Sermon for the First Sunday after Christmas

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Jesu Juva

“First Steps”

Text: Matthew 2:13-23; Galatians 4:4-7; Isaiah 63:7-14

 

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

We don’t know for sure where and when Jesus took His first steps. 

If you’re a parent, you probably remember when your child took his or her first steps. It’s a big moment! After learning how to flip over, then crawl, then “couch walk,” those first steps without hanging onto anything bring great joy to parent and child, and these days are probably captured on video and put on the internet for all to see. 

But where and when the child Jesus took His first steps, we’re not sure. It might have been in Egypt. 

But we don’t know because we don’t know exactly how old Jesus was when the Wise Men came to see Him. When they came and Herod found out there was another king - a king of the Jews - who might rival him. A threat he had to nip in the bud. Because that’s what Herods did. That was their well-earned reputation. Resort to violence to maintain your power. 

So as we heard today, he commands that all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, be killed. Herod wasn’t sure how old Jesus was either. So he builds in a buffer - kill all the baby boys two and under, and that will surely get his rival. 

And faithful soldiers carried out his order. Herod was a king you didn’t want to cross!

So now imagine being in Bethlehem . . . and being relatively new parents . . . and maybe your little boy had just taken his first steps . . . had just proudly let go of the table and awkwardly toddled over to Mom! Smiles and joy all around . . . until suddenly the door bursts open, a squad of soldiers bursts in, and a sword cuts short your child’s life. His first steps, his last steps. What grief! What pain! Hurt that won’t soon go away! The words of the prophet fulfilled. Rachel weeping for her children; refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.

Monsters don’t just live under beds and in closets. They live in palaces, too.

But among that group of baby boys killed that day, Jesus is not included. Oh, He came to die, but it is not yet His time. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son to be born, and in the fullness of time He would ascend the cross and die, but that time was not yet. So Joseph, faithful Joseph, who didn’t divorce Mary - quietly or otherwise, who stepped up, manned up, and became the guardian of Jesus, flees to Egypt in the middle of the night. And they stayed for a while. Again, we don’t know how long. And maybe it was in this foreign land when their little boy, Jesus, took His first steps.

First steps of many steps. Steps that would take Him to Galilee, Judea, and Samaria. Steps that would take Him from boats at sea to the top of mountains. Steps that would take Him into sinners houses, kings palaces, and government headquarters. Steps that would finally, ultimately, lead to steps under the heavy burden of a cross, where His feet would be nailed in place, never to walk again. . . . At least, that was the hope of those who put Him there.

So Jesus did the exact opposite of Herod. He did not resort to violence to save His power, He gave up His power and sacrificed Himself to save you. Herod caused untold hurt, pain, and tears. Jesus came to take those very things away; that in His kingdom, there be no more hurt or pain, and He would wipe away every tear from our eyes. And notice who’s kingdom lasted . . . Not the one which resorted to violence. Not the one that caused hurt, pain, and tears. The kingdom that lasted - and that will last - is the kingdom of sacrifice, love, consolation, and forgiveness. 

For that is the way of God. He can exercise His almighty power, and sometimes does! Plenty of stories about that in the Bible! But that’s not His first move. That’s not what He wants to do. That comes only at the end . . . after calling to repentance, after working to save, after great patience and long-suffering. For God wants to save all people. So unlike Herod, who wanted to save Himself, and so whose first move is to kill - God sends His Son to lay down His life for the life of the world. 

Which maybe should make us pause and think a bit . . . when we feel threatened, when things seem to be going wrong in our lives, when we get bad news . . . what’s our first move? Is it, like Herod, to lash out? To violence? To lose our temper? To threaten? To punish? To torment? To try to save ourselves and what we want and what we have and hold onto it with all our might? We often do, I think. That’s our sinful nature. Our selfish nature. Look out for number one. Whatever it takes. But while that’s what, I think, we often do, is that what we should do? Is that the best way to live? Is that going to make our kingdom last? Or is that really going to lead to our downfall? Is that going to stop the hurt and pain and tears, or only cause more? Maybe there’s a better way?

Really . . . look at yourself, your life . . . how have you been?

Now, there are times when you might have to use might and defend yourself or your family. If you’re a father, you’ve especially been called to that vocation. Being the head of the family is a place, a vocation, of service, not privilege. And you are to protect your wife and children - and not just physically, but financially, emotionally, spiritually. And there are times you will be called on to do that, like Joseph was. You might not want to. I’m sure Joseph wasn’t jumping for joy having to move down to Egypt for a while! But you may be called on to do that. And mothers, too. And children, too, when your parents get older and need your help and protection.

Perhaps, though, you haven’t done so good at that . . . perhaps you’ve been more like Herod, and through physical or verbal violence protected yourself first, served yourself first, put yourself first. If so, repent. Because there is a better way . . .

Because it isn’t Herod’s kingdom that we’re still talking about. Sin doesn’t, sin never (really) gets us what we want. The kingdom that lasts - and not just a lifetime, but forever - is Jesus’. A kingdom built on His blood, of laying down His life for you. A kingdom He brought you into by Baptism, where He also ran His sword through that old sinful nature of yours and raised a new man to live a new life. And He promised to provide all you need to do so. Whatever it is! So what are you short of? Love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, forgiveness? He has that here for you, giving you His Spirit, feeding you with His Body and Blood. To fill the world not with Herods, but with Christians. 

For there are enough Herods out there. You know that. You’ve experienced it. You’ve been at the end of a pointed tongue, or worse. What the world needs is more Christians, more Christ, more forgiveness, more love.

So in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son for you, to serve and to save. And now in the fullness of time, God sends you to serve others. Not to save them - that’s Jesus’ job. And He did it. For after He laid down His life for you He rose back to life again, defeating sin, death, grave, satan, and hell. That you live a life free from fear of those things, free to love and serve and forgive, as He has done for you. And when the fear starts to creep back, when the Herod in you starts to burst out, by the Spirit God has given you, cry out “Abba! Father!” Father, help! And He will. For that’s the very thing He loves to hear, and the very thing He loves to do.

It might not be easy for you . . . serving, putting others first. First steps never are. And first steps are often clumsy and end with us on our butt! But as delighted as parents are with their children’s first steps, so is your Father delighted in your first steps. It’s okay if you’re clumsy. It’s okay if you wind up on your butt! He’ll be there to pick you up again. And the next steps will be easier, and a little more sure. And you’ll grow in your repentance and love and forgiveness, too. But it all starts with that first step . . .

Where was Jesus’? His first step? I don’t know. But I know that His last was not when He went to the cross, as those who put Him there hoped! For after He led His disciples to the top of a mountain and ascended into heaven, He promised to return the same way. In the fulness of time. 

And one day, you’ll take your last step. When? Where? I don’t know. But in Christ, as a Christian, it actually won’t be your last step. For you, too, will rise from death to life. You too, will ascend with Christ to His kingdom that - unlike Herod’s - has no end. A kingdom with no more hurt or pain or tears, just joy. Christmas joy. Easter joy. Joy that has no end.

So on this Fourth Day of Christmas, this First Sunday after Christmas, this day of Commemoration of the Holy Innocents, those baby boys in Bethlehem that lost their lives, your true love, your heavenly Father, gave to you not four calling birds, but a Son, calling you to His life. Calling you to what’s better. To a kingdom not of this world and that has no end. For this Jesus was born. For this He took His first steps. For this: for you.

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

“The Gift We Need”

Text: Hebrews 1:1-12; Isaiah 52:7-10; John 1:1-14

 

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

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

That’s what we heard in the reading from Hebrews this morning. And you know the names: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, and many more. But what you may not know is what God said at many times and in many ways through those prophets. Those books of the Old Testament are long and maybe a bit hard to understand. So let me tell you. Because basically, through them, God said two things . . .

First, that the people were making the same mistake as Adam and Eve. 

Now, what was that? That they were doing what they weren’t supposed to do? Yes . . . but I’m not sure that’s the best way to look at it; at what we call sin. Because that just makes God sound like the grumpy old man in heaven yelling at us to stay off His lawn. And if we don’t turn the sprinkler on, or for God, turn the fires of hell on, to get us. And who wants a God like that?

No, Adam and Eve’s real problem wasn’t just what they did . . . it was why. It was that they were looking for life where it cannot be found. That’s the real essence of sin, and something I think we can relate to and see in our world today. All of us, I think, want to live a good life, a full life, a happy life . . . but where do I find such a life? Where do I find fulfillment, meaning, purpose, value, love? We look for it in people, and then they let us down. We look for it in the things we have, we possess, and then they just wind up possessing us. We look for it in activities we pour ourselves into, trying to be successful (whatever that means), but we’re pouring ourselves out rather than being filled, and there’s always more to give, more that is demanded, until we’re empty and have no more to give. And the world then just moves on to someone else. And maybe we look for it in holidays, but then the calendar page turns and we’re back to the same old life and problems. 

And then where does that leave us? Adrift, lost, hurt, searching, afraid, alone. And dead. Maybe not on the outside, but inside.

You see, that’s the real essence - and danger - of sin that God spoke through the prophets. It’s not really how we usually think of it, as being good or bad, of whether or not we’re on God’s naughty or nice list. God told Adam and Eve this tree gives life, and I give it to you, that you may life and have it in abundance. And they said, well . . . uh . . . no thanks. We’ll eat from this tree instead. Because we heard this one will give us real life! So they did. And they died. And people have been dying ever since. We’re dying to live! But instead, many are just dying. 

So the prophets were pointing out this reality, a reality that the people kinda, sorta, already knew. That their search wasn’t working. Maybe your search isn’t working. The results just aren’t there.

But through the prophets, God was saying something else, too. The second thing God said at many times and in many ways, and that was that He was fulfilling the promise He made to Adam and Eve and to the world. He didn’t forget. He didn’t change his mind. He said He would fix this, and that day was coming. And with each passing year, each passing prophet, details emerged, more information was given, the pieces started coming together, until there would be no more prophets. Until . . . 

. . . in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.

Until the day God roared and shouted and raised His voice for all the world to hear! But it wasn’t the thunderous chorus of the angels that we heard about last night. It wasn’t a shot heard round the world, but the birth heard round the world. Not a day that will live in infamy, but the day when life - real life, pure life - entered the world again. To give life again - real life, pure life. The day when, as Isaiah said, God bared his holy arm - that is, when He rolled up His sleeves and got to work. The day when, as John put it, His Son, the Word, became flesh.

Nothing had ever, has ever, or will ever speak louder or clearer than that.

For who was this Word become flesh? This baby in the manger? The one at the center of our Nativity scenes? We’re so used to saying it that I think maybe we lose our appreciation for this, what happened here. But the words used in the verses from Hebrews we heard today are really quite astounding . . .

First, we are told, He is the heir of all things - that is, the one to whom everything belongs. There’s nothing that’s not His . . . except you, when you go to look for life in someone, something, some place else. So the one to whom everything belongs, the heir of all things, left it all - left everything! - for you. To come and provide and give life to you, that you be His and with Him forever. That you have not just a life that ends in death, but a death that ends in life. 

Then we heard He is the one through whom all things were created. The one bigger than all the universes put together - the extent of which we are still discovering and probably will never fully realize . . . The one to whom everything belongs because He created it all, that one, He is now a tiny baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. For you. 

The author of Hebrews then goes on to say that He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. Or as we say in the Creed, He is God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God. The one who is so gloriously, brilliantly bright that neither we nor the angels can stand to look at Him anymore than we can look at the sun . . . That one, He is now wrapped in human flesh so you can look at Him and behold Him and His love for you.

And then one more . . . He is the one who upholds the universe by the word of his power. Which means keeping the planets in their orbits, the stars in their place, feeding the animals and the birds, and protecting us . . . the Commander of the angel host . . . That one, He is now here, like this, for you. 

It’s pretty amazing, that God would do that for us. Give His Son like that for us. When what we deserved was not coal in our spiritual stocking but the burning coals of hell in our present and future! Instead, a Saviour was born. 

That’s why this birth speaks so loudly. 

Or as John so simply put it: 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.

Glory, grace, and truth. That’s what’s lying in the manger this day, not just a baby. The glory of God, that He would do this for us. The grace of God, giving us what we in no way deserved. And the truth of God, that every Word He speaks, every promise He makes, is and will be fulfilled. It is truth. That even after Adam and Eve threw away the life He gave them and chose death instead, and even after people ever since - including us! - have done the same . . . God didn’t, wouldn’t turn his back to us; He didn’t, wouldn’t change His mind. He came to us, was born for us, to save us. Or as we heard, to make purification for sins. 

Now we often call that purification forgiveness, and rightly so. Jesus died on the cross for us, to purify us from our sins with His forgiveness. Truth. But today, let’s think about it a little differently, and call it something else: resurrection. For after making purification for sins, he rose from death and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. What started in the manger, but didn’t stay there. But from manger to cross to the right hand of God, Jesus is doing the same thing: giving us life. A new life to live.

And like with Adam and Eve, He is telling us: here is life. Here is where you find it. IN ME. And here is where I am for you. Of the Father’s Love Begotten (LSB #384). Don’t look anywhere else. You will not, cannot find it anywhere else. Here is My love, My light, My life, My forgiveness, My grace - all here for you. Be washed, be cleansed, take eat, take drink, follow Me to life. I will not let you down. 

Which is exactly what we need. Not just life (though we do!), but someone who will not let us down, in a world filled with people who let us down, and people and things that die, and when everything in our lives goes awry. Someone who keeps His word, loves unceasingly and undeservedly, and is always here for us. So that we have hope. A hope that will last.

So while long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, today, something else is happening. In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, the baby in the manger, calling to you and calling you to hope and faith in Him. That you know the love God that surpasses all that we can imagine, and have His life that is the same: unimaginable. And with that, have the joy of the angels and the joy of which we sing this season. But not only for this season, but for a lifetime . . . and beyond. That’s what God wants you to have. For He’s not a grumpy old man, but a gift-giving God. Giving life, giving hope, giving joy, giving love. Giving His Son. For you.

For 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.

Maybe that wasn’t a gift that made it onto your list, but it is the exact gift we need. 

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

Sermon on the Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord

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Jesu Juva

“Tiny Baby. Mighty Saviour”

Text: Luke 2:1-20; Isaiah 9:2-7; Micah 5:2-5a; Titus 2:11-4; 1 John 4:7-16

 

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

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour.

That sounds like a contradiction. Even an absurdity. And it would be for any other baby than this one. But for this one it is true. As it had been prophesied, so it has been fulfilled. The almighty, all knowing, all glorious God, the immortal, invisible, and infinite God, now Immanuel, God with us, in human flesh and blood. That’s who this baby is . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour.

Normally when a baby is born, we are filled with hopes and dreams as to how this child will grow and what he or she will be and do. But with this child, we know. His name says it all. He is named Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. That’s what this baby will do . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour.

Tiny baby born to, well, tiny people. Not tiny in stature, but in status. A carpenter and a virgin, not a prophet or a priest or a king or a queen. Mention Joseph and Mary back in that day, and the answer probably would have been: Joseph and Mary who? Common names. Common people. But not for long. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour.

That was the message of the angels to the shepherds. First one angel with a message, then the whole heavenly host - which the book of Revelation numbers as myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands (Revelation 5:11) - far too many to count! All singing together, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Clearly, something significant, something important, something momentous and world-changing was happening. Tonight there was born a . . .

Tiny baby. Might Saviour.

But for such an occasion, why tell shepherds? Why bother to tell shepherds? Mere shepherds at or near the bottom of the social ladder. But here is comfort for us. For this child, this Saviour, isn’t just for the elites, the upper crust, the somebodies - Oh, He is for them, too! They’ll come later, the Magi. But first - first! -  the humble, the low, the blue collar workers. The shepherds. They’re the first to know, of a . . .

Tiny baby. Might Saviour.

And not just know, but go see! They’re not just notified, but invited. To see this . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour . . .

. . . who will be as humble as they! And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 

Which is a strange sign, is it not? Certainly not what people think of when they think of religious “signs.” Those are spectacular, out of the ordinary, unusual phenomena. Visions and dreams and miracles and weird, unexplainable events. Not babies. Not mangers. Not swaddling clothes. And especially after seeing such an amazing sight as the whole heavenly host, dazzling in their appearance and singing in their perfect million-part harmonies! . . . This shall be the sign? This? Really? Could it really be the sign is a . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour?

They go to Bethlehem. They go and see. But it doesn’t get anymore believable. They see . . . ordinary. They see . . . a tiny baby. What they don’t see is anything that looks like a Mighty Saviour. And yet He is. Which is another miracle of Christmas. That the shepherds believe this. Believe and return glorifying and praising God, making known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. Making known this truth, of a . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour.

And that is why you are here tonight. Because you’ve heard the message of the angels and the example of the shepherds. Because you’ve heard the prophecies of old and their perfect fulfillment in the fullness of time. Of a . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour.

Of a Mighty Saviour who comes to you this day in just as humble and small ways. For that is His way. Plain water, mighty saving. Ordinary words, mighty Gospel of forgiveness. Common bread and wine, mighty and extraordinary Body and Blood. But here, in these common, low places is Immanuel, God with us! Mighty to save the worst of sinners, the most common of people. The highest of the high and the lowest of the low. Whatever you are to the world, you are precious to Him. This . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour. 

Come to make you, as we heard, heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Heirs of His kingdom, but also heirs of His love. His love to abide in you for others. Love that maybe looks tiny, but really is mighty. Like Him. 

Which means that the love you give, the love you do, is mighty, too. Don’t underestimate that. Small acts of love can make a world of difference. That’s what the shepherds saw in the manger, with this . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour. They saw mighty Love.

And so it was on this night that the shepherds were the people who walked in darkness that have seen a great light. The great light of the angels, yes. But the even greater light wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger. And the greatest light of all - the love of God that would bring Him here to us. That would cause Him to come to us, as one of us, to die for us. This . . .

Tiny baby. Mighty Saviour.

So if you’ve never had some amazing religious experience that rocked your world . . .

If you’re not perfect, but, in fact, a poor miserable sinner . . .

If you don’t have everything figured out, and still have a lot of questions . . .

If you’re heavy laden with guilt or fear or shame . . .

If you’re hurt or hurting, mourning or grieving . . .

If you’re struggling with life, feeling downtrodden and weak . . .

If you feel overwhelmed and under appreciated . . .

If you think no one cares . . .

If that’s you, then this night is for you. Especially for you. For unto you is born this day your Saviour, Christ the Lord.

A Tiny baby. But your Mighty Saviour.

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