In the Name of Jesus
Isaiah 63,15-16[17-19a]; 64,1-3
2. Sonntag im Advent 02 0212
Ad te Levavi
Barbara, Virgin Martyr 235.
John of Damascus, Theologian and Hymnwriter. † 749
4. December 2011
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 443-44). Amen.
2. 15Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are Your zeal and Your might? The stirring of Your inner parts and Your compassion are held back from me. 16For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; You, O Yahweh, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is Your Name. 17O Yahweh, why do You make us wander from Your ways and harden our heart, so that we do not fear You? Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage. 18Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down Your sanctuary. 19We have become like those over whom You have never ruled, like those who are not called by Your Name. 1O that You would rend the heavens and come down, so that the mountains might quake at Your presence – 2as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil – to make Your Name known to Your adversaries, and so that the nations might tremble at Your presence! 3When You did awesome things that we did not look for, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence. This is our text.
3. The Prophet Isaiah asks for Yahweh to come down from heaven with great power and might. This is not lightly desired, for when Yahweh arrives from His throne on high then creation reacts to His glorious Divine presence. For Isaiah’s hearers, the people of Israel, the mighty arrival of Yahweh would be remembered as His arrival on Mount Sinai where the old testament was given to the people. Originally, Yahweh had wanted the people to come near the mountain and behold His presence, but His Divine presence caused the mountain to quake, lightning to flash and thunder to roar. These signs frightened the people, for they understood themselves to be sinners in the presence of the Holy God, and they became afraid and approached the mountain with trembling. In the end, Joshua went part way up the mountain and only Moses traversed all the way where He experienced the full glory of Yahweh on the mountain.
4. Today’s Gospel Reading from Luke 21 also describes the fierce power of God. Before Jesus returns at His second advent, He portrays how creation will respond to His very presence: »And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming upon the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken« (Luke 21,25-26). Likewise, wicked and sinful people will respond with fear at such a glorious visitation. Even forgiven sinners, like John the Apostle, fall upon their face like dead men when they behold Jesus in His full Divine glory (Revelation 1,17).
5. Such human reactions to God’s holy presence explains, in part, the structure of the liturgy in the Divine Service. In preparation for entering into God’s presence, we begin by confessing our sins and acknowledging ourselves as poor, miserable sinners. The absolution then follows that proclaims God’s grace and forgiveness upon us. At this point we read the Introit (introitus), which means „entrance“, for now we, properly speaking, are entering into God’s presence with the beginning of the Divine Service. We are now in the Second Week of Advent as we prepare for the arrival of Jesus in His Incarnation. Advent is a prepatory season for Christmas, and part of the preparation is the confession and absolution of our sins.
6. The Second Week of Advent has the particular theme of Jesus’ second advent. For the unprepared, unforgiven sinners who want to know nothing of Christ, Jesus’ second advent will be a day of great fear and trembling. They will panic and curse as they seek shelter from His fierce Divine glory. Their sinfulness will be revealed and they will beg the earth to swallow them up and the mountains to fall upon them so as to hide them from God the Father who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb of God (Revelation 6,16).
7. You, however, who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ do not need to fear the wrath and punishment of Jesus on the last day of His second advent. You spend each Advent season preparing yourselves for our Lord’s arrival. You have acknowledged and confessed your sins; you have been absolved. When Christ returns it will be a day of great joy and celebration for you, »because your redemption is drawing near« (Luke 21,28).
8. Christ’s words are one of great, soothing comfort, for we live in times of uncertainty. Our nation continues to sluggishly move along with no robust economic energy. In a year presidential elections will be upon us, and American citizens will have to grapple with important political items as they contemplate which candidate to vote for. We turn on the news and see unrest in the Middle East and even in our own cities. In the past several months, we have experienced a hurricane, an early snowstorm, flooding and loss of electricity. Clearly our thoughts have been drawn to the heavenly and natural signs that have captured our attention. It seems as if the Isaiah’s longing desire is happening in our midst: »O that You, O Yahweh, would rend the heavens and come down, so that the mountains might quake at Your presence to make Your Name known to Your adversaries, and so that the nations might tremble at Your presence!« (64,1-2).
9. To be sure, Isaiah’s wish for Yahweh to make His presence known in great power and glory did indeed occur. The Incarnation of Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy from this morning’s First Reading. God the Father did indeed look down from heaven and behold the sinful, suffering state of mankind. Since the Fall into sin, Yahweh has been mankind’s Redeemer and has ensured that grace and forgiveness have been meted out to guilty sinners. Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary to be the world’s Redeemer from sin, death and the devil. As your Redeemer, Jesus took up His cross, suffered and died as the vicarious sacrifice for all your sins. The Gospel according to Luke describes Jesus’ crucifixion this way: »It was now about 12 noon, and darkness came over the entire land until 3 p.m., while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said: „Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.“ Having said this, Jesus breathed His last« (23,44-45). Truly the heavens were rent and the mountains quaked when Christ our Lord gave up His life on the cross.
10. Cosmic events soon thereafter heralded the preaching of Christ crucified to all the nations that culminated in the destruction of Jewish temple in A.D. 70. The gathering in of the Gentiles into the Church, the elect and chosen people, began in earnest. With the temple gone, Jesus has now shifted the focus of the reign of heaven from a people and a nation tied to a specific geographic location on the map known as Israel 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 Yahweh’s chosen people. This gospel is so powerful and glorious that it makes devils shake and earthly rulers quake with fear and foreboding. It should not surprise us that such a worldwide proclamation of the gospel causes the very natural order of the world to seize and react to the almighty word of God.
11. Christ’s first advent ended with signs that made His presence known to both His enemies and His disciples. His enemies trembled with fear, but His disciples triumphed with joy. Christ’s second advent will also shake the heavens and quake the earth. „The Second Advent speaks of a cosmic, cataclysmic liberating event. The Second Coming of Jesus will not remain unnoticed. It will not frighten us, so do not to be afraid“ (ELKB).
12. The Prophet Isaiah knew that the arrival of Yahweh is accompanied by His justice and righteousness. Unrepentant, wicked people get their just punishment, while repentant believers receive, by the merit of Christ, lavish mercy. As you await the delayed return of Christ, wait with patience and persistence for Christ will not disappoint. (ELKB).
13. The faithful 17. century Advent hymn describes it this way:
O Prince of Life when You will come again
As the Glorious King to reign,
We go with joy to see Your face,
Freely justified by Your grace.[1] Amen.
14. 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, 4th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern.
Held, Heinrich. „Gott sei Dank durch alle Welt“. (Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord). Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2005 Lutherischen Buchhandlung. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.
[1] daß, wenn du, o Lebensfürst, / prächtig wiederkommen wirst, / ich dir mög entgegengehn / und vor dir gerecht bestehn. ELKG 11 §7.
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