Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church

Do not be anxious about anything. That's what the apostle Paul said today. I don't know, I'm not sure, all that the Philippian Christians had to be anxious about, but it was likely many of the same things you and I get anxious about. Our world today is far different, yet at the same time not much has changed. So I rather see John like a wise, old teacher, advising his students. They come to him anxious, breathless, questioning. And John, calmly, like one who has been through this before, points them to the answer. Go ask Him, Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? That is, are you the promised Messiah or not?

It is not good that the man should be alone. A woman either. What was true at creation for Adam has been true ever since. We were made to live in community. Together. So in the fullness of time, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And it was when He was not much bigger than a one-celled child in the womb, that Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to await this birth, along with the birth of the baby of her relative Elizabeth. To wait with Elizabeth, to wait together for God to fulfill His Word.

Well, the doctor is in the house today. Dr. John the Baptist. To point out to us the threatening perils of our sins. We may not see the sin in us, and how badly we are broken. That's why we need Dr. John today. To show us our spiritual x-ray and say: See? This is not good. So God sent Dr. John to warn us and to call us to repentance. To stir up our hearts, as we prayed today, that we might see our sin, and that it is not nothing; that it is not just something wrong in us like a broken bone, not just a little problem in us -- but a big one. So while we may not like going to the doctor and hearing there's something wrong with us, we need the doctor. It is good for us.

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. I don't think Zechariah thought it was good! His silence was not something he wanted. It was thrust upon him for his unbelief. But he would not sit in silence, actually. He would not be able to speak for nine months, that is true. But the loudest voices for old Zechariah would come from his own heart and mind shouting at him from within him. Why did he doubt? Why did he disbelieve? So how does one wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord? Well it is. Because of the one the son of Zechariah would proclaim. Because of Jesus.

Imagine going to a National Park -- like Arches or Yellowstone -- but not going in to see the arch formations or Old Faithful. Imagine receiving a gift of delicious food, but not opening it, not eating it. Letting it go to waste. Why would you do any of those things, right? But that's what happens at Christmas for many people. The story of Advent and Christmas is the entrance, the door, into the story of Jesus. It is not the end, the destination, but the beginning, the entrance. But it's when you go in -- there is the reward. Then you see the wonders. So we start each church year on this First Sunday of Advent by going in.

Things just happen. The universe, the world, and what happens in it. It's all by natural causes. But the Scriptures don't have that point of view. In the Scriptures, nature is never on its own. Instead of natural causes, the Scriptures know of "acts of God." Things don't just happen or happen by chance when there is a God in heaven. So Thanksgiving calls us back. To see and consider once again the hand of God at work in our lives, and therefore to give Him thanks for what He has done. Thanksgiving calls us back and to give thanks to such a God.

The spectre of a Judgment Day is a frightening one for most people. Having to stand before the Almighty and give an account. Having to answer for all that you did. When I was young, if you did something wrong, we used to say "that was going in your permanent record." Today though, it's worse than that. Today, it's the internet and social media and archives of things from the past. So the thought of a Judgment Day when everything is out there. Yeah, that's frightening. But these verses from Daniel we heard today weren't meant to frighten us, but to comfort us!

I suppose it's like this in other neighborhoods as well, but when you're driving to church or driving through Vienna, it is hard to miss all the large and beautiful houses that are going up everywhere. Now, this isn't necessarily bad. It's not wrong to have a nice big home, nor is it better to have a small, modest home. But I do think it says something about our society today, where we're at, and what is valued. Do we find our value as people no longer in who we are and what we believe, but rather what we have? Not in the content of our character or our faith, but in the size of our homes and cars and bank accounts?

It once was said that saintly children are "seen and not heard." You can agree with that or not. But today, as we commemorate All Saints Day, know that in the church the reality is exactly the opposite. In the church, saintly children of God are "heard and not seen." For what does a saint look like? In heaven, we know what they look like. They are clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. But on earth, they are hidden. The truth is, saints suffer. They are persecuted. They endure tribulation. They weep. They struggle. They are poor in spirit. They mourn. They hunger and thirst for righteousness -- because they aren't, righteous.

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. At the time of the Reformation, and since, there have been those who believed this angel was a prophecy of Martin Luther. Part of the reason they did so at the time of the Reformation was because they believed they were living in the end times. Now, it turns out, the world didn't end. But their attitude was right. They were living in the end times. As are we.

When you look at something, you don't only see what you're looking at, you see what's around it as well, in your peripheral vision. This is good. We need our peripheral vision, especially when you're doing something like driving, to see things coming your way, dangers. But it can also be distracting. Things, maybe many things, drawing your attention away from the one thing you want to look at. So it is, I read recently, with a man who once could see but lost his sight, who claimed that he could see now more clearly -- without peripheral visual distractions -- than when he still had his physical sight. So it was, as we heard today, by the side of the road outside Jericho. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus saw with his ears.

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." I have trouble even getting a little piece of thread through the eye of a needle its supposed to go through! So a camel... I Googled it though. The average weight of a camel is around 1,000 pounds, it's average height is seven feet, and the ones I've seen are about four foot wide. And the eye of your typical sewing needle is measured in millimeters. So obviously, a camel isn't getting through there. But I say to you: it can.

Let's assume for the moment that this man who came up to Jesus that day and asked about eternal life really did keep all the commandments from his youth, as he said. Let's assume he was this exemplary human being that he claimed to be. And that he really did all these things out of pure love for others and not for himself. What does Jesus say to him then? Basically this: well, that's a good start. But it's only a start. And a small one at that. If you really want to know what you must do to inherit eternal life, sell all that you have and give to the poor. Surely you know that you're going to die and that you can't take it with you. So don't wait until you die; do it now. And then come, follow me.

Have you ever had an ear worm? You know what that is -- a tune, or a jingle, or a song that worms its way into your ear and you can't get rid of it. And this too -- a mind worm. That's not a song or a jingle but a thought that gets stuck in your head. Maybe it's a worry in your life, a problem, from work, or an assignment at school that you just keep thinking about and con't stop. Or how about this, I'm going to make another one up -- a heart worm. That would be a desire that worms its way into your heart. Something you want so badly that it begins to take over your life. This seems to be what happened to the disciples of Jesus. They wanted to be the greatest.

Where were you on 9-11? Twenty years ago yesterday. Some of you remember that day very well. For some of you, those events took place in cities far away from where you lived. No matter. 9-11 effected us all. 9-11 was a dark day. But we sang today: Praise the One who breaks the darkness. That darkness. Your darkness. All darkness. Jesus gave a foretaste of this victory in the story we heard in the Gospel today. All things are possible for one who believes. Because one who believes has Jesus. So where were you on 9-11? I don't know the answer for all of you, but this I know: Jesus was on His throne.

The Judaism of Jesus; day was quite different than what we read of in the Scriptures -- in the time of Moses, the Judges, and the Kings. Many of their teachings, rules, laws -- their traditions -- are not found in the pages of Scripture. They evolved and grew during this Intertestamental time, along with and under the tutelage of these groups like the Pharisees. Now, to be charitable, most were, I'm sure, well-intentioned... though a few could be considered questionable. But this is why Jesus sparred so often with the Pharisees. They were insisting their traditions be regarded and followed as the Law of God.

You've heard me say before that saints days are usually celebrated on the day of their death, not the day of their birth, because that is the day of their birthday into heaven. So today is the day the Church set aside to remember Mary's death. We don't hear of Mary's death in the Scriptures though. So today, instead of reading about Mary's death or speculating on it, we heard of what made Mary special and significant -- the birth of her son. Or, what she did and said right after she was told she was going to have a son. Which, I want to propose to you today, is the day of her death.

I am holding in my hand a check for ten million dollars. I don't remember why I got it. I don't remember what conversation I was having. But when I was at the seminary, a fellow student wrote me this check. Of course, I didn't try to cash it! You and I both know that seminarians are poor. Well that's how the Jews heard Jesus. In the Gospel today they heard Jesus say, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Yeah, right. There's a lot of people in the world Jesus. Except He could.

You think Jesus would have been happy that people were chasing Him down. When the people woke up the morning after Jesus had fed them, after feeding so many of them with five loaves of bread and two fish, and discovered He was no longer there, they went looking for Him, even sailing across the Sea of Galilee to find Him. That took some effort. And that's a good thing isn't it? Well apparently not. For when they find Jesus, Jesus doesn't seem particularly happy to see them. He says (and I paraphrase now); You came just because you want for free food. Stop it. There's something more important going on here. The food I gave yesterday was a sign. I'm not here just to provide bread for this life, but for eternal life.

Herod is at it again. Two weeks ago, we heard how his sword came down on the neck of John the Baptist. Today it is James who feels the cold steel. The first pleased his niece; the second the Jews. But Herod's sword is a two-edged sword. On one edge might be the blood of John and James but on the other is his own. Why kill the ones who were helping him? But so it is with sin. Sin isn't rational. Sin isn't logical. Sin can't be satisfied. It always wants more. More of you, until it has all of you.