Sermon for Epiphany 4

A sermon preached at Trinity-Mount Rainier on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, January 30, 2022.

The Battle Engaged
Luke 4:31-44
(Other Readings Appointed: Jeremiah 1:4-10; 1 Corinthians 12:31b—13:13)

In today’s Gospel, our Lord Jesus reveals Himself to us in what seems to be a most dramatic way.  While in the Synagogue at the town of Capernaum, Jesus again spends a Sabbath day teaching those who would hear Him.  They seemed to be impressed with His teaching through the words He spoke to them, noting that what He said to them “possessed authority”, sensing a power in them, perhaps thinking them to be spoken with authorization from God Himself like one of the prophets of old.

Yet, it was what Jesus did next which made the people “stand up and take notice”.  Sitting among the people in the Synagogue that day was a man whom we are told “had the spirit of an unclean demon”.  What we do not know is whether or not the other people in the Synagogue knew this about this man.  Yet, we are told that this demon who dwelled within this man recognized Jesus for who He was: “the Holy One of God”.  It is interesting to think that it was a demon who was willing to recognize Jesus immediately while others around still were trying to figure out who or what Jesus was.

Read Full Post »

Sermon for Epiphany 3

A sermon preached at Trinity-Mount Rainier on the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, January 23, 2022.

Gathered, Hearing, Praising
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
(Other Readings Appointed: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:16-30)

In these Sundays of the time after the Epiphany, the Gospels we hear help to point us towards seeing the continuing manifestation of our Lord Jesus as the Son of God and the promised Savior of the world sent by God.  Today’s Gospel shows us this as Jesus “comes home” to Nazareth, and in the midst of the worshiping Synagogue community makes the bold declaration that He is indeed the One come to fulfill the words of Isaiah which generations of Israelites had clung to as speaking of the Lord’s Servant, the Messiah.  This passage from Luke’s Gospel is a wonderful text which shows us Jesus inaugurating His public ministry of teaching, preaching, and working wonders, clearly revealing that God’s Promised One had indeed come.

Looking back on my preaching on this Sunday of the Church Year, I discovered that I have often chosen to preach on this Gospel text, and I believe not without good reason.  Yet, looking at the readings appointed for today, I seemed to be drawn to the Old Testament Reading from the book of Nehemiah.  One reason for this was that this is the only time that we hear from this book, and so why neglect a text which is only heard once every three years?  But another reason for us to look together at these words from Nehemiah is to find in them a theme that is applicable to this Epiphany Season as well: to discover how our God, even in our own day and in our midst, makes Himself manifest to us that we might know Him as He is.

Read Full Post »

Sermon for Epiphany 2

A sermon preached at Trinity-Mount Rainier on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 16, 2022.

There’s Something Special About a Wedding
John 2:1-11
(Other Readings Appointed: Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

There is something quite special about a wedding.  One can get excited about the planning and the details of it all.  There’s the frantic worry about getting everything “just right”.  Then there’s the drama about who’s going to be there and who’s wearing what.  And then there’s the general excitement over how this is going to be such a great reason to have a party.

Of course, in the midst of all the excitement that weddings have seemed to become, we at least still remember the reason that we gather for these events.  We come to weddings not because of the people we’ll see, or all the trappings that we admire, or even for the “free party”.  What we come for is to see the starting point of a new life begun for a man and a woman as they enter into the wonderful union of being husband and wife.

Read Full Post »

Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord

A sermon preached at Trinity-Mount Rainier on the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, the First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 9, 2022

The Heavens Were Opened
Luke 3:15-22
(Other Readings Appointed: Isaiah 43:1-7; Romans 6:1-11)

The Feast of our Lord’s Epiphany, as well as the season which follows it, is all about the manifestation or revealing of this Jesus, born of Mary, to be both the Christ, the Messiah promised by God to be sent to the people of Israel, and as the One also sent by God to be the Savior and Redeemer of the whole world.  In our celebration of the Christmas festivals, we saw this revelation played out as we heard the angel’s announcement to the shepherds of the Savior born in Bethlehem being identified as the promised Messiah and Lord; as well as God’s use of a star to lead Gentile Magi to have a faith which led them to find and worship a “newborn King of the Jews”, and to acknowledge Him by their gifts as their God.  Through both of these events, we come to see clearly the purpose for this Jesus’ coming into the world—so that all people of every land and nation might have by faith in Him their Lord and their Savior.

Entering then into this Epiphany Season, this manifestation of Jesus as Savior of the world continues to unfold through the accounts of the Gospels we will hear together over the next several weeks.  Each year, the Epiphany Season begins with the event of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.  In each of the Gospels, it is this moment which marks the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry, and which gives us the same picture as those who witnessed this event that this Jesus was truly the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, whom God sent to be His Servant to save the humanity He had created from their sin.

Read Full Post »

Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord

A sermon preached at Trinity-Mount Rainier on the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord (Observed), January 2, 2022.

The Guiding Light
Readings Appointed
(Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12)

“O Star of Wonder, Star of Night, Star with royal beauty bright, Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect light.”  So sings one of our famous carols for Christmas and Epiphany.  Its words capture the image of what we heard in the Gospel for today’s Feast: that the Magi from the east, inspired by the discovery of a star which pointed to the birth of a new King in Israel, followed that “star wherever it went” until they came face to face with the Child Jesus and worshiped Him with their gifts fit for a Prophet, Priest, and King.

The whole account is indeed fascinating because of the miraculous nature of it all.  And at the same time it does bring up questions for us as we seem amazed that these Magi would stop their lives in their home countries and drop everything to go “star chasing” all on the hope that their belief of what they saw in this star was correct.  The Magi’s actions call on us to ask ourselves about what guides and leads us, and are we also willing to step away from everything to follow where we are being led?

Read Full Post »