The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The book of Hebrews says this about the prophet Moses: “ Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son.” Today in our Old Testament reading, we see Moses interceding for God’s people in a Christ-like way, but also throwing himself completely upon God’s mercy and help. He models Christ, our mediator between God and man, but also models a persistent faith that hangs onto God and seeks His favor and promises. Why was Moses so earnestly seeking assurances of God’s help? This was just after a serious crisis. A short timeline: Moses had given the 10 Commandments to the people at Mt. Sinai. After that, he went up to the mountain to continue to receive God’s Law. Then, in chapter 32, while Moses was up on the mountain, the whole terrible incident of the golden calf took place...

·          Jesus the greatest teacher and master storyteller ·          Stories convey deep spiritual truth; designed to get our attention ·          Unique among His stories, character of Lazarus has a name; significant to meaning of the story: “The one whom God helps” ·          Looking at his life—the rich man feasts lavishly, and living in luxury, while poor Lazarus suffers quietly in misery, licked by dogs outside his gate, until he dies—you might think it a cruel joke that his name means “the one whom God helps.” Ironic? Doesn’t his suffering show evidence that God had abandoned him? ·          Natural way of thinking: life is prosperous and well; God must be showing favor—but if life is filled with suffering and evil things, that God must be showing secret displeasure ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. This second Sunday after Epiphany, as we continue the theme of Jesus’ revelation as God and man, we come to His first sign or miracle, at Cana in Galilee. In the Gospel reading Jesus turns water into wine, showing forth His glory and blessing marriage. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. We might find Jesus’ first miracle a little unexpected. What was the crisis? Of course not every miracle Jesus performed involved a crisis. But in other cases Jesus healed a sick person, cast out a demon, raised the dead, fed hungry crowds, etc. Often it was people who were ill or suffering that received Jesus’ miracles, and there was an obvious case of need. But Jesus’ first miracle was under somewhat different circumstances. No one was sick or dying, and no one was starving. In fact the wedding guests already had much to drink, and the hosts were running out of win...