“UNTIL NOW”
Saint Matthew 11: 12-15
The Festival of The Reformation (observed): 28 October Anno Domini 2018
Father Jay Watson SSP
Until Now! Saint Matthew records The Lord’s words “and from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” Until Now! The time of Jesus is Now—always Now. The Old Covenant is fulfilled in the obedient flesh and blood law-keeping of The promised Seed of the woman—The Messias of God.
There is no future, save Christ’s return at the end of time, that is any more important than the ever present NOW of His + Baptized brethren in His Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is at hand John the Baptist preached. The Kingdom of God is at hand Jesus preached. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand—Now!
From Genesis to Malachi God’s prophets were sent by Him to preach His Word, to warn and chastise His wayward children that they might turn from their lack of love and be restored by His merciful absolution. Your fathers mocked, drove away, stoned, imprisoned, and killed the prophets of The Lord. Saint John the Baptist—last of the prophets and first of the New Testament Christian martyrs, suffered cruel violence at the hands of the devil and his minions.
Today’s Festival is exactly like every single Sunday in the Church Year—The Blessed and Holy Mass—The Free gift of Forgiveness For Christ’s sake; the Favor of God poured into your ears by The Word of Peace. This is all God’s work.
God forms.
In the beginning was The Word. The Second Person of The Trinity made all things that were made. The Word worked with The Father and The Holy Spirit. The forming was perfect. The created first parents were perfect—and free. They threw their freedom away in an act of pride.
Man deforms. All the pain and anguish and brokenness and decay, rot, death, and damnation is because of man—Adam, and you—every one of you. This deformation mars forever the original image and likeness of The Lord and leaves you a horribly disfigured and Satanically scarred sinful beast. The deformation always runs away, hides, slips down slimy drop-offs of shame and loneliness, and darkness.
God re-forms. God comes in the flesh. The Lord comes after you not in His naked power and omniscient glory and light, but in Human Flesh and Blood. Jesus the God/Man, The Shepherd of souls comes to find you. He works to find you. He keeps all the laws you break to locate you. Jesus forgives. Jesus heals. Jesus clothes and feeds and sets you in His family of faith. Jesus restores and gives you Peace! The Lord keeps you steadfast in His Word.
What happened in 1517 or 1530 or 1580 was not the work of a man or of men. It was all the work of The God/Man Christ Jesus. The re-forming of His Bride, to make her spotless and to keep her spotless is the Work of Jesus The Groom.
The Reformation is Jesus. The Reformation is Jesus in His Word. Jesus reformed you at the + Font. Jesus reformed you about a half-hour ago in His Corporate Absolution. Jesus will reform you when His actual true Body and real Blood is placed in your mouths. The Church is His. You are His.
And yes, the Kingdom suffers violence. “The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” [Jn. 15.20] Saint John testified of The Word, The Kingdom, The Living Christ, with his life. He martyred Jesus. John was Elijah—the Voice of one crying in the wilderness of sin and death, “repent for The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; Behold The Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the World.”
The original Elijah—the Tishbite, the Elijah that was John the Baptist, and all proclaimers of God’s Kingdom are used by Christ to “cry” Christ into your ears—"your sins are forgiven because Jesus died for them, paid for them, on the Cross,” and to give Jesus to you and those willing to receive Him, who believe.
Saint Joseph the Guardian of our Lord was a carpenter. Scriptural exegetes and scholars do well to remind us that being a “carpenter” in 1st century Galilee was probably more to do with working on buildings than small projects, though to be sure chairs and tables and all repairs would not have been shunned. Any skills or techniques that The Christ learned from His guardian were beneficial and salutary. But The Lord’s real work was neither in forming a structure from wood or even re-pairing one…re-forming the broken. No, Jesus’ reformation of you took place with different wood…on the wood of the Holy Crucifix. Jesus said “destroy this temple and in, and in three days I will raise it up” [Jn. 2.19]. Not a temple made with human hands but His own very Body and Blood, the Temple of God enfleshed. This is My Body for you. This is My Blood for you. For the forgiveness of sins. Be reformed for you are reformed
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of The Holy Ghost
Email the webmaster.Contact Augsburg Lutheran Church: (913) 403-6194