Rorate Coeli - The Fourth Sunday in Advent (Advent 4) - Sunday School Christmas Lessons & Carols

(Audio)

Isaiah 9:2, 6, 7; Luke 1:26-35, 38; Luke 2:1, 3-7; Luke 2:8-16; John 1:1-14

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Christmas is truly about the incarnation of the Son of God: The Word became flesh and made His dwelling amongst us. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the eternal, creative Word spoken by the Father, was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin womb of Mary and was born to us as an infant child in the city of David, Bethlehem. God dwells with man as a man. He knows what it means to be a man; He knows what it means to be you better than you do. And so, you do not have a God who is far off, but you have a God who is very near. You do not have a God that cannot empathize with your weaknesses, griefs and temptations, but you have a God who has experienced all these and has suffered and died in your flesh.

Yet, perhaps, the most astounding, and the most comforting thing about the incarnation of our Lord is the love that He displayed in it. For, the incarnation is God stripped naked and presented to you bare, entirely for you. He gave Himself as a gift to you without any concern for Himself at all. He came out of the womb naked, like all men, weak, helpless, needy, vulnerable, and defenseless. Our God became a human child, and our God is still a human man. As Jesus has taught you, there is no greater love than that a man should lay down his life for his friends. Indeed, your God has given Himself to you wholly, holding nothing back, as a gift of perfect and holy love. He came with no demands but with His only desire being that you would receive and benefit from His love, and, perhaps, a hope that you might love Him in return.

He’ll never stop loving you, even if you don’t love Him in return – imagine that! And, He has forgiven you and all people in Jesus Christ, even if you don’t believe that – imagine that! He is for you; there are no conditions or exceptions; He is for you; He is for the whole world! Your God is the greatest gift imaginable – a free and perfect gift of perfect love and perfect grace. But it’s not cheap grace, but it is the most costly and rare grace imaginable. But truly, that’s what love is. That’s what love means. And that’s what love looks like. Love was born at Christmas. And Jesus Christ is God’s gift of perfect love dwelling amongst us.

You don’t take a gift. You don’t choose a gift. You certainly don’t earn, buy, or even necessarily deserve a gift. But you receive a gift. And you believe the gift is truly yours. And then, you receive the benefit of the gift and the love of its giver who desires only that you would receive and believe and benefit from His love.

That’s the gift of the incarnation. And that’s what Christmas is truly all about.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Advent Evening Prayer - Week of Gaudete (Advent 3)

(Audio)

John 7:25-31; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Psalm 149

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Joy and rejoicing, singing and shouting, are the good and proper response of creation in the presence of its LORD God and Creator. The psalmist says that “the mountains skip like rams” and “the hills like lambs” at the presence of the Lord. They certainly sound joyful! However, the psalmist also says that “the sea looked and fled,” and the “Jordan turned back,” and that the whole earth trembled at the presence of the Lord. Now, that’s quite a different response. The truth is this, all creation knows its Creator and responds in either joy or fear, both of which are proper, yet man, the crown of God’s creation, does not know his Creator, but ascribes the glory, honor, praise, and rejoicing, and reverent fear, rightly due to our God and LORD to created things, idols of wood and metal and stone.

It was for this very reason that the LORD caused Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon to rise up and to destroy Israel and Judah, and to cart away her best and brightest into exile. The LORD did this, not because he hated his people, but because he loved them as a father loves his son or daughter. It is not the LORD’s proper will to cause his children harm or suffering; nevertheless, his judgment was just and righteous – they literally had it coming – but out of his abundant love and mercy the LORD used his judgment as discipline that his people might be turned in repentance to him  once again, that he might shower them with his blessings and make them shine with his light once again.

Joy and rejoicing, singing and shouting, are the good and proper response of creation in the presence of its LORD God and Creator. Yet man, the crown of God’s creation, does not know his Creator, but ascribes the glory, honor, praise, and rejoicing rightly due to our God and LORD to created things, idols of wood and metal and stone. This is the fruit of the first sin, the result of listening to a word not of the LORD but of an enemy. “Did God really say?” is not an innocent, harmless question. Embedded within the question is an intentional nefarious suggestion that there could be, that there is, some other word, something that has been said that is not from God. And, of course, the suggestion is that God is not good, that God is not love, that God is holding out on us and intends us harm and evil. We know how that all went down with our First Parents. So it goes down with us each and every day of our lives even now.

We must confess that we are congenital sinners. Our fathers were sinners. Our mothers were sinners. For they themselves were the sons and daughters of sinners, even as our own children have inherited our mortal corruption. Our Divine Service liturgy reflects this truth as the Gloria in Excelsis is sung after confession and absolution, not before, just as joy and rejoicing, singing and shouting, come after contrition and repentance as we rejoice in the LORD’s gracious pardon and forgiveness. The prophet Zephaniah says, “Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all you hear, O daughter of Jerusalem!” Why? Because, “the LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies.” It is finished.

We have an advantage over our forefathers, for Jesus has come and he has fulfilled the Law and all that was necessary to make us right with the LORD once again. While we were still sinners, while we were still in open rebellion against him, God died for us. If that’s not cause for rejoicing, then I don’t know what is! Even before the Assyrian and the Babylonian conquest, and the exile into Babylon, the LORD had promised Israel and Judah forgiveness, absolution, restoration, and judgment upon their conquerors. The promise of joy and rejoicing was set before them even before they faced judgment and discipline, just as, for the joy of the birth of a child a mother endures pain, suffering, and labor, and just as for the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame, so too, for the promise of joy and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD do we his children endure suffering and sorrow, trial and tribulation, and even death, in the hope of the promise fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

You see, this is like a number of seemingly backward scriptural truths: Only sinners can be forgiven. Only the dead can be raised. Only the meek and the lowly can be lifted up. Only the hopeless can find comfort in hope. Forgiveness is meaningless to the self-righteous. The promise of life is meaningless to the living. Being exulted later is meaningless to those who pridefully hold their heads up high now. Hope is meaningless for the content and secure. Advent is about being prepared for the coming of the Lord in all the ways he comes to us. Being prepared is about trusting in the LORD and his word and commandments, law and gospel. The law will always accuse and convict you, that is its job. Let it. Let it break you. Let it do its worst to you. For, then comes the gospel, the Good News: The law has been fulfilled, it cannot condemn you any longer, because Jesus has taken the law’s condemnation upon himself and has suffered and died for you, breaking its curse and setting you free.

This is why the Daughter of Zion, the Church, the Bride of Christ, rejoices: She rejoices because she is forgiven. She truly has something to rejoice in! Joy and rejoicing, singing and shouting, are the good and proper response of God’s children in the presence of our Father God and Creator who has loved us with an everlasting love.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Gaudete - The Third Sunday in Advent (Advent 3)

(Audio)

Matthew 11:2-11; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Isaiah 40:1-11

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

A prophet does not speak for God on His behalf, but a prophet is literally a mouthpiece for God who proclaims His Word to His people. John the Baptist was such a prophet. In fact, Jesus says that “among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” That’s pretty high praise coming from the Son of God. It had been four hundred years since the last prophet of the LORD proclaimed His Word to His people, and that prophet was Malachi who proclaimed, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” Jesus proclaimed Malachi’s prophecy fulfilled in John saying, “All the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

“All the Prophets and the Law” is the Holy Scriptures, The Old Testament, the Word of God, Law and Gospel. All the Prophets of the LORD, men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Malachi, and others, preached both the Law and the Gospel, but the Gospel they preached pointed to a fulfillment yet to come, the promise of Messiah, the Anointed One of the LORD. But, John was different, for John preached the Law just like those prophets before Him – “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” but He also had the unique honor, privilege, and blessing of pointing repentant sinners directly to the Messiah Jesus Christ saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John the Baptist was the prophesied “Elijah, who is to come,” for John prepared the way for the coming of Jesus the Messiah by turning “the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.” That is, by turning men’s hearts in repentance through the preaching of Law and Gospel that they might be prepared to receive the LORD’s Messiah, Jesus, in faith and put their trust in Him as Jesus proclaimed of John in St. Luke’s Gospel, “And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

However, as a prophet of the LORD, John’s fate would be no different than those prophets who preceded him. The Word of the LORD John proclaimed would be rejected by the self-righteous and the self-secure, by those who loved worldly power and wealth and possessions and prestige in the eyes of men more than they loved the LORD and His Commandments. They would despise him and ridicule him. They would think him crazy and out of step with the world. They would consider him a blasphemer of the LORD because they had hardened their hearts and stopped their ears to the Word of the LORD, exchanging the truth of God for a lie. They would persecute, imprison, and murder him because he exposed their hypocrisy and sin and threatened their self-righteousness and self-security. They would join with Jerusalem in killing this prophet as they killed all the prophets before John, stoning and murdering those sent to her.

And so it was that John was in prison for preaching against King Herod Antipas’ adulterous marriage to his brother’s wife Herodias, calling him to repentance. Herod hated John for this, but he also feared him, just as Jesus’ opponents, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and Herod both hated and feared Him. Herod wanted John dead, but he was afraid to do it. It would take a young girl, Herodias’ daughter, Herod’s step-daughter and grand-niece, to bring about John’s murder by arousing and pleasing Herod with her sensuous dancing. Regardless of any delay, John knew that he would not leave that prison with his life, not without a miracle of the LORD.

In prison, awaiting his inevitable execution, John heard about the deeds of Jesus in fulfillment of prophecy, perhaps particularly the prophecies of Isaiah which Jesus quotes in today’s Gospel reading: “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” However, John may also have been recalling Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would “bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” It seems probable that John, in prison awaiting his execution, would be wondering if Jesus were going to fulfill that particular prophecy as well. In answer to John’s inquiry via his disciples, Jesus directed John to what they had seen and heard in fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, conveniently, intentionally (?), leaving the freeing of prisoners out. Ultimately, when all material and fleshly things have passed away, when signs and wonders are no more, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Perhaps even John the Baptist, the greatest of those born of woman, needed to learn this as much as you and I.

Yet, when John’s disciples went away to return to John and tell him the news, Jesus turned to the crowd that had gathered and proclaimed about John saying, “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 soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you’.” Now, “A reed shaken by the wind” is an analogy for someone who changes position with every shift in public opinion. John the Baptist was no “reed shaken by the wind,” for he fearlessly proclaimed the Word of the LORD in the face of the Pharisees and the religious leadership of Israel and even before King Herod as Psalm 119 says, “I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame,” and as Jesus taught His disciples saying, “You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.” Beware those who seek to appease men to win their favor and compromise the Word and Commandments of the LORD. Jesus promises that, if you confess Him before men, He will confess you before His Father in heaven, but if you deny Him before men, He will deny you before His Father in heaven.

“A man dressed in soft clothing?” John wore camel’s hair for clothing tied with a leather belt. He lived in the wilderness eating locusts and honey. Like the prophecy of Jesus before whose coming John prepared the way, John “had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” John did not attract people by his position, association, title, or location. His preaching drew people out to the wilderness by the Word of the LORD. So too you must not judge a book by its cover, or a preacher of the Word by his appearances, manner, or style, but by his faithfulness to the Word of the LORD alone. You will know the LORD’s servant, not by his appearance, eloquence, age, wisdom, or even his success, but you will know him by his fruits, by his faithfulness in proclaiming the Word of the LORD and His Commandments and in the administration of His Sacraments. Those who are too lazy to read, study, hear, and inwardly digest the Word of the LORD, perhaps, are best to keep their ears open and their mouths shut.

“What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet!” John the Baptist was indeed a prophet of the LORD, a mouthpiece proclaiming His Word to His people. John was no shrinking violet, nor was he a lover of pleasure and comfort, but he was dedicated to full proclamation of the Word of the Lord, of Law and Gospel, in season and out of season, to people who closed their ears and clenched their fists and gnashed their teeth in hatred of John and of the LORD whose Word he proclaimed. For this John was despised and ridiculed, persecuted, imprisoned, and murdered by men who feared, loved, and trusted in their own works and righteousness and believed that they earned and merited the good things they enjoyed in life. Truly, then, as now, the words of St. Paul to the young pastor Timothy ring true: “Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” Truly, St. John the Baptist knew those times, as did the prophets before him, as did Jesus and the Apostles, and faithful pastors and teachers still today.

John was in prison. I know from personal experience ministering to a few folks who have spent time in prison that those walls and those bars change your perspective on the world. For a Christian locked in prison, it might seem as if Jesus isn’t doing anything, at least not to help me. Did John feel that way? Perhaps. But, even more importantly, this text, and this Advent season, is provided you that you may step outside of the prison you have constructed for yourself, a prison of selfish, fleshly, and worldly expectations for how God must act in order for you to trust in Him, and how preaching must sound for it help you to believe, and for worship to feel in order to believe that Jesus is present and active. Jesus directed John to the Word of the LORD, and to that Word fulfilled for others, if not immediately for himself. And, by hearing and seeing that God is working and active and present in the lives of others, John was encouraged and caused to reflect upon the many and various ways God was working and active and present with him in his prison cell, forgiving his sins, preserving and strengthening his faith, even unto death and eternal life with Him. Jesus directed John to hope outside of his prison walls now. And, because of that hope, John was truly free even while in prison. For the walls and bars we construct for ourselves to imprison us are much worse than any worldly and material prison that may hold us. Worldly and material prison walls and bars will fail and perish. Blessed is the one who finds his freedom in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, now, and for eternity.

Judge not by what your eyes see and your ears hear. Things are not what they appear, but they are as the Word of the LORD has declared. John the Baptist is the greatest of the prophets of the LORD and the greatest among those born of women, but Jesus, who made Himself to be the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. John had the unique honor, privilege, and blessing of pointing repentant sinners directly to the Messiah Jesus Christ saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Pastors today have this same unique honor, privilege, and blessing of pointing you to Jesus. Your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the LORD’s Messiah, is present and active to heal you and forgive you and to set you free from the prison of sin and death you have constructed for yourself. How do you receive him? Jesus invites you to believe on Him for your life and salvation that you may live freely without fear. What did you come here today to see? Judge not by what your eyes see and your ears hear, but see with the eyes of faith and hear with the ears of faith that the Holy Spirit has created in you through the Word of the LORD, and you will be free indeed.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Populus Zion - The Second Sunday in Advent (Advent 2)

(Audio)

Luke 21:25-36; Romans 15:4-13; Malachi 4:1-6

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

“Daughter of Zion, behold, your salvation comes!” But, what does that mean? What does salvation look like? How will salvation change how you live your lives from day to day? Those are good questions, for your lives will be indeed be changed. When your salvation comes, it will be like when Mom and Dad get home and turn the lights on in the basement where their kids and other teenagers have been partying while they were away. Whatever was going on will be exposed! There will be no time to cover up or clean up. Whatchya got is whatchya see. When your salvation comes, it will be like turning on the lights in a dark and filthy kitchen; the cockroaches will run for cover, but it will be too late – they will have been seen for what they are, dirty, disease carrying vermin.

This is what it will be like, for the day of your salvation is a day of judgment, for you and for everyone else. There is no escaping it, just as there can be no darkness where the light shines brightly. Yet, you need not be afraid of that day. For, “though the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble,” for you who fear, love, and trust in the Lord, “the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.” Thus, the day of salvation, the day of judgment, will prove to be a very good day for you. Therefore, lift up your heads, for “you shall have gladness of heart.”

Yet still, you fear change. So do I. Indeed, all people do. You fear change because you have made idols of worldly and fleshly things: money, possessions, family, power, health, reputation, etc. You don’t want these things to change. You fear these things changing because you have placed your fear, love, and trust in them over and above, or in place of, the Lord. In some very real ways, you believe that they define you, they make you who you are. But, they do not last, and you know that to be true. You see the material things you own break, rust, and decay, become outdated and obsolete. You see and feel your own bodies become weak and frail; you don’t see as well, hear as well, or look as well as you used to; you are dying, a little more each day. You see your children age and marry and have children, and often move away, sometimes far away. But these things don’t define you. They don’t make you who you are. You came into this life having none of them. If you leave life without them, that doesn’t change who you are.

Then, who are you? You are the people, the Daughter of Zion, the New Israel, born from the side of the True Israel, God’s Son, Jesus Christ. It is to you that the LORD says the day of judgment will be a day of great joy for you! However, that does not mean that you will be left unscathed. No, not at all. You will be changed as all the idols you have oft placed your fear, love, and trust in are destroyed. Then the hearts of fathers will be turned to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers, for that most fundamental reality of your lives, the very source and origin of your lives, imperfect and corrupted by sin as it may be, and the imperfect love and faithfulness which accompany it, will be seen as an image of the perfect, holy, and righteous source and origin of all of your lives and the perfect and holy love and faithfulness of God, your Father and Lord.

This is a call to repentance uttered from the mouthpiece of God, John the Baptist. The LORD promised that he, Elijah, would come before this great and awesome day of the LORD. But, that was nearly two thousand years ago, you say? Yes, it was – for that was when the day of the LORD occurred, in Jesus’ crucifixion and death upon the cross. That was when the Light switch was turned on and the darkness of sin and death were scattered and overcome. That was the day of judgment, when Jesus was judged guilty in your place. That was the day when it was promised and guaranteed that the ways of the arrogant and evildoers will not last, that they will be left with neither root nor branch. That was the day when the Lord began to make all things new – the ushering in of a new first day of the new creation. That was the day that everything changed. The world has changed. Your life has changed. And, this change is good and nothing to fear.

One of the first things to be changed was how you relate to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, and to your neighbor in the world. Your heart is to be turned to your Father, and your children’s to their Father. Jesus introduced this new understanding of family in His last words to His mother and His disciple John: “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” In those words, Jesus created a new family. Though John was not a true son of Mary, he became her adopted son. In the same way, you have been adopted into the family of Jesus Christ. Jesus had taught in this way throughout His ministry saying, “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Look at one another.  This is your family.  This is your true family.  Yes, You were born into a family according to the flesh.  Nevertheless, here is the family God has adopted you to be a part of. You are the people of Zion, the Daughter of Zion, the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Daughter of Zion, behold, your salvation has come! Your salvation comes! And, your salvation is coming! The day of judgment has come for you, and you have been judged innocent in Jesus Christ. Therefore, you have a new family and a new life, and you need not live in fear of change or loss or of the Last Day when your King returns. “For whatever was written in former days was written for your instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures you might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Even now you are free to “go out leaping like calves from the stall” and to “tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet.” You are free from living like those who have no hope. You are free from the slavery of idolatry to the worldly and fleshly things the godless covet. The kingdom of God has come, it is near you now, and it is coming soon in it’s fullness, power, glory, and might. Its reign is mercy, forgiveness, grace, and love. It reigns upon you, it reigns to you, and it reigns through you into the lives of your brother, your sister, and your neighbor to the glory of God in Christ Jesus. Your Lord Jesus is the sun of righteousness, and His reigning scatters the darkness of sin and death, while it brings healing in its wings to the children of God.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Advent Evening Prayer – Week of Ad Te Levavi (Advent 1)

(Audio)

Luke 1:67-80; 1 Chronicles 16:1-36; Psalm 24

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Something occurred in England last year that had not occurred in over half a century – On May 6, 2023, a new king was crowned as Charles III was coronated the sixty-third Monarch of England. The crown placed upon Charles’ head weighed five pounds and was made of solid gold bedecked with over four hundred gemstones. A coronation anthem composed by George Frederick Handel rang out as Charles was coronated king. The anthem was titled “Zadok the Priest,” based upon 1 Kings 1:38-39, the account of Solomon, the son of David, riding into Jerusalem on David’s mule to be anointed King of Israel. Indeed, the glory of God filled Westminster Abbey!

Even British pomp and circumstance at its best, however, is but rubbish compared to the glory of God in the journey of the Ark of the Covenant. David’s song of thanks in the tent of meeting was preliminary to Solomon’s later dedication of the ark in the temple recounted in 2 Chronicles chapter 5. Asaph, the great liturgist, hymnist, and leader of the Asaphite guild of musicians, offered songs of praise before the ark with harps and lyres, cymbals, and trumpets, as it was carried into the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.” Burnt offerings to atone for sin, and peace offerings of thanksgiving and praise, were offered before God who made His presence amongst His people. Then David blessed the people with the blessing of God’s grace, and they ate a festive meal of breads, and meats, and cakes as they recounted with praise and thanksgiving the mighty works of the LORD, and His promises made and kept for generations of their fathers before them.

Charles III processed with great pomp and circumstance to Westminster Abbey where he was crowned King of England in the midst of his subjects. The ark of the covenant processed to the tent of meeting with great praise, thanksgiving, sacrifice, and worship, and the glory of the LORD took up residence there above the mercy seat in the midst of his people. Yet even this most glorious and holy event was but a foreshadowing and a type of what was to come when the Son of God became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and the King of heaven and earth pitched his tent amongst us as one of us, taking our flesh and blood and nature upon himself that he might fulfill the will of his Father and atone for us, his people, by his selfless, holy, innocent, suffering and death upon the cross.

For, Christ the King is the new, eternal Monarch, who sits upon the Davidic throne, world without end. Jesus is the new tabernacle, according to His human nature, made not by human hands, or by the will of a man, whereby he “pitched his tent” among us in human flesh and blood, body and soul. And we, his worshippers, his people, are the new Israel, both Jews and Gentiles, who are united in Christ alone.

Our God and King is he who seeks to dwell amongst his people. So, it was in the beginning in Eden that the LORD walked and talked with our First Parents in paradise. But after their sinful fall and rebellion this was no longer possible lest God’s holy and righteous wrath consume and destroy them. Therefore, he exiled them from his presence even as he began his passionate work of restoring them to communion in his presence once again. The tabernacle, and then the temple, housing the ark of the covenant, was a typological stage in this work as the LORD located his glory within a tent of animal skins and provided a means by which he could look away from his people’s sins for a time through the sacrifice of bulls and lambs and goats. Yet this was still but a type and a foreshadowing of the work the LORD would complete in the flesh and blood sacrifice of his only-begotten Son for the sins of the world.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” The Word became flesh and made his dwelling amongst us. A young Jewish maiden conceived by the word of the Lord and became for us the dwelling place of God with man. The Virgin Mary was made to be the dwelling place of the glory of God, foreshadowed by the burning bush, the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, and the temple. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Like the ark of the covenant before her, so Mary made the journey to the hill country of Judea, just outside of Jerusalem. There she was greeted with rejoicing as the child in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptist, leapt for joy in the presence of his LORD. On the night of Jesus’ birth, shepherds, angels, and all creation rejoiced. Wise men from the east came to worship the newborn king and to present their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, confessing him to be our great Prophet, Priest, and King. Forty days after his birth Mary and Joseph brought their son to the temple in Jerusalem to make sacrifices in accordance with the law of the LORD. They were greeted there by Simeon and Anna who were waiting for the redemption and salvation of Israel and who confessed their hopes fulfilled in the Christ Child Jesus. At age twelve, our Lord Jesus remained at the temple amazing the rabbis with his questions and answers. When his worried parents found him, he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”

The priest Zechariah was serving in the house of the LORD, the temple, when the angelic messenger visited him and proclaimed that his wife Elizabeth, who was barren, would conceive and bear a son who would be the promised forerunner of the Messiah. Zechariah burst forth in prophetic song saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” The LORD God of Israel has visited and redeemed his people in the incarnation of Jesus the Christ. Rejoice! The LORD has set up a tent among us!

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Ad Te Levavi - The First Sunday in Advent

(Audio)

Matthew 21:1-9; Romans 13:8-14; Jeremiah 23:5-8

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

At this time of the year, situated as we are in the northern hemisphere, the prevalence of darkness and the scarcity of light can, at times, be oppressive, depressive, and draining. And if you are one of the millions of Americans, like me, who are negatively affected by the absence of sunlight, you know what I’m talking about; and, if you are not so affected, perhaps you can sympathize with us as we march day by day toward the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

That our Advent preparations fall during this time of the year fortuitously serves as a powerful symbol of the oppressive darkness of our sin and death in which we live, a darkness from which we need deliverance and encouragement to not give in to. In fact, this very deliverance we prayed for but moments ago in our Collect for the Day, “Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance….” For, struggling, as we are, in the darkness of sin and death, we are in peril: We are in peril of not seeing our sins as perilous. We are in peril of drowning, perishing, and suffocating in the hopeless darkness of sin and death.

Part of our Advent preparation, then, is to hold out a beacon of hope, a guiding light in the darkness to lighten our path. That hope is that the night will soon be ending, that the darkness will soon withdraw and pass away.  Now, worldly speaking, each day, we move closer to December 21, the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. That day is coming, a day of deep darkness that we all must pass through. But, after that day, the days will progressively grow longer as light increases, so that’s something for us to look forward to, something that gives us comfort and hope. Now, spiritually speaking, though we continue to walk in the darkness of sin and death, and though we see that much darkness is all around us, we are comforted in the remembrance that the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, has come. And we wait, in hopeful expectation, for His coming again to take us out of the darkness forever. Further, we are comforted and hopeful that even now He comes amongst us, so that, even as we dwell in darkness, we are not of the darkness, but we are children of the Light.

Rescue is coming. Rescue has come. And rescue comes to you now. But it’s not the Marines, it’s not the FBI, it’s not even your favorite political party that is coming to your rescue. There is no great war horse, tank or armored truck, there is no powerful political sway, might, or power as men count might and power. Those things are too obvious to our fallen flesh, too easy to place our trust in, they don’t demand anything of us in the way of change. But your Savior came in humility, “mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” He comes to you now through veiled means: His Word preached and read, prayed and sung; common water; tasteless bread and simple wine. But He is coming on the clouds, with power and great might that no flesh can imagine, and the darkness of sin and death will pass away forever.

It is this three-fold “coming” of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, that we reflect upon during Advent: He has come. He comes. And He is coming. But do you see how the coming of Christ enfolds and permeates your entire life and existence? Christ came before you. Christ comes to you now. And, Christ is coming again for you, to receive you to Himself. Do you believe that He came as the Babe of Bethlehem, born of the Virgin Mary? Then you can believe that He will come again just as He has said. Do you believe that He will come again at some time in the future? Then you can believe that He is present with you now just as He has said. Christ has come. Christ comes. And Christ is coming. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, and He is everything in between. He is your life, for He has laid down His life in exchange for yours. Thus, He promises you that if you remain in Him, He will remain in you and that you are not a slave, but a son of God, and if a son, then also an heir with Him of the kingdom that He brings, then, now, and for eternity.

Still, we dwell in darkness, for a time. But “the hour has come for you to awake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” St. Paul warns you against a litany of sinful behaviors that make most of us squirm uncomfortably in our seats: Things like orgies, drunkenness, sexual immorality and sensuality. It’s easy for us to justify ourselves and feel a little self-righteous because we don’t participate in such dark and seedy behaviors. But notice how Paul concludes that list with quarreling and jealousy. Quarreling and jealousy, for Paul, are every bit as sinful and dangerous for you as are the other sinful and immoral behaviors.

These works of darkness are dangerous because they serve to separate you from the body of Christ, the true Vine that enlivens and fortifies the branches. They are the fruits of unbelief in the coming of the Christ past, present, and future. Cast off these works of darkness. Do not dwell in them or be tempted to by them to become drowsy as you watch and wait for the coming of the Lord. Cast off those works of darkness and replace them with good works? No, the works of darkness are not replaced by other works, but the Apostle writes instead, put on the defensive armor of light, the light of Christ.

For, you have been called to change your ways and to no longer walk in darkness, for you have been changed by baptism and faith from a child of darkness to a child of light. So that, you are not darkness, but you are light, therefore, walk in the light of Christ and do not return and submit yourself to works of darkness.

From where we stand today, the New Year is just around the corner. After the Solstice, when the days begin slowly to grow longer, the New Year begins. The New Year is a time that people have chosen to reflect upon the blessings, challenges, and failings of the past year and to make resolutions for change in the New Year to come. Well, The First Sunday in Advent is New Year’s Day for the Church of Christ. It is a time for God’s people to reflect upon another year past lived in the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness of God our Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. We may be tempted to believe that nothing has changed, that everything continues just as it has before. But one thing has certainly changed: You have lived one more year and you have one less year left to live when the New Year comes along. Truth be told, you are never the same again. When a year has passed, it has done something to you – you have either come closer to God through faith in Christ Jesus or you have drifted farther away. So, as you begin this New Year, ask yourself, “Has your faith grown, or has it withered?” Have your words and deeds served your brothers and sisters in Christ so that their faith might grow and increase, or have your words and deeds inflicted injury upon others so that their faith is damaged or that they might fall away from the Church and from the Lord?

If you have done these things or any others, do not despair, there is Good News for you! Your Rescuer is here, now. In fact, today your salvation is nearer to you than when you first believed. Happy New Year! A New Year in God’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness begins for you today! Repent, cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Walk as in the daytime, not in darkness, drunkenness, or slumber. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. For the Lord has come. He is coming. And He comes to you now to rescue you from the threatening perils of your sins and to save you by His mighty deliverance.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Eve of the National Day of Thanksgiving

(Audio)

Luke 12:13-21; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Deuteronomy 8:1-10

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Giving thanks is the natural fruit of justification, trust and faith in God for forgiveness, life, and salvation. Thanksgiving blooms naturally from a Christian, the way plump and juicy bunches of grapes burst forth from the vine. Yet, there are many things that will hinder a Christian from giving thanks, amongst them being covetousness and greed.

These are no minor sins. Indeed, God has given no less than two Commandments against covetousness and greed, the Ninth and Tenth – three, if you count the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not steal.” These, like all sins, are ultimately sins against God, a transgression of the First Commandment, as the covetous and the greedy place their fear, love, and trust in some material or worldly created thing over and above the Creator of all things. Thus, in book two of The Divine Comedy, Purgatory, Dante described the covetous and the greedy as being bound and laid face down upon the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts.

We are all susceptible to covetousness and greed. Indeed, these were present and active in the Garden when our First Parents desired what God had forbidden, not only to eat the forbidden fruit, but to be their own gods, producing no fruitful thanksgiving and praise to God their Creator, but only the fruit of sin, which is death. We transgress the Ninth, Tenth, Seventh, and First Commandments, and probably others too, when we are anxious and worried about what we will eat and wear, and when we place our trust in our own works, wealth, and prosperity as did the man in Jesus’ parable.

In answer to two men in the crowd who were disputing over an inheritance, Jesus said, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Then He told them a parable about a rich man whose land produced plentiful crops so that his barns were filled, and he had no more room to store his grain. After considering, the man decided to tear down his existing barns and build larger ones to store all his grain and his goods. Then the man said to himself, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”

To our American, independence-idolizing ears, the man’s reasoning likely sounds good, even praiseworthy. After all, it’s his grain, his barns, his land; he should be able to do whatever he likes with what is his. That’s the American dream, right? That’s what we all hope to achieve in our retirement, if not sooner – independence, the freedom to not depend on anyone: parents, children, neighbors, government, God. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry. Sounds good, right? In fact, most of us will be doing just that tomorrow on the day we, as a nation, have designated a Day of National Thanksgiving. But how many will be giving thanks? What will they be thankful for? And who will they be thanking? How many will thank no one but themselves?

The rich man who tore down his barns and built bigger ones trusted only in himself. He was pleased with himself and thankful to himself for his own efforts. Was the land really his? No. Did he produce the seed that grew into crops? Did he make the rain to fall and the sun to shine that the seed might grow and be fruitful? No. No, truly, even the man’s life was not his own, just as your life is not your own, and that very night God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

Relax, eat, drink, and be merry, for I have ample goods laid up for many years? Today, you are more likely to hear this adaptation: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. For, this is the common tomorrow that all men face, sooner or later. Therefore, since we will not live forever in this life as it is, and we all know that hearses don’t pull U-Hauls – that is to say, “You can’t take it with you.” – the question is, “How, then, shall we live?” However, this isn’t so much a decision that you need to make as it is fruit that you will bear when you have faith and trust in God, the Creator and giver of all things, even your life. Better, then is the way J.R.R. Tolkien put it in The Lord of the Rings: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

St. Paul explains saying, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” For, Paul continues, “[The LORD] has distributed freely, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” And, the result of this is that “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

This is to say that your life, possessions, wealth, time, talents, and treasure are all precious gifts to you of God’s most loving grace. He gives them to you to use, for yourself and your family, and He makes you a steward and manager of His gifts to use for others. This is, in part, how you give thanks to God for His love, faithfulness, and providence – by being generous with His gifts, you bear the fruits of faith, which are living proof that you love the Giver more than the gifts. This is your confession in action of your faith in the LORD, who graciously provides you all that you need to sustain your body and life.

No man is an island, but we are all conceived and born into families, communities, villages, and nations. We are our brother’s keepers, and they are ours. Recognition of this fact does not make us socialists, but Christians. The most important fruit that is born of such faith and trust in God is freedom from the slavery of idolatry. Because you are a slave to Christ, you are free to live in His grace and receive His gifts, no strings attached. Therefore, you are free to freely share His gifts and give them to others, knowing that you are losing nothing, for your God who graciously gives you all things will not withhold from you all that is needful and good.

On this National Day of Thanksgiving, we remember the pilgrims who came to the New World with little but the clothing on their backs. After much toil, tribulation, and suffering, they were thankful; they were thankful for the land, for food, for shelter, for friendly neighbors, and for their own lives. They were also thankful for freedom: religious freedom, political freedom, freedom to be taxed only with representation, and freedom to a fair trial and justice. Jesus taught that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, because of our prosperity and wealth, we take much for granted and falsely believe that all we have is the fruit of our labors and rightfully ours alone. As a result, we are not thankful, and if we give, we often do so with somewhat less than a cheerful heart.

Well, charity does begin at home, and thanksgiving begins at the altar. We gather here today to receive God’s gifts and to offer Him thanks and praise. He graciously forgives our sins, strengthens our faith, and gives us eternal life that we can live and worship and share His gifts without fear of not having enough or running out. He fills you until you are overflowing, then He keeps on pouring and giving that you may be both blessed and a blessing. “For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Last Sunday of the Church Year / Sunday of the Fulfillment (Trinity 27)

(Audio)

Matthew 25:1-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Isaiah 65:17-25

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

You are stewards of a great treasure, a precious pearl of great price. I am not talking about your health, or your wealth, your family, your possessions, your church, or even your life – I’m talking about your faith. Your faith, you see, is not something that you can create, or earn, or choose, or purchase, or anything of the sort – your faith is a gift of the LORD that is created in you by the Holy Spirit through the Word of the LORD. And like anything that is valuable and precious, you must protect your faith and tend to it and care for it. That is what it means to be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom Jesus Christ. That is what it means to have oil in your lamps and oil to spare should the Bridegroom be delayed. If you care about your faith, if it is precious to you and you treasure it, then you will be diligent to protect it, tend to it, care for it, and keep yourself full of it. For the Bridegroom is coming at a day and hour you cannot know. And when he comes, will he find faith on earth? Will he find you in faith? Yes, yes, he will, if you care enough about it to protect it, tend to it, care for it, and keep it.

The ten virgins were all the same. They were ten young women who were given the privilege and honor of welcoming the Bridegroom by carrying light-producing oil lamps in procession before him as he entered the wedding hall. To fail in this task would bring shame and dishonor upon themselves, their family, and the Bridegroom as well, similar to the shame and dishonor of running out of wine at first century Jewish wedding. Thus, the virgins took their task very seriously and planned to stay up to await the Bridegroom’s arrival. Five of the virgins even took the precaution of bringing extra oil along with them, just in case. All ten virgins fell asleep while awaiting the Bridegroom’s arrival. Again, they were all the same; none of them were perfect; all of them failed to stay awake. And yet, there was something that was different with some of them. Five of the virgins brought extra oil. The extra oil didn’t make them more righteous, or more watchful; they still fell asleep. Nevertheless, it was the oil that made the difference. In the end, when the Bridegroom finally arrived, the five wise virgins still had oil for their lamps, while the five foolish virgins had run out and could not light their lamps.

I think there’s a temptation here to credit the wise virgins with some superior quality and to assume that the foolish virgins were deficient in some way. But that is not the case at all; they were the same. If we are going to assign blame and deficiency, then all ten virgins deserve that judgment, for they all fell asleep. No, there was no difference between the ten except for the oil; five of the virgins still had oil. You see, this parable isn’t about the virgins at all; it’s all about the oil, and the oil represents faith. It’s not about how much oily faith you have. Nor is it about the good works you produce. Nor is it about how charitable you are, what people think about you, your past sins, current failings, or anything else. It’s all about the oil; it’s all about faith. And, when it comes to faith, you either have it, or you don’t – period.

That is why Jesus teaches that the faith of a mustard seed could move a mountain. That is why Jesus sometimes chided his disciples saying, “You of little faith.” Their faith may have been weak or small, but they still had it. Faith isn’t a work. Faith isn’t reason or understanding. Faith is not a choice or a decision. Faith is trust, and faith is a work and gift of the Holy Spirit. If you have faith, thanks be to God. If you don’t have faith, there’s nothing you can do to earn it, merit it, deserve, choose it, or get it. Faith must be given to you. Faith must be created in you. And that happens by the work of the Holy Spirit through the word of God, and in no other way. If you have faith in Jesus Christ, then you have Jesus. That is to say, you have everything that Jesus has: blessedness, holiness, righteousness, sonship with the Father, life that cannot and will ever die.

The five foolish virgins had run out of oil. They asked the wise virgins for some of their oil, but that cannot be for, the oil is faith, and you must have faith of your own, no one can believe for another. So, off into the darkness the foolish virgins go, seeking to purchase oil for their lamps. But the effort is futile; faith cannot be purchased or earned, borrowed, or anything else. Faith is a gift – period; you either have it, or you don’t.

Now, I know that this troubles you, because you are wondering, “Do I have enough faith?” “How can I be certain?” Well, if you’re concerned about not having faith, that’s a sure sign that you have it. If you didn’t have faith, you wouldn’t be concerned about losing it. How much faith? That’s not even a relevant question, for even the smallest amount of faith is saving faith – remember the mustard seed? For one thing, you’re here today: You’ve called upon the LORD to be present, and he is present. You’ve confessed your sins and have received his absolution. He has fed you with his word, strengthening your faith and equipping you for service. Even now he is speaking to you through his servant, who is, at the same time, a proclaimer and a hearer. Soon he will commune with you, flesh with your flesh, blood with your blood, in a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb in his kingdom. This absolution, this word, this meal is sustenance as you make your pilgrim way through the valley of the shadow of death that is this life and world into the promised land of the Father’s house forevermore.

How do you keep oil in your lamp? How is it possible that you will be found in faith when the Bridegroom Jesus Christ comes, be you wake or sleeping? Tend to your faith. Care for it. Protect it. It is a precious gift – the most precious gift. Now, I know that I’m preaching to the choir, but that’s alright. Don’t keep it to yourself! Tell someone you know who isn’t here that should be. And outside of Sunday morning, stay in the word: pray before meals, giving thanks; prayer is good for you, for when you pray, you pray to God, you honor and keep the First Commandment; read the Scriptures whether from the Bible directly, from Portals of Prayer, or any number of resources; attend Bible study when you can; whatever works for you. The point is, to tend your lamps, maintain your oil, care for, protect, and nurture the precious treasure and gift that is your faith.

And so, the end of the Church’s year of grace is much like its beginning in Advent: The Bridegroom is coming. Be ready. Be prepared. For, he is coming at a day and hour you cannot know. But don’t be afraid; rather, be in the Lord’s word and his gifts. If you are receiving from him, then you have nothing to be worried about and nothing to fear. The highest worship of the LORD is to receive his gifts. The gift you have is the most precious gift possible, eternal life and salvation. Treat your faith that way. Care for it, protect it, and preserve it at all costs. It is the wise thing to do.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year (Trinity 26)

(Audio)

Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Peter 3:3-14; Daniel 7:9-14

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Dearly beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, we have entered hereunto the last days of the Church’s Year of Grace wherein, as we prepare for the annual commemoration of the nativity of our Lord at Christmas, we, simultaneously, prepare for His second coming as King and Judge. Indeed, the last three Sundays of the Church Year, and the four Sundays of Advent, serve together as a time for such preparation not unlike our Lenten preparation for Holy Week and Easter. In northern European tradition, these six weeks have been known as St. Martin’s Lent, named for the fourth century Father of the Church, St. Martin of Tours, who is commemorated on November 11^th and for whom our more recent Father and namesake Martin Luther, whose birthday we celebrated on November 10^th, was named.

Why does the Church set aside so much time for preparation? Why all the waiting for something to happen? Because preparation, waiting, and patience are what the Christian faith and life are all about – waiting on the Lord, trusting Him in patience, preparing for His return. When St. Peter warns of Christ’s return and judgment, he rhetorically asks “What sort of people ought you to be?” Then, he answers, live lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God. Here, the Biblical metaphor of leaven is useful for understanding. Leaven is put in place by the baker and then the dough is set aside for a while to rise. It is during this set aside time that the leaven does its work of causing the dough to rise – and, as we know, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. The leaven simply does what leaven does, it leavens. Slowly, and in an unseen way, the whole lump of dough is affected and is transformed.

This is what the kingdom of God is like. To unbelievers, it seems like foolishness, for the world appears to go on as it always has, filled with evil and wickedness, wars, disease, and death as the sun rises and sets day after day. And, this is true, in many ways it is the same old world filled with the same kinds of sinful men. But, slowly, patiently, in a hidden and unseen way, change has been taking place, beginning with God’s first promise of a savior after the fall of Adam and Eve, all the way to the death of the Son of God on a Friday afternoon two thousand years ago, to today, and tomorrow, and as many tomorrows as the Lord may grant us. A transformation is taking place, a leavening, and it is God who is doing the work, in God’s way, in God’s time, patiently, that all should reach repentance.

Now, waiting in patience is only reasonable if you expect that something is going to happen. Most of you would not wait an hour and a half in the doctor’s office if you didn’t believe that you were going to get to see the doctor. In a similar way, we wait patiently for the coming of the Lord, trusting in God’s promise that He will come. And, the question, then, for us, is not “What do we do while we wait?” but, it is “What sort of people ought we to be?” For, the Son of Man is coming in glory, and all the angels with Him. Then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.

This judgment and separation is going to happen, that’s a bonafide guarantee. All people are either sheep or goats, and the Lord, and only the Lord, knows who’s which. And, moreover, it has nothing to do with people being either good or bad, and it has nothing to do with their works. For, the sheep and the goats co-exist in the one flock of the Good Shepherd just as the wheat and the tares are permitted to grow together in the same field until the harvest. But, then the sorting, then the judgment, and that is done only by the Lord. So, again, it is not being good or being bad that makes one a sheep or a goat, a stalk of wheat or a tare, and, it is not about works, but, it is about what you are – are you righteous? And no one can make themselves righteous, no one can work their way into righteousness anymore than a goat can make itself into a sheep or a tare into wheat. If you are righteous, that is because you have been made to be, declared to be righteous by God. And, God has already declared, already judged all men to be righteous in Jesus’ blood. So, if you are not righteous, if you are a goat or a tare, then you have rejected God’s external righteousness for yourself. For, righteousness comes by grace through faith in Christ alone, just as it came to Abraham: And, Abraham believed God, and God counted that to Abraham as righteousness.

But doesn’t Jesus credit the righteous for their good works, that they gave Him food and drink, welcomed Him, clothed Him, and visited Him? Sure He does! But, their good works did not make them righteous, God did! Their works were the fruit of their righteousness, and the righteous ones didn’t even know they were doing them, let alone did they know that they were doing them to Jesus. They are like leaven that leavens because it is leaven, placed in the world, but not of the world, by God, to leaven it. Furthermore, their blessedness and inheritance, and, do take note of the passiveness of those words, was prepared for them before the foundation of the world. Thus, the good works of the sheep are counted to them as righteousness – they are not righteousness, but Jesus treats them that way! The righteous sheep are praised, not for their good works, but for their faith, their trust in Jesus all along, throughout their lives.

But, what about the goats? Well, the terrible truth is that they, too, have been declared righteous in Jesus Christ, they are in the flock of the Good Shepherd, but they do not trust in Christ but in their works. They cry out “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?” And Jesus will answer them, “As you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”  You see, the goats put their trust in their works, not in Jesus, therefore they are judged by their works, and, necessarily, they come up short. But, again, the terrible truth is that they, like the sheep, have been declared to be, made to be righteous in the blood of Jesus. But, because of the blindness of their unbelief, they will have cut themselves off from the salvation they already had – from the favorable judgment that, but for the noise of their own works, they would otherwise have heard.

For, in the end, salvation is not about works, it’s not even about being good or bad, sheep or goats, but salvation is about faith, faith in Christ Jesus, blind trust in His acceptance: The one who believes in Him is not judged: but the one who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. The goats on the left are not bad people loaded down with sins of omission. The sheep on the right are not do-gooders. Jesus habitually avoids depicting badness as an obstacle to the kingdom, just as he carefully steers clear of making goodness one of its entrance requirements. The kingdom is not taken by force and violence, nor is it merited by works, but, rather, it is received in faith and is entered in no other way.

Thus, the Church, in Her wisdom, has established times of waiting and preparation so that all will have the opportunity to stop focusing so much upon what they do and to focus, instead, upon what God, in Christ, has done, that, when He comes, we might be found patiently waiting, without spot or blemish, and at peace – waiting and trusting, not in our works, but in Christ alone, that in His suffering and death, He has made us to be righteous and His holy sheep. This is the time to stop all doing and to recommence being– being blessed, being righteous, being godly, begin holy, being a sheep, being leaven in the world but not of the world. God has put you here, and, yes, He has a purpose for you, but, you don’t have to discover it, chose it, experience it, or wrangle over it, anymore than a sheep wrangles over what it means to be a sheep. Sheep eat and sheep drink, sheep walk and sheep rest – sheep do sheepythings. Sheep do not worry or think too much about what they’re doing, but sheep trust, sheep believe, and sheep have faith in their Good Shepherd to lead them, feed them, guard them, and protect them. And, this, your Good Shepherd does for you here, today, now, with His Word and His Wounds – His holy body and His precious blood – that you may be well prepared for His return and may inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.