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.

The Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

 The Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God – August 15, 2022

Psalm 34; Isaiah 61:7-11; Galatians 4:4-7

St. Luke 1:39-55

***What follows are the outline and general notes used to preach the sermon on this festival.*** 

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

The Augsburg Confession “approves giving honor to the saints. This honor is threefold. The first is thanksgiving: we ought to give thanks to God because he has given examples of his mercy, because he has shown that he wants to save humankind, and because he has given teachers and other gifts to the church. Since these are the greatest gifts, they ought to be extolled very highly, and we ought to praise the saints themselves for faithfully using these gifts just as Christ praises faithful managers. The second kind of veneration is the strengthening of our faith. When we see Peter forgiven after his denial, we, too, are encourages to believe that grace truly superabounds much more over sin. The third honor is imitation: first of their faith, then of their other virtues, which people should imitate according to their callings. The opponents do not require these true honors. They only argue about invocation, which, even if it were not dangerous, is certainly not necessary.”[1]

I. We give honor to the saints in thanksgiving for the examples of God’s mercy.

II. We give honor to the saints in the strengthening of our own faith.

III. We give honor to the saints in imitating first their faith, and then their other virtues.

Mary is not a co-redemptrix.

“People imagine that Christ is more severe and that the saints are more easily conciliated, and so they rely more on the mercy of the saints than on the mercy of Christ. Thus, they flee from Christ and turn to the saints. In this way, they actually make them mediators of redemption…

“Two conditions must be met for a person to qualify as a propitiator. First, there should be a Word of God from which we know with certainty that God wants to have mercy upon and to answer those who call upon him through this propitiator. Therefore, such a promise exists for Christ [John 16:23]: ‘If you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.’ No such promise exists for the saints. Therefore, consciences cannot establish with any degree of certainty that we will be heard if we call upon the saints…

“The second qualification for a propitiator is this: his merits must be authorized to make satisfaction for others who are given these merits by divine reckoning in order that through them, just as though they were their own merits, they may be reckoned righteous. It is as when a person pays a debt for friends, the debtors are freed by the merit of the other, as though it were by their own. Thus, Christ’s merits are given to us so that we might be reckoned righteous by our trust in the merits of Christ when we believe in him, as though we had merits of our own.”[2]

“Here and there this form of absolution has come into use: ‘The passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and the merits of the most blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints be to you for the forgiveness of sins.’ Here an absolution is pronounced that declares that we are reconciled and accounted righteous not only by the merits of Christ but also by the merits of the other saints. Some of us have seen a case where a teacher of theology was dying and a certain monastic theologian was summoned to offer consolation. He could do no better than press upon the dying man this prayer, ‘Mother of grace, protect us from the enemy; receive us in the hour of death.’

“Now we grant that the blessed Mary prays for the church. But she does not receive souls in death, conquer death, or give life, does she? What does Christ do if the blessed Mary performs all these things? Even though she is worthy of the highest honor, nevertheless she does not want herself to be made equal with Christ but instead wants us to consider and follow her example. The fact of the matter is that in the court of public opinion the blessed Virgin has completely replaced Christ. People have called upon her, trusted in her mercy, and through her have sought to conciliate Christ, as though he were not the propitiator, but only a dreadful judge and avenger. We contend, however, that we are justified by the merits of Christ, alone, not by the merits of the blessed Virgin or the other saints.”[3]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Apology to the Augsburg Confession XXI: 4-7, hereafter referred to as "Ap." Quoted from The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Edited by Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, Translated by Charles Arand, Eric Gritsch, Robert Kolb, William Russell, James Schaaf, Jane Strohl, and Timothy J. Wengert (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 238.

[2] Ap XXI: 15, 17-19. Kolb / Wengert, 239-240.

[3] Ap XXI: 25-29. Kolb / Wengert, 241.

The Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

Psalm 34; Isaiah 61:7-11; Galatians 4:4-7

St. Luke 1:39-55

            In the name of the Father, and of the T Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

            The Blessed Virgin Mary has been the subject of many artistic depictions throughout history. Many are quite beautiful. Unfortunately, many others contain false teachings associated with the Marian cult of the Roman Catholic Church. However, there is one that I would like to describe for you, which is worth your contemplation.

            The Blessed Virgin sits upon a marble chair, holding her Divine Son in her arms. There are bright white lilies at her feet and the wall behind them is covered in a floral wallpaper. The wall is a mixture of gold, red, white, green, pink and yellow, though all the tones of the wall are muted. Both Mary and her Son are adorned with nimbuses, the golden halo looking ornaments, typical of depictions of any Christian. Of course, the Christ child’s nimbus has a cross within it, while the Virgin Mother’s is rather plain.

The Christ child is naked, however his legs are drawn up so as to cover any indignity that might be displayed. His feet are slightly overlapping, reminiscent of how they will eventually be nailed to the cross. His arms are outstretched to the sides, the right hand formed into the sign of blessing – two fingers curled, the thumb and other two fingers extended. Both hands have their palms exposed, again, suggesting the posture in which he will atone for the sin of the world.

Mary is clothed in a dark velvet cloak. The color is difficult to discern, perhaps a dark shade of purple, perhaps a faded black. The cloak has gold trim and is clasped with a diamond shaped broach. She wears a red shirt, barely visible beneath the cloak. A thin white garment is placed upon her head and the hood of the cloak covers it. The Blessed Mother appears young, certainly under 20, as she was when she bore the Savior of the world. She holds the Christ child in both arms, simultaneously expressing tender care and somehow clutching him to herself.

The most striking features of the painting are the eyes of Christ and Mary. Christ stares directly at you, the viewer. He is painted face on, with vivid eyes, a serious but compassionate expression upon his young face. The Blessed Mother is looking down, her eyes barely visible. She is looking at her Son. Although the figure of Mary occupies three-quarters of the image, her gaze directs us to the Christ, particularly his hand raised in blessing. While Jesus’ lips are shown in a serious but compassionate expression, Mary shows slight concern in her understated face. She looks somewhat uncomfortable seated upon the marble seat.

What have we to learn from such an image? The purpose of celebrating the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to follow her gaze – to focus on Christ, her Son. Her eyes are focused ever on Christ, not her own station as the Mother of God. She is uncomfortable on the seat because she knows it is Christ’s throne, not her own. She is no more the Queen of Heaven than any other Christian. She deserves nothing. It is precisely because of her low estate that she was chosen by God to bear the Christ.

She clutches at the Christ child because only by clinging to her Savior does she have hope of salvation. She must hold him tightly, fervently, knowing that only in His salvation will she receive eternal life.

At the same time, she, as a mother, must not restrict him. A sword will pierce her heart as her own Son is beaten and nailed to a tree. She must endure a lifetime of sorrow for not only did her Savior die on her account, but her Son sacrificed Himself for her. She must not prevent Him from the death for which He was sent into the world. Mary was a smart woman, she knew that one day the Savior, her Son, must die to atone for her sin and she could not stop it.

Aside from being the Mother of God, as though that title were a trifle, Mary is also the fulfillment of the Ark of the Covenant and the image of the Church. The Ark of the Covenant was given to the Hebrews as they wandered the desert for forty years. It contained the Word of God and was the physical manifestation of the location of God. It was God’s throne and place of judgement. The lid was called the Mercy Seat, or more accurately, the Atonement Seat. Likewise, Mary was given to carry the Christ child within her womb for forty weeks. In her was the physical Word of God, come to dwell with his people. God would soon take his place upon the Atonement Seat, now fashioned into a cross.

The church is now the bearer of Christ. Inside these walls, inside the walls of your heart, dwells the Son of God. Here He comes to be with His people, physically in His Holy Body and Precious Blood. He dispenses that same atonement, made once and for all on Mount Calvary and now distributed to you in His Word, His Supper, and His Baptism, every Sunday. “His mercy is on those who fear him, from generation to generation”[1] of those who receive his Word of absolution in faith. From whence comes this faith? The very same Word. “He has helped His servant Israel, [the Church,] in remembrance of His mercy, as He promised to our fathers, [to your fathers,] Abraham and to his seed forever.”[2]

Because of the terrible abuses of our Mother in the faith, we are tempted to denigrate Mary. “She was nothing special, she was a sinner, too. We shouldn’t exalt her any more than any other Christian. Giving her special attention is too Roman Catholic.” Mary was a sinner. She is no greater than any other Christian in regard to her salvation. She was conceived in iniquity and born in sin. She needed the blood of Christ to wash away her sins every bit as much as you do.

But we should also heed the words the angel Gabriel, “Rejoice, highly favred one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”[3] Then there are the words of Elizabeth, spoken to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”[4] Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Mary herself sang, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth ALL GENERATIONS WILL CALL ME BLESSED.”[5]

Lest we become the very prideful ones scattered in the imaginations of our hearts, we should humble ourselves before the Blessed Virgin Mary, not out of worship. We never worship a Christian. The temptation to hold the Blessed Virgin down so as to elevate ourselves is blatant hypocrisy, sinful pride, and biblical ignorance. The mighty, in worldly power and in sinful pride, are cast down from their throne. But the lowly, the humble, are exalted. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are filled with good things while the rich are sent away empty. We should humble ourselves to the mercy shown to Mary by God; humble ourselves before the faith shown by a teenager told she would bear God in her womb; humble ourselves to imitate this faith, begging our Father in Heaven to endow us with such humility, grace, and endurance.

She cast her gaze upon the Christ child in whom is her salvation. In her deepest suffering, as her beloved Son hung upon a cross, she did not curse God and beg for death. She stood silently weeping and received the blessing of Christ. In His moment of greatest suffering, Christ Himself looked down from the cross and regarded his beloved mother. Despite enduring the pain of ten thousand generations of sin and evil, he took a moment to entrust his beloved mother to his beloved disciple. In the depth of sorrow, God looked up upon his blessed saints. Everything God does, everything Christ does is for the benefit of the Church and His saints. Everything is done for you.

On this account, we celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary. We celebrate her as our mother in the faith as the first Christian to receive the Body of Christ into herself. We celebrate her as our sister, praising the manifold gifts of God. We celebrate Mary as the image of the Church, ‘the glorious princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. In these many-colored robes she is led to the king, her own Son seated upon His eternal throne, with all her virgin companions, the Church, all those cleansed from their sins and made pure as virgins, following behind.’[6]

In T Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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[1] The Magnificat, Luke 1:50.

[2] The Magnificat, Luke 1:54-55.

[3] Luke 1:28.

[4] Luke 1:42.

[5] The Magnificat, Luke 1:47-48. Emphasis added.

[6] Psalm 45:13-14, the Gradual for the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.