Luke 2,22-40. 1st Sunday after Christmas

In the Name of Jesus

Luke 2,22-40

The 1. Sunday after Christmas

Stephen, Deacon and Archmartyr. Martyr in Jerusalem 34

26. December 2010

1. O Holy Lord, whose light shows us the path and whose word guides our way, we all too often remain in the dark and dumb to Your holy counsel, for we are fallen creatures who more often run away from You rather than to You. Yes, Lord, we are feeble and fickle people who surely challenge Your patience. Nevertheless, You have promised to saved us, and have sealed this promise with Your very Name, and we know that You do not and cannot lie; You do what You promise. You have assigned to Your promises of mercy and forgiveness Your very words and means of grace, and we never need doubt You or Your good intentions toward us. Help us to meditate upon Your covenant, be encouraged by Your Word, and satisfied with Your Sacraments wherein we see You as a God who is loving and gracious to us who are so pitiful and ignorant.  Truly You are our heavenly Father, our Redeemer, and sustaining Spirit who deigns to save all men and women, bringing them into pure and perfect communion with You in Your heavenly reign.  Amen. 

2. Our sermon text this morning dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Luke where the holy evangelist writes: And behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the comfort of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he arrived in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the law, then Simeon took Jesus into his arms, blessed God, and said, ,,Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Your word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel“ (KJV). And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, ,,Behold, this Child is destined /appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and as a sign/miracle that is opposed and your soul will be filled with great sorrow, in order that motives from many hearts may be revealed.“  This is our text. 

3. The Apostle Paul tell us that Jesus was born under the law to redeem those who were under the law. The Mosaic law commanded that boys get circumcised and receive their names eight days after they are born, then forty days after the birth offerings were to be given at the temple in Jerusalem. Luke proclaims that Mary and Joseph fulfilled these legal requirements for their newborn son, Jesus. 

4. From this fulfilling of the law, a hymn of praise has been preserved and sung for over 1700 years in the Church’s liturgy. This hymn is Simeon’s song of praise about Jesus that the Church has entitled the Nunc Dimittis; it has been sung in the liturgy since the 4^th century (with the service of Compline and as an alternate to the Magnificat in Vespers), and it has been commonly sung in the Lutheran Church after the distribution of the Lord’s body and blood since the 16^th century. 

5. Simeon’s joyous song begins with the phrase: Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Your word. The Lord whom Simeon sings to is Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel who delivered His people from Egyptian slavery and lead them into the promised land of Canaan which its great resources, including a land that flowed with milk and honey. Devout Simeon is Yahweh’s servant; he lives to serve Yahweh. Whatever Simeon’s service to Yahweh was, he performed his vocation to the glory of God and for the good of his neighbors. Luke describes Simeon as a righteous and devout man. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit was upon Him, that is, Simeon was a prophet. His greatest prophecy was the hymn of praise he sung upon seeing the baby Jesus. 

6. The Holy Spirit had told Simeon that he would not die until he saw Yahweh’s Christ. Every culture views longevity as a sign of blessing and good fortune from God. In American culture we have turn longevity into an idol where everything in one’s power and finances must be focused on staving off the curse and sting of death. While Simeon would, like any other man, love to live a long and healthy life, as one of Yahweh’s prophets he would have been overjoyed to have a life that was short and brief, for that would mean that Yahweh’s Christ would arrive sooner rather than later. The birth of the Christ was an event long-looked for. Simeon can now depart this earthly life in peace because he has seen and held the promised Christ and he knows that now Yahweh will bring peace on earth to all men and women. 

7. Simeon continues: for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. ,,Lord/Lord“ and ,,salvation“ conjoin together fifty-eight times in the Old Testament. » O heavens, shower from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, so that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I Yahweh have created it« (Isaiah 45,8). »I  greatly rejoice in Yahweh; my soul exults in my God, for He clothed me with the garments of salvation.« (Isaiah 61,10). The Holy Scriptures are replete with historical accounts in which Yahweh saved and delivered His people Israel. As is the case with us all, Israel whether the bondage was their sins or the tyranny of someone else, Yahweh nevertheless delivered them time and again. Yahweh forgave Israel of her sins. Yahweh redeemed them from foreign nations trying to conquer them. Yahweh delivered them from drought, famine, and plague. All this was a foretaste of Yahweh’s great deliverance promised since Adam and Eve expulsion from the Garden of Eden, namely, that Yahweh would send his Christ to bring eternal life and everlasting salvation. Jesus was this promised Christ, and Simeon beheld Him. 

8. Simeon praises God for this salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people. Here Simeon reminds us that Yahweh’s salvation is not hidden from us, but that it is public and glorious. Everyone in the house where Mary and Joseph were staying in Bethlehem beheld the infant Jesus, the Christ of Yahweh. The shepherds came in from their fields and their flocks to find this newborn Savior of mankind. Later the magi would arrive at the Holy Family’s doorstep and worship and adore Jesus as the Son of God. Yahweh’s Christ was revealed and meant to be received and lauded. 

9. Finally, Simeon concludes by proclaiming: a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel. Yahweh’s Christ is for all people. First, He is the fulfillment of the prophecies given to His chosen people Israel. The Apostle Paul summarizes this succinctly when he writes, »My kinsmen are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever« (Romans 9,4-5). This glory is not only for Israel only, for Yahweh desires all people to believe in Him and be saved. First Israel, then the Gentiles. The Prophet Isaiah foresaw this, prophesying: »Yahweh says, ,,I am Yahweh; I called you in righteousness; I take you by the hand and keep you; I give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations. I make you as a light for the nations, so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth. And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising“« (Isaiah 42,6; 49,6; 60,3).

10. Yahweh promised to redeem men and women from the curse of sin, death, and the devil. In His unfolding plan of salvation history (Heilsgeschichte), Yahweh chose to give Abraham the promise of the messianic line. He made Israel His chosen people, and through Israel came the Christ, and thus through Israel on account of Christ who is Israel reduced to one, Yahweh saved all the nations, including you and me. Even at two months old, Jesus was fulfilling the law, and He fulfilled the law for us in our stead so that by fulfilling the law He has redeemed us from the curse of the law and has shined upon us the light of salvation and the glorious eternal life in His heavenly reign. God the Father has redeemed us from the law and has adopted us as His children (Galatians 4,5). We you are no longer slaves to sin and the law, but we are children and heirs through God (Galatians 4,7) on account of Christ, the Son of God, our newborn Savior, who at the temple was named Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1,21).  Amen. 

11. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, the light of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel, You have remember Your steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel, so that on Christmas You sent us Your only begotten Son so that all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.  Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.

Luke 1,39-56. 4th Sunday in Advent, Rorate Caeli

In the Name of Jesus

Luke 1,39-56 

4. Sunday in Advent  Rorate Caeli

Abraham, Patriarch. Ulrik Vilhelm Koren, Pastor, Theologian, and Patriarch of Norwegian-American Lutherans. † 1910. Born in Bergen, Norway. 

19. December 2010

1. O Lord Jesus Christ, all Your holy Christendom rejoices this day to celebrate Your holy advent. We, poor, erring lambs, leap for joy that You, O Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, cause Your gracious presence to be realized among us in the blessed virgin Mary. O Lord depart not from us with Your grace, but lest us gratefully realize this gracious day of Your visitation, so that Your advent may ever be salutary and full of mercy unto to us. With all Your pure Word, Your holy Sacraments, Your wisdom, support, favor, blessing, and grace, visit us in our churches, our schools, our courts, and our dwellings. We rejoice that You arrive not as a just Judge before whom we tremble, but rather as the kind Redeemer, with whom we will be joint heirs of the reign of heaven (Löhe 444-46).  Amen. 

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Luke where the holy evangelist writes: Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, ,,Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.“  This is our text. 

3. It is the 4^th Sunday in Advent, and the arrival of the Christ is now immanent. The Son of God is now incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary. The Church, therefore believes, teaches, and confesses that Mary is the qeotokoj, the bearer of God. 

4. In 431 the Church’s bishops convened the Council of Ephesus and made the following ecumenical declaration that is still believed, taught, and confessed by the Church today: ,,The holy virgin gave birth in the flesh to God united with the flesh according to the person (hypostasis), for that reason we call her qeotokoj … If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is, in truth, God, and therefore that the holy virgin is the qeotokoj (for she bore in a fleshly way the Word of God become flesh), let him be anathema“ (Wikipedia). What the council said is that Jesus Christ is at the same time both God and man. He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages; and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age: perfect God and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and human flesh. Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ (Athanasian Creed §28-30, 32). Those who will not believe these things about Jesus are given the straight curse, the anathema: they are condemned by God and damned to the pit of hell. And that, dear Christians, is a stumbling block for many people in the 21^st century. 

5. As has been the case throughout history, so also in the 21^st century, unbelievers and Christians alike, are tempted to either deemphasize Jesus’ divinity or to deemphasize Jesus’ humanity. More often than not, Jesus’ divinity is downplayed or denied more so than His humanity. Therefore, if Jesus is just a man, then Mary cannot be the blessed bearer of God. And if Mary is not the bearer of God, then the Old Testament Prophets have not been fulfilled, and therefore we are not righteous before our Heavenly Father. 

6. Christians, therefore, ought to take these things seriously. It is harsh to hear a council of bishops or a creed declare: If you do not believe such and such, then you are damned. We are especially sanitized to such directness because we live in a culture that attempts to enforce political correctness in every day language where no one at any time can or should be offended. Let me give it to you straight: Jesus offends people; the Church offends people; the gospel offends people; Christians offend people. God the Father has established standards that cannot be challenged or changed. Jesus and the gospel cannot be taken up by each and every individual who then twists and contorts them like some flexible toy to suit each person’s fancy. Jesus is God and Man in one person. Mary bore Him and is His mother. That is the way it is. If it offends people, too bad, they will just have to get over being offended and deal with it. 

7. Jesus cannot be the Incredible Changing Savior who suits each denominations unique spin on Jesus as the Crhist. Adjusted Jesus is adjusted gospel, and for an adjusted gospel you do not really finally need Jesus (Nagel 158). To pervert the gospel of Christ is to nullify the grace of God (Nagel 159). Then Jesus was incarnated in the virgin Mary for no purpose. 

8. The Prophets declared: »Behold, I will send you the Prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of Yahweh arrives. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not arrive and strike the land with a curse« (Malachi 4,5-6). »Behold, the virgin is with child and will bear a son, and she will name Him Immanuel« (Isaiah 7,14). Look at what God the Father gives us in Luke 1. Mary has miraculously conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. She is carrying the very Son of God who is the fulfillment of the Prophets. Mary goes to her cousin Elizabeth who is also bearing the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptizer, who will prepare the way for the Lord Jesus. The very moment Mary’s voice is heard, John leaps for joy in his mother’s womb and Elizabeth blesses Mary and her Child. The Prophets Malachi and Isaiah have been fulfilled in Luke 1. 

9. The gospel was promised in the Prophets and the gospel comes to pass in the Gospel according to Luke. Yahweh’s salvation is near and on the cusp of being in our very midst. The first gospel promise, given to Eve, is nigh: »Yahweh God said, ,,I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike your head, and you will strike her heel“« (Genesis 3,15). Mary is with child, and this Child will crush the head of the devil, and in doing so Jesus conquers sin, death, and the devil. Jesus makes us righteous in His Father’s sight, and we have that righteousness by faith in Christ alone. 

10. To reject the gospel and its salvation is to be left with the law, and ultimately the law binds us and condemns us to the pit of hell. If Mary is not the bearer of God, then all we have is the law. If Mary is not blessed, then all we have is the law. If the Prophets are not believed, then all we have is the law, »for the law kills, but the gospel gives life« (2 Corinthians 3,6). The gospel also creates and sustains faith in Jesus as the promised Christ. 

11. The blessed virgin Mary is the first New Testament Christian. The Archangel Gabriel had told Mary, ,,You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name Him Jesus. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be holy; He will be called Son of God“ (Luke 1,31.35). Mary’s response to this word from God was, ,,Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to Your word“ (Luke 1,38). Mary believed the word sent from God and she had faith that Jesus would be the promised Christ. Elizabeth and John are the second and third Christians in the New Testament. At the sound of the blessed virgin Mary’s voice, John leaped for joy in his mother’s womb, and Elizabeth blessed Mary as »she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord« (1,45). The first Christians reported in the Holy Gospels, then, are two women and an unborn child in the womb. The gospel has the power to create faith. 

12. Through Mary, Yahweh blessed all the nations with a savior. This Child, Jesus, is the Son of God; He is both God and man in one person. Thus Mary is rightly honored to be called the qeotokoj. Everything that happens in today’s pericope is a response to the presence of God in the flesh––the baby inside Mary (Just 75). In five days, we will celebrate this Baby’s birth. In five days it will be a Merry Christmas, for it will be the celebration of the birth of Christ Jesus, who is called the Son of God (Luke 1,35), the Son of Man (Luke 5,24), Immanuel, God is with us (Matthew 1,23), Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9,6), the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5,5), the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 22,13). Jesus was born to save all people from their sins (Matthew 1,21), and He has completely and fully redeemed us from our Heavenly Father’s wrath.  Amen. 

13. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, Fulfiller of Your promises, our hearts overflow with a pleasing theme at the incarnation of Your only-begotten Son; help us to be filled with joy as the celebration of His birth nears so that we may sing praises to the King.  Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.  

Just, Arthur A., Jr. Concordia Commentary: Luke 1:1–9:50. Copyright © 1996 Concordia Publishing House. 

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. 

Pelikan, Jaroslav. Mary through the Centuries. Copyright 1996 Yale University. 

Pieper, Francis. Christian Dogmatics, Vol. II. Copyright © 1951 Concordia Publishing House. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/theotokos#third_ecumenical_council

Matthew 11,2-10. The 3rd Sunday in Advent, Gaudete

In the Name of Jesus

Matthew 11,2-10

3. Sunday in Advent Gaudete

Epimachus and Alexander, Martyrs 250

12. December 2010

1. O Heavenly Father, grant unto Your beloved church so that, remembering her own unrighteousness and corruption, she may take no offense at the lowly presence and the despised word of her only King, the Just, the Helper, Jesus Christ; but always rejoice in His wonderful advent, and receive and accept Him in pure and ready hearts, gladly rejoicing in Him, and rendering all praise and glory to You forevermore. Amen. (Löhe 414).

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Luke where the holy evangelist writes: Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him: ,,Are you the one who is to arrive, or shall we wait for someone else?“ And Jesus answered them: ,,Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight and the crippled walk, lepers are made clean and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.“ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: ,,What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Behold, those who wear fancy clothes are in kings’ houses. Did you go out to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it has been written: »Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.«“ (Malachi 3,1) This is our text.

3. John the Baptizer, the older cousin of Jesus and the one sent by Yahweh to prepare the way for Christ Jesus, is locked away in prison. By Chapter 11, John’s ministry has decreased as he’s been imprisoned for about a year at this time and Jesus’ ministry has increased. The elevation of Jesus should be an event of great rejoicing, but John was having doubts about this as he languished in King Herod’s prison. This was not Herod the Great who tried to snuff out Jesus’ life by ordering the murder of all infant boys two years and younger in the Bethlehem region. John’s Herod is Herod Antipas who ruled over one-quarter of his father’s great kingdom as the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Galilee is the territory of northern Judea and is where Jesus lived and conducted most of His public ministry. Perea is the territory east of the Jordan River between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Herod Antipas, then, was the king of both John and Jesus.

4. The challenge in Chapter 11 is that John the Baptizer had preached and prepared the people for the forthcoming Christ who would have a ministry of judgment. Men and women, therefore, needed to repent and be baptized so as to be ready and prepared for His arrival. John’s proclamation is summarized with these words, »I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is arriving after me is mightier than me, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.« (Matthew 3,11-12). From what John is hearing from his disciples, Jesus, whom he had baptized and identified as the promised Christ and Messiah, does not seem to be living up to what John had preached.

5. Even though the Old Testament prophesies are coming true, Jesus’ ministry will have a paradoxical character that can cause one to stumble and fall away without proper eyes to see and ears to hear (Gibbs 555). Whether or not John entertained such a thought, many Christians struggle with Matthew 11’s record of John’s treatment, namely, why is John locked away in prison and eventually beheaded, and Jesus doesn’t even protest such outrages? Why is John who is a prophet and more than a prophet shown such dishonor? This does not look like the reign of God (Gibbs 556). This is essentially a spin on the age-old questions, Q: Why does evil run rampant in this world, and why doesn’t God stomp evil out?

6. Thus John sends his disciples to inquire if Jesus really is the promised Christ or should they wait for someone else to arrive. Jesus tells these disciples to report to John what they see Jesus doing and hear what Jesus is preaching. Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies about the Christ. The Prophet Isaiah proclaimed: »The Spirit of Yahweh who is the Lord is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach to the poor and weak who are oppressed by the rich and powerful; He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor« (61,1-2). John is told that in Jesus’ ministry: »The blind regain their sight and the crippled walk, lepers are made clean and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me« (11,5-6). John is told that Jesus is fulfilling the Prophet Isaiah. This is why Isaiah is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Evangelist or Gospel.

7. The words and works of Jesus are manifestations of His great work on the cross and through the empty tomb. What Jesus is doing in Matthew 11 is a foretaste of what He will do to sin, death, and the devil. ,,God the Father has wiped out the ancient sin by His promised seed, His dear Son, Jesus Christ; that He has satisfied God’s wrath, taken away eternal death and on the last day He will raise His believers and redeem them from death and hell and every tragedy to bring them to eternal life. This is the comfort we have through Jesus Christ. Satan is overcome. Death is strangled, sins wiped away, hell destroyed guilt paid for and the Father has called us acquitted, rid of and freed from sin. The inheritance is prepared. Life is brought. Heaven is open. Our dwelling is ready. Out of the bleeding wounds of Christ flows all of our grace, salvation, and blessedness“ (Luther 21).

8. The complete answer to John’s question to Jesus is: A: ,,The reign of God has broken into history in the person of Jesus, and He is the Coming One. But the power of evil men remains strong, and Christ will not overthrow that evil—yet“ (Gibbs 557). Evil will be overthrown on the last day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in glory, but Christ has given us such a healthy and overwhelming dose of the gospel that evil and its effects have been defeated although they still linger on a little while longer upon this earth. Christ and His gospel are in our midst on this earth through His Church with her Word and Sacraments. Nevertheless, evil things will still occur. People will still become sick. People will still die. Sinners will still harm others with their wicked actions. We are still sinners who must repent of our sins. God’s goodness, however, is mightier than evil and our sins. Until Christ returns to cast death and the devil into hell and give us resurrected, sinless bodies, Jesus gives His Church the gospel to sustain her and her Christians until they meet Him in glory.

9. The gospel reported back to John through his disciples strengthened him and sustained him. John remained in prison certain that the reign of heaven was unfolding outside his four walls through Jesus Christ. John would later go to the executioner in confidence that even though an evil action was about to be done against Yahweh’s greatest prophet, nevertheless John was victorious through Christ. What is true for John the Baptizer two thousand years ago is still true for us in the 21^st century. Christ and His gospel are enough and they sustain us during our life on this sinful and fallen earth with all its horrible evil and wickedness. Jesus says: »Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me« (11,6). When we receive Jesus and His gospel by faith, everything that Jesus promises and the gospel offers is received for us.

10. Jesus describes the greatness of John’s ministry by quoting the Prophet Malachi: »Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.«“ (Malachi 3,1). Advent is a season of preparation as we await the celebration of our Lord’s arrival. It is a time to be refreshed by the words of the Prophets who proclaim the Christ’s arrival that brings salvation. It is a time for us to be in repentant contemplation as we acknowledge and confess our sinfulness. It is a time where by faith we receive the promises of Christ.

11. John the Baptizer described Jesus as a judge who would dispense judgment. He said Jesus will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3,12). When Jesus returns on the last day he will condemn all the wicked to everlasting punishment in hell. Yahweh’s law reveals that every person is numbered among the wicked and deserving of Yahweh’s wrath, and so the law batters against our fortified hearts in order to demolish and smash ever bolt and lock that our prideful hearts have established. Once this is done, Christ arrives and gently raps on the door of our heart. When this happens we should respond with the passionate cry, ,,Enter in, O dearest Jesus!“ When we have Jesus in our heart we are removed from the mass of evil-doers and transplanted to the wheat fields of the believers. Those who believe in Christ and trust Him for their forgiveness and salvation are thus credited as righteous in Yahweh’s sight.

12. Jesus’ words of comfort to the imprisoned John are also words of consolation to us. The devil is defeated. Death is mortally wounded. Sins are washed clean. Hell is closed to us. God the Father has pronounced us ,,not guilty“. Q: How do we know this? A: Through what Christ has done. Jesus healed the sick, forgave sins, and preached the gospel. All of these works were fulfilled when Christ was crucified for us in our place and when He rose from death to life on the third day.

13. Thus the 3rd Sunday in Advent is called Guadete, that is, Rejoice! Rejoice for all Christ our Lord has done for us. But He is not done. Rejoice for all Christ does for us day after day. He answers our prayers. He strengthens our faith through His Word. He gives us the forgiveness of our sins in the Sacraments. If we have doubts, then Jesus consoles us. Therefore, we can leave His Divine Service (Gottesdienst) today and every Sunday with peace and joy, rejoicing in all that our Lord does for us. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, our Gracious and Righteous Lord, You sent Your only-begotten Son to us so that He could preach the gospel whereby we hear and believe that You are a merciful God who forgives sinners and promises them everlasting life. Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

   All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.
   Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 11:2— 20:34. Copyright © 2010 Jeffrey A. Gibbs.
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.
   Luther, Martin. Luther’s Family Devotions. Gathered © 1877 George Link. Translation © 1996 Joel Baseley.

Luke 21,25-33. 2nd Sunday in Advent

In the Name of Jesus

Luke 21,25-33

2. Sunday in Advent Ad te Levavi

Crispina, Martyr in Africa 304

5. December 2010

1. O Ever Faithful and Merciful God, we render praise and thanksgiving unto You, that, by Your beloved prophets You have promised to the Patriarchs of old the gift of Your beloved Son, whom You did send into the world in the fullness of time, so that, by Him, Your holy will and counsel might be fully revealed unto us. He crushed the serpent’s head and has redeemed us from sin and death. All generations wait upon Him, and in Him are all the nations of the earth blessed. Prepare us, Good Lord, so that we may serve Him with undefiled hearts; and, when He arrives, to receive Him with joy; and, for this, we will thank You eternally in heaven (Löhe 443-4). Amen.

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Luke where the holy evangelist writes: And Jesus told the disciples a parable: ,,Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the reign of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.“ This is our text.

3. The liturgical season of Advent is about the arrival of the Son of Man in glory. This glorious arrival has a two part emphasis: 1. from the 1^st Sunday in Advent to December 16^th the emphasis is on Jesus’ eschatological ministry, and 2. from December 17^th to 24^th the emphasis looks forward to Christ’s birth. Jesus’ nativity is the guarantee of His second advent. Eschatological, apocalyptic signs will surround people and place people into chaotic situations during these advents.

4. Our Gospel Reading this morning from the Gospel according to Luke is the conclusion of a much longer teaching pericope of Jesus to His disciples. This teaching discourse in the 21^st chapter occurs during Holy Week and it was Jesus’ detailed answer to the disciples seemingly simple question: ,,When will the temple be destroyed, and what will be the sign that this is about to happen?“ (21,7).

5. Jesus tells a parable about the timetable for the destruction of both the temple and Jerusalem: Just as you can determine when it is summer based on the fruit of the fig tree, so can you determine when Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed, namely when »there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, people losing heart from fear and the foreboding of the things which are coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken« (21,25-26). Furthermore, Jesus tells His disciples that this devastating event will occur in their lifetime, yes, in the very generation that was living when Jesus was on the earth.

6. A series of events occurred that lead up to the destruction of the temple. The tensions were already brewing during Jesus’ lifetime. The Sadducees and the priests worked with the Romans to keep the peace in Jerusalem. As such they enjoyed Rome’s favor and privileges. The Pharisees, lawyers, and scribes chaffed at the coziness between Rome and the Levitical priests and furthermore resented Roman occupation, but they swallowed their pride because they were afraid were that Rome would punish any Jewish uprising with further occupation of the city and the raid the temple of its wealth. Various Jewish men sided with the Zealots who fomented rebellion against the Romans. During Holy Week the Romans were planning to crucify three Jewish Zealots whom they had caught attempting to overthrown Roman rule in Judea. History and tradition give us their names: Barabbas, Gestas, and Dismas. Jesus took Barabbas’ place in the execution and all three were crucified on Good Friday with Dismas joining Jesus in Paradise. For a time, Jewish revolt had been cooled, but thirty years later, in A.D. 66, a sizeable group of Jewish Zealots revolted against Rome. The emperor sent in his legions, and in A.D. 70 General Titus besieged Jerusalem and subsequently destroyed the temple and the city. Wealth and art was plundered, many Jews were taken as slaves, and a band of captives was paraded before the emperor in the Eternal City of Rome. Some rebels refused to lay down their swords, and they decided to make their final stand in King Herod’s impenetrable fortress known as Masada. The emperor was not impressed nor deterred by this action; he sent in his legions to besiege the fortress. In A.D. 73 the Roman legions conquered Masada, and the Jewish revolt was put down once and for all. To this very day there is no Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

7. Jesus comforted His disciples with these word, »When you see these things taking place, you know that the reign of God is near« (21,28). As Jesus prophesied, Jerusalem was destroyed (Gibbs 204). This shows that Jesus, the Son of Man, is in heaven at the right hand of God (Gibbs 204). Jesus’ description of Himself as »the Son of Man arriving in a cloud with power and great glory« (21,27) refers to His ascension and exaltation at His Father’s right hand, and from the throne of God Jesus rules over His Church and all creation. When these things have taken place, Jesus tells us to look up, for our redemption is drawing near (21,28).

8. The redemption Jesus is talking about is the preaching of the gospel to the nations (the Gentiles). After Jesus pummeled Jerusalem with His judgment in A.D. 70, He then offers salvation to the all the nations, including Judah. Cosmic events herald the preaching of the gospel to the nations that culminates in the destruction of the Jewish temple and the gathering in of the Gentiles begins in large number. With the temple gone, Jesus has shifted the focus of the reign of heaven from a people and a nation tied to a specific geographic location on the map and begins spreading the reign of heaven on a world-wide and global scale where individuals from all nations are brought into the Church, which is God’s chosen bride.

9. Christ’s holy Church is found around the four corners of the earth and she is comprised of people with many different and various cultures, customs, and languages. Nevertheless (dennoch) in this Church only one true and pure gospel is preached, and that gospel is the precious proclamation that Christ was crucified for us in our place and on the third day He rose in victory from death and the grave. This gospel is so powerful and so majestic that it makes devils shake and the temporal powers of this earth quake with fear and foreboding. This gospel declares that sin, yes, all sin, even the very sins we struggle the most with, are forgiven and forgotten by our Heavenly Father on account of His Son’s merit. This gospel takes the devil by his lapels and shakes him and proclaims, ,,Mr. Satan, your rants and accusations against Christ’s holy Christians have no claim or merit before the throne of Yahweh!“ In challenging and uncertain times when the economy is weak, jobs are scarce, and the horizon looks bleak with a weakening dollar, the gospel assures us that although we may suffer lose in this world, there is awaiting us in Paradise a rich and abundant wealth of Yahweh’s treasure that will not lose value.

10. We live in times of great uncertainty, especially as nature seems to rise in frequency in rebellion against men and women. Famine and torrential storms ravage the earth. Signs in the heavens draw our attention. The pagan ideology of this world is to run around like Chicken Little crying, ,,The sky is falling! The sky is falling!“, but Jesus reminds us today in Luke 21 that these very cosmic events are evidence that His reign is in our midst and that His gospel is spreading throughout the earth under the very capable hand of the Holy Spirit. We turn on the news and hear rumors and threats from Muslim jihadists who want to damage our property and kill our citizens. Their frenzy is a spiritual response to the gospel that is gathering in people for Christ and His Church. The devil marshals his forces to counteract the gathering in of people to the Christian faith. These are signs that the gospel is being preached throughout the earth, and that the Holy Spirit is bringing the reign of heaven to places where it has never been and He is reviving places where the Christian faith has grown cool or cold.

11. On this 2^nd Sunday in Advent we therefore rejoice! Jesus promises us, »Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away« (21,33). With these words, Jesus affirms the enduring validity of all that He has said (Gibbs 206). Jesus’ words are more sure than the heaven and the earth (Gibbs 206). Our Heavenly Father promised to send His fallen creation a Savior. His words are trustworthy and true. When the time was right, God the Father sent His only and beloved Son to this earth in order to save fallen men and women. Jesus prophesied that Jerusalem would be punished for rejecting their Christ. His words are sure and certain. When the time was ripe, Jesus pronounced judgment upon Jerusalem and the temple from His throne in heaven, bearing witness in power and glory that He, the rejected King and Messiah of Israel, was now reigning all creation at the right hand of His Heavenly Father as King and Messiah. Jesus promised to return again for His holy Church and her Christians who suffer at the hands of this wicked world. Jesus’ words will never pass away. When all has been fulfilled according to His will, Jesus will arise from His heavenly throne, march down from the heavenly heights with legion upon legion of angels, with the archangels at either side of Him, and He will gather up His Church and His Christians, give them back their physical bodies in resurrected form and vigor, and parade us into His heavenly reign with great pomp and circumstance. This heaven and earth will pass away at Jesus’ command, but He will renew this creation and create a new heaven and a new earth for our eternal and everlasting dwelling with Him. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Who will judge the world in Your righteousness and the peoples in Your faithfulness, You counsel us with the promise that Your words are more certain than the very heavens and earth so that we may endure the trials and tribulations of this fallen creation knowing that You will return and You will usher us into everlasting glory. Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

   All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.
   Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Jerusalem and Parousia: Jesus’ Eschatological Discourse in Matthew’s Gospel. Copyright © 2000 Jeffrey A. Gibbs.
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Evangelien-Postille für die Sonn- und Festage des Kirchenjahres. Copyright © 1859 Samuel Gottlieb Liesching. A sermon preached on Luke 21,25-33 for The 2^nd Sunday in Advent. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2010.
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Matthew 21,1-9. First Sunday in Advent

In the Name of Jesus

Matthew 21,1-9

The 1. Sunday in Advent, Populus Zion

Guenther, Bishop of Regensburg, Germany. † 938

28. November 2010

1. O Conquering Christ Jesus, we render unto You praise and adoration for You have fulfilled the words of the Prophets and triumphed over the evil and satanic forces of this fallen world. On Palm Sunday You rode into Jerusalem with enthusiastic cheers, but at the end of the week jeers of ,,Crucify him!” sounded forth in Jerusalem’s courts. You endured such suffering and humiliation for our sakes and in doing so You redeemed us back to our Heavenly Father and have opened unto us the joys and treasures of Your eternal reign of Divine glory. Amen.

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Matthew where the holy evangelist writes: And when they approached Jerusalem and went to Bethphage to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them: ,,Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you will say: The Lord has need of them, and he will immediately send them.” And this has happened so that the word spoken by the prophet was fulfilled: »Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your King comes to you gentle and having mounted on a donkey and on a colt the foal of a donkey.« And the disciples went and did just as Jesus instructed them. They led the donkey and the colt and they laid their garments upon them, and Jesus sat upon the garments. And many in the crowd spread their garments upon the road, while others were cutting branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds going before and those following were crying out: ,,Hosanna to the Son of David; the One coming in the Name of the Lord is blessed; Hosanna in the highest.“ This is our text.

3.

4. Jesus’ first advent culminates in His crucifixion and resurrection. Thus, the Historic Gospel Reading for the 1. Sunday of Advent is Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The events of Holy Week draw to fulfillment the ministry of Jesus’ first advent.

5. Today’s Introit summarizes why Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. The Prophet Zechariah speaks these words of Yahweh, »Behold, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and saving, humble and riding on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a donkey« (Zechariah 9,9). Jesus rides into Jerusalem as the heir of David, the King of Israel, and He brings with Him righteousness and salvation.

6. Each Sunday we prepare ourselves for the Divine Service (Gottesdienst) with the Service of Confession and Absolution. In this service we acknowledge and confess that we are sinners who need deliverance from our many iniquities. In the Holy Scriptures, Yahweh continually arrives to redeem His people. He promised us a savior. He sent this savior to be born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. This savior rode up to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on a donkey. This savior bore His back and was whipped for our transgressions. This savior spread out His hands to be nailed to the cross.

7. We normally think of divinity in terms of power and miracles, but God often reveals His divinity with humbleness and humility. He wrapped Himself in flesh and blood and was born into our world as a baby, just as all of us experienced. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, gentle and humble. He was cheered and heralded as a prophet, but He never boasted in that title. He suffered, died, and was buried in a grave, which is the ultimate humility we human beings can face. Christ did all of this for us because we cannot save ourselves from our sins. Jesus must save us, and save us He did.

8. Everything is at stake with who is our lord (Nagel 5:10). If we trust in our own works to save ourselves from our sins, then we have another god besides Christ Jesus. If we trust in other methods besides the cross of Christ to merit the forgiveness of our sins, then we have other gods besides the Son of God. The First Commandment reveals idolatry as the sin most common among sinners.

9. In contrast, the first and chief article of the Church is Christ crucified. ,,This is the most joyous of all doctrines and the one that contains the most comfort. It teaches that we have the ... mercy and love of God“ (Luther 280). God enfleshed in our midst brings us divine mercy and love.

10. The disciples of Jesus on that first Palm Sunday rejoiced and called Him a prophet. The Prophet Zechariah rejoiced and called Him Israel’s King. The disciples also proclaimed that Jesus is the Son of David, which is a messianic title for the Christ who is God’s chosen one to save men and women. Jesus is all of these (prophet, king, and the Christ), and He is so much more but we simply call Him Jesus. He was promised to us long ago in the pages of Holy Scripture, beginning in Genesis 3. His first advent arrived nearly two thousand years ago. This Sunday we begin the journey anew, remembering all that God has promised us and rejoicing in all that He has fulfilled for us in Jesus Christ.

11. Jesus humbly rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and He ascended into heaven as a victor and a conqueror (Christus Victor). He is our Victor and our Conqueror over sin, death, and the devil. He is our God and our Christ who draws unto Himself all of us poor, miserable sinners who have failed to save ourselves. We are drawn into His presence and we rejoice, for Christ is righteous and saving. He has given us His own righteousness, and He has saved us from our sins. What Christ has done is ours by faith. His righteousness is our righteousness by faith. He saves us by His merit and we receive it by faith.

12. Therefore, the heart of a Christian should be a continuously open road where Christ lives and walks; therefore our whole life should be a continuous endeavor festively to adorn the way of our Savior with thanksgiving and voluntary love (Walther 20). So Christians should spread out everywhere the fruits of the tree of their faith (Walther 20). ,,Because we have taken hold of Christ by faith, through whom we are righteous, we should now go and love God and our neighbor. Call upon God, give thanks to Him, proclaim Him, praise Him, confess Him. Do good to our neighbor, and serve him; do our duty. These are truly good works, which flow from this faith and joy conceived in the heart because we have the forgiveness of sins freely through Christ“ (Luther 133).

13. Rejoice! Our Savior has arrived. Jesus’ disciples cried out »Hosanna to the Son of David; the One arriving in the Name of the Lord is blessed; hosanna in the highest!« Today we the 21^st century disciples of Jesus also cry out ,,hosanna“. Yes, we call out for Jesus to save and deliver us from sin, death, and the devil. At His first advent, Jesus conquered sin, death, and the devil, for Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus was the sacrificial lamb offered up on behalf of every sinner. He has instituted for His Church the Sacrament of the Altar whereby He gives us the forgiveness of sin and victory over death and the devil, for Jesus is a male lamb, a ram with powerful horns, who has fought and defeated our great spiritual enemies. At His second advent, Jesus will arrive in the full splendor of His divine glory and might to usher us into His eternal reign. On that last day Jesus will make us pure and sinless, and He will cast death and the devil into hell for Jesus is Christ the Victorious by the cross and the empty tomb. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal King of Zion, send us the Holy Spirit to keep our eyes focused upon the crucifixion and resurrection of Your first advent and our eyes heavenward in expectant waiting for Your second advent so that we may receive the perfection of beauty that culminates in the day of resurrection. Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

   All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Matthew © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.
   All quotations from the Book of Concord are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, 12^th Edition © 1998 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.
   Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 26: Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Copyright © 1963 Concordia Publishing House: Saint Louis.
   Nagel, Norman. ,,Where are the Angels“. A sermon preached at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in 2006/7.
   Walther, C.F.W. Selected Sermons. Tr. Henry J. Eggold. Copyright © 1981 Concordia Publishing House. With the liturgical season of Advent, we begin a new Church Year. The Liturgical Year begins with a focus on the first advent of Jesus and His birth in Bethlehem. The Liturgical Year concludes with parables that describe the second advent of Jesus which ushers in the everlasting, resurrected life.

Matthew 25,1-13. Eternity Sunday (Ewigkeitssonntag)

In the Name of Jesus

Matthew 25,1-13

Ewigkeitssonntag

Columbanus, Abbot of Bobbio, Italy. † 615

21. November 2010

1. Almighty and Everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in Your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Christus victor by the cross and the empty tomb: Mercifully grant that the people of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under His most gracious rule, for He reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever (Book of Common Prayer 185). O Christ, You bid us to watch and wait for Your second advent. Send us the Holy Spirit, for it is evening and we are tired and sleepy. Restore unto us the joy of Your salvation and the longing expectation of Your return with great fanfare and celebration. Amen.

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Matthew where the holy evangelist writes: ¹Jesus said to the disciples, ,,Then the reign of heaven will be comparable to ten maidens, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²Now five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. ³For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no olive oil with them. ⁴But the prudent took olive oil in flasks with their lamps. ⁵Now because the bridegroom kept delaying, they all grew drowsy and were sleeping. ⁶But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your olive oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹But the prudent answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and you; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰And while they were going away to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. ¹¹Later the other maidens also arrived, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’ ¹²But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I don’t know you.’ ¹³Watch then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.“ This is our text.

3. Jesus exhorts us to ,,Watch for His second advent“, for we do not know the day or the hour in which this blessed event will occur. The first century Christians had an expectant hope that Jesus would return in their lifetime. The Apostle Paul thought Jesus was returning during his generation, so he hit the Roman roads and sailed the high seas to bring the glorious gospel of Christ Jesus to as many people as could. The Twelve thought Jesus was returning during their lifetime, especially after the Temple was destroyed and Jerusalem razed, but one by one the great apostolic band dwindled in number: first James was martyred in 44, then Peter and Paul in 68, and one by one all the apostles had been martyred for the faith until elderly John alone remained. When John the Apostle entered his sleep at the close of the first century, many thought Jesus would return soon, but He did not, and so here we are almost 2000 years later still waiting for Christ’s return.

4. This two millennia wait for Jesus’ return has effected the Church’s outlook. ,,The Lord would have us to continue to long for, to wait for, to watch for His parousia“ (Gibbs), but many in the Church have ceased longing for, waiting for, and watching for Jesus’ return in any meaningful fashion. There prevails throughout the Church a view in which the expectation of the consummation of the age and of Christ’s final victory over death and every enemy has all but disappeared under the onslaught of rampant individualism in which what really matters is ,,my own personal fate“ and ,,whether I’ll be in heaven when I die“ (Gibbs). Let’s face it, what Jesus taught in His parable has come to pass: »Now because the bridegroom kept delaying, all the maidens grew drowsy and were sleeping.« We are like adults who have lost the Wunderlust, the joyousness, of the excited expectation of Christmas that little children have. We all remember those days, how we could not sleep on Christmas Eve, because we knew the next day would be a wonderful day of gifts, good food, lights and decorations, where the gifts we wanted most were under the tree, and even a few surprises greeted us in presents we were not expecting. We long so much to get just a little bit of our childhood Christmas joy in our present lives because we remember how special that day is.

5. Likewise, the Church needs to recover the joyous expectation of Christ’s return, for like Christmas with all its good gifts, Jesus’ second advent brings good things to us. The liturgical calendar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria describes the Last Sunday in the Church Year this way: ,,Often I dream of a world without suffering and pain, without parting and tears, a world, in which death loses its horror. A new heaven and a new earth, God dwelling in the midst of mankind, is the picture that the Bible draws of that end time. An utopia? Yes, but whoever believes is blessed. Because they have now beautifully changed in vigor. The promise of this new time lets us today keep a look out for Christ, as the bridesmaids looked for the groom who would begin the feast. In the hope that God truly does what He promises, many congregations also remember on Eternity Sunday the suffering and death of their deceased of the last year“ (ELKB).

6. The first thing we want to remind ourselves is that Christ’s return is for all people. In the parable, all of humanity is portrayed. Some are prudent maidens awaiting Jesus’ return, but others are foolish. The prudent maidens are prepared for Jesus’ return, but the foolish maidens are not prepared.

7. Secondly, while Christ’s return is for all people, His return will be a day of great joy for some but a day of intense sadness for others. The prudent maidens had oil for their lamps, but the foolish maidens did not have that oil. The oil for the lamps is faith in Christ. What made the prudent maidens prudent was their faith and trust in Jesus. What made the foolish maidens foolish was their absence of faith and their lack of trust in Jesus. In this parable, Jesus teaches that His second advent will surprise us. All will grow weary and fall asleep, but Christians are prepared for Christ’s return because they have faith in Him. ,,In Christ God has atoned for all our sins and has made it possible for us in faith to be partakers both of forgiveness and of life eternal“(Giertz 123). We live ,,in Christ,“ and to us who are in Christ there is no condemnation“ (Giuertz 123). The return of Christ ushers in the day of judgment, and that judgment shall be given according to our faith in Jesus, for ,,the one who believes in Jesus has eternal life“ (Giertz 122).

8. Everlasting life in heaven is the final goal of the reign of heaven that Christ brings into our midst. Jesus ushered in this heavenly reign during His public ministry and He established its certainty by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. On the last day Jesus the Bridegroom will return for His Church and lead us in a joyous procession to His Father’s house were we will enjoy the everlasting fellowship of resurrected life.

9. For this morning’s parable, Jesus deliberately chooses the example of a wedding and its reception banquet. Such events are times of great joy and happiness. Jesus describes eternal life as a feast with great joy, singing, dancing, eating and drinking, and having fun. Yahweh describes eternal life this way, »For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered or come into mind« (Isaiah 65,17). John’s apocalyptic vision explains what this will mean, »Jesus will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away« (Revelation 21,4). This is why Jesus exhorts us to long for, to have that childlike excitement, for His return. Eternal life awaits us, and it is a life full of wonders and blessings the like of which we cannot imagine. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is Eternal Life and He gives us eternal life. We have eternal life now by faith in Him. He gives us eternal life today in the Sacrament of the Altar. He is returning for us on the last day to lead us in a fantastic procession to our heavenly home. Do not become discouraged.

10. Watch and wait for Jesus’ return. May His second advent burn in your hearts with patient expectation of the good life that is to be ours. Jesus is preparing our life in His heavenly reign right now, and when He is finished He will return to bring all His Christians to their true and everlasting home. Eternal life with Jesus will be more blessed than a wedding banquet. Everlasting life in Yahweh’s heavenly reign will be more exciting than our childhood Christmas. Watch and wait, for Jesus will return for us, and that day will be a great and glorious day. Amen.

11. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Path onto eternal life, bless us with Your presence and the fullness of joy so that we may not become discouraged as we await Your glorious return; we eagerly await Your return for at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

   All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Matthew © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.
   bayern-evangelisch.de/www/liturgischer_kalender/PreLoader.php?feld=Datum&wert=21.11.2010
   Book of Common Prayer, The. Copyright © 1990 Oxford University Press.
   Gibbs, Jeffrey. ,,Matthew 24,37-44“. Concordia Journal.
   Giertz, Bo. Preaching from the Whole Bible. Clifford A. Nelson, Tr. Copyright © 1967 Augsburg Publishing House.
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Evangelien-Postille für die Sonn- und Festage des Kirchenjahres. Copyright © 1859 Samuel Gottlieb Liesching. A sermon preached on Matthew 25,1-13 for Ewigkeitssonntag. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2010.
   Luther, Martin. ,,The Feast of St. Barbara, the Holy Virgin: Matthew 25,1-13“. Festival Sermons of Martin Luther. Copyright © 2005 Joel Baseley. Mark V Publications. (Eternity Sunday: The Last Sunday of the Church Year)

2nd to Last Sunday in the Church Year. Malachi 4,1-6

In the Name of Jesus

Malachi 4,1-6

2^nd to Last Sunday in the Church Year

(Proper 28C); Buß- und Bettag

Justinian, Emperor and Confessor of Christ. † 565

14. November 2010

O Great, Merciful, and Gracious Lord Jesus, we confess that we have sinned against You in many ways and abundantly deserve Your righteous condemnation. Nevertheless, You do not desire the death of a sinner, nor have You any pleasure in the destruction of them who die; yes, even therefore did You Yourself suffer death, and by Your death did rob death of his power, so that the dying may have life. Therefore, we beseech You, reach out unto us from heaven Your mighty and gracious hand to save us from the hand of our enemies so that they do not rejoice over us in our anguish. O Christ, while we were yet sinners You did redeem us with Your precious blood, and have reconciled us to our Heavenly Father. We bow before You seeking Your mercy in the day of judgment, and trust only in You, O Lamb of God, and Your bitter sufferings and death, for our salvation so that the day that is arriving will usher us into eternal, heavenly fellowship (Löhe 309-12). Amen.

Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Prophet Malachi where the holy prophet writes: Yahweh said to Malachi, ,,Certainly the day is arriving! It will burn like a furnace. All arrogant people and all evildoers will be like straw. The day that is arriving will burn them up completely. It won’t leave a single root or branch. The Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings for You people who fear My Name. You will go out and leap like calves let out of a stall. And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Yahweh Sabbaoth. Remember the torah of My servant Moses, the commandments and judgments that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and awesome day of the advent of Yahweh. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I arrive and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.“ This is our text.

Malachi prophesied 430 years before the birth of Jesus. Malachi was the penultimate prophet, and when he died Yahweh’s prophetic word was silent unto four centuries. The next prophet to succeed Malachi was John the Baptizer in A.D. 30. This is not to say that God’s people were silent, for during the time between the Old and New Testaments, God’s people translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek (the Septuagint, LXX) allowing a wide audience of readers and hearers access to Yahweh’s Holy Scriptures, for in Jesus’ day, Greek was the common language of many diverse people and nations much like English is the standard language around the world today. God’s people also wrote what is commonly called the Dead Sea Scrolls and the 20 Books of the Apocrypha from Tobit - 4^th Maccabees.

Malachi prophesies about a future day that will burn like a furnace. These are Yahweh’s very own words that Malachi proclaims, and these are words that point to Yahweh’s destructive wrath against all arrogant and evil people. This final day is a day of fire that will consume sinners and leave them as ashes. This is not good news for us, for we are sinful people who rightly merit Yahweh’s wrath and punishment. Therefore, the Church has the Rite of Confession and the Sacrament of Absolution.

When we confess our sins, we affirm that we are ,,poor, miserable sinners who have offended Yahweh and justly deserved His earthly and eternal punishment“. Thus Yahweh’s law is given so that we do not remain arrogant and evil people, and the law does this by convincing us that we are arrogant and evil people who need to repent of our great, offensive sinfulness. Thus all of Yahweh’s prophets from Moses to John the Baptizer urge and encourage us to repent of our sins.

It is not enough to repent of one’s sins, but that repentance should be followed by faith in Christ Jesus. The Prophet Malachi proclaims this promise from Yahweh, »The Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings for You people who fear My Name«. To fear Yahweh’s Name is to fear, love, and trust in Yahweh for healing and salvation. Repentance is the first part of salvation, for in repentance we acknowledge our sinfulness and seek God’s forgiveness. Jesus Christ is the one who merits absolution that declares and proclaims that all sin is covered, paid for in full, and forgiven. Jesus and His righteousness has merited our forgiveness by His crucifixion and resurrection and thus His righteousness is credited and accounted to you, me, and all people. Faith receives this righteousness and accreditation as one’s own. The life of a Christian is one of ongoing repentance of our sinfulness and the daily trusting upon Christ and His righteous merit that we are forgiven, saved, and justified. Therefore, Christians need not fear the future day of Christ’s second advent.

We know that Christ will return. Unbelievers constantly scoff at this, but the Holy Scriptures testify to His return. Jesus, who is the Son of Man, will arrive in a cloud with power and great glory (Luke 21,27). For we who believe in and trust upon Jesus as our Savior from sin, death, and the devil, Christ’s second advent will be a day of great and glorious joy. Jesus gives the signs that will precede His almighty return: signs in the sun and moon and stars, nations on earth in anguish and perplexity at the tumultuous sea, and the heavenly powers shaken (Luke 21,25-26). Such portents prelude the end of this world. Such signs are not unusual natural phenomena, but they are apocalyptic and cataclysmic events in the heavens that underscore that this earthly world is becoming undone as what God has ordered begins to revert back to chaos (Just 800-01).

The average TV special on The History Channel or The Discovery Channel would have everyone react with grave concern as such dates such as 21. December 2012 or some other cosmically significant date rushes toward our present time. Christ who is the Lord over Creation, time, and all the powers of heaven would have His beloved Christian people react with expectation and blissful peace. Jesus consoles us, saying, ,,But when such cosmic signs begin to happen, straighten up and lift your heads, for your redemption draws near“ (Luke 21,28). The unbelieving world sees these heavenly portents as signs of impending horror, disaster, and destruction, but we Christians see these portents as signs of our impending salvation, glory, and bodily resurrection. Eternal life in the presence of the Triune God, all the angels, and believers who have gone on before us is about to begin as we enter into everlasting communion together. Yahweh describes this eternal joy to Malachi by saying, »The Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings for You people who fear My Name. You will go out and leap like calves let out of a stall.«

Who is this Sun of Righteousness? He is Christ Jesus our Lord who has ushered in the last day by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. Sin has been forgiven. Death has been swallowed up by life. Christ is returning for you and me and all Christians. All of Creation reverberates at His second advent, rejoicing and ushering in His arrival by quaking and shaking in creative praise to the Lord of Creation. At His return we will join in with Creation and usher Jesus back to this earth with hymns of praise and Hallelujahs. Jesus says, »,,Yes, I am arriving quickly.“ Amen, come Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen« (Revelation 22,20-21).

Let us pray. Lord Jesus, the Firstborn risen from the dead, when we see the signs that pretend to Your second advent, exhort us to straighten up and raise our heads so that we rejoice that our redemption is drawing near. Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

   All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.
   Just, Arthur A., Jr. Concordia Commentary: Luke 9:51– 24:53. Copyright © 1997 Concordia Publishing House.
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Luke 20-27-40. Trinity 23

In the Name of Jesus

Luke 20,27-40

23. Sunday after Trinity (Proper 27C)

Willibrord, Apostle of Frisia in the Frankish Empire (Netherlands) 738.

7. November 2010

As the deer longs after the water brooks, so our lives long after You, O God. Our lives thirst for God, for the Living God: when will we arrive and appear before God? O Fountain of Life and Well of Living Waters, when will we leave this miserable, erring, pathless, and desert world to arrive at the sweet waters of Your beauty so that we may behold Your power and majesty and quench our thirst in the fountain of Your grace and mercy? O that glorious and happy day which knows no night nor waning, when we will enter into the beautiful mansions of our God and into His joy and the enjoyment of His unfathomed miracles without number! There will be no enemy, neither opposition, nor vexation. No evil and deceptive temptation will come nigh, but only harmless, continuing safety to the body, holy rest, pure, peaceful joy, a blessed eternity, and everlasting blessedness; yes, the Most Holy Trinity, and the blessed beholding of the Deity of God Himself, which is the joy of the Lord our God. O when will we arrive and appear before God? We rejoice that our days on earth are declining. Hasten the evening, O Lord Jesus. Arrive and lead us forth from this our prison house unto eternal joys; out of the darkness of this life to the light of never ending day. Arrive, O Desire of the Gentiles, make us to behold Your countenance, so that our hearts may revive from the sorrows of this life, and we live forever. Amen. (Löhe 312-14).

Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Luke where the holy evangelist writes: ²⁷There came to Jesus some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, ²⁸and they asked Him a question, saying, ,,Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. ³⁰And the second ³¹and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. ³²Afterward the woman also died. ³³In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.“ ³⁴And Jesus said to them, ,,The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, ³⁵but those who were made worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, ³⁶for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. ³⁷But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸Now He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to Him.“ ³⁹Then some of the scribes answered, ,,Teacher, you have spoken well.“ ⁴⁰For they no longer dared to ask Him any question. This is our text.

Who were the Sadducees? The Sadducees were liberals and freethinkers. The Sadducees took their name, and were descended from, the priest Zadok who supported Solomon when Adonijah attempted to appoint himself King of Israel (1 Chronicles 1). In Jesus’ day, the Sadducees were the priests who ran the temple and were responsible for all the temple sacrifices and rituals; when Jesus was arrested, the priest Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas, was the head of the Sadducees. In Jesus’ day, the Roman governor appointed the Jewish high priest instead of allowing the Levitical process that dictated the high priesthood descends from father to son. The Sadducees also had a group within them known as the Herodians, who had ties to King Herod. They favored the Herodian polity and enjoyed the culture of the Greco-Roman society. They probably had respect for the emperor who had been a childhood friend of Herod the Great. While the Sadducees were few in number, their control of the temple and their wealth, gave them an important position of authority.

Although the Sadducees controlled the temple, the Pharisees with their rabbis, scribes, and lawyers had supplanted the priests in the synagogues, and these synagogues were the local congregations where men and women gathered to worship each Sabbath. They regulated the synagogues wherein they taught and interpreted the Law. The Pharisees were solidly devoted to the daily application and observance of the Mosaic law and the ,,oral law,“ known as the Oral Torah. While the Pharisees believed that the entire Law and the Prophets were Divinely inspired, the Sadducees only believed Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (the Torah; the Pentateuch) were inspired.

The Sadducees rejected the oral laws of the Pharisees (although they kept their own), and the Sadducees had a number of unbiblical and heretical beliefs, including: a denial of angels and demons, a denial of the arrival of the promised Messiah, a denial of Satan’s existence, a denial of the supernatural and miracles, a denial of the last judgment, and a denial of the resurrection in favor of Sheol as the universal abode of the dead.

Jesus’ answer affirms the fact of the resurrection. In this earthly life, death is a daily reality and experience. On account of our sinful nature, men and women die and are buried in a grave. Markers and tombstones witness to their existence.

Physical death, however, is not the end. Jesus confesses what is clear in the Old Testament: the dead are raised. Jesus had many Biblical passages at His disposal to prove the Scriptural teaching of the resurrection of the dead, but in His discussion with the Sadducees He chose a unique passage to affirm the resurrection. Jesus refers to Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus 3). At the Burning Bush, Yahweh tells Moses that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, showing that during the lifetime of Moses, the three great patriarchs who had died several hundred years prior to Moses’ birth are nonetheless (dennoch) still alive in Yahweh.

Given this Biblical truth, how does one be considered worthy to attain the age of the resurrection (v.35)? The discussion that St. Luke records in this 20^th chapter of his Gospel is the Lucan equivalent to Jesus’ dialog with the Jews in John 6 where Jesus declares with full Divine authority: »I am the Bread of Life. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day« (John 6,35.40). Every person who believes upon Jesus as his or her savior from sin, death, and the devil is considered worthy to attain the age of the resurrection. Faith trusts in the gospel which proclaims Christ Jesus alone makes us worthy of the resurrection. »For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith upon faith, as it is written, ,,The righteous will live by faith.“« (Romans 1,17). »Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ« (Romans 10,17).

Jesus Himself makes us worthy of the resurrection unto eternal life. The Apostle Paul boldly proclaims: »But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man death arrived, by a man the resurrection of the dead has also arrived. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His advent those who belong to Christ.« (1 Corinthians 15,20-23). At the return of Christ, He will reunite our resurrected body with our soul. Christ will make us equal to the angels, in that we will never suffer or die. At the present time we are sons of God by faith, and on the last day when Christ returns we will be sons of God in our physical, resurrected body. God is not the God of the dead, but He is the God of the living.

When Christ fulfills the age of the resurrection, we will enjoy eternal life in His presence. Eternal life is a grand and glorious fellowship of all believers in Christ. The patriarchs will be there, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We will join all the Old Testament believers in the eternal fellowship of heaven, including such believers as Adam and Eve, Abel and Seth, David, Moses and Elijah, and all the rest. We will join the New Testament believers in everlasting communion, including John the Baptizer, Stephen the Archmartyr, and ever Christian born till Christ’s return. Yahweh is the God of the living. We live, and will live eternally, through the merits of Christ Jesus who is the Living One. By Christ’s merits on the cross and at the empty tomb we now live. We live by faith in Christ which receives His merits. We live by Holy Baptism in which God brought us into His family. We live by the Lord’s Supper wherein Christ gives us His body and blood for our everlasting life. Jesus says, »I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh« (John 6,51). At the Last Supper »Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ,,This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.“ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ,,This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.“« (Luke 22,19-20). Hear and believe, take and receive, for you are sons of God and heirs of the resurrection through Christ. Amen.

Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, the God of the living, You have given us Your beloved only Son who for our sakes died and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins and our salvation so that by His glorious and Divine merit we are accounted children of the resurrection. Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

   All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.
   http://www.centralcal.com/crist2.htm
   http://www.come-and-hear.com/dilling/chapt01.html
   http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.
   Luther, Martin. WA I:353-4. ,,Theses for the Heidelberg Disputation“ (April 1518). Karlfried Frö hlich, Tr.