Historic Comfort [Advent 2]

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READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:

• Malachi 4:1-6

• Romans 15:4-13

• St. Luke 21:25-36

 

"Son, remember you received Good things" (St. Luke 16:25)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 1)
 
Jesus speaks to us today, through His Gospel and says,

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

 
We began last week, to learn a little bit about the importance of learning history so that we are not fooled by the tyrant of the day. But there is a softer side to history that is often overlooked because it is the humble side. It is the side of history that is like walking into your own house, with your own family, with all of your favorite things laid out just waiting for your return.
 
One of the ways this comfort comes out is in language. One example would be the use of “thee” “thy” and “thou”. Or I should say, disuse. Though our new hymnal leaves traces of them here and there, with a “Holy Ghost” thrown in now and then, we have changed our language.
 
But there is some part of us that keeps those memories alive. Sunday after Sunday of singing and chanting and reciting our Lord’s Word does something to a person. But we shouldn’t be surprised. God’s Word is just doing what God’s Word does: changing you.
 
The story goes this way: there was an older lady who was sick and there was a new pastor at the church. She and the old pastor did not get along, so she ended up away for awhile. The new pastor forgave her sins and she found her way back to the Divine Service.
 
During the Confession of Sins and the Creed, however, she would not speak like the rest. It was then that her “Thee”s and “Thou”s came out and she spoke them loudly and did not change. Why? Because those were the words given to her by her Church, Her Lord’s Bride, given to her by her Pastor. Those were the words she came into Service with like a well worn shoe.
 
Repent! We fall off both sides of the horse in this one. First we take our words too seriously and end up making idols of them, refusing to say things differently or even refusing to use a different language, saying things like, “that's not how God wants it”. Second, we take our words not seriously enough, constantly compromising and whittling down what words we say which changes our doctrine.
 
“see, I have told you all things beforehand” (Mk 13:23). 
Dear Christians, this is the point of the gift of tongues and prophesy. Not that you get to be popular because you can predict things, speak in whatever language, and get lots of money, but so that you can hear the Word of God and repeat it back to Him (which is His favorite) from your heart.
 
As we hear in Exodus 4:12, “Now then go, and I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say.”
and 
St. Luke 12:12, “For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.”
 
Language is only the half of it. What you see, what you hear, what position your body is in, and what you taste all contribute to the development of comfort in God’s Church. Yes, Jesus gives comfort for when we need it. He also gives us comfort when we don’t need it. Rather, He gives whether we like it or not. 
 
It all comes from remembering, as Jesus says in St. John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
 
What is it we remember? Yes, we remember “the law of my Servant Moses” as our Old Testament told us today. We remember Elijah, his story, and that the Lord will send him to us before the great and awesome day of the Lord. Of whom Jesus then tells us is John the Baptist.
 
We remember Jesus’s birth, His life, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. 
 
Well, no. We don’t remember any of that. We weren’t there for any of those events and we don’t pull memories out of thin air, much less any teaching or learning that we need. We only remember what we’ve been taught. Christians should be taught.
 
Remember your Epistle reading: “whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom 15:4). You are what you repeatedly do, Aristotle said. 
 
And it just so happens that God’s Word and God’s Church are filled with repetition. It just so happens that every time we turn to St. Luke 21, we hear of the return of our Lord and the fig tree. Every time we turn to Luke 2 we hear Linus in our heads and “Behold I bring glad tidings of great joy”.
 
Every time we turn our hearts to God we hear “We should fear and love God so that…”, and “this is most certainly true”. And “even without our prayers” and “A mighty fortress is our…” and on and on it goes. That which we remember from the Lord has been uploaded into our brains by those who teach.
 
But not just our brains, our hearts as well. Such that when we walk into a church, or any other place in our lives, and hear those familiar words and phrases and hymns, we say oh yes I am in the right place. Contrarywise, when we don’t, we turn and walk out.
 
Word, Hymn, and Liturgy is what our Savior has told us beforehand. Yes, we know about the bad stuff He predicted. Everybody loves the bad stuff. They are addicted to the bad stuff, to fear. But on the comforting side of remembrance and history is the strength we have prayed for to stand before the Son of Man. Especially when He sits down to serve His Supper to us.
 
What we repeatedly do is read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest all that Christ has handed down to us. “Heaven and earth will pass away”, He says, “but My words will by no means pass away” (Lk 21:33) so we remember those words and teach it to the next generation.
 
For the Lord does not change His language any more than the sun changes its course. We hear the Confession, the Creed, the Gospel, and the bells and the hymn “For all the saints” comes to remembrance, where we sing, “…steals on the ear the distant triumph song and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong” (LSB 677).
 
The Christian does not need to wait for comfort. Her Lord brings comfort with Him as sure as the fig tree comes out in leaf. Purchased and won, our comfort is found in Christ, Who laid down His life, once for all, that Peace, comfort and joy, comfort and joy, be found every single time we look for it.