THE COMING OF THE LORDSermons for Sundays of Advent and Christmas
by Pastor Silas R. Krueger
3. REJOICE THAT THE LORD IS COMING! Luke 1:38-55
How would most people feel if they knew for certain that Jesus was going to return very soon, perhaps within minutes? What emotion would dominate as they knew that they would soon be standing face-to-face with the Lord of glory?
These questions are pertinent. During this Advent season we are preparing for the coming of Jesus. The name "Advent" itself means "He is coming!" We want to be spiritually prepared to receive Jesus into our hearts and homes this Christmas – as he comes to us anew with his grace. But someday he will come again in all his glory, and we surely want to be ready, spiritually prepared, to welcome him. After all, on that awesome Day he won't be coming as the gentle Savior, inviting people to receive his love; rather, he'll sit on his throne as the righteous Judge, calling all people to account.
So how do you think most people would feel if they knew that in just a few minutes they would stand before Jesus as Judge of all?
A recent survey asked people if they felt fairly certain they would go to heaven, and the majority of them said, "Yes." But when the survey got more specific and asked how they felt about giving God an account of their lives, they were far less confident. Most expressed uneasiness with the whole idea – which is understandable. Most admitted that they had not had much time for Jesus in their lives and they had not let his Word affect the way they lived. So it's not surprising that they weren't very eager to see him in the fullness of his glory or to have him open for all to see the indisputable record of how they lived. Really, it would be surprising if they didn't fear Jesus' coming.
We who know Jesus as our loving Savior need never fear his return. He himself said that when we see the signs of the end, instead of being fearful and anxious we should lift up our heads and rejoice! This morning we take our cue from the reaction of those who stood on the threshold of his first coming. They encourage us to REJOICE THAT THE LORD IS COMING! We will see that we may indeed rejoice, first because he brings the joy of reconciliation, and second because he brings the joy of transformation.
What is it that all of the individuals mentioned in this Scripture text have in common? Let's look first at Mary. Last Sunday we tried to feel the way she must have felt when the angel told her she would be the mother of the Promised Savior, the Son of God. She was bewildered as she tried to appreciate all that he was saying. She was confused, but she was faithful. And finally, a sense of calm joy filled her heart, and she said, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."
Do you see how remarkable this response is? It's the exact opposite of what we might have expected. Remember, Mary was betrothed to Joseph. They had formally committed themselves to one another before the priest – but had not begun to live together in their marriage. Do you see the problems Gabriel's announcement posed for her? We might expect her to have said, "I'm to have a child – even though Joseph and I aren't together yet? How is that going to look? It will disgrace my parents and my family. Think what my friends and neighbors are going to say! And what about Joseph, dear Joseph? How could I do this to him?" Mary could have come up with all sorts of objections. Instead, in faith, she found peace and joy at the unfolding of God's plan – and was willing to be part of it. She humbly said, "May it be to me as you have said."
That kind of joy is contagious. Luke says, "Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
To reassure Mary of God's power to have her, a virgin, conceive and bear a son, the angel had told her that her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, had also conceived and was in her sixth month. Mary was eager to see for herself – and even more eager to share what the angel had told her with someone who would understand. The trip was no easy matter. Elizabeth lived some 70 miles to the south. This meant a journey of five or six days through mountainous country – all on foot. But Mary was young and strong, accustomed to walking, and she didn't even think about that. She was excited about telling her cousin the Good News.
Elizabeth surprised her by knowing already – and sharing her great joy that the Lord was coming. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth showed both joy and awe in greeting her young cousin: "Blessed are you among women," she said, and added, "Why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Elizabeth knew about Mary's wondrous Son, and counted it an honor that Mary would come into her home. You see, Mary was no longer just her dear cousin. She was to be the mother of her Lord. Elizabeth was filled with joy as she saw the Lord's saving will unfold.
The contagious joy was evident in another, even more surprising way. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting the babe in her womb, who, the angel had told his father Zechariah, would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb, leaped for joy inside her.
Isn't it remarkable that we're told this unborn child leaped for joy? We have a tendency to think of the unborn in rather impersonal terms – even we Christians. Expectant parents, of course, look forward eagerly to the birth of their child. Nowadays they often know its sex in advance, and may have already named their son or daughter. They even talk to it while it is still in utero. But generally people see the unborn as an "it" waiting to become a person. Sadly, our sinful society has gone a gruesome step beyond that – giving mothers the "choice" of terminating these "its" through abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court has given people the right to kill an unborn child without suffering any legal consequences. (We should not think, however, that there aren't any consequences. We can see its consequences in the general devaluing of human life in our society, and are learning more and more that the emotional and spiritual consequences for those who "choose" abortion are staggering.)
God's Word disagrees sharply with our society's view of the unborn – and God's Court of Justice surely disagrees with our nation's Supreme Court. America today unavoidably stands under his judgment because of this holocaust of the unborn – 1 1/2 million callously being discarded each year through abortion. The Greek text of the New Testament shows that an unborn child is a person in God's eyes. When Luke wrote of "the babe" in this text he used the same Greek word that later the angel used to announce the birth of Jesus. And Jesus used the same word in saying, "Let the little children come to me." So just the fact that God's Word talks about unborn children in the same way it talks about the newborn and the little ones shows us they are precious persons in his sight. And John's being filled with the Holy Spirit and leaping for joy in his mother's womb shows they have a definite place in God's plan of salvation.
There is another lesson for us in this text, besides its testimony against abortion. Do you remember that we asked what these people had in common – what links Mary and Elizabeth and her unborn son? It's not just that they were relatives, in the same extended family. Rather, it's that they were one in their joy! Each responds to the announcement that the Lord is coming in the same way – with overwhelming joy. They are a reminder to us that when Christ is at the center of our Christmas celebration, when Christmas is a "Christ Mass" or a "Christ Festival," as the name says – then we have real joy!
Is that so obvious that it goes without saying? We'd like to think so. But the celebration of Christmas often produces a social paradox. The time of joy and merriment can be, for some, a time of depression and sadness – for the lonely, the neglected, the distressed – but even for some who are actively caught up in the whirl of merriment. The reason for this? It often comes down to this, that they are looking for their joy in the wrong place. Some look busily for joy in the partying, the gift-giving, and other outward aspects of the season – and are saddened when their merriment turns out to be hollow. The real joy of Christmas will continue to elude them unless, like Mary and Elizabeth and her unborn babe, they find their joy in the salvation and peace with God that is wrapped up in the birth of his Son to be our Savior. It's when we find the deep joy of peace with him that we learn to be at peace with ourselves and with those around us. Even the lonely, the neglected, the distressed, share in that peace and joy if they look beyond whatever earthly situation depresses them to the assurance of their heavenly Father's love.
That joy deserves more than lip-service. Yes, a most enjoyable aspect of Christmas is gathering with fellow believers to sing Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers or Joy to the World. But the real setting for the jewel of Christmas joy is our hearts. In a sense, every time we hear the message of our Savior's coming we should be like unborn John, who leaped for joy in his mother's womb! Similarly, as Luther put it in From Heav'n Above, "our hearts for very joy should leap." They should leap and dance and skip a beat when we hear the Good News: "Christ the Savior is born!
Why doesn't that always happen, though? Maybe we're not really applying the Christmas message to ourselves as we should. We need to take a lesson from Mary, in her familiar response to Elizabeth: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name."
With an appropriate sense of awe Mary says, "All generations will call me blessed." Mary knew that her being the mother of the Promised Savior would give her a very special position in all of history – something that also Elizabeth had acknowledged in greeting her. This was not said in pride. Mary was deeply humbled by the privilege. She wanted only to glorify the Lord, and her deep joy was found in God as her Savior.
We today will certainly share Mary's sentiment when we consider that what God did for Mary through Jesus, her son, he does for each of us. This comes through in Mary's song: "God's mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."
Did you notice that Mary said that God's mercy didn't come only to her, but that it continues "from generation to generation"? That had been going on for centuries in God's gracious dealing with Abraham and his descendants. It has continued through the centuries since Christ's fulfillment of the promise. And now it has come down to you and me. Our generation is surely included. God continues to reach out to us in grace and mercy today.
Mary also indicated that God's gracious blessing would come to people like her, saying, "He has lifted up the humble and has filled the hungry with good things" while at the same time he "has brought down rulers from their thrones and sent the rich away empty." Mary was not describing some kind of social revolution. She was using images from the social life of her day to help us understand how God deals with people spiritually. Jesus later echoed her sentiments when he said, "All who exalt themselves will be humbled; but those who humble themselves will be exalted." The only way for you to approach this Savior is humbly, on your knees, confessing your need. Then the Savior does what he most desires to do: he lifts you up and fills your deepest need with his love and forgiveness.
I understand that the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem dates back to the time of the Crusaders. They built this shrine at the traditional site of the stable and the manger – and purposely designed a small, low, entrance door. It was to prevent proud Saracen warriors from desecrating the shrine by riding their horses into it. Still today, entrance requires bending low – a fitting reminder of the spiritual humility needed to go to worship at the manger of the Christchild.
Mary indicated that those who hunger after what the Lord offers will be "filled with good things." He doesn't just give samples of his grace, like the people at stores like Costco, who want you to try what they want you to buy. The Lord doesn't provide us with just "nibbles" of his forgiveness. No one leaving God's house can say, "It was nice to have my little sins forgiven, but I wish I knew that those terrible sins of my past that nag at my conscience are also taken away." No matter how heavily we've been weighed down by our sin; no matter how terrible a particular sin or how tremendous the number of sins we've committed – God removes them all from us in Jesus and fills us with the goodness of his grace. John assures us in his First Letter, "The blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all our sins."
As God looks at you now through his Son Jesus, he says, "There is my dear son. There is my dear daughter." Isn't that reason to REJOICE THAT THE LORD IS COMING? Isn't it reason to carry your rejoicing into all of your preparations for and your celebration of Christmas? Isn't it reason to meet each day of your life with rejoicing? And, as you see the signs of the end, instead of fearing Jesus' return, isn't it reason for you to lift up your heads and rejoice because your full ransom is drawing near?
After all, it is your Savior whose birth we celebrate; it is your Savior who is with you to lift you up and fill you with good things day by day; it is your Savior who is coming again to take you to himself so you will be where he is forever.
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