Now It Came to Pass, When the Time Had Come For Him to Be Received Up, That He Steadfastly Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem: St. Luke 9:28-62

St. Luke 9:28-62: "1 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah'--not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!' 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. 37 Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. 38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, 'Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.' 41 Then Jesus answered and said, 'O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.' 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 44 'Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.' 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying. 46 Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. 47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, 48 and said to them, 'Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.' 49 Now John answered and said, 'Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.' 50 But Jesus said to him, 'Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.' 51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, 'Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?' 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.' And they went to another village. 57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, 'Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.' 58 And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' 59 Then He said to another, 'Follow Me.' But he said, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' 60 Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.' 61 And another also said, 'Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.' 62 But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'"

The events of this narrative follow eight days after the Lord has told them about His suffering and death in Jerusalem. The Evangelist St. Luke supplies some of the details that were missing in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark. We learn that the three disciples that our Lord took with Him were heavy with sleep, and did not see His glory until they were fully awake. It is almost as if they had fallen asleep and awoke in another reality. Another thing that the Evangelist St. Luke reveals that the other Gospel writers do not, is that the disciples and our Lord, spent the night on the mountain. For we are told that they came down the next day from the mountain, after His transfiguration.

Another thing we learn from the Evangelist St. Luke regarding the transfiguration of our Lord, is what our Lord Jesus, and Moses and Elijah spoke about on that mount. We are told they spoke about "His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." In other words, they spoke about His crucifixion and death. Even after our Lord and His disciples come down from the mountain, and He casts out a demon, our Lord Jesus tells His disciples that He was about to be betrayed into the hands of men. Then comes these great words for our ears to hear, "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." Meaning, that our Lord sets His purpose and will to accomplish the will of His Heavenly Father, that He discussed with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. He sets His will to suffer and die for our sins.

Having fulfilled the Law for us; Having given many proofs of His Divinity, and that He was indeed the promised Messiah; Having shown His power and authority over the devil and the powers of darkness; He marches toward Jerusalem, like a military general set on defeating and capturing his enemy in one final battle.

There in Jerusalem our Lord, as we well know, will be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, suffer mockery, spittings, beatings, and scourging, and be sent to be crucified to death. All this He does for our salvation. As He says, "The Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." He gets destroyed for us, so that we would not be destroyed. The fire of the Father's wrath over the sin of mankind is poured down upon Him on the cross, so that we would not suffer that wrath.

Therefore, at the beginning of this Lenten season, we also set our face steadfastly towards Jerusalem and the cross. For it is at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we lay our sins, and receive His forgiveness.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Let No One Eat Fruit From You Ever Again: St. Mark 11:1-33

St. Mark 11:1-33: "1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, 'Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, "Why are you doing this?" say, "The Lord has need of it," and immediately he will send it here.' 4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5 But some of those who stood there said to them, 'What are you doing, loosing the colt?' 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: 'Hosanna! "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!' 11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve. 12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.' And His disciples heard it. 15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, 'Is it not written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations?" But you have made it a "den of thieves."' 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city. 20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.' 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.' 27 Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. 28 And they said to Him, 'By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?' 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, 'I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 30 The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.' 31 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'If we say, "From heaven," He will say, "Why then did you not believe him?" 32 "But if we say, "From men"'--they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. 33 So they answered and said to Jesus, 'We do not know.' And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.'"

In today's reading our Lord Jesus enters into Jerusalem and pronounces sentence against it. It is easy to read this text, which contains two well known narratives--the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerasalem and the driving out of the Temple of the money-changers--and skip over the seemingly insignificant narrative of the withering of the fig tree. At first sight this scene seems rather odd. Why is our dear Lord Jesus withering fig trees? Couldn't He just find some other means in which to find some food? As a matter of fact, why is He upset that the tree doesn't have fruit when the Evangelist St. Mark tells us that it wasn't the season for figs? But this withering of the fig tree is more than it seems. For notice that the Evangelist St. Mark relates what the other Gospel writers do not, that after entering into Jerusalem and going to the Temple, He just looks around. In the Gospels of St. Luke and St. Matthew, Jesus immediately goes into the Temple to drive out the money-changers.

However, here in this pericope, we get the fuller narrative of what our Lord did upon His arrival into Jerusalem. Our Lord Jesus upon looking around and doing nothing, goes outside of the city of Jerusalem, and seeing a fig tree from a far off, goes to it and pronounces judgment against it. This fig tree represents Jerusalem, and our Lord's proclamation against the fig tree, is His proclamation against Jerusalem. This prophecy against Jerusalem was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple leaving not one stone upon another. In the Gospel of St. Luke we are reminded of this by our Lord Jesus Christ's weeping over Jerusalem, as He enters into this once holy city. (St. Luke 19:41-44) This also takes place before the cleansing of the Temple.

What that means is that in two Gospels we have between our Lord's arrival on a donkey into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the Temple, we have our minds directed towards it's destruction, one, the Gospel of St. Luke, does this by showing our Lord weeping as His praises are being sung by the crowds as He enters Jerusalem, and the second is here in the Gospel of St. Mark, where our Lord, through the destruction of the fig tree, foreshadows Jerusalem's destruction.

Thereupon, He cleanses the Temple (for the second time, for He did this at the beginning of His ministry as related by the Evangelist St. John) and having done so, the scribes and chief priests sought to destroy Him. This is interesting indeed. For the Lord has already passed judgment on Jerusalem through the withering of the fig tree, which He does because of the unbelief of the Jews, and now, having cleansed the Temple, the Jews seek to destroy Him. We see in this a picture of the battle between God and the devil. For God has already passed judgment on the devil, and for this reason, he seeks to destroy mankind, and now that the Son of God has shown up to save mankind, he seeks to destroy Him.

But the Lord Jesus shows His authority over these would be destroyers, for here they come to question Him on whose authority He does these things. This is strange, for they know full well, which is shown us by their reasoning amongst themselves over our Lord's question to them about St. John the Baptist. They knew he was from God, but did not want to admit it, for this would reveal their unbelief. See how unrepentant they are! The same is true of their view of our Lord, for they know that He is from God, even all the people see it, but they cannot bring themselves to confess it, for their unbelief is great.

This again leads us back to the fig tree, for as St. Peter points out, the fig tree that our Lord Jesus cursed, has withered, and the disciples, wanting to understand this, ask of Him what it meant. To which our Lord Jesus reveals that it is about faith. The fig tree represented the unbelief, or the unfruitfulness of the Jews, which led to the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, but those who have faith, those who believe that our Lord Jesus is the Son of God, sent from the Father to win forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, produce much fruit. And this faith, this fruit, always comes back to forgiveness of sins.

This is perhaps an odd thing for our Lord to say, since He was not very forgiving to the fig tree for not having any figs when it wasn't the season for them. But this is made more clear when one understands the fig tree to represent the unbelief of the Jews, who in their unbelief cannot forgive. Therefore, our Lord Jesus is teaching His disciple to not be like the scribes and chief priests, but rather be forgiving. For whenever there is forgiveness, the fruit of faith is produced, in those who are truly repentant. For forgiveness is only half of the equation, the other half is repentance, or confession of one's sin. The Jews refused to confess their sin of unbelief, and as a result they condemned themselves to destruction.

Therefore, we should view this a stark warning to ourselves to confess our sins, and receive absolution. This is why private confession, which sadly, has fallen into disuse among Lutherans, on account of pietistic and Reformed influence, is starting to be observed in more parishes in the Lutheran Church. This is rightly so, since our Lutheran Confessions state that it should not fall into disuse. This private confession, offers a chance for an individual to get into the habit of bearing one's sins to God the Father, and being able to hear the absolution from God pronounced by the minister sent by Him to do this.

This is especially important as we enter into the season of Lent, where our eyes will be directed to our sinfulness over the next few weeks. We have a great opportunity to relieve ourselves of those burdens of sin which trouble us, by seeking out our minister and confessing to him our sin, so that he may forgive us. Even if your parish does not provide set times for private confession, if you contact your minister, he will be happy to hear your confession. If he is not willing, or doesn't know what he is doing, then perhaps you need to seek a new parish and minister, one who knows the importance of these things, and actually follows the Lutheran Confessions.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

This is My Beloved Son, In Whom I am Well-Pleased: 2 Peter 1:16-21

2 Peter 1:16-21: "16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

This mornings reading is from the Epistle for the Transfiguration of our Lord, the last Sunday after Epiphany. Next week begins, for those using the ancient and proper lectionary, what is known as Pre-Lent. It is a time of preparation for Lent. The Lenten season is comprised of three cycles: Pre-Lent, Lent, and Passiontide (which starts on Judica, the fifth Sunday in Lent). Pre-Lent is made up of three Sunday that prepare us for our penitential and catechetical journey during Lent. These three Sunday involve call, instruction, and enlightenment. People are called into the vineyard, that is the Church, by our Lord's Word, which is portrayed by the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Then they receive catechesis, that is, instruction in the doctrines and practices of the Church, that is portrayed by the parable of the sower and the seed. Having been called, that is invited into the Church, and having been catechized, that is, instructed, we receive enlightenment, that is, our eyes of faith, blinded by the darkness of sin and despair, are opened to see the glories of our Lord God. This is portrayed in the healing of the blind man, Bartemaeus.

So we have three Sundays which lead us into and prepare us for the reflection upon our sin and our struggle with sin throughout Lent. When we reach Passiontide, then we set our eyes on the cross, that is the Passion (which is why this season is called "Passion"tide.) But these three cycles of Lent cannot take place unless we have what takes place today within the Church Year, that is, the Transfiguration of our Lord.

St. Peter was there, and He relates in his Epistle that he was an eyewitness that our Lord Jesus was indeed the God/man; He was God incarnate in man's flesh. From St. Peter's words that this was not "cunningly devised fables" we can assume that there were those, perhaps even within the Church, who thought this transfiguration narrative was a little too far-fetched. There are those today who think the same thing, even those who claim to be a part of the Church.

St. Peter tells us that he saw it with his own eyes. If we cannot believe an eyewitness, who can we believe? But St. Peter goes on to say that the purpose of our Lord Jesus revealing Himself in such a fashion, was not just to put on a show, nor to scare the disciples to death, although, they certainly were afraid as the Gospel from St. Matthew tells us. No, St. Peter tells us that the reason for Christ's transfiguration was to confirm the prophetic Word.

The prophets of the Old Testament continuously preached and proclaimed that the Messiah would come. That our Lord God would come to save His people with His own hand. Granted this prophecy was veiled in unclear language, but in His transfiguration, our Lord shines the eternal light on all of holy Scriptures so that we can see clearly when reading the Old Testament prophecies that they were referring to our Lord and Saviour Jesus.

Our Lord spreads this light, this eternal light of His Word, into our hearts, full of darkness and sin, and in so doing, He enlightens our hearts, and removes the darkness of sin, so that we may become children of light. Furthermore, having this light shined on our dark hearts full of sin, we can see clearly that these prophecies of our Lord, and for that matter, all of holy Scripture, were not written by men, but by God Himself.

St. Peter, too, writes to us by the hand of the Holy Spirit. It is His Word, he simply uses St. Peter, and all the prophets, evangelists and apostles who wrote holy Scripture, to write it down in their own language. And this leads us to another point, for we often hear the accusation, that such and such a part of holy Scripture is "our interpretation." The Blessed St. Peter dispels even this erroneous thinking, for he tells us that "no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation." What does that mean? It means that not only does the Holy Spirit give the very words and thoughts that the holy men of God wrote in His holy Word, but He also is the One Who provides the interpretation.

This is why our Lord Jesus spent three years with His disciples teaching them all that holy Scripture prophesied about Him. It is no wonder then that the Early Church is some places adopted a three year minimum of instruction in the Word of God (other places had two years). It wasn't until they had spent three years learning God's Word that they could then submit their names to become a member of the "fideles", that is, the "faithful ones." This particular catechesis took place during the forty days of Lent, which is why Lent has always been marked by catechesis and instruction. During these forty days, having already learned fully holy Scripture, got to hear the tenets of the faith. It was instruction in the Creed, that is, the Nicene Creed. And they didn't even get to hear the Creed until they had a week or so of catechesis.

These holy things were so guarded by the early Christians, that the Lord's Prayer was not even taught to them until there was only a week or two left before their Holy Baptism on the night before Easter. This was done for several reasons, one, they took seriously the saying of our Lord that one should not throw pearls before swine, in other words, the mysteries of the Church should not be given to just anybody, but should be revered as holy things. Two, making someone a Christian, at that time, meant not only making them an enemy of the devil, but also an enemy of the state. If someone who was not ready, someone who was not willing to endure the requirements of the Church, was allowed to be told all about the holy mysteries, and then had been captured by the state and tortured, it was believed that this weak individual would give them all up, and the individual church, and the Church at large would suffer.

But, the third reason, was the most important, that was that they did not want any "private interpretations." This was especially important in a day and age when the written word was not a common thing, and that the mysteries of God, and the teachings of the Church, were handed down, for the most part orally. And, we can see from history that this was successful, for when the time of open persecution by the government was ended, and these teachings began to be written down, and the true confession of the Church was recorded in the words of the Nicene Creed, we see that what they believed was the same as what the Apostles taught them. This is almost two hundred years later. The truth was preserved by the work of the Holy Spirit working through the men of God who were in charge of catechesis and instruction in God's word.

This is how we today, know whether our church teaches the Word of God in its truth and purity, because it teaches what the Apostles taught, it teaches what St. Peter taught, because they were taught by our Lord. It also teaches what the Early Fathers taught. And one can easily start to see errors in church bodies where they have left these teachings, and have devised cunning false teachings that only sound right to the untrained ears.

Only those churches teach the truth which place our salvation solely on the shoulders of our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is found in Him alone, even the Heavenly Father attests to this, not only in this Epistle of St. Peter, but also in the holy Gospels, both here at the transfiguration, and at His Holy Baptism. Salvation is not found in man or anything that he does, but solely in our Lord.

So today, the Blessed St. Peter sets us on the straight path, and preaches our Lord Jesus as the One and Only Saviour of mankind. He alone is the One Who transfigured Himself on the Mount, and He alone it is Who reveals Himself as God incarnate in our flesh. As the Heavenly Father testifies, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased. Hear Him!"

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Follow Me and I Will Make You Fishers of Men: St. Matthew 4:18-25

St. Matthew 4:18-25: "18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him--from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan."

Today is an holiday. It a day to celebrate the deeds and faith of a beloved saint and man. Today is the festival of the Confession of St. Peter. This mornings reading although not specifically appointed to today's festival, does seem to fit for this day of celebration. This morning's reading has the calling of St. Peter, along with St. Andrew, St. John, and St. James the Elder.

At first glance this pericope from the Evangelist St. Matthew seems to contradict with the Evangelist St. John, since St. John has St. Andrew, and the other disciple who is not named (but probably is St. John) following Jesus the day after His baptism. And in St. John's Gospel, St. Peter is brought to Jesus by St. Andrew. St. Matthew, on the other hand, has Sts. Andrew, Peter, James the Elder and John, being called by Jesus next to the sea of Galilee, while they were fishing. There seems to be an inconsistancy in the two narratives.

There is an explanation for the seeming differences between the two pericopes. The Evangelist St. John relates the first meeting of these disciples with our Lord, however, He does not call them. He only invites them to spend the evening with Him. However, in the Evangelist St. Matthew's narrative our Lord specifically tells them to follow Him. And since they had already met Him and spent time with Him they immediately drop all and follow Him.

Here is what must be kept in mind as far as timeline. Our Lord was baptized, met His disciples, attended the wedding at Cana, and then was led into the wilderness, and spent forty days and nights by Himself. He had preached in Nazareth, and would have been thrown off a cliff if He had not escaped from among them. He moved to Capernaum, next to the sea of Galilee, which is where the disciples from this mornings pericope lived. He then called these four men, three of which became His closest disciples, and accompanied Him whenever He would do something of importance. Shortly after these things, our Lord Jesus cleanses the Temple at the time of the Pasch.

This should shed some light on the seeming incongruity between the two Gospels. However, this is not the main point of this pericope. This reading is all about our Lord beginning His earthly ministry. He begins by calling men that would carry on His message after He ascended into Heaven. These men would spend about three years with our Lord, hearing Him, learning from Him, seeing His miracles that showed them He was in deed the Messiah.

Our Lord's preaching and ministry had an affect on these men. This is why we celebrate today, for one of these men, the Blessed St. Peter, confessed that our Lord was indeed the Son of God, the One promised that would save men from their sin. It was upon this confession that our Lord built the Church. Against this proclamation of the Gospel, which proclaims our Lord Jesus to be the One and only Saviour, the gates of hell cannot prevail. This is the faith which the Church is built upon. The Church is built upon the faith of her children, who believe and trust in their Lord alone for salvation.

Today, after calling His disciples, Sts. Andrew, Peter, James the Elder, and John, our Lord Jesus, goes throughout all Syria, that is, the northern part which used to be Israel, and was the first part of the kingdom to be led into captivity by Assyria, preaching in their synagogues, and healing the sick and demon-possesed. He reveals Himself as the Messiah, the Christ. He reveals Himself as our One and only Saviour. Those who see His deeds, believe on Him, and they follow Him wherever He goes. Those who follow Him are not just the disciples who He specifically calls to follow Him, but also all those from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and all those beyond the Jordan.

We who have heard His Word in these times also follow Him, for we hear His Word, see His deeds, that is, His Blessed Sacraments, and we are spiritually healed by His gifts. And so, today, we rejoice in the confession of the Blessed St. Peter, and we rejoice that we too have the freedom to confess Him as our One and only Saviour from sin, death, and the devil.

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

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