The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Luke 17:11-19
In Christ Jesus, who heals the sick and rescues the dying, so they might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom, dear fellow redeemed:
It started with little sores that stuck around, reddish spots, and some skin numbness. He wished it would go away, he wanted to ignore it, but he couldn’t. He went to the priest to have it examined, and the priest confirmed his greatest fear—it was leprosy. He had to leave his job, leave his home, leave his family. The Book of Leviticus describes the protocol for lepers: “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (13:45-46).
It was a hard reality, but there was no known cure. A person with leprosy had to stay away for the good of others. But he wasn’t completely alone. Lepers often formed their own communities. We see that in today’s reading, when ten lepers called to Jesus outside a village between Samaria and Galilee. We learn something else about this group of men. It was a mixture of both Jews and Samaritans. That probably wouldn’t have happened if this terrible disease hadn’t drawn them together.
In general, the Jews and the Samaritans interacted with each other as little as possible. They had long lists of reasons why the other group was inferior and not worth their time and attention. But “misery loves company,” and these men were miserable. They set aside the animosity they may have felt toward one another and stuck together. But they were still of course on the outside. They were not where they wanted to be. They were part of a community of death, a community of the dying.
And that’s exactly what the world is apart from Christ. It is full of people afflicted by the disease of sin, surrounded by death and facing death themselves. Leprosy is a helpful picture for thinking about how sin works in us. In the Large Catechism, Martin Luther quotes Romans 7:18, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh.” Then he says, “If St. Paul may speak this way about his flesh, we cannot assume to be better or more holy than him. But the fact that we do not feel our weakness just makes things worse. It is a sign that there is a leprous flesh in us that can’t feel anything. And yet, the leprosy rages and keeps spreading” (Part V, paras. 76-77).
Because of nerve damage, a leprous person does not always notice when he cuts himself or gets burned or injured. And we do not always notice when we are getting injured or burned by sin. The more we participate in what is unclean, the less we perceive the damage that is being done to us. We think that we can stay in control of the sin. We won’t let it overcome us. But when we can’t stop consuming what is destroying us, can’t stop doing what we should not do, we are not in control of sin; sin is in control of us.
If one of the lepers in today’s reading denied that he had leprosy, it wouldn’t have changed the fact. And “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1Jo. 1:8). It is important that we see ourselves among those lepers. By nature, we are sinful and unclean (ELH, pp. 41, 61). We are the outsiders. We are the ones standing at a distance, away from all that is good. We cannot change our situation; we cannot save ourselves.
But One has drawn near to our community of death, even coming to live among us, One who has the power to heal us of our sin and save us from death. This One is very different; His reputation precedes Him. He has not been overcome by sin, and when death tried to take Him down, He took down death! “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” we cry.
And why should He have mercy? He isn’t the reason for our troubles. He is not responsible for the state we are in, for the messes we have made in our sin. But He does have mercy. He had mercy upon Naaman, an Old Testament Gentile who was afflicted by leprosy, by having him wash seven times in the waters of the Jordan River until he was clean (2Ki. 5). And our Lord had mercy upon us by bringing us to the cleansing waters of Baptism, where He applied the healing medicine of His holy blood to each one of us.
St. Paul explains this beautifully in Ephesians 2. He writes, “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh… remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (vv. 11,12). We were on the outside, and we couldn’t get in. We were stuck in our sin and death. Paul continues, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (v. 13). We were far off from salvation, but Jesus has brought us close to Him.
He accomplished this by perfectly keeping the Law of God, not just for the Israelite people but for all people. And then He went to the cross carrying the whole world’s sin and shed His holy blood to wash it all away. He poured His perfect righteousness and His cleansing blood over you through the waters of Baptism. That is how He transferred you from the community of death in the world to His holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints. That is how He healed and cleansed you from the disease of sin that was killing you.
But many of the people He has done this for, whom He has joined to Himself in the waters of Baptism, continue on their way and forget what He has done. Like the nine lepers who were healed, they get caught up in “the cares and riches and pleasures of life” (Luk. 8:14). They don’t continue to listen to His healing Word. They don’t remember to give Him thanks. So even though Jesus freed them from the community of death, they have returned to it again. They might feel like they are alive. They might think they are doing important things. But none of it can save them, and none of it will last apart from Christ.
This is what the devil tempts all of us to do. He wants us to walk away from the life we have in Jesus, to give all of that up so we can fit in with the world. We might even feel ashamed sometimes of our membership in the Christian Church. We don’t tell anyone about it. We carefully keep it hidden, so we can fit in with the people who seem to matter. We don’t want them to think we are strange. We don’t want to be left on the outside. We don’t want to be singled out and left all by ourselves.
These are natural thoughts to have. It is difficult to be a follower of Jesus in a hostile world. But even though you may feel like you have to face these difficulties alone, you are not alone. The Samaritan went against the majority and turned back to give thanks to Jesus. He didn’t have the company of his former friends anymore, but He wasn’t alone. Jesus was with him, and Jesus blessed him. “Rise and go your way,” He said; “your faith has made you well.” Or as the Greek word literally reads, “your faith has saved you.”
You are saved by faith in Jesus who conquered your sin and death, and shares with you His life. And you are not the only one who has received this life. Going back to Ephesians 2: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (vv. 19-21).
Look at how large your community is! You are a fellow citizen with all the saints, all the believers who have gone before you. You are a member of the household of God. You stand on the foundation built by the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus Himself is the cornerstone. You are part of an immense structure, a beautiful building, a holy temple in the Lord. You are most certainly not alone.
You are a member of the body of Christ. It is with Him that you belong. You will always find friendship, acceptance, and purpose in Him. He will not leave you by yourself. He visits you with His mercy in good times and bad, whether you are happy or sad, restful or anxious. He comes right to you through His Word and His Sacraments to cleanse you again with His holy blood and bless you with His promises.
Each time you receive these blessings, you praise Him and give thanks to Him, bowing down at His feet. And He looks upon you with love, and He says, “Rise and go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “The Healing of Ten Lepers” by James Tissot, 1836-1902)
The Festival of Pentecost – Pr. Faugstad exordium & sermon
Festival exordium:
Wings. Water. Wind.
The first time we hear about God the Holy Spirit in the Bible is at the beginning of Genesis 1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (vv. 1-2). “The Spirit of God was hovering.” That makes us think of the way a bird hovers in the sky. Fly forward.
After Jesus was baptized, “the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him” (Mat. 3:16). Once again, the Spirit was hovering over the waters. Fly forward.
Jesus spoke with a man named Nicodemus and said to him, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Joh. 3:5). He spoke about the wind blowing where it wishes, flying wherever it flies, and declared, “So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (v. 8). Fly forward.
Ten days after Jesus’ ascension, His disciples heard a sound from heaven “like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting” (Act. 2:2). The Holy Spirit did not appear in the form of a dove, but He revealed His presence by the tongues of fire resting on each disciple. They began boldly to preach God’s truth in Jerusalem, and by the end of the day, three thousand souls believed the truth and were baptized. Fly forward.
When you were brought to the baptismal font, the Spirit of God was hovering over those waters. No one could see Him, but He was there with power. “[B]y the washing of regeneration and renewal” (Ti. 3:5), He caused you to be born again. He made you alive in Christ.
He still comes through the powerful Word and Sacraments, not bound by the laws of nature, not confined to space and time. He flies to you with the grace, forgiveness, and peace that are yours through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And He flies forward on His soul-saving, life-changing mission, adding more members to the church of God.
In praise of His magnificent work, we sing our festival hymn—hymn #399, “O Light of God’s Most Wondrous Love”:
O Light of God’s most wondrous love,
Who dost our darkness brighten,
Shed on Thy Church from heav’n above,
Our eye of faith enlighten!
As in Thy light we gather here,
Show us that Christ’s own promise clear
Is Yea and Amen ever.
O risen and ascended Lord,
We wait fulfillment of Thy Word;
O bless us with Thy favor!
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Sermon text: St. John 14:23-31
In Christ Jesus, whose ascension was the crowning moment of His saving work on earth, and who then sent out the Holy Spirit to distribute this salvation to sinners until the end of time, dear fellow redeemed:
It is very clear to all of you here why you needed God the Son to take on human flesh. You know that you are a sinner, and that you could not satisfy your debt to God. You needed Jesus to take your place, keep the holy Law for you, and die on the cross for your sins. But why was it so crucial that Jesus return to His Father? And why did the Father and the Son need to send out the Holy Spirit?
Jesus said to His disciples, “If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said ‘I am going to the Father.’” That does not seem like cause for rejoicing. Why would they rejoice when their great Teacher left them? He left them to suffer and die on the cross to make atonement for all sin. He had to go alone, because no one but Him could endure the wrath of God against sin. No one but Him could make peace between God and mankind.
When that work on the cross was complete, Jesus cried out, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luk. 23:46). And the Father received the spirit of His Son. He accepted His Son’s sacrifice. We know He accepted it, because He raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. Jesus’ state of humiliation and suffering had ended. Now all authority in heaven and on earth were given to Him (Mat. 28:18), and He ascended to the right hand of His Father in the flesh.
Since salvation had been won, it was time for these glad tidings to be distributed. Ten days after His ascension, Jesus made good on His promise to send the Holy Spirit. Suddenly the disciples, common men from Galilee, could speak in languages they had never known before. They now stood up and spoke, not to draw attention to themselves, but to draw attention to Jesus and what He had done for all sinners.
And the Holy Spirit did more than give the disciples the gift of multiple languages. Through the Word they preached, the Holy Spirit was also giving the gift of faith to those who listened. We are told that the people “were cut to the heart” when they heard what was said. They did not realize that Jesus was more than a prophet. Now they knew they had crucified the Son of God, and that death could not keep Him in the grave. After what they had done to Him, how could they expect Him to be merciful toward them? “Brothers, what shall we do?” they cried.
And Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” That sounds simple. All they had to do was say they were sorry for their sins and claim to have faith in Jesus, and the gift of the Holy Spirit would be theirs. But that’s not really what happened. It was not a cause and effect. It was not, “They do their part, and God does His part.” God did it all.
I guarantee that none of the people who were baptized on Pentecost Sunday woke up that day thinking, “It’s about time I admitted that I was wrong about Jesus. I should just believe that He is the eternal Son of the Father who died and rose again, and I should be baptized in the name of the Triune God.” It was the Holy Spirit who led them to repentance and faith and who prompted them to be baptized. All of it was gift; none of it was earned.
The same is true for you. You did not choose to be a believer in Jesus. Your parents or others brought you to the baptismal font and to church where the Holy Spirit worked faith in you. God had to do this work for you, because you were dead in your sins. An unholy person cannot make himself holy. Martin Luther put it this way, “If you yourself were holy, then you would not need the Holy Spirit at all; but since we are sinful and unclean in ourselves, the Holy Spirit must perform His work in us” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p. 169).
That’s why Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” The world says the kind of peace you want to aim for is peace among nations and communities or an inner peace and calmness. But these kinds of peace are not permanent. The peace that Jesus left with us is the peace of His atoning death which reconciled us with our perfect heavenly Father. This is the peace the Holy Spirit imparts to us through the Word and Sacraments—the peace of sins forgiven, of eternal life secured, of a temporary rest in the grave before the resurrection of the body on the last day.
The Holy Spirit brings you what you cannot get anywhere else. He brings you the gifts of God. But He doesn’t send these gifts directly from heaven to your heart like a bolt of lightning, or through a feeling you have that He is near. He brings you the gifts of God through the Word of God. Jesus says, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” That is why we come to church and have devotions at home, because it is through the Word that God comes to dwell with us.
And it is through the Word that God teaches us the truth and comforts us. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” Unless you have learned “all things” that God has to teach you, you still need to be a student in the school of the Holy Spirit. Unless you are perfectly holy, you still need the Holy Spirit to sanctify you through the Word.
And the Holy Spirit is glad to do this work. He is glad to take the forgiveness and life won for you by God the Son and apply it to you. He is glad to bring you comfort in your distress. He is glad to strengthen your faith in trials. He is glad to guide you on the path of righteousness. He is glad to prepare you for eternal life in heaven.
You can see how important the work of the Holy Spirit is. Without His work, we would have no faith. We would be without hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:12). We would live for a short time and die and be dead forever. God the Father and God the Son sent out God the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, so that everything Jesus accomplished according to the gracious will of His Father would be applied to sinners.
You and I are some of those sinners, sinners who deserve God’s wrath for our sins, who deserve eternal punishment in hell. But what we have received instead is the cleansing blood of Jesus that washed away all our sins. We have received His righteousness that makes us acceptable to the Father. We have received His mercy and peace and goodwill. By the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word, we have received all the fullness of Christ’s redemptive work, grace upon grace (Joh. 1:16).
This is why we rejoice today. This is why Pentecost is such a pivotal day for the church. This is the day that all the gifts Jesus won for sinners came pouring out of heaven like stores of grain for the hungry, like waterfalls for the thirsty, like rain on parched earth. “Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of Your faithful people, and kindle in them the fire of Your love.”
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from Saude Lutheran Church stained glass)
The Baptism of Our Lord – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Matthew 3:13-17
In Christ Jesus, who “came by water and blood,” (1Jo. 5:6), who came to fulfill all righteousness and win our salvation from His baptism to His death on the cross, dear fellow redeemed:
What do you want to be when you grow up? If you are not asking that question now, you probably did at one time. Children and adolescents spend a lot of time thinking about that question. What am I supposed to do with my life? What will my future hold? Typically we start with grand ideas. We want to be just like the famous trailblazers and champions we admire. But as we get older, our plans become more realistic, even if our life doesn’t go in the direction we expect.
Tied up in our plans for the future is the question about where we fit in the world. We want to be noticed. We want to be liked. We want to be successful. We want others to think we are special. And that’s a lot of pressure. A report released last week by the CDC said that anxiety and depression are on the rise among teenagers, and it’s way up among teenage girls. Part of the reason for this increase has to do with the pressure that teenagers feel in matters of their sexuality.
Our current culture does not provide a healthy environment for children to mature and grow. It expects them to make life-changing decisions about themselves and their bodies when they aren’t ready to make those decisions. How do we help them with the burdens they carry? How do we settle our own anxious thoughts about our purpose in life and our future?
Today’s reading provides good direction for us. The events happened at a time when hardly anyone knew who Jesus was. His neighbors in Nazareth thought of Him as a kind and intelligent young man. But they didn’t exactly expect Him to be a world-changer. He was the son of Joseph and Mary, and He was probably destined for a very anonymous life (Mat. 13:55).
But that isn’t what John the Baptizer thought. When Jesus made His way to the Jordan River where John was preaching and baptizing, John said something surprising, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” How did John know who Jesus was? We don’t know. What we know is that John was called to prepare the way for the Messiah. And he said that “for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel” (Joh. 1:31).
John and Jesus were also cousins, so it is possible they grew up around each other, and John could see how good and upright Jesus was. Whatever impressions John had about Jesus would now become set in stone. “Let it be so now,” said Jesus, “for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” So John baptized Him.
As soon as Jesus stepped down into the river and had water poured over Him, you and I were assured of a very bright, a very beautiful future. How can that be? When Jesus stepped into the water, He didn’t go for Himself. We can see why John questioned Jesus’ intent to be baptized. John clearly proclaimed that his baptism was for sinners. But what sins did Jesus have to confess?
Jesus had no sins of His own, but He had all of yours and mine. This was no ordinary man who showed up at the river. This was the eternal Son of God clothed in our flesh. Whatever God did in the flesh should have our very close attention. He didn’t go to the Jordan to pass the time. Everything He did had purpose. His baptism was not a small detail in His life. It was the public beginning of His work of salvation. It was His anointing as the Savior of the world.
He stepped into the river “to fulfill all righteousness.” You can’t “fulfill all righteousness.” I can’t “fulfill all righteousness.” But Jesus could fulfill it for all of us. When He entered the water, He stepped in for you and me and every member of the human race. He was baptized to work a great exchange—your sin for His righteousness. He was baptized into your sin, so that you could be baptized into His righteousness.
In other words, His baptism in the Jordan is your future flashing before your eyes. And His journey from the Jordan to the cross and grave is your journey. What I mean is that you do not have to worry about the mark you will make on the world. You do not have to prove that you matter or that you are special. You do not have to create your own identity or determine your own fate. Jesus already addressed these concerns for you.
You can’t see what your future will hold, but you can see what Jesus’ future held. You see how the heavens were opened after His baptism and the Holy Spirit came down like a dove and rested on Him. You see how God the Father gave the stamp of approval to His Son by saying, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
You know how Jesus went on from there to the wilderness to be tempted, how He started teaching about the kingdom of God and healing the sick and the hurting, how His enemies made plans against Him, and eventually brought Him up on false charges before the governor Pontius Pilate. You see how Jesus willingly suffered, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter opening not His mouth. You see how He was nailed to the cross, cried out in anguish, died, and was buried.
That’s not exactly a future to aspire to. Do we really want to walk in those steps? Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mat. 16:24). That is the exact opposite of what we want to do. The world tells us to indulge ourselves—food, drink, entertainment, pleasure—and our own flesh wants it. Why should we fight these desires? Why do we have to take up a cross? Won’t that only lead to heartache and pain?
It is true that following after Jesus brings us trouble. He says the world will hate everyone who trusts in Him, because the world hated Him (Joh. 15:18-19). “In the world you will have tribulation” (Joh. 16:33), He says. But persecution and trouble are not all that our future holds. In fact, Jesus says that these things only last “a little while.”
Jesus’ future did not end with His death and burial and neither will yours. Jesus came to life again on the third day. He undid death. He reversed the curse. Death no longer had dominion over Him (Rom. 6:9). He rose from the dead, and He lives on in glory. That is your future. He won that victory for you.
And all of it starts at baptism. Baptism changed your future and your focus like nothing else in the world possibly could. It had a bigger impact on you than having all your hopes and dreams for this life come true, even more than winning the lottery or becoming the ruler of the whole world. Because at your baptism, Jesus officially made His righteousness, His accomplishments, and His eternal victory over death yours.
Jesus had your sins poured over Him at the Jordan River, so you would have His righteousness poured over you at the font. He was punished by the Father in your place, so you would be forgiven of all you have done wrong. He died, so that you would live. When you were baptized, the Holy Spirit came to rest on you and filled your heart with faith. When you were baptized, God the Father called you His “beloved,” with whom He is “well pleased.”
St. Paul explains that “We were buried therefore with [Christ Jesus] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). At your baptism, you were set on a new course. The plan for your future was locked in. Your life gained an instant and clear purpose. Because the merciful God chose you. He adopted you as His own. He named you His child and heir with Jesus as your brother.
Everything Jesus earned for you from His baptism to His grave became yours, and it is still yours. No matter how much you have messed up, God has not taken His baptism away from you. All that Jesus did for you is still done. Your future in Him is still secure.
So for the young who feel the pressure of being everything the world says they should be, who think they need to prove their worth and show how special they are, who are tempted to compromise themselves and their beliefs in order to be accepted, we can tell them that God loves them perfectly. He sees the temptations they have to face, how difficult their life is, and He promises that He will never leave them alone. He sent His Son to redeem their life with His, He brought them to the font to receive His blessings and give them new life, and He still meets them in their times of sadness and pain to help and strengthen them by His Word and Sacrament.
That is the promise and comfort that all of us need whether we are looking forward with anxiety or backward with regret. Jesus was baptized for you, to fulfill all righteousness for you. He went to the cross for you and rose again for you. Because of His work, your future is bright. You are baptized into Him. You believe in Him. And “[w]hoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mar. 16:16).
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from 1895 painting by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior)
Circumcision and Name of Jesus – Vicar Anderson sermon
Text: St. Luke 2:21
In Christ Jesus, who when the fulness of time had come, He came down from heaven, was born of flesh and under the law for you, dear fellow redeemed:
When I was studying to go into law enforcement, I went on some ride-along’s with my local police department. On those ride-along’s, I was able to hear the question asked from an officer’s point of view, “do you know the reason why I pulled you over?” This is the question that no one wants to hear because when you hear this question, it means that you have probably done something wrong. And, usually you know you did something wrong. Depending how serious the crime is, someone could find themselves in court. They might get their time reduced, or they might hear that judge bring the gavel down and say guilty. Laws keep us safe from danger. We know that these laws keep us safe yet we usually don’t like to follow them. We also see God’s laws and find ourselves relaxed in following those too. In fact, we have broken every one of them. What will He do to us? Will the perfect judge condemn us? God shows how much he cares about us with the text for today. He knows that we can’t fulfill the Law, so the lawgiver himself has come to fulfill it!
Mary and Joseph waste no time in following the commands of God. The law states that “on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3). We see the care that Mary and Joseph had for the Word of God. They were devout believers in His promises. They followed what the law said concerning their new born son. However, this law is more than a Law handed down by Moses. Circumcision started long before this in the command that God gave Abraham in Genesis 17. [God] said to Abraham, “this is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised…Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant (10-12, 14.)”
What is so special about this covenant? This is God giving Abraham a promise and setting Abraham and his descendants apart from the nations around them. This promise is that God would be with him. Abraham would be the father of many nations. His name would be great! There was also the promise of the Savior that would come through him. God told him when he called him that, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12: 3). Now the Savior had come from the line of Abraham. To keep the promise given to Abraham, Jesus is circumcised, made a member of the people of the covenant, placed under the law. Jesus has no need to obey the law for himself as He is God. The law was given to the people. God told them that they are to keep these laws. When they keep the law they are showing that they trust God. It also shows how they are separate from the heathen nations. The heathen nations did despicable things. If the people of the covenant, God’s chosen people sinned, then they had to repent.
Looking in the Old Testament, it is apparent that many of the Israelites did not follow God’s law. They simply defied them. They were God’s chosen people. Yet they were often at war with God and his laws that He had given them. They were punished for their sins and when they repented, God would come to them as a loving Father to his children. As the Jews attempted and failed often to obey God’s law, they had to bring sacrifices to God. They needed many, many animals to shed their blood. This was done to look ahead to the coming one. But often the Israelites would only go through the motions with these sacrifices and were not actually sorry for their sins. Or they thought that the sacrifice was what did the job. The Israelites deserved the punishment that was given them because of the law that they had broken.
Like the Israelites of old, we see God’s law and we fail to follow them. We work very hard at it, but it never comes to fruition even if we are trying our best. We also can find ourselves going through the motions. We might not think about the prayers that we are saying. Some of the prayers that we say we might not even mean them. If we fail to repent of our sins, then our confession is meaningless. It can be easy to do that if we believe that “God will just forgive me anyway, he knows that I’m trying. He knows that I’m not as bad as other people.” If we don’t repent of sins and are sorry for them, we can go to communion and take it to our harm. This is the danger of getting set in the motions because then why should we be at church at all. This is the danger of being stuck in our sins.
This time of year is a great example of this taking place. Now is the time that people are going to start their new year’s resolutions. We will start them with great anticipation and the hope that they will stay with it. Unfortunately, we are very quick to lose interest in something that could help us. We make the promise and then we break it. We treat our sins the same. We will promise God that we will try our best to keep his law. We make a promise and then we don’t keep it. We lose interest and we keep doing them. We need someone to fulfill the law for us.
Jesus follows the commands of God not for himself, but for sinners. This event is the first time in Jesus early life that he sheds his blood. At eight days old Jesus had already shed blood for you. We know this shedding of blood would have to be more. This is the start. Jesus following the law at eight days old makes him obligated to keep the law. From His infancy to adulthood, He fulfilled the law completely for you. He then shed his blood and gave his life for you on the cross. He didn’t have to do it. He was perfect in every way. But He wanted to do it for you. Only the lawgiver, God in the flesh, could come down and keep the law for you and take away your sins. We see that in our text today. Jesus as a baby, being put under the law.
The name He was given also described His purpose. He is given a name of utmost importance. A name whose definition is the sole reason that he came down from heaven, for our salvation. Mary and Joseph were both told that they would name this child Jesus because “He will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus fulfilled the law to redeem all people. He took on the pain, woe, and suffering for all people of all time. He did not live this life for himself, he lived it for us.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians shows us how important it is that Jesus went under the law for us. Paul writes, “But when the fullness of time had come God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoptions as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). Because of what Jesus has done, we can go to God as children go to their dear Father. God sees that the law has been completed by His son Jesus Christ. He lived out His life as an act of obedience. This act of circumcision obeyed the Old Testament law for baby boys. This was only the beginning. Jesus continued to obey the Old Testament law up to his death on the cross.
Jesus’ circumcision fulfilled the promise that was given to Abraham and his descendants. With Jesus being circumcised, being brought into the Abrahamic covenant, all families of the earth have been blessed. Now that Jesus has fulfilled the law for us, what about circumcision? Is it needed? We see the battles that Paul fought in the New Testament that this is not the case. Circumcision does not bind us to the promise, but Jesus instituted something else that does. Paul explains that we have been circumcised in another way.
“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11-12). Your baptism connects you to what Christ has done. In your baptism you are buried with Christ and you now walk in newness of life. Your Savior, God in the flesh, has obeyed the law for you. He began his journey as a baby, going to the cross, completing it.
No one can imagine a lawgiver being the one who has to fulfill his own law. Now we see Jesus our Savior. He was given a name that was known from eternity. He was put under the law for us. We don’t have to despair when we fall short of God’s law. He sent his only Son to obey his law willingly for us and Jesus shed his blood willingly. He is our Savior. His name tells us so. His obedience shows us so. Our sins have been washed away. At eight days old we see how much Jesus loved us. He did this for us in our place. We can begin the new year with no worries since the law has been fulfilled! Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “The Nativity at Night” by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, c. 1490)
The Fourth Sunday in Advent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. John 1:19-28
In Christ Jesus, who “comes to judge the nations, a terror to His foes,” but “a Light of consolations and blessed hope to those who love the Lord’s appearing” (ELH 94, v. 10), dear fellow redeemed:
I imagine you have a busy week ahead. There will be gifts to wrap and food to make. Maybe there is more decorating to do and cards or letters to send. This is a time of preparation, a time to get everything ready for the big day: Christmas. Perhaps you hope to recapture the feeling of the season from when you were a child, or you want your children or grandchildren to have that feeling now. This is a special time. You want everything to be just right.
Advent is a time of preparation, but the focus is not especially on external things, what is happening around us. The focus is internal, what is happening inside us. The problem with internal things is that they are more difficult to control. I can spend hours wrapping gifts and make them just the way I want them. I can clean my house from top to bottom. I can put everything in its place around me and make it look like I have every detail covered. I can do all these things while being torn up inside by sadness, by pain, by guilt.
That might be where you are right now. That is why Jesus comes to you today. He comes to meet you in your struggle and lift your burdens from you. He comes to bring you forgiveness and hope, comfort and strength. He comes to assure you that you have a merciful Father who loves you and cares for you, and that in His Father’s house are many mansions where He has prepared a place for you (Joh. 14:2).
These are the things that Jesus, the Son of God incarnate, came down to earth to do. John was sent to prepare the people for His coming. He was the “voice” prophesied more than 700 years earlier by Isaiah, the voice who would cry out, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain” (Isa. 40:3-4). How exactly was that highway making—that raising of valleys and lowering of mountains—supposed to come about?
The evangelist Luke writes that John “went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (3:3). And John didn’t hold back in his Law preaching. “You brood of vipers!” he said to the crowd. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance” (3:7-8). Repentance was the way the people were to prepare for Christ’s coming. It was the way for their hearts and minds to become open to His gracious teaching.
And that is still the way we prepare for Christ’s coming: we repent of our sins. We repent of our valleys of doubt and despair, and we repent of our mountains of pride. But we wouldn’t know this was even necessary if God did not give us His Law. His Law is both written on our hearts and recorded for us in the Bible. There is no question what God’s will is for our lives. There is also no question that we have failed to live up to His Law—failed completely.
But the error we often fall into is measuring our holiness not against God’s Commandments, but against the lives of other sinners. And we can always find others who appear to be more sinful than we are. This is a trick of the devil to get us to think that we are not that bad, that our lives are pretty well in order. But if that were true, then why did Jesus come? Did He come to hang out with the righteous people, or to save sinners? Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luk. 5:31-32).
The holy Law of God shows us how sick we are. It shows us how bumpy our road was in the past when we disobeyed God’s commands and how bumpy it will be in the future if we give in to our sinful desires. And through the Law, the Holy Spirit works repentance in our hearts today. He moves us to contrition, to remorsefulness and sorrow, for the wrongs we have done—for the sins we have tried to hide and the sins we have committed right out in the open.
But repentance is not just about admitting sin. It is about avoiding the same temptations going forward. It is about not giving the devil an inch, because he will take a mile and usually a lot more. What good is repentance if you have no desire to stop sinning and do better? John said to the crowd, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” Show in your life how sorry you are for your sin and how you want to live for the God who made you and provides for you.
The people must have trembled when they heard John preach. He was great and powerful in their eyes. They trembled even more when he told them One was coming after him, “the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” “I baptize you with water,” said John. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Luk. 3:16,17). In other words, “Don’t ignore my warning. Don’t let this fall on deaf ears. A far more powerful One than me is coming.”
John was a serious preacher, but it was not all gloom and doom. The baptism he administered was given for spiritual comfort. God’s Law was doing its work. The people were sorry for their sins. Now they stepped forward to the Jordan River desiring to receive God’s forgiveness. They believed what John said. They did not want to be caught unprepared when the Christ came. They sincerely wanted to “make straight the way of the Lord.”
But would the way be straight enough for Him? Would He be pleased with what He saw in them? Would they be worthy enough, welcoming enough? Those would have been natural questions to ask, but they were the wrong ones. We get sidetracked in the same way. We want to live our lives for the Lord, but then we focus more on our living than on the Lord. We focus more on our work than on His work.
But it is His work that saves. No matter how well or how much you prepare for Jesus’ coming to you now, it is not enough. You have fallen short of the glory of God. That is why God sent His only-begotten Son. Jesus came to perfectly do for you what you could not do. He had no need to repent, because He was sinless. He could measure His holiness against the Law of God, and it did not condemn Him. Those valleys of doubt and despair, those mountains of pride, could not be found in Jesus. He kept God’s holy Law for you down to the smallest detail.
And He put all your Law-breaking, all your sin, on His shoulders and invited God’s wrath on Himself to spare you from eternal punishment in hell. That is where the Lord’s greatness is most clearly seen—in His suffering on the cross. That is where His glory is found, hidden beneath a crown of thorns and behind all that anguish and shame.
You have a Savior who knows sadness. Isaiah described Him as “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:5). You have a Savior who knows pain, who knows guilt, because He took all of yours on Himself. Isaiah says again, “[H]e was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace” (v. 5). This is the peace the incarnate Son of God came to bring, the “peace on earth” that the multitude of angels sang about the night of His birth.
It is the peace He wants you to have in this busy season no matter what troubles you, grieves you, or weighs you down right now. Jesus came for your sake. He came to save you. He came to redeem your soul by shedding His holy blood and remove your transgressions from you as far as the east is from the west (Psa. 103:12).
His forgiveness of our sins is why we don’t view repentance as a chore. Repentance is a gift worked in us by the Holy Spirit which prepares us to receive God’s greater gifts—the gifts of His righteousness, peace, and life. He gives these blessings to us now and assures us that we will have them forever in heaven.
So by the power of the Holy Spirit, we “Make Straight the Way of the Lord” today. We push away all doubt. We set aside all pride. We hand over to God everything that has caused anguish and pain to ourselves and to others. And our merciful Lord says, “I forgive you all your sins. I made payment for them long ago by My precious blood. All that I won for you, all that I have, I poured over you at your Baptism. There, I made you My own.”
Your Baptism into Christ means that even though you may feel empty at times, you are not empty. And even though you may feel alone, you are not alone. The Christ, your Savior, has come, and He still comes with gracious tidings of comfort and joy for you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “The Preaching of St. John the Baptist” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c. 1565)
The Second Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Luke 14:16-24
In Christ Jesus, who invites you to His great feast not just once in your life but every single day, so that you are continuously nourished and strengthened in Him, dear fellow redeemed:
The setting for Jesus’ parable was a dinner table. A ruler of the Pharisees had invited Jesus to a meal one Sabbath day. It seems like a generous invitation, but it was actually because the Pharisees wanted to catch Jesus saying or doing something that contradicted the Law of God. The evangelist Luke says that “they were watching him carefully” (14:1). What they did not realize is that Jesus was watching them carefully. In fact, He saw to the very bottom of their hearts. He spoke His parable to open their eyes to their unbelief and create faith in their hearts.
But His parable was not for them only; it is also for us and for all who hear the words of Jesus. He told about a great banquet that should have been anticipated by all. But when the time came for the banquet, the invited guests had excuses for why they couldn’t come. This was a description of the Jewish leaders who claimed to be waiting for a Messiah. But when He came, they opposed Him. They closed their ears to His convicting words of Law, and so they were not prepared to hear His beautiful words of promise.
When the Jewish leaders would not come, Jesus turned His attention to “the poor and crippled and blind and lame”—the outcasts like the Jewish tax collectors, public sinners, and the demon-possessed. Many of them gladly heard the Word of Jesus, repented of their sins, and put their trust in Him. Still there was room in the Master’s banquet hall, so servants were sent out to “the highways and hedges” looking for more. This refers to the Gentiles, the people outside the city, which also includes you and me today.
What a surprise for the outsiders to hear the servants say, “Come, for everything is now ready!” “There must be some mistake; how could we be invited to the banquet of someone we don’t even know?” But that’s how the Gospel works. We were called by the Holy Spirit to the Master’s feast, not because we were old friends and not because we had proven ourselves worthy of an invitation. We didn’t know someone on the inside to let us in. We didn’t even know there was a great feast going on until God made it known to us.
The call of the Gospel is a free gift. A couple weeks ago, we heard Jesus’ words to Nicodemus about the work of the Holy Spirit. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God…. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Joh. 3:5,8). We enter the kingdom of God because He wills it. We do not decide to enter His kingdom—He decides.
But we cannot enter His kingdom as we are. No guest at the Master’s feast can come in the rags of his own righteousness. The way the Master cleanses us of our filth and covers us in holiness is through the life-giving waters of Baptism. “[A]ccording to his own mercy,” He saved us, “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Ti. 3:5-6). The robes of Jesus’ holiness were placed over us in Baptism, and we started to “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).
Your Baptism put you on the Master’s guest list. You are invited to His great banquet. The banquet is the continued hearing of His Word and partaking of His Sacraments. Jesus said disciples are made for Him out of the nations by baptizing and teaching them (Mat. 28:19-20). Baptism happens once and lasts a lifetime. But the teaching of His Word is ongoing. It continues to guide sinners to repentance and keep them in the grace of their Baptism until their time here comes to an end.
Jesus your Savior calls you to hear His Word and meditate on it every day. Some of you might have an hour each day that you could dedicate to reading the Bible. Others might only have five minutes in the morning and evening to read a devotion and pray. The point is to take your seat at the Master’s table as often as you can and receive the rich food that only He can give. His Word serves up forgiveness for your sin and grace to free you from your guilt. His Word delivers peace to your heart and strength to your soul. It prepares you for the work God has given you to do in your home, workplace, and community.
The work you do in those vocations is important work. There was nothing wrong with the man in the parable wanting to see a field he had bought, or another man wanting to inspect his oxen, or another man giving attention to his new bride. The problem was that they chose to do those things instead of attending the Master’s feast. There is nothing wrong with putting in hours at work, expanding your business, and focusing on your family. The problem is when these things take the place of God’s Word and are given priority over God’s Word.
When one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to give “the great commandment in the law,” Jesus quoted from the book of Deuteronomy (6:5): “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Mat. 22:37). God doesn’t ask you to love Him with half your heart, a quarter of your soul, or a tenth of your mind. He says your devotion to Him should be total, should be perfect. All of your focus, all of your being, all of your days should be directed toward learning His Word and doing His will.
It’s easy to come up with reasons why that just isn’t possible. If you “lived by the letter,” how could you get along with anyone else? Wouldn’t they think that you think you are better than them? And besides, you pay more attention to God’s Word than just about everyone else you know. You figure you are in pretty good shape. You might not always attend the Master’s feast—and certainly not every day—, but you know about it. You know God’s Word is there when you need it.
One of the important questions to ask is whether Christianity fits into your life, or whether your life fits into Christianity. What I mean is: do you look at your Baptism into Christ and His work in your life through the Word as just one piece of the pie? And home life is another piece, and work is another piece, and hobbies and leisure time and so on are other pieces? Or is Christ in all of it?
That’s the way St. Paul talked. “For you have died,” he said, “and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). Your life was joined to your Savior in Baptism. That is where you died and where you rose again with Him. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,” wrote Paul, “he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2Co. 5:17). In another place he said that we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
These passages say that your life is not about your purpose, not about your plans. Your life is about the Lord’s purpose and His plans. Your life is lived in Him and through Him. But then why does our Master have to keep inviting us to His feast? It is because our sinful nature is still active, and our sinful nature is great at making excuses. The old Adam has all sorts of reasons why we don’t have time for God’s Word. And the more we set aside the Word, the easier it gets to set aside the Word.
Jesus did not suffer from these same weaknesses. He never set aside the Word of His Father. He listened to it perfectly and did everything God commanded. And when His suffering began to intensify in the Garden of Gethsemane, He did not make excuses why He had to be somewhere else. He said to His heavenly Father, “not my will, but yours, be done” (Luk. 22:42).
Because Jesus carried out His Father’s will, you have forgiveness for your sinful excuses. Jesus went to the cross and paid for all of your transgressions against God—your sins of not making His Word a priority in your home, your sins of not sharing the hope you have in Christ with your friends and co-workers, your sins of doing what you want instead of what God wants.
Despite your many sins, the Master still sends His servants to say, “Come, for everything is now ready.” I am one of those servants, but the message is for me too. The feast of salvation is prepared for all of us sinners. The table is set right now with God’s grace-filled Word and life-giving Sacraments. His Word is ready for you every day. He wants you always to be a guest His table. He wants you to enjoy His feast. He wants by this rich food to prepare you for the eternal feasting in heaven.
The invitation making its way to you is no mistake. Jesus intends for you to have His gifts. Now is no time for distractions and excuses. Now is the time for repentance, for a humble trust in His Word, and for the desire to grow in faith and in a godly life. Now is the time to eat from the Bread of Life and drink from the living waters of God. Now is the time to “taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psa. 34:8).
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(woodcut of the poor, the blind, and the lame being invited to the banquet from the 1880 edition of The Story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation)
The Festival of the Holy Trinity – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. John 3:1-15
In Christ Jesus, who does not lie to us, even though our sinful flesh finds the truth offensive, because He wants to save us and give us eternal life, dear fellow redeemed:
If you still have your old high school yearbooks, what are the chances that one of your classmates wrote this message, “Never change”? It seems like a common yearbook message, “Never change.” Taken literally, it means someone wants you to keep being a not-entirely-mature-teenager forever. But it is really intended to be a note of encouragement—something like, “I think you are a nice person. I appreciate who you are.”
What do you suppose God might write in a yearbook? It’s a silly question, but I’m sure He wouldn’t write, “Never change.” That is not obvious to everyone. There are many who think this is exactly what God says. They say things like, “God loves me for who I am. He does not judge me or question my decisions. He accepts me just the way I am.” But that is not true. The teaching of Jesus proves it.
When Jesus started His public teaching in Galilee, He said, “the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel” (Mar. 1:15). The Son of God didn’t take on human flesh so He could hang out with us, tell us what a good job we are doing, and pat us on the back. He came telling us that we cannot remain as we are—not if we hope to be saved.
This is the lesson He wanted to teach Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a leading Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. Jesus referred to him as “the teacher of Israel,” which could mean he enjoyed special standing among his peers. Nicodemus was curious about Jesus, but wanting to keep his curiosity in the dark, he went to Jesus by night. He greeted Jesus and spoke on behalf of the Jewish leaders. He said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” They knew who He was because of what they had seen Him do.
Jesus quickly showed Nicodemus that they didn’t know as much as they thought. Sure, they had seen the signs, but did they really believe? Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” If you are not “born again”—or as it could also be translated, “born from above”—you cannot really see anything.
That was a shocking statement. Nicodemus might have expected Jesus to be flattered by his words and think of Nicodemus as a friend. But now he was put back on his heels. Jesus seemed to indicate that Nicodemus and his associates were not seeing clearly, if they were seeing at all! They needed to be born again, to be born from above, to become something other than they were. But how could old men like them be reborn?
The answer is: not by their own efforts. That’s what the Pharisees had all wrong. They thought they could please God by their holy living. They thought salvation depended on their own good behavior. They thought everyone should become more like them, so they didn’t see the need to change. The devil had “pulled the wool over their eyes.” They were spiritually blind.
That same condition afflicts all of us by nature. We think we can see and understand things better than we actually do. And we think we are more righteous in our behavior than we actually are. How do we come to those conclusions? Usually by comparing ourselves with others around us. That’s what the Pharisees did. They could always find sinners to look down on. They could always find people to judge.
And we are not to judge, in the sense of pointing out everyone else’s sins while ignoring our own. But it is entirely right to judge between true teaching and false teaching. It is entirely right to judge between what God says we should do in His Law and what we are actually doing. Our society says we have to accept people as they are and support them in how they want to live and what they want to do. Anything less than that is hatred and bigotry, they say.
But what if they are choosing to do things that are harmful to themselves and others, things that God clearly warns us about? Is it judgmental to question those things, or is it loving? Of course how we approach our neighbors about their sin matters. If they get the impression that we are like the Pharisee in the temple boasting about the wonderful things we do and how much better we are than others, they are not going to listen to us. But if they see us coming with humility, truly concerned about their spiritual well-being, they might not like what we have to say, but they will see it is sincere.
We must remember that we are not any better by nature than anyone else—not better than the drug addict, the thief, the adulterer, or the murderer. Our sins may be less public, but they are not less. This is why God had to change us. We could not get to heaven as we were. He had to turn us back from the path we were on, change our hearts, open our eyes, guide us in the light of His truth.
God is qualified to do this, because He is holy and He alone. He knows perfectly what is right, what is true. He makes flawless decisions. He does the right things always. His judgment is never impaired. His plans are never misguided. That means there is no reason for God to change, and it’s good that He doesn’t!
If we couldn’t trust God to tell us the truth, if we couldn’t trust Him to keep His promises, it would be terrifying indeed to be under His control. Will we get a nice God today, or an angry one? A patient and loving God, or a vengeful one? We have a merciful God, always merciful. He does not punish us, because Jesus, the Son of God, stepped in our place. Jesus took the punishment for our sins. He paid our debt of unrighteousness. He felt the fires of our hell.
Jesus did what we could never do, not with a million holy deeds or a million generous words. No matter how hard we have tried to do and say and think what is right, we have not been perfect. We can’t change the way we are by nature. We can’t change the sinful inclinations of our sinful hearts. But God can.
God has caused us to be born again. He brought about our first birth, and He brought about our rebirth. “[U]nless one is born of water and the Spirit,” said Jesus, “he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Which is to say that if you are born of water and the Spirit, you can enter the kingdom of God. You are born of water and the Spirit. You are baptized, and “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mar. 16:16).
God changed you. He brought you to faith. Only He can work faith. Nicodemus thought he could figure things out on his own. Jesus pointed him to the Holy Scriptures. He said, “we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.” Nicodemus wanted to rely on his own abilities, his own reason. Jesus called him to forget all of that and believe.
Jesus’ words to him were powerful. The Holy Spirit worked through them. It is clear that Nicodemus did become a believer. As the Jewish leaders voiced their opposition to Jesus in a meeting of the Jewish council, Nicodemus tried to defend Him. And then on Good Friday after Jesus had died, Nicodemus joined Joseph of Arimathea in burying the body of Jesus.
Nicodemus changed by the gracious work of God. He was not fine as he was. Heaven was not his until God granted it to him. Popular society today does not like this talk of our needing to change. What people want is for God to change for them rather than their changing for God. What God clearly condemns, they say He accepts. What God says He hates, they say He loves. They are exchanging the truth about God for a lie (Rom. 1:25).
But “God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:7-8). If you take pride in giving in to your sinful desires, you will not see the kingdom of God. Then you show that the flesh is your master and not the Spirit.
But if you repent of your sins and have the honest intention to do better, you show that the Spirit is at work within you. You show that you are a child of God and not of the devil, a follower of the Word and not of the world. The Triune God changed you at your Baptism, and He wants to keep you in Him. Because your sinful nature keeps rearing its ugly head and tries to pull you away from salvation in Christ, the Holy Spirit needs to keep cleansing, keep turning, keep strengthening your heart.
That is what He does through the Word and Sacraments. He assures you that all your sins are blotted out by the blood of Jesus. He turns you from your self-trust and your prideful thinking and leads you to the light of God’s truth. He strengthens you in the confidence that salvation and life are yours because God does not change. His promise stands firm. The Son of Man was lifted up on the cross for you, so that you and all who believe in Him would have eternal life.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “Christ and Nicodemus” by Fritz von Uhde, c. 1886)
The Fifth Sunday of Easter & Saude Confirmation – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. John 16:5-15
In Christ Jesus, who brought the light of life into this dark world, who became our sin so that we might become the righteousness of God, who has called us to be His disciples and set us free by the truth of His Word, dear fellow redeemed [and especially you, Ethan, Reese, and Marit on your Confirmation Day]:
What Jesus said in today’s reading was difficult for the disciples to understand. It was difficult for them because Jesus was speaking about things that would happen in the future. How could it ever be good for Jesus to “go away”? How could that be to their “advantage”? Hearing Jesus’ words filled their hearts with sorrow.
It has the opposite effect on us. Jesus’ words fill us with joy because we know what He accomplished. We know what happened after He talked with His disciples. Jesus gave Himself over that night to those who opposed Him, and by the next morning He let Himself be nailed to a Roman cross. This was for our redemption! It was to purchase and win us from our sins by suffering and dying in our place. And then on the third day—Easter Sunday—He rose from the dead.
He appeared to His disciples many times over the next forty days and then ascended into heaven. Ten days after that, He poured out the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. It was to the disciples’ advantage that Jesus go away because this would signal that His work to save sinners was complete. Only after His work was complete would “the Helper”—the Holy Spirit—come to apply His saving work to sinners.
So the work of God the Holy Spirit is based on the work of God the Son, which is based on the work of God the Father. God the Father sent His only-begotten Son to redeem the world. God’s Son perfectly fulfilled the work His Father gave Him to do. And God the Holy Spirit dispenses the benefits of Jesus’ work to you today.
But not all people acknowledge the work of God’s Son to save sinners. In fact none of us by nature recognizes or appreciates what Jesus did on our behalf. This is why the Holy Spirit must “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”
The Holy Spirit “will convict the world concerning sin,” says Jesus, “because they do not believe in Me.” The chief sin in God the Father’s eyes is not believing in the Son He has sent, not believing that He did what so many eyewitnesses report that He did. God promised to send His Son to save the world and kept His promise. Jesus carried out the work His Father gave Him to do and then returned in glory to His Father.
But the world and sometimes our own hearts say, “No big deal. I’m fine on my own without religion, without church, without God. I’ll live by my own code. I’ll make my own decisions.” This self-centered approach is why “Black Friday” gets far more attention than “Good Friday”; why the family get-togethers and egg hunts of Easter are more special than the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
But what do our things get us? Pleasure and enjoyment… until these precious things break. What does self-made spirituality get us? Nothing but uncertainty, emptiness, and ongoing guilt. What do our best efforts result in? Maybe praise from the world for a time, but no matter how much we accomplish, death still comes. The Holy Spirit through the Law shows us how empty our pursuits and plans are without Jesus. He is the only one who can save us and give our life true purpose.
The Holy Spirit also convicts the world “concerning righteousness.” In other words, the Holy Spirit points out the lack of righteousness among us. This is hard for us to accept. In general, we like to think of ourselves as “good” people. We work hard at our jobs. We are loyal to our family and friends. We help others out. But if we set our righteousness next to Jesus’ righteousness, we see how different they are.
We might work hard at our jobs, but what about the times we took it easy when the boss wasn’t looking? What about the little things we snitched because we figured we deserved some extra benefits? We love our family and friends, but what about when we resented our responsibilities toward them? What about when we became angry and bitter and didn’t want to serve them anymore, brooding over how little they do for us? We do help others out sometimes, but how often have we walked away from neighbors in need?
Jesus did none of that. He perfectly served, perfectly loved, and perfectly helped His neighbors. When the disciples could no longer see Jesus’ perfect actions toward others, the Holy Spirit reminded them what Jesus had done and said. You and I have not lived as we should, but Jesus lived a perfect life for us.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world “concerning judgment.” By living for ourselves and not Jesus, by trusting ourselves and not Jesus, we are really tying ourselves to the devil. Jesus refers to him as “the ruler of this world,” but he is a powerless ruler. He “is judged.” He has lost. To be in his camp is to have no hope. Jesus defeated him. He took away any claim the devil had on our soul. All his accusations are washed away in the blood of Jesus.
It is clear that the Holy Spirit has done this convicting work in your heart because just a little bit ago, you confessed your sin and unrighteousness. You admitted that you are by nature sinful and unclean, and that you have sinned against God by thought, word, and deed. You know that you deserve to be judged along with the devil.
But the Holy Spirit has done more than convict you of your sin. He has guided you into “all the truth.” He has brought you to faith in Jesus who was without sin, who lived a life of perfect righteousness, who triumphed over the ruler of this world. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would take what is His, which Jesus received from His Father, and would declare it to you. He would reveal what Jesus’ coming meant for the world and for every sinner in it.
He revealed this to you personally at your Baptism. [Ethan, you were baptized on October 7, Reese on April 13, Marit on May 18.] On your Baptism day, the Holy Spirit guided you into all truth. He washed you clean from your sins. He covered you in the righteousness of Jesus. He caused you to be reborn and to walk in new life. He sealed you in an everlasting covenant with God, in which God put His own powerful name on you. “You are my child,” He says, “with whom I am well pleased!”
God the Father is well pleased with you because you believe in His Son. You trust that Jesus fulfilled the holy Law for you. You trust that He paid the penalty on the cross for all your sins. You trust that He conquered your death by rising from the dead on the third day. You have not believed these things by your own power or choice. The Holy Spirit has brought you this faith through the Word of God.
That is also how He keeps you in the faith. We can’t help but think of Confirmation in the church sort of like we do Graduation. It is the culmination of a lot of work, a recognition that a standard has been reached, a stepping into a new chapter of life. But Graduation does not mean you have learned everything there is to know. If you have been taught well, you realize better than before how little you actually do know.
I hope I have taught this year’s Catechism students well enough so that they know how little they actually know. If their faith is not constantly strengthened and rooted more deeply in Jesus through His Word and Sacraments as they go on in life, they will lose their faith. And if they lose their faith, they will lose the eternal benefits of their Baptism.
The Holy Spirit works through the Word. Jesus said, “He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak.” What the Holy Spirit heard, He delivered through the pens of the evangelists and apostles who recorded the inspired Word of God. You have this Word. It is working in you even now. God’s Word is a living Word that never returns to Him void (Isa. 55:11).
That is why “the ruler of this world” does his utmost to pull you away from the Word. He does the opposite of what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin; the devil tells you that whatever you choose to do is fine. The Holy Spirit convicts you of your lack of righteousness; the devil teaches you to trust your impulses and follow your heart. The Holy Spirit warns you of judgment if you deny Jesus; the devil says there is nothing to worry about, so live it up in the world!
You must stand strong against the devil’s tricks and lies, and you can by the power of the Holy Spirit. He works faithfulness and courage in you every time you receive the holy gifts of God in the means of grace. [Ethan, Reese, and Marit, you know the great importance of God’s Word and Sacraments, and we are excited to have you join us today to receive the holy body and blood of our Savior and King. We pray that you continue to come to the Lord’s house to receive His gifts, so that you will be strengthened and kept in the true faith.]
You and I need the forgiveness, righteousness, and salvation that Jesus won for us. We can’t live without them. And those things are what the Holy Spirit declares to us. Those are the things that Jesus told His disciples would come, which He then secured by His death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit verifies through the Word that The Mission to Rescue You Has Succeeded.
God rescued you from the darkness of the devil’s kingdom by baptizing you into His holy name and applying to you the holy work of Jesus. And He still “guides you into all the truth”—not just up to your Confirmation Day but as long as He gives you here, until you join Him in the glories of heaven.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from stained glass by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, c. 1660)
The Baptism of Our Lord – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Matthew 3:13-17
In Christ Jesus, who came to take the sins that were ours and to give us the righteousness that is His, dear fellow redeemed:
We live in a time of “have it your way” Christianity. Beliefs about God are determined not so much by historic church teaching based on ancient holy texts. Beliefs about God are determined by people’s own feelings and ideas about God and how He seems to be working in their lives. So then what do they need the church for? They figure they can talk to God just as well at home or at work or out in nature as they can at church. They don’t need any pastor or know-it-all Christian telling them what to believe!
We can understand the frustration people have about “the church.” They see the church divided into tiny fragments with each one saying that it is the right one—Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Roman Catholics, various community churches. And there are even divisions within these groups like ELS Lutherans, LCMS Lutherans, ELCA Lutherans! People hear about scandals and abuses in the church, the manipulation of the vulnerable, the mismanagement of funds. Why would anyone want anything to do with the church?
But as imperfect as the church is in our eyes or anyone else’s eyes, God wants us to be part of it. When we speak about being part of the church, this includes both the “visible” and the “invisible” church. What we call the “visible” church is the church that can be seen, including all the different types of Christians. The visible church is divided, and because of sin it will continue to be divided until the end of time.
But the Bible also talks about the “invisible” church, the church of all believers who look to Jesus alone for their salvation. This church is perfectly united, and it is holy. This is the church the apostle Paul spoke about in his letter to the Ephesians: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (5:25-27).
So if we were choosing between the two, we would want to be members of the invisible church instead of the visible one, right? Actually it’s not an either/or. Simply being a part of the visible church does not save anyone. But those who are members of the invisible church by faith will also want to be members of the visible church. That is because God gathers His people around visible things: the preaching of the Word by a flesh and blood man like you and the administration of the Sacraments with the visible means of water, bread, and wine.
He calls us out of our homes and away from a solitary existence to join together with fellow believers. The author to the Hebrews writes, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (10:24-25).
That emphasis on joining together, on community and communion, is seen in our Lord’s institution of Baptism. He told the apostles that the discipling of all nations would happen and must happen through their personal interaction. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” He said, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mat. 28:19-20).
Never in the Bible do we read about a person baptizing himself, in the same way that the Bible does not teach us to forgive ourselves or privately give ourselves Communion. These gifts come to us from God through others. If anyone would have seemed qualified to baptize Himself or give Communion to Himself, it was Jesus. But Jesus did not do this.
Look at what happened at His Baptism. Jesus came to the Jordan River where John was baptizing, and He stepped down in the water. John knew enough about Jesus to know that he was in the presence of a godly man. “I need to be baptized by You,” said John, “and do You come to me?” And in the first words we hear from Jesus as an adult, He said, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Jesus let a sinful man baptize Him, even though He was perfectly holy. So what was the Baptism for? Everyone else was coming to John to be baptized because they recognized how sinful they were. Jesus came declaring His righteousness: “Baptize Me,” He said, “in order to fulfill all righteousness.”
You might think of Jesus’ Baptism as the reverse of our Baptism. We were baptized for the forgiveness of sin, to receive the righteousness of God through faith. Jesus was baptized not to receive forgiveness, but to receive our sin—not to become righteous which He already was, but to take our unrighteousness upon Himself.
Jesus submitted to Baptism as the public beginning of His work to save us sinners. It was as though He said, “I accept the task. I am ready for the trial. I will give Myself for all sinners. I will suffer and die their death.” That was His message when He told John, “thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then the heavens opened, and Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. And the Father said from above, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
All of this has great significance for your Baptism. Most of you were brought by others to the font—you didn’t bring yourself. And all of you were baptized by another sinner’s hand. (Some of you here today were even baptized by this sinner.) Through Baptism you became a member of both the visible church where you were baptized and the invisible church which is the holy body of Jesus. You were joined to the company of others—sinners, yes, but also saints cleansed “by the washing of water with the word… holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:26,27).
This is not something you chose. Your Baptism was a gift from God to you. At your Baptism, the heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit came upon you, and the Father said through His holy Word, “You are My beloved Child, with whom I am well pleased.” God looks at you in this way because your Baptism was a Baptism into the death and resurrection of His holy Son (Rom. 6:4). The forgiveness Jesus won for you on the cross was given to you at your Baptism, and so was the victory He won over your death.
God did all this for you. He brought you into His holy church. But just because you were brought into the church at one point, does not mean your membership is permanent. We see all the time members leaving the visible church, and God also sees members leave the invisible church. They leave by denying their sinfulness and their need to repent. They leave because they have elevated their own will and desires over God’s will.
This is how the devil and our own sinful flesh tempt each one of us. They tempt us to embrace the “have it your way” mentality. “Why should you have to worry about anyone else?” they say. “Live the way you want to! Make the decisions that are best for you! Don’t be bothered by the outdated rules of God’s Word. He will accept you no matter what you do!”
But God is not mocked. He did not claim us out of the world, baptize us into His holy name, make us His children and heirs of eternal life so that we would live as though none of that happened. He chose us out of the world. He delivered us from the devil’s kingdom of darkness. He rescued us from eternal death. He did all that so that we would have life in Him. He did all that so that we would live for Him.
Why did Jesus step down into that water? It was to “fulfill all righteousness.” Only He could do that because only He has ever been righteous. Except for Him, the Bible says that “there is none who does good, not even one” (Psa. 14:3). You and I have not done any good on our own. There is no good apart from God. All of us have sinned. And yet our merciful Lord called us to His gracious waters of life.
He brought you to the baptismal font by the hands of your parents or sponsors. He spoke His powerful, life-giving words through the mouth of your pastor. At your Baptism, He Poured His Righteousness over You, He washed your sins out of you, and He took up residence inside of you.
You did nothing in Baptism—all of it was done for you. That’s what makes it so comforting. Even knowing how your future would look, how you would at times despise His good gifts and choose to follow your way instead of His, He still brought you to those waters of life. And now He calls you to continuously return to those waters.
You return to the cleansing waters of His forgiveness and righteousness by repenting of your sins and trusting His promise of grace toward you. As He speaks His absolution to you, He strengthens you to deny the desires of your sinful flesh and live for Him. And He also invites you to be renewed and refreshed by His holy body and blood as you make your journey through this life.
You do not walk alone. You walk together with all the baptized—those who confess the faith with you in this congregation, and those who are living members of the body of Christ Jesus. His righteousness covers over you and all who trust in Him, and it makes you fit to enter His heavenly kingdom.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from 1895 painting by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior)
The Circumcision & Name of Jesus – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Luke 2:21
In Christ Jesus, who willingly suffered even as a baby to win your eternal salvation, dear fellow redeemed:
Today’s verse follows right after the conclusion of the Christmas account: “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them” (v. 20). Now a week had passed. During that time, Mary was getting used to being a mother, while Joseph did what he could to keep her comfortable. I expect that the shepherds visited again, along with others who heard their exciting report about a multitude of angels lighting up the night sky and proclaiming the arrival of a special baby, “who is Christ the Lord” (v. 11).
And now it was the eighth day. The eighth day was when all newborn Israelite males were circumcised and officially given their name. So Jesus was too. But why was this strange custom practiced among the Jews? It started with Abraham about two thousand years before this. Abraham was ninety-nine years old, but he and his wife Sarah had no children together. Even in Abraham’s old age, God promised to make him “the father of a multitude of nations” (Gen. 17:4). He would be “exceedingly fruitful,” and kings would come from him (v. 6). God would make an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his offspring, and the land of Canaan would be their “everlasting possession” (v. 8).
The sign that would mark Abraham and his offspring as heirs of this covenant was circumcision. “He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised,” said the LORD. “So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant” (vv. 12,13). Males who had been circumcised would be constantly reminded of God’s promise, which had its ultimate fulfillment in the coming of the Messiah. A King would be born in the land of Canaan who would rule an everlasting kingdom.
That King was Jesus. There was no question about what name to give Him. The angel Gabriel told Mary, “you shall call his name Jesus” (Luk. 1:31). An angel gave the same instruction to Joseph, because Mary’s son, said the angel, “will save his people from their sins” (Mat. 1:21). “Jesus” is the Greek form of the name “Joshua,” a fairly common name at that time. But this Jesus is the only one who would perfectly wear the name. “Jesus” means “The LORD saves,” or “Savior.”
This Savior was born of Mary, but He came from heaven. Mary’s little baby boy was the eternal Son of God incarnate. When Mary held her baby, she was holding God in her arms. How could anyone comprehend it? If the angels hadn’t said what they said to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, no one at this point would have believed that Jesus is God. But He was. God in a manger. God in diapers. God under a knife on the eighth day.
As the circumcision was carried out, Jesus felt the pain of the procedure. Blood dripped from His skin and soaked into a cloth. Circumcision marked Jesus as an heir of God’s covenant with Abraham—a covenant that He had come to fulfill. Through circumcision, Jesus was also officially placed under the holy Law of God—a Law that He had come to keep.
The day of His circumcision was only the beginning of Jesus’ work, the beginning of His suffering. On this day, for the first time ever, the eternal, almighty God bled. It didn’t take Him by surprise like when kryptonite rendered Superman weak and vulnerable. God chose this suffering. He chose to bleed. God the Father chose to send His only Son to take on our flesh, and the Son willingly obeyed His Father.
God the Son knew what was in store for Him on earth. He knew He would not receive the welcome He deserved. He knew that the manger was waiting for Him and the knife and the whip, the thorns, and the nails. He knew blood would pour from countless wounds. His blood was red like every person’s is, but it was different in this way: His blood was holy. Jesus was without sin. When blood dripped from His wounds, it was never because He deserved it. It was not just punishment for wrongs He had done. He shed His blood for you.
For you—nothing more wonderful can be said about Jesus’ work. His Advent is for you. Christmas is for you. Epiphany is for you. Holy Week is for you. Easter is for you. Ascension is for you. Pentecost is for you. The whole Christian Church Year is intended to proclaim what Jesus did for you—for your salvation.
Some people think the most important thing about Jesus is the example He set of a holy life. “If we want to honor Him,” they say, “then we need to try to live like Him.” But that isn’t Jesus for you. That is you for Jesus. And when you get it backwards like that, you lose all comfort. Then your focus isn’t really on Jesus your Savior; your focus is on yourself, a sinner.
That is especially tempting this time of year. This is the time that we make our New Year’s resolutions: I resolve to be healthier; I resolve to be more active; I resolve to be more helpful; I resolve to be more patient. Those are good things. But if they are not coupled with a humble faith in Jesus, they will turn either into occasions for boasting or into sources for more guilt.
We will never be as disciplined or as perfect as we want to be. Thank God our salvation does not depend on it! What our salvation depends on is Jesus’ discipline, Jesus’ perfection. Those things began for us on the day of His circumcision. On that day, Jesus accepted the entire burden of the holy Law to keep it for mankind. The Son of God was “born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5).
Jesus came to redeem us. He “redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13). He perfectly fulfilled the Law in our place, following God’s commands to the smallest detail. And then He willingly stretched out His arms on the altar of the cross to shed His blood for our sins.
Jesus has redeemed you, a lost and condemned creature, purchasing and winning you from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. He didn’t purchase you with anything on earth. He won you with His holy, precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and death (Luther’s explanation to the Second Article). God Bled for You at His circumcision, and He bled for you on the cross to secure your eternal redemption.
But how do you know it really was for you? You know it was for you because God made a covenant with you like the one He made with Abraham. Often we think of a covenant as a contract between two parties in which both sides have their own work to do. But when God makes a covenant, He does the work. He no longer requires circumcision for eight-day-old baby boys. That covenant was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus. The covenant God makes that binds us to Him today is Holy Baptism.
St. Paul explains how the baptism of babies in the New Testament has replaced the circumcision of babies in the Old Testament. He writes, “In [Christ] also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism…. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses” (Col. 2:11-12,13). Baptism brings you the forgiveness Jesus obtained by His death and the victory He won by His resurrection. You are now united with Him. All that is His in triumph has become yours by faith.
Along with Baptism, Jesus gives you another testimony and sign of His grace and forgiveness. “Are you troubled by your sins?” He asks. “Do you recognize your failures and want to do better? Do you believe that I am here to save? Then take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you…. Drink of it all of you; this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you.”
God’s holy Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments, are the way the cleansing blood of Jesus is applied to you. The same blood that dripped from His tender skin and fell from His nail-pierced hands and feet washes you clean of all your sin. Every part of you that is marked and stained by sin because of your own willful transgressions against God’s holy Law, is purified by Jesus’ precious blood.
You will need this cleansing in 2022 just as you have in years past. “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mar. 14:38). You will not fulfill all your promises and resolutions to do better. But the gracious covenant God has made with you will not fail. You are His own dear child, adopted as His son and heir.
You are baptized into Christ. All that He did was for your righteousness. All that He patiently endured was for your redemption. All that He suffered was for your salvation. He was born for you. He bled for you. He perfectly fulfilled the Law and won the victory for you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “The Nativity at Night” by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, c. 1490)