From the Pastor – January 2026
A Meditation based upon the Readings for Epiphany – Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
This Jesus never ceases to amaze. From manger to cross, He goes about His work of salvation. Infant to toddler to child to man, He fulfills all that is placed before Him. The Old Testament is funny in that way. It is full of Christ: Christ present with His people to save. Christ foretold, even through prophecies that don’t seem to be prophecies. Christ the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He doesn’t change. His ways don’t change. … And so it should come as no surprise that Jesus does what He does with the Magi.
Though one may ask, “What exactly did Jesus do?” He is just a toddler and Matthew doesn’t speak of Him doing anything at all. He is but a recipient of the adoration of the Magi. He does nothing active, only passive. … And yet His star arose and these men from distant lands, with no affinity toward Judaism, with no Israelite blood running through their veins, with no lineage to Abraham or Isaac or Jacob; come to worship Him. He draws them to His Light even though they have no earthly reason to be drawn.
Paul talks about the mystery of Christ. And that mystery is two-fold. The mystery that was not made known to the previous generations of men was that the Gentiles are fellow heirs of the kingdom of God. They are all members of the same body, partakers of the same promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. That is not to say that the ways of God had changed, just that this particular part had been hidden. … But it wasn’t really all that hidden, for speckled throughout the Old Testament are accounts of non-Israelites being brought into the Light. This is so much so the truth that in the line of Jesus there were women who were not Israelites and therefore should have had no business bringing about the future Messiah. But there they were, pointing to the mystery of Jesus for all people. … And here the Magi are as well, fulfilling what had been promised and showing in real time and space who Jesus is and what He has come to accomplish for all people.
And this speaks to the greatest mystery of Christ: that salvation resides in Him and Him alone. There is nothing in this world that makes one worthy of salvation and eternal life, save Christ Jesus. And that is a mystery that is still hidden amongst the generations of men. It is a mystery that is confusing and downright offensive: that there is nothing worthy in and of ourselves to bring about our salvation. It is the stumbling block to the Jews, and folly to the Gentiles, even still to this day.
For we live in a world of deep darkness that covers all people. It is the darkness of sin and death, it is the darkness that brings no comfort and offers no salvation. It is the darkness so full and complete that those within don’t even recognize that there is anything of Light. For how can a blind man know in Himself what light is when he has never seen light before?
So here comes Jesus, the Light of the world, the Light that no darkness can overcome. Here comes Jesus to bring His people, all people, every people and race and nation and color into His Light of salvation. The Light is a mystery, and yet He and His salvation has been and always will be for all people. He comes to bring light into the darkness and send the darkness scattering away. He comes to draw all people to Himself: People like the Magi, like you and me, like your neighbors and friends and co-workers and family, even your enemies. Jesus is for all people. His cross and His salvation, however foolish and stumbling it may be, is for all people. … And this is nothing new. It has always been this way. Christ has always been this way; for all people.
This little toddler Jesus in the Gospel Reading sits before a group of men who should not be there, who should not know who He is, who should not fall down before Him in adoration and worship. And yet there they are and worship Him they do. And this is because He drew them to Himself, to His Light, to show once and for all that He is for them, that He is for you, that He is for this fallen world in order to cast out all the darkness of sin and death and the demons and that He brings us to the everlasting Light of His salvation. … A blessed Epiphany Season to you!
In the Name of Jesus,
Rev. Eli Lietzau
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Something Worth Reading
[All books are available in our church’s library or may be borrowed from the pastor]
Faith Alone—The Heart of Everything (Sequel to “Hammer of God”)
By: Bo Gierts
Translated by Bror Erickson
Martin and Anders both studied to become priests before their paths diverged with the advent of the Reformation. Now, as Sweden emerges from anarchy in a pitched rebellion against tyranny these two brothers navigate fields of battle as they fight to maintain faith through a dark night of the soul. Civil war tears them apart, but the Gospel brings them together when God’s word becomes a lamp for their feet and a light to their paths.
(Bo Gierts [1905-1998] A Swedish Lutheran pastor and bishop, is often remembered for his novel, The Hammer of God, in his own day. However, he was known for his powerful preaching and teaching. As liberalism swept through the Church of Sweden, Giertz persisted in calling her back to the Word of God while always proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel. For this reason, he is remembered as one of Sweden’s most influential modern theologians.)
What We Believe—The Power and Primacy of the Pope (Paragraphs 49-59)
The Marks of the Antichrist
To these errors, two great sins are added: (a) The pope defends these errors by unjust cruelty and the death penalty. (B) He grabs the decision away from the Church and does not permit religious controversies to be judged in the right way. Indeed, he argues that he is above the council and can rescind the decrees of councils. Church law sometimes shamelessly says this. But the evidence shows that the popes act even more shamelessly:
Question 9, canon 3, [of Gratian’s Second Decretal] says: No one shall judge the main [the pope’s] throne. For the judge is judged neither by the emperor, nor by al the clergy, nor by the kings, nor by the people.
The pope exercises a twofold tyranny: (a). He defends his errors by force and by murder, and (b) he forbids judicial examination. The latter does even more harm than any executions. When the true judgment of the Church is removed, godless dogmas and godless services cannot be removed. They destroy countless souls for many ages.
Therefore, let the godly consider the great errors of the kingdom of the pope and his tyranny. Let them ponder, (a) that the errors must be rejected and the true doctrine embraced, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Then (b) let them ponder also how great a crime it is to aid unjust cruelty in killing saints, whose blood God will undoubtedly avenge (Revelation 6:10).
The chief members of the Church, the kings and princes, should especially guard the interests of the Church. They should see to it that errors are removed and consciences are healed <rightly instructed>. God specifically warns kings, “Now rulers therefore, I kings be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth” [Psalm 2:10]. It should be the first care of kings to advance God’s glory. It would be very shameful for them to use their influence and power to confirm idolatry [e.g., 1 Kings 14:14-16] and endless other crimes and slaughter saints.
