Annunciation (2026)

Feast of the Annunciation, 2026

St. Matthew’s Lutheran, Cornwall

Hebrews 10:4-10 (Topical – on the body of Christ)

SC, Lord’s Supper, Where is this Written? (Words of Institution)

Now … It might be a little bold of me to assume this, but, - I would wager, that though we are all familiar enough with the texts of the Annunciation of our Lord, - that they “hit” very differently in Lent, than they do in the Season of Advent. For in Advent, when we have this, our minds are filled with anticipation of Our Lord’s Birth – in the Feast of Holy Christmas. The child born, the celebration of His arrival. – and of course, with His Holy Mother, the blessed Virgin Mary (her faith, her submission, her expectant HOPE in what was to come from what God was doing). There, when we hear these texts, our mind goes towards these things. To her pregnancy and conception, to her contentious bearing of Him before being wed to St. Joseph. But in lent… our minds are fixed upon something else: - to His Baptism, - to His Fasting and Temptation, - to His agony and bloody sweat, to His Cross and suffering, - to His death and burial. – STILL UPON Christ, - yes. But Christ, as nailed to the cross, ratherthan laid gently in His cradle.

And yet, both of these, share one common thing. One necessary, essential, and crucial – central thing. The FLESH of Jesus Christ – that is conceived in this story of the Annunciation. The FLESH that is taken upon Himself from the Holy Virgin Mary. The FLESH that is conceived in her womb, - born and laid in that Christmas Cradle, - AND THAT FLESH, - that is nailed to the wood of His Holy Cross for your salvation. That FLESH – which we receive in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, for our forgiveness, and for our salvation – THAT FLESH .

And that is what I want to meditate upon with you this evening: the FLESH of Jesus Christ.

And so we hear, - Hebrews 10, - it isnot possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.5 Therefore, when He (that is Christ) came into the world, He said:“Sacrificesand offeringsYou did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin

You had no pleasure.Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come To do Your will, O God.’ By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all

Offerings you did not desire – but a body. Sacrifices you did not desire, - but a body.

We can talk here all we want about what God did not want.. about sacrifices (not able to save). About endless strife, faith, obedience, - which could not themselves save. And we have – and do continously, many times a year. but even with all of that, -, we WOULD STILL be left with one, crucial unanswered question: - What actually IS a body? What is flesh? This we might not all have the answers too, beyond some kind of hastily mashed together material explanation of skin, bone, muscle, fat, whatever. – but do we know what a body IS –in regard to our faith? {Perhaps not. And yet… it is central to our religion

For there it is in the creation and God given definition of what HUMANITY itself is. There it is in marriage, sex, - and procreation. – in the miraculous work of God in Article 1 on creation. There it is in our God’s redeeming act, of the Son’s incarnation, suffering, death, burial, and resurrection. There it is in our Hope of ETERNAL RESURRECTION and of life everlasting.

For so we confess – beginning with what we are – Article 1. – I believe that God has created me, that He has given me my body and soul (the things which I am): my eyes, ears, and all limbs, myreason and all my senses. And in the 2ndArticle? I believe that in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell. On the third day he rose [again]; he ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of God, the almighty Father. And all of that in His Body!. And in the third article? This hope of the body becomes mine forever more. Confessing :I believe in the resurrection of the body , and the life everlasting. – and so, wrapped up here in the entirety of our Faith, from the beginning of our creation and our understanding of what and who we are, - to the meaning of our fall into sin, and the death of the body that it began to bring into the world, - TO OUR LORDS work of redeeming us through taking on that dying MORTAL FLESH OF OURS, to redeem it, fix it, TO GLORIFCY AND LIFT IT BACK UP to His own Divine Perfection in HIS OWN RESURRECTION. And all of it , in the body, - through the body, and FOR WE who not only have, BUT ARE – bodies. – and yet… - WE MAY STILL ASK, : and what is a body?

We can start, perhaps, with creation itself. In the beginning – When God created Adam and Eve – He created them from the dust (the MUD/the soil) of the Earth. – and He BREATHED THE BREATH of His own life (HIS RUACH – HIS SPIRIT) into their nostrils, to give them LIFE. And so they became a living SOUL. The bible says. A Nephesh (in the Hebrew). Now what is this? This is WHAT WE ARE. We are NEPHESHES. We are Dust, with the breath of God’s life breathing through us.

And what can dust do? It can do a great deal of things, if God indeed is giving life to it. It can touch, taste, feel, hurt, enjoy, - use… and all of that, it can do in the body. In the body is where things of aesthetic and visible beauty are SEEN and perceived. – in the body, where our brains power the working of the human MIND, the place of our faculties forreason and rationality. This is , ACTUALLY, - the body, that odes this. The body, that is this. It is the means by which the great inventions of human history, and GREAT WORKS OF ART HAVE BEEN CREATED. Whenever you see a beautiful MOVIE. Hear a lovely song. - or read a life changing NOVEL. – it was- A BODY , that brought that to you. and it was IN AND THROUGH your body, that you PERCEIVED ITS BEAUTY. Whenever you walk by a magnificent cathedral. Or the Eiffel tower. The Pyramids of Egpyt. It is A BODY that designed that. And many bodies, - that built that. Friends –this is … the body.

The body is the means through which we come together with one another, to ENJOY the creation of God, - the beauty of His created order, - the fellowship we have with one another, - and where our relationships with friends, - yes even of marriage and romance and love, are built, and lived into, and ENJOYED. And in all of this , we are enabled to see, and perceive, and ENJOY – the God who has first given us, ­- no, even deeper than that, - MADE US INTO these bodies, - bodies of BREATH-FILLED MUD - ALIVE in the world, - by the power of His life-giving BREATH breathing through us.

This is what a BODY is. It is a PERSON. A SOMEBODY. - even before birth (as our Lord here was, CONCEIVED in St. Mary’s holy womb, -AND EVEN AFTER DEATH, - as Our Lord will be on this Sunday of His Passion, - LAYING LIFELESS IN HIS HOLY TOMB. A body is a somebody. A person. It is us. And, - the means by which we ARE what and who we are. And it gives meaning, to how and who and what we are in the world.

And maybe you, say, - IDK ABOUT THAT... that seems TO BIG too be true, for just my body,… but just imagine if you will for a second what your life would be like if you lost one of your bodily senses. – maybe sight, maybe hearing, - maybe taste or smell. Imagine what it is to be blind, to no longer see the face of your loved ones again. Or deaf, and to no longer hear THE SOUND of your favorite song. Or imagine if you will, what your life would be, if you lost your faculties of reason, and your brain died. What would your life be then? We can say, all we want. “I would still be me. I would still be who I am.” And that is true. But you would be you, without your thoughts. You would be you without your words. Without your acts of kindness. Without your agency to be eithergood or evil, to be helpful, OR USEFUL. So… sure, you would BE YOU – but you would be SO MUCH LESS OF YOURSELF THAN YOU ARE NOW. And why? Because so much Of who and what we are as human beings, IS THE BODY. Because so much of who and what YOU are – IS YOUR BODY.

Some people may not like to hear that, - they may not like their bodies (for whatever reason), or having lost the faculties of certain parts of their bodies (blindness, deafness, immobility, - so on) FEEL… frustrated with the state of their bodies, but what is our Christian hope in the first place, IF NOT – a resurrection to fullness of life IN RESURRECTED, AND PERFECTED, HEALED, - BODIES? And so, - there is no escaping this – friends. The BODY, is at the very center of the Christian faith.

For what is the body? It is us. And it is how we interact with the world. AND, with our God. It is the way that we interact with someone. It is the way we perceive beauty. it is the thing way we feel pain. It is how experiences pleasure. It is that which THINKS, and REASONS. And SPEAKS. And LOVES. And LIVES. – and it is us – EVEN WHEN that part of us… DIES. This – is – the body. You and I. We are our bodies.

And here, in the feast of the annunciation. – the feast of our Lord’s CONCEPTION. The feast of HIS ENFLESHMENT. God steps into this. And takes on and into Himself a body. And from this body, - HE NEVER STEPS OUT. And in this body God accomplished the salvation of EVERY-BODY. And in this body HE MEETS YOU STILL – WEEK BY WEEK, - in His flesh and in His blood, in the SACRAMENT OF His body. - And in His Word, HE MEETS YOU IN YOUR BODY. Where you hear Him with your ears. And read His promise written down in Scripture through your eyes. – and ponder His grace THROUGH YOUR BRAIN-POWERED MIND. - All of this,in your body.

And so salvation is. He in His body. You in yours. THIS IS HOW HE MEETS YOU. For He did not desire SACRIFICES of bulls, goats, - lambs, cows. No. but He desired to MEET YOU IN HIS OWN BODY. Not to accept the blood of a cow on your behalf. But to BLEED HIMSELF His very own blood ON YOUR ACCOUNT. Not to accept from you THE BURNT FLESH OF A BULL TO SCENT OVER the brokenness of your sins ,- but , - TO GIVE FOR YOU His own FLESH to burn away from your soul, - EVERY IMPURITY THEREIN. And this – in His body. In His flesh, In His blood. Which is,FOR YOU, true food. True drink. His BODY – a full feast.

And so He meets you in this meal. Body to body. Flesh to flesh. – HERE HE MEETS YOU. Through His flesh. Where God has come near. Near to our pain. Near to our pleasure – TO JOIN HIMSELF TO WHO AND WHAT WE ARE. And to raise us up to Himself. THROUGH the LADDER OF HIS VERY OWN FLESH. Where God has met man. In entering into Him, - and becoming one with Him- in the unity of God and man, of heaven and earth, of Jesus and of you – IN THE FLESH OF CHRIST MADE CRUCIFIED. – IN THE FLESH OF LIFE MADE LIFELESS. Risen up to life again. All of this – is THE BODY. He in His. And you in Yours. Come together, and made one, THROUGH THE SUPPER, of the flesh of God’s Son.

And so we say, in celebration of God’s ENFLESHMENT in the womb of St. Mary, - the angel’s words: HAIL MARY, - FULL OF GRACE, YES. Hail PREGNANT ONE, - Full of God, - full of GRACE. Full of Christ – mother of the God of life. Blessed are you. For the Lord is with you. Blessed are you – for God’s FLESH IS WITHIN YOU. And so we pray:Hail Christ, - conceived within her. O God in Flesh. O Christ, - LIFE’SDESIGNER. Hail, O true body of the virgin Mary born. who, in anguish to redeem us did suffer as one crucified and crowned with thorns. From whose open heart gushed forth both water and blood. Give to us in every hour a taste of your undying, CRUCIFIED, and risen love. O loving Jesus. O holy Jesus. O Jesus my love. My God. My all.

And so we have it friends. This is the truth of the body. Of yours…. And of His – GIVEN FOR YOU. Of his flesh, and of His blood. – these are yours, asHe is yours. This is your salvation: His bodyand His blood.And so we have it. The blood of BEASTS and Bulls God did not desire. Burnt offerings and Roast MeatsGod did not desire. But a body. But Christ’s body. – HE HAS GIVEN and prepared. A feast fit for sinners, - a meal of His flesh, TO BE YOUR DAILY FARE

. So… in the Words of the great Canticler Solomon: Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply,. For so my lover comes. I sleep soundly, but my heart wakes within me; it is the voice of my beloved! He knocks at my heart’s door, saying ,“Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.”I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them? My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door. And my heart yearned for him. I arose to open for my beloved, And my hands dripped withmyrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock. I opened for my beloved, I am open for my beloved. - FILL ME – O beloved. O loving Jesus. O holy Jesus. O Jesus. My love. My God. My all.

Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply. For behold His body. – and hear His Word: - He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. Sacrifices, offerings, Hedid not desire –BUT A BODY… - this is my body (and this , my blood)… - He has prepared.

EAT.. O FRIENDS. The feast laid out for you. Drink, yes. Drink deeply. And Quench your sins with His LOVE.

+ F, S, HS, AMEN.