The Epiphany of our Lord

The Epiphany of our Lord – January 6, 2023

Psalm 72; Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-12

St. Matthew 2:1-12

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Like many of the events surrounding the birth of our Lord, it is too easy to assume the visit of the Magi is a bygone fact of history.[1] This account of our Lord is certainly true history and happened as it is recorded by the Holy Spirit, however, if that is the only meaning in this text, then there is no point beyond historical curiosity for us to read it. We, too, ought to share in the elation experienced in the hearts of the Magi as they worshipped the One True God made flesh. We, too, come this night to worship the Triune God and to give thanks that He has not only taken our flesh and redeemed us from our sins, but that He has brought this salvation to the nations, to the Gentiles.

It is nothing short of a miracle that these Magi recognized the birth of a foreign king in the appearance of a star. It is no less of a miracle that when they found that king, they knew to worship Him. Despite the lowly state of His birth—the condition of the cattle shed or even shack in which they found Him—the Magi knew this to be a great king. They had even conferred with the nominal king in the land, Herod, yet recognized this child to be greater still.

We are no better off than these Magi except that we have a clearer description of the Son of God. We have the words of the prophets and the fathers, who named Bethlehem great among the cities of Judah;[2] we have the promise of the virgin birth;[3] the promise of the incarnation;[4] and the promise of a Redeemer Kinsman, who will save us from the kingdom of Satan.[5] And yet, these Magi, who were without the Word of God, came to know the Son of God, we are put to shame by their reverence and worship.

We believe that because Christ has died for us, what we wear, how we speak, how we act, and how we conduct ourselves during worship don’t matter. We believe that because these things do not affect our salvation, we may abuse Christian freedom to do whatever we want. Yet these pagan Magi, when coming into the presence of the Almighty God, forsake the falsity of their learning and worldly wisdom. They bow before an infant, proclaiming Him to be God. They offer to Him not what they can afford, not what they can spare, not even the nicest things they can find. They offer gifts to Him that are greater than what they would bestow upon anyone else.

In seeing this miraculous conversion of the pagan, we must be seeing the grace and mercy of God at work. These Magi have no background in Christianity. They are not “spiritual but not religious.” They are unbelieving pagans. Yet the presence of Jesus Christ turns their hearts in an instant, causing them to fall down in worship. Yes, they fell down to worship Jesus. These dignitaries from foreign lands laid themselves on the floor to worship a God they had only just met.

‘In this we see men devoted to worldly wisdom and far from belief in Jesus Christ brought out of the depth of their error and called to an acknowledgment of the true Light. Undoubtedly it is the brightness of Divine Grace at work and when that new light illumines the darkness of their hearts, the same brightness comes this night to illumine yours. That same star, the Light of Life given to men in the flesh of a child, illumines your hearts just as it illumines theirs so that it should move both with wonder and lead both to the adoration of God in the splendor of that True Light. So then, with careful thought, we might see how the threefold gifts of the Magi are also offered by all who come to Christ in faith. He that acknowledges Christ the King of the universe brings gold from the treasure of his heart. He that believes the Only-Begotten of God to have united man’s true nature to Himself, offers myrrh. He that confesses Him to be of the same substance of the Father, in no way inferior to the Father’s majesty, worships Him with incense.’[6]

While we share in the worship of Jesus with the Magi, we also find ourselves in very different times. Herod is actively plotting to kill the infant Jesus. The Church has undergone centuries of open persecution. Today, there are all kinds of attacks on the Church yet even now, our faith is not illegal. We are not at a point where we must meet in secret.

Yet these differences do not mean that Herod, or his coconspirator, Satan, have ceased to work against the Church. They have simply changed tactics. Why make it illegal to go to church when you can simply convince people not to read the Scriptures? Or, why arrest Christian preachers when you can simply convince people not to listen to them? Herod was outraged that someone else would be called ‘king’ in his land, especially one who would claim the title ‘God.’ Such outrage and spite are understandable when people are seeking the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

But when even Christians are not worried about seeking the Messiah, Herod has no need to rage. Satan can replace the blow of affliction with the stumbling block of pleasure. Instead of threatening to seize your belongings, Satan tempts you with more. Instead of throwing you into prison for your faith, Satan changes your home into a prison by telling you it is unsafe to leave. Rather than destroy families by putting the father to death, Satan makes sure you can stay connected by never speaking to your family in person—only via screens. Why listen to the Scriptures when you can “follow along”? Why read a book when you can watch the movie? Why listen to the preacher when you can listen to the radio? Why bring up a child in the faith when you can send him to confirmation?

These tactics are indeed Satanic, and they afflict us all. They afflict us all because they are easy. Just as it was easier to offer the pinch of incense to Caesar than to confess the true faith, so too it is easier to placate children than to teach them. It is easier to insist on your way than to submit to authority. Pleasure is easier and provides a tangible reward. Faith is difficult. Faith is uncomfortable. Faith might require you to fall down on your expensive slacks and worship a child sitting in a cattle stall. Faith might require you to do something you don’t like because a superior expects it of you.

The tumult of our world threatens our pleasure but only by threatening to remove our pleasure. The tumult of our world threatens to make our lives difficult so that we will cling to the relative ease we have come to love. The love of ease is dangerous for it plays into the hands of Satan. The faith and hearts of men are shown in works. They are shown in how we engage with the world. This is godliness. This is piety. There are some, as St. Paul says, “who profess that they know God, but deny Him by their deeds.”[7] Denial and hypocrisy are true accusations when the sound of the voice does not match the voice of the conscience. The frailty of man easily leads into faults and because no sin with without its attractiveness, deceptive pleasure is easily fallen into.

But we should run away from satisfying the desire of the flesh and the mind that has knowledge of God should turn away from any evil suggestion of the enemy. In flight from the temptations of sin, turn instead to the steadfast love of God. His mercy endures forever. No matter what sin and no matter how long you’ve found yourself captive to it, God’s love and mercy endure forever. Do not persist in cherishing your sin no put off repentance because you enjoy your sin. Turn and repent at once, that you too might partake of the love and mercy of the Father. Turn and repent because while His mercy endures forever, your life does not. Your life is in the hand of the Father and it is not for you to decide the days of your life.

But for the one who strives against sin, who experiences the restlessness of enduring the sinful flesh while awaiting the joyful release of heaven, receive the mercy of God and pray incessantly that the burden of sin and the chains of evil habit be removed. The prayer of one that confesses will not be in vain since the merciful God “will grant the desire of those that fear Him,” and will give what is asked.[8]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] This sermon is based on the sixth Epiphany sermon of St. Leo the Great as found at http://www.lectionarycentral.com/epiphany/LeotheGreat%204.html.

[2] Micah 5:2.

[3] Isaiah 7:14.

[4] Psalm 8.

[5] Genesis 3:15.

[6] This paragraph is a loose quotation of St. Leo’s sermon, the end of the first paragraph.

[7] Titus 1:16.

[8] Psalm 145:14, 19; St. Matthew 7:7-8.

The Commemoration of the Reformation

The Commemoration of the Reformation – October 30, 2022

Psalm 34; Revelation 14:6-7; Romans 3:19-28

St. Matthew 11:12-19

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The term “antichrist” is used in the Scriptures in both a broad and narrow sense. The broad sense can be found in 1 John 2, in which all false teachers are called “antichrists.”[1] This broad sense is the plain understanding of the word. False teachers stand opposed to Christ, making them “anti-Christ,” “against the Christ.”

The narrow sense of the term “antichrist” is most clearly described in St. Paul’s second letter to the Church in Thessalonica, where he writes as follows:

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ² not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. ³ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.[2]

With St. Paul, we can identify 5 marks of this narrow use of the term “Antichrist.”[3] First, the position taken by the Antichrist is called the “falling away,” or apostacy. This means that the Antichrist will lead Christians away from the true doctrine of the Christ, especially the central doctrine of the Scriptures—that “man cannot be justified before God by his own strength, merits, or works, but is freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when he believes that he is received into favor, and that his sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for your sins.”[4]

The second mark of the Antichrist is that he will sit in the temple of God, that is, he will arise from within the Church itself. While it is tempting to claim any number of evil political leaders as “the Antichrist,” this would be contrary to Scripture. The Antichrist shall sit himself within the Church of God and attempt to deceive God’s children from such a position within the Church.

Third, the Antichrist will conduct himself in accord with this seat within the church, namely, he will act as if he was God, Himself. The Antichrist will claim supreme authority over man, refusing to submit to any other authority. He will claim to be above the authority of all creation and to be the soul source of God’s interaction with man.

The fourth mark of the Antichrist is that although he is not Satan himself, his coming and his reign will be built and backed by all manner of lying powers, signs, and wonders. Christ warns us that many will come in His name and even perform miracles, claiming to be from God.[5] All those claiming to be from God must be judged by their doctrine, and that according to the Word of God.

The final mark of the Antichrist is that he will remain until the return of Christ. The Lord will destroy the Antichrist at His visible return and yet, as St. John writes, “As we have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists.”[6] It is this final mark that tells us the term “Antichrist,” when used in this narrow sense, refers not to an individual person, but to an office. An office endures longer than the lifetime of one man and yet remains unchanged until God destroys it.

These five marks are all fulfilled in the office of the Papacy, or the Roman Pope. At the Council of Trent, the Papacy officially declared the biblical doctrine of justification to be accursed, saying that anyone who teaches that man is declared righteous freely through the merits of Christ and cannot add to his own salvation according to his own works is anathema, that is, condemned to hell. Thus, in the Papacy, we can see the greatest and most pronounced “falling away” from the most fundamental article of faith by which man is saved.

Certainly, there are many others in the world who deny the doctrine of Justification, but the Papacy promotes such false doctrine from within the Christian Church. What I mean is that there are Christians in the Roman Catholic Church. There are Christians because they still receive Holy Baptism in the Name of the Triune God. The Holy Scriptures are still read and proclaimed. It is through these means that the Holy Spirit works faith in the hearts of man. It is a miracle of God that there are Christians who, despite the false teachings of the Pope and the seductive nature of the Church body to which they belong, still cling to faith in Christ, trusting in the death and resurrection of Jesus alone for their salvation.

In 1302, Pope Boniface VIII issued Unam Sanctum, declaring that it is necessary for salvation that man be subject to the Roman Pope above all others. This is a matter of official doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church. It is necessary for salvation that man be subject to the Pope above all other authorities on earth. This means that the Pope is above any criticism. It means the Pope alone is supreme in the Church and the world. He submits to no one.

Perhaps the most seductive to the eyes of man are the numerous reports of miracles, visions, and wonders related to the Roman Pontiff. Marian apparitions, miracles of healing, and statues that weep, bleed, or heal are all said to point to the validity of the papacy. In fact, these signs point to the contrary. Since they do not point to Christ, but instead to a man who claims greater authority than the Word of God, they are demonic in origin. I do not deny that some of these signs and wonders have occurred. In fact, I’m certain they have. However, they are signs fulfilling precisely the words of our Lord: “We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.”[7]

Finally, in the papacy, we see an office that for a time after the apostles, remained beneath a veil. The early bishops of Rome were pious Christians who sought to lead the flocks God placed under their authority according to the Word of God. But after a time, and certainly by the 14^th century, the nature of the Papacy was revealed to be the very seat of the Antichrist. It is an office which will endure until the return of Christ, when He will destroy the Papacy, along with all who fight against Christ and His reign in the Church.

Why is it worth studying the office of the Antichrist? St. Paul told us that he wrote concerning the man of lawlessness that you would not be “soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter.”[8] A proper understanding of the Antichrist is not necessary for salvation. Salvation is only gained by faith in Christ, a true understanding of the Son of God who took on human flesh to die on behalf of the sin of man, making atonement to the Father and sending His Holy Spirit to bestow such faith on man.

An understanding of the Antichrist serves as both a warning and a comfort. It is a warning in that it draws your attention to the one thing most needful—faith in Jesus Christ. It is a warning against fascination with the mysteries of God which He has chosen not to reveal to man. It is a warning against the seductive signs, wonders, and claims to history of the Roman Catholic Church.

It is a warning against seeing different churches as simply different social clubs. There are doctrinal differences between church bodies and doctrine is important. It is important whether you confess the biblical teaching that the Body and Blood of Jesus is truly present in the Holy Communion. It is important if you confess against the clear teaching of Scripture that one man is given all authority in heaven and earth to bestow salvation on whomever he chooses. These differences matter because given time, false doctrine will destroy faith. Even though there are Christians within the Roman Catholic Church, these Christians are in danger. They are in danger of falling into the trap of the Papacy and placing their faith in the salvation of the Pope, rather than the salvation of Jesus Christ.

The doctrine of the Antichrist is also a comfort, a consolation for your conscience because it forces you to examine the true doctrine of the Scriptures. Here you will find that it is not by your works that you are saved. You will find that there is nothing you can do to save yourself. There is no work you can perform, no amount you can pay, no decision you can make to escape the punishment of hell.

Only the perfect life of Jesus, who willingly kept the Law of God perfect from the moment of His conception to His death on the cross, merits salvation. Only the sacrifice of Jesus on Mount Calvary, willingly offered to the Father on your behalf, can atone for you sin. Only the work of the Holy Spirit, who has called you by the Word of God, the Holy Gospel, can draw you to salvation.

This is a comfort because it does not rely on you. It does not rely on how you feel or how much you understand. Your salvation relies on the Blood of Jesus, shed for you, and the faith bestowed upon you by God to cling to this Word of promise. The Pope in Rome would have you kneel before him in submission to his claim to authority. Jesus Christ submitted to death, even death on a cross for you. We now kneel before Jesus Christ alone, as He alone has called you by the Holy Gospel to join Him in eternity.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] 1 John 2:18.

[2] 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, quoted from the New King James Version (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1982).

[3] Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, Volume 3 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1953), 462-469.

[4] AC IV.

[5] St. Matthew 24:24.

[6] 1 John 2:18.

[7] St. Matthew 11:17.

[8] 2 Thessalonians 2:2.