Sermon Jan 5-6, 2013

Title: Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the light of the world!

Text: Matt. 2:6

6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Telemachus was a monk who lived in the 4th century. He felt God calling him to go to Rome. He was in a cloistered monastery. He put his possessions in a sack and set out for Rome. When he arrived in the city, people were thronging in the streets. He asked why all the excitement and was told that this was the day that the gladiators would be fighting and killing each other in the coliseum, the day of the games, the circus.

 He thought to himself, "Four centuries after Christ and they are still killing each other, for enjoyment?" He ran to the coliseum and heard the gladiators saying, "Hail to Ceasar, we die for Ceasar" and he thought, "this isn't right."

He jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, held up his hands and said "In the name of Christ, forbear." To hold back; refrain) The crowd protested and began to shout, "Run him through, Run him through." A gladiator came over and hit him in the stomach with the back of his sword. It sent him sprawling in the sand. He got up and ran back and again said, "In the name of Christ, forbear." The crowd continued to chant, "Run him through." One gladiator came over and plunged his sword through the little monk's stomach and he fell into the sand, which began to turn crimson with his blood. One last time he gasped out, "In the name of Christ forbear." A hush came over the 80,000 people in the coliseum. Soon a man stood and left, then another and more, and within minutes all 80,000 had emptied out of the arena. It was the last known gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome.
Source Unknown.

This weekend we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. We also will celebrate a very special day in my life and in the life of our church, (on/this) Sunday afternoon, when I am ordained and installed as pastor here at Peace.

On Epiphany we celebrate God becoming manifest or appearing in the person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord, the Good Shepherd, who came to deliver His people from their sins and the brokenness of this world and to restore them to the original righteousness that God had created them with before the fall.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the light of the world!

The story of the wise men and their traveling far to find … Him, who has been born King of the Jews, is one we have all heard from the time of our youth … and how these men followed the star to find the true light.
The story is a familiar one, but also one that may be even darker than you know. History refers to the Herod in our lesson for today as Herod the Great, largely because of his political savvy, diplomatic shrewdness and great energy that resulted in a huge building plan and grand expansion throughout Judea. Herod had secured the governorship in Galilee by the age of 25 and was later made tetrarch and was finally declared King of Judea by the Roman Senate.

Herod though was also known for his great incredible wickedness, having put to death one of his 10 wives and three of his own sons.  By such a degree of bloodthirstiness was his reign characterized that the slaughter of the innocents at Bethlehem is omitted by secular historians as an insignificant episode.1
1. Paul Kretzmann Commentary

This was who Herod was that these wise men were summoned to see in verse 7 and 8 or our Gospel lesson. Knowing what we know of Herod, I’m not sure that you or I would have felt too comfortable being called into his presence.

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

But the idea that Herod wanted to come and worship this King of the Jews may have seemed reasonable to them and the extent of his wickedness may have been foreign to these foreigners from the East who had traveled so far:

And we are also told:

12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the light of the world!

Is the light of Christ your focus? Do you follow Him with exceeding joy like the wise men that left everything to find this King of the Jews? No, you don’t and neither do I.

The cares of this life and the working of our sinful nature, compounded by the lies of the Devil, help us to take our eyes off of Jesus. The culmination of the last three years of family, church, my former job and seminary classes for me have led to this point where we stand together ready to embark on a new chapter in the life of this church. But, many things have been thrown in the way over this past year too.

My dad’s illness last winter, all the members who were hospitalized this past summer, Monica’s bone infection in her foot and now my mother-n-laws hospitalization can be distracting influences that can take our focus off of Jesus and place it on the cares of this life. But too, these distractions can be used by God to draw us back to the appearing of our God made manifest as we celebrate the joy of a God who loves you so much that he would die in your place to set you free!

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the light of the world!

The wise men:

9 After listening to the king … went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Whether there is any special significance in the gifts we don’t know. Though it has been commonly understood that Gold, was given to the King as a precious gift and also that incense was given in service to the divineness of God as a sweet fragrance in worshiping Him and finally that myrrh was given for one who was destined to die and that  it would be used to anoint the body.

There was even a medieval rhyme that has it:

“The first was gold, as most mighty King;
“The second incense, as Priest of priests being;
“The third was myrrh in token of burying."
Martin Luther's explanation is a bit simpler:

"Although they [the wise men] enter a poor house, find a poor young woman, with a poor child, and also there is an appearance so unlike a king, yet they are not troubled, but in great, strong, full faith they put everything out of their eyes and mind which our human nature with its arrogance might cause and bring into play; they simply follow the verse of the prophet and the testimony of the star and believe Him to be King, fall down, worship Him, and give presents to Him."

Even though their reason might say otherwise, they know that:

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the light of the world!

Christ has come in a form that confounds the wise of this world. God uses that which seems weak to the mind of sinful man - like the little monk in the arena of great gladiators - to overpower the strong.
God has given you the same light by the power of the Holy Spirit … but unlike the gifts that were brought to the babe in Bethlehem by the wise men this baby king gives you the gifts of His eternal kingdom that you received by faith in Christ’s once and for all sacrifice over sin, death and the power of the Devil.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the light of the world!

As I look towards my ordination and service here at Peace, as Christ’s under shepherd, I must take just a moment to thank Pastor Merrell for the faithful under shepherd that he has been to us all by God’s working in and through him here over these last 32 years. I have benefited greatly from his mentoring but more so we have all benefited from his wisdom, good council and blessing to the body of Christ here at Peace.

As one who has served in lay-leadership here for many years and will now serve as a brother Pastor … I will value your friendship more and more as the years of your retirement unfold. Well done, good and faithful servant!

 And it is with great hope that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will bless you and Nancy with a joyful and long retirement as you continue to be used by Him for His greater Kingdom.
God bless you both.

And God bless Peace Lutheran Church!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen