“God Gives Us Much to Joyfully Celebrate!”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear fellow joyful celebrants of God’s good gifts, grace, mercy,
and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord [Amen.]
“Jesus has come!
Now see bonds rent asunder!
Fetters of death now dissolve, disappear.
See Him burst through with a voice as of thunder!
He sets us free from our guilt and our fear,
Lifts us from shame to the place of His honor.
Jesus has come!
Hear the roll of God’s thunder!”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
533:2)
Old Testament
Reading.......................................................................
Isaiah 66:10-11, 14
10“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; 11that you may nurse
and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with
delight from her glorious abundance.” 14You shall see, and your heart shall
rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the Lord
shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against
his enemies.”
Prologue: One of my many favorite rock music bands from the 60’s
and 70’s was Three Dog Night. Among their many hits was one whose refrain
repeatedly stated: “Celebrate, celebrate, dance to the music!” Then there
was also Kool and the Gang, whose arguably most popular hit stated over and
over: “Celebrate good times, come on! (It’s a celebration)”
This weekend is filled with excited celebration as our nation
commemorates the 240th anniversary of independent freedom from the taxation
tyranny of Great Britain. It’s ironically interesting and at the same time
paradoxically sad that our nation’s rules and regulations were established
on the foundation of Judeo-Christian laws; many men and women shed untold
amounts of blood and even sacrificed their lives defending our democratic
freedom; and yet we allow ourselves to be bullied by the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of our national government into paying
ever-increasing amounts of taxes to support a constantly-enlarging
government that’s imposing moral and ethical behaviors upon us that
contradict our Christian consciences.
You know, different people have different concepts about the idea
of “celebration.” For instance, secular society celebrates occasions like
New Year’s Eve and Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Father’s Day,
Independence Day, and Veterans Day; whereas the church focuses her
celebration-attention on the Christ-centered events of Christmas, our Lord’s
baptism, Epiphany, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday, our
Lord’s ascension, and His Pentecost outpouring of the Holy Spirit on His
disciples. Some people celebrate the liberal doctrine of giving people what
they want regardless of whether or not it’s what they need or is the best
for them; whereas other people celebrate the conservative doctrine of giving
people what they need or is best for them even though it may not be what
they want. For those among us who desire more practical advice in our
sermons, here’s some regarding parenting. Good parenting requires parents
to not give their children what they necessarily want. Rather, it calls for
giving children what they need that’s best for them. Then there’s the
distinction to be made between the “theology of glory” that celebrates
prosperity, popularity, and self-indulgence; as opposed to the “theology of
the cross” that celebrates Jesus’ example of faithfully, humbly, and
self-sacrificially serving others as more important than ourselves. We
celebrate events in our personal lives that are, on the one hand, social
gatherings such as birthdays, graduations, job promotions, and retirement
and, on the other hand, spiritual gatherings such as baptisms,
confirmations, weddings, and, yes, funerals.
I’m more than a little concerned, however, about recent current
events that cast an icy chill on our celebrative mood. Consider for
instance the following news stories that appeared in last week’s editions of
the Southeast Missourian: “Tornado strikes China; 78 killed,” “Jackson man
charged with assault in attack at Cape bar,” “Morley woman faces drug
charges after traffic stop,” “Ex-St. Louis sheriff’s deputy sues for race
discrimination,” “Wildfire destroys 200 homes, buildings,” “Police say woman
wielded hammer during altercation,” “Missouri man accused of killing four
relatives, burning bodies,” “Police say man tried to abduct 10-year-old
girl,” “Suicide blasts kill 36 at Istanbul airport,” “Cape man kidnapped
woman, raped, assaulted her,” “5 injured by blast at aluminum plant,” “Man
charged with spraying fire extinguisher in Jackson police officer’s face,
injuring him,” and last, but certainly not least, “Woman accused of witness
tampering in assault case.”
In light of all the negative things happening in the world and our
own little green acre of it, we may wonder if there’s anything positive
worth celebrating. Well, today’s Old Testament Reading and especially the
sermon text itself ring a resounding “YES!” In fact, the important message
that I want to impress upon you is that …
“God Gives Us Much to Joyfully Celebrate!”
What often becomes hidden or even lost in the face of all the bad
stuff going on is that God is still God, the all-powerful Creator and
Preserver of all that he made. That is, “God is greater than we are. God …
chooses to be concerned with the earth and his creation even after humanity
has soiled it with its imperfection and sin. He chooses to love all
humanity. He chose to descend to earth in order to rescue its inhabitants
from their own rebellion and sin. He chose birth in a stable and death on a
cross, and not because any human was so noble as to deserve it or because
anyone could offer God something that would move him to love us so.
Grace—undeserved loved for his wayward creatures—moves God to direct his
attention to earth and prompts every action toward its inhabitants. By his
grace, God chose Abraham and from him shaped the special people of Israel.
By his grace, God promised the redemption that eventually came through the
Messiah. By his grace, God carefully revealed in his Word all that any
human needs to know. Heaven is his throne, and earth is his footstool. God
is God, and we are not God.” (John A. Braun in People’s Bible Commentary:
Isaiah II. Copyright © 2004 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
Page 391.)
You see, in the midst of their sin-stained and sin-infected
self-centered lives the Israelites (as do we as well) needed someone to not
give them what they wanted but rather what they needed and was best for
them. The one true God who revealed Himself in the person and work of Jesus
Christ did just that. He did it with His atoning, self-denying,
self-sacrificing death on Calvary’s cross that gained for all people
forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life. He then rose from the
dead in a mighty display of divine power whereby He validated all that He
had done as good, right, and salutary for the rescue, redemption, and
reconciliation of sinful mankind with His heavenly Father. But that’s not
all. “The rest of the story” reveals the undeserved blessing that …
I. Yahweh Protects and Nurtures Us. (12)
12For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall
nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.
Among the many life’s necessities are protection and nurture.
When the Israelites faced deportation into Babylonian captivity as Isaiah
had prophesied earlier, they undoubtedly experienced great fear, dismay,
distress, and dread. Those emotions are surely no strangers to us today as
the reality of hatred for and violence toward Christians is accelerating,
even as Jesus said it would as the Last Day approaches. They threatened to
drain the Israelites then and they threaten to drain us today of staunch
steadfastness and robust resolve to remain focused on Jesus and not
surrender to Satan’s temptation to seek to solve the church’s and our
personal problems with our own feeble means, schemes, or techniques.
Even as Yahweh did then, so also He today protects and nurtures
us. He does so with His powerful Holy Word, His belief-giving Sacrament of
Holy Baptism, His faith-strengthening Holy Communion, and His
trust-reassuring Holy Absolution. Instead of trying to devise, revise, or
invent new and supposedly improved ways to retain, regain, and claim members
for the kingdom of God, let’s try something truly revolutionary. Let’s pay
attention to and follow our Savior’s simple and effective instruction to
call people to repentance and tell them the Good News of God’s free gift of
salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Let’s do so in the
shelter of Yahweh’s protection and the strength of His nurture. As we do
so, let’s further realize that not only does He protect and nurture us but …
II. Yahweh Comforts Us. (13)
13As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be
comforted in Jerusalem.
The Christian faith is a faith that’s based on and trusts the
promises God made throughout the past ages and are recorded for our benefit
in Holy Scripture. Among the many promises God made, kept, and continues
keeping is His promise to comfort us.
One of our now adult children suffered from night tremors in
childhood. He would awaken from sleep in the middle of the night terribly
frightened and crying out in agonizing fear. Being the kind and
compassionate mother that she was (and still is) Sally would go to him, sit
by him on his bed, and comfort him by softly singing “Jesus Loves Me,” “I Am
Jesus’ Little Lamb,” and other songs of reassurance while gently caressing
him until he settled back into peaceful sleep.
Yahweh promised that motherly comfort to His chosen children of
Israel … and to us today as well. He communicated His sure and certain
comfort to the Israelites through the prophets that He sent to them with His
message of care, concern, and compassion for them. In much the same way, He
communicates His sure and certain comfort to you, His New Testament
Israelites, through the proclamation of His Holy Word of mercy and grace and
the administration of Christ’s body and blood from the mouths and hands of
Pastor Marks and me. We’re joyfully and delightfully committed to conveying
to you Immanuel’s comfort in your times of sadness, sorrow, pain, fear,
distress, and whenever else Satan seeks to “deceive or mislead [you] into
false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice.” Led by God’s Holy
Spirit, we’re committed to giving you what you need and is best for you …
not necessarily what you want.
So, in the face of all the bad stuff that’s happening in this
sin-damaged and sin-broken world, let’s not lose sight of the wonderful fact
that …
“God Gives Us Much to Joyfully Celebrate!”
Let’s ever be “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2
ESV) As we do so, let’s keep in mind the reassurance of today’s Introit:
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his
handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals
knowledge.” (Ps 19:1-2 ESV) After all, we have the absolute certainty
that …
I. Yahweh Protects and Nurtures Us. (12) He does so through our
interactive relationships with one another and the message given in today’s
Epistle Reading: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and
especially to those who are of the household of faith. But far be it from
me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world
has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal 6:2, 10, 14 ESV) At the
same time, let’s bask in the glorious reality that …
II. Yahweh Comforts Us. (13) After all, as today’s Gospel Reading
reminded us: “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the
demons are subject to us in your name!’ And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan
fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to
tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and
nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the
spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in
heaven.’” (St Luke 7:17-20 ESV)
Keeping all that in mind, let’s both acknowledge what Saint Paul and
Isaiah declared in today’s Gradual: “How beautiful are the feet of those who
preach the good news, who publish peace and bring good news of salvation.
Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of
the world.” (Rom 10:15b, 18b; Isaiah 57:7b, alt. ESV) and fervently pray
what was contained in today’s Collect: “Continue to send Your messengers to
preserve Your people in true peace that, by the preaching of Your Word, Your
Church may be kept free from all harm and danger.”
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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