Pious Lutheran

The Nativity , Zanobi Strozzi, circa 1433-1434 The Glory of the Lord The glory of the Lord dwelt in the tabernacle/temple until the exile The fullness of God’s glory now dwells in Christ The glory of the Lord abides with us today, full of grace and truth. Merry Christmas! “ The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” The Glory of the Lord dwelt in the tabernacle and temple until the Israelites were exiled to Babylon. But when Christ became man, the fullness of God’s glory once again dwelt among us. Through Jesus the glory of the Lord still abides with us today, full of grace and truth.  God’s glory among us is a profound thought, but to understand it, we must first know what God’s glory is. The glory of the Lord is the presence of God’s almighty nature or essence made manifest in a particular location. The Old Testament Hebrew word for glory was cavode, which in part means heavy. So a cav...

The Nativity,  Lorenzo Lotto, 1523 The true meaning of Christmas Jesus came to be with us Jesus saves His people from their sins Merry Christmas! What a fun time of year! Lots of pretty lights to look at. Upbeat music on the radio. Good food, family time, fun parties. The snow makes for a winter wonderland, even if it makes a mess and disrupts travel plans. I’m so glad that you all took some time out of your busy schedule during this fun time of year, to come to church this evening. I sincerely hope you all come to church tomorrow morning since tomorrow is the actual feast of Christmas. Today is just the preparatory day, tomorrow is the feast day! Though, I do wonder, why are we all here today? What did we come here to see? Are we just here to sing Christmas carols and sing silent night while holding a candle? Are we here out of cultural expectations; gotta go to church on Christmas Eve with grandma? Whatever it may be that brought you here tonight, I am honestly overjoyed that you...

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas,  Caravaggio, circa 1601-1602 Believing Thomas Thomas was a great confessor of the faith Thomas’s momentary doubt quickly gave way to strong faith St. Thomas, one of our Lord’s chosen twelve apostles, is unfortunately known almost exclusively as “doubting Thomas.” We read that account this evening, and heard how Thomas said: “ Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. ” But defining Thomas by this one particular statement of his is not very generous. Why don’t we call Peter “denying Peter” or call John “violent John?” Afterall, they both said foolish things too. But we don’t do that, rather we remember them for what they got right. We should do the same with Thomas. The highlight of today’s Gospel isn’t that Thomas doubted, but that He gave the most powerful confession of all Jesus’ apostles. Thomas confessed Jesus by saying: “ My Lord and my...

Saint John the Baptist Preaching, Raphael, 1505 Baptism John’s baptism was one of preparation for Jesus Jesus’ baptism fully immerses us in His crucifixion The Jews asked John: “ “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ” John is popularly known as the baptist, or the baptizer, because he came baptizing people in the Jordan river. However the baptism which John baptized with is not the same baptism into which we are baptized. John said he came baptizing with water, but Jesus came baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire. John’s baptism was one of preparation for Jesus. Jesus’ baptism, however, fully immerses us into His crucifixion. John didn’t baptize in the Triune name or in the name of Jesus. He was baptizing people with water for repentance. Like he said of himself: “ I a...

Santa Lucia The kingdom of heaven is the greatest treasure St. Lucia gave everything for this treasure Every other possession should be used in service to this one treasure Christ spares no expense to buy us for heaven In the early 4th century the last of the widespread persecutions of christians by the Roman government was taking place under emperor Diocletian. Among the many christians martyred for their faith, today we remember young St. Lucy, popularly known as Santa Lucia. Lucia was born to wealthy and noble christian parents, but at a young age her father died. Left with a significant dowry, she privately determined to remain a virgin, never get married, and thus bestow her large dowry upon the poor. Her mother, unaware of this, and in poor health, betrothed Lucia to a wealthy young pagan man. In the meantime, Lucia and her mother continued praying for healing. God answered their prayers by healing Lucia’s mother. Now in better health Lucia convinced her mother to give away the l...

St John the Baptist in the Prison , Juan Fernandez Navarrete, 1565-1570 While the church awaits Christ, the church preaches of Christ We speak with boldness We speak against sin Ultimately we speak the good news of Jesus to the poor John the Baptist had a specific job to do. “ This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ ” John was the forerunner of Christ, the final prophet who was to prepare the way for Jesus. How does a prophet prepare the way? He preaches. John preached when he called sinners to repentance and baptized with a baptism of repentance. He preached when He pointed the people to the Christ, declaring: “ Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. ” Even when John was arrested for his preaching and sat in prison, he continued to preach: “ when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples. ” Whether John was doubting or his disciples were doubtin...

 Saint Ambrose barring Emperor Theodosius from Milan Cathedral , Samuel Freeman, 1832 Christians are the salt and light of the earth. Christians reflect the light of Christ and do good works When others see our good works they are drawn to God and glorify Him. Today we remember and give thanks to God for St. Ambrose of Milan, Pastor and Hymnwriter. St. Ambrose was born to a noble Roman Christian family. In 372, at the age of 32, he was named governor of a Roman province where Milan was the capital. Two years later however the bishop died, and there was some controversy over who would be the next bishop.  The controversy largely circled around the heresy of Arianism, the belief that Jesus is not fully God. The bishop who had just died, who had been bishop for 20 years, was an Arian who had usurped the bishopric from the previous faithful bishop who had been exiled in chains. The christians rejoiced when that wicked bishop died, since they were no longer under bondage to his fal...