02 Christmas The Name of Jesus (1st Sunday after Christmas)
My friends I greet you this morning in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our lesson comes to us from the sixth chapter of the book of numbers beginning with the 22nd verse. “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them, 24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. 27 So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Happy New Year! Can you believe it? Another year has come and gone. Do you have your resolutions yet? It seems like those resolutions are a major topic this time of year. Talk of resolutions is to New Years, what talk of gifts is to Christmas. So what are your resolutions? In what ways do you intend to improve yourself or your life in this the year of our Lord 2006? The other day I read about a pastor who resolved to turn off his microphone when he would blow his nose. But what about you, what are your resolutions?
There is something about a fresh start, a new beginning, a clean slate that gives us confidence and motivation to change some of those things in our lives that we are not too happy about. Whether it is to loose weight, or quit a bad habit; whether you resolve to spend less time at work, or more time working on homework; whether you want to be nicer to others or to have a firmer grip on your temper, there is something about this time of year that empowers people to take a good look in the mirror and want to improve on what they see.
Now I’m sure that there are quite a few people out there who do very well on this. But I’m also sure that there are a lot more who don’t do so well with this. I don’t know about you, but it seems to be for me, that the only resolution that I have been able to keep is the resolution to not make any more resolutions. And we find humor in that because we all know what a challenge this can be. Why? Why can this be so difficult?
Perhaps the problem is the resolution. It’s not that it isn’t a good idea, but it could be that is simply not realistic. Or maybe there is too much going on in our lives right now. If we had the kind of time and energy that we needed to make it work, we would make it work well, but there is just so much going on, that it is simply not possible. Whatever the reason, there is something about resolutions and keeping them that is difficult. But that doesn’t mean that we give up on them. And it doesn’t mean that they are a bad idea. Remember this is a new year. This is a fresh start, a new beginning, a clean slate.
I don’t know about you, but when I think about resolutions, I’m usually thinking about them from a personal perspective. I’m usually thinking about myself, or improvements that I want to make so that I will be a better person. So that I will look better, be nicer and things like that. But I haven’t thought about resolutions from a community perspective. But how about it? What do you think? What if we spent some time thinking and praying about resolutions not just for ourselves, but for our community of faith, resolutions for Our Father Lutheran Church. What can we do to improve this community? How can we strengthen our mission? In what ways can we be a light in this dark world? How can we show God’s love to a world that other find unlovable?
Hopefully you are intrigued and find this to be a good idea and will take it seriously. So that you will go home this week and spend time praying for and about this community of faith and how we can live out the Good News of God’s love in Jesus Christ for this world. You know next weekend is Stewardship Weekend. On Saturday evening and Sunday morning we will come together and, in a sense, put forth resolutions for this community of faith for the year of our Lord 2006. Now this isn’t just limited to money. Stewardship weekend doesn’t mean that you will come to church and hear the famous sermon on the amount. Rather it is an opportunity for us to think about the mission of this community and how we can live that out. It is a chance for us to come together in service to God, to one another and to the world around us. It is the time to look at the gifts and blessings that God has given to us and see how we can use those things, not just for our own benefit but for the benefit of our neighbors and the people in our lives. We all have talents and skills, how will we use them in this new year for the glory of God? How will we mature in our relationship with him and with one another? It is all very exciting.
Now Maybe you are wondering where our text comes in. After all I did mention that our lesson comes from the 6th chapter of numbers and there is nothing about a resolution or stewardship weekend in those verses, so how do the two tie together? Well here is the key. Whatever comes out of next weekend we need to realize that those resolutions are not like the personal ones that are so easily made and then broken. For one thing they are bigger than just you and me. For another we have God’s help and blessing in carrying out the resolutions that we make next weekend. That is where these verses come in. “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.” Sound familiar? They should. Did you feel tempted to say, “Amen” after you heard those words? If so, it is because you will often hear them spoken at the end of our worship services. In these powerful and amazing words you and I find the resolve that we need to carry out the resolutions that we make next weekend.
These verses are sometimes called the Aaronic benediction. That is because the Lord told Moses to tell his brother Aaron, “This is how you will bless my people.” You see, two months after the children of Israel had come out of their time of slavery in the land of Egypt. They eventually wound up at the foot of Mt. Sinai. It was there that God made a covenant with them. He made a promise. I will be your God and you will be my people. And so at the point in time that are verses take place we find that the children of Israel are getting ready to pack up camp and head out toward the promised land. These words are the blessing that is given to them as they prepare to make this journey that I am sure was scary for them. After all their resources would have been taxed to the limited. They would be going into new territory that they had never been in before. And since men were in charge no one would ask for directions. They have no food, no home other than tents, no real control over their situation. It must have been terrifying. Not only could they not see the end of the journey, but they could not see the means that would get them there. But that is where this blessing comes in.
In these wonderful words God promises to be with his people. He says that I will go with you on your journey and I will give you what you need to complete that journey. And so in that promise they find strength and comfort. And about 2/3 of through chapter nine they begin their journey.
Do you see the connection between us and our ancestors in the faith? As we prepare to carry out God’s mission in this new year there are some challenges that we may have to face. We may not always be able to see the means to the ends. We may not know where the money will come from, where the volunteers will be found, or how we are going to get from point A to point B, but that is why we have the words of this blessing. Because not only do they remind us that God will be with us and will take care of us, but they bless us as well.
These words are not a simply wish. But they are powerful and effective. “The Lord bless you and keep you.” The God’s Word translation renders this “The Lord bless you and watch over you.” This happens as God is with us. He is here in our midst. He is with us as a community of faith. He is with us as his own sons and daughters washed in the waters of baptism, redeemed through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The blessing of God is being in relationship with him. Not a servant master relationship. But the relationship where we are his adopted sons and daughters. The relationship where he gives us his spirit and by that spirit we call out, “Abba, Daddy, Father.” This is a true blessing. Knowing that God is with us, gives us the confidence that we can face any trial that comes in our way. We don’t have to go at things alone, but we have him along with us. Not off in the distance, but here in our midst.
“The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.” The God’s Word translation reads, “The Lord smile on you and be kind to you.” God’s face shinning upon you is an indication of his divine approval. It is a way of talking about his presence. He is with you. He is for you. This is again a sign of his mercy, his grace, his kindness. Because on our own, apart from Jesus we are not worthy of such approval, but we have it through him. And so we see in our own lives God’s saving and restoring presence.
“The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.” You and I have God’s favor through Jesus Christ. This is so exciting. This is so wonderful. This is so awesome. Because what it means is that we don’t have to spend our time trying to ear our salvation. We don’t have to spend our time trying to make God love us more. We don’t have to spend our time trying to make ourselves worthy of being his daughters and sons. If we did have to spend our time doing those things, we would be spending all our time doing it. But we have salvation, love, and worth through Jesus therefore we have all kinds of free time now. And since we have this free time, and since there are people in the world who don’t know Jesus and his love for them, and God’s approval through him, we can focus our time on sharing that good news with them. This is mission that the resolutions we make next weekend will be working toward.
Do you find yourself feeling anxious or nervous? Well that is where God’s peace comes in. Remember Jesus said, “I give you peace. But not as the world gives it so do not let your hearts be troubled.” But we have peace. Peace in our relationship with God. Peace in knowing that he is with us. Peace in knowing that he will provide for us. Peace in knowing that as we face challenges this coming year we will mature in our relationship with our God as we see how he carries us through those trials. The peace that we have is total and complete. It enables us to rest in God. To be still and know that he is the Lord and that nothing that happens is outside of his power or control.
I read a book in which the author was talking about the attitude that we take toward our problems. He said something to the effect of unless your problem is bigger than a dead savior, it is under control. That is God was able to raise Jesus from the dead. Therefore he has the power to take care of all our problems. And indeed he does and will. It is just that he doesn’t always do it in the way that we expect or imagine.
Next week we will make resolutions about the mission of this congregation. Go home and pray about the mission. How can you use the gifts, talents and time that God has given you for his kingdom? How can you share with the world around you the blessings of being in relationship with God? Then know that as you come to this building each week to hear God’s word and to receive his sacrament that you will leave with a blessing. It may be this blessing. It may be the beautiful blessing that Pastor Hinchey often uses. But in the words that are spoken at that blessing you and I are given the strength, and courage and peace that we need to carry out the resolutions that we make next weekend. The Lord bless you, keep you, make his face shine upon you, be gracious to you, look upon with favor and give you peace. Amen.