Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church

Arise! Isaiah says. And the Wise Men did. They arose, they got up from their homes and went to Jerusalem. Then guided by the Scriptures they went to Bethlehem. And guided by the star, they found the one they were looking for. A child. The one born king of the Jews. They are a treasured part of the Christmas story, the visit of these men from the East. Arise! And they did. But I wonder, how hard those first steps were...

If your neighborhood is like mine, there have been lots of Christmas decorations lighting up the night these past few weeks. And if your neighborhood is like mine, then among those decorations have been some rather large inflatable figures. And if your neighborhood is like mine, those figures now lie dead on the ground, all the air, all the spirit, taken out of them. But if you had been in Jerusalem, right after that first Christmas, you would have seen the exact opposite happening! On that day, not a great deflating, but a great inflating took place!

The Word became flesh. The eternal God was born a man. Perfect God and perfect man in one person. Born to Joseph, born of Mary, in the little town of Bethlehem. He was given the name Jesus, the name chosen not by His earthly father or mother, but by His true Father, His heavenly Father. For the Word becoming flesh was not a lowering of God, but an exalting of man. An exalting by our God who is full of grace and truth.

There was about to be a war. One enemy would have been enough, but now two had joined forces. The future was uncertain and seemed gloomy indeed. These were dark days. So the Lord sent his prophet, Isaiah, to the king, King Ahaz, to say to him -- do not be afraid. They will not win. And this is the sign the Lord will give you of this -- the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Immanuel, which means, God with us.

It just didn't seem right. God's house was a tent. It was a nice tent, to be sure. A special tent, not like the ones we sleep in and take camping. But it was still a tent. And that just didn't seem right to David. So as we heard in the Old Testament reading, David, bless his heart, says -- I'm going to fix this! I'm going to build God a house. There was only one who disagreed. And it turns out, the only one that mattered. God Himself.

It's always darkest before the dawn, as the saying goes. Which is what Scripture tells us, too. That this world is not progressing toward utopia. This world is not getting better. But as we have been thinking about this Advent season, into this darkness God has shined His light. The light of His love. The light of His promise to give life to a dying creation. And this light, though it be but a small flicker of light, scatters the darkness and brings hope.

It's now just about a week until Christmas. You might have your tree up already, and maybe there is even a gift already under it waiting to be opened in a week. But what if it doesn't have a tag? Then you have a problem. Then you have to try to figure it out. Investigate. Well, I submit to you today that's exactly what the Pharisees were doing with John, when they sent some folks to find out. What is it and who is it from? For John was a very popular gift.

Last week, we considered that the light of creation revealed not a perfectly ordered creation, but one that was formless and void. But that God, by His Word, brought order to His creation, and it was good. Until, that is, man brought darkness and disorder back again. But a good and gracious and lovingly persistent God could not, would not, stand idly by, but shone His light into the darkness again, with the light of a promise. And tonight, our focus is on that promise fulfilled.

How appropriate to have a baptism today! The Second Sunday of Advent, when John the Baptist always makes his appearance. John was the one who came to prepare the way for this. Because this is why the Son of God came into our world -- to make lost and condemned sinners His own. His own children. Children with hope and a future. John was simply preparing the way for Him. So John didn't go to the Temple, but into the wilderness, to do battle with the enemy and plunder him.

At the dawn of creation, God said, Let there be light, and there was light. But what did that light reveal? An earth that was without form and void. But just as soon as the night was ending, so was the formlessness, void, chaos and disorder of creation. God quickly brought order to His creation. But if the night would soon be ending, it would quickly come again. But God would break the darkness again. The light of God's promise.

Rend the heavens! Tear open the heavens! The nuclear option. Show 'em who's boss, God. Perhaps you've thought that, too. Wished that, too. When sin and evil and the enemies of the church and the truth seem to be winning. A little shock and awe might just be what they need. The problem is... the God we want to rend the heavens and come down and bring the hammer down on others, is the God who should rend the heavens and come down and bring the hammer down on us!

A shepherd gathers his sheep. They know as long as he is there, they are safe. They look to him and he looks out for them. Their lives are intertwined. And that is how it will be on the Last Day. For He not only knows us -- we know Him. So Come, Lord Jesus!

Sing to the Lord of harvest. Thanksgiving isn't really about the harvest anymore, though it may have started that way. Our food supply -- here in the United States at least -- is so stable we take it for granted. Small farms that are still around know, though, how precarious things are. To them, a good harvest is still a big deal. And a cause to give thanks. I do not thank God for all His gifts. I take them for granted. So it's good to have a day we should not need, like this!

Trusting is risky. It is much safer and shrewder to trust no one. But to close yourself off in such a way is not good. And to live in such fear and paranoia is, in fact, not living at all -- but is, I would say, the very opposite: dying. So as we heard in the Holy Gospel today, God shares with us, and trusts. And He began by sharing his life with us, entrusting to us His creation. And, well, you know how that turned out. But even then, God does not take this dominion away from them.

I'm sure you could provide your own story, of a time something went undone, and by the time you got to it, it was too late. That is what the parable Jesus tells us today would have us consider. Because with Jesus' return and the coming kingdom of heaven, there is going to be a time when it is too late. And you don't want to be on the wrong side of the door when time is up and the door is closed.

A scared world needs a fearless church. All Saints Day reminds us that whatever happens in this world and in your life, you are safe and secure. You are not alone. You have a heavenly Father who holds you in His hands and close to His heart. You might be a mess! But you are blessed. You are a dearly loved child of God. Yours is the kingdom of heaven. Not because you've earned it or deserve it, but because Jesus did, and gives it to you.

And so it is with all that in mind that we come to the Holy Gospel for this day, where we heard Jesus speak of violence. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Yet despite all the violence of sin and satan from the very beginning, the Church is still here.

Do not be deceived! What you heard today is not about coins, but about kingdoms. It is not about taxes, but about truth. It is not a real question, it is a trap. They are trying to bait Jesus into saying something they can then use against him. And the Pharisees are thinking about and looking for the wrong kingdom. Jesus is, in fact, restoring His Father's kingdom. But not the kingdom of his father David, but the kingdom of God the Father!

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Thus said the apostle Paul in the Epistle we heard today. Words of admonition, of encouragement, I need. I wish forgiveness meant not just that my sins were wiped out before God, but that they are wiped out from my own memory as well. But maybe it's good they're not.

Rubbish. Trash. Garbage. That's what St. Paul calls everything he has in this world compared to Christ. His position, his esteem, his accomplishments, his knowledge, his righteousness. All of that, he says, is nothing, worthless, compared to Christ. How different the servants in the vineyard and their thinking in the parable Jesus told today. Paul said he'd throw away everything except for Christ. The servants would throw away Christ to keep everything else. He was the stone they rejected.