SERM: Midweek Advent Sermons 1-3: John 1:1-3, 14; Luke 1:30-35; John 18:33-37
These three Advent midweek sermons are adapted from “Savior of the Nations.” Yet, the sermons are adapted, sometimes using different texts on which the sermons are based. Advent 1, Midweek: John 1:1-3, 14 Intro Not all invitations are glorious! Not all invitations are what they seem. Left to our own sinful ways, we would throw away an invitation we consider beneath us. For the tempting lies of the devil have had their way with us. The devil’s lies have beguiled us. We believe that we are something when we are not! Main Body As the fallen children of Adam, we wish to be like God. We seek fame and fortune. We want the praise of others. We covet pomp, power, prestige, and possessions. We believe ourselves to be above others. No, not all invitations are what they seem. In sinful ignorance, we gladly accept the devil’s invitation. We too-willingly join him in his make-believe kingdom: a kingdom built on shallow promises and selfish lies, a kingdom of the flesh catering to all our baser wants. We may be too intellectual, too smart, to voice such beliefs. We may be too sophisticated to admit that such base emotions rule us. Yet, even if we shed our self-made lies and delusions, they are there. We seek after fame and fortune. We want the praise of others. We covet pomp, power, prestige, and possessions. We believe ourselves to be better than others. God’s answer to this is what it has always been. Flee from the evil of yourself. Turn toward the good of God. Confess the sins that you hidden even from yourself and the delusions of your heart. Confess who you are. Deep, or not so deep, inside you, wickedness and depravity lurk. Envy, strife, and deceit have all-too easily made their home within you. Insolence, boastfulness, and arrogance are slithering beneath the surface of your prim and proper self (Romans 1:29-30). Flee from the evil of yourself. Turn toward the good of God. For the devil never delivers his lies as promised. Flee from the evil of yourself. Turn toward the good of God. For the devil will leave you to hang in the wind--the destroying winds of death and the flaming winds of hell. Yet, there is another voice. Through the voice of the Gospel, you can hear and heed the Messiah’s invitation--His invitation to be part of His rule and reign. Of course, not all invitations are glorious! Not all invitations are what they seem. Remember the hymn we just sang. “Savior of the nations, come, Virgin’s Son, make here Your home! Marvel now, O heaven and earth, that the Lord chose such a birth.” (LSB 332:1) When there was nothing, there was God the Holy Trinity. The pre-incarnate Son was there, “begotten of His Father before all worlds.” He is “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made” (Nicene Creed). Out of pure darkness, when there was yet nothing, the invitation came from the Father to His Son. It was an invitation to join the Father in creating the “visible and invisible.” It was an invitation to be the Word, the Word in which all creation was made and without whom nothing was made (John 1:3). Of course, not all invitations are glorious! Not all invitations are what they seem. In that loving and gracious speaking, in such creating, God the Holy Trinity was vulnerable. The creation could turn against its creator. For the Holy Trinity’s self-giving love never forces itself on His creation. He does not manipulate for self-satisfaction. When perfect creation fell into the abyss of darkness and night, the all-creating Word did not stand idly by. He became one with us. He became human among that which He had once made and spoken of as “good.” The perfect Word of creation, Jesus the Christ, became the Word made flesh. Jesus fully embraced the Father’s invitation to come down among His sinful children to speak words of light and life to the entire world. In humility and truest love, the Son left His throne in heaven and joined Himself to the Virgin Mary’s womb. Taking up flesh through the Holy Spirit’s speaking, the one-and-only Son of God began to stir within the Virgin mother that He might fully be what He had once created. The invitation to become one of us is the greatest miracle of God. It isn’t only that only that He created. No, the miracle is that He would create Himself to be like us in every way, yet without sin, so He could give us His righteousness! This Word made flesh spoke the words of life, healing disease, raising the dead, forgiving sin, and granting eternal life. He does that all with His Word. And, unlike the devil’s word, His Word does what it says. His Word restores and makes whole that which was once sick and separated from God. “From the manger newborn light shines in glory through the night. Darkness there no more resides; in this light faith now abides” (LSB 332:7).
SERM: Romans 13:11-14, Advent 1, LSB A
Sermon for the First Sunday in Advent THE JESUS SUIT Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In the Epistle of the Day from Romans 13, God’s apostle Paul uses clothing imagery to speak about your preparation for the Last Day, when Christ shall return. “The night is far gone; the day is at hand,” Paul says. “Let us cast off—that is, let is disrobe ourselves or undress ourselves from—the works of darkness and put on—clothe ourselves and dress ourselves in—the armor of light… Put on—clothe yourself and robe yourself in—the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Dear Christian friends, Perhaps you get the chance, every once in a while, to visit with fellow Lutherans who are members of sister congregations somewhere in our Missouri Synod. Lutherans will inevitably tell you about their pastor and sometimes they complain. · Some complaints are humorous and picayune and actually say more about the people who are complaining: Pastor Parrothead wears sandals too often; Pastor Longwind chooses hymns with too many verses. · Other complaints are more serious: Pastor Busyboy does not seem to have time to visit the sick or the homebound in his flock; Pastor Wandereye seems to be visiting the organist or the church secretary too often. · I have even heard some Christians complain about problems that I believe are very good problems to have. For example, one of my fellow pastors a considerable distance east of here is apparently guilty of preaching too frequently about the benefits of confession and absolution. Imagine that! Some Christians find it abrasive to hear repeatedly that God’s forgiveness in Christ is for you personally and individually; that forgiveness is so powerful, so life-encompassing that you do not need any longer to limp along under your load of guilt or fear or damnable self-righteousness. If you ever have a pastor who seems to speak too frequently about confession and forgiveness, fall upon your knees and you thank your God for the sweet and undeserved gift He has given to you. Some of you probably do not need any help deciding how you could complain about your pastor, but one or two of you might still be open to suggestions. I would love to be accused of preaching too much about Baptism. I would love for God’s Christians to have Baptism come to mind when they think about the one thing they hear most from this pulpit. · No, Baptism is not in every single sermon, but that is really my fault and I must try to improve on that. The absence of Baptism in any given sermon is really more about my sin and blindness than anything else. · Yes, some people would say that Jesus should come to mind when you think about things you hear most from this pulpit, but Baptism is really just Jesus in liquid form. · No, the word “baptism” does not occur in every single Bible passage that you hear or read, but the lack of the letters B-A-P-T-I-S-M does not mean that the gift and miracle of Baptism is not present there in the passage. (Think about it: just because you might not mention the word “milk” at the breakfast table, that does not mean the milk is not right there in front of you next to the box of Cheerios. In the same way, you should consider it entirely possible that any given Bible verse will teach you about the benefits of your Baptism, even if you cannot see the word “baptism” expressly spelled out.) · Yes, I know that such things as faith, confession and absolution, Holy Communion, preaching, and the work of the Holy Spirit are also important to hear from the pulpit, but when you hear about such things, you are really just hearing about the on-going miracle and benefit of the Baptism your God has given to you. Baptism is really the only thing that God’s apostle Paul wanted to talk about, especially in his letter to the Romans. Many people know and have even memorized those well-known and essential Words of Romans chapter 6: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4). · Romans begins with a discussion of Baptism, specifically your need and my need and the entire world’s need for this miracle and gift, “for you have no excuse, O man… [for] you condemn yourself” (Romans 2:1). · Romans crescendos with death-and-resurrection description of your Baptism, by which you were “baptized into [Christ’s] death” in order that you might be given a full and good place in His resurrection. · Even here in today’s Epistle, at the tail end of the letter to the Romans, many chapters and verses after the word “baptism” was last used, Paul is still
