The Fourth Sunday after The Epiphany (Series C) – Luke 4:31-44

(Sermons in the One-Year Series will return to this blog on the First Sunday in Lent)

What is this word? No one in Capernaum has ever seen anything like it. This man named Jesus speaks a word and things happen.

First they hear him teach on the Sabbath. They were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. You hear a lot of people say things everyday. Some of what they say is worth hearing. Other things you quickly forget. When Jesus speaks, whether in Capernaum or in Arlington, you listen. What He says carries authority because Jesus is not merely a man from Nazareth. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. His Word carries authority. Whoever hears Him hears the Father in heaven. The Father has Good News for you: Death is swallowed up in victory. Your sin is cast on Jesus Christ. He has paid the debt of sin with His precious blood as the price.

You would think this authoritative Word would win the hearts and souls of every person. Think again. Though demons cower in fear at the Word of Jesus, many people today would rather hear the demons or another voice than the voice of the Word made flesh. Someone once said to a pastor, “Pastor, the words in the book don’t say what I mean.” The pastor smiled and responded, “Then you must let the words mean what they say.”

It’s easy for the pastor to say that, but it’s very hard for you and me to let that be. We would like our words to have the final authority. Power and control is our happy place. Power and control mask the fear that lies inside us. Of what are we afraid? We are afraid that our words are meaningless. We are afraid that everybody’s talking and no one’s listening. We are also afraid that God’s Word will anger someone or offend them out of the Church.

A demon tried to get in the way of the Word that can never die. It knew who Jesus was and why He became flesh and dwelt among us. The demon even confesses who Christ is without believing in Him: I know who you are—the Holy One of God. To know Christ is one thing. To believe Christ is another. The demon knows Jesus yet does not believe in Him. That is why Jesus rebukes the demon, saying, Be silent and come out of Him!

The authoritative Word does more than marvel hearers and cast out a demon. It also heals many people, including Simon’s feverish mother-in-law. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Lord’s Word worked that way today. All we have to do is speak that Word and people live. The Word does work that way, but not necessarily the way we would like it to work. Although neither you nor I am able to speak a fever out of someone like Jesus does, we are able to speak the Word to someone so that they live.

Think of the times you have had an opportunity to tell the Good News about Jesus to a family member, a friend, your neighbor, or even a stranger. The comfort you bring when you speak of the certain hope of eternal life you have in Christ is a word spoken with authority. The authority does not lie in you. The authority lies in the Word behind the word: Jesus Christ. When you stay in His Word, when you read Holy Scripture, chew on Scripture like a cow chews her cud, when you remain fervent in prayer and stay connected to Jesus in His Supper, the Word richly dwells in you. You are not going to raise someone from the sickbed or even from death, but the Word you speak has authority to turn hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.

And that brings us back to yesterday afternoon. Fourteen months is a long time to be sheep without a called shepherd of the Good Shepherd’s flock. Now the Lord has brought shepherd and sheep together as a flock in this pasture called Arlington, Wisconsin. Yesterday morning someone told me that for the first time in a long time they felt hopeful about the future of our congregation. Another person told me “I’m glad you’re here because we need help”. I thanked that person for being frank. I also should have told that person that, well, we all need help around here.

What do those two anecdotes have to do with the authoritative Word? First of all, they remind both me and you that what comes out of my mouth in this pulpit, at this altar, in Bible study, and in personal pastoral care is not Dave Juhl’s opinion. I am the errand boy. I’m given to speak God’s Word to you. It is His Word, and His Word has authority. Sometimes you’ll rejoice when you hear it. Other times you’ll probably want to pelt me with rocks and garbage. Let me remind you to take up your complaint with Jesus in His Word and in prayer. He has ears to hear you. He can handle your gripes and lamentations.

The second thing is that, like those in Capernaum, we also are amazed at the authoritative Word. Jesus institutes Holy Baptism, speaking the Word with water that washes away your sin, makes you a new creation, and grafts you into the Vine of Righteousness. Jesus institutes His Supper, proclaiming bread and wine to be for us His precious Body and Blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you eat His Body and drink His Blood, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again. Jesus institutes the absolution of your sins. He breathes on His disciples, giving them the Holy Spirit, and gives to them a mandate to forgive the sins of the penitent and retain the sins of the impenitent. Every time you walk into the chancel to receive Communion you see those keys before this altar. The keys not only are the symbol of Saint Peter, but also put you in mind of the forgiveness given you in this chancel in sermon and Sacrament.

What is this word? This Word is Spirit, truth, and life. This Word creates and sustains faith in Jesus Christ to life everlasting. This Word is Jesus Christ, the very Word of the Father in flesh and blood, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. This Word is sent into the world to preach the Good News of the kingdom of God, even here in Arlington, Wisconsin. Thanks be to God for the authoritative Word of Jesus Christ that rescues us from sin, death, and hell, and brings forgiveness, life, and salvation!

What’s Next?

As I write, the movers are next door at the parsonage loading our belongings on a 53 foot tractor trailer. Soon we’ll be on our way to Wisconsin. The moving truck arrives the day after tomorrow. My new congregation is hosting a chili supper to welcome our family that night.

My installation is the afternoon of January 30th. I’ll preach Monday night the 31st as St. Peter, Arlington has a regular Monday night Divine Service. This will be a change for me after nearly fifteen years of Saturday night Divine Services. St. Peter congregation also has two Sunday Divine Services so now I have three services instead of two every week.

I’ll also have a called director of parish music. For the first time in my ministry, I’ll have an administrative assistant, too. The new parsonage is twice the size of our old parsonage. I move from a community of 3,100 people to a community of ~850 people. Big changes indeed!

I’ll be preaching on the three-year pericopal series for about a month before moving back to the one-year pericopal series on Ash Wednesday. That’s why you’ll notice different texts for a few weeks. Then I’ll move back to the familiar texts seen in the past on this blog.

See you in a few days with new sermons from a different congregation in a different state!

Third Sunday after The Epiphany – Matthew 8:1-13

This is the final sermon I preach as Pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Momence, IL.
            Only say the word.

            If anyone knows the authority of a word, it is a centurion. He tells Jesus I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, “Go,” and he goes, and to another, “Come,” and he comes, and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it. When authority is given to you, you are able to say the word and things happen.

            You’ve seen this happen many times in your life. Sometimes it’s for good. You think something is impossible and then, someone says a word and the impossible becomes possible. Sometimes it’s for bad. We all know what “clouting” means. Mike Royko made it a household word in the 1960s when he described how knowing the right person in the Chicago political machine opens doors for opportunity, authority, power, and money. Someone had to “clout” for you to get it done.

            It’s the good kind of authority that Saint Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, focuses on in Matthew chapter eight. No one needs to clout for Jesus. Jesus doesn’t even need to go to the centurion’s home to heal his paralyzed servant. The centurion says to Jesus: Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

            The centurion’s authority is earth bound. Even though his words have authority, his authority only goes so far. He is not able to heal. He believes, however, that Jesus’ authority is not earth bound. Jesus’ words are the heavenly Father’s words. They have an out of this world authority.

            When Jesus heard what the centurion says, Saint Matthew tells us He marveled. Let’s consider who the centurion is in order to see why Jesus marveled. The centurion is a Gentile, a Roman citizen, considered by others perhaps to be pagan, and yet He believes that Jesus has the authority to heal his paralyzed servant. All these factors line up for Jesus to marvel at what the centurion says. It can’t be possible. But it is possible because the centurion believes Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing He has life in His name.

            Not only does Jesus marvel, He adds, truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Ouch! That’s quite a dig against our Lord’s own people. Yet many indeed will come from east and west and recline at table with the patriarchs. That’s the blessed promise of eternal life for the Gentiles, not by might, nor by power, nor even by blood, but by the Holy Spirit working in the Word proclaimed to the centurion.

            For nearly fifteen years I have stood in this pulpit and done what the Lord has told me to do when I was set apart by prayer and the laying on of hands: preach the Gospel. You called me here for one reason: only say the word. Someone has to stand in this chancel and say the word that is given him to say. Of the many choices placed before you fifteen years ago this month, the Lord saw fit that you chose me.

            When Pastor Koeppen, then circuit visitor, called me that Thursday night in January of 2007 to tell me I was called to serve as your pastor, I was afraid. Kankakee County was a long way from home. There were a lot of questions and not many answers. Yet in that process of discerning whether I should stay or I should go, I saw the Lord’s hand at work in that process. We couldn’t afford a home in Momence. You bent over backward to make the parsonage into a home again. Our family quickly outgrew the parsonage. You found a way to make our growing family fit in it. When there were financial problems, they were quickly solved. When we closed our doors for a time during the pandemic, the ministry of the Gospel continued and you supported it.

            Do I say these things because you need to pat yourselves on the back? No. I say these things because you responded to the word that was preached in your midst. It’s been my privilege to stand here and only say the word. Everything else is the Lord at work in you, taking care of my family and making sure the Gospel continues to be proclaimed in Momence. Next weekend, Pastor Stein will stand here and only say the word. Sins will be forgiven. Forgiveness and eternal life will be given out in the Gifts. Perhaps this summer you’ll have a new shepherd of the Good Shepherd’s flock who will only say the word. As you have filled me with joy in your response to the Gospel, so I know you will do the same for him.

            One more thing. The good news of the Gospel is that no goodbye is final. My Uncle Loren believed that when he insisted we never say goodbye in his presence. Instead we said, “See you at the next meeting.” Even if I never get to see you again this side of Paradise, the sure and certain hope we have because of Jesus Christ is that I will see you again at the next meeting. Maybe it’ll be this summer during the Gladiolus Festival. Maybe it’ll be on Judgment Day. The circle will never be unbroken for us Christians. Jesus has said the word and, like the centurion, we believe it because our Savior is the God-man with authority. His authority is to forgive our sins and raise us on the Last Day. Only say the word, dear Lord, and we, too, shall be healed. Believe it for Jesus’ sake.

Second Sunday after The Epiphany – John 2:1-11

            We’ve all been to enough wedding receptions to think that Jesus would probably skip the reception and head right home after the ceremony. There’s too much drinking going on. Someone is going to overeat if there’s a buffet. At least there’s the bouquet toss but, really, removing the bride’s garter and flinging it into a crowd of bachelors? I don’t think our Lord needs to see that, let alone participate in the dollar dance or even the chicken dance.

            Yet Jesus doesn’t go home after the wedding ceremony in Cana. Granted the custom of the time is different than today and the party goes on for quite a while, but He’s there, enjoying Himself with His disciples and His mother. Jesus loves a party and this one is no exception.

            But how can it be that someone as pious and holy as the very Son of God Himself would stoop so low as to participate in something so worldly as a wedding party? The reason why is the reason for the season of Epiphany. Jesus is among us not only as God, performing signs and wonders for people, but also as man, enjoying the company of His fellow human beings. Let this penetrate your mind as we draw closer to the season of Lent. It makes sense. The God-man, Jesus Christ, is both human and divine. He has feelings, just like you and me. He eats and drinks, just like you and me. He enjoys a party, just like you and me. He does not consider it above His raising to hang out with tax collectors, sinners, and the normal rabble of humanity, just like you and me.

            Well, that last one may be a bit of a stretch for you and me, but not so for Jesus. His pleasure is with the children of men. That’s why He was invited to the wedding. He gladly accepted the invitation. Jesus is there in times of joy. We believe He is present in times of suffering, but we forget that Jesus is present in happy days as well.

            The Juhl family started a tradition of having a family reunion when I was eight years old. It was a red-letter day for me because I would get to see cousins who lived in the Saint Louis and Chicago area. My Aunts Ruth and Alberta would fly in from suburban Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively. Often it was the only time of the year I’d get to see them. My cousin Gary would be asked to offer a prayer at the reunion until I was older and the family let the preacher of the bunch offer a prayer. Not only was the food blessed, but the Lord was thanked and welcomed for blessing and keeping us together as a family.

            In times of joy there can also be times of suffering. Jesus knows that feeling, too. He is a human being. He cries upon hearing the news of the death of His friend Lazarus. At Cana, Jesus also knows that the guests are suffering because there is no more wine. Jesus doesn’t split the scene because there’s no wine. He stays at the feast, even when His mother tells Him, they have no wine.

            This is a scene familiar to us all. Jesus is present in sufferings, just as He is present in joys. Yet it seems as if His presence is more near to us when we suffer than when we have no sufferings. All sufferings, no matter the severity, cease to be sorrow when Jesus is with you. You now have confidence, boldness, and good courage…words that are not often associated with sufferings. Jesus Christ, the Helper, is right there, your friend in need, and we know that friends in need are friends indeed. Jesus proves Himself to be a friend indeed as He does something about the lack of wine.

            Jesus, the bringer of joy and the balm of sufferings, is both human and divine. He shows His omniscience and omnipotence at the wedding feast in Cana. Before Mary tells Him they have no wine, He knows the wine has been used up. He knows the proper time to help and He isn’t embarassed about helping. Yet there are times when that help comes later than you’d like. Remember that you are not in control of the Lord’s provision. He knows when to step in and provide what you need so that you look to Him for His help.

            For Lazarus, it seemed as if Jesus was too late in arriving. Dead four days, Jesus finally shows up and surprises everyone by raising Him from the dead. The wedding guests in Cana didn’t have to wait four days for wine. When the time is ripe, Jesus will help. Sometimes His help quickly arrives. Other times it may tarry for a while. When it comes, not if it comes, there is joy in His presence and aid.

            Joy comes in the nick of time when Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

            Jesus accomplishes an act of creation in their midst. Think about that for a moment. You’re at a wedding party and the wine runs out. All it takes is one man to take care of the problem. Not only is there no lack, there is the best wine being served when usually swill is served. You and I would know that as His beloved children but even we forget that Jesus is able to help in a remarkable way.

            His disciples believed in Him. They believed not merely because of the sign performed, but because Jesus manifested His glory. Rare are the times you find a friend who is willing to die for you. You have a friend who has died for you, and has risen from the dead for you as well. This friend, Jesus Christ, today brings joy to wedding guests in Cana by changing water into wine. This friend, Jesus Christ, brings joy to Momence in the forgiveness of sins through preaching and through His Supper. These holy things do not look like much, but they are the manifestation of His glory for your sake. Behold the glory of Jesus for your salvation, at a wedding, upon the cross, out of the tomb, and under bread and wine.

First Sunday after Epiphany – Luke 2:41-52

            The Lord saves, even as a 12-year-old boy. So often we focus on His passion that we do not consider the entirety of Christ’s life according to the flesh as one whole work of redemption for our sake. The Formula of Concord, one of our confessional documents, puts it this way: “Faith thus values Christ’s person because it was made under the Law for us and bore our sins, and, in His going to the Father, He offered to His heavenly Father for us poor sinners His entire, complete obedience. This extends from His holy birth even unto death. In this way, He has covered all our disobedience, which dwells in our nature, and its thoughts, words, and works. So disobedience is not charged against us for condemnation. It is pardoned and forgiven out of pure grace alone, for Christ’s sake.” (FC SD III:58)

            Do we believe it? Do we let our inner critic tell us that we must first own our repentance before God applies His righteousness on us? That voice is the voice of the devil, the great liar who tries to get you not to believe that Jesus loves you just the way you are, not the way He wants you to be. Even in His adolescence, the Lord Christ is our perfect and holy righteousness, with which we are able to stand before our heavenly Father in peace and joy.

            Today Jesus Christ fulfills the third and fourth commandment for you. First let’s look at our Lord’s fulfillment of the third commandment. His family goes to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Their trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem is not about checking boxes and completing a list. They join their fellow Jews in celebrating their redemption from the Egyptians through the blood of a lamb that covered their doorposts and protected them from the angel of death. They celebrate their exodus from Egypt through the Red Sea on dry ground with a wall of water to their left and right. This is the feast of feasts for the Jews. As much as you are able, you celebrate corporately with your fellow Jews in Jerusalem every year.

            We learn in Luther’s explanation of the third commandment that remembering the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy is about not despising preaching and the Word, but holding it sacred, gladly hearing and learning it. Not only does Jesus go to Jerusalem with His parents, He also stays in the temple for an extended period of time in order to hear, remember, and talk about God’s Word. Although Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, His real home is the place where God reveals Himself through His word.

            One of the most popular secular Christmas songs of the last eighty years is “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. It became a popular song during World War Two, when so many families weren’t together at Christmas time. Although not appropriate for singing in church, the sentiment in the song is worth exploring. The Divine Service, where God meets man in preaching and the Lord’s Supper, is our home not only for Christmas, but for every feast of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is where God reveals and applies His righteousness on sinners.

            Jesus also keeps the fourth commandment, honoring His father and mother by returning to Nazareth with them and was submissive to them.

            But what about the moments where Jesus evaded His parents? Doesn’t He break the fourth commandment by being disobedient to them when they were ready to go home and He stayed behind? Not so. Jesus was drawing His parents to Himself when Mary and Joseph thought He was lost. Even His mother said to Him: Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. Jesus said to them: Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? There is a time when Jesus is obedient to His earthly parents. There is also a time when Jesus is obedient to His Father in heaven. Jesus draws His parents to Himself in the temple so they are able to hear and to see for themselves that He is their Savior as well as their son.

            Jesus’ fulfilling the third and fourth commandment for our sake brings peace to our soul, especially when we consider ourselves in the light of these two commandments. When we consider how we have fallen short of holding preaching and Word sacred, and how we have despised both secular and sacred authority, our consciences may be tormented to the point of despair. This especially happens on a Christian’s deathbed, where pet sins tend to hold our attention. We hate our pet sins, yet they are so common that it feels good not to hate our pet sins.

            Where is our hope either on our deathbed or in the very midst of life? Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. Jesus’ words to Mary today: Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house, are spoken to ease our conscience as much as to remind Christ’s parents where He is to be found doing the work of His heavenly Father.

            Although we want to seek the Savior, the Savior seeks us and finds us where He promises to be found. Hearing His Word read and applied to your situation in life, eating and drinking His true Body and true Blood, rejoicing in your baptism, your incorporation into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, here is where Jesus finds you and declares you to be His precious child. These holy things for holy ones are not a mere ticking of boxes on the road to salvation. These holy things for holy ones both create and sustain faith in Jesus Christ unto life everlasting. They also soothe our conscience and direct us to a merciful heavenly Father Who loves to give good things to His children and loves to hear them talk to Him in prayer.

            We say with Saint Peter, Lord, it is good that we are here. Yet we also know there are times when we wish we were anywhere but here. That’s the way it is this side of Paradise. There will always be a struggle to be found by Jesus, and also to get lost so He cannot find us. Our Lord is relentless in seeking lost sheep. He is relentless because He loves you and wants you to stay close to Him in times both bad and good. Even at the age of twelve Jesus is seeking you and drawing you to His house as He did Mary and Joseph. Within the Father’s house the Son has found His home. Within the Father’s house, you have found your home of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Savior of the Nations, Jesus Christ.