True preachers make straight the Lord’s way

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Rorate Coeli – Advent 4

Philippians 4:4-7  +  John 1:19-28

Last week we met the preacher of preachers, John the Baptist, at the end of his ministry, in prison, sending his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He was, in fact, the One who was to come. Today we go back in time a couple of years, to when John first began to preach and to baptize, before Jesus began His own ministry by being baptized by John. Who was this strange preacher, living out in the desert, wearing camel-skin clothing, eating a diet of locusts and wild honey, who came “neither eating nor drinking” at banquets or feasts, but led a solitary, ascetic life?

John tells us the most important thing about himself in today’s Gospel. Who was he? He was the preacher who made straight the Lord’s way, and in that way, he was the model for all preachers who would come after him.

If you recall, John had been making straight the way of the Lord since before he was born. When the newly pregnant virgin Mary greeted her relative Elizabeth, the baby John leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb, announcing to his mother that they were even then in the presence of the Lord.

Some thirty years later, John would leave his home and go out into the wilderness to continue preparing the Lord’s way. His strange lifestyle and his bold preaching began to draw people out to him from all over Israel, until large crowds were gathering around him on a regular basis to hear him. Many were also baptized by him. That got the attention of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. They were supposed to be in charge of the Church of Israel, but they had never sent John out to preach, and certainly not to baptize. So they sent a delegation out to him, to question him.

Who are you? they asked. And he confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” The Apostle John is careful to note John’s testimony, emphasizing his strong confession that he was not the Christ. He was not the one Israel was supposed to be waiting for or hoping in or trusting in.

Not the Christ…Then, are you Elijah? Nope. Not Elijah. The prophet Malachi had prophesied that Elijah would come ahead of the Lord, and according to Jesus, John was that Elijah. But he wasn’t the famous miracle-working prophet who was taken to heaven with a fiery chariot some 800 years earlier. That would have made John something supernatural and impressive. But he didn’t want or claim that kind of fame.

Are you the prophet? they asked, apparently referring to the prophet about whom Moses had prophesied: The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear. That was a reference to the Christ Himself, which they didn’t seem to understand. Nope, John said. I’m not the Prophet. In every way possible, John pointed away from himself, not seeking popularity, not seeking fame, not wanting at all to be the center of attention, except for the briefest moment, as people focus briefly on a road sign telling them which way to go, and then the sign has served its purpose and is quickly and appropriately left behind in the background.

John’s only desire was to be a sign like that. He told them, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.

There were three ways in which John did that “making straight the way.”

First, he preached repentance. He preached to the Jews, but we’re told that Roman soldiers also came to hear him. He told them what God’s holy Law demanded of them: obedience to the Ten Commandments, and he wasn’t afraid to point out that they had all gone astray, and where. He preached especially against adultery and sexual sins, against mistreating others, against stealing from others, against deceitful business practices. He exposed the people’s sin of putting their own interests first and taking advantage of one another. And he exposed the many ways they committed idolatry, not with idols of wood and stone anymore, but with idols of money, idols of flesh and blood, how they feared, loved, and trusted in themselves more than they feared, loved, or trusted in God. He warned them to repent, to recognize and to turn from their sins before God came against them in judgment. And so John made straight the Lord’s way, so that He might come with healing and forgiveness for the penitent.

Second, John baptized the penitent. Mark and Luke both describe John’s baptism as a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Those who confessed their sins, those who wanted God’s forgiveness and who wanted to amend their sinful lives, were invited to be baptized by John, to be baptized with water as a means by which God would wash away their sins and make them ready for Christ, who would actually take their sins on Himself and pay for them, eventually, on the cross.

Third, John pointed the people of Israel toward the Christ, who was already on the earth and was just about to reveal Himself. He said, There stands among you one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me, who has been ahead of me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie. Don’t look at me, John said. I’m only here for a moment to point you to Him. He is the great One. He is the Savior. He is the Lord. He is the One who remains forever and whose word does not pass away. He’s the One we’ve all been waiting for. Hope in Him. Trust in Him, and you will not be disappointed.

And so John has become a model for all the true Christians preachers who have come after him, so that he, through us, continues to make straight the Lord’s way in the hearts and lives of all who hear.

First, like John, true Christian preachers point away from themselves. They may make much of their ministry, as St. Paul also did, but they don’t make much of themselves. They don’t make much of their opinions, or their personal stories, or their degrees, or their charisma. They don’t seek the spotlight for themselves. Don’t look at me!

Second, like John, they preach repentance. They point out sin—the sin that dwells in your flesh and influences your every thought, word, and deed. They preach against obvious sins, and they preach against secret sins, including self-righteousness and hypocrisy. They warn you of God’s coming wrath against sinners. They urge you to “change your mind” about sin (that’s what the Greek word “repentance” actually means), to view it, no longer as something desirable or innocent, but as something ugly, harmful, and detestable.

Third, like John, true Christian preachers preach and administer Baptism. Baptism is God’s indescribable gift to mankind, where He invites penitent sinners to wash and to actually be made clean, to be forgiven for the sake of Christ, by being united with Christ in His death and in His resurrection. And now we also have that other great Sacrament, the Sacrament of the Altar, where Christ gives His body and blood with the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins.

Finally, true Christian preachers, like John, are always found pointing to Jesus Christ, the One who came, true God and true Man, who suffered for you and died for you that you might live forever with Him. They point to Jesus Christ, the One who is now to be sought, not standing among you, not whispering in your ear, but speaking to you through the Word and ministering to you through the Office of the Holy Ministry. They point to Jesus Christ, the One who is coming again soon, the One whose Advent you should be expecting and longing for far more earnestly than any earthly success or relief.

So make straight the Lord’s way! He is the Savior. He is the Lord. He is the One who remains forever and whose word does not pass away. He’s the One we’ve all been waiting for. Hope in Him. Trust in Him, and you will not be disappointed. Amen.

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Toil for the truth, but don’t forget love

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Midweek of Advent 3

+  Revelation 2:1-7  +

Remember the image of the Son of Man that John saw and that we talked about last week: One who was like a son of man, clothed with a garment reaching down to his feet, his chest girded with a golden sash. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like bronze, as though fired in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. In this evening’s reading, that extraordinary, somewhat ominous figure, the Son of Man, speaks to His servant John with a message which John is to put down in writing and send to each of the seven churches in Asia Minor. And just as with all the New Testament epistles, even though this one was written to specific churches at that time, with specific circumstances and needs, it has been God’s will to preserve these apostolic writings so that the Spirit may continue to speak to all the churches and apply the same lessons to every church of every time.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write. If this were a heavenly angel, then writing would be irrelevant. No, it’s the minister of the church to whom John is to write. Modern Evangelicals have a hard time understanding this. They think that God simply communicates directly with each believer, through the feelings (or the burdens) of the heart. The pastor is really just a motivational speaker, a sort of community organizer. But God has always chosen to speak to His precious people through men: occasionally through angels, for a time through Jesus Himself, but otherwise usually through prophets, through the apostles, and now through the ministers whom Christ has called to the churches, through the churches. God uses that call to turn a man into an “angel,” into a divinely appointed messenger to minister to His people. But by definition that means that the message is intended for the whole church, not just for him. He is responsible for passing on the message of the Lord to the Lord’s people, and he’ll have to answer for how he carries out his ministry.

Write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. Jesus wants His angel and His church in Ephesus to remember especially these two truths about Him: that He holds the seven stars, that is, the pastors of the churches, in His right hand. They are there because He has placed them there; they speak for Him; they are responsible to Him. And that He is present with His churches, walking among the lampstands. He placed each church where it is, as a man places a lampstand where he wants it. He inspects each one. He tends to each one. And, if He chooses, He has the right and the power to remove them, too.

What does His inspection of the church in Ephesus reveal? First, something to praise them for: I know your works, both your toil and your patience; and that you cannot tolerate those who are evil; and that you have tested those who say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them to be liars; and that you have endured and have patience; and that for my name’s sake you have toiled and have not grown weary.

What did the Son of Man see as He walked by the lampstand that stood in Ephesus? He saw a pastor, and by extension, a congregation, that was working hard. “Works” can include all obedience to the Ten Commandments. “Toil” is hard work, tiring work, meticulous work. Part of their toil was in rooting out the wicked from their midst, certainly by practicing church discipline and by excommunicating those who were “evil,” who failed to repent. Another part of their toil was in testing those who came claiming to be apostles, claiming to be sent by Christ, and their hard work paid off; they revealed many of those preachers and false prophets and liars. Not only did they toil for the truth, but they were patiently, faithfully enduring hardship because of it. They may have been blamed as loveless or heartless for insisting on purity of doctrine and life, but they endured those criticisms patiently, and they were praised by Jesus for it.

But then a word of rebuke from Jesus: Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have abandoned your first love. Your first love. Some 35 years earlier, the Apostle Paul had written this to the Ephesian Christians when their church was in its early days: I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. Apparently, that love had grown cold. Their devotion to purity of doctrine and life had become an external thing, perfunctory, loveless. They were doing the right things, but it wasn’t coming from love, and as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works. This is the message from the Head of the Church. Remember how you used to burn with the love of Christ, with the love that He showed you, which then produced love in you like a branch produces fruit on a vine, and remember how far you have fallen from that love. And repent, and return to it.

Then a warning follows: But if not, I will come to you soon and will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. You may think that external obedience is enough for Me, Jesus says, but it isn’t. The result of remaining loveless will be the extermination of your church.

Then a positive observation: But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. The Nicolaitans, from all we can gather from history, were a group of people who promoted adultery, fornication, and, for lack of a better term, wife-swapping, terrible sins that have become almost commonplace in our culture, as they also were in the first century Roman world. But the Christians were expected to be different from the culture, and the Nicolaitans were a movement to normalize sexual immorality within the Christian Church. So even though Jesus criticizes the Ephesians for a lack of love, He praised them for their hatred of evil deeds.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Jesus said similar words during His earthly ministry after some of His parables: He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Don’t hear these words and fail to act on them! Don’t hear these words and then go back to life as usual. Hear them and change! But notice how He connects this letter to the Spirit! The Holy Spirit was the one who would actually be speaking to the churches when the words of Revelation were read, and that means the Spirit would also be working through these words to produce repentance and renewal in all who hear them and take them to heart.

Finally, Jesus adds a promise: To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Who overcomes. Who wins the battle—every battle, against the flesh, the devil, and the world, through contrition and repentance, through a renewed faith in Christ and through obedience to Lord’s message, and not just once, but who continues to overcome until this life ends, either by a person’s death or by Christ’s coming. To that one, Jesus promises that he’ll be allowed to eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God. Eating from that tree in the Paradise of Eden would have given Adam and Eve eternal youth and the ability to live forever. So it will be in the Paradise of heaven for everyone who overcomes.

Now, how do Jesus’ words to the angel of the church in Ephesus apply to us? By His grace, He has kept this lampstand here in Las Cruces for about 40 years, about the same amount of time the church had existed in Ephesus at the time of John’s writing. Does He see works, toil, and patience? Does He see us taking seriously the doctrine that is preached from this pulpit and taught by the pastor? Yes, more seriously, I’d say, than any church in town. Does He see us taking seriously the life of our members, making sure that no one in our midst is living in impenitence and open sin without being disciplined for it? Yes, I would certainly say so. We have those things in common with the church at Ephesus.

What about our “first love”? Is our faith toward God and our love for one another and for our neighbor in general as strong as it has ever been? Or has our attention to good works, doctrine and life grown somewhat external, dry, automatic, as it were? Does it all flow from genuine love and is it all done in genuine love?

I don’t have a harsh rebuke for any of you in this matter, because I don’t see outward signs of lovelessness, but then, I can’t see what motivates you; I can’t see your heart. Only Jesus can. But that matters, because He walks among the lampstands, and He knows very well if love is or isn’t behind your works, behind your toil, behind your patience. At the very least, the temptation is always there, both from the devil and from your flesh, to simply go through the motions and make everything all about you, which is the opposite of what love does.

So hear His call to repent and take it to heart, and remember that you still have a road ahead of you, some time left in this world, whether long or short. And all of your efforts and even your faith will be in vain if you give up now, if you leave the fight before the end. But here is God’s Spirit, giving you all the words and the warnings and the encouragement that you need to stand firm in the faith and to be renewed in love, so that you may be among those who are given to eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God. Amen.

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Comfort while you wait for the final redemption

Posted on December 13, 2020 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Gaudete – Advent 3

1 Corinthians 4:1-5  +  Matthew 11:2-10

We’ve arrived at one of my favorite Sundays of the Church Year, maybe because it helps to clarify why there’s so much evil in the world, and why Christians have to suffer; or maybe because a preacher can relate so well to John the Baptist in prison, the preacher of preachers who never got to see much fruit of his ministry and who had his own uncertainties to deal with. In any case, Matthew’s account of John’s question to Jesus from prison and of Jesus’ reply gives us plenty of reasons to rejoice on this Gaudete Sunday.

John had spent his entire life waiting for the Messiah to come. It was literally the purpose of his existence, from the moment he was conceived in his elderly mother Elizabeth’s womb, to announce the arrival of the Christ, with a powerful preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, forgiveness which would be purchased and won by the Christ whom John was to declare the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And John carried out that ministry faithfully, as we’ll hear more about next week. But he was living in that rather confusing, unique age in which the Christ had come to earth as foretold in the Old Testament, had appeared and begun His ministry, but had not yet finished or completed anything. According to Old Testament prophecy, the Christ was to do lots of things, all with the goal of accomplishing two overarching purposes: to redeem mankind from sin, and to redeem His believing people from the consequences of sin, from death and from every form of suffering and evil. Two distinct purposes, often blended together in Old Testament prophecy, one mentioned directly in connection with the other. Only after the fact, only after Christ’s suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension did it become clear that those two distinct redemptions were not supposed to take place at the same time, but that the redemption from sin was the purpose of Christ’s first coming, and that the redemption the consequences of sin, from death and from every other evil, is the purpose of His second coming at the end of the age. And the whole purpose of this intermediary time in which we still live is that the Gospel of Christ crucified might be preached in the world, to bring more and more people into Christ’s kingdom through faith, so that as many as possible might participate in that final redemption that is about to take place.

All of that has become crystal clear through the preaching of the apostles and through the New Testament Scriptures. But John the Baptist didn’t have any of that. He didn’t even have the opportunity to hear Jesus preach in person, much less to spend every day with Jesus, as the apostles did. John was a minister from afar, and that came with some big challenges.

John had been carrying out God’s orders, preaching repentance to the people of Israel, and that included preaching against everyone’s sins, no matter who they were. It meant preaching against rich and poor, against powerless citizens and against powerful rulers, including King Herod, who had taken his brother’s wife into his own house to be his wife, with her willing consent, something which our society would barely even notice as sinful anymore, but which God’s Law openly condemns as a form of adultery. That preaching got John tossed into Herod’s dungeon. That’s OK, he thought, because the Christ has already come and will soon restore all things as they should be. As John used to preach when he was a free man, His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

But Matthew tells us that, When John heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another?” Of all the amazing reports about Jesus, John had heard nothing so far about Jesus cleaning out His threshing floor, or gathering His wheat into His barn, or burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Nor had he heard anything yet about Jesus’s plan to make atonement for sin—remember, Jesus hadn’t even begun telling His own apostles yet about His journey to the cross. So it seems that John was beginning to wonder how all those Old Testament prophecies could be pointing to Jesus as the Christ if Jesus wasn’t doing the main things the Christ was supposed to do. And he was all the more confused because Jesus had come, but Jesus was letting this prophet of His sit in prison, awaiting his death. Are You the one?

Jesus could have explained everything, explained the two distinct redemptions He was going to accomplish, explained that He would allow His enemies to betray Him, condemn Him, and crucify Him, explained that it had to happen that way in order for Him to shed His blood to make atonement for the world’s sins. He could have explained the need for the New Testament period, so that the Gospel could be preached to Jews and Gentiles alike, to bring all people to repentance and faith, to build His Church one soul at a time. He could have explained that He would finally redeem His waiting people from death, and from prison, and from sickness, and from the world’s hatred at the end of time, when His Church was fully built. He could have explained why it was necessary for John to remain in prison and for those who hated him to have their day.

But He didn’t. The time hadn’t yet come for those fuller explanations. Instead, Jesus answered him with the works He was doing right then. Go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not stumble over me. No, it wasn’t yet the redemption from sin. And no, it wasn’t yet the final redemption from sickness and from death and from every other evil. But what Jesus was doing and preaching was still wildly impressive and entirely unheard of, and more importantly, these things, too, were included among the Old Testament prophecies about the Christ. As Isaiah had said, Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. And again, The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor. Those were Messianic prophecies, too, along with the ones about the two kinds of redemption He would accomplish. Even Jesus’ beatitude, blessed is he who does not stumble over me, is a reference to the Old Testament prophecy about the Christ: Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame. Through the prophecies and through the fulfillments that were already taking place, Jesus was communicating to John the answer to his question, “Yes, I am the One who was to come. Hold on a little longer. Everything will be revealed in its time. Believe in Me, and you will not be put to shame.”

And now, it has been revealed, how the Christ entered the world, lived among us, did the miracles, preached the Gospel, and redeemed our race from sin by His blood. Now it has been revealed that the time for His final redemption and for the removal of all this pain and heartache and suffering here was never supposed to be immediate. It was always supposed to come at the end of the age. The consequences of sin have to remain in the world as long as the world remains. But the Gospel, the good news of Christ, also has to remain as long as the world remains.

Take heart as you sit in whatever figurative prison you may been be sitting in, wondering why Jesus doesn’t seem to be doing everything you expected Him to. He has done enough, so far. He has fulfilled every prophecy except for the final one. He has sent out His ministers, His stewards of the mysteries of God, and has called you to see and to grieve over your sins, and to trust in Him for the forgiveness of sins. His Spirit has led you to believe things that the world calls crazy, like a six-day creation, like the virgin-birth of the Son of God, like the divinity of the Man who died on a cross, like the invisible reign of that Man over the universe. If you’re still suffering under the cross, if the weight of the world is heavy, if you don’t understand everything Jesus is doing and you don’t see the success you imagined God’s Church should have, remember, Jesus is the One who was to come and who is to come. Hold on a little longer. Everything will be revealed in its time. That truth sustained John the Baptist in his dungeon, and it will sustain you in yours, too. Keep living in repentance. Keep clinging to God’s Word. Keep carrying out your earthly vocations. Your final redemption will come soon enough. Believe in Christ, and you will not be put to shame. Amen.

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The One who walks among the lampstands

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Midweek of Populus Sion – Advent 2

+  Revelation 1:9-20  +

What was it Jesus told His disciples before He ascended into heaven? Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Or earlier: Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst. That’s what Jesus promised. That’s what He said. So it must be true. Even here, even now, before His coming at the end of the age, Jesus says He is among us as a gathering of Christians. But it’s hidden from our sight. It sure looks like, and often it sure feels like, we’re on our own. It must have looked the same way to the suffering churches at the end of the first century. But for a little while, on the island of Patmos, the hidden reality was uncovered for St. John to see. That is, after all, the meaning of the word Revelation: the uncovering of a hidden reality. In our reading this evening, it’s the hidden presence of Jesus among His churches that John got to see, and through his words, we get to “see” it, too.

Listen first to how John describes himself as he writes to the churches of God: I am both your brother and your companion in the tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. As far as John is concerned, all of us baptized Christians, we’re all “in this together,” under the cross of tribulation, beloved subjects of Christ’s kingdom, and united together as we patiently endure the sufferings of this world, just as Jesus did on earth, and as we patiently await the promised Paradise with Christ and the promised coming of Christ.

As for the vision John saw, he says he heard a loud voice, commanding him to write down the vision and send it to the seven churches. Then he turned around to see the voice, and the first thing he saw were seven golden lampstands. At the end of the vision, the lampstands are identified for us as symbols of the seven churches to which John was writing.

Again, while the number seven in Revelation refers literally to those seven churches, those seven churches are symbolic of all Christians churches. But what is the significance of symbolizing them with lampstands?

Have you ever seen a Jewish menorah? It’s related to the larger golden lampstand that God commanded Moses to make for the tabernacle and, later, for the Temple. It was one lampstand with seven little lamps on it—one on top of the “trunk,” if you will, and three branches coming off the trunk on each side. It stood in the Temple, in the Holy Place, alongside the two tables with the 12 loaves of showbread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Along with the other furnishings of the Temple, it was consecrated with the special anointing oil for sacred use.

The lampstand was to stand within the temple, in the presence of God. So Israel was to be holy to the Lord, with the light of faith ever burning and the fire of love ever blazing, one lampstand in the world as a beacon of light placed in the midst of the rest of the nations, which were shrouded in darkness. But now, in the New Testament, instead of one lampstand, one nation where God is present to reveal His Word, and to hear, and to forgive, there are seven lampstands, churches, gatherings of Christians in many places, in just the right number of places around the world, gathering in the midst of all the nations, with the light of faith ever burning and the fire of love ever blazing, with the light of the Gospel ever penetrating the darkness, with Christians letting our light so shine before men that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.

Likewise, the lampstand in the temple was to be continually attended by the priests, to make sure it never ran out of oil, to make sure the lamps always stayed lit. So the churches are attended by divinely called ministers who are to be continually preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments, providing the oil necessary for the fire of faith and love to be kindled and kept alive, as in Jesus’ parable of the Ten Virgins.

In the midst of the seven lampstands, one who was like a son of man, clothed with a garment reaching down to his feet, his chest girded with a golden sash. A son of man can be any human being, or a prophet, or even an angel appearing as a man. But here the description fits on THE Son of Man, Jesus Himself. His clothing resembles the priestly garments of the Old Testament, showing Him to be our great High Priest who personally tends to the lampstands, making sure they are provided with a continual supply of oil.

His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. This is like the vision of the Ancient of Days that Daniel saw: I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. That was a picture of God the Father, but here it represents the Son of Man, who is the exact representation of the Father’s Being. His divinity and His eternal nature are being highlighted here, along with His wisdom.

His eyes were like a flame of fire. That’s a symbol of His omniscience, as His eyes burn right through the masks people wear, through the outward façade of goodness and decency, right down to our sinful, self-centered hearts. But that means He is also able to see where there’s still a smoldering wick of faith, to know who His true believers are.

His feet were like bronze, as though fired in a furnace. He is able to crush His enemies under His feet, as it says about the Messiah in Psalm 110, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.

And his voice was like the sound of many waters. If you’ve ever stood at the foot of a waterfall or near the rapids or on the seashore as the tide comes crashing in, or even if you’ve heard the sound of rainwater pouring off the roof or rushing through the streets in a flash flood, you have some idea what the sound of many waters is. It’s overwhelming. You can’t really talk over it. It drowns out every other sound. Such is the voice of Jesus when He insists on being heard. Such is the voice of Jesus when He has an urgent message for His churches.

He had in his right hand seven stars. Those stars are identified as the “angels,” that is the divinely appointed bishops or ministers of the seven churches. They’re symbolized by stars, because they shine with the light of Christ’s Gospel, and also because, unlike the planets that wander across the sky, the stars are “fixed in place.” So the doctrine of the ministers is to be unchanging and steadfast.

Jesus holds the ministers in His hand. He is the one who sends them, who places each one with the appropriate lampstand. But even as He sends them, He continues to hold them in His hand. He is the one who governs what they preach, who defends and upholds them against all sorts of illegitimate criticisms and attacks, and who will hold them responsible for faulty doctrine or a wicked life.

And out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. In other words, the words that come from His mouth are a weapon that cuts, that kills, that works repentance, and that also creates faith, even as St. Paul also called upon Christians to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. But for the moment, when He addresses His churches, the sword is still only in His mouth, not in His hand. As long as He walks among the lampstands, He isn’t drawing His sword to slay the wicked. He’ll keep using His Word to do His work in the world until the Last Day. Then the sword will be in His hand to cut off the wicked forever.

His face was like the sun shining at its brightest, as John had seen Him once before, at the Transfiguration. Divinity was His during His state of humiliation on earth, but it was hidden under His humble flesh. Now John is given another revelation of the hidden reality.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. And he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, Fear not; I am the first and the last and the Living One. I was dead, and, behold, I am alive forevermore. Again, very similar to what happened at the Transfiguration, or what happened to Isaiah when he saw the Lord in a vision. To see God in His glory is too much for any mortal, especially because we’re sinners who can’t stand in His presence. But Jesus comforts John and us. Fear not, He says. I am Jesus who died for your sins and who was raised to life for your justification. I live forever, and (as John recorded in His Gospel), because I live, you also will live.

And I have the keys of hell and of death. So don’t be afraid, John. Don’t be afraid, any of you, my dear believers, to know that I am walking among the churches. Not even hell or death can hold you, if you cling to Me in faith, because I hold the keys to let you out. But to those who reject Me, I have the power to lock you up in hell and death forever.

This is the one who walks among the lampstands, true God and true Man, the same Jesus who became our Brother, who died for our sins and who came back to life. John’s Revelation reveals the hidden reality, that this Jesus is present in the midst of all His churches throughout the world, inspecting, tending, shepherding, defending, teaching, governing and guiding. We don’t see Him, but we aren’t supposed to. We’re supposed to believe in what we don’t see but in what has been revealed to us by His Word: that Jesus reigns as God and Lord in the midst of His holy Church, scattered though it is throughout the world and composed of all the individual churches that still confess His pure Gospel and administer His Sacraments rightly. Truly He is with us always, until the end of the age. But if that’s true, then let us also be courageous Christians, as those who know that Christ our God is right here in our midst, tending to us through the ministry of the Word. And let us also lead holy lives of repentance, obedience, and love, as those who believe that our hearts and our deeds lie open before Him at all times, to inspect, to rebuke, where necessary, and to comfort with His forgiveness. Amen.

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Eyes looking up instead of hearts weighed down

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Populus Sion – Advent 2

Romans 15:4-13  +  Luke 21:25-36

Christmas is coming! Or maybe it isn’t. The Advent season is meant to remind us in the Church that there may be no Christmas this year, not because of COVID, but because Christ may well come back before December 25th. While the world around us focuses on worldly things, Christians spend these weeks prying our eyes off of earthly things and turning them to Christ’s advent at the end of time—time which is quickly flying away.

In order to keep us looking heavenward, in order to keep us from focusing too heavily on earthly things and focused instead on His return, Jesus spoke to His disciples during Holy Week and gave them a number of signs to watch for, letting them know that His coming was just around the corner.

Let’s begin with the signs mentioned in Luke’s Gospel: There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars. Do you remember all the reports of the “near misses” of asteroids hurtling toward earth this year? There have been a few. We’ve watched Jupiter and Saturn travel across the sky together this year. Have you heard that they’re going to be aligned as one big “Christmas star” by Christmas time, which hasn’t happened in some 800 years? Interesting! Sun spots. Solar flares. Solar or lunar eclipses. All these have been happening. Whether greater signs than these will appear in the heavens or whether these are the ones Christ was referring to, signs are already there. We do well to be paying attention to anything “out of the ordinary” up in the heavens as a sign of Jesus’ coming.

On the earth there will be distress and anxiety among the nations, and the sea and the waves will roar. And men will lose heart from fear and dread of the things that are coming on the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. I know I haven’t been alive as long as some of you. But I have never in my life seen such distress, anxiety, fear, and dread among the nations as I have in the past nine months. Not isolated incidents, but anxiety accompanied by mass delusion and irrational fear on a global scale that impacts the basic functions of our daily existence because of the “pestilence,” or “disease” which Matthew lists among the signs of the end. Spreading diseases have always been with us. But never in human history has the reaction of the world been this fearful—and, perhaps, this arrogant.

Let’s mention the rest of the signs St. Matthew had already written about in his Gospel, before Luke published his: Many will come in My name, Jesus says, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. Everyone claiming to represent the Christian Gospel while actually misrepresenting it fits this bill, from the pope to the televangelist. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. North Korea? China? Iran? Syria? ISIS? The rumor of impending civil war within our own country? But in spite of all this, Jesus stirs up courage within us: See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Perhaps the signs will become even more obvious and things will get even worse in the world before Christ comes again, or, may God grant it, things are already bad enough to hasten His arrival, because, honestly, which of these signs is not taking place around us at this very moment? Or which has not already taken place?

The leaves are surely budding on the fig tree. The winter is almost over. Spring is almost here. When you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all this takes place. There are three ways we can understand that saying of Jesus. “This generation” could refer to the Jewish people. That’s how Luther understood it. The Jews would continue to exist as a distinct people until the end, and so they do. Or, “this generation” could refer to humanity itself. The human race will continue to exist on earth until Christ comes; we won’t completely destroy ourselves or be wiped out. Or, “this generation” could refer to the people who were alive at that time, and if we look back in history, we can see that all the signs Jesus mentioned were already taking place in the first century, which would mean that the signs were always meant to repeat themselves throughout history, as constant signals for Christians to look up and be ready, whenever the Bridegroom appears.

Regardless, when you see any of the signs Jesus foretold, when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near! Yes, but the signs themselves are often so disheartening! The turmoil in society touches our lives, too, and makes it often miserable to live in this world. The Lord knows that. He sympathizes with us in our weakness. And if this earthly life were the whole story, with all its unfairness, with so many things that don’t go right, then despair would be appropriate. But all the tragedy and turmoil, all the sins committed against us and by us, all the miserable consequences of sin that affect us and hurt us, are passing away to be replaced by something so much better—by your redemption, in the fullest sense. Already Christ has redeemed you from sin, death, and the devil by paying the price of His precious blood on the cross. Already He has claimed you in Holy Baptism and forgiven you for your part in the mess humanity has made of this world. But look up at the signs Jesus talked about and see them for what they are! They’re reminders that the redemption of your bodies is coming soon, messengers preparing the way for Christ to come and put an end to suffering.

But to reach that day in faith, you have to put up with some misery here. That’s OK. It’s to be expected. The danger for Christians is not the misery. It’s the mindset that views earth as our home. Home is where the heart is, as they say. The danger is for your heart to be here, for your heart to be set on living a nice, comfortable—if not luxurious—earthly life, for your heart to be set on the fulfillment of earthly goals and the indulgence in earthly pleasures. What are we all longing for after nine months of COVID madness? We’re longing for a “return to normal,” aren’t we? But that’s the danger right there. That “normal,” American, middle-class, quiet, comfortable life can become just as much of a god to us as a statue of Baal.

Hear Jesus’ warning at the end of today’s Gospel: Be on your guard, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly. For it will come like a snare upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. You see, for as vivid as the signs are that Jesus gives us, they won’t be recognized as signs by non-Christians. People will go on eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage right up until the day of Christ’s return. Only Christians—waiting and watching Christians who are paying attention—will be ready, living in daily contrition and repentance, and longing for Christ to appear.

So always watch and pray, that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man. Watch and pray. The God who became incarnate and who loved you all the way to the cross now calls on you to watch and pray. To set your sights beyond the pleasures of everyday life on earth and beyond the misery that often accompanies this life on earth, and to watch for His coming and for the much better life He’ll bring with Him. And pray that you may be counted worthy to escape “all these things.” Not to escape all trouble—no one living on earth will escape the signs leading up to Christ’s coming—but to escape the desperate distress and anxiety, the unbeliever’s fear and dread, the impenitence of hearts that love our lives here so much that we’re unwilling to lose them for Christ’s sake. Pray that you may escape those things. Pray that you may escape being surprised by the Lord’s coming and the unpreparedness that leaves one living in sin and devoid of faith, and thus ripe for judgment together with the perishing world.

Watch and pray! And don’t forget to look up and hope! And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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