In the United States, December is a very busy month. Christians are preparing for Christmas, Jews are preparing for Hannukah, some African Americans celebrate a fairly recent holiday called Kwanzaa. Our businesses begin already before Halloween to prepare brightly colored lights and Christmas trees, music and sales for the gifts people will buy and parties people will host. Crafters begin even earlier — the care that knitting, crocheting, sewing, making of candles, clay creations and other items take quite a bit of time and love to make.
For the church, it is a season of preparation, too! On the surface, there are the additional services and special music to prepare. Pastors take special care to craft a sermon that will bring the Good News of Great Joy to what has been delicately called the semi-annual worshippers. Yet the real preparation is not for the celebration. The real preparation is for Christ to come.
Advent is about the three ways that Jesus comes to us. Everyone remembers the first time he came — as a baby in Bethlehem. The Second Coming is when he comes at the end of time. The third way is the one most people miss — Jesus comes to us everyday in various ways. He is always with us, until the end of time itself. He comes to us every time we read his word or hear it preached. He comes when we gather in worship, especially when the pastor speaks his forgiveness to us. He is really present, coming to us in bread and wine, where he gives us his body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
So, how do we prepare for these comings? With the faith he has given to us as a gift, we turn from our sins to do his will (that’s what the Hebrew word for repent means). We completely change our minds (that’s what the Greek word for repent means, from giving in to our sinful ways of thinking to keeping God’s law and doing his will. Alone, these are impossible for us. But with God’s help, the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ and the gifts of his Word and Sacraments, we can change are hearts and minds to serve him.
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
I don’t remember how many times this happened for me but I remember going to the mall a few times to sit on old St. Nick’s knee. You know how that went. Santa would ask some questions about being a good child, and what you hoped to unwrap on Christmas Day. And like the Christmas Story, you could hear all kinds of gifts being hoped for, from BB guns, fishing poles, to ponies and dollies. And the kids I remember being around walked away talking about how much they hoped Santa was listening.
What was going on? Where is the fire and brimstone Jesus, the one whom John preached? We must investigate. So, John, who was in prison directed his disciples to go and seek Jesus. The direction to ask the question: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Or in the words of our advent wreath: Are you the one we should put all our hope in?
The promise of the one to come begins all the way back in Genesis chapter 3. Adam and Eve hooked their wagons to the offspring of the woman’s seed who would crush the head of the serpent. And the waiting game would begin. The first one to come was Cain. Eve when she gave birth to him, announced in Hebrew, “Behold, I have gotten God, a man.” She hoped that Cain was the One. And we should know the story of how that goes. And the story of hoping for the One to come went all through the Old Testament, from Noah to Abraham to Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, etc. Every male child was hoped to be the One. Until many gave up hope. The light of the promise flickered and nearly when everything fell apart in Jerusalem. When Israel lost its standing as a nation and went into Exile, only a small remnant had hope in the One who was to come. But they had the hope of the promise of Isaiah 61, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” To comfort all who mourn, and to give a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.
Was Jesus the One? Jesus does not answer the question with a direct answer. But he teaches us something very important. He says to the inquisitors, “Look at you see. Look at what you hear.” And then He then quotes from our Old Testament Lesson and then also Isaiah 42 which also speaks of the servant of the Lord being anointed by the Lord’s Spirit. The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the dear hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” The Good News which Jesus has to offer to all is that it is the time of the Lord’s favor. The One long hoped for has arrived. He is on the scene, and He is working. And John’s disciples knew as did many others. And the disciples of John went away back to John having their faith and hope in Christ as the One strengthened. And their faith and hope would need that as they would be burying their own teacher in the not so distant future when Herod would have him executed. They would go to the One for whom they had hoped.
And He still is working granting you mercy now in these dark and dreary days that offer little hope. Hope in the Lord for no one else keeps His promises. No politician, no king, not even a father keeps every promise made. But the Lord? Indeed, he does. And He even bids us to remind him over and over again of the promises He has sworn to us. Jesus has been sent to bind up the brokenhearted, down trodden by sin and death. He has come to release you from the prison of sin by taking sin upon Himself and dying your death on the cross.
John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask a question. The disciples left with the answer. Of course Jesus is the One. There is no other to look for. He is the guy, John was right all along. But before the axe is laid, the proclamation to the those bound must go out. Jesus actually quotes Isaiah 61 at the beginning of his ministry in Luke 4 when He takes up the scroll of Isaiah in the Synagogue. Jesus reads up to the first line of the second verse. Jesus does not speak about the day of vengeance. It will come, but first mercy for sinners like the tax collectors and the prostitutes, soldiers and every other sinner out there, sinners like you.
The Day of vengeance will come when all the world will be brought to account, and the Lord’s faithful will be gathered to the kingdom prepared for them. But the vengeance first comes upon Jesus’ own head at the cross. He gathers all his wheat first to His cross, and places them in to the barn of the church until He will return in glory and power on the Last Day that they may not face the judgment but be covered by His blood and saved. John’s hope was not ill placed. Neither is your hope. Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has come to grant mercy to you, proclaiming forgiveness for his sake, giving you hope in the life and the world to come even as we live in this life now.
Look at the advent wreath, remember the first candle, the candle of hope. Know it points to Christ, the One for which the world longs to see. You see Him here at this altar still working for you and your salvation, giving you mercy, forgiveness, faith, hope, and love in His body and blood.
There may be several related questions about that one little icon in our hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book (LSB), which we print into the bulletin also. It’s an innovation for the 2006 hymnal to smooth out some confusion about rubrics (which describe how we move and what we do, physically) in worship. Sometimes we stand. Sometimes we sit. Sometimes we kneel.
First off, what’s a “stanza?” Most of us grew up calling the numbered lines of text in a hymn, verses. They are actually called stanzas. Verses are the individual poetic lines of which a stanza is constituted. For example: “My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker,” LSB 820, stanza 3, verse 2 reads, God in His arms will gather all who are His in childlike fear. That line doesn’t make much sense by itself. There is a simple phrase to help us remember that distinction. “Psalms have verses, hymns have stanzas.”
So, why a triangle? The triangle indicates the Holy Trinity, Father Son, and Holy Spirit, by name. Christian art has used the triangle as visual shorthand for the Trinity for centuries. So, it was a natural go-to visual marker for our hymnals. Why does the triangle only appear sometimes? Not all, or even very many of our hymns contain a Trinitarian final stanza. This is neither good nor bad hymn writing. It simply is. The ones that do have a Trinitarian final stanza get the triangle marker. We added the triangle to our hymns to reduce some confusion between local practices that popped-up over time.
Why do we stand for triangled stanzas? We stand for Trinitarian stanzas to acknowledge and glorify our Triune God. The Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshipped, says the Athanasian Creed. We do something special at that moment because we are clearly setting ourselves apart from others who would claim Christianity, but deny the Triune God.
Our standing acclamation speaks to our confessions together in the creeds. There are groups claiming to be Christians, who would not stand in acclamation, or should not. Among those are Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter-day Saints (Mormons).
This is also why we have abandoned the minority practice of standing for every final stanza of every hymn. Only the Trinitarian stanzas receive the bold confession of the Trinity by standing when they are sung. And similarly, we do not stand to sing, “Stand Up! Stand Up! For Jesus,” because it does not contain the Trinitarian formula.
So, dear Christians, stand up. Blessèd be the Holy Trinity!
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Dear saints, we begin Advent as we begin Holy Week: with our Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. This helps to focus our hearts and minds. Advent is the first season of the church year and the first part of the Time of Christmas. But it is not a celebratory season. The purple paraments give us a clue to this. Purple is the royal color of the coming king, a color of repentance. The color fits well both Advent and Lent, but the character of the seasons are different. Symbols depicting the two seasons are quite different. Candles and angels are common for one, crosses and crowns of thorns for the other. Only the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, overlaps.
Advent, like Lent, builds to a climax which is only realized when the next season begins. For Lent the climax is the Resurrection; for Advent, the climax is the Nativity of Our Lord. The themes and lessons of each season help focus us to, for lack of a better word, experience this climax.
Advent begins with our Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem a week before his death. This helps show that Advent is not pre-Christmas. If it were, we would expect lessons like the Annunciation. We would expect to hear of Gabriel’s visit to Mary. About John leading in the womb of Elizabeth when he hears the voice of Mary.
But this is not what we are doing in Advent. We are not getting ready for a Jesus who is about to be born. He is born and we will soon commemorate and celebrate that great event. Instead, we focus on getting ready for the End. Advent is eschatological, that is, it focuses on death, judgment, and eternity. Advent is, therefore, a call to repentance.
The word ‘advent’ is from a Latin word that means ‘coming.’ We spent the last three weeks contemplating our Lord’s Second Coming when He comes in Glory. Advent culminates with the celebration of Christmas when He was born in Bethlehem. For that reason, we see in Christmas why Jesus comes. He comes to be the Savior. He comes to die. And He will come again in glory at the End of the Age.
Advent, then, is also a time of preparation. We ready ourselves for the end. This is what we heard from St. Paul: For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of the darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime…. In the Introit and Collect we ask that God would protect us, rescue us, deliver us, and not let us be put to shame. We cry out for our redemption.
Let us, then, look at our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem as He prepares to ascend His throne on the cross. Jesus and those with Him draw near Jerusalem. They arrive in Bethphage, where the Mount of Olives is located. Two of the disciples are sent into the village to retrieve a donkey and her colt. They go and retrieve the animals. They put their outer cloaks on the colt and Jesus mounts it, riding into Jerusalem.
This accomplishes biblical prophecy: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” He rides into Jerusalem just as another son of David, Solomon, did. And like Solomon, the people line the streets and receive Jesus. They spread their cloaks and freshly cut branches and line the road as Jesus enters. And they sing, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna!”
Our Lord has come. He comes from the Father to the virgin and makes Himself the sacrifice for the sins of the world. The world that rebelled and caused all the horrible and miserable things which we continue to endure. And then he lays down his life so that we would be rescued and spared. He becomes our sin. He suffers the consequences of all our crimes, petty or otherwise. He is betrayed and abandoned by those He loved. In all that was done to Him, and everything that continues to be done shows exactly how unworthy we are of Him. He knew all of this before he came, and he came anyway. He was driven by an intense love for His creation. And that love compels Him to show mercy, compassion, and charity.
The amazing thing about the message of Christmas is that our Lord does all of this knowing what will happen. It is good to decorate and have various ceremonies and festivities. It is right to rejoice in our Lord’s birth. A birth which came about so that the virgin-born God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, would die as a sacrifice for our sins.
But we are not there yet. When we get there, it will be great. We will rightfully celebrate and rejoice. But our fathers in the faith bid us not to rush to Christmas as children rush through their presents on Christmas morning. The church would have us pause and prepare for this mysterious and exciting day. We prepare through repentance. Before we jump to the joy of Christmas, we fast through Advent. Such fasting may be a literal fast where you abstain from certain foods or activities, or it could be simply that parts of our liturgy are not sung as we await the day when we sing it again with gusto. Before we hear of our Lord in the manger and in His mother’s arms, we hear St. John calling his hearers to repent and to behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Yet there is a third coming that we celebrate in Advent. This coming is one that is ongoing and lasts throughout the whole year. That coming is how our Lord comes to us continually in his Word and Sacrament. He does this and aids us in our preparation for His Second Coming. As shepherds hear the declaration of the angels, we gather to hear the Word through the Scripture and his angels, which means messenger, of today: his pastors. As wise men bow and lay down gifts before Him, we bow and kneel before His altar to receive forgiveness and salvation through the gift of His Body and Blood.
We stand at the beginning of a new Church Year. It does not begin with Jesus in Bethlehem. It begins with Jesus riding toward the cross. Advent is not getting us ready for Christmas or Easter. It is getting us ready for the Lord’s coming in glory and judgment. We get ready for that by receiving Him now as He comes to us in Word and Sacrament.
Our Lord will return. And on that Last Day, He will come in terrors. He will come to judge the nations. But it will not be a terror to you. Instead, it will be a joy and delight. For He is your righteousness. He has died to make you His. He has substituted Himself for you and declared you righteous as He is righteous. He comes on that day as He came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and today: driven by His love and desire to have you. That is why we pray, “Hosanna, Lord save us,” and “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.” Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
The Old Testament and Gospel lesson for today, Mark 13:24–27 go hand in hand with the imagery of what will take place on the day the Lord comes down. Can you imagine though for yourselves what all this would look like? What kind of terror would that cause? The sky literally being ripped out and something, someone, the very Son of Man coming down to earth just as He promised.
You might be asking for what reason or purpose does Isaiah and Israel desire their Lord to rend the heavens open and come down? To destroy God’s and their adversaries of course! The prayer of Isaiah goes on, “to make your name known to your adversaries and that the nations might tremble at your presence.”
Your adversaries. Think about that for a moment. An adversary is a person who gets in your way. One who opposes your way. One who impedes your will. The very people who pray this prayer with Isaiah have been the Lord’s adversaries and you also.
The season of Advent is one of preparation for the Lord’s coming. Of course, Advent comes in the church year right before Christmas. Many people think Advent is a season preparing for the birth of Jesus, how the son of God came in human flesh by being born of the Virgin Mary. In the age of fact checking, this is not entirely wrong, but its not completely correct either. Look at the readings for the season, and you will not get a story about the impending birth of Mary until the final Sunday of the season right before Christmas. The readings chosen via the lectionary committee and the church universal from generations past place a lot more emphasis on being prepared for the final coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. You might say the final weeks of the church year and the first weeks of Advent have the same kind of tone. Be prepared and stay awake for you do no know when the Bridegroom/Master of the House will come.
Hence, why it is so interesting to return to Isaiah’s prayer in the Old Testament lesson today? Isaiah and Israel want their Lord to come back. And they want Him to return now. Wouldn’t that cause destruction, mass fear, and death? It is the Lord’s adversaries, those who do not listen to his word, that will face these things. But those whose trust in the Lord and hold the Word of Christ as precious this is a day to look upon with great joy and great anticipation. The Last Day for the Sheep of Christ, the good Shepherd is not going to be one of dread.
And so even though Israel, along with Isaiah, know themselves to have sinned greatly against the Lord their God and to be adversaries of the Lord. They were so evil the sight of their Lord they were kicked out of the land that the Lord had promised to their fathers and we see them plead with God for mercy for He is their Father. They plead to Him to not hold on to their sin in anger forever. Yes, they chased after false gods, worshiped them inside the house of the Lord. And God was indeed angry, and rightfully He disciplined them. He chastised them and sent them packing. He sent first the Assyrians then the Babylonians to beat the city of Jerusalem into oblivion. But in the preaching of the prophets like Isaiah, warning them of the wrath to come for their sins as well as the events themselves taking place to fulfil the promised wrath, God was working to turn the hearts of his people from their sin and back to Him that they might know and receive mercy. And to Him they turn, pleading for mercy even as they look forward to the last day.
Sin is open rebellion against the Lord God. When we do not take our Lord’s words to heart and do not follow them, we sin against God and those commanded to proclaim His Word. We might want to think God is merely joking about the fire that will come upon the earth, that He will do neither good nor bad to us. We have been lulled to sleep, being led by Satan, the world, and our own sinful flesh that this world is all we have. That there is nothing else, so as one company had as their slogan for many a year: “Just do it.” It won’t matter. You only live once, and you better live it up. Carpe Diem, Seize the Day. We have seen the fruit of Satan, good to our eyes, and also with the so-called ability to make one wise, we, like Eve, took and ate of it. And into sin and open rebellion we did fall. We openly fight against the coming of the Kingdom of God. We are God’s adversaries fully deserving of punishment, death, and hell. We need the proclamation of God’s Law. We need to have God’s name made known to us. To make us tremble but also that we might be saved from the fires of eternal destruction.
And that is what is so wonderful. God’s name has been made known to us. When He did awesome things which we did not look for. When He came down not in judgement but in grace, He came born of the Virgin, as He promised He would, to be with us. To be Immanuel. To be our savior, who would go to the cross, to do that thing we did not expect. To announce His favor upon us. There at the cross mercy was poured out on the all the world. The very Son of God came down to save us. To remove our iniquities and the iniquities of all people because we are all God’s people. Indeed, we were all unclean because of our sins but the Son of Man came down to make us clean in His own blood. Washing us clean, making us pure before His heavenly Father.
And so, we pray with wonderful prophet Isaiah, yes Lord come down! Come down now! Make all things right! Your people are being hurt and persecuted. Your saints are being put to death for Your name. Congregations can’t meet. Your people can’t sing your praise. Yes, Lord come down and save us. Take us to be with You.
The Lord has not yet seen it fit to come down. We are told to wait and make known His deeds among the peoples. One thing we are told not do: we are not wait without hope, nor are we to wait without being strengthened during this time of waiting. He gives you every good gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. And what does He give? He gives you His Word. He gives you His Promise that He will indeed grant you mercy for sake of Him who died for you. Though you may feel that you eaten the bread of tears, He will lift up his face upon you that you may be saved. And He has done so. He has come bearing your sin all the way to the cross. And now he feeds you with the bread of heaven, His own body and blood in His Supper. He gives you the water of life to drink. It is a deep well that never goes dry. His Words will not pass away.
Jesus tell us to stay awake. But let’s face it, we will fall asleep. We will not hold Christ’s word in highest esteem all the time. We will fight against our brothers and our sisters. We won’t stand up for the reputation of the man being gossiped about. We will not fully love and honor our spouses as we ought. We who trust in Christ will still fall into temptation and sin. The Spirit may be willing but our flesh is weak and unable to stay awake for coming of Christ. But we know how our Lord sees us. He sees us as His Own. For we are His own creation, purchased and won by the work of Christ Jesus at the Cross, who rose from the dead, ascended to right hand of God the Father, and who will come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead. And He continues to call us to be near where His gifts are that we might receive them often. Just like keeping oil in your lamps, be near the sellers of oil. For we do not know the day or the hour.
So come to this table. Come be refreshed be wakened again. Be strengthened in these last days. May the Lord rend the Heavens and come down soon as Isaiah prays. We are no longer adversaries, but have been made sons and daughters for the sake of the One who has come, Who comes presently in Word and Sacrament, and the Who has promised to come on the final day. We can see the sign of the times. Things are pointing to Christ’s return. The fig tree is ready. The fruit just hasn’t set yet. Jesus warns the world to be ready. He warns us, his Church, to not lose heart, nor to be weary in the time of waiting. Trust His Word for it is true. And it will come to pass just as He says it will. Let us be sustained by His Word and Sacraments as we wait for that day when we shall see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory that we may be saved and brought to live with Him in the New Heaven and the New Earth.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp St. Peter’s Lutheran Church La Grange, MO
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The Holiday Season is upon us. But in many areas, it will be a lot different. Where tomorrow is usually the day we gather with family and friends, there are many places where this has been banned. Some people will stay at home because they are sick or do not want to be exposed to sickness. And some will do what we usually do: they will eat, some will watch football, eat, nap, enjoy the company of friends and family, eat, and perhaps even play some board or card games.
Most years, some of us may skip out of that early. And the reason some will skip out on it early is so we can go get in a line at Best Buy or Wal-Mart. I doubt the Black Friday rush will be what it was last year. The whole reason for Black Friday, which is more like a weeklong affair now, exists is because that is the day businesses look to turn a profit on their year. Who knows what this year will look like? Shoppers like it because many get the bulk of their Christmas shopping done. And perhaps pick things up for themselves while they are at it. I do not know if you have ever participated in the madness that is Black Friday. I have done it. Once. Now, I am still willing to go out Friday afternoon or Saturday if there is something that I really want or need to pick up. But I am not too interested in sitting in lines, running through stores, and displaying a raw materialistic attitude that so many do just to save money on some item.
People look to Black Friday to provide some salvation or respite to their pocketbooks. They know who they are buying for and what they want, but they also know they cannot really afford everything high on a wish list. They do not have the resources to get these things unless they strike it on Black Friday.
Perhaps this is the reason, or at least a good portion of the reason, that stress and anxiety skyrocket during the holidays. But buying gifts is not the only reason for high stress and anxiety. There may be family issues that you know will show up. Maybe a family member is missing this year for the first time. Maybe you are, or have been, the one missing. If you are the cook, maybe you have put an enormous load on yourself – or even worse, had an enormous load heaved upon you – and can’t see any way of fulfilling what you are committed to.
Whatever the reason is, anxiety tends to run high this time of year. I am sure it is especially true this year. If you walked up to someone on the street a few days before Christmas and asked them what their anxiety level was, they would likely rate it about a seven or an eight. Or maybe an eleven. Yet in our text, Paul writes to us saying, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Even though it is not the Gospel lesson for today, perhaps this brings to mind what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. There he reminds us that birds do not sow or harvest, yet are fed. Lilies do not work, but are clothed in beauty. Animals do not do the work we do, they do not stress or have anxiety over every day matters as we do, but still, they are provided for. Jesus ends the section by saying, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Since being anxious does not get us anything, then what good does it do? Well, it does nothing but stress you out. And, frankly, it shows a lack of fear, love, and trust in your Father in heaven. So, we are invited to go to our Father with everything by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving. We are encouraged to let all our requests be made known to our Father.
I know it is not the greatest comparison, but it is like a child at Christmas time. Especially when they are younger, they will make sure you know every little thing they might want. I remember going through a Sears Catalog, yes, I am that old, and marking pages and circling stuff so my parents knew every detail of my wishes and desires.
I am not saying Paul is writing to the Philippians, and to us, saying that we should do this. He is not teaching what many poor theologians claim today, that God is some sort of heavenly wish fulfiller of whatever you can dream up. But he is telling us that we are free to go to God with every care. Is there a difficult financial situation? Ask God for peace and wisdom. Do you miss a loved one? Tell God that you are having a hard time. Will you be alone for the first time? Remember that Christ was left alone to suffer for you.
While these are common prayers that many have, what about supplication? What about those urgent needs that you earnestly ask, maybe even beg God for? When the doctor comes in and says, “It’s cancer and it’s bad.” When everything is crashing down around you and you do not know where to turn. When there is a knock on the door from the Sheriff’s Department and you are the next of kin. These are the times of supplication. Of raw emotion. Perhaps you are not even able to speak, only able to direct confused thoughts to your Heavenly Father. And as hard as it is to think about it, these are still requests made with thanksgiving. This is because you know that the will of God is good and that it will be done.
Whether you are feeling good or in a difficult place, Paul gives us something that you can hold on to: IN A WORLD WORKED UP AND ANXIOUS ABOUT MANY THINGS, OUR GOD GUARDS OUR HEARTS AND MINDS ON ACCOUNT OF CHRIST. On account of this, anything that is weighing on your heart your Father wants to hear about. He is already there to comfort you. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We do not understand everything that happens around us. We do not understand the suffering. The pain. The sickness. We do not understand why the innocent are taken into trouble and death. But hear again the promise that is made to us: God’s peace, which is beyond all our feeble understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This is comfort you can count on. It is like a soldier keeping watch over his platoon in the night. He is there to keep them and protect them from the enemy and all danger. Because there is one keeping watch for the platoon, the rest can sleep. They can rest and recover. This is the promise of God to you. And better than any soldier, God will keep your heart and mind. In the same way, we are freed from dwelling on anxiety. We can focus on the things Paul lists. We are freed to think about what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
Paul wrote this letter from a prison in Rome. And yet he can write about not being anxious. He can write about thinking and dwelling on these good things. His prayers and supplications are on behalf of those he has preached the gospel to and earnestly desires to remain in the true faith.
Paul has known what it was like to be a powerful Pharisee and what it is like to be a reviled Christian preacher. He has known a comfortable financial situation and poverty. He has known having plenty and being hungry. And in all of this, even when in prison, he says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
The reason Paul, and the reason you, can go to God with all your cares, prayers, and supplications; the reason you can know that God will guard your heart and mind; the reason that you can do all things through Christ is that Christ has given up everything on your behalf.
He prayed earnestly in the garden that the cup should pass from him, but even more that the will of God be done. That will was done. Christ knows what it is to have everything. But he gave it all up to be made low and counted as nothing on your behalf. He knows what it is to provide water and he knows what it is to thirst as he hung on the cross. All this he knows and experiences to save you from your sin. From your fear and anxiety. From turning in on yourself and focusing on you. In essence, from you making yourself your god.
Instead, he gives you the freedom to cast your burdens on him. He takes your iniquities and your anxieties and carries them on himself. This is why you are sure your sins are taken away. This is why you can do all things. This is why you take everything to God in prayer. This is why God guards our hearts and minds. He does so because of the work of Jesus Christ.
And this is why, despite all the things going on around us, we give thanks to God. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
Encore Post: A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! It is that special day of the year where everyone (hopefully) gets together with loved ones and gives thanks while enjoy all the food that their eyes desire and (hopefully) there stomachs can handle. And probably around the table before the meal begins you might go around saying what you are thankful for this year. And most of the time each person has something to add to the list. Most people desire to give thanks. The question that should be asked of us all, to Whom should this thanks be directed?
But we as Christians should come to a day such as this with a different mindset. In his fine explanation of the Second Commandment, Luther first tells us what the improper ways of using God’s name. And in the second half, Luther tells us the proper way to use the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are to pray, praise, and give thanks to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So giving thanks is something that should not just happen one day a year, but rather it should be a part of our daily prayer life. Jesus is the foundation. Christ is our life, the very source of all our blessings for this life we live now. As Christians then, we can give thanks in a very distinctive way.
Jesus came into our sin burdened world, took on human flesh, became like us in every way, yet without sin. By Jesus’ redeeming work of suffering and dying on the cross, we receive forgiveness. His resurrection is the guarantee of our everlasting life. And you are united to Jesus’ death and resurrection by being baptized into His name. Jesus is the very foundation of our life and our giving thanks!
Thanksgiving has a higher and greater meaning for us as Christians. That word that is translated as thanksgiving in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 means “grateful acknowledgement for the past mercies of God.” This leads to our humble and honest requests we bring before our Father in prayer. We have so much for which to thank our Lord. Not only does He care for our spiritual needs of forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ death and resurrection, but He cares for our earthly and bodily needs too. He tells us that much in His Holy Word, especially in the 4th petition of His prayer: “give us this day our daily bread.”
Let us continue then to call upon the Lord offering up prayers, supplications, and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us for this life and the life that is to come.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO
Dear saints, this morning we see the end of another church year. And we do so with another parable of Jesus. This time, we center around a group of virgins who are waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. The customs in those days were much different than today. It had the bride awaiting the bridegroom in her home, accompanied by her young companions. The groom would come with his friends and pick her up to lead her to the ceremony. And as he approached, the maidens would go out to meet him. A joyful procession would then wind its way through the streets and end up at the place where the marriage feast was prepared. The young women would enter the hall with the rest of the bridal company. And since weddings in those days were celebrated in the evening, the maidens would carry lamps to light their way in the darkness.
And so already our text makes more sense. The bridegroom was on his way, and the virgins assembled with their lamps. As he approaches, they go out to meet him. They seek. They wait. They get drowsy. They fall asleep as he is delayed. But then, there is a clamor. The bridegroom approaches! It is time to rise and prepare to meet him! The ten virgins awake from their slumber. They grab their lamps, trim their wicks, and go to refill the oil which keeps the lamp burning bright. And that is when the problems start. Five have plenty of oil. They can manage their lamps and have them brightly shine like designed. But five have no oil. They can prepare their lamps but cannot use them. Their lights will not shine.
And so, these foolish virgins turn to the wise who came prepared. “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise virgins brought an extra supply for themselves. They do not have any to spare. And so, the foolish virgins are told to go to the market to buy more. And, despite being the middle of the night and having no merchant to buy from, they go off.
Unsurprisingly, the bridegroom comes while they are away. The wise virgins meet him and process with him to the place the feast has been prepared. They go into the feast, the doors are shut, and the feast commences. Sometime later, the foolish virgins, those who did not come prepared, return. They find the door locked and call out, “Lord. Lord, open to us.” But they hear a surprising response: “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”We are not told their reaction, but I am sure it was one of total shock.
But it is Jesus’ commentary after the parable that should draw our attention today: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” This parable is spoken to those who are disciples of Jesus. To those who follow him and trust in him. On the last Sunday of the liturgical calendar, Jesus gives a grave warning. Remember that this is the last public discourse of Jesus, probably on Wednesday of Holy Week. As we saw a couple of weeks ago, he speaks of the destruction of the Temple and the Last Days leading up to his return. He says, essentially, “Keep your eyes peeled.” We are to be aware of what is going on around us.
Why, though, would such a warning be necessary? Jesus does give something of an answer in Matthew 24, but St. Paul also does in our Epistle text. He tells the believers in Thessalonica, “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
What the apostle is getting at is what our Lord was getting at: When Christ returns, it will be a surprise. Even to those waiting on him. Therefore, we are warned. Even if our days of a pandemic, how easy is it for us to think to ourselves that we have all the time in the world? That we will, with little doubt, have next year or next decade? How easy it is to become complacent! When we do this, we present to ourselves a very real danger.
All the women that were invited to be a part of the bridal party were the same. They were all young maidens. Virgins. They all had a place and came prepared to sit at the feast. But some of these invited and worthy guests were foolish. They were prepared to sit at the feast, but they were not prepared for any delay. The wise virgins, however, brought extra oil. They were ready for things not to work out as they thought they would or should.
And they did not. Instead of the bridegroom coming at the expected time, he was delayed. And even though they went out to meet him, he was not to be found. And so all ten waited. All ten got tired. All ten fell asleep. But at midnight, there was a cry! Perhaps to the ears of these virgins it sounded like the blast of a trumpet. “He’s here! Let us go to meet him!”
But it is dark. And so, the ten prepare to go out to meet and process. They care for the wick and check the oil level. For five, this is no problem. They simply top off. But for the other five, we have a huge problem. They have no more oil, and their lamp will soon go out.
But what does this have to do with us? What does it mean to have oil or to be out of it? Remember that all ten knew about the bridegroom. They all came, seemingly prepared for the wedding. But as things were delayed and drug out, all ten also began to get tired. They did not stand watch or keep vigil. They all slept. And as they slept, the oil burned. As they awoke, some lacked what was essential for light to continue.
The oil of the wise virgins is that of faith. A faith that is continually sustained by the Means of Grace. And with this faith being sustained by what God has given us, Word and Sacrament, the oil of faith endures. Even as we await the return of our Lord, so has every generation of Christians for nearly 2,000 years. All have waited. All have sat and heard the word and partook of the Sacraments. And each generation has fallen asleep.
But one day, whenever it is, there will be a cry. All who have fallen asleep will awake. And those with oil, those with faith, will trim their lamps and shine brightly as they process to the wedding banquet. But on the other hand, those who awake without the oil of faith will know what they lack and seek it.
But that is the rub. One’s ‘oil’ is only useable by the one who has it. It cannot be loaned or transferred. Faith cannot be infused to another, no matter how much I would like it to be so. And so, in this morning’s parable, we are warned against growing weary of waiting for the return of our Lord. We are warned against growing complacent and being distracted. We are warned against neglecting our faith and being endangered with the loss of our faith.
Jesus Christ, our bridegroom, is coming. We have all been invited to be a part of the wedding party. We gather in anticipation of his arrival. And while he comes soon, we do not know when that is. And so, we strive to remain prepared. Being washed clean in Holy Baptism, we sit and hear his word. We eat and drink his Body and Blood. In doing so, our Lord fills our horn of oil. And we await his arrival, that we may walk with him along the way to the eternal marriage feast between our Lord and his bride: Us. The Church.
As St. Paul writes: For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
For nearly two years, Karl von Miltitz, an ambassador of the pope (Nuncio) had been trying to negotiate an agreement between the Pope and Luther that would end the crisis in Germany. When Johann von Eck published the bull threatening to excommunicate Luther, Miltitz tried to arrange a meeting to find some compromise. He and Luther’s friends in the government of Frederick the Wise urged the reformer to write a letter to the Pope personally, explaining his theology in a positive, non-threatening way. He agreed. The result was the fourth great book Luther wrote in 1520, About the Freedom of a Christian. It appeared five hundred years ago in both German and Latin.
In About the Freedom of a Christian, Martin Luther describes what it means to be a Christian. He puts together in a straightforward way all that he has discovered about the Gospel and how it provides the motivation to do good works in service of God and our neighbor. Along the way he explains what would become the signature concepts and doctrines of the Lutheran Church.
Luther begins the book with a paradox, stating two things that seem to be contradictory, yet are both true at the same time:
A Christian is free, Lord over everything and is no one’s servant.
A Christian is everyone’s willing servant in every way.
Luther describes two natures present in every Christian. The spiritual nature, the New Adam, is free because the Son of God sets him free. The fleshly nature, sinful in a sinful world, the Old Adam, is bound by the realities of this age. Because Jesus came, bore our sins on the cross, paid their price in full, all of them are forgiven. A Christian is saved — and free — because he or she trusts him and relies on his merits alone. The result is that a new nature rises in a Christian, which loves God and wants to love, serve and obey them. A Christian, then, is bound by this love of God to spend his life caring for his neighbor.
So, then, Luther concludes: “Insofar as a Christian is free, no works are necessary. Insofar as a Christian is a servant, all kinds of works are done.” Although the New Adam is free from the law, he or she willingly obeys it, often automatically, for the sake of his or her neighbor. These works are also necessary to discipline the outer person, the Old Adam, the keep it from falling into sin and extinguishing faith.
Luther concludes that we should think of our good works here as the same as the good works of Adam before the fall. Good works do not make a good person, then. A Good person does good works. He puts it this way: “as Christians we do not live in ourselves but in Christ and the neighbor. Otherwise, we are not Christian. As Christians we live in Christ through faith and in the neighbor through love. Through faith we are caught up beyond ourselves into God, Likewise, through love we descend beneath ourselves through love to serve our neighbor.”
For those who are curious, here are the top twenty-five What Does This Mean? posts, going back to the first one in January of 2018. If you’re favorite isn’t high enough on the list, you can “vote” for it. Go to: http://whatdoesthismean.blog, copy the title of the post, paste it into the search box and search for it. Be sure to read it, though. We get an average time on the post reports as well.
1 About Accepting Jesus as your Personal Savior 2 The Harvest is Plentiful 3 The Four Ways of Interpreting Scripture 4 Elijah’s Mantle on Elisha Cast 5 Tropological Interpretation 6 Sermon on the Pandemic 7 Material Principle 8 The Four Ways of Interpreting Scripture 9 That Rebellious House 10 Ten Commandments–First Table 11 Happy birthday, Lutheran Church! 12 The Three Ways God Cares for Us 13 Pastors are Called by God 14 Formal Principle 15 You’re No Angel: Things Angels are Not 16 A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Sign of the Cross 17 Baptism Saves You 18 The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts will Do This 19 The Church has Always Baptized Infants 20 Martin Luther, the Sacraments and Faith 21 Baptism Saves You 22 The Church has Always Baptized Infants 23 More About Accepting Jesus as Your Personal Savior 24 Christ’s Sabbath Rest in the Tomb 25 Church Word #6: Lutheran
Encore Post: A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! It is that special day of the year where everyone (hopefully) gets together with loved ones and gives thanks while enjoy all the food that their eyes desire and (hopefully) there stomachs can handle. And probably around the table before the meal begins you might go around saying what you are thankful for this year. And most of the time each person has something to add to the list. Most people desire to give thanks. The question that should be asked of us all, to Whom should this thanks be directed?