Sermon for 12/18/24: Midweek of Advent 3 (Hymns of Advent series)

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O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Matthew 1:18-25

 

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

 

The third and final hymn we will look at and consider this Advent season is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. The hymn itself, from the 12^th Century, is based on what are known as the seven “O Antiphons,” which may date back to the 5^th Century. These prayers came to be special and well-loved of the Church, building up the hearts of the faithful as they moved toward the celebration of Christmas, teaching what the celebration of Christmas was all about. Each antiphon contains a title of Christ, a description of that title, and then a request, a prayer.

So what do we learn about Jesus from these antiphons? Consider the antiphon from which the hymn gets its title:

O Emmanuel, our king and our Lord,
           the anointed for the nations and their Savior:
           Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Emmanuel is a Hebrew word which means “God with us.” During the holidays we treasure having family and friends with us. But our Lord does even better: He make His dwelling place among us. God is with us—but not to condemn or destroy us as we deserve in our sinfulness. God is with us in flesh; He has come in flesh to save us. In mercy He has come to bring us back from our exile in sin, to bring us back into His family, to restore us to His kingdom by the forgiveness of our sins.

          Matthew the Evangelist doesn’t tell the beautiful story of our Lord’s birth the way Luke does; Matthew bypasses the story of the birth in the stable. He doesn’t tell it in beautiful picture language the way John does. Matthew just states it plainly, telling his readers that our Lord Jesus was born. But this birth was anything but ordinary! A virgin conceives and bears a Son, just as God prophesied through the prophet Isaiah. And this Son is Emmanuel, God with us, the Word made flesh to dwell among His people. He has come to be one of us, to release us from our bondage to sin and death. You know the truth about yourself and our human race: that “we are by  nature sinful and unclean,” that we are slaves of sin. There was nothing we could do to free ourselves. We needed to be saved, which means we needed someone to be our Savior. And this Child in the manger is that One. God comes in mercy and gentleness to save us in our great need. He is Emmanuel, the true God who makes His dwelling with us. Our Creator is our Savior; our King is our Brother.

          We also pray to Christ as the Wisdom of God, who teaches us to live prudently, according to God’s will and law. You may remember from Psalm 119: “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” This is the wise way in which our Lord would have us walk. He shows us the narrow way that leads to the gate of heaven itself. And this ties into the next verse, where we pray to Christ as Adonai, the Lord of might, who gives us that Word. He gave His righteous Law on Mount Sinai, and He continues to reveal Himself to us today in His Word.

          We pray to Christ as the Root of Jesse, before whom all peoples will bend the knee in worship, from the mightiest of rulers even to the lowest of the slaves who are not counted by the world as citizens of any kingdom. We pray to Christ as the Key of David, the one who gives the Church the authority to forgive sins, opening the gate of heaven to all believers. He releases us from the chains that bound us to our sin, and He binds Satan so that that wily serpent no longer has any power over us.

          We pray to Christ as the Dayspring, the Light of the world. As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He shines forth in holy light, guiding our way, dispelling our gloom. A shadow fades away when the light shines brightly; so it is as we cling to Christ, “the light of men.” As St. John tells us, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Because Christ shines His light upon us, and His light overcomes the darkness, darkness has no more power to destroy us!

          And finally, we pray to Christ as the King of the nations, the true heir of King David. Jesus is the King even David longed to see. Our hymn calls Jesus “our King of peace.” And how truly we confess Him as such, because He is the One by whom God and sinners are reconciled.

And that causes us rejoice. How can we not? And we also sing for Him to come again! We pray for Him to come and take us home, to where the rejoicing will never cease. For the day is coming when He will come, when He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Our joy will be joined to the joy of the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. That’s what Advent’s all about. And that’s what our Savior is all about. And so we pray:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
          And ransom captive Israel,
          That mourns in lonely exile here
          Until the Son of God appear.

And we, His Church, look forward to His coming with great joy. We sing in acclamation: “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!” In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 12/11/24: Midweek of Advent 2 (Hymns of Advent series)

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Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

Isaiah 40:1-8

 

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

 

The Advent hymn before us this evening presents us with the spiritual discomfort involved in receiving the Advent message of comfort. The hymn “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” is the work of Johann Olearius, a German court preacher and chaplain to a duke. He originally wrote this hymn for the Festival of St. John the Baptist. In the third stanza of the hymn, the writer describes the season of Advent as “calling sinners to repentance.” In the same stanza the writer lifts his finger in admonition: “Oh, that warning cry obey!”

These phrases of the hymn present us with an unpleasant task. Despairing of our own power and our cleverly conceived plans about saving ourselves, we humbly wait for the true word of comfort our Lord speaks to us: “I forgive you all your sins. I have paid the price for you.” We have to admit that we are weak, even powerless. We need a healing within that we ourselves can never provide. It’s tough to admit, “I can’t do it myself.” Few things make prideful human beings feel more uncomfortable than such an admission. Advent sweeps away all our pride.

We need to hear a Word of comfort. And so God speaks to the prophet and sends him out with a message:

"Comfort, comfort ye My people,
Speak ye peace," thus saith our God;
"Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning 'neath their sorrows' load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover
And her warfare now is over."

John the Baptist is sent to preach this message. The fulfillment of this promise is later delivered by the angels to the shepherds upon the birth of the Child with another word of comfort: “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. …On earth peace, goodwill toward men.”

In Holy Baptism, we die to sin with Christ, and then rise with Him to new life. Our Lord has remade us: body, mind, and spirit. St. Paul the says that God in Christ has made each of us “a new creation.” The warfare waged by sinful man against his Creator is ended, the peace treaty written in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ Himself.

Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserved His anger
He no more will see or heed.
She hath suffered many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away;
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever-springing gladness.

This message of salvation during the season of Advent—and of Christmas, Lent, Easter, and the rest of the year—delivers sweet comfort to hearts that were bound by sin. Living in this comfort, we are moved to speak this comfort to our neighbors. Love generates love; faith yields fruit. Advent prophets like Isaiah and John the Baptist call us to be engaged constantly in the activity of comforting through human care.

In other places, Isaiah sings about the eyes of the blind being opened and the ears of the deaf being unstopped. He talks about the poor and thirsty and needy being satisfied. Our Savior does such things. For sinners who do not have the power to heal, our Lord leads us to use the gifts He gives us. He urges us to bring comfort to our neighbor. Sharing such a message can be hard work. It’s hard to speak this message to people who don’t want to hear it. It’s hard to speak this message even to people who are willing to hear it. Even pastors and missionaries, people who earn their livelihood by sharing the Gospel, often find the work of sharing the Gospel to be difficult. Speaking the Gospel to people who are comfortable in their sins; speaking the Gospel to people who think the pastor himself is a waste of time or money; going into the homes of the sick, the lonely, the depressed, the dying, and the mourning; traveling thousands of miles to bring the Word to people who have a history of murdering Christian missionaries—it can be uncomfortable, exhausting—even a dangerous task.

Speaking the comfort of the Gospel to hurting, broken people is rarely comfortable. Seldom is it convenient. Certainly it is not something done quickly or easily. But it is the work our Lord has called us to do: to deliver the comforting news of salvation in the cross of Jesus Christ—the same good news our Lord has delivered to you. The Holy Spirit strengthens you with the Word and with Christ’s body and blood to do the uncomfortable work of comforting, for our Father has made you a partner with Christ Himself as He carries out His ministry of love in the world. So…

Make ye straight what long was crooked;
Make the rougher places plain.
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
Now o'er earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That His Word is never broken.

God grant you a “true and humble” heart that is prepared to welcome your Lord as He comes to you, both now in His body and blood, and at the Last Day. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

 

Sermon for 12/4/24: Midweek of Advent 1 (Hymns of Advent series)

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Savior of the Nations, Come

Luke 1:26-38

 

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

 

 

We are right to consider and speak of the miracle of birth. The fact that a child can live in its mother’s womb for nine months and then emerge and breathe and live on its own is an astounding miracle. We are amazed at how tiny an infant’s fingers and toes can be. Infant eyes are so lovely and bright. Pudgy little arms and legs that make the child look like the Michelin Man can stretch and flex. Who can resist these tiny features? Every birth is miraculous in its own way. Just about every adult has had the pleasure of holding a newborn, and that wonder and joy is multiplied when the child is our own flesh and blood.

Birth and life are exquisite. Perhaps that’s why we feel so tremendously shaken by the untimely death of infants and children. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do as a pastor is preside at the burial of an infant; the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do as a man is bury my own son. It seems we hear all too often about children who die as collateral damage in drive-by shootings. Abuse is epidemic. Attacks on schools seem to be a weekly occurrence. And, of course, we would be sinfully negligent to forget abortion. When we hear about such atrocities, we in the community of faith must do more than shake our heads and murmur our disappointment. We must affirm God’s sacred gift of life in the womb, life fresh from the womb, and life even to the moment of a natural death. Life matters. Life is a gift from God. The Light must shine in the darkness of our world and reveal this great truth to us, even when people don’t want to hear it. We must hear again the Word which tells us that God breathed the breath of life into Adam and Eve. Life is a sacred gift, and we must remember and honor that gift, teaching our children the value of all life from the womb to the grave.

Such thoughts remind us of the words of our hymn: “Marvel now, O heaven and earth, that the Lord chose such a birth.” The life God created matters so much to Him that our Lord chose to born as one of us. God became flesh to dwell among us. He was born, as St. John tells us in His Gospel, to be the Light who shines in our darkness. We just sang about that Light shining for us and within us:

 

From the manger newborn light

Shines in glory through the night.

Darkness there no more resides;

In this light faith now abides.

 

Despite the humble scene of our Lord’s birth, two important factors make our Lord’s birth a singular, unique event: Jesus was born of a virgin mother, and He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. The angel tells Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” And so “the Word became flesh;” this child is both God and man, born to be Emmanuel: God with us in flesh to dwell among His people.

 

Not by human flesh or blood,

By the Spirit of our God,

Was the Word of God made flesh—

Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.

 

This exquisite birth of our Lord serves as a marvelous sign for all time that God acts in a unique way in the coming of Jesus. In His unique conception and humble birth, and in all His life upon earth that follows, God works to bring His redeeming and saving power to His creation. God became one of us, but without sin, in order to redeem each of us. His birth pushes us onward to behold His ministry—His preaching, teaching, and wondrous miracles—and then to behold His death and resurrection. This Jesus comes as the Savior of mankind, and in His coming, God acts purposefully to save us from our sins.

This Advent season, let us marvel at this profound sign which God has displayed for us. The virgin birth proclaims that Christ has come as the Father’s greatest Word of love. In the virgin birth, in our Lord’s cross and His resurrection, God expresses His love completely. As we just sang:

 

For you are the Father’s Son

Who in flesh the vict’ry won.

By Your mighty pow’r make whole

All our ills of flesh and soul.

 

That is what He came for; that is what He does. He comes to us in flesh, and forgiveness is won; salvation is fulfilled; eternal life is given. Knowing that we are powerless to live as He commands, knowing we are powerless to earn His favor, God requires nothing more than what His Son came to earn and win for us.

That is good news—news that we need to share until all people know of it and believe it. We must move beyond simply observing God’s sign; we must tell our neighbors about it. Christ, the “Savior of the nations,” is coming to give us the gift of life, and we must sing for joy to all the world. Just as the shepherds do when they hear the angel’s song, let us make known abroad what God has revealed to us: Jesus is coming! And so we cry out:

 

Savior of the nations, come,
Virgin's Son, make here Your home!

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

 

Sermon for 12/16/2020: Midweek of Advent III (Hymns of Advent Series)

 Once again I filled in this evening for Pastor Sean Smith, this time at his other congregation, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wine Hill (Steeleville), Illinois. Thank you, Pastor Smith, for the opportunity to serve.

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Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding
John 1:19-33 

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

  

          What is a “thrilling voice?” Could the writer of our text be thinking of someone like Elvis Presley? After all, his singing is so distinct that hearers swooned at the first word. Could it be James Earl Jones? His vocal depiction of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies could move the heart to terror. Or maybe it’s Winston Churchill, who roused a nation to bravery and hope in the midst of constant bombing during World War II. These are all distinctive voices that thrilled the minds and hearts of those who heard them. But in this particular instance, the “thrilling voice” is John the Baptist—and more than John himself, the “thrilling voice” is the message he was sent to proclaim.

Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding!
“Christ is near,” we hear it say.
“Cast away the works of darkness,
All you children of the day!”

Startled at the solemn warning,
Let the earthbound soul arise;
Christ, its sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.

John the Baptist is the one Isaiah foretold: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…” And it wasn’t just Isaiah. John’s own father, the priest Zechariah, also foretold the role John would play. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins…” Even before John was born, he faithfully performed the task for which he was sent, leaping in his mother’s womb to be in the presence of God in flesh in the person of Jesus. “Christ is near,” indeed! And in the wilderness, John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins—in essence, John was saying, “Cast away the works of darkness!” When the people questioned why he was baptizing and preaching, John said, “One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” Always John pointed not to himself, but to Jesus. He knew what his role was to be, and he played that role to perfection.

Who, then, are the “children of the day” who hear this voice? You are the children of the day. You are the ones who have received John’s message, and it falls to you to heed and obey the message of the prophet. Turn away from the works of darkness. Turn away from your Old Adam and his selfish, sinful ways. “Repent,” John says. After all, if the week before Christmas, when Christmas is near, is one of the busiest shipping and shopping weeks of the year, shouldn’t we also, when “Christ is near,” be busy in repentance? Our faith in these days should be busy in good works. Our faith in these days should be busy listening to the Word of God from the messenger God has sent to proclaim it to us. The message of Christ, “all sloth dispelling,” moves us to faithful action. Sometimes that means we will do the good works, the fruit of faith; sometimes that means we will sit at our Lord’s feet with Mary and listen to the “one thing needful.”

See, the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heav’n.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all, to be forgiv’n;

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.

It was John’s task to point to Jesus. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus had come to be that Lamb, to go to the cross as the Ransom Price of sinners. He came to take the sin of the world and put it all on Himself, to bear its shame and punishment and condemnation. And that’s why John cried out in the wilderness: God sent John to draw all people to Jesus, so that, while “the world is wrapped in fear,” we, still sinners but redeemed in the blood of the Lamb, would “haste, with tears of sorrow, one and all, to be forgiv’n.”

The Day is coming when Christ will appear in glory to judge the living and the dead. But for us, the sheep of His flock, washed in His blood, He will shield us with His mercy, and with words of love draw near. The work of salvation, applied to us in Holy Baptism, will be completed in us as we arise, purified and perfected. There is no fear for those whose sins are forgiven. His voice will be one not of condemnation, but of love: “a thrilling voice,” calling us to our heavenly home, where we will sing with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven:

Honor, glory, might, dominion
To the Father and the Son
With the everlasting Spirit
While eternal ages run!

 

        In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

         

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

 

Sermon for 12/9/2020: Midweek of Advent II (Hymns of Advent Series)

Tonight I was the guest preacher at Immanuel Lutheran Church in West Point (Campbell Hill), Illinois. 

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Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers

Matthew 25:1-13

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Rejoice, rejoice, believers,

And let your lights appear;

The evening is advancing,

And darker night is near.

The Bridegroom is arising

And soon is drawing nigh.

Up, pray and watch and wrestle;

At midnight comes the cry.

 

The Bridegroom is delayed. No one knows exactly when He will arrive, but everyone knows He is coming. All the bridesmaids know how important it is for their lamps to be lit when the Bridegroom comes to bring them to the wedding feast, because the Bridegroom may come in the dead of night, and the light will shine as they wait and shine on their path as they travel to the feast. This is an image of the Church, waiting in eager expectation for the appearing of the Son of Man in glory to judge the living and the dead. It has not been long since we heard that text for the Last Sunday of the Church Year. Like the bridesmaids, we know that our Lord is coming. We have heard His promises, and He is faithful. While the rest of the world is terrified at the prospect of the coming of Christ as Judge, the Church—the Bride of Christ—rejoices. And as we wait, we keep our lanterns lit with the oil of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The watchers on the mountain

Proclaim the Bridegroom near;

Go forth as He approaches

With alleluias clear.

The marriage feast is waiting;

The gates wide open stand.

Arise, O heirs of glory;

The Bridegroom is at hand.

 

“The Bridegroom is at hand,” cry the watchers on the mountain. The Lord has sent many watchers to cry to His people. You might recognize some of them: Sean Smith; Timothy Zechiel; John Drosendahl; CFW Walther; Martin Luther; John Chrysostom; Augustine of Hippo; Ambrose of Milan; Paul; Peter; John the Baptist; Isaiah; Moses… It’s hardly a comprehensive list, and yet it helps us understand that the Bridegroom has been promised for a long time—even from the fall into sin in Genesis 3. God sends these messengers, and they, in turn, cry out to His people that the marriage feast is waiting, and the gates stand open to welcome all those who await with joy the coming of the Bridegroom Savior. These messengers are sent to prepare the way of the Lord, just as John the Baptist did. It’s not always a popular message, and it’s not always received with joy—not even by those who should rejoice. In fact, sometimes preaching this message costs the messenger his livelihood or even his very life, as he is attacked by foe and supposed friend alike for preaching the Truth. Even so, he cries out. “Arise, O heirs of glory; the Bridegroom is at hand.”

 

The saints, who here in patience

Their cross and suff’rings bore,

Shall live and reign forever

When sorrow is no more.

Around the throne of glory

The Lamb they shall behold;

In triumph cast before Him

Their diadems of gold.

 

One of the most beautiful pictures in all the Bible is the gathering of the saints before the throne of God. In fact, throughout Scripture, the images we see of heaven are images of the Church at worship. In Isaiah 6 we hear the angels crying out in praise to God, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And in Revelation 7 we see “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” The angel tells John, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Having been faithful to their Lord unto death, they have been given the crown of eternal life. They will be raised up on the Last Day; for now, they wait. They rest until that day when they shall live forever, nevermore to sin, nevermore to suffer, nevermore to die. That is you. That is each and every baptized child of God, all those who trusted in the Savior, all who have filled their lanterns with the oil of true faith.

 

Our hope and expectation,

O Jesus, now appear;

Arise, O Sun so longed for,

O’er this benighted sphere.

With hearts and hands uplifted,

We plead, O Lord, to see

The day of earth’s redemption

That sets Your people free!

 

That Day, the day of earth’s redemption, is coming. We know it. We have seen the signs described by our Lord. We have heard the messengers cry out to us that the Bridegroom is coming. And we pray for that Day to come. We pray for our Savior, our hope and expectation in flesh, to appear. In the meantime, He is the Light who shines in the darkness of this benighted sphere; He is the Light no darkness can overcome. In His light, we see our promised redemption. As we wait for the great Day, we see with clear eyes our Jesus: present in His Word; present in the waters of Holy Baptism; present in His body and blood, a foretaste of that eternal Wedding Banquet. The saints who are living and the saints now at rest both wait with the sure and certain hope of our resurrection to eternal life when He comes. And as we wait here, we are sustained by Jesus in these humble means of water, bread, and wine, combined with the power of the Word. The Bridegroom says, “Behold, I am coming soon.” And His Bride, the Church, cries out in joy, “Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!” In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.