When my dad was nearing the end of his life he had to be in a full-time residential care facility. He always wanted to “come home.” This was a very difficult time for the family. One day he told us why “home” was so important to him. “Home” was where my mom was; his “home” was where his wife was. Home was associated with a person. His words were a testimony to his love for my mother.

Our greatest home is also associated with a person. We forget that our Lord Himself designated a special place where He is found and where He has chosen to meet us. When He was on earth, He Himself kept coming back to this home. For us this home is an earthly paradise. This home is where Jesus is.

Come to this home tomorrow morning and connect with Jesus Christ. In this home gathering you will be fed and nourished with His Word and with His Sacrament. This home is offered and accessible to you every Sunday in 2015. It is here to bless you.

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow’s sermon:

“Where Christ Is Found”

(Luke 2:40-52)

Pastor Al Espinosa

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Church, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, is the only Christian Church body officially represented in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. What a magnificent witness the Lord has permitted us to give to the world every year on national television! But how does one present the saving faith on a float? In 1997 I had the honor to be on our theme-winning float that year and the saving faith was shown through the stages of our lives highlighted by our being in the Father’s house. There was a scene of a baptism, when we were brought to the Father’s house to be born again. It showed confirmation, when we were brought to the Father’s house to confess our faith at about 12 years of age (this was the same age that Jesus was in the temple as recorded in our Luke 2 Gospel: the age at which Jews began advanced training in the Scriptures/the Word of God). And there was a scene of holy matrimony when we came to the Father’s house to become one with our beloved in the Name of the Triune God. That float did not include our funeral (I suppose for understandable reasons: not wanting to dampen the New Year celebration since the world does not see death through the lens of faith). But hopefully our funerals will be in the Father’s house…always in the Father’s house, the best place to be on earth…the Father’s house.

 

The Psalmist wrote, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (Psalm 84:10)    We learn to emphasize all of this in the third commandment and its meaning as taught in Luther’s Small Catechism. Let’s review these. As I ask the questions, please read the answers back (or do so by memory).

 

What is the third commandment?

 

“You shall remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

 

What does this mean?

 

“We should fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”

 

This holy commandment is vital to keep before us. God is taking good care of us by commanding us to be in the best place throughout our lives so that our faith is kept alive and caused to grow in a healthy way. This happens because in the Father’s house the Lord Jesus comes to us to feed and nourish our faith in Him through His Word and Sacrament. Even in the New Testament, we are admonished therefore not to give up gathering in the Father’s house so that we may encourage one another and all the more as the Day of Christ approaches (Hebrews 10:25). To be sure it’s a big deal to be in the Father’s house!

 

The problem dear Christian is that this is not at all obvious to us. This is quite simply not our way of thinking. Our first inclination and natural way of reasoning is not to be in the Father’s house. There are many reasons for this, but the main one is because by nature we don’t believe God’s Word that this is where the Lord is to be found. We want to find God and try to find God in other places; in so many places other than in the Father’s house!

 

We act this way – in sin against the Father’s house – for a wrong internal reason and a wrong external reason. The wrong internal reason is that we want to go along with the idea that “God is in our hearts.” So if God is in your heart, then why in the world would you ever need to connect with Him in His house? You see, if God is in you, then you don’t need the Father’s house! The problem here is that in-spite of how religious and spiritual we might think ourselves to be, our hearts are in themselves in bad shape. Jeremiah 17:9 states that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” It is a bad move Christian to ever substitute your heart for the Father’s house. Not a good idea!

 

The external excuse is the supreme cop-out that equates the Father’s house with the institutions of man. How many of us have heard the objection against attending worship since this is a giving in to “man-made institutions.” The implication is obvious: the church = a man-made institution. Now while it is true that men have created institutions, the Church however is not man’s creation, but God’s. The Church is God’s holy bride; in the Father’s house God has arranged to meet us in order to save us from sin and death. Don’t let the “man-made institution” deception and logical fallacy get you off track in coming to the Father’s house!

 

In the meantime, don’t ever think that it is mere coincidence that one of the basic attacks against our faith is when our minds list all of the reasons why we shouldn’t come to the Father’s house! This is not coincidental but part and parcel the battle that is constant in our lives. Now this is not to say that the Church is not to strive to be as faithful as it can be and avoid unnecessary roadblocks. We are to show Christ and the love of God. When we do a poor job of this, we create obstacles for people to be in the Father’s house. But having said this, we also must be aware that — at the same time — our sinful nature generates excuses to avoid the Father’s house.

 

Nowadays the younger generation is challenged in wondering if the church is even relevant anymore. We need to be aware of the current issues that challenge how we present ourselves as the Body of Christ. Tony Cook in his Next Gen. presentation about reaching today’s millennial generation (those born between the early 80’s and the early 2000’s) wants to make us aware of these things that are on the hearts and minds of millennials today. They desire a Church that:

 

• Focuses on Jesus and his teachings
• Connects to daily life
• Provides models of maturity and character
• Demonstrates love, mutual respect, and unity
• Doesn’t compromise doctrine
• Provides supportive intergenerational community
• Address issues of equality and justice
• Serves community and world
• Allows diverse leadership and participation
• Listens to perspectives and allows discussion
• Utilizes Internet as educational platform
• Connects stewardship to mission not administration

 

That is we should do all that can – as long as it is consistent with the Word of Christ – to be faithful to what it means to offer the Father’s house to people for whom Jesus shed His precious blood! We need to do this, because so many people – even those without faith in Christ – know that Christmas is about the birth of Christ, but it is easy for us to miss the rest of the story: the Savior who was born kept coming back to the Father’s house. Have you noticed this about the Word of God? Jesus was only 8 days old when He is brought to the Father’s house to be circumcised. The world celebrated New Years on January 1^st, but the Holy Church remembers that this was the 8^th day; the day of our Lord’s circumcision. To even mention it seems weird and detached and the skeptic will say, “No wonder people view the Church as irrelevant!” But people often complain about what they don’t understand.

 

Jesus had to go to the Father’s house, the holy temple in Jerusalem to have done to him what the Old Testament Law required. It was the sign that Jesus was truly a son of Abraham, a member of God’s covenant people. But much more occurred that day. Again, this happened in the temple – the Father’s house – where all of the holy and bloody sacrifices were offered up to God, but now an 8-day old baby came and his blood was shed for the first time in the Father’s house…Jesus was not merely keeping the Law of God for you, but He was already showing why He came. He came to shed His blood so that all who come to the Father’s house trusting in Jesus’ blood shed for their sin would be acceptable in the sight of the Heavenly Father. Then 32 days later, Jesus is brought back to the Temple/The Father’s house again. This time for the holy presentation and this was when Simeon sang his song. This was when He said that Jesus was the salvation of God, the long-awaited Savior — God with us — hiding in a baby who came to give Himself in the Father’s house for all sinners. And now here we are again – in our Gospel today – Jesus comes back at age 12…and where is He? What is the Biblical message for us Christian? Where is Jesus to be found? Where do we find Him AGAIN?! Answer: in the Father’s House!

In Jesus’ Love,

Rev. Alfonso Espinosa, Ph.D.