1st Sunday in Advent LSB #’s 331, 673, 813
Text – Jeremiah 33:16 In those days Judah will be saved, & Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ THE KING’S CITY: SAFE & SECURE Where do you live? Where do you call home? That isn’t always an easy question to answer. Our mobile society keeps us moving, & along with that comes restlessness & instability. In a virtual world of electronic reality, space & time are both compressed & expanded in a confusing, dazzling, & sometimes dizzying way. But we all want & need a place to call home. Sociologists have come to the remarkable conclusion that a safe & stable home has an enormous positive effect on child development – who would have thought! Adults recall fond childhood memories, which may include that fateful moment when we wanted to run away from home – usually got a block or two before the rights & liberties of independence gave way to the certainties & securities of a place called home. This is a universal truth, engaging all cultures in all time & places. We don’t know a lot about the emotions of home life in Bible times, but we do know that family & land & home & hearth were an anchor where being “on the road” was no less dangerous than in our day & age. The “home” that engages us in Jeremiah is actually much greater than our traditional family home – it is the home of a whole country, a nation, a people. In our Advent lessons from the OT prophets, we will listen & learn about God’s kingdom, & God’s king, & what it meant to be the people of God in His kingdom. In the days of the OT prophets, God’s kingdom on earth was under the human leadership of the line of David. A king had his palace & temple in his capital city. These became the focal point, even the identity, of his rule & his reign. For our spiritual ancestors in the OT that was Jerusalem, or, in a more theologically focused way – it was called Zion. Zion was the citadel of God’s “palace,” His dwelling place in the midst of His people. We should note there was often a good deal of tension between the king’s palace & God’s temple, as the king sometimes forgot that his place was “next door” to the temple, & not the other way around. The king was the under-shepherd who ruled on God’s terms, not his own. In the time of the prophet Jeremiah, both the king & the temple were being threatened, even under siege, by the Babylonians & their king Nebuchadnezzar. There was a good & godly reason for this. Jeremiah had made it clear to all: both king & people had forsaken their God; they had followed the ways of the world & the religious practices of the pagans. They assumed that if they did just enough to keep the temple worship going, bringing sacrifices & offerings, then God would be pleased & so protect them. After all, He was their God, & they were His people. In the eyes of the international press, the “CNN” of that day, the siege of Jerusalem was just another act of aggression & expansion by the dominant world power of the time. In the eyes of the king & majority of the people, this seemed an unfair action by a God who should be saving them instead of destroying them. In the eyes of prophet, priests, & some of the people, this was God’s righteous judgment on the sins of His nation. So Jeremiah stood up to the false prophets, who “prophesied peace when there was no peace.” He stood up to the king, who refused to believe either that the city would fall or that this was God’s just judgment against him, his leadership, & the sins of all. This got Jeremiah to become the object of scorn & derision; he was put in stocks & then in prison. So much for the life of a faithful prophet! But, Jeremiah had a bigger picture. He knew God’s judgment, yet he also knew that this was part of a larger plan, not to destroy & kill, but to restore & make alive. In the midst of all this message of judgment comes a section of his book that speaks of God’s love, His everlasting love & commitment to His people. Yes, God would punish them, with the “tough love” that takes discipline seriously. Yes, their sin had to be punished. Yes, Jerusalem, “home” of king & people, would be lost, & they would be refuges in exile. You see, God had a future & a hope for them. In fact, just as the siege of Jerusalem was underway, Jeremiah bought a field – invested in real estate – to demonstrate his conviction that God was committed to this land & to bringing the people back to it. He saw a future for both the king & the city. He described them both in the same way: In those days (those days to come, when God would fulfill His promises once & for all) & at that time (yes, at God’s “right time,” not ours), I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, & He shall execute justice & righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved & Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it (Jerusalem) will be called: Yahweh (God) is our righteousness. (Jeremiah 33:15 ESV) Dear friends in Christ: Have you been away from home too long? You know the feeling. It can be rough out there; sometimes it can be rough at home. But deep inside, we long for a home that is safe & sound, where we are loved, saved, & dwell securely. Imagine how the folks from Jerusalem felt when they woke up in Babylon! This wasn’t an exotic vacation to see the Hanging Gardens; they were in exile, far from home. Yet for them, & for us, God has provided a place, right here on earth, in space & time, where He calls us home. It’s a place far greater than any capital city of the world. It’s even greater than the most loving & safe home for any family or extended family. It’s a place where true peace & justice, righteousness & salvation are to be found, to be given, to be shared. It is completely dependent on God, not on us, or on our efforts even to make the world a better & a safer place. You see, back then in the time of Jeremiah, God promised a king & a city that only He could provide. Yes, the king & city that His people had messed up had to be destroyed, but God found a way to punish sin & yet to save His people. He promised a new & better king, of the house & lineage of David, but not just another David. He promised a new & better city, which would be called righteous. But note where the righteousness, justice, truth & peace are found: Yahweh is our righteousness. You see, back in the time of Jesus, there was One born of the house & lineage of David, to be a new & greater David, David’s son, yes, but also David’s lord. He came also to be the new & greater temple & city, where God would dwell on earth in the midst of His people. Right now, in these days of Advent preparation, we can celebrate, right here, right now, that we have a home; a city, if you will, a place to call home, where God is with us with an everlasting love. Call it church, call it our faith family, call it the Body of Christ, where both king & city come together in one person & in one place, where his body & blood are here for us to forgive, renew & empower us to be the place where God dwells out there in the world, for all. Where do you live? Where do you call home? Where is a place for safety, security, salvation & life? With all we will do in the weeks ahead, with overfilled schedules at home & running around, today we remember the anchor of our lives, our home with God in Jesus. We remember it in this place where Yahweh cares for us with forgiveness & life! It is in this place that we truly live, as a foretaste of heaven. Amen. Jerusalem, my happy home, when shall I come to thee? When shall my sorrows have an end? Thy joys when shall I see? O happy harbor of the saints, O sweet & pleasant soil! In thee no sorrow may be found, no grief, no care, no toil. O Christ, do Thou my soul prepare for that bright home of love that I may see Thee & adore with all Thy saints above. Amen. LSB 673:1-2, 6 Thanksgiving – 2016 LSB #790
Text – 1 Chronicles 16:34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever! HE COMES TO JUDGE THE EARTH Normally I pick the title of my sermon from the words & the phrases of the chosen Bible text. This evening, for effect, I’ve selected as the title words that come immediately before it, because they contrast so magnificently with words that are very familiar to many of you. Those well-known words make up a commonly used table prayer: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,” because He comes to judge the earth. How do we wrap our puny little minds around that disjunction? “Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good…” Our thoughts for this Thanksgiving will center around that apparent contradiction. We need to begin with the understanding that in our heavenly Father’s mind there is no confusion, no conflict, no contrast whatsoever between those ideas that in the human mind are of opposing realities. To Jesus they are one & the same truth. “Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good…” And not only is Yahweh good, “…His steadfast love endures forever!” The author of this portion of Chronicles seems to believe that judging the earth is a joyous occasion. Why does it strike such a discordant note in our minds? Judgment is about ridding your soul & mine of sin. It’s about ridding our world of sin. It’s about cleansing all of God’s creation from the stench & the filth of sin. Lack of joy, on our part, over the coming judgment, reveals the dual nature of our loyalty. We say we believe in Jesus, yet we cling, ever so tightly, to the things of this world, & we dread losing them. It’s a broken, twisted & corrupt world, but it’s the only one we know with our physical senses. Thus the Word of God challenges us, instructs us & would lead us, to a life lived by faith & not by sight. Thanksgiving, as celebrated in America today, is all about sight. Forget faith. You can have all the stuffing you want right now! And when you’re done eating, then you go shopping because Black Friday now includes Thursday as well. That physically unlimited lifestyle carries over to our spiritual living. When trying to satisfy the needs of our soul we often end up measuring progress with physical parameters. Haven’t you heard comments like these: “I don’t feel like I’m being fed. I just don’t see where anything is changing. What I hear does not seem relevant to the struggles of my life.” Granted, pastors & churches aren’t perfect at sharing God’s love, but our heavenly Father has created them & has promised that He is working through them. So if you aren’t feeling, or seeing or hearing what you think your soul needs, maybe it’s your thinking that is off base, because the Holy Word of God actually does say: “Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good…” If the trees of the forest are feeling fed, seeing things change, & hearing relevant words from God, such that they rejoice especially as our Lord is coming to judge the earth, then why are you confused & struggling? Why is your faith in God’s promises so weak? Why are you not completely satisfied with everything that your Creator has given to you? Will your celebration of Thanksgiving really be about giving thanks, or will it simply be about getting more stuff whether that’s more family time, more food, or more shopping? Those are challenging questions to answer & the truth is all of us would rather avoid that sort of ‘digging into’ the way we live our lives. We are afraid to question the motives behind our actions because each of us realizes that our heart is not clean. Our Creator has given us the antidote for our sins but somehow we seldom get around to putting it into practice. On the one hand, even the Christian people of our nation seem to have lost any sense of urgency over the fact that Judgment Day is on its way. On the other hand, even the Christian people of our nation don’t seem to realize that an actual Judgment Day will be something to thank God for. Coming to judge the earth sounds too much like discipline to our hearts, our minds & our ears. We live among a people that wants nothing to do with discipline. We’ve grown soft & fat, not just around the edges, but at the very center of heart & soul. We refuse to take the stairs when an elevator is available. We skip reading the Bible when television can entertain instead. After any extended period of easy blessings, sinful human beings always need a countering period of difficult blessings in order for them to re-learn obedience. Our nation has had its era of easy blessings & its people no longer desire to know their Creator. Look at how few people are here this evening to thank God for those easy blessings? They’re too lazy to make the effort to be in our heavenly Father’s house. The reason they’re too lazy is they don’t love Him, & they don’t love Him because they see no need for Him. Speaking of easy blessings, our people already have everything they need for their physical life & for that reason they do not long to know their Creator & Savior. For those of you who are here, have you considered why? Is it just because this is what you do on the eve of Thanksgiving? Is it just because the church is holding a service so you attend out of a sense of duty? Are you here because you truly are thankful to your heavenly Father for all that He’s done for you? If you haven’t quite gotten to that point in your spiritual growth, it may appear to be hopeless. The devil often tempts us to just give up, but is it really all on you to get there? Are you the only one responsible for seeing to it that your faith in Jesus keeps on developing & maturing? The answer to that question is vitally important & it’s not simply a yes or no answer. As an adult, if your spiritual life is stifled & stagnating that is your fault & yours alone. That’s the bad news, but the good news is powerful & awe inspiring because it is not all on you to get your faith growing & blossoming & thriving. That one is on God, your heavenly Father & Creator & Savior. It is the specialty of His Holy Spirit to create faith & to strengthen it & cause it to grow. Yet, God will not force that growth upon us & our sinful nature cannot help but drift away, run away & avoid the hard work of joining with our Lord by receiving His blessing of faith & trust. We don’t put in the time & effort, refuse even, because we don’t see the need. We don’t feel the need. We don’t hear enough about our need for the difficult blessings from God & how those blessings are often much more beneficial than the easy blessings. Sort of like the way we long for candy but not for vegetables. Our sinful nature does not desire anything that is healthy. The answer is to feed our saintly nature, & where does God’s Spirit promise to do that but in the Lord’s house. You may find God in nature, but He does not promise to forgive your sin through drinking clear mountain water, or through breathing pure mountain air. He does promise to do that through the preaching of His Word & through Baptism & Holy Communion. It’s not easy to see the effects of those promises in our lives. I’ve baptized many children & given communion to many adults, yet I’ve never seen a miraculous change in behavior. The vocation of pastor above all others requires living by faith & not by sight. St. Paul confirms that teaching of Holy Scripture with his words in 2 Corinthians: “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (4:18b ESV) Too much of our thanksgiving celebration today is about things that are seen & smelled & eaten. Even a central focus on family get-togethers is transient as clearly seen in the fact that not everyone who was with us one, three or 5 years ago is with us today. More of our celebration should be about the things that are unseen, matters of the heart & soul. Those things are eternal. In heaven the family reunion will never end & none of its members ever will be lost to broken relationships or death. Broken relationships & death come from sin. Too little food & too much food come from sin. Ingratitude to our heavenly Father comes from sin. Our view of difficult blessings, as a bad thing, comes from sin. As Hebrews 12:11 teaches: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (ESV) Is the will of your heart aligned with the heart of Yahweh? Ultimately the answer is yes & no, if you are a child of God. Greater alignment comes not from our effort but from His. Yet, we cannot measure that progress with physical parameters such as how much food is on the table, or by how many family members are with us. Here in this life we can only measure the progress of our alignment with our Lord by faith. In heaven we’ll be able to see & feel & hear that progress with every fiber of our being. Until then, our Lord’s coming to judge the earth is good, because His judgment is for the purpose of eternally cleansing His creation of sin. His judgment that occurs while we’re still here on earth, or we could say His difficult blessings, are for the purpose of cleansing our hearts & minds of sin. Our sinful nature will never appreciate that. Jesus calls us to tune out that nature, to turn away from it, to reject it as the death that it is. In our relationship to our heavenly Father, maybe, instead of 1st looking for the things He’s given us so that we can thank Him, we should rather begin with thanking Him & then looking for the reasons we do so. Feeding our saintly nature is the antidote for our sins. That feeding occurs here in the house of the Lord & we should eat here more often. Spiritually we’ve grown soft & fat because we’re not eating the proper food which the Son of God offers. We’ve chosen the candy of life instead – the transient things which are here today & gone tomorrow. The easy blessings of this life are good, but they are not eternal, & they do not save us from sin. The sea roars & the trees of the forest sing for joy because the Lord comes to judge the earth. He’s coming to save us from our sins, & though our sinful nature is afraid & confused, Christ’s love brings life & healing to us even now. How much more will we be healed once we arrive in heaven? That’s how we reconcile any apparent contradictions in our understanding of this Bible reading from 1 Chronicles. The confusion or fear in our minds can always be reconciled by the love of Jesus Christ. ”Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!” Then all the people said, ‘Amen!’ & praised the Lord.” (16:36 ESV) For that our saintly nature is eternally grateful. Amen. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise Him, for He is your health & salvation! Let all who hear now to His temple draw near, joining in glad adoration! Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him! All that has life & breath, come now with praises before Him! Let the Amen sound from His people again; gladly forever adore Him! Amen. LSB 790:1, 5 Armed Forces Sunday – 2016 LSB #668
Text – Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. STANDING FIRM AGAINST THE DEVIL These are powerful words. Through St. Paul, the Holy Spirit tells us to “stand firm!” His apostolic tone is like a great military leader addressing professionally trained warriors before a battle. The Apostle knows the situation is desperate. Satan wants to win. Satan wants you to think you’re broken & defeated. Just quit! Give up! Surrender! The Good News, the Gospel, is that Satan & his lies are defeated. We are washed in the blood of Christ! He won the victory on the cross. Jesus crushed & defeated the devil. He destroyed sin, death & the power of the devil – a promise made in Genesis 3 & fulfilled at Golgotha. The battle is won! Still, Paul orders us to stand firm, to hold the line. The intense passion behind “stand firm” carries the tenacity & urgency to above all hold in place, fix bayonets & dig in! The command of Paul is more than a bright idea, a good piece of advice or a noble suggestion. As children of God redeemed under Christ we have purpose & meaning in our lives. We aren’t supposed to sit around, leisurely meandering with friends while overlooking a nice restful scene. No! This is spiritual warfare with a cunning, deadly enemy. Stand firm means to be vigilant, keep alert, always be on guard. In a sermon preached 485 years ago, Martin Luther spoke about the urgency of being alert & standing firm: “Therefore learn that the devil with his angels is not in India [or] in Ethiopia, but on the streets, in [your] room, in your house, in your bed, under your table, where you walk & where you stand. There they surround you like [a swarm of] bees.” It doesn’t matter where you are, whether safe at home or deployed away from loved ones. The devil prowls around seeking to find a breech in your perimeter. So whether standing watch aboard an aircraft carrier, working on an assembly line, or sending your children off to school… stay alert! Stand firm means “hold your ground – don’t let the enemy through.” This is a desperate battle. It’s the spiritual Battle of the Bulge, the Thermopylae of conscience, the Midway of your soul, the Khe Sanh of truth, the Fallujah of eternal salvation & countless other battles where a determined enemy is held in place by a heroic stand of dedicated warriors. In our battle, the warriors are members of the Body of Christ. Even though casualties are piling up, stand firm. You hold fast even as the enemy gears up for another assault. You hear the chanting, the brush rustling, enemy bugles in the distance. Stand firm! Do not run. Hold the line. Don’t abandon your post, rather lock your heels, hold your ground, show others to your right & your left that fear is just an emotion easily dismissed. We fight battles every day. We know the victory belongs to Christ. It is God’s Son & promised Savior who suffered, bled & died for all humanity. It was by His death that Jesus crushed Satan & destroyed the devil’s schemes to place you firmly into his clutches. You are a prizewinning champion. You are a member of the most victorious military force in world history. We are a triumphant army on a march through history. Christ Jesus stood firm & won. He leads the column! We share in His magnificent victory. He calls us through the water of Holy Baptism – the old Adam drowned & a new Adam brought forth. Through the forgiveness of sins, Christ touches our inner being. We are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the sacrament of the altar, we partake of the great feast of His body & blood. We eat & drink, partake of forgiveness, eternal life, hope & peace. As redeemed warriors in Christ, we live a life of vigilance – a vocation where we stand firm. Through faith, we forever trust in Him. We extend this trust & love to those on our left & on our right. We reach out in mercy to our enemies extending a hand of grace & peace. The victorious Lord of all commands us to stand firm. And yet, this certainly is not easy. Many of you may think it’s not so much the battles but rather the daily living that makes being a “stand-firm warrior” so difficult. It is a tough world out there, & even in here. Life has a way of dishing out ugly portions on your already crowded plate. You come to church Sunday after Sunday. You are tired. You bow your head in prayer & look at the person in front of you: “Why is his cancer in remission while my loved one is in the final stages of life?” You think about a co-worker: “Why is that person debt free & happy? The only mail I get is from collection agencies.” You hear news of another loved one in trouble with the law or a friend struggling with a debilitating addiction. You may be working through deep issues of post-traumatic stress or loss of health. You wonder, “Is life is even worth it?” You see the constant news of Tuesday’s elections & sigh. The world has gone haywire! Like the prophet you exclaim, “Evil is good & good is now evil!” But Jesus says, “Stand firm.” Despite the vicious assault of Lucifer, there is good news. To stand firm without being told in what to stand firm is empty. Without the Lord Christ, it is all meaningless chatter, like the political campaigns. If Jesus is not the central figure of history the words are a senseless pep talk that ring hollow in the ears of those in a desperate battle; a sales pitch by a huckster. The Apostle Paul highlights this in his letter to Galatia when he speaks of the futility of his zealousness for God’s law. Remember how he spoke of his high level of understanding of tradition? But it was all nothing & meaningless because it did not have Christ at its core. Standing firm without Christ is a disaster; with Christ, it has all the difference in the world. We cannot beat the devil back or hold our ground alone. We must turn to God’s promises found in Christ. In 1 Peter 2:9 we read, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” We take up the call of living as a people belonging to God in spite of debt, danger, loss, futility, pain & countless other assaults thrown at our battle line. Our only hope is in God’s Son, Jesus our Savior. This isn’t about us being great, wonderful & victorious or having a smug pharisaic sense of self-importance or self-righteousness. The book of Hebrews makes it clear: “And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder & perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, & is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2 ESV) It’s about Jesus & that fact alone emboldens us to hold our ground. We stand firm in Him! We persevere against attack by letting Christ take the battle to the devil’s doorstep. To put it another way, it is Christ alone. Look at the gifts He gives to us. Our Baptism in Christ is a death knell in the ears of the devil. As newborns, we bring nothing to the fight. We’re helpless & in need of constant care, but Baptism is God’s activity. God transforms us through His Holy Spirit. Through water & the Word, we are made heirs of His kingdom & given the strength to stand firm even against the lies of the prince of darkness. 1 Peter 3:21 says, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” That Jesus rose from the dead emboldens us to stand firm. In the Sacrament of the altar, we are nourished again & again with His body & blood for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28) This too emboldens us to stand firm. We continue the fight & see once more that the Lord is doing all the work at His table. The gift of forgiveness & absolution in Christ renews & restores us. In Acts 10, we hear Peter proclaiming to Cornelius & his household: “And [Christ] commanded us to preach to the people & to testify that He is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living & the dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” (10:42–43 ESV) Paul then elaborates on Peter’s sermon when he says in Colossians 1: “May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance & patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness & transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”[1] This too emboldens us to stand firm. We look again to our children, our spouse & co-workers, pardoned of our sins; able to lock arm & arm with our brothers & sisters in Christ. We stand firm as we continue to study God’s Word. (Psalm 1) By meditating on His promises in Scripture, we are tied to the Body of Christ, which extends from the 1st Adam in the Garden of Eden to the 2nd Adam, Christ, who reconnects us to our heavenly Father. We see Yahweh moving through human history, redeeming His people & making them holy. This emboldens us to stand firm. As warriors of faith, we know the joy & strength that prayer brings. Through Christ, we have direct access to our Creator. Through prayer, we enter into a Holy dialogue with our Strength & our Redeemer. King David wrote: “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, & He delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, & the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, & He brought them to their desired haven.” (Psalm 107:28–30) That Jesus has rescued us emboldens us to stand firm. We stand alongside the King of the Universe as victors. We have a responsibility then to tell the world how we stand firm. The world needs to know about this vast armada that belongs to God’s only-begotten Son. We are called to bring in those who are crumbling under the onslaught of Satan & who are crushed by his evil schemes. Start at home by embracing your family with prayer. Take the Good News to the workplace. Tell those going through similar circumstances to put their trust in Christ. Be that city on a hill, that beacon of light to a world darkened by sin. At all times, stand firm… in the love Christ Jesus has for you. Amen. Rise! To arms! With prayer employ you, O Christians, lest the foe destroy you; for Satan has designed your fall. Wield God’s Word, the weapon glorious; against all foes be thus victorious, for God protects you from them all. Fear not the hordes of hell, here is Emmanuel. Hail the Savior! The strong foes yield to Christ our shield, & we the victors hold the field. Cast afar this world’s vain pleasure & boldly strive for heavenly treasure. Be steadfast in the Savior’s might. Trust the Lord, who stands beside you, for Jesus from all harm will hide you. By faith you conquer in the fight. Take courage, weary soul! Look forward to the goal! Joy awaits you. The race well run, your long war won, your crown shines splendid as the sun. Amen. LSB 668:1-2 [1] Colossians 1:11–14 ESV |
AuthorPastor Dean R. Poellet Archives
February 2025
Categories |