Preached on December 25, 2015
Introit: Psalm 98 & the Antiphon, Isaiah
9:6
St. John 1:1–18
In the name of the Father and of the + Son
and of the Holy Spirit –
Why do Christians care so much about the
Bible? Of course, we care about the general message of God’s love and
salvation. But why all the individual, varied, and sometimes strange, Bible
stories? Countless kings, some good, some bad. Obscure prophets and priests and
lots of hard names to pronounce. What’s it all got to do with me? Or you? For
example, why did we hear about Moses and the Tabernacle on Christmas morning?
The point of all the Bible
stories, the reason we care about them so much, is not primarily the example of
the people in the stories. Bible stories are not merely helpful lessons for training
children to behave. Many of the people in the stories, even the “good guys,”
are failures. No, the point is what God does. Again and again, story after
story, God is doing marvelous things
for people no better than you or me. He does not give up. He insists on doing
things His way and that means He does it all Himself. His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. Again
and again He has remembered His steadfast
love and faithfulness to the House of Israel.
And that is the point of the
Tabernacle story as well. Once again, God is doing a marvelous thing. Moses set
up a tent, the Tabernacle, a dwelling place, just as God had commanded Him, and
then God came and dwelt among His people. He pitched His tent, He “Tabernacled”
among them. The glory of the Lord entered the tent. The cloud and fire that led
Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness – that was the glorious presence
of the Lord God – and that glorious cloud of His presence filled the
Tabernacle. The cloud and fire showed that God was present, while it also hid
His face from the people. No sinner can see the full glory of God and live. But
God dwelt among them, and the blood of the sacrifices offered on the altar
shielded them from His holy presence. Indeed, He has done marvelous things.
But the Psalmist tells us to sing to the Lord a NEW song. What’s new
about our song? If our song is to be new shouldn’t that mean the Lord has done
a new marvelous thing? Christmas answers: Yes and Yes – Amen! Amen! A Savior is
born – Christ the Lord! Oh sing to the
Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things! The very God, eternally
begotten Son of the Father, the Word,
became flesh and dwelt among us. He once dwelt among His people in fire and
cloud, but now He dwells in the very stuff of humanity. The Highest One has a
body and soul. The Creator is joined to His creation. His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. And
this is not a metaphor – the Word now has a physical arm and hand. He could
reach out and close His chubby infant fist around His Mother’s finger. And the
glory of the Lord, once veiled with cloud, was seen clearly in a manger. Angels
sang this glory to humble shepherds. And the face that no sinner could see and
live, was peeping out of the swaddling clothes.
The
Word became flesh and pitched
His tent, “Tabernacled” among us – dwelling
not in a tent of cloth or Temple of stone, but in a tent of human flesh and
blood, descended from Adam and Eve, related to us all. The Holy God, the
consuming fire, came into our flesh in order to take away sin, and not destroy
us. Again I say, His right hand and His
holy arm have worked salvation for Him. His arms were stretched out on the
wood of the cross. His hands were pierced with the nails. His blood flowed. He
offered Himself – the Word made flesh – as the sacrifice for sin. The Holy God
in our flesh makes us sinners holy. He
has remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness. Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things.
The new song is not something
you have to think up on the spot. The new song is the song about the new things
God has done. The new song is the Song of Christ – the Song of the One who
makes all things new. Many of our Christmas songs are quite old. Our Hymn of
the Day is possibly the oldest song still sung by the Church today, at least 1,600
years old! But all these songs are new – always new – because they sing of
Christ.
And what’s all this got to do
with me? What does this one more Bible story mean for us? Maybe I’ve already
hinted at it, but let’s say it again: The Prophet Isaiah sings it to us in our
Introit antiphon, For to US a child is
born, to US a son is given. The Christmas angels on Bethlehem’s field tell
you: “For unto YOU is born this day in
the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The Christ Child is
yours. He came for you. The Lord does not give up. He works salvation by
Himself for your benefit. For to US a
child is born, to US a son is given, that WE may be HIS.
And all those obscure Bible
stories, all those old people and places with strange names – they are yours
too. Those stories are your stories, because God is with you. That means He
gave you a home with Abraham. He brought you with Israel through the Red Sea. He
raised you up to reign with David. And maybe we would’ve liked to actually see
some of those old marvelous things. But really, seeing them wouldn’t have done
you much good. No plagues can give you the justice you want. No Red Sea Crossing
can drown your loneliness. No ark can save you from your tears. No miraculous
manna or quail can give you security or fulfillment in this life. No pillar of
cloud and fire can guide you to peace with your relatives or to healing for all
the hurtful words. Seeing those marvelous things couldn’t help.
But for all your sin and grief
and pain, the Lord does new marvelous things. He baptizes you, washing away
your sin, giving you His name and Spirit, His death and resurrection, making
you His own. He absolves you – He speaks to you with human lips, forgiving all
your selfish acts, your rash words, your unspeakable thoughts. He feeds you with
His very own body and blood – making you one with Him and nourishing you for
life everlasting. All these new marvelous things are for you because the Word
became flesh. The Son is yours. The Son is born and given for you and for all. He
was born for shepherds and kings, farmers and bankers, police, Congressmen,
teachers, and salesmen. He was born for the good and the bad, for the violent
and the peaceful, for the faithful and the not-so-faithful. This Son is given
for widows and grieving loved ones, for family members fighting with each
other, for the sinner who doesn’t think he can be forgiven. This Son is born
and given for all and for you.
The Word made flesh dwells among
us. Not just on Christmas Day but every day with His Word and Spirit. His glory
was once seen in a little stable in little Bethlehem. But here in this little
church His glory is still seen – this church is your Bethlehem. The pulpit is
where you hear the message of the angels. This altar is both the Manger and the
Cross, the place of His holy presence and His life-giving sacrifice. The very
same holy flesh and blood that lay in the animals’ feed trough is given here for
your holy food. Every time you receive the Lord’s Supper, you get Christmas. He
has done it all for you. The Word became
flesh and dwells still among us,
and in His Word and Holy Supper we still see His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and
truth. Oh sing to the Lord a new
song, for He has done marvelous things! For
to us a child is born, to us a son is given.
Merry Christmas!
In the Holy + Name of Jesus –
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Charlotte, IA
