+ 3rd Sunday after Epiphany – January 26th, 2025 +
Series C: Nehemiah 8:1-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Luke 4:16-30
Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church
Milton, WA
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the days of Ezra and Nehemiah God’s people returned from exile in Babylon. Rebuilt the temple. Rebuilt the walls. Resumed the holy feasts of Passover and the Feast of Booths. The people were gathered for worship – for Old Testament divine service around the holy things God gave to give his people his holiness. Why did all this happen? So the people of God could hear God’s word and have his promises delivered right into their earballs.
So Ezra the priest brought the Torah before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand.
In the early days of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus heads to his hometown of Nazareth. He goes to the synagogue. The people are gather. The scroll of Isaiah – the largest of the Old Testament scroll – is handed to Jesus. He stands to read it. He rolls the scroll to just the right place and reads. Why?
Same reason as in Ezra and Nehemiah’s day. So the people of God could hear God’s word and have his promises delivered right into their earballs. Only this time something new happens. Not only do God’s people hear God’s word from Isaiah, they also hear the word of God spoken by the Word made flesh who speaks his word into the earballs of the people gathered.
The same thing happens here. Sunday after Sunday. Week in and week out. You wake up. You get in your car. You come to the Lord’s house. Sit in your favorite pew – or perhaps second favorite spot if the first one’s taken. You could spend your morning doing many other things. You could sleep in. You could kick up your feet on the couch. So…why do we gather here? Every now and then it’s good to take a moment and ask yourself…why do you go to church?
Ask a bunch of folks and you’ll probably get a bunch of answers. Fellowship. Friends. Food. A sense of community or maybe your parents made you. Maybe a friend invited you once and you’ve been coming since. These are not bad reasons…but they’re not the real reason. Not really. Why are we hear? The same reason Ezra and Nehemiah and the disciples were gathered together in the Scriptures…to hear the word of God proclaimed. As Jesus says when he quotes his prophet Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
Why are we here? So that we, the baptized people of God, can hear God’s word and have his promises delivered right into our earballs. We’re here because Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, promises to be here with us, for us, and delivers his promises to us. We’re here because faith comes not by sight, by what is appealing to our eyes and our sinful hearts and minds…but by the word of God. We’re here to hear the good news that you cannot get anywhere but the places where God promises to deliver his gifts: in his holy word, in holy baptism, in holy absolution, in holy communion.
There’s an old proverbial story that makes the same point. Someone once asked a Greek orthodox priest why they should go to church since God was everywhere. His reply was a good one: “the same reason I go to a drinking fountain when I’m thirsty. Water is everywhere in the atmosphere, but if I want to take a drink…I go to the water-fountain.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what happens in this place, in our Lord’s house, is no different.
At the baptismal font you are washed and absolved…and good news is proclaimed to you in water and word. At the lectern you hear God’s word of Law and Gospel in prophets, apostles, and gospel writers. At the pulpit, you God’s word of Law and Gospel proclaimed. At the altar you receive God’s word, Jesus’ body and blood and promise in the bread and wine.
Martin Luther put it this way in his Large Catechism: “Everything in the Christian Church is ordered toward this goal: we shall daily receive in the Church nothing but the forgiveness of sins through the Word and Signs (one of Luther’s words for the Sacraments), to comfort and encourage our consciences as long as we live here.”
Or, as Jesus says it in Luke 4: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
And what is this good news? That we who are dead in our trespasses and sins are justified freely by Christ. That we who are caught dead-to-rights by the Law are forgiven of all offenses. That we who are guilty are declared righteous. That we who deserve judgment are set free because Jesus was judged in our place. That we who were captive to sin and selfishness are liberated by the blood of Jesus. That we who are blinded by sin and overwhelmed by sorrow, shame, and sadness are given faith in the promises – our eyes are opened by the word God delivers into our earballs – and his word, those promises – he creates faith, sustains faith. That we who are oppressed by shame and guilt, who are weighed down by worries and cares and concerns big and small and everything in between, that you are given liberty and favor. And all of this happens in and through God’s word that you hear, sing, pray, and meditate upon.
Admittedly, this is not always easy is it? We probably all have Sundays – yes, pastor’s included – where we’d rather stay in bed and not leave the house. The Christian life is one of constant struggle between our old sinful flesh and our new nature baptized into Christ. That’s why some days it’s a struggle to get to church. A struggle to pay attention. A struggle to open your Bible and read. A struggle to pray. A struggle to love your neighbor, especially when they’re not always lovable. A struggle against boredom and complacency. It means repentance from all the ways our old sinful nature despises preaching and God’s Word, refuses the gifts of Christ, treats Jesus as something optional or secondary, even wants to toss Him over a cliff and be done with Him.
This is why Jesus was born. Why he went to the synagogue in his hometown on the Sabbath day. Why he opened the scroll of Isaiah. To fulfill Scripture, yes. But also to save sinners…like the ones in Nazareth. Like all of us here.
This is why Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church and Preschool exist: by God’s Word and for God’s Word. That’s our calling, our vocation. We are to be hearers Word, receivers of the Word, and then speakers of God’s Word. We’re sent to our homes and neighborhoods, our family gatherings, parks, practice, and parties. Jesus’ Word is our life as a congregation too.
This is why our life of Christian stewardship is important. It’s about more than money; it’s about supporting the work of God’s Word.
This is why our work of evangelism is important, for God’s Word is meant to be proclaimed and delivered to those who have not heard.
This is why we show mercy to others in their physical and spiritual needs, because God has shown mercy to us; and by showing mercy to others we reveal that we have heard his word.
This is why we sing, rejoice, give thanks, and praise as we gather around God’s Word together.
This is why we have Sunday School, Bible class, and preschool: to give, proclaim, and teach God’s Word of life to our children.
This is why God brings you here Sunday after Sunday. To proclaim the good news to you. To deliver his word of promise and life – you are forgiven and justified and beloved by God in the blood of Jesus.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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