Sermon for the First Sunday after Christmas

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Jesu Juva

“The Inflating Joy of Jesus”

Text: Luke 2:22-40

 

After a very long year and a very busy Christmas season, a gently reworked encore presentation of a sermon from yesteryear, which will be new for all but a handful of folks in my congregation.

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

If your neighborhood is like mine, or like the one we drive through coming to church, there have been lots of Christmas decorations lighting up the night these past few weeks.

 

And if your neighborhood is like mine, then among those decorations have been some rather large inflatable figures, of all kinds of people and animals and snowmen, anchored on lawns in front of houses.

 

And if your neighborhood is like mine, those figures now lie dead on the ground, all the air, all the spirit, taken out of them. Now they are lifeless lumps of deflated plastic testifying that Christmas is over. Ho ho ho.

And if you’re like me - not like my neighborhood, but like me - you sometimes feel that way. Deflated. All the wind, all the spirit, sucked out of you. 

 

But if you had been in Jerusalem, right after that first Christmas, and especially that day 40 days after Christmas when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple, you would have seen the exact opposite happening! On that day, not a great deflating, but a great inflating took place! To a man named Simeon.

 

We’re not told much about him. He probably went unnoticed by most people in their day-to-day lives. Another man just blending in with the crowd. We are told that he was a man of faith, righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And then this also: the Holy Spirit was with him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And this day, he had been led into the Temple . . . and perhaps he was praying . . .

 

Now the Temple was a busy place, with lots of hustle and bustle. And so a man and a woman and a newborn child, entering the Temple, wouldn’t have attracted much attention. They were, after all, doing what all devout, law-keeping, parents did - bringing the mother 40 days after her delivery to the Temple for her purification (Leviticus 12), and bringing their first born son to be presented to the Lord (Exodus 13). And so it was a day just like any other day . . . a man praying . . . a father, mother, and child come to offer a sacrifice . . . just like any other day . . . until the paths of these two crossed . . .

 

And then suddenly this man was inflated with Christmas joy! Filled with the Holy Spirit, Simeon comes alive and announces to all that God has kept His Word of promise and sent a Saviour. And Mary and Joseph, who had seen a lifetime of wonders the past year, now see another, as Simeon takes Jesus up in his arms and rejoices. And the words that seem to dance off his lips reveal the dancing joy of his heart that cannot be contained. This was no rehearsed speech, but the Word of God given Simeon to speak, from the joy that filled his heart, the joy that comes with receiving the greatest gift of all.

 

And I wonder if Mary smiled just a bit, because she knew this joy. It was the same joy that filled her own heart, which had overflowed into dancing words of her own, when she herself had said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:46-47). God had looked on the humble estate of another, just as He had with her. This child born to bring joy to so many . . .

 

And so now Simeon needs nothing more. His eyes have been opened to see this child who would soon open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. And so now he can depart not just the Temple, but this world, in peace, because the Word and promise of God has been fulfilled. But not just the Word and promise of God to Simeon, but His Word and promise to us all, to send a Saviour. Simeon can depart this world in peace, and so can we, because this child would not - because this child would be a light for the Gentiles and the glory of Israel from a throne not of gold but of wood, where He would hang in the midst of - not joy, but hate and mocking and death; where He would make peace between God and man. Peace in the forgiveness of our sins.

 

And of this work of Jesus Simeon speaks as well, for He says that this child will cause the rising and falling of many; that He will be opposed; that He will cause Mary’s own heart and soul to be pierced in two; that He will reveal the thoughts and desires of our hearts. But all this is the reason for our Christmas joy. This is not bad news (though it may sound like it), but good news!

 

For first, the falling and rising of which Simeon speaks is the falling of our old sinful man and for the rising of a new man, a death and resurrection to a new life which takes place for us in Holy Baptism. And then second, that Jesus was opposed, so much that He was crucified in our place, is so we may be welcomed by our Father in heaven. Third, Mary’s heart and soul which will be mightily pierced as she witnessed her son’s brutal death will be healed with the joy of the resurrection. And then fourth, the revealing of the thoughts and desires of our hearts is the work of the Law, that thus revealed, they may be confessed and removed, forgiven by the blood of this child, shed for us.

 

And it would not take long for all these things to begin. For when King Herod found out about this child, he did not rejoice, but set in motion a bloody slaughter, killing all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding region, that in this sweeping holocaust he might kill off this rival baby king (Matt 2:13-18). That was the slaughter of the Holy Innocents, which is commemorated on the fourth day of Christmas - December 28th - every year. But Herod was not successful, because it was not yet time for this child to die. For, in fact, no one could take His life from Him - He came to lay it down of His own accord (John 10:18); to give His life for the life of the world. To give His life for you and me. That was His joy, and what brought Him and His inflating joy, here on Christmas.

 

And then, having thus spoken, Simeon disappears from the scene. We never hear of him or from him again. Yet one thing, I think, we can be sure of - his Christmas joy was never deflated! Whenever he did depart (whether it was soon after this or a while after this), it was in the peace of which he spoke - the peace of the Spirit, the peace of forgiveness, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

 

But that’s not the end of this story. Luke then goes on to tell us also of Anna, a widow, a prophetess who lived day and night in the Temple, but about whom we also know very little else. But her witness is important as well, as the second witness required by the Law (Deuteronomy 19:15) and being from the tribe of Asher, a representative from the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. For Jesus had come for all of Israel - indeed, for all the world. And perhaps her witness foreshadows what would happen some 33 years later, when a few other women would also testify of Jesus - the resurrected Jesus, the life-inflating, joy-giving resurrection of Jesus, after the joy of seeing the empty tomb.

 

And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

 

And then they went home, Luke says. Just like that. It’s over as quickly as it began. Seems very anti-climactic, doesn’t it? After such joy in the Temple! Like all those figures now lying dead on the ground around my neighborhood, all the air, all the spirit, taken out of them. But there is even joy here, too, in this little fact, as Jesus lives as we live, though without sin. In His life He fulfills every jot and tittle of the Law that we have broken, in our place. And He experiences all that we do, and so knows what you are going through in your life. All the trials and troubles and deflating. And the favor of God was upon Him, that it may now be upon us. All that He did was to inflate us with the joy of the Spirit. To give life to us who were dead in our sins. To raise us up to a new life that will never end . . . or be deflated.

 

And so Simeon’s Christmas joy is our joy as well. Which is why we sing Simeon’s song not just at Christmas, but each time we, too, take up the body and blood of this child - not in our arms, but in our mouths, as we eat His body and drink His blood, given and shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins. Given and shed for us for our consolation. For us who need consolation. 

I mentioned earlier that sometime I feel like those deflated decorations. And I’m sure you do, too. And I’m sure Simeon did, maybe even that day in the Temple! Maybe that’s why he was there, maybe why he was praying. And waiting for the consolation of Israel, he received it. Consolation that is for us, too. Consolation from the sin and hurt in this world that is inflicted upon us; from the guilt of the sin and hurt that we inflict upon others. Consolation from the despair and doubt we feel in our hearts. Consolation from the disappointments and pains of life. Consolation from the fear and worry that sometimes consumes us. In Him, in the midst of all this, like Simeon, we too can have peace and joy. The peace and joy of sins forgiven. The peace and joy of our enemies - satan and death - defeated. The peace and joy of the Spirit, who has inflated us with life both now and forever. The peace and joy which surpass all understanding.

 

So yes, Simeon’s Christmas joy is our joy as well. And so like Simeon, we are ready to depart in peace. Whenever and however. For we too have been given the greatest gift of all - for to us a child is born, to us a Son is given (Isaiah 9:6). Today we heard that God kept His Word to Simeon, so that we know He keeps Word to us.

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

Sermon for the Nativity of Our Lord

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Jesu Juva

“Full of Grace and Truth”

Text: John 1:14

 

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

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word became flesh. The eternal God was born a man. Perfect God and perfect man in one person. Born to Joseph, born of Mary, in the little town of Bethlehem. He was given the name Jesus, the name chosen not by His earthly father or mother, but by His true Father, His heavenly Father. The name the angel Gabriel told Joseph and Mary and instructed them to name Him. And He dwelt among us some 33 years, and was not ashamed to do so. For the Word becoming flesh was not a lowering of God, but an exalting of man. An exalting we very much need, to say the least. An exalting by our God who is full of grace and truth.

Full of grace and truth. It occurred to me as I read those words that those are two things I would say our world today is not full of! Two things that seem, in fact, to be in very short supply in our world today. 

First of all grace, under which umbrella we could include forgiveness, kindness, understanding, patience. In our world today, though, in place of these things, how often do we instead see judgment, harshness, polarization, accusation, grudges, hostility, and more, manifesting themselves in road rage, wars that spring from and perpetuate ancient divisions, cancellation, violence, and prejudice. There is grace in our world, yes. But an indication of how rare it is, is that when we see it, we are surprised, and so rare it is that when we see it, it sometimes becomes an item in the news. That is not how our world was meant to be.

And then truth. Truth is faring no better than grace in our world today. The truth of God’s Word has been denied by many for a long time now. Ancient truths are being questioned, since we know so much better in our day and age. Any objective reality of truth is derided as paternalistic or simply a quest for power, and so truth has become solely subjective - what you think it is. Your truth, my truth, many versions of the truth that cannot be validated, investigated, or questioned. And if you do, there is no grace - you must be dealt with.

But it’s not just in the world, is it? . . . where grace and truth seem to be in short supply. It is in me, too. And I suspect you as well. When I am slow to forgive and quick to judge and hold a grudge. When the very thing I criticize others for is what I myself am guilty of. When what I ask for myself, I am slow to give others. When I know the truth but don’t live by it. When I speak the truth when it helps me and overlook it when it doesn’t. You get the picture . . .

Full of grace and truth is just not how our sinfully-turned-upside-down-world is. 

Well geesh, Pastor! Not a very Christmassy sermon! Oh, but it is. The Word becoming flesh is a great miracle, no doubt. It is worth celebrating and rejoicing, indeed. But not just that. We need a Messiah who is not only God and man, but one who is full of grace and truth. For grace without truth is license; truth without grace is tyranny. Our world is filled with those things, with false gods who are both those things, allowing us to do whatever we want (license), and forcing others to do what we want (tyranny). But our God is neither. He is Saviour. He speaks and acts in truth, and He speaks and acts in grace. The truth of our sin and the condemnation we all deserve, and the truth of His grace and the forgiveness He has come to provide for all. And that is what we celebrate and rejoice in this day - not just the birth of a child, but the birth of a Saviour. A Saviour full of grace and truth.

A Saviour, though, who is not only full of grace and truth, but is the source of grace and truth. The one who brought and is still bringing the grace and truth we need into this world. And from the very beginning. When Adam and Eve plunged the world into sin and there was no grace and truth, only sin, fear, and death, the Lord came to save them, speaking truth and speaking grace. When John wrote that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, that is a reference to God dwelling in the Tabernacle and the Temple in the Old Testament - which was the place of speaking the truth of sin and repentance, and speaking the grace of forgiveness. Then in Jesus we see the one who speaks truth and grace, calling sinners to repentance and giving the repentant His forgiveness. That led Him to being crucified by those who didn’t like Him doing that, but even there, on the cross, Jesus speaks truth and grace. And still here today is Jesus, dwelling among us in His Word and Sacraments, in truth and grace. For this is who Jesus is; this is who God is - the one full of grace and truth.

Which is exactly what our world needs. Which is exactly what we need. You can’t wrap truth and grace in colorful paper with a bow and put it under a tree, but you can wrap it in human flesh and place Him in a manger. And you can wrap grace and truth in water, words, and bread and wine, and speak them, pour them, and feed them to us. And not just on Christmas, and not just every Sunday, but every day. That with Jesus full of grace and truth, and then we filled with the Jesus who is grace and truth, that we then take that grace and truth out of this place with us and fill the world with that grace and truth. The grace and truth it so desperately needs. 

John also said of this Word made flesh, dwelling among us, full of grace and truth, that we have seen his glory. What was he referring to there? Seeing His glory? Was it Jesus’ birth? His transfiguration, when He shone in all His glory? His cross? His resurrection? His ascension? Well, yes! All of it. For while God is certainly glorious in Himself, the glory of God that we see is in Him doing all this for you in love. He is not a God who does not care about you, nor a tyrannical God - but a God who came into your flesh and blood. Who came to be with you, to be one of you. And that’s glorious. 

So when John wrote, we have seen His glory . . .

We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus stopped and healed.

We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus forgave.

We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus raised the dead.

We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus cleansed lepers.

We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus wept with those who were mourning.

We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus did not reject those everybody else did.

We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus died, and rose, and ascended.

And now we see His glory in the Church, where Jesus is still loving and mercying and serving us, full of grace and truth, still.

This past month, as you thought about and searched for gifts for others, you probably wondered what to get? What does this person need? What does this person want? And if you’re like me, you had a hard time with that for some people! But not God. He knows exactly what you need, and what you need most of all: namely, Him, and His grace and truth. 

So as Isaiah proclaimed: your salvation comes. 

As Paul wrote to Titus: When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us . . . according to his own mercy; according to who He is.

And as John wrote: The Word became flesh . . . full of grace and truth.

Which is all saying the same thing in different ways.

Christmas is many things to many people these days, but it is most of all, this: that there is grace and truth in the world. That there is grace and truth here for you. That what you need, you have, and what you have, you share with others, that grace and forgiveness and love and mercy and truth go out to all the world. Christmas is not the start of that, but it is the fulfillment of it. When God kept His promise - when the Word became flesh. 

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

Sermon for the Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord

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Jesu Juva

“The Son Who Fights for Us”

Text: Isaiah 7:10-14; Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20;

1 John 4:7-16; Titus 2:11-14

 

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

There was about to be a war. One enemy would have been enough, but now two had joined forces. They were on the doorstep but had not yet launched their attack. The people saw it and were afraid. What would they do? What destruction awaited them? What atrocities? The future was uncertain and seemed gloomy indeed. These were dark days. 

So the Lord sent His prophet, Isaiah, to the king, King Ahaz, to say to him: do not be afraid. They will not win. This will come to nothing. And this is the sign the Lord will give you of this: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Immanuel, which means, God with us. Which, honestly, doesn’t seem like much assurance, like much of a sign, when the enemy is at the gates and ready to pounce! But God with us is no small thing. And this, too: God knew that what seemed like a big deal to Judah at that time was just a small skirmish in the grand scheme of things. There was a much greater battle being waged, and a far greater foe. And this virgin-born son would fight it.

And as bad and frightening as it seemed at that time to Judah and her king, it was going to get worse, darker. For next to come up against Judah would be a bigger, stronger, viler, and meaner nation which would swamp them like a river overflowing its banks, impossible to hold back. But then Isaiah goes on to say, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. And again, Isaiah points to a child to bring hope: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And again, a child against a nation doesn’t seem like good odds! But there was not only a much greater battle being waged here, but also a different kind of battle, for which this child was perfectly suited. This son who would fight for us.

Well, more transpired after that. Years went by, some good, some not so good. The people of God had their ups and downs. Kingdoms and nations rose and fell, the promised son was remembered by some and forgotten by others. Finally, Rome emerged for a time. And as with any nation and kingdom, it takes money to run and administer them. And so a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. That forced Joseph and his espoused wife Mary to leave Nazareth and go to Bethlehem. And while there, a child was born. But not just any child, a son. And not just any son, the Son, the promised Son, the virgin-born Son. A birth which didn’t seem like much; which was, in fact, hardly noticed. There wasn’t even room for them in the inn. But born was the Son who would fight for us.

But while not noticed on earth, this birth was noticed in the heavens, by the angels. And they told some shepherds. Shepherds who were fighting their own battles, against predators and thieves who were after their sheep. To them, the angels said: the Son is born. And this is the sign for you: you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And yet again, not much of a sign! quite frankly, the angel host was much more impressive! But the angels were not the sign, the sign of God’s love, the sign of God’s might, the sign of God’s faithfulness - the Son was. So the shepherds went, and saw the Son who would fight to them.

After that, more years went by. Joseph would die, as would Caesar Augustus, replaced by Tiberius Caesar. There were good days and bad days. The people of God had their ups and downs. The promised son was remembered by some and forgotten by others. Until one day, the Son who would fight for us, He started fighting! He fought blindness, He fought deafness, He fought against leprosy, He fought the demons, He fought false teachers. He rescued sinners and outcasts. He prepared for each battle with prayer. This was a far different kind of battle than anyone had ever seen before! So they didn’t understand it. Though Isaiah and others had said this is how this battle would be waged, they didn’t get it, and so fought against the Son who was fighting for us! Finally, ultimately, hanging Him on a cross. A day of deep darkness. Evil darkness.

Yet so different was the fight of this Son that this, too, was part of it! Dying to win. So He laid down His life. It wasn’t taken from Him. They couldn’t take it from Him. He laid it down, to win. To conquer the real enemy who has come up against us. The enemy who is not on the doorstep, ready to pounce, but who has infiltrated our hearts and minds and lives. So to defeat this enemy, satan, sin, and death, Jesus laid down His life, to atone for our sin, break death and the grave, and strip satan of his power. And He has! The resurrection proved it. The Son fought for us, and won.

And the God who sent prophets and angels speak of His birth, now sends apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, to do the same. To proclaim to shepherds, parents, programmers, doctors, nurses, students, waitresses, and all people, that the Son, the promised Son, the virgin-born Son, the Son who fought for us, the Son of God, has come. And that He is the propitiation, that is, the atonement, the sacrifice, for our sins. That we now have life in Him. Life that is safe from the enemy. Life that, though interrupted by death, will last forever. A life purified and set free.

Now, a lot of years have gone by since those days. Much has transpired in our world. There has been good, and a lot of not good. You’ve had ups and downs. Kingdoms and nations have risen and fallen. The promised Son was remembered by some and forgotten by others. There are wars going on, and enemies ready to pounce. The internet has opened a whole new front in this war, and the enemies there, though unseen, are quite real. And then there are your own personal battles and struggles, trials and pains. And tonight, as we look to the manger, maybe those old, old thoughts come back: harumph! Not much against such deep darkness and mighty foes. Yeah, tonight feels good and joyful, but what about tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year? 

But there in the manger is not just a child, but a son. And not just a son, but the Son, the Son who fought for you and won. The child who came for you, died for you, rose for you, ascended for you, and now is here for you, baptizing you, absolving you, teaching you, feeding you, fighting for you. To be a light in the darkness of this world. A light of hope. A light of promise. That no matter how deep the darkness gets for you, it cannot have you. Whatever you are fighting, you do not fight alone. You belong to Him. You do now, and you will forever. 

And now that you have seen Him, and known Him, and eat His body and drink His blood, and live in Him as He lives in you, you are like the shepherds, who returned glorifying and praising God. That is, telling of all that He has done. You now do the same. For God sends not only apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, but now also you, men and women, to make known at home and abroad this Son who fought for you. That with words of grace, lives of love, and patience endurance, others know and believe, too. That to us a child is born, to us a son is given. A Son who fought for us and won.

And His name . . . is Jesus.