Rorate Coeli (Advent 4)

 Rorate Coeli (Advent 4) – December 22, 2024

Psalm 19; Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Philippians 4:4-7

St. John 1:19-28

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

Those who question St. John the Baptist this morning do so in two parts. First, they question his identity, “Who are you? Are you Elijah? Are you the Prophet?” Then they question what he is doing, or on who’s authority he is doing it, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” This will also serve as the outline for our meditation this morning.

With regard to identity, there seem to have been three prevailing theories in the first century as to what the Messiah would look like. There were some who thought He would be a King Messiah, sent by God to deliver His people from oppression by the Romans and all other nations. This King Messiah would reconstitute the nation of Israel and save His people by establishing an earthly kingdom for them to rule.

Then there was the idea of a Priest Messiah. He would arrive with signs and wonders, a divine Elijah, who would conquer the enemies of God by invoking the Divine Name and offering sacrifices acceptable to God for the sins of the people. He would purify the Temple and reinstitute the right and holy sacrifices of Moses. His rule would be by the Law of God.

Finally, there was the idea of a Prophet Messiah. He would need neither the state nor the Temple because He would usher in the rule of God by His Words, alone. This would be a prophet like Moses but far greater. Just as there was no king in the days of Moses, so too this Prophet Messiah would need no king since he would judge all matters. So also, there was no Temple in the days of Moses, so this Prophet Messiah would have no need for sacrifices or external means. Salvation would become a matter of the heart and soul alone.

Each of these expected Messiahs has an element of truth but is overcome by falsehood. Those looking for the King Messiah trust that the promises of God are for this world and apply to our very bodies. But that is where their idea of salvation stops. It seems they looked only for a Messiah of the flesh and were not concerned about the soul, the forgiveness of sins, or eternal life.

Those looking for the Priest Messiah also acknowledged the blessings of God received through means, but their hope was in the Law of God. The blood of bulls and goats meant salvation and it was the Priest Messiah who would purify their offerings so that they might earn salvation by keeping God’s Law.

Those looking for the Prophet Messiah certainly found comfort in the Word of God and held His Word in high esteem. However, they became so heavenly minded they were of no earthly good. Perhaps they even fell into an antinomian mindset, that is, they disregarded the Law of God, making God’s promises strictly a matter between ‘me and God’ with no effect on life in this world.

It seems the various sects that had arisen in the first century fell into one of these three camps. There was only a small, faithful remnant who saw the truth of God’s Word, that the Messiah would fill all three offices—Prophet, Priest, and King. He rules over all nations. All kings derive their authority not from right but from the very hand of the Messiah, the Incarnate God. He is the Priest after the order of Melchizedek, who would offer the perfect and final sacrifice of Himself, for the forgiveness of sins. He is also the Prophet like Moses, the very Word of God made flesh. He would speak not as a messenger of God but as God Himself, from His own authority and power.

John was of this faithful remnant, who denied being the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet like Moses. He was the voice crying in the wilderness, making the hearts of man prepared to receive their Prophet, Priest, and King in the Person of Jesus Christ. John does not find his identity in his clothes, though they outwardly display his office; nor in his personal wants and desires, who he wants the world to see him as; nor even in his job, his wealth, or his health. John finds his identity in the Word of God.

Now, none of you has a particular prophecy about himself in the Old Testament that reveals your role in the history of salvation like John does. However, your identity is clearly spelled out in Scripture. You are a sinner, who has inherited the sin of your father Adam in your flesh. This sin makes you an enemy of God. But you have also been adopted into the family of God. You have been made a child of the Heavenly Father through the waters of Holy Baptism. You died in those waters. You died and were buried. Through a miracle of the Holy Spirit, you were then raised a new man. You arose as a child of God, with the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ Himself, covering your sin and marking you as an heir of heaven.

Your sin was drowned in the waters of Holy Baptism, but it still clings to your flesh, at least on this side of glory. We must daily repent of our sins and strive against sin, daily praying that all our doings in life would please God. This is the baptismal life, the life of the Christian. When you fall into sin, you repent and there is forgiveness. We live, and breathe, and have our being in the grace and mercy of Christ that has been showered upon is in the waters of Holy Baptism.

This is not just a nice picture. There is no “pretend” in the Scriptures nor in the life of the Church. What God’s Word says, it does. What Christ says, He does. When He says, “Your sins are forgiven,” they are forgiven. When He says, “Arise, your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more,” He means it.

Which is why the second round of questioning is vital. “Since you are not the Christ, Elijah, nor the Prophet, who do you think you are, baptizing and forgiving sins?” By confessing that he baptizes with water, but Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit, John is confessing that he is the instrument, and Christ is the actor in Holy Baptism.

There is a distinction between the office and the man. In many ways, John—and pastors today—just splash around some water and recite some words. There is nothing in John’s person that makes Baptism happen. It is God working through Him to give such power and might to the Sacrament. John does not bestow the Holy Spirit or the forgiveness of sins on those he baptizes. God does. God works through the means of the Office of the Holy Ministry to administer Holy Baptism. It is an act of God, a divine work, that is done through the hands and lips of men.

John and all men called to the Office of the Holy Ministry are sinful, fallible human beings, just like everyone else. It is not a matter of their person but a matter of their office. They have been called to be the lips and hands of God in distributing His marvelous gifts—the Word of God, the Holy Sacraments, the forgiveness of sins. They have been given the blessed task of pointing you to Christ, just as John does in this reading. “There is One who stands among you that you do not know, so let me tell you about Him. Let me give Him to you in Word, water, wine, and bread. I am not worthy to tie His sandal strap, but I have been called to bring Him to you.”

As you make your final preparations for Christmas, buying last minute gifts, preparing the spare room for visitors, or finalizing travel plans, perhaps take blessed John the Baptist as your example. Remember that it is the Incarnation of the Son of God that we are celebrating—not in a kitschy “Jesus is the reason for the season” way, but remembering that it was the love of God that motivated Him to descend into your flesh. He set aside the powers of His divinity for a time that He might experience your suffering; that He might fulfill the Law where you, your fathers, and all mankind have failed; that He might bear your sin to the cross.

Remember that He is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Remember that in your baptism, you died to sin with Christ, and rose a new man, washed in His blood, living a new life in Christ. For all this, it is our duty to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. It is also our duty to continue to receive these gifts from Him. And when John hit his lowest low, sitting in a prison cell that he would never leave alive on this side of glory, he went to the source of his salvation, the source of his joy. He sent two disciples to Jesus and asked if He is the One who is to Come, or if he should look for another. Christ sent Word that He is indeed, the Coming One, the One come to relief the sick, the suffering, the poor, and the oppressed.

For John, that relief came in martyrdom. For others, miracles of healing were performed. For you, it may mean debt relief, a clean bill of health, or children who return to the faith. But it may not. Your relief may look more like John’s. What we know for certain is that Christ has relieved you of your sin and that means that when this short life is over, when your days of 70, 80, or 90 years are over, you have eternity with Christ. You have eternity with the God who was born in a lowly manger, the Lamb of God who takes away your sin.

Remember this as you prepare to celebrate Christmas. Remember this as you pray, sing, and gather with all the saints to celebrate His birth.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

Rorate Coeli (Advent 4)

Rorate Coeli (Advent 4) – December 18, 2022

Psalm 19; Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Philippians 4:4-7

St. John 1:19-28

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

Satan is quite clever in today’s Gospel reading. The messengers from Jerusalem are willing to grant St. John the Baptist any title he might desire. They ask if he is the Christ and they would willingly treat him as such. When he declines this title, they ask if he is Elijah, that is, if he is Elijah returned from heaven. Remember that Elijah did not suffer death. He was carried by a fiery chariot into heaven. Thus these Jews interpreted Malachi 3 as prophesying that the great prophet Elijah would return from heaven just prior to the arrival of the Messiah. John again declines this title.

So, they ask if he is the Prophet. Here is an interesting question. Because they are asking about the Prophet and just a Prophet, it seems most likely that they are asking if John is the prophet like Moses, promised by God in our reading from the Old Testament. On the other hand, the Prophet like Moses, raised up by God, having the Word of God in His mouth, and speaking all that the Father commands Him, is clearly a title for the Messiah. Even the priests and Levites, the scribes and the Pharisees would have known this to be a title for the Messiah and John has already denied being the Messiah.

Thus, this third title is highly deceptive. It seems the Jews are giving John the opportunity to interpret their words for them. He has a second chance to claim to be the Messiah. He also has an opportunity to simply claim to be a prophet. Yet once again, John denies being the Prophet.

In the fourth question, “What do you say about yourself?” the Jews give John the opportunity to define himself. He is granted the freedom to choose his own title and we are given no reason the Jews would disbelieve his response. Given this freedom, when asked what he says about himself, John confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord.”[1] He refused to answer in his own words. He says about himself only what Scripture says.

Frustrated by John’s unwillingness to define himself according to their will, the Jews demand to know why, that is, by what authority, John is baptizing. John uses this opportunity to turn their attention away from himself and toward Christ. John has already begun to decrease that Christ would increase.

God truly blessed His Church in sending St. John to be the forerunner of the Christ. He was unafraid of kings, priests, Levites, Pharisees, soldiers, and crowds. He was unafraid and unashamed. The man wore camel’s hair and a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild honey. He preached in the wilderness. Everything about St. John was beyond countercultural. He was what today, we would easily call a zealot, freak, or weirdo. And John wouldn’t bat an eye at these names.

Would you? We are quick to complain about the world around us—the failing morality, the perversity taught in schools, and the manipulation of media. You have heard it said many times, that the Church is set in the world but is not of the world. The Church is to stand out as a shining beacon on the hill. The Church does not give in to the culture nor seek the approval of the culture.

And yet we are all afraid to be considered too weird, too distinct from the culture, too separate. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”[2] When we have given the training of our children over to Caesar, that is, over to the government, why are we surprised they choose to live of the world instead of the Church?

Or when we give the training of our children over to 35 hours of government-run schools, 5-10 hours a week in sports training and competition, and just maybe give them 2 hours of time in the church, why are we surprised when a college with a scholarship sports team but without a faithful church anywhere nearby is their first choice? Or when Church is the last thing on their minds? Or when they complain that Sunday is their only day to sleep in?

Why is it that homeschooling children is too weird? “I want to be counter-cultural, but not that countercultural.” Why is it that giving children “the best education possible” or training them for “real-world skills” is more important than training up their faith? Why is it that when a child is 5 or 6, the primary concern is which school district you live in, so that they will have a “successful high school career”? Shouldn’t the goal of education be to give children a foundation in the truth, which begins and ends in Jesus Christ?

Why are crucifixes “too popish” but mangers are cute? If Jesus isn’t still on the cross, He certainly isn’t still in the manger. It's because crucifixes show what happened to that baby in the manger because of your sin. They are unpleasant for your sinful nature to look at because the crucifix makes your sins unavoidable. The manger scene is cute enough that you can convince yourself it doesn’t smell like animals and manure.

If we truly believe that the Scriptures are the inerrant Word of God, why do we not read them in line at the DMV? Why does everyone own a TV and a phone, both of which almost certainly get more time and attention than your bible?

Why do pastors struggle to confront sinners? Why do pastors try to soften the blow when someone manifestly sins in front of him? Why are Christians afraid of spending more than one or two hours a week at the Church building?

Why do we have any question or hesitation about men having God-given authority over women? Scripture repeatedly speaks of such male headship in the home, in the church, and in the state. Even in the most “conservative” congregations, this topic must always be treated with kid gloves. Why is that?

Why do you come to Church? Why do you come to this church? If it is because it is what you’ve always done, or it’s the church your parents went to, or because your friends attend this church, then the moment a doctrine of the Bible accuses your conscience, you will either run away or demand the church change her teaching.

If you come to church, if you come to this church, it ought to be because Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and this Church rightly proclaims this One thing needful along with the whole counsel of God. If that is the case, then when you are confronted with a biblical doctrine that accuses your conscience, you will repent, ask forgiveness, and seek to conform your will to the Will of God.

There are many ways to answer these questions, each deserving of serious study and contemplation. What is common to them all is that we hesitate in these, and many other matters, because we don’t want to seem too far outside the norm. We don’t want to be zealots, freaks, or weirdos. We are afraid of the opinions of men. We are too afraid of the opinions of women. It is uncomfortable to be too distant from the world because our flesh still loves the world and craves its approval.

It is uncomfortable to be different and our world has trained us to seek comfort at all costs. This is how we have become catechized by the world. Our innate priorities are those taught to us in school and perpetuated by all forms of media.

Thanks be to God He sent a forerunner before the Christ. He sent John into the world not as the Christ, not as Elijah, nor as the Prophet, but as a voice. God sent a voice to preach a message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. God placed that voice in St. John and gave him such faith that he was unafraid and unashamed of what anyone would say about him. He didn’t care if you didn’t like the hymns he sang, the way he spoke, how he dressed or how he smelled. He didn’t care because the Word of God and the truth he was sent to proclaim were far more important that the opinions of men.

Thanks be to God He sent this forerunner before the Christ. It is uncomfortable, unpleasant, and even downright painful to hear the preaching of repentance. No on likes it. The preaching of repentance makes your sins plain. You cannot hide from them. Your sins deserve eternal damnation, and they must be revealed. They must be revealed so that they might be forgiven. John preached a baptism of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. A wound must first be cleaned, a very painful process, before it can be healed.

How then can you receive the preaching of St. John? How can the example of St. John be brought to you? Begin by simply contemplating the Word of God. Intentionally spend time talking to your husband, children, friends, and neighbors about the sermon you heard that week. Read the Scriptures more than you are comfortable doing. Choose a time when you would watch television and read instead. Speak to your children about Christ. Ask them to come to church with you. If they don’t go to church, ask them about it. If your children are living in a manifest sin, talk to them about it. Ask if they know they are sinning.

Are you living in sin? “Consider your station according to the Ten Commandments, whether you are a father, mother, son, daughter, master, mistress, servant; 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.” If so, confess your sins and hear the word of forgiveness. Then bear fruit in keeping with repentance and cease such manifest sins.

None of this is comfortable. No one ever said it would be. A camel hair shirt is not comfortable either. Wild honey might be sweet, but a diet of locusts cannot satisfy much for taste. The Christian life is promised to be uncomfortable. You are promised to bear crosses and suffer in this life. Yet these promises are for the sake of your salvation. The crosses you bear are because of your knowledge of sin.

You know sin thrives in this world and you desire to be rid of it. You know sin thrives in this world and the Holy Spirit, who dwells within you, desires to be distinct from the sins of the world. You know sin thrives in this world and you know that this world has already been conquered.

This world and its master have been conquered by the death of Jesus. No matter what crosses you must bear; no matter how uncomfortable you must be, Jesus has died for your sins and has called you out of the darkness and into marvelous light. You are not the Christ. You are not Elijah. You are not the Prophet like Moses. You are not even the voice crying in the wilderness. But the one who stands among you, you do know. You know Him because He has called you by name. He has baptized you into His glorious name. Stop letting the opinions of the world and your discomfort stop you from the fullness of Christ and all that He has to give you.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. John 1:23.

[2] Proverbs 22:6.

Gaudete (Advent 3)

Gaudete (Advent 3) – December 11, 2022

Psalm 85; Isaiah 40:1-8 (9-11); 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

St. Matthew 11:2-10

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

At first blush, today’s Gospel reading and the ceremonies seem contradictory. We name this Sunday, “Gaudete,” the Latin word for “Rejoice.” This name comes to us in the antiphon, or the phrases repeated at the beginning and end of the Introit: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, ‘Rejoice.’”[1] The paraments and vestments are rose to reflect this joyous character. The penitential nature of Advent is lightened for a day as we enter the final days of Advent. The Old Testament Lesson speaks of comfort and pardon, the glory of the Lord and His enduring word.[2] In the Gradual, we cry out to our Shepherd to come and lead us as a flock; to stir up His might and come to save us, enthroned upon the cherubim.[3]

The seeming contradiction arises in the Gospel lesson. John the Baptist is in prison. He undoubtedly knows that he will soon be executed. In preparation for his own death, and likely in a moment of doubt concerning the Christ, John sends two of his disciples to Jesus. They are to ask on John’s behalf, “Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?”[4]

Our Lord’s oblique response is to tell John the things the disciples see and hear, namely His miracles and teachings, and that he who is not offended by Jesus is blessed. As the disciples of John depart, Jesus questions the surrounding crowd concerning who John is and what he came to do. He says John is more than a prophet, he is the messenger of whom Malachi foretold, who would prepare the way of the Messiah.[5]

I say the Gospel reading seems to contradict today’s liturgical character because the Gospel text seems to focus on doubt. John is about to die and wants confirmation that Jesus is the Christ, the One Who is to Come, and that this Christ would save him from his sins. Then, rather than expounding on the glory of salvation, the mercy of God, or the compassion of the Father, Jesus reprimands the crowds for their impious curiosity in seeking John. Joy is not mentioned in the Gospel and the tone speaks more of rebuke for lack of vigilance.

And yet, such a contradiction only exists if you do not slow down and read the Gospel of St. Matthew with a careful eye. Twice in the text, Jesus makes reference to the Scriptures being fulfilled in His life. First, He speaks of His deeds, foretold by Isaiah. “The blind see 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 then He confirms the office of John as the messenger prophesied by Malachi.[7]

Our Lord is not trying to give the disciples of John an encoded message confirming that He is the Messiah. In the first place, He is pointing John, and his disciples, to the Old Testament, to the Scriptures, to the Word of God. He is saying, “Why ask Me if I am the Messiah? You have Moses and the Prophets. They tell you what to look for. Trust your eyes and ears that what you have heard and seen in Me is the fulfillment of them.”

In the second place, Jesus is directing John and his disciples to the concrete actions of the Messiah. It is all well and good to hear that a prophet has arisen in Galilee, and He is healing people. But the minds of men are strong. Our self-delusions are mighty. “Oh, such works are easy to fake. I heard He likes to eat with unwashed hands and gave wine to a bunch of drunk people at a wedding. Some Messiah…”

The ferocity of our sin will find any excuse to disbelieve the Word of God. Does your conscience tell you that you are a sinner and God couldn’t possibly love you for what you have done? Look first to the Scriptures and ask, “Did Jesus die for the sins of the world? Are you a part of the world?” The answer to both questions is undeniably, “yes.”

If you stop here, Satan will rejoice. He will whisper in your ear, “Are you sure? Did God really say that? And if Jesus did die for your sins, there are still people in hell. What makes you think you won’t join them? You’ve thought and done some pretty nasty stuff.”

Knowing the guile of our evil foe, God binds His Word and His salvation to physical means, so that we would have no excuse to disbelieve. These are the sacraments. What makes you think you won’t join the souls in hell? You are baptized! You are baptized and you receive the Body and Blood of Jesus. You desire the Body and Blood of Jesus. Your ears hear the words of Jesus from my lips, “Your sins are forgiven.” Do you know this to be true? Then you have nothing to fear concerning your salvation.

Even in the rebuke of the crowds, Jesus gives us a reason to rejoice. He says that John was more than a prophet, he was a messenger. While we shouldn’t apply this distinction too broadly, our Lord is here making a distinction between a prophet who speaks the Word of the Lord, and a messenger who also speaks the Word of the Lord but does so immediately before His coming. A messenger, or angel, is one who goes before the Lord to prepare the way.[8] St. John is a herald. He is the watchman on the gate who cries out, “Awake, Jerusalem, arise!”

Now, St. John was clearly the messenger sent to prepare the hearts of man for the first coming of the Messiah in the flesh. He was to prepare their hearts by confronting them with their sin. He did this, not with the final purpose of frightening them into inaction or damnation. He did this to reveal their sins and their need for the Messiah. He did this so that they would be prepared to be forgiven. This is the office of St. John the Baptist. After Christ began His ministry, after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan and anointed with the Holy Spirit, it was necessary for St. John to decrease that Jesus would increase.[9]

But St. John is not the only messenger, nor is the Incarnation the only time that Jesus comes to man in the flesh. When Jesus returns on the last day, the messengers will be the Holy Angles, who with the sound of mighty trumpets, will announce the coming of the King. This very day, Jesus comes to you in His flesh. He comes to you invisible to the eyes of flesh, but radiant to the eyes of faith. He comes to you in His Holy Body and Precious Blood, in the Eucharist. Before He comes today, however, He has sent His messenger. He has sent you a pastor to proclaim the Word of God, preparing your hearts and minds to receive your King.

How is this achieved? It is true that you need to be shown your sin. You need to constantly be shown the failure of your flesh and the weakness of your heart. Yet these things are so that you would be prepared to receive the forgiveness of sins. As such, your pastor is more a messenger than a prophet. He goes before to announce the coming of the King. So long as you are sincere in your faith, desire to be rid of your sins and to do better according to the Word of God, the Office of the Holy Ministry is never given to hold you under the water a little while longer, forcing you to suffer.

No. The Office of the Holy Ministry is to bring you the joy of the Holy Gospel. We hear the Word of God read and pastors preach before we receive the Sacrament because it is necessary that the messenger be sent before the coming of the King. It is necessary so that you would be prepared to receive your King. Having heard the Word of God, having been confronted by your sins and your need for a Savior, it is with most joyful hearts that we now cry out, “Stir up your might and come to save us.”[10] “Rejoice in the Lord always; [for] the Lord is at hand!”[11]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Philippians 4:4-5.

[2] Isaiah 40:1-8.

[3] Psalm 80:1-2.

[4] St. Matthew 11:2-3.

[5] St. Matthew 11:4-10.

[6] St. Matthew 11:5; cf. Isaiah 26:19; 29:18; 35:5; 42:7, 18; 61:1.

[7] Malachi 3:1.

[8] St. Luke 1:76-79. The conclusion of the Benedictus.

[9] St. John 3:30.

[10] Psalm 80:2b.

[11] Philippians 4:4, 5.