First Sunday after Christmas

St. Luke 2:22–40

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

One little Christmas symbol that’s not too flashy, but you see it just about everywhere, is holly. Those rich green leaves and bright red berries embellish everything from plates to greeting cards to fireplace mantles. Maybe you noticed, it adorns the cross on one of our new Christmas banners. But did you know the meaning behind holly as a Christmas symbol? For people in England and Germany at this time of year, the green leaves, like other evergreens, were a reminder of eternal life. The prickly leaves were also reminiscent of the crown of thorns. And the red berries that ripened in late fall or early winter, and were still there at Christmastime, served as a symbol for Christ’s blood. A little English Christmas Carol, called The Holly and the Ivy, contemplates the plant’s connection to the festival:

The holly bears a berry,

As red as any blood,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ 

To do poor sinners good…

The holly bears a prickle,

As sharp as any thorn,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

On Christmas day in the morn…

The holly bears a bark,

            As bitter as any gall,

            And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

            For to redeem us all… (Christmas Poems, p.208–9).

Maybe you thought the cross adorned with holly was just a pretty decoration. But there’s more to it. Maybe you just like the sweet baby Jesus, and don’t want to think of the Man and His cross. But the holly is a reminder of who this Child is and what He was born for. The cross is there, even at Christmas.

We love old Simeon’s Song, the Nunc Dimittis, and well we should. Not only because we sing it after receiving our Lord’s body and blood and at the deathbeds of our loved ones, but also because like Zechariah’s song, the Benedictus, and Mary’s song, the Magnificat, and the Christmas angels’ song, the Gloria in Excelsis, Simeon’s song is also a promise of salvation in the holy Child born in Bethlehem. But with such a beautiful song of salvation, we might be surprised to hear old Simeon’s prophecy following his song. I bet the new parents were surprised when he told Mary what was in store for her Son and for her: opposition, conflict, suffering, and death. 

But Christmas is nothing if not surprising. God becomes a Man! Who would have dreamed such a thing? And then the signs that accompany Jesus are even more surprising. The first sign to recognize Jesus was given by the angels to the Bethlehem shepherds: This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger (Luke 2:12)—a sign of humility if ever there was one. Not the usual sign for a newborn King. But then the second sign is even stranger, given by Simeon to Mary: Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed. Not so much a sign of humility, but a sign of judgment, division, and opposition.

When this Child is grown and begins His public ministry—teaching, preaching, rebuking sins and forgiving sins—He does not meet human expectations. He is not the kind of Savior or King that sinful men really want. He is too demanding and yet He does not fix the world’s troubles. He is too forgiving and yet He will not let you ignore Him (to ignore Him is to reject Him and that means you will be judged guilty by Him). He is praised and worshiped, He is spoken against and lied about. He attracts some and repels others. He causes some to rejoice and He causes others to grind their teeth. 

This Child of Mary, the Savior, Christ the Lord, He causes division. He causes some to fall and some to rise, in Israel and in the whole world. Some people will take offense at Him—they are offended by His Words, they are unimpressed by His work, and they are scandalized by His death. He causes them to stumble and they fall. But some people will love Him—they hang on His every Word, they marvel at His work, and they love His death. He causes them to rise, in faith now and in the body on the Last Day. And this is the chief reason He was sent into the world. The reason this Child was born was to be a Light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of God’s people Israel.

So, Jesus will bring division, some rejecting Him and falling, others trusting in Him and rising. And this division does not come without pain. Simeon tells the new mother that her Son will be a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. The sword that pierces Mary’s soul is certainly the pain this blessed mother will suffer. Imagine the pain of a mother when she sees her Son spoken against, mocked, and rejected. Then there’s also the pain when He says uncomfortable things, things sinners don’t want to hear, and so she, even His loving mother, is tempted to reject Him. And finally, the pain, the tears, the stab of anguish that feels like it will never end, as she sees Him whipped, crucified, and laid into a tomb. Think of how terrifying it must’ve been to love your Child, and yet know that He’s not completely yours. She won’t be able to protect Him. He came to do the will of His Father in heaven.

But just as Jesus does not belong only to Mary, Mary also represents something bigger than herself. She is a representative of Israel, the people from whom the Savior was to come. And so also, the sword that pierced Mary’s soul is also the sword that pierces Israel and divides the people. The prophet Isaiah saw what the Lord planned for His Servant, the Messiah: It is too light a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make You as a light for the nations, that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth (Is. 49:6). And Simeon echoed that in his song. But Isaiah also proclaimed these words of the promised Savior: He made My mouth like a sharp sword (Is. 49:2). Or as we heard today, He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked (Is. 11:4). And so, Simeon reflected that in his pronouncement.

All of this predicts what Jesus Himself said later about the sword He brings to Israel: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matthew 10:34–39). 

The Christmas angels sang “peace on earth,” and they were right. Jesus brings peace to earth from heaven by reconciling us back to God by His blood that forgives our sins. But Jesus is also a divider. He brings a sword and He even divides families. Even Mary and the other blood relatives would have to decide whether they would receive the Savior who had come to bring them God’s peace, or would they rebel against Him and deny His Word. Even Mary had to become a part of her Son’s family. She had to become one of the heavenly Father’s children, the same way everyone else is—by faith in her Son’s Word and in His atoning death. The death of Jesus was the greatest of God’s signs, far greater than the swaddling clothes and manger. The cross of Jesus makes it clear who this Child is and what He came to do. And so His preaching and His death and resurrection will be the center of dispute for the rest of history. You can’t get over or get around Jesus’ Word and Jesus’ cross. And how you take that, determines whether you fall or rise.

That divides people. It divided Israel, and it still divides families today. No one is untouched by this sad reality. A sword pierces our souls also. Christmas brings the cross, and so Christmas brings this sword too. People we love don’t come to church, or things get awkward when discussion turns to religion. No one has it easy with this, and we’ve all thought it would be better if we could just ignore these divisions and pretend like everything is fine. But you’re a Christian, so you can’t. The love of God compels you to care. So pray for your divided loved ones. Be good to them. And confess Christ. In words and deeds, show the new life you have in your Savior. Yes, invite them to church. And then, be there for them, ready, when they need comfort and hope. You are a Christian, so you can share what no one else can give.

And what’s more, dear Christian, the pain and suffering you feel from this piercing sword is just preparing you for the glory that’s coming. The suffering and joy, the cross and crown are joined together for our Lord Jesus Christ, and so they are also joined together for His followers. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life (Mark 10:29–31). Suffer for the sake of Jesus and for the sake of His Gospel, and you will receive a new family now in this time, the holy Church, the family of God. And although being a member of this family will bring with it persecution and pain, you will receive eternal life on the Last Day. So, what kind of suffering can possibly compare with or outweigh the joy of God’s truth and the glory of salvation? None. Be faithful unto death, said Jesus, and I will give you the crown of life, (Rev. 2:10). By suffering as a Christian, you bear the mark of Jesus. So, surely you belong to Him.

Christmas does bring a sword. Like the holly, it has a prickle that can cause pain and sadness. Jesus and His cross bring division: some fall and some rise. But Christmas also gives us the message of forgiveness, peace, and hope. Christmas points us to the cross and resurrection of Jesus where we find these gifts from God. So, when you see the holly, be reminded of your Savior’s great love for you:

        The holly bears a berry,

As red as any blood,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ 

To do poor sinners good.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Nativity of Our Lord - Christmas Day

Micah 5:2–5

St. John 1:1–18

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

You can’t get much bigger, much grander than the first chapter of John’s Gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Not only does that imitate the opening line of Genesis—in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but John 1 goes back even further, beyond the beginning of creation and time, to when there was only God and nothing else, only the three eternal Persons in one God: the Father, the Spirit, and the Word—the Father’s eternally begotten Son. Then starting from the Trinity, from that grandest of beginnings, then John comes to creation. The Word was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

            This is a truly epic story, on a higher level than any human myth—beyond the epic poems of Homer, or Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy, or any movie that might begin, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” We’re dealing with heavy stuff here: Life itself (capital L), the Life who makes all other things live. And the uncreated Light (capital L again), the Light who gives all other light meaning, the Light who cannot be grasped or understood or ever put out. This Word, this Life, this Light, is the Son of the Father, long before He was ever known by the name Jesus.

John’s Gospel takes us soaring higher than the loftiest of man’s philosophies. It strains our little imaginations to get such a bird’s eye view of the universe. John 1 gets about as close as we can get to God’s perspective. And so we hear in this first chapter about Christmas on a cosmic scale: the Word who is God from eternity, the Word who brought all things into being, that 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. This is the biggest, most epic of stories.

But on the other hand, we heard from the prophet Micah, and we got a story with one of the smallest settings. The cosmic story of Christmas zooms in from the perspective of God and the universe down to the little town of Bethlehem. Where John 1 might’ve left us a bit breathless and dizzy, in Bethlehem, everything gets simple and real, like dirt under the fingernails. Bethlehem—the name means, House of Bread. Not House of pastry or House of fine wines or House of exotic spices. House of Bread—can you get more ordinary than that?

Bethlehem, in the region of Ephrathah, humdrum, workaday, stinking with shepherds and dung, too little to be among the clans of Judah. But it’s the city of David, right? That’s got to count for something. It’s David’s hometown, but not his capital. He didn’t stay there when he became king. City of Jesse, is more like it—the place where his son David lived when he was still only a little shepherd boy.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me One who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Ancient days? Try, “He is the One from before the ancient days began.” Ordinary, common, plain, little town of Bethlehem. Even with Micah’s prophecy, I don’t think they were really expecting it when the new King was born and laid in one of their mangers. The Word came there. The eternal Son of the Father, the Maker of the Cosmos, the Life, the Light, He showed up in little Bethlehem.

Why? We dare to ask. It boggles the human mind. But the answer is not so hard to grasp as the question. Because He loves us. He chose to be with us, one with us—common, ordinary humanity, with all our stink, with all our sin. He took us on as we are, not perfect, not grand, not even very nice or good. His love brought Him down to earth, down to our lowly level, even down into the lowliness of our sin and death. His love brought Him down so that His love could bring us up. He became as we are, so that we might become as He is. 

This is the great cosmic Christmas exchange. The whole universe was turned upside-down at Bethlehem: we gifted Him our sin, our filth, our doom, and He gifted us with His Life, His Light, Himself. As one of our Lutheran poets put it:

Thou Christian heart,

Whoe’er thou art,

Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!

For God’s own Child,

In mercy mild,

Joins thee to Him;

How greatly God must love thee! (LSB 372:4)

And not only does He love you, not only is He with you, but also He is FOR you. He’s on your side. * The Word became flesh, and the Word endures forever. No one can snatch the Word made flesh from us. Nothing can steal the joy we have in the Word made flesh. 

In that sense, Christmas is eternal. Long after the decorations are taken down and the music is turned off and the crowds at the mall are gone, the Word they still shall let remain. This world may not care for it. They may even hate it. They may think as little about it as a little, nothing, one-stop-sign town like Bethlehem. But none of that matters. Because He is the Word that endures forever. He is that blessed Word that created all that is. He is that blessed Word that came to His own, and His own people did not receive him. Still, He came to save this miserable human race. He is that blessed Word made flesh, sent from God to reconcile us back by His own blood and to speak us back into fellowship with Him. * And so, to all who did receive this Word made flesh, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but born of God. In your Baptism, you were made a part of this grand, epic story. And nothing can change that.

And finally, this all-creating, cosmically powerful Word that was born a man in Bethlehem, He brings a little Bethlehem to you. He has built His Bethlehem, His House of Bread right here. And it’s a beautiful church. But as beautiful as it is, it’s still a bit ordinary. It’s a country church, by no means the greatest or grandest in the world or in the Missouri Synod for that matter. Nevertheless, this is Bethlehem for you here: a real House of Bread, where you eat and drink, not common food for common earthly life, but in this Bethlehem, you eat and drink the eternal Word’s very body and blood. So, you are given His very Life and Light.

What an epic Christmas story! And it’s not “once upon a time…” It’s happening right now. Word of the Father THERE (at the altar) in flesh appearing! O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Merry Christmas!

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

*…* Section based on Rev. Jason Braaten (Christmas 2017)

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.

Third Sunday in Advent

St. Matthew 11:2–11

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

Rejoice in the Lord always! The Lord is at hand. (Introit: Phil. 4:4–5)

But John the Baptist is not rejoicing. He is in prison.Very rarely do people rejoice in prison.Nor people who are lonely or sick, struggling with depression or missing a loved one.

Well, maybe they need a dose of Christmas cheer? Maybe not. All the glitter and jingly bells, all that gets tossed in with the holly and jolly and sugar-plum fairy—sometimes it can all ring just a bit hollow. Have you ever heard the singer telling you to “have yourself a merry little Christmas,” and thought, “Maybe I can’t”? Maybe you’re too tired, or too sad, or the people you want to be with are too far away—far away in heaven is one difficult pain, far away on earth is another one but not so difficult, and far away in heart because of some family fight is much worse. For all of its promises to be “the most wonderful time of the year,” I’m sure most of us have been disappointed by Christmas at least once or twice. The expectations are so high, the nostalgia is so strong, the festivities don’t quite satisfy us the way we think they should. Cherished heirlooms break, toys aren’t as amazing as they seem in the commercial, people die and leave big empty wholes in our lives, and even memories dim and fade over time.

The reason the Christmas holiday can sometimes let us down is because nothing in this life lasts forever. It’s not really meant to, and everything in this life and earth, in one sense or another, finds its way to a grave. And what makes this even worse is when we put our faith and hope in these temporary things, when we look for lasting joy in material goods or in the human love of family and friends. By focusing all our faith, hope, and joy on the good things of this life, we turn them into idols, and we make for ourselves little prisons within our hearts. We think and hope that what cannot last will somehow make us feel better and so we chase after it. But whatever it is, if it’s not the living God, then it only leads us deeper and deeper into our own hearts, into darkness, into death. By loving and trusting our idols we trap ourselves in the darkness of sin and despair.

This is what our Collect today recognizes: the darkened hearts of our self-made prisons. By sin and disregard for God, we’ve locked ourselves in, thrown away the key, and blown out the light. So, our Collect also corrects us, and turns us to the one true Light, the only One who can save us from sin and sadness, disappointment and death—really, the only One who can save us from ourselves: Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation.

It seems as though John was not rejoicing in prison, but perhaps he prayed something similar to our Collect. He was in desperate need, and so he went to the very best place for an answer. He went to God’s Word looking for faith, hope and joy. “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” he asked through his followers. And he got his answer from the preaching of the prophets and from the Word of God Incarnate Himself. Jesus answered, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”

            Yes, Jesus was and is and will always be the One who is to come. We don’t need to look for another. He came into our flesh so that He, who is Joy Itself, can take away our sorrow. He was born for a life of disappointment and rejection, so that He, who is the Hope of all, can give to us in our despair the brightest of futures. He came to His cross and suffered the wrath of God but with perfect trust in His Father, so that He, who is Faithfulness and Righteousness personified, can redeem sinners and defeat death itself. He came out of His tomb, so that He, who is Life Itself, can give that very life as a gift to all who trust and call upon His name.

John the Baptist got his answer even though he was still in prison, because he had His Jesus, the Savior who gives the gifts of faith, hope, and joy. You have that answer too. God’s Word gives it to you, even now. The answer comes in what you hear and see in the Means of Grace. Our Lord breaks through your little dark prison and sheds the light of His Word in Your heart. This is His gracious visitation.

So, if you want a Christmas that won’t disappoint or let you down, then come to church on Christmas Day. If you can come here, but instead choose to stay home and unwrap presents, then you are only digging in deeper to that dark prison of the heart. You are teaching yourself and your children that the presents and food, the “family time”, that’s what really matters, that’s the answer. You’re saying God isn’t the One who can save you from sadness or darkness or death. Presents and food with family are wonderful, in fact, there’s not much better in this life. But there is something better that comes from outside this life and brings the very best of eternity for you. Your God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, comes to you, here in this life.

So, open some presents before church, and open more after! But however you do it, come to open up the greatest present of all—the Lord Himself. Hear His Word that gives peace for your troubled soul and comfort for your worried mind. Receive His body and blood, which was once laid into an animal’s feed trough for a bed, but is now laid into your mouth and into your heart so that He might dwell with you and you with Him. There’s the answer to the prayer in our Collect. The Word and the Sacrament will enlighten your dark heart. That will give the faith, the hope, and the joy you need.

Even as we come to our Lord’s House to receive Him and His gifts, He is also the One who is to come so that He might stay with us now and forever. He graciously visits us in His Word and Sacrament, today, and next Sunday, and Christmas Day. And in this way, He makes us ready for His coming in all His glory one day soon.

Rejoice! The Lord is at hand!

Come quickly + Lord Jesus. Amen.

Second Wednesday in Advent

Advent Banners – Christ’s Final Coming

Malachi 4:1–6

Revelation 1:1–8

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

We learned last week that Advent means “coming.” We also learned, even as we sang in the opening hymn (LSB 333), that there are basically three times or ways that Christ comes. These three Advents are depicted in our Advent banners.

First, in the back, two banners that show Christ’s first advent—His coming in the flesh and in humility. The manger and the star, the cross and palm branch direct our minds and hearts to the incarnation of the Son of God and to His state of humiliation when He suffered here on earth and finally died. This is also what we will soon celebrate at Christmas. Second, in the middle, two banners that show Christ’s current coming in the Means of Grace. But we’re going to skip over those tonight and come back to them next week. So, third, up in front, we have two banners that depict Christ’s final coming in glory. This is what we call the End Times or the Last Day or Judgment Day. This is what we confess when we say in the Creed, He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end… And I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

So, on the one banner we see Christ coming on the clouds. This is how His return is described again and again in Scripture. We heard tonight in Revelation 1: Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him (v.7). As I said last week, the reason blue can be a color for Advent is because we will see our Lord coming in the sky. Jesus Himself describes His return in this way in Matthew 24: Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (v.30). Or as we also heard from Jesus in the Gospel this past Sunday, Luke 21: The powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Although some people will be afraid on the Last Day, some will mourn and wail when they see Jesus coming on the clouds of heaven, we will not be afraid or sad. When all the earth is trembling and falling apart, when all the things of this life don’t matter anymore because they are perishing, we can straighten up and raise our heads. We stand up tall and confident because our redemption is drawing near. That is to say, our Jesus is drawing near. And we long to be near Him.

On the other banner we have two symbols for the Last Day. The more obvious one is probably the crown. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will speak His judgments to those on His right and those on His left (Matthew 25:31–34). Now, it’s true that Jesus is King now, sitting and ruling at the right hand of the Father. Our Lord’s Ascension into heaven was really His coronation and we are in His Kingdom now. But we can’t see it yet. On the Last Day, Jesus will establish God’s Kingdom in a visible way. Unlike His first coming, Jesus will not return in humility, lowly in a manger, powerless on a cross. At His final coming Jesus will show and use all of His power and glory. His judgment will make it known to all who belongs in this Kingdom. Then our God will create a new heavens and a new earth, a new and perfected creation where God is all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28). This is what we sang in our theme hymn:

            Soon will come that hour

            When with mighty power

            Christ will come in splendor

            And will judgment render,

            With the faithful sharing

            Joy beyond comparing (LSB 333:3).               

Other Banner symbol: Sheaf of grain

            We are the Lord’s harvest

            Christ was the firstfruits of the resurrection 

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Cor. 15:20–23)

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)

Resurrected bodies sprout from the earth, ripe and ready for harvest

Parable of the Weeds…

“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. (Matthew 13)

Angels are the reapers. This is more explicit in Matthew 24: And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:31)

The Last Day is also described as a Harvest in Revelation 14:14-16

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

This image of Judgment Day as a Harvest shows us bad news for the weeds. They are thrown into the fire. Malachi’s vision is similar: For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. He sees the wicked as stubble, what’s left after the harvest. What’s more, The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. God’s glory consumes sinners—God is a consuming fire. His glory descended upon Mount Sinai and anyone who touched it would be killed. His glory filled the Tabernacle, and when the sons of Aaron disobeyed the Lord, the fire of God came out of the Tabernacle and consumed them. His glory is pure and holy, and cannot abide sin. Just as fire instantly consumes gasoline, His holiness instantly destroys sinners.

But our Lord has made a way for us to receive Him and come into His presence without being burned. He made a way for us in the flesh of Jesus—through His cross and resurrection. As we sang in the second hymn:

            So, when next He comes in glory 

            And the world is wrapped in fear,

            He will shield us with His mercy

            And with words of love draw near (LSB 345:4)

God’s glory is shared with us and God blesses us when we are covered in the righteousness of Christ. When we are forgiven and justified by faith in Him, then we are declared pure and holy in God’s sight. So the Lord also promised us through Malachi: But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. “You who fear the Lord’s Name”—those are Christians—that means you have faith in Him. And that means the Lord will not come to you in His wrath but as the glorious Sun of righteousness. We will sing about this in our closing hymn:

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,

But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;

Tears for all woes, a heart for ev’ry plea.

Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me. (878:3)

            At this time of year when the days grow short and the darkness deepens, Advent helps us to look for the rising of another and greater Sun—the sun of righteousness who is none other than the Son (S.O.N.)—Son of God and Son of Man. And our Advent Banners remind us of this too. A new Day dawned in Christ’s first coming, with His incarnation and birth, His death and resurrection, so, you can see the first rays of the sun shining at the bottom of those banners in the back. As we progress through Advent, the light begins to grow, just as the candles are gradually lit on the Advent Wreath. So, the middle pair of banners show a partial sun. The Light of Christ shines out more and more as the Gospel is preached throughout the world and as the Sacraments are given. We are living in this time, called the time of grace, so we gather around the bright beams of His Word. And finally we come back to the last pair, where we see that the Sun is fully risen. We are now waiting for that glorious Day, for the full brightness of Christ’s final coming. Then we will behold the Sun of righteousness shining with the full force of His glory.

And we will be able to stand with joy in that glory on that great day because we know and receive the righteousness of Christ now by faith. In Rev. 1 it says every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Those who pierced Him are those who rejected Him and refused to believe in Him. They will wail on that day. The marks of the nails and the spear still remain in His glorified flesh, and those marks will condemn the people who scorned the Lord’s death and rejected His gift of salvation. But for those who trust in Jesus, we will see those glorious scars with joy. We know our salvation is secure because the crucified Lord who died for us is the same Lord who rose again and will come in glory. The loving Lord who comes to us now in His Word, who feeds us His holy flesh that was pierced, who gives us to drink of His holy blood that poured from His side, that same Lord, He will greet us on that day and welcome us into the Kingdom He has prepared for us. And we will go out to meet Him with uncontainable gladness, kicking up our heels like calves released from the stall.

Come quickly + Lord Jesus. Amen.


This Advent series was inspired by the six Advent banners that hang in our nave. The sermon for the first Wednesday in Advent on the first set of banners (first coming of Christ), I preached from a rough outline so I did not preserve a manuscript. This manuscript also has an incomplete section in the middle where I preached from the Bible verses and notes given here.