Advent 1 Midweek Service - 12-2-09

Advent 1, Midweek
One Year Lectionary,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (December 2, 2009)

“The Fragrances of Christ”

Readings:
Genesis 8:20-22
2 Corinthians 2:15-16
John 12:1-8

Sermon Form: Deductive

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel reading of St. John the 12th chapter, especially the following verses.

John 12:1-8 (ESV)

1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

It is the Church season of Advent, we approach Christmas yet we are urged by our surroundings and our society to forget all the waiting and move on to Christmas. Advent looses focus and its place in the rush or rather I should say in our rush we loose our focus. And to complicate matters Advent seems strange to us, anticipating Christmas by celebrating the Christ-man and all that He would do when He came into this world and all that He would do upon His return. It is a time of almost, but not yet, contrasted by “faith completed by His works.”(James 2:22)

Tonight our journey during this Advent season begins, and our meditations along the way will reflect on the Senses of Christ. And I hope you’re wondering right now whether I meant a census in terms of a people counting like the one that Joseph and Mary responded to, to arrive in Bethlehem. Or senses, meaning the senses of smell, sound, taste, sight, and touch. The answer to either and both of those questions is yes, we will ponder the census/senses in both meanings. So we will begin with the senses of how we perceive Christ’s coming, and we will conclude on Christmas day with the census which brought Jesus’ parents to the tiny village of Bethlehem.

And so the journey begins with the fragrances of the season, the smells of Advent leading us to Christmas. That would be an easy one to relate to in our impatient Advent days. Many of you have been involved with seasonal preparation, whether it be baking at home or for the cookie and candy sale here at church. We have a plethora of wonderful baking smells inundating the church and our homes. For us there are many fragrances to recall, right from the time of preparation to the very end product. This season in December, actually beginning with Thanksgiving, we are inundated with all kinds of good cooking fragrances. Other smells too, for as the weather turns colder somehow we are more frequently inclined to light a candle or two in the house to add a comforting aroma to our homes. And lest we not forget that at some point the Christmas tree arrives, and if it is a fresh tree, that pine smell overwhelms the spaces of our homes. Oh there are some smells which other people enjoy that we don’t, and visa versa, but on the whole we enjoy those special smells which are sweet to our own noses. I’m sure you’ll also think of many other fragrances too, maybe the smell of that toasty fire in the fireplace, or of wassail brewing, or maybe peppermint sticks, or even a cinnamon potpourri. Yes, all those and many more fragrances are just a few of the signs of the season. Very powerful influences too, so much so that just one hint or whiff and our memories jump to past times, occasions of our youth, times of celebration, or maybe for a special family gathering.

But then we come to another place where aroma’s speak of God’s presence. Many Old Testament readings speak about the, “lord smelling the pleasing aroma.“(Gen 8:20-22) That thought of an “aroma pleasing to the lord”, is found in over forty places in the Old Testament alone. But, quite frankly, the aroma’s in those passages are not ones that we would like to re-create as a scent for the potpourri of our Advent season. For the aroma in those scriptures speak of a smell of burnt offerings which rise from sacrifices on the altar before God. One can only imagine being engulfed in the magnitude of the smell of the temple sacrifices. For there, with the shear number of animals sacrificed, the putrid smell could only have inundated and overpowered the nostrils and senses of anyone who dared to draw near.

So then we ask, how in the world, could that kind of aroma ever be pleasing, especially to God Himself? Maybe it would better to think of what this all means in relation to the Advent, the coming of Christ. For that burnt offering upon the altars was a time when God met with His people. A time when He conveyed His favor and blessing upon them. A time after He had cleansed them from impurity. A time to remember His covenant with His people.

Jump then forward in time to the home of Mary and Martha where Jesus was gathered in their presence. There in her home Mary, “took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”(John 12:3) And though Judas would transparently squeal at the waste of money, Jesus would remind all who were with Him, that that the same fragrance would be used to prepare Him for His death and burial which was to come.

Repent, for without Christ’s fragrant preparation for us, we would not be pleasing in any way before God. In our sin and by the merit of our own lives, our efforts and deeds would be as putrid and intense as were the overwhelming odors of the animal sacrifices of the temple. By our own preparations we are not worthy to meet Christ, nor are we worthy to reviece His favor and blessing upon us.

Yet, Jesus Christ came into the world as God Incarnate and here He has met with His people. Upon the cross Jesus was sacrificed and He conveyed His favor and blessing upon us. In your baptism Jesus has cleansed you of all you impurities. But because of the sacrifice Christ made for us St. Paul tells us, “we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life”(2 Cor 2:15-16) In this time of Advent, as we await impatiently for the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ. Know that you who believe and are baptized are the saved ones who are not perishing. Through Jesus Christ you are given the “fragrance from life to life.” And that is a fragrance stronger than any conveyed or received from baking or by any aroma which induces whimsical remembrances of holidays past. For in Jesus Christ you are perceived and prepared as a fragrance which is beyond this world. By Christ’s saving work you are given eternal life, and forever in His kingdom is indeed a sweet, sweet smell, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

AMEN
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