Because A Baby Boy Bled

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Here we are again. New Year's Eve – the Seventh Day of Christmas. The presents have mostly all been given, received, unwrapped, unpacked, and put away. At the end of another year, we gather for a moment of reflection on the year past, and a time to pray for the Lord's blessings on the new year dawning. But there is one gift that keeps on giving – the blood of Jesus. For as we gather on the Eve of the New Year, the Eve of the Eighth Day, we gather because our heavenly Father gave to us the blood of Jesus, that we may be forgiven, the life of Jesus that we may live, and the Name of Jesus for us to bear and proclaim.

Today, we observe the Feast of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus. This is an occasion to remember that our Lord Christ fulfilled the Law for you in every way. He shed a bit of blood on His eighth day, so that He might fulfill the Law given to Abraham and Moses. Jesus fulfilled all the Law for you. Not just the big stuff. Not just the easy stuff. All of the Law. The uncomfortable, the strange, the unpleasant, the unmentionable. The painful parts, literally. He did everything that the Father commands, everything that you could not do for yourself.

For Those Who Were Not

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

On this day, the earth rings once again. But whereas only a few short days ago, the earth was ringing with the exultant cries of the angels in the Judean sky and the joyous songs of all creation at the birth of our Savior, now the earth rings with the blood-curdling wailing of the mothers of Bethlehem mourning for their sons who are now no more – slaughtered at the command of lunatic Herod. Instead of “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth!” is now heard “weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

The Magi – wise men from the East – had passed through the courts of Herod in Jerusalem. That great pretender, the usurper to the throne of David, feared for his ill-gotten position, and so he plotted how he might rid the land of this newborn King of the Jews. When the Lord thwarted his plans by sending the Magi home another way, Herod determined to spend his murderous wrath on the whole land. So he gave the decree to have all male children in the region of Bethlehem two years old and younger slaughtered, according to the time he had ascertained from the wise men.

All this took place while our Lord was spirited away to Egypt, his guardian Joseph having been warned in a dream to flee with the Child and His mother. So the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem shed their blood in order that the Christ Child might not spill His yet.

This is the Day!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This is the day that gladdened them, the Prophets, Kings, and Priests, for in it were their words fulfilled, and thus were the whole of them indeed performed!  For the Virgin this day brought forth Immanuel in Bethlehem.  The voice that of old Isaiah spake, to-day became reality.  He was born there who in writing should tell the Gentiles’ number!  The Psalm that David once sang, by its fulfilment came to-day!  The word that Micah once spake, to-day was come indeed to pass!  For there came from Ephrata a Shepherd, and His staff swayed over souls.  Lo! from Jacob shone the Star, and from Israel rose the Head.  The prophecy that Balaam spake had its interpreting to-day!  Down also came the hidden Light, and from the Body rose His beauty!  The light that spake in [Zechariah], to-day shined in Bethlehem!¹

Thus St. Ephrem the Syrian began his hymn on the Nativity of our Lord. Indeed, let us rejoice and be glad in it, for this is the day which the Lord has made! Let us rejoice, for this is the day of our Lord's birth according to the flesh. On this day, earth shall ring with the words of the prophets and apostles, because the Word of the Lord has stepped forth from His holy throne in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

O Holy Night?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What a night Christmas Eve is! The Festival of the Incarnation of our Lord has come once again and it is good to be here this evening in order to hear of God's revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations (Romans 16:25-26).

Throughout Christendom there are many gatherings taking place this night as the people of God congregate to hear the Word and to receive Christ in the Sacrament. In many such churches, the Lord's undershepherds tell children of all ages, the Story - the historical account - of the Savior's Birth in Bethlehem on that night so long ago and so far away. In truth, it is the privilege of such local undershepherds, men who have been entrusted by the Lord, to guide and lead the people to Bethelehem to see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. This is truly a Holy Night – the most holy night of all.

This is a holy night because the angels proclaimed it to be when they visited the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. And so throughout generations, people have sung this truth: that this is O Holy Night.

In Joseph's Shoes

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.” The beginning of our Gospel lesson sounds so clinical, so matter-of-fact; and compared to the Gospel of Luke, Matthew does not say much about Christmas. What Luke takes over a hundred verses to talk about, Matthew boils down to the eight we have before us. But what Matthew has to say is quite a bit.

Mary and Joseph are betrothed to one another: unlike today where the vows take place the same day of the wedding, they have already promised their lifelong commitment before God and man, but their wedding day still lies in the future. They have pledged their faithfulness to one another—and now Mary is found to be with child. Such scandals are not unknown in the history of mankind, but Mary's explanation might be a first: she says the Child is from the Holy Spirit. Uh huh, replies the world; of course He is.

Given the evidence before him, Joseph could have Mary stoned to death; but he resolves instead to divorce her quietly. But as he considers these things, an angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream and says, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So begins the Incarnation, and note Joseph's position from the very beginning: he can go by what his eyes see or what his ears hear.

An Everlasting Sign

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He created the sun and the moon. He created the seas and the dry land. He created the plants and the animals. He created every seed-bearing plant and every fruit-producing tree. And then, as the pinnacle of creation, He created man and woman in His image and blessed them with the fruits of all creation.

From the beginning of creation, God created things and set them in order. He created the plants and the animals, and He arranged them in the Garden of Eden. The plants grew each according to their own kind. They flowered and produced fruit according to their various kinds. And it was all good. Things were beautiful. Adam and Eve were well fed through the bountiful provision of the Lord. They had merely to reach out and receive the fruits of the earth.

Creation was perfect. Every living thing brought forth according to its created order, and it was all very good. The Garden was in perfect order, subdued and in service to the man and woman to whom God had given charge over creation.

Establish Your Hearts

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Waiting is difficult for children. Advent is a rough time for a young mind. The tree goes up, the wrapped packages start appearing, and you may not touch them. Talk of Christmas presents starts to happen – maybe even the trips to the stores to buy them for others. They spend the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas with daily reminders of what is coming, but is not yet. The wait is excruciating. The temptation to touch, to handle, to go exploring, is almost more than they can bear. It is as the Chipmunks say:

Christmas, Christmas time is near
Time for toys and time for cheer.
We've been good but we can't last;
Hurry Christmas, hurry fast!
Want a plane that loops the loop,
Me, I want a hula hoop.
We can hardly stand the wait;
Please Christmas, don't be late!

"Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” That sounds good. Good directions for the Christian life. Seek God while He may be found. And when is it that God may be found? Right now, of course! God is here, just like He has always been. The time to find God is always now, the present, this moment.

Of course there is a temptation in this knowledge. You can seek the Lord today, or you can seek Him tomorrow. He has always been here, so He will be here later when you decide that you need Him. Things are good now, you might think, so you do not need the Lord. All quiet on the western front, God is in His heavens, and let's leave well enough alone.

Martin Luther once compared the Gospel to a passing rain-shower. It is here today and gone tomorrow. The Lord may be found while He is here, but He does not promise to be handy to you at all times. The Spirit blows where He wills. If you turn your back on Him today, He may choose to leave you to your own devices tomorrow. “Have it your way” may work great for hamburgers, but it is a terrible word of judgment from the Lord of Hosts.

The Fear of the Lord

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There is an old verse to the hymn “Amazing Grace” that has not made it into our hymnals. The second verse in many renditions outside Lutheranism goes “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear / And grace my fears relieved. / How precious did that grace appear / The hour I first believed.” When we sing this hymn, we do very well without this verse. Why? Because it simply is not true.

Grace is not what teaches the heart to fear. Think about it. There is nothing at all fearsome about grace. What is there to fear in the unmitigated, unbridled, unfiltered love of God poured out upon you because of the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross? Are you afraid because your sins have been forgiven, your life is secure in Christ, and your heavenly home is prepared for you? Grace does not teach you to fear. Grace only makes you unafraid.

But does that mean that you should not fear anything?

Eat With Your Ears

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What do you have that was not a gift? What do you have that you have not received from the hand of another? Your body is the product of the design of God and the flesh of man. Your life is a gift sustained by the providence of God. All that you have and all that you are is a gift from God, who has created you and called you into being.

What do you have that was not a gift? You have sin. You have the disease of concupiscence, that ancient evil infection that corrupts your entire being with a bottomless desire for all things opposed to God. This, even, was an inheritance received from your fathers and forefathers before you, who received it from their fathers, all the way back to our first-father, Adam. But your sin is your own. It is the product of your own sinful nature, which finds ever more inventive ways to flout the command and promise of God.

Come, Lord Jesus

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Even if our spirits are willing, our flesh is weak. It is terribly difficult to subdue, and the things we would not do – the things we hate – those we do. It betrays us again and again. Our flesh is the seedbed of lust, gluttony, and avarice. All our deepest sorrows come from our sins.

The years sweep by and retrospect has little to show but a list of crimes, a catalogue of lies you have told, of promises you have forgotten, of slander that has risen up out of your hearts. Is it any wonder that our families are so broken? That our lives are so complicated? That the prisons are so full?

So too do we see in retrospect the signs of God’s wrath and the temporary character of this earth. Terrorists, earthquakes, divorce, and war all serve as warnings of the judgment to come. Nothing on earth is the same today as it was a year ago. If we get one step forward, we still suffer two steps back. All things are in decay, are dying. We are in constant turmoil and change. Death is having its way. Only the Word of God never changes.