Stir up your power + Christmas Eve

The coming kingdom of David is at hand. “Come,” the Father said, “Come, it’s time to have compassion—a King to sit on my servant David’s throne forever, God, yet man, to free my people from their sins. To save them—stir up your power and go—have compassion and from sin and sorrow set everyone of them free.” And where did he go?

At once, to find you, to Royal David’s little city… from heaven above to earth below taking on the flesh of you and me, to suffer all things, to take that which he knew not—sin and sorrow—from you. And to save you, he gives you his life by dying your eternal death to bring to you salvation. He comes a baby born to die that you may live with him forever.

But why a king? What need have you for a savior? Why must God be with you?

Evil comes forth despite the good Law of God. Thus God sends a Savior because you have been left for dead, indeed dead in your trespasses, your reason, your will, your power, leaves you fighting for more of your own good pleasure—fighting against God’s judgment, DEAD, a living hell, no good remaining. A flesh that is a full and steady accomplice of your spirit…weak and teetering on hell’s steep cliff. Every good plan, every program—all pushed aside. And thus we wallow in lies told, promises forgotten, anger harbored, and love left undone.

And even then, we’d have Jesus be a king like we have a man be our president. Someone to do our bidding, always under a magnifying glass and prepared to boot him if he doesn’t deliver, waiting for his November. A Jesus like you’d have your holiday season…to be jolly and love everyone, giving no one coal, but things you like and want and covet, and when you’re done with him, push him back up the chimney or over the river and through a different wood until the next time. The religious establishment seconds your thoughts as they implored Jesus, “Make your disciples be quiet!” We don’t like the noise, the ruckus, the hoopla. It’s causing a scene, it’s not always convenient, it’s loud, and the rest of the world doesn’t like it.

Remember when they lined the streets with their cloaks and palm branches, and hailed him as their king? Have you lined his road in your life and then pulled it up again when you noticed he wasn’t the Jesus you thought you needed or wanted?

Repent. The coming kingdom of David is at hand. For God has seen your poor state before the world’s foundation. That’s right. Your state, your sin, your person—personality, heart, and soul… you! And thus he planned to free you, bless you, and save you.  Not from your plans, neighbors, and the things you want in this life, but to save you from sin and death and the devil. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in this one night, in this one child, in this baby born of Mary. GO! My Son, have compassion on the world. Bring to all salvation. From sin and sorrow set them free…from Satan’s cheap tricks, poisoned tongue, and tormenting lies, from your sinful flesh and the temptations of the world—GO! Be their king, their Savior! Slay bitter death, undo Satan, and steal the sting away from death and the grave.

That is exactly what he did. The Son obeyed his Father’s will and was born of Virgin mother. His power? stirred up…complete obedience to his Father’s will, God’s good pleasure to fulfill. Now this changes everything forever. God has flesh and blood, God who is now a man (the God-Man, the Son of Man, the Son of God) now leads the devil captive and came to be our brother. A servants form — just like you and me — he wore to lead away our enemies forever.

A king forever— what is his crown? Thorns. And his throne? A cross. A kingdom forever to make you his own, giving life to the dead, sight to the blind, hearing to the Deaf. He is your rock and your castle, never leaving you, never retreating up up and away, instead always remembering his promises and delivering his life into your midst, things of need, things of salvation, the very things for you.

The world isn’t going to like it. Satan will scowl, fierce as he will. You will even war with your own nature: the old Adam with the new. All kinds of people, places, things, demons, and the like will tell you to put this farce, this hoax, behind you…to grow up and get serious. But the Spirit of God at work in you will not be silenced by that which has been defeated. The faith that is alive in your hearts and in your lives cannot be dismantled by that which is judged and dismantled itself. Don’t listen to the lies of the devil, don’t be coerced by the sweet whispers of a world captivated by sin, don’t let your Old Adam have a word in edgewise. Instead, listen to the God-Man Jesus. Come to him and bring with you all your cares. You who are heaven laden, come! Be gathered to the manger of the newborn King. Rejoice in the death of death and the undoing of the grave. Stand at the feet of the cross of Jesus and be transformed into his image by his work and mercy and love.

And thus the great power of our Lord has been stirred and He has come to us. Like little John the Baptists still in our mother’s womb leaping for joy, our hearts for that very joy must leap and skip at this the Christmas greeting. Our lips cannot silence keep, our tongues with joyous words must sing. Glory to God in the highest heaven, who unto us his Son has given. The end of all time has come. The reign of sin and death has ended. The peace of heaven reigns in our hearts, in this world, and even to highest heaven…and God is born in Bethlehem, a Savior for all the world.

God has had compassion on you. The great power of the living God has been stirred and he has come. This shall be a sign unto you… you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, teaching the priests in the temple, announcing the year of the Lord’s favor to the crowds, feeding thousands, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, giving hearing to the deaf, crucified to a cross on Golgotha, raised from his tomb, present in the preaching of this Gospel, in the water of Baptism, and the bread and wine of his supper. The compassion of our God is found in this Jesus who has saved you from your sins and now dwells here with you.

Happy Christmas! Glory to God in the Highest and on earth, peace and good will among men!

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Christmass Morning

In the beginning was the Word and the Word created the heavens and the earth. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. Now the earth was formless and empty and darkness was over the surface of the deep. In the Word was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Genesis and John speak of beginnings (Genesis and John speak of the same things?), the beginning of man and the beginning of sin…of death…and of darkness. We learn of darkness that continues on in every person’s life…even the lives of you and me. As Adam and Eve took the fruit all men entered with Adam into sin and death and the darkness that is such a favorite of Satan. All men entered into sin, even the Psalmist reminds us, “in sin my mother conceived me.”

Can you comprehend this idea of darkness and sin? For the action of Adam and Eve that brought sin into the world…is just like darkness. If you walk into a room and turn off the light, does only the area of the room by the lamp get dark? No…the whole room falls under the vale of darkness. It is also the case with sin, the corruption and death and darkness that entered the world affected the whole world, all the world. The entire wonderful creation, all of its beauty, all of the paradise, everything was and is tainted. It was all darkened by sin, darkened in the shadow of death – stuck in the bondage of the devil…stuck in the darkness.

But it gets worse… Like unto the darkness of the ninth plague of Egypt that preceded the Exodus… John uses a word for darkness that means a darkness that most of us don’t quite get. It is a darkness that is heavy, that you can reach out and touch, pull on, and wrap yourself in. It is a tangible darkness… a darkness that has a punch. That’s your sin, my sin, the sin of the world is a weight that wraps us up and weighs us down— not like a blanket on a cold night, but like a lead apron you must wear to have an x-ray taken, like a ball and chain, like sickness and death that plops down upon you and sucks the life from you. At first it seems fun, but then…

Even we are not immune from the shackles of death, from this darkness. St. Paul reminds us that we are all sinful and fall short of the glory of God. That means us, that means darkness, that means eternal damnation and nothing we can conjure up can save us from it. It tricks us and deceives us…we think we know better than God. Even Adam thought he knew more than God…even the Israelites thought they knew more then God as they molded their golden calf.

Repent. The kingdom of God is with us. God never fails. He continued to assure his people of Christmass. He assures his people of his Word that is life and that life is the LIGHT of men. He assures his people of the light that would overcome, conquer, and stomp out the darkness. God’s people knew of Christmas. God gave a promise of a light, a light so bright that nothing would overtake it!

And the darkness did not and could not overcome the LIGHT. The darkness will never overcome it. From the very beginning, this Christ has been the light of the world and this Christ has been our light. And this Christ has become man. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. It was in familiar ways with familiar things that God came to his people and Christmas was no exception. Christ came as baby – with skin and bones and crying set of lungs. He came as human flesh and blood to be like us, to be for us and to be with us.

But how so for us? For us on on a cross for us. He came that man’s debt would be paid and the curse of sin would be removed. He came so that he would die on the cross of Calvary and would rise again to destroy darkness and its sting. So the manger, the beginning of Jesus ministry, always sits in the shadow of the cross. But from the cross forward there are no shadows. The valley of the shadow of death all comes undone there. The sun and the stars didn’t give their light, but Christ still shined through as he conquered your sin and made the world new again.

And so this is the fullness of time, Christ still comes to us for us in familiar ways. It is here in the font with water and with Word – in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, that we have been joined to the death—the cross of the Lamb of God— and to the resurrection of Christ and freed from the darkness. With ordinary Words preached and proclaimed into our ears…we are joined to the one who was nailed to the cross for our transgression, the one that said from that cross, “It is finished!” The darkness no longer has a hold on us. It is this death of Christ that makes us alive. Alive! With bread and wine he combines his Word to give you food and drink from heaven. He comes not to better himself, but to bring light to you and me. He comes as man because of his great love. He comes out of great love—for us! Here today we have Christ! Here today we have the forgiveness of our sins! Here today we can celebrate in the light that never fades.

Christ is the light that shines on as a beacon this Christmas. Christ shines on for us! Christ who was, who is, and who always, always will be! Rejoice! Merry Christmas! The LIGHT shines!

On the second day of Christmass…

Merry Christmass to you all.  We attended Christmass Eve Divine Service and Christmass Morning Divine Service at Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston this year.  The music was superb and the preaching was great.  Hodie Christus natus est… and a happy St. Stephen’s day to you as well.