CMLC 2026-01-04 Sermon

Howdy Man get a chance to come all the way back

from from Germany after a week. It was a fascinating

I think I'm back on central standard time more

or less So although I did wake up at 5 this morning.

That's not normal for me But I had a chance to

be able to go step away for a bit. Very grateful

to Reverend Kirk for coming to preach and to

be here with you all and being able to see what

it is to worship and to be in a completely different

environment. Being off in Germany with my sister

and her family, we went to Berlin, we went to

Wittenberg, we went to Erfurt, we went to Munich.

so had a chance to basically eat way too much

food every time every two or three hours we'd

be like ooh that looks like a good restaurant

well let's just try one more thing oh man schnitzel

is great and it was huge is huge oh my goodness

and and it turns out that Bavarian cream is actually

not a donut who knew there's actually such a

thing it's delicious it looks like a little like

a little cheesecake but it's much lighter oh

my goodness it's it's great and everything and

and went to Hofbrauhaus, the original from the

16th century. So, ugh, yeah, it was pretty epic.

So, lovely place. Discovered that, you know,

with the Christmas markets and all the different

places, too many wonderful things to buy. You

know how in like Disney movies you see all those

different castles? You know, the Sleeping Beauty

Castle, the Beauty and the Beast Castle, the

one at the very beginning, blah, blah, blah.

No, there actually was a German church, a German

castle that it was... designed off of so yeah

got to go there in Neuschwanstein so it was it

was pretty amazing and I practiced saying Neuschwanstein

so there you go it was great turns out my sister

brought a Jenga board game that we could play

and I needed to be reminded not to play competitive

games against my brother -in -law that is that

is a recipe for disaster so but yes it was it

was a wonderful time ringing the new year and

and Yeah, it was just amazing and getting a chance

to discover more about it. But you know, one

of the most important parts I felt of it was

getting to go on some of the tours that were

there. There were a couple that we went on. And

one of them was in Berlin. And we were checking

out all the different sites in regard to the

Berlin Wall and what it was to divide East and

West Berlin and seeing how the old communist

buildings were being re -seen from a democratic

standpoint, all those different things. And then

later on, how to... to tour and see the castle

church where Luther had nailed the 95 theses.

Got to see where that was at. Even the monastery

where he was trained in Erfurt. And then when

we were in Munich and we went up and saw Dachau

and saw what had happened to the people that

were imprisoned there and treated so poorly and

killed. You know, there were so many things that

we learned and discovered there. It wasn't just

about architecture and food. It was about history.

It was about seeing what had gone wrong in the

world. About what Germany had to face, confess,

and learn from in order to move forward. And

that's when it struck me about how fitting this

is for Epiphany. Because epiphany it's not about

the light emerging from the darkness. It's not

as if the darkness somehow produces light by

itself Epiphany is about light shining into darkness

Light comes from outside that distinction matters

more than we often realize Because that's the

distinction that Isaiah is talking about today.

We're looking at Isaiah 60. When you look at

59 and 60, those chapters, they come at a time

that's after the exile. The people had been taken

out of Judah. They were taken to Babylon. And

then after 70 years, they finally came back.

They had been humbled. They had lost their land,

their city, their temple. Repentance? definitely

was happening. They were very sorry for what

it was that they had done. The confession for

knowing that they were sinful and idolatrous.

The old illusion of the people of Judah, we are

the people of God, so nothing bad can happen

to us. Oh, that is gone. That is very gone. They

have clearly gotten past that idea. But a new

illusion was starting to sneak in. You know how

that is, right? Whenever you feel like you've

grown and matured through something you've really

pushed through and you're like man I Got that

conquered. I've taken care of that addiction.

I've taken care of that emotion. I've taken care

of that obsession I've taken care of this thing

that's been plaguing me for so long and only

to realize that you are succumbing to something

new and That's the belief at that point the belief

that Judah had that if they just try hard enough,

if they rebuild the temple and the city faithfully

enough, if they repent, if they change thoroughly

enough, then they themselves can fix what was

broken. Isaiah acknowledges it. He sees it. He

doesn't dismiss their repentance. They want to

change. They want to be different. But it becomes

painfully clear that human effort, even as sincere

as somebody may be, that they want things to

be different. It's not enough. Justice is still

absent. Truth still stumbles moving along. And

the people, the people are trying, but something

deeper is still wrong. Isaiah names it Redemption

cannot be generated from ourselves. Redemption,

it cannot come from us. It never can be. And

that was the thing looking at everything happening

in Germany is that even when Germany tried to

redeem their own story by themselves after World

War I, look what happened. World War II. The

war to end all wars gave way to the next war

to end all wars. They tried to redeem themselves

in their own way and they fell deeper into their

own self -centeredness. And that's not just coming

from me. That was what every person touring us

there was reminding us of. But at the end of

Isaiah 59, something decisive happens. God looks

and sees that there is no one who can truly set

things right on his behalf. He's looking out

there. There is no reformer among Judah. There

is no perfect leader. There is no one that is

a mere human solution that can stand as the perfect

beacon for righteousness. Moses, Joshua, the

judges, the kings. all of those to come, the

prophets, none of them were able to do this on

their own, to set everything right. So God acts.

God puts on righteousness Himself. God becomes

the Redeemer. There are a lot of discussions

about whether this last section of Isaiah was

written by Isaiah before the exile. or by one

of his students later on after the exile. You

know, often times, you're trying to figure out

how far you can see what is to come. Can you

predict the weather? Can you predict the economy?

Can you predict whether or not that text mix

is going to agree with your stomach? Whatever

it is you think you can figure out, whether it

was written before or afterward, the message

from God was obvious. Even after you repent,

Israel will still stumble. Even after returning

home, they are still going to need saving. They

are not good on their own. Repentance matters.

Wanting to change. It matters. Wanting to go

a different direction. It matters. It does. Wanting

to be different. Wanting to shift. All of these

are good. We need to be willing to admit we've

stumbled. We've pursued our own selfishness.

Instead of always just trying to justify our

actions and trying to say there is some reason

we did what we did. We need to be willing to

change. But repentance does not replace God's

action and how much we need Him. Because ultimately

it is God's Son for us and God's Spirit in us

who must do what human beings cannot do on our

own. See, salvation is not something that we

finish. It is something God accomplishes within

us. That is the only reason hope is real. Because

after Isaiah 59, comes Isaiah 60. Arise, shine,

for your light has come. Notice what it does

not say. It does not say, arise and look inside

of yourself and see the light that is inside.

No. It does not say, close your eyes, just really,

really tight, and you can create the light inside

of you. It does not say, prove yourselves worthy.

It says the light has come. arise shine is a

response to the light arising arriving into our

lines because let's be honest darkness it keeps

existing how many times that we've said things

are getting better things are moving forward

and yet the darkness still somehow creeps in

We've done something to work on our health. We've

done something to work on our mind We've done

something to work on our relationships and still

something keeps creeping in and we have to face

that reality That the darkness it doesn't just

come from out there We have to be honest the

darkness comes from in here the darkness comes

from us not just them, whoever them might be.

God's presence, it's unmistakable. But that's

what the nations must see. The nations, they

don't come because Israel is perfect themselves.

They don't come to see Israel. They come to see

God. Because the witness that we have, it flows

from God's action, not from human self -improvement.

It is not just trying to be the best version

of yourself that is going to somehow save the

world. The more our actions are based on what

seems to make the most sense to us, like Germany

invading Belgium just to get to France, in World

War I, even when Belgium wasn't even involved

in the first place. The less our actions are

based on God's timing, God's mercy, God's righteousness,

the more we base it on our sense of how to improve

things, the less it is about doing things that

are right in God's eyes and according to His

plans. See, people do not become a beacon by

polishing themselves. It doesn't matter how well

you polish yourself. It doesn't matter how much

you try to make yourself shiny. The only light

is by being illuminated by God. If a lighthouse

is just mirrors reflecting itself without a light

inside, it's useless. But you see, there I was

in Germany at this historic place that is so

important. to our church, to our history, to

what we've learned and grown from. Germany, it's

this little parable in many ways. Germany was

what you would call a Christian nation in the

20th century. Germany was the birthplace of Lutheranism,

one of the main birthplaces of Protestantism.

Martin Luther fought to save German Christians

from the abuses of the Catholic Church. But those

a century later who followed more after Luther

the person and the Pope as their figurehead rather

than Christ the Messiah Began a war that killed

a third of central Germany Because of their power

their economics their personal rage after the

80 years war the good Christians and Catholics

Destroyed each other in the 30 years war for

Jesus. And Germany today, they're honest about

the brokenness. After World War II, after the

Cold War, Germany could not redeem itself by

simply deciding to be better or justifying its

past actions. You can't justify the things that

they did. There was outside intervention. There

was accountability. There was confession. There

was rebuilding. There was repentance. But as

beautiful as Germany may be looking at those

castles on the mountains Seeing the snow falling

and enjoying so much of what there is No Christian

will ever be a beacon on a hill if it's more

about being Christian Than it is about being

like Christ Redemption does not erase history.

It's the only time to transform it into a new

beginning And that's how God works. Redemption

does not pretend that the past didn't happen

or try to rewrite it into something better than

it was. It creates a future that learns from

it. A future that does better, not based on its

own understanding or efforts, but based on trusting

Christ for each and every action that we take.

each and every emotion, each and every motivation

we should be honest about. Every time we are

making a decision that we say is a godly decision,

can we stop and say, not is this what a good

Christian would do, but instead, is this genuinely

what Christ would do? And that brings us to the

Magi. The wise men. See, the Magi, let's be honest,

they could have just stayed home. It was a long

way away. I mean, did you really want to have

to go all that distance, okay? They could have

just said, hey, we believe in the idea of a Messiah.

Okay, we like the idea. We believe in that. That's

wonderful. We trust God from a distance. They

had the knowledge. They had the star. They could

have said, hey, look. Hey, that must be the king

of the Jews over there. Let's just sit here in

our living room and watch it. That'll be awesome.

Really great. Can you replay that? No, that's

awesome. That was really well done. Skip the

commercials. That would be good. But that's the

thing is that Epiphany is not a distant admiration.

They traveled. They risked. They sought. They

pursued. Messiah that they desired. They did

not come for an idea within themselves. They

came for a person. They wanted the true God.

You see, an epiphany is a revelation of an idea.

A theophany is a revelation of God. The Magi

wanted God Himself. In a sense, it's more than

celebrating an epiphany. It's a celebration of

the theophany, the light of the world. And light,

real light, it demands that we move. See, that's

where this meets us. We cannot fix ourselves

by deciding harder. We don't just need a new

idea or a better plan or a stronger resolution.

We need God. We need God Himself. Not just our

idea of what we wish God would want. We are called

to pursue new life, but not to pretend like we're

the ones creating it. Redemption always comes

from outside of us. Yet it meets us personally.

It changes us. It restores us. It sends us forward.

And that is what the nations will see. That is

what the nations will pursue and that is what

changes the camels of warfare to the camels of

righteousness and discipleship. That is what

the world needs more than our strength or our

great ideas. But are you ready to spend the time

pursuing that? Are you ready to pursue reading

God's Word? Are you ready to worship together?

Are you ready to grow together? Are you ready

to serve this community together? Are you ready

to give what God has called you to give together?

We've been talking about this for a year now.

All the things that we want to see with all of

you, are you ready for it? Are you ready for

Christ and His church to be more than just a

great idea that you made sure your kids learned

about and that your glad exists on the corner?

Are you ready to go beyond just trying to figure

things out in your own head and solve your own

problems? To move beyond looking for epiphanies

and instead pursue THE epiphany? Because the

invitation of epiphany is not be better. The

invitation is come to Christ. So as this new

beer begins, my question to you is straightforward.

Are you ready for this year to be about pursuing

Christ rather than trying to remake yourselves

by yourself? Your New Year's resolutions will

mean nothing without Him. And more than that,

your actions and your reactions will reflect

more what is in this world than what is in God's

Kingdom if you do not. So please, the light is

already shining. The question is, Are we ready

to get up and to pursue Him? Thanks be to God.