The glory that awaits is worth the pain of the cross

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

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Sermon for the Transfiguration of Our Lord

2 Peter 1:16-21 + Matthew 17:1-9

If a person is serious about living a Christian life in this world, he’ll find that it involves plenty of pain and sacrifice. He (or she) will no longer fit in with the surrounding culture and society. He’ll experience strained or broken relationships, public shaming, persecution, struggles with temptation, confusion about the path forward (for oneself and for the Church), maybe also feelings of loneliness and isolation, as we live in the midst of the many lies, injustices, and acts of lawlessness that fill our world. In fact, it was just six days before Jesus’ transfiguration, which you heard about in today’s Gospel, that Jesus summarized all this to His twelve apostles: If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Taking up one’s cross is not a symbol of comfort, or ease, or relaxation. Quite the opposite. The Christian life is symbolized by the cross, which is a heavy burden all by itself, and which leads inevitably to crucifixion.

But Jesus went on to explain to His apostles that taking up one’s cross, even losing one’s life, would turn out very well for those who follow Him. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

The cross and death—losing one’s life—comes first. But one of the basic truths of the Christian faith is that death is not the end for the believer in Christ, just as it was not the end for Christ Himself. The entire eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews teaches that truth, listing Old Testament believer after Old Testament believer who looked ahead in faith, past this life, with its joys and with its sorrows, to the glory of the life to come. Then it picks up at the beginning of chapter 12 with this encouragement for Christians: Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

How was Jesus able to endure the pain of the cross? By looking past it to the “joy that was set before Him,” the joy of providing the atonement for the sins of mankind by His cross-bearing, by His suffering and death, the joy of the resurrection from death and eternal glory afterward, first for Himself, and then for those who would follow Him into glory. That’s what’s pictured for Jesus’ disciples in the Transfiguration. In it, Jesus gives them a vision, an appetizer, if you will, of the glory that awaited Jesus, and all believers, on the other side of pain and death, enabling them to endure the cross that was coming.

Jesus took just three disciples—Peter, James, and John—up onto the mountain that day. It was enough for just three of them to see the vision. They would bear witness to the other apostles, and, later, to the whole Church of what they saw there that day, and the Holy Spirit would bear witness through them, so that those who hear, as you’re hearing today, might believe.

Jesus was transfigured before them. (That means, His form, His appearance underwent a drastic transformation.) His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white like the light, shining and white, like snow, Mark describes it, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. We’re used to seeing things like that in movies, but imagine it happening in real life, right in front of you, to a man you’ve spent almost three years with, every day, watching Him do miraculous things, yes, but never once looking any different than any other man. Before, the eyes of faith told them that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, as Peter had confessed one week earlier. Now, suddenly, they see Jesus looking like the Son of the living God, with all the glory and splendor of the Creator.

But there was more to this vision. Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. Remember how Hebrews chapter 12 spoke of the Old Testament saints as a “great cloud of witnesses,” all urging us onward and upward, to live as strangers here as we focus on the goal of heavenly glory? Well, God chose just two from that great cloud of witnesses to appear here with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Why these two? Oh, there are all sorts of reasons we could point to. Jesus had much in common with both Old Testament prophets, but I’ll mention just a few. Both Moses and Elijah faced their share of opposition from the unbelievers in Israel, just as Jesus had. Both of them trudged through this life, hoping for something better at the end. Moses knew he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the earthly Promised Land of Canaan, and yet he went on faithfully leading the Israelites through the wilderness for those forty years, because he had his heart set on the heavenly Promised Land that he did enter when he died. Elijah, for his part, was taken to glory early. He readily left behind this sinful world when God was ready to take him, and he left in a most extraordinary way: he ascended into heaven alive, being carried up in a whirlwind. In both cases, how did things turn out for them? Well, here they are, alive and well, conversing with the Son of God in His glory. Clearly, for them, the glory that awaited was worth the pain of the cross they bore.

Luke adds that they were talking with Jesus about His “departure (literally, about His “exodus”) which He was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. Ironic, isn’t it?, that Moses was talking about an “exodus,” and Elijah, too, given his extraordinary “exodus” from this world. Jesus’ own departure or “exodus” would also be rather extraordinary. He had a few months left to preach and teach, and then He would depart via death, as Moses had, but then come back to life, and finally depart by ascending into heaven alive, as Elijah had. This was the plan. It was the plan all along. It was the plan since Old Testament times, and, in fact, since the creation of the world. The Christ would come, not to conquer the world or dominate the world, not to sit on a throne in comfort and glory, but to suffer the pain of the cross, and then to enter into His glory.

Only a glimpse of that glory was being given to the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, but they sure wanted it to last. Lord, it is good for us to be here, Peter said. If you wish, let us make here three shelters—one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. St. Mark adds that he didn’t know what to say, since they were all so afraid. But Peter’s instinct to remain on the mountain, to keep the glory going, to not have to think about the cross they’ll have to face down at the bottom of the mountain—that instinct lives in all of us. We want the good times to last. We want to avoid the pain of the cross. In fact, Peter is almost repeating what he had said six days earlier when Jesus began to predict His suffering and death, “No, Lord! This will never happen to You!” At which point, Jesus had to rebuke him sharply, Get behind Me, Satan! For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.The things of God include the pain of the cross in this life, for Jesus, and for those who would follow Him, without fail. But the flesh shrinks back from those things.

While Peter was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Hear him!” God the Father speaks from heaven for a second time. The first time, you recall, was at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when He was baptized. “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased!” The Father was pleased with His Son at the beginning. And He remains pleased now toward the end, even after Jesus has foretold the way of the cross, for Himself and for His followers. The Father was pleased to lead His Son to that cross for our salvation, and He was pleased with Jesus for being willing to set aside comfort and glory for a time, to bear the pain of the cross for us. And He is also pleased to bestow a glorious kingdom upon all who follow Jesus until the end.

Hear Him! Listen to Him!, the Father commands. No better advice can be given, at any time, but especially when it’s time to head down the mountain, away from the glory, when it’s time to bear the cross. When you’re tempted, when you’re disappointed, when you’re confused, when you’re depressed, when you’re persecuted, when you no longer fit in in this depraved world, Hear Him! Listen to Jesus! Not to a whisper in your ear, or to something you feel inside. Listen to the word of Jesus, to the things He has said, and has inspired to be written down in the Holy Scriptures, and has commanded His ministers to preach until He comes again in glory. As Paul writes to the Romans in chapter 8, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. That’s the lesson in the Transfiguration. The glory that awaits in the future is worth the pain of the cross now. It’s okay to go down the mountain and face the pain that awaits below, as long as you’re walking behind Jesus, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Keep following Him to the cross and the grave, and you’ll also follow Him into glory and life everlasting. Amen.

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An epiphany of Christ’s saving purpose

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

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Sermon for the week of Epiphany 2

Luke 19:1-10

What a beautiful little story we heard this evening, the story of Zaccheus, one that we don’t hear in our regular lectionary, so I’m glad we have the chance to ponder it tonight. We see here, really, the same thing we saw on Sunday in Jesus’ miracle of changing water into wine, that Jesus came, not to condemn sinners, but to bring joy to sinners. To bring salvation. To seek and to save that which was lost.

We’re introduced to this man named Zaccheus—the only time he shows up in the Bible. We learn that he’s not just a tax collector, but a chief tax collector. He has likely participated in and overseen more theft and fraud in one year than most people could commit in a lifetime. Imagine how many lives of his fellow Israelites he has damaged and maybe even ruined! But now, at the end of Jesus’ ministry, as He’s approaching Jerusalem for Palm Sunday and Holy Week, Zaccheus finally has a chance to get a look at Jesus. But he has to climb up a sycamore tree in order to see Him, because Zaccheus is a short man, and the crowds are blocking his view.

The fact that Zaccheus is so keen to see Jesus tells us something important. Clearly it isn’t just raw curiosity. It’s hope! Because Zaccheus has heard, over the past three years, that this Jesus doesn’t just write off tax collectors and sinners, like so many in Israel. He has time for them. He’s been giving them hope that, on the other side of repentance, there is a gracious God who will gladly have them back in His good graces, who will forgive them all their many trespasses and welcome them back as His children. And so Zaccheus, spurred on by hope, climbs that tree to get a look at this Man whom many are calling the Christ who has come from God.

And he is not disappointed.

Not only does Zaccheus catch a glimpse of Jesus, but Jesus looks straight at him, and knows him—knows his name, knows his profession, knows his sins. But He also knows that Zaccheus is not up there in that tree because he wants to throw apples at Jesus, or because he intends to go on living in his sins. He’s up there in that tree hoping for redemption. And that’s just what he finds. Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today!

Stay at the house of a tax collector, of a man who is despised by everyone who knows him in Israel? That’s what grace looks like, Jesus reaching out to a sinner, eager to spend time with him, unashamed to be associated with him. And so Zaccheus hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

And you and I rejoice together with that sinful man, because we know that it’s the same grace and forgiveness that we have received from Jesus, the same acceptance of us, not as we stubbornly remained in our sins, but as we sought a way out of our sins, as we sought in Him redemption.

But the crowds did not rejoice. They all grumbled and said, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Oh, what a tragedy! These people still didn’t know Jesus, didn’t know the grace of God, and they certainly didn’t know themselves, because if they had, they would have rejoiced instead of grumbling. You only grumble at Jesus’ kindness when you think you deserve it, while other people don’t. But that’s never the case. There isn’t a soul on earth who deserves Jesus’ kindness or God’s acceptance. All have sinned and earned for themselves the wages of sin, which is not kindness or acceptance, but eternal death.

How to silence the grumbling of the crowds? How to prove to them that this man has been changed and is no longer the greedy, thieving sinner he was before? Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will restore it fourfold.”

Look at the power of the Gospel—the promise of free acceptance through Christ! Look at the New Man step forth, revealing the faith that lies beneath! Does Zaccheus sound reluctant to give up his former sins? Does he sound like he’s being forced to make restitution to those from whom he stole? Hardly! Zaccheus is simply doing spontaneously what John the Baptist told the crowds to do: Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. He shows the truth of what Jesus would soon say to His disciples in the upper room on Maundy Thursday: If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. A person who comes to Jesus unwilling to mend his evil ways is not coming in faith but still in unbelief. A person who is truly converted does what Zaccheus does here—seeks to mend his ways and make up for the things he’s done wrong, not before God, but before men. Before God, the blood of Jesus is the only thing that can make atonement for evil deeds. But before men, if it’s in a Christian’s power to make atonement, to make restitution, to give back what was stolen or to mend what was broken, he will do it, gladly, as Zaccheus did, out of thankfulness to God for His free acceptance in Christ.

Having shown his faith through the good works that flowed from it, Zaccheus heard an even sweeter sentence from Jesus. Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. Now, genetically speaking, there was never any doubt that Zaccheus was a son of Abraham. He was a Jew by birth, like everyone else in Israel. But once again Jesus reveals that to be a true “son of Abraham” is not a matter of genetics, but a matter of faith. Those who share the faith of Abraham in the God of Israel, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, are sons of Abraham and will inherit the heavenly Promised Land.

That title, “son of Abraham,” given to Zaccheus by Jesus, is also a reminder to the rest of those who call themselves “sons of Abraham” that Zaccheus is their full-fledged brother, and they ought to receive him as such and treat him as such, no longer “a man who is a sinner,” but “a man who has been forgiven through faith in Christ, just like the rest of us sons of Abraham.”

The same lesson applies to us Christians. If a person shows himself to be a believer in Christ, then social status and past sins no longer define that person. Christ now defines that person, who has become our brother in the family of Abraham.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. And there’s the beautiful truth. Jesus, the Son of Man, didn’t come to praise those who are doing well on their own, nor did He come to tell the lost that they’re doing fine in their lostness. He came to go looking for those who are lost, like Zaccheus had been for much of his life, and to save, to rescue those who are lost from the guilt of their sins, and from living as slaves to their sins, and from the eternal death they (we!) have deserved because of our sins.

And so, in this beautiful little story of Zaccheus in the sycamore tree, we see again the truth so clearly expressed in John chapter 3, God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Take comfort in this epiphany of Christ’s saving purpose, and rejoice in His eagerness to come searching for you. Amen.

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Water into wine, an epiphany of glory and of joy

Posted on January 18, 2026 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

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Sermon for Epiphany 2

Romans 12:6-16 + John 2:1-11

I know that you Christians were glad to hear again today the Gospel account of Jesus’ first miracle, when He changed water into wine at that wedding feast in the town of Cana. You’re always glad to hear the word about Jesus, aren’t you?, no matter what it is—the things He did and the things He said during that brief time when He walked the earth, among that blessed generation that got to share this earthly life with God in the flesh for a little while. You’re glad to hear about Jesus because you already know Him and love Him, because you know how much He loved you, how much He desired your salvation, how much He did so that you could escape eternal condemnation and have eternal life. You’re glad to hear how Jesus changed water into wine at a wedding feast.

But some might wonder how relevant it really is, with all that’s going on in the world. Does it do any good for those who don’t know Jesus, to hear about this one-time miracle of changing water into wine? Does it affect how a person approaches life or faces the trials of today? It really does, if you pay attention to it. In fact, Jesus chose this as His very first miracle, as a sort of introduction of Himself to the world, to show those who were paying attention not only what He could do, but who He truly was, and the purpose of His life and ministry. Here in this unique miracle of changing water into wine, we’re given an epiphany of Jesus’ glory as the Son of God, and of the joy He came to bring.

The apostle John tells us about the very first things Jesus did as He began His ministry. First, He was baptized by John the Baptist, as we heard on Wednesday, where He was revealed as the Son of God by God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Then He went out into the wilderness to fast and be tempted for forty days. Then He came back, was revealed by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, chose His first five disciples, and then headed straight for Cana with them, to this wedding to which they had all previously been invited.

Was it a coincidence that they had all been invited to this wedding that had obviously been planned for some time? Of course not. It was all part of God’s plan to begin revealing Jesus to His disciples. At a wedding, showing that marriage is good, and that celebrating marriage is good, and that even including wine as part of that celebration is good.

Throughout the Old Testament, wine is almost always treated as a blessing from God and as something that “makes glad the heart of man,” as it says in Psalm 104. Now, we all know that wine, like any of God’s blessings, can be abused. But it can also be used well, to make glad the heart of the Christian who gives thanks to God for all His many blessings, including the fruit of the vine. Jesus’ attendance at that wedding was an endorsement of God’s good gifts to His people, including marriage, including celebration.

But the celebration was about to be diminished a little bit. They ran out of wine at the wedding reception. It wasn’t the end of the world. In fact, of all the miracles Jesus would perform over the next three years, this one would seem almost inconsequential and unnecessary. But Mary was troubled by the wine running out, so she mentioned it to Jesus, seeming to expect Him to do something about it. What she expected, we aren’t told. But His response to her was a gentle scolding: What have I to do with you, woman? Calling Mary “woman” was not at all disrespectful in that context, but it does reveal a distancing that has taken place, now that Jesus has stepped out of His home and into His role as the Teacher of Israel. Jesus would never again speak of “His mother” by that name. In fact, on a later occasion, when Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were outside looking to speaking with Him, He said, Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.

The other thing Jesus said to Mary is the most important part. My hour has not yet come. Which hour is that? On several occasions during His ministry, usually when people were trying to kill Him, it says that they were unable to harm Him, because “His hour had not yet come.” But finally, when Holy Week arrived, at the very end of His earthly ministry, Jesus said, Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified, referring to His death, resurrection, and ascension. The wedding at Cana wasn’t the hour when Jesus would fully reveal His glory as the Son of God and as the Savior of mankind. He wouldn’t do anything so visibly as to reveal His divinity to everyone in Israel, or even to everyone at the wedding. But to the eyes of a few chosen people, including His first disciples, Jesus would begin to reveal His glory as the Son of God.

Mary didn’t know what He would do, but she suspected He would do something, so she ordered the servants to do whatever He told them. What He told them was to fill up six large stone pots with water, each one holding about twenty to thirty gallons. That’s a lot of water! Then He told them to draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. When he tasted it—the water that had suddenly been changed into wine—he was amazed. Not at the miracle itself—he didn’t know where the wine had come from—but at what he thought was the strange behavior of the bridegroom. He called the bridegroom over and said, “Normally people bring out the best wine first, and then the inferior wine once the guests are drunk. But you have saved the best until now!”

So what’s the point of this miracle account? John summarizes it for us at the end: This was the first of the signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. Jesus did all sorts of miracles throughout His three-year ministry, from healing the sick to casting out demons to raising the dead. But this one was one of a kind. He revealed His glory as the Son of God by taking water and, with a word, turning it into something entirely different, and not just different, but better, something that doesn’t only sustain life, but that makes glad the heart of man. It’s a miracle of creation, the supernatural manipulation of molecules, something only God can do. But it was only known to the servants and to Jesus’ disciples, and that was the point, that Jesus’ disciples should begin to see His glory, to see Him, and to believe in Him, as their God, so that they could later be eyewitnesses of His glory, so that you and I might believe in Him, too.

This miracle account does point us to Jesus as our God. It is an epiphany of His glory, of His divinity. But the miracle tells us even more than that. It tells us of Jesus’ kindness. It tells of His mercy. It tells us that He came to bring joy, not only to that wedding party, but to fallen mankind, to give gifts to sinners instead of the punishment we deserve for our sins. It tells us of His generosity, how He gives His gifts not in meager measure but in superabundance. It teaches us that He has good gifts, the best possible gifts, in store for those who believe in Him: forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, the peace of having God committed to helping you as your God, the joy of life forever in His glorious and loving presence. The miracle at Cana is an epiphany of joy.

That joy is intended for all, it has been earned by Christ for all through His death on the cross, and it’s given freely to all, just as all that wine was given freely to the guests at the wedding. But it comes only through faith in Christ Jesus. If you’re still seeking joy in the sins that God hates, you’ll find that those things don’t actually lead to joy at all but to shame and emptiness, guilt and condemnation. If you think you can have joy in the passing things of this passing world, you’ll find that joy like that will always run out before the end, like wine at a wedding feast. But if you seek joy through Christ, in the forgiveness He offers, in the life He offers, then true joy will be yours, because it’s the very thing He came to give, that we all may have life, and have it in abundance. Trust in the One who was willing to change water into wine at a wedding feast, to show His disciples that He was God, and that those who follow Him will have joy that knows no end. Amen.

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Baptized for our salvation

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

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Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 + Matthew 3:13-17

From the age of 12 to the age of 30, nothing much is revealed about Jesus. He has grown up in the northern region of Galilee, in the city of Nazareth. He has been obedient to His parents. He has learned the carpentry trade from Joseph, who apparently died during this interval. Jesus has grown in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. He has dutifully attended the synagogue every Sabbath, and, presumably, He has made the journey to Jerusalem every year for the three required feasts. He has been a heavenly light shining in His home, and in His day-to-day contact with others in Nazareth, as a layman, not as a teacher of Israel. But now, it’s time. Time to leave His home, and His mother Mary, and His brothers and sisters in Nazareth. It’s time to step forth to be a Light for the whole nation of Israel. It’s time to begin His ministry of preaching and teaching, gathering disciples to Himself as a Rabbi, and performing the great miracles that will attract the whole nation to His light. It’s time to step forth to save all mankind from sin, death, and the power of the devil. And the first step into that saving role is to be baptized.

For the life of him, John the Baptist couldn’t understand why Jesus was coming to him to be baptized. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” John was very clear in his own preaching that his was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It was a baptism for sinners only. And he knew that Jesus was no sinner. John, a sinner like all men, only dared to baptize people because God had directly commanded him to do it. And so, when John baptized, he stepped into the role of God, washing away the sins of the penitent; God had given him that ministry. But Jesus—Jesus was the Son of God. How could John possibly step into the role of God to baptize his God?

Jesus replied, Allow it for now. For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Notice, Jesus didn’t claim to be a sinner in need of forgiveness like everyone else. He wasn’t. He said that it was fitting for John to baptize Him “to fulfill all righteousness.” What does that mean?

Well, it means three things. First, Jesus had come to save mankind from their sins. And God’s plan for our salvation involved the Son of God stepping forward as the Son of Man, to carry out this saving ministry, to redo rightly everything that mankind had done wrong, and to suffer all the things mankind had earned by our wrongdoing. And He was ready to step forward to begin that ministry. But no man, not even the Son of Man, could just take such a service or ministry upon Himself. As a man, He could volunteer for such a ministry, but He needed the Father’s Word, the Father’s approval, the Father’s choice made known, made public. Jesus knew that it was His Father’s will to use this baptism to make that choice public, as we’ll see in a moment. So this baptism would serve as Jesus’ ordination, by the Father, through the Holy Spirit, into the office of the holy ministry, His public anointing as the Christ. Righteousness required it.

Second, this baptism allowed Jesus to step forward and truly be numbered with the transgressors. Everyone else who was being baptized by John was a transgressor. Now Jesus steps forward to be baptized, just like them, just as He would one day be “numbered with the transgressors” on the cross, even though He hadn’t done anything wrong. His willingness to be numbered among us sinners, without being sinful Himself, was absolutely essential for our salvation. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. And so He said to John, It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

Third, this baptism allows the Lord Christ to join Himself to this Sacrament of Holy Baptism in such a way that everyone who is now baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus is united to the Lord Jesus, counted as a member of His body, clothed with Him, and with the robe of His righteousness, crucified with Him, buried with Him, and also raised from the dead with Him. And so it was fitting for Jesus to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness, as a necessary step toward our salvation.

Now we come to the awesome events connected with Jesus’ baptism. He was baptized in the same way everyone else was baptized by John. Nothing appeared any different in the baptism itself. But as soon as Jesus came up from the water, the heavens were opened to him. And John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And behold, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This is the first clear reference in the New Testament to the three distinct Persons of the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—all in one place. John saw the Spirit coming down from heaven upon Jesus like a dove. In John’s Gospel, it says the Spirit remained on Him. That fits with what Isaiah had prophesied about the Christ: The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Then the Father spoke from heaven, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. There’s the public selection of Jesus for the office of Christ, Savior, Servant of the Lord, the public endorsement of Jesus as the Father’s Minister to mankind and as the Savior of the world. And from that moment on, Jesus took on that task with every fiber of His being, dedicating every moment of the next three years (and, in reality, the next 2,000 years as well) to serving His Father in the work of our salvation.

It was no coincidence that, after fulfilling His earthly ministry, Jesus commanded His apostles to go, teach, and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Just as all three Persons were present at Jesus’ Baptism, so they are present at every Christian baptism, where, as Luther says in that hymn we just sang, God Himself is the true Baptizer. The Father is there, the Son is there, and the Spirit is there. The minister, like John the Baptist, is called to act in the place of God, to baptize, to wash away sins, to join the baptized person to Christ, thus making the baptized person as acceptable to the Father as Jesus is, and to pass on the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that what was said about Jesus is now said about each and every one who is baptized in His name: This is My beloved Son, in which I am well pleased. For sinners, that means “forgiven.” It means “saved.” And it’s true, by the way, whether it’s a boy or a girl, a man or a woman being baptized. Because no matter who you are, your baptism transports you back through time (in God’s estimation) to the moment of Jesus’ Baptism and binds you to Him forever, so that what was spoken about Jesus is now spoken about you who believe and are baptized. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And just as Jesus went forth from His baptism to devote His life to carrying out His Father’s will, so you and I must go forth from our baptism, every day, to carry out our Father’s will. We who have been baptized in Jesus’ name are God’s beloved sons and daughters. We bear the name of the holy Trinity in the world. We have been made kings and queens in His kingdom, and holy priests, charged with offering up not only prayers but our very selves as holy sacrifices pleasing to God. All this flows from your baptism, and your baptism flows from Jesus’ baptism, just as it flows also from His life, death, and resurrection. Return to your baptism every day. Remember it. Take comfort in it. And then step forth from it again to live for Him who was baptized for our salvation. Amen.

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Engaged in our Father’s affairs

Posted on January 11, 2026 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

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Sermon for Epiphany 1

Romans 12:1-5 + Luke 2:41-52

On Wednesday, we mentioned a few unanswerable questions about the wise men—who they were, where they were from, what prophecy led them to recognize the meaning of that special star and to seek the newborn King of the Jews. And we concluded that the only thing that really mattered was the thing that was revealed to us, namely, that they were Gentiles who had been drawn to Israel by God to worship the King of the Jews, whom they recognized as their King, too.

There are plenty of unanswerable questions surrounding Jesus’ childhood, and foolish men have wasted countless hours inventing stories about it. But again, the only thing that really matters about His childhood are the things that have been revealed to us by God the Holy Spirit, through His inspired Evangelists. There aren’t many things that we know, but the things we do know are worth pondering. So turn your attention with me toward Jerusalem this morning, and toward the things St. Luke tells us about the time Jesus spent there as a Child, when He was thoroughly engaged in the Word of God.

After the holy family fled to Egypt to escape King Herod’s attempt to kill Jesus, at a still very young age, Jesus was called out of Egypt back to the land of Israel, to the northern city of Nazareth, where we’re told nothing of His childhood. All we’re told is that His parents went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover. God required that annual Passover visit to Jerusalem of all the Israelites, wherever they lived, even if it meant journeying for three or four days to get there. That’s what it took, if you lived in Nazareth. Mary and Joseph’s regular attendance at that required feast shows that they took God’s Word seriously. We also know that, because, years later, when Jesus preached in the synagogue in Nazareth, everyone there in the synagogue knew Him and His whole family well. In other words, He was raised in a home where the family went to church regularly. We’ll come back to that in a moment.

When He was twelve years old, Jesus went with His parents to Jerusalem and spent the Passover week with them there, engaged in the rituals and sacrifices that God had prescribed through Moses. The week went as planned, but the return didn’t. Luke tells us that When they had completed the days, as they returned, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother were unaware of it. But thinking that he was in their company, they went a day’s journey and began searching for him among their relatives and acquaintances. You may wonder how any parents could leave the big city without noticing that their son wasn’t with them. But this speaks to us about just how dependable and reliable the boy Jesus was. If He had had a reputation of being unreliable, or flighty, or disobedient, they wouldn’t have just assumed He was with their traveling caravan. They would have stayed on top of His whereabouts at all times. The fact that they had relaxed their supervision of Him shows that He didn’t normally need to be supervised.

When Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus wasn’t with them, they naturally panicked. And being already a day’s journey away from the city, they had to spend the next day traveling back. Then, finally, on the third day, they found Him, in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. In other words, they found Him in church, participating in “Bible class,” discussing the Word of God. And not just participating and discussing. Luke says that all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. There was Jesus, at twelve years old, revealing a little bit of His divinity in His genuine love for and profound understanding of God’s Word. Knowing who He is, that’s not a surprise to us. But no one knew at that time who He was. Even Mary and Joseph, who were supposed to know, didn’t fully comprehend it.

When they saw him, they were amazed, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? See, your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” After living with Jesus for twelve years, they grew accustomed to His humanness, His normalcy. He was their Son. That’s how they had come to see Him. And that He should love God’s Word was no surprise, but that He would love it so much that He would stay behind in Jerusalem to discuss it with some of the most learned teachers of the church? They could hardly believe it. And they were a little offended that He would put them through the horror of finding Him missing from their company.

Most parents don’t need to be corrected by their children, nor should they be. Most children have no higher calling than to honor their father and mother. But Jesus was no ordinary Child. He was not only their Son, but the Son of God the Father in heaven, and they needed to be reminded that His will came before theirs. Jesus said to them, “What do you mean, you were you searching for me? Did you not know that I had to be engaged in my Father’s affairs?” Jesus didn’t “become” the Son of God later in life, nor was He ignorant of who He was. He always knew who His real Father was, and what His mission on earth was. And so He had to be engaged in His Father’s affairs, particularly in His Father’s Word, hearing it, discussing it, exploring it, explaining it, not just at home with His parents, but with the very teachers of the Church in the holy city of God, in the holy temple, in the only version of “Bible class” the Jews had available to them.

Mary and Joseph still didn’t understand at the time, but they didn’t have to. They told Jesus to come along now, and He did. And it says that He was subject to them, and that He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. He carried out His callings, His vocations, as both the Son of God and the Son of Man. And He did it perfectly.

We see Jesus’ hidden identity as the Son of God in His zealous engagement with God’s Word, and in His supernatural understanding of it. But that’s not all we learn from Jesus this Gospel. We learn part of what it means to be a Christian.

There’s a key misconception people have about Christianity. Many, many people have the strange idea that you can be what I’ll call a “casual Christian,” in a casual relationship with God’s Church, and with His Word and worship, in a casual relationship with God’s commandments. I often hear people talk about their non-churchgoing-but-Christian family or friends, who don’t really care about obeying God’s commandments, including, obviously, the commandment to gather with other Christians around the ministry of His Word, to gladly hear and learn it, and to receive the Sacraments, and yet they still think of themselves as Christians. Now, as you know, there are good reasons why some people don’t go to church. They’re sick or incapacitated. Or they can’t find a right-teaching church, or they don’t live close enough to a right-teaching church to attend. But if they did, they would! As I know all of our long-distance members would gladly attend every Bible class and service, if they only lived close enough. And while they can’t attend, they look for ways to keep gathering with Christians near them to hear and learn the Word of God preached and taught by His ministers, even if it has to be through digital means. These are not “casual Christians,” but faithful ones who bear the cross of not having ready access to the pure preaching of God’s Word, and not settling for a compromised version of it.

But much more common is the “casual Christian” who isn’t really interested in gathering to hear God’s Word preached and taught. As if God never commanded anyone to gladly hear and learn His Word. But He did. It’s the moral meaning behind the Third Commandment, Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Those who aren’t interested in keeping God’s commandments, including His commandment to gather around the ministry of His Word, cannot rightly be called Christians at all.

Now if even you, who are Christians, were to compare your level of obedience and devotion to God’s Word with Jesus’ obedience and devotion, you know that you would fall short. Everyone falls short, showing the just condemnation of all men apart from Christ. Some people think, “That level of devotion and obedience is fine for Jesus. He’s the Son of God! But surely God doesn’t expect that of me! I’ll be fine with some devotion, some obedience, when I want!” Oh, but they’re wrong. The life of Jesus reveals the moral standard that God established from the beginning, how He created men to be, how Adam and Eve were, for a brief time. It isn’t “fine” to fall short of that standard. It’s deadly.

But the Christian Gospel teaches that, because no one is righteous or good enough on his own, because we’ve all earned God’s condemnation for ourselves, God sent Jesus into the world as a Man, to redeem us men from our sins. His devotion to God’s Word and to His Father’s affairs makes up for our lack of devotion, if we seek forgiveness in Him, if we recognize that we’re not at all fine apart from Him.

Those who believe in Christ can claim His record of perfect obedience and devotion before God as their own. And now, we believers also recognize that God hasn’t called us to remain in the filth of our sins and in our natural apathy (much less animosity!) toward His Word. You Christians, as born-again people, are called to love the Word of God, to hear it gladly, to learn it, to study it, to be engaged in it. To whatever extent God has opened the door for you to be engaged in the hearing and study and discussion of His Word, make the most of every one of those opportunities.

But the Christian life includes other things, too. Lots of other things. You heard the apostle Paul’s encouragement to Christians in today’s Epistle: I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual worship. As those who believe in Jesus and who follow Jesus, you have also been called to imitate Him in whole-life obedience to God’s commandments, summarized with love for God and love for your neighbor, but spelled out in much greater detail throughout the Holy Scriptures. Today’s Gospel gives you just a little window into the childhood life of the One whom you call your Lord and your Savior, whose love for God’s Word was unparalleled. Watch Him through that window, and learn from Him, even at the age of twelve, to be engaged in God’s Word, and in all our Father’s affairs, to walk in faith and in love, and in obedience to God’s commands. Amen.

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