Isaiah 9,1-6 0525
Christvesper 05
Adam and Eve ✠ 930 years
24. Dezember 2024
1. ℣ Yahweh said to me: „You are My Son;
℟ today I have begotten You“ (Psalm 2,7 vul lxx).
Dominus dixit ad me filius meus es tu: ego hodie genui te.
O Well-beloved Emmanuel, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Highest, and Son of the Virgin, we give thanks unto You that, You have come to us from the Father’s throne into this misery below, taking upon Yourself our flesh and blood, so that we might be made partakers of Your own Divine nature. Now, indeed, has the Heavenly Father shared His loving heart with us; and in You is His wrath appeased. By Your holy birth, we are born again unto heaven, and You have become the veritable gateway of heaven for us; and by You we have access unto the Father, and abundant entrance into Your reign. O then help, Dear Lord, Gracious Emmanuel, so that we may rightly realize the mystery of Your revelation in our flesh (Löhe 448-50).
2. »But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time the Lord brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time He has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a Great Light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. You have multiplied the nation; You have increased its joy; they rejoice before You as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, You have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.«
3. The Prophet Isaiah describes the Christ as the embodiment of the Father’s Divine light and peace. This Christ is a personal Savior and an universal Redeemer who restores our broken relationship with our Heavenly Father.
4. When the Prophet Isaiah spoke the words of the Lord, Judah was in dire straights; they were in the midst of a 20-year rule by the wicked King Ahaz (735-15 bc). He worshipped false idols and had offerings made to them on the high places, on the hills and under every green tree (2. Kings 16,4). Worse still, Ahaz offered up one of his sons to the fire of Moloch (2. Kings 16,3). Child sacrifice was part of Moloch worship: the large bronze statue had the head of a bull, the torso and arms of a man and the base was a furnace: children were thrown into the fire and sacrificed. Bad enough a Davidic King committed such atrocities, but worse still many men and women in Judah did the same. The people of God were living in darkness and under the burden of evil.
5. In our day we are often lost in the dark and burdened by wickedness. People are in despair over the guilt of sin. People can’t see the mercy of God. War and violence plague our daily lives. Far too many are oppressed by the world or their fellow neighbors. Hope seems distant, and joy appears to be in limited supply.
6. Isaiah exhorts us to look beyond our immediate circumstances. If we are burdened by our sin, then repent. If life is unjust, then pray for God to make it just. Look to the light of Christ.
7. The gospel shone forth in those dark days of Ahaz’s reign. »The people who walked in darkness have seen a Great Light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has Light shined.« Judah was promised the Christ who would redeem them. O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol iustitatiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis. O Morning Star, Splendor of the Eternal Light and Sun of Righteousness: Draw near and enlighten those seated in darkness and the shadow of death.
8 The gospel shines for in our days of gloom. »For to us, a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called… Prince of Peace. O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti. O King of the Gentiles, the Ruler they desire, the Cornerstone uniting all people: Draw near and save mankind, whom You formed from the ground. »The Christ shall inaugurate endless peace, for He shall establish and uphold this peace with justice and righteousness forever and ever« (Isaiah 9,7).
9 „To Mary the pure version alone did the archangel Gabriel manifest himself, luminously, bringing her the address: ‘Hail, O favored one!’ And thus she received. And in the due time… she brought forth the Priceless Pearl“ (Gregory Thaumaturgus 1st Homily on the Annunciation). The very Son of God was incarnate in the virgin Mary, has taken into His Godhood human flesh and was born in the city of David, that is, Bethlehem. Christ’s birth brings peace from God to you for He is born to be your Redeemer from sin and the Devil. In Christ, you have peace, joyous peace. Rejoice and be merry, for unto you this night we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord.
10. Praise God, all Christians, one and all
On His highest throne,
Who opens wide His heavenly hall
And gives us His own Son
And gives us His own Son.
(Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich selk 334,1 2021 Nikolaus Herman (um 1550) 1560)
This is most certainly true.
11. Et pax Dei, quæ exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra, et intelligentias vestras in Christo Jesu. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
12. O God, to whom glory is sung in the highest while on earth peace is proclaimed to people of goodwill, grant that goodwill to us, Thy servants, cleanse us from all our sins and give perpetual peace to us, and to all people; through Thine mercy, O God, who art blessed and dost govern all things, world without end. Amen.
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.
Nagel, Norman. Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel: From Valparaiso to St. Louis. Frederick W. Baue, Ed. Copyright © 2004 Concordia Publishing House.
The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.
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