Then the LORD Appeared to Him By the Terebinth Trees of Mamre: Genesis 18:1-33

Genesis 18:1-33: "1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, 'My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.' They said, 'Do as you have said.' 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, 'Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.' 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. 9 Then they said to him, 'Where is Sarah your wife?' So he said, 'Here, in the tent.' 10 And He said, 'I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.' (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, 'After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?' 13 And the LORD said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh, saying, "Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?" 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.' 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, 'I did not laugh,' for she was afraid. And He said, 'No, but you did laugh!' 16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.' 20 And the LORD said, 'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.' 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 And Abraham came near and said, 'Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' 26 So the LORD said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.' 27 Then Abraham answered and said, 'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?' So He said, 'If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.' 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, 'Suppose there should be forty found there?' So He said, 'I will not do it for the sake of forty.' 30 Then he said, 'Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?' So He said, 'I will not do it if I find thirty there.' 31 And he said, 'Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?' So He said, 'I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.' 32 Then he said, 'Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?' And He said, 'I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.' 33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place."

This pericope embraces two parts, one, the promise of our Lord God to Abraham that he would have a son. The second, the interceding on the behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah by Abraham.

Our Lord visits Abraham, and the first thing that they do together is eat a meal. This meal consisted of fresh baked bread, and a freshly slaughtered calf, with butter and milk. It seems that meals happen a lot in holy Scripture, when our Lord is involved. This meal (and really all meals in holy Scripture) of bread and flesh, is foreshadowing of the perfect meal that our Lord gave to us in His Body and Blood. In the Revelation of Jesus Christ to St. John, the eternal meal with our Lord is portrayed as a wedding banquet. We have all been to a wedding at some point, and weddings are known for their good food, and the abundance of food and drink. This is how eternity is pictured, an everlasting banquet.

The meal that we receive of our Lord's Body and Blood is a great meal that grants forgiveness of sins, and strengthens our faith in the Holy Blessed Trinity. But even this meal, on account that we still live in this sinful flesh, and in this sinful world, pales in comparison to the eternal meal that awaits us in Heaven.

There is a reason for all of the talk about meals in holy Scriptures. We often see our Saviour being invited over to somebody's house to eat with him. Meals are about communion, that is, fellowship. They are about uniting together in a bond of unity all those who eat the meal. For the Jews in the Old Testament, every meal was a figure of the Last Meal that they ate in the land of Egypt before the Exodus. For them every meal was an image of the unity that the people of Israel were united during the Passover. And so, when they sat down to eat with one another, or they invited someone over to their home to eat with them, it was showing a solidarity, a bond of unity. Therefore, when our Lord ate with people, He was uniting Himself to them; to their sinfulness, their pain, their struggle, and in uniting Himself to them He takes these things from them, and purifies them.

The same is true of the meal that we eat with our Lord and Saviour, which is His very Body and Blood, given in bread and wine. He unites Himself to us, taking away our sin and sorrow, and giving us of His very self. Those who eat this meal together are binding themselves together into a bond of unity. Therefore, all those who eat this meal are in agreement on doctrine and practice, and not just the doctrine and practice of the meal they eat, but in all points. The Church has practiced this from the beginning, and it has come to be known as closed communion. Those outside the faith, or outside the bond of fellowship have to wait until they are a part of that fellowship until they can enjoy the meal.

The Hebrews of the Old Testament practiced this as well, not allowing a foreigner or a stranger to eat with them, especially when it came to the Passover meal. Our Lord Jesus even practices this by eating the Last Supper with just His disciples.

And so Abraham, who by his faith, which is counted towards him as righteousness is in fellowship with our Lord God, and prepares a meal for him. The bond of unity between the Holy Blessed Trinity and Abraham is expressed in the proclamation once again of a baby boy to be born to the house of Abraham, who will be the father of many nations. The birth of this baby boy will be marked by joy, which is seen in the name that will be given to him, Isaac, which means "he laughed." Even Sarah, laughs with joy at such a prospect of giving birth to a baby boy when she is not physically able to give birth. Sarah is the first mother who gives birth when according to all reason and science she should not be able to. She is a figure of not only the Blessed Virgin Mary, but also her relative, Elizabeth, who also gives birth in her old age while barren. Isaac will become the prefigurement of our Lord, the only son of the father, who is obedient to him even unto death, as we will see in Genesis 22.

All fellowship, all meals, all promises of baby boys, all lead to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For it is in Him alone where true fellowship and unity is to be found. Apart from His presence, and His action, there can be no unity, no fellowship. Indeed, there can be no righteousness. And so, our Lord heads to Sodom and Gomorrah for its destruction. For Sodom and Gomorrah represent the complete opposite of the bonds of unity and fellowship.

In Sodom and Gomorrah, we find a people where selfishness and hatred and lust and degradation and abominable acts of homosexuality are rampant, and indeed praised as worthwhile things. But in Abraham's pleading on behalf of these cities, we see our Heavenly Father's mercy and grace, for Abraham begs for our Lord God to not destroy them, but to spare them. Our Lord, in His own mercy, agrees to spare them if there are only found ten righteous persons within these cities. The narrative is not completed for us today, but we know from history, and from holy Scripture, that our Lord did not find ten righteous persons, only Lot, and his wife and daughters. Thus, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, and their names became bywords of degradation and abominable acts.

These two cities picture the opposite of the fellowship that the Church shares with our Lord Jesus. For fellowship with Him is only through righteousness, not unrighteousness, like the men of Sodom and Gomorrah. Our righteousness is accounted to us because of our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And on account of this faith, we are able to participate with Him in the holy Supper which He prepared for us by His death and the cross. Therefore, let us put away the works of unrighteousness, of revelry, of lust, of selfishness, and put on the works of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we may be united in the bond of holy fellowship with Him, and with all those already united in Him.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Be of the Same Mind Toward One Another: Romans 12:6-16

Romans 12:6-16: "6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble."

This mornings reading which is the Epistle appointed for the Second Sunday after Epiphany, doesn't really seem to have anything to do with the Gospel reading for today, which is our Lord's first miracle, the changing of water into wine at the wedding at Cana.

There is something to be said about this, that is, that certain Epistles throughout the Church year are what they call "continua lectio." This is an ancestor of the ancient practice of reading the Scriptures continuously, the Bishop telling the Deacon when to stop reading. The Deacon would start up the next time where he left off. One can see this pattern when one looks at the list of Epistle reading for Epiphany, they are all from Romans 12 and 13 with only a few gaps in between. Hence, certain Epistles in the Church year were not meant to necessarily relate in theme to the Gospel, but instead were certain parts of Scripture that were read at certain times of the year.

However, the theme of the Gospel, that our Lord manifests Himself as God, can be seen in this Epistle. Our Lord Jesus is manifested through the saints who prophesy, minister, teach, exhort, give, lead, or show mercy. When the saints do these things, they show the love of our Lord, Who shows His love in the Gospel reading today, by not only providing for a need, but revealing Himself to His disciples that He is the Messiah, and foreshadowing the blessed Sacraments of baptism and communion.

Of course the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul qualifies his statement to the Church of Rome by saying that just doing these things, doesn't manifest our Lord, but rather, those who do these things without hypocrisy, that is to say, doing these things in faith; Believing that when these things are done, our Lord Jesus Christ is manifested to those who receive them in faith. This is similar to the Gospel reading for today, for those who saw the sign, done for the benefit of those at the wedding in Cana, manifested our Lord Jesus, and His disciples believed in Him. That is to say, they had faith that He was the Messiah.

This faith is really only fostered in unity. For where there is discord and strife, a roadblock to faith is put up, for people are so consumed with the discord that they lose sight of the thing that truly matters. However, it should be stated up front that unity does not come at the cost of the Word of God. True unity exists where people dwell together in the peace of like teaching. When there is unity in teaching and belief according to those teachings, there is a trust and bond that truly displays the love of our Lord Jesus Christ through us.

This is such an important point, that the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul, tells the Church at Rome to "be of the same mind toward one another." Or, in other words, be in unity in doctrine and practice. This is only accomplished through humility. Humility comes by submitting yourself to someone else. In the Church this is done by fellow ministers of the Word submitting themselves to examination of their doctrine, life, and practice by their other fellow ministers of the Word. This is only fostered by an enviroment of accountability, meaning, when your brother ministers challenge your doctrines or life or practice, that minister should listen to them, and humble himself before them., especially if that fellow minister of the Word be a Bishop, who has the care of the ministers under his authority.

Where this humility and accountability exists, love, trust, and peace exist. Our prayer is that the whole Church on Earth might experience this great gift of our Lord God.

May 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