St. John's Lutheran Church, Williston Park, NY

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:16-17). You can hang your hat on these verses. Jesus has not come to condemn you; He has come to save you! God's not keeping score, and He's closed His accounting books. Your good works won't get you into heaven, and your sin won't keep you out. You get in free for nothing because of Jesus. Now, we live by faith in Him.

The Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11) is not a narrative that's detached from our lives. Jesus is standing in our place in the wilderness. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has defeated our enemies for good. And because you're baptized into Jesus, His victory is yours. You can't lose! Whenever you feel like the enemy is winning, make sure to check the scoreboard.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain with him, and there, Jesus was transfigured before them. Moses and Elijah even appeared and spoke with Him. Peter, though terrified, recognized that this was a good moment, and wanted to set up camp, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they had seen and heard until after He had risen from the dead. Why keep the transfiguration a secret? Why not "set up camp" here in this moment? Because Jesus' glory is revealed on the cross. We don't get the God of the transfiguration without the God of the cross. We "set up camp" at the cross and the empty tomb.

What does Jesus say about anger? In our Gospel focus from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-26), Jesus addresses the seriousness of anger and insults. The truth is that there is a place for anger, but it belongs to God, not us. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Forgiveness, not anger, is ours. "Be reconciled," Jesus says to us. We are reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus and are now free to be reconciled to one another.

"You are the salt of the earth." "You are the light of the world." Jesus proclaims to us these God-given identities of "salt" and "light" in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16). We are who we are by God's grace, and our identity has a purpose that impacts the world around us. We see the importance of salt and light in their relationship to other things. Likewise, we do not live for ourselves. Having been satisfied by Jesus, we are free to love and serve others.

God had promised a man named Simeon that he would not die until He had seen the Savior. One day, in the Temple at Jerusalem, God kept His promise to him. While holding the baby Jesus in his arms, Simeon spoke those familiar words, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word" (Luke 2:29). These words challenge us to see how we define peace and joy in our lives. These gifts are not found in the removal of burdens but Jesus.

We may feel somewhat removed from our Gospel text this morning (Matthew 4:12-25) and from the calling of the first disciples. We did not leave everything to follow Jesus. But what's important is not that we can identify with the Disciples. What's important is that Jesus identifies with us. He is both the God of the universe and the God of the particular. God's great big plan of salvation in Jesus comes to us in personal and powerful ways.

The demands placed on our lives are many. Not only do we have the expectations of our culture, but we also have the impossible claim of God's Law: "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)." Because of these demands, there's a nagging voice that reminds us that we've failed, we haven't done enough, and we deserve judgment. We try to silence that voice by justifying our actions or shaming others. But the voice keeps nagging. The only way for the voice to be silenced is when the Law is fulfilled, and God is pleased with us. How is that possible? Jesus fulfilled the Law for us.

Our Gospel text from Luke 2:40-52 is a confusing one. At first glance, it looks like Jesus was a thoughtless adolescent, but that's not the case. Jesus reminds His parents and us that He has come to do His Father's business. God's ways are not our ways. He will not conform to our expectations or submit to our wills. We don't need a more powerful version of ourselves, and God knows that. We need a Savior.

What comes after Christmas? A horrific scene of senseless suffering. King Herod, jealous for his throne, wanted to kill the newborn "King of the Jews," but he was "tricked" by the Magi. Furious, he ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under. Even amid this senseless suffering, a tyrannical king's rage could not thwart God's unstoppable plan of salvation. God delivered His Son, and through Him, God will deliver us too.