The sermon for January 8 was based on Luke 2:41-52.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The so-called "nuclear family," where Mom and Dad have only ever been married to each other, and all the children were begotten jointly between the two, where Mom spends her time on the house and the children, and Dad drives off every morning to work, and returns each evening, that place where weekends include fishing and ping-pong in the basement with Dad, family hikes through the woods, and sitting around the hearth eating popcorn, telling family stories, that place, that type of family, is quickly going the way of sod-houses, churning your own butter, and selling eggs for grocery money. For, like it or not, such a picture of the perfect family belongs now to America's quaint and romantic past. One generation more and it will scarcely be remembered. These days the norm is "blended families," dual income, friend of the court, after-school care, custody, and guardians.

The broken-ness, the failure of the family, even in your midst, stems from the selfish actions of self-centered people. But this isn't new. Like all real vices it is an ancient one. There has never been a household that was not guilty of a thousand little injustices, a thousand little abuses, a thousand instances of neglect and rebellion. Imperfect Moms and Dads are never as consistent as they intend to be, nor even as consistent as they think and tell others that they are. And neither are children born under the curse of the Fall as obedient, or as caring and considerate, as they pretend to be. Tempers flare and discipline is more an ideal than achieved. You become absorbed in yourself and take out your anger at an imperfect, fallen world on those you love the most. Pride, lust, and greed take over as Satan and the demons dance and sing for evil joy. Thus the family is broken, wounded, hurting, and the world becomes that much colder, painful, and lonelier.

Into this fray enters the Lord Jesus Christ, right into the thick of the chaos. He shrinks not from sinful men, but submits Himself to a less than perfect mother and step-father. He is not under the curse of Eve, for He was conceived without sin. So He does not buckle, chafe, or rebel under authority. He is the perfect, obedient Child. And therefore, He is all the more easily neglected and taken for granted by sinful, selfish parents, who travel for an entire day utterly unconcerned for a Boy who has never demanded anything of them. Meanwhile, Jesus is doing His Father's business in His Father's house. His Father's business is the salvation of Mary and Joseph, and of you. And so when His mother asks Him, "Why have you done this to us?" meaning the suffering she and Joseph have endured, He replies, in effect, "Because I love you." His Father's business is not to torment Mary and Joseph, but to save them. But caught up in their own selfish perceptions of things, they did not understand it. They forgot who Jesus was, even who His Father was; and therefore, they forgot who they were. He reveals Himself to them again that they might be called back to repentance and faith in the One who came to save them. Whenever He reveals Himself, it is a call to repentance and faith.

Consider Christ's dealing with another broken family. He stands at a well in Samaria. And there the home-wrecker, the adulterous woman who has had five husbands and was then living with a sixth who was not her husband, received Him. He revealed to her that He was the Messiah, the Savior who could give her living water which would wash her clean and make her new again, which would take away her thirst and give her life. Then the disciples appear and offer Him something to eat. But He needs nothing. He tells them, "I have food to eat, of which you do not know. My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." Receiving the home-wrecker, the adulterous woman, as one of His own, forgiving her, refreshing her, this is His Father's work. It is His Father's will. And therein the Lord Jesus Christ is fed and sustained.

Again, a woman caught in the very act of adultery was brought to the Lord by a mob wanting to stone her and condemn Him for it. But Jesus will not be part of it. He asks for a righteous one to cast the first stone. No one is able, but He, and He will not. He asks her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She replies, "No one, Lord." And Jesus, who is without sin, says to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

You see, the Church of Jesus Christ is the Church for the divorced, for the broken, for those who have failed. This is the place of healing for the hurting and rejected. It is the home of sinners who have been forgiven. The world might scoff and say, "Why you Christians, you're no better than us. You fight, you lie, you cheat." And you say, "Ah, yes, it is true. I have nothing in myself to boast. But I am forgiven by the Blood of Jesus Christ. He lifts me beyond the stink of my sin and gives me life, and that, abundantly!" If you are a sinner, lonely and scared, depressed and confused, or sad and hurting, then you have come to the right place! You have come to your Father's house, where His Son is doing what He came to do. He came not to condemn the world but to save the world. He came to fulfill His Father's will, to do His Father's work, to sacrifice Himself in your place. That sets you free. Your own earthly father might all too willingly, like Abraham, put the knife to your throat to save himself, but God has provided the Lamb in the thicket to take your place. God Himself has provided. The cords of death that bound you have been cut. You are free.

And so, while Mary and Joseph were less than perfect parents, in their Son they found love and acceptance, grace and mercy. In Him, you have found the same. For the Body that was offered on Calvary to appease the Father's wrath has fulfilled the Father's will. That same Body is offered today for you to eat. You who believe in Him and eat of it, proclaiming His atoning, sacrificial death until He comes again, are cleansed of guilt and shame, your past is put behind you, and you are given a future where there is no sorrow, no pain, no hunger, no thirst, no regret, and no sin.

As a sinner, God's Law has condemned you. You have traveled on your way without concern, neglecting your duties. You have hurt those you love the most. And Satan claims, "You can never go back!" But now there is no one to accuse you. The Righteous One, the One without sin has been about His Father's business. He has found you. He has rescued you. He has forgiven you. The nuclear family may be an icon of the past, but in Christ Jesus, with God as your Father, and the Holy Spirit as your bond, you have a family. You were made a part of this family when you were baptized, even as Isaiah Charles became a part of this family today. Through holy Baptism, you have the same family. You have God and His family, the church, the people all around you now, and this family cannot fail. You, who are weary and heavy laden, come this day and partake of the One who amazed the teachers, who ate with tax-collectors and prostitutes, who promised paradise to the penitent thief on the cross. There in that Sacrament, by His Body and Blood, find that peace which the world cannot give. Tell that old, unclean spirit to depart. He cannot cast any stone. In Christ, you are not guilty. You have nothing of which to be ashamed. Thanks be to God! He has revealed Himself to you as the One who accomplishes what He has been sent to do-make you His own, one of His family. To Him be the glory. Amen.

The Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Last Updated: 7/15/2008