Third Sunday of Advent (A) 2019

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Matthew 11:5
Theme: The Good News Is Preached



Dear friends of the coming Saviour,

Everywhere Jesus went good things happened- truly good things, measured not by human parameter, but by divine definition. Still, the presence of Jesus wasn’t always welcomed. His words weren’t always heeded. His works weren’t always appreciated. We should expect nothing less because sinners don’t easily surrender their illusions of independence and self-sufficiency. It’s the very reason we’re here. We’re here because only what is really true will be commensurate with eternal reality. EVERYTHING else will pass away.

Today, on this Second Sunday of Advent, we find the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist, imprisoned for rebuking King Herod. From prison he sent his disciples to enquire about whether Jesus was the Messiah. “Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”1 Jesus brings the Good News. He IS the Good News in human flesh. “You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”2

Now, the fabulous thing, dear friends, is we are both beneficiaries and stewards of this Good News. It’s only as beneficiaries of the gospel that we can have the certainty that God is favorable towards us and does not reject us because of our sins. We cannot value this truth too highly or appreciate it too much. You see, the just condemnation of God is not commensurate with our guilt. To understand this is to understand the heart of the gospel.

When things are commensurate, they correspond in a way that closely reflects merit and compensation, effort and reward. When things are commensurate, they are proportional. The cardiologist with twenty years of experience is paid more handsomely than the medical intern. The best player receives the Brownlow medal, not the one who played a minor role while others were injured. While the hard knocks of life quickly (and sometimes painfully) teach us that life is not fair, we still come to expect, and reasonably so, a certain level of commensuration. But reason cannot rule where divine prerogative decides. The gospel is otherwise, and it is glorious.

If we were required to compensate God for the offence of our sins, where would be stand? How would we fair? What would we do? Any thoughts that we could meet any of the requirements, even in the tiniest measure are sure indicators that we are still laboring under the false hope of fulfilling the law. Only arrogance or ignore lead us to believe we can contribute anything meritorious in God’s eyes. Believers rely solely on grace for salvation; the penitent must cast herself or himself completely upon it.

It will always make you feel vulnerable (from a human perspective) to be completely reliant on the mercy of God. Sometimes we might question where the reckoning is for all that seems unfair and incommensurate in life? How are all injustices finally reconciled and eternally resolved? Does the long saga of human brutality, tragedy, and unfairness get left open-ended? Does all the inequity remain unresolved? You might be personally hanging out to get compensated for some effort of yours you believe has been undervalued or overlooked. Such expectations tend to grow with time. And they can also lead to resentment and cynicism when our desires are not satisfied. Like barnacles attached to a ship they can become so ensconced that as we move through life, they are part of the extra weight that hinders our buoyancy. We don’t like the thought that God might be apathetic or unwilling to give us justice.

Yet, the Scriptures are crystal clear that God did pour out His wrath. Condemnation was rendered. He did not hold back His anger. It was leveled at Jesus...every last measure. “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.”3 At Calvary the One whose accomplishments are beyond compensation offered the ransom-price. He paid the debt. He forfeited His life on the cross. He rose again from the grave. He was your substitute and now He is your intercessor and coming King. In resurrected glory He reigns ruling the cosmos by fiat and the church by grace.

Jesus taught the non-commensurate nature of grace in His parables. In the parable of the vineyard workers those who were hired in the last hour received the same amount as those who bore the heat of the day. The forgiving father welcomed back the prodigal son. Jesus wasn’t teaching us to be lazy or to try and cheat the system. He was teaching about grace. When we receive what we’ve earned we receive a wage. When we receive something some else has earned, we received a gift.

The forgiveness of our sins is a gift. Salvation is a gift. Baptism gifts us with these blessings. Holy Communion does too. The Scripture says, “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”4 And again, “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?”5

We are also stewards of this Good News; and we are so both individually and collectively. The Bible makes some careful distinctions between these two categories of stewardship. As individual Christians each of us is accountable for our own faith and for supporting those for whom we have responsibility. The apostle says, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.”6 That can only happen through deliberate reflection on God’s word. No one is saved by the conviction of another or by an historic, family connection to the church. Faith is a living reality because the Holy Spirit Himself dwells in the hearts of all who believe.

Individual Christians are also stakeholders in the public stewardship of the Word, but they do not exercise this as private persons. They participate through support of the Office of the Keys. Remember, “The Office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to His church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.”7 The church calls pastors to publicly administer this authority. In every Divine Service when the absolution is announced the Office of the Keys is being carried out. Christ warns the impenitent and comforts the repentant through the mouth of the pastor.

Today Vicar Stephen joins us for six months on our shared journey. It is a privileged and unique time for him and for us. Vicarage is a formative and memorable time in the life of a pastor-to-be. If all goes well (and we don’t drive Vicar Stephen around the bend, over the cliff, or into the looney bin), about a year from now he will be called to exercise the Office of the Keys publicly. He will be a gospel-messenger enjoying the privilege and also the carrying the burden of bringing Christ to others. Let us pray that our time together results in mutual benefits and blessings. We’re allowed to participate in the work of the wider church is a very tangible and specific way, while Stephen is given firsthand experience in the life of our congregations.

Dear friends, everywhere Jesus goes good things still happen. He came to Bethlehem as the Prince of Peace. He gives peace, truth, and light to our chaotic, confused, and dark world. He will come again glory. Advent points us forward to the fulfillment of that promise. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”8
+ In nomine Jesu +

Third Sunday of Advent
Installation of Vicar Stephen Noblett
15 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Matthew 11:4-6 2 Matthew 1:21
3 Isaiah 53:5 4 Romans 6:4
5 1 Corinthians 10:16 6 2 Corinthians 13:5
7 Luther’s Small Catechism 8 Revelation 22:20