I Will Establish My Covenant With You: Genesis 6:9-22

Genesis 6:9-22: "9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark--you , your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.' 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did."

This evening's reading tells us that Noah was a just and perfect man; that he walked with God. Noah is a picture of another just and perfect man, our dear Lord Jesus. That Noah walked with God, doesn't just simply mean that he went for walks with Him. It means that Noah did as God desired. He was in complete fellowship with Him, walking in all His ways. Noah is contrasted by the rest of the world. "Indeed it was corrupt." Noah is the only one who is righteous, and so God plans to destroy that which is corrupt, through a flood.

One can see two images in this narrative. The Cross of our dear Lord Jesus, and our baptism. In the Cross, God destroys all that is corrupt in mankind. Our Lord Jesus stands as both the Victim and the High Priest, offering Himself to the Father, as a sacrifice for all of mankind. He dies, we live. He suffers, we go free. We who are corrupt, suffer no punishment. He who is just and perfect, suffers our punishment. Like Noah, our Lord Jesus is also place in a type of Ark, but He is only in this Ark for three days; it is His tomb. Noah is carried through the death of the world, to life again after the flood. Our dear Lord Jesus is carried through the Tomb and death and, even hell, to life eternal.

The Cross and the Tomb, as well as the Flood, are all pictures of our Baptism. We are buried, through the waters of baptism, into Christ's death. For us Christians, this is our death. It is the death of all that is corrupt in us, that which we inherited from Adam. But just as we are brought out of the waters of baptism, so are we brought out of sin and death, so that now we have forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation in Christ Jesus alone. Noah too was buried in the waters, carried safe and sound through those waters, to life again on the other side.

This is the covenant that God makes with Noah. That he will live with Him. And it is the covenant that God has made with us. He fulfilled this covenant through His Son's death on the Cross. And He makes us a part of that covenant through our baptism. When we receive the Flood of baptism, God places us into an Ark. He places us into the Church. Perhaps you have wondered why the main seating area in a church building is called the Nave? Nave, is the Latin word for ship. And in most historic looking church buildings, if you look up at the ceiling, the ribs of the  arches look like the underbelly of a ship. The Church is the ship, or to say it another way, the Ark, that carries those who have been called out of corruption, and put on the perfection of our dear Lord Jesus, to our heavenly home. We are carried through this sea, this life of death and trouble, to our eternal home.

This is God's covenant with mankind, this is His covenant with you. Rejoice at your baptism, and rejoice that when you come to the house of God, you are being carried through this flood of life, and nourished by the preaching of the Gospel, and by the very Body and Blood of Jesus given in bread and wine. And these gifts of God to you will sustain you, and strengthen you through this vale of tears, until you reach your heavenly home.

God's peace be with you!

Deacon Dulas

You Are My Beloved Son: St. Luke 3:21-22

St. Luke 3:21-22: "21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, 'You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.'"

The Feast of Epiphany anciently possesed three historical events in the life of Jesus. They were: 1) The visit of the Maji; 2) The Baptism of Jesus; 3)The miracle of water into wine at the wedding in Cana. All three of these were a part of the Epiphany feast. Today these three historical events in the life of Jesus are divided up for us. The visit of the Magi, takes its place on the Feast itself. The Baptism of Jesus is celebrated on Epiphany's octave, January 13. And the wedding in Cana is the Second Sunday after Epiphany. The Church in her grand wisdom, over time also included for the First Sunday after Epiphany the narrative of the Boy Jesus in the Temple. And so in Christmas and Epiphany we get the details of our dear Lord's early life, and the beginning of His ministry to us.

Today's reading tells us, briefly, of the baptism of our dear Lord Jesus. Two things can be pointed out about this pericope.

One, the appearance of the One True God, The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father appears as a voice from heaven, declaring to all who will hear, that our dear Lord Jesus is His beloved Son. And that He is a Son in whom He is well-pleased. The Son whom the Father refers too, is obviously our Lord Jesus, whose baptism purifies the waters of the Jordan River, and thereby purifies all water for baptism. The Holy Ghost appears in bodily form like a dove. Therefore, all three persons of the One, Holy and True Trinity are present for the Baptism of our Lord.

The Second thing that can be pointed out is the application to us. The Baptism of our Lord is a picture of our own baptism. Our dear Lord Jesus in sanctifying the waters of the Jordan, and thereby sanctifying all water for baptism, removed sin and death and the power of the devil from the waters of baptism. So that when you are baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost by the minister of God, your sins, both the original ones you inherited from Adam, and all those which you added thereto, by your own disobedience and willfulness, are drowned and washed away in the waters of your baptism. Therefore, as the Blessed St. Paul says to the Church at Rome, you arise as a new man, without sin. And the Almighty Father, who is now your Father in heaven, proclaims from heaven, that you are His beloved Son, in whom He is well-pleased.

On account of Christ's work, you are given the place of Christ, as a free gift. That means your sins are taken away. And because your sins are taken away you also are given eternal life and salvation. For whereever there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. Therefore, whenever we remember our baptism, we drown the Old Adam within us once again, and every time we remember our baptism and drown our Old Adam anew, we again arise as a new man before God pure and holy. This is the process which we call "repentance." It involves confessing our sins, either to God or Minister, and receiving absolution, that is the declaration of the forgiveness of your sins.

Therefore today, confess your sins, and rejoice in your baptism, and live as a new man who has been redeemed by God. If you have not been baptized, seek out a minister of God to see what is required for you and your family to be baptized.

May God's peace be with you!

Deacon Dulas