Everyday Lutherans

Merry Christmas!  Tonight we gather together and some of you willingly came to church to be united in prayer, song, and to worship God.  Our focus is on a special song about the first Christmas. Tonight we are celebrating Silent Night. Yes, that song that we will sing at the very end of the service.  The one that we light candles to and the one that we all cherish. It would have been nice if Jesus had heard it when he was here on earth. However, Silent Night was first performed in Ardenorfs in Austria.  It was Christmas Eve in 1818. Yes, 201 years ago, Father Joseph Mohr, a catholic priest, was getting ready for the biggest night of the year only to discover that the organ was not working.  Now keep in mind it was very similar to our own experience. Families brought their extended families together to fill the pews and everyone in the community would be present for the worship service.   Without an organ to sing the songs, Father Joseph got ...

We often speak of Jesus being God’s Word made flesh, but how often do we stop and actually realize it?  Are we actually still thinking and bearing witness to it in our daily life?  Do we stop and see the trees, the sun, the people, and all the other life that is taking place around us as a constant reminder that God is indeed with us, loving us, and caring for us?  Like the four seasons, we know that they happen, and we even expect them to happen, and we can often even miss the very things that are taking place right in front of us.   The very beginning of the Gospel John opens with echoes of Genesis. We are drawn all the way back to the very beginning of life and all existence.  To a time before sin was among us at the very beginning God brought us into existence, and will use the same means through Jesus when we shall be restored. Here, John seems to be helping us realize the very gift  we have received of life.  We shall receive the gift of God’s Gr...

In the Gospel lesson, we hear of two people who were longing for the arrival of the Messiah.  Both of them knew and trusted that God would give a Messiah to save the people.  I think even more important than that is that both of them realized the need for a Messiah.   Now before we go any further, I want you all to be aware that Messiah, Christ, and the Chosen One of God are all describing the same person.  Messiah is the Hebrew word for Chosen One of God, Christ is the Greek word for Chosen One of God.  So when a person says, Jesus Christ, they are declaring that this is Jesus, the Chosen One of God.  This is the title Jesus was given once people realized who he was and what he was doing.  However, people did not know how the Messiah would come or what exactly he would do.  There were many prophets who told that the Messiah would come and bring peace. The Messiah would bring back the relationship that the people would enjoy with God. That the Cho...

We gather together tonight to celebrate a very important gift.  The arrival of the long expected Messiah, Savior, Christ, the Chosen One of God. Tonight, we hear the history that is so familiar because we hear it every single year.  Many of you could even share the details without having to open the Bible.  This history has a way of comforting us and reminds us of what is important.   However, there is another person who often gets much attention this time of year who often confuses us in the role of God.  A few days ago, there was a department store Santa who was handing out candy canes and other small gifts to children.  After many hours and several hundreds of children, the santa ran out of candy canes and everything else.  The children still in line had seen others who were getting gifts.  When Santa told them that he was out and that they would not get a gift, many of them were so frustrated and angry.  Some of the children threw a tantr...

Tonight is the third most important night within the Christian faith.  Tonight we celebrate, we gather together, and we welcome family and friends to be a part of it all. We wouldn’t be the church, we wouldn’t be called Christians without this night.  For some of you, you were hauled here so that you can enjoy the festivities later.  Some of you have been gone to school for so long that you are so glad to have a home cooked meal and not have to stare at a computer screen to write another paper.  Perhaps even some of you have been coming here for years and it is just part of the traditions.  Good, that’s important; but what’s even more important is why this is part of your traditions. Yes, more important than the gifts, the tree, the food, and all of those things is this event that we hear about.  Why?  Because without this event, without this child, without God’s love, none of those things would have happened.  Now for some of you this may come as...