Where do you see darkness in our culture? As Christians, you will notice how we are not so much living in an immoral culture as an amoral culture. The difference is that in an immoral culture, people know right from wrong, but they choose to do what’s wrong. In an amoral culture, people don’t know what is right or wrong, so they gleefully choose what feels good based on their sinful nature.
We are living in a culture that welcomes the darkness. They don’t know any better. They’ve lived in the shadows so long they are afraid of the light. And they want us Christians to not only tolerate their amoral behavior, we must also accept and promote it. They want to drag us into the darkness.
Our Old Testament lesson for this Sunday promises that Christ will come to be the Great Light that shines in the darkness. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. For those living in the land of the shadow of death, the light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2).
In our hymn for this week, we pray that we walk in the Light. We want to follow Jesus. Verse one: I want to walk as a child of the light. I want to follow Jesus. God set the stars to give light to the world. The star of my life is Jesus.
How have you experienced darkness in your life? Perhaps it is constant pain, depression, or desperation. Or maybe it is the loss of a family member or a close friend. Maybe it is the break-up of your marriage or your family. This darkness is felt in the hearts of the elderly abandoned in the nursing homes. This darkness is experienced by children living in broken homes. This darkness is suffered by parents who lose their child to drugs or cancer or death. This darkness is endured by all of us as we live in a broken and desperate world. Walk out of the darkness by following the Light. The Bible encourages: “You were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). This Light entered the darkness of our world in the person of Jesus Christ. St. John wrote of Jesus, “The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
Verse two: I want to see the brightness of God. I want to look at Jesus. Clear Sun of Righteousness, shine on my path, and show me the way to the Father.
God did not leave the earth wrapped in darkness. He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light that pushed against the darkness (Genesis 1:3). Nor did God abandon his children to sin’s darkness, either. Since the darkness is not disappearing, our Savior Jesus stepped into the darkness. “[God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13,14). Now that we have been rescued from this darkness and brought into the Light of Christ, we need to keep following the Light. Jesus teaches, “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Verse three: I’m looking for the coming of Christ. I want to be with Jesus. When we have run with patience the race, we shall know the joy of Jesus.
Our world is filled with darkness. There are all kind of monsters who wish to prey on the innocent. There are plenty of scary things that fill the nightly news. Our world seems to get creepier and weirder, darker and scarier all the time. But we don’t need to be afraid. Jesus is here with us. He has entered our darkness to shine the light of his salvation. He places his hand around ours to rescue us by moving us through the darkness into his wonderful light. He is the Savior who was born for us, lived among us, suffered our punishment, and died our death. The risen and ever-living Christ is present to listen to our prayers, protect us from the monsters, scare away the scary things, crush the creepy things, and direct us through any darkness the devil, death, or this world can produce.
Yes, I know, the evening news still says there is a lot of darkness in the world. That cannot be denied. But the angels lighting up the night sky, the star leading the Wise Men during their evening travels, Jesus praying for us in dark Gethsemane, Calvary’s cross standing tall in the darkness of midday, and the tomb opening at the break of daylight – all these events proclaim that there is a Light in the world. And where the Light is present, darkness cannot remain.
The refrain of our hymn: In him there is no darkness at all. The night and the day are both alike. The Lamb is the light of the city of God. Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.
Hymn 690 - Blest Are They
This Sunday begins a set of five Sundays that feature Jesus’ sermon on the Mount. After Jesus called his disciples and crowds began to follow him, he began teaching them what it meant to be his disciples. Jesus begins his Sermon with the Beatitudes or statements of blessing. Our Hymn of the Day wonderfully summarizes the Beatitudes in musical lyrics.
Verse one: Blest are they, the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God. Blest are they, full of sorrow, they shall be consoled.
In his Beatitudes, Jesus represents a radical reversal of almost everything we have ever been taught about the meaning of blessing. We like to believe we are blessed if we have wealth.
Jesus teaches, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We believe that sorrow over death is awful and should be avoided. Jesus teaches, “Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.”
We are poor in spirit when we see that we are nothing but beggars in total need of God’s help. We recognize our spiritual poverty, our sinfulness, and our unworthiness in God’s sight. We are blessed when we get rid of those sins and receive Christ’s forgiveness in return. We mourn at the death of a Christian loved one. But we are blessed at the same time with joy because we know that our Christian loved one is with Jesus around his glorious throne with all other blessed saints.
Verse two: Blest are they, the lowly ones, they shall inherit the earth. Blest are they who hunger and thirst, they shall have their fill.
We believe we get what we want if we are noisy and demanding. Jesus teaches, “Blessed are the gentle, because they will inherit the earth.” We act like God, church, and the Bible are boring. Jesus teaches, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.
When we are gentle and patient, when we are not noisy and demanding, when we do not put ourselves ahead of others, we will inherit the earth. God will bless us with the things we need in life, not because we deserve them, but because God wishes to give them to us. Being meek means that we realize that we don’t get what we deserve. Instead, we get so much more.
We are like beggars, hungering and thirsting for the righteousness we receive in Christ’s Bread of Life and Living Water. Make the Word of God a part of your daily life. Assemble regularly with your fellow Christians hearing God’s Word in worship and Bible study. Receive the Lord’s Supper often. Live in daily appreciation of the blessings of your baptism. Then you are filled with all the blessings of salvation God has granted you through Jesus Christ.
Verse three: Blest are they who show mercy, mercy shall be theirs. Blest are they, the pure of heart, they shall see God!
We have been taught that mercy is a sign of weakness. Jesus teaches, “Blessed are the merciful, because they will receive mercy.” It is in our human nature to lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead in life. Jesus teaches, “Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God.”
God’s kind of blessings comes from imitating Jesus. We are merciful to others because Jesus was merciful to humanity. Jesus has been merciful to us by dying and saving us, even though we didn’t deserve it. He forgives us, even though he knows we will keep on asking for more forgiveness. Imitating Jesus means having a pure heart. But having a pure heart does not come naturally to us. Every day we need to ask, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10) When we have this pure heart, we will be able to stand before God on the Day of Judgment and we will dwell in his presence for all eternity.
Verse four: Blest are they who seek peace, they are the children of God. Blest are they who suffer in faith, the glory of God is theirs.
We believe that revenge leads to satisfaction. Jesus teaches, “Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God.” The peace of Jesus flows into us so that this peace flows out from us to others. Then we are called peacemakers. God’s kind of blessing also comes from suffering for Jesus’ sake. Jesus teaches, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Verse five: Blest are you who suffer hate all because of me. Rejoice and be glad, yours is the kingdom; shine for all to see. Refrain: Rejoice and be glad! Blessèd are you, holy are you! Rejoice and be glad! Yours is the kingdom of God!
We have tended to call people who are being persecuted “fanatics”. Jesus teaches, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. In fact, that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” We are abused and shamed just as Christ was abused and shamed. We are enduring it all for him. We endure this suffering because he endured it first for us. We rejoice in our persecution because we are being counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41).
People are searching for blessing. Where can it be found? On a hill along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Upon the bloody Roman cross standing outside the walls of Jerusalem. In the open and empty borrowed tomb. Blessing is found in water, Word, bread, and wine. May you be blessed in Christ.
Hymn 705 – Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount moves from the promises of the Beatitudes to his commands for the Christian life. In this week’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to be salt and light. His words remind us that we don’t need to discover how to become salt and light. Jesus simply calls us to be what we are. Salt preserves. Light shines. We do what God calls us to do. We are what Jesus makes us to be.
It is no surprise to you that we are living in an evil and corrupt world. The world needs to be salted. The world is shrouded in the darkness of sin and unbelief and death and needs to be lighted. We cannot do this naturally on our own. On our own, we are corrupt and evil, dwelling in darkness. So, we need God to make us into what we are not by nature. The Word of God converts and sanctifies us to be salt and light. Our hymn proclaims how important it is for the Lord and his Word to guide our ways.
Verse one: Oh, that the Lord would guide my ways to keep his statutes still! Oh, that my God would grant me grace to know and do his will!
Jesus teaches in his sermon, “You are the salt of the earth.” Jesus calls you salt because you are precious. You serve a purpose. You are baptized to be the salt of the earth. You are baptized to be the light of the world. Jesus calls you salt not because of how much you can do, but because of how much he has done. He loves you. He declares you forgiven of your sin. He has spared you from hell. He chases the devil away from you. He has rescued you from death. He has made you his own. He sets you apart from the rest of the world to know and do his will.
God’s will is for you to live as a sanctified Christian keeping God’s statutes and also telling others about Jesus who kept God’s statutes perfectly for you and for them. Your privilege is to talk about all the wonderful things Jesus did out of love. This is who you are as salt of the earth. As Jesus has confronted your sins, now you are to confront the sins of those around you. As Jesus has forgiven your sins, now you are given the opportunity to forgive the sins of the repentant around you. Your life is the salt that penetrates the hardest heart. Your Christian love adds flavor to an otherwise bland life. Your example of Christian living may work to preserve and purify another person’s eternal soul.
Verse two: Order my footsteps by your Word, and make my heart sincere; let sin have no dominion, Lord, but keep my conscience clear.
We know that this world is very dark. The Lord knows it, too. Sin and the darkness it causes appear to have dominion over the world and its population. To dispel the darkness, Jesus Christ entered the world as Light from Light, true God from true God (Nicene Creed). He is the Word who spoke light into the darkness at creation. He is the Word made flesh in his incarnation in the darkness of Mary’s womb. He is the Word made flesh that breathed his last in the darkness that shrouded the Judean countryside on Good Friday. He is the Word made flesh that broke the darkness when he bodily burst forth from the tomb on Easter dawn.
Jesus teaches, “You are the light of the world. … Let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” As Christian parents, Christian citizens, and members of the Christian Church, we are called to be a part of a counterculture which works hard to shine the light of Christ into the shadowy corners of the world and the dark recesses of people’s souls. You are light, shining the Light of Christ. You are the moon, reflecting the greater light of the Son. This is your identity. This is your calling. Let your light shine and “live such good lives among the pagans that … they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).
Verse three: Assist my soul, too apt to stray, a stricter watch to keep, and should I e’er forget your way, restore your wand’ring sheep.
We are salt that can lose its saltiness. We are light that can be overcome by the darkness. We are sheep who love to wander. We pray for the Holy Spirit to continually sanctify us through his Word to assist our souls so that we are salty again, so that we are lights in the world, and so that we are sheep who are restored to the Good Shepherd’s flock.
Verse four: Make me to walk in your commands— ’tis a delightful road—nor let my head or heart or hands offend against my God.
Jesus teaches, “Whoever practices and teaches [these commandments] will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” We bristle that God is so demanding with his commands. Still, his commands leave us with two options. We can either reject God in our self-righteous anger, or we can rely on the solution he has provided in his Son. Jesus came into this world to be our Savior and Substitute. He lived the life of perfect righteousness God required. He walked the way of God’s demanding commands. He never once let his head or heart or hands offend against his God.
Jesus offers his righteousness and fulfillment of God’s commands to us. We pray that we remain in God’s Word so the Holy Spirit continues to sanctify us, so we now walk in God’s commands. Instead of them being demanding, we see this as a delightful road. It is delightful because Jesus has already walked down this road for us. And when we mess up and stray from the road, we ask for Jesus’ forgiveness, and he applies his righteousness to us. Because of Jesus we can enter the kingdom of heaven. As we walk to heaven, let us keep praying and singing that the Lord would guide our ways there.
#7 - Hymn 377 - To Jordan's River Came Our Lord
Over the past few weeks, we have knelt with the shepherds to worship the Infant in the manger. We’ve traveled with the Persian astrologers who followed the star to praise the Christ Child. Today we take a huge leap – 30 years later. We are on the banks of the Jordan River with John the Baptizer to celebrate the Baptism of our Lord.
Until his baptism, Jesus was recognized and worshiped only by a handful of people. Shepherds at his birth. Simeon and Anna in the temple when he was 40 days old. Magi from the East when he was a toddler. The neighbors in Nazareth probably didn’t have a clue. To them, Jesus was the carpenter’s son, working in his father’s shop.
And then one day, Jesus stood in the Jordan River, shoulder to shoulder with the people he came to save. What a day this is! Christmas joy becomes baptismal joy. No longer do we celebrate the birth of a baby, now we rejoice in his baptism. Our hymn for this Sunday focuses on Jesus’ baptism.
Verse one: To Jordan’s river came our Lord, the Christ, whom heav’nly hosts adored, the God from God, the Light from Light, the Lord of glory, pow’r, and might.
Jesus is the long-awaited Christ. That title means he is anointed. He will be anointed with water and the Holy Spirit. He comes to the Jordan River as we confess in the words of the Nicene Creed: “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.”
Verse two: The Savior came to be baptized—the Son of God in flesh disguised—to stand beneath the Father’s will and all his promises fulfill.
As Jesus is standing in the water, God’s Son is standing in solidarity with sinners. God is standing in the river on the edge of the desert and he is not ashamed to be counted among the same people who rejected him in the lush Garden, thus turning this world into a desert. Jesus is fulfilling all righteousness in this water, so we might be made righteous ones through that same water. Jesus is baptized in our sewer, to put our sins upon him, so that with that same water, we might be cleansed. He takes the filth, stench, and sewage upon himself so we might be purified, rinsed, and restored.
Verse three: As Jesus in the Jordan stood and John baptized the Lamb of God, the Holy Spirit, heav’nly dove, descended on him from above.
When he sees Jesus, John objects and tries to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” Don’t step in this water, Jesus! It’s filthy! It’s full of sins! But Jesus steps right on in. It’s where he wants to be. It’s where he needs to be! The Holy Spirit descends upon the Son in the form of a dove. Just as Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil, so the Father sends the Holy Spirit to anoint the Son for His office as Prophet, Priest, and King.
Verse four: Then from God’s throne with thund’rous sound came God’s own voice with words profound: “This is my Son,” was his decree, “the one I love, who pleases me.”
Matthew writes that “suddenly the heavens were opened.” Such a small sentence. It’s easy to miss. But do not take this phrase lightly. When this happened before “when the floodgates of the heavens were opened,” (Genesis 7:11) God sent a flood to destroy the sinful humanity with whom he was displeased. He sent down judgment. He commissioned his wrath upon the world. He deluged the world with the waters of absolute annihilation. But now God opens the heavens to announce his pleasure, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him.” He sends down the Holy Spirit with power and peace. He commissions his love upon the world in the form of his Son. He deluges the world with the waters of pure grace.
Verse five: The Father’s word, the Spirit’s flight anointed Christ in glorious sight as God’s own choice, from Adam’s fall to save the world and free us all.
The Spotless One was washed in Jordan’s baptismal water so you might be spotless in your baptismal water. Jesus’ work at the Jordan River was not in power, but in weakness. Not by force but in love. Not by separating himself, but by joining us in our cesspool. So that, through faith in him, we might be saved, freed, and join Jesus in the heavens.
Verse six: Now rise, faint hearts: be resolute! This man is Christ, our substitute! He was baptized in Jordan’s stream, proclaimed Redeemer, Lord supreme.
When Jesus stepped into the Jordan River that day, everything was changed. Not for him, but for you. Not for him, because he came for this; but for you because he came for you. Because you have been baptized, you don’t need to fear or faint. You can be strong. You can be resolute. You no longer live a life that will end in death, but you will die a death that will end in life. You no longer live a life under the condemnation of sin, but under the forgiveness of sin. For in Jesus’ baptismal river and your baptismal font, with Word and water, heaven has been opened to you … and it shall never be closed again.
#6 - Hymn 333 - O Little Town of Bethlehem
In 1865, Rev. Phillips Brooks went to the Holy Land. He was especially impressed by a Christmas Eve service at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, the traditional site of Jesus’ birth.
Three years later, Brooks needed a Christmas song for the children’s service at his Episcopal church in Philadelphia. He wrote the song himself. For inspiration, he thought back to his experience in the Holy Land and wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
The beautiful song paints a word picture of peace and faith as seen through the eyes of those within the little town of Bethlehem. The song is sung to this day and has become one of the classic Christmas carols of all time.
Verse one: O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
To our 21st century thinking, we may find the imagery of Bethlehem quaint, but it was confusing for the people of the 1st century. In his Gospel, St. John writes about how many people in Jesus’ day were confused. They knew the prophecy that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. But they also “knew” that Jesus was from Nazareth. The Savior was God’s Son. But they knew Jesus to be the son of Mary. Many of them just could not reconcile this paradox. That’s why St. John records these words: “Some of the people said, ‘How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.’ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus” (John 7:42-43).
Verse two: For Christ is born of Mary, and, gathered all above while mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond’ring love. O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth, and praises sing to God the King and peace to all the earth.
It seems that those who knew Jesus did not understand this paradox. The One who had no place to lay his newborn head … would have no place to lay his head as a traveling rabbi. The One the religious leaders rejected in Jerusalem … was the One praised by the angels in the Bethlehem sky. The One sleeping through a storm … had the power to still the storm. The One who could raise the dead … wept when his friend, Lazarus, died. The One who had no beauty of majesty to attract people to him … had mobs of diseased and crippled and hurting people attracted to him.
Verse three: How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv’n! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav’n. No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.
Think of how God the Father loves us so much that he has sent his only begotten Son to have us children as his own. It wasn’t alchemy but the incarnation that made this possible. That is what we are still celebrating on this first Sunday after Christmas. We celebrate that God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven. God entered this world of sin so meek souls will receive him. We celebrate that God lived here. God cried as an infant. God was the Son of a carpenter. God touched lepers. God struggled under the weight of the cross. God was nailed to that cross. … God died. And in the darkness of the grave, God’s body was laid.
In all this we see how much our God loves us! God humbled himself. God was born in Bethlehem. God died in Jerusalem. God rose from the grave. God is seated on his throne in heaven.
Verse four: O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel!
Humble yourselves before the Lord. But please do not miss the significance of this – you are humbling yourself before the Lord who humbled himself before you. That humiliation began in the little town of Bethlehem. How glorious it is that you get to join your human mouth with the angelic choir to sing every Christmas “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
#5 - Hymn 337 - Silent Night, Holy Night
Our hymn for Christmas Eve is “Silent Night.”
Verse one: Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright round yon virgin mother and child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.
Verse two: Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from heaven afar, heav’nly hosts sing, Alleluia! Christ, the Savior, is born! Christ, the Savior, is born!
Verse three: Silent night, holy night! Son of God, love’s pure light radiant beams from thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
Silent night. It is late in the evening. The little town of Bethlehem is settled down for the night. The sheep are sleeping. The shepherds are dozing.
Silent night. It is late in the evening. Everyone is exhausted. It’s been another stress-filled day. Parents working long hours. The long drive home. Making dinner. Chasing to practices. Doing homework. Finally, everyone is in bed sleeping soundly.
Silent night. It is late in the evening. The house is finally quiet after all the arguing. Parents fighting. Kids screaming. Baby crying. The dog howling. Everyone is in bed, but no one is sleeping. They’re all too upset with each other.
Silent night. It is late in the evening. The house has been quiet for a while. Everyone is in their individual rooms, playing on their phones, ignoring all their family members. They’re too self-absorbed and indifferent to show love and care for the others in the household.
Insert your own silent night. The silence of depression. Or heartache. Or mourning. Or fear.
The silent night sickens you when all you can hear is your own voice. Or tears.
The long silent night was broken in the beginning when the Father spoke the universe into existence with his Word. Millennia later that Word was made flesh in the holy infant so tender and mild.
One dark, silent night God stepped into our darkness. The Word had not only been spoken but was now made flesh.
Holy night. “This is how God’s love for us was revealed: God has sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we may live through him” (1 John 4:9). Holiness sent to earth to make us holy through the only-begotten Son.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. For those living in the land of the shadow of death, the light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). The dark night was illuminated by the glory of the Lord that shone around the angels. The silent night was broken by the song of the angelic multitude, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind” (Luke 2:14).
Holy night. The holy Son of God entered our world. Despite your exhaustion, there is excitement to welcome the Christ into your home.
Because of your anger, the holy Christ entered our world to receive all the anger, shouting, and yelling upon himself. Then he could return peace on earth and good will toward mankind.
Because of your indifference, the holy Christ was not indifferent. He stepped into this cold, uncaring world to demonstrate the warmth of his divine love. “If we love one another, God remains in us and his love has been brought to its goal in us” (1 John 4:12).
All is calm. The Word was spoken. God has come. So there’s nothing to worry about. God’s silence is filled with his pronounced promises through Christ. Our black night has been filled with the glory of the Lord in our midst here in Word and Sacrament, prayer and hymn. Our poverty has been replaced with the inheritance won by the faithful Son of God. Our sin, shame and striving are exchanged for forgiveness, honor and rest in Christ.
All is bright. Enlightened by the Word, we see clearly now. Your night may seem darker than ever. But as our candles shine brighter tonight in the darkness of the church, so the Light of the Christ shines brighter in your darkness. “The real light that shines on everyone was coming into the world” (John 1:9).
Sleep in heavenly peace. Christ has come. Your sins are subtracted. Your flaws are forgiven. Your guilt is gone. Christ is the connection between heaven and earth. He is the reconciliation between Creator and creation. Rest because all is calm. Rest because Christ stilled the hand of death and crushed the devil. His eternal victory is yours. Rest because all is bright.
Sleep in heavenly peace.
#4 - Hymn 327 - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
“God helps those who help themselves.” It almost sounds biblical. Some people think it does come from the Bible, but it doesn’t. It is unbiblical, even anti-biblical. For the Bible says the opposite: God helps the helpless, those who cannot help themselves. God saves those who cannot save themselves. For we are prisoners who cannot free ourselves. We are dead and cannot raise ourselves. We are hell-bound and cannot change our direction.
God must come to us to help us. He must reach down to us; we cannot reach up to him. He must come to be with us.
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Emmanuel means “God with us.” God sets down his crown, takes off his royal robes and puts on the work clothes of a servant. In humility he takes our humanity. Emmanuel works and weeps and suffers and sleeps and bleeds and dies. God comes to help those who cannot help themselves – for he is Emmanuel.
Verse one: O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). The Root of Jesse is God’s Promise that David’s throne would stand forever. Jesus is in the family tree of David, Israel’s greatest king. Jesse is David’s father. Even when the tree of the nation of Israel was cut down and reduced to a lifeless stump, the Promise lived on in the Root.
Our sin goes all the way to the root. Not only is the fruit tainted, but the whole tree is bad, roots and all. That’s why God says in Malachi 4:1: “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire. Not a root or a branch will be left to them.”
We must be grafted to a new Root. We must be joined to the Root of Jesse and connected to the Vine who is Jesus. We are now the living branches grafted to the living Root of Jesse. Jesus is your Vine and your Root. Apart from him you can do nothing. Joined to him, believing in him, you bear much fruit.
Verse two: O come, O Root of Jesse, free your own from Satan’s tyranny; from depths of hell your people save, and give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
God is Light, and in him there is no darkness. God spoke Light into the darkness. Light is life. Without light there is no life. Darkness is death, the silence of God, the absence of God.
Our sin plunged the creation into darkness and death. Sin loves the darkness and hates the light. Sin loves the death and hates the life. Adam hid in the darkness of the trees. Judas betrayed his Lord at night. Sin seeks shelter under the cover of darkness. Darkness cannot produce light. It is nothing, formless and void, empty. Light must be spoken into darkness from the outside.
God sent his Son, the light of the world thrown into darkness. He is the light no darkness can overcome. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). Jesus is the Morning Star, the Dayspring from on high, the signal of the coming morning. Day is at hand. The Dayspring has risen. The sun of righteousness rises with healing in his wings. He was born in darkness that we might be reborn as children of the light. He died in the darkness that we might live in the light of his life. He rose at dawn to usher in the new day of his resurrection. He shines into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who works through the Word, dispelling the darkness, killing the death and bringing light and life.
Verse three: O come, O Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by your drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Isaiah had prophesied: “I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (22:22). Sin locks the door to heaven. It makes our lives a prison of fear of death. Like the disciples in the locked upper room on Easter evening, we are hiding from our enemies, hoping death doesn’t find us. We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. No matter how much we struggle against the chains and rattle the bars, we are unable to break out of prison. The eternal penitentiary of hell is waiting us once death finds us.
But Christ has come and entered the prison. He endured the Law’s death sentence. He stormed the gates of death and hell with his death and his descent into hell. He turns the key to our prison cell. He is the Key that closes hell’s cell doors and unlocks heaven’s gates and breaks the chains of death. He sets us free to live as free children in his free city. For Jesus is the Key of David who opens and no one can close, and who closes and no one can open.
Verse four: O come, O Key of David, come, and open wide our heav’nly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery. Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!
#3 - Hymn 308 – There’s a Voice in the Wilderness Crying
John the Baptizer is on the scene again this third Sunday in Advent. He is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of a voice in the wilderness crying and preparing a highway in the desert (Isaiah 40:3). Our Hymn of the Day builds on this prophetic picture language.
Verse one: There’s a voice in the wilderness crying, a call from the ways untrod: Prepare in the desert a highway, a highway for our God! The valleys shall be exalted, the lofty hills brought low; make straight all the crooked places where the Lord our God may go!
“There’s a Voice in the Wilderness Crying” also builds on the prophetic picture language of Isaiah 35:1-10. “The wilderness and the desert will be glad. The wasteland of the Arabah will rejoice and blossom like a crocus. It will bloom lavishly, and there will be great joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it. It will be excellent like Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.”
“Strengthen the weak hands, and make the shaky knees steady. Tell those who have a fearful heart: Be strong. Do not be afraid. Look! Your God will come with vengeance. With God’s own retribution, he will come and save you.”
“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unplugged. The crippled will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy. Waters will flow in the wilderness, and streams in the wasteland. The burning sand will become a pool, and in the thirsty ground there will be springs of water. There will be grass, reeds, and rushes where the haunts of jackals once lay. A highway will be there, a road that will be called the holy way. The impure will not walk there. It will be reserved for those who walk in that holy way. Wicked fools will not wander onto it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious animal go up on it. They will not be found there, but only the redeemed will walk there. Then those ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with a joyful shout, and everlasting joy will crown their heads. Happiness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
Verse two: O Christians, you bring good tidings; get up to the heights and sing! Proclaim to a desolate people the coming of their King. Like the flow’rs of the field they perish; like grass their works decay. The pow’r and pomp of nations shall pass like a dream away.
Outwardly, we may appear lame and mute, harassed and haggard, like we’ve been traveling for decades in the desert. But Isaiah promises that we are really lavish oases refreshed and nourished by the forgiveness and salvation of Christ. Isaiah’s prophecy is a metaphor for the beauty of the grace and love God has for his people. As parched and dry as God’s Old Testament people were or – you, his New Testament people are – the Lord remembers his covenant promise. He will alter fortunes by grace. You cannot not bring forth beauty on your own so God graciously bestows this beauty. Grace is always unnatural to human soil. It can only occur if God acts. The Lord does not hide his work. It is for all to see.
Verse three: But the Word of our God is eternal; the arm of the Lord is strong. He stands in the midst of the nations, and he shall right the wrong. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, the lambs shall gently hold, to pastures of peace shall lead them, and bring them safe to his fold.
Isaiah is clearly prophesying Christ’s ministry. What a dramatic reversal there will be! A world previously destroyed by sin is filled with sorrow and sighing. But with Christ’s coming a desert will become a lush pool; the thirsty ground will be a future streambed. But that’s not all. The eyes of the blind will be opened. The ears of the deaf will be unstopped. The mute will shout for joy. And the lame will leap like a deer.
When Jesus appeared in this world with his first advent, these are the kinds of things that happened. These miracles verified the Messiah’s identity to John the Baptizer while he was in prison (Matthew 11:4-6). They are signs that point us to Jesus as the Lord. The recipients of these miracles leapt for joy.
But these miracles only served as a prelude to a greater joy. Our Savior did not just come to save a few select individuals from their physical problems. He came to save the entire world from our spiritual problem of sin. We were spiritually crippled by our own wickedness. Christ healed us through his word of peace. We were spiritually blinded by our sinfulness. The Holy Spirit opened our eyes to see Christ’s saving work. We were in the desert created by our own barrenness. The Lord caused baptismal waters to flow and cause life to spring in our hearts.
Because of this we can dwell in the glory of the Lord.
When does all this take place? Right now! We are blessed to be living in the time of refreshment in the desert. Jesus has brought healing and health. With his presence, he has made it possible to be in God’s presence. With his humility, he has allowed us to see God’s glory. With his death on the cross, he has removed sin’s curse. With his resurrection from the grave, he has brought life and salvation.
All of this will become a final and lasting paradise of health and healing, sights and sounds with Jesus’ second advent.
#1 - Hymn 305 - Lift Up Your Heads, You Mighty Gates
It is estimated that twelve million people died across Central Europe during the Thirty Years War from 1618-1648. Historians suggest that twenty percent of the people of Germany died during the conflict that ripped their land and people apart.
Despite the darkness from tremendous loss of life – or perhaps to shine light in the darkness – Georg Weissel wrote the beloved Advent hymn, “Lift Up Your Heads, You Mighty Gates.” It is a hymn of joy shining in the dark days of the seemingly never-ending war.
“Lift Up Your Heads You Mighty Gates” is based on Psalm 24 where the author of the psalm, King David, is calling for the people to celebrate the King of Glory entering the city gates of Jerusalem. Some biblical scholars believe this was a call to the people of Jerusalem to welcome the return of the Ark of the Covenant. Both the psalm and the hymn are calling for all God’s people to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ, the King of Glory.
King David writes in Psalm 24:7-10: “Lift up your heads, you gates. Lift yourselves up, you ancient doors, and the King of Glory will come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates. Lift up, you ancient doors, and the King of Glory will come in. Who is he, this King of Glory? The Lord of Armies―he is the King of Glory.”
Georg Weissel writes in verse one: Lift up your heads, you mighty gates! Behold, the King of glory waits. The King of kings is drawing near; the Savior of the world is here. Life and salvation he will bring; therefore rejoice and gladly sing. To God the Father raise your joyful songs of praise.
Advent is a season of waiting and watching. Jesus is the King of glory. He is the Savior of the world. He is coming with life and salvation, so rejoice and sing joyful songs of praise to God the Father for the gift of his Son.
Verse two: The King is born in poverty, his chariot is humility, his kingly crown is holiness, his scepter, pity in distress. The end of all our woe he brings; therefore the earth is glad and sings. To Christ the Savior raise your grateful hymns of praise.
Weissel portrays the paradox of Jesus Christ as the King of glory. He is the King, yet he is born in the poverty of a Jewish couple who have no place to stay for the Child’s birth. The King rides into our world upon the chariot of humility. His only crown is his great humility. The scepter he holds is made from strands of hay and straw. Yet he comes to end all earthly woe. So raise glad songs of praise to Christ the Savior for being the gift of the Father’s Son.
Verse three: How blest the land, the city blest, where Christ the ruler is confessed! O peaceful hearts and happy homes to whom this King in triumph comes! The cloudless sun of joy is he
who comes to set his people free. To God the Spirit raise your happy shouts of praise.
As we examine our world, it seems to have no interest in Jesus Christ as King and Savior. Yet, the land and city is blest that confesses Jesus Christ as its ruler. The hearts are at peace and the homes are happy where Jesus Christ rules above all else. He sets his people free from their sins and brightly shines the rays of joy into the darkness of their often self-imposed depression. So happily shout praise to God the Holy Spirit for the gift of faith he brings in the gift of Jesus Christ.
Verse four: Fling wide the gates; prepare your heart to be a temple set apart from earthly use for heav’n’s employ, adorned with prayer and love and joy. So shall your Sov’reign enter in and new and nobler life begin. To God alone be praise for word and deed and grace!
During the Advent season, the days are short and the nights are long. Our culture has no need for Jesus Christ. Our culture’s disdain for Christ is evident and obvious. Yet King David and Georg Weissel both invite you to separate yourself from the crowds of culture to personally prepare your heart to welcome Jesus Christ to enter in.
Verse five: Redeemer, come! I open wide my heart to you; here, Lord, abide! O enter with your saving grace; show me your kind and friendly face. Your Holy Spirit guide us on until our glorious goal is won. Eternal praise and fame we offer to your name.
The fifth verse is the most personal of all. It is a call for the singer to open wide your heart so the Lord may abide. Welcome your King with joy when he comes. The King of glory entered our world the first time in humility and quiet in the manger. The King of glory now enters through the humble and quiet means of the gospel in Word and Sacraments in our churches, homes, and schools. The King of glory will return on the Last Day with the trumpet call of God and the voice of the archangel announcing his arrival. Jesus’ full glory will be on display when he comes to judge the world.
When Jesus returns, the angels will gather all believers so that all of us can welcome him. When Jesus returns in glory, he will receive from his people a royal welcome that will last forever. He will open wide the gates of New Jerusalem to welcome home those who opened wide their gates of their hearts to welcome him into their homes.
#44 - Hymn 487 - Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending
We conclude the Christian Church Year this Sunday with the Festival of Christ the King. Our Hymn of the Day is “Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending.” For our devotion we’ll hear the verses of the hymn interspersed with the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 and Revelation 1 speaking about him coming with the clouds descending.
Verse one: Lo! He comes with clouds descending, once for ev’ry sinner slain; thousand thousand saints attending swell the triumph of his train: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Christ reveals his endless reign.
“Grace to you and peace from him who is, who was, and who is coming, and from the seven spirits that are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God his Father―to him be the glory and the power forever. Amen” (Revelation 1:4-6).
Verse two: Ev’ry eye shall now behold him robed in glorious majesty; those who set at naught and sold him, pierced and nailed him to the tree, deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing, shall their true Messiah see.
“Look, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. And all the nations of the earth will mourn because of him. Yes. Amen” (Revelation 1:7).
Verse three: Those dear tokens of his passion still his dazzling body bears, cause of endless exultation to his ransomed worshipers. With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture, gaze we on those glorious scars!
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ … Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the Devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:31-34, 41).
Verse four: Yea, amen, let all adore thee high on thine eternal throne; Savior, take the pow’r and glory, claim the kingdom as thine own. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Thou shalt reign, and thou alone!
“’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, the one who is, and who was, and who is coming, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).
#43 - Hymn 488 – The Day is Surely Drawing Near
The last day! Children know when the last day is coming. The last day before Christmas break or the last day of the school year. Adults know when the last day of work is before their two-week family vacation. Our Hymn of the Day celebrates a very different day – the Last Day – the day that is surely drawing near.
Verse one: The day is surely drawing near when Jesus, God’s anointed, shall with great majesty appear as judge of all appointed. All mirth and laughter then shall cease when flames on flames will still increase, as Scripture truly teaches.
We don’t always think of God as a Judge. In fact, we often like to – wrongly – view both the Father and the Son as non-judgmental. This is a wrong view of our God because the Lord certainly does judge. God says through his prophet Malachi: “Look! The day is coming, burning like a blast furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble. The day that is coming will set them on fire, says the Lord of Armies, a day that will not leave behind a root or branch for them” (Malachi 4:1)
That’s what those who disobey God have waiting for them. They will be stubble in God’s furnace. That day will set them on fire. God says, “Sinners, you’re living on borrowed time! The Day of Judgment will come!” And on that day, God’s anger will burn hot, not like the crackling flames of a campfire, but like the iron-melting heat of a blast furnace. All mirth and laughter shall cease when flames on flames still increase. No unbelieving evildoer will escape that Day of fiery judgment.
Verse two: A trumpet loud shall then resound and all the earth be shaken. Then all who in their graves are found shall from their sleep awaken and with the living in that hour, by God’s almighty, boundless pow’r, be changed at his commanding.
One day, the ages of earth will end. It will be a day of wild extremes. There will be a final judgment when God separates the evildoers from those who call on his name in faith. The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Then those who are still alive will meet those who have been awakened from the sleep of death.
Verse three: A book is opened then to all, a record truly telling what each has done, both great and small, when they on earth were dwelling, and ev’ry heart be clearly seen, and all be known as they have been in thoughts and words and actions.
The Book of Life will be opened on that Last Day (Revelation 20:12). God has recorded the names of God’s saints, along with those actions they have done by faith. All their evil deeds, all their wicked actions, all their unbelief and doubts have been erased by the blood of Jesus.
Verse four: Then woe to those who scorned the Lord and sought but carnal pleasures, who here despised his precious Word and loved their earthly treasures! With shame and trembling they will stand and at the judge’s stern command to Satan be delivered.
The saints on Jesus’ right will be filled with joy and exhilaration. They will receive what they have not earned and will enjoy what they do not deserve. Those on Jesus’ left will be filled with shame and trembling. At his second coming, Jesus will find those people who have foolishly pushed aside the umbrella of his mercy. On Judgment Day they will be caught unprotected and will be drenched in Jesus’ holy anger. They will have hellfire rain down on them. Scripture teaches, “Such people will receive a just penalty: eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious strength” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
Verse five: My Savior paid the debt I owe and for my sin was smitten; within the Book of Life I know my name has now been written. I will not doubt, for I am free, and Satan cannot threaten me; there is no condemnation!
There is a separation that is coming. Believers will be separated from their sins – as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Therefore, they are welcome in Jesus’ presence. But unbelievers retain their sins. Throughout their lives they have separated themselves from their Savior. Therefore, they are banished from Jesus’ presence.
Hell is the ultimate expression of a fair and just Creator. He is God who is punishes evil. He is also God who has been patient for several millennia. But like the father who counts to three before the spanking and grounding in order to teach his son a lesson, so our Heavenly Father has been counting for thousands of years, but there will come a time when his patience runs out and the unbelieving world will receive more than a tanned behind and a timeout. When Judgment Day comes, it will be a day of ultimate terror and misery for those who removed God from their lives here on earth. For God is a just God and he will honor their choice and remove himself from their eternity.
Verse six: O Jesus Christ, do not delay, but hasten our salvation; we often tremble on our way in fear and tribulation. Your saints are waiting patiently; come soon, Redeemer, make us free from ev’ry evil. Amen.
People will claim that Judgment Day isn’t fair. As Christians, we willingly admit it isn’t fair. It isn’t fair that we are forgiven. It isn’t fair that Jesus’ brings salvation. It isn’t fair that we are loved so much. It isn’t fair that we receive heaven because of Jesus’ cross. But that is the way it is. And aren’t you grateful that it is?
The people who go to hell deserve to go there. The people who go to heaven don’t deserve to go there. How wonderful is that?
That means that we can look at the Day of the Lord much, much differently. We pray that Jesus not delay his return, but hasten our salvation. We are God’s saints who are waiting patiently for God’s righteous judgment which brings the end of our tribulation and the beginning of our salvation. For us who accept Jesus’ sacrifice and believe in him as our Savior from hell, the Day of the Lord won’t be a day that burns like a furnace. It will be a day that brings life. That day will be the first day of our new life, our life free from sin, free from pain and trouble and sorrow and death. Look forward to this Day.
#42 - Hymn 889 – Jerusalem the Golden
Bernard of Cluny was a Benedictine monk in the 12th century. The verses of “Jerusalem the Golden” are just a minute portion of a three-thousand-line poem written in meter form. Bernard of Cluny’s poem was a bitter satire on the fearful corruptions he saw in the year 1145. He contrasted those corruptions with the magnificent glories of what heaven will be like for God’s saints. This hymn gives the opposite of what we see and experience. “Jerusalem the Golden” proclaims confidence God’s saints have for the future.
Verse one: “Jerusalem the golden, with milk and honey blest.” This is a beautiful picture of what the Israelites would find when they entered the Promised Land of Canaan. Our Promised Land is heaven. “The sight of it refreshes the weary and oppressed.” We have been living in the desolation and desert of this sinful, barren wilderness. We are worn out and weary. We are oppressed by a culture that hinders the vocal expression of our faith. But we are excited and refreshed to go home to heaven.
“I know not, oh, I know not what joys await us there, what radiancy of glory, what bliss beyond compare.” Jerusalem the Golden is full of bliss and glory. We cannot know what joys await us there. We cannot even begin to imagine what heaven is like – perfection, without sin. We have tastes of it in absolution and communion. But we cannot fully understand or appreciate it until we arrive in the new heaven and new earth. There in the New Jerusalem, “the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 65:25).
“To sing the hymn unending with all the martyr throng, amidst the halls of Zion resounding full with song.” The halls of Zion are Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the holy city. God was in the temple. God’s temple on earth is the Christian Church. We gather in church as the halls of Zion. Christ in us and us in Christ – a mystical union. In worship in our churches, the Christian saints on earth join our voices with the martyr throng of saints who have already gone home to heaven. Our combined voices shake the halls of Zion.
Verse two: “Oh, sweet and blessed country, the home of God’s elect! Oh, sweet and blessed country That eager hearts expect.” God’s elect are the heirs of this sweet and blessed country. They had been chosen in eternity to be with God for eternity. Revelation 22 is the fitting conclusion for the events of Genesis 3. Because of the Fall, humanity was driven out of the Garden. But God promised to send the seed of the woman to destroy the serpent and to bring the blessing of life once more to dead and dying people, to remove the curse brought by sin. That promise was kept when the woman’s Son came into the world to destroy the power of the ancient serpent.
“Where they who with their leader have conquered in the fight forever and forever are clad in robes of white.” The pierced Lamb sitting on his throne is holding his captain’s flag. This is an apocalyptic war. Here on earth we are part of the Saints Militant – we are saints at war – at war with our sinful nature, at war with Satan and his demonic horde, at war with the enemies of the gospel. But in heaven we will become a part of the Saints Triumphant – our sinful nature will be gone, Satan will have been hurled down into the abyss once and for all, and the enemies of Christ will be locked up in their hellish prison. The curse of sin that we feel in this world will be gone once and for all (Revelation 12:3).
The saints are clad in robes of white. We will wear our white baptismal gowns for eternity. We are pure. We are sacred. We are holy. The only reason why we will be able to stand before a holy God and see his face (Revelation 22:4) is because Christ has made us holy in baptismal waters.
“Jesus in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest where sings the host of heaven your glorious name to bless.” Jesus brings us, not in justice, but in mercy, for we need mercy. It is because of this mercy that we will join in singing to the Lamb for eternity. We often think that we are silenced upon our death. Not so. We will join with the martyr throng. In church is where heaven comes down to earth. It is where Jerusalem the Golden comes to us. … Until we can go there.
Verse three: “The Christ is ever with them; the daylight is serene, the pastures of the blessed are ever rich and green.” Jesus died outside of Jerusalem. He was the sacrifice. He died in the darkness so that there is no more darkness. He is the light of the world so there is no need for the sun in heaven. “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light” (Revelation 22:5). The pastures are ever rich and green. The tree of life produces twelve crops of fruit, one crop each month. The picture is that the Church in glory will be nurtured for all time by the tree of life, refreshed by the river flowing through the city, and enjoy the green pastures of paradise.
“There is the throne of David; and there from care released, the shout of them that triumph, the song of them that feast.” The king is coronated on the throne of David. Jesus is crowned with thorns. The cross is Christ’s glory. In suffering we see God’s true glory. Jesus was hanging naked on the tree so that he is now robed in glory for eternity. It is because of Christ’s suffering, wounds, and death that we can inherit this New Jerusalem. It is ours already right now. But it is only when we finally arrive in Jerusalem the Golden will we be released from all cares – free from sickness, sin, death, the devil. That’s why we have shouts of triumph. We are with our leader. There at the throne of David, our leader is coronated as the king over all creation.
“To God enthroned in glory the Church’s voices blend, the Lamb forever blessed, the Light that knows no end.” The Church’s voices blend – all saints of all places and all times. Not a church confined to one location, but the Christian Church that combines heaven and earth. We join with the saints in singing praises to the Lamb upon his throne. It is one long continuous liturgy – it is the work of the people in praising God; it is the work of God in being present among his people.
“Jerusalem the Golden” is an ancient hymn that has found new life in our churches. We sing it for festival services. We’ve used it for Christian funerals. It is a hymn that comforts and consoles, while at the same time proclaiming and professing our faith. It is a faith that announces that we Christians are more comfortable and confident in the future than we are in the present. Because our future is with the Lamb on his throne gathered with the saints triumphant in Jerusalem the Golden.
#41 - Hymn 863 - A Mighty Fortress Is Our God 11/2022
As my four daughters were growing up, I would sit on the floor with each of them to prep and plan for mighty battles. We would set up a castle with its king and his blue army of knights and warriors. Out on the battlefield was the opposing army in black armor. The fight seemed fair … until the king of the black army would unleash his dragon … and his ogre.
That’s when we would have the blue army retreat into the safety of the castle. We would pull up the drawbridge. Then they would begin firing their catapults of huge plastic boulders. Those weapons were the equalizer to the dragon and ogre. The king’s army was safe inside the walls of their mighty fortress.
That’s the way my little girls and I would fight an imaginary battle on our living room floor. Martin Luther pictures a very real battle that rages every day of our lives in his battle hymn of the Reformation, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”
Verse one: “A mighty fortress is our God, a trusty shield and weapon; he helps us free from ev’ry need that has us now o’ertaken. The old evil foe now means deadly woe; deep guile and great might are his dread arms in fight; on earth is not his equal.”
Because of our inherent sinful nature, we were not born into God’s mighty fortress. Instead, we were born living in a dilapidated fort where the walls were made with our good works and splendid deeds – which really aren’t good or splendid, at all. This fort is not built by God but owned by the devil.
But across the plain we can see God’s mighty fortress. There is a gate on the side of God’s fortress that is always open. It is inviting us to come in. Above the gate is a sign that reads, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is our means of escape out of our fort and away from the old evil foe who enslaves us.
Verse two: “With might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected; but for us fights the valiant one whom God himself elected. You ask, “Who is this?” Jesus Christ it is, the almighty Lord, and there’s no other God; he holds the field forever.”
No truer words do we sing than these from Luther’s hymn: “With might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected.” We cannot escape the old evil foe on our own. We cannot free ourselves from the slavery of our sins. We cannot flee from our derelict forts.
Unless someone greater than us fights for us. And fight he does! From our ramshackle fort, we can look across the horizon. The almighty fortress gate opens and a gloriously brilliant light pours forth. Out steps the Valiant One, whom the Fortress Master himself elected. His path is certain. His glory is unmatched. He charges across the plain on his white horse. It is a battle between the prince of this world and the King of kings. This battle lasts 40 days and 40 nights. In this celestial battle, the Valiant One is wounded – his hands are pierced; his feet are gashed; his side is sliced open. But he strikes the final killing blow – crushing the evil foe’s skull. The Valiant One stands triumphant over the vanquished one.
You come out of your little fort asking, “Who is this?” From across the way, from the other fortress, you can hear the voice of other rescued beggars. They have been gathered from other forts from all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages. They have been made citizens of this almighty fortress. They answer your question by shouting in unison, “Jesus Christ it is. The almighty Lord. And there’s no other God. He holds the field forever.”
Verse three: “Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us, we tremble not, we fear no ill; they shall not overpow’r us. This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will, he can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done; one little word can fell him.”
The devil and his demons seem overpowering – like the make-believe dragon and ogre that would attack my daughter’s castles. Though the devil and his demons really do fill this world, we see this world’s prince for who he really is. He is Satan, the liar and deceiver. When he comes at us with his little lies and petty deceptions, we don’t have to fall for them anymore. Now he can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done. All we need to do is call out the little word of “Jesus” and we can fell the fallen angel.
Verse four: “The Word they still shall let remain nor any thanks have for it; he’s by our side upon the plain with his good gifts and Spirit. And take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, though all may be gone, our victory is won; the kingdom’s ours forever!”
Daily, Jesus removes our filthy fig leaves of our own self-righteousness and dresses us in the regal robes of the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world. He takes us in his nail-pierced hands and ushers us through the door he has opened with his holy life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection. He washes away the filth of our sins in his blessed baptismal waters. He spoon-feeds us the manna of his body and holds to our lips the chalice filled with his blood that flowed from his pierced side. He has painted the doorways of his fortress with Lamb’s blood – his divinely human blood. To prepare us for battle against the devils that fill the world and this world’s scowling prince, he gives us his good gifts and Spirit.
He holds the field forever. Therefore, we will not fear. Though an unmighty fort is our life, a mighty fortress is our God. Though the earth should change; though mountains slip into the sea; though its waters roar and foam; though the mountains quake and break; we will not fear. Take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife; take they our reputation, dreams, friends, and health; do what they will – hate, steal, hurt, or kill; though all these be gone, our victory has been won. The kingdom’s ours forever.
#40 - Hymn 717 – What Is the World to Me
We desire to follow Jesus … but often it is on our own terms. We try to follow Jesus without denying ourselves. We compartmentalize areas of our lives we don’t want Jesus to have access to. We try to negotiate the terms of the deal. “I’ll follow Jesus, but I’m not going to sell my possessions.” Or “Don’t ask me to forgive the people who hurt me; they deserve me holding a grudge against them.” Or “Don’t ask me to save sex for marriage; I can’t help my desires.”
In the Gospel lesson for this Sunday, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus, desiring to follow him. He wanted to follow Jesus, but he also wanted his money. He wished to compartmentalize, attempting to follow Jesus on his own terms. He chose his idols over Jesus, his heart’s desire over God’s desire.
Luke recounts the events: Jesus said to the rich young ruler, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the ruler heard these words, he became very sad, because he was very rich (Luke 18:22-23).
By God’s grace, Jesus has entered our lives. He has converted us and called us to faith in him. Our hearts and minds are converted. But so are our wallets and purses, our savings accounts and 401Ks. The desire for earthly treasures has weakened. We now desire the spiritual treasures of heaven.
In our Hymn of the Day for this Sunday, we sing in the first-person about what our treasures mean to us now after our conversion. Verse one: What is the world to me with all its vaunted pleasure when you and you alone, Lord Jesus, are my treasure! You only, dearest Lord, my soul’s delight shall be; you are my peace, my rest. What is the world to me!
Jesus desires that we surrender our idols to him. We repent of our false worship. We put repentance into action and bear the fruits of repentance. That means we reorder our lives. We rearrange our time. We renew our tithes. This world with its vaunted pleasures means nothing when the Lord Jesus is our treasure.
Verse two: The world seeks after wealth and all that money offers, yet never is content though gold should fill its coffers. I have a higher good, content with it I’ll be; my Jesus is my wealth. What is the world to me!
The world follows wealth. You have been called out of the world. Now Jesus calls you to follow him … even with your money. The inhabitants of this world are never content. They always desire more. The Holy Spirit has made you content. He has given you a higher good. You give of the Lord’s blessings by supporting the blessing of the preaching of the Gospel. You no longer compartmentalize, but rather offer your whole self to God in worship. You have changed your priorities. And the world notices. The world sees that you value the Word more than money and possessions.
Verse three: The world is like a cloud and like a vapor fleeting, a shadow that declines, swift to its end retreating. My Jesus shall remain, though all things fade and flee, my everlasting rock. What is the world to me!
We must admit that we work and play so hard, even on vacation, and cannot find rest. Jesus is our Sabbath rest for weary and worn-out souls. Though moth and rust destroy, Jesus is our treasure that endures forever. The things of this world fade and flee, but Jesus is the rock of our salvation that remains through eternity. Though everything in this world is so uncertain, Jesus is the only certainty we have.
Verse four: What is the world to me! My Jesus is my treasure, my life, my health, my wealth, my friend, my love, my pleasure, my joy, my crown, my all, my bliss eternally. Once more then I declare: What is the world to me!
Through his ascension into heaven, Jesus saves up and stores away a treasury of merits in your place. His goodness, his love, his passion, his suffering, death, and resurrection are your true treasures – treasures for this life that will last for the life to come.
Once more you can declare: What is the world to me!
#39 - Hymn 723 - When In the Hour of Utmost Need
Perhaps you are someone who enjoys the physicality and storytelling ability of professional wrestling. Maybe you watched the classics like The Crusher, Baron von Raschke, or George the Animal Steele. Or maybe you enjoyed the superstars of WWF like Hulk Hogan, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, and Randy “Macho Man” Savage.
Pro wrestlers have great character names like Sting, The Rock, The Undertaker, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. They are creative characters, perfect for television.
In this week’s Old Testament lesson, Jacob wrestled with God all evening. In the beginning of his life, Jacob was quite the character. His pro wrestling name would have been The Heel-Grabber. But after his wrestling match with God was over, the Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel because he “fought with God and won.”
Moses records the event for us. “Jacob was left alone, and he wrestled with a man there until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he touched the socket of his thigh, and the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated as he wrestled. The man said, ‘Let me go. It’s daybreak.’ Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ Then he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ Then he said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men, and you have won’” (Genesis 32:24-28).
God wants us to wrestle with him – to wrestle with him in prayer. God wants you to be his professional wrestlers – wrestling like Jacob at Jabbok.
Our Hymn of the Day speaks about wrestling with God in prayer. Verse one: When in the hour of utmost need we know not where to look for aid, when days and nights of anxious thought no help or counsel yet have brought.
We often find ourselves in an hour of utmost need. We don’t know where to turn. Our days and nights are filled with anxious thoughts. We can’t find aid or help, comfort or counsel anywhere else. We could approach God in prayer. But most of us struggle with prayer.
We forget to pray. And when we remember, we hurry through our woefully short prayers with hollow words. We give God a shopping list of things we want him to do for us, instead of praying for his name to be hallowed, his kingdom to come, and his will to be done.
Instead, God wants us to struggle in prayer. Verse two: Then is our comfort this alone that we may meet before your throne; to you, O faithful God, we cry for rescue in our misery.
We learn the power of prayer from God, his prophets, apostles, and saints. Jesus is the Son of God. Yet, he prayed in the desert, in Gethsemane, and on the cross. We seek God’s face like Moses, are bold like Abraham, and wrestle with God like Jacob. We are persistent like the widow before the judge in Jesus’ parable in this Sunday’s Gospel lesson. We can approach God with confidence. We find comfort in speaking to our heavenly Father. We trust that God listens to our cries for rescue and relief.
Verse three: For you have promised, Lord, to heed your children’s cries in time of need through him whose name alone is great, our Savior and our advocate.
Our passionate prayers move the heart of God. James reminds us, “The prayer of a righteous person is able to do much because it is effective” (James 5:16). Join your heart-felt prayers to those of other saints. Receive comfort in the knowledge that Jesus Christ is your High Priest in heaven, perfecting your prayers, serving as your Advocate before the throne of the Almighty God.
Verse four: And so we come, O God, today and all our woes before you lay; be with us in our anguish still, free us at last from ev’ry ill.
Be bold in prayer. Know what you need and ask God for it. Talk to him about it. Speak to your Father. Paul encourages, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Don’t give up. Be persistent. Be courageous. God wants to bless you through Christ. Wrestle with God in prayer. Learn the lesson Jacob finally learned - quit your own cunning and make use of God’s almighty power. Cling to God’s promises. Win God’s blessing.
Verse five: So that with all our hearts we may to you our glad thanksgiving pay, then walk obedient to your Word and now and ever praise you, Lord.
Satan trembles when God’s saints pray. Paul reminds us, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). When God’s faithful saints pray, miracle children are born, raging waters are parted, angels attack, lives are spared, and heaven is opened. When God’s people approach his throne in prayer, tumors shrink, blindness turns to sight, strength is received, jobs are reclaimed, evil is thwarted, death is overcome, and God’s kingdom comes.
So, wrestle with God in prayer. Pray, praise, and give thanks.
#38 - Hymn 624 – Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus is beginning his last, long journey to Jerusalem. In just a few short weeks, a crown of thorns would be thrust upon his head, a scourge would tear into his back, and a hammer would drive nails into his hands and feet. The condemning judgment of all the world’s sin would be placed upon him.
As Jesus heads south to Jerusalem, he comes to a village near the border between Galilee and Samaria. Just as he is about to enter the village, ten men suffering from leprosy call out to him from a distance.
In Jesus’ day, a person who suffered from leprosy was forced to live far away from family and friends and everyone else in leper colonies. There, the lepers slowly die an excruciating death.
St. Luke records Jesus’ encounter with ten lepers. “When [Jesus] entered a certain village, ten men with leprosy met him. Standing at a distance, they called out loudly, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ As they went away they were cleansed” (Luke 17:12-14).
These ten lepers who were healed had every reason to sing praises to their almighty God. They could have sung the first verse of our Hymn of the Day, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”
Verse one: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation! Let all who hear now to his temple draw near, joining in glad adoration!
After Jesus told the lepers to show themselves to the priest, all ten of the lepers left. Can you imagine what it must have been like as the lepers went to the priest? They notice their joints no longer hurt. Their skin clears up. Their voices return. They are healed. Can you see them pick up the pace and begin to run to the temple? They could have been singing verse two on their way to the temple.
Verse two: Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things is wondrously reigning and, as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining. Have you not seen how all that’s needful has been sent by his gracious ordaining?
But then one of the healed lepers stops in his tracks. He turns around and runs back the way he came, praising God in a loud voice. He falls at Jesus’ feet and thanks him. He could have sung a solo of verse three.
Verse three: Praise to the Lord, who has fearfully, wondrously, made you, health has bestowed and, when heedlessly falling, has stayed you. What need or grief ever has failed of relief? Wings of his mercy did shade you.
This lone leper didn’t make it to the priest. He could have been arrested for that, but he couldn’t help it. He had to go back to the source. He had to thank his Savior and God. And he was a Samaritan. He wasn’t even from the Jewish nation. He didn’t have the benefit of growing up in the Jewish worship and temple life. But boy was he thankful! He wanted everyone to see — everyone to hear — what God had done for him. He could have shouted verse four.
Verse four: Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you; surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do as with his love he befriends you.
Consider all the physical blessings, health, and healing your Lord Jesus has granted you in response to your pleas of “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me!” You recovered from a stroke. You underwent surgery to spare you from a massive heart attack. You had a hip or knee or heart valve replaced. You were cured after a long illness. Your life was spared after a horrific accident. At one time, you were destined for pain and misery like those ten lepers. But by God’s mercy, you were healed and made whole again.
Sing praises to God on your way to the temple. Sing praises to Jesus as you return to give him thanks. Praise God when you are in a crowd. Praise Jesus when you are singing solo. Whatever you do, whenever you can, however you have the ability, sing praises to the Lord.
Verse five: Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him! All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him! Let the amen sound from his people again; gladly forever adore him!
#37 - Hymn 748 – Brothers, Sisters, Let Us Gladly
The Christian church in Thessalonica was young. It needed maturing. But the apostle Paul was not able to spend a lot of time visiting with the Christians in Thessalonica. Shortly after his arrival in the city, he was forced to leave because of persecution. The young church had to grow up quickly.
The same people who opposed Paul and his missionary team also opposed the Christians who remained in the city. These new Christians were verbally and physically abused. They suffered financial loss. They were hated because of their connection to Jesus.
But a remarkable thing happened. Instead of abandoning their faith in Jesus, a deeper relationship with Jesus was developed. When just about everything else in their lives was taken away, they realized that what they had in Jesus far outweighed what they lost in the world. Not only did the faith of these individuals survive, it thrived. They took advantage of the many opportunities to show love for God and one another (WELS Devotion 1 Thess 1:3).
In our epistle lesson for this Sunday, the apostle Paul reflects on the journey of faith of these young Christians as they put their faith into action. The Hymn of the Day is “Brothers, Sisters, Let Us Gladly.” It also reflects on the stewardship of our faith as we put our faith into service to the Lord and our brothers and sisters in the Christian faith.
Verse one: Brothers, sisters, let us gladly give to God our all, our best: service hearty, thorough, honest, with a living love impressed. All our duty, all our striving, all our time to him belong; praise him, then, with true devotion, come before him with a song.
Through baptism, God us brought us into his holy family as brothers and sisters. God has given us his best. Now we want to return our best to God with hearty, honest, and thorough service. Our love is alive in our duty and service to God and his family of believers.
In his second epistle to the Thessalonian Christians, Paul mentions that he is grateful for their Christian love towards one another. “We are always obligated to thank God for you, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love that each and every one of you has for one another is increasing” (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
Verse two: By his mercy, by his bounty, by the gift of Christ, his Son, what great goodness he has shown us, what high marvels he has done! Let us to him promptly, freely, yield our bodies and our souls, thankful that his love protects us, that his wisdom all controls.
As we serve the Lord, God warns us that persecution will come on us. Jesus tells us numerous times to expect our family to hate us, the government to oppose us, and culture to disown us. We yield our bodies and souls to God, thankful that his love protects us in the face of all this persecution.
Paul encouraged the Thessalonian Christians amid the opposition they faced. He reminds them they were counted worthy to suffer as part of God’s kingdom. “So we ourselves boast about you in God’s churches in regard to your patient endurance and faith in all your persecutions and in the trials that you are enduring. This is evidence of God’s righteous verdict that resulted in your being counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also suffer” (2 Thessalonians 1:9, 10).
Verse three: Gracious Lord, accept our service for the sake of Christ, your Son; lo, our hope abides now only in the righteousness he won. Bless and save us, help and guide us, watch to comfort and restore, till in heav’n we rest rejoicing, praising you forevermore.
Jesus Christ came from heaven to serve us here on earth. He blessed us by giving his righteousness to us. Now, we are blessed to live in Christ’s righteousness as we serve him here on earth. We pray that we will then be blessed to live and serve Christ one day in heaven.
Paul prayed that the Thessalonian Christians would praise and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in everything they did for him. “For this reason, we are always praying for you, that our God will make you worthy of your calling and use his power to fulfill every good desire and work of your faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him, in keeping with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12).
We pray to be like the Christians in Thessalonica. We pray that God uses us in service to others as we glorify him. Instead of abandoning our faith in Jesus, a deeper relationship with Jesus needs to be developed. Brothers, sisters, let us gladly give to God our all, our best.
#36 - Hymn 817 - Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart
Life without Jesus? How awful would that be?!
David is a young man who is living without Jesus. His grandparents have shared his story with me and given me permission to share his story with you. Without Jesus in his life, David has become addicted to drugs, which has led him to being in and out of prison at least four times. He’s out now, but after trying for several months to remain clean, he is back to doing drugs.
On top of that, he now has a daughter with his girlfriend. When the girlfriend goes to work, David’s family has to sit with him while he watches his daughter because they can’t trust him to be alone with her.
That story is heartbreaking. It is especially heartbreaking to David’s grandparents. Every time I visit them, they tell me what’s going on in David’s life and ask me to pray with them for their grandson … and now their new great granddaughter.
Life without Jesus is awful! That’s why we plead with our Savior in the Hymn of the Day for this week, “Ne’er from me depart!”
Verse one: Lord, thee I love with all my heart; I pray thee, ne’er from me depart, with tender mercy cheer me. Earth has no pleasure I would share; yea, heav’n itself were void and bare if thou, Lord, wert not near me. And should my heart for sorrow break, my trust in thee can nothing shake. Thou art the portion I have sought; thy precious blood my soul has bought. Lord Jesus Christ, my God and Lord, my God and Lord, forsake me not! I trust thy Word.
Without Jesus, life on this earth would be without hope and would hold no pleasure for us. We try to fill the hole in our lives where Jesus belongs with whatever our mind wants and our flesh desires. The hymn writer points out that even if we were in heaven, but Jesus wasn’t there, it wouldn’t be all that heavenly. With Jesus we learn to be grateful that God the Father had forsaken his only begotten Son so that he does not forsake us. Our souls have been bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We belong to God. God does not want to be without us. We do not want to be without God.
Verse two: Yea, Lord, ’twas thy rich bounty gave my body, soul, and all I have in this poor life of labor. Lord, grant that I in ev’ry place may glorify thy lavish grace and help and serve my neighbor. Let no false doctrine me beguile; let Satan not my soul defile. Give strength and patience unto me to bear my cross and follow thee. Lord Jesus Christ, my God and Lord, my God and Lord, in death thy comfort still afford.
Without Jesus, there is no rhyme or reason, no purpose or point to life. But with Jesus, the hymn writer expounds upon the determination and direction our lives as Christians now have. The Lord’s riches of forgiveness, life, and salvation give bounty to our bodies, souls, and labors. Everything we do, we do to glorify God for the grace he has lavishly poured upon us. We understand and accept the crosses we are called to carry as Jesus’ followers. We accept these crosses with grace and patience. We even accept that death will come for us. But we prepare for death with the comfort of the resurrection Jesus Christ gives us.
The hymnwriter then moves onto death with verse three: Lord, let at last thine angels come, to Abr’ham’s bosom bear me home that I may die unfearing; and in its narrow chamber keep my body safe in peaceful sleep until thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me that these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, thy glorious face, my Savior and my fount of grace. Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend, and I will praise thee without end.
The hymnwriter is alluding to the Gospel lesson for this Sunday from Luke 16:19-31. Jesus tells a story: “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. A beggar named Lazarus had been laid at his gate. Lazarus was covered with sores and longed to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Besides this, the dogs also came and licked his sores. Eventually the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus at his side. He called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in misery in this flame.’
“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in misery. Besides all this, a great chasm has been set in place between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’”
Without Jesus, we are like the rich man in life, and we will be with that rich man in death. With Jesus, we are like Lazarus here on earth – poor, humble, unassuming, suffering. Yet, through faith in Jesus, when we die, we will be carried by Christ’s angels to Abraham’s bosom. We may fall asleep each night here on earth with pain and anxiety, suffering and worry. But through faith in Jesus, when we fall asleep in death, we will awaken in heaven to see Jesus’ glorious face.
Today, pray for David and others like him who are living without Jesus. Pray that they may come to faith so they can pray the same petition we sing this Sunday, “Lord, thee I love with all my heart; I pray thee, ne’er from me depart.”
#35 - Hymn 654 - Jesus Sinners Does Receive
The other day I had a member lament a large building project he’s overseeing. He had hired a crew to frame the walls for the building. When he looked at their progress, he noticed that their walls were not straight. Straight walls are rather important. When he mentioned it to the foreman, the foreman said it would be fine.
Our member rightly said that it would not be fine. And he had the crew tear down the walls and start over.
That’s what the hymn “Jesus Sinners Does Receive” teaches us. We are like the crew and the foreman who make mistakes … and then refuse to admit those mistakes, own up to them, or correct them. We would much rather overlook them, hide them, or blame the mistakes on others. But our Hymn of the Day places the blame squarely where it belongs … on us.
Verse one: Jesus sinners does receive; oh, may all this saying ponder who in sin’s delusions live and from God and heaven wander. Here is hope for all who grieve: Jesus sinners does receive.
None of us enjoys correction. Yet, when we admit that sin has deluded us and caused us to wander from God, our attitude changes to accept that correction. We are blessed to have a Savior who still receives us.
Verse two: We deserve but grief and shame, yet his words, rich grace revealing, pardon, peace, and life proclaim; here their ills have perfect healing who with humble hearts believe: Jesus sinners does receive.
Because of our sinful nature, our accidental sins, our purposeful sins, our sins of omission (what we fail to do right), and our sins of commission (what we do wrong), we deserve grief and shame, death and hell. Yet the Lord promises in Psalm 103: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He will not always accuse. He will not keep his anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve. He does not repay us according to our guilty deeds” (Psalm 103:8-10). He is the God who “pardons all your guilt and who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:3).
Verse three: Sheep that from the fold did stray are not by the Lord forsaken; weary souls who lost their way are by Christ, the Shepherd, taken in his arms that they may live: Jesus sinners does receive.
We are like the sheep that Jesus describes in the Gospel lesson for this Sunday in Luke 15. We wander from the rest. We stray from the Shepherd. We fail to remain with the flock. Yet Jesus leaves the rest of the sheep in the wilderness to go after the one that was lost until he finds it. “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls together his friends and his neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep’” (Luke 15:5-6).
Verse four: I, a sinner, come to you with a penitent confession. Savior, show me mercy, too; grant for all my sins remission. Let these words my soul relieve: Jesus sinners does receive.
In Psalm 32, King David describes how he felt while living as an impenitent hardened sinner. He says that his strength was sapped like in the heat of summer. He felt like his body had withered to the bones and all the moisture was sucked out of him. Yet, when he came to God with penitent confession, his Savior showed him mercy and granted the remission of his sins. Then he describes feeling blessed that his rebellion was forgiven, blessed that his sin was covered, and blessed that the Lord did not charge his guilt against him (Psalm 32:1-2).
Verse five: Oh, how blest it is to know, were as scarlet my transgression, it shall be as white as snow by your blood and bitter passion, for these words I do believe: Jesus sinners does receive.
When we unburden our sinful conscience by admitting our mistakes and giving our sins to God, then we receive a wonderful promise from God. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
Verse six: Now my conscience is at peace, from the law I stand acquitted. Christ has purchased my release and my ev’ry sin remitted. Naught remains my soul to grieve: Jesus sinners does receive.
When your conscience torments you, take whatever is bothering you to Jesus. Admit your mistakes. Profess your accidental sins. Acknowledge your willful sins. Give them all to Jesus. He receives people whose consciences are weighed down. He delights in those who come to him with nothing but the admission that they’ve done wrong. He forgives. He fixes. He washes. He covers. He bleeds, dies, and rises from the dead to turn guilty sinners into righteous saints. Remember, Jesus sinners does receive.
#34 - Hymn 694 - Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken
The words Jesus gives us in this Sunday’s Gospel are hard for us to hear. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26, 27). Jesus is rejecting lukewarm Christianity. According to Jesus, there is no middle ground. You either are or you aren’t. You’re in or you’re out. You are his disciple or you’re not.
The words the hymnwriter gives us in this Sunday’s Hymn of the Day are hard for us to sing. Verse one: Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to leave and follow you; destitute, despised, forsaken, you on earth once suffered, too. Perish ev’ry fond ambition, all I’ve ever hoped or known; yet how rich is my condition, God and heav’n are still my own!
How often don’t we find ourselves lazy and lukewarm in our Christianity? We are mushy in the middle Christians, bored Christians, neutered Christians, quiet Christians, timid Christians, unsalty Christians. None of that is true Christianity. Not the kind of Christianity Jesus calls for. That’s why we sing and pray that God help us perish our mushiness, boredom, and laziness. We ask him to help us be bold, strong, firm, loud, fearless, and salty Christians who carry our crosses as Jesus’ faithful disciples.
Verse two: Let the world despise and leave me; they have left my Savior, too. Human hearts and looks deceive me; you are not, like them, untrue. And, since you have smiled upon me, God of wisdom, love, and might, foes may hate and friends may shun me; show your face, and all is bright.
God’s Law exposes what abject failures we are as Christ’s followers. The Law reveals that the Enemy and his army are too strong for us. The Law points out we will always prefer convenience over the cross. The Law establishes that we are bound for hell because of our many and varied sins. But then the Gospel exposes God’s grace in Christ Jesus. The Gospel tells us that Jesus, the Son of God, counted the cost of your salvation, and considered you worth the price of his blood. He went into battle outnumbered by the forces of Satan, the world, and our sinful flesh against him alone. The world despised and left him. But Jesus knew that would happen. Still, he renounced his life, laying it down for sinful humanity who wanted nothing to do with him. All so that he would do everything for them.
Verse three: Go, then, earthly fame and treasure! Come, disaster, scorn, and pain! In your service pain is pleasure, with your favor loss is gain. I have called you Abba, Father; you my all in all shall be. Storms may howl, and clouds may gather, all must work for good to me.
Though storms may howl and clouds may gather, your Abba, Father works everything out for your eternal benefit. Jesus knows you have a heart that wanders where it ought not; a love that is fickle and fades. And he dies for it. He forgives it with his own life-giving blood and innocent suffering and death. Where we are faithless, he is faithful – to make us faithful. We, who have hearts that wander, have a Lord, whose heart is steadfast and resolute – so that we never wander away from him. He gave up divine treasure and heavenly glory to come to earth for you. Now you are ready to give up earthly fame and treasure as you follow your Lord and Savior. Jesus became like you, so that you, through faith in him, might become like him.
Verse four: Haste, my soul, from grace to glory, armed by faith and winged by prayer; all but heav’n is transitory, God’s own hand shall guide you there. Soon shall end this earthly story, swift shall pass the pilgrim days, hope soon change to heav’nly glory, faith to sight and prayer to praise.
We are pilgrims and strangers here on earth, heaven is our real home. Everything we have, everything we own in this life, everything we work for, strive for, and hold onto is only temporary. We have a greater and permanent inheritance waiting for us in eternal life. Our earthly story will soon come to an end. As we carry our crosses as Christ’s faithful followers, Jesus will lead us to a heavenly glory that will never end. There Christ will turn our faith to sight and our prayer to praise.