The long wait will be worth it

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

Sermon for midweek of Advent 3

Isaiah 25:6-10  +  Luke 12:35-59

My son asked me the other day why we light a pink candle on the 3rd Sunday in Advent. The candles are supposed to reflect the liturgical colors themselves, which go back only about 800 years or so, and even then, they weren’t fixed and firm throughout the Christian Church. The minister was to vest in Black, the color for mourning, for days of fasting and of repentance. But during the seasons of Advent and Lent, which are seasons of repentance, the darkness of black was mitigated—softened or lightened—to purple. Because there’s just too much hope in those seasons, too much focus on the good news of Christ’s salvation to remain as dark as black. And then, on the third Sunday in Advent and the fourth Sunday in Lent, even purple is mitigated—softened or lightened—to pink or “rose.” There’s an extra ray of hope during these weeks of the Church year, as you heard Jesus reach out to John the Baptist on Sunday and assure him that Jesus was the promised King who was already making all things right one thing at a time, and would eventually make all things right.

Our lessons this evening, especially the lesson from Isaiah, point to the day when all things will be made right. In Luke 12, Jesus sternly warns His disciples about watching, about being ready for the Last Day when He comes, whenever it may be. He leaves the hour intentionally unknown. He has filled His Church with light and knowledge about God and about our salvation, and He has given us signs to watch for that point to His coming. But on the one issue of when He will come back, He wants His Church to remain in the dark, so to speak, so that we are always watching, always ready, never becoming complacent about hearing and following Him, never becoming secure enough to go ahead and indulge our sinful flesh, because “well, we know He isn’t coming back today.” The fact is, we don’t know. That’s why the Church, in practically every age, has assumed that He’ll be returning during the lifetime of the people of that age. Maybe even today.

The signs have notably intensified, especially the apostasy—the rebellion—within the visible Christian Church itself. Never has the external Church been more divided. Never has it been more corrupt and even blasphemous on a worldwide scale. Never has it been harder to find the holy catholic faith once delivered to the saints, a church that teaches the old, reliable doctrine of the prophets and apostles. The apostasy within the visible realm of Christianity is a sure sign that Christ will come soon, and more likely in our lifetime that it was in the lifetime of our parents or of previous generations of Christians.

Why is Jesus so adamant that we be ready when He comes? Isaiah reveals that in chapter 25: It’s because He so longs for you and me to join Him on that mountain of the Lord Isaiah talked about. And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.

“This mountain” is none other than Mount Zion or Jerusalem, as we learn at the end of Isaiah 24. Isaiah 24 paints a very vivid picture of the judgment, of the ruin and destruction of the earth that will take place on the Last Day, and of the fear, terror, and despair of the inhabitants of the earth. That, by the way, is another reason Jesus keeps urging His Church to watch and to be faithful until He comes, because He doesn’t want us to be destroyed in that final destruction, to then go and spend eternity in hell. But at the very end of Isaiah 24, together with the judgment of the fallen angels and of the unbelievers in the world, the Holy Spirit paints the picture of the Lord God gloriously reigning on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, in the presence of the hosts of holy angels and in the presence of His elders, His holy people: It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, And on the earth the kings of the earth. They will be gathered together, As prisoners are gathered in the pit, And will be shut up in the prison; After many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the LORD of hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously.

The contrast between chapters 24 and 25 couldn’t be greater. The destruction of the Last Day is described this way: The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word. The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left. The new wine fails, the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh. But then you heard in chapter 25 of the bounteous feast that God is preparing on the mountain. A feast of the best foods and the best wines. This mountain, of course, is not old Jerusalem, but New Jerusalem, the one that will come down from heaven on the Last Day. And it’s all picture-language. Picture the best gathering of family and friends, with the best foods prepared for you. By someone else. You don’t have to make anything. You don’t have to bring anything. You don’t have to heap stress on yourself getting ready for this gathering. Christ Jesus has purchased everything for you with His holy, precious blood. The Father is preparing everything for you. The Holy Spirit is sending out the invitations and providing the transportation to this feast.

Jesus spoke about it in slightly different language: Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Mansions in a great house. Fine banquets. New Jerusalem. A city on a hill gleaming with gold and precious gems. They’re pictures of what awaits God’s waiting people on the Last Day. And the most glorious picture of all is this: And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

The swallowing up of death. Forever. No more corruption. No more decay. No more sickness. No more sadness. No more separation of body and soul. No more separation of those who stand at the graveside from those who lie in the grave. Just life, and life to the fullest for God’s faithful people.

So if life here and now isn’t the fullest, doesn’t seem very meaningful or joyful or happy, it’s OK. You can live with that. Because this life isn’t all there is. Your place in this life, your “role in this play,” if you will, is temporary. You’ve been given a part, whatever it is. God thought it was important enough to include it in His grand design, so it must be worth something to Him. But whether your part is pleasant or unpleasant or probably some of both, it has an end. And after that end, a new beginning on the mountain of the Lord, at His feast, in the new creation, for all those who believe in Christ Jesus. And the long wait will be over. And the long wait will be worth it, because all things will be made right. Amen.

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , | Comments Off on The long wait will be worth it

Joy seen from a distance

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
Sermon (audio)
Download Sermon

Service(video)
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/379592666 w=540&h=360]
Download Service Download Bulletin

Sermon for Advent 3 – Gaudete

Malachi 3:1-6  +  1 Corinthians 4:1-5  +  Matthew 11:2-10

The Latin name for this Sunday in the Church year is Gaudete, Rejoice! That’s a nice word to hear, when things are going well. It’s a nice word to hear when things aren’t going well, but they’re about to change for the better. It can be a hard word to hear when things are going poorly and look to continue going poorly. For example, our Gospel today takes place with John the Baptist sitting in prison, waiting to die. Imagine walking up to John and crying out in a loud voice, “Rejoice!”, with a big smile on your face. It wouldn’t be appropriate; it’s certainly not the message Jesus sent back to John in today’s Gospel. And yet, behind the suffering and the loss that John was facing, behind the words of Jesus, there was most definitely a soft whisper, Rejoice!, because, while things weren’t going to appear better any time soon, the fact that they would eventually get better—with Christ’s second Advent—was absolutely certain, pointing to a sure and certain joy in the distance.

Sometimes joy seems just around the corner. Sometimes it seems very far away. What is it that will bring you true joy and happiness?

If we could just get rid of sickness and disease. If we could just get rid of old age. If we could just get rid of wickedness in the world. If we could just get rid of death. If we could just live together as human beings without bitterness and rage and anger. If we could just get rid of poverty, so that everyone has enough to eat and place to sleep…and maybe some extra comforts along the way. If we could just have stability in our lives, without things constantly changing. If we could just have the respect of the world instead of its hatred.

Ask anyone, what would bring you true joy and happiness? And you may hear something like that. What you will likely not hear from anyone is, to lose everything for the sake of Christ. And yet this is what the Apostle Paul writes: I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Joy in the loss of all things, joy in sharing in Christ’s sufferings, joy in being conformed to His death, because at the end of the loss and the suffering and the death is Christ, and His righteousness, which He shares with the one who has faith in Him, and the resurrection from the dead and everlasting life with Him.

That is a truly Christian perspective of joy and happiness, but it doesn’t come naturally to any of us. It didn’t even come naturally to the greatest of all prophets, John the Baptist.

John knew that he was the messenger, the angel, prophesied by Malachi in chapter 3, as you heard this morning. And he believed that Jesus was, the Christ, THE Messenger of the covenant who was to come, in whom the people of Israel would delight. But John also apparently believed that the description of the Christ in Malachi’s prophecy was speaking about external things that the Christ would do when He came. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.

That’s not what John saw. He saw himself in prison, even though He had faithfully heralded Jesus as the Christ. He faithfully preached God’s Word of rebuke against King Herod and his adultery, and for all that, he was thrown in prison. He saw the priests, the “sons of Levi,” rejecting Jesus and being just as cruel and as wicked as ever. He saw people still getting sick, still dying. He saw just as many poor people on the streets of Israel as there had ever been, and no sign that Jesus was going to make any real difference in any of the things that trouble mankind. Joy? Happiness? The Christ didn’t seem to be bringing any of that with Him. Can the kingdom of the Christ really be so dismal?

So John, sitting in prison, sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus the question, Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another? It was an honest question, but a question teetering on unbelief. Yes, it left open the possibility that Jesus was still the Christ, but it also left open the chance that He wasn’t. That’s a very precarious place for faith to be, to think that Jesus might be the Christ, the Son of the living God, or maybe not. You can’t rest the future of your eternal soul on something that might be true, or on someone who might not be the Christ. That would be the death of faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Or as Luther translates Hebrews 11:1, faith is a certain confidence in that which one hopes and not to doubt that which one does not see.

So Jesus gave John’s disciples what he needed to hear to pull him back from the brink. Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see 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 is not offended because of Me.

No, Jesus wasn’t getting rid of all the wrong in the world. He wasn’t overturning all the sickness and suffering and consequences of sin. But He was getting rid of bits and pieces of it in the lives of the sick who were brought to Him, as the Old Testament prophesied that the Christ would do. Blind men were receiving their sight. The lame were given their legs back. The lepers were being cleansed. The deaf were made to hear. And even a few of the dead were being raised back to life. Not all suffering, not the majority of Israel’s suffering or of the world’s suffering was being eradicated. But the fact that any were being miraculously healed was a sure sign that Jesus was the Christ. His plan for His kingdom may not be clear, may not be visible at all, but there can be no doubt that He is the King.

And then there were the poor. The poor were not being made “unpoor,” financially speaking. We don’t know a single poor person who was raised up out of poverty by Jesus. But what does Jesus say? “The poor have the gospel preached to them.” Just like Isaiah had prophesied about the Christ in chapter 61: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor. What is the gospel? What are those good tidings? That God has provided a sacrifice for rich and poor alike, that God shows no favoritism to rich or poor. That all have sinned and are justified solely by faith in Christ Jesus. That whoever has Christ has something far better than earthly riches; he has a place in God’s kingdom now and the hope of an eternal, joy-filled future in God’s kingdom after this life.

Oh. But that makes it sound like this life could still be rough. Like this life could still be filled with pain and loss, even though Christ has come, even though Christ reigns at God’s right hand. Sure enough. Christian joy here on earth doesn’t involve getting rid of the bad stuff. It shines through the bad stuff, even if it’s buried deep beneath it.

And so Jesus calls out to John the Baptist, Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me. Some people are offended because of Jesus. They stumble over Jesus, because what they really want is a Savior from earthly loss, from earthly struggles, whereas He came to be our Savior from sin and from the devil. He came to give Himself into death, in order to rule over people who are willing to give themselves into death, to lose everything, even their own lives for the sake of gaining Him and eternal life with Him. If you aren’t willing to lose everything, even your earthly life, for the sake of having eternal life with Jesus, then you will eventually lose it all.  But blessed is he who is not offended because of Jesus, because Jesus says, Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. There is joy buried beneath the loss.

As John’s disciples departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.

Jesus drives home the point to the crowds who were with Him, and to us. You didn’t go out to hear John in the wilderness, dressed as he was in camel’s hair clothing, because he was prosperous or a prosperity preacher, did you? You didn’t listen to him because he was cool, or relatable, or because he told you nice things. No, you went out to hear him, even though he was “strange,” even though he spoke harshly and seriously, because his words had the ring of a true prophet of God. And he was! In fact, he was the very prophet about whom the prophet Malachi had prophesied as the messenger who would prepare the way for THE Messenger, the Christ. Even so, you shouldn’t expect the Christ to offer you earthly prosperity or the removal of life’s burdens or nice-sounding things. He’s already told you that He didn’t come at His first Advent to offer those things. What you should expect from Him is the truth, and compassion and sympathy in dealing with the losses of this life, because He came to share in those losses in order to purchase you for God. He died so that you might live—not live a trouble-free or easy life on this earth, but live in God’s grace and favor in the midst of the troubles, and then live in God’s presence in the trouble-free life that Christ’s second Advent will usher in.

The losses of this life are designed, in part, to keep you looking up and longing for that Advent and for the joy that awaits when Christ finally comes. And the knowledge, the hope, the certainty of that final victory over sin and death when He comes, over all the trials and troubles and losses of this life, is what will enable you to find the joy, shining brightly in the distance. And the word Rejoice! is just as valid, whether it comes as a loud cry or as a whisper. Amen.

 

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Joy seen from a distance

Grace and peace in the Branch

Posted on December 11, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

Sermon for midweek of Advent 2

Isaiah 11:1-10  +  Colossians 1:1-8

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s how I begin most of my sermons to you. Maybe you noticed when you heard the second lesson that it was the Apostle Paul’s own greeting to the Christians—to the saints and faithful brethren—at Colosse, speaking and bestowing God’s grace and peace upon God’s holy people. Paul speaks God’s grace and peace upon them and upon us, because we, like vines, have been grafted into the Branch whom Isaiah prophesied in chapter 11.

When we hear the first words of Isaiah 11, we rightly think of Jesus’ birth and the coming Christmas season. There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. That Rod, that Branch first sprouted from Jesse’s stem, from Jesse’s roots when Christ was born of the virgin Mary and, in a sense, also born to Joseph, since they were both His legitimate parents from the moment He was born—both offspring and descendants of Jesse and of Jesse’s more famous son, King David.

But the rest of those verses from Isaiah move quickly past His first sprouting to the Branch He would become, to the Ruler, to the Judge, to the Banner He would be for the nations.

We see indications of the Holy Trinity in these verses, as the Spirit, of the Lord, would rest on Him.  It’s not the whole picture of the Trinity, just another part of it. Later in Scripture we learn that the LORD, here, is, as Paul wrote, the “God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” And we learn that the Holy Spirit would not only rest on Him, but would bring about His very conception in the virgin’s womb.

But think about how the Spirit is described in these verses. He will “rest on Him.” That means that the Branch Himself will have these spiritual attributes, these gifts of the Spirit, and He will also be able to bestow them on others, in varying degrees, according to His good pleasure.

First, the Spirit of Wisdom: sound judgment and discernment; knowing the right time and the right way to say what.

Second, the Spirit of Understanding: understanding of God, of His Word, and of His creation; seeing how things fit together.

Third, the Spirit of Counsel. Counsel includes comfort, encouragement, guidance, advice, and with all that, the ability to apply all those things in the preaching and teaching of God’s Word.

Fourth, the Spirit of Might, also known as Fortitude: That’s courage to confront one’s enemies, boldness to confess the truth before the world, strength to stand against the devil and every enemy, and patience to suffer what is necessary.

Fifth, the Spirit of Knowledge: knowing and recognizing the truth about God, knowing God’s works and His ways; knowing man, and what’s in a man; having all the information necessary to carry out one’s vocation.

Sixth, and final, according to the Hebrew text, is the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. I say, the Hebrew text, because the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT) and the Vulgate (the Latin translation) use a different word for the “fear of the LORD” in this verse. They use the word “piety.” To be pious means to be godly, devout, reverent, dutiful, acknowledging and fulfilling one’s duties to God as part of one’s reasonable worship.

Then, those two versions translate the next verse differently. Instead of “He will delight in the fear of the Lord,” they say, “The Spirit of the fear of the Lord will fill Him,” giving us a seventh spiritual gift instead of six, which is perfectly fine, because piety is really just a certain aspect of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord includes love for God, reverence for God, a firm faith in God, and zeal to lead a godly life, while piety focuses more on the worship and devotion that flow out of the fear of God. Everything the Christ would do on this earth (and even in heaven afterward) would flow from His fear of God, love for God, and trust in God His Father. And that made Him a perfect Keeper of the First Commandment.

So the Branch, according to Isaiah’s prophecy, will have all of those spiritual gifts resting on Him: Perfect wisdom. Perfect understanding. Perfect counsel. Perfect might. Perfect knowledge. Perfect piety and perfect fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears. He won’t have to. He will have the Spirit of knowledge, after all. He will know what it is in a man, as John’s Gospel says. With righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. In human courts, the poor and the meek throughout history have often not gotten justice, because the courts would favor the rich and the powerful. But not so with the Branch. He’ll make righteous decisions in favor of the “poor” and “meek,” not giving preference to them, but simply treating them the same way He treats the rich and powerful. He’ll be able to do that, because He has the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, and piety resting on Him, so that He will judge with integrity.

Of course, we’re talking here about spiritual judgment, not the judgment of a human court, because the Branch would never hold the office of earthly judge or earthly king. And so Jesus can preach in the sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The poor and meek before God are the ones who don’t flaunt their good works or rely on their worthiness in order to enter God’s kingdom; they are those who come to God meekly, humbly seeking His mercy for the sake of the Branch alone. And they will receive it.

He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. He’ll do this, not with a physical sword, but with a spiritual one, as it says, with His mouth, with His lips, because He has the Spirit of counsel and of might. He will preach against sin and against those who cling to their sin. He’ll strike those who deny God or who blaspheme God, exposing their guilt and their shame. He will slay the wicked with words of condemnation, not with actual fire and brimstone. But His words will have all the authority of God behind them, and it will be revealed on the Last Day that His words were true.

Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist. Unlike earthly rulers and judges, who, at best, sometimes do the right thing, the Branch will do righteousness at all times, faithfully, dependably, always condemning the impenitent, and always absolving those who repent, always working all things together for good to those who love Him.

 

Then there’s this beautiful picture in Isaiah 11 of peace and safety, of creatures that would normally be predatory now dwelling peacefully with creatures that are docile. Such is the peace, such is the safety that will exist on the “holy mountain” of the Branch, in the kingdom of the Christ.

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious. These verses make clear that we’re not talking about heaven yet. All this time, we’ve talking about what Christ, the Branch and the Root of Jesse, would do from the time of His first Advent until the time of the second, ruling and judging through His Word and through the ministry of it. Judgment to the impenitent; grace, mercy, and peace to the penitent who believe in Him. In Holy Baptism, He has shared the sevenfold gifts of His Spirit with His people. And now He has opened up His holy mountain, His Holy Christian Church, to the nations. The Branch still stands as a Banner, calling out through His Word, through His Spirit, through the office of the ministry, rallying the nations around Himself, and grafting them into Himself through faith.

The result? A church of saints and faithful brothers in Colosse. And in Philippi. And in Ephesus. And in Rome. And in Corinth. And in Thessalonica. And in the region of Galatia. And in Syria. And in Antioch. And in Las Cruces. The Banner, through the ministry of His Word, has brought and will continue to bring people from every nation streaming up to His holy mountain, to His Holy Christian Church, where there is true peace among Christians, true rest from guilt and from fear and from despair. Peace that exists now, though imperfectly. But it grows and it bears fruit. So highly does God prize that peace that to Him it is a high crime for anyone to disrupt it. Be very careful to preserve it. I would say that, from all appearances, we are here enjoying an unprecedented time of peace in our congregation. Not necessarily outward prosperity, but surely of great providence from God and peace among our members, love for one another, and love for all the saints throughout the world. But such peace is always fragile and a tantalizing target for the devil to attack, which is why we must take care of it, foster it, protect it, and preserve it. The devil would love to sow discord and strife, hard feelings and bitterness, a spirit of criticism and condescension. Watch out for such things, and if you notice it in yourself or in others, nip it in the bud, as they say. This is the holy mountain of the Branch, and we must continually be zealous to treat it as such.

Now, as God has bestowed His grace and peace upon you, seek those sevenfold spiritual gifts from Him in ever greater measure and put them into practice, so that it may be said of you what Paul said about the Colossian Christians, We heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints. This is how you rehearse for Christ’s second Advent, so that even now you’re beginning to believe and to behave as you will in the glorious kingdom of heaven, where everything that Isaiah said about the Branch and His kingdom will be true in perfect measure. Amen.

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , | Comments Off on Grace and peace in the Branch

Look at the signs pointing to your redemption!

Posted on December 8, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
Sermon (audio)
Download Sermon

Service(video)
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/378380375 w=540&h=360]
Download Service Download Bulletin

Sermon for Advent 2 – Populus Sion

Micah 4:1-7  +  Romans 15:4-13  +  Luke 21:25-36

In our Gospel today, Jesus warns us to be watching for certain signs. There are different kinds of signs. Some signs have a message of their own. They mean to communicate some short and simple point. Protest signs, like, “Abortion is murder.” Billboards that have a message instead of an advertisement, like, “Keep Christ in Christmas!” Or, “Keep the Mass in Christmas!”  But most signs are made to draw your attention to the sign only for a moment, so that you then turn your eyes or your car or your thoughts to the thing the sign is pointing to. Road signs are like that. Or signs advertising a business or a place or an event. And, of course, the more important the event, the more important it is to pay attention to the signs, so that you don’t miss it, or fail to learn what you need to know or to do in order to gain entrance.

Now, the event to which Jesus points us is the most important event that will ever be in all of creation’s history: the Advent of Christ to bring an end to this creation and to bring the chosen ones, the elect, into the new one. It’s an event that will produce everlasting results: everlasting death and torment for the many, everlasting life and joy for the few. So it’s good that you’re here today, so that you can be made readier to read the signs and to follow where they point. They point, as Jesus says, to your redemption!

First, let’s be sure to understand what “your redemption” means here. Redemption, in the Bible, implies two things: both the ransom payment for something or someone, and the actual rescue of something or someone from slavery or from suffering, from danger or from destruction. When it comes to “our redemption,” the ransom payment has already been made; the holy, precious blood of Christ has already been shed and His victory over sin, death, and the power of hell has already been secured. In that sense, “your redemption” took place at Christ’s first Advent, long before you or I were even born.

Then, for all of you here who have been baptized, another redemption has taken place during your lifetime, an actual rescue from Satan’s kingdom and deliverance into the kingdom of Christ, the conversion from unbelief to faith, the forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ Jesus. We heard about this redemption last Wednesday evening from Colossians 1: He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

But there still remains one more redemption for Christ’s people who are waiting for Him when He comes. “Your redemption” will be the actual rescue from every kind of slavery and suffering, from all danger, and from all corruption and destruction. It will mean your removal from this world and the beginning of the life that is truly life with God.

Now, only those who are still found penitent and believing when Christ returns will take part in that final redemption, and, as Jesus warns repeatedly, not all who started out as “the redeemed” will still be believing at the end to take part in that final redemption, because not all Christians will heed His warnings to watch and pray. As a reminder to watch and pray, there will be signs, Jesus says, pointing to the day of your redemption as it draws closer and closer, reminding you to focus where you need to focus. Let’s take a look at some of them.

First, let’s look at the signs the prophet Micah gave us, as you heard in the first lesson today. What would happen in the “latter days”—meaning, the last times of the earth, the times just before the end, before the second Advent of Christ? Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD!” That’s the very thing that St. Paul celebrates in today’s Epistle, that the Gentiles—the nations—are streaming into the Christian Church. People from all over the world are hearing the Gospel of Christ, which first went out from Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. And now the Church that began so small within the Roman Empire has spread to every continent, and to every people. That’s a God-given sign that we are in the latter days: the spread of the Gospel and the very existence of the Christian Church throughout the world cries out that our final redemption is drawing near.

But the signs in our Gospel today aren’t so pleasant. Signs in the heavens: in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars. Look for anything out of the ordinary, day-to-day behavior of the heavenly bodies. It includes even things that we might call “natural events,” like comets and asteroids and meteorites—things that God built into the universe when He first made it, having known and planned already at that time the day of Christ’s second Advent and the signs in the heavens that would point to it. Every out-of-the-ordinary occurrence in the heavens is a sign, pointing Christians to turn their eyes upward, to watch and to pray, and to remember: Your redemption is drawing near!

There will also be signs on the earth: distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. Matthew, in his Gospel, spoke of other signs on the earth, like famines and earthquakes. Luke mentions only the roaring of the sea. So, strange weather and natural disasters are signs. And not only that, but the world’s reaction to it is also a sign. Men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth. I don’t think there has ever been more distress, more hysteria on a global scale over the climate than there is now, and every year the distress seems to grow worse. Young people are especially vulnerable, because they’re having it pounded into them that the planet is falling apart, and that it’s all our fault, and that there’s something we have to do about it! And we’d better! Or else!

Such is the fear of those who don’t believe Jesus, who have to invent their own stories and scientific (or perhaps pseudo-scientific) explanations about the origins of our universe and about what the weather is doing. Such is the distress of those whose life is tied to this planet, or even to this universe, who refuse to acknowledge that Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, is sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and that He is coming to judge the earth.

But for Christians, these signs, in and of themselves, aren’t meant to be fearful things. They’re simply reminders—vivid reminders—that this world, this creation, is in labor, as Paul wrote to the Romans: The earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Something wonderful awaits the people of God at the end of these signs, as Jesus says, When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.

Then He gives us the example of the fig tree, or of all the trees as new leaves start to bud in the spring. Even if you didn’t have a calendar to tell you that summer is near, the new growth on the trees is a sure sign of it. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.

Yes, your redemption draws near. But here’s the question: Do you want to be redeemed? Will you still want to be redeemed at the time of Jesus’ return? Will you be ready and waiting to be taken away from this world, from this life, or will you be like Lot’s wife, who started to flee from Sodom before it burned, who was warned about turning around and looking back, and yet still was so tied in her heart to her former life in the city that she looked back with longing, and was then turned to a pillar of salt?

Take heed to yourselves, Jesus says, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. Jesus knows that this life is heavy. Not just heavy as in difficult, but heavy, as in, it pulls down at your heart like gravity. There are so many cares of this life to take care of, so many responsibilities. There’s so much to do, so much to keep you focused on earthly things. In fact, the cares themselves are so heavy that some indulge in carousing and drunkenness as a way to set aside the responsibilities and “have fun.” You can escape from the pressure, escape from the boredom, escape from the guilt by making yourself numb to it all, for a little while.

It’s when God’s people allow themselves to get weighed down with these things that they are in the most danger, because, Jesus says, the day of His return will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

But, of course, it’s not a snare for those who have been watching the signs to watch out for the snare! Hunters set traps for wild animals, for brute beasts who are focused solely on earthly survival and can’t read signs anyway. The woods may be filled with warning signs announcing where the traps have been laid. But those signs don’t have any effect on the animals. They only work for people, for people who are paying attention, at least.

So God has set the snare for the people of this world who refuse to repent and believe in His Son, and carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life are like the bait. But He doesn’t intend for any of His people to be caught in that snare, so He warns us over and over in Scripture and year after year in the preaching of His Word, don’t be fooled! Don’t take the bait! Be careful where and how you walk! And He gives us in the Gospel the directions that will keep us safe: Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

You won’t be counted worthy because of any worthiness in yourself. You will be counted worthy if you’re found taking refuge under the cross of Christ, mourning your sins and trusting in Him for the forgiveness of your sins, even as you confessed your sins today and received absolution from them, even as Christ offers His body and blood again today to keep His people safe. By that blood He paid the redemption price for the world. By Holy Baptism He has applied that blood to you and redeemed you from Satan’s kingdom. And soon, as the signs make clear, your final redemption will come. Hold on until then, by the power and the means that God Himself provides! Watch and pray! Look at the signs, but only for a moment, so that they can point you to where you need to be looking: at Jesus Christ, your dear Savior, and at the redemption He’s bringing with Him at His Advent. Amen.

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Look at the signs pointing to your redemption!

The Lord has provided for Himself a sacrifice

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

Sermon for midweek of Advent 1

Genesis 22:1-19  +  Colossians 1:15-29

Can you even imagine Abraham’s shock and horror at hearing God’s instructions? Take your son, your only son, whom you love, and offer him up to Me as a burnt offering. It seems so uncharacteristic of God to demand such a thing, and yet, knowing the outcome as we do, it makes perfect sense. Not only did it serve to prove Abraham’s faith and devotion to God, but it has given us all a shining example of unswerving obedience, and what it looks like in practice to truly have no others gods, but to fear, love, and trust in God above all things—all things, even your only son whom you love.

But more than that, this account of Abraham and Isaac provides a vivid foreshadowing of the Lord’s providence, specifically His providence of a victim, of a sacrifice. As Abraham replied to his son when Isaac asked where the lamb for the burnt offering was, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering. Those words of Abraham beautifully foreshadowed the ram caught in the thicket which would be offered in place of his son. But not perfectly, because it was a ram caught in the thicket, not a lamb. And it was an animal, not a much-more-valuable human being. An animal’s death can’t truly take the place of a man. No, the lamb that this foreshadowing truly pointed to would be the one whom John the Baptist explicitly declared the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, the Lord Jesus. He is the Son, the only Son, the beloved Son whom the Lord has provided to be the sacrifice who would truly prove the Father’s love and devotion to the human race, who would become a man in order to be the legitimate substitutionary sacrifice for men.

Paul describes that Lamb in our second lesson this evening from Colossians 1, the only Son, the beloved Son of God the Father. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. So not only is the Lord Jesus true Man; He is also true God. The “image of the invisible God.” For by Him—or better, “in Him, in connection with Him”—all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Did Abraham think Isaac was precious? Of course he did! But see how more precious this only Son, this beloved Son is! He was with the Father in the beginning. He perfectly represents the Father, reveals the Father, is loved by the Father, took part in the creation of all things together with His Father, and holds all things together, together with His Father. That’s the One whom God the Father provided for Himself to be the lamb for the burnt offering.

But, of course, He is descended from Abraham. And from Isaac. So God promised to Abraham after he showed he was willing to sacrifice his son: In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

How do we become blessed in this son, in this seed? Paul tells us: He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

First, He was provided by the Father as the willing sacrifice, to shed His blood on the cross and to make peace, to make atonement through His blood, to pay the price, to earn forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Second, having provided the merit for our reconciliation, He was provided as the head of the church. In other words, He, through His Spirit, calls sinners to believe in Him, true God and true Man, the substitute, the sacrifice provided by God to make peace between Him and us poor sinners. To believe in Him is to be united with Him, brought into His body, the Church, of which He is the Head, and thus reconciled with God. That’s how we’re “in Christ.” That’s how we’re “in Abraham’s seed,” so that we’re blessed beyond measure by becoming children of God.

That’s not what we were. We were like the Colossian Christians were before they were called to faith. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

You were enemies of God, separated from God. But now He has brought you into Christ by Holy Baptism and by holy faith. You’re “in the seed” of Abraham. You’re among the blessed of all nations. The Lord has truly provided.

It’s that “if indeed you continue in the faith” part that really makes this text excellent for Advent. The King is coming again. You’ve been brought into Him and have been reconciled with God in Him. And now His goal is to “present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” When does He intend to do that? At the end of the age, when He comes. And even now, He’s preparing you for that day, training you for that day, urging you to “continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard.” That’s the threat of this time in between Christ’s advents, that you would allow yourself to be moved away from the hope of the gospel. Don’t allow that to happen. Stay close to the Word. Stay close to the Gospel. Stay close to Son that the Lord has provided to take your place on the altar of sacrifice, so that you might go on living with your Father, even as Isaac went on living with his. Amen.

 

 

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Lord has provided for Himself a sacrifice