Holy Trinity Ankeny

Baptism has come to mean lots of different things to different people. Maybe that is why it seems like baptism has no real impact on the world. If we really look at the Baptism of Jesus, however, we find an event that signifies a new age dawning. It is an age of peace instead of war, kindness instead of violence, order instead of chaos. We also learn that Baptism of Jesus is, in fact, our baptism too. Jesus gives it as a gift so that the world might be saved.

What do you do when you're troubled? Herod plots. Jesus raises the dead. The magi lay down their treasures and worship. Matthew's Epiphany story reveals two kingdoms: one that protects itself through fear, and one that gives itself away in love. Matthew 2:1-12 | Isaiah 60:1-6 | Ephesians 3:1-12

The Holy Innocents of Bethlehem are the first martyrs. To destroy Jesus, Herod orders all the baby boys under two to be killed. What do we make of this evil? What hope can we gain from this story? Even as we pray "deliver us from evil" the evil persists.

There are a lot of words in the world. Many, maybe most, bear little meaning. At worst, they divide us and promote the worst in us. Jesus is proclaimed as the Word made flesh, and we might wonder if we can bear another word. This Word, however, brings life to a dying world, and light to the darkness of our existence.

It is easy to lose track of Jesus as we celebrate Christmas. Buried underneath layers of tradition, Christ's birth gets lost. We relegate the event to the distant past and remember it in ways that take faith to grasp who he is, where we find him, and why it matters to us. The truth of the story is that the savior and Lord, Jesus is found in obscure places among people who are considered nobodies. The truth is that he is born into this world for you.

Joseph was righteous. He was faithful. And he was completely stuck. Every option felt like loss. Every path forward felt impossible. He couldn't sleep. He just waited, faithful, afraid, and alone. Matthew 1:18-25 | Isaiah 7:10-16

John the Baptist has announced the coming of the Messiah and called the people to repent and prepare. Sitting in jail, awaiting his fate, he sees none of the things he expected from the Messiah's coming. No conquering armies, no defeat of enemies, no judgment. He asks, "Are you the one, Jesus?" Maybe he got it all wrong. Jesus points to the signs of his reign – the blind see, the deaf hear, the poor receive good news. John was right about Jesus. He just had the wrong expectations.

Our theme for this season is either bold or foolish. In a world beset by violence, war, strife, and division, we declare that peace has dawned. Images of swords fashioned into plows and Paul's declaration that salvation is ever nearer call us to faith in Christ, not faith in a world gone mad. They call us to live anticipating what is promised instead of assuming life is just more of the same.

Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, with the scars still in his hands. What kind of king keeps his wounds? There's something about those scars that reveals who this king really is. Luke 23:33-43 | Jeremiah 23:1-6 | Colossians 1:11-20

SIGNS OF THE TIMES The "signs of the times" can be frightening. Violence, division, warfare, government shutdowns, corporate layoffs leave us reeling. The "signs of the times" can leave us feeling helpless, sure that there is nothing that can be done. The "signs of the times" can make us passive, hoping someone else will deal with the problems. The "signs of the times" are passing away. People of faith are called to live and be "signs of the new age" inaugurated in Christ and his death and resurrection.

A woman marries seven brothers. They all die. The Sadducees think they've created the perfect trap: whose wife will she be in the resurrection? Checkmate, Jesus. Except Jesus isn't playing games. His answer flips everything and invites us to live as children of the resurrection, free from fear's grip. Wrong questions. Right answer. Readings: Job 19:23-27a | Luke 20:27-38

Christians today don't like to think of themselves as "holy." That is reserved for superhero Christians. Perhaps a little false humility or a desire to keep expectations low makes us shrink from claiming our divinity as ones created in the image of God and redeemed by Christ's love. Christians today also don't want to get anywhere near thoughts of death or sadness, even though, in Christ, death has been overcome. That makes the Feast of All Saints hard to celebrate but essentially important. In a world of darkness, the light of God, as it shines in the lives of the Holy Ones of God, is our only hope.

Reformation Sunday isn't a history lesson. It's a mirror. God promised to write on our hearts - and that reformation is still happening. Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Romans 3:19-28 | John 8:31-36

As we observe the Feast of St. Luke it is common to focus on stories of healing. Tradition holds that Luke, the writer of a Gospel that bears his name and the Book of Acts, was a physician. Luke’s story of Jesus and the Church, however, is far more than a collection of healing stories. More than the healing of individuals, Luke tells us of how Jesus heals the whole world and sends his followers – the church – to do the same.

There is a lot of discussion and questions about “Christian Nationalism” these days. It is a not a new phenomenon. It happens whenever people mix faith and patriotism into a stew that becomes neither patriotic nor faithful. It probably first appeared when Emperor Constantine won the battle at the Milvian Bridge under a banner with a cross. From that point, using Christ as a tool for political power became part of history. Today, the American version seeks to victimize those we disfavor, call empathy and compassion, diversity, and equity evil. The Word of God, however, will not be chained to any nation or ideal. We are citizens of God’s reign, not any country. The healing of one of the enemies of Israel, a citizen of another nation, makes the point.

Habakkuk stands on the city ramparts, watching violence rage below, crying "How long, O Lord?" Centuries later, Jesus' disciples hear impossible commands and plead, "Increase our faith!" Jesus' answer might surprise you: the faith you already have is enough. It's not about your strength — it's about God's.

Today's sermon is based on the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31.   

Confederate bonds seemed like solid investments in 1862 - today they're worth $20 on eBay. Jesus's parable of the dishonest steward reveals which currency will outlast them all.   Luke 16:1-13 | Amos 8:4-7

I don’t think I’m alone in being tired of the state of the world. What will address the warfare, violence, hatred, and just general meanness of this world? In a world where power, winning, material success, being number one, are the way we see things and what we strive for, there seems little hope of changing things. On this Holy Cross Day we are reminded that the way of the cross seems foolish in a winner-take-all world, but that foolishness has the power to save.

Being a disciple of Jesus is more than being a member of a church. There are costs to placing Jesus at the center of life to the exclusion of other things. Being a disciple leaves marks, and it begins with the cross affixed to our foreheads in baptism.