Gaudete (Advent 3)

Gaudete – December 14, 2025

Psalm 85; Isaiah 40:1-11; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

St. Matthew 11:2-11

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

As St. John the Baptist sits in prison for preaching against the adultery of Herod, he sends two of his disciples to ask our Lord a question, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”[1] This question is full of mystery and meaning. Why is John asking this question? Is he questioning if Jesus is really the Christ, the Messiah, come to take away the sins of the world? Is he confused over what the job of the Messiah is? Or is John trying to teach his disciples a lesson, to prepare them for his inevitable execution at the hands of the wicked Herod?

We can immediately rule out the idea that John is questioning if Jesus is really the Christ. It was St. John the Baptist who leapt in his mother’s womb when the mother of our Lord greeted Elizabeth for he knew his Savior was near.[2] John was our Lord’s cousin and grew up around Him, being only six months older than He. And in adulthood, St. John loudly proclaimed Jesus to be the very Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world; He whose sandal John was unworthy to untie; the One who must increase that John might decrease.[3] St. John saw the heavens opened as he baptized our Lord, and heard the voice of the Father proclaim, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.”[4] Everything we know about St. John tells us that he is confident that Jesus is the Christ, the very Lamb of God and the Promised Messiah.

There is, however, a good chance that John is asking this question because he is doubting the job of the Christ. This says more about St. John than it does about Christ. John is wondering if he has misunderstood the Scriptures. Afterall, the Old Testament prophets speak of the Messiah freeing the captives. Isaiah says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound…”[5] And again, Isaiah says, The Messiah is given as a covenant to the people, “As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.”[6] And again, Zechariah says, “As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.”[7]

Here John is sitting in prison, and he knows the Scriptures speak of the Messiah freeing the prisoners from captivity. He must be asking himself, “Did I misunderstand the Scriptures? Is this Christ different from the one who will free the captives? Will this one be the Lamb of God and then we must wait for another to fulfill these other prophecies? What gives?”

In this way, we can find St. John to be very relatable. There are plenty of passages of Scripture in which God promises wonderful things and yet our experience is different. Sometimes, we want to clear up this seeming contradiction by simply spiritualizing everything we read in God’s Word. “Freeing the prisoners just means freeing us from our sins.” That is true in one sense. Especially the passage I read from Zechariah, “Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit,” speaks of being free from the eternal consequences of your sin. The blood of the covenant speaks of the blood of Christ, which, because it was shed on the cross, has set you free from slavery to sin. This is most certainly true.

But if we are content with the Scriptures only giving spiritual truths, then the moment we face tragedy, disaster, poverty, or other great ills, there will be a strong temptation to believe that God has no answer. The opposite is also true. If Scripture only gives spiritual truths, then when we are tempted by sin, our pride will puff up, believing that since God only cares about the Spiritual, our actions have no consequence. God forgives me so it won’t matter if I give into this sin or that sin.

St. John is humbly asking Christ to clear up this confusion. The Scriptures say one thing, and I am experiencing something entirely different. Why? God sometimes allows His saints to suffer so that we would learn to rely on Him; that we would learn that God knows how to care for us better than we know how to care for ourselves. This includes learning not to trust our senses or our own experiences. St. John needs to learn that imprisonment and even suffering a martyr’s death are not the worst things that can happen to a man. The worst that can happen is to suffer eternity in hell. And so, John’s faith needs encouragement. His soul needs encouragement.

When Christ says, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see,” He is confirming for John that He is the Christ, the promised Messiah, and those things that He is doing have effects even in the material world, not just spiritual effects. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear. And these outward signs are themselves pointing to the spiritual truth, that Christ has forgiven the sins of these people. Just so, John will be released from prison. It won’t be the way that John hoped. He won’t walk free to again follow Christ across Judea. He will leave prison in a proverbial body bag.

But even this isn’t the end of the story. John also will be released from the prison of the ground. His flesh will be raised on the last day, reunited with his soul, and he will spend eternity with Christ, seeing Him, hearing Him, and praising Him without end. Once again, God knows better how to take care of His saints than we do.

To John’s credit, he already had some idea that this was true. The translation of John’s question we read this morning gets something wrong. John doesn’t ask, “Are you the One who is to come,” but “Are You the Coming One?” That seems like a small difference but it is important. Christ is not the One who came once, but the One who is eternally Coming to His church. Baked into his question, St. John is asking if Jesus is the One who not only came in the flesh but will continue to come to His saints. St. John is fairly certain that he is going to die in prison, so he wants to be sure that Christ is going to come for him in death and again come to raise him from death.

So Christ gives John an answer which says, “Yes. Not only did I descend into your flesh, but I will forever be with you. I will come to you in prison. I will come to you in death. And at the last day, I will come to raise you from the grave. There is never a time that I am not coming to you. My presence is not a fanciful, spiritual ideal, but a present reality, no matter what day or time you have in mind.”

And our Lord’s final words to St. John this morning are “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” This offense is not hurt feelings or a bruised ego or hurt sensibilities over manners. Offense in this context, like most of the times in Scripture, means to loose faith, to fall away from the faith, to abandon the faith of the Scriptures. Christ pronounces this beatitude on all who would not abandon their faith because God isn’t meeting their expectations; on all who humbly approach the Scriptures, realizing that any misunderstanding or seeming contradiction exists only because of a failure on their part, not on the part of God. St. John is truly blessed, as are you, for coming to Christ to say, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”[8]

The final option I gave for why St. John asked his question was to teach his disciples. This can be true even if John is also asking for comfort for his own soul and clarity for his confusion over the words of the Scriptures. St. John clearly confessed that he must decrease as Christ increases.[9] John does not want his disciples to make any mistake. His role of prophet was to point people to Christ, not to gather followers to himself.

St. John was a good pastor. His disciples loved him, even coming to take great care of his body once he had been martyred.[10] John’s chief concern was that his disciples not become “Johnnites,” but Christians. He did not want them setting up shrines or praying to John after his death, but to turn to Christ. And after the Ascension, John wants his disciples to listen to other preachers who have dedicated their lives to pointing people to Christ.

This Sunday is called “Gaudete,” which means, “rejoice.” We light the rose colored candle in the Advent wreath as a momentary break from the penitential nature of the season of Advent. The same thing happens about halfway through Lent, on the fourth Sunday in Lent, when we celebrate Laetare. It is funny that we celebrate the Advent Sunday of rejoicing by reading of St. John sending messengers from prison.

At the same time, this is an incredibly appropriate reading for a Sunday of rejoicing. St. John is experiencing perhaps the worst chapter of his life. What does he do? He calls on Christ. And what does Christ tell him? “John, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. Though the kings and princes of the earth throw you in prison and execute you, they have no power over your soul. They have no power over your life. Live each moment knowing that your present suffering is nothing compared with the bliss of eternity which you have inherited through My Blood. Well done, My good and faithful servant. Soon, I will see your face in the kingdom of my Father.”

As we pray in the psalms, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”[11] Christ assures St. John that this desire will be fulfilled in today’s reading. He is also assuring you of the same. This place, here at the altar of the Lord, you behold His beauty. And so long as you are not offended by Him, trusting instead that He knows what He is doing, then you will one day see Him as He is. Today, you see bread and wine with your eyes but the eyes of faith know that it is the very Body and Blood of Christ. In the day of the Lord, He will no longer veil Himself in earthly elements. You will see and behold Him as He is, even as you are made like Him.[12] What better cause is there to rejoice?

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] St. Matthew 11:3.

[2] St. Luke 1:41.

[3] St. John 1:29; St. Luke 3:16; St. John 3:31.

[4] St. Matthew 3:17; cf. St. John 1:32-34.

[5] Isaiah 61:1.

[6] Isaiah 42:6-7.

[7] Zechariah 9:11.

[8] St. Mark 9:24.

[9] St. John 3:30.

[10] St. Matthew 14:12.

[11] Psalm 27:4.

[12] 1 John 3:2.

Vespers - Advent 2

 Wednesday Vespers following Populus Zion – December 10, 2025

Psalm 85; Malachi 3:1-5

St. Matthew 11:11-15

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

It is so easy to become weary with the things of God. Reading the same texts year in and year out becomes boring. The hymns of our fathers aren’t relevant.

Another way to become weary is to shift your focus. Rather than reading the Word of God, it is more exciting to listen to radio preachers, watch the History Channel, or let your pastor do the heavy lifting. “As long as he is preaching, I don’t need to read it.” If you can’t remember singing a hymn from your childhood, then it must not be a traditional hymn. Decorations, presents, and parties are the focus of Advent rather than repentance, the Word of God, and preparing to receive your Lord. The world is having fun so why can’t we?

In Malachi’s day, the people began to bring sick, blind, and lame animals to be offered as sacrifices. Our Lord denounces these actions for two reasons. First, they are disobeying His commandment. His people have been commanded to bring Him the first fruits of their labor, the best of what they have to offer. By bringing diseased animals, the people are mocking the Lord as though He wouldn’t notice or as though they are more worthy of a healthy beast than God.

Second, the people of God are despising His priests. The Levites were given no inheritance, no land on which to raise cattle or wheat. They were sustained by the offerings of the people. By offering sick and blind animals, the people are depriving the Levites of their wages. They are depriving the ministers of God of their rightful sustenance that they might dedicate their lives to God, His Word, and His people.

At the same time, our Lord denounces the priests as well. The priests have failed in their duty to warn the people. Rather than rebuke them for offering profaned sacrifices, the priests were accepting these sickly animals and proclaiming the people righteous for it. The priests failed both to teach the people concerning right sacrifice and to guard the Temple of the Lord from profane things.

It is again, so easy to become weary with the things of God. Why bring God a tenth of what you have when He already has everything? Why offer the sacrifice of prayer when God already knows what you need? Why worry about avoiding sin when God has promised to forgive your sins? When your sins have been washed away in Baptism? When you can come to confession?

Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.”[1] God will not sit idly by while His people become weary and His preachers become lazy. He sent His messenger in the person of St. John the Baptist, whose duty was to prepare the hearts of men to receive their Lord.[2] How is a heart prepared to receive his Lord? It is prepared by being confronted by sin. St. John did not have a pleasant job. He was not given the task of preaching concerning the vision of a beautiful heaven. He, like Malachi, was called to teach concerning the Law of God. When the people are not following the Law of God, John must show them their sin.

It is never fun to be told you are sinning. No one likes to hear his conscience say, “Don’t do that! God is watching!” let alone to have someone else do it. Cries of “Tyranny!” and “Who do you think you are?!” and “Who made you God?!” immediately burst from our lips.

At the same time, we ought to be thankful for Malachi and John. Men like these, sent by God, are messengers sent before the coming of the King. It is their duty to prepare you so that you will not be caught unawares.

“Who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?”[3] None can stand according to our sin. None can stand according to our nature. None can stand without having heard the preaching of men like Malachi and John.

When the Lord comes, “He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap.”[4] If you remain in your sins, if you reject the Word of God, if you reject the preaching of Malachi, you are a solid rod of dross. When the refiner’s fire is applied to the rod, it will be entirely burned up.

But to you who fear the Name of the Lord, you are a rod with a core of silver. When the refiner’s fire is applied to you, your sinful dross which still clings to you, will be purged from the rod. Such purgation will leave behind a pure rod, a rod of pure silver. It is this pure rod which can offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness, pleasant to the Lord.[5]

The faith of the people in Malachi’s day was revealed in their profane sacrifices. The faith of the priests was revealed in their sloth. No one needs to claim that we cannot see their hearts because their faith is revealed in the works of their hands. This has not changed. Your faith is seen in the works of your hands.

Now, do not mistake me. Do not lie awake tonight trembling over your works, “Have I done enough? Have I done the right things? How much more do I need to do?” These questions are useless. God is not concerned with the quantity of your works. Malachi is no where writing about such questions. God is concerned with the orientation of your heart. Do you seek to follow the Word of God? Do you fear the Name of the Lord?

“To you who fear [God’s] name, The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.”[6] To fear the name of the Lord is akin to loving Him. It means you do not want to disappoint Him. It means you understand that you are undeserving of His love. It means you trust that He has forgiven your sins by His mercy and that even still, you are as an ant to a young boy with a magnifying glass in hand. To fear the Name of the Lord is to desire never to disappoint your Heavenly Father and trust that He will always, always hold you tenderly in His hand.

The rising of the Sun of Righteousness points directly to the Incarnation of our Lord. It speaks of His descending into the flesh of man because in this flesh, He brought healing. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity became man so that He could die. By His death, you are healed. You are purged of the sin and filth of former times. You are made righteous, as in the days of old, as in former years, when Adam and Eve were made stewards over the earth but had not submitted to temptation.

Though your eyes cannot see it and experience tells you otherwise, this healing has already taken place. It occurred when Christ breathed His last on Friday and then breathed again on Easter morning. By this healing, “you shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that” Christ conquered death.[7] Though the world roar and foam; though Satan claw at your soul with his wickedly sharp talons; though your own heart would leap from your chest to obtain the objects of its lust; you shall trample such wickedness because Christ is yours. Because your heart has been turned toward your Father and His heart toward you.

Therefore, “remember the Law of Moses, [God’s] servant.”[8] That is, remember the Law of the Lord. Until Christ returns, it will never seem like you are trampling on the wicked. In fact, it will always appear that the wicked triumph and the Church suffers. In this age, it is necessary to remember the moral law, to recite the Ten Commandments and the Table of Duties, so that you would not grow weary. Do not grow weary of righteousness so that you will not be caught unawares. Do not grow weary of hearing the preaching of Malachi and John so that you too would be called to repentance. Repent for the sake of loving your Heavenly Father.

Repent now, for the reality is that the triumph of the wicked is only an illusion. The wicked are nothing more than a wolf backed into a corner. They lash out fiercely because they know they are soon to die. The war is won. The wicked are defeated. Any last efforts are only the final actions of a dead man, because the Sun of Righteousness has arisen and has brought healing to all who hear the Word of the Lord.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Malachi 3:1.

[2] St. Matthew 11:14.

[3] Malachi 3:2.

[4] Malachi 3:2.

[5] Malachi 3:2-4.

[6] Malachi 4:2.

[7] Malachi 4:3.

[8] Malachi 4:4.

Populus Zion (Advent 2)

Populus Zion – December 7, 2025

Psalm 80; Malachi 4:1-6; Romans 15:4-13

St. Luke 21:25-36

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

The word “advent” means “coming.” Now the world treats this time as the “Christmas season,” by shopping for Christmas presents, holding Christmas parties, decorating houses, and making travel plans for the Christmas break from school and work. There is nothing wrong with participating in these things. We do live in the world even if we are not of the world. Yet the temptation is to become wrapped up in these activities of the world and to forget the purpose of the season of Advent.

Like the world, Christians use the time of Advent for preparation, but the way in which Christians prepare and the occasion Christians are preparing for are quite distinct from that of the world. During Advent, we reflect, contemplate, and prepare for the three ways in which Christ comes. First, He came in the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary. The eternal Son of God descended into the flesh of man, sharing in our humanity that we might receive His eternity. Second, He comes to us today, through the reading, preaching, and meditating on His Word. He also comes to us bodily in His Holy Sacrament. He comes in the mutual consolation of our Christian brothers and sisters, as they share with us His Holy Word. Finally, we look forward to His final coming, when Christ will reveal Himself to the nations, make His final judgment, and receive all who believe and are baptized into His loving arms for all eternity.

It is this final coming of Christ that Christ speaks of this morning in the Gospel and for which He bids us to prepare. While the world is preparing to celebrate family time at Christmas by buying presents, preparing meals, and making travel plans, the Church prepares to receive her King in the same way she has always prepared herself for God: by repentance.

When I speak of repentance, I don’t just mean reciting the words of the general confession once a week, “I, a poor miserable sinner…” though that is a good start. I mean taking a serious reflection of your heart, actions, mind, and soul. Consider your station in life according to the Ten Commandments, whether you are a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker; whether you have been disobedient, unfaithful, slothful; whether you have grieved any person by word or deed; whether you have stolen, neglected, or wasted anything, or done other injury.[1] Have you placed your fear, love, and trust in God above all things or have you feared the opinions of people or the economy more than trusting that God loves you and will provide?

Our age is filled both with security in material goods and anxiety over every aspect of life. On the one hand, we look to our stuff to feel secure and happy while constantly worrying about the opinions of others, how we measure up to their expectations. This security and anxiety are both misguided because they entirely remove God from the equation. Our security is in Him, who created and sustains all things in the universe. Our anxiety only runs skin deep, though we feel it deep in our soul. This anxiety forgets that the same God who created and sustains the universe also descended into our flesh for the very purpose of taking our cares, anxieties, and most importantly our sins, upon Himself and crucifying them. He bore your sins into death so that they would remain in the grave forever.

Both the security and anxiety of our age is also misguided because it fails to reach into the root of the problem: our sinful state. The problem is not that we don’t have enough to be secure or that we feel bad about ourselves. The problem is that these are sins against the Almighty God. They are the actions of sinners who have forgotten what the Lord has commanded. Only by a serious contemplation of the Word of God can sin be revealed. “I would not have known sin except through the law…The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”[2]

And yet there is a second part of repentance. Repentance is first contrition, that is, sorrow over our sin which has been brought about by the contemplation of God’s holy, just, and good law. The second part is faith; faith which clings to the promise of God that Christ has died for your sin and rose for your justification. If it were not for faith clinging to God’s promise of forgiveness, it would be unthinkable to consider your sins. It would be so overwhelming because it is obvious to anyone that they are unworthy of God. A moment of reflection over the state of your soul would either cause you to turn immediately away from God and cling to your sin in pride or fall into such despair that you would beg for death.

And yet knowledge of the promise of forgiveness makes considering your sin bearable. It becomes bearable because the Word of God has revealed that His great love caused His incarnation. His great love caused the Father to accept the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son on your behalf. His great love washed you in the waters of Holy Baptism, not only cleansing you from sin but making you a child of the Heavenly Father. And just as a child desires nothing more than to make his father proud, so too such great love of God moves your soul to desire to make God proud. It causes you to desire to be free from sin and conform to God’s holy Law.

This is what makes the Christian’s Advent preparations different from that of the world’s. When the nations see signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, they tremble with fear because they are perplexed. A sense of foreboding dread sweeps over the nations for fear of what is coming upon the world. Yet the Church sees these signs and knows that her King is coming soon. We prepare (through repentance and faith) with great joy, straightening up and lifting our heads to see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. The distress of nations is for us a sign that the end is near and we know what will happen at the end. Christ will come and gather us to Himself.

Thus He bids us to watch ourselves so that we are not weighed down with despair, drunkenness, and the cares of this life. Rather, we stay vigilant and pray that we be kept in this true faith until either we die or Christ returns, whichever should come first.

I stand before you today for the first time, charged with bringing you the whole counsel of God. The Lord has seen fit to call this sinner to serve Him in this place and at this time. I have taken vows to be faithful to the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions, which means that it is my sacred duty to stand in the stead and by the command of my Lord, Jesus Christ, delivering to you His Holy Word and Sacraments. When Christ returns on that final day, I will stand before Him and be held accountable for my ministry to your souls. If I profane the Word of God, if I cause one of you little ones to fall away from the faith because I pervert the things of God, then I will be judged guilty and spend eternity in hell.

It is my sacred duty to pray for you and with you. It is my duty to love you as Christ loves this church. It is my duty to weep over your sins, even as I call you to account for them. Know that it is not my sacred duty to be nice. Certainly to extend Christian love and fellowship, bearing with you in all things, but there is no obligation to be “nice” simply to please men. This is a hard teaching, but it is true. I am obligated to hold you accountable to the Word of God just as you must hold me accountable to it.

Scripture calls all Christians to pray for their leaders, including their pastors. God expects you to pray for me and to pray for my family. It is also expected that you will bear with me in all things, honor the office to which I’ve been called, uphold my reputation - not hearing any accusation from others in idle gossip, and listening intently to the Word of God. You have also promised to aid me as I care for my family and to be diligent to “put the best construction on everything,” recognizing that “love covers a multitude of sins.” I expect you to hold me accountable to the Word of God and if I should sin against you, I expect you to call me to repentance.

Our Lord has promised that though heaven and earth will pass away, His Word will never pass away.[3] The time is already growing late. It has been 2,000 years since our Lord spoke these words. Though it is cold outside and the calendar shows it is winter, in the broad view of time, the trees are coming out in leaf and the end of time draws near. Together, we hope and pray that the Lord will grant a bountiful harvest in this congregation, that He will bless us with new children to baptize, adults to instruct, and families to bring into our fold. Yet it is the Lord who gives growth. It is also at the Lord’s discretion that congregations shrink. We do not measure the success of the Church in man’s terms. We measure the success of the Church in faithfulness to the Scriptures, trusting that God knows better than we do how to manage His own household.

So together, we must stay awake at all times, praying that we may have strength to escape the temptations of the world and to stand before the Son of Man in humility and faith. Together, we must devote ourselves to the things of God, to His Word and Holy Sacraments. Together, we must show ourselves to bear the Light of Christ into the world, that not by our efforts, but by the very Word of God, the world would be brought to Christ. You and I bear the priceless treasure of Jesus Christ. Let us not bear it in vain, but in boldness of faith. Let us prepare for the return of Christ in humble repentance, never forgetting that He came in our flesh to die for our sins and still comes to us today, wrapped in water, bread, wine, and His Holy Word.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Small Catechism, Confession VI.

[2] Romans 7:7; 12.

[3] St. Luke 21:33.