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Fourth Sunday in Advent

John 1:19-26

Great, but not that great.

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CrossTalk: We Praise You, O God

 

This week (December 7) Christians will commemorate Ambrose of Milan—as they have done for 16 centuries. This pious and gifted teacher of the church is one of those people whom God put into the world at a pivotal moment in history to preserve His Word and teaching for us.

Ambrose’s life and work are well worth studying. I want to commemorate him here by reflecting on one of the most widely used and enduring hymns of Western Christianity, traditionally ascribed to him. We call it by its Latin title, Te Deum. Translated, it sings out: “We praise you, O God, we acknowledge You to be the Lord. All the earth now worships you, the Father everlasting.”

With the little word, “now,” Ambrose underscores an astounding new reality that modern Christians often fail to see. Suddenly, after the sufferings, death, resurrection and ascension of the Jewish man, Jesus, the entire world began worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Until Jesus, only one small nation on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea had ever heard of Him.

As Christians of the first several centuries observed that the Old Testament was being read in every city of the inhabited world, they noted the fulfillment of prophecies like, Psalm 22:27 “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.” This became one of the most convincing proofs that the Messiah had, indeed, come into the world.

For the Jews, this meant that the eternal song of the angels, “Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth” (Isaiah 6:3), was now made plain. With the coming of Christ, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was revealed by His Trinitarian Name: “The Father of an infinite majesty; Thine adorable, true, and only Son; also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.”

Ambrose next goes on briefly to outline the saving acts of Christ, “the King of glory,” who is “the everlasting Son of the Father.”

First, in the fullness of time, the eternal Son became a man—something that He never was before. “When You took upon Yourself to deliver man, You humbled Yourself to be born of a virgin.”

Next, as the God-man he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. On the third day, he rose again from the dead and appeared to the Apostles, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20:22-23).

This Ambrose captured with the words, “When You had overcome the sharpness of death, You opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.”

Third, Jesus, with His risen and glorified body, ascended into heaven to rule the universe not only as the God He always was, but now also as the only Perfect Man. We sing, “You sit at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.”

Jesus’ fourth and final act for your salvation has not yet happened. But we sing it out in full confidence through Ambrose’s poetry, “We believe that you will come to be our judge.”

After such a striking summary of Jesus’ work for your salvation, there is still one thing needed—faith. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).

So, Ambrose ends with a supplication: “We, therefore, pray You to help Your servants whom You have redeemed with Your precious blood. Make them to be numbered with Your saints in glory everlasting.”

This beloved hymn has been sung since the early fifth century A.D. It is said that Ambrose wrote it for the baptism of Augustine on Easter Sunday of 387. Whatever occasioned its writing, the Te Deum remains one of the most beloved hymns in Christendom.

Headwaters Circuit Forum - November 2, 2024

The Book of Revelation in the "Elector Bible"

Rev. Travis Berg, Bethel Lutheran Church, Lander, WY

Morning Presentation

Afternoon Presentation

Recorded at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Green River, WY

CrossTalk: Modern Meditations on a Reformation Hymn

In honor of Reformation Day (October 31), I want to introduce you to my favorite hymn. It was written by Martin Luther exactly 500 years ago. Although it rarely appears in modern hymnals, it describes a spiritual struggle that is strangely contemporary. 

The hymn begins as a plaintive prayer:

O Lord, look down from heaven, behold

And let Thy pity waken.

How few are we within Thy Fold,

Thy saints by men forsaken!

True faith seems quenched on every hand,

Men suffer not Thy Word to stand;

Dark times have us o'ertaken.

The faithful Church of God has never been large and overpowering. Enemies of God—both outside and inside its walls—are constantly undermining the pure and clear Word of God. They simply will not allow God’s Word to stand. And that brings great darkness.

The second stanza elaborates on the many ways that God’s Word is twisted.

With fraud which they themselves invent

Thy truth they have confounded [i.e. confused];

Their hearts are not with one consent

On Thy pure doctrine grounded.

While they parade with outward show,

They lead the people to and fro,

In error's maze astounded.

Today, too, we are hard-pressed by lies, errors and confusion. We seem helpless against them. But we can confidently turn to God. 

May God root out all heresy

And of false teachers rid us

Who proudly say: “Now, where is he

That shall our speech forbid us?

By right or might we shall prevail;

What we determine cannot fail;

We own no lord and master.”

The pride of God’s enemies is frightening. Often, it seems that it has no boundaries and that nothing can stop it. But God always responds to the prayers of His people. Stanza four speaks of God’s answer to prayer. 

Therefore saith God, “I must arise,

The poor My help are needing;

To Me ascend My people's cries,

And I have heard their pleading.

For them My saving Word shall fight

And fearlessly and sharply smite,

The poor with might defending.”

God will hear your prayers, today, just as surely as He did five centuries ago. As the Bible says, “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV). It’s power is not a threat, but a comfort to the poor in Spirit. 

Not only that, but the struggle itself is used by God for your good! We should always thank God even for the trials that He gives us. Because through cross and trials, He grants His blessing.

As silver tried by fire is pure

From all adulteration,

So through God's Word shall men endure

Each trial and temptation.

Its light beams brighter through the cross,

And, purified from human dross,

It shines through every nation.

That fifth stanza is my personal favorite. It reminds us that not only will God protect His faithful people in trials, they will also be better for having them.

As Charles Spurgeon purportedly said, “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.” So, stanza six of this beautiful hymn turns the battle over to God, and rests in His mighty hand.

Thy truth defend, O God, and stay

This evil generation;

And from the error of their way

Keep Thine own congregation.

The wicked everywhere abound

And would Thy little flock confound;

But Thou art our Salvation.

Christ is our salvation. What more needs to be said? There is nothing and no one that can stop Him from saving you, as well. 

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:35, 37).

CrossTalk: Look at the birds of the air

All of us have childhood memories that reach back into the recesses of the mind. One of my earliest memories involves me and my brothers roughhousing with our father on the living room floor. Another involves sitting in a pile of leaves when I couldn’t have been older than three or four.

No matter how far back your memories go, your life goes back farther. Our first conscious thoughts were formed by brains that had already been developing for years. And during these unremembered years, you were fed and protected by others. You were clothed and comforted. You were sung to sleep and taught to walk.

The more you think about these years of emerging consciousness, the more conscious you become of your helplessness to survive them. Who fed you? Who kept you warm? Who gave you a place to sleep and protection from the myriad evils that can befall an infant child?

No matter whether they were parents or grandparents, they were people who loved you. And they were giving you the necessities of your life long before you even knew that life had necessities. 

In reflecting on these countless graces, you begin to understand your special attachment to those who gave you existence, nourishment and protection. And those special people, in turn, each have their own story. Generation upon generation were conceived, born and cared for until they themselves became caregivers for the next generation. 

What is true of your personal history is also true of every beast of the field, every bird of the air, and every plant in the ground. Life requires a life-giver. And all living things need nourishment and protection to survive. Consider the meaning of this for your life. “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26).

In some ways, birds don’t need nearly as much care as human beings do. From the day of their hatching to their first flight is measured in weeks, not years. But, in another sense, birds never to grow out of their need for special care. 

Unlike humans, birds cannot be taught to plant gardens, protect and water seedlings, or harvest their crops. God must do all of that for them. And he does. There is no single bird on the face of this planet that could have lived a moment without God planting, cultivating, and storing up food for creatures that cannot do these things for themselves.

But just because you differ from the birds in this way, does not mean that you differ from them in every way. Even when you do infinitely more things than birds could possibly do, you remain forever dependent upon someone else to do what you cannot.

You plant but depend on God to bring the necessary weather. You work but depend on God to crown our efforts with His blessing. You eat but count on God to cause our bodies to digest the food. You breathe but count on God to fill their air with oxygen and make your lungs continue to operate. 

Just like the birds of the air, you remain forever helpless. Don’t be fooled into thinking that your superiority to them means that you are any less dependent than they. You are only dependent in different things.

But your superiority to the birds does mean one thing. It means that, in God’s eyes, you are of more value than they. It means that His commitment to care for you, nourish you, protect you from harm, and preserve your life is infinitely greater than that same commitment which He shows daily for the birds. 

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

Christian Funeral - Edward Paul WIttrock

Obituary

Readings: Job 19:23-27; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57; John 11:17-35

Sermon

CrossTalk: Forgiveness: Earned and Delivered

On the cross of Calvary, Jesus did two things for the forgiveness of the world. He died and He prayed. By His death, He paid the price of sin—the “wages of death”—and, thus, retired our debts. And, while He was being nailed to the cross, He repeatedly prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

St. John, the apostle, calls this “propitiation.” He wrote, “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2 ESV). And St. John, the baptizer, bids us to “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).

Sadly, while Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world on Calvary, not everybody receives this forgiveness—either now or in eternity. Repentance is key. Jesus warns, “[U]nless you repent you will likewise perish” (Luke 13:3 and 5). And, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).

So, when we speak of God’s forgiveness, we are talking about two distinct actions of God—what He accomplished once and for all on Calvary and what He is doing in the here and now. On Calvary Jesus paid the price of your debt in full; and now, in the Church Jesus takes the I.O.U. from your hands and places it on His account.

When Christians understand the bifold nature of God’s forgiveness, it helps them better to understand how they, themselves should forgive. After all, Jesus clearly bids us to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). By these words, we ask that Jesus’ forgiveness be replicated in us—both in the forgiveness itself and in the way that it is done.

Just as Jesus first paid the price of our sins—before we were even aware of them—so also, those who have the Spirit of Christ pay off other people’s sins without requiring a pound of flesh—or even their awareness of the sin.

This means that you are not dependent upon another person’s coming to repentance before you can let it go. I have seen too many people eaten up by their gnawing desire for justice. They can find no peace until the person who sinned against them gives a satisfactory apology—and it’s rarely satisfactory enough. Thus, they are more harmed by this unsatisfied desire than they were by the original wrongdoing.

But God frees you of this unbearable burden by assuring you that he will both see to it that justice is accomplished, and take care of your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs by Himself. Jesus doesn’t require the repentance of others before He takes care of you. 

Therefore, your well-being is not held hostage while someone who hurt you remains unrepentant. And Jesus does not require you to hold a grudge until repentance happens.

But neither does He require you to go and tell them words of forgiveness that they are not ready to hear. He may give you that opportunity, or He may not. Your task is to commit your cause to God and pray for them and their well-being. God’s task is to work on your enemy’s heart to bring repentance. 

Sometimes that repentance happens in such a way that you will get the opportunity to speak forgiveness aloud. Sometimes it happens after you are dead and gone. Sometimes it doesn’t happen at all.

But whatever God’s timing, you are free—free from the awful burden of holding others to account. You are free to love and serve—even those who have done you wrong. And that’s a freedom that no one can take from you.

Christian Marriage - Christian and Rachel Lange

University Lutheran Church at Purdue University

June 27, 2024

What God Has Joined Together

CrossTalk: How to live at peace when surrounded by evil

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” Romans 12:17-18.

The Apostle, Paul, wrote these words to the Christians in the heart of the Roman Empire. Rome was the Washington D.C. of its day—the place of unprincipled power and backstabbing.

Against the backdrop of this brutal regime, Paul teaches how a Christian should behave. More than that, he teaches how all people should live. God does not have two standards of justice. But He holds all people accountable to the same standard.

It is a common lament today that public discourse has become nasty, brutal, and mean. Without actually citing Romans 12:17-18, critics of Christianity apply these biblical standards just as stringently to anyone else.

Humility is the foundation of true humanity. “Do not be haughty.” This is not a behavior, but an attitude and an orientation. As Rick Warren put it: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” Humility treats every single person as your equal, including your opponent and adversary.

Pride is poison. It enables one person to treat another like dirt while feeling self-justified in doing so. Pride applies stringent standards to “thee” while carving out exceptions for “me.” It makes a person judge, jury, and executioner over everyone else.

How can a judge and executioner “live at peace” with the one whom he condemns? And, if a judge’s duty is to condemn, wouldn’t it be wrong to let him off the hook?

In this way the devil uses our internal sense of justice to disrupt and destroy a peaceful society. God solves this problem by relieving you of the duty to judge. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God” (Romans 12:19).

You may be right in the way that you see the world. But if you are not the judge appointed to dish out vengeance, you are a fellow defendant before the judge of all. “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

When you are relieved of the heavy responsibility of parceling out justice, you are free to “love your enemies and do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27).

This is not a neglect of justice. It does not require that you call good evil and evil good. The standards of right and wrong remain intact. God does, however, require you to see that He has taken the sword of justice from your hand and given it to another.

Six verses later, Paul writes that the governing authority “is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4).

God provides for a peaceful society not by allowing evil and wrongdoing to go unpunished, but by assigning specific people to certain jurisdictions. Here—and here alone—they serve justice. This allows those without that assignment the freedom to love.

Parents have the job of disciplining their own children—so that others do not. Teachers have the job of correcting academic errors so that all of us need not act like schoolmarms. Judges have the job of sending people to prison or to the executioner so that we need not be vigilantes.

All these servants of God are responsible to God for how they judge. If they judge unrighteously, God will hold them to account by someone higher still. And ultimately, He Himself will act as judge.

Because God has promised to punish every evil and to right every wrong, you are free to live in harmony with one another and at peace with all.

CrossTalk: Religionless Christianity

 “Religionless Christianity” is a phrase that has been around for as long as I can remember. But it is usually misunderstood. Too often it is hip lingo for tossing historic Christianity under the bus or for sneering at Christians who take worship, Bible, and Sacraments seriously. But none of these captures its true meaning.

Last week, Eric Metaxas released his latest book, “Religionless Christianity: God’s Answer to Evil.” It is a sequel to “Letter to the American Church” (2022) which was itself inspired by Metaxas’ biography, “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy“ (2010). The phrase, “Religionless Christianity,” was first coined in a letter that Bonhoeffer sent to a friend 80 years ago this week (April 30, 1944). He wrote it a year before he was executed by the Nazis. And he had a very specific definition in mind.

“Religionless Christianity,” in Bonhoeffer’s vocabulary, is a Christianity that is not—and can never be—relegated to Sunday mornings or hemmed in by church doors. “Religionless Christianity” is Christianity lived out in the open. It refuses to “stay in its lane,” and rejects the Secularist/Marxist doctrine of “the separation of Church and state.” 

“Religionless Christianity” does not oppose religious forms and formulations at all. It rejects the false doctrine that the only forms and formulations that matter are those spoken in Church institutions. “Religionless Christianity” understands that to agree with ungodly doctrines to “get along”—whether on campus, at work, or in the halls of power—is just as blasphemous as the recitation of a heretical creed in a pagan temple. 

The first pastor of the Christian Church, St. James, wrote “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). He is not telling you to bootstrap your way into heaven. “Doing the word” is not the religion that you perform to complete the work of Jesus. That would imply that Jesus lied when He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30)!

“Doing the word,” rather, means that the faith that saves you—the faith that is a pure gift of the Holy Spirit—the faith that you confess in the Creed—has a shape and a form in the world. What we do and say at work, at school, and in the public square are radically changed by saving faith.

And this change is so unalterable and so much at odds with the world that it may land you in jail. It may land you in school detention. It may get you a bad grade on a paper in which you refuse to recite the creeds of the world. It may prevent you from getting a promotion at work. It may get you written up by the Human Resources Department. It may even—as it did in Bonhoeffer’s case—end your life by government execution. Praise God! 

“Religionless Christianity” frames your entire life in religious terms. That’s what James was getting at. “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:26-27).

A Christian life lived in public requires boldness and courage. But this is not self-generated chutzpah and bravado. It is a gift and creation of God Himself. And it is given through the hearing of God’s Word (Romans 10:17) and through the “washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). God, grant us these gifts in our generation! Amen.

Christian Funeral - Pearl Margaret Robbins

July 30, 1921 - January 4, 2024

717 Eternal Father, Strong to Save (original stanzas)

Psalm 23

Matthew 13:44-46

Luke 2:22-38

361 O Little Town of Bethlehem

Sermon: Pearls, Pigeons, and Prowling Cats 

878 Abide with Me