"Given Peace in God's Blessing" (Numbers 6:22-27)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“The Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

 The Lord bless you and keep you;

 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’” (Numbers 6:22-26)

 

We hear those words known as the Aaronic Benediction at the conclusion of each Divine Service. What do those words mean to you? We hear them Sunday after Sunday, Monday after Monday, year after year.

 

Like so many things, when we get used to it, we may forget its meaning. Yes, you may have the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed memorized, but do you know what you are saying? Or is it just rote memory?

 

So, what about the Aaronic Benediction? What does it teach? What do those three phrases mean? You may think: the service is over, so it’s time to go home! Well, that is technically true, but those three phrases mean more than the service is over. 

 

You see, those three phrases of God’s blessing confront the reality of our sin. And to receive the Lord’s blessing implies that we need His blessing. By nature, we do not want to admit our need for God and for His blessing. So many of us live by the motto: “God helps those who help themselves.”So often, we would rather follow the example of the Israelites in turning away from God’s sure blessing and look instead to our own abilities for “blessing.” 

 

Afterall, who really does all the work as we gather around Word and Sacrament? Now, we all know Who does the work. But we don’t always act as if He is doing all the work! Afterall, we come to the Divine Service. He isn’t literally dragging us in! (Although our parents may have something to say about that!) 

 

So, we come to the Divine Service. We pray. We sing. We listen. We stand. We sit. We stand. We sit. We give. That’s what it often looks and feels like. And you may be tired after a Divine Service with all that sitting and standing and singing and praying. We are so often tempted to think that ourparticipation in the Divine Service is the only good work going on!

 

In today’s Old Testament lesson from Numbers 6, the Lord gave us the words of the Aaron Benediction so that we would not forget who is responsible for every blessing.

 

So, God gave Moses a special blessing for Aaron to pronounce upon God’s people. In referring to Himself, God uses the special name He has chosen for Himself – Yahweh, which is why each letter of LORD is capitalized. Through His name, the Lord presents Himself to us as “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). As such a compassionate and gracious God, the Lord reaches out to us to bless us.

 

Also, we see in the Aaronic Blessing, three unique phrases where the LORD is repeated. What we have here is a reference to the Holy Trinity. As each of the Divine Persons carries out His work, the Triune God reaches out to bless all those who trust in the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. So, all three Persons are involved in our salvation. So, let’s look at these three phrases to see what they mean for us!

 

First, “the Lord bless you and keep you” (Numbers 6:24). This first phrase focuses on the work of God the Father. This blessing from the Father includes all aspects of life. So, wherever you look, you can see how the Lord blesses us through physical and material possessions that He gives to us. 

 

Luther’s explanation of the First Article of the Creed summarizes these blessings from God the Father, noting that the Lord has “given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses.” … He also “gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have.”

 

So, with this first phrase, “the Lord bless you and keep you,” we need only to look at where we live. Look at the food and furniture, the children and cars, the dishes and dresses, the suits and sofas, electricity, natural gas, and water. Count the many ways the Lord blesses you with these temporal gifts!

 

And beyond these temporal blessings, God the Father blesses us and keeps us as He answers our prayer requests! Just think about how often the Lord keeps us by preventing problems and dangers from overwhelming us! How zealously does He work to keep us from going to those places where we will be tempted to sin! 

 

At the same time, how loving the Lord is when He allows tests to come upon us! For He promises that He will also make a way of escape and that all things will work together for the good of those who love Him! 

 

Oh, how much He blesses us as He keeps us faithful to the Gospel to the end of our lives. For it is He who will deliver us from this present fallen world into the perfection of His glory in heaven.

 

Second, “the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you” (Numbers 6:25). This phrase focuses on the work of God the Son.

 

We are all sinful. We were all born into sin. It is our nature to rebel against God. So, the only hope for us is in the fact that God is gracious to us.

 

How clearly we see God’s love for us in the work of our Redeemer, who is called Jesus. Again, Luther does a good job in summarizing the blessings given to us in Jesus, “who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness.”

 

This is God’s grace! His undeserved kindness to us. For in Christ, God shows His love to us – a deep, profound love that loves us even when we don’t deserve it because of our sin. In such love, God makes His face shine upon us! So, just as the face of a glad new mother radiates love, so God looks at us, covering all our sins with the perfect redemption that Christ has purchased for us through His atoning death on the cross.

 

Third, “the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:26). To no surprise, this phrase focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

The phrase, “the Lord lift up His countenance upon you” shows that the Lord gladly looks upon each of us as individuals.

 

How sad would it be if God would turn His back on you, ignore you, and leave you to what you truly deserve: eternal death apart from God. Thanks be to God that He does not do that! So, how wonderful it is that the work of the Holy Spirit is to turn us rebellious people into His children by leading us to faith in Jesus Christ!

 

The Holy Spirit gives the spiritually blind – sight by leading them to Christ, who is the Light of the world. As the Giver of life, the Holy Spirit gives life to the spiritually dead in their trespasses and sin. We – you and I – are miracles of the work of the Holy Spirit! As Luther says, for it is the Holy Spirit who has “called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”

 

In this miracle of conversion, the Holy Spirit gives us peace as we know that through Christ alone we are reconciled to God. In this miracle, the Holy Spirit gives us certainty of faith. Now, we have a peace that will stand up to the fiercest trials. With the Holy Spirit anchoring us in faith, we can say with St. Paul, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

 

I also pray that you enjoy this peace each time I conclude my sermons as I say these words: “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen” (Philippians 4:7).

 

What marvelous blessings the Lord gives to us in the Aaronic Benediction! The Lord’s Divine power and His love stand behind each of those words!

 

To such a benediction, Christians of all ages have gladly said: “Amen!” So, may you no longer take those words for granted! To this blessing, we can say “Amen” to God the Father, our Creator and Preserver, who blesses and keeps us! We can say, “Amen” to God the Son, our Savior and Lord, whose face shines upon us and is gracious to us! We can say, “Amen” to God the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, who turns His face toward us and gives us peace! May the name of the Lord bless you in this New Year – and all the days of your life! Merry Christmas! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"As God's Chosen Ones" (Colossians 3:12-17)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17).

 

Merry Christmas! The promise has been fulfilled, since the promised Messiah is born!

 

The birth of Jesus is a sign and a reflection of the heart of God the Father toward His people. The love He shows His people comes in the form of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The embodiment of forgiveness and mercy comes in the form of the Christ Child in Bethlehem. 

 

Today, on this First Sunday after Christmas, we now turn our attention to the impact that Christ’s birth has on the world and the implication that His birth has on His faithful people.

 

You see, Christ’s birth changed the world. Christ’s birth changed you. From the very beginning, the Triune God – the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit – knew what He was going to do. He was going to save fallen man from their sins.

 

So, there in the manger is the fullness of God. He may be crying for His mother Mary’s attention for food and drink, but He knows why He has come. He has come to live the life God calls on all of us to live, but inevitably fail because of our sinful nature. He has come to receive a sinner’s baptism, to suffer and die for yours and my sins, so that by grace through faith in in Him, we would live forever.

 

Through the coming of Christ, He has fulfilled everything His Father asked of us. As we just proclaimed through singing today’s Hymn of the Day:

“He undertakes a great exchange,

Puts on our human frame,

And in return gives us His realm,

His glory and His name,

His glory and His name.”

(Let All Together Praise Our God, LSB 389 stanza 4)

 

As a result of Christ’s work, the image of God has been restored to all who cling to Jesus as their Lord. Now, this perfect righteousness and holiness is not seen now, but it will be seen in eternity.

 

Since Christ has redeemed His chosen ones – you and me – through His death and bodily resurrection, and through the work of the Holy Spirit at your baptism, we now live as new people. We are now holy and beloved. And as holy and beloved, we show this character toward others.

 

You see, the virtues of the Christian life are displayed toward other people, even when we display less-than-perfect conduct toward our neighbor.

 

So, the new Christian life ought to break with the old vices and be filled with Christian virtues. The virtues of the Christian life are to be permanent, distinguishing marks of the Christian.

 

By God’s grace, we have been made a special people, a people who belong to God and are united in fellowship with Christ. So, what are these distinguishing marks of a Christian? They are: “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:12b-13).

 

Now, back in the time of St. Paul, lowliness and humility were attitudes that were thoroughly despised by the pagan world. And, not much has changed since then. It is still the same today. But lowliness and self-sacrificing humility are the characteristics of Jesus, who calls on us to imitate His humility. And where humility exists comes a peaceful atmosphere where we each count each other as better than yourself and we rejoice in serving others. 

 

Another distinguishing mark is gentleness. Sometimes when we think of being gentle, we think of “putting on kid gloves” by treating someone with extreme care to avoid causing any offense. This is not the mark of a Christian. We are not spineless. But we ought to exhibit gentleness in our dealings with others as we overlook insults in the spirit of forgiveness.

 

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus encouraged His disciples to cultivate a forgiving spirit. He taught them to pray: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” (Luke 11:4). He forgave His enemies from the cross, and on that cross, He endured justice that makes the injuries we suffer at each other’s hands minor indeed. And even now, though we spurn His love, Jesus daily restores and forgives us.

 

If we truly understand His forgiveness, we should never question in our hearts about our willingness to forgive one another.

 

When St. Paul encourages mutual forgiveness, he is not speaking of a forgiveness with conditions. Jesus never put conditions upon His forgiveness. And the forgiveness that we give to one another should not have conditions, either. As God’s chosen ones, we are to offer immediate, unconditional forgiveness in the spirit of Christ.

 

So, what kind of forgiveness are you showing in your life? Are you placing conditions upon your forgiveness? If you are, it’s time to ask for help from your Savior on how to forgive. For where there is forgiveness, then quarrels, resentment and hatred are extinguished.

 

But did you know that God provides an opportunity for displaying Christian virtues and He even supplies the power in doing them? He calls on us to “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).

 

The Scriptures should be more than something we hear on Sunday mornings and Monday evenings or something more than an invited occasional guest in our homes. The Word of God ought to inhabit our lives continually as it fills every corner of our lives with its blessed spiritual wisdom. The Word of God ought to be the hub that each Christian family revolves.

 

When the Word of God inhabits us, we grow in faith and knowledge and in Christian living, and we will be able to encourage one another and teach and admonish one another. When we ignore the Word of God or use the Scriptures infrequently and carelessly, we deprive ourselves of the Lord’s blessings. When we ignore His Word, we take off Christ as we choose to walk with the fallen world.

 

Even here in the Divine Service, God supplies the power in doing Christian virtues. Through the proclamation of the Word of God, and through prayer, music and song, He empowers us for faith and life. Through “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” we give praise and thanksgiving to God. 

 

In the Divine Service, God leads us through Scripture, prayer, and song to right belief. This Latin phrase is true “Lex orandi, lex credendi,” which means what you pray is what you believe. So, through spoken voice and song, through spoken prayer or silent prayer, you are what you eat. There was a good reason the Roman Catholics of Luther’s time were concerned with the people singing Luther’s hymns as they said, “The people are singing their way into Luther’s doctrines.” Now, to be sure, those doctrines in Luther’s hymns are not Luther’s, but God’s. However, the gist of their comment is true. So, what we consume has a profound effect upon our beliefs.

 

As “God’s chosen ones,” there ought to be no division between the sacred and the secular as Christ accompanies us in all facets of life.

 

So, “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17). We give thanks to God, since there is no truer friend than He. Merry Christmas! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"The Greatest Gift" (Hebrews 1:1-6)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Merry Christmas!

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

 

Long ago and at many times, God spoke to His people. He spoke to His people in a partial nature through the prophets.

 

We can think of Moses and the burning bush when an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame out of the midst of the bush.

 

We can point to visions and dreams like Joseph and Daniel. We can point to the calling of Samuel.

 

“But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:2a). The word “but” has a tendency to wipe out what came before it. We say things like, “I’d like to do what you’re asking, but…”

 

However, the “but” here is not set against the sureness of God’s speaking in the Old Testament times, but it is set against its partialness and the variety of its ways: law, history, poetry, prophecy. What the Old Testament believers received from God was only partial and the message of the prophets was incomplete. More was to come, but this more to come did not cancel out what had been divinely recorded but only completes it.

 

Those prophets of old were certainly inspired by God to write and proclaim God’s Word. Through those prophets, God was speaking. Those prophets spoke God’s Word as they clung to God’s Word for their hope of salvation – for they as we, shared in that first sin and needed a Savior. We need a savior from our sin of unbelief and selfish ambition. For “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Every word in Holy Scripture is God’s Word, not just words of sinful man. The Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to write them down for us, so that we can always cling to them.

But now – “in these last days” – Jesus has the Last Word, a word that redeems us from sin and death. Today, God is no longer speaking partially through His prophets. Today, He is now speaking fully through Jesus Christ.

 

So, now that we have the Son of God, God has no more to say, since the Redeemer to whom the Old Testament pointed is the ultimate Word and the perfect revelation of God. Today, we have the Final Word of God, which is revealed in His Word, the Bible.

 

Now, some may say today: “If only if I could hear the very Word of God like Moses and Elijah and Isaiah!” Yes, that would have been awesome to hear, but what we have is so much better! They only received snippets, pieces and parts of the various ways God revealed Himself. Today, “in these last days” – God speaks to us through His Son!

 

So, what God spoke through the prophets from Moses to Malachi, we have complete through our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

And Jesus is not just a prophet of prophets. Jesus is God. This Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary is the Creator of the world. This Jesus existed before time existed. This Jesus spoke the world into existence.

 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Here, we have a reference to God the Father. “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Here, we have a reference to the Holy Spirit. But where is Jesus? Then God said, “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:3-4). Jesus is the One who spoke.

 

St. John affirms this in our Christmas Gospel this morning: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him” (John 1:1-3a). 

 

Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3). You see, the whole array of God’s divine attributes radiates forth in Jesus. Radiance is an inner brightness that shines out like the sun in the sky with its streaming light. To see that light is to see the sun; to see Jesus is to see the God of glory.

 

Jesus is “the exact imprint of [God’s] nature” (Hebrews 1:3). You see, Jesus is an exact image of the invisible God made visible in Jesus. Jesus exactly represents God the Father. So, to know Jesus is to know God’s nature and God’s glory. For as Jesus said, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) and “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30).

 

Not only was Jesus active in Creation, but He “upholds the universe by the Word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). You see, we exist today because of Jesus. He keeps everything going. The sun rises each day because of Jesus. “[Jesus] is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

 

Jesus is “the purification for sins” (Hebrews 1:3). Sin stains. Sin defiles. Sin damns. Only One could purify and that is God. And only once would God do this. At Calvary’s cross, the Creator and Sustainer became the Sin-bearer. God took upon Himself human flesh for that moment. He was born on this day with the purpose of being the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.

 

Then, with the work of redemption done, Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). Today, Jesus is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:21a). He has all power and all honor. The ascended Lord holds the scepter in His nail-scarred hands, ruling over all in heaven and on earth.

 

“For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’? Or again, ‘I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son’? (Hebrews 1:5). You see, no one has ever been saved by the name of an angel. But there is a name that saves. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:12).

 

Jesus is superior to the angels, because He was “begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father” (Nicene Creed). Jesus is superior because from all eternity He is God’s Son, the Second Person of the Triune God, true God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is Emmanuel. He is fully God become fully man – for us.

 

But what about that second phrase: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? Those words were spoken originally about Solomon, but these words also have a deeper meaning. You see, they pointed ahead to David’s greater Son, the eternal One whose kingdom would have no end. It is not enough to call Jesus “Son,” but He also calls God “Father.” Never has there been such a divine sonship claimed for the angels.

 

“And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship Him” (Hebrews 1:6). On that Last Day, that great day of judgment, He will stand as “the firstborn,” first in rank and position, as all the angels bow down before Him in worship.

 

Today, “in these last days” God continues to speak to us by His Son through apostolic ministry and through His priesthood of all believers. Jesus sent out His apostles to speak His Word. Pastors are called and ordained to speak what Jesus says. You are called to speak the Christmas message to your friends, your family, your neighbor “for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Jesus has come to save you and me from the power of sin, death, and the devil. He has come to undertake the Great Exchange as He put on our human frame, and in return He gives us redemption, His glory, and His name. “For while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). In Christ alone, we are reconciled to God through His death.

 

When God speaks in Holy Baptism, we receive His name and with it everything that belongs to Jesus, including His life that conquers death. When God speaks through pastors and yourselves who say what Jesus says, forgiving one another in His name, we are forgiven. When God speaks “this is My body; this is My blood,” the incarnate Christ’s body and blood are truly present in the Lord’s Supper. When you hear, “The peace of the Lord be with you always,” the Lord’s peace rests upon you. This is the same peace the angels proclaimed at His birth.

 

On this Christmas Day, we see the supremacy of Jesus. We see the radiance of His glory as the exact imprint of God. Through His coming, we have received the Greatest Gift – which is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For there is no greater gift than forgiveness, life and salvation! Merry Christmas! Amen!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"He Shall Be Called: Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

 

We live in a world where war is far too common. And not just conflicts between nations, but conflicts between individual people. There is hatred of others because of their skin pigmentation, or differing religious views, or differing political views, or something was said to offend one another. There is hatred toward others simply because they covet what their neighbor has. 

 

If this isn’t enough, there is even hatred among people who ought to love each other. Many husbands and wives are at war with each other, and the result is that marriage vows are often broken. Many parents and children are at war with each other, and the result is dysfunctional homes filled with tension, strife, and violence. Even fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who ought to love one another are often filled with hatred for one another – and the result is that we have congregations filled with disharmony and conflict.

 

I could talk all night about the various ways that people of this fallen world are at war with one another.

 

Sadly, on this Christmas Eve, we do not have peace on earth. This is discouraging to us, because we all desire peace, especially on this night as we sing of peace. 

 

During this Christmas season, many people hope for some sort of peace in their lives. But we can’t seem to avoid war and conflict. Why? Well, what we need to understand is that things have always been this way since Adam and Eve declared war against God.

 

And we are the sinful descendants of Adam and Eve. God’s inerrant Word teaches that we are all conceived with their sinful nature. So, it is our natural state to be at war with God. In fact, the reason there is so much war among people is that we are at war with God. So, until we have peace with God, there will be no peace on earth.

If we were in control of peace, we would be doomed to an eternity without peace. Scripture teaches us that we are by nature enemies of God. That problem is not that God doesn’t love us. The problem is that we don’t love God, nor do we truly trust Him. The proof that we don’t love God is that we constantly sin against Him by our desires, thoughts, words, and deeds – by the evil we do and the good we fail to do.

 

Scripture teaches that we all deserve God’s eternal wrath because of our sin, and there is nothing we can do to change that. Not only can we do nothing to get rid of our guilt and avoid the punishment we deserve, but the real problem is that we cannot change our own hearts. We can’t give ourselves the peace we desperately need. 

 

Since we are not at peace with God, then we can never be at peace with our neighbor. So, left to ourselves, there would never be peace on earth, but only war and strife at every level of human relationship.

 

This is why we must pay close attention to the true message of Christmas! On this Christmas Eve, I have the good news that us war-torn sinners long for. On this Christmas Eve, the Prince of Peace has come!

 

Jesus, the Son of God, came into this fallen world to give you peace! But the peace He gives you must start with Him bringing you into a loving relationship with God. We need to be at peace with God if we are going to be at peace with our neighbor.

 

In Isaiah 9, we are told that the Child who is to be born for us and the Son who is given for us would be called “Prince of Peace.” He is called “Prince” because He rules over us, and the “Peace” describes the nature of His rule. And “of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7).

 

This Child is Jesus, who is God in human flesh. That Baby who lived in Mary’s womb is God, the Creator of all things seen and unseen. That Baby Jesus had more power in His little finger than all the armies that have ever existed. Yet, Jesus chose to live a life of humility and service. He came so that He would be beaten and nailed to cross.

 

But why did it have to be this way? Isaiah gives us that answer: “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). So, just as Isaiah speaks of the birth of Jesus, He also speaks of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross.

 

But Jesus didn’t have to do this. He didn’t have to endure this shame and suffering. As God, He could have just made war with us and wiped us out and just started over. But He didn’t. He instead allowed us to wipe Him out with our sins that we might be saved from our war against God and be rescued from the punishment that we all deserve.

 

Listen to this good news:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life”(Romans 5:6-10).

 

Jesus came down from heaven, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary in order to die for us! He came to give us peace with God through His death! “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, because of Jesus’ death and bodily resurrection, you are at peace with God!  You see, the war God could have justly waged against us, He instead waged against His Son, whom He punished in our place, so that through faith in Him we would be “justified,” that is “declared righteous” before God. The Prince of Peace has reconciled you to God. In Christ alone, your sins are forgiven. In Christ alone, you are no longer God’s enemy. In Christ alone, you live at peace with God.

 

On that first Christmas, the angels said to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). Do you want God’s peace? Then let His favor rest on you. Repent of your sin and trust in the Prince of Peace who died for your sin and reconciled you to God.

 

Maybe you know someone who is running from God by trying to find peace in his or her life of sin. Maybe that is you. Well, God doesn’t want you to be at war with Him and your neighbor. God wants His favor to rest on you so that you can receive peace from the Prince of Peace.

On this Christmas Eve, we are here to worship our Savior, the Prince of Peace, who came to give us peace with God. On this Christmas Eve, God’s favor rests on you as He calls you to repent of your sin and receive peace through faith in your Savior. I invite you to our Christmas Day service or to any Divine Service where our Prince of Peace gives us His own body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. In that Supper, He gives us Himself so we can know that we are at peace with God. So, come and join us tomorrow and each Sunday or Monday!

 

I have even more good news! You see that same Prince of Peace who has reconciled you to God has the power to heal those broken relationships you have with your neighbor. As the love and mercy of Christ fills your heart, your heart will be changed to show love and mercy to others – even forgiving those who have hurt you.

 

Because of Jesus – the Prince of Peace, we can begin to have peace on earth. Because of the Jesus, husbands and wives can begin to forgive, love, and serve each other. Because of the Jesus, parents and children can begin to forgive, love, and serve one another. Because of the Jesus, all who trust in Him can begin to forgive, love, and serve one another. There can be peace on earth only when we are at peace with God.

 

But as wonderful as that news is – and it is wonderful news, we must also remember that we will never have complete peace on earth until Jesus returns again in His glory. 

 

Despite this, we, who are in Christ, can still live in peace and have certain hope for the future! We can live in peace now knowing that our sins are forgiven and that we are reconciled to God through the Prince of Peace. We can also live with certain hope for the future because we know that the Prince of Peace will return. And on that Day, we, who are in Christ, will rest in God’s favor and be ushered into the new creation where we will live forever in perfect peace!

 

On this Christmas Eve, let God’s favor rest upon you and your homes, and keep the Prince of Peace the center of your marriages and families – and then you will experience the peace of God that passes all human understanding! Merry Christmas! Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"God Makes the Impossible, Possible" (Luke 1:39-56)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth” (Luke 1:39-40).

 

From the impossible, God makes the possible. Mary and her relative Elizabeth never expected to bear children. Mary was a virgin. Elizabeth was barren. So, from a virgin and a barren womb, God brings forth living, leaping children. So, from out of nothing, God works everything. 

 

Before their meeting, the angel Gabriel came to Mary to announce the conception of Jesus. Mary asked how this conception could take place, since she was a virgin, but through it all, she displays true faith in Gabriel’s promise. Excited by this unexpected news, she went with haste to visit her relative Elizabeth.

 

Now, the initial conversation between Mary and Elizabeth is unknown to us. Did Mary blurt out the news of her pregnancy? We don’t know. But there is something we do know. For it appears that it was the baby in the former barren womb of Elizabeth who leaps knowing the Savior is near. But wait, there’s more! Just as John leapt, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:41-43).

 

Elizabeth not only knew that Mary was pregnant, but the Holy Spirit revealed to her that that baby in Mary’s womb is the promised Messiah. And not only that, Elizabeth declares that Mary is also blessed!

 

Mary is truly blessed, but she is not blessed by who she is. She is blessed because of her humility as God’s servant. She is blessed as the Mother of God who will bear her Savior and Elizabeth’s Savior and our Savior. For like us, she is also a sinful human being who was in need of a Savior.

 

Like Mary, we, too, are blessed. We are blessed not because of who we are. For if we were treated the way we deserve, we justly deserve God’s present and eternal punishment. So, our blessedness is not measured in the things we have. Our blessedness consists only in Emmanuel, God in the flesh. Jesus is the ultimate source of every true blessing. Jesus entered Mary’s womb via the Holy Spirit so that He could die on the cross. And through His death, He took away the sin that had separated us from God, and reconciled us back into God’s presence.

 

The world we live in is barren. We long for peace and brotherhood in this fallen world. We long for togetherness. We long for those good memories of times’ past. But when we open our eyes, we often only see barrenness. Love has grown cold. We see violence, selfish ambition, arrogance, sinful perversion, conflict and ignorance. And we see this every day looking right at us in our own bathroom mirror.

 

But there is joy leaping from a barren womb.

 

What a visit Mary and Elizabeth must have had! Today, we also have the joy of standing and praising God together with a loud voice. Today, we will hear loud voices from our Sunday School kids. Today, we will join their loud voices through song. And today, we get to visit with Jesus just as truly as He came in Zechariah’s living room and just as hidden.

 

Later, we will commune with Christ. What a joy that is! This joy of forgiveness, life, and salvation is something we ought to share with our neighbors, family and friends!

 

For God has taken flesh in the womb of a virgin. In Christ alone, every barrenness must give way to fruitfulness and joy! Every time you hear Christ’s Word and partake of the Sacrament, Christ is present just as surely as He was with Elizabeth and John.

 

Through the Holy Spirit, we respond in faith to the continued proclamation that our Lord Jesus, who took on human flesh and dwelt among is, is our promised redemption and salvation. “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +