Confession of St. Peter

Jan 18 - 24

Ezekiel, Joel, Romans

Where is Jesus? For Mary and Joseph, this question becomes increasingly frantic as their search for him moves through the family caravan, and then back toward Jerusalem. Like most parents, they are shuddering at the possibility that they may never find Jesus at all.

It is a telling picture of the state of our own faith. We lose track of our Lord, and it seems as though he is hidden from our sight. We desperately search the places where he is not, and when we can’t find him, we echo Isaiah’s lament that God has hidden himself from us. 

But it turns out that God is not the one doing the wandering. Our search ends in his Father’s house – not a manmade temple, shrine, or idol, but in the temple of Jesus’ body, broken for our sins and raised again for our salvation. That is where he remains while we drift in confusion.

What does God do with such fickle hearts? By a string of prophets and apostles stretched across centuries and deeply woven into his divine purpose, he reveals himself in his Word. His epiphany is a cut to the heart with a razor-sharp call to repentance, followed by a torrent of forgiveness and purity in his holy baptism that makes us his own and stays our distracted hearts. It is the good news that our Lord will not hide from us, or from anyone. In the belly of Ezekiel, on the lips of John the Baptist, and in the pages of Paul’s letters, he shows us that his grace is as deep and evident as our unrighteousness.

Where is Jesus? There is no need to ask. We can always find him where he has promised to be. As we continue on our journey home, may he always find us faithful to him!

Conversion of St. Paul

Jan 25 - 31

Zechariah, Romans, 2 Timothy

The high priest of Israel, in filthy clothing, stands before an angel of the LORD while Satan stands at his side, ready to accuse - and there is much to accuse him of. Isreal’s unfaithfulness to the LORD is well-documented and impossible to refute. In their fight against the powers of the earth, their own flesh, and Satan himself, they appear to have lost.

So have we. We have come away from the same struggle covered in sin. And that defeat divides the church. Beleaguered, weak, and straying souls turn to themselves for hope, away from Christ, and, in turn, they find no reason to serve anyone but themselves.

But in this vision to Zechariah, it is Satan who receives the rebuke. We have been plucked from the fire – the fire of temptation, persecution, and our impending judgment. The accuser looks on in astonishment as our filthy clothes are removed and replaced with clean ones. Jesus, the true high priest, has made himself the sacrifice. We now belong to him, and against the Son of God, there is no accusation to be made.

This changes everything. We are no longer sheep without a shepherd. Our worship and service are no longer performative with a vague hope of staving off God’s anger. Instead, his Holy Spirit fills our hearts and moves us to imitate our high priest by giving of ourselves for the sake of our brothers and sisters. Such works only affirm what our God has done for us at the cross and grave.

One day, we will stand before our Lord, not as accused sinners in filthy clothes, but in the purity Jesus has earned for us. The fight will be over, the battle won, the sour tone of accusation forever destroyed. There will be instead the swell of praise from the saints, echoing into eternity.