Advent 3 - Guadete - 12-14-08

The Church Season of Advent
Advent 3 – Gaudete
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI December 14, 2008

“A reed shaken by the wind”

Readings:
Is. 40:1–11
Psalm 85
1 Cor. 4:1-5
Matthew 11:2-11

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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’s message is as recorded in the Gospel lesson from the 11th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses

Matthew 11:2-11 (NASB95)

2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.” 7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! 9 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ 11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

So Far the Text

Jesus asks in our Gospel lesson if the people went out into the wilderness to see if John were like a reed shaken by the wind. Yet John, didn't bend to the prevailing breezes of his day in order to become more popular and to be well liked. John just preached the truth which God had given him to preach. But telling the truth does not always win friends, and when proclaiming the Lord it does include making enemies. John is calling it like he sees it and he does not live in luxury, but in obscurity. John wore the rough clothing of a camel skins, ate locusts and wild honey while calling out, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" That's how he prepared the way of the Lord Jesus, that is how he would make paths straight. He told people the truth about their sin and called them to turn from it. He did not mix words, nor was he mild mannered about his approach. John spoke in no uncertain terms to the people who came out to see him. He called them you, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father." And we are the vipers of today who still smile at each other when face to face, yet we strike with sharp fangs when we think no one is paying attention or listening. John the Baptist would not have been the pastor we would want or call to encourage new membership in our church, but John knew that people had to be confronted about the reality of their bondage to sin and their fallen condition. And if these people were looking to their good deeds of the past, present, and future, then they would not be ready for the One who was to come. John knew the Law is preached to sinners who are secure with themselves, the ones that know that they are better than everyone else. These people are the ones who are not yet ready for the Gospel, we deny we have met those people yet they are us.

We constantly hear the message of John, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In hearing his words he still calls out to us today to turn away from our sin, to stop justifying it and to stop making excuses for it. We are helpless before God, despite our best efforts, yet we refuse to acknowledge it. We do so when we say, “don’t look at me I’m no sinner”, if those words are spoken or even thought then we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Our only hope is in this truth: Though the things of this world grow and die, “the grass withers and the flowers fades,” the only constant is, "the Word of our God endures forever."(Is. 40:8) and that Word is Jesus Christ.

This season of Advent we look forward to the Word, the Son of God, who has come into this world for us and who will return for us. Though Jesus was without sin, He took the curse of our sin into His own body and then He broke the curse, putting it to death on the cross. Even though the power of sin would drag us down to hell, the sin that condemns us, was completely destroyed and abolished on the cross at Calvary. Now, through faith in Jesus, we are released, we are free, we have been made holy. St. Peter writes, "You have been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." All who have been baptized into Jesus, the Word made flesh, will live and abide forever in Him. Just as a lily dies in the winter but comes forth to life again from the bulb in the spring, so also you will rise again to an everlasting spring when Jesus returns.

Some may still wonder if John the Baptist was swaying in the wind when he asked if this man Jesus was Christ were the expected One to come, or should we look for someone else. Isn’t this the same John who leapt for joy while in his mother’s womb when Jesus’ mother drew near? How ironic it was that when John could not physically see he believed, but as he aged did something weaken? How could this John not now recognize his own cousin, why would he even have to ask whether Jesus was the promised one? Some may say it was not John who was doubting but it was those who were around him. Whether it was John or his disciples who doubted if Christ was the one, the question was still asked by those weakened in faith by their own sin.

We may wonder why John would do such a thing, why would he or others bend to the pressure of the winds of hot air from the people around him? Yet we, at this very moment ask this same question as we sit here impatiently on earth. Are you really the Christ who is going to save me or should I look for another. Our post-modern world offers us many suggestions which follow the winds which would blow us in many directions yet offer no lasting comfort. It may be in ten easy steps to more riches, or how to win friends and influence people, or it may be the fool hearty theory that there are many religions and many ways to a god. When we succumb to those thoughts we are not only shaken in the wind we gladly travel the twisted winding breezes which flow through this world. A world which seeks not the truth, but rather only defines truth by whatever you say it might be and that is not truth. But if you say to someone that their god is untruth, you will offend them.

But, Jesus says, "Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." And Jesus says to you, blessed are you who are not scandalized by My suffering on the cross. If we are offended when asked to repent then our indignity has convicted us, we are guilty as charged. The worldly winds have not only blown a sinful breeze to bend the reeds, those same winds bend and break our faith. We have the audacity to deny our sin, and then compound it by daring someone to say what we have done wrong, and whether we say it or think it, it is then that we have deceived ourselves and the truth is not in us.

But blessed are you who are not offended by your need to repent and to trust in Jesus alone to save you. Blessed are you who are just like John the Baptist or his disciples who have been swayed yet would still ultimately cling to and place your hope in Jesus Christ.

We wait here in this place wondering if Christ will ever get here. We are here together in the great Advent of our Lord, anticipating the second coming of Christ. We are here together awaiting the time to celebrate the birth of the Christ child in Bethlehem. While the season of Christ’s birth is near, even more importantly, season of Christ’s return is near. His kingdom draws near to you, because the Christ, the King Himself is at hand. He is here for you today for Jesus Christ gives you His body and blood for you for the forgiveness of sins. Christ has done and will do all these things, He is our only comfort in our times of sorrow, loneliness, or need. And though the things of this world will blow us about and we will be shaken by the winds of our sin, Christ is not shaken, His path has been prepared and it comes straight for you, and one day you will no longer be shaken by the things of this world, for one day He will come again and your path will return straight to Him. AMEN

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

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Advent 2 Midweek - 12-10-08

Advent 2, Midweek
One Year Lectionary,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (December 10, 2007)

“The Mountain of Good News”

Readings:

Isaiah 52:7-10
John 12:26-36

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 Old Testament Reading of Isaiah the 52nd chapter, especially the following verses.

Isaiah 52:7-10 (NIV)

7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. 9 Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

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

In our Advent Midweek services we continue with our theme of coming to the Holy Mountain of Israel through the prophecy of Isaiah. Last week we heard Isaiah speak of the Mountain of Peace. Tonight we hear the prophet Isaiah proclaim of, “The Mountain of Good News” which God proclaims through his lips saying, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace.”(v.7)

A few hundred years after Isaiah, yet still five hundred years before Christ, there is a legend which speaks of a man who ran 150 miles in two days and then right after that it is said he ran another 26 miles. And all that running was supposedly just for the purpose of announcing that the Greek army had obtained victory over the Persians in the battle of Marathon. Upon finishing this long running race, the messenger spoke only one word, "Νενικήκαμεν" meaning, “we have won.” This message inferred that the Greek army had won though the help of their mythical god Pan who instilled an extreme sort of fear, an irrational, blind fear that paralyzed the mind and suspended any sense of judgment. Pan, it sounds a lot like panic doesn’t it? But the bad news is that after this legendary Olympic run to deliver a simple word of good news, the runner immediately dropped stone cold dead right there in his tracks. Not even enough time to climb a podium and receive a gold medal.

The prophecy of Isaiah speaks of another and much different messenger than the one bandied about in the legends of the Greeks. For Isaiah knew that seeing the feet of one lone messenger return from battle would indeed be perceived as a Mountain of Good News. For Israel throughout it’s history had seen more than it’s share of good news and bad news. The Israelites knew what bad news was, they had lived through it for generations. They had experienced hundreds of years of Egyptian slavery and that was bad news. They lived through wars, pestilence, and famine and that was bad news. Serving kings and rulers and an endless string of invading armies who were less than merciful and peaceful to them and all of those thing compounded upon each other was their mountain of bad news.

But God gave the prophet Isaiah the vision to see well beyond his time to a future time when a messenger would stand on the Mountain of Zion He would proclaim the good news that, “Your God reigns!”(v. 7) If one looks out and sees a multitude of beaten and war weary stragglers returning from a battle it can only mean that the army is retreating because it has suffered defeat. But the advent of this lone returning messenger would mean that the war is over and oh how beautiful that sight would be. To see the feet of only one messenger and to hear of his return speaking the good news of peace, good tidings, and salvation. For the proclamation of the word of peace means that the time of threats and the time of war has ended. The lone messenger means that with Him comes good tidings and that in turn will cause all to have great joy. And salvation, well that means that the old evil foe, the oppressor, has been destroyed, broken, and conquered.

But our eyes and ears in the here and now only see mountains of failures in a fallen world which seems to be getting worse every single day. Our hearts and minds are like those of Israelites who witnessed the Roman army as it destroyed the Jerusalem temple and the stones of the city walls lay strewn in ruins. We are daily instilled with the fear of what is to come of our economy, of our jobs, of our savings, and our livelihood, and ultimately we fear what will come of us when we die. Our nightly news and discussion with the people around us instill us with an extreme sort of fear. It is a faithless fear that is irrational, and it is a blind fear that has paralyzed our minds. Our own sin has suspended our sense of judgment. And when we succumb to this fear, we stand with all humanity who throughout the ages who lacked faith and therefore were overcome by sin to induce us to worship the false god of panic.

Repent, for in Isaiah’s vision he “saw the Lord [who would] lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations.”(v.10) That Lord is your Lord Jesus Christ who not only lay bare His holy arms, He lay down His entire body upon the cross to free you from your mountain of sin. And Christ proclaims from the cross that His Word is a mountain of good news to, “all the ends of the earth.”(v.10) In His death and resurrection he gives the good news to all who would believe in Him that they, “will see the salvation of our God.”(v. 8) You who believe and are baptized will “see it with [your] own eyes.”(v.8) You who join in the Holy Supper of our Lord will be freed from your sin, forgiven, renewed, and refreshed by the blood which flows from Christ’s bare arms. And from the ruins of this earthly Jerusalem, the Lord will comfort His people, for He has redeemed you. Do not panic as we await the advent of Christ to “return to [this] Zion”(v. 8) For He will come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead. And when He returns, through Gospel of Jesus Christ you will, “Burst into songs of joy together.”(v.9) How beautiful it will be on that day when we see the feet of the one who brings us His good news, who proclaims our peace, and who brings us His good tidings. For Jesus Christ is "Your God who who reigns"(v.7), and you will see Him with your own eyes. Jesus Christ will bring you to the restored city of Jerusalem, to the heavenly Mount Zion and He will give you eternal salvation, and that indeed, is a Mountain of good news. 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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In case you were wondering

About the Latin words for the Sundays in Advent....

Advent I
Ad Te Levavi
Psalm 24
Ad te levavi animam meam
Unto thee have I lifted up my soul

Advent II
Populus Sion
Psalm 30
Populus Sion, ecce Dominus veneit et ad salvandas gentes
People of Zion behold, the Lord is coming to save all nations

Advent III
Gaudete
Philemon 4
Gaudete in Domino semper
Rejoice in the Lord always

Advent IV
Rorate
Isaiah 45
Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustrum
Drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness

Advent 2 - Populus Sion - 12-07-08

The Church Season of Advent
Advent 2 – Populus Sion
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI December 07, 2008

“That Great and Dreadful Day”

Readings:
Malachi 4:1-6
Psalm 50:1-15
Romans 15:4-13
Luke 21:25-36

+INI+

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

The text for today’s message is as recorded in the Old Testament lesson from the 4th chapter of Malachi, especially the following verses,

Malachi 4:1-6 (NIV)

1 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the Lord Almighty. 4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

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

Years ago, our family was on a camping trip, and our youngest child, who was still a toddler, was strapped into and riding in a stroller. It was one of those theme campground’s which had a cartoon character as their chief icon. While walking around the park, the mascot dressed in a ten foot tall costume came across our paths. Our two older girls thought nothing of it, but when that large mascot leaned way over and stuck his face right down next to the stroller it was a time I will never forget. For I have never in my life seen a child, or any other person for that matter, in so much terror. His body was physically shaking, he was struggling to get away, he was gasping for air, and was literally so terrified he couldn’t even cry. Naturally, we impressed upon this mascot to remove themselves from our son’s presence, and I’ll admit that we probably did that in a less than glowing way. Soon after that mascot left, everything quickly returned normal, no ill effects, no lasting memory of the event, at least for him. But, I don’t think we will ever forget that dreadful day.

Yesterday was a great day celebrating the commemoration of St. Nicholas, the pastor, which is a great day to remember. Not many of us remember that St. Nicholas was a real person and that he was a Christian pastor. Nor do many know that he was involved in a very early church controversy. For it was St. Nicholas who was a delegate to the Council of Nicea in the year 325. And it was St. Nicholas who was one of the authors of the Nicene Creed. That would be the same Nicene Creed we speak together to this very day, the creed which affirms that Jesus Christ is both true God and true man. But there was another man at that council, a man named Arius who denied that Christ was God. And so at that early church council jolly ole St. Nick defended the Christian faith. And they way he did it? Well, he walked right over to Arius and he slapped him in the face. So it was St. Nicholas himself who was the one who became so bitterly angry when someone denied Christ. Ironically the man who it seems we most remember at Christmas is the one who was angry that Christ was being redefined Not really the jolly man we’d like to think he was, although he did give money to the poor. But, he was a pastor who at Nicea defended the faith with all he knew and that is indeed a great time to be remembered.

I am sure that each of you have experienced some great or dreadful days, days that you will never forget. You may think of a day that was so dreadful to you, that it is indelibly etched in your minds. A day that a loved one died, an auto accident, or some other dreadful occurrence which you will never forget. Today is the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a day that has indeed lived on in our memories in infamy. September 11th will be a day that all too many are quickly forgetting. The day that John Kennedy was assassinated is a memory that still lives on for some of us. Yet we have all but forgotten the Alamo, we have forgotten the Maine, and most of us have forgotten the not so long ago, “shot heard round the world.”

But in all these days to be remembered can you think of one that is both a great and dreadful day? Adam and Eve awoke in the Garden on a great day and then they partook of the fruit “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”(Gen 2:17) And all the great days they had and the great day which they were in became a very dreadful day. For that was the day that they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. And on that day God promised that the seed of Adam and Eve would one day crush the evil serpents head.

And from that day onward the Israelites would experience many dreadful days and many great days looking for that promised one to come. And so He did, Christ came to the river Jordon, to be baptized by the prophet crying in the wilderness, John the Baptist. For John was sent to, “make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”(Lk. 1:17) It was just as the prophet Malachi had said, “5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes”(v. 5)

And what of that day? Well the Almighty Lord has said that on that day, “All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire”(v.1) And when we begin to look around to see who around us will be that burning stubble, we trip over our own arrogance. For our own arrogance makes us holier than thou when we know that we all are evildoers don’t admit it. For in our sin we have forgotten many, many days. We have forgotten that day when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden and that we have inherited their sin. We deny that we have their sin, yet the proof of that sin is our own death. We deny that we have any sin of our own, that we daily sin, yet at the same time our arrogance convinces us that everyone around us is a sinner. We all too quickly forget the days that we say we will never forget. Our sin against our fellow man and against God is just like so many of those historical days that I mentioned. We remember our great days or great moments, but those dreadful moments in our lives we hide away in the shadows hoping that they will fade.

Repent for a great and dreadful day will come. And it will be to unbelievers more than a slap in the face from St. Nicholas. It will more than a day of tremendous terror, a body physically shaking, or struggling to get away, or gasping for air, and on that day there will be cries from the wicked that will not be heard.

But for those who believe and “revere (God’s) Name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”(v.2) For Christ is that rising sun from heaven. And it is Christ who has turned the heart of the Father to you His children, and it is Christ who has turned your heart to His father. It is Christ the Son who is righteous, it is He who took our human sins including arrogance to the cross with Him. It is Christ who died and was raised on the third day, and when He rose, His healing grace was yours for free. It is Christ who made you righteous and His forgiveness is always given when you partake of Holy Communion. And those who are baptized have received and revere God’s Name for it was written on their hearts, with the water combined God’s Holy Word. And whether you remember your baptism or not, Christ will always remember, for in it He gave you the promise of many days that you will never forget. For on the day to come when we part from this sometimes dreadful world, Jesus Christ will welcome you to eternal life and that indeed will be a very great day. Amen.

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

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Advent 1 - Midweek - Ad Te Levavi - 12-3-08

Advent 1, Midweek
One Year Lectionary,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (December 3, 2007)

“The Mountain of Peace”

Readings:
Isaiah 2:1-5
John 1:1-14

Sermon Form: Deductive
+INI+

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 Old Testament Reading of Isaiah the 2nd chapter, especially the following verses.

Isaiah 2:1-5 (NIV)

1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: 2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 5 Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

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

It is the Church season of Advent, right before Christmas and we are urged by our surroundings and our society to forget the waiting and move on to Christmas. And that is okay, Christmas is a joyful time of the year to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, the babe in Bethlehem who would become the prince of peace. But Advent is also a good time to look forward and to anticipate the coming of that Christ-child, AND a time to anticipate the Christ-man and all that He would do when He came into this world and all that He would do upon His return. And so Advent teaches us that as we wait, we prepare to receive that special Christmas gift of the One who would be the hope and peace for all who are in this world. So Advent is really worth the preparation and the journey. And this is born out in the Advent hymns which we sing, like “Come, thou long expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee”(LSB 338:1) or “Prepare the royal highway; The King of kings is near! Let ev’ry hill and valley A level road appear! Then greet the King of Glory Foretold in sacred story; Hosanna to the Lord, For He fulfills God’s Word!”(LSB 343:1)

And our journey during this Advent season will reflect on the Words of God which Christ did fulfill. And the words will be the ones God gave to His prophet Isaiah who spoke of the mountains of God and the path to those sacred mountains paved in prophecy. And so we begin on the mountain of Peace and the description of this mountain which Isaiah calls the “mountain of the lord’s temple.”(v. 2) or “the mountain of the lord”(v.3) While that may seem like two different places, in fact it is one place. For the these two names both refer to the same mountain which is Mt. Zion, and the temple mount in Jerusalem. And from Isaiah’s description this is a mighty place, a place to which many people are drawn and they will come from far and wide to arrive. But what does all this talk of Isaiah have to do Advent or Christmas or even you and me?

Actually, Isaiah’s vision and prophecy was a lot more far-sighted than we could ever imagine for he not only sees past himself, he sees beyond his own time. For he sees the mountain of peace that Jerusalem will one day be and then he looks even farther ahead to what would be at the end of all time. So to that we could say, sarcastically, “Thank you very much Isaiah, you just proved the case against the season of Advent. For, if Isaiah can jump forward more than 600 years to see what would happen in Jerusalem and if he can jump who knows how many more years after that to the end of all time, what’s the harm in jumping over a few weeks of Advent to get to Christmas?”

Well, hold on there for just a second, let’s see what Isaiah is really saying about this Mountain of the Lord and who would be going to that mountain. And that question is quickly answered, for Isaiah says that, “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’”(v.3) That does sound like words of great optimism and it sounds like Isaiah is placing a lot of hope in that time to come. Really we might even say it sounds like a new era. For Isaiah says that “Many peoples will come” and that would be very unusual for a Jewish prophet to use those kind of words. Because the word he uses here for “peoples” means more than just Jews would be coming to the mountain, it also means from many nations and tribes and that would be very forward looking for a man like Isaiah. And it would also sound quite a bit like the words of Christ as recorded in Matthew, remember He said, “make disciples of all nations”(Mt. 28:19)

And on this mountain of peace, “The law will go out from Zion, the word of the lord from Jerusalem.”(v. 3) Again that would be prophecy which would be fulfilled in Christ for it was He who took all the law upon Himself by His death on the cross and it would be His words proclaimed from the cross that would go out from Jerusalem to make that mountain a place of everlasting peace. For in His death and resurrection Christ set aside the law he being God’s incarnate Word would forever offer a, “peace which surpasses all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7)

Yet we still do not see peace. In fact, we join in proclaiming the lack of peace with one of our very own American heroes who proclaimed, “Peace, Peace, but there is no peace. The war is actually begun.” and he finished that speech with the familiar words, “Give me liberty or give me death.” (Patrick Henry) Unfortunately for Patrick Henry, he did not live long enough to see the national liberty for which he longed.

However, Isaiah looked forward to all that would be achieved on that Mountain of Peace and the last days. We look back in prophecy fulfilled on that Mountain where Christ’s Death and resurrection sealed that peace and we join Isaiah in looking to Christ’s return in those last days.

And the road to that Mountain of Peace? Well it is not paved by bricks or stone which we put in place, nor by our toil, nor by our sweat, or the heat of the day which we may endure. It is not paved by the works of our hands, rather it is composed of our sins which have been laid down upon the foundation of that road which is blood of Christ. For now “in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace,”(Eph 2:13-14)

And so on that Mountain of Christ’s peace “swords will be beat into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks, and nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”(Is. 2:4) For in Christ’s death, He created an everlasting Mountain of Peace, and so He proclaims; Peace, Peace there will be eternal peace. And that peace He has established for you now in your baptism. And one day you “will walk in the light of the Lord,”(Is. 2:5) when you are “raised above the hills”(v. Is. 2:2) to see Him in the heavenly city of the new Jerusalem and that is truly a Mountain of Peace. 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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Advent 1 - Ad Te Levavi - 11-30-08

The Church Season of Advent
Advent 1 – Ad Te Levavi
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI November 30, 2008

“THE DAYS ARE COMING”

Readings:
Jeremiah 23:5-8
Psalm 24
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 21:1-9

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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’s message is as recorded in the Old Testament lesson from the 23rd chapter of Jeremiah, especially the following verses,

Jeremiah 23:5-8 (NIV)

5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness. 7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

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

The Israelites thought that they had it made. They had crossed over into the promised land. That would be that big hunk of perfect ground just on the other side of the hill on which they had stood so many years before. Now much time had passed by, they had time to settle in and make the promised land their land sweet land. It was time to forget all their errors of the past, yet at the same time getting closer to the time when they all would be humbled again. For the land which the Israelites had come into was now being invaded by outside forces, forces way beyond their control. In fact, when the prophet Jeremiah spoke of “David’s righteous Branch”(v. 5) the walls of Jerusalem had already been attacked. Another mighty prophet Daniel and his three friends had already been hauled off to Babylon just in time for their appointments with furnaces and lions. And the current King who ruled over Jerusalem? Well his name was King Jehoiachin, and when the troops of the King of Babylon named Nebuchadnezzar found Jehoiachin he soon disappeared without a trace, never to be heard of again.

Now Jerusalem had a new king and his name was Zedekiah, who was put in place as the puppet King of Judah, which meant that he too was under Nebuchadnezzar’s thumb. But that didn’t stop him from asking for advice from the lowly prophet Jeremiah. And that brings us to our Old Testament reading, wherein Jeremiah would speak a prophecy in terms of a King to come who would “reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.”(v.5) Jeremiah’s good news was that a perfect king who would reign wisely would be a great thing for the Israelites. For they were a people whose promised land had been ruled very unwisely and was now better described as the compromised land. But the bad news of this prophecy was for the ears of Zedekiah because he was not going to be that perfect king.

But all that is too much history, too much talk of Kings with strange names in a city called Jerusalem that was under siege nearly twenty eight hundred years ago. But the prophecy of Jeremiah was much more than a scorecard, a foretelling that King Zedekiah would soon be out. This was more than a prophecy of the here and now it was at the same time of what be in the days to come.

The here and now of the promised land was that it had been split into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The here and now for of the Israelites was that they were living with earthly kings, meaning good kings and very bad kings for many years. And if it weren’t bad enough that they had to endure their own kings, they now were faced with a conquering king, another captivity, and another exile. So how long would they have to wait for this perfect king?

Well that would be answered in the days to come. And in the days to come Israel and Judah would be reunited and in those days the land would be given a king beyond their imagination. For in the days of this coming king, “Judah would be saved and Israel would live in safety.”(v. 6) But like all good things to come, they can never get here soon enough. There would be oppression and anxiety, for no one wants to wait for things to come. As it always seems to be, as expectations of the things to come increase, the patience for the things of here and now decrease. Funny how things have not changed all that much in twenty eight hundred years. In our daily lives we too are being invaded by outside forces way beyond our control and we too ask what has happened to our promised land.

We too know that we deserve something new in the days to come. In the days to come, we want the world around us to no longer be entwined in turmoil. We see the financial gurus of our world with resumes that would rival the evil kings of Israel, but will they be replaced in the days to come? We look forward to the days to come when we will have better health, but when will it arrive? We look forward to the days to come when peace and prosperity will be a given for our families, our friends, our loved ones, and our nation, but how long must we wait? We look forward to days when there will be no more times when friends, fellow workers, or family members lets us down. We look forward the days when there will be no sickness, or evil, hatred, or death. How long will we have to live in anguish? How long will our own sin cause us to live in exile from God’s promised land? How long will we have to wait?

Rejoice, for you need not wait any longer, for the prophecy of the days to come have been fulfilled. The sacred tree of life which one stood in the garden has now given way to the righteous branch of David. The days foretold of by Jeremiah have already come, and they are delivered by the Name which is above all Names, for He is called by many Names, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”(IS. 9:6) Yes, Jesus Christ is, “The Lord Our Righteousness.”(v.6) The king of wisdom has arrived in those days when John the Baptist came saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”(Mt. 3:2) The days of Christ the wise king, “called the Son of the Most High.” have already arrived. And, He was given “the throne of his father David, 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.”(Luke 1:32-33)

The days of the King are now, and as Isaiah proclaimed, “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. “(Is. 11:3-4a) The days to come are actually here now for the Christ the wise king comes to judge you who are the needy.

And for all who believe and are baptized, He will not see your sin with his eyes, nor will he decide your fate by the sin He hears from your mouths. For He, “He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness”(Is 9:7) You and all who have been driven out of the good land of Eden, in these days He has brought you back in to His promised land. For it is by His righteousness you shall be judged. And in these days plain water combined with God’s Word in your baptism gives you Christ’s righteousness. In these days the true body and blood of Christ will renew and refresh your faith and bring you forgiveness of sins and that free gift is Christ’s righteousness. And what of the evil kings of this world? Well they may rule for a day, but their worldly work is far surpassed by God who sent us His Son Jesus Christ to conquer all things both on heaven and earth. And this wise King of kings, Jesus Christ overcame the world and all it’s sin by hanging from a cross and declaring that death, “it is finished.”(Jn. 19:30) So rejoice in knowing that in the days to come you will serve that wise King of whom Jeremiah spoke. And rejoice that not only is the day of our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled, but because of His love for you, you will be with Him for an eternal number.... of those days to come.

AMEN

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

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Funeral Sermon for Clarence Rodammer - 11/28/08

The Church Season of Trinity
Funeral Service for Clarence Erwin Rodammer
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI November 28, 2008

“Word’s Mean Something”

Readings:
Isaiah 40:29-31
Romans 5:1-11
John 14:1-6

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Friends and family of Clarence, especially Sharon and Robert, Karen and William, Judy and Denny, and all the grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Let us remember with thanksgiving what God has done through His servant Clarance Erwin Rodammer who was given life by his creator and was born on June 3rd, 1920, the child of Michael and Sophia Denzer Rodammer. He received the gift of Holy Baptism and therefore became a child of God, and later publicly confessed his faith and was confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church of Midland. He received the precious gift of the Lord’s life giving body and blood. On August 14, 1941, he received the gift of a companion Ruth his beloved wife and they were married for over 54 years. Clarence and Ruth were blessed with the gift children, Sharon who married Robert, (Sharon could not be here today but called this morning to say how much she loved her father, and misses him very much) and Karen who married William, and Judy who married Denny there are 5 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren. On November 24, 2008, God blessed Clarence with a holy death and took him home to rest in the arms of Jesus to await the resurrection of the Lord. Blessed are they who die in the Lord, from this time forth and for evermore.

The following verses from the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah are not one’s you hear every day, although I will say they fit Clarence to a tee, “29He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Is. 40:29-31)

“Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength.” Clarence was 88 when he passed away this week, and so that means he waited for thirteen years to be reunited with his beloved wife Ruth. But there is a greater reunion than this, for which Clarence is now eternally thankful. Over 88 years ago Clarence was united with Christ in a baptismal font wherein water was combined with God’s Word. And that baptism stands a reminder of a blessed union with Jesus Christ which guaranteed the promise of His eternal reunion. For it was God who sent His son Jesus Christ into this world. It was Christ who was baptized by John the baptizer, and it was Jesus Christ who lived and walked among us. And because Christ came into this world, was crucified, died, was buried, and on the third day rose again, Clarence is no longer waiting. He is now at this very moment having a blessed reunion with his Lord and with all those who died the faith before him.

I always found it interesting to talk with Clarence. He was very knowledgeable and knew his current events. We spoke of the long forgotten days of yesteryear, the small Midland he knew which had a city limit sign stating the population was 8025. We spoke of his military service in World War II, where he was a wounded and twice decorated with the purple heart. Truly Clarence was a war hero of the greatest magnitude.

On one of these visits, I asked Clarence if he had learned his Lutheran Catechism in German or English. While he did speak quite a bit of German, Clarence said he learned the Catechism in English, along with all the other students in his confirmation class. And while we were talking about those days he asked me a question. “Pastor” he said, “One day the confirmation class was waiting for the German Church service to begin and one of my friends said something to me, and so I said, ‘Gee Whiz’ and at that very moment the Pastor had stepped into the room, heard what I said and asked me to repeat what I had just said. And when I did repeat it, he struck me on the face.” Clarence then said to me, “You know to this day I don’t know why he did that.” And so I told him I don’t know why a Pastor would ever do such a thing, it was wrong to strike him and it was wrong of that pastor to embarrass him in front of his class. Maybe the Pastor thought he was cursing, but regardless of the reason, the Pastor should not have done that to Clarence and to add insult to injury the lack of explanation for what had done was another grave failure for that Pastor. And so I said I was sorry that someone would do such a thing it was wrong. But Clarence responded by saying, “Oh well, we should just forgive and forget.” And that statement indeed revealed Clarence’s faith.

For in those words, Clarence revealed that he trusted not in man nor in the things of this world because he knew that God was greater than this world, “16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(Jn 3:16) Clarence knew he had eternal life, because John wrote in the Bible, “13 I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”(1 John 5:13) Clarence knew that he would be with Jesus forever, for scripture told him that Jesus said, “1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”(John 14:1-6)

I miss Clarence and I know you do too. The reality of death stings. In times like this, it does seem that death is like a vulture circling above our heads waiting for us to stumble and fall. Yet for most of our lives the cold reality of our impending death hovers in the lofty places of our minds, mostly forgotten, except for days like this when we are reminded of our mortality. But be of good cheer, for St. Paul reminds us, “Death is swallowed up in victory, ‘O Death where is your sting? O Death where is your victory?’ the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ”( 1 Cor 15:55ff)

Jesus gave Clarence the victory of eternal life, and He takes away all the stings of this world. Jesus Christ offers to all, the promise of His victory over sin, death, and the devil. He welcomes you to share in His victory in His words from the Holy Scripture. He welcomes you to share in His victory in the water combined with the Word in Holy baptism, and when you receive His true body and true blood in Holy Communion. In His death and resurrection, Jesus conquered all things, so that your sins may be forgiven.

The final words from that verse from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah state, “They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Clarence could not run for these last few years, but each and every time we visited, he didn’t talk about such things. We would chit chat, talk about the Detroit Tigers or Lions, or about how much he loved his children and grandchildren and at times we would laugh a bit. But really what Clarence desired during my visits was to receive Holy Communion. Because Clarence knew in the body and blood of Christ his faith was renewed, refreshed, and strengthened. We are sad for the loss of Clarence, but on this day, he is having a joyful reunion with his Lord Jesus Christ and with all those who have died before him in the faith.

One day your walk on this earth, this veil of tears, will also come to an end. But you too can rejoice just like Clarence and all those who have been baptized into the “Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”(Mt. 28:19) For all of Christ’s words, His death, and resurrection mean something. And because they do, there will be no more sorrow, no more crying, and there will be no more pain. So in reality Christ’s words mean a whole lot more than just something, for His words offer and freely give to all who would believe, the promise of eternal life. And that is much much, more than something, it is an eternal and blessed everything. Blessed are they who die in the Lord Jesus Christ from this time forth and for evermore. Amen.

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