Funny-Looking Angel

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

This time of year seems to bring out all kinds of stories about strange-looking characters. There is the kid's story that now seems like a classic, the Elf on a Shelf. Now, someone has come up with a Jewish counterpart – the Mensch on a Bench. St. Nicholas Day was yesterday, so children around the world have have a round of presents delivered, if they were good little boys and girls. In some countries, St. Nick is a rather bizarre, wizened character. And, if the children were not good, on 5 December Krampus came around to do all manner of mischief and mayhem. We still have Santa Lucia Day coming next week, when those of Italian or Scandinavian extraction celebrate the eyeless young maiden who comes with a wreath of candles on her head.

Legend and history is not the only source for funny-looking characters. Today's Gospel lesson introduces us to John the Baptist, the Forerunner of our Lord. Mark introduces him by quoting from the prophet Malachi, who says, literally, “Behold, I send My angel before your face, who will prepare Your way.” John is a funny-looking angel.

+ Donald A. Flugge +

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

Donald Flugge was not what you might call an “easy to get along with” person. He liked to argue, about pretty much anything. He had his ideas and his opinions, and he enjoyed verbal sparring with anyone who would come out and sit and talk with him. I once spent three hours in his living room, arguing with him, and and the end of it, we got up, laughed about the whole thing, and I went home. Once Don's mind was made up about something, come hell or high water, you were not going to change it.

In many ways that tenacious quality of Don's personality may have been a source of annoyance or frustration to his family and friends. But there is one place in which that tenacity served Don well, and which would serve us well in his memory. Don was stalwart in his profession of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Through the ups and downs, through the good days and the bad days, Don knew that his Redeemer lives and that the Lord's promises to him held true, no matter what. It is this that brought today's Scripture readings to my mind.

"Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates"

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

“The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” The Lord is the author and Creator of all things. He is above all creation, and yet He fills every bit of the cosmos with His Word and Spirit. By His Word the universe was made, and His gracious hand sustains all that is and all that shall ever be. From the tiniest subatomic particle to the largest star, the Lord has formed each and every one according to His design.

Who can declare the things of God? Who can do what He has done, or even speak of all the wonders of His works? No one. The Scriptures proclaim that the glory of the Lord is beyond description, beyond compare. The Lord is God, and there is none other. Confess, and do not deny, but confess the glory of the Lord, in all His overwhelming splendor and majesty.

"O Come, O Come Emmanuel"

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

The human race spends untold millions of dollars and man-hours on the business of preservation. This church's mailbox is regularly littered with offers from tuckpointing companies offering their services. The home-improvement industry is a massive force in the American economy. Even more behemoth is the market for anti-aging creams, pills, potions, and products. We are a culture saturated and infatuated with preservation.

Preservation is a natural instinct, it may be argued. For the good of the individual and the of the species, we are driven toward acts of self-preservation and toward things that will ensure the continuation of the human race. Two things drive a great deal of the decisions the average person makes: food and procreation.

"Prepare the Royal Highway"

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

“Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Harsh words from St. Paul to summarize the human condition in former times. You were separated from Jesus Christ, having no hope, without God, alone and isolated by your sins and trespasses.

Sin separates you from God. It always has, ever since the serpent first tempted Eve. It must be so, because God is holy and just and righteous, and you are not. Sin makes communion between God and man impossible. Whereas before Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the Garden and talked with Him openly, now they, and all their children, have been cast out of paradise, out of the presence of God. The way back to God is barred by the flaming sword of the eternal Law, brandishing the wrath of God unto death for any that dare approach.

"Comfort, Comfort Ye My People"

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

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked” (Ephesians 2:1). So St. Paul gives this gloomy assessment of the state of man without the grace of God. Dead and buried. Gone from the world. Locked in darkness and the shadow of hell. You were worse than dead – in bondage to sin, death, and the devil. And so you would have remained forever.

But then dawned the Light of Life. The Lord called out, “Comfort, comfort My people!” The Word of the Lord went forth from heaven and scattered the darkness, giving light and life to all mankind. The Son of David came into His own, and He won for us salvation. He shined the light of God's love into our dark hearts and brought us out of death into life. The restoration of man is accomplished!