The Transfiguration of our Lord

The Transfiguration of our Lord – February 9, 2025

Psalm 84; Exodus 24:29-35; 2 Peter 1:16-21

St. Matthew 17:1-9

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

Christ our Lord asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Speaking on behalf of the group, St. Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then, after giving the keys to bind and loose the gates of heaven to the Church, Christ made His first prediction of His death and resurrection. St. Peter rebuked the Lord, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” In turn, Christ rebuked Peter with those terrible words, “Get behind Me, Satan!”[1]

Six days later, Christ took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain and was transfigured before them. The divinity of Christ shone through His humanity, giving Peter, James, and John a glimpse of His glory. At that time, Moses and Elijah appeared with Him and spoke to our Lord concerning His exodus from this world.[2] The topic of conversation was Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. It is called His “exodus” not just because it is His leaving the world (for a time), but in reference to the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. Through Moses, the Hebrews were delivered from bondage under Pharaoh and led toward the land of promise. Through Christ, His people are delivered from bondage under sin and led toward the Promised Land of eternal life with Christ.

St. Peter, still trying to sort out the events from six days prior, says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”[3] And while he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed everyone on the mountain and the Father proclaimed from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Once again, St. Peter has received a rebuke. The disciples were greatly afraid at this voice and fell on their faces in an act of worship and repentance. Then Christ touched them and told them to rise, forgiving their sin. Coming down from the mountain, Christ admonished the disciples to tell no one what they had seen until after His resurrection.

Christ’s journey to the cross has now begun in earnest. His miracles have not ended, but they have slowed down. His focus is now on bearing the sins of the world to the cross. The revelation of Christ’s transfiguration is the beginning of preparing His disciples for His suffering and death.

Based on St. Peter’s great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Christ did not need to reveal His transfiguration to the disciples to prove His divinity. It is true that this text is an excellent proof of the same. It shows His two natures in one person. The human nature stands before the disciples and the divine nature shines through with the glory of the true, living God. However, that does not seem to be Christ’s primary purpose for revealing Himself in this way.

Rather, He is strengthening the disciples’ hearts and minds for what is to come. “Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will scatter.”[4] The frailty of the human soul cannot bear the death of God, let alone the frailty of the disciples to lose their beloved Teacher. This will also be followed by their own persecutions and deaths. Christ reveals His divinity to bolster their faith in Him and to reveal what awaits them in glory. As St. John says, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”[5]

So too, if anyone desires to follow Christ, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Christ.[6] Bad things will happen to you in this life. People will be cruel. Your loved ones will get sick or hurt. You will struggle with finances. And unless Christ returns beforehand, you will die. This is the result of sin. And you, beloved of the Lord, will face this suffering in the knowledge that it isn’t according to God’s blessed creation of the world. In fact, you will face this suffering in the knowledge that it is your fault and the fault of your fellow man. You know that all suffering is the result of sin and sometimes, that knowledge makes the suffering worse.

St. Peter, though sometimes impulsive, was a good student of our Lord’s teachings. He understood the implications of what our Lord had told him regarding His suffering and death. Peter couldn’t bear the thought of his beloved Lord and Master suffering such an unjust death. He couldn’t bear the thought that the Man without sin would suffer the death of a disgusting criminal. He was dreadfully rebuked by Christ for rejecting the crucifixion. So then, on the Mount of Transfiguration, St. Peter tried a different tactic. “Why don’t we just stay here? Lord, I’ll build tents for You, Moses, and Elijah. James, John, and I can sleep on the ground. We can stay here on the mountain and enjoy your glory for all time. It is good for us all to be here, in Your presence, for all time.”

St. Peter is still trying to avoid the suffering of the cross. He is looking for an exit from the world like the one Elijah enjoyed. Elijah did not taste death. He was carried to heaven in his body on a flaming chariot.[7] He is still trying to spare Christ the shameful death of the cross while avoiding his own life of suffering and persecution in the world.

At the same time, don’t be too hard on St. Peter. The first words out of his mouth on the mountain are, “It is good Lord, for us to be here.” He is right. It is good to be in the presence of the glory of the Lord. It is good to be gathered with the saints, worshiping the Triune God. The Mount of Transfiguration is a foretaste of the eternal life that all Christians can expect at the completion of our journey on this side of glory. But before we can enjoy that reward, we have a journey to endure here. We have a life to live in this world, even if we are not of this world.[8]

Christ recognizes St. Peter’s struggle and it is precisely for this reason that He reveals His glory on the mountain. It is in recognition of your struggle against sin, your endurance of suffering in this world, that Christ caused His transfiguration to be written in the words of Holy Scripture. Bad things will happen to you in this life and some of it will be your fault. Some of it won’t. Some of it will be punishment for sin. Some of it will be by the hand of God, to prevent you from becoming too reliant on yourself.

The thundering voice of the Father causes the disciples to fall on their faces in repentance and reverence. They are humbled by the power and glory of the Almighty and reminded of their proper place. They are sinners who do not deserve the mercy of the Father nor the sacrifice that Christ will soon make. When the Father speaks, they do not presume to build tents but submit to whatever judgment His is about to pronounce. But what does the Father say? “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” He tells the disciples to listen to the words of Christ, to obey the Son of God.

What does Christ say to them? He forgives their sins by telling them to arise and then leads them back down the mountain. He leads them back from the mountain of God’s glory and into the world. Having been strengthened with the vision of Christ’s glory, the disciples are to return down the mountain to endure Christ’s death and resurrection. They are also called to do more. They are called to live in this world. They are called to be husbands, fathers, brothers, Christians, pastors, and especially evangelists, that is, those who proclaim the death and resurrection of Christ to the world.

In many ways, the Mount of Transfiguration is the pattern of the weekly life of the Christian. The height of the mountain, seeing the glory of Christ, is the Holy Communion. While Peter, James, and John only saw the glory of Christ shine through His human nature, you behold Christ’s humanity and divinity in the host and chalice. You receive the whole Christ by eating and drinking, being united to Him in the most intimate of ways.

And then, your sins being forgiven, you must descend the mountain. You must return to the world, not bound by a word of silence but a word of proclamation. You are to depart the Holy Communion having been strengthened in body and soul unto life everlasting. You have seen and received the glory of Christ. You know how your story ends.[9] It ends on the eternal Mount Zion, with Christ and all the saints of heaven.[10]

This frees you to be the husband, father, brother, and Christian that God has called you to be. It frees you to endure the cruelty, decay, and sin of this world. It frees you because nothing can take you from the hand of the Father.[11] Christ is before you, behind you, beside you, and in you. Do not become so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good, as St. Peter thought he might be. Rather, carry the light of the Transfigured Christ throughout all your days.[12]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Matthew 16:13-23.

[2] St. Luke 9:31.

[3] St. Matthew 17:4.

[4] Zechariah 13:7.

[5] 1 John 3:2-3.

[6] St. Matthew 16:24.

[7] 2 Kings 2:11.

[8] St. John 8:23; cf. St. John 18:36.

[9] Psalm 25.

[10] Psalm 74:2; Psalm 48:11; Hebrews 12:22.

[11] St. John 10:29.

[12] St. John 8:12; St. Matthew 5:14.

The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity – September 1, 2024

Psalm 84; Proverbs 4:10-23; Galatians 5:16-24

St. Luke 17:11-19

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

In the collect for today, we asked that God would keep His Church with His perpetual mercy.[1] This wording connects us with the lepers who cry out to Jesus for His mercy. However, the original wording of this collect would have us ask God to keep His Church with His perpetual propitiation. Propitiation is the act of Jesus to appease, or satisfy, or resolve, the anger of the Father.[2] It is the aspect of the atonement that is directed toward God. Jesus’ death on the cross satisfied the punishment for sin. It satisfied God’s wrath toward sinful man.

A prayer for God to keep His Church through or by His perpetual propitiation is asking for God to continue to smile upon His people; that the propitiation of the wrath of God would last forever. How can God continue to smile upon His people? Only through the Body given and Blood shed of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t mean that Jesus’ Body and Blood are constantly re-sacrificed or constantly in a state of being sacrificed. Rather, that the Body and Blood of Jesus that were once crucified for the forgiveness of sins endures forever.[3] The crucifixion happened once. The effects of this sacrifice are perpetual, that is, they last forever.[4] They endure. The satisfaction of God’s anger toward sin is an everlasting state because Jesus is forever the Crucified One; crucified as adjective not verb.[5]

How might a return to this earlier collect be appropriate for this Gospel reading? The ten lepers cry out to Jesus to have mercy on them. They do not announce their leprosy, as commanded in the law. They do not beg for healing. They ask Jesus for mercy. They lift up their voices, a phrase commonly used for prayer. Jesus has mercy on them. All ten are cleansed. All ten are healed. But only one returns. Only the Samaritan returns to glorify God, that is, to give thanks to Jesus.

Did you catch that? What you might think of as two distinct actions are in fact one. The Samaritan leper glorifies God with a loud voice, that is, he falls on his face before Jesus’ feet and give Him thanks. The falling on his face is an act of worship. It is the word for worship. He bows before Jesus because he has realized that Jesus is the God of all creation. He is the Alpha and the Omega. The courts of the Lord, the Holy Habitation of the Almighty is the presence of Jesus.[6] The Samaritan knows this by faith and his faith guides his actions. Better to be in the presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus than to spend a thousand days anywhere else.

Last Sunday, Jesus identified Himself as a Samaritan, as the Good Samaritan. The Samaritans and the Israelites were once the same people. But 700 or so years before the birth of Jesus, the Assyrians invaded Israel and cast many of the northern tribes into exile.[7] The Assyrians then imported hundreds of foreigners into the region and these intermarried with the native Israelites. Soon, the importation of foreigners led to a mixing not only of peoples but of religion. It began as continued worship of their foreign, pagan gods but soon this worship was placed on top of the worship of the true God. The Samaritans are the result of this mixing. They accepted the first five books of the bible but rejected all others. They centered their worship on Mount Gerizim rather than Jerusalem.

Once the Kingdom of Judah returned from exile in Babylon, the tide turned, and the Judeans began to persecute the Samaritans. In 172 BC, the Judeans destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim. There are hundreds of years of bad blood between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Samaritans are mixed blood heretics in the eyes of the Judeans. By the time of our text, the Samaritans are a tiny community, barely hanging on to existence.

And yet it is a Samaritan who can recognize the Messiah. It is a Samaritan who sees the True God in the flesh and knows to worship Him. It is a Samaritan to whom our Lord compares Himself in the parable of last week.

The Pharisees, and by consequence the most people living in the Near East, considered leprosy to be the consequence of sin. Since leprosy can refer to several different diseases in the Bible, it is entirely possible that in some cases it is the result of sin. There are actions and behaviors that lead directly to life altering diseases. At the same time, there are some who contract these diseases by chance. They have done nothing wrong. As they ask Jesus regarding the blind man, “Whose sin caused this disease, this man’s or his parents?’”

In either case, whether one’s behavior causes the disease or one is simply a victim of the disease, the Christian response is (in the first place) the same: repentance. In falling on is face before the feet of Jesus, the Samaritan is doing exactly that. He is glorifying God by recognizing his own unworthiness. “Lord, Jesus Christ, thank you for having had mercy upon me, a sinner!”

This is how we know that the Samaritan gave thanks to God for His perpetual propitiation. The Samaritan recognizes his sorry state. It was plainly obvious in his condition! The wrath of God was seen in the oozing sores of his flesh, a constant and painful reminder of his sin. This man, as all men, was in need of the mercy of God, something that could only be achieved through reconciliation with the Father.

And how might the wrath of God be satisfied? How might the anger of God be turned away from the Samaritan? The breaking of the Body and shedding of the Blood of Jesus. The very same Body and Blood which still effects your salvation. You are in every bit as much need of salvation as the Samaritan with oozing sores. Your sins are more hidden; the effects of your sins are likely more secret. But they are just as deadly as the Samaritan’s disease. The remedy is repentance, acknowledgment of your sins and an appeal to God for His mercy, which He has promised to all who believe, all who are baptized, all who trust in the saving Blood of Jesus.

Now, when I said that repentance was the Christian response to sin, whether sin suffered or sin outwardly committed, I said this response was the same in the first place. That is because a sin which is suffered must be responded to with repentance and faith. However, a sin that is outwardly committed must likewise be met with repentance and faith but also the fruits of repentance, namely, the putting away of that sin. After being healed and falling at the feet of Jesus, the Samaritan is not free to return to worshiping on Mount Gerizim. He is not free to return to rejecting all but the first five books of Moses. His freedom is now found in Jesus Christ. His freedom is from the sins which burdened him. He is now free to live as a child of the Heavenly Father, a child according to promise.

The Samaritan was a heretic by birth. He did not worship the True God from his youth. He worshiped a false god who went by the same name. He did not worship in truth and sincerity. But the presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus, the healing of this man’s body and soul, turns his worship toward that True God. He is turned by the words of Jesus to worship in truth and sincerity. He knows where salvation is to be found. If someone asked him the meaning of Isaiah 53, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities…”[8] the Samaritan is unlikely to have an answer. But he gets it. He knows where salvation is to be found. He knows Jesus is the great high priest and salvation is found in His body alone.

Keep, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy Church with Thy perpetual propitiation; and because the frailty of man without Thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by Thy help from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable for our salvation; through the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who livest and reignest with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] The change in this collect was brought to my attention via Rev. William Weedon’s blog post at https://www.gottesdienst.org/gottesblog/2020/9/13/thoughts-on-the-collect-trinity-xiv?rq=Trinity%20XIV.

[2] Hebrews 2:17.

[3] Psalm 118.

[4] Hebrews 7:24-25; 9:11-15.

[5] St. Matthew 28:5.

[6] Psalm 84:10.

[7] 2 Kings 17.

[8] Isaiah 53:5.

The Transfiguration of our Lord

The Transfiguration of our Lord – January 29, 2023

Psalm 84; Exodus 24:29-35; 2 Peter 1:16-21

St. Matthew 17:1-9

I apologize for the poor formatting of the following. This is the outline from which I preached on the occasion of the Transfiguration. The outline itself is based on a sermon for the same occasion written by Joseph August Seiss. The full citation is found in the first footnote.

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

Concerning the Transfiguration of our Lord, we will consider:

1.        The Location;
2.         The Witnesses;
3.         The Transformation of Christ;
4.        The Time when it Occurred;
5.        The Company of the Transfigured Christ; and finally
6.        The Meaning of All This.

 I.        The Location [1]

a.       Mountains are particularly suited for the sacred and the Divine.

i.        The Law was given on Sinai.

ii.      The first great sermon of Christ is given on a mountain (the Sermon on the Mount).

iii.    The conflict between Elijah and the Prophets of Baal was on Mount Carmel.

iv.     Isaac was prepared as sacrifice on the same Mountain where Christ would soon be the final sacrifice.

v.       Christ often retired to mountains to pray.

vi.     The vision of the New Jerusalem was given to both Ezekiel and St. John from a “very high mountain.”

vii.   Jesus is transfigured, betrayed, crucified, ascends, and will appear again upon a mountain.

II.      The Witnesses

a.       The life in Christian grace, in fact the law of all creation, is that of mutual dependence and mutual service; according to which it is necessary that some should have gifts and functions not given to others, and that the gifts of each should supplement the particular graces of all the rest.

i.        As Luther once wrote, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.”[2]

III.   The Transformation

a.      Whereas the face of Moses shone with the light of God and was hidden by a veil, and the face of Stephen only appeared as the face of an angel, the emanation of light as our Lord is transfigured extends to His whole form; and his earthly clothing, rather than concealing it, became a participant in His light.

IV.   The Time

a.       The sixth day after a prediction concerning Christ’s death.

i.        The sixth day of creation is when man was created.

ii.      The sixth day is when Christ will be crucified.

iii.    Six is also a number of near completeness—the number of earthly things rather than 7, the number of divinity.

V.     The Company of the Transfigured Christ

a.       However alone we may seem to be in our devotions, we are never alone.

b.       The appearance of Moses and Elijah demonstrates the existence of another state of being for the saints and that it is one of glory far superior to anything enjoyed by them in this world.

c.       The greatest significance of the company of Christ is the topic of conversation—the death that Christ was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

VI.   The Meaning of All This

a.       The least meaning is that the faith of the disciples needed to be strengthened before the death of Jesus.

i.        They needed assurance of His Divine glory or else their faith would utterly fail them when His Passion should occur.

b.       The most sacred and solemn conversation and consolation offered by Moses and Elijah also served for the strengthening of Christ as He was about to endure His Passion.

i.        Just as He will pray in the Garden of Gethsemane and be ministered to by the Holy Angels, here He receives the ministrations of brothers in the faith.

c.       That Christ shone with a light all His own signifies that He is True God incarnate in the true flesh of man.

i.        That this light was not concealed by His clothing but made the earthly fabric a participant in His light, signifies that we, who are like His earthly garments, have been made participants of His divinity.

ii.      How? By being made heirs of the Father, receiving the washing of regeneration in Holy Baptism, and by being united to the very Body of Christ in the Eucharist.

d.       We are also given the Transfiguration as a picture and solemn foretaste of the future coming of Christ and His eternal kingdom.

i.        Six days before the Transfiguration, Jesus told His disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”[3]

ii.      The Transfiguration is a fulfillment of this prophecy according to St. Peter, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitness of His majesty…when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”[4]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] The following outline is based on Joseph August Seiss, “Sixth Sunday after Epiphany,” Lectures on the Gospels for the Sundays and Chief Festivals of the Church Year, Vol. 1, 6^th edition (Philadelphia, PA: General Council Publication House, 1915), 280-301.

[2] Martin Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian (1520),” AE31:333-377 (Philadelphia, PA: Muhlenberg Press, 1957), 344.

[3] St. Matthew 16:28.

[4] 2 Peter 1:16, 18.

Populus Zion (Advent 2)

Populus Zion (Advent 2) – December 4, 2022

Psalm 80; Song of Solomon 2:8b-14; 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.

Our Lord is coming, and he is coming soon. Today we heard of the cosmos groaning in anticipation of His return. The sun, moon, and stars will be darkened. The sea and the waves will roar. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. St. Paul likens the groaning of the earth to a woman in labor.[1] Her contractions are increasing in intensity and frequency. The pain is reaching its peak just before the child comes into the world. So too creation itself is groaning louder and louder. Pain and suffering are increasing until the day when the child of the Virgin returns.

When a person grows old, his feet shake. As the world grows old, the foundation pillars of the earth shake, and we experience earthquakes, upheavals of the earth. Everything will eventually come crashing down like poorly constructed buildings. Sometimes fluid builds up in our joints and we experience painful inflammation. So too do the seas and their waves roar and roll when the earth is nearing its end.^[2]

When God finished creating the entire cosmos, crowned by His beloved man, He declared everything to be “very good.”[3] God created the cosmos and everything in the world to love and serve Him by serving the rest of creation. The trees praise God by providing shade, beauty, and fruit. The soil praises God by being fertile and aromatic, giving nutrients to the plants which feed the rest of God’s creation.

In the fall of Adam, creation itself was rent from perfect service to the creator. Trees are now forced to shade the wicked as well as the righteous. Their fruit rots. Their branches fall in storms. The soil dries hard and must be forced into submission before it is willing to give up food. Because of the Fall, all of creation longs to serve the purpose for which it was made – to love and serve God by serving the rest of creation.

Creation grows weary in awaiting the return of Christ. So too, do the hearts of man grow weary. “Men’s hearts fail them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth.”[4] We grow weary of hearing about wars and rumors of wars. We grow weary from earthquakes and roaring seas. We grow weary of plagues, pandemics, vaccines, and death. We grow weary and are tempted to focus our fear, love, and trust on the passing things of this world, on the creation which is dying.

Repent. Repent of idolatry. Repent of your misplaced fear, believing the wrath of God against creation is meant for you, His beloved. Fear causes us to shrink away from action. ‘Things are bad and might get worse if I do something, so it is best to do nothing.’ ‘If I keep quiet, maybe the persecution will pass me by.’ Repent and lift up your heads.[5]

When Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, the Apostles stood, staring into the heavens after him. Then two angels said to them, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”^[6] The Apostles were focused on counting the signs so they wouldn’t miss the return of Christ. Yet the Angels admonished them. The return of Christ will be sudden and a surprise, but no one will miss it. Every eye shall see, and every knee will bow at the return of Christ.

Place your fear, love, and trust in God alone. He bids you to lift up your heads on that last day, to see your King descending upon the clouds. The heavens and the earth, all of creation will be destroyed on that last day. They will be burned in fire and a new creation will arise.[7] God will bring forth a new creation, free from the corruption of sin and once again, declare it “very good.”

This idea of “new creation” has already come to you, beloved of the Lord.[8] In Holy Baptism, the Old Adam, the Old Creation, is drowned and dies. He is buried beneath the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his chariots. From this flood arises the New Man, the New Creation, a beloved child of God. This child has nothing to fear from falling stars, darkening suns or moons. This child of God sees the budding of the fig tree, that is, the signs of the end in creation, and lifts up her head toward Christ. Surely, heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God will by no means pass away.

The Word of God is the most precious gift given to man. The Holy Sacraments—Baptism, the Eucharist, and Absolution—are that precious gift wrapped in physical means. Why would you ever neglect this precious gift of God for a few extra minutes of sleep? For a few extra minutes of television? For an extra helping of jell-o salad?

And when you have conquered the Old Adam and brought yourself into the House of God, why would you ever spend that time distracted by other people; distracting others, especially children; or thinking of your tasks for later in the day? Rejoice that you have come into the House of God. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.[9] I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go unto the house of the Lord!’[10] Lord, I love the habitation of Your House, and the place where Your glory dwells![11]

Why is the Psalmist so glad to be in the House of the Lord? Because that is where he receives the Word of God. That is where he dwells with God. That is where he will be for eternity. Heaven and earth will surely pass away. Jell-o salad, sleepiness, coloring books, crackers, football, and housecleaning will pass away. The Word of the Lord endures forever. The Word of the Lord alone endures forever.[12] Only those who are sustained by that Word of the Lord will endure forever in bliss. All others will endure forever in hellish torment.

The enduring Word of God communicates with his people. He is not silent. This communication is driven by His mercy. The prophecies of Christ regarding the final judgment are a warning. They are a warning so that you might be prepared. They are a warning so that you would know to repent of your sins and seek the Lord where He may be found.

“Behold the days are coming” says the Lord. “[When] I will send you Elijah the prophet… [who] will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction”[13]. This Elijah, this prophet, is fulfilled in John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way of the Lord through the preaching of repentance.[14] This Office of Prophet is now filled by all men called into the Office of the Holy Ministry. Pastors are called:

To give knowledge of salvation to God’s people
By the remission of your sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high,

[Christ the Light of the World,] has visited us;
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide your feet into the way of peace.^[15]

Because of the enduring Word of God and the proclamation of the Gospel, the return of Christ for the final judgment is no surprise. But the precise timing will be a surprise. The Father has reserved knowledge of the day and hour of Christ’s return for himself.[16] This is another mercy of God. If we knew when Christ planned to return, we would wait until the last moment to repent… and we would probably miss it. The nature of the heart of man is to find a loophole in the law and exploit it. This never works out well.

So, the Father keeps us from knowing the day and the hour. God desires that all men would be prepared through repentance and faith. He sends his messengers before to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins so that we would always be prepared. Advent is to prepare us for the year when there is no Christmas; for that day and hour when Christ returns.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Romans 8:22. Cf. St. John 16:20-22.

[2] This paragraph is based on Johann Gerhard, Postilla, Vol 1, trans by Elmer M. Hohle (Malone, TX: The Center for the Study of Lutheran Orthodoxy, 2003), 15-16.

[3] Genesis 1:31.

[4] St. Luke 21:26.

[5] Psalm 24:7; St. Luke 21:28.

[6] Acts 1:11.

[7] Isaiah 65:17.

[8] 2 Corinthians 5:17.

[9] Psalm 84:10.

[10] Psalm 122:1.

[11] Psalm 26:8.

[12] St. Luke 21:33.

[13] Malachi 4:1, 5-6.

[14] St. Matthew 11:14.

[15] The Benedictus, Luke 1:77-79

[16] St. Matthew 24:36.