salutary, but it is the Word that is connected to it. That Word is the Name of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Without these Words, without that Name, it is no baptism, but it is simple water only. And since we have broached the topic of baptism, it should be pointed out that today, January 13, the octave of Epiphany, is the festival of the Baptism of Our Lord. It is the day we rejoice not only in our Lord's Baptism, but in ours as well. This baptism is performed again by the man of God, who is called and ordained for that purpose. This is done by an insignificant man, just like preaching and the other means of grace, so that the Word of our Lord Jesus may be the main thing, and not the man who does them. For it is our Lord alone Who is deserving of honor and praise.

Our Lord Jesus also reveals Himself in the simple words of the Private Absolution. "Your sins are forgiven." I suppose these words could be taken like the words "I love you," depending on who is saying them they could be just words, and not mean anything. However, even though it be a man of God, dressed in a simple cassock and stole, who says these words, it does not matter if he means them or not, because they are not his words, but His Words. It may be a man speaking it, but it is the Lord Jesus Himself Who is saying it to us. So that, we can be certain, that our sins are forgiven by God Himself in heaven.

Our Lord Jesus also reveals Himself to us in the simple forms of bread and wine. In these simple means, our Lord Jesus Christ, gives to us to eat and drink His true and real Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Again, the bread and wine, are not the main things in the sacrament, but the Words. Those Words being "Given for you," and "Shed for your for the remission of sins."

And our Lord Jesus also reveals Himself through the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren, that is, wherever two or three are gathered in His Name, there He is in the midst of them. This is the communion of the saints, it is the gathering together of the Body of Christ, into a common people. This takes place in a simple church building. It is silly to think that one can worship by himself. The Church of God is community, and one cannot have a community of himself. This is why parishes are formed, and why dioceses, and synods, and denominations, and the like are formed, because the Church realizes that where two or three are gathered together in the bond of fellowship, there our Lord Jesus Christ is present. And wherever He is present there His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation are given out in abundance. Where these gifts are given out, there is joy, and love, and peace, and patience, and goodwill, and the like. It is a good place to be.

So here is where the Lord Jesus is to be found, in the simplest of places. St. Nathanael did have the luxury, along with the rest of the Apostles, to see our Lord with their own eyes, to hear Him with their own ears, and to spend three years of their life with Him, learning how to be Apostles and ministers of the Word. St. Nathanael, also believes our Lord Jesus to be the Messiah, after He tells Him something only St. Nathanael would know. We, however, get to see our Messiah and Christ revealed to us today in so many ways, it is hard to believe that so many people disdain these good gifts of our Lord and Savior.

And so, we rejoice this day, knowing that we have been baptized, that we have the opportunity to gather together with other saints, and hear the preaching of Him and what He has done for us, and we have the ability to go to our Bishop, Pastor, or Deacon in private, and confess our sins to him, (which is really a confessing of our sins to Him) and receive absolution from them, as if from God Himself. And we can rejoice especially that on this feast day, we can come to the Lord's house, and with other people, receive the True Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, given to us in bread and wine, for the remission of our sins.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Lord Scattered Them Abroad Over the Face of All the Earth: Genesis 11:1-9

Genesis 11:1-9: "1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.' They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.' 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the LORD said, 'Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.' 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth."

The narrative of the tower of Babel tells us the history of the development of the many languages that are in use in the world. Before the tower of Babel, which means confusion, everyone spoke the same language. There was a unity and bond, everyone worked together, because they understood each other. The question has to be raised, "Why is that such a bad thing, that our Lord has to put an end to it?" There are many people who believe that everyone was united there would be peace. Surely this cannot be a bad thing. There are at least two reasons the Lord causes the confusion of languages at Babel.

One is stated in the pericope, that now mankind will be able to anything it puts its mind to. We hear this, and think, surely this can't be a bad thing. Think of all the technological advances that could be made. We could cure poverty, world hunger, bring about world peace, etc., etc. The problem with such a view is that it fails to take into account that man is corrupt from his birth to the core. This is the stain of Adam, whose sin caused all mankind to become sinful from generation to generation. Such unity of purpose from a corrupt race, would only lead to the propagation of evil, and then the evil would grow and increase. I suppose there are those who would say, "That would never happen." But history itself bears this fact to be true. Just think of all the countries throughout history, which have been united in an evil purpose. Nazi Germany certainly comes to mind. And if you're thinking that is an extreme example, just think of the slave trades, or prostitution rings, or drug cartels. All these things come about because the evilness that is innate in all mankind, has bubbled to the surface, and become prevalent. The truth of the matter is that corruption, greed, envy, strife, murder, and so on, could be easily found even the so-called good governments.

And so, in His Divine providence, the Lord, causes confusion in language, so that they might not trust in themselves, but rather search after Him, and trust in Him to provide all necessary and good things for this life.

The second reason is that the people at Babel were not fulfilling the commandment of God, which was to be fruitful and multiply, in order that they might fill the whole Earth. Here they planned to stay for generation after generation. However, the Lord, in His divine mercy, causes them to be confused, so that they might leave that place and go and enjoy the whole of His creation. The Lord God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, has given us His creation to enjoy. These people at Babel were missing out on all the good things that God created for us to use. It would seem silly for someone to make us a birthday cake, and then only eat one slice of it, and then throw the rest away. And so, the Lord God, gives them a push in the right direction to use His wonderful gifts.

The Lord God continues today to be abundant with His gifts. The city of Babel was a poor representation of the City that God had planned for us. He brings us into that holy city by baptism. In this City the stain of sin and corruption is washed away, and since it is done away with, the Lord God, unites us together with one language, that is the language of salvation and grace. It is the language of His holy Word, wherein He tells us what He promises to give to us. In this City, which is the Church, He gives us His holy gifts, of forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation. This City is perfect and holy, and it is built by Him. This is a City which we can rejoice over, and desire. This City is scattered abroad over the face of the whole Earth. Come to this City, and see what great things it has to offer.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Come and See: St. John 1:35-42

St. John 1:35-42: "35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, 'Behold the Lamb of God!' 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, 'What do you seek?' They said to Him, 'Rabbi' (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), 'where are You staying?' 39 He said to them, 'Come and see.' They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, 'You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas' (which is translated, A Stone)."

After His baptism our dear Lord Jesus calls His disciples. Notice that this is the next day after His baptism. St. John the Baptist proclaimed yesterday, "Behold the Lamb of God." But it appears that nobody listened. And so, St. John the Baptist repeats the proclamation again today, "Behold the Lamb of God." Two of his disciples, we are told, actually hear and listen to those words, and follow our dear Lord Jesus. We should also take note that our Savior Jesus is there again a second day. And in both St. John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus there is a difference noted by the Evangelist. St. John the Baptist "stood" with his disciples; our Lord Jesus "walked" by the River Jordan. St. John the Baptist's position is fixed, he is to remain at the Jordan and preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Our Lord Jesus, however, is mobile, He is to go from place to place preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins, after St. John the Baptist's imprisonment.

This is also meant in a mystical sense, St. John the Baptist represents the Law, and our dear Lord Jesus is a picture of the Gospel. The Law's punishment ceases with our Lord's coming, and the Gospel's grace begins to "walk about" into all the world.

This grace of the Gospel, begins with our Lord's disciples. We are told that there are two disciples of St. John the Baptist there that day who leave St. John the Baptist, and follow our dear Lord Jesus. The name of one is given here, and that is St. Andrew. Of course his feast day begins the Church Year, this is the honor bestowed upon him as the first to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. We are also told of these two disciples that they remained with our Lord Jesus, and did not return again to St. John the Baptist.

There are couple of things that should be pointed out. One, time of day is given. It is the tenth hour. St. Augustine states that this represents the decalogue, the Ten Commandments. Here in the tenth hour, the disciples call our Lord Jesus, "Rabbi," that is, teacher. The only True teacher of the Law, is the One Who gave the Law. And so, in this tenth hour, the the time had come for the Ten Commandments to be fulfilled by love, that is, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Chrysostom, the Golden-tongued, tells us that the tenth hour makes note of the lateness of this scene. The tenth hour is 4 p.m. For some people that is quitting time, it's the time for the work to be over. For others, it is the time to eat, or at least start getting dinner ready. This time of year in the northern part of the country it is even beginning to get dark. However, our Lord doesn't say, "It's getting late, why don't you come back tomorrow." Instead, He invites them with the Gospel invitation of "come and see," that is, come by believing, and see by understanding. What a great evening that must have been for St. Andrew, and the other disciple not named! They had heard the preaching of St. John the Baptist about the Messiah to come, but now they were hearing Him with their own ears. That must have been totally awe-full! For St. Andrew, in fact, it was so full of awe, that he runs and tells his brother St. Peter, who in turn comes and meets our Lord Jesus, and receives a new name, that is, Cephas, or A Stone (his previous name being Simon).

The second thing to make note of is that, as mentioned above, the second disciple is not named. It is believed that this second disciple was the writer of the Gospel, the Evangelist St. John, the beloved of our Lord. If this be true, we can assume that just like St. Andrew, went and told St. Peter, that St. John the Evangelist, went and told his brother, St. James the Elder. This would hold significance, because whenever our Lord Jesus takes disciples off with Himself to a private place, St. Peter, St. James, and St. John are always the ones being listed. It makes one wonder, why the first disciple, St. Andrew, is not included in this, but we are not told, nor does it seem to bother St. Andrew, for he indeed walked far and wide with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, proclaiming him the Messiah. He didn't stop with his brother St. Peter, but according to legend ended up in Scotland and the surrounding areas, and brought the Gospel to them, and became their patron saint.

St. Andrew serves as an example to us. Upon hearing the words of our Lord, he is filled with joy. The words that our dear Lord Jesus spoke revealed that He was the Messiah. When we hear the preaching that our Lord and Savior is indeed the Messiah, that is, the Christ, the Anointed One, Who was sent to fulfill the Law perfectly for us, and to suffer and die for us, we too are filled with joy. And like St. Andrew, who spread that message abroad, just like the rest of the Apostles, we too, should run to all who would listen, and say to them, "Come and see, we have found the Messiah." We find the Messiah today in the Church, where the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and the Sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution. To these parishes, must all those who are lost, all those who would listen, and like St. Peter, come willing without a question of doubt, be brought by our invitation. Come and see! Come and hear of the Messiah, our Savior, and learn of joy and love.

God's peace be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Then God Remembered Noah: Genesis 8:1-22

Genesis 8:1-22: "1 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen. 6 So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. 7 Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. 8 He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. 10 And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. 11 Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 12 So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore. 13 And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. 14 And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried. 15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 'Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.' 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. 19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, 'I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.'"

Then God remembered Noah. These are the words of glad tidings after all of the words of destruction that were spoken of by God. God had shut Noah and his family up into the ark. There they remained throught the 40 days and nights of flooding, and throughout the entire time it took for the waters to recede from the Earth. I am sure that after being boxed up in the ark, with no place else to go, that Noah and his family were ready for it to all be over with. They were probably even tempted to think that God had forgotten about them. Perhaps, they even felt they were going to live out the rest of their lives in the ark. But Moses in his first book, commonly called Genesis, tells us that God remembered Noah. This is a proclamation of God's grace and mercy.

And in reality this was God's plan all along, to save Noah and his family, and thereby save the whole human race. God destroys that which is evil and corrupt, so that that which is righteous and pure may have free course and abound. Here again, in this narrative of Noah and his family, is a picture of our Lord Jesus. Our Lord and Savior takes the corruption and the evilness of mankind, all of his sinfulness, both original and actual, and destroys it on the tree of the cross. Then he places his holy family, that is all of Christendom, His lovely Bride, into the holy Ark of Christendom. There He doles out the gifts that He won by His death, that is, forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, through the means of grace, that is, those means by which He imparts those gifts. Those means include preaching, absolution, baptism, communion, and the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren. Through these gifts the Holy Ghost, creates and sustains faith and life in all those who use them and trust that God actually works through them.

In this way, God remembers us. He remembers our lost and fallen condition, and having shut us up into the holy Ark of Christendom, through baptism, and the other means of grace, brings us out of the Ark and onto the dry land of our heavenly home. By these gifts He shows His grace, that is, He freely gives these gifts, without any merit or worthiness on our part. He also shows us His mercy by these gifts, that is, He doesn't treat us the way we deserved to be treated, which is with punishment and eternal death, but rather gives us the reward that belongs to Him, which is life and salvation.

This evenings reading ends with another proclamation of good tidings. That is that God will never again destroy the Earth. The One True God declares:

"I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease."

That means that God will not only not destroy the Earth, nor will He let it be destroyed. Until the Last Day, God will keep things going; both "seedtime and harvest, cold and heeat, winter and summer, and day night." This passage is a declaration against all the global warming fanatics. God, in His divine providence, that is, in His watching over all creation, all the time, will not let anything happen to it. Even on the Last Day, God will not destroy the Earth, but rather, replace it with a new one, as our dear Lord Jesus relates through the Blessed Evangelist St. John in His Revelation.

These cries of the end of the world, and utter destruction of the world, are really no different from the cries and sorrows that could have arose from being cramped up on the ark. They are the cries of the faithless, who only trust in themselves their abilities. True faithfulness never trusts in itself. It's absurd if you think about it. "Have faith in yourself." That's like saying, "Have faith in your faith." Faith needs an object to grasp onto, to believe in, it never believes in itself. That is why for Noah, his faith grasped onto to his Savior and God, and he believe that He would save him. Noah truly believed that God would not forget him, that God would not destroy him, nor keep him cooped up in the ark for the rest of his days.

Such faith is what is lacking these days. We need to stop trusting in ourselves, there is no salvation there anyway. You cannot trust in what is corrupt, to bring about purity. Instead we should rely on God, trust in Him that He will deliver us from all harm and danger, that He will guard and protect from every danger. Even the dangers of "global warming," nuclear holocaust, meteors crashing into the Earth, the poles reversing polarity, or whatever other danger the faithless ones want to put in front of us, in order to lead us away from our reliance on the One True God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

He has promised that He would not leave us nor forsake us, that He would always guard and protect us. Noah stands as an example of God's grace and mercy. He did not forget Noah, He will not forget you.

May God's peace be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Behold the Lamb of God!: St. John 1:29-34

St. John 1:29-34: "29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, "After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me." 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.' 32 And John bore witness, saying, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.'"

Behold the Lamb of God! What great words! This proclamation from St. John the Baptist is all over our liturgy. The proclamation that our dear Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God is found in the greater doxology, the Gloria in Excelsis. It is in the Proper Prefaces for Advent and Easter. It is in the Agnus Dei. It is also found in the canticle Dignus Est Agnus from the book of Revelation. What that means is that this proclamation is an important one.

Our Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God. Well, what was done to lambs, without spot or blemish, in the Old Testament times? They were sacrificed for sins. Our Lord Jesus is our sacrifice for our sin. But He is not just the Lamb, but He is also the priest Who offers Himself up on our behalf. Behold the Lamb of God, is a proclamation of Redemption. It is a proclamation of our forgiveness from sins.

St. John the Baptist realizes this great mystery. He realizes that our Lord Jesus is greater than he is, that he is not worthy to untie His sandals. This is a confession of his sinfulness, and an acknowledgement of the righteousness of Christ. St. John the Baptist cannot take away sin. Even though he is baptizing in the Jordan River, his baptism cannot save, it was nothing more than a symbolic washing. The Baptism that our Lord Jesus gives us can save, it can remove sins, and impart righteousness. For it is a baptism of not just plain water, but it is water connected with God's word. Which means in that water is the Holy Ghost, and those baptized with the Holy Ghost have their sins drowned in those waters, so that He may bring them out of the water spotless and pure, just like the Lord Jesus Christ was a pure and spotless Lamb.

He becomes for all those who are baptized into His Name, a Shepherd, and He leads them to the still waters of His holy Word and Sacraments. There we receive forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation, freely, abundantly. And in these things we find rest and comfort from the trials of this life. Yes, though we walk through the valley of tears, this life life filled with trouble and sorrow. We know we have a Shepherd, Who comforts us with His holy Word, washes our wounds from the battle with sin, death, and the world with the waters of Holy Baptism, and feeds us with His true Body and Blood, given in bread and wine.

And this is perhaps the greatest gift of Lamb of God, for just like in the Old Testament times, the sacrifice that was offered was eaten by the priests as a wage for their service, so too, does the royal priesthood, eat the Lamb of God, which is given to us in this sacred and holy mystery.

One might wonder why St. John the Baptist shows up at this time of the year, in the season of Epiphany. For Advent is really the season of St. John the Baptist, since Advent is the forerunner of Christmas, as St. John the Baptist is the forerunner of our Lord Christ. He is even mentioned in two of the Advent Gospels, once in prison, and once in the pericope that comes before this mornings reading. Epiphany is all about our Lord Jesus being manifested to the world as One, True, and only Savior. Here St. John the Baptist shows up, to proclaim into our ears, that our dear Lord Jesus has come to begin His work of salvation for us. Here He is the Lamb of God, proclaimed as the Son of God, having the Holy Ghost rest upon Him in the form of a dove, acknowledging Him as or Priestly King, Who will offer Himself up on the altar of the cross, for our forgiveness.

Behold the Lamb of God! Crucified for us! Hanging dead on the tree on account of our sins. The sacrifice is made, we are made clean and pure. And this Lamb of God, is offered as our spiritual food, to create and sustain faith and life within us. And just as this Lamb of God, although dead in the grave for three days, rose again to eternal life. All those who feast on the Lamb of God receive that eternal life as a gift.

So rejoice this day in the Lamb of God, hear Him proclaimed by the modern day John the Baptists, the ministers of the Word, and come to the Lord's house and receive that Lamb of God on your lips for your forgiveness and life.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Spirit of the Lord God is Upon Me: Isaiah 61:1-3

Isaiah 61:1-3: "1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

 

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me. Our Lord Jesus quotes these words about Himself, in the synagogue of Nazareth. This pericope contains that our Lord Jesus is to do and fulfill: preach good tidings to the poor; heal the brokenhearted; proclaim liberty to the captives; open the prison of those who are bound; proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; and comfort those who mourn.

The one phrase that stands out is the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God. This is a reference to the crucifixion of our dear Lord Jesus. On that day and in that year, God's vengeance over sin was appeased by the acceptable sacrifice of our Savior on the cross. He offers Himself up as a sacrifice for our sins, taking on Himself our punishment.

This is the glad tidings that is preached to the poor, that heals the brokenhearted, that comforts the ones who mourn. The death of Christ, frees from the prison of sin and death, all those who are bound in it. It gives freedom from sin, death, and the devil to all those who are held captive by them. Our dear Lord Jesus destroys sin, death, hell, the devil, the world, our sinful flesh, all by His death on the cross.

This reading, which is the Old Testament appointed for The First Sunday after Epiphany from The Lutheran Hymnal, also ends talking about "trees of righteousness." How could this be anything but a reference to the tree upon which our dear Lord hung as a sacrifice for us. This tree which led to our Lord's death, cancels out the tree that led to Adam's death. It is a tree where His righteousness is displayed for the whole world. It happens in such a way that this tree of death, becomes for us, the tree of life. The means by which our Lord Christ, won for us eternal life by His death and resurrection.

This morning we heard from the Gospel lesson that the Boy Jesus was in His Father's house, answering and asking questions of the elders. Little did those who marveled at His wisdom, realize who this child was, nor did they know for what He was destined. We are not told what exactly was discussed, but one can't help but imagine that this passage from Isaiah, or another just like it from the Old Testament, was discussed by them. For we know that our Lord was constantly teaching people about the purpose of His coming, that is His suffering and death on our behalf.

And so, we rejoice today, for the death of our Savior. We rejoice that the Boy Jesus, who marveled the teachers of the Law with His wisdom, fulfilled that Law perfectly for us, and took our punishment upon Himself on that tree of righteousness.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Do Not Be Conformed to This World: Romans 12:1-5

Romans 12:1-5: "1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."

The Collect for today, the First Sunday after Epiphany, states,

"O Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully to receive the prayers of Thy people, who call upon Thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen."

This Collect carries the theme of the reading wonderfully. The Blessed Apostle St. Paul in the Epistle reading for the First Sunday after Epiphany, which is also this morning's reading, captures the spirit of the Lord's wholehearted consecration of Himself to His Father from today's Gospel reading of the Boy Jesus in the Temple from St. Luke 2. This reading is all about conforming one's self to the will of the Father. It is all about obedience. And the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul, explains to the Church at Rome, that that obedience applies to us as well.

Our Lord Jesus was to be about His Father's business in the Temple. He was to be obedient to the Father's will. We too, are to be about our Father's will. Well, this obviously begs the question, "What is the Father's will?" We learn from Dr. Martin Luther's Small Catechism, on the Lord's Prayer, the third petition, that the Father's will is done

"When God breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not let us hallow the name of God nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh; but strengthens and preserves us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto our end. This is His good and gracious will." *

This means that God's will is to destroy the devil, the world, and all sinfulness. This is done by what we learn from the first two petitions of the Lord's prayer, having His Name being hallowed, and having His kingdom come. God's name is hallowed, when His word is taught in its truth and purity, and we lead holy lives according to it. In other words, when we are obedient to our Father in heaven, by listening to His holy Word, and doing it, that is, His commandments. The kingdom of God comes to us when He gives us His Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit gives us the grace to believe His holy Word, or to say it another way, the Holy Spirit creates and sustains faith in us. The Holy Spirit does this by the blessed Sacraments, through those means of grace, which impart to us faith and life.

And even though we pray for these things, God gives them to us without our prayer. This is why He has given us the Church, and within the Church, He has established parishes, with ministers, to dole out those gifts, so that we might have faith and life.

So just like our dear Lord Jesus as a boy in the Temple, who is to be about His Father's business, so too, are we to be about our Father's business, that is receiving, and rejoicing over the gifts that He gives us, both bodily gifts and spiritual gifts. This is what it means to "not be conformed to this world." For this world, wants nothing to do with the Father's will. There are even those in the Church, who bemoan and wail about having to go to church to worship, or they moan about having worship their way. They would trade the worship of our Lord, for the worship of themselves. Even the amount of worship gets slap in the face from this world. Heaven forbid that a worship service last more than an hour! And even more so, if one advocates worshipping on more than just on Sunday (except for Advent and Lent, then people will begrudgingly relent to Wednesday night services, since they only last a few weeks).

The Early Church, and the Church of the Middle Ages, worshipped daily, at least morning and evening, and in some places several times a day. Our lives as Christians should be filled with worship, that is, with the hearing of God's Word, and the receiving of His gifts. It must be this way, because the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh do not want us to hallow God's Name, or let His kingdom come, and they will do whatever it takes to destroy the faith and life that God planted into us through the means of grace. This is why, we as Christians, must come to the Lord's House, to His Temple, and "present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." For in is in His house, the place where He hands out His Word and gifts, where we find not only rest for our souls, from the battle that we face daily because of the devil, the world, and our flesh, but it is also the place where God strengthens us in His Word and Spirit, so that those unholy three, have no power over us.

So, rejoice today that our dear Father in heaven, has sent His Son into our flesh, and on account of Him, sends the Holy Spirit to us, that we might have forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation through the means of His grace, so that we might be obedient to Him, and trust and rely on Him for all of our wants and needs.

God's peace be with you!

Deacon Dulas


* Translation from Doctor Martin Luther Small Catechism and An Explanation of Christian Doctrine based on Doctor Luther's Small Catechism, Edited by Markku Sarela, Published by The Confessional Lutheran Church of Finland, 1999.

Only Noah And Those Who Were With Him in the Ark Remained Alive: Genesis 7:1-24

Genesis 7: 1-24: "1 Then the LORD said to Noah, 'Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.' 5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. 7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, 9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark--14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. 16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in. 17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days."

The narrative of the Flood shows God's judgment and mercy. God judges the whole earth to be worthy of destruction, and so He sends a flood. This should serve as a stark warning to us! "All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died." We learn from Dr. Martin Luther's Small Catechism that, "God threatens to punish all that transgress these Commandments. Therefore we should dread His wrath and not act contrary to these Commandments." * This is a commentary on Exodus 20:5, "I, the Lord, thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me." * What that means, is that God takes His Law seriously. He does not want people neglecting or breaking His commandments. What that also means, is that He will punish those who transgress against His Law.

What does that mean for us? It means we should take God's commandments seriously too. Especially those of us who claim to love Him and want to do His will. We should study His Law, so that we know what to do, and not to do, and live by them. We should teach them to our children, and place them on our hearts, on our walls, and keep them ever before us. However, we should never think that we are saved by our keeping of the Law. Only One Man was perfect, and that was our dear Lord Jesus, only He kept the Law perfectly. We fail often, daily. And when we do we should confess our sins, to God, or our minister. When we repent of our sins, and confess them, and promise to amend our sinful ways, we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness of sins, from our minister, just as if it came from God Himself.

I am quite sure that at the time of Noah, there were many people, like today, who did not believe that they were all that evil. After all, everybody else was probably doing the same things, and unfortunately, we have this bad tendency to judge our works according to our neighbors works, that is, by our fellow man's works. This leads to one of two things, pride or despair. Pride comes when we look at our neighbors works, and think, "Well, at least I'm not as bad as that guy." Despair comes upon those who look at their neighbors works, and think that they will never be a good person. They say to themselves, "I wish I was as good as so and so." But we should not be comparing our works to any other man's works. Instead, we should trust in Christ's works on our behalf. Our dear Lord Jesus, fulfilled the Law perfectly for us. And better yet, our Father in heaven, took out our punishment upon our dear Lord Jesus. And so, our keeping of the Law, really stems from our love for what our Lord did for us. We desire to keep the Law because of what He did. And when we fail, we have an intercessor before the throne of heaven, who pleads on our behalf for us--our dear Lord Jesus, who sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.

This is why Noah is saved. It wasn't because of his righteousness, but because of his faith in God to redeem him, inspite of his sinfulness. And this faith was reckoned to him as righteousness. This is why the world is destroyed in a flood, because they lacked faith in God, they trusted in themselves and their works. They thought they were not all that bad, that they were acting just like everybody else. This is why Christians don't act like everybody else, why they obey God, because they believe that He is their Lord and Savior, and that He will keep His promise to punish those who remain in their sins, even as He punished those at the time of the Flood.

But God shows His mercy in this pericope as well. He saves Noah and his family. We see from the text that God even closed the door for Noah, shutting him up into the Ark. We see that He protected Noah, and all of His creation, by saving two of each kind of living thing. Again Noah is a figure of the promised Christ. Noah is shut up in the tomb of the Ark, just like our Lord Jesus is shut up in the tomb. Both our dear Lord Jesus and Noah are carried through death, one real, one seeming, to life again on the other side. This also is a picture of baptism. In baptism, God saves us, we are placed into the Ark of Christendom, and He carries us through the Flood of this life to our eternal home. He counts us as righteous, because we believe that He has called us by baptism, and enlightened us with His gifts of forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, and sanctifies and keeps us in the one true faith. That faith is that our dear Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law perfectly for us, and suffered and died for us, so that we might have eternal life with Him.

This evening we rejoice in this gift. We rejoice that God has shut us up through the water of baptism, into the Ark of Christendom, and guides and protects us through this valley of tears, until we come home to live with Him in heaven.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

* Translation from Doctor Martin Luther Small Catechism and An Explanation of Christian Doctrine based on Doctor Luther's Small Catechism, Edited by Markku Sarela, Published by The Confessional Lutheran Church of Finland, 1999. Scripture quotations from the King James Version, 1611.