Category: Sermon Page

Second Sunday after Christmas
January 3, 2021

“At Home in God’s House, Growing in Wisdom” (Luke 2:40-52)

We just sang: “Within the Father’s house the Son has found his home.” Even at twelve years old, Jesus was at home in God’s house. And earlier in this service, we sang: “For He is our childhood’s pattern, day by day like us He grew.” Jesus is our childhood’s pattern, but he is also our adulthood’s pattern, as well!

Listen to these verses from today’s Gospel. At the start of the reading, Luke 2, verse 40: Jesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.” And at the end of our reading, verse 52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” And in between, when Joseph and Mary find him in the temple, Jesus says: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Taking all these thoughts together, we can see that a) Jesus was at home in God’s house, and b) he grew, not only in stature, but also in wisdom. And since Jesus is our pattern, both for our childhood and our adulthood, here is my wish for you for 2021: that you would likewise be “At Home in God’s House, Growing in Wisdom.”

First, being at home in God’s house. Jesus was certainly at home there. It says that his parents took him to the feasts in Jerusalem every year. “They went up according to custom,” it says. And that is a great custom to have. You parents, both fathers and mothers together, take your children to church every Sunday, every year. This year, in 2021. If it hasn’t been your habit or custom before, make it so now. Many parents take their children to soccer practices and music lessons, and that’s OK. But if you don’t take your children to church, you are neglecting your most important parental duty.

As a child, Jesus was at home in God’s house, and that’s how it should be for our children too. But not only is Jesus the pattern for our childhood, he is the pattern for our adulthood also. A couple of chapters later in Luke, it says of Jesus as an adult: “And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.” There’s that word “custom” again. It should be our custom, our habit, our regular routine, to be in God’s house every week on the day set aside to hear God’s word.

That’s what we learned in the Third Commandment, isn’t it? “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” “Hold it sacred”: That means “Set it apart,” “Don’t let anything else interfere with it.” Going to church every Sunday morning, to hear the preaching of God’s word–that is sacred time, set apart as holy.

Now of course, I’m not talking about when there’s an ice storm and church is canceled, or if you’re sick or in the hospital, or things like that. But if there’s nothing to stop you from going to church, you should go, every Sunday morning, every week, every year, for the rest of your life. This is where God wants you to be: at home in his house.

God has commanded you to attend to the preaching of his word. In the Large Catechism, Martin Luther writes about how seriously God takes this. He says: “God insists upon a strict observance of this commandment and will punish all who despise His Word and are not willing to hear and learn it, especially, at the time appointed for the purpose.”

“Well, good,” you say. “I’m safe, because I’m here in church every Sunday. I’m not like those lousy, lazy slugs who skip out on church.” Oh, but wait! That’s not the only way you can break this commandment.

And so Luther continues: “It is not only the people who greatly misuse and desecrate the holy day who sin against this commandment (those who neglect to hear God’s Word because of their greed or frivolity or lie in taverns and are dead drunk like swine). But even that other crowd sins. They listen to God’s Word like it was any other trifle and only come to preaching because of custom. They go away again, and at the end of the year they know as little of God’s Word as at the beginning. . . . We allow ourselves to be preached to and admonished, but we do not listen seriously and carefully.”

“Know, therefore, that you must be concerned not only about hearing, but also about learning and retaining God’s Word in memory. Do not think that this is optional for you or of no great importance. Think that it is God’s commandment, who will require an account from you about how you have heard, learned, and honored His Word.”

So, my fellow sinners, there is not anyone here who has not broken this commandment–including your pastor. It’s not just the folks who blow off church. It’s also us who are here, in church, every Sunday. We let God’s word go in one ear and out the other. We do not let his word have its way with us in our heart and in our lives.

But friends, this is all the more reason why we need to be here in church every Sunday. “For we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment.” But here in church–this is where we receive forgiveness for our sins. This is where we hear the word of Holy Absolution: “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins.” Here in church, at this altar, this is where you receive Christ’s holy body and blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.

Here in church, this is where we hear the preaching of the gospel, the good news of what Christ has done to win your salvation. Jesus fulfilled the law on your behalf. He kept all of the commandments the way they’re supposed to be kept. His active obedience to God’s law fulfilled the requirements. And his righteousness has been given to you as a gift. It has been credited to your account.

Not only so, Jesus took the punishment that you deserve, dying on the cross for your sins. For your neglect of God’s word. For the times you have blown off church when you could have made it. For your inattentiveness even while sitting in the pew. Jesus paid for it all. And then he rose from the dead, assuring you that what he has done is more than enough to overcome sin and the death that comes with it.

You see, Jesus is not only the pattern for our life. Oh, he is that. Jesus is the model, the example, we should follow, yes. But even more than that, Jesus is the Savior of our life. He steps in where we fall short. His righteousness covers us all. Receive it as a gift. Receive him as your Lord and Savior.

This is why it is such a joy to be here, to be at home in God’s house. For we are God’s children! We’ve been made so in Holy Baptism. This is our true home. This is where we belong. This is where we find our true life and our very identity.

Do you want to know the meaning of life? Come to church and hear God’s word, and you will grow in your understanding. You will increase in wisdom.

Wisdom is more than mere knowledge. Wisdom is not just knowing a lot of things. It’s knowing what to do with the things you know. It’s knowing how it all fits together, under God’s design. To meditate on God’s word, to let it sink in deep–this is how you grow in wisdom. To let God’s word shape your life–this is true wisdom. As the psalmist says to the Lord: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.”

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Realize that you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness–that’s a good place to start. And then turn to where you will find that forgiveness: in the cross of Christ. For the word of the cross, the preaching of Christ crucified–this is the power of God to save those who believe. “Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Brothers and sisters, this is why it is so important and so wonderful to be here in God’s house. What a joy! What a Savior!

And so my prayer for you in this new year of 2021 is that you would more and more be at home here in God’s house. Soaking up God’s word, in the sermons and in the Bible classes. Being a part of this community, this family, called the church, where we have a mission together. Singing out in praise and worship of our gracious God. Receiving the refreshing cleansing of Christ’s forgiveness–a clean slate and the ability to move forward. Being strengthened through Word and Sacrament in faith toward God and in fervent love toward one another. These are just some of the benefits that God has for you here in his house.

These are tough times for the church. These are tough times for us all. But that’s all the more reason why we need the strength and the support and the refreshment that we find here in church. At home in God’s house, growing in wisdom: This is how, by God’s grace, we together will have a happy new year!

First Sunday after Christmas
December 27, 2020

“A Great Way to End Things” (Luke 2:22-40)

Our text today is the story of Mary and Joseph presenting the infant Jesus at the temple and the reactions of Simeon and Anna. As we will see, what happens in this story is “A Great Way to End Things.” And that applies not only to the persons involved but also to us.

A great way to end things. The first thing it ends is Mary’s time of purification. Reading again the opening verses of our text: “And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.’”

This was the end of Mary’s time of purification. The prescribed time, according to Levitical law, was forty days. That was long a woman had to wait after giving birth to, in this case, a son. Then she was ceremonially clean to go the temple, where she was to offer up a sacrifice. By the way, the sacrifice Mary offers is the one allowed for those who could not afford the more expensive sacrifice of a lamb. This tells us the Holy Family was of humble means. Well, actually, if you think about it, Mary does offer up a Lamb. More on that in a moment.

The Purification of Mary ends that period of forty days after the birth of a son. That is the first thing that is ended. But there is also something begun. For this son is a firstborn son, which means that he is to be presented in the temple and dedicated to the Lord. This law goes back to the time of the Passover in Egypt, when the angel of death struck down all the firstborn in Egypt but passed over the homes of the Israelites and spared their firstborn. Therefore, from that time on, all firstborn sons were to be dedicated to the Lord’s service.

And if there ever was a firstborn son who was dedicated to the Lord’s service, it’s Jesus! His whole life was devoted to carrying out the will of his heavenly Father. That is why he came, born in the flesh, born at Christmas, born in order to carry out the mission for which he was sent. Presented at the temple, dedicated to the Lord. Coming forty days after his birth, this is a fitting way to begin that mission. For he himself, Jesus Christ, will be the Lamb of God presented as a perfect sacrifice, to take away the sins of the world.

One thing ended, with the Purification of Mary. One thing begun, with the Presentation of Our Lord. But another thing is ended, and it is a time of waiting: “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”

Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. He was waiting for the promised comfort for God’s people, prophesied long ago by such men as Isaiah: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.”

Now, that comfort, that consolation, has finally arrived. The wait is over! The Lord had made a special promise to Simeon, “that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” Now what do those old eyes see? Not death, but the Christ! The consolation of Israel bundled up in that little baby blanket!

Oh, another “by the way”: Our text does not actually say that Simeon was an old man. Readers have always inferred that Simeon was an old man, based on several clues in the text: the fact that it says he “would not see death before such-and-such,” along with his response, “now you are letting your servant depart in peace.” That would seem to indicate that Simeon was getting up there in years–that, plus the pairing with Anna, who definitely is described as “advanced in years.” In any case, Simeon’s time of waiting, his waiting to see the consolation of Israel in the person of the Christ–that waiting now is over. Yes, this is a great way to end things!

For Anna, too. This faithful old saint gave thanks to God when she saw the little baby. Anna and all the others who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem could now cast their eyes on the infant Redeemer and rejoice.

The Presentation of Our Lord in the temple was a great way to end the long waiting that God’s saints had experienced. They been waiting for the fulfillment of the prophecies and promises. Now their aged eyes could look upon and see the fulfillment come in the flesh. They could see him with their own eyes and hold him in their arms and behold him with the eyes of faith.

You and I, of course, do not see our Savior with our eyes. But like Simeon and Anna, we do behold him with the eyes of faith. For the Holy Spirit has revealed him to us, through the gospel. This Jesus is the consolation and the redemption we have been waiting for. He comforts and consoles us in our sorrows. He redeems and rescues us from our sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. Consolation and redemption, come in the person of Christ!

The time of waiting is over. The time of consolation and redemption and salvation has arrived. So sing out, old Simeon! “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” For Simeon to see the Lord’s Christ and to hold him in his arms–this was truly a great way to end things! Now old Simeon is ready to go! He’s ready to be with the Lord, to be gathered with his fathers. Now Simeon is ready to depart in peace.

You, dear Christian, beholding Christ, seeing the Lord’s salvation with the eyes of faith–that is how you are ready to depart this life in peace. No matter how old or how young you are, the good news of Christ your Savior prepares you to be ready to die. And when you are ready to die–only when you are ready to die–are you really ready to live.

None of us knows how long the Lord will give us here in this life. If we are old, the Lord may have some reason to keep us around for a while longer. And if we are young, there are no guarantees. Whatever our age, we want to be ready, like Simeon, like Anna. Ready to depart this life in peace, having seen the promises of God arrive in the person of Christ–that is a great way to end things.

Because really, that’s just the beginning of things. Death is not the end for the Christian. For Christ has conquered death by his death and opened eternal life to us by his resurrection. That is how the consolation and the redemption would be won. Our salvation has been secured by Christ’s death and resurrection. At the temple. Simeon hints at the death it would take, Christ’s death, when he says to the boy’s mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for 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 Christ, received so joyfully on this day at the temple, would later be opposed most bitterly. And his death on the cross would pierce his mother’s soul with sorrow. But that’s what it would take for our consolation to be won. Christ redeemed us by his holy precious blood shed on the cross. And by his resurrection, we have the comfort of knowing that death is not the end for those who trust in him.

A great way to end things, assured of comfort and peace and hope by the coming of the Christ. That is why we end the Divine Service with that very song of Simeon, the Nunc Dimittis. Having received Christ in Word and Sacrament, we then are ready to depart–to depart the service, and even to depart this life, if it should come that day. “Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” Our eyes have seen that salvation by faith. Our ears have heard it preached in the sermon. Our mouths have tasted it in the Lord’s Supper. God makes us ready to go, and then he sends us off into our week, to live as his people, living and loving and laughing for as many days as he gives us. What a great way to end things!

To see the Lord’s salvation in Christ with the eyes of faith, and so be ready to depart in peace–whether to go on to glory or to go out from here, strengthened in faith to go on living–either way, beholding Christ is a great way to end things. And today, as we end our services for 2020, it is a great way to end this message: “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation.”

The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Day
Friday, December 25, 2020

“The Word: Tabernacled and Received” (John 1:1-18)

On this great festival of the Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Day, the Holy Gospel every year is St. John’s profound prologue that opens his gospel. And today, as we look at this text, I want to zero in on three portions of this prologue, under the theme, “The Word: Tabernacled and Received.”

First, the Word. And that literally is the first thing John writes about in his gospel, namely, the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” “In the beginning”: John here is intentionally recalling the opening verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And John is saying that in the beginning, before anything was created, there was this one called the Word, who was with God. John isn’t telling us yet who this one called the Word is–he will get to that later–but he is saying that this Word was there with God in the beginning, likewise active in the creation of the heavens and the earth. “All things were made through him,” that is, through the Word, “and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

“And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is a brilliant way to convey the mystery of the Godhead. For it shows the distinction of persons: The Word is with God, in a face-to-face relationship with God. And at the same time it shows the divine essence of this one called the Word: He is truly God in his being. In doctrinal terms, we would say that the Son is distinct from the Father, and yet is also truly God.

The true divinity of the Word, the only Son of the Father, who like the Father was active in creation. The reading from Hebrews 1 says the same thing: God “has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

And this is the idea behind the word John uses for the “Word.” It’s the Greek word, Logos. The Greeks thought of the Logos as the organizing principle holding the universe together. Logos means ordered thought, rational speech; a coherent, intelligent design, you might say. But what the Greeks could only speculate about as an organizing principle, John now reveals is a person. A person, not a principle! The Logos is the eternal Son of God, through whom all things were created and hold together.

Well, that’s nice, John, but so what? You’re talking about creation and the cosmos and big concepts like that. But what does that have to do with anything? What does the Logos, the Word, have to do with us and our life?

John tells us in verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word, the Logos, became flesh! This is astounding! This is mind-boggling! This is the miracle of Christmas. This is the incarnation. The Logos, the eternal Son of God, the one “by whom all things were made,” as we say in the Creed, “for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man.” Amazing!

That the eternal Son of God could come in human flesh and be born, the babe of Bethlehem–how can this be? But it is! Poets have tried to express the awesome mystery of this birth. Paul Gerhardt’s hymn, “O Jesus Christ, Thy Manger Is,” which we just sang, puts it well: “He whom the sea and wind obey doth come to serve the sinner in great meekness. Thou, God’s own Son, with us art one, dost join us and our children in our weakness.”

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” He became our brother, God in the flesh did. Jesus did not keep socially distant. He got right down among us, in our midst and in our mess. He dwelt among us.

The Greek word here for “dwelt” is an interesting one. It could really be translated, he “tabernacled” among us. It’s the same word that’s used to refer to the Old Testament tabernacle, where God dwelt in the midst of his people Israel. What God was doing at the tabernacle, God now is doing in an even greater way in the birth of Christ.

What did God do at the Old Testament tabernacle? This was the place where God’s people could know for certain that God was dwelling in their midst. And that was a great assurance. At the tabernacle, the Lord was among them, to guard and protect them. At the tabernacle, the Lord was among them, to guide them and instruct them. At the tabernacle, where God had instituted the priesthood and the sacrifices, the Lord was among them to forgive their sins and to cleanse them from their impurities.

What all God was doing in the Old Testament tabernacle–all that was pointing ahead to what God would do in a much greater way in the Word made flesh. In the birth of Christ, God is tabernacling among us! Jesus Christ is dwelling among us, in our midst, to guard and protect us, to guide and instruct us, to forgive and cleanse us. Jesus is doing all that, for you! He comes and tabernacles among us, full of grace and truth.

Tom Egger, Old Testament professor at our St. Louis seminary, has an excellent article on this point in the current Lutheran Witness. “Tabernacled among Us,” the article is called, and I encourage you to read it. Egger writes: “God provided blood atonement for sinful Israel in the tabernacle. But here in the manger lies the new and better tabernacle, built not with poles, rings and ram’s skins, but with human flesh, born of Mary. With this flesh, He poured out His lifeblood once and for all to atone for stiff-necked sinners.” And having been raised from the dead, Egger says, “Jesus is the new and better tabernacle and abides with us always.”

Brothers and sisters, people of God, by tabernacling among us, by shedding his blood for us on the altar of the cross and by rising from the tomb in victory over death, Jesus Christ has won for you forgiveness for your sins and life with him forever!

The Word became flesh and dwelt, tabernacled, among us. Now how do we receive him? Do we receive him, or do we reject him? Not all have believed our report, as the Bible says. Our text from John 1 puts it like this: “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” That was true back then, and it is still true today. The world around us does not receive Christ. Many people you know do not receive him. They don’t think they need a Savior from sin and death. That’s why they have no interest in church. But they are wrong, dead wrong.

“But to all who did receive him,” John writes, “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 of God.” You, dear brothers and sisters, you know that you do need a Savior from sin and death. And you know that this Savior is Jesus. Only he can save you and put you right with God. You realize your need, and you receive the gift. Jesus himself is the greatest Christmas present. He gives himself freely to you. And you receive him by faith. You trust in him, not in yourself, for your salvation.

God has given you the gift of faith to trust in Christ. God works this faith in you by the Holy Spirit, through the gospel, through Word and Sacrament. In Holy Baptism, you were given the gift of the Spirit to trust in Christ your Savior. In Holy Baptism, you were born again, by water and the Spirit. This was God’s doing, not your own. Now you are God’s child, headed for heaven. As they say, Christmas is for children. And you, dear friends, you are the baptized children of God. Christmas is for you.

“In the beginning was the Word,” the Logos, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “And the Word became flesh and dwelt,” tabernacled, “among us.” And to all who received him, “who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” These are the three Christmas presents we find in John’s gospel this morning. “The Word: Tabernacled and Received.” A merry Christmas indeed!

Fourth Sunday in Advent
December 20, 2020

“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Luke 1:26-38)

I’ve never seen the program, but I have heard about a television series called “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The premise of the show is that there is a tyrannical, theocratic government that is oppressing women. Of course, the religious people are portrayed as evil. The women that they are oppressing and enslaving are called “handmaids.” Well, the American Left have seized upon this, and in some of their marches, their women dress in the handmaids’ costumes as a way of protesting how religious people in our country are oppressing women.

However, in the Holy Gospel for today, from Luke 1, we meet a young woman who is content with being a handmaid. In fact, she even calls herself by that term: “I am the handmaid of the Lord,” she says. And indeed, she is, as we just sang, a “most highly favored lady.” So let’s hear her story now, under the very good title, “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

In the first chapter of his gospel, Luke lays out the story of what leads up to the birth of Christ. He goes back and forth between the background of the miraculous birth of John the Baptist and the background of the miraculous birth of Jesus himself. First we have the account of the angel Gabriel announcing to aged Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth, who had not been able to have children–that they will have a son named John, who will prepare the way of the Lord.

Now, six months later, the angel Gabriel has another message to bring, about another special birth. He goes to the town of Nazareth and comes to a young woman named Mary. He greets her: “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” As usual in the Bible, whenever a human being encounters an angel, that person is frightened, and the angel has to do a “Fear not.” Which Gabriel does: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”

Notice, Gabriel has addressed Mary as “O favored one,” and now he explains, “for you have found favor with God.” Let’s explore this a little bit. The word that’s translated here as “favor” is the Greek word “charis,” which can also be translated as “grace.” “Charis,” grace, favor–it means God’s free gift. Mary has been given grace, by God. It’s not that Mary is a source of grace. She is not a dispenser of grace. Rather, she is a recipient of grace, God’s free grace and favor. So when Roman Catholics repeat Gabriel’s greeting and say, “Hail Mary, full of grace,” if they think that somehow the Blessed Virgin is a source or dispenser of grace, as though she can hear and answer our prayers–well, that is a misreading of the text.

So Mary herself has been graced and favored by God. And what is the gift that she has been given? Gabriel now tells her: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Mary is being given the gift of a son. Now that in itself is nice, but it would be nothing extraordinary. What is extraordinary is the son she will bear! God has even picked out a name for him: Jesus. Again, that in itself would be nothing extraordinary–Jesus was a fairly common name for Jewish boys. It’s the same name as “Joshua,” who was one of the heroes of Israel’s past. Joshua was the one who led Israel into the promised land. This Joshua, this Jesus, will lead all of God’s people into the eternal promised land of heaven. “Joshua,” “Jesus”–the name means “The Lord is Savior,” and this baby will fulfill that name perfectly.

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Now this is extraordinary! This is remarkable! The Son of the Most High God! God’s one and only Son is going to be born in the flesh! This will truly be a one-of-a-kind birth!

Gabriel continues: “And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Jesus’ birth will be the fulfillment of a very significant promise that the Lord gave to King David a thousand years earlier: that one of David’s sons, one of David’s descendants, will rule as king over an everlasting kingdom of blessing. Jesus now will be the fulfillment of that promise. He will be the Messiah, the Son of David, spoken of so long ago.

So Mary’s boy child will be great, to say the least. He will have a special destiny to play in God’s plan for the ages–the key role, in fact. But Mary herself will have a special place in this plan: She will bear this child, God in the flesh. She will be the mother of the Messiah. This is a high honor! This is the gift, the grace, the favor, that Mary is being given.

One problem, though: How can Mary give birth to a child when she is not even married? She asks the question of Gabriel: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel replies: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God.” “Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary”: Just like you learned it in the Creed. This will be no ordinary pregnancy and birth–as befits the unique child who will be both true God and true man.

Elizabeth’s pregnancy in her old age took a miraculous act of God. Mary’s pregnancy, while remaining a virgin–Mary’s giving birth to God’s own Son–this even more so can only be God’s doing.

And so Gabriel concludes: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary responds: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Now notice, it says: Nothing–that is, no “thing”–will be impossible with God. “Nothing” is a decent translation. But the Greek word here is “rhema,” which can mean “matter” or “thing,” but often “rhema” has the added nuance of being a “thing spoken of,” an “utterance.” In other words, Gabriel is saying: “No utterance, spoken by God’s messenger–just as I have spoken to you, Mary–no utterance from God will fail to come to pass.” You can count on it, Mary. God’s word will do what he sends it out to do. When God speaks, things happen. God’s creative, active, powerful word will bring it about.

This is a lesson for us. You are hearing God’s “rhema,” his spoken utterance, delivered to you by God’s messenger here today. God’s word is alive and powerful. It does for you what it says: When God’s messenger, your pastor, tells you, “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” it is as good and certain as if Christ himself were declaring it to you. When I deliver to you the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins, that is a sure deal. God’s word does what it says. You can take it to the bank. This “rhema” is as sure as when Gabriel spoke to Mary.

And that’s how Mary receives it. She says, “Let it be to me according to your word.” And guess what? What is the word here for “word”? Once again, it is “rhema.” Mary is trusting in the spoken utterance from God’s messenger. In this respect, Mary is a wonderful model for the church. Would that we all would take God’s word to heart and let it sink down deeply!

Now notice one more thing about Mary’s reply. She says, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord.” The “servant” of the Lord: This is the word for a bondservant, a slave. A bondservant does not do her own will; she does the will of her master. And Mary, willingly, is ok with this!

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord.” Some of the older translations have, “I am the handmaid of the Lord.” And this is the verse where that television series gets its name, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Only this handmaid, Mary, is not being enslaved by some mean old oppressor of women. No, quite the opposite. She is being given a great gift, a great privilege: to be the mother of the Savior of the world! Mary regards being the handmaid of the Lord as the highest honor anyone could have! Which it is.

Again, Mary is the model for the church. Would that each one of us would say, “Behold, I am the maidservant, I am the manservant, of the Lord. Thy will be done in me and through me, O Lord!” This is not oppression. No, this is contentment, knowing that God’s will for us is always best. This is the joyous freedom of the gospel!

“Blessed are you among women, Mary, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” What was spoken to Mary–the “rhema” delivered by God’s messenger–found its fulfillment in the birth of Christ. For nothing is impossible with God, even the salvation of the world. And this is the beginning of how it happened. This is the true “Handmaid’s Tale.”

Midweek Advent Matins
Wednesday, December 16, 2020

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From the Deportation to the Christ” (Matthew 1:1, 12-17)

During this Advent season, we are preparing to meet and greet our coming king. The king is coming–to us, for us–coming at Christmas, coming at the end of time, coming now into our midst through Word and Sacrament. So we prepare to meet him–in repentance, in faith, in holy joy. That’s what Advent is all about.

But this king we are preparing to meet–this king who comes to us–this is a lowly king. Lowly, not high. Lowly, humble, coming in a way you might not expect. Our lowly king comes to us in a very surprising way. Surprising, yet faithful to God’s promises. While we may forget God’s promises–when we think God may have forgotten his promises–here comes this surprise. It is a lowly surprise that brings salvation and hope and joy to our hearts. We realize that God does remember. God does keep his promises–even when things are looking their worst.

Lowly, surprising, and faithful–that’s how God works. That’s the message we can take from our text today. At first glance, though, it looks like just a bunch of names–most of which you have never heard of. But when we take a closer look, we see how God deals with us by the gospel. And we gain strength, courage, and confidence in God’s promises.

Our text is “The Genealogy of Jesus Christ,” as recorded in the opening verses of Matthew. More specifically, today we focus on the last third of the genealogy, the part that takes us “From the Deportation to the Christ.”

We began two weeks ago with the first third of that genealogy as Matthew gives it, starting with Abraham: “Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah,” and so on. Jesus is the son of Abraham, the fulfillment of the promises made to the patriarchs: “I will bless you and make your name great. And through your seed–through your offspring–all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” Jesus is that seed of blessing, the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant.

We traced the line of Abraham down through Jesse and to his son, David. The middle third of the genealogy starts with King David, as we heard last week. The Lord made a promise to David, that one of his sons would reign on his throne in an everlasting kingdom. The Messiah, the Christ, would come through the line of David. But it wasn’t Solomon. Solomon started out so promising, but he ended up failing, he didn’t measure up. And so it went through all the kings after him. None of them lived up to the great things spoken of about that one great son of David who was to come. In fact, after David and Solomon, the nation and its kings basically went into a long downward spiral, ending in God’s judgment coming upon them in the form of the Babylonian Captivity. From the heights of King David’s reign, down to the low point of conquest and defeat and exile at the hands of their enemies. The nation had been brought down. The king was taken off his throne and hauled off to exile in Babylon.

This was a real low point, this exile or deportation to Babylon. A low point in Israel’s history, but it would get even lower. This was no brief, temporary setback. No, from this point on, Israel gets locked into a pattern of never getting back to where they once were.

The exile to Babylon lasted about seventy years, until Babylon itself was conquered by another power, Persia. Then the Israelites were permitted to come back to Judah, back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The returnees were led by Zerubabbel, who is mentioned early in this part of the list. But Zerubabbel was really never anything more than a governor. He was not a king. So there was no king to sit on the throne as David had. The royal line was still alive, physically. But politically, Israel never again would be strong enough to where they could be their own independent kingdom. No son of David would be reigning on a throne anytime soon.

Do you realize what that meant? What it meant to the people back then, during those six hundred years covered in this part of the genealogy? They must have been asking: Where is God in all of this? Has he forgotten his promises? Where is the Messiah that he promised? We don’t even have a son of David on the throne at all, much less one who might be the Messiah. When will he come? When will God do what he promised? How long, O Lord, how long? How long must we bear up and endure under foreign domination?

Maybe you have had similar complaints and confusions. Has God forgotten about me? Has he forgotten his promises? And the longer this goes on, the more likely I am to forget his promises, to lose confidence in them and in him. Have you ever felt that way?

But to people sitting in darkness, like Israel was so long ago, suddenly the light comes. In a surprising way. In a lowly way. At a time and in a way that we maybe weren’t expecting. After a long list of nobodies–and I do mean nobodies; most of these names are not even mentioned in the Old Testament–from out of a long string of obscurity, we come to a name that likewise would have remained obscure, except for the surprising thing God was about to do. We come to a man with the common, ordinary name of Joseph–just an “ordinary Joe,” literally. But this fellow happened to marry quite well. He’s listed here as “the husband of Mary,” who herself would have been totally forgotten by history, except for what the Lord did in her and through her. For of Mary was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Finally, the Christ has come! From out of nowhere, out of the long and undistinguished list of nobodies in this part of the genealogy, after Israel had hit its lowest point and then got stuck at that low point for centuries–now, in this lowly and surprising way, here comes the Christ! Here comes the Messiah! God has not forgotten his promises! He is faithful and keeps his word. You could have predicted it. In fact, the prophets did predict it. But it still came as a total surprise. God keeps his promises, even when you least expect it.

Lowly, surprising, faithful–that’s how God works. Lowly: The Christ came to a humble carpenter–an ordinary Joe–and his wife. Surprising: This king, this son of David, would bring in God’s everlasting kingdom in a way you wouldn’t expect: by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. He did that as the sacrifice for your sins, so that you would not die forever but instead share in his resurrected, eternal life. Lowly, surprising, and faithful: God kept his promises to Abraham and David. He fulfilled them at a time when it looked like he may have forgotten them. But God is faithful. He does what he says he will do.

God is faithful to his promises. The genealogy of Jesus Christ shows this. And so you can know from this, dear friends, that God has not forgotten you. From out of nowhere your Savior came, so that you could really go somewhere. From out of a long line of nobodies he came, so that you would no longer be a nobody in God’s sight. Now you are somebody. Now you are God’s own child, baptized, forgiven, nourished with Word and Sacrament, those lowly means that do so much. Now you have been filled with the Holy Spirit. You are a new person in Christ, headed for heaven. Now your name is listed in God’s family line of blessing and promise. You’ve been adopted in, and you will share in the inheritance.

And it’s all because of this one who was born, who lived, who died on the cross for your salvation, who lives and reigns forever over God’s eternal kingdom. All your blessings come to you because of “Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Rejoice this Advent, for Christ, your lowly, surprising, and faithful king is coming to you!