The Nativity of Our Lord - Christmas Eve

St. Luke 2:1–7

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

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. At least, all the civilized world, all the territory surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, held by the power of the Roman legions, and ruled over by the first Emperor of Rome: Caesar Augustus. Basically his name means “Magnificent King,” and he thought he would brag a bit about how big his dominion was. So, he sent out a decree that everyone should be registered. He wanted to count heads. He wanted to learn just how big his kingdom was and how best to control it. 

But Caesar was a bit like Caiaphas, who would be high priest later when Jesus was arrested and crucified, who would prophesy, without knowing it, that it is better that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish (John 11:50). So also, Caesar Augustus, without knowing it, was really fulfilling the Scriptures, as all things must. God is not only at work at the specific, obvious moments described in the Bible. God is always at work, hidden but directing the course of human history. Caesar didn’t know it, but he was merely playing the part that God had for him in the great drama known as the salvation story.

So, when Caesar’s officials went out and recorded all the people of the known world, they eventually recorded something like this entry: Registered three: Joseph, son of Heli of Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah, betrothed to Mary; one child—Jesus. There inscribed in ink, on the list with all the other men, women, and children, was the name given to a baby boy by Joseph, who had been directed by an angel—the name, Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21).

Even in infancy, the Christ was obeying His true Father and was reconciling the world in His newly assumed flesh. There on Caesar’s list, the Son of God was numbered with the children of Israel, numbered with the descendants of Adam and Eve—the perfect Son of God numbered with the transgressors. This is the Good News of Christmas. Our God became a Man—He was numbered as one of us. And it IS good news because if God is Man, then Man cannot be killed. Man cannot be lost. Man cannot be left to decay and to the destruction of death and hell. If God is Man then God must love Man, and Man must be saved as he is loved by God. If God is Man, then there is hope for us all.

And even more glorious than Him being numbered with the transgressors is that the transgressors are numbered with Him who knew no sin. Jesus became like us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Though Jesus was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Caesar thought he was numbering his subjects, but really, the heavenly Father was numbering His children. Caesar thought he would bring glory to himself and to his Empire (and from a human perspective, the names of those Judean peasants have mostly been lost to the dustbin of history, while the names of illustrious Caesar and Rome live on). But at least three of the names of those Judean peasants have been preserved for the ages: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, because in truth, God has brought His glory to all people.

Your name is also recorded, not on Caesar’s list, but in the Lamb’s Book of Life. You that are baptized in His name and cling to Christ by faith, you are registered among the citizens of heaven. The Holy Spirit has made you a dwelling place for God. The Son has counted you as His brothers and sisters. And Christ’s Father is your Father.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Most of this is from Rev. Mark Lovett, Christmas Eve 2017.

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Introit for Rorate Coeli

(Psalm 19:1, 4–6; Antiphon: Isaiah 45:8a)

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

Our Introit this morning is full of nature metaphors—beautiful descriptions of clouds raining down, the earth bearing fruit, the glorious stars and the magnificent sun. But what does it all mean? And does it have anything to do with Jesus? Absolutely.

The Introit verses are from Psalm 19—a psalm not only about creation but also about the Word of God. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. The stars and planets are speaking to us. The things of creation echo the very words of God spoken to bring them into existence. When you see a star, you see God’s words, “Let there be stars.” When you see a tree, you see God’s words, “Let there be trees.”

But the main figure of this Psalm is the sun: In the heavens God has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. The sun does the Creator’s bidding. Each morning, it’s as if the sun leaves its bedroom and rouses the world with the joy of a new husband, like an athlete running his race. The sun goes the way God has directed it and its light and heat are spread over the entire earth.

But then in the Psalm, the great light of the sun gives way to that greater light, the Law of the Lord—the Word of God. The symbol gives way to the reality. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether (Ps. 19:7–9). We don’t have these verse in our Introit, but they are the interpretation of the metaphor that was given with the heavens and the sun. The Word of God is the true voice that goes out through all the earth.

And as New Testament Christians, we know that the Word is not only the Holy Scriptures. First and foremost, the Word of God is the Word made flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ. And He is the true Sun of righteousness. The womb of the Virgin Mary was His chamber, His throne room, and He came out like a bridegroom, like ours, the Church’s Bridegroom. He came out like a strong man, running His course with joy all the way to the cross and out of the grave. So, when you see the sun come up and make its grand procession across the sky, be reminded of your Savior, who brings His light to all. Be reminded of your Savior’s Word which is preached to all.

The beauty of creation reflects or echoes God’s saving work. The sun and the heavens give us reminders of our Lord and what He has done for us. And if the metaphor is good in Psalm 19, it’s good in Isaiah 45 too. That’s where our Introit antiphon comes from: Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout. This is a planting metaphor. Just as the clouds in the heavens give rain, so also God showers His grace and mercy. And just as the earth, when it’s watered, sprouts and bears fruit, so also when God forgives our sins we grow and bear the fruit of holy lives and praise to His glory.

This metaphor could be used to describe salvation at any time, but the Church in her wisdom chose this verse for the Sunday before Christmas because it paints a vivid picture of the event we are about to celebrate. The heavens rain down righteousness. That is, the eternal Son of the Father, for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And salvation sprouts up from the earth and bears fruit. That is, the Son of God was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man. Our Lord Jesus Christ is both from heaven and from earth, raining down and sprouting up. He is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true Man, born of the Virgin Mary. He unites God and Man, heaven and earth, in His person.

And that means He is also our Substitute. Our Lord became a man born of woman, born under the Law, like you and me (Gal. 4:4). He lived, died and rose in our place so that we might be made righteous and saved in Him. To continue with the planting metaphor, the Seed of salvation was planted and watered when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear the Savior. So then, He germinated for nine months in the earth, in the womb of a sinful woman saved by grace. Until the time came and the Seed sprouted at His birth. And then finally bore fruit of righteousness and salvation at His death and resurrection.

But isn’t it a bit strange that we use a planting metaphor in the middle of winter? Here we are at the darkest time of the year, when everything is cold and dead. Nothing is sprouting up right now. The Christians of northern Europe loved the strangeness of this and they put it in their Christmas carols. One of the most famous being our closing hymn today, Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming. It’s based on the vision of Isaiah, where the Messiah is likened to a newly sprouted plant: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit (Is. 11:1). Jesse was the father of King David, the ancestor of all the kings of Judah, and yet this line of kings failed to be faithful to God, and so it was hacked down, until nothing was left but a worthless stump. And yet, God did not forget His promise. From the line of Jesse and David, King Messiah would come. From the dead, dried up stump, would sprout a beautiful rose.

That’s what the writer of this Christmas carol is expressing:

            Lo, how a rose e’er blooming

                        From tender stem hath sprung!

                        Of Jesse’s lineage coming

                        As prophets long have sung,

                        It came a flow’ret bright,

                        Amid the cold of winter, 

                        When half-spent was the night.

            Isaiah ‘twas foretold it,

                        The rose I have in mind;

                        With Mary we behold it,

                        The virgin mother kind.

                        To show God’s love aright,

                        She bore to us a Savior,

                        When half-spent was the night (LSB 359:1–2).         

Amid the cold and darkness of dead winter, amid the cold and darkness of sin and death… Out of the old stump, out of the womb of a lowly virgin… A Savior came. The heavens rained down righteousness. The earth received it and gave birth to salvation.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has been born—He is already come. Yet, we delight to mark and celebrate His birth each year. Because we are surrounded by cold and darkness, we are filled with sin and sadness, we are attacked by death and the devil. So, once again, we make this Christmastime our prayer to the Lord: that He would rain down His righteousness upon us and forgive all our sins. That we would believe the Word proclaimed by John the Baptist, who confessed the Christ and still points us to the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. We pray that we would always receive the refreshing shower of God’s grace rained upon us in Baptism. And we pray that the earth of our hearts would sprout forth with new life, and bear fruit for our good, for the good of our neighbors, and for God’s glory.

Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout.

Come quickly + Lord Jesus. Amen.

Third Wednesday in Advent

Advent Banners: Christ’s Coming in the Means of Grace

Isaiah 40:1–8

John 6:35, 41–58, 66–69

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

In our midweek series so far, we’ve covered the first set of Advent banners (in the back) which depict Christ’s first coming in the flesh, in humility: the manger and the star, the palm branch and the cross. And we’ve covered the final set of banners (in the front) which depict Christ’s final coming in power and glory on the Last Day: the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, the crown of God’s kingdom, and the sheaf of wheat symbolizing the harvest of believers on Judgment Day. And now we come to the middle set of banners which depict Christ’s coming to us now in the Means of Grace. The Means of Grace are the Word and Sacraments, so we see the Bible, and also the chalice and the bread of the Lord’s Supper. I’ve saved these banners for tonight because they give us the rose (or pink) color for the third week in Advent when we light the rose candle on the Advent wreath.

But there’s another reason to save these banners for the end of our series. Advent is really all about the certainty of faith. All three comings of Christ are about certainty. In His first coming, Jesus taught and performed miracles, suffered, died, and rose again for you, so that you know salvation is not your own doing. As for His final coming, He is for sure coming again and the marks of His passion on His glorified body prove that nothing has changed—the Jesus who died and rose for you is the same Jesus who will come again. And in His Means of Grace coming we get that certainty right now, for our present day and our present sins, worries, and troubles.

The Means of Grace are all about certainty. So instead of running in circles and saying, “I know I believe because I believe…” We can say, “I know I believe in Jesus because my head has had water poured on it with the Name of God. People witnessed it. I am a child of God… I know I believe in Jesus because my ears have heard the Word of absolution, forgiveness spoken by the pastor as from God Himself. My sin is covered… I know I believe in Jesus because my lips have tasted the bread and wine given with the Words of Jesus. I ate and drank the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all my sins. I have the life of God.”

Whenever our sins trouble us, when the devil attacks us, when death frightens us, the Means of Grace give us the certainty of salvation. If we are left to ourselves to keep our faith going on our own steam, we are like hamsters on a wheel, going nowhere fast, and eventually we tire out and give up. We need the objective, external Word, the gift given from outside ourselves. We go to the places where God is giving out His gifts, the Means by which He delivers His grace to us—that’s the Word and the Sacraments.

The Word of the Lord is front and center in the reading from Isaiah. God sends His minister the prophet to comfort His people by speaking to them. He doesn’t comfort them by holding their hands or by “just being there.” He comforts them with a specific message—a declaration of forgiveness and peace. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. And this message will not expire. God will not get tired of being merciful or change His mind about forgiveness. Nothing else in this life lasts. Nothing else in this world can create faith or forgive sins or bring peace to the wounded conscience. Everything we do in this life comes to an end. No matter how good it is it will wither and fade. But the Word of our God will stand forever. There’s certainty for you.

We also heard about the Means of Grace in our reading from John 6. When Jesus fed the crowds in the wilderness, they loved the earthly bread that filled their bellies and they wanted more of it. They wanted it to be like it was for their ancestors in the wilderness with Moses when God gave manna from heaven. But Jesus has something else in mind, something better. Jesus wants to give us the true food that will nourish our spiritual life. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they still died. Here is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” Jesus Himself is the true and living Manna from Heaven. His Word is our food. His flesh and blood are our meat and drink.

Now, when Jesus talks about eating and drinking His flesh and blood He is not only talking about the Lord’s Supper, but about all the Means of Grace. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life… I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” This eating and drinking is what we do every time we receive Jesus in faith: when we read and hear His Word, when we listen to a sermon or the Absolution, when we trust in our Baptism. We are spiritually eating and drinking Jesus’ flesh and blood. He Himself is supplying our new life.

And this spiritual eating is also what we do even while we do the physical eating of the Lord’s Supper. With our mouths we bodily eat and drink not only bread and wine but also Jesus’ body and blood. And with faith, we receive this food for our spiritual benefit—the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But eating Jesus’ body and blood with your mouth in the Supper, without faith, does you no good—in fact it is harmful to you because you are despising the body and blood of Christ. That’s why Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” He is talking about faith here, and without faith, you have no life. But, Jesus goes on, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

So, with faith in Jesus, when you hear His Word, when you are absolved, when you eat His body and drink His blood in the Lord’s Supper, then you are receiving His very own life. “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink,” said Jesus, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” Jesus comes to us now in the Means of Grace: in Baptism, in the Bible, in the Absolution, in preaching, in the Lord’s Supper, in Christians sharing His forgiveness. In all of these wonderfully different ways, Jesus is coming to us and feeding us so that we might share in His divine life. As we sang in our theme hymn:

Now He gently leads us;

With Himself He feeds us

Precious food from heaven,

Pledge of peace here given,

Manna that will nourish

Souls that they may flourish (LSB 333:2)

The Means of Grace is how Jesus keeps our faith alive, and how He makes us certain of our salvation, so that we don’t tire, give up, and die, even while we wait for His coming in glory to save us forever. The Means of Grace give us certainty for our faith in Christ’s righteousness, that He covers all our sin and makes us acceptable in God’s sight. They give us the certainty of God’s love for us which then frees us and enables and strengthens us to love others. And the Means of Grace give us sure and certain hope for Christ’s coming again—an expectation that will not be disappointed.

But one last thing about our banners: the Means of Grace are on the rose background. The third week of Advent is a lightening of this more penitential season. The traditional color for Advent is violet, and rose is a lightening of that color—you take all the black and blue out of it. In some churches, on this past Sunday, they even put rose paraments on the altar and rose vestments on the pastor. It symbolizes a lightening of the more somber Advent mood. It’s a little preview of Christmas, and so it’s an occasion for rejoicing, as the Introit bid us do: Rejoice in the Lord always! The Lord is at hand.

The wonderful thing about this third week and this rose candle is that it reminds us there is Joy in Advent, even when we are a little more focused on repenting for our sins. In a similar way, there is always joy in the Means of Grace. Whenever and wherever the Means of Grace are given there is cause for joy. Just as the rose candle brings a little of Christmas’ joy into Advent, so also, the Means of Grace bring joy to every Sunday. Every Sunday is a little Christmas. Every Sunday our Lord Jesus, the Word Incarnate, the Word made Flesh, is heard speaking in the Scripture, in the preaching, and in Absolution, and Jesus, the Word Incarnate, the Word made Flesh, who was once laid into a manger, is also found and adored at the manger that is our altar in the Lord’s Supper.

Christ has come. He will come. And He comes to us now. Happy Advent!

Come quickly + Lord Jesus. Amen.