WEBVTT STYLE ::cue { color: #ffffff; } 00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:01.577 In the name of the Father and of 00:00:01.577 --> 00:00:03.953 the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:03.953 --> 00:00:05.640 Amen. 00:00:05.640 --> 00:00:09.070 Making a straight path 00:00:12.130 --> 00:00:13.953 Malachi and Isaiah had 00:00:13.953 --> 00:00:16.000 proclaimed it clearly 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:17.802 behold, 00:00:17.802 --> 00:00:20.409 I send my messenger before your 00:00:20.409 --> 00:00:23.721 face who will prepare your way, 00:00:23.721 --> 00:00:25.658 the voice of one crying 00:00:25.658 --> 00:00:27.240 in the wilderness. 00:00:27.240 --> 00:00:30.240 Prepare the way of the Lord. 00:00:30.240 --> 00:00:33.430 Make his paths straight. 00:00:35.450 --> 00:00:37.655 The road to the Kingdom of God 00:00:37.655 --> 00:00:40.445 would go straight and direct. 00:00:40.445 --> 00:00:43.254 No curves, no detours, 00:00:43.254 --> 00:00:46.180 no labyrinthian mazes. 00:00:46.180 --> 00:00:48.700 So John appeared, 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:51.473 baptizing in the wilderness and 00:00:51.473 --> 00:00:53.177 proclaiming a baptism of 00:00:53.177 --> 00:00:55.378 repentance for the forgiveness 00:00:55.378 --> 00:00:58.353 of sins as Malachi had 00:00:58.353 --> 00:01:00.850 prophesied. Behold, 00:01:00.850 --> 00:01:03.973 I will send you Elijah the 00:01:03.973 --> 00:01:06.453 Prophet before the great and 00:01:06.453 --> 00:01:09.445 awesome day of the Lord comes. 00:01:09.445 --> 00:01:12.062 Here's the new Elijah, 00:01:12.062 --> 00:01:13.517 the forerunner of the 00:01:13.517 --> 00:01:15.332 fulfillment of Ezekiel's 00:01:15.332 --> 00:01:17.033 prophetic promise of 00:01:17.033 --> 00:01:18.520 God's Kingdom. 00:01:18.520 --> 00:01:21.113 I will sprinkle clean water on 00:01:21.113 --> 00:01:23.993 you and you shall be clean from 00:01:23.993 --> 00:01:26.553 all your uncleannesses and 00:01:26.553 --> 00:01:27.898 from all your idols 00:01:27.898 --> 00:01:29.645 I will cleanse you. 00:01:29.645 --> 00:01:32.885 I will give you a new heart 00:01:32.885 --> 00:01:34.814 and a new spirit 00:01:34.814 --> 00:01:37.293 I will put within you. And I will 00:01:37.293 --> 00:01:39.133 remove the heart of stone from 00:01:39.133 --> 00:01:41.049 your flesh and give you 00:01:41.049 --> 00:01:43.800 a heart of flesh. 00:01:43.800 --> 00:01:46.625 And I will put my spirit within 00:01:46.625 --> 00:01:49.209 you and cause you to walk in my 00:01:49.209 --> 00:01:51.458 statutes and be careful 00:01:51.458 --> 00:01:53.330 to obey my rules. 00:01:55.030 --> 00:01:56.396 The straight path to 00:01:56.396 --> 00:01:57.700 the Kingdom of God. 00:01:59.510 --> 00:02:02.157 Jesus sends the disciples on 00:02:02.157 --> 00:02:04.693 that straight path and he called 00:02:04.693 --> 00:02:06.053 the Twelve and began to send 00:02:06.053 --> 00:02:07.777 them out two by two and gave 00:02:07.777 --> 00:02:09.137 them authority over the 00:02:09.137 --> 00:02:10.497 unclean spirits. 00:02:10.497 --> 00:02:12.618 So they went out and proclaimed 00:02:12.618 --> 00:02:14.817 that people should repent and 00:02:14.817 --> 00:02:16.570 they cast out many demons 00:02:16.570 --> 00:02:17.998 and anointed with oil, 00:02:17.998 --> 00:02:19.620 many who were sick 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:21.340 and healed them. 00:02:22.910 --> 00:02:25.260 The path must have seemed 00:02:25.260 --> 00:02:27.453 relatively straight to the 00:02:27.453 --> 00:02:29.820 Twelve at that point. 00:02:32.450 --> 00:02:34.585 Perhaps it does for you. 00:02:34.585 --> 00:02:37.313 Students arriving on campus to 00:02:37.313 --> 00:02:39.538 begin their new progress toward 00:02:39.538 --> 00:02:41.793 the office of the ministry and 00:02:41.793 --> 00:02:43.840 the office of deaconess. 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:46.089 Students returning for a second 00:02:46.089 --> 00:02:48.202 year of study students gathering 00:02:48.202 --> 00:02:49.938 again on campus from Vicarage 00:02:49.938 --> 00:02:52.305 for a final year of preparation. 00:02:52.305 --> 00:02:54.297 Graduate students walking the 00:02:54.297 --> 00:02:56.959 path toward expanded awareness 00:02:56.959 --> 00:02:59.418 of the Kingdom. Faculty 00:02:59.418 --> 00:03:00.149 and staff 00:03:00.149 --> 00:03:02.433 entering another blessed year of 00:03:02.433 --> 00:03:05.689 teaching and service. Within 00:03:05.689 --> 00:03:07.346 the seminary quad 00:03:07.346 --> 00:03:09.650 the path seems unparalleled 00:03:09.650 --> 00:03:11.400 in its straightness. 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:13.800 The path might be narrow, 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:15.760 but its directness 00:03:15.760 --> 00:03:17.470 is not in doubt. 00:03:20.210 --> 00:03:22.065 Or is it? 00:03:22.065 --> 00:03:23.514 As Peter, 00:03:23.514 --> 00:03:25.021 James and John were coming down 00:03:25.021 --> 00:03:26.570 the Mount of Transfiguration 00:03:26.570 --> 00:03:27.960 with Jesus, 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:29.945 they asked him, 00:03:29.945 --> 00:03:31.993 why do the scribes say that 00:03:31.993 --> 00:03:35.185 Elijah must come first? 00:03:35.185 --> 00:03:37.315 And he said, 00:03:37.315 --> 00:03:40.101 Elijah does come first to 00:03:40.101 --> 00:03:42.780 restore all things. 00:03:44.510 --> 00:03:45.805 But I tell you that 00:03:45.805 --> 00:03:48.245 Elijah has come. 00:03:48.245 --> 00:03:50.737 And they did to him whatever 00:03:50.737 --> 00:03:52.760 they pleased, 00:03:52.760 --> 00:03:55.040 as it is written of him. 00:03:56.770 --> 00:03:57.378 Herod, 00:03:57.378 --> 00:03:59.560 Antipas and Herodias certainly 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:01.089 did to him whatever 00:04:01.089 --> 00:04:02.528 they pleased. 00:04:02.528 --> 00:04:04.414 It's one seemingly massive 00:04:04.414 --> 00:04:06.021 curve in the road. 00:04:06.021 --> 00:04:08.349 Antipas makes a rash and 00:04:08.349 --> 00:04:10.613 reckless promise following the 00:04:10.613 --> 00:04:12.452 lustful viewing of his 00:04:12.452 --> 00:04:15.459 stepdaughter's lustchevius dance 00:04:15.459 --> 00:04:18.834 and Herodius capitalizes seeking 00:04:18.834 --> 00:04:20.297 through her daughter the head 00:04:20.297 --> 00:04:22.145 of the beloved John. 00:04:22.145 --> 00:04:24.209 And the daughter delivers it 00:04:24.209 --> 00:04:27.650 spitefully on a platter. 00:04:27.650 --> 00:04:30.332 Herod won't touch it. 00:04:30.332 --> 00:04:31.877 He's morose about the 00:04:31.877 --> 00:04:33.020 whole affair. 00:04:33.020 --> 00:04:34.357 This isn't the head of 00:04:34.357 --> 00:04:35.869 Medusa after all. 00:04:35.869 --> 00:04:39.230 Herod used to hear John gladly, 00:04:39.230 --> 00:04:42.750 but now his tongue is silenced. 00:04:44.450 --> 00:04:45.858 So much for the straight 00:04:45.858 --> 00:04:48.190 path to the kingdom. 00:04:50.690 --> 00:04:52.258 How many seeming curves 00:04:52.258 --> 00:04:53.725 in the road 00:04:53.725 --> 00:04:55.730 have you encountered? 00:04:57.510 --> 00:04:58.533 A number of years ago, 00:04:58.533 --> 00:05:00.397 I taught a week long course at 00:05:00.397 --> 00:05:02.230 the fledgling Lutheran seminary 00:05:02.230 --> 00:05:04.254 in Bishkek, the capital, 00:05:04.254 --> 00:05:05.630 Kyrgyzstan. 00:05:05.630 --> 00:05:08.472 I remember one dirt road that I 00:05:08.472 --> 00:05:10.153 wondered how my driver was 00:05:10.153 --> 00:05:12.322 ever going to negotiate. 00:05:12.322 --> 00:05:13.770 There were potholes 00:05:13.770 --> 00:05:15.106 strewn everywhere, 00:05:15.106 --> 00:05:17.033 like a master gardener had just 00:05:17.033 --> 00:05:18.605 scattered them on the road 00:05:18.605 --> 00:05:20.060 indiscriminately. 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:21.957 Not the garden variety we 00:05:21.957 --> 00:05:23.446 see here in St. Louis. 00:05:23.446 --> 00:05:25.770 No potholes with gravitas 00:05:27.789 --> 00:05:30.374 four, five or more feet deep. 00:05:30.374 --> 00:05:31.533 Potholes that would make 00:05:31.533 --> 00:05:33.145 a semi driver weep. 00:05:33.145 --> 00:05:34.760 Potholes you could park yourself 00:05:34.760 --> 00:05:36.250 in for a picnic. 00:05:36.250 --> 00:05:37.802 Potholes that could swallow 00:05:37.802 --> 00:05:39.520 a compact car's whole. 00:05:41.730 --> 00:05:44.969 But my driver knew exactly how 00:05:44.969 --> 00:05:47.736 to avoid them and carve a 00:05:47.736 --> 00:05:50.510 straight path down the street. 00:05:52.370 --> 00:05:52.978 Fortunately, 00:05:52.978 --> 00:05:54.821 the problem didn't lie with 00:05:54.821 --> 00:05:56.897 driver or what he saw. 00:05:56.897 --> 00:05:59.975 The problem was in my own eyes. 00:05:59.975 --> 00:06:02.770 I couldn't see the straight path 00:06:02.770 --> 00:06:04.857 through the potholes and I 00:06:04.857 --> 00:06:06.640 presume there was none. 00:06:06.640 --> 00:06:08.513 All those seeming curves and 00:06:08.513 --> 00:06:10.561 detours to arrive at 00:06:10.561 --> 00:06:11.330 this seminary. 00:06:11.330 --> 00:06:12.832 All the roadblocks you might 00:06:12.832 --> 00:06:15.496 have experienced on vicarage or 00:06:15.496 --> 00:06:18.433 that will obstruct your path and 00:06:18.433 --> 00:06:19.577 your view of the path in 00:06:19.577 --> 00:06:21.082 ministry and service following 00:06:21.082 --> 00:06:22.585 your call. 00:06:22.585 --> 00:06:24.885 We should know 00:06:24.885 --> 00:06:26.793 it's all part of the 00:06:26.793 --> 00:06:27.910 straight path. 00:06:29.770 --> 00:06:31.880 That's because it is the path 00:06:31.880 --> 00:06:34.680 that our Lord himself walked. 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:36.674 As he said to the disciples 00:06:36.674 --> 00:06:38.197 walking down the path from 00:06:38.197 --> 00:06:40.100 the transfiguration. 00:06:40.100 --> 00:06:42.893 And how is it written of the Son 00:06:42.893 --> 00:06:45.494 of man that he should suffer 00:06:45.494 --> 00:06:47.198 many things and be treated 00:06:47.198 --> 00:06:48.490 with contempt? 00:06:50.670 --> 00:06:52.018 Jesus knew the straight 00:06:52.018 --> 00:06:54.039 path to the kingdom. 00:06:54.039 --> 00:06:56.265 It didn't swerve at all. 00:06:56.265 --> 00:06:57.977 The Son of man is going to be 00:06:57.977 --> 00:06:59.921 delivered into the hands of men 00:06:59.921 --> 00:07:02.235 and they will kill him. 00:07:02.235 --> 00:07:04.350 And after he is killed, 00:07:04.350 --> 00:07:07.970 three days later he will rise. 00:07:09.909 --> 00:07:12.429 The straight path is always 00:07:12.429 --> 00:07:16.110 one that leads to death. 00:07:16.110 --> 00:07:19.040 The hands of sinful creatures. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:21.393 John the Baptizer knew it. 00:07:21.393 --> 00:07:23.137 The end of his prison chain were 00:07:23.137 --> 00:07:25.130 the hateful hands of Herodius 00:07:25.130 --> 00:07:27.416 and the vacillating and reckless 00:07:27.416 --> 00:07:29.700 mind and mouth of Herod. 00:07:29.700 --> 00:07:31.462 The end of Jesus'journey 00:07:31.462 --> 00:07:32.605 were the hands, 00:07:32.605 --> 00:07:34.765 mouths and hearts of his human 00:07:34.765 --> 00:07:37.029 creatures that would 00:07:37.029 --> 00:07:38.605 not receive him. 00:07:38.605 --> 00:07:40.921 The road to the kingdom of God 00:07:40.921 --> 00:07:42.394 walks through the valley 00:07:42.394 --> 00:07:44.560 of the shadow of death, 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:46.909 even through beheading. 00:07:49.010 --> 00:07:50.394 Yet the straight path 00:07:50.394 --> 00:07:53.105 doesn't end there. 00:07:53.105 --> 00:07:54.113 See, 00:07:54.113 --> 00:07:56.533 we are going up to Jerusalem and 00:07:56.533 --> 00:07:58.062 the Son of man will be delivered 00:07:58.062 --> 00:07:59.653 over to the chief priests and 00:07:59.653 --> 00:08:01.253 the scribes and they will 00:08:01.253 --> 00:08:03.054 condemn him to death and deliver 00:08:03.054 --> 00:08:05.430 him over to the Gentiles. 00:08:05.430 --> 00:08:08.138 And they will mock him and spit 00:08:08.138 --> 00:08:09.592 upon him and flog him 00:08:09.592 --> 00:08:11.145 and kill him. 00:08:11.145 --> 00:08:13.664 And after three days 00:08:13.664 --> 00:08:15.430 he will rise. 00:08:18.270 --> 00:08:19.654 That's the straight path 00:08:19.654 --> 00:08:21.942 the forerunner walked. 00:08:21.942 --> 00:08:23.749 It's the straight path your 00:08:23.749 --> 00:08:25.718 Lord Jesus walked. 00:08:25.718 --> 00:08:26.957 And it is the straight 00:08:26.957 --> 00:08:30.945 path you walk in Him. 00:08:30.945 --> 00:08:33.594 The seeming curves and potholes 00:08:33.594 --> 00:08:34.778 and obstacles. 00:08:34.778 --> 00:08:37.122 All your suffering, your sorrow, 00:08:37.122 --> 00:08:38.510 your dying. 00:08:40.130 --> 00:08:43.544 The Lord is preparing his way, 00:08:43.544 --> 00:08:46.640 paving his path 00:08:46.640 --> 00:08:48.319 for you. 00:08:51.610 --> 00:08:53.986 This path may seem one detour 00:08:53.986 --> 00:08:56.445 after another for us. 00:08:56.445 --> 00:08:57.761 If we had been there in 00:08:57.761 --> 00:08:58.761 the prison with John, 00:08:58.761 --> 00:08:59.875 we might have thought so 00:08:59.875 --> 00:09:00.754 ourselves. 00:09:00.754 --> 00:09:02.201 But I imagine John 00:09:02.201 --> 00:09:03.865 would have said, 00:09:03.865 --> 00:09:06.322 fear not that beheading 00:09:06.322 --> 00:09:08.145 that is coming 00:09:08.145 --> 00:09:11.577 after me comes one who 00:09:11.577 --> 00:09:14.160 is mightier than I. 00:09:15.970 --> 00:09:17.298 In the words of Joseph, 00:09:17.298 --> 00:09:19.769 the hymnographer about the train 00:09:19.769 --> 00:09:22.338 of martyrs never flinch 00:09:22.338 --> 00:09:23.906 they from the flame, 00:09:23.906 --> 00:09:25.206 from the torment. 00:09:25.206 --> 00:09:28.218 Never vain the tyrant's sharpest 00:09:28.218 --> 00:09:32.319 aim vain each fierce endeavor. 00:09:32.319 --> 00:09:35.265 For by faith they saw the land 00:09:35.265 --> 00:09:37.520 decked in all its glory 00:09:37.520 --> 00:09:39.386 where triumphant 00:09:39.386 --> 00:09:42.176 now they stand with the 00:09:42.176 --> 00:09:45.105 victor's story. 00:09:45.105 --> 00:09:48.680 Christ's path is straight 00:09:48.680 --> 00:09:51.280 and so is yours. 00:09:51.280 --> 00:09:53.521 In the name of the Father and of 00:09:53.521 --> 00:09:55.954 the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 00:09:55.954 --> 00:09:56.490 Amen.