Backwards Joy [Advent 3; St. Matthew 11:2-10]

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Who speaks to you, even this day, saying:

“This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’”

Our pink candle, the candle of joy, goes to Isaiah, the fifth gospel writer, as he speaks to us “comfort”. Yet, as he does so, he also feels the need to throw in warfare, iniquity, deserts, withering and fading. Isaiah follows Malachi in giving us comfort, but adding some death and destruction to it.

Not to be a downer as we get closer to Christmas, but we have been fighting a war for over 17 years now with no end in sight. We have seen the iniquity of ourselves in the actions of our elected officials and we continue to see an expanding desert of withering and fading values in our culture. What’s there to be joyful about?

Indeed, if we have received anything from our prophets thus far this Advent, it is that we deal with a very backwards God, or it is us that are backwards. This is not lost on John the Baptist, either, for I’m sure he had Isaiah 40 already memorized, even chapters 35 and 61, which Jesus quotes back to him through is disciples.

And if he had chapter 61 memorized, then he would have been able to pick up on Jesus’ glaring omission of the second have of verse 1 which reads, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”

Here, John is in prison and Jesus is quoting Scriptures in an incomplete way, on purpose. Jesus knows what He’s doing and what we and John are going to hear.

John’s sinful, selfish ears hear “prison break”. Our similar ears hear, “prison break”. Jesus seems to forget. Now, some would say Jesus wasn’t really God so He couldn’t break John out anyway, unless by some legal litigation within reason. In a similar light, we make excuses for Jesus and say that it wasn’t John’s time or God had other plans, or God’s gifts are all in the future, so nothing can be done now.

Repent. You are backwards. You hear of warfare and rumors of warfare and you only think of tanks and bombs in your backyard. You hear of withering and fading and think only of that happening to others, not you. You see and hear “jail-time” and immediately thank God that you are not like those men; like John the Baptist.

Listen. Jesus caps off His return message to John and his disciples saying, “blessed is the man who is not offended by me.” How can you be scandalized by Jesus? How could John the Baptist; John the “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” Baptist be offended by Jesus?

In Jesus’ incarnation, He has explicitly and purposefully gone to those who we deem unworthy. The Lord offends by going to repeat sinners and forgiving them. He is offensive because He brings His healing Gospel to the blind and not to those who see.

He gives His life-giving spirit to the dead, not to the living. He spends all His heavenly energy on the lame, the deaf, and the poor and spends not one calorie for the self-righteous. He breathes on the withering and the fading and turns the other cheek to the prosperous.

God dying on the cross is as opposite and backwards as you can get. The Gospel is backwards from what we think. We want swift justice for those who sin against us, yet we find God handing out forgiveness willy-nilly. We want power and blessing, but we find God handing out crosses. We want mightiness, but all that is given is Word and Sacrament.

So hear again Isaiah’s Word of God to John the Baptist: “God’s Church has received double for all her sins.” Double belief, double faith, and double forgiveness. The Word of the Lord that stands forever is the justification of the sinner by grace, through faith, for Christ’s sake. The deeds of Christ that John saw were the forgiveness of sins, but that does not break down prison walls.

Unless of course, you are imprisoned in sin and death. Unless you are blinded and deafened by your own self-righteousness that doesn’t go away. Unless you are impoverished by death and shackled to its inevitability. If those things are true, then your prison walls have tumbled at the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

In this new light of the hope of the Resurrection, there are no blind, lame, lepers, deaf, poor, or dead. In the faith of Christ, wars are ended, iniquity is pardoned, and the grass and flowers are made of incorruptible and imperishable material, that of the Holy Spirit.

This offends our reasoned certainties, because the Gospel that saves is among all those “unworthies” from Matthew verse 5. this does not offend faith, however, because Faith reveals that, in our sin, we are an intimate partner in that group.

We don’t have to be lying in a hospice bed to know we are done for. We don’t have to be in prison to know how bad our sins are. We don’t have to be six feet under to know there’s no escape. We can hear the Word of the Lord, believe that stuff, and then believe that He has come in the flesh to rescue us from such a thing.

John must stay in prison. John must lose His head. Not for the greater good, but to show that prison bars and the executioner’s axe can not lift the Gospel from Him. Just as the paralyzed remain paralyzed, the poor remain poor, and the dead remain dead, so must life move towards the Resurrection, because the Gospel has been preached to poor, miserable sinners. Bars and locks can not keep that Gospel out. Dirt and coffins do not stay the power of salvation.

John’s joy, and our joy, does not lie in what the world or the princes of this world can do for us or against us. The joy of the prophet’s candles is that this world will come to an end along with everything in it. But what will endure is the Word of God. The Word of God that promises comfort in the midst of warfare. The Word of God that promises pardon in the midst of sinning. That Word of God that promises life in the midst of death.

The Lord says in Isaiah, “Hear,you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see! Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the Lord?” The answer is of course, is “no one”, because no one is as blind as Jesus Who dies for those who hate Him. No one is as deaf as Jesus Who forgives those who despise Him.

The offense comes when God takes on all the warfare, blindness, lameness, leprosy, deafness, death, and poverty of everyone upon Himself. We want to be let out of prisons, but Jesus put Himself into prison. We want to be super spiritual, but Jesus placed Himself beneath that.

The Gospel is the opposite. If we want to seek the Gospel, it must be among sinners; sinners given the Word and Sacraments for the forgiveness of sins. This is the joy of the prophets and this is the joy of all the faithful, triumphant in the crucifixion of Christ.

Waiting [Advent 2; St. Luke 21:25-36]

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Jesus speaks to you today, in His Gospel, saying,

“So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”

On this second Sunday in Advent, we continue to ponder our Advent wreath and its meaning. Last week, we learned that the candles are lit in memory of the Old Testament prophets and that the first candle represented hope. Hope that the promise of God made flesh would be coming soon and be everything the Lord said it would be.

This week we focus on our second candle and ponder two things, in light of what St. Malachi spoke to us today: faith and preparation. Faith such as what the prophets had in prophesying and not getting to see that prophesy come true and preparation in the fact that God becomes silent.

Especially with St. Malachi’s case, he is the Old Testament prophet that caps off the Old Testament. His book of prophesy is the last thing the people of Israel will hear from God for the next 430 years or until John the Baptist shows up. 430 years.

When we have a Last will and testament from a loved one, we usually hold that pretty close to our hearts, because it is the last time our loved one spoke to us or wrote what they were thinking of, to us. It becomes extremely important and what we use to determine what our loved one would want to happen in our lives.

So we hear our prophet, speaking to us in our familiar Church, and it doesn’t seem like we get a nice, comforting message from him. He tells of a Day that is coming, burning like an oven and if we don’t fear, it will burn us up as well. But even if we do fear, there’s going to be burning anyway, for the sun of righteous burning is going to rise upon us.

The only comfort we are given is a command to remember Moses and to be on the look out for Elijah, but if Elijah doesn’t come, then there will still be destruction.

Wait, what? Are we supposed to wait or look for the guy? Must there really be a burning no matter what? Can’t we skip that part? Don’t you want to leave on a high note, God, and not such a doom and gloom laden parting?

Repent. When was the last time you remembered the 10 Commandments? Our small catechisms sit and gather dust when they should be for gathering the family, as it says, “As the head of the family should teach … in a simple way to his household.” We do not fear the Lord. This is easy enough to see in what passes for seasonal decorations.

Neither do we wait for Him. We are so quick to get to what we think we should be doing, that nobody stops for prayer at church nor Bible study at church. Yet, God is insistent that He will come. Not only does St. Malachi say it, but St. Paul also quotes Moses, King David, and Isaiah who repeat that sounding joy, in the reading from Romans today.

In sin, Advent is something we do not wish to pass through and would much rather get to Christmas. While it is a good thing to get to Christmas, as it is promised to happen, to rush things only causes more sin and anxiety. Because the heavens are being shaken.

Our Lord waits and yet He does not wait. Our Lord does wait for the right time to do everything. Jesus was not late in coming to rescue His people from their sins, but came at the proper time, as all God’s actions do.

Yet, in Christ we see the Lord in haste. He is quick to take action, not waiting for our say so or approval. He comes in His own way and doing His own work, work for the salvation of the world. The Lord gives ear to our pleas and returns, as our Introit says. He does not delay, but comes quickly to the womb; to our flesh.

Thus we hear this story again this year, as the years before. Just as the fig tree starts to leaf, so does the seasons of the Church prepare you, teach you, and mold you into the Christ-like creature the Holy Spirit desires.

Jesus comes quickly because we would not do anything on our own. Left to find our own way through God’s Word or His Church, we would consistently find idols and demons. Thus it is the Word and Sacraments that St. Paul points to in Romans saying, “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.”

It is belief that spans the time and space between God’s action and apparent inaction. It is belief that His words are true and His promise fulfilled. It is belief that this short time of darkness and tribulation will come to an end. Winter is bearable, because we know Spring is right around the corner.

What we don’t know is what we’ll have to go through to get there. What comes between now and Christmas? Will we make it? What about the time between now and summer or the Lord’s Return?

What we do know is that the Word made flesh shakes the heavens, and earth and sin can not stand it. We know that our redemption has not only drawn near, but has already come for us in Word and Sacrament. We have seen the anguish of the world and the havoc it wreaks on our lives, and yet find peace in the Church and her liturgy.

When we are weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, the Church stays awake at all times, offering prayer and Service. Teaching those who listen and proclaiming the strength of Jesus that leads us out of those evil things, to see Him face to face. His preparations are complete and are the only ones that matter.

For we may not know all things, but we know that what the Lord has told us is true and certain and worthy of Faith. We know how God actually deals with everyone each and every time and that will not change, even 430 years from now.

We know:

(1) people will be brought to the faith by water Baptism in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, both as infants and as adult converts

(2) Men - called and ordained pastors - will preach the gospel, administer the body and blood of Christ, and absolve sinners

(3) The creeds of the church will be confessed by the faithful as they have since the earliest centuries

(4) Hymns confessing Christ and divine grace will continue to be sung by the faithful

(5) Young people will be catechized in the faith through catechisms that they will learn by heart

(6) The church's liturgy will continue as it has since the earliest centuries - focused at altar, font, and pulpit; spoken and chanted, with reverence and holy joy, transcending age, ethnicity, and subcultures and uniting the church across time and place

(7) In their personal piety, Christians will make the sign of the holy cross, pray the Lord's Prayer, and chant the psalms, collects, and the daily offices of the church

(8) The canonical biblical books will be studied in their original languages and taught in the common tongues, as well as the historic confessions of the church

(9) Pastors will visit the sick, the shut-in, the dying, the poor, the outcast, and others who are forgotten and left behind by our shallow entertainment and youth culture (which is embraced and obsessed over by the church growth experts). They will bring them the Good News of Jesus Christ and will anoint them and prepare them to die in the faith of Jesus Christ

(10) Christians will continue to endure persecution, as the cross is, and will remain, a mark of the church until the Lord returns in glory.

Familiar [Advent 1; St. Matthew 21:1-9]

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Jesus speaks to us on this first Sunday of the Church Year, through His Gospel and says,

“This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet”

To dispel any annual myths that rise against you this season: Advent and Christmas are not pagan holy days that have been co-opted by the Church. It is the other way around. The pagans have co-opted Christian themes and words and celebrations in derision of it. Christ was here first.

It really is as simple as that. Even though it took the Church awhile to catch on to what God was doing in life, does not mean that these celebrations did not exist within the Church, even the Old Testament Church.

And that is really what we celebrate during Advent, at the beginning of the Church Year. We go back to the beginning. Back to the Creation of the World and remember from that time forward all the things that have prepared God’s people for His coming in the flesh.

One of the ways the Church recognizes and teaches this is in the Advent wreath. If you noticed, we light each new candle before the reading from the Old Testament. In other words, the candle is lit to remind us that the Old Testament is about Jesus and every prophets’ witness to that fact.

What’s funny is that for the rest of chapter 23 in Jeremiah, the Lord is lamenting over His false prophets. His heart is broken because of their lies to His people. Even the land mourns (v.10) because both prophet and priest are polluted (v.11). They dream their own dreams and speak from their own imaginations. They prophesy peace where there is no peace. They say calamity will not befall you, but it is all around.

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.  Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord.  Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.  I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. (Jer 23:1-4)

It is not simply the occurrence of future events that prove the prophets true, it is the appearance of the Shepherd Who gathers. Who gathers to a place where no more fear, trembling, or waywardness occurs. A perfect place of peace, if you will.

Repent! You read the Old Testament, if you do at all, and completely pass by the Coming of Jesus. You instead look for quaint stories, inspirational quotes, or even rules to live by. When none of those things come to hand, you pass it off as too hard to understand or worse yet, you deem it holds no value for you today.

The hour has come for you to wake from such a slumber of sinful death, where constant doubts assail you and the winds of fads and popular speakers rock you to and fro. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, St. Paul says. In other words: remember your baptism.

Remember your baptism, in which is your hope, because it was there that Christ saved you and brought you out of darkness, clothing you with Himself. This is the secondary function of our candle lit on the Advent wreath. This candle should remind you of your own baptismal candle lit at your baptism, igniting hope within you. The hope of everlasting life.

Traditionally, this first candle on the Advent wreath represented “hope”, Hope in the fulfilled prophesies of God, from the Old Testament, in Christ. Our Sundays in the Church year make it easy for us. Just look at the Old Testament reading next to the New Testament and compare.

See how your King comes for you, righteous and having salvation? See how the Branch Who is King will rise up as a mighty ruler, employing humility rather than force? See how the new Judah is saved in sacrifice and the new Israel dwells securely in her baptismal garments?

And Christ has not just gathered out of Egypt, or the north countries, or even throughout the whole world. He has even gathered from the dead; those long dead and those recently dead. His Word is the Word of Life that awakens the slumbering sinner to new life before God. His prophesies are of Himself coming quickly to rescue His people from the clutches of sin, death, and the power of the devil.

The King of Righteousness and Justice rides on a lowly beast of burden. He chooses the lowest seat. He dwells on the hardest couch. He refuses neither crib nor cross in order to call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify His people. He snuffs out His own light, that the light of faith would shine brightly for eternity, for you.

For the light of the world; the Righteous Branch hangs on a tree. Salvation, security, and redemption come in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is the first and primary responsibility of the prophets: to make sure that God’s people hear and know this promise, but not just so God can predict the future.

No behind all the fulfilled prophesies, behind all the mighty acts and wonders, behind all the connected-ness of Scripture, is familiarity. The Prophets preach God’s promise because it doesn’t change. They can hand it down, generation after generation, and it be the same so that when people hear it, they say, “Oh yes. I remember.”

Each prophet repeats what previous prophets have spoken and each time faith is created and memorization encouraged. If God says it enough, its gotta stick one of these times, right? This is how Holy Scripture gets to you and this is how the holy prophets preach to you: through familiarity.

Because, now it is your church. But not just yours, also your parents’, also your grandparents’, great-grandparents, and on and on till you get to Jesus. God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. Those living in faith, right now, who have died before us. They hear the same Word of God, they sing the same songs of the angels, they pray and commune in the same way: with God and with us.

This small, man-made candle represents all of that and more. That in this tiny bit of flame that God gives us, we see the entire Church, throughout all time, wrapped in swaddling clothes with Christ. That the repetitious Service, ceremonies, and readings are a beautiful reminder of what our ancestors heard and did. That God not only gave us prophets, but fathers and families stretching back to the beginning of time.

The Church is designed to be familiar so that when we hear the prophets we also say, “Oh yes. I remember.” We should know her ceremonies, Services, and hymns like the back of our own hands. And when we look at that hand, we should also see there the marks of nail and cross and remember the Son born to us, Who wins for us such wonderful gifts.