Corinth’s Sacrificial Lamb

A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 and John 1:29-42a for the Second Sunday of Epiphany, Series A, 2020

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Church in Corinth was an absolute mess. There were factions pitted against each other. Some who were rich were turning the Lord’s supper into a potluck, where they got drunk on the wine, leaving the poor with none. Some were showing how holy they were by engaging in the grossest immoralities, sinning up a storm so God’s forgiveness would abound. And poor Apollos, a new believer himself, had been trying to wrangle them all together into one faith. Only he only managed to further divide them by insisting that if you were really a believer, then you’d have some sort of spiritual power that you could show off to everyone else. After all, that’s what Paul had given to him, so he thought. And so the divisions were rampant.

Things got so bad that Apollos had to leave. Whether it was that he got burned out, or Paul sent him elsewhere for his own health, we don’t know. But without Apollos trying to bring everyone together, things were really getting out of hand. Corinth was a broken church. If they were around today, they would be known as THAT church. The one that has a bad name in the community. The one whose members keep making the news for all the wrong reasons. The one everyone talks about, but would never go to. And with things like that, we would suspect them of being ready to close their doors for good. 

Yet look at how Paul opens his first letter to the Corinthians. “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Even though they’re divided. Even though they’re engaged in sin. Even though Apollos had mixed up what Paul had taught him. They were still the Church of God in Corinth. They were still sanctified in Christ Jesus. They were still saints together with everyone who called on the name of Jesus Christ. Why? Paul tells us why. “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end….” 

It wasn’t the wealth of the few that sustained them. It wasn’t how bold they were. It wasn’t how spiritually gifted they were with tongues or signs. It was solely because of the gift of Christ. It was speech, and knowledge, and testimony—namely the Word of God. The Word that proclaimed to them the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection on their behalf. Because they had that, they were not lacking in any gift. They had everything they needed. In this way, Paul echoed the words of John the Baptist in our Gospel lesson. He simply told them, in so many words, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” 

When John saw Jesus after Jesus’ baptism, He pointed Him out, and told his own disciples, who then followed after Jesus. They asked where Jesus was staying, and Jesus replied, “Come and see.” It’s not as though Jesus was at a fancy hotel. Or had all the right people at the place He stayed. And it wasn’t because these two disciples were sufficiently bold, or spiritually gifted in all the right ways. It’s that John told them who Jesus is. And Jesus does far more than anything we could do ourselves. 

It’s not that we need to make things simple, and just focus on Jesus. That attitude again comes back to our effort. Rather the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is so big, that trying to add anything to it only takes away from Who He is, and what He has done for us. Jesus’ sacrifice pays for all sin. Whether little or big. Whether because you’re rich or poor. Whether if you look spiritually gifted or not. Whether you can justify that sin it or not. Jesus covers it all with His blood. Because Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb, slaughtered before the altar. He is the spotless Lamb who dies on our behalf, as our offering. He is the passover Lamb that covers our doorposts so death does not take us away. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Anything we would try to add to that only takes away from Him.

That’s why Paul writes to that broken Corinthian church what he does. We look at them and see a divided people. The worst of what sinful man does to one another. The selfish, the arrogant, the blatant, the hypocritical, the wrong. They’re all there. And it’s what every one of us has in our own hearts as well. We pride ourselves on not being one or two of those, but will justify what we are. And Jesus is our Lamb too. He takes away our sin too. Even our church dividing sins, they’re now His. Nailed to that cross. And dead forever. 

It’s not what we do. It’s not how likable we make ourselves. It’s not what programs we have that are attractive. It’s not how permissive we are. It’s not how good we make people feel being here. What makes us the Church is Jesus. What sanctifies us is Jesus. The grace of God alone, given by His Word proclaimed. His baptism washing over us. His body and blood feeding us. That is sufficient. That is big enough to cover it. And there is nothing that can be added to that to make it better.

All we can do is keep the focus on the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That’s why our liturgy has Jesus at the center. That’s why we sing the hymns we sing. That’s why we give our offerings. It’s for the sake of the Gospel. For the sake of proclaiming the good news of what Jesus has done for us all. Jesus didn’t need buildings. He didn’t need the smartest or most charismatic disciples. He didn’t need any gimmicks or programs. And He still doesn’t. That Word created the whole universe. And that same Word creates faith in those who hear. 

Paul proclaimed that Word. And it was the Word that brought the Church of Corinth back together again. Granted, they still had their struggles. The place they met didn’t last forever. But the Word of God made them His Church. And they’re still a part of it. Along with angels and arch angels, they are part of the whole company of heaven, that laud and magnify His glorious name, evermore praising Him and saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts.” they join with us today, filling out the other half of the communion rail. Because that’s the Lamb of God on that altar. And He’s taking away the sin of the world.

Let us pray. Almighty Father, You sent Your Son, the Word made flesh, to be the spotless Lamb, sacrificed for the sin of the world. Forgive our sins. Mend our divisions. make us Your Church. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

Four Thousand Years of Baptismal Liturgy

A Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17 for the First Sunday in Epiphany, 2020, Series A.

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. John the Baptist has been telling sinners to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins throughout his ministry out at the Jordan River. Back during Advent, we got to hear all about it. How this call repentance made straight the way of the Lord. How we too are in need of such forgiveness. And how it pointed to Christ Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World. The spotless sacrifice with no sin of His own, paying the price for ours with His blood. 

So imagine John’s surprise to see Jesus stepping up to be baptized. And ours as well. John’s right, he needs Jesus to baptize him. He needs Jesus to cleanse him. To forgive him. Not the other way around. Yet Jesus waives it away, saying that such baptism is necessary to fulfill all righteousness. And John understands that reason immediately. But what about us? Do we know why it was necessary for Jesus to be washed with water, even though he had nothing to be washed from? You might be surprised what you know already. 

Still, let’s look first at what we might not know. The reason John knew right away what Jesus meant was because John was the son of a priest. Zechariah, his father, even got to go into the holy place once. It was an event that left him speechless, let me tell you. But when a priest arrives for service at the temple, even service outside the holy place, it is necessary for the priest to wash. Between the bronze altar in front and the holy place behind was a bronze basin of water. And before administering the sacrifices, it was necessary that the priest wash. According to the Lord in Exodus, such washing was necessary, lest the Lord put them to death because of their sin. But with such a washing, they were then able to enter into the house of the Lord and serve Him.

If that sounds familiar, it should. The liturgy for the Lord’s priests hasn’t changed in around four thousand years. It is necessary that we’re washed with water, necessary that we are baptized in order to enter into the Lord’s house, and be part of the kingdom of priests. We too cannot stand before the Lord without this washing, without this forgiveness of sins. And that is the exact reason John was at the Jordan river. The strange part of John the Baptist’s ministry wasn’t that he was baptizing, it’s that the priesthood was much larger than the sons of Aaron the Levite. 

That connection between baptism and the Old Testament ritual is important, because the priests weren’t the only thing washed in the bronze basin. When an animal was sacrificed, it had to be spotless. No blemishes, no infirmities, nothing wrong with it at all. Otherwise, it was not worthy to be sacrificed. But when it was slaughtered, it was necessary to wash any part of it that would be burned on the altar. So the fat, the organs, they would be brought over to the same bronze basin and be washes in the same water that purified the priests. In fact, you could say that it was the blood of the spotless sacrifices that covered the sins of the priest as he worked in the house of the Lord. 

That too should sound familiar. We just read it a little bit ago. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized pinto Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? The blood of our Great Sacrifice, shed by sinless, perfect Jesus, covers all of our sin. And since nothing changed between Moses and Aaron, John the Baptist, and the liturgy today it was also necessary for Jesus to be washed in the same water as we are. Not as a priest who needs to be made holy, but as the Lamb of God who is slaughtered for the sin of the world. The liturgy hasn’t changed for a reason. 

And because it hasn’t, what happens next in our Gospel lesson it absolutely amazing. Because now the opening of heaven isn’t a one time event. The descent of the Holy Spirit isn’t a one time event. The voice of the Father speaking isn’t a one time event. This tells us what happens at every washing at that bronze basin in the Old Testament. What happens at every baptism in the Church for Jesus on forward. What happened on the day when you were baptized. 

When the blood in the water covered you, when the death of Jesus was given to you, when the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit sealed you, heaven is opened. The Holy Spirit descends on you. Gives you the faith to hold on to the all availing sacrifice of Christ body and Christ’s blood on the cross. And the Father says, “You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.” “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” 

Jesus is indeed our sacrificial Lamb. He was slaughtered on the cross to pay the price for our sin. A payment foreshadowed by lambs, and bulls, and goats. His blood has washed away our guilt, our shame. And He has made us clean. That great sacrifice we see the clearest on Good Friday. But His story, our story isn’t done there. Because there is still the third day, the day of resurrection. Because Old Testament liturgy doesn’t finish when the lamb dies. It doesn’t finish with the fat and organs burnt on the altar. The sacrifice is only finished when the priest eats the sacrifice in the presence of the Lord.

And for that to happen, the Lord has to rise from the dead. And Christ Jesus raises His priests right along side Him. He joins us as we eat. He is the one who serves. He is the one who feeds us His own body and blood. This is the feast that had its beginning in baptism. And it continues through His Supper. Washed for forgiveness. Fed for forgiveness. In the presence of the Lord through it all. The Old Testament priests are here. Jesus is here. We are here. One liturgy. One ritual. One sacrifice. One Christ. Changeless throughout all eternity. 

Now, that might be a little awkward today, since it’s not a communion Sunday. But it might be time to think about what it is Jesus gives. And He is eager to give it, as He tells the disciples in Luke’s Gospel. He built this whole liturgy to culminate in the great sacrificial meal of thanksgiving and forgiveness. He stands as both its host and its meal. There have been reasons, and good reasons, why congregations haven’t always been able to celebrate this Supper weekly. But those reasons don’t need to become tradition. 

So for the upcoming season on Lent I’d like to try having Communion each of those Sundays, and see how it goes. It’s not a requirement. It’s not a law. If your conscience is burdened, then it would be better to forego the Supper, and come back to the altar the next week. Not everyone the Old Testament church sacrificed each week either. But some did. And it was available as they needed it. Because the Lord is eager to give any and all His gifts any time you have need. So what might not be for you one week is still available to your neighbor. In the mean time, we remember our baptism. We rest in the blood of Christ in that water, and the lavish washing away of our sin. That’s the place where we can point to and say, “There’s where Jesus has saved me.”

Let us pray. Almighty Father, at the baptism of Your Son, heaven was opened, the Holy Spirit descended, and You spoke. Remind us of our own baptism into Christ where You repeated Yourself on our behalf. Keep us in the faith You delivered to us there. And bring us at last into eternal life on the day of the resurrection of all flesh. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

Mary’s Two Passovers

A sermon on Luke 2:40-52 for the Second Sunday of Christmas, series A, 2020.

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Mary had been to plenty of passovers before. The annual trip to Jerusalem. The preparations for the feasts. The telling of the Exodus account. The day of unleavened bread before the day of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The traditions had been handed down for generations. The commands of the Lord had been handed down since Moses. But this passover was different. This passover saw her worst fears realized. Where was Jesus?

She searched with the people they were with. She searched the place where they stayed. She even searched the streets. But Jesus wasn’t there. So she went to the temple. And it was there she heard. It was the most shocking thing she could imagine. She had searched for him in great distress, but this distress was even worse. Because Jesus, her Son, had been crucified. 

She quickly found one of the disciples to lead her to where her Son was. And going to Him, Jesus told her, “Woman, behold your son.” And to the disciple whom Jesus loved, He said, “Behold your mother.” And then Jesus was lost. He died that day. And all the searching in the world wouldn’t change that fact.

This wasn’t the first time that Mary had lost Jesus. We just read the account of twelve year old Jesus being lost after Passover in our Gospel lesson. It isn’t a cute story about a boy. It’s not how Jesus made life hard for His mom and adopted dad. This was necessary. Because on that day at twelve, and the day He was crucified, Jesus was in His Father’s house. Though a better translation might be ‘about His Father’s business.’ Because the both the house and the business of the Father are about sacrifice.

It was necessary for Jesus to attend the Passover. At twelve, this was the first time the boy Jesus would participate in the feast.He would hear the teachers at the temple tell the story. He would see the Lamb be sacrificed. He would receive the promise, the very promise He Himself made to this people so long ago. The divine nature did not need to receive this promise. But the human nature did. It was necessary, not for His own sake, but for ours. By receiving it as a human being, He received it for us all. 

And when that was done this twelve year old human being stayed to hear more. To receive more. To receive on behalf of Mary. To receive on behalf of Joseph. To receive on behalf of you and me. He asked the teachers to tell Him more. More of the promise. More of the Lord’s mercy. Because Jesus wasn’t just God in the form of a person, He is really one of us. And what a great mystery this is. The omniscient Lord humbled Himself to learn at our feet. Learn the very things that He taught to us. And learn them for our sake. 

And you know what He learned there over those three days? That is was the passover lamb’s blood that gave life to the people. That it was the passover lamb’s death that fed the people on their journey. And that the passover lamb was Him. There, at the temple, the passover, the daily sacrifices, and the liturgy used since Moses all came together. It taught the people what was necessary for the forgiveness of sins for all people. And it was the death of Jesus Christ. The spotless, sinless Lamb of God. Human, so that He could stand in our place. Divine, so that the price could be paid in full. One hundred percent of each. And twenty one years or so later, that’s exactly what He did.

But for Mary, Jesus going through these things was very difficult for her. Both times. The fear, the anguish, it was miserable. The angel Gabriel was right, a sword did pierce her heart also. And for three days, on two occasions, her Son was lost to her. It isn’t easy for us either. We too go through events where we want to know where Jesus is. We too want to know where to find Him, because He doesn’t seem to be where we want Him to be. But He’s right where He said He’d be. In His Father’s house. About His Father’s business. Feeding His people. Saving us from death. Forgiving our sins. Being our sacrificial Lamb. Standing in our place. Giving us His own. Because we need Him to. It is necessary for Jesus to do this for us, because we cannot save ourselves. He has already done it. 

Mary lost Jesus for three days. Twice. But on that third day, there Jesus is. Relieving our fears. Making us alive. Giving us hope. We look forward to our own upcoming “third day.” The day of the resurrection of all flesh. The day when Christ returns on the cloud, with the trumpet blast, that all people will behold. Today has its own worries. But that final tomorrow is coming. And Jesus is bringing it for you. That joyous reunion of life, won by the great sacrifice of the Lamb. On that day, death will pass over, pass away, and be no more. Because our Lord has marked you with His own blood. Fed you His own body. Washed you with His own death. And promised you His resurrection. 

Let us pray. Almighty Father, Your business, Your house has always been one where the sacrifice of Christ is delivered to your people. Give that sacrifice to us today in the supper of Your Son’s body and blood. Strengthen us for today in the forgiveness of sins, and prepare us for your tomorrow, where we will receive eternal life. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.