"The Gift of Living Water" (John 4:1-30, 39-42)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’ (For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to Him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?’ (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans)” (John 4:7-9).

 

All throughout the Old Testament there lies the hope of the Messiah. Beginning with Genesis 3:15, the Hebrew Scriptures repeatedly proclaim that the Savior is coming.

 

Generation after generation, Jews became familiar with these Scripture passages proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. And they took God’s promise of the Messiah to heart. They waited eagerly for their coming Savior. And their sense of expectation only increased as centuries passed. 

 

This sense of expectation was not just among the Jews, but also among the Samaritans who also eagerly awaited the Messiah.

 

But as both the Jews and Samaritans eagerly awaited the coming Savior, the Jews and Samaritans weren’t exactly on speaking terms with one another. So, it would be highly irregular to ever see a Jew having a conversation with a Samaritan. But that is exactly what Jesus does in today’s Gospel lesson from John 4.

 

“Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself did not baptize, but only His disciples), He left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And He had to pass through Samaria” (John 4:1-4).

 

But the thing is, Jesus and His disciples didn’t have to pass through Samaria. Although the road through Samaria was shorter than the coastal road or the road on the east side of the Jordan, the Jewish disdain for the Samaritans would often lead them to avoid Samaria altogether. Instead of traveling through Samaria, Jews preferred to be defiled by a lesser evil, as they would pass through the Gentile region of Perea. And then, they would cross back into Galilee north of Samaria. This was the usual route. But Jesus chose to travel through Samaria.

However, Jesus didn’t choose to go this way to save time, He chose this route to go through Samaria because He had to. This was His mission. As St. Paul was inspired to write in our Epistle today: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. … God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6, 8). Jesus is on the mission to save sinners.

 

So, as Jesus traveled north toward Galilee, “He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there” (John 4:5-6).

 

As Jesus sat beside the well in the heat of the day, tired and thirsty from His journey, there came a woman from Samaria to draw water. This was an odd sight for it was the cool of the evening when women would customarily perform the chore of fetching water. This woman came at high noon. The worst of all times to fetch water. Even more unusual is that this woman came such a long distance to this well when there were other sources of water closer to the village. For some reason, she would rather walk the extra distance in the hottest time of the day.

 

Jesus says to her, “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). This astonished the woman as this was a shocking breach of social custom. Men did not speak with women in public – not even their wives. And even more significant is that Jews wanted nothing to do with Samaritans. But Jesus asks this woman, “Give Me a drink.”

 

Taken aback, she says to Jesus, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (John 4:9). And even more odd is that Jesus had no water pot. For He is asking to drink from her water pot, which would ceremonially defile Himself by drinking from the vessel of an unclean Samaritan.

 

Again, there had been a bitter rivalry between the Jews and the Samaritans for centuries. This rivalry began when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was taken over by the Assyrians and most of the Israelites who remained intermarried which formed a mixed race known as the Samaritans. The new settlers brought their idolatrous religion with them, which then became intermingled with the worship of Yahweh. In time, the Samaritans abandoned their idols and worshiped Yahweh alone, but only after their own fashion. Instead of accepting the entirety of the Torah, the Samaritans only accepted the five books of Moses, known as the Pentateuch, as their canonical Scripture and they chose to worship God only on Mount Gerizim, not at the temple in Jerusalem.

 

And things only got worse after the Southern Kingdom of Judah returned from their Babylonian exile. You see, under Ezra and Nehemiah, the Jews first priority was to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. At this same time, the Samaritans professed their loyalty to Yahweh and they offered assistance in rebuilding the temple. However, the Jews bluntly refused their offer, which only further divided the peoples. Then later, the Jews destroyed the Samaritan temple upon Mount Gerizim during the intertestamental period, which only further worsened relations between them.

 

After centuries of mistrust, there was a deep animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans. In fact, the worst insult a Jew could make of a fellow Jew would be to call that person a Samaritan, as the Jewish authorities often called Jesus. The Samaritans certainly reciprocated the Jewish hostility as is seen in Luke 9 when a Samaritan village rejected Jesus, since Jesus was heading to Jerusalem.

 

So, here is Jesus – a Jew – doing the unthinkable. He is conversing with a woman from Samaria. Jesus is shattering barriers.

 

This woman came to fetch water in the heat of the day. We soon find out why. Jesus says to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here” (John 4:16). She then attempts to conceal her sin, but He knows. She says, “I have no husband” (John 4:17). Jesus then commends her for her truthfulness, but unmasks her sin, saying, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true” (John 4:18).

 

Here, Jesus is commending this woman for refusing to call the man she’s now “playing house” with as not her husband, because living together does not constitute a marriage, since God only views marriage as a formal, legal and public covenant between a man and a woman.

 

Now, we don’t know the circumstances of her five marriages, plus her current roommate, but Jesus’ silent implication is that she is not innocent. For Jesus knows that these broken relationships are manifestations of her broken relationship with God.

 

This brokenness is what St. Paul spoke of in our Epistle. This Samaritan woman is “weak,” and even worse: she is ungodly, still a sinner, and an enemy of God. And by our sinful nature, we are just like her. This woman knows a lot about broken relationships. She doesn’t appear to have much peace. This is why she is coming to the well at the heat of the day, so she can avoid hearing the not-so-friendly chit-chat of the other women of the town directed toward her.

 

This Samaritan woman at the well is desperate. And without her own wisdom or strength, she has come to the right place: Jacob’s well.

 

Jesus says to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). In her desperation for peace, she says, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water”(John 4:15).

 

Throughout Scripture, the well is a place to find marriage. Rebekah’s routine trip to a well led to marriage with Isaac. Jacob met Rachel at a well. Moses met Zipporah at a well. 

 

Here, at Jacob’s well, Jesus is offering this woman “living water.” But this water isn’t what this woman is expecting. She is expecting a watery refreshment. But what Jesus is giving is even better. Jesus is proposing to her the forgiveness of her sins to which He will succeed in doing through giving up His life for His bride, the Church, and raising His body again. Though she was an enemy of God, Jesus has committed His life to her and to you and me.

 

Jesus has come into the world to give us “living water.” And we receive His “living water” in Holy Baptism, in the absolution, and through communing with Him. He is the One who gives living water, so that you will never thirst. He is the One who knows you for you are and loves you all the way to the cross and death. 

 

Although we want to hide our wrongs, our faults, our failings, our shame, Jesus sees our entire mess. He sees your every sin. But like the Samaritan woman in today’s reading, Jesus doesn’t care how dark your life may be, but He comes to seek us out in order to bring us to repentance, so that He can forgive us and make us His.

 

After centuries of waiting for the Savior, the Savior has come! Jesus the Christ has come to restore His bride – the Church! He offers us His Means of Grace! So, come, receive the gift of “living water” through Christ’s very body and blood given and shed for you – for the forgiveness of your sins! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"How Majestic is Your Name" (Psalm 8)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: 

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:1).

 

The year 2025 has ended. Welcome to 2026! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

With a new year, often comes renewed hope and positive thinking. Fitness clubs thrive on hope and positive thinking these first days and weeks of January. They advertise deals in their hope that you would join their club, pay the fees, and maybe actually exercise.

 

There is something about a new year. It is a renewal. It feels like a fresh start. And each newly arrived year reminds us that we have arrived to another year of our Lord. And that “Year of Our Lord” – that A.D. “Anno Domini – comes with peace, hope, certainty and joy. The Year of Our Lord 2026 is truly in the hands of our Lord!

 

You see, your future is not in the hands of fate, or chance, or any random occurrence. Your future is in the hands of the Lord! You know, the One who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, who was placed in a manger, who was nailed to a cross for you, who died and rose for you to give you forgiveness, life and salvation! He reigns for you as everything is under His feet!

 

Today’s reading from Psalm 8 is fitting for a New Year as it speaks how majestic God’s Name is in all the earth. The triune God is certainly majestic! He showed “His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

 

We spoke together earlier: “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1). As we spoke those words, we are calling on Yahweh, the very personal name of God as our King, our Ruler. We are confessing the name of the only true God as our Ruler.

 

And His Name is majestic! Yahweh alone is, and always has been, and always will be the One who exists and, by extension, is always present to act on our behalf for us and for our salvation!

 

God’s majesty is also found all throughout the created order. Yahweh is praised by huge galaxies and by tiny babies. The sun, the moon, and the stars testify to the majesty, power, and wisdom of God. But their testimony is without words. Their testimony is without love. But more precious than the testimony of huge galaxies are the simple prayers and songs of a little child. Even infants, who cannot communicate without crying, can praise God in ways that we do not understand.

 

The Psalmist writes: “When I look at your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the Son of Man that you care for Him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

 

For our majestic God, His work of creating galaxies was detailed handiwork, like fine needlepoint. But man? What is man compared to the sun, moon, and stars? Man is but a speck compared to just one of God’s stars!

 

Yet, God created Adam and Eve to have dominion over the universe. He created the sun, moon, and stars to serve them.

 

God created man and woman in His very image, so that humanity could be righteous and holy and live in happy fellowship with Him. In the grand scheme of created things, man appears to be insignificant, but God created everything for you and me.

 

But through Adam’s Fall into sin, humanity’s fellowship with God was broken – it was completely split apart. And because of the Fall, man’s dominion over the universe was gone. Now, we can still use our intelligence that God has given us to maintain partial control of things, but in the grand scheme of things, we no longer have uncontested dominion over the world God gave us to steward.

 

Now animals kill human beings. Human beings kill animals. Human beings slaughter other human beings. Earthquakes, floods, tornados, hurricanes can wipe us out. Even the tiniest of viruses can kill us. We now live in a hostile environment. And one day, unless Christ returns first, we must return to the ground from which we were all created.

 

The Psalmist writes: “Yet You have made Him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned Him with glory and honor. You have given Him dominion over the works of Your hands; you have put all things under His feet” (Psalm 8:5-6).

 

 

Psalm 8 is quoted twice in the New Testament as a messianic prophecy that was fulfilled when Jesus Christ came and regained dominion over the world for us.

 

Certainly, as true God, Jesus already had dominion over the whole universe. But when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, He took on a human nature like ours, though without sin. In this state, the Second Person of the Trinity undertook the work of regaining our lost dominion for us.

 

As how puny humanity may seem in the grand scheme of things of the entire universe, God created humanity in His image. God created the sun, moon, and stars, and all of creation for us humans. God loves humanity so much that He took upon Himself our flesh to save us.

 

As God became man for us, Jesus made Himself lower than the heavenly beings – the angels. (Hebrews 2:6-8)

 

And during His ministry on earth, Jesus did not appear to look like God or even an angel, but like an ordinary man.

 

Psalm 8 was fulfilled throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth when He assumed the form of a humble servant. Jesus was “made a little lower than the heavenly beings” when He was helped by angels at the time of His temptation and in Gethsemane. Psalm 8 was fulfilled when Jesus’ enemies refused to recognize Him as God and instead ridiculed Him as a lowly carpenter and when they mocked Him while crucified on the cross. Psalm 8 was fulfilled at Calvary when Jesus cried out: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).

 

But Jesus would not stay in this humble condition. You see, when He had finished His work of defeating sin, death and the power of the devil, He ascended to heaven and was seated at the right hand of God. He now has all power in heaven and on earth. He is crowned with honor and glory. St. Paul quotes Psalm 8 in 1 Corinthians 15:27 saying: “For God has put all things in subjection under His feet.” Paul writes this to remind us that Jesus rules over all things – in heaven and on earth – for us!

 

So, just as Adam brought death to all people, so Christ, the second Adam, won life for all people. Adam lost the dominion that had been entrusted to him, but Christ is now ruling the world for the benefit of His people. And by faith in Him, we are given the reward of Christ’s victory as we are now heirs of His kingdom, including the new heaven and new earth.

On this New Year’s Day – the eighth day of Christmas, the day we remember the circumcision and naming of our Lord, the Second Person of the Trinity received His name: “Jesus,” which means “the Lord saves.” 

 

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is the name of Jesus, who has come to save us! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Grieving in Hope and Faith" (Matthew 2:13-18) - The Holy Innocents, Martyrs

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: 

“And [Joseph] rose and took the Child and His mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’” (Matthew 2:14-15).

 

The days on our Church calendar following Christmas Day can leave us wondering: where has the joy of Christmas gone?

 

What happened to “Joy to the World”? What happened to “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled”?

 

These days following Christmas are very strange. Just one day after Christmas was the Festival of St. Stephen, Martyr. Two days after Christmas was the Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. And that leads us to today: the Festival of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs. It has been said St. Stephen was a martyr for Christ in both will and deed. St. John was Christ’s martyr in will, but not in deed. And the Holy Innocents, to which we observe today, were Christ’s martyrs not in will, but in deed.

 

This is so very strange. Again, just a few short days ago, we were gathered in unbridled joy. But now? Today, we heard of the death of children. Now we are gathered in deep sorrow. Instead of singing “Joy to the World,” we are crying out to God about rescuing us from “the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 71:1, today’s Gradual), and from the strangers who “have risen against me; [the] ruthless men [who] seek my life” (Psalm 54:3)

 

Then in today’s Gospel lesson, we heard of crying and deep sorrow. For the mothers in Bethlehem, they are like Rachel before them as they refuse to be comforted because their children are no more.

 

The pendulum of our life together in the Church has swung drastically since Christmas Day. But this is what life is like out there as we live in a fallen and sinful world. One minute you are living your life in joy, and then the next minute is filled with sorrow.

 

Just look at Bethlehem. At the announcement of the birth of the Christ Child, there were angels singing in the fields: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). Upon hearing this, the shepherds run to see the promised Savior of the world. 

 

Sometime later, wise men came from afar to Bethlehem to see the one “who has been born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). 

 

Then Joseph, as solid and reliable as a husband and father could be, is warned by an angel in a dream that his family is in immediate danger, and he doesn’t waste a minute. He, Mary, and the Christ Child depart before morning to Egypt.

 

To be sure, there was so much joy happening in Bethlehem! But then, in the blink of an eye, there is sudden and unexpected death.

 

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.’ When Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him …” (Matthew 2:1-3).

 

Herod the Great was well known for his social concern and at the same time being cruel and merciless. Herod during a time of severe economic hardship gave back tax money collected from the people. And during a great famine, Herod melted down various gold objects in the palace to buy food for the poor. He built theaters, racetracks, and other structures to provide entertainment for the people. And he began the reconstruction project of the Temple in Jerusalem.

 

But as I said, Herod was also cruel and merciless. Herod was known for being incredibly jealous, suspicious, and afraid for his own position and power. For Herod, any potential threat would be dealt with. He had his wife’s brother drowned. He had his wife Mariamne killed. He had her mother killed. He had three of his own sons killed. And shortly before he would die, Herod had the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested and imprisoned to be executed the very moment he would die and just to guarantee that there would be mourning in Jerusalem. If not for him, it would be for those men. But there would still be mourning.

 

So, it is not far-fetched that when Herod was troubled, then all of Jerusalem would be troubled right along with him.

As the magi wandered around Jerusalem attempting to locate “he who has been born king of the Jews,” the people began to be concerned.

 

Knowing the past, anyone even suspected of doing Herod harm or threatening his position or power was in considerable danger. In Herod’s sweeping carnage many innocent people were often destroyed. Although Herod’s anger was not vented this time against Jerusalem, it would soon be vented against the nearby town of Bethlehem.

 

I wish I could say that sorrow is only unique to Bethlehem, but I can’t. The slaughter of children two years old and younger by Herod is unique. But not the deep sorrow. That’s what makes this time of year so hard for many.

 

Yes, just days ago, we sang “Joy to the World,” but what happened when that service ended? You either went home or spent time with loved ones, your family and friends. But some of us had people missing from this year’s gatherings – and not because they couldn’t make it because of other gatherings or travel distance – it was because they died.

 

Last Christmas, or some Christmas before, you were spending time with those whom you love: opening presents, talking and eating, singing, and going to church with them. But then, something sudden happened. Something unexpected happened. Something happened to take them away from you: a car accident, a fall, a heart attack, a stroke, cancer. You name it. It happens. Suddenly and unexpectedly, death happens. And now, this Christmas season, you join yourself with those grieving parents in Bethlehem.

 

Now, deep sorrow is bad enough, but when you are shaken to the core, it’s the questions that drive us nuts. It’s those questions that hurt the most. They range from the simple “why?” to the more complex “Why did this happen? Why did God allow this to happen? Why doesn’t God hear my prayer? Why does God allow suffering? Has God abandoned me?”

 

Sometimes, there are clear answers to the “why” questions. Like in our Old Testament lesson. There, God told them directly to love and worship Him only. What did Israel do? They refused. They turned their hearts away from God. They worshipped other gods. And for their idolatry, for their sin of unbelief, they received and suffered a consequence: 70 years of slavery, suffering, pain, and death at the hands of the Babylonians. 

Also, in our Gospel lesson. There, the “why” is answered because Herod feared losing his power. He was also furious that the magi did not return.

 

However, other times, there is no clear answer to our “whys.” Sometimes, there is not a clear cause and effect that we can easily point to. All we can point to is that we are poor, miserable sinners who live in a fallen world, which gives suffering, pain, evil and death. This is the world we live in thanks to Adam and Eve’s disobedience. “Sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

 

And for those “whys” that lack an answer, Jesus teaches us this: “In the world, you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). So, trouble is to be expected. Trouble is now considered normal.

 

Sadly, as we live in this fallen world of sin, suffering, pain, and death happen all the time. And in just a blink of an eye. One moment you are driving down the road and the next moment a truck turns right out in front of you.

 

Sometimes, we just don’t have the answer to the why question. We still wonder. We wonder where God is in all of this?

 

On this day of the Festival of the Holy Innocents, God gives us real hope for real people in the midst of sorrow.

 

Remember: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is why “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He came down into this fallen world to bear our sin and be our Savior. He came to save those Holy Innocents and He came to save you!

 

And nothing can stop Jesus from accomplishing that goal! Herod certainly tried. He tried to kill Jesus, but Joseph followed the command of the angel. And some years later, a son of Herod – one who lived – would attempt to prevent Jesus from going to the cross. But nothing can stop Jesus from accomplishing His goal! Jesus would finish His course. Jesus would cry out: “It is finished” (John 19:30). 

 

Then, in the blink of an eye, Jesus would bodily resurrect from the dead! And because Christ lives, we – by faith in Him – will live also! For everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him has eternal life, and God will raise him up on the Last Day! In Christ alone there is truly joy to the world!

 

Until that day of Christ’s final coming, you and I will grieve, but our grieving is mixed with hope as our tears are mixed with faith and our sadness is mixed with joy knowing that in the twinkle of an eye, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed as our bodies become immortal (1 Corinthians 15)! In Christ alone, there is true joy! Merry Christmas! Amen!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"He Loves Us To The End" (John 13:1-17, 31b-35)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come 
to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

 

Jesus utterly loved His apostles. Jesus utterly loves you. He loves His whole creation.

 

Tonight is Maundy Thursday, or also called, Holy Thursday. The word “maundy” is derived from the Latin word mandatum, which means command. For it was on this night that Jesus gave the command to His disciples saying, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

 

“God is love” (1 John 4:16). John 3:16-17 sum up God’s love for us: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”

 

It was out of God’s love that caused Him to create the world in the first place. And His love endures forever. Jesus is the embodiment of this love. He is love in human flesh.

 

But we are the opposite of what God intended us to be. Instead of truly loving God and loving our neighbor, we are curved in on ourselves. We love ourselves. We would rather be served by others than to serve. We daily sin against the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods,” since we want to be God. We grasp equality with God as Adam and Eve did. We follow right in line with the original sin. We all want to be almighty God. This is supreme idolatry.

 

We so often fail at love. But what are we best at? We are best at being selfish. We are best at putting ourselves as the center of the universe and that everyone else should love and serve you. We use people. We manipulate people for our own benefit. A holy and just God would have every reason to give us what we truly deserve: eternal death apart from God. May we repent of our selfishness.

Because of our sinful condition, we cannot change ourselves into holy and righteous people. All we can do is possibly turn us poor, miserable sinners into sinners. Maybe, we could sin less, but we will continue to sin. And all sin separates us from God. It’s our sin that pulls us away from God’s love, while God is reaching out to us in His love. Our sinful nature wants nothing to do with God and His unconditional forgiveness.

 

For us to change, we must die and be born again as new people, with new minds, new thinking, and a new disposition. Clearly, we cannot do that. We can’t kill ourselves and make ourselves alive as holy people.

 

But God is love and as a loving God, He “desires all people to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4a). So, how does God show this love so that people would be saved?

 

We see this love in the Son of God who came down from heaven to serve, give everything, even Himself. He was born of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin and placed in a feeder’s trough. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”(Matthew 8:20). Jesus was willing to leave everything behind and empty Himself of all the glory of heaven and the treasures of the entire universe to live among us and one of us.

 

What man covets; God laid aside. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

 

We all try to serve. We attempt to lose ourselves in service to our fellow man, but ultimately, self-righteousness and a self-serving attitude win the day.

 

But Jesus loves us to the end. On that first Maundy Thursday, Jesus used that occasion to demonstrate His complete, unwavering love for them and for us, a love He bore to the very end. The Passover dinner was underway, and this would be His last. On this night, He would institute the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of our sins and to strengthen our weak faith. On this night, He knew that He would be betrayed. Yet, Jesus was still in control. Heaven’s plan was coming together. It was now up to the Son of God to see it through.

 

So, Jesus, gives His disciples an old commandment, to which He renews. He speaks the words of Leviticus 19: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), to which He had previously renewed elsewhere in the Gospels. But Jesus uses this occasion to not just speak of this commandment, but to show this commandment in action.

 

So, Jesus rose from dinner and served His disciples as a slave would serve his master and his master’s guests. He washes their feet.

 

Now, is Jesus instituting a new sacrament? No. For He says, “I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15). What Jesus is doing serves as an object lesson, a pattern of humility for Christians to follow, that still applies to us. You see, a true leader, a true friend, a true neighbor, is one who serves others. This act of washing His disciples’ feet tells us that a follower of Jesus will act in humble service as Jesus did.

 

This new commandment is not being spoken about, but shown. And by showing His love in action, He is giving this commandment a fresh and new quality. So, Jesus’ command was to love one another as He had loved them by lowing Himself to a servant. And from that night on, Jesus’ disciples were to practice that love in the light of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

 

This love is called “agape.” This love sacrifices for others. Jesus is the embodiment of this love. He gives and He gives, and He gives. He gives of Himself tonight in His very body and blood under bread and wine to forgive your sins.

 

Later that night, Jesus would “give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28) as He would “give for the life of the world [His] flesh” (John 6:51). 

 

As Jesus hung on the cross one day later, He took upon Himself all our wickedness, all our iniquity, all our brokenness, all our pain. He reconciled you and me back to God the Father. He changed us. He took all our selfishness upon Himself. He made a way to reconciliation. He made peace by the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20).

 

God loved you so much that He died for you. And God did not remain dead. He rose, so that you would also rise. In Christ alone, you are a new creation. In Christ alone, you are born again. This is what happened at your Baptism. It was through the water and Word that the Holy Spirit gave you a new mind with new thinking and a new disposition. 

Now, through Christ’s love, you are able to look outside yourself. You are now able to serve your neighbor in agape love – sacrificial love. You don’t ask for anything in return. You just serve out of love. You serve in loving service to God.

 

God’s heart is one of eternal love, of sacrificial love. He loved you even before you loved Him. For “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

God loves us to the end. He loves by serving. Serving is what defines the one true God. He serves us sinners with His forgiveness in Word and Sacrament. He serves us life and salvation. May we all repent of our selfishness and receive Christ’s love through the forgiveness of sins. And may He continually empower us to “be imitators of God, as beloved Children” walking in love as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:1-2) by giving and serving our neighbor in sacrificial love. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"The Greatest Gift" (Hebrews 1:1-6)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Merry Christmas!

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

 

Long ago and at many times, God spoke to His people. He spoke to His people in a partial nature through the prophets.

 

We can think of Moses and the burning bush when an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame out of the midst of the bush.

 

We can point to visions and dreams like Joseph and Daniel. We can point to the calling of Samuel.

 

“But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:2a). The word “but” has a tendency to wipe out what came before it. We say things like, “I’d like to do what you’re asking, but…”

 

However, the “but” here is not set against the sureness of God’s speaking in the Old Testament times, but it is set against its partialness and the variety of its ways: law, history, poetry, prophecy. What the Old Testament believers received from God was only partial and the message of the prophets was incomplete. More was to come, but this more to come did not cancel out what had been divinely recorded but only completes it.

 

Those prophets of old were certainly inspired by God to write and proclaim God’s Word. Through those prophets, God was speaking. Those prophets spoke God’s Word as they clung to God’s Word for their hope of salvation – for they as we, shared in that first sin and needed a Savior. We need a savior from our sin of unbelief and selfish ambition. For “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Every word in Holy Scripture is God’s Word, not just words of sinful man. The Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to write them down for us, so that we can always cling to them.

But now – “in these last days” – Jesus has the Last Word, a word that redeems us from sin and death. Today, God is no longer speaking partially through His prophets. Today, He is now speaking fully through Jesus Christ.

 

So, now that we have the Son of God, God has no more to say, since the Redeemer to whom the Old Testament pointed is the ultimate Word and the perfect revelation of God. Today, we have the Final Word of God, which is revealed in His Word, the Bible.

 

Now, some may say today: “If only if I could hear the very Word of God like Moses and Elijah and Isaiah!” Yes, that would have been awesome to hear, but what we have is so much better! They only received snippets, pieces and parts of the various ways God revealed Himself. Today, “in these last days” – God speaks to us through His Son!

 

So, what God spoke through the prophets from Moses to Malachi, we have complete through our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

And Jesus is not just a prophet of prophets. Jesus is God. This Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary is the Creator of the world. This Jesus existed before time existed. This Jesus spoke the world into existence.

 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Here, we have a reference to God the Father. “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Here, we have a reference to the Holy Spirit. But where is Jesus? Then God said, “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:3-4). Jesus is the One who spoke.

 

St. John affirms this in our Christmas Gospel this morning: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him” (John 1:1-3a). 

 

Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3). You see, the whole array of God’s divine attributes radiates forth in Jesus. Radiance is an inner brightness that shines out like the sun in the sky with its streaming light. To see that light is to see the sun; to see Jesus is to see the God of glory.

 

Jesus is “the exact imprint of [God’s] nature” (Hebrews 1:3). You see, Jesus is an exact image of the invisible God made visible in Jesus. Jesus exactly represents God the Father. So, to know Jesus is to know God’s nature and God’s glory. For as Jesus said, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) and “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30).

 

Not only was Jesus active in Creation, but He “upholds the universe by the Word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). You see, we exist today because of Jesus. He keeps everything going. The sun rises each day because of Jesus. “[Jesus] is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

 

Jesus is “the purification for sins” (Hebrews 1:3). Sin stains. Sin defiles. Sin damns. Only One could purify and that is God. And only once would God do this. At Calvary’s cross, the Creator and Sustainer became the Sin-bearer. God took upon Himself human flesh for that moment. He was born on this day with the purpose of being the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.

 

Then, with the work of redemption done, Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). Today, Jesus is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:21a). He has all power and all honor. The ascended Lord holds the scepter in His nail-scarred hands, ruling over all in heaven and on earth.

 

“For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’? Or again, ‘I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son’? (Hebrews 1:5). You see, no one has ever been saved by the name of an angel. But there is a name that saves. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:12).

 

Jesus is superior to the angels, because He was “begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father” (Nicene Creed). Jesus is superior because from all eternity He is God’s Son, the Second Person of the Triune God, true God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is Emmanuel. He is fully God become fully man – for us.

 

But what about that second phrase: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? Those words were spoken originally about Solomon, but these words also have a deeper meaning. You see, they pointed ahead to David’s greater Son, the eternal One whose kingdom would have no end. It is not enough to call Jesus “Son,” but He also calls God “Father.” Never has there been such a divine sonship claimed for the angels.

 

“And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship Him” (Hebrews 1:6). On that Last Day, that great day of judgment, He will stand as “the firstborn,” first in rank and position, as all the angels bow down before Him in worship.

 

Today, “in these last days” God continues to speak to us by His Son through apostolic ministry and through His priesthood of all believers. Jesus sent out His apostles to speak His Word. Pastors are called and ordained to speak what Jesus says. You are called to speak the Christmas message to your friends, your family, your neighbor “for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Jesus has come to save you and me from the power of sin, death, and the devil. He has come to undertake the Great Exchange as He put on our human frame, and in return He gives us redemption, His glory, and His name. “For while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). In Christ alone, we are reconciled to God through His death.

 

When God speaks in Holy Baptism, we receive His name and with it everything that belongs to Jesus, including His life that conquers death. When God speaks through pastors and yourselves who say what Jesus says, forgiving one another in His name, we are forgiven. When God speaks “this is My body; this is My blood,” the incarnate Christ’s body and blood are truly present in the Lord’s Supper. When you hear, “The peace of the Lord be with you always,” the Lord’s peace rests upon you. This is the same peace the angels proclaimed at His birth.

 

On this Christmas Day, we see the supremacy of Jesus. We see the radiance of His glory as the exact imprint of God. Through His coming, we have received the Greatest Gift – which is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For there is no greater gift than forgiveness, life and salvation! Merry Christmas! Amen!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +