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+ + + In Nomine Jesu + + +
Please join me in prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
You may know that your lay delegate Steven Sampson and I last evening returned from several days in Lubbock, where we attended the 59th Regular Convention of the Texas District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The theme of the Convention was “Live to Tell”, based on Mark’s account of Jesus’s healing a demon-possessed man, whom Jesus told to tell his friends how much the Lord had done for the man, how the Lord had had mercy on him. Applying that theme, the Convention’s devotions, Bible studies, essays, and much of its business had to do with precisely who is to tell, but perhaps there was not as much focus as there could have been on precisely what is told. In contrast, the Gospel Reading for The Nativity of St. John the Baptist that we observe this morning says a good deal about both “St. John and His Message”.
The Gospel Reading comes from the part of St. Luke’s divinely‑inspired Gospel account that tells of the miraculous births of both St. John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ, the only two whose birthdays make the calendar of the Church Year. In the first two verses of our Gospel Reading, St. Luke essentially transitions from Mary the Mother of Our Lord’s visit to St. John’s mother Elizabeth and tells of Elizabeth’s giving birth to St. John and her neighbors and relatives rejoicing with her. The rest of the Gospel Reading recounts what happened on the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child; the rest of the Gospel Reading focuses on “St. John and His Message”.
At the Convention, there was a great deal of emphasis on how all people are to tell. One presenter went so far as to suggest that the Church, which St. Paul by divine‑inspiration calls “the Bride of Christ”, is “the servant of Christ”. Similarly misquoting and misinterpreting another passage from Ephesians, the same presenter said the chief work of the Office of the Holy Ministry is to equip others for ministry. With all the talk at the Convention of what we are supposedly to do for God, there was very little talk of what God actually does for us. Perhaps too many people at the Convention were too reluctant to talk about what God does for us because talking about what God does for us includes talking about how we are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. No one really likes to think or talk about his or her sin, myself included. I even was squirming in my seat a little as our Synodical President, The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, in his sermon in the Convention’s Opening Worship Service, went commandment by commandment, indicting himself and all of those present of all of our sins. Even when you and I do tell others how much the Lord has done for us, we are probably far more willing to tell them about the blessings of our country, job, family, and body than the blessings of our soul, how the Lord has had mercy on us, forgiving us our sins.
What contrast the Gospel Reading provides. The Holy Spirit filled St. John the Baptist’s father Zechariah, who spoke about “St. John and His Message”. Prophesying like the holy prophets from of old, Zechariah spoke about St. John the Baptist as the prophet of the Most High. Zechariah said St. John the Baptist would go before the Lord to prepare His ways, giving His people knowledge of salvation, in the forgiveness of their sins. That forgiveness would be possible, Zechariah told the eight‑day‑old St. John, because of the tender mercy of our God, Who as a sunrise from on high would give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, guiding our feet into the way of peace. In such a way, the Lord visited and redeemed His people, raising up a prophesied and promised horn of salvation for us in the house of David.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is that horn of salvation. God of God, He came down from heaven for us and for our salvation. He was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man; He was crucified, also for us, He suffered, was buried, and rose again. Now He sits at the right hand of the Father, but in the future He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. In keeping with prophecy like that of our Old Testament Reading from Isaiah, St. John the Baptist warned of that judgment and cried for everyone, including us, to prepare the way of the Lord by repenting. When we turn from our sin in sorrow, when we trust God the Father to forgive our sin, and when we want to do better, then God the Father in fact forgives our sin, whatever our sin might be. God the Father forgives our sin for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to help us. On the cross He redeemed us from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. By Him we are saved and delivered from our enemies—the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. Not so much knowledge of Him as faith in Him brings us salvation.
God the Holy Spirit works such faith in our Lord Jesus Christ when and where the Spirit pleases in those who hear the Gospel. The Gospel was formally proclaimed by God’s holy prophets from of old, by Zechariah, by St. John the Baptist, by our Lord Jesus Christ, by those He appointed as apostles, and by their successors. Thus, today pastors formally proclaim the words of the Gospel in all its forms. As today’s Second Reading reminds us, baptism was a major part of St. John the Baptist’s work. As he himself received God’s covenantal promises by being circumcised on the eighth day, so young and old today receive God’s covenantal promises as God through pastors baptizes them with water and the words of His Triune Name. Baptism works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe. Those so baptized privately confess to their pastor the sins that trouble them most, for the sake of receiving the words of individual absolution in that same Triune Name, not doubting but firmly believing that by such absolution their sins are forgiven before God in heaven. But, the greatest form of the Gospel for us is in the Sacrament of the Altar. There, on that altar, bread with His words is His body given for you. There, on that altar, wine with His words is the cup of the new testament in His blood shed for you. From there, from that altar, we receive Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, giving us the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. The Church is not the servant of Christ, but the Church is the assembly of saints in which the Gospel is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered according to the Gospel. In this Church God Himself forgives us our sins through His Word and Sacraments—that is what He has done for us, how He has had mercy on us. All that we might need to do, He has already done.
Now, admittedly, in speaking of “St. John and His Message”, Zechariah in today’s Gospel Reading says that “we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve [God] without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days”—the same way God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt in order for them to “serve” Him with a festival. What the English Standard Version of the Gospel Reading that was read translates as “serve” has to do with sacred worship. And, the Gospel tells us that the highest and greatest worship is seeking and receiving the forgiveness of sins. As God forgives us through His Word and Sacraments, we abide in Our Lord Jesus Christ and so are holy before God the Father, even though we see still often see ourselves as unholy and too often still failing to keep His commandments. Our receiving forgiveness leads us to praise God, and such praise of God does bring others, neighbors and relatives, to join us in praising God. In some sense, we do, as the Texas District convention theme suggested, “live to tell”, even if not quite the way it was largely presented to your lay delegate and me this past week in Lubbock. May God truly grant that we may know His salvation and worship Him by seeking and receiving His forgiveness all the days of our earthly lives and so also worship Him by praising His Name for eternity.
Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +