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.