In the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed we confess, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints.”  St. Paul addresses what the church looks like and how it is to operate in 1 Corinthians 12.  He uses language of the body and its parts to show how every part is important.  Ears are for hearing, eyes for seeing.  Our feet are for walking and our hands can do any number of tasks.   All of the members of our bodies work together.

Paul clearly states that you became a member of the Body of Christ, the Church, in your baptism.  “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” (v13a)  Luther’s Small Catechism answers the question, “What is the Church?” like this.  “It is the Body of Christ – that is, all people whom the Spirit, by the means of Grace, has gathered to Christ in faith throughout the world.

Our baptism liturgy includes these beautiful words.  “In Holy Baptism God the Father has made you a member of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and an heir with us of all the treasures of heaven in the one holy Christian and apostolic Church.  We receive you in Jesus’ name as our brother/sister in Christ, that together we might hear His Word, receive His gifts, and proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  Then we all say together.  AMEN.  We welcome you in the name of the Lord.  Through water and the Word one has made the transformation from blind, dead, enemy of God, to His forgiven child and heir of heaven.  Marilyn Brandner’s grand nephew is being welcomed into the church through the waters of Holy Baptism in New Rockford this morning.  Axel Jon Rue​  Born to Hannah Jessi Brandner & Nathan Rue June 29th, 2019 Jamestown, ND .Baptism Sunday January 27th First Lutheran Church, New Rockford, North.  

I got to experience the Body of Christ last weekend at a conference for pastors and lay people in Racine, WI last weekend.   Lutheran pastors and members from just over 20 LC-MS congregations from Wisconsin to Colorado were present.    As we spent time together we learned that we are not alone in our joys and struggles.  Families in Illinois and Iowa face the same frustrations in ministry as we do in the Dakotas and MN.  They, too are part of the body of Christ, proclaiming the forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ Jesus.  “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”  I had a second weekend of joy in the Church with the men’s retreat at Shepherd’s Hill on Friday night and Saturday.  46 men from across ND gathered to be fed on God’s Word and to care for one another, to share stories, and to build one another up as brothers in Christ.

Most have experienced the frustration of suffering loss through injury or illness.  Having your arm in a sling limits your ability to shovel snow or to carry groceries along with other wonderfully fulfilling activities.  Something as seemingly little as a paper cut or a sprained ankle can make your existence miserable.  Perhaps you have been asked, “If you had to live without one of your senses, which would you choose?”  While you would certainly adjust to life without hearing or seeing, life would be different.  Your whole body would suffer and be forced to compensate for the lost sense or a lost limb if that were the case.   Paul urges unity in the church as well as service.  They go together.  This oneness takes place as we see ourselves in relation to one another and to Christ.

Today’s Gospel shows how to commit spiritual suicide and to cut oneself off from Christ, the head of the body.  The event in a Nazareth synagogue took place sometime after Jesus returned to Galilee from the Jordanian wilderness. There, being led by the Holy Spirit, He fasted for 40 days while being subject to Satan’s temptations. His return to Galilee was met with much fanfare, and His preaching in the synagogues there was praised by all. At this point, things were looking good for the carpenter’s Son. But, of course, the praise of men was the last thing that Jesus was looking for.
Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing“—certainly, as bold a statement as there ever was! While some marveled and leaned in to hear more; others recoiled from Jesus’ unveiled assertion. You can almost hear them blurt out, “Excuse me!? Say what!? You are a common tradesman—are you not?” “What gives you the right?”

With this, the gloves go on. Citing well-known Old Testament texts from I and II Kings, Jesus refers to Elijah and the widow from Zarephath, and to Elisha and the leper from Syria—two instances of God reaching beyond His chosen people to nearby Gentiles ready to receive Him.

The Jews would have none of this. “And they rose up and drove Him out of the town and brought Him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw Him down the cliff” (Luke 4:29).
How tragically sad.

If only they knew that it was He, Jesus, anointed with the Holy Spirit. It was He, Jesus, appointed to proclaim precious good news to the poor and downtrodden. It was He, the One who declares freedom for the captive, liberty for the spiritually oppressed, and healing for those who physically suffer.

It was He, the Lord Jesus Christ, Israel’s long-awaited Messiah—and with His arrival, every prophetic expectation was fulfilled. Jesus would restore sight to the blind and heal the sick.  He would cast out demons, giving liberty to those who were oppressed by Satan himself.  He would proclaim liberty to the captives of sin by winning their forgiveness, our forgiveness. 

The folks from Jesus’ home town cut themselves off from Jesus by rejecting the truth that He is God’s Son, the Messiah, and their Savior.

Jesus would eventually go to another town and another hill where He would suffer torment and be crucified.  No, He was not thrown down a hill.  He was brutally hung a cross.  He suffered and He died.  On the third day He rose victorious over sin and death.  He died for those hometown folks who had rejected Him and He died for you and me and for our children.

We care deeply for our children.  They certainly belong to the body of Christ as His baptized children.  There is no higher calling as parents than to bring up our children knowing the Lord.  This happens as we gather at the family altar whether it is at the dining table or at your child’s bedside, to place God’s Word in their ears, to pray with them, and to assure them of God’s great love for them and His presence with them no matter what.  We model it for them as we live at peace with others through the forgiveness of sins and rely on Jesus in times of trouble.  We bring them to God’s house following our Lord’s directive in the Third Commandment, Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.  It is our joy as a church to partner with parents in nurturing the faith of your children.  We are blessed with Sunday School, VBS, and Camps.  As we care for our own families, we are also part of the Body of Christ around the world.

I rejoice in the fact that our congregation, through the direction of our Human Care committee, is adopting various mission opportunities to support.  Christ’s Care for Children – KENYA is our mission for the first quarter of this year.  Yes, children half way around the world need to hear of Jesus and His love for them as much as your next door neighbor. Micheal Henke went to Kenya as a part of the Project 24 a number of years ago.  Next Sunday, He will give us a first hand look at life in Kenya and how we can care for the needs of children and their families.

The Body of Christ includes congregations and gatherings of God’s people in various places.  It also includes our Lutheran Schools. This week we celebrate Lutheran Schools Week.  Our children who enroll are blessed to hear of Christ on a daily basis in the classroom.  Lutheran Schools are driven by a commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is our passion to have our Lord Jesus intercept the lives of our students.  Whether they are mourning the death of a grandparent, overwhelmed at the news of mass shooting in a school half way across the country, or celebrating their baptismal birthday, we mourn when others mourn and rejoice when others rejoice, all in the shadow of the cross.

The devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh are on the attack to destroy our faith in Christ.  People seek relief from pain and many self-medicate through drugs or alcohol.  People who suffer emotional trauma cut themselves and seek to escape the pain by taking their own lives.  Christianity is continually under attack.