Worship

Services are cancelled for February 11 due to the inclement weather conditions.

Matthew 2:11 “And going into the house, [the wise men] saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.”

“Wise men from the east” Matthew tells us, “wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”’ What a thing this was. What was going through Herod’s mind (before the murderous jealousy crept in)? How do ‘wise men’ from the east know to come here and to worship a king? A star, that’s not much to go on. What was going through the heads of the wise men? Do you think
there was more than three to start off with but only three actually thought they should come? Was there a whole astronomy group who regularly got together and were amazed to find this star but only one of them was like, “Hey, this star is signifying the birth of the king of the Jews so we should travel down there to give him gifts.” Did the other wise men look at each other and say, “Balthasar you’re crazy. We’re not traveling all that way to give gifts to a baby because you think this new star signifies his birth.” But then Melchior says, “You know I have some things to get from Tyre. Maybe on our way back we can swing by and get them. Sure I’ll go.” And of course if Melchior is going, then Casper is going to go too, because they are best buds. And so you have three wise men setting out to find a child guided by a star.

We don’t know how it happened because we are not told, but it almost certainly did not happen the way I just described. (Please don’t make that movie.) In the context of the other events surrounding Jesus’ birth, it would almost be normal for an angel to have appeared to them in a dream to tell them to go and worship the new born king. Jesus’ birth was a one-time deal. It is not something that will ever happen again in the history
of the world. Perhaps God let the wise men know about it so that they could be a part of this event too. Because Jesus, king of the Jews, did not come to save just Jews but all people, even wise men from the east (and you and I here in the west).

Epiphany is about Jesus being made known to the nations, to all people, not just a specific people, the Jews. For the vast majority of you who are reading this, that means that without Epiphany you don’t get a Savior. Christmas on its own is the story of a Savior come to save His people, one small nation. But Christmas followed by Epiphany is the story of a Savior come to the nations, a Savior who has come to you, whoever you are. Merry Christmas and happy Epiphany!

~Pastor Mehl

Christmas creep is such that we have been seeing Christmas things in stores for some time now. I was looking for something in Lowes back in early October and while I expected to see Halloween things I was a bit surprised to see the Christmas trees right behind them. At this point I’m not sure there is much use in telling you but, in case you didn’t know it, Christmas will be coming soon. In the Church we have our own way of preparing for Christmas and that is the season of Advent. Advent is a time to look forward to Christ coming to earth. It is a time to look backward and remember that God’s people of old waited for a long time and trusted in a lot of promises of a Savior before He was   actually born. And Advent is a time to look at ourselves right now and consider how our Savior’s return effects our lives in this moment.

This Advent and Christmas we will be looking at the miracle of Christ’s birth with the theme of “Savior of the Nations”. The first thing that comes to mind for many is the familiar Advent hymn Savior of the Nations, Come. We  will use this hymn (and others) this season as we consider how Our Lord was born to save not only you and me but all  people. The hymn beautifully focuses on the two natures of Christ and the full revelation of God in the person of Jesus.

Not by human flesh and blood,

By the Spirit of our God,

Was the Word of God made flesh—

Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh. (LSB 332)

The flesh and blood of the God-man brings our salvation. God has become one of us. He has been eternally joined to the stuff of Mary’s womb so that He might be present for us. And this not of man, but a gift of God, a work of the Spirit. The mystery of the incarnation causes all of us to ponder anew the sacrificial love of God. To be fully one of us, to share with us in all things, to know no sin, and yet to become sin for us, that is the stuff that causes all creation to fall at His feet and worship. There is no greater love of God than the work of Jesus Christ in rescuing falling creation.

Have a blessed Advent as we prepare for our Lord’s coming and a blessed Christmas as we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the Nations.

– Pastor Mehl

Reformation Day is October 31. It is October 31 because that is the day before November 1. November 1 is All Saints’ Day. The Reformation is really an entire movement that spanned many years and manifested itself in many different ways. With things like this it is not always easy to pin down a start date. October 31 was chosen because that is the day that Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg.

Now why would he do a thing like that? At that time, the church door was like a bulletin board so plenty of people nailed things to it (think yard sale, lost pet, babysitting fliers, etc.). A lot of people went to church there at that time and since there were not denominations as we have them today, everyone went to the same church. If you wanted people to see your flyer, then you would have to post it in a place people would see it. The church door fit that bill. So, Luther posts his 95 topics for discussion to the church door and since it becomes very hard to take this public act back once you have done it, this is the accepted start of the Reformation.

October 31 was chosen because it would have provided one of the largest audiences of the year for flyers posted to the church door. Again, because All Saints’ Day was the following morning. This means that the importance of All Saints’ Day to the church of Luther’s day is the reason that the Reformation began on the day that it did. Many modern Christians might raise an eyebrow at this because All Saints’ Day is not nearly as prominent as, say, Christmas or Easter. Why not? Why do we not think All Saints’ Day is a bigger deal? Good question.

First of all, it must be said that Roman Catholics have a different view of “Saints” than nearly all other Christians. Yet, when most people think of Saints they think of them in Roman Catholic terms. We call to mind people who have done especially good things in their lives and are now worthy of having their likeness affixed to a candle available for purchase from Spanish speaking grocery merchants and Catholic gift shops. This view of saints deliberately sets them apart as a thing that only the very pious may become and therefore, very few. Most of us do not think of ourselves as worthy of being put on the outside of a candle.

If we turn our eye to God’s Word what do we find? Paul in the beginning of his letter to the Romans says, “To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints”. It seems that Paul is calling all the Christians in Rome Saints. Either that or Romans was written to only a select few people there. This would also be the case with many of Paul’s other letters i.e. 1 & 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.

So how are we to understand what is and is not a saint? Let’s take Paul’s view and view all Christians as Saints. That would include you and me. But especially on All Saints’ Day we remember those Saints who no longer struggle with sin, those who have died and are now with their Lord. So for us, All Saints’ Day can, and perhaps should, be a special day for us as we remember our family and friends who believed as we do that Jesus is Lord and have passed away. For them, however, life is much easier and much better. So much so that we look forward to joining them. Happy All Saints’ Day this November 1.  ~ Pastor Mehl