Advent Evening Prayer in the Week of Gaudete - The Third Week of Advent

(Audio)

Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 40:1-8

 

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

The Third Sunday in Advent is titled Gaudete, which means “Rejoice!” At first appearance, however, the Gospel reading appointed for Gaudete may not sound all that joyful, for it is the account of John the Baptist in prison awaiting his inevitable execution having sent his disciples to Jesus asking, “Are you the coming one, or do we wait for another.” Truly, when we are in the midst of trials and tribulations, crises of health, unemployment, marital strife, persecution, and suffering, we too may be troubled by the voices of our fallen human reason and worldly wisdom and the temptations of our Satanic foe to succumb to doubt, hopelessness, and despair. While these things are most certainly not joyful, our Lord calls us to rejoice nonetheless for they will pass and we will persevere, and more than that, victory is already ours, if unseen and unexperienced in full at the present time.

It was to Judah and Israel in such a time that the prophet Zephaniah was sent. Judah was already being threatened by the Assyrians, and now Zephaniah and Jeremiah were promising that it was going to get a whole lot worse before it got any better, warning of the coming of the Babylonians who would destroy Jerusalem and the temple and take into captivity the best and the brightest of Israel. These nations were being raised up by the LORD in judgment upon Israel and Judah for their sinful idolatry and apostasy. Yes, it was the LORD God who raised them up and permitted Assyria and Babylon to conquer his people; it was his judgment upon them. However, the LORD did not hate his people, but he loved them. That is why he would not leave them in their apostasy, but he would use their sorrow and suffering to crush their pride and to break their hardened hearts that they should return to him in repentance. Then he would restore them and turn his wrath against their enemies.

What does this mean? The LORD uses your trials and tribulations, your suffering, sorrow, and persecution for good, to discipline and chasten you and to call you back to him in repentance that he might restore and bless you. I am not saying that these things are good in themselves, but that the LORD uses them for good. The Scriptures are replete with examples of such. Most notably, perhaps, is Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and left for dead. At the end of his lengthy and eventful story, after revealing himself to his brothers who were terrified that he would avenge himself against them, Joseph said to them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” As St. Paul has written, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Then, he lists all sorts of trials, tribulations, sufferings, and persecutions we experience and he concludes, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

God loves his people. God loved Israel and Judah, even when they broke his commandments and worshipped other gods. Though he punished them, though he disciplined them, he promised that he would restore them and bless them and defeat their enemies. God loved Joseph and his brothers and, though he permitted them to suffer the result of their sin, the LORD saw them through their suffering and he delivered them. More than that, the LORD was with them in and through their suffering, just as Jesus was with his disciples in the boat as the wind and the waves roared and crashed around them. They had nothing to fear. Joseph and his brothers had nothing to fear. Israel and Judah had nothing to fear. You and I have nothing to fear.

That is why we are called to rejoice always, even in the midst of suffering. Our Lord is with us. He has defeated all our enemies – sin, death, and Satan – and now he uses the tribulations he brings against us for his own good purposes and ends. “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline,” says the LORD, “so be zealous and repent.” Even though the exile was decades away, and the coming of Christ several centuries away, the promises of the LORD prophesied by Zephaniah stand as completed in the eyes of the LORD: “The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.”

We rejoice that Christ has come and taken God’s judgment from us, and that he continues to come into our midst, granting us the remission of our sins. We are also called to cast away our fear, because Christ is in our midst and has driven away our enemies by His death and resurrection. Moreover, not only are we called to rejoice, but God himself rejoices and exults over us as we receive the salvation of Christ. In the midst of our enemies, as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, our Good Shepherd feeds us and cares for us and protects us. First, we are invited to the Supper, which is a “foretaste of the feast to come.” Second is the actual “marriage supper of the Lamb” where all the redeemed will dwell with Christ forever.

Still, we are in exile in this world. We are but strangers here, heaven is our home. The believer is hated and despised by the world in the life. Yet, on the Last Day believers will be exalted before the eyes of the unbelieving world when God restores our fortunes and grants us the crown of eternal life. This week we beholdespecially that Christ will come again and bring full restoration to believers, while at the same time bringing judgment on those who reject him and his church. “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Gaudete - The Third Sunday in Advent

(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.

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” asks Jesus. What were you looking for? What did you expect to find? What did you hope to hear? Were you looking for some malleable teacher who would minister to your felt needs, leaving you secure in your sins, telling you that you’re a good person, better than most, keep up the good work? Or, did you expect to see an icon of self-help and prosperity, a guru of good and practical advice that would tell you how to get out of debt, raise your children, save your marriage, and be happy? Or, did you hope to hear that it doesn’t really matter what you believe, so long as you believe something, that all that really matters is that you remain devout in your belief and are good person, more or less.

If that’s what you went out into the wilderness this morning to see and hear, then you surely could have found it somewhere, for this wilderness world is filled with smooth-talking and forked-tongued false teachers who are all too eager to tickle your ears and to take your money and tell you to believe in yourself and to think positively and all will be well with you. This wilderness world is full of venomous serpents spitting poisonous doctrines, often in the name of Jesus, teaching that what God has called sin – murder, adultery and fornication, covetousness, jealousy, lying, slander, and theft – are virtues when done in the service of the common good, personal freedom, or just about any other justification men may conceive. You can hear anything you want in the wilderness. There’s at least fourteen public options available right here in little ol’ Waverly, Iowa! That is, if you even bother to venture out at all, for there is countless variety on the television and the internet to suit every felt need, taste, and itching ear.

But then, perhaps you came out into the wilderness this morning for a different reason. Perhaps you came out to hear the Word of the Lord, a Word of condemning Law and a Word of consoling Gospel. What have you come out to see? A prophet, a mouthpiece for the Lord? Yes, they are in the wilderness too, thanks be to God! However, they can take a little more effort to find, and they don’t always look and sound like what you might think. But, you will know them by the Word that they proclaim, teach, and confess, for it will not be the opinions and platitudes of men, but it will be the Word of the Lord. Quite often it may seem harsh, for the Word of a prophet will not leave you comfortable in your sin. But, if you are willing to receive the Word of the prophet and to confess your sin, then he will have even greater Words of comfort and hope for you. And, he may not be the most charismatic of men, arrayed with the symbols of worldly success, preaching to packed houses, standing room only, but he will be an instrument of God’s grace to bring you forgiveness, life and salvation through the Words and Wounds of Jesus.

Who are these prophets of the Lord today? They are the pastors, ministers, and servants of the Lord placed under Holy Orders to tend His flock until He comes. They continue in the ways of John the Baptist, preparing the way for the Lord by preaching repentance and by baptizing for the forgiveness of sins. But they also point to Christ and His suffering, death, and resurrection as the source and reason of your forgiveness and they deliver to you the gifts He died to give you: His Gospel Word, Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and His Holy Supper. These treasures do not belong to them, but only their faults are their own, and for these they are responsible to Christ alone. For, what matter is the condemnation of men if Christ approves, and what matter is the approval of men if Christ condemns? You should receive them as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. And, as stewards, faithfulness and trustworthiness is their only duty and their Master alone is judge.

Like John the Baptist, God’s stewards prepare the way for Christ’s Second Advent in this wilderness world of sin and death. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, they proclaim God’s Word of comfort that Jerusalem’s warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. The Church of Christ is this New Jerusalem, redeemed in Jesus’ blood. Now is the time in which She waits and watches in hopeful expectation for the return of Her Bridegroom, Her Husband, Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ. And, during Her time of waiting, God has sent His stewards, His pastors and servants of Christ, to guard and protect and to prepare the Church for the Advent of Her Lord. The Words they speak are His Words. The Gifts they distribute are His Gifts. Repent, believe, and receive; they are for you, and they were bought with a price.

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” asks Jesus. What were you looking for? What did you expect to find? What did you hope to hear? Not everyone was attracted to John the Baptist. He used harsh words. He was unrelenting in His conviction and message. He did not look like the well-dressed and groomed rabbis and Pharisees. Because of his preaching and teaching, John found himself in Herod’s prison awaiting execution. John knew that people, even his own disciples, would be scandalized by his imprisonment and that they would interpret it as either John’s failing or God’s failing. Indeed, today men routinely reject preachers who faithfully and truthfully proclaim and teach God’s Word and who remain unflinching even when that Word stands in opposition to popular worldly views. Additionally, they judge the effectiveness and the veracity of a preacher’s ministry by worldly standards of quantitative and monetary success. Thus, John sent his own disciples to Jesus that they might hear from His own lips that everything was proceeding just as God’s Word by the prophets had foretold, indeed, what they have both heard and seen for themselves: 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. John’s disciples had witnessed these very things which were in direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Messiah. Though we often have expectations concerning how God should act and what God should do, Jesus teaches us to look rather to what He has said and done. Our false expectations set up stumbling blocks for us and for others which put them and us at risk of tripping and falling into sin and unbelief. Thus Jesus concluded His Words to John’s disciples saying, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

But, too often we are offended and scandalized by Him. We are offended and scandalized by disease, suffering, and death. We are offended and scandalized by the wickedness and evil of men in this world. We are offended and scandalized by the lies, deceptions, and treacheries that men utilize in their dealings with one another. However, do not be offended and scandalized, for such have men and the world always been and even your Jesus has suffered in this way and He has told you that you, His disciples, will be treated just as He was treated.

That is why Jesus then turned to the crowd who was gathered around Him and asked them, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” What were your expectations? Were they in accord with the Word of the Lord? If you came out into the wilderness expecting to see a man having no convictions, easily swayed by the ways and wiles of this world, then your expectations were wrong. If you came out into the wilderness expecting to see a man dressed in soft clothing, taking delight in material comfort and excess and encouraging you to do the same, then your expectations were wrong. If you came out into the wilderness to hear a word of platitudes and cheap grace, leaving you complacent in your sinful thoughts, words, and deeds, then your expectations were wrong. Or, did you actually come out into the wilderness to hear a prophet, a man of God who will tell you, not what you want to hear, but what God wants you to hear and what you need to hear, that you might repent of your sins and receive forgiveness and comfort, life, and salvation in and through Jesus Christ? If so, then I tell you, you have found a prophet, indeed, 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.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”

And yet, “the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” For, John was the forerunner; he was sent to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, supplanted by those who witnessed the words and teachings, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, the Apostles of our Lord, even the pastors of the Church of Christ, and you, dear children of God in Christ Jesus. For, you are ones who live on the other side of Christ’s victory over death and the grave. You live in the eternal eighth day, a day on which the sun will never set, a day into which little Joseph was baptized moments ago, so that even though you die, you will live eternally in Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus’ victory is your victory, now, even in the face of lies and corruption, poverty and war, disease, suffering, and death. Blessed is the one who is not offended by Him.

Therefore, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,” that your expectations may be shaped and normed by God’s Word kept and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Give no regard, then, to worldly and fleshly judgments and evaluations when it comes to the mysteries of Christ and His stewards. “Do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.” For, He has come and all things have been fulfilled just as has been written by the prophets. And, He is coming, and all that dwell in darkness will be exposed in His glorious light. And, He comes to you, now, and “His reward is with him, and His recompense before Him. He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” Blessed is the one who is not offended by Him. “Behold your God!”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Advent Evening Prayer in the Second Week of Advent - Populus Zion

(Audio)

Malachi 3:1-7b; Malachi 4:1-6

 

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

The name Malachi is derived from the Hebrew word mal’âḵ, which means herald, messenger, or angel. Following their return from exile in Babylon, the rebuilding of Jerusalem and her walls and the temple of the LORD, still there remained sinful corruption among the children of the LORD, particularly among the priesthood who had become lax in their service and sacrifices and degenerate in their lifestyle, divorcing their first partners and marrying pagan wives. Additionally, the people failed to pay their sacred tithes to the LORD causing the Levites to suffer for want and need. Because of this, the LORD sent Malachi to herald a message of both Law and Gospel. The Law proclaimed that Israel and Judah would face sorrow and suffering the result of their sinful rebellion, idolatry, and apostasy. The Gospel, however, proclaimed that the LORD still loved His children and that He would use their sorrow and suffering to discipline them and to make them pure and holy before Him, and that He would send them a Savior, the Messiah, who would accomplish this for them.

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.” While the Hebrew word for messenger is the same as for the name Malachi, the prophet is not the referent here. The messenger Malachi was sent to proclaim was not himself, but one who would prepare the way for the coming of the LORD. For the LORD God of Israel and Judah and of the Gentiles was coming in the flesh to visit His people, and as servants would prepare the road the king would travel upon, filling in the potholes and leveling the rough and high places before him so that his chariot could ride free and smooth, so would this messenger prepare the hearts of the people to receive their LORD. The messenger would do this by preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins, a turning away from sin and a return to the LORD, His Word, and Commandments. The preaching of the Law must crush and level our mountains of pride and self-righteousness, while the preaching of the Gospel must fill in the valleys and pits of hopelessness and despair that sin and guilt has driven us into.

That messenger would be John the Baptist. The LORD compared John the Baptist to the great prophet Elijah: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.” Indeed, there were many similarities between John and Elijah: Both men preached a message of repentance and warned of coming destruction. Both men dressed in camel’s hair and lived in the wilderness. Both men spoke powerfully against kings and had powerful enemies. They were both the LORD’s messengers preparing the way for His coming. They were tasked with the vocation of preaching the Law so that men should repent before the LORD’s coming and so meet Him in faith to their great blessing rather than meet Him in sin and unbelief to their destruction. Repentance is marked by a changing of the heart towards God and towards our fellow men: “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

The prophecy of the messenger, of Elijah, is a Messianic prophecy accepted and believed by Christians and Jews alike. Indeed, to this very day observant Jews leave an empty chair at their seder tables for Elijah, hoping for the coming of the Messiah “next year in Jerusalem.” The faithful remnant in John’s and Jesus’ day were still watching and waiting for the coming of Elijah. They even asked John himself, “Are you Elijah?” John denied it saying, “I am not.” Nonetheless, Jesus said of John, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” “For 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.”

John’s message was clear and simple, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” After John’s death, Jesus took up that exact same message. John was not the Messiah, but he was the messenger sent to prepare His way. John was not Elijah the prophet, for Elijah had been taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and later appeared with Jesus and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration before Jesus’ Passion. John was not literally Elijah, but he came in the spirit and the power of Elijah and he proclaimed the same message, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.”

Whether the Scripture calls it the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven, they both refer to the same thing, to the same person, to Jesus the Christ who is God as a man come to visit His people. Jesus is the promised Messiah whose way John the Baptist prepared. John and Jesus together are the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy. Jesus is the LORD who was sought by the faithful who came suddenly to His temple. That is precisely what Simeon and Anna confessed when Mary and Joseph presented the infant Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem. Simeon confessed, “my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” Likewise, Anna “began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Those who receive Him in faith will be filled with joy; they will go out leaping like calves from the stall. But those who remain arrogant and evil will be set ablaze and become like stubble and ashes under their feet.

Law and Gospel: O Lord, how shall I meet you? The LORD has sent His messengers to prepare your hearts to receive Him in faith. Whether it is Elijah, or John, or Paul, or your pastor, the message remains the same: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” The kingdom of God is at hand in the person of Jesus, the Word of God made flesh and dwelling among us. We meet Him in faith when we hearken to His Word and live our lives according to it. We meet Him in faith when we repent of our sins and receive His absolution. We meet Him in faith when we eat and drink His body and blood in His Supper and commune with Him, a foretaste of the communion we will enjoy with Him forever in heaven.

“But, who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?” The answer to that question is that no one can endure that day, “For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap.” When the Messiah comes He will purify His people of their sins and make them holy before the LORD, imputing to them His own righteousness. He will make the offering of His people pleasing to the LORD once again. This is what the LORD has done for His people in Jesus Christ. The day of His coming was first most His incarnation, when Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son who would be the Son of God. Then the Word of God became flesh and made His dwelling amongst us. However, the day of His coming was also the day that Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. Then heaven was opened to Him as the Father proclaimed Jesus to be His only-begotten Son with whom He is fully pleased, and the Holy Spirit fell upon Him and remained with Him. And the day of His coming was also the day of Jesus’ death upon the cross. There the Son of God bore the full weight of His Father’s wrath against our sin so that it was no more for those who believe and are baptized into Jesus Christ.

Still, Christ is coming again, and still we must be prepared for His coming. Even as we remember His first advent as the Babe of Bethlehem, which we celebrate at Christmas, we are preparing for his second advent when He will come as King and Judge on the Last Day. We prepare for that day still by hearing and remaining in His Word, by receiving His gifts, and by loving and serving all with the gifts He has given us. This preparation happens daily, weekly, and annually until He comes that we might be prepared for our redemption and go out to meet Him when He comes in glory like calves leaping from their stalls. Behold!

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Populus Zion - The Second Sunday in Advent

(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.

If you needed a reminder that Advent is not Christmas, today’s Gospel and Old Testament readings surely ought to set you straight. Both texts describe the end of the world in terms of solar, lunar, and planetary cataclysm, global natural catastrophe, and scorching fire leaving neither root nor branch. Our Lord states that “heaven and earth will pass away,” and, to illustrate, St. Peter adds that the very elements themselves, of which all things are made, shall melt with fervent heat so that the heavens and the earth will be dissolved. What our Lord and the Holy Scriptures describe is nothing short of the undoing of Creation. He who made all things will unmake all things that He might make all things new once again.

Do these things frighten you? Do they fill you with terror? They should not. They must not. Indeed, your Lord Jesus exhorts you and encourages you, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Truly, if these things frighten you and terrify you, that should be a sign to you that you just might have some misunderstanding about this world and the things in it, and your God who made this world and all things. You just might have a misunderstanding about what constitutes your life and what does not. Jesus says that you should be encouraged, happy, even joyful that this world and everything in it is passing away. Understand, this includes your very own flesh and blood body, and the flesh and blood bodies of your husband, your wife, your children, your friends, and all those you love.

But, this is a good thing! How is it a good thing? It is good that your flesh will be destroyed, for it is your flesh and its passions and desires that are at war with your spirit in Christ so that the good you would do you do not do, while the bad that you would not do you continually find yourself doing. “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” It is good that material things and worldly wealth, which tempt you so to sin and to idolatry, will be destroyed. If you are fearful of losing these things, if you are fearful of losing your life, then this Word is for you – “Watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.”

Please note, your Lord does not want you to be terrified. Your Lord wants you to be watching and waiting in hopeful expectation. If you are baptized, and your fear, love, and trust is in your Lord Jesus, then there is no reason for you to be afraid. The day of His coming is not a day of dread and terror for you. It is not a day of judgment and condemnation for you, but it is the day of your salvation, your vindication, and your justification. Because you are watching and waiting each and every day of your life, you cannot possibly be surprised when your Lord Jesus comes, but you must fully expect to see Him coming soon, perhaps very soon, perhaps today, or tomorrow, or the day after that. Why? Look at the signs! Look at the signs all around you! Are there not wars and rumors of wars all around you? Are not nations rising up against nations? Are not peoples and nations in distress and perplexity? Are not your neighbors fainting with fear and foreboding of what is coming on the world? Are there not signs in sun, moon, and stars? Is not the earth itself in distress? Yes! Surely, yes!

But, then, such has always been the case. Such was the case in the days of Jesus and the Apostles. It was to them in first century Israel that your Lord spoke these words, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.” Surely Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled within forty years, a biblical generation, when the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed the city and its temple. Indeed, the signs of the end have always been, and always will be, until the Last Day actually comes. That is why Jesus teaches the parable of the fig tree and all trees: “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 kingdom of God is near.” Just as the fig tree and all trees go through annual cycles of budding, leafing, bearing fruit, and returning to dormancy each year, so the signs of the decay of the universe, of the heavens and the earth, and of your own bodies are self-evident to all who will simply wake up and pay attention. Truly, the signs of the end are self-evident in your own flesh, in your failing ears and eyes, knees and backs. On a personal level, there is no denying that the end is coming soon and is, in fact, a little closer each day.

And so it is with the coming of your Lord. You are a deluded fool if you deny or fail to take seriously that the day of judgment is drawing ever nearer. But, again, that day should not terrify you, but you should watch for that day in hopeful expectation. No, I am not suggesting that you should walk around in detached and aloof manner, careless of the concerns of the world you inhabit. Many Christians do this and thereby neglect their God-given vocations in this world. No, you must not merely sit back and wait for Christ’s return, refusing to get involved in the messy worldliness of politics and society and culture, but you are to be actively involved in the world, without being of the world, as the salt, leaven, and light of Christ that others may walk in the light of Christ and not in the darkness of sin and death.

No, aloof detachment is not the appropriate response, but peaceful contentment most certainly is. “When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” “For you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” Because you have nothing to fear at the Lord’s coming, for His coming means for you redemption and salvation, you may view these things the way a mother views the pangs of childbirth – as a light momentary affliction that is preparing you for an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison. Truly, contentment and peace are more precious and valuable than are happiness and joy, though the Lord may grant that these accompany them. Moreover, your contentment and peace are a powerful witness to your faith in the promises of the LORD fulfilled and kept in your Savior Jesus Christ.

Indeed, no small measure of your contentment and your peace comes from the fact that you are not enslaved to the desires of the flesh and to material and worldly possessions and pursuits, but you are truly free in the knowledge that this world and everything in it is passing away. You have made your treasure in heaven and not on earth, and it cannot be moved or be taken from you. Therefore, you are free to live in contentment and peace with all, even with unbelievers, and with those who hate you. There is nothing for you to lose. There is nothing that they can take from you that will endure, not even your life. For, your hope is not in holding on to things that are fleeting and passing away, but in holding on to the eternal and unchangeable things – to Jesus, His Word, eternal life, and salvation.

Even God’s holy and perfect Law is no longer a threat to you. No longer does it terrify you with its threats of punishment and damnation, but you actually love it and want to keep it, for you know its wisdom and its goodness. The Law is no longer your fearsome taskmaster and judge, but it is the LORD’s righteous, holy, good, and loving rule and order of things. Your new man, the new spirit created within you by the Holy Spirit through baptism and faith knows God’s Law, agrees with God’s Law, loves God’s Law, desires to keep God’s Law, and actually does works according to God’s Law, works that are truly good before the LORD because they are purified in the blood of Jesus through faith. Thus St. Paul exhorts you to good works saying, “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” For the faithful, the Law is not a source of terror, but it is a cause for encouragement. Thanks be to God that the Law will never pass away, but, rather, that it has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ!

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” This is the LORD’s exhortation to you this Advent – Hope. Christ has come. Christ comes. And, Christ is coming. This truth is our hope at Advent, and at all times in the Church’s Year of Grace. Because of our fear, love, and trust in God’s Word of promise, we have hope for the fulfilling of all things. Therefore, we wait and watch hopefully and expectantly for Christ’s coming and do not get weighed down with worldly and fleshly pursuits, cares, and pleasures. In truth, you are more useful to the world in sharing the reason for the hope that is in you than you are quarreling with your neighbors about politics and the latest social or moral disagreement. In truth, you are more useful to the world when you stay a course of constancy and contentment and peace while the world around you is in perplexity and distress because of what is happening as it slips speedily into inevitable decline and decay.

And so, this Adventide is a time of peace and contentment and of hopeful expectation, even as it exhorts you to wakefulness and watchfulness, for the temptations the world and your own flesh set before you to dissipation and drunkenness are many and ceaseless. Thus, the Church of Jesus Christ prays in the Advent collects, “Stir up our hearts, O Lord,” that we might be roused from slumber to heed the signs of the time and to watch hopefully and expectantly for His coming. “Stir up our hearts, O Lord,” that we might be found awake and watching when He comes.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Advent Evening Prayer in the First Week of Advent - Ad Te Levavi

(Audio)

Jeremiah 33:14-16; 2 Samuel 7:1-17

 

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

The word behold appears in the Scriptures no fewer than 1100 times, depending on the translation. Literally, the word behold means to see, but seeing is not so much an action that you do than it is a passive activity through which you receive. Seeing is what you were created by God to do. Seeing is the normal state of being for a human created in God’s image. God gave you your eyes to see and your ears to hear, and all your other senses through which you perceive Him and the world that He has made. To be blind or deaf is universally considered to be a disability. Indeed, supposing that you are otherwise healthy, that your eyes and ears function the way they are supposed to, the only way to not see or to not hear is to willfully shut your eyes and to intentionally stop your ears. For, left alone, as is natural, your eyes will receive light and images and you will see, and your ears will receive sounds and language and you will hear. Thus, when the Scriptures command us to behold, they are simply commanding us to receive rightly what God has done and what He is doing. A failure to behold God, whether intentional or unintentional, is the result of sinful corruption and spiritual blindness, a condition which only God the Holy Spirit can reverse through the preaching of His Word and the reception of His Sacraments.

“Behold,” “see,” “the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” “Behold,” commands the LORD; “See!” What the LORD would have us behold is that He keeps His promises and is faithful to us. This stands in stark contrast to Israel’s repeated unfaithfulness and inability to keep their covenant promises to God. It also stands in stark contrast to all other gods that we put our fear, love, and trust in – all of which will eventually fail and prove to be unfaithful. God’s promise and the proof of His faithfulness is there for us to behold and to see; all we need to do is open our eyes. All we need is to have our eyes opened by the LORD and not refuse and reject Him by willfully and intentionally keeping them shut.

The promise refers to the promise made to David in 2 Samuel chapter 7, that God would raise up an offspring from David and establish His kingdom forever. This is a clear messianic promise, a repetition and continuation of the promise first made to Abram and, more distantly still, to Adam and Eve in the Garden. As such, God says that the promise is made not just to David but to “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” The promised one is described as a branch or a shoot springing forth from the burned-out stump of a tree that has been cut down and burned with fire. Such would be Israel and Judah, the result of their unrighteousness and apostasy, worshipping false gods and idols, treating the poor and needy with contempt. For this the LORD would deliver them into the hands of their enemies who would surround them and tear them down leaving not one stone on top of another. Then, after a time, the LORD would call them to repentance and they would return to Him, and from hopelessness, despair, and death would spring forth hope, salvation, and new life, not only for Israel and Judah, but for all the world, as was promised to Adam and Eve, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and again to David.

The righteous Branch will “execute justice and righteousness in the land,” unlike the kings of Israel and Judah, as well as the rulers of our own land, who pervert justice and increase unrighteousness. Jesus executes justice (or judgment) and righteousness primarily by bearing God’s judgment against sinners in His own body and soul on the cross and by imputing His righteousness to all who believe in Him. Thus, “in those days” refers to the time of the New Covenant (the New Testament), in which Christ reigns as King over the church by making many righteous through faith in Him. In Christ the church dwells securely, not because she is protected from earthly enemies by earthly rulers (as the Old Testament people of Israel and Judah would have thought), but because Christ reigns as Lord, has reconciled us to the Father who “defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil,” and gives the peace which surpasses all understanding.

The reign of the righteous Branch (the reign of Christ) will be marked by a new name. No longer will the LORD be known among His people as “the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” referring to the Exodus, nor even as “the LORD who lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them,” referring to the Babylonian Captivity, but when the righteous Branch comes, God wishes only to be known as “the LORD is our righteousness.” Both the old and the new name focus on the deeds of salvation. Formerly, God’s exodus was the content of our song as the great act of salvation; now, it is the perpetually new song of Christ, accomplished in His first coming. The name, and our praise of that name, are defined by God’s saving deeds in Christ. The name that God gives Himself is a clear teaching on the central article of the faith, namely that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. God alone makes us righteous.

Behold! Wake up! Open your eyes! See! This is the cry of God to His children to which we hearken this Adventide in preparation for our celebration of Christ’s first coming. Behold! Wake up! Open your eyes! See! This is the cry of God to His children to which we must hearken every day that we might receive Him in all the ways He comes to us still. He has come. He is coming. And still He come. Behold! See!

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.

The Church’s Year of Grace ended with the coronation of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, prophesied by Daniel, fulfilled on Good Friday, revealed in the fullness of glory in the Revelation to St. John. But, today, the new Church Year begins with Jesus revealing the kind of King He came to be. For, it was not upon a war horse, or riding in a gilded chariot, that He entered the royal city, but He rode in lowly humility upon a donkey and a colt, her foal. Still, He was a King, the True King, the Man after God’s own heart, a King who would lay down His life in sacrificial service to His people.

Therefore, the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into the royal city of Jerusalem is a story of both grace and judgment. He came in blessing in answer to His peoples’ cries of hosanna, save us now. And He would save them, not from Herod, not from Pilate, or from Caesar, but He would save them from their true captors: sin, death, and hell. As their Shepherd King, He would slay their Goliath with the Word of God and with His love and obedience to His commandments. He would save Judah and acquire safe pasture for Israel and for all His people in all the lands where God has driven them because of their sinful rebellion. But He would do this Kingly service, not by mounting the stately throne in Herod’s palace, but by ascending the coarse wood of a cross on Golgotha. He would do this Priestly service, not by donning ornate vestments and taking the place of Caiaphas in the temple, but by being stripped naked, and by being pierced and torn by Roman hammers, nails, and spear. And, He would be their Great Prophet, the very Word of God made flesh, spoken by God the Father into the world and flesh that He had made, to serve as leaven, salt, and light, to return not to Him void, but to accomplish that purpose for which He was sent, to be a seed sown in all manner of soil, to be a grain of wheat that must fall to the earth and die, and bear a harvest a hundredfold. Truly, He was their King. But their King had come to die; and, only in dying could He be their King. Only by His dying could they live.

King Jesus’ entry is a story of grace; it is only a story of judgment when it is refused and rejected. And, though many received Him at first, even His closest friends and disciples fled in fear when King Jesus ascended His royal throne. For most, He simply wasn’t what they had expected or had hoped for. He wasn’t the new Moses they had hoped for, who would lead them out of slavery and captivity. He wasn’t the new David, the mighty warrior-king they desired, who would release them from the occupation of the Roman Empire and restore Israel to might and glory. And yet, He was both of those and more. He was all that Moses had pointed them toward. He was the True King of whom David was only a shadow and a type. He was the root and shoot of David’s stump to be raised up in new and everlasting life – the Life of Israel, into whom the nations would be grafted and live. Up to that day, the story of Israel was the story of Moses, remembered and replayed each year at the Passover. King Jesus fulfilled all that Moses was – Prophet, Priest, and King – and, through His cross, through His death and resurrection, He would lead His people in Exodus, out of bondage and slavery to sin, death, and the devil, into their own land in the Kingdom of Heaven forevermore.

And so, as the Church’s Year of Grace ended in hopeful anticipation of our Lord’s coming on the Last Day, so does the new Church Year begin in joyous remembrance of His coming as the Babe of Bethlehem, which we celebrate at Christmas. And, even still, we believe, confess, and teach that our Lord Jesus comes to us now, under the lowly and humble means of word, water, bread, and wine. He comes in grace and blessing to all who will not reject Him. He has come. He is coming. And He comes to save us. How do you receive Him?

Advent is a penitential season, if a bit milder in comparison to Lent, in which we focus upon our sin and death from which Jesus came to set us free. Yes, that is the reason for His coming; He came to fulfill the Law of God for you, and then to lay down His life in death as your substitute, in your place, that you might live. Why? What motivated Him to suffer for you and die in your place? Love – pure and simple. Love for God, His Father; love for you whom God loves. Therefore, receive Him in love, as God’s pure and holy gift of grace – no strings attached. You show Him love, you love Him, by fearing, loving, and trusting Him above all things; you show Him love, you love Him, but letting His love fill you and overflow out of you by loving others.

Hear the message of the Baptizer, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” and turn from your sin, your self-righteousness, and self-centered thoughts and expectations. Repent, be turned, and receive your King who is present in lowliness and humility. Prepare His way into your heart and life by removing the high places of your sinful pride, and by filling in the low places of your hopeless despair, for your King has come, your King is coming, and even now your King comes with forgiveness and healing and eternal life. Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! The Lord of your life, the God of your salvation, is here. Your King, who was born in Bethlehem, the House of Bread, was laid in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, died upon the coarse wooden throne of the cross that He might be present for you now as the Bread of Life, that you may eat and live, drink and be forgiven, as you receive your King, your Lord, your God in Holy Communion, now, until He comes at last in glory.

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.

Today is a day to give thanks to God for His providence. But shouldn’t we give thanks to God every day, you ask? Yes, of course we should; but we don’t. Thus, we should be thankful that our nation has set aside this one day each year when we collectively rest from our labors – well, most of us – and give thanks for food, for clothing, for shelter, for family, and for all things, to a higher power, however he, she, they, or it might be defined. Truly, we need this day of thanksgiving to get us to cease for a moment in our striving to carve out our own piece of the American dream and to gain our independence and self-sufficiency, to look outside of ourselves to our God, who lovingly provides us all that we need to sustain our bodies and lives, by no merit or worthiness in us, but because of His own Fatherly, divine goodness and mercy.

We get so wrapped up in the notion of earning a wage by our own works and labor so that we can buy food and shelter and all the necessities and pleasures of life that we seldom stop to think about the source of all these things. Most likely, whether we think about it or not, we consider ourselves to be the source. This begs the question, who, then, is our god? That is what the man in Jesus’ parable believed. He had stored up a great wealth of grain, more than he could possibly use. He said to himself, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” From his perspective, the labor was his and the harvest was his. He had done his work, and in his work he trusted. Why not then kick back and have a drink to himself, his labor, and self-merit? But the God who gave him the grain and his goods, the God who gave him his life and breath, required it of him that very night. And when the man was dead, what do you think became of his storehouses of grain? Did they not spoil and decay? Were they not eaten by insect and vermin? In the end, not only did they not benefit the rich man, but they benefitted no man.

The truth is that we are stewards, managers of God’s creation. When we give Him thanks, we acknowledge this truth; we fear, love, and trust in Him alone as God. He lovingly provides us with all that we need, and more, with which we can serve our brother and our neighbor in his need. Our heavenly Father wants us to sow bountifully, and so reap bountifully. There is no need to be stingy or selfish, for we sow, we give, only of what belongs to Him. And, you cannot be compelled or forced to give, but you must give freely from your heart, in cheerfulness, without resentment. For, by giving to others, you acknowledge the Lord to be God, and your neighbor, too, may turn in thankfulness to the God who provides for His children. And, since your heavenly Father knows what you need, and graciously provides you what you need, you do not need to be anxious or worrying, and you do not need to covet what belongs to your brother and your neighbor. For, with faith comes comfort, peace, and contentment. Through faith in Christ, you lack nothing; therefore, give thanks for what you have, and give thanks for what your brother and your neighbor have. Your life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions. However, misplaced fear, love, and trust in possessions can cause them to possess you. Therefore, lay up your treasures in heaven, and not on earth, for the one who lays up treasure for himself cannot be rich toward God.

There is an interesting corollary between the beginning of the Lenten season and the observance of our National Day of Thanksgiving. Everyone knows how New Orleans celebrates the beginning of Lent by gorging in all manner of lasciviousness the day before known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday – Let’s relax, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we fast and die. However, do we not go a step further at Thanksgiving? Indeed, we gorge ourselves into a stupor on Turkey Day, and then we go insane for twenty-four hours (or more) and bow down and worship the god of commercialism, ironically, in the name of Jesus. Every year it seems that more and more stores open, not only at four in the morning on Black Friday, but as early as 2:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day! Truly, wherever a church is built for God, there the devil builds a chapel next door.

Covetousness, greed, selfishness, these are the fruits of self-righteousness, which itself is a fruit of unbelief and idolatry. We are at risk of bowing down to the false gods of commercialism and materialism every day, but perhaps never as much as the so-called holiday season. Indeed, our culture, our neighbors, our friends, and even our family and children place pressures upon us to buy, to consume, to acquire, and to amass stuff, and things – idols; even the secular media and the government tell you that it is patriotic and responsible citizenship to buy, buy, buy so that our nation’s economy will recover. Do not listen to that whispering voice. But give thanks to the Lord in all things, at all times, and in all places, for He knows your needs, and He graciously provides you all things needful. And, when your brother or your neighbor has a need that you can satisfy, give it to him, freely, with cheer – Your Lord will generously replace what you give. He will always give you more than you need, that you may freely give to others and glorify Him.

Even now He is present in this Holy Eucharist, which means thanksgiving, to give you forgiveness anew, eternal life, and salvation in Jesus Christ. Come, and give thanks to the Lord who is here for you; come and give thanks to the Lord by receiving Him into your body and soul. When the Lord is your treasure, then you are truly rich, and you will have all that is needful for eternal life. Trust in Him, for He provides you all you need for life in this world as well.

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.

There are ten of them, for they represent the totality of humanity, all people that have ever lived and will ever live. And, they are virgins, for they have been made to be pure and holy, they have been redeemed and cleansed in the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. They are destined for the wedding feast of the Lamb and His Bride, the Church, because of the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness of the Father, in the sacrifice of His Son,alone, apart from any worth, work, or merit of their own. That’s how the Parable of the Ten Virgins begins. Each and every figure in the parable is already in the kingdom of heaven, but not all will remain there.

For, the Parable of the Ten Virgins is a parable of judgment, not unlike the parables of the Wedding Feast, the Sheep and the Goats, and of the Talents. And, while its promise is that salvation has already been won for all, regardless of your goodness or badness or your deeds, a time is coming when the Lord will return, like a thief in the night, and those who have trusted in the Lord and watched and waited for His coming will be found in the courts of His kingdom. And, then, the doors will be shut, and, tragically, those who had it all but lost their vigilance and trust in the Lord while He was delayed will find themselves outside of His gates for all eternity. And, the Lord will say to them, “I never knew you,” for they never took the time to know Him.

The key to the parable of the Ten Virgins is the oil in their lamps. Five of the virgins took extra oil with them as they made their way to meet the bridegroom, a seemingly foolish thing to do for a daytime wedding feast, but our Lord calls them wise. Five of the virgins took only enough oil for the day, not planning for or anticipating the unexpected – our Lord calls them foolish. But, then, the unexpected happens, the bridegroom is delayed. Notice, however, that all ten of the virgins become drowsy and fall asleep; again, it is not because five are good and five are evil or because of their works that the Lord calls them wise or foolish, it is because of the oil that they have, or do not have, for the oil is faith and vigilant trust in the Lord. All ten of the Lord’s pure and holy virgins became drowsy and fell asleep. But, then, at midnight, the watchmen’s cry, “The Bridegroom comes, awake! Your lamps with gladness take!” “With bridal care yourselves prepare to meet the Bridegroom, who is near.” The virgins awake and prepare themselves in haste, trimming the wicks of their lamps which had been burning through the night. And, that is when five of the Lord’s pure and holy virgins realize that their lamps are going out and that they have no more oil.

Those foolish virgins are still virgins, that is, they are still forgiven sinners – that is the Lord’s doing alone, and that hasn’t changed. But, their faith in the Lord was not enough to last through the night of uncertainty before the Bridegroom’s arrival. They were prepared to receive the Lord in faith so long as He came to them according to their expectations and on their terms, but they did not trust in the Lord sufficiently to wait on Him in patience as He was delayed. So, when the Bridegroom comes, the foolish virgins are not there, but they are out in the world desperately searching for oil and finding none. When they finally return to the hall of the marriage feast, presumably still without oil, but pleading for mercy, they find the doors closed and the feast commencing without them. They knock and they knock and they cry out “Lord, lord, open to us,” but the Lord answers, “I do not know you.” And, this is the most horrible of unnecessary tragedies, for these foolish virgins were children of the kingdom, they had been made pure and holy in the blood of the Lamb – they had it all. But, they rejected the Lord by not trusting in Him completely. They were forgiven sinners, just like the wise virgins, heirs of the kingdom, but the tragic truth is that both heaven and hell are populated only with forgiven sinners.

This is a completely unnecessary tragedy, for, as St. Paul writes, “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” You, children of God, are likewise redeemed in the blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ – and, that is a done deal – “It is finished.” That fact is not changed whether you are good or bad and it does not depend upon your works. But, you do need oil, you do need faith to receive this gift, faith which itself is a gift, faith in Christ – no matter what. How much faith is not really the issue, for faith is faith, and faith always receives the fullness of what God has done in Christ Jesus. But, faith comes from and is sustained by God alone. The foolish virgins could not produce oil on their own, they had to go and seek a merchant to buy it from, and, sadly, there were none to be found. For, faith cannot be created of your own will or choice, it cannot be borrowed or taken from another, and, it is only given by the Holy Spirit working through God’s holy Word and Sacraments. And, what does faith look like? What does faith do? Faith watches and waits in hopeful expectation for the coming of the Lord. Faith watches and waits throughout years and decades. Faith watches and waits through sickness, trial, suffering, and sorrow. Faith always watches and waits in hopeful expectation for the coming of the Lord trusting that He will come just as He has promised.

Further, as St. Paul exhorts you, faith works to “encourage one another and build one another up.” The faithful know that we are never alone, but that we are all in the same boat together, that is the ark of the Church, the body of Christ. We are all forgiven sinners, but that does not mean that we are always good and never do bad things – nevertheless, we remain God’s forgiven sinners, purchased in the perfect and holy blood of His Son. And, as forgiven sinners, we must always forgive those who have sinned against us. If others have hurt you or offended you in any way, you must forgive them as you have been forgiven by God without condition. To not forgive is to not have oil, to not have faith, and the Lord, the Bridegroom is coming, and those without the oil of faith will find themselves locked out of the wedding feast. Besides, what benefit is it to you to hold a grudge against one of Christ’s redeemed children? How does it benefit you to harbor anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, lovelessness, and cynicism? These are tools of Satan to divide, separate, and isolate you one from another and to weaken and snuff out your faith. Don’t let your pride be your downfall, for that was the downfall of your Enemy.

But, how do you keep your stock of oil full, your faith strong, vigilant, watching, and waiting? You do this, not by doing anything, but, by receiving. You do this by receiving the Lord’s gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation by being in His Word and by receiving His Holy Absolution and the Holy Body and Blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. And, you maintain this faith by daily repentance and forgiveness and by a life of humility, grace, mercy, charity, peace, and forgiveness towards others – all others – your brothers and sisters in Christ and your neighbors everywhere else. For, the Lord will return at a day and hour you do not know; like a thief in the night, the cry will ring out that the Bridegroom has come. This need not be a threat, for you have already been judged righteous in Jesus Christ, you are virginally pure and holy in the sight of God through faith in Christ. So, again, Christ’s return need not be a threat – but it is a promise that you can trust, have faith in, and bet your life on.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Christian Funeral for Charles Wilfred Struck Sr.

(Audio)

John 14:1-4; Matthew 11:28-30; 2 Timothy 4:6-8

 

“I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” That’s how St. Paul described his situation, waiting in his Roman prison cell for his inevitable and swiftly coming martyrdom. I think that those words are fitting to describe how Chuck has felt these past eight months since his dear Betty died in the Lord. Though Chuck still came to church on Sunday mornings and Friday morning Bible study, though he would still go out for a bite to eat and to play Schafskopf with the fellas, he just wasn’t himself. He was even more quiet than usual. When he did speak, you could hear that he was sad. He was a bit like a ghost – present, but mostly silent; around, but not entirely “here.” Chuck was so very sad since Betty died, depressed even. And why wouldn’t he be? Chuck and Betty were happily married for sixty-four years! They had you four children: Stephen, Carolee, Jeffrey, and Charles, all nearby and involved in their lives and blessing them with seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. God has been good to Chuck and Betty, and God has been good to you through them. God has blessed them and He has made them to be a rich blessing to you and to countless others.

That was the Chuck of the last eight months, but that was not the Chuck of the eighty-four years prior. While that Chuck may have been quiet, even stoic at times, he was also strong and bold. That Chuck loved to bike, golf, and watch basketball and football. That Chuck rode his bicycle in Ragbrai. When his wheel hit a crack in the pavement and he took a tumble, that Chuck got up, brushed himself off, checked his bike, and off he went. That Chuck drove his new car as fast as it would go, just to see how fast it could go, scaring the bejeebers out of his sister Sandy. That Chuck drove Army Generals to meetings in Hawaii, before Hawaii was a state, during the Korean War. That Chuck gave everyone a hard time, because he loved them, and that Chuck was the man to beat in Rummy or a game of cards. That Chuck was the best there was at finding things, and, ironically, at getting himself lost. But now Chuck has been found.

Though he wasn’t the same man that he used to be in terms of strength, vigor, and vitality, which, metaphorically, had seemingly been poured out of him, Chuck fought the good fight of faith for eighty-five years, he finished the race that is our lives this side of heaven and he kept the faith throughout. And now Chuck rests in His Savior Jesus with his beloved Betty and with all the saints who have died in the Lord. Chuck has moved once again, not from the house he loved and cared for with Betty for so many years, not even from his apartment at The Ledges, which simply wasn’t home, but Chuck has followed His Good Shepherd Jesus and he has moved into that place that His Lord prepared for him in His Father’s house, a house in which He has prepared a place also for you to live one day as well.

Ironically, for a man who had little to say most of the time, Chuck got a kick out of talking when most everyone else would prefer him to have been silent – like, in elevators. Yes, Chuck would strike up a conversation with complete strangers in elevators. He would also answer complete strangers’ questions in restaurants that weren’t even addressed to him. In that respect, Chuck was uncommonly social. He liked people, and people liked him. He was a milk delivery man for thirty-five years. Chuck knew people everywhere he went, from St. Louis to St. Paul. Chuck’s granddaughter Michael shared with me that his relative silence, outside of those uncomfortable elevator and restaurant situations, was actually a great blessing to her. She remembered “those mornings in silence sitting on the four-season porch watching the birds and drinking coffee before Chuck and Betty read their morning devotions.” “The world was at peace,” she said, and “They helped me to cherish the little things and to live in the moment, because those mornings were sacred.” Michael said that she would give anything to have one of those mornings on that four-season porch again.” That’s a great memory, and a great life lesson.

Cherish the little things. That’s good advice. Little things like silence and coffee in the morning, little things like birdsongs and sunshine, little things like devotions with your beloved, little things like a bike ride or a game of Schafskopf, little things like sneaking a piece of chocolate when no one is looking, little things like chocolate pudding and pea salad. The thing is, these “little things” are not little things at all. These are the things that make a life sacred, and blessed, and good. Rather, these things are the marks of a sacred, blessed, and good life. Chuck and Betty were fixtures in this sanctuary. They loved their Lord and His Word and His Gifts, and they loved receiving them together and with their family of faith. They believed in this promise from our Lord Jesus: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” Chuck and Betty believed in that promise, and they are experiencing it even now. Let not your hearts be troubled, the promise is for you and all who will receive forgiveness and life in Jesus Christ as a free and perfect gift.

Let not your hearts be troubled. Charles Struck Sr. is no longer lilting his way through life like a ghost, but he is in the presence of Life Incarnate, Jesus Christ, his Savior. He has found rest for his soul. And yet, this is not the end, for all the saints in heaven are waiting for and anticipating the day of our Lord’s return and the resurrection of our bodies. Then you will see them again and there will be joy and peace that will never end. Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly, come.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.