Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I’ve never lived anywhere where there wasn’t light pollution. I’ve never really travelled either to gaze up at the stars though I’ve heard of many who have and say it’s an incredible experience. Now, we know that before the invention of the lightbulb, people regularly gazed at the night sky. Seafarers used the night sky to navigate, so too did those who traveled by land. 

While we may no longer use the stars for navigation, we understand their benefit to us. We count on our star, the sun, to give us light and warmth. The stars light up the night sky also. Without the stars and the moon, we wouldn’t be able to see at night. Rather, the darkness of the night would overwhelm us. 

This week, we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. This is when the wise men travelled from afar, guided by a star. They come to Jerusalem and say, “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,” Matthew 2:2. The Magi, or wise men, were nobles of another country. They were likely also astronomers, paying attention to the stars in the night sky. Many believed that the stars offered special messages that needed to be heard. 

Consider the picture of Epiphany. All the world is shrouded in the darkness of night. And this darkness is a symbol of the darkness within each one of us who by sin have shrouded our eyes from the light of God. Like Herod, we look only to our own interests and holding onto our own power. In darkness, we become blind to the needs and cares of our neighbors. 

Into this darkness though, a new light has shown. A star has revealed a light that shines into the deepest darkness. This is what the wise men found. A star revealed to them that a new king had been born. Jesus was the one born King of the Jews. But he wasn’t born for only Jews, otherwise these Gentile wise men never would have come. “And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh,” Matthew 2:11. The revelation of Epiphany is that Jesus is born, not just for Israel, but as King of the world! He’s the one who heaven declares by a star to be Lord over all. For Jesus comes to reign over his kingdom by the light of his glory. And this glory isn’t the glory of kings, but the glory of the cross! Jesus would show his true kingship by offering up his life for the life of the world so that his kingdom may come to us! Thus, as Jew and Gentile alike, let us come before him, offering our gifts at his feet, and worship the one born as our King!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O God, by the leading of a star You made known Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles. Lead us, who know You by faith, to enjoy in heaven the fullness of Your divine presence; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Micah 5:2-5a; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

It doesn’t matter how far advanced our technology becomes. Nothing will ever replace the gold standard of being able to talk with someone face to face. Don’t get me wrong, being able to pick up the phone and call anyone at anytime is helpful. Yet, there’s always something missing when we do. And don’t get me started at how much social media has created a vacuum of true friendships. When we gut relationships of the bonds that hold them together, all we have is a glass house, cracked and waiting to fall.

In the church, we often call this phenomenon the “ministry of presence”. Simply sitting in a room with someone can offer more consolation than words may ever give. Being present with someone who is hurting speaks volumes to one’s willingness to help and their care. Instead of just relying on these alternative communication methods, we take the time to go and be with someone, face to face. 

In this last week of Advent, this is the great message we have to proclaim. Our Lord comes! Jesus comes to be with us, face to face. As we read about Mary going to visit her relative, Elizabeth, our Lord’s ministry of presence can already be felt. “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb,” Luke 1:41. The child in Elizabeth’s womb is the first to react to our Lord’s presence. Our Lord has already become incarnate in the womb of Mary and this makes John leap for joy!

All Advent is about this moment. It’s about our Lord being our Immanuel, God with us. Jesus comes to minister to us with his presence because we struggle with the weight of sin in this world. We’re the ones who are hurting and needing comfort. We’re the ones suffering the evil that befalls us. No long-distance relationship will do now. This is why we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Come and help us. Come and be with us that you may lift the weight off our shoulders by your gracious visitation.

Nothing can compare with talking to someone face to face. This is why Mary goes to visit Elizabeth. Even as Elizabeth says, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Luke 1:42-43. Elizabeth recognizes, through the child in her womb, that Mary’s child is the Lord. She recognizes this amazing fact that the Lord has come. He’s come to be with us, to grant us grace and mercy to strengthen us. Even as we celebrate this Christmas, our Lord takes upon himself our flesh to join us in this perilous journey. Yet, by his grace and mercy, our Lord comes to lift the weight of our sins from us by going to the cross. By Jesus’ birth, he ministers to us with his presence. By his death, he frees us from sin and death. And by his coming again, he promises to be our Immanuel both now and forevermore!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Zephaniah 3:14-20; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 7:18-28

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We all have expectations for how we think people should act. It’s not just normal everyday behavior, but expectations for those who take on very specific roles. For example, we expect firefighters to be fit and strong in order to put out fires and rescue people. We expect teachers to be kind and caring for the nurturing of children. We expect pastors to be honest and upright to fulfill the role given to them. Because of the nature of certain roles, we expect certain types of people to fill them.

However, people don’t always live up to our expectations. This isn’t always a bad thing. Perhaps, our expectations are unrealistic or completely misguided. Or maybe certain people have found a different way to accomplish the same task. Or there’s those cases where indeed, someone isn’t fit for the role they’re given and it causes a scandal. Scandals often happen when expectations and reality don’t match. 

In our Gospel lesson, John the Baptist has been imprisoned by Herod. He had been preaching for so long about the coming Messiah and even gets the opportunity to point people to him directly. But now, all the expectations he had for Jesus aren’t matching up with Jesus’ ministry... and he begins to doubt. “And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Luke 7:19. All Israel expected the Messiah to come in power and might. They expected Jesus to come with an army to set them free. However, Jesus isn’t doing that. So, they’re left wondering, is Jesus truly the promised Messiah, or have we been fooled again?

What do we expect from Jesus and God? It’s no secret that many people are offended by the Church and the teachings of Jesus. Many are offended that the church says marriage is between one man and one woman. Many are offended that we say babies shouldn’t be killed in the womb. Many are offended when we say that Jesus is the only way to heaven. No, we shouldn’t expect that God will give us a million dollars. We shouldn’t expect that God will empty our life of all pain and suffering now. We shouldn’t expect that Jesus will only say those things that we agree with. This is why Jesus says, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me,” Luke 7:23. 

But this is what we call the very scandal of the Gospel. Everyone expected a savior to be a military leader. They all expected triumph to look like a heavy-weight boxing match and the victor to be standing tall over his fallen opponent. People still expect that God will work through strength, wealth, and power to bring his kingdom into our world. Yet, the scandal is that he doesn’t. Rather, God chose to send Jesus in the weakness of the flesh. God sends Jesus to be born as a little babe. God sends Jesus to win the victory, not by slaying his opponent, but by dying on the cross. Jesus is the messiah who scandalizes us because he comes not with power and might, but in weakness and lowly ways. Let us then not be scandalized when God doesn’t heal us, but rather uses our weakness, illnesses, and lowliness to glorify his name! Blessed is the one who isn’t scandalized by Jesus, but sees in the weakness of the cross, the true victory over Satan, death, and the grave!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Malachi 3:1-7b; Philippians 1:2-11; Luke 3:1-20

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

How do you prepare... for company to visit? For a trip or vacation? For a test? Perhaps, you are one that waits until the last minute and then tosses everything together. Or maybe you like to methodically lay everything out, write a plan down, and start it weeks in advance. We learn from life that there’s a certain level of preparation needed for most things. We don’t (often) walk into a classroom on test day without having studied. We don’t wait until it’s time to leave to pack a suitcase for a trip. Many other things too take preparation.

In this season of Advent, we focus on our preparation for Christmas. We prepare for family to visit, getting what food we need for meals, making sure everyone has a bed to sleep on, and so on. But that’s not the only preparation we need. Advent teaches us that we must prepare to greet our newborn king. We must be prepared to celebrate Christmas rightly. 

This week, we hear about John the Baptist as he seeks to prepare the way. “Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me,” Malachi 3:1. John is charged with preparing the people for Jesus to come. What we often find confusing is how John prepares the people. “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Luke 3:7. John has some choice words for the people. But it’s all for the sake of preparing them.

The preparation which God desires is repentance. It was what John preached, a baptism of repentance. Sin must be addressed before the good news may come. God had to remove the roadblocks and barriers to his word before it may be spoken in its sweetness. Or like Malachi says, God must purify us like silver and gold. He must first remove the impurities from our lives. For so we must have those uncomfortable conversations. We must address sin lest it keep us from entering the kingdom of God. Thus, we’re called to repent and change our ways so we may be prepared to greet our Lord aright.

John warns us that God’s wrath is imminent. It’s coming upon all sin and unrighteousness. “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees,” Luke 3:9. God was getting ready to punish sins. He was getting ready to swing his axe at the tree... only to make the cross. God sent John to prepare people to repent, to place their sins upon Jesus so that God might bear his full wrath, not against you, but against his own Son. Jesus bore the full weight of our sin, the full wrath of God by dying on the cross. By Jesus death, God purifies us from all sin. He cleanses us of all unrighteousness. He forgives us our sins so that we might hear the full sweetness of the Gospel, that Jesus’ death has paid the price for all of your sins and that you are now holy in the sight of God!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 19:28-40

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

There’s no one with a better memory than a child who was just promised a treat or extra play time. The child will cling to that promise as long as they need and will remind you until they get it. Of course, as we all know, sometimes we make promises that we just can’t keep. We regularly break our promises for both good and bad reasons. The hurt and harm of a broken promise will become evident with a child through tears, sadness, and possibly anger.

Think about, then, all the promises that God has made. This is just another reason why we regularly say to have faith “like a child.” We’re supposed to cling to it, hold onto it, and let that promise motivate us until it’s received. For consider what Jeremiah writes, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” Jeremiah 33:14. Unlike us, God doesn’t break his promises. He doesn’t ever go back on his words to us. He fulfills them all in their proper time.

So, let us also consider our Gospel lesson. As we enter the beginning of a new church year, we read again of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This event is so important because it is God finally fulfilling his promise. “In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land,” Jeremiah 33:15. Jesus riding into Jerusalem is the symbol of Jesus coming to be their king. Jesus is the righteous branch from David. Thus, the people cheer, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Luke 19:38. Jesus is coming to be the king that God had long promised. 

This is the foundation for our faith. The past promises of God which Jesus fulfilled should give us hope and motivate us to trust in the future promises of God. In Advent, we focus on the “advents” (coming) of Christ. Just as Jesus came in the manger as long promised and foretold, he will also come again at the last day as he has promised us. Don’t let time keep you from believing in God's promise. Indeed, we must be prepared to greet our coming king. 

As we hear again of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, let us also remember his coming in the manger. Jesus left his throne on high to come to us as God had long promised. Jesus comes with justice and righteousness to be the king long foretold. He comes to reign over you in his holy kingdom. But Jesus didn’t come to sit on some earthly throne. He came to take up the cross. That is Jesus’ throne. It’s what he came for and also why he will come again. God promised that Jesus would heal us and forgive us of our sins and even give us a new heart that we may worship him in holiness and purity forever. Indeed, by Jesus’ death on the cross, he does all this and much more. For so, let us now cling to these promises of God, knowing that he will fulfill them for us when Christ comes to us on the last day! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Isaiah 51:4-6; Jude 20-25; Mark 13:24-37

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I hate buying new things just to see them wear out quickly. It’s always my biggest regret to buy something and then see it become trash within a week, month, or even year in certain cases. It just seems like wasted money, especially when it’s something you need like a backpack for school, a winter coat, or a computer. 

It feels like a law of nature that nothing lasts forever. We get used to the fact that anything we buy is momentary. It’s just a matter of how momentary it is. And of course, it’s not just things that are temporary. It’s friends, jobs, happiness, sadness, and even life itself. We suffer the reality of decay and deterioration, the ups and downs of watching new things eventually disappear. Nothing ever lasts forever. 

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus continues to tell us about the decay and destruction of the world as we know it. Yes, even our world will come to an end. “In those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken,” Mark 13:24-25. When Jesus comes, there’s much terror about all that will happen as our world decays to nothing. However, amidst all the decay and destruction, there’s one thing that will stay: God’s word. Every promise, every word our Lord has spoken, every command of God shall hold true.

This is the astonishing thing about what we value. All these things that we know won’t last, that we know will wear out, we protect as our greatest treasure. We place such importance at times on what we wear, what type of phone we have, having the latest gadgets, the nicest house, and so on. We do all this, knowing that these things will fail us and wear out. And yet, God’s word that is eternal, we treat as if it’s worthless. We treat God’s enduring word like another piece of candy on Halloween or an extra present under the Christmas tree.

Seek, then, after that which endures. Seek after God’s word which holds true even when all else fades away. For this is our faith which grants us confidence to face every challenge that awaits us, even the end of the world. Thus, Jesus says, “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come,” Mark 13:33. Jesus calls us to treasure his word above all else because his Word to us is light and life! This is the word of God, that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. From the cross, God has spoken to us forgiveness, life, and salvation. No amount of time, decay, or even the forces of Satan shall empty the cross of its power, nor God’s word of its strength. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away,” Mark 13:31. Jesus Christ stands at the gates of paradise with the same enduring word of the cross, that you are redeemed by His death and granted entrance into eternity! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, so govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that, ever mindful of Your glorious return, we may persevere in both faith and holiness of living; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-13

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

“If only God would give me a sign!” I hear this so often whenever it comes to those big decisions in life. We all would like to have a little direction from God every now and then. We just want to know that we’re not messing everything up and also are following God’s path. Of course, we know it’s not that easy. God doesn’t give us a neon sign telling us “This way!”. Hence, we’re left to our own reason and decisions.

No matter how much we wish God would speak from heaven to us, or show us what path we should take, there’s another issue that we must beware of lest we fall away. Just as God seeks to lead us and guide us, so too does Satan use signs and wonders to get us to fall away. We can’t count on any old sign to be God’s guiding hand.

In our Gospel lesson, the disciples are seeking a sign from Jesus as he talks about the end. They want Jesus to give them directions so they know when the end will come. “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” Mark 13:4. A sign would be wonderful, right? Give us a warning or show us what we’re supposed to do. But instead, this is what Jesus answers, “See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet,” Mark 13:5-7. Don’t be led astray! Thanks, Jesus. That’s so helpful. Not really.

Just consider it for a minute though. Don’t be led astray. As much as we want a sign, maybe a sign isn’t really what we’re looking for. When we beg God for a sign or are so desperate that we’re willing to listen to the first whispers of divine intervention, we’re really asking for trouble. Jesus does give us “signs” to watch out for, but these aren’t as clear as we might wish. That’s the point. We shouldn’t be watching out for signs. We should be watching for Jesus. So, don’t be led astray. We need not beg God for a sign when he already gives us Jesus.

When we consider the signs which Jesus gives us here, we realize that Jesus is describing practically everyday life. Jesus could return at any time because we already have wars and rumors of wars. There are earthquakes and famines. There are many false “Christs”. The “end of days” is here now! So, do not be led astray. Rather, we should look back to Jesus. We should see Jesus crucified for us. We should see the one and only sign that we need from God, the cross of Christ. By Jesus’ death and resurrection, we already know that our end has come. The end of our sins by God’s forgiveness. The end of our suffering through God’s salvation. The end of Satan by Christ’s resurrection. And the end of death by the resurrection of the dead and the promise of life to come! For so Jesus says, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved,” Mark 13:13. Don’t be led astray, but look to Jesus who gives us the strength to endure all things that we may see our eternal salvation!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O Lord, by Your bountiful goodness release us from the bonds of our sins, which by reason of our weakness we have brought upon ourselves, that we may stand firm until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!