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Luke 1:26-38
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. We see what we think is “the impossible” and we lose it. We abandon all hope and fill the remaining cavity with despair. We see the disunity in our church or community or nation, we see the factions moving farther and farther apart, and we want to give up. We come across cultural chaos and think that there is just no way of bringing things back into order. We see death and destruction, war and rumors of war, and we want to throw up our hands and get down in our bunker. The impossible is not something that we mere mortals are capable of handling. And, of course, this is exactly right. You cannot handle the impossible. I will never heal a church or stop a war or properly order a civilization. Those things are beyond us. But they are not beyond God. “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” God sees the barren womb of Elisabeth, the impossibility of her conceiving a child in her old age, and He thinks nothing of it. The Lord opens the barren womb and Elisabeth conceives possibility. “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.” The Lord looks down on the humble estate of a virgin, a woman who has never known a man, and creates within her the utmost impossibility. The power of the Highest overshadows her so that not only does the virgin conceive and bear a son, but that son is God-in-the-flesh who will die for the sins of the world (Matthew 1:21) and rise again to bring life and immortality to light. (II Timothy 1:10) “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.” We would hear these words and think, “Impossible!” Yet, Mary believes, and sets the example for us. All things are possible for God, therefore we should believe every Word He utters. Mary believes and becomes the mother of the One who will sit on “the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Jesus Christ, born despite the impossibility, lives and reigns to do the impossible. He rules the universe to reconcile you to God, to remove your sin, to adopt you into His kingdom, to raise the dead. He is, afterall, the God “who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” (Romans 4:17) Let it be for us according to His Word.
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Luke 1:5-25
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, 9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. 21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. 23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. 24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. This birth of John brings mirth to his parents and community. “Thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.” Children are naturally a source of joy for father and mother and the people around them. This is normal and good. But have you heard of D.I.N.K.’s? Dual-Income-No-Kids? DINKs are people who have a “partner”, someone they are living with in an intimate relationship, sometimes married, but sometimes not. And they are particularly proud of the fact that they have no children. Having no kids enables them to live a life of “freedom”, financial and otherwise. Their lives, however, are deprived of a source of delight that no amount of money or freedom can make up for. By depriving themselves of children, they deprive themselves of great joy. And for what? Money? Vacations? That is too high a cost. DINKs, or at least intentional DINKs, are dumb. (Certainly, there are those among us who are in the same place as Zecharias and Elisabeth in Luke 1, who have not been blessed with children. They recognize the joy that children can bring, but for His own reasons, God has withheld that joy from them. They are neither DINK’s, nor dumb, but those who rejoice at the gifts of God, even if they do not receive them.) The joy that John brings to his parents and community, however, is not merely natural, but supernatural. It is not worldly, but otherworldly. Israel, the people of God who are waiting for His kingdom, are filled with joy because John will prepare her to meet her Maker. John will call the people of Israel to repent, to turn from their sin by making confession and receiving baptism. He will warn them to watch for the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, that brood of vipers. All this preps the hearts of the people to welcome Jesus Christ, the Lamb of Godwho takes away the sins of the world. In your life, your pastor is your “John”. The entire goal of a Christian pastor’s ministry is that the people who hear him preach and teach would be ready to meet Jesus face to face, whether that be in their death or at His sudden return. Your pastor does the work that he does so that you can meet your Maker with a clean and confident heart. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection make all of this possible. He bears our sins on the cross so that we can be certain that confessing our sins will result in forgiveness and not condemnation. We can confidently repent, knowing that our Father will welcome us back. He rejoices in His children coming home. The birth of each child is a joyful reminder of the blessing that God bestows on fallen humanity through His gift of children. Whether they are our kids, or the progeny of others, we can rejoice that God works such wonders, both natural and supernatural. The First Day of Christmas
December 25, 2024 Matthew 1:18-25 8 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus. Tonight we remember the night that the world received Jesus, Emmanuel, “God with Us.” It is a night when the world was fundamentally changed for the better, when the world was given true joy. We live in a profoundly lonely society.That loneliness was made more obvious by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, but it was on the rise before the then. It is so bad that the United States Department of Health and Human Services has taken notice and issued a report. Typically, loneliness is brought on when we are isolated from other people. In our modern context, isolation can have several causes. Some are isolated by geographical distance. If you grew up and moved away from your hometown, your friends and family, your culture, then you have probably experienced loneliness. Speaking of culture, our cultural and political divide is growing in the United States. The right and left are increasingly unable to have intelligible conversations due to the fact that they are usually speaking two different languages. Social media seems to be exasperating this divide. That, too, leads to loneliness. Worse than all of this, however, is the isolation of humanity from its Creator. The initial separation of God from man was caused by mankind’s disobedience to the simple and self evident commands given by God. Originally there was no such isolation. No loneliness, just joy. God walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. They saw God face to face. (Genesis 3:8) Now things have changed drastically. Besides the original cause of this isolation, even people who call themselves Christians are increasingly separated from God and His people through a lack of worship and fellowship with a brick and mortar congregation. Christmas is the day when our isolation ends and our loneliness is put on notice. In the birth of Jesus Christ-really from His conception in His mother’s womb-God is among us. He walks and talks with His family, apostles, and disciples. As God walked with Adam and Eve, Jesus walked with Peter, James, and John. While we do not see Jesus walking and talking as the apostles did, He does promise to be with us always. (Matthew 28:20) He is Emmanuel, God-with-us, through His Word. In the Scriptures, God Himself is speaking to us. (Hebrews 1:1-2) Do you want to know the mind of God? Do you want to be close to Him? Read this Bible. Listen to your pastor preach. Sing the hymns. Wherever the Word of God is proclaimed, there is Jesus causing our cup to runneth over with rejoicing. I know. “Word & Sacrament” has become a cliché. But we dare not allow the truth of this to pass us by. In the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, Jesus Christ is present with us. Our isolation from God is undone. He reaches down with human and divine hands to claim us as a son of God in Baptism. God places His body and blood into our mouths for the forgiveness of our sins and our union with Him. The Word of God and the Sacraments are Emmanuel. Union with Christ brings union with His people. The fact that Mary was with child from the Holy Ghost compelled Joseph to go through with his wedding plans, to be united with Mary in holy matrimony. Knowing and experiencing the actual presence of God compels us to unite with His people too. We can forgive those who sin against us as we are forgiven. We can bear with one another as God has borne our burdens. We can go to church for worship and fellowship. Getting up on Sunday and heading to worship will not cure loneliness, at least not right away. But it does give true connection with God and other people. That is something you cannot get online. Your local congregation is a place that transcends cultural boundaries, languages, and even geography, for we worship with “angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.” There, most assuredly of all places, God is with us. (Matthew 18:20) May this knowledge fill your hearts with joy this Christmas season!  Meet Olivia Miles!
“Hey ya’ll! My name is Olivia Miles and I’m from Murray, Kentucky. My family and I are members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Murray. In the fall I will start my freshman year of college at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky where I plan to major in exercise science and run track & field. I have been to camp every summer since 1st grade as a camper and JC. I am so excited to be a counselor this summer, little Olivia would be so happy! I can’t wait for an awesome summer with all of ya’ll!!”  Meet David Moldenhauer!
“Hi my name is David! I am a senior at Missouri University of Science and technology majoring in Mechanical Engineering. This year will be my fourth year working at Camp Cilca. I have been a junior counselor and camper for many years before that. My favorite activities at camp are swimming, fishing, mud volleyball, and archery. I am looking forward to learning more about God and teaching others while having lots of fun at camp!”  First Peter 4:7-14 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ________________________________________________________________________________ Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! “The end of all things is at hand,” Saint Peter reminds us. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has fundamentally changed the world. The finality of death, the ultimate wage of sin, has been broken. The tomb has been split wide open along with the Holy of Holies. It is truly “the end of the world as we know it.” More than this, the Ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father means that the power and mercy of God are ever present with us. We live under the dominion of the True and Good King. The former “ruler” of this world has been deposed. (John 12:31) Because the end is at hand, because the world is fundamentally changed, because Jesus rules over everything for our good, Peter instructs that we should live differently. This knowledge of the fact of Jesus’ resurrection should alter the way we go about our day-to-day business. First, we should be disciplined in body and mind. “Be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” (First Peter 4:7) Prayer takes discipline, especially in a Tik-Tok world where attention spans are cut in half with each passing day. To call upon the name of God “in every trouble, pray, praise, and [thanksgiving]” means having the discipline to sit with your thoughts for an extended period of time both praising the Lord for what He has done and asking Him to continue as He has promised. We practice prayer because we remember that we are speaking to the risen and ascended Christ. We ask of our King, who has promised to hear us. Discipline is another word for “training” or “practice.” This is a helpful way to think about it. We are practicing here for the “eternal weight of glory.” (Second Corinthians 4:17) We won’t get it perfect, and when we fail we should repent and receive the forgiveness of our sin. Practice won’t make us perfect. Only the grace of God in Christ can do that. That does not mean, however, that we give up. We keep going because there will come a day when all this practice will be converted by God’s grace into reality. We can apply this same discipline and practice to brotherly love and hospitality. Hospitable love should not be difficult for the citizens of the Kingdom of God. The love of God brought us into His royal family when we were formerly enemies and outsiders. How much more should we practice bringing others into our homes and churches, showing them the same undeserved mercy? Discipline also applies to being good stewards of God’s gifts of grace. The Lord showers us with buckets full of grace and mercy. All that we need and all that we have is a gift from the divine hand of the One who rules over all. So we are neither wasteful nor stingy with these gifts. We do not cast them away. We do not hoard them for ourselves. Again, this takes practice. It takes training. All of this leads to God’s glory. The Lord is glorified when the sons of God believe in and live like the Son of God, their True and Good King. The world sees your good deeds and gives glory to your Father. (Matthew 5:16) We will rise again at the return of Jesus Christ. Death has lost its power, so we are to live our lives training to live eternally as God’s people, as “little Christs.” This short life is serious practice for the life of the world to come. So let’s get going. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Meet Adam Homann!
“Hi, my name is Adam Homann, and this will be my third year on staff, but my 9th year going to camp. My favorite thing about camp is Chapel and UC. In the summer, I will have completed my freshman year at Concordia University Wisconsin in the Director of Church Ministries program. After college I hope to be serving in a church or camp. I am super excited for camp and can't wait to see you there!”  Meet Ethan Theilen!
"My name is Ethan Theilen. I currently attend Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. I am a member at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Sherman, Illinois. This summer will be my third year as a counselor and my sixth year on staff. Before becoming a counselor, I was a camper for four years and a junior counselor for a year. My favorite parts of camp are getting to meet and interact with the campers, as well as underground church."  Acts 1:1-11 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” ________________________________________________________________________________ Where has Jesus gone? You would think that the disappearance of their teacher, mentor, and friend so quickly after His torture, death, and resurrection, would leave the disciples in a bit of a funk. They react to His ascension, however, with joy. (Luke 24:52) How can this be? Saint Peter helps us understand in his first sermon recorded in the book of Acts. “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.’” (Acts 2:32-36. Emphasis added.) Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven, not to be distant from His people, but to enter fully into His divine right: all the limitless, unending power of God. The Jesus who died to reconcile sinners to God now rules all things for your good. “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:34-35; 37-39. Emphasis added.) Jesus is not “gone.” He is glorified. And this is good news for you and me. If you are guilty, you may confess to your King and expect forgiveness. If you are hungry, you may beg from your King and He will feed you. If you are lonely, you can trust that your King is with you in that exact moment, for by His divine power He fills all things. My favorite hymn is “Look, Ye Saints, the Sight Is Glorious.” The final verse says, “Hark, those bursts of acclamation! Hark! those loud triumphant chords! Jesus takes the highest station; O what joy the sight affords! Crown Him! Crown Him! King of kings, and Lord of lords!” The One who died for you now rules the universe with you on His mind and for your good. What joy, indeed!  James 1:22-27
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. ________________________________________________________________________________ What good is it if we hear the message of Jesus Christ, but do not believe it? Or if we are taught how to live but fail to actually live? Saint James teaches that we should not only listen to the Word of God, but do it. The way this is accomplished is by looking intently into the Law of Liberty, coming to truly know what we see there, and acting accordingly. Look “into the perfect law, the law of liberty.” (James 1:25) James likens this to gazing at yourself in the mirror. You look into the mirror to get to know what you look like, to see if there is anything in your teeth, to see if you look generally put together. So what are we gazing into when we peer into the perfect law of liberty? We are taking a good close look at nothing less than God’s revelation of Himself to us in His Word. The law of liberty is God’s Word. It is the Bible. Law is simply another word for teaching or instruction. James is talking about the “implanted word” that he told us to receive back in verse 21. In Lutheran terms, as odd as it may seem, this includes both “Law” and “Gospel”. As we peer into the Word of God, we learn, not about the shape of our own face, but about the shape of God and the shape of our own souls. Of first importance, the Bible teaches us who God is. His noble character, love, justice, holiness, and more are shown to us again and again. He is Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. He is Triune. He is unknowable on our own power, yet clearly revealed to us by His grace. Centrally, God is shown to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At the cross, God brings together each of His attributes: wrath, justice, love, forgiveness, and glory. He clearly and finally reveals how He will deal with us in our sin; by sacrificing the life of His beloved Son to redeem us. Through His Word we gain true knowledge of God. That Word also reveals our own soul. So much of our lives as fallen humans is spent trying to cover up our faults, making ourselves look better than we are, and self-medicating so that we do not need to think about the futility of life in a meaningless world. The Bible cuts through all this and reveals that we are the intentional creation of God. (Genesis 1-2) We are sinners fallen far short of God’s glory. (Romans 3:23) We are redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. (Romans 3:24-25) We are now free to walk in the law of liberty. (Ephesians 5:8) In the Word of God, we see who we were, who God is, and who we are redeemed and called to be. This knowledge should then move us to action. When we see the holiness of God and the depravity of our own sin, we should act in repentance: confess our sins and seek to amend our ways. When we see that Jesus has shed His blood to save and forgive us, we should act in faith: holding fast to the promise that our debt is paid and confessing our faith in Jesus loudly and clearly. When we see the new freedom that we have in Christ, to live in line with God’s calling, we act in Christian obedience. The holy Spirit moves us to bridle our tongues, care for the helpless, and flee from sin and worldly passions. (James 1:26-27) Let us not be hearers only, but doers of the Word: hear, repent, believe, and live. |
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