+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 14:3
Theme: Safe in God’s Presence
Dear family, friends, friends and loved ones of Betty, and especially you; Tracy, Matthew, and Sam, her children,
Betty has returned here, to the place of her baptism. That fact doesn’t change the primary reason we’re here- Betty is safe in God’s presence through trust in the mercy of Christ and it wouldn’t matter where her funeral was held. But it is a nice way to picture the Christian journey. Betty entered God’s kingdom through baptism, becoming His child, and now her soul has been received into His eternal care and we recognize that at the place where everything started. All of Betty’s struggles with the complications of sin have come to an end. She has been relieved of all pain, anxiety, worry or doubt. Her faith rewarded; she is at peace. Thanks be to God!
Dear friends, every funeral provides a clear opportunity to reflect on the universal human dilemma. When we’re in danger of losing perspective one simple question can shake us out of our lethargy: Have you forgotten that you’re mortal? The question was not posed by a DC comic hero to an ordinary citizen. Nor was it a satirical statement of an angry mother to a rebellious child meaning, “I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it!” Rather, it was a rhetorical device used in conversation between Job and his friends. “Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?”1 After overwhelming tragedy Job was doing some serious reflection about the meaning of life. Though pious and god-fearing his world came crashing down. The devil targeted him, and he was stripped of everything but his life. His convictions and priorities were immediately reassessed.
Dear friends, the Holy Spirit, through the Scriptures constantly teaches us (sometimes gently, sometimes firmly) to recognize the limitations of our mortality. Are the goals you set, the time you spend, and the resources you invest consistent with the belief that you are a mortal? You are a composition of earthly elements spectacularly coordinated to form a living being that nonetheless is exceptionally vulnerable to injury, decay, and death. The sophistication of your capabilities- the capacity of the human brain alone- is only beginning to be understood. Your entire physiological structure is marvelous beyond description.
But you are more than that. You have a soul. You were made in the image of God. You were made for eternity. Your soul will not one day simply cease to exist. That truth alone necessitates recognition of mortality. That’s why the Lord Himself says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”2 There is only one judge. There is only one Redeemer. There is only one who can sustain life.
Have you considered what a profound blessing immortality will be? Beyond comprehension it still merits our reverent reflection. Not in a creative, imaginative way; rather in the way revealed by Christ who constitutes it. Immortality is not an entitlement and certainty not an inevitable achievement. Immortality is God’s gift of resurrection from sin’s death-imposing power. Sin exacts its divinely ordained punishment- the forfeiture of life. But Christ raises the frames of believers from their morbid slumber and restores them to incorruptible life.
We are not privy to the mechanism of this mystery, but God will achieve it in the twinkling of an eye3. The Scripture says Christ “…will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”4 If that isn’t something to look forward to, it’d be a challenge to name something better? The absence of all of the consequences of sin, pain, sickness, sorrow, trauma, and fear of death is a life we can now only imagine.
But believers are forward-looking people. It’s not a coincidence that the creeds of the Christian church emphasize the future resurrection of the body, as the Apostles’ Creed does, saying. “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” Christ has already shattered death’s power by His own resurrection. This same faith Betty confessed throughout her Christian life, struggling, as do all believers, to follow the words of the apostle who said, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”5 Betty’s faith is now obsolete for she no longer deals with things that are temporary.
Meanwhile, we’re still here in this transient existence and coping isn’t always pleasant. Here the consequences of sin and death are very tangible. Life is precious. When injury or death happen, our incapacities are candidly revealed. Grief takes no prisoners. There’s no use pretending. A loss has been incurred. A hole has been left. The loved one who has died cannot be replaced. There will never be another Betty Lloyd. There aren’t any shortcuts for grieving. We can’t rush through it or circumvent it. It will demand our energies and our resources. It will change how we approach things. Every reflection on death is an opportunity to reassess our own priorities.
Originally when Betty was diagnosed with cancer, she wasn’t too keen to take on the fight. The news gutted her, as you would expect. Darkness suddenly flooded her otherwise positive outlook. Her faith was put to the test. She said to me with humble resignation, “The medical resources may as well be used on younger people.” But then she came around to the notion that God might have some time and purpose for her yet. So, she pressed on gracefully, with some reluctance still. God blessed her with many more months and a matured perspective.
Betty was a genuine and sincere person. A devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, she cherished her family. Betty’s passion for fostering children helped to shape her into the mature Christian she came to be. She worked hard in the fruit industry. A realist; Betty was good listener and enjoyed a good laugh. Betty fought her fair share of battles in life. She didn’t blame others for her failures, mistakes, or shortcomings. She knew salvation was a gift. She knew Christ didn’t die pointlessly, but for her sins. She cherished that forgiveness, receiving it through the word of God spoken, and prayed, and sung, and in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Betty is safe in God’s presence. Hers is a profound and sublime peace. Thanks be to God!
+ In nomine Jesu +
Christian Burial of Betty Lyniece Lloyd
28 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Job 4:17 2 Matthew 10:28
3 See 1 Corinthians 15:52 4 Philippians 3:21
5 2 Corinthians 4:18
Sunday, December 29, 2019
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Christmas Day 2019
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 1:1-14
Theme: Small Child, Big Mission
Dear worshippers of the infant Saviour,
Christmas involves more than the locality of Bethlehem or a captivating cast of characters. The implications of Christmas are not parochial. The focal point and central players associated with the birth of Jesus are the divinely chosen instruments to facilitate the Father’s plan of salvation for the world. Today the apostle John is committed to showing us the ‘bigger picture’. Akin to zooming in or out on Google maps the Spirit gives us both the wide angle and the greatest possible resolution in teaching about the incarnation of Jesus, the Word of God. He says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”1
The nativity narrative is easy enough to follow. Mind you, this family faced not only the challenge of less-than-ideal birthing circumstances, but also the supernatural intervention of angels. Surely the visit of the shepherds would have also seemed like an astounding occurrence to Mary and Joseph. Meanwhile, practical realities had to be attended to. Mary meditates while Joseph domesticates. This birth has set the wheels in motion. Things will change. There will be no going back. All babies transform the lives of their parents. This one will transform the existence of the world.
Jesus was a small child with a big mission. John speaks to this truth. Immutable Himself, this Child has the power to change everything and everyone. Jesus, the new Adam, will sheathe the cherubim’s sword guarding the entrance to the Garden. In Him Paradise will be restored. In the person of Jesus God again dwells with His people. He does so in human flesh, in real time. This Immanuel comes with purpose that necessarily implicates everyone. The Scripture says, “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”2
Why was He not received by everyone? The answer is as simple as it is profound. Sovereigns aren’t usually looking for new rulers. People naturally prefer to be architects of their own destiny. That means if people think they are coping well enough with their own sin and the brokenness in their lives they won’t be seeking a Saviour. The challenge of proclaiming the Good News is exactly as it always has been: People won’t receive Him joyfully until they recognize the need. Undoubtedly our celebrations of Christmas are more affluent than those of many who have celebrated across the centuries. But our need is fundamentally no different. We are not morally, ethically, or spiritually superior to past generations. All are still conceived in sin. All are still under condemnation. It’s certainly not hard to see just by watching the daily news that people aren’t able to manage their own brokenness. The mirror of God’s law calls us to reflect soberly also. Do we see ourselves as paupers in relation to the ChristChild, or sovereigns?
The incarnation, Jesus’ coming in human flesh, meant that God wanted to restore the crown of creation not destroy it. “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our own likeness...”3 Yet sin had marred that image and likeness beyond recognition. People lost all knowledge, faith, hope, and trust in God. God could have started over. Or He could have abandoned the whole created enterprise. After all, the Holy Trinity lacks nothing in His self-subsisting existence. It could be argued that He did start over at the time of Noah’s flood. He certainly had intense words with Moses about leaving His people to their own demise. But He did not start anew. He chose to redeem fallen humanity through the sending of His Son.
Angels play a prominent role in the nativity narrative. Seldom do popular depictions of the nativity scene leave them out. What about the leader of the evil angels, Satan, the accuser? Was he just standing by idly? Not a chance! The Scripture says, “The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations.”4 But Satan did not prevail. And he could not prevent Jesus going to the cross.
The death and resurrection of Jesus shattered Satan’s hopes. But this was far from a cosmic duel of equals. Jesus is not a servant of God momentarily endowed with supernatural powers. He is “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God.”5 Yet, He is also fully human, and the apostle John want us to understand the implications. The life of the Son had to be forfeited so the image of the Father could be retained. This firstborn Son was the last sacrifice needed to fulfil the covenant of God. The Scripture says, “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”6 He secured that redemption for all humanity. He gifts it to all who believe.
At the birth of Christ, the angels unleash their praise, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…”7 The shepherds bend the knee and then wag their tongues, “When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this Child.”8 On the face of it the role of the angels seems more desirable than that of the shepherds. After all, who doesn’t like to celebrate as opposed to the likely rejection to be faced when evangelizing? But the two are actually part and parcel of the same piece. Faith cannot be silent. The believer shares what has been received. News this good cannot be contained. The Saviour from sin, death, and Satan has been born. It changes our lives and we want it to change the lives of others.
This Christmas gospel from the first chapter of John is also a marvelous Scripture to deepen our appreciation of Holy Communion. At first glance there might appear to be no direct connection. The apostle doesn’t talk about celebrating the Sacrament. But the incarnation underpins and informs the reality. Only a Saviour who has assumed a true human frame can really offer Himself in that way for our benefit. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”9 Jesus, the Word, the eternally existing Second Person of the Holy Trinity, entered into this tangible, material, and created dimension through the womb of the Virgin. He was born in the natural manner, yet without sin. Only an exceedingly humble God, only a God judiciously concerned with not overwhelming us with His majesty could devise such a plan.
We wouldn’t be too far off the mark if our Christmas worship consisted of little more than joyfully receiving and extolling the Immanuel’s presence among us in the mystery of Holy Communion. In that gift, the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension come together in a way that us mere mortals can benefit us. The Sacrament of the Altar gives us access to Him who was laid in a manger at Bethlehem, but now reigns from the throne in the heavenly Jerusalem. He cradles us with such strong and gentle love that nothing can snatch us out of His hands.
Some people don’t actually look forward to Christmas. If you’re feeling rather uninspired about Christmas this year, don’t compel yourself to muster artificial excitement. Mary and Joseph were undoubtedly disappointed there was no place for her to give birth. Christmas can be a stressful time managing schedules, family members and engagements. Don’t search frantically for that one thing to make everything right; a particular present, a reunion with someone seldom seen, an apology, an invitation- Christmas is bigger than that. And the One born in the manger has broad enough shoulders to bear all of your complaints, disappointments and griefs. He has taken the punishment for all your sins. You are His baptized. You are His cherished child. He shines light into your darkness. He has secured your eternal salvation. He dwells in you and among us. So, let us rejoice in these words of the Spirit, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”10
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Nativity of our Lord
Christmas Day
25 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 1:5 2 John 1:11-12
3 Genesis 1:26 4 Revelation 12:4-5
5 The Nicene Creed 6 Hebrews 9:12
7 Luke 2:14 8 Luke 2:17
9 John 1:14 10 John 1:14
Text: John 1:1-14
Theme: Small Child, Big Mission
Dear worshippers of the infant Saviour,
Christmas involves more than the locality of Bethlehem or a captivating cast of characters. The implications of Christmas are not parochial. The focal point and central players associated with the birth of Jesus are the divinely chosen instruments to facilitate the Father’s plan of salvation for the world. Today the apostle John is committed to showing us the ‘bigger picture’. Akin to zooming in or out on Google maps the Spirit gives us both the wide angle and the greatest possible resolution in teaching about the incarnation of Jesus, the Word of God. He says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”1
The nativity narrative is easy enough to follow. Mind you, this family faced not only the challenge of less-than-ideal birthing circumstances, but also the supernatural intervention of angels. Surely the visit of the shepherds would have also seemed like an astounding occurrence to Mary and Joseph. Meanwhile, practical realities had to be attended to. Mary meditates while Joseph domesticates. This birth has set the wheels in motion. Things will change. There will be no going back. All babies transform the lives of their parents. This one will transform the existence of the world.
Jesus was a small child with a big mission. John speaks to this truth. Immutable Himself, this Child has the power to change everything and everyone. Jesus, the new Adam, will sheathe the cherubim’s sword guarding the entrance to the Garden. In Him Paradise will be restored. In the person of Jesus God again dwells with His people. He does so in human flesh, in real time. This Immanuel comes with purpose that necessarily implicates everyone. The Scripture says, “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”2
Why was He not received by everyone? The answer is as simple as it is profound. Sovereigns aren’t usually looking for new rulers. People naturally prefer to be architects of their own destiny. That means if people think they are coping well enough with their own sin and the brokenness in their lives they won’t be seeking a Saviour. The challenge of proclaiming the Good News is exactly as it always has been: People won’t receive Him joyfully until they recognize the need. Undoubtedly our celebrations of Christmas are more affluent than those of many who have celebrated across the centuries. But our need is fundamentally no different. We are not morally, ethically, or spiritually superior to past generations. All are still conceived in sin. All are still under condemnation. It’s certainly not hard to see just by watching the daily news that people aren’t able to manage their own brokenness. The mirror of God’s law calls us to reflect soberly also. Do we see ourselves as paupers in relation to the ChristChild, or sovereigns?
The incarnation, Jesus’ coming in human flesh, meant that God wanted to restore the crown of creation not destroy it. “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our own likeness...”3 Yet sin had marred that image and likeness beyond recognition. People lost all knowledge, faith, hope, and trust in God. God could have started over. Or He could have abandoned the whole created enterprise. After all, the Holy Trinity lacks nothing in His self-subsisting existence. It could be argued that He did start over at the time of Noah’s flood. He certainly had intense words with Moses about leaving His people to their own demise. But He did not start anew. He chose to redeem fallen humanity through the sending of His Son.
Angels play a prominent role in the nativity narrative. Seldom do popular depictions of the nativity scene leave them out. What about the leader of the evil angels, Satan, the accuser? Was he just standing by idly? Not a chance! The Scripture says, “The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations.”4 But Satan did not prevail. And he could not prevent Jesus going to the cross.
The death and resurrection of Jesus shattered Satan’s hopes. But this was far from a cosmic duel of equals. Jesus is not a servant of God momentarily endowed with supernatural powers. He is “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God.”5 Yet, He is also fully human, and the apostle John want us to understand the implications. The life of the Son had to be forfeited so the image of the Father could be retained. This firstborn Son was the last sacrifice needed to fulfil the covenant of God. The Scripture says, “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”6 He secured that redemption for all humanity. He gifts it to all who believe.
At the birth of Christ, the angels unleash their praise, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…”7 The shepherds bend the knee and then wag their tongues, “When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this Child.”8 On the face of it the role of the angels seems more desirable than that of the shepherds. After all, who doesn’t like to celebrate as opposed to the likely rejection to be faced when evangelizing? But the two are actually part and parcel of the same piece. Faith cannot be silent. The believer shares what has been received. News this good cannot be contained. The Saviour from sin, death, and Satan has been born. It changes our lives and we want it to change the lives of others.
This Christmas gospel from the first chapter of John is also a marvelous Scripture to deepen our appreciation of Holy Communion. At first glance there might appear to be no direct connection. The apostle doesn’t talk about celebrating the Sacrament. But the incarnation underpins and informs the reality. Only a Saviour who has assumed a true human frame can really offer Himself in that way for our benefit. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”9 Jesus, the Word, the eternally existing Second Person of the Holy Trinity, entered into this tangible, material, and created dimension through the womb of the Virgin. He was born in the natural manner, yet without sin. Only an exceedingly humble God, only a God judiciously concerned with not overwhelming us with His majesty could devise such a plan.
We wouldn’t be too far off the mark if our Christmas worship consisted of little more than joyfully receiving and extolling the Immanuel’s presence among us in the mystery of Holy Communion. In that gift, the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension come together in a way that us mere mortals can benefit us. The Sacrament of the Altar gives us access to Him who was laid in a manger at Bethlehem, but now reigns from the throne in the heavenly Jerusalem. He cradles us with such strong and gentle love that nothing can snatch us out of His hands.
Some people don’t actually look forward to Christmas. If you’re feeling rather uninspired about Christmas this year, don’t compel yourself to muster artificial excitement. Mary and Joseph were undoubtedly disappointed there was no place for her to give birth. Christmas can be a stressful time managing schedules, family members and engagements. Don’t search frantically for that one thing to make everything right; a particular present, a reunion with someone seldom seen, an apology, an invitation- Christmas is bigger than that. And the One born in the manger has broad enough shoulders to bear all of your complaints, disappointments and griefs. He has taken the punishment for all your sins. You are His baptized. You are His cherished child. He shines light into your darkness. He has secured your eternal salvation. He dwells in you and among us. So, let us rejoice in these words of the Spirit, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”10
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Nativity of our Lord
Christmas Day
25 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 1:5 2 John 1:11-12
3 Genesis 1:26 4 Revelation 12:4-5
5 The Nicene Creed 6 Hebrews 9:12
7 Luke 2:14 8 Luke 2:17
9 John 1:14 10 John 1:14
Christmas Eve 2019
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Luke 2:10-11
Theme: God’s Interest In People
Dear worshippers of the holy Infant,
God is interested in people. Maybe that statement is so obvious to you that you’d classify it as a ‘no-brainer’. Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, creation, redemption, forgiveness, grace, all happen because God is interested in people. Yet, if we’re both honest and observant, we recognize that the pervasive power of sin causes people- people here right now, even people who come to the Lord’s house week in and week out- to doubt and even despair over God’s interest in people. The traumas, tragedies, failures and griefs of life shoot arrows of doubt at us with such velocity that even those with the strongest spiritual armor still feel the impact- even when those arrows fall harmlessly to the ground. God is interested in people and Christmas tells us He is so interested in people He became the Man who redeemed humanity. He became the Person who died for all persons. He became the Life-giver of all lives.
While God’s interests in you are genuine, there are others whose interests are more self-serving. The modern marketing of Christmas of relies on the propagation of sentimental feeling and magical sensation, along, of course, with greed. Rare indeed is the person who doesn’t like to be swept up into the enchanted atmosphere of a fairytale. The success of Disney validates this truth. Christmas is billed, commercially, as an opportunity to step outside of the grind of daily life into a world where everything is cheerful, magical, and…affordable. It is billed as a reprieve from the complications, complexities, and commitments of relationships and responsibilities. So, for many, the holiday season is an attempt to temporarily exchange reality for fantasy. But remember marketing is driven by the desire for revenue, not by realism, and the two need only coincide when the revenue cannot be obtained in any other way.
The real implications of Christmas are much more profound and durable than the fleeting merriment offered by carefree indulgence. In the true understanding of Christmas, the miraculous usurps the magical and actualization supersedes fantasy. The angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”1 The embodiment of God’s love in the person of Jesus proves that He is not only interested in people, He is interested in sinners. The Child swaddled in peasant’s garb would, soon enough, be clothed in the guilt of transgressors. The sweetness of the nativity had to give way to the bitterness of the crucifixion.
And why did it have to be this way? Why couldn’t this infant Messiah have grown up, announced God’s favour, and then returned effortlessly back to heaven? Why? Because God is interested in real people who are real sinners. He is interested in you. Sin does not scare Him. How interested in sinners is He? He is interested in gossips. He is interested in idolaters. He is interested in fornicators. He is interested in liars. He is interested in worriers, cowards, cheats, and scoundrels… the list could go on endlessly. God is interested in failures; not because He wants in any way, shape, or form to encourage departure from the truth and transgression of His will. God abhors evil and will not suffer it. But He loves people profoundly and wants to redeem them.
Generally speaking, during Christmas people tend to be a little more thoughtful, patient, and forgiving than at other times. Maybe that legacy is one of the positive influences Christianity has had on the wider culture over the centuries? But people don’t cease to be sinners just because it’s Christmas. In fact, some relationships are damaged further by the hypocrisy that can accompany artificial merrymaking during the season. A veneer of politeness can be transparent even when we think it’s opaque. Selfish indulgence is inadvertently, but candidly, revealed at this time of year. Even the most diligent are tempted to rationalize excess in the ‘spirit of the season’.
The genuine excess of Christmas is the extravagance of God’s love. It’s hidden, of course, a splendid enigma. In a sanctuary for livestock the Prince of heaven takes up residency. He enters the human dimension through the womb of the Virgin and resides not in the temple but the barn. He commands the attention not of royalty but of commoners. Shepherds must revere Him first, bending the knee to look upon the Lamb who would take the sins of the world away. Fleet of foot and spirited in tongue they informed all whom they met.
While the shepherds advance, the angels retreat. Their retreat is a reverse parallel to the Saviour’s imminence. The angels are ever near but cloaked in heaven’s shadow. Christ is heaven’s light but remains cloaked in human flesh. When not audible to our ears the angels’ song is still ringing out through the heavenly dimension. The Infant’s murmuring is a prelude to the announcement that God’s kingdom has arrived.
The extravagance of God’s love is only partly veiled though. God is interested in people now, not just in the life to come. We hear it when the word of forgiveness sinks into the ear and heart of the penitent. We see it when baptismal water washes over the soul newly welcomed into God’s family. We taste it when believers take His body and blood onto their lips in Holy Communion. We grasp it by faith whenever we reflect on the historical events of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
God’s love is extravagant precisely because He is willing to lavish on sinners. And that means all people. His work is not provincial, but universal. He said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.”2 The physical distance from Bethlehem to Calvary is short, nevertheless it spans the entire distance needed to atone for the world’s sins. Jesus died a short distance from where He was born, so that, believers, reborn in Him, could remain immeasurably distant from eternal death.
Christmas is about extravagance, the extravagant love of Christ. God is interested in people. He is interested in peasants, paupers, and, especially, penitents. His is interested in the high and the low and the in between. Don’t get too obsessed with all the temporary trappings of Christmas. Christmas means that God has a permanent interested in you. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Nativity of our Lord
Christmas Eve
24 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 2:10-11 2 John 12:32-33
Text: Luke 2:10-11
Theme: God’s Interest In People
Dear worshippers of the holy Infant,
God is interested in people. Maybe that statement is so obvious to you that you’d classify it as a ‘no-brainer’. Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, creation, redemption, forgiveness, grace, all happen because God is interested in people. Yet, if we’re both honest and observant, we recognize that the pervasive power of sin causes people- people here right now, even people who come to the Lord’s house week in and week out- to doubt and even despair over God’s interest in people. The traumas, tragedies, failures and griefs of life shoot arrows of doubt at us with such velocity that even those with the strongest spiritual armor still feel the impact- even when those arrows fall harmlessly to the ground. God is interested in people and Christmas tells us He is so interested in people He became the Man who redeemed humanity. He became the Person who died for all persons. He became the Life-giver of all lives.
While God’s interests in you are genuine, there are others whose interests are more self-serving. The modern marketing of Christmas of relies on the propagation of sentimental feeling and magical sensation, along, of course, with greed. Rare indeed is the person who doesn’t like to be swept up into the enchanted atmosphere of a fairytale. The success of Disney validates this truth. Christmas is billed, commercially, as an opportunity to step outside of the grind of daily life into a world where everything is cheerful, magical, and…affordable. It is billed as a reprieve from the complications, complexities, and commitments of relationships and responsibilities. So, for many, the holiday season is an attempt to temporarily exchange reality for fantasy. But remember marketing is driven by the desire for revenue, not by realism, and the two need only coincide when the revenue cannot be obtained in any other way.
The real implications of Christmas are much more profound and durable than the fleeting merriment offered by carefree indulgence. In the true understanding of Christmas, the miraculous usurps the magical and actualization supersedes fantasy. The angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”1 The embodiment of God’s love in the person of Jesus proves that He is not only interested in people, He is interested in sinners. The Child swaddled in peasant’s garb would, soon enough, be clothed in the guilt of transgressors. The sweetness of the nativity had to give way to the bitterness of the crucifixion.
And why did it have to be this way? Why couldn’t this infant Messiah have grown up, announced God’s favour, and then returned effortlessly back to heaven? Why? Because God is interested in real people who are real sinners. He is interested in you. Sin does not scare Him. How interested in sinners is He? He is interested in gossips. He is interested in idolaters. He is interested in fornicators. He is interested in liars. He is interested in worriers, cowards, cheats, and scoundrels… the list could go on endlessly. God is interested in failures; not because He wants in any way, shape, or form to encourage departure from the truth and transgression of His will. God abhors evil and will not suffer it. But He loves people profoundly and wants to redeem them.
Generally speaking, during Christmas people tend to be a little more thoughtful, patient, and forgiving than at other times. Maybe that legacy is one of the positive influences Christianity has had on the wider culture over the centuries? But people don’t cease to be sinners just because it’s Christmas. In fact, some relationships are damaged further by the hypocrisy that can accompany artificial merrymaking during the season. A veneer of politeness can be transparent even when we think it’s opaque. Selfish indulgence is inadvertently, but candidly, revealed at this time of year. Even the most diligent are tempted to rationalize excess in the ‘spirit of the season’.
The genuine excess of Christmas is the extravagance of God’s love. It’s hidden, of course, a splendid enigma. In a sanctuary for livestock the Prince of heaven takes up residency. He enters the human dimension through the womb of the Virgin and resides not in the temple but the barn. He commands the attention not of royalty but of commoners. Shepherds must revere Him first, bending the knee to look upon the Lamb who would take the sins of the world away. Fleet of foot and spirited in tongue they informed all whom they met.
While the shepherds advance, the angels retreat. Their retreat is a reverse parallel to the Saviour’s imminence. The angels are ever near but cloaked in heaven’s shadow. Christ is heaven’s light but remains cloaked in human flesh. When not audible to our ears the angels’ song is still ringing out through the heavenly dimension. The Infant’s murmuring is a prelude to the announcement that God’s kingdom has arrived.
The extravagance of God’s love is only partly veiled though. God is interested in people now, not just in the life to come. We hear it when the word of forgiveness sinks into the ear and heart of the penitent. We see it when baptismal water washes over the soul newly welcomed into God’s family. We taste it when believers take His body and blood onto their lips in Holy Communion. We grasp it by faith whenever we reflect on the historical events of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
God’s love is extravagant precisely because He is willing to lavish on sinners. And that means all people. His work is not provincial, but universal. He said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.”2 The physical distance from Bethlehem to Calvary is short, nevertheless it spans the entire distance needed to atone for the world’s sins. Jesus died a short distance from where He was born, so that, believers, reborn in Him, could remain immeasurably distant from eternal death.
Christmas is about extravagance, the extravagant love of Christ. God is interested in people. He is interested in peasants, paupers, and, especially, penitents. His is interested in the high and the low and the in between. Don’t get too obsessed with all the temporary trappings of Christmas. Christmas means that God has a permanent interested in you. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
The Nativity of our Lord
Christmas Eve
24 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 2:10-11 2 John 12:32-33
Fourth Sunday of Advent (A) 2019
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 1:23
Theme: New Birth For Life
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Everyone has ancestors. Christmas involves the reconnection of human ancestry to divine patronage. We all have- whether we are informed of the full details or not- a paternal and maternal lineage. If we pause to reflect on that our minds might be flooded with memories. Our mother was brought to birth by her mother and so forth before her. Our father was fathered by his father and so on before him. Christ is the lone exception. His Father has no father. Yes, we have the ancestry of Joseph, but God the Father is uncreated. He exists eternally, transcending time and space.
The birth of Jesus Christ involves the re-association of God with the human race. Christ stands in a unique position and the peerlessness of His existence can hardly be overstated. The fact of His full divinity and full humanity is the incomparable truth we celebrate in the humility of a feeding trough for animals. The Child born during Caesar-induced transit is the unchanging Lord of creation. At the mercy of world powers, He brings a reign of divine compassion. Remote from the amenities of luxury, and removed from the privileges of position, His retinue is comprised beasts of the stable. Shepherds are His subjects. A manger is His throne.
This then, is the Redeemer of the world! Hear again what the angelic messenger said. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”1 Is this just a pious but fanciful wish? What do we need saving from? What are these sins? Are they general lapses in judgment or common failures of conduct God wishes to tidy up? Are the sins the Messiah came to address moral indiscretions or transparent transgressions? Are they outward expressions of fear, greed, anger, selfishness, cruelty, and disobedience? These realities are surely foreign to none of us and we cannot be excused.
But there is something more. Christ came for a deeper crisis. He knows you. He knows what makes you tick. The Father did not send His Son to demand artificial expressions of loyalty from wayward children. God needs nothing that we can offer Him. He came to make payment; to be the sacrifice; to appease the wrath. He came to suffer and die. Christ came to soften hearts of stone. He came to thaw frozen spirits. He came to draw the poison from the wound. He came to breathe life into perishing souls.
In the coming of Christ, God-in-the-flesh, Emmanuel, life itself has new birth. The womb of Mary nurtures the resuscitator of life. Yes, that means life’s own vitality, its power and virility, had become hopelessly subjugated to the death and decay of sin. Life under the domination of the fall does not press forwards vibrantly, creatively, and progressively. Rather it groans, it bends, it slows; it withers under the weight of bondage and the poison of iniquity. Without His intervention life would decompose and cease to exist. Yes, souls would live on but only in service to Satan.
Christ doesn’t merely make a guest appearance in a stable; He makes a home in human flesh. He grants us identity and purpose. The last thing Satan wants you to know is that your very existence only has ultimate meaning in relation to God’s eternal election of you in Christ. Paul said it most succinctly, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”2 And again he said, “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”3 You are God’s baptized child, resurrected spiritually even now so that you can live sacrificially until the day of your physical resurrection.
Now as individuals personally and as the church corporately we can aspire to embody His incarnational love. Yet we should never expect the world to receive this without reservation. Consider what Luther says in this regard, “Righteousness, holiness, power, life, salvation, everything the church has in Christ, are incomprehensible to reason and hidden to the world. If you judge the church by reason and outward appearance, you will err, for then you will see people who are sinful, weak, fearful, sorrowful, suffering, persecuted, and hunted down. But if you look at this, that they are baptized, believe on Christ, bear out their faith with godly fruits, carry their cross with patience and in hope, that is a true picture…”4
Are you riddled with anxiety? Are you plagued by doubt? Are you fraught with fear? Christ is your Emmanuel; God-in-the-flesh; your strength in frailty, your certainty in doubt, your peace in turmoil, and your refuge in times of fear. He walked in the shoes of humanity. He suffered the greatest indignity. He faced the harshest infirmity. He was a foil for self-made saints and a companion of sinners. He was a comrade of the downtrodden and an antagonist of the self-righteous. Most of all He was the sacrificial Lamb for the transgressions of the world.
The incarnation cannot be drained of its mystery. The Godhead- His entire power and majesty- fully dwelling in human form can never be fully grasped by us empirically, intellectually or emotionally. Yet you receive its fruits- its forgiveness and power- every time you receive His blood to your lips and body to your mouth in the Lord’s Supper. The lowly manger houses the exalted King and common bread contains divine food. Humble Mary cradles the immortal God and ordinary wine holds sacred blood. Faith welcomes an enigma reason can only despise.
Dear friends, it might be too late to curtail your Christmas commotion. Expectations are high and plans are set in motion that can’t be easily reversed. The credit card has been crunched. Busyness and bustle has you bushed. The tension and trauma can’t be tamed. Someone might be left out or neglected. You might fear it could be your fault. Perhaps you feel it might be you. Still, the window of opportunity does not suddenly close.
Remember- and when the Scriptures call us to remember they are not simply trying to jog particular sectors of grey matter that remind us of trivial data; they are beckoning us to rehearse, review, and rejoice- Christmas is not a fleeting flourish of indulgence. It is participation in the life of Him, once a child, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Water, the Bread, the Gate, the Vine, the Light, the Shepherd, and finally, the Resurrection and the Life. From earthy Bethlehem to heavenly Jerusalem He has prepared for His people an eternal kingdom. That kingdom will have the same angels and the same Son of God in human shape. But it won’t have stress. It won’t have fear. It won’t have irreconcilable relationships. It won’t have pain. It won’t have death. His kingdom will not end because the Child born in Bethlehem has permanently re-established the relationship with God’s people. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday of Advent
22 December 2019
(Preached originally 22 December 2013)
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 1:21
2 Philippians 1:21
3 Galatians 2:20
4 Martin Luther, 1532 sermon
Text: Matthew 1:23
Theme: New Birth For Life
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Everyone has ancestors. Christmas involves the reconnection of human ancestry to divine patronage. We all have- whether we are informed of the full details or not- a paternal and maternal lineage. If we pause to reflect on that our minds might be flooded with memories. Our mother was brought to birth by her mother and so forth before her. Our father was fathered by his father and so on before him. Christ is the lone exception. His Father has no father. Yes, we have the ancestry of Joseph, but God the Father is uncreated. He exists eternally, transcending time and space.
The birth of Jesus Christ involves the re-association of God with the human race. Christ stands in a unique position and the peerlessness of His existence can hardly be overstated. The fact of His full divinity and full humanity is the incomparable truth we celebrate in the humility of a feeding trough for animals. The Child born during Caesar-induced transit is the unchanging Lord of creation. At the mercy of world powers, He brings a reign of divine compassion. Remote from the amenities of luxury, and removed from the privileges of position, His retinue is comprised beasts of the stable. Shepherds are His subjects. A manger is His throne.
This then, is the Redeemer of the world! Hear again what the angelic messenger said. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”1 Is this just a pious but fanciful wish? What do we need saving from? What are these sins? Are they general lapses in judgment or common failures of conduct God wishes to tidy up? Are the sins the Messiah came to address moral indiscretions or transparent transgressions? Are they outward expressions of fear, greed, anger, selfishness, cruelty, and disobedience? These realities are surely foreign to none of us and we cannot be excused.
But there is something more. Christ came for a deeper crisis. He knows you. He knows what makes you tick. The Father did not send His Son to demand artificial expressions of loyalty from wayward children. God needs nothing that we can offer Him. He came to make payment; to be the sacrifice; to appease the wrath. He came to suffer and die. Christ came to soften hearts of stone. He came to thaw frozen spirits. He came to draw the poison from the wound. He came to breathe life into perishing souls.
In the coming of Christ, God-in-the-flesh, Emmanuel, life itself has new birth. The womb of Mary nurtures the resuscitator of life. Yes, that means life’s own vitality, its power and virility, had become hopelessly subjugated to the death and decay of sin. Life under the domination of the fall does not press forwards vibrantly, creatively, and progressively. Rather it groans, it bends, it slows; it withers under the weight of bondage and the poison of iniquity. Without His intervention life would decompose and cease to exist. Yes, souls would live on but only in service to Satan.
Christ doesn’t merely make a guest appearance in a stable; He makes a home in human flesh. He grants us identity and purpose. The last thing Satan wants you to know is that your very existence only has ultimate meaning in relation to God’s eternal election of you in Christ. Paul said it most succinctly, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”2 And again he said, “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”3 You are God’s baptized child, resurrected spiritually even now so that you can live sacrificially until the day of your physical resurrection.
Now as individuals personally and as the church corporately we can aspire to embody His incarnational love. Yet we should never expect the world to receive this without reservation. Consider what Luther says in this regard, “Righteousness, holiness, power, life, salvation, everything the church has in Christ, are incomprehensible to reason and hidden to the world. If you judge the church by reason and outward appearance, you will err, for then you will see people who are sinful, weak, fearful, sorrowful, suffering, persecuted, and hunted down. But if you look at this, that they are baptized, believe on Christ, bear out their faith with godly fruits, carry their cross with patience and in hope, that is a true picture…”4
Are you riddled with anxiety? Are you plagued by doubt? Are you fraught with fear? Christ is your Emmanuel; God-in-the-flesh; your strength in frailty, your certainty in doubt, your peace in turmoil, and your refuge in times of fear. He walked in the shoes of humanity. He suffered the greatest indignity. He faced the harshest infirmity. He was a foil for self-made saints and a companion of sinners. He was a comrade of the downtrodden and an antagonist of the self-righteous. Most of all He was the sacrificial Lamb for the transgressions of the world.
The incarnation cannot be drained of its mystery. The Godhead- His entire power and majesty- fully dwelling in human form can never be fully grasped by us empirically, intellectually or emotionally. Yet you receive its fruits- its forgiveness and power- every time you receive His blood to your lips and body to your mouth in the Lord’s Supper. The lowly manger houses the exalted King and common bread contains divine food. Humble Mary cradles the immortal God and ordinary wine holds sacred blood. Faith welcomes an enigma reason can only despise.
Dear friends, it might be too late to curtail your Christmas commotion. Expectations are high and plans are set in motion that can’t be easily reversed. The credit card has been crunched. Busyness and bustle has you bushed. The tension and trauma can’t be tamed. Someone might be left out or neglected. You might fear it could be your fault. Perhaps you feel it might be you. Still, the window of opportunity does not suddenly close.
Remember- and when the Scriptures call us to remember they are not simply trying to jog particular sectors of grey matter that remind us of trivial data; they are beckoning us to rehearse, review, and rejoice- Christmas is not a fleeting flourish of indulgence. It is participation in the life of Him, once a child, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Water, the Bread, the Gate, the Vine, the Light, the Shepherd, and finally, the Resurrection and the Life. From earthy Bethlehem to heavenly Jerusalem He has prepared for His people an eternal kingdom. That kingdom will have the same angels and the same Son of God in human shape. But it won’t have stress. It won’t have fear. It won’t have irreconcilable relationships. It won’t have pain. It won’t have death. His kingdom will not end because the Child born in Bethlehem has permanently re-established the relationship with God’s people. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Fourth Sunday of Advent
22 December 2019
(Preached originally 22 December 2013)
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 1:21
2 Philippians 1:21
3 Galatians 2:20
4 Martin Luther, 1532 sermon
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
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
Monday, December 9, 2019
Second Sunday of Advent (A) 2019
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 3:1-3
Theme: A Voice Calling
Dear friends of the coming King,
God will not send you a personal email, a tweet, a Facebook, Instagram, or Snap Chat post asking if you are prepared for Christ to return. He won’t even ring you or send something in the post. He won’t customize any sort of contact according to your preferences or make any exception for you. He tells you now, clearly and unmistakably through the Holy Scriptures to be prepared. Sort out your priorities, because the One who came to Bethlehem in the meekness of the manger is coming again in majesty with angels attending Him. Our time here is limited, but God’s plans are eternal.
Dear friends, Christ will return, and He says that for the sake of the elect the days beforehand will be cut short. But why will they need to be abbreviated? Because the distress will be too much to bear and the trauma too hard to handle. The Lord says, “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”1 Advent, therefore, is a season for repentance. Today John the Baptist ushers in the new age saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”2 The people of Israel had been waiting expectantly since Malachi, the last prophet of the first covenant, spoke of the return of Elijah3 to prepare the way for the Messiah.
The persona of Elijah did return in the person of John the Baptist. Direct and succinct, confronting and comforting, his words announced the Messiah’s coming. His call to repentance was, and remains, unequivocal. No one is excepted. No one is excused. No one is forgotten. No one is overlooked. Repudiation of sin is not optional for the follower of God. To live under our own terms, our own rules, our own judgments is to deify ourselves and deny the need for rescue from our transgressions. To live only within our self-governed spheres of activities and interactions is to deny the need for intervention from Him who rules the universe. We are sinners, and we cannot save ourselves.
Let us learn from John the Baptist how to view our own self-image. About his importance in relation to Jesus, John said, “He must become greater; I must become less.”4 He was referring to the relative importance of their missions and ministries. John was not seeking followers for his own sake. He was preparing people to become disciples of Jesus. He said he was not even worthy to untie the straps on the Lord’s sandals.
Let us learn from John the Baptist to recognize unbelief in the world for what it is. He rebuked the self-righteous who denied that they needed the forgiveness and love of God. He understood that the world constructs its own truths and was not intimidated by those who opposed his message. It’s increasingly evident Christian truth is becoming less and less palatable to the tastes of Western society. Tolerance is waning. Resistance is growing. Disputes about morality are at the forefront of the disapproval. Demolishing the institution of marriage, redefining personal identity, and overthrowing the sanctity of life are stated objectives being pursued with vigor and determination.
Let us learn from John the Baptist the courage to remain faithful. Apathy, acquiescence, and sometimes even agreement by Christians often strengthens the secular cause. Some believers strike an ostrich-pose while others are incapacitated by anxiety or fear. But denial, fear or complaint are not the answer. God calls us to be set apart, and He will not fail to support us in the time of need. The Scripture says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.”5
Let us learn from John the Baptist the conviction that God has the power of life, physically and spiritually. To the arrogant he said, “I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”6 Today we are privileged to witness the baptism of Ally Falting. Ally is a gift. She is a miracle of life. But like all of us, Ally was born needing spiritual resurrection from the Lord of Life. God accomplishes that through baptism. Baptism is not a superstitious ritual. It is the command, the promise, and the mysterious power of the Son of God. It is an action of the faith-giving Spirit and the soul-redeeming Son. It achieves adoption into the family of the heavenly Father.
Dear friends, being adopted as a child of God is a profound blessing. We are promised a bodily resurrection and an eternal inheritance. Jesus Christ went to the cross and gave His life in payment for sin- yours, mine, Ally’s, everyone’s. He rose from the grave on the third day breaking the power of death. He did that so that eternal death- everlasting separation from God, hell- would not have to be the final destiny for us sinners. This gospel, this good news, has no comparison in human achievement. As heirs of His kingdom believers already have the gift of forgiveness, the presence of the Spirit, and the food of immortality. No medication you take or nourishment you consume has the power or promise of the body and blood of Christ.
Let us learn from John the Baptist the meaning of commitment. He was content to eat locusts and wild honey. How do our priorities stack up? How do we allocate our time, our resources, our energies? Are we whole-hearted participants in the consumer-focused philosophy of our culture? Do we live for the weekends- meaning for self-indulgence as opposed to the blessings of the Sabbath? Is Sunday a day to find spiritual rest in the sanctity of God’s house or to collapse in a heap because we’re exhausted from our overscheduled week? The answers and solutions may not be simply black and white- our realities are often very grey- but grey layered upon grey won’t lead to clarity. Clarity and conviction come from God’s truth.
Advent means ‘coming’ and the Second Coming of Christ will bring unparalleled and unprecedented clarity. Advent reminds us to expect the fulfillment of God’s promises. The way we see things now is not how it will be when the curtain drops. Here is what the Apostle John says, “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”7 Oh, dear friends, how grand will be the moment of revelation! We will see Him as He is.
Unrestricted by sin’s complications believers will look upon the glory of God, beholding Him not by faith, not in reflection, not veiled or cloaked, not mediated or facilitated- otherwise they would be overcome by His majesty- but as He is. Obsolete will be the warning that no one can look upon God and live. Words are insufficient to communicate the reality. The beatific vision, the complete and perfected experience of God in resurrected glory is the final destination of the Christian journey. Human beings were created to be in direct communication with God and that will be the unending experience of all the redeemed. May advent focus our hearts in anticipation of the reality. Christ will return, not in humility, but in power. He will return to make us both beneficiaries of and participants in His majesty. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”8
+ In nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday of Advent
8 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 24:12 2 Matthew 3:2
3 See Malachi 4:5-6 4 John 3:30
5 Philippians 2:14-16 6 Matthew 3:9
7 1 John 3:2 8 Revelation 22:20
Text: Matthew 3:1-3
Theme: A Voice Calling
Dear friends of the coming King,
God will not send you a personal email, a tweet, a Facebook, Instagram, or Snap Chat post asking if you are prepared for Christ to return. He won’t even ring you or send something in the post. He won’t customize any sort of contact according to your preferences or make any exception for you. He tells you now, clearly and unmistakably through the Holy Scriptures to be prepared. Sort out your priorities, because the One who came to Bethlehem in the meekness of the manger is coming again in majesty with angels attending Him. Our time here is limited, but God’s plans are eternal.
Dear friends, Christ will return, and He says that for the sake of the elect the days beforehand will be cut short. But why will they need to be abbreviated? Because the distress will be too much to bear and the trauma too hard to handle. The Lord says, “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”1 Advent, therefore, is a season for repentance. Today John the Baptist ushers in the new age saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”2 The people of Israel had been waiting expectantly since Malachi, the last prophet of the first covenant, spoke of the return of Elijah3 to prepare the way for the Messiah.
The persona of Elijah did return in the person of John the Baptist. Direct and succinct, confronting and comforting, his words announced the Messiah’s coming. His call to repentance was, and remains, unequivocal. No one is excepted. No one is excused. No one is forgotten. No one is overlooked. Repudiation of sin is not optional for the follower of God. To live under our own terms, our own rules, our own judgments is to deify ourselves and deny the need for rescue from our transgressions. To live only within our self-governed spheres of activities and interactions is to deny the need for intervention from Him who rules the universe. We are sinners, and we cannot save ourselves.
Let us learn from John the Baptist how to view our own self-image. About his importance in relation to Jesus, John said, “He must become greater; I must become less.”4 He was referring to the relative importance of their missions and ministries. John was not seeking followers for his own sake. He was preparing people to become disciples of Jesus. He said he was not even worthy to untie the straps on the Lord’s sandals.
Let us learn from John the Baptist to recognize unbelief in the world for what it is. He rebuked the self-righteous who denied that they needed the forgiveness and love of God. He understood that the world constructs its own truths and was not intimidated by those who opposed his message. It’s increasingly evident Christian truth is becoming less and less palatable to the tastes of Western society. Tolerance is waning. Resistance is growing. Disputes about morality are at the forefront of the disapproval. Demolishing the institution of marriage, redefining personal identity, and overthrowing the sanctity of life are stated objectives being pursued with vigor and determination.
Let us learn from John the Baptist the courage to remain faithful. Apathy, acquiescence, and sometimes even agreement by Christians often strengthens the secular cause. Some believers strike an ostrich-pose while others are incapacitated by anxiety or fear. But denial, fear or complaint are not the answer. God calls us to be set apart, and He will not fail to support us in the time of need. The Scripture says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.”5
Let us learn from John the Baptist the conviction that God has the power of life, physically and spiritually. To the arrogant he said, “I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”6 Today we are privileged to witness the baptism of Ally Falting. Ally is a gift. She is a miracle of life. But like all of us, Ally was born needing spiritual resurrection from the Lord of Life. God accomplishes that through baptism. Baptism is not a superstitious ritual. It is the command, the promise, and the mysterious power of the Son of God. It is an action of the faith-giving Spirit and the soul-redeeming Son. It achieves adoption into the family of the heavenly Father.
Dear friends, being adopted as a child of God is a profound blessing. We are promised a bodily resurrection and an eternal inheritance. Jesus Christ went to the cross and gave His life in payment for sin- yours, mine, Ally’s, everyone’s. He rose from the grave on the third day breaking the power of death. He did that so that eternal death- everlasting separation from God, hell- would not have to be the final destiny for us sinners. This gospel, this good news, has no comparison in human achievement. As heirs of His kingdom believers already have the gift of forgiveness, the presence of the Spirit, and the food of immortality. No medication you take or nourishment you consume has the power or promise of the body and blood of Christ.
Let us learn from John the Baptist the meaning of commitment. He was content to eat locusts and wild honey. How do our priorities stack up? How do we allocate our time, our resources, our energies? Are we whole-hearted participants in the consumer-focused philosophy of our culture? Do we live for the weekends- meaning for self-indulgence as opposed to the blessings of the Sabbath? Is Sunday a day to find spiritual rest in the sanctity of God’s house or to collapse in a heap because we’re exhausted from our overscheduled week? The answers and solutions may not be simply black and white- our realities are often very grey- but grey layered upon grey won’t lead to clarity. Clarity and conviction come from God’s truth.
Advent means ‘coming’ and the Second Coming of Christ will bring unparalleled and unprecedented clarity. Advent reminds us to expect the fulfillment of God’s promises. The way we see things now is not how it will be when the curtain drops. Here is what the Apostle John says, “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”7 Oh, dear friends, how grand will be the moment of revelation! We will see Him as He is.
Unrestricted by sin’s complications believers will look upon the glory of God, beholding Him not by faith, not in reflection, not veiled or cloaked, not mediated or facilitated- otherwise they would be overcome by His majesty- but as He is. Obsolete will be the warning that no one can look upon God and live. Words are insufficient to communicate the reality. The beatific vision, the complete and perfected experience of God in resurrected glory is the final destination of the Christian journey. Human beings were created to be in direct communication with God and that will be the unending experience of all the redeemed. May advent focus our hearts in anticipation of the reality. Christ will return, not in humility, but in power. He will return to make us both beneficiaries of and participants in His majesty. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”8
+ In nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday of Advent
8 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 24:12 2 Matthew 3:2
3 See Malachi 4:5-6 4 John 3:30
5 Philippians 2:14-16 6 Matthew 3:9
7 1 John 3:2 8 Revelation 22:20
Monday, December 2, 2019
First Sunday of Advent (A) 2019
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Matthew 24:44
Theme: He Comes With Authority
Dear friends of the coming Saviour,
God is present, but He is also preparing to condescend with finality. Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent means ‘coming’. The season of Advent is not simply a prelude to Christmas. It is a call to preparation. The humble Child of the manger and victim of the cross is returning as the eternal King. So today we are called to preparation. We are called to alertness. We are called to spiritual sobriety. We are called to faithfulness until that day when the reward of our faith will be realized. When Christ returns, we will not be disappointed.
God too, is making preparations. Now, what could that possibly mean? Jesus said to His disciples, “In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”1 The preparation He speaks of here involved His atoning sacrifice on the cross and glorious resurrection from the dead. Christ’s death, resurrection, and enthronement opened the kingdom of heaven for believers. These things are completed, so what preparation still needs to be made? What things still need to be finalized? The answer has everything to do with His word and the Holy Spirit’s work.
God is preparing hearts to receive Him. The Spirit does this through the on-going proclamation of God’s word; both the law and the gospel. Those still in the darkness of unbelief are unprepared to meet the Judge. Many don’t even know they are lost; some do. The judgment will be a time of terror for the wicked. It will happen suddenly and catch people completely unaware, as the Scripture says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”2
Believers too are undergoing constant preparation. Peter says we are like living stones being fitted into the spiritual temple3, Christ’s body. Those stones need to be quarried, measured, and cut. Jesus says we are like branches attached to the vine. Those branches need to be pruned so that they bear much fruit4. Dear friends, the kingdom of God is continually breaking in on the dominion of darkness. Like waves breaking on the beach or the sun breaking over the horizon, Satan cannot prevent the light and truth of Christ from filtering into people’s lives or even fully illuminating them with its brilliance. Advent reminds us that this piece-meal operation will one day come to a complete and dramatic resolution. Christ, the Coming One, will bring an end to the dying regime, and initiate the eternal dimension for all of humanity.
These truths are matters of faith, but they are founded on the external validity of God’s word. The authority of the message is related directly to the credibility of the source. That, of course, is where the rubber meets the road in the preaching of the gospel. If people are skeptical of God and His authority, they will be doubtful about the biblical message and vice versa. Though misgiving about God and His authority always exist in some measure there is an ebb and flow throughout history.
A mounting crisis of authority confronts our age. Again, questions of authority are endemic to fallen humanity so it’s not a new problem. The devil continually recycles his schemes. Ancient falsehoods are cloaked in new disguises. From the moment Satan said to Eve, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"5 the question of authority has been paramount. The contentions of our society reveal how high the stakes are. Who has the authority to decide the great moral questions of our age? Who has the right to decide the parameters? Who has the authority to determine the gender of a human being? Who should decide if a life should be ended on the whim of another?
The struggle of authority is evident within the church too. How will contentious things among Christians be resolved? How will differing opinions about what is God’s truth be decided? Will it be the authority of the Scriptures? Will it be by the consensus of those who participate in the body politic? Will it be the latest trend or philosophy of the culture? The Bible makes it clear that the question of authority is very relevant to our spiritual well-being. No one has the right to alter God’s laws. No one has the authority to exonerate himself or herself from the guilt of sin. Advent is a season for repentance and repentance is never about self-defence or self-validation, but about confession, about disclosure of unworthiness.
Jesus Christ, and no one else, has the authority to forgive your sins. Don’t bother looking for it anywhere else. Civil authority can exonerate you if you’re wrongly accused in a court of law and you might feel justifiably cleared. That too is a responsibility given by God in the kingdom of the left. A spouse, a parent, a child, a relative or friend might unburden your heart by graciously overlooking some hurt or pain you have caused. That is a vocational duty also commanded by the Almighty. The Bible says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”6
But, dear friends, God alone can free your conscience and cheer your soul with the certainty that you have favour in His sight. You need not have any other motivation to come to His house than to have the divine pardon publicly and resolutely proclaimed to you. His pardon is not the lenient tolerance of a soft-hearted figure. His blood was shed, His life was forfeit to secure for you the assurance that in the presence of the Almighty God the guilt of your sin has been atoned for. Jesus died and rose again for you. Christ has reconciled you to the Heavenly Father. It is a gift that is yours by grace, through faith. This absolution comes to you from the lips of a mere mortal, your pastor, but it is no less certain than if Christ stood before you in His all-encompassing glory. His are the promises and His is the authority.
Who has the authority to say that your baptism makes you an heir of the heavenly kingdom? Who has the authority to offer His own body and blood to nourish your faith? Who has the authority to declare at the hour of judgment your sins will not condemn you to the eternal punishment of hell? Who has the authority to declare those who are guilty innocent, to make those who are sick healthy, to make those who are orphaned part of a family? Who is so peerless that all must defer to Him?
Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”7 Now either that claim is arrogant and delusional, or we’d better take notice. Who has the power to reconcile to the Father sons and daughters who have rebelled, rejected, and denied Him? The Scripture says, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”8 This reconciliation brings freedom, and it brings peace. Jesus’ authority over us doesn’t burden us, it frees us. It puts us at ease because we can entrust our lives to Him and confidently sacrifice our energies for others.
Advent is a time of anticipation, and preparation. It is a season for both reflection and action. It is a season for joy and expectation. The Redeemer will return once more to His fallen creation and, as the Scripture says, “sorrow and sighing will flee away.”9 Come, Lord Jesus, Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
First Sunday of Advent
1 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 14:2 2 Matthew 24:38-39
3 See 1 Peter 2:5 4 See John 15:1-5
5 Genesis 3:1 6 1 Peter 4:8
7 Matthew 28:18 8 1 Timothy 2:5
9 Isaiah 35:10
Text: Matthew 24:44
Theme: He Comes With Authority
Dear friends of the coming Saviour,
God is present, but He is also preparing to condescend with finality. Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent means ‘coming’. The season of Advent is not simply a prelude to Christmas. It is a call to preparation. The humble Child of the manger and victim of the cross is returning as the eternal King. So today we are called to preparation. We are called to alertness. We are called to spiritual sobriety. We are called to faithfulness until that day when the reward of our faith will be realized. When Christ returns, we will not be disappointed.
God too, is making preparations. Now, what could that possibly mean? Jesus said to His disciples, “In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”1 The preparation He speaks of here involved His atoning sacrifice on the cross and glorious resurrection from the dead. Christ’s death, resurrection, and enthronement opened the kingdom of heaven for believers. These things are completed, so what preparation still needs to be made? What things still need to be finalized? The answer has everything to do with His word and the Holy Spirit’s work.
God is preparing hearts to receive Him. The Spirit does this through the on-going proclamation of God’s word; both the law and the gospel. Those still in the darkness of unbelief are unprepared to meet the Judge. Many don’t even know they are lost; some do. The judgment will be a time of terror for the wicked. It will happen suddenly and catch people completely unaware, as the Scripture says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”2
Believers too are undergoing constant preparation. Peter says we are like living stones being fitted into the spiritual temple3, Christ’s body. Those stones need to be quarried, measured, and cut. Jesus says we are like branches attached to the vine. Those branches need to be pruned so that they bear much fruit4. Dear friends, the kingdom of God is continually breaking in on the dominion of darkness. Like waves breaking on the beach or the sun breaking over the horizon, Satan cannot prevent the light and truth of Christ from filtering into people’s lives or even fully illuminating them with its brilliance. Advent reminds us that this piece-meal operation will one day come to a complete and dramatic resolution. Christ, the Coming One, will bring an end to the dying regime, and initiate the eternal dimension for all of humanity.
These truths are matters of faith, but they are founded on the external validity of God’s word. The authority of the message is related directly to the credibility of the source. That, of course, is where the rubber meets the road in the preaching of the gospel. If people are skeptical of God and His authority, they will be doubtful about the biblical message and vice versa. Though misgiving about God and His authority always exist in some measure there is an ebb and flow throughout history.
A mounting crisis of authority confronts our age. Again, questions of authority are endemic to fallen humanity so it’s not a new problem. The devil continually recycles his schemes. Ancient falsehoods are cloaked in new disguises. From the moment Satan said to Eve, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"5 the question of authority has been paramount. The contentions of our society reveal how high the stakes are. Who has the authority to decide the great moral questions of our age? Who has the right to decide the parameters? Who has the authority to determine the gender of a human being? Who should decide if a life should be ended on the whim of another?
The struggle of authority is evident within the church too. How will contentious things among Christians be resolved? How will differing opinions about what is God’s truth be decided? Will it be the authority of the Scriptures? Will it be by the consensus of those who participate in the body politic? Will it be the latest trend or philosophy of the culture? The Bible makes it clear that the question of authority is very relevant to our spiritual well-being. No one has the right to alter God’s laws. No one has the authority to exonerate himself or herself from the guilt of sin. Advent is a season for repentance and repentance is never about self-defence or self-validation, but about confession, about disclosure of unworthiness.
Jesus Christ, and no one else, has the authority to forgive your sins. Don’t bother looking for it anywhere else. Civil authority can exonerate you if you’re wrongly accused in a court of law and you might feel justifiably cleared. That too is a responsibility given by God in the kingdom of the left. A spouse, a parent, a child, a relative or friend might unburden your heart by graciously overlooking some hurt or pain you have caused. That is a vocational duty also commanded by the Almighty. The Bible says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”6
But, dear friends, God alone can free your conscience and cheer your soul with the certainty that you have favour in His sight. You need not have any other motivation to come to His house than to have the divine pardon publicly and resolutely proclaimed to you. His pardon is not the lenient tolerance of a soft-hearted figure. His blood was shed, His life was forfeit to secure for you the assurance that in the presence of the Almighty God the guilt of your sin has been atoned for. Jesus died and rose again for you. Christ has reconciled you to the Heavenly Father. It is a gift that is yours by grace, through faith. This absolution comes to you from the lips of a mere mortal, your pastor, but it is no less certain than if Christ stood before you in His all-encompassing glory. His are the promises and His is the authority.
Who has the authority to say that your baptism makes you an heir of the heavenly kingdom? Who has the authority to offer His own body and blood to nourish your faith? Who has the authority to declare at the hour of judgment your sins will not condemn you to the eternal punishment of hell? Who has the authority to declare those who are guilty innocent, to make those who are sick healthy, to make those who are orphaned part of a family? Who is so peerless that all must defer to Him?
Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”7 Now either that claim is arrogant and delusional, or we’d better take notice. Who has the power to reconcile to the Father sons and daughters who have rebelled, rejected, and denied Him? The Scripture says, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”8 This reconciliation brings freedom, and it brings peace. Jesus’ authority over us doesn’t burden us, it frees us. It puts us at ease because we can entrust our lives to Him and confidently sacrifice our energies for others.
Advent is a time of anticipation, and preparation. It is a season for both reflection and action. It is a season for joy and expectation. The Redeemer will return once more to His fallen creation and, as the Scripture says, “sorrow and sighing will flee away.”9 Come, Lord Jesus, Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
First Sunday of Advent
1 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 14:2 2 Matthew 24:38-39
3 See 1 Peter 2:5 4 See John 15:1-5
5 Genesis 3:1 6 1 Peter 4:8
7 Matthew 28:18 8 1 Timothy 2:5
9 Isaiah 35:10
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