Genesis 45:3-15; 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 30-42; Luke 6:27-38

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Is it too late to reflect on Valentine’s day? For many people, I know a day passed is a day already put out of our mind. But it’s a funny coincidence that our texts for this week deal in large part with love. Valentine’s day is a day devoted to love. It’s a day where we make sure to do something special to remind a spouse, or significant other about our love for them. Even beyond this, we extend the day to those we love in general, namely, friends and family. 

Valentine’s day is a day where we are reminded that relationships take work… lots and lots of work. Relationships don’t just happen on their own. They’re based in large part on the effort and time we put into them. In this way, relationships are like investments. You invest yourself into a relationship with someone, so that you may receive a return or reward on that investment. For so, the other person puts in their time and effort too.

It's no surprise then that we’re timid to make “risky” investments. We don’t want to spend valuable resources (time, money, creativity) on a relationship that we’re not sure we’d get a return on. But hear what Jesus has to say, “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them,” Luke 6:32. Love your enemies? Be merciful to all people? Give of your valuable resources and expect nothing in return? What Jesus asks of us is an even more difficult task.

If all we do is love people we get along with, people we know will return love to us, indeed, we are no different than anyone else. To say it simply, we’ve embraced the ways of our world, the ways of sin when we look only for “selfish” love, the “what’s in it for me?” love. And that’s the problem. When we act, love, live no differently from everyone else; when we treat our faith as nothing different, when we cheapen the love of God to only those we find it easy to love.

Valentine’s day is indeed about love. But it was first and foremost about God’s love. It was about the way that God loved us so much that he “invested” of himself when we were enemies. It was about the difference God’s love made in our lives. For God gave us His own Son, Jesus Christ, that we may experience a love unknown in our world. So, Christ displayed that love by going to the cross. He poured out all of himself into his relationship with you, never expecting anything in return. “We love because He first loved us,” (1 John 4:19). For God still pours all of himself into his relationship with you. He is merciful to us, forgiving us our sins, and “measuring” to us eternal life! So, by God’s love for us, may we live, love, and act differently that others may know God’s love for them!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayers:

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully grant that by Your power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Jeremiah 17:5-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-20; Luke 6:17-26

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

It would be nice if choices in life were clearer. We wouldn’t have to question whether we made the right decision or if we messed up horribly. Yet, we know that life is just filled with this “gray” in-between choices. There’s both right and wrong in all options given to us. This is why we must simply “do our best” and struggle through the gray.

However, when we read Scripture, we don’t often see this gray mindset. God always talks in black and white. It’s the clear distinctions between right and wrong that stand out for us. God, in many ways, doesn’t care about our rationale for all the evil we do, even if it was meant with the best of intentions. Vice versa, God rejoices when we do good no matter how we eventually got there.

In our Gospel lesson, we find these black and white distinctions as Jesus teaches the crowd. And we’re left here wondering, which side is for us? Jesus says things, like, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God... Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation,” Luke 6:20, 24. If I’m poor one day, but rich the next... which one is for me? Or what about these words, “Blessed are you who are hungry now... woe to you who are full now,” Luke 6:21, 25. I was hungry yesterday, but I’m full today. So, do I receive woes or blessings? It’s not very clear, is it?

In these beatitudes, we begin to see a description of the Christian life. Blessings are for the poor (v.20), the hungry (v.21), those who weep (v.21b), and those who are hated for Jesus’ sake (v.22). All of these point us to a reality that extends beyond material blessings to eternal blessings. That is, woes are for those who look only for the good things in this life. Woe to the rich, the full, the happy, and famous. For we see that a Christian doesn’t stop being a Christian if they aren’t poor, or hungry, or always weeping. On the contrary, a Christian is one who knows in these situations that they have a reward far greater than any material blessing.

What moves us then from woes to blessings? Is it not Christ? Indeed, woe to us who are sinners, who rely on our flesh, our wealth, and the blessings of this life as our god. But blessed are sinners who turn to Christ and are forgiven their sins! We find that all the woes that Jesus pronounces here are meant to drive us away from ourselves and to Jesus, to put our trust and faith in him! “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord,” Jeremiah 17:7. Jesus takes our “woes” upon himself. Jesus goes to the cross so that all the woes he speaks to us may turn into blessings. For by the cross, Jesus shows us that life isn’t about material blessings, but about the riches and mercy and grace of God given for all eternity! So, let us look beyond our present afflictions or blessings that we may trust in Christ for the blessings that are eternal! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O Lord, graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequence of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 14:12b-20; Luke 5:1-11

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I’ve never been big into fishing. I tried it a couple of times and I never had much success. I don’t even remember if I ever caught a fish. One thing I did catch was a wooden pole of a dock! Needless to say, if I was trying to make a living off of fishing, I would be in big trouble. But even more than that, fishing is a game of waiting, patience, and being in the right place at the right time.

Now, fishing can be done in a number of different ways. The old way of fishing is by net and hoping for a large gathering of fish. This is how the disciples would have fished, those who were fishermen by trade. They knew all the secrets, the perfect times, the proper techniques to optimize their chances of a good catch.

However, in our Gospel lesson this week, we hear that the disciples are having trouble catching anything. Peter, James, John, and any of their other companions had been fishing all evening and caught nothing. Then Jesus arrives with a crowd. He takes the chance to utilize their boats to teach the massive crowd. “And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets,” Luke 5:4-5. Even after catching nothing all night, Jesus tells them to try one more time.

Many people become competitive in their work and life. We all want to be better than the next person. But that’s hard to claim when we don’t have any success. I can only imagine that the disciples are confused at Jesus’ request. “We’ve already tried there” or “What good will trying again do?” However, they’re surprised by the result. Not only do they get a catch, it’s so large that it causes the boats to start sinking! This is when Peter has an interesting response, “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord,” Luke 5:8. Peter’s sin and insufficiencies come into center view because it stands in stark contrast to the perfection just displayed by Jesus.

When we’re confronted by the perfect standard of God, we too must fall down at Jesus’ feet and say, “I am a sinful man, O Lord.” It is a fearful thing of the imperfect meeting the perfect. We toil regularly in life’s endeavors, like Peter, and then meet the perfect man, Jesus who makes it all seem so effortless. But Jesus puts our fears to rest with his words, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men,” Luke 5:10. By saying, “Do not be afraid,” Jesus is telling us, “Even though I am the perfect God, and you are a sinner, don’t fear. I came for you. I came to be with you here. Sin no longer divides me from you.” Jesus came to catch men. He came to catch… sinners! This is why Jesus goes to the cross to die for you and me. He casts his net over us by his cross that he may catch us, drawing us up out of sin by his forgiveness, and bring us into his kingdom!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O Lord, keep Your family the Church continually in the true faith that, relying on the hope of Your heavenly grace, we may ever be defended by Your mighty power; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen! 

Jeremiah 1:4-19; 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13; Luke 4:31-44

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I’ve never wanted to be a bother to anyone. I think the same can be said for most people. Whenever we have a problem that we face, we go through this inner dilemma about whether to ask for help or not. It’s not hard to imagine that most of us think our problems are small or insignificant compared to what we think “most people” face. Or on the other end, if we think our problems too large and difficult, we won’t ask either because we’ve given into the belief that no one is able to help us. 

As much as we do this with people, we do it even more so with God. Whether we admit it or not, I think many Christians think of God as their last resort. We try to headstrong our way through our challenges, and when that doesn’t work, we *might* ask someone else for help. And when we’ve exhausted our friends and family with asking, THEN we might finally turn to God. For it all comes down to the feeling, “I don’t want to be a bother to anyone,” even God.

We see a whole different story when we look at our Gospel lesson this week. Jesus had just preached in his hometown and been rejected by his family. After this, he goes and preaches in Capernaum where he encounters a man who is demon-possessed (Luke 4:33). After Jesus commands the demon to leave this man, the demon listens and the people are amazed. “And they were all amazed and said to one another, ‘What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” Luke 4:36. We see again the power and authority of Jesus over our world and over demons.

Sometimes, I think we hear these stories and think, “These are the lucky ones who are graced by his presence, but I’m a nobody. Jesus wouldn’t want to be bothered by me.” I imagine it almost like the red carpet. All the celebrities and big names are out of reach and we’re all stuck on the other side of the barrier. Jesus would be just like them, we think. He wouldn’t want to be bothered by someone on this side of the barrier. His job, his work is too important or holy to deal with menial challenges like ours.

It’s not that way at all, though. For after casting out the demon, Jesus goes to Simon’s (Peter) house and heals his mother-in-law of a fever (Luke 4:39). Jesus allows himself to be bothered by all those who were sick or ill in ANY way. “Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them,” Luke 4:40. Not only does Jesus heal them, but he goes so far as to touch each one. Jesus wants to be bothered by our problems. Jesus wants us to come to him with whatever afflicts us. There’s no problem too small for our Lord, nor is there a challenge so large that he can’t help us. Jesus goes to the cross to care for all our problems both big and small. He gives us salvation, forgives our sins, but also desires to hear your every word. So, take your troubles to Jesus that he may so touch you with his grace and mercy to show you just how much he cares for you!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Nehemiah 8:1-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:16-30

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

There’s nothing more endearing to us than the thought of home. It’s the one place that we know is safe, comfortable, and welcoming. Home is meant to be the place where you will be welcomed all the time with open arms. We all look forward to going home to family and friends because we know we’ll have a friendly welcome, emotional support, and (if we need) even a shoulder to cry on. Yes, home is meant to be our safe space where we can go no matter whatever we do.

But there’s a weird paradox about home also, particularly about families. Those that know us the best can be either the most supportive or the most critical. When you know someone for a long time (particularly when it’s siblings), we know all the good and bad things together. This creates such situations where we only get the extremes. We can use all the bad things as ammunition, or we can look at all the good things so as to overlook the bad. 

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus returns home to see his family and goes to preach in the synagogue “as was his custom” (Luke 4:16). Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,” Luke 4:18-19. This is the proclamation of the year of Jubilee. It was the restoration of all that people had lost. It was an incredible thing and reason for much rejoicing!

However, home and family can be a strange meeting. As he speaks before those who know him the best, he finds a not-so-warm welcome. “And they said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?” Luke 4:22. This boy that we’ve seen from birth, who does he think he is to say such a thing to us? Indeed, these people, this family who knew Jesus the best were the most blind to their own need. For Jesus fulfilled the words of Isaiah by preaching to them and to us. We’re the ones who are poor. We’re the ones who are captives and blind and oppressed.

God sent Jesus for this particular reason... “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,” Luke 4:19. Jesus was anointed at his baptism by the Spirit so that he may proclaim to all people the favor of God! This is God’s favor, to set free those who are bound to sin, to heal all those who are afflicted in body and soul, to give liberty to all those oppressed by even death! God’s favor is to give us Jesus who will go to the cross to die for us. “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself,’ Luke 4:23. So they did, with Jesus on the cross. They told him to heal himself of his wounds and come down. But it was the Lord’s favor and desire that Jesus should be crushed for us. Now, Jesus sends out others to proclaim this same message... the Lord’s favor for you. And this is God’s favor... to forgive you your sins and to grant you faith which leads to eternal life!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities and stretch forth the hand of Your majesty to heal and defend us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Everyone loves a good feast. It’s the joke that has much truth to it, “the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Put food in front of people and generally, people will have a good time. Food is like a universal language in that way. We all need to eat and it’s better to eat with others than alone. This is why celebrations are often centered around food also, particularly wedding receptions. The wedding feast is an integral part of the wedding day for most couples because it’s the couple’s time to spend with their guests.

The biggest thing, then, that ruins these feasts is a problem with the food and drink. It is hard to have a feast if there is no food or no drink. When we invite people to a feast, to a wedding reception, or other events centered around food, there is a social expectation concerning the food.

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus gets invited to a wedding feast. It was true in ancient Israel also that society had expectations for hospitality at a wedding feast. The couple was in charge of preparing the feast and making sure all the food and drink was provided. Yet, as Jesus joins the guests of this wedding, he’s told that there’s an issue. “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine,” John 2:3. No wine is a bigger issue than not having something to drink. No wine means the couple stands to be disgraced by the community. 

This is the reality of what we experience. Food and drink will eventually run out. Meals may end in disappointment. Hunger and thirst are a common experience because of this. For we may not say running out of food or wine at a feast is a big deal. Yet, it’s a sign of a larger issue. Sin has tainted our everyday experiences. It’s because of sin that food satisfies for but a moment. It’s because of sin that things go wrong. It’s because of sin that we suffer want and need... and even disgrace.

Return, though, to this special feast to which Jesus attends. It’s no small thing that Jesus’ first miracle is at a wedding. The holy union which God instituted in the garden is upheld by Jesus through his attendance. And Jesus doesn’t stop there. Even though he was just an attendee, he answers the request of his mother to provide for such a feast. Imagine the servants as they follow Jesus’ command and then hear from the master of the feast, “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,” John 2:10. By this miracle, Jesus offers a blessing over the holy union. But this also was a “sign” as John tells us. For this too points us to a greater reality. Jesus would host his own feast, one where food would be in abundance, and wine would never run dry. Yet, this feast demands a sacrifice... and it’s Jesus. Jesus who offers up himself on the cross to provide the meal. Jesus who sets the table before us with his own body and blood. Jesus who feeds us the food that shall satisfy both body and soul unto eternity!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayers:

Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Isaiah 43:1-7; Romans 6:1-11; Luke 3:15-22

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Many people will act differently with different groups of people. For instance, we tend to have a different persona for when we are at work versus when we are at home. We act differently among friends than we do at church. Many of us, I would assume, do this because we all have a desire or urge to be accepted as part of a group. There’s nothing wrong with this as it’s natural that we relate to different people in a different way. 

However, sometimes we worry that with having so many different personas, that we’re not being truly authentic to ourselves. When who we are is dependent on who we are with, we can often face imposter syndrome. This happens when we worry about being “discovered” or “found out” as a fake or fraud. Our identity is bound up in fulfilling a set of expectations for a group of people.

As Christians, I think we can sometimes suffer from this same imposter syndrome. The world thinks of us as holy, perfect people when we know that we’re not. We often try to uphold this persona even when we know that we’ll never match it. Rather, we’re imposters. Sinful people claiming to be holy. 

But our Gospel lesson for this week shows us a different picture. Jesus comes to John to be baptized. While all the other gospels offer more words for such event, Luke remains brief. “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened…” Luke 3:21. Jesus’ baptism isn’t given many more words than “Jesus was baptized.” You see, in a way, Jesus was the true “imposter.” He came to be someone that he never was. John baptized people for repentance of their sins. But Jesus also was baptized. Why?

As Jesus comes to be baptized, it’s far more than a ceremonial event. It begins his ministry, yet, it’s much more than just the start of something new. Jesus is baptized so that he may become like us. “God made him to be sin who knew no sin.” Jesus is the true imposter… and that’s a good thing! In his baptism, Jesus partakes of our sins, becomes even the sin-bearer who will cleanse the people of their sins. Jesus becomes our imposter so that he may take our sins and death upon the cross. But there’s yet more. For once Jesus is baptized, the heavens are opened and God’s voice proclaims from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased,” Luke 3:22. Because of Jesus’ baptism, because he was made to be like us, God now makes us to be like him through baptism. When we are baptized, the heavens are opened and God speaks the same words over you, “You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased!” Thus, we say, when you have doubts, when you feel like an imposter, look to your baptism and hear again God’s word over you. You are a beloved child of God!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!