About My Father's Business: A Meditation on Luke 2 for the 2nd Sunday after Christmas

And the child grew,

and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom:

 and the grace of God was upon him.

 

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year

at the feast of the Passover.

And when he was twelve years old,

 they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned,

the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem;

and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.

But they, supposing him to have been in the company,

went a day's journey; and they sought him

among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

And when they found him not,

they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

 

And it came to pass, that after three days

they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors,

both hearing them, and asking them questions.

And all that heard him were astonished

at his understanding and answers.

And when they saw him, they were amazed:

and his mother said unto him,

Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?

behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me?

wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth,

 and was subject unto them:

but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

 

 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature,

and in favour with God and man.

 

There are several enigmatic aspects to this story at the end of Luke’s second chapter, all of which are worthy of meditation.  For example, the declaration that Mary and Joseph were faithful in their keeping of the Law, particularly in their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem; that the timing of this particular visit coincided with Jesus being 12 years old, on the brink of being counted a man in the religious life of the synagogue; that Jesus tarried in Jerusalem after his parents and family departed, to have dialogue with the most respected teachers in the Temple; that his parents went from general unawareness to panic in their search for him; that Jesus humbly returned to Nazareth with his parents, after astounding the Pharisees and Sadducees.  Yet what strikes me for meditation this Christmas season is the opening and closing of this passage related to how Jesus grew in wisdom and strength with God’s grace and Spirit upon him, and his central response to his blessed mother that he must be about his father’s business.

 

Scripture does not record much of what transpired between Jesus’ birth and his 12^th year, but I think it is safe to assume that he was being raised as any other child.  Being fully human and fully divine, we know that even as he grew in his human nature, his divine nature was still the fullness of Almighty God—he was still without sin, and despite having laid aside the exercise of his divine attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, he did nothing that contradicted them.  He was likely apprenticed with his earthly father Joseph, learning to work as a carpenter, perhaps with his elder cousins in attendance.  We also hear nothing of Joseph after this trip to Jerusalem, leading many to surmise that not only was Joseph much older when he took Mary into his protection and adopted her divinely begotten Son, but that he most likely died before Jesus came to the fullness of his public ministry at about age 30.  This small vignette that Luke records, most likely from the reminiscence of Mary who kept all these things in her heart, does not indulge all our curiosities about the human maturation of Jesus between his birth and his baptism by John in the Jordan, but it does tell us something very important about him:  he was always about his Father’s business.

 

To my mind, that is a great comfort.  Jesus did not come to be frivolous, to indulge his own fantasies or to play the trickster in Jerusalem.  Instead, Jesus came with a purpose which he intended to fulfill, and there was nothing that was going to stop him.  As the very Logos or Word of the Father, his will was in perfect harmony with the Father and the Spirit to accomplish the promise of salvation made to Adam and Eve at the dawn of our fallen race; this is why he was born of the blessed Virgin Mary, why he took on a full human nature into his divine Person as the only begotten Son, why he taught in the Temple, the synagogues, and the streets, why he would eventually die and rise again, giving the grace of his victory over sin, death, hell, and the devil to all who would turn and trust in Him.  This is why he would ascend into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, why he sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to empower us, and why he is interceding for us all until the end of days, when he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, in a Kingdom that has no end.  This mission was always in his mind and his heart, as in the eyes of all around him he grew in grace, in the power of the Spirit, in wisdom, and in stature.  He did most certainly grow to adulthood, submitted himself in his humanity to the rule of his parents in accordance with the Law of Moses, even as he kept all the Law perfectly… not just in the view of others through external works, but in a heart that was always in accord with the Word and Will of God, never succumbing to evil intentions, desires, or disordered passions.  While even his blessed mother wrestled with fear, confusion, and anxiety, Jesus never diverted from his path.

 

As I reflect on myself, the wanderings of my own mind and the weakness of my own heart, I know that what Jesus did, I could never do.  There was never a time of which I am conscious that sin and selfishness did not press upon my young or older mind, and of the times I am not in conscious memory, I’m sure my parents or others around me then would attest to my own failings—and even if there was no one else around to see my fallen works or corrupted thoughts, the Lord God Almighty is never deceived, his perfect knowledge bearing witness through His Law to my own imperfection.  I was certainly no more pure at the age of my birth than I was when I was 12 years old, nor across any of the decades of my life, for like David wrote by inspiration in the Psalms, I also was conceived in sin, born in sin, and lived as a slave of sin by my own fault, and by the fault of my whole human race.  I know that I, like all men who have come before me and all who will come after, could never hope to be what Jesus was, and is, and ever shall be:  the perfect god-man, the Lamb of God, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

 

At this transition between the festival season of Christmas and the revelatory season of Epiphany, it is the grace, wisdom, Spirit, strength, love, and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ toward which our hearts and minds must turn, for only in Him is the mission of our salvation accomplished, and only to Him is all honor, glory, and praise rightly given.  We who sat in darkness have seen His great Light, which has reached out through His Gospel of forgiveness, life, and salvation to heal every heart, to cleanse every mind, to quicken every soul who puts their trust in Him.  Thanks be to God for the gift of Jesus our Messiah, who has come to make all things new for all who would walk with Him by grace through faith.  Merry Christmas!  Amen.

 

 

Peace and Good Will Toward Men: A Christmas Meditation on Luke 2

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree

from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth,

into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;

(because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,

being great with child.

 

And so it was, that, while they were there,

the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son,

and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,

and laid him in a manger;

because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,

and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:

and they were sore afraid.

 

And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people.

 For unto you is born this day in the city of David

a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you;

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,

lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude

 of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace,

good will toward men.

 

Merry Christmas! It is joyous phrase that to my mind, simply can’t be said enough this time of year.  It is an exuberance which proceeds forth from something far deeper than a mere holiday greeting, something that St. Luke records in the second chapter of his Gospel.  On that first Christmas night, when the blessed Virgin Mary, with her husband and protector St. Joseph at her side, gave birth to the Son of God.  Never in the history of the world had there ever been anything like it, and never again will there ever be:  the Lord God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all things seen and unseen, the Rock of Ages who transcends all time and space and before Whom all things are fully known and present, entered our fallen world and took our humanity into Himself, that our relationship with Him might be restored forever.  It is the great miracle of the infinite, transcendent, impassible God who deigns to be in our present moment, that He might show forth His good will to all mankind by bringing them His peace.  It is a moment that reverberates across all of heaven and earth, as the Holy Angels fill the vaults of heaven with their magnificent song of proclamation—a moment that still rings today.

 

Theologians note this event as the Incarnation (technically begun with the Annunciation to Mary and her divine, miraculous conception of Jesus) where the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Eternal Word of the Father, is sent by the power of the Holy Spirit to become man.  In doing so, the person of the Son is forever established as two indivisible natures:  one fully divine, begotten of the Father before all ages, neither made nor created, and possessing all the divine attributes of the Holy Trinity; and one nature which is fully human, possessing all that is essential to humanity including a body, soul, and mind, all without sin, received from the nature of His mother, Mary.  How precisely God preserved this human nature received from the blessed Virgin Mary so that Jesus might be born of her without sin, has been debated for centuries, but the Scriptures are silent in this regard.  Whether you are of the pious opinion that Mary herself was miraculously prepared and preserved without sin (a kind of preventative grace looking ahead to the Cross) like a new ark for the carrying of the Eternal Word, or that the miracle was part of Jesus’ conception in the womb accomplished simply by the power of God’s Word and Spirit, the result is the same:  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is made flesh to dwell among us, full of grace and truth.  He was, and is to all eternity, fully God and fully man, reconciling in Himself the whole human race to the Father.

 

It is far too often an oddity of theologians to fixate on the esoteric, the mysterious, and the obscure, trying to use the clumsy tools of human reason in plumbing the infinite depths of divinity, while somehow missing the wonder of the gift right before them.  Regardless of how God accomplished the Incarnation, and irrespective of our individual ability to apprehend even the rudimentary nature of such a miracle, the truth remains:  God and man are reunited in Jesus, and that is something worth meditating upon, not only at Christmas, but every single day of eternity.  What was originally created good in us, but lost through our rebellion and pride, is restored by Jesus; the dignity our divine image we lost as a human race, is repaired by Jesus; the hopeless aspirations of every living soul struggling in a fallen world to be all that they were created to be, is remade in Jesus; the bodies, souls, and minds of all people, cursed by their own sin to an eternity of death and destruction, are forgiven and made whole again in Jesus.  All that we lost in our fallen humanity, Jesus Christ has brought back to us through His Incarnation, that He might walk our paths of death, despair, and judgement in our place, giving to us His victory over every evil which plagues us and our world.

 

Reformation Christians often focus heavily on the Cross, and for good reason—it is at the Cross where Jesus takes the sins of the world upon Himself in the Vicarious Atonement for all mankind, securing for us our salvation by grace through faith in Him alone.  But we would be remiss to forget that what is accomplished at the Cross is only possible because of the Incarnation.  The promise made to Adam and Eve in the Garden after their fall, that a Son of the woman would crush the head of the satanic serpent and restore the world they had just condemned into millennia of sin, slavery, and death, was fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  Only God could take upon Himself the eternal condemnation due to every human soul through their own most grievous individual fault; and only a man could die for the sins of mankind.  There is no other solution to the fall of man, except the salvation accomplished by the God-Man, Jesus Christ.  Only as the Most Holy Trinity condescends to begin the New Creation through the Incarnation of the Son, is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus made efficacious for us, that as He has reconciled the world to the Father by His sacrifice, we, too, might be reconciled through Him to the Father, sealed by the Holy Spirit in Him forever.

 

This is the joy which shattered the heavens with angelic choirs nearly 2000 years ago, where heaven and nature sang forth a song of thanksgiving and glory to God for the accomplishment of His Word, which still echoes in undimmed beauty today.  Jesus Christ, eternally begotten Son of the Father, born of Mary in a particular time and place according to our nature, yet fully God according to His divine nature, is the love of God made manifest among us.  In Him is the hope of all ages, from the dawn of time to the end, for every tribe and tongue of man.  In Him alone is the narrow path of reconciliation with God, because in Him alone are all things made new.  In Him, the promise of God is made fresh to each and every soul who would hear His gracious Gospel of forgiveness, life, and salvation, and turn to Him in faith.  In Him alone do the saints and angels sing their everlasting song of joy and rapture, into whose choirs we also press, lending our voices to the never-ending chorus:

 

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace,

good will toward men!

 

Amen—Soli Deo Gloria, and Merry Christmas!

 

Looking for the Real Jesus: An Advent Meditation on Luke 7

And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.

And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying,

Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

When the men were come unto him, they said,

John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying,

Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

 

 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues,

and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.

 Then Jesus answering said unto them,

Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard;

how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,

the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

 

John the Baptist, likely at this point in the story imprisoned by the evil King Herod and with most of his prior disciples now following Jesus as he had told them to do, did something peculiar:  he sent two of his remaining disciples to Jesus with instructions to ask Him if He was the long awaited Messiah.  Some modern, liberal theologians have opined that this must have been John’s faltering faith in the midst of his hopeless plight, largely abandoned in a dungeon and awaiting his execution… but that really doesn’t square with Jesus’ declaration that no greater Prophet had ever arisen in the history of the world than John the Baptist, and his commission was specifically to prepare the way of Jesus’ arrival.  What I find more consistent is that John the Baptist, knowing his time was coming to an end, looked after two of his last remaining and doting disciples by very intentionally and directly sending them to Jesus with the questions that they needed to understand.  Then Jesus showed them precisely what they needed to see, and told them exactly what they needed to hear, so that they might know who He really is.

 

Being the greatest prophet to ever arise, St. John the Baptist’s model is a high bar for modern pastors to aspire to, but a necessary one: everything they do and say should point their people to the real Jesus.  No pastor or teacher is entitled to their own disciples, because like all pastors who have come before and all who will come in the future, they are fallen creatures who cannot by their own strength, power, or cleverness, escape death.  John prepared his hearers with the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins by faith in the Lamb of God who takes the sins of the world away.  That Jesus—the real Jesus—was born of the blessed Virgin Mary, walked among His people full of grace and truth, performed miraculous healings, exorcisms, and resurrections, and taught all who would listen to Him the path to eternal life.  His Word was and is and always will be the life of the world, and faith in His Word—a Word made flesh which lived, and died, and rose again victorious over sin, death, hell, and the power of the devil—is where the miraculous is found.  There in His Word the Holy Spirit works the resurrection of dead souls, giving them a new birth from above by Water and Spirit.  By that Word the powers of evil and death flee away, where the eternal life Jesus gives to His disciples transcends mortal death, because their lives are kept in Jesus and His irrevocable victory through His Cross.  By that Word the darkness of deception, lies, and confusion are dispelled, so that the faithful may see clearly the narrow path which alone leads to salvation.  By that Word, we know the real Jesus.

 

Of course, it is not uncommon in our age to see preachers of everything but the real Jesus.  It’s hard to build a large cult of personality with a message that is content to sit in a dank prison cell waiting to have your head chopped off by a murderous politician, all so that the last remaining friends you have visiting you in that horrible place might leave and follow Jesus.  Few are likely to fill stadiums or convention centers with a message of self-sacrifice, of the humility to submit one’s mind and body and soul to the Word of God, so that even as they die in this world, they will live forever in Jesus.  It’s hard to make millions by fleecing people of their money, when the message is simply to have no fear, only trust and follow Jesus.  Not many newly minted PhD scholars will win their academic credentials by promoting the simple truth of the Gospel which Jesus preached to the poor, and not many talk show hosts will move preachers of simple faith and repentance into the limelight of cinematic fame.  As it was in ages past, and will be until the Lord of Glory returns, the path to riches, fame, pride, and worldly prosperity are not the Way of the Cross.  And while it is true that the wisdom of God in the lives of His people can nurture peace and prosperity through reasonable prudence and the avoidance of gratuitous evil, the Word of God is clear that His goal is not to pursue the endless satisfaction of disordered personal passions, but to breath forth the restoration of the soul by the power of His Holy Spirit, found only in reunion with God the Father through His only begotten Son.

 

While preachers of false paths will bear their judgment before God regardless of how well attended or dapper they appear in this world, we must realize that their material success is a reflection of our own failures, too.  It is our own hearts which go looking for these other paths and false words which pad our pride, give license to our desires, and affirmation to our wickedness.  It is our own fallen nature which resists the Light of Christ, preferring the darkness because our own thoughts and works are so often evil.  But thanks be to God, that our salvation is not built upon our own fallen hearts or reliance on false teachings by corrupted leaders, but upon the Eternal Word of Jesus which pierces our darkness, gives sight to blind eyes, hearing to deaf ears, understanding to muddled minds, and life to dead souls.  It is not us who by our fallen nature go looking for the real Jesus, but the real Jesus who comes looking for us.  It is His Word which the holy angels sang forth on that first Christmas night, just as it was His Word which all the Prophets spoke forth to prepare the world for His Advent.  It is His Word which He spoke to His Apostles who preached it to the first century Church, and it is that Word which resounds in Holy Scripture to every generation since.  It is the Word of Christ which reveals the real Jesus to every heart that will repent and believe in Him, that by His grace they might live forever in Him.

 

As we walk ever closer to the blessed joys of Christmas Day, hear the Word of Christ come to you, that you might be prepared to receive Him and His gifts in faith and joy.  Dive deeply into the Word of God, that it might fill you with His wisdom, light, life, and peace.  See the path of salvation He has made for you, and feel the strength He gives to your heart to believe in Him, your mind to perceive Him, your hands to serve Him, your feet to follow Him where He leads, and your voice to declare Him to your generation.  Let the paths of false messiahs, false teachers, and false hearts, melt away in the life-giving warmth and reconciliation of God With Us, whose Word alone is our life and comfort, forgiveness and hope, now and unto ages of ages.  Amen.

 

Who Warned You? An Advent Meditation on Luke 3

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,

Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea,

and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee,

and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea

and of the region of Trachonitis,

and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 

Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests,

 the word of God came unto John

the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

 

And he came into all the country about Jordan,

 preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be brought low;

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

 

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him,

O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance,

and begin not to say within yourselves,

We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you,

That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees:

every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit

 is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

 

And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

He answereth and saith unto them,

He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none;

and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

Then came also publicans to be baptized,

 and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do?

And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely;

and be content with your wages.

And as the people were in expectation,

and all men mused in their hearts of John,

 whether he were the Christ, or not;

John answered, saying unto them all,

I indeed baptize you with water;

but one mightier than I cometh,

the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose:

he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

Whose fan is in his hand,

and he will thoroughly purge his floor,

and will gather the wheat into his garner;

but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

 

John the Baptist is an enigmatic figure tied to both the story of Jesus’ birth, and to the beginning of Jesus’ preaching ministry.  He is born within a few months of Jesus in a series of miraculous circumstances, but for whatever reason, John is found in the wilderness when the Word of the Lord comes to him at the appointed time, leading him to fulfill the Word of God given to the Prophet Isaiah and to live in the spirit and power of Elijah as the one who proclaimed the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, making straight the way which leads to Him.  While there is much mystery to John’s story up to this point, several things are remarkably clear:  he preached the coming of the Messiah with His Kingdom, pointing all people away from himself and toward Jesus; that faith and repentance, with works worthy of repentance, were the proper preparation to meet the coming King of Glory; that various people had different reactions to his call for repentance, including the petty King Herod who imprisoned and beheaded him.  And since Jesus Himself remarked that no one born of women up to that time (which would have included Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah, etc.,) was greater than John the Baptist, it is worth spending some time considering what he preached as the proper preparation for meeting Jesus.

 

John’s preaching was neither gentle nor politically sensitive.  He called his entire generation a brood of vipers—a writhing mass of treacherous, poisonous, deadly creatures, and he was right.  That brood of vipers would later by intrigue, deceit, and murderous intent kill both him and Jesus.  John did not coddle his generation by accommodating their sins or using soft language to avoid offending the brutal leadership of Judea.  Rather, he directly confronted them over their sins, knowing that without faith and repentance, the only meeting they could have with God would be the disaster of eternal condemnation in hell.  John knew Jesus was the Savior of all who would trust in Him, because only Jesus could take the sins of the world upon Himself to satisfy the wrath of God’s righteous judgment.  But John also knew that a person who preferred to abide in their own sins rather than the grace and mercy of Jesus by faith and repentance, would also abide in the judgement of Almighty God.  John knew there was no true kindness or love in a preacher who avoided the call to repentance, as such pastoral cowardice or ignorance would leave sinners in condemnation rather than lead them to salvation in Jesus.

 

While some preachers in our day avoid calls to faith and repentance out of ignorance, I suspect the greater number avoid it out of cowardice and worldly ambition.  Preachers who call their generations of vipers to repentance have a tendency to end up like John the Baptist, living outside the limelight of worldly prestige, and eventually targeted for persecution by evil people in positions of power who want the Word of God silenced.  Imagine the audacity it would take to stand before the murderous, treacherous, poisonous mobs of our day as they loot and brutalize their communities, and call them to repentance for the sake of their own souls.  Consider what consequence there must be to stand before the rulers of our age who foment division for political advantage, traffic in the exploitation of human suffering, and manipulate the systems of government for their own enrichment while degrading public virtue.  In many parts of the world, such preachers are abused, imprisoned, or executed, while declining tolerance of such preaching in our western communities is reflected in broad pastoral acquiescence to worldly charges that the Word of God is now somehow a form of political hate speech.  As in John the Baptist’s day, such fiery preachers of faith and repentance are rare among us, too, either because pastors have become ignorant of the Word of God, or too cowardly to preach it directly.

 

But what does John mean by fruits worthy of repentance?  He gave examples to his hearers in their various vocations, so that we might not lose sense of what repentance actually is.  Authentic repentance must start by faith, and as St. Paul would say, faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  The Law of God points toward the holiness which God demands, summarized in the Ten Commandments, while the Gospel of God declares the forgiveness of sins and eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  Faith as a living trust in God’s Word of Law and Promise, will naturally seek to leave behind those evils which do not accord with His Word, be they sins of idolatry, sacrilege, infidelity, deception, murder, theft, sexuality, covetousness, or otherwise.  It is the inspiration for John to tell tax collectors not to extort money beyond their commission, for soldiers to avoid unjust violence in the execution of their profession, and for all to freely give of their abundance to those in need.  John’s list of works worthy of repentance by his generation’s brood of vipers is not comprehensive, but indicative:  according to each person’s calling in life, they are to abide in the Law and Promises of God’s Word, embracing His path of righteousness and leaving behind the paths of vice and wickedness.

 

This message is as needed now in our day, as it was in John’s day.  Like all the faithful pastors of ages past, our preachers of today must trust that their lives are secure only in Christ Jesus by the power of His saving Word, so that in that same power they may courageously declare the only path of salvation for a fallen world by grace through faith in Jesus alone.  As Christians who walk among our generation’s brood of vipers, we, too, know that our lives are eternally secure in the love and mercy of Jesus by that same Eternal Word, that we may encourage our preachers to faithful and sacrificial service, even as we reflect the light of Jesus’ Word to everyone around us, each according to our vocations.  And for a dark and dying world, always deceived and deceiving in endless cycles of violence and treachery, we know that the Light of Christ has come, which no darkness can overthrow, bringing light and life to all who will repent and believe in Jesus.  Hear the Word of God calling to you and your generation today, that faith and repentance in Jesus Christ may bring forth times of refreshing and renewal in His grace, which alone is our sure hope, and the hope of the entire world.  Amen.

 

When Jesus Comes: A Meditation on Luke 19 for the 1st Sunday in Advent

And when he was come nigh,

even now at the descent of the mount of Olives,

 the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God

 with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord:

peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

 

And some of the Pharisees

from among the multitude said unto him,

Master, rebuke thy disciples.

And he answered and said unto them,

I tell you that, if these should hold their peace,

the stones would immediately cry out.

 

The entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem recorded in Luke 19 is a fulfilment of the Old Testament prophets to whom God granted vision to see the first coming of the Messiah centuries before.  It is an event marked by both faith and unbelief, by misunderstanding of some and active resistance by others.  Jesus’ disciples, together with the crowd who had traveled with Him and seen His miracles on the way to Jerusalem, lined the way with shouts and thanksgiving for the coming of the Messianic King.  The Pharisees were appalled by this spectacle, but were powerless to stop it.  The crowd seemed to think this coming of the King would usher in a physical overthrow of the Roman occupation and restore the fortunes of Israel, while the Pharisees seemed to think Jesus was a threat to civil and religious order that would bring about their destruction.  Few, if any at this point, understood that Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem would culminate in His betrayal, crucifixion, and death, and perhaps none other than Jesus Himself knew that His victorious Resurrection would usher in His Kingdom without end.  Jesus was indeed fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies of His first coming, but the people were confused, even as they either lauded or derided Him.

 

This should give us some pause in our presumptions about understanding Biblical prophecy.  The people of Israel had roughly 500 years to ponder the prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah; nearly 1000 years to consider the messianic prophecies of David in the Psalms or Solomon in the Proverbs; and over 1500 years to weigh the prophetic writings of Moses.  The scribes and scholars, Pharisees and Sadducees, and everyone taught to read and hear the ancient Scriptures across many generations, still didn’t fully understand what Jesus was doing when He came the first time.  Looking backward from after the Resurrection, with the benefit of Jesus’ teaching and His Apostles’ inspired written witness, it is easy to sit in judgement upon the ignorance of 1^st century Judea having not connected all the threads of the Prophets.  But in reality, fallen human beings are notoriously thick headed and hard hearted when it comes to trusting God’s Word, and this flaw in our fallen nature showed up even as Jesus approached Jerusalem, just as it had when Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, or preached in Galilee.  Like all our ancestors before us, we are slow to hear and to see and to understand what the coming of Jesus means.

 

We know that in just a few weeks, we will celebrate the first Advent of Jesus, to whom holy angels and humble shepherds sing their praises.  We also know that Jesus’ birth on that first Christmas was for a purpose far beyond the dusty streets of Bethlehem, which would be shown forth just 33 years later on Calvary.  The disciples, including Mary, didn’t have to understand all the details and implications of what was happening, they just needed to trust the Word of the Lord.  And as they did, they beheld the Word of the Lord made flesh and dwelling among them, full of grace and truth.  Whether it was the crowds that lined the road approaching Jerusalem with palm branches and their own clothes shouting hosanas to the Son of David, or those who gathered near the manger on that first Christmas, or those who huddled in fear during the early morning hours of the first Easter, the challenge was not to fully understand everything which God was doing, but rather to trust Him in all that He said and did.  The trouble with fallen human beings reading prophesy, is that our darkened minds don’t often fully understand it until after it happens.  But empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can still trust and believe the Word of God, even when we can’t fully comprehend it.

 

Likewise in our day, we look forward to the second coming of Jesus.  We know from what He has told us through His Prophets and Apostles that He is coming back, that He will gather together His people from every corner of heaven and earth, and that He will usher in the New Creation where sin, death, hell, and the power of the devil are forever put away.  We know that the mystery of His Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection will be fulfilled and complete in that Day, as His people join Him in His eternal victory over every enemy of the human race.  We know that despite the turbulence and tribulation that will precede His second coming, Jesus has already secured for us a life without end that no one can take away from us.  We know that no matter how dark our days may become, no matter how the devil and his minions wail or threaten or lie or deceive, that nothing can separate us from the light and love of God in Christ Jesus our Savior.

 

So what is left for us to do, but to be faithful in His Word until He comes, rejoicing in the grace of His salvation accomplished for us through His first Advent?  We need not try to fill in the gaps of our understanding with assumptions and presumptions about all the intricacies of His second Advent, because we know from both the prophecies and testimonies of Scripture that it will be far more magnificent than we can imagine.  What we do know is that He is coming again, and as He came before, He will bring salvation to His people that no enemy can overthrow.  In this hope we prepare our hearts and minds to believe all that the Prophets and Apostles have testified by the power of the Holy Spirit, that when He comes again, we might sing with His faithful people of every age, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord:

peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!  Amen.

 

 

The Sure Promises of God: A Meditation on Mark 13 for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation,

spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not,

(let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house,

neither enter therein, to take anything out of his house:

 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved:

but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders,

to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

 

But in those days, after that tribulation,

the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds,

from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender,

and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass,

 know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no,

not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

 For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house,

and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work,

and commanded the porter to watch.

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh,

at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

 

The second half of Mark 13 finishes the apocalyptic vision which Jesus gave to His disciples regarding the end of the age.  It aligns with the apocalyptic visions of Daniel, Ezekiel, and the other Old Testament Prophets, as well as with the visions of the end times recorded by the Apostles throughout the New Testament.  While biblical apocalyptic literature is sometimes intentionally obscure in details which people often want to know, it is inescapably clear in its primary revelation about Jesus.  For instance, in the passage above, the times of the end are left opaque, as is the identity of the abomination of desolation, or the various false Christ’s who will come, or the nature of the dark wonders they will perform to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.  But what is absolutely clear is that Jesus will abide with His people by His Word and Spirit unto and through those dark times to preserve His elect, that He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and that at His Second Coming all the dead in Christ will rise, gathered together from every time and place to join those still alive on the earth in the great Resurrection.  From the complimentary witness of the Prophets and the Apostles, we also know that when Jesus comes again, all evil will be judged and imprisoned forever in the Lake of Fire, while all the saints will enjoy the New Creation purged of all its dross unto ages without end.

 

With the clear promises and testimony of Jesus’ saving Word, particularly regarding the end of time, we should examine ourselves when we feel somehow abused or mistreated for not being given all the details we seek.  What God has not revealed or not made clear, He has left obscure for His own reasons and in His own wisdom.  When we challenge God’s wisdom in what He has revealed, accusing Him of not giving us the knowledge we want, we reveal in ourselves at least two primordial sins:  pride, and unbelief.  Pride, because we think from our own vantage point as finite humans that we understand better what should be revealed and when, in order for the universe to move properly toward its conclusion; and unbelief, in that we are not content with the sure promises of God, but hope to manipulate the details unrevealed to our own advantage.  Do we really think that given all the forces in the universe, both good and evil, those entities seen and unseen, both present and yet to come, that we could determine the right combination of revealed vs unrevealed details which will both guide the faithful and confound the enemy?  Do we really think that if we could individually better guess the times and the signs of the end, that we could run a little faster than our neighbor, gather a few more resources than the one who didn’t see it coming so clearly, and somehow dodge the coming calamity?  It is a pride and unbelief which plagues not only the people of antiquity, but the people of our age, and likely will continue among people until the end.

 

But what does it mean, when Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.  Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.  In English this may seem difficult, but no so much in Greek.  While the specific generation of Jesus’ time did in fact see a certain culmination of some of these events (the darkness and earthquake at Jesus’ crucifixion, the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in 70 AD, the destruction of the Temple, with resulting slaughter and forced diaspora from Judea of the surviving Jews, etc.,) the Greek word for generation also points to a grouping of people.  In this case, generation also includes the continuing people of God gathered to Jesus by His Word and Spirit.  In this sense, the people of God who had always lived by grace through faith in His Word, from the Garden of Eden, through the Flood with Noah, Mount Sinai with Moses, Mount Carmel with Elijah, the Babylonian Captivity with Daniel, the fall of Jerusalem in the Apostolic era, and the saints of every age since, would continue to endure until all the things Jesus prophesied were fulfilled.  This also harmonizes with Jesus’ other teaching that the gates of hell would not be able to resist the Church, and that He would be with His people until the end of the age.  And in fact, this has been true—at no time in human history has there ever been a gap in the testimony of Jesus, or the preservation of His people against all the enemies and hordes bent on destroying them.

 

That’s a promise worth meditating on.  Since the Fall of man until our own age, for over 5,000 years of recorded history and into the mists of time before that, the earth has never been devoid of God’s saving Word nor of the people who clung to it by grace through faith.  There have been times when there were more of those people on earth, and times when there were fewer; times of persecution and times of resurgence; times of missionary zeal into the hearts of darkness, and times of bunkering into monastic arks; but at every time, God’s Word and His people have endured.  There has never been a time when the generation of God’s people has been left without a remnant, and by the grace of God there shall never be a time to come where God’s Word of promise will fail.  This generation—our generation—of those saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, will not pass away until everything Jesus has promised has been fulfilled.  He has been the Eternal Word from everlasting to everlasting, and all who gather to Him shall never be put to shame.  He promised to seek and to save the lost, which He has done, and continues to do, through His preached Word and Sacraments; He promised to be with His people through every calamity, carrying them through death unto eternal life; He promised to give His people His victory over sin, death, hell, and the power of the devil, by giving them His forgiveness, life, and salvation won for them through His Cross.  And He has promised to come again at the end of time, when the full roster of the saints will be complete, to usher in the Resurrection and the New Creation in a Kingdom that will never end.

 

At this turning of the season and the turning of the church year, may our hearts and minds return to the sure promises of God, that we might know the boundless riches of His grace already given to His people, and the surety of His Kingdom come.  Let go the pride and unbelief which would seek to know what God has intentionally hidden, and cling instead to the crown of life given to all who will repent and believe in Jesus, whose robes are washed clean from sin by the Blood of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  Rest in the sure promises of God which cannot be undone by any tumult or tragedy in this fallen world, not even by that last calamity of tribulation when divine judgment shall fall upon a wicked world, and the elements shall be dissolved in unquenchable fire, so that a new Heaven and a new Earth might be made our home in God’s eternal Kingdom forever.  And as Jesus commanded, let us watch, not in fear but in hope, knowing that our Savior has come and shall come again, just as He has promised.  All glory, laud, and honor, be to you, our Redeemer King—to whom to lips of saints and angels, our sweet hosanas sing.  Amen.