A Famine Not of Bread

"The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon .  And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:22-23). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Purified and redeemed. That is our theme for today. Two important words of Law from the Old Testament and two important words of Gospel from the New Testament. Purified and redeemed. In our Epistle, St. Paul tells us that at a specific and appropriate time in human history, God acted to fulfill His eternal saving purpose: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to re...

"The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. “And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord” (Luke 2:22). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! To better understand our text, we must first go back to the time shortly after the first Passover, about 1446 B.C. The Israelites had been in slavery in Egypt for 400 years. But God had not forgotten them. He sent Moses as His spokesman, warning Pharaoh again and again, “Let My people go.” Pharaoh stubbornly refused, so the Lord sent nine plagues to persuade him that rebellion against God is a very foolish thing. Finally, the Lord declared that He would come through the land and take the lives of all the firstborn males of Egypt, both man and beast. Every firstborn would die… unless. The Lord declared to His people that their firstborn sons could ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. The text for today is our Gospel lesson, Luke 2:22-40. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord Why are you here? What do you seek? Why did you come here, to this place of worship, on this day? What do you expect or hope to find here? Those are important questions because someone (even with “good intentions”) could come naively here for the wrong reason.   Or because a seeker, whose particular desires are contrary to God’s will and Word, might come to this place hoping or expecting to find what he or she wants. Examples of such false expectations, wrongful motives, or selfish desires? To come here as a matter of course, merely out of habit. To try to impress other people with your personal piety. To get your parents or spouse off your back. To build up heavenly reward points for the number of trips you’ve made to be here. To seek to appease God’...