First Sunday of Christmas Sermon

No sermon to post today as we were privileged to have Rev. Robert Rahn, founder of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation, as our guest preacher. I tried to record his preachment for you, but did something wrong and it didn't come out. My apologies. 

Christmas Day Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Open Your Gift!”

Text: John 1:1-14

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

A present wrapped in the shape of a tennis racket probably is a tennis racket. Not much else shaped like that and hard to make anything else look like that. In the same kind of way, a small box under the tree probably doesn’t contain the large present you were hoping for. We can often figure out presents by their shape, rattle, size, or weight. Or at least get a clue to what may be under the wrapping. Though we do like to try to fool each other sometimes. Putting a small gift in a large box, or a putting a small picture of that large gift, hidden in the other room, into that small box under the tree. The other thing about gifts is that children tend to open the biggest gifts first. Because the bigger the better, right?

Well not this morning. This morning, in the tiniest of human packages, is the biggest and greatest gift of all. Today in the poorest of wrappings, swaddling clothes, is the most precious and priceless gift of all. For we remember this day, the Word that was in the beginning, before all things, the Word that was with God, and the Word that is God, became flesh and dwelt among us. Today, the eternal Son of God is wrapped in human flesh for you. 

Now, the size and shape and appearance of the baby lying in the manger could not tell you that. In fact, judging by appearance, you should have pity on this newborn, born into such poverty, in such an unfortunate way, far away from home. But do no such thing, John is telling us this morning. He came not for your pity, but to have pity, to have compassion, on you. On you who had everything, but gave it all away. You who were created as the crown of God’s creation. You who were given dominion over all creation. You who were created without sin, without sickness, without death . . . but now look at you. 

You see, the devil knows how to wrap, too. How to wrap sin into a really good looking package. That it look like what you’ve been wanting. That it look really good. But when you unwrap it, open it, it’s not what you thought it was. Adam and Eve found that out that hard way. Us, too. 

And so, as I said, look at you now. Look at what sin has done to all of us. We are hurt by sin and hurt others by your sin. We are sick, diseased, and frail. We have graves full of loved ones. So what to do? Well, we try to do it too! For if it worked on us, maybe it will work on others, too. And so we try to wrap ourselves up and look good; try to fool others with our happy appearance. Maybe others won’t know what I’m like inside, how sinful; all that I am ashamed of. Maybe they won’t know how I feel inside; the hurts and pains and doubts and fears.

So what many want for Christmas, but they’re afraid to say, is for all that to be gone. To stop having to hide. For the hurts to be healed, the doubts to be conquered, the pains turned to joy, and the fears conquered by love. And not just for a day. 

So today, John is unwrapping the gift of God to us. The gift that gives all that! That we not judge this gift by its size, shape, or appearance, but know that here, today, is the gift we need. 

Last night we heard about the wrapping and what could been seen - the journey to Bethlehem, the stable, the swaddling clothes, the manger, the angels and the shepherds. That’s like your Christmas tree with all the presents under it and around it, but none of them unwrapped or opened yet. It’s pretty, but there’s more to it.

And that more is what John is telling us today. John unwraps all that and tells you what the real gift here is: that baby is the Word was made flesh. Or in other words, the very Son of God was made to be just like you. The infinite God has, in this child, become as small as you. The all powerful God has, in this child, become as weak as you. The glorious God has, in this child, become as poor as you. Which might not sound like good news, at first. But it is, John says. It is! The Son of God is born a son of man, that we children of men might become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

Born of God. That’s you. Born of man, you are sinner. Ugly. You have to wrap yourself up to look good and hide the ugliness. But born of God, you are saint. Holy, perfect, and pure. Because that’s what God has made you, through this child, in the forgiveness of your sins. Your wrapping might not show that. Like the child Jesus, you look just like everyone else. But you’re not. Not anymore! Because of Jesus, you’re now a child of God by grace through faith. You’re a child of God, for you’ve been baptized into your Saviour. 

And speaking of deceptive gift wrapping . . . that’s one right there: baptism. That’s like the present under the tree that you open last, because it’s kind of small and doesn’t look like much. But when you open it, unwrap it, you find out it’s the gift you’ve been wanting and waiting for! That’s baptism! It really doesn’t look like much, just a little water. But really, there’s the gift you need. There’s the healing, the forgiveness, the love, the life, the salvation you’ve been wanting, and need! God put all that there for you.

And the Lord’s Supper too. Just a little piece of untasty bread and a sip of wine. Like a present wrapped in a plain, brown bag. Or what about Absolution? Just words? Or maybe the humble wrapping is hiding the greatest gift of all. For you see, that’s Jesus in all those things. Wrapped up for you in water and in words and in bread and wine. And not just the baby Jesus, but the beaten and bloody Jesus, the crucified Jesus, the risen Jesus, and the ascended Jesus. Your Saviour Jesus, to save you. 

That’s what John wants you to know this morning. And it’s what we sang to each other in the beautiful opening hymn we sing every year on Christmas Day (LSB #384) - a hymn written back in the fifth century! A hymn Christians have been singing for some 1500 years now! Expressing this truth. 

That this child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger? 

He is the one:

(v. 1) Of the Father’s love begotten before the worlds began to be,

He is the Alpha and the Omega, 

the source, the ending, 

of all the things that are, that have been, or that will be. Forever.

(v. 2) He is the one now born,

Conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin, Mary -

she bore the Savior of our race!

On that day not just a child was born, but the world’s Redeemer

first revealed His sacred face. Forever.

This child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger? He is the one:

(v. 3) The prophets and seers in old time, in the Old Testament, 

all spoke of with different words, yet in unison.

And promised in their faithful words that God was fulfilling His promise!

And now He shines, here, with the glory of God!

Let creation praise its Lord! Forever.

(v. 4) But not just creation! All the heights of heaven, too!

The angel hosts that praise Him in heaven, now praise Him on earth,

extolling our God and King now born in human flesh and blood.

So let no tongue on earth be silent either! Every voice in this concert, ring! 

Forever.

Did you realize that’s what we sang? Pretty amazing. Not the song, the child. The gift. Don’t let the wrapping fool you. Here is a gift that will never run out, never wear out. It might seem like He’s gone out of style these days, but He never does. For what He is, what He has, is what we always need. For He is full of grace and truth. And you need both. Grace without truth is like treating the symptoms but not healing the disease. Truth without grace is like operating without anesthesia. But when you know the truth of our sin and its depths, and know the grace of God and how great it is, then we have something! And what we have is Jesus. And when we have Jesus, we have His life and His forgiveness, we have His Sonship and His kingdom, we have His perfection and His love. And that, you have to say, is a gift unlike any other.

Therefore we sang our thanks in the final verse of that opening hymn:

(v. 5) Christ, to Thee, with God the Father and the Holy Spirit,

hymn and chant and high thanksgiving and unending praises!

For with Him is honor, glory, dominion, and eternal victory! Forever.

Evermore and evermore!

And we will sing that, those thanks, forever. A hymn, chant, high thanksgiving, and praise that not even death will be able to end. Because of Him. Because of your gift, born for you this day.

Merry Christmas.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christmas Eve Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Glory to God in the Highest”

Text: Luke 2:1-20; Isaiah 9:2-7; Titus 2:11-14

(Note: Our Advent midweek meditations this year have been hearing the Christmas story as told by the angel Gabriel - what it might have sounded like had he told the story, from his perspective. Tonight’s meditation is the last installment of that series. So, listen to Gabriel’s story one more time . . . And again, though the Biblical text doesn’t tell us it was Gabriel who announced the birth to the shepherds, I have taken the liberty of assigning him that role for the purposes of this story.)

It had been a busy year! Actually more than a year - some 15 months in all. First the visit to Zechariah, then the visit to Mary, then apparing to Joseph in a dream, and all the watching, guarding, and protecting I did in between. If angels could get tired like you humans, I would be one tired angel! But it was such a joy watching our Father put His plan into action. The plan He had promised so long ago, when Adam and Eve first fell into sin and plunged all of creation into sin with them. But our Father waited for just the right time. And He had made me, Gabriel, such an important part of it! 

Well, when I last talked to you I had just appeared to Joseph in a dream, to let him know that everything was okay. That the child Mary was carrying was not of adultery, but was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was, in fact, the Son of God. That Word of God had worked in Joseph and he believed. He took Mary to be his wife and did not divorce her.

The next six months were filled with activity as Joseph and Mary not only went about their lives, but got ready for this baby. But then, one rather large monkey wrench got thrown into their lives! Caesar Augustus issued a decree, that all the world should be taxed. Everyone would have to go to the town of his ancestors and register there, so that Rome could be sure they were collecting all the taxes they should. I know how much you all love to pay taxes! So there was no small amount of grumbling going around Galilee and Judea. This meant a change of plans for Mary and Joseph - and right around the time Mary was due to have the baby! They would have to make the trek down to Bethlehem. It was not going to be easy.

So they packed up and started off. I was one of the team watching over them as they went. Poor Mary! She was so uncomfortable. And Joseph - you could see the worry that never left his face. His head seemed like it was on a swivel, constantly turning to look where they were going, and then to Mary. Back and forth. When they stopped for the night, he was asleep before his head hit the pillow. And then they were on the road again, first thing in the morning. I think Joseph was trying to get there and back before the baby came. And I have to say, they were making good time.

When they got to Bethlehem, the place had swelled to a population far greater than normal. It was busting at the seams! You see, Bethlehem had the honor and distinction of being the city of David, and David’s lineage was long and full. So many people were there. Joseph and Mary hoped to stay with some of their relatives, but all the guest rooms were full. Finally, one offered to let them stay with their animals. It wasn’t ideal, but it would be warm.

Well, they no longer got to the place when Mary cried out in pain - the baby was coming! Really? Joseph though. Here? Now? But there wasn’t much he could do about it. He helped as he could; tried to make Mary comfortable. And where would they put Jesus once He was born? He looked around for whatever extra things were lying around. Maybe he could build a cradle. He was a carpenter, after all. But there wasn’t enough, or enough time. The baby was coming and wasn’t going to wait for him! So Joseph dumped out the manger and put clean straw in it - that would have to do. Beggars can’t be choosers.

You know, I thought to myself: only our Father would do it this way! Choose to have His Son born like this. In such lowliness and humility. And I thought of the words of Isaiah the prophet: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given . . . Yes, this was God’s Son here in this manger! Given as a gift to the world. And the government shall be upon his shoulder . . . Those tiny shoulders, so little now, but which would one day bear the cross and rule from it as His throne. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Yes, He was all of those things, for they were not just names, but descriptions of what Jesus would be.

Well, I was so wrapped up in my thoughts and at the wonder of all that I was seeing that I almost missed the call! One of my brothers had to come back and shake me out of it. Gabriel! C’mon! he yelled. I hated to leave, but we had an important mission to do. Yes, we. Not just me, this time. It was to go out to the fields around Bethlehem and find the shepherds our Father had told us about. To find them and tell them that their Saviour had been born. 

Now, you might think: why shepherds? They weren’t the most educated people, and being a shepherd wasn’t a glamorous job. In fact, it was pretty rough. But, you see, our Father misses no detail and takes advantage of every opportunity to teach you. Because if His Son is born to be the Lamb of God, who else should come to see Him but shepherds! You see? It makes sense! And, it’s how our Father usually does things. He doesn’t just favor the rich, important, and powerful - He likes to go to the poor, lowly, and weak and lift them up with His good news. And boy, did He ever! 

So we found the shepherds our Father told us about, right where He said they would be. And then it was time for me to speak again. Yes, our Father had given me another honor: to announce to the shepherds the fulfillment of the Scriptures, the birth of the promised Saviour. He had actually given me this assignment a few weeks ago, and me and all my brother angels, we’d been practicing our lines ever since. What incredible news we got to bring! And now it was time.

I came to the shepherds. They were huddled together in the cold, trying to stay warm. When I appeared, the glory of the Lord was so bright that it completely overwhelmed the light coming from their fire! And as you can imagine, this caused no small amount of fear in them. They’d never seen an angel before, or light like this. It was terrifying. So I quickly spoke, before they tried to run away and hide! And yes, as always, I spoke exactly what my Father told me to speak: 

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And here I am telling you these same good tidings of great joy, too! For if it is for all people, then it is for you, too. That you rejoice in this birth, too. That you rejoice in your Saviour, born for you this night. Born to save you from your sins. I hope you know how big that is. Because without Him, you’d have no hope. Without Him, you’re that unidentifiable fuzzy green thing that’s been in the back of your refrigerator all year that makes you sick just looking at it! Really, that’s what you and your sin looks like! And it just needs to be thrown out. 

But our Father loves you so much, He said no. I’m not going to throw them away. I’m going to save them. And I’m going to send my Son, my only-begotten Son, to do it. Every time I tell that part of the story, my now-evil-former-brother satan gets so mad! He hates that part of the story. He doesn’t mind if people know the story of Jesus’ birth - as long as they don’t know why, or don’t care what it means. As long as it’s just a story. But he hates it when I talk about what it all means, and the life and forgiveness and saving God is now doing for you. In Jesus. That’s it’s more than just a story.

Well, I had no longer told the angels about their Saviour than all my brothers came out of hiding and starting singing! They were so excited. I knew they couldn’t wait, but it was - literally! - like no more than a nanosecond after I finished that they came out and burst out in joy: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. I was singing so loud I almost lost my voice! I can’t imagine how loud it must have sounded to the shepherds. 

Finished what we had come to do, my brothers and I all vanished before the eyes of the shepherds. Half of us went back to Jesus. The other half of us continued to watch over the shepherds, though they couldn’t see us anymore. And immediately they got up and went to find Jesus. They left their sheep - I’m sure they still cared about them, but figured if God took the trouble to send us angels to tell them this good news, then He would also protect their sheep. 

It didn’t take them long to find Jesus. Mary and Joseph graciously let them in. I guess they knew their baby really wasn’t their baby, but belonged to everyone. Especially after the shepherds told them what had happened. And then I heard one of the shepherds speak. He said it quietly, but I distinctly heard what he said: He’s just like one of us. 

You know, sometimes the greatest theology comes from the most unexpected places. For that shepherd was exactly right. The Son of God didn’t become an angel - He became just like you. He was made man. Just like you in every way, except without sin. So that He could take your place. So that He could take your sin. So that He could die your death. So that He could be your Saviour. 

I lost track of time again! I don’t know how long the shepherds were there. Probably not too long. Mary was pretty tired and I know Joseph was exhausted. So the shepherds left, but they couldn’t stop talking about all that had happened. That Once in Royal David’s City, in the Little Town of Bethlehem, the Herald Angels Sang and told them about the newborn king. That’s the message you’ve heard tonight, too. And sang. And just as it changed the shepherds’ world, so it has yours, too. How could it not? For the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. That’s not just talking about the shepherds, but about you. And all people. The darkness of sin that’s now scattered by the love and forgiveness of Jesus. So that you can live a new life. Like Paul wrote to Titus about, in those words you heard earlier. To be people zealous for good works.

You know, we angels have discovered that sometimes you humans don’t like being told to do good works. We angels love it! We love doing whatever our Father tells us! But that’s how badly sin has ruined you. You don’t always love it when our Father calls your name, like we do. 

So, maybe, think of it like this instead. When Isaiah wrote his words that you heard tonight, he ended by saying: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. And then Paul used that same word again in writing to Titus, to be zealous for good works. So, like Father, like son. You’re sons of God now because of Jesus, so you get to be just like your Father. Loving and serving and forgiving. Jesus became just like one of you, that you be just like Him. And me and my brother angels, we’ve seen it; we’ve seen our Father working that in you, and we’ve seen you be that way. It’s so cool. The change. From seeing the shame and fear in Adam’s eyes in the Garden, to now seeing the love and forgiveness of God in your eyes. Our Father has done wonderful things for you and in you, and now through you for others. So, when He calls you or calls on you, don’t be afraid. I know we angels are saying that a lot! But really, don’t be afraid. It’s all good. It really is. He’s your Father. And tonight, His Son, your brother and Saviour, is born. 

So Gabriel, signing off, one last time. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Advent 4 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Planning and Preparing for Christmas”

Text: Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-56; Micah 5:2-5a

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Plans and preparations for Christmas have been going on for a while now. Retailers have been planning and preparing for months now, if not from the day after last Christmas. And unless you are one of those brave souls who wait until the last minute, you have been preparing, too. Preparing your home with decorations. Planning and preparing to travel. Planning and preparing for guests. Planning and preparing gifts to give and wrap, special food, and the list goes on and on. 

The church has been planning and preparing, too. The season of Advent is to prepare us and our hearts for the comings of the Lord - to remember in His coming in the flesh at Christmas, to rejoice in His coming to us with His forgiveness in His Word and Sacraments, and to be ready for His coming again in glory. So the call goes out to repent, for that is how a heart is prepared for the Lord. And while this is a different kind of planning and preparing than what the world is doing, it is no less important. It is, in fact, far more important. For we are planning and preparing not just for a day, but for a day which will never end. And not just for a new thing or two, but for a new and eternal life. And the morning of that day will make all our Christmas mornings now seem like very small potatoes, indeed.

But there is one more who has been planning and preparing: God. And if you marvel at how long the stores and retailers begin planning and preparing for Christmas these days, how early the trees go up and the music starts, know this: God has been planning and preparing even longer. In fact, He has been planning and preparing from the very beginning. From the moment Adam and Eve fell into sin, God started planning and preparing for Christmas - for the birth of His Son into the world to be their Saviour. To provide for them new clothes to cover the shame of their sin, and a new life that would not break or wear out, but last forever.

What we call that planning and preparation is the Old Testament. And the writing we heard from Hebrews today hinted at that; of that way of thinking about the Old Testament. For we heard: Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Or in other words, the sacrifices and offerings were part of the planning and preparation, not the thing itself. They are not what God desired or took pleasure in. They were important, just as our planning and preparation is important, but not as important as the thing itself. Imagine a well-prepared meal that is not eaten, a well-wrapped gift that is not unwrapped, or traveling to see family but never actually going into their home - that is what the Old Testament is without the New, without its fulfillment, without the one all those sacrifices and offerings were preparing for. Without Jesus. For all those years and in all those ways, in all that we hear in the Old Testament, God was planning and preparing for Christmas.

And Mary helps us see this too, in the words she spoke that we heard in the Holy Gospel today. Most of those words were simply taken from the Old Testament - Mary reflecting on all that God had done leading up to and preparing for the child that was now living and growing in her womb. Not just her son, but God’s Son. From generation to generation, she said. As he spoke to our fathers. Down through the ages. Mary magnifies the Lord and rejoices in God [her] Saviour, for how wonderful to see all those plans and preparations now coming to fulfillment. 

She remembered how God had shown strength with his arm in rescuing His people - the people from which His Son would come - time and time again. From all their enemies, from satan, and even from themselves, when they would follow one boneheaded move with another. But still God was planning and preparing for Christmas.

And then, too, how God had scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. How often His people got too big for their britches and thought they didn’t need God, or thought too much of themselves and too little of God. And so God intervened to scatter those thoughts and desires, planning and preparing for Christmas. 

And how God brought down the mighty from their thrones. None could withstand His power nor derail His planning and preparation. And when He brought them down, who He raised up and exalted! No one would have picked the folks He did, so humble, so nothing in the eyes of the world. Yet all was according to plan. Feeding and filling the hungry with good things. Sending the rich empty away. It was all in remembrance of His mercy. To fulfill His promise of mercy. His promise of a Christmas. When Christ, the Saviour, would be born.

And at just the right time, when all the planning and preparations were completed, the day all the planning and preparations, all the sacrifices and offerings, all the patriarchs and prophets, all the prophecies and events, all the Old Testament was for, came. In Bethlehem, as the prophet Micah had said. In Bethlehem, a child who is older than his mother would be born. In Bethlehem, too little, too humble, some would say. But it was the place planned for and prepared by God. For Christmas. For the one born to be our peace.

So nothing by accident, nothing by chance, for God’s adventing, His coming at Christmas. He’d been planning and preparing for a very long time.

And He’s not done yet. There’s more preparing to be done. Not for Christmas, of course. We do that. The Father had His Christmas. Now the Son and the Spirit are the ones doing the preparing. 

For Jesus told His disciples on the night before His crucifixion that He is going to prepare a place for us, and that He will come again and take us to Himself, that where He is we may be also (John 14:1-3). And He did that by taking His Christmas-born body, prepared for Him, to the cross, to the grave, and then to life again. Making peace between God and man again through the forgiveness of sin, and making eternal life possible for us by overcoming death in His resurrection. So now He is preparing for us, for our Christmas, our new birth, in heaven. The Son of God born a son of man, so we children of men might be born from above as children of God.

And that preparation is the work of the Spirit now in us, sanctifying us, as we heard in the reading from Hebrews. The Spirit taking what Jesus did in His Christmas-body and giving it to us. Christmas gifts that can be purchased not with gold or silver, not with MasterCard or Discover, but only by the blood of the innocent suffering and death of God’s Son. The gift of forgiveness, the gift of life, the gift of salvation. The Spirit wrapping them in water, in words, and in bread and wine to give them to us. To make us new for a new life. That we be prepared for that new life when Jesus comes again - when He advents not humbly as the child born of Mary, but in majesty as the eternal Son of God. The last promise of the scroll of the book, fulfilled.

And when He does, it will not be John, but us leaping for joy. John leaped for joy when Jesus came to him, as will we when Jesus come to us, and for us. And so joy is what we have now as the Spirit brings Jesus and His gifts to us now, still exalting those of humble estate, still filling the hungry with good things, still mercying those who fear Him and fulfilling every promise. Just as His mother said. 

But there’s something else, one more thing God has prepared for us. I’ll let the apostle Paul tell you in his own words:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - the Christmas gift of God - not a result of works - not by sacrifices or offerings - so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship - His children, born of Him - created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Or in other words, the good that God has done for us we get to do for others. It is what children learn at Christmas. Children of God, too. That it isn’t just about the joy of getting gifts, but the joy of giving them. And as we have received, so we now give. And in that giving, the joy of John, the joy of the Lord, is ours. And when sin gets in the way, when holiday disappointments get in the way, when burdens and busyness get in the way, when distractions and problems get in the way, when sadness and grief get in the way, especially then, don’t beat yourself up or think yourself like Bethlehem - too little, too humble, or too far gone to be of any good. No. You’re not God’s child by accident or chance. Come again and receive the gifts you need, here. The forgiveness you need, here. The life you need, here. The joy you need, here. They are here for you, for He is here for you. Your Christmas God, your Christmas brother, and the real Spirit of Christmas. 

And just as surely as that Christmas God was planning and preparing for came, so too will your Christmas. Not the one in two days, but the one on the Last Day. When we don’t just get to hear the song of the angels, we get to sing with them. When we don’t just hear about the shepherds and the wise men who saw Jesus, we get to see Him ourselves. When all is fulfilled. Just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever. The Christmas He’d been planning and preparing all along. For you.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Advent 3 Midweek Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Gabriel, We Have a Problem”

Text: Matthew 1:18-25; Isaiah 43:16-21

(Note: The biblical text does not name Gabriel as the angel who appeared to Joseph in the dream, but given Gabriel’s role in the story thus far, it is logical to think that he was the angel who was given this mission also. And so I have for the purposes of this story . . .)

Gabriel, we have a problem! No, it wasn’t our Father who said that to me. He wouldn’t say anything like that. It was one of my brother angels. One who had been sent to watch over Joseph - the man to whom Mary, the one our Father chose to be be the mother of the Saviour, was betrothed. I knew Joseph. He was a good man. A just man. He would do a good job of being the guardian and step-father of Jesus. So what could the problem be? Had my former-brother-turned-evil, satan, done something?

Gabriel, he’s going to divorce her! My heart stopped for a moment when I heard those words, and as I thought of poor Mary. She was such a faithful young lady. She had taken the news that God had chosen her so well! But she needed a husband. Being the mother of our Lord would be hard enough, but without a husband to help her? I couldn’t imagine. 

So I did a little investigating . . . and it was true. When Mary came home from Elizabeth’s and Joseph saw the baby bump, of course he thought . . . And even when Mary told him about me, and what had happened that day and what happened when she went to see Elizabeth . . . well, it’s hard to blame Joseph for thinking the way he did. And I give Joseph credit for this: he didn’t want to make a scene. He didn’t want to hurt Mary, even though he was hurt. No trial, no stoning, no shaming, no publicity. He would keep it quiet. Try to protect Mary as best he could. They would go their own ways. He didn’t have to do that, but as I said, Joseph was a good man. 

But even so, I couldn’t help thinking that my now-evil-former-brother had something to do with it. I knew he’d be after the baby. I knew he’d be after Mary. It hadn’t occured to me that he would try to do it through Joseph. Even in a way that sounded good and merciful. I looked in on Joseph. He looked troubled. He hadn’t gone through with it yet - something was holding him back. He was still considering all this. Maybe how to do it with the least amount of attention. I could tell this wasn’t easy for him . . . And I heard him mumble, a question: Why would God do this to me? Well, because He loves you, silly! But I know you fallen humans don’t think right anymore. You often question our Father’s ways. You often question His love for you. Ah, sin has messed you up so badly! If only you knew how much He really does love you . . . that He’s doing all this because of how much He loves you! Sending you a Saviour - and His own Son at that!

Just at that moment, our Father called me in again. I felt bad - not because our Father called me. I am always overjoyed at that and love hearing Him call my name! But I wanted to stay and help Joseph. I felt bad for the guy. But I went, of course, to hear what our Father wanted me to do. 

I want you to go to Joseph, He said. Yes! Why was I surprised? Of course He knew I wanted to help Joseph. He knows all things. And He had gotten me pretty involved in this whole event pretty deeply so far, so it made sense that He would send me again.

I want you to go to Joseph, He said, but I don’t want you to appear to him as you did to Zechariah and Mary. I want you to appear to him in a dream. In a dream. OK. Got it. I wasn’t sure why a dream this time, but I knew not to question our Father. He always knows what He’s doing and always knows the best way. So if He says in a dream, in a dream it is! 

And I want you to tell him it’s okay. It’s all okay. That Mary has been faithful to him. That Mary has been faithful to God. And that God has been faithful to him. He has not turned His back on you, Joseph. I know this is not what you expected, how you thought things would be. I know you think this is not good. But Joseph, it is! It is more good than you know! Oh, you humans think you know so much, when you really know so little!

Our Father gave me the exact words to speak, just like He had with Zechariah and Mary. There would be no questions, no back and forth this time, of course, since I was coming in a dream. I need only speak the words our Father had given me. He would do the rest. Just as His Word worked in Mary and did what it said, so I knew it would also work in Joseph. That it would change him.

So that night I did as our Father instructed. I went to Joseph and I spoke to him the Word of God: Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

I wanted to tell Joseph so much more! But I know only to speak what I am given to speak. No more and no less. But oh, how I wanted to tell Joseph how blessed he was, even though he didn’t feel very blessed. I wanted to remind him of the words of Isaiah the prophet, when our Father had said through him: Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

Yes, a new thing! A making-new-thing! Because Jesus is going to make all things new again. New, like the first time you wear a new piece of clothing and it’s all beautiful and perfect; no wrinkles or stains or frays or fading yet. Or new like the first time you open a book and the pages are all crisp and waiting for you to read them. Or new like a new car smell! That’s what our Father is doing now! That’s what this child Jesus is coming to do. He’s going to take all your wrinkles and stains and frays and fading, all your sin, and make you new again. And you, Joseph, are going to be a part of that. 

That’s what I wanted to tell him, but I knew that our Father’s words were enough. But I hope you know that our Father is doing that for you, too. Oh, if only you could see what we see! That when you confess your sins and receive our Father’s forgiveness, that’s what you look like! Beautiful, perfect, stain-free, new. That’s why we angels always rejoice in heaven whenever a sinners repents (Luke 15:10). That, and because it makes my turned-evil-former-brother so mad! 

Well, sorry for the digression. But it really isn’t. It’s important that you know all that. That Christmas isn’t just a story about the birth of a son, but the birth of a Saviour, to make you all sons of God.

Well, again, back to the story. This visit was shorter than the others, but no less joyful! For I knew that Joseph would be a loving husband and step-father now. He would love and serve and give and care. He would be the kind of father that, well, our Father was to him! So I left . . . but not before I saw Joseph wake up a changed man. His mind was changed. His heart was changed. His face no longer looked anxious and worried but peaceful and, well, joyous! And just as I heard him mumble before, questioning our Father’s love and ways, I heard him again - but this time not grumbling-mumbling, but quoting Scripture. I guess he loved Isaiah as much as I do, for he remembered a verse from that prophet, though a different verse than I remembered. He said to himself: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us). And he smiled. He got it.

The next six months flew by. Joseph was such a good husband, as I knew he would be. What care he took of Mary, even when they had to make the trek down to Bethlehem. And then Mary’s child was born. I wish you could have seen the look in Joseph’s eyes! I don’t think they could have been filled with more love if it had been his own son. And then I heard him speak to the baby. He called Him Jesus, and he told Him the whole story, all that had happened. Then he laid Him in the manger. And he looked like a new man . . . And I knew. He was.

I have more to tell you, but that’s all the time I have for now. So, in the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Advent 3 Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Adventing”

Text: Luke 7:18-28; Philippians 4:4-7; Zephaniah 3:14-20

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today is joy Sunday. The third Sunday of Advent. We lit the oddly-colored candle on the Advent wreath today, the rose-colored candle, the joy candle. For with this Sunday we have turned a corner. Advent is now more than halfway over and our remembrance of Christmas is close. And so the call rings out today for joy! Rejoice in the Lord always, Paul wrote. Rejoice and exult with all your heart, the prophet Zephaniah proclaimed. And Joy to the World we’ll sing soon. And how appropriate, then, to have a baptism, too. For a baptism is always a joyous occasion. Seeing God and His promises in action. 

But the readings we heard today weren’t all joy . . . or so it seems. For there doesn’t seem to be much joy in the Gospel we heard. John the Baptist is in prison. His crime? Speaking truth to power. Calling a king to repentance. And pointing to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). For that, John was imprisoned. For that, John would be beheaded. Maybe even before his disciples had returned from asking Jesus their question: Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? For things don’t seem to be working out as they thought, or hoped, or planned. John languishing in prison isn’t the way this was supposed to end up! They thought.

But to think there is no joy in the Gospel today is to misread it. For there is great joy there! The joy of the blind who could now see again. The joy of the lame who could walk and run. The joy of the lepers who were cleansed and could hug and kiss their loved ones again. The joy of those families who had their loved ones back from the dead. The joy of the poor who had the good news preached to them. Wherever Jesus went, He brought joy. He is fulfilling all the prophecies spoken of the Messiah. And that doesn’t change just because John is in prison . . . and even if he’s been there for some time.

And this, too: Is it possible that John is filled with joy, too? He sends his disciples to Jesus with a question, but is it his question? Or did he send his disciples to teach them? That’s what good teachers do. They don’t give you a straight answer, they point you to it; lead you to it; tell you where to find it. John’s whole life was about pointing people to Jesus - why stop now? As he said: Now that Jesus has come, He must increase and he, John, must decrease (John 3:30). And that was good. Jesus needs to be the one people remember, not John. Jesus needs to be the one people go to, not John. Jesus needs to be the one people follow, not John. So John decreasing, John fading away, that’s a good thing. John was just the forerunner. It’s kind of like at a wedding, after the bride walks down the aisle, you don’t need the runner or the rose petals anymore. Their job is done. They can go away now. So too, John.

And then consider this: when the apostle Paul wrote the words we heard today, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! he himself was in prison. His crime the same as John’s: speaking truth to power and proclaiming Jesus as the promised Saviour. But even in prison, he writes words of confidence, joy, and hope. And it wasn’t the first time for him. Paul had been in prison before this. In fact, in the same city he was now writing to, the city of Philippi. He had been thrown there with Silas after having their clothes torn off, being beaten silly with rods, and then they had their feet put in the stocks in the inner prison. And yet that night, we are told, Paul and Silas were singing hymns! And so when Paul writes rejoice in the Lord always, it’s almost like he reminding the Philippians of that time he was in prison, rejoicing. And telling them that they, too, can rejoice. No matter what is happening to them now. No matter what conflict or suffering, obstacle or opposition they are facing. The joy of the Lord is greater than all of that.

Because we’re always going to have those things - conflict, suffering, obstacles, opposition. Sin will see to that. We try to minimize them, avoid them, but still they come. You know it. So the question is: what do you do when they do? Do you doubt God and His love? Or do you rejoice in His promises? His promise not that you’ll have an easy life, but that He’ll be with you through it all. That even in prison, even in suffering, even in death, you won’t be alone. 

You see, that’s what Advent is all about, which this day of joy reminds us of. Not just rejoicing, but rejoicing in the promises of God. 

That’s the joy of Christmas. Not Christmas the holiday, but the first Christmas. The joy of Mary when she proclaimed the words of the Magnificat: My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit - what? - rejoices in God my Savior (Luke 1:46-47). For God was fulfilling His promise of a Saviour. The world’s Saviour, Mary’s Saviour. Though it meant hardship for Mary, still she rejoiced. And the joy of that first Christmas for the shepherds, as they got to see their baby Saviour. And the joy of the angels which reflected the Father’s own joy at the human birth of His eternal Son. There may have been no room in the inn, but that couldn’t stop the joy of that night.

And that’s the joy we have as God fulfills His promises to us now. His promise of forgiveness. His promise to be with us in our trials and troubles. The joy of baptism, even though it paint a rather large bulls-eye on our back for satan’s arrows. And the joy of repentance - which sounds funny, right? For how can repentance be joyful? But it really is when it is done within God’s promise of forgiveness. For as the apostle John would write: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. No joy either. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9). There’s the joy! Forgiveness, cleansing, rightness. The monkey off our backs. The skeletons out of our closets. No more hiding. Our backwards lives put right again. Gifts of God. The promises of God fulfilled. 

That’s the joy King Herod missed out on when he closed his ears to John’s preaching and instead beheaded him. That’s the joy Paul’s jailer wanted when he heard him and Silas joyfully singing in prison. That’s the joy John wanted his disciples to have when he sent them to Jesus. And that’s the joy Jesus wants for you and has for you! If you’re a sinner. If you’re broken. If you’re downtrodden by this world and life. If you’re struggling. If you’re lonely or feel like you’re in a kind of prison yourself. If that’s you, then Jesus is here for you. To be with you through all that. For He laid in the manger to go to the cross. He was baptized a sinner so that you sinners be washed clean. He laid in the tomb to rise from it alive. And He ascended to come again. To advent again. To take you home where your joy will be full.

And just as His other promises were fulfilled, so will that one be too. Maybe soon. 

But until that day, blessed in the one who is not offended by me, Jesus says. Blessed is that wonderful gift word when God bestows on you all His gifts, all that you need. The blessed that comes only to sinners, to the broken, to the downtrodden, to the struggling, to the lonely, to those locked up in sin. To those who need a Saviour. He has come to bless you. And His blessing is far greater than anything that can be found in this world and life. For by worldly standards, Jesus said, among those born of women none is greater than John. So that means Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Martin Luther, Pope Francis - sorry! John is greater than you, and all of you put together! But you can be greater than John, no matter who you are. For the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Or in other words, the one to whom Jesus comes, advents, the one who Jesus makes His child, is greater than anyone or anything else in this world and life.

And in Baptism, Jesus is coming, adventing, to you. In His Word of forgiveness, Jesus in coming, adventing, to you. And here in His Body and Blood, Jesus is coming, adventing, to you. To make you His own, His child. To give you a place in heaven. To forgive your sins. To give you Himself, and His joy. Advent joy. Promises fulfilled joy.

So maybe we need to coin a new term today. Young people today, when they grow up and begin taking on responsibility are now said to be adulting. They’re doing those things adults do. They’re being adults. So maybe for us, today, we can be adventing. When we have repentant joy, we’re adventing. When we rejoice in the Lord always, we’re adventing. When we rejoice in being a child of God, we’re adventing. When we sing in the midst of sadness, when we’re confident in the midst of suffering, when we forgive those who sin against us, we’re adventing. We’re being Advent Christians - sinners to whom our Lord has come, advented, and given us Himself. Adventing in hospitals and sickrooms, adventing in prisons and with friends in trouble, adventing when things aren’t working out as you thought, or hoped, or planned. Adventing. Knowing that you’re not alone, you’re not forsaken, you’re not without hope. For your Saviour has advented to you. And that makes all the difference in the world.

Adventing. That’s what Zephaniah did. That’s what Paul did. That’s what John did. And you too. What they are, you now are. What they did, you now do. For blessed are they, and blessed are you, in Jesus.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.