A Famine Not of Bread

"The Calling of Saint Peter and Saint Andrew" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. “Now when [Jesus] heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth He went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali” (Matthew 4:12-13). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! When Jesus hears that John has been arrested, He withdraws from the region around the Jordan into Galilee, heading northward after His wilderness conflict with Satan. Jesus is not running away, but He Himself will choose the times and ways to confront those who seek to destroy the work of God’s gracious reign. More importantly, Jesus withdraws into Galilee and leaves Nazareth, His hometown, in order to take up residence in Capernaum by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. This happens in order to fulfill Isaiah’s words from our Old Testament reading. The light of the Christ has begun ...

Cl ick here f or a n audio version of this sermon.   The text for today is our Gospel, Matthew 2:1-12, which has already been read. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!  Actually, to be more specific: Merry Christmas of the Gentiles!  Those of you who follow the Church year perhaps noticed that yesterday was the twelfth and final day of Christmas.  Today begins Epiphany, the season in which the Child who was born in Bethlehem is manifested to the world as God.  Epiphany has been called the “Christmas of the Gentiles,” because the story of the magi has been associated with it.  The magi were the first Gentile worshipers of the Messiah.  Until then, the only ones to worship Jesus were Israelites: a bunch of shepherds from the fields near Bethlehem, and Simeon and Anna in the temple courts in Jerusalem.  But the magi were Persians, (from the region of modern day Iraq and Iran).  They...