Proverbs 3:1-8/2 Corinthians 4:7-10/St John 1:43-51
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The greater things that our Lord Christ promised Nathanael - heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man - He has accomplished for you by way of His Cross and Passion, His Death and Resurrection.
He has opened the kingdom of heaven to you and all who believe and are baptized into Him. And in His own crucified and risen flesh He reveals the very Glory of the true and only God.
And so, as He came to Philip and Andrew, Nathanael and Simon, so does He come to you: in love and mercy, seeing you from afar, seeking you out in kindness and calling you to Himself; to take up your cross and follow Him. Come and see. For in Jesus of Nazareth the fullness and glory of God dwells bodily. He is the fulfillment of all the Scriptures. Of all the Law given through Moses and the entirety of the Prophets. He is what the Lord God has promised since the beginning, what He made known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And it is Jacob, the first Israelite, the man in whom there was much guile, to whom our Lord Christ appeared before His Incarnation. He stood atop a heavenly ladder stretched to earth, as in a dream, and promised to the Trickster the Seed of the Woman who would come and undo the devil’s greatest trick: death itself.
And the Word of the Lord became Flesh, and it is here in this place, the true Bethel, the House of the Lord, His Church, that He dwells with you and among you. The ladder stretched from heaven touching earth in His font, where He makes you a child of your heavenly Father. The ladder stretched from heaven touching earth in His pulpit, where His Word is continually spoken to you for the forgiveness of sins.
And the foot of the ladder placed upon His altar, whence angels descending, bowing before the glory of the Lord, hidden within Bread and Wine, the Body and Blood of Christ. Here heaven is not only opened, but the very heart and center of heaven is here, and given out to you. That is why angels and archangels, all saints and martyrs, including St Bartholomew, and all the company of heaven, that whole great cloud of witnesses, surrounds you and accompanies you in this place, encircling the Lamb of God upon His Throne.
Can such good and salutary things come to you from this place, in such earthen vessels as mortal men who speak in Christ’s stead and at His command? Indeed they can. And it is precisely by the power and wisdom of God and not according to the reason and strength of man. The wisdom of God makes foolish the world’s wisdom. And the power of God is made perfect in weakness, in the Cross and suffering, in the preaching of the Gospel, in the very midst of death. And above all, in the forgiveness of sins bestowed upon you fro Jesus’ sake. This is true healing for your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
This is why the Lord Jesus called Philip and Nathanael, that is Bartholomew, not only to be His disciples, but to be counted among His Twelve Apostles. Already in the beginning this is how it worked. Jesus called Philip who went and called Nathanael and brought him to Jesus. And so the great work of Christ continues in and through His Church, by the Gospel, even to this present day and in this place.
For your help comes from the Lord. He comes to you here, in the flesh, in order to save you from sin and death and give you life. He calls you out from under the fig tree with whose leaves you attempt to cover your shame to rest and find refreshment under in the shade of the Tree of His Cross. For this is how you are raised up from death to life, to abide with Him in the glory of His Father.
Dear friend in Christ, this is how He has called you - through the effort and sacrifice of another, who brought you to the font, walked with you to the rail, invited you to Come and see. And so this is how our Lord Jesus continues to use you, by the confession of His Word, to call others to Him, even as Philip called Nathanael. It is not a program, but it is evangelism, in the truest sense of the Word.
For the same Lord who saw you and knew you, sought you out, found you, and called you to Himself in love - the same Lord desires the repentance and salvation of your family, friends, and neighbors. He sees them and knows them and would call them to Himself, perhaps through you in steadfast love and mercy.
You have no power of ability to change their hearts, but you can bid them, “Come and see.” Come and see what you see, hear what your ears are blessed to hear: the Light of the revelation of the Glory of God in he Face of Christ Jesus which is for all the nations. In Him is the full and free forgiveness of all sins. He is the great Rabbi, the King of Israel, who rules in mercy and love and takes the guileful hearts of men and cleanses them by His own living Word to be His holy abode, creating and instilling trust in His Word and promises, inscribing them upon the tablet of your heart.
This day, Jesus has decided to go to Indianapolis. He has sought you out and found you. Come and see, listen and believe, for He gives even now to your eyes and ears, into your mouths and bodies, the greatest of all things: His own self for your heavenly food.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The greater things that our Lord Christ promised Nathanael - heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man - He has accomplished for you by way of His Cross and Passion, His Death and Resurrection.
He has opened the kingdom of heaven to you and all who believe and are baptized into Him. And in His own crucified and risen flesh He reveals the very Glory of the true and only God.
And so, as He came to Philip and Andrew, Nathanael and Simon, so does He come to you: in love and mercy, seeing you from afar, seeking you out in kindness and calling you to Himself; to take up your cross and follow Him. Come and see. For in Jesus of Nazareth the fullness and glory of God dwells bodily. He is the fulfillment of all the Scriptures. Of all the Law given through Moses and the entirety of the Prophets. He is what the Lord God has promised since the beginning, what He made known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And it is Jacob, the first Israelite, the man in whom there was much guile, to whom our Lord Christ appeared before His Incarnation. He stood atop a heavenly ladder stretched to earth, as in a dream, and promised to the Trickster the Seed of the Woman who would come and undo the devil’s greatest trick: death itself.
And the Word of the Lord became Flesh, and it is here in this place, the true Bethel, the House of the Lord, His Church, that He dwells with you and among you. The ladder stretched from heaven touching earth in His font, where He makes you a child of your heavenly Father. The ladder stretched from heaven touching earth in His pulpit, where His Word is continually spoken to you for the forgiveness of sins.
And the foot of the ladder placed upon His altar, whence angels descending, bowing before the glory of the Lord, hidden within Bread and Wine, the Body and Blood of Christ. Here heaven is not only opened, but the very heart and center of heaven is here, and given out to you. That is why angels and archangels, all saints and martyrs, including St Bartholomew, and all the company of heaven, that whole great cloud of witnesses, surrounds you and accompanies you in this place, encircling the Lamb of God upon His Throne.
Can such good and salutary things come to you from this place, in such earthen vessels as mortal men who speak in Christ’s stead and at His command? Indeed they can. And it is precisely by the power and wisdom of God and not according to the reason and strength of man. The wisdom of God makes foolish the world’s wisdom. And the power of God is made perfect in weakness, in the Cross and suffering, in the preaching of the Gospel, in the very midst of death. And above all, in the forgiveness of sins bestowed upon you fro Jesus’ sake. This is true healing for your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
This is why the Lord Jesus called Philip and Nathanael, that is Bartholomew, not only to be His disciples, but to be counted among His Twelve Apostles. Already in the beginning this is how it worked. Jesus called Philip who went and called Nathanael and brought him to Jesus. And so the great work of Christ continues in and through His Church, by the Gospel, even to this present day and in this place.
For your help comes from the Lord. He comes to you here, in the flesh, in order to save you from sin and death and give you life. He calls you out from under the fig tree with whose leaves you attempt to cover your shame to rest and find refreshment under in the shade of the Tree of His Cross. For this is how you are raised up from death to life, to abide with Him in the glory of His Father.
Dear friend in Christ, this is how He has called you - through the effort and sacrifice of another, who brought you to the font, walked with you to the rail, invited you to Come and see. And so this is how our Lord Jesus continues to use you, by the confession of His Word, to call others to Him, even as Philip called Nathanael. It is not a program, but it is evangelism, in the truest sense of the Word.
For the same Lord who saw you and knew you, sought you out, found you, and called you to Himself in love - the same Lord desires the repentance and salvation of your family, friends, and neighbors. He sees them and knows them and would call them to Himself, perhaps through you in steadfast love and mercy.
You have no power of ability to change their hearts, but you can bid them, “Come and see.” Come and see what you see, hear what your ears are blessed to hear: the Light of the revelation of the Glory of God in he Face of Christ Jesus which is for all the nations. In Him is the full and free forgiveness of all sins. He is the great Rabbi, the King of Israel, who rules in mercy and love and takes the guileful hearts of men and cleanses them by His own living Word to be His holy abode, creating and instilling trust in His Word and promises, inscribing them upon the tablet of your heart.
This day, Jesus has decided to go to Indianapolis. He has sought you out and found you. Come and see, listen and believe, for He gives even now to your eyes and ears, into your mouths and bodies, the greatest of all things: His own self for your heavenly food.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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