Epiphany 1
Dear Christian! In the Epiphany season that we began on Friday, we remember how our Lord Jesus revealed Himself to the world. Epiphany has the accounts of Jesus revealing Himself to the non-Jews, the Wise Men, who came to worship Him [Mt. 2. 1-12]. Another Epiphany account is Jesus’ baptism by St. John the Baptizer [Mt. 3.13-17]. At His baptism, Jesus began His public ministry. Even though Jesus had no need for baptism because He had no sin and never once sinned, He was baptized showing that we would become His dear Christians, His dear brothers and sisters and heirs of heaven, through the sacrament holy Baptism so that at our Baptism we can see heaven open, the Holy Spirit descending on us and hear God the Father saying, “This is My dear child in whom I am well pleased.” With His Baptism, Jesus hallowed/ set apart the waters of the Jordan River and all water to be a life giving washing and placing into the water of Holy Baptism all His gifts and graces He won for us by His holy life, death and resurrection. We are cleansed from all sin in holy Baptism and joined together with Jesus!
How we need this cleansing in Holy Baptism! How we need that rebirth that Baptism gives! Jesus clearly tells us [John 3.5-6]: Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. There is no way we ever save ourselves. Only by the gracious working in the Word and Sacrament can we enter into God’s kingdom.
What was our condition, our state, before we became Christians by the work of the Holy Spirit in Word and sacrament? St. Paul describes it this way [Eph 2. 1-3]: You were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and wee by nature children of wrath. By ourselves, in our natural state, before God brought us to spiritual life, we were spiritually dead—and still would be—if not for God’s gracious working.
St. Paul writes in our text to and about Christians: offer your bodies as a living sacrifice… We could not present ourselves as a living sacrifice if we were dead—dead in trespasses and sin. That’s why God gave us Holy Baptism. In Baptism God gives us life! In Holy Baptism we are created anew; we have a new life; we become spiritually alive. St. Paul writes elsewhere [Rom. 6.4]: we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. What a great treasure we have in holy Baptism. It connects us with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Just as Jesus returned to life on Easter Sunday morning, so also in Baptism are we raised to life—new spiritual, heavenly life. We are brought into God’s kingdom and He says of us: This is My dear child in whom I am well pleased.
Dear Christian, since we have been brought from spiritual death to spiritual life, from hell to heaven, from the devil to God, how can we thank our dear Lord enough? The fact is, we can’t! No matter what we do, we could never pay God back. As Christians we are thankful to God for all that He has done or us and our salvation. That’s why we live lives of thanksgiving to God. In light of everything God has done for our salvation/ all that He has done to save us, St. Paul says in our text: Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God—which is your appropriate worship. We present our bodies, and all that is ours, to Jesus as sacrifice.
All Christians are priests! St. Peter writes [1 Peter 2. 5, 9]: You also…are…a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…You are a royal priesthood. The point? –the job of a priest is to offer up sacrifices. Since all Christians are priests, all Christians offer up sacrifices—our spiritual sacrifices. Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God—which is your appropriate worship. Notice: the Christian, then, is not just the priest who offers up the sacrifice, but the Christian is also the sacrifice that is offered up.
Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. That almost sounds impossible—a sacrifice to be alive. The sacrifices of the Old Testament required that an animal be killed. This was to remind the people of the result of sin and the death of the coming Savior. We Christians are to present ourselves as living sacrifices. Beloved, we are alive in Christ! Remember, before we came to faith we were dead in our sins, dead to all good. There was no way we could offer a living sacrifice. All that we could do was sin; nothing—no matter how good it was in the eyes of the world—was still sin.
Because Jesus, kept all of God’s holy law for us; because He took all of our sins upon Himself to the cross and suffered God’s wrath for them; because He was the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world—Jesus brings us life and salvation. He did what we are unable to do: keep God’s holy law without once sinning. And by paying the penalty for our sin Jesus restores us to a new, right and holy relationship with God. In Him we are alive, spiritually alive!
Jesus gives us His perfect keeping of the Law and the forgiveness He brought about. He gives it to us in holy Baptism; and faith—which the Holy Spirit creates in baptism—keeps receiving it. So what does this mean? It means that as Christians we are alive in Jesus and so are able to present our bodies as living sacrifices. St. Paul writes elsewhere [Gal. 2.20]: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
We offer our bodies to Jesus as sacrifice; that is, we offer our whole lives in service to Him. All Christians/ all spiritual priests here on earth have bodies, therefore all can offer the sacrifice of our bodies—that is, we live lives of good works letting the Holy Spirit use us as His instruments; that is, we fight against sin and our own sinful desires and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in us. And because we always have our bodies, our sacrifice/ our worship is to be constant. Because our bodies are visible—for all to see—our worship/ our sacrifice becomes a witness and proclamation to all around us.
Since we are all priests who are offering up our spiritual sacrifices/ the sacrifices of our body in service to God, we dare never think we can compartmentalize our lives; we dare never think that we can separate our lives here on Sunday morning from the rest of our life. Our thinking dare never be: on Sunday morning I offer God my prayer and praises but the rest of the week is mine, to do whatever I want and by that to serve sin and flesh. That is conforming to the pattern of this world—precisely what St. Paul warns us against! Also, do not continue to conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you test and approve what is the will of God—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.
Sadly, too often many calling themselves Christians are far too willing to offer the body as sacrifice for an hour on Sunday morning—even grumbling if it is 65 minutes—and by that think they have done their “duty” and are “free” after that. They are those who are one way on Sunday morning, but another way the rest of the time. They are no better than the Old Testament people God preached against through the prophets who thought they could go through the outward motions of the sacrifice and appease God by that—even though they had no fear, love and trust of Him. May we examine our hearts and lives and repent for the times we do not offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God—which is your appropriate worship.
May our lives of service to God be constant! He saved us wholly/ completely—body and soul. How, then, can we not continually serve Him and in all things? Therefore, says St. Paul in another place [1 Cor. 10.31], whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. This is why we daily examine our lives according to God’s holy Ten Commandments, seeking to do His will/ to do what pleases Him. What God wants to have us do, He has revealed to us in His Word, in His Law. Don’t try to invent things that you think God will be happy with. He has told us in His Law. Look at the Table of Duties in the catechism. The Table of Duties are Scripture passages Luther wrote down for people in their various callings as husband/ wife, worker/ employer, pastor/ parishioner, ruler/ citizen etc. If you look at them, you will see that they are very ordinary things, not glamorous in the eyes of the world. A Christian father providing for his family and buying a pair of shoes is a good work. A Christian worker faithfully going to work is another. Praying for our leaders is another. Praising God and giving thanks to His name is another. Being a faithful spouse is another. Here, this is offering spiritual sacrifices to God; this is offering our bodies as living sacrifices.
We use our whole lives, all temporal, earthly blessings that God has given us and sacrifice them to Him. The apostle also writes: do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Our gifts to help others are also part of our sacrifices. This also includes our offerings we bring here to church/ God’s house. The church requires money and goods to keep services going here and to spread the word of God around the world. Also keep in mind that when you place your offering in the offering plate each Sunday that is a symbolic action—the gift you bring to church is a symbol of your entire life of offering and sacrifice. As the offering plates are brought forward and presented to the Lord, there see your entire life being presented to the Lord as a living sacrifice; your gifts you bring being a symbol of your entire offering—that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God—which is your appropriate worship.
Since we are still sinners, it is difficult to present our bodies as living sacrifices because our sinful flesh does not want that and fights against it. As you struggle in your everyday life to offer yourself as a living sacrifice, know that the Lord has not and will not abandon you. He strengthens you by His word and Sacrament. In His word He assures you of His love and mercy toward you and of Jesus’ work for your salvation. He gives you the forgiveness of sin in Holy Communion as you eat and drink Jesus’ body and blood. He gave you His Holy Spirit and new life and birth in Holy Baptism. Through the mercies of God present your bodies/ your life as a living sacrifice to Him. Our Triune God has wholly saved us. May we serve Him with our whole lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen