Christmas Eve Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Love Story”

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

How do you know that God loves you? Because sometimes it may seem as if He doesn’t; or at least, not very much. When your life gets turned upside down. When tragedy strikes. When each day you awaken to sorrow or loneliness, maybe especially during the holidays. When fears outnumber joys and worry is your daily bread. When tornadoes strike your town and take your home and maybe a loved one, as they did in the South the day before Christmas Eve. In the midst of such times, how do you know, how can you be sure, that God loves you? We heard the answer tonight: In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 

Or in other words, Jesus is born because God loves you. 

Because God didn’t have to do that. There didn’t have to be a Christmas. When Adam and Eve sinned, as we heard in the first reading tonight, God could have let them go their rebellious way and die in their sin. And He would have been 100% justified in doing so. They deserved it. They didn’t want God and His Word and His gifts and His Paradise? Fine. See ya.

But God didn’t do that, because He loved them. Still. He couldn’t not love them. He couldn’t stop loving them, though they had not returned His love. And so instead of sending them away, He promises to send someone to them: a Saviour. A satanic-head-crusher. One who would undo what they did, though they did not in any way deserve it. 

That is the Saviour the prophet Isaiah then wrote about; the Saviour who comes as a child. For to us a child is born, he says; to us a son is given.  . . . A shoot - a baby tree - will come from the stump of Jesse.  . . . And this little child shall lead them. And this little child, this Son, Isaiah says, will be none other than the Mighty God Himself. The Son of God come into a world darkened by sin and death, to bring light and joy and peace. And into a world of not just any darkness - deep darkness, Isaiah said. Your darkness and mine. That’s where this child is and where He wants to be. And the deeper the darkness, the brighter will shine His love and light. 

And then finally the time appointed by God to send His Son had come, and He sent the angel Gabriel to herald it. And by His Word make it so. And Mary conceives. The Son of God from eternity is now also the son of Mary in time. And that time was during the reign of Caesar Augustus, when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. The world had come a long way since Adam and Eve plunged it into sin, but God had not forgotten His promise. And when Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem for the taxation census, the child was born, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger, as we celebrate tonight.

That’s how you know that God loves you. But not just that. We heard more, too. That in this is [His] love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation - the sacrifice - for our sins.

So it’s not just that God sent His Son, but that He sent His Son to die - to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. To pay the penalty for you, instead of you, in your place. That’s the love of God for you. The love of God which stopped Abraham’s knife-wielding hand but would not stop His own at the cross. Abraham was willing to offer up his son, but Isaac was not the son who would bless all the nations of the world - that would be the Son of God and the son of Mary; the son given the name Jesus. 

He didn’t look the part - a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger is all the shepherds saw with their eyes. But as the angels told the shepherds, the one born this day in the city of David is a Saviour, Christ the Lord. And not only would all the nations of the earth be blessed in Him, but God also told Abraham, he shall possess the gate of his enemies.

What does that mean? What enemies are those? Men may align themselves against God, like Adam and Eve, but also like Adam and Eve, they are not God’s enemies; they are not the foes the Son has come to fight and conquer - Jesus comes to save them too! All people. And us, too, when we align ourselves against God and insist on sinning. 

No, the enemies here are the enemies that afflict all peoples of all times and places - the enemies of sin, death, and hell. By His death and resurrection, this child of Bethlehem would conquer the stronghold of hell, break the grip of the grave, and open heaven to sinners by the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is now the gate-keeper, the gate-possessor, and bids us come and enter, to find our love and life, our hope and joy, in Him. For in Him - and only in Him - is there peace on earth, good will toward men.

So the story we heard tonight from first to last is a love story. Not a sappy, mushy kind of love, but a strong and determined love. The love of a strong and determined God, who wants nothing else for you but the greatest gift of all: life with Him; life in His Son, forever. A life that lasts beyond the grave and transcends the troubles of the world. A life where sin and darkness are no more.

Such a life may not seem possible; there are many skeptics, after all. Maybe even you from time to time. When we see so little love in others. When our own love grows cold, even toward God. And when the troubles and darkness - in our world and in our hearts - grows deeper. The story of Christmas sounds good, but sometimes seems so far away and out of reach. And it would be, were it up to us. As far as heaven is from earth.

But that’s why Christmas is such good news! Christmas is the love and life of God come down to us. There is no darkness too deep, no trouble too threatening, no love too cold, no person too lost, no sorrow too profound for Him. For the God who came to us at Christmas is the God who is with us still, to save, speaking to us His Word and His forgiveness, washing us in His Baptism, and feeding us with His Body and Blood. These are His mangers today, where He is loving us and saving us. And we, like the shepherds, come to the one who has been made known to us.

But not only that - the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God. And God bids us do the same - to glorify and praise God by loving one another, with the love and forgiveness He has given to us in His Son, and providing for one another with all that He has given us. And as you do, as Christ the Lord comes to you and lives in you and through you, you will find His light makes the darkness a little less deep, His love makes your love a little less cold, and His joy makes your sorrow a little less profound. A little glimpse of the Paradise that awaits us.

So yes, God really does love you. With a love greater than anything in this world and life. And we see and rejoice in that love this night. Whether you are going home tonight to an empty house or a full house or any house. To gifts many or few. To memories joyous or sad. To a life easy or difficult. 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, - your Saviour - which is Christ the Lord.

Merry Christmas!

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

Advent 4 Midweek

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Leap For Joy!”

Text: Luke 1:39-45; Hebrews 10:5-10; Micah 5:2-5a

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

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah . . .

That sounds like what many people will be doing this week. Traveling. With haste. 

And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

Or in other words, she went to see family. Elizabeth was her cousin. And that too is what many people will be doing this week and why they will be traveling: to see and spend time with family.

But now here is where this story separates itself from our stories, and makes it unique - unlike our Christmas celebrations.

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.

Now, babies kicking and poking and moving in the womb is not unusual, but leaping for joy (as Elizabeth would later add) is. And I’m sure that little nugget made all the mothers here today cringe! That couldn’t have felt good!

Yet Elizabeth is overjoyed, because this out-of-the-ordinary reaction came from an out-of-the-ordinary visit. For this wasn’t just cousin Mary visiting, as I’m sure had happened rather ordinarily in the past - this was Mary, the mother of the Lord, visiting. And if the mother of the Lord is visiting, then this too: so is the Lord. The Lord within her. The Almighty, the one without beginning or ending, the all-present and all-knowing, creator, protector, and preserver of all, the Lord who spoke to Moses from the burning bush and the one who is David’s Son yet also David’s Lord - is now a tiny baby boy in Mary’s womb, and in the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth. 

And so, it would seem, John the Baptist is already starting to fulfill his role as the forerunner of the Christ. For before Mary can tell Elizabeth what has happened to her, John leaps for joy. He knows. And so even before he has a voice, he is crying out and pointing to the one greater than he. And filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth know it too, and is filled with joy.

And so she exclaims: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

Blessed, not because of who Mary is, but because wherever the Lord is, there is blessing. Just ask the shepherds and the wise men, the blind and the deaf, the lepers and the outcasts, even those Jesus would speak harshly to to shake them out of their sins and turn them back to God. He comes to bless. And where He is, there is blessing. For us too.

But then Elizabeth asks the all-important question: And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? That is the all-important question because the answer tells us why Christmas is so important. It is the answer, sadly, many are missing in their celebrations of Christmas. 

And the answer for us today was given in the reading from Hebrews, the author actually quoting from Psalm 40. For, he says, when Christ came into the world (which is what just happened in Mary): Sacrifices and offering you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.”

Now, those are words that sound strange, at first, to ears who know their “scroll of the book,” their Bibles - your ears. Because God commanded burnt offerings and sin offerings, and they fill the Old Testament, so how could he say that He did not desire them nor take pleasure in them? Well, because He didn’t. They were necessary, but never what God wanted or desired. They were made necessary because of sin, our sin, your sin and my sin, but God never wanted His precious creatures slaughtered and their blood poured out all over the place. That’s not why He created. But we needed them. And so they were given to us in mercy, by a merciful God. But was God happy with sacrifices and killing all those animals? No.

What He wanted is the same thing He wanted in the very beginning; what He wanted from Adam and Eve, but the one thing they were unwilling to do: to do His will. To keep His Word and not eat from the tree they were forbidden. That Adam and Eve fear, love, and trust Him above all things. They instead said: Thanks. All this is great. Really, God. But no thanks. We’ll do what we want and eat what we want. We’ll obey our own urges and wisdom instead of You and Your Word.

Sound familiar? It should. It’s what we still do, isn’t it? Toward God, and toward our parents and other authorities whom God places over us for our good. Thanks. All this is great. Really, God. But no thanks. I’ll do what I want instead. And the result for us is the same as it was for Adam and Eve: death.

But God took no pleasure in that either, for death is anti-God. Anti-the-God who is life and gives and sustains all life; who carefully knits us together in our mother’s wombs, the psalmist would later tell us (Ps 139). And so first He mercifully set up the sacrificial system in the Old Testament to deal with sin, but those sacrifices were not the answer. For as the verse in Hebrews right before our reading today (v. 4) tells us: it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 

But, we heard today that there is one who has come to do the will of God, as it is written; in fulfillment of all the Scriptures. And this is why a body you have prepared for me. You see, those words - a body you have prepared for me - the author inserted into his quotation of the Psalm. For that’s what’s new; that’s what’s different; that’s what has now come to pass, that makes John leap for joy. There is now a second Adam, a second bodily man without sin, to do two things: (1.) to do what the first Adam would not do; and (2.) to undo what the first Adam did do. Or in other words, (1.) to live a perfect life, keeping God’s Word and will perfectly, and then (2.) laying down that perfect life; offering it up to receive the death, punishment, and condemnation that Adam and Eve and you and me and all the world deserve. To take it in our place and in so doing, be still the God who is life and gives life. For as Elizabeth said and as the leaping John confirmed, that body that you have prepared for me, is not just a body, but the body of the Lord.

So, Elizabeth, why has the mother of the Lord come to you, bringing with her the Lord who has come to you? It is the same reason why the Lord comes to us still: to forgive us our sin, save us from death, and raise us to life again. 

And He has, for as Hebrews goes on to say: He abolishes the first - the sacrifices of the Old Testament - in order to establish the second - His own; the fulfillment. And by that will we have been sanctified - made holy - through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. We have been - it is a done deal. Signed, sealed, and delivered by that body and blood of Christ. And delivered to us in Word and Absolution and Baptism and Supper - those places where He puts this gift of life for us today. That just as Jesus came to Elizabeth hidden in the womb of His mother, so He might come to us today hidden in these means. And give us the same leaping joy. Christmas joy. Birth-of-the-Lord joy. Forgiveness joy.

For, Elizabeth concludes, blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. 

But not just she, Mary. That same blessing is for you who believe. For we are not blessed with a forgiveness that means that I can sin and get away with it; a forgiveness that’s like how we sometimes think: that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. No. That’s not Jesus as Saviour; that’s Jesus as co-conspirator. That’s not Jesus as Saviour, but Jesus as undertaker, helping us dig our own eternal graves. 

No, the second Adam came, as Micah said today, to shepherd his flock . . . that we may dwell secure . . . and to be our peace. Or to put it in words you’ve already heard: to (1.) do what we do not do, and (2.) to undo what we do. To undo our old, sinful life, and give us a new, godly life. That we, too, begin to do the will of our Father, who art in heaven, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. That we begin to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things. That His birth mean our new birth, to a new life, that has no end. 

That our soul, too, magnify the Lord, with Mary, Elizabeth, and John. For in the little town of Bethlehem - too small to be among the clans of Judah, but not too small for God - our ruler, shepherd, and Saviour was born.

And so blessed are you. Whether or not your family gets along when you’re all packed together in the same house; whether or not you get the perfect gift or any gifts; whether or not you even feel joyful at this time of year, for many don’t. None of that really matters. None of that is the make or break of Christmas. Blessed are you who believe. Blessed are you who have been filled with the Holy Spirit in your baptism, whose ears are filled with His Word, and whose mouths are filled with the Body and Blood of Jesus at the altar. Blessed are you who hear and believe that your sins are forgiven. Blessed are you, for the Lord has come to you. That you, too, might leap for joy in Him.

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

Advent 3 Midweek Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“God’s Advents: The Last Day”

Text: Joel 2:1-11; Revelation 6:12-17; Matthew 25:1-12

How do you help someone who doesn’t want to be helped? Or, how do you help someone who doesn’t think they need help; who sees no danger? Maybe you’ve been there. It’s challenging. It’s frightening. It’s heart-wrenching.

It is what God faced with the people of Judah in Joel’s day. The people were in a bad way, the way of idolatry and rebellion against God. But they thought everything was okay, that there was no danger, because everything seemed to be going well. And outwardly, it may have been so. But inwardly, all was sin and death. And God knew it. So He sent the prophet Joel to the people, to call them to repentance, to turn them from the way they were going and back to God. And to warn them, that if they didn’t, disaster awaited. And what a disaster! Joel’s words that we heard tonight are very frightening indeed. That God was going to bring in an enemy army that would be like a locust swarm, to devour the kingdom, the land, and the people. Nothing would escape them, so that the people would have to turn to Him; there would be nothing else left to turn to. Yet even so, the people ignored Joel and mocked him. He was a stupid fool in their eyes. So they continued, and the army came and swept them away.

But Joel’s words weren’t just for the people of Judah back then. As you keep reading, you soon realize that Joel is speaking of a far worse day as well. A day that this first frightening day is but a foreshadowing of. The day when days will end. When not an enemy army, but God Himself is going to come, and there will be no more chance to turn. On that day, not only will the people tremble, but so will the heavens and the earth that God created in the beginning. The sun and moon will be darkened and the stars will withdraw their shining. This day of the Lord wil be great and awesome, and, Joel asks, who can endure it?

The answer is clear. No one, Adam and Eve call out to us from behind their leafy hiding place. No one, the people at Mt. Sinai call out to us from their terror and fear. No one, the people we heard from in the reading from Revelation tonight call out to us; the people who want the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. 

The wrath of the Lamb. Isn’t that an interesting phrase? Lambs aren’t wrathful; they are gentle. They aren’t fearsome; they’re cute and cuddly. And the Lamb who is sitting on the throne of God in heaven is the Son of God who isn’t against His people, but for them! It is Jesus who advented, who came, and was born a man like us, and then laid down His life for us. It is Jesus who atoned for our sins by offering up His life as a sin offering, that we need hide no longer. It is Jesus who took the wrath against the sin of the world for us, in our place. And yet you see what sin has done, how badly it has twisted us and our minds? That instead of seeing Jesus as Saviour, people see Him as threat. Instead of loving, as mean. Instead of merciful, as their enemy. And see sin as what we want; what will give us what we need.

And so into such a tangled and twisted world, comes Advent. Calling us to repentance, like the prophet Joel, to realize that cross and discipline now is better than terror at the end. Preparing the way, like John, to level the mountains of sin we have piled up, to fill in the valleys of sin we have dug, and to straighted the crooked road of sin we have constructed. To unweave the web of sin that has so ensnared us that we cannot see rightly anymore; that we see Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And that He is the Lamb returning for us.

With such knowledge, with such faith, that Last Day will be quite different for us. A day of joy and anticipation, like the virgins waiting for the Bridegroom to come. But how we wait is important, too; that we wait well and wisely. That we not be foolish and unprepared, and not full of ourselves, but instead filled with the faith and forgiveness our Lord gives now through His Word and Sacraments. That we be filled now with His Spirit, with His Body and Blood, and with His love and mercy. That filled with Him and hidden in Him, we stand on that Last Day and not only endure, but enter into the marriage feast which has no end.

But such knowledge, such faith, can make a difference for us even now as well. For fear, as Adam and Eve and the people of Mt. Sinai will tell you, makes us act in very uncharacteristic ways, as fear makes us lash out, as it divides, as it turns us against one another. As it makes us blame, excuse, and deny. As it controls us and paralyzes us.

But there is a better way. Instead of living in fear and hiding from God and from each other, to hide in and trust His forgiveness. That’s hard. We’d rather be in control instead of trusting Him and we hate to admit we’re wrong and repent to each other. But look at the messes we’ve made. Is that old way really the way? Again, the answer is clear.

So this season, the manger calls out to us a new way, a new life. It is the message of the angels - not only that a Saviour is born, but they say this too: fear not. Afraid to repent? Fear not. Afraid to forgive? Fear not. Afraid to give up your sins? Fear not. Afraid of losing control? Fear not. Afraid to love? Fear not. Afraid to help? Fear not. Afraid to be helped? Fear not. Afraid of life? Fear not. Afraid of death? Fear not. In this one, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, we need fear no thing. He is our peace. He is our life. He is our confidence. He is our Mighty Saviour. 

And we who kneel before Him now, will stand before Him in the end.

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

Advent 3 Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“The Teacher of Joy”

Text: Luke 7:18-28; Philippians 4:4-7

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

The best teachers don’t give you a straight answer - they tell you where to find the answer. That can be extremely frustrating for the lazy student, who wants only to be spoon fed. But sooner or later, as in life, the student must grow up. We start with milk, then on to being spoon fed; after that comes eating on your own - which is messy at first, food everywhere (right parents?), until spoon and fork are mastered - and then finally the meat and potatoes. And hopefully just as satisfying as that last course is for our dining pleasure, so too the student will find the joy of learning.

And so it is with John the Baptist . . . though there is some difference of opinion about these verses we heard today. Some think that when John sends his disciples to Jesus with the question: Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? he was asking for himself. That he is racked with doubt since he has been languishing in prison for some time now. His preaching and baptizing had started out with such success and promise, but now . . . ? This is not how it was supposed to work, Jesus. So maybe he was mistaken. 

It certainly is an understandable opinion. For many or most or all of us have wondered or doubted for far less. We too who have lives filled with troubles. Things aren’t working out as we had hoped or planned. Worries. Fears. For ourselves or for our loved ones. Old age making things difficult. Temptations abounding and capturing more and more hearts. When we look at life, we too can wonder: Really, Jesus? Is this the way, Jesus? This is not how it was supposed to work, is it Jesus?

But on the other hand, this is the John who leapt for joy in his mother’s womb at hearing the voice of Mary, the mother of the Lord. The John who baptized Jesus and witnessed the amazing aftermath of the Spirit descending like a dove upon Him, and the voice of the Father from heaven. This is the John who pointed to Jesus and declared: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). This is the John who said of Jesus: He must increase; I must descrease (John 3:30). And certainly, being in prison would qualify as decreasing.

So I think, rather, John is acting as a master teacher here. John’s whole life and career were about one thing: Jesus. Preparing the way for Him. And now that He has come, John is fading out of the picture. The prophet is giving way to the fulfillment, the shadow to the reality.

But apparently some of his disciples are still hanging around. Good fellows. But they should not be here any longer. They need to be with Jesus. So John sends his students to see for themselves. To see the answer. To see Jesus in the flesh. To answer for themselves: Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?

Jesus is a master teacher, too. The master teacher. And so He preaches, words that give faith; but at the same time, He points, too, to the answer. You tell me, good fellows. What do you see? And then He lists the signs, in ascending order, from the least important to the most important. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. Impressive. But there’s more. The dead are raised up! And then this most importantly of all: the poor have good news preached to them. To the poor in spirit are preached the riches of God, to give forgiveness for sin, hope for despair, light for darkness, strength for weakness, and life for death. And all this, not just powerful stuff, goodies given out; but fulfillment of prophecy. The Word of God fulfilled, for faith. Yes, Jesus is the one. When you look at yourself and look at your life, questions, doubts, fears, death. Look at Jesus, life, confidence, and joy.

And that’s what we need, isn’t it? Did John question and doubt? Or was it his disciples? We may not know that answer, but we know this: we do. And what is it for you? What prison? What sin wrapping its tentacles around you? What troubles and worries dragging you down like an anchor? What lies satanically hissed into your ears making you think you’re not worth anything? That you’re too sinful, too disappointing; you’ll never measure up. What darkness descending, encircling, trying to erect its walls around you? We look at life and we wonder, too. Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? ‘Cause me, and my kids, and my friends . . . things don’t look so good, Jesus. We really, really need a Saviour.

But if Jesus isn’t doing what you think He should be doing, or how you think He should be doing it, is the problem Him . . . or you? And blessed is the one who is not offended by me, Jesus said. When we are offended, when we are disappointed, when we go looking for other saviours, other people or things in this world that we think will give us what we think we want or need, that is not the way of blessing. That is to veer off the way. Temporary happiness does not give lasting joy. Blessing comes only through the blessed One, and maybe in ways that will surprise you.

For your ultimate blessing comes not through life, or a life fulfilled, or a life that goes according to your plans and desires, but through death. The death of Jesus and your death with Him. Jesus’ death for you on the cross, atoning for your sin and the sin of the world. And your death with Him in Baptism, where that old, sinful, doubting, worldly, other-saviour-seeking man is drowned, and a new man given life. Satan hates that new man, you know. And will rage against him; against you. Causing you no little pain, no little opposition. Does that mean your Saviour isn’t real? That it didn’t work? That He didn’t really win? Quite the contrary - that’s why satan is fighting so hard. Jesus did win. To bless you and mercy you and snatch you away from the evil one, so precious you are to Him. So valuable. That He traded His life for yours.

And as great as John was - and as Jesus said, among those born of women none is greater than John - which means not Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob; not Moses or Joshua; not David or Solomon; not Elijah or even Mary - none greater than John. Yet as great as John was, the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. That’s you. A least, a child. But a child of God. Low, despised, nothing, least in the eyes of the world, but great in your heavenly Father’s eyes. And so blessed with His promises: His forgiveness, His life, His kingdom. All of which are out of satan’s reach, for they are hidden with Christ in God. So even if satan take everything else away - health, freedom, riches, even life itself - He cannot have those, those gifts of Christ; and He cannot have you.

That taking away would soon happen to John, as not many days from this account that we heard, King Herod would have his head on a platter. No matter. John went from grace to grace, from great to greater, from this world of sin to that world where sin is forever banished, and there is only joy.

That is not our reality now, or course. We’re still in this world of sin and death, of darkness and disappointment, of worry and fear. And yet there is joy for us, too. The joy not from getting exactly what we want for Christmas, or exactly what we want from life, but joy born from the Word of God - both the Word fulfilled, and the promises we know will be. As sure as Jesus is risen from the dead, so does He live to fulfill every promise. Maybe not as we expect, or even want, or understand. But the cross shows us that with Jesus, the greatest blessing can come from what looks like the greatest defeat.

And that’s why Paul could proclaim - even while in prison like John - Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. He repeats it for emphasis. And that’s why we lit the rose-colored candle on the Advent wreath today - the joy candle. Because in the midst of a dark world, we have a joyful and certain hope. We have Jesus. And He is not only the one who was to come, but the one who is still coming to us, to bless.  

And don’t be offended by how He comes still today - through preaching, through water, through bread and wine. It’s just as easy to be offended by these as to be offended by the flesh of the man from Nazareth who claimed He was God, or the so-called prophet getting His just desserts on the cross, from which He couldn’t even save Himself. . . . Couldn’t? Or wouldn’t?

But that Good Friday body and blood are really here in this bread and wine, for you. To bless. That Word of that man from Nazareth is still preached into your ears, to bless. That water He was baptized in you are baptized in, for life. And this is good. For it is not the spectacular that we have to go out and find and discover and get Jesus for ourselves. No. He comes to us and finds us. The Lord is at hand. In our prisons, in our darkness, in our lostness and sin, through these humble means. Lowly means for lowly ones, to make great.

And so we light a rose-colored candle and curse the darkness. We sing our hymns that confess our Saviour, that satan flee with his ears covered and saying lalalalalalala! We pray boldly, as dear children ask their dear Father. And we come with open mouths and empty hearts, that Christ fill them with Himself, His very body and blood. And in all these ways, the good news is preached and given to us. That unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11). That He is not here, He is risen as He said (Matt 28:6)! And that He is coming back for you, to take you to His home and yours (John 14:3). Good news, indeed, of great joy.

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

Advent 2 Midweek Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“God’s Advents: On Mt. Sinai”

Text: Exodus 20:18-21; Hebrews 12:18-24; Matthew 27:45-54

God’s advents. That’s the theme of our midweek services this year. And so last week, we began with one of God’s first advents, one of His first comings, when He came to our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden, after they had plunged themselves and all creation into sin. Because of that, they hid. They hid from each other, but even more sadly, they hid from their Father. Their love had turned to fear. The light had turned to darkness. 

Tonight we’re at Mt. Sinai. And the darkness and fear and hiding continue. 

God had just brought the people out of Egypt, out from 400 years of slavery. He had done awesome things for them against the Egyptians. There was no doubting that this God who had brought such devastating plagues upon Egypt and who then divided the Red Sea, could do anything He wanted. There were no bounds to His power and might.

So when God comes down upon Mt. Sinai, the God of the Exodus, with thick darkness, with thunder and flashes of lightning, with the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking . . . in the face of such an awesome show of power, the people tremble in fear. It is the same fear felt by Adam and Eve so long ago and that caused them to hide. For God had just given His Law to the people, and their sin was exposed. Their hearts were laid bare. They wanted to hide. And so they begged Moses: You go talk to God. But do not let God speak to us, lest we die. They knew that a sinful people could not stand in the presence of a holy God.

Such fear is rare these days, in a world where sin is belittled, accepted, and more and more even flaunted. Even among us, among Christians, how often is our sin and rebellion shrugged off with a casual: Well, it’s okay; I’m forgiven. Tell that to the God of Mt. Sinai. Sin is not okay. Our gossip is not okay. Our rebellion is not okay. Our selfishness is not okay. Our failure to love and help and care is not okay. Our evil thoughts and desires, enacted or not, are not okay. Our words that hurt and cut are not okay. And if we think: It’s okay; I’m forgiven . . . we are neither fearing nor loving God. And we don’t really understand how serious, how deadly, our sin is.

But that’s why God cares so much. He knows how serious, how deadly, sin is. And so He came down onto Mt. Sinai with the Word of the Law and with such an awesome display of power, so that, as Moses told the people, the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.

But thankfully, that fearful show of power and the speaking of the Law is not the final word from God to us. That is not all we know of God. Matthew painted a rather Sinai-esque picture in the words we heard from him tonight, from when Jesus was upon the cross, with the full weight of God’s wrath against sin upon Him. All the awesome power once unleashed upon Egypt now unleashed upon Jesus, the Lamb of God bearing all the sin we take so lightly. It is not so light on Him who hangs in the darkness. It is not so light on Him who cries out My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It is not so light when upon His death nature trembles.

And so awesome was all of that, that upon seeing it, even a Roman centurion figures it out. Truly this was the Son of God!

But while He is right, He is also not quite right. He made one mistake. He should have said not was, but is. This is the Son of God. For while He cried out with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit in death, death will not have the victory. He will rise from the dust of death, from the darkness of the tomb. He would not come down from the cross to save Himself; He would stay to save you. He would stay until every last bit of awesome wrath against your sin was given to Him. That there be none left for you. And so after a Sabbath rest in the tomb, He comes, He advents, back to life again.

And that is why the writer of Hebrews could say that Mt. Sinai is now in the rearview mirror. That is not where you have come - to the blazing fire and darkness and gloom and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. No, he says, you have come to something much different. Not to Mt. Sinai, but to Mount Zion, the city of the living God. You have come to the light, the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. You have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood - His blood - that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. For Jesus’ blood cries out not for vengeance, but for forgiveness. It cries out for you. Now, and on the Last Day.

And so we need not hide. We need not hide ourselves or our sin behind belittling it, excusing it, or denying it. To do so is also to deny the cross. Instead, by repenting and confessing our sin, in all its ugliness and shame, we hear that better word from Jesus - that word of absolution: I forgive you. And you really are. No more wrath of God left for you. Only love and light and life with Jesus, your Saviour.

Which is why I often tell folks that it is good that God knows every sin you’ve ever done. Every sinful thought, every dirty and shameful desire, every harsh and critical word, and every hurtful and rebellious deed - He knows them all, and its good that He does. Which seems counter-intuitive, to us who keep trying to hide our sin and shame. But if God did not know all your sin, if there were one or two you could manage to hide from Him, you could never be sure that all your sin was on Jesus and atoned for. Maybe that one or two weren’t. And for that one or two there would still be the wrath of God against you and the condemnation of God for you. But if He knows them all, then you can be sure that Jesus atoned for them all - every single one. And you are free.

So in just a couple of weeks we’ll celebrate the birth of this Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Son of God who hides Himself and His awesome power and glory in the weakness of human flesh, that we not fear Him, as they did on Mt. Sinai, but like the shepherds and the wise men, draw near to Him in faith. And wonder at the love of God who would do this for us. 

And just maybe, then, that His love would have its way with us, and we show this same love to others.

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

Advent 2 Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Waiting for “Christmas” ”

Text: Malachi 3:1-7b; Luke 3:1-14; Philippians 1:2-11

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

Just like us, the people in Malachi’s day were waiting for Christmas. Actually, long before that they were waiting for Christmas. David, Isaiah, Jeremiah - they were waiting too. In fact, even Adam and Eve were waiting for Christmas to come. The only difference is: we know when it’s going to come. December 25. The day the Church set aside in the 4th century to remember when God fulfilled His promise to send a Saviour. That may not be the exact, actual day, but neither does it matter. It’s the remembrance, the faith expressed, that is important.

So in Malachi’s day, they were waiting for Christmas - waiting in faith for the day the promise of a Saviour would be fulfilled. And it wasn’t easy, their waiting. Things hadn’t been going so well for Israel for a long time. Wars, invading foreign armies, and exile were their reality. But always God had sent prophets to them to speak His Word. To remind them, to call them to repentance, to encourage them, to strengthen them. And He did so until Malachi. But once Malachi passed from the scene, God fell silent. For some 400 years. No more prophets. No more speaking. Generation after generation, waiting, and hoping. For a Word from God. For a Saviour from God.

And then God spoke again. First, speaking quietly through the angel He sent to some women named Mary and Elizabeth to fulfill His promises and set them in motion, but then speaking like He did in the old days, publicly and loudly, through a prophet. To remind the people, to call them to repentance, to encourage them, to strengthen them . . . and finally, to announce to them that Christmas had come! And it happened in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas. At exactly that time in history, the word of God came to the final and greatest Old Testament prophet. For him to speak. The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

No wonder the people came out in droves to hear him! Even though his message was a hard one to hear, calling the people to repentance - and not just in word but in deed. To both confess their sins and to change their ways. Even though he called them a brood of vipers - children of serpents, sinners descended from sinners. They went out in droves, because God was speaking again! Finally. After so many years of silence. And soon, very soon, they would hear from the mouth of God Himself. When Jesus, the Son of God in human flesh, would begin His work in word and deed.

That is an excitement I think most, or all, of us have lost. We who take having the Word of God - that we have in such abundance! - for granted. 

We who have the Word of God right in our homes, but do not read it or hear it. Or we do, but it’s in one ear and out the other, quickly forgotten. Or not lived because it’s inconvenient. Or questioned because that’s just not the way things are today.

We who hear the Word of God here, and hearing, “This is the Word of the Lord!” mumble back a less-than-enthusiastic, “Thanks be to God.” A response sounding much like when you were little and opened a package on Christmas morning expecting some great toy, only to find a package of socks . . . and you mumble your obligatory and less-than-enthusiastic “thanks.” 

We who hear the Word of God say to us “I forgive you all your sins!” but hearing the announcer on TV say “touchdown” for our favorite team generates more response and excitement from us. 

We who hear the Word of God come and tell us “This is My Body, This is My Blood,” and yawn, thinking more about how quickly we can get downstairs for the real food and desserts.

What would John the Baptist say to us today? Well, he would warn us too, just as he warned the people then who took God for granted because they were physically descended from Abraham. Be careful, he said. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

When that day is coming . . . that’s the day we’re still waiting for. That’s the day we don’t know when it’s going to come. The day when days will end and Jesus comes again in glory. And like the people waiting in Malachi’s day, things in our world aren’t going so well. Each step forward in progress seems matched with two steps backward - in morality and godliness.

That’s the day that’s coming for us. But will it be for us a day of joy and excitement, like for the folks in John’s day? Or a day of fear and dread? The day we are waiting for, or the day we wished would never come?

What will make the difference for us is what made the difference for the folks in John’s day - hearing once again the Word of the Lord. For hearing the Word of God gave them thankfulness and hope, and so too for us. 

And so hear. Hear again from the Word of God we heard today. Hear Malachi, speaking for the Lord: Return to me, and I will return to you. That’s not a command; that’s a promise. That no matter what you’ve done,no matter how you’ve been, no matter when you return, He will be here for you. He will not turn His back on you. You don’t have to earn your way back or prove yourself. He just wants you. All of you. Sinner you. And welcome you home in forgiveness and love, like the father of the prodigal son. And whatever is getting in your way of doing that - those things John talked about: mountains of pride or valleys of despair, the crooked paths of life you’ve walked, or the roads of your mind made rough by the so-called wisdom of this world - John and the Law have come to bulldoze them, to bulldoze you! And prepare the way of the Lord. That when your flesh sees the salvation of God on that Last Day, when He comes again, it will be a day of excitement and joy for you. The day of your Saviour coming for you.

And then hear this from the apostle Paul: And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. That good work in you began the day the Lord baptized you and made you His own, His child. And ever since He has been working in you and for you, in ways you know and in ways you know not. Refining you like with a refiner’s fire, and cleansing you like with fuller’s soap, as Malachi again said. And while it’s not always pleasant to be put through the fire and be scrubbed clean, your Lord will do nothing less for you. So that fiery trial your going through, the scrubbing, don’t turn away from your Father, for He has not turned away from you. Turn to Him, repent, and trust that He is working all things - even these things - for your eternal good. That as St. Paul said, you be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

It’s not easy. In fact, sin and satan are going to make it as difficult as possible for you. But God is greater. As He said through Malachi: For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. Ever since that day when sin and death entered the world, our Lord has not let it win; our Lord has not let it consume His creation or His promises. Yes, it has wreaked havoc and devastation as we turn away from God and follow our own ill-conceived ways; but the Lord has remained faithful. Preserving, protecting, sustaining, until His Spirit-conceived Son came. And when He did, Jesus went through the fire of the cross for your purification, He shed His blood for your cleansing, and was Himself the tree that was chopped down in death, that we who are born a brood of vipers - children of serpents, sinners descended from sinners, born in sin and death - might live in Him, in His forgiveness and love. That His forgiveness not be a place for our sinful nature to hide - to get away with whatever it wants to do - but for it to die. And that a past forgiven and a future secure enable us to live a joyful present. Not worrying about when that day of days will come, but knowing that when it does, whenever it does, it will be a Christmas Day for us, a coming of Jesus in the flesh for us, a day of joy and gladness.

Even as today is a Christmas Day of sorts for us, as our Lord is here for us in the flesh, speaking to us and giving us once again His Body and Blood to forgive our every sin and satisfy our every need. Christmas gifts, flesh-and-blood-Jesus gifts, for you. Until He comes again with one more gift: His glory, for you.

And so how appropriate that today is December 6th, the Church’s day of commemoration for St. Nicholas. We remember him today and not on December 25th because that day was already taken for the bigger feast day of Jesus’ birth, but also because the Church’s martyrs are traditionally remembered on the day of their death - which the Church has always understood as the day of their birth into glory. The day when all God’s promises were fulfilled for them.

That is the day we are waiting for, and like Nicholas, we know not when it will come, our birthday into glory. Will it be for us like Nicholas, the day when our physical bodies die and are laid to rest? Or will it be for us all on the same day, when Jesus returns in glory? We don’t know. But this we do: God is faithful. And while in many and various ways, God spoke to His people of old by the prophets, in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). Spoken a word of forgiveness, a word of life, a word of hope, a word of promise. So hear that word, receive these gifts, and bear good fruit - all these, gifts of Christmas, for you.

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

Advent 1 Midweek Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“God’s Advents: In the Garden”

Text: Genesis 3:1-21; Galatians 3:23-29; John 19:23-27

Where are you?

Oh, their Father knew where they were. That they were hiding from Him. He who gave them life, and a perfect home, and had given them each other - they were now afraid of Him. How distant the memory of the joy they had when He had presented Eve to Adam for his wife. Now, fear had replaced joy, shame had replaced love, and separation had replaced their most intimate fellowship. In a moment, everything . . . everything had changed.

They tried to cover themselves and their sin with fig leaves sewed together. How pathetic. It would be a losing battle. Leaves picked from branches quickly dry up and crumble. Even Eden fig leaves. So it would be a never-ending battle to cover themselves. And even if they could cover themselves on the outside, still their hearts were exposed. And how could they cover them and that shame? They tried blame. That was pathetic too . . . and didn’t work.

Where are you? What a thunderbolt of fear those words struck in the hearts of God’s children on that sad day. That day of sin and darkness and death, when their Father advented, came, to them.

But perhaps those words were not such bad news at all. Sinful humans heard them that way, but did God speak them that way? Maybe they are, in fact, good news for sinful human beings. Good news that instead of leaving us to ourselves, leaving us to our sin, and leaving us to death forever; instead of leaving us there hiding, divided, fearful, and always wondering when the shoe was going to drop - God came, and God spoke. Our Father came to us and did not curse or condemn His children. No, He promised to undo what they did; to do to the serpent what the serpent had done to them. And then He clothed them. Real clothes. Of skins. From an animal that died to cover them. And the death they felt inside of them they saw outside of them for the first time. And how horrid it must have looked. Seeing that animal once filled with life, lying dead, because of them.

Where are you? Truth is, we’re often in the same place as Adam and Eve, aren’t we? Trying to hide our sin, cover our shame, and blame others for our shortcomings and failures. Making excuses, denying, or maybe worst of all, not even feeling our sin anymore, in hearts grown calloused and hard . . .

And then one day God came and said not where are you? but here I am. Here to fulfill my promise, to be the promised offspring of the woman. To deal with serpent, to deal with sin, to deal with death. To deal with your shame and cover it, that you need hide no more. And God was born of a virgin, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.

And so instead of stringing up Adam and Eve on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - which they deserved - the Son of God was Himself hung naked and exposed on the cross - a tree with no leaves to hide behind. And His clothes - the soldiers took them and divided them up, payment for their days work. And so there hangs the second, perfect Adam, in place of the first, sinful Adam, taking the death and condemnation and curse that He, and us, and all the world deserve, that it be over and done . . . and we need hide in fear no more. 

The apostle Paul said it this way tonight, explaining this wonderful truth to the Galatians, saying: As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Baptism clothes us with Christ, inside and out. We don’t need fig leaves or animal skins to cover our sin and shame - we have Christ. Jesus is the One who exposed Himself to cover our sin and shame, His blood atoning for it and washing us clean. And in so doing, Paul also says, He has brought back together what sin had separated: you are all one in Christ Jesus. Our fellowship with God and with one another is restored in Him.

Which means that now, because of Jesus, instead of hiding from God, we hide in Him. Though our sinful nature still wants to hide and blame, and satan is always whispering to us that that is the way to deal with our sin, Advent says no. Instead repent, and hide in Christ. Cover your sin in His forgiveness. Hide your death in His death. Everything else, any other way we try to deal with sin, is just fig leaves. And sooner or later, the fig leaves crumble and die, and leave us exposed again.

But our adventing, coming, God does not crumble, and Jesus died to defeate death. So a better way He has. An everlasting way. 

So as we prepare for Jesus’ second coming this Advent season, we do so by remembering his first, and that His birth in Bethlehem was God’s here I am. That He is Immanuel - God with us. That we not be afraid and never have to wonder what God is going to say or what He’s going to do. We know. Jesus showed us. His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, all testimony to the heart of our God. And His Words that He commanded spoken now - I baptize you, I forgive you, I feed you - testimony that He is here for us still, with the mercy we need. Here I still am, for you.

And maybe this too. That with this confidence, we cover each others sins with Christ. That we be slow to condemn and quick to forgive. That our words be loving, not harsh. That covered with Christ others see Christ in us. And so fill our families, friendships, and world with the mercy of our adventing God.

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