No Neutrality With Jesus

Text: Luke 2:33-40

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

You and I would be pretty hard pressed to find a person who is offended by the Story of Christmas – the Story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.  Now, they are out there, but frankly, I do not believe that there are too many of these so-called Scrooges and Grinches.  You see, even the most hard-core atheists seem to have a soft spot in their hearts for the story of Mary and Joseph, the animals, the manger, the little Jesus, and the angels.  We see the evidence for this in Church attendance each Christmas.  Yes, every single Christmas the church seems to fill up with all sorts of people – believers and nonbelievers alike – who want to hear the Christmas Story.  And for that brief moment on Christmas Eve, it seems that everyone is united.  It appears that all is well – everyone is happy, content, relaxed, and unified around the Story of Christmas. 

These sentimental and nostalgic feelings wear off quite quickly though.  Yes, they wear off rather quickly when we read Luke’s Gospel and hear from the Prophet Simeon.  Now, it isn’t that Simeon wants to be a Scrooge or a Grinch, but instead, Simeon is drawing attention to a phenomenon that cannot be escaped.  Simeon is pointing out a fact, that the child he is holding in his arms has been appointed for the rising and falling of many.  He is stating that the baby Jesus in his arms is a sign – a target – that will be opposed.  In other words, Simeon is saying to Mary that people will stumble and take offense at Jesus. People will fall and rise, curse and speak against Jesus.  They will slander and condemn Jesus’ words.  They will oppose His works, ways, and life.   

It could be said that Simeon saw the cross looming.  When Simeon held baby Jesus in his arms, he saw a shadow of the cross off in the distance – the cross, with its conflict and tension. 

And so, this morning, Simeon shows us this Christmas Season that with the birth of Jesus, conflict comes.  Yes, conflict will come about not because Jesus is some troublemaker, but because He is light and truth. 

Dear friends, whenever Jesus and His Word go forth, people will divide into two groups.  Some will receive it with joy and others will be offended and begin to hate and persecute.  It is like this because people love the darkness and hate the light.  People love to believe their lies and are offended by truth.  The bright light hurts, so eyes are closed and heads turn.  The truth hurts, so ears close and angry faces are made. 

And so, that baby that was born and laid in a manger was like a target.  The baby Jesus who rested in Simeon’s arms had crosshairs upon Him. Just as guns and bows aim at targets so that their bullets and arrows do not hit anything but the target, so everyone’s sinful old nature aims at Jesus.    

Over the years I have had the opportunity to speak to many seminarians; that is to say, men training for the ministry of being a pastor.  And typically what ends up happening is that I get asked about tips and pointers on what it takes to be a faithful pastor.  To which, I usually say something like this,

If you want to have a comfortable pastoral ministry, do just this: water down God’s Law and change the focus from Jesus to the person in the pew. In fact, if you want ease, just try to avoid Jesus and His Word. The old sinful nature loves this!  Weakened law and a man-centered false gospel gives the sinful old nature all sorts of room to play!  In other words, watered down law doesn’t make anyone feel bad about sin and focusing the sermon not on Jesus, but on the person in the pew makes people feel really, really special.  It makes them feel like they have the ability and power to control their destiny.  Indeed, with this kind of preaching, nobody in the church will get angry with the preacher.  But instead, this kind of sermon will be a relief to the old Adam; the sinful nature becomes giddy.  Yes, the old Adam loves this kind of watered-down law and man-centered pretend gospel.   

However, when the exact opposite happens – when you proclaim Christ and His Word, when the Law kills people and the Gospel unconditionally gives faith – fasten your seatbelts.  Yes, fasten your seatbelts, for people will either defend their old Adam by attacking or by leaving the church, whereas others will be brought to rubble, where in the midst of the debris they will see Jesus. Truly, when a stern Law and a sweet Gospel are properly preached, the sheep will come to their painful end (their sinful nature will fall to pieces), but then they will learn that they are not abandoned, but left with Jesus… and with Jesus raised anew.

What all of this means is this: when someone proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world, the only Mediator, Advocate, and Savior, and His Holy Gospel is the power of God to save all who believe in it, then be ready, for there will be opposition.  Yes, be prepared, for people will oppose Jesus and come up with all sorts of opinions, ideas, and alternatives that prop up their sinful nature.  Be ready to watch Jesus become a target of attack.  And be ready if you are proclaiming Jesus to be attacked as well. 

Dear friends, it is impossible to escape affliction if you wish to be a faithful servant of the Lord.  It is impossible not because Jesus delights in causing disruption, but because Jesus is light and truth coming into darkness and falsehood.  And as it has already been stated, darkness and falsehood cannot comprehend light and truth, but instead, attack. 

Dear Baptized Saints, behold, this child who was born unto you and who laid in Simeon’s arms, was appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.  From Jesus’ infancy to death, He would be persecuted.  His teaching would be slandered.  His life cursed.  And finally, He would be put to death.  This is the child that was born and laid in the manger. This is the child that laid in Simeon’s arms.  This is the child that was born unto you. 

This news of Jesus being a target, though, might lead us to wonder if there was ever a chance of Him being overturned?  Is there a chance of Christ and His church being overturned today?  The answer is no!  While Simeon said that Jesus would be a target, people would not and cannot overturn Jesus. 

It is like this, God the Father appointed Jesus to be a target.  He was destined by God the Father to be a defiant rock slammed down before the world, the devil, and the gates of hell.  Indeed, Jesus is the target that God the Father ordained to be a stable foundation in a chaotic world.  Which means that the devil, the world, and the sinful nature will try to remove Jesus, but will try in vain.  Yes, the devil will hiss at the rock, the world will charge at the rock, and the sinful nature will try to climb on top of the rock, but NONE of them will be able to accomplish anything.  The devil’s fangs will break against the rock, the world will collide and fall, and the sinful nature will fall on its back.  They cannot harm the rock, but only prove their own futility. 

So, dear Baptized Saints, behold the child who was born unto you for your rising and falling.  Behold the one who took you and drowned you and your sinful old Adam in the water of baptism and then brought you out anew.  Behold the same Jesus that was laid in Simeon’s arms is now put in your hands and upon your lips and mouth in the Holy Supper.  Behold the target who takes your sin.  Behold your salvation that was prepared for you.  Behold the one that cannot be overturned.      

In the name of Jesus: Amen. 

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Christmas: Bypassing The Splendor Of The World

Text: Luke 2:15-20

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

No event in the history of the world has been so celebrated as the birth of Jesus.  Yes, this evening around the world, billions of people gather together to sing songs, exchange gifts, and celebrate, because of the birth of Jesus.  Indeed, Christmas trees have been put up, gifts have been wrapped, songs have been sung, Christmas cookies have been made, and lights shine, because of the babe that was born in Bethlehem. However, in spite of all of this dramatic displays of Christmas around us, Luke in his Gospel gives us a picture of Christmas that is quite the opposite.  That is to say; Luke tells us the Christmas story in a most unspectacular fashion. 

According to the Gospel of Luke, Mary and Joseph must have been very poor, not rich.  And they must have been very anxious, not calm. When they arrived in Bethlehem for the census, there was an influx of people in town, resulting in there being no room in the inn for them.  As a result, they found a cave most likely behind someone’s home – a cave that was used to shelter livestock.  And there in the dirty cave with animals, Jesus was born.  He was born and laid in a manger, which was a feeding trough where cattle stuck their filthy snouts and mouths to eat.  Yes, a boy was born, and the only people that were there or cared were Mary and Joseph. 

So, considering this most unspectacular and humble story of Jesus’ birth, why are we so attracted to this story? 

It would make sense to be intrigued and captivated by this story if Jesus was born in Rome, which was the Capital of the Roman Empire at that time.  It would make sense to be gripped by the story of Jesus’ birth if He would’ve been born in some spectacular golden palace with trumpets sounding and torches ablaze!  But a dirty cave?  A dumpy manger?  Stinky animals?  Seriously, why on earth do we celebrate this unspectacular and humble story?  Why do we have so much glory tied up in such miserable circumstances of a cave and feeding trough in a tiny town? 

And to make things even more unique with this story, the first message of Jesus’ birth was not taken by the angels to princes and powerful people, but the angels went and looked down to the lowest of people – shepherds.  Yes, the angels did not go to proclaim this message to the high priests and the highly educated people living in the biggest and fanciest of cities but went to the countryside to dumpy and dusty shepherds. 

It is as if this story and circumstances of Jesus’ birth intentionally ignored what was high and mighty and spectacular.  It was as if the birth of Jesus bypassed the splendor of the world. 

Dear friends that is precisely what is going on here. The birth of Jesus turns away from what we humans deem to be impressive, valuable, and worthy in this world.  But if this is true, why then do we celebrate such an unspectacular and humble story with such dramatic and bold ways? 

It is quite simple, we celebrate and honor the story of Jesus’ birth because it is a story where God turned toward sinful humanity.  It is a story where the Son of God descended to sunk Himself into the middle of mankind.  It is a story of the Son of God putting on flesh and coming in humility – coming so low and so simple and so meek that no burdened sinner would be driven away as if Jesus is too high and lofty for sinners. 

You see, we humans seek greatness by racing around like madmen reaching to useless heights of honor and prestige on earth.  We try to climb upward towards supposed glory.  We want to be king of the hill, top dog, and on the A-squad.  We want to be the first round pick, on the starting lineup, and a part of the in-crowd.  However, God completely ignores what is high and lofty according to the world.  And we see this most especially in the story of Christmas – the birth of Jesus that bypasses all loftiness and swoops down low, so low that the Savior will not be out of reach of anyone. 

The birth of Jesus is the birth of the Messiah for every single lowly sinner of the world.  And that is why no event in the history of the world has been so celebrated as the birth of Jesus.  Yes, Jesus is the Savior that was born to save us from our sins.  There in the cave, in the manger, was the hope of the world.  There in Bethlehem was the radiant dawn over a humanity shrouded in the darkness of sin. There in that manger was salvation and victory for sinners – hope and future for sinners.  Yes, in that dark cave was the Kingdom of God coming to earth. 

So, what this means is that no matter your circumstances and no matter where you are at this Christmas, you can indeed celebrate and rejoice.

The message of Christmas is such that it excites us and at the same time humbles us.  It is a story that fills us with joy and attracts us to Jesus.  It is a story that grants us peace and harmony even while being in the midst of the trials and pains of life. It is a story that tells us of the Son of God coming to mankind to grant us favor. 

And so tonight, we give glory to God for this simple and humble message of Christmas.  Even if you are experiencing grief or are sick or are lonely and depressed – if you feel like your stain of sin is simply too much – do not despair.   Do not despair but give glory to God.  Give glory because the message of Christmas is that the Son of God came and put Himself right into the depths of this messed up world to be your Savior.   

Dear Baptized Saints, the Christ was born to you in the midst of those unspectacular circumstances long ago.  And that is why we are here tonight.  Yes, we are here because Christ Jesus the Lord was born to you to be your Savior. Nothing is surer than that.  You have it on the highest authority. Born to live the life that you could not live; born to die the death that you cannot die.  Born to save you from your sins.             

And so we celebrate and rejoice for unto us is born this day a Savior, Christ Jesus our Lord. 

In the name of Jesus: Amen.  

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Our Falling And Rising

Text: Luke 2:33-40

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

The atmosphere of Christmas continues well past Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Indeed, all the Christmas leftovers, all the Christmas treats, and all the Christmas gifts have been with you this whole week to bless you.  In fact, the Christmas decorations and lights have most definitely been up in your houses all week.  Christmas songs will even continue to flood your memory, and you will hum them around the house.  It is true that the aura and feeling of Christmas continues on and on and on; that is until we meditate on today’s sad thoughts in our Gospel reading from Luke. 

Today, with reluctance, our happy and warm Christmas thoughts are brought before our Gospel reading, where they collide with sad thoughts.  I hate to burst our Christmas bubble, but it is true that our celebration of the manger and our humming of, “Silent Night,” bump rather harshly and rudely into Simeon’s confession that the baby-Jesus is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel.  Yes, fresh from the manger we meet Simeon’s confession that this Christ-child will be a sign that will be opposed. 

I know how you might be feeling right now.  Last Sunday we heard, “Merry Christmas; unto us, a child is born!”  Now, we hear that this child will wreak havoc and stir the pot. 

Now, considering this, why has the historical Church meditated on Simeon’s confession and why has it chosen to do this the Sunday after Christmas, when we haven’t even packed up the decorations and put away the tinsel yet?  Otherwise stated, “Why does the Church ask us to meditate on these sad thoughts while still within the sight of the manger?  Surely, [the historical church] wishes us to celebrate a joyous and happy Christmas.  Yet [the church has assigned] this [Gospel reading to the Sunday immediately after Christmas] to remind us that Christmas is not sheer poetry.”[1]  To rephrase this, when all the Christmas songs have been sung, and when we are done oohing and aahing over the Christ Child swaddled in the manger, there remains the reality that God did not send His Son into the world to make us feel all warm and fuzzy.  But rather, Jesus came down from heaven to redeem a real broken world  –a real world with all of its ugliness and hurt and pain.  Yes, Jesus came to redeem this world and to do that would require hurt and pain and blood and conflict and all sorts of raw suffering.  This redemption would truly rattle the earth, confuse earthly wisdom, divide mankind, cause some to fall, and some to rise.  

This is exactly what Simeon points out to Mary, Joseph, you, and me in Luke’s Gospel reading from this morning.  As Simeon took the young baby into his arms, we get the sense that he became very serious.  He beheld an appalling sight.  As he held the baby Jesus in his arms, he confesses that the child would be the rise and fall of many.  Indeed, Jesus and His life would bring about much opposition in Israel.  Instead of being accepted and loved by all as the Savior, Jesus would be met with rejection and suffering.  This was a dark picture and a terrible announcement to which Mary had to listen.  Hearing this was like a sword piercing Mary’s own heart.  Mary, who once looked down to her stomach to see Jesus safely in her womb, would eventually have to look up at Jesus on a cross – crucified.  The pleasant kicks and hiccups from Jesus in the womb would soon turn to jolts of suffering and sighs of agony on a cross, as Jesus died for the sins of the world.    

 

For us today, this is not a very pleasant announcement; it is not a very Christmasy message for us to hear only a week after Christmas.[2]  Furthermore, it challenges the modern day assumptions that Jesus is only about love and roses and peace and happiness and tolerance.  In other words, in the midst of our pleasant Christmas feelings, we most definitely hear the jarring message from Simeon that our Lord’s birth marks the beginning of a hard, bitter, life for Jesus.  His life would bring the rising and a falling to many – it would bring conflict and healing.  All of this, though, leads us to ask right here and right now, does this Jesus causes you and me to rise or to fall? 

Now, dear friends, there is no room to wiggle out of this question, for Simeon and the Bible show us that Jesus Christ – the gift of Christmas – caused many to fall and stumble and many to rise. Otherwise stated, this Christ is like a rock that caused people to stumble and fall or a rock that lifted people up to stand sure, which means that He will either cause you and me to stumble over Him or be raised high on a solid foundation. 

So, today, we must ask, is this Child who was born that Christmas long ago our falling or our rising?    

To you who spiritually pull yourself up by your own bootstraps; to you who say, ‘help me up, but don’t do everything for me, for I am not a beggar, but I am capable of doing some of it by myself’; to you who consider yourself a bit less sinful than your neighbor; to you who depend upon your works and seek your righteousness: Christ is a stumbling block to you.  Like it or not, you cannot do Christianity and life apart from the Lord, thus making the Lord less than almighty.  If you cling to your demands and what God must produce for you, you are undone – you trip upon the rock - and remain under judgment while you lay on your face in the dirt of your sin.  Indeed, you cannot stand in the presence of Christ, for Christ calls for faith, not works.  He seeks sick-sinners, not self-righteous religious elites.  He comes to give to beggars, not receive from the self-important spiritual superstars.  If you try to stand in your own strength, Jesus will knock you down and be the reason for your falling. 

Repent one and all.  Christ is your falling.  Fall upon the rock of Christ.

Let there be no mistake this morning, the person and message of the one in Simeon’s arms – Jesus -causes our failing.  He causes all of our human plans, all of our human endeavors, all of our human works to be undone.  We are crucified with Christ.  However, do not be discouraged, you who have fallen with me, Jesus is also our rising. 

When we are shown what we truly are, when we despair of self, when we are made to be poor beggars, and when we confess that we are poor miserable sinners, well… we have most certainly fallen, which then changes everything for the Christ-child is no longer a rock for our falling, but for our rising. 

You see, the Lord pours faith into poor miserable sinners like you and me.  He places the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation into your open hands.  He draws you up out of the black waters of sin and hopelessness, and so saves you from eternal death.  This happens wherever the sign of the Cross is held on high.  The shepherds, Simeon, the Magi, the prophetess Anna, Mary, Joseph, many loyal souls of ages past, martyrs, and you blessed Baptized Saints this day, have been raised upon the rock of Christ.  This day you stand upon the rock of Christ, despairing of your efforts, and trusting in the Lord’s gifts.  These gifts of faith, forgiveness, life, and salvation come to us by way of a sign: an infant in Simeon’s arms, the man dying on the cross, water splashed upon you in the name of God, the bread and wine for you. 


Simply stated, we fall in repentance. We are raised by forgiveness.  We must all fall so that we all can be raised. 

Regarding many people in ancient Israel and many people in our modern day and age? Jesus will be a sign only for their falling. The pride of religious big shots is insulted by the idea of falling to the status of poor miserable sinners.  Furthermore, Jesus does not meet their specifications.  From their perspective, they have no use for what they perceive as an unremarkable, weak, beggar-Savior. They want someone useful. Someone who will advance their social hope, their political agenda, and their religious endeavors.

On the other hand, Simeon, Mary, and you receive the baby-Savior that brings you death and salvation – your falling and rising. Regarding the falling of Simeon? Simeon knew that His salvation was not in himself.  Regarding the rising of Simeon? Simeon knew that salvation lies resting in his arms.  And Mary?  “[She] learned that she had a son, yet she did not have Him – He really had her.”[3]  And you my dear friends?  You too have fallen and been raised: you have been plunged into Jesus’ death in baptism, and you have been raised anew in the newness of life in baptism. 

As it goes with Simeon and Mary, it goes with you.  This Christmas Jesus collides with you, which is death to your self-esteem, your religious endeavors, and your spiritual resume.  It is death to your specifying who God must be to you.  Take comfort, though, the one that draws near to you and causes your falling is also the cause of your rising.

Baptized Saints, you are forgiven and raised anew in Christ.  He is with you in the falling and rising.  And as it goes with Jesus so, it goes with you.

All this we rejoice in as we join with Simeon’s rejoicing. 

We rejoice in this Savior in whom we have our falling and rising; our strength and preservation; our departure and our salvation. 

Merry Christmas to you in the name of the one who causes your falling and your rising, Christ Jesus the Lord: Amen.

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[1] Fred H. Lindemann: The Sermon and The Propers: Volume 1, (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), 99.

[2] Fred H. Lindemann: The Sermon and The Propers: Volume 1, 98.

[3] Norman Nagel, Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 33-34.

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Christmas For Misfits, Nobodies, Ragamuffins, And Losers

Text: Luke 2:15-20

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Amen.

God sure has a pattern of choosing misfits, nobodies, ragamuffins, and losers in carrying out His work, does He not?  For example, the Lord God claimed Israel, a slave nation in the Book of Exodus, to be His people.  He chose David, a shepherd, to be a King.  In the New Testament He called several dumpy fishermen and a tax collector to be His closest followers – Peter, Matthew, Andrew, James, and so forth.  He also called a zealot Pharisee who was doing his best to stamp God’s church right out of existence – the Apostle Paul. 

 

Now, contrary to popular opinion and staying consistent with His pattern of choosing, misfits, nobodies, ragamuffins, and losers, God did not announce the birth of the Christ Child to the great theologians of the synagogues or the prestigious priests in the temple.  Instead, the Lord does the exact opposite. The announcement of Jesus’ birth is given to the least likely people in the land - to shepherds.  Yes, add shepherds to God’s list of misfits, nobodies, ragamuffins, and losers.  Indeed, the message of the Son of God coming from heaven above to earth is given to not theologians in the synagogues or the priests in the temple, but scruffy shepherds out in a field. 

Keep in mind that these shepherds had nothing special about them.  They were a rough bunch, working a manual labor job with little pay.  They were most likely known as being religiously inconsistent with their piety.  However, God’s Word comes to these rough shepherds through His messenger – the Angel of the Lord.

Now, typically when angels visit humanity, humanity is struck with fear and terror.  Who would not be afraid of a mighty Angel of the Lord – God’s warriors?  And that is exactly what we see with the shepherds; they are scared stiff.  The brilliance of light signaled the glory and presence of God, and the shepherds were filled with fear.  But instead of striking the shepherds down with power and might, the angel announced the grand news of Christmas,

 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” 

In case we move over this too quickly, we must pause and understand how grand, how powerful, and how magnificent this news is.  It is kind of a big deal.  It makes all the difference in the world…  The Son of God was born and is now human.  Jesus has endured the nine months of pregnancy and now, this day in the city of David, the Savior for all of mankind was born.  This baby is no ordinary baby but is really God in human flesh.  God coming to mankind!  Yes, the Son of God was born, He cried, He became tired, and He would hunger, thirst, bled, die, and rise.  This baby is the Christ who will suffer, die, and rise from the dead on the third day.  This child is God come in the flesh to do the gritty, bloody, sacrificial work that we cannot do – the work of taking away sin. 

This Christ Child was not born to climb to the highest and fanciest glories of mankind, but came for the sin-sick world.  He came to and for Israel, David, Peter, Matthew, Paul, the Shepherds, and for you. 

Dear friends, because of sin, everything we do and say and think is stained and unclean.  No matter how noble and good we have tried to be, we have failed.  Our sinful nature makes our whole life unrighteous and so we find ourselves in the midst misfits, nobodies, ragamuffins, and losers. 

Ah, but take comfort this day.  Jesus came not to keep His life to Himself.  He came to share it with you.  Everything He has done was done for you, in your place. 

Like the shepherds, we are not people of a prestigious birth.  Most of us are common folks who live quiet and peaceable lives here in rural North Dakota.  However, God has decided to make the announcement of Jesus to you through pastors, parents, other Christians, and in this church service today.  Indeed, the Lord announces to you this day that a Savior was born for you and me. 

You have heard this on the highest authority that Christ was born – for you.  Christ was born for sinners.  He was born for misfits, nobodies, ragamuffins, and losers.  He was born to join you and love you.  He was born to go to Mt. Calvary and win forgiveness for you in His death and resurrection.

Because of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection, your life is right.  You are declared righteous in the sight of Jesus, the one who was born unto you. 

And so, this day, with the shepherds we glorify and praise God for all that has been done, heard, and seen.  Everything that we heard last night about the birth of Christ places us right alongside the shepherds.  And as we hear this great news of Jesus’ birth, we are then granted the opportunity to sing praises to the Lord God for the great gift of the Savior.  We get to sing ‘with’ the shepherds the meaning of the Savior’s birth for all the world.  It is rather contagious!  The shepherds immediately broadcast and share what they have heard and seen, and we cannot help but do the same this day!   

Truly, we glorify God this Christmas Day with the shepherds knowing that God is well pleased with us in Christ – that a Savior has been born unto us.

We glorify God this day that at a real time, in a real Bethlehem, there was a real birth of a real human being, and that human being is our real Savior, a Savior who rescued us from sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. 

This is the real Savior whose birth we celebrate today. 

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

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I Want Your Sin

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Amen.

Tonight we have heard that something spectacular happened long ago.  Yes, we have heard that God intervened into our world and a tremendous joy erupted – a joy that caused all the angels in heaven to sing.  What was so spectacular and so joyous, though?  Well, the Messiah was born, the Messiah that was spoken of from long ago.

This birth of the Messiah was no ordinary birth, though.  It was a peculiar birth, unlike any other birth.  A newborn child, swaddled in clothes and lying in a long open box used to feed horses and cattle is most peculiar indeed.  Technically, this baby was a homeless baby being born not in a house or an inn, but in a stable.  Yes, the Messiah was born as a defenseless human child on a cold winter night in one of those caves where Bethlehem farmers kept their animals.     

Considering all of this, we probably feel a bit sympathetic to this Christ Child right about now; the poor little Jesus is defenseless, maybe cold, the stench of the animals is around Him, and He is literally homeless.  It was a most dire state.    

In fact, our hearts may be tugging at us right about now, and we may say in our hearts,

 “Lord Jesus, You are freezing.  You shiver.  It is so hard and uncomfortable where you sleep.  Oh, how can I help?  How can I repay you?” 

Now, if the Christ Child could speak back to us, I think we would hear Him respond to us with something like this,

“I don’t want anything.  Just wait, even more difficult times await Me.  Yes indeed, even more difficult times await Me at the Cross of Mt. Calvary.” 

This response certainly does not help our troubled hearts.  So, our hearts may tug at us again, causing us to reach into our wallets and purses, saying,

“Let me at least give you some money, so that you can at least spend some nights in the local inn.  I have to give You something! Here, take some money, it is the least that I could do for you.”   

If the Christ Child could speak, I think we would hear Him say,

“The heavens and the earth are Mine.  I do not need your money or your charity.  Give it to the poor, and then I will receive it as if it was given to Me.”

With our hearts still troubled, we may muster up some force in our voice and say with energy,

“Dear Christ Child, I will gladly do that, but I still want to give something to You!  My heart is full of sorrow.  I want to give you something!  I must ease this sorrow in my heart!”

After a brief pause, if the Christ Child could speak, we would hear Him say, 

“Dear friends since you are so generous, I will tell you what you can give to Me. . . . Give Me your sins. . . . Give Me your bad conscience.  . . . Give me your guilt. . . . Give it all to me.” 

With our hearts caught off guard, we quickly respond,

“What on earth will you do with my sin, my bad conscience, and my guilt?  Why do you want this?” 

The Christ answers,

“I will take your sin, your guilt, and your bad conscience upon My shoulders.  These things will be My glory and My kingdom.  I will bear your sins; I will take them away.  I will take away what is yours and make it Mine.  I do not want your money, your efforts, your sympathy, your achievements, but I want your sin.  I want your failures.  I want your filth.  Give me all of this, so that I may take it to Mt. Calvary.  I want your sin, your guilt, your bad conscience so that you might be free from all of this and have eternal life!”

Dear friends, even though the birth of this Christ Child was an unusual birth, this birth was one that was predicted and spoken of from long ago.  It was said that this Child would crush the head of Satan.  It was said that upon this Child, the government would rest.  It was said that this Child would tend His flock and gather the lambs in His arms.  It was said that this Child would be great to the ends of the earth…  And this Christ Child, my friends, is indeed the fulfillment of all that was spoken of long ago.  He is the one who crushes Satan.  He is the King of Kings.  He is the Good Shepherd.  He is the great Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end.  He is the God who comes to humanity – His children – and takes the world’s sin and guilt unto Himself to Mt. Calvary.  He was the one born to go to that Cross.  He was born to die and then to rise – for you and me. 

So, this evening we hear the story of the birth of this Christ-Child into human history.  And as we hear this story, our hearts and minds bow before the manger knowing that we can never thank Him enough.  Our hearts and minds bow before the Christ Child knowing that we cannot give Him anything that would sufficiently thank Him for what He’s done.  We bow before the Christ Child knowing that He was born to take our sin, our guilt, and our evil upon Himself – to die and rise for our justification. 

Indeed, we bow and praise this Christ Child this evening for we would never dare come to Him if He had not come to us first. 

We bow and praise Him this Christmas Eve knowing that He came to humanity in that manger long ago and comes to us tonight in His Word, to forgive, renew, and bless us with eternal life. 

Dear friends, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly this evening, teaching and admonishing you in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Note: The idea of the dialogue between the hearer and the Christ Child comes from a great church father named, Heironymus.  

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The Fall And Rise Of Many

Text:  Luke 2:33-40

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

The atmosphere of Christmas continues for most people well past Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  All the Christmas left overs, all the Christmas treats, and all the Christmas gifts will continue to bless you into this next week.  The decorations will stay up in your houses for a while longer.  Christmas songs will continue to flood your memory and you will hum them around the house.  Indeed, the aura and feeling of Christmas continues on and on and on, that is until we meditate on today’s sad thoughts in our Gospel reading from Luke. 

Today, with reluctance, our happy and warm Christmas thoughts are brought before our Gospel reading, where they collide with sad thoughts.  Otherwise stated, our celebration of the manger and our humming of, “Silent Night,” bump rather harshly and rudely into Simeon’s confession that the baby-Jesus is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel.  Yes, fresh from the manger we meet Simeon’s confession that this Christ-child will be a sign that will be opposed. 

I know how you might be feeling.  Two days ago we heard, “Merry Christmas; unto us a child is born!”  Now, we hear that this child will wreak havoc and stir the pot. 

Considering this, why has the historical church meditated on Simeon’s confession and why has it chosen to do this the Sunday after Christmas, when we haven’t even packed up the decorations and put away the tinsel yet?  Otherwise stated, “Why does the Church ask us to meditate on these sad thoughts while still within the sight of the manger?  Surely, [the historical church] wishes us to celebrate a joyous and happy Christmas.  Yet [the church has assigned] this [Gospel reading to the Sunday immediately after Christmas] to remind us that Christmas is not sheer poetry.”[1]  Dear friends, to rephrase this, “When all the ‘Silent Nights’  and “Oh, Little Town of Bethlehems’ are sung, when we’ve all oohed and aahed over the diapered deity swaddled in the manger, there remains the reality that God did not send His Son into the world to make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.” [2]   But rather, Jesus came down from heaven to redeem a real broken world, not some marshmallow world with ‘snow and mistletoes and presents under the tree,’ but a real world – with all of its ugliness and hurt and pain.  Yes, Jesus came to redeem this world and to do that would require hurt and pain and blood and conflict and all sorts of raw suffering.  This redemption would truly rattle the earth, confuse earthly wisdom, divide mankind, cause some to fall, and some to rise.  

This is exactly what Simeon points out to Mary, Joseph, you, and me in Luke’s Gospel account.  More specifically, as Simeon took the young baby into his arms, we get the sense that he became very serious.  He beheld an appalling sight.  As he held the little baby Jesus in his arms, he confesses that the child would be the rise and fall of many.  Indeed, Jesus and His life would bring about much opposition in Israel.  Instead of being accepted and loved by all as the Savior, Jesus would be met with rejection and suffering.  This was a dark picture and a terrible announcement to which Mary – His mother – had to listen.  For us today, this is not a very pleasant announcement as well; it is not a very Christmasy message for us to hear only 2-3 days after Christmas.[3]  Furthermore, it challenges the modern day assumptions that Jesus is only about love and roses and peace and happiness and tolerance. 

In the midst of our pleasant Christmas feelings, we most definitely hear the jarring message from Simeon that our Lord’s birth marks the beginning of a hard, bitter, life for Jesus.  For Mary, she would hear the jarring message from Simeon too; hearing that a sword would pierce her very own heart.  “She who once placed her two hands on her extended belly, wondering what kind of boy she would have, would eventually stand drenched in tears as she looked up at that boy, grown into a man, whose two hands were extended upon the cross-beams, drenched in blood, to save her and the messy world He so love[d].  Each nail that pierced His hands, each thorn that bit into His brow, the spear that punctured His side – they all were a part of the sword of sorrow that was thrust deep into [Mary’s] heart.”[4]

Because this Child in Simeon’s arms brings a rising and a falling to many, and is a sign that is opposed, and pierces the heart of Mary, we must ask today: does Jesus causes you and me to rise or to fall?  There is no room to wiggle out of this question, for Jesus Christ – the gift of Christmas – caused many to rise and to fall, as stated by Simeon and taught by Scripture.     This Christ is like a rock that caused people to stumble or to be raised; He will either cause you and me to stumble over Him or He will lift you and me up high on a solid foundation. 

For Mary and Simeon, Jesus was a sign for their falling ‘and’ for their rising.   Falling: Simeon knew that His salvation was not in himself; rising: he knew that salvation lie resting in his arms.  “Mary learned that she had a son, yet she did not have Him – He really had her.”[5]  On the other hand, for many others in Israel, Jesus was a sign only for falling. For example: in their response to Jesus, the religious big shots of the day showed what they were. Their hearts were revealed. They did not want to be reduced to point that they were nothing but receivers and they refused Jesus’ invitation to pick them up.  Their pride was insulted by the idea of falling to the status of poor miserable sinners.  Furthermore, Jesus did not meet their specifications.  From their perspective, they had no use for what they perceived as an unremarkable, weak, Beggar-Savior. They wanted someone useful. Someone who would advance: their social hope, their political agenda, and their religious endeavors…

Dear friends, what say you?  Is this Child who was born that Christmas Eve your falling or your rising?    

To you who spiritually pull yourself up by your own bootstraps; to you who say, “Help me up, but don’t do everything for me, for I am not a beggar, but I am capable of doing some of it by myself”; to you who consider yourself a bit less sinful than your neighbor; to you who depend upon your own works and seek your own righteousness: Christ is a stumbling block to you.  Like it or not, you cannot do Christianity and life apart from the Lord, thus making the Lord less than almighty.  If you cling to what you imagine must be true, if you cling to your demands and what God must produce for you, you are undone – you trip upon the rock - and remain under judgment.  Indeed, you cannot stand in the presence of Christ, for Christ calls for faith, not works.  He seeks sick-sinners, not the self-righteous.  He comes to give to beggars, not receive from the self-important empty elite. 

Repent one and all.  Christ is your falling.  Fall upon the rock of Christ.

Let there be no mistake this morning, the person and message of the one in in Simeon’s arms – Jesus -causes our falling.  However, do not be discouraged, you who have fallen with me, Jesus is also our rising. 

Yes, when we are shown what we truly are, when we despair of self, and when we are made to be a poor beggar, this Christ-child is a rock for our rising. 

You see, the Lord pours faith into poor miserable sinners like you and me.  He places the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation into your open hands.  He draws you up out of the black waters of sin and hopelessness, and so saves you from eternal death.  This happens wherever the sign of the Cross is held on high.  The shepherds, Simeon, the Magi, the prophetess Anna, Mary, Joseph, many loyal souls of ages past, martyrs, and you blessed Baptized Saints this day, have been raised upon the rock of Christ.  This day you stand upon the rock of Christ, despairing of your own efforts, and trusting in the Lord’s gifts.  These gifts - faith, forgiveness, life, salvation - come to us by way of a sign: an infant in Simeon’s arms, the man dying on the cross, water splashed upon you in the name of God, and the bread and wine for you. 


Simply stated, we fall in repentance. We are raised by forgiveness.  We must all fall, so that we all can be raised. 

Simeon received the baby-Savior that brought him his death and his salvation – his falling and rising. You too have fallen and been raised: you have been plunged into His death in baptism; you have been raised anew in the new-ness of life in baptism. 

As it goes with Simeon, it goes with us.  The thoughts of all hearts and minds are drawn out into the open when Jesus shows up. Jesus collides with you, which is the death to: your self-esteem, your religious endeavors, and your spiritual resume.  It is death to your specifying who God must be to you.  Take comfort though, the one that draws near to you is also the cause of your rising.

Baptized Saints, you are with Christ, together with Him in the falling and rising.  As it goes with Him so it goes with you.

All this we rejoice in as we join with Simeon’s rejoicing. 

We rejoice in this Savior in whom we have our falling and rising; our strength and preservation; our departure and our salvation.   All of Him is with us; together in our falling and rising, rising never to fall again.

Merry Christmas to you in the name of the one causes your falling and rising, Christ Jesus the Lord: Amen.

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[1] Fred H. Lindemann: The Sermon and The Propers: Volume 1, (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), 99.

[2] Chad L. Bird, Christ Alone: Meditations and Sermons (Copyright © Chad Bird, 2014), 122.

[3] Fred H. Lindemann: The Sermon and The Propers: Volume 1, 98.

[4] Chad L. Bird, Christ Alone: Meditations and Sermons, 122.

[5] Norman Nagel, Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 33-34.