Robert Smith – Page 11 – What Does This Mean?

Joy to the World! The Lord is Come!

Encore Post: Isaac Watts hated the music sung in his dissenting Calvinist churches. These congregations believed that only the words of Psalms, or close paraphrases, were appropriate for worship. Watts believed that hymns should bring out the Christian sense of the Psalms and connect with the lives of everyday Christians. So, over three hundred years ago (1719), he composed a book of hymns inspired by the Psalms entitled: ” The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament. On Psalm 98, he wrote two hymns. Under the title “The Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom,” he wrote, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”

Now, the most published Christmas hymn in North America, “Joy to the World,” is really not a Christmas hymn. It celebrates both the First and Second Advent of Christ.

Joy to the World; The Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King:
Let every Heart prepare him Room,
And Heaven and Nature sing.

The first stanza rejoices that Christ has already come and invites us to do what Bethlehem did not do on the first Christmas: make room for him in our hearts.

Joy to the Earth, The Savior reigns;
Let Men their Songs employ;
While Fields & Floods, Rocks, Hills & Plains
Repeat the sounding Joy.

No more let Sins and Sorrows grow,
Nor Thorns infest the Ground:
He comes to make his Blessings flow
Far as the Curse is found.

He rules the World with Truth and Grace,
And makes the Nations prove
The Glories of his Righteousness,
And Wonders of his Love.

The rest of the hymn looks forward to the Second Advent. Then the Savior will reign on the earth. The curse of Adam will be reversed. He will rule with truth and grace, and all the nations will know it. We will all rejoice.

So, no, you are not rushing Christmas by singing “Joy to the World.” It is great to sing on the last Sunday of the church year and throughout Advent. After all, the Lord has come. He was born of the Virgin, lived a perfect life for us, died for our sins, and rose for our salvation. The Lord is come, wherever people are baptized in his name, saved by his grace, rejoice as he reigns among them. The Lord will go as far as the curse is found. Joy to the world indeed! Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2023 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

Thank Who?

Encore Post: Over the last week, American television personalities have been engaging in a kind of ritual. All of the hosts tell their audiences the things for which they are thankful. The typical items on their lists are: family, friends, health, home and other goods. One thing is nearly always missing: whom should they thank for these blessings?

The natural thing for people, as sinful creatures, to do is to assume that the blessings they have are theirs because they are good people. If you do good things, then God will reward you with good things. In the musical Sound of Music, the character Maria von Trapp sings:

Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing ever could
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

In the eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, the principle of karma is based on this idea: the good you do will return to you as a blessing and the evil you do as a curse. The Pharisees were of the same opinion. If you had a blessing, you must be especially righteous, and if you suffered from a disease, you must have sinned. In a parable Jesus told, the Pharisee’s prayer of thanksgiving is more of an act of self-congratulation. (Luke 18:9-14) Sinners are inclined to think they are entitled to their blessings and so, if anyone is to be thanked, it is ourselves.

Yet, the reality is that very few of the things we have are of our own doing. The people in our family, community, church family, and nation labored and sacrificed much so that we can have the opportunities to work, play, and enjoy our place in the world. Behind them are still countless others, and ultimately, to God himself, who made us and all things. All this comes to us because of God’s love for us and his mercy. Because after all, our sinful nature is in rebellion against God. We’ve forfeited our right to live, much less live forever in his presence or receive anything from his mercy. We deserve to die and be cast into hell.

Yet God loved us before he made the world, and in his grace decided not to destroy us, but to save us, and, in the end, fully restore us. He did this at the cost of the suffering and death of his son, Jesus. In his death, he destroyed death and, in his resurrection, opened the kingdoms of heaven to all believers. Our natural response to the grace is trust in his promises and, in thanksgiving, to him for the countless blessings in this life and in heaven, kept safe for us. So, we always give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his mercy endures forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Thanks for Nothing

Encore Post: Giving thanks does not come naturally to sinful human beings. It is a learned trait. In traditional American etiquette, children are constantly reminded to say “please” and “thank you.” Part of the training that goes into professional life, since it is not a feature of working-class culture, is always to respond to a gift with a handwritten “thank you” note. It is part of every successful fundraising campaign. It serves to let the giver know you received the gift, that it was appreciated, and to allow you to let the giver know what use their donation will support. Even self-centered individuals soon learn that taking this step is likely to lead to another gift from the patron.

The Holy Scriptures are filled with thanksgiving to God for His mercies. They are part and parcel of the praise we give to him for his love towards us. God’s Word encourages us to thank him, exhorts us to do so, and offers endless examples of how to do so. By the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, it was a part of the liturgy of God’s people. The constant refrain throughout is familiar to every Christian: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his mercy endures forever.” Nearly every prayer began with “Blessed are you, O Lord, our God…”

Yet sinful human beings quickly forget that all they have has been given to them. Quickly, a blessing becomes something they are owed rather than something given to them, which will eventually be taken away. We enter this world with nothing and will leave this life with nothing. All depends on others and ultimately on God. Thanksgiving reminds us of this positively and helps us to appreciate everything as a gift, not a right. It encourages us to hold our possessions, lose them in our hands, to enjoy them while they last, and to be ready to give them when another needs them.

It would not be unjust for God to withdraw all our gifts since we are ungrateful, self-serving creatures, curved in on ourselves to the exclusion of God and others. Yet he loves us and is not willing that we should perish. So he sends sunlight and rain, seasons, and all that is needed for our crops and other foods to grow, even without thanks or prayer. And most of all, in the person of his Son, he became one of us, took our ungratefulness and all other sins upon himself, died to pay their full price, and earned for us the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. These he gives to us fully, along with the faith to receive them and give him thanks. So it is that we urge each other to give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his mercy lasts forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Thanksgiving in the United States

Encore Post: Four hundred-twenty-four years ago, the Puritan settlers of Massachusetts had much to be thankful for. They had survived a severe first winter that had killed most of the first settlers in their colony. They were befriended by the neighboring Wampanoag tribe, who fed them, taught them how to hunt, fish, and plant successfully in their new home, and with whom they made a treaty to defend them against their enemies. The treaty was honored by both sides for a generation, which allowed the colony to establish itself, grow, and thrive.

To thank God for these blessings, they invited their new friends to a feast. It was the first of many such feasts of thanksgiving, which Puritans would have after any great blessing. Other colonies in the United States would periodically celebrate days of thanksgiving, particularly at harvest time in October and November. The first nationwide day of thanksgiving was declared by George Washington on November 26, 1789, to thank God for establishing and blessing the new nation. The date of Thanksgiving celebrations varied from state to state, but in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln set the national day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt experimented with moving the date to the second-to-last Thursday in November. In 1941, he signed legislation that set Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November.

Today, Thanksgiving is increasingly a family event, where families gather from across the country to eat a big dinner together, watch football games on TV, and go shopping for Christmas gifts on the Friday following, known as Black Friday, when many American businesses show a profit for the first time. It is the unofficial start of the Christmas season in the United States.

Many Americans have completely lost track of the purpose of the day — to thank God for his blessings. Christian churches, however, still conduct services of thanksgiving on Wednesday and Thursday. We remember the source of our blessings and one most Americans do not remember — that our Lord Jesus took our sins upon himself, bore them to the cross where he suffered and died to pay their price, rose again to break the seal of the grave forever, and in Holy Baptism, made us his own. Now, at the end of our days or the end of all days, he will return to bring us home to live with him forever. Then at his return, the Great Day of Thanksgiving will begin, when he brings an end to sin and death forever, casts Satan and his forces into hell forever, raise us from our graves, transform us to be like him and live with us forever. So, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his mercy endures forever and ever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

At Just the Right Time

[Nineteenth in a series of posts on Last Things]Encore Post: Time is a funny thing. We use clocks that measure the vibrations of atoms, coordinated with telescopes to record their passage with great precision and consistency from place to place, transmit them to us via computers, satellites, radio, television, and other digital signals, and synchronize our clocks with them. We barely notice that time is a human thing — except on leap years or when we change our clocks twice a year or move from time zone to time zone.

Time is how we record the changes we notice more and more each year of life. Time passes quickly. When you are a child, an hour drags on forever. As an adult, it passes before you realize it. What is important, our culture has noticed, is not time itself, but what you do with it. It has become our new currency. We would sooner write a check than hang out.

The Greek of the New Testament uses two different words for time. καιρός (Cairos) translates roughly “the right time.” χρόνος (Chronos) is about the passage of time, minute after minute, hour after hour, year after year. Seasons like Advent, days like Christmas and New Year’s Day are χρόνος, times that we plan for, come and go, forming a part of the rhythm of life. That Christmas when you opened your first present is καιρός

The fullness of time when God sent his son, born of a virgin, is God’s καιρός (Galatians 4:4-5). His acts and plans unfolded slowly, one building on another, leading to just that right time. The next big καιρός is the Second Advent, when time itself will come to an end in God’s eternal life with his people.

The persons, events, and institutions leading to that first right time, the incarnation, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Immanuel — God-with-us — were called by the Early Church the praeparatio Evangelii (The Preparation of the Gospel).

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Stir up Sunday

Encore Post: In the Anglican Church’s Book of Common Prayer, the collects for the last Sunday of the Church Year and three of the four Sundays of Advent begin with the words “Stir up …” In England, where the mix for Christmas Pudding needed to cure for weeks, hearing the words of the collect reminded households to stir up the Christmas pudding! So they nicknamed the Sunday “Stir-up Sunday.”

Lutheran churches do not use the first collect, perhaps because it is a kind of works-righteousness. But we do use the three Advent Collects. They are:

First Sunday of Advent: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance;

Second Sunday of Advent: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds;

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy;

The three prayers summarize the themes of Advent. We call on God to come, knowing he has come in the person of his Son, comes to us each day by the Holy Spirit, and will come to us on the last day. But our prayers make his coming our own in a special way. The Spirit and the Bride say to us Come! They invite us also to say Come! to God’s children, lost and found. They call on us to say, Come, Lord Jesus. And so we do in Advent.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things 7G: Stay Awake! Don’t Close Your Eyes!

[Thirteenth in a series of posts on last things] Encore Post: Even with the effects of the fall, the world can be very sweet, pleasant, and beautiful. When God finished creating the world, he stood back, looked it all over and said, “very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Even after sin entered the world, bringing with it death, sorrow, grief, pain, disease, and disaster, the hand of the creator is present everywhere. Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, seashore views and gentle, warm breezes, mountain valleys and peaks all speak to us of his majesty. Even cloud patterns before a storm cause us to admire his majesty. There is the pleasure of the presence of loved ones, holding your child or grandchild for the first time.

Life is very precious to us. It absorbs us in planning, working towards goals, saving, dreaming, and enjoying the many gifts God gives to us. We deal with it as best as we can with the tragedies of life, but there are long stretches of time when we think it will never end. We forget that this world—and, more to the point, our world — is passing away. We go to sleep spiritually. The work that God calls us to do, especially to witness to the Good News of salvation in Jesus, doesn’t seem quite so important. When sports tournaments are held on Sunday, we skip worship to watch our kids compete. We put caring for the poor, contributing to the work of the church with our resources and time second; we put off uncomfortable conversations with loved ones who wander from the faith.

Yet it is very much at times like these that our Lord will return for us. He will do so suddenly, without warning, the way that the flood came in the day of Noah, the way the sudden attacks on Pearl Harbor Day and 9/11 came. It may be at the end of time or at the end of our time. It is why Jesus calls on us to stay awake! We remember he came at the fullness of time, lived the perfect life for us, suffered and died for us, rose again for us, and ascended to prepare a place for us. And so we set the watch, day and night, knowing that he is coming for us. In the meantime, we work for the day, and the time will come when we can no longer work. All the while, we pray: Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things 7f: The Gospel Preached to the Ends of the Earth

[Twelfth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: One of the most popular of the signs Jesus predicted would happen before the Second Advent is the success of the missionary mandate. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world ,” Jesus predicted. (Matthew 24:14) This sign appears to be, unlike the other signs, a unique condition, one that was not fulfilled during the ministry of Jesus. Millennialist prophecy scholars observe it wasn’t until the 19th century that many areas of the world were visited by missionaries. While this is true, it is based on an English translation of the prophecy. The passage is better translated: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole civilized world. (οἰκουμένῃ–oikoumene–Ecumene)”

The Greek language of the New Testament uses several words that are translated world in our English Bibles. οἰκουμένῃ was used by the Greeks and Romans for the lands of the Roman Empire. They thought of humanity as made up of two classes of people, the civilized Graeco-Roman nations and the barbarians. κόσμος (kosmos–cosmos) was the word used by Greek philosophers to speak about the universe. Greek-speaking Judaism used it to translate the Old Testament phrase “Heavens and the Earth” — all of creation and especially all peoples. This is the word used in John 3:16. The word γῆς (ges–the root for our word geography) was used for the physical world, translated earth or the land.

This prophecy, then, is similar to the others we’ve examined. It refers to the gospel being preached to all peoples. It was fulfilled already when St. Paul reached Spain, known in his day as “The End of the World.” It continues to be fulfilled wherever Christians preach the good news of salvation, wherever they live. As they fulfill Christ’s sending, baptizing and teaching, the Holy Spirit uses their witness to create faith, call the lost to faith, and build Christ’s church. When he completes this task and our mission in accomplished, Jesus will return to bring his bride home.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things 7e: Persecution of the Church

[Eleventh in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: Jesus repeatedly warned his disciples that they would be hated for his sake. Already in the Beatitudes, Jesus tells them they will be blessed when they are persecuted and slandered for his sake, for they have the kingdom of heaven and are like the prophets who came before them. (Matthew 5:10-12) He tells them that being a disciple means taking up their cross and following him. (Matthew 16:24-26) The enemies of Jesus and his gospel would arrest you and throw you in prison, bring you before kings and governors. Even parents, family members, and friends will betray you to the authorities. Some will even be put to death. You need not worry, however, because the Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak. Yet you will not perish. (Luke 21:12-19)

So, as a sign of the end, this prediction is nothing new for them or for us. That it is associated with the end of days should not be a surprise. It is not, as some millennialist writers believe, a specific prophecy of the persecution of the Jewish church after the rapture. Like the previous sign, they describe the times that are infected by sin and its effects.

This prophecy was fulfilled in the days following the Ascension of Jesus and continuing to the present. All but one of the apostles died a martyr’s death. Throughout the early Church, persecution occurred from time to time. The witness of these early witnesses to Jesus was so impressive that pagans — including persecutors came to faith. As Tertullian put it, “The blood of the martyrs is seed for the church.”

Throughout the ages, the church has continued to be persecuted until today, and more Christians are persecuted and martyred than in all of history. Like their Lord, they laid down their lives for Jesus. When Jesus returns in glory, they will come with him to greet those of us who are alive on that day. With them numbered may we be, here and in eternity.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things 7d: Many Will Come in My Name

[Tenth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: When Jesus’ disciples asked him for signs of the end of the age, the first sign he gave them came with a warning not to be deceived. (Luke 21:8) The Lord warns us that two things will happen. First, there will be people who claim to be christ. Second, others will tell you the end is near, but it is not. ( Luke 21:8, Matthew 24:5 , 11, 23-28) But Christ will not return secretly, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach, or by birth, as Sun Myung Moon claimed when he declared himself the second coming of Christ, or as a prophet who came after Christ, like Muhammad and Joseph Smith, or many others. Christ will return from the sky with all his angels and the saints who have gone before us to Heaven. Every eye will see him. In addition to these, in almost every generation, some false prophet or another would appear and announce they knew what even the Son of God did not know — the date of the Second Advent.

Like all of the Biblical signs of the end, these signs were fulfilled during the lifetime of the Apostles and every generation since. These describe our times, not specific events to be checked off. False Christs show how desperately the devil wants to take God’s children away from Him. It tells us, as do the other signs, that the age is coming to an end and that Christ can really return at a time we do not know.

Instead of false Christs, their fake miracles and promises, we seek Christ where He truly is. He is with us until the end of time already — in his word purely proclaimed, in baptism, and especially in the Lord’s Supper. There he comes to us to give us his body to eat with bread and his blood to drink with wine. There, he offers what he earned for us on the cross — the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. We look forward to the day when he returns from Heaven to bring an end to sin, death, and the power of the devil. On that day, he will wipe every tear from our eyes and bring us to his new Heaven and new Earth forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana