Sermon for Advent 4: "Holy Words. Holy Names"

 + 4^th Sunday in Advent – December 21^st, 2024 +

Series A: Isaiah 7:10-17; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words. And yet there are some words that have a story all of their own to tell. A single word can contain thousands of words. A word can bring to mind endless words. Endless stories. Some words have a whole world within their letters. 

 

Think of home. Rest. Christmas. We hear a few of those kinds of words this morning in God’s holy word: Son.  Emmanuel.  Jesus.

 

Although in all honesty, if we were standing in Joseph’s sandals the first words that come to mind would be words like fear. Confusion. Shock. Sin. Betrayal.

 

So God sends his messenger. One of his holy angels to deliver better words to Joseph’s ears.

 

Consolation. Holy. Awe. Wonder. Promise.

 

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son

 

Do not fear, Joseph. Yes, people will talk. They’ll whisper and wonder the worst about you and your betrothed. They’ll wag their fingers and heads in shame. They’ll cast their judgmental eyes your way and hers and the child’s. But fear not, Joseph, son of David for Mary is carrying the promised Son of David in her womb. From the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son who is David’s Son, yet David’s Lord.

 

Son. There’s a whole world in that word. Son takes us back to the beginning. Back to Genesis and Eden. To the tree and the temptation. To the betrayal and rebellion and death that poisoned all that God declared very good. But also to the promise. A child born of a woman. A Son who will stomp the serpent into the dust forever. A holy child born to deliver all of Adam’s fallen children. Joseph. You. Me. 

 

So the angel’s words are for Joseph, but they’re for you too. Do not fear. For though we all have our own sin and sorrows, fears and failures, doubts and death to wrestle with – all of those words and realities are held by the one born of the woman. 

 

It is for us as it was for Joseph. God’s word and promise must be revealed to us. On our own we’re in the dark. Alone. Confused. Trapped in our own grave. Caught in our own snares. Enslaved by our own desires and self-made deities. Tossed to and fro by our own fears, worries, doubts, and despair. 

 

But then along comes a word. Son. The Son of David. The Son of Mary. The Son of God. 

Or to say the same promise with another word.             Emmanuel.

 

This is an old word. A Hebrew word. An ancient name. And like most Hebrew names in the Scriptures, this name is more than an ID badge. It is prophetic. It is promise. It is life. Revelation. Rescue. Comfort. 

 

This name is a whole world of God’s grace in a word.    Emmanuel.

 

God with us. God with us in the womb. God with us who crawls. Toddles. Wobbles. Walks. God with us in flesh and blood and bone and breath and hair. God who ate and drank, slept and awoke, laughed and wept. Who hungered, thirsted, and bled. As one of us. For all of us. 

 

God with us yet without sin. And yet at the same time, God with us, bearing all our sin.

 

So he is God with us in our despair, doubts, and darkness. God with us in affliction, anxiety, and addiction. God with us in our fears, failures, and faithlessness. God with us in our terrors, trespasses, and trials. God with us in our sorrows, shame, and sin. God with us in our grief, guilt, and gut-wrenching pains. 

 

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”

Son.    Emmanuel.   Jesus.

 

When the Word made flesh made his dwelling among us, the Word of God receives a name. A whole world in a word. All of God’s promises packed into one single, saving name: Jesus.

 

This name is an Old Testament sacred play on words. A holy pun with a promise. You’ll recognize this name by its Hebrew translation. Yehoshua. Joshua. YHWH is salvation. YHWH saves. YHWH is savior. 

 

The first Joshua led Israel into the promised land. Jesus, the greater Joshua will lead all people through his cross, and tomb into a new creation. The first Joshua conquered Jericho with trumpets. Jesus, the Greater Joshua conquers death and hell and the ancient serpent with his own blood and the tree of the cross. The first Joshua was told by God: Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Jesus, the Greater Joshua is the fulfillment of this promise. He is the Son of God. The Son of Mary. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He is the Lord your God who is with you wherever you go.

 

you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

 

Jesus lives up to and dies into his name: YHWH is salvation. This Son and Emmanuel is God in the flesh who saves by giving his flesh for the life of the world. On the cross, but also in the cup. In the bread. On the altar. On your lips and tongue. YHWH is salvation in his body and blood for you.

 

This Son. Emmanuel. Jesus. Gives his blood for you. Poured out on the cross. Poured onto our sin-parched lips. Shed. Spilled. Given for you for the forgiveness of your sins. Here in the cup. In the blood of Jesus. YHWH is salvation.

 

Jesus, who is flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone who ached and wept and suffered. He is with you in your sorrows, suffering, aches, pains, even death and the grave. He experienced it all. Went through it all to do what his name says. YHWH is salvation. For you. 

 

When we endure restless nights like Joseph did. Or wrestle with our sin, sorrows, and when death opens it ugly, yawning mouth to swallow us up, it seems that fear, death, and sadness get the last word. But it is for us as it was for Joseph, and in this chapter of Matthew.

 

God’s holy word. God’s holy promise. God’s holy name – Jesus. He the last word. 

 

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

Sermon for Advent 2: "The Way of the Lord"

 + 2^nd Sunday in Advent – December 7^th, 2025 +

Series A: Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

In the old tales when a hero goes on a quest there’s often a bridge to cross. A chasm to cross over. And there in the way – guarding the only way across – stands a messenger. You shall not pass. Unless of course, you answer three questions or solve the riddles. 

 

And like the old rhyme goes, there is no other way but forward. You must meet this strange messenger on your journey. You can’t go around him. Can’t go under him. Can’t go over him. You must go through him.

 

This is the way of Advent. The way of John the Baptist. The way of the one who prepares the way of the Lord Jesus.

 

John stands in the wilderness in our advent journey and we cannot get to Jesus without going through John. John is the crossing guard at the bridge. The herald on the journey. The messenger at the crossroads. The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

 

Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.

 

John stands in the wilderness in our advent pilgrimage not with riddles to solve or questions to answer, but with a message to proclaim. Holy words to sink into our ears, minds, and hearts.

 

Repent. For the Kingdom of God is at hand.

 

Truth be told, John the Baptist makes us uncomfortable. Uneasy. His camel’s hair clothing stands out like Scrooge at a Christmas party. His diet isn’t milk and cookies but locust and wild honey. He’s like that crazy uncle we all know and love. You’re never quite sure what he’s going to say when he opens his mouth. He’s untamed. Unkempt. Uncivilized. 

 

But it’s more than John’s strange diet and prophetic fashion sense that makes us squirm in our Christmas jammies. John is not safe. He’s wild and untamed, serving not himself, but Jesus the Lord whose way he prepares. The true untamed and wild Lion of Judah.

 

In a season of festivities John preaches repentance and forgiveness of sins. While we’re enjoying all of the cards, carols, and phone calls John calls out to the Pharisees, “Hey…You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” How’s that for a Christmas greeting card!

 

In a season where the world is decking the halls, having a merry little Christmas (a little too early), and trimming the trees, John preaches repentance. Self-denial. Death and resurrection. 

 

That is what God sends John ahead of his Son to do. To work repentance through the word. Repentance is a changing of the mind – not by you, but by the Spirit giving you a new mind. Repentance is a turning from darkness to life – but it’s not you who turns you; it’s the Spirit working through God’s word. Repentance, most of all, though is death.

 

John calls us to the Jordan River this advent journey. And John comes out swinging like Paul Bunyan, laying his axe to every idol that has taken root in our hearts and minds. John is God’s holy bulldozer sent into demo all of the altars we’ve built, all the places where we worship and fear and love and trust every god but the true one.

 

Yes, John is sent by God to deliver the death blow. The final knockout punch to our old Adam. This is John’s way. This is the way of repentance. 

 

To daily die to our old sinful self.

To die to our false desires that enslave us.

To die to our idols that over promise and underdeliver.

To die to viper’s serpentine voices that hiss out nothing but lies.

To die to our selfish, self-serving, self-righteous ways.

 

You can’t go around, or under, or over John’s message. The death of repentance. You must go through John. Through repentance. Through the grave.

 

And there in the darkness. In your death. In the dust and ashes. John holds out his finger. And lifts up his voice once again. He leads you out from under the crushing weight of your sin to the cross. To Christ whose way he prepares.

 

The Kingdom of God is at hand. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

 

John calls us to a new exodus. Out of slavery and into life and freedom in Christ. Out of the wilderness and into the new creation in Jesus. Out of darkness and into light. Out of the grave and into the resurrection that comes in Jesus’ dying and rising.

 

With one hand John points out your sin. But with the other, he points you to your Savior. To Jesus who comes to baptize. Cleanse. Gather. Rescue. Redeem. And raise you from the dead.

 

John declares that Jesus is the coming one who is mightier than he. And yet he who is mighty comes with great mercy for you. He who is holy, comes in utter humility to declare you holy in him. He who comes is full of compassion, grace, and steadfast love.

 

John proclaims that Jesus is the one whose sandals he is not worthy to stoop down and untie. And yet, Jesus is the one who comes to stoop down. The Son of God descends. Humbles himself. Dwells under the Law. He stoops low to wash feet. To heal. To go down to the lowest place of all, the grave. And to do it all for you. 

 

Jesus is the one who comes with the winnowing fork in his hand, but it comes in the shape of Roman nails. Cold and cruel and pounded into his flesh for you. God lets the axe fall on his Son the root of Jesse. On the tree of the cross God’s righteous branch is cut down. Broken. Bleeding. Breathing out his last to save John, the Pharisees, sinners, you and me.

 

Yes, John’s preaching of repentance means the death of us. But his preaching of the Kingdom that comes to you in Jesus, in his water, word, body and blood. This is your resurrection from the dead. 

 

This is your advent journey. No riddles. No questions. All you need is what John has: God’s word that kills and makes alive. Indeed, come to Christ’s table, for today the Kingdom of God is at hand. 

 

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

 

Sermon for Advent 1: "Christ is Coming"

 + 1^st Sunday in Advent – November 30^th, 2025 +

Series A: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 24:36-44

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

Advent is a peculiar yet beautiful season of the church year. 

 

Peculiar because the world around us is telling us it’s cozy sweater weather and flooding your email, text messages, TVs and tablets with commercials and sales and deals and it’s enough to make you sympathetic with the Grinch for moment. 

 

But then Advent comes along. Out of place in our world. Out of touch. We get Isaiah and the prophets. John the Baptist – the ugly sweater champion of the world. Paul and Jesus all proclaiming the same message. “It shall come to pass.” The Judge is coming. The Day of the Lord is near. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. The Son of Man is coming soon. Hardly sounds like the Holly Jollies or marshmallows and hot cocoa we were expecting. 

 

And yet Advent comes as an airhorn in your slumber. Arise! Awake! Advent comes as a splash of cold water for someone in a stupor, drunk on the distractions of the world. Get up! Watch! Prepare. Advent comes like a thief in the night, Jesus says. 

 

The beauty of Advent is found in its peculiarity. For Advent is a foghorn in the storm and tempest. Advent is a lighthouse in the bleak midwinter. Advent is the lantern approaching closer and closer on the horizon. The dawn about to break. The light piercing the darkness. The newsboy standing on the corner shouting out: “extra, extra! Read all about it! Christ is coming! Christ is near. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Soon!”

 

And so Advent is a blessed interruption from our idolatry. A sacred summons to holiness and peace in Jesus word and promises. A slowing down. Roots digging deep into Christ the vine who sprouts forth from the stump of Jesse. In Advent our Lord invites us to pause. Breath. Be awake. Watch. Wait. Slow down. Sit. Listen. 

 

Hear the word of the Lord. He comes to rescue. Deliver. Save. And yes…

 

He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

 

That’s no ordinary judgment. Isaiah announces a war to end all wars. A black flag hoisted against the powers of hell and death and darkness. The Son of Man is coming and he will give no quarter to the ancient serpent. No safe harbor for hell and death. Jesus comes to hoist the Jolly Roger over the bones of Adam and our old sinful flesh as well. 

 

And Jesus fights this battle. Makes his judgment in the most peculiar yet beautiful way. Something unimaginable to us. Impossible for us. Yet exactly what we need. Jesus comes as the Judge and takes upon himself your judgment. Christ the Judge lets the gavel fall on three Roman spikes, pounded into his flesh to set you free. Jesus, the Judge of the living and the dead, steps off his bench and is hoisted up onto the cross. For you. The innocent for the guilty. His life for yours. Your sin became his. Your grave and mine became his. Your judgment and mine…all his. All for you. 

 

And this is the Judge that we await for on the Last Day. This is the coming Son of Man. The Son of Mary. Son of David. The Son of God. Our crucified and risen King. Your redeemer. Rescuer. 

 

 

And in a way, the Last Day has already come. Your judgment has already happened. On the cross.

And in Baptism where he declared you washed. Cleansed. Holy. His own dear child. You belong to him. And… “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

 

For you who are in Christ, this day of reckoning is a day of redemption. This day of judgment is a day of joy. This day of consummation is a day of consolation. 

 

This is what makes Advent so peculiar and yet so beautiful. Advent teaches us exactly how to live in the last days. To wait. Watch. Listen. 

 

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

 

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

 

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

 

Although Jesus will come on a day we do not expect. At his coming, we know exactly what to expect. For he promises.

 

You are dressed in Jesus. You are clothed in the King’s righteousness. You are Advent people. Children of the day. You are bought and paid for by the precious blood of Jesus.

 

So, do not fear living in these last days. Because of what Jesus did on Good Friday and Easter Sunday there’s nothing to fear on the Last Day.

 

After all, you know how the story ends. It ends with the trumpets blaring. Angels and saints shouting for joy. The bells of the new creation pealing. And the Lamb returning. Raising you from the dead. Wiping away all tears. All pain. All sorrow. 

 

And you’ll find out that the Judge is the Lamb all along. Slain for you. sitting on the throne for you. speaking his promises to you: 

 

Behold, I am coming soon. 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Sermon for Advent 4: "Advent Visitations"

 + 4^th Sunday of Advent – 12.22.24 +

Series C: Micah 5:2-5; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-56

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

It’s that time of the year when family gatherings are planned, brunches are scheduled, and the calendar fills up with holiday visitations. But there’s always that lingering fear or worry in the back of your head that your family equivalent of Cousin Eddy from Christmas Vacation is going to show up, park his RV in your driveway stay a while. And yet, for every black sheep of the family, there’s almost always someone who brings comfort and joy as soon as they walk in the door – I think of my Aunt Becky or some of my older cousins. Quite often there’s that family member who lights up the room with joy whenever they visit. 

 

That’s the kind of story we find ourselves in the middle of on this fourth Sunday of Advent. A visitation full of comfort and joy. But this visitation, at least from Mary and Elizabeth’s point of view, is entirely unexpected. Who would’ve guessed that Elizabeth in her older age and with her barren womb, would be six months along in her pregnancy? And giving birth to John the forerunner of the Messiah no less. And then God ups the ante on his own gracious visitation. Mary, a young virgin, is also expecting by the Holy Spirit, just as Gabriel told her when he visited her with the joyous news that she would be the mother of God and give birth to the Son of God in the flesh.   

 

When Mary visits Elizabeth it’s a family gathering that goes all the way back to God’s promise in Genesis 3. It’s a holy get-together that our Lord has been planning since before the foundation of the world. It’s a meeting that God has been moving all of history to arrange and set in motion.

 

This is what God does. He graciously visits his people.

 

And when our Lord visits his people, he brings comfort and joy in Jesus, the promised Savior. God has a long track record of making his gracious visitation leading up to Luke 1 with Mary and Elizabeth and John and Jesus in their wombs.

 

God visits Adam and Eve in the cool of the garden, even before their sin plunged the whole world into darkness. But even there in the shattered bliss of Eden, God visits Adam and Eve with a promise. A child. Born of a woman. A Savior who will crush the serpent. A gracious visitation of victory over death for you.

 

Later on in Genesis, God visits Abram and Sarai, foretelling a promised child from an aged, barren womb – sounds familiar doesn’t it! His name, Isaac, even means laughter. It’s a gracious visitation where God brings comfort and joy in the form of a son who will carry God’s promise on to the next generation. And on and on. Down through Judah’s family tree, to the root and shoot of Jesse, Jesus.

 

As time goes on, so does God’s gracious visitation among his people. He visits Jacob at the ford of Jabbok as he sleeps. He visits Moses in the burning bush and upon Mt. Sinai. He visits Israel in the pillar of smoke and fire. He visits Elijah in the cave and the prophets in his word. 

 

And then one day, in Nazareth, God sends an angel to visit the young Virgin Mary to deliver the unexpected, yet joyful good news. God is once again visiting his people. Only this time God is not visiting his people in a burning bush or a pillar of fire or a prophet’s voice. 

 

The Word of God, who spoke to the prophets, now is the Word made flesh. The holy One who appeared to Moses in the burning bush is conceived in our humanity in Mary’s womb. The One who walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden is now growing legs and arms in Mary’s womb as John jumps for joy within Elizabeth’s womb.

 

When our Lord visits his people, he brings comfort and joy in Jesus, the promised Savior. You can imagine seeing John send ripples of joy across Elizabeth’s stomach as Mary bears within her own womb God’s gracious visitation. You can hear the gladness and excitement in Elizabeth’s words. 

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be^[g] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Take a moment and look again (if you haven’t yet) at the artwork on the bulletin cover today. This is a copy. The original was done by an artist – Corby Eisbacher – and it’s called Jump for Joy. The artist beautifully illustrates for our eyes what God’s word declares to our ears. Mary’s eyes point our eyes to Jesus within her womb. Elizabeth’s head is lifted up to heaven in joy, giving us comfort and joy in God’s gracious visitation. It’s the kind of picture that speaks more joy than you could put into words. But if you had to put it into words you could say it this way. When our Lord visits his people, he brings comfort and joy in Jesus, the promised Savior.

This visitation is a blessing for Mary to be sure. It’s beautiful. Awe-inspiring. Mysterious. Yet gracious visitation. She’s the mother of God. The child growing in her womb is the One who fearfully and wonderfully knitted her together in her mother’s womb. The Son she will give birth to is the same child promised to Adam, Eve, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For he is also the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And yet, while Mary is unique, she is not alone in this blessing. You share in the blessing too. 

 

God’s gracious visitation in the womb of Mary is for you too. When our Lord visits his people, he brings comfort and joy in Jesus, the promised Savior. And while he brings comfort and joy, these are not prerequisites for his coming. He doesn’t pull out his joy-o-meter to determine if we’re prepared and ready. God comes. God arrives. God visits us. Often times not when we’re most joyful, but when we’re in the dark. When we doubt and despair. When we grieve and suffer guilt. When we’re full of sorrow, shame, and sin. When the last thing we expect is God’s gracious visitation. 

 

Then he comes. God visits you at the bedside of a dying loved one. God visits you when the doctor says the cancer isn’t going away. God visits you when the pregnancy test comes back negative…or positive. God visits you when your friendships and families blow up in arguments and tension. 

 

As God in the flesh dwells in the womb of Mary, he visits you with all of his grace and goodness and loving-kindness. As God in the flesh goes to the cross he visits you with his saving love. As God in the flesh rises from the dead he visits you with new life. As God in the flesh gives you his gifts of word, water, body and blood, he visits you with forgiveness. Pardon. Peace. God in the flesh visits you when you care for one another in the love of Christ, and when others care for you.

 

And when our Lord visits you, he brings comfort and joy in Jesus, the promised Savior.

 

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

 

2nd Midweek Advent Sermon: "Mighty God"

  + Advent Midweek 2 – December 11^h, 2024 +

His Name Shall Be Called: “Mighty God”

Psalm 24; antiphon: v. 7

Isaiah 9:1–2, 6–7; Titus 2:11–14; John 5:16–18; 8:48–59

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given . . . and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 

When you hear Mighty God you might think of Thor wielding Mjolnir or Zeus zapping lightning bolts or God thundering on Sinai. 

 

And while Mighty God is certainly a title for Jesus that we would expect, God always has a way of turning our expectations, and our world, upside down. 

 

Mighty God is a title for Jesus that we would expect. But God in the flesh – as he always does - quickly turns our expectations upside down. When we think of God we think of power, prestige, and potency. And God certainly has those attributes, but he chooses to reveal his power in weakness, his prestige in lowliness, his potency in sacrifice.

 

It doesn’t take long in the story of the Scriptures to find out that God’s ways are not our ways. And that’s a good thing. He is mighty…and yet…

 

He is the eternal Word of God. As John writes… In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made… The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

 

The Word became flesh. The Mighty God is born in meekness and lowliness. And made man for us. 

He is all powerful; he is the almighty, and yet for us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven. Infinite cosmic power takes up the itty bitty living space of the Virgin Mary’s womb. The Mighty God reveals his power in weakness and humility – in lowering himself to save us – not with Herculean strength, but with incarnate love and mercy. Not by great fetes of heroism, but by his humble feet that trod in dust and mud and blood, that tromped over hill and valley and into the grave for you. 

 

If you want to see God’s might, don’t look for his bulging muscles. Look down in the manger at his infant fingers grabbing the Virgin’s hands and wiggling in Joseph’s arms. Look up at the cross and see his wounded hands and pierced side and bloody, beaten, bruised face on the cross. There’s our Mighty God.

 

The author of Hebrews puts it this way:

 

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. (1:1–3)

 

This is the mystery and joy and wonder of Christ’s incarnation. You find, not a contradiction, but a confession. Jesus, the Son of God, upholds the universe by his word and power, and yet, he also is the Son of Mary who places himself under human authority. Jesus is at the same time the one who spoke God’s word, his word, to the prophets, and now is God’s word in human flesh. Jesus is the Mighty God of Isaiah and our Merciful redeemer. Jesus is the one who declared Abraham righteous by faith, and is also the one whom Abraham believed in and saw his day long before Jesus was born. 

Before Abraham was, I am, Jesus says. There is mystery and might, but also mercy, in those words. For the great I AM of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses, has taken on humanity to be the Great and Mighty God who is “For You”.

 

Scripture gives us this beautiful, mysterious, joyful, wonderous, and gracious confession. Jesus is true man, with real knees that pop as he walks and feet that ache after a long day and hair that got tangled in the sea of Galilee breeze – he identifies with us in all ways, he weeps, suffers, bleeds, and dies - and yet has no sin to call his own…so that he can take your sin upon himself and make it his own. And He is also true God with all the might and power and authority that entails…so that he would deliver and save and rescue you

 

Scripture is full of this story, this good news. That Jesus, the Mighty God of Isaiah is also the infant boy held in the arms of the Virgin Mary. Jesus, the Mighty God, is also the One who hung on the cross for all your sins. Jesus is the Mighty God who forgives you—and when the Mighty God forgives you, the devil has no claim on you.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, who claims you as His own in Baptism where He put His name on you and washed you from the guilt of your sin by the power of His divine blood.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, who nurtures your faith in Him as He teaches you with His Word.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, who still comes in meekness and lowliness, giving you His own body and blood in Holy to forgive and heal and to assure you that your sins are forgiven and that your Mighty God is with you!

 

Jesus is Mighty God, who is also your Immanuel – God with us – as we live as His children in this world.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, who will give you eternal life in His love when He returns in power and glory.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, who gives his grace us not as we expect, nor as we deserve, but according to his mercy. And that’s far more than we could have ever expected.

 

 

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.

Sermon for Advent 2: "Advent Messages"

 

+ 2^nd Sunday of Advent – December 8^th, 2024 +

Series C: Malachi 3:1-7; Philippians 1:2-11; Luke 3:1-14

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

One way or another, this time of the year is full of messages. Text messages flying around between families and friends. Messages that your Amazon package is on its way. Messages on the radio and streaming on your TV and devices. Messages sent out to loved ones in the form of a letter or family photo or a simple Christmas greeting. Whether you go big or keep it simple, Advent is a season full of messages.

 

When we open up God’s word this Advent season we find the same thing, only far better of course – that Advent is a season full of messages in God’s house as well. Only you won’t find God using text messages, TikTok videos, emojis, tweets, or spam messages. God’s preferred messengers happen to be people. Because where there’s a message there’s a messenger. And a messenger must have a message to deliver.

 

Today’s Scripture readings are a great reminder that God always has a message to deliver and he sends his messengers to declare, deliver, proclaim, and announce his message of good news, deliverance, rescue, and redemption. 

 

As you open Scripture, you realize that no matter what page you turn to, you are opening the message God is sending you.

Messengers like the evangelists who wrote the Gospels that tell us the story of Jesus’ life and ministry and rescue from sin and death. Apostles – like Paul – whom God sent with the message of the Gospel out on mission to deliver that message of God’s justifying, righteous love to all nations. so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

But of course, Paul would be the first to admit that he was standing on the shoulders of those messengers God had called before him. 

 

Long before God sent Paul, he sent the prophets – like Malachi – to proclaim his Advent message centuries before his arrival and birth in Bethlehem. And centuries before he sends another wilderness messenger, John the Baptist. “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.”

 

Even though it was a few more centuries (four hundred years or so, to be exact), between Malachi and John the Baptist, God still made good on his promise. He sent his messenger. What Malachi foretold, John the baptizer fulfilled. What God promised by the prophets, came to happen in the last prophet of the Old Testament and the first witness of the dawn of the New Testament. The message of Christ’s advent is delivered and proclaimed by John the wilderness preacher.

 

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³ And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

 

All these names and places may sounds strange to us. But this is Luke’s way of telling us this messenger and his message are the real deal. This isn’t some fake news report. This message and the messenger are real. Historical. Reliable. Trustworthy. And yet, it’s always good to follow the simple rule of trust, but verify. What’s this messenger saying? What’s the content of John’s preaching? 

 

This, by the way is a good way to listen to Christian sermons no matter where you hear them. Who is the preacher talking about? More about himself or Jesus? Is Jesus mentioned? And if so, how often? Is he the main part of the sermon or is he sitting on the sidelines sipping some fine Cana wine? And when Jesus shows up in the sermon, what’s he doing? Is he running the verbs? Is he the one doing the work of showing sin, saving, forgiving, rescuing, loving, and working in you to give you his holiness, or is it all up to you? 

 

So, how does John our Advent preacher fair? It turns out he fairs well because he doesn’t spend any time at all talking about himself – so much so, that the crowds get a little flummoxed by John. But that’s ok by John. He’s not out in the wilderness to build an empire or appear on Judea’s morning talk shows and fly a jet up and down the Jordan River collecting money for his ministry. No, John’s a simple man. simple clothing. Simple diet. And a clear message. Repentance and forgiveness of sins. 

 

That’s it. No gimmicks. No lights and fog machines. No frills. John shows up in the wilderness to show us our sin and show us our Savior. John preaches not himself, but the coming Christ who came into the world to save sinners. John warns sinners to flee from the wrath to come, but also points sinners to Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And where does John get his preaching material? He reaches back and takes a page out of the Old Testament playbook; he does a little remix of Isaiah’s messages from of old.

 

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,^[a]
    make his paths straight.
⁵ Every valley shall be filled,
    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight,
    and the rough places shall become level ways,
⁶ and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

 

There are a lot of messages we hear this time of the year. Messages to buy, consume, have it all – not that it’s bad to give and receive gifts. It’s not. But if that’s all it is, we haven’t heard John’s message. Our world is full of messages and messengers, but some of the most constant come from between our ears, and in our sinful hearts. Messages of guilt and shame of what we’ve done or left undone. Reminders of past and present sins. Whispers of our worries and fears and failures. A constant dialogue of doubt, despair, and darkness.

 

This is why Jesus sent John. To be our messenger. To proclaim a simple, yet saving message. A message of comfort in Jesus’ dying and rising for you. A message of hope in the fulfillment of God’s promises. A message of pardon for all our offenses. A message of light and life in Jesus that casts out the darkness. A message that all our sin has been swallowed up by the Savior. A message that our hearts are turned back to God by his redeeming, gracious love. A message that is outside of us, and sure and certain, so that no matter what we hear from the devil, the world, or our sinful flesh, you can count on this: this message of good news and deliverance in Jesus is for you. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 

 

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

 

1st Advent Midweek Sermon: "Wonderful Counselor"

+ Advent Midweek 1 – December 4th, 2024 +

His Name Shall Be Called: “Wonderful Counselor”

Psalm 119:129–136; antiphon: v. 129

Isaiah 9:1–2, 6–7; Romans 11:32–36; Matthew 7:24–29

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Because of his famous song and famous clothing, Johnny Cash became known as “The Man in Black”. Because he went almost everywhere with his dog, named the Duke, John Wayne’s title “the Duke” quickly stuck with him. Because of his acting career, Ronald Reagan was known as “The Gipper”. And because of his stone-like muscles, famous wrestler and actor, Dwayne Johnson, became known as “the Rock”.

 

Names and titles – even nicknames – can tell you a lot about the person. Who they are. What they do. No doubt you have some or know someone who does. 

 

The Scriptures are no different. God’s word is full of names, titles, and even nicknames of sorts. So, when the angel came to Joseph as he was about to break off his marriage plans with Mary (who had been found with child), it’s no surprise that the angel dropped a few important names and titles in his message. Jesus’ names and titles of tell us a lot about who he is. What he came to do…not just for Joseph and Mary. But for you.

 

 “She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

 

The name Jesus is a Hebrew name and it means “God saves”—a fitting name for the Son of God who took on human flesh so that He could save us from our sin by dying on the cross in our place of punishment.

 

But Matthew’s Gospel isn’t done dropping names and titles on us.  “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name “Immanuel” (which means, God with us)’” (1:22–23).

 

Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah – who lived about 800 years before Jesus was born – and who also gives us a whole list of names and titles for Jesus, the Messiah. He’s the Suffering Servant. He’s the child born of the Virgin. Jesus is Immanuel foretold by Isaiah and born of Mary. 

 

Immanuel is a Hebrew name, and it means God with us. And that name tells us a lot about the kind of Savior Jesus is and what he came to do. He is God with us…in this fallen world. God with us…in our humanity. God with us…in our weakness. God with us…in our loneliness. God with us…bearing our sin. God with us…in his word and water and body and blood.

 

And that’s just one name and title that Isaiah gives us for Jesus. And like God’s grace, Isaiah’s titles or names for Jesus have a way of abounding and giving more. 

 

In Isaiah 9 we hear… “In the former time He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time He has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.” Isaiah is here pointing us ahead to the time when Jesus would be born and eventually begin His ministry in Galilee, among other places. And then come those famous verses that have been sung in hope and joy ever since they were first spoken and written. 

 

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given . . . and His name shall be called . . .Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” 

 

Not only is Jesus “Immanuel” – God with us. But his titles and names – just like his love and mercy – abound. But admittedly, the title “Wonderful Counselor” sounds a little strange for a child. What kind of wisdom and counsel could an infant have to give? 

 

It didn’t take long for Mary and Joseph – and the rabbis in the temple one day – to realize that God’s wisdom can come wrapped in small packages, even in a 12 year old boy. Later in Luke 2 we’re told that Jesus was in Jerusalem with his family, but stayed behind. And when he was found he was teaching the temple teachers. And Luke also tells us that everyone who heard Jesus was amazed as his understanding and his answers. 

 

Years later, when Jesus began His public ministry, people were once again amazed at His counsel. After Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, Matthew records that “The crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:28–29).

 

So is that it? Jesus is a wonderful counselor simply by sharing some words of wisdom and some sage advice? To be sure, Jesus brings wisdom. Speaks wisdom. He counsels in God’s word as he teaches. After all, he is God’s wisdom incarnate. And yet, Jesus’ words and wisdom are deeper than a well of wisdom, and his words are 

 

He not only speaks God’s word. He is God’s word in the flesh come to save us. Someone greater than all of Solomon’s wisdom is here – the one who gave Solomon such wisdom in the first place. And now he has come not only to teach and counsel and give a deeper understanding of God’s word. He speaks God’s word and is God’s word, for he is the word made flesh. And he brings more than wisdom. His word heals. His word gives life. His word forgives you. His word comforts you. His word consoles you and brings you peace. His word counsels you in the way of true and wonderful comfort…in his cross and resurrection. 

 

Jesus brings the wonderful counsel we need in his word, and he is the Wonderful Counselor for us. For we are sinners and, as such, are often led astray by the cunning counsel of the evil one and the seemingly good advice of our old Adam, who only thinks about the titles and names of “Me, Myself, and I”. 

 

This is why God sent Isaiah to his people. To lead them back from their wandering away. “Those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up” (v. 16).

 

This is why Jesus has so many names and titles. They all tell us something about who he is and what he came to do to rescue us from our foolishness and sin and death. 

 

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (v. 2).

 

The words and wisdom of God in saving us, the Wonderful Counselor himself, is already at work in the words of Isaiah. Later in his book, in chapter 53, we hear another name and title of Jesus, the Suffering Servant.

 

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. . . . Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the righteous one, My servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (vv. 4–6, 10–12)

 

This is the wonderful counsel of the Wonderful Counselor – his cross to save you. His power made perfect in weakness. His humility to give you his holiness. His life laid down to raise you from the dead. There’s nothing more wonderful than this counsel of good news in Jesus, our Immanuel. God with us on the cross, bearing our sin. God with us in the grave dying our death. God with us in the resurrection, giving us a foretaste of the feast to come.

 

Jesus is the wonderful counselor who loves you so much that he is born in what looks to the world like utter folly – born of a Virgin, in a feeding trough in the country village of Bethlehem. And yet, it’s wonderful!

 

Jesus is the wonderful counselor who died a shameful death in humility and darkness for you. And yet, it’s wonderful. Jesus is the wonderful counselor who was buried in the tomb and rested for three days. And this too, is wonderful. A wonderful salvation. A wonderful rescue from death. A wonderful resurrection. In Jesus you have a Savior, Redeemer, and a Wonderful Counselor. 

 

 

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard and keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.