The First Sunday after the Epiphany 2024

  

The First Sunday after the

 Epiphany, 2024

Bethany Lutheran Church

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

The Hymn # 196                   I Am Content                          

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne: high and lifted up.

And I heard the voice of a great multitude, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.

Psalm. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands: serve the Lord with gladness.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully to receive the prayers of Thy people who call upon Thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc

The Epistle and Gradual             Romans 12:1-5

Gradual

The Lord sent His Word and healed them: and delivered them from their destructions.

V. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness: and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts. Hallelujah!

The Gospel                                 Luke 2:41-52
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #660    Heaven Is My Home

 The Divinity of Christ

The Hymn #652        I Lay My Sins on Jesus

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #651        Be Still My Soul       

Prayers and Announcements

• Hymn suggestions are always welcome.
• Dealing with cancer - Lori Howell, Randy Anderson, Sarah Buck, Kermit Way, Pastor Jim Shrader. 
• Our media ministries - Alec Satin, Norma Boeckler. 
• Parsonage reading list - Zoom for Dummies, Zoom Beginner's Guide.

                

KJV Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

KJV Luke 2:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Prayer - Viet Dietrich

Lord God, heavenly Father, who in mercy hast established the Christian home among us: We beseech Thee so to rule and direct our hearts, that we may be good examples to children and servants, and not offend them by word or deed, but faithfully teach them to love Thy Church and hear Thy blessed word. Give them Thy Spirit and grace, that this seed may bring forth good fruit, so that our homelife may conduce to Thy glory, honor and praise, to our own improvement and welfare, and give offense to no one; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Divinity of Christ

Epiphany began yesterday. The Wise Men came from the East because they saw the Star, as everyone did, appearing and then disappearing. Experts made fun of Kepler for saying there really was a Star of Bethlehem, something he verified by math. Now the planetariums show Christmas crowds the guest-stars, as the Chinese called them. A guest-star could be a comet or the temporary conjunction of planets and stars. "Scholars are divided," but they no longer mock the Star of Bethlehem. Jupiter and Saturn were in conjunction in the sky and some observers add the star Regulus. The wise men could have become discouraged about the heavenly changes, but they kept believing and saw the baby Jesus and His parents.

KJV Luke 2:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

Every Sunday we have been reading the Exodus together, the escape from Egypt that took place roughly 1200 years before Christ. Exodus is filled with references to Christ, from the Burning Bush in chapter 3 to the spotless lamb in the Passover to the miracles which come up again in the Gospel of John - the living water, the supernatural bread. The Gospel of John is a series of sermons about the Exodus, so we should always be aware of both books, so closely linked together.

This passover became a terrible trial for Joseph and Mary. Everything seemed normal, a tradition they observed every year. This was annual for them, so that should have been routine. However, they had the worst kind of sorrow.

Luther:

Although the holy mother Mary, who was highly blessed and upon whom many favors were bestowed, had undoubtedly the greatest delight in her child, yet the Lord so ruled that her joy was not without sorrow and like all others she did not attain complete blessedness until she entered heaven. For this reason she had to suffer so much sorrow, pain and anguish on earth. It was her first great sorrow that she had to give birth to her child in Bethlehem, in a strange town, where she found no room with her babe except in a stable. Then her second sad experience was that soon after the six weeks of her purification she was compelled to flee with her child into Egypt, a strange country, which was indeed a poor consolation. She undoubtedly experienced many more like trials, which have not been recorded.

That is not unlike what many parents experience, from the difficulties at birth to growing into adults. Being a parent has many trials, sudden misfortunes, and also great joy.

43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

Routine matters do not stir up alarm, so how this developed is common to many parents. Apparently, they always went with a group going to same way back home. They had friends and relatives with them. Jesus was old enough to follow the people they knew, so there was no need to be anxious until...

45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

Any parent can identify with this. Anxiety rises to peak level and provokes all kinds of emotion, from sorrow to anger to bewilderment. The imagination is very powerful when things like this go wrong. One day of tracing back to Jerusalem would have been bad enough because there would probably be a string of people going back home, people they knew or Jesus knew. But this was heart-rendering sorrow, looking-search-asking, getting no positive responses from anyone.

Luther:

She undoubtedly experienced many more like trials, which have not been recorded.
3. One of them is related here, when her son caused her so much anxiety, by tarrying behind in the temple and letting her seek him so long, and she could not find him. This alarmed and grieved her so that she almost despaired, as her words indicate: “Behold, thy father and I, sought thee sorrowing.” For we may well imagine that thoughts like these may have passed through her mind: “Behold this child is only mine, this I know very well, and I know that God has entrusted him to me and commanded me to take care of him; why is it then that he is taken from me? It is my fault, for I have not sufficiently taken care of him and guarded him. Perhaps God does not deem me worthy to watch over this child and will take him from me again.” She was undoubtedly greatly frightened and her heart trembled and was filled with grief.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

This was only the second visit by Jesus to the Temple. The previous one was His circumcision, 12 years before. This event captured the attention of the doctors, Jesus both asking them questions and listening to their responses. Like the Star of Bethlehem and the preaching of John the Baptist, God was establishing the fulfillment of the Messianic Promises. Even though Joseph and Mary would suffer greatly from their special role, the destiny of Jesus was even more painful.

Luther:

For this reason God sometimes permits their faith to grow weak and to be prostrated, so that they might see who they are and be forced to confess: Even if I would believe, I cannot. Thus the omnipotent God humbles his saints and keeps them in their true knowledge. For nature and reason will always boast of the gifts of God and depend upon them. Therefore God must lead us to a recognition of the fact that it is he who puts faith in our heart and that we cannot produce it ourselves. Thus the fear of God and trust in him must not be separated from one another, for we need them both, in order that we may not become presumptuous and overconfident, depending upon ourselves. This is one of the reasons why God leads his saints through such great trials.

50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Here we see an example of the vast gulf between our understanding and God's wisdom. "They understood not..." No matter what we predict for the future, there will be great areas of mystery. If we trust on our own understanding, we will always be baffled. That is why God builds us up slowly and also teaches us to rely on His benevolent attitude and His miracles. We have to learn, again and again, that our Good Shepherd not only guards us but also gives us His everlasting love. He teaches us faith in Him because He is only grace, forgiveness, peace, love, and eternal life. 

He was preparing Joseph and Mary for their trials in the future. No parent has known more more anguish, and yet they also earn the glory, through faith in Him.