Behold, I Have Put My Words in Your Mouth: Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah 1:4-10 "4 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.' 6 Then said I: 'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.' 7 But the LORD said to me: Do not say, "I am a youth," For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,' says the LORD. 9 Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: 'Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.'"

The Old Testament reading for Septuagesima is from the Prophet Jeremiah. At first glance this Old Testament lesson doesn't seem to fit in with the Gospel of the day which the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. However, when one considers that the theme of this day is calling or invitation, we can see that this pericope fits, for it embodies the calling of a prophet, specifically Jeremiah.

We can also see in this calling the reluctance of Jeremiah, just like we saw in Moses, the first prophet. Apparently, the prophets didn't learn from Moses, on this point. However, we could take this to be humility on the part of Jeremiah. After all, true servants of God are humble, properly understanding their relationship to the One Who sends thems. This same reluctance is shown in the Gospel reading for today, where the Landowner, our Lord Jesus, asks the ones who are standing idle, why they are doing so. To which they reply, "Because we haven't been asked." And upon being asked they go.

In this calling of Jeremiah, we see how the Lord consecrates or ordains His servants to preach His holy Word. The first step is that He places His hands on Jeremiah's lips. This is also seen in the ordination of the Prophet Isaiah, only he has his lips touched with a lump of coal from the altar. Ouch! Of course this was done to purify the Prophet Isaiah's impure lips. The Prophet Jeremiah, however, only receives the Lord's fingers on his lips. This is done so that the Prophet Jeremiah, as is told to us, may receive the Word of God into his mouth. Now the Prophet can speak the Word of God, proclaim what the Lord God gives to Him to proclaim, and by it he will "root out and pull down, destroy and throw down, and build and plant."

Only two of these things are positive things, that is, building and planting. The rest are forms of destruction. Rooting out implies weeds, getting rid of all the things that prevent the plants from growing. Pulling down refers to the idols that the Israelites have set up in place of the Lord God, which the Prophet Jeremiah is to pull down, and destroy. Destroying and throwing down, are related to the pulling down, destroying the false idols, and throwing down the kingdom of sin that has been established because of the false worship of these idols. And so we see from the first four tasks of Jeremiah, that his may preaching will be against sin, death, and the devil, that is, preaching the Law. After this has been done, then Jeremiah may build and plant the vineyard of the Lord God through the preaching of the Gospel.

Therefore, we see in the preaching of the Prophet Jeremiah, given to him by the Lord God, the preaching of Law and Gospel. He is to both point out sin, and correct sin, through the preaching of the Law of God, especially to this hard-hearted, rebellious people. In order that, after they have been shown their sin, and confess their sin, then Jeremiah may build and plant faith in the people of Israel through the words of the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, which proclaims that our sins are forgiven on account of the sacrifice of Christ.

Our Lord had appointed the Prophet Jeremiah for this task before he was even formed in the womb. Before he was born, he was sanctified for this purpose. That was His plan from eternity, but now, here in time, the Lord God, calls the Prophet Jeremiah to the task he was pre-ordained to fulfill. Our Lord still calls men to be His prophets, that is, to proclaim His Law and Gospel, to this rebellious, and hard-hearted people. These men are called to call sinners to repentance, and tear down the false idols that people trust in instead of the Lord God, so that they might repent and hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is to these men that we must listen, for what they speak is the Word of God, and not the man's word. Let us open our ears to hear the holy Word spoken from the lips of those whose mouths are full of the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we might be called by God through them, to work in the vineyard of the Landowner.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

For This Purpose I Have Come Forth: St. Mark 1:16-45

St. Mark 1:16-45: "16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.' 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him. 21 Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 saying, 'Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!' 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be quiet, and come out of him!' 26 And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, 'What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.' 28 And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee. 29 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them. 32 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. 35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37 When they found Him, they said to Him, 'Everyone is looking for You.' 38 But He said to them, 'Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.' 39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons. 40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean.' 41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.' 45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction."

Today we leave the Gospel of St. Matthew, and begin reading through the Gospel of St. Mark. In this pericope we have a description of the early ministry of our Lord. This narrative takes place after the temptation of our Lord in the wilderness for 40 days and nights. Our Lord's first task is to call His disciples. These men He had already met shortly after His Baptism, and we can assume that these are the same disciples that are referred to in the Gospel of St. John, who accompanied Him to the wedding at Cana, which happened on the third day after His Baptism.

But our Lord leaves His disciples for awhile and endures the temptation of the devil, so that He might prepare Himself for His ministry. What is His ministry? For what reason did our Lord come? Our Lord tells us Himself, that He has come to preach to the lost and the sinners. He does this preaching in Galilee, which is Zebulun and Naphtali. These were the first kingdoms led away into exile by the Assyrians, when the Northern Kingdom fell. Therefore, our Lord begins His preaching where the darkness of sin is greatest. And, since His disciples are from Galilee, He chooses His first disciples from those who live in the land where the stain of sin and death is greatest. In other words, He chooses as His future vessels to proclaim His word, men who are familiar with sin. St. Peter, who is called Simon in this Gospel, even confesses that He is a sinful, and thereby unworthy man, in another Gospel.

However, our Lord does not consider the man's works, but the man's faith. These men were the first to witness His preaching and miracles, and they were the first to believe that He was the Son of God, the Messiah promised long ago. On account of these men's faith, they would make fine apostles. Indeed, we know that these men did become great apostles. St. James the Elder became the first apostle to suffer martyrdom. His brother outlived all the apostles and his words were the last words of the apostles left as a testimony to their posterity, hence the position of St. John's Gospel as the last, and his epistles and revelation as the close of the canon. St. Andrew would spread the Gospel to far away places, including Scotland and England, and the surrounding isles, and he would suffer the same punishment as our Lord, only on a cross saltire, that is, a cross shaped like an "X." St. Simon Peter would become the leader of the apostles, the man that the others looked to for wisdom and guidance. He would establish churches and Bishops in Alexandria and Rome, where he would also suffer the same fate as our Lord, only upside down, on account that he did not believe himself worthy to die as our Lord did.

These sinful men, who lived in a sinful land would become the preachers of our Lord. And they would be great preachers, for they knew what it meant to be forgiven of their many sins. St. Simon Peter, especially knew this for he denied our Lord three times. But having confessed and repented of his sin, he was forgiven by our Lord, so that he boldly proclaimed this forgivenness in spite of the fear of death.

Our Lord still calls feeble sinful men to proclaim forgiveness. There are some today who think erroneously that this should not be, that ministers of the word should be without sin, and certainly ministers should free from certain public sins, but no minister will be completely free from sin, as in no human being. And this is not a liability but an advantage, for a sinful preacher, knows how to preach about forgiveness. For he knows what it means to be forgiven by our Lord.

And so our Lord, calls these men to follow Him, so that they may be "fishers of men." Then our Lord goes and preaches in this land where sin was most prevalent. That this was so, is shown us by the existence of many demon-possessed individuals. It is clear that this land was solidly controlled by the devil and his demons. The devil had a strangle hold on this land, and our Lord goes directly to his stronghold, and binds him and silences him through His preaching and healing. Our Lord still does this for us today, placing His word where it is needed the most, in the hearts and minds of sinful man, so that He might by His preaching and Sacraments bind and silence the devil and his works, so that we might live in faith and trust that our Lord has forgiveness of our sins, and has destroyed the devil and his works in our midst.

May the Lord give you grace and peace in the knowledge that by His preaching through the voice of a sinful man, who preaches our Lord's forgiveness, your sins are forgiven not only on earth, but also in Heaven.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

How Often I Wanted to Gather Your Children Together: St. Matthew 23:1-39

St. Matthew 23:1-39: "1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, "Rabbi, Rabbi." 8 But you, do not be called "Rabbi;" for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it."17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, "Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it." 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, "If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." 31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"'

Today is the festival of St. Titus, the Bishop. And although not specifically appointed for this festival, we get these instructions on how not to be a minister of God, through the wrong example of the Pharisees and scribes. It seems that our Lord has come to Jerusalem to pick a fight with the religious leaders; a fight He hopes to lose by being crucified for us.

The Pharisees and scribes embody the bad ministers of the world. What makes a bad minister? Two things, his preaching and his life. The bad minister preaches to keep things, that he himself does not keep. He preaches himself, and his good works. He prays long prayers, so that you may be impressed with him. He is only concerned about himself. In so doing, he bars the gates of Heaven, for no one can get in through his preaching because his preaching centers on himself and earthly things, and not on Heavenly things. We see these bad ministers all over the place, they are the ones to whom large crowds flock to, because people are easily deceived by subtle words, and earthly platitudes.

The bad ministers life is the same, it is concerned with only himself. All of his grand gestures, his giving, his lifestyle, his good works, are done so that people will think he is a great guy. He deceives and misleads others in the same path, so that they also are concerned about their appearance before other men. Giving grand shows of giving and good works, and other so-called religious activity so that every one will remark about how great a person and Christian they are. These men are sycophants, people pleasers, and even though they may throw out the occasional prop to our Lord Jesus, even this is only done for their own bellies.

Our Lord Jesus, calls these men, "hypocrites." We've come to know this word as meaning "someone who is not what he seems." In holy Scripture this typically refers to someone who pretends to be a member of the Church, but is really not. An "hypocrite" in every day Greek usage at the time of our Lord was an actor or stage performer. Someone pretending to be something other than he is. Therefore all actors are "hypocrites." They are playing a role, that is not who they really are; they are pretending to be someone else. The bad minister, the Pharisees and scribes, are also "hypocrites." They are pretending to be religious and men of God, but their hearts are from our Lord. They are not whom they seem to be.

So then, how does one identify the bad minister? This is determined by his preaching and life. What is he preaching, or more precisely who is he preaching, and how is he living? A good minister, or to say it more properly, a true minister of God, is selfless, he doesn't do things to curry favor with men, but preaches our Lord Jesus at all cost, he boldly proclaims the truth, even when doing so is not in his best interest. He gives of himself, not expecting something in return, especially praise, he does it simply because that is who he is. He is not putting on airs, he is not putting on a show, he is simply being who he is, that is, a man of God, called to proclaim the Lord Jesus, and the salvation that is found in Him alone. He doesn't preach salvation through works, but salvation in the Lord Jesus alone.

The true minister of God gathers the children of God together, and shelters them under his wing, protecting them from the wolf who wishes to devour and kill them. Our Lord in using this example is showing the self-sacrifice of the true minister of God. He will take on all punishment, in order to defend and protect the flock. Our Lord Jesus is the True Minister of God, for He lays down His life, so that the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh may be defeated, and we may live protected under His mighty wing. He bears the cross of sin and shame, so that we do not have to. He becomes the least so that we may be made the greatest. He does this all out of love for us, because that is who He is. He does not put on airs, He is not pretending to be somebody He is not. He is not just some actor dressed up to appear as the Christ. He is the True and Only Lord Christ, and salvation, life and forgiveness is found only in Him.

Our Lord desires to gather us, His children, under His wing as a mother hen. He has sent us His ministers, descendants of the disciples, like St. Titus, who are true ministers, who preach Christ crucified, because that is who they are, and they do not do it for earthly praise, but because they have the same heart that dwelt in our Lord, a heart that wishes to gather His children into the holy house of the Church, so that they may be fed and nourished and strengthened and protected against the assaults of the devil and the world.

May our Lord gather you under His mighty wing of the holy Christian Church, and feed and nourish you with His holy gifts of Word and Sacrament.

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

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

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