Where He May Be Found

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

The prophet Isaiah proclaims, “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” In today's Gospel lesson, these words find a sort of fulfillment.

St. Luke records that when Jesus was twelve years old, He went with His family to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, just like they did every year. They went to the Temple like good Jews. They sacrificed their Passover lamb like good Jews. They said the ritual prayers and ate the ritual Passover meal like good Jews. And they recalled the history of God delivering His people out of slavery in Egypt like good Jews.

Mary and Joseph, and the others in their entourage, were good, pious Jews. They did what the Law required of them in terms of their worship “according to the custom of the feast,” as St. Luke records. That is, they did the religious things that had become habit for them. In this, they are not unlike most church-going people, or observant people of whatever religion. Why are you here this morning? Is it because of a burning desire to hear some guy in fancy robes drone on? Or is it because you are accustomed to coming here at this time on this day of the week and doing these things?

In Christ

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

As we review the year coming to a close – how have we used it? “Is there one commandment we have not transgressed? Is there one day in which we have not sinned?” Is there one gift for which we have been perfectly thankful and used always and only as God intended? Is there one day where our mouths have poured forth only prayer and praise? “Is there one rescue from trouble for which we have offered the proper praise to God” (Walther)? Is there one sermon we have heard (or preached) that we have fully applied and taken to heart? Is there one neighbor whose needs we have seen to completely and joyfully?

As this year comes to a close, we can only cry out, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” And for those good things we have done, we can only say, “We are but unprofitable servants; we have only done what was our duty.”

Unto You

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

This evening we gather to hear the words of St. Luke, recording the birth of our Lord, and the angel's proclamation to the shepherds of the great tidings. Listen again:

Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

One might say that this was the first Christmas sermon ever preached. It was delivered from heaven to earth by the angelic messengers of the Lord Himself. And the angel's message continues to be preached year after year, because we can never get enough of hearing it.

Barrenness and the Firstborn

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

The Lord closed Hannah's womb. She was afflicted with the burden of barrenness, the cross of childlessness. Her suffering was compounded by the rich fertility of her husband's other wife, who bore him many children, and received from Elkanah the recompense for her labor. Hannah was tormented not only by the failure of her own flesh, but by the taunting and despising of her own household. Though Elkanah her husband loved her, there was nothing he could do about her pitiable condition.

Why was this the situation? Why did our Lord choose to close Hannah's womb, and to open the womb of Peninah over and over? Why some and not others? This is the question that virtually everyone asks with respect to some desired state at some time in life. For the barren woman, or couple, this is a daily plea: “Why me, O Lord?” The Lord gives abundantly to some, and withholds from others. The answer, for those who live under the sun, is that we do not know. The Lord gives, and the Lord withholds – blessed be the Name of the Lord.

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.

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.

"Since God So Wills It"

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

In peace and joy I now depart

Since God so wills it.

Serene and confident my heart;

Stillness fills it.

For the Lord has promised me

That death is but a slumber (LSB 938.1).

So goes the first stanza of Luther's hymnic paraphrase of the Nunc Dimittis – the Song of Simeon which you heard read in today's Gospel lesson. What an amazing song of faith Simeon sings! His song, so simple in its words, gives voice to a faith that is unshakeable in its trust in God to do what He says.

Throughout the Advent and Christmas season, you have heard a great deal about death. Jesus came to die. He came to die the death due for your sins. This is the reason for His incarnation, the reason we celebrate and highly exalt the mystery of His birth in the flesh. But what connection does Jesus' birth have to the death of a Christian?

Glory and Peace - Now!

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

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” So called out the multitude of the heavenly host who appeared in the Bethlehem sky on the occasion of our Lord's birth. The glory of the Lord has broken out upon the earth. No longer is God merely an unseen force above the highest heavens.

What an odd juxtaposition we have on this night! In the same sitting, you sing “Away in a Manger” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”. You are called upon to contemplate the baby born in a stable, and the words of the army of heaven who lit up the dark Judean wilderness. Fear not, proclaims the angel. Your savior is born this night in the City of David. And what a savior He is, indeed! Your savior is a baby. A child born of the flesh of a woman, born of natural means following the natural course of man. And yet that baby, so frail and feeble and dependent, is at once the Lord of Hosts, the King of the Universe, the Creator of all that is and all that ever shall have been. Consider this: the angels light up the sky and their song resounds through the cosmos to worship one who suckles at the breast of a virgin mother.

Beginning with Bloodshed

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

Today is the beginning of a new year. With all the hopes and dreams and possibilities this day brings, no doubt you would like to put away the past year, with all the news of bloodshed, disaster, and violence. Some good news would be nice. A positive message to start the year off right. Something to give hope and joy. Not a message about bloodshed.

But bloodshed is how the Church starts the new year. In today's Gospel lesson, Luke records two things – that the Christ-child was circumcised, and that He was given the name Jesus. According to the Law of Moses, the Son of Man was brought to the temple and had done what was prescribed. On this day the shedding of His blood for you began. And so, it is only right that this new year begin with bloodshed.

Why circumcision?

Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

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

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” Thus sang the multitude of the heavenly host who appeared to the shepherds on the occasion of our Lord's birth. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Thus said John the Baptist when our Lord came to him at the Jordan River. These exclamations are indeed fitting for the glory and splendor of the Lord of Hosts, who comes in glory.

God is indeed seated in glory upon the throne of heaven, encircled by the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. It is He who is and who was and who is to come, the First and the Last. He is worthy of our praise, worship, glory, and thanksgiving, for He has done marvelous things. After all, it is the Lord of Hosts who created heaven and earth and all that is in them. It is He who created you and me, and every living thing. It is He who keeps the heavenly bodies in their proper motions, and keeps the earth spinning aright.