| December 26, 1999 | The Word Comes to You | Luke 2:25-40 (esp. 34), Isa 45:23, and Col 3:16
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
This morning our message is based on three portions of each of our Scripture readings. First we have our Gospel lesson from Luke 2:34: "Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against." Also from Isaiah 45:23: "I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath." Lastly, Colossians 3:16: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
There is a common theme in these three portions. It is summarized by the a word you hear in the second and the third verses, and that word is "Word." "The word has gone out of My mouth." "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you." The first verse does not specifically mention "Word" but expresses the same idea when using the word "sign": "This Child is destined...for a sign which will be spoken against." This, of course, ties into John's Gospel which describes Christmas with these words: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory." The Word is Jesus Christ coming at Christmas.
In that verse from Luke, the Word Jesus Christ is identified as one who would cause the fall and rising of many in Israel. He would be a sign which will be spoken against. These words are the witness of Simeon, the man who was in the Temple when the infant Jesus was brought in for purification of Mary and His dedication at 40 days after birth. Simeon speaks of the Salvation he has now seen which allows him to depart in peace. Simeon's words are sung in our liturgy as the Nunc Dimittis, meaning "Lord now dismiss." Simeon also had something to say about how Jesus would be a powerful force. He would lead some to fall and others to rise. At one point, Jesus had more than 72 disciples following Him. Then Jesus spoke in John 6 of how no one could believe in Him unless the Father enabled it. Perhaps many of the 72 thought they had made their own decision to follow Jesus and resented the suggestion that the Holy Spirit called them to faith. So, as John 6 reports, "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him." There were certainly other times when Jesus caused offense, most notably to the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Chief Priests. Undoubtedly He offended many others. To those who rejected Him, He would cause them to ultimately fall.
Simeon also said that Jesus would be a sign that would be spoken against. This together with the causing the falling of many suggests the consequence of Jesus bringing the authority of the Law of God. Being true God, He carries the authority of God. That authority demands our obedience and where you have that demand for obedience you have many who will rebel and refuse to submit to the authority. You have the Law which always accuses us of our sins. Jesus coming with the authority of God to forgive our sins, carries that message or Word that we are indeed sinful. Jesus held us up to the high standard of perfection and many fell because of this.
The other side of this is that Jesus would cause the rising of many. This is the result of His blessed work for us upon the cross. There, dying for our sins, He paid the full price we owed for all our offenses. This freed us from that punishment which we would have faced, and instead we can rise to eternal life, in the same way as Christ rose from the grave. Jesus causes the rising of many because He lifts us up to the highest heavens and places. We have this right now, on account of God's certain promises, so Ephesians 2:6 can say, "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."
In the passage from Isaiah we hear how the Word has gone out and it shall not return. In other words, the Lord has delivered His salvation through Christ. That has been accomplished and fully completed. It will not be taken away. Because God sent His Word as a man, we can be certain the Word has come and been delivered. The penalty of the cross for Jesus was paid and so the Word does not return, but continues to do its work. We also see from Isaiah that the Word went out in righteousness. It goes out from the mouth of God, and delivers to us that precious gift of righteousness. Though we are stained with original sin, though our lives are littered with actual sins, we are forgiven the whole works and our sins are replaced with righteousness. This righteousness comes with the Word, Jesus Christ. This righteousness is offered to all people.
In the passage from Colossians, we are encouraged to "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." This is an encouragement to make use of the supply of God's Word that we have available. This most certainly includes the Scriptures and preaching from them. We are to let that Word dwell in us, that is, live in us. We are to allow it to be abundant, so that it is richly dwelling.
God's Word also comes to us through the Sacraments. By Baptism, the Word of God is applied to us and gives power to the water, so that we are regenerated and freed from all sin. God's promises are applied to us personally in Baptism.
In the Lord's Supper, celebrated today, we also receive God's Word. His very words in this sacrament give it power to forgive our sins and give us life and salvation. We receive the very body and blood that Christ offered up for us on the cross.
We are very blessed with this Word that came at Christmas. Maybe we can see the value of the Word made flesh even more by comparing Jesus to someone else who gets connected with Christmas: Santa Claus. You should know that I don't really care for Santa Claus fantasy. If you wish to know why, ask me sometime. However, since we probably can't get Santa out of Christmas, we will use him for an example. Let us take a moment to compare Santa Claus with Jesus.
I have this comparison in mind because of an episode of the Televison show "Seventh Heaven" which I watched recently. I used to enjoy this show, for it portrayed the family of a pastor. I have found in the last year or so that I do not prefer it, for it seems to have developed into a show to ridicule Christianity and its believers and distort its teachings. I did happen to watch an episode last week, which is quite rare. In it the young boy was praying to God asking that He would help his younger sister believe in Santa Claus. His reason for asking for this was that, according to him, believing in Santa was an intermediary step to believing in God. If you are interested in the details of what is wrong with that idea, you can also ask me sometime. It did provide food for thought for me. Just how does Jesus compare with Santa?
What is the main difference? Santa is a legend based on a real individual which is expanded into a fictional, make-believe fantasy. Jesus Christ is real and always has been. Even the actions and teachings of Jesus which we find hardest to believe are real.
Santa Claus comes from the account of Saint Nicholas. He was a real person who lived around 300 AD in the area of what is Turkey today. He was a wealthy orphan who was known for his generosity, often delivering bags of gold to needy people by dropping them down their chimneys or throwing them through an open window.
As a result of the Reformation, the Protestants reacted against ideas considered associated with Roman Catholicism and they came up with alternatives. So, the Dutch named their new legendary figure "Sinterklaas" in opposition to Saint Nicholas. The name "Sinterklaas" was changed in the United States to "Santa Claus."
In a sense, Santa Claus is a result of the concrete, a real person, becoming abstract. Jesus Christ is a result of the abstract becoming concrete. This, of course, requires some explanation. Jesus Christ is the Word become flesh. The Word means a message, or saying, or communication. God speaking to us, delivering a message is God giving us His Word. The Word is abstract. God's Word starts as thoughts in God's mind, if you will allow me to speak in human terms. It is not observable to us. It is a message which has not been communicated.
A message which we wish to deliver to someone else starts with our thoughts. These thoughts are abstract. They cannot be seen or held. Then we may speak or write the message, and it becomes concrete. It can be heard or read. It the same way. God's Word was sometimes spoken directly by Him, but most often it was given to prophets or apostles. They spoke the abstract word and made it concrete. The Word was also written by these people. Thus we have the Scriptures. They are concrete. We can read them and we can listen as others read them. God's Word was made concrete in spoken or written form.
Now, in Jesus Christ, we have God's Word taken even a step farther. In Jesus, the message is not just put in spoken or written form, but it is delivered in the form of a human being. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son." God spoke by His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the message delivered in the flesh. The abstract message, starting as a thought, put on flesh and bones and came to us in an observable, concrete form. We couldn't miss God's message for it came in the form of a man. In a way, it become harder to doubt a message delivered this way. If a message came as a voice speaking from the clouds or golden tablets found somewhere, we might find that much easier to doubt. Coming as a man, we have a greater concreteness for our minds which love to doubt.
This concrete form of God's Word gives us assurance. We can depart in peace, knowing we have seen our salvation in the man Jesus Christ. We have the sign who causes the falling of those who reject Him, but for us, He causes rising. We have in Jesus the very Word from God's mouth which goes out and does not return. It is a Word which brings righteousness. We have a Word which desires to dwell in us richly and bless us in many ways. May you be blessed by the Word which comes to you, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.