January 5, 2025 

Today's Reading: Luke 2:40-52

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 65:8-25; Luke 3:1-20

“And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.” (Luke 2:51)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Today is the Eve of the Epiphany of our Lord. The lights of Christmas and the New Year still shine, and the whole world waits in anticipation of the Light who has yet to reveal Himself in His fullness. Yet within the small household of the astonished Joseph and Mary, the wisdom of God is already being revealed. The boy Jesus goes missing from His parents for three days. Jesus was not a runaway. This was not some act of preteen rebellion. No, worldly wisdom does not explain the actions of the Christ child, for God’s wisdom is higher than man’s. He chooses what is foolish to shame the wise. This humble Jesus has come to share the wisdom of God– and not just to the small household of Joseph and Mary, but for all. Worldly wisdom would keep God to the righteous and wise of the world. But God’s wisdom invites even sinners to be cleansed of their sin and to enter His eternal household. He even takes on human flesh and submits Himself to the care of human parents. Joseph and Mary finally find Jesus where they should have been looking all along: in the Temple, revealing the wisdom of God. All present looked on with astonishment. The doctors of the Law, Gaze on the wondrous child, And marvel at His gracious words, Of wisdom undefiled. (“Within the Father’s House,” LSB 410: 2)

We are invited to join those doctors of the Law in wonder at God’s unfathomable wisdom, first demonstrated in the Incarnation and now poured out for us in the reading, learning, and preaching of His Holy Word. In a world that constantly distracts us from God’s Word and teaches us to despise the preaching of God’s Word, let us set our minds even more resolutely on being enlightened by His wisdom. What joy and peace His wisdom provides! What comfort this knowledge brings our suffering souls! While our mortal minds are wearied by knowledge of our sinfulness, Jesus nonetheless reveals Himself in human flesh to prove that God still desires our salvation. He does not abandon us to the pattern of this world but claims our bodies as His temples, transforming us through the renewal of our minds. Each day, He sends His Spirit anew to you, calling you to repentance and enlightening you by His Gospel to see His wisdom. Knowing the depth of our sin, it hardly seems possible– but this is the wisdom of God. As the lights of Christmas fade, let the Light of His wisdom shine in our hearts.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, You have poured into our hearts the true Light of Your incarnate Word. Grant that this Light may shine forth in our lives; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect L10)

-Rev. Donald Stein, pastor of Saint Andrew Lutheran Church in Rockton, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

What makes a church "good?" Come join the fictional family as they test out eight different churches in their brand-new town and answer this question along the way. Will the Real Church Please Stand Up? by Matthew Richard, now available from Concordia Publishing House.