Epiphany is in the midst of a baby boom!  Since June two of our young church Moms have delivered baby boys, and six other Moms are expecting babies.  In the past two months we've also baptized two young adults.  God is growing His church, both from without and from within, saving souls, giving us new members and a future Sunday School class.  Christ is building His church one soul at a time!  Two baptisms next month - wow! Moms - how do you do it?  Ever wondered, if evolution really works, why do Moms still have only two hands?  With the NFL season coming on, I can almost see two new Dads pointing their newborn boys at the TV and saying, "Football - this is called football!"

          On June 3, 1945, at a small church in southern Minnesota, Pastor Henry Brill, uncle of our Elder Paul Brill, sprinkled water on the head of a newborn infant, saying words which set the course of a human life:  "Robert Lee Tasler, ich taufe dir im Namen des Vaters und des Sohns und des Heiligen Geistes, amen."  ("I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, amen.")  From that day the boy child of Ed and Martha became an adopted child of God, a forgiven sinner, a boy destined one day to serve God in fulltime ministry.  My Mom's cousin Carol and her brother, my Uncle Bill, were witnesses to that amazing moment when God grafted a broken branch into the Tree of Life, and brought another sinful human being into the Holy Christian Church.  And every one of you here today who had those same words spoken over your heads, whether as an infant or as an adult, were given the same spiritual and eternal blessings.

          When we were baptized, we were entrusted with eternal riches.  In that simple act of Word and water, God makes us His own and gives us the privileges of royalty.  Kings and Queens may demand earthly treasures, but they cannot demand the treasures of Holy Baptism.  Only our Heavenly Father can give us those.  And just as Kings and Queens are stewards of the land over which they reign, with its treasures and resources and people, so are you and I stewards, caretakers of the world, its treasures and its resources and its people.  And if we are stewards, all the things we claim are really not ours, but the Lord's.  So we must be good stewards, for St. Paul tells us, "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."

          God doesn't call us to be successful, but to be faithful.  He doesn't call us to be clever or wise or educated or even productive, but to be faithful:  (1) Faithfulness in our relationship to God:  Faithfulness in the use of our time, serving Him, worshipping Him regularly and receiving Holy Communion often;  (2) Faithfulness in the use of our talents, using the abilities we have for the good of others, in dedicated service and acts that help others as we are able;  (3) Faithfulness in the use of our treasures, knowing our wealth does not belong only to us, but is on loan from God, for the benefit of those who have less, and for those purposes that glorify God and expand His kingdom.  Once again, God doesn't call us to be successful, but to be faithful.  Success, as God wills it, comes through our being faithful to Him.

          In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a great story of three servants who were given a portion of the Master's possessions.  You probably know the story.  One servant received five talents, about a year's wage, and through investment, he made five more.  A second servant received two talents, and through investment, made two more.  A third servant received one talent, but he apparently didn't trust the stock market, or the bankers, or even the Master, and so hid his talent, giving the Master back his money, not even in good condition, but soiled and dirty.  The Master commended the first two servants saying, "Well, done, good and faithful servants.  You have been faithful with a few things;  I will put you in charge of many things."  The third servant, the fearful and selfish one, was not commended, but judged and harshly.  Jesus finishes His story with these words, "For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.  Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." (Matthew 25:29)

          God calls us to be faithful in three areas:  He wants us to be (1) faithful to God, (2) faithful to our loved ones, families, friends, and (3) faithful as a worker, giving a day's work for a day's wage.  Jesus once said, "Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)   That's a big promise, but it comes from the One who keeps all His promises.  Our faithfulness is not a quantitative thing, that is, the more faithful you are, the more blessings you'll get.  It's qualitative.  If we have faith in Jesus Christ as our only Lord and Savior, then He promises us heaven.  If we trust that He's done all needful things for us, then that's enough.  Nothing more is needed.

          But we people are not always faithful, to each other or to God.  We're constantly tempted to take the easy way out.  ("You don't like your marriage - bail out!  You can't be expected to stay committed if the other person doesn't seem committed.  Faithful?  Hardly anyone is faithful, so don't worry.  Look out for yourself.")  You see, we've made it easy to quit our committed obligations, and when it seems like hard work to stay in there, we bolt and run.

          Or else we get sidetracked by Satan's promises - ("You only live once, so do it!  Everyone else is, so why not you?  Or are you above being human, some goody two-shoes?")  Or we don't like to make commitments.  We see the mistakes of others and aren't even willing to take a chance.  If you want to accomplish anything worthwhile, you have to take a risk, including the biggest risk, loving someone else.  It's fraught with the possibility of failure, but, as the old saying goes, "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

          Sometimes we're not faithful because we give up when results aren't immediate - We want it and right now!  We're people of vending machines, virtual communication and instant gratification.  If it doesn't come right away, we rant and rage.  "I want what I want, when I want it!"  So we scream when the computer freezes up, demand our money back at the store or shake the vending machine until it falls over on top of us.  We're all unfaithful in some way.  That's why we all need Jesus.

          A number of years ago I received a stinging commentary on a particular sermon I'd preached, when a parishioner told me on her way out, "Practice what you preach, Pastor Tasler!"  Ouch - that hurt, especially since she said it loudly enough for some others to hear.  I'm not even sure what I spoke on that day, but someone felt she saw through me.  Later on, though, one of those who heard her consoled me and said that if I spoke only on subjects where I was good enough, I'd have little or nothing to say.  The messenger of the Gospel always speaks to himself as well as to his hearers.  But he also knows that neither he nor any of his listeners can measure up to the perfection God requires.  We must all rely on the goodness of Jesus Christ who died to forgive all people, both the parishioners and the pastors.

          God is faithful despite our unfaithfulness.  Jesus loves us despite our lovelessness.  How He can do it, I don't know.  A picture of faithfulness for me is Jesus in Garden of Gethsemane.  Here He is, facing torture and certain death, dying for people most of whom won't care what He does, and he's praying for them!  He could bail out and let it all go, since so few would be receptive to His plan of salvation.  He prays, "Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from Me;  yet, not my will but Yours be done."  The Faithful One was tempted to quit, but He didn't.  He stayed the course!

          For years I had a little plastic glow-in-the-dark cross on my dresser.  I wish I still had it, but I still remember its message - "Jesus never fails."  The miracle of all ages is that God loves us despite our failures and our unfaithfulness.  God's unfailing love does the impossible - it covers all our sins.  And then His love continues by doing the improbable - it empowers us to be faithful to Him and to each other.  Faithfulness is a gift from God, a treasure to cherish.  And we treasure this gift best by worshipping our God for what He's done for us.  We need to dedicate a few hours to God every week in worship and fellowship.

          A Church member once wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.  "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons.  But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them.  I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs if they preach sermons no one remembers."  This started a bit of a controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, (much to the delight of the Editor).  It went on with letters back and forth for weeks until someone wrote these words:  "I've been married for 30 years now.  In that time I believe my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals.  But for the life of me, I cannot recall the menu for a single one of those meals.  But I do know this:  They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work.  If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.  And if I had not gone to church for God's nourishment, I would be spiritually dead!"  Thank the Lord for common sense!

          Dear friends, God is faithful to us, giving us all the nourishment we need.  We just need to go get it.  God won't spoon feed us if we can feed ourselves.  He calls us to be faithful, not successful.  He wants us (1) to be faithful to Himself first, with regular worship, Holy Communion, prayer, fellowship and studying His Word.  Put God first and the rest will take care of itself.  But God won't spoon feed us if we can feed ourselves.  (2) Then He wants us to be faithful to our loved ones, our families, and our friends.  There's nothing more precious to the Lord than a husband or wife who is committed to their mate, to the best friend who cares, forgives, and is faithful in word and deed.  And lastly, (3) He wants us to be faithful to our work, giving a day's work for a day's wage.  May we always honor God by being faithful to Him.  Amen

Copyright © 2002 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.