The Second Sunday after Christmas
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time
The Hymn # 131 The Star Proclaims 4:89
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 305:1-5 Soul Adorn Thyself 4:23
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 305:1-5 Soul Adorn Thyself 4:23
Planned from Eternity for Us
The Hymn #305:6-9 Soul Adorn Thyself
The Hymn #305:6-9 Soul Adorn Thyself
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior 4:24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior 4:24
Ephesians 1:3-16
King James Version (KJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Planned from Eternity for Us
Matthew 2:13-23 (King James Version)
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
The Wise Men and the Star
We have a curious reversal about science. Today we have vast sums of money spent on exploration and astronomy, but few people know anything about the night skies above them. One reason is our lighting wiping out the star-scape, and we need them less for navigation and weather predictions.
When I had a large telescope, I looked forward to the nights when I could use it and share the views with friends. I got to know the weather and get a feel for what would happen. The moon tended to wipe out the best views, and nights with the full moon were the clearest of them all. After a full moon, we usually had days of rain in Michigan.
When the skies are blackened by a lack of artificial light, and night vision is keen, everything in the sky is known and significant. When Jesus was born people were quite observant of the sky and everything happened. The Chinese wrote down their observations.
The people who mocked the Star of Bethlehem (common when I was growing up) showed how little they knew about the sky. During the time Jesus was born, two or three events took place that are considered the Star of Bethlehem. The Chinese recorded them and astronomers can reproduce them for SRO audiences during the Christmas season at the planetarium. We saw this done in Chicago.
Planetary conjunctions are very exciting, because their wandering (Greek name for planet) in the night sky draws them together every so often. I was going to a clergy event with Chris when the night sky featured all the bright planets in conjunction. I said, “Look, that will never happen again for 1100 years.” A Harvard PhD lady pastor said, “My boyfriend loved astronomy. That was boring, so I dumped him.” In fact, I was the only pastor who noticed the night sky. Oh – we are so scientific today.
Since the night sky was the Internet, television, radio and newspapers combined, consider how the entire world viewed those celestial events. According to one theory, the conjunction of planets made it clear that the king was being replaced. Everyone knew something was going to happen. Add to that electric atmosphere, star-gazers from East, traveling a long distance and asking about this king and savior.
Kings are always jealous of their power. If they are not brutal, they are quickly replaced. Everyone knew something was about to happen, and the Scriptures said it would. Once the throne passed from the House of David, the Savior would come. Herod was not a Jew. He fulfilled that prophecy. The Wise Men placed even more emphasis upon the change by asking the king about the star.
We can easily imagine that fear, confusion, and hope were all mixed together at the same time. Herod responded with the slaughter of the innocents. The wise men had to leave town quietly. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus escaped to Egypt.
As Luther observed, the appearance of the Star shows that God ordered His Creation so that the birth of the Savior would be a world event. In many different ways, for Jews and Gentiles alike, His future ministry was announced in the clearest possible ways.
This upsets rationalists, who loved to mock the Star of Bethlehem as a fable, a myth that was invented to make the birth of Jesus more charming. When the reality of the Star is grasped, and people flock to demonstrations of its truth, the rationalists seethe that planetariums are making money from the faith of their patrons.
This is the balance between faith and reason. The Enthusiasts betray their mental laziness by mocking study, as if brainless faith is better because it is based on emotions alone. But emotions are as volatile as the weather.
Knowing and appreciating what God has done in history is one way to guard against our volatile emotions. Gerhardt was a sensitive man and experienced more loss in his lifetime than six men – loss of career, loss of his wife and all his children (except one). He was exceptional in his learning and yet he was faithful to Biblical, Lutheran doctrine – not a crafty schemer using his brains to look for job security.
We can experience his inner thoughts in studying his hymns. “How dearly God must love you” – in looking at the circumstances of the Nativity.
