A Blog of Sermons, Devotional Thought, Religious Topics, and Just fun information and thoughts from Rev. Keith GeRue
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
Between Girard and Virden Illinois
December 18 Isaiah 34:1–2, 8—35:10; Revelation 6:1–17
December 19 Isaiah 40:1–17; Revelation 7:1–17
NEXT WEEKS LESSONS: RORATE COELI—THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT
The coming of God in all His unveiled power at Mt. Sinai was terrifying to the people of Israel.The thundering voice of the Lord puts sinners in fear of death (Deuteronomy 18:15–19).God, therefore, raised up a prophet like Moses, the Messiah, the Christ.God came to His people veiled in human flesh.The skies poured down the Righteous One from heaven; the earth opened her womb and brought forth Salvation (Introit) through the blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of the Lord (Luke 1:39–56).The fruit of her womb is the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the One whose sandal strap John was not worthy to loose (John 1:19–28).In Jesus we are delivered from fear and anxiety.In Him alone we have the peace of God which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:4–7).
Collect
Most merciful God, who has given Your eternal Word to be made incarnate of the pure Virgin, grant grace to Your people to put away fleshly lusts so that they may be ready for Your visitation; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
Old Testament: Deuteronomy 18:15–19 [A Prophet like Moses]
Epistle: Philippians 4:4–7 [Rejoice in the Lord always]
Advent is a time of preparation. It is the season that is set aside for us to ponder the greatness of our Lord—the miracle of the incarnation; begotten of His Father before all worlds. He is the Word now made flesh; the Word which speaks all life into being.
Advent is the time to think about the infant but also the man. Advent reminds us who this Jesus of Nazareth is and what His life and ministry were about. This was a child conceived in the throne of the Virgin’s womb, who died in our frail flesh that He might sit upon the throne crowned in glory.
Oh, to be the king! Even for just one day. Think of the pomp and power, the prestige and wealth. Oh, to be served! How we would welcome that! But kingdoms rise and fall: imperial and personal. The kingdoms of this world: private or political, powerful or puny, do not stand forever. Ours will not either.
Jesus was not the king the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were awaiting. They wanted one who was strong, mighty, and powerful. They wanted one who would rise to political power. They wanted one who would bring wealth and riches to the nations. They found none of this in Jesus.
What sort of King is born in a dirty stable to peasant parents? What sort of King calls fishermen and tax collectors to be His disciples? What sort of King goes to a Samaritan woman and forgives her sins? What sort of King kneels down with an adulterous woman and challenges the Pharisees and Sadducees to acknowledge their own sin? What sort of a King is Jesus?
Jesus is not the King that the world is looking for. In a day and age of self-help books, quick fixes, and easy solutions, no one wants to talk about real problems and real solutions. Sin, death, and the devil have become naughty words. Why do we need Jesus when we can fix ourselves and the world around us?
The truth is we cannot fix ourselves or the world around us. The harder we try to fix things, the worse they seem to become. Left to ourselves, we will surely die. Jesus was the King that the dying world had to have. There was no other way than the way that Jesus walked.
He was the King who cared enough to leave His throne in heaven to take on the flesh of a man. He was the King who would give life to the dead. He was the King that healed every disease and cast out demons. He was the King that the world needed.
And He was clearly our King, clearly our Jesus, in those moments when the world would see His weakness.
A King when He was led before Pilate. A King when the soldiers beat Him with a whip. A King when the crowds taunted and jeered Him. A King when they mocked Him, putting a crown of thorns on His head, a staff in His hand and a purple robe on His back. A King when He carried His cross. A King when He forgave the sins of the thief and promised him eternal life. A King when He cried and out to His Father in pain and anguish and gave up His Spirit.
The world will see the last days of Jesus as far from kingship. But there was no other way to save a dying world. The King had to do the unthinkable. The King had to die. That is why our Advent King came not with pomp, power, prestige, and possessions but to show His great love. Not to be served but to serve us in His suffering and death.
Because of the kind of King that Jesus is, we should not be surprised with the kind of kingdom He has established. His kingdom is not of this world. This earth and this life are only the beginning, not the end. We are told to be in the world but not of the world. For our home is in the kingdom of heaven, where there will be no more death.
As you read Luther’s catechism, you make an amazing discovery. The catechism is no do-it-yourself manual. Rather, as Christians we are taught to pray and live as baptized children of the King. And as His children, we know that our King delights in bringing His gifts to His people still today: In the voice of your pastor granting you forgiveness as from the mouth of Christ Himself. Through the life-giving waters of Holy Baptism, claiming you as the Fathers own child and bringing you into His kingdom. Bread and wine, now body and blood, for us Christians to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
Oh, to be the King? Even for just one day. Think of the pomp and power, the prestige and possessions. No, not to be the King. But to know the heavenly King and to know that through His suffering and death, through His Holy Sacraments, He continues daily to call each one of us to be kings with Him. Amen.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Are You the Coming One or not? Do we look for another? Will You stay in heaven or come to us?Are you the Lamb of God who takes, and not just took, away the sins of the world? We have sins -- as many as those people then. We need them taken away. Are You the Lamb who takes away sins?
Have you forgotten about us? Do you know how cold it is? How sad we are? How lonely and afraid? Do you know our hearts are broken and our families are in distress? Do You know about divorce? About garnished wages? About visitation rights? Do you know about addiction and betrayal and neglect? We are hurting inside and out. Where are you?
And what of those at war, who confessed Your Name, last week and died at the hands of violent terrorists? Where were you then?
We did not see, but we have heard, that the blind once were made to see, the lame to walk, and the lepers were cleansed. We did not see, but we heard, that the dead were raised.
So, too, we have heard your Gospel with our own ears. Though we are poor, not much noticed in this city or state or country, though we are not important or powerful or famous, Your Gospel has been preached to us. We have heard what others saw.
We have heard the Good News of Your coming in the Flesh, of angelic choirs singing to Shepherds, of wise men coming from the East. We have heard of Herod's wicked jealousy, of a nighttime flight to Egypt, and of a detour back to Nazareth. We have heard that you were Baptized by John and crossed the Jordan. We have heard the heavens were opened, that the Spirit lit upon You, and that the Father said, “This is My Son with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to Him.” We have heard. We are listening. Are you the Coming One or not?
We have heard how You endured temptations in the desert, how the crowds followed You while you taught and healed and fed them. We have heard of those you loved: of John and James and Peter, of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. Do You also love us? Do you weep when we die? Are You the Coming One? Are You coming?
We have heard you were betrayed by a friend, a man you loved, perhaps he was a zealot, over-eager for the end, pushing You to do do what You came to do. Did he lose his faith because You did not move fast enough to satisfy his fallen flesh? Did his remorse, his feeble attempt to give the money back, make you weep as you wept for Jerusalem? And when his intestines spilled out onto the ground, when the devil finally had his way with him, did that small justice make the betrayal any less? Are You the Coming One? Like Judas we have waited. When will You show Your hand? When will You take up Your power and reign? We are besought with temptations and doubt. This is a dangerous place for faith. What will keep us from Judas' fate? When will we be free?
We have heard how You suffered, of sweat like blood and cups of Wrath. We have heard of soldier's scourges and crossed beams outside the city gates. We have heard of pain and sorrow and a desire to gather like a hen gathers her chicks to herself, and of grief for a city that knows not what makes for peace. We have heard how you groaned and died. We know the promise: “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” the gentle care You showed, “Woman, here is your son.” We know the cries: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” and “I thirst.” We have heard You said: “It is finished” and then commended Your Spirit into Your Father's hands. You went to Him. Will You come to us?
We have heard how the centurion sank his killing spear into Your side to make sure that You were dead. We have heard that blood and water came out, that Your Life poured on him and that he said “Surely this Man was the Son of a God.”Are you still the Son of God? We have heard the Temple veil was torn in two and the dead of Jerusalem got up alive. We have heard that you were laid to rest in Joseph's tomb hewn from virgin rock. Nietzsche wasn't the first to say that God was dead. You were dead, and buried, and thus Your Coming in the Flesh came to an end.
Will You now come to us? For we have heard the tomb was empty but for the burial clothes three days after You were put to death. We have heard of unused myrrh and women full of fear. We have heard that You were thought a gardener and that You opened eyes in Emmaus at the breaking of the bread. We have heard how you breathed the Spirit out into the Apostles and bestowed peace upon them. We have heard that You gave them the keys to heaven and sent them to open it for men, to preach and to baptize, to make disciples of all the creatures of the earth.
We have heard, by their preaching and their writing, what others saw. We have been absolved at their hands, had the keys applied to us, and heard Your Voice in them. And now we ask again: Are You the Coming One or not? Will You come to us? Will you open our eyes, give motion to our lame limbs, put words of praise into our mouths, and cleanse us of all our sins? Will you bestow the peace that passes all understanding? Will You make us the friends of God again?Will you preach to us poor sinners Good News of righteousness? Will you makes us Yours and remember promises made to Abraham for our good? Will you give us faith, see us through, teach us to wait and hope and pray and lift up our heads as the end draws near? Will You be Our Lord? Will You come to us?
Are you the Coming One, O Lord? Are You coming for us as You came for them?
Yes. You are. Though we are weak, though we are frustrated and unsure and full of doubt, though we are dying and afflicted by death, by Your grace we believe that You are. You come in Word. You come in Sacrament. You come to and for us. You take away our sins. You make us Yours. We are Yours. There is much we do not know and do not understand, but we are Yours. We have heard Your Voice. It has spoken us clean. We are washed in Your Blood. We are joined to You in the Holy Communion. We are Yours! Give us patience, Lord. Give us Faith. And come Lord Jesus. Come quickly! Amen.
This was no ordinary word. Of course, words from God never are. The announcement came from Gabriel into the Virgin’s ear: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:30–31). This was no ordinary word.
The power of the God’s Word creates what it says. Just as the Word at creation brought all things into being, now the voice of Gabriel, sent from God, joins this Word to the flesh of Mary’s womb.
Not by human flesh and blood,
By the Spirit of our God,
Was the Word of God made flesh—
Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh. (LSB 332:2)
Not by human flesh and blood, yet He, the eternal Word, is flesh and blood. The one who will do extraordinary things appears completely ordinary while His divinity is quietly veiled under human flesh. The joining of the divine and human in the person of Jesus is a profound mystery, yet it is the very heart of our faith.
At the center of it, we find the blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord, the mother of the Son of God, who is begotten of His Father before all worlds—God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God—yet who is also now true man, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. As He is of one divine nature with God the Father from all eternity, so is He now of the same human nature as you and me, because He was conceived and born of this woman, this daughter of Adam and Eve.
The season of Advent hinges upon these things. You take away Mary of Nazareth, and you no longer have the Gospel. Oh, yes, surely God could have done it some other way. He might have chosen some other young virgin from the house and lineage of David to conceive and bear His only-begotten Son in the flesh, but there is really no such thing as “what might have been.” There is only that which the Lord has said and done.
Now, it must be remembered that Mary has not merited any of this. She, like you and me, was a poor, miserable sinner, who deserved nothing but punishment. But she also, like you and me, has been the recipient of the mercy of the Lord. And it is especially in that capacity, as a recipient of the mercy and grace of God in Christ, that Mary teaches us so beautifully the meaning of faith.
She does nothing to bring it on, nothing to earn or deserve it. But the Lord is with her, as He is with you, here in His Church, in His Gospel. He favors her with His grace; He blesses her with His Word and Spirit, uniquely so, of course; and yet, He also favors you and blesses you within your own vocations and stations in life. Most glorious of all, He speaks to Mary His Word, and He gives to her His own dear Son. He also speaks His Word to you, and through that Word He gives to you the same Son who was conceived and born of Mary.
Oh, the power and the glory of that Word of God! That holy and almighty Word, which was in the beginning with God; that Word by which all things were made; that Word which becomes flesh and comes to dwell among us, full of grace and truth! That Word of life, which is Spirit and Truth. That Word which, when He says, “Let there be,” then “it is so,” and “it is very good!”
This fleshly Jesus has won your salvation. His sinless flesh becomes sin for you. His spotless flesh without blemish is raised up on the wicked stick. The one who speaks all things into being cries out in dereliction to the Father. He who is life and light is brought low in the darkness of death. Hell and the devil do their very worst to Him.
But the coldness of death could not hold His immortal flesh. He dies to kill death, and He rises to bright life and immortality to light. He lives that we might have true life in Him.
By Your mighty pow’r make whole
All our ills of flesh and soul. (LSB 332:6)
He speaks to you, sinner, and He declares that He is with you. He has favored you with His gracious Word of forgiveness, and He has blessed you with His Holy Spirit.
In the washing of Holy Baptism He has given you His holy name! He has anointed you with His Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that over-shadowed the Virgin Mary and conceived the Son of God in her womb. So you are a child of the Father in heaven.
The Word proclaims sins forgiven. The Word invites: “Take, eat; this is My body. Take, drink; this is My blood.” And the Word of life makes it so.
This is the Word spoken to you. It is no less certain than the Word that was spoken to Mary. This is the Word that creates and sustains us in all things. Amen.
