My name is Simeon, and I rest in Peace - Sermon for the 1st Sunday after Christmas

First Sunday after Christmas, December 31^st, A + D 2023
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
My name is Simeon, and I rest in Peace - Luke 2:22-40
 Podcast Link

Merry Christmas! 

     How nice to be here with you today! As always, it is a pleasure to gather around Christ Jesus, the Anointed of the Lord, the Savior of the world, and the Glory of Israel.

     My name is Simeon. Yes, that Simeon.  I was in the Temple when the Holy Family came to perform
everything according to the Law of Moses. My fame, thanks to Saint Luke, comes from the blessing of having been in the presence of Christ, of holding Him in my arms, when He was just 40 days old.  This was the fulfillment of a promise I received from the Holy Spirit, that I would not see death before seeing the LORD’s Christ.  Oh, how I looked forward to that day, so eager to see the Savior, and then leave this life, in peace and joy.  

     I know this makes me unique, very blessed by what the Lord promised and did for me. But I was not the only one waiting for the promised Messiah. Waiting for the Savior was what it meant to be a faithful Jew. Have you ever noticed the fascination we Israelites had to maintain genealogies? Already in Genesis 5:  At thirty, Adam fathered Seth. And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begat Enosh. And Enosh lived ninety years, and begat Kenan, and on and on it goes.  But why?  Why was it so important for us to remember our ancestors and the generations?

     Certainly it is important to honor ancestors, simply because we come from them, because the Lord God worked through them to give us our existence.  But the main reason for Israel’s fascination with genealogies was always THE Descendant, the promised Seed of the woman, who would crush the serpent’s head.  Later, Eve’s Seed was further revealed  to be the Seed of Abraham, the Promised Savior of God, who would come to correct, to recreate, all that was shattered by sin.  We Jews tracked our genealogy in search of the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed Savior sent from God.  Through the centuries, through the birth of generation after generation, we finally arrived at the Virgin Mary, chosen by God to be the mother of the Christ, the mother of the Son of God.   

     There’s another thing I want to explain.  Luke in his Gospel calls me righteous and devout, a godly man.  And so it was, and so I am.  But don't misunderstand, my righteousness was not my achievement.  I was not always perfectly patient.  I did not always wait faithfully, without doubt or error in my thinking and hoping.  I was a sinner, like all the others.  If not, I would not have been waiting for a Savior.  I was righteous and godly by way of my faith, the faith that the Lord gave me, my trust in His Promise.

     The difference between salvation in the Old and New Testaments, between the time before Christ and after, has only to do with timing, and the fulfillment and revelation of the Divine Plan.  Whether we walk this earth before, during or after the life and ministry of Jesus, salvation is found, and has always been found, in Christ alone.  As it was for Abraham, and for Mary, as for you.  The fact that I am just and pious is entirely the consequence of God's work for this sinner, granting forgiveness and new life to me, for Jesus’ sake.  Like He does for you. Luke makes me seem exceptional, but by my own works and holiness, I was nothing special.  Uniquely blessed, yes.  But I am who I am, a sinner declared to be just and devout, only by the grace, love and action of God. 

     The truth is, it was difficult to wait, difficult to maintain a good attitude.  I mean, there were so many distractions, and temptations, that the devil tried to use to divert me from the path of faith. In the first century, we Jews, or Judahites, the leading tribe of God’s Chosen People, were living under the control of the Romans.  And don’t be fooled by the famous name for that time: the Pax Romana.  Things were generally peaceful, true.  But that peace was always and only maintained at the point of a Legionnaire’s spear. 

     Besides having Roman overlords, Greek philosophies had infected our religion. Many Jews doubted or even denied basic teachings of Moses, especially concerning the promise of life after death.  Our Temple in Jerusalem had been rebuilt by the wicked King Herod, certainly no man of faith.  We had not heard the voice of a new prophet for 400 years.  There were so many reasons to doubt God’s promises, to believe in something different. 

     Is it still the same for you? Is it easy to continue on the path of Christ?  Or do you have distractions and temptations, philosophies contrary to faith, or different attractive religions surrounding you?  I suspect it remains the same today.  Even after 2,000 years, I suppose that following in the Way of Christ is still a continuous struggle. 

     Well, let me say this, as an encouragement to you:  Now, as then, focusing on Jesus Christ and hearing His voice is the key, because He is the source of all love and wisdom, of true righteousness and piety. 

     From the fountain of Christ’s Word I drank, and I continued on the road.  I kept hearing and reading the many promises of the Messiah, and then I prayed and watched and waited for His Advent.  Through the habits of my parents, and their parents, all the way back to Abraham, through a habit of hearing the Word and walking in the traditions that God gave us through Moses, my faith survived. 

     So, there I was, waiting for a special, exceptional promise, the opportunity to see the Son of God, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we could receive adoption as sons, heirs of God’s kingdom.   How strange and tremendous it was, to have that Child in my hands, a helpless baby, who, I knew, was also the very LORD God Almighty, made to be a human.  

     What a great moment for an old man.  I was ready to leave the fight of this life; I didn't really want to continue.  But in that moment, as I hugged the Infant Jesus, I realized that, although tired of life, I did not so much care anymore whether I lived or died.  With the Author of Life in my arms, I understood that Christ is my all in all, whether I live and continue on in this broken world, or whether I die and leave all tears behind.  With Christ, both were and are wonderful options. 

     Of course, the only suitable preparation for death is to find and know the Christ, or rather, to be found and known by Him.  Which was my blessing.  I do not want to suggest that other faithful souls who never had the opportunity to see and touch Jesus are not saved.  The Spirit does his work, in many different situations.  From Adam and Eve to my day, no one saw the Christ, but God saved many.  But it is better, much better, to have more tangible evidence.  Like the concrete, tangible evidence I held in my arms.  And so I sang with great joy:  Now Lord, you dismiss your servant in peace ...

    I was ready, resting in peace, and trust.  But that day was not without sadness. The Word I received to proclaim, with all its joy, also had a sharp and painful side, which I proclaimed to Mary.  Jesus' saving ministry was not going to be a quiet or gentle project.  Quite the opposite.  That Child was set forth by His Father for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that would be opposed by many.  

     The false ideas that had infected Judaism would not give up their position of power without a battle.  Jesus was going to suffer a lot accomplishing His mission.  And through His suffering, a sword came for the soul of Mary, and for every person who knew and received the love of Jesus Christ, and then lived to see His Passion, the sword of watching this Child suffer unjustly, in order to give liberation and life to all. 

     This was the painful truth for Mary, and Joseph, and all the faithful. There was no other way to achieve the salvation of men.  And the saddest part is that Christ suffered not only for the sin of others, but also for my sin.  Even though God declared me to be righteous and godly by faith in His Son, the knowledge that Christ also suffered for my sins gives me pain.  Even Mary, most blessed among all women, had to face the fact that, in order to be her Savior, her Son would also suffer for her sin.  But through suffering, God brings restoration, relief, and eternal renewal.    

    Those days were spectacular, intense, unique.  For my part, the euphoria of knowing that the work was under way washed away all the pain.  And the life, death and resurrection of Mary’s Child is clearly the most important event in history, including for unbelievers and enemies of Christ and His Church.  It is no small thing that the “before and after” of Jesus Christ still determines the global calendar.  The world can say “Common Era” instead of “Year of Our + Lord” all it wants.  But Jesus is what makes the era “common,” for He came to be the Savior of all mankind. 

      It is also good that there are still so many observations of this season. Yes, I understand that many people celebrate Christmas but avoid the essential part, the meaning and real importance of the Birth of Jesus Christ.  Don't worry too much about that.  It was the same or worse in my day; the world naturally seeks to ignore and denigrate God and His work.  But there is no earthly power that can stop God's plan in Christ, and so whenever His Name is spoken, there comes an opportunity that another sinner will truly hear.  

     Yes, it was spectacular to have the Son of God in my arms, an unforgettable moment.  But in a very important way, you have it better today. I was still waiting for the consummation of His mission.  The Cross and Empty Tomb were still 30 some years away.  But you live in the Resurrection.  Today.  The sword has already pierced the soul, because the blow of Divine Justice has been absorbed, and the obstacle to our salvation has been reduced to nothing.  Now, today, even though you cannot embrace the child Jesus, He has embraced you, with glorious nailed-scarred hands. 

     The risen Lord has united you to Himself in your Baptism.  You wear Christ as your robe of righteousness, your baptismal dress, that makes you a worthy guest at the eternal wedding feast.  Today you are invited to receive His true Body and Blood, in, with, and under the bread and wine, invited to eat and drink the forgiveness of sins.  Until the new heavens and new earth are revealed, there is no more intimate connection with the Lord.  

     One more thing. I know that my song, that is, the song the Spirit gave me, has been sung from the beginning of the New Testament Church.  For centuries and centuries it has been chanted as the faithful enter the night.  I have always loved that.  But I really like what you Lutheran Christians did a hundred and fifty years ago, in your liturgy.  It is very fitting how you sing my song at the end of the Sacrament.  How perfect to sing of seeing the salvation and glory of the Lord hidden in a very humble Supper, because Christ is there.  This is so much like the Lord Jesus, to hide His glory under seemingly weak and common things. 

     Thank you for the opportunity to talk with you a little today.  I know you will sing my song in a few minutes, after the Supper.  But maybe we could sing it again now, together, an old man and the people of God, rejoicing in the Savior, who has come to save us.  Sing it with me.  If you need the words or music, they are on page 199 of your hymnal.  

Lord, now lettest Thou thy servant...

The Mystery of the Word - Sermon for Christmas Day

 Christmas Day, Year of Our + Lord
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
Custer, South Dakota
The Mystery of the Word 
John 1:1 and 1:14

Audio of Sermon available HERE

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…     And 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.

     Words are all around us.  We can communicate without words, to a certain extent.  But for me to really get my point across will normally take words.   For us to truly understand each other will require a conversation.   

      We need words.  Manipulating words is the lifeblood of human society.  In our information age, images clamor to displace words, but they cannot.  Images flicker and distract, but gain much more power combined with words.  Words still retain their importance.  We can speak with people all over the world, instantly, from our homes on our computer, or from anywhere we are close to a cell tower.  We can send and receive words, written and spoken, over radio waves, to be produced on a printer in the next room, or to be heard on another continent, or to be seen on a million different screens, all at the same time.  And these new communication medium carry real information.  It’s tremendous, if you stop to consider it a bit.    

      Of course, plain old human speech is just as amazing.  I pass air over vibrating cords in my throat, and then shape the resulting waves with my mouth.  They pass through air, and if those waves hit your ears, you hear sounds that mean something.  Something that my mind intends.  Something that may well cause you to react in the way I want you to react.  My greeting may elicit your smile, my warning may make you duck, my question may make you answer.  Words are powerful.   

      Words have even more power when they are set to music.  The music is most people’s favorite part of Christmas services, for good reason.  Music carries a message of its own.  Just hearing the first four notes of Silent Night can bring about a change in our physical posture and mood.  We will choose our music carefully, if we are wise, for when music is joined skillfully with words, hearts can be warmed, or they can be hardened.  Beliefs can be confirmed, or destroyed.  Emotions are aroused without our consent, and the words you hear stay with you longer because of the music that carries them.  True words set to a memorable and fitting melody bless us.  They can be the Spirit’s means to save a soul. 

      We don't have to look far to see that words are powerful.  What is harder to understand is how this is so.  How is it that sound waves, electrical charges running down a wire, radio waves, and patterns printed on a page, how is it these mediums can convey specific meaning, meaning that guides people's actions and shapes our lives?  Words and communication are so common that we may not ever stop to think about how they do what they do.  If we do stop to ponder, we quickly realize that the how and why of words are deep mysteries.

      But we do not often stop to ponder, perhaps because we are drowning in a sea of voices.  Waves of words constantly washing over us, deafening our ears and blurring our eyes.  Words that sell, words that excite, or frighten, or entertain.  A kind word can lighten our burden.  But so often it is a pretense for manipulating words to come, so we learn to be on our guard.  We all know how kind words can be cynical emotional preparation to make us susceptible to the coming sales pitch or political mantra.  The mystery of communication, one of the highest gifts of God to humanity, so often gets debased to mere marketing for someone else’s campaign to get ahead, or make a few extra bucks. 

     In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.    Now this is a different word.  A special word.  The Greek behind it is logos, and it does mean word.  But logos is a deep word, it means a lot more.  In Spanish this word from the beginning of John's Gospel is translated Verbo, that is verb, action word.  That captures another aspect of logos.  The meaning of Logos is very deep:  Word, Idea, Intelligence, True Statement that establishes Truth, Reality.  The Action word.  The Logos is the Mind of God, the thinking that is behind everything else, the whole universe. 

     John teaches us that the Logos, the Word, which is God, is the source of power for every other word.  The Word that is from the beginning is the Truth from which every other truth proceeds.  The reason we earthly creatures cannot fully understand how words can do what they do in our world is that their source is not of this world.  The source of all words is God, the Creator and Sustainer of this world.  For in Him we live and move and have our being.  Our ability to use words comes from Him.   

      Words can be used to build up and comfort, or to tear down and depress.  Words can be kind, or brutal.  So during this season of Peace on Earth, we normally all agree to do our best and make this Christmas a good one, which mostly means minding our tongues.  We dedicate ourselves to serving each other with our words, and deeds, to finding joy in this life, at least for a little while.  We may even accomplish a happy holiday.  But God wants more for us. 

      And so, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Christmas is the arrival of God's Word, Jesus Christ, the message of love sent from God, not in speech, not in a letter, e-mail, text or meme, but in a Baby.  Words spoken into the air or sent over the Internet can change things.  But the change that God desires takes more than what human words can accomplish.  So God's Word became a human.   

      Our words and actions can make things better, or worse, they can ruin or cheer the holiday.  But what we cannot accomplish with our words to to make a Holy Day.  This is why the Word became flesh, not to give us a brief bright spot in darkest time of the year, but rather to make holy that which has become profane.  To create a new day of lasting peace found in a sure and certain hope. 

      We can watch what we say and do all we want, and we should.  But true holiness in word and action is beyond our ability.   And yet holiness, purity of thought, word and deed, this is what God wants for us.  So, the Holy Word of God became flesh, the eternal Son of the eternal Father became an infant, poor and lowly, in order to be God's message of love to the world.  The Logos, God’s message, that Word, made flesh, invites us to stop listening to other voices. 

      Those other voices of the world offer all kinds of solutions and distractions.  Many worldly words promise that we can find holiness and happiness by our own striving after God.  Other voices, having crashed into the brick wall of that lie, run in the opposite direction.  These words declare that holiness and goodness are just ideas made up by people, people trying to control you.  They say holiness and goodness are human inventions without real meaning.  Material success in this material world is all that matters.  A tempting life-philosophy, but in the end, it is a screen, hiding another brick wall, ready to crumple all who pursue this lie. 

      Of course, sometimes, most of the time, the noise does not pretend to offer any profound truth.  Much of the time, the world just drones on.  In this droning lies an implicit admission that nothing being said has any lasting meaning or value.  But no matter, the noise drones on, in an all too effective attempt to keep us numbly paying attention, so we don’t stop and consider how pitiful our conversations are.  The droning distracts us from bitter truths, and flashing and flickering images help to keep our eyes and ears tuned into the meaningless banter.  And so it prevents us from hearing God’s better Word, the Logos, that first spoke to us through the cries of a Baby.   

      God in Christ invites us to stop listening to the droning, to stop listening to everybody else.  Stop and listen to Jesus, the Word made flesh.  For the cry of the Baby in the manger carries more power than all the words of wisdom in the world.  He cries out: here is wisdom, here is life, here is joy, in this male child, who already in the first days of His life was taking the sins and sorrows of all humanity onto Himself.  This is the glory revealed in the Word made flesh, the glory of the Cross, where Jesus proved the wonder of His love, and glory of the Resurrection, where Jesus' victory is revealed to be your victory.  The Cry of the Christ means sins forgiven, and new life with God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

      So many souls dismiss this Cry, this Word of pardon and peace.  But our dismissal or disregard do not change what God has said, what He has done.  The completed work of the Christ Child, the Logos, the Word made flesh, His loving and forgiving victory is reality, the highest reality.  And that reality, that meaning, is God’s gift, for you. 

      The Word that had to come in the flesh to be the Savior still comes to you in more than just sound waves.  He comes in the water, washing away sins, giving new birth.  He comes under the bread and wine, in His Body and Blood, given and shed to set you free.  He comes, and declares your sins are forgiven.  Holiness and never-ending happiness are yours, in the Word made flesh.   Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds were made to be, Infant Holy, Infant Holy, David’s Son and David’s Lord, Oh come let us adore Him, Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.    

The Reign and Rain of Righteousness - Sermon for the 4th Sunday in Advent, Dec. 24th, A+D 2023

Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 24^th, Anno + Domini 2023  
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota
The Reign and Rain of  Righteousness – Isaiah 45:8, John 1:19-28

Podcast of the Sermon available HERE.

Rorate Coeli!  Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit! 

     The anticipation of the Advent season nears fulfillment.  Christmas is almost here.  Have your longed for loved ones arrived?  Are all your gifts wrapped?  Menus complete? 

     John the Baptist was full of anticipation, anticipating the just-about-ready to be revealed righteous reign of God, the renewal of the Kingdom of Israel, to be brought by the Messiah, the promised Savior, the Prophet like Moses, only greater.  John sees and knows that his Cousin, Jesus, is the Promised One, and so he eagerly awaits the fulfillment of the Kingdom, the new righteous reign of the Son of David, the Christ of God.

     And yet, as we considered last Sunday, there were aspects of Jesus’ reign that it seems John the Baptizer did not anticipate.  Especially that Jesus’ reign would rain down freely from heaven, showering the righteousness of God far and wide, even watering the unrighteous and undeserving.  Rorate Coeli!     

     We English speaking Christians are blessed with a terrific play on words this morning.  Because Isaiah declares the Righteous ‘r-e-i-g-n’ Reign of God comes in showers, it ‘r-a-i-n’ rains down.  It is as if the Lord wanted to share His righteousness with all people.  Rorate Coeli!    

     The ‘r-e-i-g-n’ Righteous Reign of God is certainly what Jesus came to establish. 

‘R-e-i-g-n’ reigning has to do with kingship, with ruling over a people and a place.  Without doubt Jesus came to do that.  Wise Men came and worshiped the newborn King of  the Jews.  This Child came to re-establish the throne of David, which the Lord had promised would last forever. 

      Jesus came to bring God’s Righteous Kingdom.  But the way Jesus would establish and populate His Righteous Rule and Reign is very surprising, probably the most-surprising thing ever.  Most kingdoms are established at the point of a sword; new subjects must submit to the laws and ways of their new ruler, or else.  But the prophet Isaiah, speaking of the coming Savior, declared that the heavens showered down righteousness, righteousness scattered abroad like the ‘r-a-i-n’ rain.  Which seems weird to us, because righteousness implies uprightness, law-keeping and worthiness.  But the ‘r-a-i-n’ rain falls on the righteous and the wicked, without distinctions for levels of holiness.  Rorate Coeli!     

    This is how it must be, or there will be no citizens in God’s Kingdom.  John the Baptizer knew well the level of righteousness that God requires.  The crooked must be straightened, the wicked swept away.  Only the holy can walk the Lord’s highway.  But then, where will we find worthy citizens for God’s Kingdom?  For all have fallen short.  We are all by nature children of wrath; there is not one who has earned God’s favor.  Even the faithful prophet John declared without hesitation that he was not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandal.  We are all sinners, falling short of God’s righteousness, every day.    

      So, God came.  Immanuel, God with us, God’s Son came, not to demand righteousness from us, but rather to fulfill all righteousness, for us.  To perfectly keep God’s commandments, not for Himself, since Jesus is God, He had no need to keep His own commands.  But rather, he kept them for us, in our stead.  The infinite and almighty man who is the Son of God, achieved all the active righteousness, all the good works that God requires of every man and woman.  And then, because we all have a great debt of sin which requires payment, Jesus also paid that debt for us.  All righteousness fulfilled, once and for all, on the Cross.  It is finished.  That’s the promise of Christmas.  That’s the fulfillment revealed on Good Friday and Easter morning. 

     So now, having done all our good works for us, and having taken away the sin of the world, Jesus is free to rain down righteousness, to give it away, as a free gift.  Rorate Coeli!     

     This is the great insight Martin Luther gained from God’s Word, which changed him from a tortured, guilt-ridden monk, into a free, bold, amazingly Gospel-focused preacher and teacher.  The righteousness of God is not the standard we sinners must achieve, in order to be accepted by God.  Rather, the righteousness of God is His free gift, given to every sinner who is brought to faith, made to trust in Jesus and His blood bought forgiveness. 

     This amazing news of free forgiveness, received by faith, apart from human works, the surprise that God rains down righteousness for all who trust in Jesus, this life-giving message changed the world.  God’s ‘r-e-i-g-n’ reign is expanded by the ‘r-a-i-n’ rain  shower of righteousness that the Holy Spirit brings, every time the Good News of Jesus showers through the proclamation of His Word. Rorate Coeli!     

     An Infant King, born in a stable, worshiped by shepherds, chased into Egypt.  Nothing in the early life of Jesus would make us think He was our everlasting king.  And truly, not much in His later life.  Nothing, for sure, in His bitter, sufferings and death.  But because He rose from the dead, never to suffer or die again, the Son of Mary is truly our dear Lord Jesus Christ, the one who rains down righteousness far and wide.  Rorate Coeli!     

     Indeed, Jesus stretches the rain metaphor, choosing to establish as His initiation rite for entry into the Kingdom the washing of water with the Word.  Plain water, combined with God’s Name, God’s promise, God’s victory, this shower delivers the righteousness of Christ far and wide.  When you wash your face or take a shower, remember your Baptism, where God claimed you as His beloved child, and gave you Christ’s righteousness.  Rorate Coeli!      

     Christmas anticipation, focused on the Babe who is our King, is excellent preparation for the life of Christian anticipation that we are all called to, the perspective on life which looks for and prays for Christ’s final return, soon.  Returning to the manger reminds us that Jesus has redeemed every part of human life, from the womb through childhood through adult life, and even  unto death.  Receiving daily His forgiving shower of righteousness leads to the fruit of good works in our lives.  We live in the anticipation and confidence that His Everlasting Kingdom and ‘r-e-i-g-n’ reign will continue forever.  From Christ the King comes the ‘r-a-i-n’ of righteousness which washes us clean from our sins, and makes us beloved citizens in God’s kingdom. 

     God grant you to eagerly anticipate and rejoice always in the Good News that Jesus comes to you, pouring out His Righteousness, in His Word, in your Baptism, in His Supper.  Rorate Coeli!  Shower, O heavens, and bind us ever closer to Jesus, today, and forever and ever, Amen.                   

John's Doubts, and Ours, which Jesus Relieves [ Sermon for the 3rd Sunday in Advent

Third Sunday in Advent
December 17^th, Year of Our + Lord 2023
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, SD
John’s Doubts, and Ours, which Jesus Relieves 
Matthew 11:2-11

    John the Baptizer is rotting in prison, unjustly.  Unsurprisingly, I think, John begins to question reality, to ask why things are as they are, or if things really are as he thought they were.  John’s not in solitary confinement; some of his disciples, his followers, are allowed to come and visit him.  And as John hears in prison about the ministry of Jesus Christ, the One whose way John had prepared, the Baptizer has questions.  He dispatches his disciples to go ask his questions. 

 

     Questioning reality is an age-old phenomenon, although it certainly seems to be a more acute problem today.  Our culture in recent decades has cut itself off from the power that the Word of God has to shape our lives.  So it’s not surprising that our areas of confusion have changed.  Bible-quoting John the Baptizer asked whether Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah, the promised Savior of Israel, or if they should expect someone else?  This is a Biblically informed and profound question.

 The current confusions of our Biblically illiterate society are much more basic.  What is a man?  What is a woman?  What is a family?  A marriage?  Is mankind destroying the creation, and if so, what should we do about it?  Is it evil to be manly?  Are we free citizens, obligated to contribute to the governing of our society?  Or are we more or less helpless subjects of the government?  Are we ultimately dependent on the wisdom of the state, because things are just too complicated for us to understand, let alone be in charge of our own lives?

     You may not be confused about what a woman or a man is, or about the nature of family.  We may even be relatively clear about the nature of good citizenship for people blessed to have been born into a democratic republic, based on the rule of law.  But I doubt any of us are immune to the social pressure to not speak obvious truths, lest someone be offended.  The terrorists’ veto may not affect us much, but the heckler’s veto sure seems to.  Nobody wants to get shouted down.   

      John didn’t worry much about the opinions of others, just the truth of God.  And yet he still expressed doubts.  Perhaps digging into John’s confusion and doubts could be useful for us today, as we seek clarity and a Christian response to the ever increasing confusion of our times. 

     John the Baptizer sends a question to Jesus:  Are you the Christ, or should we look for another?  Given the fact that John’s whole adult life has been dedicated to preparing the way for the Christ, the Savior of Israel, such a question would seem to have been excruciating for John.  Had he wasted his ministry?  Was he mistaken when he pointed to Jesus and declared: “Look!  The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”?   

      I’ve heard three different approaches to explaining John’s question, and his mental and spiritual state.  First, there are the pious defenders of John the Baptist.  John is a good guy, a key player in salvation history, the Forerunner, preparing the way of Jesus.  It seems a bit embarrassing, damaging to John’s reputation, for him to be doubting.  So, some argue John wasn’t really doubting.  He only asked his question to test his disciples, to teach them and point them to Jesus. 

      This is, I suppose, possible.  But this interpretation has always left me flat.  First, as John effectively confesses when he declares his unworthiness to even untie Jesus’ sandal, there is only One sinless man.  John was a sinner.  A prophet, very close to God, yes, a very serious follower of the Lord.  But still a sinner, and so still prone to doubts.  For it is doubting God and His goodness and wisdom that leads us into sin.  Reading into the text to say John didn’t really doubt seems to me a weak interpretation. 

       Second, many say that John’s confusion came from his misunderstanding of Jesus’ mission.  John, according to this school of thought, expected more fire and brimstone from the Christ.  He had proclaimed that the Messiah now in Israel’s midst was going to clear the threshing floor, and burn away all the chaff, which is to say, destroy all the wicked.  John instead hears of Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, and generally preaching good news.   This interpretation of John’s question seems plausible to me.  John, who saw the priests and Pharisees who came to hear him and called them a brood of vipers, a bunch of no-good snakes, seems like the kind of person who is eager to see evil punished. 

   That Jesus had come to destroy the power of evil by submitting to it is hard to fathom.  That His ultimate act of love is to accept against Himself the wrath of God against human sin, this is the great surprise of the Gospels.  That even John struggled to fully grasp with the Way of Jesus doesn’t seem strange to me. 

      We certainly look for an avenging Messiah.  We say we are on the side of God, like John.  We see evil all around us.  We even see sin and evil being praised as good in America today.  People are drawn into all kinds of evil, destructive behavior and thought, and the culture celebrates it.  Shout your abortion.  The weirder your sexual appetite, the better.  Anything Christian is at least foolish and outdated, and at worst bigoted and dangerous.  We see and hear such madness, and we long for a Warrior to come and clean
house. 

      We are not wrong to hate the evil we see.  But, we need to be careful with the attitude that hopes for utter retribution.  We need to be honest and consider just how close to home the punishment would come if our desire for Jesus to “punish evil now” were to be fulfilled.  If we ask Jesus to destroy sinners, right now, what happens to us?  What is going on in our hearts and minds?  Do we really want a Messiah who comes to crush all sinners, and grind them into dust? 

      Finally, not so long ago I heard a third way to understand John’s doubts.  Is it possible that John, sitting in prison, asks his question because he feels left behind, neglected?  He hears of Jesus, healing and feeding and blessing the poor and lowly, throughout Judea and Galilee.  But John sits in prison.  Had he not done all that God had asked him to do?  Had he not eaten locusts, lived in the wilderness, and preached the truth, that God hates sin, but is ready to forgive every sinner who repents, who in sorrow turns away from sin and looks to God for mercy?  If John thinks he had fulfilled his calling as a prophet well, he is in good company, since Jesus says of him that “no one born of woman is greater than John.”  Is it possible that suffering in prison caused John to doubt God’s promises to him?  Did he ask his question because he was doubting that his calling had been real?  Did his suffering make him doubt that Jesus really was his Messiah, the Christ of God, come to redeem him? 

    I don’t know.  John was a sinner, and sinners under duress tend to doubt God’s promises.  I don’t know if this was why John asked his questions.  But I do know that I doubt God’s promises.   When days are difficult, I wonder if this thing I’ve believed and followed is really true.  I have such dark doubts.  What about you? 

      Whatever was the cause of John’s doubts, whatever the cause of our doubts, they all stem from the same error:  A misunderstanding of the nature of things, as God has created and ordained them.  Basic misunderstandings of the order of creation drive much of the insanity of our current culture.  Our advanced scientistic age produces tremendous technological marvels, which we all enjoy.  But along with all the technological progress has come an ideology that requires all who want to play in the big leagues to reject the Authority of God, to reject the Authority of the Bible, to reject any Authority that puts limits on the power of so-called human progress.  And that Authority of course, is Yahweh, the Creator, the true God of Israel, revealed in the man, Jesus Christ. 

 

     The world hits brick walls because it rejects the Order of God’s Creation.  Just ask the many detransitioners who will tell you how foolish they were to believe that girls can become boys and boys can become girls.  Just ask the millions of aging Americans who chose against the traditional family, whose hearts now ache for the children and grandchildren they don’t have.  Certainly, we Christians are not immune.  We confess faith in God on Sunday, but we are tempted to let the world’s godless perspective shape our daily lives.  We confess that the Holy Spirit creates and sustains our faith, and shapes our lives, by His Word.   But do we make reading or hearing God’s Word a significant and regular part of each day?  We say we believe the Church and our family are the most important priorities in our lives, but how often do we spend our time and money on pastimes that leave little for our congregation or our loved ones? 

     Even worse, we tend to forget the Nature of God and His Order of Salvation.  God is just, absolutely committed to right being upheld, and evil being punished, in every instance.  God is also love, absolutely committed to the people He created for His own possession, willing from before the creation to save us from ourselves, no matter how high the cost.  And so the Way of Salvation taught and lived and revealed by Jesus Christ is the only Way. 

   The only way to reconcile God’s Justice and His Love, was for God to take our
injustice, our brokenness, into Himself and atone for it, pay for it, make it right, in Himself.  The wood of Jesus’ Manger always pointed to the wood of His Cross, which always pointed to the wood of His Table, where He serves us with the fruit of His suffering, the blood bought forgiveness of sins, in, with and under the bread and the wine. 

      Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and then the Proclamation and Distribution of the gifts, this is the order, the eternal plan and purpose of God, for your salvation, through Jesus.  The Lord grant us to know and cherish His Authority and Order for Creation and for Salvation, in bad times, and in good times, until Jesus’ final Advent, when He will gather all His people to Himself, forever.          

     I do not claim to know what caused John the Baptizer to ask his question of Jesus.  But Jesus’ answer is as much a blessing for us as it was for John:  “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 

     Why would anyone be offended by Jesus?  Well, for the rule makers and rule enforcers, Jesus offends by rejecting man-made hurdles put up to prevent sinners from getting to God.  Indeed, Jesus proclaims that He is God, come to us.  For the scoffers and mockers who like to live as if God didn’t exist, the Holy Spirit taps on the shoulder and declares that God is in control of history, and Jesus is the protagonist.  We can be reconciled to His Truth, or we can keep crashing into unseen brick walls.  For the deceived souls have been taught that to please God we can and must straighten ourselves out, first get right, before we get holy, Jesus offends by plainly saying: you can’t do it, you don’t have it in you. 

      Many take offense at Jesus and His remarkable claims.  Truly, the sinner who remains in each of us is time and again offended by the Savior.  But for all who, despite being offended, give up their pride and confess that we are but grass, destined to burn, Jesus comes with the best of news, with rescue for the lost, sight for the blind, forgiveness for the sinner, family for the lonely, and life for all the dying. 

      God grant us not to be offended by Jesus, nor to question His Way.  Rather, let us find in find in Him our Authority, our New Nature, our forgiveness and joy, and eternal life, which begins today, in Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.